Arabs on a Plane

Wow, the left side of the blogosphere is up in arms over this story, about the woman who demanded to be let off a departing flight after becoming frightened by Arab passengers she thought were acting suspiciously.  Witness this blog entry, titled “racist hysteric apologizes for targeting DOD-approved swarthy people,” and particularly the reader comments below […]

Air-Minded: The Warrior Ethic

My friend Dick Herman, in a comment to an earlier entry, asked for my thoughts on the warrior ethic. For a few years, back when my career was on fire, I was on the staff of a joint command, working with Army, Navy, and Marine officers. Army and Marine officers could philosophize about the warrior […]

Pickled . . . in Spaaace!

Report Uncovers Astronauts’ Heavy Alcohol Use. Oh my.  Here’s what I read between the lines of the linked article: NASA, in the wake of the Lisa Nowak incident, has been busy hunting witches in the astronaut program.  Astronaut pilots, astronaut mission specialists, and astronaut flight surgeons are turning on each other.  It must be a horrible […]

Son of Saturday Morning Catch-Up Blogging

Okay, I cede the battle.  Our ground squirrels and pack rats are smarter than the traps I set out for them.  For now, they have the run of the property.  For now, they scoff at me. Vermin take note: I have not ceded the war. Yesterday’s news today: our first 100-degree day; regular gas finally […]

I Hate Getting Old: Reason #72

Perforated veins.  Yeah, I got ’em, and I don’t want ’em.  This morning my friendly neighborhood vascular surgeon performed the first of four procedures, a laser endoscopy on a large vein in my right thigh.  Essentially, he zapped the vein from the inside out, and now it’s closed . . . my body will adjust […]

Pay to Comment?

No, not here . . . I’m talking about Metafilter. Metafilter’s a community weblog, where members post comments on various topics, including obscure news items. Occasionally, a Metafilter entry will catch my interest and I’ll blog about it here. Like this one, which I saw this morning: NewsFilter: UFO (missle) exhaust seen by pilot Have […]