2007/10/31

Halloween in Fort Worth

What was once a wild and weird night of fun, pranks, and little risk (the infamous needle in a candy bar or a kidnapping), is now a carefully regulated activity. Trick or treat occurs between 1830 and 2030 hours local time. Kids used to travel in groups having fun (at least when I was growing up in the last century). Now they seem to travel in ones or twos under close parental escort. Half the people on the block just put a bowl of candy outside, rather than truly participating in the holiday. Half the kids just show up and hold out their bags. You have to tell them to say trick or treat. Most still say thanks, so we are still in the decline of western civilization and not yet in the fall of western civilization.

2007/10/29

Blue Angels Pictures

As requested, some pictures from the Blue Angels performance at last weekend's air show (tailgated in Cabela's parking lot with the rest of Texas). Pictures aren't fantastic, snapped with a Canon Digital Elph, so minimal zoom and not the fastest aperture in the west....

Wing tip to wing tip in a giant loop in the sky....


Five ship formation in a low altitude pass....


Four ship formation, two inverted, low altitude pass....


Four ship diamond formation in low altitude pass....

2007/10/20

Who complains about living near an airport?

Because when you live near the right one, you get to see the United States Navy Blue Angels flying over your house for free!!! Hoo-yah! Go Navy!

2007/10/03

HAVE LASIK-will get buried in paperwork

Well, I am still working on the astronaut application. I did this once before, but I forgot how much bloody paperwork is involved. Resume (not too short, but not too long), references, medical history, flying history, official transcripts, proof that you are not currently controlled by an alien life force bent on world domination, etc, etc.

Compare this to the civilian, that is non-government world. Email resume, do a phone interview or two, get flown somewhere for a real world interview (they will even fly a spouse or kids if they really want you), plant tour, get taken out for a nice lunch, maybe a nice dinner, might get a quick tour of area, etc. If they like you, they offer you the job and then you fill out the application, etc (no sense wasting people's time on paperwork that isn't needed).

Sigh.

Well, I have several months before the job posting is closed, so I should be able to get it all done.