Of course, Kath or Glenn could post something too

Anywho, I actually did have a couple of things to share with y’all real quick that are really rather suited to the technogeeks out there but I figure they might come in handy for everyone   These websites might just save you some aggravation someday

First is memorari.us.  Memorari is a simple website that will automatically send you a reminder about anything you want via email, text message, or a few other means.  Just put in the date, the transmission method, your contact info, and a message and it’ll show up where and when you want it to.  The message and all info about it are destroyed for good as soon as the message has been sent.  Downright useful, that is

The second site is downforeveryoneorjustme.com which can be rather helpful at times.  Have you ever tried to get to a certain website, but can’t and you don’t know if it’s just you or if the site’s actually down?  Just go to this site, put the website you want to check in the search box, and it’ll tell you if it can be reached by that web server or not.  Now you’ll know who to call if you can’t get to this site

That’s it for tonight – have a great day

26 July 2010 - Hogjaw, Area 51, Road Runners Internationale, and former black projects

And then I remembered all the space I have on the walls of my cubicle at work   Yep, I’ve got just about all my patches up on the walls at work

Some of these patches are rather rare.  For example, you can only get one of those CIA patches from the CIA gift shop.  Thankfully, I’m an associate member of the Road Runners Internationale and the CIA is rather close to our group due to the history of the Road Runners’ projects like the U-2 and A-12.  The CIA is so kind as to bring their gift shop to our reunions which means I get to shop where very few can

The rest of the patches on this wall have something to do with the CIA, the Road Runners, or black projects in Nevada.  Take the 547th Intelligence Squadron patch – these are the men and women who exploit foreign technology that’s been “acquired” by various means.  The Road Runner feature prominently – check out their website for some really interesting Cold War secrets   And there’s a couple of special, very limited edition Area 51 patches as well

26 July 2010 - Jimmy Buffett, NASA, Cape Hatteras, and the USAF represented here

It’s not just Road Runners and CIA that I’ve got on display.  There’s plenty of NASA and USAF patches here, too.  I may have to pick up a few more when I get the chance to fill in the wall a bit more   Still, there’s the stickers Kath sent me along with a couple of Raptor patches & T-Bird patches which I think all works well together.

Let’s not forget that I’m still a Parrothead and you’re probably going to find some Jimmy Buffett items around

26 July 2010 - Thanks for the OBX stickers, Kath

Gotta love the bumper stickers   “The Weather is Here” is a favorite of many Buffett fans while I’d love to see someone in office who actually has a clue as well.  I don’t agree with Jimmy’s politics for the most part, but he seems to understand what the average Joe is going through – he’s been broke and sleeping on a friend’s couch with only a bicycle for transportation before.  And of course, you’ve gotta love the OBX sticker and the Cape Hatteras lighthouse postcard

26 July 2010 - Road Runners Internationale - In God We Trust - All Others We Monitor

Ah, the good ol’ Road Runners 8)  This is key tag is pretty appropriate when you consider that they were responsible for the U-2, A-12, SR-71, M-21, and D-21   If you don’t know what those were or are, just put ‘em into a Google search and you’ll find out

26 July 2010 - Who here can pick out the most black projects and symbols in this patch?

I paid quite a bit more for this patch than I normally would for most.  It’s a very limited edition and very cool – if you know your Groom Lake history   I’ll tell you that the bird down on the bottom is for the Road Runners and the silver plane at the top is for the U-2, but each of the symbols on the patch refers to a program or group that’s been declassified.  How many can you understand?  I’m only missing a couple

Anywho, that’s about it for now.  Have a great day

Coal showed up at our front door around midnight on 10 December 2008.  I heard meowing when I went to get a drink and saw him outside through the window.  It was seriously cold out and it took only a bit of coaxing to get him to come inside.  Cindy and her niece Stevie had seen him earlier that night while doing the nightly walk around the storage facility she managed and we lived at but figured he’d go back to his home.  He didn’t have any tags and after getting a better look at him it seems he was out on his own for a while after likely being abandoned due to a home foreclosure.

I woke Cindy up after he came inside and everything seemed pretty good when he crawled into bed with Stevie.  We eventually gave him to Stevie as a Christmas present   The pics below are from the day after he showed up on our front porch.  I took him down to the vet to have him scanned for a chip and while they found one, it was from the other end of the valley and from several years before.  The number in the registration information had been disconnected so we decided it was finders keepers and added a furry member to the family.  I’d thought of keeping him, but there were a few things that kept that from happening.  Still, he found a good home and I was happy with that

Coal the cat - First day in our home

Coal the cat - He sure was skinny!

Coal the Cat - Even when he was skinny and hungry he was curious a

Coal the Cat - He wasn't sure about much at first...

Coal the Cat - He didn't want to stand still for pictures, either

Coal the Cat - Look at those big, yellow eyes 8)

He was curious, but skittish which was understandable considering his circumstances.  He didn’t like to be picked up much, but he’d come and want to be petted and loved after he figured out that we weren’t going to leave him like someone else had.  Eventually he moved down to Arizona with Cindy’s sister and her family and then back up to Vegas a while later.

Coal the Cat - I last saw him on Thanksgiving Day in 2009

The last time I saw Coal was on Thanksgiving Day last year when I went to Cindy’s sister’s place for dinner.  He was the same cat I remembered and he seemed to remember me as well

I got word today that he had to be put down earlier in the morning.  He’d been losing weight and not doing too well for a while so Cindy’s sister and her family took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with cancer.  From what I understand, there was nothing they could really do for him and he’d only get sicker and hurt more over time so they did what was best for him and let him go.

Coal had been abandoned at one point and we didn’t have him for all that long, but I’m glad we had him while it lasted   He was a good cat and we gave him a good home for the year and a half we could.  He spent the last part of his life with a loving family and a couple of other cats he could play with while being spoiled with treats like tuna, cottage cheese, and plenty of toys.

I’m going to miss him.

One of the benefits of living in Las Vegas is the close proximity to the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza.  Think of it as a small casino with a truck stop, liquor store, smoke shop and fireworks emporium all rolled into one   They’re not really actually in Nevada since it’s an Indian reservation which means Nevada and Clark County laws on fireworks don’t apply – only federal laws.  That means you can buy things that fly into the air and go BANG!!! Now, that wouldn’t be so great if you had to take them home to light them off – you don’t want to break the law, do you?  I didn’t think so   Well, there’s even a “launch pad” (really a big, open field) out back where you can set off any fireworks you can buy inside.  I had a blast (pun intended ) and I expect this to be my annual destination on Independence Day from now on   Of course, Moapa and the launch pad are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year so I can go play anytime.  It’s just more fun when there’s a few thousand miscreants to share the fun with

Here’s what I wrote on the page for YouTube:

After moving from San Diego to Las Vegas a few years ago, I’ve become a bit more personally involved in some things. Things like lighting my own damn fireworks on Independence Day. Don’t get me wrong – the professional shows are cool, but there’s something special about lighting that fuse myself.

I guess part of it’s a bit of a rebellious streak that I’ve always had. I just have to do things because I can and most people think it’s too dangerous for the “average person” to do so. Another part of that rebelliousness on this particular holiday goes back to the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. These were men who owned cannons and all the other terrible implements of the soldiers. I can only imagine what would happen if someone told them a bottle rocket was too dangerous for them to deal with as Free Citizens and adults. I have the notion that such a discussion might beget a duel…

The fireworks in this video aren’t mine. I was on a meager budget and those were too expensive for me. I made due with some firecrackers, sparklers, and roman candles, but it was worth the trip and the expense. And it was great to see “Joe Sixpack” out shooting off the shells in this video

Some people say I’m a “rabble rouser” and that I have issues with doing what I’m told.  OK, there might be a bit of truth in that

4 July 2010 - The first time I've ever been stuck like this

Alas, the night was not all fun and games.  Yours truly found out that the berm that looked so easy to cross wasn’t.  I knew the there was trouble about when the front tires got just over the top and then they kind of sank.  The dirt was seriously loose and the tires found no purchase – I was high centered.  It was bad enough that I could spin the front wheels by hand.  The floor mat did nothing.

So I did what any intelligent (most of the time) GM vehicle owner would do and pressed the blue OnStar button!  Jan was the person who worked with me and the tow truck arrived within about an hour which is quick for where I was   One of the benefits of the OnStar system is that it sends your GPS coordinates to the people in the call center so they actually know where you are.  OnStar and the tow company weren’t the only groups of people who helped out last night – the Moapa security guys were great and offered moral support when they realized they couldn’t pull me out themselves

Hey, I had a good time overall last night.  I still have all my fingers, toes, both eyes, and my car’s OK.  That’s what I call a happy ending

Have fun everyone

1 July 2010 - Paracord projects

Ask and ye shall receive   A couple of posts ago, someone asked for some pics of the paracord stuff I’m working on.  I finally had a chance to get a pic of a few items today.  The middle two items are now in the hands of co-workers who requested them.  Dara wanted a neon orange and black key chain and Teresa wanted a pink camo and black bracelet.  I’m happy to say they were both pleased with the results   The top piece is actually a key chain (minus the ring) and the bottom one could be used for a number of things.

These are just a few of the things I’m planning on making.  There’s going to be many more bracelets, some more lanyards, key chains, and maybe even some belts and rifle slings

That’s all for tonight, but look for more after a trip to the desert for some very noisy (and quiet!) fun in the desert