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

OK, enough of that – here’s the pics

23 July 2010 - Guido & New Frontier Armory's new "deuce and a half" military surplus truck

23 July 2010 - Guido & New Frontier Armory's new "deuce and a half" military surplus truck

I headed on over to New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms after work after not darkening their doorway for two whole weeks   Well, Guido who owns New Frontier Armory just got a new toy and I couldn’t pass up getting a pic of it   These trucks don’t get the greatest gas mileage as you can imagine but I still want one in a big way – they’re just cool 8)  Of course, the fact that you can get one for between $1,500 and $2,000 might have something to do with it, too

23 July 2010 - Geocaching vehicle travel bug

I haven’t been geocaching in quite a while, but I still recognized this for what it is – a travel bug decal on a vehicle

If you haven’t heard of geocaching, check out geocaching.com and see if it’s something you might like.  All you need is a GPS receiver and a computer, but a pencil helps as well sometimes   Basically, people hide geocaches, record the GPS coordinates, post them on geocaching.com, and then you go find them and log your finds on geocaching.com.  A geocache is basically some sort of container with a log inside that you sign.  Many of them also contain a pencil to sign the log with and a few trade items like key chains and small compasses.  You’re always supposed to trade up – leave something nicer than you took for others to trade.  It’s a fun way to get out and do something

23 July 2010 - Heading home under the desert sun

It will likely come as no surprise that it’s been HOT lately here in Las Vegas   I took this picture while heading home from NFA/IA when it was about 114° or so and yes, it’s just as hot as you’d imagine.  At least the humidity’s down near 10% so it’s pretty livable

Last, but not least I have a video for a change   I set up my Nikon Coolpix S220 in interval mode to take 1 picture per minute looking out from my desk at work when I saw a thunderstorm building.  Once I had all the pictures, I put ‘em into Windows Movie Maker and made a time lapse movie 8)  The music comes from YouTube’s “audio swap” feature and I think it works rather well

That’s it for now   Here’s hoping you have a great Sunday

16 July 2010 - 0736 hours and it was already 95° when I left for work

Summer’s in full swing and we’ve got an excessive heat warning going here in town.  It’s this time of year that I desperately miss the ocean and the fog back in San Diego.  I love the climate there, but the laws and taxes suck.  If I had to choose (and I actually do), I’ll deal with the summer here in Vegas.

16 July 2010 - Yes, that's a $500 bottle of tequila

16 July 2010 - I thought the bottle was pretty cool 8)

16 July 2010 - Free product tasting at Lee's Discount Liquor

After a very long and trying week at work, I figured I’d stop by Lee’s Discount Liquor.  They’ve got lots of cool different beverages there and sometimes free tastings.  I left with a bottle of the New Amsterdam gin   I’ve never been a gin drinker, but then again it seems I’ve never had good gin.  New Amsterdam has a very interesting array of flavors and it was a steal at about $9.00

16 July 2010 - 1750 hours on my way home and the car shows 122°

This one was taken on the trip home from Lee’s.  The official temperature at North Las Vegas Airport was somewhere around 110° but I wouldn’t doubt this temperature on concrete and asphalt in town.

A bit later on, I noticed some interesting returns on the weather radar for my area.  They were a ways off to the north, but not all that far away…

16 July 2010 - A passing car on a highway in The Middle Of Nowhere, NV

16 July 2010 - Thunderstorm in the desert a ways north of Las Vegas, NV

16 July 2010 - Thunderstorm in the desert a ways north of Las Vegas, NV

I’m a sucker for thunderstorms   If it doesn’t cost too much to chase ‘em and I have a chance I’ll do it just about every time.  Last night was pretty successful   I tried getting video, but it didn’t come out all that well so these pics will have to do.

One thing I wanted to make sure to tell everyone was just how incredibly dark it was out there   Yes, I’ve been places that dark, but it was either for the purposes of developing film or I was in a cave when they shut the lights off.  I was quite a ways away from Vegas and all the lights, but with the clouds overhead there was pretty much no light at all.  It was almost spooky!

16 July 2010 - Rain in Alamo, NV

16 July 2010 - Now that's my kind of contest

16 July 2010 - Is it just small towns that have things like this?

My drive took me all the way up to Alamo, NV where I found this gas station.  The lights were all on, but the doors were locked.  Oh well, I could’ve used a snack but I lived.

I thought the green dinosaur was pretty cool 8)  You always see one on the sign for Sinclair gas stations, but this is the first time I’ve seen one standing out front as a mascot

16 July 2010 - Cool old truck at Moapa

My last stop of the night was at the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza for a “nature break” and maybe a snack.  OK, so I picked up a few feet of cannon fuse while I was at it – wouldn’t you ?  This truck happened to be in the parking lot and I thought it was pretty cool, too

That’s it for now, but I hope you enjoyed the pics   Have a great night

Rogers Dry Lake

From a hill top at Edwards. I was showing the daughter around one day last week. Certifiable. The absolute middle of nowhere!

This is the lake bed that the shuttle uses when it has to divert from Florida due to weather. It is resurfaced by the winter rains.

I had to get some ammo to someone yesterday, so we met up at New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms   Of course, I had to pick out a few items I thought my readers might like to see and get some good pics of ‘em to share

10 July 2010 - Taurus TPC PT738 in .380 ACP at New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms

10 July 2010 - Taurus TPC PT738 in .380 ACP at New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms

Small .380 ACP pistols have become very popular for concealed carry these days.  Taurus seems to have gotten the message and jumped on the bandwagon with this PT 738.  This easily fits in a pocket, it’s not too heavy, and it shouldn’t have too much recoil

10 July 2010 - Walther P22 in pink digital camo at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

10 July 2010 - Walther P22 in pink digital camo at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

The Walther P-22 is pretty much a recreational gun.  It’s a semi-automatic .22 LR caliber pistol which is reasonably priced, cheap to shoot, and easy to use as a suppressor host   Sure, you can still hunt with it, but I’d rather have a larger caliber for other applications like self defense.

10 July 2010 - Benchmade rescue hook at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

10 July 2010 - Benchmade rescue hook at Infinite Arms / New Frontier Armory

Benchmade is known for the quality knives they make.  This little piece of equipment is made strictly for rescue applications.  Their rescue hooks can go through multiple layers of seat belts, thick leather boots, and any type of clothing imaginable with ease.  It’s something I’m probably going to buy before long (this one’s only $24.99) but hope I’ll never have to use.  It’s that whole being prepared thing again

11 July 2010 - Texture in the sky this morning over my apartment

Again I don’t know why but I woke up at about 0500 today.  I headed out a bit after 0600 to grab a bite to eat and saw something I’ve not seen in a while – clouds   It’s been severe clear here for the longest time with very few exceptions, so texture in the sky is something I enjoy

That’s about it for now – I’ve got stuff around the house to get done.  Have a great Sunday