A little bit of C-17 history

Today, Mom and I drove to Mt. Pleasant and walked to the middle of the Ravenel Bridge to see the largest formation of C-17's in history. We stood on the bridge as a 20-ship formation flew over our heads. Pretty impressive to see them all turn out over the Atlantic Ocean, then turn to follow the Cooper River inland, right over the middle of the bridge.

Numbers 1 and 2 had their rear ramps open so that camera crews could shoot pictures of the rest of the huge formation in flight. After passing overhead at exactly their time-on-target (9:50 AM), the formation split up as half of the jets went to practice air refueling as the other half went to practice airdrop at Charleston AFB's auxillary field, North Field, near Orangeburg, SC.

This is the second year in a row that Charleston has executed a large formation exercise, as last year about this time, a 17-ship formation did the same thing. I don't know if it'll become an annual thing or not, with the formation growing every year, but it's definitely something to see. Maybe next time they do it, I can fly in the formation, assuming I would have been to airdrop school by then. I'm a big C-17 fan.

Cool new web site

PlateWire.com is a website where drivers can vent their road rage through some unconventional means. From the website: "Report and flag bad drivers, award good drivers, and even flirt with cute drivers. PlateWire was born out of frustration from years of driving along side drivers who seem to have no concern with anyone's safety, including their own."

You can register with your license plate and view if anyone has reported your plate. If someone ticks you off on the road, get their license plate and report it to the website. You can view by location of the incident, as well. Interesting concept...fun to browse through, if nothing else.

PlateWire

Big Win

Cats over the Cards, 61-49.

It will be a Melly Cleesmas!

How do you stop 85?

It doesn't stop at Ocho Cinco

Just stop getting arrested.

Please!

TJ Who's Your Momma

The first in a series of Bengals posts leading up to the HUGE Monday night game.

Goodbye Fisher

As Dad put it, it's the end of an era at the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as in college football as a whole. Fisher DeBerry, the head coach of the Fightin' Falcons football team for the past 23 years, has resigned. Word is that he's being forced out. If true, that's pretty sad. Coach DeBerry says he's leaving for his family. I hope that's the case. Fisher was the epitome of class in his time at the Academy.

Sure, some people will be quick to point out two dark spots on his record, both coming within the past two years. In 2004, as the Academy was embroiled in controversy over religious descrimination, DeBerry was asked to remove a banner from the locker room that read, "I am a Christian first and last...I am a member of Team Jesus Christ."

The next season saw the controvery continue as Fisher caught a great deal of flak for saying that Air Force didn't have enough "Afro American" players, that there weren't enough athletes on the team to compete. Probably not the smartest thing to have said publicly, but just look around in the major professional sports (especially the NBA and NFL). Blacks are the minority in the population overall, but are much more prevalent in the highest levels of athletics. DeBerry was not being racist, merely making an observation; one, I might add, that most people that watch sports have probably made at one time or another.

Coach DeBerry represented the Academy with grace, humility, and honesty, and it's that honesty that got him in trouble. Sure, Air Force football has been struggling in recent years, but I think Fisher might have become a victim of his own success. He built the program to heights never seen before, and when the team wasn't living up to the lofty standards that he established, he thought it time to move on.

Fisher DeBerry resigns at a time when he had the third-longest head coaching regime among Division I active coaches, behind only Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. Academy athletic director Hans Meuh hopes to have a replacement named by the holidays. I can only hope that he's half the man Fisher is.

Wisconsin Man Runs Over, Eats Seven-Legged Transgendered Deer

Title pretty much sums it up. Wish I had a picture of this one...

Grandma did not get run over by this reindeer

The Overpoliticization of Christianity

Not sure if "overpoliticization" is a word, but I'll go with it.

Good article here co-authored by the son of Jim Bakker and his ex-wfe Tammy Faye, on none other than CNN.com. Maybe the fact that I'm surprised this article was on CNN means that I'm part of the problem...who knows.

What happened?

It's that time of year

It does not get much better than this:

Hootie says, "You get to veg all day, all the lotto tickets pay, there's a king who wants you to have it your way..."

Sizzling Bacon Action

I am not liberal

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 85% Conservative, 15% Liberal

Social Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Was Princess Diana a threat to national security?

Why does everyone make a huge deal about us wiretapping to catch potential terrorists trying to kill Americans? Look at the "atrocities" that took place under the Clinton administration...

Spy on Di

I guess I'm back

Wow...been a little while since the last post. I guess the deployment de-motivated my blogging drive. Some interesting things have happened since the last post:

--I have only flown one C-17 mission out of the country (it's kinda nice being home for a while).
--The normal feeling of disappointment and despair surrounding my Kentucky football team, which was even more pronounced after the first game loss to Louisville (about when the blog was last updated), has transformed into optimism and hope. The Cats are going to a bowl! Who woulda thunk it?
--Air Force basketball has shown that it can compete with real teams in Division 1, causing me to boldly (and probably foolishly) predict that they will make the Elite Eight this year. I get excited easily.
--I have sat on the scheduling desk four weeks in a row two separate times now. Let me off!
--I have purchased a blue 2002 Chevy Tahoe named Tubby. It's a quality vehicle.

--Probably most important: Christmas is in the air! I always get quite festive around this time of year and for this Christmas, I've taken it up a notch. After the Christmas moose was acquired last year, this year brings with it the spirit of the ice block snowman. He's bringing joy to the neighborhood out on the porch now.

I guess I'll probably post a little more often. As you can see, I've been extremely busy, but we'll try to find some time for "There is Already a Dog Named Stella."