JS

When we were at the Died earlier this year (Jan/Feb) they were still doing the SDP there. Not sure if they were supposed to be doing it, after reading this thread, but I will be pretty pissed if the government comes after me for the measly $300 I made from it.

Just curious if anyone has any other good poop on short term furnished places to rent at the Rock. I will be up there for about a month and was going to bring the family, but Diane said she only had a 1-bedroom, and it was pretty far away. I had friends at the Links in Sherwood last time I was here, but I have heard horror stories since then. Thanks.

Hey, Not sure if you know, but the wing down there at Keesler has two squadrons - a slick unit and the Hurricane Hunters. The slick unit is scheduled to close this fall as part of the Reserve Command ass-foonery realignment process that these fucks are doing. That being said, most of the slick guys are going to flow to the Hurricane Hunters, causing them to be overmanned by X percent. That overmanning has a two-year time limit, from what I hear, in order to accommodate the displaced tac guys. Long story short, they likely won't be hiring off the street anytime soon (unless you get in before the closure/unit merge - not sure about that one) due to this mess that AFRC has generated. PM if you want more details or a contact down there.

Oh, missed that part. Makes sense now.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't $300/checkride a steal with regards to getting an FAA checkride from a designated examiner pilot? Back like 15 years ago, I paid $250 per checkride for my private and my instrument. I thought the standard was like $350 per checkride now.

Yeah, I was going to comment on the same thing. I have friends in the power company, and I know that power companies, when they trade power with each other, charge different rates depending on which part of the country is hotter or sucking up more electricity for whatever reason. I never saw it on my bill, but I thought I remember hearing that power in the hotter summer months in the South, during the day, was indeed more expensive than during periods of less demand such as at night or in the winter. I know the pricing is different with our water. The first X number of cubic meters costs so much, then going over that costs more per cubic meter - especially in the summer or during periods of drought. I would also say that the quality of the power you get varies, just like the speed of your internet does. Some areas are more prone to outages due to outdated infrastructure, etc. While other areas would do the rolling brownout thing like they did a few years back. So I would say that internet is indeed a utility, with similar traits to water and electricity in terms of varying quality and cost. And I don't think it should be monopolized by a few big providers across the country, lest we see spikes in the price and decreases in the quality, just like with everything else that the government tries to "fix."

Yeah, it was pretty chill when we were there earlier this year. In the CC area, wear whatever the fuck you want, wherever the fuck you want. Mixed combos of PT gear and civilian clothing is allowed (I think this is allowed stateside per the parent reg, correct???) Most guys wore the AF fleece around when cold, and lots of guys had the AF PT shirt on with civilian workout shorts. The only trace of the old Died assclownery I witnessed in four months was a guy politely asked to remove his headphones while sitting in the chow hall. Not sure why, but that is a rule there. So basically don't wear sweaty clothes in the chow hall, or have headphones on in the chowhall, and you should be good. No reflective belts are needed in the CC either. In the Ops Town areas, you need to be in some kind of uniform - PT or work uniform. So if you might work staff, you should bring a few sets of PT gear. We were allowed to work in the office in PT gear, and it was always good to have it handy if you planned on working out or getting your mail from Ops Town. You can also work out in ABUs in Ops Town. You need the disco belt down there, but again, I went an entire deployment without strapping the thing on a single time - both in CC and in Ops Town. Things have changed there - for the better.

I thought i remember reading it somewhere, but can find it - what are the rules on over the counter herbal things like ginko, garcinia cambogia, melatonin, etc.??

Good post and good summary of the difference between the ART/technicians taxable money vs all the benefits of AD pay. We were talking the other day, and we guestimated that you would have to make $130K or more in a straight civilian job to make what an active duty O-4 pulls in most of the country. Isn't an instructor pilot on the GS scale usually a GS-13 as opposed to a GS-12? Also, I think the operational units have some kind of percentage bump in their pay because they are aircrew. Something like 10 or 20%. Either way, the GS-13 major IP in the unit is getting killed, pay wise, by the active duty captains.

Yeah, you really have to go in there armed with the outside civilian price on things like electronics, shoes, and other big ticket items. Hit or miss if they are cheapest. Overseas Exchanges are still a usually good deal compared to the local economy, especially if you need some "American" stuff, like snacks with at least 45 different ingredients in them, etc.

Here's to being a warrior, Vietnam vet, and author of a kick ass book. Here's to being the founding father of "Denton Cargo," which has created many a good trip for a good cause over the years. And finally, here's for being from and serving Alabama. Roll Tide and Godspeed sir.

Why the hell are you paying the FSDO anything? I thought our tax dollars did that. I left the FSDO with my MEI, CFII and two type ratings as well, but it didn't cost me anything. Are you talking about taking the MCI test? If you are near the right AF base, you can get that for free as well (or actually use the GI Bill for reimbursement). It really should be free unless you have to take a flight test (single engine if you are a multi engine mil guy, for example).

Very sad.

I have heard that, so I am giving it a try. Two are stashed away to be used after the first snow of the next winter season. I read the same thing about Chimay Grande Reserve - about how they get better with age and should be stored upright to keep the extra yeast on the bottom. They even print the bottling date on the cork of the blue Chimay's, which is kind of cool. So I have three of the big Chimay blue's stashed away for next winter as well. Has anyone every actually aged these dark ales for a year or so and definitively noticed an improvement in taste and flavor?? So I came across this gem at the local Costco today for only $17, which is a pretty kick ass deal It's a limited edition package of four 22 oz bottles of Stone: Arrogant Bastard Ale Imperial Russian Stout IPA Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale I have had the IPA, DIPA, and one or two others from Stone and have been generally impressed. Can't wait to try these. I think $17 is a steal, because at the supermarket next door, they had the 22oz Imperial Stout going for almost $10, and the Self-Righteous for about $8 I think. Plus the Costco here also has the big bottles of Chimay Blue for only $10. Their prices are unbeatable.

Yeah, so was ours, now that I think about it, because I think that is how the reg was written that leave begins and ends in the local area. Everyone still ended their tours at home. I think the idiocracy of guys from the unit potentially having to drive from as far as 8 hours away to get back to base to end their leave, only to turn around and drive 8 hours back home was actually overshadowed by practicality. Can you see the reg watcher shoe clerk's face when, after driving 8 hours to "end your leave in the local area," you ask for another manday to drive back home, along with the accrued leave that said manday would incur, because you drove more than 400 miles and are entitled to another day according to JFTR para U3005???

Yeah, he did. So Liquid, what did you decide to say in the speech to UPT grads back then? Can we get a copy of the transcript?

Terminal leave. End the leave at home or wherever. At least that's the way I always did it, and that's how I showed it on my travel voucher (ending at home as opposed to the local area where the leave began).

Great point. Learn about the law of unintended consequences and how all these shitty ideas are making it increasingly difficult to get our jobs done. Ditto this too. Management by Q-3 is cowardly and despicable leadership. The flight evaluation folders should be held sacred and taken care of just like our people. Ruining someone's permanent flight record should be akin to ruining someone's permanent personnel record due to some willful and egregious act, not just management by Q-3.

What is the mission of the new 913th going to be with J-models? Schoolhouse or real world?

Finally got to try the Founders Imperial Stout. I have been looking for it ever since I first heard about it on beer advocate, but there finally appeared a few 4-packs at the local grocery store. Overall, it was pretty good, if you are into the double stout thing. It poured like motor oil, and I got a tiny drop from the bottle on my hand. That drop slowly rolled down, leaving a trail of brown smudge on my hand. Pretty thick stuff. It had a good taste, but nothing super special really stood out to me (maybe imperial stouts are not totally my thing). It tasted a lot like Rasputin Imperial Stout. Still worth a shot if you can get it and put one down on a frigid winter night in front of the fire or something. I definitely will want to finish the other three before the warm weather starts.

Freaking awesome pic. I especially love the old 48-state American flag hanging. Cool piece of history.

The prep rides are actually pretty spot on to what the practical ride looks like. Lots of yanking that engine back on takeoff roll, right after liftoff, and right before intercepting the localizer. Just keep control of the plane after rotation and don't blow through the localizer after he pulls the engine, like I almost did. The examiner also gave me random holding that I had to do manually because I don't think I was allowed to use the Garmin 1000 for it, nor to I think I would have been able to figure out how to use the 1000 anyway. Carl hadn't prepared me for that, but I was able to get through it after I verbalized the entry method and the examiner corrected me, because I had the course/holding direction reversed in my head. Ha. During the ground eval, he asked most of the main stuff on the study sheet about the plane - tell me about the engines, how does carb heat work in this plane, fuel capacity and range, etc. So study the handouts that Carl gives you pretty closely.

He also has another facility that he uses when he has more than one student. A friend did the ATP there recently and stayed at the offsite location. I stayed in his house when I went, and it was not a bad deal. His house is huge - he makes billions from his ATP program (ha ha) and his wife is a very successful financial planner. So you have the entire upstairs to yourself, which is the hallway, two bedrooms I think, and the bathroom. Plus he does breakfast, coffee, and juice for you in the morning. Oh, his "hotel" also has a free managers special after flying, where you can sit with him in his man cave, drink his scotch/bourbon, smoke a cigar with him, and talk about the good old days of fighter piloting around. Overall, not a bad deal as far as lodging goes. And the price is right.

Sphere test? Can you elaborate more?

Found a flick on CinemaNow the other day that I never heard of. It was called Parkland, and was about some of the behind the scenes and lesser known events surrounding the JFK assassination. The cast was actually decent - Billy Bob Thorton, Paul Giamatti, Tom Hanks' son. Basically, they sort of follow the lives of 4 people - the ER doctor at Parkland who first received both JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald, a Dallas FBI agent, Oswald's brother, and Abraham Zupruder. Most of the stuff I knew, but it was interesting seeing some of the finer details played out on the silver screen. For example, they showed where they had LBJ holed up in a windowless room at Parkland, surrounded by secret service guys with M-16s drawn, until they got a better idea of what was and was not happening in terms of a broader act of war. They also talked about how they had to hustle and remove several seats and cut through the bulkhead by the door of Air Force One in order to make room for the casket. And this was after there was almost a fist fight between the secret service and the local coroner about the requirement of the body to remain in Dallas like all other local homicides. Anyway, it got mediocre reviews, but if you are even a slight history/JFK buff, it would be worth the time to check this one out. http://www.fandango.com/movie-trailer/parkland-trailer/166452