Glamour Shots.....twisted

so......Hahn and I are tossing around ideas of the kind of company we'd LIKE to run or work for, since we are both unemployed, and we run through a few ideas.

Then, all of a sudden, it hits us. Combine the forces of a few of our friends and we could have a kickass business.

Tech Glamour Shots.

Twisted, right?
You're feeling me on this, I know it.

Grab onto this for a second, here's the basic pitch:

You love your car, we all know you do.

But you COULD love it a little bit more.

Maybe some new paint, buff out those scratches and dents, maybe tweak the engine and tranny just a bit.

Add professional quality photographs of your baby, maybe with optional models and/or yourself against any of a number of backdrops in our garage (like the Nurburgring, Top Gear Test Track, ect) and Bazinga, you are the talk of your social circle.

Hell, we'll even make the placards if your car is carshow-worthy (Which we can help you with)

Kickass website for your beloved tech,....yeah, we can do that ish too, right Jye, Hasani, Matt?

Maybe I can get some of my model friends to help out too. Whadaya think, Missy?

Hmmm.........

I am an admitted Racist.

To paraphrase En Vougue "Racism, wrote a blog about it, wanna read it, here it goes"

I'm admittedly a racist. I can't stand certain races, with few exceptions.

I would much rather watch anything at the Nurburgring than an allstar race at Charlotte.
Mid-Ohio does more for me than Bristol ever will.
LeMans kicks Daytona's ass any day of the week, and TWICE on Sunday.
There is, however, one exception. Indianapolis. But only on Memorial day. Couldn't give two shits about the NASCAR race there. I DO Miss seeing the F1 boys rip around the long course at Indy, though.

What were YOU thinking?
You were thinking racism about people?
Grow up. There is only ONE race. The Human Race.
I grew up as a military brat, I met more different kinds of people by the time I was ten and spoke more languages than most Americans ever do, so I know of that which I speak. Unless you live in NYC, possibly, where you meet a lot of people for half a second. I think everyone should grow up as a military brat. You'll realize real fast that disliking a person because of their nationality is about as dumb as disliking them for the color of shirt they wear. Take that gangbangers. People are people. You get your class acts and then you get the 80-95% Douche population. Look at everyone you've ever met. You know I'm right. Racism about people is manufactured and stupid. So that's enough about that then.

Let's get back to REAL Racism.

Road and Street courses are just better than ovals. You know it in your heart.
'cause, let's face it, watching cars whip around in a circle for four hours is boring as hell and requires little skill from the drivers.
Ok, in top gear, keep foot on gas, keep turning left, don't hit other cars or wall.
Check.
Que naptime for watchers.
I know. I ran track. Rather well, too.
But always preferred Cross Country. Which I didn't suck at either.
At least there, like in road and street courses, you get variation.

I look at it this way. Oval racing HAD to be invented in Florida, even if it historically wasn't.
Why, you ask?

When you're on an oval everything is set for simplicity. There is no change in elevation, you only remember to have to turn one way, if the rain or snow comes you freak out and don't know what to do and just CAN'T drive in it, and you are fine until you get near traffic, where stupid shit seems to happen when you try to pass people.

Sounds like I-75, doesn't it?
Let's face it, like 95% of drivers in Florida, race drivers that run solely on Ovals aren't Drivers at are.
They're operators. They can use a car, but only in certain conditions.
Drive down I-4 ONCE in the rain, and you'll think I'm a messiah.

Road and Street courses though, ah......those are for the people who actually know how to DRIVE.
Who like to learn what the limits of their car are, and enjoy the challenges of driving with OTHER people who know how.
Rain? I've got tires for that. Might even slow me down five miles an hour. Maybe.
Oh, a hill....think I'll shift to a lower gear, crest it, speed up on the downhill, and see if I can outbreak that guy in the GT3 ahead of me.
Oh dear. A right turn. Then a left. ANOTHER right. Oh, wait. My steering wheel goes in both directions, I'm fine.
Wow....tunnels, hairpins, sand traps, chicanes (Or Milka Duno, depending on the series), turns both ways, hills, weather, and racing with headlights if it gets dark.
Damn, what were the organizers thinking??? That sounds like...........driving. Can't have that.
I admit it. I'm a Racist. I prefer races that involve skill over luck of someone not wiping me out because they forgot to turn into the corner. To the left.

If you are a person who really DRIVES their car (No automatic transmission, back up camera, cruise control, proximity alert, automatic parking) would you rather drive five times around Daytona or Nurburg?

Right.
No choice there. Especially if I get to choose the car and get free airfare.

Moving To Mexico

This is so damned true I couldn't help but steal it.
Some may think it racist, because they hide a lot of things behind that word these days, but if you read it, and know ANYTHING about the illegal immigrant situation in America, you'll know that all this is is a representation of the truth.
And if this in any way pisses you off.......GOOD! It should. In fact, you should write your Congressmen and get this shit stopped.
Again, Only the above did I write. I wish I had written the below, but John got there first:

I'm moving the family to Mexico. I wrote to the White House:

Dear Mr. President Obama:

I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.

We're planning to simply walk across the border from the UP.SO. into Mexico and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements. We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way down?

Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.

4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.

5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.

7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services and be able to vote.

9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico, but, I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put U S. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.

13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say a critical thing about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.

14. I want to receive free food stamps.

15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.

16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.

17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $ 4,500 to help me buy a new car.

18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who come to the U.S. from Mexico.

I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

Thank you so much for your kind help. You're the man, Mr. 'Hope and Change'.

Ramble Time.....some things age a man

Some days, like today, I start to feel my age.

Sorry, Catrina, you're right...it has NOTHING to do with our age ;)

I hit the batting cages today, like I do at least once a week, and took 100 pitches each way. Yes, I am ambidextrous and can hit left or right. Because of the heat and humidity in Florida this time of year, I was well sheeted by the time I got done. I had that nice glowing soreness you get from a good workout.....until I drove home.
Getting out of my truck, my whole lower back twinged, sending a shooting pain right up my spine. Oh, right...I'm not 16 anymore and can't just work out for two hours, then wedge my tall ass into my truck and expect there not to be side effects.
(For those that follow this blog and have never met me, I'm the same size but opposite shape of Michael Phelps. I'm 6'3", 210lbs, with the legs of a guy 6'8" tall and the torso of a 5'7" person. All legs, that's me. Oh...and Monkey arms. I have a 30 inch waist and 37 inch inseam with size 15 wide feet. But I can easily wear a medium t-shirt. Now you have an idea of what someone who is all legs looks like driving a 1998 S10. I CAN easily drive with my knees, should I feel the need.)
And, unfortunately, I haven't always been nice to my body. I've always been active, intramural football, basketball, track, mountain biking, soccer, and rugby all took their toll on me in younger years. And it's said that people with longer limbs have more issues as they age.
That and my physical recovery from the nearly two months of inactivity after my surgery in December is a lot slower than it would once have been.

I used to spend my off days hanging out with friends, but that was before I moved to Florida and before the military scattered us to the four winds. These days, Steve is my geographically closest friend, and he's all the way over in Orlando, so we don't tend to see each other as often as we'd like. That being said, whenever I go on vacation, in whatever state (And quite a few countries) I might decide to visit, I always have a friend there. I'm one of those people who travels more to see people than places. Though there is no doubt I tend to photograph the hell out of the places I end up at with those people. Ask Jye, Perry, or Nellie about that, lol.

Speaking of friends, was talking to a couple of my friends over the phone about the last nine months of being unemployed, and some of the side effects thereof. Not that I ever had the most robust dating life to begin with, but it has completely dried up lately.

I was never one to be dating all that frequently, mainly because I am extremely blunt, upfront, and honest with everyone, and, sorry ladies, but though you SAY you want a guy to be honest with you, very very few of you really do. And I don't play games. If I like you, I lay it out there and let you know. Ask any of my friends, they all know and can tell you stories! Since unemployment however, my honesty and bluntness have worked against me even more than ever. Never a big one for trying lines on women, I just KNOW that walking up to someone and going, "Hey I think you're amazing. You like unemployed single men in their mid thirties who have had to move back in with their parents??"

I know, HOTT, right? How am I not beating them off with a stick?

Though, that last statement, honestly, is probably WHY I ever got dates in the first place. I've always had a HUGE sense of humour and can make anyone laugh......even when they are having the worst day of their life. As Steve has said on more than one occasion when having a shit day...."Make me laugh, bitch." And I do. Every time.

Unemployment itsel, troo, is starting to weigh on my mind a lot. The first three or four months was fun, as I finally got to catch up on my reading and re-adjust to a normal sleep schedule. Now, after more than 300 applications and probably a dozen interviews, I'm starting to get worried about the possibility of getting a job that pays enough not to starve on.

So with all these things, the unemployment, my body slowing down, the being single and separated from my friends....combine them and, on occasion, I really start to feel my age.....even if I tend to refuse to act it. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not depressed, in fact, I'm as happy as I have been in quite some time, I'm just....wishing I were younger and less introspective about things all the time lately.

Oh...look....that thing's shiny and has a lot of lights....I'll be back......

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!!!

Update, hey gang from flugzeugforum.de, you might enjoy this one too! Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim

hey Bande von flugzeugforum.de, können Sie diese auch genießen kann! Flugwerft Schleißheim Deutsches Museum

As anyone who has even a passing acquaintance with me knows, I love aircraft. Always have. Matt and I used to devour the old Soviet Military Power journals the DOD used to put out. What many of you may NOT know is, as a child of the Cold War (I know, the younger readers are all, what's THAT??), I was interested in learning about Russian culture, as well. Enough so that I am fluent in Russian and minored in Russian history in addition to my Aviation minor. So, it should come as no surprise that I love Russian Military Aviation. And have spent some of the last few years photographing a bunch of different MiG types. Enjoy my Mikoyan-Gurevich Photoblog ;)

MiG-15bis Fagot at the National Museum of the USAF

MiG-15UTI Midget at Evergreen Air and Space Museum

MiG-15UTI Midget at the TICO airshow

MiG-15 in storage at Fantasy of Flight

The next version of MiG was the MiG-17. This Fresco is at the NMUSAF

Mig-17F Fresco-C at the Tillamook Air Museum. Actually the Polish PZL-Mielec LIM-6 version.

MiG-17A Fresco at the Evergreen Air Museum

MiG-19S Farmer at the NMUSAF

The next Mig is probably the most plentiful on display in the United States, the MiG-21 Fishbed

This one is at the Strategic Air and Space Museum

A MiG-21F Fishbed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center

MiG-21bis Fishbed at Sun N Fun

MiG-21F at the NMUSAF

another MiG-21 at the NMUSAF, in restoration

This MiG-21MF Fishbed-J was chilling at the Evergreen Museum

MiG-21U Mongol-A trainer at the TICO airshow

the variable geometry (Swing Wing) MiG-23MLD Flogger at the NMUSAF (At theat time just the AF Museum) in 1999.

She hasn't had the best ten years since, and is now in the Restoration hangar.

This next one, you may have read about. This Mig-25RB Foxbat was buried by the Iraqis in the desert in Desert Storm. The USAF unearthed it at Taqaddum Airbase, Iraq on 29 February 2004, and is restoring it at the NMUSAF. This Mach 3+ interceptor was built to catch the AF's XB-70 that never went into production.

This is the ONLY MiG-25 on display in the USA.

Next up is the MiG-29 Fulcrum, which many experts say is better thn the F/A-18 and MUCH better than the F-16. This Fulcrum-A is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Her sister ship, a Fulcrum-C, is on display at the Evergreen air and Space Museum. She looks good wet, no?

Hope you enjoyed the show. ;)