Our independence was bought and paid for with lives and lead. Independence is insured by the Bill of Rights and, in our opinion, the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
Michael Jackson’s memorial to be opening act for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus – literally! Plus, there will be a $25 cover charge to sit in the stands at Staples Center for the Whacko-Jacko memorial!
Fans who wish to attend Michael Jackson’s star-studded memorial service at Staples Center will have to shell out $25 to sit in the stands, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
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The service will be held between 10am PST and Noon PST… with the scheduled Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus on standby, literally.
The parade of elephants, held as circus performers arrive in town is scheduled to take place immediately following the service.
I tried to refrain from commenting on the untimely death of the famous entertainer, but the sheer irony of this made me do it.
After 68 years on the job, 88 year old Jerry Huben is calling it quits. During his career in aircraft engineering, Jerry contributed to the effort in every war since WW2. In doing so, he is just as heroic as many that were on the front lines.
Just like “Rosie the Riveter,” folks like Jerry got us through some pretty tough times and kept us safe and free. God bless him in retirement.
Image: Jerry Huben.
From the Daily Breeze:
Huben’s career at Northrop gave him an intimate view of the aerospace industry from the days when it was dominated by propeller-driven aircraft to the current age of stealthy flying wings.
After receiving a one-year certificate in engineering, Huben took a riveting job with what was then called Northrop Aircraft Co. in Hawthorne. That was Nov. 10, 1941, two years after Jack Northrop founded the business.
Huben was 20 years old.
He had wanted to work as an engineer, but Northrop didn’t have many engineering openings, he recalled.
About three weeks later, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor changed America and the direction of Huben’s career.
He transferred to Northrop’s engineering department as the nation’s aerospace industry kicked into high gear.
“After that, things really took off,” Huben said. “The company was running round the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In engineering, we worked 10 hours a day, six days a week.”
Huben said a hearing impairment kept him out of the war.
America’s involvement in World War II also motivated Huben in his job.
“I felt compelled very much to give it (my) all and follow my imagination and dedication to helping the war (effort),” he said.
Among the planes Huben worked on were the P-61 Black Widow, T-38 Talon, F/A-18 Hornet and B-2 Spirit, which is a flying wing virtually invisible to radar.
This is what we get for letting the inmates run the asylum . . .
Find Global Warming and Climate Change resources HERE.
Especially read how the Sun works and about how sunspots affect global temperatures.
According to Mr. Completely, you should “Get Your Registration and Reservations in ASAP.” They have blocked out rooms for Wednesday the 9th, through Sunday the 13th. Damsel and I have already made our hotel reservations and continue to plan the trip. We’re going to drive from the Los Angeles area and plan to make some touristy stops going and coming.
As for the GBR-IV event, we’re looking forward to meeting other attendees, participating in the events and activities, and, of course, winning one or more of the door prize drawings. Ride Fast and Shoot Straight has a rundown on some of the events and prizes.
A quick update to getting a Nevada CCW permit: We won’t have enough time to get through all the hoops required for a permit – however, we think that open carry may be do-able. I’ll continue to do the research, but this is on the OpenCarry.org website:
Nevada is a traditional open carry state with complete state preemption of firearms laws. However, Clark County (Las Vegas) is grandfathered so as to continue a “Deadly Weapons” registration scheme. Fortunately, Nevada law exempts travelers to and through Nevada from these registration requirements for 60 days.
Open carry seems to be allowed in vehicles and on one’s person as long as the weapon is visible. We’ll continue to evaluate this option.
This may put a crimp in our plans to go to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous at the Silver Legacy Hotel (image) in Reno September 10,11,12 . . .
According the the NRA-ILA, Utah and Florida CCW permits will not be honored after July 1, 2009 in the state of Nevada.
Effective, July 1, Nevada will no longer recognize Right-to-Carry permits from Utah or Florida.
. . .
The Nevada DPS dropped Utah because it does not have a live fire requirement, which is a part of Nevada’s training requirements. When the Nevada DPS first began its state by state audit of Right-to-Carry laws in 2007, DPS admitted to NRA representatives that they overlooked the live fire training requirement. After further review, they determined that Utah wasn’t similar enough to keep it on the list of recognized states.
Florida will no longer be recognized because its permits are now valid for seven years instead of five.
The USA Carry website says that Nevada is a shall issue state for residents and non-residents with a list of steps to qualify:
Step 1. Meet Requirements
Step 2. Obtain Firearm Training (Usually a course specifically for CCW Permits)
Step 3. Qualify with the weapon or weapons you are adding to the permit.
Step 4. Get Documentation and Payment ready
Step 5. Go to your local CCW office (insert correct wording) and begin the last step of submitting your application. They will also take your fingerprints and take your picture.
Step 6. Wait! Now the paperwork starts. They do a background check, process everything, and then mail your CCW Permit to you in the mail.Application Fees:
New Permits: $105.00
Renewal: $70.00
Duplicate or change: $25.00
Step number 6 – Wait! – worries me since there are less than 75 days until the Rendezvous. I plan to do some groundwork to see if it’s feasible to get a permit in the time remaining. The trade off is whether it’s worth the $105 application fee (X2 for us) plus Nevada CCW training class and qualification shooting ($???) to get a permit for a state where we seldom travel and that has limited reciprocity at that.
Friday, we visited the South Coast Botanic Gardens. The garden management recently added a water feature with a koi stocked pond and a small waterfall. Some of the Ruby Meadowhawk dragonflies (sympetrum rubicundulum) have adopted the pond and spawn their aquatic nymph larvae in the pond. One dragonfly lighted on a lily by the pond seen just to the left of the center of this image. Click image to enlarge.
Click here for a close-up of a ruby meadowhawk dragonfly.