Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[SoulReflection]

Shadow, my beautiful boy, and wife Carey's baby, left us today. He was 13 years old. That's a long life for a large dog. He was the best friend I have and Mom's baby. He was spoiled, sometimes didn't behave, but he loved us more than we ever would know. He used to come to the porch and watch for me every day when I got back home from work. If I had groceries he would always sniff the bags and block the way until he was done 'inspecting' the bags.

When I had steak every payday he always got half. It was his fee for being a good boy. He would sit real pretty for me and Mom and I would hand over about half the steak to Mom and she'd cut it up just the way he liked it and he'd gobble it down. Then he'd have a bone biscuit for dessert. He knew us so well, and Carey said he always knew the sound of my car when it came home. He would sit up and his ears would lift up and head tilt, then go to the door.

Part of Shadow allowed me to be a little boy again. I have such a splitting headache-- I can't believe I'll go home and he's not going to be there. Carey and I did our share of crying already, and we're probalby going to cry through the weekend. I need to say...

I love you Shadow, you were a good boy, my son, and Mom's baby. We will see you again on the Other Side beyond the Pearly Gates. You'll be young and healthy, smiling to greet us.

Thank you GOF's for listening. Here's Shadow in his favorite park where he and Carey walked twice a day.

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Losing a family member is always tough...I have often felt it would be nicer if they outlived us...sorry for your loss.

 

[Al Kraft]

So sorry for your loss Will. There is something special about animals we bond with, especially dogs, that is hard for some people to understand. I've lost a number of trusted canine companions over the years and it never gets any easier. I'll be thinking about you and Carey. Take heart in knowing that you guys gave Shadow the best life he could have ever asked for and he knew that.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Shadow, my beautiful boy, and wife Carey's baby, left us today.

I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure that a day won’t go by when you won’t think of Shadow. Your best friend is part of you and always will be.

 

[the slug]

Sorry to hear of your loss it does suck

 

[agedhorse]

Sorry Will, those who have never experienced such a bond with an animal will never appreciate this kind of a relationship and the depth of trust that comes with it.

 

[Old P Bass Guy]

Shadow, my beautiful boy, and wife Carey's baby, left us today. He was 13 years old. That's a long life for a large dog. He was the best friend I have and Mom's baby. He was spoiled, sometimes didn't behave, but he loved us more than we ever would know. He used to come to the porch and watch for me every day when I got back home from work. If I had groceries he would always sniff the bags and block the way until he was done 'inspecting' the bags.

When I had steak every payday he always got half. It was his fee for being a good boy. He would sit real pretty for me and Mom and I would hand over about half the steak to Mom and she'd cut it up just the way he liked it and he'd gobble it down. Then he'd have a bone biscuit for dessert. He knew us so well, and Carey said he always knew the sound of my car when it came home. He would sit up and his ears would lift up and head tilt, then go to the door.

Part of Shadow allowed me to be a little boy again. I have such a splitting headache-- I can't believe I'll go home and he's not going to be there. Carey and I did our share of crying already, and we're probalby going to cry through the weekend. I need to say...

I love you Shadow, you were a good boy, my son, and Mom's baby. We will see you again on the Other Side beyond the Pearly Gates. You'll be young and healthy, smiling to greet us.

Thank you GOF's for listening. Here's Shadow in his favorite park where he and Carey walked twice a day.

It's hard to find words to express how we feel when this happens...

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[BassmanPaul]

Ah Will! I too would like to add my condolences. Your story about the bags was just like ours for our Shepherd/Husky mix Bailey. One day we came home with a basket with a bath towel in it. Dorothy said ‘Here you go Bailey, this is for you.' As usual she sniffed it. Then she sniffed it some more. Then she looked up at us with that questioning look we all know so well. Gently she used a paw to move the towel out of the way to reveal ............................... Tia, a Chihuahua puppy. She took that tiny puppy as her own and the two of them were inseparable. They have both gone now but lived long happy lives. We miss all of our lost dogs with a passion and their memories come back often to lift our sagging emotions.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Thank you GOF's for your kind words and comfort. I woke up with one minor consolation. Shadow was no longer suffering. He died of cancer that had spread through his body very quickly. It was so fast just two weeks ago today he had been eating a payday steak with me. He was shrunken down smaller from lack of eating, but he still loved his payday steak, and a dog biscuit aftwards.

He had the best life a dog could have and was cared for the best we could. Now he becomes a permanent part of our hearts and I'm relieved that he's no longer in pain. Again thanks to all for your kind words.

 

[RandM]

Sorry to hear that Will - that's the hardest
part of loving animals.
I'm not looking forward to the next year or two as our Lab is 12 As well.

 

[Spidey2112]

RIP, Shadow... sounds like love was definitely a two way street, between you guys... they give so much and ask for so little...

 

[Old P Bass Guy]

Thank you GOF's for your kind words and comfort. I woke up with one minor consolation. Shadow was no longer suffering. He died of cancer that had spread through his body very quickly. It was so fast just two weeks ago today he had been eating a payday steak with me. He was shrunken down smaller from lack of eating, but he still loved his payday steak, and a dog biscuit aftwards.

He had the best life a dog could have and was cared for the best we could. Now he becomes a permanent part of our hearts and I'm relieved that he's no longer in pain. Again thanks to all for your kind words.

Get another puppy....it heals the heart. I've had to put down three beloved family members since November of 17. I was with each one with my cheek next to theirs when my vet gave the shots. I cried like a baby.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I was walking down a lane the other day and passed by a black lab tied up in a yard. I said good boy as we passed, the dog didn’t respond. I then saw that it was a girl dog. I said good girl. All of a sudden the tail and whole back end were wagging and she let out a few quiet barks and seemed quite happy that we said hello.

My wife and I both broke out laughing. It was a good start to the day.

Animals enrich our lives and make us better people.

 

[BadExample]

4 leggers are God sends. The epitome of unconditional love.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Had a pretty exciting afternoon. Friend called me up and told me there were six V-22 Ospreys fueling up at Sitka Airport! I drove out there and found where they were hanging out. Got to talking to them, they're based out of San Diego. Those planes are HUGE! Man, when they took off they were intimidating sounding AND looking. The guys were as nice as could be. I took some pictures of the plane and got to go into a restricted area close up.

It's no wonder when America sends in a task force why the enemy is shaking in their boots. Man, I'd hate to have those things coming at me! Not to mention the F /A 18 Super hornets!

Here's a generic pic. When I email from my iPhone I'll post some pics I did today.

 

[Al Kraft]

Had a pretty exciting afternoon. Friend called me up and told me there were six V-22 Ospreys fueling up at Sitka Airport! I drove out there and found where they were hanging out. Got to talking to them, they're based out of San Diego. Those planes are HUGE! Man, when they took off they were intimidating sounding AND looking. The guys were as nice as could be. I took some pictures of the plane and got to go into a restricted area close up.

It's no wonder when America sends in a task force why the enemy is shaking in their boots. Man, I'd hate to have those things coming at me! Not to mention the F /A 18 Super hornets!

Here's a generic pic. When I email from my iPhone I'll post some pics I did today.

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It took many decades to get that design fully sorted out so that it could be a viable platform for daily use in forward deployed environments. The combination of helicopter flexibility with fixed wing speeds make them quite a useful asset. As you can imagine there were a lot tricky design aspects in terms of aero-performance and mechanical complexity that made this weapon system quite challenge. They are cool to watch and much more nimble/graceful in flight than you might imagine when you see them on the ground.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

It took many decades to get that design fully sorted out so that it could be a viable platform for daily use in forward deployed environments. The combination of helicopter flexibility with fixed wing speeds make them quite useful asset. As you can imagine there were a lot tricky designs aspects in terms of aero-performance and mechanical complexity that made this weapon system quite challenge. They are cool to watch and much more nimble/graceful in flight than you might imagine when you see them on the ground.

@Al Kraft I started following the V-22's almost two decades ago -- I was really captivated by the concept. There was a lot of tragedy in the beginning. Lots of civilian and military personnel lost their lives perfecting the design. Congress nearly killed the program. But now I believe the military finds the V-22 stable and uses it constantly for transport of troops, supplies and wounded. I didn't realize how big they were until I was able to get up close to one of them. And you're right, they looked very graceful and nimble watching six of them take off minutes apart. Embarrassed to say, but watching them take off gave me goosebumps. Pretty proud of our military, and the young people keeping us safe.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

On the other hand, in the continuing drama of the actual "readiness" of our trillion dollar F-35's here's a comment I found today about a recent testing of the F-35's "combat readiness."

"Where does the 70% readiness rate for the F-35B come from? When six aircraft were on board the USS Wasp for twelve days earlier this year, they were available for flights only half of the time needed, according to the Defense Department’s director of operational testing, Michael Gilmore. In his assessment submitted to Frank Kendall dated July 22, he documented that “shipboard reliability” and maintenance “were likely to present significant near-term challenges.”

He drew attention to the fact that “Marine maintainers had rapid and ready access to spare parts from shore” and “received significant assistance” from Lockheed and subcontractor personnel. Even with these operationally unrealistic advantages, “aircraft reliability was poor enough that it was difficult for the Marines to keep more than two or three of the six embarked jets in a flyable status on any given day.” The challenges to keeping the aircraft flying “will be substantially tougher when the aircraft first deploys” on an operational mission, with Gilmore's view that a readiness rate of 80 percent would be needed to support a six-aircraft unit for combat operations. To massage the Marines' figures further, when the maintainers couldn't resolve a warning light issue on one aircraft, they cheated by swapping it out with a seventh aircraft."

 

[Al Kraft]

On the other hand, in the continuing drama of the actual "readiness" of our trillion dollar F-35's here's a comment I found today about a recent testing of the F-35's "combat readiness."

"Where does the 70% readiness rate for the F-35B come from? When six aircraft were on board the USS Wasp for twelve days earlier this year, they were available for flights only half of the time needed, according to the Defense Department’s director of operational testing, Michael Gilmore. In his assessment submitted to Frank Kendall dated July 22, he documented that “shipboard reliability” and maintenance “were likely to present significant near-term challenges.”

He drew attention to the fact that “Marine maintainers had rapid and ready access to spare parts from shore” and “received significant assistance” from Lockheed and subcontractor personnel. Even with these operationally unrealistic advantages, “aircraft reliability was poor enough that it was difficult for the Marines to keep more than two or three of the six embarked jets in a flyable status on any given day.” The challenges to keeping the aircraft flying “will be substantially tougher when the aircraft first deploys” on an operational mission, with Gilmore's view that a readiness rate of 80 percent would be needed to support a six-aircraft unit for combat operations. To massage the Marines' figures further, when the maintainers couldn't resolve a warning light issue on one aircraft, they cheated by swapping it out with a seventh aircraft."

Having been in this business for over 40 years now I can assure you that every advanced weapon system always has its initial growing pains and that the operational testers are brutal on them (as they should be) to be sure the product quickly matures. Anyone who recalls the Harrier's (AV-8) initial days and the Marine Corps transition from the Skyhawk (A-4) to the Hornet (F/A-18), if they're 100% honest, will have more than a few horror stories.

The technologies in the F-35 are incredibly advanced and would be challenging to maintain in a benign land land based environment (like a museum or laboratory) IMO. However, we will find the answers in time. What is important to remember is that we have to push the envelope in order to give the war-fighters the decisive edge they need to fight, win, and return home safely.

I would argue that one of the most challenging aspects of design is ensuring that the capability you provide to operating forces can be successfully supported in the deployed/operational environment. We spend decades in designing and testing the technology, but it's only at the end of all that time that we get to do real world testing. All the maintenance and logistics planning in the world can only mitigate some of the real word problems you'll face in the field.

Naturally it's going to take a few months or years to discover the problems which development tests missed or that are attributable latent design issues that only surface in repeated daily use under austere conditions. I am very comfortable that the F-35 will eventually turn out to be as much of a world class, high value asset as the aircraft that have come before it and had the same (or in some cases worse) growing pains. I've been part of this process many times, and it's never pretty!

Creating and maintaining a decisive edge in military power is not a job for those who expect everything to go perfectly all the time. In simpler terms, even Toyota, Subaru and Rolls Royce dealerships have service departments that are rarely empty. Further, those companies sometimes even need to issue serious recalls on mainstream products that leave us all wondering how someone could have missed that in design and/or testing. None of our technologies today are 100% trouble-free. Given all the countries participating in and planning to operate the F-35, I think it's simply a matter of time before many of these issues get sorted out, as they have with all the aircraft that have come before.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Also noteworthy is the B52...designed in the late 40s...destined to be in the air over 100 yrs after original concept date...the 1955 U2 is still flying (both with modifications of course). Militaries across the globe are investing in propeller driven close combat aircraft again.

And returning for a brief moment to music, the gold standards for recording mics are the yet-to-be-improved U47 (late 40s) and RCA 44DX from the mid 30s...

Go figure

 

[beans-on-toast]

Neumann recently reissued the U67. $7K and they are selling well (Invalid Link Removed). A local studio opened up a session to demo the mic. I thought that they sounded very good.

I like the Telefunken reissue U48. At 9K the price is getting up there (Telefunken Elektroakustik U47 - Vintage King Pro Audio Outfitter).


I wouldn’t mind an AEA R-44 series reproduction (Invalid Link Removed). But it would have to be used with a reissue RCA OP-6 (Retro Instruments: OP-6 Portable Amplifier, and OP-6 price).

It’s amazing how they got these mics and amps right so many years ago.