On ageing

An old friend from Tek died a couple of weeks ago. Walt started there about 2 years after me and he and I worked together for the next 16 years. There was a group including Walt and I that played softball (as either team-mates or opponents), went on fishing trips, and bowled together.
Nearly all of the old gang was at the funeral. Most of these guys I hadn't seen since I left Tek in '86 and I found it difficult to recognize my old friends inside their new bodies. Their hair is either gone or really, really grey, most are much heavier, and their faces are wrinkled and jowly.
At first I didn't understand why they didn't recognize me, and then it dawned on me - their eyesight is going too.
God, it must be terrible...
; )

Anniversary Celebration

Thursday was our anniversary and we had decided on a balloon ride to celebrate. The nearest date Jan could get was Friday the 19th and we had to be at the airpark at 5:15 AM so we got a room in Newberg and went over Thursday night. Our beautiful, talented, intelligent, wonderful granddaughter Mackenzie (Kenzie, Kiki) spent the night at our house to take care of her Great-Grandmother. (If I butter her up enough, maybe she'll do it again. Did I lay it on too thick?)

Sadly, the ride was rained out or more accurately, blown out. It was too windy Friday so we'll have to re-schedule.

Instead we went to the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville. It's a really neat place to visit if you like aircraft and I do. Howard Hughes' HK-1 (Spruce Goose) is amazing. If you haven't seen it, you really should.

I don't know how many planes they have inside, but it's a lot. They also have quite a few outside including those like my AF squadron had.

F-102A

T-33

I actually got to fly this one. Of course the real pilot (Capt Charley Stewart) did the take-off and landing and made sure I didn't splatter us all over North Carolina, but I did get to play around with it. Great fun!!

Question of the day

ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.


CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

New terms from the Mesa Invitational

I couldn't resist passing these along:

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered from a real word. Some are terrifically innovative.

Intaxication
Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Reintarnation
Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

Bozone
The substance surrounding stupid people, that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The Bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Cashtration
The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

Giraffiti
Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Sarchasm
The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

Inoculatte
To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis
Terminal coolness

Osteopornosis
A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

Karmageddon
It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

Decafalon
The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you

Glibido
All talk and no action

Dopeler Effect
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Arachnoleptic Fit
The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug
Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Caterpallor
The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

Ignoranus
A person who's both stupid and an asshole.