Drag Racing . . .

. . . seems to be uniquely American, although it seems to be spreading to the UK and to Australia. I use do do it a bit myself in this car, which I built myself.

The car burned pure methanol and generated something over 750 horspower. It was a matter of strap your butt into the seat, hit the loud pedal, and hang on for a little less than 9 seconds. Then, at about 175 mph (which is a bit over 281 kph), put it in neutral, hit the kill switch, and pop the parachute.

It's not without risk, though. Having sat in the seat - albeit at a much slower speed - I really understand the tragedy of this:

The driver was Scott Kalitta, 46 years old, and a 2nd generation drag racing veteran. He was the son of Connie Kalitta, one of the early pioneers of of the sport, and the one-time mentor of Shirley Muldowney (Heart Like a Wheel).

This was undoubtedly the worst accident I've seen in almost 50 years of watching and participating in drag racing. The fire en-route was undoubtedly from spilled oil. The huge explosion at the end was due to the load of nitromethane fuel on board. Seems to me that it's short-sighted of the raceway to put a concrete wall at the end of the shut-down area.

Speaking of fly-overs . . .

. . . this one really got to me, since I saw it in person as I was driving by NAS Oceana. In 2006, the Navy retired all of their F-14 Tomcats. The video shows them coming home from the carrier after their last deployment.

Please don't misinterpret. This is just a salute to the folks I work with every day, not a war commentary. I will add, however, that while I don't disagree with taking Saddam off the planet, I do agree that Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et. al. magnificantly cocked up everything the military accomplished.

Call me an old softie . . .

. . . but fly-overs during the National Anthem still bring a tear to my eye.

At the NASCAR race in Sonoma, CA today, the fly-over was was a flight of A-10 Warthogs from the Arkansas National Guard. This video is not from Sonoma, but the fly-over is virtually identical.

I suppose they had to come from Arkansas because of the general anti-military attidude that many cities in California seem to embrace.

Well, THANKS, Arkansas! Oh . . . and F*** you, California.

George Carlin had a great line about California: "What ain't fruits and nuts is flakes."

Can I have an "Amen?"

Brits we like . . .

. . . and some not so much.

She . . .

. . . may have been bitten by . . .

They say nostalgia . . .

. . . isn't what it used to be.

I disagree. How can one forget the wonder and excitement on the face of a tiny blogger at something so simple as a little doll?

Or, that there are things that we used to be able to do that we would have a hard time doing today?

Or, that those people who were supposed to be around forever . . . are not?

Eat and run . . .

It seems that Mrs B has become the head duck of our flock. They wander up every day and wait for her to hand out the leftover bread. Except, it's not leftover any more. She's buying a loaf or two of the generic cheapo bread every week to help stuff the ducks . . . as it were.

I'm reminded that "TLK" used to call them "ducklies." Yep, that "TLK."