(This is a 1979 encounter between one of our VF-151 F4J Phantom jets with one of the Soviet four-engine heavy bombers. It was part of an otherwise busy military day at sea in the either the North Pacific or Sea of Japan, we forget which. We liked this one, taken by another squadron crew stepped […]

We took Valentines Day a little easy this season. I procured red roses a week or so ago, and a quite delightful new ceramic vase suitable for attractive term coffee storage has appeared. So, external holidy aspects are complete, and it seems appropriate to concentrate on the essence of the day itself. It is busy, […]

We understand there are no holidays until tomorrow, though that requires a cross check from secular to national issues. We will devote today to adjustments from Game Day antics and attempt look prepared for tomorrow’s romance. We took a minor poll and discussed whether the findings in the aftermath were worth comment. The Super Bowl […]

The panoply about the sporting event later today can be viewed as an interesting pivot point. We couldn’t tell if withdrawal from televised sports is what makes the wanton publicity more garish than usual. That mild uncertainty started before the pandemic, and reflects the breadth of change. There is a partly religious aspect to some […]

(Navy RA5-C Vigilante aircraft from RVAH-7. Navy image.) There was some spirited conversation on the Balcony late yesterday about the “New Object” shot down off the Prudeau Bay complex in Alaska. Some of us used to be in the aerial collection business, and there is interesting old technology flying around with new capabilities. It was […]

We have a crisis of sorts here. It is time to venture off the property and go shopping for controlled substances. That includes two versions of products produced in the United States by the Philip-Morris corporation. The history of the brand has an odd resonance with everything else happening these days. Smoking is now a […]

We attempted to stay up late enough to catch part of the SOTUS last night. Sadly, we couldn’t do it. Our interpretation of the event is therefore based on what other people thought about it, partly in another language popular here these days. The key take-away seemed to be a moment of tribute to the […]

There is supposed to be one of those set-piece Washington things tonight. The theme is one with historic precedent, and is given every year by the Chief Executive to let us know how things are going. We anticipate some of the usual misdirection shaped by misinformation, a bi-partisan tradition in which we take no sides. […]

We think it is over now. Or, perhaps better said, now that the Chinese reconnaissance mission is complete we were permitted to shoot it down. It is possible that the PRC intended to fly their “balloon” around the world. Then they could recover the innocent scientific camera and blameless electronic devices back in their own […]

If you missed yesterday, the Writer’s Section was on the way to someplace warm. It may be the cold blast of air that caused some old memories to emerge, or maybe the invisible rays broadcast from that Chinese balloon. Loma had been talking about one of the significant benefits of government travel, since he stopped […]