Avast!

Air in-Money out

s--t hits  fan Thirty-one years ago this month we bought a Lennox furnace and air conditioner.  In that time the A/C was serviced once (freon), and the furnace once (blower motor).  Thirty-one years.  Bound to happen, then. The A/C water pan rusted out and water was leaking all over.  At the same time, and while our water heater was showing no sign of malfunction (they don't), MoSup was afraid that after 20+  years it would, and wanted it replaced.  All at once.  Of course we went with Lennox again, and wouldn't you know, the Vivint Solar people picked that day to install the solar panel electric.  We had 5 Scardina and 2 Vivint trucks outside, and god knows how many worker men in the basement, bumping into one another.  Took 13 hours, but all we need now is the county solar 'lectic inspection sign-off, and then a BGE meter installed, and our electric is free. So to speak.  On top of that, we are assured that the new HVAC system will cut our electricity bill in half, and it's good thing since this stuff has all doubled in price (water heater tripled) since last installed.  What I like is the Lennox wi-fi thermostat control panel.  It allows me to—you name it;  like watch daily power consumption, and the ability to set all the heat/cool parameters on the computer instead of hunching over a control screen trying to get fat fingers hitting the right numbers.  And best of all- we will never have to buy another system.  Oh, wait.  Oh my.  First time I actually thought in those terms.  Yay! We win.

Mawage

THE Manhattan Battleship Project

The USS RECRUIT

"The equipment is that of the up-to-the-minute dreadnought with accommodations on board for day and night life of officers and men." -POPULAR SCIENCE, AUG. 1917 Did the Indians used this battle ship to defeat Custer at Little Big? Horn! As a recruiting tool the ship was very successful, helping to recruit 25,000 men into the U.S. Navy. The First World War ended in 1918, and by 1920 the Recruit was no longer needed in Union Square. It was properly decommissioned and dismantled, with the intention of relocating it to Coney Island's Luna Park. This did not happen and the fate of the Recruit is unknown.* *If you check the roll-over, it appears that—like with Iran today—the government gave it to the Sioux Nation who used it to win at the Little Bog Horn?!? I am astounded and gob-smacked that—in this time where cable televison's 758 channels devote 24/7 to history and the miltary!—that I have lived approx. 97 years without having had so much as an inkle about this Union Square battleship.  Full props to Ron Metzgercan Hat Dance for finding it for us.  He wrote: It's news to me, too. The reason is most of my NYC stays are at a hotel a block from Union Square. Many of the buildings in these 95+-year-old photos are still there. And, in one of the 'battleship' photos, a statue of Lafayette is in the foreground. It's still there, too. PS The appearance of this 'battleship' is much like the original appearance of USS Arizona, built at Brooklyn Navy Yard and launched in 1915 And horry clap; look!  The Navy was the pioneer Gays in the Military service!  Who knew?  Many more pics here.

If the F-35 was a ship, it would be the SS Jimmy Carter

WHAT THIS GUMMINT DO                              Living Down To Expectations ...

We’ve heard of significant shortcomings before with the fighter jet that’s supposed to be America’s future, but this is just as bad as it gets. The F-35 performed so dismally in a dogfight, that the test pilot remarked that the it had pretty much no place fighting other aircraft within visual range. And to add insult to injury, the JSF flier discovered he couldn’t even comfortably move his head inside the radar-evading jet’s cramped cockpit. “The helmet was too large for the space inside the canopy to adequately see behind the aircraft.” That allowed the F-16 to sneak up on him. F-35 Can't Carry Its Most Versatile Weapon Until At Least 2022 The short takeoff and vertical landing capable F-35B, which has handicapped the entire Joint Strike … Read more And it’s even worse than a mere maneuverability issue. At one point, the pilot’s helmet was so big he couldn’t even turn his head inside the cockpit. That’s according to a scathing report obtained by our friends over at War Is Boring that details the results of visual range air-to-air engagement tests between an F-35A and an F-16C. The F-35, which the US Air Force, Navy, and Marines are expected to rely upon, in addition to the air arms of militaries across the world for at least the next few decades, was supposed to be better than its F-16 predecessor in all respects. [Oh, there's more....] There will be an upside—when Obama sells them to Iran. "Beautiful! Just freaking beautiful!" cuzzin ricky

What's the Worry; What's the Fuss ....

QOTD "As soon as Sharia Law becomes the law of the land, the whole 'gay marriage' thing will go away. So there's really no sense in our getting upset about it." Stu T

Cray-Z Che-Z

When Jay-Z Speaks ... Che-Z Stu T