Lions are overrated...

#TheHoneyBadgerWay #HoneyBadger #Lions

Honey Badger crossing...

#HoneyBadger #TheHoneyBadgerWay

Shit happens!

#ShitHappens #HoneyBadger #TheHoneyBadgerWay

I like Cobras...

#Cobras #HoneyBadger #TheHoneyBadgerWay

How (not) to drive in the Snow... er Blizzard...

 

It was sometime in the middle of February.  I was barely 2 weeks in-country.  I have never experienced a snowfall before. Much less driven in one.

 

I was in a work location about 18 miles from home. We received word the day before that there will be a blizzard that day. So I was not really caught with my pants down.

 

At about 10 in the morning, snow began to fall. By 5 PM, about 4 inches have already fallen. And it still continued to fall like crazy

 

Fearful for our safety, the one in-charge gave us the option to stay in a hotel for the night at the Company's expense.

 

But I decided not to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive in a full-blown blizzard slip by me in exchange for some fancy room in  a 4-star hotel. So I concocted this flimsy excuse that 18 miles is not really that far, and I am used to this driving condition... blah... blah... blah... (must have made all of them wonder from the hell where?).

 

The new guy, who only lives about 5 miles further than me, followed my cue and decided to make a go for it too.  At about 6 PM, the two of us were given permission to take off.

 

At the freeway entrance ramp, a totally unfamiliar landscape of endless white and swirling snow greeted me. Not a single vehicle was on the road. I decided to stop. Mr. New Guy just drove on. That is where we parted ways.

 

I have a simple plan. I will wait for the first big vehicle to pass by and tail it. Not only will it pack the snow ahead of me, I reckon that its more powerful headlights (and more experienced driver) will help me avoid trouble down the road. If it stops, I stop. If it rolls, I will still have to stop (of course, unless I want to roll too).

 

About three minutes passed before I saw the headlights of a big rig approaching. As soon as it passed in front of me, I went for its six. I was barely able to make out the letters "USPS" painted on the back of its 20-foot container. The mailman surely delivers the mail in this country.

 

And my plan worked. It was like having your own personal snow plow in front of you. All I have to watch out for the rest of the way was the truck's brake lights. Every time it glowed  red, I stepped on the brakes. But I never had to worry about sliding on the snow during the entire way.

Sure, the journey was grindingly slow (it took about a hour and a half instead of the usual 30 minutes). But I made it home in one piece.

Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch (or a free ride through a blizzard for that matter).  Tailing a big rig has its down side too. My car was covered with dirty snow from bumper to bumper. 

Mr. New Guy was not as fortunate. His luck ran out at the exit ramp. He slid off the ramp and got buried in a big pile of snow. And ended up calling for towing service. He took a personal leave the following day...
     

My Indonesian F-16 Fighting Falcon patch... and Air Asia QZ8501

I got this patch just before Christmas.

According to the seller, it is an Indonesian patch.  I did not yet have time to research the veracity of the seller's claim, but since I have personally seen Indonesian Air Force F-16s do aerial maneuvers near the Madiun Air Base, I just accepted the claim at face value (for now).

In all likelihood, this is a US-made patch issued to Indonesian fighter pilots during their F-16 flight training here in the US.

Judging by the quality of the embroidery of the patch, I would say that this was made sometime in the late 80s or early 90s.

Initially, I just paid scant attention to this patch. 

And then Air Asia Flight QZ8501 disappeared. And I learned that its Indonesian pilot was a former F-16 fighter  pilot.

He would have been issued a patch just like this.

Uncanny coincidence...

Lockheed's C-130 Hercules - the "Hero" in the search for Air Asia QZ8501

 

According to published accounts, several aircraft types participated in the search for Air Asia QZ8501.  These included the recon version of the Boeing 737, the P-3 Orion, the P-8 Poseidon (another Boeing 737 variant), the Indonesian-made CASA/IPTN CN-235, and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

 

But the C-130 Hercules beat them all.

 

The first confirmed sighting of wreckage from QZ8501 was made by an Indonesian C-130 Hercules.  The pilots attributed this to the C-130's loitering power.  Theoretically, a C-130 can stay on the air for up to 14 hours (the P-3 Orion, another Lockheed aircraft, can actually stay longer - up to 16 hours).  So when the Indonesian Air Force's Boeing 737 and CN-235s already have to head home to re-fuel, the C-130 was still up there continuing the search.

 

But what led the pilots to the crash site might be the stuff of legends.  It was a blue heart-shaped balloon floating in the middle of the Java Sea.  The kind normally found in the last-minute gift shops of airports.

 

When they found another floating heart-shaped balloon (this time, a maroon one), they were convinced that they are in the general area of the crash site.

 

Eventually, they were able to identify the silhouette of what looks like an aircraft under only about 100 feet of water.

 

And the rest, as they always say, is history.

 

Not bad for an aircraft which first flew in 1954...