All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.

International

Survive by eating giant Spiders?: Pacific Ring of Fire, 01-07 March 2020

Video March 16, 2020 Hutchins AAron

Incomplete list of links to seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, days 01 to 07 of Gregorian March 2020.

It’s all about money as Earthquake Insurance Market analysts predict rapid sales growth thru-2025!

Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is Now Causing Earthquakes

AUSTRALIA: b ans travel from Korea over virus

CHINA: enlists A-I to speed up monitoring and prediction of earthquakes

INDONESIA: airport shutdown after Java volcano erupts

JAPAN: Ceremony marking 9 yrs since quake-tsunami canceled amid virus fears

quarantine visitors from China, Korea

Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis dumped more than 2-million tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean!

New Typhoon-proof wind turbine

Video of U.S.-Japan Tomodachi Rescue Exercise (which took place at the end of February):

KOREA: Releases 221 Foreigners From Coronavirus Quarantine

U.S. Air Force 51st Aerospace Medicine Squadron updates its CoViD-19 map, 04MAR2020, Osan Air Base. (CoViD-19=CoronaVirus Disease 2019)

MEXICO: 5.6 quake shakes U.S. border towns

THAILAND: Can you survive the jungle? Video not for the weak:

UNITED STATES: Cascadia Subduction Zone; Silent earthquakes are tied to changes in fluid deep below

Alaska; After two months of activity, Pavlof Volcano has been downgraded to a ‘normal’ alert level.

California; San Diego faces critical earthquake danger from fault long believed to be inactive

Utah; 3.1 quake Box Elder County

Wyoming; USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) recorded 222 earthquakes in the Yellowstone area

Pacific Ring of Fire, 23-29 February 2020: “HOSTILE WEATHER CONDITIONS”

Climate Change, 01-07 March 2020: TREES ARE MAXED OUT!

Kit Bashing, Technology

EC-135E Fire-Bird, 10329 comes back to life, again! Or, what to do with your extra KC-135 kit.

Image March 15, 2020 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Air Force photo by Greg L. Davis, 04OCT2019.

This rudderless and engine-less EC-135E has risen from the ashes of retirement not once, but twice.

USAF photo by Greg L. Davis, 04OCT2019.

An electronic warfare version of the venerable Boeing C-135 family of aircraft, EC-135E #61-0329 (tail code 10329) was first retired to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, as a rudderless ‘battle damage’ repair trainer.

USAF photo by Greg L. Davis, 29APR2019.

In the above pic you can see the bare metal area around the nose indicating where the original ‘Snoopy’ nose was hung.

USAF photo by Greg L. Davis, 29APR2019.

In 2019, instead of scrapping the chock-ful-of patches bird, 61-0329 was again reborn but this time as a fire fighter trainer.

USAF photo by Greg L. Davis, 04OCT2019.

Unveiled on 04OCT2019. ‘Never Forget 343’ titles honor the 343 firefighters killed during the attacks during 11SEP2001.

USAF photo by Greg L. Davis, 04OCT2019.

Apparently EC-135Es were re-engined EC-135Ns.

Tail code 10329 in its final days as a Snoopy.

EC-135Es were officially called ARIA (Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft) , but were better known as ‘Snoopy’ because of their bulbous noses.

10329 in its glorious 2nd incarnation as a Snoopy. Notice the different jet engines. Its 1st incarnation was as a C-135 cargo hauler.

AMtech issued a 1:72 scale EC-135N/E. There are some fit problems and you need to strengthen the wing to prevent drooping. It is out of production.

The ancient Nova vacformed 1:72 KC-135 came with optional parts to make several EC versions, but not the bulbous Snoopy nose.

In 1:144, Welsh Models makes a Snoopy conversion.

National Museum of the United States Air Force: EC-135E ARIA explainer

For an even more detailed explainer visit Air Force Space & Missile Museum

Vehicle I-D: KC-135 CITY OF DERBY

D-DAY KC-135, ‘HUNDRED PROOF’ & OTHER NOSE ARTS

VEHICLE I-D: MARK 82

PAINTING A P-51 MUSTANG WITH VINYL DECALS?

Idaho, Influenza

The Day After Medical-Martial-Law Was Declared: Shopping mayhem at Pocatello WinCo!

Image March 14, 2020 Hutchins AAron

14 March 2020 / 09:19 (UTC-07 Tango 06) 24 Esfand 1398/19 Rajab 1441/21 Ji-Mao 4718

CoViD-19=CoronaVirus Disease 2019

On the morning of 13 March, Idaho’s Governor Brad Little declared a State of Emergency over the CoViD-19 pandemic. Shortly after that President Donald Trump declared a National Emergency. Later in the day Governor Little revealed the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Idaho. Without warning the store I prefer to do my grocery shopping at, and the only remaining 24 hours operation in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area, suspended their overnight sales purportedly to “clean” the store as a result of the CoViD-19 pandemic.

“24 Hours of Savings WinCo Foods” re-opened at 05:00 (5am), I arrived at 05:30 and it was already mayhem!

The pics were taken with my phone cam which has a fogged lens. These checkout lines are what greeted me at 05:30, just 30 minutes after WinCo re-opened! They run to the back of the warehouse style store.

Many of the fresh meat items were gone, all the fresh ground beef was gone, by 05:30!

The empty shelves on the left side of the above pic used to be filled with pancake syrup. Pancake syrup, really, do you people need that much pancake syrup? The empty shelves on the right of the pic is where sugar used to be, all gone now.

The infamous toilet paper isle, this time WinCo was not able to re-stock before opening.

I bought $60 worth of food. I got in at 05:30 and didn’t get out until 07:00, the lines were that long, and despite most of WinCo’s check stands being open.

I stopped in at the next door Fred Meyer, they weren’t crowded, but were missing many items as well. An employee told me things have been getting crazy after 08:30 and they’ve been having trouble getting orders into corporate. One of the items I noticed they were out of was bottled water, mmmm, I don’t remember CoViD-19 being able to shut-off your water supply.

Fred Meyer at the former Pocatello Mall location

The employee I talked to pointed out something that makes sense; many people in eastern Idaho save up their money for the end of year holiday season, but people are now spending money like mad due to the CoViD-19 fear-mongering, on top of that people are already being told not to come to work, the result will be that many people here in eastern Idaho are not going to have money to spend for the end of year holidays.

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE FOR EASTERN IDAHO: COVID-19 SHUTDOWN 24HRS WINCO?

Business/Economics, Idaho, Influenza

More economic decline for eastern Idaho: CoViD-19 shutdown 24hrs WinCo?

Image March 14, 2020 Hutchins AAron

14 March 2020 / 05:15 (UTC-07 Tango 06) 24 Esfand 1398/19 Rajab 1441/21 Ji-Mao 4718

CoViD-19=CoronaVirus Disease 2019

No more “24 Hours of Savings WinCo Foods”, at least for a week.

After yesterday’s declaration of State of Emergency by Idaho’s Governor Brad Little, then followed by President Donald Trump’s declaration of National Emergency, the store I prefer to do my grocery shopping at, and the only remaining 24 hours operation in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area, halted their 24 Hours of Savings!

I’ve always shopped there after midnight because I don’t like crowded grocery stores. I and several dozen people arrived after midnight, 14 March, to find the doors closed for the first time. No signage was posted to explain it.

I drove back home and checked Boise based WinCo’s website and sure enough there is a message saying they’re halting 24hr operations at selected stores due to CoViD-19.

“March 13, 2020

Dear WinCo Customers,

As we all deal with the Coronavirus fallout in these unprecedented times, WinCo Foods remains committed to taking care of our customers, our communities and our employee owners.

As we experience higher than normal demand on a variety of products, we are working around the clock to not only keep our stores open, but also clean and as stocked as possible. We are also ever-mindful of keeping our employee owners, our customers and our communities as safe as possible. To that end we are working with the CDC and local Health Agencies to make sure we follow all Coronavirus protocol, as well as our own internal hygiene and food safety protocols.

We at WinCo Foods understand that you are relying on us in these difficult days to continue providing you with quality food at the lowest possible prices. On behalf of our 19,000+ employee owners, we have no intention of closing our stores and every intention of keeping our shelves as stocked as we possibly can. To help this, we will be temporarily closing various locations between the hours of 12am and 5am for the next week, so the stores can clean and re-stock. We will re-evaluate this policy after this week has passed.

We appreciate your patience while we do this. WinCo remains committed to all of you, and to providing you with foods for your hungry families.

Thank you,

The employee owners of WinCo Foods”

I guess the ’employees of WinCo’ don’t realize that most people are not going to think of checking WinCo’s website before heading out to the store.

This was WinCo’s toilet paper isle several days prior to their overnight lockdown.

The only difference between a State of Emergency and martial law is that under martial law the military is in total control: “States of emergency can also be used as a rationale or pretext for suspending rights and freedoms guaranteed under a country’s constitution or basic law.”

Going Viral, 11-12 March 2020: “STOP SAYING IT’S A BAD FLU!”

MORE ECONOMIC DECLINE: NO MORE IDAHO SHOPKO? THERE NEVER WAS A SHOPKO IN POCATELLO!

2013: ECONOMIC RECOVERY? WINCO ABOUT TO CLOSE STORE NUMBER 5 IN POCATELLO!

Kit Bashing, Technology

How to build a 1:1 scale U.S. Army ‘Fake News’ BMP-2

Image March 14, 2020 Hutchins AAron

U.S. Army photo by Mark Cleghorn, 02OCT2017.

“The vehicles needed a number of redesigns to address these obsolescence issues and known systemic design issues causing failures. One major redesign was the Thermal Sight Unit, which addressed the OSV’s ability to stay competitive and more accurately simulate a foreign force. There is a new emphasis on these systems because they are 20-years old.”-Justin King, U.S. Army’s Integrated Logistics Support Center

U.S. Army photo by Mark Cleghorn, 02OCT2017.

Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (Боевая Машина Пехоты)= literally Battle Machine Infantry (not infantry fighting vehicle as many military sites say)

U.S. Army photo by Mark Cleghorn, 03OCT2017.

The following pics are from the 2017 Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, re-build of fake BMP-2 armored vehicles.