1/144 Boeing 777: Eastern Express v Minicraft

I’ve been able to get some 1:144 scale Boeing 777-200s (United Nations-International Civil Aviation Organization B772) for cheap; some Minicraft kits (made in China) being offered in an ‘as is’ grab bag sale (turned out they were complete, but one had a broken fuselage), and a two-for-one sale that got me Eastern Express issues (made […] Continue Reading…

‘just another nail in the coffin’: U.S. Food Crisis, October 2018

Incomplete list of announced United States food supply shutdowns, emergencies, outbreaks and recalls for the month of October, 2018:

how America treats its black farmers

Trump boosts dairy industry

Farmers struggle to store crops

Grains try to avoid market meltdown

Ag Economy Barometer falls to lowest reading since October 2016

Agricultural damage from Hurricane Michael forecast to top $1.3 billion

Farmers face ‘new normal’; hurricanes

WARN=Worker Adjustment […] Continue Reading…

“we kind of need to do something besides die at our desk”: U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics layoffs, October 2018

Incomplete list of U.S. Mining/Industrial/Logistics job loss/shutdown announcements made in October 2018.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Holy weapons malfunction Batman! An ongoing type of taxpayer rip-off was finally revealed by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in the form of ‘suspended stock’, which are parts paid for by taxpayers for use in maintaining expensive military weapons systems, except that they’re mislabeled […] Continue Reading…

More decline for Idaho: Payless to kill remaining 2,500 stores!

15 February 2019 (12:49 UTC-07 Tango 06) 26 Bahman 1397/09 Jumada t-Tania 1440/11 Bin-Yin 4717

The writing has been on the wall since Spring 2017, now it’s final, about 2-thousand-5-hundred (here’s a map) Payless shoe stores to be shutdown as part of the company’s plan to file for bankruptcy.

Payless in the struggling Pine […] Continue Reading…

“It isn’t like the movies”: Pacific Ring of Fire, January 2019

Incomplete list of seismic/natural disaster reports from around the Pacific Ring of Fire, January 2019.

CANADA: A strange, low-intensity hum near Vancouver Island

CHILE: Strong mag. 6.7 earthquake – Near Coast of Central Chile

Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Buenos Aires warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 14000 ft (4300 m) altitude or flight level 140.

CHINA: Taiwan earthquake: Magnitude […] Continue Reading…

Vehicle I-D: New KC-46A Pegasus

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody Dowell, 08FEB2019.

KC-46A Pegasus flies over Altus Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, 08FEB2019.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Cody Dowell, 08FEB2019. USAF photo by Airman First Class Alan Ricker, 14FEB2019.

U.S. Air Force video, by Staff Sergeant Joshua […] Continue Reading…

Nuclear helicopters spotted in Wyoming?

Does the ‘N’ in UH-1N mean nuclear?  Maybe it does if you’re part of an elite USAF team training to protect the transport of nuclear ballistic missiles.

In yet more proof that we’ve returned to a Cold War mindset, training missions are being conducted in Wyoming, in which swarms of UH-1N ‘Huey’s fly ballistic missile convoy […] Continue Reading…

Vehicle I-D: M1A2-SEP-V2 Abrams Idaho live fire, February 2019

Alpha Company, 2-116th CBCT. Idaho Army National Guard photo by Thomas Alvarez.

At the Orchard Training Area (OTA, aka Orchard Combat Training Center-OCTC) the Idaho Army National Guard is preparing for the 116th Calvary Brigade Combat Team’s upcoming rotation at the National Training Center (Fort Irwin), California, later this year.

Continue Reading…

Vehicle I-D: Idaho M2A3 Bradley, January 2019

Upgraded British empire made (BAE Systems) Idaho National Guard M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) conducting ‘live fire’ exercises at Orchard Training Area (OTA, aka Orchard Combat Training Center-OCTC).

Idaho Army National Guard’s Alpha Company, 116 Brigade Engineer Battalion, prepping for ‘rotation’ to National Training Center (Fort Irwin), California, later this year.

VEHICLE I-D: MITSUBISHI F-2, SURE […] Continue Reading…

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