Ever seen 1/4 billion fall over ? here is what the company had to say Lockheed Martin spokesman Buddy Nelson said an initial evaluation revealed that the cart "was not in the proper configuration for the planned activity."

"We're reviewing the paperwork and examining the hardware to determine the facts," he said
Isn't it wonderful how they have to put some much crapo into --->
Yo some pinhead did not check the bloody thing was bolted down..

Check the hardware .. Nothing wrong with the hardware the friggin bolts were not used ..

The photo reveals all... But you can bet this will turn into a multi million dollar boondoggle and yet the photo has all the answers..
These bozos can't move the damm thing 3 feet yet they want to hurtle it 18 k or whatever ever miles in space..
sad really sad



- posted by Ozzie @ 12:09 PM

 
The hope your wife /girlfriend/ any female within gripping distance never reads department
- posted by Ozzie @ 12:06 PM

 
Today was bittersweet day. Saddness over 911 and joy of signs of maturity in my 10 YRO son
I got involved in this art project .I thought it would a nice thing to do with my 10 year old son Frank.
One of those few times in life you like to remember ..
We had never been to Liberty Park so I thought it would be nice way to see the park and indirectly help other's with the 911 disaster.
The day started early as we had to be in Battery Park at 6.30 am. We have breakfast, fed some squirrels
. Finally the ferry turned up and off to the park we went. It was turning into a nice warm summer day ..
We spent about 2 hours unrolling the flag and it was fun meeting people we would probably never see again ..
What I don't understand is how many parents were without their kids.. We saw very few kids .. Stuff like this to me is what kids are all about . It's great way to spend a day and also a perfect time to start the learning process about sacrifice and what liberty and freedom really is all about ..
After all the flag stuff was done we went to an area by a huge flag.

We met this guy Mike . A hero if I ever met one . 2 tours in Vietnam, then he lost the better part of his leg many years later in a car wreck. Ironic heh

I invited him to sit with us and we talked a little and it was great for my son as he was starting to realise what the cost of freedom really is.. He ran around getting stuff for Mike and the artist who produced the banner. Pop Zhao was nearby. So Frank went over and got the artists signature on a postcard.. Then he went back later and got his other postcard signed and gave it to Mike..

I asked Mike how he was getting back upstate. Then he told me of the train ride on the subway uptown then over to catch Metro North. Knowing the subway sytem , I knew it would be hassle for him to do all the transfers..
So then Frank suggested he share the cab with us when we go uptown.
( he forgot that we had decided to go on the subway) Kids lol.. So I said that would be fine.. ( I ended up just paying for cab for Mike and we stayed in Battery Park for a while.)
Later on Frank said to me how good it felt helping stranger who needed his help and good it felt to give..
I think now he understands now why I do a lot of stuff for non profits etc
..
It's wonderful thing as a parent to see those signs of maturity and love spawn from a child .
After all that we went to 42 street saw a movie and had dinner..

We got back home around 8 pm and then discovered this on Yahoo he is part of th 911 slide shownow Frank is on the newsfeeds from Reuters Frank was really exited when he ended up in the NY Post he will have a great show and tell.

The photographer is Shannon Stapleton he is an award winning photographer. One of his most famous photo's is this
another link
I found this description of the photo

Shannon Stapleton photographed a mortally wounded Father Mychal Judge, chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, who died as debris collapsed on him, shortly after giving last rites to a firefighter. The peaceful look on Father Judge’s face belies the surrounding mayhem and the anguished look on the five men’s faces who are carrying him out of the debris. Honda and Stapleton’s images have an intimate human dimension to them, in a way that Ludlum’s and James Nachtwey’s images, respectively, of the collapse of the towers and the ethereal remains of the World Trade Center, now known as Ground Zero, speak to the enormity of the physical dimension.
here is a gallery of the tragedy and the pain the photogs go thru ..

The irony is that one of the most heartwrenching photo's taken in 911 was the same photographer who took the photo's of my son today ..

Maybe Frank helped out 2 people today and I hope that Shannon Stapleton had some closure today knowing that out of the ashes come some good .
He documented a man in the making ..

I thank you Shannon Stapleton

Great job Frankie

I love you man ..
Dad


- posted by Ozzie @ 8:52 PM

 
Harmony

I spend the summer with my wife and kids at a beach club about 7 miles from our house.
It's neat cause it's 1 exit on the parkway and once you are there it's hard to even think you are 5 minutes from Brooklyn NY.
It's safe for the kids and they have day camp which keeps the little guy out of mums hair for a while..
Our cabana is right near the food beer and pool and 50 yards from the Atlantic ..
Can't get much better than that ..
Today is really the last day for the season ..it's kinda sad as it means shitty cold weather is on the way ..
I digress
But a bright spot on the day was a little kid just about 2 years old a couple of cabana's up from our's was running around as usual . I asked her did she want to come for a walk to see the band. her mum nodded OK so in the stroller we go over to the band area..
There were some other folks from cabana's close to ours and so we hung out and watched the band.
then the little one was getting stir crazy and wanted to get out of the stroller. So another mum just took here out and had her sitting on her knee.

Sure enough the eyes got heavy and poof Rip Van Winkle hit and the little one was out for the count..
Here we have a little kid asleep in the arms on one parent who was brought to this area by another parent and meanwhile the kids parents were back at their cabana cleaning up..
It struck me how we can have so much harmony , and no formal rules of conduct etc stuff just happens and everything works out .. Everyone looks out for everyone else .

Simply because it's the right thing to do ..
No one is really that close and we see each other in the summer maybe we exchange a phone call over the winter and spring.
yet once the summer hits it's whole tight community..
It struck me today, how we have this great family and the roles maybe 10 families have on each other ..
None planned just evolvement . maybe that the big mistake of the world as whole ..
Not enough letting things sort themselves out but rather the government / thinktanks / etc make out all these grand master plans..
Then the plans fail and folks need to change from their natural selves to adapt to the master plan..
Now you have folks out their element so to speak and not sure as where they really stand in the big picture ..
It's only time before folks defer to the ultimate defence.. hurting each other..

The prison system supports that theory all to well..

Today was nice tho, in the end all had good time and I have recharged my failth in mankind battery for a while.
I just hope the recharge will last till next summer...




- posted by Ozzie @ 10:45 PM

 
In the maybe there is a god after all departement
- posted by Ozzie @ 6:07 PM

 
So now Speedy Gonzales has croaked from our screens.
Sheesh how come they didn't whack sylvester after all he has speech problem.
Better whack popye too cause he smoked spinich but maybe he never inhaled.
Olive Oil much have been anorexic and Brutus was over weight and abductor and girlfriend beater.
Daffy Duck had speech problem too.
Then we have superman so that should be superperson and then we have battle of whether superboy or supergirl become superteen ?
This stuff has just really got out of whack now..
Maybe we should go back in time a little.
Let look at the three stooges.
Imagine one was black, what would happen, I guess if he was Mo who started all the hitting it would be OK
should the black person be Larry Shemp or Curly the world would be up in arms ..
No more marx brothers because one was a mute that eveyone laughed at .
Jungle Jim slept with Boy so he is out.
And just about any western made would be out.
But if we are to correct history, should we blame the Dutch for ripping off Manhaaten .
I guess we can just give back the whole US mainland to the Native Americans.
And the other places back to all the locals.
And the statue of liberty can surely go back to the french.
And I will just move back to England as thats where my father came from but his greater family came from France but only one side of the tree.
The other side of the tree came from southern England.
But that only goes back to the 15 century what about before that.
And it goes on and on.
Some folks still fight wars that are over 6000 years old ..
So regression is not a good answer.
The answer is to lighten up.
The future is only another version of the past ..
Just like we look at old computers and laugh at 64k of RAM
We should be able to watch Speedy Gonzales and laugh too.
The irony is the Sylvester was always beat by Speedy ..



- posted by Ozzie @ 5:03 PM

 
Whew,
Buying new car is more painfull than a Bloomy speech..
This started thursday night
It all started when we went to return the 2000 Pontiac we leased. My wife mainly uses it around town so after 3 years it only had about 20K miles. So off she goes to return the van and whilst at the dealership the lease folks offer her a pretty nice deal on a 2004 Rendevous.
We were thinking prior about getting 4 year lease then buying the car back and keeping it till the little guy gets his license in 8 years so he will have a decent car. By then the car will be old but not much miles on it..
But when we looked at the cost of the new cars etc you would have to be a smart as crackhead bob to be giving up 45K plus for a SUV.
Now because of the scum legal eagle association no more leases in New York.. Oh did I just call the NY state assembly scum ? Yup I guess I did.
So no more leases and it all added up to buy the old car back ..

Along comes Mr. Weasel brooks brothers suit car sales mangler, he aint no manager.
Offers my wife the Buick SUV for 1500 down and 500 a month for 4 years with a 15k backend buyout. Didn't seem to be a bad deal and he told us we were pre approved etc..
So the wife looks at the car and it much nicer than the car we have and has 4 wheel drive so a bit safer for the wife and kids.
Calls me up and says come to the dealer now and look at this car and sign some papers.
So I go to the dealer and we look at the car and decide that we will buy it
It's about the only luxury we have today is a nice car.
Steady employment, the chance of owning a home are all screwed now so we have our kids and the car.
Me personally I could care less i would drive around in a shitbox as long as it starts and farts I am happy.
But my wife liked the Buick and it's her thing, so no big deal .

Mr Weasel says come back tommorow with $1500 cash and your going home in a new Buick .
COOl we all say.

Friday 4.30 pm
After calling a couple of times and getting voice mail finally I get Mr. Weasel on the phone. Tells me now I need $4500 deposit.
So I tell him forget it as that makes the car too expensive.
My wife is ready to explode so she tells him to be ready for the lease car as will return it tonight.

Saturday
Mr Weasel calls back and says did I reconsider the car. I tell hime listen $1500 is what you said thats it..
3500 makes the car too expensive. He grovels a lot and says all the usual bullshit, blaming GMAC...
But I know I am good for the credit. And, I know a bit about the car biz and told him to talk to his boss and call me back ..
So them he calls back to say that his boss called GMAC and had then reconsider the load.. horseshit .
We were pre-approved before we even walked thru the door.
Mr Weasel is now a little pissed cause we cannot pick up the car today because the insurance broker is closed.
Oh well.. now he can taste his own horshit for 2 days.
yeah I know I could shop around a little but in the end to shop around for cars you have to go to each dealer and haggle for ours ..
In the end I would rather sit at the beach than to spend 8 hours to save a couple of hundred $.
New car prices vary a lot especially when they are at the start of a new model year. New cars are floor planned which means that after a certian time the dealer has had the car the dealer starts paying interest just like a loan. So if the car you want has been there for a while they tend to move fast to sell it as it cost them a bunch to let it sit on the showroom floor.
I know this dealer has the worst service department. But I still prefer to spend money locally. And I get my repairs done locally elsewhere.
I like to keep the money in the local community as much as I can.


Now it's week later and we discover that the passenger side window is off the track.
My son found this bug about 10 am in the morning so of course the lame dealer says bring the car in and leave it for the day ..
On a sunny beach day Noooooooooooo not happening.
So 4.30pm we roll up and after some firm words they finally agree to look at it and fix it in about 30 minutes..
It escapes me why you need to get loud and ugly to get heard..
I explained to the service manager that this is the 3 rd car we purchased from the dealer and we can't leave the car as we have stuff we need to do this evening etc ..
And only after the " this is bull poo and I am going the the owner type stuff the shop foreman decided he could take a mechanic off another job and look at my car.
Kinda funny as I used to run a Service Department for a dealer many moons ago..
And I could not even think of treating my customer that way..
At least it's all fixed now and running fine..
No complaints really , be nice to have rear heat and AC controls ..
Even tho it's all wheel drives it does not drive like a truck..



- posted by Ozzie @ 12:25 PM