Argghhh!

I'll be travelling for a few days with no 'net availability, so I'll leave you with a dual Whatziss:First, what's the function of the sorta-oblong object outlined in black and second, what's the yellow thing stuck in the lower-center of it?No cat hairs for scale, because you'd need a *large* magnifying glass to see 'em.Ready? Commence. Back in about a week......I hope....

...and Blago is convicted for lying. Bet he wishes he was in the 9th Circuit now. Okay, leave aside the can of worms that is the Blagoevich case, and come back to Stolen Valor. The 9th Circuit seems to have held that you can lie all you want about Medals, especially (that's my spin) if you're doing it for a political purpose. I've always been happier with the approach of go after the SV perps for fraud, but I can see a Federal prosecutor making a "bang for the buck" decision...

We are all well acquainted with that windbag that embodies the current Majority Leader in the House of Representatives: Steny Hoyer...

Okay, time to give all y'all a respite from nail-bitery.It's the Mi-17 pilot's-view mirror of his slingload. In this case, *my" view of the slingload. One of the advantages of the Mi-17's collective friction system is that it immobilizes the collective when it's engaged, thus allowing the pilot (me) to remove one hand and snap a pic. Which is what I didn't do (I may be nuts, but I'm not suicidal) , because the other pilot was flying at the time and my hands were otherwise...

Dave, over at the Thunder Run, has a Christmas bleg that won't cost you a dim e. For our Viet Vet helo-drivers, this is one that can probably be quickly resolved via your networks. Bill? V29, Baby-san, et.al.?

I always wondered how it worked for the Swabbies HMS Somerset's funnel is prepared for the big man's arrival. The frigate is currently deployed on maritime security operations in the Indian Ocean. Boq

Cats got opposable thumbs!...