Check out this interview with Col. Richard Graham, SR-71 blackbird pilot and author of "Flying The SR-71 Blackbird." This book takes the reader step-by-step through a top-secret mission, from pre-flight check to final touchdown with never before revealed details such as the SR-71 Pilot's checklist.
On last Thursday's show I mentioned the big G.I. Joe convention that is going on in Arlington this weekend. I reminisced a little about all the fun I had playing with G.I. Joe as a kid. J.R. gave me a ration of grief for "playing with dolls." Oh yeah, he's one of those guys.
I've found in my experience that the he-man macho types who were afraid to play with certain toys or wear certain "feminine" colors are the ones most likely to end up getting their mugshots snapped dressed as Carmen Miranda. I played with all sorts of action figures-- superheroes, army guys, Star Trek figures, robots and cowboys, and as far as I can tell none of my many quirks and peccadilloes can be traced back to them.
Continue reading "Go Joe! (I've Got a Tough Assignment For You)" »
To talk to Ky Michaelson is to realize that there is no product of human endeavor that can't be vastly improved by the addition of a rocket motor. Just ask his son, eight year old Buddy Rocketman Michaelson. If Ky has his way, he'll soon attach a rocket to the lad and launch him, making Buddy the youngest rocketbelt pilot in the world. Buddy will be the next wunderkind in a long line of wunderkinder. The Michaelson family holds so many patents that Ky can't remember them all.
This is a guy I'm proud to say I know. You don't meet many characters like Hal Graham these days. The real deal with the right stuff, Hal is the original rocketeer. As the first pilot of the Bell Aerospace rocketbelt Hal demonstrated his mad rocketbelt skillz for the top brass at the Pentagon and flew for J.F.K. I caught up with Hal as he prepared to attend the Rocketbelt Convention this weekend in New York. He graciously agreed to an interview on our radio show this morning.
Download Hal Graham Interview 08-09-07
You may remember that I interviewed Hal after last year's Rocketbelt Convention. You can find that entry here. Check it out. There is a bit of background on Hal in addition to a little video of him in action.
So, does the stupid thing Ann Coulter said about John Edwards offset the stupid thing Bill Maher said about Dick Cheney? I like the idea of trading Stupidity Offsets like Al Gore trades Carbon Offsets. Maybe together we can all reduce our stupidity footprint.
This time the infernal machine turned out to be a harmless traffic counting device. What's next, a suspicious pizza box next to a dumpster? A box of free kittens? Take a look at the video of Boston's finest in action. Somebody's gonna get an eye put out from all the shrapnel from otherwise harmless objects blown up by the bomb squad.