Monday, August 13, 2007

I've Been Stoned, Drunk, & Naked Telling Lies

I was listening to that in a song this morning and it made me smile. I will plead the fifth as to whether any, or all, of it holds any autobiographical significance. But I will say that I have self-admitted several times to being unclothed and on the wrong side of a hotel room door. Um, more than once it would seem. But that's all I'm saying. Anyway, the song, for those interested was by Anders Osborne on his album Ash Wednesday Blues.

Well, while we're on a musical note...ha ha ha... I have to ask. Am I the only one who gets absolutely choked up listening to Reba McEntire's version of the old song "Fancy"? I get a lump in my throat when she kinda whisper/growls "it's alright, mama. I understand."

And last thing, on a musical theme. I was out stomping in Kansas City on Saturday night. I found the proverbial smokey juke joint. It was in an old, old hotel that was renovated but still felt like 1940. They had a humidor and small batch bourbon. A great band was wailing out jazz/blues and the occasional R&B song. 1 block from my room. I settled in.

The next morning, when I awoke, I brewed a pot of coffee and queued up my rather extensive collection of White Stripes videos and watched them... back to back to back. Jack White is a guitar god. Check out 7 Nation Army or Hardest Button to Button. In fact, I'll email the Hardest Button video to anybody that wants it. It's mesmerizing. Oh yeah, he does a remake of Dolly Parton's old song Jolene. Amazing, in a screeching and careening sort of way.

In military electronics there is the concept of PFM which serves to simplify complex circuits and functions. Say something runs a process 32,000 times per second. The process is vital but can neither be measured nor adjusted. As an instructor, you will inevitably be asked, "Well then, how does it work?" and the answer is, "PFM, shipmate." So I used the term in my civilian class and got the what I like to call "dumb ass" look back in response. "Um, Ed... what exactly is PFM?" "It means that it works by magic." "Magic?" You know, pure magic." "Well, what's the 'F' stand for?" "Never mind, Carl. Just hit the ' I Believe' button." "The what??"

Pictures of my travels later. Barely got this wrote as it is. When did I get so lazy??
The best things in life don't make any sense, out,
Ramblin' Ed

That's what I'm about. Ramblin' Ed at 8:06 PM

1 comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

PFM - Reminds me of the first time I saw NUMOTTs in big letters at the top of a blackboard in a seminar I was in while still in uniform. The seminar leader was a sharp-as-a-tack E-8 (who I found out later was an ex-B52 tailgunner who'd done several trips over Hanoi in that capacity).

The first time he got one of those dumbass "Well, Sergeant Brrrpbrrp, (I can't remember his name) what if ......?

And Sgt Brrrpbrrp would use his old-fashioned wood pointer and point to the NUMOTT and say, "Normally, usually, most of the time..."

He only got one or two more dumbass, "What ifs......?" and then it finally sunk in on even the dumbasses that while questions are welcome, SMSgt Brrrpbrrrp would not entertain any effing stoopid ones because he had seen death and somehow managed to avoid it and he wasn't going to waste his precious time answering stoopid effing questions.

I really liked that guy. Hope he's still alive and well.

10:30 PM  

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