Well, today, Rusti and I got back from the Smokey Mountain Criminal Justice Conference, Hosted by the East Tenneessee Human Resources Agency, in Gatlinburg. What a week. We both dreaded going, and leaving our home, and our little Boston Terrier, Tommie Girl.

The Conference, and, the week, passed by pretty quickly. We got to hang out a little bit, had some good food, and did some shopping. We stayed at the 'Conference' Hotel, the Edgewater Inn, in Gatlinburg.

http://www.edgewater-hotel.com/

Believe me, folks, this is the hotel from Hell. Too many horror stories about the hotel to even go into here, but suffice it to say, this is not even a 1 star resort. We got it done, and we are both sooo glad to be back in our wonderful little home. Anyway, hope all is well with all.

Feist - 1 2 3 4

Coach's that Suck Square Dancing

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Kid Rock - So Hott

You gotta love 'The Kid'! Posting several videos lately, but, you gotta admit, they all kick ass!

Johnny Cash God's Gonna Cut You Down

Awesome Video!

Sarah Silverman - (8) German Cars*

Just another quickie. Here is the B-24 that was at the Tri. Number 18 off the production line out of almost 19,000.

You just never know what you will see at KTRI. I saw a Bariev flying boat the other night on the General Aviation ramp. Unreal. I am still loving it out here. Probably the best job that I ever had. Law Enforcement + Aviation. Doesn't get much better than that. I still feel sorry for all of the guys stuck at the Carter Co. Sheriff's Office under the new Management Team. It seems that there are 2 camps....the sucks (sell-outs), and those that are trying to hang onto their jobs. Pathetic. Too bad that it had to come to this.

I just wanted to post a quickie, to congratulate Appy State on their victory over Michigan (formally Div. 1 # 5 in the nation). Most sports outlets are calling it the "Upset of the Century"!

This game will be talked about for years. Not to 'jump on the bandwagon', or anything, but you can count me in the number of Mountaineer fans.

My beloved Vols lost to Cal. Not the end of the world, but our problems simply will not go away without a MAJOR shake-up in Knoxville! 'Nuff said about that.

It's been awile since I've updated. I just wanted to post a quick update of some goings-on at the Tri. We shipped out another batch (6) of Bell Jet Ranger Helicopters to the Columbian Air Force. The Jet Rangers were 'finished' in Piney Flats. How bizzare is that?

We were also paid a visit, recently by one of only 2 fly-able B-24's left in the world. It was restored and operated by the Commenrative Air Force out of Texas. They used to be called the 'Confederate Air Force', but had to change their name, in the name of Political Correctness. The B-24 was the backbone of the 8th Air Force, during the daylight bombing campaign of Germany, during World War 2. The B-17 (one of my favorite aircraft) got most of the glory, being a better looking plane, however, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator could carry a heavier payload, had more range, and could fly higher. It was a thrill to get to see a B-24 in real life, and climb aboard her. I got to hear her start her massive radial engines, and got to observe a take-off. It was fantastic. The particular B-24 that was at the Tri, was 18th off the production line (remember almost 19,000 were produced during the war) and was delivered to the Army Air Forces in 1941.

This was my long week-end off, however, I had to work over Saturday, due to the Nascar Race. Everyone who knows me, knows my disdain for Nascar. I guess everyone has their own thing. My passion is U.T. Football. I just for the life of me, can't understand the fascination with watching cars go around in a circle. If anyone thinks Nascar is blue-collar, you should have seen the BILLIONS of dollars in private jets at the Tri, and the non-stop helicopter flights to the track. Unreal. Yet some poor slob living in a hollow somewhere will spend 3 or 4 months salary to go root for these 'American Royalty'. In my mind, the old joke holds true: NASCAR = Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks. lol.

In other news, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and his big-boobed, fat trashy wife passed through the Tri recently. It seems that Dog was going to speak at the Fountain of Life (Biker) Church in Johnson City. Apparently, Beth (the wife) was somewhat un-happy that one of her bags received a minor scratch, and made a big scene, cursing the workers at U.S. Airways. That's nice. Speaking at a church, and cussing low-level ramp workers. Life is funny sometimes, ain't it!

Anyway, more later.

Today is Wednesday, July 25, 2007. I was off yesterday and today, with the exception of having to go into the Airport this evening at 18:00 for C.P.R. training and re-certification.

We were finished by about 20:30, so that was cool. I used to have to maintain a C.P.R. certification when I worked for the City of Elizabethton. When I went back to the Sheriff's Dept., I let it go. If I had my druthers, I'd rather not be certified in it. There are several reasons, and I imagine most of you can figure out why I would say that. Anyway, it's done and over with, so I am now re-certified. It is looking more and more like I will have to attend first responder, also. Yuck. I HATE the medical end of this job. I can put up with the fire-fighting part, but I sure as hell am not a medic. Kinda puts me in mind of the old saying.....Jack of all trades.....

Everything is good on the home front. I made it home tonight before my lovely wife, Rusti went to bed. She had a horrific day in court today. Court didn't even adjourn until after 19:00. Unbelievable. I was glad that I got to spend a little time with her before she had to go to bed. I figured that the training would keep me past her bed-time. If you're reading, honey, I love you!

Anyway, I guess that's about it for now, loyal reader. Hope all is well with everyone.