The Old Man Speaks

• Okay, first off, let me apologize...I really had intended/desired/hoped to make up my missed Post last week, and here it is this week. What happened? Life happened, I suppose, but that is no excuse...I just didn't make it happen. Sooooo, I guess I will just do this week and beg forgiveness for last week. Without further ado...
• I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Bucharest, Romania (please reference the "Where's family" clocks), which, being that we are 7 hours ahead of D.C. time, explains the hour associated with this post. We are here to work with the Romanian Open Skies folks to give them a better understand of the way that WE at least do business to fulfill our obligations and rights under the Treaty on Open Skies. Next week (as in Monday, 17 Nov) we will accompany the Romanians on their newly certified AN-30 aircraft into Moscow do conduct an Active Mission over Russia. (“Certified” means that all the countries that are signatories on the Treaty have signed off on it agreeing that the plane, and all its associated sensors (cameras), comply with the dictates of the Treaty.) Today is a day off to at least TRY to overcome a bit of our jetlag. The fact that I started this Post at 10:30am local time and the Blog thinks that I started it at 3:30 in the middle of the night illustrates the need for this. I think we are going to go look around downtown in an hour or so.
• On the home front, things are pretty all right, I think. The kids are staying in line (mostly), my lovely bride is behaving (mostly), work is not OVERLY frustrating (mostly), I am getting comfortable in my new Calling (mostly) and I am fairly happy (mostly).
• I mentioned in my last real Post that I am one year out from my PRD (projected rotation date). Being that I am over 20 [years of service], I have a myriad of choices…
• I can get out or stay in;
• I can get out and not move or I can get out and move;
• I can stay in and not move or I can stay in and move;
• I can get out and not move and work for the government
• I can get out and not move and work for some company/contractor
• I can get out and move and work for the government
• I can get out and move and work for some company/contractor
• I can stay in and not move and work for the DTRA
• I can stay in and not move and work for some other Command
• I can stay in and move and work for the DTRA
• I can stay in and move and work for some other Command
• …and the choices keep branching off from there again, and again, and again.
• The miracle of the Internet really is…well…miraculous. To be living in a time when I can be sitting in a hotel room in Romania, some 4992.7 miles from my home (according to Google Earth, as the crow flies…give or take 10-12 yards) and look through a “virtual window” into that home to watch my family, and talk to them, and see that they are well…that is a blessing that would have been considered complete fantasy 50 years ago, and something for only the extremely rich and/or powerful and governments a mere 20 years ago. Proof once again that today’s science fact was once yesterday’s science fiction, and much of today’s science fiction will soon be tomorrow’s science fact. And this is happening at an ever increasing rate! I may have to write more on this subject in the near future…if I remember.
• Well, this is all I am going to write on this particular day. Perhaps you will get more out of me somewhat soon…perhaps not. We will just have to see…
• More later…???