USAF Time

April 4th, 2013 No comments

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the short time I spent in the USAF. I recently submitted a request for my USAF discharge papers DD Form 214. I have been unable to find my military briefcase which I believe is where my original copy is located. This form is the only documentation a veteran has to indicate their time of service when discharged. Last month I received two notarized copies of my DD 214. In addition to that they also included my awards and decorations listing which of course in the short time I was enlisted there wasn’t many of either. I did attain every ribbon that most everyone enlisted in the USAF attains.

The Air Force training ribbon and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal. I also received the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon. Now this one ribbon though not the Distinguished Service Medal or the Air Force Cross, is my favorite because of how much fun it was to get it. We shot modified M-16s using .22 ammunition. The cost of .22 ammunition made it the best choice for training 35,000 recruits each year. I shot a perfect score the day we went through training and for those in our flight that received a perfect score our instructors seem to have a whole new level of respect for us. It was cool for the that day and I will never forget it.

Yesterday I received a small package from Randolph AFB TX where the Air Force Personnel Center is located. I opened it and found all three ribbons had been sent to me. I only asked for the listing of what I had attained. It is really cool to have these again.

Categories: Military Days Tags:

Today is my Birthday

March 5th, 2013 No comments


I thought I would see what was going on when I was born and who I might share this date with. It is rather interesting.

5 March 1964

Your date of conception was on or about 13 June 1963 which was a Thursday.

You were born on a Thursday under the astrological sign Pisces.
Your Life path number is 1.

Your life path number means:
Highly original, you may have talents as an inventor or innovator of some sort. In any work that you choose, your independent attitude can show through. You have very strong personal needs and desires, and you feel it is always necessary to follow your own convictions. You tire of routine and highly detailed tasks rather quickly.

You are ambitious and assertive in promoting yourself. Although you may hide the fact for social reasons, you can be self-centered and demand to have your way in many circumstances. That said, for the most part, you are considered very good company, friendly, good-natured, and a wonderful conversationalist. People like you and are drawn to you. It is a good thing they are, because you are very sensitive to disapproval and you don’t handle it very well.

Your fortune cookie reads:
Your great attention to detail is both a blessing and a curse.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/13/1964 and ending 2/1/1965.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Dragon.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Wolf; your plant is Plantain.

As of 3/5/2013 2:04:32 PM EST
You are 49 years old.
You are 588 months old.
You are 2,557 weeks old.
You are 17,897 days old.
You are 429,542 hours old.
You are 25,772,524 minutes old.
You are 1,546,351,472 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
JAKE LLOYD 24
EVA MENDES 39
FRED WILLIAMSON 75
ANDY GIBB (1958-1988)
MICHAEL IRVIN 47
MICHAEL WARREN 67

Top songs of 1964
I Want to Hold Your Hand by Beatles
Can’t Buy Me Love by Beatles
There! I’ve Said It Again by Bobby Vinton
Baby Love by Supremes
Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison
The House of the Rising Sun by Animals
Chapel of Love by Dixie Cups
I Feel Fine by Beatles
She Loves You by Beatles
I Get Around by Beach Boys

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.00469667318982 years old. (You’re still chasing cats!)

Your lucky day is Thursday.
Your lucky number is 3 & 7.
Your ruling planet(s) is Jupiter & Neptune.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Virgo.
Your opposition number(s) is 5.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 365 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 50 candles.

Those 50 candles produce 50 BTUs,
or 12,600 calories of heat (that’s only 12.6000 food Calories!) .
You can boil 5.71 US ounces of water with that many candles.

Categories: General Tags:

My Raspberry Pi

January 27th, 2013 No comments

I am finally putting together my Raspberry Pi Computer I got for Christmas from the Boss. Very interesting concept. If you are not familiar with it you should check it out. A $35 computer?!

The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card-sized single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of stimulating the teaching of basic computer science in schools. Models range in price from $25 – $35. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video.

www.raspberrypi.org

I’m running Linux raspberrypi 3.2.27+. So far it works just fine. OS and storage are all on a 4GB SD card. It has 512MB RAM CPU & GPU, two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI video output, an Ethernet connector, power connector, RCA video jack and an audio jack. I have a USB powered hub connected to one port and a Edimax 150Mbps Wireless 802.11b/g/n nano USB Adaptor connected to the other. The hub connects my mouse and keyboard.

I have it mounted to the back of a Viewsonic VX922 monitor using a VESA mount case. It allows the Raspberry Pi to be mounted to the back of any VESA compatible flat screen TV or monitor. I’m using a standard Dell mouse and keyboard I had lying around.

Categories: General Tags:

I am proud to have served in the USAF

November 11th, 2012 No comments

I am proud to have served for four years in the United States Air Force, 1983 – 1987. It was a defining time in my life. I was just out of high school, and I had already decided to join the USAF in the telecommunications field. My main reason for joining was to learn a trade in telecommunications.

However, I’ve never really thought of myself as a “Vet.” To me that title was reserved for those who risked their lives in combat. The closest I came to combat was having breakfast with the USAF crew that took part in the 1986 US bombing of Libya. It was code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon and was comprised of United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air-strikes. The attack was carried out in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.

I worked as a cable splicing installation and maintenance specialist assigned to the 1839th EIG stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi MS. It was an interesting job and I worked with a great group of people from all parts of the world. We were an engineering and installation group that traveled the world doing our job. I was able to see parts of this earth an ole’ Mississippi boy would not normally see otherwise.

After my four-year enlistment, I returned to civilian life and lost contact with the guys in my group. Later on in life I found this website http://www.wiredawg.net and have been able to reconnect with one of the guys I worked with, Dave LeBlanc. I hope to find more but I have not tried very hard since last talking to Dave.

I’m proud of my small part in defending our country, and immensely proud of the men and women with whom I served. Most of us served only four years, but we did our jobs well, and, we would do it again in a heartbeat, if called on.

Sgt Alex Jones – 1839th EIG

Categories: Military Days Tags:

My daughter graduates from high school next week.

May 17th, 2012 1 comment


This is a huge moment in life for her as well as her mother and me. She’s off on a monumental transition and the possibilities look great. What a fantastic moment in life!

Mostly, at this moment, I want to give her something to take with her on her journey, some kind of great wisdom. She already knows so much more than we parents do so it is hard for her to listen to our advice. I feel like my job right now as a parent is to adequately arm her as she takes these first steps into this big ole’ wide world. I want to be her protector, her firm foundation and the place to come when she has the tough questions in life. I want her to know that I am there with her in her heart, but I want her heart to go further than what I can offer her.

My problem is how to do all this. All I can equip her with in this life is the knowledge that she is loved, completely, uncompromising and uninhibited. So, Cady, as you embark on this remarkable journey I want you to know I am and will continue to be the Dad who loves you with my whole heart and soul. Your mother and I are your greatest cheerleaders in life!

Categories: Family Tags: