Near the Hotel del Coronado, a bottlenose dolphin named Ten found one of these:
Another dolphin named Spetz confirmed the sighting. . .
Ten and Spetz, San Diego Treasure Hounds
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Category Archives: San Diego
Relay for Life, San Diego’s Islamic Run
I try not to traffic in conspiracy theories, but did anyone on the Relay for Life team look closely at their little logo? The thing looks positively Islamic:
Relay for Life, American Cancer Society, San Diego’s Islamic symbol?
I truly respect the Relay for Life folks; I’m not sure they thought through their logo choice. If you don’t know what I am talking about, please go here. And if you are Islamic, would you not think this is the wrong use of your religious symbols?
Petty Office Thievery on the USS Midway
Fourteen employees of the USS Midway Museum’s engineering department were fired three days ago for stealing from the recycling-money fund. . .
How to Find a Girlfriend Near a Navy Base
Marc Paskin is a millionaire who put up a billboard in San Diego along Interstate 5 and 28th Street. Literally, the sign was right around the corner from the 32nd Street Naval Base in a dumpy neighborhood called Barrio Logan. Marc was looking to spruce up his love life and he thought that advertising near the freeway would be a successful way to find a Latina girlfriend. Good luck, shipmate, you might just end up with a Latina Sailor. Or a hoodlum.
Killing the Grass
In front of a small lawn in a San Diego neighborhood, there a four signs that read: Please keep your bitches from urinating on the lawn. They are killing the grass. . .
Batiquitos Lagoon and 2000 Gallons
Note to self: avoid the Batiquitos Lagoon. It has got 2000 gallons of something new in it. Well, not something entirely new. But not something old, either. . .
Zombies Drop in on Sandy Eggo
HALO Counter-Terrorism Summit, San Diego, Zombie Nazis
Nothing says counter-terrorism like the undead, like a bunch of crazed, zombie Nazis. And they are invading San Diego for a counter-terrorism conference:
When zombies and cops and Halloween – oh my — collide.
That’s the thrust of the so-called “zombie apocalypse” component of next month’s annual Counter-Terrorism Summit in San Diego, hosted by security firm HALO Corp. on a 44-acre island in the city’s Mission Bay section. Brad Barker, president of the California-based organization, said hosting the annual event over the Halloween weekend was too much temptation to resist.
And my old boss (seven levels up) Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden will be in attendance.
Paint by the Numbers
San Diego Electrical Shortages
It should be a heck of an interesting summer. The US Navy has agreed to reduce its electrical use if San Diego gets hit with power shortages:
The Navy is nearing a first-time agreement to reduce electricity use at its sprawling San Diego-area bases, if power runs short in Southern California this summer.
The Navy is San Diego Gas & Electric’s largest customer, and the deal is intended to diminish the threat of blackouts while the San Onofre nuclear plant remains offline.
Under the agreement, the Navy would temporarily reduce its energy consumption if supplies get scarce, in exchange for savings on rates.
For all you movie fans: Yes, San Onofre is featured in the Leslie Nielsen Movie, Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! You, of course, remember which scene. . .
Guess Who Is in Town?
Quick question, guess the gentleman in the below picture? Hint, it’s not Hamlet:
Pawn Stars’ Big Hoss, Corey Harrison
If you guessed Corey Harrison, Big Hoss from History Channel’s Pawn Stars, you would be correct. Apparently, the folks from the program go on the road to appraise items from the public. And yesterday, the team was at a local San Diego resort:
Some walked away with a stack of $100 bills, others with nothing but the relics they tried to sell.
But everybody who stopped by Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula on Saturday to see the stars of the History Channel’s popular reality television show “Pawn Stars” walked away a little starstruck.
Rick “The Spotter” Harrison, his son, Corey “Bigg Hoss” Harrison, and Austin “Chumlee” Russell —- all stars of the popular weekly series —- purchased more than $30,000 worth of coins, gold items, watches and other valuables Saturday from some of the many people who waited in line to meet and haggle with the trio face to face, an employee with the show said.
I like Pawn Stars. Last month in Vegas, I drove past the storefront of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, but did not go inside. It looked remarkably smaller than the television portrays.
Rick Harrison, Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison, and Chumlee from Pawn Stars at Pechanga Resort
Only the three main characters showed up at the resort. None of the experts accompanied them. Nor did the “Old Man” (Richard Harrison), Danielle “Peaches” Rainey, or the shop’s enormous bodyguard, Antwaun.
Rick is also the author of the book: License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver, published earlier this year. That could be a good read. . .
Veteran’s Day at the Carrier Classic
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the NCAA Carrier Classic was played aboard the USS Carl Vinson:
CORONADO, Calif. — The nation’s basketball-fan-in-chief appeared to enjoy the first college hoops game on an active aircraft carrier.
President Barack Obama sat courtside and watched No. 1 North Carolina beat Michigan State 67-55 on Friday night in the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson.
The crowd looked massive on the flight deck. And the grey weather lifted:
NCAA Carrier Classic, Michigan State vs. the University of North Carolina, USS Carl Vinson
As for Veteran’s Day, I could not: say it better than the Rev, share a more inspiring video than ASM, or reminisce like Lou. . .
Squeezin’ 9s: the Sig Sauer Pistol Versus the Heckler and Koch Handgun
Gun Store, Las Vegas, Want to Rent a Machine Gun? Go Here
The Gun Store is located 3.5 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip. Just past the University of Nevada Las Vegas and the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.
It holds the distinction, among indoor gun ranges, as having one of the largest varieties of machine guns and exotic weapons available for customers to shoot.
Some gun experts turn up their noses at the Gun Store, due to its high price and its gimmicky nature. As well as its Hollywood feel, as displayed in its advertising. But they truly have a great selection of boom-sticks and hand-cannons.
What exactly do they offer? Click on the picture:
The Gun Store, Las Vegas, Gun Rentals
So on my trip to Vegas this last week, we ducked into the Gun Store with the intention of getting one of the gun packages, a variety of handguns and machine guns. Was it expensive? Yes. Very. Look at the prices. But my friend had never shot and I wanted to give her a good introduction.
The Gun Store Indoor Range
Bad news, the wait was more than 1.5 hours. The line circled outside the door.
So we went into the back, where the Gun Store sold its merchandise. I told one of the employees that I was active-duty and asked if he could show my friend some of the handguns. For her to handle and learn weight and fit.
Ed, the employee at the Gun Store, was great. He ran us through 10 guns or so. From Sigs to Springfields. He even let my friend heft the Benelli shotgun. What a beast! To rack that shotgun dry is entertaining in itself.
Iron Sights, Oceanside Ca
We left the Gun Store with a rain-check on completing the shooting experience. Hardly two days passed before we decided to cash in that rain-check. Iron Sights in Oceanside was the scene of our shootout.
We selected two 9 mils, the Sig Sauer P239 and the Heckler and Koch P2000.
Why 9s? My friend liked how the FNP-9 felt in terms of size and grip. But Iron Sights did not rent that handgun. They did, however, carry the Sig Arms and the H&K.
So with 8 targets (including two zombie, pumpkin-heads) and 200 rounds, we padded around to the indoor range. We had eyes and ears on (eye protection and hearing protection. Safety is always a must.)
Heckler and Koch 9 Mil
We shot the P2000 (H&K) first. It had a very long trigger pull. The weird mag release, just under the trigger guard, gave me problems in execution several times.
It was very comfortable in my hand. And the shooting was very smooth. The mag used the double-stacked method, in that the bullets were offset or staggered. It reminded me of a mid-range Mercedes, not that I have any experience with a such a vehicle.
Unfortunately, I had four jams, including one stove-pipe. (Where a bullet jammed in the chamber, preventing the slide from sliding.) And a couple of times, the rack did not slide back after the mag was complete. This could have been user error. Which has been known to happen.
Sig Sauer 9 Mil
The Sig Sauer. Always one of my favorite brands. It had less distance between the grips and the trigger. Which fit my friend’s smaller hand, but not mine. Still, the trigger had less travel. And I never had a jam.
Also, its mag was a single-stack and could only hold 8 rounds. The mag release, a round button on the forward part of the grip, was far easier to use than the Heckler’s. I had a much easier time grouping my shots with this weapon.
Conclusion: Shooting at Iron Sights was a blast. Next time: some bigger calibers and some smaller ones too. I feel like a hungry man at Soup Plantation. On the buffet line. With two empty plates. And a growly stomach.
NCAA Basketball on the USS Carl Vinson: What Are the Sailors Saying?
San Diego is supposed to host the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic aboard the USS Carl Vinson this Friday, the 11th of November, at 4 p.m. PT (11/11/11.) The NCAA basketball game features North Carolina and Michigan State and will be played outside, on the flight deck. President Obama is even rumored to be attending. One tiny problemo: rain.
From the weather experts over at the Military Times:
The first college basketball game to ever be played on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier will happen on Friday.
Well, maybe not.
MSU Camouflage Uniform in Army colors
A storm could hit San Diego on game day, which would force the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic to be played in the Carl Vinson’s hangar deck. Weather.com says there’s a 50 percent chance of rain on Friday, and they’re also saying that the high temperature will be 62 degrees.
Making things even worse for the players, there’s also supposed to be 10mph winds that could gust to significantly higher speeds.
Surely this can’t be a surprise to those who scheduled this game. November weather in San Diego is as unpredictable as a Sailor on liberty in Thailand. (Or perhaps a Sailor on Thai liberty is highly predictable?)
San Diego’s Quicken Loans Carrier Classic, USS Carl Vinson
So the back-up site is the hangar deck. Of course, the’ll have to clear out any flying machines present, those big brids that soar through the sky, flown by Sailors with Wings of Gold. Moving indoors will cut the seating in half. Being the Navy and all, we are planning contingencies and getting the alternative space ready:
Hangar Deck, USS Carl Vinson, Bad Weather Site
One of the seniors playing for the MSU Spartans has a brother in the Marine Corps. And Corps bro is going to watch hoops bro throw down:
A special reunion will take place onboard the USS Carl Vinson at Friday’s NCAA Carrier Classic basketball game when a local Marine will watch his brother play.
After finishing training in North Carolina, Marine 2nd Lt. Thomas Thornton – who was commissioned last summer – has arrived at Camp Pendleton for his assignment and also just in time for a big game.
Michigan State Uniform, Carrier Classic, USS Vinson
As for the uniform, it looks to be a special edition. Nevermind that the Spartans’ camouflage looks like the Army’s. About the baggy threads, the MSU coach has this to say:
”I think the uniforms are pretty cool,” Spartans head coach Tom Izzo said in a Monday release on MSUSpartans.com
“They definitely put the spotlight on our military and that’s what this is for.”
No player names will appear on the back of the jerseys, instead being replaced by “U.S.A.” above uniform numbers.
But the big question remains: what do the local Sailors think? Months prior, it seemed an impossibility. When I raised the issue, people first assumed I was joking. Now that it is happening in mere days, weather is the main concern. And the hangar is a big step-down from the outside option.
Don’t pray for rain. Pray for temperate weather. If it is played on the flight deck, the first half will be in the waning daylight and the second will be in the dark, under the night lights. Go Navy! Beat the weather! (And Army. . .)
Goofing on a Military Chaplain
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I am guilty of a transgression and not of the normal type. This one is extra special. A unique one.
I am on the phone. With the new Chaplain from a base across town. Our Navy command does not have its own, so we “borrow” a Chaplain from another base. The Admiral wants to meet with him and since I met Chaps at another event, I offer the Command Master Chief to make the arrangements.
Bear in mind that the Chaplain has one ribbon. He just graduated from seminary and arrived in San Diego for his first Navy posting. He did not go through OCS, but a kinder, gentler version. Up in Newport, Rhode Island. (I think they go through fork-and-knife school with the doctors.) The conversation goes something like this:
Me: Hey Chaplain, NavyOne here. We met at that dedication last Friday?
Chaps: Sure, NavyOne how are you?
Me: Good. Yourself?
Chaps: Fine.
Me: I wanted to schedule time for you to come on base to meet with our senior leadership, the Admiral in particular.
Chaps: Alright.
Me: How is next Wednesday?
Chaps: That works.
Me: I will get you a visitor’s pass.
Chaps: Okay.
Me: (Smiling) Um, the uniform of the day will be Choker Whites.
Chaps: Great! (I pause, surprised with his enthusiasm.)
Me: Awwww, just wear your normal khakis.
Chaps: If Choker Whites is the uniform, no problem.
Me: I was just kidding about the Chokers.
Chaps: Oh.
Me: (Feeling guilty) Sorry about that.
Chaps: No problem.
Nice kid, the Chaplain. Can I call the Chaps a kid? Sure, why not?!? How many Hail Marys did I earn for that one? (Completely unrelated side musement: Do some of Tim Tebow‘s long bombs count as Hail Marys?)
Top Gun: Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise in Choker Whites
Ladies, the sad truth about Choker Whites: they are uncomfortable. I know we look Top Gun-ish in them. But come some hot summer day and you swelter in all that polyester.
Every uniform I wear has polyester in it. We have become grudging friends. Me and the polymonster. But the stuff does not breathe.
Later, still feeling guilty about goofing on the Chaps, I email him. And offer to answer any curious questions he may have about the Navy, San Diego, anything. He still has not emailed me back.
At a bar-b-que, I see the Command Master Chief and tell her the story. She grins and says: C’mon sir, you should have let him show up in his Choker Whites!
Fact: however many Hail Marys I owe, the CMC owes double. . .
Stealing Avocados, NCAA Basketball, the USS Carl Vinson, and President Obama
So our beloved Sandy Eggo has made the national news cycle tonight!
On the Yahoo trending now section, a local story is number two. Take a guess what the topic is. The San Diego Chargers? Or maybe the Navy? The Michigan State versus North Carolina NCAA basketball game to be played on the USS Carl Vinson? Nope, try avacado thievery:
Delicious Avocados
An avocado thief received a strange punishment in California.
The jobless man is limited to possessing no more than 10 of the delicious fruit at a time.
In addition, he also has to stay away from groves where they grow.
As for the basketball angle, the Carrier Classic game between North Carolina and Michigan State, surely you have heard of this match-up:
The Navy has given final approval for the Morale Entertainment Foundation to stage the Carrier Classic basketball game between North Carolina and Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson on Veterans Day.
The Mighty USS Carl Vinson
It will be the first NCAA hoops game on an active flat top.
Rear Admiral Dennis Moynihan, the Navy’s chief spokesman, and Mike Whalen, director of the Morale Entertainment Foundation, said the game on 11-11-11 on San Diego Bay will be played without cost to taxpayers and without operational issues that would adversely affect the Navy.
Guess who will be in attendance? Jacky Nicholson? Nope. WIlliam Crystal, Steve Spielberg? Negative, shipmate. Try the Commander-in-Chief, President Obama:
President Barack Obama, the nation’s basketball-fan-in-chief, will have the seat of his choice at the Carrier Classic hoops game on Veterans Day on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier that buried Osama bin Laden at sea.
Barack Obama, Slam Dunk Champion
The White House announced Thursday that Obama has accepted an invitation to attend the Nov. 11 matchup between North Carolina and Michigan State, the first college basketball game on an active flat top.
The Carl Vinson and its sailors have attracted considerable attention since early May, when the carrier conducted bin Laden’s burial at sea after he was killed by Navy SEALs in a raid ordered by Obama.
The United States Navy, lethal when deployed. Useful for hosting highly-ranked basketball teams when in port. I can just see the headline the next day:
412 shots fired from the deck of the Carl Vinson, no injuries reported.
Boom Shaka Awlaki Boom!
Fellow Mellows,
Please unbow your heads and do not observe a moment of silence. Rather, raise your fangs to the sky, in a wolf howl, and celebrate with a full-throated growling of Boom Shaka Awlaki Boom!
It is with a great lack of sadness that I announce the passing of Anwar al-Awlaki, pictured in funky turbaned glory below:
al-Awlaki in happier days (لا الله الا الله والعولقي في الجحيم) Boom Shaka Awlaki Boom!
Why should I be revel so victoriously over this and not over any of the other weekly Predator attacks? Simple: Awlaki was dangerous due to both his fluent command of English and his media sav-va-try. He has even been described as the: “bin Laden of the Internet.”
Predator drone kills al-awalki the jihadi
Was he not an American? Are we not treading in dangerous legal waters by targeting one of our own, a countryman?
No problem. This situation could have been remedied by immediately revoking his citizenship once he was found to be in contempt of the country and in support of sedition. Certainly as an adult, he was an American in name only. . .
Senor Awlaki lived in San Diego during the 90s. I have driven past his mosque, across the 8 from Lake Murray (in La Mesa), many times:
Two of the 9/11 hijackers (Nawaf Al-Hazmi and Khalid Almihdhar) regularly attended the mosque in 2000, and Al-Awlaki had many closed-door meetings with them, which led investigators to believe Al-Awlaki knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.
Anwar al-Awlaki and the Happy Hooker
He even got arrested twice for soliciting hookers (not anglers, but the presumably female type.)
From his MySpace page: Although he hesitated to shake hands with women, Al-Awlaki patronized prostitutes. He was arrested in San Diego in August 1996 and in April 1997 for soliciting prostitutes.
In the first instance, he pled guilty to a lesser charge on condition of entering an AIDS education program, and paying $400 in fines and restitution. The second time, he pled guilty to soliciting a prostitute, and was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $240, and ordered to perform 12 days of community service.
Argyle JSOC Operator
Samir Khan (one of the publishers of the Al Qaida rag Inspire and author of the article: “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom“) and a senior bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, were also killed in the blast.
Fox News reported that: “According to a senior U.S. official, the operation was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), under the direction of the CIA.”
Ed Westwick, Gossip Girl, secret JSOC Operator
Who, ask you, are these steely-eyed JSOC’ers?
Operators from the JSOC community wear special feet-coverings, and rely on highly charged music, which they play prior to a mission. Here is one such recording, and another.
Furthermore, JSOC’ers are a group of warriors with a deep affinity for argyle, hence their festive socks. This revelation may be classified, but in the interest of avoiding blue-on-blue fratricide (friendly fire), I feel compelled to illustrate JSOC operators in their feral warriorness. To prevent you from accidentally targeting them on your Saturday afternoon straffing runs at your local supermarket.
Boo hoo AQAP: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
More from Fox: AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) has lost its ideological leader, which is a huge blow, a former intelligence official who has tracked al-Awlaki for years.
Since I am still active-duty and should not, probably not ever, consider thinking about, saying aloud, or actually criticizing Flag Officers; let me say that this General deserves a Nobel Prize for his noble thinking about the Fort Hood shooter (Major Hasan) who was inspired by al-Alwaki:
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said it’s important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan’s Muslim faith, and he has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reaction to the killings at the Texas post.
Diversity at the Pentagon
He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could “heighten the backlash” against all Muslims in the military.
Casey says diversity in the military “gives us strength.”
Cough, really? Cough, chortle, spit. Yes, sir. (Diversity gives us the appearance of variety, unity gives us strength.)