In his comments to this post, Robert the Llamabutcher reveals himself as a P-51 man, over the, to me, far sexier P-38.

But we can find common ground in our admiration of the B-25 Mitchell. I especially like the B-25 "G" and "H" variants, with the nose-mounted 75mm cannon (a predecessor of the AC-47 and AC-130 gunships).

Aviation historian Martin Caidin wrote an entertaining, if fictionalized, history of the B-25 gunship in Whip, which I read many times in my teen years.

Another of my favorites -- developed but not flown in WWII -- is the B-36 Peacemaker.

(For earlier posts on aircraft aesthetics, check here and here).

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This should be the final entry. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures. All (except for the one of me in front of the P-3 were taken with our new Sony Cybershot P-100 5.1 megapixel digital camera. Easy to use, nice optics for its size, ergonomic, and small. Highly recommended.

Despite some minor complaints from the kids, we were able to haul them on several hikes this time, including one at high altitude. Here's the view at lunchtime, close to timberline:

And here's the view at 11,900 feet above mean -- highest point on the trail:

What's funny is that some people don't really grok this. They prefer the beach, or, [shudder] the plains. James Lileks thinks mountains are too obvious. Funny, I grew up in a city on the plain and have seen clouds like mountain ranges, but I have never experienced in Texas anything close to the awe I feel in the Rockies. (More pics in the extended entry). . . more...

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Our vacation took us from nice-but-not-so-scenic Plano, Texas to Breckenridge, Colorado (elev. 9,600 feet).

Our first day was spent driving to Colorado Springs, where we spent one night. The next day, we visited the US Air Force Academy. (Pictures and more commentary in extended entry).

more...

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This week's Carnival of the Vanities was a rather "Fly By Night" affair.

(Via fellow Rush-head and junior Vodkapundit Will Collier).

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Strange to start a vacation photoblog with pictures of food joints, eh?

Well, this vacation was different from previous years in that we decided to take a stand against McDonalds, BurgerKing, and other cheap, artery-clogging food in favor of non-chain, locally-owned, less cheap, artery-clogging food. (Actually, we ate pretty healthy, with most of our meals home-cooked in the huge kitchen of the condo we rented in Breckenridge).

I think we chose pretty well. (See extended entry for pics and critiques).
more...

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My second son (7) attempted a backwards flip/dive at our neighborhood pool when I was almost home from work today. My wife took him to the ER after dropping off our 5-year-old daughter to stay with me (eldest son is at scout camp, thankfully).

This is the son I expect to be the first (if not only) one of my kids to jump out of an airplane someday. He managed to expose his skull lining, but seven staples and a vicious headache later, he is doing fine.

Time for some adult refreshments. . .

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OK, OK. Just what is Operation Coffeecup?

A brief foray by me into Lileks territory. About a year ago, I found an old vinyl record that my parents had recovered from my grandmother's house. Here's the cover:

I'm converting it to digital. Soon you can hear the mellifluous strains of the Great Communicator speaking out against the evils of socialized medicine. Too bad our current President doesn't share Reagan's principles on this issue.

I'll soon include more cover art and transcriptions of the "liner notes," which are charmingly anachronistic.

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I've recently gotten off the highway (from Breckenridge, Colorado to Plano, Texas) so I think it appropriate to kick off blogging again with this puzzling little diversion found at the Llama Butchers:

Coming soon: a brief vacation photoblog, commentary on what I've missed, and maybe even a complaint or two about returning to the salt mines of lawyering.

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