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From Jammu we reached Pathankot and from there took a bus to Dharamshala. More than 10 hours for 230 kms, the State Government should do something to improve the public transport.

Reached McLeod Gunj at around midnight – surprised to see some shops and restaurants open – checked into the hotel and called it a day.

Woke up to the view of the Dauladhar range and to the chirping of birds.

A warm tea is all I need to start my day.

I had listed out around 10-12 placesthings to do but once we were out on the streets I didn’t feel like working on my checklist. Dropped everything and went with the flow – which included again a pot of ginger tea and brunch – had a toast and pancakes for almost almost 2 hrs. Tibetan culture was getting onto me and I was enjoying it. One other reason could also…

If you were watching the news this week you may have missed these headlines from the past few days:

• Waffle House customer cooks own food while worker sleeps (the customer left himself a generous tip for the delicious meal)
• Squirrel vandalizes New Jersey city’s Christmas lights
• ‘Drunk’ opossum found in Florida liquor store (policeman reports that opossum was ‘drunk as a skunk’)
• Grenade found in box of donations at California Goodwill
• Musician uses car’s windshield wipers to play violin
• Police recover stuffed zebra head after caught-on-camera burglary (why would one have a zebra head? why would one steal a zebra head?)
• US Government Shuts Down Flat-Earther’s Rocket Launch (the only thing Flat-Earthers have to fear is sphere itself)

I’m delighted to tell you that the beautiful military working dogs who were scheduled to be put down this week have been given a reprieve.  They will be “re homed” with people who will care for them the way they deserve after all their hard work!

Thank you, thank you to all of you who took a minute to sign the petition.  It made all the difference in this case.  The number of signatures topped out at 374,304 (in just 4 days) and was still going strong, before the Defence Secretary responded and ordered that the dogs be saved.

Love and hugs to all who helped in the quest to save these dogs!

Help save the lives of some military working dogs

Sign the petition at the bottom of this post.  It costs nothing and only requires your name and email address.

Kevin and his handler

Military working dogs are highly trained canines who go to war to help do very dangerous work.  Dogs have fought alongside American forces in every conflict since the Revolutionary War (but only officially since WWII).  The particular dogs in danger of having their lives taken, worked with UK forces on the battlefield.

According to an article in The Sun, two Army dogs who helped save thousands of lives while on duty in Afghanistan will be put down next week, be­cause Top Brass say they can’t be re-homed.  This is despite having trained, military dog handlers who are willing and able to take them in and provide a home for them.

Kevin worked in Afghanistan (Helmand Province) sniffing…

Some dry humor for your Saturday…

1. The first time I got a universal remote control I thought to myself, “This changes everything”.
2. I refused to believe my road worker father was stealing from his job, but when I got home all the signs were there.
3. I recently decided to sell my vacuum cleaner as all it was doing was gathering dust.
4. Don’t you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.
5. As I watched the dog chasing his tail I thought “Dogs are easily amused”, then I realized I was watching the dog chasing his tail.
6. Gambling addiction hotlines would do so much better if every fifth caller was a winner.
7. Just because nobody complains doesn’t mean all parachutes are perfect.
8. To the man on crutches, dressed in camouflage, who stole my wallet – you can hide, but you can’t run.
9. Velcro – what a rip-off!
10. My friend…

North American B-25 Mitchell: The Ultimate Look: From Drawing Board to Flying Arsenal

My Uncle Ed Poltrack piloted 60 missions in the Pacific Theatre in WWII. He piloted a B-25 Mitchell Bomber.  The National Museum of the Air Force  website has an interactive photo  gallery of the interior of this aircraft (see the links under the photo). Note:Ed piloted a variation of the original design in which the transparent nose was replaced with two fixed machine guns.

38th Bomb Group – 823rd Squadron

Click on links to see a 360 degree view of the interior of this aircraft (links open in new window)

Pilot Station

Bombadier

Radio Operator

Tail Gunner

Ed Poltrack in Cockpit

From Ed Poltrack’s War Diary — Sunday, April 15, 1944 – Mission #48

Mission to Hollandia. Nil interception. Nil ack-ack. On return met a solid front near Bogadjim. Turned toward coast and found a hole on…

Although most people associate Smithsonian museums with Washington, DC, New York City is host to two very special Smithsonian museums: the National Museum of the American Indian, which we’ve previously explored here and here, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Located in what was once the mansion of successful businessman Andrew Carnegie, Cooper Hewitt’s surroundings and ever-changing exhibitions are fascinating and inspiring.

What makes Cooper Hewitt particularly fun to visit is its interactive features. When visitors step up to the ticket counter, they are given an pen that holds all kinds of possibilities. As you tour the museum, you can “collect” information about individual exhibits that interest you. Each exhibit has a special symbol on the sign describing the exhibit and, by pressing your pen to that symbol, it saves that information in a digital file. You are given a unique identifier for your pen and visit…

Today, August 6, 2015, marks 70 years since the first atomic weapon was used during World War II. Whether or not an atomic bomb should have been used is still up for debate, but that’s not the purpose of this post. The stories of those that were near Hiroshima at the time aren’t very well known. Crews that were flying missions that day were limited and specifically directed to stay at least 50 miles away from Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kokura, although they weren’t told why. Later on, the news about the atomic bomb broke. Reactions ranged from disbelief that such a thing was possible to hope that the war would soon be over. We have three eyewitness accounts from men of the 43rd Bomb Group, who were stationed on the island of Ie Shima and flying daily missions over Japan.

8/6-8/7/45 Account from Dick Wood, member of the 63rd Bomb…