Thursday, May 31, 2012

Iconic TV Shows That Have Ended, Part 2



Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired. The film and series were developed by Glen A. Larson, based upon the character Buck Rogers created in 1928 by Philip Francis Nowlan that had previously been featured in comic strips, novellas, a serial film, and on television and radio
For more...
For intro...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars


The Pontiac Bonneville Special is a purpose-built concept car unveiled at the General Motors Motorama in 1954, the first 2-seater sports car Pontiac ever produced. Designed by renowned designer Harley J. Earl and hand built by Homer C. LaGassey Jr. and Paul Gilland, the "Special" is an experimental car, a two door, grand touring sport coupé that incorporated innovative breakthrough styling like an all-plexi canopy with gull-wing panels on a sleek fiberglass body. The name "Bonneville" was inspired by a trip by Earl to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah while observing speed trials there. It was in fact the first car at GM to have been named after it, and would become Pontiac's top end performance platform for 47 years.

Two "Special" prototypes, one painted metallic bronze and one emerald green, were built with the intention of unveiling them simultaneously at the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf in New York and the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1954.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht) was a naval battle by the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet (which included ships and individual personnel from the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy) against the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war. It was only the third-ever fleet action between steel battleships, following the smaller but more decisive battles of the Yellow Sea (1904) and Tsushima (1905) during the Russo-Japanese War.

The High Seas Fleet was commanded by Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, and the Grand Fleet by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The German fleet's intention was to lure out, trap, and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, as the German naval force was insufficient to successfully engage the entire British fleet. This formed part of a larger strategy to break the British blockade of Germany and to allow German mercantile shipping to operate. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy pursued a strategy to engage and destroy the High Seas Fleet, or keep the German force contained and away from Britain's own shipping lanes.
For more...

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Iconic TV Shows That Have Ended, Part 2


Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California. Sponsored by cereal manufacturer Kellogg's, the syndicated show's first, and last, air dates are disputed but generally accepted as September 19, 1952 and April 28, 1958. The show's first two seasons (episodes 1–52, 26 titles per season) were filmed in black-and-white; seasons three through six (episodes 53–104, 13 titles per season) were filmed in color but originally telecast monochromatically both on the ABC network and in first-run syndication. Television viewers would not see Superman in color until the series was syndicated to local stations in 1965.
For more...
For intro...

Todays Highlight in History


The 1911 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. A departure from previous Speedway policy of holding numerous smaller racing meets during 1909 and 1910 racing seasons, the singular, large-scale event attracted widespread attention from both American and European racing teams and manufacturers, and, despite controversy surrounding its conclusion, proved far and away a successful event, immediately establishing itself both as the premier motorsports competition in the nation, and one of the most prestigious in the world.
For more...
For history...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars


The Chevrolet Aerovette is a concept car created by the Chevrolet division of General Motors, beginning life as Experimental Project 882 (XP-882). It has a mid-engine configuration using a transverse mounting of its V-8 engine. Zora Arkus- Duntov's engineers originally built two XP-882s during 1969, but John DeLorean, Chevrolet's general manager, canceled the program because it was impractical and costly. But when Ford announced plans to sell the DeTomaso Pantera through Lincoln-Mercury dealers, DeLorean ordered one XP-882 cleaned up for display at the 1970 New York Auto Show.
For more...

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Mercury Zephyr was a compact car sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company for the North American market. Introduced as a replacement for the Mercury Comet, it was produced from 1978 to 1983. Along with its corporate cousin, the Ford Fairmont, it was the first use in the Mercury division of the long-lived unibody Fox platform, which did not completely leave production until 2004.

Zephyr, taken from a poetic name for the west wind, has a considerable history in the Ford line. It was first used in the late 1930s for a smaller, less expensive Lincoln, which provided the basis for the first Continental. From 1950 to 1972, it was used on a European Ford model. In 2006, it returned to the Lincoln line once again.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The Yaxa was a Swiss automobile produced from 1912 until 1914. Its name was a phonetic rendering of the phrase 'Y a que ça ("It's the only one there is"). Of Genevan manufacture, the car was built by Charles Bahni, an early collaborator of Charles-Edouard Henriod. The Yaxa was a 1692 cc light car which used a four-cylinder Zedel engine; among its other touches were central gear and brake levers. Baehni drove a Yaxa to victory in the 1913 Coupe de la Gruyère; nevertheless, the marque folded a year later.

Decommissioned Naval Ships


USS Zane (DD-337/DMS-14/AG-109) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was named for Randolph Zane.

Zane was laid down on 15 January 1919 at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California; launched on 12 August 1919; sponsored by Miss Marjorie Zane, the daughter of Major R. T. Zane; re-classified DD-337 on 17 July 1920; and commissioned at Mare Island on 15 February 1921, Lieutenant Commander P. Seymour in command.

Herman Wouk, author of the novel The Caine Mutiny, served as an officer aboard Zane from February 1943 to February 1945 before becoming executive officer of another DMS, USS Southard in May. Zane and her campaigns served as the model for many of those of the fictional USS Caine (DMS-22) in the novel. Wouk began writing his first novel, Aurora Dawn, while the Zane was at Tulagi.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

It opened to the public on April 29, 2004, and was dedicated by President George W. Bush on May 29, 2004, two days before Memorial Day. The memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. As of 2009, more than 4.4 million people visit the memorial each year.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day weekend. A total of 165 persons died and over 200 were injured as a result of the blaze.
For more...

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Todays Highlight in History


Three Little Pigs is an animated short film released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on a fairy tale of the same name, Three Little Pigs won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. In 1994, it was voted #11 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. In 2007, Three Little Pigs was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships

Another 2 for 1

USS Yorktown (CV-5) was an aircraft carrier commissioned in the United States Navy from 1937 until she was sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. She was named after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and the lead ship of the Yorktown class which was designed after lessons learned from operations with the large converted battlecruiser Lexington class and the smaller purpose-built Ranger. She represented the epitome of U.S. pre-war carrier design.
For more...


USS Yorktown (CV/CVA/CVS-10) is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is named after the Battle of Yorktown of the American Revolutionary War, and is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Initially to have been named Bon Homme Richard, she was renamed Yorktown while under construction to commemorate USS Yorktown (CV-5), lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943, and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.
For more...

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

In this case, only thing i could find.
The Xander automobile company was founded in 1901 by John G. Xander in Reading, Pennsylvania. This was after 10 years in the bicycle business. His first cars were steam, then gasoline engines were used. He only built his car custom order. In 1902, he stopped.

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Chrysler Windsor was a full-sized car built by the Chrysler Corporation of Highland Park, Michigan (USA) from 1939 through to the 1960s. The final Chrysler Windsor as known to Americans was produced in 1961, but continued production in Canada until 1966. The Canadian 1961 to 1966 Windsor model was for all intents and purposes the equivalent of the Chrysler Newport in the United States.

The Windsor was positioned above the entry-level Royal from 1939 to 1950. With the demise of the Royal for the 1951 model year the Windsor became Chrysler's price leader through to 1960. For the 1961 model year the Chrysler Newport was made the marque's price leader with the Windsor positioned one level above the Newport. Chrysler replaced the Windsor name in 1962 with the introduction of the non-lettered series Chrysler 300.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships



USS Xanthus (AR-19) was a Xanthus-class repair ship acquired by the United States Navy for the task of providing repairs to the fleet. She was named after Xanthus, a mythical beast of Greek legend.

Intended for the Royal Navy as HMS Hecla (F 175), she was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2664) as Hecla on 6 June 1944 at Baltimore, Maryland, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.. She was launched on 31 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J.W.A. Waller, and delivered to the Navy on a loan basis on 16 August 1944.

On 6 December 1944, she was renamed Xanthus and designated AR-19. She was commissioned on 9 May 1945 with Commander Stanley G. Nichols in command.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships

2 for 1

USS Wasp (CV-7) was a United States Navy aircraft carrier. The eighth Navy ship of that name, she was the sole ship of her class. Built to use up the remaining tonnage allowed to the U.S. for aircraft carriers under the treaties of the time, she was built on a reduced-size version of the Yorktown-class hull.
For more...




USS Wasp (CV/CVA/CVS-18) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship, the ninth US Navy ship to bear the name, was originally named Oriskany, but was renamed while under construction in honor of the previous Wasp (CV-7), which was sunk 15 September 1942. Wasp was commissioned in November 1943, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning eight battle stars. Like many of her sister ships, she was decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, but was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). In her second career she operated mainly in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean. She played a prominent role in the manned space program, serving as the recovery ship for three missions: Gemini VI, VII, and IX.

Todays Highlight in History


The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow. It was founded on May 26, 1896, and is now owned by Dow Jones Indexes, which is majority owned by the CME Group. The average is named after Dow and one of his business associates, statistician Edward Jones. It is an index that shows how 30 large, publicly owned companies based in the United States have traded during a standard trading session in the stock market. It is the second oldest U.S. market index after the Dow Jones Transportation Average, which was also created by Dow.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the six-film saga. It is the fourth film in terms of the series' internal chronology. Groundbreaking in its use of special effects, unconventional editing, and science fiction/fantasy storytelling, the original Star Wars is one of the most successful and influential films of all time.

Set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away", the film follows a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance as they plot to destroy the powerful Death Star space station, a devastating weapon created by the evil Galactic Empire. This conflict disrupts the isolated life of farmboy Luke Skywalker when he inadvertently acquires the droids carrying the stolen plans to the Death Star. After the Empire begins a cruel and destructive search for the droids, Skywalker decides to accompany Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on a daring mission to rescue the owner of the droids, rebel leader Princess Leia, and save the galaxy.

Produced with a budget of $11 million and released on May 25, 1977, the film earned $460 million in the United States and $337 million overseas, surpassing Jaws as the nominal highest-grossing film and remained that way until being surpassed by E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1983. When adjusted for inflation, it is the second highest grossing film in the USA and Canada as of 2010. Among the many awards the film received, it gained ten Academy Award nominations, winning six; the nominations included Best Supporting Actor for Alec Guinness and Best Picture. The film is often ranked among the best films of all time. Lucas has re-released the film on several occasions, sometimes with significant changes; the most notable versions are the 1997 Special Edition, the 2004 DVD release, and the 2011 Blu-ray release, which have modified computer-generated effects, altered dialogue, and added scenes
For more...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Todays Highlight in History


The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941. The British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Hood fought the German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, both of which were attempting to break out into the North Atlantic to destroy Allied merchant shipping.

Less than 10 minutes after the British opened fire, a shell from Bismarck struck Hood near her aft ammunition magazines. Soon afterwards Hood exploded, and sank within three minutes with the loss of all but three of her crew. Prince of Wales continued to exchange fire with Bismarck but suffered serious malfunctions in her main armament as the British battleship had not fully worked up after being completed in late March 1941 and soon broke off the engagement. The battle was considered a tactical victory for the Germans, however Bismarck was forced to abort her Atlantic mission due to damage suffered to her forward fuel tanks.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market emerging in the late 1950s. The Valiant was built and marketed worldwide in countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, as well as other countries in South America and Western Europe.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships


The USS Vincennes (CG-49) was a Ticonderoga-class Aegis guided missile cruiser in service with the United States Navy from July 1985 to June 2005. Five years after being decommissioned, the USS Vincennes was sold for scrapping to International Shipbreaking in July 2010, and was completely scrapped by the end of November 2011.

The USS Vincennes is best known for shooting down a Iranian civilian passenger jetliner, Iran Air Flight 655, over the Persian Gulf on July 3, 1988, killing all 290 civilians on board (including 38 non-Iranians and 66 children), sparking an international incident between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America.
For more...

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Video Games



Grand Theft Auto V (commonly shortened to GTA V) is an upcoming open world action-adventure video game being developed by games developer Rockstar North in the United Kingdom and published by Rockstar Games. The game will be the first major title in the Grand Theft Auto series since Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), which started the fourth "era" in the series. The fifteenth game in the series overall, GTA V is to be set in fictional Los Santos in the state of San Andreas and its surrounding areas, based on modern-day Los Angeles and Southern California. A rendition of Los Santos was previously featured as one of three cities in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, from the series's third era.

A highly anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto V was officially announced on 25 October 2011. The debut trailer for the game was unveiled on 2 November 2011.
For more on the series...
For trailer...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


During 1905, the Upton sold for US$2,500 and was promoted as "the best proposition for the money in the United States." The vehicle had some unusual features including "bullet shaped headlights" which were connected to turn with the steering wheel and a drive shaft brake in addition to a separate brake on each rear wheel. The car was equipped with a 4-cylinder, vertical engine and a 3-speed transmission with direct drive. It also came complete with two acetylene headlights, two side lights, one rear light, a French horn and rubber mats and tools.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships



USS Underhill (DE-682), a Buckley-class destroyer escort, was named in honor of Ensign Samuel Underhill, a naval aviator of the United States Navy who was killed in action during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Her keel was laid down on 16 September 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Fore River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 15 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs. David (Bertha) Underhill, aunt and guardian of Ensign Underhill. Underhill was commissioned exactly one month later under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sidney R. Jackson.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History



Barrow and Parker were ambushed and killed on May 23, 1934 on a rural road in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The couple appeared in daylight in an automobile and were shot by a posse of four Texas officers (Frank Hamer, B.M. "Manny" Gault, Bob Alcorn and Ted Hinton) and two Louisiana officers (Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley).
For more...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Ford Torino is an intermediate automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. The car was named after the city of Turin (Torino, in Italian), which is considered the Detroit (primary automobile production city) of Italy. The Torino was initially an upscale version of the intermediate sized Ford Fairlane, which Ford produced between 1962 and 1970. After 1968, the Fairlane name was retained for the base models with lower levels of trim than those models which wore the Torino name. During this time, the Torino was considered a subseries to the Fairlane. By 1970 Torino had become the primary name for Ford's intermediate, and the Fairlane was now a subseries of the Torino. In 1971 the Fairlane name was dropped altogether and all Ford intermediates were called Torino. This name was one of several originally proposed for the Mustang while in development. The Torino was essentially a twin to the Mercury Montego line.

Most Torinos were conventional cars, and generally the most popular models were the 4-door sedans and 4-door hardtops. However, Ford produced some high-performance versions of the Torino by fitting them with large powerful engines, such as the 428 cu in (7.0 L) and 429 cu in (7.0 L) "Cobra-Jet" engines. These cars are classified as muscle cars. Ford also chose the Torino as the base for its NASCAR entrants, and it has a successful racing heritage.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


Pac-Man (パックマン, Pakkuman?) is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games, and an icon of 1980s popular culture. Upon its release, the game—and, subsequently, Pac-Man derivatives—became a social phenomenon that sold a bevy of merchandise and also inspired, among other things, an animated television series and a top-ten hit single.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships



USS Texas (BB-35), the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Texas, is a New York-class battleship. The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914.

Soon after her commissioning, Texas saw action in Mexican waters following the "Tampico Incident" and made numerous sorties into the North Sea during World War I. When the United States formally entered World War II in 1941, Texas took on the role of escorting war convoys across the Atlantic, and she later shelled Axis-held beaches for the North African campaign and the Normandy Landings before being transferred to the Pacific Theater late in 1944 to provide naval gunfire support during the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
For more...

Monday, May 21, 2012

Decommissioned Naval Ships



USS Saratoga (CV/CVA/CVB-60), was one of four Forrestal- class supercarriers built for the US Navy in the 1950s. Saratoga was the sixth US Navy ship, and the second aircraft carrier, to be named for the Battle of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War.

Commissioned in 1956, she spent most of her career in the Mediterranean, but also participated in the Vietnam War. One of her last operational duties was to participate in Operation Desert Storm.

Saratoga was decommissioned in 1994, and is currently stored in Newport, Rhode Island. Multiple unsuccessful attempts have been made to preserve her as a museum ship, and she is currently slated for disposal.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The American Red Cross was established in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 1881, by Clara Barton, who became the first president of the organization. Barton first organized a meeting on May 12 of that year at the home of Sen. Omar D. Conger (R, MI). Fifteen people were present at this first meeting, including Barton, Conger, and Rep. William Lawrence (R, OH) (who became the first vice-president).

Jane Delano (1862–1919) founded the American Red Cross Nursing Service on January 20, 1910
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The short-lived Plymouth Road Runner Superbird was a highly modified version of the Plymouth Road Runner with well known graphics and horn. It was the factory's follow up stock car racing design for the 1970 season to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and modifications (both minor and major) garnered from the Daytona's season in competition on the track. The car's primary rival was the Ford Torino Talladega, which in itself was a direct response to the Mopar aero car. It has also been speculated[by whom?] one major motivating factors in the production of the car was to lure Richard Petty back to Plymouth. Both of the Mopar aero cars famously featured a protruding, aerodynamic nosecone, a high-mounted rear wing and, in the case of the Superbird, a horn which mimicked the Road Runner cartoon character.
For more...

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

This was my 7th vehicle. Mine was a dark blue with a 4-cylinder and manual trans.

The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for the North American, Chilean, Argentinian, and Brazilian markets for model years 1983 to 2012. The "Ranger" nameplate had previously applied to a premium styling package on the F-Series full-sized pickup trucks, beginning in 1965. In 1983, the Ranger was introduced as the replacement for the Ford Courier, a badge-engineered version of the Mazda B-Series, in a segment largely defined by the pickup trucks from Datsun and Toyota. From 1987 to 2004, the Ranger was the best-selling compact pickup in America.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa began in May 1883 and culminated with the destruction of Krakatoa on 27 August 1883. Minor seismic activity continued to be reported until February 1884, though reports after October 1883 were later dismissed by Rogier Verbeek's investigation. This event is treated as the single largest explosion in recorded human history.

Early phase
In the years before the 1883 eruption, seismic activity around the volcano was intense, with some earthquakes felt as far as Australia. Beginning 20 May 1883, 4 months before the final explosion, steam venting began to occur regularly from Perbuatan, the northernmost of the island's three cones. Eruptions of ash reached an altitude of 6 km (20,000 ft) and explosions could be heard in New Batavia (Jakarta) 160 km (99 mi) away. Activity died down by the end of May, with no records of activity until mid-June.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships


The seventh USS Ranger (CV/CVA-61) is one of four Forrestal-class supercarriers built for the US Navy in the 1950s. Commissioned in 1957, she served extensively in the Pacific, especially the Vietnam War, for which she earned 13 battle stars. Near the end of her career she also served in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. She was decommissioned in 1993, and is being stored at Bremerton, Washington. A foundation in Oregon is currently trying to acquire her as a museum, to be berthed on the Columbia River at Fairview, Oregon.

Ranger had the distinction of being the first US carrier built from the very beginning as an angled deck ship. She appeared on television in The Six Million Dollar Man, Baa Baa Black Sheep and in the films Top Gun, Star Trek IV, The Final Countdown, and Flight of the Intruder.
For more...

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Todays Highlight in History


The Battle of The Cedars (French: Les Cèdres) was a series of military confrontations early in the American Revolutionary War during the Continental Army's invasion of Quebec that had begun in September 1775. The skirmishes, which involved limited combat, occurred in May 1776 at and around The Cedars, 45 km (28 mi) west of Montreal, Quebec. Continental Army units were opposed by a small number of British troops leading a larger force of Indians (primarily Iroquois), and militia.

Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, commanding the American military garrison at Montreal, had placed a detachment of his troops at The Cedars in April 1776, after receiving rumors of British and Indian military preparations to the west of Montreal. The garrison surrendered on May 19 after a confrontation with a combined force of British and Indian troops led by Captain George Forster. American reinforcements on their way to The Cedars were also captured after a brief skirmish on May 20. All of the captives were eventually released after negotiations between Forster and Arnold, who was bringing a sizable force into the area. The terms of the agreement required the Americans to release an equal number of British prisoners. However, the deal was repudiated by Congress, and no British prisoners were freed.

Colonel Timothy Bedel and Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield, leaders of the American force at The Cedars, were court-martialed and cashiered from the Continental Army for their roles in the affair. After distinguishing himself as a volunteer, Bedel was given a new commission in 1777. News of the affair included greatly inflated reports of casualties, and often included graphic but false accounts of atrocities committed by the Iroquois that made up the majority of the British forces.

Decommissioned Naval Ships


USS Queenfish (SS/AGSS-393), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the queenfish, a small food fish found off the Pacific coast of North America.

The first Queenfish was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, 27 July 1943; launched 30 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. Theobald; and commissioned 11 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Loughlin in command.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made



The Infiniti Q45 was a full-size luxury car sold by Nissan's Infiniti marque from 1990 until 2006. It is a rear wheel drive, four-door sedan powered by a V8 engine. Early generations were based on the automaker's Japanese-market flagship sedan, the Nissan President, while models produced after 1997 were based on the slightly smaller Nissan Cima. Exports of the Q45 ceased after 2006, but the Cima continued to be sold domestically until August 2010, when production of both the Cima and President ended. The Q45 competed directly with the Lexus LS, as well as the higher-priced BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
For more...

Friday, May 18, 2012

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

My female best friend of over half my life had one, it was the wagon and I worked on it some

The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact automobile produced in the United States by the American Motors Corporation between 1975 and 1980.

Design work began in 1971. The rounded shape and large glass area were unusual compared with the three-box designs of the era, and this "jellybean" styling has made it an icon of the 1970s. Car and Driver dubbed it "The Flying Fishbowl", and it was also described as "the seventies answer to George Jetson's mode of transportation" at a time when "Detroit was still rolling out boat-sized gas guzzlers."

The unconventional styling, inadequate cargo space and relatively low performance from the six-cylinder engines were cited as factors in the Pacer's lack of success.

For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships


USS Princeton (CV/CVA/CVS-37, LPH-5) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton. Princeton was commissioned in November 1945, too late to serve in World War II, but saw extensive service in the Korean War, in which she earned eight battle stars, and the Vietnam War. She was reclassified in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), then as an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS), and finally as an amphibious assault ship (LPH), carrying helicopters and marines. One of her last missions was to serve as the prime recovery ship for the Apollo 10 space mission.

Unlike most of her sister ships, she received no major modernizations, and thus throughout her career retained the classic appearance of a World War II Essex-class ship. She was decommissioned in 1970, and sold for scrap in 1971.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History



The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located in Washington state, in the United States, was a major volcanic eruption. The eruption (which was a VEI 5 event) was the only significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 US states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano that created a huge bulge and a fracture system on Mount St. Helens' north slope.

Prior to the eruption, USGS scientists convinced local authorities to close Mount St. Helens to the general public and to maintain the closure in spite of pressure to re-open it; their work saved thousands of lives. An earthquake at 8:32:17 a.m. PDT (UTC−7) on Sunday, May 18, 1980, caused the entire weakened north face to slide away, suddenly exposing the partly molten, gas- and steam-rich rock in the volcano to lower pressure. The rock responded by exploding a hot mix of lava and pulverized older rock toward Spirit Lake so fast that it overtook the avalanching north face.

An eruption column rose 80,000 feet (24,400 m) into the atmosphere and deposited ash in 11 U.S. states. At the same time, snow, ice and several entire glaciers on the volcano melted, forming a series of large lahars (volcanic mudslides) that reached as far as the Columbia River, nearly fifty miles (eighty kilometers) to the southwest. Less severe outbursts continued into the next day only to be followed by other large but not as destructive eruptions later in 1980.

Fifty-seven people (including innkeeper Harry R. Truman, photographer Reid Blackburn and geologist David A. Johnston) and thousands of animals were killed. Hundreds of square miles were reduced to wasteland, causing over a billion U.S. dollars in damage ($2.74 billion in 2011 dollars), and Mount St. Helens was left with a crater on its north side. At the time of the eruption, the summit of the volcano was owned by the Burlington Northern Railroad, but afterward the land passed to the United States Forest Service. The area was later preserved, as it was, in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

For more...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

She's Goin' Down - Florida Sport Fishing | The Journal for the Avid Angler

She's Goin' Down - Florida Sport Fishing | The Journal for the Avid Angler

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Saturn Outlook is a crossover SUV that debuted at the New York International Auto Show, and is based on the new GM Lambda platform, which it shares with the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. The Outlook features the second-lowest sticker price among GM's Lambda SUVs, slotting between the baseline Chevrolet Traverse and the mid-line GMC Acadia.

Following the withdrawal of a bid by Penske Automotive to acquire Saturn, the Motors Liquidation Company of General Motors announced in September 2009 that it expected to phase out the Saturn brand by October 2010.
For more...

Decommissioned Naval Ships

My best friend in high school joined the Navy when he graduated, this was his first ship stationed on.

USS O'Brien (DD-975) was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. It was named for Captain Jeremiah O'Brien USN and his five brothers: Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph. The O'Briens were crew members on board the sloop Unity, which captured HMS Margaretta at the entrance to Machias harbor on 12 June 1775. O’Brien was decommissioned on 24 September 2004, and was later sunk as part of a training exercise in 2006.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History


The USS Stark incident occurred during the Iran–Iraq War on May 17, 1987, when an Iraqi jet aircraft fired missiles at the American frigate USS Stark. Thirty-seven United States Navy personnel were killed and twenty-one others were wounded. The Iraqi government later apologized for the attack.
For more...

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Decommissioned Naval Ships


USS New Hanover (AKA-73) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy named after New Hanover County, North Carolina. Like all AKAs, New Hanover was designed to carry military cargo and landing craft, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations. She served as a commissioned ship for 19 months.

New Hanover was laid down as a Type C2-S-AJ3 ship on 31 August 1944 by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, North Carolina; launched on 31 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. O. M. Creekmore; and commissioned on 22 December 1944 at Charleston, South Carolina, Lt. Comdr. J. R. Haines, USNR, in command. Its initial crew members included a rated radioman named Joseph L. "Bud" Jackson Jr. of Newburgh, NY.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Chrysler New Yorker was a premium automobile model by the Chrysler Corporation from 1946–1996, serving for several years as the brand's flagship model. A trim level named the "New York Special" first appeared in 1938. Until its discontinuation in 1996, the New Yorker had made its mark as the longest running American car nameplate.

The New Yorker name helped define the Chrysler brand as a maker of upscale models priced and equipped above mainstream brands like Ford, Chevrolet/Pontiac, and Dodge/Plymouth, but below full luxury brands like Cadillac, Lincoln and Packard. During the New Yorker's tenure, it competed against models from Buick, Oldsmobile and Mercury.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History



An Academy Award is an award bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors and writers. The Oscar statuette is officially named the Academy Award of Merit and is one of nine types of Academy Awards.

The formal ceremony at which the Awards of Merit are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the world, and is televised live in more than 100 countries annually. It is also the oldest award ceremony in the media; its equivalents, the Grammy Awards (for music), Emmy Awards (for television), and Tony Awards (for theatre) are modeled after the Academy.

The AMPAS was originally conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio boss Louis B. Mayer as a professional honorary organization to help improve the film industry’s image and help mediate labor disputes. The Oscar itself was later initiated by the Academy as an award "of merit for distinctive achievement" in the industry.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor the outstanding film achievements of the 1927/1928 film season. The 84th Academy Awards, honoring films in 2011, was held at the Hollywood and Highland Center on February 26, 2012.
For more...

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Todays Highlight in History


The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943. Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby, a prominent society woman in Texas.

Decommissioned Naval Ships


USS Missouri (BB-63) ("Mighty Mo" or "Big Mo") is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the US state of Missouri. Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States, and was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

Missouri was ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944. In the Pacific Theater of World War II she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands, and she fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. She was decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), but reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan, and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January/February 1991.

Missouri received a total of 11 battle stars for service in World War II, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, and was finally decommissioned on 31 March 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in January 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made


The Model B was a Ford automobile produced between 1932 and 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the Model 48. Strictly speaking, the Model B was a four-cylinder car with an improved Model A engine, but Ford also began producing a very similar car with Ford's new flathead V‑8 engine. The V‑8 car was marketed as the Model 18, though it is commonly called the Ford V‑8, and, other than the engine, is virtually indistinguishable from the Model B.
For more...