There is a well-kept secret among aviators that very few people know about, and even fewer actually witness. It is kind of like the green flash that supposedly can be seen at sunset. People have heard about it, many have claimed to have seen it, and a much smaller number actually have. The secret is called Carrier Quals, and it takes place in bars where aviators hang out. There are only two things needed to play Carrier Quals: a long table and alcohol. The idea is to run toward the table, jump on it and slide forward until your feet…

I went to a seminar today on networking. Networking is important because it is how civilians get jobs, and (don’t tell anyone) veterans are civilians too so we all need to pay attention. Our speaker was great. She talked about important elements of networking that we should practice, such as how to introduce people, how to shake hands, and how to listen in order to impress people who might have an influence on the job search. During the discussion, topics such as mentoring and leadership came up too. Then it occurred to me that the military already gave us those…

Not me. The horse. This weekend we went on a trail ride in the Idaho mountains, and my horse was called – no kidding – Captain. I was thrilled; Captain was less so. Horses are spiritual beasts, and when I looked in his eyes I saw something I was certain I had seen before, but could not remember when or where. It was a look that was somewhere between disappointment and alarm. Then I realized where I have seen it: on airplanes, right after boarding as I am walking down the aisle. All the sitting passengers ahead of me avoid…

The course you take in life is largely determined by how much trouble you are willing to get in along the way. Depending on your outlook, the road ahead may be slow and smooth, or fast and bumpy. If you are immune to danger, you will lead a life of reckless abandon complete with higher peaks and deeper valleys. Aviators are like that. If you are like me, however, risk aversion is part of your make-up and one of the worst things that can happen to you is to find yourself in trouble. I suspect that most people are somewhere…

For the second year in a row, a group of cartoonists (Todd Clark (Lola), Steve Moore (In the Bleachers), Jeff Myers (animator/director for shows like Phineas & Ferb, Rick and Morty and King of the Hill)) plus Jeff’s two sons and me ventured into the wilderness of Idaho just to see if we would all come back. We called it Man Camp because there were no females among us, but mostly because cartoonists don’t get to do outdoorsy stuff very often and it sounded cool. Risky? Yes. The consensus among the group was that the only thing that would keep…

Used car salesmen convince young people to take out loans with obscene rates. Shady mechanics convince ignorant customers to authorize unnecessary repairs. And the Navy has detailers. Don’t get me wrong. Some of my best friends have been detailers. They manage literally thousands of people’s lives and somehow get them all where they need to be. But like they say, where there’s smoke there’s fire. And now that I think about it, a lot of those detailers got some pretty sweet orders after their tours at the Military Personnel Command. My first real exposure to detailers was after my first…

I do not have a yacht. Yachts are for rich people. I also don’t own a sailboat, or a motorboat. What I have is a used fishing tube. For those unfamiliar with them, they are used for floating on lakes so that the fishermen can cast in deeper water. I have never used it for that. I use it to float on a river. Floating the river is a summertime tradition where I live, and by judging from the number of people I saw this weekend, about half the town gets on the water for the three hour trip every…

If you google the word inertia, you get this: Search Results in·er·tia iˈnərSHə/ noun 1. a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. “the bureaucratic inertia of government” 2. (In) physics, a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force. Kind of like some – not all, but some – of the government employees we have all run into from time to time. Full disclosure: Through thoughtful introspection I have discovered that if it weren’t for some kind…