Gluttony, Greed, Pride and just in time for June......

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Kitty Hawk Says Sayonara

This is for Sarah. Since she is still in the reserves she probably already knows that her old ship is being decommissioned but here's a trip down memory lane.

From AP

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) The oldest active ship in the U.S.Navy is on its last voyage. The USS Kitty Hawk departed from Japan and is headed to Washington state to be decommissioned. It will be replaced this summer by a nuclear-powered carrier.

Little known facts about the Kitty Hawk from Stars and Stripes

Seconds anyone?

The second "K" on USS Kitty Hawk’s nameplate is upside down. The letter was skewed when welders transferred the small steel letter plates from the fantail to below the flight deck in the 1960s.

The USS Kitty Hawk is the second U.S. Navy warship to be named after the North Carolina site of the Wright brothers’ famous flight. The first was the civilian ship SS Seatrain New York, which was acquired by the Navy, renamed USS Kitty Hawk, and converted into an aircraft transport ship during World War II. It was decommissioned and given back to its original owners in 1946.

The Kitty Hawk is the second-oldest active ship in the Navy. The first is the USS Constitution, a wooden frigate that sailed in both Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. "Old Ironsides" is used for ceremonial, recruiting and tourism purposes today.

Different from the rest

Kitty Hawk nicknames include "Miss Kitty," "Battlecat" and "Chicken Hawk."

Kitty Hawk has a rogue elevator. While most aircraft carrier elevators go straight up and down — including three on Kitty Hawk — the ship’s Aircraft Elevator #1 operates on a 6-degree angle to accommodate the enlarged jet blast deflectors that were required for the F-14 Tomcat.

The ship does have an escalator, which serves as a very long staircase, as it hasn’t run for many years. Kitty Hawk also has a post office and a store, but has neither swimming pool nor bowling alley — two common misconceptions.

Kitty Hawk has a key aboard. It doesn’t start the "ignition" of the ship, but it does unlock the rudders in case the ship loses steering power from the bridge.

Kitty Hawk did six tours in Vietnam between 1963 and 1976 and was the first aircraft carrier ever to be awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The award, the unit equivalent of the Navy Cross, was presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson on Dec. 20, 1968, to the ship and Carrier Air Wing 11.

Kitty Hawk was the "floating White House" June 7, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy spent the night aboard the ship near southern California.

The current most senior-ranking Kitty Hawk alumnus isn’t a sailor. U.S. Marine Corps commandant Gen. James T. Conway was the Kitty Hawk Marine Detachment executive officer back in the early 1970s.

Here are a some pictures taken back in the day... 

Greeting Sarah at the airport, she'd just arrived from Narita. 

Possibly Best Website Ever

I highly recommend Graphjam if you are looking for a way to waste a few hours of your precious time. It's a cousin of I Can Has Cheez Burger. You may also want to check out Pundit Kitchen while your there... :) 

My Review of Puff-Sleeve Seersucker Jacket

Originally submitted at Chadwick's

Seersucker goes to new heights in this absolutely adorable jacket. Imported.

• Polished button front
• Styled with short puff sleeves
• Patch pockets
• Shaped with princess seams and a self tie belt
• Cotton shell with polyester lining; Machine wash

Puff-Sleeve Seersucker Jacket

Good quality, great fit

By Jacket Girl from Seattle on 5/14/2008

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Sleeve Length: Feels true to length

Pros: Attractive Design, Versatile, Lightweight

Describe Yourself: Casual, Career

Perfect as a light jacket over a tee or cami or just on it's own. Love the seersucker for summer. This jacket is as cute as it looks and is very flattering on!

(legalese)

Tian Tan Buddha

Aka Big Buddha is the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world... we did not go to the top of the mountain where it sits on Lantau Island. It was very gusty the day we were going to ride the gondola that departs from near City Gate and so I told Jim we would have to wait or pass all together. As it turns out the gondola got stuck that afternoon for 90 minutes so my reluctance to go up in the air that day paid off. The lesson? Ignore your fear but listen to your intuition. These pictures are from Jim's trip in 2007. 

Give me Papa Jelly!

We saw this ad in just about every subway station in Hong Kong.  Whatever this is, apparently there have been 4 previous incarnations of it. I just like the name. 

Papa Jelly. Papa Jelly? Papa Jelly! 

You will have it stuck in your head the rest of the day... trust me on this.