Dave Ives's Blog, page 5
April 17, 2016
“… find something else to produce.”
” … find something else to produce.” That’s the message from an article in the International Business Times about the United Kingdom (UK) steel industry. And, the message is ridiculous; makes no sense; shows the author hasn’t thought things through; doesn’t have a true understanding of the problem. Why? Well, I think it’s best explained […]
March 30, 2016
The Origin of ANZAC Day
Many years ago, while stationed at Woomera, South Australia, as a member of the US Air Force, I wrote an article about ANZAC Day and it appeared in the local paper. With ANZAC Day 2016 fast approaching, I thought it may be appropriate to dust it off and share it with any folks out there […]
March 18, 2016
P-40 vs Zero: Dogfight over China.
I remember many years ago while working in the Aero-Propulsion Laboratory at Wright-Patterson, Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio listening to a man telling war stories; real war stories – sit up in your chair and hang onto every word – war stories. It was in the early 1990s. The audience was packed in like […]
March 16, 2016
What did Fredrick Douglas teach me about income tax?
Why do you and I pay income tax? I’ve heard some people answer this question by saying things like, “How we gonna pay for the roads? How do you think we pay for all the social services? Who’s gonna mow the lawn at the governor’s mansion? You think someone’s gonna do that for free? Come […]
January 27, 2016
How the rear view mirror was invented …
Last Thursday 21 Jan 2016 I learned how the rear view mirror was invented. That’s the unsophisticated but critical devise that hangs on the inside of your front windscreen so you can see what’s happening behind you when driving your car. It’s standard in every vehicle. It’s wasn’t always that way. “Mind if I sit […]
January 8, 2016
What is the origin of the “Flavor Sandwich?”
The flavor sandwich was invented sometime in the early 70’s by 3 teenage boys from a small town in southern New Hampshire. It happened very much by accident. They did not set out to invent one of the world’s most unique dishes. Instead, the idea for this specialty sandwich came from something their Dad told […]
Politics and the Birth of the F-111 Aircraft
“Hey Dave, did I ever tell you the story about how they chose the contractor for the F-111?” asked Gus my co-worker at the Flight Dynamics Laboratory Wright-Patterson, Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. I was working at the lab during the summer of 1986 between my junior and senior year at Ohio State. The […]
January 3, 2016
The First Gulf War … it’s been 25 Years!
Twenty five yearsago were were just days away from the start of the First Gulf War. I was stationed in a remote Australian outback town called Woomera where the US Air Force operated a satellite tracking station. We were in the missile detection business. Our satellites could “see” the Iraq and Kuwait areas so when […]
November 27, 2015
How do you make sense of what’s going on in the world? Read this book …
Just finished reading “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand; all 1000 plus pages! My feelings about the book may be summed up in one word – WOW! The book is loaded with adventure, creepy characters, heroes, villains, and some of the best descriptive writing I’ve ever encountered. But, that’s not the reason it’s on my recommended […]
October 18, 2015
How do you fix a leaning Shade Sail Pole?
Today I worked on a project I’ve wanted to do for a while now. You see, a few weeks ago I went out to look at my shade sail and noticed one of the poles leaning inward. This was the one pole I installed myself. It is 0.7 meters into the ground with 12 or […]
