Canada Day Weekend – Time Off

For my regular readers I wanted to let you know I am on a long weekend off spending time with the family.

Watch soon for more postings on history, current events, and other. Appreciate your support.

Steve B. Davis

PS My better half has recently updated her blog. Check it out at,
http://justcindy68.blogspot.com/

This Blog’s Author A-Z

Well fellow bloggers and writers here as requested are some interesting or not so interesting things about me. Thanks to all who take the time to read and especially those who like it enough to return. I certainly enjoy reading yours.

A-Attached or Single? Married to the love of my life.
B-Best Friend? My wife Cindy – absolutely and without a doubt.
C-Cake or Pie? This is a hard one. Guess I would have to say pie. All kinds except for raisin. Favorites include lemon merangue and apple.
D-Day of Choice? Sunday. Seems to be the one day I can manage some down time.
E-Essential Items? Laptop and library card.
F-Favorite Color? Red. I am on my third red car. Love it when my wife wears red.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Neither. I’ll leave these to my six-year old son who can’t seem to get enough of them at 7-Eleven.
H-Hometown? None really. My family moved lots during my early years. Calgary, where I live now, is my adopted one. Been here longer than anywhere else – 26 years.
I-Indulgence? Chocolate chip cookies with a couple of ice cold glasses of milk. It’s the little boy in me.
J-January or July? Definitely July. Love the hot weather.
K-Kids? I have five. Two grown daughters from a previous marriage. Three with the love of my life. Six-year old son and twin girls four-years. Wouldn’t trade them for anything. Sure they’re a lot of work, but extremely rewarding.
L-Life Isn’t Complete Without? My loving wife Cindy and our kids.
M-Marriage Date? July 10, 2000. Best day of my life. My real happiness started this day.
N-Number of Siblings? Two. I have a younger brother and sister. Being the eldest was way too much pressure.
O-Oranges or Applies? Oranges for the sweetness and juiciness.
P-Phobias or Fears? Alzheimers.
R-Reason to Smile? Hugs and kisses from my kids, and being in love with my wife.
S-Superman or Wonderwoman? Wonderwoman. Based on the things my wife manages she is my Wonderwoman.
T-Tag 5 People. Pass on this for now. Check the links on my site for those I visit the most.
U-Used or New? Love used books. New is nice, but I’m cheap so like bargains.
V-Vegetables? Love broccoli and corn, hate carrots.
W-Worst Habit? I don’t listen well and I interrupt – I am working on this.
X-Ray or Ultrasound? Like all men it would be fun to have X-ray vision. LOL.
Y-Your Favorite Food? Steak on the barbeque. Nothing like it.
Z-Zodiac Sign? Taurus with birthday in May. Boy I am stubborn, but very loyal. Problem is I’m also impulsive.

George Carlin: 1937 – 2008

One of my heroes of the 1960’s has died. I loved the irreverence of this man. I did get to see him in person once and he was just so hilarious. Many of the things he said sounded insane, but were actually true when you thought about them. Here as a tribute are some of my favorite George Carlin sayings.

 

Always do whatever’s next.

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.

– Electricity is just organized lightning.

– Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

– I think people should be allowed to do anything they want. We haven’t tried that for a while. Maybe this time it’ll work.

– I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me – they’re cramming for their final exam.

– Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.

– The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.

– Weather forecast for tonight: dark.

– There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.

Plains of Death: Armageddon Up Close

Driving across the northern great plains of the United States many of us have seen the many missile silos scattered across such states as Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. It’s almost surreal to realize the weapons contained below ground at these sites are capable of ending civilization as we know it.

Because of the end of Cold War, tensions between the world’s superpowers, Russia and the United States, are very low at the present time. Most of the missile sites have been deactivated under treaty agreements, the missiles removed, and their nuclear warheads destroyed or put into storage. However, there are still over 500 of these missiles deployed across the norther plain states today. The Minuteman missiles in these silos are the backbone of the United States Strategic Air Command’s nuclear deterance force.

There is a new National Historic Site under the administration of the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior. This is called “Minuteman Missile” and is located in South Dakota about 75 miles east of Rapid City along Interstate 90. It consists of an underground missile control center and a missile silo. I intend to try to visit it soon to add to my knowledge of the Cold War era.

 

These missile sites are pretty inconspicuous. Not much is above ground, but they are heavily fenced with razor-wire and marked with ominous signs warning of the use of deadly force on trespassers. The military patrols the active sites and apparently there are movement sensors and cameras included in the site security. Stop and look if you want, but don’t approach the site or attempt to cross the fence.

The silos contain the Minuteman Inter-Continental Balllistic Missile (ICBM). Some chilling facts concerning these deadly arrows of destruction,

• Can strike a target over 6,000 miles away in less than 30 minutes.
• Have a speed of over 15,000 miles per hour. They can cross the United States from east to west in less than 10 minutes, The same distance by car takes over 40 hours.
• The missiles are deadly accurate. Some say with 100 yards, although that is Classified.
• Remotely controlled from an underground control centre.
• Mass produced.
• Solid fueled rockets. This meant they were ready to launch immediately. No complex preparation was required as with liquid fueled rockets.
• Armed with nuclear warheads about 10 times more powerful than the Hiroshima or Nagaski bombs. In fact they are “city killers”.

At the height of the Cold War the missile fields of South Dakota alone covered and area of over 13,500 square miles. This is an area larger than the state of Maryland.

This site will be a sobering reminder of the Cold War and hopefully a warning to future generations of the potential to exterminate mankind. Up until now drivers on Interstate 90 have passed by without giving these installations a second thought. Now it is possible to get a chilling look behind the scenes. It will be a reality check for most of us. Remember the other side had and still has the same capability to destroy us.

Information can be obtained at:

National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov   (click on South Dakota on their map)