Random Thoughts of Members (anything goes...well with in forum rules)

[Vivectius]

I have the very enviable ability to actually tell co-workers at my work to go away.  In those words.  "Go Away."  And they do. I don't even have to wave my hand to do it.

Unfortunately, they also tend to come back eventually.....

[Noctis]

I used to have this coworker at another job that cracked me up because she had what she'd call "C's Uninterrupted Time" every day.   She'd put it on her schedule and everything.  (To be fair, she was a lawyer and this was her time to write and process important documents for clients.) 

If anyone even bothered to talk to her, even if someone just said hello or asked how her day was going, she'd always reply with, "It's so funny how I can't hear ANYTHING during my uninterrupted time!" and would just walk away cackling.

I loved her.

[shade_1313]

So, I used to work in F-15 maintenance in the Air Force.  One of the common situations during a launch was what's called a "Red Ball".  I don't know where the term came from, and yes, there's also a "Blue Ball".  Anyway, a Red Ball is when the pilot's gotten in the jet, and fired it up, and during the extensive preflight checks, something has been noted as not functioning right.  So, they call ops, who calls over the maintenance radio net, and the appropriate type of maintainer heads out to try to fix or remedy it.  Jets are all over the place, so we're all crowded into a van, kind of like a delivery van with benches (sometimes) inside for us.

Anyway, my particular specialty was flight controls.  You know, the guy who makes sure that when the pilot pushes the stick to the right, that the control surfaces move in such a manner that would roll him right, etcetera.  F-15Cs have a blended flight control system, with both mechanical and an early fly-by-wire system.  Feedback to the computers for the FBW type system comes from transformer coils in the actual hydraulic actuator.  Sometimes, the rudders in particular would cause the system to fall offline when it was cold and they hadn't warmed up yet.  Usual remedy was to have the pilot kick them around for a while, and see if it started functioning correctly.

We had one pilot, she was notorious for calling Red Ball for that, and she got to know me pretty well, since I was almost always the guy who responded.  My very, very last Red Ball before I left the UK, was this pilot, and for this problem.  I got out, on the headset, and she immediately started with "I tried warming them up, I've kicked them around, I know what you're going to tell me, but I tried!"  I just said, okay, give me a couple full cycles of the stick.  I did that because in normal flight configuration, the rudders will automatically move to control sideslip of the tail section, so I wanted her to get more of the actuators receiving, using, and returning hydraulic fluid all at once, to heat things up a little faster and get some of the warmer fluid from those bigger actuators into the rudders.

Now, the important part.  As I'm telling her this, I looked over, through the windshield of the work truck.  As expected, all eyes were on me.  So, I'm talking to her, and I make a simple little motion with my hand as I do so.

She finishes cycling it a couple times, and as I expected, the system now stays online, working perfectly.  Another couple of exchanges with her, and I disconnected comm and got back on the truck.  First question was "What was wrong?  Is it good to go". 

"Yep, all good." I replied.

"What'd you do?"

Again, I made that simple little motion with my hand, grinned at the driver, and said, "Jedi mind trick."

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

Someone just pushed me up to 1300 Force Points and I thank you. 

[Darth Knox]

Someone just pushed me up to 1300 Force Points and I thank you. 

wow! congratulations.
when i grow up i hope I have as many (darkside) force points as you

[Darth Logos]

F***ing b****ks is an understatement

I don't thinks bollocks is a **** worthy word.

Eh, I'm apparently in the minority here. I found it to be dull, boring, and not really that funny.

Ok then, I just saw Paul this weekend. Haven't seen it? See it. You will laugh.

[KraytDragonPearl]

Hey Logos that -599 looks kinda outta place let me assist you and make it nice round number

[Darth Knox]

Ok then, I just saw Paul this weekend. Haven't seen it? See it. You will laugh.

the movie with simon pegg and nick frost?

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

Don't forget Jason Bateman as Agent Lorenzo Zoil.

[Darth Knox]

Don't forget Jason Bateman as Agent Lorenzo Zoil.

and........(spoiler alert)



SIGOURNEY WEAVER!!

[Darth Logos]

Hey Logos that -599 looks kinda outta place let me assist you and make it nice round number

I was curious who was responsible for that.

Cheers

the movie with simon pegg and nick frost?

Yes. And Seth Rogan voices Paul. Sigourney Weaver shows up, and Kristen Wigg, and Bill Hader, and too many others to name. Hi-frickin-larious.

and........(spoiler alert)

SIGOURNEY WEAVER!!

That's not much of a spoiler. You can tell it's her just from the voice.

[Darth Knox]

That's not much of a spoiler. You can tell it's her just from the voice.

some people may not have seen it. i take potential movie spoiling seriously

[Darth Justicar]

Just had a lucky break...I have thought for several months now that I had a major expense coming up to the tune of $400-$450...which just got knocked down to $50 tops, because far less work was needed than anticipated.

Funny enough, that's about the value of the Flamberge I have on order.

I now feel NO more guilt whatsoever about my order.

[Jedi Emi Takori]

I wonder if a common withdrawal symptom from quitting a mobile game involves still thinking about it.

I recently quit playing SW Galaxy of Heroes when I realized that I was addicted and the devs were taking advantage of my choice of favourite characters (in terms of how long it would take me to unlock them), my level of impatience, and the capacity of my wallet.

[ThreadJack]

Just had a lucky break...I have thought for several months now that I had a major expense coming up to the tune of $400-$450...which just got knocked down to $50 tops, because far less work was needed than anticipated.

Funny enough, that's about the value of the Flamberge I have on order.

I now feel NO more guilt whatsoever about my order.

I was just gonna wait until March and buy a saber with my birthday money, guilt solved. But now it looks like I'm going to need a new car, so every spare dollar goes to that, and since I'll likely be ending up with a monthly car payment, I'm clearly not aloud to have sabers....