Category Archives: Announcements

The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost Poet
The Road Not Taken

Air Force Acronyms

There are over 1000 Air Force acronyms and abbreviations. These cover training, deployment, rank, weapons, equipment, and more. Following is a list of a few of these acronyms categorized by type.

Why Are Acronyms Used?

An acronym is a special kind of abbreviation. Some abbreviations use the initials of the important words in the title of something. These are called initialisms and examples are NBC, US, and FBI. An acronym is an initialism with one added feature: the initials form a new word. Examples include NATO, NASA, and BASIC. Most people misuse the word “acronym” for the word “initialism.”
Acronyms are used to shorten speech and writing. Who wants to say “National Aeronautics and Space Administration” which has 14 syllables, instead of “NASA”, which has two? Acronyms and initialisms just make things easier and shorter.
Air Force Acronym

As mentioned earlier, there are over 1000 Air Force acronyms. For the purposes of this article, “acronym” will be synonymous with “initialism.” Following are some examples of abbreviations used for ranks and positions of

Air Force personnel. This is only a sampling:

A1C – Airman First Class
AB – Airman Basic
ABM – Air Battle Manager
Brig Gen – Brigadier General
Capt – Captain
CMSAF – Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
COMAFFOR – Commander, Air Force Forces
CSAF – Chief of Staff of the Air Force
EWO – Electronic Warfare Officer
Gen – General
IG – Inspector General
IP – Instructor Pilot
Lt Col – Lieutenant Colonel
Maj – Major
NCO – Non-commissioned Officer
PTL – Physical Training Leader
ROAD – Retired On Active-Duty
SMSgt – Senior Master Sergeant
SNCO – Senior Non-commissioned Officer
SrA – Senior Airman
SSgt – Staff Sergeant
TSgt – Technical Sergeant
WAF – Women in the Air Force
WASP – Women Airforce Service Pilots
WSO – Weapon Systems Officer
Here are a few Air Force acronyms for machines, systems, and equipment. These include training equipment and weapons:
AWACS – Airborne Warning and Control System
CBRNE – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Yield Explosives
CFT – Cockpit Familiarization Trainer
DSCS – Defense Satellite Communications System
EELV – Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
EGI – Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation
GLCM – Ground Launched Cruise Missile
HARM – High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile
ICBM – Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
JPATS – Joint Primary Air Training System
LGB – Laser-Guided Bomb
MOAB – Massive Ordinance Air Blast Bomb
NVG – Night Vision Goggles
SAM – Surface to Air Missile
SBIRS – Space-Based Infrared System
UAS – Unmanned Aircraft System
X-plane – Experimental aircraft
Lastly, here are a few acronyms that have to do with an individual.
AWOL – Absent Without Leave
BAH – Basic Allowance for Housing
BDU – Battle Dress Uniform
COLA – Cost of Living Adjustment
ITT – Information, Tickets, and Travel
LOR – Letter of Reprimand
MRE – Meal Ready to Eat
NOTAM – Notice To Airmen
PFT – Physical Fitness Test
RTB – Return To Base
TLF – Temporary Living Facility
Air Force Communications

The Air Force, as with other branches of the military, needs to have excellent communication. To help with this, the Air Force Communications Agency or AFCA, was formed in 1966 and was later designated the Air Force Network Integration Center or AFNIC. Its headquarters is at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
The AFNIC is a unit of the Air Force Space Command or AFSPC. The AFNIC oversees communication between command and military operations as well as providing standards and policies. Guidance and training is also offered through this agency.

It was reported in July of 2010 that the Science Applications International Corporation has been given a task order for the next four years for 19 million dollars. SAIC will provide software and support to the Air Force related to communication security. An electronic key management system will be developed along with enhancements. Basically, SAIC will help with the encrypted communications capabilities that the Air Force needs.

Chat Abbreviations

Abbreviations, Initialisms and Acronyms

An abbreviation is made when you take a word or words and shorten them. Examples are: St. for street, lb. for pound, and min. for minute. Special abbreviations are acronyms and initialisms.

Initialisms are simply the first letter of the important words in the name of something, like IBM, CBS, or CNN. They do not form another word. Most chat abbreviations are initialisms. Some initialisms are acronyms.

Acronyms are abbreviations using the first letter of each word, or each important word. In an acronym, the letters form another word, like NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), WHO (World Health Organization) or NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration). Most chat abbreviations are not acronyms because the letters do not make a word.

In summary, initialisms and acronyms are abbreviations. Initialisms use the first letter of each word in the phrase. Acronyms are special initialisms because the initials make up a new word.

Chat Abbreviations

It makes sense that people who want to save time and save wear and tear on their fingertips and thumbs would invent a few chat abbreviations. But there are many more than a few. Following are some examples of abbreviations that are used in chatting, texting, and emails.

Chat Abbreviations and Acronyms

This first group is some of the more common abbreviations about things in general:

* @ At
* 2G2BT Too Good To Be True
* 2moro Tomorrow
* 2nite Tonight
* 4ever Forever
* ADBB All Done Bye Bye
* AFC Away From Computer
* ASAP As Soon As Possible
* B4 Before
* B4N Bye For Now
* BC Because
* bcoz because
* BTDT Been There Done That
* c ya see ya
* CM Call Me
* CUL8R See You Later
* DISTO Did I Say That Outloud?
* G4I Go For It
* gratz Congratulations
* GTG Got To Go
* J2LYK Just To Let You Know
* KISS Keep It Simple Stupid
* OMG Oh My God
* peeps people
* PLS Please
* PLZ Please
* sk8r skater
* soz Sorry
* T@YL Talk At You Later
* THX Thanks
* TMI Too Much Information
* TTYL Talk To You Later or Type To You Later
* TTYT Talk To You Tomorrow

The next group of abbreviations let the other party know a parent is watching.

* 9 Parent is watching
* MOS Mom Over Shoulder
* PIR Parent In Room
* POMS Parent Over My Shoulder
* PRW Parents Are Watching

The following abbreviations concern feelings. These are G-rated.

* <3 heart
* sweet<3 sweetheart
* BFF Best Friends Forever
* FF Friends Forever
* H&K Hugs and Kisses
* HUGZ Hugs
* I <3 U I Love You
* i h8 it i hate it
* XOXO Hugs and Kisses

Lastly, there are so many abbreviations that refer to laughing that they also needed their own group.

* ALOL Actually Laughing Out Loud
* CSL Can't Stop Laughing
* CSN Chuckle, Snicker, Grin
* GOL Giggling Out Loud
* FOFL Falling on Floor Laughing
* LOL Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots of Love
* ROTFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing
* ROTFLOL Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud

Modern Communications

Speaking with someone through emails, chats, and texts has dramatically changed the way people communicate. You rarely see anyone anymore without a phone, and it is usually in their hand. In fact, this instant communication is getting out of hand, pardon the pun. Some states have enacted new laws to ban cell phone use while driving.

Cell phone use is banned while driving in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.

The District of Columbia and 28 states limit cell phone use for new drivers.

D.C. and 18 states do not allow school bus drivers to use a cell phone when there are passengers on the bus.

D.C., Guam, and 30 states ban texting for everyone who drives. Eight other states ban texting for new drivers and two ban texting for school bus drivers.

Some states have distracted driving bans so many are adding cell phone use to the list of distractions. More laws will probably be forthcoming as the dangers of cell phone use while driving becomes more apparent.

If Saints win coin toss, Super Bowl could be over before it starts

Shortly before the kickoff of Super Bowl 44 on Sunday, a group of captains representing the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will meet at midfield. Referee Scott Green will introduce the ceremonial coin and a member of the newly elected Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010 will toss it to determine who gets the ball first. Saints quarterback Drew Brees(notes) will watch it spin into the Miami night and will call heads or tails.

And if he’s lucky, he’s wrong.

Of the 43 Super Bowls, the team that won the pregame coin toss has won 20 times and lost 23, a .465 winning percentage, and has lost 10 of the last 13. The Arizona Cardinals won the coin toss last year in Tampa, Fla., and, trying to buck history, became the first team to defer. Didn’t matter: They lost, too.

The NFL’s conferences alternate as the home team in the Super Bowl. The AFC is home this year, so the Colts had their choice of jerseys (they’ll be in blue) and will stand on the sideline closer to the main CBS cameras. As the visiting team, the NFC’s Saints will call the coin flip. The recent trend points to them being right.

Whether this should make Saints fans nervous is a matter of debate; because of the small sample size, some statisticians argue that the win-loss record of coin-toss winners is statistically insignificant. But decide for yourself: The NFC has won 12 straight coin flips and is 2-10 in those games.

If the Saints do win the coin toss, would it improve their odds of victory if they score first? Yes and no. Teams that score first are 28-15 but have lost five of the last eight.

Other Super Bowl coin-flip facts:

• In 43 games, the coin has come up heads 22 times, tails 21.
• The NFC has won the toss 29 times, the AFC 14.
• As mentioned, the NFC has won 12 straight flips. The odds of that: 1 in 8,192.
• The game’s coin traveled into space with the shuttle Atlantis in November.

It wasn’t until Super Bowl XII between the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos that the NFL began honoring its legends during the pregame ceremony. Red Grange was the first honorary coin-tosser. The Cowboys correctly guessed heads and won the game 27-10.

Millionaire High School Dropouts

For some, diplomas are (barely) worth the paper they’re printed on. These star entrepreneurs jumped right in.

While the rest of us were negotiating curfews and cramming for the SATs, some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs ditched high school to start building their fortunes.

Many did it out of necessity; others had a mentor (or at least a backer looking to piggyback on their success). All, however, had a demon drive to build something of their own. Even at a young age, that commitment and passion can win over investors.

“Investors really look at the person and the quality of his or her idea more than their experience,” says Brad Burke, managing director of Rice University’s Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which incubates new companies.

For all the new entrepreneurship programs popping up at business schools, there will always be a slew of born entrepreneurs who prove that high school diplomas, let alone fancy graduate degrees, might well be (barely) worth the paper they’re printed on. Here are just a handful of examples.

Jay-Z (Shawn Carter)

This high-school dropout grew up in one of Brooklyn’s roughest housing projects, dealing drugs before finding salvation in hip hop. In 1995 Carter took his first single to Def Jam Records, the company he ended up running from 2004 until 2007. In 2008 he signed a 10-year, $150 million deal with Live Nation that gave him control over his records, tours and endorsement deals with companies like Dell and Budweiser.

George Foreman

This ubiquitous pitchman grew up poor in Marshall, Texas. Found a mentor, through Lyndon Johnson’s Job Corps program, who encouraged the 15-year-old thug to box. Foreman would eventually win a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. His big pay day came in 1999, when he bagged $138 million for selling naming rights to grill manufacturer Salton.

He has since pitched brands like Doritos, KFC and Meineke, and has launched a line of environmentally safe cleaning products, a line of personal care products, a health shake, a prescription shoe for diabetics and a restaurant franchise.

Simon Cowell

Caustic judge earned $75 million last year, thanks to his involvement with American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, musical talent show The X Factor and SyCo records, his production company. The 50-year-old impresario dropped out of school at age 16 and landed a job in the mailroom at EMI. At 23 he left to start his own record label, Fanfare. Post-Idol, Cowell will shift his focus to a U.S. version of the The X Factor, where he’ll serve both as a judge and executive producer.

Giselle Bundchen

When Bundchen was 14 years old a modeling scout discovered her in a Brazilian shopping mall. In 1996 she debuted at Fashion Week in New York City. She earned $25 million last year, thanks to contracts with Versace, Dior and other companies. She also has a line of sandals called Ipanema by Gisele.