The inner child gets to enjoy the acceleration on takeoff and the sensation of a steep turn, but the inner adult still winces a bit when swiping the credit card at the fuel pump or making the insurance payment

That's a great question. I don't know. Presumably the government has credit terms with some suppliers, but I have no idea if it's permissible to "spend" and draw on that credit by ordering something.

It's easy to imagine how this gets exacerbated. The techs themselves are working (unpaid!) but what about the staff that order parts, or anyone else the techs surely depend on? As you said, we need them all.

Before last week, I might have said "they're not exactly international jewel thieves" but alas

Are we sure he's not Kevin Durant and Steph Curry in a trench coat? Just astounding.

"you have been eaten by a grue" is replaced with "you have been nabbed by the gendarmes"

The Gulfstream is likely the aircraft in your photo. The flight track of the AMC flight looks to have been right over the amusement park. The wind was out of the south today in the area, and the track looks to be a routine visual approach. Altitude data shows it 1500 feet above ground over the park

Flightaware.com says there were two aircraft that landed at Joint Base Andrews in the 5pm ET hour. One was a Gulfstream V coming from Fort Lauderdale, and the other was an Air Mobility Command flight that doesn't have an aircraft type listed.

As does their Chief Pilot's office

I've stayed at the Hotel Dauphine Saint-Germain a couple of times. It's central Paris so the rooms are tiny. It's an easy walk to a few different Metro stations.