Hi all; wanted to take a minute for a couple of quick links i ran across today, both space related (somewhat). This first article is not cheery; actually, the website's owner hit the nail on the head that "This is Just so Damn Sad".
To balance with something more positive, check out this new pic the Hubble team pieced together. This is where you also say "Damn", though in a good way.
28 February 2006
Throw me somethin' Mister!
Ah yes folks, today is Fat Tuesday and I would be remiss if I didn’t shout it a bit here and there.
Mostly here.
The story this Mardi Gras has been that it’s even happening after the ‘canes gave New Orleans a blow job she’ll never forget.
Mardi Gras this year does illustrate a few things that some people have yet to realize.
First off, I’m pretty sure it would take the entire city itself being swallowed whole by lake Pontchartrain to stop the parades, and even then some of the krewes might just take the word ‘float’ literally and take them out on barges. There’s just something about people who can party in the midst of anything. If they exist in America, then New Orleans is the place.
This brings up another point, one the media is completely gobsmacked by: Mardi Gras is happening because there are people in New Orleans who didn’t rely on the government to evacuate them, take care of them, and rebuild for them once it was over. These are the type of people who roll up their sleeves and do what they have to in a time of crisis. They don’t whine about it, they don’t point fingers, they just get on with life. These people are the heart and soul of New Orleans. Unlike Ray Nagen, they don’t think of themselves as chocolate or vanilla or double raspberry swirl, they’re just New Orleans folks. I’m willing to bet that those still shacking up on FEMA’s dime are not and have never been involved with the planning, crewing and performance of the parades. They don’t have what it takes.
Some people are completely aghast that they’re even having Mardi Gras this year. “How can you just move on with your lives when there are so many displaced residents still holding up in hotels?”
I’ll tell you how; they came back (or never left), rebuilt their city and their homes and didn’t rely on Uncle Sam to do it for them. The people who have been able to take this hurricane in stride, who stayed to rebuild and move on are the ones who disserve a party. And imagine that, they didn’t rely on anyone for that either, they just threw their own party.
Bravo, Mardi Gras.
Laissez les bons temps roulent !
This is cool...
So if you live in Atlanta, or have ever driven in Atlanta, you should watch this. It's safe for work and will probably not surprise you.
A group of Georgia State University students did a study on whether or not the 55mph speed limit is good or bad for Hwy 285. The results of this are great.
See it here.
A group of Georgia State University students did a study on whether or not the 55mph speed limit is good or bad for Hwy 285. The results of this are great.
See it here.
Uha....see what I mean?
I guess I couldn’t have asked for a better example to use as a follow-up for my last post. Read this and then revisit the argument about gun ownership. I’m willing to bet that this homeowner is among a tiny minority of handgun owners in San Francisco.
Talk about a crappy choice of victem...
Stupid Ninja…
No cookie.
I wonder what was the last thing that went through his head…
I mean besides the bullet.
Talk about a crappy choice of victem...
Stupid Ninja…
No cookie.
I wonder what was the last thing that went through his head…
I mean besides the bullet.
27 February 2006
Blind leading the stupid...
Interesting conversation today. I work with people of all views, and all are, for the most part, very polite when talking about them, though some can’t help but cough up a hairball or two about how much they hate George Bush and the horse he rode in on.
A few of the ladies in my department were talking about the weekend and one (who just so happens to be a single mother in her mid 30s) talked about a scare she had on Saturday night. She thought she heard someone in her house and didn’t have anything with which to defend herself so she called the police. They dutifully came to her house and quietly checked it out (did a walkthrough). Finding nothing they talked her off of her ceiling and told her that she should think about something for home protection (ie: alarm, gun, dog etc).
While talking about this several other ladies in my department piped up and said “Oh yeah, I have a gun and I know how to use it”. Others (those of different views I spoke of) were appalled at even the idea of owning a gun or having one in their houses. One is German, so the European sensibility is to be expected. The other is what you might call a hard-core left wing feminist. And I do. Often.
Her take on owning a gun is that you’re obviously just paranoid and are more likely to have it used on you than actually use it to defend yourself. Well, like the good (and informed) gun owners we are, those of us talking shop just smiled and gave her a verbal pat on the head and then ignored her. One lady asked her why she cares one way or the other if other people own guns she simply said “I’m pro peace”.
Interestingly enough, this particular person has a bumper sticker on her car that reads “Your silence will not save you”, which is a quotation from noted feminist writer Audre Lorde. This, in my opinion is a very profound statement that speaks to everyone on this earth in many situations. However, in this case it merely paints our anti-gun friend into a corner. (Instead of wasting breath and valuable work time by bringing this argument out to her I’ll just post it here where people are open to something other than their own quests for gender domination.
I would be willing to bet you that she has never been physically attacked. I’m sure there are many people just like her who watch the news, read the papers etc. and know that criminal violence is a problem, but have never experienced it for themselves. For this I am thankful, many are not that lucky. People who are removed from such discussions in that way have the luxury of making judgments based on ignorance. When asked the “what if” question about things like home invasion they simply blow the whole thing off by saying “that’s what the Police are for”. I am never one to speak ill of the police and the job they do as a whole. These are individuals, much like our armed forces, who’s lives are spent putting themselves in danger for our protection. Like any other profession there are good ones and bad ones. To generalize and say that all cops are power hungry thugs is to do the same disservice as liberals do to our soldiers every time they open their mouths. That being said, the police are not perfect, and very much subject to the same human constraints as we are. A cop who is a mile away from your house may take as much as 10 minutes to get there. That leaves enough time for a well focused criminal to kick down your door, shoot you, your family, take some valuables and run out the door and into the night. He might be caught, tried, convicted, and executed and that’s good…but you and your family are still just as dead.
I’ll just sum this whole thing up and move on to happier topics.
My argument is this:
Refusing to own a gun doesn’t make you immune to attack.
Relying on others (especially the government) for your safety and that of your family is folly.
Vilifying others for not relying on the government for their protection is ignorant.
Hypocrisy in one argument only weakens any further arguments you may have.
Any questions?
A few of the ladies in my department were talking about the weekend and one (who just so happens to be a single mother in her mid 30s) talked about a scare she had on Saturday night. She thought she heard someone in her house and didn’t have anything with which to defend herself so she called the police. They dutifully came to her house and quietly checked it out (did a walkthrough). Finding nothing they talked her off of her ceiling and told her that she should think about something for home protection (ie: alarm, gun, dog etc).
While talking about this several other ladies in my department piped up and said “Oh yeah, I have a gun and I know how to use it”. Others (those of different views I spoke of) were appalled at even the idea of owning a gun or having one in their houses. One is German, so the European sensibility is to be expected. The other is what you might call a hard-core left wing feminist. And I do. Often.
Her take on owning a gun is that you’re obviously just paranoid and are more likely to have it used on you than actually use it to defend yourself. Well, like the good (and informed) gun owners we are, those of us talking shop just smiled and gave her a verbal pat on the head and then ignored her. One lady asked her why she cares one way or the other if other people own guns she simply said “I’m pro peace”.
Interestingly enough, this particular person has a bumper sticker on her car that reads “Your silence will not save you”, which is a quotation from noted feminist writer Audre Lorde. This, in my opinion is a very profound statement that speaks to everyone on this earth in many situations. However, in this case it merely paints our anti-gun friend into a corner. (Instead of wasting breath and valuable work time by bringing this argument out to her I’ll just post it here where people are open to something other than their own quests for gender domination.
I would be willing to bet you that she has never been physically attacked. I’m sure there are many people just like her who watch the news, read the papers etc. and know that criminal violence is a problem, but have never experienced it for themselves. For this I am thankful, many are not that lucky. People who are removed from such discussions in that way have the luxury of making judgments based on ignorance. When asked the “what if” question about things like home invasion they simply blow the whole thing off by saying “that’s what the Police are for”. I am never one to speak ill of the police and the job they do as a whole. These are individuals, much like our armed forces, who’s lives are spent putting themselves in danger for our protection. Like any other profession there are good ones and bad ones. To generalize and say that all cops are power hungry thugs is to do the same disservice as liberals do to our soldiers every time they open their mouths. That being said, the police are not perfect, and very much subject to the same human constraints as we are. A cop who is a mile away from your house may take as much as 10 minutes to get there. That leaves enough time for a well focused criminal to kick down your door, shoot you, your family, take some valuables and run out the door and into the night. He might be caught, tried, convicted, and executed and that’s good…but you and your family are still just as dead.
I’ll just sum this whole thing up and move on to happier topics.
My argument is this:
Refusing to own a gun doesn’t make you immune to attack.
Relying on others (especially the government) for your safety and that of your family is folly.
Vilifying others for not relying on the government for their protection is ignorant.
Hypocrisy in one argument only weakens any further arguments you may have.
Any questions?
Start me up
Good morning all, hope your weekend was a good one. I’ve much to talk about today but will start my morning off with a bit of a rant. Just a bit. I copied the following from Russ’ blog because I wanted to carry it further, and to do so in his comments section would just be rude. I don’t want to be rude because Russ is a great guy and I enjoy his blog thoroughly, and as I’m prone to drone my blog space is a bit more spacious than a comment section. See there, that one small thought took me almost an entire paragraph. Anyway, here’s the article:
The following is from this week's edition of
Flagpole.
Daniel v. Mohammed
I can certainly understand why many Americans are shaking their heads at the storm of controversy that erupted in the Muslim world when several European newspapers ran cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed wearing a turban that doubles as a bomb. While the cartoons were deliberately and heavy-handedly provocative, the fanatically violent response and the resulting loss of life stretches even my rather elastic respect for legitimate cultural and religious differences very nearly to the snapping point.
Before we go overboard in congratulating ourselves on our own vaunted reputation for religious tolerance, however, we might note the storm of self-righteous zealotry that cowed NBC into pulling its controversial series, “The Book of Daniel”, after just three episodes. So far as I know, this conflict did not result in bloodshed, although it did produce death threats against some station managers who aired the show over the strenuous protests of some local viewers.
Although some objected to “Daniel” because of its portrayal of a severely flawed Episcopal priest and his equally flawed family and flock, the show's most egregious offense was its characterization of Jesus Christ as a decidedly laid-back but constant and caring presence in the everyday lives of even the sinful and whacked-out. Such sacrilege! The producers might as well have depicted the focal figure of the Christian faith as a terrorist.
James C. Cobb
cobby@cobbloviate.com
I understand what he’s trying to say (though he did a better job of it here).
The argument in this particular piece is a bit ham fisted for my taste, too slippery slope.
While I agree that there are some way too uptight individuals in this country, I fail to see the logic in lumping them in with a group, nay, a religion whose tenants include annihilating non-believers (or enslaving them), treating women like cattle, and dubbing murder-suicide “Martyring”.
I would imagine that there are many in Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, and other parts east who would gladly enlighten Mr. Cobb on the difference between an angry, letter writing Christian and a walking Muslim murder machine about to take out 30 women and children in a pizza parlor.
Anyway, I just felt the need to air that out. I’ve read several of Mr. Cobb’s blogs and actually enjoy his writing style. He’s often insightful and brings up many good points. Unfortunately sometimes his conclusions are a bit misguided.
I’d like to again thank Russ for providing this morning’s rant fuel.
More to come,
Captain.
The following is from this week's edition of
Flagpole.
Daniel v. Mohammed
I can certainly understand why many Americans are shaking their heads at the storm of controversy that erupted in the Muslim world when several European newspapers ran cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed wearing a turban that doubles as a bomb. While the cartoons were deliberately and heavy-handedly provocative, the fanatically violent response and the resulting loss of life stretches even my rather elastic respect for legitimate cultural and religious differences very nearly to the snapping point.
Before we go overboard in congratulating ourselves on our own vaunted reputation for religious tolerance, however, we might note the storm of self-righteous zealotry that cowed NBC into pulling its controversial series, “The Book of Daniel”, after just three episodes. So far as I know, this conflict did not result in bloodshed, although it did produce death threats against some station managers who aired the show over the strenuous protests of some local viewers.
Although some objected to “Daniel” because of its portrayal of a severely flawed Episcopal priest and his equally flawed family and flock, the show's most egregious offense was its characterization of Jesus Christ as a decidedly laid-back but constant and caring presence in the everyday lives of even the sinful and whacked-out. Such sacrilege! The producers might as well have depicted the focal figure of the Christian faith as a terrorist.
James C. Cobb
cobby@cobbloviate.com
I understand what he’s trying to say (though he did a better job of it here).
The argument in this particular piece is a bit ham fisted for my taste, too slippery slope.
While I agree that there are some way too uptight individuals in this country, I fail to see the logic in lumping them in with a group, nay, a religion whose tenants include annihilating non-believers (or enslaving them), treating women like cattle, and dubbing murder-suicide “Martyring”.
I would imagine that there are many in Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, and other parts east who would gladly enlighten Mr. Cobb on the difference between an angry, letter writing Christian and a walking Muslim murder machine about to take out 30 women and children in a pizza parlor.
Anyway, I just felt the need to air that out. I’ve read several of Mr. Cobb’s blogs and actually enjoy his writing style. He’s often insightful and brings up many good points. Unfortunately sometimes his conclusions are a bit misguided.
I’d like to again thank Russ for providing this morning’s rant fuel.
More to come,
Captain.
24 February 2006
Headlines from the future...
Today I’m feeling spry, so I’m posting something new and hopefully entertaining. Please feel free to add anything you can think of.
Everyone around the world is caught up in the future. What will be, what could be, and what they can do to make it that way. Well I’ve relieved you all of that burden for one Friday afternoon. Below you will read future news headlines based on who takes control of this country.
Every movie trailer these days starts off with that deep voiced announcer guy saying the line:
“In a world”…
Well here it is:
In a world run by liberals:
“President H.Clinton visits China this week to study their triumphs in socialized health care”
“Migrant workers finished construction on the new Teddy Kennedy Memorial Library and Lounge. When asked for comment, Senator Kennedy did two body shots off of a 19 year old Harvard coed, scratched himself and passed out”
“Scientists this week have discovered that by farming stem cells from the brains of babies under one year old they can reduce the time needed to grow the cells for study in the laboratory.”
“In a related story feminist activists across America are now lobbying for ‘post-birth abortions’ claiming that “if the newborn was really a person and didn’t want to be aborted it would say so”
“In an effort to increase sensitivity on America’s borders the INS has recently placed refreshment stations every 5 miles along the US-Mexico border. This is the latest effort to improve American – Illegal alien relations. Previous initiatives include ‘Welcome to America’ gift bags and free ferry service across the Rio Grande”
“Demolition concludes this week on the last war memorial standing in Washington D.C. In a press conference this yesterday Secretary of State Streisand remarked ‘it’s about time we stopped glorifying the murder of millions of enemy combatants’ she stated further: ‘if the blood-thirsty soldiers of the United States had just tried to reason with the other armies all this death could have been averted’”
“Congress this week passed the most comprehensive eminent domain bill to date. Included in the bill are statutes that will protect the poor and improve the equality of neighborhoods and small towns by allowing local governments to ‘acquire’ houses that are over 1500 square feet larger than the average house in a 20 mile area and redistribute the land into smaller home-sites for those who are on welfare”
“The Supreme Court today announced its ruling on the controversial ‘Hate Speech’ bill, stating that it could not stand in its current form because it contains the word ‘hate’ which has been banned since the landmark case: ACLU vs. The First Amendment in 2012”
And not to play favorites, here is the other side of the coin
In a world run by Conservatives:
“President Robertson said today in his weekly radio address that though he has no idea who assassinated Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro, he’s sure that the shooter was well trained and the two dictators felt little of the pain they had caused the millions of people they slaughtered on their way to the top”
“In an effort to quell anti-American sentiment in Mexico the INS has added automatic taser rods to the 30 foot wall that runs along the southern United States border. It has further instructed it’s border guards to wait for the would be illegal to be shocked into unconsciousness before shooting.”
“New New Orleans celebrated its 10th birthday this week in what has become the largest yearly birthday celebration of any city in America. Former mayor Ray Nagen marked the anniversary quietly from his prison cell where he is serving a 50 year sentence for gross negligence which led to the deaths of thousands.”
“Vice President Nugent was involved in a hunting accident this week while hunting turkey in Arkansas. Several members of the media are still unaccounted for. When asked to comment on the oddity of taking journalists hunting VP Nugent replied ‘Who else would I take hunting during grenade season?’”
“Today marks the 2nd anniversary of New Texas (formerly Iran). In a speech made before the barbeque began Governor George Q. Bush remarked ‘oil production is up, the golf is great and at least it’s a dry heat’.”
“Supreme Court Chief Justice Scalia this week and a landmark ruling placed a permanent gag order on the ACLU and its lawyers.”
“In a related story frivolous lawsuits are down 400% this year”
So there you have it folks, please feel free to send me any headlines I might have missed.
Cheers,
Captain.
Everyone around the world is caught up in the future. What will be, what could be, and what they can do to make it that way. Well I’ve relieved you all of that burden for one Friday afternoon. Below you will read future news headlines based on who takes control of this country.
Every movie trailer these days starts off with that deep voiced announcer guy saying the line:
“In a world”…
Well here it is:
In a world run by liberals:
“President H.Clinton visits China this week to study their triumphs in socialized health care”
“Migrant workers finished construction on the new Teddy Kennedy Memorial Library and Lounge. When asked for comment, Senator Kennedy did two body shots off of a 19 year old Harvard coed, scratched himself and passed out”
“Scientists this week have discovered that by farming stem cells from the brains of babies under one year old they can reduce the time needed to grow the cells for study in the laboratory.”
“In a related story feminist activists across America are now lobbying for ‘post-birth abortions’ claiming that “if the newborn was really a person and didn’t want to be aborted it would say so”
“In an effort to increase sensitivity on America’s borders the INS has recently placed refreshment stations every 5 miles along the US-Mexico border. This is the latest effort to improve American – Illegal alien relations. Previous initiatives include ‘Welcome to America’ gift bags and free ferry service across the Rio Grande”
“Demolition concludes this week on the last war memorial standing in Washington D.C. In a press conference this yesterday Secretary of State Streisand remarked ‘it’s about time we stopped glorifying the murder of millions of enemy combatants’ she stated further: ‘if the blood-thirsty soldiers of the United States had just tried to reason with the other armies all this death could have been averted’”
“Congress this week passed the most comprehensive eminent domain bill to date. Included in the bill are statutes that will protect the poor and improve the equality of neighborhoods and small towns by allowing local governments to ‘acquire’ houses that are over 1500 square feet larger than the average house in a 20 mile area and redistribute the land into smaller home-sites for those who are on welfare”
“The Supreme Court today announced its ruling on the controversial ‘Hate Speech’ bill, stating that it could not stand in its current form because it contains the word ‘hate’ which has been banned since the landmark case: ACLU vs. The First Amendment in 2012”
And not to play favorites, here is the other side of the coin
In a world run by Conservatives:
“President Robertson said today in his weekly radio address that though he has no idea who assassinated Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro, he’s sure that the shooter was well trained and the two dictators felt little of the pain they had caused the millions of people they slaughtered on their way to the top”
“In an effort to quell anti-American sentiment in Mexico the INS has added automatic taser rods to the 30 foot wall that runs along the southern United States border. It has further instructed it’s border guards to wait for the would be illegal to be shocked into unconsciousness before shooting.”
“New New Orleans celebrated its 10th birthday this week in what has become the largest yearly birthday celebration of any city in America. Former mayor Ray Nagen marked the anniversary quietly from his prison cell where he is serving a 50 year sentence for gross negligence which led to the deaths of thousands.”
“Vice President Nugent was involved in a hunting accident this week while hunting turkey in Arkansas. Several members of the media are still unaccounted for. When asked to comment on the oddity of taking journalists hunting VP Nugent replied ‘Who else would I take hunting during grenade season?’”
“Today marks the 2nd anniversary of New Texas (formerly Iran). In a speech made before the barbeque began Governor George Q. Bush remarked ‘oil production is up, the golf is great and at least it’s a dry heat’.”
“Supreme Court Chief Justice Scalia this week and a landmark ruling placed a permanent gag order on the ACLU and its lawyers.”
“In a related story frivolous lawsuits are down 400% this year”
So there you have it folks, please feel free to send me any headlines I might have missed.
Cheers,
Captain.
23 February 2006
Think on it...
Well since all is quiet on the Western front today (no reply from anyone resembling a Washington State University Senate member) I’ll have to just move on.
Today’s philosophical discussion comes from a book I read recently. It is, admittedly, an older science fiction novel but a well loved one to be sure. I started reading science fiction/fantasy novels as brain candy and to clear the cobwebs between the history books I usually read and found a pleasant surprise. The better sci-fi novels have lots of veiled political and philosophical commentary running all through the narrative. Thankfully most of the better sci-fi/fantasy writers have done their homework and are students of the greats. I’m not talking about Tolkien or Vern (great writers though they are).
I’m speaking more of the ilk of Orwell, Rand and Huxley. Writers who, in their time, foresaw the traps and pitfalls of government, technology, law, and life in a society of pure equality. Those who recognized the hell on earth that was the utopian ideal and that all attempts to achieve it would inevitably fail.
Now that the preface is out of the way I’ll get to the subject at hand. The book I read is called “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. I have a close friend who has been trying to get me to read this book for about 10 years or so and I finally broke down and read it in about a week and a half. (I read mostly at night before bed and it’s been pretty busy lately).
In the book a small prodigy is taken at 6 years old (ala the old Spartan warriors) and sent to a combat school because his intellect and ability to strategize will eventually save the human race from an alien threat. A reoccuring theme in the book (written in 1977) was modus and extent of attack in a conflict. In other words, if you are planning to attack (or defend) against a physical threat how far do you go to achieve your objective.
A good example from the book is when the main character, Ender, is picked on by a pack of older, larger boys lead by a sadistic 10 year old. Surmising that this torture will continue unendingly unless something is done, Ender realizes that he must make the consequence of attacking him so unbelievably dreadful in the minds of his attackers that the mere thought of attack would send them running. Well, in the book it works, Ender beats the leader so viciously that the rest of his gang are dumbstruck and dared not get involved ever again.
This leads me to think; is it wrong to meet small force with overwhelmingly large force in order to create a lasting peace, even if that peace is based solely on the fear of further reprisal. There are so many levels of “preemptive strike by reprisal” it’s hard to make a blanket statement. In the book there was no question as to the validity of the ideal, only how to achieve it.
Looking around the world today it’s apparent that this exact scenario will play itself out over and over as we reach the age where many third world countries are able to create or acquire nuclear armament. The question stands: Do we eliminate a perceived threat in favor of maintaining peace, or are we going to end up back in the cold war shuffle, where M.A.D keeps the peace.
I think it’s a question of how far you go, because in all honesty the type of retaliation is really just a lesson you’re teaching your enemy. How do you best create distaste for conflict without creating a blood vendetta that was stronger than their original reason for attacking? Or do you just destroy them outright?
I remember a story my father told me about his time in the Army. While stationed in Germany he knew some wild guys, most of whom had fought in Korea and were serving the rest of their time in the Army on base. He talked about a certain soldier who became extremely violent when he drank. It got to the point many times that this person (who was rather large and well muscled) would beat the crap out of some smaller, unexpecting soldier. Well, to make a long story short several soldiers had watched this happen enough and decided to take care of the problem. They waited for the individual to get tanked up again to initiate their plan. When the drunk went for yet another smaller soldier the five men jumped in, carried the drunk fighter out into the parking lot and proceeded to break about 10 of his bones, cause some internal bleeding, and land him in the hospital for about 3 ½ weeks. The only item he received during his stay in the hospital was an anonymous note saying that he was there for a reason, and he’d better think about that the next time he decided to get drunk.
It sounds like an urban legend, and I can only assume that it’s true since my father has never lied to me, and it happened in the 50’s when things like that happened. Even if it is just a story the point is timely and real.
Some people call this type of thing a “Come to Jesus” meeting, or “Wake up call”. Whatever you call it there are times when they need to happen. I’m afraid the next “wake up call” for America will be worse than 9/11 and I hope there are enough people in this country with the stones to stand up and protect it. The longer I live the less of a problem I have (if any) with “pre-emptive measures” where American freedom is concerned. This doesn’t mean that the measure has to begin with violence; on the contrary we should seek peace first in every situation. But we damn sure better not EVER rule out the use of armed force when dealing with a potential threat to the sovereignty of this country, because without the threat of war, peace means nothing.
Simple ideas in a complicated world.
“Don’t Tread on Me”
“Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You”
“With Freedom and Justice for All”
God help us all if we continue to let the Black and White fade to gray.
Cheers,
Captian.
Today’s philosophical discussion comes from a book I read recently. It is, admittedly, an older science fiction novel but a well loved one to be sure. I started reading science fiction/fantasy novels as brain candy and to clear the cobwebs between the history books I usually read and found a pleasant surprise. The better sci-fi novels have lots of veiled political and philosophical commentary running all through the narrative. Thankfully most of the better sci-fi/fantasy writers have done their homework and are students of the greats. I’m not talking about Tolkien or Vern (great writers though they are).
I’m speaking more of the ilk of Orwell, Rand and Huxley. Writers who, in their time, foresaw the traps and pitfalls of government, technology, law, and life in a society of pure equality. Those who recognized the hell on earth that was the utopian ideal and that all attempts to achieve it would inevitably fail.
Now that the preface is out of the way I’ll get to the subject at hand. The book I read is called “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. I have a close friend who has been trying to get me to read this book for about 10 years or so and I finally broke down and read it in about a week and a half. (I read mostly at night before bed and it’s been pretty busy lately).
In the book a small prodigy is taken at 6 years old (ala the old Spartan warriors) and sent to a combat school because his intellect and ability to strategize will eventually save the human race from an alien threat. A reoccuring theme in the book (written in 1977) was modus and extent of attack in a conflict. In other words, if you are planning to attack (or defend) against a physical threat how far do you go to achieve your objective.
A good example from the book is when the main character, Ender, is picked on by a pack of older, larger boys lead by a sadistic 10 year old. Surmising that this torture will continue unendingly unless something is done, Ender realizes that he must make the consequence of attacking him so unbelievably dreadful in the minds of his attackers that the mere thought of attack would send them running. Well, in the book it works, Ender beats the leader so viciously that the rest of his gang are dumbstruck and dared not get involved ever again.
This leads me to think; is it wrong to meet small force with overwhelmingly large force in order to create a lasting peace, even if that peace is based solely on the fear of further reprisal. There are so many levels of “preemptive strike by reprisal” it’s hard to make a blanket statement. In the book there was no question as to the validity of the ideal, only how to achieve it.
Looking around the world today it’s apparent that this exact scenario will play itself out over and over as we reach the age where many third world countries are able to create or acquire nuclear armament. The question stands: Do we eliminate a perceived threat in favor of maintaining peace, or are we going to end up back in the cold war shuffle, where M.A.D keeps the peace.
I think it’s a question of how far you go, because in all honesty the type of retaliation is really just a lesson you’re teaching your enemy. How do you best create distaste for conflict without creating a blood vendetta that was stronger than their original reason for attacking? Or do you just destroy them outright?
I remember a story my father told me about his time in the Army. While stationed in Germany he knew some wild guys, most of whom had fought in Korea and were serving the rest of their time in the Army on base. He talked about a certain soldier who became extremely violent when he drank. It got to the point many times that this person (who was rather large and well muscled) would beat the crap out of some smaller, unexpecting soldier. Well, to make a long story short several soldiers had watched this happen enough and decided to take care of the problem. They waited for the individual to get tanked up again to initiate their plan. When the drunk went for yet another smaller soldier the five men jumped in, carried the drunk fighter out into the parking lot and proceeded to break about 10 of his bones, cause some internal bleeding, and land him in the hospital for about 3 ½ weeks. The only item he received during his stay in the hospital was an anonymous note saying that he was there for a reason, and he’d better think about that the next time he decided to get drunk.
It sounds like an urban legend, and I can only assume that it’s true since my father has never lied to me, and it happened in the 50’s when things like that happened. Even if it is just a story the point is timely and real.
Some people call this type of thing a “Come to Jesus” meeting, or “Wake up call”. Whatever you call it there are times when they need to happen. I’m afraid the next “wake up call” for America will be worse than 9/11 and I hope there are enough people in this country with the stones to stand up and protect it. The longer I live the less of a problem I have (if any) with “pre-emptive measures” where American freedom is concerned. This doesn’t mean that the measure has to begin with violence; on the contrary we should seek peace first in every situation. But we damn sure better not EVER rule out the use of armed force when dealing with a potential threat to the sovereignty of this country, because without the threat of war, peace means nothing.
Simple ideas in a complicated world.
“Don’t Tread on Me”
“Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You”
“With Freedom and Justice for All”
God help us all if we continue to let the Black and White fade to gray.
Cheers,
Captian.
22 February 2006
Old Wounds
Greetings once again from the not so dirty south. This morning I awoke to a present fo sorts in my inbox. Someone signed in using the name Lee Dunbar and commented on the post "Putting it to Bed", my last post on the Col. Boyington farse in Washington. I do indeed hope that it was in fact Mr. Dunbar as I feel this matter can be reopened and better understood. (I apologize for my mistrust, but since I've opened the floor to anyone I could be talking to a 90 year old woman from Turkmanistan calling herself "Lee Dunbar". Below you'll see the comment and I've prepared some questions/comments of my own. We'll reopen this one yet again to see if any light can be shed on the subject.
To see Mr. Dunbar and read a short bio click
here
Here are Mr. Dunbar's Comments:
"I co-sponsored this resolution, in no way did I bash Boyington. Anyway I find your analysis interesting.... "
And now me:
I’m glad you visited and commented. Can you shed any light on this situation from your end? Though I gather my news from several sources, most of whom I trust to be reasonably accurate, I always like to hear from those involved to help round out the picture. I guess my biggest question is this: (aside from the virulently liberal mindset inherent in modern academia) How do students on the college level fail to reconcile the realities of this world, the idea that wars of the nature of World War II are only a choice for those who start them, and those who choose to protect what they love are often forced to fight and kill to do so? Standing up for your freedom and that of your fellow countrymen is not a sin, or shame, or anything less than a heroic act. As you co-sponsored this resolution I may just be preaching to the choir here, but can you honestly condemn people for being angry about this whole fiasco? Let me caveat that statement by saying that I do not condone death threats or threats of violence of any kind against someone who is exercising free speech. I do, however, think that debate is essential to understanding and ignoring fact in favor of feeling is a dangerous path.
In the debate itself was there anything other than the (reported) venom from those students who so dutifully donated sound bites to the main stream media? Did they even recognize that Col. Boyington should be commended for his service? Did the unfortunate (and ignorant) girl who commented on monuments for “rich, white guys” even blush when she found out that Col. Boyington was of Native American descent?
I have to admit that as the information on this event was somewhat sparse I simply wrote it off as another left wing academic attempt at destroying American patriotism on a college campus.
Any light you can shed on this subject would be most appreciated. Again, thanks for stopping by.
Captain.
To see Mr. Dunbar and read a short bio click
here
Here are Mr. Dunbar's Comments:
"I co-sponsored this resolution, in no way did I bash Boyington. Anyway I find your analysis interesting.... "
And now me:
I’m glad you visited and commented. Can you shed any light on this situation from your end? Though I gather my news from several sources, most of whom I trust to be reasonably accurate, I always like to hear from those involved to help round out the picture. I guess my biggest question is this: (aside from the virulently liberal mindset inherent in modern academia) How do students on the college level fail to reconcile the realities of this world, the idea that wars of the nature of World War II are only a choice for those who start them, and those who choose to protect what they love are often forced to fight and kill to do so? Standing up for your freedom and that of your fellow countrymen is not a sin, or shame, or anything less than a heroic act. As you co-sponsored this resolution I may just be preaching to the choir here, but can you honestly condemn people for being angry about this whole fiasco? Let me caveat that statement by saying that I do not condone death threats or threats of violence of any kind against someone who is exercising free speech. I do, however, think that debate is essential to understanding and ignoring fact in favor of feeling is a dangerous path.
In the debate itself was there anything other than the (reported) venom from those students who so dutifully donated sound bites to the main stream media? Did they even recognize that Col. Boyington should be commended for his service? Did the unfortunate (and ignorant) girl who commented on monuments for “rich, white guys” even blush when she found out that Col. Boyington was of Native American descent?
I have to admit that as the information on this event was somewhat sparse I simply wrote it off as another left wing academic attempt at destroying American patriotism on a college campus.
Any light you can shed on this subject would be most appreciated. Again, thanks for stopping by.
Captain.
20 February 2006
More subtle humor
In looking at their rotating square with Today at MSN on their website, saw the following title on one of the panels: "Case of Stolen Body Parts Sparks Fears". Okay, a little creepy but no problem. Two items down, however: "Creamy Chowders".
Yeeesh.
Yeah yeah, I know I should get out more.
Yeeesh.
Yeah yeah, I know I should get out more.
Fluff
Ok, this is pretty much meaningless fluff since I’m immersed in work stuff.
Today has been slow, news wise, so I’ll just recap and go into detail later.
Whitney finally broke down and bought the 60 gig ipod video (and has dutifully been converting the close to 40 gigs of music on our home computer to itunes all weekend)
I’m slowly but surely ramping up my torture level in the gym, and have found a new torture device: the stair climber. I always avoided it in the past as it was the one machine that 9 year old girls could do better than me. No longer, I will conquer it or (more likely) die trying.
Decided to make some changes in my daily life, just for shits and giggles.
Have ditched the four history books I’ve been reading in honor of brainless crap. While I’m no longer learning that much I am enjoying my pre-bed reading much more.
In honor of changes made and pondered I have a question to pose to you all. Feel free to answer if you wish or just keep it in your head, it’s just a little thing. I’m opening the comments up to anonymous commenting as I understand this is a bit strange and not everyone is comfortable being thought of as strange.
Is there somewhere on this earth, a location that you have been to, that you’re afraid to return to.
I know it sounds strange, and it’s not something I’m dwelling on, I just had some interesting conversations this weekend and started thinking about it. I suppose you could say you never want to go back to grade school (the building) because someone picked on you there or maybe it’s a hospital where someone you know died.
Creepy; sure. But interesting none the less.
Better fluff to come, I promise.
Cheers,
Captian
Today has been slow, news wise, so I’ll just recap and go into detail later.
Whitney finally broke down and bought the 60 gig ipod video (and has dutifully been converting the close to 40 gigs of music on our home computer to itunes all weekend)
I’m slowly but surely ramping up my torture level in the gym, and have found a new torture device: the stair climber. I always avoided it in the past as it was the one machine that 9 year old girls could do better than me. No longer, I will conquer it or (more likely) die trying.
Decided to make some changes in my daily life, just for shits and giggles.
Have ditched the four history books I’ve been reading in honor of brainless crap. While I’m no longer learning that much I am enjoying my pre-bed reading much more.
In honor of changes made and pondered I have a question to pose to you all. Feel free to answer if you wish or just keep it in your head, it’s just a little thing. I’m opening the comments up to anonymous commenting as I understand this is a bit strange and not everyone is comfortable being thought of as strange.
Is there somewhere on this earth, a location that you have been to, that you’re afraid to return to.
I know it sounds strange, and it’s not something I’m dwelling on, I just had some interesting conversations this weekend and started thinking about it. I suppose you could say you never want to go back to grade school (the building) because someone picked on you there or maybe it’s a hospital where someone you know died.
Creepy; sure. But interesting none the less.
Better fluff to come, I promise.
Cheers,
Captian
Grrrr....
Blogger is being a bitch. Posting is not working. I have about 3 days worth of crap to put up but can't seem to do it.
Note to self, blogger currently on shit list...
Note to self, blogger currently on shit list...
18 February 2006
I can't decide...
...if this is more funny or just plain sad. This article made me laugh, especially since it goes way beyond my commentary on "probes" a couple of weeks ago. I expect it will be followed up by a story about the sudden increase in applications to their police academy.
17 February 2006
Wow
Ok, I just got this from one of our graphic designers here. This is truly some next level stuff... (the music is cool too)
New Computer Video
New Computer Video
Putting it to bed
Ok, so this topic is getting a bit tired so I’ll make this my last foray into the small minded world of University of Washington student politics. Below is an excerpt from an article in today’s “The Daily”, the student paper on campus at UW. Since those who were interviewed have obviously been tutored at the Hillary Clinton school of conversational misdirection and communist PC rhetoric, I’ll translate for you.
“Hate mail and threatening voicemails flooded in to students who spoke out against an ASUW Student Senate resolution this week.
Translation: People reacted angrily to the idea that Marines and those who serve our country in the armed forces should be considered second class citizens on the UW campus.
The resolution, which aimed to create an on-campus tribute to World War II fighter pilot Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, was voted down last Tuesday. Senate Chair Alex Kim cast the tie-breaking vote after a lengthy debate.
Kim and ASUW President Lee Dunbar responded to community lashings at the beginning of last night's Senate meeting.
Uh oh, here comes the righteous indignation of the patently unrighteous…
Dunbar commended the Senate's debate and said he was appalled by the hateful responses members received. He said he hopes the Senate can continue to operate in an open, non-threatening environment.
Translation: Dunbar is happy that after about 3 minutes of bashing the memory of Col. Boyington the budding bolsheviks were able to squelch the facts and quickly move to a vote against the resolution. He’s also incensed that anyone would dare take issue with his little anti-armed forces puppet show and hopes that in the future people who feel differently from him and his brood will just not talk about it in order to support the council’s self esteem.
Senate members received hateful phone calls and e-mails after their personal information was posted on Internet sites and blogs. ASUW vice president Ashley Miller said she received between 50 and 100 threatening letters from people outside the UW community. Miller was one of the main contributors to the resolution's debate.
Translation: Senate members were shocked to learn that rumors of their idiocy had spread beyond the soft walls of the academia cocoon and that they were ACTUALLY going to have to take responsibility for things that they said in a public forum. *gasp* Furthermore the ASUW Vice President felt threatened when people all over the country dared to tell her she was wrong.
"The information about what happened that night was sent out to different sources and people were misquoted and misrepresented," she said. "This just got ridiculous, everything was blown totally out of proportion."
Translation: *backpedal backpedal backpedal backpedal* Mrs. Miller can’t figure out why so many people are upset and thinks they should all just go home and be more sensitive.
I’ve read the minutes from this meeting, and in doing so was reminded of why we need limited government. It truly sickens me to think that this type of occurrence is not the exception but the rule on college campuses across the country. I encourage all of you to keep writing in to people like these and letting them know that outside their little bubble there are people who are indeed watching them and holding them responsible for their actions. If you need any further proof that these sorry sacks think they should act with impunity and without responsibility, read the final minutes of the actual debate below.
Evan Roberts moved to close debate. Seconded.
Objection. The motion failed.
Division was called. The motion passed.
Debate was closed on the resolution.
Division was called on the resolution. The vote was tied.
Alex Kim noted that in the case of a tie, the Senate Chair cast the tiebreaking vote.
Alex Kim voted nay. The resolution failed.
Zachary Tobin called for a roll call vote.
Alex Kim called the motion out of order as the results of the vote had already been announced.
“Hate mail and threatening voicemails flooded in to students who spoke out against an ASUW Student Senate resolution this week.
Translation: People reacted angrily to the idea that Marines and those who serve our country in the armed forces should be considered second class citizens on the UW campus.
The resolution, which aimed to create an on-campus tribute to World War II fighter pilot Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, was voted down last Tuesday. Senate Chair Alex Kim cast the tie-breaking vote after a lengthy debate.
Kim and ASUW President Lee Dunbar responded to community lashings at the beginning of last night's Senate meeting.
Uh oh, here comes the righteous indignation of the patently unrighteous…
Dunbar commended the Senate's debate and said he was appalled by the hateful responses members received. He said he hopes the Senate can continue to operate in an open, non-threatening environment.
Translation: Dunbar is happy that after about 3 minutes of bashing the memory of Col. Boyington the budding bolsheviks were able to squelch the facts and quickly move to a vote against the resolution. He’s also incensed that anyone would dare take issue with his little anti-armed forces puppet show and hopes that in the future people who feel differently from him and his brood will just not talk about it in order to support the council’s self esteem.
Senate members received hateful phone calls and e-mails after their personal information was posted on Internet sites and blogs. ASUW vice president Ashley Miller said she received between 50 and 100 threatening letters from people outside the UW community. Miller was one of the main contributors to the resolution's debate.
Translation: Senate members were shocked to learn that rumors of their idiocy had spread beyond the soft walls of the academia cocoon and that they were ACTUALLY going to have to take responsibility for things that they said in a public forum. *gasp* Furthermore the ASUW Vice President felt threatened when people all over the country dared to tell her she was wrong.
"The information about what happened that night was sent out to different sources and people were misquoted and misrepresented," she said. "This just got ridiculous, everything was blown totally out of proportion."
Translation: *backpedal backpedal backpedal backpedal* Mrs. Miller can’t figure out why so many people are upset and thinks they should all just go home and be more sensitive.
I’ve read the minutes from this meeting, and in doing so was reminded of why we need limited government. It truly sickens me to think that this type of occurrence is not the exception but the rule on college campuses across the country. I encourage all of you to keep writing in to people like these and letting them know that outside their little bubble there are people who are indeed watching them and holding them responsible for their actions. If you need any further proof that these sorry sacks think they should act with impunity and without responsibility, read the final minutes of the actual debate below.
Evan Roberts moved to close debate. Seconded.
Objection. The motion failed.
Division was called. The motion passed.
Debate was closed on the resolution.
Division was called on the resolution. The vote was tied.
Alex Kim noted that in the case of a tie, the Senate Chair cast the tiebreaking vote.
Alex Kim voted nay. The resolution failed.
Zachary Tobin called for a roll call vote.
Alex Kim called the motion out of order as the results of the vote had already been announced.
16 February 2006
Grrrrrr!!!!!!!
(Author's Note: Yes, the title is not far off from the Strakalogue column on foxnews.com. No, I don't care).
So if you haven't figured it out, I do have a certain affection (or sickness if you prefer) for our space program. I'm reading news stories today and run across this article about recent statements from the current NASA Administrator, regarding the impending gap in our ability to launch our people & equipment on our own vehicle. Not surprising, as he is rightfully being questioned to justify his FY07 budget proposal. So why am I irritated? If you have a few minutes to kill, read the article, especially the part about losing the experienced workforce.
What I don't understand is that this is the same man who's current staff has offered to buy-out the older civil service employees (aka the experienced ones) and as soon as the deadline has passed they have been RIF-ing hundreds of people at every NASA Center, some to the brink of extinction. This week they have pretty much driven the final coffin nail into the Space- and Life Sciences programs, which will put more people out the door.
Now granted, the agency has tons of dead-weight (people wise) and cleaning house would tend to get rid of a lot of their "culture" problems. I just can't help but wonder what kind of message you send to the people who control your agency's budget when you say one thing and do another. Am I the only one who sees this as strange? If you are really bored & have time to kill, check out one of my favorite websites. It has lots of recent examples of all this and provides a clear picture as to why I think that 10 years from now NASA will still be buying seats to orbit from the Russians or maybe by then from Richard Branson & company, barring some major changes in the way they do business. This is a hard soapbox for me to stay off, though I didn't wanna spoil the good natured posts tomorrow for Good Picture Friday/The Good Life.
Remember, these are your tax dollars (still less than 1% of them) going to building a brighter future for your grandchildren's grandchildren.
So if you haven't figured it out, I do have a certain affection (or sickness if you prefer) for our space program. I'm reading news stories today and run across this article about recent statements from the current NASA Administrator, regarding the impending gap in our ability to launch our people & equipment on our own vehicle. Not surprising, as he is rightfully being questioned to justify his FY07 budget proposal. So why am I irritated? If you have a few minutes to kill, read the article, especially the part about losing the experienced workforce.
What I don't understand is that this is the same man who's current staff has offered to buy-out the older civil service employees (aka the experienced ones) and as soon as the deadline has passed they have been RIF-ing hundreds of people at every NASA Center, some to the brink of extinction. This week they have pretty much driven the final coffin nail into the Space- and Life Sciences programs, which will put more people out the door.
Now granted, the agency has tons of dead-weight (people wise) and cleaning house would tend to get rid of a lot of their "culture" problems. I just can't help but wonder what kind of message you send to the people who control your agency's budget when you say one thing and do another. Am I the only one who sees this as strange? If you are really bored & have time to kill, check out one of my favorite websites. It has lots of recent examples of all this and provides a clear picture as to why I think that 10 years from now NASA will still be buying seats to orbit from the Russians or maybe by then from Richard Branson & company, barring some major changes in the way they do business. This is a hard soapbox for me to stay off, though I didn't wanna spoil the good natured posts tomorrow for Good Picture Friday/The Good Life.
Remember, these are your tax dollars (still less than 1% of them) going to building a brighter future for your grandchildren's grandchildren.
Funny Stuff
If you're looking for some funny, light hearted reads this afternoon check out this and this. Funny funny stuff.
In other news Whit has finally broken down and decided to turn to the dark side...
She's getting an Ipod. Everyone stop by her site and wish her well in her transition from old and busted to new hotness.
In other news Whit has finally broken down and decided to turn to the dark side...
She's getting an Ipod. Everyone stop by her site and wish her well in her transition from old and busted to new hotness.
The Good, the Bad, and the Stupid Part II
Let me tell you what a fine thing it is to see the fruits of your labor come about in quick fashion. I take no real credit for this particular instance, excepting that my voice was united with countless others and had the power to bring about a change.
Yesterday you’ll remember (if you don’t scroll down and read) that I published an email I sent to a certain girl at the University of Washington about her impressive show of ignorance. To briefly recap, she is a member of the student senate at UW and in a recent meeting exclaimed that no monument should be erected to honor a famous war hero (Marine Colonel Greg “Pappy” Boyington) because he “killed people’ and Marines were not the sort of people that the University of Washington should associate themselves with.
Well boy howdy, that got me off my soapbox and up onto my pissed off horse in a flash. Few things piss me off more than hearing some snot nosed, lefty larva puke bad mouth the armed forces of this country. So I counted to about 400 or so to cool off and proceeded to write a short missive to said moron to help her understand the error of her ways. And I was anything but alone.
Upon reading Boortz’s site this afternoon I was overjoyed to find that so many people had written to express their anger and disgust at this girl that the wheels were already in motion to rectify the situation. Another member of the student senate at Washington University issued a resolution that blasts Mrs. Edwards and further states that unless she issues an apology to several parties she will be removed from the student senate. HOW GREAT IS THAT?
And as if things couldn’t get any better, she posted her comments on her website about the mail she’s been getting, and is actually learning to just keep her mouth shut. Here’s a tidbit from Boortz: (and the misspellings are hers so I and he just left them in)
“So there you have it. Thanks, I am thouroughly regretting opeining my mouth. No quote of the week this week, I think the above suffice.”
HA! There is a lesson to be learned here kiddies. If you have an intemperate thought about something and feel others should hear it, by all means speak up, it’s your right as an American. You are guaranteed the freedom to let your feelings be known without fear of reprisal from our government. But understand that you are fair game for your peers, and by “peers” I mean your fellow Americans.
Voltaire said it best: “"I disagree with what you have to say but will fight to the death to protect your right to say it."
I think that’s one of the fundamental differences between the left and everyone else in this country, one side believes in liberty and freedom and will sacrifice all to protect it, the other side only likes it when it suits them.
So there you have it folks, please go read the whole thing on Boortz, it’s a scream. And I encourage anyone reading this to make your opinion known here or anywhere else you choose…
Just be well prepared to defend it. Good debate raises the mind to levels previously unknown.
If I learned one thing from this whole thing it’s this:
Never, ever underestimate the power of a good verbal bitch-slap.
Cheers,
Captain.
Yesterday you’ll remember (if you don’t scroll down and read) that I published an email I sent to a certain girl at the University of Washington about her impressive show of ignorance. To briefly recap, she is a member of the student senate at UW and in a recent meeting exclaimed that no monument should be erected to honor a famous war hero (Marine Colonel Greg “Pappy” Boyington) because he “killed people’ and Marines were not the sort of people that the University of Washington should associate themselves with.
Well boy howdy, that got me off my soapbox and up onto my pissed off horse in a flash. Few things piss me off more than hearing some snot nosed, lefty larva puke bad mouth the armed forces of this country. So I counted to about 400 or so to cool off and proceeded to write a short missive to said moron to help her understand the error of her ways. And I was anything but alone.
Upon reading Boortz’s site this afternoon I was overjoyed to find that so many people had written to express their anger and disgust at this girl that the wheels were already in motion to rectify the situation. Another member of the student senate at Washington University issued a resolution that blasts Mrs. Edwards and further states that unless she issues an apology to several parties she will be removed from the student senate. HOW GREAT IS THAT?
And as if things couldn’t get any better, she posted her comments on her website about the mail she’s been getting, and is actually learning to just keep her mouth shut. Here’s a tidbit from Boortz: (and the misspellings are hers so I and he just left them in)
“So there you have it. Thanks, I am thouroughly regretting opeining my mouth. No quote of the week this week, I think the above suffice.”
HA! There is a lesson to be learned here kiddies. If you have an intemperate thought about something and feel others should hear it, by all means speak up, it’s your right as an American. You are guaranteed the freedom to let your feelings be known without fear of reprisal from our government. But understand that you are fair game for your peers, and by “peers” I mean your fellow Americans.
Voltaire said it best: “"I disagree with what you have to say but will fight to the death to protect your right to say it."
I think that’s one of the fundamental differences between the left and everyone else in this country, one side believes in liberty and freedom and will sacrifice all to protect it, the other side only likes it when it suits them.
So there you have it folks, please go read the whole thing on Boortz, it’s a scream. And I encourage anyone reading this to make your opinion known here or anywhere else you choose…
Just be well prepared to defend it. Good debate raises the mind to levels previously unknown.
If I learned one thing from this whole thing it’s this:
Never, ever underestimate the power of a good verbal bitch-slap.
Cheers,
Captain.
15 February 2006
The Good, the Bad, and the Stupid
Oh boy, here we go. I've just finished adding some structural supports to my soapbox and it's ready for me to jump up and down on it. I was reading Boortz this morning and found this little number about a student senate member at the University of Washington who doesn't like Marines because they "kill people". Luckily Boortz always publishes the people's email addresses and I was able to write the following email (copied below) to this person. She will undoubtedly delete it without reading any of it, but that's ok, I feel better having written it.
To Jill Edwards (jae6@u.washington.edu)
After reading about your "opinion" that a highly decorated U.S. Marine isn't worthy to be honored at a U.S. University I have one question: Who are you? Are you living an a country where the freedom you enjoy every day was fought for and won several times over by Marines? Are you speaking your mind (and I use the term "mind" lightly in your case) without fear of governmental reprisal because somewhere in the world a Marine younger than you chose to put off college to protect the freedoms you take for granted? Here's another question: Do you think freedom is free? Please forgive my inquisitiveness, I'm trying to ascertain the depth to which your ignorance plums. I fail to understand how anyone who reads above a 3rd grade level and has lived in this country for more than a week could fathom the ideas you put forth in the recent Student Senate meeting.
Well, just for argument's sake, let me educate you on a few things.
First: We live in a world where people try to control and take things from other people, and even make other people live a certain way whether they like it or not. Those people are called "Dictators". They try to “dictate” what others do based on their own desires. The founders of this country (I’ll spare your weak, politically correct stomach the words “founding fathers”) had to fight and yes, even KILL to protect their right to live as they saw fit. Ever since then there have been attempts by other people and countries to take our freedom away and in each instance we’ve fought them off. We’ve killed them. There is a difference between protecting those you love by killing those who attack you and just killing indiscriminately. We even have laws for it. Isn’t that neat?
Second: When you speak out against someone who put their life in danger to protect your or your family’s or any other American’s life you are telling those who are listening to you that you don’t appreciate the freedoms you have and that living free from oppression isn’t worth dying for. Please stop for a minute and imagine your life right now if Marines like Gregory Boyington hadn’t fought in World War II. Can you even imagine where we’d be? Or even better, imagine your life if instead of just enjoying the freedom America provides for free you had to fight for it, personally. What if in order to live in this country you were required to serve and possibly fight in the armed forces? Would you move to Canada? To France? What would you do?
You see the problem I have with people like you is that you’ve been given a great gift, something that billions of people all over the world don’t have, and yet you spit on it. You’re so mired in your little world of “higher thought” and “academia” that you haven’t even learned the basics of what will probably turn out to be a pretty rough life for you. Soon enough you’ll begin to find that outside the cocoon of university life there are people who think their own thoughts, work where they choose, pray to whatever god they see fit to pray to, and understand that without freedom none of that is possible. People who understand that though America is the greatest country in the world and home to more freedom than any country the world has ever seen, we stand on the edge of a knife. Freedom is a living, breathing thing. When it’s neglected it suffers. It can be taken and given, and it must be cherished.
You cannot think for your freedom, you cannot talk for your freedom. You can’t even protest, march, sit in, or boycott for your freedom.
For freedom you must fight. The Marines did and do.
In my opinion they should put a monument up to Gregory Boyington and you and others of your mindset should be given the job of polishing the memorial every day so that you never forget what he and others did to keep you free.
As it is if you learn this lesson now you can save face and attribute your pig-ignorant stupidity to youth.
Best of luck,
Captain.
To Jill Edwards (jae6@u.washington.edu)
After reading about your "opinion" that a highly decorated U.S. Marine isn't worthy to be honored at a U.S. University I have one question: Who are you? Are you living an a country where the freedom you enjoy every day was fought for and won several times over by Marines? Are you speaking your mind (and I use the term "mind" lightly in your case) without fear of governmental reprisal because somewhere in the world a Marine younger than you chose to put off college to protect the freedoms you take for granted? Here's another question: Do you think freedom is free? Please forgive my inquisitiveness, I'm trying to ascertain the depth to which your ignorance plums. I fail to understand how anyone who reads above a 3rd grade level and has lived in this country for more than a week could fathom the ideas you put forth in the recent Student Senate meeting.
Well, just for argument's sake, let me educate you on a few things.
First: We live in a world where people try to control and take things from other people, and even make other people live a certain way whether they like it or not. Those people are called "Dictators". They try to “dictate” what others do based on their own desires. The founders of this country (I’ll spare your weak, politically correct stomach the words “founding fathers”) had to fight and yes, even KILL to protect their right to live as they saw fit. Ever since then there have been attempts by other people and countries to take our freedom away and in each instance we’ve fought them off. We’ve killed them. There is a difference between protecting those you love by killing those who attack you and just killing indiscriminately. We even have laws for it. Isn’t that neat?
Second: When you speak out against someone who put their life in danger to protect your or your family’s or any other American’s life you are telling those who are listening to you that you don’t appreciate the freedoms you have and that living free from oppression isn’t worth dying for. Please stop for a minute and imagine your life right now if Marines like Gregory Boyington hadn’t fought in World War II. Can you even imagine where we’d be? Or even better, imagine your life if instead of just enjoying the freedom America provides for free you had to fight for it, personally. What if in order to live in this country you were required to serve and possibly fight in the armed forces? Would you move to Canada? To France? What would you do?
You see the problem I have with people like you is that you’ve been given a great gift, something that billions of people all over the world don’t have, and yet you spit on it. You’re so mired in your little world of “higher thought” and “academia” that you haven’t even learned the basics of what will probably turn out to be a pretty rough life for you. Soon enough you’ll begin to find that outside the cocoon of university life there are people who think their own thoughts, work where they choose, pray to whatever god they see fit to pray to, and understand that without freedom none of that is possible. People who understand that though America is the greatest country in the world and home to more freedom than any country the world has ever seen, we stand on the edge of a knife. Freedom is a living, breathing thing. When it’s neglected it suffers. It can be taken and given, and it must be cherished.
You cannot think for your freedom, you cannot talk for your freedom. You can’t even protest, march, sit in, or boycott for your freedom.
For freedom you must fight. The Marines did and do.
In my opinion they should put a monument up to Gregory Boyington and you and others of your mindset should be given the job of polishing the memorial every day so that you never forget what he and others did to keep you free.
As it is if you learn this lesson now you can save face and attribute your pig-ignorant stupidity to youth.
Best of luck,
Captain.
14 February 2006
Happy Feb. 14th
So I figure I should post a non-fluffy piece to equalize with the Captain's earlier post and keep the Universe in balance. I don't want to come off as jaded or sounding pathetic or anything, so we'll stick to simple:
First and foremost, I'd like to wish my parents a happy 36th anniversary today! Love you guys!
Nothing else to report, certainly no VD celebrations for yours truly. I think its an insipid overcommercialized holiday (and I use the term "holiday" loosely) that guilts people into shows of affection, gifts, etc. for loved ones. In my opinion, if you only do that when Hallmark tells you to, get your friggin' head examined or take a good look at your relationship. You should thank God every single day for having someone special in your life and cherish the time you have together, not just when the chocolate heart and flower people remind you. There's a hint for you younger bucks out there: surprise her any of the other 362 days a year (I also subtract for birthday and the anniversary).
So what did the Sarge do today in the spirit of things? I drew a heart. While marking up a target plate at work. And then blasted it to bits. Hehe, and they say romance is dead...
Kidding aside, I hope all of you who did choose to celebrate today had a wonderful evening.
First and foremost, I'd like to wish my parents a happy 36th anniversary today! Love you guys!
Nothing else to report, certainly no VD celebrations for yours truly. I think its an insipid overcommercialized holiday (and I use the term "holiday" loosely) that guilts people into shows of affection, gifts, etc. for loved ones. In my opinion, if you only do that when Hallmark tells you to, get your friggin' head examined or take a good look at your relationship. You should thank God every single day for having someone special in your life and cherish the time you have together, not just when the chocolate heart and flower people remind you. There's a hint for you younger bucks out there: surprise her any of the other 362 days a year (I also subtract for birthday and the anniversary).
So what did the Sarge do today in the spirit of things? I drew a heart. While marking up a target plate at work. And then blasted it to bits. Hehe, and they say romance is dead...
Kidding aside, I hope all of you who did choose to celebrate today had a wonderful evening.
Funny VD
Ok, I’ve found something that’s well worth the time to post. While I’m not as virulent about the whole Valentine’s day thing as I once was, I do love good mockery. This has got to be one of the funniest collections of anit-Valentine’s stuff I’ve ever seen. This is my personal favorite:
You can see all the rest here.
You can see all the rest here.
Happy VD
Ok, well it’s Tuesday and I’ve decided on a color scheme that suits me. I’m sure I’ll tweak it here and there but you probably won’t notice much at all.
Today I’ve been scanning the news and the blogs and am not surprised by what I’ve seen. Several fluff pieces on Valentines day trends, the same saber rattling by Iran, and the obligatory jokes from our much vaunted but rarely funny late show hosts. I honestly expected better from them, but most if not all of the jokes were lame. Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the rack.
Today is a happy day for me though. While I don’t dive into the holiday aspect of this particular day, I do take the excuse to got out to eat with my better half. We’re celebrating year 5 or 6 of a tradition we started while dating (which is why I’m unsure of the years involved) by going to Longhorn Steakhouse. I still remember the first time we went very clearly (well, everything but the year). We were looking for a place to eat and everything was covered over in Buckhead (where I lived at the time). So we ended up at the original Longhorn on Peachtree and the meal and the company were fantastic. We sat at a table next to Ray Goff of UGA coaching fame, and realized that spending Valentines day in a not so ritzy restaurant where we were very comfortable, eating fantastic food was just about the best that day could get.
And so tonight we continue the streak.
Ok I’ve just read this and realized that I’ve just written my own fluff piece. Oh well. I’m sure something will piss me off enough to write something a bit sharper later in the day.
Until then, if you can’t be with the one you love…..
Love the one who won’t slap a restraining order on you.
Cheers,
Captain.
Today I’ve been scanning the news and the blogs and am not surprised by what I’ve seen. Several fluff pieces on Valentines day trends, the same saber rattling by Iran, and the obligatory jokes from our much vaunted but rarely funny late show hosts. I honestly expected better from them, but most if not all of the jokes were lame. Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the rack.
Today is a happy day for me though. While I don’t dive into the holiday aspect of this particular day, I do take the excuse to got out to eat with my better half. We’re celebrating year 5 or 6 of a tradition we started while dating (which is why I’m unsure of the years involved) by going to Longhorn Steakhouse. I still remember the first time we went very clearly (well, everything but the year). We were looking for a place to eat and everything was covered over in Buckhead (where I lived at the time). So we ended up at the original Longhorn on Peachtree and the meal and the company were fantastic. We sat at a table next to Ray Goff of UGA coaching fame, and realized that spending Valentines day in a not so ritzy restaurant where we were very comfortable, eating fantastic food was just about the best that day could get.
And so tonight we continue the streak.
Ok I’ve just read this and realized that I’ve just written my own fluff piece. Oh well. I’m sure something will piss me off enough to write something a bit sharper later in the day.
Until then, if you can’t be with the one you love…..
Love the one who won’t slap a restraining order on you.
Cheers,
Captain.
13 February 2006
WTF? Monday
Welcome one and all to another edition of WTF? Monday. Mind the mess, I’m redecorating.
So it’s been a relatively slow day for WTF? but I’ve managed to find something I think is ridiculous. It’s fairly obvious, but my reasoning is probably not.
Today the mainstream media is at the table glutting itself on Dick Cheney’s unfortunate pull of the trigger. Though I live in a red state, our much vaunted Atlanta paper (more to the point its web news site, since I wouldn’t pay to use the actual paper one to line my cat’s litter box) is one of those good old lefty rags. This afternoon (post press conference) they’ve added a comment section where the mindless pinko sycophants of this city can take their turn towing the party line between trips to moveon.org and being shorn by their local union rep…BaAaaAaa!
I have no problem with people being interested at a man being accidentally shot by the Vice President of the United States, and I see no problem with it being plastered all over the web, TV, radio and papers. Great, you finally have something to justify creating that ass groove in your overstuffed news room office chair.
The problem is that since they can’t seem to get any real evidence or factual proof of any of the myriad of wild allegations against the entire Bush White House they see fit to manufacture a mountain out of every mole hill. WTF?
By the end of the week there will be fifteen different conspiracy theories about “why” Cheney shot the man on purpose, what he and Halliburton had to gain by shooting him, and how this accident just proves that he’s not fit to be Vice President.
The sad thing is they started the minute this whole story came out. Not about the shooting itself (no, there were too many good facts available to blow the fan-fair right out of the water). The current “outrage” comes from the fact that it took them 22 hours to notify the public of the shooting.
Let’s examine this: First we’ll look at the law, since that’s what matters in these cases. I’ll use a quote from an article this morning: Hunting parties are not required to report accidents, said state Parks and Wildlife spokesman Tom Harvey. The state penal code requires people to report fatalities, which would be investigated by law enforcement. Hmmm, let’s think, accident happens, accident victim taken to hospital, victims relatives notified, victim’s state of health assessed, proper authorities brought in to investigate, PUBLIC NOTIFIED. Sounds right to me.
The real problem the press has here is that the FACTS were gathered before they could get their grubby paws on the story to twist it. Besides, there is nothing in the first amendment that entitles the press to any story on a time frame. If the authorities were notified immediately (and let’s face it, they authorities were already there in the form of about 20 secret service guards) and the family was notified immediately (his wife was THERE when he was shot) then what else really matters?
When the latest celebrity idiot slams their Porches into a light pole while high on Meth and Coke, do the paparazzi get pissed off and raise hell because they weren’t called along with the police? This comes down to a simple but reoccurring theme in the current political climate. If your opponent doesn’t do anything to call them out on, make something up.
The best part of this whole thing is that several reporters are going to try to make their careers off of this one and come out looking like the asses they truly are.
I’ll finish this one on a lighter note with a question posed by one of the AJC bloggers:
“Would you rather go hunting with Dick Cheney, or driving with Ted Kennedy?”
So it’s been a relatively slow day for WTF? but I’ve managed to find something I think is ridiculous. It’s fairly obvious, but my reasoning is probably not.
Today the mainstream media is at the table glutting itself on Dick Cheney’s unfortunate pull of the trigger. Though I live in a red state, our much vaunted Atlanta paper (more to the point its web news site, since I wouldn’t pay to use the actual paper one to line my cat’s litter box) is one of those good old lefty rags. This afternoon (post press conference) they’ve added a comment section where the mindless pinko sycophants of this city can take their turn towing the party line between trips to moveon.org and being shorn by their local union rep…BaAaaAaa!
I have no problem with people being interested at a man being accidentally shot by the Vice President of the United States, and I see no problem with it being plastered all over the web, TV, radio and papers. Great, you finally have something to justify creating that ass groove in your overstuffed news room office chair.
The problem is that since they can’t seem to get any real evidence or factual proof of any of the myriad of wild allegations against the entire Bush White House they see fit to manufacture a mountain out of every mole hill. WTF?
By the end of the week there will be fifteen different conspiracy theories about “why” Cheney shot the man on purpose, what he and Halliburton had to gain by shooting him, and how this accident just proves that he’s not fit to be Vice President.
The sad thing is they started the minute this whole story came out. Not about the shooting itself (no, there were too many good facts available to blow the fan-fair right out of the water). The current “outrage” comes from the fact that it took them 22 hours to notify the public of the shooting.
Let’s examine this: First we’ll look at the law, since that’s what matters in these cases. I’ll use a quote from an article this morning: Hunting parties are not required to report accidents, said state Parks and Wildlife spokesman Tom Harvey. The state penal code requires people to report fatalities, which would be investigated by law enforcement. Hmmm, let’s think, accident happens, accident victim taken to hospital, victims relatives notified, victim’s state of health assessed, proper authorities brought in to investigate, PUBLIC NOTIFIED. Sounds right to me.
The real problem the press has here is that the FACTS were gathered before they could get their grubby paws on the story to twist it. Besides, there is nothing in the first amendment that entitles the press to any story on a time frame. If the authorities were notified immediately (and let’s face it, they authorities were already there in the form of about 20 secret service guards) and the family was notified immediately (his wife was THERE when he was shot) then what else really matters?
When the latest celebrity idiot slams their Porches into a light pole while high on Meth and Coke, do the paparazzi get pissed off and raise hell because they weren’t called along with the police? This comes down to a simple but reoccurring theme in the current political climate. If your opponent doesn’t do anything to call them out on, make something up.
The best part of this whole thing is that several reporters are going to try to make their careers off of this one and come out looking like the asses they truly are.
I’ll finish this one on a lighter note with a question posed by one of the AJC bloggers:
“Would you rather go hunting with Dick Cheney, or driving with Ted Kennedy?”
Ch ch Changes....
You'll notice in the next few days that Alone at sea will be looking different. I'm up on my html horse and plowing through, changing things but the process is slow as I'm one of those 9 to 5 slobs. Check back often to see the different things I'm trying. I'll post real things in between, surely you don't think I could shut up for that long...
So for now this blog is officially "Under Construction"
So for now this blog is officially "Under Construction"
12 February 2006
Quick bit from the Western front
Howdy blog land. After reading Alone at Sea's weekly wrapup, I thought I'd dispense my own bit of good news. Well, at least post something positive here for a change (consider it my first Good Life entry).
So I'm out with a few friends bowling the other night on the base where we work, & after deciding I need a frosty mug of a tasty beverage to ease the pain in my haven't-bowled-in-years-thumb, I go over to the food window and inquire as to what they have on tap. I expected the standard Bud lite & Miller lite, but when the girl at the counter said "Yeungling"...
Good friends hanging out in a nice new establishment on a random Thursday night and discovering one of our favorite beers is on tap... this, my friends, is The Good Life.
So I'm out with a few friends bowling the other night on the base where we work, & after deciding I need a frosty mug of a tasty beverage to ease the pain in my haven't-bowled-in-years-thumb, I go over to the food window and inquire as to what they have on tap. I expected the standard Bud lite & Miller lite, but when the girl at the counter said "Yeungling"...
Good friends hanging out in a nice new establishment on a random Thursday night and discovering one of our favorite beers is on tap... this, my friends, is The Good Life.
Weekend Wrap-Up
Mellow greetings and salutations people of blog land. Time to wrap up the weekends festivities and regail you with tails of, well, the weekend.
Friday night we decided to get some sushi. Off to Hachi Hachi we drove (the whole 300 yards). It was a good night for sushi and a few rolls later we were full and happy and ready to completey vegitate in front of the TV...and we did.
Saturday it was up late and off to eat lunch at Champs which was pretty good, and then to the shops for some browsing. We hooked up with Dave and Monica Saturday night at Wild Wing and Alpharetta to see these guys. They were kind enough to ask me to sit in on a tune and it was much fun. It was amazing playing with Deniz Felder, a truly amazing sax player who's currently playing with these guys. If you have the time I highly recommend checking out their next show at the Ten High on Feb 21st. There was much Guinness and much fun.
Whit and Monica at Wild Wing
Yours truly on stage with Fishtank (notice how much I DON'T look like a sax player standing next to Deniz)
In case you're wondering how much beer I drank, this is what Dave and Monica looked like right before I played...
Today was all about complaining about the fact that we live 400 miles from the nearest ocean and it's 32 degrees outside. Thus we went down to parimeter to Cheeseburger in Paradise and soaked up the campy tourest trappy goodness. They have the all time best salad ever made. And there you have it, not too interesting, but fun.
Now to settle in with some leftovers and grow roots into my couch...
Cheers,
Friday night we decided to get some sushi. Off to Hachi Hachi we drove (the whole 300 yards). It was a good night for sushi and a few rolls later we were full and happy and ready to completey vegitate in front of the TV...and we did.
Saturday it was up late and off to eat lunch at Champs which was pretty good, and then to the shops for some browsing. We hooked up with Dave and Monica Saturday night at Wild Wing and Alpharetta to see these guys. They were kind enough to ask me to sit in on a tune and it was much fun. It was amazing playing with Deniz Felder, a truly amazing sax player who's currently playing with these guys. If you have the time I highly recommend checking out their next show at the Ten High on Feb 21st. There was much Guinness and much fun.
Whit and Monica at Wild Wing
Yours truly on stage with Fishtank (notice how much I DON'T look like a sax player standing next to Deniz)
In case you're wondering how much beer I drank, this is what Dave and Monica looked like right before I played...
Today was all about complaining about the fact that we live 400 miles from the nearest ocean and it's 32 degrees outside. Thus we went down to parimeter to Cheeseburger in Paradise and soaked up the campy tourest trappy goodness. They have the all time best salad ever made. And there you have it, not too interesting, but fun.
Now to settle in with some leftovers and grow roots into my couch...
Cheers,
10 February 2006
Ahoy
I’d like to send a big “Hello” to the Born Again Redneck. I found his blog through a series of links I followed from Boortz.com and really enjoy his posts. If you haven’t followed the link I recommend you take some time to read what he has to say.
On behalf of myself and Aerosarge;
Welcome Aboard.
-Captain
On behalf of myself and Aerosarge;
Welcome Aboard.
-Captain
The Good Life
Welcome the very first edition of “The Good Life”. This will more than likely be a weekend thing, but Friday is close enough in my book. I take the name “The Good Life” from the name of a cigar store that used to be on Hwy 92 in Roswell, Ga. The shop is no longer there and has been sold but my memories of that place and that time are still strong, and the people I met there taught me much about what it is to live to the fullest and enjoy the good things in life. I dedicate this post to the Nunez’ family. Wayne and Jane Nunez’ owned and ran “The Good Life Smoke Shop” and were always kind and welcoming to all. For about two years Whit and I and a few of our friends would gather there on Friday and sometimes Saturday nights to hang out, play darts, drink some tasty adult beverages, and of course, smoke great cigars. We had a usual cast of characters (about 12 or so) that would show up for the dart tournaments and you couldn’t ask for a better bunch of hooligans to hang out with. People from all walks would show up and spend a few hours forgetting their hectic week at work, and would share stories and jokes. There was always a lot of laughter there, and it always felt like home.
About two and a half years ago Jane was diagnosed with cancer. She fought valiantly for a little less than two and a half years, always smiling, chin up and sweet as she could be. Last November she succumbed to the cancer. The shop moved to a smaller building up in Midway and finally was sold to a good friend of Wayne’s, who also happens to be one of the original Friday night crew. I think it only fitting that this column be in honor of someone who lived life without fear, even after she got cancer.
The subsequent “Good Life” columns won’t be quite as sober as this one, but I wish for anyone reading this to remember that life is short and unpredictable, and they should always seek to live it well.
As it’s Friday and two days of freedom are looming off the bow, I suggest you each sidle up to your favorite tasty beverage and breath deep the free air.
Cheers,
About two and a half years ago Jane was diagnosed with cancer. She fought valiantly for a little less than two and a half years, always smiling, chin up and sweet as she could be. Last November she succumbed to the cancer. The shop moved to a smaller building up in Midway and finally was sold to a good friend of Wayne’s, who also happens to be one of the original Friday night crew. I think it only fitting that this column be in honor of someone who lived life without fear, even after she got cancer.
The subsequent “Good Life” columns won’t be quite as sober as this one, but I wish for anyone reading this to remember that life is short and unpredictable, and they should always seek to live it well.
As it’s Friday and two days of freedom are looming off the bow, I suggest you each sidle up to your favorite tasty beverage and breath deep the free air.
Cheers,
Great Picture Friday
Welcome to another edition of “Great Picture Friday”. Here are a few more shots I find entertaining…
Here’s my better half before a nice ride up at Barnsley Gardens back in December.
This was my mount for that particular ride; Diamond. She was feisty and tried at least a dozen times to bite the ass of the paint in front of me. She was sweet though and liked to play. She didn’t like the creek crossing, but then again I wouldn’t want to carry me across a creek in bare feet on a mid-December morning either.
This last one is a shot of Man O’War Bay, Waiheke Island, off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve been a lot of isolated places before, but here I truly felt disconnected from the rest of the world. What a great feeling.
Here’s my better half before a nice ride up at Barnsley Gardens back in December.
This was my mount for that particular ride; Diamond. She was feisty and tried at least a dozen times to bite the ass of the paint in front of me. She was sweet though and liked to play. She didn’t like the creek crossing, but then again I wouldn’t want to carry me across a creek in bare feet on a mid-December morning either.
This last one is a shot of Man O’War Bay, Waiheke Island, off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve been a lot of isolated places before, but here I truly felt disconnected from the rest of the world. What a great feeling.
Fishy Music
Update on the toys:
Swam last night with the new tunes. It works great, stays on surprisingly well while swimming, even in a sprint. The only thing I’ll have to resolve is how to weave the headphones through my goggles. I think I’m also going to start swimming in a cap as that will keep the phones in and help with the *plunk* of water when I’m swimming breast or butterfly. The only thing you lose once underwater is a little base, which is to be expected. Overall I’m thrilled with having music to listen to while swimming. I only swam for about 35 minutes last night, and I couldn’t tell you how far I swam, I was concentrating on the music and the nuance of my stroke, which is exactly what I need to be focusing on, not how much time has passed or how tired I am. Mission accomplished.
Since the weather is taking a turn for the worst I think I’m going to set up the trainer in the house and work out some of the kinks on the road bike. Unfortunately I can’t just leave it up, so I’ll have to actually schedule the rides, but that’s fine.
I’ve decided also that one of my goals for next year will be to run a race outside the country. There are several great tri’s in the Bahamas and the BVI’s. This would be another good reason to get back down to Nassau and the Graycliff inn. By then we should have a nice 4 or 5 person team that can travel together.
Well, that’s all for now, more to follow later…
Swam last night with the new tunes. It works great, stays on surprisingly well while swimming, even in a sprint. The only thing I’ll have to resolve is how to weave the headphones through my goggles. I think I’m also going to start swimming in a cap as that will keep the phones in and help with the *plunk* of water when I’m swimming breast or butterfly. The only thing you lose once underwater is a little base, which is to be expected. Overall I’m thrilled with having music to listen to while swimming. I only swam for about 35 minutes last night, and I couldn’t tell you how far I swam, I was concentrating on the music and the nuance of my stroke, which is exactly what I need to be focusing on, not how much time has passed or how tired I am. Mission accomplished.
Since the weather is taking a turn for the worst I think I’m going to set up the trainer in the house and work out some of the kinks on the road bike. Unfortunately I can’t just leave it up, so I’ll have to actually schedule the rides, but that’s fine.
I’ve decided also that one of my goals for next year will be to run a race outside the country. There are several great tri’s in the Bahamas and the BVI’s. This would be another good reason to get back down to Nassau and the Graycliff inn. By then we should have a nice 4 or 5 person team that can travel together.
Well, that’s all for now, more to follow later…
09 February 2006
Sarge's Corner
Greetz everyone! I hope all is well in your respective neck of the woods. I don't have any real news to report for myself, and will endeavor in the future to avoid all out rants while i'm here. Today will not be one of those occasions. Although I hope to appeal to your sense of reason, and perhaps make one think a bit about the following topic, no promises.
We are facing innumerable challenges in our modern society, as least the portion in the US. One in particular that I see as very alarming and only recently making headlines is the poor state of education here. For a myriad of reasons our students typically do not perform well when compared to kids from other countries at most age levels. Nothing new there. Last week (I believe) there were several news items around about the President calling for improvements and increased $$$ for education, particularly in math and the sciences. I feel better thinking we are making progress. Then a couple of days ago i read an article, that really chaps my ass.
Here (and here) is a story about a group of students in CA (no surprise there) and their oblivious parents suing the State and others because their precious little kiddies aren't going to be allowed to graduate. Why you ask? They can't pass the GRADUATION EXAM!!! There are other articles out today from various sources (all with different slants) talking about this.
Now I realize that the idea of graduation exams for high school is somewhat new (currently 23 states have some type of this test) and not without flaws. Keep in mind the whole point to having a standardized test is to ensure that everyone meets some standard of performance. It is unbiased, in the sense that (in the above mentioned case) every student in the state of CA takes the same test. Just like taking the SAT's, where millions of bleary-eyed teens assemble in gyms and libraries across the nation early on a Saturday morning to take this test (at least that's how we did it back in the Stone Age, where we carved our answers into stone or drew them on cave walls), it puts everyone on a level playing field.
People will argue that some pupils are disadvantaged and need more help. Which I think is great and agree with. The point of the exam though it to verify that those students have gotten the help and have the academic prowess that the Diploma represents. Otherwise, its no different than just buying the damn thing. Or for that matter just give it to them. The real disservice here is to these whiny spoon-fed students, that only got to be that way from having whiny spoon-fed parents. Not only are they not prepared for other challenges, they won't be prepared to work for anything they really want.
In my own experience, I was always bad at math. Yup, it was one of my worst subjects. Through most of high school & early college, my math grades sucked (even failed a couple). Did I whine about it & sue anyone? NO, since i know the real world doesn't work that way. I WORKED at it. I studied and read and worked until it all finally clicked. Why? I knew it was necessary to get where I want to be. In engineering it is a necessary skill, and since i wanted it bad enough I made it happened. When i complete my MSE soon, I will have a minor in Mathematics. Didn't blame anyone, didn't sue anyone, didn't make excuses. Of course unlike way too many people these days, I'm not afraid to work. So now i have a skill set. I don't like it, but i can use it.
Getting back on subject, I couldn't help noticing as I read several articles, they were complaning that the non-native english speakers were at a disadvantage. Yet the same students have PASSED the English portion of the exam!!! WTF?!?! Its the Math they can't do!!! Is it important? Here's a simple experiment to try. Cruel, but try it: Next time you pay at a fast food joint, as soon as you hand them the money, use your other hand and cover up the register screen. Watching them trying to figure out how much change to give you without the register telling them looks a lot like a monkey trying to hump a football. But that's okay, they don't need math skills.
I guess this lawyer can't put 2 and 2 together. I reckon he never needed to when he took the Bar Exam. Which is a standarized test to see if he could be a lawyer. Without passing which he would've needed extra work & effectively not finished his education. (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he went to Law school & didn't get his degree by sending Sally Struthers a bag of money and studying at home). Since this is about to become circular, I'll leave the topic.
Sorry for the rant; I'll try to balance things with good stuff in the near future. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Until we meet again...
We are facing innumerable challenges in our modern society, as least the portion in the US. One in particular that I see as very alarming and only recently making headlines is the poor state of education here. For a myriad of reasons our students typically do not perform well when compared to kids from other countries at most age levels. Nothing new there. Last week (I believe) there were several news items around about the President calling for improvements and increased $$$ for education, particularly in math and the sciences. I feel better thinking we are making progress. Then a couple of days ago i read an article, that really chaps my ass.
Here (and here) is a story about a group of students in CA (no surprise there) and their oblivious parents suing the State and others because their precious little kiddies aren't going to be allowed to graduate. Why you ask? They can't pass the GRADUATION EXAM!!! There are other articles out today from various sources (all with different slants) talking about this.
Now I realize that the idea of graduation exams for high school is somewhat new (currently 23 states have some type of this test) and not without flaws. Keep in mind the whole point to having a standardized test is to ensure that everyone meets some standard of performance. It is unbiased, in the sense that (in the above mentioned case) every student in the state of CA takes the same test. Just like taking the SAT's, where millions of bleary-eyed teens assemble in gyms and libraries across the nation early on a Saturday morning to take this test (at least that's how we did it back in the Stone Age, where we carved our answers into stone or drew them on cave walls), it puts everyone on a level playing field.
People will argue that some pupils are disadvantaged and need more help. Which I think is great and agree with. The point of the exam though it to verify that those students have gotten the help and have the academic prowess that the Diploma represents. Otherwise, its no different than just buying the damn thing. Or for that matter just give it to them. The real disservice here is to these whiny spoon-fed students, that only got to be that way from having whiny spoon-fed parents. Not only are they not prepared for other challenges, they won't be prepared to work for anything they really want.
In my own experience, I was always bad at math. Yup, it was one of my worst subjects. Through most of high school & early college, my math grades sucked (even failed a couple). Did I whine about it & sue anyone? NO, since i know the real world doesn't work that way. I WORKED at it. I studied and read and worked until it all finally clicked. Why? I knew it was necessary to get where I want to be. In engineering it is a necessary skill, and since i wanted it bad enough I made it happened. When i complete my MSE soon, I will have a minor in Mathematics. Didn't blame anyone, didn't sue anyone, didn't make excuses. Of course unlike way too many people these days, I'm not afraid to work. So now i have a skill set. I don't like it, but i can use it.
Getting back on subject, I couldn't help noticing as I read several articles, they were complaning that the non-native english speakers were at a disadvantage. Yet the same students have PASSED the English portion of the exam!!! WTF?!?! Its the Math they can't do!!! Is it important? Here's a simple experiment to try. Cruel, but try it: Next time you pay at a fast food joint, as soon as you hand them the money, use your other hand and cover up the register screen. Watching them trying to figure out how much change to give you without the register telling them looks a lot like a monkey trying to hump a football. But that's okay, they don't need math skills.
I guess this lawyer can't put 2 and 2 together. I reckon he never needed to when he took the Bar Exam. Which is a standarized test to see if he could be a lawyer. Without passing which he would've needed extra work & effectively not finished his education. (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he went to Law school & didn't get his degree by sending Sally Struthers a bag of money and studying at home). Since this is about to become circular, I'll leave the topic.
Sorry for the rant; I'll try to balance things with good stuff in the near future. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Until we meet again...
Early Weekly Wrapup...
Well since tomorrow is officially “Great Picture Friday” I’ll just wrap up this week today.
As was expected by many here in Atlanta the Coretta Scott King funeral was almost a complete farce. While many gathered to say goodbye to a mother, sister, long time friend and ardent equal rights supporter, others simply saw another media outlet for their venom. It’s disgusting. I must not have a true fighting spirit, because sooner or later I lose the will to bicker and take jabs at people. It’s small, it’s petty, and it’s the prevailing trait in most of the Democratic party and its race pimps near and far. Not being able to lay down grievance for one day in order to pay respect to someone who had the class not to make such inflammatory remarks on such occasions just shows a complete lack of respect for her. And say what you will about “dubya”, but he handled the barbs with grace and composure heretofore unknown to the likes of Joseph Lowry, Ted Kennedy and their ilk. All in all I’m glad I’ve only glossed over the reports of the whole thing, because there’s enough in this world that pisses me off, I don’t need to go looking for more.
I finally got my swimmer’s MP3 player yesterday. I’m going to swim with it for the first time tonight and I can’t wait.
The planning for Belize is coming along nicely. We’re now getting 2 boats instead of one. It came about that the first one we looked at didn’t have a convertible salon. Translation: the kitchen table doesn’t fold down into a double bed like on 95% of sailboats out there. So we decided on a somewhat smaller Cat and a nice 32 foot monohull. I’m glad, it will give us all the best parts of both and make it like sailing two trips instead of one. And now with the MP3 player I can snorkel with tunes in my ears.
Tried to order a watch online; a really sweet Bulova Marine Star. It was discontinued. I’m sad.
Well there may be good news on the Georgia Government front (yeah, don’t hold your breath or anything). Sonny Purdue is presenting a constitutional amendment (the Georgia Constitution that is) that would almost completely eradicate the state and local government’s power of eminent domain in any case where the property is not A): condemned (the bill and amendment also carry a change stating that only elected officials can condemn a property) or B) a public hazard.
Basically it’s saying that the government can’t take your land just because it wants to increase it’s tax revenues. While it’s not comprehensive in these rights, it is a start. And there are several senators and reps that are proposing even stronger bills and measures. With any luck we won’t have to worry about Big Brother stealing our land for a new Wal-Mart anymore. But again, I’m not holding my breath.
And for now that’s about all I’ve got. Hopefully we’ll hear from our good Sergeant soon here on Alone at Sea.
Check back tomorrow for another new segment: The Good Life
Cheers,
As was expected by many here in Atlanta the Coretta Scott King funeral was almost a complete farce. While many gathered to say goodbye to a mother, sister, long time friend and ardent equal rights supporter, others simply saw another media outlet for their venom. It’s disgusting. I must not have a true fighting spirit, because sooner or later I lose the will to bicker and take jabs at people. It’s small, it’s petty, and it’s the prevailing trait in most of the Democratic party and its race pimps near and far. Not being able to lay down grievance for one day in order to pay respect to someone who had the class not to make such inflammatory remarks on such occasions just shows a complete lack of respect for her. And say what you will about “dubya”, but he handled the barbs with grace and composure heretofore unknown to the likes of Joseph Lowry, Ted Kennedy and their ilk. All in all I’m glad I’ve only glossed over the reports of the whole thing, because there’s enough in this world that pisses me off, I don’t need to go looking for more.
I finally got my swimmer’s MP3 player yesterday. I’m going to swim with it for the first time tonight and I can’t wait.
The planning for Belize is coming along nicely. We’re now getting 2 boats instead of one. It came about that the first one we looked at didn’t have a convertible salon. Translation: the kitchen table doesn’t fold down into a double bed like on 95% of sailboats out there. So we decided on a somewhat smaller Cat and a nice 32 foot monohull. I’m glad, it will give us all the best parts of both and make it like sailing two trips instead of one. And now with the MP3 player I can snorkel with tunes in my ears.
Tried to order a watch online; a really sweet Bulova Marine Star. It was discontinued. I’m sad.
Well there may be good news on the Georgia Government front (yeah, don’t hold your breath or anything). Sonny Purdue is presenting a constitutional amendment (the Georgia Constitution that is) that would almost completely eradicate the state and local government’s power of eminent domain in any case where the property is not A): condemned (the bill and amendment also carry a change stating that only elected officials can condemn a property) or B) a public hazard.
Basically it’s saying that the government can’t take your land just because it wants to increase it’s tax revenues. While it’s not comprehensive in these rights, it is a start. And there are several senators and reps that are proposing even stronger bills and measures. With any luck we won’t have to worry about Big Brother stealing our land for a new Wal-Mart anymore. But again, I’m not holding my breath.
And for now that’s about all I’ve got. Hopefully we’ll hear from our good Sergeant soon here on Alone at Sea.
Check back tomorrow for another new segment: The Good Life
Cheers,
07 February 2006
I Love Whitney
I’m a lucky man. If you know my wife you know why. For some reason unknown to me, I have been blessed with a beautiful wife who loves me, takes care of me, and puts up with me day in and day out. She spends much of her life doing things to make me happy, keep me healthy, and make me a better person. Sometimes I’m too thick headed to realize all she does, but I have only to look at my life and where I am in this world to realize that little of my success and good fortune is of my own doing. I wouldn’t be where I am on this day if it weren’t for March 9th, 2002; the day I married Whitney. I realize that I’ve jumped the gun on Valentine’s Day, and I’d be stupid to say that I don’t celebrate it with the rest of the country. I do, but only because I have her. We don’t do the traditional things that others do, we go out to eat, that’s about it. No, this whole declaration today is not because of any holiday. It’s something I need to shout to as many people as possible because I’ve always felt it but never really tell people about it. I am very deeply in love with Whitney. It was easy to fall in love with her, and hard to be without her. If you grew up with me and are reading this then you know how independent I can be, sometimes disappearing for weeks at a time just to be away from people. So far that hasn’t been an issue. I love my life with Whitney and many times feel like I’m undeserving of her love and devotion. All I can hope is that I can be good enough to make her life wonderful and keep her happy until such time as death parts us (yeah, I know, just like in the vows).
To the casual observer this blog will seem like I’m in the dog house or have done something awful like cheat or spend the savings account in Vegas. Sorry to disappoint you. I might have been selfish, or an insensitive asshole, which I am from time to time, but nothing monumental. I just want everyone who reads this (which may, in fact, be like 3 or 4 people, but that’s fine) to know how good a wife and a person Whitney is. No one could ask for a better wife or companion, nor could they find one. So the next time you see or speak to or email Whit, tell her I said “thank you” from the bottom of my heart for loving me. I hope that all of you find or have already found someone who you love and loves you this much.
Take care,
(Not so) Alone at Sea
To the casual observer this blog will seem like I’m in the dog house or have done something awful like cheat or spend the savings account in Vegas. Sorry to disappoint you. I might have been selfish, or an insensitive asshole, which I am from time to time, but nothing monumental. I just want everyone who reads this (which may, in fact, be like 3 or 4 people, but that’s fine) to know how good a wife and a person Whitney is. No one could ask for a better wife or companion, nor could they find one. So the next time you see or speak to or email Whit, tell her I said “thank you” from the bottom of my heart for loving me. I hope that all of you find or have already found someone who you love and loves you this much.
Take care,
(Not so) Alone at Sea
06 February 2006
WTF? Monday
Welcome to another addition of “WTF? Monday”. Today’s entries come mostly from the weekend and the odd things that ensued. Thus we begin:
We’ll start off with the more topical item from the weekend. Last night we had a few people over for the not so Superbowl. (What a boring ass football game) About the beginning of the third quarter we start talking about this store we saw called “Torrid Plus Sized”. As the name implies it’s hoochie clothes for fat chicks WTF?. Pardon my insensitivity to the plight of the ample woman, but there are some things that you SHOULD NOT WEAR if you aren’t of a certain shape. I’m not questioning someone’s right to wear what they want, I’m speaking on behalf of good taste. But I digress. After seeing some of the “models” on their website that Whit so graciously pulled up for all to enjoy, we all (the guys) agreed that we should view some lovely, nubile, less than well clothed ladies to offset the nightmarish views of water-buffalo in drag. This just became a slippery slope to porn hell. We ended up all stacked on the couch around the laptop, trying to find the worst, most disgusting representations of what our fellow human beings can achieve when given a webcam, riding crop, gallon of lube, and a goat. It’s the most college like night I’ve had since college. After we tired ourselves of things I won’t mention here (midgets, leather, rubber, and an interesting contraption called the “Flesh light”) we watched “The Princess Bride”. Not only is that movie a classic among classics, but it’s a great pallet cleanser after a couple of hours of fetish porn.
Next comes something that’s funny, but sad. We have a group of people at my job who play hacky sack. We get together in a room dubbed the “relax room” by the execs (which was supposed to have an air hockey table, or foosball table, or ping pong or something but still is without furniture at all). So about 6 of us (including 2 managers and 2 directors) hack for a couple of hours. That’s right, we stayed late on a Friday because the hacking was that good. The Saturday morning we wake up and meet up with some people for a nice, all day game of paint ball. Now, I used to play paintball quite a bit in High School, but haven’t played in years. It was fun, but the rental guns won’t hit water if you shoot at the ocean. That aside, it was cold and muddy, so the running about, crouched like a goon behavior usually ended up in one of us sliding to his doom. So after the paint assassinations were done we went to the gym for some swimming, running and hot tub lounging. That was nice. So Sunday morning I wake up and realize that I no longer have legs. WTF? I’m 30 years old, and after that little two days of using my legs for more than walking and propping myself up on the couch, I can’t move. I’ve only been training for a week and a half for my races this year, but man, I didn’t think I was this far out of shape. Oh well, I’ll take it as a blessing that I know this far in advance and do something about it.
The last part of WTF Monday is devoted to the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger is in really great shape for a man even half his age, no question about that. BUT. No man should EVER wear low rise jeans. We all know that a man’s ass begins to disappear off his backside at around 45 years of age. By Mick’s age he’s just got a crater where his ass used to be. Low rise jeans just amplify this effect. Not to mention that seeing a 60+ year old man’s mid-drift is about as appetizing as catching your parents in the throws of a nooner on the kitchen table. WTF? I’ll quote Adam on this one as I think he put it best:
“Yeah, it’s kinda exciting to think a GIRL has to shave to wear a pair of low rise jeans…”
We’ll start off with the more topical item from the weekend. Last night we had a few people over for the not so Superbowl. (What a boring ass football game) About the beginning of the third quarter we start talking about this store we saw called “Torrid Plus Sized”. As the name implies it’s hoochie clothes for fat chicks WTF?. Pardon my insensitivity to the plight of the ample woman, but there are some things that you SHOULD NOT WEAR if you aren’t of a certain shape. I’m not questioning someone’s right to wear what they want, I’m speaking on behalf of good taste. But I digress. After seeing some of the “models” on their website that Whit so graciously pulled up for all to enjoy, we all (the guys) agreed that we should view some lovely, nubile, less than well clothed ladies to offset the nightmarish views of water-buffalo in drag. This just became a slippery slope to porn hell. We ended up all stacked on the couch around the laptop, trying to find the worst, most disgusting representations of what our fellow human beings can achieve when given a webcam, riding crop, gallon of lube, and a goat. It’s the most college like night I’ve had since college. After we tired ourselves of things I won’t mention here (midgets, leather, rubber, and an interesting contraption called the “Flesh light”) we watched “The Princess Bride”. Not only is that movie a classic among classics, but it’s a great pallet cleanser after a couple of hours of fetish porn.
Next comes something that’s funny, but sad. We have a group of people at my job who play hacky sack. We get together in a room dubbed the “relax room” by the execs (which was supposed to have an air hockey table, or foosball table, or ping pong or something but still is without furniture at all). So about 6 of us (including 2 managers and 2 directors) hack for a couple of hours. That’s right, we stayed late on a Friday because the hacking was that good. The Saturday morning we wake up and meet up with some people for a nice, all day game of paint ball. Now, I used to play paintball quite a bit in High School, but haven’t played in years. It was fun, but the rental guns won’t hit water if you shoot at the ocean. That aside, it was cold and muddy, so the running about, crouched like a goon behavior usually ended up in one of us sliding to his doom. So after the paint assassinations were done we went to the gym for some swimming, running and hot tub lounging. That was nice. So Sunday morning I wake up and realize that I no longer have legs. WTF? I’m 30 years old, and after that little two days of using my legs for more than walking and propping myself up on the couch, I can’t move. I’ve only been training for a week and a half for my races this year, but man, I didn’t think I was this far out of shape. Oh well, I’ll take it as a blessing that I know this far in advance and do something about it.
The last part of WTF Monday is devoted to the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger is in really great shape for a man even half his age, no question about that. BUT. No man should EVER wear low rise jeans. We all know that a man’s ass begins to disappear off his backside at around 45 years of age. By Mick’s age he’s just got a crater where his ass used to be. Low rise jeans just amplify this effect. Not to mention that seeing a 60+ year old man’s mid-drift is about as appetizing as catching your parents in the throws of a nooner on the kitchen table. WTF? I’ll quote Adam on this one as I think he put it best:
“Yeah, it’s kinda exciting to think a GIRL has to shave to wear a pair of low rise jeans…”
04 February 2006
The footnote
So after my comments the other night, this was the first article i ran across the next day.
I rest my case.
I rest my case.
02 February 2006
Permission to come aboard...
Greetings and salutations; the new arrival is on deck and checking in. After the generous introduction I feel compelled to say hello and comment on some of the day's happenings. Though no show tunes for this performance.
Since the hour is late, I won't write excessively (though most of you know i'm full of hot air). For those that don't know me (which i can't imagine anyone in that catagory would really be reading this), i'll give my one-time, courtesy head-up about my outlook and most of the things i'll contribute from time to time. If you are easily offended, sensitive or thin skinned, you probably won't enjoy my ramblings. We'll just say i'm not very PC or necessarily tactful. You don't like it, read something else. Or (as a T-shirt i saw recently so elegantly said it) put on your Big Girl Panties and Deal With It.
Moving on, I couldn't help but notice some of today's news headlines & stories. Nothing out of the "ordinary" I guess. One pattern I noticed (which will be a theme with me...that's sorta what i do for a job) in some of the stories of recent days is how we (at least our elected officials) approach & solve a problem. We all know they'll assemble a commitee, hold lots of useless meetings & hearings, blah blah. But have you ever notice a common word describing their attack on the issue? They are going to have a PROBE. Interesting choice of words. A probe. Ran across an article a while ago on Google news (sorry...can't find the link) that a politician says that the CIA leaks have hurt our intelligence capabilities and is ordering A PROBE. Look around. Lots of probing going on.
I'll leave the use of the word "probe" and their unresolved sexual issues card off the table right now & propose a reason why this might be a good word to describe most inquiries, be it for Uncle Sam, a business, whatever. Remember way back in high school when you went to Biology Lab on dissection day? The teacher probably gave detailed instructions on how to make this look like a delicate surgery procedure, then you (myself included) proceeded to make the carcass look like a bad horror movie. What were we doing? Probing. Cutting and looking and poking and probing around to see what made the frog tick. By the time we were done, it looked nothing like a frog & sometimes was unrecognizable. See a pattern when something gets probed? Yup, you guessed it. It gets handed back to the overseeing entity so mangled that no good info comes out of it, none of the questions were answered and all you end up with is a big mess. What happens then? Thrown away or swept under a rug. You got your grade for the effort (or tacit approval from the constituancy) and moved on to the next class.
There's other stuff in the news today: I see Mr. Peanut thinks we should "give Hamas a chance". A chance for what? I don't see how a group of people whose theme is the complete destruction of Isreal are going to bring peace or anything good to the region. Then again, his track record for handling conflicts in the Middle East doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
I see some fool is suing Apple for not making it clear that you can lose your hearing from blasting your iPod directly into your ears. Look genius, Darwin is trying to tell you something. I imagine next in their crosshairs for litigation will be Craftsman, for not putting a sign on a hammer that informs them in little words that it will hurt their widdle thumb (probably already weakened from the apparent sucking) when smashing it with the above named tool.
The list could go on, though i've wasted enough of your time and need to rack out. Thanks again to Alone at Sea for granting me permission to speak. I'll try to keep Sarge's Corner lively and full of topicality. Until next time, AMF!
Since the hour is late, I won't write excessively (though most of you know i'm full of hot air). For those that don't know me (which i can't imagine anyone in that catagory would really be reading this), i'll give my one-time, courtesy head-up about my outlook and most of the things i'll contribute from time to time. If you are easily offended, sensitive or thin skinned, you probably won't enjoy my ramblings. We'll just say i'm not very PC or necessarily tactful. You don't like it, read something else. Or (as a T-shirt i saw recently so elegantly said it) put on your Big Girl Panties and Deal With It.
Moving on, I couldn't help but notice some of today's news headlines & stories. Nothing out of the "ordinary" I guess. One pattern I noticed (which will be a theme with me...that's sorta what i do for a job) in some of the stories of recent days is how we (at least our elected officials) approach & solve a problem. We all know they'll assemble a commitee, hold lots of useless meetings & hearings, blah blah. But have you ever notice a common word describing their attack on the issue? They are going to have a PROBE. Interesting choice of words. A probe. Ran across an article a while ago on Google news (sorry...can't find the link) that a politician says that the CIA leaks have hurt our intelligence capabilities and is ordering A PROBE. Look around. Lots of probing going on.
I'll leave the use of the word "probe" and their unresolved sexual issues card off the table right now & propose a reason why this might be a good word to describe most inquiries, be it for Uncle Sam, a business, whatever. Remember way back in high school when you went to Biology Lab on dissection day? The teacher probably gave detailed instructions on how to make this look like a delicate surgery procedure, then you (myself included) proceeded to make the carcass look like a bad horror movie. What were we doing? Probing. Cutting and looking and poking and probing around to see what made the frog tick. By the time we were done, it looked nothing like a frog & sometimes was unrecognizable. See a pattern when something gets probed? Yup, you guessed it. It gets handed back to the overseeing entity so mangled that no good info comes out of it, none of the questions were answered and all you end up with is a big mess. What happens then? Thrown away or swept under a rug. You got your grade for the effort (or tacit approval from the constituancy) and moved on to the next class.
There's other stuff in the news today: I see Mr. Peanut thinks we should "give Hamas a chance". A chance for what? I don't see how a group of people whose theme is the complete destruction of Isreal are going to bring peace or anything good to the region. Then again, his track record for handling conflicts in the Middle East doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
I see some fool is suing Apple for not making it clear that you can lose your hearing from blasting your iPod directly into your ears. Look genius, Darwin is trying to tell you something. I imagine next in their crosshairs for litigation will be Craftsman, for not putting a sign on a hammer that informs them in little words that it will hurt their widdle thumb (probably already weakened from the apparent sucking) when smashing it with the above named tool.
The list could go on, though i've wasted enough of your time and need to rack out. Thanks again to Alone at Sea for granting me permission to speak. I'll try to keep Sarge's Corner lively and full of topicality. Until next time, AMF!
Incoming....
Let me be the first to extend a hearty G’day to my new blog contributor, AEROSARGE. He’ll be posting his own brand of inflammatory rhetoric, enlightening factoids, witty banter, and the occasional recipe from time to time.
AeroSarge is a fellow triathlete who does many more races a year than yours truly, as he was bioengineered by the Marine Corps a few years ago to be able to run ten miles while carrying twice his bodyweight and still have the breath to sing show-tunes at a disturbingly high volume. But I digress.
Tune in soon for the first ever post by AeroSarge.
AeroSarge is a fellow triathlete who does many more races a year than yours truly, as he was bioengineered by the Marine Corps a few years ago to be able to run ten miles while carrying twice his bodyweight and still have the breath to sing show-tunes at a disturbingly high volume. But I digress.
Tune in soon for the first ever post by AeroSarge.
The Gear...
So I’ve begun the year’s torture this week. One night of riding and running and one night in the pool. Unfortunately my social schedule has precluded doing more thus far. I actually convinced Adam to swim with me this time and I think he may be a convert. The good news is that this year I’m better prepared for what this training will do to me, the bad news is I don’t have any longer than I had last year to effect my transformation from chubby hubby to hardened athlete. I do have much better gear this year though. With exception to a good tune up my bike needs nothing. By the last race last year I had her nice and tricked out, so this year I can train with all the goodies (and hopefully learn how to NOT kill myself on the arrow-bars).
I also just made another investment in my training future this morning. I’ve been mulling over this one for a while now, and I finally found the right one and the right deal, so I jumped. “What is it?” you ask…. Well I’ll tell you.
It’s the Fusion DMP 512. In non-geek terms it’s an MP3 player that I can swim with. It’s waterproof. This might sound a wee bit boring, but I invite you to spend 2 hours in a pool with nothing but the whooshing sound of your swim stroke, or the splishy splash of the 12 year old in the next lane doing his best to imitate a dying trout. Trust me, this thing will be a God-send. About the first mile of water you start to hallucinate and hear what sounds like music, but is in fact just people gabbing in the pool area and locker room.
Now when I want to play fish for an evening I can do so with Beethoven or Guns and Roses. Tis my choice.
By purchasing this item I now have no excuse for not blowing my old swim time completely out of the water….pun somewhat intended.
I also just made another investment in my training future this morning. I’ve been mulling over this one for a while now, and I finally found the right one and the right deal, so I jumped. “What is it?” you ask…. Well I’ll tell you.
It’s the Fusion DMP 512. In non-geek terms it’s an MP3 player that I can swim with. It’s waterproof. This might sound a wee bit boring, but I invite you to spend 2 hours in a pool with nothing but the whooshing sound of your swim stroke, or the splishy splash of the 12 year old in the next lane doing his best to imitate a dying trout. Trust me, this thing will be a God-send. About the first mile of water you start to hallucinate and hear what sounds like music, but is in fact just people gabbing in the pool area and locker room.
Now when I want to play fish for an evening I can do so with Beethoven or Guns and Roses. Tis my choice.
By purchasing this item I now have no excuse for not blowing my old swim time completely out of the water….pun somewhat intended.
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