Love the Run You're With 5K 2011

Okay, so first off, the race shirt just makes you sad. If you don't have a heart maybe you will find it amusing but overall I feel for the poor monkey in the picture. A monkey, pitched over in sadness, dreaming of his happy times with his GF, clutching a "Dear John" letter in one hand and glass of scotch in the other? Awe....

I totally was happy with my performance in this race. A chip time of 28:53 (9:14 pace) and a dead even gun time of 30 made for a lovely morning run along a route I have never tried. Starting out with someone managing to rip my iPhone from its pouch in the flurry of the initial start (causing me terrify people by heading backwards in the crowd to retrieve it) and a steep initial hill slowed me down a bit. I had thought I was going to walk a bit, but the only time that happened was at the water point.

Then I grabbed a drink (coconut water, bleh...) and headed back out the course to team up with Hannah. She surprised me by being far closer than I (or she) expected. All due to the return on her nemesis, a very big girl that she ofter encountered back in the pack and makes all due effort to avoid losing to. We finished her part right next to each other.

Interestingly, we owe the picture below to another blogger (or at least her BF), Liebchen of Learning to Fly. Small world... I though the girl and her BF looked familiar.....

Kinect

I feel like I am slowly heading into the future. The Wii was an incremental device (same with PlayStation's Move) where I still had to have some form of device in my hands. Now all I have to do is wave (or speak aloud).

Now that I have had 2 weeks to play with Wii-killer device? I can definitely say that the odds of me using the Wii for anything except the odd Nintendo specific game (like Mario Cart) are exceedingly low. I actually booted up the Wii last night just to get a comparison and there really is no comparison.

I have tried 4 different Kinect games and am blown away. And so is my GF, one of my long term friends, my ex-roommate and (this is important) my parents. It really is intuitive system, easy to figure out how to use and interact with it. Though most of the games are more focused on children (Kinect Adventures, Kinect Play) games like Dance Central are basically killer apps. Watching my parents dance to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"? Pretty much made the system pay for itself (particularly when my Dad beat my Mom by almost double).

And really, anything that get people up off the couch and moving? It is a good thing for America. I have yet to use Kinect and not break a sweat.

New Kitty!

Everyone say hello to Link!

After 3 visits to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington this cute fellow finally got to me. I knew I needed to take him home when after meeting him at the second visit, on returning I was getting annoyed that people were playing with my cat. At that point it was all a matter for the paperwork.

Link is 10 months old and seriously friendly. Being both a computer geek and a gamer I eventually settled on Link (as an homage to Link of Legend of Zelda fame and of course to that eternal internet feature, a "link" (technically a hyper-link but we love short names)). He has settled in quite well and seems very happy to be at his new home.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Care

It must be a generational/cultural thing, but I just don't care about this whole decision one way or another, it is just a non-issue for me. I am an Army National Guard Officer and I really could care less whether my Soldiers are straight or gay (open or not). I just care that they do their job and not cause me too much trouble. Now I can see why some the Army branches (Infantry) as well as the Marine Corps overall get the heebie-jeebies about this, that is their culture and this represents a change that offends them (which is funny since I imagine that most gays would not be entering those lines of work anyway).

What is funny is how you can actually track the odds of acceptance of getting rid of DADT by age groups. My Dad? Very much against it, even though it has zero affect on his life. He seems concerned about fraternization as though this is a bigger issue with gays than hetero's. It isn't. If they have an inappropriate relationship in the field it doesn't matter whether it is the same or different sex, it is still fraternization, and will be dealt with accordingly (hell, its better since it decreases the chance of the female soldiers "accidentally" getting pregnant, having to be sent home and then everyone else having to cover down on their job).

I already work in a mixed unit, where ~15% of my unit is female. 40 years ago the concept that so many of the combat support units, which are often in the line of fire (Signal units, Military Intelligence, Military Police) would be so composed of females was considered odd. Times change. I bet you 40 years from now the fact that so many gays had to hide that fact will probably sound a bit odd too...

Federal Pay freeze

I am a federal employee. Believe it or not I am actually fine with the general idea that the COLA increases that we would get are frozen... I get it, the economy sucks, not a lot of people are getting anything resembling pay raises. I am happy that I have a job that pays well and gives me a reason to get out of bed (hard on cold days like this) as well as a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.

However......

In the end this was all about making a symbolic easy decision that will get lots of play while the country's leadership uses it as cover to avoid making the really hard decisions. Let's face it, Federal employees are great targets, in the grand scheme pounding on us will have virtually no political downside for the President or anyone who votes for it (does anyone really think that the vastly liberal government workforce is suddenly going to vote Republican?). And for the rest of the country we are one big stereotype of being overpaid and under-worked that, other than the military and a few other organizations, gets little love from either side of the aisle. I would be more accepting if this was part of a bigger plan to actually balance the budget.... Instead we are the sacrificial virgin who gets thrown in the volcano to show that the chief is trying to do something about the problem.

This solution is predicted to save 2 Billion dollars in FY11, 28 Billion over five years and maybe 60 Billion over the next 10 years. Sounds massive and impressive right? But what else are they really going to do? The federal deficit for FY09 was 1.42 Trillion dollars (1420 Billion....). The total federal debt? 13.856 Trillion dollars. So this move saved 0.15% of the current deficit (at best 0.45% if the end of ~ 6 Billion per year is realized). This isn't even what you can call a good start toward solving this problem that threatens every single American and our way of life.

Ask me how this feels when I see a plan that actually proposes to solve this crisis (and kills the crushing debt that looms over us). Until then all I can say is that the lava really hurts (though in the grand scheme this doesn't hurt me too much personally) and that the volcano is not satisfied with its latest sacrifice.

Walking in a Race

This is aimed at the people who plan to walk more than 2/3 of a race. Running and walking is perfectly reasonable system (I walk up some of the steeper inclines at all the water stops of most races). And this really isn't aimed at the reasonable walkers who start back in their time appropriate area. This really is for the... hmmmm... special... yeah, that's the PG word I would use.... walkers who decide that the best place to start is waaay up in front.

So, you like to walk. Good. I and most of the other people who run respect you for that. You have chosen to walk a distance longer than most Americans walk in a week and that is awesome. You could be the biggest person around but there will be no mean words or glances at you because you are trying to better yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere and it is awesome you are trying. This event has been something that you have probably planned to attend and *gasp* maybe even trained for quite some time. Really, that is awesome!

I know that some races are better than others in figuring out where to start. A lot of the bigger ones use corrals, where you look at the numbers and start in the area based on your start time. And even for the ones that don't? Do you need to start in front? No. Because if you do? All you have to do is turn around and look at all those people behind you. Those people that will have dodge around you during the first mile or so. I know that it is exciting to be up in front and see the empty road ahead and actually see the people who start the race. Its an exciting thing.

But.... I want you to take a look around you. Look at the runners who are way up in front there. They look pretty fit, don't they? And even those people behind you... They look might fit as well. Heck, as far back as you can see? They probably are all able to run far faster and longer than you can right now.

Remember how I said that I respected you? Felt pretty good, right? Want to know how you destroyed that respect in an instant? Yeah.... You guessed it. You started in the wrong place. I and a whole bunch of other runners now have to dodge your clueless ass during the first mile as things. Are we thinking nice things about you as you mosey along, often 2 or 3 abreast, forcing us to dodge and weave as we start that initial shake out? Nope. All that respect you earned by trying to better yourself is killed by the fact that you are not respecting the rules of our tribe. Because a good runner (and walkers, since there are a bunch of your people way in the back of the pack) looks around, gets in the right corral (if they are there) or just gauges the crowd and picks a fairly reasonable starting place (after a decade of running I can pick really well... I often end with the same crowd that picked at the start) based on his/her ability and the people around them.

This problem really does shake out after the first mile or so, but it really is annoying and leaves me in a less than happy mood. My brothers and I often estimate that we run at least .1-.2 miles extra at the start dodging your ass. And, yes, I probably am in fact growling/muttering at you as I run around you. And most definitely I am picking on you as there are more than a fair share of runners who deliberately choose to start at the wrong place, but.... they have to dodge you as well, which further complicates my brothers and my runs.

So please stop and engage that all too often turned off feature (at least in modern day society), show some courtesy to the people around you. Start in the right place and you will make a lot of runners out there a lot happier.

Chicago Urbanathalon

"Don't cross the streams. Why? It would be bad." - Ghostbusters

Too bad the people that run this race didn't pay attention to this directive, as, for the first time ever at a running event, I had across the flow of runners coming back from another part of the race. This is a bad idea. Along the lines of never, ever do this.... This may be the worst managed race I have ever been to, with awful pre-race communications and very few volunteers on the actual course.

Overall however it was a lot of fun. I was dirty, sweaty, bruised and bloody by the end of the race, but it was very fulfilling to cross that finish line (even if I needed a boost on the final wall). My final time was 2:15. If it was just a 10 miler (total distance was 9.75 miles) I would be quite sad with that time, but given the obstacles I find it tolerable.

And the obstacles were fun and challenging (mostly)!

• Obstacle 1: The concrete beam - not even a challenge. The Big tire - oomph. First try had me "wiley e. coyote"-ing down the side. After stepping back and figuring out I slammed myself up and then crawled over (losing one of my pins holding my number on). The little tires - not even an issue.
  
• Obstacle 2 - jersey barriers to go over, police barriers to crawl under. This was an apparently endless set of 3 of each. It was quite an endurance exercise, since you had already run 4+ miles at that point. I cut my finger at this point.
• Obstacle 3 - Crawl over cars - aborted because it was unsafe per race officials. Marine High Hurdles - whoah... There we 6 of these. I think everyone knew I was going over them (based on my war cries). A very ouchy process of hurling yourself at the target and hauling yourself over. Very proud I did these right.
• Obstacle 4 - Some sort of high/bear crawl under net - too easy for a guy who has done military low crawls for 1-200 meters. Monkey bars - Short and quick. Only holdup was some chick who froze on the last bar in front of me.

And then my left hamstring locked on me and I lurched .5 mile, stopped to pee and then moved onward.

• Obstacle 5 - Lots of stairs. Lots!!! Another holdup due to poor traffic control and obsticle management. lots of standing around in crowds moving very slowly.
• Obstacle 6 - The final obstacle. Car - Half stomped over one. Then tried to be all police show-y and slide across the next, failed and got stuck, so more clomping. Bus - Climb over net then back down. *Yawn* to anyone who has been in the military (and by that I mean Army and Marine). Wall - I did fail on the first attempt and was not too proud to accept a hand from a neighbor to get over.

I wore my Vibram Five Fingers for the race. There were about 20 people also wearing them (apparently our secret club acknowledgement is to say "nice shoes" to someone else wearing them. I learned this by the repeated call of that from the people who passed me). My feet are somewhat beat up even on Monday but in more of a just overstretched/tight perspective.

This was the first race that I have ever personally traveled for (since DC has so many great races nearby). Not sure I will do this again in the near future, but it was a lot of fun and a great way to hang with the family (3 of my 4 brothers ran it (see above pic) and the respective wives and GF's (including my GF H) came in addition to our parents.). We ate our way across the city (pizza and other assorted foods) in celebration.

Bad Blogger...

yeah, whatever. So I am a bad blogger. It's not like I haven't done some cool stuff in the past 3 weeks. I went to Vegas, drove to the Grand Canyon, ran a Half Marathon (Wilson Bridge Half Marathon) and done my usual Army stuff. And of top of that I have to write academic stuff for my courses at NDIC. I have some cool stuff in the next couple of weeks (most notably a very cool trip to Chicago with 3 of my 4 brothers to compete in the Men's Health Urbanathalon) that should get me stirred up. I am probably going to do something on the half marathon, that was an interesting and good race.

I blame Twitter and Facebook. Those sites make it so easy to post little vignettes that it seems to disturb writing in a larger terms.

CupcakeCamp 2010

Wow, I think I am in diabetic shock. My Girlfriend (above), who I often refer to as CupCake Girl, decided that she really wanted to attend this event. She even signed me up and we both got to attend.

There were an amazing number of cupcakes. I think we sampled (shared) some 20 of them (in our defense a number of them were mini's). I actually reached the point, even though there were more cupcakes coming down the stairs that I felt I had to stop.... And then go for a long ass walk to clear some of the sugar out of the system.

Overall the cupcakes were great (amazingly the first one was probably the best). I kind of feel sorry for the people at the end, since we pretty much reached a point of shock from the sheer number and variety of the cupcakes. I didn't quite get the people who were taking them home (I thought the whole point was socially sharing the cupcakes, not grabbing ones to take home).

Overall a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

9-11 in Uniform

This is only the second 9/11 that I have spent in uniform (and last year I was putting it on to go to a classroom). But this time it felt more poignant, as I was in charge of a Company (we had about 40 people doing things) and we were doing more Army type stuff. We were out on a range, ensuring that everyone had qualified with their rifle. I did make sure that we did take a minute (not at the morning times since we were busy at the time) to note the significance of the day, then we made sure that everyone went back to work. The other time I noted it personally is when we went rapid fire to shoot off the remaining ammo at night (we got lots of tracers and illumination rounds.

It was a SPENDEX scenario (expend the ammo exercise) which is part of the joy/quirk of the Army procurement/logistics system where you get penalized if you do not expend all the ammo they gave you), and on top of that I had promised the firefighters (who we had to call in twice already that evening) that if they just hung around for a bit I would ensure we wouldn't have to call them again. So out went most everyone onto the range, 12 firing positions for rifles and 2 for the grenade launched flares. I kind of wish I had pictures but I couldn't resist the temptation of shooting off 150 rounds of ammo, mostly tracer (my true hint that my people like me? There was never any doubt that they put away ammo because they know I love to shoot). It was awesome, people went into burst fire, flares were drifting (at one point we had some 8-9 flares in the air at the same time... I may have shot at them, and everyone knew because I had the tracers).

I would have never guessed 9 years from the those tragic events (where I felt helpless in my parents house watching those terrible events) that I would be out here, wearing our country's uniform with 1LT rank running a range, helping to train some people who, in a scant few months will be on their way to Afganistan.

Kings Dominion

I came, I saw, I vomited my guts out. But I still considered it a very good day.
My main regret is that I didn't lose control of my stomach on the aptly named "Hurler" but on the more pedestrian named "Anaconda." (that would have made the story far cooler....)

Through some combination of breakfast, snack and soda, combined with the intensely hot and humid weather I created a virtual storm that set me up for my momentary loss. It didn't help that the park was virtually deserted. There were basically no lines, the only inhibiting factor was however long it would take you to walk around and re-board the coaster. This also was probably a factor in my loss. In short order we were able to walk up to The Dominator (very cool new coaster with lots of loops), the Intimidator 305 (305 foot drop, 85% downward angle and a top speed of 92mph. I think I saw my vision greying at the bottom) which we rode twice, then the classic indoors ride Flight of Fear. At that point I needed a short break (as I was profusely sweating, which should have presaged what happened) before pressing on to the Anaconda.

Which was a mistake, as about halfway through I knew I needed this ride to be over as soon as possible. Perhaps one of the worst waits I have had in a while was sitting waiting to head into the loading area, desperately thinking and hoping that I could hold it in (the best hint to my brother was that I had turned monosyllabic, answering most questions statements with a simple yes or now). Finally the train rolled into the station, I bolted (as fast as my then rubber legs could take me) to a point where I vomit off the edge. And then after barfing twice I felt so good it was beyond description. Some soda, a little bit of walking and I felt a million times better.

Throughout the rest of the day I avoided coasters (just hanging around and looking at the crowds). My brother did hit all the other major coasters (The wooden ones, Rebel Yell, Grizzly and Hurler as well as the Shockwave) and together we also hit the water park for a couple of fun rides (Tornado is by far my favorite. The big funnel is just plain fun to be deposited into).).

We finished things off at the park with one final coaster, the singularly awesome Volcano. I think it took more time to walk to the loading area than it took to ride the ride, but it is such a blast of a ride that it was hard to resist, though I did sit out my brothers second trip on that ride and the Dominator.

All in all a great day (even with the vomit interlude). There is something cool about being at an amusement park and having the run of the land, not having to wait for anything.

Restoring Honor.

Ok, so I didn't go. I probably would have if it hadn't been for the prior planning of the GF to schedule a free night in Annapolis at one of the historic inns (which was quite fun. I cannot remember the last time I was in Annapolis).

But I think if I had been around I would have stopped by (good incentive to go for a walk and see some entertaining people). I kind of like Glenn Beck (and now that any liberal has stopped reading this let me continue).

He is entertaining. And likable. Does he go off on rant's that feel like they should be accompanied by full rolls of aluminum foil? Hell yes.... But.... He also doesn't tell people to simply take his word for things, he tells his viewers and listeners to go off and do their own research. This is a really great message that you do not see from a lot of talking heads, and ironically borrows from the classic Hippie theme of questioning the man. Are there people that simply take him at his word (and probably misinterpret it?)? Of course. You find those people in pretty much every movement/following that you find (look how many drank the Obama kool-aid in 2008).

Oh well, onward and upward to November. Maybe we will even finally be able at to "Retire Moran" here in NoVa.

July Roundup

Got a medal (AAM, Army Achievement Medal) for my work during AT.

Played around at Busch Gardens Virginia.

Went to a nice little wine festival in Staunten VA.

Played a fun game (Bioshock 2) and a mediocre game (Crackdown 2).

Went through 5 books (The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, pretty good military SF).

Overall a pretty good month.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

11 years. That's how long it has been since I have been here (back right after my brothers college graduation). I have driven past it countless times in the past couple of years, but this past weekend the GF and I decided to make it a long weekend (since one of the days of my drill weekend was a family day) and head there on Monday.

Overall? Less than impressed. The beer tour is gone (something I didn't know until I looked online trying to figure out where it was in the park), which I find a sorely missed item. We did pick a good time to head there, Monday was a day that allowed us to walk up to pretty much any attraction.

I think overall I am less of a fan of Busch Gardens because they are following the classical amusement park model, separating the water park from the main park. I understand that Water Country USA is supposed to be pretty darn good, but I have never been there. I much prefer when they are in one park (like Kings Dominion).

The rides themselves? Great! Almost all of them were new to me. Griffon was cool, Alpengeist remains a serious shakeup, Loch Ness remains a pretty cool ride, and Apollo's Chariot is seriously a cool fast ride.

A fun way to spend a day but it will be a long time before this Arlington boy head to BG, particularly since you have to drive past Kings Dominion to get there (at half the distance).

Bioshock 2

Having just finished Bioshock 2 (I tucked it away when I first got it during finals, and then life came along and I just now got to it) I just wanted to take a second to give my impressions.

Overall? A great ride. Not awesome like the first (since the first was so novel that I, as well as many gamers were fascinated by it). They did add some things to the system, notable multi-user play, but for me this was a one man (or Big Daddy) adventure. I finished the game after about 20 hours of gameplay. I did it the nice way, by not "harvesting" the Little Sisters (comes back to my morality, I have a hard time tolerating, even in gameplay, the killing of little girls, even if the Little Sisters are some of the most creepy girls you will ever encounter).

Mainly? It felt like more of the same. The only real differences were the fact that you played as the Big Daddy (which meant you started out with the honking huge drill on your arm), the very novel bit where you got to play as a Little Sister (the whole world is clouded and unreal. I did like how they play off the Angel thing was pretty cool), and the novel new opponent of the Big Sisters.

Did I enjoy my return to Rapture? Yes, as evidenced by the some 20 hours of gameplay I devoted to this game. Was it as good as the original? Probably, but somewhat less novel, so in the end the original probably comes out ahead.

Summer TV

Way long ago, when I was a kid, Summer was the Dead Zone. And by that I do not mean the TV show.... Summer was downright awful, rerun hell basically.
Fast forward to today. Some of the most interesting show no longer follow the network's traditional format. The networks themselves continue to put out shows (though they are often fairly weak shows, burn-offs of failed shows or (occasionally) novel shows like Wipeout) but almost all of the excitement is on the Cable side of the house.

SyFy (shudder, how I hate that name) and USA are the main powerhouses. Though AMC and others are nipping at the heels of those networks. I seriously love the SyFy shows. Eureka and Warehouse 13 are just plain fun. I personally think that WH13 is probably one of the best shows I have seen, the show has a huge backstory and overarching storyline, but they really do a good job at making most of the episodes something that anyone can jump into. I am also looking forward to discovering more about Haven. I tried to jump into Sanctuary but it just isn't clicking.... I have all the shows stored up and at a truly bored moment I will give it another shot.

USA continues to deliver with a really good shows like Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and Pysch. I plan to give Royal Pains a try and I am definitely interested to give Covert Affairs a try as well.

Then you add in all the other shows, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, True Blood, Entourage?

Kids today will never quite get it why they have it so good.....

Independence Day 5000

So while a few of my siblings were off on a bar crawl, me and H (aka Cupcake Girl) signed up for and ran the "first annual" (funny that they kept wanting to use annual.... in my world that requires that they have done it at least once). It was a great course, a little hilly (though there was a payoff in the end when we got to race down to the end to finish strong). I finished in a touch over 10 minute miles (tolerable given my lack of training in the past 3 weeks thanks to Uncle Sam). H also gave a respectable 14 or so minute mile.

We capped off the evening (the race started at 1930) with some Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches (and some bubble tea for me) at the Eden Center.

Annual Training 2010

So this is actually the first Annual Training (AT) that I have ever attended as a Guardsman (Basic Training, then 2 years of OCS, then OBC, then New Equipment Training) after 5+ years in the Guard. But other than the fact that this was a supersized AT (we really could have done without the last week)? Pretty good training.... Lookie at what I got:

This is the Brigade Commanders Coin (for a very storied unit that includes the famous Bedford Unit. Note the Civil War on the units involvement.... Just don't ask which side of the War of Northern Aggression we were on). The other 1LT in my unit and I were awarded this by the Colonel.

I didn't get many pictures since unfortunately my guys did most of work in a classified annex that they were quite stringent in enforcement of not allowing cell phones (and camera's).

I was quite proud of everyone. We had to drive a circuitous route from Hampton to Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA (some 450 miles, all in tactical vehicles like HMMV's (17 just to get my Company's gear up)). Set up quickly and then help everyone else out once we were up. We had 43 people show up and we worked the hell out of everyone. After 2 weeks there we then moved (again by a circuitous route, some 430 miles) to Ft. Pickett VA. We ran a range and then shot on various stuff and then finally back to Hampton, 20 days after we left. For the 2 Platoons that I had I wrote 11 medal awards (all total I think we had 20 award submissions).

Burning question

Ow... OMG ow....

The 2 worst sunburns that I have ever gotten have been on army time. Back in Basic I got a 2nd degree sunburn right in the middle of my chest. Because of the way that the old BDU's sat and the fact that my t-shirts had become deformed over time, a large section of my chest (from Adams apple down about4 inches) got expose. And toasted (we are talking blistering and all that fun stuff).

And now the Army adds number 2 to the list. Partly my fault (because in the end I was in charge) but by the time I realized it it was too late. We ran a 450 mile convoy on Sunday. I ended up driving at least half the distance. HMMV's are hot, the engine often dumps heat into the cab and ventilation is not good. So we had the windows rolled down. And our ACU blouses (as a side we had a long debate about whether they classify as blouses anymore, since they don't button like the BDU's. This sort of conversation comes up often in my unit) were off because it was 100 degrees that day. So as you can figure, it didn't occur to me at the time to put sunblock on my arms. And now I have a truckers tan from hell, since I have a second degree burn on my left arm (blisters and all). I will spare you the oh so fun looking picture......

Oh well, at least this AT is over. 3 weeks is a long time to be away. Whoever said 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year is a liar and should be shot.

Off to Training

Starting tomorrow I am off for 3 fun filled weeks (Signal stuff, 2 convoys (20 HMMVs going 300+ plus miles... my ass already is hurting in anticipation for this one) and even some shooting). This actually will be the first real Annual Training (AT to Guardsmen) that I have attended in the past 5.5 years of being in the military (because of training I have never gone to a real AT). Ah, 3 weeks of getting up early, PT-ing and shaving every morning.... joy.

Hopefully I will have some time to post on something interesting, assuming that I am not too busy.

Memorial Day

This truly is the most somber of our nations holidays. Ironically it represents the gateway into our favorite time, Summer.

It's hard, as I am a currently serving Soldier in the National Guard, to not take a few minutes to think about all the people who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we take for granted. The odds are that at this point some one that I served or trained with is now one of those numbers. The XO of a unit that is associated my friends unit, 1/116th Infantry which is currently deployed in Iraq, MAJ Wayne Culver, is one of the latest to be added to that somber list.

BTW. I hope someone has squared away the President about this holiday. He seems confused and thinks it also includes those of currently serving. We have our own days, this is a day dedicated to our brothers who never got the chance to come home.

Stealing Valor

While Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has apologized for his shameful claims of serving in Vietnam, it still continues to draw my ire.....

I proudly serve in the Army National Guard. I joined over 5 years ago, commissioned 3 years ago, and have never been deployed. The left side of my chest has only 3 items on (that is where citations are on Army uniforms) and I only wear one badge, all of which I have earned. I can think of nothing more disrespectful to both myself and to my fellow Soldiers than to wear anything on my uniform that I did not earn and was entitled to. To do anything less is a stain on your honor.

I actually have more tolerance of people who have never served claiming honors, rank and experience that is not due to them. They do not know better. They do not know the sacrifice of time, blood and, in some cases, life that are the price people wearing the uniform pay. It pains me enormously when it is someone who has in fact served and claims any experience or honors that are not their own.

So AG Blumenthal strikes me as the lowest form of scum, who took something that he should be proud of, his military service (even with his deferments he did in fact serve) of this country at a time where it was not a popular thing. (I talk with my Dad on occasion of his service, and of his time when he was in NYC working for the Navy, where the sailors had to keep their uniforms at work for pure force protection purposes.) This was something he should have been proud of, a bond into a brotherhood of military men, a body of men and women who do in fact stand above those who have not served.

But that was all shattered with his claims of serving in Vietnam. It is ironic that now that it is socially palatable to be a Vietnam Vet, people who have not served there find it acceptable to steal some of that shine for themselves.

I must be somewhat old fashioned in that I expect leaders to be striving for the ideal and be held to greater standard than the rest of us. I truly hope that the people of Connecticut hold their own leadership to that standard, by repudiating and not electing this "man" who stole valor from his military brothers.

Pacers Running Festival Half Marathon

What a wonderful day for a run! I was concerned based on the weather recently (last weekend was awful) but Mother Nature really put out all the stops and gave us a wonderful Mothers Day.
Overall this was a pretty great race, relatively flat, attractive view and of course my GF, H, was there to cheer me on. My only issues were that this course is not the most accessible supporters and that they really could have used another couple of porta-potties.

Final time? 2:24. Basically 11:00/mi. And that included a 2-3 minute visit to one of those scarce porta-potties on the second loop.

Not my personal best, for 2 factors. One was that I made a critical fail and went one scone too far in my pre-race breakfast/snack. Normally I do some toast and tea, but today was tea and scones (3 large ones). And I paid for that indulgence for 3/4 of the race, where I did not make my best time since I had to stop more frequently to prevent myself from vomiting. Additionally this race I was about the heaviest I have been in for quite a while and I could feel that as well.

Now off to celebrate Mothers Day with my Mom!

It has to be blackmail.

Almost everyday there is always some reference, quote or clip (in the newspaper, blog or news/newstainment source) from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

And every day that it happens the same thought runs through my head....

"Holy crap, that guy sucks at his job. He is doing the sort of job I would expect myself to do, and I am a introverted computer guy."

followed almost immediately by....

"Whatever piece of blackmail he has on Obama must be fricking impressive for him to keep his job (and this is on a President who admitted to doing marijuana and coke)."

Defense Grid

Yes, I am a big old dork, but I love video games. And in particular ones that require you to think (sometimes under stressful conditions). And this game haunted me. I only just now got it out of my system.
Defense Grid is another "tower defense" games, where you earn credits by killing the bad guys which allows you to build or upgrade more towers. The best of breed of these tower defense games has to be Toy Soldiers, but this one comes in a close second. DG throws in the kicker of periodically allowing you to you use a GDI Laser (or whatever you want to call it, basically a evil laser from the sky that requires time to recharge). Sounds simple, right?
About a dozen hours of gaming later I can assure it is not. I think I went to bed dreaming of this stuff until I got it right. Overall? 4/5 stars. Definitely a good way to spend some time.

Dear Hilton, you suck!

And I don't mean you Paris... I have nothing personal against you, just the hotel chain that bears your name.

Being the frugal individual that I am, and finding that I have to spend yet another night down in Hampton, VA for Army duty (I am not a morning person... yes, I know.. Some would think that to be a job requirement for the Army) as I often drive down at night and get a good nights sleep. And just for grins I look and see if I can get a better hotel than what I can see price-wise at Hotels.com. So off to Priceline. And lo and behold, I get a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hampton (Coliseum) for the same price as La Quinta or Days Inn.

After driving down on Friday to avoid the traffic I get in at ~2315. I am dog tired from a long week of work as well as getting some work done for my graduate classes, I just wanted to sleep. Check in, get my card and head to my room. I open the door enough to see the bathroom open with someones stuff and a query of who was there. Stormed back to the front desk, informed them that the room was unoccupied. After a little time a new key was issued, and off I went again.

Naively I assumed that there was no way that this could happen twice. I have spent hundreds of days in hotels in my life and this was the first time this had ever happened. But as you can see, I was proven wrong.... Door number 2 opened up to a young woman at the far side of the room, apparently getting ready for bed (dressed in sleeping clothes, not naked). I immediately started cursing, slammed the door and tromped back to the Front Desk. Key number 3 didn't work on the door and there was room service items outside the door, so I aborted back to the front desk yet again. My irritation was at a peak.

Finally I was escorted by a manager (who had been called in as I was not the only person playing the mystery door game) who, ironically, was the mom of the girl I walked in on. Who validated that the room was, in fact, empty. And of course? The TV didn't work. 45 minutes after I first checked in I finally had a room that I immediately passed out in (after setting the lock and the door stop).

I only now have the time to deal with this... Though I am disappointed that at no time since then did Hilton contact me....

Potomac Valley Track Club's Easter Classic 5K/10K

Such a pretty day for a run. Really, other than the parking situation? Probably one of the nicest days, pretty course and nice views. Completed the 10K in just a little over 1 hour. I was very proud of my GF for coming out and doing the 5k. First 5K, eventually a 10 Miler.

Toy Soldiers

Since I was bored a couple of weeks ago I downloaded the new Xbox 360 Marketplace game Toy Soldiers. I really enjoyed it. Basically a tower defense game (points for killing the enemy as they rush your defenses). But using the WWI Toy Soldiers as the OPFOR. As well as flyable biplanes, bombers and drivable tanks. You also get extra points by actually manning the defenses themselves (its how you get combo points). All in a virtual box to make it look that some giant kid has staged these battles. Definitely worth the money a great way to enjoy an afternoon or 2. I also like the coop play in addition to the online play.

Four Courts Four Miler

Wow, did this race not look good when I woke up this morning.... It was POURING and didn't let up until around 3-4 minutes before the race start. But the secret that people who don't know? That as long as you dress right (little things like hats make life tolerable) and plan for temperature, you will be fine and not even notice it as you are running.

Considering I haven't trained half as much as I should (see previous post for how busy I have been) I wasn't too disappointed with my time (just a little under 10 minute miles).

And the course..... Ah, this is a slightly evil course... It is an out-and-back course, going down Wilson and onto Rt 110. Downhill for most of the first 2 miles, and then the hard part. Wilson between Rosslyn and Courthouse is a pretty steep grade. So that last mile was quite a haul and pretty much killed my time. The post race activities were pretty good (though I missed out on getting a special pint glass) and the free beer post race? Really tasted good. As you can see I convinced my GF H aka Cupcake Girl to "run" (jog) with me and she managed to accomplish her goal of not coming in last and finishing in under an hour. When I finished I circled back to join her and provide encouragement.

Busy

Yeah, thats my excuse. Finals for class, then vacation to FL (said hi to Mickey), then turned right around and was on a plane to Mexico City (for work! the trip was a blast (even saw some Lucho Libre, got to see some pyramids) and then it was back on the ground for 4 days before heading off to a 3 day drill. In which I got to shoot a brand new grenade launcher (the M320).

The off to a Black Tie Oscar Party at the St. Regis. And I started 2 new graduate courses in stuff that I know nothing about. Oh yeah, its been some frightfully busy times. And now I have to go off to an 8 day field exercise for the Army...

What I am obsessing about (Early Feb)

Games

• Mass Effect 2 - When I leave this game? I feel the urge to turn it on again and ignore real life. Really, games are getting so good nowadays they create borderline addiction (I guess there are far worse things to have an mild addiction to.... Drugs, alcohol, etc)
• Borderlands - Same as ME2 above... I addicted my roommate to it.. He has lost several afternoons to someone who I have only seen pick up the controller 4 times in the past 1.5 years.

TV

• Life Unexpected - I knew I would like this. And damn if I didn't.... I am afraid that my like will doom it like so many other cool shows...
• Lost - So addicted. Can't wait until the next episode!
• Chuck - They say it is an all new Chuck. But I think it is only slightly different (and that is a good thing)
• Amazing Race (yes, one more week..... can't wait. Best reality show ever!)

Movies

• Up - It's cute. Bittersweet but an uplifting story.
• Angels & Demons - Meh... it was ok.

Oh, and I am also obsessing on my Final for my graduate class, which after a bit of peer editing (Thanks Mom and Hannah) is now done and ready to turn in!

eBook War

Anyone else entertained by the firefight that occured this week? Mostly spurred on by our friends at Apple introducing the iPad you have a book publisher (Macmillan) that choose to try and strongarm Amazon to increase the list price for their books (from 9.99 to 14.99, a direction that I abhore) because that is what Apple was going to list stuff for (for their reader software on the iPad). So Amazon simply chooses to delist all McMillan's books (something like 1/6 of their inventory).

And then the authors get involved....



Now I get it, the traditional contract for authors is based on gross sales (yes, I know it is more complicated than that). But ebooks simply cost a lot less to produce and distribute.



Of course I find myself torn to be on the side of a retailor that is incorporating DRM into everything they sell (ebook-wise.... oddly I choose Amazon for MP3's since those are not DRM'd). But really? $15 for an ebook? That I cannot lend to a friend, prop in my bookcase, resell or even technically own (and what if the retailer goes away? DRM pisses me off). I like the authors and I kind of sympathize with them, but there is a world of distance between and ebook (now, DRM'd and all) and a physical book.



Now I feel the urge to go buy some non-DRM'd books. Thank god Baen (my favorite SF publisher) sells them direct to me at a really reasonable price.





Full disclosure? I own a Kindle 2 and if I ever do by an iPad, it will not be a first gen one....

Best Game of 2009?

I think if you had asked me 2 weeks ago I would have said that Modern Warfare, for all its issues was probably the best. Until Borderdlands appeared in mailbox. And now that I have played it all the way through (yes, I am a bit OC with games and they are an addiction) I have to say that overall? It was better.

Yes, it looks cartoon-y. But it has a neat story, a complex world, very useful multi-player. This is the game that, while evolutionary is a gamers game (everything from a scaling system for bad guys, more guns/mods/shields than you can ever imagine and some fun content.). Easily the best 50 bucks I have spent so far this year (and last, sorry Fallout 3, this blends FPS and a role playing game... it wins). And it even has Zombies!

Does the artist affect your enjoyment?

I always find it so fasinating that people are so tolerant of artists, accepting behavior that if you knew the person in real life that you would make efforts to keep away and defriend them.

I know that for me whenever I see/hear music from Michael Jackson that I am less than interested in hearing or seeing anything more from the man (I freely admit that I was apathetic about his death, it really meant next to nothing to me since his behavior to this point had already made him dead to me as an artist). I just don't know how people are so able to separate the person from their work, when to me they are so interrelated. I just can't do it.....

Avatar

Spoiler, don't read any further if you haven't seen the film.

Overall? Very pretty movie. I saw it in 3D (really no other option) and was really impressed with the effects and the animation. The 3D leant to the realism and helped immerse you in the movie.

If it wasn't so damn ham-handed in the politics I might have even given it 5 stars (out of 5). But...

Let's start with the Na'vi. I will leave out some of the complaints from the SF realm about our inability to create truly alien aliens, that's just hard to do. But overall it's like they rolled up all the "noble savage" bits and pieces put together from Indian and African belief systems and made them blue. Couldn't be more contrived to draw the sympathy's of the audience if they tried...

But my true ire? The one character that is supposed to be portraid as the noble warrior who rose above his class? The one that I left the movie with an intense desire to kill or see die in the movie? Jake Sully (the other human race traitors as well, but he is the main orchestrator). Oh, words cannot describe the ire I feel at this character who betrays humanity (in the end basically telling them to leave, go home and die). The whole thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth, too see a human choose to side with aliens to kill other humans. Were the humans the best people in the world? No. But it appears from the commentary at the end that the Unobtainium was necessary for the continuation of the human race (they never it clear what Unobtainium provides, but the ending implies that humanity is being kicked off the planet to the death of Earth... They just imply that it is corporate greed (forgetting that often these corporations are providing key and important services)). Would I bulldoze over a tree to protect humanity (even if it was full of these idealized creatures)? In a heartbeat....

The year in books (2009)

This was the year of Tech. Kindle 2, audiobooks. Amazing how few paper books I have read.

• Revelation Space - Alistair Reynolds - Interesting read. Very heavy SF. Deep future and some interesting twists and turns.
• On Basilisk Station - David Weber - Yes, a re-read. I love the Honor Harrington series. Sooooo much.
• Crusade:Destroyermen - Taylor Anderson - Second book of the Destroyermen saga. Very interesting alternate world that they get inserted into, aiding on race against an aggressive other race, while still dealing with some Japs who came with them.
• The Honor of the Queen - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• You Suck - Christopher Moore - A cute little vampire romp. Had some great lines "crazy monkey sex" (AB)
• The Short Victorious War - David Weber - More Honor Harrington
• Field of Dishonor - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• Flag in Exile - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• Honor Among Enemies - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton - Ready good beginning of a series. 400 years in the future with widespread wormhole tech. (AB)
• In Enemy Hands - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• Echoes of Honor - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• One Second After - William R. Forstchen - Very interesting story. The bad guys detonate EMP nukes over the US and the short and long term effects on society. (AB)
• Ashes of Victory - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• Maelstrom: Destroyermen - Taylor Anderson - Third book. Further tales of the WWII destroyer thrown into another world.
• War of Honor - David Weber - More Honor Harrington.
• The Lost Fleet:Relentless - Jack Campbell - More tales of the Lost fleet. Very entertaining Space Opera.
• At All Costs - David Weber - Latest of the Honor Harrington saga. I hadn't read this one before. Very much enjoyed it!
• The Dreaming Void - Peter F. Hamilton - 2nd Book of the Series. 400 years in the future with widespread wormhole tech. (AB)
• Mazer in Prison - Orson Scott Card - Prequel to the Enders Game series. Very interesting set up. Too bad it was a short story. (AB)
• With the Lightnings - David Drake - Lt. Daniel Leary (How can I not like a series with a guy who shares a name with me?) RCN series. A lot more political intrigue than my normal books. But fun.
  
• Weapons of Choice - John Birmingham - 1st of the Series. mid 2020's fleet is dropped into the beginning of WWII. And then bad things happen. (AB)
• Designated Targets - John Birmingham - 2nd of the Series. Not sure if I am a fan of the way that the author jumps forward a couple of months/year between the books. 6/18 (AB)
• Final Impact - John Birmingham - 3rd of the Series. Not sure if I am a fan of the way that the author jumps forward a couple of months/year between the books. 6/18 (AB)
• Lt. Leary, Commanding - David Drake - Lt. Daniel Leary RCN series.
• The Far Side of The Stars - David Drake - Lt. Daniel Leary RCN series.
• Judas Unchained - Peter F. Hamilton - Another story in the Pandora Star Universe.7/19 (AB)
• The Way to Glory - David Drake - Lt. Daniel Leary RCN series.
  
• The Strain - Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan - Pretty interesting first book. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next book. 8/26 (AB)
• The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - I was actually pretty entertained. Tragic love story... 9/30(AB)
• The Lighter Side - Keith Laumer - Classic SF Short stories. Very entertaining. 9/15
• The Ghost Brigades - John Scalzi - Sequal to Old Mans War. Neat premise and an interesting tale. 10/6
  
• Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson -Book 5 of the Saga of the Seven Suns. 10/12 (AB)
• Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson - More of the Saga of Seven Suns 10/21 (AB)
• Galactic North - Alastair Reynolds - A couple short stories from the Revelation Space Universe. 10/30(AB)

Blogger HH..

I have never been one to turn down a HH, so yesterday (Friday), me and CupcakeGirl went down to to Public Bar after work. After picking up an empenada across the street (and finally realizing where the bar was) we popped in, scoped out the place and got the most important thing done (obtaining a drink and getting served the largest onion rings I have ever seen (more than an inch tall) we then decided to be social). After getting approached by Francobeans while waiting for our apps we then joined the main party. Saw some faces we already knew (Lexa, Maxie), some we only knew through pictures (Lilu) and some totally new faces (Patrick of The Definitive Dmbosstone). It was fun to put some faces with all the blogs that I read.

DC Rollergirls Games

This was my second Rollergirls event (my first was almost 9 years ago with a friend down in Austin TX). I had been planning to go an event here in DC for years, but the timing was always wrong (either a drill weekend or something else). So when I saw that they were playing this Saturday? Me and Cupcake Girl took my nephew C to the game.

It was slightly different than what I had seen before (since this was flat track, not the curved one I saw down in Texas). Still it was pretty fun.

To start with there was the bake sale!!! Delicious cookies for reasonable prices. We also had some candy that was thrown out to the crowd, popcorn, beer and soda.

Then on to the game. Sadly the first game didn't end so well for the local team (it was the Philadelphia's Heavy Metal Hookers vs DC's Scare Force One). They pretty much got their buts kicked after taking a brief lead (something like 45 points unopposed before scoring a few points at the end). The first bout comprised 2 20 minute sets, with pretty much non-stop action.

Then after a brief show the main match was on. 2 DC teams, Cherry Blossom Bombshells vs the DC Demoncats (or as I was telling C, the Pink team vs the Black team). This game had a lot more parity and was gripping until the end. We watched the second half of this game from down on the floor, a comfortable safe distance from the danger zone.

All and all an entertaining way to fill a late afternoon/early evening!

Grammar/Spelling Nazi Drive-by

I love using Yelp to review restaurants (http://danielobvt.yelp.com/). I feel that since it aids me in finding places to eat I feel like I should put my 2 cents in. Often the reviews are typed on my iPhone just after eating there. It leads to occasional (~ 1 per review.... Always words that I always spell wrong) spelling errors. But today I got the following message from another user:

Hint: your reviews will get more notice if you run that little abc (spell checker).

....Wow

And her pic? Classic Grammar/Spelling Nazi.

So I am sticking by the headline, Spelling Nazi Drive-By.... film at 11.

Vampire Diaries

I watched all 9 episodes of Vampire Diaries this weekend with my good friend M.

I really wanted to not like this show... And the first 3 episodes? They were making me feel pretty smug in estimation (it was feeling very Twilight-ish). But then it was like they brought in a new writing team. There suddenly was this bigger universe (more people aware of the vampires, magic, more vamps and a whole new universe. Hell, they even make fun of Twilight ("This Bella chick seems really bossy", "Why don't you shimmer?")). And now I find myself eagerly awaiting the next episode.

Bravo for turning something that easily could have become a CW suckfest and given me an intriguing new show to watch. Now you just have to keep it up.

Leadership and Being in Charge

I was the Company Commander for my Army National Guard Company (~60 people) last weekend (when the bosses went off and played at a central party) and it got me thinking....

I never thought I would ever be in a position of authority like I am for both my civilian and military careers. I know that I when I was a kid? Never really crossed my mind. I never dreamed or imagined that anything more than a few people would ever consider me to be their boss (maybe a small programming or engineering team). It.... never... even... occurred to me.....

But I look at where I am now, being an Executive Officer for my Army Company and a soon to be GS-14 for my government job (where I manage a 24x7x365 shop with 30+ people with a budget in excess of $6-7 million) and I had that moment, like from the song "How did I get here?"

Obviously on some level I must have searched it out. Particularily on the military side where I spent 2.5 years working to to get my commission. I know that some of it comes from a strong sense of duty, where I look around and ask myself, if I don't step up, who will (or worse, that someone who is less qualified than me steps up and doesn't do as good of a job as me). And while I have taken very little in the way of management courses I think I can see where others made mistakes (and successes) and what I do not (and do) want to do when I am placed in situations where I must lead.

I just think that it is funny that for someone with very little ambition when I was little ended with so much, and in the future I will probably have more.

Two fun treats last night.

And that is not even counting the election results....
Left 4 Dead 2 Demo was released on the Xbox 360 yesterday. Fun!! I like the wider variety of weapons, from the new melee weapons (ranging from a guitar, nightstick, machete to skillet), the wider range of regular weapons (multiple pistol types, new variations on weapons), new special zombie types (even body armored ones!) and just overall coolness. I cannot wait for my copy of the full game to arrive in the mail... my friends and family will know this has happened when I stop tweeting and emailing for a couple of days. Between L4D2 and COD:MW2 this is a good time for games!

And last night I watched the premier of V. And enjoyed it. Well done, interesting adaptation of the storyline, updated tech and more sinister Vistitors (having them already infiltrate Earth is a cool twist). I love that they are having a counter-terrorism expert get involved in a resistance cell, it will be interesting if the skills used to hunt cells can be used to avoid detection as well. Overall it was good... good enough that it lured in my non-SF watching roomie (who requested that I keep the episodes and not delete them until he gets back from travel).

Marine Corp Marathon

So, in compliance with Operation RFR, I rany the MCM yesterday. Great experience. I was on a 10:30 pace until Mile 18.5 (where everything seem to cramp up.... thigh, calf, and groin... and weirdest of all? Both my biceps and my one of my pecs.... they also cramped up at the end as well. I am so glad that I didn't face plant when it happened). Everything past that was power walking (I tried running a bit, but more than a 1/4 mile and everything cramped up).

The only issue that I noted in the entire race? At the beginning the race started on both side of the road... The left entry chute into the Start gate was twice as large as the one on the right... Kind of frustrating (and completely ruins the whole concept of starting people in flights when you have runners twice as slow crossing the start).

My parents met me at the beginning and the end, and Cupcake Girl met me there as well as the 10 and the 16 mile points.

Final Time? 5:17. Almost exactly a 12 minute pace. I think I will let that stand as my best (and only) marathon time!

Texas

So for the past 9 weeks thanks to Uncle Sam I have been a tenant of "The Great Place" aka Ft Hood TX. I will forgo talking about the actual training (not for OPSEC since that really doesn't apply in this case... just because I am trying to get over the fact that the 10 weeks of training could have been condensed into 4, maybe 5, weeks and there is so much wasted time in this stuff that it makes me sad... when I find myself fondly wishing to be back at work? I am bored).

Not exactly where I wanted to be (since I get to miss 4 of the 8 weeks in DC where the weather is pleasant by my standards) but I am a true believer taking lemons and making something approximating lemonaide, so I took it upon myself to explore the heck out TX (I spent 5 months in Houston in 2000, but never got over to this side except for one trip to Austin). I went out drinking on 6th Street in Austin, made my arteries cry out for mercy when I went to the TX State Fair, explored Austin and San Antonio pretty extensively with Cupcake Girl and my parents, and even went in and went to a University of Texas game (vs Colorado).

I think I will borrow from some other bloggers and present some of the good things and some of the bad things in a list:
Good

• Friendly people - really.... My favorite story is that after walking around for 2 hours in 90 degree heat we were looking among the tailgaters at UT for a beer to buy. My Dad said that he was a tourist, was hot, tired and just wanted to buy a beer. The man just reached around, grabbed into his cooler and gave my Dad a beer.
  
• Great BBQ - really, some of the best!
  
• Best Tex-Mex ever
• Short work day (average day started at 0800, broke for lunch from 1130 to 1300 and then was done by 1530). I think going back to working 8-9 hour days is going to kill me
• Lots of space for long runs (training for MCM and the Army Ten Miler)

Bad

• Surprisingly bad trails. Sidewalks ending, poorly maintained... Kind of surprising on an Army base.
  
• Interesting (new) things to run into the trails. I had to hop off one when a M2 Bradley APC came roaring up past me. Also a whole new assortment of wildlife, snakes and cattle. And because of the cattle? They have these things called cattle guards that are meant to coincide with streams etc that were meant to keep the cattle constrained. Large bars about 9in separation.
• Driving... everywhere.... Distances that I would never drive had to be driven because walking was just unsafe.
• The motel I spent this time in. Completely sealed (poor ventilation that can lead to mold if not run continiously), crappy shower and right next to the cannon at the 3 Corps HQ.
• Living on base. The above mentioned cannons that go off every weekday at 0600 and 1700.... Very hard to sleep through.
  
• And yes, being so far from home

But in just another 2-3 days I can leave. 1500 miles of driving and I will be home!!!

Whip It!

So I gotta say I am pre-biased in favor of this movie.... Beyond the whole Drew Barrymore affinity that I freely admit to, I have been to Austin TX a number of times (love the town and the culture) and have even attended a Roller Derby event in Austin.

I loved this movie. Very entertaining, lots of LOL moments and was even engaged for the action scenes. There even was a surreal moment as they show the characters watching a movie in the Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Austin (the same place I was watching the movie). The story, the development of the main character from a meek girl to an empowered young woman is good and believable, the characters are likeable and relatable, and you leave the movie with a good feeling.

Really, if you have a chance? Check it out.

Zombieland

For someone with my fascination with Zombies, it is kind of surprising that I haven't seen it until now (though in my defense the past weekend was hectic, with the ATM, family in town(including me) and a DC United game to see.

Loved it! Classic zombies (though maybe a bit smarter... one zombie actually turned the doorknob in one scene), stereotypical characters (but with some fun twists).... In some ways it almost feels like a movie adaptation of Left 4 Dead.

Love the surprise guest (Bill Murray) and overall it was an enjoyable 1:20 (are movies trending shorter again? Haven't seen a film this short in a bit.

4/5 Stars! Not Zombie perfection but lots of fun.

Peace Prize?

Really? Maybe you should, I don't know, actually do something before they award it to someone. He should mention GWB in his acceptance speech, since in many ways this is a "Congrats for not being GWB" award.

I thought it was a joke when I heard about it this morning (my first thought, it is not April 1). But this is the same org that gave the award to a renown terrorist, Yassar Arafat, so I pretty much discount everything it does, this is just the the sprinkles on top of the icing..

So apparently I am a racist....

Whatever..... because I have the nerve to disagree with the President (wasn't that patriotic last year?) on issues that I care about and am concerned about. Obviously the big subject now is the whole health care issue (public option? No thanks... I have dealt with government controlled health care and is frustrating and annoying). I think it can all be handled a lot easier with these 3 items:

• Tort reform.... not on the table... given that so many of the people making laws are lawyers, it does not surprise me that this remains off the table. But it is one of the biggest factors for impacting our service... the insurance to protect against some of these insane lawsuits is crazy.
• Multi-State Portability - competition is good. Forcing a company to only operate in one state or creating sub-companies for each of those states? nasty inefficiency.
• Eliminating the concept of pre-conditions. If you are eligible for insurance by employment or purchase? You should be able to buy insurance. Now there needs to be some controls, in particular for those people who through their behavior or decision didn't sign up for insurance.

So I am sorry if people seem to find any disagreement with the President to be disrespectful (most of my adult life has shown me that not to be the case, from both parties) or racist, but I just do not find the current plans to be acceptable and I am not afraid to voice my disapproval.

Texas.

How odd is it that it is cooler here in Texas than back in DC?
Last week me and the GF (Cupcake Girl.... she keeps shooting for a new nickname but that is not happening) drove from DC to Ft. Hood Texas.... Not too bad of a drive actually... lots of good food along the way (the main fast food/chains that we hit was Sonic and Cracker Barrel... all the other meals were local places). 36 hours, 1400 miles (at a good 45mpg) and we finally got in, got a place to stay for the night and then hit Austin for a whirlwind tour. One nice long walk and an awesome brunch (very Texas with lots of bbq).

Sadly the material I am learning here is very basic by my standards. Stuff that, while I never really learned it (like the ins and outs of IOS (Cisco's operating system for its routers) has never really been in my required learning sphere and is really meant for a lower tier technology type person... why half the class is officers (8 Commissioned, 2 Warrants and 6 enlisted) boggles my mind. All I know is that this stuff makes me look like a genius (because while I don't know the material I understand the foundations and have learned a lot of OS's, shells and programming languages over the years, this is just another one). That and things like binary arithmetic are pretty much second nature at this point. Oh well, hopefully I will get something out of this course that is costing me so many opportunities (I cannot even bring myself to mention them since I am still so angry that I am here and not taking advantage them).

BTW, my favorite line that I have uttered about Army bases? Me to CG - "You will never see so many uterus's in use in any other place other than around a major army base."

Politics...

So as the minority here in the blogger-verse (in particular the DC blogger-verse), it is hard to describe the amusement that I am getting in the pure act of flipping channels as of late (flipping between Fox News and CNN). The sheer outrage that I am seeing from the Left is heightened by the fact that the Right (in particular the group that has been so often silent) is having the sheer audacity to use the same tactics that Lefties have been using for decades (and vehemently defended that they are tactics of a vibrant democracy) are now suddenly anti-democratic and a hindrance to the entire process (maybe because they have the nerve to dress well and take a shower more than once a week). Ah, it is pure comedy gold.... You can taste the hypocrisy. Congress in particular is finally getting the attention that it deserves.

PS, does anyone else out there wonder what dirt Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has on the President? He is so stupendously awful that for once in my life I am actually noticing a press secretary. When I find myself thinking that I could almost do his job as well as him, that says a lot. But I do heartily encourage BHO to keep him on, he is doing an awesome job of making his message become garbled and provides constant amusement to TV watchers.

The rare Army post

Now that I am finished training you may notice that I am less likely to talk about the Army (for various reasons, ranging from the ever present OPSEC to the near certainty that someone will eventually read my writing (I remember 2 people in BOLC II commenting that they knew about my blog in the parking lot one evening... they thought it was cool since they could point their relatives toward it and not have to describe things in minute)).

I am proud to say that I finally am no longer a "butter bar"!!

Though leave it for the Army to let me know by posting the document in my online file and not notifying me otherwise. I think my CO is going to do something but given that it is pretty much a time in grade promotion I am not making a big deal out of it. Now when I get my Captain bars? Maybe a little party.

Other than that things have been quite on the Army front. I rolled a critical fail on dodging from a task that will have me out at Ft. Hood TX for 10 weeks starting mid-August where I learn the details on the new communication system (can you say lots of time playing video games and working out (good since I have the races in October)? Me and my Xbox 360 will resume our relationship down there.

I also got bumped up to becoming the Executive Officer (XO in military parlance) for my Company so that is going to suck up more time.

The rumor mill continues to mention the possibility of a deployment sometime in 2011, but I am choosing to not address it until I see something concrete.

Honduras.

Really, in the general scheme of things? I could barely point this country out on a map, not a country that enters into my consciousness at all..

My first reaction was, "oh, another Latin America coup? Shocking, not." But since it was a slow news day I took a closer look at the reporting. And started to get angry. At my government and the news. First clue that we were on the wrong side? Chavez was taking the same stance as us. Then you get down to the facts, the guy, Zelaya, was in a feud with both his Congress and the Supreme Court there. He seemed intent on violating the rule of the land and install himself as President for life, circumventing election laws and ignoring the law.

What I think really has me cheesed off? Multiple references to a military coup...... Um... The military acted at the direction of Congress. No military leaders were placed in charge, the president of their Congress was selected to act as President pro-tem.

And from the opinion polls? Barely 30% wanted Zelaya in office. Basically it comes down that the geniuses who came up with the Constitution did not put in an impeachment capability.

Zelaya wants to violate the Constitution (at least 8 parts of it), ignored the rulings of the Supreme Court and (this is just me) is guilty of having some bad allies (Castro, Chavez, and others of his ilk). The US is in the wrong here. We should back off and let them take care of their own problems.

Forgiveness

It continues to amaze me the amount that we, as a society, are prone to let slide in those with talent. Be it sports (too many to count, in particular in the NFL and MLB arena), music/art (really, this is the only field where it is expected that the most skilled are expected to be addicts of some type), politics (sexual improrities as well as financial abound) and (to a lesser degree, which says something about our society) business. We just seem too be horribly accepting of their (massive) flaws and let it slide as though their skill was an excuse. In particular when the individual has recently died (human nature to not speak ill of the dead I guess).

I and at least one other blogger friend have been less than understanding about the national/international mourning for the loss of Michael Jackson... CG actually said, "I have never seen someone hate child molesters as much as you." There are few things said about me that I am as proud of as statement like that... I just cannot understand the amount of sadness/mourning for someone who has shown himself to be such as despicable human being. Rot in hell Michael.... Every bit of good will that was earned for your skill in music was lost for your depicable behavior.

Iran

Dear Iranian protesters. Good for you. You guys have more balls than I do (and definitely more than the long haired protesters here in the States). To step out like that and protest something wrong, when the potential consequences for you can be so grave? I admire and respect your bravery and determination.

I am embarrassed that my government remains silent in your struggle (we get so much flack from your government even when we remain silent. We might as well say something that deserves condemnation. Really, silent or speaking, we can do no right in your governments eyes. We might as well just issue words of encouragement to you to, supporting something that we hold so dear.). I apologize on behalf of my country.

Summer TV

Even though Summer is the slow season for TV affictionado (my list of shows on my Tivo's is rapidly shrinking as I watch though some of my second and third tier shows that were accumulating) it definitely has changed a lot since the time of my youth. Good god it has changed for the better. Thanks to cable (which pretty much owns the summer) there are a number of great (or interesting) shows that are on now or coming on soon:

• True Blood - HBO finally booted something out of the infield. Looks like they have a home-run here. I got addicted to it last fall and was eagerly awaiting the new season. And based on the one episode I have not been disappointed.
• Burn Notice - It has Bruce Campbell in it. Do you really need any more reasons? If you do, these should cover it; Good plots, engaging characters...
• In Plain Sight - My new favorite basic cable show. Mary and her crew are just fun, with each episode being able to stand on its own rights but skillfully interwoven.
• Pysch - Still watch it. Still entertained.
• Eureka - SciFi Channel (I am going to ignore your new name since it looks like the product of the marketing retards), you consistently produce shows that I really do enjoy watching (BSG, SG, SG:A). The average joe surrounded by the big brains? It just makes for fun TV.
• Warehouse 13 - Color me intrigued. I will definitely be giving you a shot. I eagerly await the chance to see this story expand.
• Nurse Jackie - I liked the first episode. I am amused that it already has been renewed.

It is also the time for the burnoff. We have already seen the end of Pushing Daisies (those last 3-4 minutes felt so rushed but at least they offered a little closure) and the upcoming burnoff of some of the cancelled shows (Cupid, etc). I do look forward to the handful of episodes of Better of Ted (so happy that show dodged the axe).

And I would be remiss to not mention my 2 favorites of the summer network reality shows: Wipeout (god I love the big balls... I so, so, so want to do this show... though I think my little brother D may try and kill me if I do) and I Survived a Japanese Game Show.

Rhodeside Grill

Ever been to a place that does something (in this case, brunch) pretty well and thought, "maybe I should try them for dinner?" I did and I was sorely disappointed.

I truly think that the brunch at Rhodeside is pretty solid, some original dishes and nothing to really complain about. And of course most everyone knows that it is a pretty good place to get a beer (very solid selection of them) because of it's kickball notoriety (at least in Arlington). But I made the mistake of hitting them up for dinner recently.

We started off with calamari. Bleh. Rubbery, the sauce was about as bland as can be, the breading was seriously meh... We did not clean then plate like we would for a good meal.

Then on to the main course.. Rack of ribs for her, Fish and Chips for me. Fries were not well cooked, lacked taste and more than a few were cold. My first sign that things were going to be bad for the main course was the fish and the onion rings had the same breading as the calamari. And darn if I wasn't right. The fish itself was ok. The breading was bad. The ribs were cooked right but they were overwhelmed by the tangy sauce that tasted as though it came from a bottle of KC Masterpiece. There was food left on my plate at the end of this... which for those of you who know me, means that it was bad.

Rhodeside, I will miss you for the brunch, the beer and the convenience, but I will not miss you for the food other than brunch (Rhodeside Grill is on the chopping block due to expansion of the Teachers building that is adjacent to it).