Blogger HH

So I went to the blogger HH at Grand Central Bar (or as my gf referred to it... the nerdfest... hah... little did she know how cool everyone who showed up was.....):
Highlights:

• Meeting the lovely authors of:
• Love is Blonde - You looked great this evening and was glad to that you were the first blogger that I read that I met
  
• A Total Waste of Makeup - Even though your went to MD it was a pleasure meeting you!
  
• Grateful Dating I went kayaking in Monterrey Bay.... a few drinks and my brain dumps... sorry I thought that your cat was a bunny
  
• Kristin of Candy Sandwich - Loved your stories (and honestly, loved the cleavage...)
  
• And the cool lads behind
• I-66 of Quarter Volley - Great to meet you and hope you have fun at the game tomorrow1
  
• ROOSH V - really, you did get me out of bad relationship.... just a link to your site....
• Ar-Jew-Tino - yep, one of your coworkers dated my youngest brother... small world... further confirmation of my theory here and here
  
• And a couple of other guys, like the one in the poker t-shirt and the guy who like Larry Niven (dude, the authors name is Rachel Caine... sorry)

And a few others that names escape me (sorry, I blame the many drinks I have had tonight.....)

Zombies!

So I also am obsessed with zombies.... (I think I creeped out my roommate when she asked why I owned firearms and I drolly said, to take care of the zombie uprising). I love watching movies with them, books (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Zombie Survival Guide ... as well as comics The Walking Dead Book 1 (Walking Dead) ) all amuse me. So when I saw this : Blog like its the end of the world its too tempting(even though I am late to the party)...


************

I woke like any normal day... Put some tea on, chilled in front of the Tivo and then realized I was late for work. Slipped on my iPod and headed out the door... Just like any other day. In my iPod bliss I made it all the way to work without noticing anything unusual..
Then about noon the call came in.... "This is a blue moon exercise, report to the nearest military base ASAP". Now I thought this was weird... As an OCS Army Guardsman I am in training and pretty much useless. But orders are orders and off I went to home (I walk to work) to retrieve my uniform and car to drive over to Ft. Myer.. It was then that I noticed things were turning hinky. Sirens were sounding everywhere, the phone lines were so packed that I was unable to call anyone and the streets seemed oddly deserted.. Then I heard the moan carried by the wind that quickened my pace back home. Once there I flipped on the TV, grabbed my uniform (good old comfy ACU), went to my closet after getting a feel for what was happening and started to load my magazines. Thank god I had been to the range..
So there I was, Army uniform, web gear, camelback, 4 pistols, an AK on my back and one in my hands along with a backpack with all my additional ammo and weapons (I knew this day would come). And then I saw them..... pouring down the hill.. For you see, Arlington Cemetery is right around the corner... they had all woken up and looked really hungry...

It was then that I knew that I wasn’t going to get anywhere anytime soon and I realized my mission had changed.

First priority was to protect the people in the building. The uniform helped. I got 20 people (it was the middle of the day) off the basement, 1st& 2nd floor, stopped the elevators on the 5th floor, killed the entrance to the garage in the closed position (I hated that keycard reader and it was so satisfying to put a bullet into it) and then started to plan. The stairwells were the biggest concern. We put as much debris into them as possible, more than enough to stop them from being opened in any time.

By this point I had people arranged in teams. Some were securing water into every available container (can't be sure how long the taps would continue to run), others were placed so that they could report on what was going around the building.. I have been taking shots at the zeds from whatever good angle I can find... god they stink and the piles of bodies are growing higher. Power is starting to be a concern and I am not sure how much longer it is going to hold. Please tell me that this is going to end well, but the reports I have seen show that this is happening everywhere. Its getting dark and I need to arrange shifts so that we have a watch at all times. God I hope my family is all right.
God Bless everyone and good luck.. And if God is around, this would be the time for some miracles..

Hopefully we will be around in the morning,
OC Daniel

So I have a confession...

I love Anime...
Just to give you an idea... This is my collection:


But thats not all...



And just for the heck of it... Manga.... (and some very cool webcomics)




Yep... addicted to the stuff... And all types.. Not just SF (my true love) but a little bit of everything, from the high school shows to just the odder Japanese sitcommy type shows...

I think I need a intervention..

Allright...

who authorized the rain on a day I just wanted to chill in the pool? Even after taking yesterday off (the joys of federal employment, many sick leave days) I still want to just relax and try to get my neck to return to normal (though my brilliant idea to go for a 7.5 mile run yesterday can't have done it good). On that note, I am doing very well in my training for the MCM.... Many more miles than last month.

Is it wrong that I am in shock (and amused) that someone actually commented here? Shout out to Dan at conservative futurist for actually stopping by (mainly because apparently he shares my penchant for worrying about a nuclear attack, hence what led me to his site in the first place... it must be why we are both fans of Jericho).

I have decided to go to the one of the Blogger Happy Hours.... This one in fact, run by inowpronounceyou . Particularly since my GF is working that night, so it seems like a good excuse to knock a few drinks back before starting, as my friend PW would say, a "carbpocalipse" before my APFT the following Sunday... Me and Mr. Atkins will resume our friendship next week (mmm... meat.....)

Ow...

I hurt.... No more wooden roller coasters for me this year (my neck is killing me). The GF and I went up to Hershey Park on Sunday. Lots of roller coaster goodness, though I had issues after one of the wooden coasters and then this wierd ride that bring you into the sky and then spins you around 2 axises.... After a little recovery time then we went back at it again. We both LOVED the really fast ones. The hanging feet ride, Great Bear was a ton of fun (almost as good as my beloved Volcano down at KD) and we liked it enough to hit it again.. Same with the super fast ride, Storm Runner, was fantastic... I don't think I have ever run into a ride quite like this (this kicks the Hypersonic at KD's ass).. Finished the day up with a funnel cake and (of course) some chocolate. Next on the list is KD.

And to bring further evidence to my whole small world theory. At a bday party for one of my GF's friends I was talking to these two guys about army stuff (since I had just gotten the classic "high and tight" on friday for my battlefield visit on Saturday) and they mentioned this guy that they knew down in NC who was in the guard. Turns out he was in the class ahead of me in OCS (and their resident techie, hence my interaction with them) and when I heard the name I was all "repeat that again?" They even called him later in the night and talked with him for a minute or so.

Staff Ride, Saturday - Never heard of this concept before.... Basically Army officers take field trips to various historical sites and give presentations and review the history. Mine was actually pretty fun, it was given by a retired BG who really knew the history of this battle site that I had never heard of before we started the planning for this event. Cold Harbor was a battle fought almost almost a 150 years ago (June 1864 to be exact) and you can still see the trenches that were in use at the time....

Amazing.. And here I was thinking that Trench Warfare was something that really came into play in WWI whereas it was being done all the way back then. Cold Harbor represented a catastrophic mistake (Gen. Grant is quoted as saying, "Cold Harbor was one of the biggest mistakes that I made", in his memoirs). Almost 7000 casualties in about 39 minutes as the Union Soldiers pressed against deep trenches that the Confederates had spent the better part of 2 days digging before the assault (and that the Union Generals seemed to be oblivious to when they ordered their men into the breach... though the soldiers knew the score, they were placing the names and next of kin on notes attached to the back of their uniforms the night prior to the assault). Tragic.

Paris...

So is it wrong to gloat? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19102663/ Nah. That spoiled princess really needs that time in Jail, not enjoying her time sitting in a house. I would like to believe that it will change her but my instinct is that it will not... She has absolutely no concept of reality (except "reality" shows) and its a grand cosmic joke that she would even claim to complain that something is "not right".
Grow up girl.... and I have a recommendation..... hire a fricking driver, there is absolutely no reason that you should be behind the wheel of any vehicle... EVER.

I am a moron..

What the frack possessed me to go out for a 6 mile run on the hottest (to date) day of the year, in its full Washington (read: muggy beyond belief) glory at noon!?!? But I survived and I suppose I am all the better for it (given that I am training for a marathon in October and hell... I mean Alabama in the middle of the summer... probably really good training for that, though no matter what I do it sucks.).
But at least I will have a fun weekend (which yet again involves getting up early). Tonight is a bday party for a friend of the GF. On Saturday I have to go on a "Staff Ride" tomorrow with a retired general who will be giving us a briefing and then a walking tour of Cold Harbor (which is actually pretty). It could be interesting if it wasn't so darn early. Then another bday party for another of the GF's friends. Sunday its off to Hershey Park.... so ready for some rollercoaster goodness..

Now I just need to cross my fingers that my roommate finds a job, so that I don't have to look for a replacement if she heads up to NYC....

Nuts....

Are you kidding me? The nuts campaign for Jericho actually worked?!?!??!? CBS must really be worried about their schedule that they are willing to undertake this. Not that I don't appreciate it, since I really, really hated the way that they left it as a question mark.

Now I just need to catch up on some of my summer shows.... Get back up to speed on Stargate, SG: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica (maybe even get the GF to watch a few with me, irregardless of her aversion to SF) and whatnot.

And since the theme is cancelled shows, I watched last weeks Studio 60.... I will sort of miss it, though they are playing pretty heavy handed here with the captured brother thing....

Movies!

Such a sad list for me..... On Monday I saw my first movie of the year (hint Hollywood, because I used to be one of your best customers.... to the tune of 100+ movies in the theaters a year) and it was great! And its not like I don't live a 6-7 minute walk from a movie theater or anything.....

Knocked Up was fricking funny. A tad long and maybe dragging at a point or 2 but overall a lot of fun. It handled the situation really well (the pro-life crowd must be so torn by this movie.... the people here represent the lifestyle that they must abhore but they make the correct decision) and also did a great job dealing with relationships after they have been together a while (the sister and her husband). Hopefully my gf recovers her hearing from me laughing so much at this movie.... A very solid A from this very picky reviewer....

Now I really need to see: "Hot Fuzz", "28 Weeks Later", Spiderman 3 and Shrek the 3rd...

Pets...

Okay, so in the past week or so, 3 articles on our obsession with pets, Lost cat, lost heart, Do Americans love pets too much? , and A Pampered Pet Nation.

Okay, so let me preface this with this.... I love pets... they are fun to interact with, comforting at times and overall a pleasure to have around. I personally have never had a pet (I refuse to count the fish I had as a child or my younger brother...) but am often around those that have them. My last 2 roommates have had cats and they were/are great (Fel is probably the best dog-cat I have ever met (she earns the title for being a extremely social cat)), though I really appreciate the fact that they are not my cats (too much responsibility). I couldn't even imagine having a dog, it would just feel too constraining (having to walk them every day, etc).

But I think that we have gone too far. We are anthro-morphizing these animals... They are not humans.. I think that there are some people that would let a human die in order to protect their pets.. They do serve a purpose but it is pretty disturbing when you think that there are a huge number of animals that get better treatment (in both food and medical terms) than a large component of the population. People are not having children and are instead treating these animals as though they were, buying them toys, daycare(for gods sake, fricking daycare... they are animals, they can survive pretty well on their own), and even (god help us) psychoanalysis. People... please.... for the love of God... If you are going to treat a pet like a child either a) go to your bedroom with your SO and don't come out until you are ready produce some offspring b) adopt c) go volunteer somewhere.... As long as your pet has food, a clean environment, a good chunk of attention every so often they are going to be pretty content. Save the love for humans.

Hiking

So it was a good weekend. Dinner with the Parents on Friday. Race for the Cure on Saturday morning (bad trend here, waking up earlier on the weekends than on the weekdays) where I got a repspectable 25 minutes. I so know how to run this race now, though I suspect that it will be my last (way too crowded). Amazingly I managed to link back up with everyone that I went there with (my family has a habit of losing people during races.... how they manage not to see me boggles the mind).

Saturday also involved a hike with the GF (http://whatsuparlington.blogspot.com/2007/05/june-2nd-ace-hike-happy-hour.html) which was kind of fun, to learn some stuff while getting a little walking in. Luckily the rain held off and it was a pretty good event (and the off to one of my favorite bars in Rosslyn, Continental..... love places that have a happy hour on a Saturday (until 9 no less)). Then we popped over to El Pollo Rico for some chicken and fries (awesome stuff) and finished Casino Royale (great movie, enjoyed it a lot.... though I think that modern spycraft isn't as entertaining as it was.... there was a lot of cell phone stealing in this film).

Then I wasted my Sunday. Class Meeting for OCS. At the RTI.... so 3+ hours each way (and in the rain, combined with leaving early (0700)). All for a little over 3 hours of talking... I can't wait until this bit is over. 6 weeks until Phase III. Dinner with the family (GF met my parents... can't have been easy for her). Then it was Clerks II on HD-DVD.... Love Kevin Smith films.

Re-Use of my "Cast of Thousands"

So I went to a really small school (HB Woodlawn, one of the best HS in the area based on the way they rank schools and of course IMNSHO). My graduating class was all of 60 or so people, so even over the years to run into someone who went to my HS its a notable event. And being a big proponent of my school I am on the email listserve for it so as I was reading this latest thread (some people were complaining that this small business owner (actually 2 different ones) decided to mention their businesses and invite the members to come to the store... some moron accused them of spamming the group (though in my mind its no different than the messages that relate to artistic events that former students have undertaken or participated in... I think the inner anti-capitalist comes to the front for some of these people (my school was VERY liberal... and not in the free thinking kind, the dogmatic, lets not listen to the arguments))).
But as it turns out the sister of the woman who posted actually went to Phase I with me last summer in WV (60 people, maybe 10 women, so the name definately popped... turned out she graduated 4 years ahead of me).

Combine that with running into a girl in OCS that I used to work at with at the movie theater and you can't help but remark on how small of a world it is..

Concerts

So after a 8 year break, my gf R dragged me to my first concert in a long time (I was aiming for the decade mark but since she is all about Wolf Trap and it cost me nothing I was down with it). I did pick up a bottle of wine (a pink pinot grigio) and did drive to the event but it was basically free for me. We saw "Huey Lewis & The News", a group that I had never seen live (since my live list is pretty short). I think things were better in that instead of "rushing the lawn" we went to one of her friends place and ate there (as the insects tried to eat me.... I am starting to come up with a hate-hate relationship with nature...).

Other than that, caught up on some TV (Boston Legal Finale), introduced my roommate and gf to Settlers of Catan on the XBOX360 and started some new books.

Breasts...

So now that I have your attention.... On Saturday I get to run in a 5K for one of my favorite causes (and favorite part of the body), the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Of course I use "run" since there are so many people along the course that running really isn't an option for the first mile or so (as you shuffle, jog, and dodge your way around the course). But its a good cause (any cause that protects breasts has my support!) and its fun to do since most of my family participates (this year almost everyone will be there, 2 of my younger brothers and my parents).

I am currently getting myself ready for a number of races/athletic activities. Right now of course I am getting ready for my APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) that I need to pass in order to go to Phase III of OCS..... I am so being careful at most points, lots of running, real close monitoring of my diet (excluding last weekend I am doing a pretty good job, though my pantry looks really bare since I have removed most temptations, going to the grocery story (or commissary in my case) is kind of boring since I have to ignore most of the options), and lots of push-ups and sit-ups.

Then after that is done the next items come up, the Army Ten Miler followed a couple of weeks later by the Marine Corps Marathon (my first and only marathon.....).

Oh Happy Day!

So I logged onto VCU's site (as I have been compulsively doing for the past week or so) and lo and behold this is what appears!

• Unofficial Graduate School Academic Record
• Degrees Awarded:
• Master of Science May 19, 2007
• School of Engineering
• Major: Computer Science
• Cum GPA: 3.000

So now I too can contribute to the factor that Arlington County as being the most educated city in the US (In 2005, slightly over 66% of adults age 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher and about 36% had a graduate or professional degree. )
http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/cphd/planning/data_maps/CPHDPlanningDataandMapsProfile.aspx

So is it wrong that the first 2 things I did were to print out the transcript request form (hello raise) and a duplicate diploma form (so going up in my cube at work)?

5 years, 15 classes, 2 schools (thank god that VCU allowed me to transfer some classes)....
Now to go sign up for the next class for my next Masters Degree....

Memorial Day

So I am late, not really surprising...
For most of us this is just another nice 3 day weekend, But this day probably means more to me now that I serve in the military (and odds are that a number of the people that I have gone through training with have already been to Iraq or Afganistan, a few have probably been injured or even killed).
I definately made time in the busy schedule of a holiday weekend to take a few moments to remember those brave souls that gave their lives to protect this, the greatest of all countries. I hope everyone does this (though I suspect that most will never even take a few seconds to think about this sort of stuff.... heck, some of them can't even bring themselves to take the few seconds it takes to remove their hat at sporting event (yeah, I am talking to you, Mr. Mid-50's guy next to me at the DC United game... don't think that some of us don't notice and keep a little mental list)). So for all of you that have served, thanks from my heart (I still don't consider what I do as service, I get embarassed when people have come up to me in uniform and thanked me... 2 years in and all I have done is train....).

God Bless all of the people who have served and paid the ultimate price and God Bless America!

Go DC!!!

That was a fun game!! Love going out and seeing them score almost immediately!!! Too bad C, my 2 yo nephew, was sitting on my lap (and then I made my sister-in-law all nervous by lifting him up high... as if I was going to drop him....). Brutal game but a fun one to watch (when C or R wasn't distracting me)...

Lost!!!

*** SPOILERS***

So the big question, where do they go from here? And I have to wait another 7 months to see what they are thinking?!? Argh!
Oh, and grenades so don't blow up like they showed..... for one thing, there is some delay when you release the spool.... that and the Other who deployed the grenade is sooo dead....
But that wasn't the worst use of military hardware, the worst can be found in the second to last episode of Jericho, where they use a mortar shell in the barrel of a M1 Abrams tank.... I was so yelling at the screen (that and I was so over when the Marines were wearing the funky flags.... and on that note, who the heck, after a nuclear incident, decides to focus precious resources on flags for the military? Can no one do the military right on TV?


So love long weekends!!

Go LOST!

So I am halfway through the season finale (damn you work!!! you take all the fun out of things)...
Love this show.

And on other matters, whats wrong with college students today?
This article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052301635.html) was just too much.....

• One glance at the words "Baltimore Zionist District" on Lazarus's "I Stand for Israel" T-shirt, and the cashier at the Maryland Food Collective, a crunchy grocery and sandwich shop in the student union on the University of Maryland's College Park campus, blurted: "Your shirt offends me. I won't ring you up." The cashier told Lazarus she could go to the back of the store to find another clerk. ...
• The cashier who refused to serve Lazarus will not talk about the incident because "she would be misrepresented," one co-op worker told me. The workers who would talk to me -- most would not because "the collective speaks collectively," as one member put it -- said no one should have to have contact with people whose views they find hurtful"They can't see that this is discrimination," she told me. "They're more committed to their righteousness than they are to the rights of other people. The fact is, you have to serve everyone.".

I feel so sorry for the poor manager of the student union there.... dealing with these children.... This article was worth a dozen laughs, it was so wrong ..... such great quotes such as "... come off as haters".... LOL... must. resist. making. fun. of. UMD...... eh, whats the point, they are pretty much a joke anyway.

And I am officially scared, this guy is referencing comics that I read and wandering off on odd topics just like me.... http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/25/tv-101-why-i-cant-stand-the-rgx-body-spray-girl-videos/

Catching up

So me and the roommate, M, finished another epidosode of Jericho (and Veronica Mars the night before).... Its kind of sad to watch shows that were pretty good and are ending after being cancelled. I know that even though I have one episode of Jericho left that I will not get my satisfaction for the show. And from what I hear the last episode of Veronica Mars doesn't give that sense of closure either... You have to be frustrated with the way American TV generally doesn't leave their shows in a closure state at the end of the season (like you find on the British shows). Way too many shows have bowed out on cliffhangers..... CBS definately owes us some closure for Jericho, given how many threads were just laying around.

And as further proof of my TV obsession, I finished NCIS (a well put together procedural drama with the requisite dose of comedy) and Brothers & Sisters (LOVE this show.... was definately howling at a few parts of it). Now my big push is to finish Lost, I just finished last weeks and now I need to find the time to watch last nights before the girl I am dating, R, drops too many hints on what happened...

Oh, and poison ivy sucks.... actually camping period sucks...... I sooooo am going to hate my AT this year down in Alabama... probably 10 of the 14 days will be out in the woods doing the lanes training.