Moffett's Ghost!!!

Airwolf is on Netflix!!! This was my favorite show from the 1980's... I guess growing up as a little guy, always one of the smallest people in my class, I had a sense of encouragement from this show, being that, the general basis of each episode:  Stringfellow Hawk (Jan Michael St. Vincent) would get his butt kicked/threatened/harassed, or whatever other form of disrespect, then at the end he would get in his high tech Mach 1+ helicopter, loaded to the gills with all sorts of gadgetry and weapons, then open up the can of whoop ass on all the bad guys.

I do know that as I watch the show now, I notice that there is a distinct lack of action shots by the helicopter, maybe 20 total, that they use in terms of the flying and the weapons firing during battle scenes.  BUT, that is not enough to keep me from watching this show again.  Unlike some of the shows from my youth (Dukes of Hazard comes to mind), Airwolf doesn't come off as really disappointing, and I don't question my own intelligence for ever having watched it in the first place haha!  Still awesome after all these years!

Whiteout!

This is the view out my window, to the south of our building.  The view is even more obscured by snow now than it was when I took the photo a couple of hours ago. The middle of Nebraska is getting blasted really hard right now.  I usually don't have my shades pulled up in my office due to the sun being way too intense to work on my computer most days, but it is so beautiful out, and calming to watch the snow coming down.

Probably sounds odd to some, I don't know, I have always enjoyed watching snowstorms, all storms for that matter, however I would have to say a snowstorm is a lot more soothing than a 100 mph thunderstorm blasting its way through your neighborhood :D (although that is still very exciting to be honest).  

Looks like we've got about 8" of snow right now, not sure how much more we will get.  I hope it doesn't get much worse, and that the wind stays down.  If the wind whips up like they think it might, we are going to really have issues as it piles the snow in drifts in bad places, and then I might actually get a call from Lincoln about people getting stranded on the interstate.  If that happens, I'll be in a truck going about 10 to 15 mph out there to pick them up.  Doesn't bother me though, makes me feel like I can give a little back to the public, because I'm grateful to have this military job and my thanks go out to them, including all of you, for being able to continue to do something that I love this long.

"Smart Phone"?

My phone has been causing me a lot of grief this past week or so since the "Ice Cream Sandwich" update (yes, goofy name for a software patch indeed).  Basically anytime I would open up an application like Skype or Google Maps, even from a full battery, the phone would up and instantly die, without even being able to do the 15%, 10% or 5% battery warnings. 

I ended up calling Verizon today, and the first guy I got was frustrating.  It is so obvious when someone doesn't even care about their job, so I pretty much immediately asked him to skip all the typical steps that he would normally go through and just pipe me over to technical support. After that, I got to talk to "Ken", and I have to say, he was awesome, to the tune of more than 2 hours of help on my phone.

We tried a variety of "fixes", none of which seemed to work, so he recommended a complete factory reboot for the phone.  We checked my google account, backed everything up, and then reset the phone, albeit with the basic Ice Cream update.  Then we went through the set-up and talked about a lot of the features I never even knew the phone had.  Of course then I had to start downloading my applications.  Apparently "Swype" keyboard is gone?  I had to use SlideIt instead, and I have to be honest, I think SlideIt is the better choice anyway.  I was having a lot of trouble with Swype, but being a typical guy I just dealt with it.  Through all of this Ken from Verizon was pretty awesome and patient. 

So, even tonite I'm still trying to figure things out with the phone, such as how to set up my music and photo applications so they are "open" on the screens as I flip through, like they used to be.  Oh and Ken told me that most people just up and order a new battery online for 50 dollars, even though the battery is a 10 dollar warranty item for most people who are still within their contract with Verizon. 

And, getting back to the original problem with the phone... it had 70% of its power and I unplugged it, and started playing Angry Birds (wow, talk about a time consuming download initially on 3G haha) and it seemed to be doing okay, then I opened up Google Maps and BOOM the phone instantly died.  Well, at that point we pretty much realized it had to be the battery, so I agreed to order a new battery through Verizon for $10.55.  I'm also eligible for an upgrade, apparently tomorrow... as funny as that sounds.  I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but doesn't it seem like these phones tend to die right when the wireless companies allow us to upgrade? :) 

Well, back to working on my phone.  Oh, it's an HTC Thunderbolt.  I failed to mention that before!

I'm glad Ken was patient, he was awesome! 

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

As I write this, this area is preparing for anywhere from 12 to 18 inches of snowfall in the next 24 hours, along with high winds that are going to switch directions sometime tonite. Due to this, I have been locked down at my current location, unable to go home as planned. This is because the military here is part of the state's "Emergency Management" plan, in which my part is having two vehicles warmed up and ready to go should there be stranded travelers on the roads near here.

It doesn't really bother me, I did have plans to head for home and hang with the kids tonite, plus the significant other has to work and needs any help I can provide, but our plans didn't take into account the severity of weather they are expecting to head our way. That is why we have Skype, I will be able to video chat with the little ones tonite and all will be well.

Here are our awesome hellions!!!



Of course, I get an email today asking me to inventory my emergency kit, a kit that has more than 200 items... well, that is going to wait, as I have to get diesel fuel, fill water jugs, and set up preparations for tonite's storm. They couldn't have picked much of a worse time to want to verify inventory... but then again, I learned long ago that common sense can and will butt heads with the powers that be in the military, or I suppose any large organization for that matter.

I Took The Low Road In, I'll Take The High Road Out

It is early in the morning.

0319 to be exact.

I did sleep a bit, I am not sleeping now.

Or perhaps I am sleeping but I'm just dreaming that I'm typing this? I can't really be too sure...

I'm certain I should be asleep, yes, that is a fact.

I have now had my job for 5 months, 20 days, 3 hours, and 21 minutes.

I am blessed.

Having started my job in March 2008, even though it was a temporary full time position, I figured there would always be time to get on permanent, or as permanent as 20+ years in the military can be considered.

Oh, the promises, they came... "Stay in this position, you have an excellent chance of making AGR right here"

So, myself, and others, we stayed put, we remained loyal to the establishment. For years...

Then the rumors...

"No money, downsizing, temp positions will be gone on this date, no they will be gone on this date, okay 3 more months, but that is it, use up all your leave because you can't take it with you"

Stress levels rose, although certainly there were other contributory considerations.

As far as years go, 2011 will not be one I look back with any particular fondness on. Certainly the realization that most everything you believe in is in some ways, at the very least, compromised, is a bit much to digest. I guess you could say that particular stomach ache is still causing me problems even now.

So, roughly 13 job interviews over the course of around 18 months (give or take a little from either that first or second number, either way it was daunting), the final interview, a job some 100 miles away from where we live, I did not even consider... Until 5 minutes before the closing time on the closing date to post for the job, I decided to put my name into the hat. 2 weeks later, I had the permanent position I had been looking for. To put things more into perspective, in 2004 there were 3 permanent positions posted on the military website, only 2 people total even applied. Now, for every one of these positions that comes up, anywhere from 18 to 25 people apply for EACH ONE. Needless to say, the "best kept secret" is really no longer a secret. 2012 brought about this job, although I work quite a ways from home, still though, job security in the current market is extremely important. Those sacrifices made to maintain for my family are of the utmost importance.

Tonite's meal: brought to you by Hormel chili and Easy Mac macaroni and cheese, I'd say they worked together to bring you tonite's meal in one bowl. Wanted to avoid the soda, but the can of Pepsi was screaming my name. Or screaming someone else's name. Either way it could not be ignored. Come to think of it the empty can is still screaming. Maybe that's just my imagination. Perhaps my proverbial castaway volleyball? I am alone here, a lot :)

Being alone in this facility has its ups and downs. On one hand, you don't have help with much of anything and you become completely reliant upon the graces of electronic communication to do much of anything you don't understand...

While I'd love to say the volume of "understood" far exceeds that of "not understood", I must actually admit that I still feel as though the firehose I am drinking from is running at 90% capacity. In other words, not really able to keep it all down.

On the other hand, being alone allows you to do your work at your pace, provided you have the integrity and motivation to actually get it done. This I do, for I know I need to maintain this employment. I do not want it to appear that I am merely in this job because of the money, it is a good job, with great benefits I might add, but I also enjoy what I do. There is a feeling of fullfillment taking care of the Soldiers from this unit.

As I grow tired, I want to post up some interesting finds, let us put these in the category of "time travel", and take a trip back... way back, to California, and one expensive little hole in the wall:

<

I suppose now is time that I lay my head down upon my pillow on this oh so comfy cot. Let's just say sarcasm probably doesn't reflect just how comfortable this cot truly is :) Take care, until next time... oh and the title? Three Days Grace. I enjoy their music, and some guy in Subway one night awhile back told me they had a new album out. Sure enough, they did. Oh to watch Lil maN' singing "Operate" is priceless.

Budget Mess? How Hard Is It To Fix? Really???

So, for some time now the government has been spending money that it doesn't actually have. This is what creates this 'deficit' that has now reached epidemic proportions, effectively ruining the credit rating for the actual country itself, as crazy as that sounds. What I really don't get is how it is so difficult for the government to realize that you CANNOT SPEND MONEY YOU DO NOT HAVE IN YOUR ACCOUNT!

When regular Joe Blow does things like that, he goes to jail, unless he is fortunate enough to realize he is spending too much money and actually sits down and budgets his finances vs income to even things out. This isn't exactly a STRANGE concept, there, Washington, get your ass in gear and get it done. Here's how you do it:

Let's say, for ease of mathematical equations, that the deficit is 100 billion (yah it is much higher than that, but bear with me here). Now let's say there are 10 government programs/entities that are spending that money. Again, yes, there are thousands more, but this is for demonstration purposes, and the percentages are completely made up, stick with me here.

1) Welfare 20%
2) Military 15%
3) Medicare 15%
4) Student Loans 10%
5) Food Stamps 10%
6) HUD Public Housing 10%
7) NASA 5%
8) EPA 5%
9) USDA 5%
10) IRS 5%

So, you take 200 million out of welfare, 150 million away from the military and medicare, 100 million each from student loans, food stamps, and public housing, 50 million from NASA, the EPA, USDA, and the IRS.

BOOM, problem solved. Oh, it isn't meant to be easy, and it would be political suicide for whoever did it because everyone is going to be angry and feel they got 'screwed', but the plain fact remains that this is the easiest and most responsible way to actually fix this problem.

Unfortunately the current administration is going to be too busy with this 'national health care' crap, and will likely go after guns in his second term, instead of doing what he actually needs to do, which I have listed above.

The Rules Of Sleep

It is said that the average adult needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep to function at their maximum potential. Children need more than this, starting as newborns of course, a LOT more, most of the day really, then down to 10 hours or so by about 10 years old, and gradually less on through their teen years. It is also said that as you get older, especially past 50 or so, you need less and less sleep. I am not to that point yet, so it would be hard to say.

I probably average about 6 hours of sleep a night. I should get a couple hours more, but I have always had difficulty just laying in bed forcing myself to sleep, so I tend to wait till I'm dead tired, so that my head hits the pillow and I pass out. Not the best way to get a good night's rest, but it works for me. As for D, she is smarter about it, goes to bed at a reasonable hour and reads a book for awhile, then shuts out the lights, and goes to sleep. I should likely trying to get more sleep, but it is hard to change your sleep habits. I do notice something rather interesting though: when you sleep more than 8 hours, you seem to be more tired throughout the following day, as though you only slept 4 or 5 hours the night before.

The reason for this, quite frankly, is scientific. Through vast and expensive research, I have discovered that there is a secret place in the brain that stores negative sleep. Negative sleep is when you don't get enough sleep at night. Say you sleep for only 5 hours, you would need 3 more hours of sleep to get to a full night's rest. Well the body stores that 3 hours in a special cache, and then whenever you go over 8 hours, the body taps into that cache of negative sleep, and you end up feeling more groggy and tired the than if you had slept only the required 7 to 8 hours.

By this point in my life I would probably need to sleep a full 2 years to completely clear my negative sleep cache. While in Iraq for a year, I don't think there was ever a time when I slept for a full uninterrupted 8 hours. Usually it was 4 to 5 hours, if I was lucky, then catch up with an hour or 2 later in the day, during down time between missions. This made a lot of days in Iraq seem very surreal, especially when you consider the bleak terrain, and the contrast in temperature and light, as you go from a 78 degree living area with the lights out, into a 125 degree blinding sun blast with light reflecting off the light colored sandy rocky ground. After I got back CONUS (stateside), it was more than 6 months before I got back into a regular sleep cycle again. Iraq was probably the greatest single contributor to my negative sleep cache.

So, why am I writing about this today? I don't know, I am using up leave, so it allows me to sleep a little extra, and I was thinking about negative sleep again, so what the hell, thought I'd write about it. I would say that I could be dreaming right now, but apparently the kids (the second biggest contributor to negative sleep) are tearing up the house, so I know I'm not dreaming. In my dreams, they are being perfect angels, they would never dirty up the house.

187 LBS

Not bad, considering I was at 216 on April 20th.

Bye Bye Beret, So Long Velcro, HELL YAH HOOAH!!!

The Army Times reported yesterday that the beret will no longer be the authorized headgear with the combat uniform, as it will be replaced by the patrol cap as the default headgear. And as though the news couldn't get even better? VELCRO IS NOW OPTIONAL!!!

ACU Changes Make Velcro Optional, Patrol Cap Default Headgear

Army Chief of Staff Martin E. Dempsey and Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III are currently my two favorite people in the Army! THANK YOU for doing something the last chief of staff utterly refused to do: LISTEN TO US, talk to the guys in the field, and acknowledge that certain aspects of the combat uniform are a huge mistake.

Now if only we could get an actual combat uniform pattern that actually works instead of making you stand out in any foliage like a sore thumb? I'll take my good news in 3's please haha.

Finally Got The Bicycle Out

I ran 5.5 miles a couple nights ago, and yesterday was still feeling pretty sore (probably a little to do with the PT test a day before that) so I decided to take a day off. Then I got to thinking about the fact that I had not yet even been out on my bicycle yet this year.

My mom had borrowed our silver Dodge Neon for a few days because she had hit a deer, so her vehicle was in the shop getting repaired. Then my sister let her borrow her blue Dodge Neon, which is a bit of a nicer Neon than ours. So rather than have my mom drive the silver Neon back up to our house from the farm, I decided I'd ride the 20 miles or so down to the farm on my bicycle, load up the bike into the Neon, and drive the Neon back up here.

Thankfully there was a pretty decent tailwind coming out of the north to help push me along as I headed south towards the farm. The first 12 miles or so I was able to hold about a 25 mph pace, which is a bit ridiculous (normally I run 14 to 18 mph average on my longer rides). The highway I was riding on has very nice long rolling hills, nothing too incredibly steep and long sections of straight level road too.

But, then I turned east for the last 10 miles, and I was getting hit pretty hard by that north crosswind, and the hills on that particular highway are a lot steeper and more difficult. The next 10 miles or so dropped my overall speed back down to a more normal 18.4 mph. I turned onto the gravel road for the last mile, and WTF the county had put down a bunch of crushed white rock instead of gravel... well, needless to say my bike with its skinny tires didn't last long, as 105 psi blew out of my back tire after about a half mile of travel up the road.

Not even 30 seconds later, my mother drives by in the blue Neon, I wave, she waves and honks and keeps going, despite my waving frantically to stop her. I pulled my phone out and called her, asking why she didn't stop??? "Oh, I never even saw you" she said. Uhm, okay, but you honked and waved? I sure hope my mom isn't getting Alzheimer's disease or something haha.

All in all a decent ride, and I do have 2 spare tubes here at the house. I generally just use new tubes, they are about 5 bucks a piece and I don't have to deal with the bullshit of repairing tubes and having it only work about half the time. My overall results from today's ride?

Distance: 22.3 miles
Time: 1:12:26
Average Speed: 18.4 mph
Max Speed: 37.5 mph
Temperature: 83 degrees
Wind: 10 mph (gusting to 15) from the North/Northeast

Best Uniform Option = Marine's Pattern?

It is widely acknowledged within the Army, perhaps more so on an informal scale, that the ACU uniform with its digital pattern is a failure. The current deployment uniform, the multicam, is not meant to be an actual long term solution to the problem. So what exactly is the solution? I tend to agree with this opinion piece:

Marine Corpse Has Obligation To Share Pattern

Once again, the Army is shopping for the best possible camouflage pattern for combat soldiers to replace the Universal Camouflage Pattern adopted in 2004.

For more than a year, soldiers in Afghanistan have been wearing MultiCam. But officials say that’s not a long-term solution, which is why they plan to field-test a number of options with the goal of choosing three: one for woodland, one for desert and one for transitional environments.

Among the best options is the uniform worn by Marines, known as MARPAT. Through a series of tests, both scientific and anecdotal, it has stood out for not standing out.

Trouble is, the Marines don’t want to share it.

The Corps has already fought off advances by the Air Force and Navy to adopt MARPAT look-alike patterns. Navy SEALs have a MARPAT-like uniform, but other sailors aren’t allowed to use it, either. This is madness.

I've felt this was the best uniform since my wife wore it during her stint in the Marines. The uniform has no freaking velcro either, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Army is ignorant enough to continue to use velcro in some capacity, despite how poorly the crap performs in the field.

Missed It By THAT Much!!!

PT Test completed.

Goals:

80 pushups
90 situps
12:30 2-mile

Outcome?

72 pushups
80 situps
12:25 2-mile

Missed the pushups by ONE... freaking muscle failure as time ran out.

Not overly disappointed, I was so damn tired, well, fatigued for some odd reason, and the humidity during the run was utterly oppressive, the temperature wasn't too bad, but it was hard to breathe that air.

Would still love to do 100 pushups, 100 situps, and a sub 11 two-mile, at some time, but the older I get, as I pointed out in an earlier post, the more unlikely it is that it will happen.

Range Fire!!

So, tomorrow begins a 3 day range fire exercise for our unit. Should be fun. I actually mean that, I really look forward to firing the rifle. Not so much the pistol, sorry to say I am sort of bad with a pistol, although I have gotten better. With the rifle though, I grew up shooting birds with a Crosman AIR-17, a bb/pellet gun that looks like an M-16.

My first time firing a real M-16 at Ft. Benning, the drill sergeant chewed my ass. "Your fundamentals are all fucked up, just fuckin' ate the fuck up". Then he saw me shoot, and I was damn good, after that it was "Well, your shit it still be fucked up, but you keep firing like that and it don't matter none!". I was one of three people out of 51 in our platoon that shot expert (36 or higher out of 40) on the range on qualification day.

Since then I have earned the Expert In Competition badge in state competition. You can wear the EIC badge in lieu of the actual marksmanship badge, which is pretty unique, only a few people each year earn them.

Belly and I fired 100 rounds of .223 (5.56 civilian style) at the indoor range for familiarization tonite. That should help out some this next few days. Well, time to pack up. Wish me luck!

Happy Memorial Day

Just wanted to take a moment to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice this Memorial Day. You will not be forgotten.

Blast From The Past: Gravel Flop

On my 7th birthday I was given one of the best gifts a boy could ever have gotten: a chrome frame Mongoose BMX style bicycle, with mag wheels, and two "Suzuki" button up pads, one on the handlebars, one on the crotch bar. My cousin Carl, who is about 10 years older than me, gave it to me, through my father, who had to weld the frame in an area that had broken.

What made this sort of birthday present even more spectacular was that, growing up on a farm, I had endless possibilities when it came to BMX activities, from riding the bike down to the creek to go swimming with friends, to ramping the bike off of all sorts of different items to see how much air I could get.

It was the latter that got me into trouble one day. I was probably 9 or 10 years old at the time. It was a hot summer day, the kind that would find me riding around on my bike at the farm, wearing only cut off jean shorts, and shoes/socks. For the days event, I had set up an old car tire and some boards leading out of the shed, and I would ride to the back of the shed, then get up a head of steam, and ramp off the boards.

This was working quite well, so I added another car tire to try and get even more air. I rode again to the back of the shed, peddled with all my might, ramped up the boards, lifted on the handlebars, and UP UP in the air I went... much higher than previously.

The next thing I knew, I was hitting the ground in a very painful belly-flop, knocking the wind out of me quite literally. With no shirt on, the gravel tore into my skin, so the secondary screaming pain after getting over the initial shock was the horrific burning where the tiny rocks had embedded into my skin. I can remember looking up through a tear stained gaze and seeing my front wheel bouncing along further down the driveway, and it was then that I realized what had happened: the front wheel had come off in mid jump. And unlike what most people figure would happen, the bike did NOT embed itself into the ground forks first. With the front wheel gone, the bike lost stability, and went sideways, throwing me off.

I ran up the driveway to the house sobbing uncontrollably, and my grandmother, always the caretaker, immediately started tending to my chest and stomach, using cotton balls and... RUBBING ALCOHOL! Third horrific painful shock of the day. Not sure if you've ever had someone put rubbing alcohol on a fresh cut, but it is not in any way pleasant. I would recommend hydrogen peroxide next time. I sat in the house for a couple of hours, watched cartoons, nursed my wounds, a big portion of which was my pride. About 2 hours later I went out to get my bike, thankfully it wasn't damaged, but it took me nearly 20 minutes to find my tire, which had rolled all the way down the interior driveway and across one feedlot into the bushes.

Within a few days the gravel had worked its way out of my skin, and there were no real lasting ill effects of my nasty spill. One of the more interesting notes about all of this was that when my uncle Nick was about my age, he had ridden a 10 speed for the first time down the really steep gravel road south of the farm, didn't know how to stop, and had taken a far worse spill than I did. He believes he still has gravel embedded in his skin to this day. Youch... glad I wasn't going that fast.

Ever Wonder What 20,000 Paratroopers Look Like?

This photo was taken at the annual four-mile Division Run May 16, 2011, at Fort Bragg, N.C. All of the divisional brigades were home for the first time in a long time, which allowed more than 20,000 soldiers to participate in the run. Reminds me of years ago while in basic training at Ft. Benning, when all of the soldiers participated in a 5 mile run. While it looked pretty awesome, these types of runs are like hell on earth if you are near the back of the formation, when the "accordion" effect kicks in, with people stepping on your heels. Still, impressive sight.

TV Worth Watching?

As most people with children know... as parents, you are stuck watching a variety of programs that range from mildly entertaining to overwhelmingly irritating. As I compiled a list of shows that my two little monsters watch on a regular basis, it occurred to me that they have pretty much ultimate control over our television set, except for maybe 2 hours each day, where bell draws the line and takes over (which still irritates lil N' who, by her body gestures, thinks of this as the end of the world).

Anyways, I figured I'd come up with a rating scheme, only as scientific as what my own brain can concoct (so not all that scientific). Overall Kids Appeal is how much my two little ones seem to like the show, Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults is how well grown ups can handle the shows plot and characters, and Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults is how well grown-ups can handle listening to the music without being completely annoyed, especially by the really crappy catchy jingles that get stuck in your head. Higher scores are better, on a scale of 1 to 10.

Nick Jr

Olivia
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - Lil N' LOVES this show, I'd say it is one of her top 3 right now. Lil maN doesn't pay much attention to it unless (you'll see a theme here) there is singing or dancing or both going on.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - Now, mind you, this isn't comparing this show to something like Myth Busters or Saturday Night Live or NCIS, this is a comparison strictly between kids shows listed here. Olivia actually does have a generally interesting plot as kids shows go.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - The theme song is easy to listen to, and they don't have much in terms of repetitive music within the show.
Fresh Beat Band
Overall Kids Appeal: 10 - both little ones LOVE this show, as evident by the breakdancing they get into during certain parts of the show when the actors are singing and dancing.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 7 - I would have given this a far worse rating early on, when all Nick could do was overload us with commercials about this show, but watching it isn't nearly as bad as the commercials indicated.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 4 - The songs are pretty dorky, and some can turn into a juke box of the mind, that gets irritating.
Dora The Explorer
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - Both seem to enjoy it.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 6 - while some of the stories are just plain ignorant, such as, lets save the magic babies, who, by the way, can fly, but we have to transport them through dangerous areas on the ground in a stroller, they aren't horrible by any means to watch.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 6 - somewhat catchy but not as irritating as most.
Go Diego Go
Overall Kids Appeal: See Dora
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: See Dora
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: See Dora
Dino Dan
Overall Kids Appeal: 7 - Lil N' enjoys it, Lil maN doesn't really pay attention.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 4 - I don't know why but this show annoys me, I can't really sit through it unless I'm doing something else.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - not much musical content other than the theme song.
Little Bill
Overall Kids Appeal: 3 - neither seem to get into this show.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 2 - To say a kid's show is boring is probably a general consensus on most of these shows, but Little Bill goes beyond boring to just plain dreadfully bland. It is hard to believe Bill Cosby has anything to do with this show, the writing input is just awful.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 4 - Mostly a collection of urban elevator music.
Max And Ruby
Overall Kids Appeal: 5 - Lil N' seemed to like it in the past, but lately I haven't seen them watch it much.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 4 - It never changes much: Ruby is trying to do something to get a badge as a bunny scout, and Max appears to be screwing that up, but no, wait, in the end he was actually helping. This is the general theme of almost every show.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 5 - not heinous, not appealing, just sort of there.
Wow Wow Wubbzy
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - both seem to like the show
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - catchy fun show, with inventions and funny adventures.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - even with the end of show songs that are on, they are light hearted and fun.
The Backyardigans
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - made up adventures in the back yard for a group of goofy characters, both kids like that.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - ever changing stories, enough new episodes to keep things fresh.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - each show has new songs and dances, the theme song isn't all that appalling.
Yo Gabba Gabba
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - I don't know what it is about this show that gets both kids excited.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 7 - So there is a giant studded red dildo as one of the characters, something that would likely have baggage checkers wondering what DJ Lance is up to at the airport, even so, the stories are kind of funny in a "WTF?" sort of manner.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy!!" The "WTF?" is in effect again, in a good way.
Ni Hao Kai-lan
Overall Kids Appeal: 7 - Lil N' likes this show more than Lil maN.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 5 - "Uh oh, so and so is mad. Let's find out why". This doesn't seem to change much. There are also problems with the overall presentation of "Chinese" to Americans, considering that the language isn't labeled correctly.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 6 - Songs within the show aren't all that long, so it is just the theme song you have to endure.
Wonder Pets
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - This was a 10 at one time for lil N', now they both watch it but not with the intensity that she used to.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 7 - Aside from wondering WTF the parents of these animals are up to, and how social services doesn't take their kids away, the different stories about baby animals in trouble aren't all that bad.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - "What's gonna work? TEAMWORK!" Catchy little jingles that are funny to repeat.
Team Umizoomi
Overall Kids Appeal: 6 - It may be just a little too advanced for them.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 5 - I don't know what a dress that creates patterns is all that useful for.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 5 - two four six eight lets do the Ubi Shake? Dumb.
Miss Spider Sunny Patch Friends
Overall Kids Appeal: 4 - Not sure why, they just don't really care for this one.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 5 - plenty of characters, centered around silly catch words like "everybuggy" and so forth.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - Not a lot of singing during the show, just the theme song to deal with.
The Upside Down Show
Overall Kids Appeal: 10 - lil N' LOVES this show, but it is on so late she doesn't get much of a chance to ever see it.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - bell would probably disagree, but I find this show to be stupidly funny.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - Even the theme song doesn't contain a lot of music.
Blues Clues
Overall Kids Appeal: Story of two shows... 10 for Steve, 6 for Joe, even for the kids it is that way.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 for Steve, 2 for Joe. Something about Joe is just... insincere, he comes off as totally fake.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - "We just got a letter, we just got a letter" It was fun to watch lil N' sing this song for probably a year.
Oswald
Overall Kids Appeal: 4 - too bland for even the kids.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 3 - the show is... sort of depressing.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 5 - I never even see the show anymore, not sure if it is on or not.

PBS

Sesame Street
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - lil maN LOVES it, for some reason lil N' isn't into it all that much anymore.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - while my attention span isn't as short as the kids' is, the 1 to 3 minute short scripts aren't bad.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - enough differentiation to help make it through for just about anyone.
Super Why
Overall Kids Appeal: 7 - here recently lil N' has been getting into this, may be an age thing.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 4 - I can't find much to even remember about the show, this is one that sort of disappears into the background for me.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - Again, can't remember how the music goes.
WordWorld
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - lil N' likes to announce what it is she is looking at.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 5 - I understand the theme but it gets old pretty quick.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 6 - theme song is a bit irritating but not overly offensive to my ear sensibilities.
Martha Speaks
Overall Kids Appeal: 5 - kind of boring
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 3 - see above, if it is boring for them, it is really boring to me.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 5 - can't even place the theme song right now.
Curious George
Overall Kids Appeal: 5 - aside from lil N' getting a kick out of the monkey doing something, not much to go with here.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 5 - stories are diversified enough to keep from getting a lower score.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - songs aren't all that catchy.
Sid The Science Kid
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - singing and dancing gets both of them involved.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 7 - classroom activities are diversified, along with home settings.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 6 - theme song gets a bit long.
Clifford The Big Red Dog
Overall Kids Appeal: 4 - neither seem too much into this.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 2 - boring
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - can't even place it
Barney And Friends
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - *sigh* they love it
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 1 - sorry barney, there is very little I can find about your show that is intellectually stimulating.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 1 - VERY annoying, just plain dumb.
Caillou
Overall Kids Appeal: 2 - again, neither seem into it.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 1 - whiny kid needs a spanking if you ask me
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 4 - annoying
Bob The Builder
Overall Kids Appeal: 7 - construction equipment and building stuff, what more can be said?
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 6 - hell Robot Chicken did a spin on it, that has to count for something.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 6 "WE CAN BUILD IT"
Dinosaur Train
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - both love it.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - decent storylines, and a paleontologist at the end to talk about the dinosaurs in the show? not bad
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - catchy and fun

Disney

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Overall Kids Appeal: 10 - can this be an 11? It is both their favorites. Thank GOD for the DVDs on long trips.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 8 - plenty of "goofy" characters.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 8 - theme song may be catchy but it is fun.
Handy Manny
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - Tools that talk, building stuff, they like that.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 6 - a bit boring but enough characters to keep it from getting overly so.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 7 - theme song is all there basically is for music.
Imagination Movers
Overall Kids Appeal: 8 - was a 10 to lil N' at one time, thank GOD not so much anymore.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 3 - I find the stars to be really annoying, especially the boring uncle character.
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 1 - HATE the theme song, and the music is really really annoying.
Special Agent Oso
Overall Kids Appeal: 9 - lil N' loves it.
Overall Storyline Appeal To Adults: 3 - stuffed bear that is apparently dense as a brick but somehow is a super hero?
Overall Ability To Endure Music For Adults: 1 - they get stuck in your head like a nail pounded into your skull, did someone just stab my earhole with a musical knife?

So, yah, our kids see quite a few of these 'educational' shows each week. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all, lil N', by all accounts, is apparently the smartest person in her class at daycare.

Dropping The Lbs

At the beginning of April, I was at 216 lbs... again. That has been my highest weight, and it has happened 3 times in the last couple of years. Each time has generally served as a wake up call to get my ass in gear and start eating right and working out. The other two times I did so so, once down to 200 lbs, the other time down to 195 (was back at 210 within like 30 days each time).

Well, today I'm at 190. This was after my 5.5 mile run around the Chalco Hills trail. I would like to continue to get my weight down to about 180 lbs, I feel a lot healthier at that weight. I certainly feel a lot healthier now than I did at 216 lbs. Kind of weird being able to pull about 2 inches of belt through.

Oh and my Corcoran tan jump boots are kick ass!

Freakin' Birds!!!

I went outside to cook something on the grill about 2 weeks ago, and opened the lid to find a huge mess of a bird's nest inside. Then upon going to the underside of the deck, I find another birds nest there. Tore everything out, 24 hours later, the bastards had began building nests again in both places. So the grill got cleaned out again and is now in the garage.

Despite pulling the nest down from under the deck probably 15 times now, they continued to try and build it over and over again. So, someone suggested that I try something new, something so completely idiotic that I just had to attempt it, if for no other reason than to have a good laugh, or at the very least confuse my neighbors:



Well, I'll be damned, because believe it or not, this tactic appears to have worked. Who'd of thought that drawing a huge set of eyeballs (along with the added nose and toothy grin that I thought completed the ensemble) would scare the hell out of birds and keep them from building a nest under the deck? I sure didn't think it would work. I suppose this is better than Plan B, which was to get the pellet gun out and start blasting the SOB's!!!

Age VS Maximum Score

I guess it is only natural that I follow up my last post about PT with a related piece. In this particular occasion, I am talking about "maxing" the PT test, something I have done every year for a long time, and twice a year since I have been active duty. As I have gotten older, however, I am now finding myself questioning my current fitness regimen, because as we grow older, the chance of injury becomes significantly higher, and I sometimes wonder if the heightened possibility of getting hurt, or developing a chronic injury, is worth the risk, considering that scoring a 250 with a lot less work would be acceptable and keep me just as gainfully employed.

My main chance for injury is of course running, I push myself hard to maintain my abilities, and the other consideration is that, if I were to quit running as much as I do, I would have to alter my diet in order to avoid gaining weight. I already eat quite a bit less than I did when I was younger, but that is strictly to maintain my current weight. I find that losing weight is a hell of a lot harder than it ever used to be, and without running the weight off, I fear I'd gain a chunk of fat. I just love food too much. Of course, proper stretching goes a long way, as does a proper diet. I suppose the 250 score would be a piece of cake, but dammit I want to continue aiming for that 300.

New PT Standards?

The current Army PT (physical training) test has remained unchanged since 1992, and relatively the same since 1980.

2 minutes of push-ups
2 minutes of sit-ups
2 mile run

While the current test may seem a bit old, it is still a very good indication of overall physical ability. That being said, there are changes now being made to the PT test, and they make little sense. “There are no warrior tasks and battle drills that require us to run for considerable distances,” said Frank Palkoska, director of the U.S. Army Physical Fitness School. “We look at the ability to start, stop, change direction, get up, get down — those tasks that soldiers have to perform in full spectrum operations are exactly what we are training them to do.”

Problem? Well, since when is fitness required to mimic what a soldier is going to do on the battlefield? Physical fitness and combat readiness may be related to one another, but as far as preparatory tasks, they are distinctly different. Let's take a look at the annual "combat readiness test" that they are looking to institute:

A new annual "combat readiness" test includes running 400 meters — about a quarter of a mile — with a rifle, moving through an obstacle course in full combat gear, and crawling and vaulting over obstacles while aiming a rifle. Soldiers also will have to run on a balance beam while carrying 30-pound ammo boxes and do an agility sprint around a course field of cones. Soldiers also will have to drag sleds weighted with sandbags to test their ability to pull a fallen comrade from the battlefield. The combat test might be given before deployments as well as annually, but that has not been decided.

Now, I have no problem with them doing such a test, provided this particular test is not the overall graded test that measures physical fitness. Another issue? Just how the hell are individual units around the United States supposed to standardize the results for a test like this? It appears that this test will not be the standard for PT. The proposed replacement for the actual PT test, something called the "APRT", or Army Physical Readiness Program, consists of:

60-yard shuttle run measures lower body muscular strength and anaerobic power, assessing speed, agility and coordination

One-minute rower (variation of a sit-up) measures total body muscular endurance and assesses total body coordination

Standing long jump measures lower body muscular strength and assesses lower body power

One-minute push-up measures upper body muscular endurance and assesses trunk stability

1.5-mile run measures lower body muscular endurance and aerobic capacity and assesses speed stability

The article went on to state that the military is concerned about "...injuries resulting from distance running over long term periods." Uh, hello??? Did any of these people making these changes actually run organized track at any time in their lives? Distance running does not nearly have the injuries that you get from doing events such as... oh, let's see here, the standing long jump, and sprints, such as, oh yah, a 60 yard shuttle run. Shin splints are not nearly as debilitating as pulled groins, ACL tears, sprained ankles, and other injuries commonly associated with sprinting and leaping.

Then there is the opinion that the current PT test "does not work" because such a high percentage of soldiers are failing under the current standards. BULLSHIT! The problem is that leadership does not stick to training programs that force soldiers to maintain physical fitness, so regardless of what particular idiotic new PT standards you want to institute, as long as you continue to have lethargic leadership when it comes to fitness, soldiers will continue to fail the PT test. Unless of course, as happens in many cases, the leadership simply "pencil-whips" the PT score cards to make it look as though they have a much higher rate of soldiers actually maintaining the standard.

I have no doubt I can learn the new APRT test if they do indeed decide to implement it as the new standard for PT, it just annoys me that the Army believes that fitness MUST duplicate what the unit will do in combat, because there is little to no ability to maintain any sort of standard for such a thing, considering that there are so many different jobs that soldiers do in combat.

On Comments And Worms

I'm working on updating this blog into having more military look, and as I was going through doing a little updating here and there, I noticed a few comments I had never read. Sometimes as I read the comments, I click on the names to see what that person has as a blog. More often than not it is a dead blog or link. Well, what I didn't realize is that the comments aren't set up in such a way to weed out malicious websites, as in, worms, viruses, trojans, the general crap that someone with nothing better to do with their time than create something that attempts to destroy your computer. So, as I clicked on one name... suddenly a strange website popped up, and the all familiar computer-lockup, and that tell-tale 4 color fake Microsoft shield in the lower right hand corner... CRAP!!!

Immediately shut down the computer and restarted but it was too late, the damage had been done. As the programs loaded I got an actual warning message that the Windows firewall was disabled, there was no way to turn it on, and MOST of my anti-virus software (I run 4 active at all times) had shut down.

When I went to click on CC-Cleaner, one of my programs for fixing problems... I received this:

This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this act

This was at about 8 a.m. this morning. I worked it for about a half hour, couldn't get much done because I had an appointment coming up at 0900, then I noticed that, oddly enough, Ad-Aware remained running, and that basically saved me. I ran Ad-Aware on a complete sweep while I went to my appointment, when I came back, it had found the W32.Sircam.Worm virus and quarantined it.

The problem? It had deleted out the portion of the Windows registry associated with running most .exe files. So I shut down the internet, borrowed belly's mini-laptop (keep forgetting what they call these, palmtops?) and used that to look up issues while I attempted to up a fix, as I opened my own laptop in safe mode, then in safe mode with prompt, then regular mode after I found (by some miracle) an actual windows registry fix after both belly and I worked on this for probably 3 more hours.

Anyways, I have deleted to offensive comment, and as part of my updating I plan on putting in some better defenses against that sort of shit. My apologies if anyone else got hit by this.

DITCH THE FREAKING BERET ALREADY!!!

So, last year, June 2010, the Army Times ran an article about the beret, and how then Army Chief of Staff General George Casey stated “I can count on one hand the number of guys and gals that have stood up and said, ‘I hate this thing.’” I remember thinking to myself "Well Sir, with all due respect, you need to get your ass out of the Pentagon and actually TALK to some soldiers who actually do shit in the field if you honestly believe that idiotic assessment of that piece of crap headgear!!!". On cold days, when doing my job, it wasn't unusual that I had to have 4 total pieces of headgear to meet all the expectations of different places I might be. The kevlar helmet for training in tactical vehicles, the fleece cap for cold weather outdoor training, the patrol cap for in garrison training, and that stupid beret for formations and formal events.

Apparently, as General Casey has now retired, it has taken the new leadership a lot less time to begin some actual intelligent thought about the problems with the current uniform and how to make REAL soldiers happier with what they are wearing day to day. Hell 90% of soldiers can't even wear that stupid beret correctly.

Controversial Beret Could Be On The Way Out

New Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler is making one of his first actions an overall assessment of the uniform, including removing velcro, which was another completely IDIOTIC idea to begin with. "Ahoy mate, see me sneaking up on this enemy soldier, wait a moment, as I reach into my pocket and RIPPPPPPPPPP the velcro open... CRIKEY, he's spotted me!!!". The velcro doesn't hold up for shit, and the name tape and branch of service tapes end up grabbing at the shoulder velcro in an irritating repetitive action whenever you are doing work that causes your arms to cross your body, or basically just about any type of work you might do.

As far as the ACU pattern, which has never worked (unless you were perhaps trying to hide in a field of white rock), the Army is looking to field 3 variants of camouflage: woodland, desert, and a transitional pattern for everything in between (whatever the hell that means?). I don't get why they don't admit "Okay, we f'ed up, hey Marines, can we just use your uniforms, minus the eagle, globe, and anchor???".

But, one thing at a time, and right now there are very few things as annoying as the beret. I don't mind it for the class A uniform (the new dress blues are hideous though, I must say) but for day to day use with your combat uniform, the beret is freaking useless, an irritating two handed device designed to impress only the most idiotic of officers.

My Marathon Partner, RIP

Many of you remember that I ran a marathon in May of 2006, right about 5 years ago. It was the second year that, on the same day the Boston Marathon is ran, they ran the Boston Marathon in Iraq at Ali Air Base (Camp Adder). I was looking to run the relay version of the marathon, where we get 4 people to run a little over 6 miles each, adding up to 26.2 miles total. Well, 2 of the people who were going to run with us ended up going out on a mission a day before the marathon and were unable to come back.

So, being the eternal optimists we are, Bob and I decided, hey, what the hell, we will attempt the entire 26.2 miles and see just how far we get. Both of us figured that we'd make it maybe 17 to 19 miles before we'd end up quitting. I ran one 12 mile practice run to get ready, and I don't think Bob even did anything close to that, he basically ran it without any long distance training. We both ran quite a bit on a regular basis, but nothing more than 3 to 4 miles every other day or so.

The first 14 miles or so we ran together. The duct tape that I had over one of my nipples shortly thereafter fell off. I began to feel the inevitable chafing across that portion of my chest. After 14 miles Bob fell back slowly and I continued on. At 22 miles I actually fell down, cramped up horribly. The Italians soldiers were running the medical portion in that area of the race, and attempted to make me stop, but hell no I wasn't going to stop with only a few short miles to go. I got up, and with a determined grit of my teeth, began jogging again.

Somewhere between 21 and 23 miles, Bob passed me up. I did not notice him, likely due to the delirium of fatigue that I was going through. At 25.5 miles, or a mere half mile or so from the end, I nearly fell down again, caught myself, and forced myself to continue. I swore to God that I would NEVER ever try such a thing again, that "Please God just let me finish this one, and I promise you, I will not be so foolish as to attempt another". My friend Yvonne met me shortly thereafter, and jogged along with me to the finish line.

It was there that I saw Bob, and knew that he had defeated me. I was not bothered, despite the pain and exhaustion I had to laugh at the fact that I had never even seen him pass me up. We both entered the clamshell tent nearby, designated for race finishers, and I remember saying "Holy hell why is it so cold in here???" and Bob and I laughing when we realized that, it wasn't cold in the tent, it was actually above 100 degrees outside. We hadn't noticed the temperature being so high because of the gradual acclimation that occurs when you run, from 67 degrees when we started the race at 6 that morning to the crispy high midday southern Iraq temps that are common that time of year.

Over the rest of the deployment I shared that special bond with Bob, a smile in passing, it wasn't that I was a best friend of his, but that we had both attempted something utterly foolish in all respects, considering the difficulty of running a marathon even WITH training. After the deployment I saw him a few times, always reminiscing about that day, even if a word was not spoken, a knowing nod and a smile in passing, maybe half a dozen times.

It was with utter disbelief and a profound sadness that I received word of his passing away, at a mere 26 years old, while home on leave from his fourth deployment. He had lost some 30 lbs mysteriously in the last few months, and was home on leave to see the birth of his first child, a daughter named Blair. Tests at an Omaha hospital proved inconclusive, and he was set to go to Ft. Bragg for another battery of testing. He never made it. It was by his 1 month old daughter side that Bob took his last breath.

Guardsman Dies On Leave

At times like these I look at my own life, and reflect on where I have been, and develop a new appreciation for those I love and cherish, and for my friends, even co-workers. Life can be harsh and unpredictable at times, but it can also be short, too short. I've run another marathon since then, and will likely try more, but nothing will endure like the memory of that first 26.2 miles, the uncertainty of trying such a thing, and the sheer foolish audacity of two young men attempting such a feat without training. I never knew you as well as I likely should have, Bob, but I will always cherish that 4+ hours of self induced hell that we spent together that day in Iraq, where we both discovered inner strength we never knew we had. Godspeed to you, my friend, you went too soon :(

Irresponsible Rude Obnoxious Loud People

I'm sure everyone has been to a movie theater, a quiet restaurant, even libraries, and dealt with this before: the asinine self centered prick (or female prick I guess) who talks loudly on the cellphone without regard for anyone around him/her and then acts insulted and offended when someone actually "calls" them on it (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).

Well, Amtrak users dealt with this for 16 hours on a trip that left San Fransisco on its way to Oregon, before someone finally said something, to which the offensive cell phone user became belligerent, and the train ended up stopping just so police could remove her. Now, mind you she had been talking on a designated quiet car the ENTIRE 16 hours of the trip before someone finally said ENOUGH and confronted her:

Loud Cell Phone Talker Removed From Train

Quiet cars on Amtrak trains are designated as CELL PHONE FREE areas by obvious written signs, I'm not sure I would have been able to deal with it for 16 minutes, much less 16 freaking hours. I, like many others, are cheering on her removal from the train, because so often these people label themselves as "victims" despite their complete and total disregard for anything remotely resembling respect in dealing with their fellow man.

I think she should have sat in jail for 16 hours myself.

New Era

Nebraska Football.

I have followed it for my entire life. I can remember my father jumping up and down and yelling at the TV as Jarvis Redwine ran down the sideline, when I was like 6 years old, and how my father crashed to the floor when Redwine was called for a penalty for taunting the defensive player as he went into the end zone. I remember all the heartache of watching Oklahoma somehow come from behind to defeat Nebraska so many times. (happened last year, blah! haha)

The last few years it has been Texas that has been so difficult to play, as they have had Nebraska's number an astounding 6 times in a row and 9 of the last 10. The Big 12 Conference's apparent love affair with Texas created a lot of rift between Nebraska and the conference members, and last year of course, Nebraska and Colorado both bolted from the Big 12 to greener pastures, with the Huskers ending up in the Big 10 and the Buffs going to the Pac 10.

I was all for this, screw the Big 12, their commissioner Don Beebe, whiney Missouri fans, stuck up Texas fans, jealous Iowa State fans... but as we come closer to the fall 2011 season, I am somewhat saddened by the thought that my beloved Huskers will no longer be playing in Lawrence, we will no longer have the Jayhawks coming to Lincoln, or the NU vs OU showdowns that, despite a lot of blowouts in the last 20 years, have had some of the most incredible games ever played (see last year's Big 12 Championship).

But that is the past, there isn't much anyone can do about that. For Nebraska it was a no brainer, and not just the athletics. We can basically look past that for a moment... for Nebraska this is a major move academically, the Big 10's research prowess is legendary, and Nebraska can only get better with the addition into the fold.

Volleyball is going to be incredible, with arguably the top 4 programs in the nation being in one conference. It will bring an array of teams that you don't normally see in Lincoln, and Nebraska will be traveling to places annually and making new traditions and rivalries.

But there will always be part of me that longs for those old Big 8 days, listening to the radio in the dairy barn with my father and grandmother as the Husker football teams of old marched methodically along to another showdown with Oklahoma, and yet another chance at a national title. Ah the memories.

How The Heck???

I do not understand how single parents do this... I've been up to my neck in laundry, cooking, bedtime, etc, for two nights, and that is WITH D's help here and there (she is busy with her 'at home work' job) and still I'm behind... I would say I CANT WAIT FOR THE WEEKEND but my weekends aren't off haha. Sunday and Monday, most likely will be my next days off, one can only hope?

Geeeesh!!!

I'm Not A Kid Anymore

I sure do love my little ones, and of course my better half. Sometimes it is surprising how long the years have blown past. Here we are now, and I'm so blessed with where we are at, good job, D is working now also, getting set to put the other little one into daycare. Things are really good. I think sometimes I have dwelled a little too much on the negative, I think as we get older we should become more content with where we are and I'm learning to count my blessings. I have done a lot in my life, been around the world, all over the USA, and lucky enough to have the most patient and amazing young woman by my side through the most hectic times, always giving me a smile or a word of support. For that I am thankful. That and my family.

Sometimes though I really miss being young and carefree... the world seems safe, simple, and less complicated... and for that reason I know I have to be the best father that I can, because that is the memory I want my children to have.

Kick Ass!!!

Not sure if the news is true, but if that bastard is gone, freaking AWESOME!!!

Would have been better to get him alive, but Bin Ladin dead is better than him alive on the loose.

And... my assumption from years ago was wrong, I thought the guy was actually dead years ago.

Hopefully this is authentic! Kick ass job, whoever got him!

A short one for now.

Let's just say I have to wonder how it is that some people have completely lost their minds, like, seriously, this is crack cocaine with meth, baby jesus will cry for a month at least:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2353538790.html

"This is a serious speed machine,not for the timid."

You don't say? Perhaps because if you are even in the slightest bit timid, you are going into severe depression from the extreme amount of severe ridicule when anyone sees your car.

So...

"WTF? Where have you been?"

Well, not doing what I should have been doing, but that is all changing.

Let's just say this month was... interesting :)

And maybe it is time to crack this old monster open again, for old time's sake.

After all, doesn't everyone need a peek inside my head now and then?

Why The F Are Simple Things So F'ing DiFFicult?

So, I bought this Lenovo laptop recently, it has been very nice, except for a couple of annoying things, the speakers aren't that great, but I can live with that, the most annoying aspect has been the ridiculously flakey touchpad. It will suddenly go into what can only be described as 'drunk mode', in which it stops going where my finger is going and jumps all over the page, sometimes not moving at all. No idea why it does that but this is why, generally, I tend to keep the mouse connected.

So, moving on...

I am typing along two days ago and the F key suddenly pops off. Ooookay, no biggie, I click it back into place, keep typing, when it flies off again. WHAT THE F, F KEY?

Okay, this happened on occasion with the Toshiba I used to have, but not until about 3 years into owning that one, a key failed here and there, I replaced it, no biggie. Except this has been what, 3 months? Should be covered under normal use in the warranty. So I go to Lenovo's website and get a phone number and call it.

"If you'd like to bla bla bla press 1, if you'd like to bla bla bla press 2... " on and on for like 18 different choices, I picked warranty, and got pushed into another automated query, picked another choice, then another automated message, this time telling me to go to a website. BLARGHHH!!!

Hang up, redial...

I hit zero immediately, boom, I'm talking to someone in a sweat shop in Asia. I hang up.

Try again, this time I pick sales, because I know damn good and well that companies are not stupid, they always have real good old Americans doing their sales, unless they are stupid in which case they also outsource their sales to some warehouse in Asia too.

Sure enough, boom, I'm talking to an American. I start explaining, tell him I don't want to talk to someone in Pakistan, he says "Sure, I'll get you to the right person" and boom I'm listening to the automated message telling me about the website.

BLEEPITY BLEEPITY F BOMB G D F BOMB!!!

Call back again... I pick parts for Thinkpads, and I end up speaking to someone with a heavy Indian accent yet again. *@#(*$@, oh well, let's give it a shot. 30 minutes later, we've finally done 30 seconds worth meaningful conversation, and I find out that, per the Lenovo warranty, they will not send out a keyboard unless I send my keyboard in to them first. WTF??? I don't need a god damn keyboard, I need ONE KEY. Plus the keyboard will likely be refurbished, not new. My keyboard is like 3 months old, so basically it IS new.

"Ve'll solly sor, ve can nut just send vu vun key, ve must send vu da keyvoard"

Now, I can replace the keyboard myself if I so desire instead of sending it in, but they put what basically amounts to a lean on my credit card until I send MY keyboard back into them upon replacement, unless of course I send my entire laptop in per the warranty instructions, which could take 6 to 8 weeks. Yah, like that is going to happen. Neither is acceptable to me. I will not give them my credit card number, nor will I go without my laptop for 2 months. At this point he is just reading verbetim from the screen so he gets hung up on.

SERIOUSLY? ALL I WANT IS AN F'ING F KEY!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

So I call back, this time I want to talk to a manager immediately. I am put on hold, guy who answered comes back, manager not available but he has CHRIS on the line. The guy who answered was helpful, Chris on the other hand sounded like he had 100 better things to do than his job. So they talk back and forth, bla bla bla, what if he wants to do this, bla bla bla, so on... I finally put them on speaker phone, and then they finally settle on some website where they say I can find a local service center, again Chris sounds like he's been smoking weed all day, and I can hardly hear him, finally I tell both of them I found the website and I hang up on them.

So, the premise here is that I can have the local service center order the keyboard, I just stop by, they take my F key and replace it with the other F key. Viola, simple, easy, right?

Wrong, call the service center here in Omaha, they take forever to answer, I get put on hold, they finally come back and take my info, they say the same thing, no guarantee that I'll get a keyboard that isn't 'refurbished', then they say they have to research it and they'll call me back. They do call back 40 minutes later, and oh what good news they have... *insert sarcasm here* "Sir, per the terms of your warranty, all service must be done on this model on a mail in basis only, we're sorry!"

WTFGD@*(#(#*$(*@#$(&@(Y(YW*GQWEUBPWUIOGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

IT IS ONE KEY, IT IS THE F KEY!! ARE YOU F'ING KIDDING ME?????

So, "F" it, I went to ebay and I bought a complete keyboard online for $19, shipped from, where else?? ASIA. Hong Kong to be specific. No shipping charges it says, but I'm sure I've likely been fleeced of $19, despite his superb trader rating. We shall see.

Seriously though, ALL I WANT IS THE F KEY. WHY do things have to be this difficult!!??? Even car dealerships aren't this stupid. This would be the equivalent of replacing the entire motor because the spark plug needs replacement.

So, anyone got an F key for me? Because I can tell you this much, Lenovo and their warranty can certainly go _uck themselves.

Testing 1 2 3

Trying a post from the cell phone. Ze intornet on ze fone ist gut!

That is all for now

Going To A Concert!!!!

I recently celebrated a birthday, and belly decided to get me tickets to a concert. Creed with special guest Staind. Yes, I'm a closet Creed fan. I don't go around promoting it, but I do enjoy their music. Belly knows this, and so when Creed announced they were getting back together for a reunion tour and new album, I was pretty excited. She had to let me know before my birthday that she bought the tickets because I was going to get them myself, I felt kinda bad but that's better than having an extra set of tickets.

We drove into Counciltucky and headed over to the Mid America Center, I was hoping to find a fast food place, wasn't all that interested in Burger King but that was all they had to eat around there that was quick, and we only had about 45 minutes so we quickly ate a couple burgers/fries and headed on over to the auditorium. Our seats were 5 rows up from the front, on the side, and they were excellent.

The opening band was called "Like A Storm". They were decent, better than most opening bands. Sounded Australian, the best description is an emo breaking benjamin. Pretty good guitar, vocals are so so, lyrics are pretty sophomoric but they are young so they'll get better. After their set they came out and hung out in the crowd, I thought that was pretty cool, and a good way to develop a following. From watching a couple of their songs on YouTube this morning, the comments for the videos seem to show that their approach is working.

Then they cleared the front of the stage and set up for Staind. They kicked off with "Fade", which is my favorite Staind song. Vocalist Aaron Lewis sings like he's in pain, and I have no idea how the lead guitarist can continue playing the guitar the way he does (bent way over then coming back up) without having to see a chiropractor after every show. He was going up and down so fast that I thought he was going to smash his guitar a couple of times. It is interesting, I like Staind but I don't have any of their albums, so as I sat through their of like 8 or 10 songs I was thinking "Damn, these guys have more hits than I thought".

It was during the Staind set that an irritating group of young people sat down in front of us. I don't think they had tickets for the seats they sat in, but despite how stupid they were acting I just left that alone. There were about 4 or 5 fat emo looking girls, one skinny girl, and the most annoying of all was this 16 or 17 year old skinny douchebag. I don't know if he had mental problems, was on drugs, a flaming homo, or what, but he kept standing up and turning around, blocking the set, yelling, lifting his shirt in the air, general asshattery and such. He had a Hollister shirt on too, and for that reason alone I wanted to do a flying kick from my row and lay a boot on his skull. Thankfully they left after Staind, no surprise there, there were a lot of really emo looking kids up front for the Staind set. I hate emo morons.

Then they stripped down the stage once more and set everything up for Creed. That took about 10 minutes, then the lights went down, and this large black sheet fell from the ceiling and Creed opened up with "Bullets". That was kind of surprising, I figured they would pick one of their new songs or maybe "Are You Ready?", but being a big Weathered fan, I was glad they went with Bullets. They used a bunch of pyro, with massive flames firing off behind the band. This is the first concert I have ever gone to that had pyro, the big arena concerts I went to in the 80's all used the huge laser shows. Even though we were probably 40 meters or so from the actual pyro effects, each time they blasted off the heat wave was blistering, it must be insanely hot on the stage itself.

They followed up Bullets with the new song "Overcome", then "What If". Another new song after that, I think it may have been "To Whom It May Concern" but I'm not sure. Then "Say I", "Torn", "Are You Ready", and "Never Die". "My Own Prison" followed that, then "Faceless Man", and the final hit song from the My Own Prison album, an energentic performance of "One".

After that, "With Arms Wide Open", then Stapp talked about losing someone close and sang "What's This Life For?". Then they did bows and set the guitars down and walked off the stage. At this point I was like "WTF???" because I was fully expecting "One Last Breath", which is my favorite song. No concert would be complete from Creed without that song, in my opinion.

But they weren't done, they came back out and set up in a close group on stools and did their first concert performance of the new song "Rain", and then broke into "One Last Breath" much to my happiness and apparently the rest of the crowd. After that they finished up with "Higher", a song I had completely forgot about.

I think that basically covers everything. It was certainly weird seeing Stapp without his hair. They played with a 5 piece set, with a touring rhythm guitarist named Eric Friedman. The extra guitar gave a lot of the songs a bit more punch, and being a guitar rock fan I actually liked it. It was also good to see Brian Marshall back in the band again, and they did a lot more guitar solos than I ever saw in any previous live shows (never in person, watching on video). That was good, as I know in the past that Stapp had pissed off the other members by trying to force them NOT to do the guitar solos then arguing with them about it after shows.

All in all, awesome show!!! I don't know what to make of the new music yet, but I remember it took me a good year to get into Weathered after I bought it years ago, and therefore this may be the same thing. Even if the album is half as good as Weathered I will still probably be pretty happy with it.

Ted Kennedy The "American Hero"???

You'd likely have to be living under a rock on some 3rd world island at this point to not know that Ted Kennedy is dead. And while I haven't posted often lately, I find myself needing to post up due to the overwhelming amount of nonsensical garbage that the media is trolling out as 'news' when it comes to this fat drunken bluthering idiot. I don't even know where to start, nearly every article that pops up seems to be inflated with artificial information. The media is desperately trying to apply frosting to a turd, or sugar coat a lump of crap, for lack of a better term, and the hilarity of the entire situation is unbelievable.

Where do I even begin? The first thing I read the day he died was on Yahoo:

"A Torch Extinguished: Ted Kennedy Dead At 77"

Oh, forgive me, I was rolling my eyes at the first three words of the article's title even before I opened the article up, and the article itself was no better, basically a collection of references to the other Kennedy brothers, as though the last name would make up for Ted's failed legacy.

CBS News, however, takes the cake with this bit of nonsense from the article (thanks to blackfive.net for this):

"Ted Kennedy — The Last Brother"

Once again, even in the title they have to link him to other people to justify his 'greatness', but it gets even worse in the article itself. According to one Kennedy aid:

"He's gone to the funeral of every soldier who's come home from Iraq in a casket, whether it's up in Massachusetts or at Arlington Cemetery. And it's hard. But he knows it pays respect for giving the last full measure that these young soldiers have given."

96 Massachusetts' soldiers have died in the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts, and following this news piece, Blackfive received a flood of emails from readers, describing specific funerals that Kennedy did not attend. So the idea that he attended all these funerals is total bullshit, just like 90% of all they nicey nicey things being said about Kennedy.

The article also states that Kennedy was 'drafted' into the Army. He was NOT drafted. After he was kicked out of Harvard for cheating, he ENLISTED into the Army in June of 1951. He requested Army Intelligence training, but (big surprise) he was dropped from the program. He then used his father's political connections to avoid deployment into the Korean War, instead getting a peach gig at European installations for the remainder of his 'service'. The article also states he served 'three years'. He was discharged in March of 1953. He didn't even make it to two years.

Why are they trying so hard to make this failure into something else? Tripping over themselves to eulogize this idiot with frivilous nonsense. Regardless of how much the media twists the facts, it does not change what Ted Kennedy was. A worthless drunken fool who spent 40 years playing off of his family name, and showing just how stupid the people of Massachusetts are for continually voting him into office.

This nonsense isn't limited to the media, unfortunately. I showed up for work yesterday to find the flag at the camp at half staff, and I felt like throwing up. Sure enough, Obama ordered military installations to put their flags at half staff for five days. WTF??? Kennedy's military service was at best sub standard, what a slap in the face to find him being honored at military installations. And worse he will be buried at Arlington, which is just disgusting. Another tug on the coat tails of a failed legacy, using his family name one final time to get ahead, in this case to insult every fallen soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetary.

Do I even need to bring up the "Chappaquiddick Incident", where Kennedy skated past a manslaughter charge and again used his family name for a "leaving the scene of an accident" conviction and suspended jail time?

The only decent article about Kennedy I've read thus far was written by Time's Jeff Israely, titled:

"After Kennedy's Death: Silence from the Pope"

Per the article, when President Obama visited the Pope in July, he delivered a sealed letter from Ted Kennedy, and the presumption is that in the letter, Kennedy was asking for a papal blessing, given his failing health. As the article stated, "Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness." An unnamed Vatican official asked why Kennedy would even write a letter, given his failure to follow Catholic teachings? THANK YOU, for a moment of truthful reporting in a sea of rambling stupidity.

Of course, Time ruins this with another article entitled:

"Ted Kennedy's Quiet Catholic Faith"

The title of the article left me chuckling, because despite author Amy Sullivan's nonsensical description of Ted Kennedy 'making peace' with the Catholic church, he in no way lived his life in a Godly way. Therefore the word 'Quiet' in the title is all you need to really pay attention to, his faith was silent, or, more accurately, non-existant.

I understand that in death, the facts are often glossed over in a favorable way out of respect, but stomping on the facts repeatedly is a little much. I'm just thankful no one assassinated this moron, God knows it would have been difficult for the media to stupidly idolize him any more than they already are, but I'm sure they would have found a way.

More Time

As most people know, I grew up on a farm. Our house was just across the country road from the farm itself, but for all practical purposes, it was just like living on the farm itself, as we were so close. My earliest memories are all from the farm. Crossing the fence at the other side of the road to walk across the cow pasture. Playing with nuts and bolts in the back of the old blue air compressor on the other side of the pond, in the junkyard. Playing in the hay barn, cleaning the back of the dairy barn, riding my bicycle all over, all these memories from birth, through grade school, college, until now. But to say 'the farm' isn't exactly the correct terminology, because as kids we always referred to the farm as 'Grandmas'. We're going up to Grandmas, because my grandmother was always there.

The farm itself has been in my grandfather's last name, same as my last name, from the beginning, in the 1860s. During that time we always had the dairy, until just this last August when they sold the dairy portion of the farm off in order to focus on the agricultural portion of the farm. But for decades, Grandma was in that barn, morning and night, 5 to 8, then helping with calf chores, cooking meals for everyone, cleaning, painting fences, upkeep all around the farm. Because of all of that, she was so visible, she was the backbone of the farm, and therefore the farm became "Grandmas" and was referred to as such by all of us kids, and even by the cousins in the family that would come to visit the farm. I would tell my friends I was going to Grandmas. Grandma always wanted to meet anyone I was dating, never to express a displeasure with anyone, but because she loved meeting new people, especially those interested in her family.

I have never known anyone who works as hard as Grandma worked. I found myself thinking that she is the strongest, hardest working woman I have ever known. But that statement isn't fair, because she is the strongest and hardest working PERSON I have ever known. She never asked for anything for herself, only put forth the effort to help others. There was no paycheck for her, no salary, no bonuses, no time off. Nor did she ever ask for any of those. As she got older, she would head in early from time to time, maybe start a little later, but you could always count on Grandma beyond all others to be in that barn, milking those cows. Afterwards she could be found in the house, cooking, cleaning, welcoming the constant number of family and friends who would visit. She may have married into the farm as it existed, but make no mistake, she was the farm, more so than anyone else could have been.

Grandma was incredibly bright, she could name the capitals of all 50 states in America. There are 93 counties in Nebraska, and on vehicle license plates they are listed by number as the starting prefix, and Grandma could name every county based on the plate number. When us grandchildren had problems with homework, she would help us. If we had a spelling bee to prepare for, she would listen to us spell out the words, and without checking she knew if they were right or wrong.

In the last 1990s, Grandma was in her early 70s, and still she could be found, morning and night, in the milk barn. Her knees were failing her, her arthritis made it difficult to move around, every other word she said was "WHAT?" as her hearing began to fade, but her mind was as sharp as ever. She never let any amount of pain stop her from whatever she put her mind to. We were able to convince her to finally stay away from the barn following a stroke she had, but how does one fill such shoes, how do you replace someone who gives all and asks for nothing in return? You cannot, and in some ways it left a hole from which the dairy never recovered.

Over the following few years, Grandma focused on her lawn, on her cooking, she spent less and less time outside, her hearing got worse, the television got louder, until she finally let go of her stubborn nature and accepted wearing a hearing aid. Her health gradually got worse, but her mental state always made one think she was healthy, that her tenacity and willpower could overcome anything her body would throw at her. In 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully it was found early, and through treatment the cancer went into remission. Once again, Grandma fought back and overcame another challenge. Once again, Grandma was back at the farm, once again we could go up 'to Grandmas' to visit.

Over the next 18 months, my sisters would work hard to try to get everyone to the farm once a week on Sunday afternoon. Each week was the phone call asking us to come down, and odds are I had work, or I was too busy with something with the house, or some other excuse to not make it. Last Sunday the phone call came, but this time to tell me that Grandma was back in the hospital. Over the course of four days in the previous week, the pain had gotten so bad that Grandma could not even sit up in bed. Once at the hospital, they ran some tests... the cancer had returned, and was in most of her major organs.

Despite this devastating news, somehow deep inside I felt that she was strong enough to withstand the cancer, that somehow we would have more time to spend with her. They ran an MRI, and thankfully the cancer was not in her brain. This was good news, but only a little. She was still in a lot of pain, but they were controlling it with medication. We thought maybe when she came home we'd have to have someone to watch over her, or perhaps she and Grandpa could live in an assisted care facility of some sort. Bell and I were able to stop in and visit. We dropped off a photo of the three of us from Wisconsin. Grandma got to see lil N', but they were taking her for another MRI and we were only able to stay for a little bit, but that was okay, we'd stop in again, when there was more time.

Then Friday morning I received a text message while at work. "Things are worse today, you should come to the hospital soon". I drove as quickly as I could, to find that Grandma likely had a heart attack, a mild one, but with her current state of pain, and the medication she was under, that they weren't sure if she'd make it through the day. I went in to say "hi", she opened her eyes momentarily, but I could not tell if she knew I was there. I went into the hallway, there were so many family and friends around, I didn't want to crowd the room. My mother took lil N' in to see her Great Grandma, and I didn't find out until later that Grandma had actually leaned forward and momentarily smiled at lil N', the only time she had smiled all day. I was so relieved to hear that, because it let me know that Grandma knew we were there. Late that night, with all of the family around, she passed away.

While I kept my composure at the hospital, as I drove home I found myself just angry. WHY, why did this happen so fast? Why couldn't we just have had a little more time? Then I had to stop and realize how selfish this was, that Grandma was in so much pain. She had likely been in this amount of pain for quite some time but because of the type of person she was, she would not have told anyone, because that was not the type of person she was. I went upstairs, it was around 3 in the morning by that time, and I looked in on lil N', and it was that moment where it all hit me. As I run my fingers through my sleeping girl's hair and tried in vain to swallow my tears, I thought about how much Grandma meant to me, to everyone she touched throughout her life.

Even as I drove down yesterday, just me and lil' N in the truck, my first thought was how happy grandma would be to see lil' N, and I felt the air leave my lungs in a rush as once again that realization set in, that Grandma would not be there. There will be no more Sunday phone calls inviting me to come down to "Grandmas". As I pulled into the yard, I found myself in tears. I miss you already Grandma Helen Halmes, I only wish I had a little more time to spend with you.