My wife and I are in the midst of purchasing our new home. Not a "real" home, but rather a one bedroom condo, which is as much as two young professionals making median incomes can afford in the metro DC area. But, it will be ours to fuss over, fix up, and use as a tax break, so to us, it's a home nonetheless. We close next Wednesday, and move in the following Thursday. Before we move in, we have to have the exterminators in (a requirement of the condo association). We also need to pa...
I am going to begin a running hommage to the late MAJ Charles Driscoll. Charlie was a colleague of mine at my current company, who was activated and went and spent a tour in Iraq. He was a US Military Academy graduate, but didn't act at all like a ring knocker. He was a ranger. He was a paratrooper. He was a soldier, and a damn fine man to boot. He completed his tour in Iraq, came home, and a month later passed away during a morning PT session of a congenital heart problem. It was a lo...
Okay, this is gonna be really short, and isn't really of much value. But, I know I have a few friends who stop by once in a while, and they've probably wondered if I've died or something. Not quite, but I tried. I went back to Korea for two weeks to participate in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony with my wife for our two year anniversary. My father and some other family came over as well, so I spent 10 days as tour guide, and the weeks of prep as well as the trip have just smoked me....
In the ongoing tribute to Charlie, here are a few more great quotes: "I need intelligence, not information." MAJ (EUCOM) "The hardest thing about having a third child is switching from a 1-on-1 to a zone defense." MAJ (EUCOM) "Nobody ever said you had to be smart to make O-6." COL (EUCOM) "The first question I ask myself when tasked to do something that is not obviously and overwhelmingly in my own best interest is, 'Exactly what happens if I don't do it?'" Unattributed ...
Okay, following along with the string of articles, here a few more (hopefully good) quotes: "Great! What we really need are some more O-5s around here..." MAJ (EUCOM) on the release of the list of O-5 promotions. "Cynicism is the smoke that rises from the ashes of burned out dreams." MAJ (CENTCOM) on the daily thrashings delivered to AOs at his Command. "His knowledge on that topic is only Power Point deep..." MAJ (JS)
In the absence of anything of value to say, I will provide the second installment of military quotes as captured by Charlie. "The only reason that anything ever gets done is because there are pockets of competence in every command. The key is to find them....and then exploit the hell out of 'em." CDR (CENTCOM) "Between us girls, would it help to clarify the issue if you knew that Hungary is landlocked?" CDR to MAJ (EUCOM), on why a deployment from Hungary is likely to proceed by air ...
Okay, a new episode of Random Ten. Here are the first ten tracks playing on my iPod this morning: 1. "Life" - Haddaway 2. "Roadhouse Blues" - The Doors 3. "Bad Boys" - Inner Circle 4. "Always On Time" - Ja Rule Feat. Ashanti 5. "Up On The Catwalk" - Simple Minds 6. "Why God Loves You" - P.M. Dawn 7. "Rocket Base" - Jark Prongo (from Fatboy Slim's "Live on Brighton Beach" mix CD) 8. "Let U Go" - ATB 9. "Heaven (Extended Mix)" - DJ Sammy & Yanou Feat. Do 10. "Ocean Avenue"...
Okay, following in Soul Man's footsteps, I'll start posting the Random 10. Essentially, this is a little list of the first 10 songs that are played on your iPod in shuffle mode. It can be a little interesting to see exactly how eccentric people's music interests are. So, without further ado, the Random 10 for 14 July 2006: 1. "Don't Pull Your Love" - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds 2. "Satisfaction (Greece Vocal)" - Benny Benassi Feat. The Biz 3. "Get Ready To Bounce (Radio Attack)"...
Not that I'm the most prolific contributor here anyway, but there may be a considerable dry spell forthcoming. I will be flying out tomorrow for a 6-week short tour to work in Iraq. Should be back in later March. Not sure how much free time I'll have, and how much access I'll have to the internet. Hope everybody else has a great Valentine's Day, President's Day, and whatever else happens in March.... Talk at ya later....
Okay, just finished another politically oriented book. This one was titled "The Ten Things You Can't Say In America", written by Larry Elder. I give the book a 4 out of 5. Not the best work I've ever read, and there were some points that Larry made along the way that I question (along the lines of "your argument sounds good, but how valid is your data"?). Overall, the book was pretty good. Not much new information for me, but I've done a bit of reading on modern political philosophy a...
Peter Schweizer's book, Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, gets a 3 1/2 out of 5 rating from me. I just finished it in Audiobook on CD format (to listen to while commuting to and from work), and I mostly enjoyed it. Schweizer takes a look at several liberal "leaders", including Noah Chomsky, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Michael Moore, Ralph Nader, Al Franken, Cornell West, Ted Kennedy, and Barbara Streisand. Schweizer makes a point in the opening of the bo...