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May 28, 2006
Temperature
It is starting to get hot, so I just added a Weather channel tool to the bottom of the menu bar on the left for the curious.
Posted by TJ at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 27, 2006
Another storm photo
This is another photo of the sandstorm below, but from a more head-on view.
Posted by TJ at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
If I ever need heart surgery...
I want this guy:
A heart surgeon had to take a break from a mercy-mission operation in El Salvador so he could donate his own rare-type blood for his 8-year-old patient.
...
They were running out of blood to give the boy, Weinstein said. When he asked the boy's blood type, he discovered they were both B-negative. Weinstein, who said he was an occasional blood donor - "but never like this" - said the interruption to donate a pint lasted about 20 minutes. The American Red Cross says 2 percent of the population has B-negative blood. Only AB-negative is rarer.
Dr Samuel Weinstein is the chief of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
Posted by TJ at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2006
`Nuff said
UPDATE: Actually, no, not enough said. Add today's Senate vote on S2611 to the wagon-circling antics of the last couple days (separation of powers? No, Mr. Hastert, our system of checks and balances is made to ensure that one branch of government can't get away with things such as believing they are above the law), and not a single incumbant on my ballot gets a vote in November. Not one.
And Judd Gregg gets a nay when he's up again.
Yes, we are a nation of immigrants and what the Senate did today is disrespect every immigrant who ever came to America and played by the rules in order to give themselves, their family (and thus, you) a better life. That immigrant may be you, your parents, your grandparents... somewhere in your ancestry there are good, honest, hardworking people who came to America from somewhere else - and 62 senators just call them suckers and spit in their faces.
Here are those "distinguished" ladies and gentlemen who need to be tossed to the curb in November: Akaka (D-HI), Bingaman (D-NM), Cantwell (D-WA), Carper (D-DE), Chafee (R-RI), Clinton (D-NY), Conrad (D-ND), Dayton (D-MN), DeWine (R-OH), Feinstein (D-CA), Frist (R-TN), Jeffords (I-VT), Kennedy (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Lieberman (D-CT), Lugar (R-IN), Menendez (D-NJ), Nelson (D-FL), Sarbanes (D-MD), Snowe (R-ME)
They can deny this all they want (and they will) but this is amnesty, pure and simple. Rewarding bad behavior only encourages more. Hopefully the House will have more sense, but somehow, I doubt it.
Posted by TJ at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
Statistics
You know sports statistics are out of hand when you get stuff like this:
LHP Scott Kazmir, scheduled to start on Friday, was the winning pitcher in the Devil Rays' last three victories over the Red Sox. He's the first lefty to beat Boston in Fenway Park three times before his 23rd birthday since before World War I, according to the Elias Sports Bureau
Heh.
Posted by TJ at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2006
The Terminal
I just watched Tom Hanks in The Terminal. I don't know why this movie got such bad reviews when it came out. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if you compare it with Castaway, it is kind of interesting. How can someone be just as isolated in the middle of one of the world's busiest airports as they would be on a deserted island and have to survive by one's wits. Sure, the whole premise on how he got in that position is a bit of a stretch, but aren't we told time and time again about suspension of disbelief?
Posted by TJ at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2006
This is how educators spend their time?
I ran across this story in the zero-tolerance section at OpinionJournal.com from Basha High school in Arizona:
Alvers and other Basha High students are seeing red over a school policy that charges them 25 cents for two half-ounce packets of ketchup at lunch. The policy was enacted recently to limit waste and messiness in the school's lunch area.
Well, actually, not waste, just messiness:
"If you have unrestricted access to things that explode, things will happen," said Kristine Marchiando, the school's principal. She said students were twisting ketchup packets and stomping on them, requiring an outdoor lunch area to be steam-cleaned regularly.
Can kids bring their own ketchup? Nope.
Students opting to bring their own ketchup bottles to school have had them confiscated by security. They have been told the bottles are considered open food containers and represent a health-code violation. Students have been threatened with suspension if they persist.
Health-code violations? Puh-leeze. What about those students who bring bag lunches to school? Are their lunches examined daily for substances which prompt the CDC to immediately shut down schools and office buildings? You know, substances such as tunafish, peanut butter, or god forbid, eggsalad?
Actually, the article doesn't even mention bag lunches, so they may not even allow them. At the base of all this, I think its more about making the dining facilities at the school more profitable (or at least more able to cover their costs). I know on an average-sized hamburger, I normally use 2 ketchup packets. That 3rd packet will just not cut it for an entire order of french fries. So for my 4 extra packets, I would pay 50 cents. The school's cost? Probably around 2 cents. A 1500% profit.
Ultimately, what this principal is doing is tragic. Blowing up ketchup packets is so easy, these kids would probably become bored with it and stop altogether soon. To call the resultant burst "an explosion" is a fairly generous use of the term. Ultimately, by depriving these kids of their giggles, she is only motivating them to experiment, and they will also likely escalate out of spite. If she thinks it costs alot of money to steam clean a floor outdoors, just wait until they discover the amazing aerodynamic properties of a slice of bologna, or the natural attractive force between sliced pickles and a cafeteria ceiling.
Of course, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek right about now, but the whole situation is stupid. The school wants to charge for ketchup? Fine. But punnishing students who are enterprising enough to bring their own is stupid. If public schools actually taught economics any more, this would be a great topic on how supply and demand lead to fair market prices, and conversely, how price-fixing inevitably leads to smuggling and the rise of black markets.
Posted by TJ at 05:44 PM | Comments (1)
May 14, 2006
Sandstorm
The first 3 photos were taken within a 10 second time period of the same scene.
The last just gives a little perspective.
Posted by TJ at 09:16 PM | Comments (3)
May 12, 2006
Random Photos
A litter of kittens was born under one of our buildings. We aren't allowed to keep pets, so we don't disturb them. It is still fun to watch them play when they venture out into the open, which isn't often as they are feral.
The sunset the evening this photo was taken reflected off a thunderhead. It was the brightest object in the sky for 15 minutes or so.
Another sunset
A friend from DLI stopped by and we went to his DFAC for dinner. It is inside Saddam's old hunting palace. This falcon is made of marble and covers an entire wall.
Very possibly, the only working fountain in Iraq
Posted by TJ at 08:13 PM | Comments (0)
Mission #?
Had a mission today with an infantry patrol. I've lost count at this point - they don't correspond with the numbers of my headings here any more - I've been on more than 7...
Nothing special but I saw a disturbingly graphic statue in front of a mosque - and it depicted a human head, which is curious since that is supposedly forbidden in Islam. I asked around and some thought it had to be Shia, and either Ali or Hussein; others said he had to be Sunna. So I don't know.
Posted by TJ at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2006
Ruck March
We did a ruck march for PT this morning. Took 2 hours. Drove it later and found it was 6 miles. I didn't have too much weight on, but it was the first in a while and good preparation for the 12-mile, 4 hour march the XVIII Airborne Corps requires once per year, which we will do when we get back to Drum.
The blue thing in my pocket is my iPod. In the 2nd photo you can see a white square with blue light on my ruck; that is a speaker. It definately made the time pass quicker.
Some murals from the area of the old Republican Guard barracks.
I don't know what these tracks are from, but it was big.
Posted by TJ at 07:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2006
Everyone is fine here
The Chinook crash that has a few people worried did involve Ft Drum soldiers, but not any from my brigade. It happened in Afghanistan, about 1000 miles from here, so there is no need to worry.
Posted by TJ at 09:54 PM | Comments (1)
May 02, 2006
No less honor among today's servicemembers
I was reading a story today in the Stars and Stripes, our "local" newspaper about a Marine who is being honored with the Navy Cross and a promotion to Sergeant Major for his actions on the battlefield. The Navy Cross is the 2nd highest honor awarded by the Navy for valor. I will try to find the article and link it, or if not, get a copy of the paper and type in what he did. However, he managed to save a bunch of lives while being shot 7 times, and having embedded in him 40 pieces of shrapnel. He has also endured over 20 surgeries in his recovery process. I was simply amazed at what this man did and it got me thinking: what exactly does it take to win the Medal of Honor? According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website, 3460 have been awarded since it was established on July 14, 1862. One has been awarded to the current Operation Iraqi Freedom / Operation Enduring Freedom campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan: Army Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith. Follow the link to read his citation. Then pick your jaw up off the floor and hit the back key to return here. There are 113 medal recipients still alive today: 38 from WWII, 15 from Korea, and 60 from Vietnam. Many, many more were awarded. It has been 4 1/2 years since we began in Afghanistan and only 1 medal? I could not believe that the actions of some of today's soldiers have not equalled those of the past, when it dawned on me that the probable answer to my question was politics. Those that do the fighting have not changed; those that judge the fighting have. A Medal of Honor recipient today would be an instant celebrity. They would become a permanent cable news fixture on any topic related to the military. As we saw in the last election, they would be invited to political conventions and appear in commercials. They would get book and movie deals. But then there would also be the complaints based in political correctness. I do not want to get into details but I feel that the medal would become something totally different than for what it was intended: to honor those who have demonstrated unmatched valor while disregarding extreme danger to themselves. From what I understand, there must be at least 2 witnesses to the action. It must also be above and beyond the call of duty to such an extent that had the individual not taken their actions, there would have been no professional consequences or shame to bear. It may just be that investigations are under way and the military wants to be 100% sure before setting off the inevitable media and political circus. However, I do not feel that is the case; I think the military has decided that if it is at all possible, they will do what they can to avoid this situation. Is that a bad thing? Yes. The real question is does it outweigh the dishonor that the award would receive in today's public arena? I don't think so because but I think that any soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who could be thusly honored, would not allow that to happen. People that deserve the award should get the award, and the next generation needs their heroes. Sadly, there was also a recent article in the paper which pointed out that there are fewer Medal of Honor recipients alive today than there are those who fraudulently claim to be. So here is my prediction: except for those awarded decades after the decorated action, we will never again see a non-posthumous Medal of Honor. What do you think? Take the poll and leave a comment. |
Posted by TJ at 09:08 PM | Comments (2)