Monday, July 26, 2010
I don't think they understand what "Life" means.
The word for the day is Kakistocracy.
I totally get the UK is weak on crime. Any country that can be duped into believing that restricting access to hand-held weapons will make a population safe has serious issues with logical thinking. I don't know if it's the lack of decently prepared red meat, a diet consisting mainly of fish and chips, jellied eels, and spotted dick, or living in a country where the sun is only seen 1 day a year, for an hour, at sunrise. The UK has weird laws and even weirder judges to interpret those laws. They are, quite simply, weak on terrorism.
On our side of the pond, I'd like to think we'd do better. Failure to secure the United States, or seek Justice for those murdered, after trying to seek justice and failing is ineptitude; but for failing to act at all, is willful neglect of responsibilities. Given the hand full of aces we currently hold with the UK, in terms of their need to ameliorate the relationship with the US after Deepwater Horizon, one would think a little diplomacy could have resulted in transfer of the terrorist to a US prison, where he would receive adequate healthcare, greater than he could imagine in his home country. Instead, while the US holds four aces, it seems the State Department is assuming the UK, or Libya, has drawn a royal flush, on a four-card draw. (The odds of that happening are approximately 649,739 : 1.)
It does make one wonder if it is ineptitude, or malicious intent.
I totally get the UK is weak on crime. Any country that can be duped into believing that restricting access to hand-held weapons will make a population safe has serious issues with logical thinking. I don't know if it's the lack of decently prepared red meat, a diet consisting mainly of fish and chips, jellied eels, and spotted dick, or living in a country where the sun is only seen 1 day a year, for an hour, at sunrise. The UK has weird laws and even weirder judges to interpret those laws. They are, quite simply, weak on terrorism.
On our side of the pond, I'd like to think we'd do better. Failure to secure the United States, or seek Justice for those murdered, after trying to seek justice and failing is ineptitude; but for failing to act at all, is willful neglect of responsibilities. Given the hand full of aces we currently hold with the UK, in terms of their need to ameliorate the relationship with the US after Deepwater Horizon, one would think a little diplomacy could have resulted in transfer of the terrorist to a US prison, where he would receive adequate healthcare, greater than he could imagine in his home country. Instead, while the US holds four aces, it seems the State Department is assuming the UK, or Libya, has drawn a royal flush, on a four-card draw. (The odds of that happening are approximately 649,739 : 1.)
It does make one wonder if it is ineptitude, or malicious intent.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Amazon is being wonky
I think amazon hates me.
The widget is broken (says it's empty when it's not) and Code Monkey is in full-on meth-laced banana mode trying to fix it.
In the mean time, here is a link to the wishlist (which should display the items when clicked) and if you still have issues, send an email to me and I will give you my address and any other help you may need. Accordingly, if you can find the same product elsewhere (either from a different seller on amazon or the web) that's fine, just let me know and I'll pull the item off the list so it's up to date when it's fixed.
Thanks again,
--Chuck
Update from the Code Monkey - It hates both of us. The widget is gone and there's a nice Wish List button now. If the widget decides it wants to stop running with scissors and will play nice with others, I'll let it back on the blog. But the new button seems to have no underlying issues and/or a desire to act out. It can stay.
The widget is broken (says it's empty when it's not) and Code Monkey is in full-on meth-laced banana mode trying to fix it.
In the mean time, here is a link to the wishlist (which should display the items when clicked) and if you still have issues, send an email to me and I will give you my address and any other help you may need. Accordingly, if you can find the same product elsewhere (either from a different seller on amazon or the web) that's fine, just let me know and I'll pull the item off the list so it's up to date when it's fixed.
Thanks again,
--Chuck
Update from the Code Monkey - It hates both of us. The widget is gone and there's a nice Wish List button now. If the widget decides it wants to stop running with scissors and will play nice with others, I'll let it back on the blog. But the new button seems to have no underlying issues and/or a desire to act out. It can stay.
Reason #247 why I love Arizona
Tempe Town Lake is a lake in a desert. They walled off some of the Salt River with big rubber bladders and made a lake. It was pretty and they made a park next to it and built some condos and all that. The lake is neat and I've been to some cool events at the park. I don't know if I would think, "Hey, let's build a lake in the desert" and call it a good idea, but it seems to have worked out well for Tempe. At least until recently.
A few nights ago, one of those bladders went boom and all the water in Tempe Town Lake went down the Salt River. Well, Tempe Town Lake was stocked with fish. Some were put in there intentionally, but I'm sure more than a few goldfish were liberated there at the end of a semester at ASU.
Either way, these fish are now homeless in a very, very bad way. A lack of water tends to be bad for a fish's health.
Other cities would probably be looking to rescue the fish. Trying to find them foster homes in abandoned backyard pools (which wouldn't entirely suck as they'd eat the mosquito larvae and we'd have less West Nile.) There would be activists with nets and buckets and pleas for generous donors to allow the carp and rainbow trout to use a spare bathtub for a while.
Nope, not here. Not Arizona. We're bringing in the alligators.
Ok, not really. They're not setting alligators loose in the mud that was once Tempe Town Lake. It's a shame because I'd pay money to watch that. But they are collecting the fish and donating them to the Phoenix Herpetological Society.
Circle of life, baby.
The alligator was unavailable for comment.
(Photo by KTAR/Kevin Tripp)
A few nights ago, one of those bladders went boom and all the water in Tempe Town Lake went down the Salt River. Well, Tempe Town Lake was stocked with fish. Some were put in there intentionally, but I'm sure more than a few goldfish were liberated there at the end of a semester at ASU.
Either way, these fish are now homeless in a very, very bad way. A lack of water tends to be bad for a fish's health.
Other cities would probably be looking to rescue the fish. Trying to find them foster homes in abandoned backyard pools (which wouldn't entirely suck as they'd eat the mosquito larvae and we'd have less West Nile.) There would be activists with nets and buckets and pleas for generous donors to allow the carp and rainbow trout to use a spare bathtub for a while.
Nope, not here. Not Arizona. We're bringing in the alligators.
Ok, not really. They're not setting alligators loose in the mud that was once Tempe Town Lake. It's a shame because I'd pay money to watch that. But they are collecting the fish and donating them to the Phoenix Herpetological Society.
Circle of life, baby.
The alligator was unavailable for comment.
Friday, July 23, 2010
In case I have not told Ya'll
I am going back to Iraq in November for 13 months. I will be in Baghdad for that time, on the "turn out the lights and lock up when you leave" tour. Essentially, we will be the last ones in Iraq.
Although it pains me to leave Paradise, my family, and my beloved country, (especially for over a year) I see this trip as another step in my recovery... getting back on the horse, as it were. Living in the (still active) war zone that took so much from me last time, but also gave me so much in return.
Being wounded has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things, and shown me in specific relief what is really important in life. It has opened up an entirely different world than the one I was saw before, and this new world is focused on others, instead of centered on myself. Before being wounded, I never really thought about the problems faced by those who were wounded, I never really did much charity work beyond an occasional relay for life or Combined Federal Campaign donation. I never knew the joy, the satisfaction, or the warmth of truly helping someone else.
So, because of the world I now see, I am thankful for being wounded. The blast physically made me less of a man, but also made me a better human being.
I have also updated my Amazon wish list with items not supplied by the military that I either had on my last deployment or wished I'd had. Unfortunately, the items I had either became part of the shrapnel still in my arms, face, and legs, were vaporized, or were stole my some Fobbit/REMF who took them from my room when I was medevaced. I know some of these items are expensive, (hence, the "wish.") If you would like to help, but cannot purchase them outright, just hit the ol' (empty) tip jar over on the left (under the "Show Chuck some love.")
Although it pains me to leave Paradise, my family, and my beloved country, (especially for over a year) I see this trip as another step in my recovery... getting back on the horse, as it were. Living in the (still active) war zone that took so much from me last time, but also gave me so much in return.
Being wounded has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things, and shown me in specific relief what is really important in life. It has opened up an entirely different world than the one I was saw before, and this new world is focused on others, instead of centered on myself. Before being wounded, I never really thought about the problems faced by those who were wounded, I never really did much charity work beyond an occasional relay for life or Combined Federal Campaign donation. I never knew the joy, the satisfaction, or the warmth of truly helping someone else.
So, because of the world I now see, I am thankful for being wounded. The blast physically made me less of a man, but also made me a better human being.
I have also updated my Amazon wish list with items not supplied by the military that I either had on my last deployment or wished I'd had. Unfortunately, the items I had either became part of the shrapnel still in my arms, face, and legs, were vaporized, or were stole my some Fobbit/REMF who took them from my room when I was medevaced. I know some of these items are expensive, (hence, the "wish.") If you would like to help, but cannot purchase them outright, just hit the ol' (empty) tip jar over on the left (under the "Show Chuck some love.")
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Pelican Cases for the wounded--Very Cool.
Dear Warriors,
Free Pelican case for OIF/OEF amputees!
Pelican is offering a Protector Case to the men and women who have sacrificed greatly while protecting the freedoms we hold dear. Perhaps you have seen our cases on the battlefield and are familiar with their durability and protective capabilities. The Protector Case is designed to protect and transport your valuable prosthetics, and to serve as a small gesture of our tremendous gratitude and deepest respect.
To receive your free case through the Pelican for Patriots program, please complete the form included and fax it to your nearest Pelican-Hardigg Case Center, or order online at www.pelican.com/PFP.
Check out WWP Connect, an exclusive social network for warriors and caregivers!
connect.woundedwarriorproject.org
Ed: WWP is a very cool project, which has been helping troops since OIF kicked off. They were one of the lead agencies in championing the Traumatic Serviceman's Group Life Insurance, as well as helping Wounded Warriors navigate through the Military and VA bureaucracies.
--Chuck
Free Pelican case for OIF/OEF amputees!
Pelican is offering a Protector Case to the men and women who have sacrificed greatly while protecting the freedoms we hold dear. Perhaps you have seen our cases on the battlefield and are familiar with their durability and protective capabilities. The Protector Case is designed to protect and transport your valuable prosthetics, and to serve as a small gesture of our tremendous gratitude and deepest respect.
To receive your free case through the Pelican for Patriots program, please complete the form included and fax it to your nearest Pelican-Hardigg Case Center, or order online at www.pelican.com/PFP.
Check out WWP Connect, an exclusive social network for warriors and caregivers!
connect.woundedwarriorproject.org
Ed: WWP is a very cool project, which has been helping troops since OIF kicked off. They were one of the lead agencies in championing the Traumatic Serviceman's Group Life Insurance, as well as helping Wounded Warriors navigate through the Military and VA bureaucracies.
--Chuck
Friday, July 16, 2010
Stolen Valor Act Overturned
I'm just going to link to other peoples' posts about the Stolen Valor act being overturned today because they're all a lot smarter than me when it comes to this and apparently my computer really, really wants to reboot (or be taken out to the desert to be a skeet shooting target) as nothing I'm doing is working out all that well:
Stolen Valor Act facing legal challenges and Jonathon Turley is a jackass - EagleSpeak
BREAKING: STOLEN VALOR ACT RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL - Mr Wolf @ Blackfive.net
Stolen Valor act ruled unconstitutional - CRD Salamander
Stolen Valor Act suffers in Strandlof case - Jonn Lilyea @ This Ain't Hell...
Court Overturns "Stolen Valor Act", Lets Lying Bastard Off The Hook DrewM @ Ace
Stolen Valor Act Held Unconstitutional - The Volokh Conspiracy
Federal court says Stolen Valor Act violates First Amendment - Allahpundit @ Hotair
Feel free to add other relevant links in the comments. Except if they're from Code Pink. Then I'll just ban you.
Or feed you to the javalinas.
~~Code Monkey
Stolen Valor Act facing legal challenges and Jonathon Turley is a jackass - EagleSpeak
BREAKING: STOLEN VALOR ACT RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL - Mr Wolf @ Blackfive.net
Stolen Valor act ruled unconstitutional - CRD Salamander
Stolen Valor Act suffers in Strandlof case - Jonn Lilyea @ This Ain't Hell...
Court Overturns "Stolen Valor Act", Lets Lying Bastard Off The Hook DrewM @ Ace
Stolen Valor Act Held Unconstitutional - The Volokh Conspiracy
Federal court says Stolen Valor Act violates First Amendment - Allahpundit @ Hotair
Feel free to add other relevant links in the comments. Except if they're from Code Pink. Then I'll just ban you.
Or feed you to the javalinas.
~~Code Monkey
I have a plan
I want to design a new ATM. Mine will be designed so if someone tries to use a credit/debit/ATM card that's been reported (and verified) stolen, the "card holder" will be shot with a Taser. The camera(s) will record the video and upload to the internet and the cops will be notified immediately so they're on the scene to scoop up the perpetrator as soon as they stop twitching.
I suppose a paramedic should be called as well.
So far every time I've run this idea past someone in the banking industry, they think it's brilliant.
If the Tasers don't work out, I'll settle for a pack of live, rabid, hungry javalinas.
~~Code Monkey
I suppose a paramedic should be called as well.
So far every time I've run this idea past someone in the banking industry, they think it's brilliant.
If the Tasers don't work out, I'll settle for a pack of live, rabid, hungry javalinas.
~~Code Monkey
Thursday, July 15, 2010
UPDATE: Guilty & caught
John Rodriguez has been caught in California. "He was stopped on suspicion of DUI and that's when officers realized he was a fugitive from justice out of Arizona."
Have fun in jail, John.
___
It's one thing to pretend you're a Marine.
It's another to collect benefits and perks because you made people think you were a Marine.
But skipping out on your court date? Dude, that's priceless. Well, it is for me anyway. I'm laughing at how you are the complete antithesis of everything the Marines (and the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard) stand for.
For you, I'm guessing it's anything but priceless. You're probably cowering in a dark corner somewhere hoping that no one finds you and holds you accountable for being a fake, a liar, and too cowardly to even face the music once you got busted.
I hope they hand you over to Sheriff Joe for a nice long hot stay in Tent City once they find your lame, worthless self.
If you see John Rodriguez, there's a bench warrant for his arrest:
~~Code Monkey
Have fun in jail, John.
___
It's one thing to pretend you're a Marine.
It's another to collect benefits and perks because you made people think you were a Marine.
But skipping out on your court date? Dude, that's priceless. Well, it is for me anyway. I'm laughing at how you are the complete antithesis of everything the Marines (and the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard) stand for.
For you, I'm guessing it's anything but priceless. You're probably cowering in a dark corner somewhere hoping that no one finds you and holds you accountable for being a fake, a liar, and too cowardly to even face the music once you got busted.
I hope they hand you over to Sheriff Joe for a nice long hot stay in Tent City once they find your lame, worthless self.
If you see John Rodriguez, there's a bench warrant for his arrest:
~~Code Monkey
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Just curious...
I was wondering if anyone else had gotten a letter from their health insurance provider warning of "significant" increases in your cost next year. (Open enrollment has been pushed back as well.) Mind you, I'm a civilian, so this may just apply to non-military. Or not. I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
I'm wondering if this is what everyone's seeing or if my coworkers and I are going to see such an epic increase that we're just special...
~~Code Monkey
PS Add in a report on the news this morning about the cost of groceries going up because the cost of energy is going up and I'm feeling all kinds of hope and change.
I'm wondering if this is what everyone's seeing or if my coworkers and I are going to see such an epic increase that we're just special...
~~Code Monkey
PS Add in a report on the news this morning about the cost of groceries going up because the cost of energy is going up and I'm feeling all kinds of hope and change.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Troubles in Paradise
If you've noticed, I have not posted much (other than pictures) for a couple weeks. Here's an update:
We arrived in Hawaii on the 29th, and spend two days relaxing at the Hale Koa in Waikiki. Times were good.
Then I had to sign in to Schofield Barracks, officially ending my leave, and begin staying in the Schofield Inn (think Motel 6, without the amenities.) The four of us are sharing a room roughly the same size as my bedroom in my house at Fort Leavenworth. Two double beds, a TV, a shower, a microwave and fridge, and two kids who go from bouncing off the walls to bickering.
On the 6th, the housing office dropped a BIG bomb on us: although there are units available, the interiors are being renovated, and we can expect to not have anything ready for move in for at least 60 days. The Inn is unable to even provide us with a connecting room so me and the Mrs. can get a nights' rest, and not have to wake up to iCarly or whatever Nickelodeon happens to be showing at 6 A.M.
So we are house hunting, while I am in-processing. Unfortunately, we need the following: 1750+ square feet, 2 bathrooms, 3 (or more) bedrooms, must allow pets, and not be on the other side of the island. (Gas is currently $3.44 a gallon.) Finally, it needs to be less than $3200/month, near good schools (Hawaii public schools generally SUCK--see domestic and foreign policy of current occupant, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, alumnus of Hawaii education system; best schools in the state are still in the worst state system) and not a shanty.
To recap, a two month wait for on-post housing, a dearth of suitable, available, and financially feasible off-post housing, school starts first week of August, and I deploy in November to Iraq for 13 months (it's the "turn out the lights and lock up when you leave" tour.)
We (me and the Mrs.) are stressed, the kids have cabin fever and are unsettled, we have no "home."
Anyone got a house they aren't using on Oahu that they would like to lend to a cripple, his nice family, their pets?
--Chuck
We arrived in Hawaii on the 29th, and spend two days relaxing at the Hale Koa in Waikiki. Times were good.
Then I had to sign in to Schofield Barracks, officially ending my leave, and begin staying in the Schofield Inn (think Motel 6, without the amenities.) The four of us are sharing a room roughly the same size as my bedroom in my house at Fort Leavenworth. Two double beds, a TV, a shower, a microwave and fridge, and two kids who go from bouncing off the walls to bickering.
On the 6th, the housing office dropped a BIG bomb on us: although there are units available, the interiors are being renovated, and we can expect to not have anything ready for move in for at least 60 days. The Inn is unable to even provide us with a connecting room so me and the Mrs. can get a nights' rest, and not have to wake up to iCarly or whatever Nickelodeon happens to be showing at 6 A.M.
So we are house hunting, while I am in-processing. Unfortunately, we need the following: 1750+ square feet, 2 bathrooms, 3 (or more) bedrooms, must allow pets, and not be on the other side of the island. (Gas is currently $3.44 a gallon.) Finally, it needs to be less than $3200/month, near good schools (Hawaii public schools generally SUCK--see domestic and foreign policy of current occupant, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, alumnus of Hawaii education system; best schools in the state are still in the worst state system) and not a shanty.
To recap, a two month wait for on-post housing, a dearth of suitable, available, and financially feasible off-post housing, school starts first week of August, and I deploy in November to Iraq for 13 months (it's the "turn out the lights and lock up when you leave" tour.)
We (me and the Mrs.) are stressed, the kids have cabin fever and are unsettled, we have no "home."
Anyone got a house they aren't using on Oahu that they would like to lend to a cripple, his nice family, their pets?
--Chuck
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Public Notice: This is a free speech website devoted to the expression of controversial ideas. The rhetoric and concepts represented herein may be inappropriate for ignorant persons or immature individuals, so discretion may be warranted ... hence this precaution. The reader entering this website, and encountering the contents of these web pages, is wholly responsible for his well being, and by such ingress, agrees to hold the author and publisher harmless. Any acquired insight or accrued perceptivity is the sole responsibility of the nescient explorer who ventures forth into this conventicle, as are any objections or frustrations, confusions or misinterpretations realized herein.
Further warning: Caveat Lector: Vulgar, profane, and obscene dysphemisms, which have been used for every part of speech and rhetorical form, have not been Bowdlerized nor expurgated from this site, to the undoubted dismay of purists and the evident enrichment of our mother-tongue; so immature or hypersensitive persons should refrain from perusing this indubitably eclectic and contingently egregious compendium. Swearing is usually either juvenile or crass, but military personnel admire talent and respect skill, so the ability to create imaginative expletives and to craft uncommon scurrility is often appreciated. This site may, from time to time, publish the works or words of others that contain, or use such language.
Unless otherwise noted, all material published herein reserves copyright to the author, and may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced, for any reason, without permission.
The AUTHOR is currently under the care of mental health and other medical professionals, currently takes prescribed pain-management and psychotropic medications, and is under treatment for both Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress. So take anything written as either the medicated ramblings of a mad man, or as the official policy and position of the United States Army. You will be wrong in both cases.
These are my own poorly arranged thoughts. They usually come to me during periods of when I can’t sleep and when under great stress. They do not reflect the official or unofficial policies of any government agency. I refuse to acknowledge them as my own. This site has quite possibly been hacked, and therefore I am unable to be held responsible for anything that may (or may not) appear here. So There. I'm going back to putting on my aluminum foil helmet to block the mind control beams.
Public Notice: This is a free speech website devoted to the expression of controversial ideas. The rhetoric and concepts represented herein may be inappropriate for ignorant persons or immature individuals, so discretion may be warranted ... hence this precaution. The reader entering this website, and encountering the contents of these web pages, is wholly responsible for his well being, and by such ingress, agrees to hold the author and publisher harmless. Any acquired insight or accrued perceptivity is the sole responsibility of the nescient explorer who ventures forth into this conventicle, as are any objections or frustrations, confusions or misinterpretations realized herein.
Further warning: Caveat Lector: Vulgar, profane, and obscene dysphemisms, which have been used for every part of speech and rhetorical form, have not been Bowdlerized nor expurgated from this site, to the undoubted dismay of purists and the evident enrichment of our mother-tongue; so immature or hypersensitive persons should refrain from perusing this indubitably eclectic and contingently egregious compendium. Swearing is usually either juvenile or crass, but military personnel admire talent and respect skill, so the ability to create imaginative expletives and to craft uncommon scurrility is often appreciated. This site may, from time to time, publish the works or words of others that contain, or use such language.
Unless otherwise noted, all material published herein reserves copyright to the author, and may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced, for any reason, without permission.
The AUTHOR is currently under the care of mental health and other medical professionals, currently takes prescribed pain-management and psychotropic medications, and is under treatment for both Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress. So take anything written as either the medicated ramblings of a mad man, or as the official policy and position of the United States Army. You will be wrong in both cases.
These are my own poorly arranged thoughts. They usually come to me during periods of when I can’t sleep and when under great stress. They do not reflect the official or unofficial policies of any government agency. I refuse to acknowledge them as my own. This site has quite possibly been hacked, and therefore I am unable to be held responsible for anything that may (or may not) appear here. So There. I'm going back to putting on my aluminum foil helmet to block the mind control beams.
