HELP!

My blogger control panel is in all German! How can I get it back to English?

Any help would be appreciated.

UPDATE:

Okay found the way to change it back. I know I did not change it, is this a virus or a bug in the blogger ssytem?

Cold weather camping

Our Webelos den had its first official experience camping with older scouts this weekend and it almost qualified them for the polar bear patch. You can get the polar bear patch if when you wake up there is ice on the fire bucket. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for the Webelos a warm front moved in about 2:00 am and the temp rose to about 50 degrees. After spending the day in the woods with the Scouts running around in 39 – 42 degree weather that felt like a heat wave and it kept any ice production to none.

Saturday morning we get to the campsite about 11:30 and get set up. Thankfully there was a spot to park near the site otherwise we could have been lugging our camp gear about ½ miles up a dirt road. After setting up camp we joined the Scouts on a tour of the area they had been doing their skills in the night before so they could see where they were, and we got to do the skills with them during the day. That was pretty fun, the boys learned how to do some basic orienteering and they got to try out the other stations, with the exception of fire building.

Then it was hanging out by the campsite for a few hours ‘til dinner and then about 8:30 we all got in line and set off down the trail to the “theatre” which was a bunch of logs on the side of a hill overlooking a nice shallow bowl to act as a stage. It was there that they had skits and songs for about 30 minutes then it was awards ceremony time. Of 17 patrols there, not one patrol was able to finish 12 of 12 stations and only one patrol was able to finish 11 of 12 stations over the night and that patrol was the patrol our Webelos are attached to, so there is a great foundation they will be joining in a couple of years. In fact they were the only patrol to be able to make fire without matches, boil water and cook oatmeal that night. Then it was back up the trial to camp about 10:00. By then I knew my son was not going to want to stay the night, he was getting to that point where he was starting to get too cold. As the Scout Master put it “Once a young in gets cold it takes a lot to warm him up,“ and he just wasn’t having any fun at that point. The icing on the cake though was he had to go pee, and since kids these days just don’t seem to understand the benefits of a tree, he had to go to the port-a-pot. With all the clothes on he barely made it there in time, in fact he ended up spraying a lot and getting himself wet some, which really upset him so we changed clothes and headed home. I can see I’m going to have to spend some time getting my boys to understand how to go pee in the woods. So about midnight we gathered some of our gear and went home. Thankfully we only live about 3 miles from the site otherwise it would have been a long night for both of us. As it was, once I got home I couldn’t sleep so I spent the rest of the night just lying there in bed.

We got back to the campsite about 8:00 and took down out tent and collected up the rest of our gear and helped the scouts break camp and pack up. That took a while and we didn’t get home until about 11:30. The rest of the afternoon for us was also jam packed with activities and a Halloween Church service that lasted ‘til 8:00 pm., whew, it was a long weekend and by 8:45 pm, last night, I was out, I literally collapsed on the bed while trying to watch Extreme Home Makeover and the Sunday Night football game. I was so tired my wife had to wake me up at 9:30 so she could get under the covers. LOL

Letter to The Editor

I just mailed this letter to the Editor of my local newspaper.

~~~
I must say I am ashamed to admit that I subscribe to your publication. I hardly even dare to call it a newspaper for it does not report on the news it is primarily a conduit for the so called Main Stream Media and their anti-American employees to send out press releases. Especially disingenuous is your October 26, 2005 article about the 2000th soldier to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Amazingly, your editors appeared to be attempting to make a statement that they agree with the negative slant of the article by placing the continuation on the same pages as the local obituaries, and burying, no pun intended, the most important statement in the article, the statement made by LTC. Steve Boylan, "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."

Are we to believe that you do not support the war in Iraq, when you simply run the dispatches sent out by reporters that hide in the International Zone? Are we to believe that you feel that 2000 deaths is too high a price to pay for freedom and democracy? If so what would you have to say about the 2000 soldiers and sailors that died on a single day in WWII, D-Day? Or the roughly 116,000 soldiers and sailors that died in Europe throughout WWII. Is their loss too high a price for freedom? What would you say about the 115,000 that died in France during WWI?

I admit, war is a terrible thing but to actively or even passively take part in the politicization of the loss of our heroic service members is to dishonor them and the Country that they proudly serve. Why can you not; "Celebrate the daily milestones, the accomplishments they have secured and look to the future of a free and democratic Iraq and to the day that all of our troops return home to the heroes welcome they deserve.."

~~~
End

UPDATE: 1649 hours
I'm going to have to trim my 345 word letter to 300 words for them to print it. Thankfully the editor of the Editorial page finds nothing wrong with the content of my letter. Well that's good to know, since it is my opinion.

UPDATE: 1656 hours
Trimming completed and sent again...I'll keep everyone posted.

David

Going on High Alert....

This morning on the way to work my pager went off alerting me to a barn fire about 4 miles from my house. I didn’t really pay much attention to it as there was no way I was going to be able to go on the call and still get to work on time. When I got to work I listened as several transfers were dispatched to cover stations; that got my attention, there must really be something to this fire. Then about 20 minutes later there was another call dispatched for another barn fire about 4 miles north of the original fire.

Hmmmmmm, this is getting interesting, I wonder if there is a little fire bug running around the county. Time to start keeping the eyes and ears open a little more than normal and catch this little shithead before someone gets hurt.


UPDATE: 11/02/2005 As of late there have been no further fires, so I'm wondering is it possible that it was coincidence?

Karma

Thunder 6 brings back some "fond" memories as he relates his experiences with driving in the pitch blackness of night in Iraq.

I remember my first attempt at night driving with Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) when I was stationed at Ft. Knox. We were maneuvering through the Kentucky forests driving at probably about 25 or 30 mph, the trees were close on each side of the vehicle and the clear sky could be seen above but with NVGs on everything had a green glow about it. Because depth perception was lost when wearing NVGs the road appeared to be a smooth dirt track, just as we entered a small clearing the Track Commander (TC) started screaming, “Watch out for that hole!”, and I replied, “What hole?”, just as the APC nosed into a 3 foot deep trench. Thankfully we came right back out the other side although not without a couple of head slaps from the TC. I learned quickly that depth perception was gone with NVGs and while I did master the ability it was as Danjel indicates, it was always an exciting experience.

Karma bit me back though; when I was a TC my driver did the same thing to me at Ft. Bliss, only he nosed into a 6 foot deep trench, or wadi. Driving with NVGs in the desert was worse than anywhere else as all landmarks seemed to disappear at night and the dunes all seemed to be the same height. Thankfully I dropped down into the vehicle before we went over to avoid hoping to avoid any broken bones, by being thrown clear of the vehicle. Lost my coke though as I left the can on the top of the APC when I dropped in. A lost drink is better than a broken bone!

Keep up the good work Danjel.

UPDATE: I've looked at those speeds I posted and they seem awful fast. But hey, I young and immortal then so I'm sticking with them. For all I know it could have been only 10 mph and at night with NVGs on, it could have seemed like it was 25 mph. All I really remember is having the throttle pressed to the floor at the time.

Hahahahahahahaha

Just as I thought.

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Milestones

I mentioned to Sgt B last week that this weekend I would be marking off a major milestone in my life, as I was officially becoming a member of the United Methodist Church. It had been a long road for me to get to where I belong spiritually but I can see now that it has been a road that has led to a great new home.

I was raised a Roman Catholic and as soon as I left the nest and entered the Army I conveniently let that part of my life fall away. For many years I drifted in and out of church with never really making any connection. For the most part those brushes with religion were during the bad times in my life: hard times in Basic Training, after a bad break up, and just general depression at life in general.

Sgt B mentioned to me that he finds solace in Psalm 23, “...though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil…” but for me it has always been a single line from the Old Testament that drew me back to God and the force in my life that always drove me to help and serve others: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8. It was this passage that seemed to drive me throughout life, whether it be volunteering for Military Service when no others seemed to be willing to step forward in that tumultuous time called the 70’s and 80’s, or following my childhood dream of becoming a firefighter.

On Sunday I took the step that brought me closer to the one that continually calls me to serve, and I am better for it.

ALIENS Among Us

Okay why do the freaky ones always want to stand around naked?

Yesterday I go into the locker room after working out and there he is…no not NSG, but rather Alien Baby man. Alien Baby man (AB) is even weirder than NSG, not in that he likes to stand around naked, which he does. But that he spends so much freaking time in the locker room that it is impossible to avoid him.

AB swims, and I have to admit he swims very well, but you wouldn’t know that to look at him his gut sticks out a good 5 inches from his waist. We call him AB because this gut doesn’t go all the way around like it does on a lot of men, no his gut looks like he swallowed a basketball and its attempting to push its way back out through his belly skin. Which reminds us of that scene in Alien where the creature erupts from the one character’s chest. AB also likes to wear Speedos, *Shudder* which makes the protrusion look even more pronounced than it is. AB also smells, it’s a hard smell to describe it’s a medicinal smell crossed with fruit. And it lingers forever in the locker room, especially since he is so fragile that he can’t have any air blowing on him while he is in there so he is constantly turning off the AC. This has become kind of a game for us, he turns it off and we climb up on the chair next to him and turn it back on. I’m sure one day he is going to go off and I’m just waiting for it.

Anyway, yesterday I am greeted to the AB show as I entered the locker room. There he is in all his glory standing in front of the hand dryer. What is he doing in front of the hand dryer, you may ask? Why drying his ears of course. Yes you’ve got it…he is standing there bent over at the side with his ear pointed towards the vent which he has conveniently turned around so it is pointing up drying his ear. I don’t know about you, but I find Q-Tips much more effective.

I’m standing by my locker and he is there thankfully with his back to me bent over drying his ear when the dryer stops. He turns the dryer back on and turns to face me so his other ear can be dried. There he is, 60+ year old twig and berries hanging all out and his alien looking like its about to show itself drying his ear. I can’t take much more of this so I jump into the shower to escape his gaze.

3 minutes later he is still in the locker room and still naked, come on man how long does it take to dry off, slap on some deodorant and get dressed? Most of us can be in and out in less than 7 minutes and that includes actually washing up, what could possibly take so long?

He was still there and naked when I left, and yes, when I came back in an hour to use the crapper, the AC was turned off damnit!

It’s a Small World

Have you ever had one of those experiences? You go somewhere completely foreign, and unexpectedly meet someone that you either know from back home or meet a new friend that has a tie to you back home?

I’ve had several of these experiences in my life the most recent of which was this past weekend where my wife and I while on vacation with the family both ran into people that we haven’t seen in literally 20 years. But the most memorable one for me occurred while I was stationed in Germany with C Troop 1/1 Cavalry 1st Armored Division.

I was fresh out of basic, boot camp for you marine types out there, and at my first duty assignment as a Cavalry Scout. Man I loved that job, we got to do it all there, and we even patrolled the East German and Czechoslovakian borders. Yes I’m dating myself here; bonus points if anyone can tell me what year this was.

Well, it was a small unit and I quickly became friends with another soldier named Jeff. Jeff was a mortar man 11C and assigned to Headquarters Company (HHC). It must have been 2 months or so that we had known each other and amazingly the topic of hometowns had not come up before. So there we were, yeah I know all war stories start that way, sitting around in the dayroom at the Camp Pitman when the topic finally came up. I usually told everyone that I was from Washington DC because, well, I learned no one knew where my home town was. Anyway, several of us are talking and I mention “I’m from Washington DC.” To which Jeff replies, “No kidding I’m from near there and I even went to college in DC.
Where do you live?”

Are you kidding someone from around the area! “Actually,” I begin, “I’m not from D.C I just say that cause no one knows where Frederick is and I end up saying D.C. Everyone knows where D.C. is”

To which he once again replies, “No kidding, I’m from Frederick too.”

WTF over, another Fredericktonian here, in Germany? “No kidding what school did you go to? I went to TJ.” “FHS.” He replies. By now not only were we both looking a little shocked but so was everyone else in the group. Jeff turned out to be a great friend and it was sad leaving him to PCS to Ft. Bliss and the 3rd ACR, but we ran into each other again before he left the Army for good. He had gotten assigned to an Infantry unit at Ft. Lewis, WA and his unit had come to the wonderful beachfront properly known as Ft. Bliss for some war games. We kicked their ass, but it was good seeing him again.

Jeff and I stay in touch to this day and I even worked for him for a couple years before I moved on to my current job. He had called me out of the blue after I quit my 13 year job at the hospital and offered me a good job working for him in a start up computer game company. I mean how could I refuse, doesn’t every guy want to work at a computer game company and get paid bazillions of dollars to play games 15 hours a day? LOL

Faith

Sgt B, gave a sermon the other day in his church where he gave his Witness to the Glory of God. He writes:

“What is faith?
Faith is what you have when you expect something to happen. You have faith that your car will start when you turn the key. Faith is what you have when you drive that car too fast down the road, and a police officer pulls you over and gives you a ticket. You may not like it, but you kind of expect it to happen.”

Listen to that and think about where you can go with faith. My friend “V” is still battling a rare disease and yet she has faith. Faith can come in many forms and yet it has one undeniable thread that always rings true. Faith in God never lets you down. Even thought the road is a hard one, faith has a way of making that road bearable. For with our Faith we know that death is just the beginning of a new life.

Death is what brings faith home for many people and it was the same for Sgt B., when he relates the story of the loss of a close friend of his. This loss was not on a distant battlefield, as some might expect when a Marine dies. It occurred in a hospital room in California. And this event opened up his eyes so to speak to the presence of God in our lives, now Sgt B., views life and subsequently death differently.

“When a friend dies, I weep at their loss, because I will miss them. But I also celebrate their passing, because they have finally crossed over into Heaven. They check in with Saint Peter at the Golden Gates, and I believe that Christ, Himself, is there to greet them. He greets them with a big hug, like a father hugs his children when he steps off of the plane after a deployment. And says, “Welcome Home.”

Suddenly death really does lose its sting. Why should I fear it? My soul will live on with God, so I‘ve got no worries. Of course, I want to put off the actual event, but it won’t frighten me when it happens.”

Sgt B., is rejoining the military. He says it’s the Guard so I’m assuming that he means the Army National Guard, but it could be a Marine reserve unit, I don’t know. What I do know is that a man, a former soldier, is following his calling and that the faith of God is going with him this time, not as a after thought but rather as the guiding light.

Godspeed Sgt B., we wish you well and keep the faith.

Voting and Water in Iraq

Thunder 6 takes us to the site of a polling station and lets us know that in the end…democracy trumps all other concerns.

“Watching a steady stream of Iraqis wave as they walked to the polling center, and then smile and hold up their ink stained thumbs as they returned. The entire area swimmed with motion as Iraqis came from kilometers away to cast their vote. As the sun reached its burning apex one of the Iraqi soldiers ran over with a grave look on his face. He spilled a torrent of words, urgently motioning for me to follow him. I took a small detachment to the outer perimeter, a wall of concrete barriers a couple hundred meters from the polling site and was met with an anxious group of Iraqi soldiers. As I walked over there I expected I would have to listen to pleas for additional ice, or some other creature comfort. What they had to say took me by surprise, and I felt embarrassed at my callous guessing game. The reason they had called me over was to express concerns that one of the election officials was trying to sway the voters in the polling center. As they laid out their case their eyes burned with passion and their voices trembled with emotion. It was only then, seeing these soldiers aflame with a desire to have a free and fair election, that I truly understood how committed these men were to their fledgling democracy. I had one of the Iraqi policeman collect up the election supervisor and the poll worker in question and as they arrived the soldiers let loose a heated verbal salvo. I motioned for them to stop for a moment, and as they lapsed into silence I explained to the supervisor how critical it was to remain impartial. The poll worker lowered his head in an obvious expression of shame, and the supervisor promised to keep a close eye on his staff. They walked back to the election building, and the soldiers seemed convinced that my impromptu civics lesson would cow the passionate poll worker into a semblance of impartiality.

As the afternoon heat flared I started seeing groups walk away with the water bottles we had left with the soldiers, and I walked over to the perimeter to see if everything was alright. They told me that they had plenty of water, and that they wanted to share it with the people who were walking great distances in order to vote. All of these soldiers were Shia, and all of the voters were Sunni, but that didn’t matter to them. For on this day sectarian concerns faded away like the morning mist, and all the Iraqi soldiers could see was Iraqi citizens in need of a cool drink. For the second time in the day I was impressed and slightly humbled by these soldiers I had been so concerned with the prior evening.

The afternoon was no different from the morning, and voters continued to make their way to the polling site in spite of the oppressive heat. In our small position soldiers took turns on the heavy weapons scanning for threat that never materialized. And then it was over.

The election officials packed the ballots into their small sedan and piled into it like it was a circus clown car. As they left the site we pulled out of our overwatch positions and reassembled on the election site. As I stepped out of my HMMWV I noticed an Iraqi soldier carefully cutting down the election banner. I snapped a picture of him holding up the banner and then watched him carefully folded the banner. Once he had done so he walked over and placed it in my hands saying “take, take – thank you for you protecting Iraq democracy”. His tongue stuttered on some of the unfamiliar consonants, but his message carried so much weight I almost staggered backwards. His words washed away all the miseries we had suffered over the last few days, replacing it with a deep sense of pride at what my men had helped accomplish.”

Read it all and feel proud for what these brave men and women are accomplishing, for they are accomplishing great things. Despite the hand wringing and negative statements made by the “loyal” opposition and the anti-American left, it appears that democracy does want to flourish in Iraq.

Random thoughts

A few random thoughts by Thomas Sowell, who is in my estimate one of the greatest economists in this country to date, if you ever get the chance you should read all of his books.

Mr. Sowell’s thoughts;
Neither the depth of despondency nor the height of euphoria tells you how long either will last.

We are so easily deceived that many people think that the Senate Judiciary Committee is acting nicely if the Senators wear a genial expression while asking insulting questions or smile while they are lying about the nominee.

Virtually no idea is too ridiculous to be accepted, even by very intelligent and highly educated people, if it provides a way for them to feel special and important. Some confuse that feeling with idealism.

I usually read the Wall Street Journal before breakfast. I can't take the New York Times on an empty stomach.

Homeschooling is not new. John Stuart Mill was homeschooled two centuries ago and never spent a day in a school or college.

People who think that they don't owe anything to anybody should read David McCullough's outstanding new book "1776," to see what hell other people went through to create the freedom that we enjoy and abuse today.

Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Judge John Roberts whether his being Catholic would interfere with carrying out his duties on the Supreme Court but she would undoubtedly have felt insulted if anyone had asked her whether being Jewish would interfere with her carrying out her duties as a Senator.

One of the reasons for the poverty in the United States that is seldom mentioned by the left is that many poor people are coming here, both legally and illegally, from other countries.
I don't know anything about Judge Consuelo Callahan but I love the name. Possibly she could be related to the economist Pedro Schwartz.

The Middle East "peace process" is an illusion. No one can make peace with others who is not at peace with himself -- and the Arabs cannot be at peace with themselves so long as they lag so visibly far behind the rest of the world. No concessions from others can give them what would satisfy them, their own achievements and self-respect.

Economist Steven Levitt's best-selling book "Freakonomics" is not really about economics. It is about applying systematic reasoning to all sorts of social problems. Systematic reasoning is needed even more than economics.

The controversies surrounding Bill Cosby should force more black leaders to decide whether their top priority is protecting the image of blacks or promoting the future of blacks, especially the younger generation.

If a word means everything, then it means nothing. Stretching words like "marriage" and "family" to include all sorts of things that they never meant before is reducing these words -- and the institutions they represent -- to nothing.

Any given writer might write in a vague, lofty, convoluted, and romantic style. But when all the people who write on a given subject write that same way, there is something else going on. Try to think of any defender of progressive education or judicial activism who writes in a plain, straightforward and factual style.

Some of the most vocal critics of the way things are being done are people who have done nothing themselves, and whose only contributions to society are their complaints and moral exhibitionism.

My brother recalled his younger days down South during the Jim Crow era, when he had a job working late. After work, he had a long walk back home in the middle of the night. But, he says, "When I got to the black neighborhood, I felt safe!" That speaks volumes about what has happened since then.

Two recent books tell about a million Europeans who were once enslaved by North African pirates. But these books ("Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters" by R.C. Davis and "White Gold" by Giles Milton) are largely ignored by people who claim to be outraged about slavery in the past.

There is something rotten in the state of Denmark, er ummmm, Youth Athletics

A controversy is brewing in the local youth athletic leagues in my area. Seems that a little boy just wanted to play football, his dad took him to the registration, completed all the forms with the proper proof of age, i.e., birth certificate and official ID form the state DMV and turns it all in to the league. The league reviews the application and places him on a team. He practices with the team and begins to play football. Four games into the season, the league calls the boy’s dad and indicates that they have determined that his son is too old, by five days, to play on the team on which he was placed. No problem thinks his dad they will move him to the proper team. Well no this is where it gets controversial, especially in my mind.

The league decides that because his son is too old to play on the team he was on, the boy must now be suspended for one year, the team must forfeit its two wins and the coach must be suspended for one year. Why? The boy is obviously a ringer! Excuse me? The league placed the boy on the team. The league reviewed the application and has a copy of the birth certificate and a copy of the official state ID issued by the DMV. How could they even consider that this boy is a ringer? Is this a case of someone now trying to cover their mistake by making three more? And why does it take 4 weeks to uncover this error? Isn’t this what the application process is supposed to avoid from having happen?

Something isn’t right; I’ll tell you that for nothing. The boy’s father requested a meeting with the football board and was denied. He was told by the president of the league, that if a special meeting were called over "this issue" (his child!!), the team and coach would face further sanctions. Did you hear that? If the father wants to talk about this the team will suffer even more!

The boy’s family has even been told that they will not be allowed to speak for their son at the next board meeting of the league and their repeated attempts to obtain a copy of the rule book have been denied.

The local papers are covering this mess, and I’ll let you all know more as it progresses.

Oh by the way, the boy is not mine and to top it all off. On the day of the phone call from the league his fish died. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Diplomats with muddy boots

Reading Thunger 6’s words, to me are reminiscent of reading James Fenimore Cooper's stories of Hawkeye, in the Last of the Mohicans or even The Deerslayer. Rich detailed descriptions and vivid emotions that take the reader right to the fight in a way that a mere war story could not.

Once again Thunder 6 shows a depth of knowledge and compassion, along with the ability to be a true diplomat.

I realized just what I needed to do to convince this man. I reached out, held both of his forearms in my grip and looked him in the eye saying “My mission is to ensure the safety of this election site, but I cannot stay here and run the risk of even accidentally swaying this vote. But I will not let you fail, because if you fail then I will have failed”. I’m not sure if it was my words or if it was my use of Arabic social custom, but he finally seemed committed to staying on site. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to our haphazard little command post. I collapsed next to the radio, weary beyond words, and volunteered to man the radio so SSG Spite could get some rest. I felt utterly drained but that didn’t really matter – I knew I wouldn’t be getting that much sleep anyway. A few hours later I finally did manage to get some rest, waking up in the deep shadows that presage dawn. It was a new day… election day.

Go read the whole thing and do not forget to read part one.

Thunder 6, thank you for your service to our country and I hope that one day I can get an autographed copy of that book.

Naked Ballet

I promised Texas Grey that I would tell her about naked shaved guy, or more correctly naked shaved fat guy. Get ready because here he comes.

I work out quite regularly, and I’m lucky enough to have a weight room and gym not more than 50 feet from my office so it makes it very convenient. I first met naked shaved guy (NSG) about 2 years ago. I was already in the weight room working out when someone idiot walks in and loudly exclaims, “You can’t get big on this stuff!” Two days earlier the weight room staff had installed all new machines and I have to admit they are pretty good. So I’m assuming that he is some sort of supervisor for the contractor that manages the facilities, and I don’t pay much attention to him. It wasn’t until later that I find out he is the man that will always be known as NSG.

Across the hall from the weight room are the locker rooms. Since it’s a small facility there are only two showers in each locker room, so if more than a couple people are in there changing it can get crowded. It had been a good workout and I was taking my typical 3 minute shower. I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, as I pulled back the curtain and stepped over to my locker, there he is. A big, and by big I do not mean tall and built but rather fat man standing there in front of the mirror admiring himself. At some point in time NSG must have been a body builder but like a lot of body builders when he quit working out…he forgot to quit eating. So it wasn’t a pretty sight. He is tan from head to toe with nary a tan line in sight, and not a hair visible on his body which seemed awfully unusual for someone of such obvious Italian descent. He is obviously oblivious to everyone in there who is trying their best to get dressed and get out of there before he does something even weirder, when it happens.

He turns and looks around the locker room. No he doesn’t just turn his head and look around he actually pirouettes, if that’s what you can call it, turning his entire body in a circle. Now imagine if you will a ballerina balancing on one foot and spinning like a graceful animal, now take that image and remember if you will those Saturday morning cartoons we all used to watch as kids and hopefully you can remember the one Walt Disney cartoon of the ballerina hippo. Got it? Now think fat ugly man with no hair on his body, let me say that again, no hair anywhere on his body, spinning around in some sort of macabre ballet move, undercarriage flopping about like something that you might find hanging off of Jabba the Hut. Got that image in your head? Going to have nightmares tonight? I thought so, and welcome to my world!

Yes, NSG had just checked out the room, and we all were in his gaze. If I hadn’t been there myself and my office mate had been there too, I would have thought it was a nightmare. At that point NSG must have been feeling pretty good about himself because he grabbed his pants out of his locker and without putting on any underwear pulls them on. Let that bit of information sink in for a minute, NSG goes commando! He is hot stuff momma, watch out he’s coming after you, YUCK! By then I was ready to get out of there so I finished dressing and all but ran to my office up stairs, with office mate right behind.

NSG’s antics don’t stop there either, for instance there is the time we catch him in front of the mirror again, wearing a pair of black bikini underwear. I’m still not even sure they were men’s underwear. Or the time that he came into the weight room wearing Lycra with his twig and berries all shoved out for all to see. Yes, NSG is always good for a nightmare or two.

Seems that he doesn’t restrict his offending behavior to just his nakedness either. At last years Christmas party my office mate and I relate our experiences with NSG to some of our fellow female employees. Seems they have had some run-ins with him also, as one day they had both gone into his office to do something with the Recreation Association and he was in there “reading” a Playboy. Yeah I’m sure he was just reading the article, that’s all we ever do right? Well he makes no attempt to hide it or even put it away he just leaves it there open on his desk while he talks to them. Freaky man, just freaky, especially when you consider, he is not the freakiest man that uses that locker room. Just think of that scene from Alien where the creature pops out of the poor man’s chest…and think of that if a man was wearing a Speedo. *Shudder*

Abusing your Rights

Finally a trooper in country (Iraq) lets us know what the anti-war movement is doing to the soldiers, seems that the left has learned well from their lessons during Vietnam. Lincoln had it right when he imprisoned those who sought to succeed and spoke out against the war effort. They are not loyal Americans they are traitors and are providing aid to the enemy. How do I know this? Let’s ask Major K what he sees in country:

“When a Soldier is asked what he thinks of these protestors by a reporter, he will usually say something to the effect of, "I'm glad they have the freedom to do that in the USA. Most of the places we go, they kill people for things like that." What the Soldiers don't say, but overwhelmingly think is: "I wish they would quit working against us and abusing their freedom." I don't speak for all fighting men anymore than Cindy speaks for all of our parents. But I can tell you that I have spoken to more than she has, and very few of us here like her, and we wish she would honor her son, Casey's noble sacrifice. He truly was a hero.” Source

If that isn’t a damning analysis of the American Left then I do not know what one is. So if you are against this war and go around spouting out that false verse, “I support the troops but not the war.” Why don’t you do us a favor and just shut up and sit down. Say a prayer for a swift and victorious end to the war so that our men and women can come home and our future generations can live in peace. Then you can go back to abusing your rights.

Madness! Insanity! Brilliance!

If this is the real plan, then “W” is a genius!

On October the 14th, the White House announces that Harriet Miers has asked the President to withdraw her nomination. The Sunday Morning talk shows talk incessantly about how Bush's crony pick was withdrawn, the split in the conservative movement, and how this is the worst thing that ever happened to Bush. What a triumph for the left...or is it?

On the following Monday, October the 24th, President Bush announces that he is nominating Edith Hollan Jones to the Supreme Court. The left wails & gnashes their teeth in anger. The same conservatives who bitterly attacked Bush over the Harriet Miers nomination, praise him to the skies for his selection. Right wingers who previously said that they wouldn't donate money to the GOP in 2006, open up their checkbooks to donate money to conservative special interest groups that plan to run ads to defend the Jones nomination.

I have to agree, it’s brilliant in its simplicity, yet amazingly complex. We even get to figuratively hang McCain for his treasonous acts against America and the party lately. One of the main reasons Ken Mehlman isn’t getting any more money out of me lately.

Hat tip: John Hawkins at Right Wing News

New post by Michael Yon

Go and read it!

NOW!

Courage Under Fire

A friend of mine was diagnosed yesterday with Graves Disease. Graves’ Disease is a type of autoimmune disease in which the immune system over stimulates the thyroid gland, causing hyperthyroidism. This is an extremely rare disease that tends to affect women over the age of 20. The incidence is about 5 in 10,000 people.

She has been having heart problems and a multitude of other symptoms for a several weeks now, and yesterday after many tests it was discovered that her thyroid had swollen to 3 times its normal size. Surgery or radiation treatments are the only options now and both have some serious connotations.

She is getting on a roller coaster ride the likes of which she has never experienced before and yet through all of this she sees the hope of a wonderful outcome. She writes:

I am grateful that it is not my heart but I now must find the positive with this illness and learn to be strong. I sit here with my heart pounding hard; my muscles aches and I know I have a road of the next few months to finally become a human woman again once everything is finally normal again. It will be in time and I look forward to this so all the pain, weakness and all these symptoms will be gone.

Listen to that, and think about the strength of a single person and how wonderful that is. If ever there was someone to look up to and admire it is her and her optimism.

I have a road ahead of me that is going to take me to places I never dreamed about and along the way I will pull strength from family and friends. I just pray it has not been anything like this week. I have a lot to learn and I know the Lord will help me but as you can tell, I am just really shocked, scared and very overwhelmed with it all.

You are a blessing of love and support in my heart and I cherish you for being a part of my life, in all the happiness as well as the tears of many, many years to just even new friendships. . . Please continue to send email because many have really touch me in the way that it was suppose to as well as a giggle, laugh or tears. You are a gift and if I do not say it, please know you are.

Thank you for everything....

Thank you V., for letting us be a part of your journey.

Movement to Contact

"The point of contact sometimes lies inside the wire, in the minds and hearts of the American and Iraqi soldiers here. In the quiet after battle, it’s the connection they make with each other, those they shed sweat, flesh and blood with...when they recognize that they not only share the fight, they share the sacrifice, and a common humanity – even in the worst of circumstances.
In one way or another, Walczer and his fellow soldiers, Iraqi and American - make contact, every day."

Blackfive reminds us of a dark day when another fine soldier game to grips with the impermanence of life.

"Spc. Bryan Walczer, Company A, 111th Infantry, made contact in more ways than one last May 17 - the day he and some Iraqi soldiers joined the ranks of improvised-explosive-device survivors."

Go and read it all and realize that every soldier in Iraq is fighting for freedom and survival.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!

OMG! Go read this NOW! Finish all liquid beverages first tho!
Snark, snark, Bwahahahahahahahahaha!

The warrior as poet still lives...

As we move through life there comes a time when we realize that our own mortality is a very real possibility. The ancient Japanese warriors, Samurai, realized this and it is this realization that life is by its nature, fleeting. As such, they valued the beauty in life and the cherry blossom became a symbol for their lives. Beautiful and short lived the blossom comes upon us in the early spring but lasts but a few weeks, the impermanence of the blossom is what makes it so beautiful for them and it epitomized the beauty and shortness of live in general.

For most people in this world, life is a permanent thing. No one thinks of their life ending on a daily basis, but for soldiers this truly a daily occurrence. Thunder 6 is experiencing the conflict in ones mind between the belief in the permanence of life and the realization that life is truly impermanent. For those of us that have experienced this change in outlook it is important that from that point on to live life fully, taking nothing for granted and revel in the enhancement of your senses and live completely in the fullness of each moment, especially those that come tomorrow.

Take care brother and live life now!

HOOAH

Certificate of Award
Presented to
"Matt"

To all who see these present greetings:
This is to certify that the Headquarters Company 114th Signal Battalion has authorized the award of the "Army Values Tag" for living up to the Seven Army Values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor Integrity, Personal Courage.

Signed this 3rd day of October 2005

Mark S. Stroh
CSM, USA
Command Sergeant Major


This is the Certificate that the men and women of the 114th Signal Battalion presented to our Webelos Den last night at there meeting. These fine soldiers were willing to come out and drill for our boys and teach them how to march so that when it is their turn to do the flag ceremony they can be the best at what they do. Pretty impressive for a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds don’t you think?

I have to admit, the Army has definitely changed in its culture over the last 10 years. When I was a trooper we didn’t have a program called the Seven Army Values, it was just expected of us. But I can see that this program is definitely working. In just under 2 hours these 5 NCOs were able to get 9, 9 and 10 year old boys to work together and march in ranks. And by the end of the night they were answering questions being thrown out by these NCOs with the standard Army, HOOAH! Of course at first the boys had no idea what Hooah meant, until one boy looked at the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) that was leading the drill team and asked, “What does hooah mean?” At first I thought the CSM was going to have a heart attack but he recovered nicely and explained that Hooah means, YES SERGEANT or SIR, Right Away, Got it, On my Way, and any other affirmative you can think of. Once that was covered, the boys were shouting Hooah at every opportunity.

So from the boys of Den 7, Thank You! Signal Masters of the Rock!

An Amazing Letter

ROFASix shares with us an amazingly heartfelt and incredible letter written by the mother of Specialist Beard. Spec Beard was killed in action on October 14, 2005. As he has stated I’m sure this is another mother that Cindy does not speak for.