Via Instapundit, milblogger Charlie Foxtrot (heh...great name) relates the story of a soldier's very positive experience on his way back to Afghanistan after his mid-tour leave.
Charlie Foxtrot: Good War News....from Atlanta
The war is not lost, and neither are the American people.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
ack.
So, I got my first midterm back, and I got an 87. I'm not happy. Mike does not get B's.
Fortunately, the professor is good with feedback and I'm pretty sure where I need to improve. I did send her back an e-mail with some additional comments I put on the exam. She'll get back to me next week, entirely understandable as she's got another batch of exams to grade.
I'll definitely be taking any recommendations. I absolutely hate anything besides A's.
Yes, I know apostrophes aren't supposed to go there, but they make things easier to read.
Fortunately, the professor is good with feedback and I'm pretty sure where I need to improve. I did send her back an e-mail with some additional comments I put on the exam. She'll get back to me next week, entirely understandable as she's got another batch of exams to grade.
I'll definitely be taking any recommendations. I absolutely hate anything besides A's.
Yes, I know apostrophes aren't supposed to go there, but they make things easier to read.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
On Beauchamp
As a military veteran, I'm pretty sensitive to any unjustified criticism (or outright slander) of our men and women in uniform.
I've not posted on the whole New Republic/Scott Beauchamp debacle, mostly because it all came and went before I started this blog.
Until today, that is...
The Drudge Report had linked to some documents apparently showing Scott Beauchamp had essentially made up some stories published in The New Republic that asserted some serious misconduct by troops in Iraq. They were first published under a pseudonym; subsequently, Beauchamp came forward and claimed authorship.
There was suspicion from the beginning, and these documents seem to confirm what was suspected: Beauchamp fabricated the stories in an attempt to become "the next Hemingway."
His chain of command conducted an investigation and Beauchamp's punishment, whatever it was, is between them and him. His commander elected to keep him in the unit, and Beauchamp himself has stated he wants no more to do with the entire disaster because he feels it has harmed his fellow unit members, for whom he professes great love and devotion.
Too bad he didn't think about that BEFORE he slimed them.
Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about this. If his commander wants to keep him on, good for him. The commander certainly knows more about him and his attributes as a soldier than we do.
Maybe there's hope for Beauchamp, if he grows up and gets his priorities in order. I've known troops who were much like him, but turned out fine after they got a little more mature and a little less selfish.
And Beauchamp is doing his duty in Iraq, which, although he has screwed up, does mean something.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I kind of feel an odd mix of anger and pity towards the guy that makes me want to give him another chance; that maybe he's not a bad guy and he just had some asinine ideas and dopey notions.
One thing's for sure, though: after what he did, he'll have to make a career out of rebuilding trust.
UPDATE: Looks like Michael Yon feels the same as I do about second chances. I could hardly ask for better company.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/linking-policies-media-inquiries
I've not posted on the whole New Republic/Scott Beauchamp debacle, mostly because it all came and went before I started this blog.
Until today, that is...
The Drudge Report had linked to some documents apparently showing Scott Beauchamp had essentially made up some stories published in The New Republic that asserted some serious misconduct by troops in Iraq. They were first published under a pseudonym; subsequently, Beauchamp came forward and claimed authorship.
There was suspicion from the beginning, and these documents seem to confirm what was suspected: Beauchamp fabricated the stories in an attempt to become "the next Hemingway."
His chain of command conducted an investigation and Beauchamp's punishment, whatever it was, is between them and him. His commander elected to keep him in the unit, and Beauchamp himself has stated he wants no more to do with the entire disaster because he feels it has harmed his fellow unit members, for whom he professes great love and devotion.
Too bad he didn't think about that BEFORE he slimed them.
Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about this. If his commander wants to keep him on, good for him. The commander certainly knows more about him and his attributes as a soldier than we do.
Maybe there's hope for Beauchamp, if he grows up and gets his priorities in order. I've known troops who were much like him, but turned out fine after they got a little more mature and a little less selfish.
And Beauchamp is doing his duty in Iraq, which, although he has screwed up, does mean something.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I kind of feel an odd mix of anger and pity towards the guy that makes me want to give him another chance; that maybe he's not a bad guy and he just had some asinine ideas and dopey notions.
One thing's for sure, though: after what he did, he'll have to make a career out of rebuilding trust.
UPDATE: Looks like Michael Yon feels the same as I do about second chances. I could hardly ask for better company.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/linking-policies-media-inquiries
Monday, October 22, 2007
I'm glad...
...that THIS didn't exist when I was a teenager:
Walk on the wired side: jacket that lets parents keep track of children
...The small rechargeable device - it has a 15-hour battery - fits neatly into a pouch inside the jacket. You switch it on when you leave the house and what you get is nothing less than the ability to know where someone is - within four square metres - anywhere in the world. You can watch them move, check where they've been and get updates every 10 seconds. You don't even need to be permanently logged on to your computer, as you can have email alerts sent to your Blackberry or text messages to your mobile...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/23/news.crime
Walk on the wired side: jacket that lets parents keep track of children
...The small rechargeable device - it has a 15-hour battery - fits neatly into a pouch inside the jacket. You switch it on when you leave the house and what you get is nothing less than the ability to know where someone is - within four square metres - anywhere in the world. You can watch them move, check where they've been and get updates every 10 seconds. You don't even need to be permanently logged on to your computer, as you can have email alerts sent to your Blackberry or text messages to your mobile...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/23/news.crime
Amusing blog
Here's an amusing blog, The Blog Of Unnecessary Quotation Marks.
Because unnecessary punctuation is a scourge we can't ignore.
Perhaps I'll start a counterpart blog, The Blog Of Unnecessary Apostrophes, or something.
Link: http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/
Because unnecessary punctuation is a scourge we can't ignore.
Perhaps I'll start a counterpart blog, The Blog Of Unnecessary Apostrophes, or something.
Link: http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 21, 2007
OUCH
Today we made our annual visit to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Yes, we dress up. It's fun and we look pretty good. One of our favorite musical groups, the Mediaeval Baebes, performed. They look pretty good, too: http://www.mediaevalbaebes.com
Anyway, our son, who at his best behavior is a real handful, decided to have one of his really "active" days. He kept extracting himself from his stroller (he knows how to undo any restraint we put on him) and running off.
Late in the day, I was speaking to a friend and got distracted, and didn't notice my son sneaking off. Imagine the feeling when I realized I couldn't see him in this huge crowd of people. After a few moments, I spotted him running off and took off after him, probably a little faster than I needed to, but hey, it was a minor panic.
About halfway to him, I stepped wrong on the uneven ground and almost wiped out. I was able to catch myself, but in the process I really tore up my left hamstring. It freakin' HURTS. I'm pretty sure I didn't destroy it, but it's clearly a level 2 strain. And there's a lot of pain in one of those tendons.
If it doesn't get somewhat better in the next day or two, I'll be taking it to the doctor. Hopefully I won't need anything severe, like surgery. Right now I'm wrapping it and icing it down.
Otherwise, it's been a fun day. But, ouch!
Anyway, our son, who at his best behavior is a real handful, decided to have one of his really "active" days. He kept extracting himself from his stroller (he knows how to undo any restraint we put on him) and running off.
Late in the day, I was speaking to a friend and got distracted, and didn't notice my son sneaking off. Imagine the feeling when I realized I couldn't see him in this huge crowd of people. After a few moments, I spotted him running off and took off after him, probably a little faster than I needed to, but hey, it was a minor panic.
About halfway to him, I stepped wrong on the uneven ground and almost wiped out. I was able to catch myself, but in the process I really tore up my left hamstring. It freakin' HURTS. I'm pretty sure I didn't destroy it, but it's clearly a level 2 strain. And there's a lot of pain in one of those tendons.
If it doesn't get somewhat better in the next day or two, I'll be taking it to the doctor. Hopefully I won't need anything severe, like surgery. Right now I'm wrapping it and icing it down.
Otherwise, it's been a fun day. But, ouch!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
The unending joy of air travel
OK, so this isn't about school, but this is my blog and I'll write about what I want...
Via The Volokh Conspiracy, an interesting item about how the TSA missed 75% of mock bombs smuggled through security at LAX and O'Hare. I travel somewhat often, and while I don't get through O'Hare very much, I spend a lot of time at LAX. So this makes me a tad nervous.
The screeners at San Francisco International, who do not work for TSA, only missed 20% of the mock bombs. Since I sometimes travel to that area, I'll make sure to book future flights through SFO.
I didn't see anything about my "home" airport (Washington Dulles) but who knows, they all work for TSA too. Fabulous.
Link: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_10_14-2007_10_20.shtml#1192771599
Via The Volokh Conspiracy, an interesting item about how the TSA missed 75% of mock bombs smuggled through security at LAX and O'Hare. I travel somewhat often, and while I don't get through O'Hare very much, I spend a lot of time at LAX. So this makes me a tad nervous.
The screeners at San Francisco International, who do not work for TSA, only missed 20% of the mock bombs. Since I sometimes travel to that area, I'll make sure to book future flights through SFO.
I didn't see anything about my "home" airport (Washington Dulles) but who knows, they all work for TSA too. Fabulous.
Link: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_10_14-2007_10_20.shtml#1192771599
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Exams
I was wondering how mid-term exams would work with on-line courses. Well, I've got my first one, and it appears to be a considerable amount of work (more than would be encountered in a classroom exam, from what I recall of classroom exams).
So, lots to do and no time to do it, especially considering tomorrow night is another one of those late-night customer visits. Yay.
So, lots to do and no time to do it, especially considering tomorrow night is another one of those late-night customer visits. Yay.
Interesting
Via Instapundit, here is an interesting read on exactly who is driving the lawsuits against Blackwater USA (the private security firm currently under investigation for allegedly unprovoked killings of Iraqi civilians).
That these specific people are going after Blackwater doesn't mean Blackwater is blameless. It's just...interesting.
http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2007/10/blackwater-meets-leftist-islamist.html
That these specific people are going after Blackwater doesn't mean Blackwater is blameless. It's just...interesting.
http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2007/10/blackwater-meets-leftist-islamist.html
Monday, October 15, 2007
Technorati
If a blog falls in the forest and nobody reads it, does it make a...a...oh, well, anyway, I'm doing the Technorati thing.
Technorati Profile
Technorati Profile
Saturday, October 13, 2007
A brief diversion
Well, here's a brief diversion from school blogging.
As a 20-year military veteran, I follow closely any news about the Iraq war. So I wasn't too surprised to read of another retired general's criticism of the Bush administration's conduct of the war.
However, I also like to go beyond what the mainstream news outlets report. Doing so often turns up interesting background information the media leave out.
Here's a link to an informative post at Power Line Blog.
We all heard about General Sanchez' criticism of the Bush administration in his recent speech, but what the MSM left out was that over half of the speech was a ripping critique of...the MSM.
It's quite interesting to read how Sanchez feels about the media (remember, they tore him up over Abu Ghraib).
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/10/018743.php
Also on Power Line: my prediction re: major media outlet reportage of Navy SEAL Lt Murphy's award of the Medal of Honor comes true. The NYT could not even bring itself to mention a single word about Murphy's heroism, and Murphy was from Long Island.
At least the Washington Post mentioned Murphy...in a near-microscopic blurb on page A11. Insulting. It would almost have been better to follow the NYT's lead.
Credit to the New York Post, which not only had a REAL story about Murphy but also an editorial ripping the NYT's obvious hatred of our military.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/10/018746.php
Back to school...
As a 20-year military veteran, I follow closely any news about the Iraq war. So I wasn't too surprised to read of another retired general's criticism of the Bush administration's conduct of the war.
However, I also like to go beyond what the mainstream news outlets report. Doing so often turns up interesting background information the media leave out.
Here's a link to an informative post at Power Line Blog.
We all heard about General Sanchez' criticism of the Bush administration in his recent speech, but what the MSM left out was that over half of the speech was a ripping critique of...the MSM.
It's quite interesting to read how Sanchez feels about the media (remember, they tore him up over Abu Ghraib).
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/10/018743.php
Also on Power Line: my prediction re: major media outlet reportage of Navy SEAL Lt Murphy's award of the Medal of Honor comes true. The NYT could not even bring itself to mention a single word about Murphy's heroism, and Murphy was from Long Island.
At least the Washington Post mentioned Murphy...in a near-microscopic blurb on page A11. Insulting. It would almost have been better to follow the NYT's lead.
Credit to the New York Post, which not only had a REAL story about Murphy but also an editorial ripping the NYT's obvious hatred of our military.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2007/10/018746.php
Back to school...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Tired...
It's been a while since my last update, mostly because I've been quite busy.
Vacation was nice, we did get to do some stuff in spite of my class load. I found out that the town (actually the whole county) my family lives in has municipal Wi-Fi and low-speed connections are free. So, I was able to get some classwork done without having to schlep everything to Panera Bread.
Anyway, back to busy...after returning from vacation and going back to work on a Wednesday, we had a huge system upgrade to do on that Friday...it went until about 4:00 AM. Big problems. It ended up being about a 23-hour workday.
The Thursday after that Friday, I flew to a customer site in the Midwest and did another large upgrade and some other work, 24 work hours in two days.
And I still managed to get my final project and exam for one class done. Go me!
Anyway, it's late and time for bed. The hotel isn't too bad, but restaurant food all day every day gets old.
Vacation was nice, we did get to do some stuff in spite of my class load. I found out that the town (actually the whole county) my family lives in has municipal Wi-Fi and low-speed connections are free. So, I was able to get some classwork done without having to schlep everything to Panera Bread.
Anyway, back to busy...after returning from vacation and going back to work on a Wednesday, we had a huge system upgrade to do on that Friday...it went until about 4:00 AM. Big problems. It ended up being about a 23-hour workday.
The Thursday after that Friday, I flew to a customer site in the Midwest and did another large upgrade and some other work, 24 work hours in two days.
And I still managed to get my final project and exam for one class done. Go me!
Anyway, it's late and time for bed. The hotel isn't too bad, but restaurant food all day every day gets old.
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