Thursday, January 30, 2003
I'm beginning to understand Possum Daddy's semi-regular rants about the Blogger staff and equipment and software that many of us are so dependent upon. I've been unable to get anything up for both of you to read since yesterday evening, until just now. No explanations, no online support for us cheap b*stards unwilling to pony up for the real Blogger, just posting whenever the electrons happen to fall into alignment. Anyway, its on now.
Twentyeight charts in my briefing right now and a full day of incorporating some of the engineer's recommendations yet to accomplish. I can't change everything the engineer thinks I should because I just don't agree with his POV. I said he was an engineer... So, back to it!
Nate 5:50 PM - [Link] Say something...
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CNN.com - Web site: 'Millionaire' finalist is bondage star - Jan. 30, 2003
How could I possibly not recognized her? Maybe because I haven't watched Joe Millionaire?
Nate 5:15 PM - [Link] Say something...
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American Idol on FOX
This is so bad... Folks, out of boredom and repeated requests from the spousal unit who is back from her sisterly sojourn to Oregon that I come out of the closet where our computer resides and sit with her, I've been forced to watch a couple hours of American Idol this week. Gawd it is horrible! Terrible, excruciatingly gut wrenching; and that's just the people that can sing! The program itself is a lousy show and I dislike "reality" shows in general, but the people, the people are the worst!
Listening to many of these poor misguided young people who really, really believe that they! are the next American Idol simply proves what is wrong with American youth today. The problem is they have had bestowed upon them or taken for themselves much more self esteem than they have earned! Their teachers that allowed them to answer a couple questions verbally because they couldn't read or write and gave them a passing grade; they failed those kids! Every administrator that wanted Johnny to feel good about himself, just because he made it to school today, even if he didn't do any assignments or bring a pencil to class; failed those kids! Listening to these poorly dressed, rude young people that think they can sing, and think they deserve to be the next Idol when in fact they are tone deaf spouting their demands to be made into the Idol is sad commentary.
I noted one difference between these poor addled kids and the youngsters that believes their future is with the NBA or the NFL or MLB. Those sports driven kids seem to know that practice, practice and more practice is required to reach their goal, that they have to strive, worker harder, jump higher or run faster than the next guy. These AI jerks seem to think that standing in a line for several hours, hanging out in a hotel lobby and having ugly hair is the only requirements to having fame and fortune and pop star status rained down upon them.
Nate 4:00 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Qatari firefight earns airman a Bronze Star for valor
Well done Airman Boyd! Your quick thinking and active response to a life threatening situation are the attibutes that every American serviceman should strive for.
And I wouldn't loose a night's sleep about putting down a bad guy that was shooting at me, you did the world a service.
Nate 12:00 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Last Saturday was a work day for Noah and Brian and this humble scribe out at Powder Mountain Ski Resort. I've mentioned this 2 Saturdays per month job before, its really quite simple work and lots of fun to visit with the paying customers. We punch holes in ski passes to ensure they are valid and we keep folks from getting clobbered by the lift chair and generally try to keep a little order in our assigned spot. Its really quite a good time and I hope I get to see you out there at the bottom of Paradise lift some winter Saturday.
Anyway, once we are at our lift position for the day, son Noah mentions that the ROTC Military Ball is this very evening and that he will be quite busy getting prepared when we return home and will there be time to wash and dry and iron his uniform shirt... No, not enough time, sorry. And BTW, he's taking 2 girls to the ball! Lily, his lovely steady girlfriend is his date but also invited along is Lily's best friend Jenny. I ask, "did you order the corsages for these two young ladies?"
Deer in the headlights look pointing back at me... Nooo, should I have? Yes you numbskull you should have ordered flowers 3 days ago! So we had a little discussion, first about whether he should be buying one corsage for his date, or two corsages, one for each woman. One for each was the obvious answer, anything else was a sure-fire trap. And secondly about the value of planning ahead for flowers for the big dance! Did I mention already the AF paid me to make schedules and plan things for 17 years?
We get home about 5 PM. Noah runs for the shower, I put ski stuff away. Noah hollers from the bathroom, "could you go to the store and buy a couple carnations?" Yeah yeah, I can go to the store. The local grocery doesn't have any decent carnations but they do have a few rose bouquets left in their cooler. I buy two and head next door to the craft store.
Craft store lady- "can I help you sir?" "Yes, you can. Help me turn these bouquets into corsages, I've got 10 minutes!" And she does. We get some green tape and some scissors and some wire and in very short order we create 2 very presentable corsages. pay the nice lady for the tape & pins and up the hill to the house I go. Boy is ready, pony tail is tucked under his collar and the flowers are ready too.
He had a great time, the girls had silk dresses bought in New York's chinatown and the flowers were a hit.
I got repaid Sunday; Noah vacuumed and washed dishes before his mom got home home from Oregon.
Nate 10:00 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Drug Court Graduate Arrested (registration rqrd; sorry 'bout that)
He finished drug court program last week
By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
FARMINGTON -- An 18-year-old Layton man, who just last week graduated from Davis County"s Juvenile Drug Court, was arrested over the weekend and charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of drugs, improper lane travel and improper turn, all class B misdemeanors.
"I"d rather not talk about it," said Cody Shepherd, who was featured Monday in a Standard-Examiner story about drug court and its first graduation.
Shepherd, along with three other juveniles, graduated from Davis County"s program on Wednesday. They were among the first to be placed in the program almost a year ago, when it was just a pilot program. The program has since received a $500,000 federal grant to help other juveniles with substance abuse. Shepherd had been clean for more than 300 days when he was dismissed from Judge Diane W. Wilkens" court.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Jones said he pulled over a car at about 4 a.m. Sunday on State Road 193. Shepherd allegedly was the driver.
Jones said he became suspicious that drugs were impairing the driver. He found 5.2 grams of marijuana in a pipe that was allegedly in the car. There was also allegedly .07 grams of methamphetamine in a pipe that was concealed in the pants of one of the passengers. Shepherd and the 19-year-old passenger were booked into the Davis County Jail. Both were released on bail.
"Every case processed is an opportunity to help a minor. I"m proud of our drug court team, their work and their efforts in behalf of Cody and all the minors who go through our system," said Beani Martinez, trial court executive for 2nd District Juvenile Court.
"The best I can hope for is that the seeds sown will come to fruition in Cody"s life. Our work is never in vain. Some kids just take a little longer to grasp the value of it. Will it hurt our program, no. We have many kids who are doing good, we have many kids sowing seeds," Martinez said.
The easiest thing I could do here would be to write this kid off as a dumbass and despair about the state of our teenaged population and how they will never amount to anything. Its tempting but I won't do it. I've not yet mentioned my oldest son as he is no longer living under my roof and I get very limited contact with him these days. But this kid Cody could be my kid just a few years ago. I have felt the pain that I suspect Cody's parents must also be feeling and for the same reasons. I can't even say that my 22 year old is drug free these days but at least he is no longer on probation, parole or in jail. He's actually working on a personal best right now; 18 months without incarceration.
So to the people who devote their professional lives to helping all the kids like Cody, my hat is off to each of you. As long as there are people willing to believe in kids like this, there is hope. Cody, you're a dumbass and you need to learn from those people trying to help you. To Cody's parents I say "let Cody learn the natural consequenses of his misbehaving, law breaking and addictive behaviors." Your only mistake this time was paying his bail if you did. Letting him sit in jail would be a much better consequence for his behavior.
Man this hurts.
Nate 4:00 PM - [Link] Say something...
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CNN.com: 18 dead in fierce firefight in Afghanistan - Jan. 28, 2003
1296 virgins saved.
Nate 1:51 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Wow, what a day. I promised to tell a little bit about my weekend, and unfortunately for those couple of you that peek in from time to time, I'll do it now. First of all, Utah is NOT cold right now, unlike most of the eastern half of our fair country. Its raining tonight, the first precip we have had in weeks. The ski resorts are in very poor condition right now and the snow is not the famed and fabled Utah powder that the state is famous for. That is a drag for those of us that like to go out and play in the snow.
Did I mention I was peddling some old magazines on EBay? Well I was last week, my first try at the EBay riches promise. I have been carrying around for the 20+ years of my military career and some years before that a couple boxes of old car magazines. There are Hot Rod mags from 1953 & 54, Indianapolis 500 race programs from the late 50s and early 60s, more Hot Rods from the mid 60s and a whole pile of race programs from one of the finest racing series ever; the Trans-Am races of the late 60s into the 1970s.
Trans-AM racing was real American racing with the "pony" cars of the muscle car era that many of us grew up in. Mustangs and Firebirds, Camaros and AMXs and Cudas, all powered by loud V-8 motors and driven by some real racing heros. Mark Donahue, Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Ronnie Bucknum all drove these fierce replicas of the street cars we owned or lusted after on race tracks all over America.
Anyway, I owned a bunch of these programs from the Trans-Am heydey, given to me by an old co-worker. I read & re-read them and as I said, toted them around the world and back. Finally decided it was time to let the rest of the world have a chance to enjoy them and put them up for sale on EBay. WAHOO what a ride that was! Did I mention that one of the programs had an autographed pit pass signed by Mark Donahue & Ronnie Bucknum? It sold; last night, for $150! Wow!
All told, 8 magazines netted me over $200. I never expected anything like that. And although the crown jewel autographed one is sold, there is still a box of magazines waitiing to be scanned and put up for auction. What fun it was and maybe with my earnings I can upgrade this humble blog to a full fledged site like those real bloggers out there...
Nate 6:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Monday, January 27, 2003
Folks, its been an incredibly interesting weekend for me with lots of wild tales of aborted ski trips, painful ski boots, hand made corsages for the son's fancy dance dates and over-the-top Ebay auction success. Unfortunately, paying work keeps me from spinning these yarns for a few more hours.
For the record, I was succesful Friday at keeping the lights turned on and the toilets flushing with continued connection to the city's source by a furious bout of bill paying. Not everybody got everything they wanted but the unhappiest folks got what they needed to be placated for the immediate future.
More bullets through the Beretta as well on Sunday. I can almost always hit the barn side now while standing outside the barn, which is an improvement.
Anyway, I'm off to build PowerPoint slides, my trip to Greece in March is dependent upon pretty slides by next week.
Nate 7:00 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Friday, January 24, 2003
Blogging will be delayed almost all day today as I'm busy trying to avoid debtors prison by paying bills. Lots of little niggly 'never seem to get paid' accounts are being closed out today. That will make me and my mail carrier happy as I will reduce the amount of envelopes coming into my mailbox and home. Later today I'm getting the filing system in order so that I can see who's been paid and who's waiting. This part of our life has been out of control for a while now, its my New Years Resolution to fix it.
So; I'll be busy for a bit. Maybe will get time to go to the range again this afternoon to shoot the pistol. Went last night and put 100 rounds through it and I think I nearly can call it sighted in. Now I just need to get trained to use it!
Nate 9:15 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Thursday, January 23, 2003
A Family Note
This is from an email I received from another family member about my uncle Mike. Stacy is his daughter and Randy is Mike's younger brother by 2 or 3 years. They're both just a little older than me. Anyway, first email:
Hi Everyone.....
Just wanted to ask again for everyone to please keep my Dad in your prayers. He is still hospitalized. The anitbiotics are not working yet and is causing concern... PLEASE....pray for his recovery and return to good health soon...
I'll keep you posted.
Love
Stacy
Second email:
Uncle Randy....
There is no time like RIGHT NOW to put your issues aside and go see my Dad. There is a possibility that he may be dealing with much more than pneumonia and to let whatever you are pissed about go on any longer would be unforgivable by everyone involved. Where is your heart???? Where is your head???? He is your brother!!!!! Get your head out of your ass and give yourself a reality check. NOW would be the time for the family to pull together.
Could you really live with yourself if (God forbid) this is bigger than pneumonia????
Dawn is in XXXXXXX until tomorrow and staying with my mother....she is so damn scared right now.....as we all are! Be a real man and rejoin this family!
Stacy
Guess she told him. Obviously not a southern girl but a fine Yankee and not afraid to talk to her uncle in the manner that he really needs to hear. Randy always has been a hard headed fool an inspite of everyone's best efforts has remained so for quite some time. He's mad BTW because Mike remarried his wife after a few years of being divorced and left Randy without a regular drinking and fishing and carousing partner. Maybe Stacy's email fisking will make him move.
Nate 8:18 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Good Grief this is terrible...
Somehow Laura Flynn Boyle has allowed her handlers to perform a lobotomy on her! What else could explain this horrible, horrible appearance in public? Play dress up in the bedroom to suit whoever's kinky fantasy or even go to a Halloween party dressed silly, but man, this outfit is just wrong for an awards ceremony. Uhhhgh...[Insert full body shudder here.]
Sure hope her and her handlers are happy with that picture... I like this one much better.
That Possum guy hiding at home today found this first but I couldn't resist adding my disgust to the pile!
Nate 6:15 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Number 2 on Google and only 2 weeks old!
Wow. Don't I feel pleased with my own self today... This was the first link to my website that came in from somebody Googling their life away. Cool. I sure hope they found what they wanted and felt welcome in my humble online space.
Ya'll come on back anytime and set a spell. There's either a coffee pot on or beer in the fridge in the shop.
Nate 11:12 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Ogden armoring company gets contract, Lincoln Town Cars project may need 40 hires (sorry, registration still rqrd!)
By DAVID TROESTER, Standard-Examiner staff
OGDEN -- In a first for a Big Three automaker, Ford Motor Co. will produce and sell armored Lincoln Town Cars at dealerships nationwide. The vehicles will be manufactured under a deal with International Armoring Corp. in Ogden. The joint project elevates the local company to a new notoriety and could translate into 40 jobs for its Ogden plant.
Ford and International Armoring executives announced the new armored vehicles, known as Lincoln Town Car Ballistic Protection Series, Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
"Those who travel well can travel well-protected in Lincoln"s first armored vehicle," Al Kammerer, executive director of Lincoln Mercury Product Development said.
The Town Cars come factory-ready for armoring.
Burton, 40, has worked with Ford on the deal for the past two years at an R&D facility he established in Detroit. The contract calls for International Armoring to be able to armor six to nine Town Cars a week at its 28,000-square-foot Ogden plant. Those numbers could rise, depending on demand. The company has armored six Town Cars and expects full production to begin in April.
"The industry has been looking at this in an ambivalent way," said Fred Khoroushi, director of Alpine Armoring in Harndon, Va. "They don"t like it when somebody alters a vehicle, but it"s not justified for them (the Big Three) to manufacture their own profitably."
An after-market, armored Lincoln costs about $130,000. Burton is uncertain of the price Ford will ask for the off-the-line Lincolns.
Editorial comment: I love to read the business page when I get to read about businesses moving in and expanding in my adopted hometown instead of pulling out and moving to Mexico or anyplace else for that matter. This looks like pretty good work for the folks with the right skills and the desire to work. ( I wonder if they need a semi-skilled logistician and program manager...)
Nate 8:12 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Dealing with our network support brainiacs...
A couple days ago I got a new computer on my desk, a shiny new Dell with more power and a DVD player (for work?), a flat screen monitor and a new mouse. The new mouse is a wheel mouse like my previous one. But the old mouse was a Logitech which I had programmed to do a double-click when I pushed it and the new one didn't appear to have the same function. So I called my computer expert- network support geeks to see if they had the mouse drivers I needed to program my new mouse. Below is the response from a email from the the lead CG.
Thanks! Was this a Logitech driver for a Logitech wheel mouse or a Microsoft driver for a Microsoft wheel mouse?
Bruce XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX Network Support Team
-----Original Message-----
From: McCord Nathaniel R Contr
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 9:15 AM
To: Bruce Contr -MIS
Subject: FW: Logitech Mouse Drivers
Here's the file. For the next guy that asks. Nate << File: Intellimouse driver.zip >>
-----Original Message-----
From: McCord Nathaniel R Contr
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 8:51 AM
To: Bruce Contr -MIS
Subject: RE: Logitech Mouse Drivers
Like this: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/download.asp
So do you suppose that if I downloaded a file from a Microsoft website that it might be for a Logitech mouse?
Nate 7:46 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Dog attacks, bites Ogden constable (registration rqrd)
From my local paper The Ogden Standard-Examiner, (The emphasis is mine.)
OGDEN -- A peace officer is lucky he received only minor injuries, and a dog is lucky to be alive after the officer shot at the animal when it attacked him Monday night.
The 25-year-old peace officer from the constable"s office was serving summons papers to a home on the 1100 block of North Street. While serving the papers, a rottweiler was let loose, biting the man.
As the officer was leaving, the dog came at him several more times. During one attack, when the dog came at his face, the officer drew his weapon and fired, just missing the dog.
Nate 11:52 AM - [Link] Say something...
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TOOLS...Oooh
You may not yet know this about me, but I am a tool junkie... If there were meetings and a 12 step program, I'd attend. As long as the meetings rotated between the Home Depot and the Sears Craftsman department!
Anyway, I just found a catalog on a coworker's desk and stopped to have a browse through this catalog. What cool stuff is in here! A shoulder holster for my cordless drill! Lots of leather and canvas bags, belts and carriers for tools, Carharrt, Filson and Skillers clothes and luggage are in this catalog!
One of Duluth's specialty items is particularly interesting; long tailed t-shirts to help avoid the dreaded "plumbers butt". You know who you are, buy some of these shirts!
I'm ordering my own catalog...
Nate 9:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Corrections to Yesterday's Post
I spoke to my mother last night to get he birthdate and place for the passport application. The most surprising part of the conversation was when she said she had been reading this bit of drivel... Yikes! I better watch my language! And she had even stepped over the Mason-Dixon line to read that Possumblog fellas ramblings. And I think she likes it! "Hey Mikey, Mom likes it!"
Anyway, I misspoke yesterday, brother Mark and his spouse are NOT going to Venezuela, they're going to Argentina. My comfort level for his safety has significantly improved. And mom has been invited to go back to Africa to babysit some nephews who's parents (my cousin) are missionarys there. She spent a few weeks in Mauratania last year and this year the invite is for Kenya but she thinks she may stay home to save her money for the big family reunion this summer.
Charts to make today and then a return trip to submit the passport application in the afternoon so blogging may be delayed until tonight.
I've also got a bunch of old car magazines up for sale on EBay this week, 50s & 60s vintage Hot Rods, and Can-Am and Trans-AM race programs from the 60s and 70s, mostly from Mid-Ohio sports car raceway. One of them even has a pit pass autographed by Mark Donahue and Ronnie Bucknum, teammates for Roger Penske's Sunoco Camaro racing team. Sadly both of these fine race drivers are no longer available for historic racing events. If you have an interest in old Trans-Am or Can-Am racing, these programs are pretty cool memory lane triggers. Check it out on EBay.
Nate 7:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Do We Have To Keep Him Those Last 30 Years?
Personally, I think the government's interest should end just as soon as he dies... Keeping him that extra 30 years would just cause a stink and keep a cell tied up that could be used to house another bad guy!
Nate 6:36 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Tuesday, January 21, 2003
New Equipment in My Cubicle!
Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! I got a new computer set up on my table this morning and; Dude! Its a Dell! With a LCD monitor! Its black, yuck. The monitor seems nice, really; more space on the table top and bright but it is smaller than the old tube monitor I was using. That just means that all the cables & wires and dust bunnies that were hiding behind the monitor now need attention. And I wore a white shirt today... So cleanup will be delayed until tomorrow.
But its nice and more powerful than the last one and I was able to get most of the stuff I don't want the computer geeks to see removed before they showed up in force. Now I'll spend the rest of the day reinstalling all the software I need to do the job but that the AF doesn't know I use.. Don't tell!
Its nice to see that the Axis of Weevil has truly become a multi-cultural group while still maintaining its unique, down home, Bubba flavor. And speaking of flavor, the Dreamland ribs, Milo's tea and Bubba's homemade jerky were all delicious, thanks Terry! I sure hope Ms. Junie has made it back to the office safely. She seemed relieved to finally arrive here in Utah and was glad to discover that the world really did not end in west Texas. (It just feels that way when driving through!) I did take Ms. Junie down to Salt Lake City to see the Olympic cauldron being reinstalled, I think she liked it.
Trip to Greece is definitely on and so a passport must be acquired posthaste. Like today. Will scoot early today to get the application picked up and then the Post Office. I'm paying my brother and sister-in-law back for a bit of cash they loaned me and I bought a nice Thank You card and want to send it Express Mail.
Same brother and his lovely wife are leaving Ohio in March to go to Venezuela on a short missionary trip. Going to Venezuela right now seems like a really bad idea to me, but its been in the works for a while so nothing to do about the problems down there. Anyway, they are going with a few others to build an addition to an existing church that their church helps support, a truly fine way to spend the vacation days he has accrued. I was invited to go along and swing a hammer but circumstances won't allow this time, but I sure will consider it another time.
I did get an email from my very long time ago ex-wife today. It was about the 3rd such email since Christmas and today's had a special bonus, a picture of my son! Nate is 22 and just about to graduate from an automotive technical school and has already been recruited by Daimler-Chrysler. He will be going to Chrysler training for about 6 months after the tech school before going to work in a service department somewhere in Maryland. Its a long story about Nate and maybe I'll tell you someday, but for now its enough to know that we do not have any 1 one 1 contact and that pains me greatly. Hearing about his success by 3rd party helps ease my pain.
Nate 1:32 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Monday, January 20, 2003
ANOTHER FIRST- FATHER & SON SHOOTING OUTING TODAY - NO ONE HURT! NEWS AT 11
Noah and I drove out of town this afternoon to take the pistol for its second shakedown outing. We found a spot that is used by lots of folks where we could tack up targets to a post and use the truck's tailgate for a loading and adjusting bench. Turns out Noah had never shot a firearm of any type let alone a pistol. His ROTC unit uses airguns and so he has the basics of firearms handling and operation understanding but he had never fired a real gun until today.
But he took to it quite easily and preferred shooting the Beretta with open sights instead of the scope that I added today. He also preferred to shoot the beer cans we took along and strung in the barbed wire instead of paper targets. Can't blame him there! I focused on getting the gun to shoot where I was hopefully pointing with both the open sights and the scope.
I guess we must have shot up a couple hundred rounds this afternoon. Then the sun sank down low and so did the temperature so we cleaned up our mess, stopped at Arbys for supper and came on home. What a good time. I hope we can get a few more afternoons like this one squeezed into our lives before he graduates this spring and goes off to seek his fortune in the USCG.
Nate 9:30 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Segway Banned in San Francisco
[Sarcasm on] No, we don't want to be on the edge of a new technology that leaves gas sucking SUVs (or BMWs) parked in the driveway... And this statement "and the Segways themselves did not have adequate safety features to alert people they might be behind them," said Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco supervisor who supported the ban. Hello! There's a sentient human being attached to the top of it! One that is presumably smarter than average, one that can see, steer, stop and avoid collisions by making hundreds of decisions per minute using their brain! What better safety feature could be desired than a seeing, speaking decision making brain in an upright human body? The Segway owner will NOT be the 15 year old on a KMart bike focusing on the rap music pounding his eardrums through his MP3 player's earphones!
One can only surmise that Mr. Ammiano would prefer everyone ride the trolley system and be dependent on the government to get them to their appointed rounds instead of being able to make their own travel arrangements.
[sarcasm off]
Nate 12:20 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Sunday, January 19, 2003
I did fulfill one of my resolutions for this year on Saturday, I went out and bought a gun. I've been a gun advocate all my life and have supported the Right To Keep and Bear Arms but I haven't been a firearm owner since 1982 when I sold the 2 handguns that I did own. Family obligations, finances and spousal concerns and other interests have conspired to keep me from owning any guns since then.
But I decided I wanted to exercise my 2nd amendment rights to be a gun owner again and the family concerns have reduced considerably although the spousal unit concerns remain. So I won't tell her... But with a few of the dollars from the Jeep sale I bought this. Its a Beretta Neos and it is a brand new gun from Beretta this year. It is apparently in pretty short supply through the dealers but Sportsman's Warehouse had one. I'm going out to the range later today to try it out and I'm excited.
Later this year I'm hoping to buy another handgun that will be a protection gun instead of just a target and plinking gun. Right now I'm leaning towards this Para-Ordnance gun. I've always liked 45 caliber guns and this one really seems like a fine handgun. I've actually had a chance to hold and check this gun out and I really like the Light Double Action operation that Para has perfected. And if I can manage to buy this gun or a similar one, I'm planning to get qualified for a Concealed Firearms Permit. We'll see...
Nate 1:30 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Noah and I went on our annual sojourn to the New Car Show yesterday. Its a really great fun father-son outing for a couple of motorheads. We walk around and check out each display and take turns commenting on the features we like and don't. Its good fun to pretend that the manufacturers really care about what we think is a good idea or a bad idea.
Since we go to the car show in Salt Lake City not Los Angeles or Detroit we get to see a very limited number of the concept cars that get all the headlines. There is always a few although they were in very short supply this year. I did love the Lincoln Continental though. This car is just about perfect and is a fine American hot rod counterpoint to the Maybach that will be produced by Mercedes Benz. Noah's been studying every car magazine story about the Maybach and is constantly telling me about the wonderous technical miracles that is hides under its skin.
I liked the Lincoln and loved the Continental cues that abound and the in-your-face hot rod even though I'm rich personna that it reflects. There are two lines that need to be removed though. On the fender sides, in front of and behind each wheel arch is a horizontal line that includes a small stainless strip and side marker light. But the line ends at the fenders and is not carried through the doors. And they shouldn't be either! The lines need to come out of the fenders at least between the wheel arch and the doors. In front of the arch, maybe the line can stay, but its a distraction to view the sides of the car with a break line that isn't required and doesn't follow through front to back.
I did like the Honda Element, which was a surprise. It actually seemed like a really practical vehicle for lots of folks, especially those with small kids and an aversion to minivans. The rubber floormats seem like a great idea for the family that travels with crackers and juice boxes as mandatory equipment. The sales rep didn't really think you could hose it out, (I agree) but cleanup would certainly be easier than getting juice stains out of the carpet. The Element is weird looking to my eyes but I can see that it will be a huge hit and a good seller. Way to go, Honda!
Nate 12:54 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Well, Weekend Edition just reported that today is National Popcorn Day. That should be a big deal for me since I certainly eat more popcorn than most folks every year. Don't yell at me about how bad it is, I don't care. I eat a bag nearly every work day and call it lunch. Its cheap and the money I save is all dumped into this action and feature packed blog, so its worth it!
Anyway, I do eat lots of popcorn. Always have, even in the way old days before microwave popcorn. When I was kid the family tradition was a huge cake saver cover filled up for lunch on Saturdays and usually repeated on Sunday evening along with sandwiches. It was always popped on the stove in one of those "twirl the spinner" poppers and the oil of choice was usually Crisco and bacon grease. How bad was that?
Maybe tonight I'll go to the movies and eat a big bag just to celebrate.
Nate 11:09 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Well it looks like I am going to Greece in the spring! How fast can I get a tip jar installed and filled up so that I can take along my long suffering spousal unit for a short vacation? I did have a meeting with the Greek liason officer last Friday and he took an hour explaining what he wants me to prepare to brief. In a nutshell, the Greek F16 pilots want the same Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) lighting capabilities as the USAF pilots are receiving or have right now. They just want to ride the coattails of the countries that have paid for the engineering work and get their portion done on the cheap. My job now is to prepare a briefing with a number of possible scenarios that will give the NVIS capabilities to the pilots and the pros and cons of each.
I've got to be busy in the next couple weeks because this briefing isn't something I've put together already and can just update to meet the time and audience as I do with a number of other briefings. This one will have to be built from scratch, requires considerable research and requires a deftness of handling multiple governments, commercial vendors and foreign sensibilities... Oh boy!
Work will be exciting for the next few weeks!
Nate 10:47 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Well, what a busy couple of days it has been! Lots to tell.
First of all, Lysander did buy my Jeep and we closed the deal Friday noon. He seemed like a really nice young man and unlike many he has a plan well thought out and in action. He's going to college on the Air Force's Tuition Assistance program and is working on a Business Marketing degree when not on the job. So he now has reliable transportation and I have a spare space in my driveway and some cash to pay bills with.
This Jeep was an impulse purchase back in October a year ago when I went to buy one car from the auction and came home with two. It was an 86 model and had lots of miles showing on the odometer but not on the interior. So I bought it, left it set a couple months, then loaned it out for four months to a needy couple who's paths crossed with ours. It got them through the winter safely and warmly and I got it back when they got a tax return and a car of their own. Then I gave it to Noah, my 18 year old son to drive. He had it just a couple weeks before blowing it up in an "engine revving" contest one morning waiting for an ROTC event to start.
So, the engine had to come out and we spent several dollars and many hours this summer taking the engine apart, putting it back into the car and then discovering that it was just too badly damaged to work. It came back out again and I found a used complete motor to replace it. (This all took place in my driveway BTW as I have no garage, just a workshop.) After the second engine was installed the Jeep was back to being a good car this past October. I did a number of smaller things to it to clean it up and make it better to drive every day and put it up for sale.
And it sold Friday. A good deal for all parties involved. Now there's that VW Baja that needs licensed...
Nate 10:27 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Friday, January 17, 2003
Lots to do this AM before a meeting with the Hellenic Air Force liason officer about the meeting I'm supposed to attend in March. After the meeting; and if they will pay my way, there's a briefing to build from scratch and just 10 days to do it in, so chart production will be in full swing. I do prefer being busy to being bored though and this effort should prove to be an interesting challenge.
No one yet has rang in to advise on the weather in Greece in early March though. Do I pack my swim trunks or my ski jacket?
The test drive last night of the Jeep went well and the young man says he wants it. He's already been to the credit union and is pre-approved, I gave him the numbers to the vehicle to take back in there today. Maybe we can close the deal this afternoon, that would make me very happy! There's a long story about the Jeep that I will save for another time. Suffice it to say that when it sells, bills will be paid, creditors (including the IRS) wil be pleased, and I will be relieved. Might even be enough left over to buy that air compressor I've been waiting for or the .22 caliber pistol I've been thinking about...
More later!
Nate 8:05 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Thursday, January 16, 2003
Busy at the paying work today and haven't had time do scrounge around too much. Interesting email just arrived, I've been invited to attend a meeting to brief the program I work on in Greece! The boss says I can go, if I can get the country to pay my way since my travel budget has been severely curtailed this year. So, I'll ask the question and I'll nose around to a couple other folks that are likewise invited to see who is paying.
If I go I guess I'll have to go get a passport post haste. I never needed one while I was in uniform since I was either traveling on government orders or too poor to travel anywhere a passport was required. Now I can get the company to pay for it and maybe I'll get to use a few times. What's the weather like in Greece in early March?
Also took a phone call just now from a young man that wants to test drive my Jeep that's for sale. That is good news! He sounds like a young airman and if so he's got a steady paycheck and a need to get to work on time every day. And its a number of miles across base from where he lives to where he works with no public transportation, so this might be really good news. So I'm picking him up when his shift is finished to go get the Jeep for a test ride. I sure would like to sell this thing to clear up some bills!
Maybe a bit of time for blogging between the end of my shift and his. Still got lots to learn about fixing up my template with some cool stuff.
Nate 12:53 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Wednesday, January 15, 2003
STOP OR I'LL SAY STOP AGAIN!
While the British police actually are fairly effective when it comes to tracking down and capturing bad guys, this story is tragic in a number of ways. Three unarmed police, in the act of trying to arrest suspected terrorists were injured, (one fatally) by a bad guy that did not obey the "check your weapons at the border rule."
So, how might the outcome been different with armed, trained, determined police officers? A dead suspected terrorist? Or maybe a suspect willing to be taken into custody because the use of lethal force was in the officer's favor not the bad guy's. I'm in favor of police officers living, knife wielding attackers not.
Nate 12:42 PM - [Link] Say something...
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I told you I was going to write some thoughts about guns, gun laws and RKBA issues; here's the first.
Nearly a century before that American bumper sticker (When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns), was slapped on the first bumper, the great English jurist, AV Dicey cautioned: "Discourage self-help, and loyal subjects become the slaves of ruffians." He knew public safety is not enhanced by depriving people of their right to personal safety.
England is now finding out just how accurate his statements were. I and my family lived in England from 1985 until 1989. We loved the experience and never felt unsafe or concerned about being out late at night or anywhere we went. It breaks my heart to read a number of articles, including this one about the change in public security that has taken place since we left. I've never believed that any police force, any place could protect each citizen and discouraging the citizen's right to protect self, family and property is a big mistake.
Hope we can avoid making the same mistake in this country...
Nate 12:30 PM - [Link] Say something...
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Here's an example of a Utah state budget cut that only took 2 years... We are firing our state Porn Czar. Ms Houston was also a fine example of the blind leading the blind as she has admitted being a virgin and also that she had never watched a "dirty" movie before being assigned to the post. So she's going to have to find real work again and our legislature gets to cut $150,000 from this year's budget.
Nate 9:00 AM - [Link] Say something...
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Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Well, while the Axis of Weevil delivery truck is being loaded with beef jerky, several pounds of BBQ pork and a barrel of sweet tea, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name's already on here someplace and I'll have to look to see if my email is up there in the header someplace. If its not, I'll fix it when I figure out how.
For background I'll say that I'm a long-displaced Hoosier that has settled in Utah. I love it here. (Room for a post or two on just this subject.) And not a Mormon, or Latter Day Saint as those that are prefer to be called. Long-displaced because I spent 21 years in the United States Air Force and got to see lots of the world and Utah twice while in uniform. I retired on 1 Jan 2000 from the service and had risen to the rank of Master Sergeant. I went to work for the AF immediately upon retiring, as a contractor in a program management office. So while my stripes are retired, I'm really not. I'm still trying to do my part to make my service a better, more capable warfighting tool of diplomacy.
So I'm pretty opinionated about the military and our country's use of force- I'm for it most of the time. I don't expect to waste too many electrons on the current circumstances, there are many much more capable warbloggers out there for you to read. But just know that I believe in a strong military and the national determination to use force wherever it might be required. I'm no lefty.
Nate 8:12 PM - [Link] Say something...
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OK, I've gone and done it; started my own little spot on the World Wide Web. I've been a lurker since 1997 and a bit of a computer wannabe geek, but I've never had my own space. Till right now. I started reading blogs last fall, just kinda poking around while goofing off on the job, browsing through a number of people's blogs, thoughts, rants, whatever I could find. Now I spend too much job time (and home time if you listen to my spouse) reading blogs.
And somehow, I found out there in the ether this Possumblog page, what the heck was that? And pretty soon I was an every day reader and the next thing you know I was emailing the head Possum; Terry and then he was taking my emails and posting them on his blog. Pretty soon Terry was encouraging me to get off his bandwidth and suck up some of my own...
So here it is. Terry, as a former resident in your beloved Dixie, I hereby request admittance to the Axis of Weevil. Like any Yankee carpetbagger, that's presumptious of me I know. So load that truck and give the driver a new gas charge card because he's going to wear out the numbers on it delivering my swag all the way out here in Utah!
Nate 7:00 PM - [Link] Say something...
