The Earth Can Be Moved

$p@mmers comment here

2010-05-05T17:50:00.001-06:00

Cause they cant read english

2009-10-21T12:22:00.001-06:00

test

Patriotism

2009-09-28T14:03:00.003-06:00

Drunken idiot 21 yr old burns flag in patriotic town of Valley Falls, NY.

Townsmen initiate man hunt,

Ducttape moron to the flag pole he desecrated.

Link to Military.com

The Indy Method

2009-08-12T17:34:00.000-06:00

Apocalypse Now... Ride Of The Valkyries

2009-08-02T20:28:00.001-06:00

2009-07-26T13:36:00.000-06:00

An interesting idea...
This will require much thought.

Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk, and Text the Text

2009-07-25T18:39:00.000-06:00

Seriously?

Solar Eclipse

2009-07-22T16:52:00.001-06:00

Paralyzed Privacy

2009-07-22T16:38:00.000-06:00

Google Voice

2009-07-17T18:41:00.003-06:00

I just got my Google Voice account set up.Looks nice.
My initial field test of the voice m ail transcriber failed miserably though.
But to be fair,
I tested it next to a fan while my little brother was playing video games.
I guess taking that into account,
It did pretty well.
I really said, "This is just a test. There is no need to panic."
All in all,
It looks cool.

Kinetic Energy

2009-07-16T13:06:00.003-06:00

Why Didn't I Think Of That?

2009-07-10T16:25:00.000-06:00

Weird

2009-07-09T11:44:00.006-06:00

I think it says P0420PD.
I've never seen an OBDII code like that before.

Office 2010

2009-07-09T08:20:00.001-06:00

Google Chrome OS

2009-07-08T16:02:00.002-06:00

It's about freakin time.
Google is finally going to make their own OS.
They're calling it the Chrome OS.
I assume it's based off their browser by the same name.
I've been waiting for this for the last 5 years.
I'm surprised it's not gotten more buzz.
Maybe it's cause they're also in the process of rolling out Google Voice and Wave.
Each of which will change electronic communication significantly in their own right.
Both of those are getting lots of attention in intertubes.

And Here It Comes Again!!!

2009-07-08T12:34:00.001-06:00

Happy Numerical Alignment Day!!!1!!cos(0)!!
12:34:56 7/8/9

Niffty News

2009-07-08T00:34:00.000-06:00

This morning the dimension of time was numerically aligned.
12:34:56 7/8/9
I love how our artificial ways of measuring things make us feel special.

Nazi Stealth Bomber From WWII

2009-07-01T10:55:00.002-06:00

The Fastest Fast

2009-06-30T10:45:00.003-06:00

The Secret of Happiness.

2009-06-05T16:57:00.001-06:00

Google Wave

2009-05-30T15:32:00.002-06:00

Google just announced this cool new thing called Wave.
It's a sweet new form of internet communication.
I had been designing something similar for the last two months,
Looks like they beat me too it.
Fortunately,
Their version is fair more extensive than what I had come up with.

Serioulsy?

2009-05-28T11:18:00.001-06:00

$1500 Break Dancing Robot

2009-05-22T13:56:00.001-06:00

It seems the Japanese have nothing better to do than build dancing robots.
Good work

Join the Resistance

2009-05-18T15:59:00.000-06:00

Coolest Job in the World

2009-05-16T20:29:00.001-06:00

Why can't I have a job like this?

Earthquake in Texas

2009-05-16T16:11:00.005-06:00

So...
Apparently,
We had an earthquake while I was at work today.
I just found out.
It was a 3.3 Richter happened at 11:24 AM local time (Central Standard Time).
I defiantly did not notice.
Here's a Link the the data so you can see it on Google Earth.
Also the WolframAlpha data.Coincidentally enough,
the fire alarms went off in the hotel several times last night.
The maintenance crew could never figure out why.
I wonder if the pre tremors tripped them.

WolframAlpha: The Amazing New Search Engine

2009-05-16T15:29:00.005-06:00

Amazing stuff.
Just look at what it returns for the query "earth"
As opposed to Googleing "earth"
Check out some of their suggested sample searches.
Like the "International Space Station".
I find WloframAlpha much more information at first glance.
WolframAlpha does give you it's source for the information,
But it's limited to what you see on the first page.
Google, on the other hand,
Will give you every bit of data you're looking for,
You just have to know what your looking for.
There are plusses and minuses to both engines.
I'd be interested to see what would happen if you where to combine the two somehow.
Be aware,
WolframAlpha is being bombarded with curious users,
So you may get an error screen.
Just hit refresh and it should work fine.
It's pretty cool,
As far as error screens go.

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

2009-05-16T15:23:00.004-06:00

I have no idea if this is legit or not,
Whoever made it seems to have put way too much effort into it for it to be a spoof.
My money is on the Octopus.

Pixar's Tokyo Mater Drift

2009-05-16T15:13:00.000-06:00

I AM A GEEK!!!

2009-05-12T20:22:00.000-06:00

Why Skynet Doesn't Stand a Chance

2009-05-12T14:49:00.002-06:00

Revenge of the Students

2009-05-12T10:56:00.002-06:00

Scantrons,
#3 Pencils,
Blood,
Everywhere.

Finally,
The students have a way to strike back.

Palm Pre

2009-05-11T15:26:00.001-06:00

I think I'm due for an upgrade.

I Got Bored During My Circuits Lab Final

2009-05-08T15:51:00.000-06:00

Zombie Flu

2009-05-07T16:32:00.002-06:00

The Influenza strain that mutated into H1N1,
aka: Swine Flu
Appears to have mutated again.
Link courtesy of the BBC

It Would Appear I Should Go Work For Intel

2009-05-07T09:25:00.000-06:00

Check Out This Awesome Video...

2009-05-06T16:33:00.001-06:00

Oxygen

2009-05-06T14:23:00.005-06:00

I Think, Therefore I Move?

2009-05-04T12:03:00.000-06:00

Soon,
Fighter Pilots will be able to fly their planes by thought,
just like in the book Firefox.

Irony

2009-05-02T20:54:00.000-06:00

Source of Swine Flu Identified

2009-04-29T21:23:00.001-06:00

The Incarnation of Epicness

2009-04-23T11:54:00.000-06:00

Cyber Insecurity

2009-04-21T11:46:00.007-06:00

Last week,
Hackers gained access to our national power grid.There honestly has not been much news about that incident,
The only credible source I was able to find was an article from the Wall Street Journal.
We don't even know who did it.
The current assumption is that it was Russian or Chinese,
But for all we know it could have been Terrorists,
Or even just home grown cyber criminals.
So far,
We can see that they've left malware and back doors on our systems.
This would allow them access to our grids whenever they please.
And that's only what we've been able to find.
Who knows what else they've left there.

Now I'm getting news through the tubes,
That there's been another major cyber attack.
This time,
They hit managed to steal several terabytes of information about the new Joint Strike Fighter .
That's terabytes.
With a T.
To put that in perspective,
One Terabyte is nearly eight and a half of Apple's latest biggest iPod.
And it gets worse.
Whoever it was,
encrypted the data before they took it off out networks.
So we're not even sure what they know.

As I recall...
The cyclons got access to the colonial network and their most modern fighters in order to internally paralyze the colonial resistance before attacking.
Spooky.
Also on a Hollywood note,
I recall the power grid and the F-35 being targets of hacking during the most resent Life Free Die Hard movie.
You know what the means.
There's only one man that can save us.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates did just recently say we need to revamp our cyber security.
Looks like we'll be expanding our Cyber wing up from 5 airmen.

If any one has those connections on LinkedIn,
Tell him I'm available.

Drive By Musical

2009-04-21T11:05:00.001-06:00

That's Right World. Be Afraid

2009-04-14T11:11:00.000-06:00

Dip The Girl

2009-04-12T23:51:00.000-06:00

Like Niki says...
"Just Do It"
As a professional courtesy at least.

Summer Glau on the Big Bang Theroy

2009-04-01T19:48:00.001-06:00

???

2009-03-09T16:39:00.001-06:00

Someone in London reads my blog

Circuit City Liquidation

2009-03-08T13:48:00.003-06:00

Irony

2009-02-28T16:51:00.001-07:00

Google Maps

2009-02-07T22:34:00.001-07:00

Link

Hover! in 256 colors!!!

2009-01-16T15:20:00.004-07:00

For those of you that remeber Hover from Windows 95,
I managed to dig up an old copy.
It runs just fine on Win XP.
Ignore the 256 Color warning at the beginning.
Things have progressed a tad since then.
Enjoy

HOVER!!!

Too Much Free Time

2009-01-15T19:30:00.001-07:00

Link

12 Days of Christmas

2008-12-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

Link

24 Santa

2008-12-25T15:18:00.002-07:00

Link

Airspace

2008-12-25T10:19:00.001-07:00

Will It Blend???

2008-12-18T06:09:00.002-07:00

Heck yeah!
Don't breath this.

A Change We Did Not Foresee

2008-12-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

So here's a thought,
The Supreme Court is looking into whether or not President Elect Barak Obama is actually eligible to be President.
Apparently,
There is some question as to whether or not he is a natural born citizen as required by the constitution,
Or a naturalized citizen,WHich would make him ineligible.

What I want to know is,
If they find him ineligible,
What happens?
Assuming Congress doesn't amend the Constitution on the spot allowing him to continue on,
What happens?
If he was assassinated,
Biden would take his spot,
But the election wouldn't have been valid,
So would Biden be the valid Vice President Elect?
Or,
Since McCain was the runner up,
As opposed to Libertarian Bob Barr,
Would he get it by default?
Or,
Since the Democratic party did win,
Would it go to their runner up?
Senator Clinton?

AS 300 Final

2008-12-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

So...
Maybe I'm the slow guy,
That never noticed this before.
But we're in the AS 300 class.
I defiantly did not make the connection before.

I wonder,
Is Capt Cook gonna kick me into the pit of death for posting these?
They don't "own" me,
As the Colonel is so fond of saying,

Regardless,
Take one for the team and all that...

Lesson 1: Intro to leadership
Lesson 2: Air Force Leadership
Lesson 3: The Profession of Arms
Lesson 5: Assessing Leaders
Lesson 6: Managing Stress
Lesson 7: Sexual Assault Prevention
Lesson 8: Critical Thinking
Lesson 10: Writing Strategies
Lesson 11: The Basics of Briefing
Lesson 12: Team Building
Lesson 13: Problem Solving
Lesson 15: Followership
Lesson 16: Motivation
Lesson 17: Situational Leadership
Lesson 18: Change Management
Lesson 19 Management Function
Lesson 20: Editing Your Draft
Lesson 21: Conflict Management

Midterm Study Guide

I might put up a study guide,
I don't know yet.
I don't think it would be worth the effort.
We'll see.
If someone else beats me too it,
Let me know and I'll host it on my server at Google

Because I Am That Complicated...

2008-12-03T14:56:00.001-07:00

4Gb Thumb Drive

6 In 1 Utility Key
I Void Warenties

Network Security Staff

Also,
"Stand Back (Science)"
And "Compiling"

From the xkcd Store

And mom,
My neck size is between 15 1/2 and 16.
Depending on the manufacturer.
Not 18.
It was a nice shirt,
Just way too big.
And no,
I am not hard to shop for.
When in doubt.
Tools

Laptops are sooo 1990s

2008-12-03T14:39:00.001-07:00

Introducing the latest in mobile computing.

Wind Power

2008-12-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Self Destruct
Link

2008-11-25T10:11:00.002-07:00

Some people have WAY too much time on their hands.
Link

A "How To" Not Give a Presentation

2008-11-19T19:59:00.001-07:00

Link

Wow...

2008-11-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

I find the following rather humorous.
I hope you do too.

BUSH'S RESIGNATION SPEECH

2008-11-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

The following 'speech' was written recently by an ordinary resident of the People's Republic of Maine. While satirical in nature, all satire must have a basis in fact to be effective. This is an excellent piece by a person who does not write for a living.

The speech George W. Bush might [should] give:

Normally, I start these things out by saying 'My Fellow Americans.' Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: There's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.

The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people. I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media.

Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.

We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this 'blood for oil' thing. If I were trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this 'Bush Lied...People Died' crap either. If I were the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty.

me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named ' Clinton ' established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?
Now some of you morons want to be led by a junior senator with no understanding of foreign policy or economics, and this nitwit says we should attack Pakistan , a nuclear ally. And then he wants to go to Iran and make peace with a terrorist who says he's going to destroy us. While he's doing that, he wants to give Iraq to al Qaeda, Afghanistan to the Taliban, Israel to the Palestinians, and your money to the IRS so the government can give welfare to illegal aliens, who he will make into citizens, so they can vote to re-elect him. He also thinks it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and we should stop our foreign aid to Israel.&nb sp;Did you sleep through high school?

You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to out spend and out-tech them.

That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you, and the bastards are all over the globe.

You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement, and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor.'

Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.

Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dang it, you might just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.

In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol or Dancing with Stars.

I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching.

I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.

So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient for years. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.

Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there are just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2012.

So that's it. God bless what's left of America.

Some of you know what I mean. The rest of you, kiss off.

PS - You might want to start learning Farsi, and buy a Koran

I Love Technology

2008-11-05T09:28:00.002-07:00

My Prediction of the Future

2008-11-04T21:45:00.002-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen,
I have seen the future.
And being one that i particularly interested in the military,
I will focus on that.

The Army will be issued the newest of weapons,
The new M-17 CG.
And in the interest of increasing the global economy and international relations,
Not to mention acquiring the finest in quality,
They will all be manufactured in China.
While they are still on the drawing board,
This is a prototype of our next round of fighter jets.
There are also plans for a bomber version.
We are still looking for ways to make the more economically friendly.
The current model uses too many trees.

Also,
There is talk of a new border policy.
Only few details have been released,
but we do know,
It has been code named Cheese Net.
Also,
We will be replacing the National Anthem.
Link

Give One For the Team

2008-10-27T08:42:00.000-06:00

Well...
Mon AM UTA PT was fun today.
We did the usual routine,
But I was really dragging for some reason today.
I wasn't feeling like my usual energetic self.
It was really obvious when we started playing basketball.
For those of you that have seen me play,
You know that I tend to get a tad aggressive.
Not today.
It was really bothering me too.
At first I thought it was the ice cream I ate yesterday.
But then I remembered,
I donated blood yesterday after noon.
That would explain why I felt exhausted.

Note Too Self:
They really mean it when they say no strenuous activity for 24 hours.

AS 300 Study Guide

2008-10-22T16:03:00.000-06:00

Since I've had to remove the slides,
I made this study guide.
I hope it helps.

Study Guide

AS 300 Midterm

2008-10-20T19:28:00.003-06:00

Since Capt Cook has declined to provide us with the slides he uses in class,
I have decided to use alternate means to acquire them
Sorry,
The list isn't 100% complete,
But it's better than nothing.

Lesson 1: Intro to leadership
Lesson 2: Air Force Leadership
Lesson 3: The Profession of Arms
Lesson 4:
Lesson 5: Assessing Leaders
Lesson 6: Managing Stress
Lesson 7: Sexual Assault Prevention
Lesson 8: Critical Thinking
Lesson 9: Air Force Writing
Lesson 10: Writing Strategies
Lesson 11: The Basics of Briefing
Lesson 12: Team Building
Lesson 13: Problem Solving
Lesson 14: Problem Solving Exercise
Lesson 15: Followership
Lesson 16: Motivation

Hope this helps someone

Capt Cook has requested that I take these down.
Sorry,
Hope you got to these before I had to get rid of them.

AF vs. TCU

2008-10-20T16:54:00.001-06:00

In about a month,
22-NOV,
The Air Force Falcons will be coming to Texas to play TCU.
Falcons are 5-2 this season while TCU is 7-1.
Should be an interesting game.
I'll be there.
Guess which side I'll be on.
Be there.

Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body

2008-09-15T08:22:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty sure I injured myself with a balloon.
That's right,
A balloon.
I was helping out with the kids at church,
And decided it'd be a good time for balloon art.
Except for the fact that I didn't have my pump.
No problem, right?
I'll just blow them up myself.
I know they're long skinny balloons,
but it'll work out, Right?
WRONG!!!
I pushed so hard with my lungs,
I heard the left joint in my jaw start tearing.
not cool.
So I finish off one balloon and move on to something else.
It hurt a little,
But eh,
It's just pain, right?
I'll get over it.
Wrong again.
I tried to eat a banana this morning,
And that joint is now on fire.

That's right folks,
I hurt myself on a balloon.

All Your LHC Are Belong To Us

2008-09-12T16:05:00.005-06:00

Ladies and Gentleman,
The word is out.
Osama Bin Laden is no longer trying to obtain access to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD),
Such as nukes and warfare agents,
He is trying to access Weapons of Total Annihilation(WTA).
That's right,
Osama and his Henchmen are trying to take over the CERN Particle Accelerator.
Terrorists are trying to hack into the LHC and intentionally create a micro black hole that will send all of humanity to allah's doorstep wear the infidels will be judged accordingly.

...

Ok,
That was only half true.
And the previous statement was also only half true.
Which makes the above story about %25 true.
And if you divide that by Pi squared,
That's about how much actually happened.

A group called "Greek Security Team" did it.
That's right, Greek.
Like Sparta.
CERN scientists suspect rival teams from other particle accelerators.
apparently, GST was only one level of networking away from the actually computer that controls the 17 mile proton smasher.
CERN says this whole thing is a "scary experience"
I tend to agree.
While I highly doubt that machine will create a black hole,
It will pump out substantial amounts off radiation.
And if not controlled properly,
The people that live above it could get cooked.
(Yes, there are residential areas above the LHC)

The GST timed their attack to go just as CERN powered up their 424.3 million Dollar behemoth.
They left several files on CERNs computers,
But only alter one original.
Damage appears to be minimal.
They also defaced CERN web page.
I would have put something a bit different.

Gates and Seinfeld

2008-09-12T07:26:00.001-06:00

In case you have heard...
Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld are teaming up to combat the Mac adds staring PC and Mac.
(Which in my opinion are funny)
Supposedly,
Bill and Jerry are trying to show that Windows Vista is in fact usable.
So far,
All they've shown is that Bill can't dance.
Big Surprise there...

For those of you that missed it,
Here's a link to their first add.

Add 2

We Will Never Forget

2008-09-11T09:28:00.000-06:00

We Will Never Forget

We will always remember the the victims of 9-11 and their families.

To the ones that were are responsible,
We will always remember you too.
But for other reasons.

Taliban Bodies

Homosapian Parasite Transformation

2008-09-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm convinced,
Welfare is making society stupid.
Seriously,
If people would take the energy they invest in getting something for free,
And use it in a more traditional productive way,
Maybe America's average IQ wouldn't be 98.

Take this person for example,
Instead of buying gas,
Or even bumming rides from friends,
This rather creative individual has made a device that will allow himself to use suction cups to literally "hitch" a ride on a random vehicle.
This person obviously does not spend much time on the roads himself.
Even if this is just designed for local traveling,
I wouldn't trust my life to a total stranger like that.

And safety concerns aside,
I'm self conscious enough without wearing an article of apperal that makes me look like the space shuttle.

CERN's LHC Particle Accelerator

2008-09-10T08:48:00.000-06:00

Yup,
They turned it on today.
And we're all still here.
That's ok though,
They're still not at full power,
And they didn't even collide the particles.
They just turned on the beam.
When they do start colliding protons,
They still might make that black hole that will kill us all.

But until then,
Here's a copy of the first image they've generated for you to enjoy.

The CERN Particle Accelerator

2008-09-08T09:15:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure most of you have heard,
CERN is scheduled to start powering up that shiny new particle accelerator on 10-SEP-2008.
As I'm sure you've also heard,
There is a teeny Tiny percentage of a chance that it'll create a micro black hole.
The scientists assure us that if that were to happen,
according to Hawkins theories,
It would evaporate nearly instantaneously.
So there's absolutely nothing to worry about.
Except for the fact that all that is based on an unproven and unobserved theory.
...
So,
Here's a preview of what's going to happen on Wednesday

Video

BTW: I don't actually believe that,
I already know how the world is going to end,
That's right,
I cheated,
I read the last chapter of the book.

Citation Needed

2008-08-25T19:08:00.000-06:00

The world would be such a simpler place if there were more individuals like this one.

Orion ReEntry Vehicle Test

2008-08-20T23:30:00.000-06:00

Nasa tested the Apollo style chutes on the Orion ReEntry Vehicle.
This is the thing that's supposed to take us back to the moon.

Video
I feel really confident.
And all Nasa had to say after this was,
"Good thing we tested it"

This Inventor Won't Need a Pattent

2008-08-18T16:18:00.001-06:00

Because no one is going to try to copy it.

And For My next Vanishing Act....

2008-08-13T12:13:00.001-06:00

So...
I was helping some friends move some furniture into an apartment last night,
And when I went back my car,
There was a something in my seat.
It looked disturbingly like my AC control panel.
It was.
Except usually,
My stero system was sitting in the middle of that unit.It wasn't there.
On the plus side,
Since Force equals mass times acceleration,
I calculate that I'll be using only 99% of the amount of fuel as before.
That means I'll be able save enough replace it in about 8 years.

Lost and Found

2008-08-11T12:47:00.000-06:00

I found this on my phone.

Lt Gen Lorenz on Leadership

2008-08-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

While cleaning my room,
I cam across what was left of the ragged notebook I used to take notes at Field Training.
After leafing through it,
I realized the vast majority of the pages were useless.
Not only because they were so dirty and smudged you could barely read them,
But what little was readable,
Was just basic daily todo lists.
Nothing very useful outside of that environment.
But then,
I cam across one page,
With the big title "Lt Gen Lorenz on Leadership".
While we were there,
Gen Lorenz came to speak to us.
(Apparently He was promoted to General just a few weeks afterwards)
Now,
I've seen a handful of general speak before,
Probably a good deal more than most people in my position,
And this had to be one of the best I've seen.
Now,
This may be because they had me so brainwashed by that time,
But after looking over my notes,
I don't think that was the case.
He had what he called "Lorenz's 13 points of Leadership"
I thought they were useful,
Maybe someone else out there will too.

1. Learn to balance shortfalls, because you will never have enough time, money, or manpower.
2. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
3. Keep your eye on the ball.
4. The toughest word to say is "Yes".
5. Always make you decisions in the light of day.
6. Don't lose your temper unless you plan too.
7. You have to be able to lead your people, get along with your peers, and manage your bosses.
8. Ego is the number one facilitator, and at the same time detriment, to mission accomplishment.
9. Never develop a sense of entitlement.
10.Apply overwhelming combat power at the point which it will have the most effect.
11. Everything about leadership is grounded in Integrity.
12. You never know when you're going to make a difference.
13. Being in the military is about service to others.

He ended with this quote.
"My deepest fear is that I'll look back on my life,
And wonder what I did with it."

Here are some links to articles he published on leadership in the Air & Space Power Journel
Summer 2005 Lorenz on Leadership
Spring 2008 Lorenz on Leadership Part 2

Fire

2008-08-10T16:48:00.000-06:00

So what I want to know,
Is When the Google people were driving around recording all this,
Did they Stop to help?
Link

Physics is Cool

2008-08-08T14:27:00.000-06:00

Doc would be so proud,
Maybe now Marty will think physics is cool.
Just incase the Flux Capacitor wasn't enough to convince him.

Particle Accelerator Rap

Designer Clothing for the Warfighter

2008-08-05T17:56:00.000-06:00

Have you ever looked at an article of clothing and thought,
"I wouldn't be caught dead in that!"
Have you ever looked at a standard military gas mask and thought these very words?
Well now...
You don't have to.
Introducing a brand new line of designer gas masks.
With the different models to choose from,
you can guarantee you'll go out in style.
Link

Over Clocking Gone Over Board

2008-08-04T14:59:00.000-06:00

This is pretty cool.
Not sure I'd want one though.
I can Imagine this would get pretty annoying after a short period of time.

Link

Some People...

2008-08-03T13:18:00.001-06:00

Have way too much time on their hands...
Link

British Humor

2008-07-31T18:37:00.000-06:00

Acted out in Battlefield 2.
I think it's funny.
Mine?

Link

Fuel Efficiency

2008-07-30T17:32:00.000-06:00

With gas prices these days,
Every one seems to be talking about alternate fuel sources.
Some (like my dad and I) are too impatient to wait for new cars that will implement these new energy sources to be developed.
And others (also like my dad and I again) are too cheap to buy those new vehicles when they come out.
(Did you know a brand new car looses 25% of it's value the moment you drive it off the lot?)

For those of us that are either to cheap or impatient,
There are some things you can do to increase your current vehicle's gas millage.
Here are some things that I've found that work.

I own a 2001 Honda Civic EX.
I picked this car for several reasons.
First it had a manual transition.
Sticks are known for having better gas millage than an identical model with an automatic transition.
Second, Honda is known for it's durability.
As much as I like working on mechanical things, I honestly don't have time to get elbow deep in it every weekend just to keep it running.
And finally, it was the best option in the area that was in my budget.

The first thing I did when I got my car was go to Walmart and get a small notebook.
In this notebook,
I write everything that has to do with that car.
Every time I fill up the tank,
I put in the date, current mileage, miles since the last fill up, number of gallons I put in, and the total cost.
I then use this data to calculate miles per gallon and cost per mile.
This gives me a pretty good idea of my efficiency.
A typical entry looks like this.
26-JUN-2008
98587 mi
354.4 mi 10.149 gl $38.86
34.9 mi/gl .110 $/mi

Kelley Blue Book says my car should get 32 mpg city and 37 highway.
And most of my driveling is city,
So this is about right.

every time I change a part,
It gets logged.
Every time I try a new fuel additive,
It gets logged.

This is the first and most important step in increasing your efficiency.
You can't know if you've improved if you don't keep a record.

I've noticed that the more moderate your speed,
The better you gas mileage.
So yeah,
I know the speed limit on that interstate is 70 mph,
And everyone else is doing 75,
And it'd be very easy for you to do 80 and get away with it,
But this will kill you efficiency.
(and yes, I have documented this fact)
Most cars are designed to be most efficient at 55 mph.
Unless you drive a corvette or a lamborghini,
In which case you probably don't care about efficiency.
During Vietnam the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act was signed into law.
It set a national speed limit of 55 mph across the entire country.
The idea was if we could force everyone to be more efficient,
It would keep gas prices down.
(Some are considering bringing back a national speed limit given the current situation)

The next thing I did,
Was add a fuel additive to clean my fuel line and fuel injectors.
I used two different kinds.
the first one I used was "RXP Engine De-Carbonizer"
I got this at Auto Zone.
The second one I used was "Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant"
Found at Auto Zone and O'Reilly Auto Parts.
This gave the car a noticeable kick in preformance and a documented bump in efficiency.
You can ask the mechanics at your local auto parts store for recommendations as well.

By far,
The one thing I did that increased my efficiency the most,
Was to change my spark plugs.
I'm not even sure what the car originally came with,
But when I took them out,
They were most disgusting looking.
(In retrospect, I should have taken a picture for comparison)
I replaced them with Bosch Platinum Spark Plugs.
I got four at Auto Zone for $12.99.
This has to be the single best investment I've made in my car.
I changed them out when I had a half a tank left.
And when I went to fill up the tank,
This is the entry that went in my book.
27-JULY-2008
100721 mi
451.7 mi 11.528 gl $42.98
39.2 mi/gl .095 $/mi
First of all,
That's the first time I've ever gotten more than 420 mi on one tank of gas,
And the gas light on my dashboard usually comes on.
And my fuel gauge still showed at least a gallon left in the tank.
Second, that's a 4.3 mpg increase in just a day over a month.
That's a 12.3% increase in fuel efficiency.
Third, this is the first time I've been under .10$/mi since 02-APR-2008.
Seeing as how I have a 25 mi trip to school one way,
That means I'm finally paying less that 5$ daily just for gas.
I don't know about all of you,
But $5 is alot of money for a college student.
That's like 2-3 meals if spent properly.

In summary,
Things you can do to increase your fuel efficiency.

1. Keep a log
2. Get some fuel additives
3. change you spark plugs.

Unless you've already tweaked your vehicle to be more efficient,
These three things should give you a noted increase in your gas mileage.

What You Really Need Is Some Organic Fuel

2008-07-10T18:18:00.001-06:00

My dad owns a Turbo Diesel Injection 2003 Volks Wagon Jeta.
He's been wanting to convert it to run on Bio Diesel.
And with gas prices these days,
I don't blame him.
He's bee working on it for a few months now,
But things are just starting to pick up.
We managed to find the right ratios of chemicals.

We made a small batch,
And it seems to work,
But it wasn't any where near enough to run the car on.
It made about one pint.

We're started making our first large batch tonight.
Should be about five gallons when it finishes.
After the machine finishes mixing it,
We'll have to wash it and filter it.
It'll be another few days before we find out if it worked.

Here's a Link to the photo album so far.

AHH!!! The Iranians have learned how to use Photoshop!!!

2008-07-10T14:17:00.001-06:00

As I'm sure most of you have heard,
Iran "tested" several medium and long range missiles over the course of last night.
the barrage consisted of several classes of weapon systems.
Mainly surface to surface,
But a few surface to air as well.
These included the Shahab-3, capable of striking Israel and several of our bases in that region.
It's all part of a big military maneuver called "Great Prophet III" that's been going on for three days now.

Too bad it wasn't all real
That would have been a nice excuse for that missile shield.
Eh...
I guess it still is.

I say we "test" a MOAB in international waters outside one of their ports.
See how they like it when we test our toys.

{Current Project} STATUS: Fail

2008-07-03T11:22:00.002-06:00

Well...
I'm trying to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
This may sound trivial to alot of you,
But I'm trying to make it in larger volumes than your typical 9v battery can make.
(we'll discuss the purpose later)
The device I've built is too big.
I am unable to (safely) get the power I need to run it.
I'm going to try again.
I plan to make it smaller.
If it works,
I'll make several and connect them all

Rampenfest

2008-06-29T21:04:00.001-06:00

So...
The people of Oberpfaffelbachen,
Decided to make a name for themsleves.

By launching a BMW,
Off a ramp,
From Germany to the United States

Link

Here's the actual documentary
Rampenfest

Too bad it's all a hoax.

Back

2008-06-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

I'm back.
Woo hoo...
I earned my Prop and Wings for a second time.
That's an interesting feeling.

It's definatly good to be home again.

Field Training

2008-05-15T18:27:00.000-06:00

Well...
ROTC is sending me off to Field Training.
Pretty much their version of Basic.
I really don't want to do this again,
but at the same time,
I don't want to be "That Guy" that didn't go.
Even if they transfered my Academy Basic over.
Which I doubt they would.
I leave on 20-May and get back on 18-June.
For those of you that care to write me,
My address will be:

Cadet Koller, Jason R
Maxwell 2, Flt ___ (Unknown)
501 Lemay Place N.
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112

My flight letter is supposed to go in the blank,
but they haven't told me which flight I'm in yet.
So...
We'll just go with that.

Proposal

2008-05-14T17:03:00.000-06:00

So...
Jenna Bush got married last weekend.
That must have been a very interesting meeting when Henry Hager ask her dad.
Seriously,
How does a young man go about asking the President of the United States if he can marry his daughter?
That must have been incredibly intimidating.
Kudos to the guy for being able to go through with it.

WOW!!!

2008-05-08T20:05:00.000-06:00

Just FYI...

This guy is amazing.

Link