Chemistry Test

That went well.
I'm gone for the weekend.

FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!!!!

1 = 2

a = b
a^2 = ab
a^2 - b^2 = ab - b^2
(a+b)(a-b) = b(a-b)
(a+b) = b
2b = b
Therefore...
2 = 1

Prove me wrong

How much...

Energy is contained in a Pixy Stick?
Find out

A Classmate Sent Me This

A quick and easy fix,
Unfortunatly,
This doesn't make for the best politics.

4th of July

I went to a BBQ that the Basic Cadre were doing while their Basics were in a breifing.
Then I went down to watch the fireworks on base.

Afterwards I went with some freinds to watch the basics file back to their rooms.
Some of the cadets were throwing candy to them as they walked below us.
It was rather amusing.
One cadet was throwing cheesburgers.
That was particularly entertaining.

I'm feeling old

Psalm 90:10
The legnth of our days is seventy years;
Or eighty, if we have the stregnth;

How depressing...
That means I'm one fourth the way over.
;-)

On a lighter note...
Ok,
So there's not a lighter note.
But I thought that was funny,
So I had to share it.

Waking up the Basics.

They woke up the basics this morning,
At 0400 like they did when I was a Basic.

Minor detail,
But they woke me up too.

The played Revile like normal,
And than the played the song Welcome to the Jungle.

Yeah...
I'm on the sixth floor,
And I still heard the music and the banging on doors down on the first floor.

The New Basics

The class of 2010 is here.
And the Cadre have been getting ready.
They woke me up one morning practicing their speeches.
I was on the top bunk so I hit my head and nearly fell.
Yes,
I’m still a little jumpy about all that.
Just like Revile.

I watched a few of the pour off the buses during my break between classes.
I recall it being louder and more intense than that.
Instead of saying I had it harder,
I’m just going to assume that the adrenaline rush makes a big difference

And I got greeted today.
That felt really odd.
After years of greeting Upperclassmen with “Good afternoon sir, Fighting Bulldawgs!”
I got a “Good evening sir, Aggressors lead the way.”

Yeah, that was weird.
I’m no longer the bottom of the food chain.
I think I’m going to like this,
But it’ll take some getting used too.

Back at USAFA

I'm back in CO.
That was rather crazy.

We decided to use the bus this time cause it was cheaper.
And they over booked the bus.
So they wouldn't let me on.

So We jump in the car and head for the next stop on the buss's route,
Two hours away.
So we're bopking it down the highway,
and go figure,
We have a blowout.
So we put the spare on and continue.

We had to go slower now,
But we had made up enough distance that we would have made it,
If not for the second blow out.

Someone offers space for one,
So dad takes the first tire that only had a hole in it to get it replaced.
I wait with my three younger brothers.
Borrowing cellphones as people pass,
I manage to coordinate a ride for someone to come pick us up.
They get there and drive my siblings and I into town to get dad.
As we pull into the WalMart,
My dad notices that our ride had a flat tire.

So after we get all that fixed,
We go back and put the new tire on the car.
And dad takes me to the bus station.

So I get the next bus and they get me on.
And here I am.
Three flats and an 18 hour bus ride later,
I'm back at USAFA
yippie...
(Can't you just feel the sarcasm? lol)

Change of Plans

Yes,
It's true.
I am back in Texas.

I talked to the right people and got the right papers signed,
And in about two hours I had permission to leave.
Fortunatly I hadn't unpacked much since getting to my new room.
So I got out of there fast.
I planned on updateing when I got home,
But...
(Go figure)
The home computer crashed the moment I got on.
And there is no way my laptop is touching a non government network.

So I'm at the library now,
Been helping at AWANA Scholarship camp for the past week.
Some freinds put together a swing party for tonight.
And I'm trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the week.
I go back on Fri.

More later.

The Verdict Is In

I got retainment without leave.
In english...
I get to stay,
But no summer break.

Bummer, yeah.
But I get two summer classes.
And word is the lowest grades heard of during summer was B-.
That means my GPA will significantly improve by next Semester.

So...
Sorry to everyone I had plan with.
Keep me in mind for Thanksgiving break.

Thanks for all the prayer.

News

I have an interview on Tuesday at 3:15pm.
The results will decide wether I stay or come home.
I'm hoping it'll be both.
I'd like to come home for a little,
Than come back here.
But if I have too,
I'd rather stay here.
Please be praying.

Fire Alarm

The fire alarms went off last night.
That was fun.
Everyone is supposed to bring a blanket.
Some guy brought a wig, suglasses, and his guitar as well.
So well gathered around and sang campfire songs.
That was a lot of fun.
And then the voice came over the speakers giving the "All Clear".
Everyone groned and went back inside.
That was actually a lot of fun.

Promotion

Yesterday was graduation.
Everybody moves up one level.
I am now a Three Degree.
Fun stuff.

The Thunderbirds were cool.
Got to watch them preform.

News

Ok,
Guess what everbody.
They changed my summer schedule on me.
But that's only halve the problem.
They're still working on it.
There is a possibility I might not be able t ocome home at all over summer.
Not sure yet though.
Please be praying that all this gets straightened out and resolved quickly.
I would very much like to come home,
but not if it means I can't come back.
It may come down to that.
So please be praying.

Cadet Jamboree

We had the cadet jamboree tonight.
one of the things there was a good will sale.
Cadets had donated stuff they didn't want any more.
So there was all sorts of stuff there.
I helped with that for about six hours
Afterwards,
I made my way over to where the band was set up.
The Cadet Jazz band was coming up and swing club was going to show off.
On my way over,
I noticed a booth with several animals.
There was a guy with a rather large python wrapped around him.
He let me try it on.

After holding it for a while,
The guy disappeared.
So I wound up holding the snake for two hours until the owner came to put it away.
Fun.

Dilbert

Meet the Tigers

Tonight I went to a BBQ with all the other Three Degree Selects to meet my new squadron.
I didn’t get to talk to many people.
I wound up doing all the cooking at the BBQ.
It was fun once it got going.
The guy who started the charcoal had no idea what he was doing.
After I got the coals going,
I cooked 24 pounds of burgers in less than an hour.
That was a lot of burgers.
They were really good too.

Eagles Peak

I went hiking with a freind of mine this afternoon.
We had been in scouts together back home,
and hadn't gotten much time to just hang out.
We went up to Eagle's Peak,
It's been a while since I've been up there.

After we got to the top,
We were just chilling out,
We were faceing west,
Because we see enough of the Academy.
So we we watching the forest.

We got to talking,
about nothing in particular,
When I noticed smoke.
After watching it for a few minutes,
We decided that it was growing too fast to be a controled fire.

Niether of us had phones,
So we had to get down the mountain to report it.
We decided the trail would take to long,
So we made a straight line down the mountain.
That hurt.
We've both got some really bad scrapes.
I think I have minor sprains in both my ankles.

In the end,
We finally made it to the nearest place with a phone,
The security check point.
We told them,
But they already knew.
So we had blazed our own trail and got cut up really good for nothing.

That's ok though,
I'm glad they found out before we got down.
And it was some what fun.
Even if I'll be hurting for a while.

Squadron Rotations

Between our 4 and 3 degree year,
We all switch to different squadrons.
We finally found out where we're all going.

I'm transferring to CS 10 with one other guy currently in CS 13.
We're going to Tiger Ten.

In a few weeks,
I will no longer be a Bulldawg,
But a Tiger.

Physics

I think I got between a 90 and an 80 on that one.
And with the current 20 point curve (rumored to increase.)...
Things are looking good.

Current Score

Dean: 1 Jason: 5

Chem 2

Current Score

Dean: 1 Jason: 4

Comp Sci

Yeah!
That went well.
I got at least a 90 on that one.
I wish all my classes were like that.
I guess all what my wonderful mother called "wasted time" on the computer paided off.
(Just kidding, Mom)

Current Score

Dean: 1 Jason: 3

Calc 2

Ouch
That still hurts.

I did much better than I expected,
(MUCH better)
But I don't think it was good enough.

Current Score

Dean: 1 Jason: 2

Geo Political Science

Current Score

Dean: 0 Jason: 2

Engineering

Yeah!
92%
Probably th only class I'll get instant feedback on.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Jason: 1

Finals

Too much CaFfEiNe!!!
I haven't had caffeine in several months.
not cause I don't like it.
But because I don't need it.
I've been working on a total of 7 hours of sleep over the past 72 hours.

My mom sent my some instant coffee for finals season.
I just doubled the dosage.
Concentrated.
Not in water either,
But Dr. Pepper.
I feel light headed now.
And I don’t like it.

Six finals this semester.
Fun Stuff.
I’d appreciate prayer if you get a chance.
I very rarely feel anxiety,
(As my mom well attest to)
But I’m really worried about it this time.

I’ve been listening to swing music while I work.
It takes my mind off of my troubles,
And keeps my energy up.

Here’s my schedule.
Thanks y‘all

Engr 100 15-MAY-06 0730 - 1120
SocSci 112 15-MAY-06 1300 - 1650
Math 142 16-MAY-06 0730 - 1120
CompSci 110 16-MAY-06 1830 - 2220
Chem 142 17-MAY-06 1300 - 1650
Physics 110 18-MAY-06 0730 - 1120

Mothers Day

Once again,
It is that special time of year.
The time that we set aside specifically to make our mothers feel like the important and wonderful people they truly are.
So Happy Mothers Day to any moms that might be reading this.
(And kids, make sure you give your mom a big hug and tell her how much she means too you)

Mothers are very important parts of our lives.
They have a huge influence on who we become.
If you are in any way successful in any area of your life,
Odds are there is a special mom that helped influence and teach that person.

Yes that was a direct reference to my mommy.
I would be no where near half the person I am today if it wasn’t for my mommy.
She’s the only reason I ever had a chance at getting as far as I have in life.

Granted, my dad was very influential as well,
But just because of the way families work,
He wasn’t there all day like mom,
He had to make sure we could eat too.

My mommy was always there for me 24/7.
Whether I needed encouragement that I was indeed capable of whatever challenge was in front of me,
Or needed a direction check because I had lost track of my goals and purpose,
She was always there.

One of the most important things my mommy did for me was teach me right from wrong.
Since she was there 24/7 she was able to do that.
As I was growing up,
I got instant feedback on my actions from my mother.
I very quickly learned that it was wrong to say something that wasn’t true, take something that wasn’t mine, or put keys in the electrical outlet.
My mommy helped me develop my morals, ethics, and common sense.
All of which I’ve used and needed to survive.

I could go on forever about how much my mommy means to me,
But I think it would mean more to here if I studied for my finals.
So I will close with this.

Mothers are very possibly the most influential people in our lives.
So,
If you’re my mommy, Happy Mothers Day and thank you for making my the person that I am today.
(I could go on forever on that, but I’m trying to be brief)
If you’re somebody else’s mother, Happy Mothers day and thank you for doing your part to make the world that much of a better place.
If you’re not a mother, Go give your mom a hug,
Tell her Happy Mothers Day,
And how much she means to you.

My mom doesn’t know about this,
And I told her not to read this until next week.
So…
When she does read this…

i LuV U MOmmY

Last Day of Classes

Today was the last day of classes.
As you can imagine,
Everyone is ready to go.

Everyone was making lots of noise in Mitchell Hall during lunch.
Banging on plates, air horns, you name it.
Eventually the first row of tables stood on their chairs and started chanting something.
Than the announce came over the PA system.
“This is just a reminder not to stand on Mitchell Hall Chairs”
So they all jump off their chairs and pick them up.
Holding their chairs over their heads,
They continue to chant.
Who says you can’t beat the system.

Here are some pics form Yesterdays Noon Meal Formation.

Best Noon Meal Formation Ever!!!

We've been getting EMails all week about today’s formation.
Under no circumstances is anyone to Take the Hill.
This is was our last Noon Meal Formation of the Semester.
But Group 2 is the coolest groups in the Cadet Wing,
So we found a way.

The firsties wanted to do something different.
I noticed something was up even before I got outside.

As I was coming up the stairs,
I met two firsties coming down from their rooms.
They were in blues,
Like everyone else,
But something was different.
They had turned their blue pants into shorts.
And they were carrying packages.
They looked like the mail man from Mr. Rogers.

Then,
As I got outside,
It got worse.

Is saw one of the guidon bearers
(They guy that carries the squads little flag)
In on of those huge foam sumo wrestler suits.
And then he met up with several of his buddies,
Also in huge foam sumo wrestler suits.

Than I noticed there were people in costume everywhere.
There was a Ninja Turtle, an Astronaut, Chuck Norris, And Master Chief from Halo.
All the costumes looked really good.
It was insane.

Group Staff came as pirates.
The group commander had a hook and one of those curved plastic swords.
Each Squadron seemed to have a different theme.
There was a cowboy squad,
A ninja squad, a
And a Hippies squad among others.

Our squad’s firsties came as beach people with flower shirts and flip flops.
Our squadron commander is from Hawaii so that’s probably why.

Squadron 14 was next to us and their form-up was interesting.
The first Sergeant formed up the squadron as normal than the squadron commander walked up to take command,
Dressed as Darth Vader.
With the mask and light saber and everything.

Reporting in was interesting.
“Reeeeeeeeeeeport”
“Yeeeeeeeee haaa”
“Yarrr”

“Super Ninja Turtles!”
"Yarrr”

“Mahallow”
“Yarrr”

“The Storm Troopers are assembled”
(With a salute with a light saber)
“Yarrr”

Wow.

And
Just to get around the whole not Taking the Hill thing,
Half of the squadron commanders just marched their squadrons by an alternate route,
And up Spirit Hill.

General Regni was mad.
He never said anything,
But I could see it in his face.
We’re all probably gonna get restricted this weekend.
But it was worth it.

The Weather

I'm feeling kinda depressed.
Writing about stuff usually helps,
So here goes.

The weather was awesome today.
I came out of my room and was walking to breakfast.
On the way up the stairs my squadron commander told me that it had snowed last night.
Sure enough,
It had,
The terrazzo was covered in white.
The sky was perfectly clear,
With the exception of the one cloud that covered the mountains.
The only feature in the land to the west that could be seen was the LZ.
(Landing Zone, A rather large hill behind the Chapel)
The trees on it were all frosted and glistening.

After Breakfast I went back to my room.
The sun had been slowly peeling the clouds off the mountains.
The entire mountain range was covered with the same frosted trees that were on the LZ.
It was beautiful.

Parent's Spirit Mission

Taking the Hill falls under a broader category called Spirit Missions.
The official purpose of a Spirit Mission is to boost moral.
Most of the time it does boost moral,
For those participating.
In the civilian world,
It's usually called Vandalism.
(Don’t worry, we clean it up)
Like that time we painted the planes.

The Parents club for the class of 2009 decided to do their own spirit mission.
They were able to keep what they were doing a secret from us.
Yesterday at a briefing,
Some of the parents came out.
They had ordered custom M&Ms.
They had our class year and chant, and were our class color.
These Silver M&Ms said “09 Our Time” on them.
Parents Rock!!!

Swing Club

We got an extra night of swing tonight.
We had a briefing last Thursday so we couldn’t meet then.
So we’re double dipping this week.
I tried a few new combinations of moves and they seemed to work well.
I’m going to have to show everybody back home this stuff over Summer.
I had heard Sonlight’s dance teacher was going to put something together,
But my sources haven’t heard anything yet.
(Hint Hint)
(I’ll cook again)
I’ve got salt crystallized on my forehead.
Yeah, I know.
That’s disgusting.

My Boss

I'm glad this guy has a sense of humor.
President George W Bush

Postcards

It is absolutely beautiful outside today!
I walk outside on my way to class.
The sky is clear with just a few clouds in it,
There is a nice gentle breeze,
And the temperature is perfect.
The means upper 40s lower 50s.
Yeah…
It truly is a postcard day.

Which reminds me.
The Monday before Recognition.
We had a slightly different SPIRE meeting.
(SPIRE is a generic term for Monday night bible study)
Beth Champion Masson was in town and come to do a concert for us.
So all the SPIRE groups got together and went to the concert.
She played a song she had written called Postcards.
I felt the God had given her the word for that song just for me.
It described exactly the way I had been feeling through out the year up here.
It talks about how God has created this entire world just for us and left us reminders all over the place.
I see these most in the sky,
But that’s just me.
She said I could put the lyrics on here if I linked to here site.
So here’s the link.
Beth Champion Mason
And here’s the lyrics to the chorus.

“You write me postcards in the evening sky,
Love letters in the sand,
And I can see your signature in the creases of my hand,
There is poetry in the colors of the falling autumn leaves,
And every postcard reads ‘I love you’”

I had used the word postcard to describe the world in a previous post.
So I thought that was really cool.
Go to her website and you can hear a clip of the song.
Or you can wait till I get home for summer break and I’ll show you the CD.

Other Noon Meal Formations

FYI...
We've had other odd formations.

Formations start with reporting in.
After the squadrons form up,
The Group Commander gets a report from the Squadron Commanders.

Typically,
It sounds something like this,
“Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeport!”
“Bulldogs all good, Sir”
“Thank you, Sir”
And it goes down the line with each squad reporting in.

One day,
It went a little differently.
“Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeport!”
“Viva la revolution!”
“Thank you, Sir!”
And every squad reported in with a line from a movie or something equally absurd.

The Noon Meal Formation of Recognition was funny.
Normally when we’re playing some other college in football or whatever,
3rd and 4th group will yell,
“Go Air Force”
To which 1st and 2nd group respond
“Beat Army”
Or whoever we’re playing.
Well for Recognition,
Only the upperclassmen yelled,
Cause only they knew what was going on.
But there was no “Go Air Force”
Just a “Beat the SMACKs”
(SMACK is one of those terms of endearment for fourth classmen)

Noon Meal Formation

It was really foggy today.
You couldn’t even see 10 feet.
But they still had Noon Meal Formation.
So we all took the hill.

Taking the hill is a long standing tradition in the Cadet Wing.
It involves breaking ranks in the middle of a formation,
And running to the top of spirit hill,
Located on the South-East corner of the Terrazzo,
By the F-4.

It was kind of like a chain reaction.
We heard yelling,
And the yelling spread.
The squadron next to us took off running.
So we followed.

The entire Cadet Wing took the hill.
All 4,000 of us.
The only ones left marching was the Wing Commander and his staff.
That was great.

Pinnacle

You know what I realized today?
Pinnacle rhymes with Cynical.
And that’s the way most of the Class of 2009 feels about it.
This is supposedly what ’08 did instead of recognition.
And ‘07s was supposedly even easier.
That was a piece of cake.
No,
Seriously,
That was a joke.

The whole thing started with the lowering of the flag on Friday.
Then we marched to dinner.
No sitting at Attention or anything,
Just chilling out.

After dinner,
We learned who our Class Exemplar is.
The Class Exemplar is someone in history that we want to represent our class.
For example,
2001 had General Billy Mitchell,
The guy how pushed for the formation of the Academy.
2005 had General Patton,
The first General to actively use Air Power in combination with his ground forces.
We nominated several officers from history and voted on them last semester.
I’ll write a separate post on our Class Exemplar.

We had four hours to clean for the SAMI,
That’s more than four times the amount we got during Recognition.

After cleaning went formed up for our midnight march.
We marched down to the base Cemetery.
They had a nice ceremony down there.
“Amazing Grace” was played on the Bagpipes.
After which there was a twenty-one gun salute.
Followed by our own “In The Stairwell” singing “High Flight” and the third verse of the Air Force Song.
Finished off by the playing of Taps by a bugler.
Then we marched back to the Hill.
Where we finished cleaning.

Got up for reveille formation which was at 0530.
Then marched to breakfast.
After which was the SAMI.
Yippie.

After the SAMI we had the line challenge.
We marched down to the athletic fields,
And lined up to start.
All of this was timed.
And we were carrying rifles.

We started by running some 200 yards to the first event where we did Ranger Pushups.
For those of you who don’t know,
You use four people to make a square.
Put your feet on someone’s back,
And someone puts their feet on your back,
And you do pushups.
We did 30.

Then we ran with the Charge (a large painted railroad tie with ropes) about 50 yards and ran back.
Then we ran to the next event,

Another 200 yards.
This was Fireman Carry,
Two people start alive and they have to carry the entire element of 9 across a line 50 feet away.
They carry a person over,
That person is alive and can help bring more people.
Than we ran 50 yards up hill to the next event.

Stretcher carry.
Similar concept,
But just three dead people and one stretcher.

Than another 200 yard run to the low crawl,
We had to get all 9 of us under an obstacle in 45 seconds to get a two minute bonus,
We did it in 20.
They said that was the fastest they’d ever seen.
Than we ran 300 yards to the starting point for the run.

We ran 2.5.
May not sound like much,
But after everything else,
4 hours of sleep,
Boots that weigh 5 pounds each,
Rifles,
And going uphill…
Yeah,
It was a little tiring.
But I still did better than the guys from ’08.

Than we had an In Ranks Inspection.
(For uniforms)
It was in Parade Dress.
Why?
That’s beyond me.
We’ve worn that thing twice so far.
Including the inspection.

Which brings up another point.
This uniform costs around $500 and has to be custom made.
Why did we pay $500 for a uniform that we’ll be wearing a grand total of 8 times in our lives?
They don’t where this in the real Air Force.
It does look cool though.
I’ll have to post a picture some time.

After the inspection,
We had a parade,
Now,
You’d think that since we where just in Parade Dress,
We’d do the PARADE in PARADE Dress.
Nope,
We did it in Service Dress.
Service Dress and boots no less.
The civilian equivalent to this is wearing hiking boots with a suit and tie.
Yeah…

After the parade we went to dinner.
That was fairly boring.
They announced the winners for pinnacle.
But everyone was to busy watching the cadet eat an entire Dove Ice Cream bar in one bite.

Like I said,
The whole thing was a piece of cake.
’08 and ’07 really had it easy.
And they know it too.
I kinda feel sorry for them.
They couldn’t help it.

The entire point of this post was to prove why Pinnacle rhymes with cynical.
Because that’s how it makes cadets feel.
As you may have gathered from my ranting.

Friday Night

I know a lot of you that read this are going to the Homeschool prom.
Hope you all have fun.
I remember it as being a blast.
It was a chance to cut loose and just hang out.

I was hoping there might have been a possibility that I might be able to drop in this year,
But that’s not going to be happening.
We have Pinnacle this weekend.

Pinnacle was designed to replace Recognition during the few years that recognition didn’t happen.
It was supposed to be a more friendly less stressful substitute so the problems that occurred previously could happen.
The question at hand is…
If Pinnacle was supposed to replace Recognition,
And we did have Recognition,
Why are we doing Pinnacle?

Nobody knows.
Regardless,
All of the Class of 2009 is looking forward to showing up ’08 and ’07 this weekend.
That’s right,
We got recognized.
They haven’t

Anyway,
The main event on Friday is called the Heritage March.
It’s scheduled to end at midnight.
That’ll be around 1 am Texas time.
So y’all dance hard for me.
And I’ll be marching hard for you.

Appointee Season

Once again it that time of the year.
When those “fortunate” few who have gotten the acceptance papers come to spend the day with a cadet.
The first question we ask them is…
“Have you signed your life away yet”
We’re all happy for them,
They got what they’ve been wanting for so long.
Or have they?

Little do they realize that within two month’s time,
They will have one more thing in common with the Cadet Wing.
Even tough they’ll just be basics.
They will hate their lives.
Yet they will continue to stay.

It’s hard to think that one year ago,
I was one of them.
An innocent civilian with delusions that this place would be the greatest thing that every happened to me.
Maybe it will once I get out,
But not now.

Nonetheless,
It is appointee season,
And that makes life interesting.
Mainly because they bring weird weather with them.

Only at USAFA...

...does the uniform for formation include jackets when we're in the upper 70's, sunny and no wind,
And the uniform for the day is BDUs sleeves rolled up when it's below freezing, cloudy, and winds are about 30 mph.

I'm wearing my sleeves up because they said so
(Just like any good little cadet would),
But I'm also protesting in my own little way.
I'm wearing my black leather gloves too.

Speech & Debate

I helped out at a Speech & Debate tournament yesterday.
They let me out for some community service.
That was fun.
I left around 0700 and got back at 0130 the next morning.
I got to judge a lot of cool speeches.
I judges the semifinals for Expository and finals for Humorous Interpretive.
This place must have really warped my sense of humor.
I only thought a few of them were funny.
Everyone else was laughing.

I got to meet a lot of new people.
There were people from California, Georgia, Texas, New Hampshire, and here.
I didn’t know there were this many home schoolers in Colorado.
But apparently the home schooling community is alive and well up here.
After wards I went with of the local debate clubs and hung out for a little while.
I’m gonna have to see if I can if I can work with them more often.

Swing

We had a blood drive this week.
The blood is going to Bagdad to help out the troops over there.
Thursday was their last day collecting.
Thursday is also Swing Night.
Both were happening in the Arnold Hall Ballroom.
They end at 8:00 pm.
Exactly when we start.
That was interesting.
Especially since it was mostly Army personnel working the blood drive.

So we all ran out and grabbed someone from the Army to dance with.
That was very interesting.
But it was fun.

How To Survive

The American People

You gotta love 'em.
The US is the most diverse country on the planet.
Here,
You can be anybody,
Believe anything,
And do just about any thing.

Take the protesters that are at the Chapel right now.
They are from all over the country,
They beleive that being a homosexual is natural,
And they're protesting because they can't join the military.

The gay rights folks don’t like the fact that we don’t let them talk about their beliefs publicly if they join the military.
The problem there is beyond me.
We don’t talk about our religious or political beliefs because that can be controversial,
And their lifestyle is most certainly controversial.
We don’t prohibit them from serving,
We just prohibit them from announcing their views to everyone around them.

Which is actually in their best interest.
If a unit knew that one of their members was gay,
That person would be ostracized.
That’s just the way it would happen.

So,
As we were walking to lunch,
We saw them standing on the wall with their backs turned to us.
(We were all secretly hoping one of tem would jump in so we could watch SF take them out.)
I commented to one of my friends about the joys of potentially sacrificing your life so that people who hate you can live.
Then he said something that reminded me about why I’m here.

I’m not here to serve all of the people that live in the United States.
I’m here to defend my family, friends, and their freedoms.
If these other people get to enjoy those freedoms,
That’s fine.
But that’s not why I’m here.

I don’t remember the movie,
But it was one of those doomsday films,
As usual,
A crew was sent to ward off the on coming danger.
One of the lines went something like this.
“You can’t save the world, That’s to big of a job for one person. But you can save just a few people.”

I can't save the world,
But I can save the few I love.

25 Years Ago Today

25 years ago yesterday,
On 12-APR-1981,
The worlds first space shuttle was launched.
She was called Columbia.
Her mission number was STS-1.
Commander John Young and Pilot Bob Crippen took her on her first flight.
She brought forth a new age in space travel.
The age of reusable space craft.

3 years ago on her 28th flight,
On 01-FEB-2003,
She fell victim to the hazardous environment in which she had so often flown before.
Her mission number was STS-107.
Her final crew included Commander Rick D. Husband, Pilot William C. McCool, Payload Specialist Michael P. Anderson, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist David M. Brown, Mission Specialist Laurel B. Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (Israel).
She has begun a new age.
An age were all missions are carried out with the utmost of care.

Of all her accomplishments,
One of he most interesting was carrying the first Israeli astronaut into space.

Ilan Ramon was a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force.
He was a fighter pilot.

May we never forget those who cannot return.

Another E-Mail From Our Wonderful Training Officer

Good Evening Bulldawgs,

Congratulate your team handball team for finishing the season. The four degrees are at rest from 1900 to 2000 (ahhh, such benevolence.)

Moreover, congratulate the firsties for finishing their last Academy intramural season ever.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

C1C XXXX XXXXXX
Training Officer
CS-13
United States Air Force Academy

Thanks,
But we already finished Recognition.
We're already at Rest

Swing

Oh Wow!!!
Last night we had Swing Club at the gym.
We used the mats at the gymnastics area,
So we got to learn a bunch of aerials.
Ok…
So it was only six.
But that’s a lot to learn in one night.
One of them was invented/developed/created here at USAFA.

If y’all can get something organized,
I can teach you some of the moves over summer break.
Maybe we can even do multiple sessions.
And then top it all off with an entire evening of dancing.
I’ll even make dinner.
Any volunteers?

Destruction of Government Property

Oh yes,
It really does happen

This Reminded Me of My Softball Team

Super Cadet

I've seen it all now
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4964593308344609110&q=air+force+academy&pl=true

Spring Break

Spring Break was Great!!!
I really needed that time to unwind.
Sorry if I talked to much,
But I needed to get that out of my system.

Got in late Sat.

Went to Church Sun morning.
Did AWANA Sun evening.
They asked me to do council time for the Sparkies and T&T Guys.
When they found out I was going to talk about respecting authority,
They decided to bring the girls in too.
(I’m not implying anything here)
I did the Armor of God in a Box with the Sparkies.
I made the various pieces out of aluminum foil.
They loved that.

Mon I just hung out.
I don’t recall anything out of the ordinary happening.

Tue I went to the gym with my parents.
I got on the tread mill,
(I hate the elliptical machine they use)
And started running.
As I started singing jodies in my head I realized I wasn’t running as fast as I could.
I kept increasing the speed.
I eventually realized that the computer said I was doing ten mph.
I wasn’t even out of breath after fifteen minutes of that.
I love Oxygen.
That evening I took my sister to a dance event I had heard about.
That was fun.
I got to see some old friends there.

Wed was Sonlight.
I got to see a bunch more friends and get to know a few people better.
I got to help dissect a heart.
And then got volunteered to help in cooking.
That was fun.
I learned how to make roses for a cake with play dough.
After lunch I went to dance class and square dancing class.
Dance was with the highschoolers,
While square dancing was with the 6th-8th graders.
I show up for square dancing and then I realize,
I haven’t done this in over a year.
I don’t remember a thing.
Thankfully they started with a song that I had done so many times before I had it memorized.
So I used that to re learn everything.

I feel really bad about this one.
One of the girls didn’t have her name tag on.
Up here, if you don’t have your ID badge on someone will call you a terrorist.
So I instinctively point and say “Terrorist!”
Then instantly think, “Uh Oh.”
Fortunately I was able to explain all that to her and she was ok with it.
I felt horrible.
I had tried to keep the Cadet inside,
But he managed to get out.

Thursday I went to Hockey practice.
I spent most of the time doing Calculus.
Yuck.
Afterwards, a family invited me over to play a board game.
Axis & Allies.
I had been wanting to play that game for the past six years.
And to top it all off,
I got to make dinner.
Well, not entirely,
I think I took over the kitchen.
I walked into the kitchen and noticed that they were cooking spaghetti.
So I took it upon myself to finish the job.
I love cooking.
I don’t get much chance to cook up here.

Friday
I went to the Ballet.
I had gotten volunteered to help move the stage from the studio to the church they were performing at.
That was fun.
The ballet was good to.
(My sister thinks I’m crazy for actually enjoying watching a ballet)
Afterwards I went with a few people to watch King Kong at someone’s house.
Apparently it was supposed to be a scary movie.
But we had a narrator who actually made it rather humorous.

I flew back to Colorado on Saturday.
The Co-Pilot is a T-38 instructor at Sheppard AFB.
I saw the T-38 sticker on his bag and asked him.
The were several Air Force enlisted Security Forces guys headed to Fort Carson on my plane.
They were going for training before heading out to the sand box.
A lot of them were going for their second deployment.
When the plane landed the lady on the speaker thanked all the service men on the plan for their service.
I felt horrible about then.
I was getting the same thanks they were.
I’m a college student.
They were headed into the thick of the fighting.It didn’t seem right.

I slept all that day and for twelve hours that night.
I guess I was recovering from spring break.
I must have partied too hard.
(Yeah right…)

So…
I’m back in my dorm,
Doing the same old thing,
Counting down until my next leave.
Six more weeks of school!!!
That’s not even two full months!
Unfortunately,
Those six weeks will be spent working harder than I have previously.
Oh well…

BTW,
I didn’t get in trouble for damage to government property.
For those of you who are in on the joke,
You can laugh.
For those of you who are clueless,
Find someone who is laughing.

"Suspicious Package"

You may remember the "Suspicious Package" we got back in October
http://theearthcanbemoved.blogspot.com/2005/10/bomb-scare.html

I had a suspicious package on my desk when I got back.
I probably should have reported it,
But I just had to open it.

Here are the pictures.
Here's what was inside.

I'm Back

I made it back alive.
Now I'll just have to see if I can keep it this way.
Thank's to all who made my spring break the greatest.
I had a blast.
I'll write all about it later.

Oh,
And just so you all know,
When I say beating.
I mean extreme physical, non-voluntary, workout.
Pushups and stuff.
Not with sticks.
I had some people who were very concerned about that.
And you have no idea how much that means to me.

Auto Response

Jason is currently out of the office.
He will be until 02-APR-2006.
He will reply to comments at that time.

Hopeless

For those of you who frequent my blog,
You may recall I posted on a classmate who had no class.
He sent a class wide E-Mail to try to get a date to the Air Force Ball.
http://theearthcanbemoved.blogspot.com/2005/09/e-mail.html

Apparently there have been other cadets who didn’t have a clue.
We learned in CompSci today about being careful what you write in an E-Mail.
Because it may come back to bite you.
There was a cadet who called himself “The Alaskan Assassin”.
The name by it self shows he has no self respect.
(What possessed him to take such a name is beyond me)
You can read about him here.
http://www.usafatoday.com/Folklore/modules/news/article.php?storyid=131
Do be warned.
This site is run by Grads,
Not all of whom have the greatest of vocabulary.

I only hope when (read “if”) I ever fall head over heals for a girl,
That I have a little more class than that.

Angela

For those of you who didn’t know,
Angela is (was) my Palm Pilot.
She passed away about 2320 20-MAR-2006.
She was murdered by a fellow cadet,
Who didn’t notice her next to me while I was sleeping.
After duct taping me to my bed,
He poured several gallons of water on me.
Angela was unable to escape.
She will always be missed and never forgotten.

Recognition

Recognition was tough.
But it was worth it.

They made the biggest blunder in all our training.
They accidentally sent us the OPORD (Operation Order).
So I memorized.
The schedules,
The procedures,
Everything.
Then I got an E-Mail saying to delete it.
Ok, I already know everything.
Score.

They did take our watches and the power supplies for our computers.
But we beat the system.
I arranged for me parents to call the Charge of Quarters desk just down the hall 30 min before reveille.
Turns out someone picked up both times.
I slept through it too.
Fortunately I’m accustomed to getting up early.
So I got up on my own.

We kicked off the event with a Flag ceremony.
After that we marched to dinner.
And then went watch the Basketball game.

That was kind of a bummer.
I was looking forward to going and watching the game,
But it was an away game.
So they set up projectors in the basketball arena,
And we watched it on TV.

Then they herded us all into one section of the gym,
And gave us the initial briefing.
Then they ran us back to our squadron areas and beat us.
Really beat us.
That was the worst beating I’ve been through.
EVER.

Then we went to bed.
Yeah right.
We spent the night getting ready for next day.
Shining boots,
Ironing uniforms,
And cleaning the room.

They woke us up at 0530.
Basic Style.
Fortunately,
I woke up five minutes before they woke us up.
So I was dressed and ready to go.

Then they beat us.
Not as bad as the night before.
But still bad.
Then we ran to breakfast.

After breakfast we went to the “Chutes and Ladders” course.
Just like the board game,
But they beat you at every square.
You get to ladders by answering knowledge questions.

After that we had a “Combat Nap”.
Whatever.
I stayed up cleaning and getting uniforms ready.

Then they beat us some more and we ran to lunch.
After lunch we went to the “Assault Course”.
The worst course that they have here.
We survived.

After that was the “Leadership Reaction Course”.
That was fun.
Not as physical.
They broke us up into teams and gave us a task to complete.
With a time limit.
The idea was to see how we react under pressure.

Then our squadron upperclassmen beat us some more.
Then we ran to dinner.
After dinner, we went to hear a guest speaker.
He was really good.

Then we had “Theme Rooms”.
I won’t explain what that was.
I don’t want to ruin that for anyone else who might go through here later.
If you want to know about it,
Ask me when I get home.

Then we went to sleep again.
Again, Yeah right.
Cleaned, Ironed, and Shined again.

Got woken up again Basic style again.
Once again,
Was up a few minutes early.
So I was ready to go.
Got beat again.
Ran to Breakfast.

Then we “Academy Tour Course”.
That consisted of getting beat while learning about the history of USAFA.
Good stuff.

Then we did SAMI prep.
But every five minutes they took us in the hall to beat us.
So we didn’t get much time to clean.

Turns out it wasn’t a SAMI.
It was a SLAMI.
They tore our room apart.
My roommate got it worse than I did.
Every thing of his was on the floor.
The only things of mine was my mattress and a few clothes.
So just for the heck of it,
After they left,
(Since I knew from the OPORD they would clean it up for us)
I ran to my closet and threw everything that was left out.
Shirts,
Pants,
Shoes,
Everything.
All to the middle of the floor.
That felt so good.
Wonderful Stress relief.

After that we ran to lunch.
Then we had the “Run to the Rock”.
The Firsties ran us to A huge rock a few miles away.
Once there, we had to find our squadron “Charge”.
It’s a big railroad tie with ropes.
We carried that back to the Terrazo.
We took of our camo tops to reveal out class shirt we made.
None of the upperclassmen knew about it.
It had a picture of the Prop and Wings,
And said “Earned, not Issued”.
Kind of a slap in the face to ’07 and ’08.

After we got back,
We went to our rooms to change into Service Dress.
Our rooms had been cleaned up by the two and three degrees.

Then we had the Prop and Wings Ceremony.
I won’t talk about this one so as not to ruin it for anyone else.
Again, if you won’t be going to USAFA,
Feel free to ask me about it.

After that we went to dinner.
Dinner was ok.
We had Hamsters
I thought they’d serve something a little nicer since it was a semi formal dinner to celebrate the culmination of a major training event.

Over all…
It was one of the best experiences of my life.
I’m surprised at how far I made it.

Privilages

Since we finished Recognition.
We get some "privilages"
Here's what the Commandant said.

For the Class of 2009, you have earned your prop and wings and an increase in privileges. At the recommendation of AFCW and 34 TRG Commanders, the following privileges, to be used in accordance with AFCWMAN 36-3501, The Cadet Sight Picture, are effective immediately for all fourth-class cadets. Standard rules/exceptions may still apply to cadets on probation or not "in good standing."

1. Authorization of civilian clothes
2. Full use of unit SARs and resources
3. Wear of issued backpack over both shoulders
4. No weekly knowledge evaluations
5. Use of stereos
6. "At Rest" in all areas/rooms in AMI
7. Use of dormitory elevators
8. Use of patent leather shoes

Recognition

I am alive.

Here It Comes

BRING IT ON!!!

Recognition

Word is they are going to confiscate all devices of communication and all mechanisms for calculating time sometime this afternoon.
That means laptops, cell phones, even Angela.
(Those of you who know her will be laughing now)
I will have no form of Communication with the outside world until Saturday evening at the soonest.

This is going to be like all six weeks of Basic packed into 60 hours.
Rest assured I will probably be in pain just about all of that time.
However,
Also no that I go into it knowing that I will come out alive and successful in the end.
Not because of anything in me though.

Pray for my health and attitude.
That I would do well,
And that others would wonder how.

Know that I will come out alive.
That is the only guarantee.

Recognition

This will be my last post until after recognition.
please pray for me.
pray that I am able to survive.
This is supposed to be the most difficult part of the academy.

A Prayer for Recognition

Lord God Almighty,
I lift up the coming weekend to you.
I pray that you would give me the ability to succeed and excel.
It says in your word that
We also rejoice in our sufferings,
Because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Perseverance, character.
I thank You that You have put me in such a position to develop character.
I am awed that You would give me an opportunity to become a leader of character for You.
I’ve been told that we should pray that You make my back stronger as opposed to my load lighter.
I pray for supernatural strength.
I pray that I would endure this weekend,
Not for myself,
But for You.
I ask that you would work through me,
So I can work for You.
I pray that while working for You,
Others would see.
They would see the power you give me.
And that I would be able to explain that I am able to do these things and persevere,
Not because of my own strength,
But because of Your power that flows through me.
I pray that as they see You working through me.
They would be drawn to You.
In the name of Your saving Son
Amen

Half Empty? Or Half Full?

I caught myself singing while walking to class yesterday.
(Silently of coarse,
The Upperclassmen would beat me if it was out loud.
Whether that’s because we’re not supposed to talk on the Terrazzo,
Or because I can’t sing,
I don’t know)

Then I thought,
Why am I singing?
I’m supposed to be miserable.
I have to go to class on Saturday,
I just got finished with a horrible week of exams, and homework,
Recognition is next week,
And I’m still a fourth classmen,
So I’m not even human yet.

Then I realized oh yeah,
That horrible week.
I just finished going through a valley,
So of coarse I’d be at the mountain top.

Then I though,
Wait,
Aren’t you supposed to hit the mountain top and then the valley?
Yeah,
That’s how people look at the cycle,
But not me.
The cycle starts at the bottom,
And then goes up.
So it’s always getting better.

Then I thought,
So does that make me a glass have empty or half full type of person.

Then I got the greatest realization yet.
In Psalm 23:5 it doesn’t say anything about half of a glass.
It says my cup overflows.
MY cup.
I claim that.

HOOAH!!!

One More Roll

by Commander Gerald Coffee, Hanoi, 1968

We toast our faithful comrades
Now fallen from the sky
And gently caught by God's own hand
To be with Him on high.

To dwell among the soaring clouds
They knew so well before
From dawn patrol and victory roll
at Heaven's very door

And as we fly among them there
We're sure to hear their plea
"Take care me friend, Watch your six
And do one more roll... Just for me"

I Must Be At USAFA 2

Yet another E-Mail from our wonderful Training Officer.

Bulldawgs,

The team handball team beat the Stalags 11 to 9. It was down to our second shootout, but thanks to C4C Casey “Cool-hand” Hawkins, C4C Steve Miller “Band”, and C4C Tyler “Skinny-Man” Clark, our squadron won the day. As a reward for the outstanding performance of these individuals, the fourth class cadets are at rest from 2030 to 2040. There’s more where that came from…

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

C1C XXXX XXXXXX
Training Officer
CS-13
United States Air Force Academy

We're moving up.
We get ten minutes this time!

Wedia

If you liked the first Wedia video,
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3443941836961546081&q=air+force+academy
You'll like his going away video.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3910163035286447322&q=air+force+academy

13th Day

Ok,
All I've gotten so far is two pictures.
I'll go ahead and tell you and I'll post later if I get more.

At about 0130 (1:30 AM),
We ran out to the Terrazzo and split up into teams.
Each team took a different plane.
I got the F-16.
We painted giant “13”s on all the tails.
This may sound like no big deal,
But anything with the planes is prohibited.
But we got paperwork signed that said it was ok.
(The Upperclassmen that signed it got in BIG trouble later)
So that was a big deal.

Painting the F-16 was a real pain.
It was below freezing and breezy that night.
So the plane was frosted.
It was really slippery.
The F-16’s Vertical Stabilizer (The part I was standing on) slopes down too.
So the was only about six inches I could stand on.
That and it was so cold I had a hard time handling the paint brush.


On top of that,
Since we are Squadron 13, Fighting Bulldawgs.
We got the Command Center to play “Who Let the Dawgs Out” instead of Revelry at 0630 (6:30 AM).
It turns out we getting beat while it was playing.
So we would bark with the music.
Good times.

Spring Break

The three weeks between today and spring break will probably be the most challenging my life has seen so far.
This next week is a six day school week.
So I’ll only get one day of weekend.
If I just chilled out during the weekend,
This wouldn’t be a problem.
I work my tail of trying to get school work done and caught up on sleep.
Then the weekend after that will be taken up with recognition.
Which is supposed to be the most physically challenging thin any of us have gone through.

So…
I’m gonna have three weeks of school,
With a one day weekend,
And more beatings than I’ve gotten all year.
This is gonna be rough.
I’d appreciate it if y’all prayed for me.
I’m gonna need every bit of it.

And if you get a chance,
Drop me an e-mail or something.
It is always encouraging to hear from people back home.

100's Night

I don't think I mentioned this before,
But the chair room wasn't the only room I helped with.
I went down to Group Staff to see what was happening down there.
A friend of mine was there too.
We were checking the area out when we noticed that the Group commander’s door was unlocked.
On the counter was some candy and a note.
The note essentially said that we could do anything we wanted to the room.
We could listen to his CDs,
Eat his food,
Just so long as his skiing equipment was usable for the next day.
We thought,
“ poor guy, no one is doing anything to his room.”

So we made a quick plan and executed.
We moved his entire room into the shower.
Every piece of clothing,
Every piece of furniture.
The only thing that was left was the sink.


I wasn’t at the Hill yesterday,
But apparently they finally announced the winning rooms.
That room won first place in “Most Likely to Make a Firstie Cry”
So we won the $100 prize with an spur of the moment idea.
Not bad,
I didn’t expect that.

As for what we did today for the 13th day,
I’ll let you know as soon as I get the pics from my classmate.

13th Day until Recognition

Tomorrow is the 13th day until Recognition.
If you recall from my previous posts,
The squadron with the number of the day does something to promote squadron pride.
They're called Spirit Missions.
We’ve got ours planned.
And it’ll be good.

What’s better is…
The Secretary of the Air Force will be here tomorrow.
(He’s the guy that put us at rest during the weekend of the Army game).
He’s the number one guy in the Air Force
The Head Honcho.
The Big Cheese.
Da Man.
So he’ll see it all.
And we’ll say,
“Yeah!
That’s Bulldawg pride.
That’s how we role.”

I’ll tell you how it goes.
I’ll try to get pics and video too.
But I’m not going to spoil the surprise now.
I’ll post them all together when I edit it all.

Altitude Chamber

I just got back from the Altitude Chamber.
They took a group of us down to Peterson Air Force Base to do it.
They put us in a room and sucked the air out of it to simulate high altitudes.
The idea was to see how we react to lack of oxygen (Hypoxia).
(Since everyone reacts differently)
Symptoms of Hypoxia include light headedness, fatigue, nausea, headache, dizziness, hot & cold flashes, euphoria, belligerence, blurred vision, numbness and tingling.
Each person gets a different set of symptoms.
Some can pass out.

So,
We got our oxygen masks and helmets and went into the chamber.
It looked like those helmets and masks that fighter pilots wear.
They decompressed the chamber to simulate 25,000 feet.
They had us take off our masks so we could get familiar with our symptoms.
It got really weird.
I passed out and they had to decompress the chamber so the medical team could get in.
Then every one got the bends and had to spend six hours in decompression.
Just Kidding.
All I got was light headedness.
It didn’t feel any different than staying awake for 48 hours.

Over all,
I had a good time.
I didn’t get high like they said I would,
But I got to spend a day away from the Academy.

I must be at USAFA

Figures this would happen.
The following is an E-Mail from our wonderful Training Officer.
(The guy incharge of beating us)

Bulldawgs,

Please congratulate your fourth class cadets and the members of your team handball team, for they beat Fightin’ Fourth both in the knowledge bowl, 130 to 95, and in handball, 5 to 4. As a reward, the fourth class cadets are at rest in the squadron from 1900 to 1905 tonight.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

C1C XXXX XXXXXX
Training Officer
CS-13
United States Air Force Academy

Esentially,
We can talk in the hallway and don't have to be at attention for 5 minutes.
Yippie...
(Can't you just taste the sarcasm?)

100's Night

I got them up.
The first one is the larger one.
The others are the same video,
but a smaller screen.
So those of you with slower connections.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2363091172088771647
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6103966922138482043
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3820242404789370484

Summer Periods

I got my Summer Schedule.
I didn't get Jump.
bummer.
But that's ok.

I get to come home first period. (03-JUN through 23-JUN)
Take some Classes to get ahead.
And the Space Orientation and Global Engagment.

Sounds like fun.

Wassuuuuuup!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3443941836961546081&q=air+force+academy

Murals

http://www.usafa.org/pages/Cadet-mademurals.htm
They didn't interview me.
I gues I wasn't around then.
But I helped with these.
The B-2 and F-117 mentioned are mine

Videos

Also...
http://www.grouchymedia.com/ has some really good stuff.
They only make military videos.
That's the motivational stuff the get's us going.

USAFA Dancing

Helping Cadets retain their sanity.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8376947077775909834&q=dancing+cadet
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5925245115612162594
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5405366458619564374&q=dancing&pr=goog-sl
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6578076219126930956
I've got the 100's Night videos uploaded too.
They're just being verified.
I'll post the link when their ready.

Fun in the Snow

Four More Weeks...

Until I get on the plane to come home.
Spring break is almost here.
The only thing that stands between it and me
Is four more weeks of school, and recognition.

If you want to know what that is...
Google "United States Air Force Academy Recognition"
Read some of articles there.
Expect them to be understated.

I don't like talking about it while it's still coming.
After it happens I'll be more than happy to explain it all.

16-APR-2005

I found this on my Palm pilot.
I wrote it while visiting my grandparents n Florida before I came here.
That which is parenthesis is what I’ve inserted for clarification.

16-APR-2005
Today I read a book about (General) Norman Schwarzkopf.
It made me think long and hard about my future and whether or not the military is right for me.
Why would I want to dedicate such a large portion of my life to being a solider?
Why do I want to study and excel in the art of war?
War is two opposing sides, each with the potential (and intent) to cause much harm to each other,
and (potentially) innocent bystanders.

Why do I want to take up a profession were it is my job and duty to kill other human beings?
It is not for the glory.
No medal or amount of recognition is worth taking another man's life.
It is not for the money.
Even the most highly trained solider still gets paid the same as the guy who sweeps the floors.
(Either way, it’s not that much)
It is not for the lifestyle.
No one wants to move every other year just because his boss says so.
(Or to be able to pick up and go across the world in 24 hrs notice.)
(Or to separated from one’s family for the extended periods of time required by job)

After thinking long and hard about the reason why.
I've come to this conclusion.
I chose to fight so that others won't have to.
I chose to fight to protect the freedoms of others.
I chose to fight so that others may live.
I will go into battle to take the life of another solider so that he cannot take the life of someone else.
I will kill others to save the life of someone I may never know.
I will be the cause of their death to protect the freedoms of others.
(It seems to make more sense to kill a few corrupted individuals before they can cause the deaths of many more innocent people)

War is not all guts and glory. (Like in the movies)
It is having to take the life of another man to save the lives and freedom of others.
I know I will hate every minute of my service, but I will persevere so that someone else won't have to.
(Maybe not hate every part of my job, but I won’t be enjoying killing people)
This is my calling; doing the difficult for others.
It is the next logical step in my life; the continuation of my service to others.
I cannot think of a better way to serve.
I will go and do what everyone hates, but has to (must) be done.
I will fight them enemies of freedom abroad so they will not have to be fought at home.

(The following is my reflection on what I wrote in April)
We had to memorize a quote by Schwarzkopf.

“A professional solider understands that war means killing people,
war means maiming people,
war means families left without fathers and mothers.
All you have to do is hold your first dying solider in your arms
and have that terribly futile feeling that his life flowing out
and you can’t do anything about it.
Then you understand the horror of war.
Any solider worth his salt should be anti-war.
And still there are things worth fighting for.”

Robert E. Lee said something to the effect of
“It is well that war should be so terrible,
Or we should become fond of it.”

I don’t think there’s anything else to say.
I’m gonna hate the purpose of my job,
But it has to be done.

Chem Confusion

We actually confused the instructor today.
One of the cadet’s cell phones started ringing in the back of the classroom.
It was very feint,
So the instructor didn’t hear it.
Just to increase the embarrassment factor of having one’s phone ring in class,
Various people start coughing.
Eventually everyone is in on it.
The instructor was in the middle of working a problem on the board.
So he turns around and asks what’s wrong,
Thoroughly confused.
One of my classmates says,
“Oh, nothing, we all just had an itch in our throats at the same time.”
“No, really, what’s going on?”
He thought he had messed up on the board or something.
“Just some problems with CELLULAR respiration”
Or something like that.
This went on for a while.
It was rather entertaining.

Knowlege Bowl

Just got back form a Knowledge Bowl.
It was an away game at Squadron 24.
Earlier this week,
24 painted their squadron patch on a wall in every other squadron.
Needless to say,
We were ticked.
So we went to 24 all pumped and ready to tear them apart.
And we did .
The score was 200 -65, Bulldawgs.
We had several rounds were we got every single question.
That’s how we role.

In The Bleachers

Woo Hoo!!!

We finally got above freezing!
It’s currently 33 F.
It’s been snowing since Wed and it finally stopped.
The mountains are beautiful.
We dipped into the negatives a few times over the last few days.
I know you all in Texas are getting what’s left over what we’ve been getting over the past few days.
Hope there’s some left.

100's Night

Last night was 100's night.
It is the night when there are 100 days to graduation.
The firsties have a party and find out what their job in the Air Force will be.
The Fourthclassmen "decorate" (read trash) their rooms.
Here’s a link to the video I made of it
http://www.geocities.com/theearthcanbemoved/100snightsmall.wmv
If you want the bigger version,
Just E-Mail me.
I’ll post stuff on other rooms as I get it.

Texas Rocks!!!

I don't know why,
But I woke up this morning and decided to check my mail today.
So,
I went down to the mail room after my last class.
There was a key in my box.
Keys are very special in the mail room.
It means there is a package waiting for you.
I found the box number that matched my key and opened it.
I didn’t recognize the address.
When I got back to my room and opened it,
It was stuffed full snacks.
On top was a note from the North Texas Parent club.
My roommate started complaining about how the Florida Parents Club never sent him anything.
(Of course I share whatever I get)
I just said,
“Hey, Texas is better than your state.
What else is there to know?”

Happy Singles Awareness Day

It makes sense to post this story sense tomorrow is Valentines day,
Traditionally the day when people pair up.

My roommate watch a movie called notebook over the weekend.
I only caught part of it sense I was doing schoolwork.
The basic plot it as follows.
An elderly couple is in a nursing home.
The wife has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t remember the husband.
He could go and live a normal live and she would never know the difference.
Instead he lives there with her.
Every day he reads her their story,
About how the met and fell in love.
In the evening she remembers and comes back to him.

That’s not really the point though.
My roommate commented on the change of appearance between the early years and when they were in the nursing home.
He mentioned how attractive she was when she was in her twenties,
But as in her seventies in a nursing home she wasn’t appealing.
I replied that it’ll happen to all of us.
He said something along the lines of yeah too bad.

The following is purely my own opinion.
Our society focuses too much on the external.
That which is unimportant and fades away.
We will all grow old and die,
And it will not be pretty.
It is character we must focus on.
The inside that makes us what we are.
This is why we should be attracted to another person.
Not because of their physical characteristics.

I read in a book a while back (I don’t remember the book) something similar.
When looking at someone of the opposite gender,
Don’t think of the outside, think of the inside.
Would you be willing to live with that person 50 years later?
Would you be willing to grow old and die with that person?
When all physical attractiveness is gone?
Would you be willing to feed that person when they become unable to do it for themselves?
Would you be willing to listen to the same story over and over again when the have no short term memory?

We should not be as concerned with how the person looks as much as we are how the person acts.
This is the true person.
Their character,
Not their body,
Is what counts.

More Pics

These are more the type of pictures I wanted to show.
It's morning,
The trees are frosted,
And the sky is blue.

That last one is Chyenne Mountain.

That's where NORAD is buried.

Every day up here is a postcard day.

You just have to be willing to open your eyes and look for it.

Snow Pics

I took this on way to class.

Description

I changed my blog's description line.
I thought Romans 5:4-5 was more appropriate than "My Life"

It's Snowing!!!

I wonder if they'll cancel the beat session for tomorrow.
Probably not.
They'll just beat us indoors.

Noon Meal Announcments

So...
We're all sitting down for lunch and eating.
Then some guys from Squadron 16 (Chicken Hawks) and say,
“This is jus a reminder that there are 16 proud Chicken Hawk weeks until graduation.
In honor of this event, We’ve got a song.”
So they play a few songs on their banjos.

Then another guy comes up and says,
“Well…
I can’t sing or dance,
but if you want to come see us beat Wyoming on Friday,
Come out to see guy’s wrestling.”

Then some girl comes up and says.
“We’ve got a meet Friday night.
So if you’d rather watch girls in spandex instead of guys in spandex,
Come watch girl’s gymnastics.”

All this makes me wonder…
“The real Air Force isn’t like this…
Right?”

CompSci

Here's the program I spent 4 hours free handing
And here's the engineering aproach that is more typical of me.


As you can see
The time spent planning was worth it.

Day 36

There are 36 days until recognition.
In celebration,
the Fourthclassmen of Squadron 36 Stormed Spirit Hill in the middle of Noon meal formation.
Squadron 36 is the Pink Panthers,
so they all dyed their shirts pink.
They were on the other side of the Terrazzo,
So I couldn’t see them very well.
I just saw a blob of pink running to the hill.
At first I thought they where streakers.
A whole squadron of them.
That thought was very disturbing.

Programing

I just wrote my first program for CompSci.
The assignment was to write a program that would draw a picture.
I spent about 4 hours trying to free hand it.
After figuring out that it won’t work like that,
I got a picture and made a grid over it.
After about an hour and a half of planning,
I got it done in about another hour and a half.
Here’s the pic

And here’s the program.
I can’t figure out how to make the nose cone look decent.