Commitment

Doc: So how are you?
Me: Still breathing.
Doc: Don't over commit now.
Me: My dad always said, "Under commit, and over deliver"
I've got a heartbeat too. So there's the over delivery.

A friend sent me this.

Superbowl 2007

That was fun.

I got to make the food during the 1st and 2nd quarters,
Slept through the 3rd quarter,
and played a new game during the 4th quarter.

Yeah...
I really get into football,
Can't you tell?

It wasn't worth watching,
The Falcons weren't playing.

Engineering

I've been learning some interesting things in my Engineering class.
The main purpose of the class is learning how to plan an airbase.
We're in the environmental block right now,
So it can get boring sometimes.

To help with that,
The instructor has a Video Card Policy.
One table gets the video card,
and at any time during the class they can hold up the card,
And the instructor will stop in mid sentence and play a video.
Only one video per class though.
Today,
He had six videos that went with the class material.
So we didn't get a Video Card.
So I made my own card.
We held it up half way through class,
And he just looked at us.
"A Nap Card?!?!"
Needless to say,
That was most entertaining.

We learned the aircraft and trees don't mix well.
(duh)
Apparently there are regulations that require a certain distance to height ratio in relationship to the runway.
Most of the time,
This isn't a problem.
But at McChord AFB,
There are a million plus trees that are too high.
And on top of that...
There are hippies that won't let us cut them down.
I have a solution for that.
Napalm.
It'll get rid of the trees and the hippies.

Note To Self

Don't use minty toothpaste when it's eight below zero outside.

A Safer World

The World is now a safer place.
Story.

Anti-Terrorism Activities

Another terrorism plot foiled.
$1 Million dollars worth of old Soviet Uranium was prevented from reaching it's Middle-Eastern buyers.

Now,
I know you all think that it takes alot of skill, money, and special equipment to build a nuclear bomb,
But it's really not that hard.

I know alot of people that have to equipment in their garage.
I could fund it on my cadet paycheck,
And most 16 year olds I know could build it.

Now,
It wouldn't be as nice or fancy as the ones we have sitting in the silos,
But nontheless...
Enough to cause catastrophic damage.

I'm wondering why this isn't a bigger deal in the media right now.
Oh,
That's right...
Because every thing has to be a failure while Bush is still in office.

Even More New Toys

Hummer mounted Heat Ray

More New Toys

Apparently,
The AF uses one sixth of all government energy.
It seems rather redundent to buy oil from countries that don't like us,
So we've decided it's time to stop funding our potential enemies.
Hydrogen Power

More New Toys

Apparently,
The AF uses one sixth of all government energy.
It seems rather redundent to buy oil from countries that don't like us,
So we've decided it's time to stop funding our potential enemies.
Hydrogen Power

New Toys

Sniper Terminator

Going To Get More Milk

Today is Tuesday.
That means it's our day to milk the cow.
I went with Mom to do the milking.
Bessie was already to go.
We got about two gallons before we turned her and her calf loose.
Florence is her adopted calf.
For some reason,
I'm the only on florence will allow to come near her.
This is particularly odd since I've only seen her once before.
Apparently...
I have a thing with animals.

Parallel Parking

So...
My dad is teaching me to parallel park.
His technique is slightly outdated though,
So I showed him these.

Anti-Gravity Device

Mankind has finally created an Anti-Gravity Device.
It took our best minds many long years to develop this ground breaking technology,
But we have finally found the answer.
Ironically enough...
The answer has been right in front of our faces all along.

Murphy’s Law has been well known for some time now.
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
One of the experiments that brought about this,
Was the toast experiment.

Toast when dropped from a table will always fall jelly side down.
This is because at the rate gravity pulls it down,
It only has time for one half of a turn.
It is also a well known fact that cats will land on their feet.
The application here is simple.

All one must do is secure a piece of toast,
Jelly side up,
To the back of a cat.
Now…
When thrown,
The cat part of the device will attempt to land on it’s feet,
While the toast will attempt to land jelly side down.
Since the toast is firmly secured on the back of the cat,
Both cannot occur.
Therefore,
Neither will touch the ground

Proof

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Duckie Murder

Yes...
My dog likes Duckies.
He went and got the Duckie out of my suitcase.
We found the body this morning.
My Duckie is no longer with us.

Family

The military truly is one gigantic family.
I was at the gym this morning,
The same one my parents workout at,
And this lady comes up to me and gives me a Christmas present.
I’ve seen her maybe once before in my life.
(At the gym last Spring Break)
Apparently,
She has a son that joined the military the same day I did.
He’s in Iraq right now.
So,
Even though I’ve seen her only once before,
She still thought of bringing me something.
I thought that was really cool.

Princes & Frogs

I found this on my computer.
My sis put it there.
Good stuff.
Princes & Frogs

Merry Christmas Y'all

Hope y'all had as good a time as I did.
I got a blanket and pajamas.
And books.
Books are abad idea to get me,
Becasue I don't even read the ones I pay for.
I haven't got enough time.

And I finally found out what the dog was trying to get at.
It's a Rubber Duckie.
An AF Blue Rubber Ducky.

Rockin Around The Christmas Tree

Holiday Greetings

For My Democrat Friends:
"Please accept with no obligation,
Implied or implicit,
Our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible,
Low-stress,
Non-addictive,
Gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday,
Practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice,
Or secular practices of your choice,
With respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others,
Or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish youa fiscally successful,
Personally fulfilling,
And medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2007,
But not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures
Whose contributions to society have helped make America great.
Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country
Nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
And without regard to the race,
Creed,
Color,
Age,
Physical ability,
Religious faith,
Or sexual preference of thewishes.
By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms.
This greetingis subject to clarification or withdrawal.
It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others,
And is void where prohibited by law
And is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected
Within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year
Or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting,
Whichever comes first,
And warranty is limited to replacement of this wish
Or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

For My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hiding Spot

Apparently…
The kids hid something for me in the cabinet.
They moved it because the dog kept trying to get it.
But the dog smells the residue of whatever it was.
So he destroyed the cabinet trying to get it.
I doubt it’s food because they It wasn’t in the fridge.
So needless to say.
If the dog likes it that much…
I’m more than a little concerned.

Academy Ball

Last night was the North Texas Uniformed Service Academy Ball.
Good times.
The food was good,
And the decorations were nice.
The speaker was good too.
They had a live band this time,
Which was nice.
Last year they just had a DJ.
And they had dancing contests too.
I won first place in the Swing contest with a girl I had just met that night.
The prize was two two-way tickets to anywhere in the continental US.
That was really cool.
I wonder if they’ll be doing that again next year.

The Weather, In CO

Well...
All that snow we were supposed to get?
Never happened.
Not a single flake.

So...
My flight left as scheduled,
At 0630 this morning.
I slept the whole way.
Didn’t wake up until the pilot put the brakes on.

This afternoon I was shopping,
And I saw on the news,
Every airport in CO is closed.
They got 2 feet of snow between when I left and about 2 this afternoon.

German

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 6

English

Shakspeare is dead.
But then again,
So are puppets.
They seem alive enough.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 5

Coffe Shop

I'm sitting in the Cadet Coffe Shop,
Cafinating my body for my next final this afternoon.
Trina, the lady that runs the shop,
Has a CD playing.
It has alot of older songs on it.
Alot of them are songs I swing to.
So I'll pipe up every now and then saying,
"That's a good song"
"I like that one"
All with in the first couple of notes.
I think she thinks it's weird that a cadet knows all these old songs.

Weather = Snow: Not Cool

So...
There is a massive snow storm headed towards this area.
It's gonna park here for about three days

This means there's a good chance of delays,
Or cancelations,
At the airport.

They had better not cancel my flight.
Cadets have a tendency to get violent when people mess with their breaks.

If it comes down to it,
I will shovel the entire runway,
Then fly the jet myself.

Math

Woo hoo.
That was fun.
After comparing this final to Physics,
I think something is backwards.
All of Physics was cruching numbers,
While all of math was solveing real world problems.
Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 4

The UnFunny Truth

Sent to me by a freind.
Link

The Earth CAN Be Moved

It appears I've finally found my arch-nemisis.
One who beleives that the earth cannot be moved,
and he has a website about it.

According to him...
"The Earth is not rotating...nor is it going around the sun."

Now...
THos of you who have read my "research" paper on physics,
KNOW that the Earth can indeed be moved.
I have no idea what is wrong with this guy...

Physics

That went ALOT better than I expected.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 3

Law

So...
I definitely just rewrote the Constitution and every other important document.
But I think they were pretty close to the original.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 2

Behavioral Science

It's that time again.
Time to put up the old finals scoreboard.
Yeah, I know I need to update the picture.

Current Score

Dean: 0 Earth: 1

Fabric and Courage

This was written by a classmate of mine

Joseph R. Tomczak, Class of 2009

United States Air Force Academy

If you like this Essay,

Pleasr vote for Essay 1 at

WantsCheck

A flag is usually made from tightly woven, high-quality cotton. Its corners are carefully double stitched to prevent fraying. It has brass rings on the corners and dark, bold colors stained into the fabric. It’s the kind of flag you put out in front of your house on Memorial Day. But not this flag. This flag is made of one-hundred percent nylon because it is easier to pack. This flag was probably stitched together somewhere in a warehouse in the middle of Tennessee by a sowing machine operator paid slightly higher than the minimum wage. Then it was packaged and shipped to a USO in Germany where flags were being given out to deploying Marines and that’s how it ended up in the back of a humvee on a street corner in southern Iraq.

So when a captain crawled into the back of the abandoned vehicle to retrieve medical supplies for his Marines he also grabbed the tightly folded flag as bullets ricocheted off the humvee’s armor. He ran back to his wounded comrades taking cover across the street while other Marines were repelling the ambush with the sound of hundreds of brass casings hitting the ground. Later the captain will recall that he didn’t even feel the bullet wound in his leg as he called in an air strike against the enemy sniper position just a few blocks away. All he remembered was the sound of the fighter pilot’s voice over the radio as she confirmed the target and put a laser guided bomb through the sniper’s window.

Having fought their way through the last remaining enemy holdout in the small port city, the Marines took down the old Iraqi flag which bore the words “God is great” inscribed from Saddam’s own handwriting. It was promptly replaced it with that nylon American flag atop one of the tallest buildings. The creases in the material were still visible as it flew in the breeze that day and the colors of the flag flew in stark contrast with the brown buildings and dust covered streets. Later, the media-conscience commanders would decide that the flag had to come down, and the Marines would take it down – but they would never forget the sacrifice and the courage it took to raise it.

It is clear why there is such opposition to the desecration of the American flag. Millions of Americans have worn the uniform of the United States and served under the flag. We have shed countless tears and beads of sweat under the flag; many have bled under it – thousands have died under it. For America’s uniformed men and women, and the veterans who came before us, the flag embodies more than just the ideals of freedom and human liberty that most citizens love and cherish… the flag is a part of who we have become. For us, the flag represents a higher cause and purpose than one’s self. For soldiers like us, the flag is the sum of all of our experiences – both the pride and the pain, both the service and the sacrifice, both the courage and the cost. As college professor Michael Geisler describes it, the flag is a “metaphor to die for.”1 More appropriately still, the flag is a metaphor worth dying for.

Furthermore, we as military members have pledged to defend the United States against “all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Some see those who would desecrate the flag as domestic enemies who threaten the rights of others when they propagate anti-American sentiment so publicly. It is true that when military members and their families see the flag disgraced by citizens of their own country, it has a weakening affect on the morale and sense of purpose that every soldier carries into combat. It is true when a citizen burns the flag, he or she is disgracing the sacrifice and contributions of millions of Americans to the cause of freedom around the world.

Desecration of the flag is a senseless act, born out of ignorance and perceived injustice. The action itself accomplishes very little, with much more attention placed on the act of desecration than on the political message an individual is attempting to convey to the public. When a citizen burns the flag, they also incinerate their legitimacy, their credibility, and their perceived moral high-ground.

I have never witnessed an American flag set on fire, and I hope I never will. But if I were to imagine for a moment what it would feel like, I imagine it would be like standing in New Jersey on the bank of the Hudson River on a warm late-summer morning. It would feel like standing on that bank and watching Lower Manhattan engulfed in smoke and flames, and waiting for tugboats to bring the first wave of casualties across the river… a feeling of violation, of vulnerability, of helplessness.

Yet despite all of this, we must protect a citizen’s right to burn the flag. The reason for this originates from the very fundamental principle the American military stands for, the protection of the freedom the United States provides. We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent with the concept of limiting the rights of others, regardless of how shameful and contemptible that right may be. Our task, and ultimately our calling, is to defend the Constitution of the United States, which protects the rights of all citizens as long as their actions do not infringe on the rights of others. As members of the military we must remember that we are fighting not only for those citizens who hold our same political views – we serve every citizen and protect their rights to express themselves however they wish, even if it means the degradation of the very symbol we hold dear.

So, an American flag is made from tightly woven fabric, double stitched seams, and the hopes and dreams of millions of free people across the globe. Despite the shame of flag burning, as citizens who wear the uniform we must be prepared to defend the right of expression and degradation of our symbol of freedom… We may not agree with everything that our citizens do, but we must be prepared to fight and even die to defend their right to do it.

We cannot allow for the limitation of the rights of the American people. We cannot join the ranks of those countries that jail or punish their citizens for speaking out against the government. Dissent, whether it is verbal, written, or demonstrated must be protected. It is fundamental to our society as a beacon and example for free expression and human liberty. It is the essential difference between America and her enemies who have no regard for such principles. It is what separates us… from them.

You're thoughts?

Little _______ Boy

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum
pum, rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

Shall I study for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my books?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I studied my books for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I studied my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my books.

Guess What!!!

I just realized something,
10 days til I get to go back home for Christmas.

EMail Updates

I set up a Google Group to allow y'all to receive EMail updates.
Just incase checking the blog was just to much effort for any of you.
Now you can get an EMail of my new posts.
The subscribe box to the right will always be there,
Or you can use this one.

Subscribe EMail Updates

Email:

Peppermint Cheese Cake

I put out that peppermint cheese cake out at the CQ desk.
Someone just took the last piece.
That didn’t take very long.
I sent out an Email,
And instantly there were people running down the hall fighting over their spots in line.
Most came back for seconds.
I’ll have to keep this in mind for squadron parties.

OCF Christmas Party

Yesterday was the OCF Christmas Party.
We had it at one of the civilian girls, Sarah, house.
But her dad doesn’t like to pay a lot for decorations.
So,
While she was at work yesterday,
A group of us went to WalMart and bought some lights and such.

The girl that was organizing the whole thing, Erika, had never hung lights before,
So she decided that I should design the decorations.
I’m not too familiar with the house.
I’ve only been there twice before,
And it was dark,
So I had no idea what it looked like.
She drew me a rough
(very rough)
Sketch and that’s all I had to go on.
I made a few estimations and began picking out boxes of lights.

So we finally got back to the house and began applying the lights.
The neighbors were very appreciative of us.
They said it had been eight years since that house had lights on it.
The stringing was most eventful.
The Andrea, Erika, and Jessica, took on a supervisory role and told Doug, Rus, and myself exactly how they wanted the lights.
My estimates came out dead on.
To the inch.
The end of the lights reached the end of the roof exactly.
That worked out well.

While we were trying to find out which bulb was dead,
Sarah’s mom returned from shopping.
She invited us to stay for dinner.
Since there were three of us on the roof,
And only one working,
I decided to go down and help prepare dinner.
I ended up making cookies too.
That was fun.

After giving up on the lights,
Russ came in to see if he could help.
While wondering through the freezer,
He found a carton of A&W Root Beer Ice Cream.
Apparently intended for root beer floats,
Sarah’s family hated it.
So Russ took it upon himself to liberate the cubic foot of space it occupied,
And ate the remaining three quarters of a gallon that was left.
Needless to say,
He didn’t stay for dinner.

After dinner we went to OCF and then returned for the Christmas party.
I had brought two cheesecakes I had made,
One of my traditional Mochas,
As well as a new experimental peppermint.
I’ve never heard of or seen a recipe for peppermint cheese cake,
So I was somewhat concerned as to how it would come out.
Turns out,
Not many people ate much of anything.
A quarter of the Mocha was eaten and no one touched that peppermint.
Maybe it was because of the color.
I’ll have to work on that.

I got a chance to catch up with a friend I have unfortunately gotten the chance to talk with much in a long while.
In the middle of the conversation,
Someone started a limbo competition.
She said she was good at that and had to go do it.
I figured,
“Meh, It’s been forever,
But what do I have to loose?”
So I went to try.
After a decently long and difficult process,
The last round included her and myself,
And ended as a tie.
I should not have gotten that far,
Being a guy,
I am infinitely less flexible.
I still hurt from that.

Blood Drive

We had a Blood Drive today.
As usual,
They ran out of bags.
Cadets are always willing to give blood.
We’re patriotic down to the core.
(Actually, its because we’re not allowed to do training for 24 hours afterwards)

I feel sorry for whoever gets given this cadet blood.
Seeing as how it’s the week before finals,
Everyone has more caffeine in them than normal.
(normal amounts are around 600 mg in the blood stream
I think 800 mg is supposed to be lethal to most people.)
Whoever gets this blood is going to be wired for about a week.
And then their livers will fail.

I got there in time for the most intense blood race all day.
Two freshmen had gotten hooked up about the same time.
The one who got plugged in two minutes after the other,
Had only half his bag filled while the other cadet had his about three quarters full.
Everyone was rooting for the guy with half a bag.
We were coaching him on how to squeeze the ball,
And cheering,
And everything.
He filled his bag about ten seconds before the other cadet.

Yeah,
We’re weird.

We're Going To The Moon!!!

It's about time we went back.

CNN hasn't provided the greatest details here,
But from what I'm able to piece together,
We're actually gonna try to build a research base up there.
Apparently they're looking at using the lunar poles so they can use solar energy.
Should be fully operational by 2024.

It said we're going to try to use the natural resources to get a mars mission going.
I assume that means a mining operation.
I also assume this will use strip mining techniques.
I hope they try to localize it as best they can.

NASA is designing a new launch vehicle for this operation.
So far,
It looks a lot like the Apollo Command Module.
It’s supposed to be bigger though,
And not require someone to stay in orbit will the Lunar Lander goes down to the surface.
And apparently this thing is designed to return on land and not at sea.
Probably a good idea since it looks like we plan on doing this a lot.

CNN didn’t say this,
But I think it looks like they’re planning on two launch’s per mission.
One to get the equipment to the International Space Station,
And one to get the crew up there.
Then the crew get’s in the craft,
And goes to the moon.

Here are some computer generated images,
Courtesy of NASA.
(Do keep in mind,
These are likely to change,
Hence the lower quality of the graphics.)

EDIT:
It looks like I was right,
Judging by this image from NASA,
There are indeed two seperate launches.

Mountain Lions

Prayer Request

Hey y'all,
I'm in need of some prayer right now.
I can't exactly elaborate on this due to the varied audience,
For now I'll just say I have some emotional scaring that is in need of removal and healing.
If you really want more info,
You can EMail me.

Snow

It's snowing,
yet again.
I didn't realize how deep the snow had gotten
Until I dropped my soup in it,
And saw the hole it made.

AWANA MIT

I just watched the report we gave at headquarters fo the LA MIT trip.
I want to go cry now.
Unfortunatly,
That's not an option here.

I had forgotten about alot of what happened on that trip.
(Mainly how young and ... I looked)
There was such a need there,
And we didn't even have to leave the country to find it like we thought we would.
And then we still got to go to Brazil like we planned.
I have to find my Brazil DVD when I go home for Christmas.

Pray

I need all of you to pray NOW for a freind of mine.
HARD.
I don't have any details,
(And when I get them they won't be posted with out permission)
But I get the feeling this is VERY ugent.

For those of you who've been here before.
You know I rarley use Italics.
That means I'm serious here.

Thanks,
Jason

UPDATE:
I talked to him.
He seems to be doing well,
But I feel he still need prayer.

Sunrise

The Sunrise was absolutely beautiful this morning.
The sun hadn’t yet come over the horizon,
But it’s light was being refracted through the atmosphere
So that the purest white light was falling on the mountain range.
Each individual snowflake was reflecting a single ray of light,
So that the mountain range began to glow a bright pure white.
Every detail was visible.
Every tree,
Every rock.
The entire mountain range stood there,
Redirecting the sunlight onto USAFA.

Global Warming

Remeber all those hurricanes in '05 that were caused by Global Warming?
And all the ones we had this year?
(Sarcasm)
Well now we have another problem.
A storm that stretches half way across the country.
Half of which is snow.
It must be Global Warming.

For Everything Else...

Definitions of "No":

Not in any degree or manner; not at all; "he is no better today"
A negative; "his no was loud and clear"
Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of; "we have no bananas"; "no eggs left and no money to buy any"; "have you no decency?"; "did it with no help"; "I'll get you there in no time"
Used to express refusal or denial or disagreement etc or especially to emphasize a negative statement; "no, you are wrong"

Incase this wasn't explicitly clear,
Certain individuals may want to consider doing a word study on "No".

Commandant's Challenge

Yay for Commandant’s Challenge.
Bring it on!
The first day was ok.
Had MREs for lunch in the SAR.
Afterwards we went down to Field Training Exercise (FTX).

For FTX,
We ran around with our rubber duckies and stuff.
Various combat scenarios.
We had to use a map and compass to find our way to the different event.
And we had to travel in tactical formations.

The first event was Self Aid and Buddy Care.
We navigated to the event and found several “injured” troops from a “terrorist” attack.
So,
We secured the perimeter,
And treated the wounded.
My “victim” had been “shot” through the lung.
And he was laying next to an “IED”
So I got some one to help move him a safe distance away.
It turned out that the guy that helped me move the “victim” knew him too.
So I had him start talking to the “victim” while I treated the wound.
Then a third person came to help.
I had her treat for shock.
Over all…
The grader said we had done the best he had seen.

The next event was base set up.
We had to use sand bags to create fortifications.
And then we had to set up three tents.
While guarding the base we were making.
After we finished the tents,
We had to take a test,
As we were doing that,
The sun set behind the mountains.
There was a noticeable drop in temperature.
It went from warm out,
To so cold we could see our breath in five minutes.

The last event was Chem Warfare.
Three people from our element had to get into Chem Gear in a certain amount of time.
It was really funny.
The one girl couldn’t get her combat boot into the chem suit boot.
The other two tried to help.
They eventually got it on.
Afterwards,
We had to help put the gear away.
That meant getting the chem. Boot off of her combat boot.
That proved interesting.
We eventually had three guys pulling her arms,
While I pulled on the boot.
It looked like tug o war.
After about ten minutes,
We finally got it off.

After that,
We had to go tear down the base we had made.
And it was really cold out by now.
After we finished,
We went to the road to get on the buses to go back to the Cadet Area.
But they were gone.
We waited for them to come back.
But it took forever.
And it was below freezing.
And we were all dressed for the warmer weather that was out when we started.
So we did the only thing we could to keep some heat in.
We all huddled together.
That helped,
ALOT.
While we were there,
Someone pointed out a satellite flying over heard.
We looked,
And the some one commented,
“I’ll bet they’re looking at us thought the Infrared right now.”
We all laughed at the thought of a black screen with a giant red dot in the middle.
Only after zooming in would it be noticed that that dot was in fact 20+ people trying to stay warm.

The next day we had a SAMI.
Good times.
I got a 95.
After that was an PAI.
I got 100 on that one.
Then we had a flight drill evaluation.
We ended up taking 2nd in the Wing for that.
Afterwards was the “PT Challenge”.
Challenge whatever.
It was a piece of cake.

The last day started with the Falcon Fued.
Similar to the AWANA Bible Quiz.
Only with military knowledge.
The first round was brutal.
The other team got all the questions.
And only one of their team was answering.
We thought we were done for.
But we made a comeback during the next three rounds.
We ended up beating them by 5 points.
Just barely,
But just enough to brag about.

Then we had a parade.
I ended up being the Unit Colors bearer.
I found that out when I got there.
Oh well.
We did well.

Cars

I went with a freind for dinner and a movie last night.
We went to see Cars.
(They occasionally show movies here at Arnold Hall)
It was a good movie.
There were a lot of 4*'s watching it with us.
(Since they have absolutely nothing better to do)
But I will admit,
It was entertaining at times.
Particularly they’re reaction when Sgt Jeep was raising the flag and playing reveille.
There was much moaning and groaning.
And a few of them went into spasms.
(just kidding)
And then it happened a second time.
Now…
I’ve gotten over the whole reveille trauma thing,
(Mostly)
But they haven’t.
You could literally feel the tension rising during those to scenes.
That was interesting.

I also thought the “tractor tipping” part was funny.

Bionic Hornet

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph and kill its targets, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.
The flying robot, nicknamed the "bionic hornet", would be able to navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable enemies such as rocket launchers, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.
It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat militants, it said. Others include super gloves that would give the user the strength of a "bionic man" and miniature sensors to detect suicide bombers.
The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security department and will find creative solutions to problems the army has been unable to address, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Yedioth Ahronoth.
"The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's illogical to send a plane worth $100 million against a suicidal terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons," Peres said.
The 34-day war in Lebanon ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in mid-August. The war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Prototypes for the new weapons are expected within three years, he said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
So...
When do these things hit WalMart?

Water Haze

Today was my first class of Water Survival.
Most affectionately referred to as “Water Haze”.

The whole class is done wearing BDUs (camos).
So there is a lot of drag and it’s hard to swim.
Because of this,
I went to the uniform replacement store to get some new smaller BDUs,
Since I normally wear Larges.
I found the smallest ones I could fit into in the Medium section,
And went and bought them.
Only to discover,
They weren’t mediums.
They were X-Smalls.
That’s right.
I stuffed my Large body into and X-Small.
And it was tight.

As is typical with most PE classes,
They offered us to chance to validate it.
Validation requires swimming 25 meter totally underwater in a single breath,
Jumping off the 5 meter and swimming under the first bulkhead,
To the next bulkhead,
And back in 1 min 15 sec,
And jumping of the 10 meter and swimming under the bulkhead without surfacing and spreading the water.

Keep in mind that 10m is more than 30 feet.
And there was some Physics major calculating the acceleration due to gravity to determine the speed we would hit the water.
Not cool.

This may not sound hard to those of you who are swimmers,
But try it in baggy pants and shirt.
With enormous pockets.

I did the 25m and nearly drowned.
Fortunately I know how to control my breathing.
I made the 5m scenario in 1 min 13 sec.
And I managed to complete the 10m scenario after having all the air forced out of my lungs when hitting the water.
I was swallowing water to keep from inhaling it.

So in the end…
I did validate the class.That’s an automatic A.
This is supposed to be the toughest PE class here.

One Week Left

Within seven days time,
I will once again stand on blessed Texan soil.

I can't wait.

This was sent to me by The Chief.

How Marines Say Farwell

The Weather

It's snowing again.

Got Robotics?

It's about for a new one, Palm Boy.

F-35 Lightning II Joint Stike Fighter

I was sitting CQ,
And I was too sleep deprived to do any real work,
And I had to do something to stay awake.
So I made this.
Enjoy.

Marines

As our Naval Exchange Cadet pointed out earlier today,
(He's actually scheduled to commision in the Marines instead of the Navy)
Today is the Marines' birthday.

So in honor of those who actually work for a living,
Here is the clip he sent me.

Rubber Duckie

Commn's Challenge is next weekend,
And just for the occasion,
They’ve issued us rubber M-16s.
Most affectionately referred to as Rubber Duckies.

When I got mine,
I noticed it was particularly dirty.
I decided I should clean it,
So it doesn’t get my uniform dirty.

I was thinking of how I could clean it.
I can’t use any of the sinks,
They’re too small.
Maybe I should just take it with me to the shower.

Then I thought of this.

Bondfire

Tonight was our annual Bonfire
It wasn’t as cool as last year’s.
They didn’t light it properly,
Much less build it right.
And the funny part was,
The Safety and Security guys were there with their little fire extinguishers.
(As if those would have done anything)
And when the grass caught fire and started spreading,
They were arguing over who had to go put it out.

Yeah…
I feel safe.

I guess them being incapable of putting out the fire
was negated by their inability to build one.

Military Pilots

Got this from my law instructor.
Thought y'all might find it interesting.
The following is a cut, copy, and paste of the EMail she forwarded me.

If you don't think our military pilots earn their pay ...
you need to take a look at this picture ...
and then look again and realize what you're seeing ..

This photo was taken by a soldier in Afghanistan of a helo rescue mission.
The pilot is a PA Guard guy who flies EMS choppers in civilian life.
Now how many people on the planet you reckon
could set the bottom end of a chopper down on the roof top of a shack
on a steep mountain cliff
and hold it there while soldiers load wounded men in the rear?
If this does not impress you ...
nothing ever will.
Gives me the chills and a serious case of the vertigo ...
I can't even imagine having the nerve ...
much less the talent and ability ...

Forgivness

Hussein says "I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to forgive, reconcile and shake hands,"
Yeah...
A little late for that.
You might of considered that before the world decided you were no longer worthy of leading your country.

Sleep

I just got out of my psych class.
Apparently the instructor had worked on some sleep study in the DOD before coming here to teach.
It has long since been believed that because of their workload,
Submariners got the least sleep for the most extended periods of time in the entire military.
He says that is not the case.
It is in fact the Cadet Wing that gets the least amount of sleep for extended periods of time.
This is coming from several respected sleep researchers.

And this new schedule of calls isn't helping.
They told us that they were implementing the new schedule of calls to get us more sleep.

Yeah...
I can see how pushing taps back a half hour and making reveille a half our earlier equals more sleep.
(That was sarcasm)

SECDEF

Acording to CNN,
Rumsfeld should be replaced because,
"He's lost the support and respect of the military"

Guess what that really doesn't matter.
There are quite a few people in leadership positions here at the Academy that most everyone I've talked too don't "support and respect".
The military is not a democracy.
That's reserved for public governing bodies.
I don't get any say in who my commander is.
And it doesn't matter if I "support and respect" them as a person.
But I must support and respect his rank.

Even if the are generals who don't like him,
Be deal.
Get over it.
It's not your job to like him.
If you don't like your boss,
Then resign, retire, whatever,
And then you can complain all you want.

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If
you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage - resign your
position, and when you are outside damn to your heart’s content;
but as long as you are part of the institution, do not condemn it.
If you do that you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you
to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along,
you will be uprooted and blown away, and you probably never
know the reason why.” -Elbert Hubbard

Time Critical

*****Time Critical*****

Due to the Air Force victory over Army, fourth class cadets are at rest until ACQ on Sunday and breakfast is optional for all classes for all of next week.

*****End Messages*****

The Media

How about that...
Some positive media coverage.
I thought they didn't like us.

Flacons

Stay In School

Regardless of how they try to spin this...
Who the comment was towards and all that,
The issue still remains.
While he didn't come outright and say it...
(Probably cause he hasn't got the guts)
He implied that my brothers and sisters deployed in the desert are stupid.
He may have served in the military before,
But I'm not sure he realizes that the only reason he can say things like that are because they are over there doing what they do best.
Protecting his freedoms.

I've been wondering...
Why does Article 88 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice make it illegal for commissioned officers to use "contemptuous words" against certain civil officials.
Aka. Congress,
But there is absolutely nothing wrong with them insulting us?

(BTW: I’m not commissioned yet
So if OSI is reading this…
I should be ok)

Problems

I just had a nice discussion with a good friend of mine from OCF.
I have come to the following conclusions

1. I cannot solve all the world’s problems.
(duh)
2. The World’s problems are not mine to fix.
(Thank goodness)
3. I cannot solve all of my own problems.
(Te cause: My sinful nature)
4. Not all of my problems are min to fix.
(Which is why we have salvation)

All of this makes life a lot less stressful.

The Affects of Day Light Savings

I defiantly like the sun out earlier.
It's a lot nicer walking to breakfast with the sunrise
As opposed to the sky just starting to get light.

As I came out of breakfast,
I noticed that the sun couldn't be seen because of the fog that covered the plains,
But I could see the shadow of the horizon slowly creeping down the mountains as the sun began to rise.
The light hasn't hit the Cadet Area yet,
But you can see it coming.
It looks beautiful.

Swimming

My swimming class is going well.
We started testing today.
They graded three strokes and out ability to swim distance underwater.
The final event for the day was jumping off the 5 meter level of the tower and swim under to bulkheads to the other end of the pool.
So far...
I have a 44 out of 45 possible points.
The instrucotr said that my strokes were some of the best he's seen.
And I haven't been in the water in more than two years other than the 8 lessons we've had in the class.

Got Robotics?

Prayer Request

If y'all could pray for me,
I'd apreciate it.
I've not been feeling myself over the past few weeks.
I think it has something to do with Thnaksgiving Break comeing up.
It's either that I've not been away from home for this long before,
(Not counting last year,
cause most of that was Basic,
and I didn't have time to think about it then.)
Or its because I may have to deal with a situation I thought had been taken care of over the summer.
I'm not sure which,
It may be both.
So I don't know if I should be worried bout going home,
Or happy about it.
Either way,
I'd appreciate prayer.

Day Light Savings

Yeah for an extra hour of sleep!!!

Dead or Alive?

THe Autumn Ball was tonight,
And I didn't take a date.
So I just stole everyone else's.
The entire class of 2009 wants to kill me now.
Half becasue I stole their dates,
The other half because they're jealous of the swing I taught their dates.

BTW, This is all extremely exagerated.

Re: The Weather

So...
All yesterday,
My instructors were talking about this massive blizzard that was supposed to hit last night.
I looked at the radar and saw it.
It didn't look to big to me.
When walking back to my room last night,
It felt really nice.
There were a few clouds in the sky and the temp was about 50 ish.
Minor detail...
But the view of storm I got included the surrounding states too.
No wonder it didn’t look big.
That thing was massive.
I already knew that we had an optional breakfast,
And I was tired from the days workout,
So I decided to sleep in until 0630.
Then My roommate got up and check his E-Mail.
Classes were delayed two hours until 0900.
Alright!
I get to sleep to 0830.
Then he got up and check again.
School is canceled for the day.
HOOAH!!!
So I just now got out of bed.
It feels nice to actually give my body the sleep it needs.

Edit 1239 26-OCT-2006
Texas Jones and the Trek to Mitchell Hall
(Insert Indiana Jones Theme Music here)
So I got all bundled up to go to lunch.
I had to wear three layers with my Camo.
No Texan should ever have to do that.

I walked out on the Terrazo,
And nearly got run over by the snow plow driver.
Those guy move fast too.
He didn’t honk or anything.I don’t know if he didn’t see me,
Or didn’t care.
The only reason I knew he was coming was cause another cadet warned me.
So I dived into the massive mound he had plowed earlier and struggle to get out to avoid his buddy in the other plow.

I started walking the well beaten and plowed path the Mitchell Hall,
When I noticed some other cadets sledding on Spirit Hill.
I decided that since I was already outside,
I might as well go sled too.
So I got of the well beaten and plowed path the Mitchell Hall and started trekking to Spirit Hill.
The snow was a lot deeper than I thought.
It went up to my knees!

After that I waded thought the rest of the snow drifts and battled the 40+ mph wind to get to Mitch’s,
Only to find it was more perilous inside Mitchell Hall than out side.
The floor was all wet for cadets going in and out all day,
And all that 40+ mph wind was getting accelerated through the couple of doors that were open.
Needless to say,
That was exciting.

After partaking of my meal of hamsters and salad,
I endeavored to procure a box of apple cider and hot chocolate to take back to my squadron.
On the way out,
I met a few of my friends from Swing Club.
We discussed the probability of meeting tonight since it is indeed Thursday.
I laid to rest their fears,
Assuring them that even if Gus didn’t come with music I would bring my collection.
(All 8 songs)

This time,
The wind was in my face,
So the trip back was a little longer.

All in all,
I made it back in one piece,
Having made it back with the rare artifact of an entire box of hot chocolate and apple cider.
The End

THe Weather

The weather is absolutly gorgeous today.
I was walking back from class,
and looked up at the sky,
There isn't a single cloud up there.
And the sky is that really deep blue that reminds me just how high up I am.
On top of all that,
we've finally gotten above 40.
It's beautiful outside.

Ok...

So...
I was just out in the hall way,
And this guy walks by with two, twelve pack Mountain Dew boxes on as shoes.
I looked at him for a minute,
and ask "Why?"
His response...
"Why not?"
And he kept walking.

I convinced...
THis place does things to you.

Fun with Subs.

We had a substitute tinstructor for math today.
That was fun.
He brought music to play while we cruched problems.
Then we showed him something different that we do.
We use the Bat Man symbol for a lot of our variables.
That was funny.
Even better was watching him try to draw it.

Got Robotics?

Back In The Swing Of Things

Swing Club is back.
We got a call from the Vice Dean authorizing us meet again at our normal times.
And the Swing Kids came out in full force.
Tonight was the most people we've had in a long time.

Snow

So...
I left from lunch to go to Swim Class.
It was slightly chilly out.
After class I helped a classmate who wasn't too comfortable in the water.
ran on the treadmill cause I knew it was cold out.
Then I did more workout.
When I left the gym aroung 6,
There was 3+inches of snow on the ground.
And it was still snowing.

Found this on a Grad Site

Fun at Formation

OCF Fall Retreat

That was fun.
Got to kick back and do next to nothing for the weekend.
I also got to play on the swings and build fires.
Fun stuff.
The food was good too.

We learned about resolving conflict.
A very interesting topic.
I see how this will be helpful on an interpersonal level,
And even in small groups,
But it’d be interesting to see how applying this stuff on an international level would affect world politics.

It seems that most of swing club is in OCF.
And most of OCF is in Swing Club.
So we spent Sunday Evening Swinging.
That was interesting.
Especially when we got the officers out there.
There was one girl curled up in a chair reading and watching.
She wouldn’t come out and dance,
So I grabbed another guy,
And we grabbed her chair,
And danced with her in the chair.
That was really funny.

North Korea

Well…
They did it.
Apparently that hissy fit they threw earlier this summer didn’t get them the attention they wanted.

I’ve been wondering if they’d try something else to get attention.
Looks like their stepping it up a bit.
Good thing their Taepo Dong II Missiles have lousy range, guidance, and reliability.
I doubt we’ll have to worry about them here in the CONUS (Continental United States),
And Kim Jong Il isn’t stupid enough to use them on our bases that are in range.
That wouldn’t accomplish anything.
The only thing I’m worried about is that his nukes might have a price tag.
In which case,
We all know who the prime customers would be.
I’m still trying to figure out why the UN didn’t do anything when NK kicked them out of the Nuclear power plants in the northern Korean peninsula.

I always wondered why nuclear testing was such a big deal back during the Cold War.
I think I know now.

Edit:
I just found out that it was an extremely small explosion for a nuke.
It may have just been a few hundred pounds of explosives.
We don't know yet.
Nontheless,
This still puts us in an interesting political situation.

Standing In The Way

Story

I hope I have this within me.
I hope that I never get tested,
But I hope I would do it if I was in that situation.

Noon Meal Formation

We had a fly over today.
Sweet stuff.
A four ship formation of F-16s.
Didn’t seem like anything to terribly special,
But still very cool.
We saw them coming,
They seemed a little lower than normal.
I think they kicked in their afterburners just before they went over us,
Cause they weren’t going very fast,
But they were really loud.
REALLY Loud.
They flew lower than I’ve ever seen before.
And after they passed,
It still kept getting louder.
To the point were the ground was shaking.
That was sweet.

So North Korea wants Nukes...

Story
Video

So North Korea wants nukes...
I say we go ahead and give them one.

Recognition Last Year

I found this buried on the network.
This was in my squdron last year.
Good times.



Yeah, It was worth it.

Navy Week

We play Navy this week.
Should be fun.
Needless to say,
My 4*’s have already begun by taking all of our Squiddie’s clothes.
They’ve been wearing his uniforms to class.
He’s been stuck in running shorts and his Marine T-Shirt.
I saw another in Civies.
Another was wearing the issued pajamas.
(Wearing pajamas to class at a military school?)

It could have been worse though.
On the way to mandatory breakfast,
I saw one squidie duct taped to a lamp post.
There was a sign that said,
“I don’t want to go back to Navy,
So I taped my self to this pole.”
I heard he had been out there all night too.

Wear a Skirt Tuesday

The girls here have decided that since we already have High Five Friday.
We will also have Wear a Skirt Tuesday.
This gives them an opportunity to actually wear the optional skirt instead of the pants.
They chose Tuesday because it’s the only day we don’t march to lunch.

When I was going to class from lunch,
One of them asked me,
“So where’s yours?”
I didn’t miss a beat.
“Mine didn’t fit this morning, I put on a few pounds over the summer.”
“It happens to all of us. I’ll keep an I out for one for you.”
"Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

Yeah…
Awkward.

Falcon Football

Slide show

Got Robotics?