Fly Report: 31st October 2006

Good morning. I ain't touched a drop of liquor since I quit singin' wit' Abba.

It's 46° Fahrenheit with a chance of showers in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 27° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $57.45 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.90 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: cool. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Ezra 2. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Mother, am I still your son? You know I've waited for so long to hear you say so.

Reflecting on College

For a while now, I've had a desire to go back through my college transcript and figure out how many courses I didn't need to take. Now, by saying that, I don't mean courses that I didn't see the point of, like all of the math classes, or the Ethnic Studies class. No, I'm talking about courses that I ended up retaking for one reason or another. One example might be Physics 207 - Galaxies, Quasars, and Cosmology, which I took as a freshman and decided to retake as a junior for a better grade; I got a C in Spring of 2001, and I got a B in 2003, so as far as I'm concerned the improvement in my grade was negligible, and I'm counting one or the other as redundant. (Of course, this completely ignores the fact that I met two hotties when I took the course for the second time, but nothing came of either of them, so I suppose it's a wash.)

I graduated from Generic University at the end of Spring Term 2005, having taken courses during seventeen of the nineteen academic quarters between Fall 2000 and Spring 2005, fifteen of them full time. My transcript says that I had two hundred seventeen earned credit hours, twelve of which were pre-existing credits that I earned through the Advanced Placement program when I was in high school. Here are the courses that I took that I didn't need to take.

Fall 2000
HST 100 FRESHMEN ORIENTATION 1 credits
Winter 2001
ANTH 210 COMPARATIVE CULTURES 3 credits
Spring 2001
MTH 251 DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS 4 credits
PH 207 GALAXIES, QUASARS, COSMOLOGY 4 credits
Fall 2001
GER 111 FIRST-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
GER 199 SS/GERMAN CONVERSATION 1 credits
MTH 095 INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA 3 credits
Winter 2002
GER 112 FIRST-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
GER 199 SS/GERMAN CONVERSATION 1 credits
Spring 2002
GER 113 FIRST-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
Fall 2002
GER 211 SECOND-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
Winter 2003
GER 212 SECOND-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
Spring 2003
GER 213 SECOND-YEAR GERMAN 4 credits
Fall 2003
HST 402 INDEPENDENT STUDY 3 credits
Winter 2004
HST 402 INDEPENDENT STUDY 3 credits
Fall 2004
BI 101 GENERAL BIOLOGY 4 credits
Total Unnecessary Credits: 51

Now, a couple of notes. First, you'll notice that German weighs pretty highly in this list. My professor was sort of a hard ass, and I didn't pass the last term of German with a high enough grade to get my second year equivalency. Rather than repeat an entire year of German, I decided to take a biology class and a math class and get my Bachelor of Science, vice my Bachelor of Arts. Really, though, those two years of German, plus the math and science, should have qualified my for two degrees: a BS in History and a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on National Defense Policy. Instead, I have a BS in History with a minor in Naval Science. They didn't offer a major in Naval Science, or else I would have qualified: the minor requires twenty-seven credits, and I had around forty-eight, plus six that never went on the books.

Second, the courses up there were all courses that either became redundant or worthless later, courses that I failed or withdrew from, or courses that I later repeated to improve my grade.

It would be tempting to either complete second year Arabic, or study and test for second year German equivalency, and then see if I could get my one degree and minor reclassified as two degrees. Whether or not it would do anything in the long run is doubtful; I'll probably just try to trump the whole thing with a master's degree. However, what's the point in doing something if you don't hold some sort of debrief to figure out how you could have done it better? Then again, that's probably one of the purposes of college in the first place, to serve as a learning experience... In more ways that one, I suppose.

Fly Report: 30th October 2006

Good morning. The Fly is not a social animal... Unless there's food involved.

It's 57° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 22° Fahrenheit with light snow.

The average price of oil is $59.79 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.90 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: cool. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Ezra 1. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

You never really belonged to me.

A Cold Mojave Night

The weather report claims that the temperature outside is in the sixties; I'm not sure whether or not I buy that. Either way, it's going to be in the forties tonight, and I couldn't be happier abut it. I pushed through the heat during the Summer, and now I'm being rewarded with Winter in the Mojave. As far as deserts go, Winter isn't such a drawback. I may even actually go out and do some photography work over the Winter.

A few days ago, I noted in this post that I'd ordered a few items from Amazon. As generally happens with an order that big, they broke it up into smaller shipments in order to get bits and pieces to me quicker. The U2 DVD box set and the O-Zone CD arrived on Tuesday, and I received an E-Mail telling me that the books have shipped. I look forward to receiving them; also, my mother's sending me my college astrophysics/astronomy textbook, Universe*, as well as some book about Arabic that my grandmother "received in the mail". As some of you will remember, I recently listened to The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking, and I have both that book and his earlier work, A Brief History of Time; save for listening to the former on the road home and back (which is grossly insufficient for such complex concepts), I've read neither, so I'd like to read both at some point and be able to look up the idiot-proof version in my college physics textbook. Dig? It'll come in especially handy if I'm successful landing myself a gig volunteering at Goldstone. After all, everyone needs a hobby, and the Mojave isn't exactly teeming with opportunities for intellectual stimulation.

I also made an order recently from Crye Precision, makers of designer field clothing. These folks are basically the Gucci of military clothing. Anyway, I already have one of their range vests; and a pair of their field pants that I absolutely love, but that I can't get any more of at the moment because they're retooling and introducing a new product line. I saw that I could get my hands on a matching field shirt in an acceptable size (I ordered a regular, which is cutting it a little close, but the difference in fit between it and a tall isn't that drastic since I'm right on the dividing line, so hopefully it will work), so I went ahead and ordered it. I also got a Major League Infidel T-shirt, and two Dirka-Dirkastan flag patches: one for Rampage, and one for one of my soldier buddies.

It's been a long week, both at work and here at my flat. I went shopping Monday for work clothes, I've paid three bills this week, I've done a lot, a lot, of personal admin work. Here are some of the items that I added to and crossed off my list this week:

buy clothes and groceries

do laundry

pay vehicle, car insurance, and home phone bills

catch up on E-Mail (to about fifteen people)

call an acquaintance from the deployment RE: CIA employment

clean grill

bag and freeze surplus chicken

exchange defective cargo pants

check on freelance reporter application date for Jane's; resubmit if CV retention period has expired

make list of companies and employment options (nearly one hundred entries)

donate money to college acquaintance's charitable cause (and I hate donating money to charity, so me giving $75.00 for Nima's race is a big deal)

get a haircut

make new fuel log card (yes, I'm that much of a nerd)

Yet to be accomplished, slated for this weekend, are the following tasks:

synchronize clocks/daylight savings time

enter companies/employment list onto computer with company employment websites

buy gifts for The Wife and Michelle

reorganize CDs and DVDs (which are all out of sorts after the deployment and the trip home)

pack embalming book (to show one of my co-workers photos of just what a talented embalmer can do)

more laundry (I was limited earlier by lack of quarters)

So, I have a few things to do this weekend, but nothing too severe; and none of it will require me to leave my flat complex. I may also try to knock a chunk out of Legionnaire by Simon Murray; I've been working on it since the end of August, so I'd like to finish it up so that I can start another book. I may start Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill, or resume U2 at the End of the World by Bill Flanagan, or Lost Moon by Jim Lovell, or... Well, I guess I have some options. I may put it up to you, the blog-reading public, to see if y'all have an opinion.

A note about the employment/companies list. Making such a list implies that I'm preparing to leave my current environment; this isn't true. I feel that, excepting extreme circumstances, I'm obligated to stay with my current employer for at least one year; if things go well, I may look to stay a bit longer, maybe up to about two years. One of the things that I learned studying tactics and strategy with the Marines is to plan contingencies, to seize the initiative instead of being reactive. Given that the minimum amount of time I want to spend in my current situation is one year, I need to have a plan that facilitates leaving that situation on time (whether I decide to leave after a year or not), and that means reapplying for government agencies at some point in the next few months; and, failing success at that, applying for other private sector jobs a couple of months after that. So, at this point, I'm identifying possible companies to look at (and, for the record, my current employer is on the list), not because I'm looking to jump ship early, but because I don't want to get caught unprepared like I was when I finished college. Bottom line? Don't read into the list - not that anyone who's readying this actually would, but that's the story.

And there, folks, is yet another update on my life. Even though it's not on the list, one of my goals for the weekend (and I'll have three days to do it) is to put three or four new news posts up - including the aforepromised+ post about Somali pirates!

* That book on Amazon is a much newer edition than mine; I purchased my copy in September of 2000, and it was already obsolete by the time I took the next course in Winter of 2003. I used the same book anyway, of course; I probably bought three quarters or less of the "required" books in college, and several times I took courses that had redundant textbook requirements. I'll write a post about it someday.

+ No, "aforepromised" is not a word, but you'll probably survive, so don't sweat it.

The Upcoming Weekend

Allow me to apologize for only posting Fly Reports this week, folks. I have a lot of back-logged stories that I still intend to post on (including one about Somali pirates!), but I've been swamped with both work and personal tasks this week. I've gotten a lot done in the evenings, and that's something I'm happy about, but I've had to sleep at some points (and not well now that I'm back in Zoo Station, which I'll have to try to adjust somehow), so I've simply been as busy as a propane heater at an Antarctic nudist colony.

It looks as if I have the weekend off, so I'll try to get two or three news stories posted, plus anything fun and exciting I can find along the way. I hope everyone's doing well out there in Blogoland.

Fly Report: 27th October 2006

Good morning. I'd like to love you, but I think you might be crazy.

It's 48° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 48° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

The average price of oil is $59.61 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.89 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: cool. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 20. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

I'm ready for the laughing gas.

Fly Report: 26th October 2006

Good morning. Military rations are good performance meals.

It's 50° Fahrenheit with rain and wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 42° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $59.80 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.88 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: cool. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 19. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Give me one more chance, and you'll be satisfied.

Fly Report: 25th October 2006

Good morning. Real men listen to Romanian boy bands and Gregorian chant in the same evening.

It's 48° Fahrenheit any cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 34° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

The average price of oil is $58.12 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.87 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: lame. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 18. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Nobody is promised a tomorrow.

Fly Report Addition

For the first time in quite a while, I've made a change to the Fly Report that everyone has come to know and... Well, I have no clue if you folks love it, but you at least know it. At any rate, since I started the Fly Report, I've been doing daily updates on the Astronomy Picture of the Day. I've changed the format; I'll still say whether it's cool or lame, but I won't have both listed every day and highlight one, I'll just have the one that's appropriate for the given day. Why? Well, this is TSTF, so I'll tell you!

One of my favorite features on the Internet is the Orkneyjar Photoblog, which is operated by Sigurd Towrie at his website. I was in Orkney for about a few days back in September of 2004, and absolutely fell in love with the place. I can honestly say that I have never seen a picture at Sigurd's blog that I didn't like; however, sometimes he'll go a couple of weeks without updating it. The Fly Report will now link to the Orkneyjar Photoblog, and inform intrepid readers whether or not the photo is new (posted within one day) or not. And, aside from today's outstanding photo, I'd like to post this photo of Maeshowe in snow and sunset; it's one of my favorite pictures of Sigurd's.

Enjoy!

Fly Report: 24th October 2006

Good morning. Your smile could save our movie, and the world.

It's 48° Fahrenheit with a chance of showers in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 51° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $57.58 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.87 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: cool. The current photo at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 18. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

And I don't know the limit, the limit of what we've got.

A Change of Pace

I've removed most of the posts that I've done regarding CCG over the past year; and I won't be posting any more. Why? I'd like to think that I'm a better person than that, and it's not exactly dignified to post stuff about people you know behind their backs. Consider this one step in the process of self-improvement that I started when I was about forteen years old.

I'll make a couple of news posts later today. Stay tuned.

Fly Report: 23rd October 2006

Good morning. Fight 'em until we can't.

It's 50° Fahrenheit and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $57.33 per barrel; OPEC is reducing production, North Korea is detonating nukes, there's a stalemate with Iran, Hugo Chavez is going even crazier, and oil is still dropping. The exchange rate is $1.88 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 16. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

We were as close together as a bride and groom.

1864 Rules, 1864 Costumes

Longtime readers will know that I absolutely love funny video clips. One that I stumbled across a while ago is Conan O'Brien playing baseball. Apparently there's some group (groups?) that plays 1864 baseball. That's 1864 rules, 1864 costumes, with costumed spectators and everything. When Conan eventually gets involved in the game, it takes on a whole new level of jocularity.

Go look, you fools!

One Diplomat Speaks

The mainstream news media is always quick to publicize the dissenting opinions of any and every individual who has so much as a negligible amount of authority. The Associated Press has done it again.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A senior U.S. diplomat said the United States had shown “arrogance” and “stupidity” in Iraq but was now ready to talk with any group except Al-Qaida in Iraq to facilitate national reconciliation.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera television aired late Saturday, Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department offered an unusually candid assessment of America’s war in Iraq.

“We tried to do our best but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq,” he said.

There are several things that are worth saying about this. True to form, I'll do so in a bulleted list.

First and foremost, what authority does Alberto Fernandez have to make statements like this? Is Fernandez a Sate Department spokesman? No, he's a mid-level diplomat, probably equivalent to a Captain or a Major in the Army/Marine Corps. If a member of the military made these kind of statements, he'd be likely to be court martialed. This mid-level diplomat's personal opinion undermines American efforts in Iraq, all because one administrator disagrees with President Bush's policies.

As usual, the media should be ashamed of themselves for making this frontpage news on both MSN and Yahoo! News. If Secretary Rice or Secretary Rumsfeld claim that we're acting with "arrogance" or "stupidity" in Iraq, then maybe I'll listen. I'm tired of the media pushing the partisan opinions of one congressman, or a handful of liberal professors, or some ultra-liberal NGO at me.

There are plenty of people in positions of minor authority in the government who disagree with the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq. I'm not terribly interested in what a mid-level diplomat, or a mid-level CIA analyst, or a mid-level military officer thinks. The fact that the media would turn such a situation into news is just further evidence of how partisan and desperate the media is to try and justify how stupid they think President Bush and his cabinet are. It's getting pretty tired.

Don't believe that the mainstream news media is biased? Don't believe that they have an agenda? Don't believe that they'll find any and every scrap of non-news they can, and then blow it out of proportion to try and force that agenda? Think all reporters are objective and honest professionals? Welcome to the real world. I'm your host, The Fly. Stay tuned.

Relaxed Contemplation

It's Saturday at Zoo Station. It's been more than a month since I left for deployment, and once I was back from deployment I spent a week back in Hometown for the wedding of Gus and Saint Jen. Upon returning to Zoo Station, it was a shaky six hours of sleep before I was back to work. Last night was the first night in a long time that I wasn't accountable to be anywhere the next day, and even though I have things to do to get my flat back to a respectable state, I decided to take a break by spending my evening watching Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5 and puttering around on the computer. My expedition to Hometown gave me an opportunity to decompress; now that I'm decompressed, I'm taking my extended weekend as an opportunity to actually relax.

Given that I found a rather friendly figure in my bank account when I hit the ATM yesterday, I decided to make a friendly order to Amazon. Here's what I'll be expecting in five to nine days:

On War by Carl von Clausewitz - $26.00 (Amazon price $16.38)

The Art of War by Niccolo Machiavelli - $17.00 (Amazon price $11.56)

An Unorthodox Soldier by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer, OBE - $18.00 (Amazon price $13.14)

The O Zone - Discozone - $16.98 (Amazon price $13.99)

U2 - Zoo TV Live from Sydney $32.98 (Amazon price $29.99)

Some of you who are paying amazingly close attention might be asking yourself, "Hey, didn't he already read that book by Spicer?" The answer is "Yes, but I gave my copy to a friend." Besides, my copy was less-than-pristine after having been taken out to the field and riding around with me for a while, so it's worth it to me to have a better quality copy for my bookshelf. I think that in the next few months I'll be doing some intense reading about the Falklands War. Sources will include The Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins, generously donated to my collection by my buddy the Desert Rat; the boo by Spicer; and The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Major General Julian Thompson, RM.

I'm very carefully considering that MA in military history program through Norwich University. If I started it in March of 2007 (or 2008 for that matter), the program would last for eighteen months, after which time I would have nine months to save up money before the one week culmination exercise in Vermont; only at that point would I have to start paying back the loans. I could save up a lot of money in nine months, not to mention what I could probably save up while I was actually doing the program. I'm very carefully considering my options, and looking at where I'm going in the next year or two. I'm formulating a plan, very methodically, very carefully.

Something I touched on earlier this month, and something that Father Time picked up on and discussed with me while I was back home, is that I have a sort of homeless feeling at this point in my life. Zoo Station isn't my home. Deployment didn't take me home; and at this point, it represents a noticeable fraction of the amount of time that I've been at this job. When I went home, it had an odd feeling to it as well; there have been enough changes since I left, and enough friends who had moved away from the area and on to bigger and better things right before I left, to make home seem somewhat foreign. I'm not sure quite what to make of it; but at this point, I can't help but thinking that my car payment is essentially my only tie to any given situation, and that's mobile enough. I'm not tied down by a woman, or children, or even a pet; and for now, I think that's an advantage. In the next few years, I foresee a great deal of movement; and after some recent events, I feel as if I have more freedom than I previously realized.

I've been surprised at how tolerable things have gotten at Zoo Station since I returned. When I left, the heat was severe enough that I could barely stand it; when I got back, I was greeted by cold mornings and tolerable afternoons. It's October, which means that I'll have four, maybe five good months of cold before it starts getting hot again. If one has to be stuck in the middle of the desert, there are things that are worse than a Winter alone with books, movies, and a computer. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that this will be my only Winter in the Mojave, and probably my only winter with this kind of extreme solitude, so I'm going to do my best to savor every day of it.

I committed to forty days and forty nights without alcohol, and Monday will be the last day. It's also been about that amount of time since I watched Sports Night, as I decided not to take it on deployment with me. Tuesday night, I'll break both fasts, and I'm very much looking forward to it. A note about the alcohol fast, by the way; a number of people have been confused, and asked me about it. They've pointed out that I don't drink heavily, I don't drink to get drunk, so what's the point in fasting from alcohol? The point isn't so much that I see alcohol as being destructive; I'm not trying to get myself away from it, or break some sort of habit. On the contrary, I think that alcohol is a very healthy habit in moderation. It happens to be something that I enjoy, but I've had a desire lately to make an effort to form a concrete plan for where I'm going in the next few months and years, and I decided to spend a period of time without it in order to remind me to focus on that task. I've made some good effort, and I hope to make a strong push before Tuesday rolls around.

The last couple of months have been trying for me, but I think those trials have produced some good opportunities for me. My life may be just about to fall apart again, but for the time being I feel as if things are on a positive note. I feel as if there are opportunities in front of me, should I pursue them and put out an aggressive effort. Let's face it, I'm nothig if not ambitious, but this latest season feels like an opportunity to really make that aggressive ambition a reality.

Proposition 87

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, but in my first real perusal of BBC News in about two months, I saw an article that I had to post immediately. Apparently Californians will be voting on another petroleum tax. The article says that Proposition 87 is:

aimed at encouraging the development of alternative energy forms that are currently unreliable, inefficient, and in some cases purely fictional

supported by former President Clinton, Julia Roberts, Richard Branson, and all sorts of other limousine liberals who won't feel the effects of the legislation they're pushing

California already has the highest fuel prices I've ever seen in the United States. I've been through four states in the last two weeks, and California has consistently had the highest prices at the pump. Why? Because California already taxes petroleum to death. Higher fuel taxes aren't the way to encourage research into alternative energy sources - it will do precisely the opposite by driving entrepeneurs and research companies away from California.

Hopefully California voters will understand that, and shoot it down. This is bad news for all concerned, even if folks like former President Clinton (Arkansan, not Californian) and Richard Branson (British, not even American) are too insulated to understand that.

More to come this weekend, and in the following couple of weeks.

Fly Report: 20th October 2006

Good morning. Sui musca est.

It's 54° Fahrenheit and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 35° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

The average price of oil is $58.76 per barrel, although the latest move by OPEC will likely cause prices to increase. The exchange rate is $1.88 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 16. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

I went out walking under an atomic sky, where the ground won't turn and the rain it burns, like the tears when I said goodbye.

Stuff Fly Wants: October 2006

Field Gear

British special forces style rucksack (available at Silverman's in London, item number 35116) - £89.99

British SAS smock (available at Silverman's in London, item number 22001) - £90.00

British Desert DPM trousers and shirt

Crye Precision Field Pants (Khaki)

Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.90

Ka-Bar USMC Fighting Knife - $70.83

Spec Ops Brand Light Sheath Deluxe (Tan)

Spec Ops Brand 40MM Pouch (Tan)

Arcteryx Echo Pack (Black or Crocodile)

Miscellaneous Clothing

Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96

More Cowbell T-Shirt - $17.99

Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $20.00

Major League Infidel T-Shirt - $17.00

Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00-$700.00

Household Items

Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit - $29.99

Union Jack

Guinness logo pint glasses

Amazing Pasta Maker - $39.95 [click me]

Walther PPK

Orkney satellite image

Roman Mainz Gladius

Sheep Skin Rug - price unknown

The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $4135.00

Books

On War by Carl von Clausewitz - $26.00 (Amazon price $16.38)

The Art of War by Niccolo Machiavelli - $17.00 (Amazon price $11.56)

The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick - $15.95 (Amazon price $10.37)

Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99

The Alphabet of Manliness by Maddox - $15.95 (Amazon price $10.85)

Entertainment

Space Above and Beyond - Complete Series - $41.99 (Amazon price $36.98)

Reno 911! - Season 2 - $39.98 (Amazon price $31.99)

Firefly - Complete Series - $49.98 (Amazon price $24.97)

Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)

24 - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $269.92 (Amazon price $154.53)

Gladiator Extended Edition - $39.98 (Amazon price $29.99)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Apocalypse Now Redux

Gattaca - $14.94 (Amazon price $10.99)

Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound - $18.99 (Amazon price $13.99)

Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98

Remy Zero - The Golden Hum - $18.98 (Amazon price $14.99)

Stephanie Schneiderman - Touch Down - $15.99

Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98

Go-Go's - Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's - $31.98

The O Zone - Discozone - $16.98 (Amazon price $13.99)

Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks

Fly Report: 19th October 2006

Good morning. Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!

It's 54° Fahrenheit and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 42° Fahrenheit with rain and snow showers.

The average price of oil is $57.58 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.87 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 15, and today's the day that it will be read. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Leave it behind; you've got to leave it behind.

Fly Report: 18th October 2006

Good morning. Plenty of sunshine, plenty of hay.

It's 50° Fahrenheit and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 39° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $58.86 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.87 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 15. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Woo me, sister.

Fly Report: 17th October 2006

Good morning(*). I like Chinese.

It's 48° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 31° Fahrenheit with snow showers.

The average price of oil is $58.54 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.85 for £1, or £0.54 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 15. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Rejoice.

* Okay, I'm cheating and posting this Fly Report at 22:16 PST on Monday. I want to get an early start tomorrow morning on my return trip to Zoo Station, since it will be more horrendous than the trip back to Hometown. Expect more blogging (for real this time) on Wednesday, particularly in response to my pseudo-dialogue with chickenhawk.

Fly Report: 16th October 2006

Good morning. Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish.

It's 55° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 43° Fahrenheit with rain and snow showers.

The average price of oil is $58.54 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.85 for £1, or £0.54 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame); today's picture is absolutely outstanding, go check it out.

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 15, at long last. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Surrender.

The River

I spent last night at my parents' cabin, watched "The Punisher" with my dad, and showed him some of my new field gear. Yesterday I went to see the Desert Rat, who equipped me with some great equipment (including that sand/black shemagh I've been wanting, and another tan SAW Pouch from Spec Ops Brand). Today it's lunch with Father Time and dinner with Mormon Buddha and his lovely wife.

One of the things that I got at the Desert Rat's shop was a Spec Ops Brand Mini Cargo Pocket Organizer. I carry around an actual planner instead of a PDA, and I'm pretty excited to use one of these to keep my planner protected from the elements, in addition to carrying pens and other items. I also snagged a 4x6 field notebook for it by Rite in the Rain. I've seen Rite in the Rain products for years, but I'm excited to actually put one through its paces out in the desert.

I have a lot to fit into just a few days, including Gus and St. Jen's wedding, Gus's bachelor party, and meetings with various friends. I absolutely love coming home, although I have to admit that after living at Zoo Station (which is more of a forward operating base than a home), and being deployed for a month, coming back to Hometown doesn't actually feel quite like home anymore. To be quite honest, I feel a bit homeless right now; on the other hand, when you're unsettled, unattached, and unencumbered, it can give you the capacity to do some amazing things. I feel big things coming... More on those later.

Fly Report: 13th October 2006

Good morning. A day without blood is like a day without sunshine.

It's 57° Fahrenheit and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 52° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

The average price of oil is $59.08 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.86 for £1, or £0.54 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 14, because the Fly was busy and a little lazy. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray, and listening to "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis and "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking.

He's falling, he's falling, and outside the buildings are tumbling down.

Arrival

I left Zoo Station at 06:50 yesterday and arrived in Hometown at about 11:05 last night. Sixteen hours, one urination break, two fuel stops, many phone calls, and about twelve albums later, and I have four (or five) days to decompress after my deployment, and before I go back for more.

The plan at this point is to spend tonight at my folks' cabin near the ocean. I think I can probably spend some time on the Internet there, and make a couple of blog posts; I'm chomping at the bit to post some things (I was sending myself links the whole time I was deployed), so it's about time I got down to it.

More later; I promise!

By the way - "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking appears to be a great book, but I think it's probably tougher to fully grasp without the illustrations, and nearly impossible to fully grasp in audio at about 21:30 when you've been driving for about thirteen hours.

Fly Report: 12th October 2006

Good morning. I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

It's 59° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 44° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

The average price of oil is $57.97 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.86 for £1, or £0.54 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 14, because the Fly was busy and a little lazy. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray, and listening to "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis and "The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking.

Ambition bites the nails of success.

Drive

I've been on deployment for three and a half weeks. Before that, I spent two weeks getting ready for deployment. Before that, I had a fairly labor intensive month, between work and various projects. I'm going home for a wedding, and to do some decompression. I'll be on the road all day today, and there may not be a Fly Report tomorrow, but I'm hoping to do a few posts while I'm back at my old stomping grounds.

In the mean time, I'll give you folks a topic to discuss. North Korea: how big is the threat, and what should be done about it?

Fly Report: 11th October 2006

Good morning. Just can't wait to get on the road again.

It's 57° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 37° Fahrenheit with rain and snow showers.

The average price of oil is $58.65 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.85 for £1, or £0.54 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 14, because the Fly was busy and a little lazy. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Time is a train, it makes the future the past; leaves you standing in the station, your face pressed up against the glass.

Return of the Fly

I'm back from deployment. I'll be heading back to Hometown in a couple of days for some R&R, but Fly Reports should be regular from here on out, except maybe for a couple of transit days. I have a lot of updates to do, a lot of news stories to get posted, and I'll get to it... Tonight. For now, I have to get ready for work. I only have five hours to work today until I've got my forty hours for the week, so I'm going to knock them out immediately so that I can leave for Hometown/College City early tomorrow.

More tonight. Stay tuned - the Fly is back.

Fly Report: 10th October 2006

Good morning. Conquistadors do it for Spain.

It's 59° Fahrenheit and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 44° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

The average price of oil is $59.56 per barrel. The exchange rate is $1.87 for £1, or £0.53 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is: (Cool)/(Lame)

Today's scripture reading is Revelation 14. The Fly is reading "Legionnaire" by Simon Murray.

Say goodnight; she waits for me to put out the light.

More Cool Stuff From The Fly

Who does he know?

Who does Fly know at the highest levels of our military that he can get a top secret state of the art cell phone like this?

I am stunned!

In the words of The Fly himself, "I can't believe how much I rule!"

Over and out.

It's Thursday, Right?

A) I'm smack dab in the middle of a forty day fast from alcohol.
B) Today is a particularly bad day to be smack dab in the middle of a forty day fast from Alcohol.

Navigation

During my final term at university, I took Naval Science 423: OCS Preparation. Now, this was one of the Marine Corps option courses, so it was preparation for Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. In addition to running and humps (marching with a rucksack, not the other thing), which I didn't participate in, it included such course work as rifle anatomy and maintenance, close order drill, fire team and squad tactics and organization, and land navigation. I wasn't always outstanding at land navigation, but it's a fairly simple concept to pick up.

In my job at the NTC, I don't generally have to worry much about maps or navigation; on this current deployment, for various reasons, I do. A lot of our navigation has required maps and GPS units. I bought a Garmin eTrex last week from Amazon, and both before and since then I've been sufficiently impressed with my ability to navigate using a map and a GPS. To be fair, it you can't navigate with a map and a GPS, there's pretty much something wrong with you, but that hasn't stopped some of my co-workers from having a sufficiently difficult time finding their destinations. Not only have I impressed myself, but I've impressed other co-workers with my ability to navigate.

I guess something I learned in college paid off in the real world after all, eh? And I can guarantee you it wasn't that stupid Ethnic Studies class.