Friday Afternoon Silliness
Just sayin'.
29 May 2009
Colblimey
For my big sister, Mighty Mo, who loves animals; and for Father Time, who (I think?) has a dog that was bred for guarding sheep: the Welsh national pastime.
I've been swamped all week, and as it is with all short weeks, I've hated it. I loathe holiday weeks - it's just the way that I am. That's all for today, but I should have something to show for my weekend, so check back on Monday. Until then, have a fantastic weekend, folks!
I've been swamped all week, and as it is with all short weeks, I've hated it. I loathe holiday weeks - it's just the way that I am. That's all for today, but I should have something to show for my weekend, so check back on Monday. Until then, have a fantastic weekend, folks!
Fly Report: 29th May 2009
Good morning. The Book of Psalms is much more enjoyable reading than I'd been anticipating.
It's 15° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 81° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $64.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8403.80. The exchange rate is $1.60 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 43 and 44. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 218
I want the lot of what you've got if what you've got can make this stop.
It's 15° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 81° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $64.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8403.80. The exchange rate is $1.60 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 43 and 44. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 218
I want the lot of what you've got if what you've got can make this stop.
28 May 2009
Fly Report: 28th May 2009
Good morning. Now that I've discovered that you can turn word wrap on and off in Notepad, my reliance on Wordpad and or other text editing program has taken a huge nose dive.
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 77° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $62.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8300.02. The exchange rate is $1.61 for £1, or £0.62 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 41 and 42. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 217
USSR, GDR, London, New York, Peking. It's the puppets, it's the puppets who pull the string.
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 77° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $62.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8300.02. The exchange rate is $1.61 for £1, or £0.62 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 41 and 42. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 217
USSR, GDR, London, New York, Peking. It's the puppets, it's the puppets who pull the string.
27 May 2009
Whoops
Here's a list of things that I did last night in lieu of preparing a post.
went by the mobile phone store to replace a couple of accessories for my phone - still not thrilled with the silicone skin in lieu of the hard case, but we'll see how it works
went grocery shopping
worked on my webpage/archive project
attempted to go to bed early, failed due to phone calls
Assuming that I have some time tonight, I'm going to recompose my latest submission for the parallel writing endeavour and post it. Until then, have a fantastic Wednesday.
Assuming that I have some time tonight, I'm going to recompose my latest submission for the parallel writing endeavour and post it. Until then, have a fantastic Wednesday.
Fly Report: 27th May 2009
Good morning. Ready, kill!
It's 11° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 76° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $62.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8473.49. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is amazing. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 216
I kissed your lips and broke your heart.
It's 11° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 76° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $62.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8473.49. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is amazing. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 216
I kissed your lips and broke your heart.
26 May 2009
Stuff Fly Wants: May 2009
Sorry, Father Time.
* * *
Field Gear
British special forces style rucksack - £75.00
British SAS smock - £95.00
British Desert DPM trousers and shirt
MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.98
Six Color Desert Utilities - $39.98
Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.98
Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80
Sand Crye Precision Field Pants AC - $115.00
UDT/SEAL Team Swimmer Trunks (2) - $71.90
Multicam Hunting Shirt - $32.95
U.S. Army ACU tan sweat-wicking uniform T-shirts (3)
Under Armour Cold Gear
5.11 Tactical Polos (3) - $89.97
Rubbermaid 48 Gallon ActionPackers (2) - $89.99
TAD Gear Pathfinder Zip Hoodie - $156.95
Sony 8GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (black) - $119.95 (Amazon price $99.77)
Bushmaster Deluxe Armorer's Kit - $180.95
FN FAL
Clothing
Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96
More Cowbell T-Shirt - $20.00
Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $12.99
Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00 - $700.00
Utilikilts Knee High Celtic Weave Socks - $10.00
deer skin sporran
Household Items
Union Jack - $8.09
Amazing Pasta Maker [click me] - $39.95
Fouled Anchor lapel pin
Walther PPK
Britain and Ireland Map - $10.99
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East Map - $10.99
Roman Mainz Gladius - $144
The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $3995.00
Pawleys Island Tri-Beam Hammock Stand - $140.00
Pawleys Island Beach Quilted Hammock - $199.99 (Amazon price $184.36)
Discipline poster - $19.95
book case
Books
Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99
Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99
New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy has Damaged America by Burton Fulsom, Jr. - $27.00 (Amazon price $17.82)
Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left,From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg - $27.95 (Amazon price $16.77)
Gitmo Cookbook NEW - $10.95
Entertainment
Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)
Reno 911! - Season 2 - $19.99 (Amazon price $9.99)
Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)
Gladiator Extended Edition - $35.98 (Amazon price $22.99)
Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier - $19.99 (Amazon price $13.99
Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98
Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98
Hootie & the Blowfish - The Best of 1993 Through 2003 - $11.98 (Amazon price $8.97)
Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95
Field Gear
Clothing
Household Items
Books
Entertainment
Fly Report: 26th May 2009
Good morning. Give me a word, give me a sign, show me where to look, tell me what will I find.
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 71° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8277.32. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 215
Stranger, stranger in a strange land. He looked at me like I was the one who should run.
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 71° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8277.32. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 215
Stranger, stranger in a strange land. He looked at me like I was the one who should run.
25 May 2009
Fly Report: 25th May 2009
Good morning. In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team.
It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 64° Fahrenheit with light rain.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8277.32. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 214
Stranger, stranger in a strange land. He looked at me like I was the one who should run.
It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 64° Fahrenheit with light rain.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8277.32. The exchange rate is $1.59 for £1, or £0.63 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 214
Stranger, stranger in a strange land. He looked at me like I was the one who should run.
22 May 2009
AMF: Yomping Rocks
It's Friday! Booyeah! Let's get started with some videos: the latest offerings from NewsBusted, and Steven Crowder. They're both likely to terrify Father Time.
Here are a few things from yesterday.
US Special Operations Command's Flickr photostream, plus a couple of awesome pictures: 1, 2
Armed Residents Fight Off Taliban (AP, BBC)
Report: Kim Jong Il Grooming Middle Son as Successor (AP)
President Obama appoints Chicago buddy to cushy London ambassadorship (Guardian)
Map reading tips for a world without GPS (Guardian) - If you need a laugh, this is your treat for today, especially if your name is Father Time.
Silvio Berlusconi's teenage girlfriend (Times) - She's cute!
Taleban are using weapons 'supplied by US' (Times) - That is, stolen from or given by Afghan security forces.
Obama approves U.S.-UAE nuclear deal (Mathaba) - Now if he'd only approve more nuclear stations for the States, we'd be in business.
Students recreate Falklands yomp (BBC) - An old feature from 2007, still worth the read. More on that in a second.
Welsh regiment's goat mascot retires (AP) - Another fun story, this one about the retiring goat mascot of the Royal Welsh Regiment. This begs the question: what do Welshmen in garrison need with a goat? Hmmmmm?
That last article has a great line in it:
For those who don't know, the Welsh are sort of the United Kingdom's answer to the Deep South, or Californians - a group that doesn't really fit in, and whom nobody else really understands. The comedy potential of that story is just outstanding.
Today's satellite map is the Monastery of St. Moses the Abyssinian (دير مار موسى الحبشي), eighty miles outside Damascus, Syria. The monastery is featured in this month's issue of National Geographic... Which, oddly enough, inspired a very graphic dream last night. Odd. More about the monastery can be found at the Wiki entry.
So, a few quick things from yesterday.
I finally yomped. I didn't measure distance, I just walked around the compound at work for about thirty-five minutes, in boots with an ALICE pack and a little over two gallons of water, for a total of about twenty pounds, while listening to Sura 47 of the Quran. A good start.
Last night, I read the first two chapters of Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
This week, I've been faithful about doing Bible readings and Book of Common Prayer readings before and after I sleep, as well as fifty Arabic flash cards. In addition to the prayers in the Book of Common Prayer, I've started reading a short section of the Anglican catechism each night.
I'll spend most of this weekend writing. Aside from owing my editors for my parallel writing endeavour an article, I'm going to enter the Ranger Up Writing Competition.
So... Any plans for the long weekend? If you're doing anything excellent, talk about it in the comments section. Otherwise, have a fantastic day, and a fantastic weekend, and check back Monday or Tuesday, the latter being the day when Mighty Mo might sober up.
Here are a few things from yesterday.
That last article has a great line in it:
The tradition dates to the U.S. Revolutionary War when a wild goat wandered onto a battlefield and ended up leading the regimental colors at the end of a battle. To this day, the regimental goat marches in front of the battalion in ceremonies.
For those who don't know, the Welsh are sort of the United Kingdom's answer to the Deep South, or Californians - a group that doesn't really fit in, and whom nobody else really understands. The comedy potential of that story is just outstanding.
Today's satellite map is the Monastery of St. Moses the Abyssinian (دير مار موسى الحبشي), eighty miles outside Damascus, Syria. The monastery is featured in this month's issue of National Geographic... Which, oddly enough, inspired a very graphic dream last night. Odd. More about the monastery can be found at the Wiki entry.
So, a few quick things from yesterday.
So... Any plans for the long weekend? If you're doing anything excellent, talk about it in the comments section. Otherwise, have a fantastic day, and a fantastic weekend, and check back Monday or Tuesday, the latter being the day when Mighty Mo might sober up.
Fly Report: 22nd May 2009
Good morning. The Fly's mobile phone is not Twitter. If you want to tweet, tweet to Twitter, don't tweet to the Fly.
It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 70° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8292.13 - Father Time is right, The One isn't leaving the stock market alone at all! The exchange rate is $1.58 for £1, or £0.63 for $1 - go, O, go!
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is NEW, and the Fly totally stood on that black thing in September of 2004!
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 211
Is this rock and roll?
It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 70° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8292.13 - Father Time is right, The One isn't leaving the stock market alone at all! The exchange rate is $1.58 for £1, or £0.63 for $1 - go, O, go!
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is NEW, and the Fly totally stood on that black thing in September of 2004!
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 40. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 211
Is this rock and roll?
21 May 2009
Time Machine: Destroyed
I didn't yomp yesterday, either. Ehhhh. I blame corporate bogsats that disrupted with my schedule. Anyway, here are some stories from yesterday.
GPS System Could Fail Next Year, Report Warns (Fox)
Parents Fuming as Texas Schools Let Gideons Provide Bibles to Students (Fox) - I remember in both high school and college, when the Gideons stood on the sidewalks and handed out New Testaments. Students could turn them down. The Gideons are a very passive group, and the fact that people are making a big deal out of this astonishes me.
For my big sister, Mighty Mo: Bacteria in Air So Numerous They Form Clouds
Following up on this post from last week: Lebanon: 2 Suspected Spies Cross Border, Flee to Israel (AP)
Somali Islamist thugs, chopping "thieves'" hands off (AP)
Missile shield 'won't protect Europe from Iran' - Sure it won't. Too bad tests of the system keep getting more and more accurate. Keep tryin', hippies!
FDR Got us Out of the Depression? Hardly.
I didn't even read this article, I'm just citing it to point out that ADM Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, is wearing dress khakis - a uniform that basically hasn't been used in like, two or three decades. That's badass.
Following up on yesterday's post: US denies Iran accusation on Iraqi Kurds (AFP)
Guardians Council Approves 4 for Presidential Vote (Fars) - Worth checking out, these are the three people (plus Ahmedinejad) who are running against Ahmedinejad in the upcoming Iranian election.
Okay, so two brief rants about the news, then another couple of items, and I'm done.
First, all of the militant atheist whack jobs are screaming about a so-called "missing link." Their claim? That the "missing link" (as if there's only one) is a lemurish creature with opposable thumbs and fingernails, not claws. Sorry, I'm not quite convinced that this qualifies as a "missing link". I didn't read anything about the scientists who analyzed this thing actually extracting and analyzing DNA from this thing, but I get the impression that humans are much more closely related to chimpanzees, or even gorillas, than to this lemur thing. I mean, seriously, even opossums have opposable thumbs. I'm no militant creationist or anything - to be honest, I think the obsession with human origins is like one giant game of pseudo-scientific, quasi-religious masturbation. My point is, if they're going to claim a "missing link", they're going to have to do better than this.
I also want to comment briefly on this completely asinine story about former SecDef Rumsfeld and Bible quotes on the cover sheets of dossiers and reports to President Bush during the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq (Rumsfeld 'Bible texts' criticised, BBC). Our current President has claimed, erroneously in my opinion, that America "isn't a Christian nation". I've been told for years by various academics and pseudo-academics that the Bible is nothing more than an important piece of world literature. So, even though I believe that many in the Department of Defense would use citations from the Bible for religious reasons, isn't it reasonable to write this off as a use of ancient literature in the Western tradition? No, because dirty hippies are too interested in painting President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, and the rest of their team as evil and stupid.
The stock market's stagnant, things still aren't improving with the American economy, the exchange rate is sliding out of our favor, and oil is increasing in price. Way to go, Big O!
Yesterday, I finished reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Very interesting - the last book I'd read from that general era was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Knowing what we know now, I usually find it interesting to read books from other eras, particularly forward-looking books, to see how right or wrong the authors were. Given the pro-socialist sort of message in The Time Machine, I'm going to have to say that Jules Verne was a better forward-thinker with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea than H.G. Wells was with The Time Machine. Still, interesting.
Today's satellite image is Mocha, Yemen, where coffee beans allegedly originated. Suck it, Colombia!
Okay, I've ranted enough for a while. Take it easy, ladies and gentlemen.
Okay, so two brief rants about the news, then another couple of items, and I'm done.
First, all of the militant atheist whack jobs are screaming about a so-called "missing link." Their claim? That the "missing link" (as if there's only one) is a lemurish creature with opposable thumbs and fingernails, not claws. Sorry, I'm not quite convinced that this qualifies as a "missing link". I didn't read anything about the scientists who analyzed this thing actually extracting and analyzing DNA from this thing, but I get the impression that humans are much more closely related to chimpanzees, or even gorillas, than to this lemur thing. I mean, seriously, even opossums have opposable thumbs. I'm no militant creationist or anything - to be honest, I think the obsession with human origins is like one giant game of pseudo-scientific, quasi-religious masturbation. My point is, if they're going to claim a "missing link", they're going to have to do better than this.
I also want to comment briefly on this completely asinine story about former SecDef Rumsfeld and Bible quotes on the cover sheets of dossiers and reports to President Bush during the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq (Rumsfeld 'Bible texts' criticised, BBC). Our current President has claimed, erroneously in my opinion, that America "isn't a Christian nation". I've been told for years by various academics and pseudo-academics that the Bible is nothing more than an important piece of world literature. So, even though I believe that many in the Department of Defense would use citations from the Bible for religious reasons, isn't it reasonable to write this off as a use of ancient literature in the Western tradition? No, because dirty hippies are too interested in painting President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, and the rest of their team as evil and stupid.
The stock market's stagnant, things still aren't improving with the American economy, the exchange rate is sliding out of our favor, and oil is increasing in price. Way to go, Big O!
Yesterday, I finished reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Very interesting - the last book I'd read from that general era was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Knowing what we know now, I usually find it interesting to read books from other eras, particularly forward-looking books, to see how right or wrong the authors were. Given the pro-socialist sort of message in The Time Machine, I'm going to have to say that Jules Verne was a better forward-thinker with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea than H.G. Wells was with The Time Machine. Still, interesting.
Today's satellite image is Mocha, Yemen, where coffee beans allegedly originated. Suck it, Colombia!
Okay, I've ranted enough for a while. Take it easy, ladies and gentlemen.
Fly Report: 21st May 2009
Good morning. Saith Ro the Great: "I'm not trying to spend money on being pregnant."
It's 13° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 72° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8422.04. The exchange rate is $1.57 for £1, or £0.64 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 38 through 39. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 210
I know these fast cars will do me no good.
It's 13° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 72° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $60.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8422.04. The exchange rate is $1.57 for £1, or £0.64 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is excellent. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 38 through 39. The Fly is currently reading Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Consecutive days without CCG: 210
I know these fast cars will do me no good.
20 May 2009
Those Wacky Somalis
I wasn't as busy last night as I thought I was going to be. Here are a few stories from yesterday... After the Slap Chop "Rap Chop" Remix.
Wasn't that fantastic? Okay, now, the news.
For Father Time: Happiness Is... Being Old, Male, and Republican; I guess two out of three ain't bad, huh?
UPI: Electronic Warfare Alert
Fars: Iran accuses US of supporting Kurdish terrorists; yeah, I totally believe that, really I do. Keep trying, Iran.
Wired: CIA chief: Drones only game in town for stopping al Qaeda
Dolls to Avoid - A funny article about types of women that men should avoid at all costs.
From Somalia: Islamic militants seize Somali city (CNN), Somali anti-pirate coastguard bid (BBC), Ethiopia troops 'back in Somalia' (BBC)
* * *
So, a little bit of explanation on the Somalia thing. Ethiopia's not the most fantastic country in the world, but as far as the Horn of Africa region goes, there are a lot worse - Somalia, for example. A couple of years ago, Somalia got so bad, and was being nominally ruled by a coalition of Islamist warlords (thugs) called the Islamic Courts Union, who kept threatening to invade Ethiopia. Eventually, things got bad enough that an American-backed invasion force from Ethiopia stormed into Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union from power. Ethiopian troops occupied portions of Somalia for a while, but they weren't popular with the Somalis to begin with, and the Ethiopian troops weren't as, shall we say, cordial, with the Somalis as Coalition troops have been with the Afghans and Iraqis.
Now, President Bush has been criticized for ousting the closest thing that Somalia has had to a functional government (as if an al Qaeda-linked coalition of Taliban-style thugs is a "functional government"), and there have been claims (with some basis in reality) that piracy (which is perpetrated by a rival group known as al Shabaab) was stifled by the Islamic Courts Union. Personally, I think a strong case can be made that the financial and security disaster of having another pre-war-Afghanistan-style Islamist theocracy rise up in the Horn of Africa would have far outweighed the current threat of piracy; however, that's full disclosure, and I'll let you make your own call.
So, where am I going with this? The Islamic Courts Union is apparently trying to retake control in Somalia, they've captured some territory already, the Ethiopians have sent troops back into the country to counter them, and the legitimate government is simultaneously calling out for help to form a pirate-fighting coast guard force. If I were Chuck Bartowski's brother-in-law, I'd have to say that things in Somalia are not awesome.
* * *
Okay, so, I have things to do, so that's it for today. I didn't wind up having time to do that yomp yesterday morning, but I will this morning due to differences in my schedule - yesterday was yomp-hostile from the get-go. Have a great day, folks!
Wasn't that fantastic? Okay, now, the news.
So, a little bit of explanation on the Somalia thing. Ethiopia's not the most fantastic country in the world, but as far as the Horn of Africa region goes, there are a lot worse - Somalia, for example. A couple of years ago, Somalia got so bad, and was being nominally ruled by a coalition of Islamist warlords (thugs) called the Islamic Courts Union, who kept threatening to invade Ethiopia. Eventually, things got bad enough that an American-backed invasion force from Ethiopia stormed into Somalia and ousted the Islamic Courts Union from power. Ethiopian troops occupied portions of Somalia for a while, but they weren't popular with the Somalis to begin with, and the Ethiopian troops weren't as, shall we say, cordial, with the Somalis as Coalition troops have been with the Afghans and Iraqis.
Now, President Bush has been criticized for ousting the closest thing that Somalia has had to a functional government (as if an al Qaeda-linked coalition of Taliban-style thugs is a "functional government"), and there have been claims (with some basis in reality) that piracy (which is perpetrated by a rival group known as al Shabaab) was stifled by the Islamic Courts Union. Personally, I think a strong case can be made that the financial and security disaster of having another pre-war-Afghanistan-style Islamist theocracy rise up in the Horn of Africa would have far outweighed the current threat of piracy; however, that's full disclosure, and I'll let you make your own call.
So, where am I going with this? The Islamic Courts Union is apparently trying to retake control in Somalia, they've captured some territory already, the Ethiopians have sent troops back into the country to counter them, and the legitimate government is simultaneously calling out for help to form a pirate-fighting coast guard force. If I were Chuck Bartowski's brother-in-law, I'd have to say that things in Somalia are not awesome.
Okay, so, I have things to do, so that's it for today. I didn't wind up having time to do that yomp yesterday morning, but I will this morning due to differences in my schedule - yesterday was yomp-hostile from the get-go. Have a great day, folks!
Fly Report: 20th May 2009
Good morning. I like the way that our arguments stop when we fall asleep, and the way that your body feels when it's wrapped around me. And I'd like it if you made it to mine by Christmas Eve, so you can hold me; and we'll watch Christmas TV.
It's 14° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with morning rain.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8474.85. The exchange rate is $1.55 for £1, or £0.65 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is most triumphant. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 36 through 37. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 209
The Spirit moves in mysterious ways.
It's 14° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with morning rain.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8474.85. The exchange rate is $1.55 for £1, or £0.65 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is most triumphant. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 36 through 37. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 209
The Spirit moves in mysterious ways.
19 May 2009
Beer Run: May 2009
Let's start with today's video: Spricket24's 2012: The End of the World.
I'm not sure I agree with her claims of the level of sophistication of the Mayans, but she's entertaining and funny as always. Here are a few pieces of news from the last few days.
I don't know about American news outlets, but one of last week's big stories in the UK was a US Army soldier who was photographed fighting the Taliban in pink boxer shorts. (Guardian, Times)
Despite recent claims by Russia in April that operations in Chechnya had concluded, they keep suffering attacks, to include a suicide blast last week that killed three Russian security personnel.
There was a great picture last week of the Space Shuttle Atlantis silhoutted on the sun.
The Guardian has a pictorial of Michaelangelo's painting of The Torment of Saint Anthony - worth checking out, particularly if you like art. Mighty Mo, I'm looking at you.
The British are struggling to resupply their troops in Afghanistan, and the US Army has suffered its oldest fatality in Iraq. Everyone should read that article about the oldest fatality - the guy was a damned hero stretching all the way back to his two tours in Vietnam(!).
Cracked: Don't Listen to Jenny McCarthy
Michael Totten: Brace for a Hezbollah Victory
I hate spending money. Yesterday I spent money to send a couple of gifts back to the West Coast, pay a couple of bills, and send a letter to the Sub-Matriarch (luckily, that last one only required a stamp). Then, I went grocery shopping and, wouldn't you know it, it was tme to buy beer. That's a rather expensive endeavour right there, but it will last me a while. So, I've decided to add my periodic beer purchases, tied to my special system (described previously), as a new feature on the blog. So, at the moment, I have:
Honey Moon (by the Blue Moon Brewing Company)
Widmer Hefeweizen (by Widmer Brothers Brewery)
Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier (by Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Company
Landshark Lager (by Margaritaville Brewing Company) (Apparently I'm the only one who's actually enjoyed this one.)
Harp Lager (by Guinness/Diageo Ireland)
Guinness Stout (by Guinness/Diageo Ireland)
As I probably mentioned in that previous post (the one where I discussed my beer method), I always get a sixer of Guinness Stout, and I have three or four regulars that I always get, rotating between Widmer Hef, Harp Lager, Killian's Irish Red, and maybe a couple others. I usually get one type or another from Sam Adams, as their beers are both delicious and varied - when I do this every six or eight weeks, I can always get a sixer of something from Sam Adams, and I can go three or four times without repeating the same type of beer, and they'll all be good. From there, I'm usually left with one, maybe two open spots out of six, and I tend to experiment, often based upon recommendations from friends. It's turned out to be a good system for me: it combines my love of beer with my anal retentiveness. If Mighty Mo did a sort of "Mo Report" every day, that last line would be her random quote for tomorrow.
Anyway, I desperately need to get going for my first yomp in months, so that's it for today. Tonight may wind up being fully loaded, so don't be surprised if I don't have a chance to write anything other than a Fly Report until Thursday. Have a fantastic day, folks.
I'm not sure I agree with her claims of the level of sophistication of the Mayans, but she's entertaining and funny as always. Here are a few pieces of news from the last few days.
I hate spending money. Yesterday I spent money to send a couple of gifts back to the West Coast, pay a couple of bills, and send a letter to the Sub-Matriarch (luckily, that last one only required a stamp). Then, I went grocery shopping and, wouldn't you know it, it was tme to buy beer. That's a rather expensive endeavour right there, but it will last me a while. So, I've decided to add my periodic beer purchases, tied to my special system (described previously), as a new feature on the blog. So, at the moment, I have:
As I probably mentioned in that previous post (the one where I discussed my beer method), I always get a sixer of Guinness Stout, and I have three or four regulars that I always get, rotating between Widmer Hef, Harp Lager, Killian's Irish Red, and maybe a couple others. I usually get one type or another from Sam Adams, as their beers are both delicious and varied - when I do this every six or eight weeks, I can always get a sixer of something from Sam Adams, and I can go three or four times without repeating the same type of beer, and they'll all be good. From there, I'm usually left with one, maybe two open spots out of six, and I tend to experiment, often based upon recommendations from friends. It's turned out to be a good system for me: it combines my love of beer with my anal retentiveness. If Mighty Mo did a sort of "Mo Report" every day, that last line would be her random quote for tomorrow.
Anyway, I desperately need to get going for my first yomp in months, so that's it for today. Tonight may wind up being fully loaded, so don't be surprised if I don't have a chance to write anything other than a Fly Report until Thursday. Have a fantastic day, folks.
Fly Report: 19th May 2009
Good morning. And in the middle of the night, just call if you wanna talk, 'cause you know that I wanna talk too.
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 85° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.27 - inching up, and nobody's noticing; all hail The One. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8504.08. The exchange rate is $1.53 for £1, or £0.65 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 34 through 35. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 208
What do you want?
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 85° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $59.27 - inching up, and nobody's noticing; all hail The One. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8504.08. The exchange rate is $1.53 for £1, or £0.65 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 34 through 35. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 208
What do you want?
18 May 2009
Wherein the Fly Designs a New Website
On Saturday and Sunday, I noted a number of projects I intend to work on in the near future. Over the years, I've learned that I'm generally successful if I focus on one project at a time. If I'm working on a single, large project, I do best when I split it up into smaller tasks. Given that I also tend to be a glutton for punishment, I've decided that the next project that I focus on should be the project that's most directly tied to that malfunctioning external hard drive of mine: a new webpage and archive. It also has the benefit of being one of the cheaper projects on the list, as it requires nothing but current equipment (minus the hard drive - I'm substituting the four gigabyte flash drive that the project started on in the first place, with doubts that the project will come anywhere close to even two gigabytes in size). The majority of the project involves me downloading files, and screwing around with HTML to make the menus.
The final product will be divided into four sections: About [Fly], Collected Writings, Interests, and my infamous Literature Archive. I'm not sure what the final work sequence will be, but I've decided to start on the About [Fly] section. So far, I've nearly completed two pieces of that. The planned sections of About [Fly] are as follows:
Biography
Resume`
Reading List
Links
Stuff Fly Wants
So far, and thanks to a friend who I sent the original SFW file to before the hard drive went tango uniform (who was able to then send it back), I've completed the SFW and Links sections. All I need to complete with respect to those two is to reconcile the SFW document with last month's list to make sure I'm not missing anything. The next page I'll work on is reconstituting the original index page that will point to all of the other sections.
The next section will be my writings, most of which will be compiling of old writings (articles, research papers) and constructing the index pages. This one could wind up being the last element of the project that I work on, as it could require me to get back into the hard drive of my old computer if the external doesn't come back to life at some point. Eventually, I plan to move this blog to the new website, possibly to include archives of the last four and a half years. I'm not sure how that's going to work, either. What follows are the sections I'm planning.
Blog
Old Articles
Research Papers
Tactical Decision Games
I also plan to put together a number of pages with links and writing regarding a number of my personal interests. This is pretty self-explanatory, and will include the following sections, if not more.
Anglicanism/Faith, Religion, and Philosophy
Arabic
Embalming
Geography/Satellite Imagery
Guns
History
Network Security
Photography
Shipping Container Housing
Shortwave Radio
U2
As I get some of those written, sections of links will come out of that aforementioned Links page. I may have to compose these pages piecemeal as I have the time, but most of them shouldn't be that big of a hassle - network security, for example, will be mostly links.
For those of you who don't know, what started in my third year at university as a project to give archived ancient literature to friends who were graduating from high school and college grew to become an impressive archive of ancient and miscellaneous literature, that I actually made some money on when selling the CDs. I eventually tied it all together using a simple HTML menu system. It worked, but for the last several years I've thought that I could not only improve it, but add to it. I'll spare you all a detailed list of the documents that I plan to include, but I won't spare you a short list.
American History - brand new, haven't started, won't be extensive but it'll get the highlights (Constitution, Declaration, Federalist Papers)
Classics - expansion of the original project with a few new authors
Military Topics - brand new, covering selected field manuals, military classics, FMSO products, military laws and treaties, and OpFor literature
Religious History - brand new, will include documents from Christian, pseudo-Christian, Judaic, and Islamic history
World History/Literature - nearly brand new, this will include European, Middle Eastern, and a number of other miscellaneous documents
I'll also have another webpage in that section in which people will find links to various free literature websites. That's a legacy from my old website, as well as the archive CD.
So, for the time being, this will be my primary project. Assuming that all things go as planned tomorrow (which they almost never do), I may have a secondary project starting tomorrow. Also, I'm going to be continuing my Arabic studies. I know what you're asking yourself, folks: "Didn't you just say that you're best when you only do one thing at a time?" Well, with the exception of possibly combining that second project with the Arabic, I'll only be focusing on one of these at any given moment, but the main focus will be the website and not the other bits.
So... More on this as it develops. In the mean time, have a great day, and check back this week for updates.
The final product will be divided into four sections: About [Fly], Collected Writings, Interests, and my infamous Literature Archive. I'm not sure what the final work sequence will be, but I've decided to start on the About [Fly] section. So far, I've nearly completed two pieces of that. The planned sections of About [Fly] are as follows:
So far, and thanks to a friend who I sent the original SFW file to before the hard drive went tango uniform (who was able to then send it back), I've completed the SFW and Links sections. All I need to complete with respect to those two is to reconcile the SFW document with last month's list to make sure I'm not missing anything. The next page I'll work on is reconstituting the original index page that will point to all of the other sections.
The next section will be my writings, most of which will be compiling of old writings (articles, research papers) and constructing the index pages. This one could wind up being the last element of the project that I work on, as it could require me to get back into the hard drive of my old computer if the external doesn't come back to life at some point. Eventually, I plan to move this blog to the new website, possibly to include archives of the last four and a half years. I'm not sure how that's going to work, either. What follows are the sections I'm planning.
I also plan to put together a number of pages with links and writing regarding a number of my personal interests. This is pretty self-explanatory, and will include the following sections, if not more.
As I get some of those written, sections of links will come out of that aforementioned Links page. I may have to compose these pages piecemeal as I have the time, but most of them shouldn't be that big of a hassle - network security, for example, will be mostly links.
For those of you who don't know, what started in my third year at university as a project to give archived ancient literature to friends who were graduating from high school and college grew to become an impressive archive of ancient and miscellaneous literature, that I actually made some money on when selling the CDs. I eventually tied it all together using a simple HTML menu system. It worked, but for the last several years I've thought that I could not only improve it, but add to it. I'll spare you all a detailed list of the documents that I plan to include, but I won't spare you a short list.
I'll also have another webpage in that section in which people will find links to various free literature websites. That's a legacy from my old website, as well as the archive CD.
So, for the time being, this will be my primary project. Assuming that all things go as planned tomorrow (which they almost never do), I may have a secondary project starting tomorrow. Also, I'm going to be continuing my Arabic studies. I know what you're asking yourself, folks: "Didn't you just say that you're best when you only do one thing at a time?" Well, with the exception of possibly combining that second project with the Arabic, I'll only be focusing on one of these at any given moment, but the main focus will be the website and not the other bits.
So... More on this as it develops. In the mean time, have a great day, and check back this week for updates.
Fly Report: 18th May 2009
Good morning. It's okay that I pray that you will miss your flight, and have to stay with me another night.
It's 10° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 86° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $56.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8268.64. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is fantastic, and it's near Orkney! The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 28 through 30. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 207
I was down the hold, just killin' time.
It's 10° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 86° Fahrenheit with sunshine.
A barrel of oil is trading at $56.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8268.64. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is fantastic, and it's near Orkney! The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 28 through 30. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 207
I was down the hold, just killin' time.
17 May 2009
Partial Success Saturday
In my last post, I expressed my excitement at the prospect of improving my horrible week by being exceptionally productive on Saturday. I listed a number of projects I've been hoping to work on lately. I had a realistic expectation that I might accomplish some of the following.
record Fly Report metrics into a spreadsheet
record fuel card metrics (I keep all of the statistics on fueling my truck on note cards) into a spreadsheet
prepare gifts and some donations for mailing
revise my standard budget
clean out my closet and put up some posters in the living room
design my new website and archive
synchronize my clocks and watches
install a home weather station
So, what did I actually accomplish?
1) I unwrapped the home weather station; it requires nails for installation of the outdoor device, so I'll worry about that at a later date - maybe this week if I can find a hardware store.
2) I consolidated some items to send to various places far afield, but I didn't do anything to prepare them.
3) I worked on one of the many, many pages that will eventually make up my new webpage and archive. I'd say that the consolidation of my blog sidebar links, and my links and history links pages from my old webpage, is probably about eighty percent complete. The next step is reconstituting the HTML that's (temporarily?) locked onto my external hard drive. I didn't have the patience to handle reconstituting that HTML today, so I'll worry about it later.
4) Having eaten nothing but Little Debbie snack cakes, a couple of granola bars, and a banana in the preceding thirty-six hours, I cooked. I made Lamburger Helper - Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells using ground lamb instead of ground beef. It was friggin' delicious. I also ran the dishwasher and did some other dishes, plus packaged up chicken thighs into plastic bags for use as quick grab defrostable dinner packets to throw on the countertop grill this week.
5) I chatted with Themis, Goddess of Justice.
6) As I write this, I'm on my second beer. First was a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, second is a Widmer Hefeweizen.
Tomorrow is a new day, and I may be able to finish a few things up tomorrow as well. If I do, I'll make note of them, though it might not be until Monday's post, if there's a Monday post at all. On the plus side, Saturday has been marginally better than the rest of the week was.
So, what did I actually accomplish?
1) I unwrapped the home weather station; it requires nails for installation of the outdoor device, so I'll worry about that at a later date - maybe this week if I can find a hardware store.
2) I consolidated some items to send to various places far afield, but I didn't do anything to prepare them.
3) I worked on one of the many, many pages that will eventually make up my new webpage and archive. I'd say that the consolidation of my blog sidebar links, and my links and history links pages from my old webpage, is probably about eighty percent complete. The next step is reconstituting the HTML that's (temporarily?) locked onto my external hard drive. I didn't have the patience to handle reconstituting that HTML today, so I'll worry about it later.
4) Having eaten nothing but Little Debbie snack cakes, a couple of granola bars, and a banana in the preceding thirty-six hours, I cooked. I made Lamburger Helper - Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells using ground lamb instead of ground beef. It was friggin' delicious. I also ran the dishwasher and did some other dishes, plus packaged up chicken thighs into plastic bags for use as quick grab defrostable dinner packets to throw on the countertop grill this week.
5) I chatted with Themis, Goddess of Justice.
6) As I write this, I'm on my second beer. First was a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, second is a Widmer Hefeweizen.
Tomorrow is a new day, and I may be able to finish a few things up tomorrow as well. If I do, I'll make note of them, though it might not be until Monday's post, if there's a Monday post at all. On the plus side, Saturday has been marginally better than the rest of the week was.
16 May 2009
Great Success Saturday
Okay. Okay. Last week was horrible. Really, really horrible. I'm going to work on remediating that today (Saturday) by being exceptionally productive. So, as I've mentioned, and tried to post about, I have a number of projects that I've either started working on, or have intended to start working on. They are as follows.
record Fly Report metrics into a spreadsheet
record fuel card metrics (I keep all of the statistics on fueling my truck on note cards) into a spreadsheet
send gifts and a few donations in the mail
finish designing my future citadel (AKA Operation Casbah (قصبة))
revise my standard budget - I wound up doing a bit of this the other night in conjunction with the truck repair payments
clean out my closet/clean my flat/put up some posters
design my new website and archive
take the Blackwater Xe Bushmaster Carbine Armorer's course - that one may take a while now that I'm half-destitute
finish making Arabic flash cards (I could stand to make a few more, including a couple of phrase cards.)
purchase a bunch of stuff - most of which will have to wait now
synchronize my clocks and watches
install a home weather station
complete my computer project - maybe on hold while I get my external hard drive working again
build a bunch of model kits
So, I'm going to see how many of these projects I can get tackled today - hopefully three or four, maybe more, in the morning and early afternoon. After that, I want to start on rebuilding that webpage and archive that's currently trapped on the external hard drive. Lacking the hard drive, I'll have to do it using a flash drive, where most of the files were originally stored.
I also continue - slowly - to make Van Diemen's Station into a home away from home. Last weekend, I made the following purchases:
a Persianesque area rug ($59.98, Pier 1)
two throw pillows for my living room chairs ($22.95, $14.88, Pier 1)
three big cushions for the floor ($18.68, $29.95, $18.68, Pier 1) - in case you couldn't tell, I'm going for a Middle Eastern theme
a papasan footstool and cushion to allow me to put the other one back with the chair it matches ($23.98, $22.95, Pier 1)
a Crock Pot ($26.38, Target)
When all was said and done, I spent $238.82. If today is as productive as I intend it to be, I'll get some posters up, and then I'll finally be able to take some pictures of this joint.
So, I'm going to see how many of these projects I can get tackled today - hopefully three or four, maybe more, in the morning and early afternoon. After that, I want to start on rebuilding that webpage and archive that's currently trapped on the external hard drive. Lacking the hard drive, I'll have to do it using a flash drive, where most of the files were originally stored.
I also continue - slowly - to make Van Diemen's Station into a home away from home. Last weekend, I made the following purchases:
When all was said and done, I spent $238.82. If today is as productive as I intend it to be, I'll get some posters up, and then I'll finally be able to take some pictures of this joint.
15 May 2009
AMF: This Week Sucked, Plus U-Boats!
I've had such a horrible week. Really. This week's outrages:
spent two grand fixing my truck
got a graduation announcement from an ex-girlfriend who should have left well enough alone
apparently installed some drivers that preclude my external hard drive from working
last night was completely wasted in a meeting, during which my presence was completely extraneous
I wasn't going to bother with an AMF post at all, but somebody's posted some episodes of Frasier online that haven't been yanked yet, so I'm watching one. So, I guess I'll put something together. Maybe it will be therapeutic.
Today's satellite picture, which was supposed to be yesterday's satellite picture, is the old U-boat pen at La Rochelle. This site was featured in Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Ark. There's a picture of it here, and more information about La Rochelle can be found here. When I was in high school and thought that I was destined to be a submarine officer in the Navy, I had a fascination with World War II US Navy submarines and U-boats. One of my favorite websites at the time was Uboat.net, and I read a book called Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner. One of the most interesting stories on that website is about the Laconia Incident, in which a U-boat that was attempting to rescue some victims of a ship sinking was attacked by Allied forces, and leading to an order by the German Kriegsmarine commander that U-boats would no longer make rescues. Very interesting stuff.
Ehhhh. I guess I don't want to overdo it, so I'll leave you folks with a Friday video: "Got Your Number" by Barats and Bereta.
Thank God it's the weekend.
I wasn't going to bother with an AMF post at all, but somebody's posted some episodes of Frasier online that haven't been yanked yet, so I'm watching one. So, I guess I'll put something together. Maybe it will be therapeutic.
Today's satellite picture, which was supposed to be yesterday's satellite picture, is the old U-boat pen at La Rochelle. This site was featured in Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Ark. There's a picture of it here, and more information about La Rochelle can be found here. When I was in high school and thought that I was destined to be a submarine officer in the Navy, I had a fascination with World War II US Navy submarines and U-boats. One of my favorite websites at the time was Uboat.net, and I read a book called Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner. One of the most interesting stories on that website is about the Laconia Incident, in which a U-boat that was attempting to rescue some victims of a ship sinking was attacked by Allied forces, and leading to an order by the German Kriegsmarine commander that U-boats would no longer make rescues. Very interesting stuff.
Ehhhh. I guess I don't want to overdo it, so I'll leave you folks with a Friday video: "Got Your Number" by Barats and Bereta.
Thank God it's the weekend.
Fly Report: 15th May 2009
Good morning. The Fly wanted this week to be over on Monday, and it just keeps getting worse.
It's 11° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 60° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8331.32. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 25 through 27. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 205
It's a bitter pill I swallow here.
It's 11° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 60° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8331.32. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 25 through 27. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 205
It's a bitter pill I swallow here.
14 May 2009
Problems with Mules
Okay, so I had nothing social or logistical to do... Well, nothing social and very little logistical to do last night, so I had intended to catch up on a few things that I've been meaning to write about lately. First, the news.
From the AP: Chicago Family's 'Buy Black' Experiment Becoming a Nationwide Movement. Okay, wasn't the whole point of electing the first black POTUS supposed to be that race didn't matter anymore? If some white guy organized a "Buy White" campaign, they'd probably be murdered, arrested, and lampooned simultaneously. Seriously.
Al Qaeda terrorist Ali al Fakhiri, AKA Ibn Sheikh al Libi, has reportedly committed suicide in a Libyan prison, and hippies are whining about it. They allege that he was tortured by American forces so that he would provide bogus intel in order to justify the Iraq invasion. Yeah, okay. People should study these things before they make outlandish claims. (CNN, Guardian) You'll excuse me if I don't put much stock in the testimony of another guy who was detained during OEF.
Things are looking pretty bad in Pakistan. Although the Pakistani government appears to be fighting off the Taliban, this is the same government that's tried to make deals with the Taliban in the past; and elements of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence service (ISI) have even been rumored over the last several years, and accused by Hamid Karzai himself, of funding the Taliban in an effort to keep Afghanistan from becoming a stable rival - which would put the failing state of Pakistan between a stable Afghanistan and a stable India. The situation in Pakistan is inexorably tied to that of Afghanistan, as much of both countries is actually an ethnic nation that should be properly referred to as "Pashtunistan". There are several interesting links about the situation in Pakistan from yesterday's news.
Taliban: All local leaders [in Northwest Pakistan] must quit (CNN)
Interactive Pakistan Conflict Map (BBC)
Pakistan 'most dangerous country in the world': [Canadian Defense Minister] MacKay (AFP)
Closer to American operations in Afghanistan, it looks as if the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base that Uzbekistan ousted the United States from in '04 may be reopening soon thanks to some diplomatic strategery by our South Korean allies. This follows the recent eviction notice that American forces unexpectedly received from Kyrgyzstan regarding the Manas Air Base.
I haven't followed the arrested Iranian-American journalist's story on the blog, but a couple of articles jumped out at me yesterday: news outlets are claiming that she was arrested because she was found to be in possession of a sensitive Iranian government document about the Iraq War (Times, Fars). Very interesting.
Today's cool item of the day is the Scaled Composites Proteus aircraft, which is currently owned and operated by Northrop Grumman in conjunction with NASA and other government entities (Wiki entry). I just think it's really cool looking, and apparently they've done some cool stuff with it, so check it out. Since I've run out of time to compose this post, I'll try to pick the rest up for AMF tomorrow, time permitting. There's no satellite picture to close things out today, but your video clip of the day is one of the opening scenes from Per un Pugno di Dollari - A Fistful of Dollars.
Have a fantastic day, folks.
From the AP: Chicago Family's 'Buy Black' Experiment Becoming a Nationwide Movement. Okay, wasn't the whole point of electing the first black POTUS supposed to be that race didn't matter anymore? If some white guy organized a "Buy White" campaign, they'd probably be murdered, arrested, and lampooned simultaneously. Seriously.
Al Qaeda terrorist Ali al Fakhiri, AKA Ibn Sheikh al Libi, has reportedly committed suicide in a Libyan prison, and hippies are whining about it. They allege that he was tortured by American forces so that he would provide bogus intel in order to justify the Iraq invasion. Yeah, okay. People should study these things before they make outlandish claims. (CNN, Guardian) You'll excuse me if I don't put much stock in the testimony of another guy who was detained during OEF.
Things are looking pretty bad in Pakistan. Although the Pakistani government appears to be fighting off the Taliban, this is the same government that's tried to make deals with the Taliban in the past; and elements of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence service (ISI) have even been rumored over the last several years, and accused by Hamid Karzai himself, of funding the Taliban in an effort to keep Afghanistan from becoming a stable rival - which would put the failing state of Pakistan between a stable Afghanistan and a stable India. The situation in Pakistan is inexorably tied to that of Afghanistan, as much of both countries is actually an ethnic nation that should be properly referred to as "Pashtunistan". There are several interesting links about the situation in Pakistan from yesterday's news.
Closer to American operations in Afghanistan, it looks as if the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base that Uzbekistan ousted the United States from in '04 may be reopening soon thanks to some diplomatic strategery by our South Korean allies. This follows the recent eviction notice that American forces unexpectedly received from Kyrgyzstan regarding the Manas Air Base.
I haven't followed the arrested Iranian-American journalist's story on the blog, but a couple of articles jumped out at me yesterday: news outlets are claiming that she was arrested because she was found to be in possession of a sensitive Iranian government document about the Iraq War (Times, Fars). Very interesting.
Today's cool item of the day is the Scaled Composites Proteus aircraft, which is currently owned and operated by Northrop Grumman in conjunction with NASA and other government entities (Wiki entry). I just think it's really cool looking, and apparently they've done some cool stuff with it, so check it out. Since I've run out of time to compose this post, I'll try to pick the rest up for AMF tomorrow, time permitting. There's no satellite picture to close things out today, but your video clip of the day is one of the opening scenes from Per un Pugno di Dollari - A Fistful of Dollars.
Have a fantastic day, folks.
Fly Report: 14th May 2009
Good morning. Napalm, son! Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 66° Fahrenheit with clouds and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8284.89. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new - all of these new pictures are fantastic!
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 25 through 27. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 204
I'm being born, a bleeding start.
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 66° Fahrenheit with clouds and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8284.89. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new - all of these new pictures are fantastic!
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 25 through 27. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 204
I'm being born, a bleeding start.
13 May 2009
Samuel Jackson, Pirate King
Does anyone else notice that the price of a barrel of oil is inching up, the exchange rates are inching down, and nobody in the news media has bothered to mention it?
The Fly is having sort of a rough week - again, just the way Trebek's mother likes it. There were some highlights last night, but I still wound up going to bed far too late, and I slept poorly, so I'm a little bit out of sorts today. And, as I'm writing this, Blogger is down for maintenance. Wankers. At any rate, I don't have a whole lot of time to write, but there are a few items I've been collecting over the last few days.
Hezbollah spy thriller grips Arab world (Guardian), Lebanon arrests two more 'spies' (BBC), Did U.S. help Lebanon crack alleged Israeli spy rings? (Haaretz)
A disabled major in the British Army walked and completed the London Marathon in seven days on crutches, having been told a year ago that he'd never walk again. He has a bigger pair than anyone reading or writing this blog - even Father Time. Basically, if you were whining about something, he's proven that you need to stop.
Somalia: Samuel L Jackson to play pirate negotiator Andrew Mwangura (Guardian) - the jokes one could make out of this story are endless. Also from Somalia: Report: Somali pirates(!) are selecting their targets with help of informants in Britain. (Fox, Guardian)
History is not Barack Obama's strong suit (Times) - I could have told them that.
Following up on AMF from last week, two more installments from Michael Yon with the British Army in Borneo: one, two.
From the BBC, a really cool popup picture of an ancient Persian citadel in Qom, Iran.
For you Star Trek fans out there: USS Kelvin wallpaper, Intel's Star Trek Shipyard, and Wired.com's Danger Room blog has a half-assed, ignorant military analysis of the film. To be honest with you, the new Enterprise is cool, but I thought the Kelvin (the ship from the first ten minutes of the movie) was even cooler.
I've also found three new military/equipment websites that will eventually go up in the sidebar: Grunt's View, UK Kit Monster, and Captain Moggy.
Today's satellite picture is the Casablanca harbor in Morocco. Today's "video" is L'Arena by Ennio Morricone, as featured in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill vol. 2.
And that's it for today. Assuming the world doesn't collapse beneath my feet again today, I may finally be able to discuss some projects I've been working on (as I've intended to do for the last to weeks) and my new home furnishings in tomorrow's post. Until then, stay out of trouble.
The Fly is having sort of a rough week - again, just the way Trebek's mother likes it. There were some highlights last night, but I still wound up going to bed far too late, and I slept poorly, so I'm a little bit out of sorts today. And, as I'm writing this, Blogger is down for maintenance. Wankers. At any rate, I don't have a whole lot of time to write, but there are a few items I've been collecting over the last few days.
I've also found three new military/equipment websites that will eventually go up in the sidebar: Grunt's View, UK Kit Monster, and Captain Moggy.
Today's satellite picture is the Casablanca harbor in Morocco. Today's "video" is L'Arena by Ennio Morricone, as featured in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill vol. 2.
And that's it for today. Assuming the world doesn't collapse beneath my feet again today, I may finally be able to discuss some projects I've been working on (as I've intended to do for the last to weeks) and my new home furnishings in tomorrow's post. Until then, stay out of trouble.
Fly Report: 13th May 2009
Good morning. It's times like this that I miss my hole in the desert. I may have had to dig it myself, but dammit, they delivered food right to me, and I got to play with fireworks.
It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with partial clouds and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8469.11. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 22 through 24. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 203
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.
It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with partial clouds and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8469.11. The exchange rate is $1.52 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 22 through 24. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 203
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.
12 May 2009
Seriously?
Last night turned out to be exceptionally rough ("Just the way your mother likes it, Trebek!"), and rather than spend the short time that I had doing a blog post, I actually wound up spending it doing two things:
For the record, that's an Arabic Bible, and while I do have an English/Arabic Quran, the Bible looks cooler. Anyway, I actually did a reading of سورة الأحقاف, Surat al Ahqaf, "The Dunes", while listening to an Arabic and English recitation of the Pickthall Translation. My hard copy is the Maulana Muhammad Ali translation, but it's sort of like reading and hearing two different translations of the Bible, sometimes it helps you to get the concept better than hearing just one word. Plus, the Arabic's the same in both the audio and printed versions.
So, yeah. No time for blogging last night. Tonight doesn't look promising for blogging, either; but you never know...
For the record, that's an Arabic Bible, and while I do have an English/Arabic Quran, the Bible looks cooler. Anyway, I actually did a reading of سورة الأحقاف, Surat al Ahqaf, "The Dunes", while listening to an Arabic and English recitation of the Pickthall Translation. My hard copy is the Maulana Muhammad Ali translation, but it's sort of like reading and hearing two different translations of the Bible, sometimes it helps you to get the concept better than hearing just one word. Plus, the Arabic's the same in both the audio and printed versions.
So, yeah. No time for blogging last night. Tonight doesn't look promising for blogging, either; but you never know...
Fly Report: 12th May 2009
Good morning. What is it with ex-girlfriends and graduation announcements? I mean, seriously. Sometimes their timing couldn't be any worse.
It's 11° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8418.77. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is incredibly lame, and not astronomical at all. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's outstanding.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 19 through 21. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 202
You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie.
It's 11° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $58.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8418.77. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is incredibly lame, and not astronomical at all. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's outstanding.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 19 through 21. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 202
You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie.
11 May 2009
Beat
What a weekend. Unfortunately for blogging, I was awake until midnight - midnight! - for semi-good reason, though it meant that I got up late today, which isn't awesome. I was expecting today to be completely swamped, and it will be, but due to a shift in geography and timing the lion's share of this afternoon's business will be split between this afternoon and tomorrow evening. That means that this evening, I should have some time to recount my weekend, some of which was entertaining. For now... Uh... How 'bout the latest from Cute With Chris.
That's all I have for today. Take it easy, ladies and gentlemen.
That's all I have for today. Take it easy, ladies and gentlemen.
Fly Report: 11th May 2009
Good morning. Being inappropriately affectionate with other men's wives is a quintessential element of being Italian, like eating gelatto, or peeing on the sidewalk!
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 70° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8574.65. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 13 through 17. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 201
Too much is not enough.
It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 70° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8574.65. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's fantastic.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 13 through 17. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 201
Too much is not enough.
09 May 2009
For the Womenfolk
I'd like to dedicate this video to the women in my life: Themis, Mighty Mo, and Mrs. Mike Nelson, all of whom will enjoy it. Oh, snap!
UPDATE: And I'll dedicate this one to Father Time on account of his love of folk music and Mexican food... ? Anyway.
Awesome.
UPDATE: And I'll dedicate this one to Father Time on account of his love of folk music and Mexican food... ? Anyway.
Awesome.
08 May 2009
AMF: Tracking in Borneo
Friday. Sweet, sweet Friday. I'm going to start things off with today's video: another gem from Stephen Crowder.
Here are a few of the stories I picked up yesterday.
U.N. Watchdog: Weapons Grade Uranium Found in Egypt (AP) - Fantastic, just what we needed.
Launch protocols for US missile system among sensitive data found on second hand computers (BBC) - Fantastic, just what we needed.
Chance discovery dates important Egyptian burial site 1,000 years earlier than first thought (BBC) - Interesting.
My favorite article from yesterday was one from the AP that I saw on Fox: Meet Saudi Arabia's 'Miss Beautiful Morals' Contestants. Apparently, the entire basis of the contest is judging young women based upon how obedient they are to their parents, and how well they generally follow Islamic morals. I'm critical of many Islamic morals, I don't follow them myself, but to be quite honest with you, I think the underlying basis of this whole thing is fantastic. Beauty pageants are artificial and boring, and all of the women look exactly the same, and I know for a fact that none of the women on stage would ever give me the time of day if I met them in real life - not even Miss Congeniality. I think that a pageant that celebrates who women are as people is a fantastic idea, and though I'm skeptical as to whether or not such a pageant would have any legitimacy in Saudi Arabia, I think the basis for it is fantastic. There, I've complimented Saudi Arabia. Maybe someday I'll even find something to agree with President Obama on.
One of the websites I'm always hawking is that of milblogger Michael Yon. He's spent the last several weeks observing British troops in a tracking class on Borneo Island, mainly in the tiny nation of Brunei. His dispatches have been excellent, and today I'm sharing them with you for your reading enjoyment. As he posts more, I'll link to them, but for those of you who have the time and the attention to pay to it, here are parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Just so that you can check it out if you're so inclined, today's satellite picture is Brunei. That's right, folks: the entire country of Brunei. That's how awesome AMF is.
And that's it! Week's over, time for yours truly to relax for a couple of days. Enjoy your break, folks. Check back on Monday.
Here are a few of the stories I picked up yesterday.
My favorite article from yesterday was one from the AP that I saw on Fox: Meet Saudi Arabia's 'Miss Beautiful Morals' Contestants. Apparently, the entire basis of the contest is judging young women based upon how obedient they are to their parents, and how well they generally follow Islamic morals. I'm critical of many Islamic morals, I don't follow them myself, but to be quite honest with you, I think the underlying basis of this whole thing is fantastic. Beauty pageants are artificial and boring, and all of the women look exactly the same, and I know for a fact that none of the women on stage would ever give me the time of day if I met them in real life - not even Miss Congeniality. I think that a pageant that celebrates who women are as people is a fantastic idea, and though I'm skeptical as to whether or not such a pageant would have any legitimacy in Saudi Arabia, I think the basis for it is fantastic. There, I've complimented Saudi Arabia. Maybe someday I'll even find something to agree with President Obama on.
One of the websites I'm always hawking is that of milblogger Michael Yon. He's spent the last several weeks observing British troops in a tracking class on Borneo Island, mainly in the tiny nation of Brunei. His dispatches have been excellent, and today I'm sharing them with you for your reading enjoyment. As he posts more, I'll link to them, but for those of you who have the time and the attention to pay to it, here are parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Just so that you can check it out if you're so inclined, today's satellite picture is Brunei. That's right, folks: the entire country of Brunei. That's how awesome AMF is.
And that's it! Week's over, time for yours truly to relax for a couple of days. Enjoy your break, folks. Check back on Monday.
Fly Report: 08th May 2009
Good morning. Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.
It's 9° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 53° Fahrenheit with afternoon showers.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8409.85. The exchange rate is $1.50 for £1, or £0.67 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 13 through 17. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 198
See the canyons, broken by clouds.
It's 9° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 53° Fahrenheit with afternoon showers.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8409.85. The exchange rate is $1.50 for £1, or £0.67 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 13 through 17. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 198
See the canyons, broken by clouds.
07 May 2009
The Zombies of Nagorno-Karabakh
Hey, folks! I have some things to get done, but I figured I'd share a few excellent items with you.
Following up on this link from July of last year: Zombie computers 'on the rise' (BBC)
Algeria and Mali targeting al Qaeda (BBC, Taqadoumy)
Following up on previous posts: Can thaw unstick frozen [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict?
Some guy writing an editorial for the Guardian is absolutely clueless about radical Islamist political organizations, this one being Hezbollah - he should have studied Hamas before writing the editorial. Some of the comments are both spot-on and hysterical in their cynicism.
Army Finds Recruits by Hosting Airsoft Tournaments
In Georgia, a recent impending murder and/or murder and rape of ten students at a party by two thugs was prevented by one student with a gun. There's a video interview here. That's what the Second Amendment is all about.
One of YouTube's stars is spricket24, and I found a hilarious video she made a while ago when I was on YouTube last night. Enjoy.
More tomorrow, but for now, I have things to do. Have a great day, folks.
In Georgia, a recent impending murder and/or murder and rape of ten students at a party by two thugs was prevented by one student with a gun. There's a video interview here. That's what the Second Amendment is all about.
One of YouTube's stars is spricket24, and I found a hilarious video she made a while ago when I was on YouTube last night. Enjoy.
More tomorrow, but for now, I have things to do. Have a great day, folks.
Fly Report: 07th May 2009
Good morning. Tomorrow's swap meet in Havana is cancelled due to years of communism, which have left the participants devoid of items to swap. Aye carumba, comrades!
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 59° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8512.28. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 10 through 12. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 197
When the night has no end, and the day yet to begin, as the room spins around, I need your love.
It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 59° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.
A barrel of oil is trading at $57.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8512.28. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 10 through 12. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 197
When the night has no end, and the day yet to begin, as the room spins around, I need your love.
06 May 2009
Bring the Pain
I spent all evening making flash cards. Those Arabic flash cards that I've been talking about finishing up for months? They're finally done. I could still stand to make cards of the remaining Ninety-Nine Names of God that aren't on cards already, but that can wait.
Also, I didn't sleep that well last night. I think part of it is that I changed my bedding arrangement, and part of it was that when I got up at about 04:05 to try to sleep in the LoveSac, it wound up storming, so there was loud wind in surges, and rain throughout. It didn't help that people were calling and texting until almost midnight. Basically, today's going to be a miserable day at work due to last night's sleep deprivation. Anyway, here are a few items from yesterday.
What Does @ Really Mean? (Gizmodo)
Just how bad is Facebook for you? - A indie reporter writing for the BBC deconstructs and fact checks dubious claims that Facebook is bad for you.
Afghanistan: Kabul shoppers offered US goods in the Bush Bazaar (Guardian)
Metal Storm Completes First Shoulder Firing of MAUL Shotgun (SPX) - Worth checking out if you like guns, it's a twelve gauge shotgun that can be underslung on an infantry rifle like an M203 grenade launcher. Very cool.
Today's satellite image is the site of a botched World War I British landing site on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. That's it for today, folks. Check in tomorrow for more from yours truly.
Also, I didn't sleep that well last night. I think part of it is that I changed my bedding arrangement, and part of it was that when I got up at about 04:05 to try to sleep in the LoveSac, it wound up storming, so there was loud wind in surges, and rain throughout. It didn't help that people were calling and texting until almost midnight. Basically, today's going to be a miserable day at work due to last night's sleep deprivation. Anyway, here are a few items from yesterday.
Today's satellite image is the site of a botched World War I British landing site on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. That's it for today, folks. Check in tomorrow for more from yours truly.
Fly Report: 06th May 2009
Good morning. Give me a word, give me a sign, show me where to look, tell me what will I find.
It's 10° Centigrade and rainy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with afternoon showers.
A barrel of oil is trading at $54.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8410.65. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is pretty cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is newish.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 7 through 9. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 196
So we're told this is the golden age, and gold is the reason for the wars we wage. But I want to be with you, be with you night and day.
It's 10° Centigrade and rainy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with afternoon showers.
A barrel of oil is trading at $54.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8410.65. The exchange rate is $1.51 for £1, or £0.66 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is pretty cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is newish.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 7 through 9. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 196
So we're told this is the golden age, and gold is the reason for the wars we wage. But I want to be with you, be with you night and day.
05 May 2009
Dienstagmorgenfliegezeitung
I love writing long, obnoxious post titles in German. I especially love Dienstagmorgenfliegezeitung. Anyway, not much time today, but here are a few items that I've collected over the last few days.
Take care of your feet when running or exercising (Times)
Ian Pannell in Afghanistan (BBC), John D. McHugh's video and commentary from Afghanistan (Guardian)
Hezbollah spy thriller grips Arab world (Guardian)
The world "must eventually stop emitting any carbon" (Times) - only if we stop breathing, which I don't intend to do!
Why Henry VIII Matters (Times Blog)
Why Kids Should be Learning about Kings and Queens (Times Blog)
Russian army scraps new uniforms (BBC), Japan to give $40M to dismantle Russian submarines (AFP)
As usual, Michael Totten has an excellent article about the "Pashtunistan" factor in the AfPak war. I'm going to do something today that I almost never do: I'm sending money to Michael Totten. Friends are usually able to get money out of me, but I rarely donate to people whom I don't know directly. I'm sending Michael Totten fifty bucks. He's that good.
That's probably sufficient for today. Stay out of trouble, folks.
As usual, Michael Totten has an excellent article about the "Pashtunistan" factor in the AfPak war. I'm going to do something today that I almost never do: I'm sending money to Michael Totten. Friends are usually able to get money out of me, but I rarely donate to people whom I don't know directly. I'm sending Michael Totten fifty bucks. He's that good.
That's probably sufficient for today. Stay out of trouble, folks.
Fly Report: 05th May 2009
Good morning. Do you think someone would put a jihad on me if I registered on singlemuslim.com using the screen name "CrazyAhmed69"?
It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 64° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $54.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8426.74. The exchange rate is $1.50 for £1, or £0.67 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 4 through 6. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 195
Lay down your guns, all you Daughters of Zion, all you Abraham's Sons.
It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 64° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms and wind.
A barrel of oil is trading at $54.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8426.74. The exchange rate is $1.50 for £1, or £0.67 for $1.
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.
Today's scripture reading is Psalm 4 through 6. The Fly is currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Consecutive days without CCG: 195
Lay down your guns, all you Daughters of Zion, all you Abraham's Sons.
04 May 2009
Video Monday
Hey folks! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine started off with a little soirée with M@, Mrs. Mike Nelson, and the Fashionista. Saturday was spent accomplishing almost nothing, and yesterday was spent at church and finishing up an article about France for my parallel writing endeavour. Instead of writing up a blog post, I read from The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, made my to-do list for the coming week, and did some prep work for today. Luckily, I found a couple of videos this weekend that I think some of you will enjoy: the Swine Flu Fight Song by the kids over at Cheeks Down, and James the Nintendo Nerd's Top Ten Star Trek Technobabbles.
Have a great Monday, folks! I hope everyone else is as productive as I intend to be. Check back tomorrow for more from yours truly.
Have a great Monday, folks! I hope everyone else is as productive as I intend to be. Check back tomorrow for more from yours truly.
About Me
- Name: The Fly
- Location: Van Diemen's Station, Old Dominion
The Fly is a twenty-seven year old curmudgeon. He's a devout Anglican, a dedicated conservative, a renaissance man in combat boots, and an unlikely connoisseur of feminine pulchritude. His writings are a cure for ignorance and boredom in a troubled world.
Previous Posts
- Last Call
- Wherein The Fly Thrives in Chaos and Uncertainty
- Fly Report: 04th December 2009
- Great Challenges of The Fly's Generation
- Fly Report: 03rd December 2009
- Wherein The Fly is Fired Up
- Fly Report: 02nd December 2009
- Driving Around in a Circle
- Fly Report: 01st December 2009
- Beer Run: November 2009
Archives
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Phase I Fitness Plan
| - | Yomping |
| Week 1 | 35 mins x 25 lbs |
| Week 2 | 35 mins x 25 lbs |
| Week 3 | 35 mins x 30 lbs |
| Week 4 | 40 mins x 30 lbs |
| Week 5 | 40 mins x 35 lbs |
| Week 6 | 40 mins x 35 lbs |
| Week 7 | 45 mins x 40 lbs |
| Week 8 | 45 mins x 40 lbs |
| Week 9 | 45 mins x 45 lbs |
| - | Swimming |
| Week 1 | 25 mins x4 |
| Week 2 | 25 mins x4 |
| Week 3 | 30 mins x4 |
| Week 4 | 30 mins x4 |
| Week 5 | 35 mins x4 |
| Week 6 | 35 mins x4 |
| Week 7 | 40 mins x4 |
| Week 8 | 40 mins x4 |
| Week 9 | 45 mins x4 |
| - | Push-Ups |
| Week 1 | 3x15 x3 days |
| Week 2 | 4x20 x3 days |
| Week 3 | 4x25 x3 days |
| Week 4 | 4x25 x3 days |
| Week 5 | 5x25 x3 days |
| Week 6 | 5x25 x3 days |
| Week 7 | 5x30 x3 days |
| Week 8 | 5x30 x3 days |
| Week 9 | 5x30 x3 days |
| - | Sit-Ups |
| Week 1 | 3x15 x3 days |
| Week 2 | 4x20 x3 days |
| Week 3 | 4x25 x3 days |
| Week 4 | 4x25 x3 days |
| Week 5 | 5x25 x3 days |
| Week 6 | 5x25 x3 days |
| Week 7 | 5x30 x3 days |
| Week 8 | 5x30 x3 days |
| Week 9 | 5x30 x3 days |
| - | Pull-Ups |
| - | N/A |
Stats
