Beer Run: November 2009

First, the news catch-up from last week.

Afghanistan decision to come within days (CNN, BBC) - So much for President Obama being prepared to lead a war on "day one". His lackluster, half-assed, sluggish handling of Afghanistan thus far has been an absolute joke, and every day that he's delayed has made it more difficult for our troops to win.

Iraq luring 'virtual visitors' to Mesopotamia's treasures (CNN, Times)

Fox: Man Marries Virtual Girlfriend ... With Public Reception - Behold: what our world is coming to.

Fox: Climate Skeptics See 'Smoking Gun' in Researchers' Leaked E-Mails - Uh, gee, ya think? The fanaticism over "climate change" has always been about pre-existing politics, moreso than it has ever been about a fictional looming catastrophe.

Fox: Pirates Attack Oil Tanker Off Africa's West Coast - Pay attention: west coast. Somalia is on the east coast of Africa. This means that the world must now also deal... With West African pirates!

AP: Afghan Provinces Get Millions to Reduce Opium Poppies - Believe it or not, opium eradication efforts are making progress.

AP: 2 IRA Dissidents Charged With Attempting to Kill Officer

AP: Taliban Leader Issues Muslim Holiday Message

Sky News: Man Who Made Predictions on TV Now on Saudi Death Row for 'Witchcraft' - It's tough to build a dialogue with any society that still executes people for witchcraft.

CNN: Zakaria: Did Obama get his message across in China? - Hope, change, we surrender, please stop censoring the Internet. Yeah, I think he got his point across.

CNN: Official: Pakistanis want Taliban defeat - Gee, ya think? The issue is a lack of security, not some latent public support for the Taliban. The locals hate the Taliban more than we hate the Taliban.

CNN: Italy debates public crosses

BBC: Jerusalem Diary: Hummus wars

BBC: Morocco's wine growers sniff success abroad

BBC: Belgian pleads guilty to US-Iran arms sales charge

BBC: Climate 'drives African conflict' - Oh, come on. Seriously? Idiots.

BBC: What is the future for Dutch troops in Afghanistan?

BBC: Gaddafi 'to mediate' football row - Algeria and Egypt are being so nasty to one another over a soccer game that Crazy Uncle Moammar has to be brought in to negotiate. Way to go, folks.

BBC: Climate cash is 'unaccounted for'

Guardian: Caught up in the Middle East's forgotten war [in Yemen]

Guardian: The mystery of Dr Aafia Siddiqui

Guardian: Will Murdoch's Bing gamble pay off? - Apparently Rupert Murdoch is working with Microsoft to try and hamstring Google. Very, very, very interesting.

Guardian: The voices of climate change sceptics

Guardian: Men's groups are fine by me, sister

Guardian: Afghanistan: time to go - "One things is clear: Nato's military mission has failed. We need to focus now on a power-sharing deal to enable an early withdrawal." Early withdrawal? I think that should read "surrender, cut and run, and give up". The Taliban don't share power. There are not moderate elements to the Taliban or al Qaeda. The only options are victory or surrender. Unfortunately, Europe lost the will to defend itself long ago.

Times: Pakistan fears over new Afghanistan strategy

Times: Colonel S is living proof that is possible to tackle Afghan corruption

Times: Chavez defends the 'bad guys' of the world

Times: Feral camels terrorise Outback community

Times: Obama's delay 'is affecting British support' - Gee, ya think?

Times Blog: Alpha Mummy: These Kids Have Too Many Sodding Toys

Wired Danger Room: US Turns to Trash Talk to Fight the Taliban

Wired Danger Room: Russian Prez Channels his Inner Rumsfeld - Why are the slack-jawed idiots at Wired always bagging on Rumsfeld? I'm sure they're far more intelligent than he is, right? And they have a much deeper understanding of military issues and foreign conflicts? Oh, wait, they don't, at all.

AFP: China slams 'prejudiced' US report on espionage

AFP: Few US firms ready for workforce disruption: survey

AFP: Obama to meet war cabinet on Afghanistan - Hasn't he been meeting with his war cabinet for months? President Obama's handling of Afghanistan has been a military and political disgrace thus far.

AFP: French warship in arms deal arrives in Russia

AFP: Chinese raided in Germany for spying on Uighurs: report

SPX: UK MoD Upgrade Bid Promises More Punch For Army Warriors

Defense Systems: Counter-IED task force established

Michael Yon: Afghan ideas from Great Britain

Second, the beer run from Saturday.

Guinness Extra Stout

Harp Lager

Widmer Hefeweizen

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

Carlsberg

Blue Moon - Which is made by Coors!? Really?

Check back tomorrow for more, including a recap of my Thanksgiving, which was awesome. Have a great Monday, folks!

Fly Report: 30th November 2009

Good morning. You were always on my mind.

It's 5° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 47° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $76.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,309.92. The exchange rate is $1.65 for £1, or £0.61 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 14. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I'm not coming down.

Stuff Fly Wants: November 2009

Field Gear

British special forces style rucksack - £75.00

British SAS smock - £95.00

British Desert Under Armour Combat Shirt - £29.99 NEW

British Desert DPM trousers and shirt

MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.98

Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.98

Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80

Sand Crye Precision Field Pants AC - $115.00

Sand Crye Precision Combat Shirt AC - $145.00 NEW

Khaki TRU-SPEC T.R.U. Combat Shirt - $50.99 NEW

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) - $69.99

Sony 8GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (black) - $119.95 (Amazon price $99.77)

Mini Cargo Pocket Organizer - $27.95

M9 Mag Pouch - $29.95

Bushmaster Deluxe Armorer's Kit - $180.95

FN FAL

Household Items

Union Jack - $8.09

Amazing Pasta Maker [click me] - $39.95

Fouled Anchor lapel pin

Walther PPK

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

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

deer skin sporran

Books

Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99

Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99

Entertainment

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 - $49.98 (Amazon price $31.49

Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)

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

Fly Report: 25th November 2009

Good morning. I was just a skinny lad, never knew no good from bad, but I knew love before I left my nursery.

It's 8° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $75.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,433.71. The exchange rate is $1.66 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 14. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Here today, and gone tomorrow.

Van Diemen's Station Blues

400-Pound Car Bomb Fails to Detonate in Belfast (AP, CNN)

Guardian: US funds anti-Taliban Afghan militias - Experts warn that secretive programme could fuel long-term instability in the country; Times: British to train Afghan militias

Guardian: Can Islam be reconciled with science?, Religion and science shouldn't mix

BBC: Coffee and chess - Kandahar revives cultural pastime

BBC: Tough lessons for Obama on Mid-East peace; Are the Democrats losing their way?

BBC: NASA Cassinin spacecraft sends pictures of Saturn's moon

Guardian: WWII Aerial Images

Guardian: Silent witness in the Sinai

Guardian: Climate sceptics 'put world at risk' - Ahem.

Guardian: Saudi Arabia goes to war [in Yemen]

Guardian: An insidious argument for censorship

Times: Afghanistan's grievances and tribal splits: ripe for exploitation?

Times: Save this oasis of pleasure for Iraqis [soccer] - FIFA banned Iraq from playing soccer because there's a political mess entanging Iraq's soccer executives. Bad mojo all around.

Times: [British] Army lacks bite to take on Taleban

UPI: Enigma of Russian MiG-29s for Lebanon

AFP: China ramps up espionage against US: study

AFP: Obama Afghan decision to come after Thanksgiving

AFP: Britain's Tories say would pull troops out of Germany

Commentary: How Politics Destroyed a Great TV Show - Jonah Goldberg has an interesting take on the politicization of Battlestar Galactica. He brings up a number of points that I hadn't considered, or hadn't caught on to, when watching the course of the show. Worth the read if you're a Galactica fan.

Commentary (Michael Totten): A Third Lebanon War Could Be Much Worse than the Second

Fly Report: 24th November 2009

Good morning. No one can grab hold of your own dreams but you.

It's 6° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 46° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $76.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,450.95. The exchange rate is $1.66 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is suh-weet. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 14. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

You're kept awake, dreaming someone else's dream.

Authenticity Maintenance

Sometimes, it's important to keep it real. Isn't that right, Father Time?

AP: Al Qaeda's Message Spreading Through English-Language Sites
Fox: Tracking Your Taxes: Americans Spend Millions for Environmental Groups to Sue the Government
Fox: Colombia Says Venezuelan Soldiers Blew Up 2 Bridges
AP: Muslim Nations Seeking International Blasphemy Ban
CNN: Afghan minister: Taliban can be defeated - Yes, the Taliban can be defeated, but not without a substantial anti-corruption push in the Afghan government, and not without more troops with solid objectives being deployed from outside Afghanistan.
Guardian: Say no to asbos for downloaders - The article may be about the Internet in Britain, but everyone should read it: granting the executive power to ban someone from the Internet over a so-called crime (and a minor one at that) that is almost impossible to prove is a recipe for disaster on all fronts.
Times: Hurricane Katrina flood was man-made disaster - Absolutely correct: money had been diverted away from the very projects that were necessary to ensure the survival of a city that was built below sea level. Hurricane Katrina was not a horrible natural disaster, or "proof of climate change" - it was a testament to government corruption in New Orleans and Louisiana.
Times: Archbishop [Williams] tells Pope: women priests here for good - Rowan Williams is a jackass. I would know, I'm one of his parishioners, sort of.
News: North Korean defector describes life in the secret state's army
UPI: Commentary: Piece of Cake - A very interesting piece on the possible aftermath of a theoretical Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

That's it for today. Like I said at the outset: very authentic. Have a great Monday.

Fly Report: 23rd November 2009

Good morning. I was thinking "either she's a cannibal, or she's really not that funny," and I was pulling for cannibal 'cause I'd never met one before.

It's 6° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 39° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,318.16. The exchange rate is $1.65 for £1, or £0.61 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is gorgeous. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 14. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

But a day will come, in this dawning age, when an honest man sees an honest wage.

AMF: Going Through the Motions

Fox: Pennsylvania Union Leader Criticized for Threatening Legal Action Over Boy Scout's Volunteerism

CNN: North Koreans escape to cold reality - Survival requires actual work? Communism and socialism (and the media) promote unrealistic perceptions of real life? Fascinating.

BBC: Alcohol 'protects men's hearts' - Father Time is the helathiest man alive.

BBC: Egypt recalls Algerian envoy as football row deepens - A diplomatic war, vandalism, and violence. Over soccer. Unreal.

Times: Karzai signals end for private security firms - With corrupt and inept police and military personnel? Good call for politics, bad call for the actual security that's necessary to win the war and stabilize the country.

Times: Brain-eating tribe helps mad cow research - Ha!

Times: Go home (early) and multiply, bankers are told - Japan has such huge issues with population collapse that some businesses are giving their employees additional family time, in order that they might breed like we all hope Mighty Mo and the Man of Steel will do soon.

Times: Ancient Greek worshippers showed inclination towards the Sun

Times: EU to seek special status at UN - First the International Olympic Committee, now the EU? Earth to the United Nations: these aren't countries. What's next, General Assembly seats for Greenpeace, the Arab League, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps?

UPI: Arabs go for air power to counter Iran

AFP: Afghan village armies fight the Taliban - The people in Afghanistan and Pakistan hate the Taliban. This war can be won, but President Obama needs to grow a backbone, and President Karzai needs to destroy corruption.

Wired Danger Room: In Nod to Global Warming, Navy Prepares for Ice-Free Arctic - The comments are priceless, holding the Wired blogger accountable for being a moron.

Just for Fun: Project Rho - Do you have nerdy tendencies? You may enjoy this website.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Fly Report: 20th November 2009

Good morning. I ain't had a drop of liquor since I quit singin' wit' ABBA.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,332.44. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 13. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I listen through your ears, and through your eyes I can see.

Featuring Mono Lake

News.

Fox: U.K. Ex-Soldier Faces 5 Years in Jail for Turning in Discarded Gun - Leave it to the British government to punish a former soldier for trying to obey the law.

CNN: U.S., China compete in Africa

Australia mulls Scientology probe (BBC, Times) - Australia could become the second country to investigate and/or prosecute the Church of Scientology under criminal laws, following France's lead a few weeks ago.

BBC: Soviet lessons - Echoes for Nato in the Soviet exit from Afghanistan - You know, it's getting really annoying to read all of the headlines attempting to compare Afghanistan (and previously Iraq) with Vietnam, and with the Soviet experience in Afghanistan. Much love to Father Time, but the sooner the Baby Boomers die out (and thus, the living memory of the Vietnam War with them), the better off American national security will be. (It would also help with entitlement reform, but that's another problem altogether.

BBC: Afghans 'blame poverty for war'

BBC: Obama 'close' to Afghan decision - Sure he is. Didn't they say that about three months ago?

BBC: Verbal war over Egypt-Algeria tie - Conflict over soccer. Unbelievable.

Times: French village to honour veteran piper's bravery

Times: Which Queen? Which speech? Who cares? - The point that this article makes is pretty profound, and pretty legitimate: people don't care enough about politics to pay attention, for a variety of reasons. That's a critical weakness for any society, because when people don't care, they don't notice when bad things start happening.

AFP: Web security company warns of 'cyber arms race' - Yawn.

UPI: Rejavi: Iran overhauls security service - Maryam Rajavi is the head of the MEK, and what she says carries a lot of weight.

Michael Yon: FYI: Paperwork for Afghanistan Media Embed

Satellite image of the day: Mono Lake. I used to pass by Mono Lake (which is featured in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day) on my way from Zoo Station to Hometown, and it's really a beautiful area. Please, do yourself a favor and look at both the APOD picture, and the satellite image.

Have a great Wednesday Thursday - thanks, Sam-Wise!

Fly Report: 19th October 2009

Good morning. The best way to start your day is with a cuppa, and an English muffin with marmalade. It's awesome.

It's 11° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 48° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,426.31. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is awesome. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 12. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

A man builds a city, with banks and cathedrals.

A Conversation with MILF Force One

Happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy, joy! Can anyone tell me what that's from?

AskMen.com: 5 Drinks Your Father Drank

AP: Kenyans Recruited to Fight in Somali Civil War

Qaddafi to Italian Women: Convert (Fox, Guardian)

CNN: Scientist reveals life as a prostitute

CNN: Zakaria: No one thinks hikers are spies - I disagree with Zakaria on a few points, but his perspective on these issues is an interesting one.

CNN: Disarming the Velvet Revolution

BBC: Age of cyber warfare is 'dawning' - Yawn.

BBC: Fears al-Qaeda is bound for Mali's fabled desert town [Timbuktu]

Guardian: Miliband calls for majority of Taliban to be reintegrated into Afghan society - Good luck with that, Dave.

Guardian: Speed cameras - the bigger picture - Everyone should read this article.

Guardian: Gallery: Hippopotamuses attack a crocodile on the Nile

Times: British Army Tells Soldiers to Bribe Taliban With 'Bags of Gold'

Times: Muslim teachers and students reject Darwin - To some, this is the ultimate outrage. To me, it's a non-issue. Ardent Darwinians are every bit as closed-minded and dogmatic as rabid Creationists, so the fact that Islamists reject Darwin is immaterial to me.

Times: Scramble for survival: the helicopter medics who risk death to save others

Times: Photo Gallery: Afghanistan

AFP: Post-Saddam Iraq demands right to nuclear power

AFP: N. Korea unlikely to give up nuclear weapons: US expert - The irony is that this guy gets paid to say something that I could have told the AFP for free.

AFP: Russia to boost naval presence: Medvedev - This is precisely what the world needs: more broken-down Russian naval garbage clogging major waterways.

AFP: Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine create joint brigade: ministry - Good for them! The European "battle groups" and the "Franco-German" brigades are sort of a joke, really, but I think this has the potential to be a very good thing, particularly with Poland and Lithuania as NATO members, and Ukraine was a NATO hopeful that won't be allowed in due to everyone's pants-wetting collective fear of a resurgent Russia.

UPI: Iran warns it may produce S-300 system - Out of what? Rocks and sand? Iran is not Russia. Making AK-47 rifles is one thing, making an S-300 missile system that even the Russians can't reliably make work is quite another. Who do they think they're kidding?

Commentary (Michael Totten): Damascus Reverts to Form

Starship Modeler: USS Poseidon - For anyone who saw and enjoyed J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie a few months back; and for anyone who, like me, thought the Kelvin was really cool, Starship Modeler has an original series version of the Kelvin. It's cool. If you're a Trek fan, go check it out.

And, just for grins, a conversation between me and MILF Force One, a girl I used to hang out with in college. This was by text Sunday morning, when I was still in bed and she was going grocery shopping after her bartending shift. (She lives on the West Coast, so she's three hours behind my Van Diemen's Station time zone.)

MILF Force One: Where's my early morning shopping buddy?
The Fly: Totally. I'm like a UAV pilot, providing support by remote.
MILF Force One: You're the best. So what aisle are the bagels on?
The Fly: Bagels are on the bread aisle. This is so easy! Ask me another one!
MILF Force One: LOL You made my night!

Sometimes, you just have to sit back and enjoy the simple things in life. Until they show up, have a great Wednesday, folks.

Fly Report: 18th November 2009

Good morning. I was totally mean to Pixley.

It's 8° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $79.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,437.42. The exchange rate is $1.68 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is tolerable. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Get down off your holy cloud, always.

Unrelated: Germans Love David Hasselhoff

And now, the news!

Gaddafi preaches to Rome beauties (BBC, Times) - You know what? I can usually figure out where Crazy Uncle Moammar is going with his outlandish stunts, but this is... Yeah. I have nothing.

Belle de Jour revealed as research scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti (BBC, Guardian, Times) - What's not to like? Whores, science, and college. Feel-good story of the week.

[Obama] Warning over Copenhagen deal (Guardian, Times) - The One cares about climate change, really, he totally does. Keep voting for him, hippies!

Iran ‘running out of time’ over uranium deal - President Medvedev offers support for US with warning that Russia might consider sanctions if UN-brokered plan is ignored (Times, AFP)

AskMen.com: 7 Pick-Up Rules Women Want Men to Know

CNN: Can justice halt Taliban?

CNN: Al Qaeda accuses Blackwater

BBC: Greenpeace 'to put humans first' - It's about time, hippies!

BBC: Algeria secures Egyptian embassy - Soccer hooliganism, in North Africa? Perish the thought.

BBC: Just what is [British] officer material?

Guardian: Are we too selfish to survive? - A very, very interesting concept. Worth reading.

Guardian: Rowan Williams: politicians should question focus on economic growth - Rowan Williams is a jackass, and I'm saying that as a devout Anglican. He's an embarrassment to Anglicanism.

Times: Obama still searching for foreign success - Maybe he'd find it if he didn't spend all of his time bowing to Saudi kings and Japanese emperors.

Times: Bombed and shot yet still the Taliban come

Times: Italy calls for a single European Army - "Franco Frattini, Italy's Foreign Minister, said that without a common foreign policy and army Europe would be irrelevant" - Yeah, because a unified army, would, you know, totally fix Europe being a disunited basket case. Earth to Europe: you're tons of little countries, not one big one! Stop pretending!

Times: Royal Mail: Britain’s worst company

AFP: All eyes on Murdoch as newspapers ponder digital future

AFP: Obama eyes compromise strategy on Afghanistan

UPI: Outside View: The Soviets' Afghan Lessons

Denver Post (via Michael Totten): Photographer Collection: David Guttenfelder in Afghanistan Photos

Commentary (Michael Totten): The Show Needn't Go On

Angel's Gate Art: Welcome to Fake Iraq

Eli Carling: Mojave Desert

Okay, so remember this? Well, it happened again. Same company, same gig, same everything. It looked like I was going to get hired, and then it fell through, again. Brutal.

That's it for today, folks. Have a great Tuesday!

Fly Report: 17th November 2009

Good morning. In some countries, listening to Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" is considered torture. America is one of those countries.

It's 9° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,406.96. The exchange rate is $1.68 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a little bizarre. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I know a boy, a boy called Trampoline, you know what I mean?

A Painful Monday Morning

I get the distinct impression that today is going to be painful.

Army Dog Found After 14 Months Lost in Afghanistan (AP, BBC, Times) - This is why black labs are the best dogs in the world. Seriously. Amazing.

US envoy opposed to Afghan surge (BBC, Guardian, Times) - You've gotta hand it to Secretary Clinton for doing a bangup job of keeping her folks in line over at the State Department. The US ambassador to Afghanistan doesn't support increased troop levels, and was allowed to admit that? Shameful.

Fox: Cuba Mandates 'Extreme' Cuts to Solve Energy Crisis

CNN: Germany to send troops for Afghanistan reconstruction

CNN: Top al Qaeda leader blames Blackwater for Peshawar blasts

BBC: Photos 'show Iran arms-ship link'

BBC: Syria urges French Mid-East role

BBC: Algerian 'terror gang' broken up

BBC: Angolan 'mafia targets Chinese'

Guardian: New history battle rages in Europe

Guardian: DNA database: Acid test

Guardian: Protecting Kensington, from Kandahar?

Times: Taleban winning ground in propaganda war

Times: Iran warns Saudi Arabia over attacks

Times: China and India in 'scramble for Africa', China and India compete in new cold war

Times: It's not about health, it's about who runs the US

Times: Battle of the Baghdad Bulge - This article is really disconcerting, and demonstrates an overall decline in discipline in the Army - not the Marine Corps, not the Navy, just the Army (the Air Force has always been a little goofy) - in the last couple of decades.

Financial Times: Obama to press China on Afghanistan - Good luck on that, The One!

AFP: Medvedev promises new missiles for Russian army - Maybe these ones will actually work!

AFP: Pentagon to focus on IED threat in Afghanistan: Gates

UPI: China tightens its grip on Africa

Instructables: How to Grow Flowers on a Military Base in Iraq

Great hooglie mooglie, am I tired.

Fly Report: 16th November 2009

Good morning. My mule don't like people laughin'... Gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 46° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $76.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,270.47. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

See the oil fields at first light.

AMF: Rainy Day Recess

Some of you may know that my area of Virginia - well, basically, like half of the Atlantic coast - got hit by a pretty big storm last night. The language of "like a Category 1 Hurricane" is being thrown around, as the high tides, flooding, and strong winds were in some ways equivalent to those in a hurricane. They sent us home from work yesterday morning, so I spent most of yesterday at Van Diemen's Station. You'd think that would result in a fantastic blog post.

You would be wrong.

Here's a list of what I did yesterday, instead of writing up a blog post for yesterday's news:

ate leftover Tuna Helper

drank beer from the Pacific Northwest, and tea

watched A Fistful of Dollars from start to finish, without my limping laptop to distract me

chatted on Facebook with friends (my power didn't even start blinking until I'd gone to bed)

read a chapter from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

went to bed to the sound of unusually clear reception from the Voice of Justice (Iran), without actually perceiving much of it

So, that's it for today. Check in Monday for more, and have a great weekend.

Fly Report: 13th November 2009

Good morning. It's gonn' rain!

It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 38° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,197.47. The exchange rate is $1.65 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

After the flood, all the colors came out.

Jeremy Clarkson Rules

Afghanistan:

Sources: Obama mulls 4 Afghan options (CNN, AFP) - President Obama's only option should be to do exactly what the generals tell him. He has no experience, at anything, so this nonsensical "mulling" from someone who knows about a fraction of what *I* know about foreign policy is just ridiculous.

Times: US wants more Nato troops for new surge; BBC: Obama in Afghan troop level talks - Send the amount of troops that General McChrystal asks for. Do it. Man up.

BBC: Can Taliban fighters be persuaded to switch sides?

Everything Else:

Father of Kalashnikov celebrates 90th birthday (CNN, Times) - Apparently, Mikhail Kalashnikov still spends most of his days at work, developing new lines of weapons. I have no clue whether those designs actually get produced; and the AK-47, AKM, AK-74, AK-101, AK-103, and AK-107 certainly have bittersweet histories. That having been said, Mikhail Kalashnikov was a total badass in the 1940's, and he's a total badass now.

AP: U.S. Accuses Iran of Sending Weapons to Syria

AP: Israel Shows Documents It Says Link Iran to Arms

CNN: Iran urges Yemen's neighbors to stay out of rebellion

CNN: Jihad and juice inside Libya's terror jail

Guardian: The pornography of grief - and the devalued poignancy of the poppy - It's about British politics, but it's worth reading, because it makes some biting points of British culture that certainly spill over into all areas of Western culture.

Times: Which will come out on top: paper or gold? - An article about the real value of gold, versus the subjective value of paper currency. I'm not a gold standard advocate like the Ron Paul fanatics, but I think that America and other Western countries really need to get a handle on the unlimited printing of cash without any real value to back it up.

Times: Fuel duty could be bad for the planet

Jeremy Clarkson: I've got a solution for the rainforest: napalm the lot, Get me a rope before Mandelson wipes us all out - I'm quickly growing to love Jeremy Clarkson. Both of these editorials are poignant and hilarious. Go. Read. Enjoy.

Fly Report: 12th November 2009

Good morning. I will be your safety.

It's 10° Centigrade and wind and light rain in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 38° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,291.26. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 10. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Come on, love - here she come now.

Fly the Flag High and Proud

CNN: U.S.: No Afghan troop decision made; UPI: IEDs are main threat in southern Helmand; BBC: Japan to boost aid to Afghanistan - It's time for President Obama to make good on the only campaign promise he should keep, and commit to winning the war in Afghanistan. Everyone credible, even the perpetually skeptical Michael Yon, says that the war is winnable. He should abandon his misguided quest to butcher health care, abandon his misguided quest to fix America's economy by ruining it first, and commit to the only campaign promise he made that was worth even half of the breath that he expended to make it: he should commit to winning in Afghanistan, and give the generals and the troops the resources they need to do their jobs.

UPI: Riyadh ups the ante by joining Yemen war; AFP: Yemen rebels say Saudi jets using phosphorous bombs; BBC: Iran warning over Yemen conflict - It appears that Yemen is the new front in the cold war between Riyadh and Tehran. Wonderful.

BBC: Money talks: What does China want for its $10bn loan to Africa?

BBC: Turkey to announce PKK peace plan

BBC: Anglicans welcome offer from Rome

To those of you in the audience who are veterans (Father Time being the most notable), thank you for your service to this great nation. Happy Veterans' Day.

And, as an added bonus, an E-mail that I spent some time writing to a friend who I met at [Generic State University].

[Athena],

> Yes, I'd like to hear about your someday house in Wyoming. :)

That's it, huh? :)

I want to build a house out of recycled shipping containers. About twenty-three of them, to be exact: three in the basement, eight on the first floor, eight on the second floor, and one in each corner. The ones on the corners will be upright, and serve as sort of "towers", for lack of a better word, but even upright they'll be about the same height as the two floors. Two of those corner containers will contain spiral staircases (on opposing corners), one of the others will be part of the garage, and the other will be a conservatory with an open ceiling, windows, plants, and a couple of chairs.

The house will be roughly square, with a 20'x20' courtyard in the middle. All of the guest areas would be on the ground floor: living room, dining area and kitchen, garage, at least one guest room, and a few other things. On the second floor would be the master bedroom and master bathroom, possibly a second bedroom, a library/den/study, a small armory, and whatever else ought to go on the top floor. I don't know if there will be a deck or something on the roof, but I've thought about a balcony or porch in lieu of one of the upper deck containers.

The basement would consist of two regular containers, and one fallout/storm shelter, not because I'm paranoid about nukes hitting Wyoming or anywhere else (I'm not), but just in case something comes up - a tornado or whatever.

Now, it should be noted that I don't intend to have them actually look like a collection of shipping containers. Probably without exception, the inside will be finished like the house, and the outside will be finished like a house, maybe with logs to make it look cabin-like, maybe with some other type of stylish and normal-looking exterior, and a normal (for Wyoming) yard and everything. Probably no punji-stakes. I think.

Not only would the shipping containers be strong, and heavy, but they would be a good use of recycled/sustainable material. I'm absolutely no enviro-weenie, but I think that sustainable and responsible use of resources is precisely what we as good humans and good Christians should be doing, as good stewards of the planet. Building houses with shipping containers is actually a growing trend, though I doubt it's what one would call "mainstream", and most of the designs that people come up with for shipping container houses are ugly modern art jobs, but the concept is sound, and it's cheaper to build a house out of containers than it is to build using traditional building materials. I was first introduced to the idea when I was working in California, because the villages out there are almost entirely built using pre-fabricated housing units that are built out of shipping containers and arranged in various configurations. For example:

[link redacted]

And you can see pictures:

image

image

image

My house obviously wouldn't look like those, but it gives you an idea of the structure and how they've gone together where they've been used by the military. Here are a few sites for companies that specialize in supplying them to the military, both for training sites and for pre-fabricated buildings for deployment overseas. That last link, for Safecastle LLC, is a company that (I'm pretty sure) turns shipping containers into tornado and bomb shelters - for example, there were people who used their shelters to ride out Hurricane Katrina.

Fort Irwin buildings

Allied Container

CMOUTS LLC

Strategic Operations

Safecastle LLC

So, there you have it, the basic nuts and bolts of my pipe dream for building a sort of retirement home/castle in the wilds of Wyoming - somewhere in this vicinity:

link

Thoughts? Admit it, you think I'm completely and totally insane.

- The Fly

Happy Veterans' Day. Have fun.

Fly Report: 11th November 2009

Good morning. Saith Gus: "I have a long history with cake."

It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 56° Fahrenheit with clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,246.97. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is astonishing. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 9. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I'm ready for the laughing gas.

234

Iran to charge 3 American hikers with espionage (CNN, BBC, Guardian) - A couple of points. A) If they were spies, they would have had better land navigation skills, and wouldn't have strayed into Iranian territory. B) As we found out during the Spring of 2007, the Iranians aren't above crossing borders to detain people. I know I'm not exactly dispassionate in this situation, but as far as I'm concerned, Iran's all wet.

Chinese Premier Pledges $10B of Aid to Poor African Nations (AP, BBC, Times - You can bet that this money has long-term strings attached. China's adventures in Africa are chock full of bad mojo.

Nine executed over Xinjiang riots (BBC, Guardian)

Berlin Wall Galleries (Guardian, Times)

Guardian: Iran's top-down [nuclear negotiation] unity; AFP: Iran Tested New Nuke Design; Refuses To Export Enriched Uranium

BBC: Yemen rebels 'down fighter jet'

Guardian: Civil unrest has a role in stopping climate change, says Al Gore - Manbearpig. Manbearpig, manbearpig, manbearpig. MANBEARPIG.

Guardian: The pope's Anglican division

Guardian: No honeymoon for Hamid Karzai

Times: Allies 'may abandon northern Helmand'

Times: Poppies evoke foreign field of Afghanistan

Wired Danger Room: Rebooting Afghanistan's Low Tech Air Force

Wired Danger Room: Avril Lavigne, David Axe in Afghan Firefight - Idiot...

Michael Totten: Post-Communist Postcards - Just photos, but really, really fascinating.

Cracked: The 7 Most Badass Last Stands in the History of Battle

Last, but certainly not least: happy 234th birthday to the Leathernecks of the United States Marine Corps. Oorah!

Fly Report: 10th November 2009

Good morning. From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli...

It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 56° Fahrenheit with clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,226.94. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 8. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Well if you dream, then dream out loud, always.

Wherein the Fly Hates DRM and the RIAA

A few weeks ago, I bought a new computer. Now, some of you may remember that a few years ago, there was a massive uproar among recording artists and within the recording industry that revolved around record sales that were supposedly going to be hurt by digital music. Rather than responding to this with an actual effort to adjust to and exploit the new technology, the recording industry came in kicking and screaming. They finally relented once they'd figured out a solution that would sufficiently screw the consumer: digital rights management.

As I mentioned, I bought a new computer. As I've transferred the files from my old computer, I've found that all of the files I downloaded from the now-dead Yahoo(!) music store are permanently locked. I spent an hour or so auditing those files, and here's what I found.

I have 647 total audio files (mp3s), some of which are podcasts, some of which are rarities or oddities I've found online, and most of which are music.

Of those 647 total audio files, 308 files are from the Yahoo(!) Music store, and are DRM locked. At $0.99 per song, that's $304.92 that I've paid to legally acquire music, that I'm now unable to use.

Of those 308 locked files, I have the CDs for 198 of those songs - 186 songs worth of which are available here, and 12 of which are on CDs that are across the continent in [Hometown].

I don't have the CDs for 106 of those files, so the only way to reacquire them would be to repurchase them on Amazon.com, or buy the CDs. That means I'd be out at least another $106 to reacquire music that I'd already purchased.

Needless to say, I'm less than thrilled about all of this. I get a new computer, and because the RIAA are dicks, I have to spend at least $106 all over again? All of this, for obeying the rules, instead of downloading music illegally? I'm obviously frustrated with Yahoo(!) for taking down their DRM server - MSN is keeping theirs up until 2011, and seriously, it's not that costly to keep that kind of resource available for your customers when you shut down. The real issue is the RIAA.

As far as I'm concerned, the RIAA can go fuck itself.

Also, I'll probably be selective about which songs I replace, not only out of frugality, but because I don't think that the folks who enforce this DRM nonsense deserve another $106 (or $308, for that matter) from me.

Idiots.

Fly Report: 09th November 2009

Good morning. You throw your pearls before the swine, and make the monkey blind.

It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 52° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,023.42. The exchange rate is $1.66 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 7. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Something is about to give, I can feel it coming, I think I know what it is.

The Fly's Vacation: Day 7

The Fly's vacation, yesterday:

swim PT

dinner with Sam-Wise and Mrs. Sam-Wise - fantastic

I think I did some more, but I can't remember what it was, and I don't care. Vacation! Woohoohoo!

Fly Report: 06th November 2009

Good morning. The Fly has thoroughly enjoyed his vacation.

It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 65° Fahrenheit with partial clouds and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,005.96. The exchange rate is $1.66 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

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

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 7. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

In a little while, I won't be blown by every breeze.

The Fly's Vacation: Day 6

Yesterday was pretty relaxing. After going hog wild with Big Brother Caleb and family on Tuesday, I took it easy yesterday. Here's what I did:

job applications

an Arabic lesson

a journal entry

spent a few minutes playing with a black labrador puppy named Shea - she looks a lot like Bareback Jack, the Wonder Dog did at that age

So, for today's post, a semi-recent conversation with Themis, Goddess of Justice.

Themis: I may kill [The 747].
The Fly: Hold that thought. I want to enjoy this with a beer. I'll be right back.
Themis: lol
The Fly: Killian's Irish Red. You were saying?
Themis: So [The 747]'s genius idea?
Themis: Spin class then yoga right after.
The Fly: Right.
Themis: Fuck that.
Themis: I'm hurting.
The Fly: Did she do it?
Themis: Yes.
The Fly: Did you?
Themis: Yes.
Themis: And I'm hurting.
The Fly: So how do you think you'll do the killing? Will there be pictures? Maybe I'll spring for champagne.
Themis: haha
Themis: She looked at me over lunch & goes "didn't you do the same thing last weekend?"
Themis: Me: "Hell no - i did yoga then hip hop!"
Themis: Her: "Oh, well hell I didn't know that."
Themis: Genius move.
Themis: Maybe it'll shock my body into dropping those two pounds so I can break 150.
Themis: And I'm glad I'm sore. It means I worked.
Themis: But I wanted to beat her once she realized that I'd never done that (nor had i wanted to).
The Fly: On the plus/weird side, she actually went to two classes in a row.
Themis: Yes she did!
Themis: Great success there.
Themis: I knew we were in trouble when our yoga instructor (who did spin class with us for most of the class) started going "for you people who did spin before this, im sorry for this next pose."
Themis: Mentally, I'm going "... Fuck."
The Fly: ROFL
Themis: But again, I should thank her.
Themis: Because it forced me to push my body.
Themis: Makes me think I might actually be able to take off two pounds this week.
Themis: Which is good, because I havent taken off two pounds in one week since week three or so.

Whoohoo! Vacation! Vacation rules!

Fly Report: 05th November 2009

Good morning. Believe, believe in me. Believe - believe! That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain.

It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 64° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $79.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 9802.14. The exchange rate is $1.66 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is phenomenal. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 6. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Believe.

The Fly's Vacation: Day 5

Yesterday was excellent. Epic. Awesome. Here's what I did:

Genesis 4, and five (long) chapters of Confessions Book VIII.

shooting with Big Brother Caleb

swim and stretch PT

synchronized my clocks and watches

downloaded and then deleted (from the web) the contents of my original website

dinner, beer, and pipe/cigar smoking with Big Brother Caleb, Big Sister Vassi, and the Hybrid

Right, then. Off with the horns, and on with the show. So, a few months ago, during a particularly ill-fated episode with Match.com, I began to communicate with a young lady whose name was - and I'm not making this up - Britney Spear. Now, Britney Spear was pretty, but not that pretty, and she wasn't exactly... Huh. Well, let's put it this way, she was no Themis, Goddess of Justice - Themis has always been fairly thin, and has been on an Ahab-esque quest to slim down over the last year or two. Britney Spear couldn't make the same claim.

The thing about Britney Spear is that she was certifiably crazy. Like, couldn't hold down a conversation, crazy. With CCG, there was at least a coherent thread to our conversations, even if she was completely irrational. The big thing with Britney Spear was that she'd get really flirty, like, borderline dirty, and when I'd respond (and let's face it, I'm almost all talk, certainly early in a relationship), she'd get really obnoxiously outraged.

Where am I going with this? Well, the time frame for my first set of conversations with Britney Spear was February/March of this year. I decided that she was crazy, and we stopped chatting. Then, I saw her (but didn't approach her or interact with her) a few weeks later, and we started chatting again. This, too, was short-lived. I had a conversation with Chops/Crypto King about one of the conversations, and I've forgotten about it until yesterday. Today, I share it with you, because even though it's a bit crass, I thought that the exchange was hilarious, as are many of my exchanges with the Crypto King.

The Fly: So guess who decided to flirt-text with me last night as I was trying to go to bed.
Crypto King: fattie mcnutjob?
The Fly: Ding, ding, ding.
The Fly: Couple of texts back and forth, told her I was getting ready to go to bed.
The Fly: Convo from there went something like this.
The Fly: "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help... When you're better :)"
The Fly: Me: "That sounds like a very dangerous offer."
The Fly: Her: "Maybe it's an offer I want you to take me up on."
The Fly: Me: "Don't talk your way into any corners that you're not prepared to act your way out of."
The Fly: Her: "No acting necessary."
Crypto King: well, either she's being a tease, or she wants the cock.
The Fly: Me: "Too bad, it was the acting (actions) that I was looking forward to."
The Fly: Her: "That's your fault for confusing acting with actions." ((WTF?))
The Fly: Me: "So, are you all talk, or are you prepared to do the actions?"
The Fly: Her: "I guess you'll just have to ask of* out to find out." ((Apparently she's not yet mastered predictive text, as a simple click of the * button would have changed "of" to "me" since they both use the 63 sequence on a phone keypad.))
The Fly: At that point she'd interrupted sleep several times, so I told her I was going to bed.
Crypto King: well, it sounds like you've got hot fattie ass just waiting for you, anytime you care to take her up on the offer.
The Fly: Hot as in easily aroused, or hot as in attractive?
The Fly: At any rate, I can't tell whether she wants my stuff, or if she thinks that this is her second chance to tease me into buying her food. That sure seemed to be her primary motivation a few weeks ago, and she wasn't that great at masking it.
Crypto King: do you really think she's changed her goals so much in a couple of weeks.
Crypto King: still, times are tough, maybe she's willing to put out in exchange for some food.
The Fly: If I did, I wouldn't have mentioned what I think her real goal is.
Crypto King: she's angling for the goods. and she probably knows she's not attractive enough to get them based on looks alone.
Crypto King: so she starts with the teasing.
Crypto King: I seriously doubt she puts out so easy, but it's entirely possible she does.
The Fly: Well, back to the theme of "Has she changed that much in a few weeks", her line about giving me a BJ was something along the lines of "It'll take a lot of free dinners before that happens." Not "We'll have to know each other pretty well," or "I'll have to be really comfortable with you," or "That will take some time." A lot of free dinners.
The Fly: Maybe I can just buy her a shit ton of TV dinners at Harris Teeter and then point at my junk.
Crypto King: in these economic conditions, that might work.
The Fly: Or I could go to a butcher and buy her a side of beef.
Crypto King: nothing gets them hotter than raw beef.
The Fly: And with that line, this conversation just got slated for blog posting.

"Nothing gets them hotter than raw beef." Classic. Have a great day, folks!

Fly Report: 04th November 2009

Good morning. The life that I've been living from the day I first drew breath, has been my way of forgetting, I'm on a journey to my death.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $79.30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 9771.91. The exchange rate is $1.64 for £1, or £0.61 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 Genesis 5. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas.

The Fly's Vacation: Day 4

Stuff The Fly did on his first "real" day on holiday:

got back into my morning ritual: Genesis 3, the tail end of Book VII of Confessions by Augustine, and the Book of Common Prayer

swim workout, push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching

job applications

half-assed attempt at doing dishes

opened a wine bottle with a Leatherman Juice CS4 - this means that I can now throw out the bottle opener that I bought for Katherine's visit

watched a bunch of episodes of Dharma and Greg on YouTube - I love that show

went to sleep to the annoyance of the Voice of Russia on shortwave, because the Voice of Justice is tough to pick up during the Winter months

There have been more. In the words of Ice Cube: I have to say, it was a good day. Today I'm:

more job applications

going shooting with Big Brother Caleb

another swim workout, and stretching

more episodes of Dharma and Greg - seriously, that show is totally awesome

maybe a hot bath with Epsom salt and a good book

There could be more. Here I go...

Fly Report: 03rd November 2009

Good morning. Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away. Vacation, meant to be spent alone.

It's 11° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 54° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 9789.44. The exchange rate is $1.64 for £1, or £0.61 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is gorgeous. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 4. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I gotta stand up to ego, but my ego's not really the enemy.

The Fly's Vacation: Day 3

Happy Monday, folks! First, the news.

Passport, documents linked to Al Qaeda member who planned 9/11 terror attacks are found along Afghan border (AP, Guardian, Times)

BBC: Internet addresses set for change

BBC: Somalia: where hair fringes, music and tobacco are banned - Tobacco is banned, but they chew khat all day long... You know, just like Mohammed did.

Guardian: What does [the Anglo-Catholic amalgamation] mean for women?

Times: Officers 'ate VIP dinner as [French] soldiers died in [Afghan] ambush'

Times: President Obama 'gave perks to donors'

Times: Johnston lays bare truth about Palin family - Okay, this kid is what, nineteen? I realize that the media hates Sarah Palin, but should we really be giving this kind of attention to a nineteen year-old? Would the media be giving attention to a nineteen year-old who claimed to have dirt on the Obama or Biden families? I doubt it.

Wired: Breaking News: Air Force Officer Speaks Pashto! - Unbelievable. Yet another reason to question the continued relevance of the Air Force, which should have been retained by the US Army instead of becoming its own service.

AFP: Russian submarine fails to launch troubled missile: report

So, I'm taking a week's holiday from work, trying to recover from the last few months, and finish up some projects. I probably won't blog much news this week, but I'll probably discuss different projects and such that I'm working on. Stay tuned.