30 April 2009

End of April

I sort of stunned that April's already over. M@ is leaving in a couple of weeks, work is chaotic in a way that's leaning good, I've been exceptionally productive this month, and there are probably some things I'm forgetting. It just... I don't know, things feel really bizarre at the moment. Also, despite having been up until an unfathomably late hour (for me) last night, I didn't write up a post, and there was really no news from yesterday worth posting. So... Satellite image and a video, and we'll call it good for today.

I recently found a hilarious video series on YouTube called Two Hot Chicks in the Shower. You'd think that something like that would be even more filthy than Mighty Mo on a Saturday night down at the biker bar, but they're actually really funny. Just for good measure, I'll post two of them.





And for today's satellite image, let's go with the site of a botched French atomic bomb test in Algeria. Sacre bleu!

Have a great day, folks!

Fly Report: 30th April 2009

Good morning. Where's the crew? There is no crew! This is the Goodship Lifestyle!

It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $50.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8185.73. The exchange rate is $1.48 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is newish.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 33. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 190

Still looking for the face I had before the world was made.

29 April 2009

Bedlam

I wound up having a lot going on last night, so I didn't write up a post. I have a number of things to share, but they'll have to wait. In the mean time, here are three things worth looking at.

After it was revealed that the producers of the Da Vinci Code sequel obnoxiously cheated the Vatican's ban on filming for the movie, a Guardian columnist has sided with the Vatican on the grounds that the books are "rubbish." Hilarious.

Also hilarious, and also from the Guardian, is a comedic sampling of President Obama's E-mails. From the headline, I thought that it was going to be yet another fluff piece that gave President Obama a pass for all of the questionable policies he's been enacting lately, but it turns out to be a parody piece. Aside from the asinine lines about President Bush, it's hysterical - particularly the E-mail to Vice President Biden. Whoops, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit when I typed "Vice President Biden".

On a serious note, Michael Totten has posted and commented on a recent article from Robert Kaplan on The Revenge of Geography - a discussion of the impact of geography on politics in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Michael Yon has also written three dispatches from Borneo, where he's embedded for a tracking course with British soldiers who are preparing to go to Afghanistan. The dispatches are here, here, and here. Michael Totten and Michael Yon are the best war correspondents writing today, and even when I disagree with them, I value what they have to say. When they post links, I try to read those, too. I read Imperial Grunts by Robert Kaplan, the author of that piece that Totten linked to, and it was insightful and fantastic. Basically, if you want to stay informed on current events that impact you personally, you should be checking Yon and Totten once or twice a week, and reading anything that Robert Kaplan publishes.

That's it for today, folks. Have a fantastic day, and I'll have more tomorrow.

Fly Report: 29th April 2009

Good morning. Repel all boarders!

It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with morning rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $49.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8016.00. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

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

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 32. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 189

Still looking for the sound that's gonna drown out the world.

28 April 2009

Trekkies and Crazy Wang Pills

Hey, folks! I hope that the weekend treated everyone well, and that everyone's week has started off on a high note. Here are a few of the things that I've collected over the last few days.

Some Frenchman thinks that one of the ways to prevent terrorism in Baghdad is to plant trees. Trees? They didn't work on the Champs Elysees...

The Guardian had a couple of interesting bits the other day in reference to the upcoming Star Trek reboot movie. The first that I saw was a Classic Trek fashion pictorial. They also had a pretty decent article on the subject, except that whoever wrote it made a number of mistakes that even I found. Now, I realize that British journalism isn't what it once was, but let's face it: people who care about Star Trek take it more seriously than hippies take cannabis. As such, the "journalist" should have felt compelled to do some real research and verification.

The Crypto King sent me a couple of links on Friday that I absolutely loved: a sort of cartoon reboot of the old G.I. Joe franchise called G.I. Joe: Resolute and an explanatory note by its creator. If you were ever a fan of G.I. Joe, in any incarnation, do yourself a favor and have a look - I was very pleased with what I saw.

Finally, a couple of comedic items. The Onion has a funny article about al Jazeera introducing a 'lighter side' segment on their otherwise horrible news coverage, and Cracked.com has a fantastic pictorial poking fun at the ExtenZe male enhancement commercials - don't worry, it's safe for work. The latter has Mighty Mo's seal of approval.

Today's satellite image is Drumanagh, a site on the Irish coast north of Dublin that I once wrote about in a couple of my university research papers.

That's it for today, folks. Check in tomorrow for more from yours truly, and have a fantastic Tuesday.

Fly Report: 28th April 2009

Good morning. Do you people realize that there are people who breed chihuahuas? Like... Intentionally? I was just as shocked as you are!

It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $48.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8025.00. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is NEW I still can't believe it.

Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 31. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

Consecutive days without CCG: 188

There's three things I need you to know.

27 April 2009

Stuff Fly Wants: April 2009

Though it may vex Father Time, here's the latest SFW list. In conjunction with the new website that I'm designing, I added or edited a couple of items, updated prices on virtually all the items listed, and updated the links. Enjoy, and check in tomorrow. Oh, by the way, I'd like to point out once again that the picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new for the first time since August, so go check it out.

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) NEW - $119.95 (Amazon price $99.77)
  • Bushmaster Deluxe Armorer's Kit - $180.95 NEW
  • 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)

    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 NEW - $11.98 (Amazon price $8.97)
  • Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95
  • Fly Report: 27th April 2009

    Good morning. He humps mighty mountains with his ALICE pack.

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

    A barrel of oil is trading at $49.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8076.29. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is amazing. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is NEW - GREAT CAESAR'S GHOST, IT'S FRIGGIN' NEW! And there are two of them, so hit the top two in the "recently" list.

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 30. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 187

    See China, right in front of you.

    24 April 2009

    AMF: Nothing but Fun

    As promised, I have no news for today - any news can wait until Monday or Tuesday, after I've pissed Father Time off by posting this month's Stuff Fly Wants list. (Don't worry, Foxtrot-Tango - it's revised and improved over last month's list!) So, here are the purely entertaining bits that I've collected for this post, just to help you folks initiate the weekend.

    Here are my tentative plans for this weekend.

  • either have a Spy Night or go to the Bier Garden with M@
  • spend all day Saturday watching the Dollars Trilogy - A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • write some or all of the conclusion to my article about France, the first installment of which was published by my parallel writing outlet on Tuesday
  • maybe do some HTML coding on this website/archive that I've been working on

    So, I mentioned Spy Night. I've noted those in a couple of older posts in 2008 (link, link), so rather than write about it again, I'll just quote from one of those:

    In college, I set a goal of watching every Bond flick, in order, in a year. During the course of that year, I would have "Spy Night" parties, where my friends and I would barbecue steaks, drink beer, and watch a comedy spy flick (like Johnny English or Spies Like Us), followed by whichever Bond movie I was on in the rotation.

    I don't think that M@ ever actually attended a Spy Night, since we met in Spring of '04 and didn't start hanging out until Autumn of that year, after which I had basically stopped having the parties. However, we both dig spy flicks, and he humors me on stuff, so he suggested it, and if we don't do it this weekend, we'll do it another weekend soon, before he disappears on me in mid-May.

    So, the whole concept of cooking, or just being bored a couple of days ago, reminded me that I've wanted to learn how to cook a few things for a while now. I've mentioned one, maybe two of these before.

  • Sharba Libya - made a Fly version of it several times
  • Rachael Ray's Shepherd's Pie in 30 Minutes - bought stuff to make it, never made it
  • Kurdish dolma - one of my favorite foods, I've only had it twice, it's much better than Greek dolma

    So, I decided today that in addition to other projects that I've been working on lately, and that I have listed for the next couple of months, I want to pick at least one day per month - probably a Saturday - to cook a new dish, even if that's the only time that I cook it. I'll probably start with either the Shepherd's Pie, or with a bona fide attempt at making Sharba Libya correctly. Rest assured, I will document these various attempts as I'm able.

    Assuming that Mighty Mo is paying attention today, this picture is for her. I'm sure she'll love it.

    How much does a man's salary matter to single women? Here's an article from MSN and Match.com that discusses it. In my experience, women are concerned primarily with looks, because I make good money and I'm paid next to no attention by women. I blame feminism. And the French.

    The other day, I was looking online to see if I could find an electronic version of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, and I came across a site called Positive Infinity. I'm going to peruse the site a bit more, but it appears that I may share some views with the guy who runs it, and it also appears to have a lot of cool resources pertaining to the Christian faith. If you're interested, go have a look.

    And, finally, the latest installment of one of my favorite web series', Man in the Box.



    I love these videos, because in many of them, and in this one in particular, Greg is living my life.

    Excellent. That's it for AMF, folks! Have a great weekend, and check back on Monday!
  • Fly Report: 24th April 2009

    Good morning. Leonard Nimoy is a spectacular actor. Seriously.

    It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 37° Fahrenheit with snow - at the end of April. I love Wyoming.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $49.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7957.06. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

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

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 30. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 184

    Closer to you every day, I didn't want it that much anyway.

    23 April 2009

    Sexy Cloned Camels and Goats

    Alright, it's Thursday. That's a good thing, because it means that tomorrow's Friday, and that means weekend. I love the weekend. These days, I live for the weekend. I'll discuss my weekend plans tomorrow, but for the time being, I have a few items to share with you folks.

    Last week, the first successful cloning of a camel was confirmed in the United Arab Emirates (BBC, Times). A day or two later, Iran claimed to have cloned a goat. Somehow, I think that the Iranian goat may be a hoax.

    Last week, the Russians declared their operations in Chechnya to be complete. Analysts basically said "yeah, whatever you say, dudes" - I'm paraphrasing there. Well, a couple of days ago, three Russian soldiers died in an ambush in Chechnya. I guess things aren't actually over in Chechnya, huh?

    And it's been a rough couple of weeks for President Obama. First and foremost, he continues to take flak from both hostile and friendly heads of state - Chairman Fidel made a rare appearance from the grave to claim that President Obama "misinterpreted" Raul Castro's words, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy apparently called President Obama "weak". Last week, he released a "torture" memo that's stirred all sorts of debate. It's essentially a political move designed to appease his base and make him appear to be "fixing" things that President Bush did that the hippies didn't like. It's sparked several different developments.

  • Former-Vice President Cheney went on record as saying that President Obama should also release the records that indicate how very effective the harsh interrogation techniques were (BBC, Guardian, Times).
  • Various CIA officials have gone on record as stating that the release of the memo has had and will have an adverse effect on national security and intelligence operations.
  • President Obama's base have applauded him for releasing the memo, while everyone else has said something to the effect of "That's torture? Really?"

    Boy. It's tough to be President Obama. Bummer. Oh, yeah, and his Secretary of Homeland Security thinks that returning combat veterans are likely domestic terrorists, which inspired the latest awesome shirt from Ranger Up. On the plus side for President Obama, he still has the media solidly (read: cultishly) on his side, as evidenced by this fantastic article by The Onion.

    Wrapping things up on a high note, here's a commentary on the SEAL snipers who rescued that captain from Somali pirates a couple of weeks ago. Speaking of which, the incident with the SEAL snipers inspired Ranger Up's other awesome new shirt.

    Okay, here's the deal: me blathering about the news today means no news tomorrow. Arbeit Macht Freitag for 24th April 2009 is already written at the time that you're reading this, and there's no news, none at all. Swing back in tomorrow and enjoy - and in the mean time, have a fantastic Thursday.
  • Fly Report: 23rd April 2009

    Good morning. Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is an asshole.

    It's 12° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 67° Fahrenheit with afternoon thunder storms.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $48.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7886.57. The exchange rate is $1.45 for £1, or £0.69 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 Deuteronomy 29. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 183

    Will you come back tomorrow?

    22 April 2009

    Quick and Dirty - Like My Ex-Girlfriends!

    Instead of writing a post last night, I:

  • reviewed one hundred Arabic flash cards
  • watched Monday's episode of Chuck - wow!
  • cooked and cleaned up
  • downloaded every last scrap of Arabic material from the Defense Language Institute's Language Materials Distribution System

    I'm not sure what tonight will hold, but hopefully it will be as productive. Here are a few of the stories that I've been collecting lately, just for good measure.

  • 50 year-old mother spends $10k to look like daughter - check out the pictures!
  • US Troops Ambush Taliban With Swift and Lethal Results
  • Pakistanis riot, burn stuff after losing cricket World Cup - And we're trying to prop this country up?
  • Silvio Berlusconi and one of his cabinet members painted as naked angels - This is a play on this particular minister of Berlusconi's having formerly been a topless model, but still - oh my!
  • US military shutting down Mullah FM
  • Lightest exoplanet is discovered
  • For Mighty Mo: a smiling monkey!
  • For Father Time: audio of Jimmy Doolittle discussing the Doolittle Raid, Battle of Midway

    That's it, folks! Happy Wednesday!
  • Fly Report: 22nd April 2009

    Good morning. Stay in the car, Chuck!

    It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 75° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $48.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7969.56. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 27. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 182

    Now the wolves are every passing stranger, every face we cannot know.

    21 April 2009

    Revelation

    Today's going to be painful.

    UPDATE: On the plus side, this is hilarious.

    Fly Report: 21st April 2009

    Good morning. Saith Gus: "Old people are terrible drivers. Every last one of them drives a Lincoln Continental. None of them drive Civics."

    It's 10° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 74° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $47.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7841.73. The exchange rate is $1.45 for £1, or £0.69 for $1.

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

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 27. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 181

    As boys we would go hunting in the wood, to sleep the night shooting out the stars.

    20 April 2009

    Super Fly Weekend

    Here are some things I did this weekend instead of writing up a blog post.

  • met up for coffee and a walk through Norfolk with a friend
  • made some long-needed revisions to my Arabic flash cards
  • finished the first of a two-part article series about France - Sacre bleu!
  • went to church
  • went out for beer and an eventful walk around Portsmouth with M@ and Mrs. Mike Nelson
  • watched Saving Silverman, the 40 Year Old Virgin, and Sahara

    I'll count this weekend as a win. Check in tomorrow.
  • Fly Report: 20th April 2009

    Good morning. Wait, wait, wait, slow down, ma'am. What sort of vehicle did you say that the snakes were found on?

    It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 68° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $50.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8131.33. The exchange rate is $1.48 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 180

    Who can forgive forgiveness when forgiveness is not? Only the lamb as white as snow.

    17 April 2009

    AMF: Wherein the Fly Accomplishes Stuff

    Here are a few of the things that I did Thursday night instead of writing an AMF post.

  • I bleached out the bladder on my CamelBak ThermoBak 2L.
  • I worked on my new webpage and archive CD project. I'm beginning to see how ambitious this project will be.
  • I talked on the phone with Gus for about an hour, and updated him on the more bizarre aspects of my life as it currently stands.
  • I called Jake and congratulated him on the news that his second kid is going to be a boy.
  • I messed around on Facebook for a while.
  • I drank a Guinness Stout. Delicious.

    I have a few things to work on this weekend, and I've had to call off a trip to Quantico to see the Butt Rubber and Olive Oil; however, that will come within a few weeks. This weekend I'll be continuing on my webpage project, maybe working on those Arabic flash cards (please, يسوع, let me work on those damned flash cards), and making a few social calls as well. It should be a pleasant weekend.

    That having been said, it's time for your friendly neighborhood Super Fly to hit the sack. Check in Monday for a picture of my new beard style - Father Time is going to experience immediate geriatric rage when he sees it!

    UPDATE: Gus sends me the best stuff - he's the only cop I'd take a small caliber bullet to a fatty area for. Mighty Mo is going to freak out. Excellent! The comments are the best part! And go watch the video!

    UPDATE: Mother of God, a new Stephen Crowder video to boot! This is going to be a fantastic Friday, I just know it.



    Outstanding. Have a great weekend, folks!
  • Fly Report: 17th April 2009

    Good morning. Saith Gus: "I don't what it is about South Americans and psychology."

    It's 8° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 53° Fahrenheit with clouds.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $50.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8125.43. The exchange rate is $1.49 for £1, or £0.67 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 177

    Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.

    16 April 2009

    In Lieu of Post

    Here are some things that I accomplished last night instead of writing a post.

  • I bleached out and rinsed out my SDS hydration pack so that I can start yomping again.
  • I reconciled two lists of links that I use for writing blog posts and articles.
  • I worked on one of my two novels.
  • I watched the latest episode of Chuck.

    Oh, and by the way, I'm thinking of getting a Scottish Terrier. Thinking of. No decisions have been made yet, and this is something that would happen later, rather than sooner - maybe June or July. With all the money I've spent in the last few weeks, I'd need a month or two to replenish my accounts in order to even consider buying a dog.

    Oh, and... Uh... Here's a video. George Lucas in Love.



    Hysterical. Oh, and just for good measure, have any of you seen anything about the protests in Moldova? Here's where it is. Admit it, you didn't know, did you? That's what I thought. Moldova's only noteworthy characteristic is that it's the birthplace of the members of O-Zone. Unfamiliar with O-Zone?



    I bet you remember it now, don't you. Now, remember to have a fantastic day!
  • Fly Report: 16th April 2009

    Good morning. Does the monkey get hurt? Monkey...

    It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 40° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $50.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8029.62. The exchange rate is $1.50 for £1, or £0.67 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 176

    You say in love, there are no rules.

    15 April 2009

    Better Things to Do

    Last night, I ended up having impromptu dinner and a beer with M@. Before and after that, I was uploading photos from the old computer to Facebook. So, no post today. Have a great Wednesday!

    Fly Report: 15th April 2009

    Good morning. Today's Fly Report is dedicated to Copper.

    It's 8° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 39° Fahrenheit with snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $50.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7920.18. The exchange rate is $1.49 for £1, or £0.67 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 175

    It's Summer, I can taste the salt on the sea.

    14 April 2009

    Not Great Success, Just Success

    This is a report on my tech project for this weekend.

    I already noted that ScanDisk chewed up twenty or so hours of my time on Friday and Saturday. If this hadn't happened, I might have come to my official end much quicker.

    After trying two different PCI slots and screwing around with the operating system, the Ethernet card still doesn't work. For now, I'm giving up on that particular asset - it's an old computer, I don't plan to upgrade the operating system anyway, and I didn't really ever intend to take it online again. It would have been nice to have figured out how to network, and maybe I'll get it figured out at some point in the future, but for now it's just not worth the effort of continuing to try.

    I worked the hard drive issue last night. I could not for the life of me figure out how to get the stupid thing out, and it was far bigger than I had expected - much too large, for example, to fit into that hard drive enclosure that I purchased. I also attempted to use the enclosure, sans case, by hooking the wires up while the hard drive was still inside the tower, but the wires were too short and wouldn't twist the right way, and the remainder of the enclosure that they were attached to was too big to fit in the available room within the tower. I was about ready to beat someone down, and give up entirely, by the time I was actually able to get the hard drive out of the drive cage. It was this page that gave me the necessary clues to complete the task of getting it out. Now, once I got it out, it was still far too big for the enclosure, but I was at least able to get the wires from the enclosure to hook into it, and then get the whole thing set up in a sort of ugly fashion and connected to my current laptop. As I write this (Monday night), the old hard drive is transferring via the new laptop onto the new external hard drive, after which point I'll delete what I don't need and categorize the rest of it. Once that's all done, I'll do everything in my power to restore the old computer to its original state and then put it away for the time being - with the data backed up, I'm really in no hurry to get it all set up. Before I put it back together, there are a couple of things I'll transfer over (games).

    So, I wouldn't call it great success, but modest success is better than total failure. If I'm lucky, the whole project will be done and cleaned up by nine tonight, and I can get some sleep and start tomorrow fresh.

    Fly Report: 14th April 2009

    Good morning. Spring must be in the air.

    It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 52° Fahrenheit with rain.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $51.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8057.81. The exchange rate is $1.48 for £1, or £0.67 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 Deuteronomy 27. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 174

    Where do we go from here?

    13 April 2009

    A Successful Failure

    I had a fantastic weekend. My tech project didn't go quite the way I'd intended, due to about twenty hours of ScanDisk (that never actually got finished) and an ancient computer that doesn't seem to recognize the Ethernet card. As such, it's a work in progress. I did return that Ethernet cable and bought an external hard drive, which is a plus. I'm not sure that I'll have the opportunity to keep working on the whole thing this week, but hopefully the whole project can be brought to a close by the end of April.

    The tech project took up all of Friday night and much of Saturday (despite the ScanDisk issue). On Saturday night, I had a great rally with M@, went to the Bier Garden with him and had some beer from the Orkney Brewery, and went to bed. Sunday was church, cooking, polishing boots, and a few other household tasks. All in all, an excellent, excellent weekend.

    I have a couple of cool links to share today. According to an article in the London Times, someone's making a comic book that stars Barack the Barbarian versus Sarah Palin in a sort of ancient adventure epic. Hilarious. Also, Mighty Good Leader sent me this link, which gives a detailed flash animation documenting the construction chronology and individual components of the International Space Station. I personally think that the ISS is a joke and a waste of money, but the site's interesting, so check it out.

    I leave you with your video for today: Chris Rock's video on how not to get the snot beaten out of you by the police.



    Check in tomorrow, folks! Have a great Monday.

    Fly Report: 13th April 2009

    Good morning. Someday, this war's gonna end.

    It's 10° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with afternoon rain.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $51.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8083.38. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

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

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 173

    Man dreams one day to fly, a man takes a rocket ship into the sky.

    11 April 2009

    Weekend Nerdery Project

    I keep talking about projects. Last week, I got a lot done - a lot - and I don't intend for this weekend to be any different. One of the things that I accomplished last week, against my better judgment, was to buy some computer equipment. I got:

  • a horribly overpriced Ethernet cable - $29.99
  • Rocketfish 3.5" Hard Drive Enclosure kit - $60.99

    A buddy at work was able to provide me with an Ethernet cable for free, so one of my missions for Saturday will be to return the horribly overpriced cable, still in its packaging. In addition to these two items, there are a few other things pictured.

  • my current laptop
  • my old computer, an HP Pavilion 6460, circa 1998
  • my first laptop, a HP Pavilion Notebook N3350, circa 2000
  • a Linksys LNE100TX EtherFast 10/100 LAN Card, circa 2000
  • a SanDisk Cruzer Mini 256MB flash drive, circa 2003
  • a SanDisk Cruzer 4GB flash drive, circa 2008
  • the August 2007 and January 2009 issues of Maxim Magazine, both of them featuring Hilary Duff - those have nothing to do with the project, they're just for show

    Hauling some of this crap out and setting it up brings back memories. The laptop was a gift from my family's business for graduation so that I could use it in college, and it got me through five years of college and more, particularly from July of '04 through to Summer of '05 when my desktop machine was inoperable. I bought the LNE100TX around the same time so that I could connect to the network at the fraternity house, which lasted for all of a week before I moved out. That was late Summer, early Autumn of 2000. It's Spring of 2009, and I literally just removed the shrink wrap. Most of my blog posts from December of 2004 to June or July of 2005 were written on the N3350, and most of the rest from then until July of '07 were written on the 6460. If I remember correctly, the Cruzer Mini was a Christmas gift from my grandparents for Christmas of 2003, and I'm pretty sure that it went to England with me.

    So, where am I going with this? Simple: I'm going to partially backup, and partially revitalize my old computer. In the process, I'm going to give myself a sort of partial crash course in computer hardware, which is something that I've had almost no experience with since around 1996 - the end of middle school. The only time I've really set up any hardware since I was in middle school, beyond just hooking a computer up, was back in August or September of 2007 when I set up my cable modem and Netgear WGR614 wireless router (pictured). I had to give myself a similar crash course in modern information technology with an emphasis on network security when I arrived here in Old Dominion, so this is sort of a continuation of that process. So, what exactly am I going to do?

  • I currently have the old computer up, running ScanDisk.
  • Once ScanDisk is complete, I'll run defrag.
  • Once both of these are done, I'll shut the thing down and install the Ethernet card.
  • After that, I'll probably move the router and cable modem into the bedroom so that the Ethernet cable will reach easier.
  • From there, I'll hopefully be able to network the two computers together through the router. Assuming I can get the systems networked, I should theoretically be able to share files back and forth, and back the necessary ones up.
  • Whether that works or not, I'll remove the hard drive from the old computer, install it into the USB enclosure kit, and hook it up to the new computer for virus scanning. Even if the Ethernet setup doesn't work, the hard drive kit should.
  • At some point, maybe this weekend, I'll purchase a 500GB USB hard drive for the purpose of backing up files from the 6460, the N3350, and my current system.

    This entire process, which should only take some time tonight and the bulk of Saturday, should get me familiarized with basic networking and basic hardware upgrades. That's an exceptionally good thing. Also, when all's said and done, I'll have some important and irreplaceable files and content backed up, and I'll be able to wipe that content off of my old hard drive and start using it as a platform for playing old computer games (and old Nintendo ROMs) that can't be played on a modern system. I'm pretty excited about that, ladies and gentlemen!

    So, I'll be working on that for the rest of the night, and most of tomorrow. It's a good weekend project for me, it will accomplish something that I need to do and that I've been meaning to do for months, and the Crypto King believes that it's within my level of capability. So, I'll probably report on that for Monday's post. If you're one of my friends on Facebook, I'll be updating a photo album throughout the weekend as I work on the project, step by step.

    Here I go...
  • 10 April 2009

    AMF: Crypto King Loves Marshmallows

    Hey folks! It's Friday! That means it's time for Arbeit Macht Freitag! Here are a couple of links from yesterday's news perusal.

  • Following up on this article from yesterday that I was incredulous about, apparently General Petraeus is quietly challenging the President. Isn't that interesting?
  • And following up on the link about the Babe Theory of Political Movements is this post from the Wired.com Danger Room blog about Natalia Morar, a stone cold Moldovan hottie who's been blamed by the Moldovan government for inciting the recent anti-communist demonstrations (read: riots) there. I have to be honest, I don't condone violence or property damage, but I can't guarantee that I wouldn't hassle some commies if I thought it would get me her phone number.
  • Kazakhstan claims to have a '130-year-old' woman - the Fly is skeptical, but she's still really old.
  • Kim Jong Il appeared in public for the first time since last fall, and he looks terrible (BBC, Guardian, Times). It couldn't have happened to a bigger wanker.
  • The Moors want an apology for the Spanish Inquisition, four hundred years later. I'm going to practice my better judgment and not comment on this one, but it's still interesting.

    And here's a conversation I had last night with the Crypto King.

    Crypto King: I just started a new todo list
    Crypto King: it's "Things to do while [the wife] and the boys are in Japan"
    Crypto King: the only thing on it right now is:
    Crypto King: The Lucky Charms project
    Crypto King: * Buy box of Lucky Charms
    The Fly: ROFL
    The Fly: You're my ----ing hero.
    Crypto King: * Separate marshmellows from other part
    Crypto King: * Throw other part away
    The Fly: ROFL
    Crypto King: * Eat bowl full of marshmellows.
    Crypto King: s/mel/mal
    Crypto King: I need a spellchecker in google tasks.
    Crypto King: people here get mad if they see me throwing away half the cereal.
    The Fly: YOu could always bring in just the marshmallows.
    Crypto King: that would be silly, since we have big urns of cereal here.
    Crypto King: I dump a bunch in my hand, eat the marshmallows, then throw the rest away.
    The Fly: And people fuss at you.
    Crypto King: unless some hippy is standing around watching me.
    Crypto King: yeah, in that case I just eat it all.

    And here's a video with a hot chick talking about pirates...



    ... And here's part two.



    Hotties? Check. News? Check. Hilarity from the Crypto King? Check. Satellite image of Independence Square in Vilnius, Lithuania? Check*. My work here is done. Have a great weekend, folks!

    * On a side note, one of my buddies from high school and college married a Lithuanian woman, and I was the best man in their wedding (see photo, attached) and the lynchpin in his plan to send her on a scavenger hunt in an elaborate scheme to propose to her during Spring of 2002. When I met her for the first time, probably in late Summer of 2001 if I remember correctly, I had done just a little bit of research and found out that the capital of Lithuania is Vilnius. She was astonished that I knew this information, and that I had taken the time to find out a little bit about her, and save for her month-long period of pre-wedding insanity, we've been great friends ever since. I've had similar experiences with people from Nigeria, and I think there were a few other countries. My advice to you, the valued reader, is this: if you want a foreigner to be on your side, instantly, demonstrate that you know the name of their capital city, particularly if they come from some country that most people have never heard of. You'll be amazed at the results.
  • Fly Report: 10th April 2009

    Good morning. Teach me where to go, tell me, what will I find? What will I find?

    It's 10° 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 $52.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8083.38. The exchange rate is $1.46 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 170

    You, you said you'd wait until the end of the world.

    09 April 2009

    Busy Fly = Entertaining Links Day!

    The last few nights have been pretty crazy, and two of the three have involved cooking. That's right, me, cooking. Also, I've been getting back into the swing of studying Arabic, as noted on my two recent posts over at Ten Thousand Reps. Anyway, I didn't have time to type up an actual post last night, and I also didn't have time to convert my latest article to blog form, so in lieu of a regular post, here are some bulleted stories and links, most of which are pretty light and entertaining. I've top-loaded the entertaining ones, just for you, the valued reader. Enjoy.

    Light and Entertaining:
  • The Babe Theory of Political Movements - It's a historical fact that many successful revolutions have been spearheaded by hot women, and by men who wanted to impress hot women. If you don't believe me, Google "Cedar Revolution". This tongue-in-cheek entry is both informative and entertaining, and well worth five or ten minutes to read if you need a giggle.
  • Scientists Race to Prevent 'Catastrophic Disaster' in Space - An interesting article from Fox News about the quest to clean up space junk floating around in orbit.
  • Turks with "Obama go home" signs, North Korean soldiers dancing on the border, and a really cool picture of a plane crossing the Moon in a Times Online photo spread from a few days ago.
  • The Castaway Canine that Wouldn't Quit - If you love dogs, or just happy endings in this age of bad news, this story is a must-read.
  • From The Onion: 'C-List Celebrity Killer' Leaves Police Enthusiastically Guessing Who's Next
  • 'Lap-dancing nun' performs for Church - I guess they have different standards for beauty in Italy, because I don't think I'd want a lap dance from this woman, even before she became a nun. Good for her for straightening her life out, though!
  • More proof that Apple is the devil: Going for a more expensive song: iTunes raises prices
  • Today's satellite picture: a resort city west of Baghdad
  • And here's a link to a video from College Humor, that Mrs. Mike Nelson would hate. Just saying.

    Pertinent and Serious:
  • Politics: In the Age of Hope and Change, I pine for leaders like Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi.
  • Politics: Obama wins respect of US military - I'm not sure whose military the author was talking about, but his article doesn't match my boots-on-the-ground perception.
  • From Michael Totten: Sadr City After the Fall - As always, Michael Totten is one of the two greatest independent journalists in the world today. Go check it out, enjoy the pictures, and digest the information.
  • JPost: The Karabakh war's Bitter Legacy

    Have a great day, folks, and tune in tomorrow for Arbeit Macht Freitag.
  • Fly Report: 09th April 2009

    Good morning. Well, to be fair, the hippies are ruining all of our lives.

    It's 8° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 47° Fahrenheit with morning rain and snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $51.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7837.11. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 26. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 169

    I am not afraid of anything in this world, there's nothing you can throw at me that I haven't already heard.

    08 April 2009

    Lee Has Left the Building

    My original plan for Wednesday was to post my most recent article for my parallel writing endeavour. However, as I write this, I've just learned of the untimely death of Lee, the founder of Right Thinking from the Left Coast, Moorewatch, and Lee in China. According to Harley and Manda, both of whom used to post comments on this blog (and both of whom I met through Right Thinking), Lee didn't show up for work on Monday, and his remains were later found in his apartment. Lee was working in China, where he had been for the better part of the last year. Manda says that Lee's brother is on his way to China to identify the remains. The linked post has a few more pieces of information, though information is spotty and second- and third-hand at this point.

    I have to be up front and honest and say that although I initially liked Lee due to what were then our similarities on political and philosophical issues, I eventually grew to strongly dislike him. Preceding and directly following the 2004 election, I was tuned into Lee's blog on a daily basis, and spent hours upon hours posting comments and participating in discussions there. Eventually, though, Lee sort of snapped and seemed to take on a much different persona. He seemed to grow to loathe President Bush, he went on a wild big "L" Libertarian crusade, and became exceptionally hostile to the very idea of religious faith. Many speculated that this was emotional backlash caused by the death of Lee's father, but Lee claimed that the shift had more to do with outrage over what he saw as a brainless religious/superstitious miscarriage of justice during the Terri Schiavo incident. Whatever the cause, I felt that Lee and his closest allies had turned into a bunch of bigoted snobs, and I no longer saw Right Thinking as a venue for enlightened and cordial discussion of substantive issues. As I remember, I either sent Lee an E-mail or posted a comment in either 2005 or 2006 saying that I was leaving and wouldn't be back, and he insisted that I would be back, and that even if I didn't come back, his traffic was increasing on a regular basis, so I wouldn't be missed.

    Full disclosure having been accomplished, I have to admit that if it weren't for Lee, I probably wouldn't have gotten into blogging myself. I was always opposed to blogs of all shapes and sizes until I started reading Lee's blog, not realizing what it was. Having used early bulletin board systems during their last days before they were swept away by the rise of the Internet, and having eventually found Internet forums, Right Thinking represented a logical progression for me. At a time when I was still working to finalize a sort of Grand Unified Fly Philosophy, I learned a great deal from Lee and the other folks who commented on his posts. I initially patterned my own posts and blogging style after him, before I began to develop my own style. It was this entire experience that turned me into the news junkie that I am today, and given how big a part that plays both my life and my plans for the future, that's a contribution that I take very seriously.

    What would my life have been like during the last four and a half years without this blog? I might have kept one or more gilfriends for much longer than I did. I certainly wouldn't have gotten the parallel writing gig that I have now, which will likely pay big dividends in the long run. I wouldn't have met my adopted big sister, or gotten to know folks like Manda, Harley, or Sneaky Pete as well as I have. Right Thinking was a huge part of my life for several years, and Thus Saith the Fly has been an even bigger part of my life since my first post in December of 2004. As much as I'd grown to dislike him for various reasons, and despite the fact that I probably only looked at his blog once or twice a year over the last three years or so, Lee was the catalyst for a lot of good in my life.

    As I finish writing this on Tuesday night for posting Wednesday morning, I'm drinking a bottle of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat. This one's for you, Lee. Thanks for the memories, and even though you were a bit of a bastard, I appreciate the snowball effect that you started in my life.

    Fly Report: 08th April 2009

    Good morning. The hippies are ruining my life.

    It's 7° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 58° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $48.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7789.56. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 25. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 168

    I want you to know that you don't need me anymore.

    07 April 2009

    Weekend Recap - With Guns!

    Okay, so I have forty minutes worth of Chuck, and an unknown amount of time during which my clothes are in the dryer, in which to type up a quick recap of my weekend.

    Friday night was very uneventful, once I'd received some hand-me-down furniture and unloaded it. Saturday morning was very, very eventful. Here's a recap of my stops, and what I picked up.

  • Office Depot: rubber bands
  • Best Buy: ethernet cable, USB hard drive enclosure kit (more on that stuff coming soon)
  • Target: candles, light bulbs, Febreze, and I got some pictures printed off from my day with Captain John and First Mate Annie
  • grocery store: groceries, money orders to pay bills - more on that shortly
  • gun show: used Blackhawk Omega Elite Gas Mask Pouch, used M7 bayonet, beef jerky from Triple E Jerky

    So as far as the bills that I mentioned, beyond monthly stuff, I've also owed the Crypto King $200 since November of '07 for some furniture that he and his wife gave me when they moved. I'm finally paying him, because he made it clear that it wasn't top priority, and I've had a busy year and a half in the interim. I'm also paying Desert Rat Tim for some gear that he's sending me. The whole thing, plus rent and other bills all at once, has knocked me below my normal safety threshold, but it's still well within comfortable tolerances, and I get paid at the end of the week. I'm mainly glad that I'll be paid up on all of my personal debts. Moving right along...

    Most of Saturday afternoon, to include the gun show, was spent with the Butt Rubber, Olive Oil, and their kids - as you can see from the picture, I was responsible for taking little Jacob to his first gun show at the age of five months. Most triumphant! While I was in church on Sunday, I got a call from a buddy of mine from my Navy days who wanted to go shooting. So, for the first time in more than three years - three freakin' years, people! - I put rounds down range. I didn't do as fabulous as I should have, but I had some decent groups, and I intend to go again sooner than October of 2012. Oh, yeah, and it was great to see him for the first time since around '02 - about seven years! It's amazing what living in the vicinity of a huge Navy base will do for a former midshipman.

    I've run across a few interesting articles lately that I wanted to share, and then I'll close this up.

  • Obama Depressed, Distant Since 'Battlestar Galactica' Series Finale (The Onion)
  • U2's Fallen Joshua Tree - An article about the iconic Joshua Tree from the 1987 U2 album, which died of natural causes in 2000.
  • Real debates about faith are drowned by the New Atheists' foghorn voices (Guardian) - An interesting article about how militant atheists have turned into the very zealots that they claim to rail against.
  • YON: Obama plan for Afghanistan, Pakistan short on bold - The latest article from Michael Yon delineates just how troubling the adjusted strategy for Afghanistan really is.

    HA! I knew it! I freakin' knew it! Sorry, that was a little Chuck-related epiphany.

    Alright, Chuck just ended, and the dryer just finished, so it's time to finish things up around here and head to work. Have a great day, folks, and tune in tomorrow for my latest article on Afghanistan.
  • Fly Report: 07th April 2009

    Good morning. Damn, it feels good to be a gangster.

    It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 61° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $51.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7975.85. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 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 Deuteronomy 24. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 167

    If I could, you know I would; if I could, I would let it go.

    06 April 2009

    Crashing Through

    What a weekend: the Butt Rubber, Olive Oil, a gun show, and much, much more. Unfortunately, I have many things to do today, so a full run-down (which will probably be more interesting than most of what I post on here) won't be available until tomorrow morning.

    However, I do want to make one note. I've mentioned Battlestar Galactica lately. A lot. Well, on the BSG homepage, there's an advert for KFC. I've posted it, as you can see. I have to say, this is one of the more humorous adverts I've ever seen, due largely to its cheesy simplicity. "Hey, whoa, KFC thinks that Battlestar Galactica fans are super awesome. Please buy our chicken!?"

    Have a great day, folks, and check in tomorrow for a recap of my weekend - because I know you're all interested. Especially you, Mighty Mo. And you, Father Time.

    Fly Report: 06th April 2009

    Good morning. You see me - it's not me - there's something underneath my skin. I want to tear it all away, and show the beauty that's within.

    It's 8° 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 $53.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 8017.59. The exchange rate is $1.48 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

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

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 23. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 166

    It's me that wants to get away.

    03 April 2009

    AMF: Jihadi Video Repost

    Hey folks. I'm glad this week is over - totally brutal. Anyway, I was going to post these videos on April Fool's Day, but I didn't want to distract anyone from the special Fly Report. These are three old jihadi spoof videos that I've posted in the past: "Al Qaeda Orientation Video", "al Qaeda Subtitles", and "Taliban - Abdullah al Hussein".







    I have an article due this weekend, and the Butt Rubber and Olive Oil are in town, so I'll be hanging out with them, getting a few things done around the house, and finishing up an article - either the one about France, or one of the two about Afghanistan, all three of which were started earlier this week. (I love having a jump on articles for weeks yet to come, as opposed to having to start from scratch.) At any rate, have a great weekend, and check in next week.

    Fly Report: 03rd April 2009

    Good morning. I'm getting really annoyed with shallow women. Wait... That should just read "women."

    It's 7° Centigrade and foggy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 36° Fahrenheit with snow.

    A barrel of oil is trading at $53.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 7978.08. The exchange rate is $1.47 for £1, or £0.68 for $1.

    Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is [adjective for "really bad" that shouldn't be used on the blog]. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

    Today's scripture reading is Deuteronomy 22. The Fly is currently reading the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5.

    Consecutive days without CCG: 163

    "Time is irrelevant, it's not linear" - then she put her tongue in my ear.