I been a bad boy. I gone been and not done my blogging.
Sorry!
Regular service will resume momentarily.
kthanxbai!
Monday, July 5, 2010
I'm Back
My apologies which are an acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense.
I been a bad boy. I gone been and not done my blogging.
Regular service will resume momentarily.
kthanxbai!
I been a bad boy. I gone been and not done my blogging.
Regular service will resume momentarily.
kthanxbai!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I've said it before
I've said it before, and I'll say it again:
this great music video - beats the bollards out of Micheal Jackson multi-million dollar videos
And here is a little behind the scenes info from 3 of the PhDs behind the video, OK GO - Rube Goldberg Machine
kthanxbai!
this great music video - beats the bollards out of Micheal Jackson multi-million dollar videos
And here is a little behind the scenes info from 3 of the PhDs behind the video, OK GO - Rube Goldberg Machine
kthanxbai!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Vuvuzela, Venzuela,
South Africa is showing that it can be a host to a world event, especially after all the worries about the astonishingly high level of violence and crime in certain areas of the country.
There are still issues with the South Africans though, and something that is ruining the occasion of today's football greats playing each other and that is the vuvuzlea.
No, not the Plavalaguna character from the Bruce Willis film, The Fifth Element, but rather a long trumpet or bugle that gives out an insidious noise. And the buggers keep blowing them throughout the match!
As if the players didn't have enough excuses as to why they lost the game / missed the shot / couldn't concentrate on kicking the ball.
Vuvuzelas in action at the World Cup 2010
Personally I fear that Diego Maradona is taking his integration into South African society a bit too seriously -
kthanxbai!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The kids of today
Not like in my day when we had marching bands and ghillie suits. Oh wait, that can't be right....
But they did bring us the internet classic which has over 51,444,817 hits with them dancing all over treadmills.
As well as this great music video - beats the bollards out of Micheal Jackson multi-million dollar videos.
kthanxbai!
But they did bring us the internet classic which has over 51,444,817 hits with them dancing all over treadmills.
As well as this great music video - beats the bollards out of Micheal Jackson multi-million dollar videos.
kthanxbai!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
6th June sixty six years ago
Real tributes to the troops who landed and fought from 6th June 1944 until the bitter end. Whenever that individually happened.
Exile In Portales
Argghhh!!
Great Satan's Girlfriend
And go here and read this 1st hand account of D-Day
What I remember should not be erased from human memory.... I must write.... I must write now
kthanxbai!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Fast-roping 101
Abu Muqawama has this instructional diagram for use by the IDF in any and all future fast-roping activities;
kthanxbai!
kthanxbai!
3 Boxes of BS - On A Personal Note
Bob S. over at 3 Boxes of BS has a very personal blog.I strongly suggest you go over there and read it.
kthanxbai!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
For the silent majority
This ad goes out to the silent majority - the backbone of the US.
kthanxbai!
kthanxbai!
Love a Good Ad?
VC over at Throw The Ball Already has shared with us an excellent advert(isement).
I know where I'm going skinny dipping...
kthanxbai!
I know where I'm going skinny dipping...
kthanxbai!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Internetz stuff
Some links from blogs I truly admire, for June 1st 2010
Bostonmaggie shows us How to Honor Lt. John Finn, MoH (below)
Flyguy tells us about his experiences with 'unique' pilots in his life of being a commercial airline pilot in 'Captain Utah' (I particularly like the story about the bananas)
The Armorer over at Aaargh! The Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys explains to us all Why Parents Drink.
kthanxbai!
Bostonmaggie shows us How to Honor Lt. John Finn, MoH (below)
Flyguy tells us about his experiences with 'unique' pilots in his life of being a commercial airline pilot in 'Captain Utah' (I particularly like the story about the bananas)
The Armorer over at Aaargh! The Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys explains to us all Why Parents Drink.
kthanxbai!
Monday, May 31, 2010
High seas - high jinks
I'm pretty miffed right now.
I get annoyed when people lie to my face, or think I'm stupid enough to believe the nonsense they spout.
To learn more than Fox, CNN, Al-Jezeera and Sky are telling you about today's escapades on the high seas, I suggest you read what The Muqata has to say in his live blogging.
kthanxbai!
I get annoyed when people lie to my face, or think I'm stupid enough to believe the nonsense they spout.
To learn more than Fox, CNN, Al-Jezeera and Sky are telling you about today's escapades on the high seas, I suggest you read what The Muqata has to say in his live blogging.
8:14 PM As we start wrapping up today's events, its not surprising to see the world's condemnation of Israel. We expect it. Regardless of the non-lethal force the IDF was expecting to use, or the "peace activists" Israel was expecting on the ships, today's events spiraled out of control as terrorists brutally attacked IDF soldiers with intent to kill.
kthanxbai!
Graduation Night - Moon over Yusufiyah
Graduation Night - Moon over Yusufiyah
By GreyhawkThis article is taken from The Mudville Gazette
The Stokely family sat in a football stadium on a warm Friday night just before Memorial Day 2001 to watch Mike Stokely graduate high school. He already had boot camp / basic training and a year in the National Guard under his belt and would be heading off for Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Gordon in a few weeks. His little sister, Abbey, almost nine, couldn't let go of him, even to have a photo taken with Mike and their brother, Wes. She swung on his arm adoringly - her look of love says it all.
On the morning of August 16, 2005, as my wife Retta and I sat with Wes and Abbey just after breaking the news to them of Mikes death earler that morning, then 13 year old Abbey buried her head into my shoulder, sobbing these words: "he was supposed to chase away my first boyfriend, he was supposed to cheer at my graduation from high school, he was supposed to be an uncle to my children..." These words seared my heart, broken as it was. I shall never forget them. She lost her oldest brother that day, her "Bubs" which she called him short for his nickname, Bubba.
Tonight, May 27, 2010 at the football stadium for Northgate High School in Sharpsburg GA, Abbey Stokely graduated last with her class. She has had a rough five years that started with Mike's death in Iraq. Five months later, she and I were broad sided by a driver who ran a stop sign at 45 plus and rolled and flipped us several times, shearing her right rear passenger door away. She spent 18 months recovering from her serious neck, back, and head injury. Those two events might seem enough to cause a student to graduate last.
But more came her way for just a month or so after she was fully recovered from the wreck. She was bitten by a tick and came down with Lyme Disease. In GA and the south there is medical bias against diagnosing or even recognizing that Lyme Disease exists here and doctor after doctor refused to treat her for Lyme, saying she just needed psychological help due to her brother's death and the car wreck. She missed over half her class instruction time during her sophomore and junior years, essentially home schooling herself between extensive rest periods, migraines, sickness, dizziness, and other symptoms that doctors said was just "in her head" and not Lyme. She and her mother traveled out of state to see doctors who might treat her for Lyme and finally we found a doctor about two hours from our home in GA that started aggressive treatment for Lyme and she finally started getting better. That might be enough by itself, but especially with the continuing grief over her brother's loss and her own near death experience to cause her to be last, but more was to come.
As she ended her junior year her best friend for several years had become her first boyfriend - the one Mike was supposed to chase away. But I think he might have let this fine young man who had been so good to his sister in all of her grief, injuries and sickness stay around. A gentleman in every respect was Thomas Broadwater. A fine son and brother-in-law he might have one day made. They went to the prom together and a great night it was, but then the next day my mother / Abbey's grandmother fell seriously ill at age 81 and died a week later. Looking back, it is about the most normal thing that has happened to Abbey in these five years. Her "Nana" adored her as she adored Nana. Enough you might think. But not yet, for three weeks after burying her Nana, Abbey Stokely buried her best friend, her first boyfriend, Thomas Broadwater, who died from complications of surgery on one of his lungs.
So, you might think that was enough and it was almost too much for her to bear. Thomas was also her classmate and supposed to graduate with Abbey and 395 others tonight. This last year has not been easy to say the least. Surely, this explains why she was the last. She wanted her brother Mike to be there to cheer for her and she felt it so unfair that Thomas wasn't there to get his diploma. And that weighed heavily on her. We were tense to see if she would get through this graduation tonight, an emotional time for her to say the least.
But none of these things are why Abbey Stokely was last to graduate with her class tonight. Abbey Stokely graduated last tonight because she was the Valedictorian and by tradition the last to receive her diploma and graduate. Before rising to give her speech to send her classmates into the future, she watched with bittersweet pride as a member of Thomas Broadwater's family came forward to receive his diploma posthumously. Then, she nailed her speech in front of thousands of friends, family and strangers. Just as she finished, a downpour hit and drenched the graduates and the crowd. A mile away not a drop.
I first wondered why it rained there. But then, as I saw the rising full moon emerge from behind the clouds, The same Moon over Yusufiyah I watched night after night as Mike served in Iraq, even as I prayed for his safety and wished to feel close to him, knowing he had seen the same moon 8 hours before. It was then I wondered if it was Mike's tears of joy and pride for his sister that had just drenched us all.
The Moon over Yusufiyah was shining bright over Sharpsburg tonight.
And I was reminded again that the highest cost of Freedom is A Lifetime of Love.
Robert Stokely
proud dad of Abbey Stokely, Wes Stokely
and Mike Stokely KIA 16 AUG 05 near Yusufiyah Iraq
Abbey produced this memorial slideshow for Mike in 2007, on the second anniversary of his death. I first saw it not far from Yusufiyah, where we were finishing the work he and so many others had begun. Those were grim days, but from the Stokely family I gained strength to carry on.
____________________________________________________________________
Thanks again to Greyhawk over at the Mudville Gazette
kthanxbai!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
30 Years of One Man and His Dog
And oy aff been watching it.
Oooh arrr.
Skill, energy, gabardine and flat caps. What more could a man ask for?
kthanxbai!
Oooh arrr.
Skill, energy, gabardine and flat caps. What more could a man ask for?
kthanxbai!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
TV shows to watch over the summer
The baby has been waking up in the middle of the night and even once he is down again I can't sleep. So I've been watching a fair bit of TV recently, catching up with series that i've been too busy to watch.
The Good; stuff I'd watch at the drop of a hat
Deadliest Catch - reality show about crab fishing. A must see for everyone bored in their lives or jobs.
Modern Family - comedy
Big Bang Theory - comedy
NCIS - drama
The Bad - shows that others love and I don't;
Lost
24
Glee
The Ugly - shows I have gotten very bored with, although they were once great;
Chuck - comedy/drama
NCIS LA
Two and a Half Men
So to conclude, I strongly suggest, whilst all the normal shows are on summer break (why, I don't know!?), watch The Deadliest Catch, from Season 1. Modern Family, with all the family. Download The Big Bang Theory and keep it on your computer to watch when you need a laugh. Its not everyone's cup of tea.
kthanxbai!
The Good; stuff I'd watch at the drop of a hat
Deadliest Catch - reality show about crab fishing. A must see for everyone bored in their lives or jobs.
Modern Family - comedyBig Bang Theory - comedy
NCIS - drama
The Bad - shows that others love and I don't;
Lost
24
Glee
The Ugly - shows I have gotten very bored with, although they were once great;
Chuck - comedy/drama
NCIS LA
Two and a Half Men
So to conclude, I strongly suggest, whilst all the normal shows are on summer break (why, I don't know!?), watch The Deadliest Catch, from Season 1. Modern Family, with all the family. Download The Big Bang Theory and keep it on your computer to watch when you need a laugh. Its not everyone's cup of tea.
kthanxbai!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Everest, Part Deux
As I ranted in the last Everest blog, as is my want as 'Jumblerant', I did actually have a point to make! And it seemed to me that it was a simple one.
So what was I really moaning about last time? The stupidity of people in wanting to climb Everest at any cost. And that cost may not only be their lives, but also their rescuers' lives too.
A good, if not great, book to read on Everest and climbing the heights of the world is 'No Shortcuts To The Top' by Ed Viesturs.
Ed starts explaining his love for climbing, how he started out as a local climber, then local guide and then international expedition member, guide and then leader.
He has opinions on all matters Everest and is not afraid to share them. The main quote that sticks in my mind is a basic one;
This to me sums up all that is wrong with paid hikers, as opposed to experienced climbers, going up Everest. Repeatedly on the Everest based TV shows climbers gravitate to the peak of the world forgetting that they have to get back to shelter if they are going to live to tell the tale.
Turning away from the peak 250 meters is an option because it means you live to try another day but many amateurs forget this, and as expedition companies sell more spaces depending on how many people reached the summit the year before, they are always ready to give in and risk numerous lives.
Sending a 13 year old up into the Death Zone may not be the cleverest thing a parent may do but adults also get all discombobulated by the peak of Everest looming over them;
She was very lucky indeed. Many, if not most of those afflicted with anything life threatening over 28,000 are left to die a slow and painful death because at that height you cannot have a pal sit next to you and cheer you on as they themselves need to get back to where they can breath air not from a bottle.
They need to get down to a warm drink and a place to relax because most people coming down from the peak have been awake for close to 24 hours.
Don't take my word for it, listen to Dr. Kenneth Kamler who was a part of the 1996 disaster on Everest:
Let's be careful out there...
kthanxbai!
So what was I really moaning about last time? The stupidity of people in wanting to climb Everest at any cost. And that cost may not only be their lives, but also their rescuers' lives too.
A good, if not great, book to read on Everest and climbing the heights of the world is 'No Shortcuts To The Top' by Ed Viesturs.
Ed starts explaining his love for climbing, how he started out as a local climber, then local guide and then international expedition member, guide and then leader.
He has opinions on all matters Everest and is not afraid to share them. The main quote that sticks in my mind is a basic one;
"Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory"
This to me sums up all that is wrong with paid hikers, as opposed to experienced climbers, going up Everest. Repeatedly on the Everest based TV shows climbers gravitate to the peak of the world forgetting that they have to get back to shelter if they are going to live to tell the tale.Turning away from the peak 250 meters is an option because it means you live to try another day but many amateurs forget this, and as expedition companies sell more spaces depending on how many people reached the summit the year before, they are always ready to give in and risk numerous lives.
Sending a 13 year old up into the Death Zone may not be the cleverest thing a parent may do but adults also get all discombobulated by the peak of Everest looming over them;
Bonita Norris and her long ordeal in Everest's dead zone
Fellow climbers tell how the youngest British woman to scale summit was rescued frostbitten, semi-conscious and close to death
They need to get down to a warm drink and a place to relax because most people coming down from the peak have been awake for close to 24 hours.
Don't take my word for it, listen to Dr. Kenneth Kamler who was a part of the 1996 disaster on Everest:
Let's be careful out there...
kthanxbai!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Yours sincerely, Disgusted of Kathmandu
I read this morning the great news that 13-year-old Jordan Romero became the youngest climber to reach the top of Everest on Friday.
Good for him. A lifetime goal for many has been trounced by a 13 year old who will be able to look back on it forever and apply what he has learned to structure his adult life.
But I blame the parents.
It was a foolhardy and, some might even say, stupid thing for them to do.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some limber climber who spends every waking moment dreaming of climbing Everest or hiking to it's Base Camp. I'm an armchair athlete who is happy to comment on almost anything. I do have an interest in Everest though.
As most of the English speaking world knows, there was an horrific day on Everest back on May 9th 1996. Its well written about repeatedly but my favorite book about that day, and climbing Everest in general, is Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air'. Its a great read and was the first book that I know of that brought out the subject of people paying to get to the top of Everest, irrelevant of skill or experience.
'Into Thin Air' had a lot of critics. There was little proof of what happens above 28,000 feet in The Death Zone and armchair expeditionists and family of those that died, were up in arms about getting to the truth.
Anatoli Boukreev, who had been one of the main characters in 'Into Thin Air' spoke from the grave* with his book 'The Climb, Tragic Ambitions on Everest'. This is probably one of the least read books about Everest, even though it was a 'National Bestseller' because it is written in an arrogant, stuttered manner. But the truth, or Anatoli's version of it, lays there and needs to be read.
So whats all the noise about? Its a mountain. You go there, climb for a bit, have an energy bar or two, climb for a bit more and then put on a bottle of oxygen and get to the top. Smile for the camera - phone your Mum, and back down in time for tea and crumpets with the charwallwahs.
First of all I'd like to point out that a number of people die every year on their way to Everest Base Camp. Its not like they're going to hike up the mountain itself, they've gone to see it from a long way away and the altitude sickness kills them. So Everest is a killer from afar too.
There are TV shows all about Everest such as 'Everest Beyond The Limits', 'Everest' and 'Bear's Mission Everest'. And they all repeatedly state the bare facts:
People die on Everest.
People die easily on Everest.
Sending your 13 year old to climb it seems like the crappiest Bar Mitzvah present I've ever heard of.
My further thoughts of climbing Everest in Part 2.
kthanxbai!
*Anatoli died in an avalanche on Christmas Day 1997.
Good for him. A lifetime goal for many has been trounced by a 13 year old who will be able to look back on it forever and apply what he has learned to structure his adult life.
But I blame the parents.
It was a foolhardy and, some might even say, stupid thing for them to do.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some limber climber who spends every waking moment dreaming of climbing Everest or hiking to it's Base Camp. I'm an armchair athlete who is happy to comment on almost anything. I do have an interest in Everest though.
As most of the English speaking world knows, there was an horrific day on Everest back on May 9th 1996. Its well written about repeatedly but my favorite book about that day, and climbing Everest in general, is Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air'. Its a great read and was the first book that I know of that brought out the subject of people paying to get to the top of Everest, irrelevant of skill or experience.'Into Thin Air' had a lot of critics. There was little proof of what happens above 28,000 feet in The Death Zone and armchair expeditionists and family of those that died, were up in arms about getting to the truth.
Anatoli Boukreev, who had been one of the main characters in 'Into Thin Air' spoke from the grave* with his book 'The Climb, Tragic Ambitions on Everest'. This is probably one of the least read books about Everest, even though it was a 'National Bestseller' because it is written in an arrogant, stuttered manner. But the truth, or Anatoli's version of it, lays there and needs to be read.
So whats all the noise about? Its a mountain. You go there, climb for a bit, have an energy bar or two, climb for a bit more and then put on a bottle of oxygen and get to the top. Smile for the camera - phone your Mum, and back down in time for tea and crumpets with the charwallwahs.
First of all I'd like to point out that a number of people die every year on their way to Everest Base Camp. Its not like they're going to hike up the mountain itself, they've gone to see it from a long way away and the altitude sickness kills them. So Everest is a killer from afar too.There are TV shows all about Everest such as 'Everest Beyond The Limits', 'Everest' and 'Bear's Mission Everest'. And they all repeatedly state the bare facts:
People die on Everest.
People die easily on Everest.
Sending your 13 year old to climb it seems like the crappiest Bar Mitzvah present I've ever heard of.
My further thoughts of climbing Everest in Part 2.
kthanxbai!
*Anatoli died in an avalanche on Christmas Day 1997.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mummy was I made in Afghanistan?
In today's British newspapers there is an article going round about how female soldiers who are embarking for a tour of duty in a war zone are being encouraged to take condoms with them.
In a practical way this does make sense. Under stress, pressure and unusual surroundings people bond in a different way than they would in normal circumstances. One thing leads to another and then... well you don't need me to tell you about that, the Internet runs on it!!
The amazing thing for me? This quote:
Which to me is just mind boggling. I guess we can categorically state that some of the troops out there really are just f*=king around!
kthanxbai!
In a practical way this does make sense. Under stress, pressure and unusual surroundings people bond in a different way than they would in normal circumstances. One thing leads to another and then... well you don't need me to tell you about that, the Internet runs on it!!
The amazing thing for me? This quote:
Last year, 102 pregnant British servicewomen were flown out of Iraq
Which to me is just mind boggling. I guess we can categorically state that some of the troops out there really are just f*=king around!
kthanxbai!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Not So Safe After All
Norton, AVG, McAfee and Avast. All excellent ways of stopping viruses and invaders, from getting into your computer.
But there is a huge gaping chasm of a gap where I for one, never thought of it.
So I guess we'll all be dealing with our old photocopiers the way John Cusack dealt with the printer in Office Space (the fun starts around the 1.20 mark)
Pass on the facts to friends and family alike. Its a ascary world out there!
Hat tip to Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man
kthanxbai!
But there is a huge gaping chasm of a gap where I for one, never thought of it.
So I guess we'll all be dealing with our old photocopiers the way John Cusack dealt with the printer in Office Space (the fun starts around the 1.20 mark)
Pass on the facts to friends and family alike. Its a ascary world out there!
Hat tip to Peter over at Bayou Renaissance Man
kthanxbai!
Monday, May 10, 2010
But I Didn't Shoot T't Deputy
I was listening to the amazing podcast 'Answer Me This' the other day and heard what I tihnk was the most interesting question of 2010.
Why is it okay to admit shooting The Sheriff, but then deny shooting The Deputy? What can you possibly gain from that?
And for all you Technical Writers and printing related chaps out there:
Hat tip to William the Coroner
kthanxbai!
Why is it okay to admit shooting The Sheriff, but then deny shooting The Deputy? What can you possibly gain from that?
And for all you Technical Writers and printing related chaps out there:
Hat tip to William the Coroner
kthanxbai!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Jay G - keeping the iPad real
'Twas a mere couple of days ago that I celebrated the iPad's astoundingicityness, here, on this very blog 'iPad is High Quality', and yet His Eminence the Jay G of MArooned sees it differently.
kthanxbai!
P.S. Jay - I'm not saying you're wrong, but lets settle this with my Tavor against your VERP. Just a case of getting it all through customs I guess.
kthanxbai!
P.S. Jay - I'm not saying you're wrong, but lets settle this with my Tavor against your VERP. Just a case of getting it all through customs I guess.
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