The more I ride the boats with the Riverines, the more I discover how much I love being on the water. I do love it, but I don't like all the noise, smoke, and pollution of a motor boat. I think it would be great to take a vacation that involved going to the Islands and only have to pay for food and maybe a tank or two of gas. Let the wind take us where we want to be. Get away from the hustle and bustle of the whole world for a while and just enjoy time with my wife and kids or those people I decide I want to be around.
As far as what I'd want in a boat, it would really be any sail boat that could accommodate 4-ish people, is ocean going, and is fairly stable to sail. It looks like I am going to want a trimaran or catamaran.
18 October 2009
25 September 2009
Some funny stuff I found on deployment
The following are some funny videos I or someone I know found on youtube that has made the deployment just a little easier to cope with. Enjoy!
Fumbles the Sniper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOmHGxQdjJQ
The original
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoxdT2xhra8
RIVRON II vid that was pretty cool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNDorwmIkww
Some footage of a different Det this deployment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9XYWDzDOlI
Fumbles the Sniper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOmHGxQdjJQ
The original
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoxdT2xhra8
RIVRON II vid that was pretty cool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNDorwmIkww
Some footage of a different Det this deployment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9XYWDzDOlI
10 August 2009
Fitness goals...
Some people work on the beach body...abs, arms and chest.
Some people work on the Bar body...Chest, shoulders, and arms.
I am working on the working body...whatever is necessary to have functional strength. I have some pretty specific fitness goals. I thought it might be a good idea to list them here and see if I reach them before I leave Iraq.
*6 Minute Mile
*10 Minute 1 1/2 Mile
*24 Minute 3 Mile
*Bench my body weight 5 times
*100 push-ups at one go
*100 Sit-ups at one go
*10 Pull-ups
*Curl 50lbs 10 times w/each arm
* Weigh 190 lbs or less
I've got about three months to hit my goals. My current progress is as follows:
*06:30 Mile
*??:?? 1.5 Mile
*??:?? 3 Mile
*Bench about 120lbs (5x)
*55 Push-ups
*65 Sit-ups
*3 Pull-ups
*Curl 30lbs (10x)
*Weigh around 198lbs
I'll be keeping the progress section up to date as I remember to.
Some people work on the Bar body...Chest, shoulders, and arms.
I am working on the working body...whatever is necessary to have functional strength. I have some pretty specific fitness goals. I thought it might be a good idea to list them here and see if I reach them before I leave Iraq.
*6 Minute Mile
*10 Minute 1 1/2 Mile
*24 Minute 3 Mile
*Bench my body weight 5 times
*100 push-ups at one go
*100 Sit-ups at one go
*10 Pull-ups
*Curl 50lbs 10 times w/each arm
* Weigh 190 lbs or less
I've got about three months to hit my goals. My current progress is as follows:
*06:30 Mile
*??:?? 1.5 Mile
*??:?? 3 Mile
*Bench about 120lbs (5x)
*55 Push-ups
*65 Sit-ups
*3 Pull-ups
*Curl 30lbs (10x)
*Weigh around 198lbs
I'll be keeping the progress section up to date as I remember to.
03 August 2009
To be truly Happy...
The first chapter of my philosophy course asks a very good question on the first page of the first chapter. It reads something like; What would it take for you to be truly happy and fulfilled, to make you feel that you have everything you want, and you'll be happy regardless of what ever trouble you may have to navigate? I thought I would take some time to discuss that here.
To be truly happy. Some of the guys out here that I have asked mention not working as a facet of their ideal happy state. I'm not so sure I would want that. I like being productive. Sure, I would change what I'm doing. I think I would like to teach self-defense and make knives/other metalwork, maybe run a restaurant and probably write. Sure all of those things are things that I enjoy, but why not do the things you enjoy as a form of profession. My grandfather used to say "Make your vacation your vocation, and you'll never be unhappy." Pretty strong words.
My ideal situation would be me and my family living in a beautiful, fairly spacious, home on between 25 and 100 acres. Our home and living conditions would be fairly renewable and environmentally friendly. Most power from sun and wind, water from a well, most produce from our garden, and some of our other food from hunting/fishing. We would live a simple craftsman's life. I would do the things listed above for money and my wife might take up a career of her choosing. Something that made her happy and filled some of her time, photography or helping manage the restaurant. We, as a family, would engage in physical hobbies like hiking or kayaking to stay fit.
I think the most important factor to my being happy is having my family be taken care of. The second would be keeping active and engaged, both mentally and physically. The last thing would the actual circumstances of my living conditions. Sure I would like a 3000+ sq ft home built of natural rock and cedar, with all the amenities, and running almost entirely on solar and wind power. I would love to do only those things I enjoy and get paid to do them. But my family comes first and always. We WILL eat healthy. We WILL be fit. My children WILL be well educated, worldly, and content. My wife WILL be happy, whatever that may take. Those are the only things that I would have to fail at to feel as if I have done something wrong with my life.
I guess, to summarize, my happiness stems from the happiness of my family first, then to my feeling of accomplishment in what I do, and followed by the physical things in life. Now I haven't really covered those, now have I? Ok, a quick list then. The following is a list of the "things" that I want that would make me "Happier":
A large, fairly green home on a decent sized piece of land.
A Truck
A Motorcycle
An ATV (to get around my land)
A fully stocked workshop
A knife collection
A gun collection
A personal library (fiction and non-fiction)
All the martial arts gear needed to effectively train and teach.
I guess that wraps this up. Comments are welcome as usual!
To be truly happy. Some of the guys out here that I have asked mention not working as a facet of their ideal happy state. I'm not so sure I would want that. I like being productive. Sure, I would change what I'm doing. I think I would like to teach self-defense and make knives/other metalwork, maybe run a restaurant and probably write. Sure all of those things are things that I enjoy, but why not do the things you enjoy as a form of profession. My grandfather used to say "Make your vacation your vocation, and you'll never be unhappy." Pretty strong words.
My ideal situation would be me and my family living in a beautiful, fairly spacious, home on between 25 and 100 acres. Our home and living conditions would be fairly renewable and environmentally friendly. Most power from sun and wind, water from a well, most produce from our garden, and some of our other food from hunting/fishing. We would live a simple craftsman's life. I would do the things listed above for money and my wife might take up a career of her choosing. Something that made her happy and filled some of her time, photography or helping manage the restaurant. We, as a family, would engage in physical hobbies like hiking or kayaking to stay fit.
I think the most important factor to my being happy is having my family be taken care of. The second would be keeping active and engaged, both mentally and physically. The last thing would the actual circumstances of my living conditions. Sure I would like a 3000+ sq ft home built of natural rock and cedar, with all the amenities, and running almost entirely on solar and wind power. I would love to do only those things I enjoy and get paid to do them. But my family comes first and always. We WILL eat healthy. We WILL be fit. My children WILL be well educated, worldly, and content. My wife WILL be happy, whatever that may take. Those are the only things that I would have to fail at to feel as if I have done something wrong with my life.
I guess, to summarize, my happiness stems from the happiness of my family first, then to my feeling of accomplishment in what I do, and followed by the physical things in life. Now I haven't really covered those, now have I? Ok, a quick list then. The following is a list of the "things" that I want that would make me "Happier":
A large, fairly green home on a decent sized piece of land.
A Truck
A Motorcycle
An ATV (to get around my land)
A fully stocked workshop
A knife collection
A gun collection
A personal library (fiction and non-fiction)
All the martial arts gear needed to effectively train and teach.
I guess that wraps this up. Comments are welcome as usual!
25 July 2009
I have been trying to reflect on some of my flaws lately. Kind of an excercise in introspection. Here is what I came up with:
First off, I am kind of a defensive person. I think it stems from me being as smart as I am and my confidence in my own logic. If someone questions me logic or intentions, even trivially, I immediately switch to a defensive posture. I am trying to be more cognizant of this and avoiding it if I can as it can sometimes come across as combative or looking for a fight. Not something I need.
Another thing I've noticed is that I have a tendency to project myself onto those I care about. I have a very enthusiastic aproach to life and sometimes find that the things I am enthusiastic about aren't always mirrored in my companions. As a great example, I had for a while been looking at handguns for my wife. Now, she may want a handgun for herself, but I can't really ever remember her saying that she wanted one. Is this just me projecting my hobby onto my wife? This aspect of my personality many times has positive aspects, too, but that is not the subject of this blog.
And, finally, I can come across as haughty or arrogant to those that don't know me. I think most of that comes from me typically being very good at what I do, but I have to keep in mind that there is always some one better.
Those are the three big ones I've come across...
First off, I am kind of a defensive person. I think it stems from me being as smart as I am and my confidence in my own logic. If someone questions me logic or intentions, even trivially, I immediately switch to a defensive posture. I am trying to be more cognizant of this and avoiding it if I can as it can sometimes come across as combative or looking for a fight. Not something I need.
Another thing I've noticed is that I have a tendency to project myself onto those I care about. I have a very enthusiastic aproach to life and sometimes find that the things I am enthusiastic about aren't always mirrored in my companions. As a great example, I had for a while been looking at handguns for my wife. Now, she may want a handgun for herself, but I can't really ever remember her saying that she wanted one. Is this just me projecting my hobby onto my wife? This aspect of my personality many times has positive aspects, too, but that is not the subject of this blog.
And, finally, I can come across as haughty or arrogant to those that don't know me. I think most of that comes from me typically being very good at what I do, but I have to keep in mind that there is always some one better.
Those are the three big ones I've come across...
24 July 2009
Constitution vs the Commander in Chief
The topic was brought up in casual discussion a few days back and quickly became heated. In my normal level headed way, I redirected the topic to avoid hard feelings. But as this is my blog, I'll express my opinion here.
The vow of every service member contains verbiage to obey the orders of the President and all officers appointed over them. It also contains very eloquent words stating the service member will defend the country/constitution against "all enemies foreign and domestic". What if these two vows ever came into direct conflict? Our pay and benefits come from the government and in many ways, by proxy, the President. But what if that president were to follow a political plan contrary to the good of the country? Is the responsibility of a service member to the country and constitution or to the President?
I, personally, feel that my first obligation is to my nation and it's highest laws. If I ever felt that the president has become a threat to my country or was subverting the constitution, I would be compelled to oppose him on any front I could, to include violence if it was neccessary.
I would like to make sure that anyone that may stumble across my blog is clear on one thing. Despite some peoples opinions of our President as being the enemy, I do not feel that way. I disagree President Obama on many things, but I have yet to see any action that could be defined as a threat to my country or what it stands for. Most of my differences with the President are idealogical. I believe in states rights and small federal government, Mr. Obama is more for large central government. Granted this is just an example, but the point is there.
Feel free to leave feedback if you have stumbled over here...
The vow of every service member contains verbiage to obey the orders of the President and all officers appointed over them. It also contains very eloquent words stating the service member will defend the country/constitution against "all enemies foreign and domestic". What if these two vows ever came into direct conflict? Our pay and benefits come from the government and in many ways, by proxy, the President. But what if that president were to follow a political plan contrary to the good of the country? Is the responsibility of a service member to the country and constitution or to the President?
I, personally, feel that my first obligation is to my nation and it's highest laws. If I ever felt that the president has become a threat to my country or was subverting the constitution, I would be compelled to oppose him on any front I could, to include violence if it was neccessary.
I would like to make sure that anyone that may stumble across my blog is clear on one thing. Despite some peoples opinions of our President as being the enemy, I do not feel that way. I disagree President Obama on many things, but I have yet to see any action that could be defined as a threat to my country or what it stands for. Most of my differences with the President are idealogical. I believe in states rights and small federal government, Mr. Obama is more for large central government. Granted this is just an example, but the point is there.
Feel free to leave feedback if you have stumbled over here...
12 July 2009
Homosexuality in the military...
This seems to be a pretty controversial topic these days, especially with the political history of our Commander in Chief. I have had a few people ask me how I felt about this matter. I have decided to publish my personal opinion here. That said, my opinion does not reflect the opinion of any else in the military nor does it represent any recommended policy.
To get started, I will explain my views on homosexuality. I have no real issue with homosexuals and their rights movement. Do I think that they should be allowed to marry? Yes, our supreme courts have held that the concept of separate but equal is never equal and saying that they can be joined in a "civil union" is the same thing as marriage, but just with a different name is wrong. Am I against letting homosexual couples adopt? Absolutely not. Some people argue that homosexual parents will raise homosexual children. That is complete insanity. By that logic, how do heterosexual parents raise homosexual children? To stay honest, I have to disclose that I am very uncomfortable with the idea of a gay male couple. I don't hold it against them personally, but it is a gut reaction for me. I will note, that I have no such discomfort at the idea of lesbian couples, it's even a turn on. That double standard tells me a lot about how I view homosexuality as a whole. I don't think my discomfort comes from them being gay, but from my lack of attraction to my own sex and my desire to not be approached by members of my own sex. I have found in my limited interactions with gay men, that once they know you are straight, they are just like most other guys. Most of the stereotypes just haven't held up to my personal examination of the issue at large.
Now, on the the issue of gays and lesbians in the military. To be clear, I will refer to homosexual men as gay and homosexual women as lesbian. I recognize that the classification of gay applies to both, but some of my examples will require the distinction to be clear. If I am referring to both, I will index that with G/L. This prevents me from having to type homosexual too often, and avoids me publishing the shortened version of the word that has come to be something of an insult.
Do I believe that homosexuals should be allowed in the military? Yes. Yes, I do. I believe that every American regardless of Race, Gender, Sex, Religion, Sex, or Sexuality should be allowed to defend their rights and the rights of those they love. The US military preaches about how diversity makes us stronger, and I believe that. Everyone has something to contribute, and I think they should be allowed to do so.
Several very large issues come up when one starts to consider allowing G/L to openly serve. I will try to address a few of them here. How do we handle billeting/berthing, restrooms/shower facilities, and other traditionally sexually separate facilities. This I think is the easiest one to fix but my solution is very controversial. Simple Co-ed facilities the whole way through. Stop segregating the sexes. It's simple really. Consider the following examples:
***Segregation continues without change - A gay is roomed up with a straight guy. The straight guy is uncomfortable with the situation and lashes out. He feels discriminated against because a person who may or may not be sexually attracted to him is allowed to share a room with him, but straight people will never be billeted with anyone they may be attracted to. In an effort to prevent discrimination to a minority, we discriminate against the majority.
***Segregation is adjusted to sexual tastes - Now gay men are billeted with women and lesbians are billeted with men. Now we run into a two fold issue. The straight personnel may be attracted to the G/L and some dishonest persons may lie to be billeted with opposite sex. This will create all kinds of problems and really solves nothing.
***Segregation is no longer policy - Billeting is assigned based solely on alphabetical or serial methods. Is it possible G/L may be billeted with straight people that they are attracted to? Yep. It's also possible that straight people may be billeted with someone they may be attracted to and G/L may end up with other G/L that they are attracted to. Under this method, everyone has equal opportunity to be uncomfortable. Sounds tongue in cheek, but it really comes down to accepting that military personnel are adults. We volunteered to serve and recognized that there may be sacrifices. There will be growing pains involved with a method this extreme. Discipline for sexual crimes and voyeurism will have to be extremely harsh to express the seriousness of these crimes. What about people having sex in the barracks or berthing? You would be a fool if you thought it didn't happen with our current system.
In summary, I think it's possible to have a strong, unified military that doesn't discriminate against G/L's. But we first have to look at the way we treat the military as a whole. When we are treated like children, many times people act like children. Why do people sneak into the opposite sex's barracks? Because it's dangerous. There is risk and risk is sexy. If we take out the risk factor and it becomes an everyday normalcy, much of the drama will sort itself out. Who knows? Maybe someday our military can be like in Starship Troopers. Where men and women shower together and there isn't any ogling. Where everyone is viewed as a part of the team and not as a piece of meat. We can only hope...especially the showering part. I'm just kidding.
Feel free to post comments if you disagree, but keep them respectful. Anything else will result in a deleted comment.
To get started, I will explain my views on homosexuality. I have no real issue with homosexuals and their rights movement. Do I think that they should be allowed to marry? Yes, our supreme courts have held that the concept of separate but equal is never equal and saying that they can be joined in a "civil union" is the same thing as marriage, but just with a different name is wrong. Am I against letting homosexual couples adopt? Absolutely not. Some people argue that homosexual parents will raise homosexual children. That is complete insanity. By that logic, how do heterosexual parents raise homosexual children? To stay honest, I have to disclose that I am very uncomfortable with the idea of a gay male couple. I don't hold it against them personally, but it is a gut reaction for me. I will note, that I have no such discomfort at the idea of lesbian couples, it's even a turn on. That double standard tells me a lot about how I view homosexuality as a whole. I don't think my discomfort comes from them being gay, but from my lack of attraction to my own sex and my desire to not be approached by members of my own sex. I have found in my limited interactions with gay men, that once they know you are straight, they are just like most other guys. Most of the stereotypes just haven't held up to my personal examination of the issue at large.
Now, on the the issue of gays and lesbians in the military. To be clear, I will refer to homosexual men as gay and homosexual women as lesbian. I recognize that the classification of gay applies to both, but some of my examples will require the distinction to be clear. If I am referring to both, I will index that with G/L. This prevents me from having to type homosexual too often, and avoids me publishing the shortened version of the word that has come to be something of an insult.
Do I believe that homosexuals should be allowed in the military? Yes. Yes, I do. I believe that every American regardless of Race, Gender, Sex, Religion, Sex, or Sexuality should be allowed to defend their rights and the rights of those they love. The US military preaches about how diversity makes us stronger, and I believe that. Everyone has something to contribute, and I think they should be allowed to do so.
Several very large issues come up when one starts to consider allowing G/L to openly serve. I will try to address a few of them here. How do we handle billeting/berthing, restrooms/shower facilities, and other traditionally sexually separate facilities. This I think is the easiest one to fix but my solution is very controversial. Simple Co-ed facilities the whole way through. Stop segregating the sexes. It's simple really. Consider the following examples:
***Segregation continues without change - A gay is roomed up with a straight guy. The straight guy is uncomfortable with the situation and lashes out. He feels discriminated against because a person who may or may not be sexually attracted to him is allowed to share a room with him, but straight people will never be billeted with anyone they may be attracted to. In an effort to prevent discrimination to a minority, we discriminate against the majority.
***Segregation is adjusted to sexual tastes - Now gay men are billeted with women and lesbians are billeted with men. Now we run into a two fold issue. The straight personnel may be attracted to the G/L and some dishonest persons may lie to be billeted with opposite sex. This will create all kinds of problems and really solves nothing.
***Segregation is no longer policy - Billeting is assigned based solely on alphabetical or serial methods. Is it possible G/L may be billeted with straight people that they are attracted to? Yep. It's also possible that straight people may be billeted with someone they may be attracted to and G/L may end up with other G/L that they are attracted to. Under this method, everyone has equal opportunity to be uncomfortable. Sounds tongue in cheek, but it really comes down to accepting that military personnel are adults. We volunteered to serve and recognized that there may be sacrifices. There will be growing pains involved with a method this extreme. Discipline for sexual crimes and voyeurism will have to be extremely harsh to express the seriousness of these crimes. What about people having sex in the barracks or berthing? You would be a fool if you thought it didn't happen with our current system.
In summary, I think it's possible to have a strong, unified military that doesn't discriminate against G/L's. But we first have to look at the way we treat the military as a whole. When we are treated like children, many times people act like children. Why do people sneak into the opposite sex's barracks? Because it's dangerous. There is risk and risk is sexy. If we take out the risk factor and it becomes an everyday normalcy, much of the drama will sort itself out. Who knows? Maybe someday our military can be like in Starship Troopers. Where men and women shower together and there isn't any ogling. Where everyone is viewed as a part of the team and not as a piece of meat. We can only hope...especially the showering part. I'm just kidding.
Feel free to post comments if you disagree, but keep them respectful. Anything else will result in a deleted comment.
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