Comments for Random Rounds.

Random Rounds.

2005-05-10T14:03:56Z

Update: Oh! Oh! And I just *had* to add this, from Marginal Revolution.

Almost literally random rounds.

This is why CAPT H picks on me. While I don't suffer it from him, Neil can say anything he wants, and I won't argue. But Neil won't argue that artillery *can't* put a crank in a tank... Hat tip to Chris M for pointing it out. Hi-res, click here.

The thoughts of Canadians Militant and their fellow travelers are up for your perusal as London Fog hoists the Red Ensign Standard for the 21st time it has snapped at the top of the pole..

Speaking of Militant Canadians... "OTTAWA - Canada is making plans to send peacekeeping troops to the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan by summer's end. "
Hat tip: CAPT H.

Let's not let "Combat Zoneitis" infect our leadership, fellas. Sometimes the junior-enlisted/officer perception of "Mickey Mouse Chickenshit" is wrong (not always!) and it's simply good leadership. Being anal about weapons safety is not chickenshit.

Congress does it's usual fine job of larding things up - from both sides of the aisle. Nothing gets your pet project funded faster than tacking it onto must-pass legislation - espcecially if no one would vote to fund it in a stand-up fashion.

Oh, and about that quagmire and those Iraqis who don't support the on-going rebuilding of their nation and government... (aside from the fact that most of the insurgents doing the killing, at least with murder bombings, aren't Iraqi...) how does KOS and Co. spin this (someone can go look, I just get crazy)? From the email:

Atch is an absolutely fascinating opinion poll, released today. IRI conducts the only truly national and representative polls in Iraq, although still limited by a lack of polling in parts of Anbar, Nineweh, and Dohuk provinces.
This poll is not down in the weeds on issues only Iraqi geeks like me care about, but hits high-level issues of rights and governance.

Notable features include:

1) A tremendous upswing in optimism throughout Iraq, except in Baghdad itself (slides 7-10)

2) Iraqi views on civil liberties, with primacy on freedom from arbitrary arrest, torture, and secret trials (slides 15-17, 50)

3) Preferences on government structure (33-38), federalism (42-45), and the role of Islam (47-49).

4) By 70%-14%, Iraqis believe the Sunni should be able to contribute to writing the constitution. (53)

5) And perhaps the most stunning result (55): 52% believe the 25% quota for women in the legislature should be kept, and 25% believe it should be increased!

I'll post the survey briefing itself after I get it pdf'd and uploaded.

UPDATE: Finally. Here's the briefing on the poll.

I'm guessing the Heartless Libertarian, Barb, Bad Cat Robot, and Sergeant B will *all* appreciate this link sent in by frequent commenter (and bucking to join the Castle Contrarian Crowd) Ry - regarding accountant's views of recent electoral events... By the way, Dave - "Blissninny", I likes it!

Comment from ry on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T21:41:47Z

You'se a sadochistic bassid John. I wonder if the Army will let you test THEL(the laser Air Defense system that's supposed to be able to swat mortar rounds from the air) there to keep from getting conked by the early Scots artillery?

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T17:03:51Z

Cricket, Yeah, I loved Monterey, I also like Asilomar, and the butterfly grove, and Pebble Beach, and 9 mile drive, and Carmel, and running down on the beach, and the pier, etc. Unfortunately, my wife didn't like the constant drizzly cold (which I love), and I would not have been able to stand the people or the congestion since they added the Aquarium. I used to live just up from the Dream Theater, on the street that separated Pacific Grove from Monterey. It was a short walk to school. We had a small condo overlooking the bay, but the guy was undercharging by a LOT (it was cheaper than a lot of apartments further up the hill), and he ended up bankrupt I think. Don't know why he charged so little, but the place was beautiful, and I didn't care. And John, unrepentant is the operative word. I figure my job as an old guy now is to wave my arms and rant at all the little bastiches who do the stuff to me that I used to do to those old guys. Sort of like a rite of passage (except now they have louder stereos). "HEY, this is a neighborhood, you venomous thugs!! Turn that noise down!!!" :-)

Comment from Cricket on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T16:24:41Z

I would live in Monterey too. Love the weather. Love the bay. We used to live on Larkin Street. Two blocks away from the elementary school in an old Victorian house, and the DLI was right behind that elementary school. If I could transfer out of the humid buggy climate I am in now, I would go to the Santa Ynez Valley near Vandenburg AFB. Thirty acres with a Mediterranean B&B. Well, since I am California dreamin', I am sharing this menu that I am making for tonight's barbecue. Smoked turkey, roasted corn on the cob and carrot slaw. Potato salad and a platter of crudites. Dessert: Mint chocolate chip ice cream in profiteroles and chocolate sauce.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T15:43:44Z

You little unrepentant juvies you...

Comment from Neffi on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T15:41:59Z

"in summer, we'd lay in wait at bends, where the trees where, and we'd run out and snatch the balls that landed near us." heh, Sanger- I hate to admit it but that sounds very familiar...

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T15:37:22Z

When I was a kid, we used to sled on the golf course, and in summer, we'd lay in wait at bends, where the trees where, and we'd run out and snatch the balls that landed near us. Used to tick off the golfers, butwho cared--stupid old men in dumb looking clothes--it was all fair in summer gamesmanship.... We also used to hunt the woods and sell found balls back to golfers; suffice to say, some of the sangged balls wound up in the resale pile. Hey, I was a poor city kid. It went with raiding the fountains and pools for coins, scamming for bus fare (from every 15th passerby), popping the newspaper boxes and selling the papers on the corner (for a dime less than the box price), and collecting bottles to take back to the Acme.... Just life, you know... ~SangerM

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T13:57:20Z

If I wore it over my back, and it rode high enough to cover my head, true. Though coming off the tee, those things are moving, JTG... and when I got whacked, it was a dastardly attack, from behind!

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T13:26:28Z

Now that I have thunk some more, I think that JoA doesn't need to sprain his head with a helm. Golf balls don't really fly all that quickly; you can see them coming, if yer looking. All The Donovan needs is a good stout shield to hold up before his visage, as the nasty, pale, pocked little useless object approaches him. I betcha a garbage can lid would work.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T13:09:28Z

Nah, Neffi, he should go for something really absurd, like painting it bronze-colored, and gluing some horns on it. Which reminds me of another item for the list; we could have a Rennfaire on the golf course. Yah, I know, Vikings are a little (a lot) too soon, historically, to show up at Rennfaires, but I honor them for transmitting their bad manners right down to me, by post-combat eugenic stress relief, if not by other means. They were very bad boys, at some times.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T13:08:17Z

Sheesh, Neffi - d'you have any *idea* how much a Pickelhaube to fit this noggin costs these days?

Comment from Neffi on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T12:22:08Z

Helmet-time, eh? And show some class- wear a pickelhaube... heh

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T12:21:21Z

I'd wear that expensive custom private helmet if I were you, kid. Seems like you have some bad juju in re golf. In all fairness, as ball games go, golf is not really that bad; it's mostly the attitudes slung by golfers, and the way they've eaten up and destroyed all other outdoor recreation possibilities around here, which get my underwear misaligned.

Comment from John of Argghhh on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T11:13:09Z

Many moons ago, when I could still do something like run without collapsing in excruciating pain, I was jogging by the Fort Leavenworth Golf Course over by the post cemetery. I don't remember which tee is the one right by the road, but there I was, moving along minding my own business when some hacker with clubs took a mighty slice at his little white ball, which promptly sheered sharply left and smacked me in the back of the head, which the golfers thought was hilarious, which turned to anger when I put my hand up to my head and it came away wet with this red, sticky substance, picked up the offending weapon (I *always* keep projectiles sent my way if recoverable) and jogged on to Munson Hospital for a stitch. They were outraged I wouldn't give them the ball back, and somehow seemed to think I was rude for giving them a single digit salute. So, today, what am I doing? Helping run a charity golf tournament at that self-same course, where I will spend a good chunk of time in the impact area...

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-12

2005-05-12T09:53:19Z

Somewhere around here (I'll never find it, better start over) is a list which was going to be "101 Things to Do on a Golf Course which Are Better than Playing Golf." Only got up to 60 or so, but a few I remember are: Flying model airplanes. Flying ultralight airplanes. Flying kites. Flying hawks and falcons. Motorcross races. Polo. Bicycle polo. Picnics. Cross-country (foot) races. Birdwatching. Skeet shooting. Trap shooting. Rifle shooting. Pistol shooting. Paintball. Capture the Flag. Camping. Cuddling with one's Sweetie. Having, uh, even more fun with one's Sweetie. Sunbathing. Nekkid sunbathing. Cyclocross. Hang gliding, if there are any nice slopes. Pig sticking. Tent pegging. Dressage. Quarter horse racing. Field trials. Bow shooting. Crossbow shooting. Sling shooting. Slingshot shooting. Kicking back with a beer and a book. (wind) Band concerts. (No electric guitars pls, I hates them more than golf.) Militia drill and training. Just going for a walk. Well, y'all catch my drift, I reckon.

Comment from ry on 2005-05-11

2005-05-12T04:16:20Z

Maybe I could convince Al to carry a napalm canister on his ultra-light? I lost too many cats to golfball shattered skulls as a kid. Sneezer shall be avenged! Seriously. I did grow up next to a public golf course paralleling the Santa Ana river/river trail(The Armorer had a story of two guys traveling the SA river trail a but back.). Golfballs have killed pets(including the beloved cat Sneezer), broken windows, and nearly hit people in the back yard. That's why I hate golf and want all courses turned to anything other than a golf course. Any duffers reading this page should remember that there are many times people at the end of that errant ball when they play muni courses.

Comment from Neffi on 2005-05-11

2005-05-12T00:26:39Z

The game of golf is not particularly popular amongst mine own gang of cronies... but we surely do appreciate golf courses. All those long, straight, smooth runways... er fairways, that is. I've not yet had the pleasure, but plenty stories are told of dead-stick landings... Best I've heard was told by Al, in the hangar next to me. He's 60-ish and took off from Longmont some years ago in a Corbin Ace, headed for Fort Collins but the Continental engine quit at 1000 feet... no way to get back to the airport, but the municipal golf course was ideally placed and he set down on the fairway of the 9th hole. No damage.. As he tells it, he had climbed out and was looking at the gas lines when a golf cart came humming up at high speed, with two very irate golfers. They jumped out and stalked up to Al, but before they could unleash on him, ol' Al sez- "Hi fellas, mind if I play through?" Ha! That defused the situation. One of the golfers was Secretary of the club... Al cleaned a thoroughly filthy fuel filter and while the two golfers watched, took off and carried on to Ft. Collins. Others verify the story, so it's gotta be TINS, eh?

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T20:04:26Z

I don't think the Castle has too many rabid golfers among our commenters. Perhaps among the readers... but not the commenters. Certainly the Armorer doesn't play golf. The Armorer got a hole-in-one on his second game (18th Hole, Cedar Lakes, Fort Sill), and having achieved Nirvana, turned in his rented clubs and has not swung one since. Like putt-putt and miniature golf, though.

Comment from ry on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T19:56:27Z

Sanger's right about Bay Area housing. A 4 bedroom house in San Jose is almost a million dollars. Rents are nuts($1000+/month for a 2 bedroom apt). It's obscene. There's a running joke in my family about golf. Every time I pass a golf course I just have to say 'napalm'. It's the sport of the debbbiiilllll, I tells ya. The DEEEEBBBBBIIIIILLLLLL! (runs in zig zag to avoid sedative darts)

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T19:51:55Z

Well, that's a cool link, and that amount of money is pretty good, but I don't know how that would work out now. Maybe it would be enough for the area. I just know that it didn't cover the costs back then.... As for rents and etc; well you know how that goes: Lessee, I pay 800 a month, so covering costs, padding, property manager, and more padding, uh, 1350 sounds reasonable, eh? :-) In FL, the rent people paid was as high or higher than any mortgage payment, and it has been that way everywhere I've been in the past 15 years. That's one reason we just buy a house everywhere we go. Not sure it's the most cost-effective, but it has worked for us for the most part.

Comment from Heartless Libertarian on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T19:36:04Z

Well, you can check what the BAH is for any duty zipcode here. Monterey, CA, E-6: w/ Dep: $1913.00 w/o Dep: $1213.00 You're right, probably wouldn't get you much. What really amuses me is that the house I'm renting here in Columbia costs more each month than the mortgage on my house in Washington.

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T17:30:33Z

As for the folks at DLI, THL wrote: If DLI moved to some random military base in the middle of nowhere, these instructors would quit and get other jobs. They might, but it wouldn't really matter, I think. Ogden (I think) Utah is the home one of the finest language programs in the country, at least when I was in the Army and linguists were being sent there for refresher training (RedTrain). And there are other places where languages are taught well, including San Antonio (English DLI). Fact is, though, most of the DLI instructors I had were not professional teachers. They were moderately educated people who were native speakers who also spoke English pretty well. One of my teachers was a former waitress and she had a very hard time speaking English. This may have changed, but considering DLI uses a fairly straightforward program to teach languages, I'd say just about any moderlately educated native speaker who also speaks english could do the job just about as well as many of them did it. I am not being negative in this case. I had a couple of quite excellent teachers; however, I also had some pretty crummy ones. Move the school? Sure. I expect you'd have qualified people applying left and right, especially since the pay for teachers there is not THAT great, and they would actually do better financially elsewhere in the country. And finally, re: Housing allowance, etc. It's not enough for Monterey. I went in debt while stationed at Monterey because my wife was in school too--albeit not in the military--and even though we lived fairly frugally (we drove a Pinto, for example) and had a very low-cost apartment (for that area), our expenses nevertheless exceeded our income. And that was in 1980 and I was an E-6! I can't imagine how enlisted military couples make do now, unless they are able to live on Ord or they live extremely frugally--and get food stamps. :-) The cost of living there must be astronomical. ~SangerM

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T17:15:38Z

John of Argghhh briefed on May 11, 2005 07:15 AM What did I miss? Alex Tabarrok and real estate costs? Er? Um.... Your link took me to his page, and that was the article at the top of it when I got there. uh.. oops?

Comment from Cricket on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T15:04:50Z

I want the Fort Ord firing range...the one near Stilwell Hall. We had our senior prom there way back when.

Comment from Heartless Libertarian on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T12:34:40Z

Active duty military, I'm going to guess (since I know nothing of compensation rules for GS types) don't suffer as much from high housing costs at various duty stations simply because BAH varies by location, in accordance with local housing costs. For example, I'm an O-3, with dependants. Here at Ft Jackson, I get $1,080 a month in BAH. When I PCS to Ft Lewis, that BAH jumps to $1,485 a month, because housing in Tacoma, WA, is more expensive than in Columbia, SC. Why hasn't DoD closed the Presidio of Monterrey and moved DLI (it's lone function) to, say, Ft Sill, OK? It would say money to do so. Minor problem, though, is the instructors. Most of them are civilians, and they like living in Monterrey. If DLI moved to some random military base in the middle of nowhere, these instructors would quit and get other jobs. Oh, and I go by Langenator on THR. I don't post nearly as much as I used to, partly for time reasons, but also partly because after a while most of the discussions get repetitive.

Comment from John of Argghhh on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T12:15:09Z

What did I miss? Alex Tabarrok and real estate costs? Er?

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-11

2005-05-11T05:21:57Z

ry, it's pretty bad in FL, too, and not necessarily because of govmt. activity. We have all these loony aged midwesterners who seem convinced, having internalized the BS in the Real Estate ads, that if they move to Florida, they won't get old(er) and die. At least, that's the only way I can account for the presence of my crazy neighbors and their ugly domestic architecture. And the golf [shudder!] God, please make the golf stop, I'll do anything, I'll ... PG-17 speaking, here. Jtg got so exercised as to get all obscene, crazy, and blasphemous when talking about (shudder) golf. He has been sedated.

Comment from ry on 2005-05-10

2005-05-11T04:38:12Z

Or, they could ditch the Inquisition, known as the California Coastal Commission, and watch property values in CA go back to a reasonable level again. I didn't know it was so hard for mil families to move to CA. That surely and trully sucks.

Comment from Justthisguy on 2005-05-10

2005-05-11T04:32:29Z

Dang, Heartless! You hang out at THR, too? What's your handle, there? Or email it to me if you don't want it to show here. I'm Orthonym there.

Comment from SangerM on 2005-05-10

2005-05-11T03:00:10Z

Alex Tabarrok has rather a naif's view of real estate brokers and the amount of money they earn on a house sale, the amount of work they do, the costs of doing business, etc. I have a couple of friends who are real estate brokers, both in VERY lucrative markets, and neither of them does a lot of sitting around, and they don't really make all that much on the sale of a house. True, it's not chump change, but on a 100K house, a realtor might make 2-3K, max, NET, after paying all expenses, fees, and other $$ that must be paid. As for the delta between CA and say, OH, well, it costs a LOT to live in CA--a lot more than it does almost everywhere else save DC, CT, and NYC... In fact, the cost of living differential is so great that the Air Force cannot get people from outside CA to apply for or accept civil service jobs at Vandenburg AFB, even -12 & -13 level jobs, even with an adjusted COLA, EVEN with a 25%-of-salary bonus payment for the first year. Why?Because even with all of that you just might break even... Costs are not high because of realtors. The problem is the insane amounts of money people are willing to pay for houses in places like LA, San Diego, etc. Of course, one does not often have a choice, but I'll tell you what, if the government wanted to pay off it's debt, it could close and sell military bases like the Presidio of Montery, Eglin AFB, San Diego Naval Station, Travis AFB, and other high-rent locales. Man, I'll bet Eglin and Presidio of Monterey/Naval Post Graduate School alone could halve the national debt. But it ain't the average realtor who's getting rich off sales, and no realtor who also has a private/personal life is other than an average realtor. Those people work HARD! A lot harder than I do, and that's for sure. ~SangerM

Comment from Barb on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T23:54:02Z

You have to love the WSU Cougs graduates for their ingenuity! I also get a kick out of Sharkansky on SoundPolitics.com referring to the Governor as 'Former Atty General Gregoire' . *grin*

Comment from freakchylde on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T22:17:51Z

I hope the intelligence in the White House remembers that there's the line-item veto, may they use it as necessary.

Comment from Heartless Libertarian on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T22:17:21Z

Also-I can't take credit for 'blissninny.' That one comes from the guys at www.thehighroad.org.

Comment from Heartless Libertarian on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T22:08:04Z

Hmmph...the "weapons immersion" or "Warrior Weapons Initiative" as Ft Jackson calls it has been the standard for at least a couple of months now. And we don't really start actual marksmanship training any earlier than we have since I got here 18 months ago. The enforcement mechanism, which the article doesn't mention, is that any soldier who has a negligent discharge after completion of BRM (rifle qualification for you non-Army types) automatically starts over again at Day One. Also not mentioned is that, after BRM, they carry loaded weapons (blank ammo) everywhere they go. Prior to that, the weapons aren't loaded.

Comment from Damian on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T19:19:09Z

Ummm, not to be too much of a spoilsport, John, but the scuttlebut is that the CF will be sending about 150 troops (mostly officers) to advise the African Union on how to do the job in Sudan. While I'm glad we'll be contributing anything (and at a meagre 150, we'll be 150 ahead of any other western nation as far as I know), I don't suffer from any illusions as to the impact of this deployment, should it ever even come about (there's a national government falling in Canada right now, for those who don't follow politics in the Great White North). Debbye at Being American in T.O. has a good round up posted.

Comment from Were-Kitty on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T18:08:56Z

hahahaha!!! accounting = count again! ohmygod..... too cute!

Comment from Marvin on 2005-05-10

2005-05-10T17:18:21Z

RE: Blissninny - What a depressingly stupid person.