Monday's Meme

And if this doesn't blow the new format right through the portcullis, nothing will.

Tagged.

Me.

Out of a galaxy of million-candlepower xenon searchlights in the blogosphere, she picks the neutron star in the bunch to enlighten all y'all. Of course, I wasn’t exactly a moving target.

"Yup. And 'midst the threshers and makos and Great Whites, some of us are just

*ahem*

pilot fish."

And some of us are nothing more than tomorrows SOS, stuff on a shingle, just waiting to be cut up.

*sigh*

So she Ginsus me with a meme.

However, before I spill my guts through an act of electronic seppuku, I believe I’ll tender my tender tormentor a peace offering -- something that will show her I understand why she expressed her repressed emotions by jerking me around with a %$#@! meme exhibiting curiosity about my mundane existence. Since her alter-ego, Princess Leia In A Sandpaper Thong Cheese Danish Bikini, has moaned

But then I have always had a weak spot for quiet, solid men.

and since I damnsure ain’t neither understand her need to bitchslap me cry out to me in this manner, I’ll dedicate this to her as a little warmer-upper for the seriosity to follow.

And now to the main event. The rules state:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog (easy enough -- not really necessary, though, since most of Villainous Company lurks here anyw -- Sly! *Not on the drapes*!!).

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird (easy enough -- everything about me is random, weird, or both).

• During my thirty-seven years in the Army, USAR and ARNG, I never had an Army Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner (I *delivered* a whole bunch, though, and dished out cranberry sauce and stuffing on several occasions).

• All my ARNG Raters recommended “Promote immediately” or “Promote Ahead of Contemporaries” in the remarks block of my OERs -- and all my promotions were delayed, on average, by three years. I kept a file drawer full of promotion packets to replace the ones Higher kept *losing*. One time I submitted three -- and said that way they could continue to lose one each month and not have to bother me for a while. It didn't sit well with HRO *at all*...

• I was knocked on my keister by lightning three times within the same month (June 1971) -- and got a nice letter from a two-star (not for getting hit, for what I was doing when I got hit -- which, in turn, resulted in my getting hit, but nobody else).

• I’m a character in a book that’s currently in draft (it’s not about me and I made her promise she wouldn’t turn me into a water-walker).

• Horses and I have an agreement: I don’t drop onto their backs from overhanging tree limbs and they don’t bite me on the butt and drag me off.

• I can’t wear short-sleeved shirts (souvenir of Agent Orange called porphyria cutanea tarda -- the whole "bleeds through the skin" deal freaks people out, for some reason).

• I owe John a bunch of cartoons.

Hey, the requirement was that I share seven facts -- not that I share and *explain* them. Unless, of course, it’ll get John posting privileges at The Corner. And ry lets HF6 read the X-Men #1 he *thinks* he hid behind the adult novelties dispenser towel rack in the oubliette.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
As if. This place is the Meme Graveyard.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Not. A. Chance. But Argent, AFSis, ALa, Barb, Foxfier, Cricket and Michelle Malkin all dodged the bullet. Fuzzybee, HF6 and Maggie were previously victimized. And Murray would have tried to launch a rock at me (hey, we're practically neighbo(u)rs these days).

5. Present an image of martial discord from whatever period or situation you’d like.
That can be read on many different levels.

This is only one of them.

And *that* can be read on many levels, too…

Vets for Freedom "Heroes Tour" Kick-off

I should've put this up earlier, but things got busy.

Vets for Freedom is kicking off the "National Heroes Tour" in San Diego tomorrow (Friday) to draw attention to their mission as they travel to Washington, DC to meet with legislators ahead of General Petraeus' expected testimony in April. Events will include appearances/speeches by heroes like Bud Day, Marcus Luttrell and David Bellavia, as well as local heroes. There will be a book signing in Pendleton in the morning, then a party on the deck of the Midway Museum at 6:30 p.m., including a parachute team landing and F-18 flyover, and music and food until 10:00 (Hugh Hewitt will be broadcasting from the ship starting at 3:00).

All events are free. Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive and I will be there to cover the news for the blogs.

Hope to see you there!

Hmmm. It's lunch, I got mail.

Press release on Dole Institute Milblog Panel. Note that two of the guests, Holt & Carroll will meet with military and journalism faculty, classes and students on Jan29 & 30.

Jan. 17, 2008
Contact: Jonathan Earle, Dole Institute of Politics, (785) 864-4900 .

Dole Institute to host panel discussion on military blogs
LAWRENCE — As a follow-up to a successful program in early 2007 on political Weblogs, the Dole Institute of Politics will host a panel discussion about another dynamic and growing community on the Internet: military blogs (also known as “milblogs”).

Blogs from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan have allowed readers at home to connect with soldiers, contractors and civilians who are serving their countries, and they have forced the Pentagon to rush headlong into this 21st century medium.

Milblogs began to appear shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They saw a dramatic increase in usage following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to Joshua Patterson, a KU graduate student studying journalism, Milblogging.com had indexed more than 1,800 military blogs in more than 30 countries as of Dec. 1, 2007.

“Milblogs and soldier blogs are often gripping and graphic firsthand accounts of the author’s life and experiences,” said Jonathan Earle, interim director of the Dole Institute. “This program will give our audience a window onto a new and fast-changing part of the so-called ‘new media.’ I can’t recall a similar program anywhere else in the country.”

The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, at the Dole Institute. It is free and open to the public.

Like last year’s “Blog to the Chief” program at the Dole Institute, this discussion will be moderated by David Perlmutter, associate dean of KU’s William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications and author of the books “Visions of War” and “Blogwars.” The panel will feature Charles J. “Jack” Holt, chief of New Media Operations for the Department of Defense, and leading military bloggers Ward Carroll, editor of Military.com and Milblog.com; and John Donovan, lead blogger of Argghhh! The Home of Two of Jonah’s Military Guys.

Holt is a career Pentagon civilian employee. He served with the National Guard at the National Guard Bureau and was deployed to Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia. The New Media Outreach program, which he leads, studies how new technologies inform the public of defense policy and operations.

During his 20-year Navy career, Caroll served in four F-14 squadrons, accumulating more than 2,800 flight hours in operations that included five extended aircraft carrier deployments to hostile regions. Carroll has worked as a writer and cartoonist for Approach magazine and is the author of five books, including “Militia Kill.” He currently blogs at Defensetech.org and his personal site, wardcarroll.com.

Donovan is a retired soldier who served for 20 years as an artillery expert, military historian, training and simulations expert and weapons of mass destruction response planner. He currently works as a defense contractor for the Army, working on everything from simulation development to operational analysis. He has worked on projects ranging from developing an analytic personnel management model to future Army concepts, structures and equipment. As a blogger, he covers military affairs, firearms, military history and politics.

There's an advantage to being local. I'm cheap, they don't have to fly me in or put me up. I just get a free dinner out of it. As I understand it, Dave is going to take advantage of my localness and have me do with his fall semester classes what he's having Ward Carroll and Jack Holt do for his spring semester classes.

At least that's what my ego hopes, ennyway... 8^ )

Following through.

You may remember that I got invited to the White House and, with my Band of Brothers, got to spend an hour with the President of the United States, forever being branded a sycophant in the process.

I asked a question.

"Mr. President, since you clearly see the war as necessary, and lasting beyond your administration, how do you set the conditions to ensure that the effort will continue beyond 2008, regardless of who wins the White House?"

His answer was along the lines I expected, and neutrally stated. Mr. Bush responded, "The private rhetoric of the occupant of the Oval Office may be much different from their public rhetoric once they have access to the information the President has access to." He added that "Iraq has asked for a permanent political, economic and military relationship with the US" which I took to mean that Mr. Bush would be putting formal relationships into place that would make it more difficult for his successor to just repudiate things.

Well, some Dem candidate rhetoric has changed over time, and it was reported that President Bush had been talking to the candidates about that very issue - not painting themselves into corners - and, of course, now we have this... that formalization of relationships thing. Which, mind you, isn't a new idea, however, as Austin Bay notes: If you're a wire-service editor, eight months is an eon -- but if you're trying to politically reinvent Mesopotamia, it's a millisecond.

Heh. Follow-through. Here's the short version.

U.S.-Iraq Declaration Of Principles For Friendship And Cooperation

The U.S. and Iraqi "Declaration of Principles" is a shared statement of intent that establishes common principles to frame our future relationship. This moves us closer to normalized, bilateral relations between our two countries. With this declaration, leaders of Iraq and the United States commit to begin negotiating the formal arrangements that will govern such a relationship.

Ø Iraq's leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America, and we seek an enduring relationship with a democratic Iraq. We are ready to build that relationship in a sustainable way that protects our mutual interests, promotes regional stability, and requires fewer Coalition forces.

Ø In response, this Declaration is the first step in a three-step process that will normalize U.S.-Iraqi relations in a way which is consistent with Iraq's sovereignty and will help Iraq regain its rightful status in the international community – something both we and the Iraqis seek. The second step is the renewal of the Multinational Force-Iraq's Chapter VII United Nations mandate for a final year, followed by the third step, the negotiation of the detailed arrangements that will codify our bilateral relationship after the Chapter VII mandate expires.

The UN Chapter VII resolution that is binding under international law gives the MNFI legal authorization to “take all necessary measures to preserve peace and security”. Both the U.S. and Iraq are committed to Iraq moving beyond an international presence based on a UN Security Council Chapter VII mandate.

Iraqis have expressed a desire to move past a Chapter VII MNFI mandate and we are committed to helping them achieve this objective.

After the Chapter VII mandate is renewed for one year, we will begin negotiation of a framework that will govern the future of our bilateral relationship.

The Declaration Is A Continuation Of A Commitment That Began This August

The governments of Iraq and the United States are committed to developing a long-term relationship as two fully sovereign and independent states with common interests.

Ø The August 26 Communiqué signed by the five political leaders – Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, the three members of the Presidency Council, and Kurdish leader Ma'sud Barzani – on August 26, 2007, and endorsed by President Bush states: "The leaders considered it important to link the renewal of UN Resolution 1723 for another year with a reference to the ending of Iraq's Chapter VII status under the UN Charter and the concomitant resumption of Iraq's normal status as a state with full sovereignty and authorities and the restoration of Iraq's legal international status, namely the status that it had before UN Resolution 661 of 1990. In this context, the leaders affirmed the necessity of reaching a long term relationship with the American side … that is built on common interests and covers the various areas between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America. This goal should be realized in the near future."

Ø President Bush endorsed the August 26th communiqué:

· President Bush: "I welcome and accept the expressed desire of the Iraqi leadership to develop a long-term relationship with the United States based on common interests. The United States is committed to developing this relationship and to strengthening diplomatic, economic, and security ties with the Iraqi government and its people." (President George W. Bush, Remarks, Kirtland AFB, NM, 8/27/07)

· President Bush: Iraq's leaders "understand that their success will require U.S. political, economic, and security engagement that extends beyond my presidency. These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship – in a way that protects our interests in the region and requires many fewer American troops." (President George W. Bush, Address to the Nation, The White House, 9/13/07)

The Declaration Sets The U.S. And Iraq On A Path Toward Negotiating Agreements That Are Common Throughout The World

The U.S. has security relationships with over 100 countries around the world, including recent agreements with nations such as Afghanistan and former Soviet bloc countries.

The relationship envisioned will include U.S.-Iraqi cooperation in the political, diplomatic, economic and security arenas. The United States and Iraq intend to negotiate arrangements based upon a range of principles:

Ø Political and Diplomatic: The U.S. and Iraq have committed to strengthening Iraq's democratic institutions, upholding the Iraqi Constitution, supporting Iraqi national reconciliation, and enhancing Iraq's position in regional and international organizations, so that it may play a constructive role in the region.

Ø Economic: Both countries have agreed to support the development of Iraqi economic institutions and further integration into international financial institutions, to encourage all parties to abide by their commitments made in the International Compact with Iraq, to assist Iraq in its efforts to recover illegally exported funds and properties and to secure debt relief, and to encourage the flow of foreign investments to Iraq.

Ø Security: To support the Iraqi government in training, equipping, and arming the Iraqi Security Forces so they can provide security and stability to all Iraqis; support the Iraqi government in contributing to the international fight against terrorism by confronting terrorists such as Al-Qaeda, its affiliates, other terrorist groups, as well as all other outlaw groups, such as criminal remnants of the former regime; and to provide security assurances to the Iraqi Government to deter any external aggression and to ensure the integrity of Iraq's territory.

The full text is in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry.

Hey, they're just words. But, as the Left likes to remind us... words have meaning. Nothing will be easy. But if you don't start walking the walk, nothing gets done.

Follow through. The Iraqis have to, and we'll see if the next Administration has the stomach to follow through. The American people do - if they have strong leadership, and see distinct signs of progress that includes the continued shifting of the major burden for Iraq to Iraq.

Blogworld Expo

I'm sitting in the "Right vs Left: Who's Winning the Battle of the Blogosphere?" which is, interestingly, not well attended. Many of the people here at the Expo are in the "How to do it, and how to make money at it" sessions. Good for them.

I'm looking over Markos Moulitsa's shoulder as he is either live-blogging things, or, more likely, answering email. He's also reading, reading, reading...

Hugh Hewitt just asked Markos about what the Progressive side of the 'sphere was doing to grow their own bloggers... and Markos said, "We've got something working - but I'm not going to tell you what it is... " which is a fair enough answer.

I even stood next to Markos last night as he was hanging with his posse at the party at the Hard Rock last night - and I didn't feel any urge to spontaneously combust...

We managed to mix last night with no fireworks. This isn't to say we *truly* mixed, like any large group we were clustered in friendly clan-septs, but there was nobody out trying to provoke, proselytize, or pander to anyone, either. We were all just crashing the open bar, gnoshing on the prime rib, the exotic potato dishes (hey, Peruvian Purple mashed potatoes topped with carmelized onions with apple-smoked bacon stuck in it... or the new potatoes with caviar. *That* was an acquired taste, and I'm not managed to find it. Did I mention the chocolate fountain?

The political panels have been pretty good, too, with people mostly managing to stay on topic and not get into politics. It's really been a civil gathering, with people just here to have a convention, network, catch up on tech, and catch up with friends.

The military panels have been excellent - and while also sparsely attended - are at least as well attended as the political sessions. Again - most of the people here seem to be interested in the tech stuff.

I've been asked to do some name-dropping. Okay. People I've met, renewed acquaintances, swapped stories and cards with...

Matty O'Blackfive, Uncle Jimbo, Hugh Hewitt, LaShawn Barber, Markos Moulitsas (okay, I met him, we didn't chat - hey, the only thing we have in common aside from we love our children is that we were both artillerymen), Jerome Armstrong, Rachelle Jones, Andi Hurley, Carla Lois, Ward Carroll, Tim Boggs, Thomas Nichols, Chuck Ziegenfuss, John Hinderaker, Dean Barnett, Mary Ham, Ravi Singh, Steven Schippert, Michael Medved just to name a few, and I'll drop other names later.... Gina I mentioned yesterday...

For me, this was worth the expense of getting here (I booked *late* because I wasn't sure I could here at all...) and I plan to come again next year.

Update: Interesting, Hugh just asked the panel if they thought that bloggers would find themselves in appointed political positions after the next election?

Most of the panel doesn't think so. Hugh brought up the possiblity that one reason why there won't be many is that many young bloggers have written with such passion, and sometimes lack of judgement, that they'll be anathema for appointed positions - and several panelists brought up that it might not be what they wrote, but what others wrote... both in terms honest comments/writings, and "black ops" commenting designed to get the blogger in hot water.

Update: Politics finally showed up with Markos joining in from the floor. The subject that triggered it- Iraq. We're no longer on the topic of the impact and effect of the left and right blogs, but... simply politics.

The Progressives posited that the only definition of success in Iraq is - troops home. No other definition is possible.

I asked the question of Afghanistan, how did that fit into that frame - and I clearly wasn't clear - no one answered my question on the substance, and took it instead as an accusation of isolationism on the part of Democrats.

I just wanted them to state a position in re the war on terror, vice the Iraq campaign in the war. But the political filters were to strong for me to get through. Heh.

Jeralyn Merrit did state that if someone attacks us, we should fight back. But she doesn't believe in preventative war, regime change, much less societal change. As she see's it - there's more than enough societal change she wants to effect in the US that we don't need to be spending that effort elsewhere.

Joe Sudbay said something interesting - the Progressive bloggers see themselves, just as we on the Conservative side do - a conduit *around* the MSM and a way to get stories out that the MSM won't carry. And they have the same problem interacting with their side of political power structure as we do.

Interesting indeed.

Updating again, this time with more name-dropping. Lessee, NZBear, some guy named Instapundit (okay, I simply basked in his passing glow, he was talking to some very serious looking woman and it didn't look like a good time to play groupie), Steve Eggleston, Ano Kohnsen, Sarah Walters, Jill Army...

...and last, but not least, I really do know Kos' last name is Zuniga, but for whatever reason, it wasn't reaching my fingers when I was typing during the panel. My inexplicable bad.

A quick BlogWorld Expo post.

I got orders from PVIT 6 this morning before I left regarding PVIT - PUSH PUSH PUSH!

So, I won't talk about the blog panel hosted by my buddy Dave Perlmutter that had a scad of big name bloggers that span the spectrum where it became apparent my blogging approach isn't as bad as I sometimes think. Nope. I won't talk about the undercover White House types, or the not-so-undercover DoD types I ran into. Or running into Mary Katherine Ham and finding out she knows me on sight. Or, I might be on Hugh Hewitt's show this afternoon... Or discovering I have fans (no groupies, SWWBO, I'm behavin')

Nope I'll get to the important stuff. That might get me in trouble with SWWBO. Okay, maybe I'm misbehavin' a *little.*

Gina! Gina of Pinups For Vets has endorsed Project Valour-IT and the Army Team!

And she has provided a personalized poster and calendar that will be available on a PVIT auction website near you, probably this evening.

Yep - that very one - with that lipstick mark there that is real, and I watched it be put in place! But I'm behavin' SWWBO - I didn't collect any personal marks - just some hugs from Carla of One Soldier's Mom and Andi of Spouse Buzz.

The Armorer is having a good time - but it would be much better if SWWBO was here.

Speaking of innovative ways to donate... organize the Power of Many.

John,

I don't know how it may be entered, but on my motion at an American Legion meeting, the post (AK Dept, Ketchikan Post 3) has agreed to sponsor a troop with a $600 donation. During discussion, we may be doing this quarterly.

Maybe a mention to all your readers to approach their Post (Legion, VFW, SAMS, etc.) and set up the same thing. If ever there is a group that understands what our men and women are going through right now, it is those of us who have been there.

Hunter
Ketchikan

Thanks, Hunter. Thank you very much.

Things that make the frustrating moments worth it.

And this is going to be a month of frustration, with the slow access and long hours cramping my style, I assure you! But, that's the way it's goina be until I figure out a way to make this blog pay as much as being a Beltway Bandit (Midwestern Edition)!

From the email bag:

Sir,

I am currently at my folk's house for a few days and I just wanted to send you a private note thanking you. I am a rather recently commissioned 11A who will be deploying soon to the Box for a 2nd time. The 1st time was during the march up back in '03 when I was an E-3 11B with the 3-7 Cav. I left college in December of '01, halfway through my sophomore year, because I wanted to go to the 'Stan and fight those who attacked us on their turf. I left the Army after my enlistment was up and returned home to civilian life and to finish school.

My dad, who is so gifted with foresight, that my brothers and I call him "Elrond", told me back then that he thought I had done enough and that he had a feeling that the war would be waiting after I finished my degree. I have to tell you, having my dad say that he thought I "Had done enough" is like praise from Caesar. My dad was medically retired from the Army as an O-3(P) back in '71 after he was shot in the hip and leg by some AK-47 wielding NVA
(who had about 2 seconds to live after he fired, my Dad's Top lit that NVA up). He was on his third tour and was on one hand happy about his likely upcoming promotion and on the other dreading it. It ended up being a moot point. You were a Major, so I think you can relate on both the pros and cons.

So, being brainwashed by the Bushhitlerhalibutron types, poor deluded victim me actually wanted to go back to the Army and I was commissioned thru ROTC and I will be going back as a platoon leader instead of a PFC. The amount of sheer idiocy, ignorance and laziness present on a college campus is staggering. I must say, I thought my head was going to explode on more than one occasion from being in such close proximity to those dolts on a daily basis.

Well, enough about me and my Dad. I just wanted you to know that we really like your site and appreciate the effort you and the others put into it. Dad says he knew a bunch of Tuttle types back in 'Nam and to this day he still appreciates them. He loves the TINS stuff, as do I. By the way, he found your little corner of the web back on a July 1st, a year or two ago when he was looking for articles to pass on to me about my favorite Civil War General, John Buford. If I remember right, you titled it "General Buford has his day." I was glad to see it, he is a rather obscure and forgotten man who did his country a great service. My dad and I have been regular readers ever since.

Sincerely,

Mike

Yeah, that was worth another couple of months.

Maybe more, if LT Mike sends us OPSEC-free dispatches. It's been a while since we've had a Correspondent (literally) in Iraq.

I know it said private note - but I did a little tweaking and sterilizing to protect the innocent.

Because 'Muricans need to know there are families like that one, with multigenerational service, and still serving, even if *my* family has taken a break after three generations and a combined 3 wars, 52 years, and (in one generation-Dad!) 7 Purple Hearts. BTW, because I know you want to know, I believe the record for Purple Hearts is 8. But not all 'Hearts are created equal. The national cemeteries are full of wartime-dated headstones where the occupant has only one Purple Heart, those are the ones that mean the most.

Sundry Sunday

An old farmer in Georgia had owned his farm for several years. He had a *huge* pond in the back, fixed up real nice; picnic tables, volleyball net, a horseshoe pitch -- like I said, real nice. And he'd properly shaped and graded the pond for swimming when he built it. One evening, the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee.

As he came still closer, he saw the noise originated from a bunch of young ladies skinny-dipping in his pond. He coughed to make the ladies aware of his presence and they immediately swam to the deep end of the pond. One of them shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man replied, "Calm down, now, hon -- I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond nekkid--

"--I'm just here to feed the alligator..."

V-29 swears he *didn't* make that up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
So far, the Kill Bill Match the TINS! to the Radio Call Contest has produced some enlightening results: Brab and NinjaFluff (with Pogue flying CAS) want to see me crisped, the starch-wing contingent wants me to go trolling for flak, Sis wants to see me ventilated, ry's opting for a Blue-on-Blue and Two Who Shall Remain Nameless want me to go up for a rematch with the heat-seeker. At least Cassie hasn't shown up to fling the trivet. Or engage in rampant foot-tapping, followed by a faire la moue et la flounce.

However, if the trend holds, *most* of you will be able to -- ahem -- brag about your prescience...

The Castle is prepping it's next "Man in the 'Stan"

Who, oddly enough, is another sailor. S'okay with me, I've been trying to get a pet sailor for this place for some time. Small downside, he *is* of the aviation community, like *that's* a perspective not over-represented around this place... and the Castle continues the trend of having land-locked sailors not doing Navy things as our correspondent from Afghanistan.

Nothing wrong with that - it encapsulates the war, in many respects, and the transformation, in fits and starts, of DoD.

Any, meet Mr. T's Haircut- who will be posting here and over at the 'Phibian's place (but we're senior, we invited the Haircut first). He'll hone his skillz talking about getting ready to go and getting there, and then really start earning his non-existent pay...

A Haircut goes to war.

Note: I chose the Nome de guerre MR T’s Haircut as a way to express life in my contribution to the blogs. “In Short”, the Haircut really does make the man.

I am an active duty Sailor who has over 20 years in the Naval Service. I am the proverbial Son of a Sailor, so that makes my Son, the Son of a … well you get the picture. I am an aviation Warrant Officer and have flown as a crewmember in rotary and fixed wing aircraft. I am married, enjoy NASCAR and Fishing. I support the Constitution and in particular, I support the 2nd Amendment. My opinions are my own.

I am pleased to have been asked by John the Armorer to replace Joe as “the Man in the ‘Stan” Correspondent. I am due to deploy to Afghanistan in May – June of 2008. I will pass on my observations as an “Individual Augmentee” supporting the good fight as I join the sister service, the Army, as a “Fleet of One”.

Due to my sarcastic sense of humor and habit of crossing the PC line, I have decided to remain semi-anonymous when I make my contributions to the Castle. I also love to read and post on CDR Salamander’s blog and have been asked to contribute by our fine Phibian’ and agreed to contribute my observations from time to time to his fine website as well.

So please tune in as I give a Sailors perspective of a deployment of an Individual Augmentee, deploying to a combat zone singularly and with the normal cast of characters that a Sailor would be used to deploying with.

To put it in perspective, when a Sailor normally deploys, he does so after completing numerous mind numbing qualifications on a weapons systems or aircraft platform. He further must pass a series of drills and exercises as part of the crew or team in integrated combat scenarios. This usually consists of weeks of deployments leading up to a long duration exercise and then finally deployment. By this time the deployment is anti-climatic and the Sailor plans for the inevitable return home to port to turn around and begin the cycle anew… in other words, this entire IA thing is going to be fun! - MTH

Welcome aboard, Sailor!

Everything Old Is New On the YaddaYaddaYadda...

John seems to be obsessing with quizzes lately, so I figured I'd recycle this from one of my first appearances. As always, you get context -- during the last couple of days of our Boz rotation, we watched our replacements finish making a hash out of everything assuming their responsibilities for everything and everyone in the MND-North AO, thereby leaving us with nothing to do except scratch our nu precious little in the way of meaningful work.

Devil, meet idle hands. Idle hands, meet keyboard.

Took darn near an hour, but I ratcheted up a quiz, slapped it in e-mail, triggered "Everybody Who's Anybody In SFOR Except For The CG" in the "To:" block and clicked "Send."

Now, it's your turn to see if *you* are smart enough to Get Out of Bosnia...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There will be a written examination as the culmination of the SFOR-10 rotation experience. Since there will be no time available to conduct a review of the subject material, you will find a representative sample of the examination below. A passing grade will entitle you to receive your choice of either two college credits from the University of Maryland (Eagle Campus) or one boarding pass on a military aircraft departing Tuzla on the day that you thought you were supposed to be leaving…

Read each question thoroughly. Answer all questions. Time limit: four hours.

· General Knowledge: Describe everything you know in detail. Be objective, specific and concise.

· World History: Describe the evolution of all major religions from their earliest known origins to the present day. You may substitute Zoroastrianism for any other contemporary fire-worshipping Indo-European religion. Prove which is the one true religion in a manner that will convince everyone else.

· Combat LifeSaving: You will be given a double-edged razor blade, a piece of gauze and a bottle of muscatel. Remove your own appendix. Do not suture until your work has been examined by a proctor. You will have 15 minutes to complete the operation.

· Public Speaking: 2,500 fire-worshipping, gauze-clad muscatel drinkers armed with double-edged razor blades will storm into your classroom as soon as you have finished reading this. Calm them using any ancient language except Demotic Egyptian or Mycenaean Greek. Do not use passive voice.

· Biology: Create life. Estimate the subsequent differences in the rise of human culture if this life-form had developed 500 million years ago, giving special emphasis to the effects on the next Presidential election in Peru. Prove who will win and why.

· Music: Write a piano concerto. Orchestrate it and accompany yourself with flugelhorn and drum. You will find a piano in the middle drawer of your desk.

· Psychology: Evaluate the emotional stability, degree of adjustment and repressed frustrations of each of the following individuals: Alexander the Great, Amenhotep II, Gregory of Nicosia, Joan of Arc and Hammurabi. Support your evaluation with at least three quotations from each person's work, cross-referencing as appropriate. It is not necessary to translate.

· Sociology: Estimate the sociological problems which might accompany the end of the world. Construct a 1/32nd-scale experiment to test your theory.

· Political Science: You will be given a two-Euro coin. Proceed to the nearest pay phone and start World War III. Report on its socio-economic consequences, if any.

· Management Science: Define both management and science and their intrinsic relationship with the works of J.R.R. Tolkein and H.P. Lovecraft. Create a generalized algorithm that can be used to optimize all managerial decisions. Design the systems interface and prepare all software necessary to program this algorithm onto an Apple MacIntosh. Use only those applications found in DOS 3.0.

· Engineering: You will find the disassembled parts of a Civil War-era Sharps rifle in various drawers of your desk. You will also find an instruction manual for making gunpowder, printed in Sanskrit. In 10 minutes, a hungry Kodiak bear will be admitted into your room. Take whatever action you feel appropriate. Be prepared to justify your decision to PETA.

· Economics: Develop a realistic plan for refinancing the National Debt. Trace the possible effects on plate tectonics, the wave theory of light and the overcrowding of CB radio channels.

· Epistemology: Take a position for or against truth. Prove the validity of your position.

· Physics: Explain the nature of matter. Your answer must include an evaluation of the impact of the development of quantum mechanics and Boolean algebra, plus the possible effects of beta radiation on the Hubble telescope’s infrared imaging systems.

· Philosophy: Sketch the development of human thought and estimate its significance. Compare this with the development of the other kinds of thought.

· Military History: Explain why the United States never lost a war in which the Army used mules.

· Extra Credit: Define the universe. Give three examples.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Betcha John gets a higher score than Jonah on this one.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I *know* Demotic is a script and not a language -- geez, guys, this is a *joke*...

Watch this space...

Breaking news...

Today, the Armorer and a group of milbloggers participated in a tiny bit of history.

We got to meet the President of the United States. And talk with him for an hour.

With two of us linking in courtesy of the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad, we sat down a little before 10AM in the Roosevelt Room of the White House and literally had a chat with the President.

President Bush observed, that as far as he knows, this was the first time that a sitting President had hosted a group of bloggers for a chat at the White House. If that's in fact true - then we got to make a little history today. If it's not true, I'm sure the Peasants with Pitchforks will quickly disabuse us of the notion!

Present from the White House were:

President Bush
General Lute
Kevin Sullivan
Mark Pfeifler
Dana Perino
Tony Snow.

The milbloggers present were:

The Armorer of Argghhh!
Matt Burden of Blackfive
Mrs. Greyhawk of Mudville Gazette, standing in for the deployed Greyhawk
NZ Bear of the TTLB and the Victory Caucus
Steve Schippert of Threats Watch
Ward Carroll of Military.Com
CJ from A Soldier's Perspective
Mohammed of Iraq the Model

Linking in from Iraq were:

Bill Roggio of the Long War Journal
Bill Ardolino of INDC Journal.

More to follow - I just wanted to get this out there because it was, in fact, a good time. I've got several posts worth of stuff from the chat - but I'm just going to leave you with this group photo:

Lookit those s**t-eating grins.

I'm still stunned.

To quote President Bush "I looked at my schedule today, and I found it interesting that I would be sitting down with bloggers."

No more interesting than we found it, sir. Trust me on that.

Update: Hi to NRO visitors! For anyone coming in via a link - here's a link to my second post on the visit - covering the first impressions of the meeting.

First Impressions of meeting with the President.

President George W. Bush meeting with military bloggers in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

The sit down with President Bush was, I've got to note - fun.

It was serious. He talked to us, and with us, not at us. And, unusual for the personality types that populate the blogging world - we listened. We got in our questions, and I think they were good ones, and the President made his points, which were a mixture of the thrust of his message this week and new (to me, anyway) stuff in response to our questions.

Make no mistake - he knew we were going to generally be a receptive audience, and we were. The staff knew our blogs, and they knew that while some of us have not always been fans or happy with things as they are, they knew we were not going to storm the Bastille, either.

I had a list of questions, most of which ended up being asked by others. So, as the other bloggers put up their posts, I'll link to them, so you can both see what I was interested in, but let the relevant blogger run with the question and the answer. And I'll put up a post about my question and his answer.

The President acknowledged, so to speak, the rise of the blogosphere - which he seems to see as complementary to the MSM, a view to which I subscribe, as well. We're another vector that people can use to disseminate or gather information - whether the MSM is gate-guarding it because of their biases, or simple economics. There are only so many air minutes, so many column inches, and the MSM is a business. They have to make editorial decisions.

If anything, the blogs hearken back, really, to an earlier time in the growth of the Republic.

We're the "broadsides" of this era. As Larry Schwiekart and Michael Allen describe them in their book, A Patriot's History of the United States (page 42):

"...Americans' literacy was widespread, but it was not deep or profound. Most folks read a little and not much more. In response, a new form of publishing arose to meet the demands of this vast, but minimally literate, populace: the newspaper. Early newspapers came in the form of broadsides, usually distributed and posted in the lobby of an inn or saloon where one of the more literate colonials would proceed to read a story aloud for the dining or drinking clientele. Others would chime in with editorial comments during the reading, making for a truly democratic and interactive forum."

That covers blogs pretty well, I think. Though there are some pretty deep and profound ones, and there are ones which are growing into news outlets that have many trappings of the MSM, as well. With their strengths and weaknesses.

And today, the President just gave blogs some props.

And while the venue may have held milblogs - it's props for all bloggers who take their vocation or avocation seriously - and I think that's true for blogs of the Left, Middle, and the Right, the Poliblogs and the Milblogs, and the harder-to-characterize blogs as well.

And that's a good thing - because I think that our greatest strength and contribution is: "Others would chime in with editorial comments during the reading, making for a truly democratic and interactive forum."

Sure, there's trolls and scary places and people who don't know argument from excrement - but if you have something to say, and create the environment, you can open a pub like Castle Argghhh! where others chime in, you can learn something, and even though you're #1 in Google for "I bayoneted myself today" and you have an Outhouse Naming Contest, in America, you can still get invited to the White House to talk to the President.

And that's just cool.

And Barney is one *fine* looking Scotty.

And this is where I say that I wouldn't have been sitting at that table today if it hadn't been for Dusty, Bill, and the Denizen/nes of Argghhh! - because you guys make this worth doing for four years.

Thank you all, very, very, much.

There's some other people I owe, as well, but I know they prefer to remain anonymous. Thank you, too. You know who you are.

Yo, you think you wanna coin me boyo?

You slap your coin on the table.

I've got a trump.

I'll take a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig margarita, rocks, salt, please.

And no, it's *not* going on eBay. The White House mint... mebbe.

A movie meme.

Shamelessly swiped from Cassandra.

1. Name a movie you've seen more than 10 times.

Trading Places, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Singing in the Rain, A Bridge Too Far, Hamburger Hill, Fantasia.

2. Name a movie you've seen multiple times in the theater.

Fantasia

3. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Men: Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Sean Connery, Mark Wahlberg, Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd...

Women: Sandra Bullock, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Charlize Theron, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Terry Hatcher, Felicity Huffman...

Oh, wait - it was a singular, wasn't it?

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to see a movie.

Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda.

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.

Henry V, Patton, Marathon Man, Cool Hand Luke, Outlaw Josey Wales...

6. Name a movie musical, to which you know all the lyrics to all of the songs.

Jesus Christ Superstar, oddly enough. Singin' in the Rain.

7. Name a movie with which you've been known to sing along.

Hmmmmmmmmm. Drawing a blank on that one - other than the ones mentioned.

8. Name a movie you would recommend everyone see.

While I've seen and liked Cassie's suggestion, Grand Canyon, mine are very predictable for me... Zulu Dawn, Hamburger Hill, Blackhawk Down.

9. Name a movie you own.

Oh, good lord. Everything mentioned thus far plus many, many, more.

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Dennis Leary.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Yep. The first one was some war movie I vaguely remember scenes from... my cousin was babysitting my sister and I and they took us to a drive-in. They made out in the front seat while my sister and I watched the movie. I got it! In Harm's Way, with John Wayne.

12. Ever made out in a movie?

D-uh. A *lot*.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.

Stardust.

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

Many. My time is worth more to me than the price of the ticket. To name two - Natural Born Killers and Napoleon Dynamite.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

Blackhawk Down.

16. Popcorn?

With butter.

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

I used to go every week. Now, we're so busy we're lucky to make it once a month.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?

Balls of Fire. So bad, it's good. As they intended.

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Comedies, period pieces, war movies, action thrillers.

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

I can't remember. I take my wand and remove those memories and implant them in unsuspecting passing moonbats.

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

Being There

23. What is the scariest movie you've seen?

Alien.

24. What is the funniest movie you've seen?

I'm kinda like Cassie, I have lots of faves... but Trading Places has to be up there. One thing this little bit has done is made me realize I've lost a lot of my movie jones. I really had to think about stuff.

Feel free to toss your thoughts in the comments.

Tagline Contest Redux

Okayyyy, the tagline contest generated more responses than I figured, but it won’t be a genuine contest until The Winnah is picked.

Unlike those "contests" at -- ahem -- some *other* sites.

So, I figure our weekenders (technically, it's still the weekend) deserve a shot at it, too. Here’s the deal.

A. Go back to the link in the first sentence (you know, the one you ignored in your hurry to see what this is all about) and get the gist of what I’m hoping to achieve.

B. Snarken up your #2 posting finger and get ready to play.

You can either vote for one of the previous entries (by number) or submit one of your own. Or, you can score major points by picking one of my brilliant gems modest suggestions.

Ready? Go!

From Denizenne BlogTwin and perennial favorite (and not just in caption contests) AFSister comes this:

1. Aw, come on, Bill! I LIKE IT!

BlogNeighbor (and part-time blonde) Cassandra came up with:

2. [tapping foot]...

Mmmmmm – I predict I'll have to put Damage Control on Immediate Response status when / if she gets here.

We have two entries from the Castle’s Mistress of the Snark, Bad Cat Robot:

3. Ignoring the law of gravity since 1857!

4. If you throw yourself at the ground and miss really fast, you might be in a helicopter.

Chiming in from the Land of Backwards Seasons is trias with:

5. Bill's new copter with its Advanced Bill Correction Device (ABCD). This fantastic marvel of engineering automatically adjusts helium levels to make the CG move around wildly thereby providing Bill with normal operating conditions. AI could, unfortunately, not be included in the extensive feature list due to it's propensity to eject before takeoff.

Journalist NevadaDailySteve proves that the MinisculeStreamMedia does, indeed, have a sense of humor (a small one – but a sense of humor, nonetheless)

6. If you build it, some idiot will fly it.

Pat has been weeding in his DVD collection:

7. That's not a TINS, this is a TINS!

John, as usual, hit the wrong comment box – the one he obviously wanted concerned somebody’s guess about the Whatziss:

8. BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Castle newbie NinjaFluff has a twofer, too, fer ya...too...fer...*whap!* Owwww!:

You guys are great... This is why I love this site so much!

Okay, so that *wasn’t* one of her suggestions, but I'll take any compliment that staggers into the area. Geez, can’t I throw myself a bone, here?

9. Chief Sugarbuttons... flying the helicopters American's won't!

10. Bill, the Rotorhead - STILL flying faster than his Guardian Angel!

*sigh* Now I know who's been hounding me to join the Carborundum Fan Club...

Fellow GuardBud Pogue whaps my aged snoot with:

11. Four decades of combat operations.

Ymarsaker managed to avoid the firewall between Cassie’s place and the Castle:

12. Bill needs a helicopter to escape Cass's wrath.

Okay, he’s not *that* funny, but he thinks *I’m* funny and since he’s probably smart enough to take me two falls out of three in brain wrestling, I’m hedging my bets.

And perennial favorite in her own right (and another BlogNeighbor and demi-Denizenne), HomefrontSix tosses out:

13. Helicopters Don't Fly: They're So Ugly the Ground Repels Them.

Which I choose to take as a compliment, because I fall down a lot and have yet to miss the ground.

And -- a new record. I only got bumped offline by *two* power failures during the composition of this po

The remodel of Argghhh!

Boudoir Edition, is mostly complete, as revealed yesterday. Acceptance inspection is this afternoon.

Work on the Gun Room of Argghhh! continues apace - the wiring is almost done, the light cans installed and tested, and a surprising number of code violations/dangerous conditions from the previous owner fixed.

Here's 'Vic" trying it on for size.

The builder and cabinet/rack maker and I brought a few of the boys out to check the fit and such... and see what they thought about it all.

With the boudoir done, and SWWBO now able to hang out all day at the New Castle (still working on a name for the demesne overall) we'll probably start moving in this weekend.

The Armorer's sister, however... still lives in remodel he11.

Gasp! Sputter! Hack! Sneeze! The sheet rockers are at my house. They leave dust everywhere. They also leave really large piles of mud in unusual places. Like the middle of the floor. Silly me, I thought it was supposed to go on the ceilings and walls. It looks a little like meringue, but I don’t think we’ll taste it.

Although there is really no point in cleaning at all right now, we are still trying to pretend we are civilized. Someone at work commented that I wear clean clothes everyday. I’ll bet they’ve lived in a home while it was being remodeled.

I never entertained the notion that I would have to dust my plates when I set the table, but I do. I also have to rinse off the pots and pans before I can cook. Little piles of wood shavings and nails and screws are appearing in odd places, as well. Like in my knife rack and on the stove. It is not safe to walk barefoot in my house right now.

Before the sheet rockers came, we got insulation. We are very grateful because we have had heat indexes above 100 degrees recently and the house was hot even with air conditioning. Of course a good deal of the air conditioning was comforting the squirrels and birds as it leaked out of the house. I do not think they were grateful. Some of the insulation escaped from where it was meant to be and meandered around the house. It wasn’t too hard to sweep it up on the wood floors, but the carpeted stairs were tricky. I would have just left it alone, but I didn’t want the dog or the cats to eat it.

Our regular crew got to work on replacing some more of our windows. Ed and I had been carefully moving our bedroom furniture away from the windows each morning. We have kept all of out toiletries in a box in the bathroom so it would be easy for them to get to that window, as well. This has been going on for almost a week. Yesterday, I asked the foreman when they would get around to it. He replied, “When the replacements come in.” Replacements, what replacements? The ones that came were 41” windows. We need 48” windows. The window guy is going to take a bath on this order.

Most of the furniture from the living and dining rooms has been moved into the bedrooms. Things are a bit, well, stuffed. I had a treasure hunt last weekend trying to find some skewers for the grill, but I was victorious! I just had to move two tables and several boxes to get there.

You will have to use you imagination for this. Our large upright piano is now in the hallway to the bedrooms. The hall has a jog in it and the piano is too big to turn the corner, so it just sits in the hall. Suffice it to say, it is a good thing we are not obese people or we couldn’t get to our bedroom. Erin is practicing for a solo audition at school. There is no room for the piano bench, so she must stand in the hall, play the piano, and sing. The girl has talent and fortitude! Pray she does not choke on the dust!

The Remodel of Argghhh! Phase 1. Almost Complete.

They should finish up today.

Behold, the 95% finished Boudoir of Argghhh!

From this:

(To be kind to dial-up visitors, the rest of the pics are in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry)

A New Contest

Relax, Cassie -- it's *not* a caption contest (mmmm, technically, it might be -- but it's not the one she's gonna damage me for).

Whatzis helicopter and why does it have a balloon on top?

Every month or so, I get an e-gram with the correct answer. OH-58D. Kiowa *gag!* Warrior.

Unfortunately, it's not supposed to be a serious question. Y'see, a couple of years back, when John first dragged me squalling and scratching into this mess suggested I start doing actual posts, rather than sending his spam filters into overload mode merely e-mailing him vignettes, he asked me what I wanted above my sidebar pic.

And he attached a jaypeg of a KW. If I hadn't thought he was kidding (I've never even been off the ground in one), I never would have replied with the phrase

Whatzis helicopter and why does it have a balloon on top?

because it's sort of an "in" joke in the fling-wing community, to wit -- "The aircraft's got such a high c.g. [translation -- it's so topheavy] it needs helium in the MMS to keep it from rolling over on the helipad."

If I'd known he was so freakin' Machiavellian serious, I would have come up with a cooler meme. Something like,

Proof that there *are* old, bold aviators! Ummm -- *old* ones, anyway...

Soooooo, that's the contest -- "Give Bill a new sidebar blurb." Winner gets brag rights and a free Urdu pronunciation lesson *or* a hi-res pic of a Cobra you can PhotoShop your face into and impress your friends, especially if they think you've never been in the Pakistani Army.

Changing the pic out will be the object of a future contest.

*waving hiya to Cassie*

Meantime, go for it!

A good, bad, and ugly weekend.

I'll save the good for last.

The Bad. SWWBO got laid off last Friday, and today has to make the "perp walk" to her now-former (and soon to be named, maybe even in a EEOC complaint - but that's her call) employer to turn in her badge, laptop, and cell phone.

A door closes, doors open. She's hated what she's been doing and the environment for months, so there is an element of relief to it, as well. She has an interview in two weeks with another tech firm, and since the COO is making the pitch, this is probably a small company - and they want her. She's also being head-hunted for 3-6 month contract jobs in the metro area, which may actually be a good fit. Work some, take a month off. Work some, take a month off, etc. Heck, *I* could live with that. But her current employer? Well, let's just say there isn't a leader among 'em, and many of the managers don't manage very well, either. And they have a serious age discrimination problem. Apparently younger IT geeks don't like working with their mothers... especially when their mother is *much* better with the client, and often much better technically, too. This company makes money because they can't help it - they have a great product line, don't get me wrong... but they also clearly don't have serious competition yet, either.

Oh, and some punk stole the XM radio player (the MP3 part, none of the rest of it), apparently didn't like my music, as they riffled through the CDs and didn't take any, but, for some reason, left the GPS system. Since that is the only time I've left the door open on the truck overnight in years - it makes you wonder how often they walk up and down the street trying the doors of the parked vehicles...

The Ugly. I spent most of the weekend working a proposal. Since I currently have billability issues myself, I'm happy to make myself useful getting people work - since I know there are people working to find me more work. I just had other plans for the weekend before this landed on Friday. C'est la vie - without work, a consulting firm doesn't *need* employees... This prop was actually less painful than many (I say that with fingers crossed, we get the red team's feedback this morning) I've worked and it will keep the firm positioned in the cutting edge of evolving military doctrine if we win it. What were my other plans? Oh, the air show and gun show in Kansas City.

The Good. I did get to spend yesterday afternoon at the new Castle. SWWBO was building her guinea-coop (heh, that would probably get me slugged in certain parts of New York and New Jersey), I inspected progress on the Arms Room. Speaking of which, in true Castle "combined" fashion - the wood being used for framing the Arms Room is... Canadian.

The Castle Guard Force was out with us, getting the lay of the land. Here is Master Sergeant of the Guard Kiki counseling Recruit Private Gunner on his dress and deportment. Apparently burrs are unsat when on duty.

MSGG Kiki also had a whole new batch of rekeets er, recruits out for some orientation training. Here she is conducting Keetergarten.

While watching all this, I heard a throaty rumbling to the southeast. Vaguely familiar, yet not. The growl got louder, and deepened in tone - my heart started racing... I know that sound! Scanning the skies, I quickly saw them - a two-ship of piston-engined beauty, headed northwest, apparently going home or on to the next show. Too bad SWWBO had the wrong lens for the shot - but she caught this pic as those two, beautiful P-51D Mustangs rumbled by overhead...

That's a sight you don't often see, hear, and when overhead, *feel*.

Ahhhhh.

Thank heaven the weekend ended on the Good.

Apropos of nothing whatsoever...

Some of you might recognize a name or two here.

BOYDA ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS ADVISORY COUNCIL

COUNCIL MEMBERS APPOINTED FOR THEIR EXPERTISE AND UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES

TOPEKA, KS – While in Kansas for the August Congressional Recess, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) held the inaugural meeting of her Kansas Second District Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Council (VMAAC) on August 10, 2007, in Leavenworth , Kansas .

The Council consists of respected community leaders in veterans' and military issues and is devoted to gathering ideas from Second District soldiers and veterans, generating ideas for improvement, and providing policy guidance to Rep. Boyda.

The following are the founding members of the Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Council:

LTG (Ret.) Richard Keller, Leavenworth
MG (Ret.) Jack Strukel, Tecumseh
RADM (Ret.) Mike Sulivan, Lawrence
COL (Ret.) Bob Ulin, Lansing
COL (Ret.) William R. Moyer, Bonner Springs
LTC (Ret.) Mark Uhart, Lansing
CSM (Ret.) Larry Smith, Leavenworth
MAJ (Ret.) John Donovan, Leavenworth
SFC David E. Burgoon, Auburn
SSG (Ret.) Henry Johns, Lawrence
SGT Laura L. Wright, Wellsville
Paul H. Kindling, M.D., T.A.C.S., Topeka
Mrs. Elke M. Dunlap, Topeka

Rep. Boyda said, "In a time of war, it is critical that elected representatives listen to the expert guidance of our soldiers and veterans. The insights of the new Veterans and Military Advisory Council will help me better serve current and former military personnel across Kansas ."

The Veterans and Military Advisory Council will meet regularly with Rep. Boyda and her staff to provide ongoing guidance on issues affecting soldiers and veterans. The first order of business will be examining veterans’ benefits, especially health care, with an eye toward speeding up eligibility determinations and improving service delivery.

As I promised the people on that list - what's said in council stays in council, that's not bloggable. But the results might be.

And, in a sense, all y'all helped - by helping me make this place what it is.

And, since I serve as a conduit into Representative Boyda's staff on issues of that nature - feel free to hit the email link in the sidebar and send your concerns about issues.

If you need actual assistance with something immediate -vice input on policy, legislation, etc - contact her District Office directly.

Deja View

I keep finding myself in interesting places. Or places where interesting things occur.

Remember me grumpfing a fortnightplus ago that I hadn't had any luck getting re-acquainted with a flyable Cobra?

The interesting thing occuring in the interesting place I am at present is the happy discovery (to me, anyway) that not *all* the FMC AH-1Fs that the Army dumped withdrew from its inventory years ago either wound up as assets in a foreign military service or as instant condos for sushi-on-the-hoof.

And I already knew about the few flying de-mils in civil hands (FMC = decidedly *not* demilitarized).

[insert huge grin]

If tomorrow today goes as well as the last couple of days have, I head back to Jersey, get a day and a half to clean up the last items on the honeydew list (which has been growing since I've been here, naturally) and split. If everything goes as planned, I'll be several time zones east of the Prime Meridian by Tuesday morning and sufficiently jetlagged that NVG flying will be v-e-r-r-r-y interesting.

And I've been poring through the vocabulary chapter of the handy-dandy Handbook they gave me and not having any luck at all finding the phrase "Crew Rest."

Heh. "Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." Hope you've got the newbies all trained up, Carborundum, ol' chum. Ummmmm, and speaking of the newbies, why don't you assign one of 'em to fly with me? They're all short enough to sit on my lap without obstructing my view of the instrument panel. I'm thinking Callie-whatever-her-name-is would be perfect for the job. Callie Pigeon or -- oh, yeah, that's it.

Callipygia...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Update [1737 Central Time]: *huge. honking. grin.*

The old guy's still got it, kids -- I'm outta here at 0430 in the mornin'.

And I do believe I'll have a beer with supper. I caught the news last night and the next interesting place I'm going is getting really, *really* interesting...

Hurry Up and Wait. Postscript (Maybe)

Your Horoscope for Today, Virgo: Today is not an auspicious one for travel plans, especially if they involve a distant destination.

Okay, thanks to a certain major carrier cancelling a buncha flights ("We can get you as far as Charlotte or Atlanta, but then you'll have to take a cab to Jersey..."), my original 10-day sojourn south of Messrs Mason 'n' Dixon's chalk line has turned into a fortnightly foray. And still no luck on the elusive Flyable AH-1F.

*grump*

I'd have paid more attention to that horoscope, but us Virgos are notoriously skeptical -- as well as being passionate, artistically-inclined lovers who are totally devoid of a sense of humor. Ummm -- waitaminnit. I misread this -- Jupiter's in trine, Saturn's in the parking lot and Mercury's in Chinese tuna. So, ix-nay on the assion-pay.

Especially since my present domicile isn't within walking distance of anything but the parking lot of the mall, and *that* closed at 8pm due to electrical storms.

I sense something otherworldly about this.

A touch from the Beyond.

The hand of...

...Carborundum.

Hmmpf -- I'll remember this, dude (unless that short-term memory deal kicks in, anyway). Think you got nonplussed in Nam Can? Messed up at Moc Hoa? Upset in the U Minh? Once I get Cobra Current, you'd better have those newbies primed to hit the ground at a flat-out, dead run, bruddah!

*grin*

I can see the pinion-flurry now...

The Milblogger Conference - results from, rather quick.

Of course, I admit, it could also just be coincidence.

Two events.

While moderating my panel, I raised the question, "Do we, as milbloggers, matter?" I read for the assembled multitude thoughts on that subject from a senior Army PAO official.

Excerpting from that soliloquy:

...Having written that, I don't really think bloggers are an afterthought. I think that there's just no real way to measure success yet, the military is still stuck on media impressions as a measure of success, and there's still this attitude that major media is the money maker.

And I think that last bullet is significant because it's true. As a PAO, I realize that the real target
audience isn't "the american public" because 1) there is no such single animal, and 2) the real public that affects the success of our military mission is congress. So most of our efforts get directed to the MSM REALLY because that's who Congress is reading. That's why we're so focused on The Early Bird, etc.

I then observed that it isn't how many read us, but rather who reads us.

I then laid out my personal example - my meeting with my Representative, Nancy Boyda (D, KS 2) - a meeting that I got because I'm a constituent, I had several things to say that had already caught her attention, and, I'm a blogger. My being a blogger may not have been a direct consideration of Ms. Boyda and her staff, I'm not really asserting that, but my being a blogger of minor prominence is what got me invited to the event at which we had the conversation that enabled the meeting.

In the meeting, we discussed Project Valour-IT, the Soldier's Angels voice-activated laptop program for servicemembers whose injuries prevent them from using conventional computers. She'd never heard of it, and we discussed it rather a lot, really. And I enlisted Ms. Boyda's aid in upping the public profile of Valour-IT.

Cut.

I'm talking to Soldier's Angels Patti Bader and Holly Aho about the plans that Ms. Boyda and I sketched out, which involves using the good offices of Ms. Boyda to reach out to targeted Members of Congress to gain a larger voice for Valour-IT, and using that to leverage fund-raising and awareness (we're not asking Congress for money, we're asking Congress for their bully pulpits). Holly brings up access issues in a Minnesota VA facility.

Cut.

At the conference, as part of reinforcing the Senior PAO official's response, and at the same time proving the point - I bring up that based on that confluence of events, we had evolved the plan that the Angels would put together a list where the VA or Services had facilities that were restricting access in ways that *other* VA and service facilities did not (don't want to push any HIPAA buttons, heaven knows!). I would take that list, and working with Ms. Boyda's staff, we'd contact the Representatives for the districts in which those facilities reside, and see if some questions from Congresspeople might incite a little attitude adjustment.

Cut.

Yesterday, Soldier's Angels went to Walter Reed, to distribute laptops, to include the 1000th such to be given out (we're not sitting on your money, folks - I promise you that). Chuck Ziegenfuss, as is his wont, gave an earthy pep talk to the assembled wounded. Based on the reports (SWWBO and I were not present ourselves) Chuck was clearly in his element - surrounded by soldiers, and leading. And leading unique soldiers in a way he is uniquely qualified to lead them.

Cut.

Angels Patti Bader and Beth Schietzelt were approached by representatives of MG Schoomaker, the new commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and they made a comment that is telling, I think.

Giving the Angels their cards, they told Patti and Beth that if they had *any problems anywhere* in any facility, VA or military, to call them, and they would take care of it.

Coincidence? Possibly. But with the wording, inclusive of the VA, I'm inclined to think the message I deliberately sent to the "audience unseen" was received. And since it pushed the right buttons, and resonated with things they know they need to know better, and had that mailed fist hiding under the velvet glove, well, sometimes 2+2=4 simply because it does. But sometimes it's 16 divided by 4 times 2 minus 4 equals 4, too. Meaning the path to the answer isn't always simple.

Do I think we matter? Yes, now that they are listening to us.

But that also means we have to wear our big boy pants, and engage them like adults.

Which means kick them in the teeth when they need it - but politely, y'know, with respect.

Speaking of the Milblogger conference...

Let's have a little AAR, or After Action Review. For those who were present in any form, digital, physical, spiritual - leave comments with your Darts and Laurels.

If you have Darts with specific names on them - email them, please. Don't leave them in the comments. That would annoy me. Remember - you're writing for Google, too.

Snarks are allowed, of course. Just don't be mean. The object is to tweak next year's iteration.

Warning - if you write books, you'll probably find yourself on the short list for next year's planning committee. That's the voice of experience talking.

I'll open it up (this is my own note page, too).

1. Yay us!
2. Boo! Audio-visual guys at the very end.
3. Having the chat window available at the podium for the moderator was an *excellent* idea.
4. Since most hotels aren't configured for a confab of bloggers - some outlet strips for the outlets, if fire codes will allow.
5. Greta wants couches next year. We're bloggers, after all.
6. Time management. I want the half-hour back that lunch took from my panel and that Chuck ended up not needing for his panel! Dangit! I hadda whole 'nother subject to get to.

There. That should be sufficient as a starter. Let the snark begin.

On an unrelated note - it was great meeting Denizen AW1 Tim, better known to you all as Gwedd (though he wants you to get used to him as AW1 Tim from now on) for the first time in meatspace, as well as rubbing shoulders with the Milblogging Pantheon and our legion of loyal readers.

Denizen AFSis put in an appearance, putting stickers on *everything* including, it would appear, Princess Crabby's decolletage. I hereby declare publicly that Princess Crabby did not routinely reveal her foundation apparel, though she *did* threaten to do it a lot, and didn't terrorize too many people. Well, of course no sailors were safe from her grasp.

I did make an exception to the "no hugging" rule. When presented with that many good lookin' chicks who want to press themselves against you, even I got weak. The shield is back up, SWWBO only. Well, my sister too, 3 times per year, max.

Milblogs Conference Feed and schedule.

The feed will go live when the conference starts. To get the live feed...

CLICK HERE.

The chat room, provided by Denizen Bloodspite and the boys and girls of Techography can be joined by...

CLICKING HERE.

Saturday, May 5, 2007: Conference (8:00 - 4:30)

You really really want to see the "Special Programming" if you can. Trust me on this.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States - the Conference Opening Speaker.

You have no idea how hard it's been to sit on that knowledge for two weeks...

Right now - we're talking via video chat with Admiral Fox from Baghdad.

A reminder, Milblog-fans...

Today is the last day to register for the Milblogger Conference - which is next week!

Lest you think, surfer, that this is just a buncha non-serious christo-fascist troglodyte myrmidons with no gravitas... I would point out this little coup that Andi (Mistress of the Confab) scored:

We're pleased to announce that Jamie McIntyre, Senior Pentagon Correspondent for CNN, will be our Master of Ceremonies for the 2007 MilBlog Conference.

According to the schedule, I'll be onstage Saturday afternoon moderating the Rapid Fire Roundup panel - you can throw things at me. But I'll be bringing the Cluebat of Argghhh! so don't be surprised if I PLF off the dais and head for you... (Heh, imagine John Candy doing a PLF...)

Unless it's money. Then I'll be too busy clubbing the panelists so I can scoop it all up myself!

8:13PM Castle Time...

...and we've got 6 tornadoes in the region.

Busy night for weather people and first responders.

Bad night for tv.

It's all south of us - but hopefully they're little twisters and not touching down often.

No F5s, please.

Heh. I just hit "post" and the NWS calls a flash flood warning for Leavenworth. No worries for the Castle, it will take a biblical flood to reach the demesne. That said - we may find out how well the flood control projects in the county work - projects initiated because of the last floods.

Welcome to the midwest, baby! I'll take it over the hurricane areas any day.

Update. It's now 7:21AM 1 March, Castle Time. And it's snowing.

Blog to the Chief, probably the final post.

Yesterday, CAPT H sent me a note about that "Kansas blog thingy" which contained a link to Joan McCarter's post on the event (she's the Kossack who blogs as McJoan).

CAPT H said, quoting McJoan:

"...the right blogosphere is dominated by professional political types ..."

...and then he added:

... and no mention of the Castle!

I'm terribly saddened at that. Broken-hearted. After all, Joan and I had a "moment" down in the archives when we discovered we actually had something in common regarding the Long War - that a nuke-armed Iran is probably bad. This occurred as we bloggers were getting a tour of the archives. They had turned us loose to wander the shelves full of the interesting mundania of Senator Dole's career when I noticed that the three rightys were moving down one aisle together, and the two lefties (with a very nice student lefty-blogger-groupie) were moving down a different aisle. Throughout the evening watching the comfort groups form was amusing.

Joan being my first live Kossack, I picked up something else... when I hear those of us on the right refer to the Kossacks in speech, we do so in the form of Russian Cossacks. When Joan uses the term, she pronounces it Ko-sack. And Daily Kos is pronounced with the "ko" sound, not the "ka" sound I've always used. And, since it's Markos Zuniga, it makes sense - it was just odd to my ears, living in the great benighted hole that is Kansas. (Hey, *I* like it here - I want all you others to think it sucks and stay away...) Go live in Missouri or something.

Anyway - if you haven't yet, go read Joan's post, she expands on the one thing that was actually the major difference between the two camps - because they all pretty much agreed that politicians need to figure out this internet thingy and adapt to it - because we "netizens" aren't going to adapt to them very well, despite Senators McCain and Feingold's attempts to indirectly force us to - because I don't care that they cloaked it in campaign finance rhetoric, the purpose of that bill was to stifle dissent and criticism. Not to make it somewhat accountable in terms of truth in advertising, but to just shut it off. Which is why it was bi-partisan. It could just as correctly been titled the "McCain-Feingold Incumbency Protection Act" as campaign finance reform. And in that regard, the left and right of the 'sphere have some common ground.

Liveblogging "Blog to the Chief"

Well it's on - and about to start. I'm sitting in the audience of the Dole Institute of Politics for the "Blog to the Chief" featuring “Blog to the Chief: The Impact of Political Blogs on the 2008 Election” featuring “Blog to the Chief: The Impact of Political Blogs on the 2008 Election”
Jerome Armstrong, ,Founder of MyDD, Erick-Woods Erickson, Managing editor of RedState.com and Peachpundit.com, “Blog to the Chief: The Impact of Political Blogs on the 2008 Election”Jerome Armstrong Founder of MyDD Erick-Woods Erickson Managing editor of RedState.com and Peachpundit.com. Patrick Hynes, Founder and proprietor of the blog Ankle Biting Pundits. Scott Johnson, Cofounder of the Power Line blog. Joan McCarter Contributing editor at Daily Kos, writing as "Mcjoan."

I apologize in advance for typos and stuff, but hey, I'm in the audience typing on my lap. Bill suggests in the comments I use my keyboard instead. Plllpppppt! Gimme a break!

We started with a dinner - and it was a trip to have these guys come up to me and tell me that they read me. Okay, maybe McJoan didn't do that, or Jerome, but the other guys did.

McJoan and I had a chat while we were wandering the archives on a short tour - my first Kossack. And we chatted amiably, and, as usual, found we had some interesting ground in common regarding the war.

Ah, here they come.

Dave Perlmutter is doing the intros... and telling "Professor stories..."

He moved on to talking about some of the current candidates and their use of bloggers - but neglected to mention Amanda... discreet man.

[Update: okay, now that the event is over, I've moved most of the verbiage into the Flash Traffic/Extended entry to save your scroll-wheels.]

This is cruel and unusual (thankfully) punishment...

An email from the weekend:

Florida State Fair

Sorry no pics. Wish you could be here. Low of 50, high 73.

M4A3 Sherman
Walker
Patton
M16 with quad 50
Self propelled gun, didn't see the description board
Miscellaneous other jeeps, Dodge 1 1/2 ton truck, ambulance, one of those British scout cars, a weasel of ferret. Why would they name a vehicle after Charles facial features is beyond me?

All by the Budweiser tent, all privately owned. Maybe one of your other readers has cell phone camera and can send daylight pics. I was by when it was getting dark.

David [last name vengefully deleted by a whiny Armorer]
Seffner, Fl.

"Sorry no pics. Wish you could be here."

Cruel. [shakes head sadly] Just downright cruel.

So, did anybody *get* pics? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

The thing runs through the 19th... mebbe those boys will hang around a while!

Sigh. Prolly not.

Cruel, just... cruel.

8^)

Woot! Looky what SWWBO and I are going to next week!

Only downside, I'll have to wear a tie...

And David Perlmutter, KU faculty prof who is the source of my invite, tells me they are considering organizing a similar panel on milblogging. Sweet!

Heh. The advantages of being a medium sized fish in a small pond - this pond being bloggers in Kansas. I suspect if this event were being held at Georgetown, I prolly would not have been on the invite list. Hey - there are some advantages to living in the fly-over!

Speaking of tagging...

Bill tagged what (he thought) were safely dead taggees for the "6 Weird Things" meme. Then, in the comments, Bill made the mistake of dissing his Medically Retired (Mental/Emotional Exhaustion) Guardian Angel, Carborundum. Heh. Bill forget where Carborundum works...

So, here's the meme-response of Tomas de Torquemada... delivered via Carborundum, who would like to inform Mr. Tuttle that Frumious is a whiny little wannabee that couldn't take five seconds of GA duty, even if he COULD foist Tuttle off on anybody. And it's not like he hasn't tried, either.

Tomas de Torquemada
1. I myself am having the Jewish ancestry. Such astonishment in the faces of the conversos when I tell them this! Or perhaps it was only the effect of the rack.
2. It pleases you to laugh, but I think I am not the only one who finds the Chair of Comfy or the Cushion of Softness to be ... disquieting.
3. Coming up with all the rules and examples by which the faithful might know evil (or Jews, same thing) took many years. If only we had had the glorious PowerPoint!
4. I have the greatest horror of blood. Mine, that is. Others, not so much.
5. I burned at least three witches because they were not interested in seducing me. And they kept saying that no matter how much they were tortured, too. Insult!
6. Olive oil makes me break out in hives. Maybe now you know why I was so grouchy, eh?

The rest will follow through the week.

H/t, Bad Cat Robot, who was also struck by the careening meme.

Heh. I got tagged, too.

By Trias. Normally I ignore these things, but since Trias is one of our vanishingly small Australian readership, I feel like I ought to cater to those whims...

1. Heh. Bill thinks it's weird a man of my age plays with collects dolls action figures. All I can say is - after having to lace 1/6 scale leggings on to a not-very-helpful action figure, my respect for mortuary employees who have to dress dead midgets with rigor mortis has gone up immeasurably.

2. In my age demographic and labor category I'm unusual in that I could give a flying flip about professional sports. If I watch, I prefer college. And the one sport I will actively scan the tv listings for is... the World's Strongest Man competitions. They're so silly they're amusing. I also get annoyed when the shows I like are displaced for some gladiatorial combat amongst highly paid crybabies.

3. For a person of my demonstrated proclivities - I rarely watch the History Channel or all those weapon-related shows on Discovery, etc. Not because I don't like them - but because I simply don't have the time. I'd like to watch them - but there's all that reading to catch up on, and you guys to feed on the blog. And then there's SWWBO, for some reason she seems to think she's entitled to some consideration here. Go figure.

4. Another odd thing considering my proclivities. I don't do well, apparently, with sharp objects. Which has been the subject of some hilarity around here. It should be noted that the parcel referenced in the previous photo contained... a bayonet, sent to me by Denizen Neffi... Castle Argghhh! - still Numbah One on Google for "I bayoneted myself..."

5. While *I* (nor SWWBO) think it odd, there are those who aver that having 8 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 horses is perhaps a bit greedy when it comes to valuable furs. Heh. It used to be 8 cats, 5 dogs, and 2 horses, so what's yer beef? We're cutting back.

6. Feh. There aren't six things. Well, mebbe. I like metaphorically pulling the wings off of blog-reader flies by posting the whatzis' and watching 'em scatter on the snipe hunt... see the post below this one.

Trias helpfully did not hit me with the requirement to spread the joy - so I don't have to disappoint him by exercising my usual Meme-Killing Writ and ignoring the pass-it-on requirement.

Grumpf. Tagged again...

"I'm tagging: Sgt. B, Cassandra, Grim, Lex, Barb, and BillT... all of whom are definitely "characters" of the highest order. Which is just a nice way of saying they're weird, so this should be good!" -- posted by Fuzzybabe Lyonnaise FbL yestiddy.

I am *not* weird, merely differentially-experienced. F'r instance --

1. I've been whacked by lightning. Three times. Each instance occurred at a training site on Fort Dix, all jolts occurred during the summer of 1971 and all occurred while I was herding trainees (at a dead run -- watch a lion chasing zebras and you'll get the idea) away from lone tall trees into heavy woods. The weird thing is, aside from feeling like I'd simultaneously bitten into a 220-volt line, been stomach-butted by a Mack truck and had a two-by-four cracked over my skull, I was almost totally unaffected by it after I could move again...

2. I played tennis in college for about two days. Nobody could return my serves -- and, since I was told the object of the game was to volley back-and-forth until somebody missed, and, since I couldn't get anybody to return my shots, I figured I wasn't cut out for the game and gave it up. Twenty years later, I found out that players who could do that consistently were making more in a week than I was in three years. Gave me kind of a weird feeling.

3. I loathe creamed parsnips. That's not weird -- that I actually ate a forkful is weird. I plead extenuating circumstances -- I was too young to know exactly *what* a parsnip was.

4. I can't write unless I'm wired and can't do anything else if I am. Uhhh -- well, since you asked, three mugs of espresso in the last hour. I'll be at my peak right after I compose answer number six...

5. My scars don't last. I can show you where I've had fifteen stitches along my jaw, thirty on my ribcage, a dime-sized hole in my left leg and a spot on my right shin where I caught the rebound of an axe. After five years or so, you needed a black light to find 'em. After thirty-five years, even the VA docs couldn't find them. I caught a beaut of a fuel burn on my left wrist and the only thing left is a couple of thin white lines. I lost a half-inch off the tip of my left thumb -- it regenerated, thumbprint 'n' all. The only war souvenir I still have is from a chunk of copper jacket that caught me close to one eye and burned its way in -- I figure Dad had some lizard DNA left over from his stint in the Marines.

6. But the weirdest thing is, the Ya-Ya BlogSisterhood keeps tagging me with these memes in the forlorn hope that I'll come up with something interesting. Geez, you'd think they'd have learned by now...

...and tag 6 people.

Sure thing.

I tag Tomás de Torquemada, Cato the Elder, Sir Francis Drake, Vercingetorix, Igor Sikorsky and Michel Ney.

You didn't say they had to be *bloggers*, kidlet.

Oh, all right. So, that's *seven* weird things about me...

Red Ensign Blogging.

I've been a Red Ensign blogger ever since the Flea invented the concept - that of people who visualized a, well, more robust Canada. Like the Canada that has stepped up in Afghanistan. Even though they smell funny, I really *like* Canadians. The hosers. They're a lot like us, only different. And they spell badly. Those extra vowels, doncha know.

I'm just curious though - of all the Red Ensign Bloggers - how many have actually *flown* the Red Ensign?

The Red Ensign being Canada's flag prior to adoption of the Maple Leaf flag.

Regardless - yesterday, appropriately during the snow storm - the Castle hoist the Red Ensign.

Just because we could. We're still trying to score a nice Australian and New Zealand Red Ensign, which, like the Canadian version (well, except for yesterday, where we did it just because we wanted to) it will fly from the Castle staff on their respective national days..

'Cuz we like the Anglosphere. Without apology. Even if Tony has turned out to be a bit of a twit.

Geez -- I'm Famous!

Uhhhh -- at least within a vanishingly small circle the remnants of my old Jersey Guard outfit.

I stopped by Flight Ops yesterday to see if I could snag some TCA charts verify a couple of noise abatement procedures (a long story and I'll leave you dangling for a few days) and the Facility Commander wandered in.

"Heya, Bill! How you doing, compadre?"

"Hiya, Sir -- que pasa, comment �a va and all that?"

(Jorge's the only Cuban-born RLO I know who speaks French with a Norman accent. 'Nother long story).

After the usual rundown on the usual not-for-publication-stuff, he said, "Mac went to the helicopter exhibit at the Air and Space Museum last week and got a book on the Loach. Guess what? You're in it -- a *lot*!"

"Geez, I guess he finally got it written..."

Okay, flash back to Spring of 1995. I got an e-gram from a bud at Guard Bureau saying that Wayne Mutza was writing The Definitive Book on the OH-6A and wanted some pilot input, pictures, memorabilia 'n' stuff. (The aviation grognards will recognize his name, but for the benefit of those of you whose library card expired right after Internet access got easy, Wayne's an aviation author. A very *prolific* aviation author. Go ahead and Google him -- I'll wait...)

Long story short, I sent him a bunch of pix and patches and pins, he wrote back asking for some stories, I wrote some war stories, he asked if I could find out the final disposition of all the Guard's Loaches, so I compiled a database of where all the NY-NJ-VT Loaches went.

We TINS'ed a bit over a couple of years about the bad ol' days in the Land of the Two-Way Gunnery Range and I scored an autographed copy of his Cobra book. Just before I left for Boz, I asked how the magnum opus was coming along and he replied that he'd changed the main focus a bit, but had been too busy playing with his grandson to get much done. Heh -- the man's got his priorities straight...

Flash forward to 2002. Enter me, back from Boz.

"Yo, Tim -- where'd my desk go?"

"Dumpster. Along with everything else that got trashed when the outflow pipe from the latrines cracked."

Fark. Cardfile, computer and correspondence files.

Flash forward to yesterday. Enter Mac.

"Wow -- I know you; you're the guy who landed on that rock!"

[Frey's Rock is a balancer perched on the tip of a bluff about a thousand feet from the Colorado River. A thousand feet straight *up* from the Colorado River. Visualize an Easter egg atop another Easter egg atop a ketchup bottle atop the peak of your roof and you'll have an idea...]

Heh. Don't take *my* word for it -- buy the book. Or at least rent it while you're flipping through the pages.

Who knows -- if Wayne makes enough on this one, maybe he'll send me an autographed freebie...

/end shameless gratuitous plug.

*grin*

A serious blog survey.

I met David Perlmutter (in digits) via email during the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon, while I was helping Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee debunk the doctored pictures.

David is a photojournalist himself, who wrote an article in Editor and Publisher about the danger the photoshopping posed to ethical journalism. He is on the faculty at Kansas University, just down the road.

He's also interested in blogs and blogging. Heck, he sends his students to go read SWWBO!

Anyway - KU and Wisconsin are collaborating on a study of blogs. SWWBO was in the first wave of the survey. The Castle is in the second wave. If you've got some time, click the link below and take the survey. It's not too painful, I took it for SWWBO. And I'm not going to be hurt (nor will I know, either) if you aren't listing the Castle in the Top 5 blogs you visit every day. This place ain't striving any more to be that kind of place. We're where you come to relax.

Click here to take the survey.

If you missed it at SWWBO's, go here.

Well, unless Sanger or Ry has a hair up. Then it can get lively. When they have the results, we'll publish 'em if they'll let us.

Wanna get your emails published?

This works!

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Mr. Donovan,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for what is, quite possibly, the best blog-site on the entire Internet. It is still lost somewhere in the back of my "brain-housing group" how I found your site, but every day, I make it a point to visit. I appreciate your support for the military, and revere your knowledge of all things militaria. Thank you.

(*thinks for a second, then goes to look for "Dixie Chicks" on your site��.this should be interesting��.*)

Respectfully Sent,

Corporal JB

Quite obviously a Marine of discerning taste and erudition...

For you, Marine - the Houseguns of Argghhh!

Cross your fingers...

...toes and any other appendages (we have an eclectic readership) flexible enough to provide a reasonable facsimile of an "X."

Somebody reminded me a while back that I possess an uncommon commodity in the job market--ummmm, aside from my rugged good looks.

*artfully dodging repeated lightning strikes--and jet�!*

Owwww--my knees...

Okay, back to that uncommon commodity--I have a current gummint security clearance (it's not at the "Destroy This Before Reading" level, but it's gotten me access to interesting segments of the job market). So, I snooped around, found some vacancies and tailored 'n' weighted the resume-cum-cover letter(s) to be a perfect fit for each--Training Program Manager, Project Manager, Program Analyst, Olde Middle English Language Specialist--the usual standbys. And one three-page Crusty-Old-Warrant-Officer-JOAT with a less-than-formal cover letter that I threw together last Friday.

Guess which one has produced the most hits?

Yup. I interviewed today with

1. a Beltway Bandit PM who said I was exactly what he needed for a project opening next month,

2. a Fed who didn't have anything in her department but was intrigued enough to point me in a direction I hadn't previously considered and

3. a recruiter who wants to plug me into a financial oversight slot with some outfit in Manhattan.

In order: thank you, thank you, no thank you.

Now, if things go the way I'm hoping they will, I'll be employed, away from New Jersey for the majority of the year and I'll be doing something I'm eminently qualified to do, using just about every skill I've ever picked up (especially those that kept me *alive* all those years), passing that knowledge along and then evaluating how well the sponges absorbed the lessons.

Nope--I can't tell you exactly what it is. It's classified, ya know?

Heh--reminds me about the Top Secret mission I flew back in The Day. Peter Pilot and I landed at Chi Lang (within spitting distance of a mixed VC/NVA battalion on the mountain to the west) at o'dark thirty in the evening, walked into the Green Beanie TOC, saw the big TOP SECRET sign on the curtain covering a wall map of Southeast Asia and looked at each other, 'cuz we only had Secret clearances.

I told the briefer that we'd wait for them out at the aircraft while they had their briefing, since we weren't cleared for TS info. He got a little flustered, since we were the ones who were gonna fly the mission.

Once we got outside, PP and I laughed until our sides ached.

Anyway, it turned out that only the grid location of the business to be conducted was Top Secret, so before we cranked up Trusty Hubert, the Team Leader said, "Gimme your maps--I'll vector you, so you technically won't know the location."

*two shrugs--two maps passed back to the team leader*

"Okay, take off on a three-six-zero and fly for fifteen minutes."

*okayyy--flying due north outta Chi Lang for three minutes would put us into Cambodia, so doing it for fifteen minutes kinda blew the lid off the TS as far as we were concerned...*

It didn't take fifteen minutes, because ten minutes out, Team Leader radioed his guys on the ground, said we were inbound and told them mark their location with a strobe.

"Can't do that," came the whispered answer. "We're right in the middle of a whole sh*tload of NVA."

"How close are they?" asked Team Leader.

"Hang on a second. I'll let you talk to one."

Oh, *that* was a fun night, kids. Watch a video of one of the night raids on Baghdad to get a small idea of the fireworks involved.

And we got everybody out, too--including one guy who had planned to go further south, but was very unhappy at the prospect of doing it in a US helicopter.

They grow some *big* guys in northern China--and that's no secret...

In a nutshell--

--the rumors of my

a. demise,
b. moving into a cave in West Virginia,
c. going drinking with Paris Hilton (or doing anything else with Paris Hilton),
d. bodily ascension into heaven, or
e. finally landing another job

are all

1. True
or
2. False

Circle your choice on the monitor using a No. 2 pencil. Insure all erasures are complete or you may receive an incorrect score at the Last Judgement.

*sigh*

Since I got that first-hand experience in the mutability of the defense budget, KtLW has been in full-blown Panic Mode--which means she micromanages *everything*, to include me. If I ain't creating, updating, posting or pasting a masterfully-written, marvelously concise, perfectly-tailored resume for every job vacancy in the Western Hemisphere, I am obviously Wasting Precious Time. And, since she intends to see that I *don't* Waste Precious Time, she spends
Every.
Waking.
Minute.
breathing down my neck.

No blogs. No blogging. I haven't had my Day By Day fix in weeks. I have no idea what *anybody* has been writing about.

Heh. Toss me some gouda to go with this whine...

And why haven't I answered any gmails? Simple. Ever since I tried to answer a query from Trias ("What's 'hooah' mean, anyway?"), I get the following cheery message every time I log in: "Gee, it seems to be taking a lot longer than usual to load your mailbox. If it fails to load in the next few minutes, go to the Help Desk." So, several minutes later (continually minimizing and restoring the daylights out of the screen due to KtLW's unannounced inspections to see if I'm WPT), I click the Help Desk link and get sent here...

Somehow, it seems appropriate.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nothing much else is newsworthy except that squirrels overran the three churches in town last month.

After much prayer, the elders of the Presbyterian church decided that the animals were predestined to be there, and who were they to interfere with God's will?

Soon, the squirrels multiplied�

The council of the Episcopalian church decided that they could not harm any of God's creatures, so they humanely trapped the squirrels and set them free outside of town.

Next day, the squirrels were back�

The pastor and the deacon of the Catholic church baptized the squirrels and registered them as parishioners.

Now they'll only see them at Christmas and Easter�

No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished

Okay, the thirteenth is officially over (where I am, anyway), so my 24-hour tour in the Tanker Brothers� Rolling Fast for Victory is over.

I'd originally figured Sunday would be a good day for a fast, since I�d only planned to do some yard work until dark, then put in a couple of hours� worth of job-hunting on the �net. Nothing to work up an appetite over.

�The best-laid plans� etc.

I hadn�t figured on KtLW �n� me being invited to a Polish Baptism--two kids we�d watched grow from knee-high to marriage-height had turned their parents into grandparents two weeks before. Since I couldn�t beg off, I had about an hour of windshield time to figure out how to

a. avoid chowing down and

b. explain why I wouldn�t be eating without sounding like a total idiot.

And if you�ve never experienced a Polish Baptism, imagine an Italian wedding minus the dancing and substitute paprika for oregano.

Comestibles.

Kielbasa in beer with red cabbage.

Apricot ham slices.

Pierogis, kopytka, rugelach, honey spice cake�

However, by judicious application of the principles of maskirovka and the addition of some suitable props (i.e., flatware, a plate with a couple of potato salad smears, a mug of coffee) and some compliments to the ladies about the pastries, I validated the dictum that people see what they expect to see and didn�t collect any adverse remarks about being too good for the food.

Total intake for the day: one glass of water and most of the contents of a 20-cup coffee urn.

And, now that I can munch something without suffering the qualms of conscience, there isn�t anything in the house except dog food. KtLW decided to forego her normal Saturday shopping expedition �because I knew we wouldn�t be hungry after eating all that food on Sunday.�

Rats.

Wonder what kibble with mustard tastes like�

Castle Rules.

In a general sense, you can get a taste of what this place is like by clicking here and reading this.

But if you want to be a *real* Denizen of Argghhh!, ya gotta know the lingo that has developed over the years as Regulars have come and gone and in some cases returned. (You *can* come home- and if there was stuff ya liked that you don't see any more, you can always *ask*).

Even though the comment parties have been pretty slack (I blame Bill) lately, there are certain elements of knowledge all Designated Denizens should be aware of.

That way, when you read Denizens talking in a seemingly baffling argot, you'll be warm and secure that you're a part of the "In" crowd, because it's only baffling to the Normals.

- Chandeliers:

1) Powered chandeliers must yield the right-of-way to non-powered (swinging) chandeliers.
2) All offensive armaments must have safety interlocks to prevent their use by scrup'ls, bedoodlewhoopies, and Neffi. This includes choklit guns.
3) Articles of clothing may be dropped from chandeliers. Visitors should plan accordingly.

-RitaMatic

1) It is considered uncouth to drink from the hose.
2) Primary 'Rita flavor is "dealer's choice".
3) Please ask before hooking up the RitaMatic to the Castle water system.

-Scrup'ls

1) Please do not give the scrup'ls any of the following: Jolt cola, sugary snacks, tax forms 1023-2032 inclusive, backhoes, lockpicks, ideas, excuses, alibis, Parmesan cheese, crayons, My Little Spymaster disguise kit with the invisible ink pens and exploding moustaches, red licorice (black is ok), computer access, kimchee, live ammo, nuclear reactors, scissors, Jacques Cousteau documentary DVDs, or dimensional portals. Violators will be put on the next cleanup detail.

-Catapult

1) Trolls, moonbats, and telemarketers are launched from the Castle Catapult on the ramparts between the hours of 2-4pm, weather permitting.
2) The Catapult is available for private parties on a space-available basis.

-The Moat

1) Moat Monster Chow can be purchased at the kiosk near the entrance.
2) Swimming is not advised. (see #1).

-Parties

1) One dancer per pole, for safety.
2) The Jungle Room is for Consenting Adults Only.
3) Alternate locations may be added by Dimensional Door. Firebase Rockford has a very nice hot tub, for example. See the party host for a map. It is advisable to write your home coordinates somewhere on your body in permanent marker for the cleanup crew.

-Denizennes

1) Should you encounter one of these goddesses, the correct protocol is to immediately offer chocolate.
2) Other services may also be pleasing to the Denizenne. Ask for a complete list.

-Chocolate (var. choklit)

1) Food of the Gods (see Denizennes) without which life would be a dull emptiness. Can be utilized in molten form in weaponry.
2) The Choklit gun range in the dungeon offers instruction to novice users. Volunteer targets are also welcome, but the Castle cannot guarantee a tongue bath afterwards.

I suppose the next thing to do is publish a Glossary.

Hey, it's Sunday. Why be all serious?

Whee! Yippee! (Sound of Fireworks)

For reasons which will become clear later, I'm as happy as this guy is - gonna get to do something kewl that is every bit as much fun as blowing stuff up! More later, as details become releasable. Let's just say, Blogging Can Be Worth It, sometimes.

Speaking of making people happy (sexist pig alert for Sensitive Workplaces):

Neffi - this one's for you...

Bill - this one's for you...

Lex - this one's for you!

Heh. That alert should improve the click-throughs... Yes Cassie - Oinkery!

Oh - and what's so kewl? I can tell you this much - it involves an all-expense (well, except for the tequila) paid trip to Mexico for a week in July. Doing a very Armorer-like thing. But not quite what most of you will expect.

Update: Okay. Maggie - this one's for you! And if that wasn't enough - here's a two-fer! (Both photos shamelessly swiped from here.)

Arrgghhh!!! in DC

Yesterday, the Master and Mistress of Argghhh!!! avoided trouble with the TSA despite having posted negatively about them (we'll see if we make it back...) and winged our way to the Capital of All That Is Evil In The World (unless a Democrat is President, in which case it is Paradise). At least that's what I learn from the NYT.

Getting Here was pretty much painless. Then we got to Washington, and tried to park. Snerk. We finally found a place in a parking garage in L'Enfant Plaza, after having driven all 'round from Union Station on the northwest corner of the Mall to L'Enfant, in the southwest. I blew an obligatory raspberry at the Hoffman building as we passed it. Those who know, know.

SWWBO has never been here before, and there was much dithering about where to go. We solved that by going to a chinese place for lunch, and considered the question with alcohol laden beverages. Under the influence of the alcohol, the Decidedly Unathletic Duo (including the poorly-shod SWWBO) chose to walk. Reaching the Smithsonian Castle with it's nice Haupt Garden, SWWBO decided she wanted to see ART (The Armorer, having been here several times, is deferring to SWWBO, who has never been here before). So, we're standing next to the Hirshorn... and the asian and african art museums are to the left... so of course, she chooses the Renwick. Which is on the other side of everything.

Espying the Metro, we figure out how to get fare passes (yeah, I know, it's not hard, but there was this nice Metro Guy there who was very helpful and sped the process up considerably) and down we go into the bowels of the city, to emerge a while later at Farragut West, and head for the Renwick. Where we happen upon these guys.

The Falun Gong supporters, showing their displeasure with the visit of Hu-Jintao. They weren't subtle, either. Called the PRC everything but father-raping-baby-eaters.

We wisely missed all the earlier stuff when the High-Muckety-Mucks were doing their thing.

The Renwick is a nice, small, accessible gallery. They are having a Grant Woods exhibit (sorry no pics allowed)- and it was very cool to see American Gothic in the flesh, so to speak. Upstairs, the exhibit of Caitlin's Native American paintings was fascinating - not the least for his whimsy.

SWWBO was taken with this clever swordfish, and really liked this (yes, Werekitten, it really *is* a wearable, though impractical, bracelet) Feast Bracelet.

Leaving the gallery, we went down and saw the Executive Office Building (no Stingers visible) where this veteran of the 1st Infantry Division was pleased to see the Monument still stands - with it's Big Red One. Remember, if you're going to be one, be a Big Red One! No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great, Duty First! Unless you're tired and crabby and pissed at the leadership, in which case the sotto voce response is... No mission, too difficult. No sacrifice, too great. Duty? First I'll have a beer... it's all the in punctuation.

We wandered over the Ellipse, where we saw the Zero Milestone (geography geeks wiggle in delight) the White House (see above). Then headed up by the Washington Monument, back up the Mall to the Smithsonian Castle, and headed back for the car. *Someone* had blisters. I won't name names, but her initials are SWWBO.

Off then in late rush hour traffic to get on 395, head south past the Pentagon, and into Alexandria and our hotel. We're cashing in SWWBO's points, and she's a high level member, so we got a Top Of The Hotel room with a jacuzzi bath, private rooftop patio, and we ain't spending a dime. Hilton is spending the dime. No, even though we're going to Fran O'Brien's tonight because of the Capital Hilton's behavior - we don't think it's inapt for us to let Hilton foot the bill for our stay here....

As is obvious from the picture - SWWBO has more.

Cassandra asked, I answer.

Post 2500. Anudder milestone.

Over at Villainous Company, the dyspeptic wench posits a poser:

I felt that this question, more than any other, gave me a real sense of who the candidates were: what there values were and how they thought. The question was, "What book or author, more than any other, most shaped your intellectual life?"

So I'm going to throw that question out to you all, because I think it's an interesting one. And don't limit it to non-fiction, because I think that would be a mistake. I was surprised to realize that fictional works often had a profound effect on my values and the way I ended up viewing the world.

If you had to list 5-10 authors or works, who or what would you list as the most influential? I would probably focus on authors, but if there's a particular work you can add that in parentheses afterwards.

Heh. Shoulda posted that pic of Jock there yesterday...

I sat and pondered. And decided I would go with my gut. If I couldn't recall it easily, then it probably didn't meet the criteria.

So, this is my response as I left at her place (others have responded there too, don't forget to check 'em out):

Russell Davis. (Marine at War.) I ceased having an interest in being a fireman, warrior was the life for me. I was in third grade. I *still* like the book.

Robert Heinlein. (Rocket Ship Galileo.) Discovered science fiction while Dad was in Vietnam.

Leon Uris. (Battle Cry!) The whole brotherhood of war thing.

J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) Completed the Science Fiction/Fantasy link.

Heinz H�hne (Order of the Death's Head) Evil is real. And terribly mundane.

John Pullen (The 20th Maine) Introduction to Joshua Chamberlain, my warrior/scholar beau ideal.

Guy Sajer (The Forgotten Soldier) Little is as simple as it seems.

Over at Cassie's I left out three books I probably shouldn't have.

Ed Ezell's Small Arms of the World.

John Batchelor's and the estimable Ian Hogg's Artillery: the Gun, Rail Guns, Coastal Guns, Anti-aircraft Guns, Anti-tank Guns, Self-propelled Guns, Recoilless Guns, Fuzes

Martin Brice's Forts and Fortresses: From the Hill Forts of Prehistory to Modern Times: The Definitive Visual Account of the Science of Fortification. Those three books formed the kernel of the interest that bloomed into the reality that is The Arsenal of Argghhh!.

Heh. I'm pretty one-dimensional. No wonder I'm humorless and boring at parties. No great works of philosophy. No great books of/about religion. Not that I haven't read them, appreciated them, and drawn mental sustenance therefrom. I just am what I am. A soldier.

Hey! Buy our stuff!

C'mon guys - we showed you a nice rack of SKS's yesterday.

Ry - hide the screen, quick!

Today we're highlighting rack covers!

Wouldn't your rack look good in this?

Of course it would! Click the pic and order your Castle Argghhh! Rack Cover today! Keep 'em clean and dust-free!

All proceeds (we're cheep) go to Soldiers Angels. Well, they will once we finally break $50 in profit...

In response to a (diminishing) number of requests

Okay, since I have to maintain my reputation as one who satisfies a Lady's every

>>hzz. have to *establish* rep before *maintain* one.

Butt out, Muffy...

*gzzzrrrr-akakakakakakakakakak!!*

Off my ankle PG-17c! Gonna strangle whoever uploaded that euphemism thesaurus into your drive...

To continue...uhhhhh--whim, and since a Lady requested this'n:

Gentlemen, take your seats, please, and click on Flash traffic while I endeavor to enlighten you with regards to the simple things which will teach you

How to Please a Woman (Almost) Every Time

The Armorers Domain

SWWBO, She Who Will Be Obeyed and who is also my wife, is a saint. She's not a neatnik, thank heaven!

She indulges me. In ways that make most of the male readers here green with envy.

Heheheheheheheheheh.

Just as an example, lets take a look at the space just above my head in the Inner Sanctum of Castle Argghhh! The Server Room, wherein rests most of the computational power of the Castle, and from where most of the drivel currently inhabiting your screen in generated.

This is *just* the area above the cat perch which straddles the monitor. There are 8 shelves in this room...

...and they all look like this, differing only in details.

No wonder she blogs from her laptop in the bedroom!

For a more detailed look, hit the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry.

Oh, Denizennes...!

Denizenne stuff is now available, too. Just click on the tile to visit the store...

If ya want, I'll put the shirts in, too. Or mebbe temporary tattoos...

Now, who can give me a good graphic of FbL and W-K and Punct in their Chandeliers?

BTW - if any Denizen/Denizenne would like a nice, clean, non-overstamped version of the graphic, you have but to ask.

How can you *not* want...

...at least *something* from the new logo-stuff at the Castle Argghhh! store? All profit (c'mon, people, it's made $10 in a year, help me out here) to Project Valour-IT. And the profit is all of $1-$2 per item, so it's not like we're gouging here...

Just click the tile to see the new stuff (that's the logo that Denizen Bobby the Kidd made for us, BTW) The new logo stuff is in the Argghhh! Paraphernalia section, but you are invited to peruse *everything*. Wounded soldiers who need voice-activated laptops are watching...

And if there's something you'd like, such as T-Shirts, Ball Caps, etc, let me know and I'll get it in the store!

The State of the Castle...

So, wondering what you're part of, if you consider yourself a regular visitor or Denizen of Argghhh?

Here's some data -

In 2004, this map shows the nations paying Tribute in the form of Visits to the Castle:

Oops. North Korea shouldn't be colored in there...

In 2005, our reach had conquered Asia (still less those NKs, dang-it!), and we snuck into Cuba, too. We gained more than we lost in Africa. But we *still* don't own the world...

Those maps can be made by visiting here. Well, that and some Photoshop action.

While we didn't make our goals this month of being at least 4th in the Weblog Awards (we're doing even worse in the Milbloggies) we did have the best month ever at Castle Argghhh!, thanks mainly to those rain-coated figures in the shadows googling last year's New Years Post. That worked so well, I gave them reason next year to google *this* year's post... But it's important to note that actual visitor (vice voyeur) traffic has shown a steady positive trend - even as links have been declining. Since we quit being all political and ranty, the linkage has dropped, but visits have increased... what's that say about bloggers? The other goal for the month was to break 1 million uniques served... but we'll do that in possibly less than two weeks. We've been over a million absolute visits (not counting bots, etc) for months. In 2004 we had 327,204 unique visits, 650,699 visits overall, not counting the 'bots, etc. In 2005 we had 687,785 uniques, with 1,573,585 visits overall. Most businesses would be satisfied with growth like that. I am, certainly!

We doubled our traffic over the year - actually 2.1 times the traffic of last year. If we can sustain that kinda growth (I'm not sure I want to, nor do I think we will) I may have to take up the blog-ad invitations I have to start paying the freight around here.

All in all the news is pretty good 'round here, for the Castle as a concept, if not for several of the Denizens who suffered losses this year, whether family, friends, or property. And a job or two, as well. And that counts only those among the readership we know of. At the same time, there has been a lot of fun, and for that, we thank all of you! We've managed to keep this place pretty much Moonbat Free, and our Contrarians are interested in discussion and argument, not spittle-flecked tirades. Which we return in kind.

Our Top 10 Referrers this year are:

National Review's The Corner - Blogfather Jonah and K-Lo!
Hugh Hewitt
Les Jones
Blackfive
Mudville Gazette
Instapundit
Castle Adjutant Barb!
LT. Smash
Michelle Malkin
Kim du Toit

Woo-woo! A *Denizenne* made the Top 10!

Interestingly, aside from the home page, the Gun Rights Archive was the second most popular entry point over the year.

The single most popular post? This one.

But I'd like to take the time to thank you all for coming by - with a *Special Thanks* to those who comment, and share stuff for content. It makes this more fun *and* easier, to do, and keep doing.