Peeking

Found here.

USA and CANADA

...perfect together.

\
Found here.

My Response

Found at ODDMAN.CA

Being Eight

Whenever I have to have serious dental work done, I feel as if I'm an eight year old kid again about to be scolded.  Even when I reluctantly admit to myself that it's mostly not my fault - does anyone floss as well as dentists would like? - I still dread it.

Right now I have two things coming up. Turns out that the reason I've felt strange around one tooth is that a huge filling is about to pop out; the dentist wants to cap it, which sounds right to me - even though I remember that that was how all of my problems with my upper teeth started; one day its just a cap on one tooth, then the thing comes off twice (once over a three day holiday); later, the dentist says yeah, you're going to need an implant there, remarking that he was surprised that I'd kept the cap as long as I did. You mean they're not forever? And you knew that? And didn't tell me? And then the you're going to need an implant there morphs into lets just pull them all and put in implants. Two years, it took to do that.

I mentioned to the dentist, a while back, that I really expected to eventually need dentures and/or implants on the bottom, too, and he tugged on my teeth, then said no, I don't think you will.   Which leads into this: while they were taking xrays of that tooth, they got the one next to it, too,  the one that occasionally aches for no apparent reason, and the dentist said Well, you've got some infection under that tooth, and you've already had a root canal done there, so I think you need to have an implant put in.

See the progression?


Which is where I start to feel like an eight year old again. And I just want to hide.

Bond vs Bond

Music

And people say chamber music isn't accessible.....

Found here.

Captain....QUI?

Found here.

Zen Pencils

Mal de Dent

A couple of months ago, I had a filling come out.  When the guy replaced it, he remarked that it was pretty big, and if it had problems, he'd want to put a cap on the tooth.  Okay, no problem (though I know from sad experience where that can lead). 

About a week ago, I started to have intermittant pain in the tooth next to that.  After a few days where it would come and go, I went back and had him look at it.  He had all sorts of good news. First, the filling was coming out, and yes, he did want to do the cap. (That always sounds so lightweight!)  But the xray also showed the tooth next to it, and, hey, is that some infection down there, under it?

So now I'm getting an implant there.  Which is no big deal, really - speaking as someone who's got a full upper row of them (though now I know that even though there are seven implants up there, only two are actually 'in use'; delightful.  I paid for that. ) - but it means I get to go to two dentists a total of five times, if I'm lucky. Twice for the cap.  Three times for the implant.  The first is particularly cool -- it's a 'consult', which I think is dentist-speak for 'here's a chance for me to make you pay for the time I take to tell you that yeah, you need an implant'. And possibly lay a load of guilt on you, at the same time.

Have I mentioned how much I hate dentists?

Clothing

Now that's an awesome brother....

Wiring

Several months ago, we noticed that the cordless phone, whose base is plugged into a kitchen socket, was having static problems -- sometimes, severe static problems.  Another phone, plugged into a socket in a different room for the same phone number, did not have problems. At first, we thought that the problem was with the phone itself -- the other phone being plugged in was a regular landline handset - but after plugging the landline handset into the kitchen socket -- static -- and the cordless base into the other socket - no static - we concluded that it must be something to do with the physical wire from the junction box to the kitchen socket.

I just poked my head into the attic crawlspace. Oh yeah, I forgot - , we have layer of blown-in insulation up there. We suspect that when the guys were doing that, they did something to that wire.  So, we think, replace the wire.  How hard can that be?

When we had the kitchen remoded, I got to go up into the attic, pull the wire across the rafters, and drop it down into the channel where the new socket would be.  It wasn't easy, but it wasn't incredibly difficult.  Now I'm fifteen years older, twenty pounds - easily - heavier, and much less limber. Plus, of course, there is blown-in insulation everywhere.

I am sure that it's possible.  Got any trained chimps?

Crowded

I dislike crowds.  But there are times.....

Rollins

You wouldn't think that someone who looks like this would be both funny and terrifically insightful.

He is, in fact, both. And well worth an evening of your time.  If you have the chance to listen to the thoughts of a nationally known politician, or listen to the ramblings of Henry Rollins.... choose Henry.  No kidding. His Capitalism tour is amazing.

Prep

I'm starting to assume that Romney is going to win, and wondering what that will mean for my future.  Outside of the obvious ha you just THOUGHT you were going to get the same health care as the rest of the world!!!

Yeah, except that.  

Safety

This, from the Not Always Right series of sites, is a good example of what I see as a well-motivated but poorly thought out idea.  That you can't take a picture in a public area of your own child....stupid.

Children’s water play park
Buckinghamshire - England
the water park i work at has a strict, no photography rule while at work i see a man standing next to one of our signs with a digital camera, so i approach him..
ME. Sorry sir you cant take photos here,
MAN. Why not?
ME. its a privacy issue, other parents might not like it if you get their children in the background
MAN. okay
(2 minutes later i see said man with his camera out again and i approach him again)
ME. Sorry sir i’ve told you once already, you cant take photo’s here
MAN. i’m not, look
(he shows me the screen of the camera to show me that he’s not taking photos … he’s filming. i have to explain that he is not allowed to film either)

Valve

I wish that I was smart enough to work at Valve.

A Measured Reflection

I am simply amazed that, once again, significant numbers of my fellow citizens -- or, as I like to think of them in this case, idiots, though lemmings works, too - are once again thinking that yes, conservative policies will make their lives better.  That the efforts to save the country from the effects of the last conservative administration were worthless -- the revitalization of Detroit, the saving of banks from foreclosure, the maintenance of Wall Street, all of it.  And of course, that the idea that insurance companies should be allowed to decide what to cover, and what not, just, as the saying goes, when you need them the most -- yes, that, too. They are not just simply drinking the Kool-Aid, they're bathing in it.  Those who bathe, anyway.

Its possible that Obama will win.  I hope he does.  If there is any justice in the world, he will. And if he does, I hope he takes a leaf from Romney's playbook -- and shafts those bastards.

Bodyform

So...

Guess who is spending four of the next six days in a hotel in Virginia, visiting his daughter?  Guess who woke up with a might be/could be/hope not toothache?  Guess whose dentist is out of town for five days?

Guess who, on an upcoming road trip, is taking a big bottle of Advil, and Thinking Good Thoughts?

Doing the Math

I think the part I like the best is his expression when he says the very last thing.

Surprised

Found here.

Young Yoda

The Corps

It now appears that my daughter may stick with the Corps for the full year.  Apparently, things are better now, and she's noticed that upperclassmen seem generally happier than freshmen, so hanging around to become one -- which, technically, you are for the last month of freshman year - is not out of the question.

I am astounded.

Franch

How weird is it that I enjoy reading books about French grammar, but I really don't 'get' much of what they're saying? Yeah..I think so too. Does that stop me?  Heh.

Are you addressing me?

Jingle

Did you think of the Budweiser jingle, too?

Mitt<>Mitt

snark

Watching Obama's projected lead shrinking.... feeling hyperglum as I see health care slipping away. 

Um...Thanks?

This is, of course, a parody.  Never happens.  In either direction.

Now you see it...

Driving home from the college yesterday, my daughter realized that her phone would not turn on.  This afternoon, we took her to get a new battery installed.

This evening, she lost the phone.  We think it's within a quarter mile of the house.  We think.

Cheering

Some cheer squads are better than others.

Sticky

This story comes from Not Always Right, and it happens in France.  It could have happened anywhere, I know, and if it had happened to me, I wouldn't have been as pleased as I am now, reading it.  Still, I like it.


(Supermarket | Montpellier, France)
(At the checkout counter, a mother and her son are behind an elderly lady in line. The kid keeps bumping on the elderly lady with their shopping cart.)
Elderly Lady: “Excuse me, young lady, could you please tell your son to stop pushing your cart on me?”
Mother: “No way! You must not upset children! That’s how they get traumatized!”
(The mother indeed does nothing to stop her son. Suddenly, another customer—young man standing in line behind them—takes a jar of jam, opens it, and pours it on the mother’s head.)
Mother: *shocked and dripping with jam* “Are you CRAZY? What the h*** are you doing?”
Young Man: “Listen, lady. You see, I was also raised like this, with no limits. I did everything and whatever I wanted… and I still do!”
(The mother quickly leaves the store with her son, angry and covered with jam. For the record, the elderly lady insisted to pay for the jam.)

Awesomeness

(This is lifted directly from PVP because it is so awesome.)

It’s been a year since Steve Jobs convinced the world he died even though I know that he’s secretly alive and creating a glass and titanium space station where his chosen will be called to join him shortly. The rest of you, condemned to live outthe rest of your life on earth, should try to remember that Steve Jobs never compromised and always lived his life on his own terms. He set out to “put a dent in the universe” and he did it by destroying anyone that got in his way. That dent, I’m told, is viewable from our new orbital utopia and I can’t wait to see it.

Fishy

" My fish died when I wasn’t home. Asked my cousin to give him a proper flushing. 

She sent me this."

Found here.

Wallpaper

BTW....

Owning a Canadian

This is several years old, but I still like it.

Minor Point

We've been trying to go to the local gym every couple of days.  We don't do a lot - perhaps 20 minutes -- but we do it consistantly.  We missed the last two days due to travel and other committments, so we went today.

I did 20 minutes on the eliptical alone, at a higher rate than I've been going, and then I cooled down on the treadmill for another 10 minutes.  I am mildly pleased.

Just Sayin'....

Found here.

Want my Cornbread?

Intrigued by the difference of attitude between the parents of college students (corps of cadets)  who've just completed a long hike (~10 miles) and the students themselves.  The parents are all yee-hah, outstanding, so very proud, go for it;   the students are more subdued, laconic.  Course, they could just be tired, or maybe they just don't want to be seen agreeing with their parents.  My daughter said MREs aren't all that bad, but "don't eat the cornbread - it's nasty!"

Hulking

From the Unshelved strip.

Wheelin'

I once had a coworker who had had polio as a child, and who, consequently, lived in a wheel-chair during the day and an iron lung at night. (I didn't even know that iron lungs were still in use.  Or even if they were still called that. ) 

His motorized wheel chair had two batteries -- one to power the chair, one to power a breather apparatus.  One day, a coworker came back in from the parking lot and said he was calling AAA because his car battery was dead.  I suggested that my other friend motor on out and use one of his batteries to start the second guy's car.  He would of course, have to either immobilize his chair or 'frog-breathe' while this was going on. The second guy was aghast, but the guy in the chair thought it was pretty funny.

The chair had two speeds.  We called the second 'turbo', but it really wasn't all that fast.  We wanted him to buy a Saab wheelchair, which he said would  go faster.  Not as fast as we wanted, though - we thought he should have a chair that, when he hit turbo, would rock back and have flame shoot out the rear.  Now that, we thought, would be cool.

But that was before I saw these.  In particular, the Boss Hoss.

Not Always Romantic

But sometimes...

And a little child....

This occurred on a bus in Canada. A bunch of young men are talking loudly in the bus and using a lot of expletives. They’re also with a female passenger who is apparently their friend and is black.

Young Male Passenger #1: “Yeah, she’s such a f***ing b****.”
Young Male Passenger #2: “Because she’s a black c***!”
Young Female Passenger: “What?!”
Young Male Passenger #1: “Yeah!”
Young Male Passenger #2: “You black c***s can be f***ing—”

(At this moment, a boy of around age 7 gets on the bus. Hearing the rude conversation, the child immediately makes his way to the back of the bus and stands right in the middle of this group, as if challenging them to continue talking.)

Loud group: *stays completely silent for 5 seconds*
Young Male Passenger #1: “…Okay, never mind.”
Young Male Passenger #2: “Um… I meant… you black ladies are… pretty crazy. Yeah. Pretty crazy at times.”

(They stopped using offensive language after that, at least until the young boy’s parents called him back to sit with them!)

Found here. 

Hey, Jude?

Mindreading

Fireworks

I have never seen a fireworks display that was this good.  I believe that it's called a Girandola, from the man or family who makes them.  Based on this, whatever they're paid, they're worth it.

Hey, Butch?

Butch and Sundance?

Sundance, News Carver, the Tall Texan, Kid Curry, and Butch

Found on WikiPedia, here.

Oh, Yes.....

Found on this blog.

Humah

I'm not a big fan of coarse humour......but this is funny.

No Place Like....

Some USBs...

...are better than others.

Lists

When my mother lived with us, she had the habit that when she had something she would need to do -- not routine things -- she'd write a note about it.  Sometimes, she would underline key words in the note.  We always thought it was a bit funny - why would you need to write a note?  And underline it, too?

This morning, thinking about a call I need to make to Verizon to cancel some service.... I wrote a note.  I didn't underline anything.... but I did make a little arrow.

Um.

Ah...No

My daughter just discovered that the guy who likes her.....really likes her.  He's known her for three weeks, and he thinks he's in love with her.  As I mentioned, she was astonished when he kissed her, but there's more.

Turns's out that he's a Satan worshipper. He says he doesn't tell many people, because they think it's about worshipping evil, and it isn't.  Oh, and he says he's a witch, too.

She's told him thanks, but no thanks. And for at least a while, she's going to arrange that everywhere she goes, she has a friend or two with her.

Changes

Got a call from our daughter tonight.  She seems to have settled down from the other day, which is good.  Her classes are going reasonably well, too.  But the big news is that she was asked by another cadet if she'd like to date him, and when she said yes, he kissed her, much to her astonishment.

Oh, my!

Argh

My daughter just called,  in tears. She was distraught because two upperclassmen at once yelled at her. ( I know, the official position is that upperclassmen don't yell, they speak firmly and loudly.  I figured two girls in their late teens know the difference. )  Either way,  I'm sure the supermoms on the Facebook page would say This is good, she needs to learn how to handle stress, not to mention idiots.  And that's probably true. She does need to be able to handle that.   But right now, all I can think of is Harry Truman's response to the guy who wrote a dispararing article about his daughter...

Flow

Found at Yellowdog Granny.

Heh

Motivation

An article in the online version of Inc magazine mentioned ways to motivate employees for not much money. One was having office celebrations. This was their article's illustrative photograph:

Southern California, possibly. Elsewhere? I kind of don't think so.

Gamers and Star Wars and Such, oh my.

I'm not a gamer (though I'd like to be, I've just never gotten into it, because the idea of hanging out with a bunch of stocky people who fixate on Playstation vs XBox vs Whatever Just Came Out  doesn't fascinate me).  And I'm not a Star Wars freak, for pretty much the same reason.  Finally, I'm not a graphic artist - I don't get much of  the technical detail which motivates people like that, though, like many others, I know what I like when I see it.

And this, I like.  I am in awe of the capabilities of such people.

Call Us

Things like this -- they just delight the heck out of me.

Invisible

I'm a long way from being one of those people --you know, those people -- who believes that the government is spying on him, particularly.  Yet I do believe that the government is, more and more, accumulating information which can be used - maliciously probably isn't the right word, but certainly in a way that decreases the probability of my liking the result.  I know, they say this information is kept completely safe, only used for authorized purposes, yada yada yada.  It only takes one overly broad Supreme Count ruling, or one hacker's leak of information, or one bureaucrat to decide that yes, national security, or his own curiosity, or something in between, warrants invading my privacy.

So, though I don't act on what he says, I tend to read this blog. 

Ghostin

When I read Old Man's War, by John Scalzi, I thought not bad.... kind of ran out of the justification for the catchy title fairly soon, but the rest was okay.  So when I saw he wrote a sequel, The Ghost Brigades, I thought, Well, sequels usually suck, but the beginning of that other one was good, so....

This one, the whole damn book is good.  Decent characters.  Believable aliens.  Plausible cliff hangers.  And a villain who isn't stupid or exceedingly arrogant.

Apparently, not everything he's written is good -- there's an excerpt from a novel called Redshirts, on his blog, and it reads like something from fan fiction -- but The Ghost Brigades is quite good.

Jesus and Mo

Practical Chemistry

Started

Any day that starts with a Skype call from my daughter is going to be a good day.  Strange to see her in the cadet dress uniform, though.  It's not quite like she's playing dress-up.....

Just Keep Going?

Short of a blowtorch, how would you get this guy out of here?  (for that matter, how did he even get in?)

FB

Astonished tonight to read a Facebook post from a french correspondant, at the end of her Irish vacation, listing what she misses.....and the list included me!

Common?

I found this list here.

1. Reduce the deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2015 and chart a course for balancing the budget by 2020
2. Reform our Medicare and Social Security programs to cut costs and ensure their sustainability
3. Simplify our tax code to improve fairness, reduce compliance costs, increase participation, and increase revenues
4. Increase investment in public education, vocational programs, and job retraining to create real jobs and ensure a level playing field for all Americans
5. Reduce our dependence on non-domestic fossil fuels and encourage lower carbon alternative energy sources.
6. Affirm my obligation to put our country ahead of party and personal interests

and I think yeah, that'd be nice... But realistic?  Any one of those - at least, 1 -5 - is a whole 'nother 'health care' issue, with legions on each side.  Not to mention that my definition of what's needed for each, when it comes down to brass tacks, might not be the same as yours.  Is 'chart a course' a way of saying 'slash government?' Is 'cut costs and ensure their sustainability' a way of saying 'and cut Medicare, too?' Does Simplify mean 'reduce taxes'?  All of these have interpretations that I agree with, and interpretations that alarm me.

And yet....

Dragnet

Well, apparently I was wrong.

The massive effort by Republicans to purge and scourge the voter registration lists in Florida has actually found clear and irrefutable evidence of illegal voting.

One guy.

Thoughtful

Notes

We've been talking a lot, in fits and starts, with our daughter lately, so it wasn't a surprise to get an email from her. But the contents -- that was something else.

It was titled Thanks.

Hey so right now im listening to my roommate argue with her mom about how when her mom has something wrong with her account she takes the money out of my roommate's account (she's 17 until november) and i just wanted to say thank you for never doing anything like that and always being there to pay for things (as bad as that sounds) since i never had a job and it means a lot that you suppported me this much.

Handling the Truth

The title refers to this climactic scene from A Few Good Men.

Colonel Jessup is probably right.  Most of us don't really want to know what it takes to provide the ultimate line of defense.  We don't really want to know how mentally and physically hard someone has to be to stand a post in a lonely, hostile environment.  We don't really want to know what it takes to identify terrorists -- or how often we fail in that task, either letting an actual terrorist go past or falsely imprisoning someone who isn't one.  We're a little uncomfortable at the idea that someone spent a period in a jail compound when they ought not to have been there, but - well - that's just the way it goes. Because we would rather be wrong, and imprison the wrong person, than be wrong, and let the real terrorist go.  Similarly, when we send people to places like Afghanistan, we don't want to know how harsh it really is, how blasted our people become, how often we're seen as the invading enemy.  Sending troops is seen as the right thing to do because - well - that's sometimes all we can do.  It worked in Germany during the 40s, right?

I accept that.  I think that way.  I know it's not entirely right, but I don't know of a better way.  Everything else feels like we're just giving up.

But when I see people say that we need to toughen up cadets - who are in college, not boot camp - because they might eventually end up in Afghanistan, and we need tough people there - well, then I start to wonder about the mind set of the people running the military program in the college.

Say Ah

Daughter tells us that she's sick; others on her dorm floor, too.  She's dizzy, has a 'conceptual fog'.  And she's thinking that she wants to cut her hair, but if she doesn't like it, she can't regrow it until summer.... unless she quits the Corps.  Which she can do as of October 6.  It's a lousy reason, of course,  especially since she's kind of somewhat to a certain extent getting into it, bonding with some of the other cadets...

Until I read in the parents Facebook account about a kid who had to march for 2 3-hour chunks for a) talking in her own room with the door open, and b) not having her shoes lined up neatly. (No, not mine; this was another kid.)  And see a response about how this is good, it teaches them discipline, teaches them how to follow orders.

And then I think Quit the Corps?  Here, let me help you pack.....

Because that kind of thinking is just plain stupid.  Demerits, sure.  March for three damn hours for one freaking demerit? Give me a break. We're not trying to train Seals here. 

You Can Read Music

....bet you scrolled back up to the top, just like me.....

TwitterRage

I just read about the girl who posted on Twitter that Obama should be assassinated. The article says that she was flamed unmercifully, and will always carry the tag as the girl who asked for her country's president to be killed.  The first pleases me; I doubt the second will actually occur.  At least, always.

The article, in The Economist, went on to say that several people urged treating such wild-eyed idiots with grace and compassion.  It said that we should not forget such stupidity, but we should forgive it.

I find it hard to agree.  This kid is echoing the snarls of the rabid right.  I would like to believe that, as in the children's stories, treatment with grace and compassion will lead them to understand that they are wrong, both in their holdings and what they urge.  But I doubt strongly that such will occur.  The ferocious right has one goal, and that is the removal of Obama from office.  No matter what he has done well, it hasn't been done to their satisfaction, and no matter where he has failed, the failure is an indictment.  They want him out, and nothing will satisfy them but that.  They have no limits to their vitriol.

The article says that they can be shamed into realization that they've gone too far, but I don't see that, at all.  I think these people have clearly lost their minds. Grace and compassion?  I'd like to see them shipped to a gulag. Which, of course, makes me just as rigid in my thinking as they are.

Part of me says we are in this together, we should try to understand, they might be at least partially right. But most says I don't WANT to be in it with people who think like that, the things they are right about are vanishingly small, I don't see THEM trying to understand ME, plus, they're freaking crazy people!

We need adult supervision, but the adults are either dead, marginalized, seen as irrelevant, or on the sidelines, egging us on. 

Satorial

I need this shirt.

Copper

Saw a BBC show called Copper last night, about a policeman in 19th century New York.  It's dark, but not all all bad.

Revelations

This evening, I had a surprising and somewhat unpleasant experience.

Basicallly, I suggested on a Facebook page for parents of Corps of Cadets parents that perhaps some ways in which the corps operates could be improved - for example, a more supportive, less distant approach from the upperclassmen would benefit both them and the freshmen.  Three of the others jumped all over me, saying that of course everything was wonderful, this is how its always been so of course it's perfect, I just didn't understand,  and anyway if I didn't like it maybe I should just go tell the commandant.  So much for a friendly and open environment.

I quit the group.

Hours later, the experience still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

Calls

We were surprised this evening to receive a Skype video call from our daughter.  I've been in the habit of leaving Skype up, since one or two of the French people with whom I speak will call spontaneously, but we didn't expect this.  We had a pleasant if wandering conversation, but it left me feeling a bit unsettled, because she is still thinking that she's going to want to leave at the end of the current phase of their training.  She typed a message to me, so that her room mate would not hear her say it, to the effect that she wants to discuss it when we set her again.  We would be surprised if she has changed her mind, though it is possible: she mentioned that she does not respect people who commit to the year, and then leave before the year is up. Yet she does not enjoy it, and does not see the point to some of their rituals.  She's been through difficult environments, had people yelling at her, but it was always in support of a goal that she could see, and even when she did not enjoy the experience -- which was frequently -- she could see that their goal was her improvement.  Here, she cannot see that, and so she wonders why stay? 

I don't want her to stay, and I don't want her to go.  It's her life, and I'm not just saying that.  As I put it to her, she would not delight us by staying, or displease us by leaving.  This is her decision.  What is important is the education that she is there to receive. In the Corps or not, she would get that.  She'd lose the structure that she wants from the Corps, but at the moment she questions the validity of that - for example, the Corps says they stress study, requiring four hours of it a night -- but sometimes, when the cadet just wants to sleep, because they've been nodding off in class, they cannot -- Corps rules for new cadets are that they stay up until 11PM, no exceptions. We like the idea of structure, but we like the idea of sleep, too -- especially for a kid who has always been reluctant to acknowledge the need for enough of it.   Leaving the Corps would mean losing the possibility of a commission at the end of it -- and that's all it is; they do not guarantee the commission.  That, in turn, would mean that she would have uncertainty at the end of college, like everyone usually does; she doesn't like uncertainly, but - well, that's four years from now.  A lot could happen.

And yet, the thought of her leaving does bother me, and I'm not sure why.  I think it's because I'm concerned that she will feel like a quitter, with all of the negative baggage that that entails.  And yet, if she chooses to leave, I will support her, because I think it will be the right thing to do.  How can doing the right thing make one feel like a quitter?

Saturday

In kind of a strange mood today.

For one, today is the first day of my wife's retirement.  She's being fairly low-key about it, and indeed intends to find another job.  And, of course, she's normally here on Saturday.  But somehow, today feels - different.

For another, we never did hear from the guys who were supposed to come out and estimate costs for mowing our yard.

And, I've been exchanging notes with a conversation partner who's having some problems in her life.  My daughter said that this happens so often to me, I must be planning to set up shop as a life counselor to French people.  Not quite.  But yeah, it does kind of feel that way. I like this person, but man, she has problems.

Plus, this election scares me.  I think the GOP is going to buy it. 

But mostly, it's this college thing. College itself going well. She likes most of her classes. But the Corps of Cadets thing - uh, not so much.  It's hard to get a clear picture of what's happening down there. My daughter says she is over wanting to be in the corps - their style of operation doesn't appeal to her. Looking at the Facebook page for the parents of cadets, there's a lively discussion about whether the Corps is doing things well.  Most of the comments are from people who are gung-ho, love the corps, pressure makes diamonds, all of that. (Okay, no one actually said that.  But that's the feeling.) It gets on my nerves, a little.

I wonder whether, on October 5 (the first day she can leave the Corps without paying a heavy financial penalty) she'll be moving.  If she does, that will blow her plan of trying for the military (well, except for OTS, but that's a long shot).  If she quits, will she feel like a loser?  If she stays, will she feel trapped?  We did think that this would be a chance for her to get used to how the military thinks, but it didn't occur to any of us that she might hate it.

Stressful period for us, more so for her.  

Anyone You Know?

Surrender

I gave up.

After a summer of trying to keep up with the grass, I gave up.  Ten minutes ago, I picked a mowing company out of the phone book and said come cut this stuff. Because this is ridiculous.  I last mowed one section of grass three days ago - and today it's thick enough to cause my electric mower to stall out repeatedly -- sometimes, a foot at a time.

Next year, I don't know.  Maybe we'll take our chances again.  Maybe we'll buy a self-propelled gas mower.  Maybe even make the leap to a riding mower.

But for this year, the war is over, and I lost.

J&M

This is from a comic strip called Jesus and Mo. I really like it. I suspect that hardcore Believers won't, but those with a sense of humor -- I think they would.

Private Lee?

Cette Semaine

Going to be a tough week.

Daughter's grumpy over her proto-military experience (though, hey, she may have found a way to compensate).

Wife's emotional from impending retirement (but this evening I gave her the first three seasons of a beloved show to ease her transition).

I'm going to the dentist tomorrow to find out why one of my implants is occasionally painful.

And tomorrow I talk with a French conversation partner whom, I just learned, might be - well, I won't use the graphic high school term that comes to mind.  Let's just say she's not the quiet, innocent person I thought she was.

Back Again

We went down to see our daughter this weekend.  It was ... interesting.

At first, she told her that she was thinking about quitting the Corps.  Last week was much harder than she had thought it would be, and she did not like the mind games that they played on her.  Like, giving them, literally, one minute thirty seconds to use the bathroom.  (It wasn't until one girl complained, saying 'We aren't boys, we can't just whip it out', that they got a whole two minutes thirty seconds. ) Or, bringing in the marching band to play for them while they were having lunch.... but then insisting that they had to stand and cheer, cheering time being subtracted from their eating time.

Then, after sleeping without interruption for about ten hours at the hotel, and having a decent breakfast, she was relatively cheerful, talking about whether she should pick a college focus that was what she wanted, or what she thought the military might want.  (She decided the former. Good for her.)

She still has to do stupid things, like saying Good morning to each upperclassman she meets, naming them, and doing so in alphabetical order of their names.  She can only leave her room going to the right, so that if the room she wants are to the left, she has to go all the way to the end of the hall, turn, go all the way to the other end of the hall, turn, then into the room - and if she goes past, she has to do the whole circuit again. Things like that. Not just new cadets, either. One senior, standing in a line on the edge of a parade field, watching the new cadets march by, fainted; my daughter said she would unquestionably get into trouble.  Seems harsh, I said.  You sure? She nodded.  They told us, you faint, its because you didn't drink enough water. Your fault.What if it was because you were sick, I asked.  She shrugged.  They'll assume it was your fault unless you can prove it wasn't.  They made my roommate march when her foot was so swollen she couldn't get it into her shoe. Finally she got to see a doctor, who said no marching or running for a week.

But today is the first day of classes, and while she is in the academic building area of the campus she doesn't have to play those games, or even wear a uniform, per se (just khaki pants and a polo shirt with the Corps logo on it) so perhaps life will get a little better for her.  If you can call encountering college-level classes for the first time better.
-------------
Update: She just called with a question.  She says her first day was okay but awkward -- no one talked at all in her classes, and she's usually the only cadet in them.  They'd been told that civilian students usually are not initially sure how to react to then.  And thats with the casual uniform.  When she called, they'd just been told to change into cammo. Why?  She had no idea.  Because. 

Anyone who's been in the military has gone through that kind of nonsense, and sometimes, it really does have a good reason.  But it hurts to see your intelligent, skeptical-of-authority daughter going through it.  Which is why we told her: give it a fair shot.  Then, if you want to get out of the Corps, go for it. But give them a chance, first. 

Sometimes....

... reading is better.

Reaching

Doctored

Every so often I find myself thinking about how the technology in Doctor Who must work....and I have to shake myself and remember but its just a story!!!

(found here)

New Cadet

My daughter (and 420 others) started New Cadet Week yesterday.  For the next seven days, they'll undergo a stressful environment -- though, according to the instructors, more mentally stressful than physical -- learning how to be a cadet at Virginia Tech.  The staff warned us that there are always about ten kids who will call home, saying that this isn't for them. The call will come through the commandant's office -- for the next week, the kids don't have any sort of electronic devices.  They said how we handle it will be our call, but the track record is, if you say to the kid 'It's your life, your decision' at a time when they're tired, discouraged, and depressed -- they'll probably bail out. I doubt we'll get the call, but you never know.

Her roommate is tall - about six one - and smart -- she's her high school valedictorian, going for a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  Seems like a nice kid.  Her mother told me that the girl wanted to come, but was very nervous.  Sounds about right.

Seeing all those kids - more than kids, less than adults - and all their energy and enthusiasm -- it wore me right the heck out.  And I think Was I actually that energetic?  Probably.  Hard to believe, though.  I believe she'll be fine. When I see what the kids look like after four years -- sharp, focused, almost glittering -- I know I could never have done that.  I'm proud of her.  And she knows it.

Nick?

I will never be this person.  I think that's a good thing.

(Original image found on this site.) 

Yeah....Sounds Right

Found here.

New Mailbox?

Found here.  Did you hum the theme, too?  I did.

Fit THIS

Reading

I've returned to reading Six Frigates.  It's a thick enough book that at times it intimidates me -- and how I hated when I realized years ago that thick books were beginning to have that effect on me .  I’m not sure why, whether I’m not as smart as I used to be (probably true) or not as intellectually curious (not sure I ever was that curious), but whatever the reason, I don’t tend to read books now that are more than about two hundred pages.  I suppose my mind has been softened by age and the Internet.
 
But I like Six Frigates because it talks about politics back in an age when, I thought, everyone was of the same attitude – all strong, forthright, determined, all right thinkers.  It astonishes me to read that that wasn’t the case at all – that some, for example, fervently held the opinion that the United States ought to have a military because otherwise it would be attacked, and others were equally vociferous with the opinion that it was the existence of the military that provokes attack; to read about politicians who, unable to sway opinion, took to inserting clauses into bills in Congress which had nothing to do with the bill, but had the effect of implementing what the politician could not get passed on their own; to read about people arguing points that seem obvious to us now, but at the time, were very much – literally – up for debate. And not gentlemanly will the senator yield ? debate, either.  Holy hell, I think.  Things were as screwed up then as they are now.
 
There are times when I despair for the future of this country, I really do.  I know that I’m not a strong thinker; I’m not the brightest guy around, and I tend to feel that everyone has the right to their opinion, when, probably, they really don’t. There's a lot of stupid people around, and sometimes I'm one of them.  I am amazed that people can be in favor of politicians who display disdain for them, and I’m sure that others are amazed that I can be in favor of a politician who does things that are clearly wrong, or politically motivated.  I console myself that of course, you can’t vote against someone just because of their attitude to one topic, and then I see the success of the NRA because that’s exactly what their members do.  I find myself thinking well, maybe its not such a bad thing that people want to have their own guns, because most guns that are used for malicious purpose were acquired illegally – and then I think but if I’m agreeing with them, but they never agree with me that steps need to be taken to control gun violence, doesn’t that mean the NRA won?  (Yes, I think it does.)  So maybe it is a good thing to be a one or two or three issue person, and just vote for the people who are your way on those issues, even if you suspect that they’re lying, even if you know that there are good reasons not to support what you want.  Let the other side worry about equality; stick up for your side.
 
I know, we’ll survive, but there are times when I wonder if its worth it.

PRA

Again.

Call Me, Batman

Olympic Spirit

Dressage

I have to admit that I didn't read the whole thing, but What's So Bad About A Boy Who Wants to Wear A Dress is intriguing.  I liked their observation that no one thinks it odd for a girl to wear jeans and toss a football, but the reverse - well, that's something else again.