Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Cussing In Boot Camp

Here's one for the kinder, gentler folks. WARNING: FOUL LANGUAGE!

Another Good Marine Video



This one's pretty good. Some parts of it get me a bit choked up.

(Since it's Youtube, you may have to click on it, and then click pause while you go get a cup of coffee or something).

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Home


Well, my whirlwind trip to the states is over. I'm safely back home in Okinawa. The old adage is true: Home is where the Corps sends you. Having my wife and children with me in Okinawa does indeed make it home, and I missed it (even having been gone for a couple of days).

The weather in Virginia was miserable, compared to the lush paradise of Okinawa. Granted, it only got down into the 20s, but that's much colder than I'm accustomed to. Throw in some snow, freezing rain, and idiot drivers, and I just wasn't pleased with it.


Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Idiot Drivers



Why is it that whenever the weather is mildly uncooperative, our fellow drivers seem to lose about 30 IQ points?

Today, Mother Nature decided to throw a little bit of freezing rain and slick roadways at me. Not a really big deal, as long as I slowed it down a bit, and made no erratic moves. Not so with some other folks. On my six mile drive from where my conference was held, I saw numerous wrecks (similar to the carnage pictured above), and some amusing near-misses.

You would think that people who live in this area would be a bit more accustomed to driving in less than ideal conditions; no such luck. The idiots were out in force, and it reminded me of the near panic that can often be witnessed in California any time that it rains there.

Oh well, at least it was entertaining.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Travelling Blog Thing


It's downright cold here, compared to the tropical paradise of Okinawa. I flew into Chicago, and it was snowing quite vigorously. It was neat to see snow, but I kept wondering if the plane would ice up before I took off from there. Some lazy looking man sprayed the plane down with some de-icing crap before we taxied, and I guess it did the trick.

I got in to Reagan somewhere close to on time, and made it to my hotel at a reasonable hour. Traffic wasn't any worse than downtown Naha. Oh; wait, traffic in downtown Naha is murderous...better find another example. Traffic wasn't any worse than one would expect near the D.C. beltway. Actually, it wasn't all that bad at all, being a Saturday evening.

I have some business to conduct today in Richmond, and then will be back in my cozy little (albeit clean) hotel room on Monday. I can't wait for this conference to be over on Wednesday. I hate the cold. I'm certainly "acclimatized" to the tropical environment of Okinawa!

I'm also quite adjusted to the 14 hour time difference in Oki. I couldn't sleep much on the plane, and I had a heck of a time falling asleep here. It was well after midnight (local time) when I dozed off, and I woke up shortly before 0500. Oh well; maybe I'll catch a nap on I-95 on the way to Richmond (kidding).

Until next time: avoid sitting next to people with active colons on 12 hour flights!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

On the Road Again

This weekend, I will be traveling, yet again, to a two day conference in the States. It's time for yet another whirlwind trip. I'll be spending more time traveling, than I will at the conference. There's gotta be a cheaper way...I don't know...maybe video teleconferencing? I know, I know, what a radical idea.

Needless to say, after Friday night, I'll be out of pocket for about five days. I should have limited internet access, so perhaps I can keep up on some of my favorite reads (and email). That remains to be seen.

In addition, I may begin construction on an ark soon; it seems to have been raining for weeks now, with very little in the way of breaks in between. Ahhh, the joys of living on a tropical island.