Thursday, July 31, 2008
Glad I Clicked on this Link
Lewis and Chapin may recognize the wife of this guy (the mayor of Berwyn Heights, wherever that is) whose house was raided after accepting a 32 pound brick of marijuana. I believe she was in the honors program with us, though not on our floor. Seems like a very weird story altogether though.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A Guide to Metal
This video is not safe for work. It opens with the lines, "Not everyone likes metal. F*CK THEM!" It is, however, quite humorous. And reminiscent of a former fellow resident.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A wonderful memory sullied...
In the winter of 1992-93, I was a senior at Ramstein American High School, located on the premises of Ramstein Air Force Base and a short drive from the German town of Landstuhl. I was also the president of RAHS' chapter of the National Honor Society.
Like many NHS chapters, we chose a service project to give back to our community. Our project that winter was to remodel the Family Waiting Room for the Intensive Care Unit at what was at the time known as Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center (LARMC). It has since dropped the "Army" from its title.
At the time, Landstuhl was lesser known than its cousin to the north, the Wiesbaden military hospital. For any who may remember, the US hostages taken during the Iranian Revolution were flown to and treated at Wiesbaden following their release in 1981. Partly as a result of not being well-known (and also because the Army is just generally bad at facilities upkeep, a truth brought home by the appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital), several facilities within LARMC were in disrepair.
The project came out of a tour of Landstuhl the NHS took as it was considering potential service projects. During our tour, I noticed family members sleeping in a waiting room for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). I also noticed that the room in which they slept was enclosed by stained walls covered in peeling paint, and filled with furniture that was broken and/or stained and so small and uncomfortable as to make sleeping (or even sitting for long periods of time) deeply uncomfortable, if not impossible. The room and its furniture clearly had not been updated in decades.
I was appalled, and so were my classmates. We could not imagine that family members sitting vigil, awaiting word of the fate of a loved one fighting for his or her life, were forced to endure such awfulness in an already terrible situation.
Back at RAHS, we made a quick decision to make the renovation of that Family Waiting Room our Winter/Spring Service Project.
Over several snowy days in December 1992/January 1993, we raised money for funding, scraped and painted walls, scrapped the old furniture, and hunted down and purchased new sofas and recliners that would make sleeping and/or sitting much more palatable. When we were done, that Family Waiting Room looked like new. I was prouder then of that service project than of any individual academic or athletic achievement.
For many years, the memory of that service project has been one of my most fond memories. As Landstuhl has received frequent mention in the press as the primary treatment facility for veterans wounded grievously in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have recalled my experience at Landstuhl, glad that we may have made families a little more comfortable -- and I have wondered whether that facility, getting much more use now than then, is in need of another renovation.
Then, in the last week, I've been sickened by the use of Landstuhl and its wounded residents as a political football by the McCain campaign. Whatever you think of the wisdom of the move (I think he should have gone), Barack Obama and his campaign made a good-faith effort to avoid politicizing the facility by not going when he and his campaign perceived that the trip to visit wounded soldiers at Landstuhl might be politicized.
Now, John McCain, in a dishonest, disingenuous ad, and with words used during campaign stops, is using Landstuhl and its wounded veterans for shallow, temporary political advantage. It is deeply inappropriate and it makes me nauseous.
It shocks me that a military veteran and former POW, who knows and understands intimately the sacrifices endured by wounded veterans, would think for one moment of using them as part of a political ploy. His willingness to do so, and in fact his campaign's insistence on continuing to doing so in the face of evidence contradicting his charge (see linked article above), is craven. It demonstrates that he values the short-term political value of pasting his opponent with a tag of "military-hating liberal" more than he does the concept of honoring the sacrifice of wounded veterans by keeping them off the political playing field. In so doing, he has proven that he is unfit for the highest office in the land.
He has clearly lost himself in his desperation to be president. It's sickening, and it's sad. And though I was considering it, I will no longer consider voting for John McCain. He has sullied my memories, sullied his campaign, and sullied himself with this disgusting gambit. He should be ashamed of himself. I pray only that the American public sees this shameful ploy for what it is and, if he continues it, rejects it soundly in November. Pathetic.
Like many NHS chapters, we chose a service project to give back to our community. Our project that winter was to remodel the Family Waiting Room for the Intensive Care Unit at what was at the time known as Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center (LARMC). It has since dropped the "Army" from its title.
At the time, Landstuhl was lesser known than its cousin to the north, the Wiesbaden military hospital. For any who may remember, the US hostages taken during the Iranian Revolution were flown to and treated at Wiesbaden following their release in 1981. Partly as a result of not being well-known (and also because the Army is just generally bad at facilities upkeep, a truth brought home by the appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital), several facilities within LARMC were in disrepair.
The project came out of a tour of Landstuhl the NHS took as it was considering potential service projects. During our tour, I noticed family members sleeping in a waiting room for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). I also noticed that the room in which they slept was enclosed by stained walls covered in peeling paint, and filled with furniture that was broken and/or stained and so small and uncomfortable as to make sleeping (or even sitting for long periods of time) deeply uncomfortable, if not impossible. The room and its furniture clearly had not been updated in decades.
I was appalled, and so were my classmates. We could not imagine that family members sitting vigil, awaiting word of the fate of a loved one fighting for his or her life, were forced to endure such awfulness in an already terrible situation.
Back at RAHS, we made a quick decision to make the renovation of that Family Waiting Room our Winter/Spring Service Project.
Over several snowy days in December 1992/January 1993, we raised money for funding, scraped and painted walls, scrapped the old furniture, and hunted down and purchased new sofas and recliners that would make sleeping and/or sitting much more palatable. When we were done, that Family Waiting Room looked like new. I was prouder then of that service project than of any individual academic or athletic achievement.
For many years, the memory of that service project has been one of my most fond memories. As Landstuhl has received frequent mention in the press as the primary treatment facility for veterans wounded grievously in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have recalled my experience at Landstuhl, glad that we may have made families a little more comfortable -- and I have wondered whether that facility, getting much more use now than then, is in need of another renovation.
Then, in the last week, I've been sickened by the use of Landstuhl and its wounded residents as a political football by the McCain campaign. Whatever you think of the wisdom of the move (I think he should have gone), Barack Obama and his campaign made a good-faith effort to avoid politicizing the facility by not going when he and his campaign perceived that the trip to visit wounded soldiers at Landstuhl might be politicized.
Now, John McCain, in a dishonest, disingenuous ad, and with words used during campaign stops, is using Landstuhl and its wounded veterans for shallow, temporary political advantage. It is deeply inappropriate and it makes me nauseous.
It shocks me that a military veteran and former POW, who knows and understands intimately the sacrifices endured by wounded veterans, would think for one moment of using them as part of a political ploy. His willingness to do so, and in fact his campaign's insistence on continuing to doing so in the face of evidence contradicting his charge (see linked article above), is craven. It demonstrates that he values the short-term political value of pasting his opponent with a tag of "military-hating liberal" more than he does the concept of honoring the sacrifice of wounded veterans by keeping them off the political playing field. In so doing, he has proven that he is unfit for the highest office in the land.
He has clearly lost himself in his desperation to be president. It's sickening, and it's sad. And though I was considering it, I will no longer consider voting for John McCain. He has sullied my memories, sullied his campaign, and sullied himself with this disgusting gambit. He should be ashamed of himself. I pray only that the American public sees this shameful ploy for what it is and, if he continues it, rejects it soundly in November. Pathetic.
Monday, July 14, 2008
1999 Called...
...it wants its sequel back.
Isn't this a little odd. I mean, if the main movie-going public are teenagers and college kids (I have no idea if that's correct by the way) then that audience has almost no exposure to the X-Files, which ceased to be on the air 10 years ago. Who is going to watch this?
Isn't this a little odd. I mean, if the main movie-going public are teenagers and college kids (I have no idea if that's correct by the way) then that audience has almost no exposure to the X-Files, which ceased to be on the air 10 years ago. Who is going to watch this?
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
What...
...is this?
A) An Irish links-style golf course located about 30 minutes from my house;
B) Home to a course designed and built by the Irish Golf Association, because they could not find an adequately authentic Irish links-style golf course in the US;
C) Home to one of the most beautiful, engaging, and challenging courses I've ever played;
D) Home to my first (and probably last) HOLE IN ONE!
E) ALL OF THE ABOVE
Hint: Pick E. More details at my blog....
A) An Irish links-style golf course located about 30 minutes from my house;
B) Home to a course designed and built by the Irish Golf Association, because they could not find an adequately authentic Irish links-style golf course in the US;
C) Home to one of the most beautiful, engaging, and challenging courses I've ever played;
D) Home to my first (and probably last) HOLE IN ONE!
E) ALL OF THE ABOVE
Hint: Pick E. More details at my blog....
The New Atlantis was on "Penn & Teller's Bullshit"
You guys watch Penn & Teller's Bullshit, right? You saw this weekend's episode about NASA? Did you notice the guy from The New Atlantis being interviewed?
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Why Democrats are the way they are
I think we've all wondered, from time to time, "Just what the fuck is wrong with Democrats?"
Thanks to Sen Harry Reid, now we know. Apparently, they didn't get the message that you're not supposed to drink the oil--you're supposed to burn the oil.
Thanks to Sen Harry Reid, now we know. Apparently, they didn't get the message that you're not supposed to drink the oil--you're supposed to burn the oil.
Fringe Benefits...
One of the fringe benefits of my job is that I get to sit here on certain afternoons while I a) participate in a conference call; and b) work on end-of-month financials. Mmmm, beer.
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