Fair game to post your trackbacks….but the title says that…

So, the last few weeks, I have been discussing the war games suffered through while a student at the Naval War College.

In amongst all the “work” to plan and execute the extraction of non-combatant Americans from Pakistan, we, not being the dry and humorous lot many might assume, decided to dress up for the occasion. We didn’t wear uniforms at War College, unless we had events with outside guests. Otherwise, sport coats and ties were the uniform of the day. Something about taking rank out of the equation while debating, lecturing, etc, on topics that may get passions up. We still all knew, but it psychologically removed some barriers to the free exchange of ideas.

So…were actually went to “war” on business attire for the civilian world…however (translated: ignore all said before here) one of those days we did get in a uniform.

Yep, by unanimous decision, we came outfitted one day to fight the war in our Mess Dress Blues. Yes, it turned some gazes our direction, but we were fighting for the cause and we wanted to look sharp while being about our virtually serious endeavors.

One other fighting day, which was designated as most flamboyant tie day, paled in comparison…

Forbidden Warrior dvdrip

Those crafty scientists….

I have a habit of using ergonomic keyboards. Have for years. It’s another area that draws my attention, partially for the better speed of input, but also out of concern for the opportunity to keep at it longer…

Kannuu HowSo…the new news is that Kannuu

Blue Velvet download

has come up with a thumb operated device that has shown the capability of inputs up to 60 wpm!  Yep, looks like a cell phone, but I bet it won’t be long before someone adapts it to a Bluetooth interface for a desktop…

How do it know? It anticipates the next letter/set of letters, like your web browser address bar, when you begin typing in an site URL.

Say goodbye to Carpel Tunnel!

John, the MilBlogs man of many arms has details of this year’s most anticipated competition to put laptops into the lives of those who have served us by their sacrifices.Read this post.There is prep work to be done and all hands (that’s a naval term meaning everyone) can join in. The USMC and Air Force seems “headless” this year to date, but I’m sure they have dark horses in the wings to come out and work towards the $240K (Yes, Twenty Four Thousand dollars – because we all had too much success last year) we’re looking to raise for my favorite project (as well as for many others): ValOUR-IT.Roll up your sleeves and come along for the ride from 10/28 thru 11/13/2007. It will be two weeks of thrills, spills, chills and possible carpel tunnel syndrome. All sorts of snarks flying while teams race to get their hands on The Most Exhaulted GoldEn Notebook (MEGEN) at the 2008 MilBlogs Conference, while filling the account to purchase laptops for those who need them.

I have cobbled together a phpBB set up as a bulletin board for general and team specific use. Register there and send me an email (see “contact us”) to let me know your team affiliation and I’ll set your permissions to the area you’ll need to chatter in.

The ValOUR-IT Bulletin Board is here.

Team leaders will have an area to cross talk. If leaders want a few moderators set to help manage traffic flow, pass that along so I can set those users in play. I have that set for anyone designated as a monitor to have full access there.

Each team will have Coordination, Marketing, Auctions, and Ideas forums to bat things around in.

A general forum is in place to list items actually put up for auction, which will be viewable by your family and friends and associates (hint: when things show up there, pass it along!).

A top level “H&I Fires” forum will be open game for issuing and responding to challenges or questions of family lineage of other teams.

I made a command decision to join the United States Coast Guard effort with that of the Navy’s. Watch for emails.

Suggestions welcome.

Oh, and for you non-USN/USCG types, this one’s for you (Click for a 8.5″ x 11″ sized printout image!):

If you’re the random selection of the first hundred commenters on the item in the blog…

Take My Tech!. The dude is listing blog entries for his games and things like wireless PC Cards and laptop bags. Put a comment under the things you would like to have a shot at and …. when there are 100 comments, then a random commenter is picked to get the item…and he ships for free…

from the terrorists…. Great job, Hill! Can I call you unpatriotic now or does this prove you are a patriot?

From World Net Daily:

It’s official: Terrorists endorse Hillary in ’08
On the record, Mideast jihadi leaders say she’s best hope for victory in Iraq
Posted: October 7, 2007 10:29 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – With presidential primaries approaching and the race for the White House heating up, Muslim terrorist leaders in the Middle East have offered their endorsement for America’s highest office, stating in a new book they hope Sen. Hillary Clinton is victorious in 2008.

“I hope Hillary is elected in order to have the occasion to carry out all the promises she is giving regarding Iraq,” stated Ala Senakreh, West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group.

Senakreh is one of dozens of terror leaders sounding off about American politics in the new book, “Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!” by WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein.

Abu Hamed, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, explained in “Schmoozing” Clinton’s repeated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq “proves that important leaders are understanding the situation differently and are understanding the price and the consequences of the American policy in Iraq and in the world.”

“The Iraqi resistance is succeeding,” stated Hamed. “Hillary and the Democrats call for withdrawal. Her popularity shows that the resistance is winning and that the occupation is losing. We just hope that she will go until the end and change the American policy, which is based on oppressing poor and innocent people.”

The Brigades, together with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. The Brigades also has carried out hundreds of recent shootings and rocket attacks.

Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is “emboldened” by Clinton’s calls for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq.
[…]

Read the article….better yet…read the book.

When will she (Hillary) wake up and see they see her as just another woman to despise? She plays weak on them and they will treat her like they do their own women in the dedicated Muslim faith?

When will the American people see it, also?

She can prattle on all she wants about “we help make more terrorists” she wants, but if she wins the high privilege to be our President and the Commander-in-Chief, she will be forced to become even more aggressive than President Bush is now, or they will turn up the heat and show her they mean business, as a reward for their “endorsement” of her election run.

Will she resist this urge to act presidential and push even more troops into combat roles, with loosened rules of engagement to show them she isn’t going to be pushed around, or will she fear her ratings from the vocal, left of left wing who “get her elected” (along with the terrorist help), and bring the troops home?

She has the choice now: Talk tough, or prepare to be steam rolled. If she choses tough, then be prepared to loose your “base” come 2012, with the screams of anguish because “HILLARY LIED!” beginning as soon as it becomes apparent (most likely within months of January 2009) she is not going to fulfill her “promise” to her constituency to end the war.

No advice here. I’m thinking “YEEHAW! IT’S GONNA BE ONE WILD RIDE!”

RM3 Otis Lee Dennis, USNRadioman Third Class Otis Lee Dennis is the subject of the day.From here is the little I can find on the web:

Otis Lee Dennis, born 26 March 1913 in Scottsville, KY., enlisted in the Navy 26 October 1940. Radioman Third Class Dennis was cited posthumously for his heroic conduct as an aerial gunner in the initial attack on Kwajalein, in which he was killed in action on 1 February 1942.

USS DENNIS (DE-405)In his honor, the USS DENNIS (DE-405), a JOHN C BUTLER Class destroyer escort was named for him.84 of these ships were planned, and 80 built. It took about 4 months to put these warships together from a steel keel on the building ways to a commissioned vessels sailing from the pier. Size: 306′ LOA, 36 ft beam, 24 knots max speed and displacing 1,300 tons. Two 5″38 cal mounts, four 40mm mounts, 10 20mm guns and 3 21″ torpedo tubes comprised the armament of these ships. These were little ships, full of fight, to escort the larger vessels, particularly the CVEs (escort carriers) and older battleships during amphibious operations. They also served as RADAR picket ships.The USS DENNIS (DE-405) was commissioned 3/20/1944, commanded by LCDR Sig Hansen, USNR. From Wikipedia:

Dennis arrived at Pearl Harbor on 19 June 1944 to escort a convoy to Eniwetok and Kwajalein. She returned to Eniwetok on 29 July screening Belleau Wood (CVL-24). Joining the 5th Fleet, she escorted Carrier Division 22 to Manus for exercises, then sortied with Task Force 77 on 10 September to supply air support for the landings on Morotai Island 15 through 27 September.

From 12 October Dennis screened the escort carriers supplying the air cover for the invasion of Leyte. On 25 October she joined her carriers in making history as they fought a gallant action with the Japanese counter-attacking force in the Battle off Samar phase of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Dennis rescued 434 survivors from the bombed St. Lo (CVE-63). For this action she shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to TU 77.4.3, “Taffy 3”. Arriving at Kossol Roads, Palaus, on 28 October, she sailed 3 days later for the west coast, arriving at San Francisco, California on 26 November for an overhaul.

More details of the Battle Off Samar and the role played by the USS DENNIS (De-405) are reported in James Hornfischer’s excellent book, “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors,” which I used to find some of the info below.

A unit of the storied “Taffy 3,” USS DENNIS was and active participant in the last great naval surface force battle the world has seen. Of the four DEs in the formation on 25 October, 1944, LCDR Hansen was the senior skipper, and LCDR Copeland the most junior on USS SAMUEL B ROBERTS (DE-413). The geometry placed the DENNIS on the far side of the formation from the approaching Japanese battle force, lead by IJN YAMATO, with the “Sammie B” on the near side. DENNIS stayed with the escort carriers for support, until directed to detach and engage to enemy force, where she fired her 3 21″ “fish” at the Japanese from long range, adding to the attacks of the close side vessels, now engulfed in close quarters combat between large and small vessels.

As the Japanese retired, DENNIS was ordered to recover the survivors of the USS ST LO (CVE-63). With cargo nets draped over the sides, 1st Lt Frank Tyrell and BMC Joe Barry supervised the saving of 400 of the ST LO’s crew, including 35 pilots, in the wake of the first Japanese kamikaze attack.Surviving the major sea battle, USS DENNIS participated in the assaults on Guam, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa. Off Okinawa, she rescued 88 survivors of another kamikaze attack on the USS SANGAMON (CVL-26).Decommissioned in December, 1946, USS DENNIS (DE-405) had earned the Presidential Unit Citation and four battle stars for her WWII duty.

Posted @ Little Green Footballs Open Post!

Ian Toll, author of the excellent book, “Six Frigates” will be at Olsson’s Books and Records in Alexandria on 10/12/2007 for a reading signing event.On 10/19/2007, he will be at Bay Books in Coronado, CA, doing a reading and signing.

Check out excepts from Chapter 1. If you haven’t picked up this book yet, and love early American history, don’t miss this writing!

History about the first “Big E”. Worth a read…and, it fits well that this is also the day the CV-6 was commissioned in 1936.

Linking, learning and OOPS! Information coming in!

Found at the Scientific American Mind website, the adventuring into the upper reaches of the atmosphere has a cumulative effect on the thing that makes you think.

From “Into thin air: Altitude’s toll on the brain”:

Douglas Fields
National Institutes of Mental Health
Washington, D.C.

Three attributes of a good mountaineer are high pain threshold, bad memory, and … I forget the third. – R. Douglas Fields

Climbing Mount Everest is not so difficult; the hard part is getting down intact. According to a recent brain imaging study, almost no one does. Of thirteen climbers in the study who attempted Mount Everest, none returned without brain damage. The study also scanned the brains of climbers who attempted less extreme summits. For those of us who love to climb, the results are less than elevating. It seems that almost no one, whether the weekend warrior chaperoned to the summit or the seasoned mountaineer, will return from the high peaks with a brain in the same condition it was in beforehand.
[…]

Some of us will be able, based on a propensity to “get high” in aircraft or climbing, will be able to use this as a defense in our more advanced years to cover our mental errors. But then we know the other people who “get high” also will have that excuse…

Watch Lex’s posts for signs of too many rides when he took his O₂ mask off against the directives of NATOPS.

Note the BIG grins. Photo: Wyat Drewes
Over the last few months, my sitemeter has shown a number of searches for words to the effect of “what are the odds of dying while skydiving?”My blog ends up in the top ten responses on the search engine of choice. Writing this post will help elevate it, too, but that’s not my point. So, earnest searchers who might arrive at this post, here are a few thoughts from one who has made it though 28 years and 15+ hours of being propelled by gravity towards the “Blue Planet” many more times than once:

The odds? Not much at all. Way better than driving your car. There are many other ways to actually die faster, that you will be involved in daily and not give it a second thought.

Afraid of heights? I have known many a skydiver that wold feel unsafe on their two story house roof, clearing out gutters (way dangerous!), yet be there in freefall beginning at 13,000 feet with the biggest grin on their face you’d ever witness on a human being…quite honestly, from 20 ft, there’s no time for your canopy to deploy, therefore, it’s really scary!

The world looks flat (for the most part), from such heights, even in the low thousands for static line jumps, and the visual cues that make you queasy at 20 feet don’t have the same effect. Besides, a good jumpmaster is making you run through the “dive flow,” to enable the best conditions in your head to achieve success, once the plane is no longer cuccooning you (not even so) safely (but you think it’s a “perfectly good airplane” and that’s good enough for you at this point).

Consider this: The parachuting community, led by the United States Parachute Association (USPA) , begun about 40 years ago at the Parachute Club of America (PCA), has been, with the exception of the “Basic Safety Regulations (BSRs)” self regulating. The BSRs carry the weight of FAA regs, and are nothing to mess with, but is a fairly short, yet well determined list of the very basic safety do and don’ts. Scan them yourself in the Skydiver’s Information Manual (SIM) in Section 2.

Now, enough! Find the closest USPA Group Member drop zone (that means they play by the USPA rules…the ones that make the sport safe and fun…by checking here in the USPA Drop Zone Directory.

Go and make your smiling muscles do what they have never done before. I take no responsibility for the sore face muscles as a result, but I bet you won’t really care.

As a matter of my advice for the type jump to begin with, you ask? Do an Accelerated Freefall (AFF) course. If you can avoid the Tandem jump (which depends on the DZ), I’d just head straight to “doing it!” Being a not current now, but for many years Instructor and Jumpmaster, the fess the JMs and Is get paid are highly appreciated, but the far greater benefit is you will actually have skydived.

Telling your buds you “went skydiving” and did the Tandem “pony ride” thing is like pretending you flew the jet from LA to New York, when you actually sat in the back, eating peanuts and trusting the pilot. Do it for real and see what you have missed.

Oh, and the entire time in freefall is spent having fun, not staring at an altimeter, waiting for pull time…

I have this guy’s signature in my logbook! Lew Sanborn, USPA D-1 (expert license)Met him in CA jumping in 1996. A legend in the sport. And I have met many, many interesting people from all over the world, including Charlie Case…and he’s a legend of old timey jump days, too.There…that should put me higher on the search engines and still get useful info to the inquisitive among us.

Tracked back @: SteelJaw Scribe