12:05 26 May 2003

I’m writing this and you’re reading this because of the actions and sacrifices of those brave men and women who have served in our armed forces, many of whom have lost their lives while performing their duties. Whether you agree or disagree with causes they fought for, whether you agree or disagree with the governments that decided to send them into battle, you cannot doubt the courage and determination that so many fine Americans showed or suggest that, even in the middle of Man’s destruction, man has so many times shown the very best within him.

The military tradition in my own family is neither long nor great, but even we have sent some of our own to the service or to war. One of my grandfather’s brothers died on the Bataan Death March in the dark days of early 1942. Another was captured when Corregidor surrendered and spent the rest of the Pacific War in a Japanese POW camp. My other grandfather flew (B-24 bombers, I think) in the Pacific. One of my wife’s grandfathers served in the Pacific with the Coast Guard. An uncle served in the Marines. A sister-in-law currently serves in the Air Force, and she’s currently stationed in the Persian Gulf.

Don’t ever forget what all those people have done for us. Don’t ever forget what so many have given for us.

08:24 23 May 2003

This is from a sailor on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is on it’s way home. (Click for a larger image.)

Whatever it takes to keep ‘em flying, I guess.

22:49 22 May 2003

There’s apparently rumor of a top secret “supertank” being designed by the Chinese that will be far superior to the US M-1. According to Strategy Page

The new Chinese tank is said to have a 152mm main gun, and use Russian technology for its composite and reactive armor and active laser defense (against anti-tank missiles.) No pictures of this new tank have surfaced, and it’s likely that the project has not even reached the prototype stage.

I’ll bet they’re designing one. In fact, I’ll bet EVERYONE is designing one. But coming up with a workable design, developing it, and producing it are what counts. I’ll believe it when I see it. And it will probably look like this:

23:01 22 May 2003

According to a May 14 story on Strategy Page, the troops aren’t terribly happy with their weapon selection for city fighting. Among the main points:

• They want more pistols. Many times a rifle is to unwieldy and cumbersome in close-quarters fighting, and the longer range and greater accuracy at range isn’t much of an issue. Also, they are a handy back-up weapon for when your primary weapon is out of action.
• The M249 squad automatic weapon (SAW) got heavy use and had quite a few problems over the long haul. Many simply wore out and fell apart. Not good when it’s the primary fire support weapon for your infantry squad. At least give the guy a pistol or something.
• However, the 9mm automatic pistol had problems, as well. The spring in the magazine was too weak, which caused problems when trying to fire. (Which is the whole point, isn’t it?) And bullets apparently fell out of magazines that weren’t loaded into the pistol.
• Along the lines of the request for more pistols, the infantry and crews of vehicles want something smaller and easier to use than an M16. Many used the M4 carbine (a true carbine, being basically an M16 rifle with a shorter barrel and stock.) But even this was a bit big, and many resorted to using captured AK-47s, which are about six inches shorter than an M4 and didn’t cost US taxpayers one red cent.

12:31 20 May 2003

Another Quizilla poll. Other than using “your” instead of “you’re” in the description, I have no problem being a wolf. Check it out.

12:35 19 May 2003

The newer new $20 bill includes the color peach to deter counterfeiters. Yakkk.

11:17 18 May 2003

George Lucas has said several times that he considers the Special Editions of the original three Star Wars films to be the final evolution, and since the original versions are nothing more than works in progress, they won’t ever be released to the public again. Remember, this is the same guy whose judgement brought us Ewoks, invented Jar Jar Binks, and selected Jake Lloyd to play young Anakin Skywalker after not giving Haley Joel Osmet a callback after the first reading for Anakin. Osmet rebounded by getting a bit part as a boy who sees dead people in “The Sixth Sense.” Since then, Osmet has been in several prominent films, and Lloyd has seen several prominent films.

Anyway, although I don’t really have a problem with the Special Editions, I really feel they are not the films that deserve the recognition as groundbreaking blockbuster cinema. I see the Special Editions as something along the lines of remixed music singles. Interesting, and maybe even superior in some ways, but not the real thing.

I came across OriginalTrilogy.com the other day. They have a petition to electronically sign asking Mr. Lucas to reconsider his position and release the original cuts of Episodes IV, V, and VI. I’m number 31,678. And even if their pleas for artistic integrity, cultural reverence, and quasi-religeous sanctity fall on deaf ears, there’s this:

Furthermore, we understand that you have commercial concerns and that you need to consider the financial viability of any home video product that you release. Perhaps a Limited Edition run of the original films along with a Special Edition release would be in order. This approach would sate niche market demand, while still targeting the general public and no doubt breaking home video sales records. We want it to be known that there is enormous demand for the original theatrical versions of the films. Your devoted fans would more than likely purchase both an Original Trilogy release as well as any Special Edition versions.

We all know he’s going to re-release the Star Wars films every couple of years anyway, so why doesn’t he just make one of them the orignal version, for the love of Yoda?

13:57 15 May 2003

The Safety Sign Builder by St. Clair, Inc. is fairly amusing. Check it out. Be the hit of the party. If you’re the sort that gets invited to parties.

     
Hat tip to Sparkey at SSDB.

13:02 15 May 2003

However, 18 is popping up quite a bit today in a pretty bad light:

18 Dead In Smuggling Tragedy on MSNBC.com

Bomb in Chechnya Kills 18 via The Command Post

Bombers Attack 18 Shell Stations In Pakistan via The Command Post

10:15 14 May 2003

Here’s the current headline pic from MSNBC.com. Notice the second WP story.

So us blaming them will “boost” relations with Saudi Arabia. Well, I’ve a whole list of things we can blame them for. We could be best buddies by the end of the week.

And for the “Blame America First”ers, I’d like to point out that this bombing in Saudi Arabia comes shortly after we announce plans to pull our military out of the country. See? It IS all our fault. They’d leave us alone if we’d just stop de-stabilizing the area.