Conciderations

I'm currently looking into the purchase of my first personal firearm. I've settled on the maker (Glock), but have met some indecision as to the caliber weapon I want. I do want the "stopping power" of the larger calibers, but want my wife to be able to use it without it knocking her on her butt. I'm thinking something along the lines of a .40. The .357 would be impressive...but the whole recoil thing could be a problem. I shall continue my research.

They say they don't support the troops...

I was amazed to hear a story that somehow didn't involve tragity about a Marine in Iraq. Here it is: USMC sniper metes out swift death in Iraq

He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq — and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away.

I was shocked and amazed. The media has hid stories like this for the duration of the war under piles of "grim milestone" stories. I noticed at powerline they had linked to the site that shall not be named and thier response to this article. I was surprised by some of the responses, as I still expected some kind of "I support the troops"-type response...but no. Some were downright cruel in the attitude they took. Some tolerance these people exemplified.

Now...on to my personal note. This guy's good. Based on the information given in the article, LCpl Wilson is not actually a part of a sniper team (and thus not armed with the impressive .50 caliber rifle). It sounds like this guy is pulling this off with his M-16 (probably A4 with a scope)...which is impressive.

During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.

This is awesome. It takes a second for the rifle to settle after a shot. He's pretty quick. I want to see more articles like this in the future. Let's hear about more of my fellow Marines and the tasks they do and the sacrifices they have made to keep us at home more secure.

Template update

With several of my college friends starting blogs, I finally added the appropriate buttons to my sidebar. I've been thinking of making a network of sorts somehow attached to myspace, but I haven't totally figured out how I will do this.

5-mile run results

Yesterday, I ran my first 5-mile run at the Washington Town & Country Fair 5-mile run/5K walk. I think I did ok, but the humidity was a time killer. I finished at 41:28...which gives me a 8:18 pace...which I can't complain too much about. The results will be published this week and I'll update my running resume then.

The course was pretty challenging...especially on hills (my specialty). I watched many people pass me until a set of hills would slow them down, then I would power my way up the thing, passing them on the way to the crest. Traffic also made it interesting, as every so often, you'd come around a corner to be surprised by an oncoming car. I did wish it had been a little better organized. Although we preregistered, they still didn't have our information ready there. All-in-all, it was a fun run.

Best welcome mat ever...

Apartment update...of sorts

Well, I think we have the last of the paperwork in for the apartment. We'll see what happens next.

Angry Marine post of the day

"The response is unjustified," Komati said.

I know plenty of Marines that would love to make an "unjustified response" to Hezbollah in return for some unpaid debts.

PT...it's good for you...PT...it's good for me...

Well, I've been changing my running program some due to the heat. I moved to a treadmill at the local college fitness center. I've been trying to push myself with the heavy use of inclines...as in a constant 5-degrees. The end result is an increase in running power over a 2-mile distance. My big hope is it develops my lungs as well (as that seems to be my current weakness). I want to be able to pull off a constant 5-degree hill climb for 3-miles in around 25 minutes. I feel that this will give me a good base (along with longer, easy-paced distance runs...about 8 miles) to do better 5K times (also PFT times).

At the same time, I've been really working with my shoulder muscles. Using the lat. pull-down machine, I'm trying to increase the weight while maintaining 25 repetitions on the first set. The main goal here is to get my pull-ups up to 20 consistantly. I've also been working heavily with dips and the military press to give several of the shoulder muscle groups a good workout. Unfortunately, the fitness center will be closed for 3 weeks next week.

As for evidence that my program is working...well, my wife seems to think there's been some additional muscle building around my shoulders and upper back. In addition, I have been making some progress in increasing weight on machines and free-weights. As for my runs, we have a 5-mile race this weekend. I'll see how I do there.

Why I have to watch my blood pressure

While doing my run today (on a treadmill in the fitness center), I watched the news...something I'm careful about doing these days. Unfortunately for me, I saw something that irritated me...alot. A reporter was talking about this:Hezbollah says Israeli response a surprise

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect
Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two Israeli soldiers.

Mahmoud Komati, deputy chief of the Hezbollah's political arm, also told The Associated Press that his group will not lay down arms.

His comments were the first time that a leader from the Shiite militant group has publicly suggested it miscalculated the consequences of the July 12 cross-border raid in which two Israeli soldiers were captured and three were killed.

"The truth is — let me say this clearly — we didn't even expect (this) response ... that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati.

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel.

Expliot? Wait one second. Who is doing the exploiting? Komati is admitting that Hezbollah was exploiting a "percieved" weakness (Israel's limited response) to get what they wanted. This is one example of the reason diplomacy doesn't always work. Ace said it best:

Diplomacy is a powerful tool. But it has one key weakness.

The word "No."

If you assume everyone wants peace and to co-exist happily ever after, diplomacy may work. This assumption is wrong in the real world, where there are some who are downright evil.

Got a call...

...and I now have an interview for an Info. Tech position. This could be very good, as it's at the same college as my wife, thus making commuting a breeze. We'll see how the interview goes on monday.

The funny part is that the ringer on my cell phone was the one for my wife (her work number is programmed in, and my phone doesn't differentiate between extentions). So I picked up the phone and gave an ultra-cheerie "Hellooooo." It took me about two sentences into the conversation to figure out it wasn't my wife. Oops. Well, the HR director probably thinks I'm just a happy guy now.

First Drill

I finished my first ever drill (a reservist session). I have to say, I really like my section...and my unit. Everyone was extremely helpful in pointing out where I needed to be and do. All in all, I'm happy with my unit (3/24 "Always Ready"). I will say, though...I'm really tired.

Apartment update

The last of our paperwork is in for our apartment. Hopefully, we'll hear in short order.

A new addition to the blogosphere

Yup, one of my college roomates has joined the masses with his new blog: The Dungan Domain. Head on over and see all the stuff they've already done to their new house. I'll be adding a button to his site soon.

Baci is sick...or something

Well, our cat, Baci, appears to be sick and coughing. I'd never heard a cat cough before...it's hard to tell the difference between it and a sneeze. Weird.

UPDATE: Not 30 seconds after writing this post, she hacked up a hairball. Joy.

Things that make you go, "wow"

Man Pulled From Women's Outhouse Tank

A man is facing charges after police said they pulled him from a tank under a women's toilet that was filled with human waste.

Police said that Gary Moody, 45, was under a log cabin outhouse off the Kancamagas Highway in Albany.

"You can draw your own conclusions as to the conditions we encountered," said Capt. John Hebert, of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department.

Police said that they got a call from the parents of a teenage girl who said that when she went to use the facilities, she saw Moody's face staring back at her from the hole.

The best line in a news article ever:

Moody was hosed off before police cuffed him.

Bahahahahahaha.

Great experiments in...um...well...cooking

One of my wife's favorite bragging points is that I like to cook. She leaves out that I generally cook two things:meat and cookies. I have made it my objective to perfect my recipies...in particular, my chocolate chip recipie. I believe, I have found...perfection. I call them, Flak's M292 Power Cookies. They are an excellent recovery snack after a good long run or bike ride. With the use of whole grain flour, it will keep you energized for the long-term...but, the chocolate chips give you that burst of sugar you need to keep going now. I have yet to decide if this will be a "secret" recipie, or something I spread about. Regardless, I know I have truely perfected the chocolate chip cookie. Muhahahahahahaha!

That's why...

I now am remembering why I wanted new tires on the Z. It's lightly raining, and I was probably 15 mph under my normal pace. Mainly because the back end was wandering about the whole road.

16 year old demonstrates greater maturity than some individuals over 35

Only in California:

About 25 revelers celebrated their freedom of speech and welcomed the Fourth of July on Monday night with the "2nd Annual Old Time American Flag Burn."

Around a burn barrel at Seabright State Beach, organizer Brent Adams, 41, of Santa Cruz, declared flag burning not a protest, but a celebration of the Constitution's First Amendment.

"It seemed like a good idea to burn some flags just because we can," added fellow organizer Sha Lar, 32, of Santa Cruz.

...

Poison Oak, 35, of Aptos, said he wanted to "reclaim the flag. Not only those who support President George W. Bush can wave the red white and blue."

Still, not everyone on the beach appreciated stars and stripes melting over the fire.

"I think they should keep it to themselves," said Bill Crawford, 16, of Aptos, who was on the beach with buddies Elijah Manchester and Jacob Kendall, both 16 and from Santa Cruz.

The trio looked away as flames consumed the large and small flags.

"To me this is what represents our nation and what represents our freedom," Manchester said. He questioned why the group would want to burn the symbol of free speech.

Wow.

Dumb debates

I dunno if it's the Marine thing...or just me, but please just say what you mean: Experts Debate Labeling Kids Obese

CHICAGO — Is it OK for doctors and parents to tell children and teens they're fat? That seems to be at the heart of a debate over whether to replace the fuzzy language favored by the U.S. government with the painful truth — telling kids if they're obese or overweight.

he diplomatic approach adopted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and used by many doctors avoids the word "obese" because of the stigma. The CDC also calls overweight kids "at risk of overweight."

Those favoring a change say the current terms encourage denial of a problem affecting increasing numbers of U.S. youngsters.

Under a proposal studied by a committee of the American Medical Association, the CDC and others, fat children would get the same labels as adults — overweight or obese.

Just say what you mean and mean what you say. Who cares about the "stigma" a word has. It makes the whole world simpler.

Apartment excitement

My wife and I are quite excited as we may be getting an apartment soon. It's a brand new facility...and it's only a mile away from my wife's workplace. That will save us about $100 in gas alone. In addition, we're currently washer/dryer hunting and believe we have found a suitable set in the Whirlpool Duet Sport. The sales this weekend are proving to be very fruitful.

We're also figuring our our bed situation and believe we have a couple choices that we're trying to select between. Look for lots of updates as we start sealing deals.

Sorry for the lack of updates...

...but I've been busy updating my life at home. It takes a few days. I'll be back to posting...including my anniversary gifts n'stuff. I may be getting some additional hosting, so we'll see if that will help out as well.