Quick tip (egg crates) and Craft Finds!

  Hey guys,  Just a quick tip that I'm sure everyone knows, but I don't see a lot about.  When building squads of figures, I very often leave a lot of poieces off to make painting easier.  Keeping trak of all those spare bits (shoulder pads, weapons, backpacks etc) used to a pain, then I discovered egg cartons.

  Here in the states, our eggs come mostly in these cheap styrofoam (compressed, not beaded) cartons that are just great for 10 man squads.  We can also get 18 packs of eggs that have even more room.  These aren't that handy if you build and paint right away, but if you're like me, projects seem to drag on sometimes :)  Let the pictures speak...

All the squad members fit in the holes and the bases can go into they're own hole.  Makes finding all the parts easy!

In the hole is the shoulders, guns, and any flashy bits (grenades, purity seals etc) that I have for that guy.

I also managed to brave the local craft store (Hobby Lobby) and found some great sales today.  Check these out...

2 pack texture mats for making cakes.  Cooks use this for Fondant for cakes to texture it, we can use it to make a ton of bases.  This could also be used for molding floor textures and lots of stuff.  Super cheap too

Again, Some very cool texture molds for Green stuff or putty or whatever your basing weapon of choice is.

  So, that's it for today!  Hope everyone had a great holiday!  See ya soon!

Take it apart, there's bits inside!

  In the shot over there on the left is just a sample of the pile of bits I made by taking apart two old DVD players I had lying around. Quite the haul, I think, and all this was for about 15 minutes work.  This was 2 old DVD players that are now gone, not used, kaput!

  (As an aside, I bought the Blu-Ray for the bedroom so we could watch Blu-Ray movies in there, chiefly, the UltraMarines movie I just picked up on Blu-Ray.  Yes, I am that guy who thinks that movie doesn't suck all that bad.)

But anyhow, from just these two drives, let me take you through the pile.

- 6 good motors that can either be speed controlled via battery size, or a decent potentiometer.  Automate the turret on that Predator, I think maybe?  The motors are small enough to also be used for the turret on my StormRaven, who knows?

- Gears! Everything from scenery effects to using them for that Turret!  There are different gears in there, but the ones that have the attached belt and pulley are screaming to be added to my Generator scenery piece.

How do you say thanks to everyone you've ever known?

  It's the truth, it's Veteran's Day (observed) and I am trying to figure out how to say thank you to everyone I have ever known...

  Most of my friends are Vets themselves, so I have to thank them for serving with me and making my career an awesome experience.  We have, in part or in whole, all served together in peace and in war, and we came through unscathed.  We have lost some friends along the way, on the field and off duty, but we continue on.  I cannot thank you all enough for making my life what it is, and what it shall be.  We are all shaped by our environment, they say, and if that is the case, I am well shaped :)  (Even after losing 70 pounds..  25 more to go :)

  My friends that were not in the military all put up with me being in the military all those years, so I owe them a thanks as well.  It is sometimes not easy to hang around military folks.  We can break long-made plans at a moments notice if the phone rings and we "have to go".  And then there is our way of talking.  The military has acronyms for everything, and even a book to clarify what acronym means what in a certain context.  Listening to a conversation about work between military guys can be like listening to a foreign language.  So thanks everyone who put up with all that!!

  My co-workers.  Well, most of them are military or civil service, or prior military or guard or reserve… you get the picture.  I have to Thank them because they are active duty or in the same boat as me.  So, thanks all you AD guys who are still "hackin' the Mish".  You're doing yourselves proud!

  My family, well, you were screwed all those years ago.  You had to deal with it… :)  But I do thank you for blazing the trail for me :)

  So there you go, I have to go out there and thank everyone I know for serving or putting up with my serving.

  This is gonna cost a fortune in Thank You cards… I'm buying stock in Hallmark!

lol, Thanks everybody, and stay frosty!

Top Gun Day! Osama Dead Laden et al

Yep, 25 years ago today, the movie came out.  Joy of joys, huh?  What a great flick (at the time).  Watching it now reminds me of how campy it really was.  Kind of like Red Dawn!  Still, it's a fun movie to watch, even now.

It's also Friday the 13th.  My favorite day, always been good to me!

So, Osama bin Laden... dead?  Maybe...  Here is one for you conspiracy nuts.

If we captured him alive and told the world about it, we would have to keep him in a glass cage so everyone could see how well he was treated and 3,247 lawyers from around the world would make up his defense team.  22 years from now a jury might be able to convict him for shoplifting at the Allah-Mart in Riyadh.

But... if we took him alive but told everyone that we double-tapped him in the head, buried him at sea and gave him all the proper muslim rites, nobody could be the wiser.  So, hopefully, he is rotting in some cell at a secret CIA torture house and being pumped for info.  If nothing else, lets get his bank account passwords :)

All I know is this, people are making too much about Pres. Obama, and Hillary and the picture of her being shocked.  Let it go folks, you weren't there (unless you were there...) and you don't know.  The President and his team made a great call to go forward with a very touchy mission and the US Military did their normal Shit-Hot job of making it happen.  A big toast to everyone from the President on down to the little Airman 1st class that made it happen!

Travelling, what could be worse?

Another day of traveling across this great country. I don't so much mind the traveling, I actually enjoy it. I did not enjoy paying $25 just to have clean underwear next week. Bag fees are enough to piss of the pope. But what can we do? It's not like we could all boycott the airlines...

I think what bothers me most is the absolute lack of control you have when traveling. First is the degrading barefoot march after disrobing for the TSA. That itself is on the verge of humiliating for some folks. It's also the first step for losing control. From that moment on, your day, and your life, is squarely in the hands of other people. Nothing you do is going to bring a delayed plane in any faster. No amount of angry venting is going to un-overbook the flight. No prayer known is going to decrease the weight of the fleshy flier in the seat next to you.

I suspect this is the same feeling for most folks. When you travel by air, you're in the hands of aviation professionals who, sometimes, aren't very professional. They are entirely human however, you may want to remember that, Mr. Seat 18b. You should not have called that lady that name. Granted, she is the visible source of your frustration, but she is also just a drone who knows how to do very few things. One thing she does besides call of boarding rows is RE-BOOK FLIGHTS. So, if you're really wondering why I got on the next flight out, with a please and a "thank you ma'am", and you're still stuck at O'Hare... Go figger.

So, I guess my anxiety and frustration usually just stems from that helpless feeling you get when you become a faceless number in a crowd of "passenger 57s". Whenever you surrender that elusive feeling of control to someone else, or a bunch of someone elses, this is what happens. Maybe this is why drunks and druggies don't hate airports? They never feel "in control" anyhow.

Then there are the seats. Airplane seats are designed to dehumanize you, of this I am sure. Now, I am not a small person by any stretch, but I am also not the fleshy flier either. My arse fits quite comfortably into the seat. Alas, like most humans I was born also with shoulders. The shoulders and arms are what simply do not fit on aircraft. I usually try to have a window seat, but I still don't know what to do with that other hand. It always hangs over the seat divider. So sorry, guy who came after me, this is MY armrest, go find your own. You actually end up flying the whole time holding your arms in, and god are they sore after a 5 hour flight.

Today was a good day, all my flights were on time, the seat next to me was empty and the weather was just fine. What happens at the car rental, who knows....

And that was American airlines. Today, the far end of my trip, I fly Delta. I have a new theory. Delta sux donkey arse. I guess thats a statement and not a theory so much. On American airlines, I felt like the people listened to me and my concerns. They didn't do anything about them (drones can't make substantive changes), but they listened. On Delta it's just, shove your arse on board and let's go. Flying through their major hub in Atlanta is a guarantee of at least a one hour delay.

I love flying. I hate airlines and airports

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:35,000ft above America

D-Day, 66 Years Later ... Lest we forget.

A wreath is laid on the tomb of US soldier Edward M. Withers, from Wisconsin, who died on July 12, 1944, at the Colleville US cemetary, western France, Sunday June 6, 2010, on the 66th anniversary of the D-Day. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

The message delivered from General Eisenhower just before the Invasion began

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.  But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!  Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

So that we do not forget the great debt we owe the men and women of the U.S., Britain, France, Canada, Russia and all the rest of the world that were fighting the Nazi's on this day 66 years ago...  Here are some links to sites about the Normandy Invasion

Encyclopedia Brittanica Interactive History

Wikipedia D-Day Site

Let us never forget.

Man's best friend...

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.  He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.  When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?''  This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.  'Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.'  The man gestured, and the gate began to open.  'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.  'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'


The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.  As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.  'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?'  'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.' 'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog. 'There should be a bowl by the pump.'  They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.  The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.  'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.  'This is Heaven,' he answered. 'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.' 'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell.'  'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?' 'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

Author unknown but I've been told that this story was presented in an episode of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone".

Goodbye iWeb, Hello WordPress!

Let me start by saying... Arggggghhhh.

I used to have a blog on my Apple website.  Then I realized that it wasn't updating.  In fact, I had made several updates over the last year and none of them were posted.  They exist in iWeb, but they don't seem to come out on the real web.

Needless to say, my Apple Hosted, iWeb driven blog is dead, long live my WordPress blog!

Now, to figure out how to get my old entries over to here...

Ok, now I'm in trouble...   Teacher caught me.  I'm in class and I managed to log into wordpress, make a blog, start working on it and he finally catches me.  I do love this iPad!!

Tim Russert, too young to go!

Wow, Tim Russert.  All those years of “meet the press”.

I’m truly at a loss, as I’m sure his friends, family and colleagues are.  A real journalist, reporter and a true example of the 4th estate.

As some of you know, I don’t hold many members of the press these days in high esteem.  I have a bad habit of holding them up to the light of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, to which they pale greatly.  Mr. Russert didn’t.  He knew when to ask the hard questions, when to back off a bit and he moderated Meet the Press with alot of style over the years.  Anyone who can do that is pretty damn talented.

Godspeed to you, and blessings and prayers to your family, friends and colleagues.

Some snippets from around the web...

Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown ordered that all flags on city property be lowered immediately to half-staff in Russert's honor.

Russert was born May 7, 1950, in Buffalo, New York. His parents were Timothy John Russert Sr., or "Big Russ," a newspaper truck driver and sanitation worker, and Elizabeth Russert.

Before joining NBC, Russert served as press secretary for former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and as chief of staff to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

During his 17-year run as the host of "Meet the Press," the longest of any host in the show's 60-year history, Russert earned the respect and admiration of many journalists and politicians.

He was also the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including an Emmy in 2005 for his coverage of the funeral of President Ronald Reagan.

"I just loved the guy. He had this enthusiasm about all of the things that life brings to you," said James Carville, who often attended Washington National games with Russert. "My wife and I are in a complete state of utter shock."

F-22, The Death Knell for my Air Force.

Please understand, I love the USAF.  I retired after 25 years of service with the USAF, and I have almost no regrets about my service, in any circumstance.  My true regret is that my Air Force is dead, it will not come back, the USAF no longer deserves to be a separate service and it’s filled with pansies who run around in officer’s clothing.

To prove my point, you have to go back to WWII.  I know, these days that is anathema to USAF officers.  They are taught to look forward, carefully, inside the box and with a careful grasp of the risks involved.

Before WWII, President Roosevelt selected Gen. Marshall to be the boss of the US Military machine.  That day, we won WWII.  I know, it hadn’t been declared yet, but we won.  Marshall cleaned house, ridding the military of the hidebound officers that ran the military and pulled in guys that understood the next war would be won by military machines, supporting the doughboys in the field.  The tank, the airplane, the carrier and the submarine would rule the world, not the trench and machine gun.  Marshall knew that peacetime leaders make shitty wartime leaders.  He hired Bradley, Eisenhower, Patton, Hap Arnold, Stillwell, Nimitz and other guys that could do the job, alot of them junior to other guys...

Now, we spin the way-back machine forward to this day and age.  The USAF has forgotten the lessons of the past.  You know, the ones that made us a separate service...  Close Air Support....

Iron bombs falling on the enemies head... (Your knee in the enemies chest, knife at his throat...)

Yes, SAC was a huge factor in the development of the USAF and the end of the cold war.  Problem is, we won.

Guess what, the fighter guys made SAC go away, along with research and development.  Now we have the F-22, the biggest waste of money in US History.  NEWSFLASH... if the bad guys nail ONE of these $500 MILLION dollar abortions with a $25 million SAM, THEY WIN.  Yes, they are cooler than sliced bread, but guess what, in virtually any next war scenario, they are USELESS.  But fighter guys promote fighter guys.  Transporters, tankers and the bomb droppers are all second fiddle to guys who pay more attention to risk management and accident avoidance than to innovation, leadership and a will to get things done.

Risk aversion, management and avoidance is now the benchmark by which officers are promoted.  There is a feeling in the USAF that good officers can actually prevent accidents.  Enlisted people are sent to risk management classes while officers are taught risk management as a leadership methodology.

Chuck Horner must be sick to his stomach - WHO DARES, WINS!!!!!!!

Not in this USAF, today we promote the guy who has no DUI’s in his squadron and no accidents.  We don’t avoid unnecessary risk anymore, we avoid all risk.  People die in the war business, get over it.  The same risk managers managed to fly a loaded B-52 across the country with some very hot cargo.  The pendulum didn’t stop there either.  In fact, it cost the SECAF and COS USAF their jobs.  They were risk managers who failed.  (Pansies)

Without the primary purpose of the USAF, our leaders are not forced to think outside the box.  They’re stuck so far in it that they can’t see the sides.  We write mission statements on every wall, but we don’t grasp what the hell the primary goal of war-fighters must be, victory over ANY enemy.  USAF guys die in war today while doing army type jobs, why?  Because we forgot that our mission is to SUPPORT the guy on the ground, taking the territory, house by house if need be.  How does the vaunted F-22 and CV-22 help that effort?  (Hint, they don’t)

What is the primary purpose of the USAF?  Support, wether you call it the air and space force or not, no risk manager flying at 41,000 feet takes ground.  The 21 year old PFC on the ground takes ground and holds it.

Consider the A-10 and the F-22.  The A-10 has a purpose, the F-22 has a goal.  The A-10 supports the ground pounders in every way imaginable.  The F-22 is the best air superiority fighter EVER.  Too bad that killing the enemy 1 at a time in the air while they push their human waves into Seoul, or unify the USSR means WE LOSE.  God help us if Putin or the Chinese ever get fiesty, we will lose.  We have forgotten how to support the soldier on the ground.  Add to that, we will never promote the guy that suggests we try to remember it.  We retire the H-53 so we can make room for the CV-22, a wonderful hybrid that does nothing well, and everything slowly.

My USAF is stuck on gadgets and budgets.  The day we told the army they couldn’t have fixed-wing ground support aircraft of their own is the day we lost the right to be our own service.

I suppose it’s fair that the USAF banked it’s future on the acquisition of 600 F-22s and now has to make do with 170 of them.  Yes, that decision is going to cost the blue suiters everything.  While I feel for the enlisted guys and junior officers, I think it’s only fair for the twaddling senior officers who cared more for their promotions than the good of the USAF (Yes, that means you, Col Stein.)

Now where are you and where is the USAF.  You’re a trivial memory and the USAF is worse for your service, self serving as it was.

We had a slim chance with Gen. Dugan,  a real man in a blue suit, but we instead opted for McPeak.  A vegetarian pansy who couldn’t be in the same room with Chuck Horner lest his privates shrink to where he couldn’t find them again.  McPeak’s great contribution to the USAF,  V-neck tee shirts and the “Year of training” that took 10 years to recover from.  If you ever read this, General, may you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome for the rest of your life for not having the balls to LEAD.

If any USAF officer reads this, please learn one thing.  Leadership is not promotion, it’s putting your ass on the line when it counts and STAYING there.  Command, don’t manage.  Lead, don’t mitigate risk.

Sooner or later, my beloved USAF will go back to green suits, and they deserve it for not having guts.  Hap Arnold proved we could do it, McPeak and his ilk proved we didn’t know what to do once we had it.

It’s kind of sad, but at least when we get re-absorbed into the Army, we won’t have to keep looking for some Air force warcry that none of our pansy ass leaders can seem to settle on.  We don’t have traditions because we don’t deserve them.  Gen Arnold would be in tears if he could see what we have done with his legacy.  I, for one, would like to apologize to Generals Arnold, Spaatz, and Eaker.  They had a dream, realized it, and thank GOD they don’t have to see it washed away by senior leaders who are watching the stock market more than the National Intelligence Reports and getting us ready for the next one.

HooooAH! (Learn it, blue suiters... and find a good tailor.  Green will be in soon.)

D + 23360, God Bless the Vets!

It has been 64 years since thousands upon thousand of American, British and Canadian soldiers stormed ashore, or jumped from aircraft to begin the liberation of Europe from Fascist domination.  (Oh, where are they now, when we need them here...)  Casualties for the campaign on both sides were high;

• Germany 30,000 killed, 80,000 wounded, 210,000 missing


• USA 29,000 killed, 106,000 wounded/missing


• UK 11,000 killed, 54,000 wounded/missing


• Canada 5,000 killed, 13,000 missing/wounded

Of course, Eisenhower led the whole thing, got 5 stars, headed NATO and was elected president.  Not bad for a lifetime.  Check out this quote...

On January 17, 1961, Eisenhower gave his final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office.  In his farewell speech to the nation, Eisenhower raised the issue of the Cold War and role of the U.S. armed forces. He described the Cold War saying: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method..." and warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals and continued with a warning that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Do you think he saw the Bush administration coming?

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?

Wow.  Every now and then I catch this show on TV.  It amazes me.  Last night a Magna Cum Laude school teacher didn’t know that the Danube river was on the continent of Europe.

O M F G

Is all I can really say.  Are people today really that ignorant?  Have the cell phone owning, texting generation really taken over the schools?  Are kids really being taught like this?  I could understand if they were getting all the contestants from Mississippi and New Mexico, but they're not.  This girl was a MAGNA CUM LAUDE graduate of her college and had trouble with every question, real toughies like “how many centimeters are in 3.5 meters?”  I do not blame her for her ignorance, mind you.  It was her wedding day and she just may have had other things on her mind, like her tats showing, both ankle and back.  Yep, her tramp stamps were in full view.  And get this, her husband was ALSO a teacher and didn’t know the meter/centimeter question.  How cool is that?

Did you know they have NEVER given away the grand prize on that show?  The $1 Million prize, for answering 11 5th grade questions has NEVER been given away!!!  How brilliant are that show’s producers?  God bless ‘em!  11 questions, 1 million bucks! WOW.

Am I saying I could do it?  NOPE!  I got one wrong yesterday (Who invented Penicillin?  I forgot about Fleming and for some odd reason thought it was Jonas Salk?)  I bet I would have looked funny standing there all smug and been called wrong...

Is the show a dumbed down Jeopardy?... you bet it is.  It’s Jeopardy for the text message crowd.  The ones too ignorant to know better and too stupid to do anything about it.  I have never minded ignorance, but when you are and you know it, and do nothing, you cross the line into the realm of the stupid... and then I despise you.

Here is some fun... a quick quiz for you 5th grade graduates out there... be honest, how did you do?  And then there is the Salina, Kansas 8th grade test hoax that I post here. That really is not an 8th grade test, it is a test developed for the teachers to make sure they knew what they were doing.  Just as the internet seems to screw everything around, this is no different.  For years this has circulated trying to make us all feel dumb.

All I can say is I thank god I was educated when and where I was.  A reason I love living in New Mexico is the feeling of superiority I get when I walk around...  after all, we’re 50th in education, and it pervades every part of our existence here.

Rethinking AIDS in Africa - mind blowing....

Wow, I like this lady alot.  She really makes you think about things in a new way!  By looking at AIDs from an economic standpoint and re-examining the assumptions made already, she really turns the epidemic upside down.  Her points were validated when the UNAIDS foundation revised it’s estimates of the number of world-wide AIDs patients way down.  But like she says, growth of the epidemic is still way up.  I love how she addresses policy issues, without trying to say who should do what, she just says we need to think again... long and hard, about how we need to fight this scourge.

Here is a link to her talk at TED... it’s a VERY good watch.

TED | Talks | Emily Oster: What do we really know about the spread of AIDS? (video)

And here is some links to her other works;

TED | Speakers | Emily Oster

Check this out, you won’t be disappointed.  (Well, maybe you will if you think we should just ignore AIDs.)

President's Day

It’s Presidents’ Day, a holiday which itself has a weird and winding history. In honor of all of the U.S. Presidents who have graced the White House and fearlessly led our country, here (in no particular order) is a list of 10 of the weirdest things you (probably) never knew about some of our Commanders-In-Chief.

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt (President #32) was related in some way to 11 former U.S. Presidents.

2. James Garfield, the 20th president, was a professor of ancient languages; he was also ambidextrous. He is said to have been able to write in Latin with one hand while writing in Greek with the other.

3. John Tyler, the 10th president, fathered an impressive 15 children. He was in his 70s when the 15th child was born.

4. The tall stovepipe hat that Abraham Lincoln (President #16) is usually depicted wearing was, in fact, a useful wardrobe device. He stored important papers inside of it.

5. Our 17th President, Andrew Johnson, was born poor and could not read until the age of 17, when he met his future wife and she tutored him in reading, public speaking, and mathematics. He was later very nearly lynched in Virginia and forced to flee his home in Tennessee when he opposed the South’s secession from the Union.

6. The 22nd and 24th president, Grover Cleveland, was drafted in the Civil War but paid a substitute $150 to take his place so he could stay behind to care for his mother and sisters. Cleveland wasn’t widely criticized for this move: the Conscription Act of 1863 expressly permitted such a substitution.

7. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was reported to be a very interesting character. When not having his head massaged with Vaseline during breakfasts in bed or riding his own mechanical bull, he was ringing the White House doorbell and then running off to hide.

8. So far, all American presidents have claimed ancestry limited to one or more of just seven nationalities: Dutch, English, German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss, and Welsh.

9. Grover Cleveland was the only president to openly admit that he had fathered an illegitimate child. When the allegations came out during his presidential campaign, he instructed his staff to tell the truth about the child. In reality, it was never determined whether Cleveland was the child’s real father; he paid child support because he was the only single man among the mother’s suitors.

Farewell, Roy Scheider

Well, it was a day of mixed emotion.  Odd, I guess.  One of my personal favorite actors, Roy Scheider passed away Sunday afternoon.  He may not seem like a hollywood notable to many, but I was always impressed by him.  When I was younger, probably 12-13 I saw him at the Godspeed Opera house in a production of “Richard III” and he was really good.  He then, of course, went on to do other things, all with reasonable success.  I have to say, I really enjoyed 2010 with him as the lead.   Anyhow, all my best to his family in this sad time for them.

Roy Scheider, Actor in ‘Jaws,’ Dies at 75 - New York Times

Happy Winter-een-mas!!!!

HAPPY WINTER-EEN-MAS to one and all, and to all a good week!

It’s that week of the year again, the geek holiday, the gamers week. All you who play Guitar Hero, BioShock, HALO 3 or whatever can revel this week, knowing that this is YOUR week to lose time, money, friends or whatever!

For the few (I hope) of you that don’t know WEMas, here are some links for you... It’s ok to feel some shame about not knowing, it’s not ok to not learn!

The Winter-een-Mas main page

Winter-een-mas FAQ

Fear me!

Yes, yes.  you may all stand up now, no need to bow in my presence...

I actually did this to an arrow at the range today.  Thank god I had the iphone to record the moment, since nobody would believe me.  I do have witnesses though, and the dead arrow!

It’s kinda tough to possess skills like these, but I do a damn good job of keeping everyone else striving to reach the standards I set....

(Wow is it ever thick in here.)

Reflections of a Life... RIP Bobby Fischer

REYKJAVIK (AFP) — Chess legend Bobby Fischer, the troubled high school dropout whose fabled 1972 victory over Soviet world champion Boris Spassky made him a Cold War hero, has died at the age of 64 at his home in Iceland.

"I can confirm that he died yesterday in his home due to an illness," close friend Gardar Sverrisson told AFP. Fischer was reportedly hospitalized for a period last year.

Sad, a very sad day for us all, especially the U.S. Government.  I would like to write my own thoughts about Mr. Fischer, but a friend, Dr. Jerry Pournelle, did it better than I could ever do... he is, after all, a writer of some decent repute.  Again, I quote...

“The notion that Fischer was a criminal for playing chess in defiance of the US government has always struck me as one of the most bizarre happenings in our history. He wasn't the personable kind of hero who might have aroused the American people in protest of what was, clearly, an unconstitutional act intended to reduce citizens to subjects: the beginning of the process that the TSA exists to continue.

He may have been the greatest chess player of all time. Certainly he was the equal of anyone living in his time. The imbecility of the US government petulantly deciding that he was a criminal because he played a chess match in defiance of the US government's policies of intervention in the territorial disputes of Europe continues to amaze me.

An anti-Semitic Jew, arrogant, violently individualistic -- and the greatest chess player of his time. He wasn't the sort of person who would win any great sympathy from the masses, or even from his admirers. He wasn't likable, and thus many who might have protested against the arrogance of the government thought it all served him right. After his government made him a criminal for playing in a chess match, his hatred of the United States made him even more odious to all. And yet, his loss of liberty is our loss.”

If that doesn’t sum it up, I don’t know what else could.

To be made a criminal, for doing what you do, and do well.  Amazing.  And yet, what law did he really break, save for violating a sanction imposed by the government against trade and “artistic endeavors”.  <sigh>  Had he had a personality, or even the media coverage that CNN/MSNBC bring about today, the travesty would have been undone in moments.  Although... we are in the Bush era.  (Is it not sad that we must refer to this as an era, not an administration?)