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GRAFFITI -- August 04, 2008 thru August 10, 2008 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

MONDAY    Tues    Wed    Thu    Fri    Sat    Sun   
August 4, 2008

No Post.

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August 5, 2008

1945 - Good evening. Not dead yet. Well, not even dying. But when I keep leaping up from the "No Post" cart with more to say (or nothing more to say, as the circumstance warrants), the phrase seems appropriate. Anyway, if you're interested in what's happening with the science, instead of the Climate Media Circus, check this out: http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-blog. There's a lot of actual data there, and links to useful data that don't jive with the way Gore Wants To Go. Ciao!

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August 6, 2008

No Post...

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August 7, 2008

Row 1 - Normal rainfall Glenn Dale Bell Station, 1921-1987

1940 - Good evening. A little light last month, with 3.72 inches. We're on track for August, though, taking a full inch in two passes today alone. Not much else to report. Ciao!

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August 8, 2008

1939 - Good evening. It's not just here. In the larger sense, I find myself unmotivated. I lack the fire to attack something, some project or goal, anything, with much in the way of vigor. No worries, I continue to be as busy as a beaver trying to rebuild the dam that the termite colony keeps eating. But they're all small projects, near-term goals. I'm quite certain that some of my lack of enthusiasm is related to the fact that UMUC declined to accept any of the credits from my time at UC Santa Cruz. They just took some of the SJSU and Chabot credits.

So I'm faced with not just three years worth of full-time student work that needs completing (and paying for), but a not-insubstantial amount of ... idiocy. English 101? I had a 1350 combined SAT back before dilution. I was reading Shakespeare when all of the "advisors" at the school weren't yet born. So far, I have only had instructors who can't construct a proper sentence in English to save their lives. Yet, they want to teach me to write. At UCSC, I prosecuted Sophocles. Yet, they want to me take History. And they probably want me to take the watered-down PC crap that stands in for history these days... I'd better not say. I like classical art, and many things up to perhaps the mid-1940's, not the polycultural or inane retarded monkey feces that is modern art. I read and watch physics for fun (and for learning), on my own hook.

I'm just not sure that I want to spend the amount of time being angry and frustrated that getting a degree is likely to entail. But that's the big goal right now, and I don't know what to do about it yet. So I'm stuck in the moment, and I don't like that much.

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August 9, 2008

No Post......

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August 10, 2008

2001 - Good evening. Well, I did say that I manage to stay busy. Yesterday I got the oil changed in Marcia's car, and washed both our rides. Then we went over to Linda's so that I could help with a couple of projects needing tools I had and she didn't. I snaked out the tub drain, installed a ceiling fan, and installed the cherry threshold piece that I made for her sewing room. Then she took us out to Lido Pizza (let me know if that link works - it kills Firefox dead on my box) - the website may be tricky, but the pizza is awesome. And yesterday, the meat lovers calzone was awesome, too.

Today's chores were shopping, yardwork, schoolwork, and now I've got Jerry's column to format for the world. But I don't like to miss the Sunday posts...

I admit to having hoped that there were no new casualties to report this week. That there were only three last week was better than I expected, too. But hope exists, it seems, to be dashed against the rocks of reality. Eighteen service members were reported killed in the last week. Sigh. I'm so, so very proud of our fighting men and women. They're being asked to do a hell of a job, having to hold a couple of places together (a job for constables) after having been sent to break them (which is what armed services are supposed to do). Our condolences to the families and units of the fallen.

• Spc. Kevin R. Dickson, 21, of Steelville, Mo., died Aug. 2 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.
• Spc. David J. Badie, 23, of Rockford, Ill., died Aug. 1 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
• 2nd Lt. Michael R. Girdano, 23, of Pennsylvania, died Aug. 1 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. William J. Mulvihill, 20, of Leavenworth, Kan., died Aug. 1 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
• Pvt. Jair De Jesus Garcia, 29, of Chatsworth, Calif., died Aug. 1 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. Andre D. Mitchell, 25, of Elmont, N.Y., died July 31 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident.
• Pfc. Jennifer L. Cole, 34, of American Canyon, Calif., died Aug. 2 in Bayji, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.
• Sgt. Ryan P. Baumann, 24, of Great Mills, Md., died Aug. 1, on Route Alaska, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
• Staff Sgt. Brian K. Miller, 37, of Pendleton, Ind., died Aug. 2 in Abd Allah, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident.
• Sgt. Jaime Gonzalez, Jr., 40, of Austin, Texas, died Aug. 3 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his vehicle encountered a mine.
• Sgt. Gary M. Henry, 34, of Indianapolis, Ind., died Aug. 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when debris from an improvised explosive device detonation on an overpass fell onto his vehicle.
• Spc. Jonathan D. Menke, 22, of Madison, Ind., died Aug. 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when debris from an improvised explosive device detonation on an overpass fell onto his vehicle.
• Capt. Garrett T. Lawton, 31, of Charleston, W.V., died Aug. 4 while supporting combat operations in Herat province, Afghanistan.
• Pvt. Timothy J. Hutton, 21, of Dillon, Mont., died Aug. 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.
• Spc. Ronald A. Schmidt, 18, of Newton, Kan., died Aug. 3 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident in Ashraf, Iraq, on Aug. 2.
• Sgt. Errol M. James, 29, of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, died Aug. 4 at Forward Operating Base Torkham, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident.
• Master Sgt. Danny E. Maybin, 47, of Columbia, S.C, died Aug. 7 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as the result of a non-combat related incident.
• Petty Officer Second Class Anthony M. Carbullido, 25, of Agat, Guam, died Aug. 8, in Sangatesh, Afghanistan, from injuries suffered when his convoy vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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