Posts
- If you're interested in seeing what we've had done to our condo, click on the pix[^] and then either go through the pictures manually or click on the show button. The show button is much more fun but then you don't get to see the comment.
This all came about as a result of the nexus of several circumstances: - My desire to have a whirilpool tub
- Saying the heck with it and our decision to redo the whole master bathroom
- The sale of a rental property in Texas to fund major work by the Owner's Accociation
- The Association deciding not to do the major work
- Our realization that life is short
We certainly didn't start out with the idea of a major rennovation, but here we are and it is much more pleasant to enjoy our surroundings than it was to cash a small monthly rent check.
Anyway -come visit and enjoy it with us.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Our Rennovation
Sunday, April 30, 2006
May 1st – Demonstrations that our government has failed
May 1st – Demonstrations that our government has failed
Tomorrow on May 1st, a day synonymous with communism and communist movements we’ll reportedly have millions of illegals marching in the streets of major cities to show us their strength. Today I heard that not only will it be Hispanics but Muslims as well. The demonstrations are supported by state governments (California), churches (my own church, in California of course) and silly-assed feel good liberals of all stripes.
If the activities of May 1st do not move you to call your congressional representatives and take a stand, then: you, your grandchildren and all future generations deserve the results.
What are the results?
There is anarchy, a total disrespect for our laws and our sovereignty. We have no borders, certainly no national language (press 1 for English) and no national leaders willing to enforce the laws they have sworn to up hold.
Should our inept national leaders decide to implement the so called “compromise” that hasbeen discussed, those inept leaders will extend a form of citizenship to law breakers. You will hear statements in the current debate that these illegals are not law breakers, they’re simply people looking for a better life. Well, both statements are true but if a legal status is extended, the result will be horrific. Think not? Well, do the math.
Estimates tell us that there are 11,000,000 to 20,000,000 illegals currently in the country. Few of these are here with their families.
If we compromise and say it is 15,000,000 and the Senate and the president have their way, these 15,000,000 will be bestowed a legal status, the immediate impact will be twofold. First they’ll be able to lay claim on the entire range of social services, forcing higher taxes (property, income and sales) to support. Second they’ll be able to bring their families into the country. Now we can multiply the 15,000,000 by as much as 5, adding 60,000,000 to the population. That 60,000,000 would be on the lower end of the economic scale and ultimately be able to VOTE.
Get the picture?
60,000,000 new citizens or legal residents, considering a current population of 300,000,000 means the new population would represent 16% to 15% of our population, a dramatic shift in the demographics of our country. If you consider that more than half of our current population pays exactly no incomes tax, then in the future envisioned by the senate and silly-assed liberals, something like 65% of the population will pay no taxes and be able to vote. Guess how our professional politicians get elected. Here’s a hint, they promise the masses something for nothing. Here’s another question. How to they pay for the promise? Here’s a hint, if you pay taxes then the politicians are promising your money away and will be doing so on far more dramatic terms because they will have a larger, non-tax paying group to cater too.
Mad yet? Probably not. If you are, then what can be done?
Let me repeat. Call your legislatures. Call your representative. Call your senators. Call the Whitehouse.
For my money, what needs be done:
First:
Build a real fence on the southern border.
Second:
Actually enforce the law against both the illegals and the businesses that hire them
Third
One and two above are a start. I do realize that there is a need for foreign labor so we need a guest worker program. To do that correctly and in a manner that allows our laws to be enforced, we need to support the guest worker program with state of the art identification cards. Those cards would be issued not here but in countries where the workers (should) live. That includes many South American countries. Those cards would be issued by a US Government agency and be encoded with biometrics that identify the worker and possibly a GPS signal capability. Once a worker is qualified and issued a card that worker could then contact US employers via web-site that matched business needs to worker capabilities. Once the card is issued and an employer accepts the worker, then and only then can he come to the USA.
Fourth
Once the engagement between employer and worker is completed, the worker must leave. I believe the employer should fund transportation costs, something as simple as bus fare. If the ID card is GPS enabled then we'd know the location of the worker.
Fifth
Any illegal caught violating the law / rules would then lose all privileges of entry into the USA for all times.
What should be done if our government continues to fail us? Ultimately it is the citizens of the country who must be in control, after all our form of government is democratic and the people must speak and be heard.
How can we make them listen if they refuse?
A set of simple steps:
First
On January 1, submit a W-4 claiming 99 dependents. That will squeeze the nation's coffers since virtually no tax revenue will be collected.
Second
On January 1, cash in any and all government bonds, further squeezing the federal government.
Third
Cease any and all political contributions and when asked why, explain.
Fourth
On January 1, contact your mortgage company and get the paperwork you need to fill out that says you no longer want them to escrow for your property taxes. Then refuse to pay those property taxes – that will squeeze local governments just as we did with the federal government. It will takes years of action for the local government to do anything significant in the way of collection activity. The minute they take action pay the minimum necessary to get them off your back.
Fifth
On April 15th of the following year fill out the federal tax form that requests an automatic 4 month extension for your federal income taxes.
Sixth
On August 15th of that same year make your personal decision whether or not you’ll pay. My guess is that by that time the federal government will have gotten the message or the country would have imploded.
I’m not sure which is worse. An imploded national government or a country that has been handed over to an invading army, which is what is now taking place.
Summary
I believe our country is committing national suicide, for corporate greed and silly-assed liberal feel good notions. The next time someone explains to you that these people just want a better life, remember that they got here illegally and achieved employment by using falsified social security numbers and utilizing other falsified papers – so, extending a legal status to these people is extending a legal status to people who have already proven they have no respect for our laws.
The point is, we lose and lose big if you don’t do something. The “something” today is as difficult as making a couple of phone calls and making your voice heard. Later it gets much much worse.
Tomorrow on May 1st, a day synonymous with communism and communist movements we’ll reportedly have millions of illegals marching in the streets of major cities to show us their strength. Today I heard that not only will it be Hispanics but Muslims as well. The demonstrations are supported by state governments (California), churches (my own church, in California of course) and silly-assed feel good liberals of all stripes.
If the activities of May 1st do not move you to call your congressional representatives and take a stand, then: you, your grandchildren and all future generations deserve the results.
What are the results?
There is anarchy, a total disrespect for our laws and our sovereignty. We have no borders, certainly no national language (press 1 for English) and no national leaders willing to enforce the laws they have sworn to up hold.
Should our inept national leaders decide to implement the so called “compromise” that hasbeen discussed, those inept leaders will extend a form of citizenship to law breakers. You will hear statements in the current debate that these illegals are not law breakers, they’re simply people looking for a better life. Well, both statements are true but if a legal status is extended, the result will be horrific. Think not? Well, do the math.
Estimates tell us that there are 11,000,000 to 20,000,000 illegals currently in the country. Few of these are here with their families.
If we compromise and say it is 15,000,000 and the Senate and the president have their way, these 15,000,000 will be bestowed a legal status, the immediate impact will be twofold. First they’ll be able to lay claim on the entire range of social services, forcing higher taxes (property, income and sales) to support. Second they’ll be able to bring their families into the country. Now we can multiply the 15,000,000 by as much as 5, adding 60,000,000 to the population. That 60,000,000 would be on the lower end of the economic scale and ultimately be able to VOTE.
Get the picture?
60,000,000 new citizens or legal residents, considering a current population of 300,000,000 means the new population would represent 16% to 15% of our population, a dramatic shift in the demographics of our country. If you consider that more than half of our current population pays exactly no incomes tax, then in the future envisioned by the senate and silly-assed liberals, something like 65% of the population will pay no taxes and be able to vote. Guess how our professional politicians get elected. Here’s a hint, they promise the masses something for nothing. Here’s another question. How to they pay for the promise? Here’s a hint, if you pay taxes then the politicians are promising your money away and will be doing so on far more dramatic terms because they will have a larger, non-tax paying group to cater too.
Mad yet? Probably not. If you are, then what can be done?
Let me repeat. Call your legislatures. Call your representative. Call your senators. Call the Whitehouse.
For my money, what needs be done:
First:
Build a real fence on the southern border.
Second:
Actually enforce the law against both the illegals and the businesses that hire them
Third
One and two above are a start. I do realize that there is a need for foreign labor so we need a guest worker program. To do that correctly and in a manner that allows our laws to be enforced, we need to support the guest worker program with state of the art identification cards. Those cards would be issued not here but in countries where the workers (should) live. That includes many South American countries. Those cards would be issued by a US Government agency and be encoded with biometrics that identify the worker and possibly a GPS signal capability. Once a worker is qualified and issued a card that worker could then contact US employers via web-site that matched business needs to worker capabilities. Once the card is issued and an employer accepts the worker, then and only then can he come to the USA.
Fourth
Once the engagement between employer and worker is completed, the worker must leave. I believe the employer should fund transportation costs, something as simple as bus fare. If the ID card is GPS enabled then we'd know the location of the worker.
Fifth
Any illegal caught violating the law / rules would then lose all privileges of entry into the USA for all times.
What should be done if our government continues to fail us? Ultimately it is the citizens of the country who must be in control, after all our form of government is democratic and the people must speak and be heard.
How can we make them listen if they refuse?
A set of simple steps:
First
On January 1, submit a W-4 claiming 99 dependents. That will squeeze the nation's coffers since virtually no tax revenue will be collected.
Second
On January 1, cash in any and all government bonds, further squeezing the federal government.
Third
Cease any and all political contributions and when asked why, explain.
Fourth
On January 1, contact your mortgage company and get the paperwork you need to fill out that says you no longer want them to escrow for your property taxes. Then refuse to pay those property taxes – that will squeeze local governments just as we did with the federal government. It will takes years of action for the local government to do anything significant in the way of collection activity. The minute they take action pay the minimum necessary to get them off your back.
Fifth
On April 15th of the following year fill out the federal tax form that requests an automatic 4 month extension for your federal income taxes.
Sixth
On August 15th of that same year make your personal decision whether or not you’ll pay. My guess is that by that time the federal government will have gotten the message or the country would have imploded.
I’m not sure which is worse. An imploded national government or a country that has been handed over to an invading army, which is what is now taking place.
Summary
I believe our country is committing national suicide, for corporate greed and silly-assed liberal feel good notions. The next time someone explains to you that these people just want a better life, remember that they got here illegally and achieved employment by using falsified social security numbers and utilizing other falsified papers – so, extending a legal status to these people is extending a legal status to people who have already proven they have no respect for our laws.
The point is, we lose and lose big if you don’t do something. The “something” today is as difficult as making a couple of phone calls and making your voice heard. Later it gets much much worse.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Not a rant - just a good idea
The other day I needed to create a back up of a project that I've been working on. It is huge and I have been working on it for years so if it ever gets trashed I'd have a problem. when I tried to burn a CD I discovered that the result was unreadable, so I have a problem with the one high capacity media on my machine. This isn't a surprise as I have had this system for 5 or 6 years and it is wellpast it's prime. I still had to find a way to create the back up though because one thing is certain, if you think you need to back up something and don't then you'll soon regret it.
Here is what I did:
Identified the files I wanted to back up
Using winzip, zip up the files
Get on my Google gmail account and create yet another
Create an email from my old account to my new one
Attach the zipped file to the email and hit send
Now I have a redundant copy of those important file, 1 in my sent folder and 1 in my new in-box. Really works well, Google storing my files for me. Since they give you a little more than 2 gigabytes of space per account, I'm good for a while and have to find a new way to justify a new PC.
Here is what I did:
Identified the files I wanted to back up
Using winzip, zip up the files
Get on my Google gmail account and create yet another
Create an email from my old account to my new one
Attach the zipped file to the email and hit send
Now I have a redundant copy of those important file, 1 in my sent folder and 1 in my new in-box. Really works well, Google storing my files for me. Since they give you a little more than 2 gigabytes of space per account, I'm good for a while and have to find a new way to justify a new PC.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Article on illegal migrant workers
A few days ago our local Indianapolis paper published an article on the protests / rallies / marches conducted by illegal migrant workers. I fully agree with Representative Hostettler's opinion but was absolutely disgusted by Senator Lugar's opinion. A representative government like our own is incredibally frustrating when our elected officials refuse to enforce the laws they have passed. At least one Indiana representative, Hosettler[^], has it right. The content of the article quoted Lugar and prompted me to write to the editor and express my opinion[^]
Sunday, April 09, 2006
The 14th Amendment and more on the invasion of illegals
As pointed out by MG below, the 14th Amendment makes any child born in the USA a citizen.
In the current debate, these children are called, “anchor babies”. The idea being that “you” won’t want to deport the parents (here illegally) if their children, born here, are citizens.
The question becomes, what do you do where “you” is the United States of America.
First there needs to be an effective wall built on the Southern border.
Yes, it can be done – Google up some research on Israel to see how effective this can be.
Second, as MG stated there needs to be serious penalties for any business that employs an illegal, migrant worker. Maybe a hand slap the first time, a stiff penalty the second, and forfeiture of their business and jail time the third. The effect will be to dry up the opportunities for work. This should be followed by a voluntary migration back to thee home of origin for these people.
Third, create special migrant centers in Mexico and other countries. These migrant centers would issue biometric (possibly GPS enabled) migrant worker identification cards. Once issued to a potential migrant worker, the worker can then contact employers through a web-based system that is accessed in the migrant worker center. If they connect with an employer then their migrant worker identification card would be authorized to allow entry into the United States.
If the now legal migrant worker wants to become a citizen and his background permits, he can apply for citizenship through a formalized process.
Forget about and fight against the garbage about creating paths to citizenship for the illegals already here. Allowing that is the next step into turning our country into something you don’t want for your grandchildren.
Along those lines, at today’s march of illegals in Dallas the news captured a leader of LULAC as he exhorted the crowd with, “this is our land, we’re not going anywhere”. This “our land” exhortation is (as I’ve been told) the battle cry of Hispanics who are working to create a Hispanic homeland in our country. Read up on LULAC, LaRaza, the Reconquistador movement, MEChA (Aztlan) – think long and hard, then make your voice heard.
Dig into Lulac[^]
and read between the lines.
Dig into LaRaza[^] and read between the lines.
Dig around on some of the links provided by MEChA[^]
If you don't read anything else, dig into Aztlan[^] - this is what is at risk, a Hispanic homeland carved out of your country, helped along by cowardly poiticians.
In the current debate, these children are called, “anchor babies”. The idea being that “you” won’t want to deport the parents (here illegally) if their children, born here, are citizens.
The question becomes, what do you do where “you” is the United States of America.
First there needs to be an effective wall built on the Southern border.
Yes, it can be done – Google up some research on Israel to see how effective this can be.
Second, as MG stated there needs to be serious penalties for any business that employs an illegal, migrant worker. Maybe a hand slap the first time, a stiff penalty the second, and forfeiture of their business and jail time the third. The effect will be to dry up the opportunities for work. This should be followed by a voluntary migration back to thee home of origin for these people.
Third, create special migrant centers in Mexico and other countries. These migrant centers would issue biometric (possibly GPS enabled) migrant worker identification cards. Once issued to a potential migrant worker, the worker can then contact employers through a web-based system that is accessed in the migrant worker center. If they connect with an employer then their migrant worker identification card would be authorized to allow entry into the United States.
If the now legal migrant worker wants to become a citizen and his background permits, he can apply for citizenship through a formalized process.
Forget about and fight against the garbage about creating paths to citizenship for the illegals already here. Allowing that is the next step into turning our country into something you don’t want for your grandchildren.
Along those lines, at today’s march of illegals in Dallas the news captured a leader of LULAC as he exhorted the crowd with, “this is our land, we’re not going anywhere”. This “our land” exhortation is (as I’ve been told) the battle cry of Hispanics who are working to create a Hispanic homeland in our country. Read up on LULAC, LaRaza, the Reconquistador movement, MEChA (Aztlan) – think long and hard, then make your voice heard.
Dig into Lulac[^]
and read between the lines.
Dig into LaRaza[^] and read between the lines.
Dig around on some of the links provided by MEChA[^]
If you don't read anything else, dig into Aztlan[^] - this is what is at risk, a Hispanic homeland carved out of your country, helped along by cowardly poiticians.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
What can you do about the border and immigration?
I am sick and damned tired of the politicians who refuse to address the problems they have created by ignoring the danger of unprotected borders. Repeat, THEY HAVE CREATED THE PROBLEM.
Those same buffoons have now converted the problem they have created such that it is now an immigration problem. So let me have the luxury of repeating myself, I AM SICK AND DAMNED TIRED OF THE POLITICIANS WHO REFUSE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THEY HAVE CREATED BY IGNORING THE DANGER.
Sorry President Bush, as much as I respect you, it is not a problem with our immigration laws it is a problem with you and your partners on both sides of the political spectrum who refuse to do their constitutional duty and protect our borders.
The most recent farce was the idiotic dance in the Senate. If you didn’t watch it or pay attention to what went on, a couple of bills introduced in the Senate focused on creating a path to citizenship for people who are here illegally.
That would have been the equivalent of rewarding the guy who tried to jack your car by forcing you to buy him a new one. Just how stupid are these people?
Those Senate bills were roundly defeated, the most egregious being the McCain / Kennedy piece of garbage. That was soundly rejected.
Then there was the farce created by Frist / Reid. This was a “compromise”. This particular compromise INCORPORATED AND EXPANDED the McCain / Kennedy bill – the same bill that was defeated earlier that same day.
The House of Representatives has it right. They have a bill that focuses on border security. Of course the senate can’t stomach it, because it makes sense.
What can you do? Don’t say nothing because it is time to wrest back your country. Consider the following:
Put them on notice. I mean you should let Washington DC (the President, your Representative in the House, your two senators) know how you feel. Call and email each and all.
When you call and / or email, tell them:
If they don’t do anything about border security, and I mean build a real wall like Israel has done, that you’ll mail in your voter registration card and sit out the next election.
Make sure they know you’re a voting Republican or Democrat.
Let them know your household income (you’ll see why below).
Tell them you’ll cash in any US savings bonds you happen to own, this will put a drain on the Treasury if there are any significant number of bond holders out there.
Tell them that on 1-1-2007 you’ll submit a W4 form claiming 99 (or the maximum amount) of dependents so the government will have a limited flow of income during the year.
And if we still don’t get something done, continue not voting and continue the W4 activity years into the future. No, it won’t hurt our country because we’ll have lost it anyway.
Those same buffoons have now converted the problem they have created such that it is now an immigration problem. So let me have the luxury of repeating myself, I AM SICK AND DAMNED TIRED OF THE POLITICIANS WHO REFUSE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THEY HAVE CREATED BY IGNORING THE DANGER.
Sorry President Bush, as much as I respect you, it is not a problem with our immigration laws it is a problem with you and your partners on both sides of the political spectrum who refuse to do their constitutional duty and protect our borders.
The most recent farce was the idiotic dance in the Senate. If you didn’t watch it or pay attention to what went on, a couple of bills introduced in the Senate focused on creating a path to citizenship for people who are here illegally.
That would have been the equivalent of rewarding the guy who tried to jack your car by forcing you to buy him a new one. Just how stupid are these people?
Those Senate bills were roundly defeated, the most egregious being the McCain / Kennedy piece of garbage. That was soundly rejected.
Then there was the farce created by Frist / Reid. This was a “compromise”. This particular compromise INCORPORATED AND EXPANDED the McCain / Kennedy bill – the same bill that was defeated earlier that same day.
The House of Representatives has it right. They have a bill that focuses on border security. Of course the senate can’t stomach it, because it makes sense.
What can you do? Don’t say nothing because it is time to wrest back your country. Consider the following:
Put them on notice. I mean you should let Washington DC (the President, your Representative in the House, your two senators) know how you feel. Call and email each and all.
When you call and / or email, tell them:
If they don’t do anything about border security, and I mean build a real wall like Israel has done, that you’ll mail in your voter registration card and sit out the next election.
Make sure they know you’re a voting Republican or Democrat.
Let them know your household income (you’ll see why below).
Tell them you’ll cash in any US savings bonds you happen to own, this will put a drain on the Treasury if there are any significant number of bond holders out there.
Tell them that on 1-1-2007 you’ll submit a W4 form claiming 99 (or the maximum amount) of dependents so the government will have a limited flow of income during the year.
And if we still don’t get something done, continue not voting and continue the W4 activity years into the future. No, it won’t hurt our country because we’ll have lost it anyway.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Still not completed
Geez, this is taking forever. We've now nearly completed our painting project, but not totally.
- The office is painted and Margie did a superlative job. Instead of "just" a color Margie did sponging for the walls. What "we" did was create a Florida kinda room with a coral color. The way it was done was: 1) wash the walls and ceiling with a solution of TSP, 2) rinse the walls and ceiling with clean water, 3) prime the ceiling with Killz [a kick butt primer that hides everything], 4) prime the walls with a tintable primer that contained pigment that matched the first coat of color, 5) paint the ceiling with an off-white called "Honey Bloom", 6) paint the walls with an undercoat of Blaze Red, 7) apply a Coral color, using sea sponges instead of a brush or typical roller. The result is really slick and makes it look like high dollar wall paper.
- Three walls of the living area are painted a nifty green color. We went through the same drill on those walls: 1) wash, 2) rinse, tinted primer, 3) paint - but no sponging.
- The other wall in the living area is yellow, again the same drill. We carried the yellow color down the hallway. Unlike with the green, we did a special effects thing on the yellow. We mixed in some sparkling granite chips. The result on the yellow walls is a sparkling effect when the light hits it just right.
- The TV now sits inside one wall of the living area, in one of the green walls. It is really pretty, the 61" TV is framed in the green wall with a 3" wide frame, painted off white to match the ceiling.
All of this goes very nice with the bamboo floors.
This weekend we'll paint the kitchen. We're going to carry the yellow into the kitchen and get rid of that gawd-awful orange color I chose umpty-two years ago,
Next week we're having our remaining bathroom redone. This isn't as major an undertaking as the other bathroom was. Here we're going to install a stacked washer and dryer and use the bamboo flooring that remains instead of tile. This means our full size shower will be a half sized shower as the washer and dryer will go in that area. We'll install a new toilet, the black one just doesn't look right now that everything else in our home is brightly colored. Of course, this means more painting. We're going to try another sponging technique on this bath, using a glaze. It should be interesting.
Once the bath and kitchen are complete we're going to re-do the paint in the master bedroom. We aren't satisfied with the paint job the contractor did so we're going to re-paint it using the same color but use a technique called "dragging". That is a base coat of a high gloss (for color and slickness), with a top coat of the same color but maybe a slight variation. You put the top coat on over the base, then take a stiff bristled brush and drag it through the top coat creating lines in the covering. It will look something like a linen finish.
Once we finish that, I'm propping my feet up for a while.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Half finished
Okay it has been a while since I posted anything. Normally I'd be upset enough about something going on that I'd post a rant. Problem is, we're still upside down here with the latest bit of renovations we have going on. Actually this bit is done. The master bedroom is now big enough to call it a master bedroom. The cat, poor Moose - bless her kitty heart, walks around trying to figure out what has happened. A couple of months ago she watched a bathroom disappear, only to see it be replaced by a much bigger one. Then she watched the bedroom disappear only to see it be replaced by yet another, bigger room. She's still having trouble figuring out where the wwalk-in closet came from, I don't think she's noticed that the office has disappeared.
We still haven't put everything back in it's proper place. We have 3 bedrooms worth of "stuff" (actually an office and 2 bedrooms) scattered on the balcony (hope nothing blows off) and in our living room, hallway and dining area. It really is fun to have to stumble over "stuff". Oh yeah, the dust is great too. I never in my wildest imagination (and I have an active one) would I have thought that a little sanding could generate dust dunes, but for sure we'll get that taken care of as well.
I haven't posted any pictures from Christmas, much less the renovations, since one of the things that is scattered all over the house happens to be our personal, non-work PC. With luck we can get that set back up and I can go back to ranting about things I can't control. Or not. Now that we've done the back of the condo (bath, bedroom, walk-in) it has become apparent that we need to do something about painting the rest of the place and re-carpeting. We're toying with not doing carpet but going with a bamboo floor. Bamboo is interesting, more expensive than laminate flooring (imitation wood) and less expensive than wood. Since it is a renewable resource (bamboo grows fast) it doesn't come at a premium. So we still have a decision to make, wood v. carpet v. laminate v. bamboo.
Oh, did I say the bedroom is red?
We still haven't put everything back in it's proper place. We have 3 bedrooms worth of "stuff" (actually an office and 2 bedrooms) scattered on the balcony (hope nothing blows off) and in our living room, hallway and dining area. It really is fun to have to stumble over "stuff". Oh yeah, the dust is great too. I never in my wildest imagination (and I have an active one) would I have thought that a little sanding could generate dust dunes, but for sure we'll get that taken care of as well.
I haven't posted any pictures from Christmas, much less the renovations, since one of the things that is scattered all over the house happens to be our personal, non-work PC. With luck we can get that set back up and I can go back to ranting about things I can't control. Or not. Now that we've done the back of the condo (bath, bedroom, walk-in) it has become apparent that we need to do something about painting the rest of the place and re-carpeting. We're toying with not doing carpet but going with a bamboo floor. Bamboo is interesting, more expensive than laminate flooring (imitation wood) and less expensive than wood. Since it is a renewable resource (bamboo grows fast) it doesn't come at a premium. So we still have a decision to make, wood v. carpet v. laminate v. bamboo.
Oh, did I say the bedroom is red?
Friday, January 06, 2006
Cripes - another renovation project
We had so much fun renovating our bathroom that we decided to do another project. This time we're deleting a bedroom. What we're doing is converting our 3 bedroom condo into a 2 bedroom. When we redid the bathroom we accidentially got rid of half of Margie's closet space. Now that is bad because she had to store a lot of her clothes in big plastic tubs.
The 3 bedrooms were fairly small as you may remember if you ever visited. That really didn't matter much since one of the three was used as my office and the other just a junk room. The change we're making combines half of one of the bedrooms with the master bedroom, making it an actual master bedroom. Doing this makes the master bedroom and the rennovated bathroom a master suite. The resulting bedroom is roughly 23 feet by 18 feet, big enough for a party.
The remaining half of the bedroom (the other half is being added to the master) is being converted into a walk-in closet - giving Margie back her lost closet space. I get some too and really need it because in between the two combined rooms was a small closet that was a part of the original master bedroom(on the master bedroom side) and another small closet in the bedroom beng used as an office. The walk-in closet will be 16 feet by 8 feet. We'll outfit it with a closet system, We discovered that you can find some nifty such systems, custom designed, on line.
The other thing we're doing is embedding our large screen TV into the living room wall. The back of the living room is a closet so we'll lose half of that to house the TV. That is okay because, well, we're adding a walk-in as discussed above. The result will be more living room space.
Of course the Christmas Tree is still up and we have "stuff" sitting everywhere and everything is a complete mess at the moment. Once it is complete we'll have a very comfortable home, albeit shy one bedroom.
The 3 bedrooms were fairly small as you may remember if you ever visited. That really didn't matter much since one of the three was used as my office and the other just a junk room. The change we're making combines half of one of the bedrooms with the master bedroom, making it an actual master bedroom. Doing this makes the master bedroom and the rennovated bathroom a master suite. The resulting bedroom is roughly 23 feet by 18 feet, big enough for a party.
The remaining half of the bedroom (the other half is being added to the master) is being converted into a walk-in closet - giving Margie back her lost closet space. I get some too and really need it because in between the two combined rooms was a small closet that was a part of the original master bedroom(on the master bedroom side) and another small closet in the bedroom beng used as an office. The walk-in closet will be 16 feet by 8 feet. We'll outfit it with a closet system, We discovered that you can find some nifty such systems, custom designed, on line.
The other thing we're doing is embedding our large screen TV into the living room wall. The back of the living room is a closet so we'll lose half of that to house the TV. That is okay because, well, we're adding a walk-in as discussed above. The result will be more living room space.
Of course the Christmas Tree is still up and we have "stuff" sitting everywhere and everything is a complete mess at the moment. Once it is complete we'll have a very comfortable home, albeit shy one bedroom.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Christmas
It is now December 30th and Margie and I are looking forward to New Years Eve at Caesar's.
The year has been interesting and in my view began with our marriage in March, but then I've gotten to be an old softy.
We spent Christmas week at my brother's home, he and his bride (of many, many years) made us feel at home as they always do. Even though we normally only see them once a year our visits are like the resumption of a conversation that was paused for only a few minutes.
Our Christmas celebration there is in two parts, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is wonderfully chaotic. My brother and his wife, Nanette, graciously open their home to their neice and nephew (who happen to be my kids) and their children and grandchild (my grandchildren and great grandchild). That tribe plus their own daughter and her significant other had a blast from noon on through early evening.
Christmas Day was unique for both Margie and I. This is the first year in the 15 or so years we've been together that we've actually exchanged and opened our gifts on Christmas morning. That was way cool. Previously we had a Christmas before leaving for Texas, but not this year. After exchanging gifts we attended a service at Nanette's church, yet another first. We seem to be doing a lot of that this year. Later in the day we visited with my daughter, Tina, and her husband Oz - continuing a long standing tradition.
Speaking of tradition, on Friday of that week we had our traditional Mexican food dinner at a terrific and fashionably grungy local Tex-Mex eatery. Somehow that has become a "must do" event, something I wouldn't miss if I had to be wheeled in.
While we weren't able to see any of Margie's side of the family over the Christmas holiday, we were able to talk to most of them at some point and they were in our hearts and prayers.
I'll post some pictures on New Years Day, I got really ambitous this year and took 70 or so. Okay, I really didn't get ambitous - Margie told me to. She has created a scrapbook of Christmasses past and made sure I knew it was my responsibility to have plenty of pictures for the 2005 addition. Another first, I listened to her (ha ha).
Signing off for now and wishing any reader a happy and prosperous New Year.
The year has been interesting and in my view began with our marriage in March, but then I've gotten to be an old softy.
We spent Christmas week at my brother's home, he and his bride (of many, many years) made us feel at home as they always do. Even though we normally only see them once a year our visits are like the resumption of a conversation that was paused for only a few minutes.
Our Christmas celebration there is in two parts, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is wonderfully chaotic. My brother and his wife, Nanette, graciously open their home to their neice and nephew (who happen to be my kids) and their children and grandchild (my grandchildren and great grandchild). That tribe plus their own daughter and her significant other had a blast from noon on through early evening.
Christmas Day was unique for both Margie and I. This is the first year in the 15 or so years we've been together that we've actually exchanged and opened our gifts on Christmas morning. That was way cool. Previously we had a Christmas before leaving for Texas, but not this year. After exchanging gifts we attended a service at Nanette's church, yet another first. We seem to be doing a lot of that this year. Later in the day we visited with my daughter, Tina, and her husband Oz - continuing a long standing tradition.
Speaking of tradition, on Friday of that week we had our traditional Mexican food dinner at a terrific and fashionably grungy local Tex-Mex eatery. Somehow that has become a "must do" event, something I wouldn't miss if I had to be wheeled in.
While we weren't able to see any of Margie's side of the family over the Christmas holiday, we were able to talk to most of them at some point and they were in our hearts and prayers.
I'll post some pictures on New Years Day, I got really ambitous this year and took 70 or so. Okay, I really didn't get ambitous - Margie told me to. She has created a scrapbook of Christmasses past and made sure I knew it was my responsibility to have plenty of pictures for the 2005 addition. Another first, I listened to her (ha ha).
Signing off for now and wishing any reader a happy and prosperous New Year.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Wolf Blitzer hammered by Don King
A snippet from an interview of the boxing promoter Don King by CNN's Wolf Blitzer
DON KING: I love George Walker Bush because I think he's a revolutionary. He's a president that comes in with conclusiveness. What they're doing in tomorrow in Iraq is a demonstration of that for the vote for democracy. The fundamental process of democracy is freedom of speech, law and order, being able to have freedom, working with people and working and governing yourselves. George Bush is that. He included in...
BLITZER: Do you have any regrets supporting him? Take a look at that picture when you and I were there at the diner last year. Do you have any regrets supporting him as enthusiastically as you did?
KING: No, I don't. In fact, I want to support him more now because it seems like everybody is punching him. You know what I mean? But he's fighting back, and he's throwing great combinations. And I think he's the guy that is really a revolutionary president.I think he's a president that cares about the people he represents, but doesn't compromise himself to the extent that he acquiesce and accommodate. He goes out there and says like it is, and tries to make things better. Inclusiveness, education, is fighting for that.These are the things that many guys that don't fight for -- George Walker Bush is a tremendous advocate to America, a great president for the great American people, and he's decisive. He's doesn't equivocate.
THE SITUATION ROOM December 14, 2005 4:00 PM EST
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Don king is known worldwide as a big-time boxing promoter. But has also taken some new fights on recently...You love George Bush?DON KING: I love George Walker Bush because I think he's a revolutionary. He's a president that comes in with conclusiveness. What they're doing in tomorrow in Iraq is a demonstration of that for the vote for democracy. The fundamental process of democracy is freedom of speech, law and order, being able to have freedom, working with people and working and governing yourselves. George Bush is that. He included in...
BLITZER: Do you have any regrets supporting him? Take a look at that picture when you and I were there at the diner last year. Do you have any regrets supporting him as enthusiastically as you did?
KING: No, I don't. In fact, I want to support him more now because it seems like everybody is punching him. You know what I mean? But he's fighting back, and he's throwing great combinations. And I think he's the guy that is really a revolutionary president.I think he's a president that cares about the people he represents, but doesn't compromise himself to the extent that he acquiesce and accommodate. He goes out there and says like it is, and tries to make things better. Inclusiveness, education, is fighting for that.These are the things that many guys that don't fight for -- George Walker Bush is a tremendous advocate to America, a great president for the great American people, and he's decisive. He's doesn't equivocate.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
War on Christmas
If you're a FoxNews watcher you'll have seen the hew and cry regarding the war on Christmas, a fact highlighted by: John Gibson, Neil Cavuto and Bill O’Reilly. I happen to agree, there is a conscious effort by local governments, businesses and schools to transform a unique American adaptation of Christmas into some generic winter holiday. Presumably this is to avoid offending anyone who sees a religious (Christian) component to the season. FoxNews has chronicled some truly ridiculous attempts such as the rewording of Silent Night, changing it to an ambiguous secular tune, and the barring of red and green in a Plano, Texas public school because the colors were too “Christmassy”.
This is political correctness run amuck and we need to push back. I’ve seen other news shows where the contention was that the war on Christmas is a contrivance by FoxNews to sell books and build audience / market share. The truth is, the war exists. You can see it in the stores (try to find a nativity scene or the words, “Merry Christmas”), in advertisements (try to find anything other than “happy holidays”) and in the banishment of Salvation Army bell ringers from Target Store entrances.
If you don’t believe it and you’re anywhere from 35 years or older, pay attention and check the differences between what you remember as a child or young adult and what you see today.
What I find extremely interesting, on a different level, is that the current war on Christmas has a parallel to a previous one. You may need to be older than 35 to remember this one. The battle the last time was against the commercialization of Christmas – taking Christ out of the holiday. That means in the last 50 years or so we’ve seen Christmas evolve from primarily a religious celebration into a highly commercialized event, albeit still with a religious connotation, and now we’re seeing the next step where anything that ties the holiday to Christianity is being blurred, erased or trivialized.
If we let this happen, we’re a collection of fools because we’ll lose the heart of what is not only a religious celebration, the birth of Christ, but one of the most important family holidays on the calendar.
Christmas, at least for me, is a time when the importance of family is paramount. Both my wife and I look forward to our annual trek to Dallas to be with my brother and his wife, my kids and their children. We spend a considerable amount of time in preparation for the trip, like a couple of kids we start weeks prior, shopping (that danged commercialization) for gifts to take as well as to ship to other family scattered all over the country, and Margie (bless her heart) spends weeks baking cookies to share with all.
This year the holiday is even more special since it is our first as husband and wife and the first in decades for us both as active / practicing Catholics.
War on Christmas? Not in this home.
This is political correctness run amuck and we need to push back. I’ve seen other news shows where the contention was that the war on Christmas is a contrivance by FoxNews to sell books and build audience / market share. The truth is, the war exists. You can see it in the stores (try to find a nativity scene or the words, “Merry Christmas”), in advertisements (try to find anything other than “happy holidays”) and in the banishment of Salvation Army bell ringers from Target Store entrances.
If you don’t believe it and you’re anywhere from 35 years or older, pay attention and check the differences between what you remember as a child or young adult and what you see today.
What I find extremely interesting, on a different level, is that the current war on Christmas has a parallel to a previous one. You may need to be older than 35 to remember this one. The battle the last time was against the commercialization of Christmas – taking Christ out of the holiday. That means in the last 50 years or so we’ve seen Christmas evolve from primarily a religious celebration into a highly commercialized event, albeit still with a religious connotation, and now we’re seeing the next step where anything that ties the holiday to Christianity is being blurred, erased or trivialized.
If we let this happen, we’re a collection of fools because we’ll lose the heart of what is not only a religious celebration, the birth of Christ, but one of the most important family holidays on the calendar.
Christmas, at least for me, is a time when the importance of family is paramount. Both my wife and I look forward to our annual trek to Dallas to be with my brother and his wife, my kids and their children. We spend a considerable amount of time in preparation for the trip, like a couple of kids we start weeks prior, shopping (that danged commercialization) for gifts to take as well as to ship to other family scattered all over the country, and Margie (bless her heart) spends weeks baking cookies to share with all.
This year the holiday is even more special since it is our first as husband and wife and the first in decades for us both as active / practicing Catholics.
War on Christmas? Not in this home.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
New Marine
Here is a young man that would make any parent proud.
His name is Justin, he is one of my grandkids and he just graduated from Marine bootcamp. He came home one day and announced to his parents that he had enlisted, it was a done deed. He had taken a look at his future and decided he could make it much better by serving his country then taking advantage of the benefits that derived from that service.
My hat is off to Justin, a fine young man and one that would make any parent proud. The country needs many more like him, young men that take control of their lives and attempt to make something of themselves.
He'll soon be in traing for his speciality as a combat engineer. I wish him well and admire his courage. God bless.
Thanksgiving
Okay, so Thanksgiving was last week and I am just now posting on the subject.
Margie and I had a simply wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, it was the perfect family day. Even though we're hundreds of miles from the rest of our family, we were in touch with nearly everyone. I swear we spent most of the day (that didn't involve eating) talking to family, thank God for the telephone. The meal was great, as usual, sharing it even better.
The day after, that would be Friday, we woke up reasonably early and headed out for Christmas (NOT WINTER HOLIDAY!!!) shopping. We did our shopping at a high-end outlet mall that had a huge array of shops, terific prices and a good selection. The bottom line is that we did all our shopping in 8 hours flat. Good thing we have an SUV sorta vehicle.
Margie and I had a simply wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, it was the perfect family day. Even though we're hundreds of miles from the rest of our family, we were in touch with nearly everyone. I swear we spent most of the day (that didn't involve eating) talking to family, thank God for the telephone. The meal was great, as usual, sharing it even better.
The day after, that would be Friday, we woke up reasonably early and headed out for Christmas (NOT WINTER HOLIDAY!!!) shopping. We did our shopping at a high-end outlet mall that had a huge array of shops, terific prices and a good selection. The bottom line is that we did all our shopping in 8 hours flat. Good thing we have an SUV sorta vehicle.
Islamic link
This is a URL that I came across. It is a link to an Islamic scientific site[^] - I offer it with little comment. Oh crap, I am actually posting it because a Muslim posted a link to an article that "proved" the Quran supposedly posited an important bit of scientific information some 1,400 years ago. You have to dig around for that particular article since I have posted the link to the home page. If you dig around you'll find some interesting Islamic views. No, no one there is calling for your death (or mine for that matter), but it is interesting.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
A Marine's report from Iraq
Iraq report from a Marine home on leave. Really interesting.
This came to me via email from a friend in Dallas. It is a father's debriefing of his son.
A couple of weekends ago I got to spend time with my son, who was on his first leave since returning from Iraq. He is well (a little thin), and already bored. He will be returning to Iraq for a second tour in early '06 and has already re-enlisted early for 4 more years. He loves the Marine Corps and is actually looking forward to returning to Iraq.
He spent 7 months at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi. Aka: Fort Apache. He saw and did a lot and the following is what he had to say about weapons, equipment, tactics and other miscellaneous info which may be of interest to you. Nothing is by any means classified. No politics here, just a Marine with a bird's eye view.
Opinions:
1) The M-16 rifle : Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sand over there. The sand is everywhere. Kid says you feel filthy 2 minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it is lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems also. They like the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lights on the picattiny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert environment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round. Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there and even torso hits cant be reliably counted on to put the enemy down. Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents shows a high level of opiate use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universally considered a piece of shit. Chronic jamming problems, most of which require partial disassembly. (that's fun in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they all hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 Nato (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the old M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up. Accurate, reliable, and the 7.62 round puts รข€˜em down. Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are being dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the structure over there.
6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumbs way, way up. Ma deuce is still worth her considerable weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper, puts their dicks in the dirt every time. The most coveted weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there. Everybody authorized to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few exceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit. The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK military model and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are being re-issued en masse.
8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers ( we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. Definitely here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle: Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag. Heavily modified Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used heavily to great effect. Rumor has it that a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmed kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs. and can reliably be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round. The bad news: Hot as shit to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat (which averages over 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots whenever possible. All the bullshit about the old body armor making our guys vulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormous and body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark and own the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers. More and more enemy being whacked at night during movement by our hunter-killer teams. We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights: Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights are Surefires, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban operations. He carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved it.
I cant help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons and ordnance are 50 or more years old!!!!!!!!! With all our technology, it's the WWII and Vietnam era weapons that everybody wants!!!! The infantry fighting is frequent, up close and brutal. No quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) Mostly AK47's . The entire country is an arsenal. Works better in the desert than the M16 and the .308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns are also common and effective. Luckily, the enemy mostly shoots like shit. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However, they are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. (Iran, again)
Fun fact: Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.
2) The RPG: Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliable and as common as dogshit. The enemy responded to our up-armored humvees by aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED: The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armor mines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found in his area were in abandoned cars. The enemy would take 2 or 3 155mm artillery shells and wire them together. Most were detonated by cell phone, and the explosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank. Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there. Lately, they are much more sophisticated shaped charges (Iranian) specifically designed to penetrate armor.
Fact: Most of the ready made IED's are supplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) to train the insurgents in their use and tactics. That's why the attacks have been so deadly lately. Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latest being shape charges in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like the cinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before they detonate, and the bomb disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets: Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range) are becoming more prevalent. One of his NCO's lost a leg to one. These weapons cause a lot of damage inside the wire. His base was hit almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket fire, often at night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More of a psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar teams would jump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then haul ass in a matter of seconds.
5) Bad guy technology: Simple yet effective. Most communication is by cell and satellite phones, and also by email on laptops. They use handheld GPS units for navigation and Google earth for overhead views of our positions. Their weapons are good, if not fancy, and prevalent. Their explosives and bomb technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are very careless with their equipment and the captured GPS units and laptops are treasure troves of Intel when captured.
Who are the bad guys?:
Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi Al Qaeda group. They operate mostly in Anbar province (Fallujah and Ramadi). These are mostly foreigners, non-Iraqi Sunni Arab Jihadists from all over the Muslim world (and Europe). Most enter Iraq through Syria (with, of course, the knowledge and complicity of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the trail of towns along the Euphrates River that we've been hitting hard for the last few months. Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists that often end up as suicide bombers or in sacrifice squads. Most, however, are hard core terrorists from all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.).
These are the guys running around murdering civilians en masse and cutting heads off. The Chechens (many of whom are Caucasian), are supposedly the most ruthless and the best fighters. (they have been fighting the Russians for years). In the Baghdad area and south, most of the insurgents are Iranian inspired (and led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian Shiia have been very adept at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt's, the police forces and the Army. The have had a massive spy and agitator network there since the Iran-Iraq war in the early 80's. Most of the Saddam loyalists were killed, captured or gave up long ago.
Bad Guy Tactics:
When they are engaged on an infantry level they get their asses kicked every time. Brave, but stupid. Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the war and still occur. They will literally sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming and firing Aka's and RPG's directly at our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like grass every time. ( see the M2 and M240 above).
His base was hit like this often. When engaged, they have a tendency to flee to the same building, probably for what they think will be a glorious last stand. Instead, we call in air and that's the end of that more often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as Alpha Whiskey Romeos (Allah's Waiting Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down to a science. The fast movers, mostly Marine F-18's, are taking an ever increasing toll on the enemy. When caught out in the open, the helicopter gunships and AC-130 Spectre gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket fire, especially at night. Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.
Fun fact: The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is why we're seeing less and less infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber shit. The new strategy is simple: attrition.
The insurgent tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian non-combatants as cover. They know we do all we can to avoid civilian casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and (especially) Mosques are locations where they meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo and flee to when engaged. They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder without hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new Iraqi govt. Kidnapping of family members (especially children) is common to influence people they are trying to influence but cant reach, such as local govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc.).
The first thing our guys are told is "don't get captured". They know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the internet.
Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone who brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates the criminal element who otherwise don't give a shit about the war. A lot of the beheading victims were actually kidnapped by common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every fight is to the death. Surrender is not an option.
The Iraqis are a mixed bag. Some fight well, others aren't worth a shit. Most do okay with American support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better. It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's use of suicide bombers, en masse, against the civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many Iraqis were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police forces went up, along with their motivation. It also led to an exponential increase in good intel because the Iraqis are sick of the insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and fearless fighters.
According to him, morale among our guys is very high. They not only believe they are winning, but that they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the American press, whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded reporters are despised and distrusted.
They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see shit like "Are we losing in Iraq" on TV and the print media. For the most part, they are satisfied with their equipment, food and leadership. Bottom line though, and they all say this, there are not enough guys there to drive the final stake through the heart of the insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to shut down the borders with Iran and Syria. The Iranians and the Syrians just cant stand the thought of Iraq being an American ally (with, of course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway, that's it, hope you found it interesting, I sure did.
This came to me via email from a friend in Dallas. It is a father's debriefing of his son.
A couple of weekends ago I got to spend time with my son, who was on his first leave since returning from Iraq. He is well (a little thin), and already bored. He will be returning to Iraq for a second tour in early '06 and has already re-enlisted early for 4 more years. He loves the Marine Corps and is actually looking forward to returning to Iraq.
He spent 7 months at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi. Aka: Fort Apache. He saw and did a lot and the following is what he had to say about weapons, equipment, tactics and other miscellaneous info which may be of interest to you. Nothing is by any means classified. No politics here, just a Marine with a bird's eye view.
Opinions:
1) The M-16 rifle : Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sand over there. The sand is everywhere. Kid says you feel filthy 2 minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it is lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems also. They like the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lights on the picattiny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert environment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round. Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there and even torso hits cant be reliably counted on to put the enemy down. Fun fact: Random autopsies on dead insurgents shows a high level of opiate use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): .223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universally considered a piece of shit. Chronic jamming problems, most of which require partial disassembly. (that's fun in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm: Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they all hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times and still in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun: Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun: 7.62 Nato (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the old M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up. Accurate, reliable, and the 7.62 round puts รข€˜em down. Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are being dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up the structure over there.
6) The M2 .50 cal heavy machine gun: Thumbs way, way up. Ma deuce is still worth her considerable weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper, puts their dicks in the dirt every time. The most coveted weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol: Thumbs up. Still the best pistol round out there. Everybody authorized to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few exceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit. The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK military model and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are being re-issued en masse.
8) The M-14: Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar stocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle: Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a freight train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers ( we actually stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. Definitely here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle: Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag. Heavily modified Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used heavily to great effect. Rumor has it that a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmed kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor: Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs. and can reliably be expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round. The bad news: Hot as shit to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat (which averages over 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots whenever possible. All the bullshit about the old body armor making our guys vulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED explosions are enormous and body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment: Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark and own the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers. More and more enemy being whacked at night during movement by our hunter-killer teams. We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights: Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights are Surefires, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban operations. He carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved it.
I cant help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons and ordnance are 50 or more years old!!!!!!!!! With all our technology, it's the WWII and Vietnam era weapons that everybody wants!!!! The infantry fighting is frequent, up close and brutal. No quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) Mostly AK47's . The entire country is an arsenal. Works better in the desert than the M16 and the .308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns are also common and effective. Luckily, the enemy mostly shoots like shit. Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However, they are seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. (Iran, again)
Fun fact: Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.
2) The RPG: Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliable and as common as dogshit. The enemy responded to our up-armored humvees by aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED: The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armor mines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found in his area were in abandoned cars. The enemy would take 2 or 3 155mm artillery shells and wire them together. Most were detonated by cell phone, and the explosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1 tank. Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there. Lately, they are much more sophisticated shaped charges (Iranian) specifically designed to penetrate armor.
Fact: Most of the ready made IED's are supplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah types) to train the insurgents in their use and tactics. That's why the attacks have been so deadly lately. Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latest being shape charges in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like the cinderblocks that litter all Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before they detonate, and the bomb disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets: Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range) are becoming more prevalent. One of his NCO's lost a leg to one. These weapons cause a lot of damage inside the wire. His base was hit almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket fire, often at night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More of a psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar teams would jump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then haul ass in a matter of seconds.
5) Bad guy technology: Simple yet effective. Most communication is by cell and satellite phones, and also by email on laptops. They use handheld GPS units for navigation and Google earth for overhead views of our positions. Their weapons are good, if not fancy, and prevalent. Their explosives and bomb technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are very careless with their equipment and the captured GPS units and laptops are treasure troves of Intel when captured.
Who are the bad guys?:
Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi Al Qaeda group. They operate mostly in Anbar province (Fallujah and Ramadi). These are mostly foreigners, non-Iraqi Sunni Arab Jihadists from all over the Muslim world (and Europe). Most enter Iraq through Syria (with, of course, the knowledge and complicity of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the trail of towns along the Euphrates River that we've been hitting hard for the last few months. Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists that often end up as suicide bombers or in sacrifice squads. Most, however, are hard core terrorists from all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.).
These are the guys running around murdering civilians en masse and cutting heads off. The Chechens (many of whom are Caucasian), are supposedly the most ruthless and the best fighters. (they have been fighting the Russians for years). In the Baghdad area and south, most of the insurgents are Iranian inspired (and led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian Shiia have been very adept at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt's, the police forces and the Army. The have had a massive spy and agitator network there since the Iran-Iraq war in the early 80's. Most of the Saddam loyalists were killed, captured or gave up long ago.
Bad Guy Tactics:
When they are engaged on an infantry level they get their asses kicked every time. Brave, but stupid. Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the war and still occur. They will literally sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming and firing Aka's and RPG's directly at our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like grass every time. ( see the M2 and M240 above).
His base was hit like this often. When engaged, they have a tendency to flee to the same building, probably for what they think will be a glorious last stand. Instead, we call in air and that's the end of that more often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as Alpha Whiskey Romeos (Allah's Waiting Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down to a science. The fast movers, mostly Marine F-18's, are taking an ever increasing toll on the enemy. When caught out in the open, the helicopter gunships and AC-130 Spectre gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket fire, especially at night. Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.
Fun fact: The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is why we're seeing less and less infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber shit. The new strategy is simple: attrition.
The insurgent tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian non-combatants as cover. They know we do all we can to avoid civilian casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and (especially) Mosques are locations where they meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo and flee to when engaged. They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder without hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new Iraqi govt. Kidnapping of family members (especially children) is common to influence people they are trying to influence but cant reach, such as local govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc.).
The first thing our guys are told is "don't get captured". They know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the internet.
Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone who brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates the criminal element who otherwise don't give a shit about the war. A lot of the beheading victims were actually kidnapped by common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every fight is to the death. Surrender is not an option.
The Iraqis are a mixed bag. Some fight well, others aren't worth a shit. Most do okay with American support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better. It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's use of suicide bombers, en masse, against the civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many Iraqis were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police forces went up, along with their motivation. It also led to an exponential increase in good intel because the Iraqis are sick of the insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly pro-American and fearless fighters.
According to him, morale among our guys is very high. They not only believe they are winning, but that they are winning decisively. They are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the American press, whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded reporters are despised and distrusted.
They are inflicting casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see shit like "Are we losing in Iraq" on TV and the print media. For the most part, they are satisfied with their equipment, food and leadership. Bottom line though, and they all say this, there are not enough guys there to drive the final stake through the heart of the insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to shut down the borders with Iran and Syria. The Iranians and the Syrians just cant stand the thought of Iraq being an American ally (with, of course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway, that's it, hope you found it interesting, I sure did.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Memory deficit Democrats - Iraq
The drum beat of left-wing Democrats and a handful of weak kneed Republicans has built to a crescendo over the last month or so, and finally President Bush is calling their hand. The Kerry, Durbin, Kennedy, Boxer (too many list so I kept the list of mouths short) have been going on and on repeating the "Bush lied" mantra at every opportunity.
These and others should be brought up on charges for treason or a lesser charge of aiding and abetting an enemy during a time of war.
The favorite theme is, "no weapons of mass destruction" - so President Bush must have lied. They all forget they were on board while it was popular to be on board but once the press (aka, 5th column) decided to try to weaken the spines of our citizens, aligning with the cowards in Europe, the left could no longer contain themselves. After all, the press is against the war and the press and mass media now attempts to form public opinion instead of reporting news - so it is convenient for the Democrats to forget they once took a principled position. That is rare so it is easy to see why they forgot.
By the way, the commentary above does not include Senator Liebermann. Now that Zell Miller has left the Senate, Liebermann is the one remaining Kennedy Democrat (Ted is no doubt an embarrassment to his two brother's memories).
With all the harping, pissing and moaning do you think any of these Democrats remember the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 - U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 114[^] or even better, the The Iraq Liberation Act - enacted under President Clinton[^]. I bet not because it wouldn't be convenient and political convenience is a way of life for these professional whiners and liars.
These and others should be brought up on charges for treason or a lesser charge of aiding and abetting an enemy during a time of war.
The favorite theme is, "no weapons of mass destruction" - so President Bush must have lied. They all forget they were on board while it was popular to be on board but once the press (aka, 5th column) decided to try to weaken the spines of our citizens, aligning with the cowards in Europe, the left could no longer contain themselves. After all, the press is against the war and the press and mass media now attempts to form public opinion instead of reporting news - so it is convenient for the Democrats to forget they once took a principled position. That is rare so it is easy to see why they forgot.
By the way, the commentary above does not include Senator Liebermann. Now that Zell Miller has left the Senate, Liebermann is the one remaining Kennedy Democrat (Ted is no doubt an embarrassment to his two brother's memories).
With all the harping, pissing and moaning do you think any of these Democrats remember the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 - U.S. House of Representatives Joint Resolution 114[^] or even better, the The Iraq Liberation Act - enacted under President Clinton[^]. I bet not because it wouldn't be convenient and political convenience is a way of life for these professional whiners and liars.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Giving back
In March of this year ( 3-2005 ) Margie and I turned our 15 year long love affair into something more officially sanctioned by the world at large. In short, we were married. The decision was a derivative of many things not the least of which being that after 15 years it was obvious we had something long lasting. Other contributibing factors were no doubt the attacks of 9-11 that caused most right thinking folk to reinspect their lives to determine what is really important and what is not. We had also gone through a personal struggle that lasted around two years or so, the result had brough us even closer than we had been.
The effect formalizing our relationship has been profound and not limited to day to day living.
Shortly after we were married the Pope passed on and that drew us back to our common roots, we were both "cradle Catholics" - born and rasied as Roman Catholics, although we hadn't been to church in years (20 plus for me) the death of the Pope and the dignity of his final days drew us back. It wasn't long after we started attending mass again (and it felt good, like coming home) that we felt drawn to do more.
So now Margie is a member of the Woman's Club and We're both involved with the Society of St. Vincent DePaul[^]. We contribute a couple of hours each week and work in a food pantry. Margie bags groceries for the folks who make use of the pantry and I help them load their vehicles, then run the carts back into the building. I also contribute time every 6th Saturday at the local distribution center where the needy can pick up donated furniture, clothing and other houshold goods.
So in the course of the last 9 months have been a sea change for the two of us: marriage, a calling back to the Roman Catholic Church and an active participation in some of the works of the faith.
The effect formalizing our relationship has been profound and not limited to day to day living.
Shortly after we were married the Pope passed on and that drew us back to our common roots, we were both "cradle Catholics" - born and rasied as Roman Catholics, although we hadn't been to church in years (20 plus for me) the death of the Pope and the dignity of his final days drew us back. It wasn't long after we started attending mass again (and it felt good, like coming home) that we felt drawn to do more.
So now Margie is a member of the Woman's Club and We're both involved with the Society of St. Vincent DePaul[^]. We contribute a couple of hours each week and work in a food pantry. Margie bags groceries for the folks who make use of the pantry and I help them load their vehicles, then run the carts back into the building. I also contribute time every 6th Saturday at the local distribution center where the needy can pick up donated furniture, clothing and other houshold goods.
So in the course of the last 9 months have been a sea change for the two of us: marriage, a calling back to the Roman Catholic Church and an active participation in some of the works of the faith.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Hillary gets one right!
Geez does this ever cause me pain. Here I am just waiting for the 2008 campaign to start, just frothing at the mouth to see the debates, surely Hillary will get mashed because of her well known (socialist) liberal tendencies. I have heard for some time now about how she's going to move to the right, landing in the middle, so she'll be acceptable to folks outside of the Socialist Republic of New York. Like most conservatives, I am skeptical that she can pull it off. Wasn't I amazed when she landed on the correct side of a controversy involving South Korea.[^]
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Bathroom is finally complete - pretty much, anyway
The new bathroom is now complete or as complete as it will be for now. Pretty much a luxury.There are a couple of features that I haven't shown in the earlier posts that are interesting.
The first is the little burled wood box that you see on the end of the counter. That is something that is designed for someone who if any lazier would suffocate because they would be so lazy their lungs wouldn't work. This box is an automatic winder for automatic watches. Yep, I have a watch that doesn't have a winder nor does it take batteries. It is a self winder that relies on a minimum of physical activity to stay wound. Since I don't walk around a lot, working from home and all, I had to get a winder to keep my watch wound. Something wrong with that picture, but I won't dwell on it.
Then you'll notice the towel rack on the end of the linen cabinets. That towel rack is also a towel warmer. It is filled with oil (I believe) and that oil is heated so the rack throws off radiant heat, warming towels as well as the bathroom.
We also added a corner cabinet. The countertop in a "perfume" bar for a spoiled rotten wife. The good part of the cabinet is underneath. That is where we store the toilet paper. The end result is that if you're sitting and ........ and find out you've run out of paper, you can simply reach out and open the door and wallah!
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