The Monster Mash

So, S. and I had the house all to ourselves this weekend. Mom was out of town for a wedding, as was K.

So, we indulged ourselves.

Friday, we each did our own thing. I ended up playing World of Warcraft until 5:30 in the morning helping one of the new guys in our Guild (The Kabal) run through some quests. Finally crawled into bed at the asscrack of dawn.

Saturday, we did some shopping. We picked up some stuff at the grocery store, thought about going to the mall, then turned around because it was so damned packed.

Then, when we got home, the FUN BEGAN!!!

We made some Chicken Tikka Masala! Yum! Got some garlic nan and onion kulcha to go with it too. It came out deliciously.

While that was marinading, we carved pumpkins!

We had picked up some stencils earlier, I downloaded a few, then we decided to have some fun. Here's a shot of each of the pumpkins we did:






I built a stand in front of the house with some stools and scrap wood, then I displayed them for everyone on the street to see!



And finally, all lit up!



Now, this would have all been well and good except for a slight incident.

You see, the house has two automatic garage doors. I had the one open, and I went to open the other one from the switch inside. As I did, I thought to myself "That's an odd noise." I turned to look at the door, and I see a pair of wheels just underneat the door, rising into the sky.

By the time I got to it, it was almost level with the ceiling. I had to go back inside and unplug the opener, then go get a bandaid for my finger which I sliced trying to stop this from happening.



"What the...?", right? That's what you're thinking, right?

Well, what happened was the handle of the trash can was caught by the handle of the garage door as it opened. I took a picture to prove it!



I ended up having to crush half the trash can to get it off the door.

Oh, well. It was still a nice weekend, and, yes, the trash can did make me laugh quite a bit.

Georgia on my Mind

So, it's been a while.

Sorry...

So, updates...

Uhh...went to the Bahamas over Labor Day weekend. Went with Jeff, Steve-O, S, S's sis and Mom. It was a nice time. Rained a lot, but I got a lot of reading done.

Came across this link over the weekend. I find this simply amazing and I wish I could see Royal de Luxe in person.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-1522158746296131750

Truly amazing imagery there. Really captured my imagination.

In other news, the Korean Love Monkey (KLM) has left the building. He's headed south to Georgia, leaving us all behind. To show our appreciation for him, we threw him a BBQ at Tim's house, and I made him this T-shirt and a real Korean Love Monkey as well.



If you can't read it, it says "Korea is for Lovers", superimposed on a map of the Korean Peninsula.

I miss the bewildering bastard.

We all pitched in and got him this sweet Shimano reel.



In yet, other news, Christian IMed me today with this tidbit of information.

Booyah, Grandma. Booyah.

I've already sent out a distribution to my coworkers to let them know this is going on. I expect to be there will bells on.

I know I still haven't posted the other thread as mentioned a few months ago. I dunno if I ever will given the lackluster response I got to the last posting.

Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

This isn't the promised "Other Thread". This one is just to comment on US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor slapping the wrist of US President George W. Bush and the National Security Agency for doing warrantless wiretaps, ruling it unconstitutional. CNN has coverage of the ruling.

What made me post about this is I just had a short discussion with my Mother, a Rabid Republican. She has pictures of George Bush hanging in the hallway with the family pictures.

No, I'm not making that up.

I mentioned the ruling to her. She then stated that she doesn't see what the problem is. If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't worry about it. I then mentioned 1984 to her and asked if she read it. She said she read it before the year 1984. I pointed out that that is the path the US is going down.

"If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't worry about us installing cameras in your own household."

She then asked if I was a member of the ACLU - I reponded that I was thinking about joining them. That met with a snort of disgust.

I then told her that her willingness to sacrifice her rights and liberties merely goes to prove that those who attacked the Twin Towers are achieving their objectives of terror. The Freedom that we as Americans hold so dear (and many flaunt and lord over all the other countries of the world,without really understanding that what the US has isn't unique anymore) is the target of these groups.

Once the government can keep complete tabs on the people, who will be able to keep tabs on the government? The potential and possibility of revolution is every governments worst fear. It is also the peoples only hope when dealing with oppression and tyranny. The rights you trade away today may seem to be going to a government which has your best interests at heart (okay, I'm being extremely lenient with this statement), but who is to say that in 15 to 20 years the government will still be endowed with such endearing qualities? Prior to Watergate, the office of the Presidency was seen as a paragon.

Yes, there had been rumors of sexual impropriety (JFK and many others) or of potentially exceeding constitutional bounds (Thomas Jefferson), but these actions were either behind closed doors, not affecting Americans or they were done for the benefit of the country.

At least that is the perspective of the people.

With Watergate, this all got blown wide open. The President of the United States was proved to be corruptable. The title does not automatically make a politician clean. It doesn't automatically mean a man who has clawed his way to the top and compromised himself and his principles to reach that position is automatically a Great Man. He's still a Man. And Man is corrupt.

Christianity is based on it with the concept of Original Sin.

So, placing your safety and everything that defines you within easy reach of this corruptable position is folly, in my eyes. The Government of the United States is progressing more and more towards a paranoid entity, spying on its own people, afraid of them.

If they don't pull their prying fingers back and cover their probing eyes soon, they may find they indeed have something to be afraid of.

Rock the Casbah

Sorry, sorry, life has been busy. S. and I have finished our Save the Dates for our wedding, we've booked our Honeymoon (12 night cruise of the Mediterranean) and we even signed on for a 4 night trip to the Bahamas in the beginning of September.

Oh, and work has been a bear lately, too.

Speaking of work, last night I was recognized by the IT department here for everything I did for decommissioning the HOLEC unit we had here. Apparently we turned around and sold it on eBay.

I got a nice big raise too. Not too shabby couple of weeks.

Now, with that all said, I want to get back into the political stuff. I had an interesting argument with my coworkers via email a couple of weeks ago. The topics splayed out into a couple of threads. In this post I'm going to put up one of those threads. In a couple of days I'll post another one. Please post your comments and thoughts against these as I'm curious to see what other people think. The argument ends rather abruptly - there was a large distribution on this email and it was literally "nuked" by Tim, who started the whole damn thing. (He posted a pic of an A-Bomb going off into the thread.)

And now, without further ado, the first posting:

TIM:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nytom304834975jul30,0,3673590.story

or Black Tim…

MIKE:

I would not call it terrorism. It was simply sabotage.

FREDDIE:

Dunno. We weren't at war with Germany at the time. Though, it was a military target.

Could go either way.

MIKE:

We were the Arsenal of Freedom.

They used to sink our ships too which were delivering supplies to Britain, etc.

A act of terrorism is an act which is basically supposed to inspire and cause terror. This was an act of sabotage to prevent and interrupt munitions from be delivered to Britain etc.

Nothing more.

FREDDIE:

I know, that's my point. The US was employing Brinksmanship up until the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (British passenger and transport ship sailing from NY to Britain, secretly carrying munitions), at which point the US people rallied to declare war on Germany. So to the Germans, the US was basically in an undeclared war with them by providing supplies to their enemies.

So, technically, the only way this would be a terrorist action would be to take into account that there was no state of war between the two countries.

Oh, and Mike, sabotage is a type of terrorism. Placing a bomb on a jetliner is a type of sabotage. It may not be elegant, but it gets the job done.

Terrorism, as your definition of "to inspire and cause terror", is a valid tactic in war.

Refugees fleeing from war zones are frequently fired on by air. It creates havoc on the roads, blocking the movements of troops and supplies from reaching the front. This is a terror tactic.

The bombing of civilian targets (power generation facilities, bridges, damns and even their homes [Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, London...]) is part of "All Out Warfare". Whether done at a distance or up close by a saboteur, they're all terror tactics. They may serve other ends, but they ultimately impact the common civilian.

The term "terrorist" is a very politically charged one. The French Resistance were Terrorists to the German occupiers, but were Freedom Fighters to the Allies. The same way the current jihadists blowing themselves in terror operations are viewed as Terrorists to us and Freedom Fighters to their own people.

It's all a matter of perspective.

MIKE:

And my perspective (which is all that matters) on this matter is that it was SABOTAGE!!!

The explosion which Tom's article had a PURPOSE other than to cause TERROR in and around NYC, the NYC waterfront and NJ waterfront. It was meant to destroy war supplies destined to be used against Germany.

This was not a car bomb being exploded in Times Square.

These were munitions being destroyed before they could be loaded on to ships to be used against Germany.

We were the arsenal of freedom at that point and we were "unofficially" in the war.

SABOTAGE.

NOT

TERRORISM


Destruction of Munitions

NOT

A Car Bomb or a Plane being flown into the Empire States Building.

FREDDIE:

Out of curiosity, what would you call the bombing of the Marine's barracks in Beirut?

MIKE:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I will answer BUT it has NOTHING to do with the 1916 Bombing. Totally different circumstances and type of target and situation.

Terrorism. It was a suicide bomb targeting US Soldiers on a peace keeping mission.

They were using a form of terror (suicide bomb) to try and force us from the region.

T2:

But since it was a peace keeping mission, it can be considered an act of warfare. Can soldiers be targets of terrorism, when the mere presence of a soldier will strike fear and terror into some? Or is it an act of war since the military is designed to fight? Bombings against civilians = terrorism, bombings against military installations = warfare.

MIKE:

We were not at WAR with these LUNATICS.

T2:

What about all the “conflicts” we are in that the senate doesn’t declare a war? Are they all acts of terrorism?

MIKE:

Police Actions.

What are you, some sort of communist?

MIKE:

BTW

At least when we are in these other "conflicts" you speak of we do it with our military for all to see. We do not send in suicide bombers, hijack airplanes and fly them into skyscrapers, etc.

Feel free to move to Canada or Cuba anytime you wish.

FREDDIE:

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Mike, wake up and read the paper!

Hello? The CIA carries out assassinations and bombings all the time. We've purposely fed the USSR misleading information through counter-espionage which results in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in modern times. We have secret camps where we are torturing the captives. You don't think the US has made people "disappear"? You don't think the US has made people out as scape goats to cover up their own blunders?

How about the whole concept of the suicide mission?

And, Mike, have you ever read the constitution. Government leads by the mandate of the people! It is a country "By the People, For the People". It is your CIVIC DUTY to call for change and responsibility in our government.

However, saying that, I think that there's a lot of people out there who, as I said before, have their blinders on.

Of course we're in the Middle East after oil. Duh. Our economy runs on it. Iraq is a way for us to get in the area. Why do we back up Israel? Because it gives us a foothold into the area. Why do we care about Korea? Because it jeopardises Japan, our foothold in the Far East, where much of our trade is with.

The purpose of the Government of the US is to take care of the US peoples. It can be very unscrupulous about this. People don't like to hear that. They think they are in a rosy story where everything is happy and nice. The world ain't nice, Baby. It's hard. The US economy is based on exploitation of resources. Oil is a resource. So is cheap labor.

Keep them down, the US economy is stable.

MIKE:

Yeah, OK Freddie. Iraq is all about us getting oil. How is that working out so far? Our oil is higher than ever. If we were just sucking Iraq dry oil would be dirt cheap.

Of course we back certain countries and allies for reasons that sought our proposes.

Read the paper? Do you believe everything you read in the paper?

Once again, if you think this country is so evil feel free to try and change or feel free to leave. Canada to the North, Cuba and Mexico to the south.

1916 - Sabotage
Bombing in Beirut - Terrorism

FREDDIE:

I didn't say it was working. You keep putting words in my mouth. My point is that the US gets involved in other places in the name of its own welfare, and it pisses other people off.

When you heard China was providing money to US diplomats to fund their campaigns, hoping to get pro-China politicians in office, weren't you a bit pissed off?

TONY:

Every other country looks after its well being also. The U.S. is different than any other country in one major aspect though. We are held to a standard that no other nation is.

FREDDIE:

Well, when you're the self described "Leader of the Free World" and your economy dwarfs the rest fo the world's economies, your military is the most advanced in the world and you have the capacity to get involved anywhere, people are going to watch you pretty closely.

HENRY:

All that and for the most part we let the world be as it may. Unless it attacks or threatens our livilhood..again..See the constitution of the US

FREDDIE:

Yeah. Iraq was about to invade us.

That "threatens our livlihood" is a really big blanket.

MIKE:

In theory they had Weapons of Mass Destruction would or could be used on us so we attacked them to prevent future 9/11's.

We also sit their people free from a nut of a dictator.

Unfortunately no one found these WMD's and the country and the region was way more stable with Saddam in power. Who knew?

HENRY:

Stable? There were probably more killings but by the government and never reported

MIKE:

What does stable have to do with killings by the government?

When Saddam was in power there was no terrorism. All of these different religious sects where not fighting amongst themselves.

There was peace and the other countries feared Saddam as well.

MARC:

The people fighting against us in IRAQ aren’t even the citizens of IRAQ. The insurgents are pouring in from Syria, Jordan, Egypt, IRAN, Saudia Arabia, etc.

We have opened up a breeding ground for terrorism in IRAQ. This Holy War the Jiihad has started with us will last 100 years. When we pull out of Iraq and it will happen inevitably whether we choose to or not the terrorists will have a state of their own and oil to fund their religious war against us.

TONY:

Let them all funnel into Iraq where they can be eliminated. It’s easier that way.

FREDDIE:

Okay, I think I have a good definition of Terrorism that we can all abide by:

Terrorism refers to a strategy of using violence, or threat of violence to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, to bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological, and personal demands. The targets of terrorist attacks typically are not the individuals who are killed, injured, or taken hostage, but rather the societies to which these individuals belong. Terrorism is a type of unconventional warfare designed to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through capitulation or acquiescence, as opposed to subversion or direct military action. The broader influence of terrorism in the modern world is often attributed to the dramatic focus of mass media in amplifying feelings of intense fear and anger.

State terrorism more specifically refers to violence and threats of violence, embargoes and other forms of terrorism against civilians by the government of a state.

Given this definition, the Boston Tea Party was indeed a terrorist act as it used violence (destruction of property) to "bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological and personal demands". It was not directed against Parliament or the military, but rather to the merchants who were members of the society.

A further definition, per the US Department of State defines terrorism as "Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents."

So, the attack on the Marine's barracks in Beirut was not a terrorist act. It was an attack on a military target. The method of attack (suicide bombing) was unconventional, but there is precedent. Were Kamikaze pilots terrorists or ultra-fanaticals using themselves as living guidance systems?

Same thing.

In the same breath, the sabotage of Black Tom was not a terrorist attack since, once again, the target was of a military nature.

Give a read to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism

Of, and if we think we need to continue with this discourse, I can set up an IRC channel for us somewhere so our inboxes aren't exploding. lol

TONY:

There’s a big difference between countries in a declared war (U.S. / Japan) and an international peacekeeping force (U.S. in Beirut) targeted by a group who was using a country as its surrogate base. The suicide bombing of the U.S. (and French) barracks in Beirut by Hezbollah (backed by Iran) was terrorism.

MIKE:

THANK YOU!!!

FREDDIE:

If you are a member of a militant group and you see US and French troops as being invaders (whether they are invited by your government or not is moot if you don't agree with the government), those troops are valid targets. It was not a facility full of diplomats. It was a barracks of military personnel.

Militants are not civilians. They are paramilitary personnel. You don't need a uniform to be in an army. Israel is currently at war with Hezbollah.

Per the US Department of State definition, this was not a terrorist attack because the troops there were on a "Peace Keeping Mission". It was a military mission to enforce order. It was not a bunch of guys handing out flowers to everyone and preaching love and understanding. It was a guy with a gun saying "Sit the hell down and shut up or we will shoot you."

A friend of mine has done a tour in Kosovo and another in Liberia on peace keeping missions. He's currently thinking of reenlisting if his country sends troops to Lebanon as a peace keeping force. He has been shot at. He has shot back. He's had friends injured and he's had people try to run him down with trucks (they didn't survive too long).

A Peace Keeping Mission is, by its definition, in a war zone. Those parties not interested in peace will fight against the Peace Keeping Mission.

The barracks in Beirut were legitimate military targets. The tactics used were merely unconventional, and highly effective. 2 drivers sacrificed themselves and killed 241 American personnel (plus a Lebanese custodian) and 58 French paratroopers (plus the wife of a janitor and their four children), for a total of 305 killed. That's a pretty good kill ratio, and it enshrined the suicide bomber mentality.

TONY:

Corrections:

In certain circumstances, militants ARE civilians or vice versa. That’s the problem with Hezbollah in Lebanon right now. Hezbollah blends back into the civilian population making it difficult for Israel to fight them. It’s the same in Iraq.

The Geneva Conventions outline criteria or “Conduct of War”. A couple of the many are noted below:

Article 44, paragraph 3, of Protocol I
In order to promote the protection of the civilian population from the effects of hostilities, combatants are obliged to distinguish themselves from the civilian population while they are engaged in an attack or in a military operation preparatory to an attack. Recognizing, however, that there are situations in armed conflicts where, owing to the nature of the hostilities an armed combatant cannot so distinguish himself, he shall retain his status as a combatant, provided that, in such situations, he carries his arms openly: (a) during each military engagement, and (b) during such time as he is visible to the adversary while he is engaged in a military deployment preceding the launching of an attack in which he is to participate.

Article 51, paragraph 7, of Protocol I
The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.

Therefore, aside from the more vile war crimes being prosecuted against Saddam’s regime, here are some others pertaining to conduct of war (vs terrorist actions). Whether they’re Iraqi or members of Hezbollah is irrelevant since I am using this as an example. I don’t think the suicide truck bombers were wearing their military uniforms or distinguishing themselves as combatants. They were terrorists

• Iraqi soldiers have violated the “principles of distinction” by disguising themselves as Iraqi civilians and concealing their weapons and military status, attempting to draw U.S. soldiers into an ambush.


• An embedded reporter traveling with Marines on the road to Nasiriya reported taking fire from Iraqi soldiers dressed as civilians on a bridge outside the city of Nasiriya. By disguising themselves as civilians, Iraqi soldiers blurred the distinction between soldier and civilian in an effort to limit the force of the American military response. As part of this effort, the Iraqi soldiers stockpiled weapons and other heavy military equipment in several houses and moved freely among the houses disguised as civilians.


• Iraqi officials have sanctioned the use of terrorist tactics to kill coalition forces. In several instances, Iraqi soldiers have disguised themselves as Iraqi civilians and then detonated concealed explosives. In one case, a pregnant woman pretending to be in distress lured three American soldiers guarding a checkpoint to her, and then the driver of the vehicle detonated an explosive device killing all three soldiers, the pregnant woman, and the driver.
  On April 3, a non-commissioned Iraqi Army officer posing as a taxi driver detonated an explosive device in his car at a checkpoint, seriously wounding four American soldiers.

You noted the following:

The targets of terrorist attacks typically are not the individuals who are killed, injured, or taken hostage, but rather the societies to which these individuals belong.

The Hezbollah suicide bombing of the U.S. and French barracks falls into this exactly. If we wanted to have a continued presence in Lebanon, the bombing of the barracks was not going to stop us. The bombing and killing of the Marines was meant to sway American public opinion about our purpose there and therefore have our troops come home which is what exactly happened. Public opinion was not going to allow us to stay there.

If you want to draw a truce in our differing opinions on whether the Beirut bombings were legitimate military engagements or acts of terrorism, I’ll offer the following.

It was a terrorist action by militants.

FREDDIE:

My point is terrorism is a tactic. And whether someone employing it is called a terrorist or a freedom fighter depends on your point of view.

As for the bombing of the barracks and the wearing of uniforms and the Geneva Convention, I would just like to point out that the Geneva Convention is a treaty. Militant groups have not signed it. The big powers will blatantly ignore it if it serves their own ends The Allies targetted civilian population centers in WWII, a violation of the Geneva Convention, while at the same time observing the convention with the treatment of prisoners. I know the Axis did bombings too, but they didn't follow the treatment of prisoners bit either. Japan was never a signatory of the Geneva Convention.

You are also confusing civilian with non-combatant. If a member of Hezbollah falls back to hide among the civilians, that doesn't make him a non-combatant. It just makes him harder to find. That's a guerilla tactic, time honored. It may go against the "Rules of War", but, hey, War is Hell and if you survive it, who gives a damn.

So, yes. The attack on the barracks in Beirut was carried out by militants using a terrorist tactic against a valid military target.

Sweet Home Alabama!

Well, it's ain't Alabama, but it's probably just as nasty.

But, God help me, it's good to be home.

DAMN good to be home.

Even if Home is in New Jersey.

The flight back wasn't as bad as the flight to Raleigh, however, we boarded the flight, we taxied to the runway, then we parked.

The pilot came on and announced that due to storm activity, we were going to sit on the runway and they expected an update around 8 PM. It was just 7 PM at this point.

There was quite a bit of groaning on the plane. Luckily, we got clearance to take off at 7:55.

The clouds over NJ were quite amazing. Just these towering puffballs with the jet skirting around them. A 20-something woman was sitting in front of me on this flight and she kept turning around to ask me "Did you see that?!"

So, at least we got a good show.

Touched down. I stood there and waited for my bag. I got it with no problems. I got the truck. No problems. I went home. No problems. I climbed into bed.

No problems.

It felt so damn GOOD to be HOME!

Had a nice long weekend. The office was closed on Monday and Tuesday in observance of Independance Day, AKA July 4 here in the US of A. Made a huge BBQ on Monday with spare ribs, italian sausage, grilled veggies. Lots of left overs.

The next day we warmed everything up, cooked some chicken, burgers, hotdogs and bratwurst. Lots of left overs from that night too.

Last night I finished off the ribs.

They were damn good. I actually did them in the oven, smothered in BBQ sauce. 350F for 3 hours.

They were so tender they just fell apart.

Some news on S.

As I mentioned before, she had a cold. She gave it to me. On Monday, she still had it and was coughing a lot, so, we went to see her Doctor. They told her she had an upper respiratory infection, gave her some antibiotics and an inhaler.

As we left the doctor's office, the first thing she did was light a cigarette.

Me: "Put that out!"
S.: "Why?"
Me: "You're fighting a lung infection! Put it out!"
S.: "Fine."

We went to the store to pick up her prescription. I dropped her off in front of the store, then called her Mom to fill her in on what was going on and told her about the cigarettes.

When we got home, Mom was out. We sat on the couch and I started making the BBQ stuff. I went to check on her in the living room and she wasn't there. I noticed through the front door that she was sitting outside. I poked my head out to make sure she was okay, when I noticed the puff of smoke.

Me: "What are you doing???"
S.: "I've been good."
Me: (taking her pack of cigarettes) "Put it out."
S.: "No. I haven't had one in a while." (Note: We've been home at most an hour.)
Me: "I said put it out!"
S.: "Take the pack. I'm not putting this on out."
Me: (taking the cigarette and breaking it in half in her hand) "Stop being stupid. You're fighting a lung infection and this is the last damn thing you need. You can go a day without smoking. I'll give them back to you on Wednesday."

The rest of the day was a battle of wills. I confiscated all her cigarettes I could find, while she sat on the couch and either ignored me or bitched about wanting a cigarette.

Her sister decided to quit smoking because of this, so, she bought a patch and got S. one too.

When Mom got home, she ratted me out, telling S. that I had called her and told her about me putting my foot down about the cigarettes.

S. was even more pissed at me at that point.

That evening after S. went to bed, Mom, K. and I sat upstairs and talked for a while about S., K. and quitting smoking.

The next morning I asked S. how she was doing. She told me she was actually doing fine without the cigarettes and hadn't actually had a craving for one. She was just pissed off the day before because I had taken them from her like she was a child.

I responded that if she was going to be stupid and jeopardize her health by being stupid like that, then she was acting childish and couldn't be trusted with them.

She put on the patch that morning and has been cigarette free for 3 days now.

She told me she still hasn't had a craving for a cigarette. I went to give her the cigarettes back on Wednesday morning like I promised to, and she told me to keep them.

I'm proud of her.

Country Roads, Take Me Home

This week has been very trying.

I'm currently in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina for a training class with Jack Morton (formerly Right Source) called "Linux Jumpstart for UNIX System Administrators".

Not much new stuff for me so far. Went over Kickstart and RPM building, though - those are new to me. Now we're talking about X Windows.

Now, here's what happened to me earlier this week.

I had a flight at 5:00 PM on Sunday to get to Raleigh on American Airlines. When I got there to check in, I heard rumors the flight was cancelled. The line was long and there were only 3 people working the line. When I finally got up to be taken care of it was confirmed that yes, indeed, my flight had been cancelled due to inclement weather.

Fine, okay. When's the next flight?

7:00 is the next flight, but it's already full. I can go on standby for it. The next one after that is 6:10 AM.

They printed me a ticket for the 6:10 AM and put me on the standby list for the 7:00. I was #3 on the list.

At 6:30, they moved the flight to 7:20.

At 7:20 I'm standing there waiting with all these other hopeful people. Unfortunately, there are NO standby seats available. The flight is completely full.

Son of a BITCH.

I called S. to come back to get me. In the meantime, I verified my ticket for the next morning, then sat back down to continue reading my book. Then I thought I had better make a few calls.

I called the hotel. They have a message system which states that their office is closed for the day. It has a menu option to "Press 2 to speak to the manager if this is an emergency." So, I press 2.

I get the same damn menu.

I press 2 again.

I get the same damn menu.

I press another number to leave a message for the front desk.

SAME DAMN MENU!!!

I listen throughout the message and make a note of their national reservations line (1-800-CANDLEWOOD).

When I call them, the operator tells me they have no record of my reservation.

"I have a confirmation number!!"
"Sir, that number doesn't match any of our confirmation numbers. Let me forward you to guest relations. They may be able to find the reservation by your credit card."
"Okay."

Sat on hold for 10 minutes, then a guy picks up. He tells me he can't look up a reservation by credit card. He is able to, however, log into the hotel and check their system. He finally determines that yes, I do have a reservation, but it was made with the local hotel but not with the national system.

Huh? How can a national reservation system and a local reservation system work together? You might have 50 rooms in the hotel and the local system books 20 rooms and the national system is used by a tourist group or something who books 35 rooms because they don't know what the local system has done! That's stupid.

Anyway, I talk to the guy and tell him my plight. He tells me he put it in the system that I will arrive in the morning.

Whew. Fine.

Unfortunately, the car rental place doesn't have a number printed on my itinerary. That'll have to wait until I get home.

Which is 10 PM.

I wolf down some soup (I hadn't eaten since 4:00, and that was all I'd had all day), then look up the phone number for Hertz. I get someone in the office and straighten it all out.

In the meantime, I'm in a panic because I can't find my tickets. I thought I had dropped them. I finally find them in my laptop bag. Threw me off because there is an ad printed on the back of the ticket envelope. I thought it was one of my credit card bills or something. (Yes, Citibank puts adverts to buy stuff with their bills.)

I finally get to sleep around midnight.

Three hours later, the alarm goes off for me to go back to the airport. This time I'm driving myself. I'm pissed and I'm tired.

I get to the airport around 5:00 (I made a couple of stops on the way - first to the office to look for a mouse [couldn't find one] and the second at McDonald's for some breakfast), park in the "short term parking" ($30 max a day), then go in.

I get through security no problem (only thing that's gone right), then discover that my flight is being delayed until 6:30.

Greeeat.

When it's finally time for me to board, I discover that, YES, I HAVE LOST MY BOARDING PASS AGAIN!

I search my bags.

Nope.

I search my seat.

Nope.

I search my pockets (again).

Nope.

I go to the woman checking passes (she just finished) and tell her I can't find it. I give her my ID and she kindly prints a new one for me. Then she notes my carry on bag and asks if she gave me a bag check. Apparently the flight has very little carry on capacity. So, I put on the bag check thing, leave my carry on and board.

I need to stoop to get into the plane.

I'm in the front seat against the window on the right side of the plane. This thing is so small there are three seats per row with the aisle between seat 1 and 2, so, I'm in seat 3. The curve of the fuselage of the plane cuts underneath the window seats, so I need to sit kind of diagonal as I can't put my feet directly below me. The flight was only 1.5 hours long though.

Oh, and the 30 minutes we were sitting on the tarmac waiting for our bags to be loaded.

I finally get out at Raleigh.

I head immediately to baggage claim. It takes forever until the belt starts running.

A bag that looks just like mine rolls out.

But it's not mine.

It has a curling iron in it.

I have no hair.

My bag never appears.

SHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

I talk to the bag check lady. She asks me for my bag check ticket.

"What ticket? She gave me the bag check thing and told me to put it on my bag, so I did."
"You were supposed to rip off the bottom of the ticket."
"..."
"We'll see what we can do for you."

I left my information for my hotel with her, got my car (painfree), then went to my hotel.

By this time it's after 9:00. My class started at 9:00.

I got to the hotel and went to check in.

"I'm sorry, but we have no rooms ready right now."
"I have a confirmation number."
"Yes sir, but all our rooms are dirty and need to be cleaned."
"I called last night and they said I could check in early."
"I see nothing about that. If you come back at 3:00, you can check in then."
"..."

Back to the car and off to class. I walk in at 10:00.

I sit down, open the book, then my cell rings.

FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS!

The baggage clerk dug through the woman's bag and found an old boarding pass. They were able to contact her, she was bringing the bag back to the airport, then they would send it to the hotel.

HALLALUJIA!

After class I went to the hotel. I was able to check in. My bag was there. I got to my room. I wept for joy.

It's now Wednesday.

I have a cold. S. gave it to me. Sore throat. Congested chest. Runny nose.

I get to go home tomorrow. I hope. Storms are called for in New York.

Pray for me.

Light a candle.

Kill a goat.

Summon Cthulhu.

Whatever.

Just get me home...

I Love a Man in a Uniform

Brief update, then a rant.

This weekend I'm going to go fishing on the Choptank in Maryland with my Dad for Father's Day. Should be a blast. He doesn't know about the new truck yet, so, he's expecting to drive. I'm going to surprise him with the truck, and then do the driving for a change. He'll be the one to get to sleep on the ride.

The old boy needs his sleep.

Now, the rant. I was just thinking about the US involvement in Iraq and the people screaming to pull the troops out and them equating it to Vietnam. I'm not bringing politics into this, or the reasons for the wars, just looking at the current events and the responsibilities of the US.

1. Iraq - The US invaded. We removed the existing government from power. In Vietnam, the US entered into an existing warzone to assist an existing government.


2. When the US pulled out of Vietnam, it was left in the hands of the existing government to continue the war. There was a standing local military. There was an established local government. In Iraq, neither of these exist. The government is a fledgling affair. The military was dismembered and is in the process of being rebuilt.


3. Vietnam was a fight between ideologies. Communism versus Capitalism. Dictatorship versus Democracy. In Iraq, now, it's Order versus Chaos. If the US withdrew now, there is no order of any kind, other than Mob Rule. The presense of foreign troops in Iraq, at this point in time, is the only thing preventing an all out civil war, resulting in who knows how much human misery and death.

Now, as I said, I'm not getting into politics here and I'm not playing the blame game. The reasons for getting into Iraq have absolutely nothing to do with if we should remain there anymore! We are the authority there. We are the occupying force. Its not so much a political mission, anymore, as it is a humanitarian mission.

I'm sure someone will point out the thousands of Iraqi's who have been killed during the unrest and the 2000+ US soldiers killed since the beginning of hostilities and say "Does this look like its not a civil war?"

Imagine if foreign troops weren't there? At least they are there to try to keep a lid on the turmoil. If they left, how many shiites will be killed by sunnis? How many sunnis will be killed by shiites? How about the kurds?

It is my opinion that the US should remain in Iraq until a standing military is built with a stable government. That is the mandate. That's the "official" reason for us being there. Remove Saddam Hussein. Install a democratically elected government. Ensure stability.

I expect the US to be there for several years.

For those who are screaming for peace, many are blinded by their own grief for killed and maimed US soldiers. Perhaps the US shouldn't have been there in the first place, but you can't change the past. The US is there. It's a fact. We're the Law of the Land.

Think of the families of Iraqis that are being protected by our troops. Think of the humanitarian cause that they are fulfilling.

The most precious thing to a soldier is peace. They're willing to fight for it.