Best Tech inventions for 2008

Pretty neat stuff here, thanks to Time magazine, which you don't need to buy any more, just to read it.

Listen while you work at Michigan Tech

Photo is of Michigan Tech taken by me last month, and where I graduated many years ago. Great university for engineer and science majors. Lately I've been listening to the online streaming audio from the university's radio station WMTU. It's pretty crazy music and a bit heavy metal at times, with hardly any C&W (too bad, at least for me). But, for some reason, when I listen to the student-run station while I'm working "at the computer" during the day, I seem to be more creative. Whatever. Check it out here if you are so inclined.

Quit worrying…take a road trip or something

This morning as I was riding home from getting my annual flu shot (at Krogers by the way), I was listening to a talk radio show (not important which one it was) and there was lots of "worrying" going on, as well as talk of "fear". Given that in the past,the same talk radio host always seemed to me to be more positive, I wondered what was going on this day. I suppose it's the upcoming election that's got these guys down. That's a shame. I don't care who is elected next week, it's all going to be OK. How do I know this to be true? I don't…really. I just have faith in average American folks. So, go get a beer or something and quit worrying about what lies ahead. Or, maybe take a road trip like is shown here. Make you appreciate what this country is really all about, and it sure as heck ain't political in nature.

How long after the election…

1. before mainstream media pundits start calling for us to get out of Afghanistan,
2. before realism points to the fact that none of the campaign pledges are affordable,
3. before whomever is elected to figure out there is no such thing as bipartisan politics,
4. before others interested start campaigning for "change" in 2012.

Home for sale…recent foreclosure

Rainy Friday…again

But, we need the rain here in SW Virginia, so no complaints from me. Big deal here in Martinsville today other than the weather is the fact VP candidate Joe Biden is coming to town. Last Sunday Todd Palin, husband of VP candidate Sarah Palin was here as well. I wonder whether or not either will remember this region after the election is over, regardless of who wins. Probably neither will.

In two weeks…

Two weeks from today we will have: 1. a new President elect, 2. no worthless political commercials to change channels from, 3. more leaves on the ground to clean up, 4. fewer days before Christmas during which to buy gifts, 5. less value in our stocks and less money in our pockets to buy Christmas gifts, 6. troops coming home for the holidays on leave from Iraq and Afghanistan, 7. other troops getting ready to deploy overseas, and 8. the next issue of Army Engineer magazine almost completed for printing. How special is all that?

NASCAR Short-Track Racing

There are many reasons why, for me, short-track NASCAR racing is special. The most obvious is that one can sit in the stands and see every bit of the action, compared to larger oval or D-shaped, one-two mile long, higher-speed tracks where spectators generally see just a portion of the race. Yesterday at Martinsville Speedway where the annual fall NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held, I again experienced my favorite aspect of a short-track event…seeing up-close more than just the race itself. For example, from where I was seated high up, between turns one and two of the “paper-clip” configured, half-mile long historic track (first race in 1948 just as NASCAR was formed), I saw a series of simple (but to me personal) things, through my binoculars, a few minutes before drivers entered their cars to be given the command “start your engines”. Jimmy Johnson joking around with numerous people near his number 48 car (he won by the way). Tony Stewart emptying the pants pockets of his bright orange and black driver’s suit of items he apparently did not want to carry with him during the race, and giving them to a crew member. Kevin Harvick sitting casually on the pit wall with an arm around his wife. Carl Edwards standing nearby looking at Harvick (they had a personal physical altercation a few weeks ago). Dale Earnhardt, Jr. taking time to meet and greet one adoring fan after another, always shaking hands and having his photo taken, and then signing whatever autograph they apparently wanted. Jeff Burton (a Virginian) laughing with a reporter. And the race driver I don’t like very much, Kyle Busch, leaning against his car, wearing his trademark wrap-around sunglasses, smiling and laughing with reporters and others. You get my point. With my view it was almost as if I was right next to all the drivers lined up waiting to race. In short, I was a personal part of the event. You can’t get that at most other NASCAR race tracks.

At least it's an increase

The Dec. 1 cost-of-living adjustment for military and federal civilian retirees, disabled veterans and survivors will be 5.8 percent, with the increase first appearing in Jan. 1 checks. The same increase will go to Social Security recipients. Given the sad state of our various stock-related IRA's, we need all the extra we can get.

Wayback Machine

Here's an interesting website that allows you to enter a URL and then take a look at how that site looked as far back as the late 1990s. It's kinda cool to see how much things cost then, what products were featured and what people were buying, etc. So far, it worked for every site I entered. Check it out at http://www.archive.org/web/web.php.

Saturday Night Lights

It's that time of year when all over America bands are playing, footballs are being kicked, and scores are being accumulated. While I often am perplexed by the level of apathy of many of our young people in the USA, when I watch them on a sports field, or during a band concert in front of thousands, I become somewhat more encouraged.

It was better when I was dumb

Things "economic" never much worried me when I was on active duty in the Army. That was partially based on the fact that I'd flunked ECON 101 in college, and only got a "D" when I took it the second time. But, it was mostly caused by our relative isolation from the rest of the world in terms of daily routine. For the last ten or so years we were on active duty, we spent about half in Germany with troops. The remainder of that time was also spent with troop-related assignments in the U.S. My daily routine thus began at 0500 and ended around 1800 or so. I had training schedules to worry about, training exercises to plan and execute, briefings to prepare and give, and loads of "people" issues to deal with. Equipment maintenance was paramount, as were all things "supply" related. When I watched news on TV, or read it in the newspaper (Stars & Stripes for example), I hardly ever got agitated in any way. It was just "news". Key items on my weekly agenda (especially in Germany) were Friday afternoons sipping a few favorite beverages with comrades and friends. TGIF meant a lot to us back then. Weekends were for golf or home chores and Mondays always sucked. Three or four day holiday weekends were looked forward to with great anticipation, and always seemed to go by far too quickly. In short, I was essentially a dumb person when it came to what was happening outside the Army. It's much different for me today. I've become somewhat "smarter" about the economy, pay far too much attention to politics, and am an avid "news watcher". After seeing another 600+ drop in the stock market yesterday, I long for those days when I would have paid little if any attention to such terrible news. It was better when I was dumb.

Why can't younger people get it?

Last night my wife and I went to Wendy's with our oldest daughter and her 15-year old daughter who is, most of the time, totally oblivious to anything going on around her, except what she gets as a text message on her be-jeweled cellphone. Today, I wondered why there is so much difference between our children and grandchildren, compared to us and our parents and grandparents. When we were young (in our teens during the 1950s and 1960s) we typically didn't buy anything we couldn't afford, most of us respected those in positions of authority, we walked to school and while there listened and learned, and many of us worked performing odd jobs to get any spending money we might have. We had only a few (if any) TV channels to watch, only AM radio to listen to, no computers, no video games, no cellphone, no blogging, no Facebook or MySpace, and no car (other than our parents if they allowed us to drive). We knew what we were, appreciated what we had, and aspired for greatness based largely upon our own initiative and capabilities, reinforced by family values passed on to us…by example. Those type values have, unfortunately, been mostly lost over the years, and today's young people are far, far different (in a worse way) from what we were at their age. In short, today's youth care not for the past, seek only to gratify their immediate needs, and have little regard for what may lie ahead in their lives. Most seem to believe that "someone" will take care of them and will give them what they want, when they want it. Sorry state of affairs to say the least, especially during these times of severe economic conditions. By the time they finally do figure this all out, it will probably be too late to do much about it.

Email attachment junk

I often receive emails with attachments that cover just about everything possible which I refer to as total junk. Most of these emails I delete immediately without ever opening. Examples: Internet rumors informing me that according to the experts, "so-in-so" is a communist or a terrorist, chain emails ordering me in all capital letters to "PASS THIS ON NOW, DON'T BREAK THE CHAIN", jokes that are either not that funny or are totally tasteless, and patriotic music and/or videos apparently designed to make me want to get up and salute while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I don't need anyone to try to make me feel any more patriotic than I already am. People need to think about what they send, before they send it. Ask yourself, "do I think the recipient REALLY wants to receive this?" If there is any doubt, don't send it! Why assume just because YOU think it's great, that someone else will feel the same. Adding to the misery, is the fact that many senders of this nature thoughtlessly pass on this type junk to EVERY person in their email address book!

Quincy Copper Mine

When I was a student at Michigan Tech, we used to be able to go inside old native copper mines and "explore". Not so today…safety, etc. The Quincy Mine in Hancock was one of the largest and deepest mines in the world, bringing up native copper deposit in massive loads. Trains such as this one hauled the ore to a nearby smelter.

One heck of a sand dune!

This photograph was taken along the shores of Lake Superior, near Grand Marias, Michigan. In the late 1800's, early 1900's, during the logging boom in Michigan, loggers pushed logs down the 500 foot high, steep sand dunes to the water (using gravity of course), where they were transferred to waiting ships for movement to saw mills, etc. Today, tourists slide down the dunes, and then must make a rough climb back up with VERY loose sand underfoot. Many have become stranded as a result, so there are warning signs posted all over stating to BEWARE. In my younger days, I'd have given it a shot. Today, my camera did all the work.

Change of leadership

This week there will be a change in leadership at Fort Leonard Wood. MG Bill McCoy is to be replaced by BG(P) Gregg Martin as the CG of the Maneuver Support Center, while COL(P) Bryan Watson has been designated as the new Commandant of the Engineer School, replacing BP(P) Martin. However, COL Watson is not slated to return to the U.S from overseas deployment until early next year, so the present school deputy commandant, COL Bob Tipton will assume that role on an interim basis. MG McCoy is to be the new DA Staff Deputy Inspector General when he departs Fort Leonard Wood. Congratulations to all.

Michigan Tech

I’m sitting here at the computer following my morning daily physical routine, wearing a Michigan Tech logo-emblazoned tee-shirt, sweat pants and hat, looking like (I’m sure) a brand new freshman at my alma mater (1963). Per my previous post, we visited Houghton, Michigan in the UP of the state last week and not only had an opportunity to spend some money in the campus bookstore buying “gear”, but were able to see some very beautiful country at the same time. My wife and I were married there, our first daughter was born there, and we have tons of memories there, all great (except for my grade point average which was only a bit above what I needed to graduate). I was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers from ROTC there, and that was my main purpose in going to college in the first place… to become an officer in the U.S. Army. I had no choice but “engineers’ since at that time ROTC was branch-specific at some colleges, and Michigan Tech was/is a leading engineering and science school. The photo here is of the main part of the university, taken from across the Portage Lake portion of Lake Superior which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula . It snows a lot up there in the winter, and it’s pretty darn cold most of the time. Ice hockey is the main sport and when we were students there Michigan Tech won the NCAA Division 1 championship (1962). They also won it in 1965 and 1975. In recent years they have not been as successful, but you can’t tell that when you look at the new ice arena, student athletic complex, and student development center. In fact, the place looks totally different than when we were students there, with many of the old buildings having been replaced. However, my dorm is still there as it was then (with additions), as are some of the old bars we used to frequent (illegally I might add). In sum, it was great to go back. I wish I could start all over again up there in the cold north-woods. I might even be able to study harder. Or maybe not.

A trip full of lighthouses

After a week-long trip to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, we arrived home last night after almost 3000 driving miles, with gas prices averaging $3.80 per. When you get happy to pay $3.39 per as we did in Ohio, you know that times have really changed for people on the highway these days. While gas shortages exist in the southeast, it was interesting to note that in the far north part of the UP in Houghton, Michigan (home of my alma mater Michigan Tech) we paid the lowest for gas anywhere in Michigan. One of our main interests during this trip was to visit as many of the wonderful lighthouses that exist along the rugged shores of Lake Superior. The photo here is of the lighthouse in Eagle Harbor. The day we were there the wind was blowing hard, and the water was rough. It was around 50 degrees. Anyway, I'm now sorting through my many photos and will post more later. In the interim I have grass to mow here at home, and other chores to do. And, I have to start the next issue of Army Engineer magazine. Plus, watch all the financial mess and the political debates. I have to admit it was nice to be away from the daily news cycle "in the backwoods" for a short while.