Martinsville Race Day…sunny

The sun came out early on race day, and fans swarmed the track, even with some arriving a bit late due to muddy parking areas caused by several rainy days last week. It was one of the most competitive races here I've seen in awhile, but there were three drivers which stood out…Gordon's 24 car, Hamlin's 11 car, and the eventual race winner Johnson's 48 car. Here's some photos.

Later this week I'll post some photos I took before the race of the Army's 39 car driven by Ryan Newman, which took 6th.

NASCAR and the Economy

I've been going to NASCAR races at least twice each year, for the past nine years. Over that period I've seen crowds large and less large (they are never what I'd call small). Today I ran by Martinsville Speedway to check out the vendors selling driver merchandise, plus other exhibits and displays sponsored by companies with an interest in the NASCAR fan base.

What I saw today was interesting in relation to the economy, especially the automobile part of that. In the past General Motors, Ford and Chrysler always had large displays focused on their cars and trucks, especially trucks. Today, the ONLY automobile manufacturer present was Toyota, and they were there in a big way. Interesting however, was the large void in the display area where GM, Ford and Chrysler used to be located…their absence was (to me at least) very obvious.

I also noted there were far less "mom and pop" vendors present for race weekend, selling food, drinks, snacks and general NASCAR merchandise. As you can see in the photo, the weather is not good today, and as I write this, rain has started to fall. So, Sprint Cup qualifying this afternoon may be canceled. Weather outlook for tomorrow's truck race isn't good either, but if all holds true in terms of the forecast for the big race on Sunday, we should be partly sunny with mid 60's temps.

Seeing what I saw today definitely represents the state of our economy. It's not good. But, hopefully it will improve over the next year.

Veterans and PTSD

Last night I watched President Obama's press conference and was happy to see him take a question from a Stars & Stripes reporter (not your typical mainstream newspaper for sure). He was asked to comment concerning the many defense related costs in upcoming budgets, given the relative importance of each in relation to support to personnel. I was interested in his comments concerning veterans…specifically: “Unfortunately, over the last several years, all too often the VA has been under-resourced when it comes to dealing with things like post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, and dealing with some of the backlogs in admission to VA hospitals,”

Several high ranking Army officers have recently come forward to discuss openly the personal mental stress they each encountered following combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects all, regardless of rank.

Unfortunately there seem to be some in the military who still fail to recognize this fact, and often discount or totally overlook PTSD related issues, some involving conduct. I personally hope this trend is erased quickly, and that veterans receive all the care needed as it relates to PTSD. It's real, recognize that and deal with it. Our President seems to be oriented that way and that's good.

Martinsville Race Week…and the weather

Twice a year NASCAR visits Martinsville and Henry County Virginia, and each time I am a participant. This week is "race week" here, and many are gearing up for the Kroger 250 truck race on Saturday and the Goody's 500 on Sunday. I'm excited, but…

I'm a weather freak. I watch weather forecasts like others watch the stock market. Both have up and down days. So, during race week I watch the weather forecast very closely for the up coming weekend of racing, because with rain there is no racing.

Right now, the forecast calls for a 50-50 chance of rain on both race days, with mostly cloudy conditions. Positive side is that the temperature is expected to be in the 60's. Last spring, it was partly cloudy, but in the low 40's with wind. I froze, sitting in the metal stands for close to six hours. Many did not show up that day because of the cold, but those of us that did walked away feeling like we had sucked it in and met Mother Nature's hand.

I'm in my "glass is half full" mode right now. More importantly, if it does rain, we definitely need it. Last year was really dry around here.

Structures from the past

Perhaps it's my "engineer" background, with an obvious association with structures of many sorts, I find that while traveling around these days my eyes are always on the lookout for abandoned buildings no longer being used. Around the Blue Ridge here in SW Virginia, there are hundreds of such finds…many of which when I see, I immediately grab for my camera to capture it digitally.

Here's one, altered in Photoshop. What its original purpose was, I have no idea. Still, it caught my eye.

Fishing along the Smith River…with friends

One of the better spots to fish for trout in Virginia is along the Smith River. Fortunately for me, it flows right through the area in which we live.

The other day I was out and about with my camera and did some exploring along the river banks to scout for new areas in which to fish. While there, I noticed a man fishing along the bank (you may be able to see him in the far left upper portion of the photo) and he noticed me taking pictures.

As I walked along my side of the river, closer to where he was fishing, he yelled across the stream and asked if I had ever seen the Smith River from the side he was on. I replied I had never been able to figure how to get to that side of the river by vehicle. He said like me, he had spent most of his earlier times fishing along the river on the same side I was on, which is very close to the Army Corps of Engineers dam at Philpott Lake, which was built years ago along the Smith River basin. One day while fishing where I was standing just below the dam, he ran into a Corps employee who told him of an old dirt road that would provide access to the opposite side, plus provided many open stretches of riverbank access, far better than where he was.

The tip was passed on to me, and after about a thirty minute drive I found the old road, and made my way down to the river. The Corps employee and my new found fisherman friend were correct…that side of the river was much better than the side I'd been going to for years. I drove to where my friend was fishing, and walked down to the bank to tell him his directions worked, and thanked him profusely for his advice. He smiled and said, "My pleasure."

People are like that around here. They speak up when they see you, and say "hi". Not like other places I've been where people ignore you like the plague, and act like you've intruded into their private space if you get too close. I'll probably never again see the man fishing that day, who passed on advice given to him by an Army Corps of Engineers employee, but I'll always be grateful for him being so friendly…plus for the Corps for being so professional.

A closing note: This blog is dedicated to my good friend Jim Hey, who died suddenly and unexpectedly last summer. Jim loved to fish for trout and it was always our intention to do so together one day along the Smith River. Sadly, it never happened. In fact, Jim was a person exactly like the guy I'd met briefly the other day, who willingly shared his "secret" on how to get to the best locations to fish along the river. That's an interesting coincidence now that I think about it.

Price to Smoke or Chew

As if the health hazards associated with tobacco use today are not sufficient to make one stop, the price of tobacco products here in Virginia (in many respects the "home" of tobacco) is set to rise drastically. For example, the cost of a carton of main brand cigarettes will soon be around $40.00.

Back when almost everyone I knew in the Army smoked (including me) the Army gave us cigarettes in C-rations for free, five to a pack, no filters. If you bought them in the PX, a pack was less than twenty-five cents. In Vietnam, the price was far less, and since we had C-rations many days of the year, we usually had all the smokes we wanted, for free. Different story today.

A letter to the editor in our local paper today complained that since poor people were the ones who make up the largest percentage of tobacco users, raising the retail price is essentially a tax on the poor. If such is true (and I don't know it to be) then I have a question.

If one is "poor" I assume they have less money to spend on things like tobacco. Same thing goes with money spent for alcohol (beer) and cell phone monthly contracts. Why then, are so many of the so-called "poor" people wiling to spend so much on things they don't really need, using money they supposedly don't have?

Who is responsible, us or them?

Yesterday at lunch, my wife was finishing up her daily portion of flavored, packaged yogurt, and read to me directions written on the side of the small plastic cup, urging those about to dispose of the container, to first crush it flat, so as to not endanger wildlife, should the cup be tossed carelessly into the environment. I suppose small critters might try to stick their head into the cup to finish off the remains, and get stuck…whatever.

Anyway, this made my wife angry. Her comment was, "Why am I responsible to protect the environment, when companies continue to package their products in ways that are not environmentally prudent in the first place?" She also wondered why "plastics" had to be used so much these days, and why those who create package designs can't be more innovative.

Good questions.

It's official…Spring is here!

St. Patrick's Day brings visions of green and flowers to many. I wish all a wonderful St. Patrick's Day this year. Green beer, Irish whiskey, or just a plain old soft drink or bottled water, whatever…have a good one.

May the lilt of Irish laughter
lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
shorten every road...
And may all your friends remember
all the favours you are owed!

This is where I work…work you say?

Yes, this is a recent photo of my work desk…where I put together Army Engineer magazine six times a year. While what you see may be considered (how should I say it) "antique looking", I find the work setup to be just fine. There are, however, several problems I have to work around.

For example, there are a couple of keys missing on the typewriter, and the quill pen is somewhat hard to use when doing detail work. Also, the clock is stuck at just past five o'clock, so I often have a hard time deciding when to take a break. And, I have been having a hard time recently finding refills for the Super Chrome pen ink on the desk shelf, as I am in locating replacement ribbons at Walmart for the good old Royal typewriter. Lastly, ever try to work under the light of an oil lamp? Not a fun experience I can tell yah!

Still, having been trained well by the Army over the years, I've been able to overcome all these type obstacles and consistently accomplish my mission.

Strange things for a cat

One of the strange things (and there are many) that our cat Lucy does, is to play with plastic milk bottle caps, which she chases when thrown, and then returns them to be tossed again. She does the same thing with plastic straws…go figure. Anyway, she has this habit of returning to the milk bottle caps used during our "toss and return" playtime, and then carrying them into the kitchen, where she drops them flat into the center of our dog's water bowl. Strange indeed. When I see them in the water bowl, I toss them out into the family room, and then later in the day I'll usually find them back in the water. Dogs usually are the ones who do things like this, and definitely not a cat. But, Lucy is not a normal cat.

Nice website Bad website

I visit the Army's website from time to time, and since they redesigned it, I've found it much easier to use than in the past. On the other hand, there are some that I find to be a bit cluttered. Here's one example.

Bits and pieces

1. The March-April issue of Army Engineer is now being printed. Subscribers can expect delivery late this month or early next. If you don't subscribe, why not? More info here.

2. Beautiful weekend here in SW Virginia. High 70's low 80's. Expected to be in the mid 40's by the end of this week. Typical.

3. Atlanta NASCAR race yesterday was pretty good. Glad to see Kurt Busch won, and Jeff Gordon take a very close second. Speaking of the Busch family, I'm not so down this year on Kurt's younger brother Kyle. Last year I was not a big supporter, in fact I rooted for him to lose. He's mellowed out a bit this year, so I'll neither root for or against him. If he wins, that's OK too.

4. Now that the magazine is put to bed for awhile, I have a couple of weeks to do home chores. I'm fixing up one of our bathrooms, plus painting a bedroom. I'm also considering buying a new lawn tractor…John Deere… to replace the one I now have (also a John Deere). I need a more powerful model to mow our somewhat rugged terrain. The President asked us to "spend if we have it" so I may follow his recommendation.

The news

Each time I check out the "news" either online, on TV, or on the radio I hear nothing good…well hardly ever…the Dallas Cowboys have released T.O. and that's certainly good news.

On my AM walk today I started thinking that maybe the best way to deal with all the gloom and doom financial and political stuff in the news is that I ought to initiate a personal boycott on "news" itself…except perhaps sports news, or the weather forecast (which by the way looks nice and warm here this weekend).

On my walk I was listening to my iPod to a song by Bruce Cockburn that spoke to "what would you do if you knew today was your last day on earth." That got me thinking. I certainly would not pay that much attention to the news if I knew tomorrow would never be. I'd try to cram as many fun things as I could into each minute left. It would all be personal stuff, between me and my family. What would be going on elsewhere in the world would have little significance.

In sum, I guess what I'm talking about here is there are lots more important things than what we read and hear on the "news".

Earth from above

Here are some very interesting views of our planet. Check them out here.

Officer training backlog

Army Times has an interesting story here which in summary addresses the valid concerns of the TRADOC commander, about the present backlog in professional training (schoolhouse) primarily for junior and mid-grade officers (LT-MAJ).

The situation is that because of the demands and frequency of unit deployments, many officers are staying in command and staff (S-3 and XO) positions longer than before, and are not able to attend professional training as in the past. Given that they are staying longer in these positions, means fewer other officers pass through those critical assignments. TRADOC wants to determine what this all means as far as future impact on the Army.

First reasonable snowfall in five years

What that meant to me was getting up at 0630 with camera, and then almost 200 images later, sipping a cup of hot coffee inside. Here are two I took.

We have a writer in the family…

…and it's not me. My grandson, Michael, a senior in high school and headed to Virginia Tech next Fall, wrote the following as part of his advanced english class. I thought it was very good, so decided to publish it here for others to read. It's not about engineers, but it may make you smile…when you get to the end. He plans to eventually become an engineer by the way, after graduation from Tech. Here's his elegy:

Thursday night, middle of the summer;
Terrifying thunderstorm comes rolling into the town.
Preceding the majestic show of electricity,
Are the powerful booms and claps of thunder.
Temperature plummets as the rain begins
Its erratic yet mesmerizing decent to earth.

Torrential downpour quickly over hydrates the arid soil,
Runoff spills into neighboring creeks and streams;
Bursting their banks and flooding fields violently.
Sweeping away everything left in its path,
The floodwaters show mercy upon nothing.

Unprotected possessions are destroyed or carried off;
The unexpected flash flood allowed no one
The time to prepare. Much is lost.
I am among those caught off guard.

Napping in a warm, flower filled field,
I never heard or saw the approaching storm.
A heavy sleeper; not even the rising water
Stood a chance of disrupting my slumber.
Water beginning to slap playfully at my face;
I dozed on oblivious to the world.

Explosion; dam breaking; I was swept away.
Beaten and pummeled suddenly by the water;
I did not know what was happening,
Or even who I was at that point.

Lungs aching for oxygen; I finally surface,
And made my way to dry, safe land.
During my struggle it seemed I lost
Something most dear to my heart.

My mustache has parted with my face;
It is no where to be found.
How this happened is still a mystery,
But I mourn the loss of it everyday.
Secretly hoping it will return to me.