Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Time in an Airport

Yesterday I drove to Charlotte, NC (decent 2.5 hour drive from our home, mostly all interstate) to meet my wife who was returning from a 2-week visit in Arizona with a relative, and I had the pleasure (or not so) of hanging around one of America's busiest airports...at least as far as parked cars are concerned.

Charlotte Douglas Airport has one of the largest parking garages around and while I found a space to park close to the terminal, it took me a couple of drive arounds before I sorted out the layout maze. Last time we flew from there, we parked our car in the long term lot, (back forty I should say) and that was like a short safari to get from the car to the terminal, via bus.

Meeting an arriving passenger these days at an airport takes place in an area typically next to the baggage claim, because the "secure" section is so large there is not room for much else. So, unlike years ago when one could stand near the area where passengers were unloading and spot the arriving person one was meeting, then walk with them to baggage claim, today you essentially have to wait in baggage claim. With cell phones, that's not a problem because you can track each other, but still it seems like a rather unpleasant way to greet those arriving. And then there's the cost of "things" at an airport these days.

Parking itself is fair and reasonably cheap, and that's good. However, if you want a bottle of water, five bucks please. Small packet of breath mints so you smell nice to the person you are greeting, two fifteen please. $2.15 for a pack of mints that used to coast a quarter! Outrageous, but they got you captured "inside" and will squeeze every penny out of your pocket. Starbucks coffee, well, at least that was about the same as I'd pay elsewhere, which is always too much. Anyway, you get my point.

It was an uneventful trip for us, other than trying to back out of my small space in the parking garage with the back hatch of the Honda CRV open (thank you nice person who yelled at me.) My excuse? It's my wife's car...I'm not used to how things are supposed to look through the rear view mirror. Had it been my Toyota 4Runner, I'd have spotted that oversight in a second.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Going back in time in Iraq

Army Times has an interesting article about how remaining troops in Iraq will soon start seeing an end to all the "bennies and personal comforts" they have grown accustomed to having available, and before they know it, they will be transported back in time to how it was at the beginning of the war there, when MRE's and tents were commonplace, and there were no fast food courts, fancy recreation areas or barracks. The article is here.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

I'm a cat-influenced typist



Anyone who has a dog or a cat as a pet will understand it when I say that not only do they have human-like qualities and personalities, but they also quickly learn how to interact with you, as if they know they are a beloved part of your family.

We've had both dogs and cats as pets over the years, taken care of them when they are sick, played with them when they want to, responded to their demands such as "feed me" or "leave me alone" and always treated them as an integral part of our family in many ways. Sometimes they pester you so much for attention and you have to brush them away, but whenever I do that they give me this sad look that makes me give in and offer them the attention they seek. Take my calico cat Boots, who is sitting here next to my laptop while I'm typing this, staring at me from about six inches away, with her head next to mine, silently telling me she wants love of some sort.

I brush her away telling her, "Not now Boots" and she slides back a bit and starts grooming herself, but still looking up at me every few minutes to see if it's now OK for her to resume the position from which I'd brushed her away. But, it's a bit different the second time, because when she comes back, rather than sitting close to me, she rests her head on my arm and so long as I don't disturb her, she quickly falls asleep. I've thus learned how to type mainly with my right hand, with the left sort of encumbered by Boots laying on my wrist and arm.

I am indeed a cat-influenced typist.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Change of Responsibility

Those of us with military experience are very familiar with times when a change in responsibility is necessary. Two-year command tours are over, it's time for a reassignment and your replacement is on board, or you get promoted and move up to higher levels of responsibility and another person takes your place. It's the same outside the Army in many instances.

For example, AEA recently hired an Associate Editor for Army Engineer magazine, to help me put the yearly issues together for subscribers. She (Beth O'Hara) lives in O'Fallon, Illinois near St. Louis and she came out to beautiful Ridgeway, Virginia near Martinsville...home of the oldest and best NASCAR track around...and yesterday, we spent a day together planning out how we'll work to eventually transition the editor's responsibility from me to her by the end of 2012...at least that's the plan. Up until now, I've been doing this all alone (like forever it seems) and I have to say it's wonderful knowing that there is now someone else available to help do all the work, and then to step in when it's time for me to retire-retire. Beth is not only well qualified technically, but she is an excellent writer. AEA is very fortunate to have found someone with her credentials.

Now, don't get the impression I'm going to sit back and watch Beth have all the fun. No way. I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing, but all the while slowly transitioning levels of work from me to her, so that when it's time for me to say bye-bye, Beth will be at the top of her game. So, while there has not been a magazine change of responsibility per se, it's a work in progress.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Making potato salad with exploding eggs

My wife is off on a 2- week vacation with her cousin, and I am staying home alone taking care of the cats, our 2.5 acre yard with all it's spring chores, and other tasks...some fun, some not. Anyway, one task I don't enjoy that much is cooking.

I invited my daughter over for supper last Saturday and planned to make homemade potato salad as part of the meal. I could not locate my wife's recipe so I did a quick internet search and got one which contained the ingredients I had on hand. Had they NOT been on hand, I would have found another recipe, or else had canned baked beans instead. All went well with my preparations that afternoon, until I got to the "egg" part.

I know boiling eggs does not seem like a tough cooking challenge, but for me it turned out so. First, I got a pot of water boiling and then dropped three eggs into the water...one, two, three...and each broke...one, two, three...when they hit the bottom of the pot. Boiling mess resulted. So, I decided to start over, but first I took the mess way back in the woods behind our house and dumped it all for the critters to find.

Fortunately, I still had eggs left in the carton, so after the water came to a boil the second time, I carefully lowered each egg and all seemed well. Except, for some reason my mind told me that cooking hard boiled eggs was essentially a three-minute job. But, to be safe I added another minute. Taking the eggs out of the hot water, I cooled them in the sink faucet and then removed the shells. Still good, except I noticed the eggs seemed a bit "soft" inside. Hummm...my mind wondered...why not "nuke" them in the microwave to make sure they get a bit more cooking. 45 seconds, all's well. Why not another 15 seconds just for drill? "POP" went one egg inside the microwave and I had another mess. But, the mess was in fact a fully cooked egg and involved only one of the three. So, I cleaned the inside of the microwave, and dumped the egg pieces in the potato salad mixing bowl, then set the other two aside to cut them up to add to the mixing bowl.

Given the nuked eggs were pretty hot to handle, I should have put them under cold water, but that seemed a waste of time. Imagine my surprise when I cut into the second egg and it exploded like a popped balloon, tossing egg pieces all over the table, the floor, and even the ceiling. Our startled cat Boots jumped off the table where she was watching my work, while I cussed my stupidity. But, then I compounded the problem by doing exactly the same thing with egg number three. Same result, but now Boots was better prepared, hiding under the table.

Another internet search determined that three-minute eggs are for the soft boiled version, and to get hard-boiled I needed twelve minutes. So, taking the last of the eggs left in the carton, I did exactly that, but went 15 minutes just to be safe. No way were those babies going to explode on me.

End of story...the potato salad was actually pretty good with the eggs, but I decided when I get a notion to serve potato salad when my wife is not here, to go to Food Lion and buy a container of the store-made variety rather than making my own. Lesson learned...don't mess with eggs, they can be dangerous.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Reality looms

When I was in the Army, I never really worried about much of anything that was going on outside my "zone"...meaning anything civilian in nature. But when I retired after almost 30 years of service, the picture changed. In sum, reality loomed on the horizon while I neared the end of my service period, but I paid little attention. After getting out, reality dumped on me big time. My "security blanket" was gone.

Army service was not easy, we moved usually every two years, there were two combat tours in Vietnam, our kids hated it by never having any permanent friends; and my wife tolerated it all, while basically running the entire home front by herself while I did my thing being a soldier. Our experience was no different from most others in the military. One thing was certain, however, so long as you did your job, improved with experience and maximized your strengths and minimized your weaknesses, you could have a very successful career. The "job" was always there, and we knew what to expect. We had a great security blanket all around us and it felt good.

Many now in uniform are preparing to get out themselves. Some after retirement, others after a service tour.  To them I advise...be ready to deal with the possibility of new challenges you have no experience dealing with, and be prepared for the stresses of a civilian job market which is pretty dismal at present. You may not get what you want, and in some cases you may have to take a step down from the level of responsibility you've had in the military. On the upside of that, your experience (leadership for example) is much sought after by many employers, you just have to "sell yourself" in an effective way. Keep in mind however...reality looms for you on the horizon, just as it has for many others who went through this same gate before.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

You may not realize how important Japan is...until now

The tragedy in Japan is beyond description not only in loss of life, but in total destruction of areas of a once beautiful country. As many have written lately, not since the end of WWII has the country suffered so much. The war was of their choosing, so most Americans at the time felt little if any sympathy, and most rejoiced at the fall of Japan. But now, with the recent powerful earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan, and the impact that is having on a much different people than those we fought so hard against from 1941 to 1945, most of us stand ready to provide whatever support we can. We may soon need Japan's help in return.

The world (especially the USA) relies on Japan for numerous very important electronic and other high technology goods,  photographic equipment, and automobiles just to name a few important product areas. In some instances, items made in Japan are not made anywhere else...and that's going to effect us all...soon. Prices are already rising on some high-end photographic equipment, inventories of key electronic components such as flash memory and silicon chips are growing smaller, and soon the law of supply and demand is going to become very much a driver of higher cost for many items we use every day. Shortages loom on the horizon. This, on top of an already stressed world and national economy.

Yes, Japan is that important. They need our help for sure, but the same is going to be true the other way.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Japan Earthquake Before and After

Check this series of photos out...make sure to scroll across each image with your mouse or trackpad to see the before and after. Incredible devastation...sadly.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Not much to say

Some days are harder than others to come up with a suitable topic to write about...and this is one of those days. On top of that, what I might write in my simple style hardly compares to what's being written concerning tragic events in the world such as the earthquake in Japan, the fighting in Libya, and other terrible instances of what's happening on our unstable planet. So...what can I write other than a couple of newsy bits like:

1. The March-April 2011 magazine is at the printers and should be mailed to subscribers by the end of March. That issue will be the first ever oriented on much more varied content than we've had previously...lots to read and see.

2. I'm working with the magazine's Associate Editor, Beth O'Hara, to come up with a different "look" for AEA's webpage. I expect it to be finished sometime this summer.

3. For those interested, the Engineer Regiment's annual ENFORCE conference at Fort Leonard Wood begins April 6th...coming fast...register at the school's site soon.

And with that folks...I ain't got no more to write today. See you next week.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Developing Character

I was talking with a friend today who has a son now in his second year of high school. She told me he was an enthusiastic participant in the school's ROTC program...specifically the "Raider Team", which is composed of cadets who are interested in competition involving execution of various military and physical skill events, both individual and team. As an aside, the team in question has won the Virginia State Championship several years running.

Her story brought back personal memories because I was also a high school ROTC participant, and then after graduation did the same thing during four years of college, eventually leading me to an Army commission. What ROTC did for me, especially in high school, was to provide an opportunity to excel in areas before untested. I was not an athlete...far form it, and I had transferred to a new school in another state as a sophomore, due to the separation of my parents. That traumatic event was mellowed somewhat by my ROTC instructors...one of whom sort of took me under his wing...being that he lived across the street from where we were.

As I told my friend today, her son is in good hands, and the exposure to leadership, value and ethics development, and teamwork he is receiving will go a long way helping to prepare him for what lies ahead later in life. Today, ROTC is far different from what it was when I was in high school...back when it was mostly all "military" oriented. Today, it's much more like a series of classes on leader, teamwork and character development...things sorely needed in our country as it now stands.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Fools Spring

I heard a TV news commentator say the other day that we were now entering a season he referred to as "fool's" spring. One day the temperature outside rises into the 50s-60s and even into the 70s... coats come off, flip-flops and tee-shirts come out of drawers and closets, and people dash outdoors with the abandon of a caged animal just released.

And then the following day it all comes crashing down as another massive cold front brings us back to reality.

Still, those few hours experienced outside, with the sun warming our backs, with warm sights and sounds all around us, makes us joyful of what lies ahead, once we get past this "fools" spring.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Turn left, right, or go straight ahead

Seeking new discoveries, I often drive without specific direction or plan, on one of my numerous road trips. It's like beginning a brief journey at a point, with no end in mind, letting what comes along be a guide as to which direction to turn...left or right or straight ahead. Success is when one finds that the direction selected was correct, which in many cases brings joy and satisfaction.

The main purpose of my unplanned journeys, each only a few hours long, is to find some scene, some object, some thing to fill the frame of my camera. Once captured through the lens, onto the camera's digital sensor, the recorded image remains essentially hidden from complete inspection until later when it is transferred to a computer, and only then is it exposed in full view, with colors and details recorded as one hoped they might be...or not.

Whether the captured scene I view with great anticipation on my computer's screen actually retained the same level of focus, detail, mood, or vibrant color my mind's eye remembers is not as important as the fact that had it not been for that fateful turn left or right, on my unplanned road trip, which I decided on a whim, I would never at all been able to see what I saw.

And...I was the only person on this earth who saw it that way during the brief instant in time when my camera's shutter clicked...and then it's mine alone...forever...unless I care to share it with others...as I often do.