On infrequent blogulations

Can a photo album serve as one's primary news source? Are you tired of looking at a map of the world as a background? Should I get my sports news from anyone other than ESPN or Yahoo? Does anyone other than me care?

I have used the best of the web directory (just Google "Best of the Web") to locate a couple of neat new toys. I am actually going to see how informed I can be using 10x10 as a news source and I am interested in how well informed Yard Barker is on sports.

Vacation

The only disheartening thing about vacation is that I sometimes end up spending half of it worried that it's almost over. It isn't even that I don't like my job, I have worked very hard to get to the seat I have, unfortunately, all things being equal work is still work and I kind of enjoy not working. I guess that's why they call it vacation.

Day 17 on No Cable Island

So we have made it to day 17 of no cable without any real signs of mental breakdown. We did sign up for the Netflix 1-at-a-time unlimited plan with unlimited online viewing ($9.95 per month). This gives us a decent stream of online TV and movie content and we still appreciate a savings of $110 per month. I still miss my sports a little but I am adjusting to the concept of listening to games on streaming radio and watching GameCast style content online. All in all we are watching less TV as there is a lot less to loss but we are spending more time together as a family and being a little more selective in what we watch. I for one was someone who put the TV on by default and next thing you know six hours of my life is gone.

As an aside I have basically been sick for two weeks so going to bed a little earlier sans TV has probably helped a little. Right now I am typing this obviously but I am listening to Air Force football free online and I have Yahoo's GameChannel on so I can check up on the stats.

On Leaving Iraq

Sticking with a bad idea may be a great way to demonstrate perseverance however it does not ultimately make the bad idea a good idea. Seven year, hundreds of billions of dollars, thousands of American lives, hundreds of thousands permanently affected, and the last American combat troops have finally left Iraq (not necessarily the two gentlemen at left, but I suppose it's possible).

You can argue the "making America safer" argument until you are blue in the face. Frankly the other seven reasons for invading Iraq were essentially lies or misguided at best so I guess you have to go with that one. Iraq was always the wrong war. There was never a valid reason to be there and if Obama accomplishes nothing in the next two years and you hate everything he has done in the last two years he has earned another vote from me.

For some of us, many of us these days, war is not an abstract concept that you debate over drinks, or read about on the news. War is Specialist Anderson nearly losing an arm and being medivac'ed out of theater in the middle of the night. War is the fiery Lieutenant Stovall simply not showing up in your office any more after he was killed by a roadside bomb. War is pointing a weapon at teenagers not knowing if their kids or terrorists. War is the thousands of soldiers who had to come home and work through their problems with the help of professionals and loving families and worse the thousands of soldiers who came home with problems but don't have loving families or access to professional help. There may have been a time for war, but it is most definitely time for peace.

The Kayak

So I have received the mythical pile of Army money for being held a really long time after my contract was supposed to end. As an added bonus the Army took out very little in taxes, most likely because I was in a war zone when I technically "earned" the money making it tax free. Most of the money is earmarked for repairs of one sort or another but Renee agreed that I could get a Kayak. So this is the Kayak that I got on clearance from the Piche's outlet in Belmont and this is basically the rod holder that I installed myself (the trade-off for saving a couple of hundred dollars not buying a fishing kayak).

I took her out this morning from about four a.m. until 7:30 and had a blast. Unfortunately I didn't catch any fish but fun nonetheless. Realizing that a boat without a name cannot possibly catch fish I quickly came home, did some nice errands with the family, bought a small anchor, and did I quick online search for the name I had in mind.

Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is one of the most poignant and timeless fishing tales in American literature. Set in Cuba, the old man, Santiago, hasn't caught a fish in over two months, has trouble remembering to eat, and wouldn't have the money to buy food if he could remember. He is essentially the archetype for the unlucky fisherman. Manolin is the young boy who helps to take care of the old man and brings good luck with the fish...and not a bad name for a little kayak. Just my opinion, but naming her Santiago would be like asking for trouble.

The Best Laid Plans...

So I have thought out an agenda for the blog. I doesn't necessarily mean that I will start writing every day and I reserve the right to break my own self imposed rules. In the interest of sparking a higher quality of creativity I will try to post on different topics on different days. That way over the course of a week a thought can be more refined on a given topic.

Monday- Motion Picture Monday's will be for discussing or reviewing movies, either the family movie of the week, a new movie coming out, or perhaps a classic favorite. Another possibility is secondary topics related to movies such as who's the best Bond or the Jedi Religion.

Tuesday- Fish Stories will be reserved for Tuesdays. I do most of my fishing over the weekend so this is a good day to spin some new yarns or share some photos.

Wednesday- World Wide Wednesday is the day to explore unusual articles and websites from the web. A link to a link can lead you to some interesting places, and there's always YouTube.

Thursday- A picture is worth A Thousand Words. Picture, link as appropriate, and credit only no words on Thursday.

Friday- Family Friday will cover our adventures in parenting, what the boy is up to, etc.

Saturday- Jumble covers loose odds and ends Muskrat scores, politics, crazy drivers with cell phones, whatever.

Sunday- Super Sports Sunday covers topics near and dear to my heart in the world of sports. The Tour de France, the Little League World Series...whatever as long as it's sports related.