give thanks

If you ask my wife, she would tell you that I am not a big fan of PBS as a source of news. However, I was browsing for pictures to share with you this Thanksgiving, and I came across this article about the food we eat on this particular Thursday, and I found it interesting enough to share with you. If you are like Rocky Balboa and think that today is just another Thursday, then I am sure there is at least one turkey out there who thanks you for that. :-)

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving, and try to not trample anyone at the mall tomorrow, okay?

King Neptune has spoken

At 0800 this morning, after being ritualistically cleansed of the city sludge and dirt of the land, I have been declared a Shellback by King Neptune and his royal court. The ship's captain came over the intercom just after 1000 to announce that we had just crossed the equator on our way back to port but since the cleansing had not been completed for some of the crew yet, we had turned to a new course (270 - due West) to avoid actually crossing before the ship had been purged of slimy pollywogs. The final count was that over 1500 sailors and Marines were declared to be "Trusty Shellbacks" and welcome to King Neptune's Realm. Trust me, the article I've linked to here today discusses things that were way worse than the stuff I had to do this morning, Mate. Arrrrrrr!

11-0!

Whew! It's been a long day. I woke up at 0330 as the game was coming on. I'd already set my alarm for later, so I went back to sleep for awhile. I woke up again at 0500 and checked the score. It was 21-2 and nearing the end of the 1st half. I thought, "No problem," and went back to sleep again. When I woke up at 0630, the score was much closer. I think it was 24-21 or something like that. I watched the rest of the game with a little bit of apprehension, especially after OSU lost two fumbles on bad snaps. But the Buckeyes held on. They completed the season with a perfect record and the Big-10 title. They are going to play for the national title, but who are they going to play? That's a good question. The results should be out in another day or two and we will see then. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that if USC beats Notre Dame next week, then they will be number 2 and get a shot at the title.

In honor of the Cincinnati Bearcats playing host to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, I thought I would post a survey about being from the Queen City. If you are from the area, or know someone who is, you will probably laugh at most of these jokes. If you are not, then maybe this list will shed some light on all the jokes about Cinicinnati.

You Know You're From Cincinnati When...

Your idea of a three-way is chili over spaghetti topped with cheddar You know what Gaeta is - and you've eaten it You hate Cleveland, but you don't know why, and you've never been there You think Pete Rose and Marge Schott were railroaded You say "Please?" instead of "Excuse me?" You think Northern Kentucky is part of Ohio You've been to California, Wyoming, Coney Island, and Over-the-Rhine in one day There are less than 100 murders a year, and you still think you're in Detroit You think Dayton is a Third World country What groundhog? It's the St. Patrick's Day parade leprechaun that forecasts how much longer winter will last. Losing football teams draw more fans than winning baseball teams. Indiana is about 20 miles away, but it takes about four hours to get there. It's too cold in the winter, and too hot and humid in the summer, to ever stay outside for very long. You drive to Columbus or Louisville to avoid the prices at the Cincinnati airport. City council members hold debates on whether or not they should debate in the first place. Tourists still flock downtown to catch a glimpse of cast members from "WKRP," even though the show hasn't aired on network television since 1984, and the show was filmed in LA anyway. You ask lifetime residents where the President Taft house is, but they don't know either. If you do something -- anything -- in public long enough, sooner or later it will be banned. Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude Graeter's ice cream. You get through winter listening to Marty and Joe's broadcasts from the grapefruit leagues. Big Red Smokies are a ballpark treat, not cause to dial 9-1-1. If necessary, the city could easily be sliced into two new cities: East and West, and it would take 20 years for anyone to notice something happened. Chocolate and cinnamon, not peppers and beans, are in your chili. You can drive 30 minutes in any direction to hear a different accent than your own. You can accurately judge people's social status by which Kroger's store they frequent. You can go to any church festival in any neighborhood on any weekend and see at least five people you either work with, went to school with, or dated. Even the slightest mention of former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti makes your blood boil and your ears steam. If the temperature hits 45 degrees, and the sun comes out in any month between November and April, people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets. The top stories on the local 6 o'clock evening news look suspiciously like the articles you read in the newspaper that very morning -- and even use the same quotes. Any carbonated beverage is a "coke." Your favorite convenient store sounds like a labor union. You can't hear the words "Mike Brown" without getting angry. You honestly believe that Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall Fame. You have more stadiums, coliseums, and arenas than you know what to do with. It doesn't seem weird to you that everyone has an Uncle Al. Your favorite Coney Island isn't in New York. You like Nick Clooney better than George Clooney. You know how Jerry Springer got his start. You know what a pony keg is. You have friends and neighbors with names like Machenheimer, Guckenberger, Schlottman, Schoenling, and Schweitering. You know that cars (like eggs) are cheaper in the country. An all-boys or all-girls school doesn't seem that odd to you You think a mixed marriage is when an East Sider marries a West Sider. You know the difference between Hudy and "Who Dey." You know what cream ale is, and you think that cream soda should be bright red. You think Kentucky is only slightly more civilized than Afghanistan. You know in which state the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located. You actually understand the word, "CRAVE" and white castle burgers. You can almost name the seven "hills" minus one or two. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Cincinnati.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here



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You know, Mark Twain once said that if the world were coming to an end, he'd want to be in Cincinnati because everything happens there 10 years later. I don't know what he means by that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go check out this new group called "No Doubt." I hear they're supposed to be pretty good. Have a great week.

respect

I learned this morning that Bo Schembechler has died.

I grew up watching the man work his magic at the University of Michigan as they competed for the Big-10 title almost every year, it seemed. The traditional game between my beloved Buckeyes and the loathed Wolverines is this weekend. I do not know how this loss will affect UM. Coach Bo has not been in Ann Arbor for several years, but I am sure his passing will still have an impact on the team. The emotional factor is bound to be high. Even higher than it was going to be already, I'm sure.



Coach Schembechler, our thoughts and prayers go out to your family in this hour of loss and I know your extended family includes hundreds of thousands of Big Blue faithful.

Go Buckeyes!

Honor, Courage, Commitment

The United States of America is the Land of the Free because it is the Home of the Brave. Cpl Jason Dunham's story is not unique among the Marines I have served with for the last couple of years save for the level of recognition that his story has earned. I mean no disrespect and I hold Cpl Dunham up as a hero. I only mean to say that there are a lot more men just like him and I am humbled for the chance to serve with them and grateful to them, as a husband and a father, for the sacrifices they make to help me protect my family.

Semper Fidelis.

weekend in review

I just wanted to touch on a couple of different issues here before I forget.

Since I've already done my ranting and raving about the election process, let me address an issue my wife raised in an email earlier today. She asked if the shift in the balance of power would have any impact on my deployment schedule. Unfortunately, I doubt it. Yes, the Democrats made huge gains in their numbers in both houses of Congress. Conversely, of course, the Republicans lost a large number of representatives and senators. However, the President of the United States is still the Commander-in-Chief. As such, it is entirely within his authority and responsibility to defend America's interests as he sees fit. I will try to keep an eye on the nomination process for Mr. Bob Gates to replace Mr. Donald Rumsfeld as the Secretary of Defense and we the people should be able to judge how much the Democrats want to cooperate by this very important confirmation process. We are fighting a war on two different fronts right now and the President needs a Secretary of Defense to help him develop and implement policy.

I must admit that when I saw that the Chargers were scheduled to play in Cincinnati, I was not sure who I wanted to win that game. The Chargers still have a good shot at the playoffs I think, and the Bengals could regain some much needed momentum with a win at home. True to the billing, the game turned into a shoot-out and the Bengals were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. I hate to say it that way, but if you score 21 unanswered points in the first quarter and go into half-time up 28-7, then you should be able to win the game. That's not to take anything away from the Chargers, but come on. Of course, neither team appears in my sports link list to the right, so I guess it's not that big a deal. It looks like I missed an exciting game, though. That brings me to the game scheduled for this Saturday.

Once again, the nation's focus will be on Columbus OH as the number 1 ranked Buckeyes host their arch-rivals, and the team ranked number 2 in the national standings, the Wolverines from the University of Michigan. I honestly believe that this is in all reality the national championship game. The winner this weekend will be the only undefeated team in the country except possibly Rutgers (wait... Rutgers?!) (yep) and will claim the Big-10 title in the process. Unfortunately, the losing team will probably drop to at least number 3 in the polls, depending on how USC does, and will have to settle for a lesser bowl game in January. Go Buckeyes!

I've already mentioned that I've started a new blog. However, since creating it I've changed the name a couple of times. Check it out and tell me what you think. You may have noticed that I've also tweaked the layout of this blog a bit. I thought I should move some stuff around, and I wanted to add the countdown to the top. Please let me know what you think of these changes.

I've already posted two surveys this week (citizenship and logic) so I won't post another one just now. I am going to try to get into a regular routine about when I update each blog, but until I get that figured out, you'll just have to come back every now and again and see what's up. Have a great week, friends, and thank you for your continued support.

Veterans Day rededication

Veterans Day.

Typically, Veterans Day is almost a sacred holiday for me. Ever since I joined the Corps (actually, when I still in high school) this day has been special day to me. I have an aunt who retired from the Air Force and an uncle who was in the Army. Heck, even my father-in-law is a Marine no longer on active duty. (We don't have "former" Marines. They just no longer serve on active duty status.) Of course, I didn't know him when I was in HS, but I had friends who went to Desert Shield and they were only a year or two ahead of me in school. I've always known I would join the military and do my tour of duty for the flag. I just didn't think it would turn into a career the way it has. Through the years, I have always tried to maintain the standards that were passed to me from senior Marines. This trail of training started with Staff Sgt Huston (who retired a few years ago as a Master Sgt) who recruited me and Sgt Clark, my senior Drill Instructor at Parris Island. There was Sgt Ford who was the platoon sergeant for a time when I was with the Division Band with CWO Grimes and Master Guns Harris. Then, suddenly, I was the platoon sergeant with the Wing Band at El Toro. Guys like Dave Studer and Alan Benoit made that band a lot of fun. I've seen guys reenlist in combat zones because they wanted to be there. I've seen guys voluntarily extend their tours to deploy with their buddies and end up not coming home. I know a Marine who survived an attack and was sent home as the escort for his twin brother, who didn't make it. Through it all, I've met men and women from just about every service (sorry Coast Guard) and I can tell you that despite our sometimes-not-so-friendly rivalries, I could not be more impressed with the caliber of young people in today's military.

We held a traditional cake cutting ceremony in the hanger bay of the Essex yesterday. The oldest Marine present was a Master Gunnery Sergeant who was born in 1955. He received the first piece of the cake, cut by the MEU commanding officer. He turned and passed his piece to the youngest Marine present to symbolize the passing of traditions from one generation to another. The new generation was represented by a young Lance Corporal who was born in 1988.

Did I have a point I was trying to make? Actually, yes.

Every year, people all across the country promise to better themselves starting with the new year in January. I've decided I'm not going to wait that long. I started the 2006 with a goal of running 2000 miles this year. I've stopped counting how many miles I did run, but I know it was nowhere close to 2000. I even started a 2nd blog to track my progress, but I had not updated it since May. I've deleted that blog. I started another one, though, and I started today. I'm not going to wait until January. I'm also not going to force myself to try and run 6 miles a day (that's 2000 miles for the year) to start. I started with 4 miles on the treadmill this morning. It is my intention to run every day but Sunday and as I get into better shape, I will increase my distance. In this manner, I will set a better example to junior Marines who look to me to set an example. I will try to honor the sacrifices made by all those who have gone before. And I will look and feel better. If you would like to keep tabs on my progress, you may click here and be taken to my new blog, "on the not-so-fast track" and leave a comment if you so choose. I will continue to post here of course, but I hope you will stop by my new site from time to time. If not, though, that's not a problem. I'm not doing this for you. I'm not even doing this for me. I'm doing this for Him who created me and wants me to honor Him by taking care of His temple, and I'm doing this for those who can no longer do it for themselves.