“May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”


"This report is maybe 12-years-old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried till River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew. And they were right to fear because there's a whole universe of folk who are gonna know it, too. They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people. You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, 10, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people . . . better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave." ~ Captain Malcom Reynolds

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Catching up

Finally back home. Thankfully that was the last trip for a bit - for some reason even though it was short, it wore me out.

Caught up on the crack that is high-speed Internet. How did we ever deal with 1200 baud modems again??? And kind of daunting to realize how many different blogs and feeds I read when I come back after 4 days of no access...

The training/forum session was excellent. Some very talented and knowledgeable people sharing their information with both the civilian and military side of the bomb disposal community. Came out of it with some new tools and a chance to practice a few things we normally don't get to do more than talk about due to the hazards involved.

One of the things I like most about bomb techs as compared to some of the other units I've been associated with is that meetings together involve a lot less comparison of genitalia sizes, and a lot more general fun and camaraderie. This group was no different. A few minutes conversation quickly turned up people we knew in common, and stories and laughs were shared from past years. Then the meals and such were great conversations on a tremendous breadth of topics. I was noticing it on the last night sitting in the hotel lounge - where the crowd included one of the world's experts on improvised & terrorist explosives, a retired Federal agent who had worked several of the extremely high profile cases of the past years, a scattering of civilians from various agencies, local cops, military from newer guys to very experienced - and all sharing equally in the thoughts and conversation. Not a lot of other communities around where you get that kind of interaction.

Speaking of the military guys - spent some time chatting with one of the junior enlisted guys who is wondering about life after the Navy. Gave him some thoughts and tips on the law enforcement side, along with a reality check of everyplace has stuff good & bad - you just figure out which parts you can handle and like. It was very interesting to hear about some of the things that have changed in the time since I've gotten out, and the tremendous progress being made in improving our responses. As always too it is amazing the motivation and ability of these young men and women - though it makes me feel old seeing them bounce around and follow us senior guys like puppies in the farmyard! Anyway, if this group is any example, then the services are still in good hands.

As to the family, it is great to be home and able to help my wife and spend time with everyone. The munchkins are thrilled to have daddy back and I'm glad to be able to relax and sleep in my own bed. Other than that it's catching up on house stuff, work, school and all the other things which fell behind.
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