“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

Monday, March 11, 2024

Cultural Differences

If nothing else does, the near-ubiquitous presence of heated toilet seats argues for a superiority of Asian culture.

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Time and Place

OK, for folks everywhere. Unless your genitalia are literally on fire, there is not a single converastion we may be having which requires you to continue/initiate/return a phone call while you are performing private bodily functions. I promise, whatever I have, it can wait til you are done. Seriously. Those of you doing it on speaker phones in public restrooms are even worse. Stop that crap. *NOTE* If your genitalia actually ARE on fire, please call someone more experienced and equipped to deal with such issues than myself, for both our sakes.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Decorum

There are times to be neat, polite, prim, and all that fancy stuff. A proper chili dog should make a mess when you eat it. This is not up for debate.

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Veteran's Day

Going to change up the message a bit this year. Thank YOU. For the opportunity to let me serve something greater than myself. For the chance to be alongside some of the best men and women I've ever met, in good times and bad. For teaching me skills and discipline which are still with me today. For allowing me to travel the world, and realize how similar we all are. For challenging me in ways I never expected, and rewarding me in ways I still am learning. I'm humbled to have played my own, small part. Thank you to my nation for the chance.

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Pondering Moments

Not sure where this memory popped up from. But, When you're young and impressionable, and you put a bird down in a grid square in the middle of nowhere, and a few guys in a mix of clothes get on for a ride - it leaves a mark on you. A time later, when you're one of the guys getting on that bird, it leaves a different mark.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Current Terror Events. And Canada needs a F-ing clue.

I can't write everything I'm feeling or thinking right now. It's too fresh. Too raw. I literally know people affected by this, much less the general horrors involved. I won't comment on history of the region, grievances on either side, or anything else. It's not black and white overall, particularly for those who only understand the world through 30-second sound bites. I will say this, without reservation, equivocation, or remorse. Particularly directed at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the spineless minions who feel things are "nuanced". Let me help you out. If you believe that beheading babies, killing children and families in their beds, kidnapping and gang-raping women just for being on the other side, and taking civilian hostages to deter retalation after your attacks is somehow "justified", then you are a terrorist. Not anything else. Not some noble resistance or freedom fighter. You have abandoned all pretenses of humanity, and anyone excusing such actions is either stupid or complicit. Similarly, those happily engaged in sharing the digital trophies of such events, or holding rallies to celebrate these acts has openly stated their belief that barbaric horrors are perfectly fine against the "right" victims. Similarly, to the ass-hat in Ottawa who never met a dictator he didn't like - I'm fortunate enough to live in the United States, so I can still freely say such things, rather than face your ever-growing attempts to stifle online dissent, identify those who don't agree with you, and otherwise implement your draconian rules. No, I'm not very happy with humanity or the world right now. I just ask God to show mercy on those he can, and grant peace to those left behind.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

A Travel Tidbit

So, there I was on one of the flights last week, doing things, going places and all that. And, as happens sometimes, there's a bit of a kerfluffle amongst the flight attendants, and a few minutes later the lead comes on the intercom to inquire if there are any doctors, nurses, or the like onboard to assist a passenger? They find a couple of folks & moments later the group is towards the back of the plane helping sort things out. At which point, the woman in the seat next to me pings her call button. When the flight attendant arrives, she informs her in a very solemn manner that not only is she a trained accupressure therapist, but she's also skilled in aromatherapy in case that would be be of any assistance with what's going on... I swear, I'm not making this up. Folks, I'm all for alternative medicine, and you-do-you-boo. But, maybe keep in mind the "when and where" of things. You may rest assured, if I'm having an incident at 38,000 feet severe enough to ask for help, I want someone able to do a whole lot more than balance my chakras. And, the passenger was fine in the end.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Don't Break the Rules... Except When You Do

"The Moscow Rules" exist in various versions dating from the Cold War - originially developed as a set of guidelines for CIA personnel operating in the unforgiving environment of espionage in the Soviet Union. They still apply today in terms of dealing with possible hostile or criminal actors for people going in harm's way, or just trying to stay smart and safe in an uncertain world. One of the rules is "Don't harass the opposition." Meaning, even if y ou know who the players are, it's considered bad form to tweak their noses in it. This is fundamentally sound guidance. Irritating those you are working against can give away things you aren't ready to, clue them in enough they escalate things, or just generally piss people off and get egos involved where you then become an object lesson. Like most rules, sometimes you just have to break it. Case in point, last week I was spending time with some foreign partners helping them step up their security testing program at a location. It's a healthy relationship, as such things go, with a long history of "trust". And, while we weren't being super-sneaky about the process, it certainly wasn't intended to be public knowledge or broadly shared even on location. Yet for some reason one of their other agencies got a hair up their backside, and decided to drop a major surveillance team on us. Which is one thing. But, they were also complete amateurs about it - the closest comparison I could give is the classic "Pink Panther" movies with Inspector Clouseau. People doing the most awkward outfit changes to shift appearance, "trying" to surreptitiously take pictures, "talking" on their phone with it visibly not on and so forth. It was almost professionally insulting. So, yes, I had to play around a bit with them. We *might* have managed to add about 4 miles of "extra" steps in our routes around the place that day. Gotten a huddle together and then split in five different directions. Gone up and talked to strangers just to confuse the opposition as to what was going on. Taken selfies with their groups in the background. I mean, I had *some* courtesy. I resisted the urge to take one guy a bottle of water when he looked worn out. I was nice enough to say thank you when one of them got stuck awkwardly holding the door for us. And we all waved goodbye from the taxi at the end of the day. Worst part? Even with all this attention, we still got in...

Thursday, August 17, 2023

More Billboard Notes

From this week's observations, is the primary industry in Atlanta civil suit attorneys? Or did they just corner the advertising market?

Saturday, August 12, 2023

The "War on Drugs" to "Let's Be Careful Out There"... or, something.

Not making a judgment one way or another on this one. Just an observation from a roadside billboard during a trip this week. In less than 40 years we've gone from "Just say no" to "Don't get high alone, in case you OD". Pretty sure who won this conflict.