Back home safe from the trip.
Home is great, I am not - but it is a good thing to come home to a loving family, and that helps.
Anyway, I'm working on a sleep deficit which makes the Federal budget look downright skinflint, and I have two papers to get written in the next two days else I fail the semester. So - not going to be on much, but letting the world know I'm sort of alive.
Just a few ramblings from a confused guy. Former military, former cop. Husband. Father. Student. Role playing gamer, on intermittent weeks. Avid reader. Internet addict. Small "l" libertarian. Too many others to mention. The views and opinions expressed herein are my own, and do not reflect those of any official agency or government or species. Names have been changed to protect the guilty; God protects the innocent as a matter of course.
“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
Friday, March 29, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Offline
I'll be out of town for a bit over a week, with limited connectivity if any. Posting will resume when I return.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
K9 Veterans Day
First I've heard of this organization, but a good cause - support our military working dogs.
http://www.k9veteransday.org/
http://www.k9veteransday.org/
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
More to come
The VA appointment went well enough. Going back Friday to screen for some other stuff.
Not ready to discuss it more than that at the moment, particularly as this will be some long term stuff. But felt like I should post at least that much.
Not ready to discuss it more than that at the moment, particularly as this will be some long term stuff. But felt like I should post at least that much.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Brief update
Nothing amazing to share... so just going to do a few bits.
- Dealing w a plumbing crisis at the house for the past couple of days. I can say in all honesty, the fact we have our church pastor stepping in to help with it this week is a blessing beyond words. Since I was getting dangerously close to solving issues using some of my own techniques and tools...
- Health-wise I'm down almost 30 pounds now, which is nice. Had to put a couple more sets of pants and shorts in the "can't wear" pile now. Have an appointment tomorrow at the VA to discuss some of the other things, so we will see how that goes. Probably will be a long-term thing but we shall see.
- Officially, in blunt language, Feinstein can kiss my ass. PTSD is nothing "new" to Iraq; and not every PTSD sufferer is a ticking time bomb waiting to snap and slaughter people. Another example of many of stupid people shaping things to their message.
- Since I leave on a work trip next weekend I have to get a number of things caught up this week in advance - hoping that work, and the citizens etc cooperate and make that easy. Especially so I don't leave the wife swamped with more than she already so graciously deals with...
- Let me say that I'm ready for winter to be over. If we had mountains and real snow it would be one thing, but cold and humid for months on end is getting old.
Otherwise - my brain is all over the place and not focusing as it should, so I'll leave the post at this.
- Dealing w a plumbing crisis at the house for the past couple of days. I can say in all honesty, the fact we have our church pastor stepping in to help with it this week is a blessing beyond words. Since I was getting dangerously close to solving issues using some of my own techniques and tools...
- Health-wise I'm down almost 30 pounds now, which is nice. Had to put a couple more sets of pants and shorts in the "can't wear" pile now. Have an appointment tomorrow at the VA to discuss some of the other things, so we will see how that goes. Probably will be a long-term thing but we shall see.
- Officially, in blunt language, Feinstein can kiss my ass. PTSD is nothing "new" to Iraq; and not every PTSD sufferer is a ticking time bomb waiting to snap and slaughter people. Another example of many of stupid people shaping things to their message.
- Since I leave on a work trip next weekend I have to get a number of things caught up this week in advance - hoping that work, and the citizens etc cooperate and make that easy. Especially so I don't leave the wife swamped with more than she already so graciously deals with...
- Let me say that I'm ready for winter to be over. If we had mountains and real snow it would be one thing, but cold and humid for months on end is getting old.
Otherwise - my brain is all over the place and not focusing as it should, so I'll leave the post at this.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Just a bit different...
I'm spending my week in a mental health training class - mixture of cops, fire/ems, medical people etc., so it's a variety of viewpoints and experiences. One of those mandatory things, but so far it's not too bad.
Anyway, today one of the exercises was actually interesting; in that they provided a stress input to all of us to simulate some of what a person might be experiencing during a psychotic episode with auditory hallucinations. We then were put into a variety of situations and asked to perform "normal" tasks as we dealt with this - with varying levels of distraction and effectiveness among the class participants, as would be expected.
So - apparently my performance was a bit abnormal... apparently I displayed almost no significant stress change from all of this as I went through the various tests, which had some of the ones who knew me laughing & those who didn't a bit perplexed. Up until it was explained to them what my particular specialty and background was. As I explained to them - no explosives, no one shooting at me? A few extra voices out there isn't exactly stressful all on their own.
But I do know I got a few strange looks from some of the mental health professionals. Like that's anything knew - we all know bomb guys aren't wired right in the first place!
Anyway, today one of the exercises was actually interesting; in that they provided a stress input to all of us to simulate some of what a person might be experiencing during a psychotic episode with auditory hallucinations. We then were put into a variety of situations and asked to perform "normal" tasks as we dealt with this - with varying levels of distraction and effectiveness among the class participants, as would be expected.
So - apparently my performance was a bit abnormal... apparently I displayed almost no significant stress change from all of this as I went through the various tests, which had some of the ones who knew me laughing & those who didn't a bit perplexed. Up until it was explained to them what my particular specialty and background was. As I explained to them - no explosives, no one shooting at me? A few extra voices out there isn't exactly stressful all on their own.
But I do know I got a few strange looks from some of the mental health professionals. Like that's anything knew - we all know bomb guys aren't wired right in the first place!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
You can't make this stuff up
So, finally got a halfway amusing call the other afternoon/evening - one of those where you just shake your head afterwards.
The first problem of our idiot-in-question? Well, he's doing some homemade bomb experimentation... we get called since he seems to have decided to leave one of these by the roadway in the middle of the afternoon & a passerby spots it. Now, in this busy neighborhood, how do we figure out where the perpetrator is? Well - since he has left a literal trail of exploded & failed to work devices literally from the roadway to his back door, with parts & pieces of the manufacture thereof sitting in plain view on the porch, it's kind of easy to work that one out.
No one is answering the door, even with several cars there, so we end up with a couple of us sitting on the house while another goes to type up and get our search warrant. Reasonably sure that someone is inside and just pretending, but that's on them. While we are waiting I idly comment to my coworker as well "You know, we're going to find drugs in here too."
Which leads to the next phase of the story... after all of this, what with dealing with the devices, waiting on the paper, and all that, it's been about two hours now of plenty of police and fire folks right outside - not exactly subtle-like. Sure enough, shortly after like a rabbit out of a hole, out comes our timid little resident - "Oh officers, is something going on?" Even two seconds of talking with this guy has the B.S. meter pegged, and I'm just laughing because I know this will continue to be fun.
So, the search warrant finally shows up & inside we go to clear the house and start looking for the bomb stuff. And yes, we don't even make it out of the first room before seeing our drugs... Johnny the bomb player also apparently has a hobby of growing marijuana, and heavily consuming the same. Along with certain other recreational chemicals when he feels like it.
Ever watch Cops or any of those reality shows and think "People really aren't that stupid in real life, it's all scripted." ?? Let's consider this - just two elements. #1 - the guy pretty much left a lit beacon straight to his house from his bomb play saying "HEY, COME ARREST ME, I DID IT!" #2 - he then sat in his house, peeking out the windows at us for TWO HOURS and realizing we just weren't going away, and at no point in there did the concept of "Hey, maybe I ought to go ahead and flush some of this dope down the toilet." ever cross his mind.
I mean really, can we honestly think that THIS example was the fittest survivor of his gene pool?
Job security folks.
The first problem of our idiot-in-question? Well, he's doing some homemade bomb experimentation... we get called since he seems to have decided to leave one of these by the roadway in the middle of the afternoon & a passerby spots it. Now, in this busy neighborhood, how do we figure out where the perpetrator is? Well - since he has left a literal trail of exploded & failed to work devices literally from the roadway to his back door, with parts & pieces of the manufacture thereof sitting in plain view on the porch, it's kind of easy to work that one out.
No one is answering the door, even with several cars there, so we end up with a couple of us sitting on the house while another goes to type up and get our search warrant. Reasonably sure that someone is inside and just pretending, but that's on them. While we are waiting I idly comment to my coworker as well "You know, we're going to find drugs in here too."
Which leads to the next phase of the story... after all of this, what with dealing with the devices, waiting on the paper, and all that, it's been about two hours now of plenty of police and fire folks right outside - not exactly subtle-like. Sure enough, shortly after like a rabbit out of a hole, out comes our timid little resident - "Oh officers, is something going on?" Even two seconds of talking with this guy has the B.S. meter pegged, and I'm just laughing because I know this will continue to be fun.
So, the search warrant finally shows up & inside we go to clear the house and start looking for the bomb stuff. And yes, we don't even make it out of the first room before seeing our drugs... Johnny the bomb player also apparently has a hobby of growing marijuana, and heavily consuming the same. Along with certain other recreational chemicals when he feels like it.
Ever watch Cops or any of those reality shows and think "People really aren't that stupid in real life, it's all scripted." ?? Let's consider this - just two elements. #1 - the guy pretty much left a lit beacon straight to his house from his bomb play saying "HEY, COME ARREST ME, I DID IT!" #2 - he then sat in his house, peeking out the windows at us for TWO HOURS and realizing we just weren't going away, and at no point in there did the concept of "Hey, maybe I ought to go ahead and flush some of this dope down the toilet." ever cross his mind.
I mean really, can we honestly think that THIS example was the fittest survivor of his gene pool?
Job security folks.
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