I had a work rant I was going to write up following today, but it is far more important that I pay credit to Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta on his receipt of the Medal of Honor today.
You are a credit to your nation and to the Army sir, and we are privileged to have men and women like you defending us.
Nothing more I can say is worthy. Well done.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Idiots at work
From Tam this morning.
I really try to avoid Monday morning quarterbacking around here, particularly when minimal facts are in - but this one is too stupid/good to ignore:
Larry, Moe and Curly - we have rules for a reason folks. Little things like "Known your target and what's beyond," "You are responsible for every round you fire," stuff like that. We stress those things starting in the Academy for a reason. I don't care if you are a cop, security guard, or armed citizen - if you can't identify a threat you have no freaking business pulling the trigger on your weapon - end of story.
Every time someone starts in on cops, stupidity and double standards I am unfortunately reminded of incidents like this, which give us all a bad name.
I really try to avoid Monday morning quarterbacking around here, particularly when minimal facts are in - but this one is too stupid/good to ignore:
Backfires from broken-down van draw bullets from KC police
Larry, Moe and Curly - we have rules for a reason folks. Little things like "Known your target and what's beyond," "You are responsible for every round you fire," stuff like that. We stress those things starting in the Academy for a reason. I don't care if you are a cop, security guard, or armed citizen - if you can't identify a threat you have no freaking business pulling the trigger on your weapon - end of story.
Every time someone starts in on cops, stupidity and double standards I am unfortunately reminded of incidents like this, which give us all a bad name.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ugh
Three hours, two replaced toilets, cuts & scrapes, aches & pains and a few choice words later I am reminded yet again why I'm not a gorram plumber.
There is a reason people get paid a lot of money to deal with that crap...
There is a reason people get paid a lot of money to deal with that crap...
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Sometimes they just write themselves
Last night didn't find any drunks, but did have a couple of easy ones.
Our first winner was the person who after I stopped him for speeding, still managed to have his video player in his lap concentrating on his movie when I walked up to the car... Apparently this whole "concentrating on driving" thing is just a passing fad.
Then later on I ran into the young lady who made the excuse of "Well, my speedometer is broken, so I just have to guess how fast I'm going." Meaning we not just have speeding, but now we have to tow the car. Guess that didn't work out so well for her.
I always love the excuses people come up with on stops, to try and avoid the simplest things.
Our first winner was the person who after I stopped him for speeding, still managed to have his video player in his lap concentrating on his movie when I walked up to the car... Apparently this whole "concentrating on driving" thing is just a passing fad.
Then later on I ran into the young lady who made the excuse of "Well, my speedometer is broken, so I just have to guess how fast I'm going." Meaning we not just have speeding, but now we have to tow the car. Guess that didn't work out so well for her.
I always love the excuses people come up with on stops, to try and avoid the simplest things.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Once upon a time...
One of the things The Princess likes to do is cuddle with daddy & watch music videos on iTunes - she has a list of ones she likes (rock girls win every time for her!), and she gets absolutely entranced. Kyleigh saying "I want to watch a music video daddy!" is a sure sign of a long session at the desk - and I don't mind at all.
But, I'm wondering how she will react in a few years when her mother and I explain the legendary time when there was an entire TV network DEDICATED to music videos, where you could watch them for hours on end...
But, I'm wondering how she will react in a few years when her mother and I explain the legendary time when there was an entire TV network DEDICATED to music videos, where you could watch them for hours on end...
WHAT IS A VET?
*Not my words, but well worth sharing*
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s alloy forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
You can’t tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She (or he) is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another – or didn’t come back at all.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat – but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marinmes, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the two anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket – palsied now and aggravatingly slow – who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so that others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say “Thank you”. That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, “Thank you”.
*****
For the men and women who have served, or continue to serve, from one veteran to another - thank you.
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s alloy forged in the refinery of adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
You can’t tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She (or he) is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another – or didn’t come back at all.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat – but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marinmes, and teaching them to watch each other’s backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the two anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket – palsied now and aggravatingly slow – who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so that others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say “Thank you”. That’s all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot, “Thank you”.
*****
For the men and women who have served, or continue to serve, from one veteran to another - thank you.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Today in history
- The United States Marine Corps was formed 235 years ago. While I often engage in good-natured mutual ribbing & hijinks with my Marine friends, I have nothing but respect for the men and women of the Corps. Well done on your years of service, and may you continue to do so as your Nation calls on you.
- The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in 1975, with a loss of 29 souls. Immortalized in song and story, the event continues to shape the nature of shipping on the Great Lakes to this day.
- The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in 1975, with a loss of 29 souls. Immortalized in song and story, the event continues to shape the nature of shipping on the Great Lakes to this day.
Random musing
One of the staples of fantasy/pulp horror etc is the virgin sacrifice. Whether an innocent tied to an altar for some elder thing, some maiden on a post waiting to be dragon food, or the ever-popular volcano god appeasement, the trope has remained.
Am I the only one who ever reads or watches this stuff & thinks "You know, 20 minutes in the hayloft with the male lead would solve the whole issue here for the heroine..."?
Am I the only one who ever reads or watches this stuff & thinks "You know, 20 minutes in the hayloft with the male lead would solve the whole issue here for the heroine..."?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Back again
Yes, I am still amongst the living.
Spent a few days being horribly ill, then had last week at the range teaching the new academy, and just generally being overwhelmed with "Real Life" to the extent I wasn't up for blogging. Now things have calmed down for a bit on the work side, but my poor wife has now caught a bug as well...
Anyway... in some brief bits.
It always is a great source of stories amongst cops the excuses and rationalizations people will use when you find drugs on them or in their cars... or the ways they attempt to distract you from such. I was reminded of this yesterday while helping our narcotics k9s out with some stuff. Winner #1 was the guy with a significant amount of heroin in his sock - all of which magically became "That's not mine, I don't know how it got there." upon discovery.
Because I can't count the number of times someone has just slipped stuff into my clothing when I wasn't looking...
#2 just won on general stupidity - the kid who was swearing no one had ever been in his car with drugs, honest - he even patted down his friends before he gave them rides!
REALLY!?!?!?!??!
Just picturing that one in my mind - "Sure, I can give you a lift to the mall, but I need to search you first." Right.
We then turned it around on him by pointing out if you think you need to search your friends before going places with them, perhaps you need some new friends...
---
Going through the fun at work of setting up the process for my next full-time partner. The current one has reached the point of retiring next year, and we want to actually fill the position before he leaves as opposed to once he's gone from the department. The nice part is that our eligible pool of candidates are all good officers & bomb guys, so we don't have to worry too much about getting an idiot. The bad part is they are all good officers & only one can get the job... so it's going to be a tough decision & no matter how we do it some folks are going to be disappointed.
I am looking forward to passing some of my duties to them as the "new guy" - let them run training and budget stuff for a while to learn the ropes, and maybe let me bring a little less work home with me.
---
I honestly don't mind teaching new people who have trouble at the range - especially if they have little or no experience. I do, however, have trouble when said people are blatantly unsafe and make no effort to improve themselves over the course of a week. If you haven't worked to correct even one of the errors we are pointing out to you then you either A) don't comprehend the concepts or B) don't care. Either way, a lengthy memo had to get typed up for that recruit - we shall see what happens.
---
One of our prosecutors and a defense attorney both won nice points from me today. Got a call on a DUI case coming up on a day off next week - wherein they both wanted to let me know that they had reached an agreement on a plea and a sentence, making sure I was ok with the results, and most importantly telling me that I wasn't needed in court on my day off. Plus, it's a nice compliment when the defense attorney says to you "I know your cases and reports, I'm not going to waste time fighting a losing cause."
---
In the words of the cartoon - T t t that's all folks.
Spent a few days being horribly ill, then had last week at the range teaching the new academy, and just generally being overwhelmed with "Real Life" to the extent I wasn't up for blogging. Now things have calmed down for a bit on the work side, but my poor wife has now caught a bug as well...
Anyway... in some brief bits.
It always is a great source of stories amongst cops the excuses and rationalizations people will use when you find drugs on them or in their cars... or the ways they attempt to distract you from such. I was reminded of this yesterday while helping our narcotics k9s out with some stuff. Winner #1 was the guy with a significant amount of heroin in his sock - all of which magically became "That's not mine, I don't know how it got there." upon discovery.
Because I can't count the number of times someone has just slipped stuff into my clothing when I wasn't looking...
#2 just won on general stupidity - the kid who was swearing no one had ever been in his car with drugs, honest - he even patted down his friends before he gave them rides!
REALLY!?!?!?!??!
Just picturing that one in my mind - "Sure, I can give you a lift to the mall, but I need to search you first." Right.
We then turned it around on him by pointing out if you think you need to search your friends before going places with them, perhaps you need some new friends...
---
Going through the fun at work of setting up the process for my next full-time partner. The current one has reached the point of retiring next year, and we want to actually fill the position before he leaves as opposed to once he's gone from the department. The nice part is that our eligible pool of candidates are all good officers & bomb guys, so we don't have to worry too much about getting an idiot. The bad part is they are all good officers & only one can get the job... so it's going to be a tough decision & no matter how we do it some folks are going to be disappointed.
I am looking forward to passing some of my duties to them as the "new guy" - let them run training and budget stuff for a while to learn the ropes, and maybe let me bring a little less work home with me.
---
I honestly don't mind teaching new people who have trouble at the range - especially if they have little or no experience. I do, however, have trouble when said people are blatantly unsafe and make no effort to improve themselves over the course of a week. If you haven't worked to correct even one of the errors we are pointing out to you then you either A) don't comprehend the concepts or B) don't care. Either way, a lengthy memo had to get typed up for that recruit - we shall see what happens.
---
One of our prosecutors and a defense attorney both won nice points from me today. Got a call on a DUI case coming up on a day off next week - wherein they both wanted to let me know that they had reached an agreement on a plea and a sentence, making sure I was ok with the results, and most importantly telling me that I wasn't needed in court on my day off. Plus, it's a nice compliment when the defense attorney says to you "I know your cases and reports, I'm not going to waste time fighting a losing cause."
---
In the words of the cartoon - T t t that's all folks.
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