1 Aug 08
In a similar vein to last post, some links relevant to flying/pilot information.
NOTAMs
USNO Atomic time
Baseops.net
The original flying gouge site
31 July 2008
Awards and Decorations
1 Aug 08
With apologies to my regular readers, I will be posting some items out here that I will use as references for information on Air Force type stuff, things that are useful to Air Force members. The following links are relevant to anyone working on awards and decorations in the USAF. I will be update this page later.
AFCENT Awards shop
AFPC awards info
With apologies to my regular readers, I will be posting some items out here that I will use as references for information on Air Force type stuff, things that are useful to Air Force members. The following links are relevant to anyone working on awards and decorations in the USAF. I will be update this page later.
AFCENT Awards shop
AFPC awards info
20 July 2008
psychosis
Long ago, I read an opinion about mental health saying that schizophrenia, where you see and hear things that aren't there, was the only true form of craziness. All other mental problems are simply exaggerations of normal responses or actions that, in the proper environment, would seem normal.
Agree or not, I always remembered the story because it illustrated the meaning of the word psychosis, disconnection from reality.
On the topic. Among many of the other things that is disturbing to me about the war is complete madness it has created among Americans. Specifically, one mistruth I hear all too frequently in the military: "The threat to the United States has never been greater than it has today."
Let us take a historical example not even very far back, this was in my lifetime: 1983. Do we really think that the objective threat to the United States is greater today than it was in 1983, when there were literally thousands of independently launchable and targetable nuclear weapons pointed at every inhabited inch of America, and the USSR? I don't think I need to go back to the Civil war for a better example.
The statement is objectionable enough as a falsehood, an illusion of a threat. But the real danger in it is that it is so hyperbolic, so out of touch with reality, that it pushes us towards actions that not only don't help, they create further problems for us and exacerbate the ones we have.
We are fighting a global guerrilla war, and what is important in a fight like this is a long term, relatively low-cost, persistent and consistent strategy focused on the very small minority of people who wish us ill. The low-cost is important because it must also be long term - we cannot allow the cost of the war to overwhelm our economy. (Incidentally, our economy has always been the heart of U.S. military dominance and thus deserves a great deal more stewardship than we have shown in my lifetime. Problems like the current housing mess need to be foreseen and avoided by conscientious and patient leadership, and we could also do without carrying the elephant of a $9 trillion dollar debt on our backs.)
We do not have this strategy now, which is why we are not winning.
Agree or not, I always remembered the story because it illustrated the meaning of the word psychosis, disconnection from reality.
On the topic. Among many of the other things that is disturbing to me about the war is complete madness it has created among Americans. Specifically, one mistruth I hear all too frequently in the military: "The threat to the United States has never been greater than it has today."
Let us take a historical example not even very far back, this was in my lifetime: 1983. Do we really think that the objective threat to the United States is greater today than it was in 1983, when there were literally thousands of independently launchable and targetable nuclear weapons pointed at every inhabited inch of America, and the USSR? I don't think I need to go back to the Civil war for a better example.
The statement is objectionable enough as a falsehood, an illusion of a threat. But the real danger in it is that it is so hyperbolic, so out of touch with reality, that it pushes us towards actions that not only don't help, they create further problems for us and exacerbate the ones we have.
We are fighting a global guerrilla war, and what is important in a fight like this is a long term, relatively low-cost, persistent and consistent strategy focused on the very small minority of people who wish us ill. The low-cost is important because it must also be long term - we cannot allow the cost of the war to overwhelm our economy. (Incidentally, our economy has always been the heart of U.S. military dominance and thus deserves a great deal more stewardship than we have shown in my lifetime. Problems like the current housing mess need to be foreseen and avoided by conscientious and patient leadership, and we could also do without carrying the elephant of a $9 trillion dollar debt on our backs.)
We do not have this strategy now, which is why we are not winning.
18 July 2008
late publish
So if I finish a draft, it appears on the blog, but at the date I originally started writing it. If someone is only scanning the most recent entry, they won't see it, and I don't want to change the date, so I wrote this post.
25 June 08: Ten o'clock phone call
tags:
late publish: a post pointing at an older post that was just finished, so that someone only reading the latest entries will find it.
25 June 08: Ten o'clock phone call
tags:
late publish: a post pointing at an older post that was just finished, so that someone only reading the latest entries will find it.
15 July 2008
censored
Why doesn't America realize we are at war? Well, among other reasons...
Washington Post
Story of Gina Gray working at Arlington.
Washington Post
Story of Gina Gray working at Arlington.
13 July 2008
introvert
I'm an introvert, and I've spent the last few years really appreciating the meaning of this. Among many other things, an introvert gets tired easily of social interaction. I was reminded of this yet again when home for the 4th, when I was hanging out with my extended family, people I haven't seen in a long time, and I still found myself lapsing into silence when I could have been talking.
The change in my perception of this over my lifetime is interesting. When I was very young, I didn't even notice this tendency. When I was slightly older, I was defensive when people would ask why I didn't mix more. A little older than that (end of high school/start of college), and I was wondering why I was like this, and why I couldn't be more like others. In this phase, I made a lot of efforts to "act normal" and socialize...some successful, most not. When my energy is high, I can do this fine. But at the end of the day, when I am tired or stressed, I am much more comfortable reading a book or doing something alone, or with just a couple other people.
So where I am now in life is to recognize that this is not a strength of mine, and to know when I am going into a social situation that I need to prepare. Be well rested, be focused on the interaction rather than see it as a distraction. And when I am on vacation, on my off time, I've learned not to try and force myself into things I don't like, and just accept that some people are comfortable being in a conversation 18 hours a day, and I'm not. And that's okay, it's just something that shapes my life.
The change in my perception of this over my lifetime is interesting. When I was very young, I didn't even notice this tendency. When I was slightly older, I was defensive when people would ask why I didn't mix more. A little older than that (end of high school/start of college), and I was wondering why I was like this, and why I couldn't be more like others. In this phase, I made a lot of efforts to "act normal" and socialize...some successful, most not. When my energy is high, I can do this fine. But at the end of the day, when I am tired or stressed, I am much more comfortable reading a book or doing something alone, or with just a couple other people.
So where I am now in life is to recognize that this is not a strength of mine, and to know when I am going into a social situation that I need to prepare. Be well rested, be focused on the interaction rather than see it as a distraction. And when I am on vacation, on my off time, I've learned not to try and force myself into things I don't like, and just accept that some people are comfortable being in a conversation 18 hours a day, and I'm not. And that's okay, it's just something that shapes my life.
09 July 2008
08 July 2008
Paranoia
I was walking in the annual 4th of July parade this year, and I couldn't stop thinking about what we would do if there was a terrorist attack...I did an informal survey of citizens, and in spite of all the billions we've invested in counter-terrorism in the last seven years, none of them has gotten or knows of any terror attack (or disaster preparedness) information or training.
Without ranting, I think the best possible use of money in preparing people for terror attacks (or disasters) is in teaching them...this is absolutely the best way to make the whole country safer. Second to that is teaching and training our first responders, third is equipping our first responders, fourth is everything else, like the Dept of Homeland Security and intel "fusion centers" all over the country.
Incidentally, the best thing I could come up with for the parade was for everyone to run away at a 90° to the parade route, which would decrease the crowd density at a maximum rate. (This isn't true everywhere, since the parade has inside turns, but I can't think of anything else.)
Without ranting, I think the best possible use of money in preparing people for terror attacks (or disasters) is in teaching them...this is absolutely the best way to make the whole country safer. Second to that is teaching and training our first responders, third is equipping our first responders, fourth is everything else, like the Dept of Homeland Security and intel "fusion centers" all over the country.
Incidentally, the best thing I could come up with for the parade was for everyone to run away at a 90° to the parade route, which would decrease the crowd density at a maximum rate. (This isn't true everywhere, since the parade has inside turns, but I can't think of anything else.)
03 July 2008
02 July 2008
commercial air travel
Traveling back home for the 4th. That extra charge for each of my two checked bags was an unpleasant surprise. Plus I had to put myself through the added indignity of moving things from one bag to another to lower the weight of my largest bag.
However, free internet at McCarran is nice, and being able to drink is great. They even have travel cups...I was able to drink a beer in line at the Burger King.
However, free internet at McCarran is nice, and being able to drink is great. They even have travel cups...I was able to drink a beer in line at the Burger King.
01 July 2008
FOD
I was out driving today and I had to pull a U turn. The road was narrow, so I had drive on the should a bit, which was dirt, not asphalt, and had some gravel on it. As I did so, I instinctively said to myself that I had left a prepared surface and would have to do a FOD check before driving further on the flightline.
(FOD=Foreign Object Damage, a term that describes rocks or any other object that gets out on a flightline that can be ingested by an aircraft engine and cause damage.)
tags:
email, deployment, 2008 rote,
edit 2 jul, line breaks, minor editing
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