Audentes Fortuna Juvat

2010-08-02T21:49:00.001-07:00

This girl has an incredible voice.

Amazing Grace Incredible 7yr Singer Rhema Marvanne @ Yahoo! Video

2010-07-29T18:14:00.001-07:00

Watch this. Just wow.

2010-07-23T02:35:00.001-07:00

Been five weeks since my last post. Takes time to get back in the habit of posting I guess. Here's a video to tide you over until I get a real post up.

2010-06-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

Someone special shared this with me and I thought I would share it with all of you. A really peaceful video and just amazing in general. Seeing God's creatures just float along majestically just makes me smile.

2010-06-13T00:14:00.000-07:00

So everyone needs to go see the A-team. Like as soon as possible. That was highly entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud a ton, something that I do not usually do much in the theater. Do yourself a favor and go watch this.

2010-06-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Better to be lucky than good right? Well the US wasn't lucky, but I'd say we were fortunate today in the 1-1 draw against favored England. England was favored for a reason, they are a solid team and they played solid all game long. The biggest miscue being the fumbled stop on a Clint Dempsey shot in the 40th minute.

Yes the drop by England's goalie Robert Green was one of the main stories, but I think that the US proved today that it can hang with just about any team on the field. They played maturely and didn't let the early mistake in the 4th minute haunt them all game.

Next game: Algeria next Friday 6-18

2010-06-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I sometimes cannot believe that I get paid to do this.

Flying the AH-1W supercobra is just about the coolest thing there is. Flying in general is great, but being able to fly an attack helicopter in the Marine Corps just that much better. How nimble it is only surpassed by how much power you have. What a great machine.

2010-06-08T21:44:00.002-07:00

Meant to post this on Sunday, but I hope that everyone remembered the men who gave their lives during Operation Overlord sixty-six years ago. Their bravery in the face of tremendous odds is something that we as Americans must never forget and is something that we must always honor.

2010-06-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

Great video. Tough guys sing Savage Garden.

2010-06-07T01:24:00.002-07:00

23 months with no posts is a long time to go, but I think it is time I return and give people something to read and hopefully something to think about.

I will be walking you through some of the things going on in my life and maybe a few insights I have. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

More to follow . . .

2008-07-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jake. 24 years and goin strong.

2008-06-15T16:28:00.002-07:00

2008-04-21T21:08:00.003-07:00

Pictures from Pensacola (Jan '08 - Apr '08)

This was my view every morning while I ate my cereal

View of our dock

Free and I fighting over the perfect parking spot
(more accurately, Free trying to ninja my spot)

View of good ole 11412 Seaglade from the front

Great place

Day I left. This one is important because it features the sacred grill. We probably had a charcoal grill going in that thing minimum of four times a week

2008-04-08T14:52:00.003-07:00

Wade fishin off the end of our dock in Pensacola. Thomas (our local heron) is waiting for his free meal.

2008-03-22T12:45:00.004-07:00

My dad sent this to me. This is one of the rare times that I have agreed totally with The Daily Show

2008-03-22T12:37:00.002-07:00

Quick update:

Graduated TBS middle of January. That was awesome, because those six months were pretty miserable.

Now I am down in flight school in Pensacola, FL. First segment is six weeks long. Four weeks of academics and two weeks of training doing things like the helicopter dunk tank and practicing parachute landings. One week to go until I move down to Corpus Christi, TX and start actually flying.

2007-07-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

I know I stopped blogging with no warning . . . whatever. I may start again for all the TBS (The Basic School) stuff goin on once I get a camera. Until next time . . .

2007-02-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250415,00.html

Now this here makes me proud to be an American and proud of the Naval Academy.

2007-02-06T04:46:00.000-08:00

I havent been posting lately. I could lie and say that I was too busy or something like that, but I havent been, I have just been too lazy is all. Anyways, today I have a something that I would like to discuss:

Ya know what really grinds my gears? . . . When people leave a message on the answering machine of their phone that is a 30 second clip of their favorite song.

First of all, its inconsiderate. Am I calling you so that I can listen to some music that you like? Nope. If I wanted to listen to music I would open iTunes or put on a CD or throw in an 8-track, but I certainly would NOT call your phone. All you are doing is wasting someones time.

Second, it usually isn't even a good song. It is usually some random song that leave the caller with his or her eyebrows shrugged and thinking "What the heck is this?" Many times this is done simply to raise awareness about a band or song. Well here is a little clip of what I think about your new and cool song . . . I DONT CARE.

Now I realize that sometimes the phone allows me to just hit a button and get to the 'leave a message' part and skip the song, but its the principal that matters here. Also I know that many times a call is not the only thing someone is doing, but still, those 30 seconds could be well spent doing something much more important like sitting in your chair thinking about the world economy or that food thats caught in your teeth and you can't get out.

So in review. Keep your voicemail short and to the point and stop wasting people's time.

2006-12-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

Saw the Nativity Story today. Great movie. Honestly I was reluctant to see it at first, but once I was there I was glad that I went. I'd recommend it

2006-12-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

Ya know what really grinds my gears?

When people say that they have tried every diet and none of them work. FIRST of all, you probably aren't following the diet/workout regime they way it was meant to be done. You probably ate the salads or low fat/carb foods for four days and then just dove face first into a double chocolate fudge sundae.

As far as the workout programs go, you probably bought the ABMASTER 4000 because it was promoted by some celebrity that promised that if you used it for 5 minutes/3x a week you'd lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks, that and you could store it conveniently under your bed! Well guess what?! that might actually work!

The only problem is that you just couldnt seem to find five minutes OR you did it for 20 minutes one day and then got so tired that you decided the 20 minutes counted for the next three sessions. Now you are still fat and cant figure out why your taebo workouts are getting you ripped and helping you learn self-defense at the same time. rip off huh? Nope . . . you're just fat and undisciplined

So for all of you who feel that there is no hope THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!!

The new diet/workout has two rules . . .

1. EAT LESS FATTY!
2. GO RUN

If you follow both of these steps reasonably (1. dont eat dbl fudge ice cream for your only meal, 2. you actually run to the point that you are sweating and out of breath-at least a mile at first), i guarantee you'll lose weight

2006-12-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Don't forget why we celebrate the best holiday. Jesus Christ was born. Our Savior became flesh and died so that we could have eternal life.

2006-12-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

December 7, 1941

Let us never forget the men and women who died that day in that unprovoked, dishonorable attack by the Japanese.

2006-12-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

My capstone (my senior project . . . 25 page paper) is due tomorrow. I pretty much read my research on Monday, transfered my research to notecards on Tuesday, and wrote the entirety of it on Wednesday.

I wrote about a page and a half in the wee hours of Wed morning and decided to go to bed. Started again at about 2:30 pm and finished my 28th page at about 8:45 pm. Now that is a great feeling. Finishing my last paper of the semester and my largest paper in college . . . ahhhh, what a relief

2006-12-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Took it to Army again. Granted it took us until the fourth quarter, but we got the job done without our best quarterback and fullback. It was funny because Army scored a TD with 2 seconds to go in the game to make it 26-14. They started cheering and I could almost hear them saying

"We almost lost my single digits this year!"

Well this makes my class (2007) the first Naval Academy class ever to never win every single game against Army and Air Force. w00t w00t

2006-12-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

I got my first choice of service selection . . . Marine Pilot.

On 25 May 2007 I will be commisioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps.

Oorah-Yut-Kill-Corps

2006-12-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

So it have been a little while since my last post. Basically the rundwon is that I left school on the afternoon of Nov 8th in order to get to Bethesda for my jaw surgery the next day. Hopefully soon I'll have some pictures that will show the difference between the before and after of the surgery, maybe even some x-rays. The short of it is that I had a serious underbite before the last few weeks. The surgery consisted of taking my lower jaw, sawing off some of the back of it, and moving it back about 2 millimeters. After that my top jaw was similarly seperated and moved forward somewhere around 5-6 millimeters. Thus eliminating the horrendous underbite.

It is amazing the things we take for granted. Like simply being able to cut our food with our teeth. My whole life my teeth hit on top of each other (instead of the top being a little in front of the bottom). After my bottom started moving and creating a gap I was unable to eat except with my side teeth. Sure was difficult to not make a huge mess when you are forced to jam food far into your mouth in order to break it.

Anyways the recovery for this surgery was in a word . . . terrible. I was recuperating at a friend's house in VA for the first week. I came back to school to find out my service selection and then I drove back to MN (they wouldnt let me fly for some reason). Home for two weeks after that was pretty great, except for the being partially miserable part. Being home was great, not being able to open your mouth during Thanksgiving . . . pretty rotten.

All in all I am happy to be--for the most part--out of the woods. My jaw is no longer wired shut and I can start eating food that is of a "mashed potato consistency". Only 20 more days until I can start chewing again. Hopefully then I will gain back the muscle and the 18 lbs that I lost. On Dec 21st is going to be a day of burgers, pizza, pie, chips, fries, chipotle, buffalo wings, and much more. I hope I fall asleep that day with a turkey leg propped up against my head a smile on my face.

2006-11-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

Chef: Do you know why drugs are bad?
Stan: Because they are an addictive solution to a greater problem causing disease of both body and mind with consequences far outweighing their supposed benefits.
Chef: and do you have any idea what that means?
Stan: No
Cartman: I know . . . Drugs are bad because if you do drugs you're a hippy. AND HIPPIES SUCk

I love you Cartman

John Kerry "you get stuck in Iraq" comments

2006-11-01T16:24:00.000-08:00


Senator John Kerry in campaigning for a Democratic friend on October 30, 2006 made controversial comments in regard to "education" and "stuck in Iraq." A political firestorm erupted as the November election draws near.

2006-11-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

- John Kerry

2006-10-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

Now this looks cool. If you know anything about the battle of Thermopylae you'll wanna at least check out the trailer. If you are not from the Naval Academy (and thereby havent read one of my favorite books, Gates of Fire) the battle is basically how an tiny band Greeks held back an army of a million Persians.

Basically the elite (in every sense of the word) Spartans had 300 men combined with small contingents of other Greeks added up to a few thousand men attempted to guard Greece from Xerxes army of a million men (some estimates hold at only 100,00 and some as many as a few million . . . regardless they had almost no hope of victory) by stopping them at a pass-the Hot Gates-where only twenty men abreast could pass (thus neutralizing the massive Persian numerical superiority.

I won't give away any more, you can wikipedia it if you so desire, but I'll just say that I am looking forward to this one.

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2006/0-9ABC/300/trailer.php

2006-10-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

Check this out. Many faithful fans are upset that the James Bond franchise is taking a little bit of a new direction. Many do not like the idea of a blonde Bond. Some don't like the changes in the upcoming movie, where Bond is just starting as a 00 agent. I think it'll be great. I thought Brosnan was a great Bond, but I think Daniel Craig looks like he'll do a good job

Casino Royale releases on Nov 17th

http://movies.aol.com/casino-royale-james-bond/exclusive-video-features

2006-10-30T04:45:00.000-08:00

So we lost to Notre Dame on Saturday . . . again. We definitely had the tools necessary to win this game and thats what bothers me the most. We held them to a field goal on the first drive of the game. When it was our turn we went downfield, got into the red zone and missed a field goal. First of all we should have been running the ball on third and nine because against Notre Dame the red zone is four down territory. We need TDs to beat them. Taking a lead on our first drive would have been a huge watermark, but instead we missed a field goal and gave them the ball. We eventually scored our second touchdown to make it 17-14, but that is as close as it would get. Their offense was unhindered by our defense (as expected), but our offense couldnt pull it together in the second half and put points on the board . . . oh well . . . maybe next year.

2006-10-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

See the brown smudge on Kenny Rogers's hand? Those pictures were taken from Game 3 of the ALCS and Game 2 of the World Series. Both times Kenny Rogers was dropping extraordinarily nasty curveballs and both times it looks as if he might have had a little help. Seems reasonable that Rogers would cheat by marring the ball since he has never been a clutch performer in his 10+ years in the majors. He has been known to choke when it matters, maybe this time he decided to take matters (quite literally) into his own hands.

2006-10-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yes thats right ladies and gentlemen. The Vikings just finished of the reigning NFC champion Seattle Seahawks 31-13. The remarkable thing about the win was that it took place at Qwest Field in Seattle where the Seahawks had a team-best 12 game home win streak. Go Vikings (4-2)!!!

2006-10-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Wow. Literally . . . WoW = World of Warcraft. This South Park episode makes fun of all the people who spend hundreds of hours in their little fantasy world in WoW. Really funny

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/south-park/world-of-warcraft-meets-south-park-the-complete-episode-205493.php

2006-10-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

The population of the United States reportedly hit 300,000,000 at 7:46AM EDT today.

2006-10-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kristi Coonfare and the soccer team for their overwhelming victory over Howard by a score of 10-0. Kristi scored her first goal, as a defender, which is a great achievement.

Navy Women's Soccer is 16-0 and is ranked 17th in the nation. This game was the 13th time this year that the girls held their opponent to 0 goals.

2006-10-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

So its been a while since my last post . . . well here's a good one for ya,

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/ivp/index?id=

Go to NFL tab on the side and watch the Metrodome transition from a Twins baseball game to a Minnesota Gopher football game.

2006-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

First period Tuesday morning:

Steve: Ya know who's gonna win the Commander-in-Chief's trophy this year?
Me: Us?
Steve: Notre Dame

haha very possible

but not after we beat Notre Dame

2006-10-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

24-17 Navy beats Air Force for the fourth year in a row. Now my class is one win away (Army Dec 2nd) from being the first Naval Academy class to go undefeated against the other service academies and win the Commander-in-Chief's trophy for the fourth straight year.

Since school didnt pipe the game into our cable like they said they would we were forced to watch it on our computers instead. Never discouraged we jerryrigged a system of coaxial cables and splitters along with TVs and couches from the wardroom to make our own little wardroom in the end of the p-way.

Three games at once? Awesome

2006-10-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ya know what really grinds my gears?

Well this time its all of those stupid ads for "True", the sexy new dating service for singles who wanna date supermodels. I am so tired of them, these ads are banners on about half of the websites I go. They are so pathetic.

First of all, almost no one looks like these girls on these banners. These girls are wearing tiny bikinis and or nearly see-through stuff meanwhile they have a finger placed ever so gently in their mouth or somethin. I really hope that our society today isnt so stupid that they get draw into these things by the masses. The girls on these banners probably dont even look that good. They have been airbrushed and all that stuff that they will still look like a sack of potatoes when they wake up just like the rest of us.

YES, granted, attractive girls have always been a staple of the advertising industry. Thats a given, but I sure hope that the American public is not so stupid that they think that since thats the banner that they are going to find someone even remotely as attractive. These dating services are most likely comprised of 14 year old boy still in middle school, over the hill women who are overweight, but still have two pictures of them when they looked decent back when they were 21, and creepy 35 year old men.

Seriously. Get a life.

2006-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so this is messed up. Every Tuesday and Friday the people in charge of King Hall decided to serve two less tables (about 24 seats) since people might be gone on MO and at choir practice. In reference to this new situation the person in charge said "Wanna Eat, Get a Seat". Thats a great policy!

Personally I think it would be just a little better if it was changed to say

"Wanna Eat? Good, you are going to get to eat since you pay for every single meal including noon meal on Tuesdays and Fridays"

2006-10-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Season Premiere of the third season of LOST tonight was great, but I can already see the road this is taking us down. In each episode they might answer one question . . . maybe, but they open up like three or four more trails that leave you thinking 'HUH?' I know it is just because they want us to keep watching, but it is SOOO frustrating. I just want some closure in a few areas!

2006-10-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

I find it fascinating how golf--which can be so relaxing and enjoyable--can turn people. I have on numerous occasions gone golfing with some of the nicest people I know. Yet these normally pleasant, positive people shank a pitch or duff a chip and all of a sudden clubs are airborne. Irons get thrown, curses get yelled, chill dispositions flee. I find that when I'm nearing any of the activities that it helps to just take a deep breath and try to remember why I came out in the first place. To be outside and relax

2006-10-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

I turn 22 years old in about three weeks and it hit me. I really have no cool birthdays left. 21 seemingly is the pinnacle of birthdays. You have many significant birthdays in your later teens all the way to 21. 15 you get your permit, 16 your driver's liscense. 18 you're an adult (kinda) and 20 your no longer a teen, and 21 of course everyone loves. Even when you're a youngster you love insignifant birthdays. When you were 11 and you turned 12 you were ecstatic, mainly because it seemed like such a leap and all the other 12 year olds seemed so much older and mature than you. You seem to believe that if you can just reach that pinnacle of 12 you'll come into your own everything will be great. Then the process just repeats next year at 13. Weird how it goes. Now all I have to look forward to is . . . 25?

2006-10-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the MN Twins for winning their fourth AL Central Division title in the last five years. This may even be the most memorable of them all. The Twins were down 12 1/2 games to the Detroit Tigers in early July. They picked and scrapped their way through all of August and September in order to put themselves in a position for the title. They won their 162nd game of the year just a few minutes before the Tigers lost theirs. Thereby allowing them to become the first team in history to take sole possession of first place in their division for the first time on the last game of the year.

2006-09-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

If you dont know who Ali-G is . . . well you should. For those who dont know, Sacha Baren Cohen is a comedian who takes on three personas for "The Ali-G Show". One of these personas is that of Borat, the friendly reporter from Kazakhstan who goes around the United States learning about our culture.

He has a movie coming out tomorrow and the Kazakhstani government is so concerned over the misrepresentation of Kazakhstan that they took out a four page advertisement in the New York Times that talked about "Kazakhstan in the 21st Century". He gets a legitimate interview in this clip and discusses Kazakhstani foreign policy.

"I would like a make a comment on the recent advertisements on television and in media about my nation of Kazakhstan, saying that women are treated equally and that all religions are tolerated. These are digusting fabrications."

Oh man this guy is hilarious. I wont say anything more, just watch this clip and then go see his movie. Should be great.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=61AEE2AE-AC1C-49B9-980C-07C94CAEE5B4&f=00&fg=copy

2006-09-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

I had been pretty envious of my sister's Apple laptop for many reasons, but one being that she has this program (as do all Macs now) called Dashboard. You simply hit F12 (or another key you bind to it) and the screen on your computer goes kind of out of focus and in zooms all of these little gadgets that make your life easier. Stuff like a calender, the weather forecast, a google search bar, wikipedia search bar, sticky pads, and others.
Well the other day I finally found a Windows version. Its called Yahoo Widgets. Try it out

2006-09-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

LT at the tailgater

2006-09-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

See! LT loves us

2006-09-27T19:57:00.001-07:00

2006-09-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Time to put on the serious face before march over

2006-09-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

rah 14th Company

2006-09-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Mark 45, 5 inch, 54 caliber Dual-Purpose Gun on the bow of a Destroyer. These things pack a punch

2006-09-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ya know what really grinds my gears?!

When people get so ticked off at the press for questions they ask or how they report the news or what stories they give more publicity to than others. And what ticks me off even more than that, is the people who whine and cry that the it is the "RESPONSIBILITY" of the newsmedia to report the unadulterated truth.

With no pun intended . . . NEWSFLASH!!! ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX are all companies with one express purpose . . . TO MAKE MONEY! They do not care about the truth or how things may have actually gone down, they care about what sells. Granted, many journalists feel that it is their moral duty/obligation to report the truth yadda yadda yadda. But when it comes down to it, they are not the ones in charge of what goes on the air.

So with no other choice Im gonna go ahead and invoke an overused cliche . . . "Take it all with a grain of salt". Please dont believe everything you hear and use your God-given brain to think critically about the news.

And thats what really grinds my gears . . .

Fatboy Slim "That Old Pair Of Jeans"

2006-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00


Juggler Chris Bliss' interpretation of Fatboy Slim's new video

2006-09-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Now this is just great. A small Indian kid break dances better than nearly anyone I have ever seen before.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1709994

2006-09-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

Granted it did take a while for them to do it, but the New York Yankees have finally attained the best record in baseball (after 153 of 162 games), 93-60.

2006-09-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the New York Yankees for winning their ninth straight AL East title. With this title they have tied many elite clubs in different sports for the most division titles in a row.

'91-05 Braves 14
'98-06 Yankees 9
'95-03 Avalanche 9
'82-90 Lakers 9
'57-65 Celtics 9
'75-82 Canadiens 8

2006-09-20T18:16:00.000-07:00


Great video from Weird Al spoofing Chamillionaire's "Ridin Dirty"

2006-09-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

248 Days till graduation. Never thought I would hear the countdown begin and now we are less than nine months away.

Pete and Pete Intro

2006-09-18T15:32:00.000-07:00


The indroduction to the adventures of Pete and Pete, quite possibly one of the greatest shows of all time.

2006-09-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Vikings 2-0

The mark of a good team is whether or not they can find a way to win. Two weeks in a row the Vikings have done what they have had to do in order to win. Chester Taylor had another great outing with 24 carries and 113 yard on the ground, Troy Williamson had 6 catches for 102 yards, and Brad Johnson was 19 for 31 for 243 yards.

This is especially good since this was done against the Carolina Panthers who ESPN said

"The Panthers seems to be the "it" team right now, and there are plenty of reasons why. They have playmakers on offense, a stout defense and one of the NFL's best coaches."

Even better is the fact that this is the team that Sports Illustrated has winning the Super Bowl this year. Not on my watch say the Minnesota Vikings.

2006-09-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

37-9, Navy over Stanford

Thats how we decided to introduce Stanford to their brand new stadium. Im telling you, if we really get the wheels turnin and go undefeated, we could very well get a BCS bowl game. I know I know, I can hear some of you screaming that our strength of schedule is weak; that we dont play anybody . . . while this may be true, neither does West Virginia and if they go undefeated they'll get a BCS bowl. We do play a few decent teams though: Stanford, Tulsa, Rutgers, Air Force, and Notre Dame of course. If we win every game and beat Notre Dame (who we have played tough the last four years), I think we will have a legit shot at the BCS bowl . . . you heard it here first.

2006-09-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

Talk about a privilege . . . this semester Im taking a course called "Seminar in National Security". The class is taught by Admiral William Crowe and basically covers the US's national interests from the end of WWII through the end of the Cold War. What so special about this course one might ask . . . well it just so happens that Adm Crowe was a four star admiral who just happened to have been:
1976 -- Commander Middle East Force
1980 -- Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe
1983 -- Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Command
After being CinC of the Pacific Fleet he went on to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Ronald Reagan. If you dont know what the Chairman of the JCS is . . . well its basically the highest ranking military officer in the nation. Not bad huh? He continued to serve as Chairman into the Bush White House. Later he took up the post as Ambassador to the United Kingdom for three years of the Clinton administration. In all he served in uniform for 51 years.
All I can say is WOW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Crowe

2006-09-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

The retired jerseys in the upper deck of center/right of the Dome

2006-09-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

I have never liked the Metrodome that much, after all baseball and football were not meant to be played inside at a comfortable 72 degrees. Especially in MN were the Vikings could have a real homefield advantage, due to the cold weather every winter (similar to how hard it it for teams to play at Lambeau), but I still love the Twins and Minnesota

2006-09-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Now this is funny. Dont get me wrong . . . I think truckers are great and they have a tough job, but some of them are just dirty

2006-09-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

myself with the beaut before I start my trek out to school from Minnesota

2006-09-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

the man, the myth, the company commander . .. MIDSHIPMAN LIEUTENANT LEAHEY!!! He, alongside the Commandant, answered questions for the presidents of the parents clubs during parents weekend. See how distinguished he is

2006-09-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Dont get me wrong. David Ortiz started out with the Twins and I love him for that. But it seems that being in Boston has changed him. In this interview he says that since his team has fallen way out of the playoff run he should not be forgotten in the AL MVP voting. He goes on to say that Jeter is good because of the lineup he gets to hit in, but then proceeds to trash his own organization by basically saying that it sucks hitting in his lineup.

Maybe Ortiz should stop worrying about his own personal accomplishments and start worrying about getting some wins so his team can grab the wild card . . . just my opinion

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2582790

2006-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2006. Five year anniversary. Always remember and dont let the loss of life be for naught . . .

2006-09-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

Steve Irwin (1962-2006)

Its a shame when someone like Irwin has to go. That man never ceased to amaze everyone with his ridiculous stunts with dangerous animals, yet due to his infectious enthusiasm you'd always seem to watch him with a smile. It kinda reminds you how much you have to appreciate life and the time you have here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin

2006-09-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Almost all of Golf 1st set cadre

2006-09-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Rios and I are ready to hunt

2006-09-08T22:09:00.001-07:00

14 1st Set Squad Leaders

2006-09-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hump?! haha Greg and Vaughn arent remotely fazed

2006-09-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Culver isnt happy unless he's yelling at plebes

2006-09-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Crawl in the grass . . . otherwise CHARLIE WILL GET YOU

2006-09-08T22:06:00.001-07:00

Vaughn is the man. Plain and simple

2006-09-08T22:06:00.000-07:00

Brett's excited that we get to take the plebes on a hump

2006-09-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

'07 baby

2006-09-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

uhGIMME SOME . . . PT . . . GOOD FOR YOU . . . GOOD FOR ME!

2006-09-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Wow look at those detailers motivating haircuts

2006-09-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

yut

2006-09-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Johnny A and myself. We were the only two to survive when we assaulted--and successfully captured--two building in MOUT (military operations urban terrain) when they had 1.5 times as many people defending them. kill

2006-09-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Leatherneck third platoon 'rah

2006-09-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

7.62 mm ammo. killin time

2006-09-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

240Golf on the other side

2006-09-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

.50 cal and Zuni rockets on the Huey

2006-09-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

Sittin copilot in a Huey

2006-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Only one of the four squadrons on MAG-39 flight line

2006-09-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

June 23rd - July 23rd

Plebe Summer First Set Squad Leader. Turned out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

2006-09-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

May 29th - June 17th

Leatherneck started out just great. Started by gettin a uniform inspection at 1300 followed by a PFT at 1400 on the Sunday before Memorial Day. The PFT was brutal since it was at least 95 degrees when we got there at 1030 and humid. Little did I know that that experience would kinda sum up the Leatherneck experience.

The next three weeks were equally as taxing. We did really cool stuff almost everyday and we had liberty every night if we wanted it. Problem was we would be doing stuff until nearly 2000 every night and reveille would be somewhere between 0315 and 0445 nearly every morning. So as soon as they let you out, you'd go do your laundry or clean your rifle or somethin and try to be in bed before 2200.

Even though the schedule was pretty intense, we did a lot of cool stuff. Got to shoot M16, M203 grenade launcher, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M240G (bigger version of 249), MK19 automatic grenade launcher, .50 cal from a tripod. Lotta fun. Three guys even gotta shoot AT-4s (anti tank rocket launcher). We did the Obstacle Course, Endurance Course, Bayonet Assault Course. At OCS we did the Squad Assault Course, the Combat Conditioning Course, and the Confidence Course. We got gassed in the gas chamber, taken up in CH-53 Super Stallions (huge helicopter) with full ruck sacks, and even more cool stuff.

Overall a tough experience, but Im really glad I did it. Really helped to solidify what I wanted to do with the next 5-10 years of my life.

2006-09-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

So maybe I got distracted and didnt finish my summer off. On that note I really didnt even start. Well heres the synopsis.

May 14th - May 26th

Started out my MAGTF cruise on a nonstop flight from Baltimore to San Diego. The next two weeks were just great. I was one of 6 mids on this cruise. Three football players were with the MC ground guys and I was with the other two on skid row. We spent our two weeks with HMT-303.

HMT-303 is the training squadron for those Marine 1st Lts (straight out of flight school) who are going to be flying either UH-1 Hueys or AH-1W SuperCobras. Pretty awesome stuff. We had the opportunity to fly in both simulators, fly in the Hueys as we did gun shoots (50 cals and 240Gs out the sides as well as 2.75in Zuni rockets), and fly front seat in the Cobras.

Daily sched was pretty great too. We'd show up at 0800 and stay around the ready room or out on the flight line until about 1ish. Usually by then they'd cut us loose and we'd go grab our rental car and head for the beach. Over our one and only weekend I went out and stayed with a really good friend down at Pacific Beach. Did some of the touristy stuff by going to the San Diego Zoo, hittin up Sea World, and goin to a Padres game (Petco Park is pretty cool). Good times were had by all.

2006-09-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

May 2nd - May 11th

Finals week passed by in the same way as it had many times before. Pretty uneventful and finals went ok. Busted my hump for my thermodynamics and steam propulsion test. Hardest test I have ever taken but I passed it, which was enormously pleasing.

Since they decided to give me a Zero Block cruise, I only got a few days of intercessional leave before I had to be back at school. Any other year I would have been very pleased to get Zero Block since it would mean that I would get about an extra four weeks of leave. This happens because almost no one has more than the mandated two training blocks. Well since I wanted to get Leatherneck and they didnt give it to me, I asked to do a Block Zero MAGTF so that I could show my service selection board that I tried to do Leatherneck. That would have been fine, but then someone in my company decided to drop their Leatherneck slot and give it to me. That would have been great, but the ProDev (Professional Development) Department told me that I could not drop my MAGTF cruise. When I brought up the fact that I would be missing my own Ring Dance they basically told me 'tough luck' by saying that Ring Dance wasnt a good enough reason to drop AN ADDITIONAL training block.

2006-09-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Wow . . . so its been four months away from the blog. Lot has happened. I'll try to be as brief as possible while providing as many pictures as possible since I know that the average American would much rather look at pictures then go to all the trouble of actually having to read . . .

2006-04-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking about a book I'm reading as I was drifting off in class the other day when I started to contemplate the custom of burying our dead. If you think about it, it actually is pretty unnatural. So why is it that we feel the need to place the dead body of someone in the ground? I understand that the main contributing factor to this phenomenon is just that we do as our ancestors did in the preceeding centuries, still I wonder why a cremation isnt practiced more often. I think the main reason is that if we have a marker placed over a body it gives us more closure. To know that no matter where we go, our loved ones will permanently remain in on plot that we can visit if we ever feel the need, yet it still seems illogical to me. I am more apt to agree with the thought that we do it so that we don't forget those people's lives (or sacrifices when it comes to the white fields of Arlington) Placing a body in the ground? I know that death is a touchy subject, so my comments may seem a bit draconian, but thats okay . . . I'm cool with that.

2006-04-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/pong.php

After a few tries my best was 451. Nice timekiller for finals week