My Jiu Jitsu classes have been going well lately. The classes after the three week Christmas break were hard but soon my conditioning returned to its pre-holiday level and I had to start considering what the near term future has in store for me.
I've got my second stripe and the third stripe is looming, but more importantly is the red tip review and the green belt test after that. I felt the need to review my white and yellow techniques so this week and last I've attended an extra white/yellow belt class in addition to my normal all belt classes. I reviewed the material and now feel comfortable again with that material and I can now concentrate on the newer orange belt material I'll need to know. If all goes quickly I might be testing on February 21st.
So what's all of this have to do with the post title? Well I'll tell you.
The white/yellow belt class I attended was instructed by Sensi Hanna, a young high ranking black belt. She likes her warm ups to really work the "core" of your body. All fine and good except one of the exercises to work the core is the dreaded Spiderman Crawl.
Its like this: you get down on your hands and feet with your left foot forward and left hand back almost meeting your left foot. Meanwhile the right hand is stretched out forward and the right foot is far back. You move forward by moving your left hand and right foot up so that your right foot almost meets your right hand and your left hand is stretched out while the left foot is not stretched back. Basically you are in the mirror image position of how you started. Got it? While doing the crawl you are supposed to keep your hips low so you really work the core.
It takes a minute to get used to coordinating your hands and feet to get the right rhythm but its not too hard as you make your way across the mat. Its the coming back that is evil.
For some reason, most people's brains break trying to do the Spiderman Crawl backwards just after getting it to work forwards. Its simply freaky how I cannot make my feet and hands work the opposite of how I just had them doing. Its like trying to tie your shoelaces in a mirror.
The worst part is that they do more of this as you rise in the ranks! I've never heard a better argument for staying an orange belt.
Note: New Post Category.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Revenge of the Router
You may or may not recall my post about defeating the problems with the new router and then subsequently declaring they had returned. Well its time for an update.
The problem with the internet not resolving URLs properly seems to have not returned or at least to have abated. However the problem with Eve disconnecting in the middle of gameplay was back with a vengeance last week.
Having exhausted normal router solutions I decided to turn to Eve's forums and see if this was perhaps related to the game. In the Known Problems and Workarounds forum I searched for "disconnect" and hit a slew of posts. Apparently, I'm not alone.
It turns out that there is a slight problem with Eve and routers. Eve was designed to be a low bandwidth game so that even people with dial up access (*shudder*) could participate. The speculation is that the game is so low bandwidth that the router interprets the inactivity that sometimes occurs as no activity and closes the connection on the game. This is why I only started seeing this issue after adding the router to our home network.
Finding this out was a relief and frustration at the same time. Relief that the issue was not something limited to my PC or router, and frustration that a game around since 2004 has such a problem at all. I mean come on! Internet connectivity is the meat and potatoes of a online game, it should be perfected by now.
The upside is that someone posted a workaround to try; set up a ping trace to the game server and the connection will not look inactive. (A ping is a command to send a tiny packet of information to a destination computer address and it sends an acknowledgment back which allows us to see the time it took, the route, etc. A ping trace is the same thing except the ping command is repeatedly sent until you terminate it.)
That's right. To improve your connection to Eve you have to increase bandwidth usage. In my business they call that counter-intuitive.
Anyway, since I tried that workaround I've had no more sudden disconnects while playing. Needless to say I'm pleased as punch. The only possible problem I've encountered is that an internet browsing issue seems to arise after playing Eve in this fashion but I haven't worked out the details on that yet. We shall see.
The problem with the internet not resolving URLs properly seems to have not returned or at least to have abated. However the problem with Eve disconnecting in the middle of gameplay was back with a vengeance last week.
Having exhausted normal router solutions I decided to turn to Eve's forums and see if this was perhaps related to the game. In the Known Problems and Workarounds forum I searched for "disconnect" and hit a slew of posts. Apparently, I'm not alone.
It turns out that there is a slight problem with Eve and routers. Eve was designed to be a low bandwidth game so that even people with dial up access (*shudder*) could participate. The speculation is that the game is so low bandwidth that the router interprets the inactivity that sometimes occurs as no activity and closes the connection on the game. This is why I only started seeing this issue after adding the router to our home network.
Finding this out was a relief and frustration at the same time. Relief that the issue was not something limited to my PC or router, and frustration that a game around since 2004 has such a problem at all. I mean come on! Internet connectivity is the meat and potatoes of a online game, it should be perfected by now.
The upside is that someone posted a workaround to try; set up a ping trace to the game server and the connection will not look inactive. (A ping is a command to send a tiny packet of information to a destination computer address and it sends an acknowledgment back which allows us to see the time it took, the route, etc. A ping trace is the same thing except the ping command is repeatedly sent until you terminate it.)
That's right. To improve your connection to Eve you have to increase bandwidth usage. In my business they call that counter-intuitive.
Anyway, since I tried that workaround I've had no more sudden disconnects while playing. Needless to say I'm pleased as punch. The only possible problem I've encountered is that an internet browsing issue seems to arise after playing Eve in this fashion but I haven't worked out the details on that yet. We shall see.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
What Happened to Quiet?
Last week was quiet and peaceful at work. This week has been hectic so far. Hence the lack of posting. I hope to get back to normal tomorrow.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Cold...
It was pretty cold last night so we started up the fire. Unfortunately it was the first of the year and some dust on the woodstove burned off and gave a smell that proceeded to cause Kim's head to implode... slowly and painfully. Poor thing. :(
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Book Review: The Taken Trilogy By Alan Dean Foster
This book is a compendium of three books that I got through the Science Fiction Book Club. The story is about Mark Walker who gets abducted from Earth by aliens who want to sell him as a novelty item to other aliens in the Galactic Civilization.I really enjoyed the first book of the trilogy with its fish out of water angle and building up the new world the main character found himself in. The second book however suffered greatly from a poor and unbelievable plot arc that left me completely cold. I actually cringed at the childlike storytelling and unbelievable crisis resolution.
The first half of the third book was much better, getting back to world building and exploration of interesting concepts. The second half seemed to suffer from writer fatigue though, almost as if the author was ready for the story to be over and the threads were wrapped up one after another in short order with no real difficulties. The final crisis again was quite idiotic and left me cold and dissatisfied with the whole arc.
Overall, I would give this book a pass to any interested readers of good sci-fi.
Supernova
Well, Tuesday night after work Kim and I made our three hour trek down to Montreal to see the Supernova concert. It was decently good show and I give it 3 out of 4 stars overall. Yesterday was recovery day, hence the lack of blogging.
Now you know.
Now you know.
Good Cause
Andrew's got a post about a good cause for Ottawa:
Read the whole thing and then help out.I need you guys to help me out here.
A seven year old Ottawa boy, Shane, has a birthday wish: Shane would love to receive as many birthday cards as possible this year for his eighth.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Bah Humbug
After crowing how I had defeated the router problems, guess what happened last night? That's right, they returned. And the router settings are still the same.
I'm so depressed, I'm ready to surrender to the Hardware gods.
I'm so depressed, I'm ready to surrender to the Hardware gods.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Progress On The Internet Front
Warning! Geek Posting Ahead
OK, to recap: a few weeks ago we decided to move the computer to the upstairs office. There wasn't any phone jack in the office so I splurged on a wireless router and network card so we didn't have to run cables through the floor from the basement to the office and if we ever got another computer it could share the same network connection.
Well, I got the wireless connection working but we had periodic problems. To be precise, two problems that appeared to be related at first but as the weeks and investigations proceeded turned out to be separate.
The first problem was the most glaring and frustrating. Every once in a while the network connection would drop from the computer to the router. It would usually immediately pick back up again so this didn't bother internet browsing too much, but it was really frustrating trying to play Eve Online and having the game client shut down whenever it happened. Sometimes it would only occur once an hour, other times every four-five minutes. I tried upgrading the firmware in the router (Upgraded Router Firmware) and a nearly disastrous incorrect hotfix from Microsoft (I Borked My Computer!) but nothing I tried seemed to work. There was lots of articles describing my problem but so many different solutions and none would work for me.
Finally late last week I found another tech article that described my problem but with a new solution I had not read before. Basically it described how the Auto Transfer rate of the router caused the network card and the router to require new handshakes during high traffic requests and this could cause the disconnects. By changing the transfer rate to be fixed at the highest possible the disconnects might stop. I tried this Thursday night and noticed an immediate improvement; only once has there been a network disconnect but that was when the router had decided to revert back to automatic (that's another minor issue). After a weekend of playing Eve and browsing the internet, no network disconnects. I'm hopeful that I've hit on the solution for the first problem.
The second problem was more insidious and hard to pin down. It couldn't be described in a one liner to search on Google (unlike "wireless router dropping connection") so as I investigated it I feared I was going to have to actually contact someone for support through a newsgroup or support line. Having provided support through such methods, I knew it could be a long frustrating process.
The problem is thus: periodically while browsing the internet the websites would stop being found. No website would come up anymore and it usually required a reboot of the PC to get back to browsing. But the weird thing was that Eve had no problems whatsoever connecting at the same time this was happening. So for all intents and purposes we had connection to the router and the internet service provider, but our internet browser could not, well, browse.
I figured it had to be something in the router or something on the computer. I tried several different setups for the wireless networking including setting up the wireless network using the D-Link software instead of the Windows XP software, but nothing seemed to work. After a while the websites would just stop coming. I reviewed the router setup over and over again, tried different security protocols, timeouts, network names, but nothing worked.
Then late Saturday while fighting with this problem once again I was looking at the router setup for the umpteenth time and paused on a page I had blown through many times. An innocuous setting that never clicked in my head before suddenly jumped out. "DNS Cache Relay Enabled". This triggered the pieces of the puzzle in my head to fall into a new configuration and things became a lot clearer as I read the help about this little one line setting.
The DNS Cache Relay is a feature of the router that attempts to save milliseconds off of a HTTP request. You see, DNS stands for Domain Name Server and these things are the machines on the internet that translate a website URL into a computer friendly address to find the desired webpage, picture, email, etc. What this DNS Cache Relay was doing was storing the information on the router so that requests could go directly to the web servers instead of to the DNS machines on the internet first.
I speculated that if the DNS Cache on the router became inoperable during regular browsing it would cause the issue we were having but Eve would not be affected because it connected directly to the game server without requiring a DNS lookup. The browsing problem resolved through the reboot because the PC would disconnect and reconnect to the router causing the DNS Cache to reset. It seemed like a workable theory so like any good scientist, I put it to the test by disabling the feature and browsing once again.
For the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday the internet has been at my beckon call. No browsing stoppages and no network disconnects. This morning I Googled "DLINK DNS Cache Relay" and turned up this posting that confirms my suspicions that I may have solved the second problem.
If true, it should be clear sailing from here on out.
OK, to recap: a few weeks ago we decided to move the computer to the upstairs office. There wasn't any phone jack in the office so I splurged on a wireless router and network card so we didn't have to run cables through the floor from the basement to the office and if we ever got another computer it could share the same network connection.
Well, I got the wireless connection working but we had periodic problems. To be precise, two problems that appeared to be related at first but as the weeks and investigations proceeded turned out to be separate.
The first problem was the most glaring and frustrating. Every once in a while the network connection would drop from the computer to the router. It would usually immediately pick back up again so this didn't bother internet browsing too much, but it was really frustrating trying to play Eve Online and having the game client shut down whenever it happened. Sometimes it would only occur once an hour, other times every four-five minutes. I tried upgrading the firmware in the router (Upgraded Router Firmware) and a nearly disastrous incorrect hotfix from Microsoft (I Borked My Computer!) but nothing I tried seemed to work. There was lots of articles describing my problem but so many different solutions and none would work for me.
Finally late last week I found another tech article that described my problem but with a new solution I had not read before. Basically it described how the Auto Transfer rate of the router caused the network card and the router to require new handshakes during high traffic requests and this could cause the disconnects. By changing the transfer rate to be fixed at the highest possible the disconnects might stop. I tried this Thursday night and noticed an immediate improvement; only once has there been a network disconnect but that was when the router had decided to revert back to automatic (that's another minor issue). After a weekend of playing Eve and browsing the internet, no network disconnects. I'm hopeful that I've hit on the solution for the first problem.
The second problem was more insidious and hard to pin down. It couldn't be described in a one liner to search on Google (unlike "wireless router dropping connection") so as I investigated it I feared I was going to have to actually contact someone for support through a newsgroup or support line. Having provided support through such methods, I knew it could be a long frustrating process.
The problem is thus: periodically while browsing the internet the websites would stop being found. No website would come up anymore and it usually required a reboot of the PC to get back to browsing. But the weird thing was that Eve had no problems whatsoever connecting at the same time this was happening. So for all intents and purposes we had connection to the router and the internet service provider, but our internet browser could not, well, browse.
I figured it had to be something in the router or something on the computer. I tried several different setups for the wireless networking including setting up the wireless network using the D-Link software instead of the Windows XP software, but nothing seemed to work. After a while the websites would just stop coming. I reviewed the router setup over and over again, tried different security protocols, timeouts, network names, but nothing worked.
Then late Saturday while fighting with this problem once again I was looking at the router setup for the umpteenth time and paused on a page I had blown through many times. An innocuous setting that never clicked in my head before suddenly jumped out. "DNS Cache Relay Enabled". This triggered the pieces of the puzzle in my head to fall into a new configuration and things became a lot clearer as I read the help about this little one line setting.
The DNS Cache Relay is a feature of the router that attempts to save milliseconds off of a HTTP request. You see, DNS stands for Domain Name Server and these things are the machines on the internet that translate a website URL into a computer friendly address to find the desired webpage, picture, email, etc. What this DNS Cache Relay was doing was storing the information on the router so that requests could go directly to the web servers instead of to the DNS machines on the internet first.
I speculated that if the DNS Cache on the router became inoperable during regular browsing it would cause the issue we were having but Eve would not be affected because it connected directly to the game server without requiring a DNS lookup. The browsing problem resolved through the reboot because the PC would disconnect and reconnect to the router causing the DNS Cache to reset. It seemed like a workable theory so like any good scientist, I put it to the test by disabling the feature and browsing once again.
For the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday the internet has been at my beckon call. No browsing stoppages and no network disconnects. This morning I Googled "DLINK DNS Cache Relay" and turned up this posting that confirms my suspicions that I may have solved the second problem.
If true, it should be clear sailing from here on out.
"I am mortified by this."
Watch the video in this Unscrewing the Inscrutable post. Its funny and scary at the same time. To be fair, I have doubts many Canadians would fare much better.
Welcome to the new media where knowing what Britney Spears did last night is more newsworthy than knowing what is going on in the world today.
Welcome to the new media where knowing what Britney Spears did last night is more newsworthy than knowing what is going on in the world today.
Friday, January 19, 2007
"I Thought You Were Boots!"
We were settling into bed last night when a memory from the night before came back to me.
"Hey," I said, "did you try to put your feet between my ankle last night?"
A moment of silence and then Kim bursts out laughing. Between giggles she blurts out the quote she will never let down:
"I thought you were boots!"
As it turns out, in the middle of the night Kim was dreaming and at one point dreamed she had to put on tall furry boots. But for some reason her foot wouldn't go it so she was pushing and pushing with her toes. Well it must have been really important to get those boots on because while asleep her foot started pushing and kicking my lower legs. This woke me up and I gave a manly grunt and shook the bed, jolting Kim out of her dream long enough to realize what she was doing. We both fell back to sleep and forgot about it until I suddenly remembered last night.
We had a good laugh about it.
"Hey," I said, "did you try to put your feet between my ankle last night?"
A moment of silence and then Kim bursts out laughing. Between giggles she blurts out the quote she will never let down:
"I thought you were boots!"
As it turns out, in the middle of the night Kim was dreaming and at one point dreamed she had to put on tall furry boots. But for some reason her foot wouldn't go it so she was pushing and pushing with her toes. Well it must have been really important to get those boots on because while asleep her foot started pushing and kicking my lower legs. This woke me up and I gave a manly grunt and shook the bed, jolting Kim out of her dream long enough to realize what she was doing. We both fell back to sleep and forgot about it until I suddenly remembered last night.
We had a good laugh about it.
I Changed My Mind
If you're in a comic store and see this?
(Hat tip Chris's Invincible Super-blog)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
RIP Mocha the Third
When we purchased three dwarf hamster sisters a while back, I knew someday they would each die. I didn't expect it to be so sad.
The first two died last spring within a week of each other, so we've been waiting for the third Mocha to pass away for months. But she kept on kicking! You could tell she was getting older; a little shaky when moving, sleeping a lot. But sometimes she got in that wheel and gave it a great run.
Last couple weeks she started to turn downhill. Weird throat clearing like she had something stuck, movement really stiff. We felt bad watching her struggle but there was nothing we could do and she always seemed to shake it off. Last night in fact she was having a really hard time of it, but still climbed into her wheel for a couple laps. Good old Mocha!
This morning however I found she had ran her last lap. With great sadness I boxed her up and put her in a cold secure spot in the garage for burial in the spring.
Goodbye Mocha the Third. You will be missed.
The first two died last spring within a week of each other, so we've been waiting for the third Mocha to pass away for months. But she kept on kicking! You could tell she was getting older; a little shaky when moving, sleeping a lot. But sometimes she got in that wheel and gave it a great run.
Last couple weeks she started to turn downhill. Weird throat clearing like she had something stuck, movement really stiff. We felt bad watching her struggle but there was nothing we could do and she always seemed to shake it off. Last night in fact she was having a really hard time of it, but still climbed into her wheel for a couple laps. Good old Mocha!
This morning however I found she had ran her last lap. With great sadness I boxed her up and put her in a cold secure spot in the garage for burial in the spring.
Goodbye Mocha the Third. You will be missed.
I Borked My Computer!
From Bill's Urban Dictionary: Bork - verb meaning to royally screw up. I.e. to take a hammer and smash utterly. Example: "I can't believe I borked my computer!"
Tuesday night the frustrating saga of the dropping wireless connection at home was driving me crazy. Sometimes its brilliant, other times complete crap. I've been trying different solutions when I stumbled across a Knowledge Base article from Microsoft describing a hotfix for my exact symptoms.
Ecstatic with glee, I downloaded and installed the hotfix and re-booted the PC... only to find my networking was completely and utterly broken. I.e., borked. To make matters worse, I had not backed up the files impacted in the operating system so unborking the computer was going to require some serious fancy footwork. I.e., praying to the Computer Gods.
Yesterday at work I tracked down files and slunk home to fix the computer. I had butterflies in my stomach and sweat on my brow as I rebooted after uploading the new files. Would it work? Or had the borking been permanent?
To my eternal relief, the network came up and was as annoying as usual, dropping every 5-10 minutes or so. Whew! I am now back to looking for solutions to the issue but I think I'll avoid any OS DLL tinkering for a while and stick to changing network setups.
Tuesday night the frustrating saga of the dropping wireless connection at home was driving me crazy. Sometimes its brilliant, other times complete crap. I've been trying different solutions when I stumbled across a Knowledge Base article from Microsoft describing a hotfix for my exact symptoms.
Ecstatic with glee, I downloaded and installed the hotfix and re-booted the PC... only to find my networking was completely and utterly broken. I.e., borked. To make matters worse, I had not backed up the files impacted in the operating system so unborking the computer was going to require some serious fancy footwork. I.e., praying to the Computer Gods.
Yesterday at work I tracked down files and slunk home to fix the computer. I had butterflies in my stomach and sweat on my brow as I rebooted after uploading the new files. Would it work? Or had the borking been permanent?
To my eternal relief, the network came up and was as annoying as usual, dropping every 5-10 minutes or so. Whew! I am now back to looking for solutions to the issue but I think I'll avoid any OS DLL tinkering for a while and stick to changing network setups.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Now It Feels Like Christmas!
With all the snow yesterday, plummeting temperatures, dangerous road conditions, etc... NOW it feels like Christmas!
But instead of Christmas I'm faced with my upcoming 33rd birthday in February. I don't mind birthdays but I'm always at a loss of what to answer when people ask me what I want. I mean, I just got lots of stuff for Christmas, my wish list is all tapped out! Alas, that answer never suffices so here is my attempt at a list for those foolish people who wish to impart gifts on me.
- Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books: I love books filled with bits of trivia and funny stories. Kind of reminds me of me.
- T-Shirts.
- Axis and Allies: Battle of the Bulge: This is more for Kim's list. :)
- Venus Fly Trap plant. Saw them in the super-store this week, tres cool.
- Eve Time Codes for my latest addiction. I can use them to pay for time or sell them to other players for in-game ISK to buy more ships and weapons.
Man, I feel so selfish doing this. Ok, forget all of that. All I want for my birthday is cake. Cake and ice cream. There.
But instead of Christmas I'm faced with my upcoming 33rd birthday in February. I don't mind birthdays but I'm always at a loss of what to answer when people ask me what I want. I mean, I just got lots of stuff for Christmas, my wish list is all tapped out! Alas, that answer never suffices so here is my attempt at a list for those foolish people who wish to impart gifts on me.
- Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books: I love books filled with bits of trivia and funny stories. Kind of reminds me of me.
- T-Shirts.
- Axis and Allies: Battle of the Bulge: This is more for Kim's list. :)
- Venus Fly Trap plant. Saw them in the super-store this week, tres cool.
- Eve Time Codes for my latest addiction. I can use them to pay for time or sell them to other players for in-game ISK to buy more ships and weapons.
Man, I feel so selfish doing this. Ok, forget all of that. All I want for my birthday is cake. Cake and ice cream. There.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Weekend Wrapup
For a quiet weekend at home with no company, a lot sure happened.
On Saturday we went to a surprise lunch for Andrew to which he was thoroughly disgusted to attend himself. Man, he has that glare perfected. There was an amusing photo album of pictures over the years of him growing up but unfortunately Kim and I forgot to bring our camera.
After that, we went home and Kim assigned me the task of adding shelves to the upper part of the closets in all three bedrooms. There is a lot of wasted space up there and we have a lot of stuff needing homes. So off to Rona to buy wood and screws. I used my stud finder to located suitable locations and the circular saw to cut everything to size. It was tough work but I managed it and we now have more shelf space.
Sunday morning saw me fighting with the new wireless router to upgrade its firmware and get it set up again, but afterwards it was operating smooth as silk. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent finishing the office and then beginning the playroom move to the basement. That involved a certain amount of furniture moving and many trips up and down the stairs. By 8pm we were done for the day and got all the big stuff moved and much of the little stuff. The basement is now rec room / play room, the computer and geckos are in the office, and the old playroom is ... well, right now its a mess but we have plans, oh yes. Plans indeed.
On Saturday we went to a surprise lunch for Andrew to which he was thoroughly disgusted to attend himself. Man, he has that glare perfected. There was an amusing photo album of pictures over the years of him growing up but unfortunately Kim and I forgot to bring our camera.
After that, we went home and Kim assigned me the task of adding shelves to the upper part of the closets in all three bedrooms. There is a lot of wasted space up there and we have a lot of stuff needing homes. So off to Rona to buy wood and screws. I used my stud finder to located suitable locations and the circular saw to cut everything to size. It was tough work but I managed it and we now have more shelf space.
Sunday morning saw me fighting with the new wireless router to upgrade its firmware and get it set up again, but afterwards it was operating smooth as silk. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent finishing the office and then beginning the playroom move to the basement. That involved a certain amount of furniture moving and many trips up and down the stairs. By 8pm we were done for the day and got all the big stuff moved and much of the little stuff. The basement is now rec room / play room, the computer and geckos are in the office, and the old playroom is ... well, right now its a mess but we have plans, oh yes. Plans indeed.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Happy Birthday Andrew!
Ok, belated happy birthday. I forgot to post about it yesterday, but everyone's favourite local conservative turned thirty. Of course I teased him about it online:
My work here is done.
Welcome to your thirty-somethings
Leave your carefree youth at the door and take a chair at the reality check table
My work here is done.
Is More Troops The Answer?
With President Bush's recent announcement of over twenty thousand more soldiers to be deployed in Iraq, I could only shake my head. The situation in that country has become so muddled and despairing that one wonders if anything can help it and its unfortunate that the people of Iraq have to suffer through what is basically becoming a civil war. Sadly, I fear that they will suffer more in the coming years.
When I read reports of "rock-bottom" troop morale in Iraq you know its over. If even the men and women doing the heavy lifting for the US in Iraq have lost hope they are making a difference then I think it would be foolish of us here living in comfort and luxury to delude ourselves to the contrary. The only question left to me is whether or not the situation will get worse if the American forces and her allies in Iraq were to withdraw immediately. Unfortunately, I think it would.
When I read reports of "rock-bottom" troop morale in Iraq you know its over. If even the men and women doing the heavy lifting for the US in Iraq have lost hope they are making a difference then I think it would be foolish of us here living in comfort and luxury to delude ourselves to the contrary. The only question left to me is whether or not the situation will get worse if the American forces and her allies in Iraq were to withdraw immediately. Unfortunately, I think it would.
Sorry 'Bout That
I haven't posted since Monday because when I went to post Tuesday Blogger was down having a nap or some such thing, and yesterday between work and Jiu-Jitsu class I was quite stressed for time.
Speaking of Jiu-Jitsu, let me tell you that after three weeks off I felt it yesterday. Its amazing how quickly our bodies lose conditioning through inactivity during the holidays. It didn't help that there was only one day of snow to shovel on December 26th and my father-in-law did it because I was under the weather. Shoveling snow is great exercise, but this "winter" has been the season without snow it seems.
Anyway, back to normal blogging. Carry on.
Speaking of Jiu-Jitsu, let me tell you that after three weeks off I felt it yesterday. Its amazing how quickly our bodies lose conditioning through inactivity during the holidays. It didn't help that there was only one day of snow to shovel on December 26th and my father-in-law did it because I was under the weather. Shoveling snow is great exercise, but this "winter" has been the season without snow it seems.
Anyway, back to normal blogging. Carry on.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Gotta Love Americans
Read this post and laugh at the shrill idiots worried because a restaurant in Texas decided to accept Mexican Pesos.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Back to Work...
Sorry I took a couple extra days to start blogging again. Monday night I was sick as a dog and took Tuesday off to recuperate, and yesterday was catch-up-on-everything day so didn't have the time to do a decent post.
The week off was wonderful but too short. We had lots of family visits, time with the kids, too much good food, and not much in the way of stress. For Christmas I got a new tennis racket I've been itching for as well as some new sweaters and shirts for work, a few movies, a couple computer games, and some Warhammer stuff. Kim enjoyed all of her presents and didn't have to return any this year. I'm getting better. ;)
My father's 49th Birthday was celebrated by going to a Sens game again this year, and I took Holden with me since we had the Kids. He had fun but it was obviously not too enthralling to him; there was a lot of chatter and questions and not a lot of game watching. Oh well, at his age I would have been bored too. BTW, the Sens won over the Rangers, 1-0. W00t.
New Year's Eve we spent as in previous years visiting Kim's sister and her roommate in Kingston, but had to rush home New Year's Day to get ready for work on the Second. That sucked, especially since I was sick that night. I think it was some super-bug flu that my super-enhanced immune system was overcome by for a bit before reasserting its powerful defenses. Kim says it was a cold. I like my explanation better.
One last thing...
Out of all the events over the past couple weeks, I was quite surprised by the rapidity of the sentencing and execution of Saddam Hussein. As you may or may not know, I oppose the death penalty and this case is no exception but I will not be shedding any tears for the tyrant. I still question the method and the speed it was taken care of. Hanging? In the 21st century? As Kim asked, did they not know about lethal injection in Iraq? Kind of barbaric in my opinion. And why the rush so soon after the trial and failed appeal, and during a time of year when many religions are celebrating holidays? Seems ill-advised to me.
But then this whole Iraq debacle has been ill advised in my view. Why change now?
The week off was wonderful but too short. We had lots of family visits, time with the kids, too much good food, and not much in the way of stress. For Christmas I got a new tennis racket I've been itching for as well as some new sweaters and shirts for work, a few movies, a couple computer games, and some Warhammer stuff. Kim enjoyed all of her presents and didn't have to return any this year. I'm getting better. ;)
My father's 49th Birthday was celebrated by going to a Sens game again this year, and I took Holden with me since we had the Kids. He had fun but it was obviously not too enthralling to him; there was a lot of chatter and questions and not a lot of game watching. Oh well, at his age I would have been bored too. BTW, the Sens won over the Rangers, 1-0. W00t.
New Year's Eve we spent as in previous years visiting Kim's sister and her roommate in Kingston, but had to rush home New Year's Day to get ready for work on the Second. That sucked, especially since I was sick that night. I think it was some super-bug flu that my super-enhanced immune system was overcome by for a bit before reasserting its powerful defenses. Kim says it was a cold. I like my explanation better.
One last thing...
Out of all the events over the past couple weeks, I was quite surprised by the rapidity of the sentencing and execution of Saddam Hussein. As you may or may not know, I oppose the death penalty and this case is no exception but I will not be shedding any tears for the tyrant. I still question the method and the speed it was taken care of. Hanging? In the 21st century? As Kim asked, did they not know about lethal injection in Iraq? Kind of barbaric in my opinion. And why the rush so soon after the trial and failed appeal, and during a time of year when many religions are celebrating holidays? Seems ill-advised to me.
But then this whole Iraq debacle has been ill advised in my view. Why change now?
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