OPSEC

Be careful what you talk about. You might be in this guy's restaurant.

HT to Storming the Tower of Babel.

Wii Games

I was asking for suggestions on Wii games that a 3 1/2 year old girl would like. My older sister suggested the following games. Any other suggestions?

DVD Bleg

I need a new DVD player for a non-HD TV. Is there any reason not to get a HD-DVD player for $47?

4th Annual Valour-IT Fundraising Competition

Project Valour-IT supplies voice-controlled laptops and other technology that supports the physical and psychological recovery of wounded veterans. Each year the milblogs and other bloggers spread the word about the project and encourage donations. Teams are divided by service branch in a spirit of fun competition, though all the money goes to the same place. Please click on the graphic on the sidebar to donate! Help Team Coast Guard help our wounded warriors!

==Update==
The Coast Guard Team has kidnapped the other team thermometers!

Good Advice

FrankJ at IMAO has excellent advise to carry us through to Election Day; "Be Positive."

McCain and Palin in Virgina Beach

In my seat
Originally uploaded by medicjm

I went to the McCain/Palin Rally in Virginia Beach earlier this month. I took my camera fully intending to put up a long blog post about it. Obviously, I have not had time to do it. I have posted some of my photos in Flickr.


I am in this picture taken by the BBC.

What Caused the Economic Mess.

Here's a video on Youtube that examines the cause of our current economic situation all the way back to the Community Reinvestment Act.

It is 10 minutes long and I apologize for that but it is worth a look.

UPDATE: Well, the video was blocked. The new link is here;

The Palin Effect

The Weekly Standard has a good article titled, "The Palin Effect." The author, Noemie Emery, dissects the effect Sarah Palin has had on the media and Democrats. Here's the money quote:

Somehow, every element of her life--the dual offense of being a beauty-queen and hunter; the Down syndrome baby who wasn't aborted; the teenage daughter about to get married, whose baby also wasn't aborted; the non-metrosexual husband working the nightshift; the very fact of five children--touched a nerve on the liberal template, and sent the whole beast into convulsions, opening an intriguing and somewhat frightening window onto the turbulent id of the left.

Emery also looks at how Palin's entrance has changed the game for Hillary.

"That sound you hear--along with a small snort from Hillary--is the weight of power in the Democratic scale sliding back to the side of the Clintons. After [Obama} made a point of stressing how little she matters, he now seems to need her more than ever. And she, of course, does not need him.

It's a very interesting read.

Just Asking

How come I haven't heard anyone say that Governor Palin has just as much foreign policy experience as Bill Clinton when he was nominated for president? Just asking.

Governor Palin for VP!

I've been interested in Gov. Palin (R-AK) as a Veep pick for some time. CDR Salamander seems to think she's going to get the nod.
Then there's this piece ofevidence.

UPDATE! All the major news outlets say they've confirmed that Palin is the pick!

Second Update: When Fox said they confirmed Palin, I started flipping through to the other news channels. When I got to MSNBS, the pundits were still talking about Pawlenty. Then someone off camera shouted, "It's Palin!" and all the talking heads said, "who?"

Southern Appeal found a message thread on a Hillary Clinton forum and they are ecstatic.

The Water Buffalos

I participated in a live draft this year for a fantasy football league. It was only the second time I've done it live and in person. It's so much better with beer and hot wings. Anyway, here's my team in no particular order.
QB
Peyton Manning
Mark Bulger

RB
Deuce McAllister
Julius Jones
Clinton Portis
Chester Taylor

WR
Marvin Harrison
Kevin Curtis
Antwaan Randle El
Dante Stallworth
Hines Ward

TE
Todd Heap
Jeremy Shockey
Marcedes Lewis

K
Stephen Gostkowski
Jeff Reed

DEF
New England
Buffalo

How I Spent My Weekend

I'm the one behind the camera.

In Spite of Ourselves

Someone sent me a link to this song. I love it!

Diocese of Southern Virginia Bishop Candidates

The Diocesan Nominating announced the five nominees for the 10th Diocesan Bishop of Southern Virginia. You may view nominees’ biographical sketches, and written answers to six questions posed by the nominating committee, by clicking on their names.

The nominees are:

The Very Reverend Edward H. Harrison
Dean, St. John’s Cathedral, Jacksonville, FL

The Rev. Herman “Holly” Hollerith, IV
Rector, Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, VA

The Rev. Canon E. Daniel Smith
Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Missouri

The Rev. L. Murdock Smith
Rector, St. Martin’s, Charlotte, NC

The Rev. Mary C. Sulerud
Canon for Deployment and Vocational Ministry,

Huh?

Here's a strange finding of the recent religion in America survey;
21% of Atheists Believe in God
I don't get it.

---

Hat tip; IMAO.

USCG to Establish Law Enforcement Rating

When I enlisted in 1991, there was a rumor that the Coast Guard would establish a Law Enforcement Rating for the enlisted. Every year the rumor would resurface. The Port Security Specialist (PS), a reserve only rating, would get all excited by the prospects for them. Eventually, everyone would be disappointed until the rumor started up again.

Well, now the rumor can be put to rest for it is now fact.

The law enforcement and security rating, approved by Allen June 6, integrates the port security specialist rating, which is filled by reservists only, with an active-duty counterpart. Fully establishing the new rating is expected to take 24 months.

This is good news for those in the PS rate. I would predict that there is going to be a slew of EAD opportunities for PS's who will provide the framework of the new rating. I wonder if the current PS Rating Force Master Chief, PSCM Sam Allred (a previous shipmate of mine) will be made the first Master Chief of the new rating.

I'm Still Alive

I am embarrased by how long it's been since I've actually put a post up here. I have been blogging here as well as on a blog that you can't get to from here.

Please keep coming back and I'll have more for you.

Allelulia! The Lord Is Risen

John 20:1-18
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Looking for Strawberries

I've been following the goings on between the Sea Shepherds and the Japanese whaling fleet. The latest news from the activists is;

Mr Watson said two crew from his protest ship Steve Irwin covertly planted tracking devices on the harpoon ship Yushin Maru No.2 when they boarded it mid-ocean on January 15, sparking a three-day standoff as they were held on board.

I'm incredulous that they have actually planted a homing device on the ship for the following reasons;
1. How is it powered? Sure, you could have a battery powered transmitter but it wouldn't last very long. To provide enough juice to make it last long enough to be worthwhile, you would need something the size of a car battery. The problem they pose is that they are heavy and too large to conceal on your body.

2. Where is it's antenna? Ships are made of metal and metal is notorious for blocking transmissions. So unless the crew of the whaler allowed the protesters go aloft to install one, the device would have to rely on an internal antenna.

The main reason that I don't believe the Sea Shepherds is;

3. They talked about it! They broke a major rule in intelligence; don't reveal your sources and methods. If this thing was so effective in leading them to the fleet, why on Earth would they tell anyone about it?

My feeling is that the whole thing was a ruse to jerk the whalers' chain in the hopes of making them tear the ship apart looking for a non-existent tracking device.

---

An extra pat on the back to anyone who can cite the reasoning behind the title of this post.

The day before the primary

This is a strange experience for Virginia voters. We have a primary that someone actually cares about. I had today off and stuck around the house and my phone has been ringing off the hook with recorded messages from the candidates. It actually started yesterday with a push-poll from Huckabee.

I've only gotten one call from the Democrats and that was from Obama.

The rest of the calls were evenly split between McCain and Huckabee. The McCain calls have all been sponsored by the campaign. The one strange call that I got was a recording of former Maryland Governor Ehrlich urging me to vote for McCain in "tomorrow's Maryland primary." I don't even live close to Maryland. The only reason I can think of for getting that call is that I lived in Maryland for a year and was registered to vote there.

Remember, vote early and often!

Just Wondering

In an effort to drive out the Marines, the Berkeley City Council has given Code Pink a free parking spot in front of the USMC recruiting office. I wonder if the council will give a free parking spot to a pro-life group in front of an abortion clinic?

Cell Phone Spam

At 8:20 this morning, someone sent me a text message. When I read it, I saw that I had gotten spam. titanwxe@agferrari.com wants me to buy small cap stocks in precious metals. I don't know how to block this.

Baltimore Light

I found this image on the Library of Congress website. It shows the Baltimore Light undergoing a upgrade. The box that's being hoisted is a nuclear reactor. Here's some more information;

The Baltimore Lighthouse became the world’s first nuclear powered lighthouse in 1964, when a 60-watt isotopic power generator was installed. According to a local newspaper, this generator was “smaller than a 55-gallon oil drum,” and was reputed to be capable of supplying an uninterrupted ten-year flow of electricity without any maintenance or refueling. The installation of the generator is shown in the photograph to the right, but it was removed two years later as the Coast Guard was concerned with “cost and environmental considerations.”

Chinese Counterfeits and National Security

I ran across this article on Strategy Page. It starts off with a report that the FBI recently arrested two brothers for selling counterfeit computer parts. The parts included "Cisco router components" and were made in China.

Sounds pretty tame so far. Counterfeits just seem to be a common hazard nowadays. In this case, some business got saved the inconvenience of sub-par parts. Except that the brothers weren't going to sell them to a business. "The two brothers had a contract to sell these parts to the Department of Defense and other government agencies."

The article sums it all up nicely;

But with the Department of Defense installing counterfeit computer components, it becomes a national security issue. There's also the fear that the Chinese, or some other hostile nation, might get their hands on real computer components, and replace some of the chips with modified ones that will make government networks easier to hack. Yes, it just gets worse.

Yep, it does.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

---

On a slight tangent, The Elephant and the Dragon has been added to the Coast Guard Reading List.

Psst! Wanna buy a lightbulb?

I ran across this on Opinionjournal.com today:

Just like that--like flipping a switch--Congress and the president banned incandescent light bulbs last month. OK, they did not exactly ban them. But the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush sets energy-efficiency standards for light bulbs that traditional incandescent bulbs cannot meet.

The new rules phase in starting in 2012, but don't be lulled by that five-year delay. Whether it's next week or next decade, you will one day walk into a hardware store looking for a 100-watt bulb--and there won't be any. By 2014, the new efficiency standards will apply to 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs too.

I guess this means I'll have to start hoarding light bulbs in 2010 or be forced to buy black market bulbs from Mexico. They'll be right beside the high flow toilets.