Redskins Tickets

I am a Redskins season ticket holder. Yes, it's been tough the past few years but that's not what this post is about. I get my invoice for the tickets today and it says that the only methods accepted are cash, check, money order or MasterCard. Now I don't have the cash sitting around for two seats and a parking pass and I only have a Visa Card. Originally, they were only going to accept the Redskins MasterCard for payment but according to the Washington Post, they dropped that restriction.

I decided to call the ticket office to make sure. I asked the supervisor why I could use a Visa or American Express in the stadium to buy a $7 beer but I couldn't use it to buy the ticket in the first place. He aswered that it "was a decision they made." I told him that I didn't have a MasterCard and I didn't want to pay cash. He told me that they were considering allowing people to "stretch out the payments over a 30 or 60 day period." 30 or 60 days? That's not much help.

I could just threaten to not buy the tickets this year but they don't care. The waiting list for tickets is at least long enough to fill the stadium twice. What's a fan to do?

---

I linked this to the Beltway Traffic Jam in hopes of letting my plight be known! Help me Beltway Denziens!

I said that?

Being able to search archives is such a neat thing:

Last night, Senate minority leader Harry Reid likened the president’s proposal to allow Americans to divert a portion of payroll taxes into personal security investment accounts to "gambling." But in 1999, the Nevada Democrat proposed something very similar on our own "FOX News Sunday" saying, "Most of us have no problem with taking a small amount of the Social Security proceeds and putting it into the private sector."

I always wondered how politicians can get away with such things. I guess they just shrug and say, "I changed my mind."

SOTU Address summed up

I watched the State of the Union address last night. It was good. But none of the words had as much effect as this scene.

Janet Norwood, right, of Pfugerville, Texas whose son was killed in Iraq last year, hugs Safia Taleb al-Suhail, leader of the Iraqi Women's Political Council, during the State of the Union address.

Note what is in Mrs. Norwood's hand. Those are her son's dogtags.

Update your bookmarks

Tim Blair has a new address. Update accordingly.

Go Hokies!

I was flipping through the channels last night when I came across the NC State- Virginia Tech men's basketball game. There were 21 seconds left in the game and Tech was trailing 71-70. One point deficit against a major ACC opponent! The announcers go on to recount how Tech has overcome an 11 point deficit to get to this point. The clock starts and Tech has the ball. They bring it down the court and get it to Collins who is in the paint. He puts up a fade-away jumper to take the lead 71-72 with 12 seconds to go. Of course the Wolfpack call a timeout for strategy purposes. They bring the ball down and get it to Hodge who takes a shot only to have it blocked by Gordon. Washington recovers the ball only to be fouled by NC State. That's it, the Hokies won! Man I wish that I had seen the whole thing.

When Virginia Tech announced that they were leaving the Big East in favor of the ACC, I knew that the football team wouldn't have any difficulty adjusting. I did have visions of the basketball team upon seeing the news asking in a state of shock, "we're gonna have to play who?!" They mave have said that and been in a state of shock but they seemed to have gotten over it. When the game ended, my wife said, "looks like they're going to need a bigger basketball stadium now." It sure does.

---

Be sure to click on the title of this post for proper Hokie background music.

Dog Haiku

I lift my leg and
Wiz on each bush. Hello, Spot -
Sniff this and weep.

How do I love thee?
The ways are numberless as
My hairs on the rug.

Today I sniffed
Many dog butts-I celebrate
By kissing your face

I lie belly-up
In the sunshine, happier than
You ever will be.

CG Clips

There's a very talented Coast Guard cook out there. I'm not talking about his culinary skills but I'm sure that they are superb as well since he is the Admiral's cook at the Academy. No, the talent I'm talking about is visual. This cook owns a video camera and pulls it out whenever he can. He's taken those clips and put them together in some great Coast Guard action sequences. He's now put them on a website. The address is; www.cgclips.com This is better than any of the stuff the recruiters have put out. Check it out!

Randy Moss Kerfuffle

A Large Regular sounds off on Randy Moss' fake mooning at Green Bay last week.

When I wrestle with my son and he gets away - sometimes he wiggles his butt at me as a way of saying "nana nana boo boo - you can't get me". Sure it's childish but there's no malicious intent. Just the same with Moss. Sure it was childish but there was no malicious intent.

Exactly. It was silly and childish. Just like the Green Bay fans tradition of mooning the visiting team's bus as they leave the stadium. How many times has Randy Moss and his teamates been mooned by them over the years? Give me a break.

On Sportscenter today the commentator was saying how Moss' actions took away from his team's victory. Well that's because the league and the sports press just wont let go! Give me a break.

Meet Sam

This is Sam. He'll be one year old in April. This picture was taken while my wife and I were engrossed in a college bowl game. Sam tried and tried to get our attention. Finally, he gave up in desperation and got our attention.



Linked to the Carnival of Cats in a shameless attempt to generate traffic.

Special UN Coordinator of Coordination of Coordinating Entities

“...[T]o avoid running into the UN, we must go out to where the quake and tsunami actually hit...”

The Diplomad continues his relentless assault on the United Nations:

Sitting VERY late for two consecutive nights in interminable meetings with UN reps, hearing them go on about "taking the lead coordination role," pledges, and the impending arrival of this or that UN big shot or assessment/coordination team, for the millionth time I realized that if not for Australia and America almost nobody in the tsunami-affected areas would have survived more than a few days. If we had waited for the UNocrats to get their act coordinated, the already massive death toll would have become astronomical. But, fortunately, thanks to "retrograde racist war-mongers " such as John Howard and George W. Bush, as we sat in air conditioned meeting rooms with these UNocrats, young Australians and Americans were at that moment "coordinating" without the UN and saving the lives of tens-of-thousands of people.

Don't just read this post. There are several more. My favorite is the suggestion of the first UN representative in the region that the US and Australian military personnel wear UN uniforms.

These entries are outstanding. The Diplomad deserves a place in your favorites folder.

Election Reform

I've been listening to the democrats in Congress moan and whine about the unfair elections in Ohio. They are challenging the electoral votes from that state. It's not going to go anywhere of course.

I do agree with them that some reforms need to be made. I wonder if we would agree beyond that.

Gerrymandering is going to be with us for a few more years I'm afraid. I had heard of Iowa's system but that is the first time I've seen a map of their districts. It looks great. This is a true bipartisan deal though. It won't change anytime soon because both parties like to draw the districts to protect their incumbants. Their favorite trick is to put two members of the opposite party in the same district.

My suggestions for election reform start with the voter rolls. First, I would require showing some form of ID at the polls when you go to vote. Virginia instituted this a few years ago and it had been a sucess. There is a safety valve that if you don't have an ID card, you can cast a provisional ballot. When I go to Blockbuster to rent a movie, I have to prove I am who I am. It doesn't seem to unreasonable to ask the same when I vote.

The next thing would be to keep the rolls current. Streamline the system to purge names off the list if they haven't voted in a certain number of years. Provide a safety by sending a postcard allowing the person to renew their registration. If the card isn't returned, off they go. Aren't you supposed to update your address with the voter registrar anyway?

Voting is a responsibility. As a responsibility, it requires a little effort on our part.

Tradition

Here's a piece of nautical tradition that may be on the wane.

The midwatch log entry for 1 Jan is traditionally written in VERSE. The NAVY TIMES used to run a contest & publish the best

Here's one from the USCGC SWEETBRIER:

BY THE CHANGE OF A SECOND, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR IS PAST
AS DOES THE OLD YEAR, FOREVER GONE, NEVER LAST.
THE WATCH IS SET AND STARTS A NEW SHEET
TO LOG THE STATUS OF THE ROSE OF THE FLEET.

IN CHARLIE SHE SITS FOR THE DAWN OF THE NEW YEAR,
MOORED PORTSIDE TO THE CORDOVA CITY PIER.
THE NORTHERNMOST HOMEPORTED U.S. SHIP IS SHE,
FOR SHE RESTS ABOVE LATITUDE 60-33.

ABOVE HER SEASONED DECKS HER ENSIGN FLIES HIGH
STIFF WINDS MOVING THROUGH HER MAST WITH A CRY.
SIXTY KNOT GUSTS WILL NOT ENDANGER HER MOOR
FOR DOUBLE-UPS ARE ON LINES ONE AND FOUR.

WAIST LINES ARE RIGGED FORE AND AFT
SO ARCTIC WINDS WILL NOT ENDANGER THIS CRAFT.
HER LATERAL POSITION WILL ALSO STAY TRUE
DUE TO QUARTER LINES THREE AND TWO.

BELOW A KEEL SET BY IRON AND SWEAT
LIES A MUDDY BOTTON TWELVE FEET WET.
WATER TWO KNOTS FAST PASSES ALONGSIDE
RANGING NINETEEN FEET THIS SPRING TIDE.

DECK AND MOORING LIGHTS DISPLAYED NIGHTLY
ARE ENERGIZED AND BURNING BRIGHTLY.
AND FOR THE SEAPLANES TO BEHOLD
ALL AIRCRAFT WARNING LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT AND BOLD.

THE SMALL BOATS, THEY ARE QUITE STABLE
NUMBERS TWO AND THREE HELD ON DECK BY CABLE.
AND SWEETBRIER ONE IS AT THE STARBOARD LOW RAIL,
READY TO HANDLE LOCAL SAR WITHOUT FAIL.

MESSAGES ARE SENT ANYTIME WHEN,
THANKS TO LANDLINE 39-10.
AND WITH D17 WE MAINTAIN COMMUNICATION
FOR AS OPCON/ADCON THEY MUST KNOW OUR SITUATION.

ENSIGN SCHMIDT IS THE OOD
WITH DUTY SECTION TWO TO OVERSEE.
SECTION ONE, THREE AND FOUR ARE ASHORE, AS IS WISE
FOR THEIR LIBERTY IS AUTHORIZED.

0845 THIS DAY WILL EXPIRE
SECTION THREE'S LIBERTY BEFORE WE RETIRE.
AND ON JANUARY 87, THE SECOND DAY,
LIBERTY EXPIRES FOR ALL HANDS AWAY.

WE ARE THE ROSE OF THE FLEET BY NICKNAME
A MULTI-MISSION VESSEL JUST THE SAME.
WITH A CALL TO DUTY AND A COURSE TO STEER
SEMPER PARATUS THROUGHOUT THE NEW YEAR.

Isn't she beautiful?

It's a girl!

My wife is pregnant with our first child! We went this week for the comprehensive ultrasound and found out that we're having a girl. It is really neat to see that little body moving about. Before all of this when a friend showed me a printout from their ultrasound, I could usually make out a vaguely human form but not much more than that. Now I see so much more in them. I look at them and think how beautiful my daughter is. It's amazing! I can't wait to meet her.

The Real Brown Hound

Here's the lucky puppy who this blog is named in honor of. Meet Hunter;



He is a 5 year old Chocolate Lab and a very good dog. I hope that I can find him a girlfriend some day so I can have some of his progeny running around.

People's Choice Awards

Barbra Streisand is asking her fellow moonbats to vote for Farenheit 9/11 as best movie in the People's Choice Awards. Please go and vote for Spiderman 2. And then go on and vote for The Passion and Team America in the other categories. Wouldn't that make them mad?

Update:Well, they seemed to have stopped the voting on movies.

Coast Guard helicopter crashes

A Coast Guard helicopter has crashed in the Bering Sea. It was carrying crewman evacuated from a powerless freighter. Four of the ten people on board were rescued by another Coast Guard helo that was participating in the rescue. The four included 3 Coasties and one crewman from the frieghter. The search for the remaining six continues.

More info here.

Military Pogs

Greyhawk of The Mudville Gazette is currently blogging from Iraq. He has an interesting post today about the pogs that the exchanges over there are using instead of coins. I clicked on the pictures of the pogs and they each feature a military themed photo. They are pretty neat looking. As I got to the 25 cent pogs, I found the Coast Guard pog. Here it is;

Out with the Old, In with the new

The Coast Guard is retiring the Beretta M9 9mm Pistol from active use. They have chosen the Sig P229 .40 S&W. Here's a link to the specs.



Purely for nostalgic reasons, I am going to miss the M9. I've been shooting it for 13 years. I even bought one. Everyone I speak to says that the Sig is an outstanding weapon. I look forward to taking it to the range.

Church Commercials

Feddie, at Southern Appeal, has a problem with the latest ad campaign of the United Church of Christ. Check it out.

The ad shows two guys reminiscent of club bouncers screening churchgoers on Sunday morning. Some are denied entrance. The commercial implies that gays and minorities are being denied access to churches.

My problem with the ad is that it's misleading. Is anyone being denied access to churches? No. By being a member of a church, you are saying that you agree with the premises of that religion/denomination/sect, etc. That doesn't mean blind obedience to every letter of church law and theology but there are fundamental truths that are held dear. Why do you think Bishop Spong created such a furor when he questioned the divinity of Christ?