A friend posted this link and asked why, in these times of cutting military spending, does the Air Force spend money on a ‘band’ with a harp and a bunch of cellos? This was my response:
Continue reading “Why don’t we cut military music?”
My grandfather
My grandfather died today. I don’t have much to say except he was the inspiration to my service.
Donald W. van Buren was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served in World War II as a B-17G “Flying Fortress” pilot in the 860th Bombardment Squadron, 493 Bombardment Group, 8th Army Air Corps. Arriving in England in late April 1945, he flew aid missions out of RAF Debach (Ipswich, England), dropping food and relief items primarily in the Netherlands where supply routes had been cut off by the German Army. After the war ended in the European Theater, he redeployed back to the United States and was to train on B-29 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to fly in the Pacific Theater, but after the end of the war with Japan the unit was deactivated.
On days
Sunrise brings joy
Sunset brings reflection
The nights are cold and lonely
but I never remember the rain
New days will come
I am scared of new days
I worry about the weather.
On death
On October 5, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, died. Many people posted tributes to him, many of them using devices he invented to do so. There was a lot of comment as to his genius in both technical and marketing aspects. There is no denying he was savvy and built one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, in addition to revitalizing a nearly-extinct brand, bringing it international repute. Apple, Inc.–and arguably Steve Jobs himself–changed the way much of the world consumes music and other media, changed our conception of what our personal electronics can do for us, and raised the bar for what we expect in quality from film animation to user interfaces and experiences. Whether or not people are Apple fans or even use Apple products, the world consumes digital media and communicates differently than it did twenty years ago, and it is impossible to deny that Steve Jobs played a role in that transition. Yet despite all the wonderful things that have been said about him over the past few days, Steve Jobs has his detractors and certainly not everyone thought he was so great. There are also people who think that the gadgets and technology he created are hurting us.
Nearly There
In Marine recruit training, each day is numbered according to the different phases of recruit training. We have three training battalions, each with four training companies, for a total of twelve companies. Each company consists of two series, which themselves consist of three or four platoons. A different company picks up every week. Recruits begin arriving on Monday (P-1, P is for ‘Pick-Up’) each week. They continue arriving through Thursday (P-4) and are “picked up” by their training company on Friday (F-1, F is for ‘Forming’). They have four days of Forming, where they are taught the basic rules of how to speak, how to make their racks (beds), customs and courtesies, have their records reviewed, conduct medical and dental screening, and basically everything they need to know about living in their squad bays (large rooms with bunk beds which house platoons of 30 to 90 recruits).
Back in the Saddle
I gave myself three weeks to not worry about workouts and diet. This being my first recruit training cycle, trying to manage my physical training regimen and three weeks in the field at Camp Pendleton just wasn’t going to happen. That meant coffee on my way in to work at 4:30 AM, McDonalds usually on my way in and out of work, and no actual gym time. Thanks to the pace of the training, I didn’t actually out on any weight, but I know I was putting my body through hell.
So this morning I am back at it, and with a vengeance. First up is the diet. A few of the changes will be simple: only drinking water (no more soda or energy drinks), no more sugar, eating the right number of meals and snacks in a day. Some will be a bit more difficult: no more fast food, keeping eating out to a minimum, eating properly balanced meals (I follow the Zone Diet).
Closing a Chapter
I had a conversation via text last night that I should have had a year ago when my relationship that spanned the previous four years ended. I’m clearly a glutton for punishment, but even today I refuse to believe I was wrong about the relationship. We had something very special, something I’m not sure I’ll find again. I’ve said before, true love is when the one you love and the one who loves you are the same. Whether this was true love, I guess I can’t ever really know. I think it was. But apparently I was the only one of us who felt that way.
Thoughts on Privacy
There has been quite a bit of fervor recently about privacy on the web. There was recently an op-ed piece on Mashable that mirrored most of my own thoughts, so I invite you to read that as well.
I’ve heard the rants of several people recently–many among my own friend circles–who bemoan Facebook’s upcoming Open Graph system that will bring personalization to third-party sites based on users’ Facebook activity. The complaints center around the idea that what someone posts on Facebook will be accessible to third-party entities without explicit permission being granted by the user.
Rambling
It’s been a while since I’ve written. Maybe it’s because I don’t have anything to say. Or perhaps it’s because I haven’t had time. Or perhaps it’s another reason altogether.
I’m visiting Chicago this week. After months of non-stop work, I finally got a break and wanted nothing more than to visit my family and my dog. Everything is more or less as I left it, as I suppose would be expected. It’s comforting to know that when everything is going crazy, whether good or bad, some things are always there.
Daily Thought
Just a thought today…. “If I’m not a better man today than yesterday, I’ve wasted one whole day of my life.”
Work in Progress 