In Training

'appy new years!

Not quite back to speed yet, been hanging with the family at my grandparent's pad out of state.  Hope everyone has a "hoofin" New Years!

By the way, all the searches to my site from search engines are some variation of 'naked Royal Marines.'  I think I'm strangely proud...

:0)

Arlington Christmas

It's the most beautiful thing. 
Please remember those who gave all, and are giving all this holiday season.

God bless everyone!  Have a safe and Merry Christmas ya'll!

EDIT:  It's come to my attention through an awesome reader that I failed to give credit to the original post of this breathtaking shot at LinkedInUSAF.  I apologize and hope y'all go visit his site and give him props for an amazing post!

Via Freedom Folks & Ace

The Joyous Christmas Tradition of

the light display of Santa and his reindeer after a head on collision with a pick-up truck?  Classy.

I'm Quirky

I'm supposed to tell y'all about 5 quirks that I have for this quirky meme.  I was "tagged" by the really nice PCS to LinkedInUSAF.  Not that I have quirks. Oh, who am I kiddin'?!

Here goes it:

1. I use hand sanitizer like it's going out of style.  And yes, I know about ALL the studies that have been done that show that hand sanitizer does practically nothing compared to warm water and soap - when I have warm water and soap, then I do that most definitely.  But quit trying to take away my placebo!!

2. I watch people, I'm a people-watcher.  I LOVE airports for that fact alone.  People display such ranges of emotion in airports - happy, sad, stressed, tired, love, etc.  I could stay all day in an airport.

3. I like to take pictures of my food before I eat, normally only in nice restaurants, but also at home if what I'm about to eat is pretty.  Food is so colorful, and arranged so nicely.  I like food, and I love taking pictures... so it fits.

4. I will laugh at anything.  I laugh all the time.  I laugh at myself a lot.  Not in the annoying or ditsy way (or at least no one has seen fit to tell me that or stay away from me) I just love life, amazing things happen and people crack me up.

5. When I read, I'm completely absorbed in whatever book, and I pretty much have to finish it the same day. Luckily, I'm a fairly fast reader and am able to comprehend at the same time.  I try not to start a new book if I don't think I can finish it in a couple hours.

I don't know if these are so much quirks as habits or plain old personality traits, but I gave it a shot.  And I have a couple hundred more...

I'm supposed to "tag" some people for this - y'all don't get mad at me, I have to tag people!  As PCS said "You can bail on the Meme-Chucking if ya want. But, I feel that others should check out your blogs if they don't already. So, a little link-love goin' your way!"  See, told ya he was nice!
The Big 5:
Universal Soldier
You Betcha I'm a Proud Army Mom
Mrs Soldier
Right Hand of God - Patriot Xeno AND Citizen Grim
Cake or Death?

Iowahawk make me laugh

Two very old posts from one of the satire kings, Iowahawk. 

I Am A Patriot Too, Dude

and the sequel

Why Do They Hate Us, Dude?

New to me, hopefully new, or at least still funny, to y'all.  HI-LARIOUS.

Thank a Soldier Week

Thank a Soldier Week begins on the 19th of December!  Not that every day isn't a "thank a soldier" kinda day, but this site is collecting messages to send to the troops overseas this holiday season.

It only takes a minute!  Go here!

Royal Reunion Update

I know I said Royal was coming in January, but actually now it's changed to February.  Which I'm really okay with, gives me a chance to get started in school and my new jobs before he gets here.  And I believe it gets us an extra day or so together than we were going to have if he came earlier.  Plus he'll be here for his birthday and Valentines, which is super nice.

We're saving our major Christmas presents until then, so we can open them in person. We haven't actually matched up on a present-giving holiday yet!  No worries, though, it's fun this way.

I think I've got him conned into writing up a few of his training stories for me to post, so be on the lookout!  I'm actually really excited to hear them, I never get tired of it (and no comments about how it's only a matter of time!)!

If they would just... get it

Violence Arrests 'up by a fifth' so says the UK Home Office. Great.

From the Archive (sidebar to the right of above link)
2004: Violent crime rises 12%
2003: Crime fight 'being lost'
2002: Street robberies soar
2001: Violent crime on the rise
2000: Big rise in violent crime
Yeah, I'm seeing the trend.

In this BBC article, Territorial Policing Commander Alf Hitchcock (no joke!) says
"Our message is clear - carrying a knife is not a game. The consequences don't get any more serious. If you carry a knife you are more likely to become a victim yourself."
Uh, what? We all know that you are NO more likely to be a victim if you carry a knife than if you carry an orange. Bad guys try to stay away from armed citizens. But hey! the guy's name is Alf Hitchcock!

Because I'm sleepy, I'm only going to make a few comments on this puppy: crimeinfo.org.uk on Gun Crime For your info, the whole site is sponsored by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London. That, combined with the fact that it's the UK we're talking about, shouldn't surprise anyone with what's next.
Let's start where they do with 'How Much Gun Crime is There?'
-In the year ending June 2005, there were 10,979 firearm offences recorded in England and Wales (excluding offences involving air guns).
-This is a 6% increase from 2003/04 and continues the pattern of annual increases every year since 1997/98. In fact, the current number of firearms offences is almost twice that of 1997/98.
This info is followed by "But these figures might be worse than they seem." Heh, whatever helps your cause, right?
For those who don't know, you can't do jack to defend yourself, your loved ones, your home, or others in the UK. In 1997 the UK banned handguns. You have to go through HELL (trust me, I know on this one) to own a shotgun for hunting purposes. You have to be 17 before you can go out on your own with an air rifle.  I was about knee-high to a grasshopper when I could go out on my own.

The site states:
"The police alone cannot hope to solve the gun crime problem in the U.K. Action by the police and customs might affect the supply of weapons, but it does little to reduce the demand"
Aw, they got one right!! Okay, kinda.
"In certain areas of Britain, young people have more and more contact with firearms."
It wasn't long-lasting... what is that sentence even doing there? I know what it's doing there, but, what is it doing there?
"Only with coordinated efforts from community organisations, educators, law enforcement, and law makers will the gun problem ease."
Yeah, that and campaigns against anti-social behaviour. Nice. No really, nice.

So who's going to save the day? Batman? Spiderman? I personally prefer Superman... This is what the UK has to go on.  I know I kinda bounced around, just wanted to get some ideas down.

Vote for Michael Yon's Little Farah Photo

Michael Yon's touching photo of Major Mark Bieger carrying little Farah to the hospital after a car bomb attack has been voted on in TIME Magazine's 'Photo of the Week.'  There are 10 photos now to vote on for the year, including Yon's - he's the only amateur photographer included in the bunch!

Michael Yon is known for being an incredibly humble and modest guy, and his new post is no different:
"Any US soldier who has ever served in combat can probably give countless examples of moments like this. I just happened to be on the scene that day when a terrorist who had been trailing a Deuce Four patrol in a car packed with explosives waited until a crowd of children had gathered around the soldiers and selected that moment to drive into the crowd and detonate."

Go vote!  The photographs are beautiful, but none are as beautiful and powerful as Mr. Yon's. 

British Humor

I can't bring myself to research or even read much other than textbooks and notes this week. 
So I pretty much just googled 'british humor' and liked these 3 links.  Enjoy!

Very Best of the British - Hilarious site.  Includes an awesome American's Guide to Speaking British slang dictionary

Wikipedia British Humour  - breaks it down into types, such as: The banality of everyday life, The British class system, Harsh sarcasm, and Making fun of foreigners.  With links, of course

Amazon Top 10 Wacky British Humor Dvds - Pretty self-explanatory.  Includes Fawlty Towers - memories of good times...