the lizard's life

2010-08-01T16:46:00.001-07:00

Ft Jackson/Camp McCrady
Day 1:
Meet the Drill Sergeants. Get on buses. Get gear - body armor, back pack, framed pack, and a couple of other things. Get on buses again, go 1/4 to 1/2 a mile away, get more gear - EyePro (Eye Protection - two sets ESS glasses with two lenses each, plus a set of goggles and lenses), ACU Camelback, camelback cleaning kit, warm and cold weather gloves, helmet (AKA kevlar or Advance Combat Helmet - ACH), knee and elbow pads, etc. Afghanistan gets a lot more gear than Djibouti - I have no idea what they got extra other than the Extreme Cold Weather System. Inventory the gear while staged in a circle. One sea bag (or two for Afghanistan) is no-need, the other is the need bag. The DS's tell you what goes in each. They're pretty accurate on this one.

Day 2:
Some stuff....but this is when you get issued your weapons. Officers get both M16/M4 and M9. Enlisted get at least an M16/M4 but some get M9 as well. It depends on Noble Eagle number. Same with M4 vs M16. The M4 is issued if you'll be doing a lot of convoy ops. These weapons will be with you everywhere except the M16 doesn't go to the head with you (for some reason the DS's call it a latrine. Go figure ;)

Day 3:
After day two, the focus is pretty much on shooting and safety. We got a lot of range time. Before we went to the range, we went to the Engagement Skills Trainer.

Think duck hunt or some other computer game. They had M16's, M4's, M9's and about any other weapon, in these things. We used the EST to learn how to group and zero our rifles. We also used it to do our low light M9 training. They use compressed air to operate the actions on the weapons and the computer makes the process foolproof. It is, however, also unforgiving.

We finished this day off by going to the HEAT trainer. This is a HumVee egress trainer for rollover situations. You get in and everything is normal. The trainer leans one way a few degrees (OK...a lot of degrees), then the other, then it flips over onto its top. Now you're hanging upside down by your seat belt and have to safely get out and post security to your corner. Following this we got a familiarization lecture on the HumVee, followed by a change to rotate through the different positions to get a feel for it.

Day 4:
Our first day on the range, we started off with M9 quals. Yep. The first thing we did with real ammo was qualify on the M9. This was bad for people required to qual on the M9 who have never shot a handgun before. This was the Navy qualification course and it was in full battle rattle (Integrated Body Armor and ACH). I'm just glad I pulled off the expert marksman qualification. It would have been embarrassing if I didn't, since I was an pistol instructor (M1911 handguns) back at the Naval Academy so many years ago. It may have helped that I bought an M9 (Beretta 92FS) a few months ago and put 500 rounds downrange to get the feel for it. I was also smart enough to practice some of the finer points of the Navy qualifications.

Then we dropped our battle rattle in platoon formation (OK, we dropped it anywhere we felt like it and they made us move it into platoon formation) and proceeded to group and zero our M16/M4's "slick". This would be the last time we shot without armor. Did I mention armor is heavy? Shooting prone in the armor can be very difficult, too. The ACH tends to get pushed down over your eyes.

The next day we headed out to LOMAH. This is a computerized instant feedback range. We were shooting popup targets at various ranges out to 300 meters. Using sensitive microphone arrays, they are able to track the flight of your round and show you on a screen where you are hitting (or missing).

Sadly, we weren't shooting the whole time we were on the range. There is a lot of "white space". They try to fill it with concurrent training, which is a good thing. Looking back, it really seems the first two weeks are focused on shooting. There were a few things here and there that weren't, but not many. It may not help that we had one and a half range days wasted by power outage. The first day they didn't get power back until noon. We had already taken buses back to Camp McCrady. So...we got back on the buses and went to shoot. The next day it happened again. Instead of busing back to McCrady, we stuck around...and the power never came back on. This was qualification day. It also happened to be the coolest day in the first two weeks. It would have been ideal to qualify. It was "great" weather and the qualification process sounded fun - pop up targets at ranges from 50 to 300 meters.

These pictures were from the pre-qualification range. The DSs were of the opinion that whatever score you got here, you could probably add 5 or 6 to figure out how you would do for final qualification. The reason? Two things. First, the targets were spread out more. There's a lot more left and right, making it harder to recognize certain targets popped up. This is especially true with the 50m gimmes. The second is the contrast. All of these targets are dark. That makes it harder to see and aim at some of the more distant targets. I got over 30 on two out of three rounds. Things were looking good for qualifications.

Instead we ended up coming back and qualifying on Alt "C". Alt "C" is the alternate qualification method. Take the targets that are part of the normal qual range, and put appropriately proportioned facsimiles on a paper target at 25 meters. Some say it is easier. I thought it was less engaging and less realistic, and therefore it garnered less attention from those of us who were not required to qualify on the M16.

In fact...every day that we went to the range, we were at heat category 5 before we got to pull a single M16 trigger. That would also be known as "black flag". You can guess how comfortable it was to wear full body armor in 95-100 degree heat that is up near 110 with the heat index. The washer and dryer in our barracks worked until after lights out every day so we weren't hanging any soaked uniforms up. We're men, but we didn't want the barracks to smell like a locker room. Take a look at the thermometer ;)

Somewhere in the rifle range white space, they had us in a classroom at the end of the day and taught basic "commo". We got a quick intro on setting up a SINCGARS radio and how to create and send a couple of signals (9 line medevac, and SPOT/SALUTE). The next week we had a practical application where we were broken up into teams of two and had to remember how to set up the radio, create the 9 line, and send it.

Once we got that done, we were given verbal directions on how to put on our JList. That's MOPP gear for the Navy types. For everyone else, that's our chemical, biological, radiological warfare suits. We had 3-5 seconds to put on our gas masks, then up to 8 minutes to put the suits on. It's Army Easy, so I was done in less than 3 minutes. My training at Ft McClellan in 1996 may have helped here, too.

Somewhere in week two we did the M9 Stress Fire (aka Table 3). This started with running in place 30-60 seconds. Then you have to pay attention and shoot the targets in the order the DS gives you (three targets to be engaged up to four times per position). You have one 6 round magazine loaded, and two in ammo pouches on your armor.

The first position is standing with optional support from a post/wall - fire two shots into the targets as ordered.

Then you transition to the prone where you fire four shots, rapid combat reload.

Move from here to the window, shooting through the window frame without "flagging" your position. This means you and the weapon stay "inside" the room so no one outside can see the weapon and possible pull it or you through the window. Shoot four shots through the window.

Next transition is to the barrier. Fire two shots over or around the barrier while taking cover. Combat rapid reload, then take two more shots.

Transition from here to three meters from the targets, and from a standing position fire four point blank shots into the targets in the order given...usually finished with a double tap.

Here's a video I took:

The last things we did on the range were the M16 Stress Fire and the M16 Reflexive Fire. The M16 reflexive fire was relatively simple, but incredibly dangerous. 30 shooters line up on the range in groups of three. M16s are locked and loaded, carried at the low ready. At the range master's direction, you are told to face a certain way, then move as appropriate to engage the target with a controlled double tap using combat aiming - point the gun in the general direction and pull the trigger (you're close enough you shouldn't miss). We started facing straight and engaging the target by raising the rifle and shooting. Then we did a left face. Now the target was on our right. On the RM's command, we would engage the target. This means pivoting back to the front to keep the strength of our armor toward the threat, then raising the rifle and shooting. After firing two shots, we lower the rifle and pivot back to the left. If someone raises their rifle before pivoting the first time, or forgets to lower it before pivoting back, there may be a loaded rifle pointing at one of your body parts. Did I mention some of these people had never touched a gun before week one? Anyway, you go through this at different distances - 25 meters down to 5 meters.

The M16 Stress Fire was a little like the M9 Stress Fire...but more fun. We started by climing into and out of the back, then front, seats of the HMMVW (HumVee) they brought over. While in the HumVee, two of the DS's were yelling at us and making us "hurry".

I may have had issues with keeping a straight face. USNA kept me from taking it too seriously.

Coming out of the front seat, you had to sprint to a staging spot and take a knee. When the DS's with ammo were ready, you had to sprint there and take a knee. As they were giving you ammo that had to be put in cargo pockets, they were yelling and trying to cause stress. They were also prone to trying to take your weapon. If you let them, you got into a new world of hurt and had to do one or more things to get it back.

Once you got past these DSs, you headed to the first barrier. Here you engaged with two double taps from a standing position.

When safe, you proceeded to the next barrier. Shots here were from the prone position - two double taps.

Now you moved to the next barrier, firing a double tap from the kneeling position followed by a rapid combat reload and another double tap. The final transition is to the last barrier where you unload the remaining rounds in controlled pairs. This was fun :) And, apparently I moved to fast. My photographer couldn't keep up and didn't get pictures of me at each station. I did, however, get a video of one of the other guys from getting ammo to empty.

The last week is all about the convoy. Front end training is on Monday, to include an IED "petting zoo" where you get to see different types of IEDs, learn what signs to look for, etc. You also get to do a training convoy with 5 HumVees per convoy. On the second convoy day, you do the convoy practical which can include IEDs, actors in appropriate clothing to act as both combatants and non-combatants, and other fun stuff.

Then it's off to your next destination...Iraq, Afghanistan, or where ever the Narmy sends you.

I apologize for losing track of the days. I started off with good intentions to keep accurate dates...but it's close enough.

Individual Augmentee or IA

2010-08-01T16:42:00.001-07:00

That's the name given to someone in the Navy going to Iraq, Afghanistan, or some other place to help out the other armed services. Well, it's my turn now. This post is the story of what it was like to make the 5 (or 7) day transition from reServist to Active Duty Navy. The story actually starts at Day -2, but that was uneventful. I'll start with Day 1.

Day 1:
Showed up by 0730 per the orders. Apparently some people got word to show up by 0545. Didn't have time to get uniforms fitted prior to heading to the auditorium for briefs (about 0815). There were a couple of times that groups were singled out to stay in the auditorium. Others were able to take a break during those times. I was in the group that had to stay at every break. Didn't get out of my seat until 1140 when they sent us to lunch to return by 1230. Did I mention most of the morning briefs were a rehash of the ECRC checklist?

After lunch we were told we could go get fitted for uniforms during the first brief. We waited for the fitting folks for about 20 minutes. After they got there and got started, we were told to do it the next day and head back to the auditorium. Maybe 10 people had been fitted at this point. Some of us opted, based on the morning briefs, to get fitted before going back. It seemed like a good choice.

A couple more briefs finished off the day, except for being broken up into our groups. We waited as a CS1 read off the four groups using everybodies last 4, and each person responded. They were then told whether or not they had to fast for a blood draw. A little tip...those who had the most to get done had a 0615 muster. The next group was 0630. Those of us who completed things ahead of time were given 0730.

Day 2:
Medical. Did I mention medical? You basically bounce around medical all day.

Day 3 and 4:
Check in at 0800. Go home. Oh...maybe get fit for a gas mask. Then go home.

Day 5:
Get your uniforms and your travel brief. We congregated in the courtyard of the BEQ until our uniforms were ready. Then we inventoried the sea bag of uniforms and ensured everything fit properly. The problem? No one knew just how the ACUs had to look, so some uniforms ended up being exchanged when we got to Ft Jackson.

Day 7:
We flew out of NAS North Island at 0845 on Sunday. We had a 0615 show time at NMPS to get transported by passenger van to NASNI. The flight was a USMC C-9. We landed in Topeka for fuel. We landed in P-cola to drop some people off (another group of PAX headed in the same general direction) and fuel. Then we landed in Columbia, SC, where one of our buses broke down so we had to wait for another. We got in to Camp McCrady after the DFAC closed, so we got bag lunches while we sat through some introductory presentations. Some time after 8pm, we made it to our barracks where we got to settle in and hope we could sleep...before the 0500 wake up for Monday morning.

That's enough for now. Thanks for reading if you're still here ;)
The next post will talk about the next two weeks and includes pictures. Heh.

Time flies

2010-08-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been a day or two since I posted anything here. There will be some to come about my last few weeks of Narmy training!!

More on Photography

2009-09-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

In the past, I have posted once or twice about the photography podcast I follow called TWiP - This Week in Photography. It's from a family of podcasts based on TWiT - This Week in Tech. I happen to follow TWiT, TWiP, Windows Weekly and Security Now from that group. Lot's of good geek talk from the technical to the not so technical. For information on those, go to http://www.twit.tv/

One of the photographers on TWiP that has a ton of experience to share is Scott Bourne. For more info on him, check these links:
http://www.photofocus.com/
http://www.mydl.me/

He is also available on Twitter @ScottBourne

Now if I could just get back in the habit of posting here a little bit more...

A change to cursive writing?

2009-09-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I thought this was an interesting article!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/04/opinion/20090908_opart.html

Karate Surprise

2009-03-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

This year isn't going to be too good for me to compete in tournaments. I had just gotten back from Japan for the last one, so I wasn't up to competing. I won't be around for the one in May either. So Mama Lizard convinced me to compete this past Saturday.

Since three out of four little Lizards were in the tournament as well, I had a lot of time to chat with some of the sensei's. Sensei #2 heard me make a comment about being very competitive and asked if I was willing to compete a level higher with all of the brown belts. I said "Sure, why not?"

Kata competition went slightly better than expected, with me getting third. OK, so there were only four people competing, but I beat a master brown belt to get third.

Weapons kata went OK. I got second...out of two. I lost to a different master brown belt.

Sparring was the last event. Did I mention that I drew the low number, so I got to go first in kata and sparring? Anyway, I beat one of the master browns in the first match. The other mastwer brown beat the 2nd degree brown belt in their match. That put me up against him. We went a while, but in the end I beat him as well.

Fast forward to today. Mama Lizard went in to open workout with our Master (Sensei #1) today (she goes to open workout, I go to regular workout on Monday's). They got to talking and he made a comment along the lines of "We can't have a green belt beating brown belts in a tournament". Apparently I was on an accelerated pace to brown belt all of a sudden. He also suggested we prep Little Miss who had been advancing along with me.

So at 7pm I got to class and class was good. We started learning a new bo kata today. At the end of class we were lined up to bow out when Sensei #1 told us to spread out again. He and a 2nd degree black belt went in the back after Sensei told me I had one more thing to do tonight. I did not believe that I would be "tested" for brown belt like this.

They came out with some boards. The 2nd degree was holding one and Sensei said to break it. I've never done this before, but I gave it a whack. Literally ;) It broke quite nicely with a palm strike.

Then Sensei handed him two more boards and told me to break them both. He gave me the option of punch, elbow or kick this time. The palm strike worked before, so I did it again. The 2nd degree gave me my "kindling" to take home.

Sensei had us line up again, then called in all of the black belts who were waiting for their class after ours. They lined up at the front across from us.

Then I was called out "front and center" where a 3rd degree black belt pulled a brown belt from inside her gi (uniform) and Sensei announced "Advancing to 3rd Kyu, first degree brown belt, The Lizard". OK, they don't really call me the Lizard, but they might as well.

We went through the ceremony and now I'm a belt higher. It's a good thing we talked to Little Miss this afternoon, because we aren't the kind of people to hide things from our kids - except presents for later ;)

Now to catch up on all of the things I should know already but don't...

They say the darndest things...

2008-12-07T21:09:00.001-08:00

Mommy trying to get him to stop: Can I pick your nose, Little Dude?
Little Dude: No, mommy. My finger is just right.

VALOUR-IT

2008-11-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

With Mama Lizard dealing with Carpal Tunnel for almost 10 years, and a broken wrist (don't ask how she got it) for the last 5 weeks or so, she is gaining an appreciation for the little things. This weekend I bought her Dragon Naturally Speaking and she is getting some good use out of it.

On that note, and in honor of Veterans Day, the USMC birthday, and life in general I bring your attention to Soldier's Angels and VALOUR-IT. It's a worthy cause I ask you to consider.

I would have given through the Army team, but that didn't seem right as it would have put them over the Navy team. The good news is that regardless of which team you choose, it can only help our troops.

I am JOE

2008-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Click the picture for the story.

Is it true?

2008-09-28T16:26:00.001-07:00

If so, it's certainly interesting.

Sometimes I hate the internet...

2008-08-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

And this is one of them.

Now I'm going to sit back and see what the final verdict is.

USA Shooting

2008-08-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

From this blog:

As the week was winding down, the Executive Director of USA Shooting stepped up to the podium and declared that the "new shooters" weren't of Olympic caliber. He said that these people - who between them had won a dizzying number of national and international titles - "lacked focus and discipline." No one would be able to get on our Olympic shooting team, the Director continued, unless they came up through the USA Shooting farm system.

This is a pretty near-sighted view. How many people have gone from walk-on to star of the team in so many sports?

A little more with a different twist here.

Fill this space.

2008-08-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

I don't have much of a plan for this blog. What would you like to see? Who is reading it? Leave me a comment?

Clinton Redux?

2008-07-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Look here. Sounds a lot like the 90's.

Finding a mate

2008-07-11T07:57:00.001-07:00

If you can't tell, the Lizard Wife (aka Mama Lizard) and I support a strong marriage. We're definitely involved in Marriage Encounter.

Some stuff in the news/online from our recent convention:
http://christiannewswire.com/news/58337124.html

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/pressreleases/hundreds_of_worldwide_marriage_encounter_couples_sign_document_supporting_l/

http://nightwatchworldnews.blogspot.com/2008/07/hundreds-validate-lifetime-marriage.html

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_9731500

Anyway, the thing that brought this post on...Watching the Today Show this morning, I saw something on how to choose a mate. Some of the advice was pretty good, coming from a 79 year old Priest.

A Child's Point of View...

2008-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

can be refreshing. In light of US v Heller, I thought I'd dig this up. This was a test Little Princess did back in March. Granted, she is homeschooled, but my wife did not prompt her in any way.

I would say that the Founding Fathers wrote things clearly enough that an eight year old can understand...

Do you photo?

2008-07-05T08:18:00.001-07:00

Ever since a photography class in junior high, I've enjoyed taking pictures.

Here's one of the blogs/podcasts I follow. You get a wide range of discussion that's pretty good. They also have an active Flickr group for critiques and another for contests!

Will there be an answer?

2008-06-30T14:34:00.001-07:00

Working from home...

2008-06-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

has its advantages.

Today, the advantage is watching the Today Show on NBC.

Here's the article and the video:

ETA: Another something here.

How liberals think.

2008-05-30T10:58:00.001-07:00

This is a fairly long video. I'm not embedding it because I want you to know where I found it.

It definitely makes you think a bit.

Oh, and I still like this quote:

"My politics haven't changed -- it was the Democratic Party that changed."
– Charlton Heston (1924-2008)

Book suggestions

2008-04-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

During my last business trip, I stumbled onto a new author. His name is Vince Flynn. His books are a combination of spy and political thriller, or at least that's the way I'd describe it.

Here's his web site.

So...what do you recommend?

Uhhh...Snob-ama doesn't realize...

2008-04-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

people will figure this out?

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2008-04-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

Ovation 6868 006
Originally uploaded by The Lizard

Yes, tomorrow is Mama Lizard's birthday. She's going to be really old. So I got her this gift. It's an Ovation 6868 Elite Standard.

The good news for me? She's not the one taking guitar lessons. The better news? Even though it's a shallow body Ovation, it has a great, rich sound. :)

Helping Parents in a Hard Situation

2008-03-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

I think this is something I could support.

http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

Letters from the front line

2008-01-22T18:08:00.001-08:00

Black Five recently pointed readers to Kaboom. Take some time to read what he has written. It's refreshing to read such well written words from a FOB.

It's now a permanent fixture in my reader.

Is this really what people want?

2008-01-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=1690

Let's start with the ex-president...

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton asserted the dire need to "put an end to the losing streak crisis" at American casinos. She stopped short of blaming losing streaks on the Bush administration, but quoted statistics that showed a greater number of jackpots and higher chances of winning in the years when she and her husband were in the White House.

"The government should insulate low-income gamblers from going broke and give a second or third chance to any losing individual by providing special government chips that can be used in any casino or participating drinking establishment," she said at a recent Caesar's Palace fundraiser.

and her biggest competition...

Barack Obama countered Mrs. Clinton's plan with a proposal to level the playing field by freezing the minimum bet requirement at $5 on all tables until at least 6pm on weekdays, when working families and single mothers finish their jobs and rush to the casinos. In combination with a push to increase the number of Blackjack tables and Double Diamond Deluxe machines, and lifting the $100,000 cap on jackpots, this should "bring a welcome change and give hope" to all income groups and minorities, Obama stated.

and we can't forget "Silky"

John Edwards proposed to unionize all "temporary playing collectives" around casino tables, with a floating membership fee based on the amount of winnings, and a security insurance fund to compensate the potential losers. If a dealer deals himself a Blackjack he would have to pay a "pain and suffering" fine to the group's elected representative, followed by an equal redistribution of all chips among players. Union leaders have pledged support for this plan on the condition that it will restrict playing at the tables to union members only.

I'm not saying that the other side of the aisle is perfect, but I wouldn't say they are nearly as bad as those listed here.

Regardless, I have a hard time with either bailing out those who overextended on unconventional loans or gambling.

This is so familiar to me...

2008-01-13T10:26:00.001-08:00

I have no doubt that my kids can do this. They have also figured out how to pull drawers out at different depths to make stairs.

As they got older, they figured out how to use the little fisher price car (think Flintstones car) to get into the tree, then get from the tree to the roof.

Is it clear enough?

2008-01-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a little surprised by the results, but not where red vs blue line up. The link is at the bottom.

79% Mitt Romney
76% John McCain
74% Fred Thompson
71% Tom Tancredo
69% Mike Huckabee
57% Rudy Giuliani
56% Ron Paul
41% Bill Richardson
37% Hillary Clinton
37% John Edwards
33% Chris Dodd
30% Barack Obama
28% Joe Biden
24% Mike Gravel
19% Dennis Kucinich

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

The Christmas Season

2007-12-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

This has been a great Christmas Season! In a way it started in November with our first family trip to Disneyland. Since then, Mama Lizard took the herd back for a day and we went last week when her parents were in town for the Poinsettia Bowl. A win there would have made the season better, but it was a pretty good game.

Disney "Cars" characters were definitely the hit of the gift giving. Everybody got something, including all the little lizards getting Cars sheets. Who would have thought sheets could get them so excited?

The best gift came from Little Princess's Greatest Aunt Kathi. Enjoy some pictures :)

Network Security

2007-12-12T20:34:00.001-08:00

One of the things I'm interested in is computer security. For a while I've recommended people check out http://www.grc.com to check their security with Shields Up!, as well as read about DOS attacks and try some of the other security tools.

Recently, one of my students noted that Steve started up a Podcast. Well, I bought an Ipod this summer and just started listening to the Podcasts this week. Great geek stuff! I was especially surprised to hear that I missed the story that WEP is now 98% crackable in two minutes.

On an unrelated, but still security related note, I also started playing with a new program today. If you want to increase your protection from the outside, try playing with Sandboxie. This seems to have some potential for those who are a little more adventurous ;)

Enjoy!

I knew...

2007-12-10T23:23:00.001-08:00

there was a reason men want sex so much. It's purely so the women in our lives can enjoy the benefits.

Health Benefits of Weekly Sex | Newsweek.com

Don't worry, dear. I'll sacrifice myself for your health and well being :)

Good food. Great friends.

2007-11-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was definitely a new experience for us. For the first time, we didn't have family to share it with, or our adoptive family, aka Little Dude's Godparents. But thanks to missing a Church breakfast our Marriage Encounter community was running, and getting some sympathy for the back I had just wrenched, other friends called and offered for us to join them.

We're not talking close friends. My wife and I went to the same school as B. We shared similar careers with him as well, except we quit about 1/4 of the way through. OK, we decided our family was more important. (Very few regrets there) At one point, B cost my company a significant amount of lost work (Gotta love government contracting). Oh, and their daughter has been our babysitter a couple of times. So really not a lot in common. :)

It was great. We got to try Thanksgiving brined turkey as well as smoked turkey for the first time. And, we got to try some of Pioneer Woman's incredible sweet potatoes. They really can be dessert as well as a side dish. I'm seriously considering making an entire Costco bag of sweet potatoes, instead of just a third, for Christmas with my family.

Is it a sin to enjoy sweet potatoes like this? Now if only our kids would eat them. Then again, that just means more for us!

Life moves pretty fast....

2007-11-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
- Ferris Bueller

The last few weeks have been pretty busy, and full of new stuff for the family.

1. Disneyland. Our kids had never been. We got there about 10am, and left just shy of midnight. Everybody had a blast! Favorite ride? Splash mountain!

2. Teeth. Muscle Man lost two teeth in short order. One of them came out while he was sleeping and Monkey Boy found it for him on the carpet. Thank goodness the Lizard Wife was able to make a Tooth Fairy Pillow in time!

3. Bicycles. I convinced Muscle Man to try his bike without training wheels. He did OK the handful of times we did it during a picnic/BBQ. The next day I took all four kids to a local school with a nice open area. I pushed MM once to get him started and he took off.

I really have to figure out how to get better quality of the cell phone. The good news is the Lizard Wife got some better video with her camera in our back yard.

Oh...MM also upgraded to a 16" bike. It's a reach, but I'm guessing the growth spurt he started this week will make it easier!

Why does my wife homeschool?

2007-10-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Because it's needed?

A friend of ours once said we should have as many kids as possible. Why? We've got good genes. We're strengthening the gene pool. Something about two arguably successful graduates of the Naval Academy.

So why do I ask this? This past weekend was our church's fall festival. This is a time for families throughout the parish and neighborhoods to gather, have some fun, and raise a little money for the church.

I was walking to trade in game tickets ("Win" and "Star" tickets) for prizes for the kids, when I heard a teen-age kid yell to his friend as they were headed in the opposite direction. Not a problem, but out of 6 words, at least two can't be said on TV.

It's been a long while since I would let something like this go. I yelled "Hey, hold on a minute" to get his attention. He looked at me and started walking away from me. He's walking his BMX bike, so I grabbed the seat to get his attention. I might not have been raised to respect every authority, but when I knew an adult or someone senior to me in the Navy is talking to me, I stopped to listen.

This kid didn't want to hear me out. I've got four kids, 8 and under. I'm not letting this go. I got him to face me by putting my hand on his shoulder (I know...yellow light is getting pretty bright - no witnesses except his friends at this point - it'll be my word against his), and I explain that he is "on church grounds at a festival with hundreds of families around" and that I would appreciate it if he toned his language down.

Any guesses on his response? Yep...he cursed in the process of saying he didn't care and it doesn't matter.

At some point in here, he threatens to go get his dad. I told him to go ahead. "I'd love to talk to your dad." He says his dad would be angry with me because he would have to interrupt his dad's "relations". "I don't care. Go get him."

They started away and I didn't think anything of it, going on the "buy" the toys for the kids.

A bit later I'm walking around and find the kid and his friends watching me. At one point they were actually taking a video of me with their cell phone. I'm not sure what for. Maybe to show a father holding his son at a church festival and not bothering anyone?

Regardless, the next thing I know the kid is in my face again and saying I had no right to stop him earlier. He said he was going to get my information and sue me for putting my hand on his shoulder. I told him it had been 30 minutes since I told him to get his dad the first time, and that I hadn't left yet. I welcomed him again to go get his dad, and I'd give his dad my information.

That was the last I saw him. I waited around for over 20 more minutes. Would his dad have tried to "beat me up"? Would his dad kicked his backside in for talking back to an adult? It's amazing how twisted reality can be for some people.

So...back to my original question. Why does my wife homeschool? For one thing, we are trying to raise our kids to be 100% unlike this kid. For another, I don't want to expose my kids to people like this or the parents that let them get that way.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that our kids seem to be pretty smart :)

Sorry, had to vent that a little bit. Growing up I could never have imagined acting like that, nor could I imagine my kids acting that way.

I'm OK with Dell.

2007-10-12T21:56:00.001-07:00

So for a while now I've been having problems with the sound card on my Dell D620 laptop. As long as it was trying to play a sound, it would erupt in solid static at max volume. Headset? Same thing. It was odd because after a few minutes it would go away.

Over time it got to where it didn't matter for how long I let it go. So Wednesday I decided to contact Dell Tech Support. The best move I made was to use Chat instead of the phone. I got connected right away. I also didn't have to worry about an accent!

The end result, after running the Dell built-in diagnostics, was that there was a problem with the sound card (Duh!) and the motherboard had to be replaced. In the past I would have a DHL rep show up on my doorstep with a padded box, ready to take my life away for an indeterminate amount of time.

Not this time! We're talking late Wednesday night they asked if it was urgent and I would need next day support. They shipped a new motherboard to a local tech, and he showed up today. About an hour later, the motherboard was replaced and things were almost 100% back to normal. That's better service than when I had to mail it in, and that was usually one day in each direction for mailing, plus time in the depot.

The only problem I had was the Intel PROset Wireless software giving me fits. It had some Profile issues to include this error:An internal database error occurred when saving/updating the profile.

Repairing the software installation a couple of times seems to have fixed that...but not until I was on the phone with Dell's Wireless Techs.

We'll see how this holds up...

Are you on time?

2007-10-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

I try to be. I've got most things nailed. I am a master at knowing just how long I have to get ready, out the door, and to my destination without being late or excessively early. Too long getting beat up with "If you're on time, you're late!"? Dunno. But I'm usually 5 minutes early :)

So last night, I tell my lovely Lizard Wife that I'd like to leave between 9 and 10am for a trip to my mom's. It shouldn't be to hard, right? She agreed with the understanding that I wouldn't do anything to keep us in bed too late. Tough decision, but when my mother called at 730am to tell us things would be a little cooler than she expected it made things really easy. We were getting a great head start!

So how did we not leave until noonish?

Lose weight with me?

2007-10-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

OK...so my part time employer (the Navy) says I need to lose 25 lbs or so. I was thinking 30-35lbs.

Before my last business trip I signed up for membership with 24Hr Fitness. I got a pretty good deal for the first three years(works out to less than $20 per month prepaid) and $29 a year after that. Yes, that is $29 for the year. And at basically $19 per month for the first three years, paid up front, I'd say it's a pretty good deal.

Anyway...I got 6 trainer sessions with the deal too :)

So today I spent my first session with Megan. We went through all of the paperwork (medical history with liability waiver, exercise history, etc.) plus did measurements to see where I am. The goal I had decided on was the 30-35 lbs...

With the caliper test my BF% is about 23.5%. According to their numbers, I'm in the acceptable range. According to the Navy, that uses height, weight, and neck/waist measurements, I'm OBESE. I need to lose about 27 lbs to be at the max for height/weight. I think I like 24Hr Fitness's numbers better!

When asked what BF% I'd like to reach, I said somewhere in their "Fit" range. That would be 13-17% IIRC. So low balling it, 17% was listed as my BF% goal. Doing the math, that only works out to losing about 20Lbs. By those numbers, I'll be closer to 10% BF when I'm at my target.

So now the number crunching is done. Only 30 minutes of my 60 with the trainer are gone. I guess we'll have time to exercise a little after all! Off to the treadmill with a bit of an incline and 6mph to get warmed up, then over to the mat for abs!!! Go figure Sensei M decided to do 40 crunches instead of the regular 30 at karate 90 minutes later!!!

So who's with me?

First night of Karate!

2007-10-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

OK...tonight was the first night my lovely bride and Monkey Boy started karate. This is the same class that Little Miss and I started two years ago.

The best part? When the lizard wife came home complaining about how sore her shoulder muscles were from practicing blocks :)

Jury Duty

2007-10-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Several months back I got a summons for Jury Duty. You know....that civic responsibility that keeps our nation great. The timing couldn't have been worse between reserves and work, so I postponed it. I got the next summons and the same problem - too busy. Did I mention that you have to postpone for at least 6 weeks out? I could have fit jury duty in quite nicely except for that.

Well, when I got the second summons and postponed, I picked a spot early in October. Apparently the 9th of October is what I decided on. Well, that wouldn't do either, so I had to move it again. Luckily, you get two weeks in either direction from your report date. Today was my day.

Armed with my video Ipod, and a book to write my love letter to my wife, I set out. The best news about all of this is California switched a couple years back to One Day - One Trial. If you get picked for a trial, you do that trial and are done. It can last one day or thirty. If you don't get picked for a trial, you're done. Period. Go home. Come back in a year or two.

The one thing that really surprised me was that 80% of the people there had done Jury Duty before. It's been 7 years since I left active duty and this is the first time for me. My lovely lizard wife has been chosen three times, but as the primary care giver to our nest she doesn't have to serve.

First blog

2007-10-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

So...why does a lizard need a blog? Why to help his wife figure out how to use things! We'll see what else pops up in here.

For now...she's concerned that the WYSIWYG editor for Blogger has disappeared on her. Go figure that I'm using it right now ;)

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While I'm here, I might as well introduce the cast...

I'm the lizard ;)
My lovely bride is the Lizard Wife.
Our kids are Little Miss, Monkey Boy, Mighty Man, and Little Dude in descending order (8,6,4,2 for now...)