Here we go again

My recent bear poem was just for fun. This is a real story. Well not really. It's a story because people will flip out due to their ignorance.

U.S. sub leaked radioactive water, possibly for months (CNN)

Holy radioactive blue balls batman. The USS Houston, SSN-713, was found to have a valve cap that was filled with 'radioactive water.' The "build-up of leaking water popped a covered valve and poured onto a sailor's leg while the submarine was in dry dock."
The sailor now has cancer, aids, herpes, and a really bad cough. The first was probably from smoking, and the last three, from partying too much. All joking aside, I'm really curious to find out the details of this story. Key word: DETAILS. Not the 'truth,' because the TRUTH is that extremely pure primary water with negligible curie content leaked out, as the submarine "traveled around the Pacific to pots in Guam, Japan, and Hawaii."
"The total amount leaked while the sub was in port in Guam, Japan and Hawaii was less than a half of a microcurie (0.0000005 curies), or less than what is found in a 50-pound bag of lawn and garden fertilizer."

This quantity of radiation is beyond negligible. Again, another case of sensationalized anti-nuclear propaganda. Nuclear power doesn't kill people - lack of shielding does. HA!
More to follow on this topic, after I talk to my INSIDE SOURCES.

On a completely unrelated topic, I've been getting into aquariums, and I just got my first fish! See below for pic:

An ode to a bear past

My posting frequency has risen as of late,

For our wild friend has suffered a tragic fate [LINK]

A creature savage,

And fierce at times,

Was a victim of neglect and rubbish,

Such senseless crimes.

This bear unnamed,
Whose mother had cherished,
Was living untamed,
And too early perished.

We'll never know,
The fauna he befriended,
Again he'll never go,
To the bear parties he attended.

Possible he was searching,
For a morsel to woo,
A coy she-bear perching,
At a ledge to coo.

Stumbled into a jar,
Of human origin,
He wandered a far,
Losing strength within.

The police discounted,
The plight of this yogi,
Their bullets they counted,
As he wandered so lonely.

With lead and fire,
Ursidae dispatched,
In a jar still mired,
His fur was no match.

Before you throw trash,
Forget not this beast,
When our worlds clash,
Theirs do cease.

Remembering the unnamed bear (1997 - 2008):

Baby bear's first tree climb (1998)

High School Graduation (2005)

Bear with childhood friend, Bambi

Head caught in a jar

We'll Miss You

FRESH NUCLEAR ACCIDENT!

BREAKING NEWS: NUCLEAR ACCIDENT IN FRANCE!

HOLY CRAP (article link)

Ya'll better hide your kids!!!!

Seriously though, the media's (and therefore PUBLIC) perception of nuclear power is ridiculous. I (and probably many in the nuclear field) am pretty tired of the sensationalist yellow journalism that surrounds nuclear power. Much like sharks, the Bermuda Triangle, and Michael Jackson's true alien identity, it is a sorely misunderstood topic. US Nuclear power deaths since it's inception: 0. Russian nuclear power related deaths since it's inception: a bunch, but Russians have had a reputation for not caring about human lives anyway, so honestly, it doesn't really count. Chernobyl (for those who are familiar with it) was due to severe operator error and a NON-fail-safe design, which is just SILLY. See below for depiction of Russian's and their design principles:
Anyway, back to the original article:
"About 100 staff at a nuclear plant in southern France have been exposed to a low dose of radiation, power firm Electricite de France (EDF) says."
"Seventy of them show low traces of radioelements, below one 40th of the authorised limit," EDF said, adding that the incident would not affect people's health or the environment."

Apparently, workers were exposed during maintenance. Possible scenario: Pressurized system, partially isolated for maintenance, error in establishing barrier criteria (whatever theirs are), and poof, some liquid spray (which is the most likely method of activity going airborne in this case). Some air particulate detector alarmed, and people ran out. They recieved 1/40th!! Without using any absurd analogies, I will simply say that recieving 1/40th of your authorized dose is insignificant. Dose bases are calculated are with extremely conservative methods, incorporating stochastic and deterministic results of worst case radiation exposure with a 100% dose rate. Bottom line: 1/40th of a conservative dose limit is a pittance.


RADIATION IS DANGEROUS! People cry. Oh yeah? Well so are you. Anyone who says nuclear power is dangerous because radiation is dangerous is a silly goose (see previous picture). Let's put it this way:
1. If you are overweight, you are dangerous. And a drain on society. Food made you overweight, so food is dangerous. Let's not eat anymore. Millions of Americans will die from obesity related illnesses (heart disease, diabetes, etc) this year. 0 will die from radiation exposure. Radiation will generate thousands of gigawatts across America. Fat people will generate millions of tons of poop.
2. If you smoke (at all) or drink (in excess, and/or have driven under the influence), you are dangerous. You are a drain on society. You endanger yourself and those around you every time you smoke and/or drink. Cancer deaths from cigarettes infinitely (mathematically true) outnumber deaths from nuclear reactor accidents. Furthermore, cigarettes aren't that cool. What's cool is a 2000 Mw reactor plant busting out more juice than you can suck up with useless flat panel televisions.
3. If you purchase electricity from a coal burning power plant (knowingly or unknowingly), you are directly causing the output of millions of tons of carcinogens into the environment that have been scientifically proven to result in thousands of deaths across the country. Baby killer!
4. If you read the Da Vinci code, and thought it was a good book, then you are an idiot.

[None of the above points have cited statistics, due to the blatant truths behind them]

If you do not fall into any of the above categories, than you can have a logically sustainable position against nuclear power and it's dangers. Otherwise, you are an American killing, Apple Pie hating, flag burning communist, and have no right to purport the dangers of nuclear power when you are part of the problem.

Fear not the unknown, but your inability to get off your butt, turn off the TV, and go PT.

Fair winds and Following Seas

Ruff Ryder

The best part of my day is on my bike. I've been riding to/from work pretty consistently for a couple of months now. I'm slowly becoming the "rides a 10 speed everywhere guy," as featured in the hit animated series "Family Guy."


I had a fender attached to my bike for a while, and finally took it off because it was detrimental to mounting my rear safety light - plus it's been dry for weeks. But of course, one day after work, it pours. I mean, dumps. So I rode home in my first rain ride, without a fender, and all that tasty oily, muddy, hepatitis filled gutter water splashing onto my back from my rear tire, and splashing into my face from my front tire.
Even then, it was refreshing, fun, and a great way to stay in shape.
------
Tricia: Tom, residents all over Quahog have been effected by the heavy rains. Although some are doing their best to ride it out. For example, I'm standing here with 'rides a ten speed everywhere' guy. Sir, why are you riding your ten speed in the rain?
Rides A Ten Speed Everywhere Guy: I don't mind, a little drizzle never hurt anybody. I like riding the ten speed because it's fun it gives me energy and it's a great way to stay in shape.
Tricia: What do you do for a living?
Rides A Ten Speed Everywhere Guy: I work at accounts receivable at Quahog Insurance, it's not to demanding, the pay is good and it's a great way to stay in shape.
Tricia: Well we should wrap this up, you're getting wet.
Rides A Ten Speed Everywhere Guy: Well I'm living life before the cancer I have kills me so I don't mind the rain. The water feels good on my skin, it's cool refreshing and it's a great way to stay in shape.
Tricia: What kind of cancer?
Rides A Ten Speed Everywhere Guy: It's rectal cancer, it's slowly eating away at my lower insides. It's a quick process, both painful and untreatable and it's a great way to stay in shape.
-----------

I've seen some funny stuff having ridden hundreds of miles on the locals roads here. I actually hit a bird a month ago, which was gross. It wasn't badly injured, but I'm sure it sprayed bird flu all over me. I used to take a bike path that paralleled a main road, but later found out that the main road is faster, and safer, because the bike path is in disrepair, and has blind intersections. Plus, the bike path has a small colony of bums that live there. At 0615, on most mornings, this one long haired dude is always fishing with this old piece of yarn off the path, that runs over a small river. His cats are usually nearby. After changing my route to the main road, I no longer saw the guy, and didn't miss the stench of the hobo camp. However, the return trip of my new route takes me by these two old lady bums, who squat by this shrub every evening between 1700-1800. They creep me out, because it looks like they just laid a claymore or something.

There's also a lady bum fishing off the other side of the main road, visible on my return trip. I wonder if she knows that a fisherman bum is on the other side? Maybe they will meet one day, and fish together...
I've also seen more broken glass than you can shake a stick at. And I can shake a stick at a lot of things.

Work rave: [ERROR, INSUFFICIENT DATA]
Work rant: [ERROR, STACK OVERFLOW]

LOVE IT

Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet" - An overall mediocre text I thought, because it was all pretty obvious stuff. However certain portions had unique perspective. I frequently recall this quote while at work:

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

Rickover's nuclear knife carves my heart out on a daily basis. The funny thing is, it is not nuclear power, or submarining that deepens my "joy bowl." It is the daily interactions with over 120 people on board. There are at LEAST 30-40 people that you are forced to interact with on any given day. Out of that 35, how many are having a good day? Let's say 30. Those 5 that are having a bad day, steady state, are they cool or not? I would say 3 would be joe blow's, 1 would a generally positive person, and the fifth... Well, the fifth would be some bitter ass mofo. And this is being generous. Especially in port, and in any sort of upkeep, with poop hitting the fan, THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

The point is, that submarining is a people business, not just one of reactor safety, and approach and attack. I think many people forget that. Now, chicken or egg? Who was the first person to have a bad submarine day? I would probably say Rickover, who according to historical records administered the first nuclear spanking. And then, due to the nature of the average person to pass on the ass-chewing, whoever got spanked with Rickover's control rod shaped beat stick, subsequently chewed ass at the next level down. Decades later, we have bitter whiners everywhere. This is a mere identification of said problem, and does not come close to providing due diligence on the subject.

MOVING ON.

So we had a quick underway, which was fun. Doc prophetically warned the crew to take their vitamins and 'airborne' (a sham, I think), as everyone will catch a cold. I scoffed. A week later, I coughed. I quickly caught a cold, and was miserable for the last week of the underway, and at least a week into port. The cold was particularly pernicious because all the JO's slept about 3 hrs a night for a week straight due to all this watch manning biznazz.

I should be getting my EOOW/EDO board soon, after months of riling by the crew. Once qualified EOOW/EDO, I can stand back aft and receive more riling from the crew, for finally qualifying. Such is submarine life.

On a related note, we all got the "Order of the Ditch" certificate for crossing the Panama Canal. WOOT!

I've done my quick schpiel (sp?) on work life. Life outside of work is swell! I've met a lot of cool people even after only being here at my permanent duty station for less than 3 months. It's a weird thing, because I'm very excited about going on deployment (and having dolphins by then), and seeing awesome things, but I've never been gone for that long. Who knows what will happen to my house in that amount of time. Something Jumanji-esque? Will my friends remember me? Will my car drive itself away? Deployment is far away, so these are trivial musings anyway...

Quick book reviews:

Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse: Amazing! I went in, expecting a plain old novel, and came out unsure yet satisfied. Like a protein shake made with spoiled milk. If you like thinking, this book is for you. If you like non-thinking, avoid this book.

Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemmingway: I actually got stressed out when the sharks were eating his fish. This was my first Hemmingway, and I think I'm a fan. I love his stark yet effective prose.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Holy crap, this won the Nobel Prize in Literature? Sure it was kinda fun to read, but I spent a lot of time doubting this fictional universe that Marquez created. Even more so, I thought the rampant incest was unnecessary. And all the cool characters kept dying. Overall, an annoying book.

Rock Climbing Anchors, by Mountaineer's Outdoor Expert Series: Ironically, there aren't many climbable rocks in my parts now - but I still yearn for the stone.

In the suck

HOORAH.

Wrong service, wrong geographic location, similar gas masks. I am in the suck. I am in the thick of quals, 3-section Engineering Duty Officer under instruction watches, because that's how my boat rolls, to which I say:
Welcome to the US Navy. Despite all of this, I am standing fast, and have no plans to self immolate in protest. I am saving that one for later. I recently obtained a division, which is a key part of a JO's career. I am becoming very familiar with how our boat operates day to day, week to week, and in the long term as well. The current state of morale on the boat is tenuous, for many reasons, and a frequent term is "getting humped in the face."
I am also learning the different leadership styles of Dept. Heads and above, for better or for worse. Every day, I face new challenges in dealing with my sailors, chiefs, and bosses. While frustrating, I am trying to keep everything in perspective and realize that this is one of the most invaluable experiences in ones life. This is a quote that I frequently recall when facing adversity :

“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.” - Samuel Smiles, Scottish Author.

This is one of my favorite quotations of late, as it truly speaks to the foundations of a positive, successful attitude.

I am still in the phase of watching/listening/learning, and formulating my leadership style, with which I hope to make an impact in my fellow shipmates lives. I say shipmates because leadership is not Reaganomics. Leadership is like a light bulb. It illuminates in all directions. Placing a lampshade on the light bulb, to direct that light, a self limiting belief. It degrades that light of leadership into the glow of management. This statement rests on an assumption of what leadership is. Everyone has their definition for leadership, and I have come to find that most people are correct in their definition. Leadership is not a simple noun. It is an attitude, a philosophy, and a living thing.
A simple definition of leadership that can be put into practice by ANYONE is as follows: -Leadership is inspiration and motivation. It is persuasion. It is moving the hearts, then minds, of people around you-
My hopes is that I will be able to eventually convey this to my junior sailors, and apathetic senior ones, and show them that change starts with oneself.

END SERIOUS TOPIC

I have been riding my bicycle to work, which is a dream. I love bicycles, and I love not using my car. On duty days I usually end up driving because of an early turnover time, but I get back at the command by standing topside and looking at fish that come up to the side of the boat. HAH.

Being out to sea actually has its benefits over being in port.
Sea:
PRO
1. Berthing is always dark. That means if you don't have anything going on, RACK TIME.
2. Shift work. That means you don't see everyone all the time. This means less whining, oversight, etc.
3. Berthing is always dark! Seriously, this is key folks. Rack time, all the time. Being at sea, you get woken up all the f-ing time, so if you get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, you should probably bake yourself a congratulatory cake. The usual routine is: Get off watch, do other work, go to bed, get woken up 3 hours into it, give wake up guy the evil eye, go back to sleep, get woken up again 2 hours later, for good this time, because you have to go back on watch. Repeat for weeks on end.
CON:
1. You're out to sea.

In port:
PRO
1. You get to go home and sleep in your own bed.
2. You can get real exercise.
3. Real food.
4. Women.
5. The Internet.

CON:
1. Duty days.
2. Officer/LPO Call
3. Seeing your CO all the time
4. Missing all daylight hours due to being at work.

That's enough for now, I have duty tomorrow. I will end with this:


Jondakine: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Jondakine: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and the US Navy kills a few extra terrorists, I don't see another dime; so where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
Jondakine: EIGHT bosses.
Bob Slydell: Eight?
Jondakine: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.

Dashed hopes, and counterfeit components

Two part entry. Part 'un':

Some thoughts on the realities of my naval career:

Things that I won't do, that I would like to do:
1. Set condition 1-SQ: for strategic missile launch (for boomer ***'s only)
2. Fight for the missile key
3. Violate the hard-deck
4. Getting to close for missiles, forcing me to switch to guns
5. Participate in a fence line shooting
6. Ride into work in a Huey blasting "Ride of the Valkyries"



Things that I have done or will do:
1. Smoke cigars on the bridge of a 688
2. Get racked out for stupid shit
3. Shoot tomahawks in the name of the US economy
4. Pull ups in the engine room

Things that I am glad I won't ever do:
1. Die of lactic acidosis because someone shoved a rag in my mouth
2. Stand there in my 'faggoty white uniform' and show a marine colonel some disrespect
3. Enter into an unrecoverable spin due to interruption of airflow by jetwash
4. Play beach volleyball in jeans... Seriously, who the hell does that. Only in a movie...


Part deux:

"Watch for Counterfeit Parts, NRC Reminds Operators, Applicants"
article link

Apparently there have been inadvertent purchases of counterfeit reactor plant parts. Supposedly this can result in safety and security issues. I don't feel like talking about the heavy nature of nuclear power, so all seriousness aside, this is pretty damn funny.

So here are some questions to ask yourself while operating:
1. Is that a genuine Coach® EOOW Chair you're sitting in?
2. Before your reactor operator starts shimming like it's going out of style, are you sure that the shim switch is truly a Prada® shim switch, as specified by the RPM?
3. Don't settle for generic Reactor Coolant Pumps, make sure you have the top of the line Bergdorf and Goodman Reactor Coolant pumps.
4. Finally, check out the new RPM's with genuine Moleskine® covers

Don't settle for anything less. You're gonna love the way you shim. I guarantee it®.

A taste of salt

I'm finally back in my homeport, after a few weeks out at sea. I met my boat thousands of miles away, and rode her back. It was a good "first sea time" experience. Despite some bitterness from an extended shipyard period, everyone was excited to be underway. As much as I would like to say that the excitement was due to being operational again, it was probably more so due to the crew's desire to see their families. We hauled ass to get to where we were going, only really slowing to go through THE ditch. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is our good ship, transiting the locks.
We ended up in a different ocean within 12 hours. I was quite excited to cross the canal, however once actually IN the canal, the ordeal was decidedly less enthralling than expected. We got to go topside, and it was hot, muggy, and cloudy. The water looked gross, and during the Gaillard cut, all you could see was impenetrable jungle, likely rife with drug runners and booby traps.
The highlight of the canal crossing was seeing the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, tending the lines for the locks:

I was honored, that a level headed, compassionate statesman like Chavez would practice servant leadership and row the steel mooring lines to our boat. Gracias Senior, Gracias...

After the ditch, we did a quick stop in another port for 48 hours of business, and then finally, home. When we heard the distinctive echolocation call of minke whales, we knew we were close (obviously far more precise and direct methods of determining our position in the world exist on a US Attack Submarine, however they remove the romanticism of seafaring).

It is interesting to note how novel things become significantly less exciting when you're busy, locked in a steel tube, and lacking on sleep.

What I thought was cool for the first week:
1. The periscopes
2. Water slugs
3. The engine room
4. Wardroom meals
What I tried to avoid by the third week:
1. The periscopes
2. Water slugs
3. The engine room
4. Wardroom meals

Obviously, the above mentioned are part of my daily existence as a JO, so I 100% failed in avoiding those four things. But I can say that in the back of my head, I was trying. All in all, I'm still quite positive about the whole experience, but had to add just a little bit of nuke cynicism in there. If you ever read a personal account of submarine life that doesn't have cynicism in it, it is probably made up.

Fair winds, and uncontaminated seas

A review of Naval Base gyms

It is time that I discuss the gyms I have frequented at Navy bases across the country:

Thanks to the Navy and its fitness facilities, I now look very similar to Arnie.
1. Charleston, S.C. : Naval Weapons Station Goose Creek is home to at least 3 fitness facilities. -Sam's gym is the main one. It has slightly old weight equipment, although perfectly functional. The locker room is OK. The shower stalls have a tendency to flood... There are also racquetball courts and a basketball court. The worst part of the gym is definitely the hours. Definitely more closed than open!
-The Bowman center, which is right outside of the power school building on base, actually has a newer, cleaner facility. The weights are also slightly old, but the locker rooms are very new and nice! Plus it's a 5 min trip from power school so you can get in a legitimate work out at lunch. I attribute this gym for helping me maintain my sanity and 25'' biceps during power school.
-The barge gym, at prototype, down the road. Gross. They have newish cardio equipment, but cardio should be done outside on the pavement, not in a room. The barge is obviously a floating pile of s***t so you can imagine the locker room.

2. Groton, CT: Submarine Base New London is one of the oldest Naval bases in the country, having been built in 1872. There are two fitness facilities here, both in older brick buildings.
-Morton Hall Gymnasium: A true "gymnasium" it has 4 full sized basketball courts, and a raised indoor track (7.5 laps = 1 mile). There is a portion cordoned off for weights and cardio equipment. The lifting equipment there is actually quite new and nice! The funny thing is they have tons of machines except this one:

What the heck? Who doesn't have an ab bench? The locker rooms here though are the biggest complaint. The lockers themselves are coin operated. LAME. Then the shower is a huge prison shower. Next.
-Body Works fitness center: With a name like that, it's got to be filled with beautiful women and luxurious amenities. Then you remember that you're in the navy and that there will be no women and you can maybe hope for decent amenities. Well, there are decent amenities! This location is a cardio heavy location, and has mostly weight machines. There are 3 racks of free weights, but no bench!! There is a cable assisted tower for squats and such, but those are for commies anyway. You can still do a whole bicep + ab workout here, and even a leg workout if you are willing to use the commie tower. The locker room is the best part. When you give them your military ID, the give you a towel and a locker with a key! The showers are funny: there are 3 stalls, in a row. You can tell that they hooked up the heads in series because the first one gets to a certain temp, and the rest can't get as hot. Haha! That being said, always grab the one on the right.

3. My current home port gym: I shall leave my homeport a mystery for now, but I will say that the equipment there is old, some of it like the Charleston gym, much of it even older. Being that it's a pretty populous port, it gets use by many more people than in Charleston or Groton facilities. The locker room was also not as nice as Groton. As happy as I was to leave 20 degree weather, the gyms sure were nice...

I finished packing my sea bag today, as I will be heading out for a while. I'm disappointed that I can't get to know my new homeport for a little longer, however I signed up to go to sea and am very excited to get out there! I even got my submarine glasses and submarine bowler hat. Take a look:

Fair winds and Following Seas!

SECURITE! SECURITE!

My entries during my stay at Submarine Officer Basic Course (SOBC) have been sparse, with good reason. With a copious amount of free time on my hands, I would rather work out, read, sleep, and travel on the weekends. As such, I spent most of my spare time working out, reading, and traveling. Sleep was squeezed in on train and car rides.

SOBC was a great time, we still had to work, however compared to power school and prototype, it paled in comparison. This is how the Navy tricks you. Horrible working hours are made the norm, and then when they give you a 9 to 5, suddenly you become grateful and forget about all the hard times. Great strategy I have to say.

Let me recap a few of my trips and escapades while here at SOBC:

New York City: 4 trips, lots of eating out, nightlife, museums (the MET, MOMA), and musicals (Avenue Q). I tried walking as much as possible and over the 4 trips, covered everywhere from downtown (to see the WTC site, check that box) to the Met, all the way uptown around 82nd. NYC is a great city, and I would love to continue visiting: I'm not sure if I could make a life there, it's a freaking zoo.

Boston: 2 trips. It's actually a very small town, and in my opinion, with not much to do. I saw everything I needed to see in two trips, and left with the sound of belligerent drivers ringing in my ear.

Newport RI: 1 trip, stayed at a friend's place, who is from Newport. I got there at dark, and left in the morning, so I didn't see much, but it was fun for the 18 hours I was there. Also, the winter season doesn't seem to lend itself to be a bustling town.

New Haven: Hung out at Yale once, but also made 5-6 more trips, to the climbing gym there, trying to get back into my climbing grove. Lots of fun.

Skiing/Boarding: Went up to some small mountain in MA. I skied and tried boarding for the first time, and did quite well.

I was kept quite busy, and to be honest, am ready to work!

Of course there has been other things going on, i.e. national and world news!

One day was particularly a blockbuster news day:
19 FEB 08, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as the president of Cuba! Almost surreal. What will be the effect? Honestly, I'm not really that interested, because there are bigger problems out there.
That same day (plus or minus a few), Blu Ray was declared the victor in the epic Blu Ray v HD DVD battle. The world has not seen such blood shed since the VHS v Betamax battle of the 80's. In the recent war, Toshiba ceded to Sony after several major Hollywood studios, who were on the fence, ran to Blu Ray. Ironically, Sony LOST the battle in the 80s as Betamax was their proprietary standard, and VHS was JVC's.

There are a few other on going stories that affect every American.
1. The recession. No one wants to use that term, but we ARE in one. A recession "is a slowdown in a country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year." (thanks wikipedia)
Done. So now that's out of the way, are we in a depression? I think we're headed for one. You can see it everywhere. Housing continuing its slide like a sorority girl in a jello wrestling match. The stock market is stuttering in the downward direction. And this is some bad luck right here:
A few days ago, the dollar hit its ALL TIME LOW against the Euro, while on the very same day, Oil hit its ALL TIME HIGH of over $102 a barrel. HOLY COW, is anyone worried? Well I am only sort of, because I have a secure job, and in fact, we just got a navy wide pay raise this year. However, I'm worried for my fellow Americans.
2. The presidential primaries: Well, McCain's got the republican nomination secured, while Obama and Hilary are duking it out, alternating between periods of peaceful, positive dialogue, and shin breaking swipes. As Obama slowly edges ahead, I am realizing that this is the first presidential election that I'm looking forward to, because I like both Obama and McCain. Now, you may wonder, why is the possibility of indecision a good thing? Well because either way, I'll be happy with the election results.

You have McCain, a liberal-ish conservative and a former naval officer + POW (street cred!), and Obama, a man who has inspired America in a way not seen since JFK. You can't lose!


[image credited to their respective owners: not me!]

As I head off to my boat, I bid the Northeast fair winds and following seas!