My buddy greywar has put some things up on eBay: Link It's interesting to me, and will continue to be so if he continues to list things. The XBox is of particular note; I'm surprised he didn't mention whether it had been in combat operations or not, or that it at least had gone to Germany. (Unless this is another XBox, one I haven't met.) And I have to figure out whether I want to buy it or not.

www.m-w.com Link Main Entry: Jer·e·mi·ah Pronunciation: -'mI-& Function: noun Etymology: Late Latin Jeremias, from Greek Hieremias, from Hebrew YirmeyAh 1 : a major Hebrew prophet of the 6th and 7th centuries B.C. 2 : one who is pessimistic about the present and foresees a calamitous future 3 : a prophetic book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture -- see BIBLE table I used to joke: even my blood type is B Negative.

Fiction?: Man: Here, son, hold this dollar. When the waitress comes back and gives us our food, give her the dollar as a tip. Son: What's a tip? Man: In some service industries, it's customary to provide extra monies to the service personnel as a tip, or gratuity. This is generally seen as a reward for better than average service, although it has mostly devolved into an entitlement. Meanwhile, the boy has been spinning around, holding the dollar and looking at it, until dizzy. Man:...

This morning on MSNBC, I heard that Afghanistan is donating $100K to the Katrina relief. (No, these are not the people I'm referring to in the title.) This is great, but it got me wondering where they would scrounge up that kind of scratch. Are they reappropriating it from monies we've already given to them in aid? Maybe this isn't as weird as I think it is, as the beuaracracy does this sort of thing all the time... it's all accounting and allocation of funds. They followed that up wit...

SFC (BDE Retention) has fixed my ETS date. She also removed my flag that no one had bothered with, allowing me to go to the promotion board next Wednesday! If that had been in place, PSB might've kicked me out faster than SPC Dougie... Mixed feelings on the board. I'm not too keen on that sort of performance, really. I hope I don't choke too badly. The promotion board will consist of: Command Sergeant Major Somewhat - I've never seen him face-to-face, he has no idea who I am. He's...

Watching al-Jazeera today, the biggest news was not Katrina, although the graphic pictures of the destruction wrought in the southern United States proved too great, and the channel showed a fair amount on that subject as well. The marquee spot was saved for Link in Arabic (those are the shoes of the victims in that lead picture, for some reason), or Link for you English-only (or at least non-Arabic) types. Hundreds killed in a panic on a bridge. I'll tell you, al-Jazeera see...

[ PAC = Personnel and Administration Center, sometimes also S-1 ] So, I gathered up my paperwork, my last few LESs and my ERBs, some with correct dates, the most recent with incorrect dates, and went to the PLT SGT. Well, not the PLT SGT. The acting PLT SGT, since everyone was on block leave. I had talked to my Squad Leader. Well, not really my Squad Leader, but... well, three of us were kind of a squad triumverate , none of us actually over the other two, but they both knew...

N o one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a noncommissioned officer, I realize that I am a member of a time-honored corps, which is known as "the Backbone of the Army." I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the military service, and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position for pleasure, profi...

An interesting article that puts the lie to what many in my unit have been telling soldiers who are getting out: "Intelligence jobs are drying up." Granted, many jobs that require clearances aren't strictly jobs in the intelligence field. Most of them do stem from the events on and after 9/11, though. The article is a good overview of what the three levels of clearance (Confidential, Secret, Top Secret) can get you, and even touches on the two other classifications (Special Access Pro...

Timeline of events: Sunday Night: I attempt to sign up for an online class (History II) to start some time in September, after I go to the promotion board and are out of the language refresher course I am in. Five minutes later: What do you mean I won't have enough time to finish the course before I get out of the Army?!? Five minutes later: What do you mean my ETS date is 30SEP05? Monday Day: I inform my acting Squad Leader, and the SSG who is acting like my squad leader...

From The Soldier's Comprehensive Study Manual, 10th Edition , page 31.8, Promotions and Reductions : Q . The weapons qualification score (entered in Section A of DA Form 3355) must not be older than ________ months. A . 24 (para 3-49a, AR 600-8-19) (actually para 3-46a, AR 600-8-19; the study guide was wrong about that part, but not the other) While I'm at it, from AR 600-8-19, section 3-49, a. (1), Civilian Education: (1) College/university/business/trade schools. Poi...

A CNN article: Link "Determined to win the airwaves, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday inaugurated a special Gaza-withdrawal media center, complete with live-feed points for TV crews, a 24-hour text messaging service for news updates, maps, and free hats and T-shirts." Seriously. Have you seen the official Hamas hats? Is it wrong of me to want a hat? (Probably.) Good info on Hamas: Link Gots to love wikipedia. Please note the Arabic bit at the top, which I was g...

Fox News Link CNN Link Found this while perusing the 1AUG Army Times. "Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83." -- Army Times ' "It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud...

For those who missed the proper explanations of "Who is Xorn?", and "What happened when Jean came back from the dead (again)?". Xorneto: Link Phoenix: Link Also, a summary of the first issue of "House of M": Link Just click on "WATCH THIS MOVIE!". Simple as that, and enjoyable as well. Bonus: A little Star Wars bit Link since I showed a couple of special guys Episode IV for the first time tonight.