Normally, I don't see New Year's Eve as a means for reflecting. Maybe it's that I reflect too often upon the past at other times... minor regrets from years past. It was just that NYE never seemed like the end of anything. All too often, it was the middle of a school year. It has also been the middle of a mission. Holidays can, of course, be harder if you face them without others. That is my current state, both situationally out of my control and through my own choices and influenc...

Aired on 23DEC04, this is a nice nod to our deployed troops by WWE, Inc. Even if you don't like wrestling, it was a pretty good show. Besides, there was only four matches in two hours, so the sports entertainment wasn't too overwhelming anyway. I was going to try a full write-up, but I had to accept the fact that I'm not CRZ Link . I wouldn't be able to do justice to the matches, but you can read the summary on the WWE website Link . I would like to say that this was great for them...

Just wanted to drop a line in and say, "Happy Holidays," and check this out (a simple look into traditional Christmas festivities in Iraq): Link

Now, this won't help you out unless you're in the Greater Fort Hood area. Madman inexplicably doesn't have an online presence, and in fact isn't listed yet in the Yellow Pages. It seems to be a newer gaming store focussed specifically on console gaming, even those that are no longer produced. Featuring a wide variety of games from XBox, GameCube, PS2, PS1, Nintendo64, Gameboy, Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, etc., the owner's stated goal is to maintain around 90% of available titles in stock. Th...

It has been a point of debate whether I can cook anything more complex than a microwave burrito or a box of generic mac and cheese. (I do make a mean microwave burrito, tho.) This and other circumstances have finally compelled me to try my hand in the kitchen. My first recent excursion saw me foregoing my oft-revered drink of choice... for another bourbon. Thankfully, it was a cooler head then mine that led me to Knob Creek instead of Old Crow for the Thanksgiving Candied Yams with Bour...

I should pay more attention. Here I was thinking I was keeping up with my friends' web-sites when I stumbled upon this: Link From Link , those of you who read it know who this man was to me. I had no idea that he was being included in this documentary. There are pictures of his wife and parents on that site that I linked to up top, but try not to eat up all the bandwidth, and keep in mind what they've gone through if you go to gawk. Even I feel guilty about my voyuerism. For tho...

[For greywar. Happy Birthday.] Searching for recipes for the Thanksgiving pot luck on Wednesday, I ran across one for "Candied Yams with Bourbon." Sounds great, and it gives me an excuse to get "1/4 cup Kentucky bourbon, high quality," which would most likely involve getting a greater quantity of said fluid... I then started to think of what "Candied Yams with Old Crow" would be like. So, as my mind will do, it wandered, meandering... and then Googling. old crow recipes "old ...

Here on JoeUser, there is a points system, which "rewards" participants for number of articles, numer of times viewed and number of responses. Assuming that a higher point value is better (anyone want to argue that?), and that a "good" (popular) blogger will have more points than a "bad" blogger... why do people insist on "pushing" those they consider trolls? By clicking on those whose blogs you consider inferior, you're giving them points. By clicking on those inflammatory article titl...

Please note that the Marine Corps colors are *not* Yellow and Pink, they just look like that under fluorescent lighting. Honestly, if you want to make your own colored icing, use the "professional" strength food coloring... the others just aren't vivid enough. It was the nicest I've seen GJL, though. He was truly touched that a bunch of Army pogues would get the Marines a cake, or even figure out when the Marine Corps birthday was. I clued him in that I had been a wanna-be back in High ...

To SSG Geezer... To GJL... To my brother-in-law, Cap'n Andy... To GJS's brother (and all the other guys) in Iraq... Happy 229th! Ooh-rah and Semper Fi! Link Official USMC Birthday Info page Link poignant birthday celebration article These guys would definitely rather be knocking a few back state-side, but I hope they know there are some of us back here looking out for them. God bless.

From the man who brought you: ( Link ) "pseudosoldier says: Listen, I was surprised that you decided to do Reserve time. pseudosoldier says: I was a little disappointed, as you seemed to be setting yourself up for future screw-jobs. pseudosoldier says: The Army could've called you up when numerical unit went over. pseudosoldier says: The Army could call you up when numerical unit #2 goes back. pseudosoldier says: I'm unclear of what you might've been thinking... how the positives ...

Link While it was at their own request, the commander of the 343rd Quarermaster Company, made famous by last week's refusal to go on a "suicide mission" that failed to get anyone killed, has been relieved of duty. Also note that five of the soldiers who were involved have been transferred to another unit (I read in an earlier article that it was 3 soldiers, and that they had generally been perceived to be the "ringleaders" of the event). I think that this sort of accountability is a ...

The following was taken from the Wall Street Journal, brought to you through cut-and-paste from the Early Bird News (courtesy of the Department of Defense). I felt that it was important enough to just bring it to you with minimal comment, but I know greywar (for one) is going to like this one. (Apologies to anyone who was looking for a book review for anything written by Eric Olson.) Wall Street Journal October 19, 2004 Pg. 19 Through A Shattered Glass, Darkly It's fashiona...

While the statistics from last year's recruitment are encouraging (the Army achieved 100% of it's goal, while the Marines achieved 101%), they may be somewhat misleading. First off, how did the goals compare to the previous year's goals? Did we anticipate difficulties in achieving previous standards, and lower our expectations? Further than that, however, is evidence that our recruiting efforts may indeed be not enough. Take a look at this information about the ARNG: "The Army Nation...