• Archives

  • Topics

  • Meta

  • The Boogeyman - Working Vacation
  • Coming Home
  • Via Serica

Thought for the Day

This one is dedicated to my instructor on this date in 1990, who had to break it to me that I was not going to be kicking in doors, blowing up buildings, and shooting helicopters out of the sky.  He then had to put up with my temper tantrum as I came to the realization that the only things that were going to be in danger from my chosen profession were the coffee urn and my guhor stick.

 

A Little Humor

Ole the Norwegian was sitting at the bar in his favorite tavern.  Sven came in with his new dog.  This dog was big, mean, and aggressive, and Sven seemed to enjoy letting him bark and snap at people.  The bartender was scared to say anything, and Sven just kept moving down the bar to scare the patrons.

Eventually, it was Ole’s turn.  He was so scared by that dog that he fell off his bar stool.  Ole picked himself up and walked out of the tavern, chased by Sven’s laughter and the growls of his dog.  His entertainment over for the moment, Sven took a seat at a table in the back of the bar.

A little while later, Ole came back in.  He was accompanied by a little yellow dog on a leash.

Sven looked at the little yellow dog and roared with laughter. As Ole tried to eat his lunch and drink his beer, Sven kept trying to get Ole to let his dog fight Sven’s dog.  Ole resisted at first, but eventually relented

The patrons cleared a space in the middle of the bar, and the two dogs met in the middle.

Snap! Growl! Crunch!

Suddenly, all that was left in the middle of the bar was the little yellow dog and a bit of black hair floating toward the floor.

Ole gathered up his dog and started toward the door.

Staring in disbelief, Sven demanded “Vere did you get dat dog?”

Ole answered “Vell, I got him at da zoo.  Before I trimmed his nose and his tail and painted him yellow, he vas an alligator.”

First moral of the story:  You don’t have to look dangerous to be a danger to those who want to harm you.

Second moral of the story:  Never pick a fight.  You might just find out how overmatched you really are.

Thoughts on the Day

  • Going grocery shopping, three days before Thanksgiving, on the eve of the first sort-of-big snowfall of the year, and while hungry, might not have been the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
  • The city has been out brining and salting the roads, but this may be one of the few times that it will do some good.  I’ll give them a pass on this one.
  • Apparently Irish Woman gets an email every time I make an order from one of the more well-known gun parts suppliers on the Internet.
    • Yeah, I’m busted for buying an adjustable gas plug for my M-1.
    • So much for being sneaky discreet.
  • With all the reading I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been neglecting my blog list.
    • I opened up my reader today, and oh my, but you all have been busy, haven’t you?
    • I’m getting caught up.  Some of you may see some new comments on rather old posts.
  • Crash has developed a habit of climbing people as if they were trees so that he can settle upon their shoulders and purr in their ear.
    • It’s kind of cute when it’s done to someone else, but it’s going to the top of the list of things to discourage.
  • Holly Chism has put out her latest novel, Highway to Tartarus.  It’s an excellent read for adults.  You’ll want to read the first in the series before you get into this one, but it’s just as good.  Expect a review soon.
  • Finding a FaceBook group for my old unit in Augsburg was kind of neat.  Seeing all the 20+ year old pictures of both me and my friends consumed hours.
    • That staff sergeant that I worked for, the one I thought was older than dirt?  Yeah, he was only 28 at the time.
  • Girlie Bear told me tonight that part of her Social Studies homework was to write a haiku with each of her vocabulary words.
    • Apparently it’s been a weekly assignment since August, and I’m just now realizing it.
    • I told her that her teacher is a pinko commie twit, but he’s also a flake.
  • “No war for oil”, my ass.
    • At $3.45 a gallon for regular unleaded, I’ll push the “Bomb them back to the stone age” button myself if it means we can return to the prices we had in 2003.
    • If we’re going to be accused of being imperialists, we can at least reap the benefits of empire on occasion.

Thought for the Day

The accused may be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build the gallows and practice tying knots now.

Today’s Earworm

Freddie Mercury, September 5th 1946 – November 24th 1991

Thoughts on the Day

  • I had a long time co-worker call me an asshole in the nicest way possible, and I couldn’t have been more proud.
    • He also said that I always got the job done right the first time I did it, which was almost as good.
  • I woke up this morning to the dulcet tones of my beloved Irish Woman as she tried to figure out why the dog needed to be up and making noise before the sun was up, why the 5 year old had the TV up so loud, and why the cat needed attention right-bloody-now.
    • It’s good to have the family back together again.
  • Nothing like putting away the summer clothes in a box and bringing out the winter clothes.
    • I much prefer sweater weather to “Holy crap, I’m going to die from the heat!” weather.
  • Finding boxes of ammunition you forgot you had is a nice side effect of cleaning up the basement.
  • The fact that Koshka did not throat punch Crash when he took a piece of ham away from her tells me that she’s mellowed quite a bit in her old age.
  • Hot fire, clean house, lazy dogs, and quiet kids – My favorite way to finish a day.

Musings

  • Oatmeal would be much easier to eat if you could add eggs, sausage, biscuits, and hashbrowns.  And take out the oatmeal.
  • Just so everyone knows, when the hood on a 2012 Ford Fusion is open, but still latched, it will cause the “Door Open” idiot light on the dashboard to light up.
    • Repeatedly opening and closing all of the passenger doors and the trunk will not correct this issue.
  • I don’t know if you all heard, but today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy by a socialist tool.  Or maybe it was a mafia hitman.  Possibly a CIA agent under orders from Vice President Johnson.  Outside chance he’s still alive and that was a Martian meat puppet in the car.
    • I just wanted to make sure, because the press seems to be keeping quiet about it.
  • For once, I went to an airport and didn’t come away thinking hateful things about the TSA.
    • Of course, I was just meeting Irish Woman and didn’t have to go through security, but you take what you can get.
  • When you screw up my pizza order, put it down under the wrong name, and give me attitude when I give you my phone number so you can look everything up, you give up all rights to be shocked that I do not tip you.
    • My name is not Bob, and I did not order a thin crust meat lovers with extra cheese, along with a stuffed crust pepperoni.
  • Old challenge coins make for excellent pirate treasure.

Today’s Earworm

Quote of the Day

This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. — President John F. Kennedy, June 11, 1963

Book Review – Gunny’s Rules

The same nice lady who sent me a copy of Emily Miller’s book also sent along a copy of R. Lee Ermey’s new book, “Gunny’s Rules — How To Get Squared Away Like A Marine“.  Basically, it’s a cross between a memoir and a self-help motivational book, and it was a very enjoyable read.

The Gunny, as Ermey is affectionately called by his fans, writes about how his experiences, both during and after his service in the Marine Corps, have shaped his life, and draws lessons that others can apply to their lives.  Chapters take on subjects such as setting goals, being prepared for life, physical fitness, and leadership.  After discussing his views and experiences that relate to each subject, the author relates “Gunny’s Rules”,some musings that reinforce the lesson.  Here are some of my favorites:

  • A job as a short-order cook is a hell of a lot better than sitting on your dead ass watching television all day.
  • If you’re not confident you’ll succeed, you never will.
  • …no matter how short our mission is, we should always carry with us the essentials for staying alive.
  • If you’re still smoking, you’ve lost your freaking mind!
  • I have not always achieved my mission, but when I have come up short, it isn’t because I do not go the extra mile, do not carry my load.
  • I don’t recall anyone ever telling me life was going to be easy.

Each chapter finishes with several motivational quotations that also fit with its theme.  I had already heard most of them, but there were a lot that were new to me, and they all made me think.

There were only one quibble I had with the book, and it was minor.  In the “Major Malfunctions” chapter, Ermey discusses the decision by Army leadership to change uniform headgear to beret.  Ermey discusses how the Green Berets were forced to share their distinctive headgear.  Only problem is that it was the Rangers that had to give up their black berets so everyone else could wear them, and that Rangers and Airborne units had been wearing berets for decades.  Like I said, it’s a minor discrepancy, and it doesn’t distract from the rest of the book at all.

While there is some salty language in the book, “Gunny’s Rules” is going on the list for Girlie Bear and Little Bear to read.  While it made their 42-year-old father nod, it contains a lot of advice that I wish I had heard when I was 17, and maybe it’ll do them some good.

The book is well laid out, very well thought out, and an enjoyable read.  It’s also a quick read, but it’s the kind of book that you will go back and re-read, either whole or in chunks, when you need motivation or ideas for your life.  It’s definitely worth your time to give this one a shot.

Standard Disclaimer – The publisher of the book provided me with a copy for reading and review.  I am offering to return it now that I am done with it, and I received nothing else for this review.