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Eddie T's LiveJournal:
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| Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 | | 6:50 pm |
Gritting My Teeth...
I love Twilight: 2013 and my participation in it, but damn some people on the forums just make me want to slap them in the face with a pressure plate IED. | | Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 | | 5:00 pm |
Neglecting My "Other" E-Friends...
So of late I've been posting mainly to my Facebook account. It's just easier and I have more friends linked on it than I do here unfortunately. And for the quick posts that I don't have a lot to say about, it's just more convenient. However, I check in here all of the time still. If anyone who doesn't have an account wants to make one and add me, my profile is at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=9414874&ref=profile. So for those of you that don't know, I'm going on my second month as Company Commander of my company. I assumed command on 10 June of this year. It's pretty cool being my own boss for all intents and purposes, but by the same token, it takes a lot of motivation to do the right thing when no one is watching. My biggest problem is lack of sleep. I tend to pass out watching TV all of the time now. I'll even jerk myself awake by spasming. It's not something I'm proud of, but what can you do. Anyway, I'm getting paged to come watch TV. Laters. Current Mood:  exhausted | | Monday, June 15th, 2009 | | 6:57 pm |
More Responsibilities...
And just like that, I'm back to being slated to take command of my company. Within 10 days I'll be the company commander for my unit. Wow. Current Mood:  nervous | | Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | | 7:07 pm |
New Milestones...
I dove to 138 feet today as part of my Deep Diver specialty course. It was frickin' awesome! I got so narc'd my whole body felt tingly like when your foot goes to sleep! It was so cool! Additionally, yesterday I began the PADI Divemaster Program. That makes me a professional diver now. I won't get paid very much, if at all right now, but at least a spot on the boat is free for me. That means the course will pay for itself in eight trips on the boat. Current Mood:  bouncy | | Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | | 7:27 pm |
The Bad and the Good...
Today started off kinda bad. It was the memorial for, in a vast change from my norm I'm going to post the name, SPC Andrew Tallman. He was a Human Intelligence Collector for my company who went out with my platoon on most missions. He was an excellent soldier, always smiling and cheerful, and always strove to lighten the mood of everyone around him. He will be sorely missed. Then it got better (to an extent) by me finding out that I'm going to be moving back home to Ft. Benning! (I know, it's not really home, but I think of it as my home professionally for sure, and personally, pretty damned close.) I'm going to be attending the Maneuver Captain's Career Course which will "qualify" me to be a Company Commander of any Infantry Company on the planet. It's a monumental step in my career and a huge testament to my record to be pinned Captain and then have my Battalion Commander and my Company Commander both make the coordinations for me to attend the course. Normally it's a self-executed process of getting a class date after some time on a staff. Yes, I know I'm getting more arrogant, but it's damned hard to be humble when I'm this damned good at my job. Current Mood: determined | | Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 | | 8:17 pm |
| | Monday, June 1st, 2009 | | 8:03 pm |
Casualty...
I started my first day as a Captain off by finding out that one of my soldiers in Iraq killed himself last night. Not a good day. Current Mood: depressed | | Thursday, May 21st, 2009 | | 7:56 pm |
Terminator: Salvation...
Not a bad flick for the most part. I enjoyed it all the way up to the end. The last five minutes or so kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, but everything else was great. | | Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 | | 7:10 am |
Current Events...
Okay, so I've been neglecting this again. It's really not my fault. Two reasons: 1) I've been exhaustingly busy for the last two months, but even worse since 17 APR when I returned from Block Leave and started the XO job and all of my scuba diving courses, and 2) My computer took a shit on me again and I had to get a new DVD drive and a new hard drive shipped to me from Dell. So, I'm posting this from my work computer. But, updates, I've completed several scuba diving courses since 20 March. They include: Advanced Open Water, Enriched Air Diver (NITROX), Rescue Diver, Emergency First Responder, DAN Oxygen Provider, DAN Advanced Oxygen Provider, DAN First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries, DAN Automated External Difribillators, and GUE Introduction to Technical Diving. I was talking to Household 6 last night and realized that I've been diving every weekend for the last six weeks. Professionally, I was informed last week that I'm in the queue to become Company Commander for my unit in July. Apparently there are no incoming Captains that have graduated the Career Course projected to come to the Brigade anytime soon, my commander is leaving, so someone will have to fill the slot. That's where I come in. I'm actually NOT looking forward to it because I haven't gone to the Captain's Career Course either, so company command time will not count towards my career and I'll just be doing extra work for no good reason. Other than that, I'm learning the XO job fairly quickly I think. I don't know that I'm doing a good job yet, but I'm doing it good enough that I keep getting recognition from my superiors. Including my company commander and the old XO who both gave me so much shit in Iraq. As much as I hate to say it, I think my CO set me up for success here by being so hard on me there. SF is still in the works. I have to get time to take the DLAB and actually go over and pick up the results of my Physical from two weeks ago. Other options if SF falls through include the Career Course and maybe some follow-on schools, reassignment and then redeployment. If none of that works, then redeployment to the sandbox with this same unit is right around the corner. Ughh. For those of you that know where I was, that's where I'm going back to. I don't have much time left for this update, but more will follow when my computer is back to 100%. In the meantime, I've been using Facebook a lot lately. Anyone that is on there as well, please look me up and add me. I'll try putting this link and see if it works: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=9414874&ref=profile Current Mood: exhausted | | Friday, May 8th, 2009 | | 7:31 pm |
To Boldy Go...Where?! (spoilers)...
So the wife, daughter, and my younger son just got back from the new Star Trek movie. I have very mixed feelings about the thing, though. First off, this is not the Star Trek that we grew up with. If you're going to compare it to that, then you have two options. First, the movie quickly establishes that the known history of the Trekkie fandom is not just gone in JJ Abrams' whims, but that it has been altered by a change in the timeline. I know, Star Trek? Change a timeline? No! (But that does lead in to a somewhat bittersweet surprise later in the review). If you can accept that and move on, then you'll most likely enjoy this movie. Second, you can just complain about it and hate it. Now, on to more reviewing. Visually, the movie blew us away. The graphics and the prop design was exceptional, IMO. The Enterprise NCC-1701 had some lines and some flair to it that honestly made me think of the Dodge Charger redesign a couple of years ago, holding true to it's roots but updated and sleek. Phasers were kind of cool, too. The visual beam was awesome, more of a plasma packet than a classical Star Trek phaser beam. I even thought it looked like it was cycling a slide in one scene (though admittedly, I myself doubt that and think it may have been lighting in the scene). I didn't care for the flipping muzzles though for the difference between stun and kill. Moreso than just the favorite set props, the feel of the movie was a lot more realistic. Still no talk of money and getting paid, but people cared about their property (especially antiques), went to bars to get drunk and chase tail, and generally made it feel more like a real human existence. The soundtrack and sound effects were pretty good too. I'm not good with remembering a song I heard on the radio 15 minutes ago, so I'm not going to try and name off songs for you. Casting. Casting was pretty good for the movie. I was pleasantly surprised by Karl Urban's portrayal of Bones. He was very Deforest Kelly-ish. Maybe a little too much in my opinion as he seemed more like he was playing Kelly, not McCoy. It might've been nice to see him take the character as his own, but it was still a good Bones. The chick that was cast as Uhura, Zoe Saldana, was apparently in Pirates of the Caribbean. I don't remember her, and even though she has a bigger part in this, I don't really think I'll remember her much from this one either. I think she failed in the acting department and the hotness department. Eric Bana as Nero was very disappointing. There was so little character development with him that he was a wasted bad guy. Chris Pines and Zachary Quinto, as Kirk and Spock, turned out a lot better than I had expected. Both had enough mannerisms and homages to Shatner and Nimoy to make you think you were seeing a young Kirk and Spock, but were strong enough actors to bring that ownership to the roles. Were they Oscar winning performances? No. I don't think so. But they were good, nonetheless. I thought, anyway. Storywise. Ah, storywise. Okay, so time travel. Again....Change the future by changing the past. Again....Destroy a world to save a world. Again....Yep, some recurring motifs in the Star Trek universe. With all of the drudgery of the story out of the way, I was surprised by quite a bit. First, there was no attempt to go back further in time and repair the timeline. There was no attempt to go back in time and save the destroyed planets. One of them, one that factors hugely in Star Trek canon, is gone and is staying gone. That's the bittersweet part. I think it's cool that Abrams is being brave enough to roll with that, but it's saddening too, because I like that planet. I think that it might be able to be used in a future storyline as a plot hook or something with the new colony, but it's still pretty novel that so much bad is happening and can't be reversed. Very similar to the whole Florida disaster in Enterprise. Second, there were some interesting character relationships in this movie that were never really hinted at, postulated, or developed during the series or prior movies. Not unpleasant, just different and unexpected. Third, I think too much was going on. They were trying to cram way too much development into too short of a timeframe. The movie should have been another half-hour to hour long, IMO. I knew it was going to happen, but I hated being proved right about it. So, while the movie had some faults, and some Trek purists aren't going to like Abrams's altered timeline, I think they have a decent base to build a new franchise off of. Household 6, who is vehemently opposed to any of the other Treks, liked this movie. So it's got some good things going for it. In the end, I have to cast my vote for "liked the movie a lot" as well, though it will never be a classic. YMMV. Current Mood:  impressed | | Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 | | 4:37 pm |
Rangerific!!!
Probably not a good idea to watch where you would be compromised by a little cursing or loud noises. Current Mood:  giggly | | Saturday, April 25th, 2009 | | 3:34 pm |
Rescue Diver...
So I made it today. I'm a certified PADI Rescue Diver, Emergency First Responder, and DAN Diving Emergency Management Provider. I am completely exhausted. No ifs, no ands, and no buts. Master Scuba Diver, here I come! Current Mood: exhausted | | 6:45 am |
Congratulations...
I want to say Happy Anniversary to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) xer0rules and cattiekins. And more importantly, getting to celebrate it with an actual home of your own, both of you on the same side of the pond. | | Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 | | 4:55 pm |
There Goes the Neighborhood!...
After all of the hassle and heartache during the deployment, my Commander made me XO today. (And yes, the mood is correct.) Current Mood: amused | | Saturday, April 18th, 2009 | | 5:16 pm |
Moving Up Deeper...
So I just called and scheduled an Introduction to Technical Diving and Technical Advanced Wreck Penetration course. So what does all of that mean? Take a look. Important things to note are: diving two tanks instead of one (which is the norm for recreational divers), various fin kick techniques to prevent silting, ways to maneuver without the freedom of a lot of space, etc. Why the distinction? You can check out a tec diving description here. I've been a certified diver for seven years now and until I moved here, I haven't had much opportunity to dive beyond quarries and lakes. I'm always pushing myself though and trying to get as deep as I can, or check out this, or learn about that. Maybe it's the culture I've been in since becoming a Ranger, but I want to do more than the average person. I want to be better. I don't want to half-ass anything. Most importantly though, I want to learn how to dive a wreck the right way, the first time, so I don't learn bad habits. The bad part? Unfortunately, because I'm going to the Tec Diving side of the house, my certification isn't going to count towards my Master SCUBA Diver rating. I'm not too bummed out by that though, because like I said, I want to learn how to do it right the first time. Wreck diving is the most dangerous specialty in recreational diving short of only caves. So, I got the best Tec and Wreck diver on the island of Oahu to instruct me. If the course cost is any indicator, I'm going to get an assload of knowledge from him. | | Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 | | 9:27 pm |
Nothing Like a Proud Wife...
How cool is this for a Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday present?  If any of you find yourself at the Ranger Memorial at Ft. Benning, take a gander for my name. :o) | | Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | | 7:55 am |
Fuck...
I received a non-select letter for SFAS for this year, today. For an officer, that means I can't go until after my Career Course date. Current Mood: determined | | Monday, April 6th, 2009 | | 2:08 pm |
So I Can Help Others...
I registered for the PADI Rescue Diver course today. Actually, I registered for Emergency First Responder (the old First Aid/CPR training from the Red Cross), Rescue Diver, DAN Oxygen Provider, DAN Advanced Oxygen Provider, DAN Hazardous Marine Life Injuries, and DAN AED for Scuba Divers. Am I going to be able to use it professionally, like an underwater EMT? Well, no. But Household 6 is Open Water certified now, one of my best friends from Iraq is Open Water certified now (in fact, the three of us are going diving tomorrow morning), my company commander is or will be certified soon (and wants to have the officers all go together sometime), and I've already been witness to one diving accident. Bottom line, someone needs to be prepared to deal with any kind of injury or accident that may occur. What if it happens to me? Well, then we're all kinda fucked. Hopefully, Household 6 will get a bit more interested in stuff other than just swimming around and want to progress to this level of diver education. It just makes sense, but she's brand new and hasn't gotten to do anything "fun" about diving yet, just check-out dives basically. | | Saturday, April 4th, 2009 | | 5:47 pm |
Continuing On...
I became Enriched Air Diving certified today. That means that I can now dive with NITROX, which while not allowing me to go any deeper, it does allow me to stay and deeper depths longer. Instead of doing a 10 minute 90-foot deep dive, I can now do 45 minute 90-foot dive (for example). | | Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 | | 6:50 pm |
Finished...
I am now a qualified Advanced Open Water Diver through PADI. Next up, NITROX followed by Rescue Diver in April/May timeframe. Why that sequence? Mainly because I'm getting NITROX for the cost of books and the card fee through the guy that instructed my Advanced Open Water class. He's a good cat, in the Navy, not looking to kneecap his boss's business, but the guy is being a peckerhead apparently. Anyway, max depth today? 103 feet. I have some pictures that need to get developed then I'll post some of them. |
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