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Navigating the 21st Century waters in a 20th Century vessel.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Frustration

I want to take bold decisive steps. But I don't know what they are.

I need NetBeans installed on my work computer, but I can't figure out how, and the local IT guy is out of the country.

I want to move into my apartment TODAY, but I don't have a bed yet.

I want to make love to a wonderful woman, but I have no idea who she is, or why she'd want anything to do with me.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

So, Is This Wrong?

I don't think so. 'Cause there's nothing to it. I don't think. But, there are no rules written down anywhere, I don't think. So I muddle along in confusion.


Edit: So, I told her about sometimes fantasizing about her. Not that it's what I'm after, just that my imagination takes these very pleasant trips sometimes. And she was totally cool about it. And I feel a lot better not feeling like I'm hiding something from my friend.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Waiting for the new blogger

Posted by Bulldog LafitteFinally going to get tags, plus a bunch of other stuff I don't really understand. Yippeee!

Friday, August 11, 2006

The Move From Hell

Posted by Captain ObliviousIt was awful, but we made it through. Except for the cat. But now the new home is wonderful, the school is good, the cars are still operating, and the movers unloaded everything this morning. Now will be the time to relax!

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Monday, July 31, 2006

I Still Can't Stand Him

Now he's coveting my 3-hole punch. That things been with me since freshman year, for cryin' out loud!


Update:But now I'm in my new office, and it's all good. At least until I get a new officemate.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Anything That Can Go Wrong...

Posted by Bulldog LafitteWe are abandoning the frigid north for the warm south. Battlewagons do much better when the water doesn't freeze up, after all. Simultaneous buying and selling of houses has proven to be a real challenge, in spite of best efforts to plan everything out ahead of time. Examples include the buyers from hell (whom we eventually fired), the 401k Loan of Chaos ("I said I wanted you to FedEx the check to me!""No you didn't.""Yes I did!""Oh. Right. You did.") and the $7000 accounting error (not in our favor). To top it all of this week we had a biblical Plague of Flies in the house.

Six days to go. I don't want to think of what else can hapen.

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Saturday, July 29, 2006

Test 4

Posted by the Artichoke of DoomThis is a test posting by the AofD. You are all freaking idiots, and I hope the earth swallows you whole. Then I shall laugh. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Test 3

Posted by Bulldog LafitteThis is test posting by Bulldog Lafitte.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x xx x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

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Friday, July 28, 2006

Test 2

This is another test.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Emigrant Direct

Posted by Bulldog LafitteThe new EmigrantDirect login procedure really sucks. I feel like Tim is asking me "What is your favorite color?"

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New Links

Posted by Bulldog LafitteI've edited the links column to include warship museums which I've visited. I'm also testing out technorati Tags with this post.

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Saturday, July 15, 2006

Old Ironsides

Posted by Bulldog LafitteSaw the USS Constitution this July 4. Every year she gets towed out to Castle Island at the entrance to Boston harbor and she fires a 21-gun salute to the nation. It was one of the most stirring sights I've ever seen.

Her sides are truly made of iron.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Sunday, July 09, 2006

This Day in History - July 9

1943 Operation Husky - the US and Britain invade Sicily.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

This Day in History - July 8

1758. The British assault on Fort Carillon is beaten back with heavy casualties, mainly due to poor and unimaginative leadership on the part of General James Abercrombie.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Impotant Facts About Bulldog Lafitte

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Bulldog Lafitte!

  1. There are now more than 4000 satellites orbiting Bulldog Lafitte!
  2. Bulldog Lafitte has 118 ridges around the edge.
  3. Olive oil was used for washing Bulldog Lafitte in the ancient Mediterranean world!
  4. The risk of being struck by Bulldog Lafitte is one occurence every 9,300 years.
  5. If you drop Bulldog Lafitte from more than three metres above ground level, he will always land feet-first!
  6. Two thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in Bulldog Lafitte.
  7. Native Americans never actually ate Bulldog Lafitte; killing such a timid prey was thought to indicate laziness.
  8. Bulldog Lafitte cannot be detected by infrared cameras.
  9. Bulldog Lafitte is 1500 years older than the pyramids.
  10. Ideally, Bulldog Lafitte should be stored on his side at a temperature of 55 degrees!
I am interested in - do tell me about

Friday, June 16, 2006

More Things I've Learned

Thing 1:
Battle of Fredericksburg. A frontal assault across open terrain, uphill, against an enemy behind sturdy fortifications (a thick stone wall) with artillery in the heights behind. Might as well have called it a sneak preview of WWI.

Thing 2:
Lee's operations in the Battle of Chancellorsville was a brilliant demonstration of using speed and maneuvers to defeat a superior enemy. It probably made him overconfident going into Gettysburg 8 weeks later, though.

Thing 3:
The Dornier 335 Arrow was a surprisingly big-ass plane - about the size of a P-61. Wonder how maneuverable it was.

Thing 4:
The Arado 234 was a tiny thing, for a bomber. Looked smaller than the Me 262.

Thing 5:
The Mars rovers are tall enough to look me in the eye.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Things I've Learned

Thing 1:
The Hunley was supposed to have been a crude device built from a boiler tank. This was based on the recollections of a former Confederate lieutenant 40 years later. Turned out he didn't know shit. It's obvious from looking at the actual submarine that Mr. Hunley knew what what he was doing - his boat looks like a miniature U-Boat.

Score 1 for the engineer.

Thing 2:
The HL Hunley sank three times. The first time it was swamped by a passing ship. Three guys got out, the rest drowned. The next time two times all 8 crewmen died. Mr Hunley himself was at the controls the second time.

Score 21 for Mother Nature.

Thing 3:
The Enterprise (CV-6) was about the same length as the Essex-class carriers, but the flight deck was much more slender. This probably contributed to her getting scapped in the 50s instead of getting the steam catapult/angled flight deck upgrade.

Thing 4:
The South Dakota-class BBs were clearly more compact than the North Carolina BBs. At the same time, the engines were bigger (130 kHp vs 120kHp). No wonder they were more crowded inside.

Thing 5:
The North Carolina had nine captains in six years of service. Apparently the XO ran the ship and the Captain was just there to get his ticket punched so he could get promoted to Admiral.

Thing 6:
The Navy is still stripping the Wisconsin of anything that can be used for spare parts. Until they're done the interior of the ship is off-limits. And there's a really ugly crane on a barge blocking the view of the port side of the ship.

Thing 7:
Tropical storms bring a lot of rain with them.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Well Earned Vacation

I've got a week all to myself. No family, no work, no house selling or buying. So I've taken the Battlewagon out on the open hiway and we're gonna check out some classic warships. On tap for today are the USS Yorktown, a WWII Essex class carrier (named after the one what was sunk at Midway) and the CSS Hunley. The Hunley was built by the Confederates during the Civil War and was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. Unfortunately, it was lost with all hands while returning to its base and spent the next hundred-odd years on the bottom of Charleston Harbor. I'm curious to see how the restorations are going.

Tomorrow's agenda: the battleship North Carolina.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Gotta Get Me One of These

My next car is going to be an International CXT. Because it's very important to me that my money go to subsidizing Arab terrorists and Exxon-Mobil CEOs.