Pick your favorite slogan and give it to your sweetie!
February 2006
Valentines Day Plan
Starting at about 14 February 2005, 0100 GMT (5PM on the 13th PST) or so, Damsel gets control of the blog. She’ll be sending the girly-girl stuff associated with Valentine’s Day, and I’ll chime in if and when I have a post. This should persist for about 24 hours until things revert to normal. Happy St. Valentines Day!
My Kind of SUV
I probably couldn’t afford the gas bill, but wouldn’t it be cool to take one of these on the Harbor Freeway at rush hour? Or, on your favorite busy thoroughfare?
The Buffalo uses steel wheels and disc rollers which allow the vehicle to be driven over and detonate anti-personnel mines without sustaining damage. As a result, unusually large numbers of mines can be neutralized in a short period of time. The vehicle retains all round (including roof) ballistic protection from 7.62mm NATO ball cartridges. This armor is upgradeable to protect against Dragunov AP cartridges. In a recent incident that involved a Buffalo vehicle which ran over an anti-tank mine, the blast tore off a wheel and destroyed an axle on the vehicle. There were no casualties to the crew inside the Buffalo and the vehicle maintained its mobility and drove itself out of the minefield. It was repaired overnight and was back in operation the following day.
[more]
A Virtual Seashore Visit
This site is just too cool. You can see 360° views at selected beaches along a 72 mile stretch of the coastline near Los Angeles and on Santa Catalina Island.
The County of Los Angeles Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors and the University of Southern California Sea Grant Program has created a network of web cameras weather stations and water thermometers to aid in staffing beaches, tracking rescue activity, creating public education materials, and collecting environmental data for use in pursuing our common goals of protecting and educating the public, safeguarding property and preserving the environment. Devices are installed along the 72 mile Los Angeles coastline and connected to the Fire Department’s Wide Area Network allowing Operational Captains to accurately assess staffing needs at secluded, under served beaches from anywhere on the network through a web browser.
Damsel Sends You Four Red Tulips
We got these tulips last weekend at the garden shop and I planted them yesterday. I also planted some yellow ones in another spot in the flowerbed (see inset).
Fossett Breaks Record
Follow up on Around the World – and then Some:
FOXNews.com – Science News – Fossett Breaks Record for Nonstop Flight
MANSTON, England — Adventurer Steve Fossett completed the longest nonstop flight in aviation history Saturday after journeying around the globe — and then some — in about 80 hours.
Image (from Fox News): Steve Fossett, right, and Richard Branson, left, answer questions after a fuel leak prevented the first attempt at takeoff.
There’s Not Enough of This . . .
. . . in the mainstream media:
Fluff-Filled Toys and Children, Perfect Match
By SPC Karl Johnson – 363rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Right: Sara, a child living in Baghdad, with Beanie Baby “Courage”. The toy was a gift from Army Maj Jim Barker, whose letter back home telling his family how much the child loved the toy resulted in he non-profit organization Beanies for Baghdad being founded in May 2003. To date, more than 150,000 of the stuffed toys have been passed out by Soldiers since the project began.
BAGHDAD — In a country where having a toy is a rarity, Soldiers passing out beanie babies to Iraqi children can become very popular.
“The children’s faces just light up when they see you,†said Sgt. 1st Class Alan Certain, Company C, 490th Civil Affairs Battalion. “It’s amazing to see what an effect a simple toy can have on a kid.â€
The civil affairs Soldiers pass out the small toys during their missions in central Iraq.
To date more than 150,000 of the miniature stuffed animals have been distributed throughout the war-torn nation with the help of Beanies for Baghdad, a nonprofit organization. What started as an attempt to get one child to smile has turned into a project that is helping Soldiers build positive bonds with the Iraqi people.“This is forming the beginning of friendships between the children and the Soldiers,†said Donna Ward, Beanies for Baghdad project manager. “The hope for a better tomorrow is found in the children of Iraq.â€
“We are hoping to see an entire new generation of Iraqis who trust that we are their friends and that we’re here to help them,†said Capt. Darrell Retheford, Co. C, 490th CA Bn.
The success of Beanies for Baghdad has just begun, said Ward. “We have so much more we hope to accomplished,†she said. “These little ones didn’t ask to be born in the conditions they are growing up in and this is a way we can make a difference.†“I personally feel this is a small gesture we as Americans and other countries can do to help our Soldiers sow seeds of friendship and to give these children something to smile about in a war-torn land,†said Ward.
Reprinted from the CENTCOM Newsletter.