Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Pearl Harbor Remembered

I found a fairly good rundown of the terrible events of December 7, 1941 at Infoplease: Pearl Harbor Remembered.

Excerpt:

Dec. 7, 1941—at five minutes to eight o’clock, 183 Japanese warplanes ruined a perfectly fine Sunday morning on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The first attack wave had reached the U.S. Pacific Fleet stationed at Oahu’s Pearl Harbor and for all intents and purposes, World War II began for the United States

Although the U.S. military forces in Pearl Harbor had been recently strengthened, the base was not at a state of high alert. Many people were just waking when the first bombs were dropped. No one was prepared to do battle.

07 Dec 2005 by Military Patriotism

The Birds of Baghdad

Michael Yon has a new article entitled “The Birds of Baghdad” at Michael Yon : Online Magazine. The article starts out:

I love birds. Everywhere, I notice the birds; often I hear their voices before seeing them. To my ears, the most beautiful singers are the mockingbirds. I can listen to their songs for hours and hours, especially in the springtime, when the bachelors are courting and they sing all night during the full moons. In cities, lovesick bachelors often mistake a streetlight for the full moon, and perch in a nearby tree, singing their hearts out.

Some people cannot sleep to the mockingbird, but to me there is no sweeter song. When I hear a mockingbird in the spring, I’m reminded of Louis Armstrong’s famous song, “What a Wonderful World.” On those full moon nights, I think to myself that the mockingbird is singing, I love you. Eventually, a female hears the song, and one by one, pairs form, nests are built from twigs and bits, and the circle of sweet songs continues.

Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” is a favorite of Damsel’s and mine.

06 Dec 2005 by Blogosphere Islamic Terrorism Media Military Photography

Mountaintop Vista

You can enjoy occasional views like this one when you point your browser to Mt. Wilson Towercam Image. This webcam is situated atop the UCLA 150 foot Solar Tower on Mount Wilson overlooking the Los Angeles area.

Of course, this is a very unusual day here, unobscured by the usual coastal haze and fog (and smog, of course). Damsel claims this picture to be an optical illusion and reminds people that California is a blue state and the weather isn’t worth the aggravation. Public schools suck, there are gangs, and traffic and … and … don’t move here (unless you’re a conservative).

05 Dec 2005 by Astronomy California Photography Science

Cardiac Christmas

Damsel told me on the chatroom a while ago that Christmas season is a prime time for cardiac arrest. I understood that very well when I stopped at the ATM next door during my lunchtime walk; the damn thing ate my bank card! And I have some Christmas shopping to do!

We're sorry; your card has been retained.
Please contact your financial institution

Now what? I called my credit union, and after wading through several layers of pushbutton menus, I was in touch with the all-important “your call is important to us” message, this time interlaced with credit union ads, which was marginally less irritating than the starved-bandwidth elevator music one usually gets.

Finally, I was in touch with an actual person who advised me that there was a network glitch, and the card was retained as invalid; she could order me a new card which would be “rushed” to me within five business days. “That’s no good,” I said, “I have no cash and shopping season is upon me!” “Well,” was the reply, “You can go to the institution that retained the card and ask them to return it to you; sometimes they will return them if you have proper ID.”

To make a long rant shorter, I went back next door to the customer service representative who cheerfully returned the card to me after checking my driver’s license. Now, why wouldn’t the ATM just regurgitate the card and advise me to check with my bank? I can see why some people become technophobes.

05 Dec 2005 by Curmudgeon Rants Money and Business

Moon and Venus

The second and third brightest objects in the sky conjoin in the California evening twilight. The Moon and Venus appear to be nearly at the same elevation above the southwest horizon.

I was taking pictures of the Christmas lights we put up today, and this nice asterism caught my eye (and the camera’s).

04 Dec 2005 by Astronomy Photography

Broken and Worn Out

Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is “broken, worn out” and “living hand to mouth,” – Rep. John Murtha (D – PA)

After reading some MILBLOGs over the past week, one could conclude that the target of Rep. Murtha‘s remarks, the Army in Iraq, is alive and well, motivated, and defiant of ex-Marine Murtha’s remarks (although rare, there are a few actual ex-Marines).

My conclusion is that the only thing “broken” and “worn out” is the Democratic party who are “living hand to mouth” by spreading disinformation and smearing our men and women in uniform.

03 Dec 2005 by Congress Islamic Terrorism Media Military Whacko Politics

Damsel Sends You the Korean Bell

Today, we drove to San Pedro and visited the site of the Korean Bell of Friendship and Bell Pavilion.


This massive and intricately-decorated bell and pavilion was donated in 1976 to the people of Los Angeles by the people of the Republic of Korea to celebrate the bicentennial of the U.S. independence, honor veterans of the Korean War, and to consolidate traditional friendship between the two countries. The bell is patterned after the Bronze Bell of King Songdok, which was cast in 771 A.D. and is still on view in South Korea today.

03 Dec 2005 by Culture International Photography

Categories

Archives