tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169372162008-01-04T23:32:02.569-06:00The Edifice of BrettBrettBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-23705492792616287952007-11-07T10:12:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:44:05.132-06:00Right now in Iraq, most of the wheeling and dealing with local leaders is done by Army and Marine commanders in whatever they are assigned to. While such negotiations are good, they mainly deal with what they are concerned about. Primarily, the security situation of an area and how to improve it.
But what about the big picture? What about the diplomatic effort to achieve region-wide goals? It Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-8432720603178772662007-06-24T20:20:00.000-05:002007-06-24T20:49:14.213-05:00Posting my thoughts and ideas to this page hasn't exactly been in my index of habits as of late. The new habits are the entirely worthless time-wasting habits as opposed to doing stuff like this, where I'm wasting my time, but it just doesn't feel like it.
I wanted to talk about something odd, but still near and dear to me. This something has to do this the syntax, or structure, of sentences in Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-60496720063228097712007-05-24T11:31:00.000-05:002007-05-24T11:40:46.216-05:00The Chinese middle class likes to invest Vegas style. But instead of horseshoes and rabbit feet, they like to acquire luck through the use of numerology. In particular, they like seeing the number 8, which sounds similar in both Mandarin and Cantonese to their word for wealth. Such widespread superstition gives me curious ideas in how to get wealthy. Does anybody out there know how a US company Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1175709274190812022007-04-04T12:51:00.000-05:002007-04-04T12:54:34.200-05:00So, Homestar Runner is known for its campy humor, but a new short of theirs takes the cake.Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1175117558902954902007-03-28T17:04:00.000-05:002007-03-28T17:32:38.913-05:00I got back at about 6:30pm yesterday from going a marathon (the Bataan Death March Memorial) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. I say going because my knee started to have twinges of pain in my knee at around mile 10 or 11, and since I figured I was going to be messed up enough after 26.2 miles, I started walking at a fast pace after that point when a knee rap and Motrin didn't put Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1168497485831427562007-01-11T00:20:00.000-06:002007-01-11T00:38:05.843-06:00I've got to give a hand to the Democrats: some of their first political moves haven't been to shabby or reactionary. They've just recently passed an ethics bill disallowing politicians from receiving gifts or private flights from lobbyists. And two of the next issues on line are curtailing the growth of earmarks and introducing ways to balance the deficit. Tackling these issues is a great way to Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1166198739849606082006-12-15T09:58:00.000-06:002006-12-15T10:05:39.870-06:00The semester here at Saint Cloud State University is almost over. I don't exactly know how to express my joy. If I could, I would take Christmas break out for a romantic, candlelit dinner.
The number of all-nighters I pulled this semester by far exceeded all of my previous semesters. By my count, that number is somewhere around 8 sleepless nights.
I think I'm going to go and prep a hot bath Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1165223681576148202006-12-04T03:03:00.000-06:002006-12-04T03:14:42.113-06:00I came across an interview of a Christian Lebanese woman who grew up during the Lebanon civil war before finally escaping to Israel here.
Some of the tactics Muslims would use to target Christians were absolutely horrific, enough to make me queasy. This interview is a useful filter for use when making judgements on conflicts within the Middle East.Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1164576475651908462006-11-26T15:22:00.000-06:002006-11-26T15:27:55.666-06:00Ick,
The excessiveness of holiday eating has finally gotten to me. I went for a standard 2-mile run, and it felt as if I was poisoned. My head throbbed and I found it hard to catch my breath.
It's odd how the size and composition of your food intake can absolutely destroy your bodily eco-system. I'll need to spend the next couple days sweating all of the junk out of the moist machine that is myBretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1164086571436096792006-11-20T23:14:00.000-06:002006-11-20T23:22:51.446-06:00I need to fix something. There seems to be a strong correlation between success and laziness with me. I've followed up a well researched and effective speech today with... well, not much besides laziness. The problem with that is that I have a large test tomorrow. And yes, it is 11:10pm.
I am preparing myself for PT tomorrow with... red wine! Reservatol (in red wine) has been shown to double theBretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1162858254794751352006-11-06T18:01:00.000-06:002006-11-06T18:10:56.966-06:00Elections are tomorrow! Yeah, I don't really want to talk about it either.
But, I did find a Chiropractor up here in Cloud town. I gave in after having a ridiculously stiff neck. Her style differs a lot compared to Dr. Cass even though they were both educated at the Northwestern college. Dr. Cass would gradually apply more and more pressure until something popped. This new person sort of kung-fuBretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1161281183517007542006-10-19T12:57:00.000-05:002006-10-19T13:06:23.530-05:00Clearly, there has been some declaration of war against us by stingrays worldwide. First, it was Steve Irwin. And now, an 81 year old man from Flordia was stung in the chest after a stingray malevolently jumped into his boat. That's right people, we're not even safe anymore while boating, let alone filming nature documentaries.
I predict the bastards will start assaulting our population centers Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1159468783857345122006-09-28T13:33:00.000-05:002006-09-28T13:39:43.870-05:00I really wish I could say that I haven't been busy. I remember way back during the summer when I had time to relax, go to the bars, read casually, and, you know, sleep. All of those beautiful, shiny moments are over now.
Hey, here's a great quote from Ben Franklin though - "Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough."
Take that negative attitude.Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1157238833996870282006-09-02T17:57:00.000-05:002006-09-02T18:13:54.860-05:00What is success?
Unless you've had a culturally definitive moment, such as writing a national blockbuster or coming out with some breakthrough medical cure, the image of success ebbs and flows. My experience in Iraq or my participation in the Accounting Club or, previously, the rugby team is enough to garner some localized coolness. But those spikes only last for a finite amount of time. Even Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1155319099434425652006-08-11T12:07:00.000-05:002006-08-11T12:58:19.560-05:00So, I've been in Germany for about a week now doing a little hands-on training for my new job in the National Guard. The thing is it seems they were woefully prepared for us. Their First Sergeant claimed on the bus ride from Frankfurt to Mannheim that they were overwhelmed with work. Maybe it's that someone was giving her some false info or maybe it's that she is busy planning for her retirement Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1153971792933159722006-07-26T22:38:00.000-05:002006-07-26T22:43:12.946-05:00The city of Saint Cloud. Or as I like to call it, the city of broken glass.
I'm not sure if these glass-breaking people are trying to christen unseen ships or celebrate Jewish weddings, but it is clear that there are numerous individuals, or perhaps a group of extremely devout bottle-busting ones, who have made it their duty to scatter shards of pointy shrapnel everywhere.
I walked two blocks Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1152859116013546662006-07-14T01:30:00.000-05:002006-07-15T13:58:15.590-05:00Next semester needs to start right now.
I've been ordering random computer parts, military gear, and other electronic crap like crazy in my spare time. I even ordered a book from Ranger Joe's about rope. Sure, it's kind of cool knowing how to tie knots in case you need to rappel from a high ground of some sort, but it's not exactly an essential skill.
I'm sure my next 18 credits will fill up myBretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1149477749977175272006-06-04T22:01:00.001-05:002006-06-04T22:27:32.773-05:00I just got back from visiting my old-time friend Rob in Bloomington, Indiana. According to him, the glaciers which covered the midwest back in the day stopped about 20 miles north of his town. There were noticable geographic incongruencies with the rest of Indiana which seem to prove this. The terrain is noticably hillier. The ground is also full of clay. He has been taking his new status as a Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1149281842704718102006-06-02T15:53:00.000-05:002006-06-02T15:57:22.716-05:00Another day, a drive to Indiana, then another month full-time in the Army. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some stellar educational aid benefits, but the thought of living that life again makes me tired. Not to mention the 12 hour car ride to get there.
I'll try making the best of it.Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1147193356375464042006-05-09T11:21:00.000-05:002006-05-09T11:51:37.593-05:00A thought: maybe I should tone down my social pontifications. I do subscribe to about 15 magazines though, mostly news journals. So it's hard not to start shouting when I notice over the period of a year or two an underlying current within worldwide problems.
Here's a more personal observation. Through my own eyes and experience, it seems to me that there are these huge social cliques. Rather Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1147137430880799352006-05-08T19:27:00.000-05:002006-05-09T11:52:22.760-05:00I don't understand those individuals who hold the view that if you throw money at a problem, it'll go away.
I was listening to an interview the BBC had with a relief worker in Sudan. Despite her fellow workers getting attacked and their team losing equiptment, she was trying to justify the attacks in the eyes of the Sudanese refugees. One of her workers was misunderstood, it was a hot day, the Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1145641884311481442006-04-21T12:30:00.000-05:002006-05-09T11:53:04.983-05:00Why gas company price gouging doesn't bother me a bit:
Never before has there been more talk (besides maybe in the 1970's) about alternative fuel development than this year. As much as they have tried, it wasn't environmentalists who spurred this development, it was rising gas prices due to shortages and uncertainties in the gasoline market.
Gas makers were able to supply, based on their Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1145397186548564922006-04-18T16:40:00.000-05:002006-04-18T16:53:06.590-05:00And now for an essay with a good deal of "truthiness" to it - I think I'll label it a memoir.
At about this time twenty-four years ago, I was still hanging out in the uterus. At the time, that seemed like my home for an eternity. Up until that day, it had seemed like a comfortable place to be. Everything was supplied for me, and life was simple. However, it was getting quite cramped in there due Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1144974783937556182006-04-13T19:24:00.000-05:002006-04-13T19:35:32.093-05:00I'm drowning in numbers. Much of this is because of my accounting/taxation classes. Somewhere between the triple smoothing process of pensions and the MACRS depreciation system, I think I started gulping water. My respite to a more physical world from this has been flying airplanes around KSTC. But, holy hell, I've just spend the last two hours looking up numbers on performance charts, Bretttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16937216.post-1143309153066942912006-03-25T11:23:00.000-06:002006-03-25T11:52:33.596-06:00The article Can America Keep Up? in US News & World Report was illuminating. The best quotes on America's industrial drive happen at the beginning of the article:
"Every one of the early warning signals is trending downward. We're all fat, dumb, and happy, which is one reason why this is so insidious."
"We had more sports-exercise majors graduate than electrical-engineering grads last year. If Brett