It’s heeeeere

My new Dell Studio XPS 8000 showed up via FedEx about 11:45 a.m.

It’s fast. Really fast. And Windows 7 is pretty cool.

This is the first blog post from the new machine.

I’m a happy camper, so far.

Where it's going

Want to know how the stimulus money has been allocated for your state, county and community?

Check out this interactive map.

Muggers Return Wallet After Seeing Army ID

Tuesday , November 10, 2009

A Milwaukee Army reservist's military identification earned him some street cred Tuesday, when he says four men who mugged him at gunpoint returned his belongings and thanked him for his service after finding the ID.

The 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student said he was walking home from work about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday when he was pulled into an alley and told to lay face down and with a gun to his neck. Four men took his wallet, $16, keys, his cell phone and even a PowerBar wrapper from his pants pockets, he said.

But the hostile tone quickly changed when one of the robbers, whom the reservist presumed was the leader, saw an Army ID in the wallet. The robber told the others to return the items and they put most of his belongings on the ground next to him, including the wrapper, the reservist said.

"The guy continued to say throughout the situation that he respects what I do and at one point he actually thanked me and he actually apologized," said the reservist, who asked not to be identified Tuesday because the robbers still had his keys.

The reservist said he asked the men, who all had hoods or hats covering their faces, if he could get up and they said he could before starting to walk away.

"The leader of the group actually walked back, gave me a quick fist bump, which was very strange," he said.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said the reservist is credible and that officers still were looking for the suspects Tuesday.

The reservist didn't realize until later that his keys were not with him and he doesn't know if the robbers intended to keep those, he said. Still, he said he feels lucky.

"I'm just kind of awe struck that everything was given back to me due to just being in the military, " he said. "I realize in pretty much every other situation that wouldn't happen."

He said he's never been deployed, only having signed up for the Army Reserves about a year ago. He said he is the first person in his immediate family to join the military.

Schwartz said there were two other incidents within 40 minutes in the same area and police suspect the four men were involved in all of them. The robbers were unsuccessful at 12:35 a.m., when the 39-year-old man they approached ran into the street and started screaming.

Schwartz said within 10 minutes of that they approached a 47-year-old man — a convicted burglar who had a Department of Corrections inmate ID in his wallet — ordered him to the ground and pointed a gun at him. They took his wallet, apparently unfazed by that ID.

Owning a story

I just looked at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's coverage of yesterday's troop sendoff and am smug to the point of obnoxiousness.

The Sun absolutely owned the story. Curt Hodges wrote a superb story, full of great quotes that flowed seamlessly. And, of course, my picture of Spc. Stephen Cunningham hugging his wife Rachel and wiping away a tear was a wonderful convergence of luck and readiness.

Nick Longworth, a staff photographer at The Indianapolis News back in the 1960s, once told a young reporter, "Don't ever get excited about a story you've written or a picture you took before it gets published because they'll always screw it up." Well, Nick, this time they got it right.

Today?

The FedEx tracking web site says my new Dell Studio XPS 8000 arrived at the Jonesboro FedEx facility at 5:47 a.m. today.

I'm hopeful that's early enough to make the daily home delivery schedule, in which case I should have a new desktop computer sometime today.

Heroes

I spent the breakfast hour in the company of heroes and their families this morning.

The scene was the Military Science Building on the Arkansas State University campus and the occasion was the sendoff of the 200 or so members of the 1037th Route Clearing Company. These are the people who have the daunting task of disposing of roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and they're being deployed to Afghanistan. They left this morning for a few weeks of training, preliminary to their shipping out to the combat zone.

This is the second or third deployment for most of the troops, but this time it's an even heavier burden for their families. This time the breadwinners are being yanked away in the middle of a deep recession and this time they're serving a commander-in-chief who often seems to care more about the enemy than he does his own troops. What was once a clearly defined mission has been muddled with waffling and indecision. And still, they answer the call to put their lives on the line for their country.

That's a level of sacrifice and patriotism I find humbling beyond words.

I'm honored to be able to use my camera to help tell their story.

From the Halls of Montezuma...

Today is the 234th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. It's a fitting time to remember the men who raised the first U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima.

Everybody knows about the second flag-raising, thanks to the Associated Press's Joe Rosenthal and his iconic photo.

Here are the guys who put up the first flag earlier that day, including Crawfordsville, Ind.'s own Phil Ward (D). If they had any class, the people of Crawfordsville would put up a statue of Phil like the did for Gen. Lew Wallace.

I had the great honor of having several telephone conversations with Ray Jacobs (G), who was the last surviving member of the group. Ray died last year.

Semper Fi!

To the fall of the Wall

Here's to a reunified Germany!

I knew my German reunification commemorative stein would come in handy some day and the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall is the perfect occasion to toast Deutschland with a stein full of Beck's Dark beer.

While the Wall came down 20 years ago today, the formal reunification of West and East Germany occurred on Oct. 3, 1990.

They had a helluva big party in Berlin. Too bad the Apologizer in Chief, who actually campaigned there last year, couldn't be troubled to attend.

Blah

I feel utterly blah today.

Maybe it’s the overcast sky, maybe it’s the letdown after Saturday night’s Congressional malfeasance, or maybe I’m just having a mild brush with the pig flu.

And did I mention how much I dislike being on the eastern edge of a time zone? The sun set at freaking 4:59 p.m. today. And it’s only going to get worse for the next six or seven weeks. NFW should it be dark at 5 o’clock. I first experienced this aberration several years ago when I visited a friend in Long Island in December. I didn’t like it then and I sure as hell don’t like it now.

Whatever it is, I’m feeling singularly uninspired. I think a week in Big Sur would help, but we don’t have the time or the spare change for something like that.

FedEx still projects a delivery tomorrow for my new computer. Since FedEx pretty much never gets to my house before noon, I should be home from my morning photo shoot in plenty of time to take delivery.

Quilt attack!

  Maria finished her Halloween Jack-o-lantern quilt top this afternoon, her current major quilting project.

Cool, huh?

November 2010 can’t come soon enough

Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., explaining why he reversed his earlier position and voted for Obamacare last night:

“I vote for this bill today to move the process forward, not to endorse its entire content.”

Turn in your Blue Dog Democrat credentials, Berry. Clean out your desk while you’re at it.

Veterans Day Parade

JONESBORO, Ark. - Veterans Day came early this year in Jonesboro.

The big Veterans Day parade up Main Street had the usual bands and dignitaries in cars, but it also included the 200 or so men and women of the 1037th Road Clearing Co. of the Arkansas National Guard. They leave next Tuesday morning for training, preliminary to shipping out to Afghanistan. These are the soldiers whose task it is to keep the Afghan roads clear of IEDs and other bad stuff.

They got a pretty good sendoff. The mayor was there, the Arkansas National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. William Wofford was   there, the Patriot Guard Riders were there, and of course we were there with a few thousand of our neighbors.

They're part of the ANG's 875th Engineer Battalion. Jonesboro welcomed the battalion home from Iraq about the time we moved here in 2007. This, then, is the second - and in some cases the third - deployment for members of the 875th.

As far as I'm concerned, they're all heroes. I only wish they served under a competent commander-in-chief who didn't put politics ahead of national security and the safety of our troops.

I'll be at the National Guard Armory with my camera when they ship out Tuesday morning and I'll wish them luck.

Here's my BMW-riding friend Charlie (on the left) bearing the Elks Lodge banner in the parade this morning.

Happy Birthday, Sean

My son Sean is 42 years old today. Time flies when you're having fun, eh?

He makes me proud.

Fuzzy math

I got an email from Dell at 3:57 a.m. today saying they've shipped my new Studio XPS 8000 desktop computer.

Dell says shipping will take 3-5 business days which would be Nov. 10-12, but they estimate delivery on or about Nov. 17. WTF?

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATE: 8 p.m.

The revised delivery date is next Tuesday (11/10). That's more like it.

Just like I imagined back in the ‘50s

Citizenship 101

Well, I did my bit.

I just sent the following email to my Congressman, Rep. Marion Berry:

Please vote AGAINST the pending Democrat-sponsored healthcare bill. Nancy Pelosi and President Obama can't keep you in Congress if you ignore the voices and best interests of your constituents. The political tide is turning and only the bluest of the Blue Dog Democrats will have a chance in 2010.

At last report, Berry indicated he would vote against Obamacare.

Email or call your Representative

Riding to Hastings

Here’s the last part of my ride in to Hastings this morning.

I’m a Twitter quitter

I signed up for a Twitter account a year or two ago, but quickly realized it just doesn’t fit with the way I use my Palm Treo 700p or with the rest of my routine.

In doing so, I have apparently avoided one of the great technological time-wasters of the decade. I know of scores of people who are obsessed with Tweets and how many followers they have and who they follow. If you listen to Leo Laporte’s tech podcasts or his radio show, you’ll get the impression that Twitter is a huge part of his life.

Sorry, I just don’t get it and I just don’t care. I have enough to do just coming up with mildly interesting content for this blog.

In fact, I mostly forget that I have a Twitter account until I get the occasional email telling me that some new stranger is now following me on Twitter. I got one such email this morning. I can guarantee that they will be bored and lose interest immediately, since I never Tweet. Never.