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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Cool, huh?
Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., explaining why he reversed his earlier
“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.
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 
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.
He makes me proud.
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.
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.
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.
Maria’s BMW K75S, a sunny autumn afternoon and a helmet cam on a ride up Crowley’s Ridge in northeast Arkansas.
The sound sensitivity on the camera is set too low, which is why you can’t her me say, “Let’s go for a ride on Crowley’s Ridge” at the beginning of the video.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (center in gray jacket) and some friends out for a ride in northern Indiana. I’d love to see him in the White House.
The sun is shining, I’ve ridden the K75S into town, it’s a glorious day and the world looks remarkably brighter than it did a year ago on the day after the election.
The day after the 2008 election was also a motorcycle day for me - a gloomy road trip through the cotton and rice fields to Blytheville and back to take my mind off of what I was sure meant catastrophe for the U.S.
But maybe it was a blessing in disguise because Obama has repeatedly stepped on his dick as he dropped his centrist mask and revealed his true Marxist nature.
Americans have reacted with Tea Parties, a massive march on Washington, a flood of email, mail and phone calls to Congress, huge donations to conservative causes, skyrocketing ratings for FOX News and plummeting ratings for MSNBC, CNN and the three major networks.
Incumbent Democrats, especially those from conservative states like Arkansas and Indiana, were put on notice yesterday that their president and party’s headlong rush to socialism generated a savage backlash that promises to stop the craziness and undo the damage of the past 10 months when we go to the polls in November 2010.
Nobody believes the White House spin that yesterday’s election results are meaningless. Obama arguably did more damage than good when he campaigned for Democrats in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races. And the fact that an independent conservative candidate could chase a liberal Republican out of the race and only lose to the Democrat by 3 percentage points is equally telling.
Yes, I truly believe the tide is turning and by this time next year we will be rid of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, either through defeat at the polls or a GOP majority in the House and Senate.
And I also believe that Obamacare and the ruinous deranged Cap and Trade are dead.
The only thing better would be to see Pelosi, Dodd, Frank, Rangel, Geithner, and all of the other sleazebags in the Obama administration in orange prison jumpsuits.
Now that would be real Hope and Change.
Google AdSense, the outfit what puts those little ads under the most recent three posts on my blog, says I'm just 57 cents away from getting a $100 payout - my way of pretending that this blog pays for itself.
I sure would be grateful if you'd click on one, two or all three of the ads. You don't have to buy anything and you won't get a virus or spyware, but you will help put me over the top.
Thanks, in advance, for any clicks you can spare.
