Motivation Monday

Daunting Task!

I don't even know how you'd go about doing this.  Talk about subjective!  But it is really interesting to go through the list and see how many you've seen, whether you agree or not with placement, or if a movie they've chosen should even be on the list.  But I have to say I agree with the top ten.  Here's the link to get to the site.  But be forewarned...this can consume some time.

Perspective

Feeling down?  Too much stress? Wondering what it all means?  Well...take a look at this.

Live your life.  Do your best every day.  Offer your love and hope for it in return.  Help your fellow man.  Be yourself and enjoy the ride.

In other words...don't worry, be happy!

No Easy Answers

Saw an interesting post over on FB in which an NYU student did a project about the evolution and some of the impacts of the U.S. "drone"  attacks.  Its an interesting video with some sobering statistics.  You can see it here.

I think it's pretty well done but three things stood out for me as missing.  The first is this...

We have a tendency to forget.  To move on.  To do what it takes to heal.  But the reality, at least for those of us who believe there are people in the world dedicated to killing us and destroying our way of life, is that there is still a war going on.  It is still a big bad world out there.

Which brings me to the second point.  We are in a war but we have no strategy.  It's all based on politics.  If you watch the video you will see the pace of drone attacks since 2002 (he conveniently doesn't acknowledge or speak of the attacks on 9/11/2001).  They clearly increase in pace when Obama became President.  Why is that?  I guess you could postulate many reasons, but to me it's clear that drone attacks in a far off land bear no (or very little) political risk.  It's an easy way to prosecute the war.  Of course, they've said the war is over.  And it's clear that they never believed in it anyway.  So why continue and even dramatically increase the attacks?  Again, it's easy and bears no political risk.  And if it doesn't clearly expose the lies and incompetency of the Obama and his cronies, I really don't know what does.  It is as clear as night following day.  And the professional military officers who are advising this course of action are complicit.  Their only reckoning is likely to be in the mirror, but it's there.

Third, and this may even be the worst, is the utter pass that the media continues to give Obama.  This is a clear dereliction of duty.  If he believes the war is over, so be it.  He's the CINC.  Then stop.  Stop the attacks.  This is not a just cause if we are not at war.  Full stop.  But they don't question him (or anyone in the administration) about this.  They just let it slide.  They don't ask about the IRS.  They don't ask about the NSA.  They don't ask about Benghazi.  They don't ask about vacations.  They don't ask about the debt.  They don't ask about anything substantive.  They are pathetic.  If the media, who have access and whose job it is to question the government, aren't doing it, who will?

Classy!!

Making School Fun!

Breakfast Anyone?

Friday Funnies

West Coast Rocks

This is pretty cool.  Admittedly narrow and subjective, it's still cool.  And I really like the hugely impactful brands in the three West coast states!

Inevitable

The times...they are a'changin.  The rulings today by the Supreme Court striking down provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act and in effect nullifying Proposition 8 in California indicate a bit of seismic shift.  I don't think I've seen any cultural shift as fast in my lifetime.  When the military lifted the ban on gays, i wrote a little ditty on it.  You can read it here.  Like many folks, I've evolved quite a bit.  Although for me, marriage really means a union between one man and one woman, who am I to dictate who loves who.  And it just comes down to fairness.  As I said in the previous post, fairness and equality are pretty fundamental to our democracy.  We have to uphold those principles.  

I worry though about the impacts to society.  I worry about kids being brought up in households with same sex parents.  I know, I know...it happens all the time and the kids are fine.  Plenty of examples can be trotted out.  And there are plenty of screwed up kids who are products of traditional households. But still, I have concerns.  And I worry about the cultural impacts.  These decisions will create more division.  And if there is anything we don't need, it's more division.  God knows the current crowd in power has used division to their advantage.  And I worry what it'll do to traditional churches.  Some will resist it forever.  Some will embrace it.  Some will try and accommodate it.  But it will have an impact.  The Christian church is in trouble.  Membership is dwindling.  This won't help.  I worry that the rest of the world will just see this as another example of American decadence and hold us in even more disdain.  For those of you who believe in the "kumbaya" theory of National Security Strategy, it's really a big, dirty, bad, world out there.  This change will not be met with open arms by billions of people around the world.  Obama has already taken us to a position of weakness and ineffectiveness in dealing with other countries.  This change could serve to only exacerbate that.  

But...the change has occurred.   We have spent an incredible amount of time on this and other cultural issues, which in the scheme of things, are pretty inconsequential.  In a better world, I'd hope that we can put this behind us and concentrate on the $17T debt, the crumbling infrastructure, the tragedy of a rising murder rate by handguns, homelessness, the disaster that is our National Security Strategy, etc, etc, etc. But I'm pretty sure that the media won't let that happen.  Tomorrow the Zimmerman trial will be front and center and whatever the latest gotcha is inside the beltway will be page one above the fold stories.  Our journalists are letting us down.  Wonder if they know it?

Wednesdays With Jimmy

I'm not sure there is anyone who has more fun at work than Jimmy!  This day at the office looks no different.  And he's right back home singing about the Pascagoula Run!

Motivation Monday

Fun

Been on both ends...they are both fun.  Would go back and do it again in a heartbeat!

A Lifetime Together

Stumbled on this the other day.  In this day and age of immediate gratification, this is pretty cool.

This Wouldn't Suck!

Times Have Changed

I don't normally yearn too much for "the good old days" but...

Great Toast

And a great excuse to have a drink with friends...

Cool Pic

Now this is what I call whale watching!

Friday Funnies

1969

Posted this over at FB so thought I might as well share here.  Stumbled on this old poster while doing some surfing.  Life was interesting in the Sixties.  As much American Grafitti as Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll.   3 of us went to the Newport Pop Festival in Northridge, Ca. At Devonshire Downs Racetrack.  200,000 people showed up.  I had a VW camper van with louvred windows and it was pretty cool.  Stayed in (or near) that.  $15 seemed like a lot but there were a lot of good bands.  I mean...a lot of good bands.  One group not listed but I distinctly remember showing up was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  I don't remember a lot of details...but I remember it being an unbelievably fun weekend...I mean, unbelievably fun!

You Think You've Got It Bad...

Life in your cubicle a drag?  Your boss an idiot?  Going nowhere?  Well...it could be worse!

Wednesdays With Jimmy

A short compilation this week...Pencil Thin Mustache, Grapefruit Juicyfruit, and a bit more.  Classics!

Cool Pic

Not the normal cool pic...but a good one nonetheless...

Motivation Monday

Incompetence

What else can it be?  Obama has shown an unbelievable lack of competence, especially sine the reelection.  The Benghazi thing has been horrible.  Four Americans dead.  No explanations.  No attempt to save them.  Stonewalling.  Then comes the IRS scandal.  Targeting conservative groups.  Lying.  Buffoons.  It was rogue agents in Cincinnati.  Huh?  Maybe not?  Destruction of trust on a massive scale.  And this resonates throughout govt.  And then the NSA scandal.  Surveillance on a massive scale.  Oh I know...it's not new news.  But the difference now is how much do you trust them?  Check this out...

And now Syria.  Even Maureen Dowd is calling him out on his incompetence.  Maureen Dowd!  The darling of the libs.  You can read it here.  90,000 people dead and were going to send some small arms and ammunition.  Is there a strategy in there somewhere, or is he just listening to polls?  And to show is indifference, incompetence, or cowardice (you can fill in the blank) he sends this guy, Deputy NSC Advisor, out to make the announcement while he "spent time at an LGBT Pride Month celebration, a Father’s Day luncheon and a reception for the W.N.B.A. championship Indiana Fever basketball team."  YGTBFKM!!

Friday Funnies

Looks like at least he had fun...

Leadership

This was posted by a friend on Facebook. Wow!  Clear, direct, responsible leadership.  Refreshing.  In this wishy, washy world I guess there is a little hope.

Naval Quotes

Stumbled on this list of quotes related to Naval service and traditions.  If you've been reading for any length of time,  you know I'd like these...

THE MARK TWAIN QUOTE

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off your bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.

Mark Twain

THE JFK ANNAPOLIS QUOTE

"I can imagine a no more rewarding career, and any man

who may be asked in this century what he did to make his

life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of

pride and satisfaction:

'I served in the United States Navy'

President John F. Kennedy

THE KELLY QUOTE

"Since 9-11 the mind set is totally dIfferent. We need to deploy, we need to live overseas, we need to be engaged. We can't just sit at home and tuck our tails in and hide."

Rear Adm. James Kelly

THE NIMITZ QUOTE

"It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it will not be fought on US soil."

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz

The TEDDY ROOSEVELT QUOTE

"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guarantee of peace."

President Theodore Roosevelt

JFK QUOTE (2)

"Control of the seas means security. Control of the seas means peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the sea if it is to protect our security."
President John F. Kennedy

THE ROYAL NAVY QUOTE
"The only traditions of the Royal Navy are Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash"
Sir Winston Churchill

THE SMITH QUOTE

"The United States Navy is the envy of every other navy in the world. They don't want to be like us - they want to be us."

Admiral Leighton Smith

THE WASHINGTON QUOTE

"Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious."

President George Washington

THE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT QUOTE

"Sailors have the cleanest bodies and the filthiest minds"

Eleanor Roosevelt

THE EMERSON QUOTE

"The wonder is always new that any man can be a sailor"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

THE CONRAD QUOTE

"There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting and enslaving than the life at sea."

Joseph Conrad

THE HURSTON QUOTE

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board."

Zora Neale Hurston

THE CHURCHILL DESTROYER QUOTE

"Building slow destroyers ! One might as well breed slow race horses"

Sir Winston S. Churchill

THE CHURCHILL SUBMARINE QUOTE

"Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariners."  

Sir Winston S. Churchill

THE JOHN PAUL JONES QUOTE

I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way.

John Paul Jones

THE ULYSSES S. GRANT QUOTE

"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where the enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on."

General Ulysses S. Grant

The POWELL QUOTE (on Submariners)

No one has done more to prevent conflict - no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace - than you, America’s proud missile submarine family. You stand tall among our heroes of the Cold War.”

General Colin Powell

THE REAGAN QUOTE (On the U S Marine Corps)

Some people live their entire lifetime and wonder if they ever made a difference to the world.... Marines don' t have that problem.

President Ronald Reagan - September 23, 1983

THE PRATT QUOTE

The Navy is much more than a job; much more than service to country. It is a way of life. It gets in your blood.

Albert Pratt, The Honorable Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1955

THE AMERICAN SAILOR

"I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean, and will guard her forever. 

I am her heritage, and yours.  I am the American Sailor."

Anon

Wednesdays With Jimmy

It's that time again.  This week's song isn't an original with Jimmy, but he has taken to singing it at a lot of concerts and it gets everyone up and dancing.  Come on...get up and dance!

Pet Peeve

I had this fun little weekly thing I did a while back called Pet Peeve Wednesday.  But it turned out that I didn't really have that many pet peeves so it sort of ran it's course.  Plus I'm sort of a positive kind of guy and I don't like to be all that negative.  But...that doesn't mean that something doesn't happen that stirs me to think about a pet peeve now and then.  And so it goes.

Lately, I've noticed this phenomenon that people have to check, recheck, and continually recheck their Blackberries, iPhones, or whatever...constantly.  And I mean Like every 10 seconds.  Like every single time it buzzes.  Like it's a life or death message, or the President is calling, or instructions are coming thru on how to get rich quick.  Now I've been in boring meetings with a lot of people when it's irresistible to check your phone for emails.  Discreetly.  below the table.  I get that, especially in big meetings.  But if you're one-on-one or in a small group, let it be.  It will wait.  Checking your phone in a small group meeting or one-on-one is just plain rude.  It disrespects the people you're talking to and makes them think you don't value your time with them.  That they just aren't that important. STOP!

And BTW, a word to the wise.  Just because the phone company gives you a holster to wear on your belt doesn't mean you need to use it.  Just in case you don't realize it, wearing your phone on your belt makes you look like the ultimate nerd.  So unless you're going for the geek look, slip the phone in your pocket.

Faith in Humanity

Saw this story on a random web site.  Don't know if it's true, but if so it's pretty cool...

So my mom and I have been working the same waitress job for 5-6 years now. She had been waitressing years before, but this is recently. Anyway, about… 15 minutes ago this guy she waited on left and told her to take care. Just that. Prior to this she had talked to him about Italy. Her people are from Florence, this and that, and she said she’s never been. She’s got 8 years of art education and she’s working a waitress job. It’s pretty… Sad and disappointing, I guess. Her and my father divorced 6 years ago and she hasn’t had a real job ever. Just been stuck in a small town she’s not from.

This man who we have never seen before tipped her 1000 dollars for a trip to Italy. Walked out, not another word.…you know. Just when I start to lose faith in humanity….Hm.

Motivation Monday

Trust

It seems like the whole political class is unraveling...or maybe it's just me.  Over the course of the last several weeks we have been treated to revelations about the ongoing aftermath of the disgraceful Benghazi incident (incident seems like too small of a word), the IRS going after groups of a certain political persuasion (conservative of course), and then the latest dust up with the NSA doing what appears to be an overreach in the electronic eavesdropping area.  Of course, the spin-masters are out in full force.  But this is something we've come to expect.  There is always an explanation, mitigating circumstances, blame Bush, blah, blah, blah.  The appointment of Susan Rice as National Security Advisor is the surest sign that the Administration is in a full blown war.  This has to be the biggest "f**k you" nomination in history.

But through it all, the thing they don't get is that the loss of trust is the biggest, most grave loss they can experience.  The American people are a forgiving bunch.  They'll give the guy at the top a lot of slack if they fundamentally trust him to do the right thing.  But that is eroding.  No one can look at what has been happening to the Administration (by their own doing) over the past few weeks and months and not have at least some doubt about their honesty.  And that could be their undoing!

Cool Pic

We were here today.  Rainbow Falls in the Eastern Sierra about two miles past Devil's Postpile.  Spectacular!!

Friday Funnies #2

Couldn't resist...

June 6, 1944

One photo says it all.  Most are gone.  The debt is huge!  Never forget.

Friday Funnies

Not funny haha...funny tragic!!!

Wednesdays With Jimmy

Fruitcakes!

Pretty Good List

I'm a reader.  A voracious reader.  Like all kinds of books.  Saw this list on a website and thought if you were looking for a list of good books, this is pretty good.

Dinner Anyone?

Don't know where this is but I'd sure not mind sitting down for a nice meal there...

Spot On

I haven't posted much lately about all the scandals, the shenanigans happening to Obama and his minions.  One reason is I can barely keep up.  I mean, it's like a deluge.  A comedy...no, a tragedy.  I can never remember such bumbling...such willful disdain...such arrogance.  I've certainly posted plenty of times since I started the blog about my disappointment with Obama.  So much potential...so little to show for it.  The other reason I haven't posted much is that there are others far more eloquent than me who do this for a living.  One guy who makes a lot of sense to me in his writings is Victor Davis Hansen.  I came across something he wrote recently and thought to myself that I could have written it...if I could write that well.  You can read it here.  This article just hits the nail on the head.  There are a ton of good quotes but this really resonates with me:

"Never has a president so mastered the teleprompter — no easy task in itself — with just the right pauses, followed with a timely ratcheting up of passion, punctuated with a half-smile, a grimace, a laugh. Never has a president mastered both the art of empty bluster and the art of bowing. Never has a president so mastered the patois and cadences of an intended audience: with corporate CEOs, he sounds like a Ivy League Citibank exec; with foreign-policy types, he can out-authenticate the multicultural experts with accentuation like “the Taleeeban” and “Pakeeestan.” Among African-Americans, he drops his g’s, affects the slight drawl of the South, inserts an old-time Southern colloquialism, and follows the mannerisms of a Rev. Wright thundering at Trinity Church ^[1]. Among Latinos, the “r” is rolled, and accent marks fall in the proper places, better than any third-generation Latino evening-television newsreader."

Motivation Monday

Another Navy Pilot Joke

A NAVY PILOT walks into a bar and takes a seat next to a very attractive woman. He gives her a quick glance then casually looks at his watch for a moment.
The woman notices this and asks, "Is your date running late?"
"No," he replies, "I just got this state-of-the-art watch, and I was just testing it."'
The intrigued woman says, "A state-of-the-art watch? What's so special about it?"
The NAVY PILOT explains, "It uses alpha waves to talk to me telepathically."
The lady says, "What's it telling you now?"
"Well, it says you're not wearing any underwear.."
"The woman giggles and replies, "Well it must be broken because I am wearing underwear!"
The NAVY PLOT smirks, taps his watch and says, "Damn thing's an hour fast."

"You Had Me At Hello"

Sitting around last night looking for something worthwhile on TV.  Not much out there.  But in the course of looking, I came across "Jerry Maguire".  Fun movie.  I had forgotten much of it and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Cuba Gooding Jr was hilarious.  And watching it again several years after the first time, it was interesting to see the subtle messages embedded in the movie.  I can sometimes be a sentimental boob, but this scene got to me the first time and I thought it was just great when I saw it again last night.