This is my general discussion / rant / whatever blog. You probably won't like it if you are a religious fundamentalist, extremely devout in a non-fundamentalist sect, extremely right or left wing, a believer in conspiracy theories, a believer in quackery alternative medicine (especially homeopathy, and chiropractic), or are cephalopodophobic (afraid of nautilus, squid, octopus and cuttlefish). However, if you can handle rational discussion, you're welcome.
This is a link to my amateur radio blog. The blog contains links to Google Earth plots of my QSOs, and articles and opinion relating to amateur radio. As much as possible, I keep politics, religion, and non-amateur radio discussion off my amateur radio blog.
I love finding this stuff on the web. If you click on the picture you'll be shuffled off to Animal Planet. Watch the video.
It's a vid of a diver breaking what I understand is the cardinal rule of diving: don't poke into holes with anything you can't afford to lose (like your hand, or your face).
It's interesting that the octopus goes for the mask. Although attacks by large cephalopods are quite rare, a common theme is that they go for the mask and regulator. I think that denotes a level of cunning that is rather scary.
For those unaware, I spent the last week in the hospital. I'm out now, so no worries. According to some people I chatted with and some staff from other parts of the hospital, I was assigned to the "Floor of Hot Nurses". Apparently, I had the generally recognized "hottest nurse in the hospital" attending me for a day.
I can't say I disagree with the general assessment of nurse hotness on the floor.
It's 8/10, and that means it's the start of International Cephalopod Appreciation Days! This is the day when we all give thanks that cephalopods have not yet figured out how to eject us from the planet and take over think about our cephalopod friends (often over a plate of calamari rings).
This year, rather than being a one-day event it's spread over 3 days. Today is officially Octopus Day being the date most related to the number of arms of the recognized cephalopod.
I originally found Mr. Deity through other blogs, but I've been watching the series (they're on season 3 now with about 10 episodes per season) and most of them are pretty funny. If you like it, I encourage supporting them if you have the means.
To watch them all you can click through to Youtube and poke around, or visit their web site at http://www.mrdeity.com
Eric sent this to me, I guess it's circulating in email. Rather than forward it on that way, I thought it deserved a more permanent space on the internet:
"I sure wish they'd invent something to keep the sun out of my eyes."
That thought goes through my head every time I see someone with their hat on backwards. I never expected to see this sort of thing captured in a photo though. Deep down I sort of thought that everyone was bright enough to turn their hat around when, say, it was actually needed to keep the sun of one's face.
I notice that the two guys beside him seem to have the mental acumen to figure out how the hat works.
... I spent a lot of time on the parade square in the first few years. Despite what it may seem, it can take a bit of effort to learn how to march in a formation - an effort that isn't so intuitive when you're a lanky and relatively uncoordinated teen who has never had to do anything like that before. Eventually, I got it of course, but not until after marching the equivalent of thousands of miles up and down the parade square.
Of course, once you've seen Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, as I did not long after I joined the military in 1983, all parade square activity really does seem like this, and it's hard to keep a straight face. Giggling on the square gets you more square time, naturally.
At Royal Roads Military College, our Sergeant Major would give a big speech at the first parade practice every year (if you're not military, you may not realize that they do practice for marching) which would culminate in his revelation to the cadet wing that although drill may seem like bullshit, we do it because "we're preparing for waaaaaar!"
In first year, that was sort of an ooo-ahh sort of speech. In second year, I remember stifling a little chuckle. In third year I had to fake a cough. In fourth year I was out in front of 3 Squadron and burst out laughing, but quickly gained enough composure to fake an illness and avoid what would certainly have been an unpleasant trip to a one-sided discussion in front of some senior officer.
The cadet wing duty officer at Royal Roads was responsible for the evening "Corrective Drill" punishment. On one of my many tours in that role, I re-enacted that skit for the 25 or so first-year cadets on corrective drill that night. The few who recognized the skit filled the roles of the people who got to leave. The other 20 or so did not and got to march up and down the square :) oh well.
On a formal parade one Sunday, our Commandant was making his speech as is normal for these events. During the course of the parade, a house across Esquimalt lagoon had burst into flame. On the march pasts, we all got to see (as we rounded the square and got a moment or two facing that direction) the smoke, then the flames. Of course we could hear the fire trucks approach. It was VERY distracting... you want to maintain your discipline, but you have that urge to look eating at you. Fortunately, the Commandant seemed to be aware and told us to just turn around and have a good look. We got a minute or so to watch, then steadied up and went back about the business of the parade. That memory sticks in my mind.
Those were the days... Are sergeants major even allowed to raise their voices to their charges any more?
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