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Fatal Revenant (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 2)
By Stephen R. Donaldson
An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943 (The Liberation Trilogy, Vol 1)
By Rick Atkinson |
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Leaving Alaska
Monday, March 24 @ 21:20:00 EDT by Scott (300 reads) |  After three years, it's finally time to bid farewell to the most unique, amazing and awe inspiring piece of planet that I could ever imagine. It's hard to describe what Alaska is like, and I've only seen a tiny sliver of it. Words utterly fail when trying to convey the beauty or grandness of this land. Majestic is the word that comes to mind, but it's still not quite powerful enough.
A lot has happened to me in three years. I got promoted. I quit smoking after 22 years of addiction. I got myself somewhat in shape and can now jog two miles with no difficulty, and finally started making some progress with learning to play the drums. There is a lot that I will miss about Anchorage and Alaska. And there are a few things I won't miss...
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The Recession is Coming! The Recession is Coming!
Sunday, February 24 @ 20:00:00 EST by Scott (155 reads) |  And you know what that means! Time to start investing!!
Whoa, wait a tic there Scott. What the hell do you mean start investing?!? The economy is in the tank, the housing market is a smoking wasteland, the dollar is worthless and gas and oil prices are through the roof! I can't afford my regular monthly bills, never mind start investing. Well, you're right. The recent economy woes and high oil prices have caused a lot of people to cinch their money belts tighter and tighter. Maybe jumping straight into investing is a bit premature.
The fact is that you need money to make money. So we need to think about accumulating some money first. I'm willing to bet... hell I'm willing to guarantee that everyone reading this can manage to find $25-$50 every month to put toward savings. Impossible, you think. Well I'm also willing to bet that everyone reading this, doesn't really know where every penny of their money goes each month. It's amazing how people treat their money. Personal finances are often listed as one of the top five reasons for stress and causes for divorce. People fret and worry and agonize about money, and yet when they actually get cash in their hands, they go temporarily insane. The "smart" thing to do is pay down debt with the cash. The "not quite as smart, but still smart" thing to do with the extra cash is buy that plasma TV you've been wanting. Yet people consistently ignore the smart things to do, and think, "Now with this extra cash, I can put the plasma TV on credit, AND get a new couch!" Now you've got more stuff you don't truly need, AND you're deeper in debt! Two strikes with one pitch. Now is the time to take control of your money. The first step is finding out exactly where every red penny of your money is currently going.
And that my friends, is where most of us say, "Screw this counting pennies crap. I'm going to apply for another credit card." Well, counting pennies and writing down and categorizing every single purchase is so last decade. You're in the information age now, baby!!
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Checklists Will Be The Undoing Of Mankind!
Sunday, February 17 @ 18:50:00 EST by Scott (136 reads) |  Checklists are the bane of military life. And none are more soul-draining than the "out processing" checklists. Notice the plural in that last word. Yes, that's right. There's more than one. The first one nearly destroys your will to live and the second one makes you angry that you are still alive after the first one. The third one throws you a curve ball and makes you think you are actually starting to make some progress, while the fourth annihilates that false hope and serves as the final straw. About a third of the way through the fourth one is when I normally snap, and end up getting arrested for criminal misconduct because I'm on the flight line frantically waving a piece of paper at the F-22's taking off while screaming incoherently about dates, initials and "I've never even done any welding! Can't I just N/A this?!"
But all of that isn't the truly maddening part...
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Flat-Rate Care Packages
Monday, February 11 @ 12:42:07 EST by Scott (102 reads) |  Postal Service Offers First-Time Military Discount for New, Large Flat-Rate Box
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 -- Planning to send a care package to a U.S. military service member serving abroad? Send it after March 3 to take advantage of a new flat-rate box from the U.S. Postal Service that is 50 percent larger and delivered for $10.95 to an APO/FPO address -- $2 less than for domestic destinations.
"This is the first time the Postal Service has offered a special price for our armed forces serving overseas," said Postmaster General John Potter. "We're proud that family and friends will be able to use this new larger-sized box to send much appreciated packages from home to our dedicated troops overseas."
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Fifteen Years
Saturday, January 19 @ 21:30:00 EST by Scott (224 reads) | 
*Tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap*
"Don't be eyeballin' me boy, it's too early for this shit."
*Tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* *tap*
Thus began, at around 1AM on this day in 1993, my fifteen year adventure with the United States Air Force, which still continues. In the summer of 1992, thoughts about my future consisted solely of dread of having to get up at 3AM the next day to work the part-time breakfast shift at Hardee's, and looking forward to getting back to my room in Mom's house so I could smoke a bowl and watch TV. I had just graduated High School that spring. After that, in one long graduation party spent underage drinking for a week at Myrtle Beach, I managed to blow every red penny of a fairly significant amount of "starting your adult life" money gifted to me upon graduation.
One day that summer, as I was on my way out to mow the lawn, Mom asked me to sit down for a while and proceeded to give me a fairly long talking to. I'm sure there was a bunch of stuff in there about life, success, ambition, etc. I'm sure a lot of it was suppose to be inspirational or at least encouraging. But that's not what my 19 year old, long-haired, head banging, heavy metal, rebelling teenage brain heard. It heard something entirely different...
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A Lot Can Happen in 6 Months.
Monday, December 31 @ 16:55:00 EST by Scott (148 reads) |
Since the last update, I've been to Tampa Florida, Djibouti Africa, Harrisburg Pennsylvania (for 3 hours), and Oahu, Hawaii. As you might could imagine, I am wholly sick and tired of flying. Also since the last update, I've bought a new laptop, built a new computer system via Newegg.com, and found out that I'll be moving to Virginia in late March.
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