Best grandmother ever.

18 10 2009

Scan0001My grandmother passed away this past Friday.  She was a great woman who had an amazing life.  During WWII she served as a transport truck driver as Chatham Air Base in Georgia.  I can remember her telling me stories about how she used to drive crews of B-24 bombers to and from their aircraft.

Apparently, while driving across the runway to get the crews to their planes, there was some system of traffic control to keep planes and ground vehicles from occupying the same space.  Well, one day apparently both my grandmother and the pilot of a landing B-24 thought they got a green light to proceed.  The plane got close enough to my grandmother’s truck that the crew she was transporting all leaped out the back and over the sides.  My grandmother, unfazed, thought it amusing that these guys were so jumpy.  After all, she had everything under control and it wasn’t like the plane landed on the truck or anything.

After the war, she moved up north (the only vestiges of Southern culture that have been passed on to me are a tendency to say ‘y’all’ and an enduring love of grits), and opened up a business by herself which she ran for 30 years.

Growing up on a farm down South with five brothers guaranteed she wouldn’t be delicate.  I can remember her shoveling gravel, stacking firewood and cutting down trees well into her seventies as well as getting so angry at a black bear destroying her bird feeders that she chased the thing away armed with nothing except a pot and a wooden spoon.

And, of course, she spoiled me mercilessly.  I could do no wrong in her eyes and she indulged my every whim and wish.  She had the patience of Job, taking me to the “Pocono Snake Farm” (the very name was like crack to a little boy) and doing her best to stuff me to the gills with Nilla Banana Pudding.

Well, here’s to you mom-mom…Truly a life well lived.





23 years ago

15 10 2009

I, a scrawny 18 year old kid, began my basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey.  It was touch and go if I would complete it.  I picked up a case of pneumonia six weeks in and was terrified that they’d pull me out and put me in another, later class.  I did make it through, however, wheezing and popping antibiotics the whole way through.





Happy 4th!

1 10 2009

Today marks the fourth year that we at Travels with Shiloh world headquarters have been operating with WordPress.  I’ve been blogging a couple of years before that but the origins of that original project is now lost in the virtual dust.  In that time I’ve churned out 737 posts of widely varying (but hopefully generally improving) quality and subject matter with peaks and valleys of enthusiasm.  To those of you who are loyal readers (not you, mom, you’re kind of obligated to read), thanks for the comments, hat tips, ideas and inspiration.  To those who’ve stumbled here (even the ones who came here looking for information about a ‘Tango and Cash’ remake or the ‘hockey dildo video’), welcome and hopefully you’ll find something interesting enough to keep you coming back.

I kinda doubt it for the dildo video person though…

My most popular post (by far) is this one.  An attempt to describe the difference between tactical, operational and strategic levels of intelligence and operations.  Enjoy.





Pedal power

17 09 2009

A couple of weeks ago Peter over at the Strategist, set a challange for himself to see where he could leave his car in the driveway and find alternate modes of transportation on his various travels.  Inspired, I decided to try a similar experiment by biking to work this week.  I’m pretty fortunate in that I don’t live too far from where I work (at least compared to many commuters) and virtually the entire route can be done on a trail along the Delaware-Raritan canal so I don’t have much vehicular traffic to deal with.

So, Tuesday I got up and out early.  The weather was perfect.  Just cool enough to prevent overheating.  It took my an hour and six minutes to bike the nearly 13 miles to work.  That experience, and the ride home, taught me some important lessons.

  1. It’s amazing how much the internal combustion engine really changes the way we live.  13 miles isn’t a far distance yet how many people lived that far from where they worked 100 years ago?  Not only did the travel take three times longer than when I drive but I had to seriously consider what to bring with me.  My backpack was filled with a change of clothes and a light lunch.  By comparison, I usually bring a bag stuffed with material and a lunch bag (with an occasional mug of tea).  I never really think about how much I’m shlepping back and forth because I don’t need to.  The car’s not working any harder one way or another.  I could get saddlebags for my bag to increase my carrying capacity but that I would need to work harder to get from A to B.  I suppose this is the argument in favor of a horse or mule.
  2. As fun as this was I can see how it would get really old.  Inclement weather would raise all sorts of difficulties ranging from annoyances to making the trip impossible.  Besides, I find it hard to imagine facing an hour bike ride home after, say, getting one of my trademark migraines.
  3. The experience was great in that it gave me time to clear my mind, get my blood flowing and prepare for the day ahead.  It was perfect for listening to audiobooks, which my morning commute is usually too short for.  Biking, at least for me, requires less thought and concentration to maintain a decent pace than running so I can concentrate on what’s being said instead of just thinking about keeping pace to a steady beat.
  4. The need to consider the terrain you’re passing through is much more important when you aren’t encased in a metal box with wheels.  There was a route available to me that would have been a couple of miles shorter than the one I took but I avoided it because it was a shady area.  I drive through there every day and there’s no problem.  Biking through it with headphones on though is a bit more risk than I’m prepared accept.

So, I don’t think I could do this with any sort of regularity that would meaningfully contribute to lowering my carbon footprint but it was a damn good workout.





Ok, this ain’t the Philippines…

2 09 2009

and I’m not MacArthur but I have returned nonetheless.  The good news is that my brief vacation to the nation which brought us such examples of Western civilization as the Carl Gustav recoilless rifle, fermented herring in a can, and three of the five members of the infamous bikini team has given me a great deal to write about.

So much, in fact, that I’m in a bit of a quandry as to where to start (that’s the bad news).  But, somehow I’ll muddle through.

I’ll begin with a few observations:

I don’t believe in Hell but if it does exist I’m sure a part of it resembles Newark International Airport.  From its overpriced…everything to its completely useless security precautions this airport has little going for it except the fact that you can get just about anywhere from there.  I used to enjoy going to the airport and flying.  Now I loathe it.  Having to wind my way through cattle chutes while attempting to juggle my carry on, boarding pass, shoes and all mattalic objects that could possibly set off the alarm is about as dehumanizing as you could get for $600.  Then you realize that the cattle chute would be a great way to funnel the blast of an explosion but take some comfort in knowing that at least no one will get on board the plane with more than 3 oz. of toothpaste.

Oh, and if you want to know why people try to sneak into the country illegally, just come through Newark customs.  Heck, I’d prefer wading across the Rio Grande rather than have to put up with those surly immigration people.  Welcome to America, you jerk!

I packed a lot of reading material with me on this trip, some of which I’ll write about in future posts but while waiting for my plane to start boarding I read “WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION” a academic paper by some Canadians who are (ostensibly) trying to show the value of mathematical modelling but (really) are trying to warn humanity about the upcoming zombie invasion.  Money quote:

An outbreak of zombies infecting humans is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead. While aggressive quarantine may eradicate the infection, this is unlikely to happen in practice. A cure would only result in some humans surviving the outbreak, although they will still coexist with zombies. Only sufficiently frequent attacks, with increasing force, will result in eradication, assuming the available resources can be mustered in time.

…an outbreak of zombies will result in the collapse of civilisation, with every human infected, or dead. This is because human births and deaths will provide the undead with a limitless supply of new bodies to infect, resurrect and convert. Thus, if zombies arrive, we must act quickly and decisively to eradicate them before they eradicate us.

In short…zombies=bad

Note to self:  Reconsider work on my zombie worker program.  Might be unforseen consequnces.

On brighter news, I think I can now safely say that Stockholm is my favorite large city.  At least in the summer months.  I haven’t yet experienced the city when it’s 30 degrees and has 6 hours of daylight but I’m guessing that might tarnish the luster a bit.  But in the nice months (June through August at least) it’s fantastic.





Out to lunch…

19 08 2009

I will be travelling for the rest of the month and so expect blogging to be somewhere between non-existant and sporadic between now and September.

Use the time to smell the flowers, pet a dog or checking out some of my achieved posts.  Many are like a fine wine which only gets better with age.

Peace, out!





My last word on these shoes

13 08 2009

OK, this is the last thing I’ll say about my Vibram Five Fingers.  They continue to feel great running (I’m running longer distances than I normally do – nothing spectacular 4-5 miles instead of 2-3 but still) but they were also advertised as suitable for climbing and so I tried them out at a local climbing gym.

Now a brief caveat.  I’m a casual climber.  I go every two weeks or so and don’t manage anything more than moderately difficult climbs.  I don’t own my own equipment and don’t know the jargon (or even if there is specific jargon).  That being sid, the shoes worked surprisingly well.  I can see how a serious climber wouldn’t like them since they are much more flexible than regular climbing shoes but I never felt like I needed more from my shoes during my climbs.  They provided great grip and traction and held on to the smallest toe holds just fine.

Oh…and they’re also great for yoga.  No need to screw around with those lame mats anymore.





The worst possible age

10 08 2009

I was out looking to buy a gift for my nephew and quickly came to realize that 2 years old must be the worst possible age.  All the toys seem to either be for kids younger or older, if you follow the age recommendations.  Rattles are too basic and legos are too advanced.

So, the next time I feel old age creeping up on me and giving me a strange new pain I can at least take satisfaction in the fact that I’m not 2 anymore.





Getting out in the great outdoors

8 08 2009

Way back in 2000, I decided I wanted to do something cool and outdoorsy.  I had probably read an article out wilderness survival schools and found Tom Brown Jr’s Tracker School was right in my backyard.  Well, not exactly in my backyard.  That would be weird that I didn’t notice it earlier and probably violate some zoning laws but it was relatively close.

Now, I had never heard of Tom Brown before attending the school and in that I was in a definately (very, very small) minority.  The class was well attended with, I’m guessing, well over 100 people there, some from as far away as Australia and Europe.  To my surprise, some of those who came the farthest weren’t really that interested in learning wilderness survival skills but were really interested in hearing about Brown’s philosophy and stories about ‘Grandfather’ (a Native American who supposedly imparted all sorts of knowledge to Brown as a young boy).

Ok, first I’ll say that the course was a great deal of fun and the wilderness skills were great.  We lived in tents for a week, ate communally, learned how to build shelters and start fires with sticks.  Totally cool.

Unfortunately, these cool classes were punctuation with philosophy classes that seemed to be a mix of new age thinking, christian inspired spiritualism, with some cultish overtones.  For example, our first day there rumors began spreading that Tom might not make an appearance (most of the course was taught by assistants) because he was ill.  Finally, in the evening, hours after he was scheduled to appear Tom made it to the stage.  My impression was that Tom was a very good actor.  He knew how to pause for effect, work his (sympathetic) audience through a range of emotions and (de)emphasize his ‘illness’.  My only complaint was that the whole thing seemed too rehearsed.  He delivered his entire presentation (probably an hour long) without a stumble or a pause to select the right word.  He bowled through the whole thing like he was reading off of a teleprompter.

It wasn’t his style which nagged at me thought, it was the content of his presentation.  Towards the end of his talk he said (this isn’t an exact quote but close enough):

I know you.  You’ve never fit in.  No one has ever understood you.  You’ve been an outcast without friends.  Well, I’m hear to tell you that you’ve got friends now.  You’ve got a family.  You’re part of something.

It seemed so much like such an obvious attempt to manipulate the audience I didn’t think anyone would buy into it.  Boy, was I wrong.

Throughout the week, while talking about tracking or wild edibles, someone would ask a question like Brown’s writings were some sort of scripture.  They parsed the books and saying like they all contained hidden answers to the questions of life.

It was getting a bit creepy.

Then, I began to see how Tom and his assistants kept drawing parallels between Tom and the story of Christ.  For example:

  • Tom learned all his skills from ‘Grandfather’ a mysterious father-figure (not his biological father) who was described more as a spiritual entity than a physical one.  (Grandfather being a substitute for God and Tom for Christ).
  • When Tom was learning at the side of Grandfather, he was joined by Rick a childhood friend and biological grandson of Grandfather.  Rick apparently died while a child.  (Similar to the trinity?)
  • After Grandfather’s death, Tom went into the wilderness and rejected society where he had prophesies about the end of the world.  (Just like Jesus)
  • Once Tom returned to society he selected 12 students to pass on the wisdom of Grandfather (Really?  12 Disciples?  How obvious can you make it?)
  • After Tom achieved some success (entirely on his terms, of course) he was tempted by the materialistic world.  He not only resisted but brought enlightenment to those who had been cut off from the natural world.  (See Satan’s temptation of Christ)

Now, I’m an atheist and haven’t read the bible since I was an undergraduate but it seemed so obvious that I don’t know if the ‘coincidences’ could be any more transparent if there was a big neon sign declaring ‘Any resemblance between Tom Brown and the Son of God is entirely intentional accidental’.

And yet, people were as entranced as the ones you see with the televangelists speaking in tongues or claiming to be healed.  On more than one occassion people were openly weeping upon hearing Tom, reveling in some sort of revealed knowledge they thought there were receiving.

On the final day, some of the staff were speaking about the wonders of Tom’s philosophy and the benefits of becoming volunteers.  Then, one lady stood up to speak and told us her story.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  She described a period in her life where she was totally depressed and found no meaning to her life.  She went from one emotionally empty day to the next with no hope.  Then one day, she was in her kitchen and decided to eat an apple.  Once she took a bite of the apple she said she heard the most beautiful sound she had ever heard and the apple said (!) ‘Thank you for giving me purpose.’  Shortly thereafter, she found Tom Brown’s school and her life had been bright and better since she had reestablished her connection to the earth.

People were weeping and applauding while I was thinking.  ‘Oh my god.  This woman had some sort of psychotic break and people are congratulating her for it.  What she needed was probably some therapy not enabling.’

So I left with some mixed feelings.  Seperating the goofy spiritual mumbo-jumbo left you with a pretty good wilderness course.  It was hard to escape the feeling, however, that the spiritual talk was a hook in order to get people to give something up to the cause.





Running update

6 08 2009

Just an update on my experience with my new, smurf-like Vibram Fivefingers that I wrote about recently.  After a couple weeks of trail running I wanted to see how running in them compared to running in my regular running shoes in terms of speed.  So I headed off to my local park where they have a two mile course (because, really, there’s only one reason to care about how fast you run).

Much to my surprise, I completed the course in the same time (slightly faster, actually) running on pavement and my feet/legs felt fine afterwards.

So, now the question is do I brave the ridicule of my fellow Guardsmen by trying these things things at my next PT test?