12 Years Later

It's hard to believe that twelve years has gone by since 9/11/01.  We invaded Afghanistan, Iraq, bombed Pakistan, Yemen, and Libya, engaged in multiple raids, including one that killed Osama Bin Laden.  Fears of terrorism seem to have faded to background noise.  War seems to be the normal state of affairs.  The TSA has sometimes mindbogglingly foolish rules, which only seem to reduce our dignity without truly increasing our security.  I got married, had kids, buried my father and my father-in-law, moved three times, and changed jobs twice.  I have been to war and came back with minimal scars despite some close calls and foolish risks.  I guess I don't have much to say these days, since this blog has been so dormant.  I just felt the need to say something on this anniversary.  I guess the emotional shock has faded and the trivial, tedious parts of life have once again taken up most of my attention on a daily basis.

She's got the big guns...

On my recent trip to an undisclosed location, I managed to visit the USS Missouri Memorial. It was a nice tour, especially if you like warships with 16" guns (that's 406.4 mm to you SI types). I took some photographs with the phone. Check them out.

This is what you see as you approach the ship from the port side. You can never fly too many US flags.

This photo is from the bow, near the anchor chains, looking aft toward 6 of the biggest mobile guns in the world.

This next shot is looking forward over the guns from the bridge wings. The white structure is the Arizona Memorial.

Here is a photo of the plaque embedded in the deck marking the location where the representatives of the Empire of Japan signed the instrument of surrender before the representatives of the Allied Powers, marking the end of World War II.

Where did the last two months go?

Huh. It has been more than two months since I wrote something here. Where did the time go?

Helped family move to temporary housing, found daycare, then left family went back to work.

Worked a few extra hours.

Helped family find a house to live in long term, then left family and went back to work.

Worked too many hours trying to get an airplane ready to fly.

Went back to see family for Independence Day, helped with unpacking and moving of heavy objects. Saw some fireworks, hung out with kids, then left family and went back to work.

Worked a stupid amount of hours but finally got airplane in the air.

Keep having to work weekends, so have not seen family in a month. Major suck factor.

Occasionally babbled on twitter. Waiting for work to slow down so I can get back out for a visit.

Survived Disneyworld

Travelled to Florida for a few days with the family. We survived running around WDW with our 3 year old and 2 year old children. This is not for the feint of heart, nor for those out of shape. The kids violated the laws of thermodynamics by expending more energy than they took in while accumulating size and mass. Note: WDW is getting truly creepy with finger print scanners, hard plastic tickets that double as room keys and credit cards (they have your name on them). No obviously armed guards, but the Animal Kingdom park had some serious external security (barbed wire fences and vehicle barriers).

Driving Across America

Day 1:
Drove from Windsor, CT to Hagersburg, MD
Highlights
-released cats from cages, no collisions or rollovers resulted
-cats don't like cars but they seem to tolerate it
-babies do not like car seats
-babies set the travel schedule, daddies do not
-the Clarion Hotel in Hagersburg sucks
-the Clarion seemed to be hosting some sort of large contingent of Muslims (less than 100 miles from DC)

Day 2:
Drove from Hagersburg, MD to Knoxville, TN
Highlights
-saw some really large satellite dishes in Northern, VA but could not tell which government agency owned the site
-Virginia countryside is nice-lots of mountains and such

Day 3:
Drove from Knoxville, TN to Little Rock, AR
Highlights
-ate lunch in Nashville, TN
-ate dinner in Memphis, TN, did not meet Elvis
-slept in Little Rock, AR (resisted urge to leave stained blue dress at Clinton Library)

Day 4:
Drove from Little Rock, AR to Fort Worth, TX
Highlights
-not much to see on the road between Little Rock and Dallas
-got french fries in Hope, AR, the birthplace of Bill Clinton
-saw Dallas, TX from the road, but did not stop