Simplifying the Fraction

I distinctly remember saying to myself in highschool "Maxx, you're not college material." Maybe it was my junior year, maybe my senior year, the thought crossed my mind numerous times both years, and not to my surprise it still lurks in my mind.

Discouraging is not the word to match my frustration. Part of me feels like I have grown as a person and a learner but I haven't. Yes I joined the military to get away. Right now it seems as if only for that reason. Abandoning my problems and heading west has not been the way out. I still deal with the same things now as I did then; humility, envy, desire, simplifying fractions, weight, poor time management and frustration. It is as if I have only added onto my persona without losing any of the traits that hold me back. Perhaps it is just my make up and some things I can never releave which I expect.

I would sit in AP English & SUPA, Algebra II & Statistics and feel stupid because I was behind everyone else. I would try my hardest, at least what I thought at the time was my hardest and nothing seemed to work. After being pushed down for four years the last thing my heart and mind wanted was to be pushed down for another four years. My intelligence is not high. I was raised to listen to instructions, to obey directions and that is what I did in school not making me smart just dutiful.

When it comes down to it I am studying for the SAT which I took in high school and received such a poor score that I neglected putting it to memory. I need the SAT to get into the Academy which is right now all I can focus on. As I study, it is remphasized to me how I am not college material.

the Air Force Ball

One T-38 Fighter behind me

SSgt Wild & I at the Air Force ball.

The General does need his sword!

Did any of you ever have the experience of seeing your school teachers in an unprofessional setting outside of the classroom? Maybe you see them at a restaurant throwing back a few with other educators? One time I saw my english teacher in a mosh pit at a concert. You forget they are normal people.

Officers in the military are viewed in a similar manner. Generals and colonels who are the commanders of fleets of fighter jets, nuclear weapons, trained killers, brigades of medics and more must be professional while in the public eye right? *Except when they are at the air force ball!*

These people were insane, they made college fraternity & sorority parties appear tamed. As an honor guardsman I presented the colors, did the POW/MIA table and presented the General with his sword. The night had its highs and lows i. e. the prime rib could have been better but the band was at its own level of awesome. That is the only complaint that I can think of. Once the band got started the officers started dancing, these are 38+ year old people who had their wives/dates dancing on the tables, sucking face on the dance floor and grinding like drunken college freshmen. The Cheif on base did the worm for god sake. The other honor guardsmen and I (who are enlisted) could not believe the outrageousness of the general grade and feild grade officers.

My good friend Lacy and I danced the night away and it was absolutely the funnest thing I have done so far on Beale AFB. I forgot how much I really like dancing and supposedly people tell me I am good at it so that was nice.

Oh and I am going to Washington D.C. for two weeks with SSgt Wild who is one of the coolest cats around. We are going to be training with the Air Force Honor Guard. These are the guys who do burials at Arlington Cemetary, guard the tomb of the unknown soldier, conduct official ceremonies for the President and foriegn dignataries and who throw the rifles around. My excitement is peaked.

Check out the Air Force Honor Guard below...

the Omega Loop

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I saw three baby black bears in the wild,
mountain biked 38 miles, give or take a football feild or two,
got lost in the woods,
went off the trail when I shouldn't half,
explored an old mining community that hasn't been touched in years,
realized why I purchased a mountain bike,
decided that joining the air force was the best thing for me to do.
What did you do this past sunday?

Lasagna & Bullshit Contracts

Last night I demonstrated my culinary prowess with a fantastic vegitable lasagna. The Gulliver's allowed me to utilize their kitchen. I think the key to it was how I did not use the cop out Ricotta cheese for the filling. The Italian cook book I had showed a bechamel sauce consisting of

3 cups of milk
1 cup of flour
1 bay leaf
3 blades mace (I used grounded mace)
Romano/Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper

You just cook the milk in a sauce pan on low for 2-3 minutes then add everything else and just sitr it with a wire wisk forever (6-8 minutes) probably more and it becomes thick and full of calories thus very tastey.

I suggest everyone go onto MSNBC.com for the full article but I am extremely angry about how the Army has decided not to buy an Israeli system called "Trophy" which uses radar attached to a vehicle to shoot incoming RPG(Rocket Propelled Grenades) out of the sky before they hit our troops.

Israeli tests show "Trophy" as being more than 90% accurate in its ability to protect the vehicles it is attached to. The Pentagon conducted an investigation of its own on the "Trophy" system and found that it maintained a 98% accuracy rate.

Israel and other nations are already using "Trophy" on their vehicles to protect their troops but the US Army is not. Why you ask? Because Raytheon, a favorite defense contractor, of whom many of their employees I work with on my own job, already have a contract to develop a similar system to "Trophy." However such a system is not proposed to be finished until 2011. Suppossedly the Army can not drop out of it's contract with Raytheon even though they have not even started on the product yet. For all those military members who know about contracts they know that it takes forever for the product to get to where it is needed and alot of times it is faulty. Everyone knows politics and the concept of quid pro quo.

People like me, Maxx, are dieing in Iraq and Afgahnistan because of RPGs hitting our vehicles. There exists a defense system that has a 98% protection rate however it will not be purchased and implemented due to political ties and financial contracts.