Category Archives: Fallen Warriors

Nine Weeks Left

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Ten actual weeks left in my quest to get my first BS. I’m in the last week of my penultimate class, and the instructor just cancelled another assignment. That’s nice and all, yo, but I’d been doing research and prep for it. That’s the second big syllabus change in an eight week session. Really? I would ask why, but I’d probably be angry at the answer, so it’s best to to let that one pass.

It’s Columbus Day, one of the Federal holidays my employer chooses to observe. So I’ll be using today to get ahead of the game on this last week’s work for this class. This upcoming weekend I’ll be at Capclave.

Along with finishing my schoolwork this weekend, I did a bit of design work with SketchUp to figure out what furniture I’m likely to build for my office, over the next few months.

Brian's proposed office furniture and layout

Brian’s proposed office furniture and layout

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Sgt. 1st Class Aaron A. Henderson, 33, of Houlton, Maine, died Oct. 2, at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit on Sept. 30 with an improvised explosive device in Zombalay Village, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. Thomas J. Butler IV, 25, of Wilmington, North Carolina, died Oct.1, in Khost, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest while he was on dismounted patrol.
  • Sgt. Jeremy F. Hardison, 23, of Maysville, North Carolina, died Oct.1, in Khost, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest while he was on dismounted patrol.
  • Sgt. Donna R. Johnson, 29, of Raeford, North Carolina, died Oct.1, in Khost, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest while she was on dismounted patrol.
  • Sgt. 1st Class Daniel T. Metcalfe, 29, of Liverpool, New York, died Sep. 29, in Sayyid Abad, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his unit was attacked with small arms fire.
  • Sgt. Camella M. Steedley, 31, of San Diego, California, died Oct. 3, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Warrant Officer Joseph L. Schiro, 27, of Coral Springs, Florida, died Oct. 6 in Chak district, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of gunshot wounds suffered while on dismounted patrol.
  • Staff Sgt. Justin C. Marquez, 25, of Aberdeen, North Carolina, died Oct. 6 in Chak district, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of gunshot wounds suffered while on dismounted patrol.

1001

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Ten weeks of instruction left until my BS is officially official. Prior to this, I’ve been an amateur at BS, clearly. And Sunday nights are my “stuff is due” night for class. Mea maxima culpa!

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Gunners Mate 2nd Class Dion R. Roberts, 25, of North Chicago, Illinois, died Sept. 22, as a result of a single vehicle accident in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
  • Staff Sgt. Orion N. Sparks, 29, of Tucson, Arizona, died Sept. 26, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent wearing a suicide vest detonated the device near his patrol.
  • Sgt. Jonathan A. Gollnitz, 28, of Lakehurst, New Jersey, died Sept. 26, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent wearing a suicide vest detonated the device near his patrol.
  • Sgt. 1st Class Riley G. Stephens, 39, of Tolar, Texas, died Sept. 28, in Wardak, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire.

Fall snuck in the back door

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While yesterday was the astronomically first day of Fall, it was warmer than most of the prior week. But that was the peak, and temps are dropping again. I harvested a bunch of pain from the garden today:

A sink-full of pain - mostly serrano and habañero peppers.

A sink-full of pain – mostly serrano and habañero peppers.

I’m just preparing to rinse the harvest in the sink – it’s mostly serrano and habañero peppers, plus a few jalapeño, a couple of tomatoes, and a tiny bell pepper. I ground up perhaps a quarter of that harvest to preserve here. The rest is going to the office tomorrow. Pain is best shared! I also roasted a pound of Sumatra Lake Toba 19+ Ulos, did the weekly shopping, finished up the in-class work for the week (after turning in a 1350 word essay yesterday), and cooked meals for both of us for the week to come. A good day.

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Sgt. Sapuro B. Nena, 25, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died Sept. 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when his position was attacked with small arms fire.
  • Spc. Joshua N. Nelson, 22, Greenville, North Carolina, died Sept. 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when his position was attacked with small arms fire.
  • Pfc. Genaro Bedoy, 20, of Amarillo, Texas, died Sept. 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when his position was attacked with small arms fire.
  • Pfc. Jon R. Townsend, 19, Claremore, Oklahoma, died Sept. 16 in Zabul province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when his position was attacked with small arms fire.
  • Sgt. Jason M. Swindle, 24, of Cabot, Arkansas, died Sept. 20, in Panjwa’l, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when he was attacked by a rocket propelled grenade while on mounted patrol.

Hugo Rerun on a Sunday

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Progress made in class, I think, I hope … And tonight, we’re blessed with the re-run on uStream of the Hugos, which got whacked during their live presentation by a out-of-control copyright bot.

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Spc. Kyle R. Rookey, 23, of Oswego, New York, died Sept. 2, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan from a non-combat related incident.
  • Staff Sgt. Jeremie S. Border, 28, of Mesquite, Texas, died Sept. 1, in Batur Village, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire.
  • Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, 28, of Petersburg, Virginia, died Sept. 1, in Batur Village, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire.
  • Lance Cpl. Alec R. Terwiske, 21, of Dubois, Indiana, died Sept. 3 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Pfc. Shane W. Cantu, 20, of Corunna, Michigan, died Aug. 28, in Charkh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was hit by shrapnel.

Tired of School Brian is Tired…

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There goes the weekend. I spent much of it trying to stub out the next 6 weeks of work for the Myth in the World class that I had to take. Why so much? Because the bibliography is due first! #WTF ??? Sigh. While this class is interesting, frankly it’s a waste of my time. And now they want me to do my own plagiarism submissions? Can I give myself my own grades, too? I pay more, I get less, and I have to do their work for them. I *almost* wish I’d done more classes at a time, earlier, so that I’d have been done before some of this lunacy started.

Tomorrow, work at the office in the morning, then more schoolwork and chores back here for the rest of the day.

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Sgt. Christopher J. Birdwell, 25, of Windsor, Colorado, died Aug. 27, in Kalagush, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from enemy small arms fire.
  • Spc. Mabry J. Anders, 21, of Baker City, Oregon, died Aug. 27, in Kalagush, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from enemy small arms fire.
  • Staff Sgt. Jessica M. Wing, 42, of Glenburn, Maine, died Aug. 27, in Kuwait City, Kuwait in a non-combat related incident.

Rainy Day

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A rainy day here in Bowie, Maryland. Not continuous, but some impressive downpours in the course of dropping half an inch of rain. Still, better than what’s facing the Korean Peninsula this week. I read elsewhere that they’re likely to get well upwards of 20 inches of rain from this storm that’s 1,200 miles across… Wow!

In other news, everyone here at the Hovel is happy that Marcia’s back home, after she spent a week in Michigan visiting with relatives and attending the AQS show in Grand Rapids. I picked her up at BWI last night, and Lexi was dancing with joy when Marcia went in the house. You’d think I tortured her instead of coming home early each day to walk her and give her some of the company that she missed. Marcia works from home, so the dog is quite spoiled.

One week down, 15 weeks of classes left before I’m done. Just sayin’ …

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Staff Sgt. Gregory T. Copes, 36, of Lynch Station, Virginia, died Aug. 17 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.
  • Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer 1st Class Darrel L. Enos, 36, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, died Aug. 17 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.
  • Chief Warrant Officer Brian D. Hornsby, 37, of Melbourne, Florida, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Chief Warrant Officer Suresh N. A. Krause, 29, of Cathedral City, California, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Petty Officer Technician 1st Class Sean P. Carson, 32, of Des Moines, Washingtion, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks, 28, of Edgewater, Maryland, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. Richard A. Essex, 23, of Kelseyville, California, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. Luis A. Oliver Galbreath, 41, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class David J. Warsen, 27, of Kentwood, Michigan, died Aug. 16 in a helicopter crash northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. 1st Class Coater B. Debose, 55, of State Line, Mississippi, died Aug. 19 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. David V. Williams, 24, of Frederick, Maryland, died Aug. 18, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. Louis R. Torres, 23, of Oberlin, Ohio, died Aug. 22, in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device, Aug. 6, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
  • Pfc. Patricia L. Horne, 20, of Greenwood, Mississippi, died Aug. 24 in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Winding Down Summer

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Today I pulled another batch of tomatoes out of the garden. How many? A gallon of salsa, and another lobster pot of red sauce, that’s how many. I also dug up all the rest of the potatoes, about 30# worth. Today started with the shopping, then I was mowing from 1030 to 1200, and then gardening and cooking until 1930 – a full day’s work. The garden is pretty sad, in truth. Between school and spending two weeks partially under the weather, the garden truly hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. The worst sin: Tomatoes have gone bad on the vine, sigh. I hold out hope for next summer, ’cause this one’s almost gone.

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Capt. Matthew P. Manoukian, 29, of Los Altos Hills, California, died Aug. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Gunnery Sgt. Ryan Jeschke, 31, of Herndon, Virginia, died Aug. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Staff Sgt. Sky R. Mote, 27, of El Dorado, California, died Aug. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Staff Sgt. Scott E. Dickinson, 29, of San Diego, California, died Aug. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Cpl. Richard A. Rivera Jr., 20 of Ventura, California, died Aug. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Lance Cpl. Gregory T. Buckley, 21, of Oceanside, New York, died Aug. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Pfc. Andrew J. Keller, 22, of Tigard, Oregon, died Aug. 15, in Charkh, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire.
  • Staff Sgt. Eric S. Holman, 39, of Evans City, Pennsylvania, died Aug. 15, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Pfc. Michael R. Demarsico II, of North Adams, Massachusetts, died Aug. 16 in Panjwa’l, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised device.
  • Spc.  James A. Justice, 21, of Grover, North Carolina, died Aug. 17 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany from injuries suffered on Aug. 14 from enemy small-arms fire in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

Day Six

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According to the historical records, this is in fact the 7th day. But in this much more specific and present-tense circumstance, this is the sixth day of my summer cold. It was never really a sinus thing, it seems to have skipped from throat straight to ears with only a by-your-leave to the nasal passages. My left ear was pretty plugged for a couple of days, and while that seems to have slightly abated, some of the pressure and all of the ringing is still in the hizzouse. The quality of my focus is suffering, too. I actually took a couple of days off work, but this thing is whacking my ability to sleep soundly, go me!

Number 2 … you’ll have noted the new theme. I was tired of the old one, most especially the part where the body wasn’t wide enough for some pre-formatted text. I’ll probably end up writing my own theme one of these days, after I’m done with school … a scant four months from this upcoming Thursday, I’m just sayin’.

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Cpl. Daniel L. Linnabary II, 23, of Hubert, North Carolina, died Aug. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Petty Officer 3rd Class Clayton R. Beauchamp, of Weatherford, Texas, died Aug. 7 when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device while conducting a dismounted patrol in the Shaban District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
  • Maj. Walter D. Gray, 38, of Conyers, Georgia, died Aug. 8 from injuries suffered during a suicide bomb attack in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
  • Spc. Ethan J. Martin, 22, of Lewiston, Idaho, died Aug. 7 in Koragay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered enemy small-arms fire.
  • Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, of West Point, New York, died Aug. 8 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an insurgent who detonated a suicide vest.
  • Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, of Laramie, Wyoming, died Aug. 8 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an insurgent who detonated a suicide vest.
  • Master Sgt. Gregory R. Trent, 38, of Norton, Mass., died Aug. 8 in Bethesda, Maryland, from wounds suffered July 31 in Baktabad, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.

August Already?

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Time flies. I’m “in between” classes, so I’m just reading ahead for the first class of the Fall session, which starts on August 20. This weekend, I got some work done replacing broken shelving in Marcia’s fabric room, cleaned up and fixed up a couple of things in the woodshop, harvested a metric big volume of veggies (mostly tomatoes), made more salsa, made some chili, and… oh, yeah, worked at the office for a few hours yesterday. I’ve got gear that’s making me very, very angry (as nearly everyone’s favorite Martian has been known to exclaim).

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Sgt. 1st Class Bobby L. Estle, 38, of Lebanon, Ohio, died July 28 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire.
  • Pfc. Jose Oscar Belmontes, 28, of La Verne, California, died July 28 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire.
  • Spc. Benjamin C. Pleitez, 25, of Turlock, California, died July 27, in Mazar E Sharif, Afghanistan.
  • 1st Lt. Sean R. Jacobs, 23, of Redding, California, died July 26 in Khakrez, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Sgt. John E. Hansen, 41, of Austin, Texas, died July 26 in Khakrez, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan W. Gifford, 34, of Palm Bay, Florida, died July 29 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan.
  • Gunnery Sgt. Daniel J. Price, 27, of Holland, Michigan, died July 29 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan.
  • Lance Cpl. Curtis J. Duarte, 22, of Covina, California, died Aug. 1, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Spc. Kyle B. McClain, 25, of Rochester Hills, Michigan, died Aug. 1, in Salim Aka, Afghanistan.
  • 1st Lt. Todd W. Lambka, 25, of Fraser, Michigan, died Aug. 1, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Pfc. Jesus J. Lopez, 22, of San Bernardino, California, died Aug. 1, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell, 37, of Tyler, Texas, died Aug. 2, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton, 26, of Largo, Florida, died Aug. 2, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.

Getting Things Done

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But not GTD in the larger sense. But getting things done, lower case: I shaved the lawns yesterday, front and back. I did a bit of weeding in the garden, also. And today, I find that for the second summer session class, I ended up 1 point shy of an ace, out of 500. Yes, absolutely where I should have been for a class on UNIX and shell scripting. But now just two classes to go! Huzzah!

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Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors:

  • Staff Sgt. Brandon R. Pepper, 31, of York, Pennsylvania, died July 21, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.
  • Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael J. Brodsky, 33, of Tamarac, Florida, died July 21 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained July 7 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, related to a dismounted improvised explosive device blast.
  • Pfc. Julian L. Colvin, 21, of Birmingham, Alabama, died July 22 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry, 27, of Scottsdale, Arizona, died July 22 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from an enemy improvised explosive device.
  • Sgt. Eric E. Williams, 27, of Murrieta, California, died July 23, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan.
  • Pfc. Adam C. Ross, 19, of Lyman, South Carolina, died July 24, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire.
  • Spc. Justin L. Horsley, 21, of Palm Bay, Florida, died July 22 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, with an improvised explosive device.
  • Pfc. Brenden N. Salazar, 20, of Chuluota, Florida, died July 22 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, with an improvised explosive device.
  • Sgt. Justin M. Hansen, 26, of Traverse City, Michigan, died July 24 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan.
  • Pfc. Theodore M. Glende, 23, of Rochester, New York, died July 27, in Kharwar, Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.