Update

Because of the nature of my work and the company that employs me, I've had to delete several post from this blog.  I don't think anyone will mind; I just wanted to let you know.

A More Recent Picture of William

Here's a much more recent picture of William. He's brushing his teeth while riding his car that he got for Christmas.

A Good Book

This is a very old picture of William. It's about a year old, but I still think it's great.

First Day of School, Earthquake, Related?

Today at about 6:20 we had an earthquake here. I felt it but both the two other members of the household slept right through it.

Later, at 8:30, the first day of school started up. I don't think they're related, but my students might feel otherwise.

Pictures of William

Being a Dad

William

He's growing up fast. He's ready to roll over, he just hasn't quite figured it all out yet. Also, he's long. Apparently, he's in the 90th percentile for height. I think he got my brother's genes. How does that happen?

Absence: Three Reasons

1. Burnout. No matter what I wrote about the election, the direction our society is going, or anything regarding right and wrong, it seemed that we went the other direction. After several months of this, I just didn't want to write anymore. I think a lot of others are in the same boat.
2. Work. Busy, busy, busy.
3. I'm a father! Here are some pictures of my baby son, my beautiful wife, and me.

Boy Scouts

I begun getting involved with the Boy Scouts again. Yes, I am an Eagle Scout. I have been since 1994. But, moving to Budapest, you wouldn't think there are many Boy Scouts here. Well, there are.



Today, BSA Troop 939 went to help Cub Scout Trrop 839 with their anual Pine Wood Derby. Here are two short clips:

And here:

Many people that Boy Scouts is about camping, knot tying, and merit badges. Yes, those things to play a part. But this is really what Boy Scouts is about:

This is a picture of an older Boy Scout helping some younger Cub Scouts with their cars. Boy Scouts is about service, maturity, leadership. Not all boys finish Boy Scouts. Actually, less than 2% acheive the rank of Eagle Scout. But those who do are devoted, dependable, and thoughtful. In other words, they're the type of men you want around. This is the point of the Boy Scouts.

Just Good

IMAO » Blog Archive » Holiday

Just Good

IMAO » Blog Archive » Holiday

Chemistry Help

In chemistry, we've been studying the progression of the various models of the atom and what evidence led to the revisions. Though the evidence for the existence of discrete, neutral, massive particles called neutrons is strong, what evidence do we have that leads us to believe the neutron is in the nucleus?

I am not suggesting that it is not. I just simply want to know why the atomic models have the neutrons in the nucleus. Was there a particular experiment or observation?

This is totally awesome!

Yes, whatever skills you have can be a blessing to others. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

trying to grok: KNITTING MATH

Out-Freaking-Ragious: The New York Times Defends Blagojevich

In a dispicable display, the New York Times defends Governor Blagojevich using the excuse that it just political business as usual and that the legal requirements for prosecusion are not ideal!

News Analysis - In Blagojevich Case, Is It a Crime, or Just Talk? - NYTimes.com

What Blagojevich is accused of having done is an example of the worst type of political corruption. He was willing to use his political power to benefit the highest payer. The fact that his crime may not be prosecutable is not relevant to the need for his resignation.

Surely, if this had been a Republican governor, the NYT would have already called for his resignation screeming that such corruption cannot be tolerated in government (as it cannot). Yet, the NYT shows their amazing bias by not just simply ignoring the case, as happened when John Edwards was caught in an affair, but they actually defend this slime!

The simplest test for bias is this: if the roles where reversed, would the reaction be the same? No Republican would receive the benefit of defense from the NYT.

More Good News

More good news that you didn't hear on TV last night:

US Combat Casualties in Iraq Lowest Since Beginning of War

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who has served and who has won Victory in Iraq.

Thank you to every Soldier.

Thank you to every Marine.

Thank you to every Sailor.

Thank you to every Airman.

Thank you to every Coast Guard.

Thank you to every DOD Contractor.

You have won! The United States of America, The Republic of Iraq, their citizens, and all of the Free People of the world owe you a debt of gratitude and respect.

Victory in Iraq: A Look Ahead

Today is Victory in Iraq Day! We should celebrate and thank everyone who has made it possible.

Today also, we should take time and look ahead and see what challenges we still face both in Iraq and in the broader War on Terror. We have asked a lot of our servicemen and women. They have performed wonderfully and we should thank every single one. But more is required. When we ask them, they will go. Some will not come home. So let's take some very careful time and look at the challenges still ahead.

Iraq

We still have a lot to do. Despite the remarkable progress that has been made this past year, we can't just walk away from our obligation to ensure the safety of the Iraqi people. AQI still has a presence in Iraq though their numbers and capability have been drastically reduced. Several "special groups" continue to operate. But, this is not our role at this point. We are training and teaching the Iraqi army and police force to deal with these problems. Indeed, the majority of our work is training Iraqis to defend their own country. This will still take time and it is a good thing that the Iraqi government has agreed to let US troops remain until 2011.

Afghanistan

The situation here is worse. I encourage you to read everything you can about Afghanistan especially Michael Totten. The Afghani government needs lots of improvement. The country is still highly fractured. Poppy and opium production is rampant. Though al Qaedi and the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan, they use the boarder with Pakistan for safe passage to conduct attacks, raids, and intimidation campaigns.

Needless to say, this is where a good majority of our focus, time, and resources are going to be spent for a long time.

Pakistan

We are allies with Pakistan. But Pakistan has severe problems. The greatest is that the government has absolutely no control of nor influence in the FATA or Federally-Administered Trible Area, a region in the western part of the country where the Taliban have taken control, al Qaedi finds safe haven, and terrorists train, recruit, stage attacks. This problem affects the situation in neighboring Afghanistan, but it is also threatening the Pakistani government. Pakistan wants to help, but frankly, they can't. They have too many internal problems. I don't know that we can currently do anything either.

Iran

Iran not only has nuclear ambitions, but they see themselves as the regional power able to affect all of the Middle East. This isn't far from the truth. Unfortunately, their ideas for the Middle East will cause war, death, and distruction. Iran's power is waxing and the world isn't doing a thing about it. Though I think comparing Iran to Nazi Germany isn't a good comparison, I think that the unwillingness of anyone to face Iran before it's too late has many parallels with Europe in the 1930s.

Global War on Terror

Obviously, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are a major focus of our efforts right now and in the years to come. But, they are not the only places with severe problems. Saudi Aradia, Yemen, Somalia, South-East Asia, and many other places all have a presense of international terrorist. Each country is unique. Some have governments that are at least seemingly wanting to fight terrorism. Some of these countries have no government at all. This is a dangerous time and a dangerous world. We still have a lot to do.

A Special Note

Let's not forget that we have hundreds of thousands of brave men and women who have volunteered to step up, serve, and be away from their families. They need to know that we support them and that we're behind them. Let's show our support by sending them care packages, letters, and cards. Additionaly, the following links may be very helpful in giving you specific information.







If you need any ideas, read Samantha Speaks. She has lots of ideas and helpful information.

Analysis: Does this mean it's too late? Answer: Yes.

Journalist are not known for their technical and scientific brilliance. The article linked below clearly states that Iran now has enough raw material for a nuclear bomb. It goes on to mention that as of now, they only have enough for one.

Analysis: Does this mean it's too late? Iran news Jerusalem Post

Firstly, the fact that they have enough for one is quite disturbing by itself. Would anyone be less concerned if they had ten? No.

Second, what the reporter doesn't realize it that enrichment is an accelerating process. That is, it takes a long time to get enough material for the first bomb. But after that, you get a lot of material very quickly.

It took the US several years of planning, construction, and work to get our first bomb. Shortly thereafter, we dropped the second and third on Japan. What most people don't realize it that because we had the infrastructure and technology to produce bombs, we were capable of producing two bombs every month at the end of the war. This is the same situation in which Iran is now. Again, this is not comforting.

"But isn't Iran just enriching uranium for peaceful, electricity-generating purposes?"

Well, no. Electricity generation doesn't require highly enriched material. Several types of nuclear power generators actually do quite well with unenriched fuel. Yet, the centrifuges continue to spin.

So, for what should we look in the coming months? Iran will continue to enrich fuel for additional bombs under the guise of electrical needs. The IAEA inspectors will get thrown out of Iran. In 12 months, they will perform the first test of an atomic bomb.

Of course, Israel is very concerned about this. Iran has repeatedly stated that they wish to wipe Israel off the map. Given their advanced missile program, Iran will shortly have the capability to level entire Israeli cities. Israel, of course, will not wait for this to happen. Once the IAEA inspectors leave Iran because they cannot do their job, Israel will strike the nuclear facilities in Iran. This strike doesn't have to be on all of the facilities at the same time; a few key facilities will suffice to slow weapons production.

22 November 2008 is Victory in Iraq Day!

Bloggers! This Saturday is an Important Day. Please read about it.

Victory in Iraq Day, November 22, 2008

More and More Good News

Over the last few months, several bits of good news have come from Iraq. Of course we, myself included, have been distracted by other things. That doesn't mean operations and progress in Iraq have stopped. Here's a recent story of the kind of progress being made in Iraq. Iraqi troops find EFP factory in Sadr City - The Long War Journal Of course, the best good news is the news that hasn't been reported. For the years following the invasion, we heard about the "Ramadan Spike". This was a huge increase in the number of attacks and deaths during the month of Ramadan. Every year, we heard story after story of the copious amount of violence. Well, did you here about it this year? What about last year? The answer is no. The reason is because for the last two years, there hasn't been huge spikes in attacks and violence. Ramadan and come and gone in Iraq and the violence continues to drop, not increase. Though officials we always say that this is more to do, which, certainly there is, they won't say we've won in Iraq. I'll say it. We've won.