Capclave 2012 #FTW

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I had an AWESOME time at Capclave 2012! I got to spend quality time with a number of superb authors, experts, and fans. Among the former were John Scalzi, the Author GoH – as a “Guest” he sure had to work his butt off, but since we all benefit from his work, I’ll not whinge on about it. I got him to sign The God Engines (his “cheerful one”), and I had him inscribe Redshirts to Marcia. Thanks, John! I also stumbled across Edward Lerner, Alan Smale, Allen Wold, Jean Marie Ward, Neil Clarke, and many more brilliant, articulate, wonderful people in the panels, around the tables, and in the halls at this superb small con. I recommend Capclave highly, and I’ll be back for more next year. Kudos to the volunteers who ran the con, and the WSFA, the local organization that sponsored it.

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The penultimate class is complete, as of this evening. The grade should drop sometime during the coming week, and I’m hopeful (but not entirely positive) that the 4.0 will survive the experience. The final course of my first degree starts next Sunday. I’ve gotten confirmation from the school that what I’m taking this session puts paid to the requirements, and I’ll be graduating as of 30 December 2012. The skin which is not from a sheep shall arrive 6-8 weeks later (does that come with Ginzu knives?) So, I CAN do an eight week course on web technologies standing on my head, right?

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

  • Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Milton W. Brown, 28, of Dallas, Texas, died Aug. 4, from a non-combat related incident in Rota, Spain.
  • Sgt. Thomas R. Macpherson, 26, of Long Beach, California, died Oct. 12, in Andar District, Afghanistan, from small arms fire while on patrol during combat operations.
  • Sgt. 1st Class Ryan J. Savard, 29, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, died Oct. 13, in Khanabad District, Afghanistan, from small arms fire while on patrol during combat operations.
  • Cmdr. Joel Del Mundo Tiu, 49, of Manila, Philippines died Oct. 12 as a result of non-combat related injuries.

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.

Counting down…

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Twelve weeks of instruction left to my collegiate days. Sunday evening was full of final composition and review for a couple of things due … and I flat forgot my duty. But here I am!

Before I proceed, however, I’d like to point you in the direction of Marcia’s new (old) site: Marcia’s Makings. She’s been making lots of wonderful things, and just knows that you need to buy them for holiday gifts, or to keep yourself warm as Fall arrives… So visit

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

  • Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jose L. Montenegro Jr., 31, of Houston, Texas, died Sept. 5, in Logar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his aircraft crashed.
  • Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thalia S. Ramirez, 28, of San Antonio, Texas, died Sept. 5, in Logar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when his aircraft crashed.
  • Sgt. Kyle B. Osborn, 26, of Lafayette, Indiana, died Sept. 13 in Muqer, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire.
  • Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible, 40, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, died Sept. 15, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
  • Sgt. Bradley W. Atwell, 27, of Kokomo, Indiana, died Sept. 15, while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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.

Myth

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My first class this Fall session is a last GER class, this one about myths and (mostly) Mythology. Frankly, it’s an agony for me, because my interpretation is that Myth is fiction that has outstayed its welcome. Sure, they’re compelling stories and all that, and as such useful for modern novelists and filmmakers to retread such stories and distribute them as “content” (a word I despise) to the cattle of our consumer society. They’re especially good for that because people aren’t educated nearly as well anymore. But analysis of myth, and and the making up of whole cultures, a whole WORLD full of cultures around some artifacts from pre-literate peoples seems a byzantine exercise in group flagellation, one that’s been going on for neigh unto 150 years.

It’s true for me that Mythology (the study of myth: that is, making up stuff about made-up stuff) is something I can regard as a victimless crime. It doesn’t generally do anyone else any harm. If your field is Mythology, then you’re not doing something really detrimental to society, like running an HOA, or making pointless laws at any level. But you’re not doing any good, either. What does your work bring to the table, at the end of the day?

“Ooooh, yah. Today we decided that Joseph Cambell’s work is a bunch of crap, because he wrote about heroes instead of heroines, and well, he’s a man.”

Nobody’s said that in my class, but I get the sense from my readings that that sort of person who might say such a thing is lurking in every corner, in this field of study. In the meantime I’m trying to accomplish the assigned tasks without understanding the language the questions are asked in.

For example, #WTF is a “cultural process of transforming myths”?

Those are all English words, yet I don’t know what that means. I could answer a question with those words in it, but I have no idea whether I’ve address the issue in the sense the query was meant. I look for that phrase in my book. It isn’t there. I looked for the phrase in my online course resources – not there, either. But this gem is: “The study of myth was transformed into the systematic production of knowledge—the science of mythology”. </snort> Science?

Finally, I’m not getting enough feedback from the right places to help me be successful in this class. Yeah, that’s a whinge, so be it. I’m having to work my ass off to get answers partly right, and get NO useful data back to make my next foray more successful. This isn’t learning, that isn’t teaching (or even instructing), it’s just an institution parting students from their money, which is a darn shame.

I may tank in this class (which is Brian-code for anything less than an `A`), and that frustrates me, too. I’d dump this class, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s my second-to-last class in my last session. I’m going to survive this and move on, but I’m angry that I have to endure a class where nothing is taught.

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.