don't ask, don't tell

Yes, it's baaaaack.

I've put this out there before and I'll do it again.

As a retired member of the U.S. Navy, I have NO problem dumping the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. I see amazing cost savings and the elimination of several logistical hurdles on our ships if we can dump this nonsense.

First, you just have to accept the premise, if it's OK for me to sleep and shower with openly gay guys on a ship that doesn't see land for weeks at a time, it should be just as OK for me to sleep and shower with openly straight women. I mean, why not? I can believe that not all openly gay guys want to jump my bones. Likewise, I can accept that not all openly straight women want that privilege as well. If you argue that straight men are pigs and won't be able to resist a huge shower room full of women, I have to ask...are gay people somehow immune to the same kinds of urges? Do they possess some magical power that stops them from doing something stupid that straight people lost along the way? Tell me yes and I'm raising the bullshit flag. Tell me no, and I have to assume all our young men and women sans uniform are in complete control of their sexuality and it will have no bearing on their ability to coexist and fight a war, or make it through 3 weeks in the middle of the Indian Ocean between ports fighting boredom.

That being the case, there should now be no reason for separate quarters, or bathrooms/showers. All the reasons to build gender specific facilities are gone now. We can take that logistical headache and make it a piece of the past. We should be able to populate all our ships with people, generally in their 20's, men and women, openly gay and straight, nakedly coexisting, and it shouldn't cause any sexual issues whatsoever. The effect on their ability to fight a war and be singularly focused on that objective, for their own good and the welfare of everyone else on that ship, should be unaffected. To suggest otherwise would make me some right wing fanatical homophobe. I mean, that's what we're saying, isn't it?

laziness begets ignorance

"You know the Jaguars fans, the home crowd will not be a factor-"
-Antonio Pierce, ESPN SportsCenter

Ya know, after a while I just have to laugh. These talking heads who work for ESPN don't do much of anything if they can get away with doing nothing. I'm guessing Antonio Pierce has never been to a home Jaguar game. He's just jumping on the "Jacksonville is a pit" bandwagon. This year lots of stadiums are not selling out and blackouts are a huge issue. The national media has all kinds of economy excuses and they talk about how fans across the country are having a tough time making ends meet, let alone paying a few hundred dollars to take the family to a game. Not only that, you get a better view of the game from home on your TV, provided the game is being aired. Yeah, and last year when the Jaguars were having problems selling out the stadium, apparently none of these factors came into play. According to the national media, we just sucked.

Now, we have this piece of tripe. Yo Antonio "too lazy to do any actual research so I'll just make it up as I go" Pierce. Do us all a favor and actually watch tonight's game....and listen to the crowd.

It was a tough, but great two days.

Once again, the youngster and I did the 100 mile first day in the MS Bike Ride, but this time my sister-in-law (who road tripped down with my mom and brother) did it with us, and she rocked! Sure, she was tired after that, but we all were. It was the first time she rode two consecutive days for that long, and the first time she experienced drafting behind someone in a pace line. She rode in groups up in Pennsylvania, but they ride a lot of hills, so they don't ride a constant speed on flat land for long periods of time like we do. Therefore they don't learn to trust the person in front of them to keep a constant speed and get as close as possible behind them to take advantage of the draft. She caught on though.

Saturday we got rained on a bit on the way south. The bike clothes are great for rain, because they dry out pretty quick once it stops. The one thing that doesn't dry out is socks. Once you soak them all the way through, you're just dealing with it until you can get to the finish line and peel them off your pruned up toes. By mile 40 (out of 102) the rain had pretty much let up. Then it was just a matter of gutting it out for the rest of the trip. One major disappointment was the 'century patch'. When you opt to ride 100 miles the first day, you swing by a rest stop that isn't on the normal route. In past years, you got handed a patch that said something to the effect that you did the century. It's just a little patch. If you actually DO the 100 miles though, it means a lot to you. It's a piece of the accomplishment...a momento if you will. Well, apparently they had all of about 50 of these patches. The lunberyard crew was NOT in the first 50 people to get to that rest stop and so...no patch for us. I was bummed, but we have been told the patches for those who did the century ride and weren't in the first 50 people there are coming. I'm crossing my fingers.

Sunday that drafting part became really important, because we faced a 20 mile an hour head wind all the way from Daytona to Saint Augustine. It was just brutal, but we persevered and got back to where we started.

My 4th MS Ride in the books!