Checksum Arcanius

Last night while eating dinner with two fine young ladies, I mentioned that I wished there was a good way to sign up for a single year of military service with no further commitment. I would like to server, but I really don’t want to put my life on hold for six or eight years. I have already been on hold too long for that. When asked why I would want to go to Iraq, I mentioned the fact that I supported the war, and felt that I should walk the walk and not just talk the talk. When asked if I still supported the war, I paused, and answered somewhat judiciously, “Knowing what I know now, I think it was a bad idea.”

It wasn’t a sudden revalation; rather I have been thinking about this for a long time. Also, as you might have guessed, and as if often the case, not everything I say is to be taken exactly straight. So what did I mean?
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The plan on Monday was for me to go to class, go to work, and then take the next three days off of both to attend a family reunion on Vashon Island. So instead, I worked all Sunday night on a roramming programming assignment, worked straight through class on Monday on the same, and didn’t make it in to work becuase family members kept showing up at my parent’s house (where I was due to my regular Sunday dinner the previous evening). Suddenly, the family reunion which was supposed to start on Tuesday just sort of spontaneously started. The food was good, though, and I managed to finish the part of the programming assignment I was working on.
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My venerable WRT54G (version 1) began giving me all sorts of trouble last night. Accordingly, it has been hard reset and firmware upgraded several times since then. If I screwed anything up, chances are there are services missing that you are used to having. But I think Web, FTP, SSH for both boxes, and Mail are all up. Did I miss anything?

A lot is going on in the next few days:

Friday: School, Drop Mario Off, Work, Dinner with Courtney, Bowling
Saturday: Drop off Mario, Pick up Jones, Ultimate/Frisbee Soccer, Tennis, Capitol Hill Block Party with the King County Libertarian Party
Sunday: Programming Assignment Checkpoint, Dinner with the early-arriving relatives
Monday: School, Work (lots of it), to make up for this week and next week
Tuesday: Family Reunion Begins
Wednesday: School, Family Reunion
Thursday: Family Reunion winds down, Programming Assignment Due
Friday: Hike with a few remaining family members

Then on the 16th, I leave for Provo, to take my brother’s stuff to Lansing, then I go to see Scott. Woohoo.

James D. Bryers wrote:
> Can we “mace” any Bush Supporters ?
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> James D. Bryers, Ph.D.
> Professor
> Department of Bioengineering
> NOTE: NEW ADDRESS !
> Mailing Address:
> PO Box 355061, Foege N310C
> 1750 N.E. Pacific Street
> University of Washington
> Seattle, WA 98195-5061
> TEL: 206.221.58.76.
> FAX: 206.616.97.63. (Shared Facility)

Sure!

Lets meet somewhere; I’ll wear my Bush/Cheney T-shirt and you can “mace” me. Sounds fun!

When is a good time for you?

~Ryan

I had avoided watching M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village mostly due to some terrible reviews I heard. I have liked his previous works, but for some reason became convinced that this one was not up to par. Well, I was wrong. I’m just kind of embarassed that I let movie reviewers influence me so much.

At any rate, I suppose that it is obvious now that I did watch it, and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t watched it yet. I enjoyed the suspense — the sense of terror rather than horror that was at times palpable. Well directed, without stunning acting performances, but good enough, and an enjoyable film overall.

4.0 on the Ryan Scale

I must admit that it sure appears that Israel is giving a serious beating to Lebanon, including its civilian population. However, something I heard my Dad say prompted me to look a little closer. Consider the following, published at many a major news outlet (emphasis added):

The level of damage inflicted by Israel appeared finely calibrated. For example, a missile punched a hole in a major suspension bridge on the Beirut-Damascus road but did not destroy it, unlike less expensive bridges on the road that were brought down. An Israeli strike hit fuel depots at one of Beirut’s two power stations — sending massive fireballs and smoke into the sky — but avoided the station itself.

Throughout the morning, Israeli fighter-bombers pounded runways at Beirut’s airport for a second day, apparently trying to ensure its closure after the Lebanese national carrier, Middle East Airlines, managed to evacuate its last five planes to Jordan. One bomb hit close to the terminal building.

Israel is very capable of bringing down expensive suspension bridges and destroying power plants, but all they do it make the bridge unusable right now and make the power plant unable to supply power right now. They want to put pressure on Lebanon — including its civilian population — but they don’t want a long-term humanitarian crisis.

For all of the “opponents” that the Lebanese could be facing, they better be glad they are facing an enemy that cares enough to avoid wholesale destruction. Unfortunately, I believe that it is likely that very few will ever understand Israel’s tremendous restraint.