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JamesSavik

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  1. JamesSavik
    Compare and contrast the convergence zone St Helens with the Hot Spot Kilauea volcano.  
     
    Pay attention. There will be a test.
     
     
    This is an excellent account of the Mount St Helens eruption. It was the biggest eruption in the continental US in modern times. St Helens is a fairly typical Cascades volcano.
     
     
     
     
    Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has been erupting continuously for thirty years.  
     
    Kilauea on Live Science
  2. JamesSavik
    Hot Spot Volcanism
     

     
    We understand Convergence zone volcanism but what about hot spots?  What are they? How do they form?
     
    Hot spots are mantel plumes that allows very hot materials from as deep as the outer core to rise up and literally burn their way through the lithosphere. It can happen anywhere under a tectonic plate, deep under an ocean or even a continental crust. 
     
    No one is really sure what these hot spots are, what causes them or why they can last for millions of years. It has been suggested that they are flaws in the mantle that allows convective forces to focus the movement of liquified rock on these points. These hot spots last so long in geological terms that as they stay fixed at one point. Tectonic plates are dragged across the hot spots slowly creating features like the Hawaiian Island chain or the Snake River caldera complex or the Yellowstone hot spot.
     
    US Geological Survey Article: Hot Spots or Thermal Mantle Plumes
     

     
    The basaltic lava that comes from hot spot volcanoes is very different from the kind produced by convergence zone volcanism. In many ways it is the chemical opposite of silica. rich Rhyolite lavas. It comes from much deeper inside the earth. It flows much more like iike a true liquid than a silica based lava which behaves much more like wet lumpy clay. Rhyolite has to be blasted out of volcanoes. Basaltic lava cools slowly and is content to pool and run like any other liquid. This liquid is somewhere in excess of 1200 degrees centigrade and will destroy almost anything it encounters.
     
    Basaltic lava flows can be enormous. The largest known volcanic event in the last 500 million years created the Siberian Traps and may have caused the Permian-Triassic (PT) extinction event from out gassing so huge a volume of magmatic gas that it changed the chemistry of the atmosphere. On top of the massive outgassing event, the Siberian Traps supervolcano deposited 1 to 4 million cubic kilometers of basaltic lava (240,000–960,000 cubic miles).  
     
    The Columbia River basin in Washington State is a basaltic lava flow that occurred about 16 million years ago in Eastern Washington and Idaho and ran all the way to the sea. In some parts of Washington these lava flows are three miles deep.
     

     
    This picture comes from a Hawaiian volcano that has been erupting constantly for forty years.  This type of lava cools unevenly. The top can cool and harden while inside its still molten. This type behavior is how lava tubes are formed.
     
    _______________________________________________
     
    As I've run out of allowed images, that's all for today. we'll take it up there tomorrow.
     
     
     
     
  3. JamesSavik
    Subduction Zone Volcanism
     
     

     
     
    Subduction Zone Volcanism
     
    Subduction zone volcanism occurs when one plate is shoved under another. In the case of the Cascades subduction zone that would be the Juan de Fuca plate sliding underneath the North American plate. To see more about it take a look at Cascadia Subduction Zone at wikipedia.

    This has been the focus of some of the most violent geology on the planet since the beginning of the planet. The mega-quakes, the volcanic eruptions and lava flows are that we modern humans have seen are child's play in comparison with some of the earth shattering geological calamities that this region, and others, have seen in the past. Juan de Fuca Plate
     
    Subduction zone volcanoes are quite different than hot spot volcanoes (which we will discuss tomorrow). As the plate subducts, it melts creating silica rich lavas like rhyolite- the kind so common around Mount St Helens. Rhyolite
     
    There are many subduction zones in the world. One runs through Japan. Another through Indonesia. Another through New Zealand. There is one that runs down Italy of which the famous Mount Vesuvius is a part. Another one runs through Greece. If you notice the volcanoes all have several things in common.They build huge, beautiful but explosive stratovolcanoes like Mount St Helens, Krakatoa, Mount Pinatubo. They are explosive because their silicate rich lava it thick and doesn't flow very well. They get all stopped up sometimes for hundreds of thousands of years (or thousands or even hundreds of years)  and explode. There is some evidence that when groundwater gets in the magma chamber, flash to steam and provides some of the violence in these explosions.
     
    These volcanoes are killers and can devastate hundreds of square miles when they blow. 
     
    Why are other obviously active volcanoes almost gentle? 
     
    Tomorrow we'll talk about hot spot volcanism, how it is different from subduction zone volcanism and how these massive basaltic flows have formed much of the earths surface.
     
    Mount Hood ~50 miles east of Portland Oregon is a stratovolcano. It hasn't been active since 1805 but it still burps and gurgles. There have been microquakes underneath it since the seventies so there is lava in the magma chamber. It's known for great skying and snowboarding but there is a beast underneath.
  4. JamesSavik
    I went to see Logan. What I expected was a bloody action gore-fest without a great deal of depth.
    What I saw was a bloody action gore-fest with much greater depth than I expected.
    This was Logan in his finest hour as we've never seen him. This is Dr. X and Wolverine as we've never seen them: old, alone and vulnerable.
    It is difficult to see them that way. I shall not give away any spoilers but these are not the invulnerable characters they once were.
    Old age has, as it will anyone who is lucky enough to make it to old age, humbled them.
    Despite it all, they are still the people that they have always been.
     
    This is a classical theme and if i have not completely butchered my school boy Latin: tu quoque mortale.
     
    You too are mortal.
     
    Such things are not popular to consider but they are the bitter truth of this life.
     
     
     
  5. JamesSavik
    Holy crap.
     
    I survived the most brutal midterms I've ever seen. I've seen a few that were only for the true masochist.
     
    I was there for Doctor Gaddis's Great Calculus Massacre of 1983. Oh the humanity!
     
    Sadly essay questions have not gone out of style- as much as they should. Those of us with the gift of blarney have an unfair advantage that lets us leverage a little knowledge and make ourselves sound like we know what we're talking about.
     

     
    Describe the equations Maxwell's Equations are based on.
     
    Describe how Maxwell changed the original equations to make radio possible.
     
    Describe how you could easily crash and burn in this class.
     
    Describe how you worked your ass off and made sure that wouldn't happen.
     
    Describe how now that its over all you want to do is laugh maniacally and eat ice cream.
     
    Admittedly, I've always wanted to know what those equations meant. I did sign up for the class. I just wish it could be done without the associated psychic trauma.
     
    There's a reason that spring break comes right after mid-terms.
     
    I think it is because there would be more shootings if it wasn't.
     

  6. JamesSavik
    It sounds really scary but it really isn't. Actually- it is a natural evolution in the technology.
     
    Once upon a time there was RADAR and it was good. It was very, very good and gave the ALlies a major advantage in the second world war. The technology was proven and all the world powers wanted to use it for civilian and military purposes.
     
    It works like this:
     

     
    Every RADAR dish is a dual mode device: it sends out a signal and it listens for its return. Ignore the math- it's really that simple.
     

     
    Old Radar dishes look a lot like this: A single transmitter and a receiver, or if you are into tech-speak- a transceiver.
     
    Most RADAR acts in half-duplex as it sends a pulse and then "listens" for a return. The transitions in send-receive cycle are quite fast as we're talking about light speed wave.
     
    Big changes in RADAR technology took place over the course of the Cold War.
     
    One of the biggest one were breakthroughs in signal processing. Ironically this came from the Navy and their quest to make their Sonar hear better.
     
    A Signal Processor is usually a chip with firmware that can read and process a raw signal feed. This is great when you've got complex analog data and want to quickly change it into a form that is much more useful. These devices are smart so their software can be changed. They can do really neat stuff like filter out noise and process the return signal. You see it every time you watch the weather- that is how (among other things) Doppler radar works.
     
    SO... if we have this antenna with one transmit and receive element, wouldn't it provide better, sharper radar performance if we used MORE than one transceiver element? It is idea that phased array radar is based on.
     
    In the 70s the US Navy needed a new, powerful radar system to protect their carriers. The whole ship was designed around the Ticonderoga class missile cruisers were built around a huge phased array radar.
     

     
    The AEGIS system is built around the SPY phased array radar. Note the bulky conning tower- the whole this is a phased array.receiver.
     
     
     

     
    A different part of the system- this gives you a better look at a phased array- each square is an individual transceiver.
     
    This makes the area of the radar "receiver/transmitter" exponentially more powerful and sensitive.
     
    Look for this technology to be coming to your weather Radar soon.
     
    In the next decade the weather radar systems will be gradually replaced by a phased array pulse doppler system currently under development by a consortium of Universities and Industry. The new weather images will be so detailed that meteorologists can watch a tornado form and watch it develop in increments of fractions of a second until it dissipates. It's like an MRI machine for weather- they'll be able to see it from the inside.
     
    The phased array concept also works for simple receivers. In fact when NASA designed the New Horizons probe to fly by Pluto they needed an antenna that was powerful and sensitive enough to send and receive data over one of the longest communications loop in history.
     
    New Horizons flew with a phased array communications antenna and it performed flawlessly.
  7. JamesSavik
    As I travel the wilds of the Internets, I am often astonished by the number of assholes that make such a point of being ass holy.
     
    There are a few in particular that I want to warn you about. Beware of these ragin bastards. They make a point of being rude and obnoxious to bait you into typing something that will get you banned. Many of them are master baiters.
     
    Without further ado, I shall warn you about some of the worst of the Flaming Assholes of the Internets
     
    The triggered activist
     

     
    Whether its save the whales or fat acceptance, you've gone and done it with your microaggressions, racisms and patriarchal attitudes. How dare you disagree!
     
    the Conspiracy Nut
     

     
    This asshole can't prove anything, has no evidence or even a clue. He is impervious to facts and can twist logic into pretzels. He has figured out every conspiracy from the Lincoln Assassination to Putin's secret agreement with the gray aliens to mind control humanity. I for one welcome our new masters if I don't have to listen the conspiracy theorists idiocy.
     
    the Expert Without Portfolio
     

     
    He is the only guy in the chat room that doesn't know that he's full of it.
     
    High Priests of Environmentalism
     

    People for whom environmentalism has become a religion. Emphasis on the mental part.
     
    Religious Nuts
     

    Whether they are yapping about Jesus, Allah or Vishnu, these guys are doing more for atheism than their own faith.
     
    The Fascists of Tolerance
     

     
    Their strategy is to call you names until you agree with them on everything. I don't think this has ever worked once.
     
    Enfant Provocateur

     
    The original troll, this kid is online for one purpose: to create chaos. You’ll know him when you see him. Just follow the riot.
     
     
     
    How can you know who is an asshole online you ask? It takes one to know one. I make no pretenses of NOT being an asshole. What annoys me about these people is that they won't admit it.
  8. JamesSavik
    I finally got around to going to see Rogue 1 today.
     
    Before I could, there was an unfortunate incident with the previews!
     
    I was appalled and disgusted! Since 2000, there have been two Spider Man origin stories and sequels. Now they'll be a third. No wonder I don't go to the movies very often. THEY KEEP MAKING THE SAME DAMN ONE OVER AND OVER!
     

     
    Speaking of making the same damn movie over and over again, the very next preview is Michael Bay's fifth installment on the Transformers franchise which drove Shia LeBeouf insane and decided that Meagan Fox wasn't hot enough.
     
    Here's an original plot for you- the frikkin evil aliens are coming and our political horse shit has caused the Autobots to relocate to Bumsfart, Nebraskahoma. But they're honorable and long suffering and come back to save the day despite the filthy f-ing humans hardly being worth it.
     
    WTF HOLLYWOOD!? Haven't we seen this movie before? Maybe sixty times? Writers are still writing. Why not try something original for a change! Your audience will reward you for it and despise you less for the decadent worthless pond scum that you really are. So put down the underage cherry you are fondling and read a fucking script or two!
     
    I didn't see anymore previews. By this point I had a seizure and was barking and foaming at the mouth. They thought I had rabies and forced me out of the theater with a fire hose.
     
    Maybe I'll get to see it next week.
  9. JamesSavik
    As a public service, I am going to show you how to detect bullshit. When you hear these phrases, you know that you are in the presence of some major league bullshit.

    "It's not about the money."

    Bullshit. Everything is about the money. If anyone tells you different, they think you are stupid.
     


  10. JamesSavik
    I hated this election cycle. I couldn't get behind either candidate.
     
    Trump didn't thrill me for lot's of reasons. I don't like populists because they tell you what you want to hear then they do what they want.
     
    Clinton didn't thrill me. The wikileaks stuff and the Veritas videos were enough to make anybody think twice.
     
    So I went with my libertarian roots.
     

     
    I've finally found a theme song for this election.
     

     
    Just remember- what YOU do is a lot more important for your life than what any President does.
     
    The next election cycle has already started. Four years from now we'll do it all again.
  11. JamesSavik
    OK. I was against prayer in schools. The problem is that once you allow one religious nut in, you have to let them all in.
     
    But nooooo. I'm a horrible godless heathen and I just don't understand. The decline in our culture is because we don't have prayer in skools.
     
    I hope you're satisfied. Now we have the After School Satanists. That's so much better!
     
    What are you doing for mandatory Ramadan? How about Hanukkah? How about Khordad Sal (Zoroaster's birth anniversary)?
     
    You fundamentalists idiots started this shit.
     
    Now quityourbitchin and feel the burn of multiculturalism destroying your culture.
     
    In a few generations your values will be completely forgotten because you had to open Pandora's box in the public schools.
     
    Gee thanks morons.
  12. JamesSavik

    Lucky 13

    By JamesSavik,

    Today I've been clean & sober 13 years.
     
    It's already been a great day.
     
    My older brother had a scary serious medical incident this week and called me this morning to tell me he's OK.
     
    I do hope that 13 continues to be lucky.
  13. JamesSavik
    It Could Happen to Anybody
     
    Ordinary, average guy accidently kills someone. Then he has to kill again and again to keep it covered up.
     
    Before he knows it, he's a serial killer.
     
    It could happen to anybody. Just add a cup of casual evil.
     
     
     
    After the Fall
     
    Civilization has collapsed but all is not lost.
     
    A race of benevolent aliens sees our plight and decides to help.
     
    Man kind is given a series of gifts that are supposed to fix our problems.
     
    Each one of these gifts is run by an artificial intelligence.
     
    Just when everything is looking up, the AI's decide mankind actually is the problem.
  14. JamesSavik
    Thanks to my niece Kristin and her boyfriend Konner, I got to make an epic shopping trip to Portland. They went and chased rare pokemons that hang out in the city.
     
    One thing you have to understand about Portland- it's crowded and traffic is shocking.
     
    Kristin navigated to my first objective: Powell's Books
     
    I'm not sure if Powell's is the largest independent bookstore in the US but, it takes up a city block. It's so big, they give away maps of the store so you can find your way around. Pro Tip: wear your hiking boots and carry a canteen and a compass.
     

     
    Yes. I went a little bonkers.
     

     
    I bought this little gem used. I've had my eye on it for a while. It's got lots of the geeky stats formulas and such in a useful format. Useful for a gradual student that will have to use stats to escape with a degree.
     
    My next stop was Everyday Music, Portland.
     

     
    Where I bought Radiohead, Jeff Beck and this gem on vinyl:

     
    Finally I made it to Chrome Industries Store where I bought this handy camera bag.

     
    This little gem will replace my *TOO BIG* camera bag with a smaller bag that will be acceptable as carry on luggage.
     
    More later.
  15. JamesSavik

    Mount St. Helens

    By JamesSavik,

    Mount St. Helens wreathed in cirrus clouds.
     

     

    Debris field caused by St Helen's lahars
     

     
    Mount Adams- another stratovolcano about 35 miles east of St. Helen's. It is 2nd only to Rainier in height and is sometimes called the forgotten giant of the Cascades.
     
    Tomorrow- the Oregon coast.
  17. JamesSavik
    You're pissed at him.
     
    He's not talking to you.
     
    Maybe... just maybe... he is like me. He just doesn't know what to say.
     
    He knows the words. He needs to say them but, nobody wants to hear them.
     
    I'm closing in on a degree in telecommunications. I know how to make things talk to each other. From two cans and a tight string to super-bandwidth fiber channels. I can move data like a boss. I can connect people across continents. I can upgrade cell towers by replacing a bunch of boards and reprogramming it to do the latest, greatest ump-teen G.
     
    With all that bandwidth, I just don't know what to say.
     
    My frigging head is full of pithy quotes, tech crap, world history and science.
     
    None of that helps.
     
    So, how are you?
     
    Fine.
     
    Don't expect a shitload more.
     
    I'm afraid.
     
    I'm afraid that smart ass streak will come out. Or some of that unresolved anger. Maybe even a dash of the grief I live with.
     
    When that stuff comes out, it destroys.
     
    It's like carrying around toxic waste: I keep 30 kilos of crazy in a 10 kilo bag of it. It doesn't do me any good but I just can't dump it anywhere.
     
    Better to be the dumb, strong silent type than the raging bastard that inflicts that toxic shit on people.
     
    All that bandwidth and I can't communicate.
  18. JamesSavik
    If you have, you know how much it sucks. You know that your survival isn't guaranteed when you are helpless in the hands of those that have bad intentions.
     
    It's happened to me twice as an adult. I pretty much lived with it as a teen.
     
    Once was a rather serious beating I took as an 18 year old freshman. There was more too it than that but it was bad enough. The second a few years later. I don't remember that one. I was beaten with a blackjack and suffered a severe concussion. Probably left for dead. I was unconscious for three days. I don't remember much of what happened that summer. It took a long time to get my shit together afterwards. Broken ribs went with it and, it was a long, painful recovery.
     
    After that last time I decided that was NEVER going to happen again. I would do whatever it takes. NEVER AGAIN.
     
    If you've been there, you know that there is more too it than healing broken bones, cuts and other wounds. What it does to your thinking can be just as bad.
     
    You second guess yourself. You wonder what you could have done different. You think that you are just a weak POS and probably deserved it.
     
    It can be worse. If you survive and others don't, the survivor's guilt can be a bitch.
     
    There is something called hyperviligence. It's one of my big symptoms for Post traumatic Stress Disorder. It's loads of fun. You know how you get wired with adrenaline when you get rattled? Hypervigilance is like that ALL THE TIME.
     
    When I go into a place, I want to know where the exits are. When I walk down the street, I see EVERYTHING. I notice EVERYTHING. I evaluate EVERYTHING. I think three moves ahead because that's what it f-ing takes.
     
    I live in a shitty place. #10 murder city in America.
     
    Don't tell me that's no threat because there's a f-ing threat. That kid in the red hoodie? He could be an Alabama fan or a shooter for the Bloods. You just never know. Best to stay out of his way.
     
    I hear gunfire at night. Occasionally, you hear a lot of it. Makes you wonder when you don't hear anything about it on the news.
     
    You want me to give up my guns in this shithole?
     
    Seriously?
     
    You might as well just shoot me and get it over with on the way out.
     
    It'll be cleaner that way.
  19. JamesSavik
    As a math geek I can really geek out on statistics.
     
    It is said that statistics can be made to say anything and that is true if you play games with the numbers. I don't.
     
    Those numbers actually say things that don't jive with the political narrative.
     
    Those are the numbers we really need to pay attention to.
     
     
     
     
     
    Per Capita Gun Ownership: 112 guns per 100 people
     
    The US is #1 worldwide in gun ownership with more guns than people.1
     
     
     
    Now- let's look at the US Homicide Rate per 1000 people.
     
    We aren't number 1. We're not even #50. Surprise, we're not even in the top 100.
     
    We are #108 in the world with 3.9 homicides/1000 people2.
     
     
     
    Finally let's look at the homicide rates of the cities3. You can find the raw data at the link.
     
    If we exclude the city data from the country as a total, the US murder rate drops to .3 per thousand or the same rate as Iceland at 170.
     
    If you look at the REAL DATA objectively, we DO NOT have a gun problem. We have a crime problem embedded in the cities.
     
    I say that as a resident of the city #10 of the top murder cities- Jackson, MS.
     
     
     
    Footnotes:
    1- Number of guns per capita per country
    2- Homicide Rate per 1000 per Country
    3- US Cities Top 30 in Homicides
  20. JamesSavik
    Introduction
    When the Alliance Civil War broke out 2549, the giant TranStellar corporations located in the Corporate Sector seceded from the Alliance and formed the Consolidated Federation (commonly called the ConFed).
    The ConFed consisted of five huge TransStellar corporations: Nakajima, MilTech, Venture, предприятие (Enterprise) and Gradient plus hundreds of smaller subsidiaries located in the sector. Those five corporations alone accounted for almost thirty percent of the Alliance GNP. In the beginning they had a small edge in technology but that edge was fleeting.
    The Corporate War took four long years of hard, bitter fighting. When it started neither side was ready for hostilities. Caught by surprise, both militaries struggled to adjust. The fighting was confused and sporadic. The two fleets fought a series of fierce, sharp inconclusive engagements between cruisers and destroyers.
    When the Alliance was able to bring their new battle cruisers and carriers into the fight, the ConFed fleet was thrown back and finally destroyed at the Battle of Pelenor.
    Historically the Corporate War was not much to brag about militarily on either side. At first it was a comedy of errors. Then it became a drama of attrition. Finally it became a matter of the weight of metal.
    The Corporate War wasn’t all that interesting compared to what happened afterwards. The Alliance liberated millions of genetically engineered slaves. That’s when things got really interesting.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


    Chapter 1
     
    Operation Downfall


    Planet Pelanor
    Corporate Sector
    Closing days of the Corporate War, 2553
     
    Gunnery Sergeant Kyle Jorgensen and his platoon were in cover behind a few big hills and some trees. Not that it was much cover but, some was always better than none. Their powered armor made them hard to kill, not invincible.
     
    They all knew that the end was in sight. They had been fighting for days but their enemy was finally broken. Organized resistance was collapsing.
     
    Jorgensen said, “McGee, put a drone up, I want to see what’s on the other side of this hill.”
     
    “Launching now Gunny. The feed is on TAC 2.”
     
    Jorgensen tapped into the channel and got a bird’s eye view of three of the enemies Thor type main battle tanks hulled down in revetments on the opposite slope. They weren’t moving and their IR signatures were cold. Had the enemy bugged out? He locked an invisible point of coded infra-red light on the tanks.
     
    “Weapons platoon, I’m lasing three heavily armored targets on the opposite slope. Take them out.”
     
    There was a loud whoosh as three anti-armor missiles took off, locked onto their targets and blew them into scrap.
     
    The little drone continued to circle their part of the battlefield. That alone was unusual. Their battlefield life of a drone was usually measured in seconds. It flew in ever widening circles and no opposition was present. There was nothing between them and the big, mysterious complex that was their objective.
     
    Since nothing had killed the drone, he decided to take it over the objective. What he saw wasn’t a huge surprise. There was a 10 meter concrete block wall that ran around the perimeter of the complex. There were numerous buildings of all sizes inside and what looked like a training area for soldiers.

    Jorgensen changed channels to the company net and keyed his mike, “Saber this is Foxtrot.”
     
    “Go for Foxtrot.”
     
    “We’re moving in on objective designated Whiskey-6. I’ve got a drone up with no opposition and I’ve got good overheads on the objective.”
     
    “Patch that feed through Foxtrot.”
     
    Jorgensen patched the drone feed into the company net to give their intelligence officer a chance to get a look at the take.
     
    A different voice came over the company net. Jorgensen immediately recognized Captain Sanchez’s voice: “Foxtrot, be advised you are closing on one of our primary objectives. Gunny, do you have an Ordnance & Demolition specialist attached?”
     
    “That’s affirmative Saber.”
     
    “Good.” There was a stir of activity in the background. An overhead map appeared in Jorgensen’s heads up display with one of the buildings in the complex highlighted. Captain Sanchez continued. “Gunny, I need for you to secure this building.”
     
    Jorgensen said, “What about enemy personnel? It looks like they bugged out.”
     
    Sanchez said, “We caught a whole bunch of the rat bastards and they are singing like canaries to avoid the hangman’s noose. They didn’t want us to take this complex in one piece. It has the evidence we need to nail MilTech’s senior management to the wall. I’m moving up Echo and Golf platoons to support you. I’ve also got air support on call. Get in there and secure that complex. This is the one we’ve been waiting for.”
     
    Another voice came on the channel: “Foxtrot, this is Foil. The big independent complexes all have a fusion power plant. What they have done is to set the reactor to keep feeding deuterium into the reaction chamber and have shut down plasma venting. Eventually the containment bubble will explode and destroy the complex. We need to get into the control center and turn the reactor venting back on. Don’t worry- it takes about twenty hours for the reactor to go critical. You’ve got plenty of time. Just get in there and… keep your people together. You’re about to see some stuff that will probably shake them up.”
     
    Jorgensen said, “Roger that Foil. I’m going to get my people organized and hit the objective in two mikes. Foxtrot out.”
     
    Jorgensen changed the circuit to the platoon net and said, “All right guys. Battalion says that complex is a primary objective and they want it in one piece. Riuz: set up your squad on the hill top. I need your heavy weapons on overwatch. Everybody else, follow me and advance by squads move and cover. We’re going over that cinder block perimeter wall. Once we get inside, we are to secure the control center. Got it?”
     
    His platoon answered as one, “Sir, yes sir.”
     
    Ortega and his heavy weapons squad moved out to take up positions on the hill top. Jorgensen gave his platoon a minute and a half to set up and then he gave the order, “Move out!”
     
    Jorgensen’s squad topped the hill with their battle armor at a full run. The ten Marines spread out quickly covering ground and using the battle armors sensors to look out for enemies. They took cover behind the burning abandoned tanks in their hulled down positions.
     
    Second squad sprinted past their position under the protection of the guns of 1st squads and the heavy weapons squad. Finally 3rd squad passed their position and no fire had been encountered.
     
    Once 2nd and 3rd squads were set, Jorgensen’s squad made the sprint to the cinder block wall. As soon as they were within 100 meters of the wall their suits gave them warning of a tight mine field.
     
    His platoon stopped, fanned out in a ten meter wide line and deployed what appeared to be small rugs that rolled out all the way to the wall. Jorgensen yelled, “Fire in the hole!”
     
    The mats erupted in a flash of dust and concussion. Debris and shrapnel from the mines pinged off their powered armor. They waited a moment to let the dust clear, swept the corridor they had created with their sensors and closed on the wall.
     
    The wall was nothing special—just concrete blocks and cement. They placed a triple ring of det-cord on the wall and in another flash of cordite, they had a gate.
     
    Jorgensen led his squad into the complex. They moved in, and found cover positions as the other three squads followed them in.
     
    While the platoon was moving in he tapped into the Battalion net and said, “Saber this is Foxtrot. My platoon is entering objective Whiskey-6. I am proceeding to secure the complex and safe the reactor.”
     
    “Roger that Foxtrot. Echo and Golf platoons are following you in. You are in tactical command of the site until relieved.”
     
    Jorgensen changed to the platoon net and ordered, “OK, reset your weapons to stun. We need prisoners. Fan out and to your squad objectives. First squad on me- go, go, go!”
     
    The complex was large, at least several square kilometers. The buildings were modular construction of the most modern types but the thing that struck Jorgensen was the huge drill field. It was like any other that Jorgensen had seen on at least a dozen postings. He could easily identify a rifle range, rope towers and a wicked looking obstacle course. That was just what he could see through the clutter of various buildings on the South side of the complex.
     
    Ortega ran alongside Jorgensen, opened a side band and said, “Did we just invade a boot camp Gunny?”
     
    Jorgensen said, “Sure looks like it. Doesn’t that obstacle course look fun?”
     
    Ortega said, “Is this an obstacle course for short people?”
     
    “We’ll figure it out later. Let’s get to the objective.”
     
    Static came over the platoon network and a voice said, “This is squad 2. We have the utility building. The reactor is reading in the green. No contact.”
     
    Jorgensen’s squad approached the Administration building at a full run. It was like all the rest of the buildings in the complex. The only thing that distinguished it from the others was the communication array on the roof and the plaque reading Palatine Hill Complex— Administration Building.
     
    As the platoon closed on the structure, a number of muffled pistol shots were detected by their suits audio pick-ups. The shots were immediately classified by the suit AIs as a 10mm automatic pistol— nothing that their powered armor couldn’t handle with ease.
     
    It took a few minutes to safely negotiate the halls of the building using move and cover techniques. They arrived to find a bloody mess.
     
    Several company executives and uniformed security officers were very clearly dead. A man in a lab coat was bleeding out on the floor but wasn’t dead yet.
     
    Ortega said, “We need a corpsman in here now!”
     
    Jorgensen took a knee beside the man and said, “Take it easy, help is on the way.”
     
    The man looked up at him and said, “I couldn’t let them kill my kids.”
     
    The Gunnery Sergeant asked, “What are you talking about?”
     
    The scientists coughed and blood ran down the corner of his mouth. “They wanted us to make super soldiers. Nothing worked until we tried the Gemini Project.” He coughed and wheezed and then continued, “They’re all just kids but… they’re too human for the Company. I’ve been opposing destroying them for months but, when our forces collapsed, there was nothing more I could do. I had to shoot them. In my pocket is a data crystal with everything you need— passwords, access controls and project information. Try to save my kids…”
     
    The scientists eyes stared blankly and he stopped breathing. Ortega asked, “What the hell was that all about?”
     
    Jorgensen took the data crystal from the scientists pocket and reached over and closed his eyes. “I don’t know but I think our lives just got more complicated. Copy this chip and send the data to HQ. Then we’re going to find a conference room and see what we’ve got.”
     
    He took a moment to look at all of his platoon data feeds and keyed his mike, “Foxtrot lead to pack: we have taken the objective. Spread out, look out for surprises and secure the complex.”
  21. JamesSavik
    Remember this dude?
     

     
    He didn't know squat about my hood where a 9-iron is a pistol and rock is... well, you know wtf it is.
     
    My Neighbors?
     
    Let's start with Mr. Crack Head.
     

     
    He doesn't really live in the neighborhood. He just works here after 1am. Really strenuous work. Breaking into houses and cars.
     
    Then the gangsta cow...

     
    He's got all the little heifers.
     
    Then there's religious nutt...

     
    Not really dangerous but there's lot's of them and they are annoying.
     
    Red teletubby

     
    Is our random crazy that we have no idea what he's up to.
     
    Nuts with guns...

     
    Psycho mutt

    He's like off the chain, yo!
     
    And plain old psychos.

     
    Makes it all seem like a beautiful day to hide in my bunker.
     
    Think I'll start digging and mixing cement.
  22. JamesSavik
    I belong to an online dating site.
     
    I don't date often because the whole experience is just bizarre.
     
    In selecting a picture and creating a profile, I have some advice.
     
    1. Don't lie. You haven't been age x since the eighties.
     
    2. Don't lie. You aren't a millionaire and you don't drive a Porsche.
     
    3. Don't lie. I don't care if you work as a manager at Shoe-land. Working a steady job anywhere is a big plus.
     
    4. Don't lie. I'll figure out if you're an abusive alcoholic pretty quick.
     
    5. Don't lie. That's not your picture. I've seen it before. How is that even supposed to work if we meet?
     
    6. Don't lie. I don't want to see your dog, girlfriend, wife, kid, mother, cat or boyfriend on you picture.
     
    7. Don't lie. I can smell a game a mile away and as soon as I do, I'm gone.
     
    8. Don't lie. I can smell a scam a mile away and as soon as I do, I'm gone.
     
    9. Don't lie. Try to rob me and I'll stab you and laugh while you bleed to death prick.
     
    10. Don't lie. It's the number one deal breaker and the reason why online dating doesn't work unless you're an Abercrombie & Fitch model. It probably doesn't even work for them because it seems like everybody f-ing lies.
     
    Notice the trend???
     
    I'm a guy in my early fifties in good shape. I go to the gym 3 times a week and I'm healthy.
     
    If that's not good enough, move on.
     
    Just don't jerk me off... unless we both agree in advance.
  23. JamesSavik
    The end is near!
     
    These are the best choices of our venerable political system and wise statesmen. I can only conclude that our civilization is in serious decline if the best we can do is the deeply corrupt, a socialist, billionaire blowhard grifter and a creepy religious fanatic.
     
    How did it come to this? The signs of decadence and stupidity have been here for some time. Reality TV. Music Television without music. Boy bands. Rap and hip hop.
     
    This civilization is on a downward trajectory and, the powers at be seem dead set to keep it on that course and double down. More debt. More useless spending. We can't be out of money, we've still got checks.
     
    Folks, this is like ignoring the tilt in the deck of the Titanic. When this ship of state goes down, it's going to take a shitload of people with it.
     
    It's way past time to vote for sanity. It's time to buy guns, dehydrated food and build bunkers.
     
     
     

     
    No. You can't have an abortion and fuck you if you need social services.
     


     
    The stupid. It burns.
     


     
    We are living in a new dark age for man kind: the Walmart Culture.
  24. JamesSavik
    One of the best reasons to quit/avoid doing drugs are the dealers. Gone are the days you can share a joint with your English Lit professor. Now it is sketchy, twitchy guys who you would rather NOT know your name or where you live. The weed dealers used to be sweet, misguided lonely guys that you could get high and occasionally sleep with. The guys selling crystal, coke and other stuff you don't want to have anything to do with.
     

    the Maniac- this coke dealer is paranoid, jumpy and armed better than most battleships. He will kill you if your cell phone has the wrong ring tone.
     
    Tagline: I'm gonna bury you cock-a-roach!
     

    the Molester- this dealer wants you addicted and desperate so....ewww. You'll figure it out.
     
    Tagline: I'm sure that we can work something out.
     

    the Mobster- this dealer's name is always Joey. Everything is cool as long as nothing goes wrong but if anything does go sideways, he'll wack you and your whole family out to 3rd cousins.
     
    Tagline: Forgetaboutit.
     

    the Coke Bunny- the coke bunny is a dealer in that they sell you coke so that you can snort it with her/him. They'll tease you for hours but you won't be getting any of that. The coke-bunny will always be a smoking hot guy or chick. Either way, you still ain't gonna hit that.
     
    Tagline: You want a little more Sugar?
     

    the Soldier- the mercenary is just back from a long killing spree in South America and has a few keys he's looking to unload. Just hope that his PTSD isn't acting up and he doesn't have any combat flash-backs while the two of you are in the same state.
     
    Tagline: OOH RAH!
     

    the Bad Cop- this guy will sell you dope for years and then turn around and bust you for it when he needs to make his quota.
     
    Tagline: Trust me.
     

    the Rat- this guy is looking at 1000 years of mandatory minimums with everyone from the Feds down to the local Sheriff. His only hope is too betray and/or set-up everyone that he ever met since kinder-garden.
     
    Tagline: Remember me? We were in 3rd grade homeroom and I'm looking for an 8-ball...
     

    the X-kid- a really sweet dealer, the X-kid sells only E. He goes both ways and will sleep with everybody in the room and have deep discussions about his feelings. Most people like him until he gives them the clap.
     
    Tagline: Will NOT STFU
     

    the p0rn perv- If you end up doing his coke or crystal, you'll wake up and find yourself on the internet doing things... you would rather forget
     
    Tagline: You like horses?
     

    the Prick- this dealer gets off on having the dope and abusing the junkies that are addicted to it. He was probably a concentration camp guard in another life.
     
    Tagline: You like that bitch?
     
     
     
    ___________________________________________________________
    Best of the Blog- 2009 4600 hits.
  25. JamesSavik

    In Your Facebook

    By JamesSavik,

    I have the good fortune of being friends with a delightful young couple from Florida. We'll just call them Luke & Carter.
     
    We love classic rock and seafood and being blessed by living where we do. There's really not anywhere like the Gulf Coast. Sure- it gets blown away every 40 years and we have to rebuild it but what the heck. It's worth it.
     
    We have a long on going conversation thread where we talk about life, music, art and other assorted stuff that's shiny.
     
    Here's a snip that touched me.
     
    Luke: wanna stay in love with my sorrow.


    Carter: Yeah, great song
    Me: There's a line in Lithium that goes- anything is better than being alone.
    Nothing could be further from the truth. Being with the wrong one is far worse than being alone. Watching someone become someone else from drinking or doing drugs. Being that guy yourself.
    It's a long climb back to humanity from that hole.

    Carter: You're back Unca James
    Luke: Yeah
    Me: Next time I see you guys Imma gonna hug you so hard
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