May 29, 2007

D&D update:
We played D&D on the 19th of May, 2007, and the updates are in. This session saw a normal number of updates. During the 5 May meeting, the party finally made it into Firestorm Peak. At the end of 2006, the party began a new adventure. In search of Tanar's father. So far, the party has discovered two very large gates in the side of the mountain. They believe that their quest takes them into this cursed mountain during a period of celestial confluence. While they search for a way into the mountain, they've witnessed some strange sights, met unlikely allies, and fought some terrible monsters. The party picked up some additional information, and a new traveling companion at the the 'Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine', and then they set out for the mountain entrance. They managed to avoid trouble in the Charnel Bog, and made their way to the entrance at Firestorm Peak. With a winter storm (in Augot?!) raging just outside, the party entered the mountain. Once inside they encountered the gates defenders. A fierce battle is underway, and this is only the second session of combat. So far none of the party members have been completely incapacitated, but they have been significantly slowed down by the defenders stationed in this heavily fortified entrance. Be sure to check back on the outcome of this initial encounter. This encounter could set the stage for many sessions yet to come. As a result of this recent meeting, I've updated the following pages:

Our next gaming date is 02 Jun 2007, and I'm sure that there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come. Hopefully everyone will make our next meeting. Hopefully, I can find some new players to fill those vacant chairs. So far the 'waiting list' has failed to produce any takers. The next big challenge lays inside Firestorm Peak. Be sure to follow our adventurers as they look for Tanar's father, and seek out the source of taint inside Firestorm Peak.

Apple Security Updates:
Another security update released by Apple - Security update 2007-005, and two security patches for QuickTime. This time the update addresses security concerns in the Alias Manager, Bind, Core Graphics, crontab, fetchmail, file, iChat, mDNSResponder, PPP, ruby, screen, texinfo, VPN and QuickTime for java. Apple's software update makes it easy to find out about, and implement these security updates. If you own a Mac, you can rest assured that any potential security concerns will be addressed in a timely and thorough manner. You can read more about the update at Apple's website. Keeping my Mac safe from malicious hackers and such.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/security/>

Music collection:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. I've finished my cassette digitization project, and now I'm beginning to explore some new music web sites. With more time on my hands to discover new music, I'll likely start downloading more music from websites and newsgroups. This set of music comes from two sources. Something called 'Musical Family Tree', and an artists web site.

Web downloads:
* Dreams of Reason - Hammer and Tongs: (12 songs) This alternative rock band hails from Bloomington Indiana. While the band only lasted a few years, they managed to put out two albums. This second album was clearly the better of the two.
* Dreams of Reason - Dreams of Reason: (11 songs) The first release from this Indiana band. Showing a lot of promise. It's too bad the band didn't stay together.
* deshead - Waking up in August: (12 songs) I found out about this group a long time ago (through MacAddict magazine). While working on my music database, I rediscovered their sound. Crisp alternative tunes tinged with folk roots.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of May. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been starting to rediscover my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Movies and Music:
During the last couple of days, I updated two listings. I finally completed a long running project to revamp and update my music listing. I started on the project more than two years ago, and today I finally finished it. Using CDPedia and iTunes, I've posted all my music online (except for seven albums). I've completely transitioned my music listing from a flat file spreadsheet (converted to HTML table), into a database based index. After completing a cassette digitization project, and a database clean-up, I've finally completed the music listing project. I hope you enjoy the new listing. In addition to the music listing, I also updated my movie listing. This month I purchased three new movies, and they arrived in the mail a few days back (see my movies page for the new additions). With the acquisition of these new movies, I've updated the movie listing.

May 28, 2007

Spring Showers and a cold snap:
During May, Colorado tends to get plenty of thunderstorms. As the heat of the day meets the cooler evening temps, thunderstorms form. On the 22nd of May, we had one of our typical 'Late May' gutter washers. A drenching downpour. A thunderous deluge that shook the building. The rain was coming down so hard (I was at work), that it actually reduced visibility to 10 feet! You could see much further than your arms could reach. Wow! The rain kept up all day long, and they marked the leading edge of a protracted cold front. After that day of torrential rains, we experienced a two day cold snap that sent our temps plunging from the 70's down into near freezing territory. On the 23rd of May, we had more rain showers. They weren't as heavy as the heavy rains experienced on the 22nd, but they lasted all day long. The temps fell down into the 50's during the day, and it dropped to the low 30's at night. On the 24th of May, we had more gloomy weather. The rain let up, with intermittent showers, but the temps never got above the high 40's. The rain and cool weather was a welcome respite from the heat of late May. By the 25th of May, temps were back up in the 70s.

Software favorites:
One of my favorite pieces of software recently released an update. GraphicConverter moves ever forward. One more steps towards perfection. Another product that's always getting better. When the new version 6.0 (non-beta) comes out, I'll have to pay for an upgrade. It's been quite a while since I paid for a GC update, but given the amount of added and improved features, it'll be well worth the price.

GraphicConverter released a new beta version (6.0b1), in the past few days. GraphicConverter is an image converter and editor. A fantastic piece of shareware that is well worth the price ($30.00). I use it to convert image formats into web standard formats, to create and edit image maps and other graphics. I've been singing GC's praises for many years now, and I'm not sure I would do without it. The best part about GC is it's author. Thorsten Lemke is completely committed to his customer base. Constantly and Continuously responding to customer recommendations and bug reports. GC is a dynamic, evolving, application. Always on the cutting edge, an absolute must in any web developers tool box. At a fraction of PhotoShop's cost, this photo editor puts a huge wrench in your toolbox.

Some of the new features provided in this beta update: Save for web function; Polygon selection tool added; Basic layer support added; Set gps coordinates from Google Earth; Go to photo position in Google Earth; New rulers added; Additional automator actions added; Additional layer frames added; kdc import; Open exr import; Some measure functions (line, rectangle, circle, mean) added to the measure tool; Selection of alpha channels (drag, copy, paste); Basic import of HD Photo (wdp) added; New browser sort options added (sort from position and sort from position hexadecimal); Paste into alpha channel added. The addition of several new layer functions puts GraphicConverter up there in the PhotoShop competitor category.
<http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html>

Removed from my Favorites page:
With the recent release of a new version of GraphicConverter (see above), I updated my software favorites page. This page provides some information regarding the software tools that I use to create, edit and publish my web pages. I've been working on these web pages since 1996, and I've been designing web pages since 1993. As my efforts are strictly a hobby, I haven't really delved into the highly commercial aspects of web page design. In other words, I'm not up to date on all the latest programming: Java, JavaScript, PHP and XML. I have done a little cgi-bin/perl scripting, and I find it to be very useful. I don't design web pages for a living; although I do think that would be a cool job. I simply tinker a bit for my own pleasure. The 'favorites' page is an attempt to impart what I hope will be seen as a few words of advice regarding some useful web page design tools for Mac users.

While updating the web page, I realized that one particular software tool has fallen out of 'favorite' standing, and I decided to remove it from my favorites listing. I'm sad to see it go, but every application has a limited life time of usefulness. In this case, I've grown out of the 'plain text' editor phase. Starting out with HTML in the very early days of web editing (back in the early 90s), there weren't very many graphical web editors out there, and there weren't any available for the Mac at all. If you wanted to write web pages, you had to learn HTML coding inside and out. I did that, I knew how to create HTML documents from top to bottom. I could write a web page without the need for a graphical editor. Unfortunately, they didn't look all that good, and HTML tables had just appeared on the scene. Over time, I came to appreciate tables and the possibilities they provided. Early on, the makers of BBEdit saw the possibilities of tables and they released something called 'Table Builder'. It was a web editor (for tables only) with a graphic editor. That's when I realized that I had to have a 'WYSIWYG' editor for laying out tables.

I purchased DreamWeaver, and never looked back. Web pages are graphical. If you're going to develop web pages for graphic layout, you really should use a tool which allows you to build the layout in a graphic environment. It's more intuitive, decreases the amount of time you spend tweaking, proofing and correcting your web pages. I'm convinced that the purist form of building web pages; using a 'plain text' editor, is no longer a reasonable way to get things done. While I like to 'know' everything I'm doing, I've found that a good 'WYSIWYG' editor can allow you to see both the 'code' and the 'layout'. You don't have to abandon layout to the unreasonable 'click and drag' model. I want to know what I'm doing, but at the same time, I need to see what the results will look like. As a result of this realization, I've decided to remove BBEdit from my list of software 'favorites'. While there will always be a special place in my heart for BBEdit, it's lost it's relevance as an HTML editing tool. It's well suited to other coding applications, but Web Pages (HTML coding) are a graphical format, and I need a tool which allows me to more directly create, manipulate, change and view the graphic elements of my web site.

I'll continue to use BBEdit for some coding, but I can no longer justify it's presence on my 'Favorites' page. I rarely use it for HTML editing, and that's the focus of my 'Favorites' page.

May 24, 2007

Music collection:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Back in January of 2007, I began a digitization project, but that project has nearly come to an end. All that's left are some LP conversions. Since I don't have an LP player (i.e. Turntable), I'll have to acquire one some how. Not digitizing these LPs leaves seven albums out of my collection (for now). Well, you have to draw the line somewhere. With this project all but wrapped up, the music acquisition should slow down a bit. Here's the last of my cassette digitization work. I converted these last cassettes during May. These cassettes were made many years ago. They're cassettes of LPs that I own.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of April. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been starting to rediscover my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

World Forum - 2007:
Each year (2nd to last weekend of June) the AEI (American Enterprises Institute) sponsors a forum in Beaver Creek, Colorado. It used to be held at the invitation of former U.S. President Gerald Ford, but he died in Dec of 2006. In the past (2002-2005), I've volunteered at the event - hosted by the Vail Valley Foundation, as a driver and security augmentee. The last year I attended was 2005. In 2006, I didn't have enough vacation (as a civilian) to attend, and this year I'll be vacationing with relatives. I have confirmed, through event organizers, that there will be a World Forum this year. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend. Maybe next year. Who attends the World Forum? Politicians, Military leaders, Foreign dignitaries, heads of state, policy experts and learned individuals concerned with security, international relations, global trade and diplomacy. For more information about the World Forum, see my 'Think Tank' web page.

Hail Storm:
On the 14th of May, our neighborhood (SE Aurora) was struck by a small hail storm. With pea-sized hail and heavy rains, the storm lasted approximately one hour, bringing some needed precipitation to the area. While we had a snowy winter this year, the mountains didn't receive the bulk of the snow. Snow falling on the front-range and the eastern plains of Colorado doesn't help our water situation. It looks like the Denver metro area is going to have another year of water restrictions. This hail storm (rain to the west of us) will help the farmers, but we're going to need much more.

Our House:
Kim and I bought a new house in April of 2005. Our first home. It's been over a year since then, and we've been engrossed in the new house. Settling into a new home is quite a chore. There are a lot of expenses, expected and otherwise. We've still got a lot of work to do, and I imagine it'll never stop. Owning your own home brings a lot more work than a rental, and I didn't expect this much fun! Over the past year there's been a lot of construction in the neighborhood, and the house was looking pretty dingy on the outside.

<rave>Well, in order to spruce it up some, we hired a company that does window cleaning and power washing. Reflection Windows is listed on the 'Tom Martino' referral list. Tom Martino is a consumer advocate in the Denver area. His referral list has been (for us and many others) a go-to list of trusted merchants & businesses in the Denver metro area. We selected Reflection Windows primarily based on the fact that they're listed on Tom's referral list, and we're glad we did.

Reflection Windows did a spectacular job for a very reasonable price. They (one person) cleaned all our windows (even the basement windows), inside and out using the proper tools. They didn't just spray them with a hose. They took their time and did it right. They power washed our garage, driveway and the exterior of the house. They even knocked down a hornets nest. Reflection Windows earned their spot on my referral list last year, and I'm glad to say that I'd recommend them to anyone who wants to spruce up their exterior, and get the gleam back in their home. Thanks for a job well done.</rave>

Sweet Bobby V's Party!
I don't host parties very often. As a matter of fact, this is the first party we've hosted since I left the military. It's also the first party we've hosted since moving into our new digs. It was a going away party for some of the folks at work. Billed as the 'Good Riddance, Good Bye, and Good Luck' party. We threw the party to say good bye to three people: One big haired, evil monster (who shall remain nameless), who will be retiring - Hooray! One smart ass civilian will be leaving for the land down under - We’ll miss you Dennis, and one Petty Officer First Class will be going TDY to a place I’d rather not visit - Good luck Peterson!

Kim and I catered Qdoba for the food. We also provided all the soda and a cake. Those who showed up (I invited 30 people), had to bring their own adult beverages. I didn't want to be responsible for anyone's bad judgment. I think we might have had 20 people show up (total). It never got very crowded, but there were times when we were low on chairs. The basement was a good choice for venue.

Everyone loved the house, and they all had a good time. Even the person who drank far too much, far too fast. It took a total of five hours to clean up. The highlight of the evening was a game of 'Beer-Pong' a fraternity sport where you attempt to land a ping-pong ball in a cup containing beer (or some other alcoholic beverage). On our very first attempts, Nate and I managed to double up on the same cup. Landing two balls in the same cup back-to-back, forced our opponents to clear there side of the table (drinking the contents of all six cups). What fun! Kim and I didn't get to bed until 2AM.

Death to spammers!
Beginning on the 20th of May, 2007, a spammer launched a spew campaign with my email address in the spams Reply-To: address field. As a result of his forgery, I received a auto-generated blow-back message. This server generated messages was sent to me in response to spam sent to some unsuspecting internet user. I warned the Romanian system administrator off of auto-responders, but I doubt that they'll listen. Hopefully, there won't be any measurable effects on my domain or its standing. I haven't been black listed yet, not that I know of anyway. Oh how I hate spammers!

Sugar Grove:
A favorite among visitors is my NSGA (Now NIOC) Sugar Grove page. It contains some information about an assignment to one of the remotest tours in the continental U.S. I occasionally get questions regarding the base, the community, and what it's like to live and work at the little station known as 'the Grove'. I recently updated the web page to update a broken link to the Navy's official Sugar Grove web site. In addition to fixing that broken link, I also made a few changes to the page layout. Check out the rounded corners!.

May 14, 2007

Music collection:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Back in January of 2007, I began a digitization project, but that project has nearly come to an end. All that's left are some LP conversions. Since I don't have an LP player (i.e. Turntable), I'm going to digitize the cassettes that I've made of those albums. That will leave some of the albums out of my digital collection, but you have to draw the line somewhere. With that project all but wrapped up, the music acquisition should slow down a bit. Here's some of the acquisitions for this month.

eMusic downloads:
* Gary Numan - Telekon: (16 songs) I own the LP, but I never recorded it to cassette. Since I've been enjoying Gary Numan lately, I decided to download this album through emusic.com. Unfortunately, one of the songs was missing. A quick trip to FrostWire, and I was able to locate a copy of the missing track: "Down in the Park". Yes, it's a LEGAL download. I own the rights to the track. I purchased the album back in the 80's. I wonder why emusic can't get a hold of that one track?
* The Sea and Cake - Everybody: (10 songs) Sophisticated alt-rock. With excellent instrumentals and sobering lyrics. I discovered this band by listening to my playlist over at 'Pandora.com'. Alternative, indie, experimental. Jazz flavored instruments, soaking in melody.
* The Rakes - Ten New Messages: (11 songs) Yes 11 songs - I know the title is 'Ten New Messages'. The 11th track is an emusic exclusive acoustic version of another track. So it's still ten songs. One of the ten has an acoustic version. I first discovered this band by listening to the iTunes new music Tuesday podcast. British beetles inspired post punk alternative band. With a sound that's very reminiscent of Gang of Four or Joy Division. This release has longer pauses, high speed curves that take more than one second to navigate, and contemptuous tempo that forces your feet to move. Diving deeper into the depths of their talent, this release illustrates that the Rakes can go the distance.
* Bob Mould - Body of Song: (12 songs) Former frontman/creative force behind Hüsker Dü (back in the 80's!), and Sugar (in the 90's). Bob Mould never gave up on his music. This release represents a considerable investment in time and effort. He first began working on this album in 1998, and he plugged into it over a period of seven years, before he finally released it in 2005. Well worth the wait I say. Will we have to wait seven years for the next release? I hope not.
* Alan Astor - Everything Is Possible: (11 songs) Discovered by listening to free music included with my subscription to MacAddict magazine (included on the software disc). Alan Astor creates a lush electronic atmosphere, a place where the dance floor is an entire universe of possibilities. Excellent electronica with a steady beat, industrial underpinnings, vibrant vocals, and unbeatable lyrics.
* Colin Hay - Going Somewhere: (15 songs) Former lead of Men At Work, it's been a while since I heard this man's voice. It's worn a bit by the many years that have passed, but he's still got great command of the range, and the sentiment and evocative pictures he paints are incomparable. The acoustic guitar work complements Colin's vocals excellently, and there's a considerable amount of care in this release.
* Big Country - John Wayne's Dream: (16 songs) Here's a band I listened to back in the 80's. Back then they helped bring the sounds of Scotland to an America that was obsessed with sounds outside the box. While the public demanded a specific sound, Big Country suffered at those demands. Here is a re-imagining of their final studio release - 'Driving to Damascus'. With a remixed lineup, some excellent extra tracks, and a proper production/distribution treatment, this album is what that one should have been. Talent that depends more on genuine craftsmanship than it does on an accent. It's too bad the lead singer didn't stick around long enough for us to thank him properly.

These are just some of the items I added to my music collection during the month of April. Since returning from Japan in 2001, I've been starting to rediscover my appreciation for music. I really picked it up again in September of 2005. Since then I've been slowly adding, revising and updating my music collection. If you have a comment or a question regarding my music collection, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Air Free Tires:
See my earlier rant, for background/additional information. My air free tires arrived on the 6th of April, and I've tested them twice since installing them. The tires are made out of hundreds of thousands of microscopic air cells trapped in a matrix of incredibly tough polyurethane.

The second test ride was considerably longer, and the tires limitations left me less than satisfied with these substitutes. I took a ten mile trip around my community. Riding over various terrain - Roads (blacktop and concrete), sidewalks, scree/rocks, mulch, cactus and saw palmetto covered grounds, mud slick sidewalks. These tires don't have much grip, and the ride over the muddy sidewalk nearly spilled me when I slowed down. It was so bad I had to get off the sidewalk. The polyurethane tires makes for very poor traction in wet conditions. I've found that it takes much more effort to control the bike with these tires. I had to keep my hands on the handle-bars nearly continuously. The ride wasn't quite as slippery as the first two times I rode the bike, but I don't think it's ever going to approach the grip you get from real rubber. I spent a good amount of time off the road, and found the ride satisfactory in that terrain. I didn't worry at all about the cactus, goat heads (aka Bull heads or puncture vine), downed barbed wire, or glass in my path. I even rode through a dark tunnel (under a road) without worrying about the probable tire hazards that I couldn't see. There's no rolling resistance whatsoever, but the tires just don't fit right on the rims. I picked the correct tire, but they're a bit loose on the rim. As I neared the end of my ride - about 200 yards from my house - I had to move from off road onto a new sidewalk. The ground wasn't level with the sidewalk, so I had to jump up onto the sidewalk. As I did so, I turned the bike slightly, and the force of the turn against the edge of the tire caused the tire to come right off the rim! I just about lost it, but I was able to recover despite the fact that I scraped up my calves pretty bad (on the pedals). As I carried the bike home, I wondered whether I could trust these tires again.

Overall, I was satisfied with the ride, but I'm worried about the safety factor of these ill fitting tires. Today (13 May 2007), I went to Sports Authority, and bought some tire liners. I'm planning to put the rubber tires back on the bike. Provided I can get that front tire off the rim! I'll install the liners, and we'll just see how good their 'guarantee' is... Honestly, when I bought the solid tires, I hadn't even thought about liners. I didn't even know that such a thing existed. I'm not some professional rider. I'm just someone who want's a good bike ride around my neighborhood. Since I bought the air-free tires, I learned about liners, slime, and armadillo tires. If I get a flat with the liners on, I'll switch back to the air-free tires.

Our House:
Kim and I bought a new house in April of 2005 (Has it really been two years already!?), and we've been slowly decorating, furnishing and improving on it. It's been a while since I updated the photos page for our house, so I thought it was time to add some new photos. It's a couple of new photos, but I didn't increase the layout. I replaced an old photo with two new ones. Yeah you're probably confused by now, so let me explain.

For Christmas of 2006, my mother gave us a painted board (she's something of an artist). It's the sort of board you place above your mantle, or door. The sort of thing you'd see hanging beneath a mailbox on a back-country road. Perhaps you'd hang it on a post near the entrance to your cottage. Well, we don't have a cottage... Anyway, we decided to put above our front door (inside due to weather and HOA concerns). It's took us some time to put the sign up. We we're waiting until we put up some decorative lettering to complement the sign. Well, we finally got the decorative lettering (ordered from upper case living), and they're both up now. I'd describe it to you, but a picture would work so much better.

Be sure to check out these latest changes - as they appear at my 'Our House' web page. See second photo from left, at the bottom of page 2. Move your mouse over the images in order to see the alternate photos.

D&D update:
We played D&D on the 5th of May, 2007, and the updates are in. This session saw plenty of updates. The party finally made it into Firestorm Peak. It wasn't easy, but they found a way to cross the Charnel Bog without an incident, and made it into the mountain unscathed. As they entered the mountain, a big snowstorm was starting. Will they find shelter within?

The party has begun a new adventure. In search of Tanar's father. So far, the party has discovered two very large gates in the side of the mountain. They believe that their quest takes them into this cursed mountain during a period of celestial confluence. While they search for a way into the mountain, they've witnessed some strange sights, met unlikely allies, and fought some terrible monsters. Our last session saw the party reach the 'Monastery of the Hallowed Doctrine'. A sanctuary for those who fight taint. After a brief battle, they entered the monastery, met it's occupants, and took a short break to receive healing and some much needed reset. After some conversation with the residents of the monastery, the party hooked up with another traveler, and prepared for the heart of their battle - On to Firestorm Peak! What dangers lurk within the mountain ahead? What terrors from beyond will threaten the party's safety and sanity? Stay tuned for danger, stay tuned for mystery, stay tuned for adventure! As a result of this recent meeting, I've updated the following pages:

Our next gaming date is 19 May, 2007, and I'm sure that there will be lots of thrills and excitement in the months to come. Hopefully everyone will make our next meeting. The next big challenge lays inside Firestorm Peak. Be sure to follow our adventurers as they look for Tanar's father, and seek out the source of taint in the Nether Mountains.

GWOT-S:
<RANT>The USAF awards and decorations branch/office is just like many other military bureaucracies. Inefficient, and full of incompetent people. Yes. I used to be in the Air Force. If there's one thing I've learned in my 20 years, it's the level of competence in the AF administrative arm is extremely low. Let me tell you a little story:

Back in January of 2005, I retired from the AF. When I retired, the AF had me prepare my own DD-214. Doesn't make much sense, but the information I put down on the worksheet was the information that went into the DD-214. Well, by that time I knew that I was eligible for the global war on terrorism service medal, but it hadn't been awarded to me (thanks to the incompetence of the unit I was assigned to). Being the good airman that I was, I didn't put the medal on my worksheet. I wasn't about to compromise my values over something so small.

Later that year I created my 'Ribbons' page, and remembered that I was missing one medal. The Global War on Terrorism - Service medal. I figured I'd try to get that authorization, so I could 'officially' add it to my web page, and get my DD-214 updated.

Initially (In june of 2005) I tried to get a copy of the authorization from other military members (I asked approximately four people) that I work with. That failed, they were either mistaken about the existence of a letter of authorization, completely forgot about my requests, or just decided that my request wasn't worth their effort. In either case, that approach - the simplest - failed. No photocopy of a 'general order' for me.

Next (in October of 2006) I tried my former unit, but they immediately passed me off to the local Mission Support Squadron (because I'm no longer a member of the unit). Guess what? I'm not on active duty, so they can't help me. Surprised? I wasn't, not in the least. I found it typical for these administrative types. "I'm sorry, but that's something that I don't do on a daily basis. I have no idea how to handle anything outside my normal routine, so here's your answer... I can't help you" The conversation didn't go exactly like that, but it was pretty close. They gave me the phone number and email address for the AIA's (Air Intelligence Agency) Public Affairs office.

After a couple more direct attempts (Through military members assigned to the unit I served in) failed, I emailed the Air Force Public Affairs office (in November of 2006). The director of the Public Affairs office (an AF Captain) wasn't able to answer my questions, so she referred me to the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB.

I contacted the AFPC as instructed. The reply was helpful. The Chief of the Recognitions Program Branch (an AF MSgt) directed me to fill out a form and mail it to the address listed on the form.

So, I sent the form off (in Dec of 2007) to the address listed on the form. According to the form, I was supposed to forward the form to the AFPC. I sent the form and a copy of my DD-214 as instructed. The form arrived on the same MSgt's desk. He then sent me an email, indicating that I had sent the form to the wrong address. I read the form very carefully, and I was sure I sent it to the right place. He indicated that I was supposed to forward it to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Wait a minute, it seems to me that he was jumping the gun. Before the NPRC can update my DD-214, I have to have authorization to wear the medal in question. The MSgt passed the buck, and sent the form to the NPRC.

About two weeks later (Jan 2007) I received a letter (not an email) from the NPRC, indicating that I had sent them the wrong DD-214! Apparently there's more than one version of the DD-214. After a thorough search through my retirement paperwork, I located the correct version. Not wanting to waste time and money, I faxed the correct form back to the NPRC.

Guess what happened next? (Feb 2007) That's right. I received a letter from the NPRC, indicating that I didn't have authorization to wear the GWOT-S medal. The NPRC sent my package back to the AFPC - Back to the same MSgt who passed the buck initially. I needed to have authorization to wear the medal, before the NPRC could update my DD-214.

I sent an email to this MSgt (Mar 2007) explaining that I was getting the run-around, and asking him to properly process my request. Now that I had gone full circle on my request, I was pretty worn out. I'd quote the exact words I used, but I'm prohibited from doing so by another one of those crappy disclaimer messages:

"Caution: This message may contain competitive or other non-public information protected by federal law from disclosure and not intended for disclosure outside official government channels. Do not disseminate this message without the approval of the originating office. If you received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete all copies of the message."

It's crap I tell you, CRAP! This sort of statement is a scare tactic. It carries no legal weight outside the government, but the military could still make my life hell if I were to quote parts of their email. I still work inside a government facility, and I know what harassment is. If the government wants to make my life hell, all they have to do is use the word 'Security'. Suddenly I'm in security office, explaining... Well, let's leave that rant alone for now. Back to the original rant.

Anyway, I got an email back from the AFPC. Apology? What are you kidding? Get real. Basically, the MSgt tried to make it sound like it was my fault. That I didn't have authorization to wear the medal, so I shouldn't have forwarded my paperwork to the NPRC. That before the NPRC can update my DD-214, they must verify my eligibility to wear the medal. So... When the AFPC receives the paperwork, they will check to see if I'm eligible. If I'm eligible (I told them (spelled it out for them - using the appropriate dates, regulation numbers, etc.) in my original letter), they will forward it to the NPRC.

On the 11th of May 2007, I received a letter and a little box. In the box was the Global War on Terror Service medal (and a GWOT-S ribbon). According to the letter, they've forwarded my package, along with authorization verification to the NPRC. So, in another month or so, I should get a copy of my updated DD-214.

So what's the rant?

* My unit should have awarded, presented and documented the award before I left the military.
* My local unit could have provided a signed letter of authorization - It is within the unit commanders power to authorize wear of the GWOT-S.
* The Mission Support Squadron could have requested a letter of authorization from my unit. They could have solved the problem locally.
* The AIA Public Affairs office could have contacted my local unit, and worked with them to resolve the issue locally.
* The AFPC could have spent the time to read my email. Where I explained 'exactly' what I was trying to do. They could have fulfilled my request at their level.
* The NPRC has my DD-214 on file, they shouldn't have requested the 'other' copy.
* The AFPC should have apologized when they realized they'd sent me in a complete circle. At a minimum, they shouldn't have insinuated that I was the cause of the problem.

This is why I'm glad that I'm out of the military. Dealing with the administrative crap, and the incompetent people running the AF administration, is tiresome beyond belief. It took me approximately 6 months to receive verification to wear the GWOT-S medal. A medal that should have been awarded, presented and documented 'Before' I even left the military. It's amazing how much 'buck passing' goes on in the AF. I hope my DD-214 gets updated sometime this decade.</RANT>

Ribbons:
While I was in the Air Force, I earned a bunch of ribbons, medals, awards. I wore these ribbons whenever I wore my dress uniform. If you're at all interested, I've created a web page which lists and describes the various ribbons I earned while I was in the Air Force. Since I recently received authorization to wear the Global War on Terrorism Service (GWOT-S) medal (see rant above), I've updated my 'Ribbons' page.

May 5, 2007

Music collection:
Here's a list of some of the music I recently acquired. Back in January of 2007, I began a digitization project, but that project has all but come to an end. All that's left are some LP conversions. Since I don't have an LP player (i.e. Turntable), I'm going to digitize the cassettes that I've made of those albums. That will leave some of the albums out of my digital collection, but you have to draw the line somewhere. With that project all but wrapped up, the music acquisition should slow down a bit. Here's a small sample of one band I recently discovered.