And since his graduation pictures will soon drop off of the bottom of the main page, here's a link to them for those visting to see them!

Since I have a new PC to drop into the mix, I decided to clean the computer room, aka my corner of the basement. I did have had a nasty tagle of wires on the floor under the desk, and our occasionally incontinent cat may have christened the tangle, so it was quite a task. I had to unhook everything and clean each cable individually. I even disassembled the subwoofer and removed a nice speaker-shaped two-inch thick mat of dog and cat hair from it (the speaker sits on the floor pointing up so things fall in). After scrubbing and cleaning, hooked everything back up and turned on the main system: our nice Sony Vaio with integrated TV, DVD+-RW, 19" flat panel and all, and IT DOES NOT WORK. The lights come on, the drive cycles, but the monitor and keyboard are just dead. As one of my Senior Chiefs back in the Navy used to say, "The lights are on but nobody's home" (of course, he was talking about one of the sailors in my division, but it fits here too). Hey, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. One of Heinlein's old sayings comes to mind: there ain't no justice (TANJ). But it's a by-God CLEAN dead computer. Grrrr.

Every Friday, like clockwork, the folks at the Internet Scout Report pump out their current edition. And I always look, because you never know when you'll find a gem in there. This week's has links to a site on Scottish broadsides (the predecessor to Fox News), a PBS feature on Sumo, and a new open source Web tool called Pluck. You can even subscribe and get it in your email (I do!). As well as the general report, thay also have specialized reports in Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Math, Engineering, and Technology.

OK, I admit it. I maintain the fiction that my blog has daily entries even when I fall a day or two behind in implementation. Am I a bad person for that? I occasionally think that this blog is mostly mental masturbation anyway because as far as I know, I have only one regular reader (hi, Laura!) and she actually talks to me instead of leaving comments. I keep hoping that with my insight and rapier-sharp wit, Jay Walkenbush or somebody will pick up an item from me, or that I might even get Slashdotted someday, but so far--zero. Zilch. Nada. NA-DA. Shoot, my kids don't even read my blog--I read theirs, otherwise how would I know what's actually going on with their lives?. So I guess I'll just go read Christina's blog, because the girl can really write, even if it does make me want to go find a tenor drum and pair of sticks to twirl just about every time I read it.

Yesterday on a radio news report I heard the eight British sailors and Marines captured by Iraq referred to as “soldiers”. In the current Reader's Digest, the picture accompanying an article about a Marine and a Navy Corpsman (medic) refers to the two of them as “soldiers” . HEY MEDIA—PLEASE GET A CLUE! THERE ARE NO SOLDIERS IN THE NAVY OR THE MARINE CORPS!!!. There are servicemen, or in this more politically correct time, service members , but there are no soldiers. Soldiers are only found in the Army. They work very hard to earn the title of “soldier” and they justifiably resent this term being used to refer to those who are not. Just as importantly , sailors and Marines work very hard to earn their titles and really HATE IT when they are referred to as soldiers.

I know very few members of the media have any military experience but HOW HARD IS THIS? It's certainly not rocket surgery. And even if the reporters miss it, well consarn it, that's what EDITORS are for! And if editors are clueless, hey, that's what STYLE MANUALS are for. Just a simple statement in the style manual: “Members of the Marine Corps should be referred to as Marines and never as soldiers; members of the Navy should be referred to as sailors or, when appropriate, as Naval officers, but never as soldiers.” What about the Air Force, you ask? Heck, they can't even decide what they want to call themselves. But sailors and Marines, that's pretty darn clear. So media, get your act together on this, huh?

Over the weekend we had the privilege of hosting two students from Saitama Sakae High School in Saitama, Japan. They were visiting with the Saitama Sakae Wind Orchestra, an after-school activity of their high school. The Orchestra is a twelve-time Gold Medal winner in Japan's national concert band finals, and we had the chance to hear them in concert in Naperville's Central Park last night. One criticsm sometimes leveled at Japanese musical groups playing western music is that they play with great precision but little passion; this was certainly NOT the case for Saitama Sakae. They played with great emotion as well as great precision. It was a real treat to hear them, and the young ladies staying with us--a percussionist and a string bass player--presented us with a CD this morning before they left to go play for the Bands of America/National Band Association convention at Illinois State University. After that they will be off to play at Disneyland--something I have fond memories of doing with my high school band. I look forward to hearing their CD and wish them all the best as they finish their tour.

Is there Beer in Heaven?
The obvious answer to many of us is that it would be a hell of a place if there wasn't--ok, that's my sacrilege quota for today. I actually have thought about this just about every time I think of my father's death, and I have come to the conclusion that yes, there must be beer in heaven. My Dad was a Marine, and I know a lot of his Marine buddies were there ahead of him. I just can't picture this crowd of Marines gathered to greet my Dad without them being able to hand him an ice-cold one as they all slap him on the back and welcome him to heaven. I mean, hey, they're Marines! God made them that way, so He's pretty much got to go along.

Grumblers in Heaven
Some people always find things to grumble about. It doesn't matter how perfect things are, they always find something they can complain about. I had someone in my extended family who always grumbled; you probably do, too. So if things are perfect in heaven do the grumblers stop? I think not. They're up there going: “Oh the weather here is so BORING” and “This robe makes my butt look fat!” and “The beer in Australia was better” (see the paragraph above) and “If I have to sit through one more angelic choir concert I think I'll scream”. Going to heaven doesn't make people not people. And let's face it, some folks are only happy when they have something to complain about.

Today is Father's Day, and tomorrow is my Dad's birthday. We lost my Dad to cancer in 1997, and I miss him terribly. You can read all about my Dad on his memorial page; if you haven't ever done that, do it for me now. I love you, Dad.