Milblog Party - Success

Thanks to Matt of Blackfive, and the wonderful folks at the Penthouse club, the milbloggers party was great fun. I had lots of fun meeting old friends for the first time, and putting faces and 'real names' together with blog / commenter names. The club provided a room just for our crowd, complete with dancing poles (more on that later) and an open bar staffed by comely young ladies. Matt started the night off properly, with a toast to Absent Companions, then encouraged us all to enjoy the party, which order was taken to heart. Bad Cat Robot and I greeted our fellow Denizens - John, SWWBO, AFSister, Maggie, FbL - and tracking down Homefront Six to introduce ourselves for the first time. Then it was off around the room to visit with new/old friends. One of the people I made sure to track down was blog-brother That 1 Guy. After nearly 4 years of blogging, it was nice to put a face to the guy! Along with the people who have kept me informed and amused over the years, like Matt, Froggy, Laughing Wolf and Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive, Greyhawk (but still waiting to meet Mrs. G), NZ Bear of TTLB, ChuckZ, American Soldier, Sean Dustman of Doc In The Box, and Andi of SpouseBuzz - and many more. I obviously have to do some work on the "Bloggers I have met" section of the sidebar! Of course, as HF6 says, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But she is keeping track of the evidence. I won't say what happens next after that little series of pictures, but let's just say that there will be blackmail Fund-raising opportunities to come. Stay tuned!

Remembering 9/11

I remember arriving at work around 7am (pacific time) as usual on this day in 2001, not having listened to the radio on the drive. As always, I sat at my computer and scanned email, and ran through the morning ritual of checking on customer cases for our support team. I don't remember the time, but it wasn't long until my cube neighbor said "The World Trade Center in New York is burning", as he was checking the news feeds on his computer. Then he said "One of the towers is gone!". We thought that impossible to imagine, and the picture on his screen was too small to see well. Then we moved to the conference room, and on the TV feed we could clearly see he was right - there was only one tower left, and the images of the dust cloud across Manhattan. We stood numbly watching, comforting one another, and many cried as the second tower collapsed. Throughout the day the horror overload continued, and we realized there were virtually no support calls - because the country was doing the same thing we were. I haven't forgotten, and this song remains one of my favorites. Others who are remembering today ... Bill John Kat Dusty Lex FbL Also, it's interesting to note which of the popular internet search sites are remembering the day. Pictures at the Castle.

A Veteran's Reasons

This is an eloquent and well-spoken reason for voting for John McCain this fall. Dear Mr. Obama From Warrior25, who I Thank for his service in Vietnam and for fathering this fine young man. H/T to BillT of Castle Argghhh!