Garden of Souls

druminmychest @ 2009-11-29T06:38:00

2009-11-29T12:38:30Z

On my way back to DC. Wheeee! I think this may be the shortest update for me ever!"

druminmychest @ 2009-11-11T22:01:00

2009-11-12T04:03:14Z

Frustration!! I ordered 50 micron fiber jumpers, instead of the 62.5 micron jumpers, so I have spent the last two freaking hours troubleshooting a ghost.

Screwy problem. It was an 802.11Q trunk, and I was expecting all the vlans to propagate, but only half of them did… very strange.

Oh well, at least I figured it out.

So, I have to wait until the morning for the cabling guy to make me up some of the proper ones.

It’s ok, I’m fried anyway. I need to take a break before I go back in at midnight to do some more scheduled changes.

Sitting in the hotel lobby by the fire, for a few minutes. It’s one of those nice gas log fires that looks real, down to the flickering coals. Pretty cool really.

I saw a military funeral procession today when I was driving from one data center to the other. There were quite a few cars on it. I wonder if it was on it’s way to Arlington.

I really need to go see Arlington.

War is, without a doubt, a part of the human experience.

We honor, as we should, those who fought for their country, tribe, ideology, whatever you want to call it. We ennoble these people who sacrificed all, as we are honor bound to do.

I wonder, though, why we denigrate those people who give THEIR lives for ideologies not our own.

Another aspect of the human condition, I think, is our need to feel we are the “good guys”, and righteously liberating-chastising-punishing the “bad guys”.

Granted, there are definitely evils in this world, but can we really truly look at ourselves as a nation and say we are “good”?

You can’t dance with the devil, without learning some of his moves……

Arlington is full of the bodies of the noble dead, and more are being added daily. They died for their country, performing their duty to their homeland.

Just like so very many Germans did in WWII. Just like so many Japanese. Just like so many Southerners. (pick your conflict)

Is their sacrifice any less impactful than the sacrifice of those who serve us?

There is evil in the world. Yes, it was noble to go to war to stop the holocaust. (which is, of course, NOT the reason we went to war, but it was a wonderful example to show that we were RIGHT, by God!) Funny thing,though… one must remember that the numbers who tragically dead in the holocaust did not add up to a FRACTION of the number killed during Stalin’s consolidation of power before WWII…. You know, Stalin’s Russia? Our Noble ally?

How neat and tidy that THAT didn’t get any publicity UNTIL it was expedient…. Until we needed yet another threat to our way of life to fight against…

There is no innocence in this whole wide world. To be born human is to inherit dark things.

But one also inherits the potential for noble and great things.

Sometimes evil men do evil things. Sometimes the definition of evil is relative to the flag they drape the corpse with.

I have read the proposition that our technology has out-evolved our humanity, giving us tools that we are not responsible enough to have.

That’s one way of looking at it.

Another is that perhaps this is the end result of our developmental traits. Perhaps we are destined and designed to limit our own expansion by our genetic proclivity for destruction. Perhaps the evolutionary conclusion to this particular species of tool users is to engineer our own demise.

Perhaps we are our own apex predator.

Or perhaps we, as a species, simply do not excel at peace. We grow lethargic and soft. We become Rome.

Perhaps war, that oh-so-human trait, is the very thing necessary for us to evolve. Can there be nobility without crisis? Can there be catharsis without pain? Maybe not for the Homo-Sapiens

And with that little bit of hyperbolic vitriol, I am going back to work. (sigh)

druminmychest @ 2009-11-09T19:25:00

2009-11-10T01:25:33Z

I have found in my life, that I am weak. I loathe it. I have allowed circumstance lately to push me ever so gently off the path I have set my feet to. It may not be that there are easily identifiable signs to this, but it is the case.

I have let work and expediency give me excuse for not practicing and cultivating my spirit. Too many fast food meals have coated my soul.

There have been too many times these past couple months that I found excuse to not practice, to not go to the gym, to not make every day an opportunity for training my body and spirit.

There are no excuses, only action.

Though physical training is important, and has been lacking in intensity lately, the more insidious has been the lax way I have been training my spirit.

It is not acceptable.

And sitting here in a Hotel by myself in DC does not allow me to turn from the mirror. I must do better.

Mediocrity is a poor epitaph.

druminmychest @ 2009-10-16T10:17:00

2009-10-16T15:18:26Z

Life has been extremely full as of late. This is evidenced by the fact that I have not written on here in some time.

Dad officialy has his new apartment. Were it not for Crown this weekend, we would be moving him in. It is a really nice place. I am quite excited about it. Vicki has been buying nice things for it, necessity wise. I think it’s gonna really help him. It will also help our relationship immeasurably, I think. Or at least I hope.

Eric and Jamie came over last night to help put a screen door on the front of the house. It turned out very nicely. It’s not completely finished. I didn’t have a 7/16 bit to drill the hole for the latch. Interestingly enough, Vicki picked out the color perfectly. It matches the outside trim beautifully.

Once Dad moves out, the third floor rooms will need to be gutted. I have not started reconstruction on the spare bedroom because I have to take the third floor bathroom floor up to make sure there will not be another leak. The carpet in the room Dad is staying in is trashed, which is unfortunate, but I didn’t really like it much anyway.

So, house projects for this winter:

Remodel third floor bathroom and the big bedroom

Reconstruct spare bedroom

Finally get shelving built in the boiler room downstairs.

In other news, my garage is pretty much full to the brim of Pozar’s stuff. His belongings are stashed in various places around the city right now. That was un unexpected vector for concern, but that is how life is. I’m just glad we got as much as we did.

We moved the last of our first cadre of customers into the new Data Center in D.C. (actually in Sterling) there have been some significant growing pains, but it is truly amazing to me that we actually pulled it off, in spite of everything. A lot of people’s jobs are still here, and I am grateful for that.

I was actually supposed to be in DC again this week, working on the secondary disaster recovery center, but none of my hardware came in. I am actually quite happy about this. Working day and night, than flying home just in time to fight in Crown would not really be the optimum solution.

Yup, Crown is this weekend. I imagine people are already traveling right now.

With the crazyness of work, and the schedules of my “training camp” being all messed up, I have focused on just training to let my hands go. No specific techniques, nothing like that, just letting the hands and body do what is necessary.

In all honesty, I almost feel like I have been taking a break. I suppose I have. Down to one practice a week, and just pellwork. I honestly feel refreshed and eager again.

I am learning to deal with the mind f*ck that is Crown, and am learning to trust in the skills that I do have, vs. feeling I need to start over again.

I feel confident, although a bit physically tired. Too many 3 am calls this last week. I intend to go to bed early tonight, and more or less relax. At least that is the plan.

Gonna take a long lunch break from work and go help unload the stuff into the hotel.

This will be the first time fighting in Crown on my “home turf”. Rocky is taking care of dealing and coordinating the list setup, so I don’t have to, which I am eternally grateful for.

I have mixed feelings about fighting Crown here. A lot of the local folks have never been to a Crown, and I am pretty much the only local “homegrown” that has participated in these things since Dietrich and Rocky stopped. This means there are a lot of people with high expectations of me. Frankly, I’ve learned to block that particular white noise out mostly, but I try very hard to make a point to give everybody friendly time, and I am not sure if they will understand why I don’t want to pleasantly chat like I normally do. (laugh)

I do know my dear friends will help me with that, though. It will just be… I dunno.. different.

They say you are never king in your own Country. I dunno, I hope to prove that wrong.

So, a little less than half the Chiv in the tournament are Midlands knights. That’s kindof cool.

Master Einar is fighting. I am overjoyed at this.

Well, Sh*t…. lost connectivity to the western half of the U.S. sigh………

druminmychest @ 2009-09-22T11:30:00

2009-09-22T16:33:11Z

I haven’t posted in a bit. Frankly, it is mostly because I have not had many brain clock-cycles to do much of anything extraneous.

WMAW was astounding as usual. I learned a great deal of things, and more importantly, I gleaned some very good training tools and principles that need to be developed in my on personal practice. My curriculum this year was heavily skewed to training methods classes, biomechanics, and grapplings. I think I was thrown to the ground at least 200 or so times. (literally) Of course, I got to throw others too. Hehe.

I was FINALLY exposed to Bartitsu, in a tremendous class by Tony Wolf. He has got to be the most graceful man I have ever seen. His movements were so fluid, it was quite striking to watch.

We spent a lot of time doing bare fisted boxing work, which is really fascinating to me. Dr. Les Moore had a great class on this as well.

There were a hundred other things that were noteworthy. I definitely have enough for the next two years to work on.

I also got my Albion Trainer… WOOOHOOO!!!! It freaking rulez. It makes practice so much of a joy. It just wants to be swung. Mwooahahah.

This last weekend was, of course our event. Some of us have been scheming and thinking on an event like this. At one point, Alzbeta searched out certain arcane books for information. We talked a lot about “the millinium project”, and how we would learn the lessons necessary to make something like that happen. A lot of the things we have tried in the past with Rites of Spring were specifically geared to learning lessons, and playing with certain concepts in the hope that we could take it “to the next level”.

Well, quite frankly, we never would have gotten the opportunity, unless a few specific things happened.

There were really three factors that allowed us the chance to try this out.

Firstly, and primarily, Andalwulf stuck out his neck, and pretty much drew a line in the sand and said we were going to do this.

Secondarily, the amazing people of our Barony decided we needed to take a risk on a whole bunch of new concepts, and were willing to lay a lot of money on the line. A whole slew of us got behind this, and made it happen.

Thirdly, Jubilee didn’t happen this year. This meant we (theoretically) had resources to try something.

From my perspective, I felt very unprepared. There were a lot of things that just didn’t get done, and a lot of plans that didn’t come to fruition because this last year has quite literally been the busiest in my life. (which reminds me, I “get” to go to D.C. again next month)

Friday around noon, Rocky, Jamie, and I were out packing stuff from the shed. When we got to site, there were more people than I expected ready to help, and bust their butts. Eric and I divided teams and tasks up, and attacked them. That worked quite well, I think. Maire, in particular, helped me out a great deal, and was patient with me the few times my brain completely short circuited.

A whole bunch of folks worked from noon till about 6 or so to get it all set up. By that time, we had a bunch of guests, and had to deal with a significant snafu with the cabins. Hopefully, nobody noticed, but Eric, Gary and I were scratching our heads for a bit until we got it solved.

Kenneth manned the small list field we had set up at the crossroads of the shrine of Rockhallik. Our Baronial champion held the field. He got a single challenger, but it seemed to be a gathering point for those martially inclined. Improving this concept will be work for future iterations, as I think it can be something quite interesting. Frankly, the Shrine of Rockhallik had a lot of better plans written down for it, but it didn’t happen like I wanted it to this year. Still, as a proof of concept, it shows merit.

Eric and I got to bed after 1.

The girls woke us up, and we were off and running. Kali and Percy worked all day in the kitchen. In fact, a lot of folks did.

The breakfast seemed to work well. Constance’s cinnamon roles, and Baron Charles’ sausage bread seemed to be enjoyed. Constance and Jamie had made a huge number of homemade cinnamon rolls Friday night, and Baron Charles and his wife had made a whole mess of really really good sausage bread beforehand. I got to stick my head in the hall for a sec before getting to the list field.

We wound up starting the tournament about a half hour behind schedule, but it wasn’t too bad. I couldn’t ask for better four ladies of virtue than what I wound up with. They got into it, and seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

The fighting looked fun, and folks seemed to enjoy themselves. My theory about creating space for people to make their own magic seemed to hold up yet again.

A few observations:

The Grande melee with three blows thing is working quite well now. Enough folks are familiar with it now, that it is flowing well.

I really really like the Rapier and the Heavy lists as close as possible together. If nothing else, it is the conservation of energy. Having people together creates more of a community energy, which can be quite visceral to some.

The musicians……. What can I say….. This was a HUGE HUGE difference. I have always wanted to get musicians involved in this, and we had theorized in the past how it would turn out. It was amazingly effective. The musicians generally go off somewhere to practice anyway, but to have them there made a massive difference in the pacing. There were no awkward dead spots while challenges were put together, of people armed. It was absolutely pleasant. That, and several fighters got the band involved in their challenges. The net effects were, the energy never dissipated, and more people were actively involved in and with the martial community. There was no “us” and “them”, we were all creating something together. From my observations, it cannot be stressed enough how it consciously and subconsciously changed the mood for the better.

People seemed to get the allegory I was trying to get across. Not only was there opportunity for great fighting, but there were also a few times that I could see people were actually thinking about the virtues they were trying to represent.

Terrance and Logos got to do a cut and thrust bout in the tournament. That was a welcome addition I didn’t think would happen.

The setting was tremendous. No cars, no mundanities. We weren’t looking at a schoolyard. Although the downside was there was little breeze. Still, it worked out quite well, I thought. I also think it added to that whole retention of energy.

There are some things that could have been done better on my part. I have them written down. I don’t want to visit them too much yet. They can wait.

In the end, we failed to produce the perfect swordsman, but we did find four worthy men of coat armor (albeit one was in splendid savage regalia) who will return again next year (more on this in a bit) to continue the quest. I have some very specific things in my head for this next year which need to be flushed out a bit.

The timing worked well. We ended the tournament in time for folks to relax a bit, get cleaned up, and ready for feast.

Feast…….

Firstly, it is important to understand that we were experimenting with three very distinct “new” concepts, all wrapped into one.

One: A weekend camping event. This WAS NOT jubilee, and was completely different. It was a great deal of work, and we weren’t sure how the group would make it happen. The Barony came through in grand fashion. We had twice the help we thought we would, and had ZERO problems with campers.

Two: All inclusive price. To be honest, we got a lot of flack on this, and probably will continue to. It really is a completely different cost model than a “normal’ event, but it was really important that the whole event was truly an “EVENT”. Versus a bunch of disparate activities you may or may not do. We were aiming for essentially building a temporary community, and giving people space to make magic. Some folks balked at the “price”. But it doesn’t take a lot of analysis to see it really was a fantastic price. Hell, It’s normal for me to spend over a hundred dollars on an event, after you factor in lodging, food for the day, feast at night…. Do the math. I dare ya. (wink)

Three: Feeding everyone all day, AND using a completely different feast model. (and not losing our shirts)

And so, we really wanted to create this synergy of the events of the day, and the feast at night. Jon, Eric and I talked about feast, and the fact that, when you read Froissart, and any other depiction, feast was always viewed as this crazy almost hedonistic party of dancing, mounds of food, and revelry.

We HAD to have music and dancing, HAD to have a huge amount of food readily available all night, and HAD to encourage people to get up and just have fun. On top of that, we wanted to weave in the other elements…. People being brought before the Baron and Baroness, Announcements, Courtly speech… In a word, a completely different feast experience than any of us had ever been to.

So, Imagine if you will….. These crazy people coming up to you and proposing you do this feast. Thank god you have done your own research on this very topic… but….. We can’t tell you if we will have 30 or 200 people, we want you to do a completely different timing, we want you to come up with something really grand and showey, AND most likely nobody you will be serving will have any idea how to react to a feast like this. Oh yeah, AND you have to feed everybody all through the day as well. (you know, the people we can’t tell you how many there will be.)

Welllllll, All I can say is Jon knocked this one out of the park.

The main course was something Alzbeta and I have longed to see, but never thought possible. Actually, the pigs came close to not happening, but Jon figured it out budget wise.

The moment of truth was the first course. Jon came out and explained it, the first course came out, and there was this pregnant pause, as our guests started to realize this would be a bit different, and weren’t quite sure what to do.

By the second course, folks were starting to get it.

I knew it was going to work as soon as people were up and dancing DURING the feast…

By the time the final course was ready to come out, I knew Jon had pulled it off, and folks were having a great time.

Than we wheeled out the Subtlety, and folks came flocking. I could tell, as Jon carved up the pig right there, that he was having a great time, and things were good.

Wilhelm and Alzbeta got their part of it perfectly right, and the timing couldn’t have gotten better. They did a fabulous job “reigning” over the hall, and doing their thing.

This was all a shot in the dark, but it came off. I think we proved the concept, as our guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

The only problem is….. I am really not sure we can make it better. That’s gonna be a challenge for next year.

Which brings us to next year….. Will we do it again? Well, that is honestly up to the group. The “success” goal was, honestly, to not lose too much money while we figured out what would work, and what wouldn’t. To be frank, though the final numbers are not in, we did not lose ANY money, so we are extremely happy. I think it’s definitely something to build on.

And now, 40 year, and Crown tourney.

To be dead honest, I am not sure I am going to 40 year now. I had every intention of going, but I am really beat down. I have so very much work to do on the house. It may be wiser to just stay home and take care of things. Theoretically, I will be moving my father to an apartment sometime soon as well. (one way or another) That will also mean I am going to have to remove the carpet on the third floor, and rip up the floor in the third floor bathroom. (sigh)

I have been unable to train properly for Crown, but conversely, my confidence is much higher. ToC helped a great deal, on a great number of levels.

I am desperately hoping to do absolutely nothing this coming weekend. Nothing, that is, that doesn’t require more effort than sitting under a tree in the park. (laugh)

druminmychest @ 2009-09-10T22:08:00

2009-09-11T03:09:02Z

First day of WMAW is in the books. It was a half day, and I still started frying at the end of it. So much to learn…..

First class was on combative bio-mechanics by Tony wolf. I have five pages of raw notes and jotted down reminders. It was a tremendous class. I intend on putting a mind map together on it before I lose it tonight out of my head.

Second two hour class was Ott the Jew’s Ringen (wrestling) I knew of Ott the Jew before, but learned some really interesting things about it. Interestingly enough, apparently EVERYBODY stole their stuff from good ol’ Ott (who was apparently a baptized jew) Consequently, there was not much “new” material, although some of the interpretations the instructor had were really interesting.

One new technique was cool though. It was a way to reverse a straight arm bar that is being applied to you. Pretty cool.

Third two hour class was on the Spadone. That was a really interesting class. (the spadone is the Italian version of those gigantic swords with the double ricasso. Basically means “big sword”)

I REALLY liked the protocol with which the instructor used to control the class. It was really the only way that 40 people with huge swords could practice in a small area. It was a really neat protocol. I think if we ever do formal classes in Peoria, we will adopt something along those lines. It produced a focusing effect on me personally.

Already sore. Hit the ground about 90 times already. (laugh) Tomorrow promises to be very fruitful as well.

I am thankful to my Wife, who encourages me to pursue my passions, however strange they may be. (laugh)

druminmychest @ 2009-09-06T18:55:00

2009-09-06T23:55:07Z

Just a quick entry. Toc rocked the Hausa. I have a lot more to say, but wanted to get this up as a reminder. It was very challenging. Quite rewarding. And Conrad is now a peer! Beat of all, I got to smoke a very good cigar as it was happening. Now I am having difficulty walking, but it was worth it. More later.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

practice, Fiori the rope master, and drooled upon swords

2009-08-26T15:36:43Z

Practice was last night. For me, it was all about perseverance. I was mentally shot, and physically down. I donned armor, and fought folks. Fought everybody. Dolph was fighting me, and I was doing well at first, then I completely lost focus, and was stumbling around. At one point, I almost flung my sword into his face.

I bruised the elbow of my left arm, and have a decent sized welt on the back of my calf. It was still fun.

I miss Mike.

There are three things right now that I got my geek groove on…

My I-phone works wonderfully.

I have all the Fechtbooks on my Kindle now, along with some favorite books. It’s really awesome.

Tom Leoni’s Fiore translation is da bomb…..

“I am the noble weapon called the dagger, and I’m in love with close play. If you know my deceptions and my art, you will be skilled at every subtlety of the art of arms. And when it comes to putting a quick end to cruel combat, I have no equal. When I am in combat, I parry and thrust and perform abrazare, and I’ll disarm anyone with breaks and binds. Against me, defensive arms or armor are useless.”

Can’t get any clearer than that, eh?

Tom’s translation doesn’t have the actual drawings, as it would have been extremely expensive for him to use the original images, but that’s ok. I already have the images of the Getty manuscript. They are, in fact, on my Kindle! Hehe.

The preface, where Fiore Die Liberi describes himself is clear, and reinforces the idea that there really isn’t “german” and “Italian” art, but rather, like Brad Waller says, there were “old ways”…

(sigh) I just wish I knew more.

There’s an interesting passage in the short staff section….

“I perform this play of the eighth king (who’s a remedy), and I use the short staff to defend myself. Right after the parry, I stand up and can perform my Master’s plays with a cape or even with a rope. And the counter to my Master would be the same as mine.”

Rope, eh?

The thing about a lot of these fightbooks is the smallest phrase has a lot of meaning. Is it possible that rope was used in a HojoJutsu kindof way? Don’t see why not. The real question is, how would some of these plays be done with a length of rope?

(sigh) so much to learn.

Speaking of learning. I’m very much looking forward to WMAW. Although the whole sequence will be physically demanding. Next weekend, we are doing Tournament of Chivalry, than coming back, and leaving early Thursday morning for WMAW. Last time, WMAW left me physically and mentally drained for some time. It was pretty intense, and I have no doubt this time will be the same…

Then after that is our tournament. (shakes head)

Jane talked to me a bit last night about trying to develop the ability to say no… the only problem is, I get myself into these things by myself. It’s not like somebody else comes up and asks me to do them. I dream these crazy dreams myself.

I guess the hardest person to say no to is yourself.

Albion will once again be at WMAW, which means I will be drooling over my sword yet again…

I really really want this…..

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/maestro/sword-practice-liechtenauer.htm

Greg has one. When two of them clash together in practice they have this beautiful ring to them.. almost gives ya a chubby… hehe.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY want this……

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-fiore-xva.htm

When you hold this sword in your hand, it really DOES give one a chubby. (laugh) It is quite simply, an elegant killing weapon. Sprezzatura made of steel and leather.

Shudder.

Dolph prefers this one.

http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-regent-xviiia.htm

It is a beautiful sword, but not for me. It’s too German. (wink)

The thing about good swords like these is they make your arms ache for want of swinging into flesh. Just kidding… but not really… (laugh)

Of course, if I ever did get one of these swords, I would have to get a scabbard made with proper fittings… that would cost as much if not more than the silly sword.

Now the real quandary is, with a sword like that, do you get buried with it, or do you pass it on?

druminmychest @ 2009-08-24T10:09:00

2009-08-24T15:14:58Z

Our largest customer went live on my network this weekend. I was monitoring progress al lweekend. There were some hiccups, as there is want to be when Software people get involved, (wink) but all in all very successful.

They went live a few hours ago. Everything is looking good so far. “light’s green, traps clean.”

The design itself is holding up pretty well, there have been some pretty major changes, and it has been flexible enough to accommodate. I’m a bit proud of that, if I do say so myself.

Lots of stress involved, but that’s what I do for a living. (shrug) it’s a challenge. I don’t do well if there isn’t a challenge.

Eric and Jamie were married this weekend. The ceremony was very nice. They both looked great, and in love. We finished cleaning up the hall about 7 last night. It was a long process, but not too bad.

The weather was perfect. I was honored to be his best man, and had fun with that. The wedding party made sure their guests had fun. I think we succeeded. All in all, a wonderful day.

I am truly blessed by amazing people in my life. This is honestly a blessing and a curse. This weekend it was a true blessing. But when you care for your friends deeply, you are subject to both their joys and their pain. My heart aches terribly for a certain two friends in Chicago. I would do anything to ease their pain. I love you two.

I got to talk to Newperspectives about music too, which was an unexpected pleasure. I plan on bringing some instruments to our event, the Fields of Cloth and Gold….. which should be attended by most on this list, as it will be the coolest event this year….. ehem.. (smile) but I don’t know if I will actually get to play, considering this event will be pretty labor intensive. I haven’t gotten to play with my new saz, and the fiddle has been sitting in it’s case since BEFORE pennsic. (sigh)

And now, for September……. An exceptionally busy month. Of course, now that I think about it, I am not sure what is so exceptional about being busy. It seems to be the norm. (laugh)

No gym for me today. We have an “activities faire” at Bradley to do. My Vicki is washing up my good arming coat, and I will get into the good armor to go fish for new members. We haven’t done much fishing in the college age bracket in a while. It is a good thing and a bad thing. College folks tend to be enthusiastic, but they inevitably will move away. Of course, if it’s done right, they will enrich some other group, but one has to be careful about banking too much on college kids.

Of course, it is such a beautiful day, it will be nice to hang out with friends.

It looks like Dad may have an apartment soon. This will drastically improve our relationship, I think. I love my father a great deal, but his living with us must stop. My house is completely trashed by the dogs, and I will have to basically gut the room he is living in, along with the third floor bathroom. We are starting on the ruined guest bedroom, but if the timing works out, I will probably be working on them at the same time. I have to pull the ceiling down in the guest bedroom, which would, of course, be an excellent time to work on the third floor bathroom.

My insurance will not cover the damage on the spare bedroom, as it appears it was not actually a burst pipe.

Apparently, Dad stopped up the toilet, and let it sit. The ring seal doesn’t quite work right on the toilet, as it is a new toilet on an old style receiver. It is ok, unless there is back pressure. When there is, apparently it seeps….

Which is where the water came from. Mmmmmmmm…

Bottom line, it will all come out of my pocket. WHEEEE!!!!

Speaking of out of my pocket. I got my yearly work review Friday. I was recognized as giving exceptional work, and such. Which was quite gratifying. My merit increase this year…… was……. My salary stayed the same, instead of being cut, like some of my compatriots.

In all honesty, given the current state of things… that’s a pretty good deal.

It also positions me well for negotiations when/if this recession stuff starts curving back.

This last week, I rented and watched Defiance. It was a tremendous movie. Just tremendous, on several levels.

I like that word; defiance. That moment of resolve that crystallizes everything in a person, and sets their every fibre upon an action. There is power in that word. It is all the more powerful when matched with potent prowess.

It is the difference between going meekly into that dark night, or showing your teeth.

The bleating of the sheep, or that roar of the Lion that shakes you from your head to your toes. The eye of the soldier that says “I may die, but I’m taking you with me.”

It is also in the eye of the person that says “I may disturb you, but this is who I am, and I will live my life as I am destined.”

Yeah, I like that word.

druminmychest @ 2009-08-17T10:47:00

2009-08-17T15:48:48Z

Unto all Princes, Knights, and men of coat armor who be not enemies of the King our Lord do I, Baron Robert Downey, send joyful greeting.

I would have you know that a very great festival of armes, with rich panoply, men of coat armor, banners, feasting, and revelry will be held upon the feast day of St. Pomposa, which upon the Pope’s new calendar, is September 19^th.

This tournament will be held upon the Fields of Cloth and Gold, and shall be known as the Tournament of Transmutation.

Noble men of coat armor have long known that the Holy fields of the Tournament transform young men into valiant and prowe men at armes, and a good man of Chivalric virtue is like unto pure gold to those around him. Furthermore, As the Alchemists tell us, all things created by God are a combination of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

And so, it is our hope that this noble tournament shall provide opportunity to transmute golden examples of chivalry, so they may please noble ladies of the gallery, and enrich the King’s vassals.

And so, I would describe for you this tournament, so that you good men of coat armor will be well prepared for the trial.

There shall be four Ladies of Cloth, each of whom will represent each of the four elements. These ladies shall preside over the tournament, and shall be advised by Noble ladies of the gallery.

Worthy combatants shall be divided among the ladies of Cloth. Should any Company be tourneying together, we shall place them upon the same lady’s team.

The tournament shall start with a Grande Melee, as is the ancient custom. The warriors of each Lady of Cloth shall engage in lusty combat to four blows. Should they be vanquished, they will quit the field to await the next engagement. This shall happen four times.

The combatants will then refresh themselves with food, drink, and good company. As this happens, the King of Armes shall instruct them upon certain secret and arcane alchemical truths, so as to reveal the true nature of transmutation.

The good Men of coat armor will then again don noble harness, and the ladies of cloth shall pit their men at armes one against the other in various challenges, so that the mettle of each shall be tested before a gallery of fine ladies. This shall continue until all are satisfied.

At the end of the day, the Ladies of Cloth, each representing one of the four elements shall choose that man at armes from her team that most personifies the virtues of her element, and these four shall fight each other one by one to four counted blows, so that true gold shall emerge in the hearts of themselves, and their compatriots.

I would have you know that many hidden things upon the nature of Men at Armes shall be revealed this day. And certain manners in which the virtues of the four elements God has created permeates those who make up the culture of Chivalry. Much honor and glory can be gotten this day, and those who do not attend, but rather sit in their keeps watching their armor rust will count themselves cheapened by not hazarding this most glorious list.

I would also have you know that, as befits such a grand gathering of peerless warriors, a list shall be set upon the crossroads of the encampment. Upon this list I will place torches which will burn late into the night through this weekend. And upon this list at the Crossroads of the Shrine of Saint Rochallic, any man of coat armor seeking worshipful honor, or any Company who wishes to hold the field against various challenges shall have opportunity to win worshipful honor, even until the dawning of the morning, for I have been told challenges in the light of dawn are most glorious indeed.

And so, I admonish you who seek Honor, and crave the Bath of Honor to array yourselves appropriately, and grasp opportunity fully.

druminmychest @ 2009-08-14T09:49:00

2009-08-14T14:50:54Z

Life is a strange thing. Right now there are a great number of things in my life that is taking energy I would rather be giving to other pursuits. The Hammer hits hard sometimes, but that is why one chooses to place themselves on the Anvil.

Right now, there are two very large hammers over my head. The first is work. I truly enjoy it, but it is extremely stressful. The gentlemen that backed me up while I was gone did a tremendous job, but it was, at best, a holding action. Now things are cascading pretty fast.

The second thing is the house. The claims adjuster still has not called me, and I really need to get started cleaning the room up. The bed and bedding is a loss, but the other furniture was hardwood, so I am going to take the suggestion and use mouthwash to see what happens.

I got the room pretty much dried out, so it will not continue to get worse, but it’s pretty bad. The ceiling will have to come down, the oak trim is warped and ruined. (yeah, the 100 year old oak trim) The carpet on top of the hardwood floor is screwed, and the hardwood floor has warped and come up in several places under the carpet. At least two walls will have to be replaced. Now mind you, this is all plaster, so removing it will be a pain in the ass. I’m sure we will replace it with drywall. I don’t really want to, but replastering these days is insanely expensive.

There was a quilt that Constance was working on that was spread out on the bed. She had a lot of work into it. I’m not sure if it can be salvaged.

I have the windows open on the room. This morning, Constance found that one of the cats had shoved the door open for some reason…

I walked into the sitting room and found out why…. There was a dead bat laying on its back, and a cat sitting contentedly about two feet away. I suppose the bat flew into the room, and made noise, so the cat somehow got the door open to take the opportunity to deal death upon the winged creature.

Also trying to unpack from Pennsic. This is easily a 30 hour process. Yeah, we take a lot of stuff. A great amount of it is not actually personally ours, much of it is the Household’s.

This means it has to be removed from the trailer and truck, set aside, than my stuff can be removed, then I have to reload the truck and trailer and get it out to Roland’s farm to store.. So basically we have to handle the same crap about four times before it is safely in the right place. (laugh)

So, Pennsic…..

The weather was tremendous. There was some rain, but we can handle rain. The temp was awesome. The first week was great. I got to spend a lot of time with my Constance. We had some great fun hanging out, sometimes doing nothing, sometimes shopping. We spent a great deal of time at the tea house lounging, drinking mint tea.

My big purchase this year was a Jura Saz. (the smallest saz in the family) I love it. It’s really awesome. It’s quite enjoyable to play, to be sure. I got some other cool stuff too, including Tom Leoni’s new translation of the Fiore Getty manuscript. This is freaking cooler than cool. I also finally picked up the Facimile copy of the I.33 manuscript as well, so now I don’t have to work with squinting at bad photocopies. It was a 50 dollar book, but that’s just fine. It’s a very nice book. The other big purchase was a brass plaque belt. It is the absolute shiz-nit. 14C bling in the Hiz-ouse!!!! I got the brass plates from Anshelm, and they are really sweet.

This year, I limited my time on the pickup fields to spend time with her. I only went out twice that first week, but wound up having a lot of fun. I followed Dolph’s instructions and had a great time. It was revealed to me that, if I just let my hands go, I am pretty damn good at this. It was quite fun.

Second week was dominated by various obligations. I had the privilege of being the Midlands commander this year for the first time. We started the week with a high number of 30ish. By the last battle we had 12. This is for various reasons.

Observations:

Very few (read almost none) of the “usual” folks were there, except for the Knights. They all showed up every battle to support, and I really appreciated it. I enjoyed getting to know Hyram better. He’s a cool guy. So, we had almost all new folks, a new commander, and all new line commanders. The first battle, our communication was atrocious. I would say something, and by no fault of their own, the line commanders would repeat what they thought they heard. This, most times, was different than my intent. The end result was a bunch of new fighters being told four different things at the same time.

We knocked our heads together after that first battle, and fixed the problem using receipt of orders protocol. It worked pretty darn well the rest of the war.

Our division commander was Sir Pellanor for most of the war. He helped me a LOT. I really appreciated it.

We executed our orders well in pretty much every instance save one. The one was because of me. I didn’t direct the charge where it needed to be, and before I realized my target had shifted about 5 yards, it was too late to redirect. Hesitating is far worse than hitting the wrong target, so instead of hitting the gap between two units, we wound up hitting strait into the middle of Black Talon’s shield wall. Even that turned out fairly ok.

There were a few times that people couldn’t stop grinning afterward. That’s when I really felt we did a good job. The second field battle, our little group blew through the flank of Iron lance, and the unit did a fabulous job of reforming on the fly, selecting the next target, and getting the job done. A great number of the unit was not only left alive in the end, but came off the field as a unit. That was the high point execution wise, I think.

All in all, it was a positive experience for me, and I hope I didn’t screw up anybody’s vacation. We only had one “not cool” thing, and we handled that as best we could.

I got some great suggestions from some folks on what I did right, and what I could do better. They coincided with my own observations. In all honesty, I know Gintaras could have done a better job, but I did what I promised, and learned some things in the process.

Although the Commanders thing came DANGEROUSLY close to negating my participation in the Combat of the thirty. I sat the commander’s meeting in full harness, and ran to the field afterward. Luckily, the 14^th century mafia is a bit slow to move, so I JUST BARELY had enough time.

The COTT was awesome, although I was captured, and did not win rich ransomes. Constance was not pleased that she had to give four strands of pearls for my release, but I am sure she eagerly yearned for my company, so her anger was salved. (chuckle)

The Crusaders vs. Saracen battle was fun. We really really need to promote it better though. It’s so much fun. Ambrose, Magnus, and I had toiled to make all new Turkish cavalry kits, and Constance had sewn coats for it. We all looked pretty bad ass, if I do say so myself. Hopefully I will get some pics from Magnus’ wife. I’ll post them on my stupid facebook thingy later.

I very much wanted to do the Squire’s tourney, but in the end, chose to be with my Constance instead. It was a good decision.

Camp was great. It was well ordered and well maintained. The folks in it were fun to be with, and it was lighthearted.

Fought all the rapier battles too. Guerric and I wound up in a silly spot in the field battle with a particularly annoying individual, but it wasn’t too big a deal. Had fun in the woods with Conrad on flag duty. Although fighting all day, then running from the woods to the commanders meeting kindof sucked. I appreciated the Thieves taking care of my stuff for me.

All in all, a great Pennsic. Less fighting and more other things for me this year, but it was fun. There were some artistic things I really wanted to accomplish, and had lined up with other people, but they just didn’t happen. That was the only disappointing thing.

This weekend is Andalwulf’s bachelor party. It should be good fun. Looking forward to it.

Next weekend is their wedding.

Then September happens…… TOC, WMAW, Our event, and something else I can’t remember right now..

All while trying to put my house back together, and juggling a lot of other things.

My training is suffering because of it, in my opinion. I haven’t been on the pell since I got back from pennsic, neither have I been to the gym.

WHEEEEEE!!!!

In other news, Accenture has this kindof cool program, where managers can give reward-like-points to others. It’s kindof a “attaboy” with monetary value. You collect these points, then buy stuff from Amazon. (Amazon is one of our customers)

Managers of a certain level only can give them out, and they only have a certain amount per year to give out. Well, I am very close to being able to get this….

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015TCML0/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3805790609&ref=pd_sl_19djrsy7gv_e

I have always thought these thigns were cool, but when Alzbeta got one, and I got to play around with it, I was sold. Being able to put all the fechtbooks on there and having all that reference without lugging around a trillion tons of books and paper would be freaking awesome. That, and it is cheaper to buy books, and I can be reading as many books at a time as I want without lugging ten books around all the time.

(I have the habit of parallel reading a bunch of different things. It allows me to draw parallels as I study a subject.)

I have told my boss’s boss that as his pool of points is renewed in the next week, he will appreciate my efforts and give me the requisite points to get one of these. Should he disagree it may be inevitable that some of his timelines my inexplicably slip. (mwooahahaha)

I have a good boss. He knows his place.

So soon, I shall have my Kindle, and all will be well.

Speaking of devices, I finally got my Iphone. It is extremely useful. I honestly did not realize how useful it would be. I can access all four of my email accounts, get them pushed to me, and consolidate my calendars. This alone is a HUGE step forward. On top of that, I can vpn into my networks, and telnet to my switches, routers, etc, which means in an emergency, I can sit at a bar, and access my networks. This is extremely valuable.

So, three thumbs up on the I-phone. That, and I have this nifty fart generator program. Hehe.

(sigh) just found out several of our customers signed the agreement for a hot site. That means DC will be in my future soon again to build up yet another data center. Oh well, it’s a really good thing, I am justreally tired of the continental breakfast at the Springhill suites. (laugh)

Word I like that is not used enough: Moxy

druminmychest @ 2009-08-12T16:04:00

2009-08-12T21:03:59Z

Hmm life is crazy. I wanted to post about all the cool things thar happened AT pennsic but instead I have to call in an insurance claimfor the house. the spare bedroom is completely toast. Walls ceiling floors all have significant water damage. It's a total mess. Claims adjuster is contacting me tomorrow or tonight but it's pretty damn bad. Wheeee!
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Posted via LiveJournal.app.

druminmychest @ 2009-07-09T08:50:00

2009-07-09T13:54:54Z

Life has been crazy crazy crazy.

I am currently in Washington DC, and will be here until next Thursday. I fly back, and have until the 23^rd to get ready for Pennsic…

This is a bit ludicrous of a schedule, to be honest.

I am working on projects in the hotel, but there is not much time for it. We work pretty much from 7am to 8 or 9 pm. Kindof sucks. Still getting a lot of work done.

Saturday night, we have to start our day at midnight, and work through the night, as we now have live customers on this thing, and will need that as a downtime window. The flipside though is that we are going to go to the Library of Congress and the museum of American art Saturday morning.. still, it will be a long day.

In the meantime, several of my dear friends are working on various projects at home that I should be helping with. I pretty much had to dump the construction of the dining fly on Roland, which wasn’t cool of me.

I also had to dump the finishing of a great number of super secret projects for the Saracin battle this year on poor Rudy and Brad…. And Vicki…. It’s gonna be so freaking cool!!! Can’t wait!!!

Speaking of Vicki, she has been slaving away like some pre-adolescent kid in a Kathy Lee factory. She’s been churning out a lot of clothes, and still has a great amount of work to finish… (shakes head)

On top of that, she went to the doctor for some tests, and her father has been quite ill since I have been gone.

I just am very thankful for Eric and Jamie. They have been lifesavers. Jamie helped and is helping Vicki with a lot of things, and I have been told Eric went to the house while I was gone and mowed the lawn. They have tremendously generous hearts.

I didn’t get to go to the campout this time around. It was either the campout, or portable holes and such for Pennsic. What can ya do? There are only so many days, and this work schedule has really screwed me up.

I did take time yesterday to work out in the little gym at the hotel. That was good. The timing of this trip sucks ass though.

And I am missing Ethyl because of it, so I am failing in that obligation.

After Pennsic, things look even more hectic. There are a GREAT number of things going on….

Including Eric/Andalwulf’s bachelor party! Hehehe. Stay tuned for news on that one.

druminmychest @ 2009-06-17T11:13:00

2009-06-17T16:18:50Z

Border Skirmish…. Lots of fun. Enjoyed being with my friends. I was quite proud of the Illitonites. We fielded enough folks to be a mini unit. (smile)

Midlands turnout was pretty good. Wound up with 29 combattants. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and have a good time.

I learned some good things, and feel confident moving int Ethyl and Pennsic.

Bob is now back in Peoria. (the Midlands standard) At least until after Pennsic, when I can give it back to our Commander.

I need to contact the marshal in charge of Ethyl very very soon…

My fighting was pretty good. In fact, if it were a tournament day, I think I would have had a pretty phenominal day. Warmed up with Gintaris, and could tell the level of integration with several key things clicking into place.

It’s very satisfying when that happens. Almost feels like an audible click inside your head.

The Melees were fun. I did not have a clear grasp of my role as the center of the left eschelon movement, but it gave me a lot more context when I re-studied Denewulf’s notes.

Lots of good friends having a good time.

I helped out the rapier folks with their war practice, then when they quit, I went to play C&T, as I was out of my heavy armor by that time. I really enjoy working with Terry and Logos. Was quite pleased with my bouts. Got some great observations from the both of them on a couple things I can tweak.

The evening was fun. The setting for the Thieves’ boat was perfect. It was good.

Last night’s practice was a bit bittersweet. Mike will be moving so it was his last practice. I am going to very much miss him. We have driven each other hard skillwise, and I am most certainly in his debt. I have learned a great deal from him, and I trust I have helped him a little along his path. I know he will be ‘out there” in the knowne world, and our paths will cross many more times, but it won’t be the same. I will miss him greatly. Perhaps in the years to come, we will be Kings at some pennsic together. (smile) that is a nice thought.

Mike came along at a critical point for me; when I was trying to figure out why I fight.

Why do people fight? Why do people spend 20 years studying tai kwan do, or Aikido, or Kendo, or SCA tournament combat? Are we searching to balance that inner savage by exorcising it, rather than repressing it? Are we seeking to understand our own mortality?

Maybe.

I think for me, there are two kinds of practitioners in any art, including ours.

Those who fight because it is in their heads, and those who fight because it is in their hearts.

What do I mean by this?

I think those that fight because fighting is in their heads have images of who they are in relation to what they are doing. They envision themselves in their own story, the knight in shining armor, or the soldier in the King’s army. They are driven by the images in their head of what they wish to be.

Those that fight because fighting is in their hearts can’t do anything other than fight. It’s a part of them, a part of their path. Once it’s awakened in them, it can’t go to sleep, even when one wishes it to go away. Just like ole Rocky Balboa said... "Fighters fight".

I think the ideal is when it lives in your head AND your heart. The heart gives you the drive, and the head gives you the vision.

On a different tangent, I focused on executing at full speed some of the refinements I have been working on the pell. they work really really well.. (chuckle) I can now effectively throw that thing that Gaylen does... Still needs work on economy of motion, but it is deadly. mwoooahahaha!

I dunno. Enough babbling. Time to go to the gym.

druminmychest @ 2009-06-11T23:19:00

2009-06-12T04:20:17Z

Had an awesome practice tonight. Dolph identified a fundamental flaw in the execution of a specific root technique that has been affecting me for some time. We worked on it. I’m very pleased, Although I will have to do a lot of reprogramming on the ole pell. (chuckle) never ends.

Still, I am excited about it. Just a slight tweak in body mechanics should open up some interesting tools that I was struggling with.

Also, since Crown, I have been focusing on relaxing into the second and third intention. This sounds a bit esoteric…. Well, I suppose it is. (laugh) but I have shifted my focus mentally on using the first phrase as setup, and the intended attack in Mezza tempo between my opponent’s beats.

I am pleased with this. I have always known tactically that this is a good tool, but have not really been able to execute that tactic at full speed. This seems to be changing.

Although the down side is that my poor test subjects…. Er, I mean sparring partners, are getting very bruised arms. Even managed to hit my Liege a time or two. (smile) (of course, my hit ratio is still in the basement with him.. but it wont stay there.. hehe)

I was recently given the observation that I am simply not explosive enough. I think this is a spot on estimation, something Dolph has said before as well.

Kettlebells…… Kettlebells and power lifts…

On the downside, my swordarm wrist is acting up. This is due to practicing a specific technique with the improper mechanic on the pell. I knew I was wrong because it was not natural, but I kept fiddling with it. The result is inflamed tendons.

So I may be fighting left handed this weekend at border skirmish. Dunno. Depends on how it feels, or how bruised my ego becomes by getting smoked repeatedly.

I hear there will also be some C&T enthusiasts there, so I gotta do that too!!!

Gintaris, Fuyu, and I will be crashing in my tent this weekend. I am going to try to take minimal stuff… we shall see.. again, vanity may force me to bring some niceties.

I haven’t started packing at all yet. The truck is still completely full of loaner gear andother flotsam. I have an hour of unpacking before I get to start packing. (laugh)

Although my beloved Constance has already started packing things that I don’t think about. (like food) (laugh)

druminmychest @ 2009-06-08T11:06:00

2009-06-08T16:07:23Z

“who the fuck really cares when your so far left that even death looks right.”

My father’s entire family has used up their lives in the “service of God”. My grandmother was very happy that both her sons, and her daughter was “in the ministry”.

There is a pivotal reason regarding why an individual would choose this lifestyle for themselves.. one that is hidden to many people; and that is an overwhelming need to “help’ people.

I have met a great many people who genuinely wanted desperately to “help’ people.

This help can be in many forms; feeding the hungry, educating the poor, drug and alcohol counseling, all noble pursuits.

But the underpinning idea is that one is helping save the masses’ souls from an eternity of torment, and in doing so, you save their lives as well..

So that those lives can, in turn be used up to save others.

It is a singularly pessimistic view, made palatable to the common man by layers and layers of psychologically induced ecstasy, and righteous exclusivity. (We are better than the pitiful others, as we are the holders of the one and only truth.)

The lives of the people committed to creating the infrastructure for these belief systems, and harnessing the product of the masses self loathing and desperation for something outside themselves (ergo, the “clergy”,) is very strange to most, and singularly tragic.

I remember many “pastors conferences” in which these men, in a frenzy of emotion, divined and argued with each other how best to go about “the Lord’s work.” And how to “serve God’s flock.” I remember the absolute vigor in which they flagellated each other so they could be better “tools for God’s plan”, forsaking everything from sex with their wives (literally) to swearing they would never have a pagan Christmas tree in their house, to forbidding their wives and daughters from having shoulder pads in their blouses, as obviously this fashion was sinful, and not conducive to the mission. (not making this up. And frankly, it doesn’t matter what sect the particular Minister is in. Believe me, it’s all the same.)

So, what do these people sacrifice for God’s cause? (and, in their minds, for the salvation of humanity’s bodies and souls.)

Everything. Wives, husbands, families, health, wealth, future, security…. Everything.

And what do they get for their Sacrifices? Two things.

1. A stream of people saying “thank you” and immediately asking for more, hungrily clutching with twisted hands at any morsel of physical or psychological support, justification, or pacification like a mantis clutching the half eaten head of it’s mate.

2. “riches and rewards” in heaven. Once they are dead, of course. Talk about playing the “futures” market….

But here is the problem. A man can’t feed his family on half hearted thank you’s… and the only retirement plan is death.

So how do they survive so they may continue to “save the sinners”?

God will provide…

If I had a dollar for every time I heard some pastor or other say this, while desperately trying to figure out how to feed their kids, or keep the lights on, I would be a rich man.

What does that mean, “God will provide.” Well, in a visceral way, it means one of two things, depending on what kind of person said servant of God is.

1. “I am God’s professional, so I am entitled to support due that station. If I build an “edifice for God”, than I, as a professional, should get some of that cut.” (this is the origin of the giant entertainment complexes. Many times, their names are something like “Rock church”, or some such crap. Marketing Jesus.

2. “God will move a true believer’s heart to provide gifts and tithes, or orchestrate some quasi-miraculous train of events that allow my power to be turned back on – feed my kids – buy gas, so that I may continue to serve Him and my fellow misguided, doomed humans.”

Many of the people that I know, being “good” and “honorable” people, truly committed to the cause, chose option number 2, as it is far more “noble”. Besides, Jesus was poor, right? And who really cares if I/we suffer? I will just be rewarded more when I’m dead. If I’m really lucky, my children will see how rewarding suffering for Jesus is, and will follow in my footsteps. After all, “train a child in the way he should go”, right?

When the rubber meets the road, Option number 2 is really living off the charity of others. People don’t like giving to charity, and those that are in need of it are viewed as weak, unsuccessful, or somehow damaged.

The problem with living off the charity of others is it becomes addictive.

ESPECIALLY since the charity can be mentally construed as “God” providing in miraculous ways.

The individual begins unconsciously arranging matters to maximize people’s wlllingness to give. (purely, in my opinion, a reflexive survival technique) This exhibits itself in various strange ways, all while this “servant of God” is convinced he is “suffering for Jesus.”

It’s a self replicating process…

But the most sad part is the whole retirement phase. The BEST and most sought after (and glorified) outcome of this philosophy of living is to suffer for your faith until you die. That is a successful conclusion of this particular vision of a life well lived.

But what happens if you can’t pull it off? If you live longer than your physical or mental capacity to keep giving, to keep “helping save humanity”?

You live in your son’s third floor waiting to die.

Or, you become embittered when the “church” throws you out, blaming you of stealing money to feed your family, and try to subsist mowing lawns and doing maintenance in office buildings until it is your blessed time to die.

Or, you try to sell cars, while your completely mal-adjusted 42 year old daughter lives with you, because she is unable to function in the “real and evil’ world.

Or, you become increasingly malcontent with how “lax” the church is, having become addicted to the psychological flagellation of suffering, and start your own “true” belief church. (ergo, cult) and Isolate your children to the point that they are trapped.

Or you say fuck it, screw your secretary, and “backslide” right out of your life.

Or, at gunpoint, you watch your wife and 16 year old daughter get repeatedly raped by the “natives” you travelled to some god forsaken country to ‘save”, having foolishly believed that “God will provide protection”.

Or you kill yourself, because your retirement is taking too long to get here.

These are the fates of my Grandmother’s children, and of their friends, their fellow Pastors.

These are the rewards of a life sacrificed for the good of God, and mankind.

It’s either sad or funny, I can’t figure out which.

While I do try to figure out which it is, I get to go pick my Dad up from the hospital, as he had another heart attack last night.

God will provide, right?

druminmychest @ 2009-06-05T14:50:00

2009-06-05T19:50:55Z

“I’m so sick, infected”

Well, not really, at least not physically. Although, I imagine a psychologist would agree with my statement. (laugh) I have not been posting for several reasons, not the least of which, is I had so much inner dialog going on, my outer dialog suffered. (laugh)

There have been hundreds of thing that have gone on since I posted last. I think that is one of the problems, I had so much to write about, that I didn’t know where to start, so the log just kept getting more and more full in my head until the buffer filled up and the processor failed.

Crown…..

I saw two of my dearest friends get into a car accident. As soon as I looked into my rear view mirror, my brain went into risk assessment mode. This could have been so damn much worse… Thank the Divine for protecting them that day.

My fighting was pretty decent. I did some things that were good. I was not two and out this time, so that’s good. Of course, this is also the first time in Crown that I have not fought a prowe Knight or higher. My two losses were against His (now) Highness Dag, and Sir Guerric.

With Dag, I misjudged his range by about two inches. At this tournament, I expect to die for ANY mistake, no matter how small.

With Guerric, I stepped out of his looping wrap, instead of INTO the arc… Although I definitely enjoyed that fight.

I also saw a Knight live up to His Vows in a most visceral way.

I met Thomas, Dolph’s long lost squire. He is trying to get back into the game, so that is cool. He seems like a likeable fellow.

My fighting is changing. I am finding my second and third intentions emerging more frequently by themselves. This is good.

Conversely, I have gotten lax on a few other things. Been too lax at Tuesday Practice. In some ways, have been practicing mediocrity.

That, and my physical training has been affected adversely lately. If one cannot discipline one’s self, how can one expect to lead?

The Midland’s Army thing is going fairly well. Have been pouring over Denewulph’s strategic documents, and read some other treatises.

I don’t know how it will make me feel being Commander at Pennsic. I do not take it lightly. Having folks I have respect for looking to me for leadership in a visceral way will be interesting. I am confident, However. Not confidence bred from Hubris, but Confidence that I will do my best.

I love my Dearest wife with all my heart.

Work has been absolutely nuts. This would be a windfall career wise, if anybody had the money to pay me for what I have been doing. On the flipside, I have had the opportunity to design a great infrastructure. I was supposed to be in DC again this week, but that had to be postponed.

Most likely, I will be leaving the 22^nd, the Monday after I get back from Border Skirmish… I will be flying back the weekend of the 27^th for the baronial Champion’s thing. (yes, it’s that important) and going back out the week of the 29^th.

This is by far the most complex system I have been a part of, and the fact that it is working flawlessly (knock on wood) is a source of great professional pride for me. Now, the challenge is to expand it, and maintain it. When I am out in DC again, I will need to build and deploy the VSS core for routing and VRF control. The problem is, I can’t bring the system down as we now have about 9000 people using it. It will kindof like be doing brain transplant surgery while the patient is playing concert piano.

No pressure….

And yeah, I’m that good. (wink)

Dolph, Julia and I did a demonstration of grappling and dagger plays at Crown. We got a tremendous response from it. It was very well received.

Certain aspects of my life have been lacking lately. Specifically music.

At Rose Tourney, Thomas Pennington’s wife had her fiddle. After a tremendously enjoyable deed of armes Thomas performed upon my person, I spoke at length with her, and got to finally play a medieval fiddle.

It is as I suspected. Lots of harmony and drone strings… Difficult action, but fun.

I went home, and was ashamed at my beautiful violin sitting on the stand. It has been in need of repair, and I have not gotten it taken care of.

I took out the trusty fiddle I have had since I was 12, tuned it up, and played…. I realized I had missed it deeply.

So, I took my good fiddle to Kidder, a local music store.. I started talking to the clerk, and he asked what “brand” my violin was…. I told him it was a bench made violin and it wasn’t “any brand”. After his quizzical look, I refused to let him have it until I talked to the repair staff.

The guy that actually does the work came out, and we had a meaningful conversation about how I was taking a chance with him, and if my fiddle were damaged, or incorrectly repaired, various things would be done to his entrails. He understood perfectly. (laugh)

It should be done next week.

Oh. Hmmm. Our AS-400 guys just created our first outage.. (laugh) Didn’t I just write “It is working flawlessly?”

Back to work…

Oh, one last thing.. WMAW HERE I COME!!! Hehe.

druminmychest @ 2009-05-12T11:00:00

2009-05-12T16:00:34Z

Work’s been crazy. Life has been hectic, but I’m still alive.

And blessed.

But there are things that make you stop and think.

Last night, I got a call from Brad, one of our “newer” fighters. His father passed away yesterday morning at 1 am. He wanted me to know why he would not be at practice, so we would not worry about him.

We also talked some about his father, and how much the group means to him right now.

You never know how you affect people, or how meaningful simple gestures are to folks, or, quite frankly, how much you mean to others.

As a side note, he was sorry he would not make it to practice, as he finds solace in it. AND because he did not want to miss training……

Think about that when the hangnail keeps you from going to practice… I sure as hell won’t be making any excuses for some time.

Apparently, his father was a very colorful guy, as is his son. I wish I would have met him. Among other things, I guess he played for 7 or so years in the major leagues in new York. Like I said, sounds like an interesting fellow.

There will be no invitation, but we will be driving up to Crown, and will visit then.

In terms of motivation as well, I took last Thursday to go to a baseball game in St. Louis with Dolph and Mike. Mike shared a writing that was done by a friend of his. I found it very moving. Hard to describe, but it affected me deeply. Someday he may share it with others. Not sure.

The march to get ready for the summer continues.

We are running some melees at practice now, and folks seem to enjoy it. Eric and Jamie came over this weekend to help us get stuff ready. I now have a new leg harness, four new swords, a bunch of new straps, and the crown shield is halfway done. It’s coming along.

This weekend, I need to finally print the Ermine on the tournament shade fly, and Constance is busy sewing away on her new dress. This strategy of a new dress every six months is paying off. Her “nice garb” closet is growing.

Also helped her with her garden on Sunday. Got a lot of stuff done there.

Looking forward to Chaos Caravan. It’s always a fun event. One that Constance really enjoys. It should be fun!

druminmychest @ 2009-05-06T13:28:00

2009-05-06T18:31:03Z

We got to practice outside last night. It was very well attended. We had 14 in armor, and two in Rapier gear.

We also did some melee practice. Folks seemed to really enjoy it. We had a nice mix of weapons to play with. I really really hope I can get the gang up to Border skirmish has a unit. I think the trip would really help the comradrie. We shall see.

I have so very much to accomplish…. In such a short time. I will get it done, but it’s gonna be fun.

Chaos Caravan is next weekend, Crown is the weekend after that, and Rose tourney is the weekend after THAT one.

Which means realistically, I need to accomplish this weekend:

New leg harness

Two new swords

Rebuild the longsword

Replace broken straps.

Fix both my full AND half gauntlets. My half gauntlet finally wore through the brass rivet keeping the articulation last night at practice.

Print the ermine onto the shade fly

Paint, and assemble the Crown shield clone.

Finish the silk pennants for the shade fly.

Practice the A&S entry with Dolph and Julia

Right after Rose tourney, we need to immediately start working on Pennsic stuff…

Completely separate list, which may vary depending on the Crown Tournament outcome.

At a minimum, Constance will have to sew a new Jupon for the commander stuff

I need to make a new silk standard to go along with Bob

gotta make a helmet drape for the Midland's dragon

Gotta sew new sheet walls

Repair some sheet wall hardware
etc etc etc

Oh, and I have to bring up a new ‘warm site” data center…

And double the capacity of the existing one…

Wheeeeee!! Hehe.

Oh well, at least on my deathbed, I will not be forced to say I had a boring life. (smile)

But tomorrow, I am taking a day off to go to my first ever major league anything game with Dolph down in St. Louis. That will be a lot of fun, I think.

druminmychest @ 2009-05-05T13:32:00

2009-05-05T18:32:52Z

I had an EXTREMELY good weekend. Very relaxing, got some great stuff done, got to spend some very quality time. It was awesome.

The calm before the storm, as it were.

Also got the pell rebuilt. It was falling apart, especially the section about an inch above the knee. (chuckle) the carpet had actually worn through two layers in some places. (shakes head)

So I doubled up on the carpet, using the hotel carpet that Curtis gave me, and I put an old decommissioned helmet on the top. That made a huge difference in the tactile feel of hitting it. It really helps on the feedback, especially when practicing the kendo-like strikes that are promoted by Brannos.

It may be a bit extravagant to put a helmet on a pell, but to be honest, every little bit helps..

And it’s completely unsafe to actually use on a human anymore, so……

Eric helped me with that, and he also helped me with hanging the back yard gate. It was a beautiful Saturday.

Like I said, it was a really good weekend.

Practice tonight!! Looking forward to it. Practices have been great lately, lots of good turnout, folks very interested in improving, zero ego, it’s been awesome. A good mix.

I have a great number of things to get done. Chaos Caravan is coming up. I need to have the new leg harness done and tested before then, cause I pretty much hit the rapids right off the bat.

Very much looking forward to the summer, though it will be exceedingly busy. Especially wit hwork…

Which has already screwed up something important. I was asked to usher for Perrin’s wedding. I was forced to cancel with them, as I will be in DC during that time. (huge frown)

I hate that.

Rocky contacted our old Tai Ji teacher, and is getting info for this summer. That will be wonderful. I really need to get back on that particular wagon, as it was extremely beneficial last time we were going regularly.

Last night the gang came over for Monday night gaming and food. It was pleasant. We’re all getting old. (frown)

Lots of other stuff going on. Life is most certainly full, and I am blessed.

druminmychest @ 2009-04-22T10:23:00

2009-04-22T15:25:27Z

It’s been incredibly busy, but I’m still alive. Our first customer Is safely in the new solution, and things are… optimistically good. (I will not say “fine” as that is usually when the sh*t hits the fan)

Frantically working on our next customer, and finishing up some tailing things on the first one.

Rites of Spring was this last weekend. We finished putting stuff away Sunday, in the pouring cold rain, but we really lucked out on the weather.

People seemed to enjoy the tournament, and the day. I have some things mulling in my head about the format. Interplay with the gallery was much lower than in previous years. I have some theories behind that, but I need to get some feedback from some folks, and think on it before I make up my mind on how it went.

No injuries and everyone seemed to have as much fighting as they wanted.

Busy busy busy summer planned. Starting this weekend. His Grace and I are heading to RUM for the day, so that will be fun, I think.

First stab at a schedule for this summer:

April 25: Spring rum, Peru, Indiana

May 15: Chaos Caravan, Michigan City Indiana

May 23: Crown Tourney, New Carlisle, Indiana

May 29, Rose tourney, Lake Villa, IL (although I may just be watching, as I have not been asked to fight)

June 6th, Aaron's wedding

June 12: Border Skirmish, Somewhere in Wisconsen

June 26: Baronial Champions weekend

July 11, Feast of st. Ethyl, Taylorville Il

July 24 – 9^th: Pennsic

August 22: Jamie and Eric’s wedding

September 5: MKAD, Lake Villa, Il

September 10-20: Cloth and gold, Chillicothe, Il

October 3: Midrealm 40 year Celebration, Chicago

October 17: Fall Crown Tourney

November 6: All Soul’s day

Somewhere in here is Lochmorrow’s event, but I can’t see it on the calendar. Of course, a lot of this may change, depending on what happens at Crown.

Also, I have to fit in at least two other trips to DC, and perhaps another Data center buildout… Not sure yet.

In other news, Dad is planning on visiting his sister in Texas for “three or four weeks”. After he gets back, he is supposed to actively look for a place of his own.

We shall see how things turn out.

Practice last night was a mixed bag. The attendance was AWESOME! We had a lot of fighters show up, but many of us seemed quite lethargic. Could be because of this weekend. Our new springfield fighter was there, and eager to train. He is a very promising addition.

My performance was extremely spotty. I had worked till 10 pm Monday night, then my day started around 4, due to another issue, so I was sitting still getting beaten a few times. I came alive a bit when I got to fight Mike. I really enjoy fighting him. The biggest highlight was I successfully pulled of a mechanic and shot that Dolph and I have been working on. It worked beautifully. To have it work at speed against an extremely worthy opponent was the highlight of the night.

And no, I am not describing it. (wink)

My left knee is a bit wonky… I think this is due to the fact that in the past two months, my training regemin has been severely affected. Thankfully, I am getting back on track. I’m sure Ursula the Unrelenting will help this process. (laugh)

This past few months have stifled some of my writing in this thing. It happens. What can ya do…

Anyway, there have been a lot of thoughts I wanted to write down, and failed to do. Consequently, they are lost in the ether of my swiss-cheese head. It is possible that is a good thing. (laugh)

In any case, I was recently reading an essay on art written by Keith Vargo.

In it, he mentioned an interesting definition of art he picked up by Ayn Rand.(the author) Art is defined as “a selective recreation of reality according to the artist’s value judgments. He goes on to extrapolate; “Martial art is a selective recreation of the reality of fighting according to the fighter’s value-judgments. In other words, how you fight is determined by what is important to you.”

So what is the difference between simply a set of martial techniques, and a system of martial art?

By this definition, the difference is the individual practitioner’s value-judgment. If you do not feel it is art, but simply a collection of ways to hit somebody with a stick, than you are right…. If you see it as a tool to explore the artistic reality of an elegant and ancient fighting art….. than you are right.

druminmychest @ 2009-04-15T15:41:00

2009-04-15T20:41:44Z

Unto the Knights, Captains, Sergeants, most worthy Men at Arms, Yeomen, and Cavaliers who, by various devices, are attached to the banner of the Company known as the Army of the Midlands do I, Baron Robert Downey, send warm and brotherly greeting.

I have observed a few truths about a life in harness; truths that I wish to share with you.

The first truth: Kings and princes are ever and always engaged in the high and noble game of war, even as we enjoy peace. For as it was in the times of our Ancient fathers, so too is it for us that the turning of the year means war, and we are required to exercise upon bloody fields that Holy rite of Chivalry, partaking in the bath of honor with our comrades and foe, striving in noble combat for our King.

The Second Truth: We are a warlike people. There are many among us who have grown old and prowe in the arts of Mars. There are also some among us who, with youthful limbs, crave for glory. It is our duty as King’s men to hone our skill, both old Sergeant and new Man at arms, so that we may better serve the King our Lord, and in so doing, we serve our people and our comrades better.

The Third Truth: Some will find this duty to be sheer joy, some will find it to be service. His Majesty and Highness have made it clear that the highest goal for their martial enterprises is that we, their subjects, experience the Joy of Combat.

I would set aside courtly speech for a while and speak plainly, as good brothers in arms are inclined to do.

I have been given the privilege and duty of being XO for the Army of the Midlands. This is a great honor and an opportunity for service. I have further been given the opportunity to lead this great Band upon the fields of Pennsic. An honor which I never expected.

As such, Our Commander, Baron Gintaris, has charged me with looking to the gathering and training of men at arms for the coming War season. To that end, He has designated certain events so that we may hone our skills, This will also allow us to coordinate the effort needed to bring to bear the strength of the Midlands in the various conflicts to come.

I will also be individually asking you at events and through missive of your plans for the upcoming war season.. What practices and events you plan on attending, and what wars or skirmishes you intend to serve your King at.

Let’s face it friends, Times are tough. Many of us who normally go to Gulf wars, or Pennsic may not be able to make it. Don’t feel bad at all. I would encourage you in one way though.

Border Skirmish is extremely close geographically, and if you need to choose a single war event to attend this season, I would encourage you to attend this one. As a region, it is a prime opportunity for us; especially newer fighters who may not have the underpinnings to campaign at larger wars. For those more experienced in the ways of war, Border Skirmish is a tremendous venue to bring the newer fighter to, so that they may be inspired to future deeds.

And now I would give you a few suggestions on how you can make the most of your war season.

Personal Training: I would urge you wholeheartedly to look to your own individual prowess. Small unit tactics mean nothing if you cannot effectively swing a stick or block a blow. If you would be effective on the field of battle, I challenge you to look to your skills. How can our King wield us well if we are a dull and chipped blade?

General Physical Preparedness: Winter is over. Our average age is creeping higher. Go to your doctor, get a physical, then begin preparing your body and mind. Weak back? Strengthen it. Weak knees? Strengthen them. Easily out of breath? Put down the donut and exercise. War preparation is a tremendous excuse to trick yourself into a healthier lifestyle. Use it as motivation. Be realistic about your health and preparedness, and begin working towards a healthier you. No heart attacks on the field! I don’t want to bury friends.

Group Training: We will be training as a group in a concerted way during our practices. These practices will be a great deal of fun, and will help us build camaraderie. Please try to attend. You won’t be sorry! Also, as our Commander has stated, Training at home with your local group is important. Heed his words.

Crossovers: Remember, personal rapier and heavy skills should be exercised. I would encourage both heavy and Rapier fighters to cross over to the other disciplines for unit practice. Help each other out, so that we can all have the opportunity to have fun with each other. To that end, I would encourage both the heavy and rapier fighters who possess spare equipment to bring it to practices, so that we may outfit each other, and take advantage of the time.

In closing, I am honored by the opportunity to serve as your XO, and at Pennsic, your CO, and will try my hardest to do a good job for you, and for My King. Those who know me best can attest to the fact that my primary goal in this role is to serve the community., and I will try to do so as best I can. I thank our Commander, Baron Gintaris and each of you for your confidence in me. I will serve you with humility, strength, and my own special flare. (wink)

We will leave the hats and bats for baseball. Rather, we will don Noble Harness, and stride upon the field of Honor as the Ancients did, hungry for Glory, and Thankful to our Foes for granting us the opportunity for winning worshipful honor! May the Army of the Midlands Revel in the bath of Honor, and may we, together, weave deeds and stories that will stand as examples for the next age!

And now, To your training! Sharpen the King’s sword!

DRACO INVICTUS!!!!

Baron Robert Downey, XO

druminmychest @ 2009-04-15T14:04:00

2009-04-15T19:15:50Z

Tournament for Rites of Spring: Birds and Bees

Greetings, dear friends.

As you may have noticed, (or not), I have not sent any descriptions for this weekend’s Rites of Spring Tournament. This is not normal for me. (chuckle)

I apologize that my personal life has gotten in the way of this, but rest assured, if you come to the event, a grand time will await you!

In the spirit of expediency, I will not describe the tournament in any kind of stylized speech, but speak plainly. (for once).

This year’s tournament will be no less grand than any previous one, and, if you have participated in the past, be it fighter, or Gallery, you know that the day will be full of opportunity for fun and pageantry.

This year, we are sliding the time machine back a few notches, and will be modeling some aspects of the 13^th century High tournament style. This means group combat, for you melee types. (smile) Have no fear though, there will be plenty of opportunity to show your personal prowess before the gallery, as befits good men of coat armor. (just like our ancestors did it)

We are arranging the list field as is described in many accounts. The Gallery will be protected, in the middle of the field, and the combat will range all around it.

The day will be divided, as last year, into three parts. The First and second segments will be the tournament proper, the Middle segment will be for personal feats of armes, so that brave men at armes may distinguish themselves.

As many of you know, a 13^th century tournament (sometimes called a William Marshal Tournament in the SCA) is a rowdy affair, full of great opportunity for fame, or ruin. A Knight or Duke could lose his entire fortune faster than at any horse track, and a lowly yet skilled fighter could raise himself to the heights of power.

Each fighter will be given a “fortune” to finance his tourneying. This fortune will be in the form of precious gems (really lumps of colored glass…. I’m not rich… hehe) The fighter’s starting fortune will be based upon his rank. (roughly mapped our SCA rank to historical equivalents. You can argue with me about rank later.. (laugh))

Man at Armes = 3 gems

Knight = 6 gems

Baron = 9 gems

Count = 15 gems

Duke = 20 gems

King = 50 gems

The tournament will range between two “towns” with the gallery in the middle. Participants will fight and capture (or be captured) as the tournament unfolds.

Question: “how do you capture somebody?”

Answer: an opponent must be ‘stunned” to be captured. This is simply done by applying three counted blows upon the opponent’s person. Those who have been to a Rites of Spring before, will remember how counted blows work.

Question: “ok, I’m captured. Now what happens?”

Answer: The person-team who captures you must take you to the “exchequer’s table” so that he may pay ransome from his “fortune” Once paid, he is free to rejoin the fray. (providing he still has any fortune left)

Question: “I’m captured, can I escape?”

Answer: Firstly, being a man of coat armor, it would be very un-Chivalric to actually escape. You must passively follow your captors to the Exchequer’s table (or list table, in SCA nomenclature) However! Should your team dispatch your captors BEFORE you are claimed for ransome….. Well, that’s just the nature of the game…

Now, each fighter starts out with his own personal fortune. As you can imagine, single tourneyors will be easy prey for groups of tourneyors. (very medieval)

Question: So, how do we form groups?

Answer: Well, you have money, hire them! Or band together as brothers, I don’t care. This is where it really starts to get “medieval”. A Duke is worth a lot of money, so maybe you and your buddies decide you will split all profits from the tournament evenly, and go hunt Dukes as a pack….

One catch….. Dukes HAVE a lot of money, so they can HIRE fighters. (or perhaps they already have squires bound to them) so maybe they aren’t such a tasty target after all….. Maybe you should join up with another group, or pay for fighters from your own pocket to increase your odds…

This MAY sound a bit complicated, but it really isn’t. Trust me.

Mechanically, here’s how it will work.

Once you have ‘captured” somebody, you take him to the table, so that he may pay his ransome. There is a table with a tablecloth. Each fighter will have his own square. (your bank, as it were)

You will tell the Exchequer (list person) that you have captured Sir Killsalot, and he is here to pay ransome. The Exchequer will transfer the money (gems) from his square to yours. You are both now free to rejoin the combat.

Question: So, how much do I pay if I am captured?

Answer: Depends on your rank….

Man at armes = 1 gem ransome

Knight = 2 gems Ransome

Baron = 3 gems Ransome

Count = 5 gems Ransome

Duke = 7 gems Ransome

King = 15 gems Ransome

Question: So, What happens if I run out of money?!

Answer: This happened all the time in Period… Their answer is the same as yours.. Find a sponsor. The gallery will have many wealthy benefactors, you must prove to them in some way that you are a good investment. How you do that is up to you.. A VERY good way would be to show you are prowe by challenging others to single combat. Or perhaps, you can woo the love of a Courtly lady by writing a sonnet.. In any case they will have money (gems) to finance your endeavors. Procure them how you will. Once you have the money, place it upon your square (your bank) on the Exchequer’s table, and go forth to win fame and fortune!

Question: So, what keeps me and my gang from sitting in front of the gate waiting for newly ransomed single warriors to come out? Obviously they will be easy prey by themselves!!

Answer: Primarily, this would certainly NOT demonstrate those qualities of Mercy and Fair play that is so often prized by ladies of the gallery. Just like they did in our Ancestor’s time, the Gallery has the right to pull you out and answer for uncouthly behavior. (and while you are answering for this, your fellows are winning rich ransomes without you.

Like I said, it actually sounds more complicated than it really is. I think it’s going to be a blast.

So, to recap, here is how the day will lay out:

10:00 AM Inspections/authorizations

11:00 Novice Speed tourney

12:00 Tournament begins

a. Each fighter announces to the gallery how he styles himself, or his herald does this for him

b. First tournament segment (until all are satisfied)

c. Second Segment for Personal deeds and challenges (a great time to get sponsors!! Until all are satisfied

d. Third Tournament segment (until all are satisfied)

Side note: Gallery participants will be given funds to distribute as they see fit. Remember, this is fun, but do not degrade noble fighters. Be Courtly. (at least outwardly. The monks tell us many dalliances occurred during these tournaments in the Abbey cloisters. That’s up to you, but we have no abbey, and your dalliances are your own affair, as befits a noble Lady/Lord. (chuckle)

Second Side note: If you want to bestow personal favors to those noble men at armes you find thrilling t o watch, GO for it!!! There is room for all kinds of magic here. Let your imagination go!

Second side note: For all you Melee folks who don’t like “pas”…. Well, this should be a dream come true, my friends!! Come on down and have a ball. I swear it’s gonna be great fun.

druminmychest @ 2009-03-21T10:37:00

2009-03-21T15:37:47Z

I am still alive! I promise. (laugh) I feel like I’m barely alive, but that’s ok. (laugh)

So I was trying to post once a day while I was here, but that proved extremely difficult. You see, when you work with this crap for 12 – 15 hours a day for two weeks, the last thing you want to do is sit down and type…

In spite of the desire to capture the events……

So, I will try to summarize this first trip….. yes, I said first. I am going home this weekend and returning this coming Monday, although only for one week this time.

I have done some of the best work I have ever done, if I do say so myself. About the middle of this week, I had contracted one of our companie’s CCIE’s to come in and check my work. His feedback was really favorable. He did have some elegant solutions to a couple problems that I had not solved though. I am exceedingly glad we went ahead and bought him for three days. They were massively important days.

For those who do not know, a CCIE is the equivelant of bringing in a top rocket scientist to observe your local rocketry club.

Anyway, the work has been quite intense. I won’t go into the gory details, as it will most likely bore anybody who happens to read this. One cool thing, though. My companions had never experienced what it meant to have a fiber connection to the sonnet ring… with some tweaking, I got the speed to 1.2 Gbps. That’s faster than most lans… Mwoooahahaha.

I always like being adventurous when dining in a new city, and Bob, my boss, is no different. We had some pretty bland meals, but a few really exceptional ones. We found an out of this world Mediterranean restaurant that had the best red pepper hummus I have ever eaten… hands down. We went in search of a Iranian restaurant, but could not find it and instead, found a little Italian place with real Italians. I swear the place must have been a mob hangout. It had Godfather written all over it. But they had amazing Lobster Bisque, and seafood linguini. Makes olive garden feel like a corn dog stand in comparison.

During the weekend, when Bob and I were doing our whirlwind tour of DC, we went to this place..

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/04/21/story11.html

I had a burger, rosemary fries, and the thickest shake you could imagine.. Toasted marshmellow. Simple sounding food, but really really damn good.

So, The weekend was not a time to relax. In the two days, I went to:

The Smithsonian Air and Space museum

The American History Museum

The Natural History museum

The Freer Gallery of art (Eurasian art)

The Sackler gallery of art (japanise art) among other things

The Hirshorn museum and sculpture garden

All the war monuments: First world, second world, Korean, Viatnam

The Lincoln Memorial

The Washington monument

I tried to focus on the things I was interested in. There was no way to exhaust even a 10^th of what was there, but, for instance, I skipped the pop culture stuff in the American history museum as I would rather have seen the Lincoln artifacts, etc.

So, some things that stuck with me…..

Firstly, I am an Apollo nut. The sheer audacity and balls it took to make the landing on the moon happen is infinitely fascinating. They had some artifacts there that were truly amazing.

When you first walk into the air and space museum, there, in the middle, hermetically sealed in cases, is John Glenn’s Mercury capsule friendship 7, and the Apollo 11 capsule.

Amazing. The heat shields are melted and rippled, it is all just amazing. The thing that struck me was the difference between the two. The Mercury capsule looked ike something you could make from the stock of a good hardware store.. the Apollo capsule looked like a beaten up space ship.

There is no way I could fit in either one.

Spacecuits, leftover food, memorabilia, all kinds of things from the space program. What struck me though was the Russian artifacts they had, including a soyuz module

In one of the big displays they had on display the Apollo capsule and service module and soyuz docking, along with the special collar they used to do so (not the real collar, that one is still in space. (laugh)

Seeing the two together really brought home the differences in design philosophy. The Apollo was sleek, custom, the Soyuz was brute force and tenacity. In fact, the soyuz capsule really looked like a huge cast iron bell a-la-julez verne. The walls looked to be almost two inches thick of solid steel. I now understand why we would never have succeeded in beating their heavy lifting rockets. Crazy.

100s of other things. Wright brothers planes, rockets, V-1 AND v-2 rocket, some crazy looking german experimental planes. Just massively cool. But for me, it was all about the Apollo.

The Cray 1 super computer was there too. I got to explain to a curious boy why the Cray was designed to be round in shape. (hehe. Yes, you are a damn geek of the first order if you know that answer)

Also saw the first IBM 4 K memory module. It was the size of a commercial refrigerator. Bob and I, being the geeks we were, calculated that we would need about 158 million of those units to run a single Lpar for our data center….. and we need 25 Lpars…. Heh.

Lots of other interesting things.. spirit of St Louis, Voyager stuff… an Islamic astrolabe from around 1090 Gene Crants’ vest, the Apollo 13 module, all kinds of things.

Natural history museum

First time I had seen real dinosaur bones, not the imitation ones. Extremely cool, but I didn’t spend a lot of time here. By that tiem of day, the children were everywhere, and extremely annoying. There were some beautiful things in the gem exhibits. A giant squid that was really cool, and a huge coelacanth. That was really cool. I didn’t realize they were so big. They had some really strange fishes from the deep ocean too, and a massive massive shark jaw. I got a picture of it for mike. Hehe.

Lots of other stuff there too. Crazy cool.

They also had several moon rocks, including one of the “genesis” rocks. Very striking.

The American History museum had some spectacular and moving artifacts. First and foremost…

The Fort McHenry flag.

It is beautifully displayed in a light controlled room. There are benches to sit and reflect, which I did. It is a very emotional sight. In fact, I was caught of guard many times on my trip by how sacred some of these things truly are. We use the term “national treasures” very flippantly, but…. That flag was far far far more significant than the Hope diamond, for instance.

It was a powerful display.

The Lincoln display was tremendous. For me, there were some very impactful artifacts there.

The white scarf used by the Confederate forces to surrender.

General Lee’s sword.

The Table and chairs used to negotiate surrender.

The huge wooden wheel that was used to randomly select union drafts. I wonder how many men that wheel sent to their deaths.

The hat. That one really struck me. Later that day, I would see the Lincoln memorial, with the emotions it generated, but between that and the hat you see it all. The reality of the man, juxtaposed by the symbol he must represent for us. Very striking.

Other amazing things that are there….

A chunk of the Berlin wall

World war I artifacts

The first vessel in the U.S. navy.

A chunk of the World trade center

It goes on and on. The three exhibits that were the most striking for me were the Flag, the “price of freedom” display, and the Lincoln display. I actually skipped a great deal here. Although it may hve been cool to see the Wizard of Oz ruby slippers, that can wait. I wanted to see other things.

I went to three art museums in total. The Japanese collection was beautiful. There were some amazing things there, including collections of tea bowls from various times. I got some good pictures.

The Hirshorn gallery was striking. There were some very emotive pieces there. It’s hard to describe art to another. The whole point of it for me is to open myself, and allow whatever emotion or reflection emerge from the piece. This is difficult to translate to somebody else. I would, however HIGHLY recommend this place. There are some beauties and horrors in there. Just like mankind.

The war monuments……… yeah…..

Impressions:

The World war I monument is titled “The world war”. After all, it was the war to end all wars, and why would you put a number on it at that time? Makes me wonder how many other war monuments we will need to fit into the National Mall.

World war II monument is absolutely beautiful, striking, and powerful. In my mind it really is a monument to American war in general. I took some pictures of it.

Korean war monument: Don’t hear much about this one, but you should. It is made of sculptures and set marble. There are sculptures of men working up the hillside in a patrol formation, looking out and watchful, as, on the side, a black marble wall looks on. Etched in the wall are thousands of very faint shapes, people looking out at them. You can just barely see some of them. It was quite striking.

Vietnam monument…

What you hear about it is true. It is really unassuming from a distance. In fact, it really kindof looks like a normal retaining wall. But when you get there, you can feel how sacred the place is, I did not take pictures of this place. It did not seem appropriate.

More later. This is getting long, and I need to get to the airport.

I get to go HOME!!!

druminmychest @ 2009-03-13T15:56:00

2009-03-13T20:57:03Z

Day 5

Worked till 2:30 AM this morning/yesterday. Back at it at 8. Will go into details later. Tired.

Got some good work done.

Public network access speeds in excess of 148 Mbps… yeah, you read it right…

Things are looking good, but having trouble typing. Probably gonna knock off early at 6 tonight. Gonna sleep.

Then tomorrow we are going to the Smithsonian!!!

I am tired.