I went to Los Angeles the other day to visit my grandfather before he dies. He and my grandmother both lived to be 100 but my grandmother died a few months ago and I don’t think my grandfather will last much longer. Since I’m deploying to Iraq, I don’t think I’ll be around to see him before he dies. I wasn’t able to attend my grandmother’s funeral since I was in Hawaii and I’m sure the same thing will happen with my grandfather.

Anyways, this isn’t about them. What I wanted to talk about is the dichtomy between San Diego and LA. Prior to moving here, I’d only visited SD a few times but I had good memories about it. LA, on the other hand, always struck me as being a crowded, noisy sprawl. Having gone back to LA for the first time in nearly 5 years, my impression hasn’t changed. > more <

I finally made it to San Diego. We moved in earlier this week and finally got everything unpacked. However, this has been the worst move in regards to damage in the 12 years I’ve been in the Navy. So far, the Hawaiian packers managed to damage 8 items. They were the worst movers we’ve ever had. Even the movers that delivered out boxes said they consistently have problems with how the Hawaiians pack boxes. One of the movers talked about how he almost lost some fingers from a machete that was packed in the top of a wardrobe closet and how another time he got his head cut by a piece of glass that fell off an entertainment console.

But enough bitching about Hawaii. I don’t live there anymore and I hope I never have to go back. It can sink into the ocean for all I care now.

San Diego, on the other hand, is fabulous. Within 10 minutes drive of our house we have: 2 Target stores, Costco, Ikea,  Lowes, 2 shopping malls, and numerous stores, restaraunts, and markets. Just across the road from us is a sandwich shop, a barber, a produce stand, 7-11, drug store, several restaraunts, and the post office. Down the road is the public library and police station. There’s a bus stop right on our corner, which goes to the San Diego trolley station down the hill. Nearly every road has a bike path and there are several biodiesel stations just a few minutes away. Not to mention the Mexican, Greek, Indian, and other ethnic restaraunts around.

Unfortunately I won’t be around to enjoy any of this while I’m deployed but it’s nice to know that my family will be set up.  After this move, we’re thinking of just buying a house. This is our eighth move in 12 years (ten for me if you count my stints at various Navy schools) and we’re burnt out now. With the housing market the way it is now, houses are pretty much dirt cheap, especially if you don’t mind “living in the boonies”. Between the bus and rail systems, it doesn’t really matter terribly much. I don’t know if we’ll stay here forever but it will at least be until I get out of the military.

So, I finally got my next set of orders and it turns out that I’m going to Iraq. I don’t have all the details yet and I’m not sure what I could post even if I did. But I know that I will be doing IT work, most likely in/near Baghdad. > more <

Hero: a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength (wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)

As those of you following college football may know, the University of Hawaii Warriors finished the season undefeated. Granted, this is a significant accomplishment, especially for them; the last time this happened was more than a decade ago (I can’t find the specific date right now). The team will be “guest of honor” in the Kapolei City Lights Parade. > more <

Ever since I arrived in Hawaii, I’ve noticed something about the way the Navy Exchange (NEX) operates. Normally, a military exchange checks the ID cards of all patrons to ensure that only military members shop there. This is in addition to having to show your ID to actually get on base. The commissary (military grocery store) is supposed to do this also. But guess what? The NEX doesn’t do that in Hawaii, at least not consistently. > more <

I had seen this story last week but the Libertarian Blog article reminded me of it. In short, police departments across the country are running out of ammo for their weapons training because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention all the other locations we have troops) are sucking up most of the small arms ammunition being manufactured. > more <