52 Note Challenge

Posted in Uncategorized on January 4th, 2012 by CA – Be the first to comment

The folks over at The Art Aof Manliness have presented a unique challenge: write a love note to your wife every week. I’ll be posting those that I deem fit for publication here. Wish me luck!

Operation Return Fire

Posted in Uncategorized on February 19th, 2011 by CA – Be the first to comment

Phase I: Loud Yardwork After Dark

Briefing: At approximately 1600 hours the enemy began shelling the entire region. Not having been noticed, I decided to wait it out, hoping they would get bored and leave. By 1730 hours we were taking heavy casualties, and I was forced to take action. Unfortunately, my primaries were on the fritz, and it took me 45 minutes or so to get all systems back online.

Action Report: At approximately 1815 hours I launched the counterattack, maintaining a full barrage for upwards of 20 minutes. After having exhausted all maneuvering options and seeing that ourĀ fusilladeĀ had proved futile (besides it started raining and I was soaked), I called off the attack and retreated to the safety of our bomb-proof bunker.

Results: Captain soaked to the skin, back yard fully tilled, and enemy mostly unaffected by the assault.

Recommendations: Commence planning of Phase II: Daisy Red Ryder

Shaken, not Stirred

Posted in The Bar on February 8th, 2011 by CA – Be the first to comment

I’ve found a wonderful site full of information regarding the history, terminology and mixology of that divine nectar: the Martini. Enjoy.

The Martini FAQ

Avast!

Posted in Uncategorized on June 20th, 2010 by CA – Be the first to comment

I found a swash-buckle-ready replica of Jack Sparrow’s sword from Pirates of the Caribbean. The thing is an almost exact copy and it’s intended to cross with any Royal Navy officer who tries to stop you.

Jack Sparrow Sword

Book Review: To Rule The Waves

Posted in Book Review on June 6th, 2010 by CA – Be the first to comment

Title: To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World
Author: Arthur Herman
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN-10: 0060534257
ISBN-13: 978-0060534257

I found this book at Barnes&Noble the other day, and as I can’t resist anything dealing with naval history, I bought it. At first I was concerned that it would be one of these books which attempts to argue that something is the motivator for a particular phenomenon in modern life. So it was a pleasant surprised to read the work and discover that the book is, above all, a history of British naval power, and that very little of the contents are devoted to discussing the influence of this battle or that admiral on modern politics, society, etc. To Rule the Waves is well-paced, with an appropriate mix of informative historical background; political, social and economic theory; and thrilling, at times even swashbuckling narrative.

I’m Jealous

Posted in Uncategorized on March 2nd, 2010 by CA – Be the first to comment

I want this thing. Like in my house.

http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2009/11/heres-thurible-to-end-all-thuribles.html

Success is Sweet

Posted in Uncategorized on February 20th, 2010 by CA – 1 Comment

I’ve been working on Ensign’s blog off and on for the past couple of weeks, and as I’m no webmaster, the going’s been a little slow. She liked the PressRow theme, but wanted some changes, primarily in the color theme. That was the easy part. Then I noticed that there was no link to older posts on the main page. That took me about 4 hours to figure out how to do. Then I had to figure out how to get the solid background to break into three vertical bars. Then when it was all done, I clicked on one of the posts, and found out that the mainpage nav that I added was also tagged for the nav on the full post page, so I had to write a new tag for that. So I ended up with (I think) what she wanted, and this is the result.

I know that to many of you this really isn’t worth writing about, but seeing as I literally have no experience with PHP, and very little with CSS, I’m rather proud of myself. This is really my first experience with having to design by code only, and I think I’m getting the hang of the basics.

Learning from History – Total War

Posted in Uncategorized on January 22nd, 2010 by CA – Be the first to comment

As the Iraq war becomes increasingly unpopular at home, politicians search for an exit plan. Of course we could just pull the troops and bug out, but many Americans cannot accept the possibility that we might not win or “tie” in this war. They cannot face the prospect of losing. To suggest this has been political suicide for many. The only option is to win the war and win it quickly. Sure, and while we’re at it why don’t we turn the country into the garden of Eden and solve world hunger, right?

Impossible as victory seems, I believe that it can be accomplished by employing Total War. As some of you may know I am a history student, and am particularly fascinated with the American Civil War. Perhaps my favorite element of this period is trying to figure out what made the late-war generals [Sherman, Grant, Sheridan] succeed where the early-war generals [McClellan, Hooker, Burnside] failed miserably. read more »

Thriving Ivory – Our December

Posted in Uncategorized on October 30th, 2009 by CA – Be the first to comment

Don’t bother with the video, just listen to the music. I think this is my favorite contemporary Christmas song.

New Shipmate

Posted in Uncategorized on October 30th, 2009 by CA – Be the first to comment

“Not you. We named the monkey Jack.”

Yep, that’s right, The Booty and I are going to be having a little monkey. We found out about a month ago. Needless to say things are rather exciting around here right now. At the moment we’re in the market for a new vessel. It’s a good market, but there’s a lot of other captains hoping to commandeer a worthy ship. Wish us luck!