Template Update Update

Well, I checked out my blog with the new template in Mozilla FireFox for the first time today and I must apologize if you use Mozilla (Phil). The box on the left with all the links and stuff was set to have a fixed position so that it didn't scroll with the rest of the page. Having only checked the new template in IE, which does not meet all W3C (the people who make the web standards), standards. IE ignores the fixed position code and I thought that I was not setting the fixed position correctly in my template. I just left the code in there to keep place until I had a chance to come back and fix it. Unfortunately, this was not an error on my part at all (except for using IE), but on the part of Microsoft, again. Blame it on Microsoft. When I viewed my blog in Mozilla, the sidebar didn't scroll and part of it was cut off at the bottom of the screen. I fixed it and made a few other small changes. Sorry if you have a low screen resolution and the sidebar cuts off part of the ads at the top. I'll keep working on it, but I don't have enough time right now.

Template Update

I can't really call it a new template becuase I just adjusted the one I had to be not so quite as stupid-looking.  (Thanks to my brother for the links on his tech blog to the CSS pages that I used)  I got rid of those ugly dots and put in a better background image that doesn't scroll with the rest of the page.  Notice that if you unfocus your eyes and look at the page like a "Magic Eye" image, the page looks a bit 3-D with the boxes behind the text "popping out."  It's a bit harder to read the page this way, but you're welcome to try.  I'll probably do some more later when I get some more time to play around with it.  Until then, this will have to do.

Changes...

Before you read this entry, know this: This post will most likely seem very depressing to you.  I am sorry for this, but I am feeling more depressed than ususal and I think that it is only fair that I write when I am in a "bad" mood just like I would when I am in a "good" mood.  Really, this post is more for me to document my feeling and get my thoughts out in the open than anything else.  Remember, you can stop reading anytime you like.

I have spent a good bit of time today reflecting on the changes that being in Iraq has inflicted upon me.  I have hit a slump, emotionally speaking, and I feel that it is having an impact on my physical and mental states.  For almost 2 months I was doing quite well; I was running nearly every day and I felt really, really good.  Then, I passed my 4-year mark, the should-have-been end to my Army carreer.  Ever since that day (the same one that I posted the Today is the Day entry), it has been harder and harder to wake up each morning, my motivation for exercising has declined drastically, and it seems to me that nothing in the next six months is going to get any better.  I have still been running, but not as regularly as I would like.
         I should be starting college this fall.  I should be enjoying this summer.  I should be doing anything but wasting away in Iraq, and believe me, the whole thing is just a waste of time, money, energy, everything put into it, including me.  I need to get out of this rut.   That isn't going to be easy.  The first step is to wake up tomorrow morning at 6:00 and go running.  I always feel better after a good run; it clears my head and puts me in a better mood for the rest of the day.  The problem is actually getting out of bed and out the door.  Any suggestions? Leave me a comment please.
        I don't recall the reason that I fell off the horse, but I desperately need to get back on becuase in my current state, I am deteriorating.  I really don't like to emanate a negative feeling to those around me, but I find it hard to appear positive if I don't feel it.  I need to start back up again, and in the sentiment of a true procrastinator: There is no better time than tomorrow. 

FIRE!

A couple nights ago there was a fire at work.  It wasn't much, really; an old crappy fan shorted out and started an electrical fire that burned some stuff.  No one was really hurt, just some smoke inhalation that should be cleared up in a couple days.  The real damage was the smoke because most of what was burning was plastic.  The fire was at night and there were only a couple people in the building, so getting everyone out was fairly easy.  Then we killed the circuit breaker and the fire died.  We opened the windows and let it air out overnight.  After everything had settled, there was soot everywhere - the floor, ceiling, walls, furniture, everywhere.  Fortunately, I was not one of the individuals who had to clean it up. 

The real reason for this post is because I haven't posted in a while and thought I needed to get something posted.

First Blog Image

Well, here is the first image on my blog. I caught the cover of the magazine (there seems to be and endless supply of that issue here) out of the corner of my eye one day and for some reason read "Prison" instead of "Person" (probably because the two words are only a couple letters off). Anyway, I thought that it would be funny to change it to what the image below says. I sent this to a few people; if you weren't one of them, I am sorry, but I just don't like you... haha!

Let me add here that if I didn't send you the link, it's not becuase I don't like you. Also, in case you didn't know, this image is from the cover of Time magazine, the December 29, 2003 issue in which "The American Soldier" was named "Person of the Year," which is what the words at the top used to say instead of "Prisoner For A Year."

Ma Deuce

Today I got to fire the M2, a .50 caliber machine gun. (At a range, not at people.) It was actually pretty fun and educational; I had never fired one before. If you get the chance, try it out. The only real problem today was the heat. The weapon is metal; the mount for the weapon is metal; the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, pronounced Humvee) the mount is mounted on is metal. All that metal at over 120 degrees Farenheit in direct sunlight gets HOT. I wish I had an egg so that I could have fried it on top of something. It is not possible to touch bare skin to the metal without getting burned. This spurred some other problems, but that is for another post.

Gus vs. C&E

This is the tale of a man named Gus and his struggle for justice and liberty against the tyranny of the evildoers in charge of the internet cafe, the dreaded C&E (Communications and Electronics) folks. (It's a bit long - longer than I originally intended. If you don't want to read it, don't. It'll make more sense if you have a working knowledge of the story beforehand. Sorry if you don't, but you might still enjoy it.)
Gus is a good man, and I am glad to say is. He has always believed in the rights and freedoms of his fellow man, and has fought bravely to uphold them. (Note: This has nothing to do with his current deployment to Iraq.) One fine June day, Gus was sitting in his usual seat at the local internet cafe and was trying to use his newly acquired gmail account. He was having problems getting the login page to load and was becoming quite frustrated. Being wary of any Microsoft product, as any sane citizen is, Gus thought that maybe Microsoft Internet Explorer was the problem. Using all of his rescources, Gus downloaded Mozilla Firefox and installed it on the computer. The next step was to test out gmail... IT WORKED! The page loaded with zero errors! Firefox had saved the day! Now, since his usual seat is not always available at the internet cafe, Gus saved a copy of the install file to his thumb drive. Whenever he had to resort to a non-preferred seat, he could easily install Firefox and cruise the internet without his ship crashing into iceberg number 404. He lived happily ever after.... almost.
Now enters C&E. *cue dramatic music* The proprietors of the internet cafe had noticed that someone had installed software on their coveted computers. This they did not like. When they heard Gus talking to his friend about how great Firefox is and that Microsoft Internet Explorer sucks, they interrogated Gus about his involvement in what is now known as the Great Firefox Incident of '04 (sounds like "ought four"). Of course, being a good person, Gus could not lie and admitted that it was he who had installed the program. Immediately, Firefox was denounced and uninstalled by the cruel C&E and Gus was threatened with banishment from the establishment. Thus ends the tale of Gus vs. C&E.... or does it?
We once thought that this was the end of the tale, but new information has come to light, information that could aid Gus in his struggle to destroy the evil that is known as IEXPLORE.exe. The Department of Homeland Security has denounced Microsoft Internet Explorer. Oh, sweet, sweet irony! The evil has been shunned by the very government that would, not so very long ago, allow no alternative! Ah, justice has been done. Keep up the good fight, gents.

Why does my coffee smell like an umkempt dog kennel?