Iraq Debate

It's been a long time since I've done a political post, and I kind of like it that way. Even so, with debate coming soon over Iraq, and reports of the Iraqi political government sucking ass, I feel it is important to emphasize the importance of the mission over there. General Petraeus, US commander in Iraq, has an interview with the New York Post today which I think is a good read. To me, the crucial part:

Q: Now that the surge is fully in place, what's your sense of the positives and negatives thus far? If you could have more of any one item, what would it be? Troops? Time? Iraqi unity?

A: I can think of few commanders in history who wouldn't have wanted more troops, more time or more unity among their partners; however, if I could only have one at this point in Iraq, it would be more time. This is an exceedingly tough endeavor that faces countless challenges.

None of us, Iraqi or American, are anything but impatient and frustrated at where we are. But there are no shortcuts. Success in an endeavor like this is the result of steady, unremitting pressure over the long haul. It's a test of wills, demanding patience, determination and stamina from all involved.

Sadly, this is the one thing he is unlikely to get. Oh, and to keep things in perspective, make sure you're reading some Michael Yon at least sometimes. From a recent dispatch:

The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11-years-old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man's words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, "What did he say?" Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

Yes. An 11-year old. Shall we really give up and run from these bastards?

Transformers Kicks All Kinds of Ass

Yeah, I'll post more later, but I saw an advacned screening, and it kicked all sorts of coolness ass. Easily the best movie of the summer; easily.

I'll discuss further later this week, after more people have seen the movie - which I strongly reccomend.

The Big Reveal

I can't believe that it's been a year since I graduated (more than that, actually).

Damn.

If someone had told me how my life would work out between then and now I would've mocked them; although if somone had told me about how my life would work out post-high school I wouldn't have believed them either. Still, I'm amazed at how my life has worked out.

I expected to get a job as a geologist; instead I work as a geophysicist. I expected my stay at home with my parents to be temporary; it's been slightly longer than that. I would never have expected that Candace would break up with me; nor that I would try an online dating servie, let alone fall madly in love with someone from such a service! At this point, though, I shouldn't be surprised by such things. God has proven to me over and over that nothing works out like I expect it to. So be it; I have faith that things will work out in the end.

Nonetheless, this summer will prove to be one of changes for me. So let's start listing them: My parents are - finally - moving out to North Carolina. As for me, I am leaving my employment at GEOVision to take a job as a Staff Geologist at CHJ, Inc. As such, I will be moving out to Colton, CA which, for those who don't know, is basically between Riverside and Redlands on the I-215.

Whew. So there you have it folks; the big news I've been waiting to tell everyone. If you want my new address, let me know and I will send it to you; additionally, if you want a birthday/Christmas card from me, get me your contact info and I will ensure that you receive one.

Pirates 3 Sucked

Sorry Candace.

I wanted to like it; really. And it was better than the second one; unfortuantely it was better in the same way that Episode II was better than Episode I: The first was so bad that the following one had to be better; and it wasn't that much better. It seems that At World's End's major problem was that there were too many subplots that just kept... going... on... forever. So much so that when something finally happened you were too bored with the movie to pay attention!

The thought that I had during the movie was that it would be better served as a series, like Lost. Then it could take all the time it wanted in fleshing out its subplots with no 2-hour or so time limit. Not that something like that is going to to happen.

Meanwhile, Will Turner kicked major ass! He went from "whiny, self-righteous pansy" in the first one to "total freakin' badass" in the final one. He was practically the only thing worth watching in the film (like Ewen McGregor in Episode II, ironically). The scene between him and Davy Jones was my favorite by far.

Personally, I hope that there aren't more of the films, or at lesat if there are that they keep a better, faster pace. I don't know what genre this film was, but "action" definitely wasn't it.