Far From Perfect

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-25

Little Girls and Slumber Parties…… AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! #
Alaskan Life: Sitting downtown in mid-July to watch a parade, IN SWEATERS. #
It's Eskimo Elvis!! http://yfrog.com/jum1mhj #
Midnight rainbow from the other night http://yfrog.com/i3hhpj #

It’s Official, Headed Back Again!

Back to the war zone for a third time in what will be 5 years by the time this tour is over.

I do know when and where, but I will leave it at that for now.

Glaciers, Mountains, and High Altitudes

Today I flew. And I do mean flew. Over six hours of continuous flight. We were doing specialized High Altitude training. The flight included learning how to fly and maneuver around high mountain peaks, glaciers, and in the high winds of big mountain ranges. I have to admit, placing one wheel down on a high craggy peak of a mountain that can’t be reached by conventional means is always fun, and the views are magnificent.

However, after that much flying in the cold (think sub freezing) and in the bouncy, noisy, crew seat of a helicopter, I am pretty wiped. However, I figured I would share some of the views I saw today. The things we see flying through the remote mountain peaks a glaciers are awesome, and you can’t help but think about how few people have ever set sights on such things or been to such places.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-11

This is why it's useless to shoot fireworks in AK. Taken at 2am w/ #iphone4 http://yfrog.com/bgzvij #
8mo post 2nd tour and fireworks still make pulse shoot up and adrenaline rush in. Stupid fireworks… #
Off on leave!! #
ha! funny smartass iPhone! http://tweetphoto.com/31249964 #
Yes!! Made it through the Zoo and I am still on leave! Zoo=0 Family=1 #
I herby coin the term "Drive-by Tourism" That pretty much describes our drive home #

Denali

The other day, when we were traveling down the Parks Highway, you really couldn’t see Mt. McKinley very well. After all, it does create its own weather. However, on the way back, it was absolutely amazing! So in the spirit of sharing one of the great wonders, I am posting a panorama of the range with Denali/Mt. McKinley very prominent and covered in snow.

FYI, if you are unfamiliar with WordPress Thumbs, clicking on the thumb opens up the gallery link with a thumb to the actual fullsize photo.

Parks Highway

So, we finally got some much deserved leave and have arrived in the “big city” of Anchorage. It was a long and beautiful trip. It wasn’t as gorgeous and cool as the Richardson Highway a few weeks ago, but a nice drive nonetheless. We got some great pictures of Mt. McKinley, aka Denali, as well as the local flora and few other things. Unfortunately, still no moose or bear.

We got a great rate at the hotel, something the military is generally pretty good at. Just to put it in perspective, three days in a suite on post costs less than one night in a room out in Anchorage. So, the savings put a smile of the wife’s face as we were able to get her a brand spanking new iPhone4 as well as enjoying a dinner at Outback. That might not seem like much to those of you living in civilization, but when the best chain we have is Chili’s, Outback is something special.

So, now its off to enjoy a few days with the family before the push through summer training hits. I am posting a few pics below.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-04

I updated my iTunes to 9.2 so I could update my #iPhone to #iOS 4, now I can't jailbreak my #iPad Shiznit!! #
Went swimming today while hanging underneath a helicopter via the Jungle penetrator. The water in BFE Alaska was kinda nice.. #
Did more Hoist MEDEVAC training today. This is the only way to play! http://yfrog.com/594p5j #
Covering staff duty for one of my soldiers so he could go on leave. The bn messed up the roster. I hate SD. #

A Few More Hoist Pics

I spent about half my day today doing hoist MEDEVAC operations with another unit. They would call in a 9-line MEDEVAC over the radio, and we would respond. Depending on the patient scenario, I would either hoist in and evacuate the patient via SKEDCO and JP, or we would evacuate them via litter. It turned out to be some really good training for everyone involved, including my Crew Chief who received some extra training by giving IVs to the “patients” under my instruction.

I thought I would share a few more pictures from today as well, so you’ll find them after the jump.

A Little Hoist Work

Today we did some hoist training. Its a skill we train on pretty regularly since hoisting the wounded out or doing rescue is a part of our job. Generally, the medic (me) rides the Jungle Penetrator down to the site on the ground to take care of business. I’ll assess the patient, make sure they are packaged appropriately, the watch as the Skedco is raised into the helicopter. Once the evacuation is complete, I’ll ride the JP back up into the helicopter and begin the enroute care.

Sometimes this can end up pretty precarious if someone is, say trapped on a mountain, or we have to hover over wounded soldiers in combat. Even in training this can be a bit risky since we are still dealing with weather and terrain.

Anyway, one more pic after the jump.

Reading Electronic Books

So, if you don’t know, I own an iPad. Yes, I have one of the coolest new geek toys on the block. Not only do I have the iPad, I went all out and bought the best one they had. I use my iPad for just about everything these days, rarely touching my Macbook.

One of the things I bought it for was books. I wanted to be able to read novels without carrying all the heft of a small library with me when I deployed. Don’t get me wrong, nothing will ever replace the feel of a well worn novel in your hands. The bent and sandy pages as you pull it out of your ruck to catch a few minutes of escape from your current reality. I will never get that from an iPad, let alone carry it in my ruck across the desert.

However, I like to read, and when I curl up at night, my books offer a way for me to relax and escape into another world. So I figured having an e-reader of some sort would be more than handy on my next deployment, not to mention having the ability to watch movies, get e-mail, etc. So I went and downloaded iBooks, and the Amazon Kindle app from the App store.

After a search, and downloading a few free titles I finally found a book I was really interested in reading, Ares Express by Ian McDonald. I paid my fees, and downloaded it to my iPad (and consequently my Mac and iPhone thanks to sync ability).

Generally, I have found reading books on the iPad to be enjoyable. I haven’t suffered the rumored eye strain, the backlighting has been sufficient, and the typography has been good, independent of the book reading app I have used. I did find that Amazon seems to have a better selection, but all the newer titles are available on both apps. iBooks has certain advantages in being an Apple product on an Apple computer, but all in all they offer about the same experience.

Like I said though, nothing can really replace a “real” book. There is just something about paper that makes the reading experience that much more visceral. Turning the pages instead of tapping a corner, bending the spine, inserting a bookmark – not tapping the screen to bookmark. Throwing it in your bag and pulling the bent and battered text out. That can’t be replaced. However, if you are looking to carry around several novels, work documents, etc and have limited space, this new class of e-readers really can’t be beat, and on a device like the iPad the experience is really enjoyable. I am hooked!

I just hope my digital library is as long lasting as my analog library has been. I would really be horrible if my digital text just suddenly became inaccessible one day.