Mad Mikey's Blog

June 10, 2006

Final Exams Again

Although I'm only taking one class this quarter (at the insistance of my wife), it's time to prepare for the final exam.

The class is 'Linear Control System Theory' and the final exam is next Friday morning which means that I've got just under a week to prepare.

The nice part of preparing is that the professor is aware of what has happened to me in the last few months and that my taking his class was risky.

And why am I mentioning this?

Well, after the final class yesterday morning, the prof walked up to me and asked how was I doing in the class and if I was ready for the final exam.

I told him that while I had more-or-less retained the subject matter from the last time I took the class (last spring), I was having trouble with the material covered in the last few weeks......so much that it would be like tossing my daughter into an electronics class with no preperation. I have been reading and re-reading the chapters in the book, hoping that while staring and working the problem sets that all-of-a-sudden: click!, it would suddenly make sense. And it has.....to a small extent.

The prof told me that if I didn't feel prepared for the final exam that he'd prefer that I take an incomplete in the class and take an oral final (please, save the jokes - I've thought of them all) in the fall.

I knew that I shouldn't make a decision right then-and-there, and I told the prof that while I still have a week to prepare for the final that I'd let him know the morning of the final exam; if I felt ready, I'd walk in and take it - if I didn't feel prepared, I'd let him know and arrange to take an oral examination from him in the fall.

So.....I've got about a week to determine if I'm capable of taking the final exam. The final will cover root locus - mainly sketching a root locus drawing for a given feedback system and frequency response stuff which is what I'm shaky on.

So this week I'll be pounding this stuff into my brain and I'll see how I'm feeling come next Friday morning.

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June 09, 2006

MCAS Miramar Operation Thank You

San Diego Protest Warrior brings another installment of Operation THANK YOU to Miramar!

Who: Anyone who supports the military.

What: A demonstration of gratitude for our military and their families.

When: Friday, June 9th, 4:30 – 6pm.

Where: The North Gate of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

How: With American flags, and signs that simply read “Thank You.”

Why: To express our gratitude, boost morale, and counter the negative message of the defeatist demonstrators.

Come join us in saying 'Thank You' to our military.

Participants can find parking across the street in the strip mall parking lot.

See you there!!

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Democratic Crap

I know that 'stereotyping' is a B-A-D thing to do, but incidents like this seem to keep occuring more and more. And more and more they're perpetrated by the 'prograssive-thinking' people that work for Democrats:

Dog Feces Left at Congresswoman's Office

Republican U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's re-election campaign was already heated, and it just got smelly as well: Her staff accused a Democratic activist Thursday of leaving an envelope full of dog feces at Musgrave's Greeley office.

Musgrave spokesman Shaun Kenney said someone stuffed the envelope through the mail slot in the door on May 31 and then sped away in a car. Kenney said most of the preprinted return address was blacked out, but staffers used the nine-digit ZIP code to trace it to Kathleen Ensz, a Weld County Democratic volunteer.

Ensz told The Associated Press she left the envelope at Musgrave's office but said it "wasn't in the office doors, it was in the foyer." Asked what she meant by the act, she declined comment.

Michelle Malkin has a lot more on this.....progressive woman that delivered the letter.

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June 08, 2006

Zarqawi is Now Room Temperature

Damn......I hate it when someone drops a 500-lb bomb on my meetings......

Check out the Flash video of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s last minute on planet Earth here.

(Hat tip to Little Green Footballs)

UPDATE: Michelle Malking and Allah Pundit have another version of the bombing run.....with an excellent soundtrack!!

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June 07, 2006

'Brave' Officer?

Officer at Fort Lewis calls Iraq war illegal, refuses order to go
In a rare case of officer dissent, a Fort Lewis Army lieutenant has refused orders to head out to Iraq this month to lead troops in what he believes is an illegal war of occupation.

1st Lt. Ehren Watada was scheduled to make his first deployment to Iraq this month. His refusal to accompany the Stryker brigade troops puts him at risk of court martial and years of prison time.

"I feel that we have been lied to and betrayed by this administration," Watada said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Fort Lewis. "It is the duty, the obligation of every soldier, and specifically the officers, to evaluate the legality, the truth behind every order -- including the order to go to war."

In making his decision, Watada has reached out to peace groups, including clergy, students, some veterans opposed to Iraq and others. Some war critics are raising money for his legal defense as they seek to galvanize broader opposition to Bush administration policy in Iraq.

Smash and I were talking about this clown this past weekend and we both agreed that this guy knew exactly what he was getting into when he accepted his commission. To 'suddenly' have second-thoughts (to me) shows that he doesn't have the capability to think ahead or think-on-his-feet. Not a really good quality in being an officer.

To me, he's being just Four-kinds-of-stupid™ and in his 'reaching out to peace-groups', he's well on his way to becoming another tool - just like SWWNBN and Pablo "Patooey" Paredes.

It'll take months before anything happens to this officer, but I do know that he's gonna hate being busted to E-1 and being thrown in the stockade.

Hey pal - it'll suck to be you, but you know what you're getting into.....

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Hmm. Your perspective is interesting.

He joined the Army knowing full well he would likely be sent to Iraq. When he enlisted, he did it because he believed, as did most Americans, that Iraq had WMD.

We now know that this was fabricated by the administration, as were most of the other reasons laid out as justification for the invasion.

We all know that if Bush had said, "We're invading Iraq to force a democracy upon them" that they would not have had the public support needed to prosecute the war. This was supposed to be about fighting Radical Islam, not participating in Nation Building - which is all we are doing.

How is it not honorable to say that you won't fight in a war that was based upon lies? Where do you draw the line where, "I was just following orders" is not a justifiable defense?

|| Posted by The Other Mike S, June 7, 2006 01:08 PM ||

We now know that this was fabricated by the administration, as were most of the other reasons laid out as justification for the invasion.

Ahem.....that's a personal perspective and I'd rather not beat that dead horse again here.

How is it not honorable to say that you won't fight in a war that was based upon lies? Where do you draw the line where, "I was just following orders" is not a justifiable defense?

What?

It's not a question of whether the war is legal or not - it isn't up to each member of the military to debate this. Their job is to follow orders dictated by the civilian government. Period.

And what is this stuff about 'following orders'? That makes no sense.....at least in the topic at hand.

|| Posted by Mad Mikey, June 7, 2006 07:36 PM ||

There are PLENTY of things about the military that I don't agree with, but I have to go along with them. He's just being a loser and a coward and a loser-coward.

|| Posted by Dave, June 8, 2006 02:08 AM ||

Mikey: It is not my personal perspective. The admin has stated there were never any WMD, thus no threat was posed. When an administration states, "We know the WMD are here, here and here", or other similar such statements, and that proves to be wrong, is that not lying? They didn't say, "We're making a wild-ass guess that he still has WMD", he said we KNEW what he had, and where it was.

The WHOLE THING is about refusing to follow orders. He is refusing an order to deploy because he feels the war was engaged under false pretenses. He was ready to fight, and proved that by signing up.

Dave: I'd like to know some of the things you disagree with. Do any of them involve killing people? That's this guy's disagreement.

And I'll pose the question again:

How is it not honorable to say that you won't fight in a war that was based upon lies? Where do you draw the line where, "I was just following orders" is not a justifiable defense?

|| Posted by The Other Mike S, June 8, 2006 10:39 AM ||

The WHOLE THING is about refusing to follow orders. He is refusing an order to deploy because he feels the war was engaged under false pretenses. He was ready to fight, and proved that by signing up.

I agree with your first point Mike S. Lt Peacenik is refusing orders. Lawful orders at that.

Soldiers dont get to choose which orders they will follow, they dont get to second guess the chain of command, and they dont get to choose which battlefields they will fight on. If he didnt know that when he signed up, he definately knew it by the time he accepted his commision.

Everything else you have to say is softer than puppy sh*t.

(Edited by Site Owner - speak nicely!)

|| Posted by Toe-Cutter, June 8, 2006 03:10 PM ||

Toe cutter.... yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Answer my question, or is your mind softer than puppy sh*t?

|| Posted by The Other Mike S, June 8, 2006 09:07 PM ||

I think he did the most honorable thing of his life, ie: flush his life and career down the toilet over here instead of over ther with men under his command. The opinion of this L/Cpl is he should have just took the gas pipe and saved us all this drama.

|| Posted by Ron Fowler, June 9, 2006 01:34 PM ||

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Primary Results

I hate to admit this, but I didn't get a chance to vote yesterday - too many things happening and I wasn't (and still aren't) feeling so great as the dialysis process has 'improved' with a higher filtration rate; more garbage pulled out means that I'm 'feeling' it more.

But that's okay - the main issues that I was wanting to vote on got killed:

State Ballot Measures

Prop 81 - Library Bond
YES = 1,865,583 -- 46.9 %
NO = 2,104,230 -- 53.1 %

Prop 82 - Pre-school/Higher Taxes
YES = 1,577,048 -- 39.1 %
NO = 2,453,578 -- 60.9 %

Prop 82 took a spectacular beating - over 60% said 'I don't think so Tim!'

'Maybe we'll start hearing about 'voting irregularities' that caused these lame props to fail....I'd actually be surprised if there weren't any people whining about them.

And want-do-you-know? Brian Bilbray beat Francine "You don't need no stinking papers!" Busby. Damn....I hate it when that happens.

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June 06, 2006

Stealth Wings

You thought it was just another 'gimick' in a James Bond movie?

Wrong.

Here's something that the men of the 101^st and 82^nd airborne could have used 62 years ago:

Special forces to use strap-on 'stealth wings'

Elite special forces troops being dropped behind enemy lines on covert missions are to ditch their traditional parachutes in favour of strap-on stealth wings.

The lightweight carbon fibre mono-wings will allow them to jump from high altitudes and then glide 120 miles or more before landing - making them almost impossible to spot, as their aircraft can avoid flying anywhere near the target.

The technology was demonstrated in spectacular fashion three years ago when Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner - a pioneer of freefall gliding - famously 'flew' across the English Channel, leaping out of an aircraft 30,000ft above Dover and landing safely near Calais 12 minutes later.

Wearing an aerodynamic suit, and with a 6ft wide wing strapped to his back, he soared across the sea at 220mph, moving six feet forward through the air for every one foot he fell vertically - and opened his parachute 1,000ft above the ground before landing safely.

That's some kick-ass stuff there....

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Operation Overlord

Today is the 62^nd anniversary of Operation Overlord.

From the U.S. Navy's 'Dates in Naval History' page:

June 6

1944 - In Operation Overlord, Allied invasion fleet (over 2700 ships and craft) land troops on Normandy beaches, the largest amphibious landing in history

This event marked the 'beginning of the end' of Nazi Germany's domination of the continent of Europe.

Following the liberation of all occupied countries, the people poured out onto the streets to greet, kiss, and hug the Americans as they pushed on to finish the war that was started years before.

The sad part?

The sad part is that while there are some that remember it was the United States that applied force and liberated them, it would seem that most people in Europe would just as soon forget that America played a significant part in their lives today.

UPDATE: Citizen Smash reminds us of another significant event in history that happened on June 4, 1943: the Battle of Midway.

In a spread of three days, the Japanese were handed their asses to them on a plate by the United States Navy with the sinking of four aircraft carriers - it changed the landscape of the war in the Pacific and I feel quite the fool for forgetting such a turning point in World War II.

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June 05, 2006

Historical Butt-Stomping

Charlie over at OPFOR reminds us of a significant event that happened right before I was born - the Six Day War on 1973.

The war changed the 'landscape' of the Middle East - so much that the Palestinians are still whining about the 'stolen land' and it's probably the one war/event that most Middle Eastern nations still won't really acknowledge to this day.

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Conditional Free Speech

Speaking out about current events is still part of 'Freedom of Speech'....unless you're speaking against illegal immigration:

Southern California School Sued for Silencing Student on Illegal Immigration

The law firm of Lively, Ackerman & Cowles has sued California's Jurupa Unified School District for silencing a student who attempted to speak out on the issue of illegal immigration in a peaceful way.

Riverside, CA (PRWEB) June 5, 2006 -- The public interest firm of Lively, Ackerman & Cowles (www.LivelyAckerman.com) filed suit on behalf of Jurupa Valley High School student Joshua Denhalter late last week. The First Amendment suit alleges that the public high school has intentionally interfered with his right to speak out on the issue of illegal immigration. Case Number RIC450811 was filed in Riverside County Superior Court.

Mr. Denhalter alleges that on March 27, 2006, dozens of high school students, mostly of Mexican-American descent, illegally walked out of school in protest of legislation that was being proposed by the U.S. Congress (HR4437) concerning illegal immigration. He was not one of these students and chose to act lawfully.

Instead of illegally walking out of school and being truant, Denhalter chose to organize a legitimate and lawful counter-protest/assembly during the lunch hour on or about March 30, 2006. The peaceable assembly was to take place across from the school on a public sidewalk (i.e., a traditional public forum).

The peaceable assembly would not have disrupted school activities because Jurupa Valley High School has an "open lunch" period. This means that students are free to come and go during this time. As such, any student could have "walked out" during the lunch to attend the assembly and there would be no disruption or violation of truancy laws.

On the morning of March 30, 2006, Denhalter began handing out flyers for his event. That same morning, around 7:30 AM, he was approached by school officials and told that he could not hand out flyers advertising his First Amendment protected activities. He refused to give up his right to pass out handbills/flyers. As a result of his refusal to give up his constitutional rights, Denhalter was suspended for "handing out flyers (before school) advocating the disruption of school activities". However, the school did not punish the dozens of students who walked out in violation of the law several days before.

Furthermore, between March 27 and March 30, 2006, the school allowed MECHA to sponsor an on-campus rally in opposition to HR4437. Denhalter asked for permission to sponsor a similar counter-rally on campus but was flatly denied by the school district's board.

Finally, just the week before filing of this complaint, on May 25, 2006, the school prohibited Denhalter from wearing a "Save Our State" t-shirt by telling him that he needed to turn the shirt inside out and not ever wear it again. The content of the political speech set forth on the shirt was the sole basis for this censorship and prior restraint of Denhalter’s rights. He seeks a restraining order allowing him to express himself freely as to political matters until the end of the school year (i.e., June 21, 2006).

Yeah, nothing like teaching kids that here in the United States we're all free to speak our minds....unless you're going against the craze du jour.

Oh and gee.....Jurupa High School has it's own chapter of MeChA. It's so nice to see that the school isn't promoting racial bias with it's students.

If you'd like to send them a note of ~~congratulations~~ telling them what hypocrites they are, here's some contact information:

Mr. Ron Shecklen, Principal - rshecklen@jusd.k12.ca.us
Mr. Ben Bunz (Assistant Principal) - bbunz@jusd.k12.ca.us
Mrs. Ilsa Garza-Gonzalez (Assistant Principal) - ldyson@jusd.k12.ca.us

(Hat tip to Michelle Malkin)

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MuNu Denial of Service Attack

I guess I wasn't paying attention but the MuNu chunk of the blogsphere sustained at least two denial of service attacks on Saturday.

Our blog-diety, Pixy, shored up the firewall protecting the MuNu servers and we're back in business. Pixy so rocks!!

I haven't read anything as to indicate why MuNu was attacked - I guess the DOS perpetratiors just don't like Munuvians......

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June 04, 2006

Fear of a Flag

England afraid to fly its own flag
Following threats by extremist Islamic group, several corporations, chain of pubs ban England flag

Following warnings by extremist Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, in which the group said that the red cross in the England flag symbolizes the 'blood thirsty crusaders' and the occupation of Muslims, some of the largest companies in England have ordered their workers not to wave the flags.

The flag has recently appeared in England on everything from bikinis to cars, and sold in endless versions in stores.

But the Islamic protest forced some corporations, such as cable companies NTL, Heathrow airport in London, and even the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency to ban the flag in every form due to fears from reactions of Muslims.

The Sun tabloid newspaper has in recent days launched a campaign to bring back the flag, and has published a blacklist of companies preventing their workers from expressing their patriotism at work.

The Sun said that a large pub network has banned drinkers from entering with symbols of the national team.

The hero of the day is a two year-old toddler, who was thrown out with his parents from Leicester, because he wore the England team's uniform.

Jeez....how long until we start seeing this crap here in the United States?

Well, here's a preemptive 'Bite Me'!!

(By way of Little Green Footballs)

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About Me

Who is Mikey?

Mikey playing with digital camera
Mikey is a forty-something U.S. Navy veteran that is currently taking a break from being a full-time student at UC San Diego studying electrical engineering.

He's also a husband, a father, a former Independent/Democrat and is currently dealing with dialysis and getting on the national kidney transplant list.

The words written here are his opinions and his observations on the stupid things in life. If you do not like them or do not agree with them: tough squishies. In America, you're entitled to Freedom of Speech not Freedom to Not Be Offended.

Help Mikey by not being part of the problem and instead, be part of the solution so that he doesn't have to comment on your sorry actions.

Contact Mikey

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AIM: madmikeysblog
YIM: madmikey92037
Any/all e-mail sent to Mikey might be published if you get nasty or it's something worthwhile...

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June 10, 2006

Final Exams Again

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June 09, 2006

MCAS Miramar Operation Thank You

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Democratic Crap

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June 08, 2006

Zarqawi is Now Room Temperature

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June 07, 2006

'Brave' Officer?

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Primary Results

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June 06, 2006

Stealth Wings

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Operation Overlord

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June 05, 2006

Historical Butt-Stomping

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Conditional Free Speech

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MuNu Denial of Service Attack

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June 04, 2006

Fear of a Flag

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