Sgt. 1st Class Josh Olson, with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, is the first active-duty Soldier to be nominated to the U.S. Paralympic Team and will compete in London this summer.Awesome!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Active Duty SFC in US Paralympic Shooting Team
From The Firearm Blog:
2012 Crossfit Open: WOD 4
Seriously? You have to be kidding me! I just told Aimee that I like how Crossfit HQ has, so far, picked workouts that any Crossfitter can do, but still seriously challenge the elites. Then they go and pull something like this.
Technically, this WOD is still accessible to any Crossfitter. Anybody can do wall balls. Doing 150 wall balls in 12 min, however, is a challenge. My goal is to do 195 repetitions total; 150 wall balls and 45 double unders.
There. I said it. Now it's official. I'll let you know on Sunday how awful it is.
MEN - includes Masters Men up to 54 years old
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (20lbs to 10' target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups
WOMEN - includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14lbs to 9' target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups
Technically, this WOD is still accessible to any Crossfitter. Anybody can do wall balls. Doing 150 wall balls in 12 min, however, is a challenge. My goal is to do 195 repetitions total; 150 wall balls and 45 double unders.
There. I said it. Now it's official. I'll let you know on Sunday how awful it is.
The Obama Spangled Banner
Presidents always receive some measure of hero worship. It's human nature, unfortunately. However, Obama worshipers take it to levels normally unseen outside third world dictatorships. Case in point; the Obama Spangled Banner.
Here's what I don't understand, though. People in Communist China, the Soviet Union, North Korea and every other Socialist utopia (i.e., hell hole) are forced to worship at gun point. They got (or get) sent to "re-education camps" if they fail to do so.
Obamaphiles do it voluntarily. In fact, they go out of their way to worship their god. For example, these people in Florida actually had to get these Obama flags specially made. Seriously; what's wrong with these people?
I don't know about you, but I already have a Savior. I don't need another one.
That brings me to another point. Christians; this is yet another reason to oppose bloated, morbidly obese government - it becomes a god - people's omnipotent, benevolent provider and protector. Look at Europe. It's not a coincidence that their atheism/agnosticism and government control rose congruently through the second half of the 20th century.
The worst part is that many of Pres Obama's worshipers are "Liberal" Christians who should know better.
Like I said, this is the kind of thing normally seen in third world dictatorships. Qaddafi, Assad, Hussein, the Kims - all of them actively cultivate(d) this kind of worship.“It’s a cult of personality to show his face, like Stalin or Mao,” said John Masterjohn, a former Marine and retired schoolteacher from Leesburg. “It’s despicable. They don’t realize how sick they are.”
“It’s absolutely disrespectful,” Jim Bradford, a 71-year-old veteran who participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion told FoxNews.com. “It’s totally ridiculous. To put somebody’s picture there, to me, it’s a disgrace to do that.”Amen, brother. It doesn't surprise me at all that fellow war veterans are the ones who called attention to this insanity.
Here's what I don't understand, though. People in Communist China, the Soviet Union, North Korea and every other Socialist utopia (i.e., hell hole) are forced to worship at gun point. They got (or get) sent to "re-education camps" if they fail to do so.
Obamaphiles do it voluntarily. In fact, they go out of their way to worship their god. For example, these people in Florida actually had to get these Obama flags specially made. Seriously; what's wrong with these people?
I don't know about you, but I already have a Savior. I don't need another one.
That brings me to another point. Christians; this is yet another reason to oppose bloated, morbidly obese government - it becomes a god - people's omnipotent, benevolent provider and protector. Look at Europe. It's not a coincidence that their atheism/agnosticism and government control rose congruently through the second half of the 20th century.
The worst part is that many of Pres Obama's worshipers are "Liberal" Christians who should know better.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Pew Survey: "Liberals" Are More Intolerant
In a result that'll surprise no one who's honest about the subject, it turns out "Liberals" are less tolerant of others' views on social networking sites than any other group.
Second, this isn't the real problem with "Liberals". Everyone has the right to tune out whomever they want. The problem is that "Liberals" are eager to use government coercion to deny everyone the right to say anything with which "Liberals" disagree.
Liberals are the most likely to have taken each of these steps to block, unfriend, or hide. In all, 28% of liberals have blocked, unfriended, or hidden someone on SNS because of one of these reasons, compared with 16% of conservatives and 14% of moderates.First, let me brag about my wife and point out that she's way ahead of Pew.
Second, this isn't the real problem with "Liberals". Everyone has the right to tune out whomever they want. The problem is that "Liberals" are eager to use government coercion to deny everyone the right to say anything with which "Liberals" disagree.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Farewell Odyssey, Hello Sprinter
It's strange how we invest emotion into inanimate objects. We say they have sentimental value. I do it, and I don't understand why. Of all our possessions, we probably invest the most emotional capital in our cars. We certainly did in our 2006 Honda Odyssey. We loved that car.
We bought our Odyssey in 2007 just before we adopted our first five kids, and when I returned from Afghanistan, we drove it all over Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.
Through it all, the Odyssey carried our family in comfort and safety, while actually being fun to drive. I'm not exaggerating. For a vehicle its size, the Odyssey is actually nimble. It handles like a large sports sedan, not a truck. I actually enjoyed driving it through the mountains of Slovenia (Isaiah, didn't; he puked). And it averaged 23 mpg on the autobahn!
We moved back to the States (Fort Leonard Wood, MO) in 2009, and in 2010 Aimee gave birth to Elijah. Every one of the Odyssey's eight seats was now full. That summer, we moved to Fort Riley, KS. Then we loaded up the van again with two adults, six kids, a dog and a rabbit, and went home on leave to WA State. The writing was on the wall. We needed more room. We needed a full-sized van. Even if we never had any more children, we could tell that our tall, lanky daughters would eventually get cramped as they grew. As much as we loved the Odyssey, we had to replace it.
Of course, with six kids and our first mortgage, we didn't have much disposable income, and we weren't excited about taking on more debt.
Then I got Aimee pregnant again.
After months of research, test drives and internet searches, we settled on a replacement; the Mercedes Sprinter 2500. We chose it over "similar" offerings from Ford and GM because they're not all that similar.
When I drove the Ford and GM, I could tell the kids would still be cramped. How is that possible? There's very little leg room between bench seats. Worst of all, there is zero, and I mean zero, cargo room behind the last row. Aimee couldn't even take the kids grocery shopping if we'd bought one of those! The Mercedes has a cavernous space behind the last row. Furthermore, the bench seats are immensely more comfortable in the Mercedes than the domestics.
Then there's safety. The Mercedes comes standard with an electronic stability, traction control and anti-lock brakes. The Ford and GM don't even have head rests for the passengers.
The Mercedes has a 3.0L turbo Diesel engine, so it's mileage is as good as our old Odyssey's. Diesel is more expensive than regular gasoline, of course, so it's still more expensive to drive than our Odyssey was, but Ford and GM don't even offer a Diesel, and their gas engines get a maximum of 18 mpg on the highway.
On top of that, the Mercedes has two batteries, one to run the accessories and one to run the starter, so the starter battery never runs out and will never leave Aimee and the kids stranded. The windshield is heated, as are the front seats. The heater has electrically heated ceramic elements that warm up in 30 seconds. It has a separate air conditioner just for the back to keep the kids cool. It has a Diesel burning furnace to heat up the back in seconds on really cold days.
As you can probably tell, I already love this van. I particularly love the whistle of the turbocharger when it accelerates. I miss the automatic double sliding doors, leather seats, sun roof and great handling of the Odyssey, among other things. Still, I think we'll quickly grow as attached to the Sprinter as we did the Odyssey.
The biggest drawback is price. It's far more expensive than the Ford or GM, but you get what you pay for. Aimee and I reasoned that we'll keep this van for many years, since our newest baby isn't even born yet. Besides, if FedEx gets an average of 300,000 miles out of these, I figure we can do the same. We don't drive it nearly as hard as a parcel delivery business, after all. We are extremely have this new van.
Ford and GM seriously need to step up their game.
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| Outside our apartment in Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany |
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| Watching the portable DVD player en route to Croatia. |
We moved back to the States (Fort Leonard Wood, MO) in 2009, and in 2010 Aimee gave birth to Elijah. Every one of the Odyssey's eight seats was now full. That summer, we moved to Fort Riley, KS. Then we loaded up the van again with two adults, six kids, a dog and a rabbit, and went home on leave to WA State. The writing was on the wall. We needed more room. We needed a full-sized van. Even if we never had any more children, we could tell that our tall, lanky daughters would eventually get cramped as they grew. As much as we loved the Odyssey, we had to replace it.
 |
| Loaded to the gills for Croatia. |
Then I got Aimee pregnant again.
After months of research, test drives and internet searches, we settled on a replacement; the Mercedes Sprinter 2500. We chose it over "similar" offerings from Ford and GM because they're not all that similar.
When I drove the Ford and GM, I could tell the kids would still be cramped. How is that possible? There's very little leg room between bench seats. Worst of all, there is zero, and I mean zero, cargo room behind the last row. Aimee couldn't even take the kids grocery shopping if we'd bought one of those! The Mercedes has a cavernous space behind the last row. Furthermore, the bench seats are immensely more comfortable in the Mercedes than the domestics.
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| Our new Mercedes Sprinter 2500 |
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| Sheba cleans the interior after I washed the van. |
The Mercedes has a 3.0L turbo Diesel engine, so it's mileage is as good as our old Odyssey's. Diesel is more expensive than regular gasoline, of course, so it's still more expensive to drive than our Odyssey was, but Ford and GM don't even offer a Diesel, and their gas engines get a maximum of 18 mpg on the highway.
On top of that, the Mercedes has two batteries, one to run the accessories and one to run the starter, so the starter battery never runs out and will never leave Aimee and the kids stranded. The windshield is heated, as are the front seats. The heater has electrically heated ceramic elements that warm up in 30 seconds. It has a separate air conditioner just for the back to keep the kids cool. It has a Diesel burning furnace to heat up the back in seconds on really cold days.As you can probably tell, I already love this van. I particularly love the whistle of the turbocharger when it accelerates. I miss the automatic double sliding doors, leather seats, sun roof and great handling of the Odyssey, among other things. Still, I think we'll quickly grow as attached to the Sprinter as we did the Odyssey.
The biggest drawback is price. It's far more expensive than the Ford or GM, but you get what you pay for. Aimee and I reasoned that we'll keep this van for many years, since our newest baby isn't even born yet. Besides, if FedEx gets an average of 300,000 miles out of these, I figure we can do the same. We don't drive it nearly as hard as a parcel delivery business, after all. We are extremely have this new van.Ford and GM seriously need to step up their game.
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| Abigail cleans Elijah's car seat. |
2012 Crossfit Open: Blood, Sweat & Chalk
I was right. It hurt. I was surprised that the hardest part of the workout turned out to be the push presses. Using the efficiency tips in the following videos, I did the toes to bar unbroken and with efficient form for the first round. After that, however, my form went to crap and I had to break them up in sets of five and four. I did the box jumps unbroken for the entire workout, which is unusual for me.
My final score: five rounds + 15 box jumps and five push presses. All in all, I'm happy with my performance. I probably could have done a couple more reps, but I'm satisfied. I just need to work on jumping under the bar more quickly. Oh, and I broke a small blood blister open. Hey, I've done a lot worse.
Now some pics from last week.
My final score: five rounds + 15 box jumps and five push presses. All in all, I'm happy with my performance. I probably could have done a couple more reps, but I'm satisfied. I just need to work on jumping under the bar more quickly. Oh, and I broke a small blood blister open. Hey, I've done a lot worse.Now some pics from last week.
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| Lee Anne kicks butt in every WOD. She sure is "bulky", right, ladies? ;-) |
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| Setting up for my first 135 lb snatch... ever! |
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| Melody, whose birthday it was today. Yep, definitely "bulky". ;-) |
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| The last athlete always has a big cheering section, which can be good and bad. |
Third Day Live: "Thief"
Man, I love this song!
Few stories in the Bible exemplify the Gospel more completely than the story of the thief on the Cross (Luke 23).
I love this song!
Few stories in the Bible exemplify the Gospel more completely than the story of the thief on the Cross (Luke 23).
It's all there in five short verses; confession, repentance, recognition of Jesus as the Messiah and complete dependence on Him. The thief had no time to make up for all the evil he'd perpetrated on others. He had no good deeds to his name. He couldn't possibly rely on his good deeds to outweigh the bad, and he knew it. In case you didn't know this already, neither can any of us.39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[d]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
I love this song!
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