Toyah

Wow. Just wow.

Their valor isn't noteworthy because they're British, it's noteworthy because it's valorous.

Labels: British, Iraq

I took today, Tuesday, and Wednesday off in honor of my favorite holiday. I love Christmas and The 4th of July, but Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite. Jennifer and I will be partaking in festivities with her parents on Thursday, and my folks are hosting on Sunday. But today, I have only my DVD player and Nintendo on the agenda. I am planning to watch Amazing Grace (starring the Horatio Hornblower dude). I did manage to be out of bed this morning by 8:00. I know that will shock most of you.

In other shocking news: Jennifer and I are expecting a baby Senters in June. Much speculation has been offered as to how that happened. Rest assured that we are fully aware. The gender of baby Senters has yet to be discovered, but we are planning to find out once that is an option.

Jennifer has experienced the 'joy' of morning sickness. We can also verify that morning sickness is not accurately named. In my wife's case, 24-hour sickness would be more appropriate. During this time I have been banking lots of housework points...points which I hope to cash in for diaper duty.

*I would like to apologize to Phil for proceeding out of turn. You clearly were in line to follow Anthony down the road of padre-hood.

Labels: Family, movies, Thanksgiving

Now that half of the Highlanders are married, maybe it's a good time for a post about couples and money. Financial planners say there are tons of studies showing that the number one cause of fights in marriages is money, and the number one cause for divorce is (surprise!) money.

So clearly, if you want a successful marriage, you and your wife or husband need to get control of your money. Here's a good article on setting up a budget that is determined by both of you, and that acts as the controller on your money. As long as you are both accountable to each other, the budget gets the blame when you can't give in to an impulse buy.

Debbie and I have been slowly working towards a) having a budget and b) sticking to it. I was the bill-payer at first, but I hated paying bills (so depressing!) and tended to put it off as long as possible, so eventually we decided Debbie did a better job at getting them paid on time. I had to swallow my pride, but it was a relief for me, and Debbie really does do a better job at it. On the other hand, I am much more interested in long-term financial planning than she is, so I take the lead in formulating a realistic budget, in pressing for regular savings, and making long-term plans like retirement savings or college money for our kids. We've found a way to manage our finances that takes advantage of our mutual strengths.

Budget meetings are still somewhat stressful, at least for me, but ironically the more often we have them the less stressful they are. In the meantime, the net result at present is that we have all our consumer debt paid off (credit cards and cars) and are working on our student loans. We also have a substantial amount in savings, which helps to lower the stress. I have big plans to eventually be entirely debt-free (including the mortgage), although that is certainly a long-term goal. But big successes are only possible through little successes, like spending less than we made this month, so despite the occasional frustration of sticking to a budget, I'm happy with our situation.

Labels: Money

The Great War at Sea begins with the dreadnought revolution in naval ship design, moves on to the arms race between Britain and Germany, and builds up to the Battle of Jutland. This revolution began with the HMS Dreadnought, which was launched in 1906. She had 10 12-inch guns, more than twice the destructive power of any other warship. Hough’s focus is not on the ships, however. Instead, it is on the Royal Navy, which in 1906 was beginning a massive transformation: from a rather moth-eaten organization still basking in Nelsonian glory, to a modern fighting force capable of the formidable challenge from the brand-new Germany Navy. Two men were key to this transformation: Admiral Jacky Fisher and Winston Churchill. Together, their massive energy removed the rust and age from the Royal Navy.

Despite his accomplishments with the pre-war navy, Churchill in war does not cut a very striking figure. In Hough’s view, Churchill was pretty much a disaster as First Lord of the Admiralty. His micro-management of his commanders was crippling to initiative, and his bombastic temperament made him many enemies, who were at best unsympathetic with his plight after the Gallipolli campaign, where Britain suffered heavy naval losses. In the aftermath, he was forced to resign as First Lord.

Nevertheless, the navy as a whole was a strong force, with generally strong commanders. Churchill said later that Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, was the only man who had the ability to lose the war in a single day. That he did not was due to a combination of skill, luck, and bad weather. Neither the British nor the Germans really intended a major fleet action at Jutland on May 31st, 1916: both were planning a trap that would lure part of the other’s battle fleet into annilation, without much risk to their own battle fleet. The plan worked, more or less, for the Royal Navy, but Jellicoe’s caution prevented him from making a decisive attack and the German fleet escaped hurt but far from destroyed. However, the High Seas Fleet never again went to sea in force, and for that Jellicoe deserves praise.

The Great War at Sea is a readable analysis of the state of dreadnought warfare in the pre-war years, and how the theories worked when put to the test in the sea battles of 1914-1916. It conveys particularly well the unknown state of naval war in pre-war years: nobody really knew how a fleet action should be fought with these new ships. Serious students of naval warfare will probably find it lacking, particularly in its relatively light coverage of the submarine war, but I found it an engrossing study and would recommend it, if your taste runs to big steel ships and big guns.

Labels: books

As someone with a family member who has Down Syndrome it bugs me when abortion is used because doctors think the baby isn't going to make it or that it will be born with a birth defect. Time after time nature shows that life will do all it can to sustain itself, and this story is another element in the list. And to say that a baby with a birth defect would be better off if it had never been born is just arrogant. My Uncle Kevin is constantly joking, laughing, and putting smiles on faces at family gatherings.

You don't always get things the way you want in life. When I have children I will be praying that they are born healthy. But many people that are born normal grow up to be scumbags. Babies with defects often defy the odds and survive to adulthood, and many have a very positive affect on the people in their lives. Bad news is never easy to swallow, but a human life is worth dealing with the situation. Chances are that making the best of things will be a decision that you, and your baby, can live with.

Here's the UK Telegraph's final list of the top 100 Most Influential Liberals and 100 Most Influential Conservatives. Who made the top spots? Clinton (Bill) and Giuliani. My prediction was slightly off, but in retrospect, you had to know that Europeans would pick Bill as their favorite--after all, the guy's a celeb in Europe and he's likely to be the consensus european choice for UN Sec-Gen some day.

To my surprise, Hillary isn't even in the top 3--Gore's number 2, and some unknown political strategist is No. 3. The top 4 on the list of Libs looks pretty much like it might have looked about 10 years ago, except that James Carville or John Podesta would have been No. 3.

Also, when you take a look at the rest of the list, there are a few more surprises--I mean, Mike Huckabee (former Arkansas gov and health guru) is in the top 20 for conservatives, and Gov. Arnold (Ahhnold) is number 8 for the Libs. Okay, so maybe not so surprising, but definitely worth a mention.

Labels: politics

If you are feeling like you don't do enough to help starving kids in Africa and you are struggling to expand your vocabulary--or of you just need a diversion from work--check out FreeRice.com.

And if you've ever struggled with the question, "Who is the supperest hero of them all?", then this site's for you: The Superest.

(these links are courtesy of the Highlands research and development team, aka, my wife)

One of the things that really impressed me after Rita/Katrina was the stories of how people managed to take care of themselves (or not) before an organized rescue effort could reach them. Basically, people that had some kind of emergency supplies were just fine: it was the people who had made no preparations that suffered most (and those whose houses were utterly destroyed, of course).

So I did some reading on disaster-preparedness, and all the experts agreed that you should expect to survive on your own for at least a week, perhaps two. Even a perfectly-organized rescue effort can't get there quickly: they have to organize themselves, then they have to clear roads, then they have to actually find you. So you should be able to depend on yourself for at least a week.

Hurricanes aren't much of a threat in the midwest, but we do sometimes get blizzads or ice storms that can knock out power for a few days, and tornadoes come through sometimes. That's about it for natural disasters, so we're safer than much of the country. With that in mind, I spent about $200 on an emergency kit that I keep in the basement, in a big plastic tub. It includes food and water for at least a week (maybe it's two weeks), flashlights (both battery-powered and wind-up powered), a wind-up lantern, a wind-up radio, and a first-aid kit. I think that's all. I also bought an extra propane tank for my barbecue, as I expect to use that as an emergency cooking source, and it wouldn't be much good if it ran out of propane in the middle of winter. The only real need that isn't covered by my kit is an alternative source of heat. My house has no fireplace, so if there is no electricity or gas, there would be no heat. They do make small, flameless propane heaters intended for tents, and that's probably what I will eventually get. We could put it in one of the smaller rooms and stay warm enough, if not comfortable.

I've never had to use my kit yet, of course, but for a mere $200 it's nice to have a bit of security. More emergency suggestions.

Labels: emergency