Archive for the 'Blogging' Category

I Write Like Who?

August 21st, 2010 by xformed

I write like
William Gibson

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Cool! I just heard this morning on NPR that this book, I see now by William Gibson, envisioned the Internet, and was one of the inspirations for it.

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Category: Blogging | No Comments »

RIP: RDML Leroy Collins, Jr, USNR(Ret)

July 30th, 2010 by xformed

Adm Collins was struck by a driver very early on the morning of  7/29/2010.  It was an accident.  Details are in the St Peterburg Times article here.


Leroy Collins in 2006. Photo credit: Melissa Lyttle, St Petersburg Times

I spent a few days with RDML Collins in Oct, 1988.  The USS CARR (FFG-52), at the request of the Tampa Navy League, of which ADM Collins was one of the major voices, had asked for a ship visit for Navy week.  In 2007, I chronicled that meeting, as well as with CAPT Bruce McDaniels, USN (Ret).

The port visit to Tampa was wonderful, and I was amazed at the people who would stand in the sun for 2-3 hours to take a tour of the ship.  The community, led by the Navy League and ADM Collins did it up right for us.

When we left Tampa, to return to Charleston, ADM Collins and CAPT McDaniel sailed with us as guests.  I gave up my stateroom (which I was just barely betting used to, as I had just relied LCDR Tom Brown as XO while in Tampa, so those two retired officers had a place while we sailed the Florida Strait to Ft Lauderdale, where they would debark.

The two retired officers spent the few days all over the ship, meeting the crew and seeing our gas turbine engineering plant, which was just about 5 years old then.  I’m sure ADM Collins nuclear Navy background caused so much time to be spent below decks.

Those two guests were happy to be a minimal burden on the crew and the Wardroom.  They were great o have aboard.

One of them is now gone.  I should probably look up CAPT McDaniels and buy him a cup of coffee.

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Category: Blogging, History, Maritime Matters, Military, Military History, Navy | No Comments »

22 Years Ago Today: USS BONEFISH (SS-582) Fire at Sea

April 24th, 2010 by xformed

Table of contents for A Date with Destiny

  1. 22 Years Ago Today: USS BONEFISH (SS-582) Fire at Sea

I pecked the first part of my collected recollection of this story, provided by my shipmates of the USS CARR (FFG-52) 3 years ago. I felt it was a story worth telling. So have others, who have, across the least three years, provided insights, personal accounts and supporting documentation of the events leading up to and including this horrible day at sea for the crew of the submarine, three of which did not survive.

Not all of the reconstructed story even resides here. comments and posts at several of the submariner’s blogs also, have clues and comments.

I had hoped this year I would have reports gathered from those who were left, at sea, to salvage and recover the BONEFISH, adrift and holding firefighting water and the three crewmen who did not escape. Those people who were there have eluded me to date, but I will keep looking for men who have first hand knowledge of the last part of the rescue of the hull.

Since the post last year, a BM from CARR left a question as to who he may have pulled into the whaleboat that day. A few days later, a BONEFISH survivor commented it may well have been him and his two shipmates. I provided email to those men to get in contact, 21+ years after the day.

As much as this has been a story of heroism (LT Ray Everts) and professionalism (far too many to name), it has been a tale of the power of the internet and blogging on getting multiple inputs, some directed, others because they searched for the term “USS BONEFISH FIRE” and arrived on one of the posts to date.

I use this report often to encourage others to make their history part of the collected knowledge on the net.

To those who have contributed, thank you for getting the story on track and made to cover more details. To those who come and have not yet left their portion, please do, or contact me, so we can make sure the information continues to be gathered for the record of the history of the Navy and life at sea.

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Category: Blogging, History, Maritime Matters, Military, Military History, Navy | 2 Comments »

Another On Line Novel is Spawned: “Orion”

April 20th, 2010 by xformed

AW1 Tim, a salty aviation warfare operator in the P-3 Orion platform, has turned his virtual pen to virtual paper: “Orion” is the title. The inaugural post is available here.

Review of “Intro:” Well written and makes me want to keep on top of any future chapters coming down the pike.

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Category: "Sea Stories", Blogging, Blogvel, History, Maritime Matters, Military, Military History, Navy | No Comments »

Brain Injury Awareness Month: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

March 5th, 2010 by xformed

This CT scan is an example of Subdural haemorr...
Image via Wikipedia

Via backchannel, a request to highlight the “signature” wound of the current war: Traumatic Brain Injury.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month for the Brain Injury Association of America.  Pass the Word, please, as you can and know this is a very probable issue with our injured Vets.

For those who have long supported the Soldier’s Angels Voice Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops (VALOur-IT), this is one of the things the program has been addressing, along with the coputer contact with the world, by providing GPS Units for those wounded service members who are getting out and about. The reason: TBI has an associated symptom of loss of short term memory, and the GPS Units help remind the driver where they were headed.  (Note:  You don’t have to wait until this November to donate to VALOur-IT…SA will be happy to accept donations all year long…even today to help this great cause)

Below is the article Chelsea asked if I could post to help get attention to the cause:

Traumatic Brain Injuries in the Military

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is becoming a common wound of modern warfare. It has even been coined the “signature wound” of the War on Terror. While TBI is becoming more prevalent in wartime activity, many service men and women continue to go undiagnosed. Institutions, like the US Department of Veterans Affairs, are working to make quick and accurate diagnoses in order to prescribe appropriate and effective treatment.

TBI is caused by forced trauma to the head, either by being shaken or hit. The severity of a TBI varies from case to case, but symptoms range from mild concussions to a debilitating state. The majority of TBI’s acquired by military personnel are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). Initial symptoms of MTBI consist of loss of consciousness, disorientation, loss of memory, headache, and temporary loss of hearing and vision. They are often partnered with anxiety, irritability, difficulties processing information, limited concentration amongst other problems experienced down the road. While MTBI is most common amongst the men and women of the armed forces, more severe cases of TBI are happening much more frequently and often require the victim to attended specialty rehabilitative nursing centers, like CareMeridian.

The most common cause of a TBI in the military is due to blasts. There are three degrees of blast injuries where a TBI is common; Primary (due to blast itself), Secondary (due to objects being propelled by a blast) and Tertiary (due to a collision with a third party object). According to the Veterans Health Initiative, active male members of the military from the ages 18-24 are hospitalized with a TBI at a rate of 231 per 100,000 and females 150 per 100,000. Based on military force projections this would mean that 4,141 military personnel are hospitalized on average each year with a TBI, and these numbers often rise during wartimes.

The best prevention for veterans to avert the long-term effects of a brain injury is to recognize the symptoms of a TBI. Once the symptoms are identified an individual should take basic precautionary measures in order to begin the healing and recovery process until a more specific diagnosis can be made.

Service men and women give so much to protect this country and they deserve to come home to a happy and healthy life. Creating awareness about TBI will help ensure their long term health. By helping our veterans, their friends and their families recognize the early warning signs of a TBI, treatment can be sought as early as possible.

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Category: Air Force, Army, Biology, Blogging, Charities, Coast Guard, Education, Jointness, Marines, Military, Military History, Navy, Public Service, Science, Supporting the Troops, Valour-IT | 3 Comments »

AW1 Tim joins the fray

January 9th, 2010 by xformed

I picked up a link on Lex’s blog.  It looked odd, since the retired P-3 aircrewman resisted for so long….lo and behold! There was a real blog!

He’s well read, excellent on military history, in particular, Civil War history.

Welcome to the fray, AW1, for when you find this post.:)

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Category: Blogging, Military, Navy, Public Service, Scout Sniping | No Comments »

2009 VALOur-IT: Out of the starting blocks!

October 26th, 2009 by xformed

This post will remain at the top of the posts through 11/11/2009, when the drive ends. Look below for new posts.

It begins today, the drive to make a difference for those who have suffered in defense of the nation, and defense of others around the world.

From a practical need for a blogger and a blog reader sprang a project that has now aided over 4000 wounded warriors in getting some normalcy into their lives. The project blog is here.

Even a few bucks adds up. Times are lean, but consider the “leaness” for those who will never recover what they have lost in the service.

Thanks for helping out.

If you have no preference for a service team to donate to, please drop your funds under the Navy, but know they still go into the same pot at the end of the day.

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Category: Air Force, Army, Blogging, Charities, Jointness, Leadership, Marines, Military, Navy, Public Service, Supporting the Troops, Valour-IT | No Comments »

Can you help this year with VALOur-IT?

October 23rd, 2009 by xformed

Do you have a website or blog?

If so, you can “join” a team (Team Navy is a great choice!) that fits your own association, or that of a family or friend.

At the end of the day and drive, all the funds go towards the same cause, VALOur-IT from Soldier’s Angels, helping those wounded warriors by prviding laptops with voice activated software, Nintendo Wiis for therapy and GPS units for those suffering short term memory loss issues from TBI.

If you don’t have a blog/site, please consider passing the word around and condisring donating yourself. Every little bit helps!

The drive begins 10/26 (MONDAY!) and runs through Veteran’s Day (11/11) this year.

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Category: Air Force, Army, Blogging, Charities, Coast Guard, Marines, Military, Navy, Public Service, Supporting the Troops, Technology, Valour-IT | No Comments »

VALOur-IT 2009: It’s That Time Again!

October 6th, 2009 by xformed

This is year 4 for the Veteran’s Day fund drive to raise money for the Soldier’s Angels Voice Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops (VALOur-IT) project.

This project came about as a result of one then Army CAPT, now Major, a blogger, being hit by an IED and ending up in Walter Reed, and being asked by a rep from Soldier’s Angels if they could get him anything. “A laptop, so I can keep blogging.” Well, from one used laptop from eBay, the addition of Dragon Naturally Speaking from a gracious and anonymous donation, then the suggestion from one of his readers about wider applicability, came the program that has helped thousands of wounded warriors with sight or hand mobility issues.

In fact, if you’ll be at BlogExpo in Las Vegas (10/13-15), you can most likely meet Chuck Z, “patient 0!” BTW, he could use a little help getting there: See this post of his.

Beginning last year, VALOur-IT began providing GPS units (helps those with short term memory issues as a result of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI from IEDs), and Nintendo Wiis (gets them to do physical therapy like things, because they love to play games)

This year, the drive will run from 10/26 to 11/11.

We’re looking for bloggers and websites to promote the drive, and those who wold be so kind to exploit their email lists to help the cause. Effort? Punch our some emails with links to the donate site, and make some posts. Whip up the crowd, ask for a few $. Not hard, but worthwhile.

My allegiance is to Team Navy, but know these things:

  • All money goes into one fund to support this project
  • Funding only pays for the laptops, GPS units or Wiis, or their transportation…nothing more
  • The competitive nature of we former service members allows us to act like we did once before in our lives
  • The project affects more than just the “now” for the people it helps. It gives them a leg up on when they leave the service with disabilities, as they can operate computers, despite having had some modifications to their lives
  • голова болит секс голова болит секс

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The project’s blog is here, if you’d like to dig in and see what the program has been and is doing now.

Thanks in advance. Please spread the word and leave a comment if you’d like to participate this year. I’ll get you to the Team Navy leader…:) Well, maybe to the other service team leaders, if I must. голова болит секс

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Category: Air Force, Army, Blogging, Charities, Coast Guard, Jointness, Marines, Military, Navy, Supporting the Troops, Technology, Valour-IT | 1 Comment »

Breakfast and History?

August 29th, 2009 by xformed

How better to begin a day, than to be invited to a long standing group os mostly Naval Aviators, and some Marines, who span military history from 1942 to the mid-90s (I was the youngest one…and moved that goal post)?

Via business networking and meeting and doing business with told me to show up for breakfast. I didn’t get al the names right, I’m sure, but a Navy Cross winner, a retired Admiral who wnet “downtown.” The man with the most CUTLASS traps every. A P-3 pilot who was one of my CO’s roommates at USNA, and…we had met at the change of command, and figured out he and I had crossed paths in Dec 76 @ Comm School in Newport. And that’s not all the history I sat in the middle of, but, I was the lone “Shoe,” and non-USNA. They still welcomed me in and told me to come back…They do this every two weeks.

More later. Much more I’m sure….maybe an interview from a Cutlass pilot….

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Category: "Sea Stories", Blogging, Marines, Military, Military History, Navy | No Comments »