Octopodial Chrome

On Sunday, 23rd August I had the honour of administering the commissioning oath to my brother John, who is now an ensign in the United States Navy. He is a Chaplain Candidate, attending Holy Cross in Massachusetts.

With his accession, all four of us are now in the naval service: three naval officers and one Marine!

I got forwarded this by a buddy of mine, so…

Three names I go by

Bob

Mr. Uhl

Ensign Uhl

Three jobs I have had

Chicken spitter

Dish washer

Deskside support

Three places I have lived

Newport, Rhode Island & Providence Plantations

Monterey, California

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Three favourite drinks

Microbrew

Coffee

Kombucha

Three TV shows I watch (N.B.: I watch on Hulu, not on cable)

Burn Notice

Royal Pains

Psyche

Three places I have been

Berlin, Germany

London, England

Langemarck, Flanders

Three people that text me regularly

None, because all my friends wish to remain my friends

Three of my favourite foods

Blue cheeses

Sausages

Anything Oriental

Three friends or family members I think will respond

Beats me

Three places I would rather be

Europe

Pacific Northwest

In the mountains

Three thing I am looking forward to

My uncle’s visit

The Great American Beer Festival

My kid brother’s return

Three favourite things to wear

Coat and tie

Uniform

Vibram FiveFingers

There you have it.

In the style of Jeff Foxworthy’s hilarious You Might be a Redneck routine, here’s a list of questions to determine if you’re a straight-razor or safety-razor type of guye.

I just discovered a source chocolate guns, ammunition and grenades. Christmas gifts for all my friends…

Carol Yoon pens an ode to the joys of classifying living organisms. You know, I’d not really given the subject much thought before, other than to know that it was mildly interesting, but she has some interesting factlets and whets the appetite for more.

Hat-tip to Drew.

Here’s a nifty list of 100 interview questions for developers. I can’t say that I can answer them all, but I know most…and will learn the rest.

I’ve recently been hearing from multiple sources that running shoes are actually counter-productive: they encourage poor running form and discourage using the natural shock absorbers the Lord provided for us, which leads to more injuries. Given that all three of my brothers have had leg problems in their training, this is an important concern for me, so I decided to take a leap of faith and get a pair of Vibram FiveFingers, a barefooting shoe.

The term sounds counter-intuitive, but it actually makes sense: it’s a shoe designed with no or minimal padding when allows the foot to flex freely, as though one were barefoot, but which protects one from glass and parasites which burrow through the feet (hookworm is nasty).

I like the FiveFingers because of the articulated toes. They look strange, but it’s so cool to actually be able to actually use my foot; it’s like the difference between gloves and mittens. Terra Plana make a line of more-traditional looking barefooting shoes which look traditional but have ultra-thin (about 1/8″), flexible soles. I might get a pair for the office.

The only warning I have is this: approach barefooting as though you were starting to run all over again. Your leg and foot muscles are almost certainly not developed enough due to years of under-use so you need to gradually get into the swing of things. I made the mistake of putting the shoes on and running a mile…very stupid.

Instead, use a staged program where you start off walking three times a week for a month, then start run/walk periods, increasing the ratio of running to walking, then eventually start running straight through. I’m doing that now.

It feels great to run like a little kid again!

Using only song names from one artist, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people and include me. You can’t use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think! Repost as My life according to <band name>.

Pick your artist

Pulp

Are you a male or female

I’m a Man

Describe yourself

Master of the Universe

Describe where you currently live

Nights of Suburbia

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

The Trees (in a punning way…)

Your favourite form of transportation

Boats & Trains

Your best friend

Looking for Life

You and your best friends are

Party Hard

What’s the weather like?

Blue Glow

Favourite time of day

Goodnight

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called?

Glory Days

What is life to you?

I Love Life

Your last relationship

Have You Seen Her Lately?

Your fear

The Fear

What is the best advice you have to give?

Life Must Be So Wonderful

Thought for the day

Help for the Aged

How you would like to die

Sickly Grin

My soul’s present condition

The Professional

Your motto

Death Goes to the Disco

And y’know, I was trying to be serious…were I going for comedic effect, there are much, much better song titles to use…

I just read the beginning of this chapter and now I wonder how often I was explaining Star Trek source code…

The standard response to an unhappy marriage nowadays is to end it instead of mending it. Laura Munson chose not to do that, and saved her family and her marriage. Her husband was going through an emotional low and thought that leaving his family would solve the problem (not bloody likely); instead of giving in—which is the socially-expected course of action—she waited him out. And eventually he realised that the fault lay not in his family but in himself.

A friend challenged all of his friends to post the first fifteen movies we can think of that will stick with ’us. Well, I prefer twelve to fifteen any day, so here’s my selection:

1. Top Gun
2. Young Frankenstein
3. The Lighthorsemen
4. Breaker Morant
5. Die Fledermaus
6. Last of the Mohicans
7. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
8. 12 Monkeys
9. 90° South
10. Hors de Prix
11. Master and Commander
12. Animal House

Take it for whatever it’s worth…