An ambitious plan and a UFO

There are reasons and excuses of course, but this week it struck me exactly how infrequently I update here. Once upon a time I kept people informed. While riding home I had an idea. The idea was a personal challenge to get back into the habit of writing in the style of National Novel Writing Month; I'm going to attempt to post something here each day for the whole month of March. Short or long, profound or inane, rain or shine. One of the re-class options I am exploring is Public Affairs which is the Army's journalism branch. If I go that route, it would be good to be practice of articulating ideas under a deadline, right? Wish me luck.

I saw a UFO in Harker Heights around 0530 this morning. I mean that in the strictest sense; it was in the air and I could not identify it. Allow me to paint the scene: I'm bundled up and riding in to work on the highway when I see an oblong red light in the sky. I initially thought it was a vehicle taillight refracted in my helmet visor since it was about the same color and brightness as those ahead of me, but that's optically absurd. I moved my head side-to-side and it behaved like a real object at a medium distance just off the highway but maybe 200 feet in the air. It seemed stationary and as I passed it I could not see any tether (if it were a reflective or self-illuminated balloon) or support (from a pole below or helicopter above). I tried to put it visually between me and the nearly full moon, but that would have required taking the motorcycle off the main highway. It was visible in my rear view mirror after I passed as well.

Similar sighting from 2 July 2010 on latest-ufo-sightings.net; I only observed a single oblong light parallel to the ground

I think non-terrestrial life is extremely likely and that interstellar travel could be physically possible. However, I think that the colloquial tales of alien activity on Earth are just a 'modern' versions will-o-the-wisp and similar folktales, rather than how extraterrestrial contact would actually be made. Just think of the resources we've expended going to the Moon and close-Earth orbit; would any civilization really spend hundreds of times more to travel here just to lurk about mutilating cows and tinkering with rural people's dreams? I have to believe 'no,' even if I want to believe.

Call me Doubting Doggett if you must

Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen.

Photo from Harpoon Brewery

This is a retro-review; I tried a 6-pack of this when I worked in the Adirondacks. Some of you will know just how long ago that was but the name is too perfect to pass up here. I remember it being better than Blue Moon, but keeping with that Hefeweizen mouthfeel which precludes having more than 24 ounces or so per evening. Some styles and recipes seem to get better as you drink more, but the Hefe isn't one of them for me. I can't remember trying anything else from Harpoon, but this was a solid and refined American-style brew. I haven't got it again, since most places that carry it also have Magic Hat's Circus Boy.

Questions, Google+, & Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

In the past few days I've been asking folks via email what questions they have about me/Iraq/the army/the deployment.  I still have to be doubly careful what I publish since it's a public site.  Everything published here is out there for all to see which includes "bad guys," but also members of my platoon and folks up the chain of command.  Still, it can't hurt to ask questions if you're curious about something.  Let me know in a comment or email and I'll fill you in as best I can while fulfilling my Army obligations.  Some of the questions I've already received will be turned into updates here in the next few days.

I've been on Google+ for a while now and while refreshing, I'm not too impressed.  It reminds me of the earlier days of facebook, before the latter became cluttered with ads and games and twitter updates.  The best improvements for me are a) the circles system which lets me sort people and follow semi-famous folks without a digital handshake and b) embedded gchat.  Gchat now works better in google+ than it does in gmail.  That's strange for me; leaving a gmail window open for chat had been a fixture of my browsing experience for several years.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
This is a well-wrought hefeweizen that comes off with a hint of Belgian sophistication.  The main flavor I got out of it is banana and it was bewildering for me at first.  It's not a harsh banana, though, and there are clove and malted wheat flavors to remind you it's still a beer.  I'm glad I got the 6-pack; trying a single bottle would not have been enough let my palate adjust and appreciate the flavors.  I haven't seen it since, but I would probably get this again especially for Sarah to try.

Photo from 365beers.wordpress.com

bin Laden & Shiner Hefeweizen

I feel like there are no moderate voices.  You're either on the AMERICA Parade lead by the press (and reciprocally reported on by the press) or leaving dour and pithy statements about the-war-is-still-happening/this-makes-things-worse.  Alright; yes, this will not affect the day-to-day war in Afghanistan for better or worse for several months, if at all.  But let's keep in mind that bin Laden was a wanted man well before the 9/11 attacks;  the '93 WTC bombing, murder in Libya, the Luxor Massacre '97, the US embassy bombings in '98, and the USS Cole in addition to an unknowable number of failed attempts.  He was no longer the potent threat he once was, but no justice system would have let all of that slide off.  The successful operation is still unequivocally a victory for the symbolic blow to those that supported him and felt he could evade forever.  Perhaps more importantly, this was successful operation because of the intelligence captured in the raid. I have no illusions that bin Laden was pulling the strings for all radical Islamic and anti-western activities and operations, but he was a respected and well-connected man within the community.  The information seized will be useful to intelligence agents. This was a victory, but it's nothing like VE day and certainly doesn't warrant the jingoism or dancing in the street.  The only folks that should be celebrating are those in the special operations community for conducting such a clean operation on a high-value target.  I wouldn't deny the 9/11 victims' families relief or closure either, but I doubt they were the ones filling the streets last night.

Shiner Hefeweizen is perhaps the 4th easiest Shiner product to find, behind Bock, Black, and whatever their seasonal offering/experiment is.  The label calls it a "wheat ale brewed with orange and lemon peels - with honey added."  It's far closer to American offerings like Blue Moon and Circus Boy than its traditional germanic cousins.  The citrus notes definitely pop first and the sweetness is there, though the honey flavors are subtle.  Very little aroma with this beer.  It's light in the mouth and refreshing when cold, but I rarely want more than two.  Something about the wheat and citrus just gets old faster than malted barley.  Still it's pretty tasty and while there's no Circus Boy here in Texas, I'll continue to get it on occasion.

Paulaner Hefeweizen

This, along with Franziskaner, have reinforced my suspicions that I just don't like continental hefeweizens.  Which I think is more than a bit weird, considering my affection for north american versions of the style (Circus Boy is so-far unavailable here in Texas). The classic German brews just come off as too cabbage-like for me.

Fairly typical day of maintenance work on the Bradleys, administrative paperwork, and frantic wedding discussions/planning.  I will probably be in bed before nine again.