Saturday Swim

Warm Up:

• 5 x 100 easy @ 1:30
• 200 kick

Main Set:

• 12 x 200 @ 2:55 (aerobic pace; 80% effort)

Finishing Up:

• 300 kick
• 5 x 100 pull @ 1:30
• 50 easy
• 4 x 50 @ :55 alternating butterfly/freestyle
• 50 cool down

Saturday Stuff: Thank God for the BBC

Not much going on outside the BBC's Twitter feed.  But thankfully, @BBCWorld has saved me

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V.A.’s Acting Chief: West Point Graduate and Ex-Leader of U.S.O. (NYT)
"The man who is tem­porar­i­ly re­plac­ing Er­ic Shin­se­ki as sec­re­tary of vet­er­ans af­fairs is a West Point grad­u­ate, a one­time banker and a for­mer chief ex­ec­u­tive of the Unit­ed Ser­vice Or­ga­ni­za­tions (known to most Amer­i­cans as the U.S.O.) who joined the De­part­ment of Vet­er­ans Af­fairs just three months ago...

Five Things on a Friday: the President Speaks and Other Stories

It was kind of a slow news week.  If it wasn't for the president's speech, I'm not sure what I'd have written about.

1.  Rebutting Critics, Obama Seeks Higher Bar for Military Action (NYT)

“Af­ter more than five years in of­fice, Mr. Oba­ma has be­come in­creas­ing­ly con­vinced that while the Unit­ed States must play a vi­tal role be­yond its bor­ders, it should avoid get­ting dragged in­to the quick­sand of in­ter­na­tion­al cri­ses that have trapped some of his pre­de­ces­sors. It is time for an end to what he called ‘a long sea­son of war.’

To his crit­ics, main­ly on the right but al­so some on the left, this is a pre­scrip­tion for pas­siv­ity, an ab­ro­ga­tion of decades of bi­par­ti­san lead­er­ship on the world stage. Stung and ir­ri­tated, Mr. Oba­ma used his com­mence­ment ad­dress to West Point cadets on Wednes­day to mount a sus­tained re­but­tal and to de­fine an ap­proach to for­eign pol­i­cy that he be­lieves is suit­ed to a new era and that he hopes will out­last his pres­i­dency.”

Seen on Twitter

If you haven't been following the respective stories, none of these will make any sense.  That said, I find every one of these stories fascinating in its own way.

Income Inequality: Thomas Piketty Responds to Criticism of His Data http://t.co/5FMVRLyPiD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 29, 2014

200 Butterfly at the Army-Navy Swim Meet, 1991

This is one of the top two or three best swims of my entire career.  My father filmed it, and my wife had it digitized for my birthday this year.  Awesome gift.  It's not every day that you get to show off one of your top accomplishments publicly.

Coming into the race, Navy had won this event the last three years in a row.  I'm the incredibly ugly, bald kid in Lane 4 in the not-so-safe-for-work speedo.

Sketch in my Notebook (Part 9): A Bank in Brooklyn

I'd planned to put this chapter out last week, but I got stuck trying to set it up.  A couple of old friends finally helped me out with an approach, and now here we are.  This is the first half of Chapter 8 of the story, but it's actually the ninth installment in the Sketch in My Notebook series.  Hopefully that's not too confusing.

With that in mind, this scene builds on stuff that's come before, especially the parts with Tiffany and Blaine.  I tried to spell it out a little in the text to give you some context if you're coming at this cold, but if it's confusing, you can go back and catch up easily enough.  It's all in there, although I have a feeling that when I finally collect and re-write it, it won't be quite so redundant with the backstory.

Let me know what you think.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis

Chapter 8: A Bank in Brooklyn (Part 1)

“I don’t get it,” Blaine said.  “Why a bank?”

Tiffany snapped the positive-sequence titanium bracers onto her wrists and then zipped up the front of her Kevlar-reinforced leather vest.  She’d found herself wearing both a lot lately, but this was the first time in years that she thought she might actually have need for them as more than a reminder of who she used to be.  Moreover, given the way their last conversation had gone, she couldn’t help hoping that Frank McGuinness’s engineering work was as tough as his attitude had been.

She turned back to Blaine.  “What’s not to get?”

Memorial Day: Remembering My Father

My dad was a great guy, and I miss him tremendously.

Me and my dad, in either 1995 or '96.

My dad was born Allen Thomas Head, Jr., in September, 1946, on the outskirts of Knoxville, Tennessee.  Everybody called him Tom.  He was the son of a railroad engineer who'd served as tank NCO during World War II and his wife, who stayed at home.

Memorial Day: A Veteran's Point of View

From one of my classmates. #USMA #USMAGrad #MemorialDay http://t.co/fkaDcaIMkN
— Dan (@Dan_T_Head) May 23, 2014

The piece is going into the Washington Post as an OpEd on Sunday.

Five Things on a Friday: The new Eastern Alliance

Yes, that title is a very obscure reference to the original Battlestar Galactica.  If you caught the reference before I called it out, please let me know.  Sometimes I think I'm the only one who thinks about this stuff.

1.  China and Russia sign huge gas supply deal, pricing unclear

“China and Russia signed a long-awaited, $400-billion gas supply deal on Wednesday, securing the world's top energy user a major new source of cleaner fuel and opening a new market for Moscow as Europeans look elsewhere for their energy…

The deal is a political triumph for Putin, who is courting new partners in Asia as customers in Europe attempt to reduce their reliance on Russian gas to bolster their bargaining positions with Moscow after its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.”

Pictures from Yesterday's Walk

I put a bunch of these up on Facebook and Twitter yesterday, but in case you missed them, here are my pictures from yesterday's walk from my office, down to 48th and 5th Ave, and back. I ran them through Instagram's filters, so I guess that gives me the Social Networking trifecta!

The new Fordham Law School

Fordham Business School

D&D Next Homebrew: The Combat Engineer Subclass

A few months ago, I put up a homebrewed Engineer class for D&D Next.  I was really surprised by the size of the response I got.  I thought the idea was both wacky and of interest to a very specific niche of players, but folks really responded, with feedback that was overwhelmingly positive and at times surprisingly specific.  I personally look on these articles as—at best—interesting experiments that analyze aspects of the game that I personally think could use a little expanding, but I got the idea that some folks were ready to start playing my version of the Engineer right then and there.  That was cool.

At the time of the article, though, I stipulated that I thought a better way to manage the same concepts was via subclasses of the Fighter, the Rogue, and maybe the Wizard, though that seemed a less challenging, less all-encompassing task, which is why I wrote the article the way that I did.  But.  Again folks surprised me, wanting to see the sub-class variations written out fully—and whether or not they’d make more sense.

It’s been months, but I’ve finally finished drafting my novel, so now I actually have a little time to put towards this crazy project.  With that in mind, here goes…

We’ll start with the Fighter.

Triathlon Training Log: 12 to 18 May (Week 6)

By far the worst part about getting older--at least for me--is the way that my body just doesn't recover very well anymore.  I haven't been pushing it this season by any stretch of the imagination, but it's still been more than six weeks since I've taken an actual, organized Rest Week, and by Tuesday last week, I was feeling it.  Which is to say that I felt smoked.  I could actually feel myself getting grouchy, and I was exhausted all the time, and both of those things are obvious warning signs for over-training.  But I've barely been training at all!

Proletariat Comics Retrospective

Tony Laplume asked where he'd missed the first telling of my 9/11 story, and I replied that it's in the foreword to Bronx Angel: Politics By Another Method.  But it occurs to me that most of my readers probably haven't read PBAM, and in fact, you might not even know where to find it on this site.  I don't blame you.  PBAM sold something like a hundred copies total, mostly at the first New York Comic Convention, and of those that read it, I think most people misunderstood the book's purpose.  That's not their fault, it's mine.

Saturday News & Notes: Remembering 9/11

My semi-regular look at stuff that catches my eye, now 100% more maudlin and self-reflective.

As 9/11 Museum Opens, These New Yorkers Will Stay Away (NY Times)
"But for some New Yorkers, the memories and stories are already too present, and despite the importance of the museum’s message — and despite its great reviews — they do not plan to visit when it opens to the public next week.

Some people said they did not need a public exhibition to remind them of a personal tragedy that they could not forget."

Five Things on a Friday: The Future is Now!

There was a bunch of stuff in the news early this week that I personally found very interesting, especially this first article on energy storage.  New York State is moving towards a new model of energy delivery, and the process is both experimental and fascinating.  I'd love to get into the engineering aspects of some of this stuff, but for better or worse, I think that's outside the scope of the blog.  Still, the issues are worth watching nationally because if the experiment works, it'll be the way of the future.

Finished!

71,500 words, and "The Crown of Pluto" is officially done in draft!  Granted, the story ran a good 25,000 words longer than I meant for it to go, and as a result, I suspect that I've got quite a bit of re-writing in my future, but...  

WHO CARES?!

Sketch in my Notebook (Part 8): September 4th, 1998

I got stuck on a little storytelling bit right at the end of "The Crown of Pluto," so to clear my head, I spent the day working on "The Return of Dr. Necropolis" instead.  It felt good to get outside the world of Wanderhaven for once and--most especially--to tell a different, more adult kind of tale.

This one is pretty spicy.  You have been warned.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis

Chapter 7: September 4th, 1998

“N-Doxy Test Results (trial 2): dosage upped to 20mg.  Subjects appear to show enhanced signs of mating behavior versus placebo group.  Increased physical contact (i.e. touching, grinding) as well as increased signs of overt desire on the floor (i.e. kissing, groping).”

“Or maybe that’s just the way the kids dance these days,” Frank muttered.

Movie Rant: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I've been a Spider-Man fan for a long time, but the Amazing Spider-Man 2 sucked.  I can't believe how bad it was.  It's so bad that, if you're not a comic reader, you're probably wondering why the Hell anyone thought that would be a good movie in the first place.

*Spoilers Below*

Odell Beckham Jr || LSU Highlights

Found this clip on Big Blue View, the SB*Nation Giants fansite.  It's Odell Beckham Jr (WR), the Giants' 1st Round pick.  He replaces Hakeem Nicks and will likely place opposite the returning Mario Manningham, with Victor Cruz in the slot.

You may recall that last season the Giants struggled to manufacture offense outside of the deep ball to Cruz.  They missed Manningham, Nicks couldn't stay healthy, and Eli Manning got shelled as the Offensive Line slowly fell apart.  

This first pick is the most visible part of the rebuilding process.  Let's hope the rest works as well as this one looks to.

Five Things on a Friday: Talking to the Cheap Seats

It’s strictly low-brow this week.  Almost entirely television.  You have been warned.

1.  #CloneClub

My new favorite television show is Orphan Black.

I have...

...over sixty-one thousand words down on "The Crown of Pluto"!  And yay because I am maybe two weeks away from being done with the first draft. That makes me pretty damned happy. 

But wow! Holy crap is this story waaaaay longer than I thought it would be. 

Good gravy, but I hope this thing hasn't gone off the rails somewhere. I know I have to re-write, but the size of the task seems truly overwhelming. 

Army Football

The post said, "Share this photo for a chance to win tickets to the home opener."  So I shared it.

But I already have a bunch of tickets and doubt seriously that I could make it to the game. This undoubtedly means that I will win these tickets. 

West Point on Twitter

There's been a lot of great stuff on Twitter today, most of it Academy-related.  I've been saving it since yesterday, and now, finally, I've got the chance to put it all together.  Enjoy!

Good morning from #WestPoint's Fort Putnam. #ArmyStrong #HudsonValley #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/LKsmAkR7ap
— U.S Military Academy (@WestPoint_USMA) May 7, 2014

I didn't get a chance last time we were at the Academy to take Sally and the kids up to Ft. Putnam.  We wound up parking down by Thayer Gate and walking up to Michie Stadium, and although my kids are troopers, they were pretty smoked after the game.  Plus, I don't think they were really in the mindset to hear about why you need infantry redoubts to cover a chain across the river and its associated river artillery batteries.  That tour's gonna happen eventually, but we didn't get to it last year.

I Love NY!

People I know down South are forever ragging on the Northeast and on New York City in particular. Too many people, the winters suck, traffic's a nightmare, it's too expensive...  All of that is true to a certain extent. But against that, there's also one simple reality that needs to be mentioned. 

Fact: in the months of May and June, New York City is the greatest place on earth. 

May is the first time we start seeing really nice weather. After a long hard slog through February and March, things improve a bit in April, but it's May when the flowers show up, we start to see leaves on trees, there's actual sun outside, and it feels good.  The cafés all start putting out their tables, the girls are out in skirts with bared legs, and the whole City just kind of comes to life. 

I'm just saying...  If you've never seen it, May in the City is well worth the trip. Don't knock it. It really is. 

A Day Out at Lake Quassy

Sally and I took the kids and a few of their friends to the Quassy Amusement Park yesterday.  It was an ideal day because it was still early in the season, so barely anyone was at the park.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves.

An elephant!
And I didn't even know they had a mascot.

This is What Passes for News These Days...

Not much in the way of interesting news today.  Plenty of geekdom, though.

Source: No more blackjack for Ben Affleck at Las Vegas casino (CNN)
'The actor was "banned from playing blackjack at the Hard Rock casino in Las Vegas," a source close to Affleck told CNN on Friday.

Affleck was "not booted" from the casino as other reports have indicated, the source said. Rather, the source says, he was asked to leave after casino security told him: "You are too good at the game."'

Liebster Awards (Part 3): My Nominees

This blog was nominated for a Liebster Award earlier in the week.  The Liebsters are a pay-it-forward kind of blogging award designed to help others find new and interesting small-readership blogs in the vast, unexplored reaches of the Internet.  

The good thing about the Liebsters is that being nominated means that someone’s reading your blog, and that they like your work.  By participating in the process, you can pass that love along and help others find readership, too.  

Bloggers participate by:

1. Posting ten things about themselves.

2. Answering ten questions from the blog that nominated them.

3. Nominating ten new blogs of their own, preferably with 200 members or less.

4. Posing ten new questions to the new nominees.

Dan and Sally’s Digital Domain was nominated by Axel from Iron Rogue.  Now, finally, my nominations for the next round of Liebsters are below, along with my ten questions for the new nominees.

Five Things on a Friday: The Liebster Award Edition

1.  The Liebster Award

This blog was nominated for a Liebster Award earlier in the week.  The Liebsters are a pay-it-forward kind of blogging award designed to help others find new and interesting small-readership blogs in the vast, unexplored reaches of the Internet.  

The good thing about the Liebsters is that being nominated means that someone’s reading your blog, and that they like your work.  By participating in the process, you can pass that love along and help others find readership, too.  

Bloggers participate by:

Liebster Awards Nomination (Part 2): Answering Axel’s Questions

As I posted yesterday, this blog was nominated for a Liebster Award earlier in the week.  The Liebsters are a pay-it-forward kind of blogging award designed to help others find new and interesting small-readership blogs in the vast, unexplored reaches of the Internet.  

The good thing about the Liebsters is that being nominated means that someone’s reading your blog, and that they like your work.  By participating in the process, you can pass that love along and help others find readership, too.  

Bloggers participate by:

1. Posting ten things about themselves.

2. Answering ten questions from the blog that nominated them.

3. Nominating ten new blogs of their own, preferably with 200 members or less.

4. Posing ten new questions to the new nominees.

Dan and Sally’s Digital Domain was nominated by Axel from Iron Rogue.  His ten questions are below.