Teufelhunden11's Blog - 2old2play

Hard vs Soft Diplomacy

So, I’ve been negligent on blogging about the presidential elections. I could come up with a spin and say that I have been wisely waiting for some of the turbidity to clear up, but it would be just that, a spin. Truth is that I have been trying to clarify my thoughts and maintain a modicum of fairness. Admittedly, this is very difficult for me, partly due to a few facts….first off; the war on Islamic Jihadists is to me, the most important aspect on which we need to focus. That being said, it is my belief that we need to let loose the dogs of war. We have to quit treating this as a police action and accept that it is a war. War is an ugly thing; it is the point in which our society shows its darkest side. It is also responsible for our freedoms, our success and our safety. Regardless of whether you might feel the war in Iraq was justified or not, I think that what we need to focus on is the fact that we are there and we need to finish it. We need to finish it in such a way that when we leave we never have to come back, and in such a manner that creates a chance that we have a true ally in the area. If we leave prematurely, according to General Petraeus, we will undo everything we have accomplished there. That would not only be unfortunate, not only would it demean the sacrifices of great people like Cpl Jason Dunham, Sgt Rafael Peralta, or many more. It would be catastrophic for us.

Sun Tzu wrote:“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”We would all agree that if we can utilize diplomacy rather than war, it is better for all. The problem is that in order for there to be diplomacy, there has to be a common ground between the warring factions. That is “soft diplomacy”. “Hard diplomacy” starts with the concept that one never negotiates from a position of weakness. That is to say, you do not engage in diplomacy until you have your foot firmly planted on their throat. I prefer the latter, but accept that there are situations that call for the first type (USSR/USA diplomacy of the 80s). So, going back to the soft diplomacy concept vis-à-vis the war on Jihadists, where is the common ground? Can we find one? Let’s start with the previously mentioned Sun Tzu quote…..our enemy is not Al-Quieda, or the Taliban, or

Iran or Hezbollah or Hamas. Our enemy is all of the above and all other factions that espouse the Jihadist perversion of the Islamic faith. In that version of Islamic faith, the starting point is that all infidels (that’s us) should either be:

a) Killed

b) Enslaved or

c) Enslaved and converted.

That’s it. To them, there is no other choice. That is what is called an impasse in negotiations. From that fundamental stance, there is no opportunity for common ground…unless we are willing to be enslaved or killed by the Jihadists. So, logically, hard diplomacy (if any diplomacy at all) is the way to go. Additionally, looking at the culture of our enemy, tells us that they view talks of treaties and peace as weakness from their enemy. In their mind, it is all or nothing. You can tell this mentality through their tactics (different from strategy). There isn’t a much clearer statement of “all or nothing” mentality than strapping a bomb to your chest. Applying a very basic version of “know your enemy”, tells me that there is little to no room for negotiations. It tells me that one of the biggest mistakes this administration made was not informing our populus of what our enemy was like, and what tangling directly with them meant. If the Administration had explained to the populus and its representatives that tangling directly with Jihadists meant a loooooooooong commitment to action and it required operating from the “take no prisoners” mentality, the Administration would have discovered that we, as a society, lack the stomach to carry this out. Commitment??? Have you checked our divorce rate???

Another fact that makes it difficult for me to maintain an objective viewpoint is the fact that I believe in Democracy and Capitalism. It makes 100% sense to me that given the fact that 97% of us depend on a company or corporation for our employment and income, that if the company or corporation is paying less in taxes they will be able to maintain their doors open and afford to pay us more. I also believe that we, the employee dictate our worth. We do this through our work ethic, our education, our business savvy. I also believe that the government that governs least governs best. It is also obvious to me, that 99% of the programs that the government runs are jacked up beyond belief (Medicare/Medicaid/ Social Security ring a bell?). I believe that lower taxes on both the corporations and the individual promote and stimulate the economy. I believe that increasing taxes on either is detrimental. I believe that hand-outs are bad, as they create and encourage a dependent atmosphere between the people and its government. Let us remember that ours is supposed to be a government Of the People, By the People and For the People. That does not describe a dependant relationship. It describes government is there to serve US, not to CONTROL us.

In short, voting for a candidate that does not understand the difference between strategy and tactic, that does not recognize that the “War on Terror” does not have a geographical border, that socializing anything is the wrong answer, that “the surge” worked, that our Military Strategy has been since after WWII built around the concept of being able to fight a war on two fronts, that there are times to talk and times to just destroy your enemy, is an impossibility for me.

[14 Comments]

First Round of Presidential race opinions

First off, please remember these are my opinions. They are not meant to hurt or insult anyone, but if you have thin skin you might want to skip onto the next blog

As I am sure this will come to no surprise to any of you who know me, I am voting for McCain. However, this decision was reached after some thorough research and some (for me) deep thought. As the time progresses, and based upon the reactions I get, I will post more and more information on this subject.

For now, I am going to pose a rarely expressed question out here:

In your view, what (if any) are the requirements or pre-qualifications to be President of the United States? Is it as simple as the Constitutionally outlined minimum demographic requirements (age, birthplace)? Or is it a more in-depth group of traits and achievements? For me it is the latter. While Obama meets the demographical requirements, I see him lacking tremendously on all other aspects. I kind of look at this as a job interview. Both candidates are, in my mind, interviewing for the positon with the voters as the "hiring authority". That being said, I had to start somewhere...and I decided to start with this basic question......

As President of the Untied States of America, the individual will be granted access to the most sensitive and highest classified information of our government. Presidential level access is at such a high level of clearance it is unbelievable (justifyably so). So.....given that I hold a clearance, I am very familiar with the adjudication process; and I know that there are aspects of Obama's life that would siqualify him for a Secret clearance...nuch less a Presidential level clearance. What aspects you ask? Well, alot of it concentrates on his associations. You see, there is a standard form that whenever you apply for a clearance you have to fill out, and there are questions there about every aspect of your life. The one that I concentrate on in this case is something along the lines of: Have you ever associated yourself with any individual or group that is intent on overthrowing the government of the United States or is unfriendly to the same?" Well....enter Jeremiah Wright. Now, statements like the ones he made weekly from his pulpit, statments like "Not God bless America, God DAMN America", or "The US of KKK", or the statement accusing our government of introducing AIDS as a weapon to destroy the African American population do not sound like the types of statements uttered by a USA loving individual. The level of involvement and support the Obamas had within that "church" , and with Jeremiah Wright specifically (he married them, baptized their kids.....) make it extremely hard for me to believe that Barack had "never heard him speak like that". For God's sake, Wright sold all his speeches on DVD. Kind of hard to miss, in my opinion. If that's not aggagious enough, let's add William Ayers to the mix....a known terrorist and long time associate of Obama's. These two associations (specially the latter) would make it impossible for you or I to obtain a Secret-level clearance....imagine meeting the requirements for a Presidential level clearance. In short, Obama doesn't meet one very critical requirement for Presidency...you can't very well Preside without access to the most vital info, now can you?

[13 Comments]

What is the point of having a beta demo????

I know right off the bat that I will get a crapload of flack for saying this, but I'm used to that.
First let me say that I enjoy COD4. It is a good game. Notice, GOOD, not GREAT. It has a decent fun factor and if you game with the right crew there could be loads of strategy.
All that being said, I am disappointed with Infinity Ward. Maybe it is because I view things in a slightly different light? I think that whichever industry a company is in, they should strive to deliver the highest possible product for their customers (I know...what a concept). I also think that used to be the standard. Look at most companies today....gone are the days where "the customer is always right" applies. Why? I believe it is all the public's fault. Either they abused the concept (scamming the company), or we have become too complacent; allowing the companies to take advantage of us. Companies, specially in the software business seem to have developed the mentality that it is OK to deliver a subpar product, since they can always "update" it. How long did IW have to develop, test, re-test COD4? How many programmers did they have on payroll? How many testers did they have on staff? How many of us participated in the beta? Yet, they could not have the logical, deductive foresight to understand that not having the capability of a migrating host night be a bad idea? The fact that we complained time and again about the accuracy (lack thereof) of the sniper rifles and ACOG scope went utterly unnoticed? By the way....how is it that an ACOG scope diminishes accuracy???? (I'm referring to the stats shown when you equip the ACOG). Did their consultants have no experience with ACOGs? From first hand experience I can tell you that up to 300 meters the Trijicon ACOG (the one depicted on the game) is gold for accuracy. Zero that puppy in and you can have keyhole shots ad nauseum.
Back to the point.......for over two months we have been waiting for a patch. A patch that should never have needed to be there...if IW would work with the mentality that they should deliver a solid product to begin with. Are you really going to tell me that the issues that are prevalent on COD4 were completely unforeseeable??? To me, the issues are directly related to the basics of online gaming. By now everyone in the industry should know to have migrating hosts. By now, everyone in the industry should know that if you make an FPS the gamer expects accuracy from their weapon. And the excuse that their patch did not pass MS's screening....are you shitting me?? Does MS keep the information of the requirements for patches a secret? I seriously doubt it. I am fairly certain that MS lets all their developers know: This is the coding that needs to be used for patches, this is what you can have in a patch, this is what you can't have in a patch. Again, basic proper prior planning, and attention to detail will prevent this stuff.
I might understand these issues if this were a start-up company. I might understand if this were IW's first rodeo on the 360. Neither applies. Remember COD2? How long did we have to wait on a patch for that game? Anyone? Over 3 months! Sound familiar? Maybe they should address COD4 before they start working on COD6?????
My point is that IW has no reason or excuse to not have:
a) Put the game out correctly to begin with (except the profit margin faced by meeting the deadline) or
b) Gotten the patch out already!

Now, go ahead and flame. Before you do though...try using logic and not allow your fanaticism or "online friendship" with IW developers over-run common sense. Again, COD4 is a good game and IW should be praised for it, however they should also be accountable for their shortcomings.

[5 Comments]

What a way to start my morning!!!

It is a well known fact that whenever it rains, or has rained, drivers' IQs fall by 25%. I was heading into work this morning, in a pretty decent mood, listening to the morning radio show. It had rained late last night and into the morning. Mind you, not a torrential downpour, just a persistant drizzle. Due to the road conditions I am actually driving just below the speed limit, traffic is flowing pretty well, and all was fine until........I was on the right lane, a little yellow hybrid tonka car decides to change lanes, cutting me off, and then promptly slam on their brakes because air got in their way. I had a good distance between me and the car that was ahead of me, until this tonka car cut me off. I had nochoice but to swerve to the right (into the grass) to avoid eating the donut she had sitting on her lap. As soon as I hit the wet grass, I felt the rear end of my car cut loose. Next thing I know, my front end is pointing towards the traffic I just evaded, as my car is power sliding across the grass. I could feel the momentum and wet grass sending my car back into traffic, and I knew if I touched the brakes, it would cement my fate. So I counter-steered and succeeded in straightening the car out. Then the wet grass took effect again, and the car over corrects. I counter-steer again, down shift and give a little gas. Back to looking at the traffic.....counter-steer again and car does a 180 degree turn, so that my back end is now to the traffic, and I am now fast approaching a "Do not Enter" sign and a traffic island, driver's side first. I took out the sign, and the cement traffic island stopped my movement. I drive to a safer spot and watched the woman driving the yellow tonka stuff what was left of her donut in her mouth and keep going as if nothing happened. I called the police, they showed up after 45 minutes, and initially the cop was going to issue me a ticket for "too fast for conditions". I asked him what he based this on, and he said that the tread marks on the grass indicated I was going too fast. I explained to him the whole situation, and that the tire marks were not from me applying the brakes, but from steering/counte-steering. No ticket, not at fault. But now I have to deal with getting the Z fixed.......

[15 Comments]

Internet vs Real Life

One of the things that binds this community together is the fact that we found refuge here from the Timmies.
Now, one of the things that erked me most about the Timmies was their magnificent ability to talk to trash and act tough. Whe I say talking trash, I don't mean the well intended satirical banter that for example, Zikan and I exchange. Or the plethora of "NoGay" jokes that are spewed on a nightly basis in my clan's forum or lobbies. I mean the "I am behind a mic and in the safety of the internet" tough talk. I foten wonder what it is that affords people that feeling of safety? Is it the anonimity? The distance? The familiarity of their surroundings? All of the above? I tend to lean to the latter.
One thing that the new communication medium that the internet has become for us affords us is the feeling of safety that comes with knowing that as soon as you turn the computer off, the confrontation can end. It gives people the "license" they otherwise would not have. I am willing to bet that 99.9% of those that talk in such manner would not have the coglioni to do so in a face-to-face situation. This internet gives them the spine they lack. Sad, isn't it? I go by this rule: Would I say it to your face and face the consequences? If the answer is yes, I roll with it.

[11 Comments]

I hate the liberal bias and the Cut and Run Crowd

I just fail to understand why the "Cut and Run" crowd has been so effective at taking this war and totally shedding a completely negative image on it. I fail to understand why we let this happen. Is it that some of those that lead today were the very same people that were smoking dope and procaliming "Make Love not War" and throwing pig's blood on our returning Vietnam vets? Is it that they see this as a rebirth of their youth? Whatever the cause is, to me, it is disgusting how some are so willing to senf this country down the drain. Their hunger for power and control, or revenge on President Bush outweighs what I feel should be the natural tendency to protect the land that they were born on and reaped all the advantatges off of. So many times I fell like screaming at those so blind, using the fictitious character Col Jessup's words:

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know - that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall -- you need me on that wall. We use words like "honor," "code," "loyalty." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand the post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!"

[24 Comments]

Rainbow 6 Vegas vs GRAW2

So, now we have two great shooters in orur arsenal. Many ask which is better. The truth is that this two games are completely different, and hence forth can not be compared to each other. With Rainbow 6, I get the sense of playing "Hide and Seek". You have a house, or a casino, but it is the same concept. You tend to know where the camp sites are, and you go there to kill the enemy. You should have a pretty devent amount of encouters along the way, and lots of trigger pulling time. This is the game of room and building clearing. With GRAW2, I get the sense of hunting/being hunted. The maps are pretty big, and there are numerous danger areas. Each street, each bridge crossing could mean your death.

Those of you who have gamed with me for a while know that I love sniping. Sniping is satisfying in R6, but it isn't true sniping. GRAW2, that's where true sniping is, specially if the host turns off Kill Cams. With GRAW 2 there are so many spots in each map that you can turn into a sniper's hide, and watch the enemy spend the rest of the game looking despeartly for that spot. R6, well the sniping is satifying, just not the "setting up" the sniper's hide. There is no sniper's hide in R6.

I will say this:

I hate the first motnh or so of GRAw release. Why? Because 90% of the people playing this game right now are achievement hunting. Thta means they are doing 95% "Co-op Campaign". Can we please get to the real meat and potatoes fo this game's multiplayer?????????????????????????

[5 Comments]

A comparisson that should never take place.....

As is the case with all of you, I am an avid gamer. I have played video games since i was tall enough to reach the joystick on an arcade machine. I love video games, and have greatly enjoyed witnessing their evolution throughout the years.

We have seen and experienced huge strides in technology that have greatly amplified our enjoyment factor. The technological advances that have taken place have not only given us better and better graphics (think of Kung-Fu for NES.... then think of Street Fighter for the 16-bit sytems....then think of DOA4 for the 360), but have also allowed the developers to weave incredibly intricate and involving storylines. For the most part, the videogame industry strives to deliver quality products to ensure they get our money. The vast majority of the time, they get us great value for our money. I mean, compare those franchises that have been able to not only survive, but have been tremendously succesful (not just by measuring their sales) crossing from platform to platform, from generation to generation. Franchises like Resident Evil, starting with the "out of the blue" dominating force that became the PS1, crossing to the PS2/Gamecube generation. They delivered very high quality games, and the difference in the genrational versions was marked enough. Franchises like Final Fantasy, which although at times they delivered questionable versions, one couild really tell the difference as the generations of systems improved.

Then, we have the franchise that prompted me to write this piece.......EA's Madden. To be fair, and accurate, Madden is the grand-daddy of the grid-iron games. The problem is that they have gotten so complacent. I was playing the latest instalation of this game a few nights ago. Madden on the 360 is a work of art from the graphics standpoint. The level of detail that they can now achieve is really breath-taking. A fellow 2o2p'er and I were playing our League game, and talking. We realized that the last time he and I had played football against each other had been on the one game that really brought it to EA, and smacked them in the mouth, pulled their punk card and scared EA into having to secure exclusivity rights to NFL properties to ensure they could not compete. That's right folks, the undispouted ultimate underdog... ESPNNFL2K5!

2K Games, brought out a very high quality game, at half the price of Madden and smacked EA in the mouth. Admittedly, the 2K instalation of their football games were (in my opinion) much more of an arcade gameplay style. Depending on the version (2K through 2K5), it was either the running game or the passing game that were pretty easy to do. I clearly remember on 2K4 being able to run over 200yd games with Trung Canidate!!, and on 2k5 being able to pass for ungodly amounts of yards per game (with a huge QB Rating) with just about any QB. The Madden franchises maintained a higher level of "realism", as far as gameplay went.

Back to my point.... the other 2o2p'er and I were actually comparing a prior generation , 2 year old game, against a "next generation" game! And the comparisson still favored the older, past generation game. That comparisson should never take place. I mean, why are we allowing EA to deliver subpar games? You are probably asking.....How do you figure they are? To me, the strength of a game lies in its attention to detail. Allow me to point out the things that 2K5 did right:

-100% support for the Online game. They had (have) 100% League Support. Can you get 32 players together to run a real NFL season? Good, we'll support it! You'll be able to do trades, you will have to manage your team, becasue you will have injuries. We will track all of your stats for you, for your entire league. Very impressive!

-You don't agree with a call? Let me paint a picture....you're on Offense. You drop back as the QB, your opponent called the right defensive play and their LB is beelining for you. You try to get the pass off, but he is on you like white on rice! He wraps you up, as you try to release the pass. Then it happens...fumble!!!! The LB recovers the ball, and luckily your FB tackles him. You see the instant replay on the giant screen. Your arm was going forward!!! Challenge!!!!! On NFL 2K5, it asked you: Are you challenging the fumble? Are you challenging that your amr was going forward, and it should be an incomplete pass? Are you challenging the spot of the ball? Did I mentioned this happened Online and Offline??? AWESOME.

-You want atmosphere? How about we let you set the atmosphere, down to the detail of what song you want your stadium to play when you sack the opponent's QB? When you Interceot the Ball? When you return an INT for a TD? When you score a TD on Offense? When you complete a 3rd and long? or a 4th? Amazing!!!

-99% of the time, if you challenged a play, and the instant replay showed proper footage...you won the challenge!

-It's past the 2 minute warning, the refs didn't make a call they should've......you had the equvalent of being on the sidelines bitching at the refs. Pause, control the instant replay and focus in on the infraction/bad call scenario. Resume game, and the computer recognized what you were doing and the booth would request a review!!! Hah!! Love it! Again...available offline and online.

Now, let me review our complaints about Madden '07:

-NO online league support!

- No challenge online

-Unable to specify what I am challenging (how many challenges have I lost because the computer decided I was arguing the sopt of the ball on a questionable catch?)

-Watching their receiver catch a ball at the edge of the sideline, then come down with the ball his first foot a foot past the sideline, his second 2 yards further, and hearing the ref say "Play stands!" WTF?????

- Same scenario as above.... past the 2 nimute warning and the booth and refs are blind!!

Why, oh why is it that EA can not address these issues? They simply took the easy way out, bought the rights and ensured they were the only game in town. Given that I wholeheartedly believe in capitalism, I have no problem with that concept. They had the bank, they used it . But I am also a firm believer in customer service/support. Your being the only game in town should not give you a pass on delivering a high quality product. Your reputation should be so important to you that you look at what your prior competition did right and you match or surpass it. EA has not, and unless we the consumer light a fire under their butt, wont. I can assure of one thing though...if 2K comes out with a non-NFL sponsored generic teams/players football game....it will definetly be added to my library.

[8 Comments]

My latest quest

As some of youmight have read from the Off-Topic area, I was looking at trading my 2002 35th Anniversary Z-28 Camaro in.

Well, yesterday ws dedicated to this purpose. It all started last Saturday. I went to a dealership in New Bern (north of Jacksonville). It's about a 45 minute drive. After a little bit of wheelin' and dealin' the best price they offered me was $29,954.00 out the door. Now keep in mind that hte wifey was not all too onboard about theh vehicle I was looking at (Nissan 350Z), and definetly did not want us to go over $27,500.00 out the door. So, since she had a prior obligation for Saturday, all my conversations with her in regards to this transaction where done over the phone. When I told her about the price New Bern was offering she laughed...an evil laugh.....so I told them that amount was not going to work. They immediatly came down to $29,000.00. Nope, still not good enough. So I walked out of there.

I then called the Nissan dealership in Wilmington (South of Jacksonville....you getting the idea the dealerships in Jacksonville suck?). This time I told them that I would not pay a cent over $28,000. Salesguy came back on the phone with a figure (that in my mind was close to acceptable) of $28,500. All these figures will be out the door prices. Anywho, I told him I would stop in with my wife on Monday and check it out, if they kept the offerof 28,500 on the table until then. He agreed. So we went there Monday afternoon. Needless to say they changed their figure to 29,500.00 when we got there....so we left. We were driving aroun Wilmington and the wife was deliriosly hungry, so she agreed that if a dealership gaves a $28,500 price out the door, we'd take it. So I called New Bern back, and pitched the idea to them. They came back with an offer of 28,754.00. Wife saide "Let's go". So I head the car northbound for the 2 hour drive. The cell phone rings. Low and behold it's Wilmington Nissan offering an extra $500.00 discount...I tell him thanks but no thanks, you're still at $29,000. The wife pipes in "Tell him what we're doing" so I tell the salesman from Wilmington: We're on our way to New Bern, they gave us a good deal." He asks the typical "Whta did they offer you?" I ask the wife: What did New Bern offer?, without hesitation she pipes up "$28,594.00" (remember, they had offered $28,754). Wilmington sayus" Can I call you back, Sir?" I said sure, but I am on my way to New Bern"....as I pull over into aparking lot and wait for their return call. So 10 minutes later I get the predicted "We'll match the 28,594.00 offer" call. I tell him very well I'm turning around.

Now, the next part could not have been scripted better than how it happened. We get into Wilmingotn Nissan, the sales guy sits us down and starts rearranging the paperwork we would need to sign....then my wife's cell rings. She answers it, and it's New Bern Nissan (whom she had called to let them know that NIssan had matched their offfer and we were going with it since we were already in Wilmington). They are now offering $27,900.00!!! I am dying laughing. The look on the salesman's face was tantamount ot "Oh, fuck!!" He tells me to tell the New Bern dealership to fax the offer signed. Neew Bern does and Wilmington can't match it. Off we are to New Bern.

We took the PearlWhite 350Z, and paid....$27,400.00 out the door!!! Lesson? If you happen to be lucky enough to have multiple dealerships of the same brand near you...play them against each other!!!!

[3 Comments]

Ahhhh...the relief!!

No, I am not talking about self-gratification....you dirty minded fools!
I'm proud to inform you all that I have officially surivived yet another miserable duty day.

Now, for a quick change of subject, and in an effort to help out my fellow gamers the following is a list of 360 gmaes I own (or have owned), and a quick "Y/N" for "must own":

Blazing Angels: N

COD2: YYYYYYY

Dead or Alive 4: Y (But you'll be screaming at the "Green Bitch")

FIFA 2006, Road to the World Cup: Y

Fight Night Round 3: Y,Y,Y!

GRAW: YYY

Kameo: Y/N (Have kids? Y, Don't have kids? N)

Madden 06: Y/N (Are you addicted to NFL games?)

NCAA 07 Football: YYYYYYY

Oblivion: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Over-G: NNN

PDZ: N

PGR3: YYY

Top Spin 2: Y

Which brings me to another point...... I hate Chromehounds. I haven't played it. I haven't even seen the demo. So why do I hate it, you ask? There was a time, not so long ago, when my gaming nights were filled with GRAW and COD2. We had a great group of people that almost always ran together in either, or both games.......then the devil incarnate showed p in the vile form of "Chromehounds" (I prefer "RustyMutts", or "Mangeypups"), and they all disappeared into the conflicted world of Chromehounds....never to be seen or heard of again, except as a distant memory..........

[5 Comments]

Now that the cherry isout of the way....

I am sitting here, doing what any servicemember hates to do the most......standing duty. For those of you who don't know what that means allow me to explain:

Standing duty means that you are "on watch" for 24 hours. The watchstander is responsible for the safety of the military property, and the well being of our fellow Marines. Very noble in concept, but doing that in "garrison" (meaning here in the continental US) is about as exciting as watching glass set.

The first 18 hours isn't too bad, as everyone is around, and it is pretty much a regular work day. The following 3-5 hours is the indication of what's to come, as everyone starts to dissappear (either went om eot their families, or went to their repective rooms on-base). The 4-6 hours....my Lord!!!! You will be ready to talk to a wall...you'll swear you watched the hands on the clock move counter-clockwise.....you'll wonder if it really is too late to call you High School best friend (who lives a time-zone away) in the hopes the they can help you deal with the last few hours (that you'll feel are an eternity). You will be looking for toothpicks to prop between your eyelids in an effort to stay awake...or you'll smoke 2 packs trying to stay awake.

My brain has officially ceased to function into the higher levels of cognisance, so I will end this blog before you decide it might be a good idea to call Bellevue and send the nice men with the white coats my way

[4 Comments]

My first blog entry....a brief intro.

Well, I finally broke down and decided to enter the world of blogging.

Before you keep on reading, please be advised that I am blunt, to the point, non-PC, foul mouthed, sarcastic type of guy. To steal, expand uopon and paraprhase a saying from one of my dearest online friends: "The opinions expressed on this blog are the opinions of Teufelhunden11, and are in no way representative of any clan, team, enterprise or group Teufelhunden11 belongs to. If you get easily butt-hurt, kindly move on."

All that being said, allow me to bore you with some generalities about me.

1.- I'm an active duty US Marine, stationed in the armpit of the world....Jacksonville, NC. I have been a Marine for 6 years, the first four spent as an Infantry Marine. Due to the fact that in those first four years I missed out on 2.5 years of my family's life, and in order to strike a compromise (maintaingin an family, and still serving as a Marine) I changed my military occupational specialty (MOS) to Cryptological Linguist.

2.- I am married to a wonderful, sometimes finicky, sarcastic, loving woman. Bless her heart for putting up with me. We have 2 daughters, one 10 years old, and one 15 years old.

3.- If you have read any of my posts on the "Off Topic" area, this will come as no shock....I'm a Reagan Conservative Republican. I'm Roman Catholic (half Spaniard, half Italian descent....not much chance of being any other religion

4.- I thoroughly believe in the principles that made this country great, and fear that we have forgotten how we became the world's greatest country. Our society was not afraid to admit that there was a Higher Being (God), our society was not afraid to have a strict moral compass. Our society was not afraid to stand up to evil, and to lock horns with it until it cried uncle. Our society was not worried about what the world might think of us.

5.- Like 1stLt Pantano, USMC said: "Marines, no better friend, no worse enemy." That phrase describes my mind set pretty accurately. If you've gained my trust and friendship, count on me to be there for you unconditionally. If you betray those, count on me to make your existance miserable.

6.- I absolutely love this community we have here. Gaming has been a part of my life since I was 4 years old. I did not speak English then, but I knew how to ask for quarters so that I could play Defender

Stay tuned for more ramblings.

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