My son John is playing Chess again

Old pictures of John playing Chess at a USCF tournament.

Good morning. I am still on my first pot of coffee this morning and it looks like it is going to shape up to be a nice sunny day.

My son John called last night from Mayport Florida. John went to the Jacksonville Chess Club to play chess last night. One of the guys from his ship took him. John has been playing Chess for several years now and is very good. He is in the USCF with a rating of 1198 (Based on 17 rated games). Last night he played in a USCF rated game and won against a person rated 1700, that will boost his rating. I'm not at all surprised. The only reason Johns rating is low is because he has not played in enough rated games. John is going to apply for the All Navy Chess Team next year after he gets his rating up. John was Captain of his Chess Team in High School, Lettered in Chess three years and got a Chess Scholarship that he used his first year of College. We're glad that he can play again while in the Navy and we are sure he will do well.

Link to Jacksonville Chess Events

Just a little side note. Two of the people that were on the Chess team from John's High School are now in the Navy ( that includes John ) the other is a Nuke now and she is doing well. Another guy is now in the Army and is in Iraq. There were several people on the Chess team back then but only a few actually went to the tournaments all three of these kids are now serving their country.

Air Force Blocks Access to Many Blogs

The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word "blog" in its web address. It's the latest move in a larger struggle within the military over the value -- and hazards -- of the sites. At least one senior Air Force official calls the squeeze so "utterly stupid, it makes me want to scream." I agree with that last statement.

Read the rest here at Wired

Nice Birthday presents for Vicki

My wife had a good week so far, our kids Cindy and John each sent her Walmart gift cards for her birthday. John's got here last Friday and Cindy's arrived yesterday. The kids are so thoughtful. It was really unexpected. Cindy had already bought us dinner on Vicki's birthday ( Pizza and Pepsi delivered ) so this was a real surprise. Thank you Cindy and John.

Cindy is doing well in her CIWS C-School at San Diego Naval Base and has been hanging out with friends on the weekends. I guess that school should be over in another month or so right Cindy? Last night I told her she should start watching Jericho ( my favorite show ) on TV and she told me that she does not have a TV so I will have to tell her how to watch TV on her Laptop.

Update: Cindy graduates CIWS C-School July 3, 2008

John has been busy in Mayport Florida getting qualified for various things for his job as an OS. Yesterday John went to the gun range on base and is now qualified with the handgun so he can stand watch for his ship. He is also working on Damage Control and various other duties that he needs to do. John is coming out to visit us on the 11th of March and will be here until the 18th.

It's funny that both kids got new digital cameras in the last 6 months and yet almost never send pictures anymore. I understand that there is allot that they can't take pictures of but a picture of their room or some of them with their friends is not going to jeopardize national security. :) Get the hint kids? LOL

Search For Recipes

I found a new place to search for recipes yesterday, it's called Food Blog Search. You can search through 1800 Food Blogs for just the right recipe that suits you. Go take a look and try it out.

http://foodblogsearch.com/

Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and Hawaii 50

CBS has uploaded the entire original Star Trek series, all three seasons (1966-1969), which can be viewed online for free as part of their new Audience Network.

CBS has also uploaded the first two seasons of The Twilight Zone and the first season of Hawaii 5-0.

Sign The Petition Against Berkeley's Anti-Military Actions

http://www.moveamericaforward.org/

12:05 GMT : Pentagon Briefing, Missile Strike On Satellite

Fire Controlman 2nd Class Andrew Jackson pushed the final controls that sent the Standard Missile-3 from the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie screaming into space to strike the dead and spacecraft. Congratulations USS Lake Erie on a job well done.


Read more in the Kansas City Star

Saboteurs may have been responsible for undersea cable cuts

New information from the UN agency tasked with repairing the undersea cable cuts of early February has reported that they can't rule out sabotage at this point of time. Of the five cuts, only one has been ruled an accidental failure — the cause of the other four is still unknown. I guess this blows my theory that Godzilla was responsible.

You can read the entire article here.

Microsoft Vista Ad Video

This has been around for a while but it's still funny. Thanks for reminding me Cookie.

John and Doddridge at the Daytona 300

My son John called tonight when he got back to Mayport Naval Base. He spent the weekend in Daytona Beach with his barracks-mate Doddridge and his family. They went and saw the Daytona 300 ( Camping World 300 ) Saturday and John sent us some pictures. Hopefully John will give someone else the camera next time so we get some pictures of him. John is on duty tomorrow.

Click on Images For Full Size

Number 88 NAVY Car
Driver Brad Keselowski was at the wheel of the Dale Earnhardt Jr.owned JR Motorsports, No. 88 Navy "Accelerate Your Life" Monte Carlo sporting a new "Dress White" paint scheme for the 2008 season.

Doddridge looking tired at the race

Daytona Speedway

Doddridge on the way to the race

You can see the Camping World 300 Race Results here.

CNP Announces New NASCAR Fleet Honoree Program

A Nice Birthday Surprise from Cindy

Our Daughter Cindy called our local Pizza Hut from San Diego Naval Base where she is stationed and ordered Vicki a Pizza for dinner tonight for Vicki's Birthday. Vicki was pleasantly surprised. Cindy got Vicki her favorite, a large thin and crispy with green olives and a Pepsi. That was so nice and thoughtful of her. Thank you Cindy

Happy Birthday Vicki

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Wife Vicki

Montgomery Gentry in Concert in Daytona Beach Florida

Good morning. We are just waiting for the rain/ice to start coming down. My son John called late last night. John had just seen Montgomery Gentry in Concert in Daytona Beach Florida with his roommate "Doddridge" from Naval Station Mayport Florida. Doddridge is on a different ship than John but they are in the same barracks on base. They also know each other from Navy Boot Camp having graduated together.

This is from the Montgomery Gentry official website. "A total of 8,500 general admission tickets will be available. All proceeds from tickets sales will benefit Jim Beam's designated charity, Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront provides support and morale to U.S. troops, to the families they leave behind while they serve and to wounded warriors when they return home."

"Unfortunately, we often overlook the sacrifices made by courageous men and women in uniform who are responsible for defending the very freedom that enables us to enjoy our favorite pastimes, such as racing," said Gallagher. "We have designed this event not only as an opportunity for racing and country music fans to be entertained, but also to give these fans a chance to display the deep sense of patriotism for which they are well known."

John said that after the concert he and his Doddridge tried to see if they could go back stage and that "one of the security guards was being a real asshole". Of course they let girls go back stage but when two people serving in the Navy want to say thank you they are refused entry. They even showed their Military IDs but were rebuffed by security and the owner of the Concert Hall. John said that he could have understood this but when he saw them allowing any good looking girl to go see the Star and refuse the troops he just thought that was wrong.

Today John is going to see the Daytona 300 with Doddridge and his family. John promised me some pictures from this weekend so hopefully I will have some to post in the next few days.

The Kids called and an e-mail from my parents

Good morning everyone. It's been a quiet week here in South East Kansas. Nothing is really going on. Yesterday we had a warm up in the weather with temps in the 60s but that is gone now. When I woke up this morning it was 19 degrees outside and they are predicting highs in the 30s today. My wife Vicki has a birthday Sunday and it looks like she is going to get Snow. We are really anxious for Spring...

My daughter Cindy called yesterday from her CIWS C-School at San Diego Naval Base and told me that in class yesterday the instructor told them to go to www.google.com and type in "French Military Victories" and then click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. The results are hilarious. Give it a try and have some fun. Cindy just told me "Today I have duty. Tomorrow I am going to the rec center until my buddy Zac gets off. He is going to take me out to his sail boat and teach me how to sail and kayak. Its going to be fun. I have a 3 day weekend. I don't go back to class until Tuesday after I get off today. I don't have watch so I am going to pretty much play games online."

My son John called from Naval Station Mayport Florida. John was doing well. He had a good week so far. They celebrated Black History Month with films and food on his Ship. John said that the speeches were interesting and the food was great. This weekend he is going to Daytona with one of his friends to see the Daytona 300 on Saturday and tonight he is going to see a concert. My parents live a few miles from the Daytona Speedway so John just might be able to see them when he is in town.

My Mom sent me an e-mail with some pictures yesterday. The e-mail says "We had the WGA Cupid Scramble today and it was in the thirties when we started out. I froze. I could not swing with my jacket on and it was so cold with it off. We did not win but Kathleen and Alden did. We were three under and they were five under. We needed one and a half more points to be in the money. We had 100 people playing and had lunch afterwards. My feet are still cold."

Kathleen and Alden are my Aunt and Uncle that also live in the same neighborhood as my parents along with my Aunt Jane and Uncle John.

Mom on the right

Mom & Dad

Mom & Dad

Dad on the Left

Aunt Kathleen Left and my Uncle John on the Right

Tornado Sirens

In our small town in South East Kansas they test the Tornado Sirens every Wednesday morning at 10am. The test usually last for a minute or two at most. Today the sirens went off at 10am as scheduled and stayed on. It's been 20 minutes so far and it is about ready to drive us nuts. My neighbor just called me when I was typing this and said "what is the matter with that thing?" I sure hope they stop it soon. LOL

Update: My son John called from his Ship in Mayport Florida and asked if we were having a Tornado. He could hear the sirens going off through the phone. The sirens finally turned off after about 25 minutes.

Good morning.

It's 8:30am and I just finished my first pot of coffee for the day. Yesterday was a slow day with icey streets so we didn't get out at all. My wife was supposed to have a Dr appt today in town but the Dr's office called at 7:45am to cancel the appointment. The receptionist said that the streets were just horrible and that she almost wrecked getting in today and that they were canceling all appointments. That's fine with us.

My daughter Cindy called yesterday to tell me that her boyfriend Doug is re-enlisting in the Navy and that he will get a $71,000 bonus and be promoted to an E-5 as part of the re-enlistment deal. Cindy said that Doug plans to buy some land with the money. Cindy was doing well in her CIWS C-School with a GPA of 96% in her class and that the class average GPA is 93%. I am proud of you Cindy. Cindy is in San Diego.

Cindy, when do I get to see some pictures from that new digital camera you got? :)

My son John called yesterday also. He had a good day on the Ship and is going to be on Duty today. That means that he went on the Ship at 6am and will get off sometime tomorrow afternoon. He has a Duty day every 6 days. The other days are basically 7-4pm or so with weekends off while they are in port. He said that they are protecting the country by cleaning one sink or hallway at a time. LOL There is not much else that they can do while in port on the Ship. I said that with cleaning the same things every day all day they should have the cleanest Ship in the Navy. John is in Mayport Florida.

Crappy Weather... ICE

It looks like it is going to be a messy day. I woke up this morning to Thunderstorms and it is only 19 degrees outside. The ground appears to be covered with Ice. Most, if not all of the schools in our area are closed today. I am sure the kids will be happy about that. You can see our weather forecast below.

In other news, I talked to my daughter Cindy on MSN Messenger over the weekend. She had a test in her CIWS C-School Friday and got 100%. I wonder when she is going to send me some pictures now that she has a digital camera and a laptop computer? Cindy is at Naval Base San Diego. I also talked to my son John at Naval Station Mayport Florida. He was cooking eggs in his barracks and was doing well.

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 3 PM CST MONDAY.

THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING.WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 3 PM CST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

LIGHT FREEZING RAIN WILL DEVELOP EARLY MON MORNING & BECOME WIDESPREAD INTO EARLY MON AFTERNOON. EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WHICH COULD CAUSE HEAVIER PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS. SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE.BETWEEN ONE-QUARTER & ONE-HALF INCH ARE EXPECTED. THIS WILL RESULT IN TREACHEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS.& THE POSSIBILITY FOR DOWNED POWER LINES & TREE LIMBS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER IS EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Vickis Birthday

My wifes birthday is coming up next week. It's the 17th to be exact. My wife Vicki bought this little table at a neighbors auction several months ago for a dollar and we have had it in the garage even since. When she bought it it was white and had paper stuck to the top of it. Yesterday I got it out of the garage and got some paint that we had on hand and decided that I would fix it up for her. After allot of scraping and some sanding I was able to paint it and then give it to her yesterday afternoon as an early birthday present. Vicki put it in her computer room next to her reading chair.

Last day at Great Lakes

Pictures from my son John's last day at Great Lakes OS-A School

John in the NAVY jacket

John on the left

John on the left

John on the left

John on the left

Jessica on the left, she is an OS on the USS Enterprise now

My son John sent me some pictures a few weeks ago that he took on his last day of OS-A School at Naval Station Great Lakes. He has been in Florida on his ship the USS Doyle a few months now but I thought I would post these anyway.