I got off work at 1900, in time to watch the last half of the US-Nigeria game. Dammit, they collected a red card in minute three? They only lost 2-1 despite being down a man for 87 minutes. And the equalizer went off the crossbar during penalty time! What a game.

Posted by: Boviate at 06:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I saw part of the March of Nations in the Olympic opening ceremonies a couple of hours ago. The did a very nice job, especially with the torch lighting.

And now, the military sports channel is showing women's fencing, which is not exactly a sport hugely popular at home. I'm interested in some changes since the last time I watched. We're doing foil at the moment, and the helmets are much more hi-tech. The wire mesh is now complemented by a large glass window over the eyes. That glass obviously is very strong, but must also have a conductive coating to allow the electric blade sensors to work. Also inside the wire mesh of the helmet are colored LEDs that light up to indicate a touch.

The competition layout is much improved. I remember seeing fencing four or eight years ago, with a busy room, full of fencers and people moving everywhere. It was tough to see.

Now, the whole room is plunged into darkness during the bouts, with spotlights on each piste. (There are two pistes side-by-side seen on TV. I expect there may be others in the room, being looked at by other cameras.) The darkness makes it much easier to watch the action. Also, the fencing director (judge) is out of the light, but visible in silhouette, making for excellent cinematography.

And finally, the athletes are allowed to appeal for a instant replay video review, twice per bout.

Posted by: Boviate at 01:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After work last night, we played softball. My shop reserved the field, so we showed up first to claim it and do all the paperwork nonsense. It took a while before the rest of the crowd arrived, so the three of us took batting and fielding practice, which was very useful, as I have no experience at this sort of sport.

Seriously. I never played Little League. I think in middle school gym we did baseball for about a week, but I didn't like it and didn't do very well.

But with some practice, I discovered that I am actually a pretty good fielder. Being a soccer player taught be to judge where a ball is coming down, and soccer goalies of course catch balls all the time. So I just had to adjust to the smaller sphere. And then there's this glove thing, which seemed like cheating, because it made it so much easier. I think Football : Rugby :: Baseball : Cricket.

Eventually everyone arrived, and we played a game against another unit that had been using the other field. They were serious competitors, while we were (a) drinking, (b) exhausted from a 65 hour workweek. So we lost 17-7.

When I mentioned I discovered I had some softball skills, I should make it more clear. I can hit, sort of, but without much power. And I can't throw very far at all. So I elected myself first baseman, where the key skill is just to catch the ball consistently. I did well there, getting quite a few outs, with no errors. Although my soccer skills did leave me astray. A goalie always jumps for a ball, because if it's too high overhead to reach, then it's over the top of the goal and thus not a problem. So when someone threw a ball too high, I jumped for it. The correct play would have been to immediately run for the fence that the ball was going to hit; I could pick up the ball and hold them to the single, as if they ran for second I'd be in a position to throw. But jumping and then landing delayed me for about three crucial seconds, which they used to good effect.

My hitting was also unimpressive. I didn't strike out, but I also batted .000. I had three infield grounders into outs; the only time I reached was a fielder's choice. (Which is when the guy that got the ball could have got me out, but he decided to get the guy at second out instead.)

So, a fun time. But my feet really hurt today. My cleats are kind of tight when we PT in the morning. As you may know, one's feet tend to swell during the day. So playing in the evening, they really were a size to small, and crushed my feet in a most unpleasant fashion.

Posted by: Boviate at 08:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In my shop is an old metal ruler; it is beat up, bent, and worn. Its got four scales etched into the surface. One is centimeters subdivided into milimeters. One is inches subdivided into tenths of inches. One is inches subdivided into sixteenth inches.

The last scale is the question for you, faithful readers. It is marked every inch. But the number at each inch mark increases by 140. That is, it goes "140, 280, 420..." with each of those numbers an inch apart. What is the unit for that scale, and why? (Vaguely useful hint: either the lines were actually a little shy of one inch apart, or the numbers are rounded off, because the proper conversion is 143 of Unit X to the inch.

(At work, only one person could tell me what unit was on that scale. But most other people went "Ahah!" when I gave the answer, which tells me it was an interesting question.)

Posted by: Boviate at 08:55 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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My coworker Cpl McG has a 1.5 year old son.

Young Master McG got up in the middle of the night last night, opened up the family laptop, and removed every single key from the keyboard.

His parents are not pleased.

Posted by: Boviate at 03:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The following quote is verbatim from this evening's maintenance meeting. (I wrote it down in the logbook.)

"Zero-three: Out on FCF. Upon RTB, do CC M3's, then D&T before COB."

No one laughed, because it wasn't a joke- that pile of alphabet soup was meaningful instructions to us. I know every field has it's jargon, but it's sometimes amusing to take a step back and look at it.

Translation follows, The aircraft that we call "03" is out flying. It is doing a Functional Check Flight, testing that the rotors are all properly balanced. When it Returns To Base, we must fix Corrosion Control problems that are currently awaiting work. Before the Close of Business, it must have a Daily Inspection and a Turnaround Inspection completed.

I was also amused in that very few Marines use the word "upon".

Posted by: Boviate at 04:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I hope this is a temporary thing, but for the last ten days, I've been waking every morning between 0430 and 0530. My alarm is set for 0545, so this is making me really tired. Yet exhausted as I am during the day, I keep waking up pre-dawn.

Posted by: Boviate at 07:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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