I started out with a patriotic theme; it was, after all the Fourth of July. I figured I would end with a patriotic theme. I will rely on my own story of patriotism and my time in the army. My Desert Storm career will be the focus of my post.

The unit I was in for Desert Storm was the 3rd Armored Division, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Iwas assigned to 143rd Signal Battalion. We were tasked with providing communications for the forward deployed M1A1 Abrams equipped division.

I flew over in a C-141 Air Force Transport Plane, nice accomodations.

I wasn't anticipating being to close to the "front" but I crossed over to Iraq with Abrams tanks abreast of me.

Drove through some nice communities and made some friends.

But most of I left with a souvenir, circled in red on an MRI.

Government Mascots

Something I found quite interesting while doing some research at work. My department, the Department of Homeland Security, has a mascot. Not only do we have a mascot but we have a full family of mascots. We have Rex the father, Purrcilla the mother and the Rory and Hector, Rory's friend.

What's even more incredible is there are other government entities with mascots like McGruff the Crime Dog from the National Crime Prevention Council.

We also have Yucca Mountain Johnny from the Department of Energy and of course, Smokey the Bear and Woodsy Owl from the US Forest Service.

So, are these good public awareness campaigns or a waste of government funds? You decide and let me know what you think.

What Did You Say?

Have you ever been given instructions and the first thing you think of is, "What in the world I'm I supposed to do now"? That's exactly how I felt after seeing this picture. I felt even worse after trying it three or four times. have fun with it!

He shoots, he scores!!!!!!!!!!

Goats

Ok everyone, I am making this post in response to my initial thoughts after the first day of Marketing class. Our professor was talking about goats and I immediately thought of a Dirty Jobs episode that featured goats. Mike Rowe, the host, was at a farm that featured "fainting goats".

All of these goats had a "condition" that made their muscles freeze up when they were startled. The "condition" was genetic and every one of the goats had it. It was kinda of strange. When the muscles froze they would just fall over, it looked like they were fainting, hence the name. After a few minutes the muscles would un-freeze and the goats would flee whatever it was that scared them. Yeah, strange. I just hope its something you didn't know before. If it is new information then I was able to assist you with fulfilling one of my hard held concepts, learn something new everyday. it may even help in your next trivia game.

Photos from Work?

Being a federal employee involved in the aviation industry I found the following pictures to be very interesting.

The one about the federal agents is a typical representation of our (federal employees) reputation with the public.

Here is another one that can be used to stereotype federal employees. I though it was funny.

This one could represent a normal day at any of our large airports. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are number 603 in line for take off. Sit back and enjoy the wait, err ride."

In The Beginning

You must always start at the beginning. The beginning of my blog is the name. I struggled with naming my blog and here are a couple of the alliterations.

The World According to Doug – This was the first name I considered. It was intended to be somewhat of a dedication to one of my favorite books, “The World According to Garp” by John Irving. This was one of the first books I read for pleasure rather than an assignment. I thought this title was presumptuous and discarded it quickly.

A FIB – This one is an acronym and the use of acronyms can be linked to my career in the Army. It is a well known fact that the Army loves acronyms. I dismissed this title for two reasons. First I did not want my blog to be a lie or fib as the name states. Second was the definition of the acronym contained profanity. It stood for Another F*#%(& Internet Blog. Clever, yes, but inappropriate for the classroom environment.

That brings me to the current name, another acronym. The name is AUIB. This word is beyond pronunciation but exemplifies the proliferation of blogs. It means Another Useless Internet Blog. Perhaps my blog will become something read by millions or have some redeeming quality or value. If such things work out then the name will be a contradiction of itself. However, being a realist, my blog will fall into the realm of digital obscurity along with the millions of other wannabe writers.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings and I will try to keep my

Happy 4th of July