Is time travel an important part of Science Fiction?

With faster than light, or even getting closer it has always been part of - is it an important part? There is a effort to get some science fiction writers, a new generation of them.

Military Sci-Fi Book Needs Writers, Guns, and Money

So I look at it, having read most of the great ones, and think Ender's Game becomes many other titles, Forever War touches on it, and my favorite Starship Troopers never touches it. Reminding me to go see Ender's Game today. There will never be Time Travel there will always be Time Travelers.

I am a time traveler, I study History, I have lived History and will soon just become History.

Ever wonder about the Patriots of 1775 in Lexington and Concord on April 19th? How did they become the Patriots of Tom Brady in  2013? Take that fifty some man team back into the early dawn of Lexington and place them beside Captain Parker and his muster, would it have slowed the Light Infantry companies marching onto the green, chanting Huzzah, huzzah? I always wondered when Hoo-ah got into the modern military lexicon.

Personal Short story - all real time travel:

I think you were my drill sergeant.

Answer: I have no idea if you were in one of my platoons, I was Drill Sergeant for the 1st Platoon of A Btry, 2nd Battalion. I looked at the picture books I have copies of and never found your name. But still it is possible.

You were my Sergeant!  It is really quite amazing to be able to converse with you.

We had you for the first part of our training, and then suddenly one day you were gone.  Spent several days without an assigned Drill, and then got a SFC  named H or He.  I don’t remember much about him, except that he was a bit lazy, and couldn’t sing or even march troops.  We were used to you, and we had some pride in our D&C abilities so a couple of us were allowed to take over those duties.  One of my proudest days there was the day I got to move the whole Battery a couple of miles or so, and there were quite a few spectators whose lives we were interrupting because the cattle cars didn’t show up to pick us up.  

There was an incident at the record fire range with him and one of the trainees.  Some kid from one of the other platoons allegedly cooked off a 5.56 round...they said towards him...  I know my weapon disappeared from my hands to the hands of a Drill, and we were left standing for quite some time in the culvert Firing Points facing “down range only”.  The only other thing I remember about that incident is we were put in the back room of the Orderly Room Building for several hours after we got back to Garrison...  I do not remember if that was before you left, or after.

Answer: I disappeared to work in the S3 at Battalion Headquarters, since I was having trouble being less than I thought I should be.

That whole incident was after I left, I never heard about it.  While I was there we had no trainee Drill Sergeant problems, all the problems were with officer control of training and Drill Sergeants which you would not have known about. Nothing to do with firearms, just the standards of training.

That range incident was for a couple of days pretty “front burner” amongst the trainees.  Then it was addressed in a Battery formation rather succinctly...as in “you all will shut your mouths unless asked to speak about it!”.  We did just exactly that!

I was never convinced the shot was fired back towards the range control.  From where I was, and where the trainee was, it would have had to pass pretty close to my six.  I always thought I would have heard it...but who knows.  I know the kid was a screw up, and he was a bit “off center”.  He had words with the 2LT XO earlier in the week.  I was the Training Platoon Leader, and it was witnessed by one of my guys who was assigned a Female Barracks Roving Patrol one night.  I had to tell the CSM about it, and it was not one of my favorite days.

I will write more as I remember, but know that in a part today, I am who I am due to you!  I have an evening fire at the range tonight that I have to Range Master for...we are going to open up the 1Km lane tonight...it will be all .308 and .338 stuff. 

End of Story, kind of... but there we were and now here we are. Still with troops in Asia, my father was there in 1945, Easter April Fools day, yep. This video from YouTube SPITFIRE 944 is a great story about a great story and time travelers.

How do you tell a happy camper?

He falls asleep waiting for the ferry to load so he can get home, of course.

Woke and left at oh dark thirty, catching the six am ferry to Whidbey Island, drove to the range and met up with Prescott and Cubflyr. Tracey_B drives up with truck and trailer and keys for the gate - the Appleseed is on! It was one of my best ones and I have had many great ones, but the fear of failure, failing the shooters not a safety thing, was oppressing, since I worried about having enough instructors for all the folks...

Seems that when I spoke the sky would clear up and the Sun would shine, and I had to keep talking. Wonderful people in the world, not in the news, not in front of the television, computer monitor or looking for love in all the wrong places. One just has to go out and meet them - work together and amaze each other and ourselves.

I was greeted by Ron, telling me Todd sent his regards and to mention him, I looked at Ron and said from Eastern Washington? Tdow? Yep, seems he had purchased a sling from him, through the internet and mentioned the upcoming Appleseed. Cool, and Ron shoots well, he will make Rifleman another day.

Coupeville Appleseed Now to get back to my regular programming.

Chains that bind us...

Woke from dreams of impossibility. A Command Sergeant Major going to a dinner with Commander and his wife, where we find out the unit is being set up for failure, the History already written... of course it is under the current White House - that was where the dream was really strange, since I like fighting in Southwest or Southeast Asia much better than in the home country... do pray that there is no truth in dreams, you don't want this one to happen to anyone.

Time for second cup of coffee, in my Special Operators mug. Thanks, son. I can't read Latin (I am the product of a government education system) so I pretend it is a cool mug to warm my hands with.

Freedom, Liberty and personal responsibility... all wonderful concepts. And don't we just know we are part of the experiment of government that allows men to stand tall? Except where we can't. Here in America and the world at large. How does that happen, it wasn't designed that way. Or was it? By those others out there.

First they made the government too big to ignore, and then they started to make the people depend on the government. Really depend on the government. The way it was designed was the government was supposed to depend on the people. It is just an imaginary creation without a life of its own, not like a supernatural being. But we don't have to pay attention to the government, if we walk outside of the law, and many do - or we can blend in and everyone knows we must be law abiding, cause we are nice folks, cut our yard and clean up the trash after parties and picnics. But what I am doing in private never threatens the government or the public and so they don't know. And many do.

Then there are the herds, or flocks of people that just graze away, with total trust in the government and its goodness on our lives. I do think that is most of the folks. They just want to have fun... and aren't going to lose any sleep over worry about what might be really going on. But that isn't where the chains are, for those that we should really watch out for, to be careful around, they are bound by the same chains that hold many of us - DEBT - what we owe is a burden. You can carry your brother, and never feel the weight but your debt bends your back, darkens you days and makes you do things you aren't going to find fun. How did that happen? You weren't born with debt, yes there is a national debt, and you being born doesn't mean that you owe any of it. Really, there is a bank or two everywhere, there are governments everywhere, and you don't owe any of those debts and it isn't your responsibility to repay any of them - and you haven't been paying attention to collapse of nations, banks or fool ideas. Why is your national debt your problem? It isn't, but you don't understand the chains, the reins of government or of the bankers. Borrow a little and they help you repay regularly, borrow a  lot and they start to turn you in their direction - they have become your partner.

It is only money, it is only a tool, and it is being used by people and institutions that don't love you, why are you paying any attention? Ah, so you can be concealed and free to do your own will, don't borrow, don't leave tracks and they will never notice. They only count the people that owe them and they put them in asset or debit columns - which is no way to treat a people. Chained to the money, manipulated by the godless. Doesn't matter the political party, the nation, the person, if they are part of the borrowing they are only slaves, how much did Spartacus owe? The reason he was feared, because he didn't fear -
all they had for him was death, and we will all share that individual event.

The say that change happens... and I have noticed

I was searching for an old blog post on the Just the Library Keeper blog, which I now think I worked pretty hard on... and for sure I notice that this blog hasn't many of the better qualities of that older version of a younger old man confronting obsolescence. That is what growing older and out of current society and culture is about isn't it?

My wife says she has fried another microwave, since that is two it is only coincidence, if she does it with a third we will give her that skill level. Until we replace it, life will be a bit inconvenient.  How did we get from fire and heating elements to microwave radiations? Must have missed that science class. Although I still remember the burn from running up Radar hill at Graf, and that was behind where the radars were watching, that stuff is warm in the extreme.

I was trying to find links to my RWVA log and went back and went through several years of posts on the older blog, and smiled often - noticed that I re-used many favorite pictures - noticed that it seems all the posts are still there. I think I wrote better in the old days, but that is subjective self analysis - not to be trusted, but then Facebook is here and like texting there is little reason for grammar, spelling and punctuation. Or even rules of  polite society, do we even acknowledge a 'polite society' anymore?

I am preparing for a big weekend, the Appleseed at Coupeville on Whidbey Island, ferry crossing in the early morning, best look up the weather for Saturday and Sunday. I have a small very professional crew for twenty-five potential Riflemen. Only five of the shooters have done an Appleseed before.

While reading about the San Antonio Open Carry demonstration I ran across this, on the left symbol. From the III Percenters I would guess. I like it, very soft and still firm in what it seems to portray. Everyone does understand that means 97% are still lost, misled, and uncommitted? Yeah, that is a bunch. And it could be that when the time comes, everyone is still going to do the very best they can to survive, create, succeed and be worthy of  the Lord's love.

Well, VA paperwork needs filled in for health benefits, one of the Church Brothers is on a personal mission to get us all signed up and he has stirred my wife to worry, so I must. Take care out there. 

Foggy cat feet...

Yep, read that poem once...

So I have done well, turned on the Blues, went and composted - lovely.

I went in the garage, and find the smell of drying peppers permeates the air, pungently,. is that enough p's?

I clean my rifle, roll my mats, drift my front sight, center the rear sight (took it off to look to remount it - NO!). Packed my shooters box to zero my rifle next trip to the range. Ready to go to the YMCA,

 That is enough for this day, thank the LORD and ask for those things only He can provide, cause I haven't got them for you. But you already knew that.

Notice anything a little clumbsy on the internet?

I tried to post the Moxee, WA 19-20 October link to the Appleseed forum on Blogger, and couldn't Friday evening, strange, thought I would have to ask the Help desk. Went off to the Appleseed and demo'd instructed and watched and talked. Got a half pint of Irish whiskey, good food and a solid nights rest on Saturday - how did that happen? Ah, nice people - the only way to be.

There is an after action report on the shoot. My take away is that I have spent five years on the Appleseed Trail, my first Appleseed was on that same range, different management and name, in October of 2008. I had the same Stevens target rifle, and my sights are really off, but look at those groups. Anyway, by Monday after another solid nights sleep, I could update my Appleseed Trail links, post pictures and couldn't get a like or two on Facebook, sometimes. I have a cousin riding the Peace Train, in Peking, China now. I am reading about the domestic return movement of the children of the baby boomers... everyone wants to put folks in boxes, but folks want to fool around.

I did drive out to clamming on Friday, that is different. Kind of a wife support activity. Having said that, two of the Bible Study men and two wives and one other lady taught me how to have fun sucking clams out of their sandy swamp at low tide. Since we used clam guns, it was still a gunny activity. Right? I got the benefit by having about two pounds of fried clams Sunday evening. I am so blest and lucky to be alive.

I just do think that this is worth sharing, especially since the country I wandered in and met with on Friday, Saturday and Sunday didn't meet Main Stream Media attention or note, we aren't a blip on the screen anywhere  - but there are many more of we than they know, we are just humble.

There must be some dangerous bloggers out there...

I started blogging because I made my life into a weekly letter for my mother, and she could get it immediately through email, and then I could also send it to all my siblings (who don't really always want to know what that fool older brother was doing) so I did blind copy for them. That filled their inboxes up quickly, remember the old days of taking forever to download, upload and do you even want to open the mail, look at the size of it? Yeah, I know that was long ago and in a land far away. Some young lady seeing one of those monster emails, mentioned to me that I should blog. So I did. And there have been a couple of variations, and still there is a continuous electronic trail through time - they could attempt to determine if there was any original thought anywhere, or how long I have held to those heretical beliefs. Waste of time.

Not the writing, that has been just what I needed, for my mother and for me. I wrote on Facebook yesterday evening as I closed the computer for the night "You know you still love them when a picture from the past, your past, still warms you and reminds you of how much you miss them. A great love never dies, does it?" I had drifted off into pictures from my past, of people no longer here. 

Facebook is fine for little bites of us, a taste but for full measure, one has to write books worth of the library one seldom lends out to the public. I will only get impressed when they do it with poetry, like my mother did, or reasoned logic like my father, who didn't write as much as he read and listened -- a very wise course for a husband and father, grandfather.

The President fears the unregulated bloggers, they can and often do, say anything and no one will know the official story, which could be a spin doctor's best effort for distortion of reality (LIES).

Well, no one reads too much into my blog. I am all about me and my adventures, going clamming with wife and a couple of the church brothers this afternoon. I may tell you about it later. I have an Appleseed tomorrow in Yakima, still remember how many people on my cross country motorcycle trip asked me about Appleseed and the RWVA (since I hadn't answered all their questions in my blogging - fail).

Wanted to think about learning how to play piano enough for playing hymns for  the Men's Bible Study, my religious music major cousin offered to help, I had forgotten how many of my family have better talents than organized mayhem of the battlefield. I should done better myself. I have done some little artistic fooling around. A new lapel pin for church, seat belt spins the single pinned ones, a White Cockade to show during the Three Strikes presentation, for few outside of Scotland understand the Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Stewart White Rose, and no one wears a cockade - heavens, you would have to look the term up.

It could very well be, that the President wouldn't worry about the bloggers so much if they all wrote about how wonderful he is, but they instead all write about their own passions and problems and perfections -- and that means he is very small in their lives, which is exactly how a President should be - very small in American's lives, he is only middle management. Where has this idea come from that someone is to RULE his party, his government, his/her friends and peers? We really aren't subjects here, nor subject to authority. If God gives us choice, why shouldn't all the lesser creatures?