A Lot of Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

Sooooo the new job is fun: it involves a lot of reading and research, but not a lot of substance (I mean, this is OSINT, after all...). One of the benefits (and drawbacks) of going through all this information is a heightened sense that the World is spinning off into one of those periods of craziness that comes about every Seventy years of so. Egads, are we on the cusp of a major war or other societal upheaval? Right now I am being inundated with myriads of intelligence reports, bathed in the warm glow of multiple 24 Hour News Cycle networks, while simultaneously monitoring Twitter feeds, and Live world-wide weather and seismic activity... Good Lord. The Earth is one frenetic and screwed up place. WWDVD? Wednesday, 2 December 2015 Addendum: The San Bernardino active shootings have been the main topic of my research and work today... this has done nothing to assuage the portents of doom I experienced yesterday. Has the whole world gone crazzers?! Stay safe, people, stay safe!

Treasure the Moment

SITREP: Veterans Day - 2015!

Hey, hey, hey Loyal Readers, it is I, Ushiku Person, back after a tremendously long hiatus... with GOOD news - momentous news! I have been, for the past four months, working the JOB, the one I have been looking for since this whole wheezing calliope started turning so many years ago. Yes, I finally found a job that uses my skill sets, pays really well, and doesn't require me to travel eleven time zones. "What?!" I hear you gasp, clutching at your pearls in choked indignation "Who the heck thought that was a good idea?!!!". Exactly, right? Well, I wasn't one to look that gift horse in the mouth... I rode that Clydesdale to the Finish Line! Good googily-moogily, it felt... really good to finally win one. And now, on this Veterans Day, I am SO thankful. Some folks at work today spoke to me about my military service, and, honestly, I never joined the Army and Navy to get public appreciation - it just seemed to be the thing to do, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do the things that we were able to do, with the people that we did them with. Earlier this week I was speaking with a younger person here at work, and they were asking about military service, and they mentioned that they might want to try it. We spoke at length, and I tried not to sugar-coat the whole experience, but I encouraged them to do some research and some soul searching, and if they felt like exploring some options, I would help them to get on the right track. Anyhow, right now the world may not be perfect, but this is, perhaps, the best it has been since returning from Japan. To all of you, I wish you the best on this, the waning hours of this Veterans Day, and I promise to keep up more on my writing.