A Dog Story: Trail Meditations With Louie

Today, I'm asking you to go over to my writing blog and read a nice dog story. No, it won't make you cry!

I love walking this furry beast beween 5 - 7 miles a day. It's a meditative experience, just Louie and me.

Read the rest at:
Get Lost With Easy-Writer

Sweet Troop Supporters

A shout out to Katy Gunderson and Molly Greenwood of the Yellow Bowl Bakery in Lafayette, Indiana for traveling to Landstuhl, Germany to bake at the USO center with the Cooking With The Wounded Program. Tireless and much valued local Soldier's Angels volunteer MaryAnn wrote on the Soldier's Angel's Germany blog:

"...pastry chefs Katy Gunderson and Molly Greenwood of the Yellow Bowl Bakery slaved for two days over a variety of delicious creations, including carrot cake, "death by chocolate" cake, cheesecake, apple and pear strudel and much more."

In addition, Blackfive blogger Blake Powers traveled with Katy and Molly to cook as well. As usual, Blake managed to buy all the best ingredients at the local markets to make a large, savory pot of chili among other delectables. The Cooking With The Wounded program is looking for donors and chefs who want to help out at cook outs at various military hospitals in the US. Join and contact them on Facebook.

In other sweet news, I'm awed by Jeannette Cram of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and her friends, "the crumbs" who have baked over 2 million cookies since 1990 to send to the troops. Go over to their site, Treat The Troops, and you'll find tips on baking and sending things over. Jeanette writes to freeze the cookies until you're ready to send them, and not sending over moist breads due to molding --among other good tips.

There are many other small organizations working to send troops items that remind them not only of home, but also of the support of many. Kudos to all of them --from home bakers to those who work at it on a professional level.

Soldiers' Angels Germany: "Dear Dad, I'm sorry if you're reading this . . . "

"The letter sat on the dresser for four years.

Robert Gilbert never opened it. He only touched the envelope when he needed to dust around it. He wanted to give it back to his son unopened.

Every time his Marine son was deployed, his son would ask, "You still got my letter?"

His dad never wanted to read what was inside an envelope marked: "Dad, open this if I am wounded. Love, Robert."

Soldiers' Angels Germany: "Dear Dad, I'm sorry if you're reading this . . . "

Thank you for the books from FabLab

Amy Sun is back from Haiti. She found all the books stacked on her desk at the FabLab office at MIT. She wanted me to say THANK YOU to the individuals who gave generously by going onto the FAB LAB wish list on Amazon and purchasing books. The books arrived at MIT and will be taken to Jalalabad sometime soon.

So.... thank you to: Mary Anderson of California, Judy Wilson of Alabama, an anonymous donor, and to "The Six" who blogs as The Warrior Class.

The five books received were the very first. They will be highly coveted when Amy arrives with them at the FabLab. I hope you will join me in building upon this small success. I would love, love, love if someone from the Huntsville branch of AAUW would help us in this effort! Hint hint June!

By the way, the books are being chosen by professors from the local university in Jalalabad, as well as by students who have finished their master's degrees. This is a list compiled by Afghans, for Afghans, and more to the point: to glean knowledge and skills to build a strong future.

The intent of Fab Lab is to provide fertile ground for a highly skilled, local workforce who can look at a common problem, conceptualize a solution, and then solve it with advanced tools. Some will use this knowledge to make products that can be sold on the local markets. Others will gain the desperately needed professional skills to fill key positions necessary for building a strong Afghan economy. Fab Lab Afghanistan was established with a special interest not only in technology, but also in health care. The reason there are so many nursing and medical books on the Amazon Wish list is that the health care field is one that greatly needs to be developed in their country.


The Wish List!

Troop Support: Lastly, as if I wasn't busy enough. I'm making a schedule for FALL 2010 in Southern California to take my Dog and Pony show on the road. My topic is sending packages to troops. If you have a group of fifteen or more, send me an email. I have a KeyNote presentation to give your group. All you need to provide is a screen. Or a wall!

COIN: Understanding Mental Calculus

General McChrystal gives a quick understanding of the essence of coin --which is understanding the mental calculus of not only the insurgent, but also some of the many reasons a few might choose to join. Gotta dig the stick figures.


Watch it here on the ISAF You Tube feed

Troop Support For Newbies: A PDF

I've created a .PDF on how to send things to the troops that was made especially for people with little to no familiarity with troops, want to send things, but don't know how. I kind of got tired of repeating myself, even explaining to aunts, uncles and cousins of deployed troops, while standing around in places like the DMV parking lot.

It covers the nuts and bolts of boxing, buying and sending. All the photos are mine, taken during The Hubs' deployment. There are even photos of my cat, which always tend to go over big. I don't know why. He's just an average cat, who gets in every photo I shoot. I left out any military jargon such as "General Order #1," but did put in a request by someone I met from the VFW not to send porn. Seems they once had a box packing party, and to their amusement, someone had dropped off a whole box of it. They decided not to include it, but I didn't have the gumption to ask, "Well, what did you do with it?" While I don't like to make assumptions --go figure. I also didn't ask whether it was new or used. That stuff you just don't want to know.

I saved it as a .PDF because there are a lot of people who don't have either PowerPoint or KeyNote. All they'll need is Adobe Acrobat Reader and their machine should open it up.
If you email me, I'll send it to you. My addy is somewhere on the sidebar of this blog.
The next plan is to take this dog and pony act on the road. This .PDF may be shared with others, even used as a starting point to garner support in your community.
The only thing I don't do is share addresses. I never do this. Once a soldier entrusts me with it, no one gets it except close friends and family.

I made this because I've recently gathered a group to send packages to two young men getting ready to deploy. Three of those in our group are new to troop support. With this in mind, I made them this presentation. I think it's critical to bring in new people to support our troops. So I'm happy these three civilians are joining us, and I look forward to the day when they're bringing in new people too. Many supporters have been giving even though they are on limited incomes. I realize their giving is done with some sacrifice and am always grateful for their work. Expanding our base is critical. You just can't have enough supporters who can give words of encouragement.

Why I hate health care reform (and why I will kick its ass)

First, read the chart.

I wasn't going to say anything about this on my milspouse blog, but since I'm also a surgeon's wife who spent the past 23 years observing the structure of the healthcare industry and what it did to local medicine, I figure I should.

Before anyone writes me off as cruel hearted, let me kick their ass and tell them we provided more free care to the indigent, and also had more "middle class" and "rich" skip out on payments. Do we need reform? Yes, but not if the "reform" is based on ignorance of the present system.

I've written a lot about this on my other blog, Easy-Writer. There are at least 6 good articles that detail how small medical practices work. I don't want to repeat myself, so I'll leave you to read them all on your own. (And please, DO read them).

This isn't a matter of the right or the left or even the center being right. This is a case, where no one understands the reality of how low reimbursement rates are making it more difficult for doctors to stay in business. I wish we could be magnanimous, but the reality is that doctors have rent, employees, payroll taxes, supplies and other expenses like anyone else. That's the reality of how we live, and there's no point in griping about it.

The health care insurance industry has consistently lowered reimbursement monies to physicians and also has limited services to patients since the 1960's. It didn't matter whether it was a Republican or Democrat president, reimbursements have gone down. When Dubya was in office, we got a letter that informed us that our reimbursements were going to be lowered 20% over the course of a few years, and effectively immediately was a 5% reduction. Now, with Obama in office, the trend has continued. Medicare reimbursements are down to 21% of what a doctor bills.

Now before anyone accuses us of having been exorbitant, you should read this article about a bill for services that we submitted to the government's Medicaid program. The government has a magic shrinking machine that pays out $167.00 on a $1007.00 billing.

Simply put, one cannot even begin to talk about reforming health care without understanding contracting and taking the insurance industry itself to task. To be blunt, neither Republicans nor Democrats have taken any time to do this. So this is like blindfolding someone, giving them a pen, and telling them to draw the Mona Lisa.

Believe me, with Medicare payments down to 21% (don't forget that all payments be it PPO or HMO are predicated on what Medicare pays out), more doctors will be bailing out of the game all together. The Obama care will make it worse. And shame on the Republicans for jumping onto the cart and coming up with their own proposal. The truth is, the major revolution needs to be from doctors and patients themselves, not politicians.

There are no easy answers, and I am dismayed that everyone is trying to offer one without looking at the obvious:

"The salary and bonus paid to Cleve L. Killingsworth, chairman and chief executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, increased 26 percent last year, to $3.5 million, even though the health insurer's membership declined and its net income fell 49 percent."

I know people often misquote Shakespeare about what he wrote about lawyers in jest. But right now, even a misquote seems to fit when it comes to health care executives and politicians.

A Little Pink in a World of Camo: I Will Always Be a Marine Wife

Each day, thoughtful insights are written by military spouses throughout the world. Here are some that are both moving and heartbreaking. I think it was very brave of Mrs. Jonathan Porto, a 23 year old mother and wife to share her feelings with us at such a sad time. -Kanani

"I did not ever imagine I'd be watching an honor guard escort a metal box draped in an American flag off a jet. Never did I imagine that on Friday I would be heading to Florida to make funeral arrangements. "

Read the rest at: A Little Pink in a World of Camo

A New Movie: MacGruber

The next best military movie.

Memorial Watching On Facebook

I think the memorials for fallen soldiers posted on Facebook and YouTube or sent to me via email are done with so much love and dignity. I try to look at most of them, but some do slip by. I think anyone who works in health care can relate to what I'm going to say next. Part of having a surgical practice is to see all aspects of human life --from making someone healthy, ushering them into treatment for cancer or other chronic conditions, and lastly, dealing with the prospect of death.

You never get used to it, and you try not to think about the prospect. You hope every lab report is negative, and when they're not, you lose a little part of yourself that day. The patient will be coming in, and the news will be grim. There's going to be some kind of long journey they'll have to take, and everyone hopes for a cure. We didn't lose many, but those that passed were ones we'd gotten to know for awhile. It was always those who were dying who brought us cookies or candy, and inquired about our families. When they passed away, even if we hadn't seen them for awhile, their families always thought to call us.
I can't remember one death that didn't cause the staff to cry.

It's the same when I read about a young Marine, whose life was cut short at age 21. I learn about his love of snowboarding, or I read about a Soldier who was a mother to two children. Every single one of those Soldiers, Airman, Marines, Guardians, and Sailors' lives touch me. It's not only the tragedy of losing them to a war, it's the beauty of their spirit that never fails to overwhelm --makes me pause to catch my breath.

So if I don't make a comment on the memorial video you've forwarded, it's not that I don't want to see it, it's not that I don't want to join your group or cause. It's just that I know when my balance meter is being tipped. But know that I join others in saying a prayer, marveling over the beauty of their life, and being grateful for all there is in this life.

Why "War Movies" Often Fall Short: Introducing, The "McMovie"

I know, we're being hit with a slough of movies about these wars. Some have big name actors, and many come with a lot of hype. There are movies that are thoughtful, others pushed out there intended to be blockbuster entertainment. After having decades of stereotypes heaped upon them, most veterans and soldiers are receiving them at arm's length. They have seen their honor, integrity and selflessness sold out by "the machine" time and time again. Winning their hearts and minds is no easy task.

I've written before that it will take awhile before "the book about these wars" is written and published, and the same holds for a movie. In fact, it won't be one book or movie, it will be more, and some will quietly make their way into the public consciousness.

After all, time and perspective come into play, and who knows --it might not even be a soldier who writes the screen play or play, but just a writer who knows which questions to ask, what to put in, what to leave out, and how to bundle the most poignant and meaningful messages about what this war has meant to the men, woman and children who served or lived through it. There will always be controversy, as storytelling isn't one size fits all. Whether or not you relate to it is personal. What's meaningful to one, isn't to another. That's the reality (and at times --the gamble) of writing.

But there are several factors that hinder the art of bringing a good story to the screen. I found this quote (the italics are mine) on American Movies by Irish actor Gabriel Bryne. While these comments weren't made about the movies carrying a military tag, it does explain a common weakness in the structure of the so-called "blockbusters:"

"American movies to me - and, I mean, I've said this before a million times - are becoming more and more homogeneous because the marketing objective - and marketing now plays such a major role in movies that it almost obliterates everything else - the marketing objective is the lowest common denominator.

"You can't put that in; let's put the car chase, let's put the sex scene, let's put the fight in, let's get them back together, they end up happily, they walk off into the sun..." So that there's a formulaic predictability to American movies. That, allied with the cynicism of the way movies are put together - product placement and spin-offs and toys and all kinds of crap that, you know, have nothing to do with the telling of stories - they've turned American movies into McMovies. So that when the movie-goer gets his movie, it's like a hamburger: he doesn't want a piece of aubergine in there; he wants his onion, his tomato, his hamburger and his bun. And he doesn't want the bun hard, he wants it soft. And he wants it in two minutes."

Add to this: and they want to make their millions of dollars back, and they want an Oscar.

Another Day, Another Controversy: Tom Hanks & The Pacific

There's controversy about the off-the-cuff and woefully uninformed remarks made by Tom Hanks during the press conferencing for HBO's The Pacific. I think that Professor Victor Davis Hanson said it best, prior to correcting him in the same article on Pajamas Media:

"Hanks may not have been quoted correctly; and his remarks may have been impromptu and poorly expressed; and we should give due consideration to the tremendous support Hanks has given in the past both to veterans and to commemoration of World War II; and his new HBO series could well be a fine bookend to Band of Brothers. All that said, Hanks’ comments were sadly infantile pop philosophizing offered by, well, an ignoramus."

I agree with Hanson. True to his role as a professor, Hanson managed to bring Hanks into line while correcting him. He did it deftly, and with precision. Hanks (like a pupil) might be humbled, but he wasn't stung.

This being said, there are many who say they will refuse to watch The Pacific because of Hanks' statements.

If I were to follow the line of eliminating all those whose political or life views I disagree with, perhaps 50% of the books in my library would be missing. I might have decided not to read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, based simply on what other people said about survival skills. I could have decided to give John Steinbeck a skip because someone once said about Tortilla Flat, "He depicts Mexicans crassly." Then there's the poetry of Robinson Jeffers, who was once deemed too much a polemic anti-war radical. Don't forget Edward Abbey, who advocated blowing up dams. Emily Dickinson might have written off because she was housebound most of her life. I mean, what gives with that? I also could have skipped most of the Clint Eastwood movies for being heavy on guns.

In short, there are a lot of people I could have skipped, opting to slip into an uneasy political correctness, not really knowing but making a lot of assumptions about the final outcome or product. My world would have been smaller.
But because this is America, I don't have to do that.
Besides, I would have missed Robinson Jeffers, who wrote this:

The Epic Stars

The heroic stars spending themselves
Coining their very flesh into bullets for the lost battle,
They might burn out at length like used candles;
And Mother Night will weep in her triumph, taking home her heroes.
There is the stuff for an epic poem--
This magnificent raid at the heart of darkness, this lost battle--
We don't know enough, we never know
Oh happy Homer, taking the stars and the Gods for granted.

I hope people will watch The Pacific. There is a guide provided by the U.S. Naval Institute. Be moved, be angered, be engrossed. Most of all, learn. And yes, I am thankful for what Hanks has done and will continue doing for veterans, active duty and military families like mine.

Afghanistan, Amy, MIT, FabLab, the USPS and more books

Last week, a bunch of us got notices that our packages couldn't be delivered to the Fab Lab Office at MIT in Cambridge MA. I ended up with a flurry of emails wondering what was going on. But I think what happened is that the USPS tried to deliver them on a Saturday. Apparently, the mail man hasn't figure out that universities are closed on the weekends! They'd be better off delivering them to a frat house on a Saturday than to the FabLab Office.
So what happens is the USPS tosses a notice to Amazon saying "undeliverable," and then Amazon emails the sender. However, I've since figured out from using the Amazon tracking system that the packages (at least mine) were delivered on Monday.

Amy on one of her better days (Photo from Free Range International)
Never let it be said that "Our Amy" doesn't get around. Last I heard, she was at the Fab Lab site in Haiti (she's posted photos on the blog). At some point soon, she's supposed to be stateside, nailing down her doctoral thesis in some kind of scary academic tribunal this week at MIT. We highly suspect that Amy has found a super secret way to clone herself to be all these places. We sincerely hope that the photo of her shooting a gun doesn't make the round of those academic types. They just might not understand that she was just following orders there from some big guy. As a defense, she could always claim the photo is of her clone. We wish her well.

We're asking people to hold off on further donations until we have a conference with Amy. Marc Danziger (who runs Winds Of Change,) and I will try to pull in some others and figure out a way to set up a system of distribution that's freestanding, and not so reliant on Amy or Keith. For now, I notice the students at FabLab Afghanistan have added a few more books to their Amazon Wish List. There are a lot of "text books" on there, which are really expensive. Individual donors might want to donate the more inexpensive ones, and if we could get a volunteer who could help us see if we can the publishers to donate the textbooks, that would be preferable.

In the meanwhile, FabFi is on Facebook. You should look them up and "friend" them.

The Hurt Locker Controversy

"I was shocked -- and I mean shocked -- to discover today that there are some members of the military who think that "The Hurt Locker" is "Hollywood hokum," as my colleagues put it in a smartly detailed front-page story in the Los Angeles Times."
-Patrick Goldstein, Entertainment Writer, Los Angeles Times

Dear Patrick,

Tomorrow night is the time where America gets to see if The Hurt Locker gets best picture. Last week you were shocked that so many in the military scoffed at the movie. My question to you is why were you surprised? Is it because you have little, to no exposure or interest into military matters? What this might point to is that you probably don't read Military Blogs, or "milblogs" for short. But, walk into this world and you'll learn a lot about the values, ethics, and morals of the men and women who honorably serve, whose overriding concern is for their mission, fellow soldiers, as well as the locals.

From the get-go, this film has been criticized. Read this review by a top blog called Bouhammer. Part way through the making of this film, several advisers walked out. They wouldn't have anything to do with it. The Army distanced itself from it because there were elements that were out of line with Army values.

Admittedly, people are split into two camps. There are some who don't hate it, but others are disgusted by its recklessness. Some see it as an entertainment vehicle, others see it as just another example of the carelessness of Hollywood.

But really, writer-to-writer now. We both know the challenges of fleshing out a good character. The character doesn't have to be likable, but they must be one we want to follow. Something has to happen, which presents a conflict. The character has to make a decision to address it. Along the way, the character undergoes a transformation --lots of things happen and the best writers know how to keep that line taut. At the end, the conflict is handled, and the character has changed. We also know as writers, that our biggest struggle is to figure out what to leave out, what to put in, and how to create a reality that rings true but at the same time, doesn't bore the reader. We try to avoid stereotypes, both in person and situation. In a movie, this has to happen in 2 hours or less, and it must recoup the millions of dollars spent to make it.

As a writer, I wonder why the screenwriters didn't up the ante --strive for adrenaline-fueled excitement, but make it accurate too? Why settle for wire cutters to defuse a bomb, when it's akin to high school You Tube fodder? Would it have been asking too much for the screenwriter to have done a second embed, especially when EOD's were not his usual gig? I don't think asking any of this would be unreasonable. However, it might be unimaginable to a studio system hell-bent on churning out a blockbuster a year.

The bald truth is "the great war movie" about these wars has yet to be written. This will only happen after enough time has passed and perspective has been gained.
But good on the military and their supporters for voicing their dismay. For years they took stereotype upon stereotype heaped upon them by Hollywood. It's time those who make millions of dollars off their sacrifice, valor, integrity, honor, and blood, pay attention. Show respect and more diligence.
That's all we're asking Patrick. Just that.

Not Your Father's Taliban

Satire to make your day. Found in The New Yorker:

"Got an iPhone? Then you’ll want to download our smokin’ new app, TaliBing™, which shows you your exact location (but not ours—LOL)."

Read the rest at:
Not Your Father's Taliban

Help Build WiFi In Afghanistan

3/6/10 WE HAVE TEMPORARILY HALTED ALL DONATIONS FOR THE FAB LAB WISH LIST. THE USPS WILL NOT DELIVER TO THE FAB LAB ADDRESS AT MIT. UNTIL WE GET THIS RECTIFIED, WE RECOMMEND HALTING ALL DONATIONS. STAY TUNED.

All photos from Free Range International, Baba Tim, and Amy Sun. Descriptions follow at bottom of post.
I am tired. It is dead late at night and I ought to go to bed.
But before I do, I want to ask you to do a little something for yourself.
Give.
Yes, I need you to help the Afghanistan FabLab library grow. By buying a book off of their Amazon Wish List, you'll be helping a private effort led by an indefatigable group of non-military nerds, climbing Rube Goldbergs and geeks bring Wi-Fi (they're calling it FabFi) and computer skills to a generation who will influence the future of Afghanistan. The FabFi students have put together a list of books over here at Public Library Jalalabad. Going onto the Amazon wish list was like going to "Vegas" to them. You'll notice a range of books that the teens decided upon. I think it's important we fill this list because it's what they chose, and they need to see that their voice means something.

Amy sans gun

Amy Sun, (and don't hold her academic credentials against her) is a computer scientist from MIT, who is affiliated with FAB LAB. She has a zillion degrees, but what she really likes is to go over to Afghanistan, and set up labs. She's even learned to shoot a gun, by order of BabaTim. Yeah, she's my version of a real life Lara Croft. Oy vey, she should find a Brad Pitt someday, but that's the theme for another column. (I guess books and guns can mix).

What FAB LAB does is go to small countries to bring the world to them by means of the internet. If you've been reading BabaTim's blog at Free Range International, you'll already be familiar with the project. Tim writes a lot about FabFi. On a shoestring, and utilizing a lot of old-fashioned ingenuity, they've managed to beat the pants off a similar project by sponsored the World Bank and being carried out by USAID. The team has managed to scale water towers, and other buildings throughout Jalalabad to rig a series of routers and reflecters throughout. The result? Wi-fi, but more than that... a chance for a generation to learn.

Any day sees up to 400 Afghanis visiting the lab to attend courses or work on projects. These people range in age and educational level, but they are all share one common passion: work on technology that helps construct a better life in Afghanistan. Fab Lab has set up FabFi services in a school, hospital, university and a NGO in Jalalabad.

To kick things off, I've purchased a book. I'd really appreciate it you'd click this freakin' link and spend a small amount to fill the library.

The first person to offer to help has been Marc Danziger, aka Armed Liberal (whose son "Big Guy" is serving Downrange right now). I'm betting there are a few more geekoids who would be willing to help. So do me a favor...pass this post around, and circulate the link. Just spend a small amount, and make it happen.

And that part about doing this for yourself? Well, yeah. Giving makes you feel better. Besides, there's only one way you can earn the name "FabFolk," and that's by giving to this program.

Descriptions:
Photo 1: All photos and captions from BabaTim's blog, Free Range International:
"The boys at the Jalalabad Fab Lab came up with their own design to meet the growing demand created by the International Fab surge last September. As usual all surge participants who came from the US, South Africa, Iceland and Englad paid their own way. Somebody needs to sponsor these people."

Photo 2: Amy: "I’m a PhD student in the Physics and Media group in the Center for Bits and Atoms led by Neil Gershenfeld. We broadly explore how the content of information relates to its physical representation. My particular area of interest is a cellular automata approach to energy conversion where energy is treated in discrete, infrangible units. These energy units are treated as if they were data bits and moved about the conversion media by CA rules (meaning they only communicate to nearest-neighboor cells). This research is often nicknamed “conformal energy” and I maintain a work blog named “erg“."

Photo 3: Amy Sun (of MIT) "working out with the pig snout M4 last fall. With a little funding Amy and crew could make huge contributions helping Afghans connect to the modern world."

Photo 4: Keith Berkoben (from MIT) "working on the first install on the water tower September 2009."

3/4/10 --UPDATE
The emotion learning cards cannot be sent to a WishList! So, I'll go over to the local teacher supply store and see if they have them and will send them directly to BabaTim (with a supply of coffee). Instead, I bought the Time Management book (which I could use too!).

You'll notice a lot of books on child development, and also health. The FabLab was set up with a health care component, and many of those who come through will be the country's future nurses, doctors and technicians.

Once Amy returns from Haiti, I'll be taking over the Wish List to get it fulfilled. She's got her hands full, and I was more than happy to oblige her request. Also, FabLab got mentioned on Boing Boing and Gizmondo. Thanks Cory and Rosa!