Ramblin' Man

Sorry for the lack of posting, I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. Many long flights and several government-provided Ambien later, I've reached a location that's rather hot but mercifully dry. My final destination should be substantially cooler, which is mostly a good thing for me. I'm not at all built for hot climates - the heat just completely drains my energy, rendering me essentially worthless.

Anyway, internet service will be spotty for the next several months, as my adventure tourism (so to speak) leads me to remote, desolate, and generally shitty parts of the world. I'll post as much and as often as I'm able... and keep my head down.

Deuces,

Jack

Comin' Home

Off to Colorado tomorrow morning for a few days. I can't express how happy I am to be spending my last weekend stateside with my family and friends. It'll be bittersweet, but that's the nature of my job, I guess.

Time to get a few hours of sleep before my flight... see y'all in the morning, CO.

Out

Nothing Quite Like that New Watch Feeling

In case you're unaware, I'm a bit of a watch fanatic.

I've got six or seven of the things, but only two ever get worn - my quartz Hamilton field watch, which is essentially disposable, and my Blancpain AquaLung Hundred Hours automatic, which is a rather rare and fragile piece that's created in small numbers by little watch elves in Switzerland and costs more than some cars. Both are limited in their usefulness, particularly since I shattered the crystal on the Hamilton.

Me being me, I'm always looking for an excuse to pick up another timepiece, just as I would another gun or any piece of gear, really. So when I found out I was going to be doing a bit of, err, traveling, I started looking for a good quality indestructo-watch to accompany me.

Now, I could have taken the obvious route and gotten a Casio G-shock, except for two things: I HATE digital watches, and everyone and their boyfriend has one. Not for me. That left me with pretty much one choice: the German watch manufacturer Sinn, specifically their 856 model.

The 856 UTC (universal time zone) is a shock-resistant, antimagnetic, waterproof workhorse manufactured out of tegimented stainless steel, which is 5-6 times harder than normal stainless. The lightly modded ETA movement is housed inside an iron core, hence the anti-magnetic properties. The bracelet, which is like $500 by itself, is also tegimented stainless and has a very solid deployment clasp with a built-in dive extension. Inside the case is a replaceable copper-based "pill" to absorb water from the movement area, preventing rust. The extra time zone will either be set to Zulu (GMT) or to home time, depending on my needs. Long story short, it's as close to being bombproof as a proper (mechanical) watch can get, with the added bonus of being quite rare in the states. I love it.

Anyway, here's a crappy cell phone picture with one of my other new acquisitions, an ESEE 5" fixie.



I do enjoy my toys.

A Sad Day

Well, it finally had to happen. I took a one-way road trip in the 'vette this weekend, again up to my mom's house in NY. There she sits, garaged and covered, low on fuel and ready for summer hibernation. I'm taking an extended adventure tourism trip pretty soon, so she needed proper storage in the absence of my loving care.

Anyway. Without going into details, I saw some friends I hadn't seen a long time, drank some good drinks, and generally stayed under the radar. Low-key was the name of the game. Also may or may not have consumed half a bottle of the Glenmorangie while cooking at about 103 degrees Fahrenheit in the new hot tub - my independent research suggests high levels of stress relief with this technique, provided you don't slip into unconsciousness and drown, in which case you will most likely die happy.

Posting activity is going to all but cease in the next few weeks or so due to limited internet access and a hectic work schedule... it'll pick back up when my life calms back down, whenever that may be. I'll keep this thing alive as well as I can until then.

Later

D Day.

I'd just like to say that I'm extremely proud to be a descendent of the legacy of some of the baddest motherfuckers to ever walk the earth - the paratroopers of the 82d Airborne Division during World War Two. Those mindblowingly bat-shit crazy individuals jumped blindly into a country they'd never seen full of well-trained Nazi assholes firing Flak cannons at them in the middle of the night. (Holy fuck, how scary is that? I damn near piss myself on training jumps.)

Legend has it that after they landed, during the battles in the French bocage, the paratroopers' assault positions were often given away by the sound of their giant, solid brass testicles clanging together in the silent darkness - forcing them to kill everything in their path with a hail of .30 cal gunfire, thereby inconveniently dirtying said paratroopers' weapons and, worst of all, angering their NCOs.

When it was determined that the paratroopers had sufficiently softened up resistance (read: exterminated the enemy) in their current area of operation, higher ups would find another suitable location for them to earn their combat jump pay; whereupon they would repeat said extreme violence upon the enemy until victory was achieved. Rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat.

By God, what a bunch of fucking lunatics. May this country forever be blessed with paratroopers like them.

H-Minus, Airborne, All The Way.

Happy Birthday To Me

Dear Jack,

Well, it's your birthday again. It's been [redacted] years since you took your first breath in this world, gracing us with your presence. Having been there with you for nearly all of it, I can tell you that it's been a wild ride, and that barring unforeseen events, it is going to continue to be an epic journey worthy of novels or a Hollywood blockbuster.

Thanks for sticking around for another year. Without your charm, wit, and cunning intellect, this planet would be a duller place. I love your laugh, your handsome smile, your wild eyes. Being around you all the time is reason enough to keep breathing, just so I can see what you'll do next. May you continue to grow and broaden your horizons every day.

Sincerely, your best friend, your worst enemy, your biggest fan and your most vehement critic...

The Man in the Mirror

P.S. - sorry the watch I bought you hasn't shown up yet, it's still being regulated by weird little watch people in Boulder. Your Sinn will be here in time, don't worry.