Cautious optimism

I think that I may have found my Orion Slaveguy™.

Details later.

Hi, honey, I'm home!

Well, I've returned from my "vacation," all tanned, bland, and...randy! (5 points if you can name that movie.)

Texas, Ah missed yew! (Kisses ground.)

Of course, we got tons of rain. While I was gone.

I'll be back to posting as soon as I recover from jet lag, sunburn, and mental exhaustion.

Peace, out.

Murphy flies a Harrier

I've gotten a few emails noting that I mentioned a medical discharge, and wondering about the story behind that. As I said here, I flew the AV-8B Harrier for the Corps. The Harrier is a fantastic plane, but it does have its issues. One engine, centrally located, makes a lovely target for heat-seeking missiles. I lost a couple of friends that way during the First Gulf War.

The Harrier is a very advanced aircraft, but, to quote Mr. Scott, "the more you improve the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the pipes." Murphy's Law was flying with me that day. I was hovering, making a slow approach to my LZ, when I flamed out. Restart was unsuccessful, so I punched out from about 500 feet. Though it isn't my aircraft in this video, it happened a lot like this. The major difference was that I was over dry land. Ejection was successful, the chute deployed, but I hit the ground hard.

I was injured badly in my neck and lower back. It took two surgeries and a couple of years, but I recovered full motion in both areas. Unfortunately, I lost my flight status, and, given the choice between retraining and a medical retirement, I chose the latter. I thought it would help my marriage, but I was wrong.

So, that's how this fighter jock became an übergeek. It's been a long, twisting road, but I'm glad to be where I'm at today.

Status of CowboyNeil

I've received some emails asking if I was still alive, since I haven't posted in the last couple of months. I'm still very alive and kickin'. I have been (and still am) on an extended business trip to an undisclosed, non-CONUS location. I'll be back in a short while.

I could tell you more, but then I'd have to get Captain Kirk to hunt you down and kill you.

Peace, out.

Names you would not want to have, example # 697

I met a pleasant young man yesterday at a luncheon. His name was Will Hong.

I'll bet he has no trouble getting a date.

Being James Kirk

Life can be . . . different . . . when blessed with a name like James T. Kirk. As a little kid, everyone though it was neat. When I was in junior high, though, I began to hate my name, and even went through a short period where I hated my parents for bestowing said name upon me.

When I was in high school, people tended to make assumptions about me based on my name; usually assuming I was a dork. (This was one of the motivators behind me getting into bodybuilding.) As time went by, though, I grew to appreciate it. In college, girls seemed to assume that I had a libido similar to that of my namesake. Lucky me, right?

Well, yeah . . . like my namesake, I would never turn town the advances of an Orion slavegirl™ (never found one, though), but I would have preferred the attentions of a beefy Orion slaveguy™ (haven't found one of those, either). Something tells me that, K/S fan fiction aside, I don't have that in common with the commander of the USS Enterprise!

I joined the Marines straight out of college. I enjoyed my years in the Corps; I am proud to have served my country, and would do so again, if called upon. Believe it or not, my sexual orientation was never an issue in the service. Some people around me knew of it; I was never "in your face" with it, and no one ever made it an issue. Being Captain Kirk was a bigger deal to my friends and fellow Marines than who was in my bed at night.

There's a life lesson for the "gay community" in there somewhere . . .

When I met Lilith, I fell hard for her. We were married in 1994, and I was serious about our wedding vows. I remained faithful. She traveled a lot, though, and that distance showed up in our relationship. Lilith was never really interested in having children; I assumed the lack of time together was the reason. When I was given a medical discharge in '95 I had hopes that it would help facilitate us being together more often. Unfortunately, we were together no more after I became a "civvie" than before.

We held out for almost ten years before the bottom fell out. Lilith flew to Portugal on another "business trip". Little did I know that would be the last time that I ever saw her. She had been gone for two weeks when I was served with divorce papers. I was devastated. I was also broke: I had trusted her with our finances, because she was better with money than I.

Big mistake.

She had emptied our bank accounts and run up all our credit cards. There wasn't a damn thing I could do about it, except close the accounts, and work to pay them off. All I had left was my medical retirement and the income from my job. If it wasn't for Neil offering me a place to live, I'm not sure what I would have done. He would be the last to admit it, but I owe him a lot.

After Lilith, I totally swore off women. They are evil, kinda like tequila. Fun in the moment, but oh, do you pay for it later!

Men, at least, I can understand. Maybe I'll meet that Orion slaveguy™ someday. Maybe I have, and just don't know it yet. Until then, I'll just let it ride . . .

Has WWIII begun?

I hope that I'm wrong, but I'm afraid that this is going to spread throughout the region. And with that nutcase in Iran howling about getting nukes, it could get real nasty, real fast.

Israel must take off the gloves. I think, finally, that is what we are seeing. The USAF has a saying: "Peace through superior firepower." That is the true roadmap to peace, because these Jew-hating Islamonuts understand nothing but raw, brute force.

Thank ya, Thank ya vurra much . . .

Well, Neil covered my backstory pretty well here, so I won't go over that again. I am a Marine, (I flew the AV-8B) and an amateur bodybuilder.

I am also a geek, and a hacker. Kevin Mitnick is my hee-ro.

I love living out here in the country. It's a great way to decompress from the marathon world of high-tech.

Oh, and yes, my name really is James T. Kirk. I was born in 1969, and my parents were first-generation Trekkies.

Hey, at least they didn't name me Spock!

Captain on Deck!

I finally talked my best friend and rommate to to team-blog here with me. Thus, the latest, and final, title change. And so, without further ado:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard Captain James T. Kirk!

New Wheels

It's time for me to do my bit to help the local economy. My old Chevy finally gave up the ghost, so I went looking for a new truck.

A little Googling revealed this:

A 2005 GMC Sierra 2500 4x4 crew-cab with 6.6L turbocharged diesel V8, loaded, with leather interior, only 25,516 miles, and under $28,000! (and no, it doesn't have a hemi!)

I plan on acquiring a fifth-wheel travel trailer late this year or early next, and this will be perfect for pulling it or the horse trailer, as well as hauling hay.

I think this should do nicely for the next ten years or so.

Peace, out.