Civilian Control
Some years ago I read Making The Corps, a book by Tom Ricks that's ostensibly about a platoon of Marine recruits as they make their way through boot camp at Parris Island, SC but shifts gears about halfway through, moving on to a history and examination of the current state of civilian control of the military along with the implications that the politicization of the military has on it. It's a great book and a good introduction to the issues surrounding both of those topics, of which I have a close-up of everyday. There's a gamut of opinion on the subject ranging from "active-duty military members shouldn't vote" to "military members should be active stakeholders in policies that affect them." I trend toward the latter, as I've seen the corrosive influence that vocal expressions of political opinion have on diversity of thought and their increasing effects on groupthink, which extends even to subjects that should be explicitly non-political.
So I was intrigued to read about the results of a MilitaryTimes poll about Obama, the writeup of which was full of choice quotations such as this:
“Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief,” said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.
There is a caveat to the poll results that's buried rather far down:
The responses are not representative of the opinions of the military as a whole. The survey group overall under-represents minorities, women and junior enlisted service members, and over-represents soldiers.
What's left unsaid is that what you're left with are the heart of the professional corps of servicemembers that make our modern military. As such, these results are somewhat disturbing - is there a point where military members will publicly and vocally disagree with their chain of command as with the Revolt of the Admirals? What about DADT? (My fears about DADT are actually a bit overstated - I believe that as older members retire, resign or simply leave the service you'll see a shift in attitudes rather quickly.) My biggest fear is that the military will reach a critical mass of politicization and will then be forever lost to a whole other segment of the population - one that isn't conservative and Republican - with dire implications for the right (or wrong) leader who happens to either cross that ultra-politicized military or charm them into doing his/her bidding.
Park Place
Park Place is the neighborhood just west across Granby Street from me and across 38th Street from Colonial Place, an up-and-coming neighborhood that has largely resisted the violence that plagues its neighbor to the south:
That made Sunday's news harder to accept: Humphrey, 18, was fatally shot in the Park Place neighborhood early Sunday morning. Humphrey was found dead at the intersection of 34th Street and Colonial Avenue about 1 a.m. No arrests have been made, and police are investigating the shooting. He is the sixth football player from South Hampton Roads to be injured or killed by gunfire in the past 10 months.
I ride my bike to the gym along Llewellyn and recently stopped doing it at night due to an uptick in violence in Park Place. It's not a decision I made lightly, since I both enjoy the ride there and subscribe to the "broken windows" theory of neighborhood violence and considered my daily rides a normalizing part of life there. No discussion of Park Place would be complete without a history of it:
Real estate interests had ordained that the area was marked out for black settlement, and they were already engaged in drying up the white demand by warning white home buyers that the neighborhood was a bad investment, that it was endangered by black invasion, and that, because of schools and other factors, it was unsuitable for white occupancy.30 After it was demonstrated that the houses could not be sold to whites, blacks could buy, and the real estate agents could assist in the orderly withdrawal of the white population. Customarily the withdrawal was spurred on by a barrage of mail and telephone solicitations and personal door-to-door visits, all of which urged white residents to leave at once, "while you still can"--before real estate values collapsed, while buyer demand was high, and before they were left alone in an all-black neighborhood. This had been the pattern in East Ghent, in Park Place, and after the late spring of 1966 on 36th and 37th streets. It could be expected that the same pattern would be repeated in Colonial Place all the way up to the Lafayette River.
This contrasts with Norfolk's recent efforts to revive and gentrify the area, starting with the 35th Street Corridor and then making Park Place fall under the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and all that implies. Inroads have been made at the edges of Park Place, with a de facto border of 35th Street forming between the "good area" and the "bad area." Old, dilapidated houses are razed and new ones built in their place for what amounts to cents on the dollar when compared with similar housing just a few blocks north and east. That being said, there's still a great amount of crime from 24th-35th street which sometimes spills over into the "good" areas - one just has to look at the breathless CPRV listserv announcements about shifty characters menacing their fair neighborhood (along with the actual announcements of copper thieves) to see that.
Where to from here? I honestly don't know - I do know that, in the long term, Park Place will continue to gentrify and attract young, adventurous people who are looking for a bargain in their housing. It's too close to downtown Norfolk, Ghent, NOB, and Ocean View not to continue along the path that downtown Norfolk and Ocean View are blazing as we speak. It just remains to be seen how long that process will take in this economy.
An Open Letter to You, The New Member of the Gym
Hey there! You're probably here because it's the new year and, well, you really needed to start doing something about that spare tire/double chin/third arm that's been slowly taking over your body, not to mention the need to fit into your clothes less in the manner of sausage casings. So you're here, and gosh, is there a lot of equipment to use! Where should I start? Should I get a trainer?
But I'm not going to cover that stuff. No, I'm going to go over some basic gym etiquette that you should get down pat before you even think about how much weight you're going to stack on (or leave off) that bar. Let's start with just showing up to the gym. You have to wave your key fob or scan your plastic card just as soon as you enter, so you should probably have it out and ready so as not to cause a big line of people waiting while you dig through your purse or bag - and that line will be bigger than normal since everyone, like you, has made a resolution to lose weight, get toned or some other similar goal. Shortly after signing in, there should be a big stack of towels fresh from the dryer. GRAB ONE AND USE IT. Seriously - you can't disinfect every single surface in the gym, and transferring sweat from your face, arms and whatever is a great way to keep it off those hard-to-clean surfaces. Why is this important, you ask? MRSA.
By this point, you've grabbed your towel and are headed to the locker room. STOP. Did you bring a lock? Why not? Yes, everyone who's there is paying an exorbitant fee for the privilege to work out there - except for that guest that someone brought in. Or the guy that's there on the free one week trial membership. Or the friend of a friend who is borrowing someone else's membership card. Point being, you don't really know who all is there, so bring a lock and save yourself the trouble of having to call the police and file a report. But hey, you're cool - you brought your lock and are confidently walking into STOP. You just passed the conveniently located sanitizing gel station. Turn around, grab some and use it.
By now you're ready to start working out. Like I said, this isn't about your workout routine and I'm not a trainer - I've just been going to the gym for longer than you have. Anyway, your workout - plan these in advance, with the help of a trainer if necessary. Wandering around the gym, seeing what pieces of equipment may strike your fancy isn't the best way to make use of your time. Your first few times you'll probably be a bit slower than everyone else, if only because you're still getting used to the layout of the gym and how to best get from station to station - don't worry about it! Rather, focus on getting through your individual sets in a timely manner and then moving on to either rest for another set or work out on another piece of equipment. Good gym etiquette involves a bit of personal interaction, so if you see someone hanging around the bench or smith machine you're using, ask if they'd like to get a set in after you're done. Conversely, if you see someone just sitting there, ask them if you can get a set in. Try not to be that guy or gal that gets the 1000-yard stare while they're resting for another set - ON THE MACHINE. Yeah, don't be that guy. So by at this point you're working up a sweat and getting into your routine, but hoooold the phone, partner - there's still that nasty MRSA bug. So be sure and grab the bottle of Nasty-Shit-B-Gon - you know, the clear bottle with fluorescent liquid inside - and give whatever flat surface you were just smearing yourself against a quick spray and wipedown. Try to wipe as much of the excess spray off as well - no one wants to sit down on a row machine dripping with antimicrobial liquid.
Other quick hits that you might not be aware of:
- Don't talk on your cell phone while on a machine, unless you're running, in which case why are you talking on a cell phone? If you simply cannot miss this call, go ahead and stop your workout, but do not just sit there yammering away.
- Don't hit on the girls. Girls, don't hit on the guys. That's what bars are for. That being said, don't be afraid to ask people of either gender for help or even a spot if you need it. Most everyone in the gym are your standard nice people, and we promise not to bite your head off or drop the bar on you.
- Don't drop your weights. I know, some muscleheads think it's necessary to call attention to the massive weights they've been putting up by throwing them on the ground, but this can crack the weights, send them flying unpredictably across the floor, or possibly even break your foot if you're not paying attention to where you're chucking these dense, blunt objects.
- Rack your free weights. This shouldn't have to be said.
You're finished with your workout now and are headed to the locker room to get changed. On the way, make sure your towel is thrown in the bin, not on the floor, near the bin, or just left in the locker room - that's disgusting. If you're going to shower at the gym, be a pal and bring a robe or at wrap yourself in a towel, and be sure and bring shower shoes, also known as flip-flops, so as to cut down on the fungus that will rapidly spread when 100 dudes are all showering in their bare feet.
In all seriousness, try and be polite when you're at the gym. It's not your personal playground because you paid for it - it's very much a shared good. Make sure it stays good.
Resolutions
Huh. I could have sworn I wrote out resolutions last year and was going to cover how I did on them here. Um, I'll just recap the differences between Jan 2, 2009 and Jan 2., 2008.
- No longer in love with someone who hurts me
- 15 lbs. lighter
- Able to do 14 more pullups
- Making/cooking food again
- Biking to work
- Driving a car that doesn't engender smartass comments
- Made HAC
- Got promoted
That's a pretty decent list. Now on to the resolutions for 2009:
- Workout 5 days a week, every week.
- Bike into work at least 3 days a week, every week, regardless of weather.
- Write at least once a day.
- Finish a book a week.
- Start a band.
- Start back up with the guitar lessons and stick with it for 6 months.
That'll do... it's pretty comprehensive.
What I'm Doing...
- Why oh WHY did I agree to be in charge of the 5K? 1 week ago
- "Too Fat to Fight: - Army Revises Training to Deal With Unfit Recruits - http://nyti.ms/cSKnQd 1 week ago
- Hey there, sky. Haven't seen you in a few days. 1 week ago
- More updates...
Posting tweet...
Last Listened To
- Queen – You're My Best Friend
- Queen – Bicycle Race
- Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
- Queen – Killer Queen
- The Raconteurs – Steady As She Goes