May 06 2008
Then and Now
“I cannot stress how important an independent mind in a person is to me. I like the dreamers, the idealists, and the impractical. I take great joy in exploring the depths of someone’s intelligence and imagination. I enjoy watching someone think, for it is only then that I do not feel so utterly alone.”
Jayel Aheram
I have a profile on every major online social network (and on little-known ones as well) that exist. My space is on MySpace, my face is on Facebook, and my work history is linked in LinkedIn. I am live on Livejournal, a furry in Fur Affinity, and a tweeter on Twitter. I am a Flickr addict, a Stickam user, and a Digger of articles. In the online medium, I am a social media maven. I am a public figure by choice. I am always connected; always online. At last count, I am a member of at least eighteen different social networks. And those are just the ones I actively track.
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Nov 29 2007
Doodles, Lists, and More
Photography by Jayel Aheram.
If ever a future biographer decides to chronicle my life, he will find no source as rich as the many notebooks I have filled with doodles, to-do lists, opinions, and various other things that my mind happens upon. As of this writing, I own about twelve different notebooks of varying sizes half-filled or completely filled with writing. It is an impressive collection of volumes ranging from a notebook dedicated to mere doodles (oh, how I love my Prisma Markers), one with various tidbits of applicable and not-so applicable Marine Corps knowledge, a private journal that is updated once every four months, a notebook filled with made-up words complete with their own etymology, and a much-abused utility notebook that both serves as a daily planner, to-do list, and is home to many drafts of aborted blog posts. With the exception of my utility notebook which always within arm’s reach, these notebooks have a permanent home in my shelf, readily available for when I am suddenly stricken with inspiration.
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Nov 27 2007
The Madness that is the Policy in Iraq
Photography by Jayel Aheram.
As I sat through yet another pre-deployment brief about Escalation of Force procedures and Rules of Engagement, I was reminded of a particular policy in force in Iraq of allowing Iraqi nationals to own and keep only a single weapon per household. At the face of it, it seems like a reasonable policy. The motivation behind it was to limit the availability of weapons that can be used against coalition forces and innocent Iraqis. The argument for it, however, does not hold up to the most basic of challenges.
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Nov 24 2007
What It Isn’t
As a member of the armed services, I am faced every day with challenges of leadership. From both side of it: as a follower and as a leader. To be able to lead, one first needs to learn how to follow. But does a good follower necessarily mean a good leader? What are the traits of a good leader? The question becomes, actually, what is leadership?
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Oct 14 2006
The Rise of the Order of the Dracolich
The Dragonmage Aza’ardon’s beginnings are now lost to the ages, but his treacherous hand in the spectacular fall of the Tower and his eventual transformation to the much-feared Dread Overlord is well-documented. His story (that is, the one that is known) begins in the desert city of Thanos, where the High Mages rule.
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Sep 11 2006
A Poem about the End of the World
This was originally an improv poem written in Voodoo Chat’s Cafe El Nuit. But I decided it was a good concept for a poem so I decided to work on it.
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