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Humpday Hilarities
December 16, 2009 by Nicki
Today’s funnies start off with this one from Uncle Monster:
This one is from I Can Has Cheezburger?
And while I’m on the subject of kittehs, if you’re in need of some cute and furry goodness, these are a few of my favorite feline bloggers:
Go now! Clicky clicky!!! 
What we know, and what we don’t
October 22, 2009 by Nicki
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.”
Apparently said version tends to change from time to time. I was talking with a friend about how I’d noticed that the school textbooks that Jessie’s had over the past few years were vastly different from those I remembered. In fact, I was helping her study last week for a big social studies exam and thought the textbook seemed a bit “dumbed down” in some topics, and noticed how it entirely skipped others. And then I wondered, were mine vastly different than those of the generation before me?
Looking back, Social Studies was my absolute least favorite subject in school. I couldn’t ever keep up with the details of dates, people, and events; it was sheer straight memorization … and boring as hell. It wasn’t really until I was in my last couple years of high school that history held any kind of fascination with me. I’m lucky, my high school had really great teachers.
I can name several that were my favorites, but one in particular comes to mind today because he not only taught from the textbook, he taught from experience. His name was Joe Parker, and he was a Vietnam veteran. I thought he was the most fascinating man I’d ever met. He didn’t just teach, he told stories. I began to see that people weren’t just names in a textbook anymore. Dates weren’t just numbers to be memorized then completely forgotten. I began to understand why things were done a certain way during certain times.
Mr. Parker often told tales of his time in Vietnam. I loved hearing his stories — I had never seen anything like what he described in any textbook on the subject. Looking back, I don’t think I ever really knew anything about Vietnam. I knew that I had an uncle who had served and died overseas. My father really didn’t like to talk about it. I knew that the war ended not long after I was born, and that when those who served returned home, they were not treated kindly … even looked down upon by people I knew. I never understood until it was explained to me by Mr. Parker. It was he who taught me not to blindly accept what’s given to me in print, but to seek other sources, research, and draw my own conclusions.
I wonder today, how many people are still hanging onto what they’d gathered from misguided sources rather than seeking the truth for themselves?
What brought up this thought and the associated memories was an email I received from Uncle Monster last weekend containing a link to a blog with a most IMPRESSIVE list of statistics and facts about the Vietnam War and its veterans that I have never before seen. And I’d like to share them with y’all …
Interesting Facts about the Make-up of US Troops in the Vietnam War
In case you haven’t been paying attention these past few decades after you returned from Vietnam, the clock has been ticking. The following are some statistics that are at once depressing yet in a larger sense should give you a huge sense of pride.
“Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam, Less than 850,000 are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam veteran’s age approximated to be 54 years old.” How does it feel to be among the last third of all the Vietnam Veterans who served in Vietnam to be alive? I don’t know about you guys, but it kind of gives me the chills.
Considering the kind of information available about the death rate of WWII and Korean War Veterans, publicized information indicates that in the last 14 years Vietnam veterans are dying at the rate of 390 deaths each day. At this rate there will be only a few of us alive in 2015.
These statistics were taken from a variety of sources to include: The VFW Magazine, the Public Information Office, and the HQ CP Forward Observer – 1st Recon April 12, 1997.
STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY VIETNAM VETERANS
1. 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam Era (Aug 5, 1964 – May 7, 1975).
2. 8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug 5, 1964 – March 28, 1973).
3. 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam, this number represents 9.7% of their generation.
4. 3,403,100 (Including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the broader Southeast Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, flight crews based in Thailand and sailors in adjacent South China Sea waters).
5. 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam (Jan. 1, 1965 – March 28, 1973). Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964.
6. Of the 2.6 million, between 1-1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.
7. 7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam.
8. Peak troop strength in Vietnam: 543,482 (April 30, 1968).
CASUALTIES
1. The first man to die in Vietnam was James Davis, in 1958. He was with the 509th Radio Research Station. Davis Station in Saigon was named for him.
2. Non-hostile deaths: 10,800
3. Total: 58,202 (Includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties). Men who have subsequently died of wounds account for the changing total.
4. 8 nurses died – 1 was KIA.
5. 61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.
6. 11,465 of those killed were younger than 20 years old.
7. Of those killed, 17,539 were married.
8. Average age of men killed: 23.1 years
9. Enlisted: 50,274 – 22.37 years
10. Officers: 6,598 – 28.43 years
11. Warrants: 1,276 – 24.73 years
12. E1: 525 – 20.34 years
13. 11B MOS: 18,465 – 22.55 years
14. Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old.
15. The oldest man killed was 62 years old.
16. 2,709,918 Americans served in Vietnam, 58,202 were KIA for a percentage of .0214%.
17. 303,704 were wounded. 153,329 were hospitalized.
18. 150,375 were injured requiring no hospital care.
19. 75,000 were severely disabled. 23,214 were 100% disabled. 5,283 lost limbs. 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.
20. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than Korea.
21. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.
22. Missing in Action: 2,338
23. POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity)
24. As of January 15, 2004, there are 1,875 Americans still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
DRAFTEES VS VOLUNTEERS
1. 25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees.
2. 66% of U.S. armed forces members were drafted during WWII).
3. Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.
4. Reservists killed: 5,977
5. National Guard: 6,140 served: 101 died.
6. Total draftees (1965 – 73): 1,728,344.
7. Actually served in Vietnam: 38%
8. Marine Corps Draft: 42,633.
9. Last man drafted: June 30, 1973.
RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND
1. 88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian; 10.6% (275,000) were black; 1% belonged to other races.
2. 86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes Hispanics); 12.5% (7,241) were black; 1.2% belonged to other races.
3. 170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam; 3,070 (5.2% of total) died there.
4. 70% of enlisted men killed were of North-west European descent.
5. 86.8% of the men who were killed as a result of hostile action were Caucasian; 12.1% (5,711) were black; 1.1% belonged to other races.
6. 14.6% (1,530) of non-combat deaths were among blacks.
7. 34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.
8. Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam at a time when the percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the total population.
9. Religion of Dead: Protestant – 64.4%; Catholic – 28.9%; other/none – 6.7%
SOCIAL-ECONOMIC STATUS
1. Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than the same non-vet age groups.
2. Vietnam veterans’ personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.
3. 76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/working class backgrounds.
4. Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds.
5. Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial or technical occupations.
6. 79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or better when they entered the military service. 63% of Korean War vets and only 45% of WWII vets had completed high school upon separation.
7. Deaths by region per 100,000 of population: South – 31%, West -29.9%; Midwest – 28.4%; Northeast – 23.5%.
DRUG USAGE & CRIME
1. There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-Vietnam Veterans of the same age group. (Source: Veterans Administration Study)
2. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison – only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.
3. 85% of Vietnam Veterans made successful transitions to civilian life.
WINNING & LOSING
1. 82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will.
2. Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political will, not of arms.
HONORABLE SERVICE
1. 97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged.
2. 91% of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are proud to have served their country.
3. 74% say they would serve again, even knowing the outcome.
4. 87% of the public now holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.
INTERESTING
1. 1,713,823 of those who served in Vietnam were still alive as of August, 1995 (census figures).
2. During that same census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country was: 9,492,958.
3. As of the current census taken during August, 2000, the surviving U.S. Vietnam Veteran population estimate is: 1,002,511. This is hard to believe, losing nearly 711,000 between ‘95 and ‘00. That’s 390 per day.
4. During this census count, the number of Americans falsely claiming to have served in-country is: 13,853,027. By this census, FOUR OUT OF FIVE WHO CLAIM TO BE VIETNAM VETS ARE NOT.
5. The Department of Defense Vietnam War Service Index officially provided by The War Library originally reported with errors that 2,709,918 U.S. military personnel as having served in-country.
6. Corrections and confirmations to this erred index resulted in the addition of 358 U.S. military personnel confirmed to have served in Vietnam but not originally listed by the Department of Defense. (All names are currently on file and accessible 24/7/365).
7. Isolated atrocities committed by American Soldiers produced torrents of outrage from anti-war critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any media mention at all.
8. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy.
9. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations.
10. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and school teachers. – Nixon Presidential Papers.
Now, how many of you read the above and see the similarities between Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan? The first thing that stuck out in my mind immediately (besides the media coverage) was that I have seen with my own eyes is that heroes are welcomed home today.
Reach out to a soldier or veteran. Say “Thank you” — because you never know, he or she may have never been told that before!
If you are able and want to do more, here’s where you can find out how.
Soaked and sunburned, and zombies, and Aion
Wow, what a weekend. Right now I’m sitting here waiting out the remaining two hours until the Aion Head Start event. I figured this would be a good time as any to post a few things. 
Jess, Teresa and I spent yesterday in T’town. We went down there to watch the Tide take on North Texas. Jim was originally supposed to go with us, but he was kind enough to stay home to get our house ready to show to some prospective buyers. (Which, funny enough, he neglected to tell me about until Friday night when I got home and was already mad as a hornet for having spent 2 hours in traffic!)
We picked Teresa up in McCalla and headed down I-59. It rained the entire time. Once we reached Tuscaloosa, finding a parking spot was pretty tricky. The university has taken over some parking lots that were once public to reserve for Tide Pride members. We got lucky and parked by some friends in nearby apartments.
Hooray for friends! 
It rained and rained and RAINED. Even though all three of us were wearing ponchos, we were still soaked to the bone. We walked all over the quad, visited various shop tents and after watching the Million Dollar Band do their usual pre-game routine, slowly made our way to Bryant-Denny stadium. It was at this point that it FINALLY quit raining. With the exception of a few drops here or there, the weather was pretty nice for the rest of the day! We made our way into the stadium and up to our seats and tried our best to dry out. About halfway into the game, the sun made its grand entrance.
Of course, the sunscreen I had put on yesterday morning before leaving the house had washed off … so I’m a little sunburned. This is the first game I’ve ever attended where I’ve been soaked and sunburned in the same day! LOL!
It was all a great day of fun though. The Tide looked really good. The halftime show was great. The MDB played a tribute to Motown. IMO the best part was the finale … they played ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson. All of the color guard and dance teams put on some raggedy clothes and danced as zombies like in the original video. It was awesome!!
The Tide won 53-7, so pretty early in the second half a lot of people were leaving. The traffic going home was light compared to every other Bama game I’ve ever attended. We made it home long before dinner time and I happily napped as soon as I could get my tired and weary bones through the door and into the bed. 
Today Jess left us to spend the next few days with her mother. She didn’t want to go (not that I blame her) but I tried to assure her that she wouldn’t miss much of the Aion head start and we’d see her again later this week. Our deal is that as long as her grades are up, she can play Aion. So far, that’s proving to be a GREAT motivator as far as school goes!
And speaking of Aion, I was able to get things sorted out with GoGamer. Our Aion packs arrived Friday afternoon. Jim and I ordered the Collector’s Edition, Jessie got the regular (and hers came in a very NICE tin!). Here’s a few pics I snapped that night after opening my box:
Incidentally, if you have also ordered the CE, you will want to read this article by The Aion Guy: How To Receive Your Aion Pre-Order Items!
What are your mood lifters?
September 10, 2009 by Nicki
On days where I bring my lunch to work, I usually sit at my desk and read my feeds. With all the things going on, I’ve found that most days I want stuff to keep me in good mood — or if I’m in a particularly bad one, to enhance my mood.
A couple days back, GeekSugar posted 10 Sites That Will Instantly Lift Your Mood. While the entries were pretty neat (I particularly enjoyed FML but it’s not really mood-lifting IMO), but honestly none of those I would visit when I was in need of a serious dose of smiles and gigglies.
These are my mood lifters, in no particular order:
- I Can Has Cheezburger? – LOLcats and LOLanimals own. ‘Nuff said.
- I Has a Hotdog! – Sister site to the ICHC, featuring LOLdogs of course. More awesomeness.
- Cute Overload – Introduced to this by my pal DocJeff, this never ceases to make me smile.
- ZooBorns – Announcements of baby zoo animals born all over the world. Entertaining and usually very educational. Dual-awesomeness.
- Cute Animals Channel on Today’s Big Thing – A daily feeding of furry funny video.
- Cukiság – A Hungarian cute animals site. Even though I usually don’t understand any of the text, the photos are cool.
- FurryTalk – A good site, with a mix of LOLpics, jokes, and inspirational animal stories.
I could name a few others, but these are the ones I hit every day. They’re good for a quick smile, and likely help keep me sane.
So what sites are your mood lifters?
To-Do List helps me keep it together
August 30, 2009 by Nicki
I’m a “list person”. I like lists. Especially “To Do” lists. I like outlining my goals and enjoy the sense of accomplishment I feel when I get to cross those items off. So naturally, I’ve been looking for a “list” type app for my iPhone.
I had spent several weeks looking for just the right application. I wanted something simple with the ability to export lists, and to have the ability to set recurring tasks. Jim had run across one and emailed me a recommendation: Concrete Software’s To-Do List.
It has quickly become another iPhone app that I can’t live without. Not only can I use the recurring tasks feature to keep track of monthly, quarterly, and yearly bills and other recurring costs, I also use it for checklists for side projects, things I need to do at home, and more …
At the time of this post, To-Do List costs $2.99. If you’re a “list person” like me, you may find this a handy app to add to your GTD arsenal.
Alabama Tea Party
July 2, 2009 by Nicki
It looks like the upcoming tea party will be much larger and accommodating those bringing their families. Nice! So, who all is going?
Stock your iPhone with knowledge
June 18, 2009 by Nicki
Earlier this week, I ran across an interesting article by Sean Aune titled “40 Essential iPhone Applications For Web Designers.” It’s a very impressive list, but I didn’t realize until I started looking for the apps in iTunes that the majority of them were not free. Granted, I certainly don’t mind buying an app or two now and then, but I couldn’t very well justify buying 20 or 30 in one sitting. (plus I like keeping my screens few and meticulously organized!)
I may come back later and snag a database app or two, but I didn’t want to fill my iPhone with reference apps which looked to be not much more than common cheat sheets that you can find anywhere on the net. I discovered some handy references posted to MakeUseof’s website a while back and an idea struck me — it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to use a file manager and simply store copies of these references, cheat sheets, and other essential files on my iPhone.
I mean, hey, wouldn’t it be cool to be sitting there working on one of my themes and look to my iPhone as a reference tool?
I had tried a couple of different file managers a few weeks ago, but never really found anything that I loved. Most apps that I’d looked into required signing up for an account on a website — and most of them were not free services. I needed something that didn’t require an internet connection for those times when I can’t get to a PC. I took a peek at Pandora Box yesterday and happily discovered that DigiDNA’s FileAid (normally $4.99 if memory serves me) was FREE due to a promotion!
As of this post, FileAid is still free, but who knows for how long?
Per DigiDNA’s website, “FileAid is a file manager and viewer for the iPhone and iPod Touch.” Basically, you can copy files over to your iPhone or iPod Touch wirelessly (by FTP) or via USB using DiskAid, which is their PC/MAC tool which can also copy files onto your device. Personally, I found that FileAid does exactly what I need, and can’t see myself using DiskAid. I love that I can use FileAid to connect to my iPhone via FTP and copy over my favorite tech references and cheat sheets, work-related documents, personal files, and other things that I would want to carry out with me without the need to use a 3rd party website. It’s now one of the most essential apps on my iPhone.
According to DigiDNA’s website, FileAid supports a pretty decent list of file types:
- Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF and others)
- MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
- iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynotes, iWork 09 not yet supported)
- OpenDocument (OpenOffice) (Text, Spreadsheet, Presentation)
- Plain Text and RTF (Rich Text Format)
- Audio (MP3, VBR, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, CAF)
- Video (standard iPhone formats : H.264, MPEG-4)
- Web Archives
- HTML files
- ZIP Archives
So far I’ve loaded various images, PDFs, TXTs, HTML and DOC files onto mine. Had no problems with any of those and will try out more later this weekend.
FileAid FTW! 
So if you’ve been thinking of downloading a few reference or cheat sheet apps, you may want to consider going a cheaper route using FileAid or another file manager of your choosing.
Turn your iPhone into your own personal library.
I like Safari, but …
May 14, 2009 by Nicki
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Logo by John Slater
For a while, I’ve been following the progress of Mozilla’s mobile browser project, codenamed Fennec. As the Mozilla team’s efforts push the project forward, I can’t help but hope that one day soon it will be available on the iPhone. Of course, this will mean that Apple will have to actually APPROVE the app for inclusion in the App Store.
As of this post, Apple has yet to approve any major 3rd party web browser application for the iPhone (meaning not based on Safari). That’s one of the few things where Helio had them beat. When the Opera “mini” browser was released, Helio embraced it. And how could they not? Let’s face it, the Helio native browser was sluggish and seriously lacking in many features where as Opera was sleek, fast, and surely had it beat. Heck, you could even manage your bookmarks online from the Opera website and easily synchronize with the browser on your device.
I would LOVE to see that kind of capability on my iPhone!
I had hoped that by now, Fennec would be far enough along that Helio users could use it. But since Jim and I have jumped aboard the Apple ship, my hopes are now that Fennec could one day soon be made available for iPhone users.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Safari … but I’m a Mozilla fangirl through and through! 
Businesses lending a hand to job hunters
I’m sure y’all don’t need me to tell you that finding a job is hard work. I know that I am extremely lucky to have found another job within a month of being laid off. Jim was laid off last week, so having me working again so soon was a real blessing. But I know plenty of other people who are still looking.
Looking and applying for a job is hard work, and I’m happy to see that some businesses are looking to lend a hand to those still trying to find work: in particular, Staples and Office Depot. I ran across a couple entries on Mommy’s Wish List that I thought some of y’all might find useful in your search (or you could relay to someone you know who’s searching):
- Office Depot is offering free printing and faxing services to customers until May 30th. (more details here)
- Staples is offering free and business cards to customers until June 13th. (more details here)
Hopefully that’s helpful to someone out there! Please feel free to share related hints or treats in the comment box below. 
Hoppy Easter
April 12, 2009 by Nicki
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Happy Easter everyone! I’ve two cute things to share today:
The cutest little rapper I’ve ever seen:
And by far one of the funniest Easter Eggs I’ve seen:
(H/T: For the Lose)
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