I recently discovered that segments of the new Transformers movie were filmed onboard my old ship, USS Shoup! There are pictures floating around the internet of pieces of one of the evil Decepticons in the helo hangar awaiting burial at sea. I can't wait to see the Navy's finest warship in action this summer!!! In the meantime, I had to share this super cool recruiting video from Singapore's Navy.......
For arranging such a wonderful weekend with my folks. I loved every minute I got to spend with my dear ma and pa. We had a great time cooking, laughing, drinking martinis and getting caught up. 
Also, dad turned me on to a great new blog that I am adding to my blogroll today. The West Seattle Blog features news, events and comments dealing with my West Seattle neighborhood. I've been looking for a great resource like this for some time now!
American-Amicable ripped off service-members and is now being forced to pay us back! If you bought a "Horizon Life" Insurance policy sometime between January 1st, 2000 and July 28th 2006 you may be eligible for part of the cash settlement, continue reading...
Consider this another Bad Case of Wanderlust pubic service announcement. I received a letter today from a company called American-Amicable Life Insurance Company of Texas. The name instantly caught my attention and brought up a long forgotten memory of the time they ripped me off with a very deceptive "investment" plan. I was eighteen years old, fresh out of bootcamp and fresh out of my parents' house, earning a more steady paycheck than ever before. American-Amicable somehow got permission to come on the base and sell their life insurance to gullible young fellas such as myself under the guise that it was nearly guaranteed to turn us into millionaires. What whipper-snapper with money to burn could possibly refuse such a great deal?!?! Upon further reading of the fine print in my new policy I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Despite feeling that anybody allowed on base was legit and that thieves were only encountered OUTSIDE of my safe, secure military home, I cancelled my policy after only giving up maybe three months worth of pay. Apparently 57,000 servicemembers, including myself were interested in becoming millionaires according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (Read the full story here). The SEC has sued American-Amicable and they have agreed to distribute $10 million back to the hardworking servicemembers that they ripped off. The letter I received included a check that gave back a little of what I lost, but gave me a great satisfaction in knowing that they had been caught.
From the SEC's website:
Millions of Americans huddled around their TVs clutching beers and rooting for their favorite team in Superbowl XLI, or at least rooting for the team they hate the least. Our house was no exception. 10 members of our urban family unit joined us in our cozy basement to watch the mighty Peyton Manning(with a laser-rocket arm) engineer a dominant victory over the Bears of chicago. Whether it was a sense of revenge for seahawks fans, an unhealthy obsession with Peyton Manning or just a desire to not be the only Bears fan in the room, we were somehow all united in our hopes for the Colts to emerge victorious.
Interesting fact for you Henney folks out there.....Did you know that the Henney Motor Company was contracted to develop the World's first modern electric car?
From Wikipedia:
The 1959 models all ran on a 36-volt system of 18 sequential two-volt batteries. The 36-volt cars had a top speed of 40 mph and could run approximately 40 miles on a full charge. After the 36-volt system was realized to be impractical, the Kilowatt drivetrain was redesigned by Eureka Williams as a 72-volt system for the 1960 model year. It employed 12 sequential six-volt batteries. The 72-volt models were much more practical than the 1959 36-volt models. The 1960 Kilowatt boasted a top speed of nearly 60 mph with a range of over 60 miles on a single charge.
If you're interested, click here for the full wikipedia article.....
Water Intoxication......it's real.....and deadly. Consider this A Bad Case of Wanderlust Public Service Announcement.....I'm watching the news bright and early this morning and there is a story that really hits home with me. A woman was in a contest called "Hold your wee for a wii," put on by a Sacramento radio show. The point of the contest was to continue drinking water and see who could hold their bladder the longest, winner gets a new Nintendo Wii. This woman ended up drinking two gallons of water before dropping out of the contest. On the air she complained of feeling light headed and having a headache. The DJs joked and laughed about the health risks of drinking too much water and a listener even called in and warned them of the serious dangers involved with the contest. They laughed and said it was not a problem since the contestants had all signed releases prior to the contest. The contestant went home, crying and in pain, and was found dead later that day. The coroner announced cause of death as 'water intoxication.'
I myself suffered water poisoning a year ago. I was at the pub with friends and had volunteered to be designated driver that night. The band was very good and my friends were having fun and I ended up staying there for nearly five hours, drinking water, enjoying the show and waiting for my friends to be ready to go home. I had the waitress bring me probably three pitchers of water over that time and around midnight developed a terrible headache and was stumbling around as if I had been drinking too much beer. I told my friends to come with me now or take a cab home, they opted for the cab and I headed back to my apartment in Fremont by myself. I was in terrible pain when I got home and wrapped myself up in a blanket and tried to sleep. I had heard of water intoxication before and was slightly concerned about what was happening to me. After waiting out the pain for two hours I called poison control and told them what was happening. They instructed me to eat salty foods. I found some leftover beef stroganoff in my fridge that Rachel had left for me and started chowing down. Since I was by myself, the poison control center stayed on the phone with me for a half hour or so until I began to feel better. They explained what was happening to me as I waited. Basically I had diluted the water in my body so much that the concentration of salt (an electrolyte) had dropped to a dangerous level and was causing the cells in my body to swell. The cells in your brain are enclosed by your skull and when they swell and press against your skull, you get a headache and begin to feel light-headed.
So, my heart goes out to the three children who have no mother anymore because of the irresponsible stunt of a crummy radio show. Luckily I had a skilled poison control specialist and some of Rachel's delicious life saving beef stroganoff on hand or I could have faced a similar fate.
SAN ANTONIO
