EthanD - Off the Record

The Mall

I went to the Park City mall today to visit my favorite store there, Eastern Mountain Sports, alas when I arrived it was not in it’s usual place. In it’s customary spot there was an apple store being built. I was sad to not see my favorite store but my sadness was much asuaged by the coming Apple store :-)

After wandering a bit more we discovered that Eastern Mountain sports had moved to the Boscov side.

Now I know that there are two, count them two! awesome stores at the mall that I can purchase high quality, over priced, really cool stuff at :-)

I returned with a new techwick EMS t-shirt and that deserves a w00t!

Derek Webb

Derek Webb rocks, and if you don’t know who he is then google him. He is a musician who has revolutionizing the music industry, he’s a christian and he has awesome music. He’s pretty much the only popular “christian” musician that I listen to.

He created the website NoiseTrade.com where you can download music legally and pay what you want or just recommend a few friends listen to it.

Anyway Derek Webb is going to be live in concert on August 17th at Calvary Church in Souderton PA. Cost is 15$ at the door. Now the question is, should I go, or would the concert experience ruin my internet relationship with his music. Now I know how all the online dating people feel. Am I ready to take the next step and meet?

Help me internet friends, help me decide. My fate is in your hands.

The Changing Face of Government

A few weeks ago I was moving Sammy D from Temple university. En route it seems my license plate fell off my trailer and some kind soul found it and took it to the local Aston Police Department.

How did I learn about this? Well I got a facebook message from the officer on duty saying he found it and what happened.

How awesome is that!

Canoeing through Lancaster

Yesterday my lovely wife and I had a grand adventure. Alas no pictures because I left the camera at home.


We hopped in a canoe and proceeded to paddle roughly 30 mile through the heart of Lancaster, right through the city, under 23, 462, 272, 741. It was fun, tiring and created quite the sunburn let me tell ya.


Probably the neatest thing was to see the places I have driven near hundreds of times, but this time I was seeing them from a different perspective. Who knew such elegant mansions and drab slums could share the same river and only be separated by a few tenths of a mile.


The more I get out and enjoy nature the more I become a environmentalist. Something about paddling past and through the various sewers emptying into the river will do that to you. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for good clean sewage, it helps things to grow, but what I’m not for is the white bubbling mass that covers sections of the river and hisses and steams as you paddle through it. We did get to see hundreds of ducks, kingfishers, herons, I saw a fawn, but none of these animals were anywhere near the sewer runoff. Coincidence?

First female 4 star general

Read about it at Defense Link

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2008 – President Bush today nominated Army Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody for promotion, which, pending Senate approval, would make her the first woman to be a four-star officer in U.S. history.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced the president’s nomination of Dunwoody as the commander of Army Materiel Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., in a news release published today by the Defense Department.

Dunwoody, who has served in several command positions since her Army commission in 1975, including her current role as the Army’s deputy chief of staff for logistics, is one of five women now fulfilling three-star flag officer duties.

In 1970, Col. Anna Mae Hays blazed the trail when she became chief of the Army Nurse Corps, achieving the highest rank — brigadier general — of any woman servicemember at the time. But as Dunwoody’s pending promotion underscores, the role of women in the U.S. military has expanded significantly since then.

Fifty-seven active-duty women and 47 female reservists wear stars on their shoulders in the armed forces. Moreover, roughly 194,000 women make up 14 percent of all active duty forces. Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 193,400 women have deployed in support of U.S. operations.

The casualty figures of current conflicts provide a thumbnail sketch of a force structure that increasingly depends on women in combat zones. Ninety-seven women have died in Iraq, and 585 others have suffered injuries there, according to Defense Department statistics.

If confirmed by the Senate, Dunwoody would command the teams of soldiers, civilians and contractors responsible for providing materiel readiness and development, new technology, acquisition support and logistics.

In my younger days, back when I knew everything, I argued against women in the military, stating that it would hinder men in the military from doing there job and that generally speaking (no pun intended) men are stronger than women therefore women would be a risk in the battlefield.

Over the years my position has changed 180 degrees. While yes generally men are stronger (hence men’s and women’s Olympics) brute strength isn’t necessary for combat. I also have have read reports of women in combat and the men aren’t hindered from doing there job. So in essence I was wrong and my ideas were influenced more by my sexist bias than the facts of the matter.

I applaud the courage and service of women in the military and I am very thankful for their contribution to our armed services. And now we have a 4 star general, the highest rank (under commander in chief) in the military. You go girls :-)

Local PA Filmaker talks tech and movie making

Watch this video at LancasterOnline.com

It’s short and “Harvest Moon” sounds like a good movie. To read more about the movie itself visit RedOrbit

Prince Caspian

When the world of Narnia hit the big screen I wasn’t that big a fan. Lion Witch and the wardrobe was decent but not, in my ever so humble opinion, amazing.

But enough about LWATW, Prince Caspian was terrific! I though the tenor of the book was captured and communicated well. There were the to be expected deviations from the book but hey that’s how directors feel creative.

The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. Sheesh did they have to turn it into a “Disney movie” complete with a fairy tale song and smooching.

In summery, the movie was great the ending was not.

What did you think of the ending?

at longs park listening to bluegrass

watching prince caspian, the theatre is still packed

my top score so far is 8340 in pork invaders http://apps.facebook.com/porkinvaders/

going to see Bruce and the E Street band in Hershey for my mom’s birthday in August w00t!