RAIDERS OF THE LOST TOELESS SQUIRREL

What is an artifact?

"A cultural artifact is an man-made object which gives information about the culture of its creator and users. The artifact may change over time in what it represents, how it appears and how and why it is used as the culture changes over time." Thank you Wikipedi.

A tradition that has blossomed in the circle of friends I share, is that of the artifact. I will speak about the specifics of this in a moment. We have taken some mundane, albeit weird items, and turned them into artifacts. This one tradition has really raised the bar on the social group as a whole because it has allowed us to capture the art of storytelling and the passing along of historical events for us as a group.

Many groups of friends reminence on the past, as we do, in social gatherings at different times. What really started out as a joke has raised the bar on this event and given it a life of its own.

It all started with the Ass-Tray. Now many groups do gag gifts for Christmas and our group does the same, but about 3 years ago Little Scott, gave as a gift a ash-tray that was formed out of the cloven hoove of a animal. That then became the tradition to pass the Ass-Tray to another guy-nite member each year. Then we come to the toeless squirrel. A stuffed animal that consitantly loses a toe each year(now we break off a toe during the party).

This year we did 2 things, we added one more artifact to the growing list, and a new tradition. The Duck of Doom, a mounted duck with some omen of disaster attached to it. We also added the rule that whomever has an artifact must add a story to it and improve it in some way before the next years gathering.

I shared all this to just say this simple item.


Stories are the best way of resharing important and fun events in your life and I think the best thing we did as a group was add these artifacts to continue to grow and evolve our group of friends.


Dont you wish your friends had an Ass-Tray?


Safe Hunting

TOP TEN OF 2005
Christmas has come and gone and it has been a real treat this year. Things I normally would have taken for granted I stopped and "smelled the roses" to use an oft quoted verse. I have lingered at Christmas lights and went to Christmas sales (Even though I have developed a real dislike for crowds since I have been home). I have sat and looked at squirrels running along fence tops, and drank eggnog and listened to Christmas carols.

I have hugged my kids more and yelled less. I have lazed around the house and went out less. I have spent some good quality time with friends and family and loved every minute of it. As we hit the end of the old year and the begining of the new we all like to reflect on the past. this is the time where all the radio stations and magazines and televisions shows like to recap and show the "Best Of" series. So in that vein I will conclude this blog entry with my top ten moments of 2005.


10. Participating in the Iraqi election day process.
9. Leaving Iraq and entering Kuwait
8. Leaving Kuwait and entering the United States
7. Seeing my family at Oklahoma the night we landed.
6. Driving my new truck for the first time.
5. Watching my son drive for the first time.
4. Watching my daughter dance again.
3. Meeting new friends.
2. Buying a new home, and watching Football in it.
1. Spending the holidays in Arkansas.


Now that we have dwelled on the past, we must set our sights on the future.

New Years Resolutions are a comin.


Safe Hunting

Quick Update

Of course having been awash in the Yule tide times, and with visting and work and all around holiday cheer, I have not been posting daily.

Hopefully it will all slow down and let me bore you with more stories soon.


safe hunting

WHEN I WAS JUST A BOY

Just last week we observed a solemn event, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the mark of America's entry into the Second World War. As I read the newspapers and saw the survivors gathering at Pearl to commerate the event, it occurred to me that these men have seen so may changes since that fateful day in our military and it inspired me to dig up a small "poem" if you will. I had written this a few months ago after Vet's Day and it is my view on the changes I have seen in the amount of time I have spent in the military.



When I was just a boy


I heard my Uncle call my name. I answered the call and swore an oath as an enlisted soldier to protect, and defend the constitution of the United States of America.
We wore black combat boots, green field caps in our fancy Battle Dress Uniforms.
We drove around in jeeps and we ate from the new MRE’s (4 choices) and our hot meals were called T-Rats.
We used a compass, a protractor, and a map to find out where we were and where we were going.
I receive my orders and write them down in book form to digest and to relay to other soldiers.
We teamed up with a buddy and slept in our shelter halves, in the woods, covered up in a wool blanket.
We shot the M16 using Kentucky Windage with a 1911 45 caliber on our hips. The M60 was the baddest mutha on your squad and sang a song everyone knew when she opened up.
We shot 82mm mortars from hillsides and the radios we carried were on our backs, good for about 2 miles of communication Lord Willing.
We saluted the flag
We saluted our veterans
And we saluted our country
Because we loved, honored, and respected all of them.


When I was a young man


I heard my Uncle call my name. I answered the call and swore an oath as an officer to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America.
We wore green combat boots, green boonie caps in my fancy BDU’s.
We drove around in Humvee’s and we ate from the new batch of MRE’s and our hot meals were meremited to us from the rear.
We used our maps, compasses, protractors as a backup to our GPS’s to find out where we were and where we were going.
I write orders on the back of a MRE cardboard box and issue them to soldiers in an informal setting.
We slept under the stars in a sleeping bag, in the woods with our poncho liner.
We shot our M16A2’s using adjustable sights with a 9mm Berretta on our hips. The M249 SAW was the new kid on the block and everyone wanted one.
We shot 60mm mortars in our platoons, from anywhere and the radios we carried were called Bricks, good for about 1 mile of communication Lord Willing.
We saluted the flag
We saluted our veterans
And we saluted our country
Because we loved, honored, and respected all of them.


Now I’m the Old Man


I still hear my Uncle calling my name. I answer the call and travel overseas to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America.
I wear Desert fatigues and digital camouflage, with black berets and my combat roll.
I drive around in up armored humvees (1114’s) with our gun turrets and limited AC and eat lots of chicken off of the local economy.
I still use my map, compass and protractor in addition to my GPS and Bluforce tracker, to find out where I am and where I am going.
I write novels on the computer to issue Orders to Companies to get them the things they need to survive.
I sleep under mortar fire in confiscated buildings or in pre fab housing on forward operating bases, covering myself with my nylon sleeping bag.
I shoot my M4, with the red dot scope and infrared sight. My 9mm on my shoulder is like a second skin. The 240B and the Mk 19 rain justice downrange against a cowardly enemy.
I communicate with Motorola’s and cell and sat phones instantly to almost anywhere. Computers are a vital part of the process.
We salute the flag
We are the veteran’s
We salute our country

Because we have fought, loved, bled and died for all of them.


Salute



Captain Scott Chamberlain
Gunslinger 4



Safe Hunting

A SOLDIERS VIEW OF THE GWOT (GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR)

I wont make a habit of reblogging, or cutting and pasting other articles or information on this site. I am content to provide a link to the material and you can navigate there on your own, if you wish. Todays post is an exception to this rule. Even though this message is aimed at Army Officers and Senior Enlisted, I would like to share this with you. I have long echoed many of the sentiments listed below and hope that during my initial time home, when I was on the local radio and newspapers, that my position on our efforts in Iraq (specifically that we do alot of good there that doesnt get reported enough) were linear with these.


"Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a summary of General Abizaid's comments to the Naval War College last week. General Abizaid, Commander in Chief, U. S. Central Command, spoke to an audience comprised primarily War College students who are mid-grade/senior military officers. The majority of these officers have served in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so there was a real understanding of the dynamics of the region.

A short summary of General Abizaid's comments, from contemporaneousnotes: He is amazed as he goes around the country and testifies before the Congress how many of our countrymen do not know or understand what we are doing or how we are doing. There are very few members of Congress who have ever worn the uniform (of our armed forces). He said that the questions he gets from some in Congress convince him that they have the idea that we are about to be pushed out of Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no relation between this and the reality on the ground.
As he goes around the region and talks to troops and junior officer he is very impressed by their morale and their achievements. They are confident that they are capable of defeating the enemy. You will never see a headline in this country about a school opening or a power station being built and coming on line, or a community doing well. Only the negative things will get coverage in the media. He told the mid-grade/senior officers to go to their local Lions Clubs when they go home and tell the people what they are doing. If they don't get the word out, the American people will not know what is really happening. The insurgency is in four of 18 provinces in Iraq, not all 18. You do not hear about the 14 provinces where there is
no insurgency and where things are going well. The insurgency in Afghanistan is primarily in Kandahar province (home of the Taliban) and in the mountain region on the Pakistani border. The rest of the country is doing well. Iraq now has over 200,000 soldiers/police under arms and growing. They are starting to eclipse the US/coalition forces. Their casualty rate is more than double that of the US. There are more than 70,000 soldiers under the moderate government in Afghanistan and growing. He predicted that the insurgencies in the four Sunni provinces in northern/central Iraq and in Southwestern Afghanistan will be there for the foreseeable future, but they will be stabilized and become small enough so the moderate governments will be able to keep them under control.
2006 will be a transition year in Iraq and that will see the Iraqi forces take much more of the mission from the US forces. This is necessary to bring stability to Iraq. We need to be fewer in numbers and less in the midst of the people for the moderate Iraqi government to succeed. Our primary enemy is not the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is Al Qaida and their ideology. We are at a period now that is similar to the 1920s where Communism and Nazism had not taken hold in Russia and Germany. The ideology of Al Qaida is out there and it has not taken hold in any country in the Middle East. We need to make sure that it does not and we are doing > that, but it will be a long problem with a long commitment. He said that we are focused on the things that we (Americans) have done wrong, like Abu Ghraib, and not talking about this enemy. We need to talk about this enemy. Al Qaida is all over the world. Their goal is to get
the US out of the region and come to power in the Islamic countries of the region. From there their goal is to establish a Caliphate (under a single Islamic ruler) that goes from the Atlantic in North Africa to Indonesia in the Pacific. Fifty years after this happens their goal is to rule the rest of the world.
Since Desert Storm in 1991 US forces have not lost any combat engagement in the region at the platoon level or above. Al Qaida has no beliefs that they can defeat us militarily. They see our center of gravity as being the will of the American People. That is influenced by the media and they are playing to that. They don't need to win any battles. Their plan is keep the casualties in front of the American people in the media for long enough that we become convinced that we can not win and leave the region. This would be tragic for our country. The battle against Al Qaida will not be primarily military. It will be political, economic, and ideological. It will require the international community to fight too. We must not let Al Qaida get hold in any country. It will result in our worst nightmare. Picture life in Afghanistan under the Taliban, that is what Al Qaida's ideology has as a goal.
If you look at the geography (of Al Qaida) there is no place to put a military solution. They are networked and they are all over the world. They are a virtual organization connected by the internet. They use it to proselytize, recruit, raise money, educate and organize. They have many pieces that we must focus on: the propaganda battle in the media, safe houses, front companies, sympathetic members of legitimate governments, human capital, fighters and leaders, technical expertise, weapons suppliers ideologically sympathetic non-government organizations (charities), financers, smugglers, and facilitators. A lot of their money comes from drugs.
We are winning but we have got to maintain constant pressure over time with the international community and across the US government agencies. No one is afraid that we can't defeat the enemy. Our troops have the confidence, the courage, and the competence. We need the will of the American people to be sustained for the long haul."


/Salute

Safe Hunting

GAMES I WANT TO PLAY

Now yesterday I talked about a couple of games in the pipe that looked good for future gameplay. Today I want to take that one step further and talk about some game ideas I would like to see developed.


5. Wild Wild West MMORPG: I would love to play an online game in the old west. I recently looked at the new video game, Gun. It has a lot of the elements an online game world would benefit from. Six guns at noon, pony express missions, bank robberies and gold digging. All of the elements of a good solid role playing game are there. With the popularity of television shows like Deadwood and the rich tapestry of the old west shown through television and movies this would be an outstanding addition to the choices offered for MMORPG's.


4. WWII MMORPG: I will be the first to admit that I love the history of WWII. It was one of my major study areas in college, and I even wrote a what if paper on Patton and a continued advance into Russia after the defeat of Germany. I would like to see a mixture of the new SWG system applied to WWII. Fight in vehicles, and be able to do missions, or fight on the front lines in a WOW Battlegrounds type zone. There was a failed attempt at this type of game a few years ago, and many of its problems were due to a rushed system with little to no support for their servers. Even with the pain and suffering many people experienced they still had a die hard fanbase until the bitter end of that game.


3. A Decent Marvel/DC Superhero game: I realize that 2 separate companies, (Sony for DC and Sigil for Marvel) are creating online versions of this game. I will be interested in seeing if they model themselves off of the City of Heroes character creation system or if they pull off something surprising. With such late offerings, quarter 4 2006 and 2007, I will be surprised if they pull a coup on COH. but anythings possible.


2. James Bond: Marshal, Field Marshal. Cue theme music. Well it would be hard to pull off but there would be so much fun in your gadget selection right down to the weapons play. Based in the 60's with some tongue in cheek, ala Noone Lives Forever or Austin Powers. One of the best action sequences ever created in a game like this belongs to NoOne Lives Forever. You start off trying to stop the Big Bad on the airplane and the next thing you know the planes is exploding and you are freefalling towards the earth. You have to skydive, sans parachute, and try to wrestle a chute away from one of the bad guys before you go ker-splat. Innovation would be key for this type of game. You could also put in an evil organization side for players such as City of Villains.

1. Zombies : Who doesnt love some post apocolyptic fun and games. Running around, last band of humans on earth just trying to get by without becoming a happy meal for a mob of zombies. Holding the mall against the hordes, trying to restore basic services. We all love zombies. Theres a whole slew of games from Resident Evil to the new Stubbs the Zombie, not to mention moives, tv, books. Bring on the deadites and lets throw down.


Well there you have it, my big MMORPG wish list, so if you are in tight with Santa this year, leave him this blog address so that he can get those elves crackin.



Safe Hunting

GIVE ME MY DIGITAL CRACK!

Now as much as I love playing EQ2, I am not so naive as to think that when some of the new MMORPG's come out that I wont be tempted to give them a test drive. And it could very well happen to be that I play it for a little bit and then see that I still love playing EQ2.


But today I thought we might visit some of the up and coming digital addicitons coming down the pike. Here are four titles worth watching.

4. Vanguard :Very compelling, I like the ideas that they have laid out and specifically, the idea that ships can be player owned (What can I say Im a pirate at heart) They seem to want to bring back the old corpse retrievals and I wouldnt be oppossed to that concept either. The whole world ala SWG seems to be the theme of the day and I think it can be pulled off, I just wonder how much dead space there will be between "areas". It definitly looks to be aimed at the hardcore player and that may be my biggest turn off. All in all it looks like it will be worth looking at seriously when the time comes for its release.


3. Dungeons And Dragons Online : Again it has a certain appeal to me, if only for nostalgia. I am not crazy about the graphic shots I have seen and Im not too crazy about only being able to go to level 10. But I will watch and wait and see where it goes. As the grandfather for High Fantasy it definitly has the petigree to expand a well know universe and game play mechanic.


2. Lord of the Rings Online : A curiosity really. I dont have enough information to make a judement on this one as of right now, they are keeping alot of details close to the hip. I dont know of any cool innovation or other gameplay marvel for this game, seems more like a virtual tour of Middle Earth than a long playing MMORPG.


1. Age Of Conan : Ok youve got my attention. Bar room brawls, a combination of Dark Ages of Camelot seige system. Everyone starts out as a commoner, till lvl 5 and you basically solo to level 20 making a name for yourself in the Online World. Im a big fan of the novels and funcom could be the one to pull this off. Definitly on the must try list. Also rumored (cant confirm) that levels one through 20 will be free, i.e. you dont pay a monthly subscription fee, once you hit 20 and go out into the big online world you start paying your fee.


Well thats a short list, and all of them bear looking at when the time comes, the bottom line will always be about online friends. I get my biggest enjoyment out of playing with my buddies and experiencing the "Adventure" with them. So until then keep your swords sharp and your mind sharper.


Safe Hunting

GET YOUR PAWS OFF ME YOU DAMN DIRTY APES!

So there I was, about to log off for the night from another fun time in EQ2 when I recieved a tell.

Blackrose: Hey brother want to go to SC?

Scotticus: Well I was about to log off but what the hell, sure....ummm....where and what exactly is SC?

Thus was the start of my exploration of a cool new zone, the Shimmering Citadel. I have been moping around somewhat going to the same place, killing the same things, and in general just going through the motions. Its always fun playing with friends but Ill be the first to admit, we have fallen into a rut and after attacking our first little epic dragon and exploring Naggys lair I was already having the time of my virtual life, but this was the icing on the cake.

Now Ill also be the first to admit I have developed a crutch for the EQ2 map program, it lets me see the whole zone and I make my plans accordingly. Shimmering Citadel is absent from the map program and although at first I was a tad bit discouraged, I immediatly got over that in the new oooh and aaahs in the zone.

That lasted a good 2 minutes until I fell to my death in a huge, hidden, crack in the floor. Well I say to my death, I actually lived for a good 30 seconds before the mobs attacked me and used me as a chew toy. I was rezzed and got the nickel tour from my good friend Blackrose, who proceeded to show me around and give me the lay of the land.

It was a hoot, a real Lawrence of Arabia, 1001 Arabian Nights type feel, Djinns and harem girls aplenty. And its all on a floating island chained to the ground. Real top notch ambiance.

The next night, I decided to research the access quest for SC and get the magic mirror, and the quest was alot of fun. Hawthorn, Kaerness and I ran through the quest in about 30 mins give or take and it was very well done. Later on in the day we added Garnock and Messinger to the quest and got them access as well. Which brings me to the title of this post.

You would think that as many hours I have playing the game I could keep from pressing the big red button of doom. Theres lots of shinies out there and it takes alot of my willpower not to examine and explore them.


Well the ole willpower button was broke that night. All I remember was,

Messinger: Hey guys the trees are glowing

Scotticus: Ooh pretty

Well needless to say I touched the trees, and out dropped Unruly Monkeys. Not the loveable, laughable Orangatangs named Clyde, but ticked off, poop flinging simians. It was monkey mayhem, as they proceeded to pelt me with thier feces and berate me in monkey speak. it was a moment of pure chaos and I loved it. Fortunatly the monkey rebellion was crushed and order was restored to the palace grounds of the Djinn Master.

I invite you to tour the grounds with me in the future and we shall see what else we can shake out of those trees.


Ooohh whats this button do?



Click

AM I A CLOSET SADIST?

I have played alot of games, I have seen games evolve from simple text based adventures to the graphically beautiful MMORPG's that we play now. I have played every major Massivly Multiplayer Online game, with the exception of Ultima Online and have seen a widespread methodology in regards to content and gameplay. Some games have been ridiculously easy while some have been mind numbingly hard. But the games that were super easy do not have the same place in my memory as the ones that were hard in which I overcame a huge obstacle.

EQ2 is becoming too easy.

Now a little while back I tried the 10 day free trial of World of Warcraft, and I found it to be very easy. No debt penalty for dying, you turn into a little ghost thing and run back and get your body. Armor might be dinged up a little but what the heck, money is cheap and so are the women. (Rimshot) But overall I thought the game to be awesome for super casual players.

I am not a super casual player.

I used to be hardcore, I played too much for my own good I might add. In EQ1 I binged several nights, too late, up for work too early, all in the quest for the almighty gold dollar, the thrill of the kill, and the hunt. As a ranger in EQ1 I ran my buttocks all over Norrath, slinging arrows and training mobs. And the death penalty in EQ1 was a doozy. Die too close to your level, DING, delevel. I was level 50 about 6 times. Not only did you risk losing your new level, you also left all of your equipment on your corpse. So if you wanted to ever see that shiny bow and arrow set again you had to go get your body, regardless where it was. Some nights after a particularly bloody dragon raid gone awry, we spent hours trying to get everyones body back. It was fricking gruesome, and something I dreaded.

Cleanup on Ailse 6 of Nagafens Lair.

But there was a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the adventure. It all translated into virtual Risk vs. Reward.

Today I would call myself a hardcore casual player, I know its confusing, but I say this because I can play for 5 days in a row, take 7 days off and still be happy playing. Now I have been playing EQ2 for one year this month and I have seen it evolve, mostly in a good way. But the last patch is making me wonder. Patch 17 has completely trivialized death, its a step away from WOW as it stands right now. To tell you the truth, I miss the shard recovery. Even though it was not as bad as EQ1, there was still a sense of danger involved in trying to recover your shard. if you died in the wrong place, you could spend alot of time trying to get your shard, and make you rethink about what the hell were you doing there in the first place. (Lavastorm anyone, Rivervale...Bueller....Bueller?)

Now I die, and boom Im playing Doom, Repop, no body to get, everything is coming up rainbows. I do get a minor xp debt, but its trivial really. Wheres the challenge? Where is the risk vs. reward? Where are my pants? Doh!

Now I realize that I am one voice and some people who will like this new added casualness to fit thier super casual gameplaying lifestyle (Cough Cough Jfrag Cough Cough) But I want my digital pain back. I want yell and stomp and bang my head on the table when we wipe on a dragon. I want Corpse recovery missions.


But I dont want to be a Ranger in EQ1 anymore. Im not that big of a sadist.


Safe Hunting

JUST ONE MORE REASON TO SACRIFICE GOATS

Well the big day is upon us, tommorow on CBS, we will see one of the great sports rivalries that still exist. The Army/Navy game is more than a football game. To anyone that watches it, the game is a huge source of pride between the two branches. During a time when our nation is at war it holds even more significance. These young men are more than college sportsmen, they are militarily obligated to commision as Lieutenants in thier respective branches.

They play for the men and women overseas who are fighting for all of us here in the states, and they play for fallen teammates who have paid the ultimate price in the war on terror. They honor this sacrifice by playing for the men and women overseas now, dedicating thier play to them and the hardships they endure. This time next year most of them will have this role reversed, being a platoon leader or a section leader in the Army, Navy or Marine Corp.

This pureness of gameplay, is something special. Something you dont get from any other college football game.

Sitting overseas, in a dust storm at 300 am in the morning I watched the football game last year. Seeing the game sparked pride in the Army, (even though we lost) and lifted morale a little higher. Its a wonderful thing to see.

So this year, I will watch from the comfort of my home, at the future leaders of our branches fighting for the Commanders Cup and I say a silent prayer for them and the road they have chosen.


GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!!