I side with....

Election year again (already?) and therefore time for another of those polls to see which presidential candidates I agree with. I like this one because it lets you give more than just Yes/No answers.

Mitt Romney - 90% on domestic policy, foreign policy, economic, healthcare, immigration, and environmental issues.
Ron Paul - 66% on domestic policy, immigration, social, and environmental issues.
Barack Obama - 65% on foreign policy, economic, science, and social issues.
Gary Johnson - 63% on domestic policy, healthcare, and environmental issues.
Virgil Goode - 30% on domestic policy and healthcare issues.
Jimmy McMillan - 19% on no major issues.
Jill Stein - 18% on no major issues.
Stewart Alexander - 4% on no major issues.
Connecticut Voters - 44% on social issues.
American Voters - 59% on social and environmental issues.

90% Republican
65% Democratic
64% Libertarian
18% Green

Immigration: I side the most with Mitt Romney and Ron Paul on 94% of immigration issues.
Science: I side the most with Barack Obama on 80% of science issues.
Healthcare: I side the most with Mitt Romney on 100% of healthcare issues.
Domestic Policy: I side the most with Mitt Romney on 95% of domestic policy issues.
Foreign Policy: I side the most with Mitt Romney on 90% of foreign policy issues.
The Economy: I side the most with Mitt Romney on 91% of economic issues.
Social: I side the most with Ron Paul on 92% of social issues.
The Environment: I side the most with Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney on 96% of environmental issues.

30 years

30 years ago today - 11 Mar 1982 - I started a whole new life.

That was the day I reported in to Recruit Training Command, NTC Great Lakes IL, to begin boot camp: Six weeks of non-fun that would transform me from a civilian into a sailor.

A little over 21 1/2 years later, I transferred to the Fleet Reserve, and in just a few short weeks I will officially retire.

Somehow it just doesn't seem possible that 30 years have gone by already. Some of that time was fun (Scotland, Gibraltar, Slovenia); some wasn't ("Vulcan death watch" drill sets, being racked out for training, weeks at sea after 9/11 wondering when we would get to go home). All in all, I'm a lot older now, and I hope a little wiser.

And yes, I'd do it again.


An old shipmate linked to this video on Facebook a few days ago. It's a nicely done view of what life is like for a submariner (with a little SEAL action at the end).

Ultimate Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz

I got %60.7798165137615

on the

Ultimate Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz!

Hue test

According to this test, one out of 255 women and one out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency. Try the test - arranging differently coloured blocks according to their hue - and see how well you do. A perfect score is 0; I got 13.


H/T to Jenny.

House colour

You Should Live in a Blue House

You are an intense thinker, but you also have a calm about you. You spend a lot of time ruminating, trying to figure out this world you live in. Friends think you're wise, and they come to you first for advice. You are a realist, and you tell it like it is - even if how it is isn't pretty.

What Color House Should You Live In?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Anybody have some blue paint?

TBR

The current status of my TBR shelf:

Vet in the Vestry - memoirs, by Alexander Cameron *
Quartered Safe out Here - WWII memoirs, by George MacDonald Fraser
Other Worlds Than Ours - SF (short stories), by Nelson Bond
African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity - palaeoanthropology, by Chris Stringer
Terra: Our 100-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem - and the Threats That Now Put It at Risk - palaeontology, by Michael J Novacek
Northrop Hall - historical fiction, by Margaret Bacon
Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human - palaeoanthropology, by Chip Walter
Owls Well That Ends Well - mystery, by Donna Andrews
Everybody Sees the Ants - YA, by A S King
Poultry in the Pulpit - memoirs, by Alexander Cameron
The White Dragon - SF, by Anne McCaffrey *

(The two books marked by asterisks are rereads.)

Which action hero would you be?

After his family was murdered by the evil emperor Commodus, the great Roman general Maximus went into hiding to avoid Commodus's assassins. He became a gladiator, hoping to dominate the colosseum in order to one day get the chance of killing Commodus. Maximus is valiant, courageous, and dedicated. He wants nothing more than the chance to avenge his family, but his temper often gets the better of him.

Maximus ------------------ 67%
William Wallace ---------- 63%
Batman, the Dark Knight -- 58%
Indiana Jones ------------ 58%
Captain Jack Sparrow ----- 54%
The Amazing Spider-Man --- 46%
Lara Croft --------------- 46%
Neo, the "One" ----------- 38%
The Terminator ----------- 33%
James Bond, Agent 007 ---- 29%
El Zorro ----------------- 8%

Obama

Barack is very disappointed with me!


I only scored 21 on the Obama Test

What office supply are you?

You Are a Post-it

You have a good memory. Your memory is so good, in fact, that it can be down right annoying at times. You don't mean to nag, but you like to remind people what they're supposed to be doing. You may be a bit of a pest, but you're awfully cute. So no one minds it all too much when you pop up. You would make a good manger, salesperson or attorney. You can cram a lot of info into that head of yours.

What Office Supply Are You?

"Manger"? I hope they mean "manager"! I'd make a terrible salesperson - you have to like people a whole lot better than I do (or at least be much better than I am at pretending you like people) in order to be a good one. And I think I feel insulted at being told I'd make a good lawyer....

Get a job

You Are a Cartographer

You have a wide range of knowledge and you're very detail oriented. You have a photographic memory, and you remember places very well. Like a middle ages cartographer, you're also very adventurous and curious about the world. In modern times, you would make a good non-fiction writer or scientist.

What's Your Medieval Profession?

The ideal island vacation

Your Ideal Vacation is Prince Edward Island

On an island vacation, you'd really like to immerse yourself and get to know the locals. You enjoy the idea of spending time in a small, remote locale... especially a beautiful one. Whether you're sipping tea or enjoying the beautiful countryside, Prince Edward Island is perfect for you. It's so authentic and homey, you won't mind that you're not in the tropics.

What's Your Ideal Island Vacation?

That's actually a good answer - PEI is high on my list of places I'd like to visit. (Malta is another island I'd love to visit.)

Been there, done that

Map Legend: 8%, 23 of 263 Territories

Home

USS Olympia (SSN 717) 1983-1989

USS Simon Lake (AS 33) 1989-1992

USS Jacksonville (SSN 699) 1993-1995

USS Providence (SSN 719) 1998-2003

© worldmapmaker.com Travel Insurance

Holes

There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge: No Gaps! Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge: Philosophy Religion Economics Literature History Science Art

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

I get around

• Create your own travel map or travel blog


• Travel Info at TripAdvisor

How British...?

You Are 50% British

Congrats, mate. You're are probably British. (If not, definitely Australian. Or Kiwi. Or Canadian.) You enjoy most aspects of mainstream British culture, without being stereotypical about it. You also have a typical British temperament. You wouldn't dream of being impolite.

How British Are You?

X years ago

A meme: What were you doing 2, 5, 10 and 15 years ago?

2 years ago: Same thing I'm doing now - working at the store. Big difference then was that I had a computer with a working modem at home, so I didn't have to visit the library every time I wanted to do something on-line.

5 years ago: Happily unemployed. I'd just transferred to the Fleet Reserve a couple weeks before, so I was enjoying some time off whilst looking for a new job.

10 years ago: USS Providence (SSN 719). I'd returned home from deployment (Gulf and Med) a month and a half earlier, and was doing routine work aboard the boat.

15 years ago: USS Jacksonville (SSN 699). I'd gotten married a month before, and was still waiting for N to finish up affairs in CT and move down to Norfolk.

And just because I can, 20 years ago: USS Olympia (SSN 717). I was on my second WestPac, somewhere in the general vicinity of Japan.

If you read this, consider yourself tagged....

Kevin Bacon

I finally got around to figuring out my relationship with Kevin Bacon.

I went to high school with Connie Brazelton*, who spent several years on the cast of ER with Noah Wyle, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.

Three.

* Yes, I knew her to talk to - she wasn't just somebody I might have passed in the halls.

What military aircraft are you?

What military aircraft are you? EA-6B Prowler You are an EA-6B. You are sinister, preferring not to get into confrontations, but extract revenge through mind games and technological interference. You also love to make noise and couldn't care less about pollution.

Click Here to Take This Quiz

Five years

Five years ago today - 11 Sep 2003 - I put on my utilities for the last time, went down to the boat, had my checkout interview with the captain, and went on terminal leave.

I was off the boat by 0930 - something I could never have done on Jax, where the skipper refused to give checkout interviews before 1630. (I had to wait until about 1650 - the bull nuke was transferring the same day, so he got the 1630 slot.)

I miss the other two-thirds of my pay, having 30 days leave a year, and the travel. And there are occasional days at work when those six-month deployments don't really seem all that bad. But it's nice being home with my family every night....

Together again

Went down to Virginia for a friend's wedding a few weeks ago. She was one of my flatmates when we were stationed in Scotland; our other flatmate was there, too, so I made sure to get a photo. He and I are a bit larger, she's rather smaller, and I'm a lot greyer.

Hard to believe it's 19 years since we met.