Back when I was your age

November 30, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

I’ve been noticing things on the news. They are changing society and that’s all well and good, but they are also changing the phrases we will use when we get old. Like Pluto not being a planet anymore. (Should I capitalize pluto still?) That leads you to “Back when I was your age, Pluto was still a planet!”
Yesterday I saw in the news a recent study that sitting up straight is bad for your back. Enter, “Back when I was your age, sitting up straight was good for ya!”
What’s next?

Popularity vs. Competence

November 28, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Here is an article if you haven’t seen one already stacking up the most popular politicians 1-20. They can’t exactly poll presidential hopefuls because not too many are officially running yet. But that’s what this is.

So, disregarding popularity and looking to competence, here’s who should throw their hat in the ring.

Phil Jackson
Tom (from MySpace)
Whoever is responsible for the iPod

It does make me smile though to see Kerry dead last on the list.

Judah

November 27, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A couple hours old

Playing hide and seek

Yay for birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Judah! We look forward with anticipation to watch you grow. You are such a joy. Maybe you could ease up on the eating though. Daddy doesn’t have time for a second job right now! We love you so much!

Love, Daddy and Momma

Irony

November 26, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Yes recruiters have an associated stigma. We lie. Recruiters are liars. That’s the reputation that is out there.

**disclaimer, I don’t lie to applicants, or parents, or influencers. First, it’s wrong. As a Christian I believe it is wrong, and as an Airman I believe in integrity. Second, it would be counter-productive, because these kids come back after tech school and talk to their buddies. So if I had lied to them, they would come back and tell everyone I’m a liar, business goes way down. Third, it would be futile. The internet has all the information you need (if you look hard enough) to answer your questions about the military. I get it all the time where a kid comes in and asks questions he already knows the answers to, just to see if I’ll lie to him.**

So I’m making phone calls to recent high school graduates to see if they might be interested in joining, and people lie to me. I don’t think they actually appreciate the irony either, that they are lying to a recruiter. I call this kid the other day, we’ll call him Johnny. Sister picks up the phone and I ask if Johnny is there, she says yeah, hang on one minute. Then she walks over to Johnny and tells him he has a phone call, he asks who it is, she tells him it’s some guy from the Air Force. He tells her to tell me that he isn’t there. She puts the phone back up to her ear and tells me that he is still sleeping and can she take a message. I told her that my message would have been for her to tell Johnny that the Air Force called, but since she already told him that, she doesn’t need to bother taking another message. Moral of the story is. . . if you are going to lie to the person on the other end of the phone, either hit the mute button or cover up the mouthpiece when you’re talkin’ to Johnny.

November 23, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

We had a great Thanksgiving. The food- great, the family and friends- great, the not having to do clean-up of anything after I finish my meal because it is a Hubbard family tradition (the men are on clean up) – totally awesome. It was so nice to sit after we had eaten and not do a thing. My husband rocks! The men did an amazing job- all the food was put away, dishes washed, dried and also put away.

So, yup, if anyone asks you if there is a God you can answer “yes there is” because you saw these pictures. There actually was a kitchen full of men doing post-Thanksgiving clean-up. I have it so good ….Andrea

All the Rage

November 21, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

We are so fashion-forward here at the Hubbard house. Watch for this on all the spring runways…..Andrea

Sites set on the Military

November 21, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

I’m sure that whatever company you work for, you notice when they are in the news. So I notice when Congress starts talking about the military. Here’s a couple of things to pop in your Google News browser:

Military Draft (also, see yesterday’s post below)
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Pentagon guidelines Homosexuality
Bring Troops Home

Should be an interesting session in Congress.

One response you absolutely must read is what Jack Army had to say about leaving the fight in the Middle East. I agree.

First round draft

November 20, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Democrat representative Charles Rangel of N.Y. says that he will propose legislation for the implementation of a draft. Now, while I think that will never happen, a few things have come out of this statement. From what I can tell, most people are against a draft, some people are for it completely. And there is a rising majority that are calling for a mandatory service obligation. I’ve seen several different descriptions of such an obligation but most follow along these lines, with little variation. After graduation of high school, all mentally and physically stable graduates (or 18 year olds, whichever comes later) would be required to serve their country in some capacity for a minimum of 2 years. Service options would include any of the military branches, federal hospitals, and service oriented organizations like Americorps, or Peacecorps. A short list could be developed of legitimate organizations to choose from. After their service is complete, they can choose to stay on with said organization, or be given a college grant and encouraged to follow an academic route. Personally one change I would make is to nix the senior year of high school. Stop the average senior on the street and they will tell you that they are only taking 1 or 2 required classes. Furthermore, they typically have 1 or 2 study halls during their junior year. So realistically, they could start at 17, be done at 19 and move on to college. Also, during the 2 year service time, they could very easily achieve the same education they would have received during 1 year as a freshman in college. Those introductory core classes could still be taught part time, and in context of real life. How many students graduate college, but don’t know how to file a tax return or supervise a group of subordinates. Believe me, as one who has and is taking college on the side. It would not be difficult to finish 1 years worth part time in 2 years. So, now we are left with a 19 year old ready for his sophomore year of college, but also has given back to his country. What do you think. Should there be a Full Military Draft, a Limited Service Obligation, or no change whatsoever?

the Box Store children

November 19, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Where I live it’s popular to hate what they call “box stores” (for those of you who like me didn’t know what that means, a box store is one like Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, any corporate franchise store). The local issue with these stores is that they tend to drive out small businesses. Now here’s my problem. If you hate them so much. . . STOP SHOPPING THERE. Because I do want to shop there and you’re taking all the good parking spaces and clogging up the aisles. Either tell me that you don’t like them, think they are evil and choose to stay away; or tell me that you do like them and go. And you know what, I like small businesses. I really do. And if a small business sells a product that I like better than a similar product sold at a large retail store, I will buy it at the small business. Key words being, “that I like better”. A great big plus about small stores is that you can build a sense of community and establish a relationship with the proprietor/workers. I like that. So be creative and offer a product that I’m looking for. These big stores have been around for a while. They aren’t going away, that much is obvious, so adapt your small business accordingly. And another tip, make sure your customers feel welcome and make sure your workers are establishing those relationships. It’s the only advantage you have and the main reason most people will continue to come back. Of course, feel free to agree or disagree. Looking forward to your opinion.

Poem

November 18, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

I (Daniel) listen to a lot of preaching/forum speaking by Christian apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias of RZIM. He quotes a poet by the name of Steve Turner and I want to share his writing. Here it is.

CREED

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don’t hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything’s getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated.
You can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in horoscopes,
UFO’s and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha
Mohammed and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
his good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation sin heaven hell God and salvation.

We believe that after death comes The Nothing
because when you ask the dead what happens
they say Nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it’s compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What’s selected is average.
What’s average is normal.
What’s normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between
warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It’s only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth
that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds.

Steve Turner

Chuck Norris

November 17, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Most of us have seen the some of the Chuck Norris jokes flying around the internet. I recently came across a good compilation of them. I will post a few at a time regularly, so keep checking back.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can slam revolving doors.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity – twice.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris

College

November 15, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I’m in a theology class. I never knew how fine a point a theologian can whittle, but my goodness. There are some razor sharp kind of fine points out there. And ideas that differ on so many levels. Not just am I right and are you wrong, but rather you are right, but I am right’er’. It is interesting stuff though that gets you thinking on a whole new level. Which is what I really love about taking college courses (besides not having to pay for it because I’m active duty) the fact that no matter what course you are taking, if it forces you to think on a higher level than you are used to, it benefits you in so many ways. I believe that the capacity to learn is a perishable thing, and if not exercised regularly, it is in grave danger of being lost.

The cold harsh truth

November 15, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Okay, so we love the Air Force. We really do. We love living in new places, meeting new friends, the sense of community that comes with being a part of the military, even the hard stuff is worth being “Air Force”. That being said,…Recruiting sucks. Bad. As Daniel says to me all the time: “Welcome to recruiting, check your family at the door.” A truer statement has never been spoken.
Sorry if I offended any of you recruiters out there who love your job (ha!!). Whew! I feel better, maybe there is something to this blogging thing… Andrea

Blogging from the trenches

November 14, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Recruiting is harder than a deployment. But it’s good to come home to my family. At the end of the day I have the best family waiting for me. Tonight I had a few minutes to play with my daughter before she went to bed.

We got to play with frogs. . .

Do some (weighted) push ups. With Eve calling out “up”, “down”, “up”. . .

half Daddy, half Mama, all Eve.

RockArt Red -a review

November 12, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments

RockArt Brewery – American Red

I really like red ales. I generally lean towards dark rich beers, but when I’m in the mood for something lighter that still has good flavor I reach for a red. This is a thinner beer that poured clear and dark with almost no head, but a wonderful shade of red. There is nothing about this beer that is distinctive to taste. But it’s complexity lies in that it has a thin, clear consistency with a dark and full flavor. No bitterness or aftertaste to speak of. Very good as reds go. 3.5 out of 5.