No More Ranger Games

So, I knew about this book. I heard about it years ago, and I meant to read it, just never did. Well, I had some time recently, so I picked it up and gave it a shot. 

The beginning of the book was a walk down memory lane for me. It was fun to hear about all the training I went through and the challenges and the schools, from the point of view of this other private who had to do it in 2003 or 04. 

RIP, Airborne School, Infantry School, etc etc. Now, when I went through them, I didn't think they were "making me into a killer" the way that Blum tends to think of it. Sure, it was tough training, and they were conditioning me to be a better soldier, but "creating killers"  . . . hardly. 

Plus they make it sound as though I was a complete bad ass. Never really felt like that big a bad ass, but I guess I was. Looking back at it from this perspective, I was a tabbed out Ranger team leader and squad leader, a part of the Spec 4 Mafia for a time, a Bull or Buck Sergeant. Hell, I aced every school and them some. I was far more bad ass than I ever give myself credit for. 

I was very intrigued to find out how Blum was duped into being a get-away driver for a bank robbery without his knowing he was doing something wrong. There is a lot about the lifestyle at the Battalion and how Privates and non-Tabbed Rangers are treated by the Tabs. Hell, I had Specialist Taylor as my team leader. He was a crazy! He wasn't evil per se, but he was pretty damn mean. I remember going back to Battalion with my roommate and Duffy and Luker told me how when we were all new to Battalion how they had felt bad for me and the shit I had to put up with from Taylor. 

The good news is that Taylor was counter-balanced by Johnson. Sergeant Johnson, he who had his scrotum ripped open during Pre-Ranger and kept moving forward and completed the land nav course despite the pain, was a consummate professional. Plus Sergeant DeNova was a great squad leader. I wonder now how much they kept Taylor in check. BUT, the big question was, for me going into this book, would I have been a get-away driver for Taylor and Buck?

I don't think I would have. 

I got to a part in the book where I gave up. I remember hearing this or reading it years ago and even back then I gave up on the story. 

At one point Private Blum is asked to drive his team leader to the bank. So, of course he says yes. When he gets into the car there are others in the back seat. Three others. They're all wearing black fatigues. As he drives he looks in the back seat and sees that they have weapons. 

That's where it all falls apart for me. 

I can see that a Ranger private would sit there quietly while a bunch of tabbed out Ranger leaders are in the back seat with weapons. That I could see. But the second they got out of the car, I'm moving out and finding a pay phone or a place to call the police. Blum even sits there and watches them cross the street and enter the bank with weapons. Sorry, I don't buy that. Even I who was in daily fear of Taylor, if he had gone and robbed a bank, I'm ducking out and calling the cops. 

Then again, I was 22 or 23 and Blum was 19. Even if he was a dupe, he should have exfiled ASAP and called the police. Gave up on the book right there. No amount of brainwash can account for people running into a bank with weapons loaded and just hanging out there to give them a drive away afterward. 

No More Ranger Games

So, I knew about this book. I heard about it years ago, and I meant to read it, just never did. Well, I had some time recently, so I picked it up and gave it a shot. 

The beginning of the book was a walk down memory lane for me. It was fun to hear about all the training I went through and the challenges and the schools, from the point of view of this other private who had to do it in 2003 or 04. 

Friends Again?

I got to go out to lunch the other day with an old friend. We used to be quite close, but life and times and work have driven us apart lately. Still, it was nice to see them. 

What I found funny was that they kept saying "they wished we saw one another more." I thought that was funny if only because I'm right here. Not going anywhere. Haven't gone anywhere. It's on them to make it happen. In fact I had been the one to invite them out for lunch or coffee multiple times, they had been the one who canceled on me all those times. 

Most Recent First Line

When I first read Tom Clancy's books, I think I was in college, I skipped Red Storm Rising. Jack Ryan isn't in it. Where's the central character? This is now my second time to read it, and although sure I miss Jack Ryan as a central character, but man, oh man is it ever a great story. 

Regardless, it's my time to read for fun, and I'm in the midst of a "series" jam . . . Hackett's, WEB Griffin, etc etc. So I read Hunt for Red October last month. This month, book 2 by Clancy, Red Storm Rising. 

Partial Success?

The goal was to run a fun run a month for a year. I think I didn’t make August. Who knew it was so hard to find a fun run during August in Houston. But I did two in September (I think), two in October (I’m pretty sure) and I have three weeks left if I’d like to do three in December. 

The one I just did was interesting. First, I know a bad run when I see it. This was a bad one. There’s just one thing I need to see to determine if it’s a bad run. If they say, “10K runners will do two laps” then it’s gonna be a bad run. It was even worse than that though. 

I came in 6th in the 40 to 49 year old group. Strangely, I could have won the 50 year old group. I only have 6 months till that would be my group. 

I love all the families who do runs. . . But I hate when I’m on my second lap and all those walkers are taking up the whole race route. It’s not hard to stay to the right folks. Also, CityCenter. UGH! Why?!?!? There’s no parking, and what is there is $5 per hour. Additionally, none of the shops are open that early. There are no breakfast joints, no donuts, no coffee places. So why do a race there? It’s a mess from a race organization perspective. 

Still it wasn’t a bad run. I wanted to go out fast in the first 5K then just survive the second 5K. I did. Strangely, I got the exact same time as the last 10K. I thought those last three miles would slow me down significantly, . . . It didn’t. At least not as much as I thought it might. 

All in all I think I’ll do the same challenge next year. Maybe I’ll say I have to do 6 of them out of town. That might make it more fun!

Ever Evolving Concept Map

 Really, it's not just an ever-evolving concept map . . . it's an ever-evolving dissertation and dissertation topic. 

If there is one thing I'll remember from this dissertation process, is that it's really just a process of refinement and narrowing. Everyone tends to start with grand ideas and over the course of time it keeps getting whittled and whittled and whittled down. 

When I first started I wanted three points of comparison, VR vs gamification vs spaced practice. Which technique is "best" for adult learners (What an idiot I was then).

This is WAY too ambitious and muddled I now know. 

Next, it was comparing CBT to CBT with VR and CBT with VR and emotional videos. This is still fairly close to what I'm doing. But really what I learned from my meeting with Dr. Kang yesterday is that I need to have an overwhelming and intense focus in all my writing just on VR with emotional video. You'll see it's now the center and primary block of the concept map. 

Now I have to go and re-write the dissertation (that I think stands at 25K words and almost 70 pages) and refocus it around just emotional videos with VR. 

Lot of lot of work.