OK, what is wrong with people? How on earth do you open a store at 4:00AM for shopping?
Drugstores, OK. Grocery stores, I guess. But... department stores?
I admit, only one ad I saw had a 4:00AM opening. But two more had 5:00AM openings. Why?!?!?
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
What do you want?
I know what I want.
What do I want that I have a chance of getting? Ah, now that's a much harder question.
When people ask you 'what do you want?' what do you say? "Yeah, sure, I'd like super powers. I'd like to be a billionaire/an astronaut/a rockstar/..."
Or do you say "I don't know"? Because you know what you want, but you can't have it, and even admitting what you really want to someone else can be terrifying?
And then there's the things we want that we can have, but we wish we couldn't.
Poor, poor Lexy. And, of course, coming full circle on George and a-girl-named-Grey.
Yeah, I'm talking about Grey's Anatomy. What did you think I was talking about?
OK, fine, I was talking about both Grey's and me. Quite often they're the same. You think I watch the show for the blood? I've seen blood. I've done procedures in an OR. I've watched skin grafts. I'd rather I hadn't watched skin grafts, but I still have the bragging rights.
No, I watch the show because its about me.
Yes, it isn't about me. Shonda and the other writers don't know I exist, and aside from being glad I'm a viewer wouldn't care if they did know. Ditto the actors, the entire production staff, and the ABC network.
But it is, still, about me. Some of the people on that show are almost as real to me as Denny is to Izzy. Reality is about your perceptions. Love cannot be proven, but I believe it exists, and so for me it does.
I'm an engineer. I don't take things on faith. I want equations, and tests, and physical proof with multiple independent sources.
But some things you have to take on faith, because if you don't you can't even believe in yourself.
And sometimes you have to drink a third of a bottle of cheap wine and watch a TV show, and periodically ask yourself "why did that commercial use a four-engine turboprop airplane?"
And sometimes you have to start your own appendectomy.
That's just the way life is.
What do I want that I have a chance of getting? Ah, now that's a much harder question.
When people ask you 'what do you want?' what do you say? "Yeah, sure, I'd like super powers. I'd like to be a billionaire/an astronaut/a rockstar/..."
Or do you say "I don't know"? Because you know what you want, but you can't have it, and even admitting what you really want to someone else can be terrifying?
And then there's the things we want that we can have, but we wish we couldn't.
Poor, poor Lexy. And, of course, coming full circle on George and a-girl-named-Grey.
Yeah, I'm talking about Grey's Anatomy. What did you think I was talking about?
OK, fine, I was talking about both Grey's and me. Quite often they're the same. You think I watch the show for the blood? I've seen blood. I've done procedures in an OR. I've watched skin grafts. I'd rather I hadn't watched skin grafts, but I still have the bragging rights.
No, I watch the show because its about me.
Yes, it isn't about me. Shonda and the other writers don't know I exist, and aside from being glad I'm a viewer wouldn't care if they did know. Ditto the actors, the entire production staff, and the ABC network.
But it is, still, about me. Some of the people on that show are almost as real to me as Denny is to Izzy. Reality is about your perceptions. Love cannot be proven, but I believe it exists, and so for me it does.
I'm an engineer. I don't take things on faith. I want equations, and tests, and physical proof with multiple independent sources.
But some things you have to take on faith, because if you don't you can't even believe in yourself.
And sometimes you have to drink a third of a bottle of cheap wine and watch a TV show, and periodically ask yourself "why did that commercial use a four-engine turboprop airplane?"
And sometimes you have to start your own appendectomy.
That's just the way life is.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Erk
Ah, the power of ignorance:
http://howobamagotelected.com/
The failure, I think, is one of education. We teach children to expect that things will be spoon-fed to them. Study to the test. Multiple choice with one answer obviously wrong. 30 seconds is plenty of time for a news story. Heck, just read the headline.
And so the real world comes along, with complicated issues and an infinite number of variables in infintite combinations. People find that they're totally unprepared for it, but there's the media, with soundbites and headlines. The media thus has unbelievable power - they can tell people how to think, and many people will think that way.
I wonder if the media would have run banner headlines if John McCain had used cocaine? I'm sure that if they had, he'd have lost supporters, whatever the details were. But I never saw a single headline or subline on any media site, or heard on the radio, that Obama did. [from Wikipedia: As an adult Obama admitted that he used marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol when in high school, which he described as his greatest moral failure at the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency.[12][13]] 12 and 13 are CNN and the International Herald Trib. The CNN link doesn't actually have any substantiation of the cocaine part - the IHT cites Obama's own book. OK, we all make mistakes, context is important, and you often learn and grow the most by making mistakes. And it did make the news that Obama used illegal drugs, though I had to dig back via wikipedia to find the stories.
God is in the details. Context is everything.
And if the United States falls, I think it will be because of spin.
http://howobamagotelected.com/
The failure, I think, is one of education. We teach children to expect that things will be spoon-fed to them. Study to the test. Multiple choice with one answer obviously wrong. 30 seconds is plenty of time for a news story. Heck, just read the headline.
And so the real world comes along, with complicated issues and an infinite number of variables in infintite combinations. People find that they're totally unprepared for it, but there's the media, with soundbites and headlines. The media thus has unbelievable power - they can tell people how to think, and many people will think that way.
I wonder if the media would have run banner headlines if John McCain had used cocaine? I'm sure that if they had, he'd have lost supporters, whatever the details were. But I never saw a single headline or subline on any media site, or heard on the radio, that Obama did. [from Wikipedia: As an adult Obama admitted that he used marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol when in high school, which he described as his greatest moral failure at the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency.[12][13]] 12 and 13 are CNN and the International Herald Trib. The CNN link doesn't actually have any substantiation of the cocaine part - the IHT cites Obama's own book. OK, we all make mistakes, context is important, and you often learn and grow the most by making mistakes. And it did make the news that Obama used illegal drugs, though I had to dig back via wikipedia to find the stories.
God is in the details. Context is everything.
And if the United States falls, I think it will be because of spin.
Fasten or zip?
There's an episode of Babylon 5 where Sinclair and Garibaldi are on a shuttle killing time, and Garibaldi brings up the question: when you're putting on your pants, do you fasten and then zip or the other way around?
In the spirit of that highly revealing personality question...
Do you turn on the water before or after you get in the shower?
Oh, and periodic update: the DJI closed below 8,000 today, having dropped 2,798 points since the bailout on 10/3/08. Your Federal tax dollars at work.
In the spirit of that highly revealing personality question...
Do you turn on the water before or after you get in the shower?
Oh, and periodic update: the DJI closed below 8,000 today, having dropped 2,798 points since the bailout on 10/3/08. Your Federal tax dollars at work.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Good liquor and bad contracts
For those who may be wondering whether I'm alone in my dislike of the SPEEA contract proposal, it turns out I'm not.
http://answers.polldaddy.com/search.aspx?s=SPEEA
As of right now, 70% of the 616 respondants are voting to reject.
On a happier note, I've found a new and VERY tasty form of whiskey (OK, technically it might not be, but its close enough). American Honey is a derivative of Wild Turkey Bourbon with honey. http://www.beveragewarehouse.com/search/more_info.php?item_id=1708
Serving chilled is recommended. Yum!
http://answers.polldaddy.com/search.aspx?s=SPEEA
As of right now, 70% of the 616 respondants are voting to reject.
On a happier note, I've found a new and VERY tasty form of whiskey (OK, technically it might not be, but its close enough). American Honey is a derivative of Wild Turkey Bourbon with honey. http://www.beveragewarehouse.com/search/more_info.php?item_id=1708
Serving chilled is recommended. Yum!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Is this a joke?
OK, Boeing and the SPEEA negotiations team have a contract proposal, which the union is recommending we vote for.
My analysis of this recommendation, based on the contract details available so far, is that Boeing has bribed the negotations team.
If we work more than 144 hours of overtime in a quarter, our overtime adjustment goes up, though still not to time and a half.
Boeing is going to continue charging us for medical plans which used to be free, and reserves the right to add fees to plans in the future without consulting us.
But we get a raise! Which is about equal to the level of inflation in the last quarter. So we're still supposed to be a market leading compnay while paying market average salaries.
My analysis of this recommendation, based on the contract details available so far, is that Boeing has bribed the negotations team.
If we work more than 144 hours of overtime in a quarter, our overtime adjustment goes up, though still not to time and a half.
Boeing is going to continue charging us for medical plans which used to be free, and reserves the right to add fees to plans in the future without consulting us.
But we get a raise! Which is about equal to the level of inflation in the last quarter. So we're still supposed to be a market leading compnay while paying market average salaries.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Grey's
Oh. My. Gods.
Zarth, Azel, and all their minions.
Yes, the bar is being raised. And not content with simply raising the bar, the scriptwriters have converted it into a battering ram and are laying siege. Big, crazy, wild, Braveheart-style siege. And the actors are loving it. The characters are hating it, but the actors are loving every second of it.
Me? I'm in shock. I'm in awe. 360J strait up shock. Starting an IV on your own hand awe (yes, it CAN be done - been there, saw it myself, know about the contest).
And I've barely even gotten to Denny. Yup, Denny. Dead-dead, no pulse-pulse, Denny. Or rather upright, physical, ghost Denny.
Or Lexie. Little Grey, little Grey, with the suturing team, little Grey, little Grey, oh the Chief's gonna scream...
Zarth, Azel, and all their minions.
Yes, the bar is being raised. And not content with simply raising the bar, the scriptwriters have converted it into a battering ram and are laying siege. Big, crazy, wild, Braveheart-style siege. And the actors are loving it. The characters are hating it, but the actors are loving every second of it.
Me? I'm in shock. I'm in awe. 360J strait up shock. Starting an IV on your own hand awe (yes, it CAN be done - been there, saw it myself, know about the contest).
And I've barely even gotten to Denny. Yup, Denny. Dead-dead, no pulse-pulse, Denny. Or rather upright, physical, ghost Denny.
Or Lexie. Little Grey, little Grey, with the suturing team, little Grey, little Grey, oh the Chief's gonna scream...
More ups and downs than the aviation pioneers...
The DJI closed today at 8,835, down 1,961 points since the bailout passed.
That, however, isn't the interesting part. It fluctuated across a range of almost 920 points today (finishing near the top, BTW). A 10% fluctuation in ONE DAY strikes me as highly unstable, even if the trend is positive.
The DJI is down almost exactly a third Year To Date, BTW.
(Sings)
Those overpaid men with their stock trading schemes,
They go upity-up-up, they go downdy-down-down.
They impress politicians and steal all your beans,
With their upity-up-ups and their downdy-down-downs.
Up! Down! Looking for loot,
Leaving the trade,
In a gold parachute!
They're now evil has-beens,
Those overpaid men, oh those overpaid men with their stock trading schemes!
That, however, isn't the interesting part. It fluctuated across a range of almost 920 points today (finishing near the top, BTW). A 10% fluctuation in ONE DAY strikes me as highly unstable, even if the trend is positive.
The DJI is down almost exactly a third Year To Date, BTW.
(Sings)
Those overpaid men with their stock trading schemes,
They go upity-up-up, they go downdy-down-down.
They impress politicians and steal all your beans,
With their upity-up-ups and their downdy-down-downs.
Up! Down! Looking for loot,
Leaving the trade,
In a gold parachute!
They're now evil has-beens,
Those overpaid men, oh those overpaid men with their stock trading schemes!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Proof of divinity
This morning, a golden halo surrounded my head as I awoke.
Of course the halo was formed of cat hair (and still attached to the cat, who objected when I got up), but we won't dwell on that.
Periodic update: the DJI has fallen 2,510 points since the bailout.
Of course the halo was formed of cat hair (and still attached to the cat, who objected when I got up), but we won't dwell on that.
Periodic update: the DJI has fallen 2,510 points since the bailout.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Why is being bisexual so hard to understand?
OK, this is driven off repeated watchings of Grey's Anatomy, last season and this season.
Callie, you're bi. You're not heterosexual, you're not homosexual, you're bi. You like both guys and girls. In a way, you'd think this would be easier to accept than finding you're a lesbian after obviously enjoying the... company... of men for most of your life.
Is there some social stigmata about being bi that I'm unaware of? I've known more girls who were bi than lesbian (with the guys I've known it's been the other way around, at least as far as my knowledge goes, I admit). I've dated a girl who was bi, which was interesting when we both were interested in the same girl. :-} (If you're reading this, though I don't think you are, this is the closest I've ever come to telling someone who wasn't the three of us about it.)
I've heard people suggest that most women are actually at least a little bi (at the "boys for fun, girls for comfort" level), and given that there's still some social pressure against being anything but heterosexual I'd imagine any survey to under report the actual numbers.
Still, is this a mental block on Callie's part? The writers? Or am I, for once, more in touch with sexual reality than the public consciousness?
Please, someone, tell me what you think here.
Oh, to answer the probably inevitable questions reader(s) might have, I am to the best of my knowledge heterosexual.
Callie, you're bi. You're not heterosexual, you're not homosexual, you're bi. You like both guys and girls. In a way, you'd think this would be easier to accept than finding you're a lesbian after obviously enjoying the... company... of men for most of your life.
Is there some social stigmata about being bi that I'm unaware of? I've known more girls who were bi than lesbian (with the guys I've known it's been the other way around, at least as far as my knowledge goes, I admit). I've dated a girl who was bi, which was interesting when we both were interested in the same girl. :-} (If you're reading this, though I don't think you are, this is the closest I've ever come to telling someone who wasn't the three of us about it.)
I've heard people suggest that most women are actually at least a little bi (at the "boys for fun, girls for comfort" level), and given that there's still some social pressure against being anything but heterosexual I'd imagine any survey to under report the actual numbers.
Still, is this a mental block on Callie's part? The writers? Or am I, for once, more in touch with sexual reality than the public consciousness?
Please, someone, tell me what you think here.
Oh, to answer the probably inevitable questions reader(s) might have, I am to the best of my knowledge heterosexual.
Tommy
"Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll-
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll."
-"Tommy", verse 3, Rudyard Kipling
My friends, to absent companions.
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll-
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll."
-"Tommy", verse 3, Rudyard Kipling
My friends, to absent companions.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Be the change
In the spirit of being the change I want in the world, I signed up for a bone marrow registry today - and until the end of the month, you can sign up too for free!
http://www.marrow.org/
I have problems donating blood (they look at you funny when you show up at a place after passing out the previous time), and while I'm an organ donor (for anything someone can use, BTW), I'll be dead when that happens. Bone marrow and blood-producing cells, however, can be donated while you're still alive, with minimal impact to you.
And until we cure cancer (and HIV, judgind by recent research, see story here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122602394113507555.html ), there are a lot of lives to be saved out there.
http://www.marrow.org/
I have problems donating blood (they look at you funny when you show up at a place after passing out the previous time), and while I'm an organ donor (for anything someone can use, BTW), I'll be dead when that happens. Bone marrow and blood-producing cells, however, can be donated while you're still alive, with minimal impact to you.
And until we cure cancer (and HIV, judgind by recent research, see story here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122602394113507555.html ), there are a lot of lives to be saved out there.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Seeking a more positive note
Two stories I saw next to each other in the new yesterday:
Michael Crichton dies.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwqg5YsJqDBamy8X_c4f2AdN1FkgD94904FG0
Japanese scientists trying to clone extinct animals.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-big-question-will-scientists-ever-be-able-to-resurrect-longextinct-animals-by-cloning-992019.html
Good science fiction often becomes science fact.
Requiescat in pace, Mr. Crichton. You stirred my imagination more than once.
Michael Crichton dies.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwqg5YsJqDBamy8X_c4f2AdN1FkgD94904FG0
Japanese scientists trying to clone extinct animals.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-big-question-will-scientists-ever-be-able-to-resurrect-longextinct-animals-by-cloning-992019.html
Good science fiction often becomes science fact.
Requiescat in pace, Mr. Crichton. You stirred my imagination more than once.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Election Wrap up
Edit: Daily status: the DJI has dropped 1,664 points since the bailout passed on October 3rd. Your Federal tax dollars at work!
Well, as near as I can tell, no one I voted for who was actually opposed managed to win this time around.
OK, I'm going to vent. Democrats and liberals, don't bother reading this. You won, be happy. You're not likely to be unconstitutionally arrested sometime in the next few years (unlike, arguably, the last few years when we were both likely to get arrested).
Well, I'd like to congratulate Obama on beating Bush and Palin in the presidential race. I'm sure that was very hard to do, especially since neither of them were running for president. Of course, Palin doesn't have the experience to be president, but if she winds up with Steven's Senate seat in four years she will since four years in the senate is plenty of experience.
I'd also like to congratulate Joe Biden, but I'm not sure who he is since he got less press attention than Joe the Plumber. Apparently scrutinizing the Democrat VP candidate isn't newsworthy.
I will sleep more soundly at night once we swear in as commander in chief someone who's never served in the military in any capacity and has a whopping four year's experience in the federal government. He opposes defending ourselves against nuclear missiles and developing FCS for the army, which includes active defense systems for vehicles and numerous other technologies aimed at saving the lives of US soldiers. We'll have plenty of opportunity to see him as CinC; he already wants to get us into stopping genocide in Darfur and elsewhere as soon as he pulls us out of fighting terrorism in Iraq. Hey, the last non-military CinC we had worked out great, right? So he killed a few of my friends for nothing, no biggie.
However, this only begins our president-elect's qualifications. He's not only used marijuana (OK, let's be fair, he might be in the majority there), but also cocaine. Luckily he's also for universal healthcare, because that's worked out well for every country that has tried it, so someday all the country's cocaine users (who will also be helped by improved "social safety nets") can hope to be president.
Obama's opening speech tells us of a long, hard road ahead. Right, it will take years to escape the legacy of Bush, but 9/11 which happened less than a year after Bush was sworn in was all Bush's fault and not Clinton's at all.
Children have already been taught to sing the praises of our great leader, bringing to my mind the fictional Nehemiah Scudder, elected president 2012 (though he got 81% of the electoral vote and Obama is somewhere around 68%).
I welcome as the next leader of the free world Barack Hussein Obama II.
"Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?" - "John Adams", 1776
Well, as near as I can tell, no one I voted for who was actually opposed managed to win this time around.
OK, I'm going to vent. Democrats and liberals, don't bother reading this. You won, be happy. You're not likely to be unconstitutionally arrested sometime in the next few years (unlike, arguably, the last few years when we were both likely to get arrested).
Well, I'd like to congratulate Obama on beating Bush and Palin in the presidential race. I'm sure that was very hard to do, especially since neither of them were running for president. Of course, Palin doesn't have the experience to be president, but if she winds up with Steven's Senate seat in four years she will since four years in the senate is plenty of experience.
I'd also like to congratulate Joe Biden, but I'm not sure who he is since he got less press attention than Joe the Plumber. Apparently scrutinizing the Democrat VP candidate isn't newsworthy.
I will sleep more soundly at night once we swear in as commander in chief someone who's never served in the military in any capacity and has a whopping four year's experience in the federal government. He opposes defending ourselves against nuclear missiles and developing FCS for the army, which includes active defense systems for vehicles and numerous other technologies aimed at saving the lives of US soldiers. We'll have plenty of opportunity to see him as CinC; he already wants to get us into stopping genocide in Darfur and elsewhere as soon as he pulls us out of fighting terrorism in Iraq. Hey, the last non-military CinC we had worked out great, right? So he killed a few of my friends for nothing, no biggie.
However, this only begins our president-elect's qualifications. He's not only used marijuana (OK, let's be fair, he might be in the majority there), but also cocaine. Luckily he's also for universal healthcare, because that's worked out well for every country that has tried it, so someday all the country's cocaine users (who will also be helped by improved "social safety nets") can hope to be president.
Obama's opening speech tells us of a long, hard road ahead. Right, it will take years to escape the legacy of Bush, but 9/11 which happened less than a year after Bush was sworn in was all Bush's fault and not Clinton's at all.
Children have already been taught to sing the praises of our great leader, bringing to my mind the fictional Nehemiah Scudder, elected president 2012 (though he got 81% of the electoral vote and Obama is somewhere around 68%).
I welcome as the next leader of the free world Barack Hussein Obama II.
"Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?" - "John Adams", 1776
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Sic Transit Gloria Res Publica?
Looks like I was right.
Zarth.
I pray to whatever gods may be paying attention that I was wrong about him.
Zarth.
I pray to whatever gods may be paying attention that I was wrong about him.
Silver Lining
Daily status: the DJI has dropped 1,171 points since the bailout passed on October 3rd. Your Federal tax dollars at work!
Silver linings for tonight:
I'll stop getting bot-calls.
I'll stop seeing annoying political adds.
I'll stop getting political spam mail.
At least Hilary can't be elected.
In four years it is very likely I'll get to say "I told you so."
Silver linings for tonight:
I'll stop getting bot-calls.
I'll stop seeing annoying political adds.
I'll stop getting political spam mail.
At least Hilary can't be elected.
In four years it is very likely I'll get to say "I told you so."
Monday, November 3, 2008
Sleepy Weekend
Edit: Daily status: the DJI has dropped 1,476 points since the bailout passed on October 3rd. Your Federal tax dollars at work!
Well, I slept most of the day Friday and Saturday, and I'm still tired today.
In between all that sleeping, my massive energy led me to watch movies and TV on my computer.
The movie "Saints and Soldiers" is a waste of time, IMO. Despite starting out with the claim that it is "based on a true story" as near as I can tell the true story is that WWII happened. Our main characters include a crack rifle shot who spent the pre-war years as a missionary in Germany and a hunter in the American southwest. Despite this he is placed as a line trooper in the 101st Airborne rather than any sort of intel billet or even (based on shown equipment) being his platoon sniper. He also somehow winds up at the Malmedy Massacre (which occurred days before the 101st was in the area), which is portrayed from a very German-apologist viewpoint BTW, and winds up meeting up an old friend who is now a German soldier. Twice. Riiigghht. Other protagonists include an obnoxious Brit photo-recon pilot who... takes extensive notes in code while he's flying. No wonder this guy gets show down. The only redeeming feature of this movie is that at least SOME of the soldiers seem to use bolt-action and semi-auto rifles. This doesn't really make up for the internal GPS units all our protagonists appear to be equipped with (lip service is paid to a map and compass, but it doesn't really hold up), nor the shot of a pair of US soldiers shooting a bazooka at a tree.
Switching over to the positive, ABC's Life on Mars looks like it might be interesting. The show appears to be a police procedural with sci-fi/fantasy elements (the main character is a detective in New York City in 2008 until he gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973 - still as a police detective). I'm not sure how rooted in reality this show is either (I'm nowhere near an expert on police methods and roles in 1973 New York), but given the possibility that most of the show is a hallucination by the main character, any breaches with reality are easily explainable. I really like the conflict and slowly developing respect between the good cop main character and his bad cop boss. One nit, and it is entirely directed at ABC's on-line full episode viewer: I have no problem watching the show with limited commercial interruption, but can you for the love of all that is holy, clean, and sane in the world not show the exact same commercial in every slot?
Well, I slept most of the day Friday and Saturday, and I'm still tired today.
In between all that sleeping, my massive energy led me to watch movies and TV on my computer.
The movie "Saints and Soldiers" is a waste of time, IMO. Despite starting out with the claim that it is "based on a true story" as near as I can tell the true story is that WWII happened. Our main characters include a crack rifle shot who spent the pre-war years as a missionary in Germany and a hunter in the American southwest. Despite this he is placed as a line trooper in the 101st Airborne rather than any sort of intel billet or even (based on shown equipment) being his platoon sniper. He also somehow winds up at the Malmedy Massacre (which occurred days before the 101st was in the area), which is portrayed from a very German-apologist viewpoint BTW, and winds up meeting up an old friend who is now a German soldier. Twice. Riiigghht. Other protagonists include an obnoxious Brit photo-recon pilot who... takes extensive notes in code while he's flying. No wonder this guy gets show down. The only redeeming feature of this movie is that at least SOME of the soldiers seem to use bolt-action and semi-auto rifles. This doesn't really make up for the internal GPS units all our protagonists appear to be equipped with (lip service is paid to a map and compass, but it doesn't really hold up), nor the shot of a pair of US soldiers shooting a bazooka at a tree.
Switching over to the positive, ABC's Life on Mars looks like it might be interesting. The show appears to be a police procedural with sci-fi/fantasy elements (the main character is a detective in New York City in 2008 until he gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973 - still as a police detective). I'm not sure how rooted in reality this show is either (I'm nowhere near an expert on police methods and roles in 1973 New York), but given the possibility that most of the show is a hallucination by the main character, any breaches with reality are easily explainable. I really like the conflict and slowly developing respect between the good cop main character and his bad cop boss. One nit, and it is entirely directed at ABC's on-line full episode viewer: I have no problem watching the show with limited commercial interruption, but can you for the love of all that is holy, clean, and sane in the world not show the exact same commercial in every slot?
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