This article in the Huntsville Times reveals that several local government meetings have been postponed or canceled so that attendees can watch Alabama play in the BCS national championship game. This is not the way a leader leads, and certainly not how elected or appointed public servants should lead. Sometimes leaders don’t get to have all the fun that the troops have. Sometimes you have to work weekends. Sometimes you have to work during the national championship game. If you’ve been elected or appointed to perform work for citizens and you shrug it because of a football game then I question whether you should hold office.

Meanwhile, we can go back to our other top priority, fearing and obsessing over every detail of winter weather. Somewhere in the upper midwest this morning a school bus accumulated more snow on it’s hood during the drive to school than we’ll see all winter. Life continued as normal. We, however, will go ahead and close everything based only on a forecast.

Grow a pair, Alabama. And if you can’t, you can borrow mine.

However, I also think this is a brilliant political strategy by Griffith. Democrats still win in the south because there are a ton of elderly people out there who still vote democrat even though the modern democrat party does not represent their values. They learned that Roosevelt saved the working man with the New Deal and because of that democrats represent the “working man” and republicans represent the “rich man.” My grandparents who lived through the depression fit that mold, and my parents did too until recently, just because that dogma was passed to them by my grandparents.

In this scenario Griffith has cemented himself as the incumbent by playing both sides of the issue during the 2008 campaign. He had a (D) next to his name so the old people, who took a break from watching the Price is Right to do their annual political duty of casting an uninformed vote, would come to the polls for him. However, he was quasi-conservative on the issues, so he also drew some conservative votes. Much like many conservatives, I would not have a problem voting for him, and I would have voted for him in 2008 if I hadn’t thought Wayne Parker was an overall better candidate.

Now, if he can make it through a primary race that is sure to be nasty, he will solidly win re-election again and again. He won’t have the (D) next to his name anymore, but he’ll have name recognition as someone democrats have voted for once before, and that is enough for the average uninformed voter (of which there are as many republicans as democrats). He’ll also get the vote of GOP loyalists. Finally, he’ll get the votes of people who just plainly think he is the best candidate. All of that adds up to too many votes to unseat him…ever. He will become the next Bud Cramer. He will remain in congress as long as he pleases.

Don’t be confused, I’m not an ardent opponent of Parker Griffith like most conservatives. I agree with him on most issues. He is, after all, pretty conservative. I would have preferred to see Mo Brooks elected in 2010, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case after Griffith’s switch today. I’m really interested to see how this debacle will play out in local politics. During the 2008 campaign the GOP made Griffith out to be the anti-Christ. He was said to be BFF with Nancy Pelosi, and I think I once heard it said that he only smiles while kicking puppies. The GOP hated this guy, almost entirely because he had a (D) next to his name. Sure, some questionable scenarios surround his extra-political career, but in the end the GOP attacked that because he’s a democrat and the democrats united behind him in spite of it for the same reason. That’s how politics works now. You join a gang that loosely aligns with your ideas and then try to dominate rival gangs.  I’ll wager that if Griffith makes it through the primary then 75% of the GOP will begin applying gratuitous lip service to his posterior. It will only take a year or two for that to rise to 95%.

Eventually, this will be forgotten. Just like most political topics that matter, like Ron Paul and John Edwards’ love child, this will soon be a distant memory and soon we’ll all go back to pulling the lever for our preferred gang.

I’ve written two more articles for the Homefires blog on the New York Times. In the first article I talk about the difficulties in adapting communication styles from the Marine Corps to civilian life. As usual, this one pissed off a lot of people, and some commenters deduced that I am brainwashed and/or autistic. In the next article I relay a quick war story and use it to examine the popular tendency to worry about things that really don’t matter. I then examine how this perspective has changed my outlook on life. This was a little less controversial, but probably the more entertaining of the two.

Next, I wrote an article for Primer Magazine on test-taking strategies. I had the opportunity to practice them just last week as I completed this semester’s final exams in my ongoing pursuit of an MBA at UAHuntsville.

Finally, most of my time after work has been sunk into starting a business, CrossFit Impulse. In addition to my primary activity, getting the business started, I’ve also written several articles for our website. The first is a how-to on building a custom pullup station, complete with detailed plans and sketches. Next, I wrote two nutrition-related articles on Fish Oil and the first steps you should take to improve your nutrition. My wife also wrote an excellent article on how to get started with the Zone Diet. Starting a business has been a real adventure. In addition to learning about a myriad of legal and tax issues related to opening a business, I pretty much lived at our business location for the two weeks prior to our opening. Having a partner in the business and a supporting wife has been crucial. I absolutely could not have done it alone. Below you can see some pictures of the transformation of our business space from an empty (and extremely dirty) warehouse, to the completed product. We’re pretty happy with it.

However, we’re most excited about helping all of our clients achieve their fitness goals. That is rewarding in a way that is difficult to describe. I’m not truly unselfish in very many ways, but this is one of them. Even if I’m not getting paid, I enjoy spending time with people to help them advance their goals, for no other reason than I enjoy seeing them achieve what they once couldn’t. They walk away better and I walk away the same, but I really enjoy it, and I can’t explain it. Now that things are off the ground life has become much easier, although definitely not easy per se. I expect I’ll start writing a little more frequently now, even if it’s just some random thoughts that are as therapeutic to me as they are angering to others. Cheers.

First, I am writing for the New York Times again in their Homefires section.  My first piece from this season is now live here.  I was thrilled to be extended this opportunity for a 4th time and am looking forward to being called a vicious baby killer in their comments section.  I’ve also become a contributing editor for Primer, an online men’s magazine.  I truly believe that Primer offers great content that is lacking from traditional men’s publications like Men’s Health, GQ, and Maxim, so I’m happy to be a part of it.

Next, as you may have noticed from my pictures, my hair is not exactly within regulations anymore.  No, this isn’t some kind of rebellion against the grooming standards that were forced upon me in the Marine Corps.  I’ve always wanted long hair.  See, my hair becomes a curly, frazzled bird’s nest whenever it exceeds about two inches. In order to get long hair I have to traverse a horrid stage where my mother can still recognize me, but if I’m standing on a street corner drinking coffee, someone is likely to drop change in my cup.  I’ve never been willing to traverse this stage because in high school I was concerned about getting a date.  I was married during college, after college came the Marine Corps, and now here I am: my first opportunity to grow long hair.  I plan to get it cut as soon as I look like the Beastmaster.

Next, I’ve made two trips to the ER in the past six months, which is more than the previous six years combined. This started with an allergic reaction. I’ve never had an allergic reaction to anything. I considered myself immune to the biotoxins that plagued those with inferior immune systems. Still, I awoke early on a Saturday morning and took an Aleve for muscle pain. I returned to bed and found sleeping difficult. My arms began to itch, but whenever I scratched the itching only spread to different parts of my body. I began to feel hot. Something told me to go look at myself in the mirror. I turned on the light and struggled to understand the form staring back at me from the mirror. My face was red as a beet and a rash was spreading across my chest like swine flu hysteria through a gaggle of soccer moms. On my way to the ER my body played a really neat game of swelling and contracting different parts of my face. First my nose swelled, then it receded and my lips swelled. This actually gave me a lisp when I spoke. My wife found that funnier than I did. Next my eyes swelled, and my vision became blurry. At one point my scalped itched terribly and a bystander on Highway 431 could have observed me flailing my head violently from side to side, scratching it with both hands as my wife drove me to the ER at 60 mph. Homer Simpson had taken the controls of my body’s nuclear power plant and was throwing levers and pushing buttons at whim.

My second trip to the ER was to relieve the worst pain of my life: a perforated ear drum. I recently started wakeboarding, and one day on the water yielded a series of bad falls. The first had given me a slight concussion, making me unable to remember the names of everyone in the boat. That should have been my cue to hang it up for the rest of the day. Alas, I did not. My next fall brought my left ear against the water at the speed of the boat (21 mph) plus an angular velocity that I estimate at “holy shit.” That trip to the ER happened to coincide with a local rodeo, which brought some of north Alabama’s most interesting characters to the ER to get repaired. While clutching my ear I had such thoughts as

“Yes, he’s definitely trying to put his shoulder back in its socket like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon. Wow, he did it!”

“I wonder how long she had to search for that peach-colored cotton tank top to match her peach-colored boots.”

“I think that man with the mullet and the Jeff Gordon t-shirt just kissed his son on the mouth.”

While I had admittedly tied myself to a boat in order to slide across water on a piece of plastic, I couldn’t help but think that tying myself to a bull and yanking on his testicles was an unquestionably worse decision.

The last and largest development in my life is becoming an entrepreneur. I have partnered with a friend to open a CrossFit affiliate in Madison, Alabama. CrossFit is a health and fitness program that develops a broad, inclusive fitness through very rudimentary equipment, methods, and movements conducted at high intensity. A Marine I served with in Iraq unknowingly introduced me to CrossFit. I always noticed him looking up crazy workouts on crossfit.com and performing them outside our work area. Fast forward three years and now I’m the crazy one in the gym hanging by gymnast rings, jumping on plyo boxes, and performing lewd acts with barbells. In early September I was certified as a trainer. I look forward to facilitating change in other people’s lives as CrossFit has changed mine.

However, opening a business has also fully exposed the bureaucracy surrounding anything that touches government, or even wanders closely enough to smell it (and it smells bad). Local and state governments are seriously like the mob when it comes to taxes. “Oh, you want to set up in our part of town? That’s gonna cost ya. We’ll be taking a cut each year. Call it a tax on your privilege of operating in our area…a privilege tax.” We haven’t earned our first dollar of revenue, but we’ve written countless checks for permits, licenses, privilege taxes, and use taxes for no other reason than we’ll have our collective knee-caps broken and be put in jail if we don’t comply. If I extorted another individual like this, then I would surely be thrown in jail. However, the cruel yin to that yang is that if I don’t comply when I am extorted by government, then I’ll be thrown in jail.

Jovial complaints aside, opening my business has been a great endeavor. I found that I will create endless time and energy for a task that rewards me directly in accordance with my competence. If I know my competence will go unnoticed or unrewarded, then I am much less apt to completely devote myself to a problem. However, every ounce of energy I pour into my business is retained and not lost to anyone else (until we become profitable and government extortion begins anew). My efforts create a product that is a reflection of me, and I will do anything to make it an accurate reflection of my desires and intentions. While maintaining my full-time engineering job and laying the groundwork for an evening job has been an immense strain on my schedule, I make time for the things I care about. I can’t think of anything more exciting than positively impacting people’s lives in a way that is rewarding to both of us.

Lastly, I’m very close to completing my MBA from UAHuntsville. That journey will conclude next summer.

I hope you’ll keep up with my posts on Homefires and Primer.  Feel free to comment here or on each site individually and let me know what you think.  I’ll be updating this blog whenever a new article from me goes live on either.

Update: Right now the full episode is available here. I don’t expect it to last long.

Quick background for non-veterans: The Montgomery G.I. Bill is a benefit that subsidizes education costs for veterans. While on active duty service members can elect to pay $1200 one time and in return they receive 36 months of payments towards full-time education after they leave active duty.  Thirty-six months is the equivalent of the time required for a 4-year degree based on a 9-month academic year. Yes, it’s the best $1200 investment you could ever make, as the full-time benefit is currently $1321 per month.

Congress recently passed the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Veterans that served after 9/11 are eligible. Service members also now receive the benefit automatically and do not have to pay $1200 as before. Veterans that originally had the Montgomery G.I. Bill but are eligible for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill may elect to change their MGIB (known as Chapter 30) to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill (known as Chapter 33). This is an irrevocable decision. This is also not financially advisable for all veterans. As a matter of fact, unless you attend school at least 3/4 time and pay all your expenses (no scholarships, tuition reimbursement, etc.) it’s probably not a good idea. This post aims to educate veterans on the basics of the two programs and why they should weigh all factors carefully before electing for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. It’s a decision that cannot be changed and might cost them thousands of dollars. Here’s why:

The Chapter 30 MGIB pays you monthly simply based on whether you are enrolled in a qualifying degree program. Enrolled full time? You get $1321 per month. No other factors are involved. Did you get a scholarship and you don’t owe any tuition? Good for you. The VA doesn’t care; you still get your $1321/month. Did you pick an inexpensive school where tuition is relatively cheap? Good for you. The VA doesn’t care; you still get your $1321/month.  If you are taking classes at 1/2 time or better then you simply receive a flat rate payment, scaled appropriately for 1/2 and 3/4 time students. However, students taking less than a 1/2 time load just get reimbursed for expenses.

(Note: To the non-veteran this may seem like the veteran is scamming the system, but he is not. The VA is well aware of how the program works. The Chapter 30 MGIB just cares that you are enrolled in a qualifying degree program. That is the requirement to draw the money associated with the benefit. If the veteran meets the requirement, then the VA is unconcerned whether the money exactly meets the veteran’s education expenses or whether it’s going towards pizza and beer.)

The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is a little more complex. First, it pays your tuition and fees directly to your school, up to a maximum limit determined for each state. Did you pick an expensive college that consumed all of your Chapter 30 MGIB? Good for you, now the VA will pick up more of the tab (up to the limit for your state). Did you get a scholarship and you don’t owe any tuition? The VA thanks you wholeheartedly, because now they don’t have to pay the school for your tuition. See the subtle difference? Next, if you attend more than 1/2 time, then you get a housing allowance. The allowance is calculated as the BAH for an E-5 with dependents in the zip code of your school. Use this site to look it up for your zip code. If you attend at 1/2 time or less then you don’t get the housing allowance–not even a scaled one. Finally, you get a stipend for books equal to $500/semester or $1000/year for full-time. Those three payments comprise the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill: tuition paid to the school, housing allowance paid to you (if you qualify), and book stipend paid to you.

Crunch the numbers and you’ll find that you may want to stick with your Chapter 30 MGIB. The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is lucrative for full-time students receiving no other type of assistance, and those attending expensive universities that don’t participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. All other cases should perform a careful comparison before switching. The VA has actually done something really superb and posted several different example comparisons on their web site here. Note their assumptions at the top and plug in the numbers for your own scenario. Don’t include the MGIB $600 buy-up unless you purchased it before leaving active duty. Scale all the payments correctly based on how many hours you are taking and whether your school considers it full-time or less. Payment scales are linked below. Remember, 1/2-time and less means no housing allowance under Chapter 33 while 1/2-time and more begins your entitlement to flat-rate payments under Chapter 30.

Finally, the VA has indicated that veterans eligible for the Chapter 30 MGIB that exhaust all of their benefits under Chapter 30 may then change to the Chapter 33 Post-9/11 G.I. Bill for an additional 12 months of benefits under Chapter 33. I do not fully understand this, but it appears like it might sweeten the deal even more for veterans using Chapter 30. The blurb appears here on the VA website. I suggest talking with a VA representative personally about this plan, as it doesn’t seem to be as well-documented as all other facets of the change.

Here are some more resources to further research your decision:

Full Pamphlet on Chapter 30 MGIB Benefits and Eligibility

Chapter 30 MGIB Payment Rates

Chapter 33 Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Max Tuition for each State

Full Pamphlet on Chapter 33 Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Benefits and Eligibility

Text of the Law Instituting Post-9/11 G.I. Bill

General Benefit Comparison Information from the VA

• President Obama is a socialist.
• Jeremiah Wright is President Obama’s best friend. They eat lunch together twice weekly.
• President Obama is Lucifer, and Nancy Pelosi is Beezelbub.

I see at least a glimmer of truth in some of his points (the last one excluded, of course). However, I know the sun rises in the east…that is true. If my wife starts telling me that ad infinitum every morning while I eat breakfast, then I may want to throw a plate at her, truth notwithstanding. Really, in 2012 will he still be talking about Jeremiah Wright? Sean also doesn’t really debate his callers. Every call (excluding the “you’re a great American” ego-stroking extravaganzas) is a boxing match. He throws the GOP talking points, and his callers throw the liberal talking points. Neither person seriously considers the other’s points, and Sean will probably try to lead the caller into agreeing with Marxism, which was fun the first 20 times I heard it.

Instead of listening to talk radio in my car, I’ve been listening to audiobooks. I’ve found this a mixed experience. I first tried The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Kuhn. I really liked the book, but I don’t think I absorbed enough of it via audio. I found it difficult to fully comprehend non-fiction without being able to easily re-read some passages. I’m currently listening to Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I’ve read this once in print, and I loved it. The audiobook has proved just as enthralling. The reader is also very good, which I think makes a big difference. In this case I already know the general story, so the audiobook just reminds me of things I forgot and lets me experience the story again, which is awesome. Overall, I don’t think audiobooks are an acceptable substitute for reading—especially non-fiction. However, for classical fiction they can be very entertaining.

“It is refreshing to know that voters still care about the issues affecting them and our state…This is my first campaign for public office and it is evident that people desire fresh ideas and real reform.”

BTW, some news outlet are reporting “controversy” surrounding the election because of emails and fliers circulating with the old gag “…due to expected turnout, Republicans should vote on Tuesday, and Democrats vote on Wednesday.” I can’t believe that is even being taken seriously. But of course, what would our local media do without stories of this caliber to tease their timed comparisons of fast food drive thru service that headline the 10 o’clock news. Sad, really.