More Randomness...

When did going to the base commissary become such a pain in the butt? The day they installed "self checkout registers"! Maybe I'm a little spoiled, but I truly hate these things. I can't recall ever going through the line without having to ring for help from a cashier, or having to ask for help ringing up produce. Wonderdad thinks I am just being silly, he likes them. I think it has something to do with not having to tip baggers or something. Personally, I don't mind tipping to not have to bag my own groceries and carry them out (unless its just a 10 item or less trip). Besides that, the baggers that work at our commissary are all military dependents who do not make an hourly wage, they only work for tips. Any time I see a middle age woman or even a teenager that is willing to haul groceries in the dead of winter in North Dakota, they have EARNED a decent tip from me.

What exactly was JK Rowling (Harry Potter author) thinking when she OUTED Professor Dumbledore this weekend??? Why was it ever even necessary to declare his sexual orientation at all? These are beloved characters in my household, and now I am going to have to explain to my 9 and 12 year old what it means to hear that Dumbledore is gay. Now I am not naive, nor am I prejudice to the gay community. I really don't care that a person is gay, straight, or whatever if they prove to be a person worth knowing. I have known many gay and lesbian people whom I have called a friend. But in this case, what did it gain? No other characters' sexual orientation was ever discussed (obviously except those who were married). Was she trying to make her books more politically correct? Appeal to the gay community? Shock the media? Piss of the Christian groups that already hate her? The books are what they are; my family and I will always be fans, but I think Jo got this one all wrong. She has too many young readers to even go there. Maybe she is just stirring up the publicity pot.

The Foxnews story this morning said that Minot AFB has done poorly on their inspections in the past few years. I am here to tell you that this is absolutely untrue! I have been on this base over 3 years now, and in that time we have NEVER failed an inspection. In fact, we have passed with flying colors and won awards for it. We went through an inspection earlier this year where we actually broke records and were the first to not have any unsafe conditions or tech data violations. We also won the Omaha trophy (Google it) this year for the 2nd year in a row. All I can say to that reporter is you better do your homework a little bit better and double check your facts. Also, the story said that the source was a military member who wanted to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Whoever this person is needs to have his security clearance revoked, and I mean now. We are in no way allowed to talk about this to the media, and he has betrayed his wing. End of story. This incident has already given us a huge black eye, we don't need more dumped on us. While I have mentioned this on my blog, I have never talked about anything that is not already a matter of public record, and I never will. I know what happened was very serous and it was a huge mistake, and I know that one "oh shit" can cancel out a thousand "atta boys". I just think it stinks.

Our trip to Bismarck yesterday went pretty well, the kids were good most of the time. Oldest boy has to have surgery in December, but he will be OK, some minor repair on his "boys". I hate it for him, but it has to be done or he will most likely be sterile in the future. It seems like all the rotten luck gets heaped on my oldest, appendicitis, broken teeth, stitches in the head, flat feet, now this in only 12 short years. Not that I would wish it on my other 2 in a million years, I just hate it for him.

I am currently reading The Diary of Bridgette Jones, by Helen Fielding. Not a bad read so far. I liked the movie, but I did not love it. Since I usually find the books are much better than the movies, I decided to give it a try. Only a few times have I found the movie to be as good as the book, Under the Tuscan Sun, Memoirs of a Geisha, Lord of the Ring Trilogy, and The Green Mile to name a few. Maybe I'm just such a bookworm I am too critical. I was disappointed at The Devil Wears Prada, Carrie, It, and most of the Harry Potter movies. I should just always see the movie first I guess, but it seems like all of the great books are being made into movies now. I hear the Shopaholic Series and The Lovely Bones are in preproduction. Lets hope they are worthy of the great books.

Well, another Saturday come and gone. Here's to a long Sunday, and a short Monday!