The Opinionator

Been There, Done That...

I got a kick out of this story describing how the army test soldiers and equipment in cold weather in Alaska, more specifically Delta Junction and Ft. Greeley. During my four years in Alaska as an Arctic Infantryman, I spent many a sub-zero day and night at Ft. Greeley on FTX. I remember seeing a lone M1 Abrams tank racing up and down the dirt roads at Greeley where they were conducting cold weather tests before deploying the tank. We were told by cadre that the tank was having issues with everything breaking free when firing the main gun in the sub-zero weather. Who knows if it was true but I do remember the incredible, biting cold of the Ft. Greeley, Delta Junction, Bolio Lake area. I recall going out on a movement to contact at 39 degrees below zero and having to use the restroom. Let me tell you, that was not fun! I also remember being at the airfield in a drafty tent waiting to be taken out and the wind chill outside was 70 degrees below. Hard to believe I ever had that in me.

More from the story:

That's why the Army established the test center in 1949, to develop gear that can hold up in the coldest regions of the world. It was a response to World War II, when thousands of U.S. troops sustained cold-weather injuries, such as frostbite, in Europe.

It's the frigid version of several testing sites operating under the Army Test and Evaluation Command in extreme natural settings, including desert and tropic environments, that can significantly affect the performance of soldiers and equipment. Winters here are consistently brutal because mountains to the north and south allow dense arctic air to settle over the landlocked region.

So that is the reason it was so cold. All I knew was that Bolio Lake was one of the coldest places in all of North America and that the nights at Ft. Greeley was often lit up by the sparks created by entrenching tools striking the permanently frozen ground as soldiers tried to dig foxholes. To all past, present and future Arctic Warriors, I tip my hat. I am proud to say that I was one of you.

Sorry for the Slow Posting

It has been a real tempest at work. Many changes and not enough hours inthe day to get done all the myriad of administrivia that comes with a new regime. Long story short, I have been too busy to get to post. Sorry about that folks. I will see what I can do to get back to the blog on a more regular basis. Stay tuned!

A Review of The Great Wolf Lodge; Initial Impressions

The Opinionator has taken the entire Opinionator clan to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA this weekend. The Great Wolf Lodge is a theme resort that is a hotel built around an indoor waterpark. Actually, they consider it three indoor waterparks but it really seems like one large one with multiple areas; a wave pool, a giant tree fort, toddler area, multiple slides and sports area. It is part of a chain with multiple locations, most on the snowy north and Midwest such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin. . I first saw the resort on the Travel Channel. They were featuring the Wisconsin location. With the ground outside covered in snow and the temperature in the 20's, it was easy to see why this place was so popular. I mean, visiting a waterpark in the dead of winter, how cool! I checked out their website and realized that they had a Williamsburg location which is only a 2.5 hour drive and decided it was the perfect holiday gift for the family. So here we are!

We arrived Friday night. The check-in area was packed as people from all over were arriving, especially nearby Norfolk as the Naval Base stickers made clear. The lobby was dominated by an animated clock tower, which has a show at regular intervals. One began at 8pm, just as we arrived and this kept the kids somewhat amused which is a good thing because check-in was S-L-O-W! Having just visited The Venetian in Las Vegas, I can tell you they did a much better job of clearing a long check-in line. In fact, a much longer line. Part of the problem was that of the six positions available, only three were occupied. this led to a long line of frustrated visitors, many of whom appeared to have traveled some time to get to the resort. Given that it is no surprise that they will have a large number of people checking-in on Friday night, this lack of personnel at the front desk in inexcusable in my mind.

Once we checked-in, the fun began. The rooms are part of what make this resort unique. We chose the KidCabin Suite. This consists of a sleeping are for up to three kids that is walled off and looks like a cabin. It has a bunk bed and a twin with a 15" TV. This allows the parents to sleep on the other side of the room away with some level of privacy. There is also a mini refrigerator, microwave, couch and balcony. The kids simply loved it! So did Mrs. Opinionator and I. The KidCabin functioned as a room within a room and allowed us to put them to sleep and then watch TV on the second television without worry. They also have the WolfDen Suite and the KidKamp Suite which are similar to ours and several larger suites in addition to regular rooms. There is also fast, free wireless internet which I am using to write this review.

Once we settled in, we quickly headed down to the waterpark area which is open until 10pm. This is where the WOW! factor really kicks in. Here it is, January, and we are riding the water slides at night! The water slides are not of the death defying sort rather they are perfect for kids. And they loved them. The next morning, after a quick breakfast in the room which The Opinionator recommends due to the high prices of the buffet at the hotel, we were back at the waterpark. The waterpark was much more crowded today, which exposed one problem: The two most popular slides plus the Lazy River require tubes of which there are not nearly enough. This leads to people having to drag their tube, provided they can get one, from slide to slide or to the Lazy River and the Wave Pool. If they give it up for someone waiting to go up the slides, they may never get one back. This is a big issue for The Opinionator. At most waterparks, you use a tube or pad to go down a slide and then you turn it over at the bottom and someone in line takes it up. The Great Wolf Lodge has no such organization. It is the main drawback of the waterpark. Overall, we are having a great time. Once we got our tubes, we were set. Being inside playing in the water is even more fun when you can look out the window and see the rain falling in the 50 degree temperature. Sort of makes it even more fun!

All of this does not come cheap. Look to spend $300 plus a night for the room and the included waterpark admission. Is it worth the money? Is Disney World really worth the money? Let's face it, you are paying for the concept and the experience. It is hard to put a value on seeing the kid's faces light up when they see the room or the pure joy when they enter the waterpark.

Mr. Hellfire Comes to Dinner or Al-Qaeda Bombmaker Takes the Eternal Dirt Nap

Via Michelle Malkin, and a host of others, ABC News is reporting that Al-Qaeda's master bombmaker and chemical weapons expert Midhat Mursi was one of those visited by Mr. Hellfire at dinner last week. As a result of Mr. Hellfire's explosive personality, Mr. Mursi is now taking the eternal dirt nap.

Our sources in the great beyond report that Mr. Mursi will be awakened only for his regularly scheduled cactus enema. Rather appropriate that the means of his destruction is named "Hellfire," eh? Good riddance, asshole!

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for the Open Post.

iMac Blogging

You may not know this but The Opinionator  purchased a new iMac G5 home computer  over the holidays. I did this knowing that at some point Apple would begin putting  Intel  processors in their new systems. Since this was likely to happen several months from now and the iMac had just been released, I felt comfortable with the purchase. As it turns out, I should have waited. At MacWorld this past week, Apple released a new iMac with an Intel Core Duo processor. Normally, this would be no big deal as the computer I just bought has excellent performance. However, the benchmarks for the new Intel version are 2X the current ones! Additionally, they have a new version of iLife, OS 10.4.4 and a better graphics card all for the same price. What the heck?!

I called Apple, a bit peeved to say the least. I just bought this less than a month ago. They were good about it. It turns out that Intel had the new processor ready early so Apple pulled the trigger on the new model. It looks like I will be able to return my current iMac and separately order the new model. This will cost me a 10% restock fee which comes to about $150 including the shipping back to Apple. However, given that the new iLife upgrade is $79 and there is a new OS update and graphics, it makes sense for me to order the new system despite the inconvenience. I will let you know what I do and how the new system turns out if I make the trade.

Update: I have received an RMA number and will be boxing this iMac up and shipping her back later this week.

Update II: Walter Mossberg did a review of the Intel based iMac and recommends it due to the performance boost that will only get more evident as more software is ported to run on the Intel platform.

Thanks to Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette for the Open Post and welcome Mudville Gazette readers. Thanks for stopping by!

Alito; All Over But the Voting

One of the advantages of being busy last week is that I was able to miss the farce that is the Senate Confirmation Hearings. Having to watch Ted Kennedy discuss ethics and Joe Biden play a legal scholar on television is a bit much for me. Fortunately, sanity seems to have prevailed and Judge Alito will take his place on the Supreme Court.

Long-time Opinionator readers, both of you, know that I am not hung up on the abortion issue which is the main reason for the type of Confirmation Hearings we are having these days. Rather than even saying I am pro-choice, my position is that is it none of my damn business. Nor is it my responsibility to pay for your decision to have an abortion. Leave me out of it, period. That said, you do not have to be Perry Mason to see that Roe v. Wade is a political decision with specious legal backing in the Constitution. Essentially, Blackmun pulled that ruling out of his ass. Result; we are still fighting about it 30 plus years later. And I agree with many that the passage of time does not mean a decision is sacrosanct. In fact, it is good to revisit bad law do the right thing. Read Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. So maybe this court will look at the issue again. Maybe not. Perhaps if it does we can get this thing settled at the state legislature level and stop having a circus every time we appoint a judge. I can always hope, right?

I'm Back!

Posting has been pretty sporadic here at The Opinionator. As is often the case, life intrudes. I recently returned from my corporate Sales Kickoff in Las Vegas, which I will post about in the following days. As usual, each new year in sales brings changes in territory, accounts, pay plans and management. Additionally, due to the merger, there is a real cultural clash going on in Business Sales where I work right now. The good news, over-achievement of your quota can bring a significant amount of money. Missing means looking for a new job.

My goal now that the holidays and Kickoff have passed is to be more regular about posting. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year

To all of you; family, friends, readers, I wish you a happy and prosperous 2006. As far as resolutions go, I have the usual, get back in shape, make a career move, be a better husband and father. Let's hope that we all meet our goals this year. Even if we fail, we are all winners merely by striving.