Occupy the Hunger Games

A few friends kept raving about The Hunger Games trilogy, a series for young adults by Suzanne Collins, so I checked it out. It's well done, certainly markedly superior to what little I've read of the Twilight series (ouch). The first book is the strongest and most self-sufficient, and features some artful and memorable touches. It's not for young kids, though, given the plot: gladiatorial

A Different Language

The Navy as a whole, and Submariners in particular, really do speak a different language. While each occupation has its own acronyms and key words and tricky phrases (in my current job, I often find myself saying things like, "I'm taking this FOUP down to CMP and then going to talk to the MT about those SEM CDs"), but I think that submarining is among the "worst" at being understandable to someone who comes in off the street and tries to follow a conversation. From a VIP cruiser in AMR hearing the announcement "AEA, 2JV" to a visitor to the bridge being told to be careful of the bear trap when coming down the ladder, I would venture to guess that our terminology is among the hardest non-Mandarin languages in the world to learn.

What are your favorite words in the Submarine language?

(To download the paper, including Appendix 2, from the link above with many of the words and phrases we know and love, click here.)

21st Century Technology

I gave in to the inevitable and started a Twitter account, @JoelBubblehead. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but you can follow if you want. #firstworldproblems

The Republican Candidates' Tax Proposals

The American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches has a neat graphic of the Republican presidential candidates' tax proposals. Three want to impose a flat tax, that would of course massively benefit the rich. In a similar vein, six would seek not just to lower the estate tax, but eliminate it altogether (alas, a standard position in their party). Because the estate tax already has a very large

2011 Battle "E" Winners Announced

Here's the list of SUBPAC Battle "E" winners for 2011:

Commander Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 1: USS Texas (SSN 775)
SUBRON 3: USS Olympia (SSN 717)
SUBDEVRON 5: USS Connecticut (SSN 22)
SUBRON 7: USS Santa Fe (SSN 763)
SUBRON 11: USS Hampton (SSN 767)
SUBRON 15: USS Buffalo (SSN 715)
SUBRON 17: USS Nebraska (SSBN 739) - Blue and Gold
SUBRON 19: USS Michigan (SSGN 727) - Gold
Submarine Tender: USS Frank Cable (AS 40)
Floating Dry Dock: Arco (ARDM 5)
Special Category: Devil Ray (TWR 6)

It looks like Hampton and both Nebraska crews are repeat submarine winners from last year, while Michigan kept the award on the boat, it just went to the other crew. (Frank Cable and Arco also won last year.) I'm glad to see my old boat Connecticut on the list, especially since DEVRON 5 didn't give out an "E" last year. The award for Texas comes only a few days after she returned from her initial WESTPAC.

I'll post the SUBLANT list as soon as I see it.

Update 1645 03 Jan: Here's the SUBLANT list:
SUBRON 2: USS Providence (SSN 719)
SUBRON 4: USS New Hampshire (SSN 778)
SUBRON 6: USS Newport News (SSN 750)
SUBDEVRON 12: USS Annapolis (SSN 760)
SUBRON 16: USS Florida (SSGN 728) - Blue and Gold
SUBRON 20: USS Alaska (SSBN 732) - Blue and Gold