Let's Talk About PT Tests

 In 1973 I took my fist PT Test at Fort Knox, KY.  A trainee in E-13-4, I lost 40 pounds in basic training.

In 1998, I took my final PT test for the Army.  I passed it, just barely, but I knew that it was time to retire.

The Army PT Test is weighted for age.  Old farts like me don't have to run the two miles as fast as the kiddos in the ranks.  My last PT Test I had to run 2 miles in 19:36.  I made it in 19:30.  And damn near puked at the finish line. I knew it was time to retire. I was 45 years old.  I think that at that time an 18-year-old had to run the test in 16-something to pass, with the max score in the 12 minute mark. Or something like that.

The point is, the Army PT Test is weighted for age.  No one expects a 40-year-old to make the same times or scores as an 18-year-old.  Bust, there are standards for the old farts, and they need to meet them.

As a trainee at Knox, I was surprised one morning to a General Officer doing PT with us. Then, he got in line for breakfast. At our company mess hall we had a horizontal ladder we had to traverse before we could enter the mess hall.  The General went through the ladder with the rest of us.  That is leadership.

When I was training with the 5th Division at Fort Polk, it was not uncommon to see the commanding General huffing and puffing his tired ass around the water towers.  From tower-to-tower was a 3-mile run and the General was out there with us.  That is leadership.

If a General Officer in the Pentagon cannot pass the standard APFT, he has no business being on active duty.  It's simple, it is a bsic standard,

The Appointments

 He's naming them quicker than I can keep track, but just about the time I heard the SecDef pick, I found this  comment.

Thomas says:

Pete Hegseth as SecDef! Exactly the kind of fire-breathing shot in the arm that's needed to clean house and start rebuilding it the way it needs to be.

I concur.  Were it me, the first meeting I'd have would require every flag officer in the Pentagon to meet me at a PT Field in gym uniform.  Those officers would take the PT test that they require basic trainees to pass.  Any that failed the test would be handed retirement papers and told to report to whichever office conducts out-processing.  That would send a message that basic standards must be enforced and that leadership is top-down.

House Control

 According to 270 to win, Republicans control 219 seats, Dems control 210, and 6 are undecided.  That gives the Republicans a slim majority to keep the house.

Trump has appointed Elis Stefanik as his ambassador to the United Nations,  Stefanik is from New York and I'm not sure how that state fills House seats between elections.

Until the House is decided, Trump needs to keep a close eye on appointing Congress-critters to his administration.  We don't want to give the Dems a foot in the door. We have to keep the House, and the Senate, if we want to get the agenda fulfilled, and this is certainly something that should be considered.

If Trump is looking for a Secretary of the Army,  PawPaw is available and won't wreck the House majority.

Jus' Wonderin'

 I heard something today and went to the Google to see if it was true.

Joe Biden got just over 81 million votes in 2020.  Trump got a little over 74 million.

Kamala got 71 million votes last week, and Trump got a but more than the 74 million he got in 2020.

So, I'm wondering what happened to those 10 million Biden votes?  Did they just stay home, or did they ever exist in the first place?  Did Biden get 10 million bogus votes in 2020?

Veterans Day

 The eleventh day of the eleventh month, and we recall the Armistice that ended the Great War to end all wars. Today is Veterans Day.  You are welcome.

I see that President Trump has appointed Tom Homan to be the new Border Czar.  That's a good pick, Tom knows what he is doing and what needs to be done.

I also see that some of Harris' acolytes are asking Biden to step down and make Kamala the president for the lame duck session.  Harris has that in her power via the 25th Amendment, but of course they are calling for a man to do something for her that she is eminently able to do for herself.

I have some stuff to do today, so I'd best get after it.

Deluge

 We have an atmospheric river overhead, dropping coious amounts of heavy rain on us.

It's been raining like this for about four hours and it doesn't look like it is going to let up anytime soon. We have vertainly gootn an inch or ore since it started, and I hope I don't have to build an ark.

The 4B Movement?

 Never heard of it, until today.  Evidently it is a movement started in Korea, where the feminists vow to not date men, not have sex, not marry men, and hot have children.  It's a way to resist the patriarchy, or something.

From watching liberal tears on YouTube, I find the women who profess this movement are woefully unattractive, screeching harpies that I would not give a second look, even if I were not a happily married man. A quick introduction here.

American lefty women are so absolutely ignorant of what the Dobbs decision actually said, that they believe that we have a de-facto abortion ban in the US. That is simply not true. It has not happened and will not happen. Yet, these harpies have decided that it is true.

In short, gentlemen, it pays to remember the old adage:  "Don't stick your dick in crazy."

Utter Incompetence

 How is it possible, on Friday after the Tuesday election, we still don't know who won?

As of this posting, there are still 23 house seats that have not yet been determined.  There is no way it should have taken this long.  The only plausible answer is sheer, utter incompetence.  We do this every two years and the officials in charge of counting the votes should have figured it out by now.

Upgrade

When we bought the house in 2004, it had the old florescent tubes in the kitchen.  They worked fine for 20 years, but eventually, the ballast went out.  It was time to make  change.

I am not an electrician, but I do know how to change a socket or a switch, so I went to YouTube and started  looking around.  Watched a couple of videos then got out the ladder and some hand tools.  Found the proper breaker and turned it off. 

Total time on this job was about an hour, and that included running to town to buy the bulbs.  The kitchen is bright now, holy-moly.  It's bright.  

If you're afraid of this job, don't be.  It really is as easy as it looks.  IF you can change a switch, you can do this.  As with all things electrical, shut off the power and proceed slowly.  This is not a bad job.

The Meltdown

The meltdown is real.  A compilation.

Well, That's Over

 It looks as if Donald Trump has pulled out an historic win for the presidency.

Somebody tell Joe. Kamala is going to be pissed, and she still wants to be the president.  SHe's probably plotting a 25th Amendment takeover.  I wouldn't put it past her.

As of this posting, she still has not conceded.  There are still votes to count and she has work to do.