Email Blender

If blogs aren't for anything else, they're at least good for a place to post links for interesting web sites. Here's another one: http://emailblender.com/

Fun stuff, yet again.

Colin's Column Book Club: Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944

This month's book club selection is another from the World War II genre. Currently, our course of study is focusing on the European theater, primarily the D-Day invasion.

Beginning today, Tuesday, with the Preface and first couple of chapters, we will investigate and discuss the book periodically but without a set schedule.

Of course, comments are always welcome.

Colin's Column Book Club: Pegasus Bridge

I posted recently about my history kick, and part of that kick has involved browsing the history section at Borders and a run to the West Jordan library. Here's one that I found and highly recommend:

Title: Pegasus Bride: June 6, 1944
Author: Stephen E. Ambrose

This book is about a lesser known event that occured as the first victory on D-Day. Major John Howard lead an attack and seizure of two bridges behind enemy lines that proved to be vital for the invasion of Normandy. I join the many who have at least heard of and know about the D-Day invasions at Sword , Omaha, Gold, and Utah Beaches. D-Day is known as the single largest air/sea invasion in the history of the world and put the Allies in a position to move cross continent and push Germany back, eventually closing in on Berlin and taking Hitler's army out of the war.

However, the battle at Pegasus Bridge is a relatively unknow piece of that D-Day invasion. This book does an incredible job setting the scene for the battle, taking the reader through the training of soldiers, explaining the background of many of the key individuals involved, and even minute by minute detail of the actual landing of gliders and capture of the bridges.

I haven't read anything else by Ambrose, but you can bet I've got more of his books on hold at the library. This book was very well written, organized, and detailed. It was a nice 200 pages that moved quickly, never dulled, and captured the moment very well. I don't have any kind of thumbs up, 3 star, 1-10 rating or anything... but I really really enjoyed this book. Another thing about this book that made it nice, although very detailed and descriptive, the vulgarity and gory details that we are very aware of were left out for the benefit of the reader. Clean, concise, captivating, and just an all around great book.

My history kick

I can't quite place the exact beginning, but somewhere in the past couple weeks I have started up on this history kick. I think it started as a result of three different triggers: browsing a war book at Borders, finding a page from my grandpa's own war journal, and coming to the realization that I know very little about some of the most important things that have happened in this world.

Every time I need a break from work, I head across the street to Borders. Not too far away, but enough to get a little walk, some fresh air, and then the variety of items to browse and play with are enough to keep me entertained. But one day, I stumbled upon a book in the discount section called "Turning the Tide of War: 50 battles that changed the course of modern history." Very interesting summaries of specific battles, complete with diagrams, maps, etc. I found it all very intriguing because I really didn't know that much about most of those wars.

Sometime around that day (possibly before Borders, possibly after) I was rumaging through old papers in a box, mostly old elementary school art projects, old reports, stuff I hope to show my kids one day. But I found on the back of one of my sketches (a picture of my fictitional comic book character: eXtinguisher) a detailed account from a World War II vetrans' experience flying a B-52 bomber named the "Vicious Virgin." Intrigued by it and figuring it must be my grandfather's journal/memoir, I asked my dad if any such document existed. Regrettedly, he said nothing that he knows of, but he wishes he had obtained something like it before Grandpa died. Confused, I asked my dad what Grandpa's plane was named and immediately started a family mystery when my dad confirmed that indeed, Grandpa's plane was the Vicious Virgin. Now the hunt in on to find out where my found page had come from. Something exists, somewhere, and it is something my dad did not know about.

Between these two events an overriding feeling of ignorance hung over me. There's a heck of a lot of history that I know virtually nothing about, and should learn. Added to that feeling, a friend recommended a new historical war board game to me, Memoir '44. I've now got a full fledge history hunger, particularly World War II. Off to the local library, google.com, and my mom and dad's basement.

The end of a short era

Well, my short time in a corner office with a beautiful view out the window has come to an abrubt hault. Apparently, we are rearranging offices a bit and that means I'm out of my spacious corner cube. I'll need to snap a few pictures out the window to remember this view. It's always sad when the best view I'll probably ever have from my work place comes and goes at such a young age.

I'm moving now to a cramped little cubicle that is within site of a window, but about an eighth the size of this current one. Oh well... it was nice while it lasted and I knew it wasn't permanent.

Pictures to come soon.

Frapper

I am amazed at all the cool tools and toys that continue to show up on the net. Here's another one that deserves some attention. http://www.risingconcepts.com/frapper/

I created a lil' link for all you readers out there: http://www.risingconcepts.com/frapper/colinscolumnreaders

Colincam

Colincam has launched. Unfortunately, it's not streaming video, and only updates about once every minute or two... but it's up and running!

I waited a LONG 5 months for Comcast to make good on the promised promotional item, but it finally arrived on Monday. What was said to be 4-6 weeks turned into almost that many months! Rediculous.

The page will update while I'm at work, maybe a little at home, but probably not at night.