RayInJapan

db - you still crack me up...domo

XXX - thanks mate - glad to be back. Thanks for asking - Neck is fine - doc cleared me for snowboarding so that's good. My jet skiing season was non existant though, so I'm looking forward to a really good snowboarding season. Not sure how much I'll get to go though - seems Momo is with child and going every weekend without her might make me feel a little guilty. Finally snowed up here night before last so thats good but the only prediction I have is that my Japanese buds say that cool summers = mild winters. Last year they were right - Summer 2002 was cool, and we had a mild (though fun)

damn jelly fish!

At this point - just being able to snowboard...still trying to get the neck healed, and if winter started today, I'd be watching from the couch still...

End0, the sit downs are way faster than stand ups. Stand ups bone stock top out at about 50mph, whereas sit downs bone stock can be over 65mph. I bought my first stand up last year and found out they are not that easy to ride. I've won a few races on my sit downs. I pride myself on being reasonably coordinated but when I get up on my stand up, it humbles me quickly. I usually end up with a lot of water up my nose, kinda like when I used to surf way back when...

You know, I love what America stands for, and I'm very patriotic, but I have my fair share of times when I'm not that crazy about the good ole USA. For example, I love the fact that here in Japan, I don't have to worry about someone stealing my jet skis if they're on the trailer outside while I'm watching a movie. On the flip side, I hate the fact that most Japanese drivers have a tendency to run red lights while most Americans do the right thing and stop at them. Its not a perfect world thats for sure...people have been searching for Utopia for thousands of years.

Nice dawg Plucky. Have you seen the Bull Mastiffs around here that I mentioned?

Dang it, I thought I was done with this, but my name keeps popping up. Fair enough. First off - no one said this directly or indirectly for that matter but for the record, even though I'm hard core military, I do have some conscience along with the ability to determine true right from wrong. Now FT - I read the article but just because its in Time Magazine doesn't mean its pure fact. I'm not saying its BS either, just not putting a whole lot of weight behind it cause I don't have all the facts. I am skeptical about the claim of Russia oil producing capability. If oil if every

I have a definite weak spot for "American Cherries", though the ones sold during the winter that come from Venezuela taste identical to me and I gobble them up just the same. I don't care much for Japanese Cherries - a little too sour for me.

We don't get cheese allowances, but we do get a food allowance which we can buy cheese with. Black hawk down is a good movie OC. Very accurate and realistic from my point of view. It doesn't really focus on politics. I think the street combat scenes are very close to what the guys in Iraq experienced in some locations. How'd you like it?

How about Fang in the second Harry Potter movie? He's an awesome specimen too. Love to have a dog like him. I also like Poms but Momo thinks they are squeeky and won't let me get one. Anyone ever have a pet Chinchila? There are a ton of them in the pet stores up here...look cuddly as hell but I have my doubts about the kind of pet they'd be.

Now we're talking FT. I would love to get paid to ride jet skis. One of my old team mates in Okinawa works at a beach resort and spends most of his work days giving jet ski rides to gals in bikinis. I could do that I think... The jet skis I have vary in cost - all except the pepsi logo one were bought here on the Japanese economy brand new. As you know everything over here is more expensive but at least they come with warranties. My 95 Seadoo cost 95 man back in 1995, my white 2001 Yamaha GPR cost 1,350,000 yen, my red 2002 Kawasaki cost 1,300,000 last year, and my 2002 Yamaha

Found the following on a jet ski forum...its attributed to Robin Williams. I thought it was pretty damn funny, and a damn good plan. I especially like number 10. By Robin Williams: I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of one plan for peace. "Books, not Bombs" won't work. The head mullahs won't let anyone read them. If they do, they poke their eyes out. Here's the plan: 1) The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini and the rest of them 'good old boys'. We will ever "int

I have a japanese mix pooch in Okinawa - didn't bring her up here cause I was tired of her long hair shedding and getting all over the place, so I gave her to Momo's mom and they're loving her. Even taught her to understand japanese. Up here in Misawa, there are a lot of Bull Mastiffs. HUGE dogs! They weight about 100Kg! Last year, I'd go out running at 5am (the sun is up at 4am up north here in the summer) and the local yakuza gopher boys would be out "running" their bosses Bull Mastiffs by tying their leashes to the side of a small truck and then driving slowly to exercise them. Ver

Jesus H. Christ, does every thread have to turn into more bashing (for/against) the US/UK and their policies? What the Fck! Back to Hides original question: Ocean was spot on with his characterization. I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for a lot of US military seeing as I've spent nearly 24 years in the military now. Most folks initially join to earn money for an education, and most plan to get out after their first 3-6 year hitch. Most US military do not join with the intention of fighting a war and don't plan to put their own lives at risk, but will do

Kintaro - no worry brah - its cool. I might be down in Sendai next weekend for a jet ski race - I can't race yet, but we might go to support our team. Maybe we can hook up... OC - That conversation doesn't mean squat to me. The voice of the reporter that was there and talked to the lawyer means a lot more. You see, it doesn't matter to me that we "rescued" her by shooting our way in or not - what matters to me, is that we were able to go in and get her. I really don't give a rats ass if someone fabb'd up a story or not, what is important is she came home. I suppose its hard fo

Sorry to not have responded earlier - I was back in Okinawa for the last 2 weeks for a follow-up at the docs...anyway, Kintaro - do you ever check your private messages? OC - Wag the dog - interesting movie - the plot of that movie has crossed my mind more than a few times. As for the "guardian" story...Its the first time I'm hearing of it but I do know a few things. The truth will come out. We're not robots, and if in fact the rescue was a show, then Jessica and the Marines who participated will speak up. I also would expect them to speak up if in fact it was a real rescue.

No sure what I said that indicate folks who work behind computers suck, but 1/2 of my job is spent behind a computer every day, and the other half is spent working with folks who spend their entire day behind computers - I'm in the communications part of the AF, so why would I say computer folks suck? What I meant was, its incredibly easy to "be brave" when sitting behind a computer on the net (Kintaro is a case in point), and a whole different situation in person. I reckon your reckoning is wrong FT. A million deaths? By the hands of the US? Now whose reading propoganda? Y

It doesn't take courage to hold up a peace sign. Hell, just about anybody except for the paralyzed folks can do that. Not every soldier is a hero, but regardless of what side you're on, it takes a lot of courage to put yourself in the path of a bullet. But its not the soldiers themselves that call themselves heros. Its folks who believe the soldier is fighting for a just cause that call the soldier hero. For everyone that feels strongly that this war was unjust, here is your chance to display your displeasure. The Kitty Hawk battle group will be coming home soon. If the war was so

Interesting timing OC - I watched an A&E special last night called "Saving Private Lynch" that went into detail on the whole operation. Politics aside, I think what the lawyer did was heroic. It takes a lot of guts to walk 10km out to "the enemy" and talk to them, knowing that its wide open desert so your own Iraqi soldiers/fedayeen could be watching you do it, and then do it twice more to bring "the enemy" maps of the hospital layout. Then he went back into the hospital with a hidden camera to videotape the guards and layout. If he had been searched, he would have been killed inst

I remember last year - we were just learning still and had only gone 6 times when the season basically ended for us at the end of March. I remember thinking "damn - 8 more months to go until we can go snowboarding again". But then we got our jet skis out of the garage, and went every weekend until mid November, and were snowboarding again on 30 November. Time flew by, and we didn't think much about snowboarding until Octoberish. The key is having multiple hobbies that are a lot of fun, then going hardcore when the each season starts. Makes for a lot less "downtime" doing nothing, an

Slightly claustrophobic eh OC? Remind me not to take you cave diving anywhere. I've been through numerous MRIs - pretty interesting machines but they are loud. On a serious note, I hope that what ails you isn't serious. I saw the avie show too - it was pretty interesting. The kids that rescued them are still on the job at Arai. One is a groomer, and the other is in charge of the patrols I think.

Ok, some of you are not quite playing by the rules...no need to rehash the virtues (or lack) of the Iraq war. Thats been beat to death. What I'd like to know is, what are we supposed to do when there is a renegade dictator out there who is killing and suppressing his people? Or when one country invades another with the intent on keeping it? Or when 2 countries decide its in their best interests to go to war with each other, and they have nukes? And what about civil war? There are many going on in the world right now and thousands more are dying than have died in Iraq, yet hardly anyo

Then what is? Very serious question for those out there who think that war is never the answer. Without getting specific about this current Iraq war, what would you do to create world peace assuming that: A - A Palestinian State is created and, B - All US military is removed from the middle east and Turkey (which I hope happens soon). My take is that once that happens, there will still be turmoil in the middle east. Either the Kurds will fight with Turkey, or the Shiites will fight the Sunnis or a combination of both. The Taliban will regain some of their strength, a

Hold on DS - The military is not untouchable. There are some folks right now under arrest for stealing Iraqi "treasure" among other things. I think the point folks are trying to say is, don't blame "the military" for the war - they just do what they're told. There is a distinct difference between the messenger, and the persons who created the message. If people want to disagree with it, thats fine, but they need to focus their feelings on the folks who create it, not the folks who execute it.