Catching Up

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, like Winston Churchill to the Admiralty in 1939, is back. There is so much to blog about, and so little time to do so. This post will likely be just one big long excursion to where ever your Maximum Leader feels like blogging... Where to begin?

First off, thanks to the Minister of Agriculture for posting while your Maximum Leader was away. He'll be called to do so again in a week or so when your Maximum Leader will have to be gone a few days.

Well, in case any of you are interested. The Virginia Tech vs. Maryland game last Thursday was fun. Well, it was a blow-out actually. Tech 55, Maryland 6. To be honest, your Maximum Leader and his party departed at half-time with the score 41-3. It had begun to rain, and none of us wanted to get wet watching a game where it was clear who the victor would be. One little interesting side-note... Your Maximum Leader was last in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1997-ish. He was there to help the AirMarshal move out after earning his PhD. At that point, Blackburg was a smallish town dominated by a huge university. What a difference about 7 years make. Now there are malls (plural - many of them), highway by-passes, and "urban" sprawl. Amazing really. Your Maximum Leader could hardly find his way around. Indeed, Mrs. Villain, and the Villainous-sister-in-law, both graduates of Virginia Tech, could hardly find their way around either. Crazy really.

Excursus: Your Maximum Leader sees that Uma Thurman and her "boyfriend" are buying the late Bob Guccione's estate in New York. Guccione, the late Penthouse publisher, owned a nice spread up near Albany. Now it will be Uma's. If walls could talk... Your Maximum Leader wonders if Uma is a little minx... Ahem...

Your Maximum Leader recently saw a news article stating that "Humans Were Born to Run." According to this study, scientists are now claiming that mankind's upright stance, arm length and position, curvature of hips and so forth all stem from our ability to run. The scientists go on to say much of our physiology is geared towards running. Your Maximum Leader, while not a researcher in this field, wonders if these scientists examined the human knee. From everything your Maximum Leader had read, the human knee is well designed for upright walking, but takes a real beating when running. And thus, human knees wear out quickly. If we were born to run wouldn't one anticipate better knees?

Your Maximum Leader has been reading regularly about India's decisions to start to demilitarize the disputed provence of Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Singh and Pakistani President Musharrif seem to be moving towards more serious negotiations over the status of this provence. Here is one article (now old) from The Times of India on this subject. Your Maximum Leader had planned to write a larger piece on this subject, but he's been OBE. This will have to do for now.

Excursus: What is OBE you ask? Well, certainly some readers will think "Has our Maximum Leader gone loopy? The Order of the British Empire has no contextual reference in that last line." In this case, loyal minions, your Maximum Leader is using OBE as an abbreviation for "overtaken by events." He uses it from time to time. Just as he sometimes uses Churchill's KBO abbreviation for "keep buggering on."

Thanks to Sadie for her link to the Dante's Inferno Quiz. It appears as though Sadie and your Maximum Leader will cavort with each other in the Second Level of Hell.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Moderate
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Bill suggested your Maximum Leader determine what colour lightsaber he would have. But alas, the quiz is no longer open to the public. But, knowing himself, your Maximum Leader is pretty sure he'd be red.

Damn the Poet Laureate! Your Maximum Leader had planned on doing a whole "Alexander the Great, bisexual" post; but the Big Hominid seems to have already done one. Your Maximum Leader still might opine on this subject. Especially since Greeks are angry about the upcoming movie.

And your Maximum Leader would like to close by thanking the Smallholder, once again. But thank him for his "Uncle John" story. Your Maximum Leader had the good fortune to meet the Smallholder's Uncle John a few times. He will recount one of those meetings here. A number of years ago the US Navy docked the USS Wisconsin in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. At that time, your Maximum Leader had his Villainschloss in Virginia Beach, VA. He got a call one day from the Smallholder's Vater and Uncle John. They had come to town to see the battleship and wondered if they could stop by. They were very welcome of course, and your Maximum Leader got some thick steaks for the grill and proceeded to cook-out.

Over beers, your Maximum Leader asked Uncle John if he had ever seen the Wisconsin before. Uncle John replied that yes he had seen the ship before. But never so close. Uncle John said that the Wisconsin was using her 16 inch guns to blast Japanese positions when he last saw her. He said he remembered that he could hear the report of the Wisconsin's guns OVER his own gun's report. Hearing a 105mm gun he was standing next to being drowned out by the sound of a gun being fired from over 10 miles away filled Uncle John with mixed emotions. Your Maximum Leader remembered him saying, "I felt sorta sorry for them [the Japanese being bombarded]. But I was damn glad it wasn't me they were shooting at." With that Uncle John took a swig of beer (which he called "fancy beer" by the way - it was Sam Adams), and described his memories of seeing the Wisconsin's shells fly over his position and land in his own target area. Then Uncle John changed the subject and we moved on to more mundane topics. But, it was a good conversation to have. Alas, your Maximum Leader never was able to have a similar conversation with his paternal grandfather who was a Seabee in the Pacific Theatre.

God bless, Uncle John.

Carry on.