Blog

The fate of the galaxy rests in the most unlikely of hands Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! I thought we were on the other side of the mosquito surge, but no. They’re back after some high winds and heavy rains. A new bumper crop of the evil creatures. Here’s Stanley as we pioneer an expanded trail […]

When the chips are down, you’ll find out what you’re really made of: 21 Free Books + a Post-Apocalyptic Gear Giveaway Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! This is Monday’s newsletter early (so you won’t get one on Monday, June 14). That free Post-Apocalyptic promo ends tomorrow, so I have to get the word out today. And […]

There is nothing like having a happy dog in the house Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Stanley is finally here. He’s settling in and enjoying the great outdoors. How about a few pictures?    Stanley riding in Comfort Class on the final leg to Alaska. He’s wearing his official gear as a trained Service Animal. He’s also […]

There’s nothing more exciting than a combat drop. Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Did you ever get the feeling that someone was watching you? With their big brown eyes…  The moose have been hanging around our place for the past week. We’ve let our willow grow up so they have their usual food source. They are […]

The judge returns and she’s bringing a world of hurt to the bad guys Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Nothing replaces words like pictures… here’s our homestead in Alaska as the growth returns for a brief but vibrant period of time where it’s too light to see the stars. They will return with the dark come […]

Units without mutual support are doomed Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! The weather is nigh unto perfect. Highs are getting to 60 (16C) and lows are in the 30s (2-4 C). Mosquitoes have reared their ugly heads but they’re still shaky flying. There’s been a little wind lately and that keeps the aerial assault fleet grounded. […]

The silver lining in a springtime cloud Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Here’s the same back driveway I shared a couple weeks ago, but this time, it’s fresh with ruts from the water truck that refilled our tank. I’ll have my ground crew, the team who takes care of my yard, level this before it dries […]

Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Warmth is here. The snow is disappearing at a high rate of speed. Already, the low temperatures are above freezing. The lakes in our yard are growing. As the ground thaws, that’s getting pretty smushy, too. No threat of water getting into the house as the water flows away, but the […]

Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! Warmth is coming. We set a new cold record here in Fairbanks. 185 days straight where the high temperature has been below 40F/4C. But this coming week, it’s supposed to launch us above freezing every single day. Here’s what the forecast shows. We’ll know spring is almost over when the lows […]

Greetings from the Sub-Arctic! It’s been snowing most of the last four days. It’s not bad if you like being buried. Our house and yard are under a solid four feet. The picture is from in front of our garage. We drove out on Saturday when there was only about four to six inches on […]

More from my unpublished memoirs. After we left Russia, I was assigned to the Cooperative Threat Reduction group out of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. I first worked nuclear materials tracking, but that wasn’t going to work out as I would have to travel back to Russia. The Russians had made it clear, no returns […]

And the time of our formal wedding was upon us! I had reserved everything a year in advance from the comfortable confines of my basement apartment in Seoul, Korea. I reserved rooms in Dalhousie Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, contacted a photographer, coordinated with the minister, and locked on a bagpiper. All was well. Our wedding […]

Korean food is magnificent, once you develop a taste for it. And like any culture, once you start to understand it, your appreciation is greatly enhanced. Koreans like to fix things that are broken. Not all fixes come from the manual – Koreans pride themselves on their ingenuity. The MARFORK offices were out of the […]

How did I get my assignment to Russia? If I said “Because I didn’t ask for it?” would that make sense? I had been in my job as the G-2, the senior Intelligence Officer, for Marine Forces Korea for only a few months, but it was time to start asking about a new job because […]

On the same trip to Abu Dhabi, we met with the senior leadership from the UAE’s military. We were briefed in the van on the trip through the city to the military headquarters. Everyone in line from most senior to most junior. It was cool. I was the second most junior.We filed off the van […]

Dinsmere was a Lance Corporal, having been promoted back after getting busted to PFC. He was a great Intelligence Marine, but not a Marine’s Marine. We were on an exercise and had the opportunity to find and explore a MAZ-543 with a Scud missile. The MAZ was a massive eight-wheeled missile transporter with a small […]