Thoughts on Generals Mattis and Flynn

I've written previously about General James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret.), to include posting a bunch of quotes from the man whom we admirers fondly refer to as "The Warrior Monk". The Trump transition team recently announced that General Mattis will be the incoming administration's nominee for Secretary of Defense. A lot of my friends have sought my reaction, and if we're being honest, I had hoped that General Mattis would run for President in the election that's just come to a close. Under the circumstances, I'm not displeased that he'll be the nominee for SecDef.

Given that many folks aren't so intimately familiar with General Mattis' career as am I, I thought I'd put together a quick post with some items in which he's featured since retiring. In late 2013, The Director sent me a link to General Mattis' lecture at the Foreign Policy Research Institution, aptly titled "Reflections of a Combatant Commander in a Turbulent World".

In June of 2014, General Mattis was interviewed by Harry Kreisler of UC Berkeley. You can download the podcast, or watch the video on YouTube. General Mattis is known for his direct manner of public speaking, as evidenced in that original quote compilation I posted. This interview, of which I was unaware until a few days ago, provided a brand new Mattis anecdote with which I was previously unfamiliar:

"In Pakistan's case, when I first got there [in 2001], and landed in Islamabad, I had a great little map, and it showed what I was gonna do, showed a little ship out in the ocean and an arrow going to Afghanistan, and this sort of thing. And I walked in to see our ambassador there, I'd landed at midnight, walked into her office about eight o'clock in the morning, and she said, 'Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my country?' and I thought, 'This isn't going to go so well.' So I said, 'Well, Madame Ambassador, my name's Jim Mattis. I'm gonna take about a thousand of my best friends up in Afghanistan and kill some people.' And she said, 'Really, General?' And I said, 'Yes, ma'am.' She said, 'Well, sit down, I think I can help you.'"
- General James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret.), 2014

In January of 2015, General Mattis testified before the Senate Armed Services committee on national security threats. He's a fellow at the Hoover Institution, and in February of 2015 he published an essay entitled "A New American Grand Strategy", which echoed many of the points he made in his testimony. In April of 2016, General Mattis addressed the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a lecture entitled "The Middle East at an Inflection Point". As I mentioned earlier, General Mattis is a fellow at the Hoover Institution, and in May of 2016 they released a podcast of a speech he gave entitled "General Mattis: What Should We Do About Iran?". In September, General Mattis and fellow Hoover analyst Kori Schake were interviewed by Ryan Evans for the War on the Rocks Podcast about their new book on civil-military relations.

Without opining on President-Elect Trump, from a purely analytical standpoint, the selection of General Mattis suggests that a number of the controversial statements that Mr. Trump made during the campaign may have been mostly bluster - "serious, but not literal", as the vogue phrase states.

First, judging from his tenure as Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, General Mattis is likely to be unapologetic about cutting wasteful Pentagon spending. As an example, he drastically scaled back USJFCOM's investigation of "Transformation" concepts and technologies, most notably Effects Based Operations. These programs had a lot of political capital behind them, and produced lucrative contracts, but proved to be limited in their battlefield utility in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, General Mattis' selection suggests the possibility of fiscal responsibility on the part of the Trump Pentagon.

Second, General Mattis has been an outspoken advocate for America's coalition and alliance partnerships, particularly but not limited to NATO. (For most of his tenure at USJFCOM, General Mattis was "dual-hatted" as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation.) President-Elect Trump's comments about NATO and other American allies raised questions about the future of those partnerships under a Trump presidency; General Mattis will push to maintain those alliances.

Third, General Mattis' testimony before the Senate, among other public remarks, suggest that contrary to his reputation as a ruthless killer - earned though it is - General Mattis is likely to caution President Trump against precipitous use of armed force in open-ended conflicts with poorly defined or insufficiently resourced goals. Basically, America will either be slower to enter into military engagements that don't serve the natural interest, or General Mattis' tenure as Secretary of Defense will be short-lived.

As an aside, several friends have also asked me about Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, President-Elect Trump's selection for National Security Advisor and one of the more vocal members of his campaign team. I'll admit to not having heard of General Flynn prior to the election. On Friday, I listened to a couple of interviews with him, one from SOFREP Radio, and the other from the International Spy Museum. I'd like to give both podcasts another listen, but General Flynn said some pretty smart things about how the Department of Defense learned the wrong lessons from Operation Desert Storm and then ran around trying to fit all future engagements into that operational concept. That's something that I've been saying for years, and it's pretty controversial among foreign policy folks. I'm less confident about General Flynn's appointment than I am with General Mattis, but unlike the six minute NPR segment on Lieutenant General Daniel Bolger from 2014, General Flynn didn't say anything in roughly two hours of interviews that came off as immediate red flags to me. I share some of my progressive friends' concerns about General Flynn's son spreading the "PizzaGate" conspiracy theory, and it seems appropriate that the junior Flynn was subsequently fired from the transition team as a result.

I'm decidely less enthusiastic about some of President-Elect Trump's other cabinet picks, but I'm also less qualified to discuss them, so I won't.

First Contact Media, Old and New

Wow. It has been a long time since I posted anything. Without making any promises, I hope to start remedying that a bit.

Last week, basically by accident, I was exposed to a couple of really interesting pieces of media exploring concepts of first contact between humans and aliens. First, I went to see Arrival, which was great. Independent of that film, I'm a longtime fan of the Serial Podcast, and of the Slate Serial Spoiler Special, which led me to subscribe to the Panoply Media RSS feed. For a while, Panoply was putting out a lot of varied material, but that feed has slowed to a trickle. So, when I saw something new and different a few weeks ago, I decided to check it out. It's called LifeAfter (stylized as "lif-e.af/ter"), and you can check out the Teaser, Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3.

LifeAfter is a production of GE Podcast Theater (in association with Panoply Media). I'd never heard of GE Podcast Theater, though I find it interesting to see that we've returned to the golden age of radio and the early days of television, when a single company would sponsor an entire program (typically with advertisements written into the content of fiction programs). I ended up discovering that LifeAfter is actually GE Podcast Theater's second offering: I missed The Message (RSS) in 2015. I listened to the entire run of The Message on Friday (it's just under two hours in total duration). You can listen, too - and in case you're too lazy to look it up, here are the direct links!

Introducing The Message

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

I don't know if there was any "cross-pollination" between The Message and Arrival, but I found the plotlines to be very similar. For film buffs, the obvious examples of inspiration for both are Independence Day (1996) and Contact (1997). However, specific elements of The Message reminded me of a book I read in 2006: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Easily one of the best, most thought-provoking books I've ever read, and one I appreciated enough to give to my mother-in-law. I'll spare everyone any spoilers, but if you've enjoyed The Message and/or Arrival, or just enjoy original science fiction that's not a retread of Star Trek, The Sparrow is definitely worth the investment of your time. (I heard the sequel didn't meet the same high benchmark, but I didn't read it, so I can't say that for a fact.) You can even get it on your Kindle, which wasn't even a thing when I read it!

Operation Cassandra, Phase 2: Data Consolidation

Phase 2 of Operation Cassandra is the consolidation of my own personal data, and the archiving of additional data that I'm pulling from various sources. For the last few years, I've had a lot of data spread across several different assets. I want to get those assets mostly consolidated - with multiple devices at play, it will be difficult to keep them that way for more than a few minutes - to make future use a bit easier. Here are the steps I've established:

1. Consolidate all files into new file structure - As I mentioned above, this basically involves taking all of my files and sorting them into a deliberately structured hierarchy to make them easier to use. As some of them may eventually go online, it will make it easier to enforce the appropriate access controls as well.
2-4. List and clear KFHHG downloads; Determine KFHHG document load; Set KFHHG document load - I've previously mentioned my Kindle Fire Hitchhiker's Guide. Organization of what went onto it, and what came off, has been sort of ad hoc. I want to be more organized about it, so I'm going to figure out what files I've loaded onto it, and clear those files; figure out what stuff I need on there either permanently, or in phases; and set that load. I technically have two of them, so the lists may look a bit different, but it will be an improvement.
5. Dhofar archive - From time to time, I've mentioned my obsession with the Dhofar Rebellion, an obscure conflict that took place in southwestern Oman during the 1960's and '70's. I want to archive the bulk of what's available online, plus all of the work that I've done myself.
6. OGHAP archive - I may have mentioned that I'm writing a book about the First World War. I want to neatly archive all of the materials I've used.
7. History Education Resource Archive (HERA) - When I was in college, I assembled and peddled an archive of public domain history sources, mainly primary source materials, and focused primarily upon ancient history. I'd like to get it a little bit more streamlined (possibly converted into plaintext) and expand it to include some additional sources and topics.
8. Linguistic Asset Resource Archive (LARA) (language archive) - I've collected a lot of foreign language materials over the years, mostly Arabic and a little bit of Latin. I want to get it better organized.
9. Database of Historically Acquired Risk Management Assets (DHARMA) - I've collected a lot of security risk management materials over the years. Between 2009 and 2012, I put a lot of that material together as archives focused on information security and anti-terrorism. I want to consolidate those archives into one, and then expand it to cover additional security risk management categories.
10. Strategic Analysis Resource Archive (SARA) - Not surprisingly, I've collected a lot of stuff related to strategy, military operations, and military history over the years.
11. Figure out BitLocker - The days of "I don't really need encryption" are pretty much over, so I'm hoping to figure out how BitLocker works without locking myself out of any of my own files. So, that should be fun, right?

Work continues. More to come.

Operation Cassandra, Phase 1: Computing Equipment

I've made some progress on Operation Cassandra. The original plan was to embark upon the various phases of the operation in sequential order, but that's kind of fallen apart. Still, the phases help to keep the tasks somewhat organized.

The first phase is squaring away my existing computing equipment. In addition to two legacy Dell laptops, I've had a number of additional bits and pieces laying around, and those needed some attention. The plan has been as follows:

1. Check the functionality of an old laptop hard drive - After an old Rocketfish hard drive enclosure bit the dust, I bought an Inateck USB 3.0 2.5 Inch & 3.5 Inch Aluminum Hard Disk Drive External Enclosure to check the functionality of an old laptop hard drive. It didn't work, but I may give it another go at a later date.
2. Check the functionality of an old desktop hard drive - I used the same Inateck hard drive enclosure to test this hard drive, which is still functional.
3. Check the functionality of an old desktop hard drive - This was a different hard drive from my mother's old desktop computer. Not only was it still functional, but I was amazed to find that it had no malware on it.
4. Clear files and defragment both laptops - I've basically cleared the files, which feeds into Phase 2, but I haven't defragged them yet. 5. Optimize black laptop for OSGEOINT and podcasting use - After Operation Irene, my open source geospatial intelligence laptop sort of became my primary workstation. I want to clear some of the stuff that's accumulated (a lot of it has already been cleared) and optimize it for Phase 4 (Raspberry Pi GSS) and Phase 5 (Geospatial Information Systems) work, as well as podcasting.
6. Optimize green laptop for use as file server - I saw an article (Turn an Old Computer into a Networked Backup, Streaming, or Torrenting Machine with NAS4Free). Once I'm able to get a fresh laptop, I'd like to try my hand at turning my second laptop into a Network Area Storage.

Work continues. More to come.

Orcadian OSGEOINT Exercises

In late 2011 and early 2012, I found myself stuck in a back office in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, bored out of my skull due to a dearth of assignments, but nonetheless required to put in long days at a desk. I ended up spending some of that time acquainting myself with websites pertaining to Orkney. Based on some of those discoveries, I decided to try to combine satellite imagery with available ground photography to identify the location of the Howar Farm on North Ronaldsay. I used one descriptive line...

"Walk along North Ronaldsay's prettiest beach, Nouster Bay, to Howar farm[.] From the Pier or the Bird Observatory it's 30 minutes brisk walk along the sandy bay. Longer if you dawdle to enjoy it."

... and two photos (the headers to this page and this page) as my guides. Below is a montage combining those two images with two aerial images.

The inset, zoomed out image shows the vantage points of the two ground images using white and grey chevrons, the grey chevron being replicated on the lower image. Aside from that, the colored arrows correlate the various elements of each photo for comparison. Here are a few things to note:

Note the two skylights in the barn denoted by the green arrows, and the difference in height between the differently colored roofs of that building.

Note the skylight/vent in both images denoted by the grey arrow.

Note the point at which the out building denoted by the beige arrows narrows.

Note the greenhouse, which appears transparent from above, denoted by the purple arrows.

I went through a similar process to identify The Ruah at the Green Farm on Eday, but they've since updated their website, so I can't take you through that process as well. All that said, it's been really great practice in open source imagery analysis.

Operation Cassandra

A couple of years ago, I blogged about Operation Irene, my effort to turn an old laptop into an "open source geospatial intelligence platform". This post is sort of like that... Sort of.

Let's review.

I worked a variety of jobs between 2006 and 2012, and really wanted to get into some sort of foreign policy analysis gig, but couldn't seem to break through. Between 2010 and 2012, I saved a ton of money (assisted in large part by a contracting gig in the Persian Gulf) and then spent fifteen months getting my master's degree in Scotland, where I graduated with distinction with an MSc in Strategic Studies (of the International Relations variety). (That's Scottish for "at the top of my class".) Despite this, and some other sweet credentials, it took me ten months of job applications and five interviews, tops, to get hired into basically the same job I was doing in 2010. I relocated to my current digs with the intent of eventually transferring or getting hired into something more commensurate with my background.

Fast forward nearly two years, and that plan has yet to pan out. I haven't gotten to the point of giving up on ever doing something related to strategy, but it appears that the foreseeable future shall be spent in information technology. So, in 2016, I need to shore those skills up so that I can poise myself to either get promoted here, or else generate opportunities to leave. Truth be told, if I'm going to be locked into IT work, I don't really feel the need to shackle myself to this particular locale. I need to open up some maneuvering room.

So, what to do? Well, the magic bullet seems to be the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification from (ISC)². I think it may require a couple of other certifications to get me up to the point of being ready to test for it - the CAP and the repeatedly aforementioned PSP, to name but two. I've decided that I need to create some opportunities for hands on experiences on my own home network in order to force some of the more complex concepts to make more sense.

And thus, operation Cassandra, which is like Operation Irene ratcheted up to eleven.

I'm still making final tweaks to the overall plan, but I have it divided into five phases. In Phase 1, I'll be getting my existing equipment sorted. That means basic maintenance on my existing (more-or-less) twin laptops, and tightening up the settings on my home networking gear. Phase 2 will involve organizing my information, to include determining and then loading a "Hitchhiker's Guide" load on my original Kindle Fire. Phase 3 will focus on getting a bit smarter about home network engineering.

The initial phases get me ready for the heavy lifting in Phases 4 and 5. Phase 4 will involve setting up a home enterprise network composed of a set of four or five Raspberry Pi 3 boards configured as servers, and accompanying peripherals. I'm tentatively planning to figure out how to build a web server, a file server, a firewall and intrusion detection system, a GIS server, and potentially something involving shortwave radio. Phase 5 will involve using that home network, and particularly that GIS server, to learn QGIS. In addition to all of the hands-on training, I'd like to accompany the whole thing with the requisite documentation involved in the National Institute of Standars and Technology's Risk Management Framework, which is the federally mandated (and industry standard) framework for establishing, authorizing, and maintaining secure information systems. When all's said and done, I'll include the documentation, via the web and file servers.

If I can pull it all off, I'll have hopefully picked up some actual skills to accompany my existing theoretical understanding of some of these technologies; produced some functional work samples; and made some progress toward some of my personal and professional goals. It'll also get me started in the GIS field, in which I may pursue some formal certifications in the next couple of years.

I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'll try to chronicle each phase for the blog as I'm able.

Culinary Adventures: Manti and Pierogis

Here's another one that doesn't exactly involve a recipe, per se, but I'm counting it as one of my two "recipes" for the month of March. On occasion, I visit a Russian grocery and buy dumplings, pierogis, and "Riga style" sour cream, which I'm pretty sure is just sour cream. Anyway, I normally boil the dumplings and pierogis, which works well enough. However, I tried my hand at lamb manti, and they ended up retaining a lot of fluid, which made them sort of messy. They also didn't quite agree with me. I looked at the actual instructions on the next package, and it claimed that I'm supposed to be steaming them. Steaming them? How am I supposed to do that?

Well, the thing is, I actually have an Oster rice cooker. I hadn't paid much attention to the steaming tray that comes with it, but as it turns out, it's as stupid easy to steam manti and pierogis in a rice cooker's steaming tray as it is to cook rice in a rice cooker - though I'll note that the steaming is a touch more messy than cooking rice. I've done it twice now, and I think I'm going to be making more trips to that Russian grocery to keep my freezer properly stocked.

I've also got some packages of gnocchi that I got from a nearby Italian grocery. As fate would have it, some dude on YouTube has suggestions for cooking gnocchi in the rice cooker, too, so I may give that a try as well. More to come on that topic!

Culinary Adventures: YouTube CrockPot Meals

I've been interested in CrockPot cooking for a long time, but I've never done much of it. Since I'm trying to cook more in 2016, I decided to scour YouTube for a few CrockPot recipes. I found two that I decided to try. First, from a blog by way of a prolific vlogger going by the moniker "She's In Her Apron", I made Honey Sesame Chicken as described in this video.


The second recipe is for Cream of Mushroom Chicken, from a YouTuber going by the name TosTinMan.


I'll be honest, neither of these recipes really lit me up. I'll admit that I didn't follow TosTinMan's advice by removing the skin from my chicken thighs before putting them in the CrockPot, but aside from that I was pretty faithful to both recipes. Neither were terrible, and other folks might have better luck, but I probably won't repeat either of them in the near future. That's actually too bad for the Honey Sesame Chicken, since I now have two bottles of sesame oil (unbeknownst to me, Lady Jaye already had one in our cupboard), and I have no clue how I'm going to use it up. Maybe I'll think of something!

Culinary Adventures: DoD Lime Baked Fish

Unfortunately, I can't count this particular recipe as "new", as I've cooked it before. However, it's my favorite fish recipe, and it's super simple, so I wanted to share it. I've made it two or three times in recent weeks because it's currently Lent, Lady Jaye is Roman Catholic, I'm almost certainly going to end up Roman Catholic as a result, and Catholics are pescatarians on Fridays during Lent, so the time is right.

As I mentioned in that previous post about the DoD Orange Chicken, I get this recipe from The Gitmo Cookbook. My next Gitmo Cookbook effort may end up being a side dish like garlic cheese potatoes, or peas with mushrooms. Anyway, the recipe...

Lime Baked Fish

1 and 3/4 lbs. flounder or sole fish fillets

2 T. lime juice

2 T. butter or margarine, melted

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. paprika, ground

3/4 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Arrange fish in a single layer on a large, sided cookie sheet that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Combine lime juice, butter or margarine, salt, and paprika. Mix well. Drizzle mixture over fish. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes or until fillets flake easily and are lightly browned. Garnish with parsley before serving.

This is a fantastic, easy recipe. I've been substituting tilapia fillets for flounder or sole, and I dispense with the parsley. Also, the original version of this recipe calls for lemon juice, but I prefer a limey taste, so that's how I've presented the recipe. Like the Orange Chicken, I eat it with white basmati rice out of the rice cooker, and it's fantastic.

Culinary Adventures: Ultimate Shepherd's Pie

When I visited Orkney in late 2012, I was introduced to an Orcadian dish called clapshot, which is a mix of mashed potatoes and mashed Swede turnips ("rutabagas" in the American vernacular). One of the more involved dishes I've ever made is shepherd's pie. I decided to make a unique dish combining the two. In early 2010, I concocted a dish I referred to as Shepherd's Pie 2.0, which derived from Rachael Ray's recipe. But, it's not that simple.

I first mentioned clapshot in December of 2012. Last July, I recounted Radio Orkney's Great Clapshot Debate of 2015. I'd found this recipe, and then an Orcadian friend sent me this recipe as well. I knew I was going to have to do a bit of improvisation, and my buddy Gray 1 had told me two things of interest: that 1) it's not clapshot unless the neeps and tatties have been through a freeze to chemically alter the sugars, and 2) some people say it's okay to accomplish that freeze through the use of a freezer. I decided to consult with the Orcadian Equestrian, the source of that second recipe link, for some advice:

Tom: Question for you, ma'am: I've got two neeps and three tatties in the freezer in preparation for clapshot. How long do they need to stay in there before they're ready for cooking?
The Orcadian Equestrian: Your tatties don't need to be in the freezer (although it won't hurt them). My mum - the font of all neep knowledge - would say a week would do, and she boils her neep from frozen and then adds the tatties 15 mins later.

So, in early January, I blocked off a Monday evening and began to experiment. At this point, I'll refrain from sharing my recipe since the first batch I made was highly experimental. I'll also note that it got better with age: in subsequent days, the last pieces were the best, and a good ninety seconds in the microwave appear to have helped in that process. This ended up being my first new recipe of 2016, and I'll count it as an incremental success!

Culinary Adventures: DoD Orange Chicken

In mid-January, I had a brief conversation with a pregnant friend whose family Lady Jaye and I will probably try to take a meal to once she delivers. They're pretty solidly progressive, so I was teasing her that we'd bring them some vegan concoction. She reminded me that:

"You realize the meal that it seems we will traditionally share is fish, right?"

This reminded me of my favorite fish recipe out of The Gitmo Cookbook, which got me thinking: one of my resolutions for 2016 should involve cooking. So, I've set the goal of cooking two new recipes each month. This one was actually the second.

Chicken in Orange Sauce

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 tsp. salt

nonstick cooking spray

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 med. onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3/4 c. orange juice

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

2 T. flour

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

4 T. sugar

Wash chicken thoroughly under cold running water. Drain well. Remove excess fat. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a large, sided cookie sheet that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. DO NOT OVERLAP. Combine orange juice, flour, sugar, salt, paprika, pepper, rosemary, and garlic powder; mix well. Add onions; stir to blend. Pour over chicken. Bake at 400° F. for 22 to 24 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165° F.

So, how did it turn out? I actually really love this recipe. I think I've made it three times now, with a couple of variations. In lieu of cooking spray, I just wrap my cookie sheet in tinfoil and discard the foil when I'm finished. I cube the chicken breasts and dispense with the rosemary entirely. I've cooked this with four, three, and two tablespoons of sugar, and haven't really tasted a difference. Feel free to throw in another tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce a bit. (The sauce will congeal anyway as it cools, but I prefer it a bit thicker.) I haven't tried this as a freezer meal, but it's tasty (I eat it over white basmati rice), easy, and pretty quick.

Reading in 2016

My plan to read eight books in 2015 sort of fell apart about halfway through the year, and 2016 isn't off to a fantastic literary start. But, I still have some high hopes. Here's the situation as it stands.

Last year, I read Cyber War Will Not Take Place by Thomas Rid; Warlords of Oman by P.S. Allfree; The Martian by Andy Weir; Churchill's First War: Young Winston at War with the Afghans by Con Coughlin; and Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force by Robert M. Farley. I had actually started the first two in late 2014, and I eventually got stuck on The Devil's Sandbox: With the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry at War in Iraq by John R. Bruning. My best excuse is that Lady Jaye came out for the Summer, we had other priorities for our time, and I never got back into the habit of reading. So, that was five and a half books out of eight, but sort of four and a half books out of eight.

So, what about this year? Well, we're already two months in, and I have very little reading to show for it. I'm also trying to be a bit more realistic this year, and count professional reading as part of my goals. Here's what's on the tentative agenda - after I've finished The Devil's Sandbox, of course.

1) The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia: I've been trying to finish this book for five years. This needs to be the year, because it's standing between me and my PSP certification, which also plays into the pursuit of my CISSP, both of which are integral to my medium term professional and personal goals. So, there you go. (This one will be supplemented with ATTP 3-39.32 (FM 3-19.30) Physical Security, NIST Special Publications, and a yet-to-be-determined CISSP textbook.)

2) Bleeding Talent: How the US Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a Revolution by Tim Kane: I'm still eager to read this. I would liked to have read it in concert with a couple of books from last year's list, but it's still relevant, so it's still on the list.

3) Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa by Michael Totten: I'm still eager to read this book, and I'm hoping that Lady Jaye will read it with me as well. Michael Totten is a great author who writes on current international issues. Time permitting (who am I kidding?), I may also try to finally finish Where the West Ends, as he's just published another book (Dispatches: Stories from War Zones, Police States and Other Hellholes) that I'd eventually like to read.

4) The Hardy Boys #24: The Short-Wave Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon: Lady Jaye and I made a recent pilgrimage to Powell's City of Books, and while she was looking for some books for some of the kids in her family, I found a cache of The Hardy Boys. Since I'm interested in both nostalgia and shortwave radio, I ended up grabbing a copy of this particular mystery. I'm going to try to chew through it one quiet weekend.

5) An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer: This was another Powell's purchase, and Lady Jaye and I are going to try to read this one together.

6) C.S. Lewis & The Catholic Church by Joseph Pearce: I've been a great admirer of C.S. Lewis for a number of years. Lady Jaye is Roman Catholic, and I've been sort of uncomfortably Anglican for most of my adult life. The rumor is that I'll end up Catholic myself in fairly short order. Last year, Lady Jaye and I took a trip to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and I purchased a copy of this book. I'm looking forward to reading it, and I hope that it will help me continue to make sense of the transition upon which I'll embark.

That's six, but really seven. So, what else might I read? Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin was on last year's list, but it's a bit less pressing since the competition that Lady Jaye and I were going to read it for has passed. I also considered reading The Story of the Malakand Field Force in conjunction with Coughlin's book; but, again, the moment may have passed for now. I'd love to finish Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming and Armor by John Steakley, both of which I started and never finished in recent years. As I'm cooking more this year, I may also try to finish Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, and The Mysterious Island by Jules Vern by way of both Project Gutenberg and, to a greater degree, LibriVox.

Of course, I continue to chew through On War by Carl von Clausewitz. And, I continue to read from the Bible each weekday. I was in a bit of a personal "valley" late last year, and I happened to be reading Jeremiah. I'm going to keep reading in chronological order until I'm through Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. I'm out of my "valley", but I think there's some value to following the Bible's narrative through the course of the Babylonian Exile. What I read when I'm through those four books is anyone's guess.

Hopefully, I'll stick a bit closer to my ambitions than I was able to last year.

2016 Thus Far

I posted a couple of updates in January, and I've been a ghost ever since. So, I wanted to post another update with the intent of posting some subsequent updates as to how my year is panning out.

I brought a few ideas with me from 2015 into 2016, and I wrote them down in February as my formal resolutions.

I want to cook two new recipes per month. Thus far, I'm on track, and I'm planning to post about each individual recipe.

I want to listen to podcasts on strategy, risk management, geographic information systems/sciences, and the First World War, and track that listening in a spreadsheet. Thus far, I'm on track with this, too, and I'll post more about that as well.

I want to complete my PSP and CISSP certifications. I'm still in the early stages on both of these, and I'll discuss them in greater detail.

I want to complete an Arabic language certification. I'm trying to take baby steps on this one.

I'd also like to read nine books, but I'm setting my sights a bit lower than I did last year. More on that to come. Completing a modified BUD/S Warning Order workout is perpetually on my list, but motivation and time are ever-present factors. I also want to get reengaged in my book about the Orcadian Gordon Highlanders. In all three cases, I'm trying to set modest goals and build from there.

I've also been working on a big technology project. My two workhorse laptops are at the end of their useful lives, so I'm working to consolidate my data and recondition both laptops as much as I can, and playing with some other technology. It's a big project, and I'm trying to do it in conjunction with some of my podcast agenda and my CISSP certification goal. Basically, I have some personal goals that are contingent upon developing my information/"cyber" security skills, so I'm trying to use some of those projects to satisfy both academic and practical goals.

So, as usual, I have a lot on my plate, and a lot to blog about, but somewhat limited time to do it all. I'll continue to do as much as I can, but blogging will continue to take a back seat to many of these projects. However, I'm going to try to spend this evening writing up some posts so that I can publish them in a staggered fashion until I have some more time to write more.

Podcasts in 2016: Part 1

As I mentioned recently, I'm making 2016 the Year of the Podcast. I've made a spreadsheet in which I'm tracking what I've listened to. Thus far, in January (and the waning days of December), here's what I've been listening to:

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 000: Introduction

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 001: Firearm Selection with Massad Ayoob

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 002: Provoking an Attack

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 003: Fugitive Recovery with Dan Magnus, Part 1

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 004: Fugitive Recovery with Dan Magnus, Part 2

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 005: Fugitive Recovery with Dan Magnus, Part 3

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 006: "Grows" and Clandestine Drug Labs (Extended Edition)

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 007: Command Presence

Risk Management: Security Professionals: SPP 008: Training Records

Risk Management: ASIS Security Management: BONUS: Terrorism and the Planned Parenthood Shooting

Risk Management: ASIS Security Management: Security Management Highlights December 2015

Risk Management: EuroTrash Security: Episode 1

Risk Management: EuroTrash Security: Episode 2: Didier Stevens

Risk Management: EuroTrash Security: Episode 3: Ewout Meij

Risk Management: Southern Fried Security: Episode 171 - 2015 in Review

Risk Management: Risky Business: Risky Business #394 - Matthew Green talks "crypto bans"

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Are GIS Pros Choosing Esri Community Maps over OpenStreetMap?

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: A Changing LBS Ecosystem, An Executive One-on-One Interview with Kanwar Chadha, CSR plc

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Do We Need Maps in our Location-based Apps?

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Is it Time to Reposition LBS and VGI?

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: FOSS4G 2010 Takeaways and Themes

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Teasing Google's Geo Vision from its Latest ...

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: When a Geospatial Leader Steps Down

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Defining and Sizing the Geospatial Marketplace

Geographic Information Systems: Directions Magazine: Podcast: Will Spatial Queries in Google Fusion Tables Change the World?

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 001

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 002

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 003

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 004

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 005

Geographic Information Systems: A VerySpatial Podcast: A VerySpatial Podcast - Episode 533

First World War: MacArthur Memorial Podcast: The USS Olympia in World War I

First World War: MacArthur Memorial Podcast: The Miracle at the Marne

First World War: MacArthur Memorial Podcast: Douglas MacArthur in the First World War – Part I: The Formation of the Rainbow Division

First World War: MacArthur Memorial Podcast: Douglas MacArthur in the First World War – Part II: Camp Mills

First World War: MacArthur Memorial Podcast: Dazzle Painting

First World War: Imperial War Museum: Voices of the First World War: Episode 11: War at Sea

First World War: Imperial War Museum: Voices of the First World War: Episode 12: Zeppelins over Britain

First World War: Imperial War Museum: Voices of the First World War: Episode 13: Gas Attack at Ypres

First World War: Imperial War Museum: Voices of the First World War: Episode 14: Gallipoli

Strategy: Control Risks: Prospects for Cuba in 2016

Strategy: Control Risks: Doing business in 2016 and the Made in China strategy

Strategy: Control Risks: Geostrategy and the Syrian conflict

Strategy: Control Risks: Africa and the commodities slow down

Strategy: Control Risks: RiskMap Podcast: The US chairs the UN Security Council; fighting IS; the Paris climate change conference.

Strategy: Control Risks: Mobile malware: an evolving threat

Strategy: Control Risks: RiskMap Podcast: We look ahead to the coming year and discuss some of the key themes addressed in our RiskMap 2016.

Strategy: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: Meeting the Houthis and Their Enemies in Yemen

Strategy: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: Crypto Wars

Strategy: Middle East Week: Tunisian Jihadism with Bridget Moreng

Strategy: Middle East Week: Iran-Saudi Arabia Conflict and Its Regional Effects with Phillip Smyth

Strategy: Middle East Week: UK's Role in Syria & Recent Diplomatic Efforts with Michael Stephens

Strategy: The Heritage Foundation: Perspectives on the State of the TSA: Exploring Possible Reforms to the Transportation Security Administration

Strategy: SpyCast: Author Debriefing: Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler

Strategy: SpyCast: Intelligence and the Middle East

Strategy: RUSI: Does Strategy Matter?

Strategy: RUSI: Cyber Weapons

Strategy: BBC Inquiry: Inquiry: What Does the President Need to know?

Strategy: BBC Inquiry: Inquiry: Is Cyber Warfare Really That Scary?

Strategy: BBC Inquiry: Inquiry: What Is The Yemen Conflict Really About?

Strategy: BBC Inquiry: Inquiry: How Strong is NATO?

Strategy: BBC Inquiry: Inquiry: Can We Learn to Live with Nuclear Power?

Strategy: Reuters War College: Women Fighting ISIS

Strategy: KCL War Studies Podcast: Strategy and Security in Cyberspace

Strategy: KCL War Studies Podcast: Western Sahara & Egypt after the Arab Spring

General Interest: The John Batchelor Show: Sat 9/12/15 JBS Author: Fallujah Awakens, Bill Ardolino

General Interest: The John Batchelor Show: Thurs 9/10/15 Hr 4 JBS: Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy, Thomas Wildenberg

General Interest: The John Batchelor Show: Sun 9/13/15 JBS Author: The Road to Fatima Gate, Michael Totten

General Interest: BBC Radio Orkney: Bruck - Monday 11th January 2016.

General Interest: BBC Radio Orkney: Whassigo - Wednesday 6th January 2016

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: Freedom of the Mind

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: Freedom of the Mind

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: Musa's Money

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: PJ O'Rourke on the UK Campaign Trail

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: PJ O'Rourke on the UK Election Trail

General Interest: BBC Documentaries: DocArchive: The Great Space Hunt

General Interest: Serial Podcast: Serial S02 Episode 04: The Captors

General Interest: Serial Podcast: Serial S02 Episode 05: Meanwhile, in Tampa

General Interest: Slate Serial Spoilers Special: Serial Season 2, Episode 1: Slate's Spoiler Special

General Interest: Slate Serial Spoilers Special: Serial Season 2, Episode 2: Slate’s Spoiler Special

General Interest: Slate Serial Spoilers Special: Serial Season 2, Episode 3: Slate’s Spoiler Special

General Interest: Slate Serial Spoilers Special: Serial Season 2, Episode 4: Slate’s Spoiler Special

General Interest: Slate Serial Spoilers Special: Serial Spoiler Special: Jay Talks (But Not To Sarah)

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 00: Introductions

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 01: Bergdahl’s Perception of Reality

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 02: A Question of Accounts

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 03: Should We Believe Bergdahl?

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 04: The Stuff Of Conspiracy Theories

General Interest: Task & Purpose Radio: Task & Purpose Radio, Episode 05: A Ground Perspective

At this point, I have literally thousands of podcasts to listen to. I don't expect to accomplish that over the course of 2015, but I can chew through a lot of them. At this point, I'm trying to check off at least one podcast from each category (Strategy, Security Risk Management, Geographic Information Systems, and the First World War) on each work day.

Stay tuned. More to come.

I Am Not Dead

I have been altogether absent from blogging for awhile. I'm going to try to remedy that.

Let's start with a bit of an update. On New Year's Eve Day, I accepted an offer to take a new job. It's a lateral move, but the money's a bit better, the company's a lot better, and the position itself is a good pivot point for future opportunities. I'm using the change as an excuse to switch a few more things up.

One thing I'm going to try to do in 2016 is cook more often. By and large, I've been able to justify a near-exclusive restaurant diet because it saved me the headache of a lot of cleanup, and it wasn't a significantly different cost compared to what it would cost me to cook something. Whereas my old office was located within a block of many fine purveyors of sustenance, my new office has a single hole-in-the-wall cafe within walking distance. So, in order to try to save money and improve the quality of my diet, I'm going to try to cook two new recipes each month.

Before I got the job offer, I had decided to focus and document my podcast listening habits in 2016 to developing marketable job skills. Initially, I was going to focus on security risk management and geographic information systems (GIS). I added two additioal categories: strategy, and the First World War. The whole thing has led me to do some sorting of my mp3 library, and I created a massive spreadsheet - initially to track the GIS stuff, then to track the security stuff, and eventually to track everything.

I didn't end up sustaining my reading goals from last year, so I'm going to attempt eight books again this year. I still need to complete The Devil's Sandbox. I'm working to finalize that list, and once I have, I'll post it - and hopefully keep better track of my progress here than I did last year.

Stay tuned.