Monday, May 28, 2007
miscellanea
Yes, I'm working on Magellan's Witch. It's slow going.
Sigh. But I'm making progress.
Yesterday I read
Warrior Elite, the making of SEAL class 228 by Dick Couch. It was a really good read. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I wasn't reading fiction. Couch got permission to observe the class through to the end, and it was riveting. The attrition rate is incredible, and I got attached to some of the guys who, ultimately, didn't make it. I'm almost at a loss for words to express my admiration for what these men go through. Amazing.
I think my only negative reaction is to the apparently obligatory apologia for why there's no women in the SEALs. Honestly, men just don't get it. The essential answer was, no women because even the ones who could hack it, it would destroy the chemistry. I do think that's true, the chemistry, which demonstrably works, would be changed.
The issue isn't really gender. It's exclusion. So, why not train women separately? Why not take advantage of the things women do well and better than men? Upper body strength isn't everything. You don't need testosterone to be a good shot. And endurance is assuredly a desirable trait, no? I think more women would get through Hell week. And I think a woman's typical excellence at multi-tasking should be leveraged. Interesting thoughts anyway.
And now, I want to gush about the Nintendo Wii. My son has one and I finally broke down and played Wii sports with him. What a blast! I was working up a sweat, by the way. Then we discovered that it has a mini-card slot (the kind that fits in an MP3 player or digital camera.) I quick snapped some pics, stuck in the card, and voila. Pictures that he could alter and play with. The Wii is fun, fun, fun!
Ok, back to work.
Labels: Magellan's Witch, Navy SEALs, reading, Wii
