Latest Blog Entries by MarineGunrock at VideoSift.com

I heard you were looking for me.

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:11:17 -0800

(13 comments - 142 views)
Here I am. Somewhere in southern Afghanistan, loving life. I'm moving to a new base tomorrow, where hopefully I'll have a more stable, faster connection so I can post a few picture for you. I keep seeing emails saying my posts have been promoted, so thanks to all who did that. I'll catch up with you when I can!

- MarineGunrock

Greetings from Кыргызстан!

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:30:27 -0700

(5 comments - 156 views)
Landed in Kyrgyzstan last night after what came close to a 24 hour trip. We started in Norfolk, VA, then went on to Newfoundland, Canada, then to Liepzig, Germany, and then to here. We'll be here for a little while and then it's off to Afghanistan, where I still don't know what I'll be doing or who I'll be doing it with. This base is used for troops entering theater, and it's pretty nice for what it is. I'd go fat if I lived here. The chow hall has a "bar" with sausage patties, tubs of bacon and eggs all ready for you to scoop as much as you want. That, and they give out free candy bars. I have no self-control when it comes to free candy. I have a REALLY bad sweet tooth.

Ok, y'all. I'm going to get going. I'll be back who knows when.

- MarineGunrock

I feel like the boy who cried wolf

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:01:25 -0700

(10 comments - 221 views)
But we have a flight date. Not just a window, but an actual date. We are actually leaving this time. Flight is confirmed to leave Norfolk, VA at 8:30 pm. This one's for real, because it's not just a flight window, but a flight date. I won't be around much until then, and especially after. Don't have too much fun without me.

- MarineGunrock

Holy shit. Maybe this is the last time?

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:16:33 -0700

(18 comments - 349 views)
We went and talked to the Chief of Staff on Monday. He's the commander of all forces on Camp Lejeune. He finally gave us the scoop, and this is straight from the horse's mouth. When they recalled us (January), they needed the forces in Iraq. But once we got here (April) they no longer needed us in Iraq. So from there, it was a constant struggle to figure out what to do with us. Every time they thought they had a place for us, it turned out that unit had no need for us. So we kept on getting jerked around. Well, the Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Afghanistan has been getting hit hard with a lot of combat casualties. For some reason unknown to even the Chief of Staff we talked to, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have set a limit of 10,500 Marines in Afghanistan. For some reason, us IRR (recalled) Marines don't count toward that limit, so when the MEB learned of our existence, they were chomping at the bit to get us out there. They want us out there yesterday, so we will be leaving in less than two weeks. There's only an infinitesimal chance that this won't come true, because this is coming from the highest of levels.

Fucking FINALLY.

- MarineGunrock

I'm sick of this shit.

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:14:05 -0700

(10 comments - 402 views)
So far, we've had, oh, let's see.. five flight dates now?

I was supposed to be in Iraq on Monday, but guess what? THEY SENT THE WRONG PEOPLE. Yes, that's right. Somehow, they've managed to send the wrong group of Marines to Iraq. So now I'm stuck here, with a 99% chance of NOT going, and no car, only one computer (my laptop is no good for gaming!) and very little (civilian)clothing. I don't think I would care so much if 1)they hadn't kept telling us "for sure" dates and 2) I had my fucking car here. I had my brother pick it up last week, because I was supposed to be gone. Now it's in Maryland, and I'm in North Carolina. So I either pay $88 to sit on a bus for 19 hours, or $200 to rent a car one-way to pick my car up.

What I need to do is find a way to make the Marine Corps pay for that shit.
Oh, and I might get sent to Afghanistan instead. When? Fuck if I know.

- MarineGunrock

Saw Transformers 2 last night... what a pile of garbage.

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:52:18 -0700

(15 comments - 370 views)
And holy shit. That was the worst pile of unintelligent garbage I've seen in a long time. 1st movie? I liked it. This one?

WHAT. THE. FUCK!?!

Seriously? Ok, I can appreciate Megan Fox as much as the next guy, but we all know she wouldn't even be an actress if she wasn't smoking hot. But to have her first scene in the movie be a camera approach from the rear of her bent over on a bike airbrushing upside down??? What the hell.
Then there's the REALLY bad jokes. I mean, they're downright juvenile. Dogs humping? Pot brownies? (okay, I chuckled on that one but they took it too far with her tackling people and all that)And that little fucking RC Truck that's inexplicably nice to them the whole time, and ends up humping Fox's leg. Is that really the best they can come up with?
And that fight in the woods where Prime bites the dust? He gets his ass kicked and then decides to pull out the flaming sword of doom(energon ax). The first thing I thought of was Power Rangers. You know what I'm talking about here. Every episode, they would face off against some monster and get their asses handed to them. Then all of a sudden the monster would get all huge, and they would follow suit with their vehicles, and you all wonder "Why the fuck didn't they do that in the first place!?"

Then we have a thousand year old inactive Prime in the form of a stealth bomber. I know they can choose what they want to be and all, but he's been in a robot coma, so how the hell is he in the form of a brand-new bomber? Then he wakes up, and I know they want to show that he's old and all, bu couldn't they have done that with creaking sound effect and rust instead of a fucking metal beard and a fucking cane? I won't even go into how anti-climatic the final battle between Prime and the Fallen was.

I guess what it comes down to is that the movie was made for idiots, and it caters very well to that demographic.

Oh, and the next time I see a jive-talking ghetto SMART CAR (Why the fuck would you want to be a Smart car?) with a fucking gold tooth I'm going on a murderous rampage of every involved.

[edit] Oh, and why wouldn't you just take that shard or Allspark and use it on O.P. instead of HOPING some fucking metallic dust would do the trick? And what would have happened if Shia didn't die? Fucking plot holes.

- MarineGunrock

About damn time

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:05:33 -0700

(11 comments - 204 views)
All the bullshit waiting and being jerked around is over. We finally have a solid flight date of July 31st. Headed off to the sand box where I'll supposedly have an internet connection in my damn room. I guess a lot has changed since I was there five years ago. I don't know how true that really is, though but I guess I'll find out soon enough.
Anyway, You won't be seeing much of me for some time to come.

Take it easy, y'all.

- MarineGunrock

Why buying a Mac is simply fucking rediculous.

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:48:21 -0700

(33 comments - 808 views)
MacBook Pro
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English)
Nvidia GeForce 9400m grapics

$1,700

HP HDx16t

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
4GB DDR2 System Memor
250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
16.0" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1366x768)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)

$1,149.

I can get more for a LOT less?! Gee, let me think about this for a minute...

- MarineGunrock

Booze

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:52:56 -0700

(1 comment - 250 views)
[Redacted because drinking and sifting never looks good after.]

Holy shit. I didn't start drinking until ~ 11:30 last night. I had to report in at 8. Thankfully, since there's only a few of us waiting to fly out (since the rest of the battalion is gone) we don't. do. anything. Seriously. We check in at 8. We're told to do a police call (pick up trash in the area) and then we go back at 1300 (1:00) where we're told to come back at 8:00. Seriously, that's the routine we've had for over a month and will have for another month.

So anyway, we got shit-faced and watched movies until about 4 something in the morning, so when formation came around this morning I was most certainly still drunk. Now that it's 1:30 in the workday, I'm finally waking up (didn't have to check in - we were just told to clean our rooms for some Colonel's inspection) I thought I should post more details.

We were supposed to take a civilian flight, but since there's one more battalion of Marines flying out, they decided to stick us with them later. Which is really fine by me - it's one less month in the hot season and one more in the cold season. As as Farhad can tell you, the heat in that region is no fucking joke.

- MarineGunrock

A heartfelt "Thanks" to the USO

MarineGunrock (http://www.videosift.com/member/MarineGunrock) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:44:42 -0700

(7 comments - 332 views)
I'm flying home for pre-deployment leave today. I'm headed to Austin, Texas to see my twin who's in the Army. I have to fly from Jacksonville, NC to Charlotte, NC, to Dallas, then to Austin. My first flight out fo Jville was delayed an hour, so I automatically missed my connecting flight. Now instead of landing in Austin at 12:30, I'll be touching down at close to 8:00. Eight fucking hours. That's a seven hour layover in Charlotte. Thankfully there's a USO here. They have a giant LCD tv, three Playstation 2s, A PS3, and an XBOX360. - As well as seven computers, snacks, drinks, muffins and other goodies. Not to menttion that the facility itself is really nice. When I entered the USO, I was expecting some couches, a tv, and granola bars. Certainly nothing this nice.

I would have shot myself out of misery and boredom by now if it hadn't been for this place. Thank you to the men and women who work there, and even more thanks to all the people that have ever donated to the USO. It's an absolutley wonderful organization that does wonders to help us out.

[UPDATE]
Noon thirty rolls around and I wake from my slumber to hear that they're grilling burgers. Of course I ask for one, and holy shit it was delicious.
The whole thing was more than worth the $10 I dropped in the donation box earlier.

P.S. - I'll be in Iraq before the end of the month. Just an update for y'all.

- MarineGunrock