Lincoln calls for help on June 15, 1863

Lincoln calls for help: On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln calls for help in protecting Washington, D.C., America’s capital city.

Throughout June, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was on the move. He had pulled his army from its position along the Rappahannock River around Fredericksburg, Virginia, and set it on the road to Pennsylvania. Lee and the Confederate leadership decided to try a second invasion of the North to take pressure off Virginia and to seize the initiative against the Army of the Potomac. The first invasion, in September 1862, failed when the Federals fought Lee’s army to a standstill at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland.

Lee later divided his army and sent the regiments toward the Shenandoah Valley, using the Blue Ridge Mountains as a screen. After the Confederates took Winchester, Virginia, on June 14, they were situated on the Potomac River, seemingly in a position to move on Washington, D.C. Lincoln did not know it, but Lee had no intention of attacking Washington. All Lincoln knew was that the Rebel army was moving en masse and that Union troops could not be certain as to the Confederates’ location.

On June 15, Lincoln put out an emergency call for 100,000 troops from the state militias of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia. Although the troops were not needed, and the call could not be fulfilled in such a short time, it was an indication of how little the Union authorities knew of Lee’s movements and how vulnerable they thought the Federal capital was.

History Channel / Wikipedia / Britannica Encyclopedia / University of Michigan / United States Senate.gov American Civil War Documentary (YouTube)

Understanding Military Terminology - Minesweeping

(DOD) The technique of clearing mines using either mechanical sweeping to remove, disturb, or otherwise neutralize the mine; explosive sweeping to cause sympathetic detonations, damage, or displace the mine; or influence sweeping to produce either the acoustic or magnetic influence required to detonate the mine. See also minehunting.

Joint Publications (JP 3-15) Barriers, Obstacles, and Mine Warfare for Joint Operations

The Old Salt’s Corner

Intelligence Function

On a carrier, the CVIC supports the battlegroup’s intelligence requirements by supplying the Commanding Officer, embarked staffs, and air wing with operational, technical, and strike planning information. This is accomplished with a variety of intelligence related systems located in CVIC and in the Supplementary Plot (SUPPLOT) spaces (see Module 10 for a description of systems). These systems provide operational intelligence (OPINTEL) information, intelligence research data, and reports on the collection efforts of the air wing aircraft. Note that if you are assigned to a smaller vessel the intelligence spaces will vary.

Like CDC, a carrier CVIC actually encompasses several individual divisions, which are listed below:

1. OP Division

OP Division provides photographic support to the ship, air wing, and the embarked staff. OP has two labs onboard a typical carrier. The main photo lab handles photographic support for administrative and official events. The CVIC photo lab processes hand held photography from aircrew as well as TARPS film (the TARPS system is discussed in Module 10).

2. OS Division

The OS Division is responsible for providing special intelligence communications to the warfare commanders both internal and external to the battlegroup. Typically, OS Division personnel are enlisted cryptologic specialists (i.e., CTs). In some cases, ships will receive a special NAVSECGRU Direct Support Element (DSE) consisting of additional CTs, which provide tailored support (e.g., CTIs for specific area interception operations).

3. OZ Division

The personnel in this division are responsible for the day-to-day operation of CVIC and SUPPLOT spaces. Personnel in the OZ Division include intelligence officers (1630s), enlisted Intelligence Specialists (ISs) and Data Processing Technicians (DPs), Electronics Technicians (ETs), and Interior Communications Technicians (ICs).

“I’m Just Sayin”

“Never lose sight of the fact that

the most important yardstick of your success

will be how you treat other people

– your family, friends, and coworkers,

and even strangers you meet along the way”

~ Barbara Bush

“Thought for the Day”

“We do not stop playing because we grow old,

we grow old because we stop playing!”

“The best way to see Faith

is to shut the eye of Reason.”

“Three may keep a secret,

if two of them are dead.”

~ Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack, 1732 - 1758

“What I Have Learned”

“Adversity doesn’t test character,

it reveals it.”

~ Anonymous

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

Costumed Squirrel ‘Furry Boi’ Wins Election For Berkeley Student Senate

In a sign that Americans may have had it with human candidates, a squirrel has won a seat in the University of California, Berkeley, student senate. And that’s driving some people nuts.

Thirty-seven candidates ran for 20 student spots in this month’s election to the Associated Students of the University of California, including “Furry Boi”. His so-called human proxy is sophomore Stephen Boyle, who wore a squirrel costume to campaign as Furry Boi.

The student senate can affect critical university issues, such as tuition hikes and sexual harassment policies.

Furry Boi’s candidacy was announced on Facebook. The post said the squirrel had been conceived in the campus eucalyptus grove and hoped to “represent the squirrel community in the UC Berkeley political sphere”.

Furry Boi’s “platform” included more access to acorns, creating a squirrel sidekick mascot named Nutty McNut Nut for increased biodiversity, encouraging “safe spaces” for students and squirrels, and launching the Amicable Student Society, or ASS, to “bridge the culture gap between humans and squirrels.” Furry Boi also said he hoped to create squirrel “cuisine stations” in all dining halls and make lecture halls “squirrel accessible”. His most popular hashtags were #I’mWithFur and #WhyNut.

Boyle “came out” as Furry Boi on Facebook just after the votes were in, and posted a long, rambling platform of human-friendly issues, including support for campus sustainability measures, and more sensitivity about disabilities and mental illness.

Not everyone was laughing. The campus newspaper The Daily Californian ripped students for electing Furry Boi, calling it a “travesty”.

“You voted for a squirrel; we’re disappointed”, an editorial said. “It’s a shocking display of privilege to vote for a squirrel over candidates who have actual plans to help students who need it. Instead of electing qualified students who had real, tangible ideas ... many of you (at least 538 strong) thought it might be a funny joke to have a man dressed up in a squirrel costume with no real platforms represent you.”

Others said Furry Boi was a dissident choice. Several anonymous commenters to the student paper said a vote for Furry Boi sent a message about disillusionment with student government.

Huffington Post (04/24/2018)

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: Where Did the Myth That Radiation Glows Green Come From?

Probably from radium, which was widely used in self-luminous paint starting in 1908. When mixed with phosphorescent copper-doped zinc sulfide, radium emits a characteristic green glow.

The use of radioluminescent paint was mostly phased out by the mid-1960s. Today, in applications where it is warranted (like spacecraft instrument dials and certain types of sensors, for example), the radiation source is tritium (radioactive hydrogen) or an isotope of promethium, either of which has a vastly shorter half life than radium.

In most consumer products, though, radioluminescence has been replaced by photoluminescence, phosphors that emit light of one frequency after absorbing photons of a difference frequency. Glow-in-the-dark items that recharge to full brightness after brief exposure to sunlight or a fluorescent light only to dim again over a couple of hours are photoluminescent, and contain no radiation.

An aside on aging radium: By now, most radium paint manufactured early in the 20th century has lost most of its glow, but it’s still radioactive. The isotope of radium used has a half life of 1200 years, but the chemical phosphor that makes it glow has broken down from the constant radiation—so if you have luminescent antiques that barely glow, you might want to have them tested with a Geiger counter and take appropriate precautions. The radiation emitted is completely harmless as long as you don’t ingest or inhale the radium—in which case it becomes a serious cancer risk. So as the tell-tale glow continues to fade, how will you prevent your ancient watch dial or whatever from deteriorating and contaminating your great, great grandchildren’s home, or ending up in a landfill and in the local water supply?

Even without the phosphor, pure radium emits enough alpha particles to excite nitrogen in the air, causing it to glow. The color isn’t green, through, but a pale blue similar to that of an electric arc.

This glow (though not the color) entered the public consciousness through this early illustration of its appearance in Marie Curie’s lab, and became confused with the green glow of radium paints.

The myth is likely kept alive by the phenomenon of Cherenkov glow, which arises when a charged particle (such as an electron or proton) from submerged sources exceeds the local speed of light through the surrounding water.

So in reality, some radionuclides do glow (notably radium and actinium), but not as brightly or in the color people think. Plutonium doesn’t, no matter what Homer Simpson thinks, unless it’s Pu-238—which has such a short half life, it heats itself red hot.

Britannica Encyclopedia • Curiosity • Gizmodo • Quora • Wikipedia Where Did the Myth That Radiation Glows Green Come From? (YouTube)

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Skipper: Term used in reference to the Commanding officer of any Ship, Unit, Platoon, or Detachment regardless of rank. Generally only applied to someone who has earned the speaker's respect.

Skittles: Sailors who work on the flight deck of a carrier. So named due to the different colored jerseys they wear. For the same reason, they are sometimes referred to as “Wiggles”

Skivvies: Underwear.

Skivvy waver:: Signalman (because of signal flags)

Skosh: Perilously close to minimum acceptable levels. Example: The F-5 usually lands skosh on fuel. Derived from “sukoshi”, the Japanese word for “a little”.

Skylarking: Messing around or not doing assigned work. Everyone else working while you watch the clouds go by.

Sky pilot: A chaplain or priest.

Slick Sleeve: A sailor in the E-1 paygrade who does not have a rating, and who has not yet graduated from Apprentice training. Therefore, his left sleeve is “slick”, or has no rate or rating insignia at all.

Sliders: Mess deck/chow hall hamburgers/cheeseburgers, so named for their high grease content and purported ability to 'slide' through the alimentary canal. A cheeseburger is sometimes called a “slider with slabs”.

SLJO: Shitty Little Jobs Officer. The most junior officer aboard ship, who has to handle the most demeaning or illegal duties demanded by HQ.

SMAG: Engineering Laboratory Technician (ELT). Stands for either “Simple Minded Ass Grabbers” or “Sometimes Mechanic, Always Gay”. To ELTs, it's “Superior Mechanic, Almost God”.

SMIB: Southern Maryland In-Bred. Refers to the locals in and around Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Smiles (Game of): A game in which two or more Sailors sit at a specially designed table or bar, typically in the Philippines, and receive fellatio from one or more prostitutes. The first Sailor to smile loses and is required to buy a round.

Just for you MARINE

WIR: DRMO; Washed-out In Repair; waste incidental to reprocessing; collection of items and/or equipment for turn-in that may be re-used by someone else at a later time, preferably at a savings to the government.

The Wire: Defensive perimeter of a firm base, crossing it denotes the end of relative safety.

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

VFA-115 - “Eagles”
Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan. - Established October 10, 1942

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“A sight for sore eyes:”  Meaning: A welcome sight; someone or something you are glad to see.

History: This phrase was first recorded by Jonathan Swift, in A complete collection of genteel and ingenious conversation, 1738:

“The Sight of you is good for sore Eyes.”

The title of the work suggests that it was in use prior to his writing it down. The currently used version of the phrase was first recorded by William Hazlitt, in New Monthly Magazine, 1826:

“Garrick's name was proposed on condition he should act in tragedy and comedy... What a sight for sore eyes that would be!”

That's all pretty straightforward. The rise of the World Wide Web has given this phrase a new lease of life. 'Sight', 'site' and 'cite' form one of the small number of three-word homophone groups, that is, words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Another three-word example is 'you', 'yew' and 'ewe'.

A quick scan of the Web courtesy of Google shows these hits:

“sight for sore eyes” - 549,000

“site for sore eyes” - 133,000

“cite for sore eyes” - 553

Phrases.org UK

Science & Technology

Study explains why Mars growth stunted • Polygamy observed in trio of great horned owls • Professional speedcuber breaks world record on Rubik's cube • Study confirms curable state between single and widespread cancers • New ceramic material could cut down cost of piezoelectric devices • Best of Last Week - Stephen Hawking's last theory, sauna bathing reducing stroke risk and health benefits of walnuts

Phys.org / MedicalXpress / TechXplore

The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

A Cockroach Crawled Inside a Woman's Ear, and It Can Happen to You

Another day, another story about an insect crawling into a person's ear and making itself at home.

Katie Holley, a Florida resident, woke up in the middle of the night to a weird sensation in her ear, “like someone had placed a chip of ice in my left earhole”, she wrote in an essay published in Self magazine. At first, her husband tried to remove the invader with tweezers. But that strategy wasn't successful, so they went to the emergency room. There, the doctor confirmed her suspicion: A cockroach was in her ear canal. To get the insect out, he first killed it with lidocaine (a numbing agent) and then removed it using tweezers.

But in the days that followed, Holley had soreness in her ear and trouble hearing. When she returned to the doctor nine days later, she learned that she still had pieces — including the entire head — of the roach lodged in her ear. [Gallery: Out-of-This-World Images of Insects].

If you're thinking “gross”, you're not alone.

While there are no recent studies that aim to quantify the icky instances, one small study, published in 2006 the South African Medical Journal, found that during a two-year period, the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, removed 23 insects (and one tick) from people's ears. Those insects included three beetles, eight flies and 10 German cockroaches.

And in 2014, emergency-room doctors in Taiwan found a batch of fruit-fly larvae in a woman's ear canal. The 48-year-old had sought medical care because she had severe ear pain. Another case in Taiwan from 2012 involved a man who itched for two months because he had mites in his ears - a condition that's familiar enough to earn it a medical name: otoacariasis, according to a study published in 2016 in the Journal of Otology. (Otoacariasis isn't limited to mites; it can also be caused by ticks, the study said.)

If you do think you have an insect in your ear, take this advice from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Try keeping the ear with the insect in it pointing upward in the hope it crawls or flies out or pouring mineral, olive or baby oil into your ear to suffocate the bug and let it potentially float out. And as Holley did, the NIH recommends visiting a doctor even if you pull out the insect on your own, because legs or other parts could be left behind and cause infections.

Live Science (05/04/2018)