Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 came out this week, and I’m hoping to snag a copy sometime in the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, here’s a bit of satire from The Onion about the next ultra-realistic Modern Warfare release.

In honor of Veterans Day and the release of the latest Call of Duty game, here’s the launch trailer for Modern Warfare 2.  God bless America (and the Xbox 360)!

I’ve been at Tinker AFB for a year.  That means it’s time for my annual performance review.  I don’t have much to say about what I’m expecting from this review, although I have been watching these clips from The Office (BBC and NBC) to get some tips.

Sorry for posting this a bit late–work stuff is busy busy this week (we have an ORI going on, for those who know what that means…).  Anyway, here’s some pictures from our Halloween in Oklahoma.

This is just a quick update to say that the wife and I are going to see MuteMath in concert tonight.  Back in Tallahassee we got to see this band twice, and they put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.  I’ve only listened to their new album a few times, and I’m not really sure what the venue will be like–so I’ll be sure to update in the next day or so with more information on how things shake down.

Oklahoma–where the wind goes sweeping down the plains… or mountains.  Yes, there are mountains in Oklahoma.  I know, you may not believe this–but I have pictures to prove it!  Here are some pictures from a trip Cori and I took to Broken Bow, which is in the south-eastern part of Oklahoma.

(In case you’re wondering, yes, these pictures were taken with my cell phone.)

We went to Broken Bow to celebrate Cori’s birthday, and we got in some fun hiking, canoing, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over a campfire, and generally enjoying being outdoors for a few days.  If you happen to be in Oklahoma and get tired of the flat psuedo-suburban landscape, Broken Bow is a great way to break up the monotony.  Just make sure to bring a camera other than your cell phone. 

I saw this political ad on TV recently:

While I can sympathize with the impact taxes can have on financially vulnerable families, I have zero sympathy for this obviously paid actress.  The idea that I should somehow be up in arms with this frizzy headed woman (sorry for the ad hominem…) over a proposed tax on soda and high-fructose corn syrup “juices” (like Sunny Delight, which contains less than 2% actual fruit juice) is insulting.  A tax on soda is analogous to a tax on cigarettes; high-risk behaviors like smoking or consuming unhealthy beverages should carry an appropriate price tag.  If you want to smoke or buy soda in bulk, then you should be willing to pay for the costs of providing health care down the road.  Just as there is a strong correlation between smoking and lung cancer, so too there is a strong correlation between drinking soda and other poor lifestyle choices (like not getting enough exercise or eating fatty foods).  Obesity is a huge problem in America, and I am all for giving people an incentive to make smarter dietary decisions.  Imagine the national savings if obesity-related problems like heart disease or type II diabetes were not burdening our health care system.

So there’s the issue of incentive; but there’s also the issue of necessity.  This little ad implies that people have a some kind of right or even a need for soda.  This is stupid.  Folks who consume large amounts of soda are not forced to do so; water is available in most locations in the United States at little or no cost.  You don’t HAVE to drink cola with your meals.  In fact, you probably shouldn’t drink soda more than a few times a week, especially if you are sedentary and don’t get much exercise.

So “Washington, if you’re listening,” please go right ahead and impose a tax on soda–give people an incentive to make smarter choices, and help defray the future costs for providing medical care to the ever burgeoning number of obese Americans.  (And it’d be nice to perhaps see a little more information to combat this driveling bit of propaganda from the folks with a vested interest in the public’s consumption of high fructose corn syrup.)

The nice thing about having my own blog is I can post pretty much whatever I want.  And today, I want to share a passage I recently read from Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis:

“Some writers use the word charity to describe not only Christian love between human beings, but also God’s love for man and man’s love for God.  About the second of these two, people are often worried.  They are told they ought to love God.  They cannot find any such feeling in themselves.  What are they to do?  The answer is the same as before.  Act as if you did.  Do not sit trying to manufacture feelings.  Ask yourself, ‘If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?’  When you have found the answer, go and do it.

“On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.  Nobody can always have devout feelings:  and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about.  Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.  If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.’  He will give us feelings of love if He pleases.  We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right.  But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not.  It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever the cost to us, at whatever the cost to Him.”

Good stuff.

The latest incarnation of Rock Band features musical legends the Beatles.  The wife and I rented and played through The Beatles: Rock Band last weekend.  We had fun with the familiar tunes (and learned a few less well-known tracks too), but there is no way I’d pay $60 to buy this game.

Since we already owned the instruments from the first Rock Band, renting was an easy choice over purchasing the full game.  And I know there are a few folks out there who will go ahead and purchase the full game (plus instruments, for around $200.00).  But from a money-making perspective, I think the smarter way to get the Beatles out to music game fans would have been digital distribution.  There are plenty of songs available for download within Rock Band–ranging from Iggy Pop to the Jackson Five.  It seems like more folks would purchase individual Beatles tracks than would go out and buy the game.  At roughly $2.00 per song (or 160 Microsoft points, if you don’t pay attention to conversions), I would have easily spent more money to buy 15 to 20 Beatles songs; which is a lot more than the $8.00 I spent to rent the game.

Like I said, I’m sure some folks will buy this game and love it.  But the game is far too short to justify the cost (Cori and I played through every single song in the game’s tour mode in just under four hours), and there honestly aren’t that many of the Beatles’ hits.  Maybe it’s because I’m too young, but I was really unimpressed by the number of B-sides and psychedelic oddities included in the game.

Still, it was a fun game for a rental, so even if I don’t recommend buying The Beatles: Rock Band, I do recommend you take advantage of someone else’s copy if you get the chance–if for nothing else, then at least to see the trippy videos like this one:

No, it’s not a new cell phone post–it’s a few coming-soon video games that look like fun, and a good way to kill time (were I not otherwise so busy with work).  As usual, this post is dedicated to Erica (and anyone else whose eyes glaze over at the thought of playing any video game other than Mario Kart). 

First, Halo ODST’s live-action trailer:

Next, the very hip (maybe a little too hip) trailer for Borderlands:

And finally, the sequel to Mass Effect:

Writing–more than just putting pen to paper…  Want to see a lil’ story about me co-authoring Donald Miller’s latest book?  Read on: http://topsellingauthors.com/world/top_stories/1383/3555/micah_mcmillan

Hehe.

Well, our little holiday in Florida is over and we’re on the road back to Oklahoma.  I’ll post a bit about our trip when we get back, but I did want to share this little clip that Pastor Mario Solari showed me and Cori when we stopped in Tallahassee.

Yes, that is Steve Martin, yes it is from “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, and yes he is saying “Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma!”

I think it’s been long enough since I last posted anything video game related to share without shame the brand-spanking new trailer for Fable III (that’s the sequel to Fable II, in case you struggle with math and logic).  So Erica and everyone else, enjoy:

This past weekend the wife and I saw “District 9″.  Definitely an interesting film, lots of different things to think about–primarily xenophobia and human rights.  “In-human” rights might be a better way to write that, since this issue comes to light via the treatment of alien visitors (“prawns”) who are segregated into concentration camps.

I’ll spare you the plot details, but I will say that I recommend this movie with one caveat: this is not “Independence Day” or your typical space-marines shoot ‘em up; this is social commentary.   The moral of the story  and the way that message is couched in “District 9″ actually reminded me more of “Blood Diamond” than anything else.  Of course, if you’ve never seen “Blood Diamond” that analog is not helpful.  So here’s a trailer with some commentary that may do a better job of explaining what the film is about.

Again, I recommend “District 9″ (and “Blood Diamond” too!) if you don’t mind a bit of moralising in your movies.

Well, I’ve been pretty bad about blogging lately–down from everyday when I started to barely once a week.  I guess I set the standard pretty high, though.  At any rate, now that I don’t have oodles of time to kill by blogging, I’m trying to pace the youtube videos with some substance.  Except it takes a lot of time to write a substantive post, even if it’s only a few paragraphs.

So, short of anything really meaty, I’ll keep this post fairly brief, and just update with this:  I’m trying my first case on Wednesday.  It’s a drug case with some fail-to-obey stuff too; it was fairly complex to get ready for trial (you would not believe how much lab processing there was!).  But now that we’re so close, I’m ready.  I’ve been getting stuff lined up over the past few week or so–questions for witnesses, opening, closing, and sentencing arguments, plus exhibits and the oh-so-fun court-martial script.  It is a lot of work to get ready for trial–preferring (filing) charges, referral (to get from our equivalent of misdemeanor to felony level court), discovery, docketing, motions… But now all that leg work will pay off (hopefully) and we’ll see justice done at trial (regardless of whether we get a conviction or jail time).

So, it’s my first trial–wish me luck!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where my professional life is headed after Tinker, and a little later, after my initial four year commitment to the Air Force is up.  I’m getting valuable experience at Tinker, but I don’t know if the work I’m doing now is the kind of work I want to be doing long-term.  At the same time, I like doing important legal work without worrying about billable hours or “climbing the corporate ladder”.  But, like it or not, I am climbing some ladder; it’s just a question of where I’m going….

(Yes, this is me being outwardly introspective.)

Well, regardless of my personal life-ladder questions, I can at least say with absolute certainty that I do not want to be like these ladder-climbers.

(Booya!  And you thought this was going to be a Youtube-free post!)

This one goes out to all the mom’s (including mine). 

You know who you are.

]]> http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/shout-out-to-a-few-homies/feed/ 2 mcmillan32 chris bailey retirement party http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/g-i-joe-rise-of-cobra/ http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/g-i-joe-rise-of-cobra/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:15:42 +0000 Micah McMillan http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/?p=2054 ]]>

I am kind of a fan of how so many toys and cartoons from my childhood have been updated and made into modern summer (would-be) blockbusters.  G.I. Joe is the latest to get this treatment.  From the looks of this trailer it seems like it will be suitably nostalgic, over the top, and even a bit cheesy.  Huzzah.

The wife and I have been trying out some of the local restaurants here in Oklahoma City.  So far it’s been a mixed bag, with our experiences ranging from great to just “meh”.  One of the places that we have not tried is “Mr. Spriggs Barbecue”–which has one of the most interesting commercials I’ve seen for ribs…

So that’s, um, different.  But at least it’s not as bad as this:

I’ve been back at Tinker for just over two months.  And it has been a very busy two months.  During these months I’ve gained a lot of experience in the Military Justice and Adverse Actions realms.  So far I’ve been part of two pre-trial confinement hearings (to put people in jail who are considered to be too dangerous to be free while waiting for trial), two administrative discharge boards (which is basically just a firing/retention hearing with a jury), three preferrals (the process where an individual come before his commander and is formally charged with crimes), and I’ve given lots of advice to commanders and first sergeants on nonjudicial punishment and discharges. This is in addition to drafting legal opinions, reviewing paperwork, giving legal assistance to retirees and active duty members, and any number of odd jobs (like working 14 hours overnight on a deployment line…).

Working in Military Justice is stressful, because so much is on the line, and because the whole process moves very quickly.  Although I don’t think I’m an expert by any means, I do feel like I’m getting the hang of things.  And that’s what’s new at work for me.

For a member of the military to refer to someone as “Sir” or “Ma’am” is (usually) a sign of respect.  For example, I always address my superiors as “Sir” or “Ma’am”–and I expect the enlisted folks I work with to show that respect to me by calling me “Sir”.

So in watching this clip I can only think that Senator Barbara Boxer is a bit pretentious to refuse this honorific–either that, or she is very out of touch with reality.  Watch and let me know if you think otherwise.

I don’t think I need much intro for this, other than to say that I like this commercial.

The singer of this a capella rendition of “Let Your Love Flow” is Petra Haden, and Toyota apparently wants you to have this song stuck in your head for a long time, as they’ve made it free to download at their myspace page.

As promised, here are my thoughts on the Palm Pre.

Things I really like about the Pre:  it’s small (but not too small), and feels good in the hand; the touch screen is easy to use, and the slide out QWERTY keyboard makes typing a breeze; the camera is 3 megapixels and takes photos without interrupting to save; the headphone jack is a standard 3.5mm (so no need to buy a special adapter); WiFi lets me use my home wireless network (and the keyboard makes typing the password simple too); Palm’s webOS is intuitive, pretty, and runs smoothly; transferring data to and from the Pre works just like using a USB flash drive–drag and drop and you’re done; the app store is easy to navigate and use (some of the better apps include YouTube, Fandango, Where, GoogleMaps, Pandora, AmazonMP3, Sprint Navigation, PDF and document viewers).

Things I’m not crazy about:  the high gloss finish on the front and back means the phone looks greasy after just a little touching; the slide out keyboard can feel a little flimsy, like it wouldn’t take much to accidentally break the back from the front; the app store, while easy to use, is grossly lacking in actual applications (as of yesterday, there were only about 15 or 20 apps to choose from) and is still only in beta; the accelerometer (which lets you change the screen orientation from landscape to portrait) only works for a few applications (the camera and web browsing), and not for everything (maybe I’m crazy, but I think it’d be nice to view the music player in landscape…).

Here’s a video review in case you want a more in-depth break down of the Pre.

]]> http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/palm-pre-review/feed/ 4 mcmillan32 http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/our-new-dog/ http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/our-new-dog/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:30:46 +0000 Micah McMillan http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/?p=2006 ]]>

The wife and I have been thinking about getting a new dog for a while.  Over the weekend we took the plunge and got a little black cairn terrier from a rescue shelter.  She looks basically like Toto (or like our other dog, but without the wheaten coat).  Here are some pictures.

So far Roxy and Emo are getting along just fine, although Roxy is not completely housebroken (she leaves smelly little “presents” in the kitchen…).

By the way, I took these photos on my new Palm Pre… not to brag or anything… just saying…

Ok, and this last one isn’t actually our dogs–but it was too good not to put up, since it’s basically what Emo and Roxy look like. 

I promoted to the rank of captain on Friday.  Whoo-hoo.  The promotion was actually delayed for over a month, so I am kind of frustrated that it took so long, and I’ve heard that I probably won’t receive back-pay.  Boo.

Still, I was glad to hear that I was approved to pin on and at least I don’t have to answer to “El-tee” anymore.

I’m in the market for a new cell phone.  Here are some pictures of the Palm Pre, the current leader on my short list.  It won’t be released until June 6th–and chances are I won’t be an early adopter; I’ll have to wait for the reviews to trickle in before I commit any of my hard-earned moola.  But until then I’m open to suggestions or techno-envy/hate from other smart phone users.

Update:  Okay, so this may make me an “early-adopter” but I picked up the Palm Pre Saturday at the local Best Buy.  (And I was only one of three people to get to do so before the store was sold out.  Which, by the way, seems to be part of the Palm strategy to create an artificially high demand by suppressing the supply of the new Pre… )

So I got a new phone, and I’ll try to post later about some of its cool features.

Microsoft, maker of the Xbox 360 and lots of other nifty stuff, looks to be serving up a whole load of smack-down for the Wii and the future of interactive entertainment with the forthcoming “Project Natal”.  Looks pretty ambitious, and I have a hunch that the disclaimer at the start of this video holds more truth than Microsoft would like to admit… but it still looks like a pretty amazing device.  Watch the video and be impressed (even you Erica!).

Just when you thought I was done with the “Sham-Wow”/”Slap Chop” posts and parodies…

(Caution for my readers with sensitive little ears nearby–there’s a swear in this video)

]]> http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/paper-towels/feed/ 0 mcmillan32 http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/busy-again-with-details/ http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/busy-again-with-details/#comments Sun, 24 May 2009 01:10:10 +0000 Micah McMillan http://micahmcmillan.wordpress.com/?p=1978 ]]>

So I haven’t blogged in a few days.  And when I have blogged lately it’s been to either post a (hilarious) youtube video, or just to say “I’m really busy at work”.  So for this post, I thought I’d broadly explain what I’ve been so busy doing.

Over the past few weeks at work we’ve had a court-martial for rape and assault; we put three guys in pre-trial confinement (which is kind of unusual in the military); and we’ve been preparing for a handful of upcoming courts on cases ranging from drug use and distribution to domestic assaults, to date rape.  That’s on top of the usual less-exciting legal business we see everyday.  So, as I’ve said, it’s been busy at work, and most nights I don’t leave until 6:30 pm.  A few nights this past month I’ve had to work until 8pm or later…and then come in most days at 6:30 or 7:00 am…  So, when I say things are busy at work, I don’t just mean 8 to 5, punch the clock and go home; I mean I come home too tired to blog or do much of anything that requires thinking.

And, speaking of things that don’t require much thinking, I have managed to squeeze in some play time on the ol’ Xbox 360, playing “Legends of WrestleMania”.  For my friends from the ButterSlide/ Ivy Lane, I highly recommend this game.  It’s pretty simple to pick up and play, but there’s also a good bit of more subtle things to learn as well.  I played through pretty much every mode (from reliving classic WrestleMania matches to surving Hell in a Cell or 30-man Royal Rumble), and collected 1000 gamerpoints in just under a week.  And I got to see some classic WWF/ WWE WrestleMania footage in the process.  To hear “Oh my Gawd J.R.!” from the announcers was truly hilarious…  So even though work is kind of stressful at the moment, I’m managing to blow off steam and maintain my sanity by dropping “the big boot” and playing some “sweet chin music”.  Good times.