Friday, November 30, 2007

School Catch 22

Last month, I decided to sign up for the on-line version of 63J (chemical weapons dectection equipment maintenance) training so I could get started now rather than waiting till next year for a resident school slot to open up. The 63J non-resident program is several hundred hours ofd on-line training followed by two weeks at Aberdeen. I am scheduled for the two weeks at Aberdeen, but I am on a WAIT list. Because I am on a wait list, I have not received the the authorization code to start taking the 63J course. Until I get off the wait list, I can't start the on line course. In the meantime, I am taking a chemical weapons on-line course that I can sign up for as additional training. It turns out that I can't take the mandatory job rtraining course without formal authorization, but I can take a course that has the same content but is not job training on the same subject. Computers have not changed the Army when it comes to approving paperwork.

"Blindness" by Jose Saramago--terrifying look at society falling apart

  Blindness  reached out and grabbed me from the first page.  A very ordinary scene of cars waiting for a traffic introduces the horror to c...