29 September 2011

Book Review: Kidnapped

So Kidnapped goes down as my second book that I didn't complete.
All my life I thought of Kidnapped as a book about a boy that visited exotic tropical lands with pirates and adventure. Given that the book is about an English orphan displaced to Scotland, I think I was probably confusing it with Treasure Island.
 
There were three things that caused me to stop reading this book.
1-Uncommon vocabulary-I am talking random words that I couldn't even guess the meaning of.
2-Bland Subject- There was a lot of walking going on and talking. In someways it was like Catcher In The Rye.
3-Unlikeable hero- Despite getting halfway through the book I really didn't care for the main character. In fact I can't even remember his name!
I wanted really badly to like this classic novel. But in the end I stopped reading it in favor of God is Not One. A facinating book that I am going to write about soon.
 
 
Recommendation: Skip this one. Read Gulliver's Travels instead.

12 September 2011

On Military Retirement

The proposed changes to military retirement were a hot button issue around the office. This article by Robert L. Goldich summarizes most of my feelings on it and this quote says it best.
 
 "Right now they [NCO's] stick around for 20 years because they know that the pot of gold at the end of the 20-year rainbow will be substantial and enable them to start a second career -- which they have to have, given that kids will be going to college and few men or women can actually live on military retired pay alone. Twenty-year retirement makes up with power what it lacks in subtlety. If we take it away as it stands, our NCO corps will hemorrhage. They will see correctly that the American people think their careers are no different than civilians who have an infinitely easier life. And one of the key factors in making our armed forces as outstanding as they are will be greatly damaged."