SPRING ORIENTATION TRIP

We're in the process of planning the spring orientation trip.  Here's what it looks like so far:

• We're going to the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, VA, Washington, D.C., and Gettysburg, PA.
• Depart on Thursday, 12 April (that's during Spring Break.  Sadly, if you attend you will miss no school.)
• Return on Sunday, 15 April (We may shorten the trip and return on Saturday...it all depends on the money...keep reading.)
• On Thursday we will arrive in the Washington Metro Area.  Not sure where we will stay, but probably a hotel/motel.  Figure four cadets to a room.  Little boy cadets and little girl cadets will room separately and never the twain shall meet.  We may visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex at Dulles Airport, it's a neat place, and it's FREE.  Dinner at a mall (after all, what's better than a greasy hamburger?).
• On Friday we will tour Quantico.  Possibilities include the Officer Candidate School, the Basic School, and, if we're very lucky, we may be able to sit in on field demonstration for surviving veterans of the famous Marine Raider Battalion of WWII fame.  We'll probably eat lunch at the base galley and then tour the National Marine Corps Museum--a really worthwhile visit.  Dinner at the mall (more sliders, please!).
• On Saturday we will tour Washington, DC.  Probable stops include the Mall (not the mall, you weasels, but the Mall), where you may visit your choice of Smithsonian museums, the WWII memorial, etc.  You probably will not get to tour the White House or the Capitol since it is a Saturday, but you can see these buildings from the outside.  Last time we also visited the Korean War memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Iwo Jima Memorial.  We may also try for a stop at the Navy Museum.  Meals will be on you.  (If we have to return on Saturday you can count on about  four hours at the Mall and then a bus ride back to Middletown.)
• Sunday we will clear quarters and hit the road returning to Middletown via Gettysburg, PA where we will tour the site of Pickett's Charge, the high-water mark of the Confederacy.  It's worth seeing--it's the kind of thing you'll tell your grandchildren about.  (I'd tell mine, but I don't have any.  Probably wouldn't like 'em anyway!)
• Here's the bad news:  we have to pay the entire cost ourselves.  This means that you should plan on bringing about $25 per day, more if you're a big spender, for food and incidentals.  We will also collect about $100 to $125 from each participant to cover the cost of the motel and meals at the base galley.   Payment will be due before you are given a seat.  We'll keep the amount as low as possible and hopefully it will not exceed $100.  If you want to participate, but can't afford it, please see me or MSGT and we'll make it happen.  You will not be allowed to board the bus with no money in your pocket, so plan accordingly.
• We have room for 46 to 48 cadets.  Permission slips will be due by 26 March, after that date you may drop out, but I will not be able to add anyone due to security regulations at the Marine Corps base.  If you drop out after this date there will be an empty seat on the bus and you will get only a partial refund.  Don't be a weasel. 
• Priority will be given to seniors, then freshmen.  Considerations will also be given to your participation:  Do you wear your uniform regularly?  Do you regularly participate in NJROTC activities?  Are you a squared-away cadet or just a wannabee?  Are you absolutely reliable and self-disciplined or are you likely to be a dramatist?  (I would have said drama queen, but guys can be dramatic, too.)
• Plan on wearing your uniform when we're on base.  You will be squared-away or I will not take you on board a military base where people I care about will associate your slovenly appearance and unacceptable behavior with me and the NJROTC program.  This is a special warning to certain members of the junior class.)



This Marine spotted one of our cadets with his cover askew last time we were at Quantico.
Stitches were required (and not for the Marine).



ANOTHER CHALLENGE (WILL THEY NEVER END?)

Here's a fiendish cadet challenge.  This is a test of general knowledge, no logic or math.  No trick to it, either.  Here it is:

What is in the third caster?  (Or, more accurately, what went in the third caster?)

This challenge will remain open until solved.  Good luck.

Here's a hint.  First, look up the definition of caster so that you know what you're looking for.  Next, study the question carefully.  Note that I said "Or, more accurately, what went in the third caster?"  You may take this to mean that the third caster is no longer is common use.  This, combined with the rest of the question, should point you in the right direction.  This challenge will remain open until solved.  The credited solution will provide an explanation.

WE'RE SLOW AND WE DON'T DO GOOD WORK

I have been complaining about some minor damage to our shelving unit in our supply space.  A couple of our stalwart cadets exercised the special Middletown initiative and set to work on a repair.  Here's the result, it brings tears to my old eyes.  Just look at the wonderful quality of workmanship exhibited by our cadets:

All they needed was a handful of screws, some nails, tape, a paint stirrer, and a small wooden tag (it's the oblong piece inserted under the stirrer).  Here's our team in action:

Thanks guys!  (Actually, we only had two on the project and I'm not sure who played Curly.  If we had used three cadets it would have been 50% more screwed up.)

AN EVEN NEWER STILL CHALLENGE--GET ON IT, YOU LAZY CADETS!

Props to Cadet Shavon Lloyd who reported that the correct answer is 31.  Good job!

Okay you weasels, you asked for it, you got it.  Despite the fact that the previous challenge sadly remains unanswered, here is the latest challenge.  Fair warning, it's a tough one!

A certain high school has a strange principal. On the first day, he has his students perform an odd opening day ceremony.  There are one thousand lockers and one thousand students in the school. The principal asks the first student to go to every locker and open it. Then he has the second student go to every second locker and close it. The third goes to every third locker and, if it is closed, he opens it, and if it is open, he closes it. The fourth student does this to every fourth locker, and so on. After the process is completed with the thousandth student, how many lockers are open?

Yeow!  This challenge will close out at 0730 on Monday 30 January.  Good luck.

By the way, for those of you who might be interested, West Point will now accept incoming cadets with tattoos:



Don't believe everything you find on the web!



AN EVEN NEWER CADET CHALLENGE

Since the last challenge was handled with such dispatch, here is a new one:

62 - 63 = 1 is an equation that is obviously wrong.  Move just one numeral or symbol and make it right. 

There is no trick here, just simple eighth grade math.  This challenge will close out at 0730 Friday, 20 January.  Good luck!

Congratulations to Cadet Migliori who remembered that 2 to the 6th power is 64 and that 64 minus 63 is 1. 

One smart fish!

NEW CADET CHALLENGE

Congratulations to Cadet Shavon Lloyd who was the first (and so far only) cadet to correctly identify Harry as a knight and Dick as a Knave. 

Here's the latest cadet challenge.  This one is about a 6 on the difficulty scale; it's tough, but by no means impossible. 

It is Saturday afternoon. As you walk down the beach, you meet three residents: Tom, Dick and Harry. You know that none are Normals (see below). You ask Tom, "Are you a Knight or a Knave?" He answers, but you cannot make out what he said; so you ask Dick, "What did he say?" Dick responds, "Tom said that he is a Knave." At this point, Harry says, "Don't believe Dick, he is lying." What are Dick and Harry?  


Included below to assist you in your efforts are a list of possible solutions and a list of facts.  Read both carefully. 
Possible solutions

- Dick is a Knight.

- Dick is a Knave.

- Harry is a Knight.

- Harry is a Knave.

Fact list

- Knights always tell the truth.

- Knaves always lie.

- Neither of the men is a Normal.

- Dick says, "Tom said that he is a Knave."

- Harry says, "Don't believe Dick, he is lying."

This challenge will close 0730 Monday 23 January.  Be prepared to explain your answer.  This is a logic puzzler, no trick is involved.  Since this is a tougher than average challenge, there will be some tangible prize for the winner.  Good luck!

APPLEBEE'S PANCAKE BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER

On Saturday 14 January we conducted a highly successful fundraiser at Applebee's followed by a clean-up of Wisner Avenue, support of the American Legion's Veteran's Breakfast, and orienteering training at the high school.  Here are a few pictures to document the event:

The Crew.

A.j. Geagley ponders pancakes.

Generally we try to hold cameras horizontal.



A little pancake with that butter?




Orange County's happiest bee keeper.



It's tough to pick up the stumps.

This is why teenagers shouldn't drive.  Heck, we shouldn't even let them out in public!

Don't they just look guilty?

NEW CHALLENGE--SERIOUSLY

Congratulations to Cadet Derek Fitzgerald who correctly described the phenomenon depicted below as the "dead cat bounce."  The term refers to the correction in the price of a stock or a market index after a long decline.  The question is, when prices increase, does it represent a real turn-around, or is it simply the bounce of a cat that's already dead.  Cadet Fitzgerald, being a smart MHS cadet, only had to bounce four or five dead cats before he figured it out. 

There's a free soda in it for any cadet who can 'splain to me the meaning of the following image:

I caution you all that this is a serious question.   This challenge will close out 0730 17 January 2012. 
Good luck.

NEW CHALLENGE

Congratulations to Cadet Jorge Esquivel who correctly answered the puzzle below.  Cadet Esquivel said that he always gets the puzzlers right, but that he never tells anyone.  I certainly believe him.  Puzzled as to how he figured it out?  Here's a hint:  think about what happens when a team is elimated.  For example, what happens when the Rocks eliminate the last Scissor?

Here's a new challenge, open to all cadets:

Commander W. was having a tough time getting his lazy cadets to learn their general knowledge, but he noticed that the cadets often wasted time by playing the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors". He made a game with similar rules in order to encourage the students to learn their facts.


The class would be divided into three teams: Rock, Paper and Scissors. The instructor would ask the students a question and the class would raise their hands if they knew the answer. If the first person to answer the question correctly is in the Rock team, he or she would choose one player from the Scissors team to be eliminated. Similarly, if a player from the Scissors team was first to answer the question, then he or she would eliminate a member from the Paper team. Lastly, if a player from the Paper team was first to answer correctly, he or she would eliminate a member from the Rock team.

The commander would then continue asking questions until only one team still has members. That team would be declared the winner and all its members would win a remarkably valuable prize.

However, as soon as he explained the rules to the class, one particularly clever cadet (who must have been just visiting) immediately found a large flaw that made the game unplayable. Can you do the same?

This challenge will conclude at 0730 18 January 2012.  Good luck!

BORED FISH



This picture is passed along without further comment.



Are you ready for your exams?  Are you tired and run down?  Are you studying hard or studying smart?  Here's my recipe for success:

• Have a plan to prepare for quarterly exams and Regents' test.  To do well you must prepare, and your preparation should be more than just cramming the night before.  If the test is about two hours long, you should probably devote at least 4 - 6 hours of dedicated test prep time.
• When you study, don't just stare at the page.  Writiing it out or diagraming it often helps commit it to memory whereas simply staring at text doesn't help much. Studying, like reading, is an active process.  Start by asking yourself what you need to know, find the answer, and commit it to memory.    Make notes of your notes highlighting all the really important stuff.
• Get a good night's sleep. If you are awake at 11 P.M., you're staying up too late.  A sensible routine really helps--and not just with tests. 
• Get up early, eat a reasonable breakfast.  If you control your day, you will be more prepared and more comfortable, and your scores will likely be better because of it.
• Dress appropriately.  Wear layers.
• Bring everything that you need and nothing you don't. 
• Get to the test site early.
• Relax.  Avoid drama.  It is what it is.

More to follow...