THE CHALLENGE, CONTINUED

Read this:  It's not in the library.  And stay out of the library if you don't have a pass!

Next hint:  Sometimes you must look behind the plan.

A DEVILISHLY CLEVER CHALLENGE

I have been asked by several cadets to provide a new challenge.  Yippie-skippie, to think I get paid for this!  The challenge will be in the form of a treasure hunt.  I have taken a token (actually a penny, which I marked so that is is uniquely recognizable) and hidden it somewhere in the building or on the school grounds.  I will provide a series of hints until the token is located and returned to me.  Since this will be a multi-part challenge, I will offer a $10 prize.  No outside clues will be given.  Anything I tell one person, I will publish here so everyone knows.  Here are the rules:

1. The token will be placed in an area accessible to everyone.  It will not, for example, be placed in a girl's bathroom, a boy's bathroom, a locker room, or a locked space.
2. The token will not be placed in a private area such as a teacher's desk, file cabinet, or some similar location. 
3. The token will be placed in an area where it will not be likely to be found or disturbed accidentally.  I will check periodically during the course of the challenge to ensure it is still where it should be.
4. The token will not be placed in a dangerous or bizarre location--I will not hide it where you have to place yourself at any risk to get it.  No climbing, crawling, slithering, or fire walking will be required.
5. If you find the token, bring it to me for verification.  If you find it, you will win the prize.  If you bring it to me wearing a pirate costume with a parrot on your shoulder, you will win a BIG prize.
6. Any cadet who exercises poor judgment or violates school rules in pursuit of this prize will be liable to appropriate consequences.  DO NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID. 

Here is your first clue as to its location:  Without one, a goal is but a dream.


Get it?



TAKE THE CURE!

For sick fish.

PICTURES FROM PAST ORIENTATION TRIPS

Here are a few pics from past orientation trips:

Smithsonian Air and Space Annex.  The Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima is the silver aircraft in the mid-ground of the picture. 



SR-71 Blackbird at the Air and Space Annex




The shuttle Enterprise at the Annex




Interior of 16" gun turret on USS Massachusetts.  Pictured at the periscope is (I believe) Corrine Jewell.




Control room of a U.S. nuclear submarine (mock-up).  Pictured is Robert Lucchese, class of 2010.



Ship's wheel, USCG Eagle, America's Tall Ship.  The Eagle was a prize of war seized from the Germans at the end of World War Two and used by the Coast Guard as a training ship for cadets ever since.

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.)