Hmm... based on that maybe we should modernize it thus:

"The society that separates its politicians from its scholars and warriors will have its decisions made by foolish cowards."

"Reserve" makes sense in English for your situation. In the U.S. you would be in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), an inactive, non-paid status, but still on the military roles.

In the U.S. if you hold a current federal commission or enlisted contract, you're either active, reserve (to include the National Guard), or retired. If you lose your commission, by choice or not, or you don't re-enlist, you are discharged and officially a civilian. Depending on the nature of your service you may qualify for official veteran status for certain benefits, including medical care and education.

"The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools." ~Thucydides

Well said. Manning is facing the consequences of his choice. A court martial is inevitable for soldiers who choose to disobey. We'll see if Manning is deemed to have displayed honor and integrity, or to have foolishly lashed out in response to perceived misconduct in his unit.

I also am an Army vet and I disagree. He can't just claim "Army Values" and walk away. While as a soldier you are compelled to refuse illegal orders, there are consequences (i.e. court martial) for acting on that compulsion. He will get his day in court to explain his actions and, if found honorable, be vindicated for the treatment he's received these last several years. However, it's more likely that he'll be found in violation of his oath of enlistment and the oath of secrecy he swore upon accepting a high security clearance. He is plenty smart enough to have figured out the proper way to expose wrong-doing. This was not it.

The Dwarves had more than one home. The Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) west of the Shire are yet another.

Vietnam-era M16 had full auto. The A2 (Desert Shield/Desert Storm-era) and later models all have 3-round burst just like the M4 carbine. AR15 is only semi. I've fired them all.

I get your point about the app store competing directly with Steam. But Windows Live currently sucks and I won't buy there unless I have to because of exclusivity. That's my bigger concern. I was pissed when I discovered that Mass Effect III was not offered on Steam.

Re: ARM. We'll see. I have an iPad and have purchased many iOS games. While I've been playing a lot of Summoner Wars and Warlords Classic lately, I don't consider light games on iOS as a replacement for a PC game experience. I don't see ARM games threatening that either.

Good points about Metro and ARM possibly leading to exclusivity for titles also available on traditional x86. Steam does have reason to be concerned there. But how many AAA titles (and similar feature-rich indie games) will fall into that category?

Good insight. Thanks for explaining so well what TFS could not.

We'll see how the doom and gloom plays out. I've purchased over $1000 of games through Steam, versus $25-30 through Xbox-Live and exactly $0 through Windows Live (not directly, anyway. Some games require it, such as Batman Arkham Asylum, which I purchased through Steam). MS will have to really improve Windows Live to change that.

My biggest concern is exclusivity locking Steam out. Examples: Diablo III and Mass Effect III

I guess I missed where Steam won't work on Windows 8 like it does on Windows 7. Please link.

I saw the new Spider-Man in 2D because I read a review saying the 3D didn't add anything. I can picture a couple scenes (the spider-bite scene comes to mind, followed by the battles) where it would have been fun, but overall don't think I missed much.

War is very ugly. So is the spirit of your post.

V-22s were in service in Iraq when I was there in 2008. Saw them takeoff while our Chinook crew was fixing a fuel leak at BIAP.

I feel for you. I'm curious how it has ruined you. Three guesses:

1. You had to move and kept the mortgage to avoid eating a loss
2. The house requires costly repairs or maintenance
3. The monthly costs exceed what you can currently afford, possibly from a lost job or ARM loan bubble

Our house has lost market value but we're not moving. The P&I, taxes and insurance amount to about the same as we'd pay to rent. Unless something drastic occurs we're riding it out. I realize that isn't an option for many.

Generations typically span 20 years. Boomers are generally considered to be those born between 1945 and 1965. So, yes, GP is a late Boomer.