Charest Family on the Web Posts

Published December 13, 2020 by

A Bold New Look!

A Bold New Website Look
A Bold New Website Look

So my regular readers dropping in for a visit might momentarily think they come to the wrong blog. I can assure you, if you were looking for “The Charest Family on the Web” you dropped in on the correct website. After several years I’ve given my humble blog a bold new look.

I did this for several reasons, partially driven by learning a lot of User Experience (UX) principles over the past year of graduate school. Partially because my former theme had a few quirks I didn’t care for. Partially because, it was time for a style refresh.

Continue…A Bold New Look!

Tech Talk

website design

Published December 5, 2020 by

Conservative’s Respect For President-Elect Joe Biden

Joe Biden Official Portrait
Joe Biden Official Portrait

We are now thirty-four days past our last Presidential election. In normal times all eyes would be on our incoming president. All news stories would be on the transition of power and how the opposing party is nominally cooperating with the incoming President. In normal times, most people would hardly be paying any attention and life would go on.

Regretfully, these are not normal times. In these times, about one half of our nation’s citizens are holding our collective breaths that trump finally leaves office peacefully. The other half is loudly screaming “VOTE FRAUD” and going so far as proposing a military-led coup to keep trump in office.

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Opinions & Commentary Quora Re-Posts

Joe Biden Republicans

Published November 26, 2020 by

Happy Thanksgiving Pandemic Style

Thanksgiving Rainbow
Thanksgiving Rainbow

I don’t think I’m breaking news by posting that this past year has been a difficult year. Millions of people are out of work with no way to buy food or pay their rent. Schools are shut down with an entire generation of children facing a severe setback in their development and education. Our country remains in turmoil with one half of our people ready to go to war against the other half. People have been locked inside their homes for as long as eight months with no end in sight.

But today is Thanksgiving, a day we traditionally set aside to give momentary thanks for the blessings we do have. One day out of a year to remember the good things as a perspective on all the bad things. So this is my small contribution to giving thanks.

Continue…Happy Thanksgiving Pandemic Style

Family Stories

Blessings Thanksgiving

Published November 24, 2020 by

Chief of the Boat vs Command Master Chief? A Quora Question

Navy Command Master Chief badge
Navy Command Master Chief badge

My Navy career was unusual for the number of different types of ships I served on. Few people get to serve on both submarines and surface ships. Even more unusual, I served on two very different types of submarines, and two very different types of surface ships. This background gives me some unique perspectives on Navy life. So when I saw this Quora question, I felt I had the background to give a solid answer.

Continue…Chief of the Boat vs Command Master Chief? A Quora Question

In the Navy Quora Re-Posts

navy life quora submarines

Published November 13, 2020 by

Another Pandemic Friday the Thirteenth

Karsten Winegeart, Friday the Thirteenth
Pandemic Friday the Thirteenth

So today is another Pandemic Friday the Thirteenth. This has special significance for me as the last Friday the Thirteenth, back in March, was my first day of pandemic staying-safer-at-home. Today, two hundred forty-five days later, I’m still being safer-at-home.

I’m not sure if this is a real-life enactment of “Groundhog Day” or “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Either way, I wish the movie would just end.

Continue…Another Pandemic Friday the Thirteenth

Family Stories

Friday the Thirteenth

Published November 11, 2020 by

Remembering My Family Veterans

Veterans Day Remembrances

Today is Veteran’s Day, the eleventh day of the eleventh month. This holiday started as Armistice Day, the day to commemorate the end of what at the time was called “The Great War,” “The War To End All Wars,” now simply called “World War One (WWI).” Because people can’t ever seem to have enough wars.

On this day I want to remember members of my family past who were veterans.

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Family Stories

veteran's day

Published November 3, 2020 by

An Election Day Deep Thought

Vote Button

“We think that voting actually is not just a private vote for the person who gets the vote, but a public good, and that the more people who vote, the more legitimate the elected officials are, and that they represent the actual values of the electorate.”

former Colorado Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon (D-Denver), Colorado Statesman, 7/27/12
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Opinions & Commentary

election day voting

Published November 1, 2020 by

About Respect in the Ranks. A Quora Question.

Admiral Mike Boorda
Admiral Mike Boorda, Official Navy Photograph

Recently I had the opportunity to answer another Quora question on navy life. This answer brought back a flood of memories from my life in Naples, Italy, and working with NATO. The question was “As an enlisted service member, what did an officer do to earn your respect?” I felt this was an interesting question, as the person asking seemed to know enough about military life to know that respecting position is required, but respect for the person is earned.

Continue…About Respect in the Ranks. A Quora Question.

In the Navy Quora Re-Posts

Admiral Mike Boorda Navy quora

Published November 1, 2020 by

They’ve Already Lost

Vote Button
Get Out and Vote

I’ve been observing the tumultuous final stages of this 2020 Presidential campaign through my pandemic-imposed lockdown. From my vantage point the evolving trends of the campaign form a pattern rising into view through the mists of chaos.

And the patterns tell me that no matter what happens on Tuesday, trump and his power-drunk brownnosing groupies have already lost.

Continue…They’ve Already Lost

Opinions & Commentary

vote

Published October 16, 2020 by

On Submarines and Helicopters

In the Navy Quora Re-Posts

Navy quora submarines