It's a "bug" kind of day around here...

It seems to be a female failing that we sometimes tend to use kitchen knives as convenient tools. Replacement for scissors, screwdriver, you name it. Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea.

I managed, earlier today, to be a "Don't do this" poster child. I cut my finger - down to the bone, mind you - and now have a date with a hand surgeon tomorrow.

Lovely.

So, blogging may be non-existent on Monday, depending on how bad the pain is (right now it's still numb from the numerous stitches I received) and whether or not I'm having surgery.

My wonderful husband, to this point, has refrained from saying, "I told you so." Gotta love him.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rittenhouse, right, assigned to Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, briefs his platoon prior to a combined patrol in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rittenhouse, right, assigned to Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, discusses procedures with an Iraqi policeman prior to a combined patrol in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rittenhouse, right, assigned to Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, discusses procedures with an Iraqi policeman before a combined patrol in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 18, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Coffey, assigned to the 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, inspects renovations completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 506th RCT at the Al Garaf Girls' Primary School in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

U.S. Army Capt. Shelia Matthews, left, assigned to 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, talks to children outside the Al Garaf Girls' Primary School in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

U.S. Army Capt. Shelia Matthews, right, assigned to the 4th Battalion, 420th Field Artillery Regiment, 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, receives an update on the renovations completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 506th Regimental Combat Team from the head teacher of the Al Garaf Girls' Primary School in the Zafaraniyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Bronco Suzuki

by Spc. Van Der Weide
October 26, 2006
Old Guard Soldiers from the Commander-in-Chief's Guard demonstrate the role of skirmishers at a celebration commemorating the 225th anniversary of the American victory at Yorktown, Va., during the Revolutionary War. US Army photo.

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Spike in Baghdad Violence
Troops kill 17 militants in Iraq, Bush stands firm
U.S. military probes sniper threat in Baghdad
Iraqi leader's bodyguard hurt in attack
Iraqi PM Challenges Handling of War

Operation Enduring Freedom
NATO, Afghan Forces Kill 70 Suspected Militants

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Guantanamo may be final home for many detainees
Oil rises toward $61 on Saudi threat

Other Military News
Army monitors soldiers' blogs, Web sites (Featuring some familiar names...)

Mid-East Ceasefire / Hamas Rising / Israel at War
Egypt Deploys Police Forces Along Gaza Border
Israeli prosecutor urges president to stand down

Religion of Peace??
French Teens Burn Woman in Bus (and a few hundred cars...but who's counting?)
France condemns bus attack that leaves woman burned

Worldwide Wackos
Iran says will press on with atomic work
Castro Appears on TV, Defying Death Rumors

Politics / Government
GAO chief warns economic disaster looms
Bush works to save GOP in last campaign
Democrats with big edge in campaign's last week
Buoyed by polls, Lieberman "optimistic" of victory
Bush takes on Dems over Iraq, security
Schumer confident of Democratic majority
GOP leader says he would've canned Foley

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News
Army monitors soldiers' blogs, Web sites (Featuring some familiar names...)
Candidates, parties target Web audience
Jon Stewart visits Ohio State U.

Mother Nature
Calif. Fire Evacuees Return Home - VIDEO - PHOTOS
Calif. blaze now 70 percent contained
Strong Typhoon Batters Northern Philippines
Fish farmers angry over shipping ban
Tornado causes damage in Fla. town

News from My Neck of the Woods
Strong Winds Knock Out Power Along East Coast

Oddities
Former Heavyweight Champ Trevor Berbick Found Dead After Suffering Hatchet Attack
Man Dies in Halloween Bungee Jump Fright Attempt

Fox News
The Truth About Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh
Bus and Tanker Collide in Pakistan, Killing 20
Legendary Celtics Coach Red Auerbach Dies at 89

Reuters: Top News
Lula confident of big win as Brazil votes
Police open fire as Congolese vote to end war - Video
Bangladesh president seeks to defuse political crisis
No climate action may spark economic crisis: report
Vinyl vaults into digital age with new devices
Georgia seeks new markets to beat Russian sanctions
Sector rotation may resume; jobs data ahead
Stocks fall on weak GDP data, Intel drops
Goldman cuts PC board outlook; tech firms hit
Hartford, Chubb stock down on future earnings fears
Shopping for retailer stocks
On the radar: TelMex
Nintendo to launch videogame business in Russia: paper
Suitors line up bids for Hard Rock Cafe: papers
Toyota to build two plants in North America: report
Foreign firms bow to Bolivia energy nationalization
Weak home building drags down economic growth
Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok dies at 83

AP World News
Investors look to weigh economic data
Wis. Halloween bash ends peacefully
Police surround besieged Mexican city
Brad Pitt's staff claims crew trespassed
Emily Post center pushes modern manners
Obituaries in the news
Mesaba reaches pact with pilots
Ohio elevator death tempers campus mood
NYC church goes British with its bells

Military.com
Opinion: Iraq is not Vietnam
Play Military Trivia and Win an iPod
Woman First, Military Wife Second
Blog: Battling the Mahdi Army in Baquba
Audio Excerpt From 'Six Frigates'
Learn to Use Your GI Bill

CENTCOM: News Releases
FIVE HAQQANI NETWORK TERRORISTS CAPTURED IN KHOWST PROVINCE

IPS AMBUSHED BY INSURGENTS, IPS AND CF FIGHT BACK

USJFCOM
Urban Resolve 2015 comes to a close - podcast
USJFCOM supports Australia, USPACOM in developing combined training capability - podcast
Urban warfare experiment draws many players
USJFCOM, USTRANSCOM commanders sign joint vision statement
Command's experiment bringing focus to urban challenges
Command leadership assisted as Navy transforms officer training
USJFCOM exhibits Joint Force Projection ACTD - podcast

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Mail Terminal Ready for Holidays - Story
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Uncover Weapons Caches - Story - Photos
Steady Hand Ensures Refueling of Aircraft - Story
Combat Comm Readies Airmen for Deployments - Story
Undersea Warfare Unit Deploys to Persian Gulf - Story

IN IRAQ
Iraqi Army Non-commissioned Officers Graduate
Soldiers Set Up Medical Ops in Rushdi Mullah
Engineers Help Fortify Iraqi Police Headquarters
Center Gives Iraqis Place to Voice Concerns
Iraqi Army Training Centers Prepare for Influx

IN AFGHANISTAN
Specialist Delivers Supplies, Hope to Students
Agha Jon School Reopens After Taliban Torching

IN KUWAIT
Navy Leader Visits with Sailors in Kuwait

DefendAmerica Week in Review
Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
539 BC- Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great of Persia.
1682 - William Penn lands in what will become Pennsylvania.
1727 - A severe earthquake hits in New England.
1811 - The first Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans.
1863 - The International Committee of the Red Cross is founded (Nobel 1917, 1944, 1963).
1894 - The Hawaiian Republic holds its first election.
1923 - Turkey is proclaimed a republic (National Day).
1929 - On "Black Tuesday," the Stock Market crashes, triggering "Great Depression."
1940 - Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson draws the first number in the first peacetime military draft in U.S. history (#158).
1942 - 16,000 Jews are killed in Pinsk, Russia; the Alaska highway is completed.
1945 - The first ball point pen goes on sale, 57 years after it was patented.
1956 - The International Zone of Tangier is returned to Morocco; Israeli paratroopers drop into the Sinai to open Straits of Tiran.
1957 - A hand grenade explodes in Israel's Knesset (Parliament).
1960 - A chartered C46 carrying Cal State's football team crashes, killing 16.
1964 - In NYC, the Star of India and other jewels are stolen.
1966 - NOW (the National Organization of Women) is founded.
1982 - Car maker John DeLorean indicted for drug trafficking (he is later acquitted).
1988 - 2,000 U.S. anti-abortion protesters are arrested for blocking clinics.
1989 - In NYC, the MTA opens the 63rd street subway extension.

Birthdays
1875 - Marie, queen consort of Ferdinand I of Romania (1914-27)
1884 - Bela Lugosi, horror actor (Dracula, Body Snatcher)
1891 - Fanny Brice, singing comedienne (Ziegeld Follies, Baby Snooks)
1897 - Paul Joseph Goebbels, Nazi propagandist
1947 - Richard Dreyfuss, actor (Jaws, Nuts)

Passings
1618 - Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in London
1885 - George B. McClellan, Union General
1901 - Leon Czolcosz, assassin of President McKinley, executed
1911 - Joseph Pulitzer American newspaperman, dies in Charleston, SC
1947 - Frances Cleveland Preston, former First Lady
1957 - Louis B. Mayer, MGM producer
1990 - William French Smith, attorney general (1980)

Reported Missing in Action
1963
Pitzer, Daniel L., US Army SF (WV); released November, 1967 - deceased

Rowe, James N., US Army SF (TX); escaped December, 1968 - killed in the Phillipines by a sniper in 1989

Versace, Humberto R., US Army SF (VA); reportedly executed September, 1965 - on PRG DIC list

1968
Bezold, Steven, US Army (MO); O1G shot down (observer, w/Harrison)

Harrison, Donald L., US Army (GA); O1G shot down (pilot, w/Bezold)

Hunter, James D., US Army (TN); swept off of air mattress by wave, Killed - accidental drowning

1971
Oakley, Linus Labin, USAF (AR); KIA, body not recovered

1972
Sullivan, James E., USN (MA); A7C shot down, remains returned August, 1985