Rest of week 9 plus pictures

The rest of week nine was pretty normal. I did get a couple things I ordered in the mail. The first is the STK500 8-bit AVR RISC micro-controller starter kit, for my geeky side, and the other is my new skate shoes, for my cool side. The skateboard and sign language curiculum are still on their way.

Here are some over due pictures:

Me hanging out in Fallujah.

Sunset over Al Asad

My favorite Portable Environmental Toilet

Living quarters in Husaybah. It is a trailer where the sides expand out and it turns into a big room with enought space to sleep 6.

My lovely home. We share a building with the motor pool mechanics. My place is on the right.

Sunset over Ar Ramadi

Inside of the office/living area. Will chating on the phone.

Me with my lovely St Patties day glasses, care of Melissa Kane.

View from the roof of the bat cave.

My new very cool ZOO YORK skate shoes.

Week 8 and part of 9

Most of week eight was pretty boring. At the beginning of week 9 I got to go on a little field trip out to another one of our fly-away sites. The site is on a really small base very similar to Husaybah, the site out west. The people at this site live and work in the same location. There are two people there at all times, but there is enough room to sleep seven. We had nine people staying in the room. We did what is called ‘hot’ racking to make due.

The building that the site is in is halfway built with metal bars still sticking out of the cement. The brick work is about the worst I have ever seen. All this gives it a very unique atmosphere. Then there is the actual living/work space. My best parallel would be the bat cave. There was one working florescent tube light in the sealed off cavernous room. Paired with the blinking lights from the electronic equipment, it had a very unique feel to it to say the least.

I was able to take part in my first semi-philosophical discussion since arriving in country. The two soldiers stationed in the bat cave were very intellectually inclined and made for some good conversation. I wasn’t able to follow along with everything, but threw in my two cents when I could. I was refreshing to hear someone look critically at the current US strategy in Iraq. While no solution was forth coming from the discussions, it was still neat to mull over various aspects of the war.

I convoyed out and back to the bat cave. The trip out was at night, so I didn’t get to see too much, except the dogs barking and chasing the vehicles. The ride home was during the day and provided a very unique glimpse into Iraq. The route back had the most visible sign of war that I have seen so far. There were several buildings completely collapsed. Every building that was standing looked like there had been a fire fight in it. Bullet holes riddled about everything in sight. Occasionally you would get a glimpse of a person here and there. It is hard to imagine wanting to continue to live near something so disturbing. I wish I could live in their shoes for a day so I could know what is really like. Maybe it was just more shocking to me and is just a natural part of life in Iraq now.

Two months down ten more to go.

Week 7

I am not sure what the requirements are for citing sources on a blog. In order to keep from getting charged with plagiarism, I will divulge the source of my 'neat new facts'. Last weeks and this weeks neat fact come from a book titled 'A history of Civilizations' by Fernand Braudel. On that note.

This weeks interesting fact or bit of knowledge: (Disclaimer: much of this may be common knowledge to many people. I have lived a sheltered life, so these bits of knowledge are very new and neat to me. Please spare my feelings if you can ;) )

During it's hey day, Islam was very successful in various scientific fields. It was the source of some great mathematical and astronomical insights. It was also very advanced in the field of medicine. In the above cited book on page 80 it says, "More than half the remedies and healing aids used by the west came from Islam".

This week has been pretty busy work wise. Mechanics are sometimes referred to by the title of grease monkey. If I were to receive such an affectionate title, it would be dust monkey. It always amazes me how much dirt and dust can collect in this equipment. Will was finally able to get out of Baghdad and brought me home a bunch of treats. I had left my sleeping bag in Baghdad because I didn't think I would have enough room to bring it. Will was nice enough to pick it up and bring it back for me. Along with that he also brought back a bunch of girl scout cookies I ordered when I was there but was unable to pick up. These cookies are evil. I have been trying to practice self control by only eating one Samoa a day. It hasn't been working. I had three today, plus I don't know how many thin mints. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

'They' started charging for chow. Every one has to fill one sand bag before you are allowed to eat. I started out counting how many sandbags I have filled, and since have lost count. It is a little bit of a hassle when you hungry, but it could be a lot worse. That could be someones full time job.

Thank all of you for you opinions and insights into my spare time dilemma. I have decided to start learning ASL and have ordered a bunch of curricula to start learning on. I will try to do the half pipe if I can acquire the materials. The robot is still up in the air. I will definitely try to create some sort of electronical device, but probably not as complex as a robot. I will keep every one posted as these projects progress and will try to put up pictures somehow. I look forward to keeping you all informed.

Week Six

This week I am all by myself. My co-worker, Will, had to go to Baghdad to drop off some stuff. He tried to come back the next day unsuccessfully, and now has been stuck there all week. I was left to my own devices to make sure everything was up and running. As my luck would have it, right after he left a bunch of equipment started having issues. It wasn't that horrible, and I was able to get everything back in order, eventually. This week by myself has been very boring. I always tell people that I don't like having room mates. I kind of like having Will around. It was nice to have another guy to talk to. We didn't have a whole lot in common, just enough though.

I am really starting to miss things from back in the states. Friends, church, my daughter, a super huge fajita burrito from Chipolte. I am a pretty good suppressor, but i can only suppress for so long before the feelings starts bubbling to the surface. A year feels like such a long time when your missing people. Luckily there is the internet to help keep in touch. I have been able to visit with my Daughter over the web cam a few times, which has been awesome. It always makes me smile when I see her, even if she is being cranky.

I visited church this week. I attended the evening Protestant service at the main post chapel. There were about 8 people who showed up, including the pastor and worship team. It was a good message and we were able to partake of communion as well. I will try the morning service next time and see how that goes.

Here is a new thing I will try to do each week. I will share a new and unique bit of information that I have learned throughout the week. This weeks random piece of knowledge:

During the initial spread of Islam, the Arabs did not try to convert the people they conquered. If you were Muslim you did not have to pay taxes. So, instead of converting the conquered and losing the tax base, they prevented people from converting to Islam in order to maintain their quality of life. Random, but interesting, I think.

Now I need some input from my loyal readers, all three of you ;). I am going to have to come up with some things to do to keep me occupied and productive during my down times from work. I have some ideas and would like your opinion(s) about them and any other ideas you might have of things for me to do. Here they are:
1. Build a robot
2. Learn a new language (Japanese, Russian, Sign...)
3. Build a pager (so people here can get a hold of me)
4. Learn some slight of hand and other magic tricks
5. Learn a new computer language (Ruby on Rails, Python, AJAX...)
6. Build a mini half-pipe

The ramp and the robot are my top two choices. Let me know what you think.