Monday Morning

Hey folks! Very little time today, so just a couple of things.

On Friday, I came across a very compelling video documentary by the BBC about people who escape from North Korea. It's really worth checking out, particularly if you have any humanitarian leanings. The video can be found here, and it's around twenty minutes long. A number of the people whom I've met have accused me of being some sort of "war fan". The truth of the matter is that I favor military action in a number of cases because I know that situations exist in the world where people like these have to do, or attempt to do, the kinds of things they're doing in this situation. Fortunately, a diplomatic/economic approach seems to be working with North Korea - at the moment, at least. It's situations like these that give me my desire to go to Afghanistan, where the Taliban are every bit as brutal, if not moreso, than the North Korean regime.

Today starts a new video series: Ross Kemp in Afghanistan. This is an extremely long one, worth listening to at work if you can turn on the video and continue working. There are five five-part episodes, and rather than spending the next five weeks on them, I'm going to post the first video of each episode (they take about fifty minutes or so apiece) on each of the five days of this week.



One of the topics I studied in college was the Exodus, and part of that study included a detailed study of some research that a couple of guys did on the causes of the Ten Plagues. Their original website, which was up for a brief period in the mid to late 1990's, has been gone for years; but I found a paper this weekend that cites most if not all of their data. If you've ever wondered about the dividing line between natural and supernatural, this is a fascinating read.

Okay, long-time readers (I say that a lot these days) may remember that two things happen this week: my favorite holiday (Independence Day), and my twenty-sixth birthday. I'm not sure I could feel any older than I did when I turned twenty-five, but we'll see. Does anyone have any suggestions of what I ought to do to celebrate? Or perhaps stories of what you did when you turned twenty-six?

Check in tomorrow, folks! Have a great day.

Fly Report: 30th June 2008

Good morning. Wait, wait, wait... So did they ever actually establish whose line it was... ? Anyway... ?

It's 12° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 89° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $141.67 - sometimes, I wonder why I even bother checking this anymore. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,346.51. The exchange rate is $1.99 for £1, or £0.50 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 13.

Who's to say where the wind will take you, who's to say what it is will break you?

Quagmires of the Twentieth Century

It's Friday! First thing's first: the conclusion of the Royal Marines in Afghanistan series. I'm not sure what video series will take over next week, but it will once again be a series of news reports out of Afghanistan.



Speaking of Afghanistan, I have two links for you folks today. The first deals extensively with Afghanistan, and will likely be of particular interest to Father Time, TSTF's resident Cold War hero and favorite curmudgeon. What's the topic? The Soviet use of artillery in Afghanistan. For those of you who don't know, Father Time was a mortar NCO in the Vietnam-era United States Army. I've seen a picture of him in uniform, with a bayonet in his teeth and fire in his eyes, and it terrified me to my core... Oh, right, sorry.

Anyway the second link is a detailed discussion of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, as well as the history of other tandem rotor helicopters and their development over the course of the last sixty years or so. I've been researching these birds, ostensibly as research for the novels I'm working on, so I've taken a great deal of interest in any information I can find on the Chinook and its older brother, the CH-46 Sea Knight. I didn't know until a few months ago that these weren't the same aircraft, and I didn't know until about last week that the two aircraft are actually much different with respect to size. If you have any interest in aviation, and military aviation in particular, I highly recommend you check it out. There are a lot of great pictures.

Since this is a short post, I'll actually go ahead and post a satellite image today. Today's satellite image is... What the heck? It's an overturned ship off the coast of Bur Sudan! That's every bit as fascinating as the grounded freighter on the beach of Nouadhibou, Mauritania!

Have a great weekend, folks. Stay out of the sun, it'll give you awkward tan lines... Just ask Mighty Mo!

Fly Report: 27th June 2008

Good morning. Take me home tonight, I don't want to let you go 'til you see the light.

It's 14° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 76° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $140.63 - sometimes, I wonder why I even bother checking this anymore. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,453.42. The exchange rate is $1.98 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 12.

And hotness, it sets in; you need some protection, the thinner the skin.

Politics Drives the Fly Crazy

Guten Morgen, folks. As I sit here, watching the first season of the Drew Carey Show, I'm thrilled: my Outfitter XL Cot arrived. Excellent!

First thing's first: part four of the Royal Marines in Afghanistan, from the CBC program The Passionate Eye.



On the subject of Afghanistan, I've seen a couple of articles recently that are worth paying attention to. People are very concerned about high global food prices, and their connection to biofuels; and that's a very real concern (and just part of the reason why we shouldn't tie our energy policy into biofuels). However, there has been at least one good dividend of the rise in wheat prices: Afghan farmers have swapped out poppies for wheat in the last few months. For most of the last several years, cash-strapped Afghans have been unable to justify growing subsistence crops because it was so much more cost-effective to grow poppies. Wheat prices are now high, and opiate prices are low, which is leading to a shift. It's widely known that the Taliban use the profits from opium sales to fund the insurgency, so the issue of poppy cultivation has been closely tied into efforts to hamstring the insurgency. Apparently the Taliban have stockpiled poppies after last year's bumper crop, in order to provide more financing once prices go back up. Personally, if I were an ISAF commander, I'd make locating and destroying every last opium cache one of my top priorities.

I've also wondered for years why the Afghan government and ISAF don't just legitimize the opium production and use it for pharmaceuticals, thus eliminating the Taliban's ability to profit from it. I discussed it with M@, who's in the medical field, and he suggested that the supply of Afghan opium exceeds the demand for legitimate opiates (morphine, codeine). I suppose the idea is also to eliminate the opium crops altogether, as an opium crop intended for legitimate use could still be subverted, stolen, and used for Taliban purposes. I suppose we can only hope that the Afghans take this opportunity to continue to grow wheat.

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and give my expert testimony on this latest issue with Senator Obama. I'm going to try to be coherent, professional, and reasonable... While I watch Sports Night.

* * *
Okay, I had a long explanation drawn out for why the thing between Senator Obama and Dr. Dobson is such a big deal. Again, I'm not thrilled with it, because it left out a couple of details, and because I'm less and less comfortable commenting extensively on politics. So now, I'm going to simplify. Let's see if I can get this.

The reason that this is an important issue is that it's another big hit to Senator Obama's religious credibility. Particularly when there are rumors that Senator Obama is a "secret Muslim" or something of that sort, he needs to connect with the average American voter by demonstrating that he actually is a Christian. That took a major hit when two clergy who he'd identified as spiritual mentors (Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger) turned out to have made blatantly anti-American and racist statements from the pulpit, on video. That made Senator Obama appear to be either radical himself, or disingenuous about the depth of his personal commitment to his faith. Assuming that his recent statements about being unaware of Jeremiah Wright's views until 2008 (and that's a big leap of faith for American voters to take), it made him look as if he'd joined the Trinity United Church of Christ for the purpose of political convenience, not for the purpose of fostering his religious faith.

This most recent event once again brutalizes Senator Obama's credibility, because it shows either a willful disregard for Biblical context; or a profound ignorance of the Bible. Senator Obama's speech in 2006 demonstrated less understanding of the Bible than I had going into college. Anyone who has really been a dedicated, devout, mainstream Christian for twenty years would have a better understanding of the Bible and his context than Senator Obama demonstrated in his speech. So, the first controversy with Jeremiah Wright made Senator Obama look either radical, or "faithful" for the sake political convenience. Now, this incident makes Senator Obama appear to be profoundly ignorant of a faith he claims to follow devoutly. It makes him look disingenuous, inconsistent, and phony.

The other issue, and it's also a big one, is that the speech essentially boils down to this: "We can't and shouldn't use the Bible to inform our political views, because it's no longer relevant and not everyone accepts it as the word of God." This is a problem for Obama because many American voters use the Bible to inform their political views as well as their personal lives, and mainstream Christians believe that the Bible is both relevant and inspired. On this issue, too, Senator Obama has demonstrated a fundamental schism between himself and the Christian voters he's trying to bring into his camp.

And the comparison of Dr. James Dobson to Al Sharpton is just asinine, and Senator Obama should have known better. That was just uncalled for. That having been said, I do want to make a couple of quick asides.

First, I don't support anyone's decision to vote against Senator Obama because they've heard he's a "secret Muslim". The fact that his father was a Muslim and he claims not to be is an issue, as that makes him an apostate Muslim in the eyes of devout Muslims. I'd rather people voted for Senator McCain, because I honestly think he's the best choice in this election. However, if someone is going to vote against Senator Obama, they should be doing it based on his political views, or his policies, or his lack of experience. These are all legitimate justifications; rumors that he's a "secret Muslim" are not legitimate justifications. I want no one to vote in ignorance, even if it means they vote the same way as me.

Second, I do want to give Senator Obama credit, because I did agree with him on one issue. Senator Obama criticized religious conservatives who vote solely based on the Bible, without having any deeper explanation than that. I honestly believe that every political issue for which there's a religious justification can also be explained in secular terms. In an increasingly schismatic conservative movement, religious conservatives will have less and less success by coming off as religious zealots. It's okay to point out what the Bible says, but it ought to be backed up with logical, coherent justification that doesn't require the Bible in order to be logically sound.

I may post that other stuff at some point, but these are the basic points. As I've indicated previously, I have no malice toward Senator Obama, I just think that Senator McCain is far more qualified for the highest office in the land. I'll try to avoid politics for a while, because it takes a lot of time and isn't really what you folks stop in for.
* * *
Ugh. And I haven't even touched that Air Force blurb that I started on last night. Oh, yeah, and I didn't get a chance to touch either of my spy novels tonight. Okay, I've blathered on and on, probably for at least a couple of pages at this point, but I'm going to close with a funny exchange between me and the former LSG, who needs a new name.

The Fly: Well I've got a cot ready and waiting when you woman up and come to [Van Dieman's Station].
Transitional LSG: oh a cot... you know how to make a girl feel sexy
The Fly: You won't even know that's what it is.
Transitional LSG: lol i may be able to tell
The Fly: I'll make a pretty good attempt at disguising it.
Transitional LSG: it better be a big cot
The Fly: Outfitter XL. The XL stands for an eXtrachanceofnotbeingawkwardforthe Lady.
Transitional LSG: lol
Transitional LSG: post that
The Fly: Okay. I'll see if I can work it in... Heyo!
Transitional LSG: lol
Transitional LSG: i did like the 'woman up' comment
Transitional LSG: well played
The Fly: Thanks.

With smooth lines like that, it's truly amazing that I'm not yet married.

Have a great day, folks! More to come!

Fly Report: 26th June 2008

Good morning. Where did you learn covert ordnance tactics?

It's 14° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 79° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $134.13 - Congress could fix this by authorizing offshore drilling, new oil refineries, and nuclear stations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,811.83. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 11.

How long, how long must we sing this song?

Public Radio Sucks

Hey folks! I hope everyone's having a great day. This will be a somewhat brief post, as I don't have a whole lot to cover today. First thing's first: part three of the Royal Marines in Afghanistan.



* * *
In a change of pace, NPR actually has an interesting story about a proposed CIA tunnel into Berlin for the purpose of tapping Soviet and East German communications. Very interesting. Also, I want to go on record as saying that NPR sucks. It's one of a number of government-funded boondoggles (only partially, as the case would be) that just plain suck. It's politically biased, and only a handful of Americans even listen to it despite the fact that all American taxpayers are forced to pay into its coffers. Ridiculous.

Look, for example, at the sheer volume of podcasts available from the BBC. I'm not a huge fan of the BBC, as I think their journalistic integrity is a joke and the quality of their reports is below par. Even so, the BBC has content available in multiple languages, and offers numerous different types of content. And NPR? A lot of categories, but it's all in English, and pretty much all of it is boring as hell. I might start checking out Discovery Now, a podcast about space, but beyond that I'm not impressed. It would sure be nice if we could get some folks in Congress and a man in the White House who would eliminate federal funding for NPR, because I don't think anybody should be forced to fund this kind of crap.

* * *
I was getting started on what will become either a blog post, or a full blown article, about the Air Force. Then, I wrote a long diatribe about the latest incident with Senator Obama. Both are going to make it to the blog, but the Air Force one needs to be fleshed out a bit (something I didn't have time for last night), and I need be a little bit more coherent in my approach to Senator Obama. For the time being, I'll give you a couple of links to check out if you're interested. There's a bit of a shouting match on between Senator Obama, and Dr. James Dobson. You can see the speech in question and listen to Dr. Dobson's commentary at this link, and you can read a bit more here. The gist of it is that in a speech in July of 2006, Senator Obama made a speech to a liberal Christian group in which he cited a number of items in the Bible out of context, insinuated that the Bible shouldn't be used to inform the decisions of politicians or voters, and compared Dr. Dobson to the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Folks who know me personally, or those who have been reading this blog for a long time, will understand why I'd be a bit concerned about such a speech. Rather than post the ranting diatribe that I currently have written up, I'll try to mold it into a more coherent, tangible presentation this evening.

* * *
Have you ever found a comic that described you to a tee? Well, here's one that has me, or at least, the me of about 2000 through 2005, down to a tee. Don't believe me? Ask Mighty Mo, she'll confirm it. For the record, though, I've gotten better. And just by way of another name drop, I showed that comic to Law School Goddess (yes, that Law School Goddess - whose name may need to change at some point soon, as she's graduated from law school), and she said something to the effect of "That would be us if we were married." And how!

Have a great day, folks! Tune in tomorrow!

Fly Report: 25th June 2008

Good morning. Did that other dude who was in Wham(!) actually do anything?

It's 10° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 82° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $136.74 - Congress could fix this by authorizing offshore drilling, new oil refineries, and nuclear stations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,807.43. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is kind of lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 10.

And they're doing the atomic bomb, do they know where the dance comes from?

Real Men Sleep on Cots

Hey folks!

As many of you know, I recently got my tax money back. This weekend, I decided to knock a few items off of the Stuff Fly Wants list. I put in orders for the following items on Saturday.

Cabela's Outfitter XL Cot

Garmin eTrex H (gift for Captain John in Orkney)

Grundig Mini 100 PE (two of them)

Quigley Down Under

Now, I've been intending to get all of these items, although the GPS wasn't on the list because it isn't for me (I already have one, and love it). You may be asking yourself, though: "Fly, why would you buy two radios?" Well, the answer is fairly simple: they're getting very tough to find. You can still find shortwave radios, but the Grundig Mini 100 PE features analog tuning (which I prefer) and a relatively flat line on the top. Comparable models have a big antenna protector sticking up out of them, which makes it difficult to conveniently stash one in a pocket; and they're pretty much all digital. So, having found them at a pretty good price, I figured I'd get two. I'm still hoping to get mine fixed up, as it has a short or something.

Oh, and on Saturday, when I was at the grocery store, I bought a shower sponge that looks like a rubber ducky. Why? Because I'm that awesome.

* * *
On Friday, much to my surprise, I ended up getting roped into helping Furious D move. He was quite clear in trying to prevent me from doing so, but I insisted. My feet are still killing me (they've been having issues lately), but it was well worth it. Furious D, myself, and moving go back to my first and second years of college, during which time I was goat-roped into helping him move stuff on several occasions. I've never minded, as I always enjoy spending time with him, Mrs. D, and now the two little D's. I never let him hear the end of it, though.

It's been very interesting to see several people on this side of the country, despite the fact that I'm a world away from my home, and the location where I met these folks. In particular, it has been bizarre to have seen Furious D several times, prior to his move; the two of us ended up moving within six miles of one another, after having seen each other only once since early Summer of 2004. It was really surreal. There have been a number of times since arriving at Van Dieman's Station that have found me wondering, "Where am I, and how did I get here?" This was one of those times. How did I get three thousand miles away from my home and everything I know, helping Furious D to move one more time? Very bizarre, but it was excellent to spend four or five hours with him before he left for the next phase of his own life.

* * *
It appears that I may have stumbled into some part time work, doing the same type of thing that I was doing for a living while I was at Zoo Station. This is something I'm exceptionally excited about, as it will help me to keep developing some of the skills that are slowly withering away at my current desk job.

I'm gotten back to the task of planning for my eventual exodus from Van Dieman's Station. Ever since I graduated from university, I've wanted to go back to England for about six months, and then spend another month travelling around Europe. This obviously takes money, and I'm fairly fiscally responsible (read: cheap). Part of the justification behind buying the GPS and the shortwave radios on Saturday is to eliminate them as items that I'll ultimately have to purchase in order to head back to England. This reduces the overall amoung of money I need to earn in the mean time.

Now, I'm definitely not committed to spending so much time in England. My first choice, once I've completed the things I need to complete here at Van Dieman's Station, is to seek employment somewhere a bit more austere, in the service of the Department of Defense. However, both of my job searches have demonstrated to me that hiring doesn't just happen, particularly on one's own schedule. Also, I have a difficult time believing that Senator Obama is going to be elected in November, but if he is, life for those who support the military may get fairly lean. Needless to say, I'm not exactly in a position to walk away from my current position until I have something concrete, but one of the options is to head back to England.

Operations in Iraq are winding down; I believe that we will retain troops in Iraq in diminishing numbers for some time to come, as we have in nearly every theater of war we've operated within: Germany, Japan, Korea, the Persian Gulf, even the Balkans. Even so, whether Senator Obama is elected and effectively surrenders, or Senator McCain is elected and we press on to victory, the number of American troops in Iraq will either slowly or quickly wane. Afghanistan, on the other hand, continues to heat up, and I have set my sights on it accordingly. As such, here's the second of five installments with the Royal Marines in Helmand Province.



I'm committed to being here at Van Dieman's Station for a while; but like Zoo Station, this is only for a season of my life, and I'm committed to looking forward, not staying sedentary and complacent. As I continue to accomplish the goals I've set for myself here at Van Dieman's Station, I'll continue to keep an eye out for opportunities to move on. Whether this means Afghanistan, or England, or perhaps somewhere even more nefarious remains to be seen.

* * *
Last week, I saw an article about amateur astronomers who were able to determine the orbits of spy satellites. It's worth having a look at.

That's it for today. Have a great day, folks, and stop in again tomorrow.

UPDATE: Okay, this is late breaking, but I had to put this link up, particularly for Mighty Mo: Fake Interviews with Real Celebrities. The post I linked is completely excellent. Enjoy!

Fly Report: 24th June 2008

Good morning. My name is Sue! How do you do? Now you're gonna die!

It's 12° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 84° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $136.56 - Congress could fix this by authorizing offshore drilling, new oil refineries, and nuclear stations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,842.36. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 9.

I was talking to myself.

Battlefield: Afghanistan

Hey folks! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I personally have a great deal to talk about; however, I spent most of my free time yesterday finishing up my latest (and overdue) article for my parallel writing endeavour. Thus, the stuff I have to share will have to wait for writing up until tonight. In the mean time, today begins a several-weeks-long series of videos on the continued fighting in Afghanistan.



Part two of this video will be posted tomorrow, along with a full post. In the mean time, make like Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter and "be excellent to each other."

Fly Report: 23rd June 2008

Good morning. The only people who use umbrellas are women and eunuchs.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 79° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $135.82 - Congress could fix this by authorizing offshore drilling, new oil refineries, and nuclear stations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 11,842.69. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 8.

Angel? Angel or devil? I was thirsty, and you wet my lips.

Friday Ass Kickery

What a day yesterday was. Good grief.

* * *
Okay, I'd like to start out with a quote from the Bible that has done me a lot of good lately. I actually had occasion to read it out loud for some friends today, who were worried about a number of things that have been happening in the world lately. Observe:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- Matthew 6:25-34

There's a lot of bad stuff going down lately. I think we're going to get through it okay. Nothing has happened in recent months or years that hasn't been seen before. We as a nation, and we as a planet, have always bounced back and had more opportunities to do the same stupid shit all over again. I have no doubt that this is no exception. For the record, though, my hope is that we don't make the mistake of once again electing Jimmy Carter, this time in the form of Senator Barack Obama.

* * *
Twice in the last two weeks, my immediate family members have spent time in the hospital. Yesterday, my brother was injured at his job as a mechanic at a mine in Wyoming. He's going to be okay, they've got him patched up pretty good, but I'm still displeased to have gotten two phone calls like that in two weeks. Dad has improved, and Twitley will improve, but it makes it pretty difficult to be two or three thousand miles away from them.

With respect to the top quote in today's Fly Report, I'd been wanting to listen to Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs, the soundtrack to the TV show Frasier. Aside from having a lot of lousy jazz music that I forward past, it features a number of clips from the show. As I was leaving the house for work yesterday, I dug through my CDs until finding it. Once I was in the car, I opened the case, only to find that it was in there with a friend: a mix CD that a buddy had made me for my radio show in college (he co-hosted with me somewhat regularly during my first year on the air). I have two of those CDs from him, but I hadn't seen or thought about this one in quite a while. Its selections ranged from Dancing Queen to the theme song from The A-Team. What an awesome reminder of days gone by, and valued friends. *cue sappy music* By the way, go ahead and click on that A-Team link, you may be surprised at what you see - well worth the read, particularly for those of us who grew up in the 1980's.

As sort of a portent of things to come, today's video (not embedded, as you can see) is a video presentation from The Guardian, one of the more prominent non-BBC news sources in the United Kingdom. I've heard on a couple of occasions that there are sometimes issues in Afghanistan pertaining to translators: instead of telling Coalition leaders what indigenous folks are actually saying, the interpreters will say what they think the soldiers want to hear. This phenomenon is showcased in this video.

On the theme of Afghanistan, today's satellite image is Mazari Sharif (Wiki). Mazari Sharif is the location of the famed
Blue Mosque, believed by most Afghans to be the final resting place of Muhammed's nephew Ali (whose status caused the schism between Sunni and Shia). Unlike the southern half of the country, which is dominated by the Pashtuns, Mazari Sharif is populated mostly by Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras, and has a large Shia population. During the Soviet-Afghan War, this was a major base for both communist Afghan forces and the Soviets themselves. You can see some of the burned out remains of the old Soviet presence in the Mazari Sharif airfield, visible to the west of the city.

* * *
Although I haven't been dedicating as much time to it lately as I'd like, I'm having some luck at getting more familiar with the Arabic language. A few weeks ago, I started listening to podcasts from BBC Xtra. I've been listening to the Quran in Arabic and English for months. (They're the same mp3, the ayah being recited/chanted first in Arabic by Qari Abdul Basit, and then recited in English by an unnamed speaker with a haunting voice.) I've also been looking at selected verses from my Arabic Bible, identifying the words I know, and trying to figure out the other words and sentence structure accordingly. A lot of this is sporadic, but I'm trying to make an effort.

A day or two ago, I was able to figure out that the opening blurb for the Xtra podcast ended with the words "this morning from BBC Xtra". Also, while working on one of my books the other day, I apparently made a correct translation of "thanks for the prayer, father". These may seem like petty items to many of you, and maybe they are; but they're evidence that I'm starting to make things click together, and that's very encouraging.

* * *
Stay tuned: in addition to the first series of videos from Afghanistan, I'm likely to have a couple of pieces of big news next week. Don't miss out. As you leave for the weekend, your question for today is this: have you ever read a book that changed your life? Maybe one that changed the way you thought about the world? Maybe one that inspired you to do something massive? Tell me about it.

Fly Report: 20th June 2008

Good morning. I love finding surprises.

It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 79° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $132.18 - back to blaming China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,063.09. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is astonishing - go look! The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 7.

I need some release.

Brief Notes

A couple of things.First, I'm not sure who among you still pay any attention to politics, but it looks as if energy policy - as opposed to foreign policy directly - is going to be what defines our general election in November. Senator McCain and President Bush have now advocated for lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling. If this were to happen, oil prices would decline immediately because the price of oil is based on speculation with regard to future demand and future supply. Such a shift in our energy policy would guarantee future supply, even if we didn't see it for a few years. Democrats in Congress have come out swinging against such a plan. No matter what side of the issue you're on, this will be the issue in the upcoming election, you mark my words. (And if I'm wrong come September/October/November, you folks are more than welcome to call me on it.)

I've been posting videos on the blog for a while, and most of them are something hilarious that I stumbled across while wasting my life... Like this!



As several regular readers of the blog ought to know, anything that satirizes cubicle living is funny. At any rate, for the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing something different: posting videos about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. I know, I know, war's my business. As I was looking for one video series to post on here last night, I discovered that there have been a number of British correspondents who have embedded with troops in Afghanistan, largely because the United Kingdom took a leadership role in Afghanistan as the United States spearheaded Operation Iraqi Freedom. As things continue to calm down in Iraq, various nations have been pledging more and more troops to Afghanistan. I think I've indicated in previous posts that I've had an interest in going "down-range" for a long time now, and as I enter my second year at Van Dieman's Station, I'm considering very seriously the prospect of spending a year in Afghanistan (or Iraq) with the American government/military when I finish my time in Virginia. Expect to see those vids starting on Monday.

Today's satellite image is Laughlin, Nevada. Think Vegas, but for geriatrics. When I was there in February of 2007, I'm pretty sure that I was the youngest person in the entire hotel/casino that we visited.

Today's question: what's the most ambitious plan you ever cooked up? And the follow-up: did you follow through with it?

Fly Report: 19 June 2008

Good morning. Gentlemen: if you meet a young lady who's into scrapbooking, and she's already in her early twenties, run.

It's 10° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 76° Fahrenheit with isolated thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $136.32 - back to blaming Congress today, and you should be, too! The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,029.06. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is okay. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 6.

Lay down your guns, all you Daughters of Zion, all you Abraham's Sons.

The Terrible Gifts

Have you ever been at a family function that warranted the giving of gifts (read: Pagan Christmas) and received a gift that was truly inappropriate? Or at least, inappropriate from the person from whom you'd just received it?

As I was reading this article on Cracked.com yesterday evening (one of my new favorite websites, I swear), I read the blurb about Matt Damon's cameo in Finding Forrester. This reminded me of a particular family member who shall remain nameless, who usually seems to strike out when it comes to gift-giving. In her defense, she does better than her mother did (now those were some bizarre gifts), but [nameless relative] still seemed to miss the mark on a number of occasions. One of the trends that stands out is her consistent use of videos as a gift. Now, I'm not saying that from the perspective that VHS is a bad format - in fact, I continue to use the word "video," as opposed to "DVD," because I still believe that DVD is a video format. And, for the record, the forced conversions to DVD, and now Blu-Ray (whatever the hell that is) are, in my opinion, completely and totally deplorable. I hate it when industry holds people over a barrel. (Other despicable examples of this phenomenon come from the frequent ills of the video game industry (ahem, *cough*).

Anyway, that tangent aside, the point that I'm making is that the videos that said family member would give as gifts were either A) inappropriate for the individual, or B) inappropriate coming from the giver. I have two big examples of this: Finding Forrester (as mentioned previously), and Under Siege. These are two examples that, between them, demonstrate both of my points. In the case of the first film, it was given to the youngest member of that side of the family, who just graduated from high school recently. At the time he received this flick, he was probably late in his middle school years, maybe thirteen or fourteen. Not only was he too young to appreciate the nuance and sentiment of a snooze-fest like Finding Forrester (I didn't even watch Finding Forrester, it looked less interesting than an episode of Seinfeld), his interests pretty much extended to sports and food - still do, actually. This was a ridiculous gift to give to a kid his age who has never expressed any interest whatsoever in high drama.

When I was in high school, I received a copy of Under Siege from the unnamed relative. Now, I can understand the thought process: he's joining the Navy, it's a movie about the Navy, you can tell that from the cover. Easy choice, right? Unfortunately, Under Siege is not only extremely violent and expletive-laden (I'm not even allowed to say the word "crap" around this relative, for fear of being sharply upbraided), it also features two items that would both require an R rating of their own merit: Erika Eleniak popping out of a cake, topless; and Gary Busey. Decent movie? Sure, especially if you can tolerate Steven Seagal for an hour and a half (I can, but I truly loathe that man, in very small part for reasons discussed here). The point is that unless this expletive-laden, violent film featuring a topless Erika Eleniak and a Gary Busey in a speaking role had been on some sort of wish list, it was completely unreasonable for me to receive it from this particular individual.

Completely unrelated to this topic, there's a great narrated slideshow of aerial photography from World War II. The two guys who are explaining it are a retired RAF officer and a military historian who specializes in Normandy, and it's actually really interesting. That's your respite from satellite imagery.

So, the question for today is this: have you ever received a completely inappropriate gift, or just a really, really bad gift? If so, what was it, who did you get it from, and what was your reaction? And no, I don't mean the inappropriate gift that you might receive in the back of your Jeep after dinner and a movie - those aren't the kind of gifts you complain about!

Fly Report: 18th June 2008

Good morning. One thing that Senators McCain and Obama should be able to agree on: we don't need any more first person shooter video games based on World War II.

It's 13° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 72° Fahrenheit with scattered storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $133.24 - China is to blame, too. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,160.30. The exchange rate is $1.95 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is just plain ridiculous. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 5.

Turn me around tonight, up through the spiral staircase to the higher ground.

The Original Alternative Energy Source

Ugh. I still owe a final article about Chechnya to my parallel writing endeavour editors, but my feet are still killing me (trust me, you don't want to know). Lately, in addition to the spy novels (and I have a few awesome ideas for those), I've decided that I want to do a series on nuclear technology, to include nuclear weapons. Really, though, I want to attempt to remove the mystique and the "burn the witch" factor for anyone who should happen upon my articles. I briefly studied nuclear energy during my days as a Navy midshipman, and it's been very interesting in the last couple of days to review topics relating to nuclear energy that cover some of the topics that were introduced in that course. For example, nuclear energy doesn't just appear by magic; it uses the heat from a controlled nuclear reaction to create heat, which makes steam, which is fed through a closed steam system (independent of the radioactive stuff) to drive a standard turbine. Thus I looked up "steam cycle," and I swear that this is the exact image that was in my Naval Engineering textbook. Now, if you add a nuclear reactor diagram to the area of the "steam drum" (in the section marked "A - Generation"), you've got yourself a nuclear reactor. In addition to the wealth of information on the undisputed and infallible source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, the BBC has an excellent guide to nuclear energy and weapons, from mining to enrichment to processor to bomb. It even explains the difference between Uranium and Plutonium. I would have liked a little bit more information on types of nuclear weapons (the section on uranium bombs is a bit ambiguous), but you can't have everything - and that's where the Fly comes in!

Need a laugh? Check out Russell Peters. The clip's a bit long at forty-five minutes, but worth your time if you can squeeze it in.



In a demonstration of just how excellent satellite imagery can be for interests such as mine: Libya's naval base. You know, when I read Robert Kaplan's Imperial Grunts, he quoted an American military officer (who was training Yemenis at the time) as saying that most countries in the world have coast guards, not navies. I think today's satellite picture is living proof.

Okay, folks, have a great day, stay out of trouble, and remember: only a real man drives a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Fly Report: 17th June 2008

Good morning. Napalm, son! Nothing else in the world smells like that.

It's 10° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 82° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $134.05 - China is to blame, too. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,269.08. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 4.

Rule me, father.

Destination Unknown

I shaved my head, and I have an Amish-style beard. There's proof. Sweet, huh?

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. Mine's been alright. I did something on Saturday night that I haven't done in a long time: I took a hot bath. This involved actually cleaning my tub before hand, but it was worth it. I ended up listening to China Radio International - I'm not a fan, but apparently nobody else could be bothered to broadcast a tangible signal.

On Saturday, I saw a series of seven videos by a Canadian journalist named Graeme Smith, who's a correspondent for the Daily Globe and Mail. He recorded the videos earlier this year in Afghanistan, and while I don't agree with a number of his conclusions, the videos are pretty informative. If you're at all interested in the topic, and have some time to kill (even if you just watch one a day), I highly recommend them. Here's the first.



Apparently there are more Roman ruins in Libya. Good to know.

My Wal Mart futon bit the final bit of dust this weekend, so I disassembled it and began binning it today. Given that I don't have that much furniture to begin with, I've replaced it for now with a piece of furniture I had to leave behind at Zoo Station, and that I've wanted to replace ever since: a papasan chair, with ottoman. They've gotten fancier since I bought my first one during my second or third year of college. There are a couple more items I want to purchase, mainly the aforementioned bentwood chair and ottoman from Target. I may put that order in this week. There are several things that I want to just go ahead and acquire while I have a little bit of money, and then they can sit for the time being. I'll need them soon enough.

I also spent a bit of time Sunday evening doing some planning for things I want to accomplish while I'm living here in Virginia, and a possible return to Engaland when I've run my course here. My entire time at Zoo Station was characterized by an attitude of nomadism and wanderlust, and as soon as I was able, I followed a scorched earth policy and left with extreme prejudice. I'm less able to do that here, mainly because one of my career goals here is to put in a longer duration at this job than the fourteen months I got out of the last one. Even so, now that I've been here for almost a year, it's time to start evaluating where I want to go if I can't land my dream job at some point. Between my goals for Van Dieman's Station, and my plans and financial needs for a theoretical stint in Engaland, the tab is pretty large. That's going to take some serious saving and some serious financial discipline - more hot baths, bottled beer out of the fridge, and home cooked meals, and less dinners at the Boston Market and impulse trips to Barnes and Noble.

Okay, time for me to get moving on a few more things that need to be accomplished at the moment. Let not your heart be troubled, and stop back in tomorrow.

Fly Report: 16th June 2008

Good morning. Of course I peed my pants! Everyone my age pees their pants, it's the coolest!

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 78° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $134.25 - China is to blame, too. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,307.35. The exchange rate is $1.95 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 3.

I don't believe the Devil, I don't believe his book, 'cause the truth is not the same without the lies he made up.

Friday Question

Hey folks. I just have a single question for you today: if the aliens from the movie Independence Day came to Earth and started nuking cities with their massive laser weapon... What city would you want to see wiped off the face of the planet? Now, I'm not actually suggesting violence and destruction; this is completely hypothetical.

At the top of my list, based on traffic alone, would be Carson City, Nevada. During my lengthy drives from Zoo Station to Hometown, there were four or five occasions when I was forced to drive through this shitty town (Reno, which is just north of there, isn't much better). "Highway" my ass - it takes you a solid hour to get through the city, it's all traffic lights, and there's no way around! I don't need to see another casino, you Velveeta-munching hyenas! I just saw the last three, and that's just over my shoulder!

Anyway, where wouldn't you mind seeing destroyed by aliens and their giant laser?

Fly Report: 13th June 2008

Good morning. If you can make a woman laugh on a consistent basis, she'll probably sleep with you.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 72° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $136.37 - Congress is ----ing up! The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,141.58. The exchange rate is $1.95 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 2.

I don't know if I can make it, I'm not easy on my knees.

Politics Can Be Funny

Hey folks! I hope everyone's having an outstanding Thursday. Just a couple of bits today.

Long-time readers know that I pay more attention to politics than most folks, although I'm certainly not as ingrained into political wrangling as my buddies over at the Veritas Forum... Even though they apparently haven't updated their blog since October. Hmmmm. At any rate, I stumbled across this video of Representative Ted Poe of Texas, and had to post it because I believe that it is A) hilarious, and B) representative of the fundamental divide between modern Republicans and modern Democrats. Observe.



It would have been nice if he'd thrown in an extraneous "Don't mess with Texas," but alas, we have to settle for scathing oratory. Congressional Democrats may be blocking all attempts by American companies to procure new sources of crude oil, they may be blocking all attempts to build new oil refineries and nuclear plants, they may be sinking your tax dollars into risky and unproven "alternative energy" and "green programs" (see: "watermelon")... But damnit, at least they can tell you what kind of kooky light bulbs you have to use!

If that's a bit too political for you, everyone ought to be able to appreciate this list, which is pretty much completely safe for work: The Top Five Badass American Presidents of All Time. Personally, I think that President John Tyler should have gotten an honorable mention. After his first wife died, he married a woman thirty years his junior (excellent!) while in office (outstanding!) and fathered seven children with her (suh-weet!).

Oh, yeah, and a satellite image, because I just can't get enough: an alleged military camp in the middle of the Mauritanian desert. I actually received, just yesterday, a replacement copy of Shadow War by Richard Miniter, my original copy being buried in a box in Hometown, some three thousand miles away. I'm using it as a source for spy novel number two, which I may be on the verge of naming.

Have fun, folks! Don't spend it all in one place! Or something... I don't know, just have a great day.

Fly Report: 12th June 2008

Good morning. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not Rick James.

It's 9° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 57° Fahrenheit with rain and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $135.64 - Congress is ----ing up! The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,083.77. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 1.

Sleight of hand and twist of fate, on a bed of nails she makes me wait.

Shaved Heads Rule

It's been a decent week. Mighty Good Leader is getting out of the hospital today after two months. Two months. Wow. Dad got out on Monday. Money's in the bank, although I have to sit on it for the moment. I've gotten a little bit of work done on spy novel number two. Some lousy stuff, too, but not that much of it, and hopefully it's something that can be taken care of quickly.

You know from reading my blog that there are spectacular Roman ruins in Libya; but did you know that there's a Roman garrison city in Algeria? It's called Timgad (Wiki), or "Thamagus" in Latin. Definitely a possibility for a location on that second novel, most of which is going to be set in North Africa (hence my interest lately in scouring Wikimapia for awesome sites in and around the Sahara).

I love funny videos, as you well know. I found these two suave mammer-jammers a while ago, and here's one of their better videos. I present to you, Barats and Bereta as The Harty Boys.



Oi. Alright, stuff to do, stuff to do. Question of the day, and hopefully some of the folks who have posted lately will bite on this, too. You have ten grand ($10,000, or £5000 for you limeys out there - about $400 trillion if you're in Zimbabwe at the moment) to take a dream vacation. Where do you go, and why? And I don't want to hear "a swingers' resort!" You know who you are, damnit!

Fly Report: 11th June 2008

Good morning. I'm a connoisseur of feminine pulchritude.

It's 10° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 49° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder showers and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $132.42 - Congress is ----ing up! The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,289.76. The exchange rate is $1.95 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Isaiah 1.

My hands are tied, my body's bruised. You've got me with nothing to win, and nothing left to lose.

Fly Report: 10th June 2008

Good morning. You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.

It's 14° Centigrade and partly cloudy with wind in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 62° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms and wind.

A barrel of oil is trading at $133.65 - what the hell!? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,280.32. The exchange rate is $1.98 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring and unrelated to astronomy. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 28.

And you give yourself away.

Fly Report: 09th June 2008

Good morning. Like, Goldman, is a name... But there isn't a gold... Man.

It's 16° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 68° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $138.02 - what the hell!? The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,209.81. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 28.

I can't live with or without you.

Intellectual Rat's Nest

A few different things today.

First off, I know he reads the blog from time to time, so in case this is one of those times: thank you, Big Red. I got a voicemail from my dad when I got off work yesterday. I called him, and found out that he's laid up in a hospital, a couple hundred miles away from home, because he ended up with a blood clot while he was on a road trip. Mainly, I'm glad that he actually went to a hospital and got it checked out, because that's not really our style. He's in the hospital out there for a few days, and as luck would have it, he's in the same city as Big Red. A quick call, and it was Big Red to the rescue. Big Red did me a favor and delivered some magazines and a book to Dad to keep him occupied. Dad has since been able to get a wifi signal at least once - God help us all - but hopefully he won't spend ALL of his time on there.

I had an awfully nice time last night with two friends who I've gotten to know, initially through work, and since then through social time outside work: Mrs. Mike Nelson, and The Fashionista. They're sisters. The Fashionista turned twenty-two (again), so we went out for dinner, desert, and mini golf. I hadn't been mini golfing in years; not usually a huge fan, but I guess the folks you go with are what make it really fun. Very nice.

I was just on Facebook a while ago, and saw that a girl who I went to high school with is in Damascus, studying Arabic. That's Damascus, Syria. Yeah, that's right: someone who I went to high school with is studying Arabic in a country that sponsors terrorism. If it were me, I'd go to Algeria, Tunisia, or maybe Dubai. Why am I not surprised that she's in Damascus? She's probably even pulling a Pelosi and wearing حجاب. For crying out loud. And I thought she was an ignorant brat when she was in high school. I guess a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Chicago (her) are no substitute for a bachelor's degree from a state school, common sense, and a real job (me).

I continue compiling links and working on my spy novels. Did you know that quite a few scenes in the Star Wars trilogy were shot in Tunisia, including the city of Tatouine? I'm not sure what action, if any, will take place in Tunisia, but the fact that there's cool stuff there certainly helps.

Save for the asinine federal shell game money, I've received all of the money I'm expecting from the government. My standard operating procedure over the last couple of years has been to live frugally, set myself up for a healthy refund, and then apply the funds to necessary expenditures. It's turned out to be a pretty good system so far. Now that I have my money, there are a handful of items I plan on purchasing. Nothing fancy, but there are a few items I need at the moment, mainly furniture. After running some numbers, I've pretty much decided that I'm going to try to move a bit closer to work. More on that as it develops.

Alright, folks, that's it for the time being. I hope everyone's having a great weekend; I know that Mighty Mo is!

Father's Day Cometh

Hey folks! This'll be a quick post, as I stayed up about half an hour later than I've been doing lately in order to compile a list of Wikimapia links for use as reference material for one of my two novels. In that vein, today's satellite image is a Mauritanian shipwreck!

So, Sunday is Father's Day. I have to admit defeat: I still haven't sent my mom her Mother's Day gift. I'm going to try to get that mailed today. As some of you will remember, I recently sojourned home for a few days, so I'm sending my mom a framed picture of her, my dad, and myself on my last night there (my brother, Twitley, was obviously preoccupied two states away), and a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - I know very little about it, but I listened with great focus to Hosseini's first book, The Kite Runner. Since the second book is about a couple of chicks, I thought my mom might like it. It's a bit of a gamble on my part.

For my dad, who gets more mileage out of the Western Channel than probably any other television program combined, I purchased something I alluded to earlier this week: a DVD box set of the Dollars Trilogy by director Sergio Leone, and starring Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name. I also bought a copy of it for myself. Given that we used to have a VHS copy of Quigley Down Under, one of the greatest Westerns ever made, I'm planning to get him (and myself) a copy of that for his birthday this year.

Today's video is the final gunfight between Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) and Elliott Marston (Alan Rickman).



My question for you folks for today, and this weekend, is this: what did you get for your mom and/or dad for Mother's/Father's Day?

Have a great weekend!

Fly Report: 06th March 2008

Good morning. "Chinese whore" doesn't rhyme with "dog."

It's 13° Centigrade and drizzly in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 60° Fahrenheit with thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $129.29 - keep blaming Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,604.45. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 27.

There is no fiction that will truly fit the situation.

Fly Report: 05th June 08

Good morning. Apparently it was the dog that the senior Doctor Jones had named Indiana. Who saw that one coming?

It's 13° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 57° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $121.90 - keep blaming Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,390.48. The exchange rate is $1.95 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is boring. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 26.

Everywhere you go, you shout it; you don't have to be shy about it.

A Fistful of Awesome

What was the best location to shoot a western movie in the sixties? If you said "Arizona," you'd be wrong. The answer was "Spain," of all places. In the 1960's, a number of Italian directors shot western films in the Tabernas Desert, located near the southeast coast of Spain. The location so closely resembled the American southwest that a number of films were made there.

They were called "Spaghetti Westerns." Although they were shot on location in Spain, they were directed by Italians. The most noteworthy films in this genre were directed by Sergio Leone, and they were known as the Dollars Trilogy. This consisted of three movies, of which most of you have probably at least heard the titles: A Fistful of Dollars; A Few Dollars More; and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. They starred Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name; he and Mario Brega are the only actors who were in all three films, and Eastwood is the only actor who played the same character in all three.

Most of you are probably familiar with at least the first movie in the trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars, from this classic scene. In addition to being iconic in and of itself, it was featured in the classic eighties flick Back to the Future Part II, in the scene where Biff Tannen is in the hot tub with some of his [wenches].

Several of the villages that were used in the filming of the Spaghetti Westerns are still there, and that's area of the Tabernas Desert is your satellite picture for today. If you zoom out a bit, you can see two other mock villages to the north and northeast. According to one of the descriptions, you can actually go visit... That is, if you can stand Spain. Me? I'm not sure I can ever bring myself to do that.

How did I find out about all of this in the first place? Well, famed director Quentin Tarantino has said that his greatest creation, Kill Bill... Well, I'll just quote it for you:

Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my "Dollars Trilogy". I was going to do a new one every ten years, but I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age."
- Quentin Tarantino

So, one question remains: why, Fly, did you decide to dedicate this entire post to this topic in particular? You guessed it: the Tabernas Desert, in one way or another, is going to be one of the components of my spy novels.

Have a great day, folks!

Fly Report: 04th June 2008

Good morning. Where's your car, dude?

It's 12° Centigrade and cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 54° Fahrenheit with thunder and showers.

A barrel of oil is trading at $123.74 - keep blaming Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,402.85. The exchange rate is $1.96 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 26.

In a little while, surely you'll be mine.

Tuesday Top Ten

Today, I'm going to do a list of ten things that I'm thankful for.

10. Furious D gave me a teevee! The Great Material Continuum hasn't suffered a complete and total collapse, despite high energy prices and piss poor management by the baby boomers in Congress (may they retire sooner, rather than later). Suh-weet!

09. I've gotten to a much greater level of proficiency with technology, which helps me both in and away from the office. Most excellent!

08. I've finally made progress getting "moved into" my place, after more than ten months. If I move in July, then stuff is better organized and staged for a quick move. If I stick around, the place is just about ready to start entertaining friends. That's awesome! Definitely something to be thankful for.

07. I'm making excellent progress in both re-learning the Arabic I've lost over the last couple of years since I stopped taking formal training, and learning new words and content. I'm really excited and thankful about this, not only because it makes me feel like I'm exercising my mind, but because it will open up job opportunities in the future.

06. Years of training, practice, and study with respect to writing, geography, politics, foreign policy, and any number of other subjects are finally coming together into my two spy novels. This endeavour is currently fulfilling my need for a creative outlet, and may someday fulfill some level of financial need as well. Brilliant!

05. All of the money that various government entities owe me, save for the stupid government boondoggle payment, has arrived. I have plans for that money, and I'm excited to have access to it so that I can start using it for good things.

05. I have a job that challenges me, requires me to work hard and learn new concepts and skills, and gives me more dignity and stability than I had in my last job. That's a pretty big deal.

04. I don't have leprosy, or any other nastiness. Because of this, I'm well on my way to being healthy, both with respect to my skin and the blood and guts that are under my skin. This, dear friends, warrants much rejoicing.

03. Mighty Good Leader is still alive, despite having been extremely close to death a few weeks ago. On Sunday night, he led church home group at the hospital from a (temporary) wheelchair. That, dear friends, is inspiration.

02. I live in the greatest nation on God's green Earth. Despite all of our many flaws, we're still awesome, and there's hope that we'll continue that for a long time to come. Suck it, China!

01. يسوع هو الرحمه ، الرحمن الرحيم ، وحسن; Jesus is compassionate, merciful, and good. What more do you need?

If you're reading this, why not make a list of ten things you're thankful for? Post it in the comments section, or if you post it on your own blog/site, drop a link in the comments. Have a great day!

Fly Report: 03rd June 2008

Good morning. I am strong enough, so just give me a reason.

It's 12° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 66° Fahrenheit with partial clouds.

A barrel of oil is trading at $127.79 - keep blaming Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,503.82. The exchange rate is $1.97 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 25.

Walk on by, walk on through.

Random Bits

Hey folks! I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was excellent, and included a fantastic display of the Great Material Continuum at work. When I moved from Zoo Station to Van Dieman's Station, I left behind my television set. I'd had it since high school, and while it was painful to leave it behind, one must sometimes be a bit mercenary in such matters. On Saturday, while visiting Furious D and his family, I noted as we walked out into the car hole that they had the exact same television set that I used to have. Given that they'd basically agreed to take it from some neighbors who were moving, they offered it to me. That's right, folks: I finally have a television set again. Time for some Halo!

Those of you who might read this months or years down the line will probably be out of luck, but if you're reading it while it's on the front page, I encourage you to listen to this podcast from the BBC, from 06:52 until 11:40. That portion is an interview with Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who's written a book arguing that the current radical environmentalism craze is every bit as totalitarian, biased, and dangerous as communism. It's really worth listening to him as he puts the BBC reporter, Richard Howells, to shame on the issue.

Today's satellite image, continuing with the theme of places in North Africa that will be mentioned or appear in my book, is Leptis Magna in Libya. These are some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world, and they're part of a Libyan government program to develop environmentally sustainable archaeological tourism. Here's a Wiki link.

Have a great day, and a great week, folks!

Fly Report: 02nd June 2008

Good morning. I put my pants on just like the rest of you - one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold records.

It's 13° Centigrade and foggy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 69° Fahrenheit with scattered thunder storms.

A barrel of oil is trading at $126.96 - keep blaming Congress until it's back to acceptable levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 12,638.32. The exchange rate is $1.98 for £1, or £0.51 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is very cool. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new.

Today's scripture reading is Matthew 24.

Someday she's gonna come back from far away.