Aramco Brats... And Somali Pirates!
Hey folks! A few stories, a couple of quick and fun items, and then I'm off.
In business news, the Guardian has two stories from last week that I'm just now getting a chance to post. The first reflects something that followers of the Fly Report have already noticed: the British Pound Sterling has been rapidly dropping in value lately, particularly compared to a strengthening dollar. Lousy for the United Kingdom at the moment, but these things run in cycles; also, it's somewhat likely that the UK will hold elections within the next year or so, and as much as I liked Tony Blair, it would be interesting to see what improvements a Tory government could make if given a few years. That was likely before, and it seems ever more likely as global finances contract. The other article from the Guardian discusses the "absurd green/eco-friendly claims" made about some consumer products. My thoughts are that the absurdity of the eco-friendly claims pretty much match the absurdity of the eco-catastrophe claims. Thus, all is right with the world - particularly if I'm able to travel to England in the next couple of months!
Speaking of the financial crisis, and moving to the countries ruled by brutal dictatorships, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has warned Iranians against celebrating the global financial crisis, pointing out that contracting economies mean a rapid decline in oil revenue for Iran. Iran's infrastructure and economy have been in decay ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and while Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his cadre could gloat, showboat, and spurn international pressure while oil prices were high and coalition troops were being challenged by Iranian-made EFPs in Iraq, Iran is in a much weaker position with the Iraq campaign succeeding and oil revenues collapsing. Ahmedinejad himself is reportedly suffering from either sickness or exhaustion, though how severe is yet to be determined. There are also further indications that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il's health may be worse than previously reported.
French marines have had their hands full in recent days... Capturing Somali pirates! I've linked to a number of stories lately about various countries sending naval assets to the area around the Horn of Africa in a bid to stem the rise of Somali piracy(!) in the area. It appears that Blackwater Worldwide may be taking up the slack, negotiating an arrangement whereby they would undertake the task of escorting ships through the dangerous waters off Somalia (UPI, Danger Room). Yarrrrrr.
Today's video is the latest installment of Cute with Chris. I think that Mighty Mo should send Chris some pictures of Delighla.
This weekend was great. I spent all day Sunday writing (to the point of not actually leaving Van Diemen's Station, putting on pants, or even showering - I can't remember the last time that happened), and Saturday was consumed with a combination of responding to Gus, napping, a haircut, and grocery shopping. Remember last week, when I posted that Maniac Mansion video? Well, Maniac Mansion actually started out as a computer game (Wiki) by what was then known as Lucasfilm Games. It was then ported to Nintendo. The original game was a bit more raunchy, in several respects. Douglas Crockford was tasked with managing the game's conversion from raunchy computer horror game to family-friendly NES cartridge. If you ever played Nintendo as a kid, The Expurgation of Maniac Mansion for the Nintendo Entertainment System is a must read. The other thing that some of you children of the eighties may remember is a animated series called The Mysterious Cities of Gold. I forgot about this show for years, maybe a decade or more, until a couple of years ago. I won't mention how, but I watched nearly the entire series to its conclusion this weekend. It brought back memories, not only of the cartoon itself (which was well produced, and still fascinating eighteen or twenty years later), but of a day when cartoons actually had substance to them. With few examples, the cartoons of today are absolute garbage, and mostly just used for the purpose of merchandising. Just out of curiosity, does anyone other than me remember this show?
Unfortunately, I did not see Mayor Giuliani and Teve Torbes. I had a late night on Friday, and too much to do during the week. And in fact, I still have a great deal to do this week, although what I was able to accomplish over the weekend took a good chunk out of it. Some of you may also be interested to know that I hit the pool again yesterday, after an absence of about a week and a half. This morning, I'm going to stage things so that I can swim again today, إن شاء الله. I'm going to consider this the introductory week that I've been waiting for, with the first real week starting next Monday. I'll keep you posted - you keep me accountable.
Today's satellite picture is the Passport Island on the King Fahd Causeway that connects Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. Although I wouldn't expect any of you to translate the Arabic (I'm impressed that I can even figure any of it out - including the "Kudu Restaurant", "restaurant" being a word I just taught myself today), some of the areas are written in English. The reason I post this in particular is that this weekend I used it to make a married woman squeal without even touching her. Now, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the whole sequence much more if she'd been single and I had touched her, but you can't have everything. You see, I was checking on a couple of things at my apartment management office on Saturday, and I asked the girl behind the desk what the sticker on the back of her car meant. It was the word "BRATS" backwards, and unbeknownst to me, the "A" was actually the Saudi Aramco logo. Apparently she was born and raised in Dhahran, being the daughter of an American oil worker. When she told me that she'd lived right next to the causeway, I was able to pull up that map in thirty seconds or less, and I left her as she was exploring the Aramco area of Dhahran, looking at places she used to know as a kid, and, yes, squealing. Oh well, I suppose a good deed is its own reward.
That's it. Get back to work! Oh, and check back tomorrow for more from TSTF.
In business news, the Guardian has two stories from last week that I'm just now getting a chance to post. The first reflects something that followers of the Fly Report have already noticed: the British Pound Sterling has been rapidly dropping in value lately, particularly compared to a strengthening dollar. Lousy for the United Kingdom at the moment, but these things run in cycles; also, it's somewhat likely that the UK will hold elections within the next year or so, and as much as I liked Tony Blair, it would be interesting to see what improvements a Tory government could make if given a few years. That was likely before, and it seems ever more likely as global finances contract. The other article from the Guardian discusses the "absurd green/eco-friendly claims" made about some consumer products. My thoughts are that the absurdity of the eco-friendly claims pretty much match the absurdity of the eco-catastrophe claims. Thus, all is right with the world - particularly if I'm able to travel to England in the next couple of months!
Speaking of the financial crisis, and moving to the countries ruled by brutal dictatorships, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has warned Iranians against celebrating the global financial crisis, pointing out that contracting economies mean a rapid decline in oil revenue for Iran. Iran's infrastructure and economy have been in decay ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and while Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his cadre could gloat, showboat, and spurn international pressure while oil prices were high and coalition troops were being challenged by Iranian-made EFPs in Iraq, Iran is in a much weaker position with the Iraq campaign succeeding and oil revenues collapsing. Ahmedinejad himself is reportedly suffering from either sickness or exhaustion, though how severe is yet to be determined. There are also further indications that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il's health may be worse than previously reported.
French marines have had their hands full in recent days... Capturing Somali pirates! I've linked to a number of stories lately about various countries sending naval assets to the area around the Horn of Africa in a bid to stem the rise of Somali piracy(!) in the area. It appears that Blackwater Worldwide may be taking up the slack, negotiating an arrangement whereby they would undertake the task of escorting ships through the dangerous waters off Somalia (UPI, Danger Room). Yarrrrrr.
Today's video is the latest installment of Cute with Chris. I think that Mighty Mo should send Chris some pictures of Delighla.
This weekend was great. I spent all day Sunday writing (to the point of not actually leaving Van Diemen's Station, putting on pants, or even showering - I can't remember the last time that happened), and Saturday was consumed with a combination of responding to Gus, napping, a haircut, and grocery shopping. Remember last week, when I posted that Maniac Mansion video? Well, Maniac Mansion actually started out as a computer game (Wiki) by what was then known as Lucasfilm Games. It was then ported to Nintendo. The original game was a bit more raunchy, in several respects. Douglas Crockford was tasked with managing the game's conversion from raunchy computer horror game to family-friendly NES cartridge. If you ever played Nintendo as a kid, The Expurgation of Maniac Mansion for the Nintendo Entertainment System is a must read. The other thing that some of you children of the eighties may remember is a animated series called The Mysterious Cities of Gold. I forgot about this show for years, maybe a decade or more, until a couple of years ago. I won't mention how, but I watched nearly the entire series to its conclusion this weekend. It brought back memories, not only of the cartoon itself (which was well produced, and still fascinating eighteen or twenty years later), but of a day when cartoons actually had substance to them. With few examples, the cartoons of today are absolute garbage, and mostly just used for the purpose of merchandising. Just out of curiosity, does anyone other than me remember this show?
Unfortunately, I did not see Mayor Giuliani and Teve Torbes. I had a late night on Friday, and too much to do during the week. And in fact, I still have a great deal to do this week, although what I was able to accomplish over the weekend took a good chunk out of it. Some of you may also be interested to know that I hit the pool again yesterday, after an absence of about a week and a half. This morning, I'm going to stage things so that I can swim again today, إن شاء الله. I'm going to consider this the introductory week that I've been waiting for, with the first real week starting next Monday. I'll keep you posted - you keep me accountable.
Today's satellite picture is the Passport Island on the King Fahd Causeway that connects Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. Although I wouldn't expect any of you to translate the Arabic (I'm impressed that I can even figure any of it out - including the "Kudu Restaurant", "restaurant" being a word I just taught myself today), some of the areas are written in English. The reason I post this in particular is that this weekend I used it to make a married woman squeal without even touching her. Now, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the whole sequence much more if she'd been single and I had touched her, but you can't have everything. You see, I was checking on a couple of things at my apartment management office on Saturday, and I asked the girl behind the desk what the sticker on the back of her car meant. It was the word "BRATS" backwards, and unbeknownst to me, the "A" was actually the Saudi Aramco logo. Apparently she was born and raised in Dhahran, being the daughter of an American oil worker. When she told me that she'd lived right next to the causeway, I was able to pull up that map in thirty seconds or less, and I left her as she was exploring the Aramco area of Dhahran, looking at places she used to know as a kid, and, yes, squealing. Oh well, I suppose a good deed is its own reward.
That's it. Get back to work! Oh, and check back tomorrow for more from TSTF.
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