I've been remiss in posting to the blog. A few things have happened since I last posted. They are:
1. The weather is now cooler. It's no longer ridiculously hot during the day and night. It's only low 100s in they day and very pleasant 70s at night.
2. I applied for a great job in Baghdad and then found out a few days later that the person was already selected and the posting was just a formality. So much for abiding by the rules.
3. Ramadan (or as I call it, Ramdan-a-ding-dong) has started and so far things have been fine. Typically this is a period of increased attacks as muslims are not supposed to eat nor drink during the daylight hours. And if you couldn't eat nor drink from sunlight to sunset you'd be pissed too and what better to relieve a little stress than lobing a few rockets at the local military base.
4. My boss and my boss's boss have been gone and that means it's been very quiet. At the end of the month there are a few projects going on and we'll be busy again.

The Dining Facility (DFAC) here is staffed by a subcontractor out of Kuwait and they do a fine job. All of their employees are Indian and they recently went for 200 days without an injury which is significant considering how many employees there are and the round the clock work schedules. Here's a pic of the Colonel congratulating them as well as a pic of a few of them
dancing afterward.

Today it was cool in the morning. I guess what I really mean is that it wasn't already warm at 7 AM. It was nice.

Most people (for good reason) are very passionate about the military presence in Iraq. It simply isn't a black and white issue as some might claim. Regardless of this there are dedicated men and women here who are willing to give their life to do their job. There are also contractors who live under the same conditions.

Here's link to a very nice slide show.

http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.com/flash/UntilThen.swf

R/Chris

The magic date for the dinar 'hitting' is 17 September. The dinar is the Iraqi currency and there's a chance it could hit (albeit a small chance.)

Here's a link to some good news for Iraq.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19770&Cr=iraq&Cr1

The other good news is the forecast has NO days over 110 this week! Whoo-hoo, the cooling trend has started!

The following are answers to questions from the guy who bought my car. I've owned about a dozen cars in my life and the best car I had was this 78 280Z. I bought the car when it was 12 years old for $4,000. I had the car for about 15 years and sold it only recently (with a part of my soul) for $2,000.



Greg, yes, I though I mentioned the low-beam corrosion problem. It sounds like you fixed it and my apologies if it put you through too much effort. I'll try to find any parts for you when I'm in Seattle in October.

Greg - "I have mixed>feelings about the war and Bush, but those mixed feeling will never>discount the respect and admiration I have for each person who is>willing to personally sacrifice for the good of the whole. I support>you."
Chris - I have mixed feelings as well and while some bad stuff happens there is a lot of good stuff that happens here as well. I honestly believe that if a bonafide democracy can be created in the heart of the middle east it will go a long ways toward establishing some stability in this region. I strongly suspect that Iraq will be the 'West Germany' to China's Iran (East Germany.) Then economic engines of the West and East will rely upon this energy source. For me, it's been an adventure as well as some job.

Greg - ">On the lighter side of things- that sucks that you lost The Daily Show>and The Colbert Report. I like my tv and I wouldn't want anyone editing>it for me. I'm sure you feel the same way."
Chris - Dang tootin it sucks that they moved The Daily Show and Colbert times around! My strong suspicion is that these shows didn't support the Army/military as much as they wanted so they were replaced with a show called 'Raven.' Never seen Raven? There's a good reason why, it sucks.

Greg - ">The camel spiders intrigue me. Have you heard of anyone getting bit?>They look scary as hell."
Chris - The camel spiders are really something and they exist in the SW United States but never get more than an inch or so there. Here they get 6-7 inches and bigger. They are just big, dang scary, aggressive insects. They's still no match for the bottom of one's foot IF you can catch one. And yes, there was a Major that got bitten last year on the head and had a big welt. They're not poisonous but they can carry some nasty bacteria.

Greg - ">When do you think you'll be coming back to Seattle (or another city>perhaps)? Have you met people in Iraq that you will keep in touch with>when you get back? Will you enter the workforce soon after returning do>you have other plans?"
Chris - I'm visiting Orlando, Seattle and Amsterdam in October. I've made some good connections while here and I think that is what part of life is about. I now have a few good Bosnian and Croation friends who have invited me to visit. I'm not sure what I'll do when I eventually return. I'm just not planning that far. We'll see how things go but if surely be out of a job if peace breaks out (Fat chance of that happening!)

Greg - ">What do people do for entertainment in Iraq? Does everyone have iPods>and computers? Do you trade DVD's and music with other people? What do>you miss the most from home?"
Chris - I'm on a military base as just about all westerners are here in Iraq so there are comforts from home. When I first got here they didn't have any medium underwear not toothpaste for about 3 months at the PX. I had to come up with creative solutions but I survived. TV is AFN and loaded with 'good citizen' commercials (since the regular commercials are out.) There are computers and many soldiers, contractors as well as locals have satellite dishes to stream the TV and iternet media that is generally restriced by the Army and local government. There is a lively 'haji market' run by the locals that sell bootlegged DVDs (such as you'd find on the street of New York City, etc.) There is a gym and MWR center for xbox, books (donated ones) magazine, pool tables, etc. And of course there are 6,500 US soldiers and AF here on this base as well as Italians and Brits and Bosnians and Japanes, etc. That's quite a few people and it's about 10% female. So people being people if you look hard enough you can find something that you like... to do. There's a reason they sell condoms in the PX. What do I miss the most?? Good food, especially buttered toast! There is NO butter here.

R/Chris
ps. Yes, I'd love to see some renovation car pics and even visit the car when I do make it home.

It's almost that crazy time of year here again, Ramadan is coming! Or as I've been calling it, Ramadan-a-ding-dong! It's thirty days of pissed-off arabs during the days and hooping-hollering arabs at nights. Ramdan-a-ding-dong actually starts on 27 Sept. So I'll wait for a few more days and then write about that.

Anyway, we've now got T walls around the building where I work. The good news is that if a round lands outside the T walls, we're very safe. The bad news is that if a round lands inside the T walls, it'll still do bad stuff. It's all about statistics, since one does not aim mortars and rockets (except in a general vicinity.) I think the Army policy is actually referred to as 'contained destruction.'

Anyway, here's a pic of the 'fortress' now surrounded by 18 foot tall T walls. Now for a bit of trivial. How far does one have to 'tip/push at the top' an 18 foot tall T wall for it to fall over?



Much of the crew here is Indian, Pakistani and Turk. The get along on different levels. On an individual to individual level, most get along well with each other. When there's a group of them, they will then seem to assume a group mentality and Indians have a defined class system but as a whole, Indians seem to look down on Pakistanis. And as a whole, Indians and Pakistanis seem to look down on Turks, go figure. No again, on an individual level they get along and only in when in a group will the 'group mentality' take over.

Anyway, here's a pic of some worker who put up the T walls.





Oh, and if you 'tip' an 18 foot tall T wall only 4 inches at the top, that's enough to tip the thing over.

Today we got attacked. It was very close and the kind of bang where you just grab your helmet and vest and run to the bunker. The explosion occured less than 100 feet from where I was sitting and as you can see it didn't make a big crater in the ground.




Here's a pic of a coworker through the broken glass of a vehicle that was damaged. About 5 vehicles were damaged and fortunately no one was hurt. Still this was close and the going guess is that about 3-5 people will demob tomorrow. We'll see what happens though.

We'll see if this works.. It's a good video.