Defiantone.com

I’ve been trying to go back and fix some things that I accidentally deleted… not all of the information transferred well. Below is everything I wrote while in the desert last time I visited. All of the links are inop so you’re pretty much crap out of luck there. I have a feeling most of them probably wouldn’t work even if I tried them.

Enjoy

16 Jan 06
Ok, yet another burning missive pounded out from my dirt encrusted keyboard that barely works is ready to go. Come and get it.
I’ve said it a few times before but if the government votes to send Americans into harms way they should train them before, protect them while there, and treat them when they get home. We’ve been doing a fairly good job at the first two and I was happy to hear about the military shipping improved protective vests based on the changing tactics of the insurgency. We’ve got bomb disposal vehicles that are keeping our guys more out of harms way than we’ve ever been able to do in the past. Our surgeons are saving lives that would have been lost in previous wars. But, when our troops come home, we still aren’t helping enough. After reading a few Newsweek articles (sure, not the best source of news but I can glean a few facts from their pages), I discovered that unlike the DoD budget, the Veterans Administration budget it optional. There is a private group that is raising money for a rehabilitation center for troops who have lost limbs in the war. To this date, all of the donations have been from private sources and none of the money has come from the Feds. The Feds are trying to make good on the situation by funding all of the operating costs as soon as the building is constructed but in they should really be footing the whole construction bill. The American people shouldn’t need to bail out the federal govt, congress should take the hint that this is important and legislate more funds to troop rehab. There was no mention of care for the mental health of military members that have returned from the AOR; this should also be on the top of the agenda.
Bottom line, if you send someones children to fight a war, take care of them when (and if) they get back.

Want to know more? Check out the articles here and here.
Ok, next on the list was an article about the reduction of pollutants we release into the air… *warning… random tangent incoming* I read an article about a man who claimed to have fought in many of the wars in the Middle East over the past 15 years. He claimed to have fought in Afghanistan against the U.S. and the Russians (when they were in power), fought in the Kosovo conflict, and fought in the Iraqi insurgency. He talked about how many of the fighters came from his country but most of the funding came from Saudi’s. This is why we should stop buying their oil, we should no longer support terrorists with our oil money. Ok, back to the main point.
A scientist from M.I.T. has found a way to recycle most of the emmisions from power plants across the US. His plan would have the exhaust gases feed algae which could then be used to produce oxygen while removing nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from the air. This could lower the pollution to levels below what the Kyoto protocol requires. There is more to this whole deal, the algae could also be used to produce bio-diesel and ethanol. Read the whole article (with all of the pertinent details) here.
I may leave here in as little as 3 days, but, I could leave in as many as 12 days… Only time, and a commanders approval, will tell. I’ll post it here when I know more… I know little now, all of the smart-asses out there would make a remark about me knowing little all of the time. Yes, I deserve that one.
13 Jan 06
Gather around, grab a seat, here comes a tale that can’t be beat.
I’m lying out of my teeth as I have absolutely nothing going on save for a few tidbits, but, I did a good job making a catchy rhyme. In the past week a judge sentenced a man to only 60 days in jail for molesting a child citing that the state could not offer proper treatment. If the judge had sentenced him to a longer sentence it would have only delayed the treatment this man sorely needs. The judge tied to the sentence a laundry list of conditions that could land the man in jail for the rest of his life should he choose to ignore the judges directions. Fox News has gone on a tirade against this judge demanding that he either retire or be impeached. They’ve come to the contention that he is absolutely off his rocker. I think the judge was right. I believe that the judicial and prison systems should make their best determination of whether an individual can lead a productive and crime free life with the appropriate counseling and rehab courses. I think that child molestation, rape, hate crimes, and murder should bring brutal punishments for the lost souls who know what they commited was wrong but went ahead with it anyway. I know that the family of the child will face undue grief and dispair believing that the judicial system has let them down. They want justice, which I think is overlying the root want of revenge (but thats just my opinion). Forgive the guy, treat him, and let him go. If he does something stupid in the future, convict him, and never let him see freedom again. Alternatively, you could send him to Iraq as a IED weapons disposal expert. He would be charged with walking down the street in front of the hard working members of the US Armed Forces checking every suspicious object along the way. We wouldn’t be giving the man the death sentence, we’d be giving him the chance at life… albeit a very small one.
Henry Rollins (of whom I’m a big fan) has released his latest monthly newsletter. In it he detailed an upcoming European tour that I will definitely not miss. He has faced adversity and struggles for years and has not yet slacked off, he fights for what he believes in and never surrenders. His fortitude is admirable, I can’t wait to listen again in rapt attention. I wonder if he’ll recognize me, it will be the third time I will have met him in the past year… probably not… only time will tell.
My departure from the sandbox is tied to the efficiency of the military transportation system; I may never leave (or so it seems). I arrived here early, ahead of the rest of our unit, and was coded coming in as an individual traveler (as the few others that came with me). Normally, upon leaving, your code will not change and you will travel out individually. This time, however; everyone else here is chartered on a direct flight at a date TBD, it would be far easier if I could be on that flight. Then again, there is a possibility that I could actually leave before they do so who knows how this may turn out. I can only sit, wait, and speculate as to my departure time.
The crazy woman who has caused more frustration that anyone else I’ve met has left, she no longer comes to work and I am glad. She will go to where ever she came and I will never run into her again. Christmas does come more than once a year.
I ordered a few books and some music recently (purchased in part by a gift certificate provided by my Aunts in Missouri (thanks again!). Its as eclectic as anything else I’m into, I ordered:
1. John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme - This album has been mentioned so many time I must have it, the man was a artistic genious.. I can’t wait
2. The Stooges Fun House - A personal favorite of Henry Rollins (mentioned twice in one daily missive… wow!) featuring none other than Iggy Pop. This should be an all out assault of music, I can’t wait.
3. Ryszard Kapuscinski’s Imperium - There is something about the Russians that is intriguing, I guess I want to learn more about this once great Communist stalwart through their authors… I can’t wait. 4. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four - So many references to this book have been made that I can’t even pick one out of my mind, they sit in a pop culture jumble. This too should be a great read.
With some hard work, some more writing and playing I might be able to exhibit part of the creative genious these authors and musicians have created. I would love to do that for the rest of my life, its my dream.
Its odd but I can tell that I’m in a rather upbeat mood, I wonder if it translates to what I’ve written? Got anything on your mind? Drop me a line at john@2kings.net. Thats right, I’ve got two levels of spam filters if you send it there, spammers be damned.
10 Jan 06
The following text has been modified for content and your screen size
Well, there is only so much of this that I can sanitize and you’re seeing the extra clean version of it. Yes, what you’re about to read is as nice as I can transfer to words.
I don’t think I’ve ever wished another person to cease existing in front of my eyes but she has earned it. Nobody has gotten under my skin for the games they play with others quite as well as she has; I can see the games as clear as night and day but many are oblivious. Only now are people starting to realize that she has been leading them along the entire time. This pariah of existence deserves to die a painful death. She exibits the hurt animal look most of the time, she plays like the workload is too much and that there is no way to get it done. Next, she disappears for hours on end and accomplishes nothing leaving all of the work for us. This is her work, not our work but it must be done so we are forced to do it. She’ll then complain that she doesn’t get any help, we’re doing her work… how in the world could she come to the conclusion we aren’t helping? I wish she would fucking die, I hate the syphilitic whore and would enjoy driving over her with a truck. The fact that she is as ugly as Hortense, the mule faced woman, doesn’t help her case out all that much. I don’t like lazy people that cause me to do their work. I hate these people. They should die.
Aside from the psychotic sea cow that I work with, things are mostly normal. I woke last night and had hives all over my body, it felt as I had rolled in a patch of nettles. I endured the pain and went back to sleep; when I woke everything was fine. I changed out my sheets this morning so who knows what the heck could have caused it.
A few days ago I endured a two hour photo shoot for reasons unknown to me. The base paper was doing an article on ammo but didn’t have enough photos. So, we were wrangled into doing an operation that really didn’t need to be done for a photo op. I’ve never been told to look serious at a bomb as if in deep concentration. My job is really fucking easy so I don’t have to think that hard when I’m out of the office, I just do the work. It was unendurable, I never want to be photographed in that capacity again. Unfortunately, the photo of me with my boss appeared on the front page. The photographer, knowing how to bring out your worst features, got a direct profile shot of me… its horrendous. Yes, after years of harrasment I know how big my nose is. Insert your own joke here. You can check out the whole thing as a pdf or as zip file. The base paper is unaware that they created photo compression technology so the files are massive (27mb & 26mb) so if you’re still plugging along in the stone age (dial-up) it will take some time to download. There is also an article full of innacurate information because our chief is a tool. Well, tool is the wrong descriptive term… tool box would be better.
7 Jan 06
Our time in the sandbox is a short 120 days; time that I’ve completed as of today. When we leave I’ll have completed an extra 16 days here… I won’t get anything extra for the pleasure. Well, on the second day of 12 hour shifts we finished all of the work we had to do… now we’re doing it for no reason whatsoever. It could have been worse, we could have never switched to shorter shifts or we could be stationed further north… where the area is less hospitable. Today I suffered through a few hours of BBC radio as it played in the background while we were working. I’m not a fan of the genre of music and many of the songs played are so obnoxious I think of taking the stereo and destroying it. Stuck in the front of my mind was the fact that this music was terrible. Musically, they tried nothing new or used any type of dynamics. It was just bad music. Stop playing it, there are so many better things to listen to.
The brother of Michael Vick was cut from his college football team due to various discipline issues. He was warned repeatedly and was given every opportunity to do the right things. After making the wrong choice, again, he was kicked off the team. The guy is a phenomenal athlete but has a poor attitude. It is a rare thing to have a talent that can provide you with a potential income of millions. Many work tirelessly and still achieve nothing while this guy had it all and threw it away. There is some speculation that he might skip his final year in college and announce himself for the NFL draft. I hope that he doesn’t get drafted; I hope he doesn’t get picked up as a free agent. The NFL should leave him only one option, finish your education and strive to become a better individual. If he does none of these things, his gift should be wasted… he deserves it.
6 Jan 06
Its already the 6th day of the new year and I still haven’t written the correct year on the first try yet. If you’ve paid attention to what I’ve written, I’ve goofed the dates here (but later fixed them). In other news, Pat Robertson is still nuts. He believes god is punishing Ariel Sharon by giving him the stroke… again, Pat Robertson is nuts. I’m sure some of you might remember when he advocated assasinated the President of Venezuela. Read the whole thing at MSNBC.
I’ve been busy all day (on our first day back on 12 hour shifts). Unfortunately, we all know that we only have 2-3 more days of work to fill these extra long shifts. After that, we’ll just be standing around for a few extra hours while in uniform. If only all of our lives could be such a failure.
3 Jan 06
PASS THIS ON!
I’ve talked about how the music and entertainment industry is pulling the wool over our eyes. They’ve been shouting from every mountain that piracy is the only reason that sales fall every year; many of us have been trying to yell through the clamour and chaos that its not piracy, it their inferior product. They’ve done everything they can to stop piracy and have been woefully unsuccessful. In the day and age of the internet, those with time will find a way to get what they want… regardless of what you may do to stop them. Sony Music has embarked on a campaign touting the need for DRM (digital rights management) to protect their bottom line from music pirates. Recently, Sony released an album *NOT A CD… I’ll get to this later* that had a disclaimer inside the package listing the places where a particular product “may” not work. The note said:
Some CD players that have the capability of burning into an MP3 (such as portable players or car stereos).
Some CD players that possess CD-R/RW functions (such as portable players or car stereos).
Some car stereos with satellite “Guidance” systems
Some CD players or car stereos with hard disk recording capacity
Some CD-R/RW Recorders used for music
Some portable CD players
Some DVD players
Some CD/LD Convertible Players
Some Game Players
Although you can use your PC’s Windows program to listen to certain tracks, this does not mean that the CD can be played in all PCs. The first time that this program is used (in Windows automatic starter software) it gets registered in Windows File. Thus, programs already registered to not affect Windows operations.
Windows OS also uses the latest files.
This CD does not support Macintosh PC software.
So, they’re telling you that this is not a compact disc as you might be inclined to believe. Sure, they’ve put it in that same familiar packaging you’re used to and it also looks the same to you. The package does say “Dual Disk” or something on it but that means little to you, its in the CD section for crying out loud. So, you legally buy the music and take it home to find it won’t play. You reread the little note at the bottom you find this little gem
Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return, or refund
It looks like they pulled the wool over our eyes once again. Take a stand, don’t buy products like this from them. We are the consumers and we control the market, not the manufacturer. Contact your local representative and let them know that DRM is a bad idea, it only harms the consumer.
Please pass the message along. Thanks again to Arstechnica for keeping me in the loop with their article on Sony’s latest exploits.

1 Jan 06
Occasionally I like to say really loaded things just to get a reaction. I don’t mean them at all but they pop into the forefront of my mind.
Birth defects are hilarious!
She’s limping because she got raped by her father, that knee brace is a sham
More often than not, I keep it all to myself. They don’t want to know where my mind is wandering. Some might call it disturbing. I don’t know why or how I come up with this stuff… too much time on my hands I guess
The wind blows dust into your eyes, nothing you do can protect your vision. Its not that bad, you just squint more when looking out across the terrain. Standing on hard caked dirt you wonder where all of the water went. Dirt cracks in the low places as if water once stood there; you’ve never seen any signs of water. Remnants of vegetation clings to the dirt and rocks vacant of life. How does anything live here, there’s nothing for it to live on… Looking out in the distance the terrain blends with the sky in a light brown and blue mix… there isn’t anything out there worth looking at… but you look regardless. A jacket would be a good idea on a day like this, even while sweating the wind is too much, it cools you off too fast. You can hear birds chirping as they fly above you, they look small, they look like they aren’t fed well. The larger the animal is, the larger the food source is… look at Americans packing themselves into McDonalds. Being out here gives you time, time without distraction, there is little to see. You can clear your mind of everything else and focus… free from interruption. There are no tracks in the dirt, nothing walks but you… how does anything survive here? Its an austere environment, an unfriendly place, welcome to Qatar.
I’m extremely paranoid, any sign of friendship by one I don’t associate with is treated with distrust, I’ve been burned too many times. Their attempt may be sincere, I’ve been around too many who only bring me up to shut me down. I listen to people first, then I decide what my move will be. Without enough time around them I don’t know where they’ll go.
Resolutions
1. Meet someone (female) without scaring her away
2. Keep on working out, its good for me
3. Read more
Unlike the resolutions others make, I’m sure I’ll be able to stick with mine.
Whenever someone at work takes a defiant stance to authority, others have called the action “defiant.com”.
“I can’t believe he did that, its defiant.com”
If only they knew about my website… ha!
30 Dec 05
What the heck is going on?
I only have a limited amount of time left here and as such I’ve been apprehensive about ordering another book for fear of not recieving it on time. So, instead of buying what I really want I’ve bought a few books at the base exchange. I’ve picked these books not by the taglines on the back but by the thickness of the book, even if its bad I’d like to kill as much time reading it as possible. The only type of book they sell are 4×8 books. What the heck? A book that measures 4×8 inches? No, rather its a book that can be understood by a fourth grader that takes no more than 8 hours to finish reading. I read through the first one that I bought in little more than 5 hours, the second looks like it is on a record setting pace as well. Both books have left me feeling extremely disappointed. The author has made no attempt to challenge the reader and make them walk away from the book in order to digest what is going on. You can read these books from start to finish without engaging any part of your brain, there is no challenge involved. The book publishing industry appears to have the same business model as the music publishing industry; release alot of the same product and sell few copies each. Each book (or song) sounds roughly the same save for a few minor details, I think these books are created by a unique A.I. program where the author chooses the diverse and rough background of the main character and then automatically writes the rest of the book. There should be no merit for the author that writes 20 books a year (I’m talking about you Steven King and Dean Koontz). Formula writing is destroying literature… or what is left of it. In some ways, the best writers are those who torture themselves with their writing. Manic depressive mother fuckers that only write a novel every 5-10 years because the last one nearly killed them. Where are the characters that are so well developed that you feel if your own life was a sham? Where are the plots that can’t be figured out within the first 5 pages? I feel disgusted reading this book, the subject matter is fine but the writing is atrocious. Special education kids cranked full of sugar and PCP could probably create a plot that was more entralling.
So, instead of reading more of the book (which I will finish even though it disgusts me), I went to watch a movie that I knew nothing about. I watched a WWII movie, a genre that I am a sucker for. The movie was mostly awful… much of what was shown on the screen I had already seen elsewhere. The only saving grace was the last 30 minutes of the movie, thankfully they didn’t ruin a perfecly good battle. Why are we all getting watered down versions of stimulus? Why aren’t we buring people at the stake because we are so pissed off about it? Each time they water down what they give us and expect us to drink more of it. I’m tired of their bullshit, I only want full-strength from now on.
I’ve been ill for the past few days and its not enjoyable, just as I remembered from last time. Its the same old viral crap that I am forced to wait for my body to figure out. If I could, I would yell at my white blood cells in encouragement… or I’d threaten their very existence. I despise being ill, but nobody tops the hate of illness as much as my sister…
The weather has changed dramatically in the past week. A few days ago the wind picked up to ~20mph and the temperature quickly dropped and all of the warm weather went away. Sure, to anyone else in the northern hemisphere I’m sure they would call this weather warm but its a far change from what I am used to; I am not looking forward to weather in the UK. It cools down (now) to around 55-60 with highs in the 80’s. Before, lows were in the 70’s with highs in the 90’s. When I got here lows were in the 90’s and highs were in the close to the burning fires of hell.
26 Dec 05
I’ve always been a fan of efficiency, especially when it makes my day go by more smoothly. During the major holidays, the military puts a “traditional” meal together for all of the servicemembers. The food itself is great, the service, terrible. Somebody thought it would be a great idea to get people that don’t normally serve food (officers, chiefs, etc) to serve us to mark the holidays. Sure, they probably care more about my food than the TCN’s (third country nationals) do but their skill with an icecream scoop full of mashed potatoes leaves something to be desired. On any given day, I can get my food in less than a minute when being served by TCN’s. They don’t speak our language well or feel the need to wish us anything so they make up for it with blinding speed. They can move food around faster than Ned Flanders. If you’re a fan of the Simpsons you’ll remember the episode where Homer goes to the homeless shelter with Ned to serve the meal. Homer became impatient with the speed of the serving and pushed Ned out of the way and did it himself. The line that was to the door was gone instantly. He didn’t care about the people he was serving, he just cared that they got served. So, yesterday I spent 25 minutes waiting in line to eat. There was at least 200 people waiting in front of me for their chance to eat.After I got my food I sat and ate in my normal fashion: alone. I had lost time to recover so I decided that the “professional” eating style would be the most efficient. I grabbed two bottle of water and took a drink between almost every other bite. I probably wouldn’t win the competitive eating contest but I’m sure I’d garner an honorable mention. I finished my meal in no more than 8 minutes. Like I always do, I never look up from the tray until my meal is finished. I am there on a mission, I am there to eat.
Some have wondered if I can ever be deprogrammed when I leave the military… probably not, but I’m hoping it will work.
To those that sent me a gift this year, thanks.
I guess I don’t understand depression as I once had. Normally, along with depression comes the lack of will to do anything. The individual will barely eat and try to sleep the day away to avoid what might be out there. I believe that depression is only anger without enthusiasm. I’m incredibly enthusiastic and anything that would make a normal person depressed (being away from home during the holidays) makes me seeth with fury. We all have our methods of dealing with life, I guess this is mine until I find someone else to take the anger away. Now, my mind went there.. and yours might too when you think of J.C. I don’t have the faith that many do, I’m not sure of much of anything. Yes, I believe that he saved me and can save all of us. I’m just not sure about the day-to-day.
I weigh the consequences of my actions every day. I remember being spanked for breaking the rules when I was younger. I could either get yelled at or face more severe consequences. We all need to weigh out the consequences and decide if its worth it. Many people don’t take the time to look at the consequences and end up in jail. Others end up in jail because they knew all along what might happen to them. In particular, I want to injure a co-worker. I’m not the only one. The consequences are not worth the action… but dang if I really want to do it.
20 Dec 05
Random Edition
It’s that time again where I type as fast as I possibly can about whatever should pop into the top of my mind. The other day GW gave a speech, one of his better ones. I’m glad he finally came in and admitted that we went to war from some crap intelligence, a fact he finally and publicly took the blame for. Good for him. The entire time he was speaking I kept on thinking about how Rove was sitting just off camera wringing his hands in ghoulish delight as he is pulling of yet another insane political feat. He is going to make Americans embrace this president once again. I still think the guy is a doofus but he has regained a little credit in my eyes. Now, if he would go after contractors that sold the govt. bad equipment (like bullet proof vests) with an unrelenting vengeance I might actually start to like the guy. I want any contractor that has sold us crap to go to jail. If somebody died as a result of crap equipment, its second degree murder; the CEO’s involved should go to court and then go to jail. If we die, you should die too (in some fashion). Ok, I’m listening to some high intensity metal music right now so I feel like jumping around and performing some herculean feat… I know that when I get to the gym today I am going to destroy the weights. I didn’t expect on going to the gym today (it is my off day) but thats changed now, I am going to MURDER the weight. Yes, I will kill it.
The holidays are fast approaching and with it comes a heavy sense of apprehension. This year, more than years in the past, I think I am going to be in a worse mood during the holidays. I can accept being halfway across the planet from the people that I would like to spend some time with but I’m not as happy about the prospect of not being able to contact them more often (or for longer time). Yes, compared to the guys getting shot at and nearly killed with IED’s I’m living the high life. Its been months, well since September, that I’ve had any sort of alcohol. Since I’ve been here I’m sure my body has forgotten how to process alcohol effectively. When I go back I’ll have the alcohol tolerance of an 8 year old. Yes, it will be interesting. I haven’t had my hearing testing in a while and I wonder if I am going more deaf or if I my hearing has leveled out. I subject myself to a large variety of noises many would call loud. I would have to scream over the top of these noises to dub them loud. What is a person to do? Will I fall back into the routine I was stuck in before I left for the desert or will things change? Will my attitude towards others remain hostile or will I start to give people the benefit of a doubt. I feel that in some ways I have softened on other people since I have been here. Those that piss me off, well, I’ve learned to hate them with refined vigour. I’ve taken a roughly scattered stream of hatred and finely compressed it into a lethal beam of destruction.
I still spend most of the time by myself and rarely engage in conversation with others. Most of the time I don’t feel the need to converse with other people, I am often more content to listen. More often than not, I am let down by what they have to say but there are those that surprise me. I like surprises, just not hey, welcome home from Korea… I want a divorce surprises. Yes, its all good humor now and it is forgiven… but I still keep cheap petty thoughts in the back of my mind and wish failure with success. I hope that she gets her vetrinary degree… in the crummiest school available… something like Dr. Nicks school of Animal Parts and stuff would be suitable. I can keep on dreaming. I’m still on the line of whether to reenlist in the military or get out after my time is done. If I get stationed in a major US city I could easily complete my degree while still getting paid. Or, I could go the ramen noodle approach and go where I want and work part time and be poor again. I’m not sure if I could go back to being poor. Then again, I might find that sugar momma that I’ve been keeping an eye out for. She could be more than a figment of my imagination. My dad used to set me on his knee when I was small, right now my knee is bouncing at an unprecedented rate. I guess thats what happens when you allow your body a day of rest and recovery, you get ready for the battle again, you are ready for war. I’m sure that I could beat 200 bounces a second if it was really measured. There are people around here that don’t think I should take any type of caffeine or sugar. They believe that I am high strung enough and that any stimulants would make their lives bad. What? Am I that bad at my normal level that they think I animated version of myself would be unendurable? I’ve got to eat healthy when I get back or I’m going to put on weight that I don’t want to. I’ve got to be a better, more creative cook. I’ll need to start cooking what is healthy for me rather than what tastes the best. Damn.
Ok. Thats it.
18 Dec 05
The (almost) Weekly Edition
I always rush through things and I occasionally forget steps along the way while looking toward the next task on the horizon, but I always double check to make sure it got done in the end. I often wonder if I am rushing through life only to find that I missed a few steps along the way. Sure, I’m young, but there are some things that are best experienced at a particular age. Many people look back on their lives and wished they would have done something, or done something different along the way. I can only hope that in my endeavor to live life at 150% that I don’t miss something along the race to death. Yes, life is a race towards death. Some of us move slowly towards the finish line and never take a shortcut. Others like to jump out of perfectly good planes or embark in a skeleton race down a solid chute of ice. Some of the shortcuts end without significant fanfare or cause for alarm… others, well…
The (revised) Patriot Act didn’t make it though the senate this week. HOORAY! Sure, the legislation does allow government agencies to pursue threats to our country with fewer obstacles but it does impede on our civil liberties. Recently, a student was visited by the D.H.S. for purchasing Mao Zedongs “Little Red Book”. He purchased it for a paper he was writing for school, he was not a terrorist. For every potential terrorist they look at, they are bound to find a perfectly innocent American. We all shouldn’t be treated like suspects, let the judges get back in the process to decide who to search. Streamline the heck out of it, heck, get judges just for search warrants if we need to but keep a third party in the loop just for an outsiders (hopefully good) common sense.
12 Dec 05
The (almost) Daily Edition
Commentary on the downfall of the music industry in a article about the NFL? Thanks to Bill Simmons, and a wonderfully written article about the overwhelming mediocre NFL, I’ve had the opportunity to read more brilliant analogies drawn between crap and the current state of the music industry. Bill wrote
“The eventual outcome of perpetual parity IS perpetual putridity. For example, after the magical run of alternative and hip-hop music from 1991-1995, everyone was so worn out from quality music that we allowed one-word crappy bands like Creed and Live to become famous, as well as untalented rappers like Diddy and Ja Rule, eventually leading to the inexplicable boom in hacky pop music, boy bands and that metal rock miasma. Just watch the SNL reruns from the bulk of the Will Ferrell era — it’s a musical apocalypse.”
If that wasn’t good enough, he went further.
“My theory for this: Everyone was so distracted by the unexpected Internet boon, as well as the copious amounts of suddenly free porn, that four or five years passed before we realized that the music industry was headed straight to hell. And it kept getting worse and worse and worse — culminating in Andrew K’s selling out NBA-sized arenas and everyone unwittingly allowing the complete bastardization of the music industry — before the Strokes, Eminem and the White Stripes burst onto the scene and everyone remembered, “Hey, music can be popular and good! Wow!” And now we’re knee-deep into another iPod-fueled renaissance.
Here’s the point: if you allow things to slip away, you can go from Nirvana to Smashing Pumpkins to Foo Fighters to Creed to Hanson in the matter of milliseconds. We’re watching it happen with the NFL right now. This season has been truly abominable — how many well-played games did you watch in the first three months? The league ignored too many fundamental problems for too long, and there isn’t a Jack White or Marshall Mathers waiting in the wings, ready to snap everyone out of their collective funk. I see this problem getting worse, not better.”
He’s preaching to the choir, because no one else seems to listen, but he’s done an amazing job at it. Read the whole article (and the bits about the NFL) over at ESPN.com
10 Dec 05
The (almost) Daily Edition
I’ve done my best to keep my wits about me today as I’ve endured a barrage of pain and torment. I’ve reached up to my ears to check that blood isn’t leaking out of them as I’ve been forced to howling and screeching of the worst sort. As I rode to lunch I was forced to listen to the worst music the brits could come at me with. Taking a hammer and hitting myself in the nuts causes less pain than this causes me. On the way back somebody brought along a little “treat.” What do you know? Nickleback! If given the opportunity I would like to take that CD and shove it up his ass because it belongs there. Its shit too! After all of this I needed to calm down and find music that stands for something, music that has a purpose: it gets me ready to go to war. Yes, it can only be one band: Slayer.
Sure, I don’t really agree with their “Satan satan satan” type lyrics but then again, I really cant discern what Tom Araya is yelling. Despite what you might think, Araya grew up as a christian and regularly attended church with his father as a child.
There is only so much bad music I can take on a daily basis, I need something like Slayer to wash the palate clean and remove any bad memories.
I’m done with my time here, but I still have quite a few more days left. There is nothing more for me here. If I’m starting to dislike what I’ve got here, those Army and Marine guys up north have really got to be hating life. They have 1/10 of what I have here and they are under constant danger. Get those guys out of there as soon as possible. They went in on a lie, GW should apologize over and over again and those boys should come home. GW should do public service for the rest of his life repaying the damage that has been done to each one that has either been injured or killed.
9 Dec 05
I torture my mind and my body daily. I put myself through a juggernaught of exhaustion and overload without relent, without recovery, without resolve. I know that if I quit for a minute I would lose my temper, I need to stay active to keep myself calm. Occasionally, I need to push harder for percieved breaks in intensity.
Americans are living longer than they ever have. Many of the diseases that ravaged others during our lives have become treatable while still not completely cured. We can prolong our lives in ways many would have never thought imaginable. Despite this, we worry about bird flu, SARS, and the west nile virus. Combined, these have killed less than 100 people in the US. AIDS kills more than 15,000 a year. Sure, its not as glamorous and its not a flash in the pan disease so we all can’t loose our minds over it but its still out there. Its still ravaging lives.
The flu vaccine is only 40-60 percent effective and even with its added protection it still offers little more help than a placebo. People fight over it in the vain hope that this single shot will become a fountain of youth. When its time to die, die. I’m going to live every day that I’ve got to the breaking point but there will come a time when age, disease, or accident defeats me. I’ll take precautions against blatant stupidity and do no more to protect myself. I won’t live in fear of what might happen tommorow;I don’t have the time to waste on it and neither should you.
8 Dec 05
“I’d like you to meet Nicki.”
Standing in front of me is a woman of astounding poise and beauty. She appears to command the entire room with her presence, not only because of her looks but because of what she knows. I’m barely able to comprehend the fact that there is another bright coherent individual on this planet.We both seem to complement eachother with every round of verbal jujitsu that plays between us. She harasses me about my lack of charm and I immediately make fun of her lack of class. We both understand that we are busting eachothers proverbial balls but its a test to see where the other person stands. We want to know what type of challenge we are up against. We started talking about books, of all possible things, and I her knowledge vastly superior to mine. She went toe-to-toe with me for more than an hour without break. Nicki has a plan for her life and is aware of what she wants to accomplish. She knowswhat type of people she enjoys spending time with. I am aparently one of these people. This is the woman of my dreams and she will be mine.
Then I woke up.
Every day I read the news and find that another American has died in the quagmire our government has dubbed “The War on Terror.” Every day I feel the ground shake and hear the thunderous roar of fighter jets as they take off and travel north to help out my fellow Americans. Some days, they come back lighter having left their explosive burdens behind. I wish they could come back with nothingaboard if it would mean that no more Americans died. If I could somehow do something, anything, to prevent another guy from getting killed or injured I would. It makes me feel terrible that somewhere in America a soldier in dress uniform parks in front of a parents house daily. They’ll knock on the door and let them know their child is gone from this world. Occasionally, those that get hit survive… if you could call it that. The media rarely brings to light the number of Americans that are severly maimed or wounded. Daily, the media should record those who lost limbs for their country. We should all be aware that many survive but loose part of themselves. Some come back physically uninjured only to suffer deep emotional scars.
I hate this war. I wish those soldiers could get to safety and never return to war again.
6 Dec 05
I’ve been walking through life without making contact with the rest of the world. In most cases, I avoid them at all costs because they don’t have a clue what is going on in my head. Most of them are weak and need to keep close to others to survive; I fight it out alone. They always need to have someone to talk to, I just need to write it down. I can manage it all by myself. Sure, being around another person does have its benefits but its unecessary. The others remind me of cockroaches, when you see one you’re bound to see a bunch. Yesterday, after I left work, I went to my room to go through my normal routine. I probably spoke to another person for no more than 1 minute during my time off from work. The person who I spoke to the most: the individual who asked what I wanted to eat. I don’t make connections with other people because I don’t want to listen to what they have to offer. Most times I am so let down by wasting my time talking to others I think of giving it up entirely. Most of the people out there don’t have a solitary thought of their own, they follow the crowd and do what the others do. Why is it so hard to find a single minded individual out there? I hate being out there with them, I want to ask what they are doing with themselves. I want to know whatdrives them to go forward and consume. They all consume, I consume, we all consume. Where else but America do you find a society whose prime goal is to collect as much as we can and then protect it with mass paranoia?

Yes, I’m in a gloomy mood. Yes, I’m fine with it. Don’t like it? Go away.
5 Dec 05
I’ve finished reading Dostoyevsky and left Rodion Romanovich Raskalnikov behind me. In many ways I find parallels between his life in mind in the fact that he had an unwavering viewpoint despite what most would consider right, many considered his ideas insane.He walked down the hallway of life and looked into each room along the way but did not find the the room where he could belong. He, after many years, broke down and allowed himself to be open to another person. At an earlier point in his life he was open but eventstook place that caused him to close up as an individaul. I feel much the same. I wonder if I’ll stay the way I am or if there will be that person that will cause me to open up to them. Sure, I write everything here under the sun but there is more under the surface.Sure, you’ve caught glimpses of the non-monster that lives inside of me. So often, I feel that only the anger is getting to the outside world. I love the anger, I love the hatred because its the fuel that drives me. I push it down and compress it until it explodes like a nuclear bomb. I’m glad I have it but I guess I wish I had some other fuel to run on. This one creates alot of emissions and isn’t incredibly fuel efficient.
I uploaded a few photos for you all to peruse. They are in their original size format (thus the long time to load) but are shrunk for your puny resolutions.
4 Dec 05
I slept like a coma patient last night. I went to my room after assaulting my body at the gym and fell asleep. I guess I have just been pushing myself as far I can manage and I pushed too far. Maybe once in a while I should stop being a type “A” person. Maybe I should rest when all indications say I should. Or, I can be just as stubborn as I already am and throw caution to the wind and fight it. I can beat this, how do they say… “extreme exhaustion” I’ll find the solution, one way or the other.I have a few photos that are A. worthy of sharing and B. don’t violate the security regulations but I’ve been unable to find my flash card reader. I’ll keep on looking as the rooms are only so big and it could have only gone so far.
I despise the days where there is little noteworthy news. I have a hard time feeling involved in the world when I am unaware as to what is going on. I like to be alone the majority of the time but I need some connection to everybody so I feel human. Without that, I’d just be a bigger mutant.
3 Dec 05
College football and the professional football seasons are drawing to a close. This year, unlike all of the others I’ve spent in the military, I’ve had more of a chance to watch the action. In England they only play one type of football, where they don’t use a pigskin, so the odds of me catching a game are nil. Here, since I they have ESPN I can always catch the highlight reels if nothing else.
I’m really tired today. I am in a state of extreme exhaustion, I feel as I could sleep for days given the chance. Yesterday, things were fine but now I feel drained.
30 Nov 05
Most people, normal people, would like to be in a normal place during the holiday season. There are some benefits that one might not think of if they were in my place right now. So…
Good things about being deployed during the holidays
1. NO Christmas music (hooray!) After years of constant bombardment I don’t have to listen to any of it this year. There is salvation for the weary!
2. NO awkward family reunions. Annually I have been subjected to reunions with family members that are closely related to me… and those that are of far distant relation. While there, an old man named Mort will walk up and start asking you questions about the past year or years. I remember when I was younger my parents told me to not talk to strangers, I think the same holds true here as I don’t have a fucking clue as to who this is.
3. NO Christmas specials. I don’t have a T.V. so I am FREE of the “cram it down your throat feel good about the holidays blitz”
4. NO office Christmas decorations. Each year I’ve get more holiday cheer crammed down my throat than I can deal with. At work, where I just want to work, I definitely don’t need decorations and that one happy sap that wishes everybody a happy holidays… every single freakin day. Yes, I’m glad to be in the land of the gloomy.
5. NO eggnog
6. NO holiday parking madness. At this time of the year every parking lot is jammed packed with cars. Generally, I make sure to bring my sled dog team and provisions for the next week as I make the arduous trek from my car to the retail center. Last year my guide Latka died on the trip. Poor Latka.
7. NO “Holiday version” Wal-Mart greeters. Normally the people that greet me at Wal-Mart looked like the survived Chernobyl only to greet people at Wal-Mart. You won’t sleep well for weeks.
8. On the day before the holiday break I don’t have to endure every high ranking individual wishing me a Merry Christmas. Sure, its a nice gesture but after one person tells me… I get the point.
9. NO holiday safety briefing. As a military member we are treated like children because of the actions of some under-developed mutants. I don’t want the same briefing with a holiday tilt to it. I get the point. Be careful, don’t be an idiot.
Part 2
Ok, so I’m in the library catching up on the news (I read newspapers whenever I get a chance, I like to stay informed), and I see a copy of Rolling Stone. On the cover is the lead singer from Green Day. You might have seen him, he looks like that guy from the Cure with the crazy hair and bad music. Hey, they have something in common.. they both make bad music. Don’t get me wrong, they used to make decent punk rock until they started making music that sells well. The tagline beneath his picture was “The Defiant One”. Too freakin bad rolling stone, I registered the domain name long before you came up with it so fuck off. I win, you loose. Take your shitty magazine and shove it up your ass. You wouldn’t understand good music if it took a dump on your face.
28 Nov 05
This is just rambling… I didn’t go as far as I could
Greed is what our entire society is based upon. Some might call it a noble effort to better ourselves and the lives of others but how many wealthy individuals donate all of the earnings they don’t need. How much does a person really need? They probably need enough to shelter and protect their family and provide a future for the next generation. Nobody needs a fleet of vehicles that sit in a garage solely for the purpose of collecting them. Nobody needs a mansion hidden within a gated community. Nobody needs a television in every room so that they don’t miss a second of their favorite shows. These are all luxuries of wealth. I really don’t need more money that I make now but I want more, yes, greed affects me too. There are people in other countries that earn annually what I earn weekly. There is a problem in our country with excess. We push ourselves to excesses that are unimaginable to some in other countries. We shouldn’t strive for a life of excess, we shouldn’t strive for the “Hollywood” life. We should fight for our own unique identity so that we may accomlish our own goals, not anothers.
25 Nov 05
The day of feasting is now behind me and with it went my sour mood. If you’ve read what I wrote you’ll understand that I’m frustrated with the situation in Iraq as I see little progress and hope for my fellow Americans there. I think that people, many who say they are supporting the troops, are doing little other than putting a sticker on their car. We need more than that. We need a message to get to congress: No more American deaths. The realization of that message is improbable, if not impossible, but, if we treat it as our eventual goal we might make headway towards it.I believe that we have the right weapons to do the job, we are just lacking in defense. Who cares if we can rack up a million points if they can injure our star running back on every play? This is no way to fight a war. I’m still not sure why this is called a war because a war against ideology is intangible. We might as well be fighting a war against sunshine. We’ll try our best but we’ll be unable to quench the fire in the sky. As I’ve said before, if we could use reasoning and logic better we wouldn’t be fighting. There is a compromise to this… even if it means giving up oil.
The meal(s) weren’t bad yesterday but the line was a killer. Normally, we have locals working in the dining facilities. They don’t say much to us but they are VERY efficient. For me, its great because I’m just there to eat and leave. Yesterday, they had everybody serving us as we went through the line. It took me more than 20 minutes to get my food and find a seat. Then, because they decided they haven’t done enough to aggravate me, they played some weak-ass pop music with a saxaphone over the top. Think Kenny-G. Yes, I think jabbing a pencil in my ear would have been more enjoyable. If its going to be painful I’d at least like to do it myself.I tried to eat as quickly as possible but the tryptophan thwarted my every effort. With each bite I took I became more and more sluggish. Some might assume that I was becoming lethargic. Instead of passing out like I normally would at this moment, I went to the gym and caused myself great pain. Shortly after, I passed out. When I woke up, I ran for 4 miles in an effort to rid myself of all of the extra calories I had consumed.More to come later.
24 Nov 05
Somebody said “Happy turkey day” when I walked into the office this morning. Last time I checked it was Thanksgiving, a time to remember all of the things you are truly thankful for. Turkey is just part of the tradition and should be an afterthought. I’ve spent about one nanosecond thinking about the things I’m thanful for. Why one nanosecond? Thats all the time it really took for me to think of it. I’m so happy I have the family I do. Thanks.
Ok, now to the cranky pissed off part. Today, for some reason, I’ve been in a terrible mood and have been doing my best to restrain myself. I want to look someone right in the eye and tell them to fuck off with all of their holiday cheer. I am away from the one and only thing I think of on holidays (my family) so I have little reason to be bright and chipper. In fact, I want to punch people in the face. Angry? Yes. There is no reason for you to have any concern, its how I feel and I am fine with it.
Supporting our troops
I’ve heard our president (who I consider an idiot) mention supporting our troops by continuing to encourage the war effort and no withdraw us from the AOR. He is insane. People that put magnetic yellow stickers on the back of their cars do not support the troops, they are just making themselves feel better about doing nothing. In case you wondered, passing legislation that keeps us here longer does not support us either.
Since I’ve listed ways to not support the troops, here are a few good ways to support your troops.

1. Give us the right equipment for the job. Make sure we are as safe as possible and don’t cut any corners. Our lives are at risk.
2. Do not send us to war unless you have to. Do you really want us to die if we don’t need to?
3. Go further than a yellow ribbon, write a letter or make a phone call to your congressman. Yellow ribbons don’t do crap for people that get hit by IEDs.
4. Give us the support, both mental and physical, that we need when we get home. Make sure its adequate, people that are depressed aren’t going to wait weeks for help.
5. Treat every one of us like your child, your spouse, or your parents. (that is assuming you don’t hate any or all of the three)
These are just a start, but maybe you’ll get the idea.
18 Nov 05
Many, if not all of us, deal with internal struggles in our lives. We play tug of war with ourselves and the issues that surround and impact us on a daily basis. Occasionally, both sides are on level ground and its an even match between the two. Once in a while, however, one side has an overwhelming advantage. I play tug-of-war daily mentally and physically. If you’ve read whats been printed here, you’d understand that I’ve been hitting the gym with an unquenched fury. I pour out every ounce of strenth that I have into my workouts and I am dazed and hardly able to move by the time I leave. As a result of this intensity, the muscles in my back are finally evening out and I feel better than I ever have. The downside of the workouts is when the muscles in my back and shoulders decide to play tug-of-war with themselves. At times like this, I suffer. My trapezius muscle on one side of my neck has always been much larger as a result of the slight twist in my spine, for the first time ever both sides are equaling out and I no longer have a freakishly larger side. Of course, all of the tendons and muscles on the left side (the larger side) are quite annoyed that there is competition from the right. I hope it will even itself out in the next week as I rest and stretch it all out.
The weather here, as I’ve mentioned before, has a sort of monotony to it. Of course, its in direct contrast to the constant cold uncomfortable drizzle that visits the UK often. But, for once, there was some change last night. For 2 hours I watched a front of clouds that was probably 10 miles away. Cold air, coming from behind me, was blowing towards the front the entire time. Lightning filled the cloud for at least two hours without a single sound. Occasionally, I could see it strike the ground in the distance but it mostly appeared as if flashbulbs were going off inside the cloud. Lightning bolts, as I’ve seen in the past normally move from cloud to cloud or head towards the ground but this cloud seemed a little odd. It almost looked like something one might see in a movie. I didn’t see any rain as a result of this, but I was told it did come down briefly while I was asleep. There were no signs that it even came. The whole thing is quite odd.
15 Nov 05
People that work with explosives should be insanely careful and safe. Without trying, I am probably the least safe individual in the area. Yes, I read the tech data and do what I am supposed to but I somehow always miss something… something important. I guess thats part of the nature of wanting to get done and move onto the next task. Its always trivial crap that doesn’t matter at all but it violates something (even if I don’t know it exists in the first place).
9 Nov 05
You should check out this article on MSN Money… informative? Yes. Could the data be skewed in such a manner to make it all a lie? Yes. If this is true is it frightening? Yes.
Somebody from Canada… I’m not sure who… has taken a great interest in what I’ve written here. In fact, I think they read every single page that exists on this site and they read it all today. For what purpose I have no clue. Thats about it.
5 Nov 05
I am retarded. That is all.
1 Nov 05
Holy crap batman! More than one post a week! I know that I’m going to get some hell for what I did today but what I did was right, even if I stepped above some people higher ranking than me. I work at night so I can call the help desk back in the states with little or no problems (the first few hours I’m at work they’re at work). So, we’ve had a problem for a while that hasn’t been fixed. They knew about it but they hadn’t done anything about it. I called and got a solution to the problem. I didn’t get anything fixed because I don’t have the power to do the fix but I got the answer to the question. All I did was ask how to fix it. They told me. For this I’m sure I’ll experience some ass pain. If they want to give it, I’ll take this one.
Work aside, things are as normal as they can be here. I wake up, work out, and go to work. Wash, rinse, repeat HOORAY! I really don’t mind my time here because I can always keep myself busy. They are thinking about cutting our hours at work so we work a shorter day. Most would be happy at the news but I am not, I don’t think I can kill an extra 4 hours a day (we’d switch to 8hr instead of 12hr shifts). I enjoy keeping busy. Boredom is my nemesis. I hate him, I loath him… I despise him almost as much as I do bad music. I say almost as much because I really want Gwen Stefani to get hit by a truck… she puts a face on all things bad in music.
Good news… hmmmm… Its getting cooler here at night. I mean, its getting down to a hypothermia inducing 70 degrees. HA! what did you think I would say? I’m as close to the equator as I’ve ever been (except when I flew across it in a plane). The weather here during the day is even nice, 100 degrees isnt all that bad when you’re used to it. I just wish there was a little more green out there. I’m glad to be away from rain… I live in England. I’ll get more that enough of it when I get back.
Bird flu… WTF? Ok, so 60 people die in two years from bird flu. More people die daily from starvation. The problem here is that this flu can kill the rich just as easily as the poor. Thats why the media is all over this shit. It can kill them too. When is the last time somebody starved to death in the US? If they walk down the street they are going to find a soup kitchen or something. You aren’t going to see those poor looking kids from Africa with the swollen bellies from malnutritian walking down the streets of Detroit. It just isnt going to happen. Sure, a few will get hungry and won’t eat properly but they aren’t going to starve.
*Some poor schmuck might starve if he gets lost in the mountains or something… thats about it.
27 Oct 05
I never knew that I could wear myself out to the degree that I do daily. I wake up and head to the gym for an hour of pain and return to my room to chug some protien and creatine. Today, I worked out my biceps and triceps. I worked out until muscle failure (until I couldn’t complete a single repetition). For a while, all I felt was exhaustion but I still retained the use of my limbs. Now, I’m having a hard time picking up light object and when I ate dinner my arm would cramp each time I brought the food toward my face. Yes, I’m serious about going to the gym andmaking a visible difference by the time I get back. Yesterday I borrowed a caliper to determine my body fat. I am 13% fat and my lean weight is 154lbs. I was thinking about that weight because when I left basic training I was 156lbs (2lbs of fat). Some said it looked like I escaped from Auschwitz but no, I just escaped from military training. Its odd that I want to get close to that level of body fat again because while there it felt like I was barely eating. The goal is to get around 6-8% and I’ll be quite happy with the results.
Aside from the gym and the “War on Terror,” I fight a war of stupidity at work. There are three people that work here that are undermining all of us in an effort to either drive us all insane or drive us to failure. They are very effective on every front. Last night I spent two hours arguing that the system was working and there was no need for change. To do anything else would be a waste of time because it would accomplish nothing. A while later, they sent out an email stating that we would follow a particular regulation. This regulation said EXACTLY WHAT I DID. Who would have thought it? The three headed hydra of pain, known as Shrimpingletonino (an almagamation of their names), decidedthat this was not good enough for us. We must change it… for WHAT? To make me kill them all before we leave? I’ll get a medal for it because I will have done us all a giant favor.
Well, I must get back to work.
14 Oct 05
There are many things that I didn’t know… and still don’t know about this area… but my curiousity has been peaked. Every night since the beginning of ramadan, I have encountered some strange and rather pungeant odors while driving to work. I’m starting to think that ramadan is about atonement and prayer and that they must punish themselves with obscure and offensive odors each night. I’m guessing that they buy incense and gather around to see who bought the most profoundly disgusting variant. “Wow Abdullah, that dog shit incense is putrid! Allah will be impressed. You will surely go to heaven after you slaughter an infidel.”Well, they might say everything but that last line but I’m sure there are some out there that think that killing others will bring them into the graces of their creator… I have a feeling their actions are all for naught.I’m guessing that its like Hannukah but instead of gifts for 7 nights its disgusting stench for 30 days. So far we’ve come across
1. Hot garbage -remember taking out the trash in the summer and holding your breath right before lifting the lid in an intense effort to not let the odor overtake your oflactory sense and then running away in terror after dropping off the garbage?
2. Hot urinal stink -it was so strong I thought I was licking a urinal cake… mmm… cake
3. Human feces -Think baby crap… sure babies are cute (as parents might say) but their shit sure isn’t
4. Animal feces -Everything from barnyard odors to household pet droppings
5. Rotten eggs
6. Roadkill -I’m sure you’ve seen a dead animal sitting in the road that was bloated to such a degree that it could probably stand on its broken legs if someone took the time to stand it up. Have you ever caught a whiff of this stenchthat could burn the lining from your lungs and bring tears to your eyes? Have you ever nearly gone careening off the road when the odor assailed you causing temporary blindness? That is this odor.
There have been repeats but it seems that everynight there has been an offensive odor since ramadan began.
Or, this could be something else entirely different. Al Qaeda could be up to something so sinister that only twisted minds like mine have figured it out. They realize that they cannot match our resolve and cannot force us to quit or back down so they’ve developed an alternate tactic. They are trying to make our lives so miserable that we will just give up. Who really wants to drive back from eating to encounter one of these foul odors. Those with a weaker stomach might loose thier dinners and become malnourished in time. Those with a strongerresistence to this stench might last longer but they will eventually wear down.
I don’t think its a very good plan and its definitely not going to work. Maybe you should quit and just go home. Quit before you invest any more time in this wasted effort. Live a normal life. Kill small animals but leave people alone.
Oh yeah, check out the photo page… there is 1 photo
7 Oct 05
The end of my shift is near but I feel that I need to stay here longer. In the typical realm of Lakenheath bullshit we get worried about things that don’t matter so that we forget about what does matter. We have a vehicle inspection and we have been told, without being told directly, that we cannot drive our vehicles because they’ll get dirty.Well, I didn’t know the war on terror was ever put on hold because of dirt on vehicles. Things have been going so well and then all of this crap starts to happen. I wish I had the energy to stay up for another 20 hours in a row so that I might get some work done around here. There isn’t much else I can mention about work… Outside of work I’ve been hitting the gym like a maniac. I’ve put on about 10lbs of muscle and am reaching new maxes on many of the exercises. I put up 225 on bench for the first time and I squat 400lbs the other day. I started taking creatine and protien shakes and from what I can tell they are helping my muscles heal faster than before. Yes, I want to look like GI-Joe by the time I get back… well, I want my appearance to look like his with the exception that he is a eunich. I wish I could stay here longer than I am scheduled, this is life at its simplest. Then again, maybe by staying here I am avoiding many of the things I have problems with. Its been getting cooler outside but most of you would probably keel over with heat exhaustion the second you stepped off the plane if you got here. I guess I am just getting used to it. I now rival my father… I may now be the true Sweaty Man. I soaked through a shirt in about 15 minutes today. Disgusting? Yes. Did I care? No.
Ok, thats about it. Back to work
Sept 30 05
I’ve been up for at least 18 hours and I’m quickly running out of steam and the will to do anything else for the remainder of the night. I switched shifts and this is the first day of working nights. I do have a bunch of stuff to do but as I get more tired I start to become less safe by the minute. When you work around million dollar pieces of equipment and things that explode safety is paramount so its about time that I sit down and tryto do as little as possible. I’ve been reading the Fountainhead and I’m almost finished. The character development is so good in the book that I think I am less real than fictional characters. I’ve never read a book that was quite this intense. If you haven’t read it, do so soon. If you like architecture… like a siblingthat I have, you should find it and start reading it tommorow.
I’ve always attracted mosquitos but now its worse than ever. The locale in which I reside has very few of the little buggers so I don’t have to deal with them ever if at all. The tenacious bastards that live here are aware that I have been spared and are attacking me with relentless vigor. They are biting in one confined area, everything below my sleeves on my arm but they’re getting plenty to eat. It looks like I have localized chicken pox. I wish the temps hadn’t dropped because the bugs wouldn’t have come back. Yes, I’d rather deal with heat than deal with bugs. I think I’m going to pass out for an hour or so… well, maybe.
Sept 26 05
I’ve been here for a while now and the place is really not that bad. The rest of our people should show up by weeks end so I won’t be running around doing every job that I’ve never done before. Its not that I mind, its just one heck of a learning curve.After the first few days I got used to the high temp and humidity that beats down upon us daily. The temperature is already starting to drop… its only 115 outside right now (according to our thermometer that sits in the sun) but its probably only 105 or so. Yes, I said that it is cooling down. A month agothey were looking at temps around 130 or so. This place is like a resort… in a war zone. They always have things for us to do so I never feel bored. In fact, most of the time I am just looking for the time when I run out of things to do.
More to come eventually

Sept 11 05
As it stands now I can’t make any posts (easily) unless I do it manually. I’ve got to check one other spot on base to see if I get blocked there but the odds aren’t good. If nothing else, you can reach me by email.

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