He's ahead of his time you know but, he cant use it - If only he could prove it

One of the 'most fun' things out here is water detail.  We make an assembly line out the building and proceed to bring 6 huge pallets of water outside the building to inside.  If the '12 packs' are extremely dirty, we feel like we haven't got our money's worth.

 

Planning a trip down the old silk road in China, on one of these , can't wait to go, meanwhile I'm reading about Republic of Letters.

Weary sun, sleep tonight, go crashing into the ocean, Cut the line that ties the tide and moon, ancient and blue

General Updates --

1. The heat is much better than the dust, tomorrow the 'feels like ' index will be 138, its not describable
2. Big difference between the sand and dust, dust is much worse
3. one word, Jackyl, not the chainsaw solo band, but the animal, subject to many jokes around here concerning lonely soldiers, etc
4. Seriously thinking about taking the 'chernobyl tour' when i'm done here, either in the winter next summer
5. cd's are my best friend, if i have a new compilation a day, it brightens my day
6. lots of opportunities i'll have leaving this place for sure, but opportunities are finding me here as well

Been very lucky to have met some lifelong buddies here, and very lucky to have several points of reference back home.  I'm used to this already, and for someone 'like me', it has been a feat.  It means not just getting along, but functioning and thriving in a mindset I'm far from accostomed to --

 

I miss a lot of folks back home, I often think about them, how it would be like if certain individuals were out here in the desert, and things spoiled people would complain about.

1. irregular water flow and temperature
2. coat of dust on everything 10 minutes after cleaning, a thick coat after a week
3. long, long walks in the hot hot heat
4. eating the same thing over and over and over and over
5. driving / travelling conditions that are to the point where you'd rather NOT go anywhere
6. staying inside ALL day b/c it isn't too bearable outside
7. zero aesthetic, 5000 percent bizarre
8. walking on a dark sidewalk seeing someone ahead of you thinking, are they going to go postal today?
9. no 24 by 7 coverage of monkey trials or pop star funerals

The disparities, to the victors go the spoils

1. ac ducts hanging out of our buildings equipped with generators and portable ac's, b/c its probably cheaper than fixing the existing french versions
2. people throwing plate full of assorted stuff away while people starve in the distance
3. having the gun that says, we see your missle, and we'll shoot it down before it hits anything
4. Quran w/ Democracy, a question that has plagued western civilization, it ain't going to be answered anytime soon
5. creative ways to have fun out here, many of these things are burned into my head already
6. we do have a store, it has about 10 things in it, including a 20 dollar microfiber towel i dream about every day

Back in the day I wrote with a point, now I just ramble -- I have some points, just don't know how to make them, till then I'm poaching, hoping a jakyl doesn't piss on me --

OO, This Feeling Is Wonderful, Don't You Ever Turn it Off --

evilution happens to everything, including twitter, in 140-whatever characters -- i boast i got an account the first day it opened at the dreaded sxsw interactive festival, my evolution of twitter is --

1 - saying what i had for lunch
2 - talking about all the cool things i've done
3 - talk about all the cool things i've done, and also aggrigating tidbits on life, love and links

certainly MOST, not all individuals who don't use it for facts and figures dine at the FEAST of EGO, in an UNPERSONAL BARREN WASTELAND WHERE NO ONE CARES! --

That's why after the buzzfactor is going, its not a viable business option, because its impersonal, and biz-ness these days is all about personal interaction. 10,000 or so people now see the 'great idea' from the iconoclast of choice, so hence, the idea isn't the science, the personal interaction is the new hotness.

Why do I think so, b/c no one in the TWITisphere seems to care about that, they're all overexerted to the bone, trying to do more, see more, act more, feel more, MORE MORE MORE --

It's not sustainable in the environment, and its not sustainable to one's soul --

Scoble says it best, when actual work was being done, not the exploitation of work -- and I cut and past --

------

Drama vs. Helpfulness, how I will rebuild a friendship

by Robert Scoble on June 29, 2009

Twitter. It almost means drama. Heck, for those who didn’t catch musician Wil.i.am and Perez Hilton going at it over on Twitter you can get a whif of the kind of things that seem to happen in our real-time entertainment-focused world.

I have drunk too much from that world.

It’s too easy to be nasty. To build alliances, mobs, and use them to hurt people. I know, I’ve been on both the receiving end of that and the giving end of it too.

But I’m going the other way. How can I be helpful?

Yesterday I reminisced about the good old days, when coders ruled the world, not drama. Code isn’t dramatic. It either works, or it doesn’t.

Code doesn’t incite riots. Code doesn’t call people names. Code doesn’t end friendships.

So, I’m leaving the drama world to those who want to use Twitter to riot, to harm, to hurt, or to cause a fight to encourage people to click on their links so they can get the page views and get paid.

Tonight a friend says he’s ending his friendship with me. I don’t care how or why, but I’ll work to be helpful again. I used to be helpful.

I used to help by being excited by seeing the coolest latest startups. I used to help by trying out all the latest technology and knowing more about how to use it than anyone else.

That is still there, but it’s been repressed by the real time world. The drama. The fights.

My friend is noticing the same thing, although he’s articulating it badly. So am I.
It takes two to fight, so now I’m off. How to be helpful?

Well, for one, have you tried Feedly? I’m playing with it and it is now my favorite way to read

Google Reader’s feeds and tell the world about who has the best blogs. Yeah, it only works with Firefox, but most of you should be using that anyway. Would love to help out.

Anyway, earlier today I wrote that with every tweet we have a choice: helpful or hurtful. I’m trying to be helpful. Kick me if I’m not.

i never really thought it would be like this, i know its kinda hard but i'm glad that it is --

idealism has always had a tendancy to bring out the best of the worst of me, today that tug of war rages on --

ever since i learned the expression 'when you point a finger, six get pointed back at you' -- i've made earnest effort to sit back, take 27 deep breaths, take what i think are the shortcomings in others, internalize and reflect on myself the mental notes i've taken of others.

often times i wonder, does that introspection and self enrichment pay off? i think 'what percentage of the population is trying to improve themselves, and what percentage increase are they doing to achieve 'better ground' .5, 5, 15 or 50% --

squandered talent KILLS ME being a c student in high school, passing college by a gray nose hair, and generally speaking working harder than the next fella, often times a lot harder --

squandered time is relative, damn if i'm not finding myself apathetic more often than not the last few weeks, there's an invisible to me mountain i'm pushing against emotionally, one of two things will happen 1- the moutain will reaveal itself to me, or 2 - i'm like hmmm, this just got easier, what happened --

i'm searching for answer one, so i don't have to climb that mountain again --

i'm finding its a great thing to have expections of people, but finding it difficult to factor that in the living a extraordinary life effortlessly.

--
lately my thoughts lack a central theme, i hate it when i read stuff that i can't derive a central them from as much as i hate watching movies like 'snatch' --

undertones will tell the tale of my past to me, or good stories for people that are close to me -- stories that i don't have trouble articulating --

two butterflies tie knots in his stomach they love it when he goes too fast

wind whistles past round oceans of air that will mess up his hair though he no longer cares anymore --

wow, perpetual bad mood only is illeviated by thoughts of --- wow, what's neil hannon doing now, what is the gang from belle and sebastian doing in glasgow, how bout billy bragg, or sondre lerche -- guess they've never been to iraq, i don't think we'll see them on a moral tour here anytime soon.

the heat is UNF*#@%&^ING believeable, this sentiment coming from a native Texas boy -- not to mention the dust, wow, man vs. all sorts of things out here.

onion layers continue to peel off, it's a good thing -- its like the soul's 'fat suite' comes right off -- binge drinking comes to mind --

only two months in, i know coming back i'm going to have a hard time 'adjusting' to civilization. i'm going to see inefficiency everywhere i go, from the showers to the commutes, to the apathy seen in peoples faces, and the general lack of care and consideration for your fellow human.

i keep talks back home short, its great to see and hear friends and family. there are some folks here that never truly accepted they are here, i've come to accept that i'm here for a good while, and i'm having a good go at it.

two nights ago, after a few hours in the heat, i'm laying in bed, cold room, and my body temp is off -- throw on the cover for 30 seconds and i'm hot -- i will have to do something for my poor feet soon too. :(

--
as we inject some capitalism into this nation, here's a quote from stalin of mother russia, maybe my friends would stop calling me a communist one day if i quite quoting brutal dictators --

“The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.”

--
wow, just re-read this, i'm all over the place -- need to recollect

You kept running, You Got Money You Got Fame, Every Morning, I See Your Picture from the Train

Its not about having the right answers, but rather asking the right questions. My question has always been, 'how do you develop unconventional talents in a conventional world?'

-- haven't done it in my magical armchair
-- not in the pubs or on dates
-- not by hanging around people with the same mindset
-- not by knowing everything about everything or wanting to learn everything about anything
-- not even by tuning in to the emerging social scenes online

what's done more for me than all of that in just two months

-- going somewhere where most have guns
-- seeing post apocalyptic vehicles in real life and not just on mad max
-- tied to the plow 84 hours a week
-- hearing the sound of islam 500 yards away and going....'huh?, what is that?'

what i've found is a hard balance between judgement and perception --

-- why does it take moving to the desert to see a right wingers perspective on war?

-- why does it take moving a right winger to watch a polar ice cap fall off to convince climate change --

What I can do back home to be unconventional

-- listen to others
-- know where to take the conversation after inception
-- don't talk passionately about 1/2 of 1 percent of the picture

the world has some problems while we lament on

-- who to blame for it
-- how to sell it
-- the best way to stay distracted

----
Right now I think back to a moment in time, what was going on in my head when I was living in Queen Bee's basement, and Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit album hit the torrents -- O how the times have changed.

And all my senses seem to shine through the day, honey that's okay Yes all my senses seem to shine in the night, honey that's alright

A buddy said what you'll experience on a deployment, 'youll never been happy, sadder, pissed on, pissed off, tired, energetic, etc' in your life, -- I'd say there's a lot of truth to that. Lately is hysterical laughter, the kind that only comes with 42 straight 12 or so hour days.

Random Thoughts --

Things that will change when I get back home (will cross reference in 6 months)

-- will be EXTREMELY happy to see the family

-- change my 20% lazy time to 2% lazy time

-- really work out some tough arrangements on the guitar

-- stay in super shape, eat right'ish

Trancendental Thoughts --

-- if everyone had at least 25k invested in common stock in America (not 401k, etc), there'd be a totally different perception of the economy, market forces and how pub debates are framed. the more you look the more ick' is revealed. classic enslavement that's been going on since the advent of trade.

-- every time i see a mention of tribal bs political talk I gremace. rome burned, the track we're on we're heading to the same fate, same as it ever was

-- oil enslaves us, 'recoveries' are blocked due to the price of oil, and my thoughts, american hedge funds try to drive up the price while opec tries to keep it down -- i'm trying to wrap my head around that one.

-- growth at the expense of mother nature suggests her nudging us off the planet, sustainibility will require A-BOMB project type coordination times 100, I'm ready. i understand what's good for water skiing isn't good for snow skiing, but there's something looming.

Tonight I throw myself into, and out of the red, out of her head she sang

tonight i get the 'twitter and social networking is stupid' tongue and cheek speech. although i think social networking is just a tool (garbage in and garbage out), it is a world flattener.

there's some iraqi officials on twitter, and i can say @yodude here's what i think about the world situation. in a nutshell that's a potential game changer.....if ---

people actually listen -- the key now isn't the idea, or listening, its execution, timing, vision and luck. good ideas are being given and consumed by so many people at this day and age, the part that you can control of a success equation is how bad you want it -- and from what my inclinations show me, people don't want much, they just talk a good game.

to this day i've never really 'wanted anything' bad enough to GRIND it out -- i desperately want to have something to sink my teeth into, until then its calculated decisions about where my life and career are going.

--
lately i've been thinking, i'm a fan of globalization WITHOUT growth. i think about what awareness does to the fertility rate, sustainability and repair (for instance, how long is that plastic smoothie cup going to stay in this man made lake, and how long is the lake going to be around?), and the true keys to the kingdom and happiness --

i've been thinking about how tired 'conventional war' is, and what's next on the horizon....clone wars, etc, etc --

i've been thinking about the hideous and sensationalist 'socialism' debate and how people get caught up in this. could it be that one day we're all so efficient we can cocoon in our chu's and have what we want on demand free of charge and free from work?

i've been thinking about how i want my stock to go up, so i can live on the interest earned --

i've been thinking about a hammock in the back yard in shiner, a really good one, laying in it all day and reading --

i've been thinking how i spend my days back home, and boy are there going to be some changes when i get back --

I'm an Outlaw, I Make my Livin' on the Run, My Life is Lonely, But I was born to Need No One

The desert is small, seeing points of reference from back home can make your disposition do a complete 180 --

Calvanism, a suggestion, something I've always been afraid to approach, but I think here's the time and the place for it -- According to wiki, its The system is best known for its doctrines of predestination and total depravity.

Another tool to make sense of a different reality, why not grind your brain against it.

To balance

Firehouse, the 80's band I've been jammin' back to back to back nights on my jog. After this jaunt through the depths of knowing thyself and self actualization, I hope to end back up at Firehouse, for as if the laws of economics say 'mo money mo problems,' a deep dip into the brain grunge certainly hinders happiness.

Yes, I'm saying it, one day I think I'm just going to like shit with a beat, but its probably going to be Mozart and the gang.

To make a mountain of Your life is just a choice But I never learned enough To listen to the voice that told me always love

for a solid 4-5 hours today i thought about mis-steps in my life, especially with people, things i'd like to make right -- on the myers briggs test, the last letter, based on my mood, i'm either a J (judgemental) or a P (perceptive).

Generally speaking, a more 'ideal human being' is a P. It means observing, cataloguing and all the other stuff that comes with action before thought. It constantly reminds me to think a situation through before making a snap judgement based on my ideology or prejudice.

this short amount of time out here at told me to look the other way in regards to what it petty, and get down to the heart of matters and see what needs renovation.

conflict, discontent, malcontent and other negative connotations don't advance agendas -- my personal agendas tell me to respect, respect, you have to show people respect.

the opportunity costs for negative emotions are enormous, as I get older I need to tear down those walls, all of them, and just let it flow --

its been a torturous day of sorts.

if music be the food of love, then play on

Since arrival -- no movies, but i plan on coming home with 52 music dvds --

they bring 2 hours of smiles to my week, and it kinda makes me feel like i'm travelling without travelling

week 1 - josh ritter Live in Dublin
week 2 - foo fighters live in london (my first bluray disk ever, i must say its impressive)
week 3 - nirvana mtv unplugged in new york
week 4 - springsteen in philly (i think) circa 1975
week 5 - jeff buckley grace tribute (live from all over the place)

see you in another 5 weeks with the next 5

Make crosses from your lovers Throw roses in the rain Waste your summer praying in vain For a savior to rise from these streets

Two prevailing thoughts --

1 -- how a song morphs with your through life, thunder road by springsteen when i was a kid was a jam, in high school i liked the 'you're not a beauty but hey you're allright' lyric, and now there's another peel that comes off that onion, wow sprinsteen is the man -- that's what it takes to sell out stadiums, write timeless tunes like that

2 -- 'deep economy' the book i'm reading says, ok, you're rich, now what? it takes about the perpetual growth models we promote and their implications on society. analysis says 10k a year is the cutoff point for happiness, you make more, the happiness curve goes down.

a hammock and bare feet will come for me sooner than later, that's happiness -- hopefully the abstract notion of true love come true to boot

High on a hillside, trucks are loading everything's ready to roll I sleep in the daytime, I work in the nightime

Colbert is here in Baghdad this week, putting on some insane shows, giving away coveted army coins with the slogan 'heads we win, tales we win' -- The show goes on in front of a palace. Many would say this constitutes an 'America F*ck Yea' attitude as per Team America World Police. All pretty gutsy.

One thing Colbert said, something the account of, 'you guys are great, etc, some of yall have been here 4 or 5 tours, racking up frequent flier miles, enough for a free trip to Afghanistan.' -- Tonight, in the 'gang shower' complex I spoke with a gentleman who was here on his 4th tour. Ahhh, the human element that goes along with all this, families missing their wives and kids, makeups breakups bad moods ambiguity and most of all investment of precious time.

Today it struck me that I'm still sorta on 'leg one' of this marathon, I'd say mile 2 -- Many, or most rather have the 'freedom calculator' here, an excel spreadsheet that calculates to the second when they're able to go home.

Wow, days are hard, but they go relatively quick, relatively..

tonight i'm gonna eat apples and cherries, fruit that reminds me of you, days i spent asleep in the orchard, reminds me of people like you

back to harping on the 'when you're a hammer, all you see is nails' routine ---

back home this is most prevalent in the bar scene. once i went out with a dental crew, i'm sitting in the corner talking to a lady about life while everyone is jammin' to the window to the wall and getting their groove on out there -- people hooking up see other people hooking up, hipsters see hipsters, so on and so forth.

army sees army, art sees art, music sees music, black sees black, white sees white, straight sees straight, gay sees gay, hardly little compromise.

I get about 15 - 20 minutes of american tv per day, fox to msnbc to cnn in the span of 15 minutes, and its all F*CK*NG GARBAGE. How can anyone watch ANY of that and take it with any grain of reality or relevance? Then its back to hammers seeing nails, people seeing and believing what they want to, so they don't have to think.

if you want to play the prophet man you got to learn the lines...compassion

its funny watching the 'foreigners' here pick up American military tradition, especially at the chow hall when the individual slinging rice on your plate says 'here you go SIR' with potency.

prevailing currents of weather are interesting here, today was hot, but a relatively cool circular breeze was blowing.

times get long, i just have to keep in mind i'm running a marathon not a sprint --