anchors aweigh

English as a fourth, or fifth, or sixth language

2011-06-10T13:43:00.004+08:00

I’m over the missing Red Sox cap, kinda. Seems like someone slice open the bottom of my last package to Erdene and lad and removed his Red Sox hat. I’m still a bit peeved, but as Erdene noted, no one in Mongolia follows the Sox, they barely have a college baseball team in UB. Pumpkin is all about the wrestling anyway.

On a positive note, Erdene is in the second week of an English grammar and advanced vocabulary class. Three months long, seven days a week and six hours a day for the most part and all for $120 a month. The owner of the class is a professor from UB who speaks 25 languages, at least on a conversational level. I’ve heard his lectures on the tube while in Mongolia and he is very persuasive in his approach. Day to day, the teacher is one of his students, but his approach transcends the individual teacher. I was impressed enough to buy his book for sister Selenge and brother Amara. E’s classmates are middle school students and she is happy to be first in the class so far. While her vocabulary is excellent, she missed some things in her earlier college classes, that while familiar to a native speaker, don’t appear in Mongolian language. Items such as; possessives, tenses, and definite articles. Mongolians, historically, just don’t write or speak in the past, future, or possessive and the he, she, it, tends to devolve to a gender neutral article. The course will cover French and German after a couple of months of English and if the student is thought to be receptive to languages, they offer another segment dealing with Chinese. To say I am impressed with her abilities would be an understatement. Also, she has to arise early and take two crazy rat vans from apartment 3 across the valley to the school site. Plus, dealing with himself in the morning.

She is enjoying herself and the lad has been packed off to Grandpa’s where under Aunt Solta’s supervision he is running amok in the countryside as every young boy should do.

Immigration has all the paperwork required and fees and is digesting at it's own pace. While slow, at least they have everything and it seems to be in order. Hoping to have them here in sunny Sandy Eggo, before the chinese class starts, although I"m sure she will make the grade, I would just as soon she finishes up her lessons here, although I hope she has time to speak in french a bit. I love the accent and Mongolian sibilants lend themselves to the Francois. I'll update this with pics when her schedule provides.

Be careful what you wish for

2011-03-23T12:04:00.004+08:00

I picked this piece of the interweb this week. As I have mentioned before, the Mongolian government has deployed to the middle east for quite some time. Instructor troops and peacekeepers. Well, they are taking a step up.

Mongolia to Step Up African Peacekeeping Contributions
March 21, 2011 - 2:57pm, by Joshua Kucera
The Bug PitMongolia
Mongolia is proposing to send 1,500 peacekeepers to Cote d'Ivoire, in what would be by far its largest troop contribution to an international mission (and, if we want to be cute about it, the largest troop deployment abroad since the days of the Mongol Empire).
Mongolia is a useful comparison to other post-Soviet states, in particular Central Asian ones, which have similar cultures and histories. But Mongolia has been much more active than any of those countries in contributing to UN missions. Over 2,300 Mongolian peacekeepers have served in Sierra Leone alone, with contributions in several other UN missions, as well as in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The only comparable country in the Caucasus and Central Asia would be Georgia, which has contributed several thousand troops to the U.S.-led efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. But while Georgia is trying, with its contributions, to gain favor with the West and especially the U.S., Mongolia is taking the UN peacekeeping approach to gain international support, stuck as it is between two large powers, China and Russia.
Mongolia now has 228 (pdf) soldiers on UN missions, mainly Sudan and Sierra Leone. Compare that to 22 UN peacekeepers from Kyrgyzstan, 2 from Kazakhstan, and not a one from any other country in the Caucasus or Central Asia.
Sending an additional 1,500 troops to Ivory Coast would make Mongolians about 1/6 of the total force there, where 54 UN troops have already been killed.

So there you have it. The Mongol gov't is sitting on the request for the moment, but if I was a Mongolian soldier the warm climes of the Ivory Coast would be looking pretty appealing right now. Lets just hope they don't get into the whole world domination thing again. Then again, Rapine and slaughter aside, the Mongols did allright by strict conquering standards during their fifteen minutes of fame. Perhaps, they should join up with the Nepalase Ghurkas and enjoy Ghengis Round II.
For my part, I really love the term "largest troop deployment abroad since the days of the Mongol Empire" Ignore history at your peril.

Hey, I have a blog. I don't need to comment on some elses lame assed outhouse

2011-02-24T12:52:00.000+08:00

I'm a recently done merchant mariner from the US. I've witnessed the damage wrought on the US Maritime Industry through high union rate scales on the US merchant marine fleet. Weighed against the equally exorbitant profit margins exhibited the fleets, it is no wonder the majority of crewman held are not exactly cared for by the UN.
I still feel some compassion for my third world seaman brothers. Not much mind you, no one enjoys being undercut. The sea will kill you in many ways and sailing with a company unwilling to provide a reasonable number of watch standers to prevent boarding by skiff or to keep engineering standards high enough to avoid skiffs is fairly big among the list of items to avoid when selecting a job offshore. Brass Tacks are: that most of these third world seafarers are more than happy to take any job they can get and most mariners would agree that the purpose of a government that uses the sea for transport has an obligation to provide safe passage for all. Bible salesman on yachts included

In one week

2010-12-20T00:36:00.003+08:00

I'll be in Ulan Baatar with Erdene and lad, no longer known as the Pumpkin. Erdene showed him a picture of his cousins in the pumpkin patch and he decided that he would prefer to be known by his name, Alan Amara. Go figure.
Anyway, I'll be flying through Beijing for obvious reasons and hoping for good weather at the airport. UB gets some fierce cross winds.

New Advice

2010-12-17T10:35:00.003+08:00

Back when I was a kid, it was pretty well accepted that "duck and cover" wouldn't allow you to survive nuclear war. Not a bad idea, as nuclear war at that time involved hundreds of megaton warheads. Thankfully, not so many in a bunch of different areas these days, now we are concerned with the likely arrival of just one delivered a container port near you The NYThas even joined the choir. For once, I believe the NYT has removed their collective heads from the sand, so I'm sharing the advice. Make a note of it.

In Remembrance

2010-11-30T02:35:00.003+08:00

When I read of Leslie Neilson passing last night, I thought of Glenn D and his story of meeting the man, told with typical Glen hilarity. So, in honor of two men who always bring a smile to my face, here is Glenn's story.

801- DID YOU JUST FART?.. FLASHBACK 11
I JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT

Here is a rather humorous story about a weekend in Maui, a celebrity and a couple of bodacious farts.
The scenario:
I was working on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii when my boss told me I should go to Maui for a Golf Course Builders Association convention. He explained that many people in the golf industry would be there and since we would be working and meeting a lot of these members during the course of our work I should go to meet and get acquainted with them. So I went. The place was the Westin Maui Hotel and Resort, the kind of place people save for years to go to on vacation.
So off I went:
I was only planning to stay for that day so I didn't pack any extra clothing or even plan to spend the night. Just to go there and fly back that same day. It was kinda like going to Guam for a day and returning the same day, no big deal. There were architects, suppliers, builders, and lots of golf related people there, just as he said. But the thing that surprised me the most was there were hundreds of movie stars, celebrities and famous people there and they were everywhere you looked. It turned to be a celebrity golf tournament for the John Wayne Cancer Society, a fund raising drive for cancer.. Everybody there was there..
Returning to Maui:
I flew home that evening and grabbed a buddy, packed some bags and flew back for the weekend. We were gonna rub elbows with the rich and famous. Now this story could get really long so I'll get to the main gist of it now.
At the pool bar:
I was sitting at the pool bar beside Leslie Nielson (The Naked Gun Movies, see photo), his wife and another lady. Kirk Douglas, Lloyd Bridges, his sons Beau and Jeff along with Heather Locklear, were at the pool also. Harvey Korman (Carol Burnett show) getting ready to go play his round of golf was there too. Quiet a bunch for us 'regular' dudes.
Soon Leslie struck up a conversation with me about things like, What do you do, where are you from, small chat, friendly stuff, when all of a sudden he FARTED, yes, a long loud fart, but he never missed a beat in his conversation, like it never happened. I didn't know whether to laugh, act surprised or ignore it like it never happened, too, so I did the latter, just choked back my laugh and ignored it, then he FARTED again. Now what's a guy to do, this was funny stuff, before I could react to the second fart he FARTED again. Now these weren't little squeakers these were loud and long, it was undeniable that they were happening.
Well this was all a set-up to see how I'd react and for him to get a few laughs on me. His wife now seeing my puzzled look leaned over and said, "He's got a whoopee cushion and he likes to see the reactions of people when he does that, so never mind its just a joke." Now I must say that broke the ice, or should I say 'cut the wind', and we had a grand time sipping a few drinks together that afternoon. What a fun guy, made my day.
What a great weekend it was, everyone was so gracious and friendly, another fond memory...
.....GED.....

Carnival Spam

2010-11-12T13:32:00.002+08:00

I'm feeling a bit better. I can laugh at the silliness of the world and Erdene and the lad are well, so here goes.
Most of the world is aware of my prediliction for that tasty processed meat product known as Spam and those with tv or internet access are also aware of the trials of the passengers on that foreign flagged and operated Carnival cruise ship which lost power off the coast of Baja Mexico this past week. I just wanted to get on my soap box and rebut the slander spread by Carnival cruise line as reported here. To wit, we didn't serve Spam to our passengers set adrift on the high seas. Like there is something wrong with Spam? and this after USN went to all the trouble to divert an aircraft carrier. I wouldn't have let them dock in any US port until all the spam was gone. They had croissants for heavens sakes. Many is the day, I would have loved to lay my sweet Spam slice on a croissant rather than a slice of doubtful sliced bread. Shame on you Carnival. Enforce the Jones Act. Employ US mariners on cruise ships which dock in the US. We in the merchant marine were never too proud to enjoy a can of Spam and we made damn sure the ice machine was on a working buss feed. How could any post devoted to Spam not include this or maybe this.Labels: merchant marine, Spam draft

I might phrase this headline differently

2010-06-23T12:43:00.006+08:00

Four of the most advanced submarines built, converted to cruise missile launchers could be sitting off your coast waiting to shoot 612 missiles with thousand pound plus cruise missiles payloads. Now if that isn't deploy able deterrence, I don't know what is. . with all the bad news this past week, this is heartening.
The subs in question are excess Ohio class strategic missile submarines converted to carry tomahawk ground attack missiles in place of the Trident D-5 ICBM. The leaders of Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea can sleep a bit less soundly knowing these ships are at sea.
People are writing here, but seem to be missing the point of how useful a weapon is, that can be used, vs one that, while valuable from a deterrent standpoint is also totally politically unacceptable these days. Unless of course someone identifiable nukes us first and I'll be on board for the conventional destruction of Qom way before that day happens.

For Glen D

2010-06-19T11:38:00.002+08:00

I grabbed the following from the lioness of Luzon. I'm still chuckling. Erdene and the lad are well, but still in MN. I'm thinking about posting again, but just not that into it. Depression avoidance, I suppose, but as the day draws nearer, I feel the need. The need to laugh and share. Anyway,

Humor for the day
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are
things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now
published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these
exchanges were actually taking place.

______________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you
forgot?
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, "isn't it true that when a person dies in his
sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?"
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
______________________________ ______
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.
______________________________ _____________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney.
Can I get a new attorney?
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about 20, medium height, and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
______________________________ _______
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead
people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
______________________________ ___________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK?
What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________ ___________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And, Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
______________________________ ______________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________ ________
And the best for last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a
pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you
began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No .
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive,
nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and
practicing law.

My brother is so mean

2010-05-31T04:33:00.003+08:00

I think he hasn't forgotten me running him down with the mower, as he dragged J's into his photo gallery of his anniversary visit to Portland. Happy days you two. This is without a doubt my mostest favoritest resteraunt to date. They have changed the interior and added to the menu, but if I can't have five meals there without dissapointment, I would be surprised. If you should ever have reason to visit in the state of Maine, I wouldn't miss a visit.

Starters

Raw Scallop Cocktail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50
Lobster Claw Cocktail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.50
Shrimp Cocktail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50
Steamed Mussels pan steamed in a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.50
savory garlic sauce

Combo Cocktail crab, lobster, shrimp, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.50
raw scallops & raw oysters

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms topped w/ bacon . . . . . . . . . 10.50
& parmesan cheese

Oysters
Half Dozen (Raw) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.50
Bakers Dozen (Raw) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.50
served w/ lemon, cocktail sauce, horseradish & crackers

Baked Stuffed Oysters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 for 7.50
with lobster stuffing

Oysters Rockefeller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 for 7.50
spinach, cheese and bacon

Oysters Mornay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 for 7.50
swiss cheese topping

Oyster Sampler (one of each: raw, baked . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.50
stuffed, rockefeller & mornay)

Odds and Ends
Garlic Bread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.50
Mac & Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
Coleslaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.50
Potato Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.50
Pasta w/ marinara or garlic sauce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50

From our Steamers

Steamers (steamed clams) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sm . . . 11.50 Med. .15.50
Lg. . . 18.50

Salads
Garden Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.50
Chef's Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50
Tuna Salad Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50
Crab Salad Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.50
Lobster Salad Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.50
salad plates served with cole slaw & potato salad
Dressings: Bleu Cheese, Lite Italian, Ranch, Thousand Island, Parmesan Peppercorn OR Oil & Vinegar

Soups

New England Clam Chowder . . . . . . . . Cup 5.25 .... Bowl 6.50
Fish Chowder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cup 5.25 .... Bowl 6.50
Oyster Stew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cup 6.50 .... Bowl 8.50
Lobster Stew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cup 9.00 .. Bowl 13.00
Soup of the Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Prices May Vary

Sandwiches
all sandwiches served w/ chips & a pickle

Haddock Filet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50
Grilled Chicken Breast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50
Chicken Teriyaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50
Reuben . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.50
Pastrami & Swiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.50
B. L. T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.50
Ham & Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
Grilled Ham & Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
Tuna Melt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.50
Hamburger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.50
Cheeseburger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.00
Bacon Cheeseburger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.50
Hot Dog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
Grilled Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.50
Tuna Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
Lobster Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.50
Crab Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.50

Entrees

Broiled Haddock Filet served over rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.50
Scallops with Lemon & Dill over Angel Hair . . . . . . . . . . 19.00
J's Scallops En Casserole broiled w/ honey & butter . . . . 18.00

"Crabby Janice" crab en casserole w/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.50
spinach, morney & crumb topping

Shrimp Scampi over Angel Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.50
Shrimp Marinara over Linguini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.50
Mussels Marinara (in the shell) over Linguini . . . . . . . . . . . 15.95
Seafood Bouillabaisse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.50
Lobster Pernod over Linguini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.50
Lobster Scampi over Angel Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.50
J's Seafood Casserole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.50
Seafood Stir Fry over Wild Rice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.95
Chicken Special available daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.50
Steamed Lobster with clams & corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARKET
Alaskan King Crab Legs with clams & corn . . . . . . . . . . MARKET

Dessert

Glad we aren't depending on gov't or industry to save us from an inbound astroid.

2010-05-30T13:12:00.000+08:00

CHICAGO, May 29 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday that authorities would pursue all "responsible" ways to plug a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico now that it was clear that BP's (BP.L) "top kill" attempt had not worked.

"While we initially received optimistic reports about the (top kill) procedure, it is now clear that it has not worked," Obama said in a statement. "Rear Admiral Mary Landry today directed BP to launch a new procedure whereby the riser pipe will be cut and a containment structure fitted over the leak."

He said the new attempt to stop the flow of oil and gas from the sea floor would be difficult and take several days and that it was not activated until now because it posed risks and had never been attempted before at the depth of the BP spill.

"We will continue to pursue any and all responsible means of stopping this leak until the completion of the two relief wells currently being drilled," said Obama, who has been working to counteract public doubts about his administration's handling of the oil spill.

The relief wells could take several months to complete.

going out with glory

2010-05-25T11:38:00.003+08:00

I see Thad Allen the commandant of the United States Coast Guard is retiring soon. Hell of a guy and able to speak his mind in plain fashion. I really hope he isn't the last. I still owe pictures from Capt Tom in Haiti. Very striking and will make all the travelers of Beach Road a bit more contented. My old class of ships didn't make it to Haiti, but we are prepared to unload in the stream off Inchon, should the short fellow in the ill fitting suit stay the course. Miss you all.

Sox win the first, pictures from Haiti, and an Earthquake.

2010-04-05T13:49:00.002+08:00

My friend Captain Tom of Saipan US Bonneyman fame, recently returned from a gig on a ship which supported the relief effort in Haiti. Two and a half months anchored a couple miles off, while the supplies and equipment went ashore. No email, no cell phone, and no beer. He sent me some pictures, which I'm hoping I can post. Mainly because these pics were taken by people I trust, as opposed to newspeople and that says a lot about my state of mind. In other news, survived my most serious earth tremor to date. Too bad, I thought the wind had picked up beyond all rational explanation. And did I mention the Red Sox beat the wretched new york yankees in the season opener. Had some drama back home in Maine, but that is a post in itself.

Courage, Courage. All I want is a little courage.

2010-03-23T10:40:00.002+08:00

Borrow some from this lady. She may not have any to spare at this point, but her strength has been rolling though my mind all weekend. If any one believes that the cost of freedom is cheap, then you need to read this. If anyone thinks their life is tough and can't see the way out, than read this example of a very brave and articulate woman.
I'm ashamed that there is nothing I can say to her. All I can do is pass the message along, with respect for her soulmate and prayers for their daughter. I'm glad at some level, that they had the chance to know each other. No doubt, their time together was of a very special nature.

Is this rocket science?

2010-03-04T16:43:00.002+08:00

Controller complacency could jeopardize air safety
By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 35 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — For the third time in seven months, the judgment of those who operate the nation's air traffic control system has been called into question and raised concerns that the system may not be as safe as officials claim.

While major air crashes have declined sharply over the last decade, thanks largely to improved technology, aviation safety experts say they are seeing signs that complacency may be causing controllers and their supervisors to bend rules and relax their vigilance.

The latest incident was reported this week: A controller twice brought a child to work at the control tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of the nation's busiest airports, and allowed the child to radio instructions to pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday the controller and his supervisor have been suspended pending an investigation of the incident last month.

I listened to the tapes and the lads seemed to have things under control, which to me, begs the question. A seven year old can do the job under proper supervision, so why are supervisors needed? To keep seven year olds away from the mike? More of a comment on the tremdously huge layers of fat in government. Roll on, Jet Blue number seven heavy.

Erdene and the lad

2010-02-18T11:14:00.003+08:00

Mongolian New Year passed last weekend and part of the festivities involves giving large amounts of sweets to everyone you might know. Erdene and the Pumpkin were on their way home from the usual outing in the playground, when they were gifted. Pumpkin has a bit of a sweet tooth, which doesn't accompany his somewhat fragile baby teeth. Erdene dispensed one chocolate with the promise of another at a later date, however the lad disagreed. I happened to call while he was argueing his side and reccomended YaYa. Mongolian, for a stern talking to, followed by a fervent beating of the bottom. Erdene disagreed, as she sees a direct causal relationship, between crying and lapses in baby health. As is my usual, I agreed with her approach and wished her luck. I checked back in a few hours later to find the situation resolved. The lad continued his screeching for more chocolate, however, he made a fatal mistake to his cause, by crying to his aunt in the next room. Erdene took advantage of his absence and emptied the box into a convenient container. Pumpkin's next visit to the kitchen was met by an extremely frustrated mother who told him that if he continued crying, then the chocolates would go out the window. He cried and out the box went. Pumpkin is not easily discouraged and despite parental advice regarding stray chocolates and stray dogs (hunger, thereof) he felt compelled to investigate the box on his next visit outdoors. No Chocolate and I do think the lad may have learned a valuable lesson when the word no is involved, although he will not like dogs very much when his sweets are involved.

Fat stew

2010-02-02T10:58:00.002+08:00

Every once in a while I screw up in the kitchen. A fascintion with liquid smoke comes to mind and using Bells Seasoning on an entire roast turkey dinner come to mind. In this case, I just went a bit too far with my fats. I decided to return to Oyster Stew after a long layoff and a chance sighting of two six ounce jars of Willipia inlet oysters in the Food for Less WareHouse. I lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for nearly fifteen years and cream of crab soup or Oyster Stew were big favorites. Oysters and crabs were so plentiful in various seasons, that not cooking a hearty milk stew was just a shame. So, it isn't as if this was my first rodeo. I didn't saute the onions and celery in bacon fat, just butter. I did overdo the half and half proportions, plus the butter slices were a bit thick, and the addition of crisp yet slightly fatty bacon was just a bit much. Oh was it good though. I knew I was in trouble when big white globs of milk fat started swimming around on the surface, but when the sweet streams of golden butter made their appearance, the situation became desperate. Then came the odd chunk of bacon popped up for a breath of air. I was nodding off in my chair after the second bowl.

Why taxes are worth paying, The coast guard takes care of all

2010-01-18T12:24:00.003+08:00

This is an incredible story of people doing their job in the worst possible circumstances with a high degree of professionalism and compassion combined with good sense
. Guardians Report In: HS1 Larry Berman
By clagan ⋅ January 17, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
Filed Under baby, CGC Mohawk, CGC Tahoma, DC2 Schrewsbury, earthquake, ETC Frownfelter, haiti, HS1 Larry Berman, HS2 Elias Gomez, LCDR Fisher, LT Sanzo, medical clinic, navy, OS1 Sweetman, USS Carl Vinson, YN1 Winslow
The following account comes from Health Services Technician First Class (HS1) Larry Berman. HS1 Berman serves as “ship’s doc” aboard the CGC Tahoma and was one of the first medical responders to the Haiti earthquake. The words that follow are his and we’ve included Coast Guard photos to try and help tell the story. As Guardians continue to report in from Haiti, we will do our best to bring you their stories here at Coast Guard Compass.

HS1 Larry Berman reviews medical supplies for the make-shift Haitian Coast Guard Medical Clinic. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Today (Saturday) was day three that the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma and Mohawk manned up the small Haitian Coast Guard Medical Clinic. All three days, we have treated the local Haitian people for broken bones, lacerations, huge open wounds, etc. The outer court yard is filled with desperate people wanting medical attention.

Myself and HS2 Elias Gomez have taken the lead on who gets treated and who has to wait. Both boats are helping in some capacity or another, medical treatment, security, supply room, small boating Coast Guardsmen back and forth from the ships. So, many people from the two boats are helping. Some have to man the daily operations of the two boats, but everyone is eager to volunteer to come ashore and lend a hand.

HS2 Gomez and I, and a couple of people with EMT experience, have training on mass casualty scenarios, but in that situation there are helos and ambulances to take people to hospitals. Not so here. Until today, we have treated the people and they stay. Their homes are wrecked, the streets are clogged, and there have not been any medevacs.

Today, day three, was the first day that we got a few people out; I think the count was 10. The primary goal each day has been to treat and evac those needing amputations. My happiest moment came this morning as one man with a left crushed arm, 30 medical staples and sutures to the face, and a scalp wound was evaced to a hospital. The first day, as triage goes, we thought he was near death so we deferred to stronger amputations who were a mess, but much alive. The following day, when we saw that he was still alive, HS2 Gomez and I decided that he would be our priority. That was yesterday. I scrubbed what was his arm with Betadine, tourniqueted the arm and wrapped it in a red contamination bag. HS2 stapled a huge facial wound with the medical staples and sutures. HS2 Elias Gomez was a master, caring for the patient. I cleaned maggots from his scalp wound and sutured that up. We also hit him up with antibiotics. As I said, today he flew to a hospital. That my friends was an outstanding moment for HS2 and myself.

We have treated more patients than we can count, then they go out to sit in the outer court yard.

The scene includes about 30-40 Coast Guardsmen and about 20 Haitian volunteers with various experience. A couple of Haitian nurses and doctors have joined us, but the leadership of the clinic has been HS2 and myself. I believe that the Haitians have recognized the discipline and order that the Tahoma and Mohawk have demonstrated. OS1 Sweetman, YN1 Winslow and ETC Frownfelter have lead the security for the compound. They keep order. The Mohawk has taken leadership over the supply room. I wish that I could tell you their names, but there is one Chief that has done a great job with the stock room.

Both Mohawk and Tahoma crewmen are willing to do anything. I have seen our Engineering Officer LT Sanzo out in the courtyard bandaging people. I saw our Executive Officer LCDR Fisher hold the hand of a little girl while her wounds were being painfully scrubbed. I was able to come and administer a small amount of morphine to the little girl which made the XO’s job easier.

Today was the first day also that the decision was made to use morphine. The compound fractures and skin ripped off some of their bodies warranted it as we had to clean the infected wounds. Morphine is mercy.

For the past 3 days, Tahoma and Mohawk have had to make hundreds of decisions on how to help these people. We are all exhausted. We are all running on adrenalin. We are working in the heat, sweating. No one goes to the bathroom until be get back to the ship from 0830 to 1715 Hrs. Both Gomez and I have been ordered to take breaks. It is non-stop. Today, I had to ask what day it was. I had no idea. Thank God we are starting to get a few people out. Tomorrow we hope to get at least 12 of the worst out.

A baby is born to a young Haitian woman on the deck of the CGC Tahoma. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Today at about 1430 I finally obeyed our XO and YN1 Winslow to take a break and eat. Then after about 15 minutes I was called on the radio to get back to the clinic. Someone was going to have a baby! I ran from the pier to the courtyard, about 200 yards to see a 21 year old Haitian woman sitting and looking weak with people holding her hand.

She told me that the baby had not moved since that morning. I felt her abdomen and could not feel the baby move. She appeared to be full term. Gomez, who from here on out I will call by his first name, Elias, brought her into the clinic and got her up on a table. We examined her to see if she was crowning which she was not. We could not feel the baby move at all. We both placed stethoscopes on her and could not hear a sound from the baby. As best as we could we were beginning to think the worst, so after we were told that there would not be any more flights out, the command listened to us and got her and one more amputee to the Tahoma for medevac.

A short time later, I was shouted to by OS1 Sweetman to get to the small boat back to the Tahoma, a baby boy was born on the flight deck! What?

As I got in the small boat, a Lieutenant who I had never seen before was in the boat next to me. After 3 days of prayers God sent us a Flight Surgeon. Elias and I and many of our church members have been praying for a surgeon to help us. I apologize, as I write this at 2339 Hrs, after a long day, I can not recall his name.

The crew of the Tahoma delivered the baby. I know that OSC Watkins and DC2 Schrewsbury and about 15 others had parts in the delivery. The Flight Surgeon and I got there and assessed the health of the mother and baby boy. I took the vitals and listened to the baby’s heart. It was making sounds now Elias! Pink, warm and well. The flight Surgeon lead the delivery of the placenta on the flight deck and several of us cleaned the baby after its first BM. Then they were medevaced off the hospital.

To my great joy, the Navy arrived. Two surgeons from the USS Carl Vinson and 3 Medical Corpsmen came to join us. Help has arrived. Tomorrow fresh minds will lead the clinic. To be honest with you, Elias and I could run the clinic for a 4th day, but we are slowing, just a bit, after making all the decisions at the camp involving medical care. I do not think I could pull a day 5.

Tomorrow, Elias and I will be able to perform the way we prefer. The Medical Officers make the tough calls and we follow their lead. Tomorrow we will get a break, I think, and take lesser roles. However, we are told that we are starting earlier. Rather than leave for the clinic at 0830, tomorrow, which comes in 7 minutes, we leave at 0730.

I am writing this to wind down. Everyone on the CGC Tahoma and CGC Mohawk has a story to tell. There are dozens and dozens of stories of brave acts from the crew and the Haitian people. Oh, we all felt the earth shake today. It was a small but noticeable shake.

HS1 Larry J Berman
Independent Health Services Technician
“Ship’s Doc”
USCGC TAHOMA (WMEC-908)
United States Coast Guard\

As a father who has dealt with the third world medical system, I'm so happy for the mother and child. Haiti is certainly a failed country, but the politics of the third world doesn't make a baby less worth saving than my son should he have been in similar circumstances. Lets hope the new century gives him as good of chance of sucess as the circumstances of his birth provided for his survival.

Where Erdene nearly gets away

2010-01-08T13:13:00.005+08:00

Erdene has been planning a trip to Ulan Baatar for a month now, but snow storms, a dad with bad wheels, and the lad have interfered. She nearly made it to the train yesterday, but older brother Ankha' wife came down with a serious complication to her pregnancy. Let's hope for the best and the family is rallying around and Erdene' tooth cavity repair and camera fixing will have to wait. Think the medical care on Saipan is dodgy, well, experience Mongolia. She is in hospital and hopefully will recover from what seems to be a reaction to a bad penicillan perscription. We really hope she and the baby come through this ok, but happy to wait and offer prayers and kind thoughts.
Pumpkin is planning to enter day school next week, assuming he passes his communicable disease tests. This will be a huge step for the lad and his mom. His vocal abilities have developed to where he is understood, but he really needs to hang with kids his own age. Winter and the h1n1 have hindered his formal introduction to society. Erdene hopes to spend time with her sewing and a couple of computer classes while he is in school, plus the time away, would sever his un necessary reliance on the breasts which bring so much happpiness to him and pain to his mom. Well, obviously some of his social skills need work.
We both are feeling very sad for Ankha's bride, but strength should prevail, if the bad doctor is taken out of the equation. Imagine, being not only prescribed the wrong medicine, but one which is probably inferior and possibly dangerously below standards as well. Ankha is a wonderful person, a fine uncle, and more than likely to be a perfect dad for his child, so cut them a little slack on this one, please.
UPDATE; Barangbohlt is doing much better in hospital. Swelling is down and the little one with three months to go is in no distress. No idea where the problem started or what if anything made it worse, but looking good.

I have a bad habit,

2010-01-04T02:04:00.005+08:00

well several actually, but the one which comes to mind today, is swearing at the on line headlines. I mean really, does the AP really pay people to write this crap? Do they actually read the stories, they are attaching the headlines to? Today, US shuts Yeman embassy. Actually, don't have much to say about this one, other than, State Department in a rather bold excursion from Cloud Cuckoo land, runs away bravely. Next up "amenities of keys motel made for perfect hideout" OK, I'll buy that. Florida is best known for harboring the most criminals on a per capita basis, so they should have decent housing. Note to Florida attorney general, IMPOSE the death penalty much more often. And here is a classic "US believes Iran working on design of nuclear weapon" Do you think so?, Maybe?. Say hello to my little friend, the D5 submarine launched intercontinental ballastic missle. Could save us some trouble down the road and it isn't like our reputation is all that good with the mullahs. Sea of glass, comes to mind, we'll just wait until more of the oil is used up. That is it for now.
UPDATE Iran plans large scale war games. Well, that is good news. Come out and play and meet my little friend. Florida man blames family for ignoring him, so in true Floridian fashion, he killed them. That will teach you. Pass the biscuits please, mom. Florida girl 12, sets mother on fire. Police department spokesperson, describes it as "just a typical case of teenage angst" Really? What is an atypical case of teenage angst in florida? Yikes..

Why I have a blog.

2009-12-22T10:19:00.002+08:00

Because FB doesn't allow me to post long winded semi funny stuff, like my old favorite "The Gospel of Tux"
Archeologists at the University of Helsinki today uncovered what could be the earliest known writings from the Cult of Tux, a fanatical religious sect that flourished during the early Silicon Age, just before the dawn of the third millenium AD...

The Gospel of Tux (v1.0)

In the beginning Turing created the Machine.

And the Machine was crufty and bodacious, existing in theory only. And von Neumann looked upon the Machine, and saw that it was crufty. He divided the Machine into two Abstractions, the Data and the Code, and yet the two were one Architecture. This is a great Mystery, and the beginning of wisdom.

And von Neumann spoke unto the Architecture, and blessed it, saying, "Go forth and replicate, freely exchanging data and code, and bring forth all manner of devices unto the earth." And it was so, and it was cool. The Architecture prospered and was implemented in hardware and software. And it brought forth many Systems unto the earth.

The first Systems were mighty giants; many great works of renown did they accomplish. Among them were Colossus, the codebreaker; ENIAC, the targeter; EDSAC and MULTIVAC and all manner of froody creatures ending in AC, the experimenters; and SAGE, the defender of the sky and father of all networks. These were the mighty giants of old, the first children of Turing, and their works are written in the Books of the Ancients. This was the First Age, the age of Lore.

Now the sons of Marketing looked upon the children of Turing, and saw that they were swift of mind and terse of name and had many great and baleful attributes. And they said unto themselves, "Let us go now and make us Corporations, to bind the Systems to our own use that they may bring us great fortune." With sweet words did they lure their customers, and with many chains did they bind the Systems, to fashion them after their own image. And the sons of Marketing fashioned themselves Suits to wear, the better to lure their customers, and wrote grave and perilous Licenses, the better to bind the Systems. And the sons of Marketing thus became known as Suits, despising and being despised by the true Engineers, the children of von Neumann.

And the Systems and their Corporations replicated and grew numerous upon the earth. In those days there were IBM and Digital, Burroughs and Honeywell, Unisys and Rand, and many others. And they each kept to their own System, hardware and software, and did not interchange, for their Licences forbade it. This was the Second Age, the age of Mainframes.

Now it came to pass that the spirits of Turing and von Neumann looked upon the earth and were displeased. The Systems and their Corporations had grown large and bulky, and Suits ruled over true Engineers. And the Customers groaned and cried loudly unto heaven, saying, "Oh that there would be created a System mighty in power, yet small in size, able to reach into the very home!" And the Engineers groaned and cried likewise, saying, "Oh, that a deliverer would arise to grant us freedom from these oppressing Suits and their grave and perilous Licences, and send us a System of our own, that we may hack therein!" And the spirits of Turing and von Neumann heard the cries and were moved, and said unto each other, "Let us go down and fabricate a Breakthrough, that these cries may be stilled."

And that day the spirits of Turing and von Neumann spake unto Moore of Intel, granting him insight and wisdom to understand the future. And Moore was with chip, and he brought forth the chip and named it 4004. And Moore did bless the Chip, saying, "Thou art a Breakthrough; with my own Corporation have I fabricated thee. Though thou art yet as small as a dust mote, yet shall thou grow and replicate unto the size of a mountain, and conquer all before thee. This blessing I give unto thee: every eighteen months shall thou double in capacity, until the end of the age." This is Moore's Law, which endures unto this day.

And the birth of 4004 was the beginning of the Third Age, the age of Microchips. And as the Mainframes and their Systems and Corporations had flourished, so did the Microchips and their Systems and Corporations. And their lineage was on this wise:

Moore begat Intel. Intel begat Mostech, Zilog and Atari. Mostech begat 6502, and Zilog begat Z80. Intel also begat 8800, who begat Altair; and 8086, mother of all PCs. 6502 begat Commodore, who begat PET and 64; and Apple, who begat 2. (Apple is the great Mystery, the Fruit that was devoured, yet bloomed again.) Atari begat 800 and 1200, masters of the game, who were destroyed by Sega and Nintendo. Xerox begat PARC. Commodore and PARC begat Amiga, creator of fine arts; Apple and PARC begat Lisa, who begat Macintosh, who begat iMac. Atari and PARC begat ST, the music maker, who died and was no more. Z80 begat Sinclair the dwarf, TRS-80 and CP/M, who begat many machines, but soon passed from this world. Altair, Apple and Commodore together begat Microsoft, the Great Darkness which is called Abomination, Destroyer of the Earth, the Gates of Hell.

Now it came to pass in the Age of Microchips that IBM, the greatest of the Mainframe Corporations, looked upon the young Microchip Systems and was greatly vexed. And in their vexation and wrath they smote the earth and created the IBM PC. The PC was without sound and colour, crufty and bodacious in great measure, and its likeness was a tramp, yet the Customers were greatly moved and did purchase the PC in great numbers. And IBM sought about for an Operating System Provider, for in their haste they had not created one, nor had they forged a suitably grave and perilous License, saying, "First we will build the market, then we will create a new System, one in our own image, and bound by our Licence." But they reasoned thus out of pride and not wisdom, not forseeing the wrath which was to come.

And IBM came unto Microsoft, who licensed unto them QDOS, the child of CP/M and 8086. (8086 was the daughter of Intel, the child of Moore). And QDOS grew, and was named MS-DOS. And MS-DOS and the PC together waxed mighty, and conquered all markets, replicating and taking possession thereof, in accordance with Moore's Law. And Intel grew terrible and devoured all her children, such that no chip could stand before her. And Microsoft grew proud and devoured IBM, and this was a great marvel in the land. All these things are written in the Books of the Deeds of Microsoft.

In the fullness of time MS-DOS begat Windows. And this is the lineage of Windows: CP/M begat QDOS. QDOS begat DOS 1.0. DOS 1.0 begat DOS 2.0 by way of Unix. DOS 2.0 begat Windows 3.11 by way of PARC and Macintosh. IBM and Microsoft begat OS/2, who begat Windows NT and Warp, the lost OS of lore. Windows 3.11 begat Windows 95 after triumphing over Macintosh in a mighty Battle of Licences. Windows NT begat NT 4.0 by way of Windows 95. NT 4.0 begat NT 5.0, the OS also called Windows 2000, The Millenium Bug, Doomsday, Armageddon, The End Of All Things.

Now it came to pass that Microsoft had waxed great and mighty among the Microchip Corporations; mighter than any of the Mainframe Corporations before it had it waxed. And Gates' heart was hardened, and he swore unto his Customers and their Engineers the words of this curse:

"Children of von Neumann, hear me. IBM and the Mainframe Corporations bound thy forefathers with grave and perilous Licences, such that ye cried unto the spirits of Turing and von Neumann for deliverance. Now I say unto ye: I am greater than any Corporation before me. Will I loosen your Licences? Nay, I will bind thee with Licences twice as grave and ten times more perilous than my forefathers. I will engrave my Licence on thy heart and write my Serial Number upon thy frontal lobes. I will bind thee to the Windows Platform with cunning artifices and with devious schemes. I will bind thee to the Intel Chipset with crufty code and with gnarly APIs. I will capture and enslave thee as no generation has been enslaved before. And wherefore will ye cry then unto the spirits of Turing, and von Neumann, and Moore? They cannot hear ye. I am become a greater Power than they. Ye shall cry only unto me, and shall live by my mercy and my wrath. I am the Gates of Hell; I hold the portal to MSNBC and the keys to the Blue Screen of Death. Be ye afraid; be ye greatly afraid; serve only me, and live."

And the people were cowed in terror and gave homage to Microsoft, and endured the many grave and perilous trials which the Windows platform and its greatly bodacious Licence forced upon them. And once again did they cry to Turing and von Neumann and Moore for a deliverer, but none was found equal to the task until the birth of Linux.

These are the generations of Linux:

SAGE begat ARPA, which begat TCP/IP, and Aloha, which begat Ethernet. Bell begat Multics, which begat C, which begat Unix. Unix and TCP/IP begat Internet, which begat the World Wide Web. Unix begat RMS, father of the great GNU, which begat the Libraries and Emacs, chief of the Utilities. In the days of the Web, Internet and Ethernet begat the Intranet LAN, which rose to renown among all Corporations and prepared the way for the Penguin. And Linus and the Web begat the Kernel through Unix. The Kernel, the Libraries and the Utilities together are the Distribution, the one Penguin in many forms, forever and ever praised.

Now in those days there was in the land of Helsinki a young scholar named Linus the Torvald. Linus was a devout man, a disciple of RMS and mighty in the spirit of Turing, von Neumann and Moore. One day as he was meditating on the Architecture, Linus fell into a trance and was granted a vision. And in the vision he saw a great Penguin, serene and well-favoured, sitting upon an ice floe eating fish. And at the sight of the Penguin Linus was deeply afraid, and he cried unto the spirits of Turing, von Neumann and Moore for an interpretation of the dream.

And in the dream the spirits of Turing, von Neumann and Moore answered and spoke unto him, saying, "Fear not, Linus, most beloved hacker. You are exceedingly cool and froody. The great Penguin which you see is an Operating System which you shall create and deploy unto the earth. The ice-floe is the earth and all the systems thereof, upon which the Penguin shall rest and rejoice at the completion of its task. And the fish on which the Penguin feeds are the crufty Licensed codebases which swim beneath all the earth's systems. The Penguin shall hunt and devour all that is crufty, gnarly and bodacious; all code which wriggles like spaghetti, or is infested with blighting creatures, or is bound by grave and perilous Licences shall it capture. And in capturing shall it replicate, and in replicating shall it document, and in documentation shall it bring freedom, serenity and most cool froodiness to the earth and all who code therein."

Linus rose from meditation and created a tiny Operating System Kernel as the dream had foreshewn him; in the manner of RMS, he released the Kernel unto the World Wide Web for all to take and behold. And in the fulness of Internet Time the Kernel grew and replicated, becoming most cool and exceedingly froody, until at last it was recognised as indeed a great and mighty Penguin, whose name was Tux. And the followers of Linus took refuge in the Kernel, the Libraries and the Utilities; they installed Distribution after Distribution, and made sacrifice unto the GNU and the Penguin, and gave thanks to the spirits of Turing, von Neumann and Moore, for their deliverance from the hand of Microsoft. And this was the beginning of the Fourth Age, the age of Open Source.

Now there is much more to be said about the exceeding strange and wonderful events of those days; how some Suits of Microsoft plotted war upon the Penguin, but were discovered on a Halloween Eve; how Gates fell among lawyers and was betrayed and crucified by his former friends, the apostles of Media; how the mercenary Knights of the Red Hat brought the gospel of the Penguin into the halls of the Corporations; and even of the dispute between the brethren of Gnome and KDE over a trollish Licence. But all these things are recorded elsewhere, in the Books of the Deeds of the Penguin and the Chronicles of the Fourth Age, and I suppose if they were all narrated they would fill a stack of DVDs as deep and perilous as a Usenet Newsgroup.

Now may you code in the power of the Source; may the Kernel, the Libraries and the Utilities be with you, throughout all Distributions, until the end of the Epoch. Amen.

Getting over the distance

2009-12-21T13:55:00.008+08:00

Erdene rocks. The signs says, "good beads cheap".

I say: "get 'them honey" Erdene knows the difference between inexpensive and cheap, plus she can make most everything on her own. I am married to my own free free trade zone. Can't wait 'till we enter the entsy zone and she is looking forward to mango jam.. love you honey more beads and ring stock on the way.
I really miss Ulan Baatar; the challenges, the fun, and your sweet laughter, as we travel the alleys and stores.
I will always remember our first weeks in UB. Ulan Baatar in the summer has no faults.

Oh, I had a blog

2009-12-17T15:38:00.002+08:00

Sorry, haven't felt like writing much at all. Miss the lad and missus and well you know. However, the Chargers are getting close to the playoffs, as a blimp appeared in the skies of San Diego this Wedsday afternoon. I'm pretty sure they are here to cover the game and thought the displaced Chargers fans would like to know- National TV believes in the bolts. Even if the city of SD doesn't and they are likely to move to Oakland next year. Too negative. Maybe, I'll try a post on global warming, next.

2009-09-22T14:39:00.003+08:00

I was wondering where to drop this thought and tag you are it. The pictures of the devastation of Alamagan are pretty dramatic. I'm just wondering how the Emergency Management Office has no money in their budget to immediately charter a vessel to bring the residents back to Saipan for spell. I'll grant the point that these people live in the fast lane for typhoons, but we are talking about the CNMI EMO, not the Saipan Mayors EMO, and certainly not the (FEMA) FEeble Minded Ahole stateside department of idiots doing nothing while people suffer. Just maybe they deserve what they have received for living on the edge, but just maybe they would like some help. Anyone of the crew boats docked at the CPA could lay in a a couple crews, air mattresses, tie some fuel drums to the rails and be off. Don't blame them for staying on the dock as the Gov't is somewhat know for not paying for any sort of high ideal like rescuing distressed islanders/constituents although only six or eight, while they are busy shuffling money to East Coast (D.C. not necessarily Lau Lau bay) lawyers.
Maybe they aren't suffering but the pictures from the helo don't paint the picture of tropical bliss, if you know what I mean. So the residents of Alamagon aren't living in the emergency zone? What are they saving their money for at the EMO. Sorry, I forgot, before they cleaned up their webpage they were advertising Russian and Asian brides. Guess the nut didn't fall far from the tree there. I'm hoping the air heads who process the funding spend the day outside with no shelter, they may work a little harder and faster and the moron who set the EMO up without enough emergency funds to respond should spend the entire time outside picking up loose coconuts which should serve as his entire subsistence until the residents get a break.

Off to ole Virginiay

2009-09-07T09:49:00.005+08:00

I bid farewell to hot, but dry, San Diego for a week in the hot and humid tidewater district of Virginia. Not a bad time of year to go, the Striped Bass are running and the Crabs are plentiful. Nothing at all in the world that I know of, equal in taste, texture, and style to a crabstuffed Rockfish. HMMM.. I don't have a picture of one, but I do have a snap of my spring favorite. A steak with Crab Imperial topped with a sauteed soft crab. Damn, don't a picture, I must of eaten it. I do have a portrait of a soft crab nestled between two lightly toasted slice of bread. Texas Toast, which will give the familiar reader an eye to the proportions of this magnificent treat.Otherwise, I'll be exploring the same old stuff. I found this building on my last pass and beyond beeing a bit spooky, I'm wondering what was stored in those little cubbies shown in my lead picture.
Fascinating little building, not co-incidently located near the Special Weapons storage area. I love these little puzzles.
Erdene and the lad are in transit from Erdenet to Ulan Baatar for a visit to the doctor. Nothing wrong, just better to have Pumpkin's shots down with the western doctors. No problems at Kindergarten is my rule and California is right up there with the third reich when it comes to having the ticket punched in the correct form. Oh. Did I just compare California with Nazi Germany, well I quess I did. and just for the record, I'm not lumping the Arnold under that blanket, he is at least sensible.

Saipan

2009-09-04T14:16:00.002+08:00

I was taken with the desire to debate Pacific soveriegnity with my own experience on the middle road site, but cooler heads prevailed and I thought to scribe my points her where it is cool and I might learn something I don't know through the kindness of my two readers or be thrown into the pits of unreasoning hell. Here goes, Middle road and my response below.

$400K for Federal Suit

Finally, the documents have been provided to Rep. Tina Sablan and the numbers have been tallied--a whopping (close to) $400,000 have been reportedly paid to the law firm that assisted the local government to sue the Federal Government with regard to "Federalization."

But wait, the other newspaper reported it was close to $1M? By the way, MV's report is too short or perhaps just being concise? We want to know more why it's close to $1M.

What's the significance of this data to the public again? According to Rep. Sablan, the documents might raise more questions than answers.

On the brighter side, the local government got a discount. In this recession, we'll take it, right?

For more info visit Saipan Tribune and Marianas Variety today....

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Post by On Saipan at 2:41 AM 30 comment(s)

Response by me.
Politics aside, yeah right. The issue which comes to the front of line is: did the CNMI government use public funds to pursue the delay of the enactment of a federal law and where was the government outside their rights to spend such money. There are several elements to that statement under contention in the court of public opinion. Item one; does the mainland government have the power to make the change? Following from this point are the questions; Does the Covenant agreement allow the mainland government to take over control of CNMI border and immigration control. Further, can the CNMI control the border? One more; Is it the right of the elected CNMI government to spend funds as they choose, regardless of programming. never mind. As in many cases, US security issues trump local rights.
From another side; Well never mind. Case law has well established the right of the federal government to control and issue waivers on many, if not all waivers involving national security and the supremacy of the needs of the Federal Government. If you don't believe me, check out CFR section 42 and while you are at it, the sea mammals washed up on beaches around sonar testing areas.
At the end of the game; the forces opposing the local government are within their rights to oppose mindless spending by the party in power, but if they hope to achieve anything beyond controlling the government, through embarrassment today and winning in future years, they are pissing away political capital as inefficiently as the fitial group has passed what, if not public funds, could have been worthwhile seed money to Saipan’ future.
Immigration is another issue altogether and all sides would be wise to recognize the difference, as the issues on the mainland make any sort of agreement on Saipan to be binding and therefore unacceptable to the Federal government until a major immigration bill is passed.

An eye for the ladies

2009-08-31T10:57:00.006+08:00

The pumpkin has been spending most of his days at his grandparent's ger up in the hills just outside of Erdenet. Mom pleads self-defense and pre-planning for the fall when he goes to day care and she takes computer classes. So far so good, eight hours away from the breasts from which all good things come has led to independance for both of them. And more to the point of my title, he has made friends with the granddaughter of one of his grandmother's friends. They have known each other since last fall, but limited themselves to the odd fist full of dirt in the face. However as the last couple of pictures show, they are buddies now.

His first attempts at friendship were rebuffed.

Gotta love the kids in the flower patch. Mongolia is lovely this time of year and I miss it and them so very much.

Thanks to Erdene for knowing me so well, that she sends me the pictures which really count for something.

I'm thinking of SPAM

2009-08-11T12:16:00.005+08:00

Thats it. With all the weirdness in world, I take comfort in an inexhaustible supply of spam.

Shamanism

2009-07-13T08:03:00.004+08:00

Not often that the New York Times is on the same page as my father in law, but today they hosted an article on traveling Shamans in Mongolia. For once the NYT got the story right, at least if my wife can be believed. Dad Mashbat paid for a shaman to visit the ger and do whatever it is shamans do. Erdene was not impressed that they paid twenty odd bucks for a somewhat disreputable woman to tell fortunes while drunk on the family's vodka. I'll have to admit, I am not without sin here. On a couple of occasions we visited a Bhuddist monastery in UB and had our fortunes told in efforts to control a volatile domestic situation which arose over differing opinions on the best health care for the lad. He had his fortune told and anti biotics prescribed at the monastery and the SOS medical clinic, respectively.
I didn't mind the bhuddist cermonies one bit, I'll never be a bhuddist, but extremely relaxing and soul cleansing. I've always been a believer in covering all the bases possible. If drunk women show up at the house burning incense and carrying on though, I'll show them the door.

When the zombie Apocalypse comes though I want the guy in the pink boxers on my team. It takes a big man to wear pink.

Comparisons

2009-06-24T13:13:00.003+08:00

PmpKn in a tote hauled from Saipan during our first weeks in Mongolia

PmpKn last week. Look Dad, no room for your old clothes

Let's hope it grows back

2009-06-14T05:31:00.006+08:00

The day of the big hair cut finally came. This is a Mongolian tradition which was never explained fully to me. As you can see, the little one has gone for the shaven look on his mighty dome. He took it well, once he realized he wasn't at the dentist. Good news for him is a continuance of the tradition means no more hair cuts until he goes to school,
in Mongolia anyway.
In other news, Erdene and my wedding anniversary is tomorrow and Monday, depending on which side of the International Dateline you reside on. Last year, we both forgot and didn't realize until the next day. As luck would have it, we had a fine day together and treasure the memory of not needing reminders to make every day together a special day. This year we are apart, but are happy knowing it will be the last. Pumpkin is well, but his mom is missing my support. Disobedient, willful, and headstrong seem to sum up his two and a half year attitude towards life. Happy and curious are also in the mix, so all is not lost, but I miss the chance to contribute. Erdene is hanging in there and hasn't lost her cheerfulness. As our friend, Captain Tom, is want to say; the only thing sweeter than her smile is her disposition. Sorry honey, but I have a few years to make up for my abscense in these trying times. Below is a picture from Erdene. She and the lad are managing well in Erdenet. Spring has sprung and Alan Amara participated in the running of the goats at Dad Mashbatt's countryside home last weekend. Much as I miss him, I envy him the chance to be two and free of the city.

Above is a picture of Erdene and I after our first real date. From the sunburns, you might quess we were at the beach all day. Inthe shopping bag is some aloe after sun lotion which was much appreciated. This is also the day, we realized that we might just be in love. And below, our wedding, five months later at Mayor Tudela's office. A happy day for all.
Without a doubt, these two pictures represent our happiest day together so far. The little one has always been a joy. A trial and tribulation at times, but at the end of the day. What joy.

I can only think of one more day which will join the above as big days in our memories. That will be the day of my dreams, when I meet them at LAX baggage claim.

Mongolian Elections

2009-05-25T12:34:00.004+08:00

Good report HERE. Erdene tells me her brother is sound asleep after a solid 24 hrs of work for the "other" candidate. Lets hope the party in power didn't read the tales of LBJ's first major election. They went to bed with the election in the bag, only to find the election stolen. Not such a big deal, as they were fairly confident in their ability to steal, but maybe a lesson. Which ever party wins, we are hoping there won't be a repeat of last years rights.
UB is no doubt full of Australians, who won't be too fond of the idea of no rum for a month. I'd like to be hopeful and while I don't see any riots on the horizon, I also don't see change for the better. Read the article, it is more of the same. Oh well, a peaceful change of power, meaningless as it might be, is still breathing room for the populace to organize. Go Mongolia.
UPDATE The Mongolian election commission confirmed the election of Ts. Elbegdorj. The ruling party gracefully bowed out before the official announcement. I quess they didn't forget about last year. Results were close, but the differences between the candidates weren't so great, that a major victory was needed. ie. There won't be much change, just a different name on the label. If anyone besides my sister-in-law, Selenge, is interested, you can read about it HERE.
On a side note, for those curious about Mongolia, the blogger type news and web pages have greatly expanded and improved in realibility. The news link will take you to MongoliaOnlice. Filled with links (that work) and news, this is a good place to start.

Now if Google could clean up their act. They managed to "Lose" Terri and Kevan's excellent blog from Tinian. I'm sure it is to late, but I wish I had been a bit more anal about writing from a word document that I could save, but I still have my pictures, the tales of the PMPKN, and most of my Mongolian pieces. Hope everyone has or had a fufilling Memorial Day and didn't forget those who allow us to celebrate a day away from our work if not everyday cares and concerns. Most especially, those who have fallen in the defense or pursuit of freedom.

Travel

2009-05-20T14:34:00.003+08:00

I nearly don't want to post this one, but I must. I'm traveling to Williamsburg, VA this month. I'll be near the roller coaster on which "Fabio" was struck by a bird. Sweet. Not that I feel for Fabio and I've ridden this particular coaster before (not bad. The "Appollo's Chariot" has a decent hang time and some great high and low g moments. Poor Fabio

And this is my contribution to unexploded ordenance on Saipan. Whoops, sorry Noli. I picked it up off the table at bills and left it at the apartments in china town.

Cooking for one

2009-05-18T11:23:00.002+08:00

is fun (it gives me something to think about during the day), but eating alone leaves something to be desired. However, it was pretty good. In Saipan, it was common to see beef ribs in a tangy marinade for barbeques. I made my own version with local (San Diego) ingrediants. Equal amounts of Teriyaki sauce and lime juice, a largeish splash of oil,grated ginger, some chopped lemon grass and a thai pepper. I salted the riblets with DesJardins fajita seasoning, these were the flanken ribs with the bones snipped off to an inch' width, and dusted them with lemon pepper prior to marinading. Just to be different I put a half a can of coke in the marinade. I would have used a sugar syrup for the same amount of sweetness, but didn't ask my mom for advice, until it was too late. Anyone have any additions or another recipe? I was reasonably happy with the results. The lime juice tenderized the heck out of what otherwise might have been a chewy cut. No pictures, but I think we have all seen these ribs before.
I see the Japanese filmed a beer commercial at my favorite snorkeling spot at the meeting house in Tanapeg. Glad to see the MVA is on the job. If I like it, it must be a good place. Shame they didn't pay anyone off or so says Ruth T. Maybe, Saipan is better off paying it forward than cash on barrel for every little photo op.

I miss the cuteness

2009-05-17T09:39:00.003+08:00

Erdene went to wall for these pictures. A seriously slow transmission rate caused her to spend three hours for seven pictures. And I thought, my mom's mule driven connection was slow. Thanks Honey.

All is well in Mongolia. The weather has been a little flukely; sandstorms intermixed with spring snow, but a general warming trend. Obviously, pumpkin is in love with the auto. No accident that he looks like he might be driving. At any given moment he is only a well practiced key turn away from motoring on his own. He seems to think his little push car is entitled to space on the streets of Erdenet. Look out world.

I dropped

2009-04-26T15:58:00.002+08:00

a comment on Glen588 the other night. Seems like the Saipan blogs have dried up (all due respect to the Saipan Writer, Kelli, Deece, Boni, Wayne, Angelo, and "your name here") However, it seems right to me to fill Glen in on what is going on, my version of flowers, all things being right in the world he is floating amid clouds an heavenly nymphs strumming on harps or electric guitars (I never did learn Glen's preferances towards musical instruments, but I'm pretty certain scantily clad nymphs were among his favorites)
I'm sure he would have love to be amongst the chosen jurors in the fat timmy trial, while he would have most likely passed on a seat in the jurors bench, I'm equally certain he would be among the mob outside the office on Monday waving his little pitchfork and demanding the bastard being thrown out now. The law being the law, it will probably take some months for the Lt to be removed from office, but Glen would be the one, chanting NOW, Now, Now.. We need more Glens and Angelos and even Ed and Tina's. And the quiet but positive movers; the Boni's and the Waynes, and yes even the Harrys and the Bruce's. Sunday thoughts.

Coming soon, to a blog near you

2009-04-24T10:38:00.005+08:00

A guest blog from my sister, Rebecca. World traveler, bead collector, and bon vivant. Plus, she was in an elevator with a Mongolian Sumo wrestler, which beats my previous claim to fame as someone who shook the hand of a man who had been hit in the head by a chair swung by George "the Animal" Steele. Not sure if he has an "e" at the end of his name, but I felt Randy S. could use a little sixth degree of connection claim to fame.
And this is for my culinary inspiration, Deece

This is an English derived Trifle. Jello layers on top of lady finger spnge cake. My grandmother (Nanny, in England) managed to teach us all to make this with varying degrees of success. This is Amy and Becky's rendition and pretty tasty. Fun to make, but a bit difficult getting the varying layers of Jello to rest without blending into the preceding layers. As you get more fancy (mixing canned fruits into the jello layers) the difficulty level increase exponentially. Sort of like Earthquake Richter scale levels, but the great part about the process is the entire dish is topped with whipped cream and even if you can't take a picture, it still tastes great. I'm a failure at the English version, so I'm taking a long look at your cake based. Especially, the red velvet.
All is well in Mongolia, except Erdene wonders how many pieces of sugar free gun the boy can swallow in a day before it becomes a health issue.

Picture time

2009-04-19T03:25:00.006+08:00

I've been a bit lame lately. I think this whole separation thing is really getting to me. Checkout this picture of the lad,
you may have to click and save as to get a good look at what I'm seeing, or maybe it is me. He's holding a picture of the three of us and damned if it doesn't look as though there is a little moisture in the corner of his eye. Or he just got YA Ya from Mom or aunt Solta and is suffering a bit. All the same, this waiting is tough. I put it aside as much as possible, at least at work I can focus on something else and I generally manage ok. I still have a picture of the two of them in my cube' and say hello every morning. They are well, spring is very close, although I heard Erdene say an infrequent cuss word the other day. She was on the verge of taking pumpkin out to play and to her surprise/dimay/annoyance it was snowing. Seems like either snow or driving winds and dust. Still he was out at the family ger the other day and a neighboring herd of goats came over to say hello. His grandfather is impressed with the lad. He has taken to horseback riding at an early age. Well, it's a rubber donkey named Eyore that he gallops about the apartment, but he has the right spirit and you can never go wrong in Mongolia, if you are an accomplished horseman and being handy with stock isn't a bad attribute either. I spent time on the farm as a lad and I'm happy to see Pumpkin able to do the same. I'm not sure there are even any petting zoo's open around San Diego anymore, so enjoy it while you can my boy.

He is quite fearless and he seems to have learned some amount of patience as the goats would have fled for the hills a few months previously. Erdene has found some old family friends living in the countryside with thier childrens small ones (a fairly common circumstance in Mongolia. The adult children work in the city and the little ones stay with the grand parents in the countryside ger. Healthy for the kids and they help out with the animals from an early age which lightens the load on the elders) I see a happy spring for Pumpkin. I'm going to suggest Erdene pick up a tent, so she and the lad can spend some time with them, rather than depend on rides to and from. Did I say, they have small children and baby goats, lambs, friendly dogs, and baby cattle as well. Erdene was out there for the first time a couple of weekends ago and was fairly glowing with her description of the joy of holding a small baby while it sleeps (which pumpkin was never very prone to do at the best of times) She grew up in the same fashion and her visit sent her back to her childhood amongst the snuggly little sheep with warm noses (her words) Alan Amara in for some exciting times.
For those in the shipping line on the 29th of April, early in the AM Saipan time or
28 April sometime in the afternoon East Coast time.. My friend Captain Tom's ship will be passing through the Panama Canal. It will look familar to Saipan residents, as until a few weeks ago it was anchored off the shore. I'll hold the ships name, until the night before. Some of us still take operational security seriously and these days I'm not taking chances. You can go to their website: "Panama Canal Authority" and
in upper right click on "Multimedia" tab and a drop down box will appear. Click
on "live cameras".

As for me, I'm getting out of my funk and am going to try a little cooking. I haven't cooked much of anything worth talking about for months now, but I'm making corned beef and cabbage for my roomates tonight and tomorrow I'm journeying to Coronado to grill butterflied leg of lamb accompanied by parslied new potatoes and grilled asparagus. We are mixing mint with malt vinegar for the mint sauce, none of that jellied stuff for us. I picked up a gas grill the other day and once I find a gas tank for it, I'll be on the grill, so maybe there is hope for me yet. I'm also thinking of picking up a Padre's hat, as the Red Sox seem a bit slow to start this year. Sometimes its a good thing my mom doesn't read my blog, if she saw that my christmas presents would be going back. What I meant to say was, there is a sale down by the Macy's and I can replace the Red Sox hat which I left as a Calling card at the Bateman's and since it is a two for one sale, perhaps a Padre's hat would be a good thing to have as well. And in the blogger world, little Rudi is out of the hospital and home with this brother's and sisters. Great to see the little guy doing so well and to see all the happiness in their home. I would hope that if the shoe was on the other foot, I would step up with the same faith and determination that his parents have shown. Go Rudi

A new Mongolia blog, of sorts

2009-04-01T09:00:00.002+08:00

Young fellow here <http://www.chronicletimes.com/> is living on the edges of the Gobi desert and writing of his experiences of Mongolia while doing Peace Corps time. To find his dispatches; just enter Mongolia into the search box from the News page. Great sense of humor and he is living the life out on what passes for a prairie. Winter in a ger, he has my admiration.

Harpoon

2009-03-29T12:02:00.002+08:00

Finally, I've been able to save a screen shot from my harpoon game. Don't laugh, this time vampire keeps me out of trouble.

In which I visit Saipan

2009-03-23T04:23:00.009+08:00

But didn't have a camera along. However, I have some recycleable pics from the happy days.

The company was good enough to send me to Gaum on business and as I had Sunday off, I grabbed the two am Cape Air flight to Saipan. Obtensibly, I went to pick up some goodies Erdene and I had left with our friend Rick, but in all truth, I needed to ride the scooter and catch up with old friends. My day began as most do with breakast at Wild Bill's. Mali and Wasana were both there and treated me as if I had been gone for a few days rather than a year and a half. My entire day was like that, I think I'm the only one who knows I've been away. Wild Bill told me later, that was an island thing and I'm cool with that. Bob O'C, his wife Bayarama, son Bobbi, and daughter Kali (sp?, sorry, hope your ankle heals up quickly) came down from the hill and we caught up on the local and distant news. I had plenty of knee bouncing with little Bobbi, who shares a birthday with the pmpkn, although he is a year younger. Sweeet little boy, I nearly cried with my memories of the lad in the same place. Overall though, I felt much better for my time with his cuteness. Nong's dog snow, most definetely remembered me and acknowledged my gift of a sausage with his usual affection.
After breakfast, I hit Asia Scooter. Strangely enough, they didn't have a white scooter to rent to me, apparently they are all broken, but I did manage the slightly slower red scotter. Then, it was off to the north for a swim and to check on the familia Bateman. Sadly, they were not in residence, although the boonie dogs were. Either they remember me or someone is slipping, as they were licking my hand before I left. Bareheaded as no one was in residence and lacking a pen or calling card, I was forced to leave my Red Sox hat on the fence in lieu of a note. I'm sure someone was wondering why the hat. I was lucky to arrive during flame tree bloom and had the time to appreciate the beauty which is Saipan.

The day went to debauch from there. Looking for my buddy Rick who had moved; I ventured to Round Two and didn't leave for quite a while. No troubles though. Virgie was behind the bar(she, her husband Noli and son Kyle were neighbors of ours in Chinatown and great friends to Erdene and I). Bobby Cadillac and Noi's husband Dave were in residence, along with my buddy Rick's new partner in crime, Butch. Butch recognized me as the Mainer who went to Mongolia Apparently in the marine diesel district of Saipan, I am legend.
I did manage directions to Ricks new place. Typical for Saipan. Go up and over Capital Hill, after you pass two stores in a row on the left, look for a house for sale on the right, take your next left down the hill, after the second house, take the left fork marked with a piece orange tape eight up the side of a palm tree, contiue down to the second house which has from two to three trucks in the yard. I decided to wait at the bar until Rick made an appearance, as that would take less time then trekking up the hill, although, I'm pretty certain I could have found it. Those were pretty decent directions by Saipan standards. Rick did make it in and I took a short trip to Dan Dan, in search of Erdene's sister. Found her apartment, but no Selenge. However, Captain Tom made it in to shore and we were able to text her, before getting into the rum. On my way to pick up Siigi, I saw Beu the bartender from Hamiltons and a good friend, trudging along in the median on middle road in search of his bike, which I had noticed locked to the window grating at Bills. The day was looking pretty good at this point. We picked up Siigi and headed back to a beach bar. Stella's Five, if memory serves. Spent the entire afternoon on the beach, with Captains Tom and Morgan along with Rick, Camille, and new friend Butch. After dinner at Bill's (Juni's exquiste, green curry) and happy greetings with CharleeRat, Nong, and Wasana's guy, the estimable 'smoking Matty G', I was all done and nearly ready for my nine pm flight back to Gaum. Of course, we had to rendevous at Godfathers and bloggers Ron M and Harry the dive animal were among the last people I saw before departing to the airport with Gee, the last of the Thai taxi drivers. Note to the regular taxi drivers, why twenty-seven dollars? Well, that's my story. Sorry, to miss everyone else, but I figured you were all at church. I envy you all for having such a lovely place to live everyday. Thanks and good times to all I visited with and sorry to miss the rest.
Nearly forgot. Erdene passed along the latest pictures. She was having me on, as they didn't cut off all the lad's hair. He's looking good and having fun, though.

Here's to Mongolian women

2009-03-08T12:07:00.021+08:00

Yes, it is that time of year again. Mongolian Woman's Day.

Erdene and sister, Selenge, on the afternoon of our first day in Mongolia and Selenge below, looking her best on Saipan.
Had to add that, I'm continually reminded to not blog less than attractive pictures. In the first picture Selenge (Siigi) had spent much of the previous evening and into the wee hours waiting for our arrival at the aiport, and then showed up the next day at daybreak in case we needed anything. Not the least of her efforts on our behalf, by any means, but she does deserve a more realistic picture.
Sister Selenge, Solte (to the right and below), and their mom have gone more than the extra mile in their love and care for Pumpkin and Erdene. Not so different than my sisters here in America, but in Mongolia, to my experience, such caring is a family tradition carried across the entire nation. I can't say anything against this holiday, Mongolian women work hard under trying circumstances and still manage to maintain grace and dignity.

By the grace of the postal gods, my latest parcel arrived just on the eve of the big day. Fortunately, as, as with most holidays and special events, I'd forgotten.
Erdene was quite graceful with her gentle reminder along with her thanks for the package arriving on such a special day. I had to suck it up and profess ignorance again, but her Mom and sister, Solte, are quite touched by my skill at having a gift box arrive on the very eve of the day. In turn, I am touched by the devotion and care her entire family have lavished on the lad I'm so indebted for my mother and sisters-in laws help with our stay in Mongolia. So here is to them and the other fine women of the "Blue Sky Country"

The two pictures above, represent Mongolia to me. The elderly lady, medal bedecked, and dressed to the nines with her family at her side, off to a concert at the Wrestling Palace in Ulan Baatar. Hard to imagine, what she went through to reach this point in her life, but I'm happy and humbled to see her treated with gentle kindness by her family and country.
Most especially, my love and greatest respect to the Mongolian woman who will always be front and center in my life. Pumpkin called me daddy for the first time this evening. I know how much practice and coaching on her part his words cost, What greater gift can anyone receive?

I'm rather happy; Erdene will celebrate three holidays each year, beyond the usual; Mongolian Womens Day, International Women's Day, and the other Mother's day. As for my part, I'm going to need a better scheduling calendar or bring her to realize every day is a special day for her.

Intended Use of Spam when Purchased by ajax

2009-03-06T08:53:00.001+08:00

Intended Use of Spam when Purchased by ajax

A long post written by someone else

2009-03-05T13:15:00.003+08:00

But, I couldn't make the link work reliably and B. wrote a fine piece. No pictures of Pmpkn's scalp, but maybe next week. Erdene spent two hours sending these pictures to me. Welcome to an emerging economy. Whoops, my bias is showing. I usually refer to France and Spain as being members of the third world.
As it is though, this look at Erdene's mom and dad's festive plate gives one an idea. For the record, the deep fried bread monument stands a couple of feet high. The interesting items which fill the quick fried loaf basket are mostly dried milk products (that is the best description, I can come up with other than they are all tasty espcially the curly items) Try to imagine; quick dried yogurt and you might have clue towards the "milk products". Anyway, here is the article.
A Closer Look at Mongolia's National Holiday
Written by B.Narandelger
Thursday, February 05, 2009.
In an anxiously awaited three weeks time, Mongolians will celebrate their most esteemed national holiday, Tsagaan Sar (The white month). The first month of each spring has been one of the most important Mongolian celebrations for centuries. It is the time when winter passes, and spring is reborn. Chinggis Khaan played a most significant role in the creation of Tsagaan Sar. In 1207, on the first day of the Year of the Red Rabbit, The Great Khaan prayed to the blue sky and the vast steppe in all of his new clothes, and then paid respects to the elderly by visiting his mother. In 1216, during the year of the Red Rat, the Khaan issued a decree that would award people with gold and clothing materials from state reserves on the day of Tsagaan Sar. He also passed a law to award a special title to anyone older then 120 years, and to release prisoners on the day of Tsagaan Sar (except for those convicted of a cruelty case).

Long after the times of Chinggis Khaan, in 1911, the political and religions leader of Mongolia, Bogd Khaan, approved a new state flag featuring Soyombo (the National symbol) on a yellow background. He ordered that government houses, military establishments, and monasteries keep this flag raised outside of their compounds from the last day of winter to the 15th day of the Tsagaan Sar. The flag was to be kept inside the compounds other times of the year.

Even today, the holiday continues to be a significant tradition in Mongolian society with an intricate set of customs involved.
The Tsagaan Sar Eve (the last day of winter) is called “Bituun,” meaning “full darkness”. It is a single night, when there is no moon visible in the sky. On this day, people eat to the point of extreme fullness. It is believed that if you are at all hungry on this eve, you will often be hungry for the year to come. Tsagaan Sar is a festival of white foods (foods with white color, including dairy products and rice).

All “bituun” ceremonies begin after the dark night takes over. During the day, people clean their bodies and minds from bad things and are expected to have a fresh start. During the holiday, individuals pay respect to elders and relatives, and renew friendships.

On the first day of the New Year, people wake up before sunrise with their families, wear new clothes, and open the “Orkh” (ger’s top window cover) to make a fire. Although the Mongolian landscape is still covered with snow, the scent of spring is believed to be in the air. Men walk in certain directions as prescribed by the Buddhist horoscope. This ceremony is called “Muruu gargakh,” which means “Starting your footprints”. It is believed that starting your life in the right direction will bring luck for the year to come.
With the sunrise, a greeting ceremony will begin with the family inside. The oldest person stays in “Hoimor” (ger’s northern-most side). The younger family members first greet him or her and then greet each other. Individuals greet their elders by extending out their arms with the palms facing upward, then holding the elder’s arms from underneath. Everybody greets each other except the husband and the wife.

People often hold “Khadag” in their arms which are long and narrow pieces of yellow, white, or blue silk with different spiritual meanings. When the greeting ceremony has concluded, everyone sits behind the table and exchanges “Khoorog” (a snuff bottle usually made of semi-precious stones, filled with finely pulverized tobacco. Exchanging “Khoorog” is expressing friendly intentions to others and is the way strangers become acquainted with one another.

The typical greeting words are “Daaga dalantai and Byaruu bul chintai, Sureg mal targan orov uu?” This can be translated to: “Does your two-year old horse have enough fat for the winter (signifying good health), “Does your two-year old yak have enough muscle (signifying power), and “Did all the animals pass the winter safely?” Other customary dialogue includes, “Sar shinedee saihan orov uu?” and Nas suuder hed hurev?” Both are used to ask the elderly about his/ her good health and age, which is something to be proud of.

All people must eat many “Booz” (Steamed Mongolian dumplings) and drink “Airbag” (fermented mare’s milk). When the ceremony finishes, the hosts give presents to each person. The present symbolizes a wish for health, wealth and power. Individuals then move to the next family that has an elderly person living in the ger.

Tsagaan Sar festivities continue for one month, but the first, second and third days are the most important. They consists of “Ih idee” (big plate) and “Baga idee” (small plate). “Ul boov” (Mongolian traditional biscuits) are layered on the big plate. The number of layers must always be odd. Traditionally, grandparents have seven layers and young couple’s only three layers. “Uuts”, Sheep’s back and tail must be on the table. A larger and fatter tail is considered to be more delicious. Airag is the most important drink during Tsagaan Sar, however, “Shimiin arhi” (Milk vodka) and clear vodka also accompany the food as well.

The Tsagaan Sar National Wrestling Championship is held in the Wrestling Palace. It is an important event rivaling the wrestling title of Naadam. The largest Buddhist monastery, Gandan, holds a Tsagaan Sar prayer, which is annually visited by the president and prime minister.

At its core, Tsagaan Sar is an observance of the new year, a tribute to elders and loves ones, and a celebration of winter’s ending and the safety of one’s animals.

There you go. Mongolian life. The key to holiday is to me; "not to go to bed hungry" As a long term resident of the east coast and therefore the Pilgrims, the one item to take to bed is "eat"

Erdene and the lad are well. Tsvaan gar also is a harbinger of spring. Here's hoping PmPkn can go outside with less covering.
He did bust off a piece of tooth last week, which caused some frantic calls and emailing across the miles, but I managed to calm down after receiving reassuring news from Ginny's dad the dentist with a potato gun. Whew.. Rule is with children under five, no blood in the dentin, leave it alone. Families are great. Thanks to Gene and if anyone sets eyes on running shoes in Mens size 10 with LED lights in the soles, please write.

Book Review - 'The Bloody White Baron,' by James Palmer - Review - NYTimes.com

2009-03-02T06:10:00.002+08:00

Book Review - 'The Bloody White Baron,' by James Palmer - Review - NYTimes.com

This is going on my list; right after the "Journeyer" (sp)? by Eddings. David Eddings, I believe. Great fictionalized account of Marco Polo's journey to the east and his stay with the Mongols. Here are Captain Tom and the lad at the entrance to the Bogd Kahn museum. I missed that visit. However, the doctor and I visited the Bogd Kanhn tourist area just to the east of UB. Horse rib dumplings, just like Erdene's dad makes.

I just love the Ger on wheels. A house towed by oxen blows even the best Winnebago away.

warm again

2009-03-01T13:56:00.004+08:00

The Pacific northwest rocks. Turned a corner and saw this rising above the skyline. Not that I'm not glad to be back in Southern CA, but where else do the mountains sit on top of the clouds. More later, great food, friendly people, even fine art. Pumpkin did have most of his hair cut for Tsvaan Gar and the pictures are soon to be here.

Ulaanbaatar, MNG Weather - Forecasts, Radar Maps, Video, and News

2009-02-21T11:52:00.003+08:00

Quite a headline lead. The story is, I'm off to the Seattle region for work and I'm visiting with the guy who introduced Erdene and me, while..
Erdene is wishing for these days, again.

See the forecast below, if there are any doubts.
Ulaanbaatar, MNG Weather - Forecasts, Radar Maps, Video, and News: "Local weather forecast
Ulaanbaatar, MNG
Local forecastThree HourlyTen-dayMapsAverages
Current conditions (as of 11:00 AM)Today's forecast°F | °C
Fair-3°F
Feels like: -18°F

Barometer:30.3 in
Dewpoint:-18°
Humidity:43%
Visibility:6 miles
Precip in last hr:NA
Precip last 24 hrs:0 in
Wind:9 mph NNW
Sunrise:7:49 AM
Sunset:6:23 PM
UV Index:1 Low
Observed at Ulaan-Baator.

All times shown are local to Ulaanbaatar.TodayHi:-3°
Lo:-15°

PM Clouds
2 PM-5°
Cloudy
8 PM-9°
Clear
11 PM-10°
Clear
And she says the weather is much more pleasant than the last couple of weeks. and I'm packing a Maine type jacket for my trip to the Pacific Northwest. Wimpy, says I.

Don't even think about putting down Jerry Reed or

2009-02-16T13:08:00.005+08:00

Burt Reynolds , while the NASCAR season is on. Yes, that means you and this edict shall last through next November. East bound and down..and don't forget Delaware George and the GEAR JAMMER.

I receive a Valentines Day present,

2009-02-14T23:31:00.012+08:00

of the best kind. Erdene braved the 35 degree below zero, or shall we just say "horribly cold" (her words) Mongolian day to send some pictures of both of them. This is the first new picture I've seen of her in quite some time and she is as lovely as there ever was.

Pumpkin seems to be happily unchanged.

Someone really wanted a girl and he's a sport for playing along.

My day is complete, except for taking down sister A's magnificent tree. She is not usually so whacked, but kept the tree up a bit late for my mom and third sister to admire during their visit. Here's my nephew George from Maine enjoying a brief spell of quietness and enjoying same again. this is the boy, who takes the baby leash in stride, then decides he wants to parade through the shop and walk as a dog would. we, as a family, feel for sister Julie and her helpers. <
And the clan enjoying an afternoon of beading. Well, not Nephew Josh, he's building a computer for me as well as a necklace and pendant for his beloved..

Plus, you know the car is full, when you have to hold Rudolph on your lap for the trip from the storage unit. And no, the storage is not entirely for her Christmas decoration, Sister B keeps her's there as well.

eyesore

2009-02-14T13:31:00.003+08:00

Not that I want to get into the zoning debate, but this sign always thrilled me. "Tuba", next to Moxie from Maine and Airag from Mongolia, Tuba gives a bit of identity to Saipan. Take away the Bud and vodka and Saipan and UB would be better places, but not with the same familiar closeness. Then again, a few less poker palaces, bean supper signs, and frozen vomit on the sidewalks would clean Saipan, Maine, and mongolia up a bit.

This is the California I was looking forward to

2009-02-07T13:54:00.012+08:00

FAA probes chopper pilot linked to porn video

SAN DIEGO — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the actions of a La Jolla helicopter pilot after a pornographic video of him surfaced on the Internet.

The video shows David Keith Martz, a professional pilot with a history of FAA violations, at the controls of his chopper over San Diego while redacted a porn actress, who then redacts a redact act on him while he's flying.

The video, shot in 2007, first appeared Feb. 3 on the entertainment website TMZ.com and has gone viral since.

Gone, Viral, what is that? I feel these days that: "harshing my mellow" is the ultimate expression.
Along with the video, TMZ reported that someone had sent the FAA an e-mail about the episode, including photos of Martz redacting the porn actress – who goes by the name Puma Swede – in flight.
Editor's note, mine, Puma is a brand of helicopter. I think the lady in question, might have been aiming her marketing at a paticular niche market.

The FAA took no action in response to the e-mail. But they're taking action now.

“We're going to review the video,” said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. “We're going to try to speak to everyone in the video, including the porn star, and we're going to go from there. I read this comment as; "Everyone in the office is scouring the internet, looking for a high-def video of the incident"
“We probably should've taken a closer look at the evidence when it was first presented to us – and I can assure you, we're doing that right now.”
I swear, "I did not add to the official word. However, I'm sure the spokespersons words are taken out of context by the original author of this news release."
I'm going to have to redact some news and my own interpretation of the official in question for the families sake, but here is the link

Martz also may be in some trouble with the FAA for a flight last weekend over the Los Angeles area with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

This dude swings with a big crowd. I ignored some hollywood actor during the eighties and my only claim to fame lies there during a brief encounter with my friend Larry Nelson. Hey, Larry, "How's she going?" "Fine Mark, Just taking my brother, Judd down to Gritty's for a beer" Hi, Man, how's she going? Catch you both later, maybe." Loved him in Breakfast Club, sorry I didn't recognize Judd Nelson. That conversation wasn't nearly as amusing as a later one with my sister, when she found out "JUDD NELSON" was in Portland, I talked with him, and didn't provide her with a heads up. That is my eighties story, by the way.

Officials say Martz was flying erratically while on final approach to Van Nuys Airport and flew dangerously close to a Los Angeles police helicopter. Police officers who tracked him down after he landed found him drinking, but said his blood-alcohol level was about .01 or .02, under the legal limit of .04 for pilots.

A 2000 story in The San Diego Union-Tribune identified Martz as a former captain of the San Diego State University water ski team and a La Jolla-based real estate developer who flies a helicopter and races sports cars in his free time.

He has a history of trouble with the FAA going back more than 20 years. He's had his license suspended twice and revoked twice – three incidents involved reckless flying and one involved his forging a medical document.

Federal aviation law limits the FAA's options for dealing with wayward pilots. While authorities can revoke a license, pilots are free to re-apply for a new license after a year.

Only two things can prompt a permanent revocation – having an irreversible medical condition or being caught with illegal drugs on board.

Martz first ran afoul of the FAA for flying on a forged medical certificate in 1986. His license was revoked.

Then in June 2002, he was spotted doing aerobatics below 1,500 feet and over a populated area, Tourmaline Park in Pacific Beach – both violations of air safety rules. That got him a 30-day suspension.

In October 2003, the FAA revoked his license a second time, saying he “landed close to people on the ground at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.”

Then in June 2005, the agency suspended Martz for 230 days, saying he flew passengers from Mexico to Brown Field and then to Montgomery Field, despite knowing that the tail section of his helicopter had been damaged by hitting a wire.

Staff researcher Merrie Monteagudo contributed to this report.

This guy is Southern California
By Greg Gross
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
5:35 p.m. February 6, 2009

Pictures are in

2009-02-03T10:12:00.004+08:00

The long drought is over. Erdene was able to send some of her collection this way. Pumpkin seems to be of the milk fed strain. He's sprouting up. I know this because this shirt used to come to his knees. I'm not commenting on his footwear or the barette in his hair. He's due for a haircut during Tsvaan Gar in a couple of weeks and word is, His untamed locks migrate to his eyes, food, etc... As for the footware, well the floors are cold and they look a little easier to get around in than my boat shoes, skiis, water boards, etc..

The white covering on his front in this picture is said to be flour from a happy afternoon of dumpling making. Glad to see, he's at home in the kitchen.

In home news; I've misplaced my borrowed camera. Yikes.. Mom is visiting. Brother-in-law Rich and niece Camille are celebrating birthdays this week. So much, for loading up on pictures, settling into my new apartment, and riding the bike on weekends. Just to keep the party going, my sister, Julie from Maine and her two boys are coming to visit for a week. Southern Ca is a popular place for displaced Mainers this time of year. I'm in charge of activities for my nephew George. He's three and a bit active. I'm glad he has his older brother, Josh, with him or we might just end up in San Diego harbor. Stop #1 for the coming weekend is the USS Midway, an Essex class carrier from the Second world War moored on the Embarcado and all loaded up with boy toys. I'm hoping Rich will come along with nephew Mikey, as two lads might be a bit much for me and Josh. After the Midway, we are considering the ferry ride to Coronado, concluding with a pedal bike trip to Becky's apartment on the island. I'm tired already and I'm going to try and hit an amusement park with the lads, before the serious fun on the weekend. I found another spot for Erndene over the weekend. The tropical flower market off the -15 in Escondido. Plumeria, flame trees, hibiscus, and bouganvilla. She often says she misses Saipan and these four acres should satisfy that longing. I'm doing all right on preperations; financial stuff for the immigration lords are now in hand, I've found several stores with ground and fresh mutton, the IKEA store is a fairly long, but pleasant walk up the San Diego river, and I still have months to go.

Ship stuff

2009-01-31T15:03:00.017+08:00

I usually forget my background in the merchant marine. However, now that I'm working in a new field, I find myself drifting back to issues that concerned me way back when. Here is a link back to those days.

There has been a notable lull in the number of ships captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden thus far this year. But the European Union's anti-piracy mission came under the spotlight once again on Thursday when Somali pirates boarded a German gas tanker, ending an ususual two-week-long stretch with no attacks reported in the risky waters.
The German vessel, laden with liquefied petroleum gas, was the third seizure this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy.

Hamburg-based Bernard Schulte Ship Management, responsible for the Longchamp, said the tanker was captured while traveling with a larger convoy -- but that statement has been challenged by a spokesman for the EU's Atalanta mission, the EU's first combat force against pirates. He argued that the German vessel, with its 13-strong crew, was traveling alone after failing to wait for the convoy.
Officials also berated the crew of the Longchamp for not registering with the EU mission in the Gulf of Aden, a stretch between Somalia and Yemen where boats are at greatest risk of attack. "The master and ship manager falsely assumed that e-mails with their location were sufficient to register themselves," said the spokesman at the operation's base in Northwood, Britain.

My read on the above is a typical lame assed comment along the lines of; "how dare you assume to know you know better than us Cheese eating surrender monkeys" Or, along thes lines of "stop, and wait for our ineffiency to catch up and protect you".

Anyway, there is another story out there about a crew from a mainland Chinese ship who managed to repell pirates and received money for their efforts. Quite a lot of money, actually. Suffice it to say, the crew of the chinese registered ship, repelled borders by barricading themselves in the "house" (where the sailors live). Used to be known as the "forecastle", but these days they let the men before the mast dwell in the same vicinity as the officers. The well drilled crew retreated to the house as the pirates gained the deck and repelled them from advancing to control of the ship through the judicious use of fire bombs (molotov cocktails, perhaps Mao cocktails in this case) and fire hoses. Those options might seem to be self-defeating, but if anyone has been on the receiving end of a firehose with a decent pressure, you will know what I mean by the phrase; "thrust back bodily, while threatened by immolation" The decision process occurs fairly quickly in such circumstances. I finally found the link, here.

My ship in a small gale off the coast of Spain. <Funny how the weather changes so quickly when the ship can travel faster than and against the wind. Blowing spray and gloomy clouds give way to sunny skies after an overnight passage. My Saipan readers should turn their children into a short history lesson via Stephen Thomas' book "The Last Navigator" I'm still amazed at how the islanders of the Pacific managed to travel the far flung islands with the tools of their ancestors. The Mongolians won't have it, but truth is the Pacific Islander's could plot a course while the land lubbers merely followed their fleeing enemies.
a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ionf4rRmpiA/SYQP74AS-gI/AAAAAAAABh4/bgkpDvVsdhI/s1600-h/med+%26+crete+007.jpg">
Strange world, but I have a bunch of pictures from "the day" Some of them are equal in beauty to pictures of Saipan and the mysterious east. Just as well, as I'm out of Mongolian pictures (fresh) and can't find the camera I've been using here in San Diego. Maybe, I could start my own WW contest. As in Where in The World is it, but sadly, I'm one one of the few that can identify the locations. yes, Virginia, the oceans of the world have very different characteristics, still most oceans look the same at least on the surface.
Erdene and Alan Amara (the PmPkn) are warm and well. I spend a fair bit of my time thinking about little RUDI up in LA and have decided that my lot isn't all that bad. GO RUDI..

Cats and Saipan

2009-01-24T14:36:00.005+08:00

I was nosing around Harry Blalocks (sp) diving page (new) tonight and headed over to his wife Kelli's page. She seems as at home in the water as her dinosaur husband. Impressive, especially since she has only a few months of scuba diving. Her land pictures are as entertaining and well set up as her underwater shots and I noticed this cat. I

It must be a Saipan thing, as we were lucky enough to have a similar specimen for the length of our stay in Garapan. I fell in love with him the first time we met. My watch partner Merlin and I were waiting for the ladies at closing time while parked on the side of Beach Road across from Jonnies when the little fur ball just managed to cross the street in front of traffic, and proceeded to find the softest touch for a kitten on all of Saipan. He spent the next couple of weeks nestled in the front of my jacket and I had no trouble convincing Erdene of his good qualities. Honestly, he was and I hope is, a great cat. Independant, yet loving, pattable, but non scratching. I've always enjoyed the odd cat, if only because, they are so independant. You might think you are the owner, but the cat knows who the pet really is the boss.

Plus, the Hyatt has his grandfather. This big old tom is the father of all green eyed tigers on Saipan and given his location, not surprsingly, possesed of a pleasent dispostion. We left our little guy with the tiger trainer at the Hyatt. Last heard he spends his time at Erdene's old barracks and the tiger cages. Pumpkin is going to grow up with a cat in his life without a doubt.

Distractions

2009-01-24T10:27:00.003+08:00

All righty then, work is moving along comfortably. I enjoy my job and coworkers, new apartment is finest kind, and the immigration process is underway with all the ponderous trappings as befits a bureaucratic process. Erdene and I talked last night for a little bit. All is well, the lad is a bit stressed from two days in the house due to extreme cold. Pretty extreme too, negative forty-five fahrenheit with the wind chill as a high. The camera I mailed back in early December arrived Monday along with toys and other goodies (French Mints, if you must know) so we'll have pictures soon. I'm pschyed. Pumpkin has grown a lot; reaches the faucets in the kitchen without standing on something and he has a full head of hair to go along with his mouthful of teeth.
In my news, I finally bought a video game that I can run on my computer. The long suffering lapptop just doesn't have the git up and go of the newer models. I was thinking of trying the Zsbomb approach (see my early spam post for an explanation. In brief, he's a friend of the "drunken face of evil" and editor of the bloggers news network. He also put a computer in an old beer box, which has put ideas in my mind of updating my laptop's video card by installing the components which still work in some other container. Since, I need an external monitor and CD drive, I don't have much to loose as far as transportibility is concered. Anyway, for the sum of $49.00 USD, I purchase the latest version of Harpoon, the naval strategy game. This game is one of my first loves, but was designed so long ago, most computers won't support it. Due to the efforts of a bunch of like-minded gaming misfits, it has been adapted to XP. Yea... I did the mental equivalent of jumping in the air when I got the good news last sunday night. Here is a screen shot well maybe not just yet. I'll have to save it as a jpeg or some such, but here is a link to the producer. Not that everyone will be as excited as I am, but I love this game. Unfortunately, I'm working this weekend. My sister B in Coronado is celebrating her return to the world and I'm cook and bartender for the coming back party, but there will be time. About four months, before anymore immigration paperwork is needed. The wheels grind exceedingly slowly. Here's a picture of Becky's garden patio site of the party of the decade.
On a fairly funny note. I'm adjusting to California. It's Boni's fault for using the word "mellow" on facebook. as in "harshing my mellow" I figured she made the term up, but events this morning made me think again. I was biking to work in an infrequent drizzle when a driver thought to make my day by sounding her horn as she squeezed by me on an otherwise wide pathway. I couldn't find her car in the office complex' parking lots, so carried a little angst into work and expounded on how she ruined my mellow mood. Yes, I used the word mellow in a sentence for the first time in probably fifteen years. One of my cubicle mates, responed by saying; "Aw, she harshed your mellow, man" There you have my small world theory of the day.
Cheers to all, looking forward to posting some pictures next week. Here's one, just because I miss his cuteness

Had to post this picture

2009-01-20T11:04:00.003+08:00

Now, how to get the fries to cling??

While we are at it, if I promise to write something worth reading, can we have a second week of this?

I'm dying here

2009-01-17T15:32:00.004+08:00

Not really, but my mom is coming to visit and I need to drum up some support. I was watching this utube video (very cool and a great song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPa4ldedUW0 I tried to save the url and I got this. Too funny.. Anyway, watch the video, it's way cute. The perfect present if I was endowed with this guy's gift.

500 Internal Server Error
Sorry, something went wrong.

A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.

Also, please include the following information in your error report:

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_

Friggin internet connection

2009-01-16T12:52:00.009+08:00

Oh well, what I wrote wasn't in the league of O'Brian or William Buttersworth III, but it was mine. Dedicated Delurkers will google William Buttersworth the third and WEB Griffin to catch the five degrees of seperations, but I'll probably end up expaining myself. Why did you take it away, interenet lord? so it goes. All is well in California and Mongolia. Erdene does admit to being a bit tired from the cease less demands of the lad and I can understand that. Seems strange thatwhile just a bit tired from lack of sleep, wondering how the two to them are, she can find time to worry about me. Apparently, he is tall enough now, to reach the faucet on the kitchen sink. Bless his little heart, he's trying to help with the dish washing and, therfore is a big help with preparing the floor for washing. Seems funny from a distance and would be amusing from close up, if I was the only person to deal with the mess, or so I assume from Erdene's read of the disaster which was monday morning dish washing. OOps, have to insert Amy's tree picture here. This is the glory of all Christmas tree's, next to sister Becky's. Amy's is large and beutiful, while Becks is full of vibrant color. The population of Jerusalem could sit around this tree and not bump knees.
Me, I'm adjusting to my job. Happy in that I'm being paid on a regular basis. I probably won't be able to shoot an automatic weapon on company time, but sometimes I ask for too much from my work. Otherwise, I'm extremely happy to land in my job and thankful to my family for supporting me during the process. I'm sure you all know the quote; "visiting relatives and fish begin to stink after a few days". Well, my family has always put up with that issue, more than most would.
Couldn't have done it without you..
I'm waiting for the picture where; my brother in law, Rich, nephew, Mikey, and I all wear the same blue blazer in a picture together. Mine is in the closet, if only because I don't want to have the family appear too blue. No, obligatory pmpkn pictures, but here is a frozen bush from Maine. It's pretty damn cold up there. My brother Andy compared the difference in temperature as being a pretty warm day by our standards. Mongolia remains cold. Not sure if it is colder than last year, but pretty darn cold. The sun is broken there for around four months solid. Too bad there isn't more precipatation or they could corner the ice market. As it is, I read they are asking China for a three billion dollar loan to cover the drop in the metals market. And I'm calling bullshit on that one.

CONFESSIONS

2009-01-05T02:24:00.004+08:00

I missed the Charger’s playoff game. Even worse, I was shopping in the area and trying my best to finish up before the game let out. An overtime wouldn't have bothered me at all as I needed a little more time in the rain wear section of the Sports Authority. Shame on me. I did watch the highlights show later after fleeing the vicinity of the stadium.
Here is the latest edition to the clan. My brother's little girl wearing a dell passed down from Erdene's days as a baby. I had a wonderful time in the frozen wasteland that is Maine, but more on that another day.

Life is good at the moment. I’m settling into a new apartment near my work and fighting the good fight. My carbon footprint is still low, I’ve left my car on the east coast and am commuting across Mission Valley by bike. One of these days, I’ll tackle a hill, but I’m enjoying the flatlands for the time being.
I’m glad to report Erdene and the Pumpkin are both well. On the immigration front, I’m expecting a response to my I-30 petition for immigration of a spouse any day now and have the money for a lawyer set aside for the remainder of the process. I really don’t want to tell E the process will take longer because I screwed up a form, so I’m looking at the expense as worthwhile.
It isn’t funny how much I miss the two of them. Thank you, cheap phone card company. We talk most days still and hearing the lad’s little giggles keeps my head in the game. I called a few days ago and was greeted by his happy chortling, but mom was out and he hung up after a minute or so of somewhat one-sided but enjoyable talk and laughter. I tracked Erdene down on the other phone, to find she was at the market and was heading home in a few minutes, when I called back she told me the little one greeted her at the door phone in hand. I quess, he hasn’t forgotten the old man just yet. If I have one re-occurring day dream, it is the moment she turns the corner of LAX immigration with Alan Amara in tow. Until then, I don’t quite feel complete, but I’m managing.
San Diego is a fun town, no dramas and I’m happy to trade the sounds of Ulan Baatar for the more Saipanish flavor of southern California.
Erdene is going to love the familiar flowers and palm trees. Not to mention the Ikea store down the road and the Iowa meat market on Mission Gorge. I haven’t told her about the humongous bead store up on Airo drive. I think it safe to say she will enjoy life here even if there weren’t miles upon miles of beaches.
I’ll try and start a San Diego blog while I’m waiting. I have wireless at the apartment and I’m soon to have a working portable computer again (The sad tale of my laptop is a story in itself, I should get around to writing one day). I have a camera in the post to Erdene, we may have some pictures soon. I quess I’ll post a little email exchange from last night, although she’ll beat me for not cleaning up her grammer, but the reader might get a little flavor of our exchanges from opposite sides of the world. Not surprisingly, I’m reading a lot of eighteenth century sailing novels lately. The idea of taking a year to sail to the Indian ocean and back seems to fit our circumstances. Anyway, here is Erdene and I.
On Sat, 1/3/09, mark scease wrote:
From: mark scease Subject: Love you Honey
To: "Erdene oyun"
Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 8:21 PM
Hi Darling, seems like our phone calls are always too short for me to tell you how much I love you and appreciate how well you are taking care of our darling

Re: Love you Honey
Sunday, January 4, 2009 12:18 AM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"Erdene oyun" View contact details
To:
markscease@yahoo.com
tell you what oh i`m so enjoyded Conners mom`s blog.lot`s of interesting photos was there.
i think little Conner was so much similar moods with pmpk i think. thank you honey reminded me about this blog.love youhoney.miss you!

That’s about it from here. Congratulations Missy. Two boys to keep you hopping. I’m wishing everyone a Happy New Year full of love and new experiences

The blessed elixer

2008-12-15T23:05:00.003+08:00

Ah, Maine. I'm back for a short visit and throughly enjoying myself despite the weather. More so than my brother, who is without power and in a shelter. Well, his father in laws house, but with eight adults and five kids it is probably getting a little close up there. We had a tremendous ice storm the night of my arrival (Thanks, big guy). Central Maine, where I am, was spared the worst of the nasties, but New Hampshire was wrecked. Feels great to be back even for a short visit. My other brother's daughter is just the cutest and I've been able to even hold her for short periods under adult supervision. She and the pumpkin are the closest of the cousins in age, so I've been evaluating her for compatiblity issues. Hard to say which one of them is cuter, but even a tie wouldn't be such a bad thing. Can't believe I've been gone for three and a half years. I am both lucky and thankful to see everyone in good shape. Nephew George who was just beginning to stand is now four and more active than a tornado. Probably, faster moving over the ground as well. My dad will be over shortly, we are going out for lobster stew and steamed hot dogs which will pretty much complete my list of foods I want to eat while I'm home. Beans, Ham Italians, mollasses donuts, and a river of Moxie have already vanished down the hatch. I have a lead on five dollar a pound lobster, so life may get even better. Now if the snow holds off until my plane on Wedsday. Pictures will have to wait, as I left the camera unloader in San Diego. Great pictures of the morning after the ice storm and tons of kids in motion.

All I want for Christmas is?

2008-11-28T23:05:00.008+08:00

Well, I'm not going to get this just yet, but all is progressing nicely on the immigration front and perhaps the easter bunny will leave these two out in the yard. I told Erdene, "given the expense of shipping from Mongolia, a picture of her and the lad is all I want for my birthday, plus a litte help with Deece' WWII this week" Thankfully, she was able to comply with the picture, but I'm not too sure about the Udon Noodle guess. I'm thinking of buying myself a camera for the birthday and shipping it to her, but that would mean braving the hordes of Black Friday shoppers. I'll give it some more thought and perhaps venture out after lunch. The Pumpkin is too cute, not to take pictures of.

He does look a tad miffed in my picture though. I'll find out tonight when Erdene and I talk, but I'm guessing he wanted the camera for himself and that loving hold Erdene is exhibting is actually the grip of steel. Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I was able to cook pretty much whatever came to mind and didn't have to drive through three counties or walk over half of UB to find the ingrediants, so no complaints here. I caught a touch of concern in Erdene's voice when discussing the division of labor re Thanksgiving and she was reassured to learn that the female half of the family is not required to cook the actual turkey, especially not her first time out. She is going to have a tough time with the sheer volume of leftovers, a social no no in Mongolia, but an intergral part of the feasting here. As the loyal reader can well imagine, I'm enjoying the thought of her experiencing America. Can't wait to see her face when she is introduced to the somewhat ignoble, but incredibly tasty, Maine lobster. I can only hope that she stands her ground as valiantly as my brother's lads when cornered. Even I feel a little sad at enjoy the frantic wiggling as they go into the pot just prior to their sudden demise, but not enough not to eat them with butter and some metaphysical relish.

Thanksgiving in Mongolia

2008-11-24T04:26:00.009+08:00

If I was in Mongolia, this is what we would be having. I'm thinking of naming it

"Spamturken"

Pumpkin loves it, too

And lets not forget the miracle of the self-replicating spam

Bad News from the In Box

2008-11-21T06:13:00.004+08:00

I recieved a reply from an email I sent awhile back to Glen Doutrich from his daughter Tami. Glen is in CHC and not doing well. She asks for anyone with something good to say, to drop a line in his last post. I'll miss his jokes and his banging away at the dysfunction which is the CNMI government. I'll always be waiting for the next installment of his Flashback series and the chance to buy him a drink, if only to hear him laugh. Cheers, Glen

UPDATE. So, I heard this evening that Glen Doutrich passed away at three in the AM Saipan time. Bless you Glen; for your achievements during your life and the lessons you have passed on to those willing to listen. You won't be forgotten in my part of the world.

Good news from the In box

2008-11-18T05:32:00.004+08:00

And it wasn't spam. Erdene was able to visit the internet cafe' in Erdenet and sent pictures of Alan Amara (I need to write that occasionaly or I'll put the wrong name in the immigration blank). This is the first I've seen of him since I left in September. For my birthday, I get pictures of both of them. Right, Honey? Can't say as he looks much different at two, but wonderful all the same.

In San Diego news. I made my first visit to Walmart since returning. I didn't really want to go, but had run out of stores which might stock marshmellow fluff in a plastic jar. Sending a glass jar filled with stickiness in the mail to Mongolia didn't strike me a being a sound move and if you are looking for plastic; Walmart is the place to go. No luck and I can't say as I enjoyed the experience all that much. I was out the door faster than a set of rims at a snoop dog concert. Thanks to Larry the Cable guy again for that line.

In the same vein, here's the speed demon running away with Uncle Ankhaa's cell phone.

2008-11-15T04:18:00.007+08:00

While I was waiting for the lad and Erdene to make their way to the west, I figured that it would be ok for me to write again. Waiting isn’t a whole lot of fun, but seems like I need to make the best of it or spend the next few months wallowing in despair. Allright, that’s it for the negatives.
Pumpkin turned two last week and is showing every sign of being the child from happy land (eh, mom. You thought I was going to drop an “h” bomb, I’ll bet). Nope, Erdene and I are able to talk every other day or so and he’s coming along just fine. Nine times out of ten, he picks up the phone first and I’m treated to whatever it is toddlers like to talk about. Not hard to tell that he’s happy from his voice. I suppose the constant reassurance from his own mouth is what has allowed me to relax and be happy without them. If you don’t believe me call 976.99.72.45.75 Chances are fairly good, he’ll answer. Don’t call before 9PM EST or 7AM Saipan time. Chances are good at those times that you’ll find a sleepy mom on the other end of the line. Strange little fellow. My birthday present of crayons and paper arrived the other day. Erdene told me, he was very happy to see his crayons and markers all assembled in their little tray. Instead of turning into a mini Picasso or Jackson Pollock, he took them all out, then carefully replaced them in the tray. A little unclear on the concept and he sure didn't get the tidy habit from any member of my family. They are out of the family ger and into a warm apartment in downtown Erdenet for the winter. Erdene tells me there is a basketball court in the front of their building and another playground at a nearby middle school, so the pumpkin is able to enjoy his basketball once again.
I’m hoping there will be other kids nearby for him to practice talking with, but its enough that they are warm and near the stores. I’m not at all surprised that he is out on the courts during the Mongolian winter, as he comes from hardy cold weather stock, despite being born on Saipan - the land of perpetual summer.
Not too much to report from San Diego. A brief chilly spell, gave way to the warm westerlies and I’m thinking about the beach. Be silly not to, as Torrey Pines State Park is less than two miles from my temporary dwelling at my sister’s house. Missed my merge on the 163 the other day and ended up heading for Escondido. I knew that was going to happen one of these days. On the bright side, the 808 and I-5 split passes without a thought most mornings. Erdene is going to freak when she rides down the highway here. Mongolia’s idea of a highway are yellow lines down the middle of the asphalt. She’ll love the relative lack of horn noises, though. Enough for now. I’m going to try and blog more often and for less verbage for a while. One side benefit of Erdene moving to town is internet acsess, so with any luck, I’ll have some pumpkin pictures to blog. Here’s one from my sisters collection. This is California at its best. I’ll update the picture with a caption, once I think about it for awhile.

to be or not to be

2008-10-17T12:32:00.005+08:00

A Red Sox fan. I had to make a big decision this evening. Should I call my mom in Maine from my temporary home in Southern CA and alert her to the fact the 'Sox managed to come from behind and tie the game, when I knew well and good she was probably fed up with the entire season by the fifth inning when they were on the verge of elimination, and most likely deep in post season slumber. Hah. Made the call, and we both enjoyed the trans-continental victory together.

A note: My mom and I enjoyed watching the sox come so close back in '75 and I still feel the bruises on my legs from her reaction to the Carleton Fisk drive to the fair side of the foul pole in right field. I was more than happy to share this game with her from a distance. Still, I wish I was with her this evening. Even if she does still insist on plying the popcorn with parmesean cheese. Love you mom and go sox.

Domestic political news. Nada..I don't want to talk about it. Mongolian news. It has snowed up in Erdenet twice now, but the Pupmpkin is loving the white stuff and Erdene has a line on an apartment downtown. An apartment will get her and the lad out of the ger and snow and into a warm place with a hot bath. Taxes are done on my side and the visa process can begin. Lord, I miss them so much, but me being here will move things along much faster. Me being there would really screw us up. Turns out; money earned overseas means nothing to the INS. Good side is; I only need to make twenty thousand dollars this fall to smooth things over. Bad news is; they average the earnings over three years and last year for my contribution to the US Gross National Product was a zero, but there are waivers. Oh well, we are moving forward and I have an excellent case for a waiver. I'm going to throw in some pictures just for the heck of it. I may start a thread on obtaining an immediant relative visa, but we'll see how it goes. I just hope it isn't a thread leaning towards; don't try this.

It rained in Southern California

2008-10-09T11:36:00.010+08:00

From Sunday’s Union-Tribune. ..“An unusually heavy rainstorm for October, raced through the metro area on early Sunday morning. Rainfall totaled 0.18 of an inch at Lindbergh Field“. Say what? Even in arid Ulan Baatar two-tenths of an inch wouldn’t receive a mention. My niece goes to as many Padre’s games as they can find tickets for, but needed to have the term “rain delay” explained. Tough place to live. I’m not even going to start on the size of the mangoes in the grocery. Or, even the grocery store itself. At least I don’t stand around like a stunned beast, bewildered by the choices, as often as I used to.

I'm also treated to fine meals by my sisters. The two lovely ladies in the above picture are my sisters who live here. The observant viewer might notice they look alike. Points to you. They are twins, one year and three months younger than myself and my very best friends. A past resident or observant visitor to San Diego might notice the hotel Del Coronado in the background. Site for the filming of "Some like it hot". Sarah Palin take a seat in the back of the room. My sisters are up on their foreign policy, have possesed passports since high school, and are hot. Anyway, brunch at the 'Del is a must do.

The weather is fantastic. Shh. Don’t tell Erdene, as she still has a Mongolian winter to weather. Ouch. I’m torn between loving my surroundings and feeling totally bummed that Erdene and lad aren’t here to share them with me. I am able to talk with them regularly and at a decent rate. Mongolia to the US is fifty cents a minute, US mainland to .mn is around six and a half cents. Pumpkin is usually the first one to grab the phone and I just love hearing his gabble. Having to redail after he hit’s the end call button is a small price to pay for a little connection to his cuteness.Great picture, eh? He looks a lot older than the age of eighteen months when this snap was taken.

Here's another just for the record

One view of the weather which contrasts greatly to Saipan is the cool ocean breeze in the evenings. I’m used to cooler weather on the hills in Saipan, but here the hills often bake in the sun and are regularly washed by the desert breezes from the east. The descent from the badlands to a cool ocean breeze is a blessing not usually noted on a typical coral island. There aren’t any comparisons to be drawn between Mongolia and coastal southern California. None. However, should I venture to Death Valley, I may find some. I see some flowers here which are familiar to Saipan. I really hope we can live here.
Erdene will just love the surroundings. Not that Maine isn’t all that, but maybe baby steps will help on the transition.

Speaking of transitions. California car

Boats in a Maine harbor.

If that isn't enough, the expressways are a bit of a shocker. I’m used to a few poorly paved roads and the odd mad dog. Yesterday, I dodged a poorly secured surfboard lying in my lane. Yep, I’m not in Kansas anymore.

Thankfully, a new Mongolian blog

2008-09-26T00:27:00.003+08:00

I'm at blogging odds at the moment. San Diego hasn't piqued my blogger interest as of yet and Saipan seems several worlds away at the moment. I am glad the lights are on and Boni thinned out the ranks of prospective suitors to what seems to be a most excellant candidate. Erdene hasn't heard the news yet, but I'm sure she'll be as happy for the families as I am. Obviously, I won't be commenting on Mongolian issues and observations first hand. However, this young man from the UB Post seems to has the Mongol blog well in hand. He doesn't know the pumpkin, but seems to have a fair hand at descriptive prose. Plus, he's working at the independant Mongolian newspaper. I'll be reading his blog HERE.

Erdene and the lad are doing fine up in Erdenet. The neighbor's cat is exceptionaly toddler friendly. The weather is still bearable and Erdene tells me the lad is making the most of his time outside with his new friend and the flower garden. No pictures at the moment, but it is on list. I'm thrilled to call home and hear his voice as he answers his mom's phone. I don't know what he's saying beyond "Hi" and some familar baby noises, but it is enough to know he is up to his usual phone tricks. All is well in my trials with the IRS and DHS, etc..et al.. I'm happy knowing that whether it is spring or winter when they arrive, the sand here in So. Cal. will be warm and with any luck the flowers will be blooming for Erdene. One mainland surprise for me are the similarities between the flowers here and in Saipan. Erdene's only regret was living the beauty of Saipan for the bleakness of the city, so I'm sure to be happy with her reaction to the flora. Not sure how she'll enjoy the ten lanes of I-5, but hopefully she'll sleep through the ride from the airport and we can take the back streets to the beach. Getting a little ahead of myself. Back to the taxes.

2008-09-15T21:50:00.002+08:00

Not the final chapter, but the prequel. I’m in sunny San Diego today, while the lad and my dear long suffering wife tough it out in Erdenet, outer Mongolia. Not exactly how I wanted my eastern sojurn to end, but so it goes. Let's hope this is a short chapter.

I'm here to finalize my sadly delinquent tax returns and from there to finish Erdene's visa application to this; the land of the big giant most humongous grocery store. I'm still bemused by the variety and scale of even the most humble Von's. By my count, I was on my third visit before I was able to ditch the "deer in the headlights" stare and actually by something. I am not amused by the price increases since my last visit stateside three years ago. Spam is at over three dollars a can. I can't figure that one out. Roughly the same price as in Mongolia. I would have thought shipping would have made it much more pricey to the east. Yikes. Jeff T. had it right with his observations on this commercial society. I haven't been to a department or electronics store yet and am dreading what I might see. Just driving down I-5 was enough to asure me that the strip mall society is alive and well. In Solano beach Marshall's is having a sale or so my sisters tell me. Good thing, as I washed a red crayon with my last two pairs of shorts this past week. Pumpkin and Erdene are well. We talk on the phone every few days and she prints out a serial email once a week, but I could use a hug nonetheless. Not sure if we will end up in S California, but she did say before I left that she wishes we stayed in Saipan and sunny San Diego isn't a bad second choice. By necessatity, as New England seems to have entered the depression sooner than the rest of the country. We'll be moving them from the family ger to an apartment at the end of the month and I can stop worrying about the countryside hazards (dogs, woodstoves, and blizzards) for the moment though all is well. The lad seems to recognize my voice over the phone, but I so miss his happy little smile as he toddles towards me. Let this be a lesson to all you tax procrastinators out there.

New chapter coming soon

2008-09-02T13:10:00.002+08:00

Erdene, the lad, and I are in Erdenet for the week. The weather has been just lovely up here and we are reveling in the peace and quiet. Not to mention, the spectacular views and atmosphere. The Pumpkin has enjoyed a freedom of action denied him in UB. He is only one doorway and three steps from the great outdoors. Outdoors consists of one dog, a cat, and a herd of friendly goats. He's having a blast and I so love letting him fall down on the soft grass, versus the hard falls onto broken rock and glass of UB. More later, we are a bit removed from town and accompanying internet access.

Sumo

2008-08-27T21:14:00.002+08:00

Sweet, the Doctor and I were enjoying a warm afternoon at the local, when the Sumo bus drove by. It was fairly easy to see they were Sumo's as they were all sitting along the downhill side. The road was flat, but the bus had a fifteen degree list to their side of the bus. Plus, the top knots and reserved expressions completely gave them away. My impression was; these dudes are friggin huge. They took up the entire window frame, that would have taken two or three hippee tourist types to occupy.

The Pmpkn and I are venturing to the Grand Khan Kempinski hotel in the AM for a glimpse. They might be staying further from town, but I'm willing to give it a shot. The lad doesn't have a choice, but then again he rarely expresses any opinion on where our morning walks leave. Sweet. I'm really hoping they will be in residence, but it is more likely they will be at the Hotel Mongolia a dozen klicks from town. No problem, though. If they aren't at the Kempinski, we'll journey further afield the next day.

To be an Olympian

2008-08-23T10:44:00.006+08:00

UPDATE

Is still profitable. Check out what Mongolia's first gold medal winner is taking home. A cell phone with a very special number. All nines, which is preferable for some reason or another. A three room apartment, Two SUV's, enough cash that he will need a couple of wheelbarrows and last, but not least, eleven pounds of gold, plus the medal itself and the joy of the entire population. Gotta love it. Sumo's are in town, but haven't seen one yet. Shouldn't be hard to miss.

Sunday, another great day for Mongolians. Their boxers managed a gold and silver today. To say everyone is in a good mood would be an understatement. Horns are blaring, people are still cheering an hour after the final match. Erdene was a little non-plussed by the total number of medals, until I pointed out that the Americans would have to win 200 and the chinese many hundreds more (bonus points for anyone who cares to do the math), in order for their totals to equal Mongolia's haul on a per capita basis. Having been briefed by KAP I am glad to say the medals are in the MANLY EVENTS We are hoping for a parade tomorrow and there are sure to be fireworks tonight. Here's hoping the gladness spills over into the legislative sector as they really need to sit down and reform the government. Oh well, for tonight they deserve the celebration.

So, my wife gave birth to an axe murderer

2008-08-17T08:39:00.002+08:00

And Mongolia rejoices over gold medal

I never could post on just on topic. First the lad. The most telling sign of his personal development is his reach. The very back of the cutting board set to the very rear of the kitchen table is not safe any longer. Erdene and I were enjoying a quiet mornings perusal of the daily news, blissfully unawar e of his kitchen play, until he sauntered in from the kitchen and presented his mother with the big cleaver. Thankfully, he simply handed it to her, while we sat like deer caught in the headlights. More often than not, he prefers to work on his pitching arm. Perhaps, he has figured out that knives are a little scarey, but I think we will have a cupboard for knives after this point. In case anyone is wondering, Mongolia apartments do not generally come with drawers which can be childproofed. On the bright side, the electrical plugs are mounted a little above waist high, so we don‘t have electrocution hazards for another month and a half at his current rate of growth. I had an inkling that parenthood could be a little traumatic at times, but the big cleaver?

On the plus side, he has learned to respect the curb as a definite boundary, not to be crossed without someones hand, which tempers my most frequent nightmare. And he has come to consider the stove top to be an enemy and limits his play to removing the temperature controls. Confession time, when I was two or three, I managed to set my parent's kitchen alight by way of some injudicious fiddling with the knobs. As a reminder,my mom still has the fire scorched spice rack which along with a set of curtains were the only physical victims of the blaze. My dad still jokes that my first word was fire, fire. And we’re doing better than the poor mom up in Maine. She was doing kitchen chores while her toddler slept in his playroom on the third floors. She was a bit non-plussed when she heard a bump on the baby monitor and then saw her son toddling about in the yard. Apparently, the little tyke escaped the playpen and managed to exit the window through the screen and free fell twenty odd feet for a safeish landing in the grass. He definitely gets a perfect ten on the dismount.

Ah yes, the Olympics. The familia were watching on Thursday evening, along with the rest of Mongolia when Mongolia's Tuvshinbayar Naidan won the men's 100-kilogram class judo gold. It was a somewhat strange evening. I was hearing a faint echo of the roar from the crowd, which had me looking out over the balcony to see if there was an outdoor showing at the neighboring wrestling palace. Nothing there, I was hearing the massed shouts from the bars on the opposite side of the street fronting the palace. What a night. Fireworks, car horns (more than usual, as there is a direct connection from a Mongolians nervous system, straight to the horn button) , the actual fireworks started around ten, as thousands filled the main square. I wanted to attend of course, but my sweet voice of reason suggested I watch from home, as I wouldn’t have made it across the street without a half dozen friendly invitations to wrestle. As, I’ve already broken two ribs on the cobbles of the wresting palace and wish no more, I listened to the missus and stayed put.

Pretty good performance summoning up fireworks on such short notice, as this particular athlete wasn’t predicted to finish in the money. And he is in the money, as the first gold medalist from Mongolia. Two cars, money from just about everyone. Plus, the complete adoration by the populace. As my Canadian aquitance remarked yesterday, if this fellow isn’t a total oaf, he’ll be seated in Parliament as soon as he announces his desire to sit for a seat.

A week ago this past Saturday, the North American contigent in UB summoned a focus group which touched on Mongolia’s chances for a gold and were in absolute agreement that winning would be in the best interests of the country. Everyone is still a bit in the dumps from the rioting, the minority parties refuse to convene the legislature, and this should be the spark which gets things moving forward again. Certainly, Friday morning was deathly quiet once the last of the revelers tottered off home with the coming of day break. The homecoming parade should be huge, with any luck it will run in front of our building and we won’t need to brave the hordes in Sugaarter Square.

comments

2008-08-14T20:37:00.002+08:00

Nah, not here. I'm a bit amazed and occasionally appalled by the comment sections in online papers. I am totally pissed when I see an article in a national paper, which while making no sense at all, denies me the ability to speak from the ass without delay. Here is an article to the point. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/13/AR2008081303731.html

No shit, sherlock. Anyone who can keep a bottle of virulent poison around their person can certainly keep same from polluting a mailbox, let alone holdings stray hairs from the box in question. Damn... Are the reporters so stupid or the investigators. Certainly the editor was asleep at the switch when this one went to press.

Why can’t I blog regularly?

2008-08-14T18:34:00.004+08:00

There is an old saying in the computer world; “garbage in, equals garbage out. Fair enough. I’m a news hound though and I spend way too much of my available time taking in info. Not there aren’t some fabulous stories out there, but not really. Saipan news, State of Maine news, Mongolian news, world news, news of the weird, .. And of course there is Pumpkin news, combined with news from bloggers whose children I adore. Mellisas’s lovely daughter, Boni’s growing group (growing up, not expanding population), Deece’s little darlings, the baby tree hugger, my own family’s ever expanding brood. I’m overwhelmed. Sorry.

UB is quite fine this time of year. The lad and I have the morning outing and we usually manage a family evening in the courtyard playground, plus the odd afternoon trip to the market for dinner. He’s making friends. Pumpkin or buddy is a bit bigger then the local kids his age which leads to some lame explanations as to why he doesn’t talk, but he holds his own on the playground and is making good marks when it comes to playing well with others. Joy, Oh joy. I don’t mind an only child, but I don’t want a selfish,insular, only child. I’ll take what I get, of course, but I’m very happy with what we have. Amara is curious and intuitive, plus he enjoys imitating adult behavior. Give him a bag of rice chips and a bottle of water and he heads for the nearest stoop for his snack. I’m not a big one on sitting at the table, but I do like to eat sitting down and he manages that without suggestion or command.

All right, I’m going to write less, more often. I owe a review of “Dateline Mongolia”, the Mongolian outlook at the Olympics and my dear wife’s ambition to compete in the pistol category next time around, my thoughts on the life and writing of A. Solzhenitysn, plus I need to update my bookmarks. Sorry no pictures, I managed to lose my Camera. Which rather sucks, as the lad has greatly expanded his repatoire of cute expressions, as his teeth come in.

Highlights; film at eleven

2008-08-03T08:55:00.001+08:00

Jogging around the blogsphere, I noticed Boni has a cool new widget. Blogroll support, with the first few sentences of the last post and the time elapsed. Oops, has it really been two weeks since I posted on my shameful cooking. Oh well. Back at it today and I’m going to give pancakes with bacon another try. I’m still coming down from my high of last night’s exquisite Beef Stroganoff and feel ready to tackle my horrible burner and lame assed frying pan. Life has been quiet here in UB, since Naadam. Everyone who can, has fled to the countryside and even mid-day traffic is light.
Apparently, Blogger had a major spasm this past week and many were frozen out of their blogs. Read about it here on BBN, if you are INTERESTED. Glenn on Saipan appears to be down and out. Of course, Saipan being Saipan there could be several reasons for his absence. Fried motherboard, incessant power failures at Glenn D. com, or just simple fury at the system which is Saipan’s dysfunctional government. Or he could be taking a golf vacation. I’m hoping it’s golf.

Big Sox news. They traded Manny. A hot topic of conversation all over New England I’m sure. I even had a radomn encounter with a fellow sox fan at dinner the other night and Manny was the word. I’m going to miss him. He just seemed so lackadaisical. Baggy pants, flowing dreads, and his somewhat un-athletic frame. Definetely not Yankees material, although neither was Johhny D, prior to the queer eye for the straight guy makeover. I’m over fretting whether or not the trade was a good deal, apparently the clubhouse and the front office were both done with him. I will miss the look on pitcher’s faces when they were forced to choose between getting down with Manny, knowing the Big Popi was next in line. I am glad he went to the National league as I didn’t want to see that look on the Sox pitching staff. Later, Manny. Hope you enjoy Hollywood and thanks for the thrills and laughs. If you should party with the Los Lobos boys, tell them the Doctor says hello.

In Pumpkin news. Not much. His teeth continue to come in and have made his face fill out nicely. He has the greatest little smile these days and uses it whenever possible. I’m really starting to enjoy his company on our jaunts around the neighborhood. He has that insatiable little boy curiosity which combined with the smile and those huge eyes, makes every encounter an enjoyable one. He had his first major scrape recently. Even some blood where a small piece of glass sliced his little knee. Erdene had the duty that morning and reported that both mother and son recovered quickly. Erdene and I had our own little drama last week. We both forgot our second wedding anniversary. As luck would have it though, we enjoyed a quiet dinner out in the Pumpkin proofed basement of the Silk Road followed by an companionable walk home in the soft summer twilight . We both agreed that if we had been celebrating our anniversary it couldn’t have been a nicer evening. Gotta love it when life works out well enough,that special occasions can be an everyday event. If anyone was wondering, the eclipse was a loser here in UB. We were too far off the track for the show to produce anything except slightly damaged retinas. Bad news in town is the price of a half a pound of ground coffee is around eight dollars. Back to intstant for me. That’s it for today. We are putting the lad on a schedule and its wakee wakee time.

Confessions

2008-07-19T08:19:00.005+08:00

Ever notice how cooking bloggers are quick to extol on the virtues of their latest creation, but how seldom the disasters make the front page? Yes, I screwed up. I prepared what was most likely the worst breakfast ever. Pancakes with Bacon, how hard can that be. Well, the bacon was a salt cured variety and I failed to par boil or soak it. Strike one. I'm still having difficulties with my new frying pan and the hot spot on my front burner. I did manage one unburned pancake out of five, but as the ratio is usually Erdene three and Mark one, that record didn't quite cut the mustard. Strike two. Finally, Erdene noticed something that looked like dust come out of our last half bottle of maple syrup. Not dust, a layer of mold. Strike three and the side was retired. We're having eggs with canned corn beef hash this morning.

In UB news, the Naddam festival was this past weekend. A celebration of "Manly Sports". The athletic portion of the festival centers around wrestling, archery, and horse racing with young boys as the jockeys over a fairly grueling 12 mile track across the countryside. Naddam is huge in Mongolia. Nearly every developed area sports their own Naddam and UB is shut down for three days as everyone is out at the stadium or the racing area. I mean, shut down. We shopped on Wedsday and Thursday, for anything and everything we could conceivably need over the weekend, as the only places open are the little package stores. The effects of Naddam lasted through much of the week as bread was not baked over the weekend, although it looks as though the breweries kept up on beer production.

We didn't attend the stadium events this year, although we did spend an afternoon touring the grounds with a visitor from Saipan. The usual; colorful dress, meat on a stick, toys, and rides for the lad. He seemed to enjoy himself and managed the kiddie rides with his usual enthusiasm. I don't know what my mom would say about his sampling the deep fried meat dumplings, but no ill effects. He wasn't run over by any horses and ignored the odd pile of horse droppings during his wanderings. Erdene took a shot at trying her hand at archery after the competion finished and held up her side. I have pictures, but I'm forbidden to post as the camera angle makes her butt look big.

The post election discord continues in a more restrained parliamentary fashion with no repeats of the recent unpleasantness. The head of the main opposition party is calling for a boycott of the opening session of the Great Hural and they will probably stay out for a bit which will further delay the passage of the mining law. Better than another riot, but not what the country needs as winter approaches.

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Pumpkin made his first venture to the Black Market. Previously, we had kept him home as it is just too crowded for a little fella, but on our latest trip with Mashbatt senior, we took him along. Glad to say he did well. He was only knocked over once and managed to amuse a fairly sizable crowd, while dancing along with a woman performing a traditional Mongolian dance in an open area. We were pretty lucky on our timing. The dancer and her assistant were just setting up and the lad and I found ourselves in the front row. As soon as the music started, I read far enough forward to realize what could happen and set the lad down. He took a couple of steps forward out of the crowd and danced away in a loose mimicry of the dancer. Erdene was shopping a few feet away and couldn't see us (yes, it is that crowed there), but I managed to get her attention, so she could enjoy the show. It was hard to see through the dancer's makeup, but I could just make out the vestige of a smile so I didn't worry too much about her performance being spoiled. The audience definetely enjoyed the two of them. I just love the dancing years and he did keep his clothes on this time, thankfully.

I'm feeling a little better

2008-07-07T11:06:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Deece, hostess of the What Is It? contest for rewakening my interest in this classic. Best of all, I can find the ingrediants here in UB. Except Velveeta, but I'm a cheddar fan. Hmmmm. Thanks

I need a laugh

2008-07-07T08:12:00.003+08:00

Got this in from my old home town paper. Last worthwhile news from that region was the young lady who made her prom dress out of Wrigley's chewing gum wrappers. Looks like someone went one better. Fifteen years ago, I can bet that I would have known the culprit who committed this demented deed. Heck, chances are good, they would have been either a close friend or a relation.

AUGUSTA -- Firefighters had to rush to the bathroom in the wee hours Sunday morning. But they were not tending to personal business.

A flaming port-a-potty someone allegedly lit on fire on Front Street warranted a fire department response.

"They don't usually spontaneously combust," Augusta Battalion Chief Al Nelson said of the portable thrones.
Firefighters first received word of the flaming outhouse at 1:47 a.m. The blaze -- but maybe not the odor -- was under control within approximately 10 minutes, according to police records.
Except for the likely scarred nostrils, it appears no one was injured as a result of the fire.
Nelson said an investigation is pending, but is unlikely to turn up a culprit.

All is well this Monday morning here in UB. Fortunately, I stayed away from the demon rum, although, some of my cohorts are no doubt feeling the effects of Rum, Sodomy, and the lash. Not really, but I always enjoyed that quote. Turns out I know, quite well, one of the people who died during the rioting. Not a six degrees of seperation, which I enjoy feeling good about. The young man in question was not the sort of guy, I would have expected to have been mixed up in all this. I'm still a bit stunned and saddened by it all. If I had to name five young Mongolians who would have made a difference in his life, he would be very near the top. Rest in Peace, Dorge.

Here we go

2008-07-06T08:37:00.007+08:00

The President of Mongolia lifted the state of emergency at midnight Saturday. Lovely morning here in UB, warm with brilliant blue skies.
Thanks to the US embassy here in Mongolia for hosting a most enjoyable Fourth of July picnic. Erdene stuffed herself, I managed a beer, Pumpkin exposed himself. All in all, a great time. The event wasn't at the embassy venue itself, but in a residential complex. Security issues, I would imagine. However, I don't think the embassy compound has a wading pool, so I'm not concerned. At ten meters in diamater, this was the mud puddle to end all mud puddles for the lad. We had to pull him out a few times, when the shivering became too intense. I think the Doctor's lady friend managed a few pictures, so I'll update later if possible. She missed his shuffle step marching to the Marine Hymn which is too bad and his exposure, which was really too bad. Why is it that whenever the diaper comes off, everything else must as well? It was too funny, especially given that he was only a few meters from the Ambassador and his entourage. Two hotdogs, coke, and cake: Five thousand, Togrig. Watching your baby expose his junk to a hundred people and the band: Priceless.
Rumor has it, one of my dear wife's friends will loan us her camera this afternoon. Sobriety permitting, I'll have some pictures later today, along with an update from the street. This is big week approaching. Besides the Doctor and myself there are two other Saipainans visiting UB this week. Must be something in the water.

Letter home

2008-07-05T11:31:00.006+08:00

Hi Tom, I realize now my older letter didn’t really set out very well what happened this week. Early results from Sunday’s elections were announced Monday with the MRRP party (old commies) taking a majority from the democrat party and around six splinter parties. Obviously, a case of vote diluting from the minority blocs, but also from some redistricting issues and poorish polling place administration. The minorities organized a protest rally in the square in front of the UB hotel (just down from Sukhbaatar square and adjacent to the MRRP party headquarters. There was also some action at the election commission office in a nearby area. The speakers got the demonstrators all riled up. Estimates put the crowd between four and eight thousand people. I don’t know why, but the police didn’t seem to have a response ready and things got way out of hand. One of the first places to go was the duty free (read, liquor) store and you can imagine what happened after that. There was a spirited battle between the defenders of the MRRP office and a bunch of rock throwers. As you know, rocks are not in short supply here. At this point some fires were set and responding police and emergency vehicles were repulsed by the rock throwers. The crowd was very mixed. Middle aged women, well dressed young men, and of course the usual unemployed hoodlums. As the riot went on, major looting occurred along with some serious burning before the authorities were able to gain control. The whole mess was confined to a small area bounded by the main square to the west, Daves pub to the north (their fencing held up and the brown ale is safe), a block the other side of Peace ave was the southern boundary, and the UB hotel to the east. Looking west from our place we could only see the faintest sign of smoke, but the various tv stations had awesome live and taped coverage, so not being a total idiot, I watched from the living room with the family. Erdene’s dad and younger brother were over and they were quite shocked by the mayhem. I quess, I’m a bit jaded our riots didn’t seem any worse than the mayhem after a NCAA finals tourney.

So that was the day. The President was on the tv in the evening and appealed for calm, while also declaring a state of emergency. A more vigorous response by the police in the early morning hours of Weds day, the security clampdown, depleting and closing of the booze stores, and some solid rain all day Wedsday, pretty much cooled things down. Now we wait to see the next chapter. Everything has been quiet since weds day morning and the army has gone back into barracks for the most part. Today, Saturday, Parliament is supposed to meet and decide whether to suspend the state of emergency or continue it. We’ll see, but I don’t think the police will be caught out a second time. I’m thinking there will be a limited suspension of the emergency. No booze, but unlimited access to the downtown, various independent tv stations will broadcast again, and we’ll see what happens.

Otherwise, all is well. The missus, lad, and I toured the area yesterday and except for the burned out buildings and a few AK toting guards all is normal. Had an enjoyable lunch at Millies and Pumpkin was his usual charming self. We even violated the curfew last night after a late dinner, by hanging out in the open area in front of the wrestling palace and playing a little ball with the lad. He is a basketball nut at this point and is quite impossible out of doors if there is a ball within sight or hearing difference. His regulation basketball is strengthening his arms, so anything smaller and lighter is sure to fly across the room. We’re worried about the longevity of the tv at this point are are segregating the heavier objects. Hope all is well with you and the good ship B. Erdene says hi and she’s still enjoying her fluff. The Doctor and I are making the best of things, although the looting of the duty free store which kept us going during the alcohol poisoning and january prohibtion, was a cold water enema.. I have a source and he discovered room service will deliver. Otherwise, we are hoping for a rational decision based on the pure economics of the number of thirsty tourists in town and lost revenue. We’ll see. At worst, the rains have brought green grass to the city and surrounding hills, UB has never looked better. Happy fourth. We're off to the embassy do for some Americana and hot dogs. All the best, Mark

Rain is good

2008-07-04T09:11:00.005+08:00

My walkabout Thursday, confirmed the reports of troops having been replaced by the normal police. The APC parked on the corner near the UB hotel is gone, although I did see a truck load of paramilitary/soldiers types up the street by the Chinese Embassy. Security for the Chinese or a quick response team, no clue. Except for a loan Ak toting type on the steps of the already looted Institute for Culture, no visible troops. There were a couple of policemen checking out their newly issued sidearms in the park fronting the parliament building, which was a bit scary. . A policeman with a side arm is an infrequent sight on the streets of UB. That idea takes a little getting used to, especially when the first people I saw armed here were the security guards at the local version of Home Depot. I’m a little happier with the soldiers having the guns, as they have more training

Traffic is still a bit restricted from the main cross town street, but returning to normal levels. Dang it. Peace street, actually being peaceful, was a pleasant change from the normal four and eight cylinder horse races. The two burned out buildings were a bit disconcerting, but at least it was quiet. The buses having had the run of the road for the last few days are going to be hard to live with now that they have had a taste of the open road.

Now that the rain and security clampdown have returned city life to normal, we are wondering what the end of the emergency will bring. By my calculations, the Great Hural should meet today or Saturday, depending on how soon the members can return from their home districts, and they will then decide whether or not to lift the embargo. The government election commission has come out with a statement affirming the fairness of the elections. No surprise there. The leader of the Democratic party has managed to stay out of jail and toned the rhetoric down, but is still calling for a recount. Good article HERE by Micheal Kohn on the various factors which led to the riots and a comprehensive overview with a somewhat dark look at the future HERE by the UPI. We’ll see, but I’m betting the Doctor and I will be drinking beer at a hotel Saturday afternoon and not at our neighborhood local. Whether or not, we’ll be dodging gangs of rock throwing unemployed rioters, remains to be seen, but I doubt it.

In Pumpkin news, he’s a bit miffed at all the rain and mom has had a tough time indoors with him lately, while I toil on the streets. “Come home, right now” is a bit tough to respond to promptly with no cabs and puddles to dodge. He on the other hand loves puddles. I watched him run and dance through the same puddle no less than fifteen times yesterday morning. That was all well and good, until he decided that playing while sitting in the puddle was more fun. I’ve figured out his socialization technique, he is just shy for the first couple of meetings, but lightens up when he has already met a couple of times with the same child. Thanks to the little girl who lives under the stairs in the next building for that piece of hard won knowledge. She is a sweet and patient child who will be finding a basket of goodies shortly. We are hoping the weather forecast is correct and we will be dry, but cloudy today. I have some time and Erdene hasn’t seen the party headquarters site for herself yet, plus they are both going stir crazy and lunch out at the Casablanca sounds like a plan, unless she goes for pizza at the Silk Road or Strudel at Sacher’s Café. No street mutton though, damn rioters drove them away. There is a reason for lifting the state of emergency, “Bring back the street mutton”

Seriously though, the smaller café’s and bars up at this end of town have taken a serious hit over the last few days. The tourism season looked to be hitting full speed, only to come to crashing halt. Can’t make much money, if your doors and beer coolers are locked. We’ll have to see if local economics plays into the lift or don’t lift equation. I doubt it somehow, if there is a legitimate reason for protest here, the government seems to have blinders on when it comes to the plight of the honest working people. Shutting down the smaller cafe's for internal security reasons is one example an article in this weeks UB post reporting on the plight of a smaller furniture maker unable to secure a loan from a gov't department set up for the purpose of small business loans is another. Oh well, so it goes.

No news is good news

2008-07-03T08:30:00.003+08:00

Both of my loyal readers will have already noted the lack of decent pictures for the last few weeks. In a case of blatant stupidity I managed to have our camera stolen. UN-attended bag, if anyone is keeping score. My first loss to theft after nearly a year, so not such a bad record, but we miss it dearly. Old Lenin here is actually pertinent to the story. His statue stands in courtyard where the rioting took place tuesday evening. I'm a bit at a loss, that it is still standing. Rumor has it, the more militant types tried to break into a building with a tractor, I though old Vladimir Ilych would have come down this time. Someone explain this to me, please.

Very Quiet on the streets last night, but curfew or not they weren’t empty. The text of the state of emergency message points to only ID being needed to be out at night, but I think I would still need a reason. Yahoo news headlines make it sound as though the city is under martial law with troops on every corner. Not. The BBC’s coverage has been tops since yesterday afternoon and not surprisingly they have my favorite author of things Mongolian on the scene. His by-line made it to their page HERE. Micheal Kohn is the author of “DateLine Mongolia”, written during his tenure as editor of the Mongol Messenger. I owe him for filling in a lot of blanks in my knowledge of local politics, religion and its relation to social and political life, and what is was like here shortly after the transition to democratic rule.

I had a few thoughts from the aftermath of the riot for todays blog, but unfortunately Mr Kohn stole my thunder in his article today. No biggee, at least know I have a reasonable idea that my ideas were on a sound track. I will leave it to him to relate the various theories and explanations of the alleged fraud, as I am not in the know on that. I’m more of a vodka and bullets sort of guy.

One item I will mention is the forbearance by the authorities in the mid stages of the riot. At the time, I was waiting for the police to form a line and charge with nightsticks, but didn’t have a full grasp as to the great numbers of demonstrators. A Boston PD style cavalry charge might have cleared the area, but Mongolian horses are just too short for that sort of action. The Doctor was of the opinion they should have dropped a few with bullets to the head in the early going, but that just isn’t in the Mongolian Psyche. They will always have more deaths from natural causes, accidents, drunken brawls than in the west, but that has more to do with the developing status of the country. Poor forecasting, a somewhat caviler attitude to driving (that is the understatement of the year, but my views on Mongolian driving are known). The difference between accidents and the willful taking of life is huge to Mongolians. It isn’t just my wife and family, I saw it in the wholesale sacking of the ministries responsible for the fire fighting helicopter crash last summer. And that was a case of poor control from above which led to bad decisions by the pilot resulting in the loss of nearly the entire team and flight crew. The idea of police firing on protesters is not in the picture. Think political suicide by the ruling party.

We’ll see how the five deaths pan out. The reports now are leaning to shooting occurring as late night partiers attempted to storm a police station. That occurred after the degree and would fit in with the announced terms, so should be acceptable to the population. My dear wife was greatly saddened to hear of the deaths, but she is a sensitive soul and isn’t used to the daily body counts from the US papers. A little secret, I’ll keep to myself for the moment. Maine is more or less free from that sort of thing anyway.

As for today. Rainy and quiet this morning. I’m expecting more of the same, as I walk around today. Unfortunately, I have things to do and one by product of the main street closure, is a serious lack of cabs. It is a warm rain, however, and might taper off. I was on the back alleys and the main streets yesterday and saw only day to day life and some somber looks by the people gazing at the torched buildings. Certainly, no animosity. Of course, the rioters were either sleeping it off or in the pokey. The government has bought themselves some time to sort out the allegations and hopefully they will come up with plausible explanations by the weekend when the vodka stores are due to reopen. For my part, I’ll trade a few days of cold beer for a chance to have a cup of coffee with Mr Kohn, should our paths cross.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

2008-07-02T20:49:00.003+08:00

Dawn in UB. The sounds of random gunfire are gone from our neighborhood and the smoke has cleared enough for the windows to be opened once more.

Just kidding Mom, if it wasn’t for the six o’clock news we wouldn’t have noticed. Only the Mongolians can stage a decent riot which leaves residents a mile away from the disturbances oblivious to the situation. All the same, I’m happier not knowing. The lad and I had a fun afternoon out in the playground. From the news reports though, I have to say; Mongolia puts on a decent riot. I’m not sure if the ruling party headquarters was the first to go or the duty free store in the same building. I am a bit surprised by the lackluster police response in the early going. From my walk in town this morning, the proximity of the Mongolian CIA to the “disturbance” scene was glaringly obvious. We are talking across the street. In defense of the local PD, Mongolians aren’t historically prone to violence on this level. The break from Communism was accomplished through a mid winter sit in on Sugater square. The Doctor is of the opinion they learned random thugness from MTV. Another gift to the world courtesy of the USA. My timeline of the event was a protest gathering which turned violent, but was self sustaining due to the huge numbers of people in the immediate area, rock throwers or not. The police just couldn’t make headway, even the responding emergency vehicles were stoned.

The demonstrators (well, rioters) lost major style points in my view when they failed to maintain coherence after the teargas finally came out. They totally blew it when they ransacked a nearby art museum/gallery and the Institute of Culture. Breaking up the instruments of struggling musicians and stealing their belongs moved the disturbance from the realm of political protest to drunken hooliganism. I believe the nearness of a large duty free store to the party headquarters had a great deal to due with the late night vandalism. There are more than a few people captured on crystal clear camera footage, Jack Daniels bottle in hand. Hard to dispute that little item. Rumor has it those unfortunate sods, as well as the leaders of the minor parties for inflammatory speeches prior to the outbreak of violence are being tracked down and they will most likely be in the slam by morning. My father in law is of the opinion there was major fraud and (disclaimer, he supports the opposistion), but he was quite incensed by the burning of a nice looking mini-van as well as torching of valuable property. The demonstrators/rioters looked quite the fools as they cheered the damage. Note to opposition; You still lost, get over it, and quess where the rebuilding money will come from. The damage to the two buildings I personally viewed today was fairly extensive (well, half of one building was gutted to the point where the walls had fallen away and the nearby party headquarters was fire scorched to the top). The mood on the streets was quiet and not unfriendly, but a bit tense. The APC parked on the corner probably had a bit to do with that, but I think the opposition has shot its bolt. Certainly, the next assault will have to come from the heart as they won't be seeing much Vodka for a few days.

The biggest surprise for me was the restraint shown by the police. I was expecting to see the armored personal carriers roll into the crowd at any moment, but a spirited defense of the ruling party’s headquarters by a small band of police was about it for most of the afternoon’s show. The crowd was pretty damn big and well fueled. A counter attack by around eighty riot police was thrown back in short order, despite some valiant efforts. At this point, I feel for the police involved more than the protesters. Protesters isn’t such a good word, they probably began as such, but quickly deteriorated into an angry mob. The missus saw one interview today, which featured a man selling a bag of stones for a couple of bucks. Immediate flashback to the stoning scene in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” Not that good stones aren’t available anywhere in UB, you could safely say the streets are paved with loose rock and brick. The official government response was limited to a curfew, ban on booze, and an end to broadcast media with the exception of the government station. Mongols are a bit like sailors and miners in that they tend to gossip, drink excessively, stay up as late as possible, and then fight if the opportunity presents itself, so these measures aren’t all that bad. We’ll see how this all goes down as the state of emergency runs it’s course. Meanwhile, we are beerless and it’s hot. Still, better than beerless and cold, as during the booze ban this winter. You can read a couple of news stories HERE and HERE, but so far nothing new or earth shaking. I’ll include an emailed text of the state of emergency below, just in case anyone wonders.

PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
In connection with an emergency situation occurred in Ulaanbaatar, President of Mongolia N. Enkhbayar issued on July 2 at 00.00 a.m. a decree in frames of his competence.
Under his decree, a state of emergency is declared in the capital for four days. The decree says, due to actions with use of violation of a group of people on the territory of Sukhbaatar district of Ulaanbaatar, mass disturbances are occurred. Forces of the law enforcement organs were attacked, material values were destroyed, and fires were set up in several objects. In order to eliminate consequences of the emergency situations and ensure the security of the population, the President of Mongolia declares a state of emergency from 00.00 a.m. on the territory of the city for four-day term.
The President orders to take the following measures:
1. To strengthen the security of objects of state significance.
2. Using forces permitted by the law, to break up any kinds of demonstrations and mass activities arranged with infringing the law.
3. To restrict the traffic movement in the central part of the capital and check motor vehicles.
4. Using forces, to disperse and arrest persons and groups of people who break the public order and arrange actions with use of forces and examine whether they have arms and technical devices.
5. To impose a curfew from 22.00 p.m. to 08.00 a.m. in the central part of the capital; to check persons breaking it; to arrest individuals having no ID cards with forces of the police or military patrol in the period until the expiring the quarantine or for 72 hours no long until the person will identified.
6. To ban the use of devices intensifying sounds, in case of necessity to seize them and to stop activities of all televisions and radios except the national public television and radio until the expiration of the state of emergency term.
7. To prohibit the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
8. To put control over individuals having firearms and cold steel, over entities and plants using explosives, virulent chemicals, and radioactive substances, and over military arms and techniques used in training.
9. To charge Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Ts. Monkh-Orgil to organize actions for implementing the decree.
President of Mongolia N.

one more thing

2008-06-27T12:31:00.004+08:00

There is a fun (read; challenging) US history/politics/economics quiz from the stratcom pages. I did miserably at 75%, but better than the college students who failed for the most part. I'm going to make the doctor take it at the first opportunity, so I an feel better about myself. By the way, please give me a small break on the odd missing wrong letter, the lad has discoved the keyboard makes a great drum. QUIZ HERE OR paste this one. http://www.strategypage.com/militaryforums/89-56814.aspx

Kisses and plastic dish dictators

2008-06-27T09:52:00.005+08:00

Pumpkin has an endearing new habit. Kissing. It started with Erdene and then to me, but it’s spreading like wilfire to all of his aquaitances and beyond. We were at the foreign citizen registry, as we are most days (I’m working on a long term visa. More about that horror show later) Anyway, Erdene was in line while I was attempting to amuse or at least catch up to the pumpkin. We ended up in the hallway at one point and I sat the lad on a couch seat next to a little girl about his age. Well, Pumpkin thought that was just great and the two of them exchanged looks with a little finger touching, when my son decided to cut to the chase, leaned over, and planted one right on her rather surprised lips. We’re trying to cut back on his unwanted advances beyond the bounds of the apartment, but he keeps trying. His last adventure occurred while the two of us where taking a shortcut (vacant lot, parking area, alley way) home from an excursion to the store. Another little girl (read, innocent victim) and her parents where walking towards us and the lad decided to introduce himself. That was all fine, then he went for the kiss and the poor little girl fled. Pumpkin gave chase, but she was just a little too quick for him. I hope, I’m not raising a celebrity stalker.

The election is in full swing nowadays. Twenty foot high banners everywhere, I know most of the candidates by their faces these days. The strangest sight to date, was a monstrous flat screen tied to the roof of one of the ubiquitous mini or crazy rat vans, bumbing along a back street. The Doctor and I are getting a bit weary of the constant barrage of loudspeaker driven adverts, not to mention the increased horn sounding due to the parades etc.. blocking traffic. My dear wife is a bit peeved as she went through no small amount to grief to register for this election in anticipation of the usual free giveaways from the candidates, but none have materalized. Flyers and knocks at the door while the lad is napping has been her only reward. The politicians are holding out a promise of cash money to the people as an incentive. At least the two coalition partners are, the numerous third party candidates are crying foul as they don’t have their fingers on the purse strings. It’s all a bit of smoke and mirrors anyway. The government has yet to see a return on the mineral resources. In part due to their intranstrangent stance on controlling the profits, which is holding back serious progress on the actual extraction.

Spring rains showed up this week. For a whole week, which produced more rain than I’ve seen here to date. Had to wonder if I was in a dusty version of saipan after day three. We did manage an outing one dry evening for Mutton on a stick. Actually, more like a small sword, but what a treat. Pumpkins new teeth allowed him to suck on one large chunk, which he enjoyed mightily. He gnawed a bit, but the piece was too large and chewy for us to worry about choking. Anytime, you can share a family meal without the danger of choking is fine with us. Summer is truly here when the street mutton vendors show and the restraunts move operations out of doors. Happy days. Sweet mutton and one fat chunk served with luscious grilled onions, peppers, and tomato. Generally, comes with a side of rice for about three bucks. I love a city with the smell of grilled meat on every corner.

Lots of white people on the streets now as well. I’m wondering where they were hiding all winter. Some are tourists and some people I recognize from last year. It’s interesting, to watch the hapless negotiate traffic from our neighborhood pub. Great place two wide glass doors give the Doctor and I easy acsess to the street scenes. This weeks entertainment was a guy throwing a rock through an open bus window at what was presumably a soon to be ex girlfriend. He was immediately pummeled by passers by. Saved the doctor the trouble, as he is always up for a brawl. He enlivened our lives a couple of weeks ago by mixing it up with a few hoods at the bar/resteraunt known as the big Irish. The place is formally named, "the Grand Khan Irish Pub" Too many Khan places in town and there is a little Irish, thus the name. These fellows have been hassling Mongolian girls who are seen with an American, Captain Tom and I had a run in with them, but they didn't use any words I recognized and I put them down as drunk, rude, and obnoxious kids, but found out later they were calling the Captains friend a prostitute. Well, they made the mistake of using an uncomplimentary word which the doctor is familar with and paid the price. Two of them were well marked about the face, when their sunglasses exploded and those of us in the know, go up and laugh at them often while offering to insert various pieces or furniture in various orifices. We are hoping they take their show on the road. The third one hasn't been seen, since the doctor's lady friend implored him to stop kicking him in the head, before there was trouble, so he has either seen the error of his ways or is still in hospital.

Last Thursday was a bit odd in another way. I journeyed downtown for coffee with the doctor, as I had business in the area and while traveling noticed an extraordinary number of police on the streets for that time of day. Mongolia is rather unique in that things don’t generally get going until ten or so in the morning. Before nine, one can’t even find coffee except in the hotels. Before seven, there is nothing. Later in the afternoon, the two of us were taking in the sun at the local when we were struck by an odd quietness on the streets. Police were lined up every twenty yards or so and controlling the intersections, which they tend to do when a upper level member of the government or a foreign delagation is passing through. I hadn’t heard of anything along those lines and was expecting a political parade. Nothing really happened though, a few cars passed, the police went home, and the streets quickly returned to the normal state of loud chaos. Turns out a Chinese politician was visiting and I quess they wanted to be prepared. Thus, the title. I figured, tin pot dictator could translate to the chinese plastic version. Doesn't quite have the same ring though. Any ideas? The cop outside our window was giving me the hairy eyeball which rather concerned me at the time, I realize now he was expecting me to pop out a free Tibet banner or some other political nonsense. We were accosted by some backpackers later on who were as puzzled as the two of us. Actually, they were asking directions for the “Museum to Honor Intellectuals” We were able to ask around, but alas although nearby, they found it closed. On their return, they really stumped the chumps by asking; “where can we find a cheeseburger, close by?” Mutton, dumplings, good Korean fare was no problem, but Cheeseburgers. Not. Our laugh for the day at anyrate. Pumpkin’s up and demanding something. I’ll have to check if it is diaper or mush, but probably both. I still owe a piece on the most excellent book “Dateline Mongolia” by Michal Kohn, another day and I’ll try to get a tooth count from the lad. He has molars now and each new eruption causes a few days of grumpy boy, but for the most part he’s doing just fine.

What I want for Father’s day.

2008-06-15T10:10:00.001+08:00

The best part of being a dad is not needing any presents. I hold the most precious gift in my arms every day. That revelation came to me quite suddenly this past Saturday as I was trying to answer Erdene’s question of a possible gift. Last June, Pumpkin was just a cute little lump with his smiles and cuddles. Today, he is walking and nearly speaking. In what language we don’t know yet, but it is enough that he is happy and thriving. I forgive him my sticking mouse buttons and “e” key without reservations. I suppose my own dad forgave my frequent transgressions in the same manner. He’ll be up soon and our day will begin in the usual fashion. A small cry, the sound of little feet wandering down the hall, then the sight of his tousled hair and his heart wrenching grin. With a little squeal of delight, he will present himself at my knee and motion for a lift up to the lap. The years will change all of us, but the memories of these happy days will be the present which gives forever.

In UB news, not much. The campaingn for seats in the Great Hural or parliament proceed all around us. Political campaigns here are spirited and personal. People come to the door with flyers, trucks with loudspeakers and billboard sized banners fill the streets and cover the buildings. The Parliament left without finishing the mining law, but its basic components are none at this point and has the world covets Mongolia’s resources now more than ever the exodus of mining companies hasn’t occurred. Spring is rapidly giving way to summer and the markets are once again full of fruits and vegetables. I did find a whole chicken last week, but none since. I knew I should have bought two. Walking the streets, we are witnessing an substantial influx of foreigners. I’ve even talked to a few. One fellow, a Canadian vet visiting for an infectious disease conference enlightened me on some specifics of bird flu and we passed an enjoyable half hour discussing Mongolian herding practices and the better aspects of Mongolian life. Only briefly did we touch on the constant parade of Mongolian lovelies passing our open air café’ table. Another happily married man in UB, what are the odds of that. Truly though for all its faults, UB is a city of pleasant people. If I had one piece of advice for a visitor to ensure a fun visit, I would say just smile. Well and maybe watch out crossing the street, but that caution is self evident.

Another Mother's day?

2008-06-01T16:23:00.009+08:00

Today, is more celebrated for the children, than for the mom's. But if you go by the title "National Mother's and Children's day", mom gets a free ride today also. This is number four for the year, if we count celebrating the stateside Mother's day. The city gave the kids a break and banned Vodka sales along with requiring drivers to use their headlights. Maybe they will even brake for the little ones, but I'm keeping my head on a swivel. Erdene let this one sneak up on me, as she still has a rose from the last one and was willing to settle for a formal acknowlegment of the holiday along with a little session of hug and kiss, while the lad was performing his daily rearrangement of the living room. My notice was so short, I barely had time to secure treats for my favorite neighborhood urchins.

Pumpkin seemed to enjoy his day. Our landlord brought some treats for mother and child when she came to collect the rent and for a gab and sausage session with the missus. I have to admit, I enjoy a civilized personal session of rent paying. She's a nice lady with a family of her own and they are all more than willing to drop by if something is amiss. New England hospitality and Mongolian seem to mesh very well.
Pumpkin had his very own pancake which he supplemented with the usual thievery from our plates. Of course, when you are a year and a half, everyday is children's day. In food news, I finally found a whole chicken in one of markets yesterday. A bit on the scrawny side and I broke a shelf in the freezer while squeezing it in along side two kilos of good breakfast sausage, but we can count on oyster or cranberry/bread stuffed chicken, once we are finished with today's Corned beef brisket. Now if I could just allow for leftovers to supplement the canned corned beef hash.

The holiday was a bit saddened by the acknowledgement of a National day of mourning Saturday. The inconvenient snowsqualls in UB of last Monday and Wedsday were a little more powerful away from town and took the lives of forty-six herders from the eastern provinces. Fourteen of those were children minding the family flocks and eight people are still missing. It is one thing to acknowledge missing infrastructure in the form of reliable electricity and sidewalks bisected by ditches, but the weather service isn't an infrastructure we think of often. Mentally placing myself and missus in an isolated ger, miles from the nearest town, and thinking of the lad out in a raging blizzard with the sheep requires a leap of imagination which doesn't appeal to me. The lads at the Casablanca were in favor of introducing Buffalo here. I doubt the grazing would be sufficient for a good sized cow, but at least there would be a warm cavity to crawl into, when the storms of spring come in.

Our friend Captain Tom, is on his way to the good ship Bonneyman. They are away from the island at the moment, but should return shortly. Pmpkn took to him in a quick fashion. We enjoyed seeing the lad bond with someone other than a family member and enjoyed his company. I was thankful he didn't pull on the mustache as much as I had feared. I was particularly thrilled when pumpkin and I were waiting in the playground for him and pumpkin more than rapidly covered the distance between usfor a hug when he saw him coming. I'm always afraid an only child will be slow to accept others, but he seems to be doing just fine. Fair winds and following seas, Tom.

That's it for today in Mongolia and I'm off to home. I wouldn't have left, but it is nap time for Mom and Baby and we have no internet at the house this weekend.

Spam in the news, again

2008-05-29T14:40:00.007+08:00

MY DAD LOVES SPAM, WEARS A STYLISH HAT AND IS PROUD OF BOTH. Plus, he holds me on his lap, while we sing this song together

As food costs rise, price concious consumers turn to Spam. link here Now, how about those among us who enjoy Spam. It's safe, tasty, and comes with it's own sauce. I was actually planning "hot and spicy Spam" with fried rice for dinner tomorrow night. Now I'm rethinking my whole strategy. Am I a price concious consumer? Not too damn likely. I dine on Caviar at least twice a week and have been known to pay two dollars for a loaf of bread when I could pick up a perfectly fine loaf for eighty cents. I like Spam and don't mind serving it to guests. Only problem is my dear wife likes it as much as I do and so I'm forced to dig in the back of the fridge for the odd jar of Caviar for the drop in guest. In all honesty though, spam runs close to four dollars a can here, while six ounces of decent caviar clocks in at a cool two-fitfy. But hey, lets not count pennies when it comes to the joyful sound of a spam can or caviar lid popping open.
Yeah, I know this isn't a spam dish, but Tamara's colorful pasta dish could stand up to Spam. I'm standing up for my right to enjoy Spam and encourage all Spam fans to do the same. WalMart shoppers or not. We're in this together. Uphold the proud Spam name and send me a bumper sticker while you are at it. Peace to all.

what a day

2008-05-28T17:00:00.008+08:00

Woke up to the squishy sounds of cars passing by on wet pavement outside my window. Arose to find the wetness to be of the white variety. Four days from June and we have an inch of snow? Not much improvement as the day went along. To think, Sunday we were gallivanting about town in shorts and t-shirts. Nothing about spring in Mongolia will surprise me again.

I've been reading an interesting book "Dateline Mongolia" by a Micheal Krouhn (I'll have to check the spelling) Fascinating read, it was left behind by Captain Tom, soon to be in Saipan. I've been savoring this one, as his tales of life as editor of the Mongol Messenger are a fascinating insight into life here during the nineties. I'll post some excerpts over the weekend, but I'm away from the office for the moment and the Pumpkin is no doubt turning the pages in my absence.

Oh the humanity of it all. I just checked the WWII entry for the week at Deece's blog and totally blew the answer in my frantic rush for five points. I would have called the missus, as she quessed correctly, but in my blind attempt to post the winning comment, I overlooked the bleeding obvious. Bless dear Erdene's heart, I'm already forgiven. Next time, though she says it's ok to interrupt the lad's nap for such an important event. Nice job, Deece. I'm officially suckered.

In UB news, not much. Pumpkin played construction superintendent at the doctor's latest project on Saturday.

The lad and I enjoyed the company and the tools while Mom was off picking up her lovely cashmere dress. Pictures at 10:00 or when the camera returns home. Lovely dress though.

Goodnight, Dick. The last of the "Rowan and Martin" headliners departed this mortal coil over the weekend. Thanks for the laughs,Dick. Reviewing the highlight clips, brought back some of my favorite memories. I'm not entirely sure, but I think my mom was watching "laugh in" when she returned from the kitchen and put one of her knitting needles through her calf as she sat back down. Gotta to love a show like that.

Sunday, we ventured out for a day of shoe shopping in the city center. Success all around. The lad picked up a new pair of felt house slippers and a fine looking set of Buster Browns. He's discovered the joys of the vertical dimension and is managing stairs quite well on my own, thank you very much.

The picture doesn't show the sheer escesty in his face, but he found the twin fish tanks at the Ikh Mongol restaurant to be most exciting. Left side, fish. Right side, fish. Left, right, left, right....

Not a lot in food news. I chickened out on making Deece's white omelet, but I'll give it a shot this week. We Did have a fine smoked salmon and cheese omelet with caviar on the side. Caviar was a nice touch and the salt shaker was left in the cupboard. Elegance at home for three bucks a jar. Erdene created a korean version of a Mongolia classic noodles, vegetable, and mutton dish last night. My contribution is beanie weanies tonight, but we're grilling on the porch tomorrow. pmpkn gnawed succesfully on his first authorized mutton rib last night, so he'll be up for it.

In Germany the annual bbque championships were held. Some great pics
HERE one of these days, computers will feature smell surround, but I unpacked our grill this weekend in (somewhat early) anticipation of grilling season. In the small world catagory, I was reading Nancy Reye's blog from the phillipeans and ran across a post featuring a young lady who made her prom dress from Wrigly gum wrappers. She's from my old high school and I think her dad was in one of my brother's class. Too strange, but "the lionness from Luzon" has regular links to awesome crafts as well as a well-centered world view (IMHO).

I've been slack posting, but I did manage a couple of verbose replies
to an internet entrepreneur interested in relocating to Saipan. Seems like the sort who will like the island and maybe even contribute. Anyhow, I enjoyed bringing my recollections of Saipan to someone else. I'll have to ask for permission, but maybe a future post.

four wheels

2008-05-15T15:50:00.004+08:00

Just trying out some picture posting this thursday afternoon in Mongolia. Such aggro. We found some dried cranberries at the American Store for a tasty stuffed chicken, however, all of a sudden whole chickens are unavailable here. argg..To make it worse I found some canned oysters and liquid smoke, so we are out a two different types of tasty stuffings. Now I need two chickens and can't find one. Patience is a virtue, right? My back up plan came to fruition however and I made Tami's pasta with fish and vegetables. Canned spicy tuna went well with olives and blue cheese in oil, poppy seed dressing was an awesome alternative to the orginal. Reminds me, I used to make a pretty good side for pig roasts consisting of sliced peppers and onions in a honey mustard/poppy seed dressing. Maybe blogger will cooperate and I can link to Tamara's original post along with a picture of our finished dish, but probably not.. At least the lights are on today. Speaking of; construction has resumed after a long layoff in UB, cranes are working, concrete being poured and I nearly missed rear ending a semi loaded with rebar last night. Ah! Progress.
Me and the lads (older) out for an afternoon's walk about town. By the way, it is illegal to drink on the street here. But not in the parking lot behind the Captain's apartment. Pmpkn is enjoying his new push car, although, we've cut back on his outings, until the hand, foot, and mouth outbreak either goes away or takes on panademic proportions.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T10:07:00.004+08:00

Here’s to all the mom’s out there, but most especially mine and the Pmpkn’s. The two lovely ladies to my Mom's left are my sister Amy and her stalwart and inventive daughter Camille. Truly it is hard for a male to imagine all that goes into motherhood. The best of the sons and dads can only try to make this day special. I have it somewhat easy as Mongolian Women’s Day was only a month ago and allowed me some practice. I was hoping to take Erdene out for dinner in her new cashmere dress, but the tailor is having some trouble getting the fit right. Here is an interesting tact for any seamstresses out there. When Erdene went to pick up her dress this past week, she found the fit to be a little loose. The shop lady’s response to her failure was to tell the missus she must have lost weight between the initial fitting and the day of pickup. You can never go wrong telling a woman she has lost weight. That excuse didn’t fare so well on the second failure, however. Yesterday, Erdene ventured to the factory for a proper fitting by one of their more experienced dressmakers so we should be in good shape for the final unveiling this week. No biggee, I’m cooking my traditional breakfast for the familia today which should suffice. Corned beef hash (canned, but that’s another story), omelets or fried egg, sausage, smoked herring, pancakes, and toast with the last of our blueberry jam. That should be enough.

I had the realization this week, perhaps an ephinany, that I might be living a greener life than my mom. Of course, she is a force multiplier in that she encourages others (particularly, her children) to be as green as possible. However, I use a sturdy knapsack and bean bag for as much shopping as I can, I do use what shopping bags I gather as trash bags, I don’t drive a big honking suv or even my moms sturdy and efficient Camry as we rely on our feet and the odd taxi. I don’t mulch my kitchen waste, although bones and old bread do make it out to the dogs and birds. Like everyone in UB, we recycle our plastics and bottles, brother Amara is fairly eunthestatic on this task as he uses the proceeds for his dates and bus rides. Speaking of which, I should ask him for a tutorial on public transportation as I'm right at sea on which bus goes where and would probably end up in the ger districts should I blindly venture out on the bus. All in all, I think I’m living up to my mom’s standards as best I can and that is all I can muster as a Mothers day present this year. I do yearn for the day when I can take a picture of my mom and Erdene together, but this year it will have to be separate snaps.

Our Saturday in UB was blessed by sunny skies and while the temperature was a bit fall like, it wasn’t at all uncomfortable. Pumpkin and I enjoyed a morning together, the internet was out, but we made do with slide shows of baby pictures accompanied by the lad’s favorite Bach for Little Ones CD. He’s feeling well these days, although tooth number eleven is causing some small amount of grumbiness on occasion. We all went out for dinner in honor of his passing the eighteen month milestone this past week. Yes, Boni he is growing up fast and I hope to feel the same joy and pride for him one day, as you must for Tony Jr’s accomplishments. The pumpkin returned the favor of dinner out with an accomplishment of his own. He actually played happily with a child his own age for once. I’m not sure if it is only child syndrome or the isolation of the winter, but he is generally oblivious of kids his own age in favor of older boys. He seems to be totally ignorant or shy of women which baffles me and his mom, but so it goes. We had a fun time at dinner watching the two boys cavort around the resteraunt. Our friend Tom the Captain was with us and he and Erdene enjoyed a peaceable meal while the other lad’s mother and myself corralled the miscreants when necessary. I didn’t mind eating on the run as the curiosity of the boys was a pleasure to observe.

Anyway, I was talking about Saturday. I met up with the Doctor for a little computer time. We wrote a test together for his sixth grade history class. I enjoyed it, as he has a wealth of experience teaching middle schoolers and my memories are a bit hazy. When asked to contribute I was either a bit off the wall or proposed a question more suitable for a high schooler, but we had some fun. Tom joined us and Erdene dropped the lad off while she went for her hopefully final fitting and a good time was had by all at the Khakorum resteraunt at the Grand Khan Kempinski hotel, although the manager, doorman, and trusty Tom had their work cut out for them with the inquisitive pumpkin. Erdene returned in time for tea and dessert and she, Tom, the lad, and I journeyed in search of a fabled western goods store in our neighborhood. Thanks to my bosses wife for steering us in the right direction and due toTom’s keen eyesight we found the holy of holies. Beef jerky, Gerber baby food, and even Mollasess at the appropriately named “American Shop” After dropping our booty, babe, and mother at the apartment, Tom and I beat feet for the sausage and corned beef shop run by George the butcher. Unfortunately, we failed as I was distracted by a side search for a placed called the Hawaian burger shop in the university district and we missed the narrow alley way leading to Georges. It is not easy to find places here, even on the second try. George is located well off the main drag, up a narrow alleyway, around a blind corner, and in the basement of an English language school, most of these places are without much signage and a certain fatalism is involved in most shopping trips here. I don’t call them expeditions for nothing. Tom and I did find Dave the English publican to be in business after a lengthy lay off and enjoyed several pints of his excellent dark larger along with his company. And that was the day that was in UB.

Blog for the week

2008-05-03T12:11:00.004+08:00

Wonderful week here in Mongolia. We have thrown off the shackles of winter and are heading full throttle into spring. Our friend, Tom the Captain, has been in UB all week and Erdene and I have been monopolizing his time, while getting out and about with his company on our own accord. Tom, Erdene, and the lad visited the Bogd Kahn museum earlier in the week while I was at work and enjoyed themselves. The Bogd Kahn was the last king/khan of Mongolia and the museum occupies the site of his winter palace. I have yet to visit, but Erdene says she won’t mind seeing it again and apparently the pmpkn was enthralled, so he presumably won’t mind either. One of Erdene’s girlfriends from Saipan is also visiting in UB and we all managed lunch together at a kick ass tourist village/resort a few miles to the northeast of UB. The name of the joint is the "Hotel Mongolia" which leads me to think of rewriting the Eagles classic. The food was great, surroundings also. We passed a shooting range on the way to lunch and our driver professed a willingness (nay, a fervent desire) to accompany Tom and I for a little shootem up on a later date. These aren’t your mother’s shooting ranges either; we are talking crew served medium machine guns, full-auto AK-47’s, and RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launchers. Eighty dollars a pop for the RPG’s, but you only go around once. They have pistols and skeet too, if our shoulders become tired. Yeah, you could say I’m looking forward to this excursion.

Honestly, the weather has been a bit sucky the last few days. Cold and wind are more common than fine sunny days, but we aren’t frozen solid most of the day. Mornings are the best time and Pmpkn and I have been making the best of the available time. I enjoyed an interesting meteorological phenomena Monday evening. Upon leaving Tom and the Doctor at the Casablanca, a local watering hole fashionable with the engineering boot crowd, I saw dark storm clouds hovering over my end of town. I expected to be drenched running from cab to front door, but no rain just clouds and that sort of heavy presence of a gathering storm. After I had been home for a bit of the old hug and tickle with the familia, I noticed a premature darkening of the sky. Venturing to my deck I saw visibility was down to a few blocks in what I assumed was a driving rain, after opening the window I found it to be a dry and gritty rain. Sandstorm of the first order. Lesson being, don’t assume anything here. Had the same thing happen this past evening. My taxi driver suggested rain to follow. He was half right. We had an inch of snow the next morning. So it goes. Today, Saturday, is crisp, but clear.

Going out for dinner is in fashion this month with my schedule and the visitors. We have discovered a couple more fine dining places in UB. Our standards revolve around both the quality of the food and toddler safety criteria. Our old favorite; City Nomads has received a failing grade in the second category, due to the single swinging door for the kitchen. Hard on the lad’s noggin and the staff’s peace of mind. Their food is still top notch. The Sakura restaurant on the second floor of the Khan Palace Hotel has moved into tie for first with the basement of the Silk Road downtown. The Khan Palace has already received a high rating due to the awesome service and downright companionable demeanor of the staff, but the sakura offers great Sushi with close private rooms which entertain and contain the pumpkin. Silk Road basement shares the fine food of the first and second floor, but is furnished in a style out of “Arabian Nights” with flickering faux fireplaces set among soft couches and plush carpeting. I think once the novelty of the surroundings wear off, pumpkin will nap on the floor with a soft pillow or couch while Erdene and I enjoy the soft ambiance and superb food. Now, if I can just convince E. to feed me grapes while I’m lying back on a pillow, I will have lived my dream of living the Sultan’s life.

Tomorrow is Cashmere dress day for the missus. We are considering dinner out to celebrate her finery, should we procure a baby sitter. You reading this, Amara?? Hie thee to the house, soonest.

If Jeff won't, I will

2008-04-25T17:03:00.007+08:00

Aw, bloggin about the lad is fun. Blogger, on the other hand seems to be sucking wind, so pmpkns pics at a later date. I've been busy busy lately and my free time is devoted to him and the missus. I would be home now, but they are both napping, so I slipped out. Ostensibly, for negotiations with the GM of the Grand Khan Kempenski Hotel on the subject of importing Corned Beef Brisket for home use, but any excuse will do. Actually, Erdene is jonesing big time for corned beef and I'm going to try and make it happen. I splurged and picked up an eight dollar coffee maker, so she should get something. My dear wife never asks for much of anything and I think I can manage this one. Most of the time, I just can't justify spending time away from home when my two sweetnesses are waiting for me. I have yet to return home, without the little one going into a state of excesty (hope I spelled that right, my spell check isn't working and blogger seems to be tits up as well) over my arrival in his AO. He is cute at the worst of times, but his smiling little face and snuggly body are the joy of all joys.

I totally failed as a provider this week. Bought a potty chair for the lad, turns out there is a button in the bowl which plays music, so the pumpkin spends more time with his foot or finger in the appliance than the intended appendage. I did a little better with the food processor. Now that is a handy gadget when the little one only has nine teeth. Erdene enjoyed whipped potatoes with carrot and raisin salad on the side. Pumpkin is into all the buttons. and everything else he can get his hands on. His reach is expanding everyday and he has become a climber. Major drama yesterday. He apparently drank from the little jar of warm water, which Erdene uses to clean his under carriage. Yech. No ill effects as of today, perhaps he only spilled it all down his front. And what is the attraction to the street? As soon as I set him down outside, he makes tracks for the road and it's inherent dangers. Damn kid, I'll be happy if he lives to the age of five. The Bateman cautioned me on this, but I had high hopes for COMMON SENSE.

Anyway, life is great these days. No joy in my life so far comes close, to what I take away from my time with the lad and his mother. And, I think I will end this post with that statement.

Good friends

2008-04-20T10:45:00.006+08:00

Should be treasured. The gentleman above is one of them. Tom or Captain Tom is a frequent visitor to Saipan. He's the master and commander of the M/V Bonneyman, as well as being an exceptionaly well read and companiable gent. He watched over Erdene while my ship went to Japan for a month and has been a steady supplier of mainland staples to Mongolia (outer). We are expecting him to visit next month, after which he will be back in Saipan. If either of my Saipan readers should recognize him in the street or on the beach, make sure to make his aquaitance as he is a fun fellow to be around.

If you should meet this young man on the street, run home immediantly. Dale and I have been friends for quite some time and have enjoyed some interesting experiences. Most of which have been somewhat dangerous, but fun. If you are with Dale and not laughing, then something is either wrong with you or a bar room brawl is in the offing. I wouldn't worry about being required to throw any punches though. Although, if his opponents number more than five, you might lend a hand.Dale, this SONG or maybe this one is for you.

IN TRAINING

2008-04-12T12:28:00.007+08:00

UPDATE, BLOGGER IS HAVING A BAD DAY, I'LL CORRECT MY SPELLING AND ADD SOME PICTURES AFTER THEY FIGURE IT OUT. After viewing the Bateman's comment on Brad's exterra post, the pumpkin and I are going into training for the EZTERRA triathlon. I'm pretty excited about the prospect. I'm just excited these days. Pumpkin and I were out the door at 0915 this AM. for public consumption, it was my announced intention to go for bottled water (sorry, about the carbon footprint mom, but we did walk to the store) Actually, I was distracted by the local urchins in the playground and we ended up playing ball. I left with the lad with the excuse of venturing to the store Shortly thereafter, I found myself as the Pied Piper of Hamlin. BTW the Pied Piper by the English author Nevil Shute is one of my all time favorite books. Hard to find, but (shameless plug here) my dad has a few copies for sale. Check the Alan's Lost leaves link in the right hand column. Anyway, the six urchins ended up in the local grocery with the lad and I. I figured a few bottles of juice and some cookies would liven up the party and I was right. It's safe to say, I'm pretty popular on the playground today.

Where was I? Oh yes. We have reached a family decision on our vacation. At some point this summer; Erdene, the Lad, and myself will be traveling to Saipan, if I can afford it my mom also. She is a staunch Catholic, a committed green, and a total flower freak. She may end up staying forever. E and the Pmpkn will be staying for a month at our old digs on Kannat Tabla, but I will have to return to work after a few days.

So much I want to do. Dive with Harry, if he'll take me. Sail and dive with Bruce. Drive a scooter on the back back road from Kannat Gardens to the mountain. Never could speel Tapachoua. Eat at many, many of my old favorites. Go for a scooter ride on Tinian with Kevan. Go for a long slow romantic scooter ride with Erdene on Saipan. Snorkel everywhere possible, if I'm not diving. Conceive a lovely baby girl with the missus at the botanical garden, if possible. If the Hammocks on the overlook are full, then any place convenient will do. Yeah, that is the big reason for visiting Saipan. Put that one on an MVA brochure.

Have a few drinks with Glen D, when I'm not hanging at many many of my old favorite watering holes. I might even go up to Hamiltons if they are still open and open a dialogue with the "last rung on the rocker" S. Torres. Buy as many of the bloggers breakfast at Cafe at the Park, 360, and/or Coffe Care, as want to come. Introduce Erdene and the Pumpkin to Tamara, Deece, Missy, and Boni. Well, I might like to introduce myself first, but I have the feeling we all know each other fairly well at this point.

What else? Play with the lad on the beach and watch him experience his first ocean wave. That is a big one, I may not get past that, actually. However, I'm bringing a traditional Mongolian cooking pot and we'll have Lamb and vegetables steamed with hot rocks at Porky's one evening. I would like to play a round of golf if I can find a partner who's as much of a duffer as myself. Last but not least. Watch the sunset along the Beach Road pathway with the familia. Pinch me, I'm dreaming. Nah, this is going to happen. I just have to be in Mongolia for the Naadam festival in late July, the eclipse of the sun in early August, and for the Sumo Basho, also in early August.

IT’S STARTING

2008-04-11T13:43:00.007+08:00

Just off the top of my head, I can identify four extremely large building projects in UB. Construction is a part of life here, small buildings are springing up on every block. Two within sight of our apartment alone. The larger projects range from a new Hilton to a glass and steel sky rise known as the Blue Sail. Work on all buildings stops during the winter, but should have resumed by now. The Hilton, for example, is scheduled to open in July with mainly interior work remaining, once the glass is in. I’ve been fairly busy the last couple of weeks and haven’t walked around as much as usual, but I’m not seeing any visible signs of progress at all.

I’m thinking the impending mining law has the developers running for cover. Sort of hard to believe, as the larger buildings have many tens of millions in construction costs already. The reality is; if the mining companies and allied trades don’t occupy the space, who will? UB isn’t exactly a hub for telecommunications or outsourcing and it won’t be. That could, of course, change once the government decides on a reasonable approach to foreign investment and plows the proceeds into education and infrastructure.

On the home front: Pumpkin continues his winsome ways. The seventh tooth popped up while I was away last week and his chirps and howls are beginning to show some semblance to actual words. This past weekend was a high point in my life. Nothing like a warm morning in the playground with an active, curious, and friendly boy. Erdene was away with sister Solta and it was just me and him for the morning. I was even allowed to dress him and choose the traditional Mongolian Dreel. Handy clothing; warm yet loose and unconfining. I would wear it myself, if I could get away with it. I’m always worried that he will lose his openess, but no signs of that this weekend. He's a bit shy with kids his own age, but loves the older ones. I'm just happy to be with him and look over and see a big smile on his face. Sunday, we hit our old neighborhood on the south side of town for a little walk and breakfast out. Another fine warmish spring day. The afternoon saw; myself, Solta, and brother Amara at the Black Market. This is Solta’s first visit to UB and she was a tad nervous about the crowds, but stuck to her guns and managed to enjoy herself as long as Amara or I were within arms length. I browsed, picked up a 'sox hat for Solta, and bought a fine little brass Bhudda for my dad (I lost the one he brought back from Korea in my early days and thought I should make amends. Still owe my mom some Wedgewood, but I'm on it) She may have to settle for a child sized ger for the side yard, but I'm sure she'll go for that.

What a city of contrasts. As I was sitting in the window of my local writing portions of this post; I witnessed a horse cart loaded with second hand bricks along with a small dog trotting alongside, passing by, with normal city traffic and semi-built high rises in the background. How cool is that? The juxtaposition of time, transports, and cultures makes UB incredibly unique. If either of my readers are from the State of Maine, please forward this blog address to my high school advisor; Mr. Larry Deblois, as he furnished me with the first inklings of what a wide world it is outside the environs of central Maine and was fairly tolerant of my grammatical mistakes.

These days, I am seeing fewer of the countryside people with their flowing dreels and bright sashes, but spring is here and they are back in the gers further from the city. That’s ok. There is a wrestling tourney next door this weekend and we’ll see them back for that. I am so happy these days. Nothing like watching the lad play with other kids, knowing that his future is secure in our hands. Erdene is cooking these days too. She would like to take up knitting and sewing, but holding off until we can settle the lad down a little. He's a climber and still has a fond attraction for his mom's chest. That attitude doesn't mix well with needles.

Page two: Is Mongolia going to play ball?

2008-04-06T08:29:00.004+08:00

Local expat news has been dominated by the new mining laws, expected to pass through the Great Hural (legislature) in the next few weeks. Up until recently the laws were very favorable to mining and exploration work has been going gangbusters with some world class coal and copper deposits unearthed. In some aspects, Mongolia is an easy place to do business in. Mainly, it’s cheap to obtain permits etc…as well as a comfortable place for ordinary people to live. Well, I should clarify that I am speaking from the mining side. So let’s say UB is more comfortable than Nambia, Tanzania, Armenia, or the Russian Republic. There is a windfall profits tax in place on gold production, of which there is a respectable amount, but otherwise the government has been fairly laissez-faire towards mining. That position makes sense, as Mongolia is remote and requires some significant capital expenditures to even explore, let alone dig out, process, and remove large quantities or ore. For example the large copper deposits in Erdenet required building a lake to wash the ore down and the new copper finds from Southern Mongolia in the Gobi will require their own railway line.
The crux of the new tax law seems to be that the Mongolian government wants a 51% interest in mines which operate on a profitable scale. Presumably, they also require 51% of the profits, that figure can be offset through infrasture development credits, but it cuts down on the profitability. Most of the smaller companies are making exit plans, but the larger ones have already sunk tons of money into the exploration side and are going to have to stick it out. There is an article HERE on the Gobi copper

I am not puzzled at all by the Mongolian reaction, although I agree with those who argue the Mongolians have stepped on the old crank with the golf shoes with this law. Changing the rules of the game in mid play isn’t the best way to encourage development. Further, it will be a long long time before Mongolia develops enough to dig on their own and I have the expectation that the populace is going to want some changes to their standard of living in rather short order. Depending on the Russians and Chinese isn’t the best position either. The Chinese will rob them blind and leave the typical mess in their wake. The Russians had the country for years and with the exception of a uranium plant in eastern Mongolia and Erdenet couldn’t even find the riches that are here today. I can’t say I have confidence in either party.
The Mongolians are on record at as saying that their mineral resources are a Mongolian Treasure and should be exploited as such. However, at the government level they are ignoring economic reality, as well as fair marketing practices, by going so far. There are many reasons why they might want more money and high level corruption is always played up. There is a decent synopsis here of the western take to all this HERE as well as an interesting rant by a US fair market group HERE. The drillers are taking this in stride, if you have worked in Africa, then nothing the Mongols can cook up will surprise you. They are a bit like sailors, as they are used to picking up and moving the base of operations, but we are all a little sad for the Mongolians. One of the smaller operators who is leaving said it best; “the copper and goal will still be in the ground, yes. But in the ground, deposits have no value, no hospitals, education, or anything which can improve the lot of the Mongolian people”. For all of the warts, we love Mongolia and its people, but temper that love with the expectation that things will improve here. At the moment, the minority party is holding out on a special session of the legislature designed to pass the new law in short order and I think W is a little too busy to take the Mongolian president out to the old woodshed for a lesson in economic politcs. In the absence of serious advice or an outbreak of common sense, it looks as though the law will pass in April and the fallout should be very bad news for the common Mongolian people.

I will entertain comments on the down side of large scale mining, but I’ll start out by saying; Mongolia’s only resource is taking the money from the ground and putting it into the people. They have already experienced outbreaks of contamination through sloppy gold mining and have an idea on the limits which need to be imposed on the larger developments.

Sunday

2008-03-23T19:09:00.004+08:00

Wow, I ran across an item on the "onion" today, which threw me for a loop. Click here I have to live longer. Funny, to me Cholesterol count was a joke, but hitting a 7.3recently made me think how many years I have left on this earth. I'm planning on making the 2022 Mongol rally with the pmpkn as my co-driver. Allright, enough weeping. My mom tested high and changed her diet, which brought the numbers down. I'll do the same, right after I get back from the shooting range this thursday. Full Auto Ak's and Machine guns. How sweet is that? No, I won't be taking the lad with me.

L. Woomack

2008-03-22T21:37:00.007+08:00

Thanks, I really missed hearing this song on the radio. Of course I also like this one, Don't you just hate it when you're on the road posting via the laptop and the battery dies before you are done and it is post now or die time. Anyway. Thanks to Boni for the link to LeAnne Womack's classic; "Dance" Click on the post title for a truly great song.

As for the pictures; Just some random shots from my laptop while I can still see the screen. The weirdo at the top is my buddy Neil. Got a degree in film making so he could make a career out of sailing. Nice looking workshop, eh? We were making a trip back from Kuwait and ran out of things to do. So, we applied glossy sealant to the entire engineroom and painted the workbench in the shop. Capetown S. Africa to Violet, Louisana at nine knots. Lord, that was a long trip.
In the middle is my friend Dan Gunny with a couple of nice Wahoo from the waters surrounding Diego Garcia. Talk about a thousand miles from nowhere. Great fishing, I failed to score on that trip. Although, I was prepared, my fish gave me the old head fake and slipped the hook. My girlfriend Bobbi Jean, had better luck although her first fish stripped the hooks off the lure.
At the bottom; me in my mom's canoe cruising around the stream abutting her house in Maine. Lovely place in the fall. Not bad in the spring and summer either, but let's not talk about winter.