Cuban cigars are legal here, and sold in grocery stores among other places. Now, I quit smoking cigarettes two years ago, but cigars are a different thing. If I had a cigarette tonight, I'd be back to pack-a-day inside a week, but stogies are something I can pick up and put down. Tonight,
I'm going to have a cocktail and smoke a cigar.
It's nice to be an expat.
(More Tomorrow.)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Photo Contest!
Two of the four photos were uploaded intentionally, the other two were accidents. The first commenter who correctly identifies the two intentionally uploaded photos will be mailed a 10 Qatari Riyal note, and a signed photo of H. Stockton Brothers.
Nicole like Momming!
Some days the lion eats you.....
For the love of God, get your head down!
There are not three cats in this picture.
And now, a few quick/minor points:
(1) King James Versions, Matthew 28: 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(2) New International Version: And J-Dog was all like, "Roll out! I got your back, son!"
And now, a few quick/minor points:
- Henry got another round of vaccinations. He's had no adverse reactions, save that he sleeps like a log the night after he gets them, probably from crying so hard when he gets the shots. Nicole's response to this is the completely rational "if someone stuck me with a needle the length of my arm, I'd cry til I was tired, too." My response has been "well, he's obviously going to die."
- We had breakfast this morning at Rick's, an American restaurant in Doha. Imagine if a little breakfast place from Main Street in Butler was suddenly festooned in bumper stickers from Army divisions and then dropped into the third world. The food was good. I had steak and eggs (over medium) with hash browns and a biscuit with gravy, which supplied my caloric needs for the day, if I had spent the day running a marathon in a snowsuit.
- If your not religious, this will take a bit of set up. In the Bible, there is call to all believers to go into the world and convert all people. In other words, a central tenet of Christianity is evangelism.1,2 In Islam, evangelism is prohibited. If you were ask a Moslem about Islam, they receive credit if they help you, but they are prohibited from making the first move.
- I got a liquor permit. WHOOO! Bought a case of beer, called "Kingfisher Strong." It is Indian, 8% ABV, comes in 650 ml bottles, and tastes like fortified Rolling Rock. There is
NO good beer to be found, so when I reach the US, I shall hoist a mighty flagon of ale. - "Mighty flagon of ale?" Play much D&D, Casanova?
- Christmas plans: I am not coming back to PA for Christmas. Right now, Nicole and I really want Henry to see snow for Christmas v1.0, so we're thinking Prague. We talked about Germany, but we want to do that next year with Nat and Kurt, so Prague looks like the best option. Note that there are no holiday villas in Belarus, despite some fairly extensive searching on my part.
(1) King James Versions, Matthew 28: 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(2) New International Version: And J-Dog was all like, "Roll out! I got your back, son!"
Friday, October 17, 2008
A few quick things....
First, as always, a picture of Henry looking cute.
Next, a picture of the three of us.
This was taken at a Luau for the University, to celebrate a recent accreditation victory. The food, as at all events in Qatar, was bountiful, and we had a great time. It was outside by a pool area, which is why I'm sweating like Mike Tyson at a spelling bee.
Check these out!
These are from a company called Sanük, a surfer company. The idea is these are sandals, but more substantial. They are, simply put, the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned, and they look like old man slippers when I wear them. The other issue is that they are surprisingly warm. Long story short, I think I have my new travel shoes, so I can take them off at the airport easily.
Side note: One of my biggest fears is that someone will figure out how to hijack a plane with a pair of pants, and they'll get banned like shoes, lighters, and bottled water. Then we'll all have to sit on the plane wearing government issue disposable paper pants. Given how everything else works in air travel, what do you bet they itch?
Fax machine musing.
I ran across something on the internet yesterday where a boss basically yelled at a worker for having a stack of papers that the boss told the worker to fax. I'd think it was untrue, except this also happened to my friend Mike. He basically had a row with a woman over the phone because the originals weren't coming out of her fax machine.
The thing I find so great about this is that the central idea the people have, namely that paper can be teleported, is so very odd that if you try to make it part of a consistent worldview, it starts to make your brain hurt. First, you have to assume that tele-transportation is possible1 and that there are two categories of objects: those that can be teleported (like paper) and those that can't (like people, else we'd be in Star Trek land). Take a minute and try to figure out what the rules would be for this, and you'll see where the brain injury starts. The division can't be based on weight, as there are obviously things you'd like to move that weight less than a sheet of paper (like micrograms of drugs into the blood stream), but for which we don't use Super-Teleporter-Fax technology, so obviously that can't be the divider. It can't be based on size, for the same reason. It can't be based on 18th century vitalism2 because paper is mostly cellulose but ink is mostly oil.
So effectively you're left with the idea that paper and only paper can be teleported, which makes me smile every time I think of it.
1) Suck it, Werner Heisenberg! (Someone will mention the Popular Mechanics article on quantum transportation. Photons don't have mass. Not the same problem.)
2) The idea that things which come from natural sources, like bone, have a fundamentally different something than things which don't come from organic sources, like a rock. This was disproven by the synthesis of urea, which created a natural product from unnatural sources and heralded the birth of organic chemistry.
Next, a picture of the three of us.
This was taken at a Luau for the University, to celebrate a recent accreditation victory. The food, as at all events in Qatar, was bountiful, and we had a great time. It was outside by a pool area, which is why I'm sweating like Mike Tyson at a spelling bee.
Check these out!
These are from a company called Sanük, a surfer company. The idea is these are sandals, but more substantial. They are, simply put, the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned, and they look like old man slippers when I wear them. The other issue is that they are surprisingly warm. Long story short, I think I have my new travel shoes, so I can take them off at the airport easily.
Side note: One of my biggest fears is that someone will figure out how to hijack a plane with a pair of pants, and they'll get banned like shoes, lighters, and bottled water. Then we'll all have to sit on the plane wearing government issue disposable paper pants. Given how everything else works in air travel, what do you bet they itch?
Fax machine musing.
I ran across something on the internet yesterday where a boss basically yelled at a worker for having a stack of papers that the boss told the worker to fax. I'd think it was untrue, except this also happened to my friend Mike. He basically had a row with a woman over the phone because the originals weren't coming out of her fax machine.
The thing I find so great about this is that the central idea the people have, namely that paper can be teleported, is so very odd that if you try to make it part of a consistent worldview, it starts to make your brain hurt. First, you have to assume that tele-transportation is possible1 and that there are two categories of objects: those that can be teleported (like paper) and those that can't (like people, else we'd be in Star Trek land). Take a minute and try to figure out what the rules would be for this, and you'll see where the brain injury starts. The division can't be based on weight, as there are obviously things you'd like to move that weight less than a sheet of paper (like micrograms of drugs into the blood stream), but for which we don't use Super-Teleporter-Fax technology, so obviously that can't be the divider. It can't be based on size, for the same reason. It can't be based on 18th century vitalism2 because paper is mostly cellulose but ink is mostly oil.
So effectively you're left with the idea that paper and only paper can be teleported, which makes me smile every time I think of it.
1) Suck it, Werner Heisenberg! (Someone will mention the Popular Mechanics article on quantum transportation. Photons don't have mass. Not the same problem.)
2) The idea that things which come from natural sources, like bone, have a fundamentally different something than things which don't come from organic sources, like a rock. This was disproven by the synthesis of urea, which created a natural product from unnatural sources and heralded the birth of organic chemistry.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Why, yes it has been six weeks....
...and thus I have to apologize. Qatartistry will be at least weekly from here on, with new posts every Friday at a minimum.
Anyway, as an apology, please accept the following picture of H. Stockton Brothers for the very first time holding his head up while laying on his belly.
Anyway, two quick weird things for you:
Oh, one more thing: If you want to find me on Skype, just look under Brothers.
Anyway, as an apology, please accept the following picture of H. Stockton Brothers for the very first time holding his head up while laying on his belly.
Anyway, two quick weird things for you:
- Occasionally the Qatari Gov't station police men at the roundabouts to direct traffic. (Quick side note: Roundabouts are what traffic lights would be if they worked on the honor system. You know, terrible.) These guys will stand on a little jutting area of cement at night with now flashlight but with a reflective yellow vest to protect them from the whims of the crazed drivers of 1000 nations. I do not know what they are getting paid, but it is not enough.
- I went to a Ramadan dinner (iftar) a while back and saw a whole roasted goat served on a huge (4 feet in diameter) plate covered with rice and vegetables. By the time I got to it in the buffet line, it had been completely stripped, so the whole dish looked like nothing so much as a skeleton sitting on top of a huge paella. (More about Ramadan next week.)
Oh, one more thing: If you want to find me on Skype, just look under Brothers.
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