Happy New Year 2007

2006 was Fun!

The Abominal Snowman

It was big.

Happy B-Day Jimmy Joots

Beds are Burning

1994

Stuck

+"What's taking Papa Normal so long?"
-"He said he was coming."
+"That was ten minutes ago. I'll go look for him..."

#(in the distance) "Help!"
+"What in the name of Sam Hill?. Ha ha ha. What happened to you?"
#(weak, helpless voice) "My pants got caught on the screen door. Someone please help me!"
+It's okay, I'm here now. I'll help you.

A Jet-Lag Life

Also a "Normal" Christmas

Being bored on an airplane.

A Normal Christmas

Singing Silent Night, Sainte Nuit, and Stille Nacht.

Merry Christmas from East Africa

Season Greetings from my English Class.

A Festivus for the rest of us!

+Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.
-What happened to the doll?
+It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born … a Festivus for the rest of us!
-That must've been some kind of doll.
+She was.

It's a Festivus Miracle!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
Let the airing of grievances begin.

Visit from St. Nick

The same thing happens every year. Santa always shows up when I'm out of the house.
The kids love him.

On Dasher, On Donkey, On Camel, On Vixen...

This is how Pére Noel travels in these parts:

Khaat Chewing time

Every afternoon, most of the men in this country sit outside and chew Khaat, a leafy narcotic grown here in east Africa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

Apocalypto

This is one of the better movies I've seen in a while. It's a great adventure that brings your emotions along for a ride while you sit on the edge of your seat. It's not a family movie because of the violence but it is still very good. Two thumbs up.

Glad to be Home

To Skate or Not to Skate

Happy Birthday Grandma

The Scourge of Dubai: Traffic

It's estimated that 15-25% of the worlds cranes are in Dubai. It's a city of traffic and construction.

Al Ain, UAE

Yesterday we visited some old friends who live in Al Ain and hit the links. Unfortunately for me, I hit two more links than my friend did.

I Jumped the Fence and Yelled to the House; 'Hey, What Gives you the Right?'

I love looking at the signs in this place, they are very... interesting.

Contrasts

You have all the extremes here and no one seems to be bothered by the other.


Male Emirati National -->






The European --->
^Female Emiratis Nationals

Burj al-Arab

The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai is the tallest hotel in the world. The hotel has been given a 7-star rating and all rooms come with a personal butler... There is a $50 charge just to walk in the door... To secure the foundation, the builders drove 230 40-meter long concrete piles into the sand. The foundation is held in place not by bedrock, but by the friction of the sand and silt along the length of the piles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_al_arab



We also beached on the Persian Gulf today.

New Federal Appointments

The Arabian Desert

The haze you see in the photos is not smog, it's sand. It was just like snow as it drifted across the road.

The Palm Jumeirah

We saw the world famous Jumeirah Palm today. They dropped rocks and sand and dirt in the form of a palm tree just of the coast here. We drove out on the "trunk" but we had to turn around since the thing is still in construction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Jumeirah