Dasher, Prancer, Donner and Ramses

I love the contrasts in this place.

Go Around Mary!

It's Time for Teletubbies

Casper the Friendliest Ghost in the Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Smog and humidity hovered over the Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayeed Road and Dubai Creek as we flew in on our magic carpet.

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/47/City_of_Dubai.html

December Temperatures

Finally it's become pleasant.
At 2:02 AM this morning it was
81 degrees outside,
83 degrees inside,
81 % humidity (it has been raining lately)

City Views

We live on a peninsula.

The Stockings were Hung by the Air Conditioner with Care...

Sunken Treasure

It is shipwrecked just off the coast here.

Typical Student of Harvard Law School

The best and the brightest.

Big Fat Turkey

We had Thanksgiving dinner with our Yemeni neighbors today.

Happy Thanksgiving

This is one of our favorites.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Biker Gang

They ride these things around the house all day.

Friday at the Beach

First Crutches

This is the 6 year old niece of one of the families in our neighborhood. She was hit by a car at the beginning of September. The damage to her leg was extensive and it was cut off just below the knee. Her family lives in a poor neighborhood in a very full house, so she moved in with her aunt and uncle while recovering from the accident. They recently told us that her health had fully recovered and she was ready to go to school, but they couldn’t find any crutches for her. We called around and thankfully found someone with a pair her size. Here she is trying them out for the first time. You should have seen the smile on her face when she was able to “walk” for the first time in 2 months.

In a Fantasy World

I'm living the fantasy this year in Football with both of my teams in first and leading in points thanks to Larry Johnson and Willie Parker who I have in both of my leagues.

Lonely No More

Camels, Camels Everywhere

Moammar Qadaffy is in town this week for a big conference.

Are you Serious?

We saw this sign posted on a store earlier this year when we were in Egypt.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

The Seat of Power

Today sitting in the president’s chair at the “White House,” I recorded my voice for a documentary that is going to be shown at an upcoming international trade conference. It was the nicest room I’ve ever been in this country.

“Augustus, the chocolate must never be touched by human hands!”

It has rained here on and off the past few days. Rain is sort of a curse here in this city because there is no place for it to run off. We have sewers in some places but not in many residential neighborhoods. It’s inconceivably worse for those people who live in the slums.

There are a couple places near our house where a pond develops and normally stays for at least 6 weeks after the rain. After about a week the water develops into a nice creamy lather that looks like a chocolate river, and the smell is nasty. It’s only a matter of time before we get a plague of flies and mosquitoes.

Almost Washed Away to Sea

On our one-day weekend last Friday we decided to go camping on the beach. It rarely rains here but it had been cloudy and sprinkling for the previous couple of days. The beach is basically a river bed that flows out of the mountains. At about 6 in the morning it started to rain very hard. Almost immediately water started to accumulate in low spots on the beach. The tide was about midway so the water built up and burst the rocks where high tide reaches as you can see in the photo. A guy next to me had his car parked right next to that spot. He’s lucky this “dam” didn’t burst under his car or it would have become a nice addition to the coral reef.


The French Foreign Legion has a base just next to this beach. They drove up in one of their trucks and took any children that were camping out with their parents while we quickly tore down our campsites. We saw some of the Foreign Legion’s legendary “tough” characters, but they were very nice and didn’t have to help us but did anyway.

Check out the typical French uniform that the soldier on the left is wearing.

Cooler Times

The heat has finally broken and we are able to spend some time outside. Here's a shot of our terrace. We like to be up here in the mornings and late afternoons when temperatures are in the high 80's.

Keep your friends close...

This movie and part II have to be two of my all-time favorites.

The Godfather

SKI U MAH

Even though they are the worst of the best and the best of the worst there's still a big gap.
IAA AGame < IA DGame.
Better luck next time.

The BK did have a nice TD though.

2 Star Luxury

Yesterday I went to our luxurious Hotel Sheraton and parked behind a German Mercedes Benz jeep. The last couple of years the hotel has become a military installation for a handful of German military. They took up residence here because they were not satisfied with the barracks given to them when they arrived. So after a hard day of their soldiering duties they can come back to their rooms and order room service.

Cultural Jottings

Last night I broke the fast with several of the university professors and administration. We are in the last couple of days of the fasting month of Ramadan. Someone told me that the local grocery store sells twice the amount of food during Ramadan than the other non-fasting months. Most people spend a lot of time with their families eating literally all night long…

We get hassled a lot here everywhere we go by people trying to sell there wares. Today as I was waiting at an intersection I was accosted by a man selling baskets and other things. He assumed I was French as is normal here and tried to get my attention by saying “Vive la France.” I told him I wasn’t French. He asked me if I was German and I said no and just to see what he would say I said I was Israeli. His eyes widened and then he said “Allahu Akbar,” which means god is great in Arabic and something else I didn’t understand and then walked away disgusted.

Crouching Abdi Hidden Dragon

Recently our regular guard went to Ethiopia to see his family. He told us he will be gone for a month. He arranged a replacement for us while he is gone. He’s the guy crouching, leaning on the pole on the left.

These guys have their own culture. They all live outside, and sleep under the stars every night. They like to congregate together crouching down in the catcher’s position to discuss everyone’s comings and goings in the neighborhood. They way they crouch look to me like they are birds sitting on a telephone wire.

We don’t speak any common language with him. Tonight I questioned him about a problem with our water tank and had to first ask our Arab neighbor in English who then asked another guard in Arabic who then asked our guard in some strange Ethiopian language.

Les Chameaux

Today I drove by the port where several Ethiopian lorries carrying camels waited to unload onto a ship. The camels were tied down forcing them to kneel.

I think the camel is a beautiful animal but they have bad attitudes.

Six Saltines in Sixty Seconds

I tried unsuccessfully to eat six Saltine crackers in one minute.

Graffitied

Our house in the US was recently tagged by a group of community beautification volunteers.

Win Twins

Yeah Baby. Yeah.

Manifestation

My classes were interrupted today by the first strike of the year. It looks like we are off to a good start since today was also the first day of school. Last year one could count on a strike about once a week. We are off to a better pace this year.

The students are angry because over the summer the administration surprised everyone by charging tuition for the first time. No one was prepared for this. The cost is about $120 per semester for a full load of classes. This is a lot of money for a student here. It�s especially difficult because it was without warning.

The sign says: We chose to study but not to pay.

40° F to 110° F

Extreme Dodgeball

Extreme Dodgeball on Vimeo

Lewis and Clark

Here we are looking for a waterway passage to the Pacific Ocean at the Normal Family Reunion.

email

merickson777@yahoo.com

Ice Lollies

Three cheers for popsicles.

The Birds and the Bees

So why do hummingbirds hum?