Photography, Software, and Sand

Time to go home

2009-08-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

My year is up... its time to go home. I flew from Balad back to Baghdad on Wednesday and I am spending today on Camp Victory waiting for my flight out of the country.

Its been a very long and rewarding year. I'm happy with my decision to come here -- I've learned a lot professionaly, I've had my eyes opened to many things in life, and the financial reward cannot be overlooked either. I'm finally out of debt and I'm hoping to stay that way for many, many years.

The photo above was taken during my blackhawk flight back from Balad on Wednesday.

Signing off,
-- Joe

Time at the Zoo coming to an end

2009-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm all packed. My flight out of Baghdad is scheduled (although I cant say when). By the end of this week I will be settled into Balad in my new office to live out the remaining two weeks of my tour here. Its the end of an era for me. But since it means that I'm that much closer to coming home, its a welcome end.

The photo above is the IT staff in front of our building over the weekend.

Down to 45 days

2009-07-14T02:58:00.000-07:00

We are scheduled for our move to Balad sometime this month ... the day keeps fluctuating but it seems like it is going to be a reality. Our desks are gone, most of our vehicles have been taken to be shipped, and our IT team has wired the new facility up for internet. We're just awaiting final word from the military that our facility is ready for us to move into.

It will definitely not be a good time leaving. Some people have been working on this contract here for five years, and the compound we are in now has been home to this support contract since the war began in 2003. For me, though, it will be uprooting my home here and moving it for the last month of my time. Its strange looking back to say that I've lived in Iraq for almost a year... in some ways I feel like I have been here for an eternity, and in others I feel like I just left home. One thing's for sure, though, and thats that I'm looking forward to going home and leaving this country as a distant memory. It's treated me well financially, and I've made some friends here, but I can't really think of much more that I'd be able to say I got out of this country other than some gray hairs, heartache, and a new definition of miserable living to take with me.

The photo above is a photo of our logistics bay that I took with a 24mm tilt-shift lens, which, when shifted and focused properly, gives the appearance at looking at a miniature version of the photos subject.

Moving this summer

2009-04-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

We got word over the weekend that our company's operations here will be moving to Joint Base Balad, which is north of Baghdad. The US military is looking to start turning significant tracts of land back to the Iraqis, and our compound is high on the list because we are right next to Iraqi neighborhoods already.

Fortunately for me it seems like this will be occurring in the June/July timeframe, which is right around when I will be coming back from vacation. Because of this, I will only have a manageable 45-60 days at the new site... I will be able to cope with any inconvenient situations because of this (read: having a roomate). We'll see.

In the meantime, I now have a newfound sense of urgency to get out and photograph all the palaces here again. I just got my new tripod in last week... a carbon-fiber setup with a gimbal-type head. Im hoping to get some beautiful shots of the palaces to share with everyone.

Chugging along

2009-03-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

3 weeks back from PTO and Im getting back in my groove. How do I know I'm back in my groove, you ask? I wake up every morning not knowing and not really caring what day of the week it is. Once I hit that phase the time starts flying and it seems like every other day I wake up is a Friday. Its pretty nice actually.

Life here has gotten very repetitive since I last posted and its been getting very hard to come up with things to blog about. Im working on it though... I just dont think that a post will come every day anymore.

Back from vacation with a new role

2009-03-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

I got back from vacation earlier this week - to watch my only sibling get married... yay Christine :c) - and I've been full throttle trying to get caught up on the goings-on here, getting over my jet lag, and adjusted to my new role. I was asked to spearhead the planning and development effort for the next major version of our application, and Ive spent the last several days feeling my way out around here to determine how much time I'm actually going to be able to spend doing this while continuing to support and maintain the existing system thats already in place.

Ive decided to refocus my time here on education, both professional and personal. While I won't be taking any formal training, I've ordered several books on photography and travel that I fully intend to hit hard and learn as much as possible and put into real-life situations here, even with my limited opportunities. Additionally, I've dusted off some programming reference books that I'm hoping to learn cover-to-cover and absorb as much as possible about the languages I'm using here. Software development, for now at least, is my bread and butter and I don't want to fall behind on things because I'm getting distracted with other things. Hopefully I can maintain my focus and keep on it.

The photo above is a photo I took of the Lincoln Memorial while I was home, and is one of my new favorite photos I've taken. More Iraq photos to come soon :c)

Surf's Up!

2009-02-07T02:48:00.001-08:00

After I'm done here in Iraq, I plan to travel the world. For how long, I have no idea. Maybe just a few weeks. Maybe a few months. I have an itch, and I don't know how long it'll take to get to the point where I'm not waking up every day wishing I was waking up in a small town in Europe, a beachside resort in Asia, or on a wildlife preserve in Africa. But I do know I need to get out and travel, and I can't stop thinking about it.

While doing some research into traveling cheap, I came across a pretty awesome concept -- communities of travelers that are willing to take in others for a night or two on a couch or spare bedroom. There are several websites out there that support this, but the best I've found is CouchSufing.com. I've already created an account there, and looking forward to seeing what the community has to offer.

The photo above is of yours truly, and was taken by one of the Local National Program Managers (they manage all the Iraqi citizens hired as linguists for GLS) while I was teaching her about depth-of-field and aperture in photography by the pond on our compound.

Guess who's back...

2009-02-02T02:39:00.000-08:00

Theres a few ways to interpret that question... the first is that I'm back. I've finally caught up enough on work here to refocus on my photography and blog, so for those of you that havent completely abandoned reading this you should expect to see me back to my regular tempo.

Someone else who's back -- the Pittsburgh Steelers. They won their sixth Super Bowl around 6am this morning, right around sunrise. It was a marathon night, but worth the time spent. And of course I'm happy for the Steelers fans out there, especially Amanda and her family. I figure that my vacation home later this month stands to be a lot more pleasant with the Steelers winning.

Lastly, our rodent friends have made it back as well. The last week or so we've seen a few of them wandering around our building, at it turns out that its most likely the result of some poor decision-making by someone here. Apparently they didnt like the cats that had been making a home here, so they had the cats removed. Of course now that the cats are gone our rodent population is going to explode. Lovely.

The photo above is one I took of Eric (foreground) and Steve during a game of pre-Superbowl pingpong.

The impact of change

2009-01-24T02:38:00.000-08:00

Watching President Obama's inauguration earlier this week had a huge impact on me. Not only because of what he has promised his administration will bring - transparent government, strong foreign diplomacy, a focus on science and technology, and economic changes that are sorely needed - but also because as he spoke of Iraq I realized that a change in policy here means a change in my job here as well. As military units begin to leave the country, so will the site managers that support our linguists in the field and even the linguists themselves. I hope that the need for my services last as long as my desire to be here, but if I leave early for that reason it can't be all that bad right?

President Obama's portrait above, taken by White House photographer Pete Souza, was taken using the same camera that I just ordered for myself -- the Canon 5d Mark II. If its good enough for him, its good enough for me too.

Cats and dogs

2009-01-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

It poured here yesterday. All night. It was probably the hardest I've seen it rain in quite some time -- probably harder than it rained in Barbados on my cruise. That's definitely saying alot when you're in the desert. From what I've heard its been quite dry out here and the Iraqis have been desperate for rain for their crops, so I'll take a day of poor weather to help folks out... even if it means I had to deal with poor satellite reception as a result for the Giants-Eagles game last night.

Back in action

2009-01-06T22:33:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my first day back at work here after a 16-day holiday and its surprisingly good to be back. Don't get me wrong -- I enjoyed being home and seeing everyone and I absolutely had a great time on my cruise and wish it could've lasted another week, but it wasn't easy being away from work when there is a lot to be done and money to be made. Plus, to be honest, life is a lot less stressful here than having to deal with real-world stresses like relationships, commuting, and figuring out what to do tonight. It's all kinda neatly wrapped up for me.

Anyway -- I'm back for a month and a half before I depart again for home for my sisters wedding... good times!

Working hard until the end

2008-12-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

I just submitted my timesheet for this last 2-week pay period. I don't think its neccessary to say that 250 hours is more hours than I've ever and probably will ever work again for someone else in my life. And thats with some "down" days... days that I "only" worked 12 hours so I could recover. About half of these days I was in my office until at least sunset, and there were a few that I never went to sleep but for a quick nap during the day when I could sqeeze some time in. The timing worked out pretty well with my vacation coming up, and I don't know how I'd be able to recover from all this without it.

I'll be home for Christmas...

2008-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

So the cat is out of the bag -- I had to confess that I had been planning to come home and surprise everyone for Christmas. Well... surprise! I won't be in town long -- only a few days -- but hope to see everyone while I'm back.

Things have been super busy here... we have our backs against the wall and I've been working for sometimes up to 36 hours straight with minimal amounts of sleep while we try to get everything squared away here. My last pay period I billed for 231 hours... way more than I've ever approached at any other job. Needless to say my photography time has declined dramatically.

Its in the stars (planets)

2008-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight the moon, Jupiter, and Venus were all in very close proximity with each other. Because of the open space we have here, I've been able to watch Jupiter and Venus get closer and closer every evening, and now they have come to group very nicely with the Moon. For those of you in the states, you can see the same thing around sunset tonight-- just look west.

Thanksgiving in Baghdad

2008-11-27T02:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone... I'm writing this on my first of three Thanksgiving dinners. Yep, thats right... three. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for lunch today and will have it again tomorrow for lunch, each sandwiched around a Thanksgiving dinner. It makes for a few sleepy, belly-aching days to be sure.

The DFAC here was very well decorated, with streamers and banners hanging around, a huge center table set up with a cornucopia and large fruit and vegetable spread, several carving stations, the staff all wearing pilgrim hats, and the senior-ranking enlisted and officers performing their traditional role of doing the serving of food to military members.

The food included everything I would have asked for at a Thanksgiving dinner back home: white meat turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. I even had a slice of my favorite holiday dessert -- pumpkin pie. I really couldn't have asked for much more, and I get to do it again two more times.

This isn't my first Thanksgiving away from family and friends... I spent Thanksgiving of 2001 at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS while I was in technical training for the Air Force and we weren't permitted to travel home. There are quite a few differences between the two... I remember the food there being significantly better, I was off for the entire day while I'm likely working through the night here again, and I was at least in the same time zone as everyone I knew. The one similarity will be football. We have a bigscreen TV in our new dayroom adjacent to my office, so I will probably end up running my ethernet cable into the room and sitting on a chair to watch the game and work at the same time. Man, I love Thanksgiving...

Application goes live tomorrow

2008-11-23T04:59:00.000-08:00

The application we've been working on since June goes live tomorrow. As with most software applications that are pushed to release faster than they should be, we've got a laundry list of issues that still need to be fixed. The last week has been spent trying to resolve issues that have come up, and unfortunately they've been popping up faster than they can be resolved. Ultimately we're going to put out a broken product tomorrow and going to spend several more weeks of long nights trying to get things fixed and regain our ability to see the customer without wanting to run away.

In other news its Sunday, which means a trip out to the airport to get a haircut and some football tonight. I'll probably be focused more on work than on the Giants - Cardinals, but hopefully I get some downtime to watch a quarter or two.

Another ping pong player joins the ranks

2008-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Steve got here on Sunday and we quickly learned that he's got some ping pong skills. He's fit in quite well with the other ping pong players, and it'll be nice to have an extra player. It's also nice to have another developer here... prior to Steve's arrival I was the only one here and had to rely on instant messaging to communicate with anyone about issues I've been having with the system. Already we've had several lengthy conversations about coding and I've felt a lot better about things.

The photo above is one of the minarets at the largest mosque in Irbil, which was donated by a wealthy local man for the citizens of Irbil to use.

Back and rested

2008-11-14T23:57:00.001-08:00

I made it back here to Baghdad yesterday afternoon. After an extremely long day I had a chance to sleep in this morning and fully took advantage of the opportunity. I feel well-rested and ready to make this last push to get our application wrapped up and out the door this week.

The photo above is a medieval castle on the outskirts of Irbil that we had the opportunity to visit.

Almost back to Baghdad

2008-11-13T03:49:00.000-08:00

My whirlwind tour of Iraq is almost complete and I am waiting on travel back to Baghdad and should be there by dinnertime tomorrow. I've been to 13 air bases, COBs, FOBs, or Camps, flown on Blackhawks, Chinooks, Pave Lows, and C-130s, and been in a convoy through the most dangerous city in the country. I've even had a chance to stay in a house, visit a restaurant, and walk around one of the quietest and safest cities in the country as well. I've met face-to-face with over 50 customers to give them personalized training and elicited over 25 suggestions for features to our application. At least 90% of the folks that I have met with would say that they're happy with our system, which is a pretty good success rate for such a wide range of user roles and technical capabilities.

All in all I'd like to think that my trip was a success both professionally and personally, and I'm glad that I made it through the trip safe and in good spirits. Now it's back home to Baghdad and my warm bed and office space and to welcome our new developer - and personal friend - Steve Levithan into the country this weekend and get him started on the same process I went through myself at the end of August.

The photo above is in front of the statue of a Kurdish philosopher and historian at the entrance of the Citadel in the center of Irbil.

Touring Irbil

2008-11-12T00:46:00.000-08:00

Being in Irbil is like an out-of-body experience for anyone thats spent time in the rest of Iraq. The people here are friendly and the security situation allows us to not have to wear body armor or helmets when traveling through the city. In fact, my day yesterday was pretty much like any day I would have spent in any other city in the world. The guys here asked if I wanted to see downtown Irbil on our lunch break, and I naturally had my boots on and camera in hand before the question was even finished.

The first place we visited was the Citadel, which is a settlement in the center of the city. This settlement is one of the oldest continuously occupied in the world, with estimates of around 8,000 years. As I later found out, the buildings themselves are not actually that old - each group of people built on top of previous settlements, which is why the settlement is on top of a 100-foot hill. I found an interesting story online that his some great information about the citadel on MSN.

After the Citadel we went to a very large mosque downtown. I had hoped to have had the chance to walk around but the gate we were at was closed and Havel, the Kurdish employee taking us around, didnt know about the open gate on the back side. I at least got some photos from the outside though.

After the mosque we drove to the outskirts of the city to a medieval castle that was built by a princess of the British Empire. Its small by most standards, but beautiful nonetheless. The area around the castle is ringed by small hills leading up to mountins a 5-10 miles further away - a beautiful vista for sure.

The photo above is a view of the Citadel in the center of Irbil.

Made it to Irbil

2008-11-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

I took a convoy from Mosul to Irbil last night and got in late. I stayed up even later to watch the Giants take a win over the Eagles and I'm seriously regretting it -- I'm pretty exhausted today. The house I'm in is very nice... its in a quiet part of Irbil, which is in Kurdish territory. The Kurds do a good job of policing and have kept all the infighting outside of their territory. Its safe enough, in fact, that we dont need body armor to walk around the city.

The photo above is part of the neighborhood that I'm in.

One more stop

2008-11-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

I've got one last stop on my scenic tour of Iraq - I'm going to Irbil, which is in the Kurdish territory of the northern part of the country, for a few days. From what I hear the city is quiet and not opposed to U.S. presence there, so it sounds like my kind of town. Hopefully I'll get some good photos and have some good stories to tell, aside from being able to get my work done of course.

The photo above I took in Kirkuk while I was waiting for my room to get opened sometime in the middle of the night. The nighttime sky out here is pretty incredible, and I couldnt resist the chance to get out the fisheye lens and get a shot of the sky.

My first daytime flight!

2008-11-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

I flew back to Mosul this morning on a Blackhawk and experienced my first daytime flight here in the country. It wasnt the huge city shots that I'd hoped to get in Baghdad, but I'm equally satisfied with the landscapes that I was able to see and photograph. The only negative was that our door was closed on the Blackhawk, so theres quite a bit of reflection and distortion from the glass, but I'll live.

Now in Kirkuk

2008-11-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

I made it into Kirkuk last night on my first ride on a CH-47 Chinook, which completes my checklist of military transport helicopters here in theater - Blackhawk, Chinook, and Pave Low. I'm hoping to get on an V-22 Osprey and C-17 Globemaster sometime before I leave to complete the full circuit of aircraft. I'll hopefully be leaving again in a few hours on to my next location on my Iraq Tour.

The photo above is a CH-47 Chinook, similar to the one I took from FOB Speicher (Tikrit) to Kirkuk.

Now in FOB Speicher

2008-11-06T00:27:00.001-08:00

After a fun night of traveling and getting on the wrong helicopter I'm currently at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Speicher, a large and mostly empty base between Baghdad and Mosul. I've got about 10 people to train here before I board another helicopter tonight for my next destination.

After my two-hour Blackhawk flight through the desert last night, I came to a realization that I thought would not be possible. I was... bored... on my flight. Yep. Bored. Sitting on a helicopter and not seeing any cities below you gets old pretty quick. If I wasnt sitting in an awkward position with the barrel of a .50 caliber machine gun sitting in my lap I might have actually taken a nap. I really need to get some daytime flights in one of these days.

The photo above was taken at FOB Marez in Mosul -- the city of Mosul is in the distance on the hill and the vehicle in the foreground is an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) Vehicle, which was designed and rushed to production to provide additional protection to troops traveling through cities from IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices).

In Mosul

2008-11-04T23:58:00.000-08:00

I got here to Mosul yesterday afternoon to conduct more training. I'm not going to get into my itinerary until after I've completed it, but I've got several more cities and bases on my trip before I get back. One day in and already the difficulties of traveling in the country have forced me to replan my trip because of some issues with scheduling movement. At least its not raining up here... Ive heard it becomes quite the mud pit when it does.

The photo above is another that I took at sunset earlier in the week.

Iraq has beautiful moments too

2008-11-04T03:34:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a chance to spend 20 minutes outside while waiting to find out my flight time for today. I happened to be outside during sunset and also happened to have my camera on me, and I started snapping away. I'll be honest -- I'm a sucker for a nice sunset. Iraq has some of the nicest-looking sunsets I've seen in my life. I'm sure that has to do with a combination of the flat, open terrain of Baghdad along with all the dust suspended in the air that helps scatter the light. Either way, most evenings I'm wishing I had my camera on me around dusk, and last night I was fortunate enough to.

Giants looking good

2008-11-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

I stayed up way later than I should have last night. The Giants played the Cowboys and the game didn't start until midnight here in Baghdad. I could've just went to sleep and watched the highlights in the morning, but I've come to realize that watching the Giants play every week is the closest thing to life back home as I'll get. I think that a lot of the guys here feel the same way, because I definitely see a lot of tired-looking folks walking around camp today. The Giants, by the way, beat the Cowboys and went to a 7-1 record and are looking good to have another spot in the playoffs this year.

The photo above is a UH-1 Huey flying over at Al Asad Marine Base from last week.

Regrouping in Baghdad

2008-11-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

After several hours on standby at the airfield in Balad, I finally managed to catch a Blackhawk out and back here to my home base in Baghdad. It was a long 8 days away for sure... it rained most of the time I was away and Balad is extremely muddy, which contrasts sharply to Al Asad in the west, which is devoid of vegetation and is mostly covered in rocks.

After a few days to regroup with Brenden here I will be heading back out on the road for another week or so to do some more training. A few things about the traveling I've been doing in Iraq: I dont mind the traveling as much as I or others thought I would - its nice to have a change of scenery every few days and to meet new people; Its incredibly rewarding for me to be able to sit face-to-face with the people that will be using my system when it goes live in a few weeks and get their feedback about what we did right and what we missed... I've missed having that opportunity at some of my recent jobs, and lastly, it is way harder to travel in Iraq than I thought possible, despite what people have said. All of the legs of my travel were delayed by at least an hour, and because mission times and flight plans are classified I usually sit in the passenger terminal at the airfield not knowing when I'd be leaving or even how long my trip is. I know now that for future travel I need to bring several books in my bag to help me pass the time.

In Balad

2008-10-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

Last night I caught a C-130 up to Balad Air Base, which is north of Baghdad. I have some training here today before I catch a flight to my next destination. So far the training is going well -- folks are receptive to our product and they have a lot of positive feedback and recommendations for future work, which keeps the paychecks coming in. Hooray for cash, right?

The photo above is a V-22 Osprey I caught landing at Al Asad earlier in the week.

Still in Al Asad

2008-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'll be here in Al Asad for a few more days while I'm conducting more training before I move onto another base to take care of more training there. Fun times -- its nice to get face time with the folks that will be using my system on a day-to-day basis and get their suggestions and feedback.

The weather here cleared up since our little flood yesterday morning and has been pretty nice. Its a bit chilly, but a welcome change from the heat and the skies are clear here for the first time since I got here, which has given me a few decent photography opportunities.

The photo above was taken at sunset with a CH-53 Pave Low below the sun and the top of a satellite dish in the foreground.

Flooded!

2008-10-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it started raining here at Al-Asad Marine Base... the first rain we had seen in quite some time. Last night it started pouring, which I knew could not be good in the desert. When I woke up this morning to a thunderstorm, I was not surprised to see a flash flood running through the base, effectively separating me from work and, more importantly, the chow hall and any other source of food. For right now I'm stuck and probably going to take a nap since our power is also out and my laptop battery is about dead.

The photo above is a truck trying to cross the river on what had been the road to get out of here.

Combat programmer!

2008-10-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

My job in the US Air Force was a computer programmer, and I essentially did then what I'm doing now, except I was doing just outside Washington, DC supporting HQ Air Force and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. When the war here in Iraq started I tried unsuccessfully for volunteer for deployments. There are no jobs for programmers in Iraq, I was told. Me and the guys used to joke about the concept of a computer programmer in the desert with a laptop jumping out of a plane and programming in the desert.

Aside from the jumping out of the airplane part, I realized last night that I'm now fitting the mold. Laptop in hand and body armor donned, I got onto a Marine helicopter early in the morning to come out to Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province. I'll be out here for a few days to train some of the users of my application on how to use it, as well as some performance testing in low-bandwidth environments.

Pictured above, a combat programmer in the flesh.

Exciting World Series shaping up

2008-10-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a terrific season, and I couldn't be happier for them. Not just because they beat the Red Sox in the ALCS to make it in, but because I do enjoy the underdog story. The Rays, who had never had a winning season in their 11-year existance, beat the defending champs and the Yankees to win the AL East divisional title and have powered their way through the playoffs to get to the World Series against the Phillies, a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1980. A truly exciting World Series to watch, and where will I be? I'll be excited to check the ESPN.com home page every morning to see the scores and highlights.

It rained today.

2008-10-18T04:21:00.000-07:00

Yep. It rained. It only rained for about 20 minutes, but it was the only the second time since I've been here. The first was a brief thunderstorm almost a month ago, for a combine total of about .05 inches of rain (unofficially). Its more of a mental thing for me -- it's nice to see clouds in the sky once in a while. I'm hoping that this ushers in the start of rainy season here... Id rather it be wet and muddy than arid and dusty. Our sandstorm a few days got some attention by National Geographic on their website... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081016-sandstorm-video-ap.html?source=rss

Time to meet the neighbors

2008-10-16T03:32:00.000-07:00

We've had a chance to meet the neighbors that we're sharing our new office with: several lizards, large ants, and, so far, one large rat. The lizards and ants are not bad to have around -- the lizards eat the insects and the ants clean the floor for us. The rats, on the other hand, are a problem that we're looking to deal with soon. Sealing off the gaps in cubicle walls and the doors going outside should help at least isolate the fellow so we can, um, evict him.

Just finished moving

2008-10-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

We moved out of the old office this morning and into our old HR office. HR, ops, finance, and the local national program moved into a building that was just opened up. Logistics moved into the old finance office and the old logistics office became a dormitory for male staff. Force protection is moving into our old office and the force protection office is becoming an MWR (Morale Recreation and Welfare) room. You get all that? Good.

The photo above is one of the driving greens set up on the roof of Al-Faw Palace. Its a platform with a small green on it. The sign says:

Thornal's Range Rules:
Ensure you clear range of all personnel and vehicles below prior to hitting
Individuals in IBA (Individual Body Armor) or Up Armored Vehicles are fair game!
Enjoy yourself and hit 'em straight!

Symmetry

2008-10-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is a shot I took with my fisheye lens looking straight up at the chandelier. I got it almost perfectly centered... I wish I had taken the time to line the shot up just right. On the edges of the photo you can see the top two floors of the rotunda and their small balconies into main hall and chandelier.

One massive chandelier

2008-10-11T03:59:00.000-07:00

The chandelier in the main part of Al-Faw Palace is massive. The photos I've taken don't really convey that as well as I'd hoped, but trust me when I say its large. Master Sergeant Williams told us that the chandelier cost $2million, and that the coalition had found a purchase order attesting to that. The purchase order also says that the chandelier lights are made of plastic, not crystal, a testament to the fact that Iraqi laborers were forced to cut corners because punishment or death was sure to come for construction projects that didn't meet deadlines.

The photo above is the chandelier as seen from the 3rd floor of the palace.

Saddam's Chair at Al-Faw

2008-10-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

The chair in the photo above was given to Saddam Hussein by Yasir Arafat. The inscription about the chair reads "In the name of God the merciful and gracious, Glorifies who traveled his servant by night from Mecca to Jeuseralem."

Al-Faw Palace

2008-10-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

Today one of our military customers, MSG Williams, gave us a tour of Al-Faw Palace. This was Saddam's main palace and most heavily fortified, so when the Coalition overthrew the government it was converted into the MNF-I (MultiNational Forces - Iraq) Headquarters.

The main entrance of the palace features a large, 3-floor rotunda-type room with a domed ceiling and a massive chandelier that I've been told cost $2million. It also has a throne-type chair that was given to Saddam Hussein by Yasir Arafat... apparantly it is customary to have a photo taken of yourself sitting in the chair, which I did (of course). The whole place has marble, chandeliers, and intricate carvings in the ceilings and great views of the rest of the base from the walkways on the roof.

The photo above is Dardan, Brenden, and me standing outside the palace entrance. Look out for additional palace photos over the next week or so.

R.I.P. Nancy

2008-10-05T04:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my parents' neighbor and good friend of my mother passed away. It was fairly unexpected... from what I understand she was in fair health but was admitted into the hospital the evening prior with bruising all over her body. Turns out she was having some sort of issue that was causing her blood to coagulate (clump). This unfortunately was not treated fast enough and led her to having a stroke and passing away.

I will always remember Nancy for her always-present smile and words of encouragement that both she and her late husband had for me through some big decisions and hard times in my adult life. She was a good friend to my mother and I know she will be missed by anyone that knew her.

Tonight would have been perfect if...

2008-10-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

If I weren't in Baghdad right now. The weather is just right... high about 85, currently 75. Just a tad chilly but you dont even notice it unless you think about it. Im wearing shorts and a t-shirt and feel just fine, if I were going out jeans and a polo would be the attire for the day.

In addition to the temperature, I was walking with a buddy of mine here on the compound and came across the spot where two brick walls blocked out all the lights and the nighttime sky suddenly became clear. I couldve easily spent the night there looking up, not just because I enjoy stargazing but because aside from my time in Thailand I'd never seen some of these stars before -- the southern sky is totally different from the northern sky and I'm just starting to see both where I am. And... I saw a shooting star. It was a slow-mover... green at first and faded to whitish-yellow. First time I'd seen one in some time, and hopefully I'll be able to catch the next big shower in November.

The photo above I took tonight across the street from my building. I'm facing the airport and you can see a bridge in the foreground that crosses the canal. The brick wall separates us from Camp Stryker. There is a dirt road on the other side and when vehicles drive by it kicks up dust and dirt, giving that beautiful look in front of the light. Hopefully I'll get my tripod here and be able to get a crisper shot than I took -- this one was braced up against a sign post.

This is my favorite time of year...

2008-10-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

The changing leaves, the cool, crisp weather, getting ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, wondering when I'll be seeing snow for the first time. Earlier sunsets so I can get out and do some photography. This weekend would have been a great one to take a drive out to skyline drive and do some hiking like I did last year with Steve. I'm here, though. The weather is getting cooler... highs this week havent topped 90F and right now its 78 degrees at 1030 at night. Its actually a bit chilly. But I'm still missing some of those things back home that had kinda become tradition for me.

The photo above is Brenden and Phil playing pingpong last night -- our new favorite pasttime.

DFACs, DFACs everwhere

2008-09-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

The base that I'm on - Victory Base Complex, or VBC for short, houses a lot of military and civilian personnel. I can't get into exact numbers, but its alot. All those soldiers have to eat, so there are several DFACs (Dining Facilities) to choose from. Usually we go to Falcon Palace, but sometimes we switch it up a bit. Off the top of my head, we have:

Falcon Palace (RPC)
Stryker
Slayer
Coalition Cafe
Airport
Oasis Cafe
Camp Liberty

Theres not a huge variety but some of them are definitely nicer than others.

The video above is one I found on Youtube -- its not mine, but I wanted to share what the dining hall I go to looks like. Its called Falcon Palace and used to be one of Saddam's facilities. It looks absolutely beautiful from the outside and is equally as nice on the inside. Enjoy!

1 month down, 11 to go

2008-09-29T02:57:00.000-07:00

I've been here in Iraq for a month now. Time almost doesn't exist anymore for me. Its the way I'd hoped it would be... the days are just blurring together and flying by. Those of you that have my number here, don't hesitate to call. I'm not so busy that I can't take a phone call for a few minutes to say hi.

The photo above is a mosque located here on VBC near the Victory Over America palace.

Weather cooling off, development heating up

2008-09-27T05:24:00.001-07:00

The last few days has seen the temperature cool off a good ten degrees. Highs this week are in the 90s, with tomorrow being 89. Thats the equivelant of a mid-70s day back on the east coast when accounting for humidity, so needless to say we are thoroughly enjoying the weather here.

On the business side, we successfully demoed our application to the executive staff of the company and got some pretty great reviews. We've been busting our butts to get it done for testing in the upcoming week for select users to log in and make sure everything works the way the expect to. Ive been putting in some long(er) hours to get things done and Im confident things will turn out well.

The photo above is al-Faw palace in Baghdad on Camp Victory, and was commissioned by Saddam Hussein to commemorate Iraq's retaking of the Al-Faw peninsula during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's.

NBC doesnt support the military

2008-09-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Tried to watch the season premier of Heroes on the nbc.com website today. Access denied... I got a message saying that online videos arent available from my location. Soooo... I guess I might have to resort to more below-the-radar measures to be able to watch my favorite shows. Or... just boycott them.

The photo above is the Perfume Palace in Baghdad... so named because it was a brothel for Uday and Qusay Hussein and smelled like- you guessed it - perfume.

For the first time since middle school...

2008-09-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Yankees aren't in the playoffs. The second-longest streak by any time in the history of MLB is over. In some remote part of my brain I'm somewhat relieved... I would've been faced with the challenge of having to get up at 3am to watch playoff games or have to live with missing the games.

The photo above is me in front of the Victory Over America Palace here in Baghdad. The palace was initiated by Saddam after the Gulf War to celebrate the Iraqi "victory" over the US. The palace was never finished and is now a bad state of disrepair.

Stuff to write home about

2008-09-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

There are things over here that this blog will never contain. Because of where I am, there are just some photos that I've taken or things I've experienced that would be considered too sensitive to post for the general public to see or read. Its an unfortunate thing that I knew I'd have to deal with, and Im actually quite happy that I've received permission to photograph anything here on my compound, so I'm lucky.

One of the things I can talk about, though, is one of the funniest things I've seen since I got here. I was outside talking to Jose, one of our paramedics, when we heard a woman screaming. We walked over to see what was going on and a woman that works in logistics was standing outside looking into the office. We looked inside and there was Fred, another logistics guy, running around the office with a stick and yelling. What was going on? Rats, she said. Fred was chasing down rats with the stick and killing them.

Gross, I know. But if you had been here to see Fred running around the office like that, you might have laughed your ass off like I did.

The photo above is a more detailed photo of the ceiling from the previous post.

Not a long post today

2008-09-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Finally online after some technical difficulties... Its 1am and Im going to sleep but wanted to get something out because I have several photos queued up waiting for a post to accompany them. Giants won today in overtime against the Bengals and have started the season 3-0... not too shabby.

The photo above is one of the rooms in our administration builing that housed our luau on Friday. The work on it is very intricate and I'd been obsessed about getting a photo of it since I got here.

Time for a luau

2008-09-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a luau to celebrate the departure of our HR director here in the country. The decorations and spread put together by his staff were fantastic... especially considering where we are. The food was pretty traditional US barbecue fare... burgers and dogs, steak,ribs, potato and macaroni salad, chips, and soda. It was definitely a nice break from our usual DFAC (Dining FACility) meals. Everyone was in good spirits and Louis got a great send-off. And I... well I took pictures like I usually do. The photo above is our food spread as everyone was digging in.

Time flies when you're working your ass off

2008-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ive been here for almost three weeks already, and this weekend will mark one month since I left. I don't even know what to make of my perception of the passage of time since I've left. I feel like I've been gone for so long, but here for such a short amount of time. It's probably because I've been spending about 18 hours a day here in this room and it all kind of blends together. You know that you're working a lot when you sign on in the morning and watch all your friends back home signing off messenger to go to sleep, signing back on in the morning at work, and then signing off again from work all while you're still in the same work day. I try really really hard not to think about it, otherwise I might realize how exhausted I really am.

The photo above was taken of me during our sandstorm a few days, which has since blown through and given way to clear skies once again.

They say that in the Army...

2008-09-17T02:58:00.000-07:00

They say that in the Army, the chow is mighty fine. Chicken jumped off the table and started marking time.
Oh Lord, I wanna go
But they won't let me go
Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!

Its not really that bad. The foods a lot better than I'd expected here. But... I'd never gone anywhere that I turn down the steak. After our first surf n' turf night here, I think I'm probably going to pass on the steak for the rest of the time here. Rumor has it that it's really camel. Just a rumor though. I hope.

Photo above is a can of Coke Light aka Diet Coke from Iraq. Some of you might notice the blast from the past -- pull tab cans.

Dust storm is getting worse...

2008-09-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

Its red outside. Mars red. Its very surreal. Almost like living your life through a sepia filter. This photo was taken at 430pm... 2 hours before sunset.

Giants and Yanks

2008-09-15T02:58:00.000-07:00

The Giants won last night in a strong performance against a weak team, but a strong performance nonetheless. They beat the Redskins the previous week and have started the season 2-0... not bad... not bad at all. The Yankees, on the other hand, are essentially out of the playoffs. For the first time since I was in middle school, I wont be watching the New York Yankees play in the postseason. I wouldnt have been able to watch most of the playoffs anyway, but its still quite depressing. Hopefully this year is just a blip and they'll pull it together next year.

The photo above is a view out the window of my office during our dust storm yesterday -- I didnt want to take the camera outside in it, so I just took the photo from my desk. The photo isnt underexposed... it was really orange and dark outside.

Another day, another dust storm

2008-09-14T03:03:00.000-07:00

Sometime early this morning our latest dust storm settled in, and now I have my first experience with this dust in the daytime. The best way I can describe it is thats its very much like being in fog. The sun isnt visible, but you can tell its there behind the brightest part of the sky. You have to drive with your headlights on so that other drivers can see you. The only difference is that instead of laying down a layer of wonderful, life-giving water, we get a layer of choking dust.

The photo above is one of the many animals I've seen around here... a lot of stray cats and dogs, rats, and packs of fox-looking animals... Im not sure that they're actually foxes.

Hurricane Ivan and the news

2008-09-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

Im a news junkie. If I'm at home, I want to watch the news before I go to work. While Im at work, I frequent the news websites. When I get home, I check the news to make sure I didnt miss anything since I left work. And before I go to bed, I check the news again. You never know what might happen, right?

Over here they run all the news stations on the AFN News channel, but its all on a delay. Theres nothing like watching the news talking about how Hurricane Ivan is approaching Galveston while I know from checking the internet that it struck hours ago.

I'm also a hurricane junkie. I used to spend my summers waiting for the Tropical Update with Bob Hope on the Weather Channel for the latest developments on tropical waves in the Atlantic. Being over here and not being able to follow all that... kinda a bummer.

The photo above was taken about 30 minutes before sunset yesterday near one of the buildings here. The sky is really blown out, but I didnt have much time to properly compose my shot -- I had a few guys waiting on me for dinner. Hopefully Ill catch a sunset the way I want to here one of these days.

What a difference seven years makes

2008-09-12T00:54:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago I decided to enlist in the US Air Force. I was 21 at the time, attending community college for three years at that point with no real idea of what I wanted to do, and working as a security guard making $8.50/hour at Six Flags in New Jersey. I left for basic training at Lackland AFB in Texas on August 29th... seven years later to the day, I was on a DC-10 departing Ft Benning, GA for Iraq.

September 11th was a difficult day for me. I was just starting my second week of basic training when our training instructor sat us down in the day room and informed us what was happening in the rest of the country. My Air Force career, and my subsequent professional career, have been shaped by that day. I arrived at the Pentagon four months after September 11th and watched the remarkable rebuilding that took place. During my tour we entered into conflicts with both Afghanistan and Iraq... conflicts that we are still in today.

And so here I am. Events that shaped my Air Force career have led me to my current position here in Baghdad supporting the Army and their mission. The same sense of patriotism and duty that led me to enlist in the Air Force seven years ago has led me to this new place in my life - working in a war zone, gaining career experience I never thought I'd have, meeting new friends and potential business partners and customers, and earning the money that I'm hoping will finally, finally, get me to financial stability.

I think at this point I know better than to try to wonder what life will be like in another seven years. If it's anything like the last seven, I could be anywhere and doing anything.

The photo above is me seven years ago, fresh out of tech school and living in my first apartment.

Baghdad Radio

2008-09-10T14:20:00.001-07:00

There are a few American radio stations here in Iraq that are run by the military. The music isnt all that bad, and its nice to drive around and jam to some tunes from time to time. One of the stations had a voice-over that made me laugh out loud...

Coming to you live from beautiful Baghdad, Iraq. We have something for everybody, except those insurgents. Well, we have something for them too, don't we?

The photo above is 2 of my office mates, Dardan (l) and Brenden (r) engaged in an intense game of ping-pong during one of our tournaments.

Passing the time

2008-09-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

When they're not working 12-hour shifts, 6 or 7 days a week, everyone here does their best to stay busy. Me -- I play ping pong, read, guitar hero, and take photos. Take out the ping pong and its pretty much like home. Not bad, eh?

The photo above is from our little dust storm last night. Capturing the dust in the air wasnt easy because the dust is so fine, but you can see the dust in the air near the lights and a layer of dust on the ground. It sure knows how to get everywhere... 24 hours later and I still taste it in my mouth.

The good news is the weather cooled off a bit...

2008-09-08T09:00:00.001-07:00

The bad news is that its because a dust storm just rolled through. A wall of dust came in as we were coming back from dinnner and now theres fine dust everywhere. Itll make for an interesting few days for sure.

Taking photos isn't easy

2008-09-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

The part of the base that I'm on is very small and detached from most of the things that would be worthy of taking pictures of. Im at work until well past sunset, so my evening time cant be really used for photography. The part of the base that we drive to for our meals is under very tight security and unless I want an MP swooping out of nowhere and smashing up my gear I cant even consider taking photos there.

In short, I have a ton of excuses for not having super-awesome photos to show everyone yet. Im getting there, and I promise that when they do they'll be worth the wait. Really. I promise.

The photo above is two Apache gunships taking off from Baghdad International Airport.

Weekend fun

2008-09-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to learn that even though some of us (including me) don't have a day off over here, there is still fun to be had on weekends. Ok... maybe not fun, but at least something to look forward to. Friday nights at one of the chow halls here is T-bone steak, crab legs, and fried shrimp night. Its no Sweetwater, but for over here its pretty decent food. Sundays at another chow hall is chicken and dumpling night - something I experienced when I arrived here last Sunday. Both quite delicious, and the folks in my office count down the days until good old Surf 'n Turf night at the DFAC.

Last night me and the guys from my office - there's four of us - played ping pong until about 1130pm. They're all pretty good, so I've got some practicing to do to get my skills up to be competitive with them. When we finished playing it was still over 100 degrees at midnight, so needless to say we had worked up a mighty good sweat. It was pretty much like playing ping pong in a sauna. With lizards. And roaches. Fun...

The photo above is one of the many, many lizards that hang out in and around my building that I live in.

Insurgent buses?

2008-09-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I was waiting to pass through a checkpoint with a colleague while coming back from dinner and we were waiting for a bus full of foreign nationals to be cleared by security. Suddenly several quick explosions go off and our vehicle is engulfed in a cloud of dust and smoke. IED? Mortar round? Nope. The bus was back-firing. It surely managed to wake us up, though.

The picture above is one of the many pallets of water bottles that are situated throughout the base that are available for us to pick up and put in our office refrigerators for some nice cool refreshment during the day.

Football in Iraq?

2008-09-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

Not likely. The NFL season started last night and I found out this morning that my Giants beat the Redskins 16-7. Why did I find out this morning and not watch the game, you ask? Because the game started at 3am local time, thats why. Ugh... this is going to be a miserable NFL season for me.

The photo above is a tower on my compound and the entrance to my office on the far left.

Smallpox: Not all its hyped up to be

2008-09-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Before I came here I had to get my smallpox and anthrax vaccines. Id heard alot of things about the anthrax vaccine and how it makes your arm burn, which it most definitely did. After few days, the soreness went away and I felt pretty good about it.

Nobody really prepared me for how cruddy I'd feel from this smallpox vaccine. Not only did I imagine a much smaller puss blister (gross, right?) but all of us that traveled here together are experiencing many of the symptoms of the flu. General achiness, dizziness, and a slight fever is how its manifested itself in me. Im definitely not looking forward to the next few days... theres no such thing as calling out sick here in Iraq.

The picture above is a canal that runs through the area that I work and was drained around the time of the invasion in 2003.

Damn hot

2008-09-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Although I'm not in a jungle, the first thing that came to my mind when I stepped outside a few moments ago was the great Robin Williams playing Adrian Cronauer in "Good Morning Vietnam":

Hey, can you tell me what's your name? "My name is Roosevelt E. Roosevelt." Roosevelt, what town are you stationed in? "I'm stationed in Poontang." Well, thank you, Roosevelt. What's the weather like out there? "It's hot! Damn hot! Real hot! Hottest things is my shorts. I could cook things in it. A little crotch pot cooking." Well, tell me what it feels like. "Fool, it's hot! I told you again! Were you born on the sun? It's damn hot! It's so damn hot, I saw little guys, their orange robes burst into flames. It's that hot! Do you know what I'm talking about?" What do you think it's going to be like tonight? "It's gonna be hot and wet! That's nice if you're with a lady, but ain't no good if you're in the jungle!" Thank you, Roosevelt.

Fun at the zoo

2008-09-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

The area of Baghdad that I'm working used to be a zoo for Saddam Hussein. We live in what used to be animal pens or administrative buildings and work out of what used to be large halls or animal slaughter houses. I work in such a place - the room I work in used to be used for slaughter. Kind of an unnerving thought -- who knows if the room was used exclusively for animals, right?

The picture above is a photo of the office I work in.

Labor Day!

2008-09-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

I woke up for my first day and guess what I did on my Labor Day... I worked of course! Business surely doesnt slow down here just because its a holiday. I can guarantee that it was much hotter on my Labor Day - 120 degrees - but they did try to make it as normal for us as possible. We had a small bbq-type lunch, complete with KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut, and non-alcoholic beer. Its like drinking regular beer, but without the nasty hangover or confidence in social situations that comes along with regular beer. Its the best of both worlds!

The above picture was taken on our C-130 as we were on our way from Ali Al-Salem in Kuwait to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP as its known in these parts).

No rest for the weary

2008-08-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

Im finally in Baghdad, but it sure took a lot out of me. I didnt sleep from 5am on Friday until now, which is 930pm local and 230pm back home. Im exhausted, but I did what I had to do to ensure I got here as quickly as possible. Now that Im here, Im ready to sleep. Lots of delays, lots of hoops to jump through. But its to be expected with the military.

More details to come when im conscious.

Leaving... on a jet plane...

2008-08-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

After accepting a contractor position in Baghdad in the middle of June and 2 months of waiting, I'm on my way to Iraq today. There were several false starts and delays because of administrative issues, but now I'm getting ready to finally leave.

I've spent the last week at Ft Benning in Georgia inprocessing and training with the US Army, doing things such as getting my smallpox vaccine, getting basic first aid training, and getting equipment issued for my deployment.

Finally, after all this time, I'm in the passenger terminal of the airfield here awaiting my plane and the beginning of my adventure. I look forward to sharing my experiences and photos with everyone as I go through this and hope to hear your feedback about what you might want