Blogs from Iraq

Posted by on March 17, 2004 2 comments

I’ve started checking out some blogs from Iraq. Here’s a few I found interesting…

[Citizen Smash]:http://www.lt-smash.us/ blog about [Milblogs]:http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/840fvgmo.asp
[Magic in the Baghdad Cafe]:http://bear.typepad.com/magic_in_the_baghdad_cafe/ A Nurse stationed in the 21st CSH 8/2003 to 2/2004
[Bob Zangas]:http://zangasiniraq.militarypages.com/ Bob(RIP, sadly) worked in Public Affairs at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq
[Baghdad Burning]:http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/ “Girl Blog from Iraq”
[by the rivers of babylon]:http://phlebotomus.blogspot.com/ “making the most of my deployment to Iraq”
[where is raed]:http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ Salam Pax: Iraqi from Baghdad (who? ask [slate,]:http://slate.msn.com/id/2083847/ [guardian]:http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,966819,00.html )
[turningtables]:http://turningtables.blogspot.com/ a US soldier (returned in Sept 2003) also: [his photoblog]:http://moja-vera.fotopages.com/
[Healing Iraq]:http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/ an Iraqi dentist

When not everyone is upwardly mobile

Posted by on March 17, 2004 Comments Off on When not everyone is upwardly mobile

I saw this discussion on [Plastic]:www.plastic.com today about [Starting The Economic Race 50 Yards Behind]:http://www.plastic.com/article.html;sid=04/03/17/22184414 .

> American youths are forced to choose between good credit and the chance of upward mobility.

One of the points: Society promulgates the model of going to college and then finding a decent job to pay off your student loans. But public-service or nonprofit jobs usually don’t cut it for paying off that student debt.

Source material for the discussion was an article from the Village Voice: [The Ambition Tax]:http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0411/fkoerner.php

h4x0rs r00l!!!

Posted by on March 12, 2004 1 comment

onepiece-1337.png

I came home from work, saw this on my screen, and just thought I HAD to take a screen cap. Note the “share rating” kind of in the middle on the right. Dude, I 0wnZ. hahahaha

Sideblog coming soon…

Posted by on March 9, 2004 Comments Off on Sideblog coming soon…

Ever wonder how to do a “sideblog” in MovableType? No? Well, then this entry isn’t for you. Otherwise, check out [Anders Jacobsen’s]:http://www.jacobsen.no/anders/blog/ quick article about [adding a sideblog]:http://www.jacobsen.no/anders/blog/archives/2003/06/05/adding_a_sideblog_in_mt.html

Seems like a good fit for linkdumping that seems like a waste in a normal blog entry. Most of the time I don’t wanna write anything of substance (hahaha), but I stumble across interesting links all the time.

A report from occupied Iraq

Posted by on March 2, 2004 1 comment

All too often do we see only one side of an issue. It often feels that the more controversial the issue, the more polarized and emotionally charged the available media. The Iraq issue is no exception.

Check out [Faith, Shame, and Insurgency: Life in occupied Iraq]:http://www.reason.com/0403/fe.sv.faith.shtml It’s an interesting look from the perspective of a reporter who decided to visit Iraq and see if his views on the situation hold up in the face of the truth there.

Zucchini quiche-thing?

Posted by on March 1, 2004 Comments Off on Zucchini quiche-thing?

Here’s a [recipe]:http://www.icatoia.freesurf.fr/cuisine/tarte%20salee/60.htm for a zucchini tart/quiche-ish thing. Tasted fine, but the crust was too hard (what temperature do you bake it at, since the recipe has a typo?). One of the dishes showcased at last Saturday’s cooking extravaganza 🙂

The rich get welfare…

Posted by on February 27, 2004 Comments Off on The rich get welfare…

[Confessions of a Welfare Queen]:http://www.reason.com/0403/fe.js.confessions.shtml talks about how the government hands out welfare to those already wealthy. An interesting read, if you’re not sick of reading about free market and subsidies.

Eric Raymond on Open Source Horror

Posted by on February 27, 2004 Comments Off on Eric Raymond on Open Source Horror

Seen on [Blogdex]:http://blogdex.net :
Eric Raymond, author of [fetchmail]:http://www.catb.org/~esr/fetchmail/, talks about his [personal horrors]:http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cups-horror.html . I got a laugh out of it, but I’m probably just as guilty of the poor interface design that’s highlighted in the story.

What book/country are you?

Posted by on February 27, 2004 Comments Off on What book/country are you?

I can’t believe I take these silly web quizzes… Still, they’re a reasonable distraction from work. I was curious about these, as they tell you what book you are or what country you are, while being a (shameless?) promotion for the author’s book.

Apparently, I’m /The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe/
by C.S. Lewis. The description says:

> You were just looking for some decent clothes when everything changed quite dramatically. For the better or for the worse, it is still hard to tell. Now it seems like winter will never end and you feel cursed. Soon there will be an epic struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal that could turn the balance. If this makes it sound like you’re re-enacting Christian theological events, that may or may not be coincidence. When in doubt, put your trust in zoo animals.

Curious? [Try the Book Quiz yourself]:http://bluepyramid.org/ia/bquiz.htm

As for country, I would’ve never guessed /Thailand/ !?

> Calmer and more staunchly independent than almost all those around you, you have a long history of rising above adversity. Recent adversity has led to questions about your sexual promiscuity and the threat of disease, but you still manage to attract a number of tourists and admirers. And despite any setbacks, you can really cook a good meal whenever it’s called for. Good enough to make people cry.

Here’s the link: [Take the Country Quiz]:http://bluepyramid.org/ia/cquiz.htm

I bet these quiz results make good icebreakers… “Hey, how’s it going? I heard you were Thailand– what’s up with that?”

About John Ashcroft on Vanity Fair

Posted by on February 25, 2004 Comments Off on About John Ashcroft on Vanity Fair

Mike’s Link Blog – Very Scary S*** About John Ashcroft

Pardon the profanity, but here’s a repost of a Vanity Fair article on John Ashcroft called “JOHN ASHCROFT’S PATRIOT GAMES”. At first I was wondering why I should need to know these personal details about our nation’s attorney general, but as I read, I thought, Dang, this is important stuff.