Escapist Literature: S.M. Stirling's Dies the Fire

In my difficult day,s one of the few bright spots is my discovery of great escapist literature. Delving into fiction has become increasingly rare for me over the years. I couldn't be bothered with most fiction anymore, preferring the more bizarre intricacies bewildering complexities of a strange reality to what is often predictable in fiction.

Before today, I think the last great fiction series I read was the Ender Wiggin Saga, by Orson Scott Card, all the way back in my university days. Now I found a new series to pique my interest nearly as much: S. M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire: A Novel of the Change." My new friend Marcie Fischer Darling introduced me to the series after a series of discussions about fantasy and sci-fi novels we have both read. I'm glad she lent me the books as well, because it is one of the more original works I've seen in science fiction/fantasy and historical fiction I've read in quite some time. It is also turning out to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise difficult existence for me. Everyone go out and buy a copy of S. M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire: A Novel of the Change."

In this book, characters and groups of people struggle with, and ultimately triumph over a mysterious, instantaneous, and completely unexpected "change" in the minutiae of the laws of physics. Nobody can quite explain what happens, but the laws of physics alter or shift ever so slightly to do several things: 1. Render all electrical devices, electricity, and electronic devices inoperable. 2. Render any mechanical device dependent on high pressure systems or electricity inoperable (everything from steam, internal combustion to pressurised tanks and hydraulic systems. 3. Make gunpowder and high energy explosive chemical reactions far slower, making guns and cannons useless.

These changes have such a profound effect on human technology that the complete collapse of society and civilization ensues on a global scale (or so the local characters speculate, as nobody really knows what happened beyond the suddenly provincial limits of their communication with distant communities). All the mechanical clocks powered by a battery quit working at precisely 6:13 PM Pacific Time US. Mechanical clocks not dependent on electricity keep functioning.

To anyone familiar with technology and science, the implications of these changes are undoubtedly frightening. No internal combustion or steam engines means there are no cars or trucks to ship goods and food. Cities immediately run out of food. Guns and explosives no longer work, rendering police impotent against anyone utilizing a lesser technology more effectively. National and local goverments collapse and leave survivors searching for food (which is tied up in farming communities with no means of distribution).

The survivors are three disparate but connected communities of people who survive through sheer luck, an ability and willingness to adapt to new realities, and the careful application of older technologies and the hard work they require. People's interests, hopes and concerns change. Where people previously concerned themselves with the mortgage and their corporate jobs in post-industrial Oregon their hopes change to newer, simpler, and smaller ones that suddenly require Herculean effort and will: getting a crop in for the harvest. Building a new community among survivors of an apocalypse with a new order in the world. Everything is humbled and torn down to be built anew.

The first community rallies around a former Marine officer turned commercial pilot, whose airplane crashes in the rugged mountains of Idaho. His growing band of survivors make a long pilgrimage across a post apocalyptic wilderness to their new "promised land" in Oregon's fertile Willamette Valley. This group is initally completely destitute, having lost everything in the plane crash. The group ultimately survives through strong, compelling leadership, a fortuitous yet carefully and hard-won set of critical skills, and the wisdom and forsight of good management and strategy, that carefully plans for the future and also exploits opportunities in the present.

Our second community emerges in the mountains of central Oregon, where the family estate of an eccentric wiccan priestess becomes the foundation for a new post change community built around their religious values and Wiccan culture. The new culture survives by coming together, building upon their strengths, and ultimately abandoning the past and quickly embracing new realities.

The third community, our main antagonist, emerges in central Oregon, the hastily built brainchild of an over-ambitious history professor and his rapid grab for power in a vaccum of leadership in the collapsing city of Portland. His small band of followers from the society of creative anachronism ruthlessly exploit their skills in medieval combat to build a medieval community based on 13th century French Feudal society.

The conflict and drama that plays out around these three communities centers around how they choose to successfully adapt to the change, and how they interact and fight among each other.

Despite the depressing back-story, the books provide a fascinating and ultimately inspiring story of how people adapt to, and trimph over adversity. It touches on the enduring power of the human spirit. It also proves to be a fascinating sociological speculation on people in the past and how their realities shaped their worldviews, perspectives, and existence.

There are two other novels in this series which I hope to be reading in the days ahead, so stay tuned for updates. Or just read the books yourself.

Dies the Fire, by S. M. Stirling

My New Facebook

Some of my regular readers (those of you left) may be left wondering as to why I'm no longer posting so much on this blog anymore.

The reasons are as follows:
1. I've been extremely busy and too tired to write in my blog of late.
2. Life is pretty routine right now, and I don't have a whole lot to say.
3. I've got a new Facebook account that keeps track of my friends and helps me stay in touch with my friends much better than this blog ever has.

Facebook.com is great. If you have one and I don't know, please send me an invitation to your friend list. One of my New Year's resolutions was to stay in touch with friends and family better. I decided to try out facebook after hearing several people talk about it. I never imagined its brilliant algorithms would put me back in touch with a host of people from my college days at NAU and elsewhere that I'd long since given up for lost. Go figure. Anyways, get a facebook. And if you don't have a facebook, Myspace seems to be the next best thing.

Liberation Week

This week in Kuwait marks Liberation Week, a period of long overdue R&R that myself and most of my students are in desperate need of. As I understand it (and I'm painfully embarrassed by my lack of effort to learn and understand it) Liberation Week marks Kuwait's Independence Day and Kuwait's Day of Liberation from Iraq. Coincidentally (or by divine providence if you ask the Kuwaitis), the two days are only about a week apart. So rather than just taking one day off for each holiday, the Kuwaitis had the brilliance and inspiration to just take the whole week off. One of the more intelligent things they've done around here if you ask me!

And how do the Kuwaitis celebrate, you ask? No Barbeques? No fireworks or parades either? Well, how about just running around at all hours of the night spraying silly string on cars? Or we could just drive around and honk our horns at all hours of the night. Seriously, this is what young people do during this holiday. You get yourself about 10 cans of silly string, go to the mall, and start spraying anybody or anybody's car with a product very similar to cans of silly string. I went out to find every single car on the road covered in goo! Quite a sight and definitely a lot of fun.

Here's a picture of Liberation Tower. Liberation tower is the tall one dominating the skyline. They built it after Saddam Hussein and the Iraqis retreated.

Turning 27

Note: I wrote most of this sometime in early to mid January, but never got around to publishing it until February 28th, 2008. This is due to a number of factors explained above.

I'm 27 today (January 7th, 2008). In my homeroom class this morning, I tried to lead them in singing "Happy Birthday" to their social studies teacher. The results were less that I had hoped for (they broke out laughing and giggling after the third syllable).

In any event, during my vacation, I spent a lot of time on highway busses rolling across Egypt. With all that free time staring at the passing sand, the new year's resolutions, my birthdays slowly becoming something I don't really want to celebrate, and all the major life changes and adjustments I've been making, I'm not in the best state right now.

I'm not only missing everyone in Japan, but I've got a nagging sense that I've abandoned them somehow. I think of friends and the things going on in their lives and have the strangest sense that I should be there, either to help them or for some other inexpressible purpose. But I'm not there, and it feels wrong somehow.

This is only compounded by the fact that my new job is quite a bit more job than I had anticipated. All my resolutions to not bring my work home, not work overtime unless necessary, and maintain a healthy work-life balance have pretty much all gone out the window. I'm still finding a little time to work out at the gym, but I'm basically counting days until Liberation Week, a weeklong series of holidays in Kuwait marking their independence day and the day of their liberation from Iraq.

Reflecting on the New Year

Now I'm back in Kuwait now reflecting on where I've been this year, where I've been, what I've done, and where I want to go with my life this year and beyond.

Some Highlights from 2007 (not all inclusive and not in any particular order) :

1. Made some great travels and journeys in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Kuwait, and Egypt.
2. Finished working in Japan and started a newer, more challenging job here in Kuwait at Universal American School
3. Went skydiving for the first time. There will definitely be a second time.
4. Got my Nitrox diving certificate and did some great diving in Egypt. Now dive centers will give me tanks with up to 40 percent oxygen!
5. Saw my parents, grandparents, and most of the rest of my family during the summer. The only regret I have is that I did not get to see my sister Noelle and her husband Seth.

Some Lowpoints from 2007 (not all inclusive and not in any particular order) :

1. New computer is equipped with Windows Vista. :( My next computer will definitely be a Mac.
   
2. Left behind numerous friends in Japan. You will all be sorely missed!
3. Still haven't managed to keep track of all my friends' and loved ones' birthdays. This was my resolution last year and I still haven't been successful. I think I may pull it off this year.
4. Still struggling with anger management, self-esteem, insomnia, and mild depression issues, although I think I'm making slight progress in some of these areas at times.

New Year's Resolutions (again, not all inclusive and not in any particular order) :

1. Remember all my friends' and relatives' birthdays.
2. Work out and finally get buff. (another thing I failed to do).
3. Have loose plans to visit Macchu Picchu in South America with friends.
4. Meet my new nephew, Seth Andrew Holler.

The End in Unfortunate Cairo

Back in the unfortunate city of Cairo before flying back to Kuwait. I don't particularly care for Cairo. It's dirty, polluted, and full of people hassling you for money and all sorts of things.

After checking into a hotel, the elevator (which probably dated to the 25th New Kingdom Dynasty) broke down when I tried to go out for dinner. The hotel however, was located on the 8th floor of the building. At least I got a bit of a workout. But I'm definitely ready to be back in Kuwait.

Anyways, this concludes my time in Egypt as I fly out tomorrow. It was alright. I'm glad I came but I don't have a desire to return for anything more than diving. I know there's some great places to dive both in and around Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, and some other places south of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast that would be far more interesting.

Had Koshari for dinner tonight, which is Egypt's staple food. Koshari consists of rice, pasta, chickpeas, and sometimes minced meat with a spicy sauce. Mix it all up and call it Koshari. Its quite a yummy meal. Very simple as well. People go into these tiny little places and buy takeout cups for the whole family. Good stuff. Going to have to find one here in Kuwait now.

Red Sea Coast of Hurghada

Left Luxor after getting sick of the touts and hucksters. A four hour bus trip turned into a seven hour bus trip because they couldn't figure out how to close the broken door. A semi-w0rkable duct tape and bailing wire solution eventually got us on the road again, but I missed any possible New Year's Eve festivities. Oh well.

The diving in Hurghada the following day made up for it though. The dive sites in Hurgada were actually more crowded, if such a thing could be imagined. But it was still good fun. One dive in particular had especially good coral that appeared to be in good shape. Visibility wasn't very good by Red Sea standards, but decent.

Again, I was diving on Nitrox and definitely think this is the way to go. You just feel better after a dive. You don't have so much cotton mouth and your lungs don't feel as heavy afterward. I would esp. recommend Nitrox to divers doing 3 or more dives a day at moderate depths (less than 20 meters).

Also had dinner at a tasty Lebanese resturaunt. Had taboula for the first time, which is a white dip/spread for bread made from egg whites, olive oil and garlic. Very delicious.

I GOT HAD

SHORT VERSON: I probably got had by a dodgy looking dude in Luxor's souk.

LONG VERSION: My tolerance for the hassle-happy, obnoxious high pressure Egyptian sales people in Luxor's souk (market) was, for whatever reason, remarkably high this afternoon. I had successfully negotiated a couple of cheap cab fares and was feeling high and mighty in my newfound bargaining skills.

But I didn't go looking for the usual pile of fake papyrus, cheap alabaster, raffish glitzy waterpipes, and other kitschy garbage the Egyptians dump on hapless tourists by the truckload. I entered one shop that looked to be selling (what appeared to me anyway) genuine antiques. I asked the guy where I could find some old or ancient Egyptian coins. He took me a couple blocks down where streed vendors peddled some of the tackiest junk and introduced me to a dodgy looking old fellow with a toothless grin, a knarly, dread-locked beard and a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

I told him I was looking for old coins. He immediately looked around like I'd just asked for 3 kilos of cocaine or Israeli sub-machine guns by the truckload. He then fished out some grimy silver coins with Arabic written on them. He asked if I wanted to see more. I said yes and he swore me to secrecy before leaving his pile of wooden cats and showed me to his apartment. He was obviously putting on a show, but whatever.

If I thought this man was suspect before, his 'apartment' did nothing to put my mind at ease. His only furniture consisted of an old stained matress I wouldn't let a dog sleep on. Nothing else but dirt, trash, and thousands of cigarette butts in the corners decorated his floor. I supressed my gag reflex long enough for him to fish out three plastic bags full of coins in random order.

The only ones I knew anything about were several old Indian Rupees and three Eisenhower dollars. He looked to have dozens of coins from British Egypt before World War Two. I was certain they weren't worth much though, and he was asking for some pretty ludicrous prices for them. He also had a bunch of what he said were Saudi coins. But most of his collection appeared to be fairly recent American coins, euros, and some of the former European currencies. The ones I could identify seemed to mostly date from the 1960's and 1970's.

He did show me an old silver coin that he said was from Saudi Arabia. I liked it and made the biggest mistake in the book while coin collecting: I bought something without knowing anything about it. Sadly, I still can't read most of the Arabic numerals. But I strongly suspected it was at least 50-60 years old. It is fairly large, and I could tell that it WAS silver. The coin also has a VERY ornate Arabic Calligraphy inscription on one side. I liked it.

I asked him for a price and he said 1600 Egyptian pounds (almost 300 US dollars). I smiled, but silently balked. I threw out 150 Egyptian pounds (about 25-30 dollars). He went on and on in his raspy chainsmoking voice about how poor he was, how I was so privileged to see his secret collections, how I was insulting him and breaking the rules by not compromising and lecturing me on how to bargain. I responded with two hundred Egyptian pounds and silently groaned inside. He started all over again with the same nonsense.

I got up and said "Thank you for showing me everything, but I don't have that much money with me and I have to go." Then he got all upset and threw all sorts of protestations and offered me a "special goodwill discount" as long as I promised to return and do business with him and to refer friends and family to him. The special discount was 1300 pounds. I got up to leave again and suddenly the price goes down to 600 pounds. Now I knew he was full of hot air (or cigarette smoke in his case).

In the end, he sold me the coin for 200 Egyptian pounds, which is way more than I had ever planned to spend. Without knowing anything more than a novice American coin collector, I would say I certainly overpaid. I'm going to take it to Mr. Said in the UAS business office or an old souk somewhere in Kuwait to see if they'll identify it for me and tell me more.

The character was certainly a master at bargaining, but it was immediately obvious he knew next to nothing about coins. He could speak and communicate in a broken English, but he obviously had trouble following some more sophisticated questions about the coin. He couldn't read the European coins, mostly old Francs and Italian Liras, and frequently got them confused (something to which I did not draw his attention). So all I really had to go on was my own estimation of the coin and its value.

But here in the Arab world, I'm totally in the dark about coin values. I know when something is silver or gold, and have got a good feel for "size," but I'm not an expert. And who knows what this coin might fetch in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or Egypt. Clearly, I need to do my homework when I decide to drop 30, 40 bucks or more.

Thinking back, I think I shouldn't have bought the coin at all, or AT LEAST read a guide of some sort on Arab coins. With American coins, I've got a pretty rough idea what the more popular coins are worth. If it is American, chances are I have an example of it, or have seen examples of it. I could identify almost ANY coin minted in America and probably tell you a little something about it. I'm weaker and less knowledgeable when it comes to grading coins and their conditions. But this is only because I don't buy the exotic rarities where the tiniest microscopic flaw could mean a difference in price of hundreds of dollars. I've never spent more than 90 dollars on a coin or bought something that was in mint state. I've also got the knowledge to navigate the Japanese coin market, although I'm no expert.

I don't think I was completely HAD by this guy though. It's about the size of the old, silver half dollars and its in pretty good shape. Any of the American Walking Liberty Half Dollars or Franklin Half Dollars would fetch in the range I paid for, so I don't think I overpaid too much (if I did in fact overpay). What bothers me is that I have no idea.

Hatepshut, Karnak & The Valley Of The Kings

I'm leaving Luxor a few days earlier than planned. There is tons of stuff I'd like to see here, but I really don't want to stay. The town is dirty, full of touts and hucksters, and I'm just not enjoying the polluted air's effects on my lungs or my photographs. And so far, I've only seen the Valley of the Kings, Hatepshut's Temple (above), and Luxor Temple.

On the bright side though, I got to see Karnak temple today (below), which is relatively spectacular and amazing. You can see the pictures here.

Nobody Made Me Buy a Ticket

After leaving Dakhla Oasis, I traveled by bus to the Egyptian town of Asiut, about halfway between Cairo and Luxor. My final destination of Luxor, required a trip on the train.

After finally arriving at the train station in Asiut, I walked up to the ticket counter. A guard from the Tourism and Antiquities Police introduced himself. He told me the computer system was down, the train was late, and insisted on accompanying me to the cafeteria. Having me more than my fair share of hucksters and scam artists on this trip, I was sceptical. I got in line only to be told 20 minutes later that the computer system was down and that I would have to buy tickets directly on the train. The guard patiently waited beside me the whole time.

I told him I'd like to get something to eat (not at his suggested cafeteria) and asked him to leave me alone. He said OK and told me to please find him when I come back to the station. I went with another couple travelers who were in the same boat, and the guard was waiting outside the restaurant I think.

I found out later that Asiut was one of the centers of fundamentalism. During the early 1990's a series of bombings targeted Western tourists and most of those groups came out of Asiut and some other areas, so police are VERY cautious with Westerners there, and prefer that they make their stay in certain places short. They escort obvious tourists (guilty as charged) and nudge them along to make their way to Cairo, Luxor, or any resort destination. At least the guard didn't act like he deserved a tip.

When I finally did board the train, I got on first class and asked someone who to pay. He pointed to a huge, chainsmoking mustachioed guy with a tattered thing resembling a uniform, a painfully enormous beer gut, and his fly down. I asked him twice while the train was in motion when I could pay and get a ticket. He mubled in broken English to sit down, not listening to anything I said.

He checked tickets for everyone in my car in no particular order. He'd check a few people in front of me. Then he'd sit down for a while, then he'd check a few behind me. The whole time, he never checked my ticket and I got to ride for free. Five hours of free train travel. This in a country that seems to have perfected the art of extracting money from traveler's pockets.

My enthusiasm and happiness soon waned however, when I tried to use the restroom. The toilets on Egyptian trains officially set the record for filthiest public toilet ever witnessed by Tyler Beal in his entire life. The previous record was held by a gas station somewhere between Oklahoma City and Amarillo, Texas visited in the summer of 1999. The train beat out Chevron by a mile. Oh, the nastiness.

I finally did get to Luxor. and then I had a nice meal that consisted of stuffed pidgeon. Add that to the list of meats I've ever eaten.

Dakhla Oasis: A Place for Hantavirus

The end of my desert excursion is near, I take a step back in time as I stand on the street in Dakhla Oasis. A sleepy, one camel town separated from Libya and Sudan by nothing but endless miles of sand, gravel, and rock as dry as twice burnt toast. Most locals appear to be farmers, growing dates and some sort of hay-like camel and horse feed plant that I've already forgotten the name of.

But the best thing about Dakhla Oasis is the old city. Ancient residents constructed the old city with mud-brick, and much of the old buildings still stand. I remember making a crude imitation of mud brick as a child during Bear Valley Church's summer day camp. Back then I never imagined I'd stand in a place where such buildings actually existed. I started wandering around the old city and noticed that residents have abandoned most of the mud brick, although some are still occupied. Its kind of unfortunate, because all of the new buildings are constructed with a very ugly concrete or some sort of very low grade white brick (even uglier than the concrete).

The mud-brick section of the city is only partly inhabited and most of it has fallen into disrepair. Wandering around in the abandoned parts, I thought back to Anasazi ruins in Arizona and Utah that I've seen before. This place had a similar haunting presence of a glorious past that is no more. Except that folks still lived in some of these places. Garbage and trash was strewn around the sections that looked used.

The abandoned sections, with all their interconnected rooms, tunnels, stairs and passageways all made me think just one thing, "There's probably a lot of rats, mice, and rodents around here. And they probably carry hantavirus, boubonic plague, rabies, and a bunch of other diseases I don't wanna get."

A Whole Other Kind of Sand

Sand, Sand, Sand. More Sand. There's certainly no shortage here in the Sahara.
Unlike most people, I got past loathing, hating, and vainly fighting sand after I spent enough time at Camp Surf on Imperial Beach in California. If you are surrounded by it, you simply do your best to avoid it, and don't fight it when you can't.

At the beach, seawater frequently submerges beach sand with the tides. Seawater is also full of salts, minerals, microscopic organisms, and generally makes the sand moist and sticky. It also makes sand irritate your skin, especially if you wear globs of sunscreen.

But desert sand is different and much easier to deal with. After being blown in by winds, the desert sand doesn't stick to you. It is finer, softer, lighter, and while dusty, somehow ... cleaner (if that makes any sense at all).

But I'll spare you my endless pedantic psychobabble about, well... sand, and just show you some pictures.

White Christmas in the Sahara

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....

Well, it WAS white, but this particular Christmas wasn't anything like the ones I used to know. Mainly because I was truckin through the Sahara in a ancient beater Landcruiser with a German/Syrian dude, a chainsmoking Egyptian guide, and a Korean couple.

We left out of Bahariyya Oasis, which lies 5-6 hours southwest of Cairo. After another hour or so, we pulled off road into the black and white deserts. It dawned on me, as we were about to camp, that we were in the White desert for Christmas Eve.

I only say it was white because I was in Egypt's White desert looking at these otherworldly rock formations from an ancient prehistoric seabed. And while the tour turned out to be less than I had hoped, the surreal lanscape managed to amaze a jaded guy like me, who used to live in the Grand Canyon and used to visit Sedona, Utah, or the Colorado Rockies every other weekend.

Just take a look.

Sick of the Touts

Would somebody PLEASE do SOMETHING about all the obnoxious touts in this country?


Everywhere I go, I get guards, random dudes, and all sorts of crazy characters bothering me for money after showing me around somewhere I was perfectly happy going or finding on my own. EVERYONE wants tips, "admission," baksheesh, or some commission. It gets real old. If they really cared about their tourist economy, you'd think they would do something about these types.


Every hotel, hostel, or inn I stay at, someone tries to sell me a "tour" to wherever.


Perhaps its my own falt for having stupid rich westerner, or "moneybags" written all over my forehead, or for being nice, approachable, and polite (been living in Japan too long), but I've never been so accosted in my life. Seriously, you can't be civil without giving them the mistaken impression that they deserve a tip or something.

Nitrox Rocks in Sharm El Sheikh

"Tastes like a septic tank, smells like your old man's farts and gives you a horrid case of diarrea. Use it too much and you'll grow hair on your tongue." Fortunately these were NOT the first words out of the mouth of my instructor, as I studied to get my nitrox permit for scuba diving. He did however, warn about the possibility of oxygen toxicity, as breathing too much of the stuff isn't good for your brain or lungs.

I suppose I should start with a better explanation for all non-divers reading this. When you dive, your body absorbs nitrogen in your bloodstream. If you absorb too much, either by diving too deep or diving too long, the nitrogen builds up, and causes all sorts of serious health problems (which explains Michael Jackson and TomKat). So divers carefully measure, monitor, and limit the amount they absorb. Unfortunately, this limits the number of dives you can do and your options when diving.

SO, how do divers get around this? Since nitrogen is the problem, why not just breathe a mixture of gas with less of the stuff in it? Enter enriched air nitrox (to thunderous applause). Normal air consists of 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent nitrogen (except when my dad uses small lavatories). But Nitrox contains 32% or 36% oxygen. So you breathe more oxygen and less nitrogen at depth and your body absorbs less nitrogen, so you might be able to do that fourth dive without having to worry about pressure sickness.

The downside? Increased risk of oxygen toxicity. You can have too much of a good thing. Equipment also oxidizes faster and there's an increased risk of fire/explosions (just like my old man's farts).

But all in all, if you are doing lots of fairly routine dives over multiple days, nitrox might be the way to go, despite all the hassles associated with it.

As for Sharm El Sheikh and the Red Sea, the diving is fantastic, but it doesn't quite live up to the legend that divers had put in my mind. The famous wreck in the area, the Thistlegorm, was allegedly closed, and a little piece of my heart died inside. The reefs were in decent shape and the visibility very good. 20-25 meters at best. But the Red Sea is famous for 30-35 meter visibility, and this just didn't happen. The coral reefs were quite pretty, but overused. Every dive site we went to had 3-7 other boats, glass bottomed boats, and snorkelers. You couldn't dive anywhere without the sound of motors or engines somewhere in the distance.

Nevertheless, with as much traffic as I saw, the Egyptians seem to be doing a decent job preserving the reefs. One thing didn't surprise me though. I was underwater, and another diver pointed out a huge eel that was probably 5 feet long and weighed 40 kg or more. Impressive. He pointed to a nearby reef shark after that. Then he scribbled, "TIPS 3$", on his clipboard.

Getting Hassled at the Pyramids

Is it really so outrageous that a guy should want to visit one of the most famous sites in all of antiquity and not want to spend all his money on fake papyrus, camel rides, pictures, special tours? Its one thing if people want to sell all this stuff, but can't a guy just decline and say no and not be bothered? One almost can't be civil with every person throwing scams at you or selling their stupid tacky garbage. Several times I had to yell at guys trying to get me onto a camel before they finally got the message that I didn't want to ride it.

I did however, get to see the Pyramids! They are quite large and impressive, but I don't have much to say beyond this, When I was through being impressed (and sick of the endless touting)

I returned to Cairo to look around at the National Museum.

Dispatches from Cairo

Hello everyone, this time from Central Cairo. Yes, I got on a plane early this morning and flew to Cairo. Now I'm being a total tourist again, this time in Egypt. I'm spending a couple nights here to see the pyramids, some Coptic Churches, some Mosques, Museums and to try not getting ripped off too badly by unscrupulous cab drivers and smelly old fat guys selling fake papyrus.

My readers are probably getting sick of hearing about the next place Tyler is going to visit. So, my amusing story to keep everyone reading: I farted on the airplane! I was in the center seat, center aisle, and I let a big moldy one rip. People gagged. Babies cried. Stereotypes about ugly (and smelly) Americans were reinforced. (Just kidding).

Thursday I'm going to Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai peninsula for some scuba diving and sunshine.

After that, I'm headed off to the Western Desert to look at sand. I'm hoping to end up in Luxor and perhaps see the Nubian desert. We'll see.

I wish I had something funny or amusing to say about Cairo, but the place is very much the way I envisioned it, perhaps even nicer. The city has a horrible reputation for filth and pollution, but it isn't as bad as I had heard it was. Certainly not as bad as Naples, or Cambodia. Only complaint I have so far centers around the primitive internet cafe where the computers don't have USB ports to hook my camera up to. So I guess you'll just have to wait a day or two for pictures.

Kuwait's Grand Mosque

No, I haven't started a new career as an orator, rather I went to see Kuwait's Grand Mosque.

The large, well funded Grand Mosque of Kuwait is actually a very recent addition to Kuwait City, having been put up in 1987. Its exterior, while ornate, keeps a low profile in Kuwait's city center.

The School organized a tour for teachers who wished to see it, so I went with Jeff, John Fager, Gordon Gabriel, the 6th grade science teacher, Alison Lovell, another rookie at the elementary school, and Geoff Williams, the 8th grade English teacher. May, the school librarian, came along to make sure nobody did anything to embarass the school.

The tour was informative and helpful and surprisingly open. The guide was helpful and polite in answering everyone's questions. They even let me hike up into the pulpit to take pictures posing as a charismatic Imam.


While the exterior of the mosque wasn't all that exciting, the interior was absolutely gorgeous. The main dome showed several striking styles of ornate Arab calligraphy and the main altar was decorated with Quranic verses written in no fewer than 7 different styles of calligraphy. I give full marks for the artisans responsible for the mindblowingly excruciating detail work that must have gone into the decoration and construction of the facility. Excellent detail work involving stucco around the Mosque also impressed me. Sunlight leaking in through the arched windows bounced off the soft blues red tones of the walls to give the whole of the massive interior a warm glow.

Unfortunately, I forgot my own camera, so I had to borrow Jeff Wallick's pictures.

Everest Mountaineering Slideshow

Until last Friday, I hadn't seen a famous climber's slide show presentation in several years. I remember my Dad and I watching Alex Lowe's slideshow together. I also remember going to a couple other slide shows at a rock gym in Flagstaff. This slideshow was to be done by Zed Al-Refai, the first Kuwaiti National and evidently the first Arab to climb to the top of Mount Everest on May 22, 2003. Having never heard of him (I haven't been keeping up with events in the climbing community) I grew quite curious to hear his story.

The AWARE center, an organization promoting Western-Arab relations, hosted the event. Slick, professionally done posters with Zed posing on the tops of Aconcagua, Denali, and Vinson Massif, greeted us at the entrance. Posters of Zed atop each of the Seven Summits of all the continents shamelessly promoting Gillette Mach 3 Razors bespoke of a well funded, professional mountaineer. My expectations grew dramatically.

After being shuffled down to the Center's large Diwaniah room, Zed began with some video clips of him doing some easy rock climbing at some unspecified location. He told the story of how he was introduced to climbing while living in New Jersey and doing some mountaineering around New England. This led him to attempt and successfully climb Denali in Alaska.

Following this, Zed made three attempts to climb Mount Everest. During his second attempt, while descending via the North Col / North Eastern ridge from the Tibetan side, Zed was carried down the mountain with High Altitude Cerebral Edema. After turning back, he apparently made it to one of the lower camps on his own power before being carried down the mountain unconscious in an oxygen chamber. Unfortunately, the details in the story were not fully explained.

Zed was successful on his third attempt and became the first Arab to summit Mt. Everest. He currently resides in Switzerland.

The slideshow was OK. Zed certainly had some great pictures. But his presentation catered more to the amateur audience in the room and less to the mountaineers (was I the only person in the room that had done any climbing?). One of the best things about climbing slide shows like this is for other climbers to ask the famous guy details about the routes, epic story, and challenges faced on an adventure that everyone has already read and heard about. Instead of regular climbers being able to "talk shop" with a pro, Zed spent a good deal of time explaining simple things to amateurs. He talked endlessly about "Why I climb" to everybody, whereas every other slide show I've seen was filled with climbers who understand the motivations all too well.

Needless to say, numerous details about the climb I would have liked to hear didn't get explained. What were the circumstances that led to his Edema? At what point in the climb did he turn back? What were some events that occurred during his third attempt? While I enjoyed the show, it just turned into a whole, "I came, I saw, I climbed," kind of story with few interesting details. There also wasn't much time for him to answer questions or talk about other mountains (the guy went up Denali, Gasherbrum, and some other interesting peaks).

John Fager and I eventually ate the AWARE center's free meal (they are very generous with good food) and met a guy looking to do an around-the-world motorcycle trip.

Random Events

My life is pretty simple and uneventful right now, which explains the lack of regular updates. Things will pick up again when I finally reach Egypt. Here are some random events and notes.

1. Went to the first Thanksgiving dinner I've ever been to in three years. It was a small affair in a friend's apartment. It was the only Thanksgiving dinner I've ever eaten without family and it is the only Thanksgiving dinner I've ever been to where Americans were outnumbered at their own holiday feast.

2. I've been doing some serious procrastinating on my upcoming trip to Egypt in a few weeks. This probably isn't a good thing, as the winter tends to be the high season for tourists in Egypt. I'm only really concerned about finding an outfitter to take me to the desert though. We'll see what happens I guess.

3. Been going to my new gym. I'm finding my new job is a lot more draining than my old job and finding the motivation to exersize afterwards is getting harder. Hopefully things will again change after the holiday break.

4. My faith in the political and economic future of my own country, the United States of America, took an ump-teenth turn for the worse this week with talk of subprime mortgage bailout. We know rich corporate fat cats will never have to face the music for their wildly irresponsible investments and loans, but I have a hunch every struggling homeowner who bit off a little more than they could chew (oftentimes just as guilty, but without access to the federal government's influence and pocketbooks) Why not solve drug addiction problems by giving out free heroin to addicts? Its times like these that I'm glad I don't get paid in USD, nor pay taxes to contribute to every pile of excrement the US throws at fans on a nearly daily basis.

5. I went to another Rugby dinner/gala/ event shindig with some teachers again. I've been to two or three of these now (for Rugby groups and the Kuwait Irish Association), and these functions are becoming pretty predictable. All the foreigners get dressed to the nines, go to some hotel convention room, eat an overpriced dinner of passable, but predictably typical cuisine, have a raffle by some annoying MC, and then dance the night away to the same predictable songs they danced to at the last event. Seriously, how many times can you hear that annoying, "Tell Me More" song from Grease in a year and be inspired to dance to it?