Day 307

Well, we are almost there. People are gretting one another with, "We leave next month." I do my best not to count down the days until departure, as it seems to make time drag by. I am enjoying my purchase of my iPod Touch. I have only a few more weeks in my room, and then it is off to a tent to make room for our replacements. There is no internet in the tent. Before we move, I'd like to download another application or two from iTunes. Does anybody have any suggestions? I have downloaded books, a good version of Gin Rummy, Cribbage, Bejeweled and most recently, Backgammon. I've got some time at night, so if anybody has any suggestions, please let me know. The iPod is great. I can't wait to get back to the land of wireless internet so I can use it better. Oh, Kevin, when I get out to the Stanley area, break out the board, as it's game-on! I've been sharpening my skills. How are yours after all these years?
If any of you still have a box or envelope to send to me, please don't. It takes some letters and most packages 5 to 6 weeks to reach me, and it's about that long until I leave natures litterbox. I'd hate to have you send something I never receive.
I saw a cat with a kitten the other day, so somebody here isn't doing their part, those selfish cat lovers. We are all concentrating on getting out of here, so there's really not all that much which is new, to say. Sandstorms suck; heat sucks; sandstorms and heat combined really suck. Although I have been fortunate in one area; in my entire time here, I have yet to see one snake, scorpion or camel spider. Lizards are everywhere as are these mangy dogs which resemble coyotes. I have seen a couple of rabbits. They've got these really long, straight ears. It appears as they're trying to pick up FM on those things.

Day 302

I don't have a TV in my room, by choice, so I don't see the news. We get the Stars and Stripes a week or so late, but I get my news from Google News. I see a headline, click a link, and then check the BBC news online to see what's really happening. Today, tanning beds were listed as the one of the top three causes of cancer to humans, along with arsenic and smoking. Tanning beds. Do you suppose they'll be groups of people with nothing better to do, trying to put lables on them? Another story caught my eye today. It's unsafe to text while driving. Wow. There's a shocker. So I did a little research. They make jamming devices for cell phones. Why not install one in each car with the switch hooked up the airbags and the shift lever? If the car is in park or if the airbag deploys, the jammer shuts off. Problem solved. Oh no, we have to leave it to the idiots who won't quit talking on their phones in the movie theater to make the right decision? We have people here, driving at 20 MPH who talk on their phones. What is so important that you can't wait the three minutes it takes to get back to your office and talk to somebody in person? How many people do I see in the supermarket talking to somebody at home while they're shopping? Have we forgotten how to make shopping lists? Ban cell phones forever! Ok, I feel better now.

Day 291

While at home and while at Ft. Lewis I asked and heard asked the same question asked, "Why are the Iraqi's placing roadside bombs and firing rockets at us?" I never had a clear answer until recently.
Think back to the 1980's and attempt to remember the movie "Red Dawn". The Russians invaded and the local kids fought back. One of their own turned on them and Patrick Swasse ended up shooting his friend. When the others of the group tried to talk him out of it, his final statement was, "...because we live here." Tying in our situation to that movie, we are the Russians and the Iraq's are the kids.
Or to think of it another way; if China decided that the American government was a threat to the rest of the world and invaded the US. If they killed the President and Vice President and everybody in the chain of succession. If they arrested and put on trial every governor. If they disbanded the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Guard and Reserve. If they fired the CIA, NSA, FBI and Highway Patrol. If they fired every County and City cop in the country. If they fired every mayor of every town in America. If they redrafted the lesson plans for every school in America. And then when the Chinese said they'd be out of our country in 10 years, would you then believe them? If, as the Iraqi's did here, you knew the Chinese were going to win, you opened all of the prisons in the country and let all of the criminals out and suggested they make trouble for the invaders, would you now feel emphathy for the common citizen?
What would you do? Would you sit by, try to make the best of it, going along with them, to try to keep your car and your house? Or would you load up the RV, collect as many guns and as much ammo as you could, and head for the hills? These Iraqi insurgents are doing what many of us would do in the same situation.
I'm not trying to defend them, and I wish they'd just pack up their dangerous toys and get on with their life. I'm just trying to put a little bit of perspective on this.

Day 283

I'm not saying it's hot, but it's 7 pm and it's cooled off to 108 degrees. It topped out at 113 today. It was our last day of range duty. Hopefully I won't have to get up at 2 am for while. I took my M4 carbine and qualified. For those of you who know rifles, the rear sight of the M4 is on a spring. When you're not using the weapon, you fold down the sight so it gets out of the way. Well, my spring is broken. Every time I pulled the trigger, the rear sight would fall down. My morning went; bang, life sight; bang, lift sight; bang, lift sight, more times than I care to count. At least I qualified and now don't have to do it again until I get home. Yeah, and that shooting while in the kneeling position did wonders for my bad knee. I just aimed at the largest target on the paper and fired. Well, it went; bang, lift sight; bang, lift sight. I think I had 13 holes in the big target. Too bad they can only count the first five. My new happy thought; in my camper, all alone in a campground, surrounded by green grass and leafy trees, with a small lake in the distance. I use my new camper bread machine and use the warm, made in the camper, so it's got to be homemade bread, (right?), as my bread for french toast, cooked over an open flame, and in the same pan as the bacon. Ice cold milk, margarine, and perhaps a dusting of cinnamon to top it off. Mmmm, homemade food. If you could hear my voice, right now I sound much like Homer Simpson drooling over doughnuts.

Day 282

I am changing my motto. It is currently, "When life hands you lemons, quit your job and go to Iraq." I believe it now should be, "When life hands you lemons, grab the salt and tequila, and call a friend." Now, I'm not saying it's hot, but I just brought back from the dining facility a Frost Gatorade. Mmmm, grape! When it was in the cooler in the chow hall, it was cold. By the time I get to my room, a 5 to 7 minute walk, it was warm, working its way to hot. I'm not saying it's hot, but there are as few bugs here now as there are in North Dakota in February. I know I keep promising pictures, but whenever I try to load them, the sucky-ass slow, expensive-as-hell internet service here makes me wish notebooks weren't so frisbee-ish and light. Speaking of notebooks, I bought this Dell XPS specifically for the deployment, and it bites on the level that only cheap pieces of junk can bite. I am so looking forward to getting home and buying a real computer. I'd do it from here, but I don't want sand caked on the better one, too. I was thinking that I should go back to a HP, but since I'm going back to school, maybe I should start looking at Apple notebooks? I welcome your comments on the topic. Speaking of welcoming comments, I would like to thank my good friend Aaron Bedford for my log-off on this blog.
By the power of Castle GreySkull, I am...
Hugh Grindberg

Day 279

Range week all this week. Our unit is having a range for enlisted soldiers. The range opens at 0430 and goes until everybody is done. I had to be at the office this morning at 0330. When I got there, on time, thank you very much, it felt a little bit cool. I checked the thermometer and it was all of 87 degrees. Oh, did it feel nice and cool. You've got to start firing as soon as you can see the targets so you get done and out of the sun by the time it starts getting hot. Over here, hot is relative, so if the sun comes up about 5 or so, it gets hot about 5:30 or so. Then it gets uncomfortable by about 7 and then it's up to unbearable about by 9:30-ish. Luckily they were all back by at the office at about 0930. Oh, I wanna go, but they won't let me go, home.

Day 278

Sunday the 5th of July. Yesterday's celebration of the birth of our great nation passed by here without much fanfare. We had cake. We had a good meal. And we had no fireworks. I think this is the first 4th where I didn't want anything to go 'boom'.