Wow, a whole week without being a xanga whore. Anyway, this isn't a real update. I'll get to that sometime today or tomorrow.
Mike posted a link to this blonde joke. Personally, I really like blondes, but if you don't lose bladder control, then there is something wrong with you.
Black 6, out.
amoral
To be a moral (which is different from being ethical, noble, or righteous) person implies "conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong." Oddly enough, these codes differ from culture to culture, and place to place, and may even differ between what part of actions that are seen as wrong. It all depends on the person or group of people.
So, how does this fit me? Many times, I'm faced with decisions in which there are too many answers, and too many viewpoints to have to take into account. Right and wrong become obsolete concepts, yet at the same time, it is not as though I take actions for my own benefit. Many times, that's far from the outcome.
A really good idea behind this would be to watch "Samurai X: Trust", which is one of my all-time favorite movies because of the ideas it brings to the table (Anime tends to do that a lot). Without revealing too much, the main character, Kenshin, is an assassin who works for the side of revolution during the Tokugawa era. One of the teachings of his sword style is: "The sword swung in my name will be swung or the people of the world. To prevent the shedding of innocent blood."
Some would debate whether his killing to prevent other killing (and ultimately end the rule of the Shogunate), which also aids the side that he believes in, is moral or not. Depends on which side you look at it from. The actions and deceptions used on one side may seem treacherous and evil to the side on which they are used, and vice-versa. Putting it into a military context, we perform ambushes all the time, and train for it with a passion. However, those that attempt to ambush us are called cowards, and are not willing to fight fair. In the movie, both sides use assassins, and speak of how lowly the other side's assassins are. Meanwhile, only the people assigned to kill Kenshin truly have respect for what he does, and understand the role that he actually plays.
However, I DO believe that there is a difference between making decisions or taking actions that may benefit you and hurt another side, and making a decision that does no benefit to you, but is done purely to spite those at the other end of the decision. I don't consider it "wrong" as much as I consider it "stupid". At least if there is a worthwhile benefit, it can be justified. Yes, the ends can justify the means.
So where do I stand? Decisions are not normally made with the idea of right and wrong. They are more outcome based. Most of the time, someone will be wronged. For every gain, there is some loss. Even actions designed to help, may eventually hurt. From spared feelings, to niceties, to helping out another in some indiscreet way, and trying to do "what's best" for someone else (it never seems completely "right" or works out very well). So I just accept that I will do something, and that there is some outcome. Yes, it may be viewed as "right" from one view-point, and "wrong" from another. No matter what, there will be a loss somewhere.
Sorry if this became a bit of a rant. It was just a series of thoughts and how they progressed in my head. Maybe the next post will ramble about my thoughts of God and man.
In closing, I believe that I am best defined as amoral. I should have just said that and let you from your own ideas.
Black 6, out.
Because I'm in Afghanistan, I'm one of the first in my circle of friends to experience 2006. Let me just say that its awesome. Flying cars? Hell yeah. Lower gas prices? Hell, they pay you to take the gas. And clothing is now optional. And everything is easier, thanks to cybernetic enhancements.
Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of how we welcomed in the new year.
Meanwhile, I still don't have a New Year's Resolution. Maybe I should be more honest. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.
Who am I kidding? I don't need a resolution. I'm perfect.
Obviously, I'm not going with the honesty one.
Also, I know that I have readers in Germany, Kuwait, Canada, Japan, and China. This part is true. Happy New Year, suckers.
Black 6, out.
I need to take a dry erase board and place it near my door, so that every time that I leave my room, I can have a few reminders of how I should feel, such as "I hate this place," "They tricked you," "Kandahar has ice cream and a better job, with better people," "Your tooth hurts, and a dentist would have looked at it an Kandahar," "You could have finished your SF packet at Kandahar," etc.
It appears that the staff is trying to win me over somehow. The other night, they did it by whipping me at poker (way to go team). The junior enlisted people are ok, there's a Staff Sergeant that I can't understand, and I can constantly make fun of the Navy and Air Force personnel that are here. I almost feel like not making them suffer when I take them down.
Until this morning, that is. I don't know how it started, but it seems that I'm the mess officer or something. I can't even remember of we had a meeting this morning, but at some point the major says that he has to talk to me. I'm still tired (I'll tell you my morning ritual another day), so I just stand there in disbelief as this convo happens:
Him: "LT Shaw, there was a little problem in the mess hall this morning."
Me: "Uh huh"
Him: "When they wash the bowls, they just stack them there, but they're still wet."
Me: "Uh huh"
Him: "And there's no sugar on the tables."
Me: "I know that two of the tables (there are 8 or 10) are missing sugar, but there's a huge pile of sugar right next to the coffee maker."
Him: "And there was no butter out this morning. I had to go into the fridge and get it myself"
Me: "Uh huh"
Him: something...something...Fix it...something... this is your leadership challenge...something.
Me: "Un huh"
Meanwhile, I'm looking at what he was holding in his hands, and it's a bowl of grits. You can see where the three pats of butter were put on it and melted. Apparently, this morning completely slowed down his grits routine, and now we're losing the war.
So I refrain from laughing, and walk over to the cooks, and repeat what he said. This is when one of the cooks told me that he is urgently cleaning out some of the shakers. There used to be 4 items on the table: salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and sugar. Then the major told him that there should only be salt and pepper on the table, because people were getting confused (he probably put salt in his grits one morning).
I almost forgot. Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate.
Black 6, out.
There are so many ways to avoid busy work, and yet they all eventually fail. Imagine Willy Wonka's factory. Now think of the exact opposite. I'm never in the office area. I've told everyone that I'm on the other end of a radio, which is completely true. However, I don't have a call sign, so I'm wondering what people will come up with (if they're smart, they'll just say "S-4"). Meanwhile, I took a nap before lunch, and found out that my TV broke while I was moving down here. I guess Splinter Cell will have to wait.
Let's start with the dumb task of the day, brought to you by the major (my buddy the vet, tells me that if you're going to have to kill an animal, don't give them an actual name, or you will form some type of psychological attachment). Today's task was to get the cooks to produce a menu of whaat they will be cooking a week out. I'm not sure how this falls under supply. At first he wanted this thing updates daily, so when one day was done, the corresponding day for the next week was up. Yeah. Um. No. I don't want busy work. So I tell him, I'll work on getting one that covers Sunday to Saturday, and the next week will be updated Friday.
Now to deal with the cooks. The cooks are cool. They are some of the few people that I like. So I go and talk to both of them. Turns out that this is something that both the Major and some other lieutenant couldn't get this to happen. Cue the circus music.
Alright, breakfast and lunch are simple. Not much variety there. Now dinner is a different beast, due to a couple of issues. First off, the cooks here are creative. They take pride in their job, and don't like to be nailed down. Freedom is how every SF DFAC runs. Sometimes they like to try new things with wonderful results. Second, there's an issue with food shelf-life. If you look at your supplies, and something will expire in a few days, guess whatyou cook really soon? Third, they like t go by theme nights: Mexican, Italian, etc. However, there's a third cook that doesn't like to get in line with the idea. And suddenly, plans are thrown get thrown out.
Task one, get third cook in line. Task two, get expiration dates of food in an excel spreadsheet. This should take an hour or three, but I've allotted 2 weeks for it. Task three, get things working for 2-3 weeks, until the major leaves, and let it fall apart if it wants to. Oops. Task 2.5: pass management of my system off to someone that's incompetent. Then it can fall apart all it wants.
You know what this really boils down to? The major would like to know what's on the menu so that he doesn't have to walk the 40 meters over to the chow hall to read teh dry-erase board. I wonder if he realizes that he has no choice. It's either that or an MRE.
Black 6, out
Oh, what a messed-up two days it has been. Let's see, where to start. Monday evening, I was supposed to head to Kandahar to head off the team that would be turning over the base to coalition. I would be working with the same team that I worked with where I had been for the past 8 months.
That's what I was supposed to be doing.
Instead, the LTC that runs the Provincial Reconstruction Team, went behind both my back and the back of others, and has "acquired" me as part of her staff.
I think that I introduced every Afghani within a one mile radius, to ever swear and swear combination known to man. They'd probably never head of a "jackass-motherf**ker" before Monday. A$$hats, various things that could be sucked, and those that could suck them.
For the past 8 months, I've been on the opposite side of the base from these idiots. At every turn, they have screwed something up, and hated us. For two months, the Sergeant Major that I worked with had me slotted for the job at Kandahar, and the LTC for the PRT knew about it, and knew that I wanted the position. Then, the day I'm supposed to be leaving, I get the awful news.
So, first day on the job, and I want to slit everyone's throat. And then this SF major that everyone hates (hmm, I wonder why he's serving as a PRT XO and not on an SF team), calls me into his office and wants me to check on some S-4 related stuff. Being smart, I went straight to the NCO that's been here forever (and can do the job well enough that he doesn't need me). Guess what. He had already given the major the answers YESTERDAY, but the major likes to ask questions everyday. Since the NCO has already told him off in the past, the major never deals with him. Instead, he send other people to talk to him. I will now limit answering of the major's questions to the use of stick-note pad pages attached to his screen while he is away. I have already managed to limit myself to only being in the TOC when no one is there. Otherwise, I'm on the other end of a radio, screwing off. I will do my job, no less, but definitely no more.
Someone suggested that I take the desk of this E-8 that just left. It's right next to the desk of the major. Yeah, right. It's Christmas season, and then can ho-ho-hold these nuts if they think I'm doing that. I set my computer up in the back corner near the door, so I can come and go unnoticed. If I ever come, and if that happens, you can bet I'm going really soon afterward. There really aren't offices here, because they idea of walls seems to have escaped these people. Aside from maybe 3 actual rooms, the rest of the office space is along a really big "L" shaped desk. I don't care, I'll just read your computer over your shoulder. I will also be putting a BIOS password on mine.
I was supposed to have an office at Kandahar. I don't even care of the size. It was just that I'm a bit anti-social, and hate to be f**ked with. That's why my previous job was nice. I had an office. It was away from everyone else. We all did our work. No one bothered when there was no work. My insanity manifested itself through my Tiger (see last post).
Guess who's sponsoring entries for the next three months:
So now comes the havoc. I swear, that since it is not legal to murder everyone above the rank of O-3 and E-7 (minus the SF B-team commanders), I will do everything in my power to make having me here the biggest mistake ever, all while performing my job. It's going to be like "Office Space" meets "Falling Down". First thing to attack is their Fridays, on which they wear civilian clothing for some reason. WTF? Anyway, ThinkGeek provides more than enough shirts and other items to insult people. I figure that if one gets banned, the I'll change to another. Here are a few samples.
I think that only myself and the computer guys out here will really appreciate the last two.
Meanwhile, to make office life more bearable for me, I will be ordering some stamps:
And the cup that I will be taking to every meeting:
Everyone remember:
(I'm getting this one, too, as well as the Irate, and Vote Regressive, and Failed Parent ones.)
It's like $200+ worth of stuff that I can use to piss people off now, and for fun, or the same purpose, in the future.
Black 6, out.
Today, I had a conversation in which I was forced to explain why I couldn't have fun in a situation that wasn't fun for me. This leads me to one conclusion:
I don't know. Maybe it's just me. But let's take a small survey. And although I normally care about the opinions of both sexes, this is more for the guys. What is the purpose of going out to a club? I mean the ultimate purpose of it. "To have Fun" isn't an acceptable answer. I mean, you go to a sports bar to hang out with buddies, and watch the game while getting beer somewhere other that the place where people normally look for you (and this makes a lot of sense for a married guy). The statement, "Going to the club is fun because I (probably involves women)," is acceptable.
Responses would prove useful.
Black 6, out.
The past two nights have been filled with combat on the two-dimensional plane. Each night around 1800, I have been spending time with my interpreters, playing chess. Before I get into how the games went, let me give you a little background information in the interpreters.
When most people think of an Afghani, they normally think of an uneducated person, which isn't very far from the truth for the general population. Years of war placed education on the back burner. Most warlords and government leadership are in charge because they are strong, not because they are smart. However, when you're dealing with the interpreters, you're dealing with a different breed. My oldest one is as old as I am (24), with the rest being at least over 19. One that I spoke to was 22, and spent 20 of those years in Pakistan (apparently, everyone went to Pakistan, so I have no idea who the Russians were fighting). While there, they learned English and general education at "the university" (I have no idea if there's just one, or many, and if they even have names). They also happened to learn a lot of other languages, so some speak 4 or 5, such as Dari, Urdu, Pashto, Arabic, etc. Okay, so I'm taking on multilingual college grads. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?
The score from night one=> Pat:0, Interpreters:3. I'll admit, including those games, I had played maybe 4 games in the past year, but I used to play chess all of the time. I remember having this really thick book at home, and all it talked about were chess drills and scenarios. It was a way of thinking. Obviously, I didn't have it anymore. The worst part of the night was when my head interpreter, whom we call "Jefe", said that he would play the last game with me. "Sir, I am the weakest one. You will have no problem," he said. I was then schooled. I'm not saying that I was looking to kick ass that night. Just shake the rust off, win some, lose some. These guys here, are bored as hell. They have two chess boards, and apparently all they do, when they are not working, is eat, sleep, and play chess while watching TV (in which the shows may be in one of the many different languages from the region). My mistake, they were multilingual, well educated, men who played chess all day, while watching the news on BBC.
Needless to say, I needed to get back into the mind set. Fortunately, last week, the book that I am currently reading arrived: Chess for Fun & Chess for Blood, by Edward Lasker. What a wonderful book. The next night, the blood did flow.
The score from night two=> Pat:3, Interpreters, 1. And yes, I beat Jefe. Mind you, at the end of the game, I had a Queen (converted from a pawn), a knight, and a king, against his king. However, it was a well played struggle, with the tides turning many times. "Sir, I thought that you would be playing like last night," he said afterward. Hell, if this were a commercial, I would have then held up the book and winked at the camera, like no one in the room could see me. If you don't play chess, you need a different book. However, If you already play, this book is a great way to step up your game.
Tomorrow, I think that I will finish the book (I've only read 3 of the 11 chapters), and let the blood flow forth like Kill Bill goes to a blood drive.
For those of you that want to know how that final game ended, here are the positions,
White (Me): K= QR6, Q= QKn7, Kn= QB7
Black: K= QR
Black 6, out.
**If you haven't noticed, the banner above has been changed, and now links to the Child's Play Charity**
Christmas Shopping is 99.9% done. I just need to order one more gift and hope it gets to it's destination in time, because it's personalized, and they estimate 2 weeks for delivery. Also, the website won't cooperate. Damn. Monetarily, I came out far ahead, even though I went grossly overbudget on one person's gift. Here's how things worked out:
Gift Budget: $1050
Total People to shop for: 17
Proposed spending total: $850
Actual Gift spending total: $802
Aiming price of gift searches : $50
Average Gift Price: $48.91
Median Gift Price: $39.95
Childs Play gifts total: 80.11
I think I need to have fewer people in my life to care about.
In lighter news, LancerCPA has tagged me, so:
The Rules: The first player of this game starts with the topic "My 5 Weird Habits" and people who get tagged have to write a xanga entry about their 5 weird habits as well as set the rules clearly. In the end you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list them in your entry and don't forget to leave them comments and tell them you tagged them and to read your site to see the details.
And now I tag BlessedSoldierxC, Angelbabe84, MikeTwo, Taterbug160, and gdg.
This weeks entries are courtesy of:
Black 6, out.
Recent Comments