Flurries for 24 hours. What a transformation.

I hope to be winding down here by the end of the month. We have remained busy, but there is a new epidemic. Toddlers with horrific burns from home heating fire accidents have been showing up at our gate on a regular basis, no doubt related to the sudden cold snap. The days are crisp and clear now which reminds me of my favorite late Fall days back home. Still, there is no snow here, but plenty can be seen on the Hindu Kush.

 

I will check back in if something else comes up before I get home.

 

Thanks for watching!

It has continued to be busy, but the boss let me escape the compound for 1/2 day for a trip to Kabul. See the Gallery page for details.

I have mentioned before that these desert skies (and the lack of electricity to light any Afghan houses) makes for excellent astronomical seeing. The morning arrangement of planets is still very appealing. I caught my first ever naked eye glimpse of Mercury riding next to Venus last month. The star of January skies is comet Machholz seen in the evening cradled in Orion's arms. For a finder's guide see this link: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_1396_1.asp.

A pair of binoculars will make it much more spectacular.

It was a quiet New Year's Eve. No patients came in, and the usual bonked heads and sprained ankles seen at home did not appear in the EMT overnight. Perhaps the scant availability of EtOH helped. It has been a quiet week in fact. The big news is that it has now drizzled continuously for 5 straight days. It may be an epic Afghan event to tell the grandchildren about.

 

Of course, I am here because 2004 was a full year of America at war, the "Global War on Terror." I believe that most Americans haven't really noticed. But Prime Minister Allawi is threatening his neighbors today, and casual dinner conversation with one of our UAE Arab coalition partners here suggests that we may need to deal directly with Iran and Syria if the violence in Iraq is to stop. Americans will definitely notice then, because the draft could not be avoided. But of course, the majority of Americans believe that The President "knows a lot more than I do" about weapons of mass destruction and terrorist plans, so I will trust that everything will come out all right according to his plan.

 

I hoped to be apolitical on this site, but I find that the lull in activity has given me time to reflect on America's (and my kids') future. It makes me grumpy and I will say more about it tomorrow.