Ballgame

Here is a self portrait (I'm holding the camera out in my right hand pointed back towards us) of Cody and I at Minute Maid Ballfield watching the Astros whip up on Seattle.

Brisbane Fireworks

The other night there were fireworks again on the river. I don't know why. The River Cat that ferries people home from work is stopped in the river in the foreground waiting for things to let up. And there are fireworks being lit off of one of the buildings downtown in the right background also. Celebration is good...

Brisbane Sunset

This picture was taken upriver off of the apartment balcony in the same direction as the one above at sunset. It has been cloudier of late, and as such, there have been more colorful sunrises and sunsets. Natural fireworks... Having water outside your window seems to make things more interesting. It leads your eye to the horizon and people, the landscape, and the sky seem tied together. I like it...

Brisbane Possum

The first time I saw one of these little guys I thought he was a small racoon. Their color is a bit like a racoon and their rear legs are longer than the front so that they walk with their butt up in the air like a racoon. No mask though.

This fellow was in the park about to partake of his evening meal. He is sitting on a garbage can and climbed down in it just after I took his picture. They are marsupials and nocturnal just like North American possums. I think he is a little more handsome though...

XXXX Maroon

XXXX (4 eks) is the favorite beer in Queensland. Q: Why is it named XXXX? A: Because Queenslanders don't know how to spell beer.


And did you notice that the color of Queensland is maroon? This is deja vu all over again. The poor Texas Ags are grossly maligned and rally under the maroon flag too. The little guy wearing the straw hat is the XXXX mascot and XXXX is the local beer. Kind of like Shiner in Texas. Queenslanders are considered the hicks in Australia and they are fanatic about Rugby (thats what this banner is all about).

The Origins game between the "Maroons" and the "Blues" is at least as big as the turkey day game between Texas A&M and Texas. Obviously, as Queenslanders and Aggies, we are for the Maroons. Go Maroons! And don't forget to stop in at the local pub for a XXXX to get in the proper spirt :-)...

The Reason I Fish

I take lots of pictures and usually there are only a couple that are any good, maybe none. My definition of a poor picture is one that doesn't tell a story that I really connect with. On some occasions, I end up with more than a couple that I like and there is a tendancy to want to post all of them. But I think if you can condense a story down to one, or sometimes two pictures, that is best.

This last week Jack, David, Cody, Stuart, and I took another fishing trip - this time to South Louisiana. You can't go any further South. Now, I like to fish. If you have fished with me you know that I usually try to be the first one with a hook in the water, to keep the hook in the water when it is not in a fish's mouth, and be the last one to reel in. But that isn't the real reason to go fishing.

The two pictures I am posting here sum it up best for me. First of all, it is fun to get together with people you enjoy and go fishing. Stuart and David arranged a hardhead catfish tournament one night and you can tell we enjoyed it in this picture. The second reason is that it is just good therapy to be outdoors. It is hard not to relax viewing nature, a sunset, or wildlife. I enjoyed seeing the two pelicans below after visiting with a couple of them in Australia a few weeks ago.

Now you may be thinking that I am just writing all this about nature and good company because we didn't catch any fish. But we did! The first day we caught more than enough trout for the freezer and the second day we were fortunate to catch some large redfish and release them. Stuart caught the biggest hardhead, Cody caught the most hardheads, Jack caught the biggest redfish, and David was one of several claiming to have caught the biggest trout. I got the most pictures (there are a few more behind Yebisu). And we all enjoyed just getting out...

V=8653

Pelicans - This time near Cocodrie Louisiana

The brown pelican has made a good comeback after almost going extinct from DDT in the 1950s. These two fine fellows were sitting on piles near a small wellhead platform in an open bay enjoying the sunshine and people watching.

Good Luck

It's nice to be appreciated and get recognition from admirers.

Nachos

In a restaurant called El Cholo in Los Angeles that is supposed to be famous – the claim to fame comes from serving stars such as Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Michele Phillips, Nolan Ryan, Marlon Brando, Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor, George Hamilton, Tom Hanks, etc. - they have information on the birth of the nacho. Namely, it is stated that one Carmen Rocha from San Antonio, who joined El Cholo in 1959, started making something called a nacho and that the restaurant brought said appetizer to fame

Based on my own exhaustive research, taken from the Texas Journal published May / June 2007, I can report the true story. In the early 1940s, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya worked at the Victory Club in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras across border from Eagle Pass, Texas. He was the only employee on duty when some women came in for a snack. In the blink of an eye, he tore corn tortillas into triangles, fried them, topped them with cheese, and placed a slice of jalapeno on top.

The women called it Nacho’s Especiales. It was soon shortened to Nacho and the new snack was born. Of course there was nothing wrong with Carmen taking it to Los Angeles in 1959 but it should be known that El Cholo didn’t have much to do with the regional delicacy that has swept the country.

Anyway, the food was pretty good there. And the weather was nice. And David graduated from college!

Buddha's Birthday

It was Buddha's Birthday here in Brisbane (and elsewhere) and we had a celebration. There are a lot of Chinese people here and there was a festival on the South Bank just down from the apartment. Here is a picture shot from our balcony of the fireworks.

Winter is supposed to be coming but it is still a good 30 degrees C during the day (86 F). Tomorrow is labor day here in Queensland (vs. the first of May everywhere). Anyway, I have the day off. The thing to do on long weekends around here is to get outside (I played golf) and go barbeque. The city has put barbeque in lots of nice places, including along the river, so everybody barbeques. Hope you are getting outside too...

View from the Terrace

Brisbane is such a beautiful city and there really is a lot to write about. I just don't seem to have the time - what a poor excuse. Anyway, we have managed to find a place to live and this is the view off of our balcony. Amazing isn't it? The only downside is that there is a fair amount of road noise from that bridge if you are outside. But with the door closed - hardly anything. And with this view, who is complaining? Not me.

The bridge is Captain Cook bridge and the land mass across the river is called the CBD - Central Business District. The river snakes throughout the city and divides it into smaller communities. The lighted cliffs at the far right are on Kangaroo Point. Just across the river from us, the green area is the Botanical Gardens. I work in one of the high rises on the right side of the CBD. It is visible in the picture but not prominent. The lighted bridge in the background on the right is the Story Bridge. The large bridge on the left in the background is Victoria Bridge and the small pedestrian bridge in the foreground on the left is the Friendship Bridge. That is how I walk to work. It is a nice place to live...

Brisbane

Brisbane is a really pretty city especially along the river (this view is from the park). There are lots of parks and open spaces and there is a mix of high density apartments and housing. It feels more like a big town than a city in many ways. But it has good public transport including river ferrys, trains, and busses. I'd like to maybe live along the river and take the ferry to work...

Pelicans - Manly Australia

A wonderful bird is the pelican

His beak can hold more than his belly can

He can store in his beak

Enough food for a week

And I don't know how the hell he can

Or something close to that...

Ogden Nash

Australia

It's been a while since I've written but here are my first impressions of Australia. There is a lot to write about and with time maybe I'll get to write it. This is a wonderful place - nice people, great climate, beautiful countyside, and good food and drink too.

But the two things that are most striking to me are the wildlife and the scenery. I don't have any good pictures of the birds but they are really amazing. There are cookaburras, parrots, cockatoos, magpies, and I don't know what all. You see kangaroos on the golf course and giant lizards on the sidewalk. Scrub turkeys are everywhere as are ducks and cranes. I've seen pelicans and reef fish. Everybody loves the outdoors here....

North Stradbroke Island

North Stradbroke Island is a short ferry ride across Moreton Bay from Brisbane. It is beautiful, relatively undeveloped, and unspoiled. It is an amazing place and yet so close to a large city. At certain times of the year you can see whales off this penninsula.

One Last Photo from Qatar

Here is one last photograph from Qatar. These are the people who started in Japan and followed through to construction. The flag has the signatures of everyone who was present in the front end of engineering. The red figure being held above the flag is Daruma-san. You may remember that we had a ceremony when the contract was awarded and one of Daruma-san's eyes was painted in with a wish for a successful project. I didn't get to paint his other eye in on completion, but I am sure that with this group it will be done. Best of Luck!

Last Blog from Qatar

This is not my last day in Qatar but I think it will probably be my last blog. Next week I'll be in Houston and the following week in Australia. I wrote my first letter from Japan and blogged it three years ago. It is amazing that the time has gone so fast. In the last five years I have worked in the United States, Venezuela, Japan, Europe, Qatar, Nigeria, and now Australia. That is all the habitable continents.



The group picture at left was taken at the Diplomatic Club here in Doha last month. I have been working almost daily with some of the people in the picture for over three years now so I will miss them. Maybe we can work together on the next project but in any event they are friends for life. If you can, spend some time with your friends :-)

Carpets don't have to be Expensive

I am doing pretty well writing about carpets so I'll keep it up. This one is supposed to be an Iranian Shiraz Tribal and is 6.6 x 9.7 feet. It was pretty cheap - less than $400. I like the colors and it has all sorts of motifs in it. Can you see the elephants? There are some 4 legged critters. The birds are easy.

You can really tell this one was hand made. Look at the left hand side and see the curvature? There are lots and lots of little mistakes in it too. The knot count is low and it is pretty rough but I like it...

A Detail from the Tree of Life

This is a detail of the birds just to the left of the trunk in the lower part of the carpet.

The Tree of Life

This photograph does not do the carpet justice. It is a Persian silk by the master Mir Mehdi. It is from the town of Qum in central Iran. The knot count is 12 per cm or 1.44 million per square meter and the carpet has about 2.5 million knots. It is fine enough that the man who runs the largest carpet store in Doha has a picture of it in his catalog.

The motif is the Tree of Life. It originated in Kashmir I am told and is geometric and symetric when from that region. This one is incredibly ornate, asymetric, and has lots of birds.

I would never let you walk on this carpet. It will be hung from the wall.

Addicted to Carpets

According to Victor, oriental carpets are addictive and the way to avoid the habit is to avoid the addicts. I think there is something to that and should have been more careful who I was hanging out with. I always thought the carpets were nice but I never really considered buying one. But then you hang out with the addicts for a while, and listen to them going on and on, and then you start to casually examine the carpets, and first thing you know you are having to buy a new one every week yourself. And it is an expensive habit. It is also counter to my philosophy of not collecting "stuff". Nevertheless, now I am a carpet collector and I even traded one.



There are all kinds from many different places. Some are wool, some are silk, the cheap ones are synthetic. Some are made in factories and some are made on the floors of tents. Some are made with child labor and some are made by a mother and her daughter. Some are made for sale and some were made for use by the weaver. They can be modern or traditional, religious or just pretty. They are made in Turkey, China, and lots of places in between. The antiques can be very expensive. Its kind of like quilts but men can participate.


I think I like the "tribals" best. Tribals are made at home and not by professional weavers. This tribal is a very fine wool Turkmen from Northern Afghanistan (Andkhoi). Turkmens are famous for their red color made from a natural dye taken from the roots of the madder plant. The pattern is Iranian. The carpet was weaved by a well know family of weavers named Sulaimani. Higher grade Turkmen carpets such as this with a high knot count are called Biljik. The pile is kind of directional and it appears lighter form one side than the other. You can see a little of that from the angle of this photo. The bottom of the carpet appears darker but lightens as you move down the stairs from where the photo was taken. A large carpet like this takes well over a year to make by hand.


My boss unashamedly says he has $30,000 worth. I will quit going on about carpets now because I don't want to influence young impressionable readers. However, if you need to know some good carpet stores in Doha, just ask and I can set you up...

Say Goodbye to Doha

I have found out that soon I will be saying goodbye to Doha and hello to Brisbane, Australia. Sometime in early March I'll leave this project to dodge kangaroos instead of camels. I am really sorry not to see the end of this one but I have always wanted to see Australia. So here is the chance. We will get a nice place and will be expecting all you visitors so make your plans. You never know how long these things will last!

Partying Doha Style

In Doha, there are different sides of the house for men and women. The men have there own room, which used to be out on a porch.

Then there is the women's side.

Tennis

I am back in Doha now - it is cold! Supposedly, this is the coldest weather that has been experienced here in 20 years or since the 60's depending on who you are talking to. Since I grew up in the 60's and am not much more than 20 years old that doesn't really sound inconsistent.

Anyway, I got the heaters out and set them up yesterday. One of them doesn't work and the other two are barely sufficient for one room. I guess it doesn't get cold here very often. Of course it depends on what you call cold. It is getting down to about 10 deg C or (50 deg F). That is pretty cold if you are still and not dressed for it.

The photograph was taken at the Qatar ExxonMobil Tennis Tournament last night during the semi-finals. The highest ranked player was the world number 3. One of the nice things about Qatar is that there are a fair number of events like this and typically they are free (like this one) or very moderate in cost. It usually isn't crowded.

My New Year's Resolution is to "have more fun". So one of the things I did while home was to buy a new set of golf clubs - got them cheap too. Yesterday I went to the golf range and hit balls. I think the new clubs are going to be OK and I should be able to maintain my dominance over David in golf. Have a great New Year!

Christmas Decorations (needs a little work)

Across the street from Diane, Santa has fallen on hard times...

V=8154

Christmas Decorations (maybe a little over the top)

Down the street from Teresa, this is the winner of the "Best Santa" award in Kingwood...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas! Here is something fun. The picture at left is of a mechanical panda toy that Stuart gave David for Christmas. Click on the picture and you will see a little movie. Have a Happy New Year!

Safety at Work

I had decided some time ago not to write about work, but to concentrate on interesting things outside of it. But this week, I haven't done much except work. So here is a picture of me at the site about to give a safety speech to the workers. I am the guy in the orange Nomex pumpkin outfit. The guys in yellow are the contractor management and the guys in blue are workers or charge hands who supervise workers. Workers wear yellow hats and supervisors wear white hats. Safety officers wear green hats. Everything is color coded.

Anyway, this safety talk was about the need to stop work if you see something unsafe. A lot of workers are fearful to do this - it is not in their culture to question the boss. And it is not in the nature of some bosses to be questioned. Anyway, I gave this talk about 10 times to around 5,000 people. Each time it was translated into at least one and sometimes two other languages. It is quite a challenge to communicate here sometimes. There are 6 or so major languages spoken. We made up 21,000 cards to hand out and had 100 full size banners posted around the site.

Oh yes - I finally made it to the Asian Games last night. I went to see the squash tournament championship. Both the mens and the womens champion were Malaysians. My friend Victor showed me a good Indian restaurant too. So that was a successful evening. BE SAFE AND STOP WORK IF YOU SEE AN UNSAFE CONDITION...

Milburn Wagon Company

Yesterday they opened the Asian Games here in Doha. Amazingly, it rained (more accurately poured) on the first day. Fortunately it cleared in the evening and the opening celebration seemed to go well. I watched it on TV for a while but got tired and fell asleep before it finished.

The theme seemed to be technology oriented and while I wasn’t paying close attention appeared to be about a Qatari pearl diver who got blown off course and discovered Asia. He had a magic astrolabe and completed part of his journey with the help of a golden falcon who carried him when the seas got too rough. Don’t ask me what this has to do with sports. Then he came back, got married, had a son, and glimpsed the future including the oil and gas wealth that is in Qatar today.

It was all done in a theatric style that kind of reminded me of a circus because there were acrobats and dancers representing various countries. It was very high tech with lasers and multi-sensory projections and sounds and such. One thing that I found interesting about it was the quick history they gave of technology development. They hit it kind of high level (gross understatement) but it got me to thinking, especially about energy.

If you look at energy use today, it is very difficult to understand how solar, wind, etc. are going to make much of a difference. It takes too many wind mills. Nobody really likes nuclear although I think it will be back some day. Conservation could make a big difference. Anyway, I got to thinking about cars – especially hybrid cars. I did an internet search and that is when I made an interesting discovery. Hybrid cars have been around a long time.

And this was a surprise - at one time, the largest wagon making company in the world was the Milburn Wagon Company of Toldedo, Ohio. With the demise of the horse drawn wagon, they made an attempt to go into automobiles. And their platform of choice was electric, including at least some vehicles that had a small gasoline engine to charge the batteries. Electric cars were essentially no longer being manufactured by the early ‘20s and the plant was sold to GM to make Buicks. You can read more at http://www.milburn.us/history.htm. Maybe my next car will be a hybrid, although to be honest I had been thinking more like getting a Corvette.