well, I am on Facebook and Myspace now. Facebook more than Myspace. Deploying to Helmand Province, Afghanistan to do my job. There really is a point to us being there. It's not all BS either. Some of it might be, though. We are to win the hearts and minds of local populaces to create an environment where the insurgents are not welcome. To guard the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to prevent opium and weapons trades and prevent the terrorists or freedom fighters from coming to Afghanistan freshly trained in Pakistan. The locals do support us most of the time. They are being kicked out of their own houses, blown up or used as cover by the enemy, or forced to leave due to threat of war. Women are supressed, men are opium farmers to drug lords, many are drug addicts, they know no other way of life. There is fighting going on there, and killing, but the main focus now is to get the Taliban to decide to actively participate in the government as a government party that "plays by the rules". Being over there should be a good experience for me; help me learn more about myself.
http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/ This is a news site, if not apparent, if anyone actually cares or wonders what's really going on over there.
I've read an interesting book lately, "Finite and Infinite Games," by James P. Carse. It surprises me how much I've figured out on my own just by thinking, and then to read that it has already been thought before. Many books reveal this to me, but they make things more lucid and explainable to me, as authors tend to clarify and make their words easily understandable. I also love the DVD's from The Teaching Company when they go on sale.
Take care you all. May joy, prosperity, and wisdom blessed be to you.