tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20287264552603554372024-03-13T11:48:52.068-07:00Moose in the Middle EastThis is a web site about my travels, raves and rants and life in general while living in Muscat, Oman.Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-72974255005595042112010-08-30T01:21:00.000-07:002010-08-30T03:08:11.792-07:00The Diet Root Beer War Will Soon Unfold!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvdjFspyViFKvTIjH4PVcMK8pDHm305VaXHYdiTFJDlIeij88cVDrJXY-0BPgTRnntIghZiQl4XO5vLf99SqaV6mdOUxVM1RELLLfV0-hFX_7fe6WBE7UsuV9s0axH_8plNqccIPMtc44/s1600/dietaandwrootbeer-old.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511115596227954290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvdjFspyViFKvTIjH4PVcMK8pDHm305VaXHYdiTFJDlIeij88cVDrJXY-0BPgTRnntIghZiQl4XO5vLf99SqaV6mdOUxVM1RELLLfV0-hFX_7fe6WBE7UsuV9s0axH_8plNqccIPMtc44/s400/dietaandwrootbeer-old.jpg" border="0" /></a>I noticed a year ago that grocery stores were stocking Diet A&W Root Beer in their "Exotic Import" seection. The stuff is expensive, but it's great in that a) Limeys hate root beer b) Arabs don't know what it is and c) It's something different that I can drink beside Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi.<br /><br />All was well for a long time. Then, one day after I had purchased my meager 4 cans of Diet A&W, I noticed that the refrigerator in our house stopped running out of the stuff. I turns out, one of Rhanda's new American friends also drinks and ONLY drinks Diet A&W Root Beer. I was drinking her stash that she keeps in our fridge for when she comes over. This isn't bad, except I found out.<br /><br />All the managers of all the supermarkets selling Diet A&W Rootbeer have her on speed dial and she buys out their stock as soon as it gets in.... So -- the war is on!Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-28942899059959818732010-08-29T06:38:00.001-07:002010-08-29T06:41:51.888-07:00It's All About Small MiraclesThey finally have Stubbs Beef Marinade at "Sultan Center" grocery stores.... Life is good....<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAc4ekZqS-rH6ozKy-6nSNrMTZToVakQtDcDPOSM9Tz538NmMvpeG8xx7MsDWbLv9AKPTjPrEcdORgNjNaIOq6sqDTLsVI1SaXebbYdJrPq1WN3ZdN1ESwM3MAxB-jts9U_228m2SQQO8/s1600/stubbs-marinade-gruppe_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510826283517669250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAc4ekZqS-rH6ozKy-6nSNrMTZToVakQtDcDPOSM9Tz538NmMvpeG8xx7MsDWbLv9AKPTjPrEcdORgNjNaIOq6sqDTLsVI1SaXebbYdJrPq1WN3ZdN1ESwM3MAxB-jts9U_228m2SQQO8/s400/stubbs-marinade-gruppe_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-3541316937789464542010-08-29T05:27:00.000-07:002010-08-30T07:40:33.261-07:00A Strange Thing Happened Last Spring...<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfmtdBBtpcFq7Ew18qrViVo4z5eUqt5f0kBofHPB8offxlAz2IOgR6A7IEuxhgm5ajNfleJiBOQdan2SxG4Zv1qPDr5wV1h_8-7YXL2_lrc5N8idcR1KgEr3qsfBe_UJkN5zVGpxr7eD0/s1600/iflibrary_events_EstesMar25_SAM_0534_441525039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510820213887333410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfmtdBBtpcFq7Ew18qrViVo4z5eUqt5f0kBofHPB8offxlAz2IOgR6A7IEuxhgm5ajNfleJiBOQdan2SxG4Zv1qPDr5wV1h_8-7YXL2_lrc5N8idcR1KgEr3qsfBe_UJkN5zVGpxr7eD0/s400/iflibrary_events_EstesMar25_SAM_0534_441525039.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;">All photos courtesy islamfact.com</span><br /></div><div align="left">Firstly, to all muslims: If I misquote or misrepresent the Koran or Islam in any way, please correct me. I will change those sentences immediately (I know how important that is).</div><div align="left">.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Last March I went to a lecture given by an ex-music minister from Houston, Texas, who later coverted to Islam. I went to all three of his lectures and was invited to visit him at a private party after (they really liked my questions after the lecture). I had a great time at these lectures and met a lot of new friends and Yusuf Estes taught a lot of essential info about Islam that many Westerners do not understand. I had a number of questions after these lectures. I kept the questions simple and stayed away from old arguments as they would lend nothing to the process.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left">Question No 1. There was a guy up on stage earlier (an Englishman) who had just converted to Islam. He appeared to go through some sort of emotional change during the "swearing in" (for lack of a better word). My question was: Christians also go through such an emotional change during the point at which they are saved, what is the difference between Christian salvation and Islamic salvation?</p><div align="left">Answer: According to Muslims, you are not connected to God through another being (ie: Jesus). Instead, you are connected directly to God (Allah). This was a very short trip to a very long answer which Estes tried to explain...</div><div align="left">.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Question 2: If I remember, this question was regarding original sin and how Muslims find absolution of that sing.</div><div align="left">.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Answer: Muslims do not believe in original sin. They believe strongly in staying out of sin as much as possible and then putting the rest on the mercy of Allah. (I imagine this is why it is so important to stick to to the 5 pillars).</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510810514629586850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJSi1Q7ali9ElYFXGsYUv6VbpvFczpuphVX_Ema4wC5Jpdincsf7JU8fkdQfswGxnywOEe4t0tcxrme1cjQw_z_WMXEkqoBzwcGmVE1_H-HjBMYCmn_h6w0guQxmo1133XWcvS9i8u0JX/s400/iflibrary_events_EstesMar24_PIC_0024_642501195.jpg" border="0" />Question 3: I had a very hard time finding a bible in Muscat to look up something. At Borders, I was told that they were not allowed to sell Bibles. Apparently this is not a law. I later found out that bibles were sold at several stores, but (silly me) they are in Arabic! But my question was: It seems to me that the most faithful person will be the one who has read two books and made his mind up about both (holding up a copy of the bible and a copy of the Koran). It seems to me that it would be best to teach both books rather than just one and a very slanted or non-existent view of the other (certainly America is no better at this).<br /><p>Answer: You can buy bibles anywhere in Oman. They teach bible in Oman.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510817936722006626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOP_u5IRVSNH2As0kRLzcwQNS2ktXpIkwL6h08126LkfnuPn7Ijwfr6bXG7u56qnXL-IOqRuSWDzV67-enfd4ju3qRdjnVsrvqcW_2SEuhI6TkbsJtOSj8k3aRZyStsjEaY0yEKijcIyT6/s400/iflibrary_events_EstesMar26_DSCF1472_813201440.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">What a picture! All I need is a quarter staff and a monk's robe!</p><br /><p align="left">Question 4: If choosing to be a muslim is something of that should be done of free will, why is it a death sentence to leave Islam?</p><br /><p align="left">Answer: Yusuf says it is not a death sentence to leave Islam (I have higher sources to the contrary). But the death sentence was set up to prevent non-muslim terrorists from sneaking into mosques and killing everyone (it happened a few times back when this rule was written). The rule is not in the Koran. </p><br /><p>Final comments were a compliment to Yusuf on his lectures, an appology for being mistaken about bibles in Oman and a final greeting and handshake.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510817484105731442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtgv4JdJUMiiPI0XbX0bqEkzzoOjBVXkPnfLHlote5RXsTKAfiAyWEIxMgmsrEtBcBM4-CQr_JrsJyWzT0sD1yu_v3jdihHW7xKvmjFfUlfxEtuHhjFr3VUOAa3C6aWTBgwjGsZcN1BQl/s400/iflibrary_events_EstesMar26_DSCF1480_132747304.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p>Yusuf shook hands with me and showed everyone that Christians also believe in telling the truth. He pronounced me "Brothers Through the God of Abraham". </p><p>It's funny... After the second speech I was sort of surrounded by guys in white turbans and long beards, but in friendship. They sort of gave me the Islamic version of what Christians call "The laying on of hands..." I had a lot of people talking to me. I had a lot of guys asking me questions... I got invited to a dinner with that Yusuf Estes guy.... That was an experience! It was at somone's mansion. </p><p>Omani houses have two entrances, the men's and the women's. My wife had to go through a different entrance. When I came into the men's entrance, Yusuf was sort of sitting in a central chair and talking to everyone through a microphone (it was a VERY big house belonging to someone famous). When he saw me walk in, he jumped to his feet and shouted "Paul's here! Allah Akhbar!" ... Which was followed by about a hundred guys in white turbins shouting "ALLAH AKHBAR! ALLAH AKHBAR!" over and over and I had to shake about a hundred hands and return a hundred smiles... It was pretty intimidating. After all that, I decided to keep a low profile. The ladies around the women's entrance asked my wife who she was. She said, "I'm famous Paul's wife!" </p><p>The end result was that it got my wife and I down to our own church (Generic Protestant) on sunday - which we hadn't attended in ... well never.... Yusuf pinned down a guy at the party and I was stumped at any means to defend him... Ofcourse, five minutes online and I was shouting "I should have said that! I should have said that!" So I decided that I had to get my head back in the game.</p><p>Muslims take their beliefs VERY seriously. There's no room for argument or jokes with anyone but your closest friends. </p><p>Like I said, I didn't want to be famous, so I laid low and let the attention go away. Every once in awhile. Someone comes up to me in a shopping mall and wants to shake my hand because he saw me at the Yusuf Estes lectures... </p><p>Yusuf is an evangelist minister, converted to Islam, so he uses all the evangelical chrisma that he picked up as a Christian, but under a different religion. People call him "The Funny Sheik". </p><p>Here's a sample of Yusuf in action.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></p><br /><br /><embed style="WIDTH: 375px; HEIGHT: 302px" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6XJUXf8Yms4?fs=" width="375" height="302" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" hl="en_US"></embed>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-17242423555389124772010-08-29T04:37:00.000-07:002010-08-30T03:45:37.831-07:00My take on the 9/11 Mosque<div align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2PjuzJjOHkp47Ws7FL4cGq0it9QHob90nf6WE1ic1yVERVEylhi3NupNaGOg_JNeOcFlIFPBr-pp_klMZQRne2E1Hz1B_j0nBI8MdJ9nCG-rkVb1R_JYyhNTDptpIrlEFcUAJop_yuqY/s1600/photo-showing-relationship-of-mosque-to-ground-zero-site3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510795284367437442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 298px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2PjuzJjOHkp47Ws7FL4cGq0it9QHob90nf6WE1ic1yVERVEylhi3NupNaGOg_JNeOcFlIFPBr-pp_klMZQRne2E1Hz1B_j0nBI8MdJ9nCG-rkVb1R_JYyhNTDptpIrlEFcUAJop_yuqY/s400/photo-showing-relationship-of-mosque-to-ground-zero-site3.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo from beapatriot.worldpress.com</span><br /></div><p>Something we need to consider first before forming opinions either for or against the giant mosque and Islamic education center on the back door of the hole in the ground that was once the World Trade Center: <em>It is against Islam to build a memorial to the dead. So before you get the idea that this is going to be something to memorialize or appologise to the thousands who died on 9/11 in the WTC, think again...</em><br /><em></em><br />With that fact in hand, what is the purpose of putting such a large center for Islam at this location?<br /><br />What stops the Japanese from putting a Shinto shrine on the Arizona memorial? What stops the American Airforce from flying barrel rolls over the Ginbeku Dome at Hiroshima every 6th of August during memorial services?<br /><br />Answer: RESPECT<br /><br />The people building this mosque must have one of two motives in mind:<br />1) To recruit muslims at the sight of the most extreme terrorist act ever performed by Muslims.<br />2) To educate Americans about our poor foreign policies.<br /><br />To quote former NYC Mayor, Rudolf Giuliani, "There is no moral equivalent for this [terrorist] act. There is no justification for it. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification for it when they slaughtered 4,000 or 5,000 innocent people." He made this statement after rejecting a 10 million dollar aid check from the Saudis that came couched in lecture from Saudi Prince Alweed on how America "should re-examine it's policies in the Middle East."<br /><br />If this is an attempt to "educate" America, it is in poor taste. If it is to recruit us - or those who find this kind of action admirable, it needs to be stopped. There are other more appropriate venues for this.<br /><br />I'm all about having an open mind, and yes, the United States is a free country, but we're also a nation that values mutual respect. This is where laws at the local level should take over. There are really good reasons why officials wouldn't approve of a KKK bookstore in Harlem. Why should it approve a mosque at the 9/11 site? There is no reason that muslims can't have a 13 story mosque - even in Manhattan, just not so close to Ground Zero. </p><p>Yes. Muslims also died in the Twin Towers, but muslims do not build memorials to the dead. They DO, however, build memorials to victory.</p>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-67264724617128242472010-08-29T03:53:00.000-07:002010-08-30T03:51:57.179-07:00One Month of "The Middle East Sucks"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjldHe852tpoKx4PIvCARtCVV_qOgONO6aEit19UVVSuCatR-pD9RrO7bNtOex-HmMGElkts0OCOxRxK27jaJ_CkXvzhyphenhyphenQ9N2nE9zE1cSCWDBOCoxaPAtIse61Om_w4gItSxt2aUcJwR07/s1600/ramadan_moon_mosque_4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510787114872003330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjldHe852tpoKx4PIvCARtCVV_qOgONO6aEit19UVVSuCatR-pD9RrO7bNtOex-HmMGElkts0OCOxRxK27jaJ_CkXvzhyphenhyphenQ9N2nE9zE1cSCWDBOCoxaPAtIse61Om_w4gItSxt2aUcJwR07/s400/ramadan_moon_mosque_4.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div></div><br /><div></div><div>It's Ramadan here in Oman. Ramadan is the month that the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohamed. Islam follows a lunar calendar, so their year is 11 days shorter than Western calendars, so Ramadan moves a little forward every year. </div><br /><div></div><div><em>There are idiots out there who say that Muslims are a "moon cult" because they worship according to a lunar calendar. If that's the case, Christians are a "sun cult" because we worship a solar calendar....</em></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div>Anyway.... While I love Oman and love living here and I believe that 99.9% of the Muslim population is misunderstood: You can't have roses without thorns. So for 11 months of living in a fun and exciting place, we expat Christians have to put up with one month a year of daylight starvation. During this month, a Muslim can not eat during the daylight hours. He/she must fast. So that means that everyone around them has to fast too.... by law... So every restaurant in Oman is closed until sunset. </div><div>.</div><div></div><div></div><div>At work, I'm sneaking snacks in and hiding them behind my monitor... Shhhhhhh.</div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-74722732003956830762009-07-15T00:59:00.000-07:002009-07-15T02:07:39.803-07:00How the "Other Half" Lives...Remember on my last post, I said the story of my maid's uncle was "another story". Well here it is. The day before yesterday, my maid came into our house while I was sorting out my medicines for the day and was crying here eyes out. She is from Sri Lanka and works here in Oman because it is close to most of her family (her uncle is the closest family member and is the rock of her whole family unit). He's an electrician and works at the city desalination plant where Muscat draws nearly all it's fresh water supply. He's worked there for over 23 years. <div><br /></div><div>Last week he had a heart attack and was put in the hospital for a few days. They don't do angioplasties and other things here that you'd think would be done for people with blocked blood vessels in the heart... They just give you a shot in the arm to open your blood vessels and watch you to make sure you don't die. Well... They released him from the hospital and when he returned to work, he was informed that his services were no longer needed. They were bringing in a fresh new recruit from India. So, as his visa is determined by his employment, he's got to leave the country. He needs to leave anyway because he wants to go back to Sri Lanka where he trusts the doctors (go figure). His company claims he's too old. 55 is the age limit for employees here and he's 56. Also, they're probably afraid that he'll have another attack while doing something vital and kill himself on the job site... So I imagine they saw him as a liability and decided to terminate him... Nice... You'd think we had stepped out of the 18th century on employers who act like this... </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway... My maid is over the edge with grief. I have tried to explain to her that it's just a job... He'll get another job... I also tried to explain to her that she needs to be happy that her uncle isn't dead and that heart attacks are serious business. It turns out that he's had undiagnosed diabetes all this time... probably what led to the attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>I drove her to her uncle's apartment to visit him. Boy did I feel like an elephant in room full of mice... Firstly, this "apartment" is a 10 story building that looks like it was built in the early 70's. It has that "70's" look about it. The ceilings are only 7 feet high and the place is falling apart. Paint is peeling off the walls, carpeting is all ripped up, half the lights don't work. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was taken to his son's apartment, which was the nicer one. It was a single room apartment with a small makeshift kitchen area and a bathroom. The main features of this single room being a huge fuze panel on the wall and a collection of tattered particle board book shelves which act as a divider between the door to the apartment and the "bedroom" which contains two twin sized beds for a husband, wife and two children... </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-16892430978694050532009-07-15T00:23:00.000-07:002009-07-15T00:59:21.361-07:00Guns and Short Vacations...My wife and I had a vacation planned for the end of May for three weeks. We were all set to go when one of our client's geologists decided that he didn't like having somebody new working on his wells (remember that I'm a geologist). He worked fine with new people before, so why now? It takes a crew of two people working back to back 12 hour shifts to "geosteer" a well. We basically watch horizontal wells and steer them so that they stay in the oil. So, after much debating, I finally had to settle on leaving on the 1st of June - requiring the new guy to work in another field and the only two experienced crew left to work on his wells. <div><br /></div><div>This was supposed to be a nice long break, three weeks of vacation and then three weeks of classes at the Halliburton facility. I got three days into my classes and got called back due to the needs of this same exact client. So... wife has to stay in Houston (because she's got a PA licensing test to take) and I have to go back and attend a job that really didn't need attending. Well, since then, I've been working, without a day off from 7AM till I get home at 9 or 10 every night. Everything in my house decided to fall apart all at once... Every air conditioner is leaking. Washing machine is broken, and our maid's uncle .... that's another blog topic.... and before anyone starts going, "oooOOOooo... a maid... are we hoity toity"... Everyone has maids here. They're very cheap and every house has a maids quarters in the back.</div><div><br /></div><div>So then... The icing on the cake... 4 AM my wife calls and apparently, someone has broken into our storage shed on my parents farm (in Texas) and stolen both of my gun safes... We're talking heavy armor... Lots of guns... I had a collectors license, so I had recorded serial numbers on nearly all of them... So that much is good. The loss is sad. Some of the guns I had were family heirlooms, handed down through the family. The serial numbers were put on a nation wide database, so we'll see what turns up...</div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-12113329291795782622008-11-29T07:07:00.000-08:002008-11-29T07:15:12.384-08:00Harmful Algal BloomYes... Yet another day of red tide here on the beaches of Azaiba (in Muscat). I stepped outside my door this morning and it smelled like a whale just farted in my face. I guess if you live on the beach, you get the good with the bad. Only this nastyness has been going on for a few weeks now. It might be a good thing for tourists to ask about the red tide activity before coming here if they plan on swimming in ocean. What's really bad is that the smell somehow gets into the house and gets stored there so that you don't miss it's most extreme smell over the day while you were at work. <br /><br />I'm told that the hotels and private beaches clean up the mess created by the red tide, but I can't help noticing how fish markets seem to be overflowing with fish during these events. Don't they know that fish killed by a red tide is poisonous?Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-67851426875168632422008-11-05T14:22:00.000-08:002008-11-06T03:52:00.767-08:00Moose Visits an ET Nursury<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1nIp8iHGd5uP3_UPuIHD8eaTuCE5pWIDLwCoM9xK9VM5wuO5L38UptrwTErrwN1mvzTrp-2ZvfkaeRN7SUr5g5M9Hag_-ayocl_1NShfWuRA9uXB7_2dnq1-LGO13tej0BkVkFDAoLeD/s1600-h/Image_0082b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265303505137350738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 310px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1nIp8iHGd5uP3_UPuIHD8eaTuCE5pWIDLwCoM9xK9VM5wuO5L38UptrwTErrwN1mvzTrp-2ZvfkaeRN7SUr5g5M9Hag_-ayocl_1NShfWuRA9uXB7_2dnq1-LGO13tej0BkVkFDAoLeD/s400/Image_0082b.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Managed to get some fair photos of the Orion Nebula. I need to find a couple of things to improve my photo creating capability. This was taken with the Orion Star Shoot Color Imager with an Orion 10" Atlas EQ-G at an exposure of 10 seconds. The Orion Nebula is considered to be a "Stellar Nursury". There are a number of new stars forming in the white center of the photo.</div><br /><div></div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-80605982630486994982008-10-30T13:18:00.001-07:002008-11-06T03:57:39.505-08:00Beach Recon Force (sort of)My wife and I went on a recon mission to areas east of Muscat to find good beac<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J8N1iYDw3_EqTm28QwUUWjm0XXQiQGL4DakDLUlaO4CBxyRe456ywnjS167_dbTwdkFTrGAKYQaIGPF-5-XmS9n6944TJaOXAx6F2HhdkAfDLso7mJGe5dfNxWIMkN9Pony-bZODylx5/s1600-h/299.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263047267311449618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J8N1iYDw3_EqTm28QwUUWjm0XXQiQGL4DakDLUlaO4CBxyRe456ywnjS167_dbTwdkFTrGAKYQaIGPF-5-XmS9n6944TJaOXAx6F2HhdkAfDLso7mJGe5dfNxWIMkN9Pony-bZODylx5/s200/299.JPG" border="0" /></a>h for ourselves and our dogs, Charlie and Mabel. It turned out to be a late afternoon trip after we had driven half way across Muscat before I realized I didn't have my wallet :-\<br /><div><br />But it was an interesting adventure. I drove my wife's car, a 2008 Kia Sportage... I have the exact same car in a standard transmission so I could meat out some more power out of the four bean cans they call cylinders, but she doesn't like the way I drive standards, so we drove her automatic. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but we found some pretty steep roads along the way. Roads that made our little 4 cylinder Sportage go from sounding like a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQQAYDI9W_3hx1YCTxaqBoqKlci_sAIB2hep0OmvASaOnKNBnT3ikI79WDEdKP6uANrYG1GJQOwfkGyzQO33CMBFDEGewvKD3hJKoyKve25z7NFZnJcvPSVdUlwLSxogZQijk4WCvYws7/s1600-h/Image1_edited.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263048403723953634" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQQAYDI9W_3hx1YCTxaqBoqKlci_sAIB2hep0OmvASaOnKNBnT3ikI79WDEdKP6uANrYG1GJQOwfkGyzQO33CMBFDEGewvKD3hJKoyKve25z7NFZnJcvPSVdUlwLSxogZQijk4WCvYws7/s200/Image1_edited.jpg" border="0" /></a>coffee grinder full of pennies to a high speed blender full of angry bees. The car endured, but not without some butt clenching moments over some steep dropp offs with roads at the bottom that not only turned but banked away from your turn! </div><div></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263050442904920802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZw-73gPfl-J80wNWiV1q38C0dGkP66Ukk5wdnKSahKVX_LzRBRZGOt31JnI1gL-Mh1t4XdmDTrr9XRjlADoFEWcYzP66l6OHPR7J133QxgITZuneRUzIpIL29X2y_3qSbWqDsUVwBPzg3/s200/Oman+Dive+Center.JPG" border="0" />First stop was the Oman Dive Center just to check the place out. Great place. It has a beach (or a mud flat if the tide is out). There are boats there to take you out snorkelling or scuba diving to the various hot spots along the coast. PADI certified diving instructors can license you in a four day course for about 170 OMR. They have a restaurant, grass shack looking bungalows and a bar. They have a whole range of prices on the bungalows depending on the time of year.<br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263051734053901442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67x0w4lXZn1SS0k1brfZi2DQ2eM56r3A9Idg5PBax2YbwlVTs4lnI14KGn8y5RtxVPJ_lynM9eng1darO9k86753bFJ3ZwuAOlDXYi-1-OI2qYkdqGGSLUS6etR89qoCWuE_2ce0qFSN2/s320/Yiti+Beach+sailboatfix.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><div>Next stop was Yitti Beach or Yetti Beach (I hope not the latter - though I think I was the only one there with big feet). We especially liked the Al Moosa Hotel (for obvious naming reasons). We never went inside, though we think we were accosted by one of their guests who had way too much to drink. It appears to be a great shell gathering spot. The sand is really loose, but I noticed (as I'm a geologist), that the sand has a great deal of sparkling black "galena", a lead ore mineral oddly enough. It seems to sluice out during low tide along the surface of the sand. It was a nice little walk. Rhanda's Sportage had to stick to the firmer sand. It would have p<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzabzc-FQo4Rpsxe0F3JjD58KFSuxXruT9zh9vNvhAaDr8Jvdxifhy6421TLYmiD1HX7D5aUpGIG1BhxVapVGqkLTF86oPFgsLifYk44wLMg8ESTnzeJJnkubVq8-3REiudDAyIRMdBKi/s1600-h/Yiti+Beach,+Paul+climbing+rocks.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263054710487856338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzabzc-FQo4Rpsxe0F3JjD58KFSuxXruT9zh9vNvhAaDr8Jvdxifhy6421TLYmiD1HX7D5aUpGIG1BhxVapVGqkLTF86oPFgsLifYk44wLMg8ESTnzeJJnkubVq8-3REiudDAyIRMdBKi/s320/Yiti+Beach,+Paul+climbing+rocks.JPG" border="0" /></a>robably handled the loose stuff, but we didn't want to find out if it didn't the hard way. </div><div></div><div>Moose, the geologist strikes a pose! --------></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>We continued our drive through the mountains under a setting sun as we kept trying to see what was just around the next bend on the mountains. You really can't close your eyes or even blink while you are driving these winding roads or you'd find yourself doing a double inverted sommersault with a twist before hitting the rocks about fifty to one hundred meters below you...</div><div></div><div>We eventually found the town of As Saifah. In this town, you can see Omani women in traditional Omani dress (very colorful), unlike Muscat where women seem to all dress in black (I was told it was a Saudi fashion that spread to Oman)... I really wish they'd return to their traditional dress. The Muscat local markets look like a penguin roosting ground to outsiders... I know, I know... different customs... Continuing on... Saifah was nice. There appear to be good places for camping here, but Yitti is probably nicer for a tent spot. Saifa has a town at one end of the beach and a construction area at the other. </div><div></div><div>We turned around and went back home. I picked up my photos from the studio (I was trying my hand at photographing a couple of galaxies and nebulae with my 10" Orion Atlas telescope using film. Nothing turned out). </div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-204505528596104342008-10-23T07:24:00.000-07:002009-07-15T00:20:06.647-07:00My Driving Rant...Road planning, or lack there of...<br /><br />What is it with this city and it's blind fascination for one way roads and parking lots for *** sake?? The other day, I entered the parking lot for the CCC and decided, after driving toward McDonalds, that I'd rather have a cup of coffee and a pastry at Second Cup (near the parking lot entrance)... I had to LEAVE THE PARKING LOT in order to get back to Second Cup.<br /><br />A few weeks ago I wanted to go to Zakher Mall. I had never been there and the new Omantel office was there... I missed my turn for the Mall. All I can say is that Ghala is a nice town...<br /><br />This town is so afraid of traffic jams that they seem to have completely banned the left turn... Roads quite often have barricades to stop you from turning left with no overpasses, underpasses or roundabouts for as long as 20 km... It's frustrating to say the least!<br /><br />Parking...<br /><br />In Texas, where one out of every three people have a gun in their car, we don't usually have to deal with discourteous behavior on the level that you see here. Someone said that Omanis are the kindest and gentlest culture - till they get behind the wheel of a car. Omanis on the road are one thing (I think 'ruthless' best describes their habits). However, I have never seen such a level of blind self centeredness when it comes to parking! A' Romelah Street (where most of the car dealerships are) is the worst. It is incredible to me to see someone park in such a way that blocks other cars from leaving. However, on A' Romelah Street, I've seen people parallel park in front of the only exit to an entire parking lot! What kind of sociopathic mentality thinks that parking in such a way is acceptable?<br /><br />A' Romelah Street: A fine example of what parking is like on A' Romelah Street can be found <a href="http://www.matchbookart.com/puzzle/puzzle1.htm">here</a>. <div><br />What I don't get is that Muscat isn't that big of a city. We shouldn't have the traffic congenstion and parking problems that we have. True, much of the city was thought out before there were cars and even today, houses are built before roads are built that lead to them, but something is seriously wrong with the planning in this town.<br /><br />Solution? Follow Singapore's example. Allow only X number of cars on the road in in specific districts and have districts that are restricted to only necessary vehicles. This would be one example... But I have noticed the lack of multilevel parking. There needs public multilevel parking available in every shopping area and heavy business district.<br /><br />Anyone else have a solution?</div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-755162287762587342008-07-16T01:57:00.000-07:002008-07-16T07:26:55.905-07:00Amman and Oman<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCqBDPPGzyORjqyZ_qOOrYQfPZO-KRyxJ2mbf4JRw62UpJHpY8kvrRnYhEURo5nuV9cxZl_ctdK9bf-Ty4ySBIWR-7eGx8qzXzGTE1F3IJz-C-NeryWLjMHncweSkbccH8aUwAOHZk2Ee/s1600-h/0461180-R1-030-13A.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223599968919581394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCqBDPPGzyORjqyZ_qOOrYQfPZO-KRyxJ2mbf4JRw62UpJHpY8kvrRnYhEURo5nuV9cxZl_ctdK9bf-Ty4ySBIWR-7eGx8qzXzGTE1F3IJz-C-NeryWLjMHncweSkbccH8aUwAOHZk2Ee/s320/0461180-R1-030-13A.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>At 2:00 AM on November 10, 2005, my cell phone rings while I'm fast asleep in my hotel room in Muscat (my company is keeping me at the Holiday Inn). When I answer, I hear my mother-in-law in a panic, "Hello! Are you alright?"<br /><br />Apparently, "He Who Must Not Be Named", bombed three hotels in Amman, Jordan. One of the bombings occurred at a hotel that could have been confused for a "Holiday Inn". I had to explain that I was in "Oman" and not "Amman" and that the two were about 1500 miles from each other (as a crow flies), which is comparable to the distance between Houston, Texas and Bakersfield, California. But Houston is 9 hours behind Muscat, so though it was the middle of the day for Mother-in-Law, it was tripping over suitcases and feeling around in the dark for Son-in-Law.<br /><br />I have discovered that most Americans don't even know about the existance of this place. Oman lies on the Tropic of Cancer and is bordered by the UAE, Saudi, Yemen and Iran (by sea). The country is criscrossed by treacherous looking mountains that have protected the coastal areas from invasion from it's neighbors and by the extreme deserts of her intererior. These recent formed mountains and the warm clear waters of the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean make for an eco-tourist's paradise.<br /><br />The beauty of the country is partly due to it's anonymity with the outside world. The Sultan seems to stay politically neutral, meeting with both Iranian government officials and American on a regular basis. Extremist movements and terrorist ideologies are not acceptable here.<br /><br />Though Omanis are deeply religious, it is nice to find that you can engage a woman in intelligent conversation - something not allowed in Saudi. Omani men themselves are also very open with thier opinions, giving the opportunity for a fascinating look at the Arab mindset in world events. As a result, I've learned more about Arab culture and Islam here in Oman than I have in any other Muslim country. Wikipedia has a great article on Oman here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman</a><br /><br />Oman is home to the real Sinbad (the sailor not the actor/commedian). A replica of his boat is displayed in the roundabout at the entrance of the Al Bustan Hotel.<br /><br />Oman is also full of medieval castles that beat anything Europe has to offer. For one thing, they are mostly untouched... No ropes... No plaques... They are full of all kinds of cool things like secret passageways, trap doors, pitfalls and other goodies you only see on Indiana Jones. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223618023301037314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsDQCy7iOv8WGlKZy7RQc1kHHCdupWTji3d8h8pBlG3Hj0qJTOX5rolmQAu6RYt5aQUfP0MCR0joZOSaCU4v2SMAQQTLm5qw2By2384c-oEqBnpMCwzdVxNsGbzcnBPCUcO0bjT8M4WlJ/s320/2A.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>Oman is also home to a pod of humpback whales that never migrate and a mountainous region in the south that is as green as a tropical rain forest during the summer months.<br /><br />Snorkelling/Diving, rock climbing, speilunking (cave exploring) is also big here.</div></div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028726455260355437.post-61995087589337034472008-07-14T07:57:00.001-07:002008-07-16T01:55:41.123-07:00Before I start...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN88xaI3wROdL14qcIOTZolO9Kro6kugRT9FO5dQ6s_xNoLBXwduGx-QECgiHlwmYGnxR-XzvZaBhdqDy1NckcU3VpSagk1jaa6p52pfMWH8jE24NtdVGI6x__oFkBRAr3lQ4Qbu1pQs2/s1600-h/his_majesty_sultan_qaboos.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223526097277060466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlN88xaI3wROdL14qcIOTZolO9Kro6kugRT9FO5dQ6s_xNoLBXwduGx-QECgiHlwmYGnxR-XzvZaBhdqDy1NckcU3VpSagk1jaa6p52pfMWH8jE24NtdVGI6x__oFkBRAr3lQ4Qbu1pQs2/s200/his_majesty_sultan_qaboos.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Before I start my blog site in earnest, I wish to send my compliments His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, without whom Oman, in all it's beauty, freedom and pride would not exist for most people today. </div>Muscat_Moosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683779956894369135noreply@blogger.com0