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Cancertown

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Things are really starting to warm up in this part of the world, and that brings along all kinds of problems.  The air quality around these parts is already low, between the waste disposal methods, the lack emission standards, and all the sand swirling about.  The heat has begun to have an unpleasant greenhouse-like effect of trapping all kinds of pollutants and odors around the camp.  The last few days this has been especially problematic around our little living area of “Microtown.”  The sunny and dust storm-free weather has encouraged most folks to enjoy the outdoors more than usual.  Unfortunately, most of them have also used this opportunity to indulge in lighting up some variation of vile weed.  Walking up and down the rows, you can see groups of soldiers dangling cigarettes, lighting up Cuban cigars, trying out a hookah, and even one or two with a pipe.  The convergence of all these smokers and the heat of the evening was suffocating.  Ev...
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A Trip to the Market

This morning I attached my little buddy (an amazingly small Sony RX0) to the old scooter to give you guys a look at a typical Saturday trip to the nearest legitimate supermarket. Relatively speaking, it isn't a long trip, and one that isn't difficult to accomplish by foot. I prefer to scoot there and back because carrying groceries over an extended distance is a pain. And then the return trip. Here I take the main road back, for comparison purposes. I do not enjoy this more direct route, though it is a bit quicker. It is also noisier, marginally more polluted, and obviously somewhat riskier. So...SUCCESS! Groceries were acquired, and now I have plenty of time to prepare my "famous" chicken curry.
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Talking Hands

Just recently, I've had the privilege of reading through Margalit Fox's Talking Hands . I've read quite a few books while I've been over here, some good, some bad, and some that barely make the category of literature. Fox's book is, ostensibly, about her experience observing linguists decoding sign language in a Beduin town in Palestine. What makes the language unique is that unlike most other part of the world, almost everyone speaks sign language in this town. This sign language was born out of necessity; the incidence of deafness in this community is quite high, relative to the worldwide average. Now perhaps you are someone who considers linguistic and academic pursuits to be dull and useless to you; I would certainly encourage you to think again about this book. Because the beautiful thing about it is that Fox has actually created a book that is really three books in one, a rather impressive feat, if I may say so myself. This is, naturally, her description of th...
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