TacoFone's

Things are sometimes not what they seem. In Cyrillic script some letters look like others we are familiar with and some look different. Take for instance the letter F as we know it looks like Ф in Cyrillic. Cool isn't it. and some others are the same but different. like the letter o is almost always pronounced like a soft a. and a number 3 is actually a z , while the small capital H is actually the letter n, and the c is pronounced s. Got that. There will be a test later in this post.

Take for instance this telephone booth which in not in service, apparently leads one to question if it was a TACO-fone phone or a Toxa-fone phone. We have wondered what exactly that is all about and what one would use one for. To order tacos or to report hazardous waste spills. Or maybe this phone has some other sinister use we have not yet guessed. They are located all over Bay city and most are in this or worse shape. Apparently the coming of the Cell phone has killed the Takcofon phone market. But as always happens just when you decide to have no idea what is up a lightbulb illuminates and you know.

These phones were for ordering take out from the HAZMAT cafe.

Question answered and case closed.

Now that you have read all that, I hope the rest of your day goes better. Have a good one!

ST

Monthly post

humm this is a not so regular blog isn't it. Things get in the way of playing on the internet. What did we do before internet. Can you picture blogging by candlelight? Ya that is pretty lame wasn't it. In the last 4 weeks I have started a new post 6 or 7 times. I wanted to include pictures but I don't want to waste your time with bad ones so I haven't. Several months ago I started helping some friends register at a local university to take some classes. We spent the first two months working on getting the university to help us get them a visa. That didn't work so we got our own visas for them as students, it was easier and faster. That took about 2 weeks. So in June we started with the paperwork for their registrations. First we translated their passports and diplomas. Then we had those documents notarized. Then we took them to the local department of education who requested that we get copies of transcripts. When we had those we were then told that they needed to also be translated and notarized and accompanied by a copy of the institution who granted the diplomas' accreditation paperwork, which needed to be translated and notarized and accompanied by a document from the US embassy stating that it was correct. Right! Like that is going to happen. Last week our students started classes. All went well. It was decided that as they only wanted a couple semesters of language and not a degree that the translated diploma would do fine. Hurry up and wait.

Oh, about the pix;

Well, can your cat play cards?

This one is not a picture from here.

ST

prickly fruit.

Not far from our house is a park. The park has some near fountains and statues in it. Around the edges there are quite a few trees. They looked like some kind of birch or willow to me with whitish bark but the lower sections were pretty rough like an Elm. They had big leaves that look like elm leaves but which are really big. Here last week we noticed these little things growing on the trees. some old dried ones are on the ground we had never noticed before and they open up like a clam when they dry. Inside is a pit like a peach. Nope I have no idea what they are.

In town they have been working on the streets. It seems that the storm drains filled with sludge this spring when there was heavy rains and that led to some flooding. So now they are digging up the old ones and replacing them with new ones. The new ones look a lot like the old ones so We are not exactly sure what the point is but the work goes on. I am not sure the real name of the drains Our friend Bruce called the Juuies when we visited him years

ago in another central asian country so we adopted the name. They are like city wide irrigation ditches. Water flows through them most of the time and people use them for washing cars or irrigating there yards or trees. They also seem to use them for litter removal. I guess that is why they are plugged.

People seem to think that there is an unlimited supply of water even though it seems that the agricultural development of the country is limited by access to water. Every apt we looked at had at least one if not all the faucets and toilet leaking water constantly. We are told that the parts to fix them cost more than the water will so just to let them run. That is just wrong to us so we keep buying washers and new fixtures to try to stop the flow.

Water is always an issue. In Russia we used a little Katadyn camp water filter. We probably didn't need to but our friends said we should do something so we did. It lasted the entire time we were there. We changed the filter once as we thought it needed it. Our water here ruined the element and ceramic stone within 20 gallons. There are some really fine minerals in the water. Our little pump filtered to .3 micron that is pretty fine. But as we cant get more filters here we have had to look for another option. There are Indian filters available here for about $30 which seems cheep. On line we read that their elements may use Arsenic to kill bacteria and that it may be good to avoid that. We had thought of buying one and then getting Us or Swiss elements for it. Last week we went

to check on them and there on the shelf were enough Swiss elements for one unit. So we bought the set and put it together. Of course nothing ever is as easy as it should be so we had to get creative to keep the valve in the housing as the threads and the nut that were supposed to do that job were not a match. Some teflon tape and packaging it came in did the trick though and it is not leaking so far. The shiny can seems to remove the dirt okay and kill the bugs in the water okay but the water has a bad taste and smell after it passes through the filter. Life goes on. We will see if it is the water or the filter.

If you live where you can drink the public water from the tap without thinking about it. Thank the guys responsible. That one fact puts you in about the richest 5% of the people in the world. The danger is having so much is you forget what life would be like without it. I saw a spot the other day that Cuba has started requesting farmers use Mules as that saves gas. Think about that. What would food cost if we returned to farming with mules.

ST

Honey, I'll get the mail on the way home....

Yes, we have a post office box here. I shared once before about getting mail in Russia so maybe I have an issue that way I don't know. Thursday I was walking home and decided to stop in the post office and check to see if any mail had found us yet. We have been doing this since we returned from The US in early June but until now only "air mail" in our empty box.

The postal locks here are sorta neat they look like Philips #2 screw driver tips. They file off the sides like the notches on a key to make the key. There are 4 sets of tumblers that way. If it is made well that is probably a nearly pick proof lock, at least they want you to think that they are.

The down side is that the key fits any of 4 ways so getting it right on the first try is addressed with a mark on the key and lock that you match up when you insert the key. Well, on all the others you do that, on ours you insert it 180 degrees off. More pick proof I guess.

Ya too much info I know but Thursday we had mail. Well, sort of mail, we had two slips of paper saying we had mail. So I thought probably international mail requires you to pay for delivery or something so I went to the window to ask. The lady who works there is really nice and she took a great deal of time and words I didn't know telling me that I had to go to another post office to claim my mail. OK so I asked my friends where they pick up mail from the US. Of course it comes to there PO box next to mine. But boxes come to another post office a few blocks away in the general direction of where she had indicated.

Diana and I set off with our papers and knowledge of where to go. We went to that post office and were told that where we needed to go was near the train station. We went to the train station and asked for the post office. We were told it was on down the street a few blocks. We wandered on down the street and we found a sign that had the address of the post office we wanted on it. So we followed it and asked for the post office. Nope not here back the way you came.

We asked another guy yes further on the way you came from. And another, "it is on the train station" Russian prepositions sometimes translate funny. Ok back to the train station, and wow the address is the same as the one on our paper. So we go in and ask about the post office. No it is not here but go out the door and to the right 25 steps and there it is. So out the door and 25 steps to the right and there is a door. It is locked and inside is a desk pushed up against the door so it can't open. Ok so another 15 steps to the next door. It is a restaurant, but they know where the post office is. Great they point to a dilapidated building about 100 yards up the track in a industrial area that looks a bit spooky. So with Diana watching my back we venture into the unknown. When we arrive at the building in an area where people don't seem to pick up after there dogs or maybe it just smells like that, we get to the building and the only door on the front says Post Office Store. Inside we can see a small grocery store. We think well Aunt Bee got the mail in a dry goods store on Maybery RFD so maybe the same here. We enter and ask. A guy without shoes sits by the door selling seeds, there is a lady behind a counter with a postal scales so I approach her and show her the papers. She tells me "yes this is our house" no wait I bet she said "yes this is the right building" Hard to tell as Russian may not have been either of our first languages. But the guy with no shoes takes us back out side and points to the end of the building and to the right. Again with Diana guarding my back we set off in search of the post office.

We turn right and walk past the old truck blocking the parking lot and to the back corner of the lot and building and down a couple steps into a lower floor of the same building into a dark room with a few boxes and desks and a guy working at one under a bare light bulb. I show him my papers. Then I hear him say my name and then he produces my two letters. He then ask's me to write on the back of the papers from the registered letters that I received them to sign them and put the date.

So I have my letters and it only took two hours to pick it up, I got a couple miles walking in and learned how to say international post office in Russian so some people understand.

But next time I can do this in a hour or less. Cool

So what was your major acomplishment today?

ST

Well it almost helped

So do you get those annoying little time to update some bit of software now and then? I do ocassionally and

living here where the internet is just a bit faster than dial up it

signals having really slow internet until the newest update is installed.

If you notice I have not posted in a while and in part that is due to being

busy and in part due to not having an

y new pictures

to add and in part to my browser along with the free one

from Mozilla neither being able to display the BlogSpot site correctly.

A few days ago I got the update your browser notice so I left the computer on while we went out and installed the update. Just now was the first

time I could get back on BlogSpot and at first I thought the update has fixed it, well, almost. I have the bar back at the top but there is still three screens between the title applet

and the Preview box.

Not so bad, at least I can log-in again... However I am still missing the formatting area so it may be hard to add a picture.

Yes, it was hard. The applet is there hiding in the white area. And the edit window holds all of 35 words. But we have opposing thumbs so we preserver.

ST

Take out Pizza?

Several months ago I was having lunch with a friend from a Western European country.  One known for culinary stuff.  Coming from the heartland of Steak and potatoes I am somewhat ignorant of  such things.  Anyway I was enthralled as he showed the proper way to eat using a utensil in each hand while holding the fork with the manufacturer data showing rather than underneath.  He told us how his country men found the American habit of eating one handed cumbersome and inefficient not to mention downright humorous.  This was interesting watching the peas being rolled up the bottom of the fork to perch there without falling as they made the trip to their final resting place.  He then shaired a bit of humor regarding Americans refueling rather than eating, which struck me as sort of oxymoronic as he was the one eating with both hands to save time.

Anyway, regardless of that, they do have take out Pizza in Paris.  Who would have thought a frenchman would stoop to buying take out.  Maybe the starving artists don't have time to cook or cant afford both a fork and knife so cant get regular food off the plate.  I don't know.  I wonder if they deliver to Central Asia.  I could go for an American sausage, Canadian bacon, and extra cheese on a traditional hand tossed crust.

Keep your eyes on The Son

ST

The rest of the picture

Some time ago I think I read that Paul Harvey passed on.  I noted that with casual interest as years ago "late 1970's" when I was farming in the midwest our tractor radio only got a few stations well, and one of them had his Rest of the Story broadcast a few times a day.  Those were particularly fun and interesting so I always took special interest when he spoke.  Sometimes he would report regular news and I would be disappointed as the news was never as interesting as the Rest of the Story.  We only worked 6 or 8 hours a day in the tractor in the spring and summer as that is when the field work happened and only the bigger tractors had radios.  The rest of the year we only used them for chores and such so the chance of catching Paul Harvey was not so good.  Well today I was thinking about that kind of thing and looking at this picture.  

You have probably noticed how I like posting pictures of Diana.  (she has been my best friend for over 27 years now)  lets see that probably means I hit the big 50 soon, ouch.  Anyway here she is in her kitchen.  No you cant see much of the kitchen but there is the Chainik (electric tea pot) as well as the regular kind on the stove in the background and the window which looks out at the rose in the last post.  Can you see the lace in the window.  That is used like fly screen here, it is interesting and kinda pretty too.  

The first week we were here we had lunch with some new friends.  They served us rice with lintels and a sort of almost TexMex enchilada sauce on top.  Diana being the Grandma at heart (In spirit only) that she is, she commented to our new friends daughter (about 9) that it looked really Yummy.  This precious young lady politely informed us that Yummy is the brand name of the paper on the roll by the toilet.  So not a good thing to equate with food.  Interesting.

Living in a new culture is always interesting.  It is quite intimidating as you make those first steps into the unknown.  In several languages there is a formal speak and an informal speak.  In english maybe the difference between (Hey Dude, and Excuse me Sir) sums it up.  In russian we learned that some verbs as they move into this tense at least some of the time use the (sounds like "eateya" or eat ya) ending which is easy to remember as when you are using the formal tense for the first times usually the apprehension makes it easy to picture the other person gobbling you up if you speak incorrectly.  Some things like that can add some humor to the situation and help ease the feelings and fear of the unknown.  Having lived in four new language locations now I have come to the conviction that no one should be able to complain about the inability of another to communicate well in the formers mother tongue until they can communicate better in the other fellows mother tongue.  Sort of the pot and kettle.  Regardless of the official language I shouldn't complain about Mr. Lee's english until I can tell him it stinks in Mandarin Chinese or whatever language his mom yelled at him using when he got his good clothes dirty chasing the farm cat under the barn.

Oh yes back to the beginning.  Well our young friend filled us in on the way things are done here.  Toilet paper is Yummy and you wash your dishes and clothes in

"And now you know the rest of the story"

(phrase shamelessly plagiarized from the Paul Harvey radio segment by the same name)

Keep your eyes on The SON

ST

our front yard

Hey what is in your front yard.  Over the years I have had cars, pickups, old cars, old pickups, running cars and pickups as well as the other kind, Tractors and other farm implements, barbique grills, friends eating Bratwurst and hotdogs, go-carts, an airplane without wings, strawberries, tropical flowers, mini-bikes, but today the rose Bloomed!

I am thanking the Fellow that made it.  It is an amazing thing.

Hope you have a bit of perfection in your life too.

ST

Camera out of my pocket

  Finally the sun shone while we were walking and I took some pictures as I was able through the trees of the Mountains and one fountain here along a main boulevard.  We live about a mile from some nice food stores and a reasonable restaurant.  the Bus costs between $0.13 and $0.26 each way but we often walk as it is nice and the bus is often pretty full.  The price depends on the type of bus not the distance or route

Here in our new home it is spring,  While still cool at times in the day when the sun shines it is quite nice.  The rain still falls regularly for now but when the sun shines the white on the peaks around the city is very pretty. 

.

Several of the bigger buildings here have fountains and they are starting to turn them on again for the summer.  The streets while not so smooth seem to be paved for the most part, at least in the parts of town we have visited.  The cost of living is not too bad with the national bread costing about $0.27 a piece.  Diana and I can eat about one a day with other things.  As we get more staple foods purchased we will probably drop that to about half a loaf, 

We ventured to a Bazar this saturday and purchased some things.  We found the long lighters and bought one for our gas stove which has no lighter built in.  We also bought a good pan and some other small required items.  A coffee Grinder was high on that list, along with a "Tiger Blanket"

  

as we find the house is cool but not cold enough to turn on the furnace.

While out rented house is lacking on view it is quiet and clean with big open rooms and western furniture.  The kitchen is the least well equipped part of the house but Diana would want to get or bring her own things for cooking anyway to that was ok.

We did get internet but it is limited use in the daytime and open at night.  This will make it nice to chat with people on the other side of the world but is already causing issues with our sleep cycle.

S.T.

Camera in my pocket

Hi again,  We are here.  One of my friends seems to blog about reading books a lot.  not that that bothers me but I just realized I was about to quote a line from a movie.  It is not as impressive to post a quote from "Bukaroo Bonzi" as it is say Tollken or Lewis, or even Sam Clemens,  BUT this fits.   "No matter where you go there you are"  well here we ARE.  Pictures soon I hope as this is quite a pretty place in a post soviet sort of way.  The people in our new home are friendly to a fault and the Skyline is just about impossible to beat.  Even coming from the Colorado Rockies the hills around town are very pretty and rugged looking.  

As always language is an issue in a new land.  Here we are able to use Russian with most people and if they are really patient with us we can communicate.  Russian is not a language learned but rather snatched bit by bit from the obscure corners of the memory, Usually half an hour after the conversation is over.  The simplest words often hiding behind some Spanish equivalent, only to pop up later when they are no longer needed.  

Diana likes the word Da,  in Russian it means Yes, in Spanish something else.  She sometimes gets a bit confused which meaning to apply and it can be fun to watch.  Last week we tried a cafe.  I would say it was a new cafe but we have only been here a week so they are all new.  I ordered Plove which is sort of Rice, meat, veggies, and lots of grease.  It slides down nicely.  My plate was too much for me so we planned to share it.  The waiter asked Diana if she wanted here own plate.  She intended to communicate that she would help with mine.  Her reply did not exactly communicate that idea to him.  I think it was something to do with her pointing at mine and repeating DA, Da, Da.  Neither of us could finish our plate of Plove.

I have been carrying my camera around with me in hopes of sharing some of the nicer views we have here.  If I remember I have it, it rains, If I forget it is sunny and clear.  Much like russian at some point the three will converge Memory Sun and view and I will post some more pictures of where we now live.

It's not so much the curves that life throws you but the turns you chose to take that makes it worth while.

ST

Taxi troubles

Today we flew to the capital to visit the Embassy and see if we can get a visa to make the move to the country our management as asked us to take a posting in.  As we don't have a car and the flight left at 8 and it is a 45 minute drive to the airport we called a cab.  This was a first for me.  I had never actually made the call to request a cab come pick us up before.  (Language milestone, calling a cab and actually getting one when you want it.)  But then maybe I should not have done it.

Our cab was waiting for us at 4:50 for a 5:00 pickup.  We thought that was probably a good sign and headed out the door.  Our first clue that something might be out of kilter was when we turned the wrong way to go to the airport.  I questioned this and received a suspicious answer but as the fare is by the trip not the time it was not too disconcerting that we took the scenic route.  I pretty quickly realized we were taking strategic allys and such to avoid police checkpoints.  Now that seems unusual but as the Russian traffic Police at times in the past have had a somewhat questionable reputation I decided that discretion may be the better part of Valor and the driver just wanted as few hassles as possible.

His plan worked well too as we avoided all police checkpoints until the last one.  He was invited inside the guard house and our next suggestion of trouble was the officer taping on my window telling me that we would not be going on with this taxi and that we would have to find another.   As my friend Rosane says, "OOOOkkaaaaaaaa".  We were about 10 miles from town, it was snowing pretty well, and we had just under 2 hours to catch our flight.

Well, the police did not live up to the feared reputation we had heard about.  They just asked each car that they stopped to take us to the airport.  We jumped into a nice SUV with a couple Russians who refused to take anything for hauling us the rest of the way.  7 hours later we were in Moscow trying to figure out where the bus to town was, but that could be another post. 

So what cool thing happened to you today, that makes you wonder, who should you thank for it?

We must be off.

Hummm I was just reading a post from a friend whom was talking about the word verification screen on some blog comment pages.  Seems she gets distracted trying to make words or sentences from them and forgets she is posting a comment and keeps hitting enter to see the next page in the game.  I can see her now hovering over the screen waiting and then contemplating the puzzle searching for the encoded tidbit of wisdom hidden in it.   I wonder if there is a PC game out yet to captivate and reduce productivity of others with the same mental bent.

As for me, I tend to always understand things in the wrong context.  Recently in a meeting I was asked if we had a resolution on what had just been discusses.  Silly me, I replied 1o80 I.  I guess I enjoy puns.  Have you ever tired to use a pun in language cross lingually.  Like translate a joke based on a pun into another language.  Usually you will get a really blank look followed by the (there is a reason they call them STRANGErs) look.  My screen resolution answer yielded one from the meeting participants.

But math related jokes translate.  Like this 

Q: What is a chick after it is 6 months old?  

A: Seven months old.

Ok yes I know a 50 year old telling 3rd grade riddles is a bit STRANGE but they are still fun.  I guess I enjoy the blank stare from those around me.  Sanity is relative, isn't it?  

Oh yes back to being off.  Plans have changed and we will be moving soon again.  We will miss our Russian friends and coworkers.  We will miss our adopted city and all the trees, Snow, dogs, and the nip in the air that makes your cheeks firm and ears feel like they are on fire.

So I must be off, I will post again as we have interesting things to report.  Hopefully all will be positive in some aspect.

Sometimes things happen that are well, kinda spooky.  A long time ago while people still used horses to travel in the USA and Alaska was not yet a state some people whose descendants would one day in the early 1980 s become my friends, received a letter from there relatives living in the  far off homeland of Germany I think.  This letter arrived in their post office with the only address on it being the persons name, the name of the city, and USA.  That was all it took, now had they lived in a common named city or a large city it may have never found them but as it happened they lived in a small town in Kansas which has the honor of probably being the only place on earth with that particular name it arrived.  Far-Out isnt it.

I always thought that was a rather quaint tail.  Well that is until last week.  Last week I received a letter here in Russia.  It was addressed to:

 "Siberia Tom and wife" 

Krasonyarsk Kray 

PO box #### 

Russia.  

Translated into American that is basically

"Siberia Tom and Wife" 

PO box ### 

midwest 

USA

Shades of Geroge Orwells world send shivers up my neck.  Who all know where I live???  Why do they Care??  

So what do you think......   Can the post office find you so easily??

Welcome aboard our Flight

Hey, have you ever flown?  You know in a real airliner, not one of those dependable little Bumble-Bees I work on.  Ok, ok, do you listen to the welcome Aboard Dream-air flight number 3332 from Inner-Podunk to Outer-Podunk tak-a-tak-a-tak-a ~~~ please note where the exits are ~~~ your life vest is under your seat~~~~~.  You know, "that part".  Do you pay attention to it?  Maybe you should, really, I mean, you should listen to it.  There can be some rather important news included.

Last week I had a conference in Turkey.  (It is really a tough life and Yes I am making the sacrifice to fill in as best I can.  I did spare Diana the hardship of this trip so she could enjoy February in Siberia at -40f/c while I toughed it out on the beach)  I thought that was the least I could do for her with Valentines-day coming up so quickly.  All that travel and nothing to do there on the beach but sit and go shopping and tour Antalya while I had meetings.  Nope, no fun for her there.

I like dogs so I thought I would include this pup just to cheer you up,  I can tell you were feeling sorry for me and I didn't want that feeling to get too strong, I mean I do appreciate it but really I can handle the stress of these hardship assignments as they only come along now and then.  

   Anyway back to the flight info announcement.  The background is important here so please bear with me.

    I left Turkey at about 15:50 arrived in Moscow about 19:55 and boarder my flight to Home about 00:45.  So along about 1:00 am the cabin crew is making the announcement relaying between Russian and English.  The lady doing the English part is not a native English speaker but her accent pronunciation and inflection are really good so I am kind of think wow I wish my Russian was as good as her English is and listening to the announcement but not as close as I could have been. 

 She does the seat belt part, the life vest part, the oxygen mask part, and then starts in on the legal part,  No smoking, no drinking your own booze and these laws are part of the XYZ code of federal aviation law in the Russian federation and if you are caught breaking any of these laws you will have to go to Church.

What a Country.

Amen 

Over past finished done.

Yes well, now we have moved into the has-been column for history to record and remember as a foot note *Tom and Diana were in Mongolia for 4 months between October 08 and January 09.  During the last days in Mongolia we enjoyed watching our friends win the Mongolian national Hockey tournament.   Go Pelicans.  There is something oximoronical about that name for a Hockey team isn't there?  Through that we met some interesting people.  One was a starter on the team.  #777 he is 53 years old and is the pastor of a energetic church in UlaanBaator.  We were told that he is still an effective Hockey player as in the culture one must respect ones elders and as he is so old no one on the opposing team can hit him, thus he can often score where a younger player would be knocked out of position.  He also has a very mature knowledge of the game and tends to be at the right spot at the right time.

John Luke and his family returned to UlaanBaator and we were not needed there any more.  The night he arrived as we pulled up to the guard gate our friend Sufda asked John Luke what the man opening the gates name was.  He replied Sambeno.  The guard then recognized him and greeted John Luke like a favorite nephew he had not seen for a long time.  

As I left the building that night to go back to the hotel where we stayed the last few nights I thought about how much we had enjoyed our time in Mongolia and the people we met and some we were able to help in one way or another and how the guard had greeted the son of the regular manger on there return and I knew it was time to go, time to move on, time to go home to Russia where we have other friends to care about and to be there for and yes to love as one does extended family,  the brothers and sisters we accumulate who just don't happen to have the same parents.

The memories we carry home are special;  Good food at really good prices at restaurants in UlaanBaator,  Special friends in the office who we will cherish knowing for many years,  baatar and David special folks who are in the same line of work as our Father.  We really enjoyed talking about the family business with them.  Diana found her fur coat in Mongolia.  We decided that wearing Sheep skin is actually greener than a synthetic coat that contributes to global warming.  Even greener than one with down as there is synthetic materials used in the shell and stitching.  Yes the only way to really fight global warming is to only buy real fur coats.  Besides she looks pretty cute in her Darkhan Minj Mongolian sheepskin.   Speaking of Global warming there is some debate here in Siberia as to it really being all that bad.  Tomorrow night is forecast to hit -50f here, at -70f the trees start to explode.  Some more global warming should help save some trees so would it not be greener to warm up some more?  "right Jewel"?

We did enjoy a 44 hour train ride home with our boss in the coupe as well as a nice Mongolian lady who seemed to have bits of clothing and shoes and blankets scattered all over the car.  It was a rather interesting ride especially at the border where she managed to be wearing about 6 shirts and 3 or 4 pairs of pants and a couple coats while we were clearing customs.  The heat in the car also seemed to have been set to about 90f at the crossing for some unknown reason.  We saw one of her friends being escorted off the car with a queen sized blanket full of coats, shirts, pants, shoes, and all kinds of nice stuff from China.  Later in the trip we saw the nice lady literally selling the shirts off of her back at each train platform in Russia.

Quiz time.  Both of you who read this,  As I am now back in Russia and soon may be off to another location should Sambeno be replaced with a more local themed blog or has Tom and Sambeno become one linked eternally in your mind thus changing it would doubtless result in causing irreparable damage to your mental state?  Ok really, should Sambeno only deal with Mongolia stuffffff?

What do you say When:

  This is our last week in Mongolia.  At this time we are getting packed up and ready.  Our tirp will take 44 hours on the train to travel the 800 miles.   We head north in a few days back to our adopted home.  After only  a year we have come to like Siberia.  This coming year may change our thoughts but for now we look forward to going back.   Which brings me to the subject of this post.  

The following questions are from a different time and place While these things occurred, none were in Russia or Mongolia.

  What do you say when the National Guard sentry at the checkpoint requests to see the receipt for your 4 year old hair dryer in your suitcase?  Is "Why?" an adequate response?  Or the receipt for your camera which you bought in another country many years previously?  What is a culturally sensitive reply?  Is Why rude?

  What do you say when the somewhat inebriated National Police Airport Guard who is holding the machine gun asks for money to buy batteries for his flashlight so he can guard your Hangar?  Do you help buy his next bottle of Whisky or risk him holding a grudge?

  What do you say when the City Policeman who is holding the machine gun at the checkpoint  asks you to take a Pregnant lady from that town to the hospital in some city on up the highway as she is giving birth now and they have no money to buy gas for the ambulance and you are driving a company car with a no passengers policy?  How could you refuse even knowing that the hospital is actually just a location and there may not actually be any Medical equipment or staff there?  

  What do you say to your coworkers in a war zone when they ask if all the armed people walking around bother you?  However you hadn't noticed that there were that many as the country you had just lived in for 9 years which was not at war had more solders carrying automatic weapons on the streets and it actually felt less threatening than where you were? 

  So what do you say?  I'm not going to tell you.  Think it over and let me know.  I am interested.

Tom.

Crisp morning air

In Mongolia occasionally we have a nice fresh morning where the crisp air puts a bit of color in your cheeks and a fresh spring in your step.  This morning was one of those.  The internet said it was -22 f but we are never sure if anything on the internet is actually true.  Today was special as Diana arrived at the office with new hi-lights in her hair.  Are not they the cutest thing you ever saw?  Look how the white contrasts with the fresh pink in her cheeks.

Betcha wish you could be here too.

The best toy I ever had was A

My Grandfather ran a Saw sharpening, Glass cutting, and Lawnmower repair company.  He was a survivor from the Depression.  He once told me that after he got married to my grandmother he had to take the only job he could find.  That job was in a Rendering plant.  Those of you from non rural backgrounds may not know what that is, and to be truthful I only know from his description.  Then that was where they took the farm animals who had died or were too sick to save.  The critter was processed to retrieve the Lard or Tallow or whatever name given to the fat from that species.  So picture this, working in a place that cooks rotting animals to retrieve the fat.  I guess the fat has some kind of industrial uses, but probably not for making Pizza.  They had a garden that could feed 20 for a year.  But that is not the topic for today.

The contraption is.  Pop H.(grandpa) built it for me.  That is a sad copy of it in the picture below.  To me the 200 shot Dasiy Red Rider repeating carbine from A Christmas Story paled in comparison.  (I had both so I can make that statement)

These young drivers are about 2 and 4 when this picture was taken.  No safety gear, no brakes no guard on the drive belt.  And the best toy I ever had.  My contraption lasted from when I was about 4 until I was too big to fit behind the steering wheel.  Probably about age 13.  It was great.  I wore out 3 or 4 B&S 3.5 hp engines over the years,  Countless tires who knows how many tones of carbon I reintroduced to the atmosphere helping to warm the planet.  I liked it so much I built the one above for my sons.  An old Cooper-Clipper reel-type lawn mower sacrificed its life for my sons entertainment.  Later in life it sprouted 600/6 aircraft tires for the back and it looked like a little drag racing rail.  Josh was light enough to do wheelies and leave black marks with it (He was about 3).  (calm down Diana it only goes about as fast as you can walk)

Here is a picture of the car some friends gave us to use in 1999.  Smoky Joe as this Voayger came to be known was a good car.  It needed Valve guides so if it idled for long it earned its name. (usually by fogging the intersection where you were waiting on the green light)  In Ven we could have earned extra cash by adding insecticide to the oil and renting it out as a Mosquito fogger.  We didn't drive it much for that reason as West Nile virus had not hit yet and fogging Mosquitos was not an appreciated practice in Colorado then.  Smokey Joe was a dependable car, got reasonable gas milage and seated 7.  Our older son learned to drive in that car.  We passed it along to another needy person who fixed the Valve Guides and we saw it around town for several years following that.

Then came the Blue Bug, our oldest sons first car.  The Turbo Diesel part made it ok for a guy to drive.  It also burnt oil but it was by design.  It got 45 to 48 mpg so we saved a lot on fuel but due to the constant requirement to purchase parts to keep it running it was not such an economical car to own.  

The younger son learned to drive in this one, as it is also 2wd he learned how to dig out when it got stuck.  Known as Larry Boy for obvious reasons it soldiers on today unless something has happened he hasn't told us about yet.

 last but not least is the  Gherkin.  No real story here it was not mine but I did like the way the front suspension broke for no reason with no warning so I threw in the picture.  It had the GM version of ABS which in this case stood for anti stop brakes.  I still remember the looks on the policemen in the toyota as the Gherkins brakes did nothing while I mashed the brake peddle to the floor trying not to rear end them.  Luckily for all of us they cleared the pothole and accelerated away just as I rolled into it so I missed them by 6 or 8 feet.  A genuine light duty GM vehicle.  The paved roads in Venezuela shook it to pieces.  I never managed to finish the trip across Venezuela to Puerto Ordaz without buying tires or bus tickets to finish the trip.  Buen viaje amigos.

Coffee, Ice, Sun, & 2009

This morning we went out with some friends to visit a bit.  My friends in South America are always trying to rub in the fact that we are a long way from Coffee.  Well actually it is only half a block walk.  This cups is for you and you know who you are..

I have been trying to tell people for years Diana has a thing for a guy with a mustache.  Well here is the proof.  This poor Gent. was just minding his own business standing in front of the Lego store and she was, Well you can see... making eyes at him...  To his credit though he gave her the cold shoulder.

And then to make matters worse, this Ice Bear had to pick up her Cub and hold him out of reach where Diana could not take his bottle of Coke.  It is time to leave Mongolia she is totally losing it here.

The Coffee was good and the Ice sculptures are nice.  Today was bright sunny and felt pretty warm it was a nice day to be out and about.  Then our friends showed us a restaurant where they make a pretty good Philly-Cheese-Steak sandwich.  It was the kind of place where it seems like you are friends with everyone in the restaurant.   They have a webpage  www.subbaatar.com and check it out.

Here is wishing you have a good 2009, happy New Year from Mongolia.