Icemouse

My cheap laptop mouse that was manufactured in China and purchased in Iraq has died. :-( So I figured I would try to fix it using only duct tape, a leatherman, and a pocket knife. That's really all you need to fix anything according to 80's television shows like Macgyver and the A-Team, so I figured it should work in Iraq in 2009 also.

But alas, it did not. The wires are too small to put back together with duct tape. The small wires are what caused the problem in the first place. With normal use over only four months the wires cut themselves just from being moved around right where they connected to the mouse. My cheap Chinese mouse has made me a sad Chinese panda. :(

Now I can't easily finish my game of Duke Nukem 3D which I had been fully engrossed in since 6am this morning after my internet went down for a while. Then on top of that, I find out that 3D Realms has gone out of business, which means there may never be a Duke Nukem Forever to follow up Duke Nukem 3D! Even after over 10 years Duke Nukem 3D is still fun. Imagine how fun Duke Nukem Forever could have been. IMAGINE!

But I guess the good news is that I'll be home very soon and I can play other more modern games with a mouse and full keyboard and two monitors on my Mac with upgraded video card and RAM. Happy days. Does anyone want to buy a slightly used ATI x1900 video card? I will sell it to you for $1,000.

Do you often wake up in the middle of the night in a panic wondering where the coolest place to hang out at in Iraq is? Me either. But if you did, this is the place:

It may not look like a very happening club, but it is indeed "cool" if you get my meaning! (My meaning is that it is the ice house, which is cold so that the ice doesn't melt, if you didn't in fact get my meaning.)

Iraqi soda cans have heavier bottoms than American cans. I don't remember if I already talked about this, but it is a fact. They also have the more old-fashioned pull tab that actually comes off. I find this inferior to the American design because you then have to dispose of the tab in some way before you finish your beverage (which isn't that big of a problem since this is Iraq, you can just throw it on the ground), and also because of the way you open it a lot more "spray" comes out, even if the can has not been agitated. I also have seen multiple tabs come off of the can without actually opening it, which leaves you with quite a predicament. Without the proper tab a soda cannot easily be opened without exploding, so usually these cans have to be turned into soda grenades.

I'm apparently getting a roommate tomorrow, which is good because it means I leave soon, but bad because I will have a roommate. It also means I will have to clean my room sooner than I had mentally prepared myself for, which really messes up my planned activities for the day which consisted of reading the interwebs and/or magazines. I feel like I should also spend the rest of the day in my room naked, since it is the last day of privacy I will have until I leave, and I wouldn't want to waste the opportunity to fully utilize that privilege.

My backpack isn't very big, it's hard to fit 72 hours worth of clothes and supplies into it for the trip home.

Fingernails are weird. What if we had fingernail-like things on our knees and elbows? The knee and elbow pad industry would be hurting.

When I was buying supplies before I came out where I bought some new socks as the ones I had were from basic training and pretty horrible. I bought some socks that were ridiculously expensive, about $9 per pair. They are special socks for wear with combat boots and in conditions like Iraq. I have to say they were worth the money. They are very good socks. They have multiple types of elastic and fibers and thickness at all the stress-points on your foot, and they always fit perfectly without bunching up at the toes or wearing out easily on the heel. If you ever wear boot-like foot coverings, I would recommend getting some nice socks. The ones I got were from FoxRiver, and they apparently even have a program where you can buy socks for military members an they'll ship them to them for free. That's nice. By comparison the socks we are issued at basic training and even when getting our issued items to come over here are awful. They are just straight wool socks and they are hot, bunch up everywhere, stretch out, and have no support or padding.