Brrrr. . . . .Winter is here.

Hello everyone,

I just switched my blog over to the new style so if there are any problems viewing the page let me know.

I haven't written in a while because there hasn't been a whole lot going on around here to talk about. My birthday was a few days ago, but it wasn't anything real significant. Thanks though to those people who sent birthday wishes and cards. I must have received over 30 cards in the mail mostly from people in Arizona. Hmmm, I think my mother must have been out telling people to write me again. . . .

We are halfway through the month, and if calculations are correct we will be heading home in about four months. Four months left out of an eighteen month deployment! The good news also is that we will be de-mobilizing at Fort McCoy, WI so we will be close to home. I guess most of the focus around here is on the time because we can see the home stretch coming.

It took me quite a while to read the first book I ordered from B&N last month: The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. It was a very thought provoking book that contained many interesting conjectures on the theories of the why humans reproduce as they do. More interesting to me however were the thoughts on human nature and how we develop the human characteristics that we have. The reading level is elevated as you need some biology background to grasp some of the concepts presented, but if you take your time you can still enjoy the book. I'd recommend it to those of you interested in or studying biology/anthro/etc.

I am 3/4 the way through A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and I will let you know how that goes. So far, it has strained my theoretical physics capabilities and sometimes I find myself having to re-read and spend a lot of time visualizing some of the concepts.

Oh yes and the weather of course. I mentioned a while ago that we were heading into the winter months and I can safely say that we are there now. It was down in the 40's the other day with highs in the 60's! Combine that with the rain and the mud and we have had some miserable days out on the road. Our gunners have had some miserable times up in the turret and the inside of our trucks have been full of water. You have to love the weather here, going from too hot and dry, to too cold and wet. I guess that is just the way it goes in the desert. No need for the air conditioner any more!

Have a great weekend!
Nick

Post Scriptum: I haven't mentioned the Vikings because I am worried about the comments I will receive from the Packers fans. Does somebody want to tell me what's going on with our team?