Slide 1

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 2

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 3

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 4

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 5

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 6

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 7

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 8

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 9

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 10

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 11

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 12

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 13

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 14

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 15

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 16

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 17

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 18

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 19

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 20

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.


Slide 21

Hello from Kandahar Air Field – KAF
Photo taken from atop a sewage filter built into a shipping container, (be happy that smello-vision was never perfected). A lot of people live in the tents.
***All my slides are described from top-right around clock-wise.***

Dirt Devil Mother Nature's vacuum

It's quite dusty here. The
dust is very fine and
pernicious.

At right is a prefabricated,
concrete bunker. There's a
cement plant on the camp.

1. Building
construction
Almost everything is
made from shipping
containers (sea cans),
or containers of their
dimensions.
These ones are being
formed into a building
by Filipino workmen.
On the right are how
they arrive new – flat,
then they're set up as
standalone structures
or in a complex for
offices, or
accommodation,
washrooms, and so
on.
Some Sea Cans are
refrigerator units, or
are used for storage.
You can order
prefabricated buildings
as well: kitchens,
games rooms, and so
on.
They can be
transported by sea, air,
or on land via truck or
train.

2. Side-story
In Bosnia, we met a visiting Canadian bureaucrat, from Ottawa. He was walking with a
clipboard in his hand, mumbling, “Oh, there you are...” My friend asked, “What are you up to?”
He spun on his heel. He pointed his finger at us, and snapped, “I know where EVERY sea can
in theatre is!” Good for you...loves his job, I guess. He kept a database of sea cans by serial
number and would come over for a month at a time to track them.

I'll show you around a bit.
My street, the showers and so on are at the end.

...my old room,
with A/C, DVD, and a TV. My new
room doesn't have a TV. And, it's not
as messy now that we have our
wardrobes to store things in.
As my fridge magnet at home says,
“Housecleaning is a snap, since I
realized - Hey, I'm a guy!”

...the office...
This was during the construction phase.

...generator, four-wheeler, Transport office...
We have six different types of four-wheelers and cart-type trucks,
five are automatics. It's easy to find parking for one.

Random pics: a well-head and water bladder (the water table is very high, 7-10m down), Soviet apartments
(from when they ran the airport), and a bus with a happy past (the Happo-one ski school bus). There are a lot of
old right-hand drive Japanese vehicles here, (after ten years it's difficult to keep a vehicle licensed in Japan).
Lastly, the line-up at Tim Hortons on the boardwalk. There's also a Subway, Korean Snack place, Burger King, ice
cream stand, Pizza Hut as well as a tailor, rug merchant and other things. The tailor's making me a suit.

People

These kids attend the market with their fathers, to tout various goods, mostly cricket-sounding toys for $1,
but also glass jewelry and Afghani and even some Iraqi money. I bought some money from them. No
collection is complete without Saddam Dinars. Just off-hand I'd say three-quarters of them want their
picture taken, however, the other quarter want a rifle. The market has some good deals, like six pirated
DVDs for $10, complete with people moving in front of the camcorder, coughing, laughing...

...the Bulgarian compound.
When off-duty they can watch a movie, sit out for a smoke, call home, go to the gym or watch Bulgarian TV on the
satellite. My friend George, in the middle, has, using rocks, killed two poisonous snakes in the past month. He met
them on the road. We all use flashlights at night now.

The Uzbeks and Turks: our construction sub-contractors.
They only buy and prepare local food from the market, and they drink a lot of soft
drinks. They also make a nice samogon.

More people
The company has hired some Canadians, a
few Americans, some Brits, Bosnians and
East Indians and quite a few Filipino
workers. Our Filipinos are adept at finding
and creating shade, and playing Checkers
with bottle lids. The Bosnian fellow is there
to keep everyone honest.
An American “couple” on a Gator, and some
French cyclists.
I think the French have just arrived at KAF
since President Sarkozy was sworn-in. Their
uniforms, along with the Romanians and
Australians, are the most unusual here.

...the Romanian church...
They share a compound area with the Bulgarians,
hence the flag (behind the British one).

Me: walking back from lunch, two-finger typing in the office while listening to my crank-up radio, driving a
diesel Ford Ranger (in Asia!), and not-so patiently waiting with Ivan on the shuttle.

More of my
favourite subject
We were on our way to a funeral for a Filipino bus
driver. Apparently he either, had a heart attack, or
choked, while eating a bag of M&Ms.
Say what you want, I still eat them.

The other Filipinos slept in the hall until the priest came
and blessed the room. I'm following my friend Mike's
adage, “If you want anyone to show up at your funeral,
you have to go to theirs.”
At the office, (look no cubicle!), although obviously
you're in my personal space. Leave some snacks and
back away slowly.

Wildlife
The dark picture is of a jackal passing by the office.
Next we have a captured hedgehog, later safely
released outside the camp. Lastly, is a little lizard.
There are also spiders the size of mice, feral cats, and
poisonous snakes as well as the mice that they feed
on. We (not me, of course) do pest control, among
other things. I'm astonished anything can live in the
desert, but it does. I saw a beautiful hare as well, but
didn't get its picture. It was so big I thought it was a
deer or a dog.

Camp: Lake Ca-ca (the sewage lagoon), the eating mess, the car wash, the 'Yard' (there's a humongous
boardwalk with an exercise yard in the middle). Insert your own Yard Ape joke here.

Various
Jingle trucks, from Pakistan, they
transport things to/from the border and
beyond. Some goods arrive at Karachi
by sea. The jingles are to ward off evil
spirits. A number of trucks and drivers
don't make it to their destinations.
Dutch Salsa dance lessons (my coworker Salsas.)
Senators, Canadiens and army
paraphernalia at the market. I think
there's a Leafs door-mat in there too.

More
random
photos

Here's the spa for massage, pedicure and manicures. The spa workers
are all ethnic Russians from Kyrgyzstan.
Next is an American café, with my co-worker Judy and a Canadian
Logistics Major. The Major was embedded with our company in
Bosnia, five years ago, as a Lieutenant. The hottie in the right corner
works at the spa.
Lastly, we have a speed limit sign. The speed limits are enforced by
Military Police speed traps. My old room-mate got caught doing
22km/h; maniac.

Canadian Gym

Billy Blanks came to visit and perform at KAF. You know him – the Taebo guy. I was
hoping he'd show up and perform at 2:00 a.m. like his infomercials on TV. I planned
on going and yelling insults, just like at home when he comes on the TV.
Unfortunately, I had a nap and slept through his performance.
There are several gym facilities. My co-workers and I train at the Canadian one, with
Jasmin, a Bosnian kick-boxing enthusiast. The gym is good for cardio, weights and
gymnastics/boxing. Exercising passes the time.
My favourite facility is the newly-opened British cinema. They show movies
every night, like “Running Man”, “Wedding Crashers” and tomorrow night it's “Fist Full
of Dollars”. That guy on the left is just a blur of activity, over there, eh? You can
almost smell Jasmin's fear, or maybe that's Billy Blanks' fear. For all his boxercising
– he never has an opponent.

View of one of bin Laden's old offices from our office window.
Local Afghan de-miners are employed clearing this field so the camp can expand.