A Triumphant Return to Orkney

I first arrived in Orkney on the night of 7th September 2004. It turned out to be an unexpected paradise, and for the subsequent eight years, one month, and fifteen days, I dreamed of returning. Last Thursday, just before midnight, I achieved that dream.

Ladies and gentlemen, I spent the weekend in Orkney, one of my two favorite non-American locations on the planet. I spent the entire weekend experiencing what the islands had to offer to me, and took more than 250 pictures. Orkney boasts such a wealth of history, and so many distinct and fascinating attractions, that there would be no way to do any of it justice with just one post. Therefore, over the ensuing weeks, I'll be posting one or two features about Orkney per week under the featured tag "Island Paradise". After more than eight years, it will be a labor of love that I expect to perceive as being practically effortless.

Pictured is me at the top of Wideford Hill, overlooking the Orcadian capital of Kirkwall. Stay tuned, 'cause there's plenty more where that came from.

Three Busy Weeks

It's been sort of a busy week. The next couple of weeks look busy, too. Here's what's been going on.

Today was our first for-credit event. Well, let me qualify that: a few people have made presentations in Strategic Intelligence, but the first main event for all of us was today. With a time limit of ninety minutes and four available topics, we were to write an essay of approximately two thousand words. The available topics were as follows:

1. What is strategy, and how useful is strategic analysis in national security policy-making?

2. Identify the tenets of the strategic thought of two of the following: Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Machiavelli, Clausewitz and Van Creveld. Assess their validity to modern conditions of conflict.

3. Explain why and how the conduct of war was transformed between 1815 and 1914.

4. Consider the view that the use of the military instrument is no longer a viable foreign policy option.

We were allowed a half-sheet of notes, not to exceed one hundred fifty words. Over the last several days, we carefully assembled these note sheets - mine was put together a couple of weeks ago, and I refined it twice last night. From the sound of things, everybody came ready for a fight today, because everyone I talked to was pretty satisfied with their performance. My confidence, preparation, and pre-exam rituals paid off. I won't know for sure until next week, but I'm fairly confident in my performance. I was taught to write well, and under duress, by four of the best teachers and professors a guy could hope for. I was also taught military history by a series of exceptional instructors, and for that I'm quite grateful.

So, that kept me busy the last couple of days. My presentation for Strategic Intel is tomorrow afternoon, and I'll be spending Friday, Saturday, and Monday working on a project to be discussed later.

In mid-November, I have a five thousand word essay due for Strategic Intel, but Gus will also be arriving during that timeframe with my other sea bag, so I'm going to try to get that essay completed next week. I've got it to about seventy-five percent, what remains is to finish the writing, refine the writing and format, and then reformat it for submission. I think that if I focus next week, I can get it done.

I have a few items waiting in the hopper, so I'll try to spread them out over the course of next week. Stay tuned. Good things are coming to the Operation Highlander blog.

Around Aberdeen: A Well-Defended Barber

In 2004, I accidentally stumbled upon an Aberdeen landmark while I was looking for the Central Library.

That's a statue of the legendary William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland and ally to Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. Since then, it's been one of the landmarks I've used to plan before my arrival, and to navigate by since my return a few weeks ago. One of the bus stops on the route that runs from campus is adjacent to the statue, so I'll often get off at that stop and walk the rest of the way to whatever destination is on my agenda.

The first week I was there, I noticed something important:

I went in a few weeks ago to have them trim my beard, and I've been in twice since then to have my head shaved. Like in the Middle East, I was offered coffee or tea, lathered up, and shaved clean with a straight razor. I love having a fresh shave on my head, and having a Turk, or an Iranian, or a Pakistani do it is a fantastic experience. My first experience with a Middle Eastern barber took place in London in March of 2003, with a Turkish barber. I had never, and haven't since, had an American barber provide the kind of service available from Middle Eastern barbers. When I lived in the Middle East, my favorite thing to do was go get my head shaved and beard trimmed by a Pakistani barber. I looked forward to it and savored it while it was happening.

So, the next time you need your beard trimmed or your head shaved in Aberdeen, head on over to City Barber, near the William Wallace statue at the north end of Union Terrace Gardens.

One Pub Crawl to Rule Them All

On Saturday night, the 2012/'13 MSc in Strategic Studies class held a pub crawl.

I started my night at Lionel's, and loaded up on a big plate of kebab and chips. From there, I made my way to the first stop The Archibald Simpson. The group began to conglomerate, and those who hadn't eaten enjoyed a dinner of burgers and beers. I reacquainted myself with Carlsberg. The conversations were varied and, for the most part, segregated by location. By the time we we had been there a couple of hours, those in attendance were Ness, Odin, Sister, Homeboy, GBU-16, Kaiser, and myself.

At this point, we moved across the street to the Old Blackfriars, where I enjoyed a Guinness, and where we were joined by Slapshot and his fetching girlfriend, whose code name I imagine to be forthcoming. When we'd finished there, it was around the block to The Illicit Still, where I enjoyed a pint of Best. (I can't remember what the brewing company was, and a search for "best beer" doesn't exactly turn up any useful results. Topics of conversation included Italy, and the sordid cultural practices of the Greeks and Afghans. Our next stop was the Siberia Vodka Bar, where we stayed for only about twenty minutes, long enough for a couple of shots. Then, it was across the street to Slain's Castle, where I enjoyed a nip of The MacAllen, followed by a round of shots of sambuca - Sister and I were less than thrilled by the black licorice taste, her less so than me.

As Slain's Castle (not the be confused with Slane Castle in Ireland) was closing, and GBU-16 in particular was getting a bit peckish, there was only one option: off to Lionel's.

Our group ordered some chow, and was joined momentarily by Vlad. As usual, the crew at Lionel's took excellent care of us. Having lost Slapshot and his companion by that point, Odin and Kaiser left while we were all at Lionel's, and the rest of us decided amongst ourselves to head to one more venue: the Grosvenor G Casino. Once inside, I decided that I didn't want to give them a bunch of my personal information, so while my party went inside, I decided to have myself a bit of a stroll. I photographed a statue (images forthcoming), and found one of Aberdeen's portable urinals.

When the casino run was over, we parted company, and Sister and I stood in line for around half an hour waiting for a cab. It turned out that two of the three guys from my barber shop (post forthcoming) were in line ahead of us, so as one of them enjoyed the company of his date, Sister and I conversed with the other. We finally got a cab, which dropped Sister off, and then took me back to my place. I got to bed shortly after 4:00 AM, and slept until 2:30 PM.

Epic. Truly epic.

The Proclaimers in Aberdeen

Remember back in July, when I found out that the Proclaimers would be in Orkney? Well, the next best thing to seeing the Proclaimers in Orkney is seeing them in Aberdeen. Unfortunately, I've waited long enough that there aren't really any good seats left, but that won't stop me from plopping down sixty quid on a couple of adequate seats and seeing if I can find someone to go with me.

And for Lady Jaye, who thinks she's never heard of the Proclaimers: yes, you have.



That's their most popular song (in America), but my favorite? From the same album, Sunshine on Leith, it's "Oh Jean". (Fair warning, folks, it's a bit direct.)



Then again, this song from their next album, Hit the Highway, is also quite good.



I can't wait! I'd better buy my tickets today!

Postgraduate Study: A Poor Life Choice?

Apparently The Simpsons have taken the mick out of graduate students, too.



Here's another one - viewer discretion is advised.



In addition, according to the BBC, Scottish universities have dropped in world university rankings according to The Times, save for the University of Edinburgh. (Congratulations, Cali!) I'm actually not particularly worried, though, and I remain confident that my decision to do this particular course in Aberdeen was the right choice, both for me and for my career.

The Songs that Remind You 2

I was first made aware of Amy Macdonald when she performed "Slow It Down" on Radio Orkney. Honestly, I think I prefer the acoustic version she did on Radio Orkney better than the album version, but they're both good. Unfortunately, the mp3 is no longer available on Radio Orkney's SoundCloud page. Anyway, Aberdeen's Original 106 has been playing her current single, "This Is The Life".



Without going into too much detail, another album that always reminds me of my time in West Sussex in 2004 is the debut album from Maroon 5, Songs About Jane. Even though it was released two years earlier, they were still promoting it when I was there, and there are a couple of songs in particular that remind me of my time there. I actually bought my copy at a record store in Worthing (which appears to have since gone under). Anyway, a few days ago, I was introduced through Facebook to a cover of the new Maroon 5 single, "One More Night", which made me look up the video itself.



There are two great covers, one by a gaggle of apparent YouTube personalities(?), only one of whom I've ever heard of, and another by a new band that's trying to get off the ground. Here they are.

YouTube celebrities' cover

Future Ghosts' cover

I'll keep posting them as they keep coming up.

Found: Supply Depot

Those who know me well know that in addition to spreadsheets, my life is organized using 3"x5" index cards. I'm very particular about my note cards: they have to be white, they have to be blank, and they have to be three inches by five inches. I've looked in several places, but haven't been able to find them.

That is, until Saturday.

Feeling the need to accomplish something after puttering around on Saturday, I decided to plug "stationery shop" into Google Maps. What I discovered is that within walking distance of campus, there's a Staples.


View Larger Map

It's not labeled on the map, but one of those white warehouses in that commercial park is Staples. It wasn't as big, and didn't boast the kind of selection that an American Staples would boast, but with a bit of help, I was able to find...

... index cards. Or, as they appear to be referred to locally, "record cards". They're white, they're blank (unruled), and they're 3"x5"... Which is apparently 76x127 "mm", whatever that means. At any rate, these additional cards, and the ability to resupply them, will help me to study, primarily Arabic, but also possibly some of my security-related studies as well. This is an excellent development, and their proximity to campus is a great boon to my efforts.

The other office supply I'd like to get a hold of is some 8.5"x11" typing paper. Here, they use "A4", which is closer to legal-sized paper. One of the administrative staff in the School of Social Science said my best bet would be to take some A4 and use the paper cutter to cut it to size, which I may just have to bite the bullet and do. One thing's for sure, "A4" won't fit appropriately into my Kevlar clipboard.