Whoops! March Got Away From Me

Alright, so with respect to the blogging (among other things), I've been falling down on the job lately. I think it's going to get better, but here's the apology, and the context.

Today was supposed to be the second day of my "Spring Term" for my self-imposed academic calendar. I didn't really complete my goals for last term's courses. I finished reading Arabian Sands for ENG 199, but have yet to finish my presentation on Thesiger's cultural observations. I've had some extenuating circumstances arise that have prevented me from completing my PAC 130 goals - that was always the course that was most likely to get neglected, but I swear it was outside my control. I was supposed to read something on the order of four books for BA 480, and I literally didn't finish a single chapter. I got some good work done for HST 406, but not as much as I wanted to. I was most successful with REL 199, and was closest to completing it, but I didn't finish it; as I'm due to join the Roman Catholic Church in just over two weeks, I'm still working on that one to ensure that I meet the requirements prior to Easter. I also spent a great deal of February and March applying for jobs, which became a higher priority than some of these other projects. I'm working on adjusting my plan for "Spring Term" so that I can complete ENG 199 and REL 199, and continue with HST 406. At present, I don't have the funds to complete my goals for CS 406, so I'm going to repeat BA 480 and try to kill at least one of those certifications.

With respect to the Joshua Tree Report, I've spent the last couple of Sundays working on those REL 199 lessons, and I've attended Mass both weekends. I've chosen to attend Mass at a beautiful church that Lady Jaye and I visited for the first time in 2015. That's cut into the time that I would normally have used to complete the Joshua Tree Report. I think some of that will settle down in the next couple of weeks... Well, by the end of April, I think. Oh, and I was working on a super secret project for Lady Jaye, that took up some of that time, too.

"Winter Term" was always going to be a tall order. (So will the rest of them, but Winter was going to be a special challenge because it involved changing some long-standing habits.) I'm particularly pleased with how I did in January, I'm pleased that I made progress on several specific projects, and I'm looking forward to more regular postings of the Joshua Tree Reports and more reliable completion of my seasonal projects. Stay tuned, ladies and gentlement.

Joshua Tree Report Special Edition: 13 March 2017

This is a special edition of the Joshua Tree Report. It covers February 20th through March 12th.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 57° Fahrenheit and the weather is mostly cloudy. The temperature in Kirkwall is 6° centigrade and the weather is rainy. The temperature in Muscat is 33° centigrade and the weather is clear. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $48.40, and $1.22 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is the Cydonia, the location of the infamous "Face on Mars".

In the News

Here are a few of the recent weeks' top stories.

Why the French elections will change the face of Europe (al Jazeera)

Why is UAE building a military base in Somaliland? (BBC)

Navistar to upgrade MRAP vehicles for UAE (UPI)

Mass Spying Isn’t Just Intrusive - It’s Ineffective (Wired)

Iranian ships 'force' US and Royal Navy vessels to change course (BBC)

Mike Pence used an AOL e-mail account for state business and it got hacked (Ars Technica)

Yahoo cookie hacks affected 32 million accounts, CEO foregoes bonus (Ars Technica)

WikiLeaks Releases CIA Hacking Tools (Schneier on Security)

All Bets Are Off as a Surprise Offensive Roils the Libyan War (War is Boring)

Factions fight for two Libyan oil terminals (al Jazeera)

Scottish independence: SNP's economic case 'should not include oil' (BBC)

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish: Trump's Misguided Views of European Defense Spending (War on the Rocks)

Trumpeting the Alliance: How Much Will the United States and Japan Lean on Each Other (War on the Rocks)

Preventing a Credibility Crisis in America's Most Important Alliance (War on the Rocks)

That Time Chechen Rebels Floated Into Combat on Inner Tubes (War is Boring)

Catholic dissent: When wrong turns out to be right (U.S. Catholic)

Doner kebab and integration: A story worth telling (al Jazeera)

Kuwait cracks down on state employees faking work (BBC)

Watch Dubai evolve from desert to cosmopolitan in 32 years (Khaleej Times)

New Zealand garden gnome thefts 'fund meth trade' (BBC)

Origin of Wireless Security: The Marconi Radio Hack of 1903 (Hackaday)

As CRT Supplies Vanish the Classic Arcade Machine is Virtually Dead (Gizmodo)

Top Podcasts

These were my favorite podcasts from the recent weeks.

DocArchive: The Colony (BBC World Service)

Episode 190 - Burnout (The Southern Fried Security Podcast)

Episode 220 - Dana Perino (SOFREP Radio)

How statistics lost their power, and why we should fear what comes next - podcast (The Guardian)

Inquiry: Can You Believe What You Read on WikiLeaks? (BBC World Service)

IQ2: Has the U.S.-Saudi "Special Relationship" Outlived its Usefulness? (Intelligence Squared U.S.)

IQ2: Should We Give Trump a Chance? (Intelligence Squared U.S.)

No, the Trump transition isn’t endangering U.S. nukes. Here’s what to really worry about (War College)

The Bannon effect and a brief history of the National Security Council (War College)

Peacetime diplomacy and the New European Order (The National Archives)

The Art of Manliness #239: Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts (The Art of Manliness)

The Art of Manliness #255: The Joy of Missing Out - Getting Control of Your Digital Life (The Art of Manliness)

The Art of Manliness #274: Building Your Band of Brothers (The Art of Manliness)

The Art of Manliness #278: The Surprising Benefits of Marriage for Men (The Art of Manliness)

Whassigo - Wednesday 1st March 2017 (BBC Radio Orkney)

Course Report

ENG 199: I worked on an outline for an upcoming lecture on Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger.
PAC 130: Due to unforeseen circumstances, PAC 199 is cancelled until further notice.
BA 480: I did nothing.
HST 406 (O): I re-outlined my manuscript, and made some edits (additions and culls) to my master Great War timeline.
REL 199: I completed Symbolon 1:5 and 2:5.

Quote of the Week

"The power of enduring privations is one of the finest virtues in a soldier, and without it no army is animated with the true military spirit; but such privation must be of a temporary kind, commanded by the force of circumstances, and not the consequence of a wretchedly bad system, or of a parsimonious abstract calculation of the smallest ration that a man can exist upon."
- Carl von Clausewitz, On War, Book V, Chapter XIV: Subsistence

A Quick Note

On the 25th, I flew home for a week of vacation and thought, "Oh, if I don't post Joshua Tree Reports for a couple of weeks, nobody will notice." I was wrong, and I'm quite flattered that someone (potentially several folks?) noticed. The Joshua Tree Report will return on the 12th in a special edition that covers the intervening period. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I got engaged on a project this weekend. I'll post the special edition on the 13th.

Joshua Tree Report: February 19th, 2017

This is the Joshua Tree Report for February 19th, 2017.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 50° Fahrenheit and the weather is fair. The temperature in Kirkwall is 8° centigrade and the weather is stormy. The temperature in Muscat is 24°; centigrade and the weather is clear. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $53.40, and $1.24 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is the Korengal Outpost (featured in the documentaries Restrepo and Korengal) in Afghanistan.

In the News

Here are a few of this week's top stories.

Did Rogue Russian Agents Plot a Coup in Montenegro? (War is Boring)

Russia Deploys Banned Cruise Missiles While A Spy Ship Hangs Out Off The U.S. Coast (Foxtrot Alpha)

U.S. Commander Warns of Russian, Iranian, Pakistani Influence in Afghanistan (Voice of America via Small Wars Journal)

Why Is Russia Helping Anti-U.S. Insurgents In Afghanistan? (NPR via Small Wars Journal)

Spies Keep Intelligence From President Trump (Wall Street Journal)

Trump’s Flaws Don’t Justify Illegal Leaks (National Review)

House members: EPA officials may be using Signal to “spread their goals covertly” (Ars Technica via Small Wars Journal)

T.E. Lawrence and the Desert Bromance That Sold America on a War (The Daily Beast via Small Wars Journal)

U.S., Mideast Allies Explore Arab Military Coalition (Wall Street Journal via Small Wars Journal)

The battle of al-Bab (BBC)

Syria war: 'Dozens killed' as jihadists clash in Idlib (BBC)

Somaliland agrees to UAE military base in Berbera (BBC)

New Mac malware pinned on same Russian group blamed for election hacks (Ars Technica)

Border Agent Demands NASA Scientist Unlock Phone Before Entering the Country (Gizmodo)

A Guide to Getting Past Customs With Your Digital Privacy Intact (Wired)

De-Anonymizing Browser History Using Social-Network Data (Schneier on Security)

How to Secure Your Home From Corporate Snoopers (Gizmodo)

Probe after Aberdeen cinema fight during T2 Trainspotting (BBC)

Fight at Aberdeen theatre during Michael Jackson Thriller Live (BBC)

Top Podcasts

These were my favorite podcasts from this week.

The spy who couldn’t spell: how the biggest heist in the history of US espionage was foiled – podcast (The Guardian)

#272: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Myth of Progress (The Art of Manliness)

No, the Trump transition isn’t endangering U.S. nukes. Here’s what to really worry about (War College)

The huns have got my gramophone: advertisements from the Great War (The National Archives)

Course Report

ENG 199: I gave ENG 199 a pass this week.
PAC 130: Due to unforeseen circumstances, PAC 199 is cancelled until further notice.
BA 480: I read five pages in The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia.
HST 406 (O): I re-outlined my manuscript, made some edits (additions and culls) to my master Great War timeline, re-organized my manuscript, and re-wrote my preface.
REL 199: I completed Symbolon 2:4.

Quote of the Week

"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'."
- J.K. Simmons as "Terence Fletcher", Whiplash, 2014

The 2017 Course Curriculum

I recently posted about my personal and professional development plans for 2017. I wanted to post my 2017 reading list. I don't have any illusions about finishing all of these readings - I absolutely won't. However, and as I mentioned previously, I hope that by changing a few aspects of my lifestyle (e.g., reading more) and organizing my various projects as if they were university courses.

I've divided my year into four academic quarters. I'll be engaged in ENG 199 ("General Literary Studies") and PAC 130 ("Conditioning") for the entire year, and ARAB 101/102/103 ("First Year Arabic") during the latter three quarters. In the first quarter, I'll be working on BA 480 ("Information Systems Security"), HST 406 ("Orcadian Gordon Highlanders of the Great War"), and REL 199 ("Introduction to Roman Catholicism"). In the second quarter, I'll switch to CS 406 ("Projects in Information Technology Management") and PI5502 ("Middle Eastern Security"). In the third quarter, I'll switch to HST 406 ("The Dhofar Rebellion") and PI5001 ("Remedial Advanced Strategy"). I'll round out the year with GIS/GEOG 151 ("Introduction to OSGEOINT") and HST 387/388 ("Remedial Islamic Civilization"). That's five "courses" per "quarter", and a lot of reading for each one. So, what will I be reading?

My list for ENG 199 consists of a bunch of books I've read and enjoyed in the past, a handful of books I've started without ever finishing, and a couple of books I've wanted to read and haven't gotten around to.

An Unorthodox Soldier: Peace and War and the Sandline Affair by Tim Spicer

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

Armor by John Steakley

Dune by Frank Herbert

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney

Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

I don't expect to be a powerlifter or marathoner by 2018, but I'd like to ramp things up a bit for PAC 130. Here are the books and pamphlets I'll be consulting along those lines.

The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness by Stew Smith

Power to the People by Pavel Tsatsouline

Royal Marines Commando Get Fit to Apply Guide

Ranger School Prep

Naval Special Warfare Injury Prevention Guide

Naval Special Warfare Physical Training Guide

Special Operations Nutrition Guide

HSS PT Standards

For BA 480, I have a handful of books to prepare me for a variety of professional certifications.

ATTP 3-39.32 Physical Security

CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006 by Todd Lammle

The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia

For my research on the Orcadian Gordon Highlanders' service in the Great War, I have two major sources yet to consult (aside from primary source documents that are too numerous to consult). At this point, Life of a Regiment is on course to be the first book I finish in 2017.

Life of a Regiment, Volume 4 by Cyril Falls

Daffodils on the Battlefield, and Other Sketches by Robert Annan Leitch

I need to get smart about Catholic, so that means...

Catechism of the Catholic Church

I have a bunch of Arabic resources, but I won't be reading any of them as if they're a formal book. I also don't have any formal books relating to CS 406. So, that brings us to PI5502. There are a couple of books, but the bulk of these listings are scholarly or semi-scholarly articles that relate to a scholarly article I intend to write during Spring term.

Globalized Islam by Olivier Roy

Tower of the Sun: Stories From the Middle East and North Africa by Michael J. Totten

China’s Reported Ballistic Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia: Background and Potential Implications by Ethan Meick

New alliances dynamics in the Gulf and their impact on the small GCC states by Jean-Marc Rickli

Arab Threat Perceptions and the Future of the U.S. Military Presence in the Middle East

The Future of the Arab Gulf Monarchies in the Age of Uncertainties

The Gulf Moment: Arab Relations Since 2011

The New Arab Regional Order: Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Policy

The Saudi-Iranian Rivalry and the Future of Middle East Security

The Strategic Importance of the Global Oil Market

United States-Gulf Cooperation Council Security Coopeeration in a Multipolar World

For my second installment of HST 406, I have a handful of books (that will probably be supplemented with more) about the Dhofar Rebellion, its background, and its aftermath.

Buraimi: The Struggle for Power, Influence and Oil in Arabia by Michael Quentin Morton

Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign Policy by Joseph A. Kechichian

SAS Secret War: Operation Storm in the Middle East by Tony Jeapes

The Secret War: Dhofar 1971/1972 by David C. Arkless

We Won a War: The Campaign in Oman 1965-1975 by John Akehurst

I don't exactly need remedial strategic studies attention, but there were some resources that I wanted to read between 2012 and 2013, and didn't. So, I've made a few selections to that end.

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

MCDP 1-1 Strategy

Strategy in the Contemporary World by James J. Wirtz, Colin S. Gray, and John Baylis

I didn't do anywhere near the volume of undergraduate reading that I should have. Two of the following are books I was supposed to have read in 2002, one was an assigned reading in a course by the same professor that I audited in Spring of 2012, and the book by Bernard Lewis is one that I picked up at a book sale in 2014 that seemed to fit (and isn't too long).

Islam: The View from the Edge by Richard Bulliet

The Age of the Caliphs by Bertold Spuler

The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis

The Modern Middle East: A History by James L. Gelvin

Finally, I intend to follow up on some 2016 investigation into open source geospatial intelligence. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I took a course in Strategic Intelligence at Aberdeen. This final course in Fall quarter will focus on the operational outlook on intelligence, as well as the specific "tactical" aspects of operating some of the open source GIS resources that I hope to use for future endeavours.

ATP 2-01.3/MCRP 2-3A Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield/Battlespace

Getting Started With GIS Using QGIS by McCartney Taylor and Nik Freeman

Learning QGIS by Anita Graser

Mastering QGIS by Kurt Menke

MCDP 2 Intelligence

MCWP 2-21 Imagery Intelligence

MCWP 2-26 Geospatial Information and Intelligence

QGIS By Example by Alexander Bruy and Daria Svidzinska

I have my work cut out for me. This is a total of forty-two books and fifteen pamphlets. Again, the prospect of reading all of this is pretty nonsensical, but I think that if I commit to reading in lieu of things like screwing around on Facebook or binge-watching shows on Prime or Netflix, I can demolish a big chunk of it. Here's to 2017!

More Podcasts on the Syrian Civil War

A few days ago, I posted about my intention to listen to every NPR interview with Syria expert Dr. Joshua Landis that was available for download. I ended up doing it last Wednesday, and it totalled between five and six hours. It was an interesting experience to listen to a review of Syrian history from 2009 to 2017 (with a blip in 2005), and to hear which of Dr. Landis' divinations were correct or incorrect (for example, he predicted around 2012 that the Assad regime would not use chemical weapons), and also to hear him defending the 2013 chemical weapons deal that most serious analysts now malign.

I mentioned in that prior post that I might listen to another old podcast. Well... Do I ever just leave well enough alone? Of course not. So, I ended up putting together a larger podcast list that I'll spend the next week or so chewing through. I figured I'd share in case anyone wanted to give themselves a crash course on the Syrian civil war. As with the Landis podcasts, these are listed in chronological order (and I've date-stamped these ones).

20141112 // FRONTLINE: Understanding The Rise of ISIS

20150415 // War on the Rocks: PODCAST: The Islamic State’s War in Iraq and Syria

20150608 // FRONTLINE: Obama at War

20150608 // FRONTLINE: The Rise of ISIS

20150924 // War on the Rocks: Navigating the Islamic State Challenge

20150928 // The Guardian: Why Isis fights - podcast

20150929 // Middle East Week: Syrian Diaspora in the Gulf

20151026 // The Guardian: ‘They were torturing to kill’: inside Syria’s death machine - Podcast

20151204 // The Guardian: How Isis crippled al-Qaida - Podcast

20160218 // Reuters War College: Is the Syrian war partly an ad for Russian arms sales?

20160520 // FRONTLINE: The Secret History of ISIS

I also want to do some remedial Syria reading in the next week or two. The big challenge with reading about Syria in English is that most of the reporting since 2014 focuses on ISIS/DAESH, or maybe the siege of Aleppo, rather than conflict's wider context. C'est la vie. At any rate, here are a few articles focusing specifically on the role of former Iraqi Baathists on the formation and administration of ISIS/DAESH.

The Intercept: ISIS Forces That Now Control Ramadi Are Ex-Baathist Saddam Loyalists

Reuters: How Saddam's fighters help Islamic State rule

New York Times: How Saddam Hussein Gave Us ISIS

Washington Post: The hidden hand behind the Islamic State militants? Saddam Hussein’s.

Der Spiegel: Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State

I probably should have saved this for April through June, when I'm slated to spend part of my life focused on Middle Eastern security... But, again, c'est la vie.

Joshua Tree Report: February 12th, 2017

This is the Joshua Tree Report for February 12th, 2017.

General Data

The temperature in Cody is 22° Fahrenheit and the weather is fair. The temperature in Kirkwall is 6° centigrade and the weather is cloudy. The temperature in Muscat is 28° centigrade and the weather is cloudy. A barrel of crude oil is selling at $53.86, and $1.24 currently exchanges for £1. This week's geospatial image is the a little wadi in the Wadi Rum in Jordan.

In the News

Here are a few of this week's top stories.

Is the United Arab Emirates America’s Best Friend in Middle East? (War is Boring)

Iran and Russia Are Apparently Fighting Each Other in Syria (War is Boring)

Turkey developing long-range ballistic missile (UPI)

All Blacks bug case: Man charged over listening device (BBC)

Hunting for evidence, Secret Service unlocks phone data with force or finesse (Christian Science Monitor)

Judge Breaks Precedent, Orders Google to Give Foreign Emails to FBI (Gizmodo)

How to Stop Your Smart TV From Spying On You (Wired)

Dozens of popular iOS apps vulnerable to intercept of TLS-protected data (Ars Technica)

Mac malware is still crude, but it’s slowly catching up to its Windows rivals (Ars Technica)

Sturgeon: 'Vital' that Scotland gets farming powers (BBC)

Cops Nab Notorious Hog Outlaw 'Piggy Smalls' After Months on the Run (Gizmodo)

Face of Orkney's St Magnus reconstructed (BBC)

Uzbek film blocked over lack of Morgan Freeman (BBC)

Top Podcasts

These were my favorite podcasts from this week.

The creation of the Iraqi state: 1914 to 1974 (The National Archives)

Big Ideas: The women's war in the Middle East - women's First World War service in Egypt, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Palestine (The National Archives)

From the Vault: Russians Behaving Badly Edition, Part 1 (SpyCast)

Russia's hybrid war against the West (War College)

Episode 233 - Coriolanus Breaks Down Russia Hack (SOFREP)

Course Report

ENG 199: I finished reading Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger (six chapters), and reviewed two others.
PAC 130: Due to unforeseen circumstances, PAC 199 is cancelled until further notice.
BA 480: I read half a chapter in The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia.
HST 406 (O): As of this posting, I've accomplished nothing.
REL 199: I read Psalm 40, Nahum 1 through 3, and Habakkuk 1, and completed Symbolon 1:2, 1:3, 2:2, and 2:3.

Quote of the Week

"I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice. Scott had gone to the South Pole in order to stand for a few minutes on one particular and almost inaccessible spot on the earth's surface. He and his companions died on their way back, but even as they were dying he never doubted that the journey had been worth while."
- Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands