Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I wanted to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my faithful readers. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

I am currently in Hybe with Kate and her family for Christmas. I am enjoying the different traditions of Slovakia. Kate and her sister Susan put up and decorated the christmas tree today. It is the tradition to put the tree up on Christmas Eve and take it down on the 6th of January. We will do gifts tonight instead of tomorrow.

As for a New Year's Resolution to update the blog more often, I am sorry to say back in 1990 I made a resolution never to make New Year's resolutions ever again. 17 years I have keep that resolution so I don't plan on breaking it now. Sorry, what can I say I'm a slacker, we all have are parts to play.

Google Ron Paul

What can I say, I am going to shill for him until he is out of the race.
Take a few minutes and watch the video. Make me proud.
Comments are always welcome.

Betsy & Nathan's Wedding Photos Slideshow

Click the photo for Slideshow.
Playback Controls are on the
bottom left side of the page.

I am About to Head to America for 6 Days

I will try and update when I get in.

My flight leaves in about 10 hours and in need to get up in 6 hours.

Football Induced Insomnia

So it is now around 2:20 a.m. and I am waiting for the Sunday night game to start. I was able to watch on of the best displays of how not to play football. The Giants looked like, well, crap and the is being nice. But the folks at FOX kicked it over to the end of two great finishes. The Tampa Bay / Redskins game was great as was the Seahawks Rams game was the twin brother of the Skins game.

I am heading home in in less than 55 hours so I am getting excited to see the family. I have a ton to get done in the short time I am there. I will get into Newark on Wednesday around 6 p.m. and go hang at my brother Tim's house. I will most likely get to bed early because of the time difference. So when I land it will feel like midnight to me. The advantage to me is I will wake up very early and get on the road for Richmond. I need to get to the DMV to renew my license and car registration. I can't leave this until Friday, as it is the last day before the new month and it can take hours then.

As for my sisters wedding I have to shot the rehearsal at the church then dinner. Saturday will also be busy taking photos starting about 2 hours before the service and then 5 to 6 hours of reception. I am sure i will have a brunch on Sunday. Let me rephrase that, there better be a Sunday brunch.

I then fly out of Richmond Monday around 2 p.m. for a quick flight to Dulles then a 9 hour flight into Vienna which gets me in around 9 a.m. local time. I can tell you this I am going to have trouble sleeping when I get back.

I also have some goodies waiting for me in Richmond. I got 6 or 7 books from Amazon and I have a new Macbook Pro waiting for me. My old one is still going but she is showing her almost 4 years. So I will be prepared for a clod bleak winter.

OK the game is good and I want to go watch.
Thanks for reading

My Reading of History Convinces Me That Most Bad Government Results From Too Much Government. - Thomas Jefferson

Click image to find out more.

It's time for Americans to take OUR country back! If you are happy with big government then vote for Hillary or Rudy. They both want it bigger, Hillary wants the government to pay for everything and Rudy wants the government to know everything. So what does Ron Paul want? He wants a government based on a document most in the government have forgotten about or choose to ignore.

The Sun Has Returned

After at least a month of a overcast sky mixed with rainy weather the sun has returned to Bratislava. I am not kidding when I say I saw the sun for less than 10 hours total over the last month. It was just one low pressure system after another. The sun was out all day today and we should have it until Saturday. Needless to say my mood has improved greatly today. The flip side is because Bratislava is on the same parallel as Nova Scotia it gets dark early here, today at about 4:10 with less than 9 hours of sunlight per day. I have not taken any pictures because of the weather, sorry to all of you who what to see more photos but without sunshine the photos are not worth taking.

I return to the States in about 8 days and I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Of course those of you who really know me will not be surprised to learn I am only staying for 5 days. (Life Lesson - You have to leave them wanting more.)

So what have I been up to? Well most days I just surf the net for TV shows to watch or catch the news on CNN International or BBC World but of course there is never enough news to fill more than about 20 minutes. The other thing I do is watch the markets including the currency markets as the Dollar gets pounded, which sucks unless you are exporting goods. Most days I am just hanging out in the flat which for most people would drive them nuts but for me it doesn't seem to bother me, I can always find something to entertain my brain. I have found a book store that sells books in English so I have started reading more when I am bored. I am looking forward to getting home so I can go to Barnes and Noble to load up on books to bring back. I also can buy a few magazines in English and once a week I pick up Time, Newsweek and The Economist to stay current with what is going on in the world. I highly recommend The Economist as one of the best magazines you can read. It is not always the easiest thing to read but it gives you a great view of what is happening in the world.

One of the main questions I get from people in the US is "What is the food like?". For those of you who have been with me from the beginning of the blog you know how much I railed on the food in New Zealand and Australia and wrote many blog entries dealing only with how much the food sucked. That cannot be said for the food in Slovakia, here the food is very good, I have not had a dish that I didn't like. Cheese, Potatoes and Pork based meats are the main staples. The national dish is Bryndove Halusky (brins O va hAl usekey) which I enjoy and is not hard to make. I make it by going to the restaurant on the ground floor of my building and order it. What? do you think I would really cook it myself when I can get enough for two meals for about 5 bucks and 15 minutes. Most days I make a sandwich for lunch and then we try and cook something for dinner when everyone gets home. Ramen noodles are also a staple around here. (FYI - I stopped typing for 5 min. so I could make some Ramen as I get ready for Monday Night Football, yes it is almost 2am here, insomnia strikes again.) One of my favorite things to eat is...Pizza, yeah I know, "Big Shocker" but there is a great little pizza place that delivers in about 15 to 20 min. tops and they have great pizza and salads. We also go to the restaurant on the ground floor a few times a month for dinner and a beer. We also go a few times a month to "El Dorado" (a low grade "Western" feel restaurant filled with on mainly over 40 crowd dancing to singer who would not be welcome at "The Armada Room" at the Holiday Inn.) We mainly go just for drinks around every third Friday night.

The other question I get is "How are the language lessons coming?". Well I can now count to thirty but I can understand up to one hundred if they speak slowly. The 50 or so other words I know I am getting better pronouncing them. I just have not added as many words to my vocabulary as I would have liked. I ran into a technical issue with the CD and they had to ship me a new one which, by the time I figured out I had a problem, and they shipped me a new one was about 3 weeks. So I didn't get as much time to "study" as I would have liked so I am not above a 1 year old (Wait I know what you are thinking. "You have more free time than almost anyone!" What can I say, that's my story and I am sticking with it.)

O.K. it's kickoff, got to go.

Windows Vista SUCKS!!!

I will not go in to the many reasons why but trust me when I say it SUCKS. If you are in the market for a new PC make sure you can get it with XP. If not, enjoy hating Vista as much as the rest of the world.

But wait Sean you are a Apple man how do you know Vista sucks, easy Kate's laptop came with it and now I am forced to listen to her complain about how much of a pain in the ass it is and then try and figure out how to fix whatever problem she is having.

So my advice to you is if you have to buy a new computer get a Mac.

Why I Haven't Posted Lately

The main reason is because it has been cloudy and rainy for the last 13 days. I am holding out hope that I will see the sun tomorrow afternoon but the forecast said I was going to see the sun on Thursday. I feel like I am living in England. I am just killing time right now waiting for the Giants game from London. We finally got the sound problem I was having with cable fixed so I can now watch CNN and BBC news now. That brings me up to 6 channels in English. The only problem I have is the program guide is in Slovak so figuring out what is on has been fun. Other than that I have just been hanging out in the flat, I go shopping for food every 2 days and I make at least 1 trip to the mall just to walk around.

I will be heading home for a few days on the 28th of November and heading back to Slovakia on the 3rd of December. I fly into Newark on the 28th and will be driving to VA on Thursday the 29th. I have my sisters wedding on the 1st so I will not have a lot of time for visits, sorry about that. I was able to find a great price on my return trip to Vienna right out of Richmond. If you have the time to search you can find deals online. I spent about 2-3 hours trying different days and routes and was able to get a round trip ticket for about 850.00. The normal fare from and back to Richmond was 1500.00 but Expedia.com had an internet only special.

OK that's all I have for now. Thanks to the small group of readers who keep up with the blog. Down at the bottom of the page is a small map which you can click on and see where my visitors are coming from. I just added it last week so there are not many dots yet. I am averaging 45-50 visits per week.

Ron Paul - America's Only Hope

I have make my choice on who I will support for President. Click the image and find out why I think he is the only choice for America. Take a few minutes to find out for yourself. If you like what you see please make a donation to help spread the word.

Entrance Hall

The TV / Laptop Room

Entertainment Center

Smoking Porch

There is also another porch off the other bedroom.

Our Room

The Kitchen

The Toilet

Bathroom

Yes, 5 of us share just this little bathroom.

Back Hallway

Kitchen then Toilet than Bathroom on the left side

Eva, Vrbo and Martina's Room

I Now Have Cable TV

And what is the first thing I find in English?
The Jets Giants game. YES!!!!!

The Language Lessons Have Started

Today I received my two CD's I ordered from Eurotalk. I worked with the first one for about 1.5 hours today. I like the way it teaches you with games and other fun ways to make it interesting. I highly recommend checking out the web site if you need to learn a language. It seems like it is geared towards the business traveler but right now I am just learning the basics. I will let you know in a few days how it is working out.

I enjoy going out by myself just so I am forced to try out my basic skills (i.e. hello, thank you etc) I have gone to the supermarket and and an electronics store. I have been studying my map of Bratislava and I can get around fairly well, even if I can't pronounce the names of the streets. Most of the younger people and the taxi drivers here do speak some English which had made it easier on me. I hope to have the vocabulary of a 4 y.o. by the end of November, but that my be asking to much. What I really need is English subtitles for the TV. That would make easier to learn but they don't have them, so I am stuck watching American shows dubbed in Slovak. The one show I can watch is "Slovak Superstar" (The Slovak version of American Idol) not that I want to but everyone else in the flat loves it. For me it is just funny to listen to them try and sing in English.

The weather has been nice but cloudy so I have not taken any photos lately. Daytime temps are in the high 60's with it getting into the mid 40's at night. We are planning on returning to Hybe next weekend and I would like to go driving and get some more pictures of the "High Tatras".

That's all for now.

Bratislava Update

So it has been a while since I gave you guys an update so let me begin. I have been in Bratislava for over a week now and I am still having a great time. I have gone out on my own a few times and I haven't had any trouble with the language barrier, must people here speak some English. I have taken the bus a few times but I find for the short distances I need to go I can walk or take a taxi. I can get a taxi to the main shopping mall for about 4 bucks. I could take the bus for a about a buck but I have to take two buses to get to the mall and it takes about 15-20 min. In the taxi I am there in 5, so needless to say I take taxi's most places I need to go. I am still trying to find a bookstore that sells English books but I have found a few English magazines so far. I also picked up a prepaid mobile phone so if I need help I can call one of my roommates for help with getting around or what ever.

In my attempt to learn Slovak I found a U.K. company that sells software that teaches you with interactive games and what not, I ordered it and should have it by next week, I hope it helps. I am picking up words as time goes by and I would say I know about 30 words so far. I can say the basics like hello, thank you, please, etc. plus some not so polite things to say. Why is it you learn the bad words in a new language first?

The food here is very good and cheap. I also found a great place for pizza that delivers. I can order on-line to avoid any language issues. The bread here is very good and every 2 days we get a fresh loaf for about .70 cents. Most of the time we snack on a slice of bread with some soft cheese with tomato or green peppers. Breakfast for me is 2 eggs and some fried salami on bread. It's not pork roll but it's close. (I would kill for a pork roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll from the O.B. Diner)

I am still trying to get cable TV with some English channels and I hope to have it taken care of by the end of the week. The Internet has been the only way I can watch TV. If you know where to look you can download shows a day or two after they have aired in the US. I am keeping up with some of my favorites like "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Weeds" and "Survivor". I was able to download the Giants/Redskins game from last week and I should be able to get this weeks game also. The great thing about getting them from the net is no commercials, the game was only 2 hours without commercials. I did bring my external hard drive stuffed with movies and TV shows so if all else fails I can watch one of those. I can't wait to see the Giants game from this week.

We went out this weekend to the "Old Town" and had a great time at the bars. I need to go during the day for pictures but with everyone at work or school during the day I may have to go on my own. It is a stark contrast between the look of "Little Brooklyn" and "Old Town". I would love to live in "Old Town" but the rents there are twice what they are here so that's out. While Bratislava is the most expensive place to live in Slovakia I still think it is cheap. I also think the real estate market here is only going to get better and I am looking at ways to get in on the ground floor. Most Slovakians think that 100k for a 2 bedroom flat here in Petrzelka aka "Little Brooklyn" is very expensive but in 5 years it will look very cheap. The economy here is good and getting better. Slovakia is really focused on the automotive industry, they are doing a lot things to attract companies to build automotive and parts factories here. I am going to work on a short video of the flat so you can get an idea of what it is like to live here. I should have it done in a week or two.

Thanks to all of my fans who read my updates and I will post more in the future. (yes that is my way of saying, when I feel like it.) Oh yeah, Henry and Kelly, the Redskins still suck! Go Big Blue.

180 Degree Panorama of Little Brooklyn

You Can't Beat a Pair of $2.00 IKEA Slippers

High Tatras Panorama

Hybe and the High Tatras

Krivan

One of the highest peaks in Slovakia at over 8100 ft.

Susan and Milos

Hybe

Permon and Kate

Little Brooklyn

This is my view from the flat.

Chillin' in Hybe

A Shout Out to Henry at S.E.I.

Redskins Suck - Giants Rule
This is being said before the game tonight so if the Giants lose I might delete this post.

The First Real Update

Due to lack of internet connectivity I have been writing this in stages on my laptop and waiting to post:
So where do I begin. I arrived in Vienna on time and was meet by Kate, Martina and her boyfriend Joey for a ride to Bratislava. I was very tired as I only got a few hours of sleep on the flight over. The nice thing about the flight was I did get upgraded to World Traveller Plus on my British Airways flight. Having a few extra inches front to back and side to side can make all the difference on a long flight. We then drove about an hour to the border to cross over into Slovakia. The border patrol hardly looked at my passport and stamped it and we where on our way. We then drove to the flat I rented. It is in the part of the city that I call Little Brooklyn. When I post the photos of the view from the flat you will understand why it is called that. It is just row after row of apartment buildings all built under communist control so they are all the same, very plain and boring but functional. The elevators are a little scary, they may open up a few inches below or above the floor you select unless it wants to take you one floor higher then you pushed which I can't figure out because it is random when it happens. We are on the eight floor and have nice views of the city. The flat is about 850 sq. feet with 2 bedrooms a bathroom with a tub (bonus for me) a small kitchen a den and and entrance way that we will setup a table for computers on. There are 5 of us, yes 5, living in this flat. Kate and I have the small bedroom (7'x14') then Martina, Eva and Johnny have the larger bedroom (15'x15'). The den is large enough for everyone to sit comfortably. The flat came with some furniture, Beds and couches plus a TV and DVD player. There are 2 balconies, one off the main bedroom and one off the den. Rent for the month is 640.00 so to me it is very inexpensive for the location. If we where in the old part of the city where the flats are better the rent is twice as much. We are close to shopping areas and bus lines so for us it works well. I will need to study maps of the area as the layout of the streets is somewhat strange and the buildings are numbered in a somewhat random way. Oh yeah and everything is in Slovak which makes it harder for me. We went out for dinner to a small place the girls like. I was amazed at how inexpensive the food is here. I had grilled chicken breast, fries and a coke for less than 4 bucks and it was good. I rented a car and Kate, Johnny and I then drove 4 hours to Hybe, Kate's village. It is a small place in the north central part of Slovakia with great views of the "High Tatras" mountains to the north the form the border of Slovakia and Poland. Kate's mother and sister are very nice and welcomed me into there home, which was better than her coming at me with a large knife. (Think about it, would you want your daughter bringing me home as her boyfriend?) Kate's sister Susan is very nice and her boyfriend Milos is a great guy. As a matter of fact I have yet to meet anyone who is not very friendly and welcoming. I have had some trouble sleeping with the time change, new beds, etc. Milos is a pharmacist so he was able to get me some sleeping pills which made all the difference last night. (now Tuesday). Insomnia has been a problem for me for the last week and last night was the first night I was able to sleep a full night without waking up. Those of you who have never dealt with insomnia consider yourself lucky, I got maybe 10 hours of sleep the first 3 nights combined. Saturday we drove about 30k to Kate's fathers town (don't ask me the name) and we went to a farm house for fresh cheese for lunch. We also watch part of a soccer match in the new field the town just finished building. We went out on Sunday to take pictures, the weather was very clear and I got some great shots of the "High Tatras". I watched the Slovak version of American Idol Sunday night and it was the worst 10 singers of the show and it doesn't matter what language you speak, bad signing is bad signing in any language. Monday was a very productive day, I was able to find an Mac store and get the proper electrical plug for my Mac, we then drove Milos about an hour back to his town and went shopping at the mall. For those of you who have never left America and think the rest of the world is somehow 40 years behind let me tell you this, other than the language there is no difference between here and any place in America. Just sitting in the mall will show you teenagers are the same all over the world, they like to shop just like we do. The nice thing for me is everything here is very inexpensive except gas which is $5.70 a gallon so stop bitching about 3.00 gas at home. I would like to get a VW Golf TDi to drive but I will wait and see if I really need a car over here or not. Slovakia like must of Europe has very good public transportation. They may not be the nicest buses or trains but they get you there. The plan is to stay in Hybe until Saturday or Sunday before heading back to Bratislava. I look forward to taking pictures of the old city, we drove through it on our way to dinner the other night and there are some nice buildings and old architecture. The toughest thing right now is the language barrier, I need Kate with me most times except at the bar, vodka is vodka in any language. We went to the local pub in Hybe on Saturday and meet up with a few of Kate's friends. One of them, named Permon, is one of the nicest person I have meet he is at most 5' 2" but he has a presence of a bigger man. He was excited to find out I have never tried Absinth, it is 180 proof, basically moonshine with the taste of Sambuca, I had 2 shots and that more than enough to get anyone in a good mood. At the end of the night I had on shot of typical Slovak drink, it seemed to counter the effect of the absinth for me, all of the sudden I could function again. The next morning I figured out why I don't drink much anymore, live and learn. The pub is small but everyone in towns seems to stop by at some point. The weather here in Hybe is similar to Bristol VT. The nights are cold but if the sun is out in the day it is fairly warm. Last night (Tue.) we did have some rain but when I woke up in the morning to sunshine and the "High Tatras" had a nice blanket of snow on the higher elevations. Most of it was gone by midday as the high got to around 65 today but it was pretty while it lasted. Fast Forward ----> It is now Saturday and I am back in Bratislava. Pictures and more later today or tomorrow.

I Have Arrived

It is now Monday night and this is the first time I have access to the internet in a while. I will make this short and tell you it is great here. I dig my flat in Bratislava, I rented a car and Kate and I are visiting her sister and mother in the village of Hybe about 4 hours away from Bratislava. I have not gotten my Mac online yet so I will post photos later. I will write more in a few days when I have more time and get the Mac online to upload photos.

Post Card Requests

For those of you who are interested in getting post cards from Europe, you are in luck. Please send an email with the subject line: Post Card



with Name, Address and the email address you would like me to use. Also you can include your phone number so I can update my records. I do try and get one post card out every two weeks for each of you. They may not say much but it will be a nice picture.

This is Not Like My Photo of Big Foot

It's a real photo Kev, no photoshop here.

The Trip Is Almost Upon Me

It's Saturday night and I have started to get everything together for my trip. I am leaving camp on Monday morning and heading to NJ to stay with my brother Tim and his family for a few days before my flight out on Wednesday to Vienna. I can't wait, I have a 3 room flat in Bratislava rented. I am going to live with Kate, and her friends Martina and Eva. There might be one other guy moving in but we are not sure at this point. It's going to be tight but it should prove to be fun. I am sure I will rant about it in the future if it becomes a problem. So stay tuned. I am attempting to travel as light as I can. I only have a small amount of clothes to begin with, I plan on buying things when I get to Bratislava want to try and fit in and not stand out as an American tourist. Again I will post photos of any new Slovak fashion I come up with. For those old enough to remember Steve MArtin and Dan Akroyd outfits as the two wild and crazy guys, now that's the look I think would work on me. So like the rest of us, I have no real idea what the future has in store for me. So continue to check back with me as I take you along with me on my journey.

So I Owe You All Some News

I know what the three of you who read this blog are thinking, "what, you're not dead?" I will cut to the chase. I am dating a girl and I would rather spend time with her then update my blog. So why now the update? "Where is she?" you ask. She has gone back to her home in Slovakia. Her name is Katarina and I meet her at camp this summer. She just went back home a few days ago. I am planning to leave to go see her on the 12th. of September. She came over this summer with her friend Martina. The three of us hung out together most nights watching TV or listen to music. I do like the Slovak music they listen to. They both spoke English well enough to get by, it just took a little time until we could speak easily, some libations also helped. I am looking forward to heading over to the capital city Bratislava. I am going to live with Kate and a few friends in a flat in the city. I will come home in late November for my sisters wedding in early December. I then plan on heading back to Bratislava for the winter until around June 1st. It is one one hour away from Vienna so I am looking forward to photographing the alps in the winter.  The last few months seem like a blur sometimes now, it goes by so fast. I look forward to what the next few months have to offer.  I do plan on do more updating once I start my travels back up. For those of you who have been with me from the start with the trip around the world should look forward to my travel rants starting up again. For those of you who missed it start at the bottom of the page of January 2005 and start reading up until you see the pictures in February. It's a great time waster at work. I am still trying to figure out if it is cheaper to buy a new laptop then it is to ship my HUGE Mac Pro over and back and still have to buy a monitor over there. I think a new mac book would do fine. As for the rest of my summer, camp was great, no major issues, good or bad. I did spend a lot of time with Kate so no real good stories for you guys, sorry. I am spending the rest of my time in camp before flying over is putting together a DVD slide show and photo calender to send to the campers. This will take me into next week, I  will then get everything I need to take with me ready to go and make sure all the stuff I have to get buttoned up before heading overseas for an extended period. It's nice to be able to keep the few things I own here at camp for the winter. I plan on only going with a backpack, a large duffel bag and a laptop/camera bag. I did the last trip with a little less but moving around was the main issue and traveling light is the key.

The Death Trap

Things to notice:
No front or rear brake handles on the handle bars. I do have a foot brake for the rear.
No fenders, this is fun when it is muddy.
No pull start recoil. Rope tied to a screw driver to start it, then keep my ankle away from the spinning metal.
The gas tank is from a 200cc model this is the 185 S engine.
I traded a PS2 w/ 13 games for it, what a deal.

It's Care Package Time

So for those of you who are interested in sending me a care package at camp the address is,
Sean Allocca
C/O Woodcraft Camp
285 Woodcraft Rd
Old Forge, NY 13420

Feel free to send what ever you think I might like.

As for what has been going on at camp I will give this quick update.
Campers arrive in 6 days.

I blew up a hard drive (my fault) and lost about 150 hours of work. Yes that does suck.

I plan on doing video updates this summer, starting with my version of "Woodcraft Cribs".

I have been working on the script and will have the first draft done before the end of October. I am looking in to a writing retreat with some friends this summer to punch it up.

I am looking into two options for the winter months. (yes, I know it sounds like a long time away and I am not one for long term plans but I might be able to nail down free rent for the winter in the Old Forge area so I am doing what I can to make it happen.)

I have gotten rid of all most everything I had in storage and I am in the process now of getting my possessions down from a car and a half worth of stuff down to just one car load. It is getting tougher to make the needed cuts in current inventory of crap I own.

I am also in possession of all of my photographs and I am currently archiving them in storage boxes for safe keeping. (Clem let Colleen know I will try and send out the wedding shots to her in a few days, I know she wanted to get so more prints done.) It is cool to go back and look at shots I haven't seen in years.

That's all for now, I have a hot chick in my cabin, gotta go.

In Cabin Internet & HDTV

I just got everything up and running and wanted to let you all know.

More to follow later.

I Have Made It To Camp

Just wanted to let you all know.

This means no cell service.

The Slacker Is Back - Random thoughts in r@Nd0M order

Sorry to the millions of you who come and check for new updates everyday and go home empty handed. Having said that:

Spring has arrived in Vermont and it's pleasant to say the least. You should come visit. Visit Vermont not me, I am leaving soon (see below).

I will be leaving in about 10 days to head to camp for the summer. (I can't believe how fast the year has flown by; yes the old adage is true, the older you get the faster it goes.)

Widespread Panic Summer Tour Blues - All of the shows near camp (300 miles or so) happen on key weekends I have to be in camp. That means only one thing, I will be driving all over the country this Fall catching up on shows. I am trying to get to at least 10 shows this year (4 so far), including the Halloween Show, wherever it may happen.

The Nintendo Wii is still awesome. If you see one in the store buy it, you will love it, just get a second controller and nunchuck for 2 players. The sports game it comes with is all you need to start. 2 player boxing still the best game.

I sold some stuff on e-bay but the buyers account for the PS2 auction got hacked and the guy wanted me to ship it to Nigeria. Nice try pal. I now have to re list the item, so if you know anyone in the market for a Super PS2 Bundled w/ 13 games plus Steering Wheel just let me know.

I would like my headstone to read "I'm taking a nap, come back in 20 minutes."

Cows with guns is still funny to me no matter how many times I watch it.

Things You Have to Worry About in Vermont

Saturday Night's Show In D.C.

Albany Update

I don't have a set list yet but the second set jammed. The first set started around 7:20 and ended at 8:25 the second set started around 9:00 and they played until 10:20 and came back for a 2 song encore. I am going to bed more to follow in the coming days.

So what a great way to start my mini Widespread Panic tour

I checked into my hotel in Albany and parked out front was the bands tour bus. A little while later I went down stairs to get some lunch and ran into the JoJo Hermann the keyboard player in the band. I spoke with him for a few minutes and requested a song. I went out side to have a smoke and there ran into bass player, Dave Schools. I was going to try and get a photo with the guys but didn't want to bother them. I can't wait for tonight's show. I will keep you updated.

The Spring Tour is about to begin

It starts on Wednesday as I drive to Clem's in NH for the night. We leave for St. Paddy's Day in Savannah (14Th year) early Thursday morning. We meet up with Jake and Bumpas for the weekend before flying back to NH. I then have a couple of weeks to work in the shop making cabinets with my step brother Ben, I still have all 10 fingers and plan to keep it that way. Then I am starting my Widespread Panic spring tour starting Sunday April 1st in Albany, will be in NJ on Monday to stay with my brother Tim. I then head to the show in Richmond Tuesday night. I am leaving for D.C. on Thursday to visit my friend Kelly, we are going to shows Friday and Saturday night. I am looking into going to the shows in Raleigh on the 20Th and 21st then the 3 shows in Athens before heading back towards camp. I should be at camp by June 10Th at the latest. After camp is over this summer I am 80% sure I am going back to New Zealand for 6 months starting mid September. Keep in mind I know what I am doing today, I have a pretty good idea about tomorrow after that I am never sure.

To Catch Up New Visitors

For the Around the World Trip click HERE and scroll to the bottom and read up.
For Just the Photos of the TRIP
My Favorite Photo Tybee Lighthouse
My Favorite Post Part 1 - Part 2
To learn about my true calling in life, this is the place to start

So how often do I post, who knows, I can post a few in a week or month or none for a month. Trust me less is more from me. Still single and no kids, as it should be. Sean's Spring Tour starts very soon. The rest you can figure out on your own.

Why "Man Made" Global Warming is all Hype

What ever you think about Global Warming you need to watch this from BBC4. It is a hour and 15 minutes but if you watched Al Gore you should give this as much attention. The effects on Africa are the hidden dangers of buying into the hype.

My Driveway is Somewhere?

After Digging Out

I shoveled from the road to 3 feet into my driveway before the guy across the street showed up with his plow. It took me an hour to get that far. It was the best forty bucks for 5 minutes of work I have paid for in years. Kudos to Todd for plowing the rest of the way in.

Followsean Fans - Join The Rebel Alliance

I do track (no cookies) who and when people check the blog and I have noticed that most of my visitors view this page with Internet Explorer and that saddens me. First I would love to see more PC users become Mac users but if you can't make the Switch, you should at least look at using a different browser. I tell all PC users to run Firefox, It is an open source (read free and built by geeks not the evil empire) browser that works very well and is much less prone to attack than IE. If you scroll down and on the right in the recommended software, you can hit the Firefox button to download the latest version. It is easy to use and can import your settings from IE. Download it and give it an honest try, look into the tabbed browsing, a very nice feature. If nothing else make sure you have the latest anti virus software update loaded. If you have no anti virus software loaded there is a good chance your PC is compromised and being used by hackers to send spam or other bad things, get an anti virus software package.

1 Man, 1 Big Pile of Sticks, 1 Lighter

Photo Credit - Jacob Dimond 2007

12/31/05 Just Arrived In The Mail

Let me say thanks to Jake first. Dude it is so cool to have this show on film, I am cranking it now (Travlin' Light). This explains why I am posting a bunch of stuff, I am way to tired to spin in the living room so I am motivated to write tonight.

So I now have a copy of the my first Widespread Panic show, New Years Eve 05/06 on DVD. The show started at 9:15 pm and they played 3 sets and finished at 2:15 am. I danced my ass off that night and it is in my top 5 days ever. If they ever have a HD version you should be able to see me if you squint. There is something about 20,000 people all hippie dancing that creates a great vibe in the room. Go to a show if you haven't, you will be entertained.

I Have One Word For You - BUTTER

"Butter?" you say.
Yes, butter and let me tell you why. It is currently 1 degree outside with an indoor humidity of 19% will give anyone dry lips. Since I don't have any lip balm handy, that's when butter came to mind and it is by far the best tasting balm I have ever used and it works great on my lips, double bonus.