News
February 19, 2012: Gasparilla is Tampa's Mardi Gras, and I got some beads. This motor home dog only got a few.
February 5, 2012: The best science-based fishing book I've read is "The Fisherman's Ocean" by David Ross.
January 24, 2012: I'm just back from a trip to Puerto Rico. Some highlights were Condado Beach, El Moro Fortress, and La Mina Falls. The people are happy and relaxed; an attitude I hope to take home with me. An interesting fact is that Peurto Ricans cannot vote for President and do not pay federal taxes, unless they reside in one of the fifty states.
January 15, 2012: The just walkin' guy, who walked from New York to Washington state, is now walking every street in New York City.
January 8, 2012: My New Year's resolution is to catch one each of the eight most popular sport fish found in Tampa Bay. They are, in order of increasing difficulty (fishing from shore): 1. Spanish mackerel, 2. redfish (red drum), 3. spotted (speckled) seatrout, 4. mangrove (gray) snapper, 5. sheepshead, 6. flounder, 7. snook, and 8. tarpon. The pictures will be posted. Update 02/10/2012: I caught a silver seatrout, which is oh-so-close to a spotted seatrout!
January 2, 2012: I recently discovered some forgotten video from a trip to Germany. I have posted it on my new video page.
November 11, 2011: Turns out, Fogerty still has the voice. These songs sound way better live than the studio versions do.
November 6, 2011: I attended the weigh-in party for the King of the Beach mackerel fishing tournament. The winning fish weighed 47 pounds (world record is 90 pounds). A fish photo is available on my St. Petersburg page.
November 1, 2011: I went as Kurt Cobain this Halloween. Some people did recognize me.
October 1, 2011: I've been thinking a lot about eastern Germany, where I lived for several years. I even wrote a letter to Egon Krenz, the final leader of East Germany. As of yet, no reply, but in the meantime I read a book I've always intended to read. In "Stasiland," Anna Funder says of the place, "It is a country that no longer exists, but here I am on a train hurdling through it….East Germany has disappeared, but its remains are still at the sight." Somewhat unfortunately from my standpoint, those remains and the people who lived there are disappearing faster than my infrequent visits can somehow capture them.
August 28, 2011: I took a trip to Daytona. The waves were impressive, as hurricane Irene had just passed off the coast. Daytona Speedway was fun to see. The track's bank angle in this picture is 18 degrees. The other two turns are 31 degrees, but our tour couldn't walk there because it's too steep!
July 31, 2011: I've been reading up on palm trees. You can see some of the palms in my neighbourhood on my palm tree page.
May 14, 2011: I'm officially going to admit that I like the music on the weather channel.
April 23, 2011: Checkout thescottcast for an entertaining look at one twenty-something in contemporary American society. In a completely unrelated note, does anyone know what kind of fish this is? It almost looked part lizard, and made a disturbing croaking sound. Update 06/03/2011: It's a gulf toadfish!
March 27, 2011: I was at the Honda Grand Prix in downtown Saint Petersburg. The cars were Indy cars, and the #10 Target car won the race. Even with earplugs, the noise was amazing and could be felt through the ground.
March 12, 2011: I've been learning how to fish. My first saltwater catch ever is this Spanish mackerel.
February 23, 2011: Just back from a quick trip to Europe. I hit Brussels, Amsterdam, Bremen, Magdeburg and Leipzig. I've added a couple pictures to my Germany page.
January 23, 2011: I've been getting into Karaoke for some reason. The songs I've found that fit my voice are Easy and "The Scientist." I have to admit that I do like piano songs. I would love to try this song, but the original is tough to find.
December 26, 2010: This was my first Christmas in shorts and a T-shirt. I rode my bike to the Sunshine Skyway. The original, I learned, had collapsed in 1980.
December 1, 2010: My coworker Ron had me over for Thanksgiving. I learned that I have a talent for horseshoes, and saw my first gator on his doorstep (this was a wild gator, not a pet)!
October 31, 2010: Halloween! It's not hard to have fun when you're dressed as Hunter S. Thompson.
October 23, 2010: I rode my bike to Fort Desoto. It took about two hours, and the weather was awesome! Here's a quick map of my ride.
September 12, 2010: I've added a few pictures of Saint Petersburg on my locations page.
August 20, 2010: I'm really loving it here in Tampa. Being from Minnesota, I can probably appreciate the climate more than some. Of course, Florida has the craziest drivers outside of Boston, and tourism season hasn't even started yet.
August 13, 2010: This Great Egret was hanging out at Subway.
July 27, 2010: I've moved to the Tampa Bay area.
July 12, 2010: I made it up to Cleveland for the first time. I liked the old buildings downtown and found the city easy to navigate. For some reason the Cleveland police like to take over the job of perfectly good traffic signals.
July 5, 2010: The Columbus Doh Dah Parade had a number of interesting participants. There were plenty of oil spill themed entries, as well as Arizona immigration and Toyota brake failure themes.
June 18, 2010: I saw President Obama's motorcade today. He was visiting a construction site a few blocks from my house. Tight security and fast driving.
June 9, 2010: I've taken some pictures of Columbus this summer.
May 28, 2010: This guy is just walkin'. Now that's awesome!
May 25, 2010: I'm back from my latest trip to Germany. I made it to Magdeburg to see friends, as well as to Köthen, Leipzig, Nuremberg, and Zürich. One of my favorite finds was the Gosenschenke beer garden in Leipzig, where they serve a local style of beer called "Gose." I've updated my Germany page with some new pictures.
February 28, 2010: I have joined a bowling league. My team is called The Bowlfrogs. The picture inspired my friend Mike to start a photocrashing site (update: August 28, 2011 - This site is apparently now defuncted).
December 5, 2009: I have been busy taking online training courses at lynda.com. Like me, they are into adobe products, though I have been brushing up on a number of other topics as well.
September 12, 2009: Everything is a festival these days, and I attended the Columbus Microbrew Festival. It began at noon, and I vaguely remember saying something about coffee and banana and bubble gum flavors.
August 29, 2009: Took a look around Lancaster, Ohio. William Tecumseh Sherman was born and grew up there, and I especially enjoyed the tour of the Sherman home.
August 10, 2009: I'm using Rosetta Stone to learn Dutch. I like Dutch because it seems to be a very cute mix of German and English. I have also been falling asleep to "The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant." Interesting that such an average fellow led such an extraordinary life.
July 26, 2009: Where's Waldo? Turns out it's just north of Columbus. I was there yesterday for the annual Firemen's Festival. Thanks to my boss Mike for hosting.