Isn't the Internet wonderful? In seconds I was able to find something I'll be able to torment my bear with for a long time. He shares his birthday with Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous stripper, and "Brazilian bombshell" Carmen Miranda. I suggested he should honor them today by wearing a big hat with fruit on it...and nothing else.

Today one of my favorite things about Winter in Colorado is happening. It's quite cold today, below freezing; and we have a lot of snow in the ground, the streets, and roofs. But because it's a sunny day; and thanks to our altitude and thin dry air, some of that snow is subliming ( Read more... )

Our flight from Denver to Reykjavik was wonderfully smooth. And for the most part, the Economy Comfort Class was great. We didn't expect it, but we got to board in the first group with the First Class section. And the seats were almost as advertised, with just one small catch. We didn't realize that we were in the first row of Economy Comfort, ( Read more... )

Later today we are flying to Iceland. We are going to attend Bears On Ice, the weekend event of the Iceland Bears. Getting there will be easy for us, now that Icelandair has started a daily direct flight from Denver to Reykjavik. We flew with them a couple of years ago when we traveled with Beard Team USA to the World Beard & Moustache ( Read more... )

On this date, a fairly long time ago, I went to a party. It was hosted by one of the first guys I'd met when I moved to Denver earlier that year. He introduced me to many of his friends, some of whom I had seen out at the bar or the like, and some who were new to me. One in particular was a friendly, talkative guy with dark hair and a full dark ( Read more... )

We were out running errands, and grabbed lunch at the Mall. I got the following fortune cookie with mine:


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One of the more moving sights we saw on this past trip was in St Catherine's chapel in the Peter & Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg. It's the final burial site of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Their remains were reburied here after being positively identified in 2007-2008.


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Sitting in the middle seat in cattle class, unable to move because the tables are still down because they haven't collected the meal trays yet is a lot like the circle of Dante's Inferno where the condemned are buried up to their faces in waste and unable to move, except it lacks the camaraderie.

Like most of my countrymen, I come from a humble background. In fact, I don't believe I know anyone personally who grew up with servants. I don't mean the cleaning lady who came in 3 times a week, or even a live-in housekeeper like Alice of The Brady Bunch. I mean the full-on whole house staff a la Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs. The ( Read more... )

In Denmark the electrical outlets are always happy to see you.


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