Category Archives: Travel

Zach Houston’s Poem Store

March 15, 2008 – 5:51 am

Walking north on Valencia I heard the characteristic snap snap snap of an old manual typewriter’s hammers striking paper on the platen.
I was more than a bit curious about who might still use such a classic machine even before its operator called out to ask if I wanted to buy a poem. Still, it’d [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog | Comments (0)



Roadside Attractions Fading Away?

November 28, 2007 – 4:42 am

Roadside Attractions Fading from Landscape:
A staple of the American road trip could be slowly disappearing from the nation’s interstates and byways. Owners of some roadside attractions are deciding that interest is waning

By Casey | Also posted in Blink | Comments (32)

My iPhone Commercial (or, The Night We Almost Died On A Mountain)

November 25, 2007 – 10:55 pm

It was cold. The air carried no scent, ice squeaked under our boots, and every little leaf and twig crinkled and snapped as we walked over it. But this was louder than that. Much louder. Neither Jon nor I saw it actually happen, but when I found Will he was mostly upside down between a [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Libraries & Networked Information, Technology | Comments (8)

A Nation Marketing Itself

November 23, 2007 – 11:28 am

Japan’s The Ministry of Foreign Affairs English-language Web Japan is a bottomless trove of in-flight magazine-quality stories like ANTIBACTERIAL EPIDEMIC and J-culture-hyping love-fests like Honoring The World’s Manga Artists.
If American propaganda efforts are this bad, why do foreign governments even bother blocking them?

By Casey | Also posted in Dispatches, Politics & Controversy | Comments (1)

Going Global With My iPhone

November 14, 2007 – 12:22 pm

I can use my iPhone pretty much anywhere, but ATT is going to charge me $1.30 a minute for calls, $.50 per text, and $.02 per KB for data while in Denmark.
ATT requires international activation but they do offer some tips for international roamers. I bought an international iPhone data plan (20MB for $25), but [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Dispatches, Technology | Comments (3)



Design Anxiety

November 12, 2007 – 9:03 am

All I know about Denmark is what gets imported: Legos, of course, but also a tradition of exquisitely clean and functional design. That’s why, as I prepare for my talk in Copenhagen later this week, I’m incredibly conscious of my own design and a bit jealous of Jessamyn’s outstanding use of orange.
Anyway, that’s where I’ll [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Style, Fashion and Food | Comments (2)

Corrosion Test Facility Not As Rusty As Expected

October 8, 2007 – 12:07 pm

Corey, Will, and Jon were all as excited as I was to see the fabled Point Judith Corrosion Test Site, just south of Narragansett, but we were all surprised at how un-rusty the goods were.
Don’t laugh, corrosion is a big deal. According to the National Materials Advisory Board:
Corrosion of metallic structures has a significant [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog | Comments (1)

Allagash Wilderness, Maine

August 20, 2007 – 12:34 pm

Will, Jon, Joe, Ted, and I arrived at Telos Landing with plans to run the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. As we prepared to embark, the park ranger appeared with a tape measure and told us our kayaks weren’t canoes.
Section 2.3 of the Allagash rules and regulations is quite clear: ?A canoe is defined as a form [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog | Comments (1)

Peanut Butter Burger

July 20, 2007 – 11:03 am

Now matter how depressed I got in New Orleans, I still had to eat. A tip from the ladies at Molly’s on Toulouse led me to Yo Moma’s with instructions to try their peanut butter burger.
Yes. Peanut butter. On a burger. I was also told that if I don’t like mayo, I should tell them [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Kitchen, Style, Fashion and Food | Comments (2)

The Reconstruction of New Orleans

July 17, 2007 – 8:13 pm

It wasn’t until after my presentation that I had a chance to see the city. And I have to admit it was so depressing that I’ve been having trouble writing about it. I have a sick interest in abandoned theme parks and the like, but seeing the neighborhoods of all classes so destroyed, the symbols [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Politics & Controversy | Comments (2)

Quiet Comfort

February 15, 2007 – 12:46 pm

That’s me on JetBlue Flight 481 to Long Beach, wearing my noise canceling headphones. Sandee saw me wanting them, so she was especially happy to make them a Christmas present to me. And, with all the flying I’ve been doing lately, I was especially happy to have them.
I wanted the QuietComfort 2s not just because [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, Technology | Comments (3)

Sprint WiFi Sucks

February 3, 2007 – 11:01 pm

I’m back in Oakland Airport, but this time I’m bringing my own network and I don’t have to deal with Sprint’s WIFI mess.
See, the problem isn’t just that it costs too much. The problem is that once you pay, you’re plopped at the login page where the login I just created doesn’t work.
And worse, [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Technology | Comments (0)

Great White Solstice

December 22, 2006 – 12:47 pm

While northern-hemisphere inhabitants are enjoying their first day of winter, our cousins in the southern hemisphere are just beginning summer. And in South Africa’s Shark Bay, near Gansbaai, the great whites are departing for other waters.
The great whites make their way to Shark Bay annually between September and January, though they are not hunting, and, [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog, Questionable...funny. Pointless. | Comments (8)

Butane Handwarmer

October 9, 2006 – 6:38 pm

Mt. Moriah, this time better than last time.
4000 footer, backpacking, camp stove, gorham, hike, hiking, mount moriah, mt moriah, new hampshire, primus stove, summit

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog | Comments (0)

Eat-Rite Diner, St. Louis MO

October 7, 2006 – 12:29 am

Some time ago in St Louis, I stumbled upon Eat-Rite Diner. Aparently I wasn’t the first to be taken in by its charms. Yelp notes:
This is a MUST in St. Louis. However don’t go here for the friendly staff, good food, or fun atmosphere. This place is a joke! They will need to buzz you [...]

By Casey | Also posted in Photoblog | Comments (0)