Travel

Airport x-rays can damage, maybe ruin film, and there's nothing more you can do about it than beg for hand inspection. » about 500 words

No need to explain why, I understand: you need a submarine. And you don’t need a bathtub toy (really?), you need something that will truly wow them at the yacht club. There are a few Soviet diesel subs built in the 1940s through 1950s that might be just the thing. The Soviets built over 200 Whiskey-class […] » about 300 words

D. B. Cooper, the guy who hijacked a plane in 1971 and then — mid-flight — jumped into the darkness with a bundle of cash and disappeared, is celebrated on this day, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Granted, this is mostly just a thing in Ariel Washington, where it’s said to have started in 1974, but the […] » about 400 words

By way of update on my earlier post after researching options for AT&T iPhone users in Europe (with an unlocked phone), I ended up not bothering with local SIM cards in either The Netherlands or France. A savvy user should be able to find a local pay as you go SIM plan that’s less expensive […] » about 600 words

There’s uncertain talk of a European trip coming up, so I’m making nonspecific preparations for it. One of the questions I have is how to avoid hefty roaming charges from AT&T. In previous trips abroad I’d purchased overseas voice and data add-ons so I could use my iPhone. That works, up to a point. On my […] » about 400 words

I heard a story that the “Bolinas Border Patrol” removes all the signs pointing to town, so Cliffy and I had to go check it out. Border patrol or not, there are no signs, but Smiley’s bar is my kind of place. Given the story about the signs, I worried they’d be leery of outsiders, […] » about 100 words

We planned the donut tour. We did the donut tour. We ate donuts. We made five stops on the tour, but this video only covers four of them. We were too stuffed to say anything about Japonais, even though the donuts there were delicious. Here’s the full lineup: Donna’s Donuts (Yelp!) Ziggy’s Donuts (Yelp!) Kane’s […] » about 200 words

Memorial Day weekend is universally recognized as the start of summer. Tradition allows that we can start wearing white, gather family and friends for barbecue, and, for those so inclined, go camping. For the past many years it’s also been the start of the Museum of Family Camping‘s season. The museum told the story of […] » about 400 words

This pedal-powered roller coaster is Washuzan Highland Park‘s Skycycle in Okayama prefecture, Japan It appears that the only CO2 emissions are the huffing and puffing of riders peddling to the top. The park does have three traditionally powered steel coasters (the Ultra, Star Jet, and Chupy). » about 100 words

Ilya Schurov thinks this is the time capsule from from Isaak Asimov‘s The End Of Eternity. It’s really the elevator and stair (or ramp)-way in Prague‘s Old Town Hall. A clock and great views of the square are at the top. Thinking of interesting elevators to be found in Europe: The Paternoster. » about 100 words

The Woodman Institute Museum in Dover NH is famous for having a four-legged chicken, but that’s only a small example of the weirdness you’ll find inside. A big collection of snakes and bugs and bears in top hats along with other examples of taxidermy fills the first two floors. The top floor is dedicated to […] » about 100 words

The Albacore is a post World War II experimental submarine now on display in Portsmouth NH. Seeing the sub on land, some height above sea level, is a bit surprising, and it’s clear that moving it there was no small task. Five dollars will get you inside the sub’s tight and awkward quarters, where you’ll […] » about 200 words

What is it about abandonment that’s so compelling? From Chernobyl and Pripyat to mental hospitals to lost theme parks from Korea to California, we can’t help but stare at darkly vacant buildings. Now add malls to the list. And put South China Mall, in Dongguan at the top of it. Unlike most every other expanse […] » about 300 words

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 […] » about 300 words

Photographer farflungphotos describes: All the stations in Moscow’s metro are completely different from one another. Some of them are so opulent, with grand marble halls and chandeliers, all hidden away underground. People seemed to be using them as places just to hang out and meet up with friends. The trains were really frequent too, practically […] » about 100 words

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 […] » about 500 words

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 […] » about 300 words

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 […] » about 500 words

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 […] » about 200 words