Never thought I would be posting about tech blogs…but I read, and enjoy, Mashable.
What about you? Any other tech blogs out there worth a read — for someone who is by far not an early adopter!
Category Archives: observations
Be Inspired
Check out Matador’s 50 most inspiring travel quotes of all time. My personal favorites include:
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
I love this next quote and I hope my writing gets this across. The unknown allows us all to experience things outside of our comfort zones. When taken out of that familiar setting, something as simple as buying a knee brace will require effort and patience to get it done. It’s the lack of familiarity, and assumed ease, that makes the experience – behind door number one, two or three that much more exciting.
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson (who is one of my favorite travel writers)
I have mentioned this quote in a previous post…
“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman
And this quote applies to life in general, it is not exclusive to travel.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
For Reals
I went to the eye doctor this week for a routine exam. Wouldn’t you know later that day, back at my desk, I hit myself straight in the eye with my phone cord. And this is my luck.
Whatcha doing in there?
Check out this suspicious bathroom activity.
If you have ever been on a plane, you know that the airplane’s bathroom is so not where you want to spend a significant amount of time.
If you have ever been on a plane, you also know the airplane’s bathroom is barely big enough for one person, much less two.
And if you have been on a plane in the US since 2001, you know security breaches are no laughing matter.
If you have traveled by air on any of the nine September 11 dates since 2001, you know security is visibly heightened.
And if that couple was trying to join the mile-high club I’d love to know how they didn’t get ill from that ever-present airplane bathroom stench and the remnants of pee on the seat from the person who was in there before you.
The Haimish Line
I had never heard of a Haimish Line before reading this New York Times article but after reading about it, I totally understand it.
This article points out the exact reasoning of why I enjoy staying in locally owned bed and breakfasts, and try to partake in locally owned business for tours and activities. It’s all about the local experience and the truly familial feel.
Do the boyfriend and I remember Malania and her husband, the owners of the B&B in Arenal, Costa Rica and their kindness? Do we remmber Malania’s husband, who spoke zero English, who kindly drove us to his favorite restaurant down the road from the B&B in the pouring rain (because we didn’t yet have a rental car)? Yes.
Do we remember Alejandro, Marta, Elda and Elda’s husband at the family run B&B in El Calafate, Argentina? They repeatedly brought me fresh ice for my knee after my glacier hike and told me the word for knee so I could get a brace for my aching knee. Do we remember how Elda kept telling me I would be fine when she was booking our horseback riding excursion, and not laughing when I asked her if she would come to the hospital if I happened to get hurt? Do we remember being dropped off by the Alejandro’s brother (Elda’s husband) at the airport, not just at the curb, but inside at check-in where there were hugs and handshakes and tears? Only my tears, but still. Of course we do.
What about having breakfast in the kitchen of the family, with the family, in Monteverde, Costa Rica where Reina, the mom, easily handed the boyfriend their baby daughter while she made our eggs…straight from their neighbor’s chickens. Again, yes.
What about Zoran who picked us up in Dubrovnik and drove us to Bosnia-Hercegovina, with one other couple from London in his family’s van? He took us to a local restaurant, did the ordering and introduced us to local Bosnian fare like burek (amazing doughy goodness stuffed with cheese or sausage or spinach) and cevapcici (spicy sausage sandwiches with a red pepper paste).
Zoran was our own personal guide and because we were such a small group, he was able to take us to see several towns along the way to Mostar. He spoke about the turbulent history from an extremely personal perspective (to be fair, everyone we met in Croatia that spoke about the war, had a very personal perspective). And as he handed over all of our passports at the border, he knew we all (well three of the four of us – guess who was indifferent) coveted a stamp from Bosnia, so he asked Border Patrol in the local language to stamp each of our passports, which they did.
What about Ana and Ralph at Delta Unplugged in Tigre, Argentina? We had an amazing day with them at their home and on their boat. In fact we are still penpals.
What about the feeling at some of the wineries on the Finger Lakes where they treat you like family, and not just another taster? Yes agains.
And what about Bube and her mother in Dubrovnik? Her mother, who spoke a few words of English, was the only one there to greet us after our 13 hour expedition to get from Newark, NJ to Dubrovnik, Croatia by way of a race through the airport in Frankfurt.
Bube’s mother showed us to our cottage where we dropped our bags, and then she brought us up to her roof, for an amazing view of Dubrovnik.
Once we realized that the walk up 300 or so steps (cars were not allowed where we were going) was absolutely, positively worth it, she asked us “Drink?”
After spending ten minutes with this lovely woman, we realized that her English vocabulary was limited. Wanting to make this as easy as possible I replied, “Water?”
She replied “Beer?”
And that was that! Yet another resounding yes.
These are just a few of these memories that make me smile. You don’t, typically, have these experiences in hotels where you are one of hundreds of guests. There are very few fond memories from my time staying in hotels. Do I remember the kindness and the hospitality they had? Yes, of course. But do I remember those memories as fondly as these truly personal touches of kindness and local hospitality? No, of course not.
Holy Moly!
Check out this water. The Hudson River has been this lovely shade of brown for days now.
Am I back in Argentina? Am I in Tigre, to be exact?
Unfortunately, no. And while Tigre’s water was brown, the locals took great care to keep it clean. This water…I wouldn’t dip my toes in much less wash dishes in.
Note: In order to get the full gist of this post, you will need to click both links!
WHY don’t they wait?
Who are these people who block the door and push to get on a train or bus before people exit? Same with elevators.
Do these people not realize that they are slowing down the process by blocking the exiting passengers? And for the pushers, why? WHY WHY WHY? Don’t these pushers realize that the people exiting will actually create additional room in an already crowded space?
So they should move out of the way AND wait the TEN SECONDS to let people exit before they decide to push and shove their way on board.
Sincerely,
From someone who doesn’t push – but always seems to get pushed.
Texting and Driving – A Public Service Announcement
With school back in session, I just need to share an important reminder for your own safety!
I know people want to stay connected and for some reason, also while on the road.
Here’s the PSA for the day. Do not under any circumstances text while you are driving – voice to text or not. Any second your eyes are not on the road, there is cause for concern. They say texting is like drinking and driving.
Please please PLEASE do not text and drive ever. While you may be a good driver, what about the people who are not good drivers who are also texting? You need to be defensive and know what and who is around you on the road. Texting takes away those moments that could be used to identify whats up on the road around you.
Texting and driving is an accident waiting to happen. Unfortunately, most taxi drivers wear a blue tooth and spend most of their time driving you around, on the phone. Dialing is bad enough, but usually I am not in the cab when their call ends. If I ever saw one texting, or dialing, I would absolutely say something.
So I’m saying it to all of you, readers, please do not text and drive.
And if you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY have to talk on the phone, pull over. The person you are talking to cannot see the traffic and activity that you see. If you were simply talking to a passenger in your car, and someone cut you off, the conversation would cut off as well. The person on the phone does not see what you see, so their talking can absolutely distract you.
I don’t talk to anyone in my family if they are calling me while they are driving. I tell them to call me later when they are not handling a motor vehicle. They say, well I have hands-free. I don’t like it. Not one bit.
Please drive safely.
WHY call it a starter?
It drives me nuts when you are in a restaurant and you order an appetizer and a meal, and they come out together.
More often than not this happens when you are seated at a really small table.
Then the server has to do the dance moving salt and pepper shakers and waters and wine glasses to get everything situated.
If I wanted buffet style, I would have gone to a buffet.
Number one: I couldn’t stop eating
Hurricane / Tropical Storm Irene caused significant flooding and damage on the Eastern Seaboard this weekend but hopefully everyone is safe.
My post-hurricane/tropical storm observations from my own home.
1 – During ‘lock down’ I COULDN’T STOP EATING. We had bought some food (read: unhealthy crap) that we don’t normally purchase so it was a bit of overload. But not everything was unhealthy. Bananas, granola bars, popsicles, bread. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop eating. Besides small leaks in my apartment, the biggest personal problem I have with Irene is the weight she put on me. Anyone else have the same problem?!
2 – The boyfriend and I prepare for emergencies very differently. I heeded the advice of elected officials, I taped the windows, I moved my irreplaceable (after human life) items into the closets, I filled the tub with water, I made sure we had wine and beer and canned goods and snacks (okay, so they said canned goods and food…I interpreted it my way), I slept on an aero bed in our foyer away from glass windows. I was under the assumption that our windows were going to blow out. The boyfriend, not so much. He made sure we had bottled water, he filled up used water bottles with tap water in case we needed more water to flush the toilets (because he drained the tub I filled), he made sure we had flashlights (even though the batteries were supposed to be used by 2003), he slept in the bed – next to said glass windows. Maybe we make a good team.
3 – I feel bad for the newscasters. I know that I once wanted to be one of them, but boy is it tedious, not to mention dangerous. And I got sucked in with the best of them. On Sunday evening, yes Sunday, when I asked the boyfriend, ‘Where did Saturday and Sunday go?’ he replied, ‘We watched the news, a lot of news.’ And just like that my weekend was gone.
4 – While I give New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg much credit for speaking Spanish during his press conferences, he might want to have a translator to speak on his behalf. I do hope it is sincerely appreciated by Spanish-speaking New Yorkers because he does give it a valiant effort.
5 – Whatever your political affiliation, you have to love New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s ‘get the hell off the beach’ speech. If you haven’t seen it, click the link I provided right this second. HILARIOUS. PS – he is right, although I admit that I may have waited a little bit longer just to avoid the traffic.
6 – Social media is here to stay. I have believed this for a long time but for you naysayers…news was out there relaying information as well as local governments. I admit, I followed a few more relevant Facebook pages and Twitter feeds that would give me the information I desired. And some with not so relevant information…but hey, with 10K followers in just a few days, that’s impressive.
7 – Note to self: when stores are restocked, create an emergency kit – including D batteries and duct tape. No where could D batteries be found. Duct tape — I eventually found a few more rolls, but they weren’t at the hardware store. Now I realize the importance…I don’t want to be THOSE people at the store again. I want to have that stuff at the ready.
8 – We should be thankful it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Prepare for the worst, expect the best is a good mantra.
9 – I prepared for the windows to blow out and I also prepared to lose electricity. I had games, a deck of cards and candles ready to go into the bathroom. I also made the boyfriend and I pack a little emergency bag in case we had to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Laugh now, but I don’t think it was a bad idea.
10 – I am a little annoyed by the MTA and the PATH trains. You shut them down for the first time in history and you get them back and running in less than 48 hours? Why? Why? WHY? The storm happened over the weekend. You couldn’t just make a public plea for people to stay home on Monday?
While there are many people who think this was too much preparation for something so little, I do think the public officials did right by their constituents. Mother Nature is unpredictable and while there is significant damage up and down the Eastern Seaboard, you never know what could have been.
simply three cents 