Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."

Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."

Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."

Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."

Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."

Happy New Year. I wouldn't know, as I have been busy doing other things. I had Euros on the right and tweakers on the left. In the middle, some sort of protesting mob interfering with my walk home from work. Now safe and sound, but all that broken glass makes me nervous, as I don't wear socks. Somebody has to keep the fort while the co-workers are sick. On the bright side, I have a lot of activities planned over the next 6 months, and I am fully paid off — I don't owe anybody anything. That's the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

At 5am a giant truck brought an even bigger tractor into the parking lot across the street — they are tearing down the old Ivar's Restaurant next door and building something new. This is going to be loud. One benefit: I now have more sunshine in my apartment. Different view too, though no stellar shots of Mt. Rainier. One of my resolutions is to only sleep 8 hours. When I sleep 12-16 hours I miss a lot of stuff.

First plane trip since the attacks. I had all my travel documents in order, luggage streamlined, even wearing sandals to prevent problems at security. The Hotel Pulitzer was super phat — top 5 for sure.

Amsterdam: found new geocaches, including some on the old Dutch East India Company docklands — Javakade and Summatrakade — where developers are digging up ground that hasn't seen daylight for hundreds of years. I want to bring a metal detector next time. At my favourite coffee shop, De Rokkery, I got into a long metaphysical debate with a rabbi astrophysicist and a Christian from Iowa. I won by pointing out where I believe the Lost Ark really is. He had no answer.

Then south to Luxembourg — fog so dense I had only 50 metres of visibility, mountains getting dark early. Met German friends, rented a car, found a geocache right at 50° North, 6° East. Classic. On the way back to Brussels the rental car broke down in a roundabout in the Belgian Ardennes, right at the German and Luxembourg border. Police came by, put me in the van (in a good way), drove me to a garage. The old mechanic's son spoke English, sorted everything out. I was back on the road.

The flight home: Amsterdam socked in with fog, two extra hours on the tarmac, cute Swedish girl next to me, three hours in customs in Philadelphia. Made it. Three happy ferrets. House still standing.

Back to work — first time in weeks. Exciting to tell stories of the trip. This week is scheduled to be the busiest since 9/11, which I am hoping is a sign of recovery. Also: building demolition next door has the walls vibrating like magic fingers. If I put a cup of water on the kitchen counter I can see the ripples every time the thumper thumps. It's like that scene in Jurassic Park — I know the dinosaur is coming, I just can't see it yet.

The Winter Olympic Torch came to town. The main staging area is a 3-minute walk from my house. The torch was 45 minutes behind schedule but no worries — plenty to look at, the people were great, even the police were polite. Off in the distance on Mercer Street a helicopter came over the horizon, followed by a large police escort, then the flame itself carried by Megan Quann. I had an excellent position at 5th and Mercer. Then she came down the main aisle at the Seattle Centre and lit the cauldron. What a spirited girl — class beyond her years, still in high school. The energy she presented with that torch was beyond description. Maybe there is still a little of that flame right inside of me too.

Training is back on. Eighty miles on the bike this week. The next mission: triathlon up in Vancouver, first week of March. Last year was my first at UBC — I did okay, but didn't have it dialled in the way I think I do now. I am excited to find out.

"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments … The major crimes throughout history, executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy." — John Hospers

Things can get strange. It is always good to have an escape plan. Mine involves Namibia, good maps, and a book written by German Africans who hid in the canyons for two years during WWII and lived off the land. Katherine — if you read this — your words still echo: "Time is the only thing we are all given with."