Yo party people! My bruffas and I were chatting about their planned trip to London in February, and we remembered this site:
http://www.sidestep.com
It's like Orbitz but gooder. So check it out, plan a trip, and come visit EVERYBODY!
Cheers,
Dan
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
London lately....Or....Maybe I look like him
Remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle TV show? They used to have two titles for every show. It would be like, "Rocky takes a nose dive......oooooooooorrrrrrrrr......Potato is the new black." And the second one would never make sense. I always swore that I would write it down and try to figure out through the show if it did make sense (maybe potato WAS the new black somehow), but then I'd get excited for the show and forget all about the titles. So I think sometimes I'll throw in two titles just for fun. But they will usually make sense.
ANYWAY, as you've probably guessed, things have slowed down a bit for me. After the recent spree of travel, I've been able to catch up with some friends here and generally get back to enjoying life in London. It's fun though because now I've actually got things to do rather than being the perma-tourist that I was for the first 2 months. So for the next few posts I'll try to tell you about things that have been happening here and help you to get to know life in London. So, for example, I'll take you on a tour of Balham (my neighbourhood), introduce you to the lady who cuts my hair, tell you a bit about my offices (more than one?), and anything else that strikes my fancy.
This weekend I had the joy of heading into Hyde Park (where I saw Live 8) to play American football with the Texans. Cool! I was a bit rusty in the beginning, but was able to make a few good catches, an interception, and a touchdown. Take that Texans! Unfortunately, my knee isn't quite back to 100%, so I'll have to really get back to working on that so I'm ready for skiing. Did I tell you I'm going to Ischgl, Austria, on Dec 1?
Well, did you remember the 2nd title of this blog post? This is the part where I finally tell you the reason for that (I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat). Liz and Melissa think I look more like Doug (on the right) from the Doug TV show:
What do you think?
Cheers!
Dan
ANYWAY, as you've probably guessed, things have slowed down a bit for me. After the recent spree of travel, I've been able to catch up with some friends here and generally get back to enjoying life in London. It's fun though because now I've actually got things to do rather than being the perma-tourist that I was for the first 2 months. So for the next few posts I'll try to tell you about things that have been happening here and help you to get to know life in London. So, for example, I'll take you on a tour of Balham (my neighbourhood), introduce you to the lady who cuts my hair, tell you a bit about my offices (more than one?), and anything else that strikes my fancy.
This weekend I had the joy of heading into Hyde Park (where I saw Live 8) to play American football with the Texans. Cool! I was a bit rusty in the beginning, but was able to make a few good catches, an interception, and a touchdown. Take that Texans! Unfortunately, my knee isn't quite back to 100%, so I'll have to really get back to working on that so I'm ready for skiing. Did I tell you I'm going to Ischgl, Austria, on Dec 1?
Well, did you remember the 2nd title of this blog post? This is the part where I finally tell you the reason for that (I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat). Liz and Melissa think I look more like Doug (on the right) from the Doug TV show:
What do you think?
Cheers!
Dan
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Separated At Birth?
A couple of my coworkers recently commented to me that I am the spitting image of Prince Harry. Harry, the who son of Prince William (The Prince of Wales), celebrated his 21st birthday this week and has been in the news a lot. Congrats Harry! You are a lucky guy -- to look like me that is. I've heard this before actually, but can't seem to think of where. I think it may have been a NY cabbie or something. Anyway, you judge for yourself:
Friday, September 16, 2005
Glasgow and Edinburgh
Howdy! Sorry (again) for no posts of any substance for a while here. Things are really nuts at work these days because I am releasing a big part of the project I've been working on and a guy is leaving so I'm ALSO getting all his work. Sweet. But I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to hear we haven't found any problems yet. So that's the fascinating work news.
Anyway, this weekend I hoped on a cheapo EasyJet flight up to sunny Scotland to hang out with Susie. Both Glasgow and Edinburg are cities I've really wanted to see for a while: JPMorgan has a big technology center in Glasgow, and Edinburgh is just really cool. Plus Edinburgh has a great big festival that I'm definitely gonna go to next year.
The impressions I had built up from what I'd heard and read were pretty much on the money. Glasgow was a sorta industrial city with a few bright spots. But the day trip we took to Edinburg was really the highlight.
It's really a delight to ride the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh through the rolling hills covered in fog and sheep and end up in the heart of the capital of Scotland. As you enter the city you are in a tight valley and you look up to see the castle looming over you. It was raining (of course), but we didn't mind that much. We found a few cosy little cafes and a fantastic bar where we spent most of the night knocking elbows with the local chaps. Funny thing is with the heavy accent, I felt like I could understand way more people in Prague than I did in Edinburgh.
In the afternoon, we took a guided tour of the castle from a VERY entertaining Scottish guy who really filled the whole thing with a great sense of pride and humor. Did you know that the hole in the front of the toilet seat was invented by a Scot? They also invented a bunch of other important stuff that I can't remember. Here's a pic of the fountain on Princes Street with the castle in the background (pulled off the castle web site because I forgot my camera that day):
So that was Saturday. On Sunday we were back in Glasgow and went to an Irish bar to catch the All-Ireland finals of Gaelic Hurling. Just what you were expecting I'd do in Scotland, right? Hurling is actually a really neat sport played only in Ireland (I think) that's a lot like lacrosse actually. The stick they use is all wood, though, with no pouch. So they kinda throw the ball to themselves WHILE RUNNING and hit it like a baseball. Cool! But it goes really far and they can score by either getting it into the goal (3 points) or through the uprights (1 point). These guys are tough as hell though and really whack each other. Many don't even wear helmets. So the game moves really fast and doesn't take long to pick up what's going on. After a tight match with the Galway fans in the bar screaming a lot....Cork won! We were pretty excited and cheered with a whole bar filled with Irish people. Well, except the Galway fans who weren't happy. Too bad for them! Here's an article on the match and a pic I took of the fans storming the field:
http://www.westernpeople.com/news/story.asp?j=27083
Glasgow was actually a pretty nice city in some parts. Here's a story to give you an idea of why it still has a bad reputation: We were staying in a nice Hilton hotel, but when you walk out of the hotel, you would either have to basically walk along a 4 lane highway, or down a dark street for about 100 yards. And since we couldn't understand the locals at all, you'd never know if someone was coming to mug you or ask for the time.
But there were nice parts too. Here's a pic of Buchanan Street, a lovely pedestrian street near George Square and Merchant City in the center of Glasgow:
So it's been a busy month and a half -- Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria, Scotland. Phew. Not sure what's next, but I know it'll be fun!
Cheers,
Dan
PS. Here's another pic of Liz's dog. Great!
Anyway, this weekend I hoped on a cheapo EasyJet flight up to sunny Scotland to hang out with Susie. Both Glasgow and Edinburg are cities I've really wanted to see for a while: JPMorgan has a big technology center in Glasgow, and Edinburgh is just really cool. Plus Edinburgh has a great big festival that I'm definitely gonna go to next year.
The impressions I had built up from what I'd heard and read were pretty much on the money. Glasgow was a sorta industrial city with a few bright spots. But the day trip we took to Edinburg was really the highlight.
It's really a delight to ride the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh through the rolling hills covered in fog and sheep and end up in the heart of the capital of Scotland. As you enter the city you are in a tight valley and you look up to see the castle looming over you. It was raining (of course), but we didn't mind that much. We found a few cosy little cafes and a fantastic bar where we spent most of the night knocking elbows with the local chaps. Funny thing is with the heavy accent, I felt like I could understand way more people in Prague than I did in Edinburgh.
In the afternoon, we took a guided tour of the castle from a VERY entertaining Scottish guy who really filled the whole thing with a great sense of pride and humor. Did you know that the hole in the front of the toilet seat was invented by a Scot? They also invented a bunch of other important stuff that I can't remember. Here's a pic of the fountain on Princes Street with the castle in the background (pulled off the castle web site because I forgot my camera that day):
So that was Saturday. On Sunday we were back in Glasgow and went to an Irish bar to catch the All-Ireland finals of Gaelic Hurling. Just what you were expecting I'd do in Scotland, right? Hurling is actually a really neat sport played only in Ireland (I think) that's a lot like lacrosse actually. The stick they use is all wood, though, with no pouch. So they kinda throw the ball to themselves WHILE RUNNING and hit it like a baseball. Cool! But it goes really far and they can score by either getting it into the goal (3 points) or through the uprights (1 point). These guys are tough as hell though and really whack each other. Many don't even wear helmets. So the game moves really fast and doesn't take long to pick up what's going on. After a tight match with the Galway fans in the bar screaming a lot....Cork won! We were pretty excited and cheered with a whole bar filled with Irish people. Well, except the Galway fans who weren't happy. Too bad for them! Here's an article on the match and a pic I took of the fans storming the field:
http://www.westernpeople.com/news/story.asp?j=27083
Glasgow was actually a pretty nice city in some parts. Here's a story to give you an idea of why it still has a bad reputation: We were staying in a nice Hilton hotel, but when you walk out of the hotel, you would either have to basically walk along a 4 lane highway, or down a dark street for about 100 yards. And since we couldn't understand the locals at all, you'd never know if someone was coming to mug you or ask for the time.
But there were nice parts too. Here's a pic of Buchanan Street, a lovely pedestrian street near George Square and Merchant City in the center of Glasgow:
So it's been a busy month and a half -- Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Austria, Scotland. Phew. Not sure what's next, but I know it'll be fun!
Cheers,
Dan
PS. Here's another pic of Liz's dog. Great!
Friday, September 09, 2005
National Geographic
Ok, so this blog isn't gonna turn into "Dan's Favourite News of the Day", but you will have to admit that this is amazing:
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/
Nice work Mr. Presidente.
I'm off to Glasgow and Edinburgh this weekend for a little tour of Scotland with Susie. Should be fun. Hopefully I'll have some cool pics for you next week!
Have a good weekend.
Dan
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/
Nice work Mr. Presidente.
I'm off to Glasgow and Edinburgh this weekend for a little tour of Scotland with Susie. Should be fun. Hopefully I'll have some cool pics for you next week!
Have a good weekend.
Dan
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Army Blimps!
So this is sort of a strange post, but I saw an article in the paper today about the U.S. Army issuing a design contract to Lockheed Martin and Aeros Aeronautical for a blimp/airship hybrid:
And I wanted to let everyone know that I TOTALLY had this idea in high school. You people laughed at my small obsession with blimps, but who's laughing now! Hahaha. Well...my idea was for a blimp shipping company, but that's easily extended into the Army. Blimps are back baby!
http://www.gizmag.co.uk/go/4538/
And I wanted to let everyone know that I TOTALLY had this idea in high school. You people laughed at my small obsession with blimps, but who's laughing now! Hahaha. Well...my idea was for a blimp shipping company, but that's easily extended into the Army. Blimps are back baby!
http://www.gizmag.co.uk/go/4538/
Monday, September 05, 2005
Prague and Vienna!
What up party people! Sorry for the looooong delay in posting. Went on a little holiday (again?) last week to Prague and Vienna. Hurrah!
So last Saturday, Susie and I flew into Prague and had arranged to have the rental car guy meet me with the "STORMS" sign in hand. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. And NO ONE at the airport had heard of the sketchy rental car company Vecar from my Lonely Planet guide book. Went over to another rental car joint and actually got a better deal. Strange. Starting to lose faith in the Lonely Planet. Don't worry....the story gets more exciting than this. Have a look at some pics while I continue:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZMnLlm1atGP0
So we hopped into our little Skoda Fabia, went the wrong way at the start, but eventually got through the 5 hour drive down to Vienna. I think I saw a Czech movie star in the gas station because the attendant asked for her autograph. But they were speaking Czech, so she could have in the royal family for all I know. Our hotel was on a really nice pedestrian street right in the middle of the city. Great to walk on, but driving on it (like I tried to) doesn't work out as well. Ooops...gave the tourists at the outdoor cafe quite a scare. Other than that, Vienna is a lovely, romantic city. As long as it isn't raining. Then it's sorta grey. But we drank a lot of coffee, had a LOT of cake, and some beer too. Took in the symphony at the royal palace and climbed to the top of the impressive St. Stephen's Cathedral. Here's a pic of me in a really nice cafe, whispering a secret to the statue sitting by the door:
If you are curious, the secret I'm whispering is that he should leave Vienna....and go to Prague. Which is exactly what we did. And though Vienna was nice, Prague really overshadowed it and may hold the prestigious rank of Dan's favourite European destination. What an honor.
Oh, also stopped one the way up by a cool little Czech town near the Austrian border called Cesky Krumlov. A beautiful castle with a tower designed by Hans Christian Andersen dominated the view, but the small streets and beautiful river looping around the old town really made it a fantastic place to spend the day. Here's a pic looking down from the castle:
So that night we drove up to Prague. We decided to take it easy the next day after a busy start to the trip, and sat by the Vltava river and had a really nice, long lunch with a few Czech beers. Did you know that Busweiser actually came from the Czech beer Budvar?
The next day, we headed up to the wonderful castle, toured the massive St. Vitas church and saw the grave of good St. Wenceslas (of the song). The church is HUGE and really beautiful with another great view from the top. Lots of stairs though.
The Brits are kinda down on Prague these days because they say 10 years ago you could get beers for 50 cents and there weren't really crowds. But now there are lots of tourists and beers are up to $2. Oh the horror. I didn't find the crowds to be all that bad for such a fantastic city. And the food, sights, and beer were well worth the trip. At one point we were outside of the touristy area and got an ice cream for 25 cents. Wow.
So on our last night, we thought we'd stop into a club by the Charles Bridge. Another reason the Brits slag off on Prague is that there are tons of British stag dos (bachelor parties) and hen parties (bachelorette parties). Kinda like the European Vegas with a funny accent. For example:
Then we went up to another club nearby and out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall American guy coming my way. Turns out it was Howie from my fraternity! He was there with Cliff, another friend of ours, who a few of you might recognize as the guy who Liz and Melissa started calling Izzo at one of my parties. hehehe :-)
Also at that club, I was at the bar getting beers and a guy turned to me and asked where I was from. I told him and he said, "America! I am from Croatia!" as if there was some correlation. And then he turned and told his friend where I was from, who immediately said, "I love America!!!" I gave them a cheers and walked away. Better than talking to the French though.
On the last day, we had a few hours to kill before the flight and were able to really get away from the tourists by heading down to a nice park with another huge church looming on a cliff over the river. The park was very well kept and the sun was shining bright. A great way to end the trip.
Happy Labor Dabor everybody everybody!
~Dan
So last Saturday, Susie and I flew into Prague and had arranged to have the rental car guy meet me with the "STORMS" sign in hand. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. And NO ONE at the airport had heard of the sketchy rental car company Vecar from my Lonely Planet guide book. Went over to another rental car joint and actually got a better deal. Strange. Starting to lose faith in the Lonely Planet. Don't worry....the story gets more exciting than this. Have a look at some pics while I continue:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZMnLlm1atGP0
So we hopped into our little Skoda Fabia, went the wrong way at the start, but eventually got through the 5 hour drive down to Vienna. I think I saw a Czech movie star in the gas station because the attendant asked for her autograph. But they were speaking Czech, so she could have in the royal family for all I know. Our hotel was on a really nice pedestrian street right in the middle of the city. Great to walk on, but driving on it (like I tried to) doesn't work out as well. Ooops...gave the tourists at the outdoor cafe quite a scare. Other than that, Vienna is a lovely, romantic city. As long as it isn't raining. Then it's sorta grey. But we drank a lot of coffee, had a LOT of cake, and some beer too. Took in the symphony at the royal palace and climbed to the top of the impressive St. Stephen's Cathedral. Here's a pic of me in a really nice cafe, whispering a secret to the statue sitting by the door:
If you are curious, the secret I'm whispering is that he should leave Vienna....and go to Prague. Which is exactly what we did. And though Vienna was nice, Prague really overshadowed it and may hold the prestigious rank of Dan's favourite European destination. What an honor.
Oh, also stopped one the way up by a cool little Czech town near the Austrian border called Cesky Krumlov. A beautiful castle with a tower designed by Hans Christian Andersen dominated the view, but the small streets and beautiful river looping around the old town really made it a fantastic place to spend the day. Here's a pic looking down from the castle:
So that night we drove up to Prague. We decided to take it easy the next day after a busy start to the trip, and sat by the Vltava river and had a really nice, long lunch with a few Czech beers. Did you know that Busweiser actually came from the Czech beer Budvar?
The next day, we headed up to the wonderful castle, toured the massive St. Vitas church and saw the grave of good St. Wenceslas (of the song). The church is HUGE and really beautiful with another great view from the top. Lots of stairs though.
The Brits are kinda down on Prague these days because they say 10 years ago you could get beers for 50 cents and there weren't really crowds. But now there are lots of tourists and beers are up to $2. Oh the horror. I didn't find the crowds to be all that bad for such a fantastic city. And the food, sights, and beer were well worth the trip. At one point we were outside of the touristy area and got an ice cream for 25 cents. Wow.
So on our last night, we thought we'd stop into a club by the Charles Bridge. Another reason the Brits slag off on Prague is that there are tons of British stag dos (bachelor parties) and hen parties (bachelorette parties). Kinda like the European Vegas with a funny accent. For example:
Then we went up to another club nearby and out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall American guy coming my way. Turns out it was Howie from my fraternity! He was there with Cliff, another friend of ours, who a few of you might recognize as the guy who Liz and Melissa started calling Izzo at one of my parties. hehehe :-)
Also at that club, I was at the bar getting beers and a guy turned to me and asked where I was from. I told him and he said, "America! I am from Croatia!" as if there was some correlation. And then he turned and told his friend where I was from, who immediately said, "I love America!!!" I gave them a cheers and walked away. Better than talking to the French though.
On the last day, we had a few hours to kill before the flight and were able to really get away from the tourists by heading down to a nice park with another huge church looming on a cliff over the river. The park was very well kept and the sun was shining bright. A great way to end the trip.
Happy Labor Dabor everybody everybody!
~Dan
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