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Friday, December 29, 2006

Rain Rain go away....



It's been quite wet here since arriving in Ireland with very few opportunities to venture in the outdoors. Life has been pretty much catching up with eating pork products and sampling Guinness with my friends at the local watering hole McCabes pup. Today (Saturday) I am determined to get out for a while and look for some photo ops and visit some more friends before the time is up. Nothing too exciting to report but I will have more updates.. Dave Bullis arrives Dublin I believe today so I am sure I will speak to him at some point. So stay tuned. Hopefully I will get some pictures in also.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Is there a Santa Claus?


Early Christmas day sitting in San Diego Airport with my daughter Ciara and a half hour before our flight to Ireland, we decided to have McDonalds (I know, I like their breakfasts and its still better than airplane food). While eating I inquired what she got for Christmas. Among the extensive list it seemed was a roll out piano key board from sharper image (she is 8), anyway I asked who got that for you and she replied with hand quotes in the air and a knowing look and a smirk “Santa Clause” then she went on to say she recognized her moms writing and when she brought it to her attention her mom replied that Santa had asked her to write it. But Ciara was not fooled. Now this is not the first time she has brought the validity of Santa up. A few weeks ago she asked me a very serious question and a wanted a very serious answer back. Her question was as I am sure you could guess, “daddy is there really a Santa Claus and do you and mom just buy the presents because some guy in class said bla bla bla?” I could just see the scenario of some kid being told by their parents it was all bullshit and he could not wait to spread the good news. I suppose that is how most of us found out or at least began to question the whole thing. But honestly I think I was still a believer at the age of eight. Could the magic not last a few more years? I suppose we all just play along because it does, even as an adult give us a feeling of something magical and a reason to give. But I am sure for some it can mean the beginning of a very depressing season. So my response to her was Ciara if you think its real then it is real and I chose to believe with her

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Friday, December 22, 2006

A CLASH of worlds


Every so often a random observation triggers a distant memory and then cascades to others. Last night I watched a DVD I had not seen in quite a few years about The Undertones. A relatively local band from where I grew up in Ireland who became very popular locally although not so much in America, with their kind of pop punk which was surprising due to where they came from. An embattled catholic ghetto called the bog side in Derry. They were the first real band that I had ever seen in my life at the age of 11. I recounted to Elsa that at that period of the punk era that instead of clapping the audience would spit or gobbing. Yes it is as nasty as it sounds and would be completely unacceptable in this day and age. Even then bands were not pleased about it and eventually got sick of it and would stop playing until it stopped. Of course it eventually phased out. So coming into work this morning and I guess with last nights thoughts in my subconscious I ended up doing a search for The Clash playing at the Ulster hall in 1984 ( they were another pivotal moment in my live music experience). Being still quite young and not used to the big city especially Belfast which was and still is a VERY segregated city where one would always have to watch what area they were in and even more so if dressed different than the norms. "Spider men" or drunks looking for any reason to thump people roamed the streets after closing time (which is mostly 11pm in Ireland) and of course were especially fond of young punks. I remember walking up to the concert hall seeing rows of armored police vehicles all over the place and literally 100’s of punks and skins lining the side walk drinking cider if they could
afford a bottle and for those that could not would more likely be sniffing glue.

When I finally walked into the hall a local punk band “The Defects” were playing their set. A very popular band indeed as I watched in awe as 1000’s of skins and punks were bunched up in one big ball that covered 60% of the floor jumping up and down as one shaking the whole hall (well it seemed like it) I have since been to many many concerts and I can say I have never seen anything as impressive since. One collective unit operating in unison, BOOM BOOM BOOM as they hit the floor, I will never forget that. To protect the band a 6ft fence was built around the stage. The spitting had almost stopped at that time but the odd one would fly every now and then and I suppose a few hit the main man Joe Strummer. He stopped playing and came down to confront the guy who was doing it. As he go in his face across the fence the guy just jumped up and down and continued to spit right in his face. Words were exchanged and Joe wiped off and got back to playing. London Calling was the first song, and I remember exactly how it felt……

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Friday, December 15, 2006

Sexy is in…..almost


In my previous post I indicated the word sexy was one of the most popular keywords in blog world. So I posted a picture of my gf to see if there would be any noticeable increase in traffic to my site. As they say sex sells so I wondered will sexy sell also. Verdict….yes the traffic did increase to my blog. Now I would not say by a very significant amount but there certainly was an up tick of about 20 more views per day following the post. So sexy can sell just not as much as sex. I will be greedy here and pimp another picture to finish off the topic before moving on to other issues. Look for the link to Elsa’s blog if you are interested in knowing more about the girl in the pic ;)




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Monday, December 11, 2006

SEXY


One of the ways people can find blogs that address issues or topics they find interesting is by bloggers using tags or labels indicting the content they are writing about. Being part of Technorati, a web site that facilitates this method, your blog is routinely pinged and your tags become more easily searchable by others and in turn more traffic to your blog. So they have a list of the most popular tags and of course even in blog world “Sexy” is up there... So I thought I will write a blog entitled sexy and show a picture of my very attractive girlfriend. I just want to see what the difference will be if I do this and I will post the results. So people please say something if you stop by :)

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Finally the truth may be revealed in Ireland.


The Irish government will raise fresh allegations of collusion involving British security forces in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. An Irish parliamentary committee found widespread collusion between security forces and loyalist paramilitaries in three 1970s atrocities that claimed 18 lives. Speaking ahead of tomorrow`s high-level meeting between British and Irish politicians, Mr Ahern said:

"It is absolutely essential the British government co-operate fully with investigations into allegations of British collusion in loyalist attacks during the mid-1970s.

"Its findings are stark and deeply troubling. The issues must be fully investigated. There is no doubt there was collusion."


Just a quick sharing of something I read today
For those who don't know I am a catholic from Northern Ireland who grew up with this shit... Finally what we knew all along that the British supported loyalist death squads to maintain a protestant state is finally being revealed. I will write more about this soon.

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The Price of Being Hip.


Saturday night was a trip to Modus, a fairly new hip bar with cool sophisticated décor and everything else you could expect from a trendy place and worthy of any metro sexual. Not that I am one obviously. Now I don't usually go to these types of places except on some special occasions but I thought why not for a change. It’s located in banker’s hill so I figured it most likely would not be as pretentious a crowd as you would find downtown proper, and I suppose you could say that assumption bore out as it was a little lower key that I expected. It was also one of Elsa’s model friends birthday so we said hello to their group and then it was off on our own. It was not downtown but it sure as hell was downtown prices. I could not believe my bill at the end of the night. But I did break rule #1 and that is to sport a good buzz before you go out anywhere especially a place like this. But sharing a tub of half baked with Elsa before we left took that notion off the table real quick. I dunno ice cream and booze just does not mix well with me. It was however fun for all, with Elsa having a shocking revelation, and Richele and Charlie fighting for half the night in an endearing way I suppose. We all went back to my place later for drinks and it ended up me being the only one drinking. What was the point I thought. But the moral of the story is it costs to be hip and this place will certainly not be my Modus operendus. Give me a dive bar with real people and real situations and where you can still get fucked up on 20 bucks anytime and not get kicked out if you look to drunk. May I suggest Lancers...

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Friday, December 08, 2006

Now I am Just Saying

The time has come for me to opine about the war in Iraq.

The secular progressives of this country (and the world for that matter) are in the last stages of completing what the enemy has been betting on all along, and that is to slowly break down the will of the American people. With the barrage of nay Sayers and the liberal media relentlessly feeding to us that defeat is inevitable and that maybe we have been the problem all along, the will soon diminishes. History has once again repeated itself as a stark comparison with Vietnam. There is only one way to defeat us and that is to defeat ourselves. The self loathing that some people have for their own country is sometimes sickening to hear and watch. As one person I talked to not so long ago who hated Bush so much

she could not even stand it said, "well the September 11 thing we must have done something to deserve it". At that point is there really any point trying to explain the complex reality of the world. If there is no army actually waiting to land on the shores of California then they are quite willing to do nothing and just think of ideological utopias with the false and naive idea that the rest of the world contrary to fact and reality is on the same wavelength. The progressive idea in this country and most other countries with a functioning society is that if you leave them alone, be humble and just blindly sent money they will in turn reciprocate. The historical precedence on this is astounding, and a case of continued classic stupidity. The ideological ideas prevalent in almost all the mid east countries rivals any fascist regime in history. Simply hoping it will go away won’t solve a thing. The liberals and the liberal media have pounded this country into submission and defeat just like Vietnam. Yes we should leave now because with out the desire to really win and take this threat head on then what's the point in staying, the war is already over. I guess we will just have to wait until the New York Times decides its ok to fight back. But then the stakes will be much higher with the nuclear element added to the homicide bomber threat. The progressives seem quite comfortable with allowing religious extremists to develop nuclear weapons with nothing more than “oh come on please, play by the rules”. To be clear here I am not a huge fan of Bush either, but I know a threat when I see one and I simply will not be a passive observer and hope it never comes to me. Iran with a nuke!!!! Is there any doubt in anybody’s mind what they will do with such a thing? When it gets to that point it will be too late and you won’t be able to hide anymore.

Meanwhile, the more pressing domestic threat of Christmas is now close to extinction

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retronym \REH-troh-nim\ noun

a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun: Ex Rolex Watch

Ha I am on a word kick the past few days ;) Just liked this one for some reason. Examples are :

Cell Phone
Flat screen Tv
Pocket Rocket ;)

Anymore people ?



Type rest of the post here

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive”

Deception (noun)
the practice of deliberately making somebody believe things that are not true

Earlier today I was writing a blog addressing an issue of this great country never learning from its history, namely Iraq and Vietnam (that’s an entirely different blog to follow). Many people say history is doomed to repeat itself and I have always been one to argue that it is history that’s the problem. People use it to justify the future (Guess that’s why it repeats huh) Things are never as they seem and history keeps repeating itself… themes that are such a part of my life. Am I being deceived or am I just really naive and innocent?

The quote is from Sir Walter Scott.

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Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The Hornblower


Recently a thank you lunch provided by our company was held on one of the horn blower cruises for a product launched almost a year ago. It was a pleasant cruise around san Diego bay and a nice touch I suppose, considering the millions of $'s the company made from this. But to have to go back to work so late on a Friday afternoon was just depressing and we were all chomping at the bit to head up 5th ave for some drinks. So why am I writing about this? We had the pleasure of our two east coast transplants to provide all the crude humor during the voyage. Joe a New Yorker (what that man can do with a treo) and Dennis the Boston baked bean (Dennis 4% is better than 2%). Yes the combo is exactly what you would expect...so during this event I was lucky to capture on video the Musmacker in action. I certainly could not keep this to myself ;)
Enjoy.

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Monday, December 04, 2006

Okay back to the Real World--Google adds


So for those wondering what happened to my Google ads they cut me off. Apparently they said I had too many invalid clicks... Well they might have been right ( maybe I clicked the ads on my own page a little too much LOL). I was just starting to make some cash when bam it's all done. I have the chance to appeal, but who knows what is going to happen. I must say I am a little disappointed... Oh well we shall see...See I am still giving them a plug
I will be back GOOGLE!!!!

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The Final days of Peru


Our final day in Cusco involved having to find a new hotel for the last night. We really liked and felt comfortable at the hotel we stayed in up until now. Loved the great breakfasts and the staff were just so friendly and nice. They honestly made you feel welcome. I had actually inadvertently left my dive watch behind in the room before the trail start and they found it and kept it for me (although I did have to ask for it). But I could have just have easily not gotten it ya know. We moved to another hotel that I guess was more aesthetically pleasing but the staff sure did not compare, but it was only one night. The rest of the day was spent walking around town to buy souvenirs and gifts and eat in a nice restaurant. We seemed to end up in this Irish bar a lot. That night plans were made to meet up with our group for some final drinks and a good bye at a very eclectic bar restaurant. Elsa was in her element; it was so FRISCO

and brought her back to her days of romping around hillcrest. She is now an east county evangelical ;) Our flight the next day was an early one at 6am so we left early (10pm) to pack and get some sleep. We said our goodbyes and set off to the hotel for essentially our last night in Peru.
Morning came early at 4:30 and the guy who had picked us up at the airport arrived as promised to take us back. He had been paid handsomely for his services and I guess he was expecting more, but we were now the wiser to what things actually cost and I suppose he knew it.
We arrived in Lima at 8 am and our flight was not supposed to take off to Houston until 11pm that night!!! Not so bad I guess because it meant we could spend the day in Lima.
Now the Lima part will be a short one because there really wasn’t much to see. Just a big bustling city that had this thick muggy marine layer covering it like a shroud, and apparently it’s like that most of the year. Relatively unimpressive and I certainly would encourage anybody visiting Peru to have it be nothing more than a transit point to somewhere better. Really you are not missing anything. I did get to see some surfers which I found interesting and the surf did look good but other than that Elsa and I just spent the day killing time, eating, sitting where ever we could for what ever reason we could come up with, we even got in a movie. Back at the airport later that evening we find out that the airport tax is 65 dollar's each to get out of the country, and its cash only. Imagine if you were traveling on a shoestring and had no idea of the fee and no money left? And they also don’t take a credit card!! The plane was delayed over an hour so the flight did not take off until 1am.I thought at that point the whole trip had really gone way too smoothly without something happening. In addition we would miss our connecting flight in Houston ... A pain and you can imagine we were tired and just wanted to get home... We did eventually arrive home a few hours later than planned, tired and glad to get back to that routine. It’s a mixed bag of feelings but I missed my daughter and el Fred, they were both happy to see me. But we both were fully aware that we had just completed something quite special and experienced something that will always remain in the top tier of our life experiences. I have been around the world and this was certainly one of the highlights...It some ways I am still on the trail...

The end

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Day 7 " Made It"


The third night was much like the last, cold and very damp. The weather was really putting a dampener on the thought of arriving at Machu Picchu and watching the sun come up over that majestic place with perfect weather. We had all decided the night before that regardless what the weather was like we would to be up early and on the trail as soon as they would let us. There was a restriction that no one could commence any earlier than 5:30 am due mainly because it was still dark and knowing that most people would try to walk the trail in the dark just so they could be there as the first rays of light shone

. As you can imagine that would be quite dangerous due to the sheer drop. We awoke early to our last breakfast and then proceeded to get in line. The gods were with us the sky was clear… Of course we were not the only ones with the same enthusiasm to get there ASAP. But we had a good position in the line and as soon as they let us through the gate everybody took off at probably their briskest pace on the whole trail. I know I did, I was breaking a run at one point. It was a short trail and probably one of the more horizontal stretches. There was no time to be tired, this is what we came for and let’s get there. The final trail took about 1 ½ hours and ended with a rather steep set of stairs to the final pass Intipunku (Sun Gate) I knew that as soon as I reached there that Machu Picchu would be revealed to me . I was excited and stopped for a second to take a picture trying ceremoniously to record this moment as much as possible, I was steps away from my first look. I stepped up to the gate and there it was in the distance, Machu Picchu in all it’s glory a fantastic sight. Cameras were going off everywhere as we all wanted to record the moment. Everything we had all endured for the past 3 days was SO worth it and that we all had earned the right to be there. We traveled to Machu Picchu the same way an Incan would have hundreds of years ago, on foot through the hot sun, rain, cold nights…After pausing for a while we set off on the final leg, Machu Picchu was still another hour away. It was a short walk and pretty soon the image of the city as we neared became bigger and bigger until it was life like as we walked up to the edge. Another round of we made it photos and then it was off to the main gate. Our guide took us the final step giving us a short tour of the ruins. It was truly a magnificent sight and was as majestic as I anticipated it to be. After our tour we were let off to wander the ruins ourselves. The city was built on the top of a mountain with sheer drops down to the valley floor. It was for the most part literally on the edge. The view was amazing, can you imagine living there back then and walking up every morning to a view like that. I stood there and wondered if some had stood on the same spot all those eons ago and looked at the same view as me and appreciated how majestic it all really was. Did they stand there ever and say “wow I am lucky to be here” If they thought at all they must have. Elsa and I wandered around the sights taking pictures and even sat down on the grass for a while. To get to Machu Picchu by train you take a 4 hour ride, so by about 11:30am the first train of tourists was arriving, and by 12 noon the place was crawling with them. We were tourists also but damm we earned the right to be here show us some respect...LOL I kind of did feel like that and also felt there was no way they could appreciate what they were seeing like we could. So shortly after that with so many people finally crawling all over the place we decided it was time to leave and go down to train stop. A small town with a little character I suppose but it was mainly a town in support of the ummm ruin up above them. We had some lunch and walked around the markets until it was time to catch the train back. A pleasant train ride but did it ever travel slow no wonder it took so long. It was a long ride back for sure and it was dark when we arrived. We were picked up at the station and delivered back to our accommodation. They literally picked us up from our hotel the first morning and delivered up right back where they got us, a great tour company everything went so smoothly. You can imagine getting back to the room it was a long hot shower and a sleep on a real bed…Felt SOOO good… It was a day I will never forget.

PLEASE SEE PHOTO ALBUM BELOW

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Saturday, December 02, 2006

Day 6 "“Into the clouds”


The third night turned out to be quite a wet one, but not nearly as much as our camping neighbors had to endure. The rain poured hard for hours during the night and we almost at one point thought we would be washed away. In the campsite next to us the porters apparently did not pitch the tents properly and subsequently the water flowed. A long wet night for those guys with everything soaked. Thankfully we were sorted and by daylight the rain had stopped and we awoke to the usual tea in bed. The weather was cool and misty with this part of the trail taking us through a cloud forest. Another pleasant stroll with lush greenery and different species of orchids. I am sure there was a vast view to behold but with the mist you really could not see far. We passed through an Incan tunnel which had been named the tunnel of love a term I am sure was coined for the tourists. For the most part the day was down hill and we passed some of the better Incan ruins along the trail namely Phuyupatamaca. The main objective of the day was to get to the last official campsite before Machu Picchu known as the Trekkers Hostel at Winay Wayna. Although not much of a facility, they did have hot showers and BEER. It was the start of the transition back to the usual comforts we are all love. As we approached the campsite the now daily rain showers were upon us but this time it was lingering more than usual. After everything we had endured we certainly did not want to come upon Machu Picchu with shitty weather. The site was certainly not pretty but having a semi-hot shower along with a few cold beers was very welcome. We had our final dinner together followed by a small thank you ceremony for our porters. All a heart warming experience and in some way I guess we all wanted the trail to continue in some way. The end was in sight on our final night on the trail. It would be an early start tomorrow.

PLEASE SEE PHOTO ALBUM BELOW


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