Congress today is debating SOPA (or the Stop Online Piracy Act) – a serious piece of legislation that creates a “Great Firewall of China” type situation in the US. Supporters of this law claim SOPA targets “rogue” foreign websites that encourage piracy, but the bill’s vague language creates the necessary tools to silence free speech on the internet.

Under this new law, an individual or corporation can simply send a letter, and a site’s DNS (this is what turns “blog.ryandubois.net” into a machine address) and ISP (providing the physical connection to the internet) can be required to shut that site down, without ever setting foot in court.

This kind of “guilty until proven innocent” tactic has been seen before with DMCA takedown notices (which, we all know, are never, ever abused – (tongue in cheek)). This threatens the very fabric of the internet (DNS, and the internet itself, were created to prevent exactly this kind of usage – the internet is designed to route around any blockages automatically – congress is undermining the fabric of the internet, as if its any of their business).

The worse part is that this law can also outlaw circumvention tools (again, very vague language that could conceivably include VPN tunnels, or Tor bridges, both of which have very legitimate uses).

Wanna take action against this? Call your rep today!

The Entry way

This is our entry way.  They had some really crappy coat hooks up on the wall that were attached to some random, unpainted board.  We ripped that down, repainted the wall, and attached much nicer coat hooks directly to the wall.

The Breakfast Nook

Our breakfast nook.  They used to have a god awful fan that hung down so low, you’d nearly knock your head on the lights.  We replaced that with a temporary light fixture.  It’s so much better!  We hung up a stemware rack on the left there, added a large mirror on the wall (to increase the apparent size of the room/nook), and moved our old desk there (temporary until we get a proper bar fixture).

Kitchen Repainted

All of the cabinets got sanded down, nearly to bare wood, primed and repainted.  Then, all of the hardware (hinges and pulls) were replaced with more contemporary styles.  We added a moveable island to the left of the stove for more counter space, fixed the hole in the wall for the vent hood, and attached a spice rack, and fixed the broken tiles.

Family Room Wall

Family Room

The speakers on the wall there are temporary – we’re going to install in-ceiling speakers (I got it all wired, just need to install the speakers). TV wires are buried in the wall, along with TV power.  I just need to finish hooking a couple things up before we can get ride of all the wires hanging down.  We also added those crown moulding style shelves on the wall. Lovely!

New Shower Head

Repaired Shower Tiles

Bathroom overall

We hung a really cool double-bar towel rack (two frosted glass rods), another crown moulding shelf, and nice robe hooks (behind the door).  We also replaced the ghetto-fab tension bar for the shower curtain (something seen more in college apartments than houses) with a really nice, curved curtain rod, installed on the dry wall.

Master Bedroom

Repainted, hung window treatments, added a mirror.  This is the new color of our master bedroom.

Master Bedroom

We replaced the ugly ceiling fan in the bedroom with this more modern and clean design.  Also, on the left wall is a long crown-moulding style shelf.

Closets!

Did I mention I built the closets from scratch?  Yea, double bar on one side, single bar with shelves on the other.

Master Bedroom

One more angle of the beautiful master bedroom.

Fixed furnace closet doors.

We reattached the missing cross-member from the furnace closet door.  Looks much nicer now!

Office

Our home-office, viewed from the window.

The Desk

Added a nice wrap-around double desk.  Really looks nice in there.  And we still have room for an air bed on the floor when guests stay over.

Well, that’s most of the inside updates.  We (obviously) still have quite a few things on the list to do.

Stay Tuned!

Front of the House

Yea, that shrub there was growing up into the attic.  Also, some birds figured out it had punched a whole in the attic vent, so I had to deal with those.

As you can see, the yard was somewhat neglected.  The place was vacant when we bought it.

The Backyard

Here’s a shot of the backyard, taken from the vantage point of the side-yard.  That shed is still there, but not for long.  It’s filled with debris from fixing the place up.  Also, those boxwood bushes are all gone.  yay! There’s some snazzy patio furniture, a fireplace, and candle light all over the place now.

Back of the house

This is what the back of the house looked like.  Nowadays, there’s a new attic fan (solar, of course) on the roof back there.  It’ll get painted probably today, to blend in a little better. Not much has changed from this angle, except for reseeding the lawn, and cleaning out the fins of the AC compressor.

Inside: Family Room

Here’s where you’ll notice the most changes.  This is the family as viewed from the entry way.  As you can see, the color of the walls is puked-up-avocado green.  Gross, huh?  And that ceiling fan hangs dangerously close to ones head when passing by.  Also, that far corner is quite dark, no?

All that has been changed.

Inside Family Room

This photo was taken 90 degrees left from the previous one. See the thermostat on the far wall?  It wasn’t hooked to anything – REMOVED! Also, there’s a nice, large TV mounted to the wall now (burying the wires is coming soon). And of course, we painted everything.

Front Bedroom

This is the front bedroom.  What we have deemed to be the office/guest room. Dark, blank, gross crayon writing all over the walls (this kid had no discipline at all).  All cleaned up as you’ll see in coming photos.

Master Bedroom

And our coup-de-grace: the master bedroom.  We really turned this room around.  From the baby-poop wall color, to the hideous window treatments and ceiling fan – all has been dealt with!  I even re-built the closet! It used to be that cheap-o white-wire crap.  Now it’s all custom hardwood.

Bathroom

Here’s the one-and-only bathroom.  Kinda nasty huh?  It’s now a nice, deep purple, has a nice, curved shower curtain bar, and that gross soap dish? Gone! New shower-head, removed that ugly, mismatched cabinet. Check!

The hall closet

This used to make me chuckle everytime I walked by: they installed a new furnace (presumably replacing the wall-heater).  But, they didn’t bother to repair the wood they had to cut out to get the furnace in place, nor did they do a half-decent job of patching the dry-wall holes.

Tisk tisk! This has all been fixed.

Kitchen

Okay, you thought the master bedroom was bad?  Who did this paint job? What lunatic picked these colors?

We painstakingly took down all the cabinets, sanded them clean, repainted them a nice, bright white, replaced broken tiles, recaulked the sink (somebody decided that grouting the sink to the tiles was the smart way to go..), and repaired a giant hole in the dry wall. Also, that door to the garage has been replaced with an insulated steel door.

The Garage conversion.

And last, but not least, we removed this garage conversion.  They converted the garage (presumably unpermitted) to an office/room.  Yea, that’s not gunna work for us.  We dispatched this hack in about an hour.

It goes without saying that this took both of us working countless hours together, along with some invaluable help from friends and family to accomplish all of this.  Also, it’s been about 6 months of solid work.

More to come, stay tuned!

As you may or may not know, I’ve recently purchased a home. I’ve been spending most of my free time these days fixing it up, and getting it livable for me and my family.

I’ll outline here what we’ve done so far, and in the coming days, will post some photos of “before/after”.

Improvements:

• Removed un-permitted “room” conversion from the Garage.
• Replaced kitchen door
• Patched large hole in drywall in kitchen
• Fully sanded, repainted, and replaced all hardware on all kitchen cabinet
• Repaired damaged kitchen tiles
• Removed box-wood shrubs from the backyard
• Over-seeded the back lawn
• Replaced all electrical sockets and outlet covers with modern fixtures and designer covers
• Partially repainted baseboards (plan to have all of them done by the end of the year).
• Repaired missing wood from Furnace cabinet doors
• Sealed of furnace cabinet from the attic (it was just allowing heat in/out through there before).
• 75% complete with adding a radiant heat barrier to the underside of the roof decking
• Installed solar attic fan in main-house attic
• Plans to complete both of the above for the garage attic by end of the year
• Sealed garage attic off from main house attic (was partially vented before)
• Replaced shower drain P-trap and shower head
• Repaired broken tile in shower
• Painted every single wall
• Built a garage work table with recycled wood from the removal of the room conversion
• Rewired motion light at front of garage
• Installed motion light at backyard
• Replaced a broken GFCI outlet in bathroom
• Installed proper GFCI outlets in garage
• Installed a new ceiling fan in master bedroom
• Installed dimmer switch in bathroom
• Installed motion activated garage light

I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten, and will add to these notes soon.  Hope this inspires all you other home-improvers out there!

Cheers!

I recently decided to take a stand on the TSA’s increased security over-stepping being deployed in our airports.  The voracity with which the Xray backscatter machines have been deployed far outpaces our medical, safety, and scientific understanding of these machines, and the associated exposures and risks.

Also, I’m upset about the lack of accountability inherent in DHS and the TSA in particular. I’d like to see a more “Sheriff-like” system, where these people are democratically elected, and held personally accountable for their policies and the behaviors of their deputies.

If you have feelings on the issues around the TSA’s screenings, you are more than welcome to crib notes, copy, plagiarize, or echo the letter reprinted below (rights to plagiarize begin and end with the letter though ).

Dear Senator,

I’m writing you to voice my opinion on the TSA’s security screening policies. I’m a voting, tax-paying, full-time employed citizen from California with a unique background in both electrical engineering and medicine.

The TSA has gone farther than is necessary for ensuring the safety of the American populace. The security screening procedures, while I agree are necessary, in their current form are violations of our 4th Amendment rights to personal privacy. Furthermore, the voracity with which the recent Xray back-scatter machines have been deployed outpaces our clear understanding of both the associated health risks, and the purported benefit these scanners are thought to bring. Lastly, I’d like to urge you to bring a democratic process to the TSA specifically, and the Department of Homeland Security in general.

In the U.S., citizens enjoy a right to privacy which is not to be violated without good cause. I understand the need for general security screening of all general passenger on airlines.  I believe metal detectors, for example, have brought a level of safety to the cabin of the plane that had been previously unseen.  Gone are the days of reading about plane hijackings in the news (compare recent data to data from the 1980s, for example).  This is a good example of a proven measure taken to secure our airlines.  This measure also did not amount to a choice between either a) being sexual assaulted, or b) relinquishing rights to nude photos taken of our bodies to unelected TSA employees. U.S. citizens should not be subjected to such wide-reaching measures without either conclusive (I underscore the importance of this word) evidence that such measures actually help.  That conclusive evidence is severely lacking in the case of the Xray backscatter machines.

Further, the recent increase in the level of “pat down” (I hesitate calling it that anymore), is sickening, especially in how is it being applied to the elderly and children.  In any other setting, including police arrests, such treatment would be ground for a successful sexual assault case.  For example, the TSA’s “enhanced pat down” procedures go beyond what the U.S. Army is allowed to do, even in a war zone.  This is absurd.

Leaning on my background in emergency medicine, I know that patients in medicine now have their rights to privacy codified in the The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act guarantees that facilities taking medical data for any purpose must have measures already in place to guarantee the security and privacy of said data.  A nude, or even Xray body image is equivalent to medical information, yet there is no HIPAA protection on the TSA backscatter machines.  Where is the legal protection from instances such as the Florida court house, which was recently found to have 35,000 personal, nude images (tantamount to personal medical data) stored[1]. You’ll notice I didn’t use the phrase “stored improperly” because I feel that storing data used for security screening purposes is – in and of itself – entirely improper. There is no reason that data needs to be stored for future reference.  Where are the safeguards to ensure that no data storage is possible on these backscatter machines?  And how about agents operating the machines using their cell-phone cameras and saving images for personal use? That violates my rights in more ways than I can list here, and I’d like to see it stopped, and severe consequences in place for any person or agency that is caught doing this.

Continuing on my medical tangent, there have been cries from the scientific and medical communities that the knowledge behind the drive to deploy these backscatter machines is severely limited, and the consequences could be potentially dangerous [2]. In this letter, prominent physicians and scientists point out that the amount of Xray radiation delivered, while low, is also concentrated in the first few layers of skin.  In addition to the concentration, the energy from the impact of said Xrays on molecules in our skin is likely breaking chemical bonds (ionizing) these molecules.  You should note that ionizing radiation is known to cause cancer, including breast cancer. Because the radiation delivered is concentrated in the skin layers, comparing it to a chest Xray or the radiation dose associated with international flight (which passes over the entire volume/mass of the body) is highly misleading.  According to the article cited in [2], the amount of discrepancy in this comparison is one or two orders of magnitude!  The dose delivered to the skin should be considered high, and potentially dangerous.

Further, the large population of older travelers (>65 years of age) are more susceptible to ionizing radiation, and therefore at a much higher inherent risk for developing cancers.  Additionally, women, especially breast cancer survivors, are also more susceptible to radiation-provoking breast cancer. Additionally, we have no data on whether or not these scanners are capable of causing birth defects during pregnancies, causing testicular cancer, or interfering with the cornea of the eye.

I’d like to finish on another topic dear to me: democracy.  America was founded on democratic principals, where the citizens of this country get to elect and decide upon everything from what becomes law, to who enforces those laws.  In the area of the TSA, and the DHS by extension, there has been a lapse of this democratic due process. Drawing a parallel, the Sheriff of each county is elected by the people living in that county.  He is both in charge of enforcing the laws, and directly accountable for the policies created to guide the behavior of each deputy under his charge.  I’d propose a similar system be implemented around the TSA specifically, and the DHS in general. The head of each should be both a) democratically elected, and b) held directly accountable by due political and democratic process.

Thank you so much for your careful consideration of my thoughts above.  I know your time is very busy and valuable, and I would welcome and appreciate a thoughtful response from you or your staff should you feel moved to do so.  I hope you’ll take these points above into account during tomorrow’s oversight committee on the TSA.

Sincerely,

Ryan Du Bois

[1] <http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-04/us/marshals.body.images_1_images-orlando-courthouse-privacy-rights-group?_s=PM:US>

[2] <http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf>

If you’d like to send any thoughts (they don’t have to be the above) to your representatives in congress, these are the correct people: Senators on TSA Oversight Commitee

Dear Senator,

I’m writing you to voice my opinion on the TSA’s security screening policies. I’m a voting, tax-paying, full-time employed citizen from California with a unique background in both electrical engineering and medicine.

The TSA has gone farther than is necessary for ensuring the safety of the American populace. The security screening procedures, while I agree are necessary, in their current form are violations of our 4th Amendment rights to personal privacy. Furthermore, the voracity with which the recent Xray back-scatter machines have been deployed outpaces our clear understanding of both the associated health risks, and the purported benefit these scanners are thought to bring. Lastly, I’d like to urge you to bring a democratic process to the TSA specifically, and the Department of Homeland Security in general.

In the U.S., citizens enjoy a right to privacy which is not to be violated without good cause. I understand the need for general security screening of all general passenger on airlines.  I believe metal detectors, for example, have brought a level of safety to the cabin of the plane that had been previously unseen.  Gone are the days of reading about plane hijackings in the news (compare recent data to data from the 1980s, for example).  This is a good example of a proven measure taken to secure our airlines.  This measure also did not amount to a choice between either a) being sexual assaulted, or b) relinquishing rights to nude photos taken of our bodies to unelected TSA employees. U.S. citizens should not be subjected to such wide-reaching measures without either conclusive (I underscore the importance of this word) evidence that such measures actually help.  That conclusive evidence is severely lacking in the case of the Xray backscatter machines.

Further, the recent increase in the level of “pat down” (I hesitate calling it that anymore), is sickening, especially in how is it being applied to the elderly and children.  In any other setting, including police arrests, such treatment would be ground for a successful sexual assault case.  For example, the TSA’s “enhanced pat down” procedures go beyond what the U.S. Army is allowed to do, even in a war zone.  This is absurd.

Leaning on my background in emergency medicine, I know that patients in medicine now have their rights to privacy codified in the The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act guarantees that facilities taking medical data for any purpose must have measures already in place to guarantee the security and privacy of said data.  A nude, or even Xray body image is equivalent to medical information, yet there is no HIPAA protection on the TSA backscatter machines.  Where is the legal protection from instances such as the Florida court house, which was recently found to have 35,000 personal, nude images (tantamount to personal medical data) stored[1]. You’ll notice I didn’t use the phrase “stored improperly” because I feel that storing data used for security screening purposes is – in and of itself – entirely improper. There is no reason that data needs to be stored for future reference.  Where are the safeguards to ensure that no data storage is possible on these backscatter machines?  And how about agents operating the machines using their cell-phone cameras and saving images for personal use? That violates my rights in more ways than I can list here, and I’d like to see it stopped, and severe consequences in place for any person or agency that is caught doing this.

Continuing on my medical tangent, there have been cries from the scientific and medical communities that the knowledge behind the drive to deploy these backscatter machines is severely limited, and the consequences could be potentially dangerous [2]. In this letter, prominent physicians and scientists point out that the amount of Xray radiation delivered, while low, is also concentrated in the first few layers of skin.  In addition to the concentration, the energy from the impact of said Xrays on molecules in our skin is likely breaking chemical bonds (ionizing) these molecules.  You should note that ionizing radiation is known to cause cancer, including breast cancer. Because the radiation delivered is concentrated in the skin layers, comparing it to a chest Xray or the radiation dose associated with international flight (which passes over the entire volume/mass of the body) is highly misleading.  According to the article cited in [2], the amount of discrepancy in this comparison is one or two orders of magnitude!  The dose delivered to the skin should be considered high, and potentially dangerous.

Further, the large population of older travelers (>65 years of age) are more susceptible to ionizing radiation, and therefore at a much higher inherent risk for developing cancers.  Additionally, women, especially breast cancer survivors, are also more susceptible to radiation-provoking breast cancer. Additionally, we have no data on whether or not these scanners are capable of causing birth defects during pregnancies, causing testicular cancer, or interfering with the cornea of the eye.

I’d like to finish on another topic dear to me: democracy.  America was founded on democratic principals, where the citizens of this country get to elect and decide upon everything from what becomes law, to who enforces those laws.  In the area of the TSA, and the DHS by extension, there has been a lapse of this democratic due process. Drawing a parallel, the Sheriff of each county is elected by the people living in that county.  He is both in charge of enforcing the laws, and directly accountable for the policies created to guide the behavior of each deputy under his charge.  I’d propose a similar system be implemented around the TSA specifically, and the DHS in general. The head of each should be both a) democratically elected, and b) held directly accountable by due political and democratic process.

Thank you so much for your careful consideration of my thoughts above.  I know your time is very busy and valuable, and I would welcome and appreciate a thoughtful response from you or your staff should you feel moved to do so.  I hope you’ll take these points above into account during tomorrow’s oversight committee on the TSA.

Sincerely,

Ryan Du Bois

94118

[1] <http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-04/us/marshals.body.images_1_images-orlando-courthouse-privacy-rights-group?_s=PM:US>

[2] <http://www.npr.org/assets/news/2010/05/17/concern.pdf>

See if you can spot the one with the mythical high-speed vapor cloud! Apparently they were going near the speed of sound (but not quite breaking it).

Enjoy!

from David Williams <david@XXXX> to XXX@ryandubois.net date Fri, Apr 9, 2010 at 5:20 AM subject RyanDubois.com is For Sale

5:20 AM (7 hours ago)

Hi

I would be willing to offer you complete ownership of ryandubois.com for only $270 USD. This domain could be used for email purposes, to direct to your current website or even to track specific marketing campaigns.  It could also be extremely helpful in building search engine rankings for this specific keyword.  This would be a powerful marketing tool while also creating valuable type-in traffic to your existing website.

Pretty sure I know what domain names are useful for, thanks…

If you would like to purchase this domain name or have any questions please reply to this message as soon as possible to avoid losing this rare opportunity as it will be sold in the next 48 hours.

Let’s see if this adds up.  First things first, let’s check the DNS system:

rdub@dub-box ~ $ whois ryandubois.com
>>> Last update of whois database: Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:41:16 UTC <<<
Registrant:
Ryan Dubois
122 Main Street Apt 3
Poultney, VT 05764
us

Domain name: RYANDUBOIS.COM

This domain name is up for auction for a limited time.
To place a bid, visit: http://www.namejet.com


Looks like its up for auction. From namejet.com. Not from whoever this David Williams is.. Popping over to namejet.com, and looking the domain up yields an opening bid of $69, with 0 bids! So, this guy David here is trying to make a cool $270 on a domain he doesn’t even own.  At least his timeline lines up, as it will be auctioned on the 11th.

However, why don’t I just wait until no one buys it, and register it myself with Dreamhost for $9.95?  Hmm… $69 or $10… Let’s see…

Thanks David, but no thanks.

Overall, it’s been a busy year. Quite a few things in my life have changed. First and foremost, you may have noticed a long lapse in writings here. That’s indicative of just how busy things have been for me. There have been 4 major events in my life this year: new job, new wife, honeymoon, and traveling to China.

New Job

Those of you who really know me know that I was not happy in my former job. Things were not going well with the team, I felt a serious lack of respect, and after 2 years of working, there was no end in sight.

The project suffered from a severe form of feature creep. The kind that starts at the beginning and stems from one word: “rewrite.” For experienced engineers, that should send shivers down your spine.

Anyway, as a peer group with no hands-on management presence,  and with no designated tech lead(s), if anyone thought their idea was good, as long as they argued for it long enough, it was acted on. Even moronic ideas.  Such is the nature of Design By Committee.

Long story short, I was hating life for a while, having to implement things I knew were a bad idea, only to prove just how bad they were, and then rip them out. On top of that, my colleagues (with one exception) were hard to deal with.

So I asked my boss for a change.

It came in the form of my team being dissolved, right out form under me.

My boss said I had two weeks to find a new job at The Company, risk being assigned one, or worse, be jobless.

I interviewed with everyone I could, not because I had to, but because I wanted options.  I had an upfront offer from one team, but wanted to explore my potential. I had been stuck for some time already, and wanted to feel wanted. Some teams made me feel that way, some … didn’t. Some didn’t call me back. And for some teams, I could not, with a straight face, tell them “yes, I can do that.” All in all, it was a humbling, exhausting, and exhilarating experience. I loved every second of it.

I had one firm requirement: I mentioned “leadership” to every team I talked with.  If they didn’t respond that it would be an ultimate goal of theirs to get me to that position, beat around the bush, or dodged the question, I kept looking.

One team made me feel more than just wanted — desperately wanted, needed, and just what they had been looking for. They mentioned words like “leadership,” “hardware engineering,” and “travel.” These are words I like.

So, in May of 2009, I made the move and accepted the offer that I negotiated with the [REDACTED] Diagnostic Software team.

Since then, I’ve learned EFI firmware development, hardware failure analysis, project management, team management, and test engineering. Big change, great results.

New Wife

In April of 2008, I proposed to my (now) wife. In January 2009, we set the date: October 24th. Everyday since that one in January had been spent planning, purchasing, arranging, arguing, prioritizing, and executing our wedding.

And it was great. We have the photos to prove it. I played “wedding coordinator” during the ceremony, a mistake that cost me the ability to slow down and enjoy my wedding. I gave that privilege to my (exhausted, yet absolutely beautiful) wife.

[EDITED TO ADD - 1/7]:

That’s not to say that she got to sit around all day, either.  Oh no, she worked her tail off preparing a beautiful wedding video, showing people how to arrange the flowers, getting the band setup.  She worked so hard that she didn’t eat anything between breakfast and about 9pm, when we cut the cake.  She worked so hard, she didn’t have time to put her veil in the right place or button the back of her dress completely (not that I noticed a difference).

And let me say something about that dress.  Holy crap – the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on the most beautiful woman in the world.  I was a happy man, needless to say.

Weddings are frickin’ hectic.  I highly suggest anyone planning a wedding hires a coordinator for the day-of-the-event – we would have majorly benefitted from that, and I would have payed every penny knowing what I do today.

The ceremony itself was beautiful, performed by our good friend Bryan Follis.  We wrote our own vows on the spot, in addition to some more traditional “I do’s”.  Athena’s mom added her own little ceremony (as a surprise wedding gift to us).  It was PERFECT.  Very much like her, and very special to both of us.

After the ceremony, everything is a blur: the dancing, the people, the garter/bouquet toss, the toasts.  Fireworks!  Someone set off fireworks right at the end of the toasts – how perfect!

Eventually, people started trickling out, and we found time to sit and eat a “proper” meal, and visit with some friends who made the trip out to Arkansas.

The next day we were off to our Honeymoon.

The Honeymoon

This is the first vacation I have had since July 2008. I didn’t take a vacation in Summer of 2009, in order to save up time for an epic, 2 week long honeymoon in the Cook Islands.

On Monday, October 26th, we landed on Rarotonga. The plan was to spend 5 days on that island, then hop over to Aitutaki for 7 days, then return home for a couple days of unpacking and relaxation.

Our stay in Rarotonga was probably the most enjoyable part of the trip. We stayed in a Condo on the south side of the island (which takes only 30 minutes to circumnavigate by car), spending the days snorkeling, working on our tans, tasting the local fare, and enjoying nightlife at the bars. There were only 2 bars. On the entire island.

Our stay in Aitutaki was a fair bit more … remote. With no nightlife to speak of, we were relegated to the entertainment provided by our resort. Which was a little disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong the resort was amazing: beautiful, full service, right on the beach (all requirements on a decent honeymoon), but I learned a very valuable lesson. Never stay at a resort any longer than there are breakfast options. Afterall, theres only so many ways you can serve eggs.

After cabin fever set in, we realized that we had it backwards: 5 days at Aitutaki, 7 on Rarotonga would have been better. But who’s complaining? Where else in the world can you see a 4 foot wide giant clam?

Travel to China

One of the many new responsibilities of my new position includes travel.  As such, I have already taken 2 trips to China.  All expenses paid is not a bad way to travel… ; – )

My trips usually take me to Shenzhen, where I stay at the Intercontinental Hotel – a “six star” establishment, with the life-size pirate ship to prove it. In fact, they have two pirates ships: one houses a bar/nightclub called The Galleon, and the other enjoys a permanent residence in the hotel’s outdoor pool.

The pool has a swim-up bar, a white sand beach, and a waterfall in addition to the galleon.

There are at least 4 different restaurants right in the hotel.  In my two trips, I’ve tried 3 of them: a Brazilian Steak House, a French Restaurant (specializing in 4 course meals), and an Indian Restaurant. All are highly recommended.  Ironically enough, I have not tried the Chinese restaurant in the hotel.

In fact, I generally don’t get much time at the hotel when in China.  Most of my time there is spent eating breakfast and dinner, drinking at the bar/lounge, or sleeping.

Wrapping Up

Basically, everything that could have changed has. I’m happily married now, happily enjoying a new job, and just living everyday as full as I possibly can.

1. Get back in shape. This involves eating healthy, drinking less, and going to the gym more. I’ve already started on this one.
2. Get my guitar calluses back.
3. Climb Crescent Moon Coulior on Round Top (Carson Pass). I’ll need another Ice Axe for this. And a partner.
4. Spend some time with friends.
5. Relax! =)

We played a game of Killer, a game of team Crickett, and drank maybe 3 beers each. At which point, we all felt like trying something else. I had a serious hankering for PBR (afterall, I missed Fourth of JuPlaya this year), so we walked the other way to another Irish pub.

To our surprise, it was definitely “club” night: lots of teenage looking girls, club music, and loud. After ordering a shot of Jameson and a PBR for Farkas and myself, I made my way upstairs…

…Where Farkas had just discovered a drunken passed out guy curled up around the table! He was just lying there, drunk as hell, sleeping it off.

Farkas went to tell the bouncer.  The bouncer immediately knew who it was – he must be a regular passer-outer.

“Blonde hair, white shirt?”

“yea.”

“Yea, that’s Greg.  Let’s go get him up…”

Awesome way to close out the night!