A few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now: post live notes to my site from all around the world. At this very moment, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Cloister Inn2 in the heart of Praha (Prague), Czech Republic. It's my first time visiting Eastern Europe and the experience is much different than expected. I described the journey by train from Nuremberg to a friend earlier and told her how you could see the landscape change as you moved from one country to the next. Germany was rural and serene, but the Czech Republic was much more decrepit and industrial. There was a distinct change in the quality of the ride, too. Germany obviously invests a lot of money in its infrastructure, but the tracks in the Czech Republic were rough and noisy. I can only imagine that these are all lingering effects of the Iron Curtain, more than a decade after its collapse. We arrived safely in Prague, though, and spent some time wandering around after a hearty dinner. I'm looking forward to checking the city out more during the day tomorrow. They shut down the computers here at 11.00p, though, so I have to get going. More to come later ...
Saturday, January 25, 2003 @ 16:54 » 
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Well, we made it to Nuremberg ok. I'm typing this on a funky German keyboard (they swapped the Z and Y keys, for example) and running on about 20 minutes sleep in the last 24 hours. I'm excited to be back in Europe, though, so that should keep me awake for a few more hours. Maybe I can last until normal bedtime, though, so that I'll be on the right schedule here (I don't get jetlag, thankfully).
Check this out, though: they moved a bunch of letters around and there are some keys (like the smiley keys in the upper right) that I've never seen on a keyboard before. Weird.
Thursday, January 23, 2003 @ 07:27 » Comments
Ok, ok ... I haven't updated my site recently, but I haven't had a chance. I just returned from two ski trips and I'm leaving tomorrow for another week away. I've got a ton of photos to upload when I get back, though. There are already over 150 of them from my birthday, Christmas parties, New Years, and those recent trips ... so you'll have plenty of new content to browse when I put it all up.
But first, I think I'm gonna have to clean off my truck (keep in mind, my truck is black). They sure lay down a lot of salt in Canada.
Tuesday, January 21, 2003 @ 20:51 » Comments
How about them Bruins? Marc and I wanted to going to last night's game against Toronto, but tickets were super expensive ... luckily our friend Mark pulled some strings and we ended up with six seats in the second row of the balcony. It worked out beautifully!
The Bruins have been on a slide, though, so we were really hoping for a win. I have personal reasons as well, since my ex, Megan, is from Ontario and loves the Leafs. It's a good rivalry; she usually goes when Toronto's in town to play the Bruins, but at least she doesn't rub it in when they win. The Bruins took an early lead last night, then gave it up, but came back with a few goals in the third period to win 6-2.
After the game, we went to the Harp with some friends. Marc's g/f Joanne enlisted my help to get him buzzed. It's not much of a challenge, but I was happy to oblige. 
By the end of the night we had Marc in rare form, so she was pretty happy with herself.
The next morning I joined Mark and Karen for brunch at Olive Oyl's in Brighton. I'd been there once before and remembered the complimentary mimosas and amazing coffee. I think Mark had the best meal, though: their version of steak and eggs (filet mignon). If you're looking for a new brunch location, I recommend you check it out.
Sunday, January 12, 2003 @ 20:41 » Comments
We got more snow today in MA! Unfortunately, we didn't get as much in Salem as they predicted. The storm was supposed to roll in around mid-afternoon yesterday, but it just drizzled through the night. Apparently, there was a breeze blowing off the ocean that warmed the coast and held the snow at bay. It finally started to snow early this morning. It came down pretty quickly, but I found out that we escaped the brunt of the storm. I was told that they got 14 inches further north, but we only got about 4 to 6.
Hopefully the weather bodes well for my upcoming ski trip, though. I'm leaving at lunch tomorrow to head up to Mont Tremblant3 for six days with my dad and youngest brother. My other brother had to back out because he couldn't reschedule a physical he has to take to enter the MA State Police Academy in March. It's too bad he can't go, but maybe he'll be able to make it next year.
Anyway, the rest of January is a busy month for me. I may catch a Bruins game next weekend. The following weekend, I'll be up at Tremblant again on the annual trip I take with friends. And two days after I get back, I leave for Germany with my mom and my other brother. We're planning to visit Nuremberg, Prague and Salzburg, but we're working out details right now. I hope we get to stop in Munich again, too ... it's one of my favorite destinations!
Sunday, January 05, 2003 @ 00:15 » Comments
This is what I've been waiting for: a phone4 based on Microsoft's Pocket PC Smartphone5 edition. These phones combine the functionality of a PDA, MP3 player, and digital camera (albeit a low-res one). The reviews at InfoSync6 and ZDNet7 are mostly favorable, which is pretty impressive since this is the first phone of its kind. As more manufacturers release competitive smartphones8 over the next few months, I'll be tempted to upgrade from the Nokia 8290 that I've been using for the last two years (although it's still one of the smallest phones on the market and it's served me well).
Thursday, January 02, 2003 @ 19:58 » Comments
Happy New Year! I hope you all had as much fun as I did ... I picked up John around 5.00p on New Year's Eve and drove into Boston. We parked in Cambridge and took the T over to the North End, where we met up with Shelley. After a bite to eat at Cibo on Hanover Street, we stopped at Caffe Vittoria. I'd heard that it was one of the best coffeehouses in Boston and it's no lie. John's a daily coffee drinker and he was really impressed. We had time to spare, so we walked over to Faneuil Hall and did a little people-watching. I think every kid (and a few adults) had their own plastic horn! All the racket was more amusing than annoying, though.
Anyway, we got to the Rack (where we'd bought tickets for the night) around 9.00p ... there was already a decent crowd, but we were able to snag a table and play a few games of pool while the place filled up. If you were a single guy, I don't think there was a better place to spend the night: there were about two girls for every guy. Luckily for Shelley, John's a trustworthy husband! While she was waiting to use the ladies room, we had a couple of women come up to us ... most didn't even try to talk, they just went straight for a kiss (John was able to ward them off by pointing to his ring). He mentioned that I was single, though, so that earned me a few extra kisses. 
We spent a small fortune on drinks throughout the night, though, so we decided to stop at my favorite late night spot for some comfort food: Adam's Pizza. We snagged a few slices and then crawled back to the North End to call it a night. We all slept in to about 11.00a, then ventured out for a big greasy breakfast. Our friend Barb (who we stayed with), brought us to Anthony's on Commercial Street for eggs, toast and bacon ... it was jammed with people. The food was inexpensive but good, and I bumped into a few friends from Georgetown. After getting our fill, we went back to Vittoria and spent a while catching up on anything we missed from the previous night. It was rewarding to spend a whole day in the company of good friends, just hanging out over a cafe mocha ... I haven't spent enough time doing that recently (New Year resolution?).
Wednesday, January 01, 2003 @ 20:10 » Comments
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