ha, i had not thought of it until i read some of these... when i was ten years old i was running in a field and fell. i fell on a branch with a thorn that almost passed through my hand, right in the meat below the ring finger and pinkie. the point was just under the skin on the other side. in my palm there was just a…

considering that i have actually found old coins just by looking at the ground, yes i would very much like a metal detector. the oldest was at a greek ruin in turkey, i think it was around 4th century BC. most of the rest have been local 19th-20th century french francs. though i met someone with a detector that claims…

thank you! we don’t want this car for its high performance and power! :D

thank you! it’s weird because over the 14 months that i backpacked thorugh central and south america, equador was the one place where i had by far the most problems. the border crossing should have tipped me off. :)

yeah, i know my analogy is a gross simplification. but like i said, it was a mess. the least that could be said is that the 5th republic has lasted and is relatively stable. it’s not long until it passes the 3rd republic as france’s longest lasting. it may not be the best, but it’s french! :D

i know i have posted this before, but i really want one of these! 2CV electrique! :D

i’ve tried describing the algerian war to my american friends by imagining that instead of the vietnam war, the war was in iraq. but iraq was not being invaded, it was the 51st state with about 5 million white christian american population that had immigrated there as a sort of pioneers over 100 years. but the…

thank you for not reading my story and your positive input! :D

i have traveled to about 55 coutnries, though i have settled down lately. i have a few border stories to tell. like when i went with my dad to new ireland island, new guinea, to survery coral reefs there. i got stopped and thoroughly searched coming back through LAX because me; 20s, long hair, beard etc. while my dad,…

you know what is cool? my dad was a marine zoologist specializing in coral during the 70s and early 80s. he was very early and influential in the field of identification and measuring coral growth. he died about 15 years ago. but when i see articles like this, if i do some digging like reading the bibliography of the…

thank you for this, this is an extremely well done summation of data, which is a very difficult thing to do right. it shows graphically, in a simple and beautiful manner, what i have not seen from other, better financed news organizations.

so, i guess the next big bad that threatens the universe will be the beyonder?

for general history you have: istanbul (not constantinople), seat of the holy roman empire and the ottoman empire.

turkey is one of my top places too. thailand, colombia, and turkey rank up there as some of the friendliest people that i have met on my travels. if it was not such a mess at this point in time, i would go back again with my family in an instant. not only is it chock full of greek history, but also christian and…

this is the photo of my worst ride ever. a toyota pickup with 15 other people and all their baggage, 6 in the cab and the rest in the bed. 2001, cambodia, battambong to phnom penh. 8 hours, sitting on the tailgate, on some of the worst roads i have ever seen in my life! there were more holes than intact pavement. i…

by the time FF25: Too old and Too Flatulant rolls around they’re going to be chasing each other with motorized carts, wheelchairs, and segways. :D

how about boasting electric cars with ridiculous acceleration and top speeds? this is not necessary, mostly it’s just marketing, but you know that too many people are going to do stupid things with both. i don’t care that the cars are capable of being able to handle it. you know that if someone can get an EV that can…

geez, and one last thing. that price for the citroen ami, listed above, is the 4 year lease price. not sure which trim/leasing term. to buy is about 9000€. though there is a €1000 e-car subsidy.

oh, and i have seen the citroen ami seat two lycéennes (high school girls) with a third in the “trunk”. probably not the safest thing, but seriously it’s perfect for the 20's high school students.

i am not surprised by the citroen ami being last. they are very slow, and it sucks when they are on the 70km/h roads tootling away at 50. they do go faster on inclines, i will give them that.