Category Archives: Travel

Harkin vs. Loring

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

We’re visiting my mother and grandmother in northwest Arkansas. They are at an age and in a place where politics are discussed, religion is assumed and passion is reserved for the important things, such as the best variety of peach …

Band Jocks

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

This year we’re participating in an American summer tradition: The Drive Across The Country. Our route this year takes us from San Diego, California to Austin, Texas. Via Minneapolis. Illogical and inefficient–true,  but it gives us the chance to see the kids …

Fuso Update

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Our Fuso is still in South America. We’ve had some issues with the American shipping company we contracted to ship the truck from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Long Beach, California. It has been a very challenging and stressful experience so far, …

Kindle 2 Update

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Here’s an update on My Life With Kindle After a little less than one month of use, my Kindle 2 died. It was a horrible, distorted death, manifested by the unfortunate Lewis Carroll as illustrated here:   For those of …

The King is Dead

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Someday, we will all look back and reflect on how significant it was that we lived through the death of the American newspaper industry. Right now, however, it is pretty traumatic for those of us who grew up with a …

How to Use a Kindle Overseas

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Because our intention is to continue traveling overseas, Steph spent a lot of time iterating with Amazon sales and tech support to work out a viable scenario for using the K2 outside the U.S. There are specific limitations to using …

Kindle 2 Review

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Steph purchased an Amazon Kindle 2 (K2) for us while we were in South America. It was waiting for us upon our return, and gave me something to do while we wait for our truck to arrive. For those not …

The End of Excess: Is This Crisis Good for America?

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

Following is an essay on the recent history and status of the United States of America.  I found it to be well written and I agree with, and have been personally espousing, most of the observations and conclusions it contains. …

Lessons from the past – 1979 Valedictory

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

The Economist recently posted a 1979 Valedictory from Sir Nicholas Henderson, Britain’s retiring ambassador to Germany and France.  I found it fascinating, not only as a revealing window into a period of history often underserved, but as premonition of the ever …

Server Rebuild Complete

Posted ago by Douglas Hackney

As reported here, the night after the frame on the truck broke our server was mysteriously wiped out. The hosting company said they didn’t know how it could have happened and also reported the backups were also gone. We have …