how to conquer europe in 10 days: italy edition

we left innsbruck @ 12am on an overnight train to florence (firenze) and were joined in the next cabin by fans of liverpool going to the champions league game with AC milan. they sang all night and invited us to join them which we did and betsy fell in love.

betsy and her lover


we arrived @ 6am in florence and it was really neat to see the city wake up as i was ready to go to bed after the all night train ride


statues in an alcove in the piazza della signoria. the detail is amazing


wow


they wanted me to butt model butt (ha) it was cold out


walking around the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) at night. betsy's good @ pictures.


betsy was taking fashion tips from the 12 year old kids


great olives


food @ a trattoria, a fixed menu for 12 euros


back on the conquest train from florence to cinque terre. a series of five villages that cling to the rock above the mediterranean


writing in the tunnel between cinque terre villages of riomaggiore and manarola


street scene in manarola


manarola


manarola


dinner of tagliatta


squid, octopus, salted pork


pesto gnoochi


riomaggiore


we were trying to pose like alex


common sight me charging ahead, head down; betsy walking slowly, taking pictures in pisa on the next leg of the conquest

how to conquer europe in 10 days: austria edition

first night we had dinner @ alex's parents house. matti, maria, and gunther


maria made kiwi and apricot sorbet stuff, yummy!!


me, alex, matti, maria


bruder, alex, matti


nathan and alexs new home, kematen 15 minutes from innsbruck


walking around innsbruck look @ the lines


walking around before lunch


steak tartar in innsbruck


the best pizza with got the whole time was in austria not ITALY. funny huh


hiking up the sledding slopes


betsy preparing for her reentry into the atmosphere with her synthetic float plane sub-zero performance gear jacket


light lunch @ the top of the sled hill; bratwurst, saurkrat

how to conquer europe in 10 days: munich (munchen) edition

notes from betsy and my conquest of the european continent in 10 days AMERICAN-style


welcome to germany


first obstacle buying a ticket "why cain't they all talk AMERICAN"


from airport to munich


weisswurst @ a munich bar accompanied by weissbier


asleep on the train from munich to innsbruck


dont shatter your brain

marbled murrebleons: part deux

crew picture from the second season in washington in the xylodomera galaxy belt. another video of our space gladiators to follow soon. stay alert earthlings

siding the cabin

the original siding on the house was just boards without any sheets of osb or plywood so i tore the boards off. im adding another layer of insulation and then osb for lateral stability because last year it felt like a train coming when the wind blew, the entire house would shake. hopefully its a warmer winter.

paneling

heres what the interior is starting to look like. i got some salvaged pine boards from a 1930's textile mill near raleigh, nc. they were underlayment for some maple flooring that i also got for the finish floor. the pine gives it the rugged "chalet" look im going for.

haybaling in western washington

this is old but heres a video from washington from last summer. i helped an old farmer, don duncan, bale hay (one day was enough) but i thought his baling machine was really cool. it was 1964 new holland 1033 haybine with the majority of it being original.

i spent a day working with don and in exchange i accepted ground llama meat from his 'herd' (is that what you call them). we took it to our favorite mexican taqueria and they didnt hesitant turning into goodness. the rest we took home and made into meatballs. it tasted a little gamy but very lean.

chimney repair

this is my experience trying to fix a backpuffing wood stove. the video should explain it all.

austrian mountain crash

betsy and i went to visit my brother, nathan, in austria for spring break and we took a trip to a local mountain to go "sledding." at the trailhead i saw people wearing helmets, googles, and protective gear, which i thought was strange as i had been sledding before in nc and thought i knew what was in store for getting on a steel-runner sled and barreling down a 50 ft hill in the backyard. as we began walking up the snow covered trail i noticed a flowery cross beside the path. i asked nathan what that was all about and he replied "oh people die here every year!!" yowwwwsers!!! what was i getting into? so we hike up the bobsled-esque course for a good two hours constantly jumping out of the way of sledders whipping pass us @ 30 mph on the same trail. the hike was amazing, passing through snow-laden conifers and breathtaking views of the alps. we reach the top and enjoy a bowl of soup, schnitzel, and great beer, while basking in the intense alpine sun before heading back down. after the 2 hour hike the descent is a quick 20 minute plunge apart from crashes and/or death. here is a video of betsy and my debut run at the sport.



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blower door testing for appalachian state university

for a building science class @ appalachian state, my group made a video documenting the process. blower door testing helps locate air leaks in the exterior of a home by creating a vacuum inside the home. you then walk around feeling for air leaks and patch them which improves energy efficiency and moisture problems.

doors and windows

i put in a couple new doors and windows which were major heat losses. i had the help of jedidiah brown for the installation a new door on the north side of the house. its much warmer as the winter comes on. sara marie stocco helped me with the window.

walk through the house

two months in and this is what the place looks like.

house repair

the first video installment of the mountain city cabin renovation. the house had reportedly 15-20 dogs living in it eating, breeding, and doing their business. i began by tearing out the kitchen and living room side of the cabin, pulling up the floor, replacing the diagonal slats, and the plywood flooring. the house was built in 2000 but the builder was an old guy and build in the 50's style with rough 2 x 4's and on raised piers like @ beach houses.

sabering champagne and new years 2009 dancing

nathan and alex, my brother and sister-in-law, came home from austria for xmas and new years. i got on one of my compulsive kicks and bought a bottle of champagne to "saber" where you strike the lip of the bottle with a blunt knife and hopefully it comes cleanly off. any glass shards are blown out by the force of the bubbly. later nathan and i performed an interpretive dance we call "dance of the legless, one-eyed swan and his degenerate, cross-eyed, adopted stepbrother from a previous marriage entangled in the lust for life and death" it was commissioned by the art institute of new jersey-scranton. enjoy!!

marbled murrbleons attack!!!

this past summer was spent on the coast of washington performing seabird surveys for the dept of fish and wildlife. the marbled murrelet is an endangered seabird species that nests inland in old growth forests along the coast. until 1974 it was unknown where these little fellows bred, after the discovery they became a major focal species in the protection of these disappearing forests. i worked with a habitat delineation crew in 2006, surveying potential logging stands in the northern cascades. i returned this season to conduct more work which took the crew and i from the northern most point of wash to the columbia river mouth on the border with oregon. the work entailed traveling along the coast and systematically scanning for these little birds (25cm), documenting numbers, distance from the boat, plumage, etc all from a heavily rocking boat. i hope you enjoy the video.

radiant barrier installation

im trying to reduce the amount of heat that penetrates the corrugated tin roof and cooks the house. im experimenting with a radiant barrier above the insulation. this video is a how-to and documentary on the fun of fiberglass insulation and styrofoam.

nascar: america's gift to the world

wilbur jeffers somehow suckered me into spending 100$ on a ticket to bristol motor speedway to enjoy a nascar race. up to this point in my life i have despised the "sport" and pitied anyone who watched it but because of will's persistent badgering and my curiosity i found myself in tennessee one weekend in august.
after a sleepless night in asheville we piled into the rental car (ford tempo with new jersey plates) and immediately delved headfirst into the nascar experience. you begin to notice youre getting close by seeing the odd truck with a dale earnhardt jr flag and a rather large man driving while sipping a 86 oz diet mtn dew. then it turns into every other car (truck) carrying heavily intoxicated, sunburned, tank topped "race fans" yelling out the windows their favorite drivers beer sponsor and requesting that any females (or males) in your car expose themselves. meanwhile as far as the eye can see the once peaceful rolling hills of east tennessee have turned into a sea of RVs surrounded by a "staggering" amount of shirtless and tattooed fans from every fishing hole and NRA clubhouse in the neighboring states.
the afternoon is spent drinking, betting on the winners (whom ive never heard of) and absorbing the scene. we tailgated with some very nice folks who allowed us to partake in their plush setup. 36' motorcoach, big screen tvs, grill, games, food, alcohol, but they themselves dont go to the race, in fact they go to sleep before its over which struck me as strange.
the time to head to the track is upon us and as we enter i let out a big "rebel yell" which i thought would be welcomed but apparently thats not cool. make mental note. we rent headset/earmuffs which allow you to listen in on the drivers communication w their crew chief, and find our seats. just in time for the intros which start with a rousing singing of the country song about "do you remember when those towers fell.....america is really awwwwesome duh hickey" or something like that, accompanied by a video montage of firefighters, policeman, and a dog catcher or two. then 3 fighter jets flew over, which was really neato. next came the pledge of allegiance lead by kids dressed up in uncle sam outfits, and jets flying over. then came the prayer which included phrases like "may god refuel the racers," and "may jeff gordon spin out in the bottom of turn 4" then the jets flew over. finally the national anthem was sung as a parachutist dropped in with a huge american flag waving behind him and dragged it as he landed. and the jets flew over.
RACETIME!!!!!!! vrrrrroooooommmmmm off they go and immediately the spectator sport becomes just about you as the noise is so deafening that communication is rendered useless. for four hours you live in your head, inhaling high octane fumes and drinking the beer and liquor which you are allowed to bring in.
i must admit the experience at the track itself is indescribable its a complete sensory overload. you can feel the power of the cars, the visual spectacle of the lights, the bright cars whipping around the corners within inches of each other is amazing, the intoxicating smell of rubber and fuel and the anticipation of a wreck is remarkable. but i would have been satisfied with them running the bristol 40 rather than the required bristol 500 laps. it is truly a "once in a lifetime" experience that will stay a "once in a lifetime" experience.

the volume wont transfer on the video for some reason

mountain city living

im buying a house in mtn city, tennessee. here are the rough photos of the lot. its 3.2 acres with a "house" without electricity or water but its all mine

this is looking nne so the solar aspect for photovoltaic is good. it overlooks a valley from a great porch. the sq ft is around 800 with kitchen, living room with woodstove, bedroom, walk-in closet, and loft over the living room. it needs love but it will be a great project to implement the things im learning in school.



kitchen with propane stove

living room with large windows and woodstove

porch looking north

porch looking northeast

porch looking west to flat "garden/yard"

the yard

looking out over the valley from the porch

i gorged myself on venables

the venable kiddies graciously invited me to go camping into the linville gorge in pisgah national forest. we hiked in from the north side of the gorge on the bynum bluff trail (4) down into the bottom then along the river bed on the linville gorge trail (7) to the first night camp.

john russell, elizabeth lindsey, clifford blair, andrew quincy. before we headed out it was really cute to see how anxious john was to try his very first "sleepover" outside without his "binkie blankie."


for dinner we were treated to lindsey's gourmet beans and rice burritos (don't worry mrs venable all that NOLS money was worth it), as we were about the eat the skies opened to welcome us to "the nature." we huddled under the tarp to enjoy the beer we found generously left by previous campers and discussed how the solve world poverty and the like. we retired to the tents put john to bed in his "big boy power ranger sleepie bag" and fell asleep to his muffled whimpers as lindsey sang lullabies and slowly rocked her brother to sleep.


these boys aint only pretty theyre smart too


on the second day we made it less than a hundred yards before stopping to swim and drink beer.



life is hard



a stowaway that was hitching a ride


the last nights campsite in amongst the boulders. everything was going well through the night until i apparently left the zippered door open and woke to the tippy tap tap of soft feet on my face. i bolted upright the see a blurry clifford staring back at me. we turned on the flashlights to find a small furry mouse crawling up the mesh of tent wall which we girlishly flick out the door and squealed in relief. turns out cliff had had the visitor walking over his face all night and had repeatedly swatted it away without waking. by this point we'd awaken everyone else who apparently hadnt slept well either. the sentiments were roundly expressed with johns "i love civilization."

america is good

heres a look @ my drive to washington state to start a job working with the dept of fish and wildlife doing marine bird surveys. the drive started in late april as i slowly made my way across staying with friends as much as possible. it was fun but im not sure i want to do it again. especially after a rush hour incident in chicago. on a 5 lane highway i turned to grab the atlas and when i turned back the traffic in the left lane had stopped. i cut the wheel to avoid and ended up spinning 180 degrees and then back 90 degrees and stalled out untouched. i remember seeing the traffic behind bearing down on me and thinking "im going to be late to minneapolis tonight."
enjoy!!