I won’t lie, in college there were a few days when i walked out of my dorm room, apartment, house, whatever and had no clue about the whereabouts of my car. Those days are gone. These days, as I mature, it is more like I notice any strange vehicles parked near the place where I […]

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I don’t know if I will ever get this metric system here in New Zealand. I mean some things are pretty easy, like a 13mm wrench is darn near a half-inch wrench as we use in the U.S. Of course we use metric wrenches too … But it is the whole kilometers per hour thing […]

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After additional research, it has come to my attention that I may have heaped undeserved praise on a New Zealand coffee shop in a recent blog, or even worse, judged some of the competition unfairly. Muh bad!

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This blog has detailed some pretty uncomfortable situations and nasty assignments in the ongoing stories about “The Dirty Gig” — my side job in the disaster recovery industry. Today was different. But first yesterday … It was somewhat like a throwback to my roots. I was operating a fairly large piece of equipment, called a […]

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So about this new Dirty Gig … As mentioned previously, this is the second assignment in New Zealand in the aftermath of yet another earthquake. My colleagues and I are working in a secure storage facility that pretty much had its salad tossed. It is a pretty good gig … getting paid for a hard […]

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What can one say about 18 hours in a plane? I mean, it is pretty cool crossing the International Dateline and skipping a day. But that long in any confined space is cruel and unusual … Thank goodness I knew what to expect when I stepped on board my first connection on the way back […]

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Ha … I am in New Zealand, yet I have just now found time to jot down thoughts on my previous journey to Seattle. I’ll be brief. Many of you know this travel blog is funded in part by my “Dirty Gigs” — disaster recovery jobs I do on the side. As I have said […]

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Too often I rage on a plane because of man’s inhumanity to man … but today has been a glorious flying experience, or GFE, on American Airlines.  First of all, I am not squeezed into the seat next to any sort of circus performer or social misfit.  Praise the Lord and pass the peanuts … […]

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My approach to viewing films at festivals is pretty nonchalant. Why stress out over seeing the best film, at the first showing, fighting the crowds and seeing everything under pressure. Instead, just get a pass, go to the theater and take a seat when I am good and ready and watch whatever is showing. If […]

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Last night the PingTeam shot yet another Red Carpet event at the Dallas International Film Festival. It was great fun and pageantry. The Dallas star of the evening was badboy J.R. — Larry Hagman of “Dallas” fame and my more favorite “I Dream of Jeannie” back in the day.

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