Thanks, Karen, for my laugh this morning

Especially during a time of increased concern because of STUPID GUSTAV. And you're right, the one crazy line is just some "weather"person's (all PC) CYA measures. Because they don't know where it's going to go either.

The picture is small, but the crazy line is a blue one going to Mexico. And to quote Karen directly: "Yes, OF COURSE the storm will aim for Louisiana and then make a 130 degree turn Southwest suddenly!"

I mean, COME ON!

And then there's this beauty:

KFB: Old Fay says [Check out the light blue line...] "Maybe I'll go back to the ocean, no, maybe for land, yes, and then Mexico... oh way, no, there's Louisiana, I'll go there."

Too much.

Dun Leeeeery

Or as it's actually spelled: Dun Laoghaire. Anywho, we went to the World Cultures Festival there this past weekend. The weather was BEAUTIFUL on Sunday and well worth the drive and stroll on the coast.

Dun Laoghaire is a really nice part of town and the mountains and water are part of that reason. The festival was a good idea, but the set up was tough because of the space they had to use. Unfortunately a lot of the kiosks of things to buy from all around the world were also in the walking path, so getting over to them was difficult. The crowds were HUGE! They did have music from different cultures as well, but the most interesting part was of course the many people in costume on stilts. One was a three headed dragon - talk about coordination.

In the pics below, these people were watching a boat race - complete with the most boring monotone announcer.

If you ever come to Dublin, take a trip to Dun Laoghaire - definitely worth the short drive.

To all of my NOLA friends

Who have MUCH more important things to be doing right now than reading this blog, but in the case you're coming here for a little stress relief, please be careful, get out early, and BE SAFE!

Miss you all.

UPDATE: Just checked weatherunderground.com and this same graph yesterday had every track aimed at southern LA. I like this one better - there's some hope at least.

Oh Gustav. Don't break my heart.

Please go away. Or maybe the real estate gods will wake up from their slumber and SELL MY HOUSE!!!

From http://www.weatherunderground.com/:

The Irish should LOOK OUT!

Another American is on the road! Well, sort of. I did lots of practicing yesterday and I think I'm getting the hang of it. From what I understand, Americans can drive for 12 months from day of arrival as long as they are insured on the vehicle. I have decided to become official, though, so I've started studying for the theory piece of the test, which is all multiple choice. A co-worker gave me a practice CD and said that the questions on the test were the exact same. The database of questions could be as large as 2,000 but you are only asked a random sample of 40 for the actual test. The yuck part is that you have to get 35 out of 40 right - sheesh!

Now, I think I've been driving for something like 19 years (eek) so I'm thinking nooooo worries here. But that is not so. There are lots of signs that I have never seen before - maybe I just wasn't paying attention enough. A few examples:

This one looks very straight forward and we have these in the US, but I think that the ones here are just a little different. The sign is indicating that there is a junction up ahead, but the difference is that the road at the junction is thinner in width than the main road. Therefore, the wider road indicates the dominant road. If that's the way it is in the US as well, then I never noticed it.

We have cattle crossing and deer crossing signs. They do as well, but they also have sheep crossing. Makes total sense!

Island pooping? Ah! Falling rocks.

Look out for bees butts? No no - dangerous winds.

I got this one on my practice test and could only come up with railroad crossing of some sort. But the actual answer is "Level crossing ahead, unguarded by gates or lifting barrier." Oookay - if you say so!


One of the multiple choice answers for this one above was "cathedral up ahead". Ok, I know that I have some to learn, but come on now - I'm not that dumb.

The ever important, self-explanatory one (kind of hard to see - says "Drive on Left"):

I think this one reads, "OH SH*T!!"

And then there are the funny fun fun roundabouts. The important thing is to indicate (or use your blinker in US terms) at the right time. When you're entering, if you put on your left blinker right away, then that means that you are going to take the first exit to the left. In this case you should also be in the left lane. If you are planning on taking the second exit, then you have to put on your left blinker after the first exit and before the second. There's not much time. I'm thinking you'd have to be in the left lane as well - and maybe the right depending on how big the roundabout is. To take the third exit, you should be in the right lane (or maybe left) and also indicate right before it. So you are basically putting your left blinker on as your turning the car right. It's awkward. Very awkward.

So that's all of the driving lessons that I have for today. Now you're all ready for the left side of the road! Now if I could only stop reaching for the gear shift on my right when I'm in the car - I'll break the habit right before I go home for Thanksgiving and start driving there. :)

For all of those tennis fans

I finally had the chance to play tennis a couple of weekends ago. I was nervous, though, considering that most of the courts around here are a fake grass-type surface. I'm not sure if it's the same as astro-turf or not, but I would guess that it would be different - maybe not as tough.

The good thing about this kind of surface is that rain drains right through. This means that most people will have the chance to play even if it has just rained, but the negative side is that it doesn't drain enough to keep the balls dry. Therefore most people will have a big wet spot on the outside of their pockets. You get your face washed every time you serve. :p

The surface is definitely different than a hard court, but it's not as difficult as real grass. The ball does bounce higher than grass, but it can skid a great deal more. I had all of my excuses ready to go: new racquet, completely different surface, hadn't played in months, don't normally play singles... etc etc. The first set was a complete wipe out - 6-0. We only had an hour to play, so we only got halfway through the second set which we ended at 3-3. Hopefully that means that I was getting used to the surface. But that also means that my excuses for next time won't work!

Yep, Paris is still there

I decided to check last weekend. We had a public holiday on Monday, so we flew out on Saturday morning and back late Monday night. Paris is just as amazing as usual. It's my third time there and I could do the same touristy things over and over. You can't get a glimpse of good ole Mona too many times. The Louvre is HUGE!! I bet out of those 3 times, I've only seen 1/16th of it. Just unreal.



One of the really cool things is that the Eiffel Tower is lit up royal blue at night. They also have the stars from the European flag on it due to the fact that the French President is the head of the European Union. It's beautiful really. We were able to get to the second level around midnight one night and when we tried to go during the day on Monday to get to the top, the lines were UNBELIEVABLE. Next time...

A co-worker gave me lots of great information, one thing being an intro to the St. Germain area. We ate there each night - great food. I'm wondering if when Amy and I went, if that's where the cool fondue place was - Amy???

Couple of interesting things about two paintings of Napoleon in Versailles. The one below used to have some sort of bird above all of the soldiers on the right, so they're all looking up at what used to be there. And, Napoleon's wife Josephine was in the painting as well, but when things went south she was removed as well.

In this painting, Napoleon actually added in someone even though they weren't actually at this coronation. This painting is HUGE and took many years to complete. Seems Napoleon didn't even let his paintings rest as they were - good thing the artists were good enough to be able to add and remove people at his pleasure. I thought that was pretty interesting.

I couldn't resist this one from the Louvre...



There are many more pics, but I'll spare you all. If you'd like to see the full set just let me know. I highly recommend Par-EE!