Personal

Bush Hates My Vacation

Clearly, because the euro is now worth $1.60 as I write this. Mary and I are going to Italy this fall, as we did two years ago when the euro was worth approximately $1.30, so this hurts.

Not that this price increase is a deal-breaker, but really, it's almost like the powers that be want to keep us Americans locked up inside our own borders. Maybe it's because Bush knows how hated we are abroad, but I really wish that he could find a way to be hated without increasing the price of my pasta (and hotel and airfare and everything else) by 20%.

MS Walk

Today "Team Folley" took to the streets of Charlotte for the MS Walk. Mary and I really want to thank all of our friends who were able to come out and walk with us, as well as everyone who was able to contribute to the cause. If you're still looking to participate in the latter way, never fear: just click here.

I managed to walk the full 5 mile route, which was a bit of a triumph for me. Given my foot problems of the last few years, being able to go that far without pain was a huge personal victory, and evidence that the root cause of the problem has finally been identified and is being brought under control.

But more importantly, this event is a victory for everyone who has MS or knows someone with MS. In a more perfect world. research for a cure for diseases like MS would be part of the normal public health budget, but it's not. The research has to be paid for, which is why charity events like the MS Walk take place. So again, if you can, please consider making a donation.

A Night Out

Contrary to the earlier forecasts, it was clear as a bell last night. I went up to the roof periodically, both to look at the eclipse and to see if I could get any half-decent pictures.

And half-decent is an accurate way to describe this picture, taken just as the eclipse began. And, sadly, it's the best of the bunch. My pictures of the moon fully eclipsed didn't come out at all — far too underexposed to be of much use. In the end, I just didn't have a long enough lens to properly focus and judge exposure. Oh well, I'll have another chance in three years.

Happy Birthday to Me

Once a year, whether I like it or not, I have a birthday. And today is the day — I'm now 43. When I woke up this morning, I discovered that I was having a "White Birthday", just like the ones I used to know. Today it was just a little sleet and rain, but you take what winter weather you can get in the South.

My friend Julie pointed out that this is a prime number birthday, which is kind of cool. It's also the second such birthday for me in the last 3 years (41 is also prime). The last time this happened was 12 years ago (29 and 31); the next time, and probably the last, will be 18 years from now (59 and 61). If I get really lucky (or unlucky, depending), I'll see another shortly after I cross the century mark (101 and 103).

My Backyard

The condo building that Mary and I live on sits right next to the Old Settlers' Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Charlotte. Since it was a nice day, I grabbed my camera and went out back to see if I could find anything interesting to shoot. Whether I did or not I'll leave for you to decide.

Out and About in London

What better way to kick off the New Year than to finish a project you should have completed two months ago. So here we have it — our last set of photos from our trip to London last October. In this episode, Mary and Eric wander around in the rain, seeking out art, architecture, and a dry place to get a glass of wine.

Pictures from the British Museum

What can possibly motivate someone to try to document in pictures a trip to such an enormous museum? Ignorance? Hubris? Or just the sense you get walking into such place, feeling that you have to somehow capture all the incredible beauty that lies within, even if your efforts can only scratch the surface? Given the choices, we'll take the third option, and so we present a brief glimpse of our seven hours well spent at the British Museum.

I Am So Done with Christmas

I had a good Christmas Day, but I'm sure glad it's (mostly) over for another year. Between the media's daily obsession with retail spending and the AFA's daily obsession with retail marketing, you'd think that the reason for the season was to buy more God-endorsing crap this year than the year before. And while that might be as good a reason as any other in these modern times, the combination of angst and anger it engenders can be exhausting.

Pictures From Bath

You'd thought we'd forgotten, didn't you? Well, we don't blame you for thinking that we were never going to get around to posting more pictures from our trip to London back in October, but in a burst of holiday enthusiasm, I present you with A Day in Bath, a chronicle of our day trip to that beautiful city.

Lyndon LaRouche

As someone who worked on Capitol Hill for a number of years, I often walked passed the kids outside the subway pushing pamphlets that spouted LaRouche's latest conspiracy theory. I took a few just out of curiosity, but I never really got what he was about, apart from making up some wildly crazy shit from time to time.

After reading this informative profile (via Kevin Drum) of the man and his movement, I can confirm that yes, they are crazy, but in ways that make for an interesting read. LaRouche himself comes across as almost Maoist in the cult of personality he managed to engender among his core group for over 40 years, despite the torrents of personal and financial abuse he heaped upon them. But while Mao got the revolution he wanted and changed the world, the same cannot be said about Lyndon LaRouche. In the end, his is a tale "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."