Exploring Angkor Wat on a Scooter Solo Traveler After trying to do some research over the past several days about exploring Angkor Wat on your own that is to say without a guide or even a tuk tuk driver I found that the internet really doesn t have a lot of great information on it I found several people online even inquiring about where the new ticket office has been relocated to Unfortunately and per typical internet standards the common online response I ve come across seems to be an entirely different solution rather than providing an answer to the question I was asking I d honestly prefer a simple em I don t know em in place of these responses Many responses I ve read online make the suggestion em just take a tuk tuk they ll know where to go em Well obviously the tuk tuk drivers and other such guides know where to go but that s irrelevant to the question and isn t especially helpful for those people who want to explore without a guide That all stated if you re interested in exploring Angkor Wat by yourself on a scooter please read on I am delighted to share my own experience and hope some people find it useful photo 651432 656781 0 center A corner shot looking over the moat of Angkor Thom part of the Angkor Wat complex photo Having explored virtually all of the Angkor Wat complex including the many many temples throughout it I honestly can t understand why most people would use a guide or a tour group There are just so many things to see and so many places to stop and take photos that I can t imagine being tied to a group much less being at the mercy of tuk tuk drivers It s also incredibly inexpensive to go by oneself as it turns out I rented a scooter in Siem Reap for 9 USD per day more on that process in a minute I explored a bit of Angkor Wat after 5 30pm on a Saturday the temples are closed at that hour but you can drive around the complex perimeter and then spent over nine hours exploring dozens of temples on Sunday In total I spent over 15 hours exploring the place during my stay in Siem Reap Stating it very plainly this was probably the single most amazing place I ve ever explored in my entire life It was absolutely breathtaking Every stop I made was more incredible than the last one and there was a glow on my face the entire time I should note that I ve also never sweat more in my life To give an idea I drank over 4 liters of water 2 cokes and a big glass of watermelon juice and I didn t have to stop to pee one time It was hot it was humid paired with about 12 miles of walking it took a hell of a lot of energy out of me That all said the wind from riding around on the scooter was incredibly refreshing I couldn t recommend the experience more It was truly one that I ll remember forever strong style text decoration underline Renting a Scooter strong There are places all over Siem Reap that will rent a scooter to you I m sure most of the bikes are great or at least good enough but the problem I ran into is that they all want your passport to secure the scooter I assumed they just wanted to copy it but it s not that simple They hold onto it while I had their scooter Apparently this is pretty standard practice and I m sure they re mostly all on the up and up However I told them there was absolutely no way that I was going to do that and I m pretty certain that was the right move As a general rule don t ever give a strange your passport LifeLesson And yes I certainly tried to negotiate with these rental places citing that they could copy it or charge a hold to my credit card or whatever else but that s just not how they do it If I didn t part with my passport they weren t parting with their equipment I looked up various companies that you can rent from online In these cases you use a credit card but it was unclear if I would then go and pick up the bike or if they would drop it off for me As it happens I was having dinner at the a href https www tripadvisor com Restaurant_Review g297390 d12302434 Reviews Old_Delhi_Indian_Restaurant Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province html Old Delhi Indian Restaurant a delicious by the way and happened to notice another shop renting scooters across the way I went into the store and inquired She initially wanted 10 USD day for the scooter but decided that she would do it for just 9 USD day Just like the other rental places the rental company did want some kind of card that she could hold on to The woman behind the counter inquired about my passport but after a short discussion said that my Texas driver s license would work too Since I couldn t care less if my driver s license was stolen while abroad really it s worthless and costs only 10 to replace at home I told her that would be fine It took maybe 5 minutes to do the paperwork She let me pick out a helmet Incidentally if you ve been around Southeast Asia then you know their standards for motorcycle helmets aren t the best I picked out the best one I could but it still lacked a face protector and shield It was slightly better than the small brain cups you so often see but only slightly photo 651148 656782 0 center An outside shot of the scooter rental place I found that didn t require my passport photo There was also no official damage form to fill out but another manager at the store looked over the bike condition with me There was some minor damage but nothing too serious As always I took photos of everything in front of the guy including the mileage and the gas level which was just shy of empty Be sure that you have the guy explain to you how to unlock and open the gas tank the under seat storage area and anything else the bike might have It s not always a intuitive as you might think photo 651314 656782 0 center My trusted scooter for exploring Angkor Wat still at the rental shop photo strong style text decoration underline Gassing up the Bike strong I m not 100 on this but pretty certain that the company just drains whatever gas is in the bikes when they get them back and keeps that for themselves They of course tell you that you ll need to go and fill the bike up and will direct you to a gas station Don t do this For starters the gas stations can be a huge pain in the ass especially if you haven t ridden around at all There are really no rules in terms of driving and cars and bikes are interweaving with each other around every turn The gas station is really no different A dozen scooters and motorcycles will pull up at random around a pump and somehow the gas attendant manages it like a craps table He won t miss a beat but unless your Cambodian is especially strong it s unlikely you ll get filled up too quickly The locals seem to get full attention I did this for my first fill up but learned there is a better way Instead head slightly off the beaten path and as you start passing shops on the side of the road you ll often see a stand out front with dirty liquor bottles In Bali these were exclusively Absolut Vodka bottles in Laos they were a mixture of bottles sometimes plastic liters of Coke but in Siem Reap they all seem to be some cheap brand of whiskey Of course none of these places are actually selling alcohol but rather selling their own variety of petrol gasoline photo 650938 656782 0 center Petrol stocked up in whiskey bottles photo photo 651900 656782 0 center Getting my scooter filled up with petrol photo I m told the bottles are filled with a slightly rougher petrol that is leftover from the refineries Presumably it s gasoline that is somewhat imperfect They work just fine but I m guessing are a little less environmentally sound Either way a single whiskey bottle s worth of petrol I m guessing 1 5 liters worth will set you back about 3 500 Riel about 0 85 It s also super fast You pull up you tell the guy what you want he breaks out a funnel and pours one of the bottles into your tank You pay You re done If you have your money ready to go the whole process takes less than a minute It s also kind of amusing to see it in action and provides cash to a local shop instead of what I assume are nationalized petrol chains A single bottle filled up my scooter about half way from empty so I was fine with this As a side note there are dozens of such stands selling gas like this between Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat compound They re far enough out that I wouldn t venture out on an empty tank but you ll definitely be able to find fuel along the way strong style text decoration underline Getting to the Ticket Office strong You would think that the ticket office would be located near the entrance to the park or at the very worst case in the middle of town but that s just not how they did it It s not near the temples nor is it especially convenient from town It s just kind of out there on its own It s even difficult to find on the map unless you know what you re looking for On Google Maps it comes up as Angkor Panorama Museum I think this museum actually exists at that location but it is also where they happen to sell the tickets to Angkor Wat To get there head north of the city on Charles de Gaulle until you get the Street 60 There will be a sign directing you to turn right and continue for 3km Do turn right Do not drive for 3km as you will overshoot the ticket office by a solid kilometer and wind up on the 60kmph section of the highway as I discovered After about 1 8km or so there will be a roundabout Go straight through the roundabout and there will be two giant buildings on your left They are not marked all that well but the first of the two buildings is the ticket office There is a small sign alongside the first building illustrating that it is the Angkor Wat ticket office but because the sign is exactly parallel with the road it s difficult to see as you re approaching Just trust it s the buildings immediately past the roundabout photo 774550 740 0 center A map showing how to get to the Angkor Wat ticket office from the center of Siem Reap photo Park your bike in the parking lot and head towards the back of the building behind the various gift shops You ll see dozens of ticket window stalls When you walk up to one of them they ll ask you if you want a 1 2 or 3 day pass to the temples I did a 1 day pass it cost 37 USD They ll take your picture and immediately print you out a custom ticket with your photo on it Keep it somewhere safe as they will definitely check it several times Also bear in mind that you re probably going to sweat a lot and it s just a paper ticket I kept mine in my a href https www amazon com Universal Waterproof JOTO CellPhone Samsung dp B00LBK7OSY ref sr_1_11 ie UTF8 qid 1508364994 sr 8 11 keywords underwater iphone bag waterproof iPhone bag case a which by the way if you don t have one of these I would highly recommend they re incredibly useful Once you get your ticket head back to the roundabout This time you ll head to the right after leaving the ticket booth parking lot left if you are considering how you originally went through the roundabout From there it s roughly another 6km or so to the park When the road eventually hits a T interesction there will be a checkpoint Show the guard your pass If you purchased a multi day he will punch a hole in one of the days This is not necessary if it s just a single day ticket Incidentally they only check westerners passes Locals are free to visit without charge Once you get to the intersection turn left You ll continue for another few kilometers driving underneath a beautiful canopy of trees and eventually paralleling the lake which ultimately serves as the moat for Angkor Wat photo 774549 740 0 center A map showing how to get from the center of town or the Angkor Wat ticket office to the actual Angkor Wat compound photo When you finally get to the Angkor Wat parking areas there is a good parking lot right next to the Blue Pumpkin Cafe It only cost me 2 000 Riels about 0 50 to park there for the day albeit I only wound up staying in that particular lot for two to three hours The parking attendant will staple a ticket onto your bike and then hand you a receipt for it Don t lose the receipt as they did ask for it later though it seemed a little stupid since I obviously had the key to my own bike It s probably not necessary but I had a lock for the bike and so I ran it through the wheel and into the frame just for peace of mind If you don t want to pay for a spot you can drive beyond the general tourist area where all of the locals are camped out on the lawn if facing the Angkor Wat entrance which will be very obvious to identify when you re out there it s to the far left of it I left my bike there for several hours on a separate trip The bike will likely have a storage compartment but beyond the helmet I don t know if I d trust leaving anything locked in it They re not especially hard to break into Once you ve explored enough of the main Angkor Wat temple your day is really just beginning Exit the parking lot where the bike is and head down the main road the one that looks to come immediately out of the front door of Angkor Wat There will be taxis and tuk tuks everywhere When you get to the first intersection turn right This will start you on your path towards Angkor Thom another absolutely breathtaking temple From there you re pretty much on your own if you have a scooter Provided you picked up a map of the facilities from the ticket office you can just navigate around and check out as many of the smaller temples as you d like I would ride up to one jump off the bike explore it for 10 20 minutes and then carry on to the next one Definitely do bring water and some snacks but there are also restaurants and vendors all throughout the park You ll not be in dire need of anything so long as you re in the compound It was really just an amazing place to be and honestly was one of the best experiences of my entire life I highly recommend it If you re in need of food or especially fuel on your way out be sure to stop in at one of the refueling huts especially if it s getting dark It s a bit of a drive back and while it s beautiful once you get past the main park area there really isn t much until you get back into Siem Reap

Canada to US Border Crossing photo 252021 740 200 right photo After visiting my friend Marciano in Montreal this evening Caroline and I headed south on CA15 US IH 87 towards the American border I ve been hearing more and more stories about how frustrating and un American this process has been getting and so it was interesting to experience it for myself I d been telling Caroline for weeks that she was certainly free to say anything that she felt comfortable saying but that I simply had no intention of answering questions regarding my life in the United States Simply meaning that I wasn t trying to sway her to my way of thinking but that I also had no real intention of altering my principles either We crossed around 9 40pm and the border was completely empty We pulled up and handed Agent Goodine our passports He started to ask a series of questions none of which were particularly relevant to anything Caroline was driving our rental car and did most of the talking We declared a bottle of whiskey we d just purchased at the duty free shop and told him we had nothing else Eventually he asked me where I was born to which I responded Am I required to provide that to you with that information He acted a little surprised though I doubt he really was His initial response to me was that no I didn t have to answer and instead could just go inside the booth so they could work it out After some quick jabbing back and forth I laughed and told him I was originally from New Jersey He had a good sense of humor up until this point and asked me why I was ashamed to be from New Jersey But shortly after this he opted to look in our trunk I wasn t sure what the law was on this and thus didn t try to argue it though I am somewhat regretful about that in hindsight I should have at least questioned the legality of it I was put off by his statement that he was going to search it rather than asking us if he could search it Towards the tail end of his snooping he did start asking some other questions to which we weren t answering I think Caroline probably wasn t answering him because the questions didn t really make sense but he took the lack of response to heart He gave us a brief spiel about how in the past thousand cars he had seen nobody had problems responding to his questions so he naturally found suspicion with us that we didn t have good answers to his questions He then started directing more questions specifically at me One of the questions was why we had three new boxes of Converse shoes in the back seat Caroline explained they were a gift though he seemed reluctant to believe this I didn t say a word about it but Marciano is the VP of Marketing for Converse Obviously I could have provided this as the simple answer but the fact remains that it s none of the government s business He asked why we were having such trouble providing him with simple answers Sensing that he was about to detain us and that Caroline was not going to be happy with that outcome I told him our collective lack of response was likely my fault and that I just didn t believe in answering these types of questions When he asked me why I felt this way I told him it was because I had libertarian values and I didn t feel I should be questioned to enter the United States as an American at least Comically he said he didn t know what being a libertarian meant He said something to the effect of does that mean supporting liberty Because I served in the armed forces to protect liberty Since my intent was not to inflame the situation but rather to avoid answering ridiculous questions for entrance back into my own country where I am a natural legal and tax paying citizen I mostly just sat quiet from this point on He did give us a brief lecture about how he didn t know us and if we refused to answer questions then how was he to know that we didn t have drugs or weapons with us I again sat silently After he finished this 30 45 second lecture he concluded with but I don t believe you pose any threat so you can go on He handed us our passports and off we went I guess a welcome home is not how the system works anymore I guess we can chalk that up to the terrorists too The entire experience was just a big show and definitely confirmed what I already had read about I believe very sincerely that the whole thing is just a conditioning experience It s brutish intimidation aimed at forcing people to comply with American authorities at the expense of their basic American and human liberties I know there are a lot of people who tell me that my reluctance to be openly complicit with American agents is unnecessary but I hope those people are able to understand that no type of abuse wanes with complacency As we drove off Caroline told me that she was actually surprised I didn t argue with the guy more She said she didn t think I had said much at all which was honestly my only intention In hindsight I do wish I had discussed the notion of liberty a bit more with him but I truly wasn t trying to get on a high horse about politics only to exercise my rights within the law Perhaps next time across I will be a bit more direct about that

A Case for the 10th photo 255665 740 200 right The 10th Amendment br The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited to it by the states are reserved to the states respectfully or to the people photo The other day I came across an online rant ripping on presidential hopeful Ron Paul for his support of the 10th amendment The post was essentially emphasizing that if we actually followed the 10th amendment of the Constitution the country would be riddled with bigotry It went on to discuss how a number of states have anti homosexual laws anti sodomy laws anti civil rights laws and other seemingly archaic and anti intellectual concepts many of which have been invalidated by federal laws I come across these sorts of posts from time to time and am always disappointed at the short sightedness of the analysis provided I m not sure if people are unable to wrap their heads around the scope of the 10th amendment or are just unwilling to but there are huge upsides embedded in our Constitutional fabric Firstly let me concede that there would no doubt exist various social and fiscal injustices across the country if the federal government stopped usurping states rights But in the absence of this over 300 million people are essentially forced to accept homogenized points of view of whatever party happens to have congressional and executive control That was certainly not the vision of the United States Even more unfortunate is that in the long run it essentially guarantees all walks of the political spectrum will endure measures they do not agree with and may never agree with One of the reasons for this is that ignoring the 10th amendment generally requires that force be used in order to get most agendas passed Keep in mind that the use of force is not limited to guns and bombs A combination of divisive politics fear tactics and far leaning partisan mandates tend to be the weapon of choice for American politicians It s pretty easy to stir up fear in a country as large as the United States especially in a time when politicians are no longer held to media scrutiny Circumventing our most fundamental rule of law with lavish empty promises of political solutions offers nothing but a dangerous and highly volatile band aid to a potentially very serious issue The drive of a progressive intellectual and advancing society should be to win the hearts and minds of people through diplomacy and discussion not through scare tactics and force Since it is the alleged plight of liberals progressives sensible conservatives and libertarians to specifically em not em engage in forceful tactics in order to promote an agenda opposing the 10th amendment seems to be counterproductive to ones own core belief system provided one falls into that category The 10th amendment provides the United States with an excellent method for developing and exploring varying ideologies without needing to forcibly impose those values on the entire country If you ve ever entertained the idea of leaving the United States because you disagree with so many modern policies perhaps global imperialism you ve no doubt pondered how difficult this would be to see through The idea of permanently moving your entire life to a different culture with a different government with a different monetary system where you would have to completely re assimilate yourself seems overwhelming and should incidentally give you some pause over what immigrants in our own country might endure But this is one of the many reasons that the United States was designed with such an interesting and ingenious framework It is well within most people s practical means to relocate to another city or state for any number of reasons differences of political ideology certainly being one reason This is what the model for a small government has to offer many vastly differing opinions respected and housed within a national framework I know for a fact that I have no desire to become a resident of a state that collects a state income tax I m not opposed to taxation as a practical means I just believe it s better to tax people on consumption not on their output The State of Texas provides me with a way to accomplish this by not taxing my income and rather by taxing my property If I live in a mansion I will pay the state through the county dearly for it if I live in a humble home I will save It s far from perfect but this seems like a more reasonable approach to me However my personal preference is far from the point The important distinction is that I am able to make a choice about this philosophical ideal and live my life accordingly If the State of Texas were to impose a state income tax I would naturally weigh my options but would very likely a href http en wikipedia org wiki State_income_tax States_without_an_individual_income_tax move out of the state a If we accepted that the Federal Government did em not em have the authority to control state actions outside of the limited scope of the Constitution and actually protected this liberty it would be perfectly acceptable for a state to legalize marijuana to openly develop stem cell technologies and to provide state healthcare benefits to all residents even homosexual couples This is a good thing And if it turned out that same state required a 40 state income tax to meet those goals I would probably still avoid that state despite supporting the many progressive ideals the state had to offer This is the trivial ideal of letting localities determine their own fates so that citizens aka the people can decide what works and what does not On the rare occasion that a philosophical shift occurs in the country and presents an issue requiring national attention the Constitution was designed with a clear amendment process This process has been used many times in the past to address wide sweeping changes to the federal government It should not be casually ignored simply because the modern generation is too impatient and intolerant of one another to seek compromise Yes the process takes longer But when fellow states adopt the ideals of one another as a result of this methodology it is because they genuinely support whatever measure they re adopting not because they re being forced to do so by a federal executive order This is a hugely positive concept for creating a progressive society because it em promotes em change instead of dictating it Unfortunately it is a sad state of affairs when self proclaimed progressives are able to justify their use of force in the same way neo conservatives have done for over a decade As a country I strongly believe we should strive to be more tolerant and accepting of our fellow citizens fears bigotries and levels of ignorance not force them to see our own ways even if history does prove those ways right This notion was well understood 236 years ago and is specifically why the 10th amendment was written I hope we are someday able to remember that

NYU SNL Script 1 Comedy Writing Workshop D B Gilles INT HOSPITAL LOOKING ROOM DAY A man named JIM dressed in a nice looking sweater is sitting with his legs crossed on the hospital bed His hair is neatly combed as he sits there a moment waiting for his cue There is no one else around He looks up Soft classical music is playing in the background JIM Phil Hartman like voice Today s world can be rough on children With so many bad things that they can get into discipline these days is a must Of course with so many new child abuse laws around these days maybe it s time to lay off of the belts and call your friends at BEAT Don t let the acronym fool you it doesn t mean a damn thing at all whispers in fact it s just so that we can be recognized as an official agency You can simply refer to us as the company that Beat s the hell out of your kids for you The man stands up and walks in front of the bed still facing us DR JACK KEVORKIAN comes into the room and shakes hands with Jim He faces us and begins to speak JACK KEVORKIAN Hi my name is Jack Kevorkian You may have heard my name used in conjunction with oh I don t know Charles Manson or perhaps even Satan but that s not really important is it We work for a side of the government that was actually outlawed 35 years ago but I ll be damned if we re going to listen to what the courts say Hey Jim let s say we take a brief look at what our customers can expect out of our three step program JIM I thought you d never ask The classical music fades out INT MUSKY PRISON LOOKING ROOM The two of them open a large steel door and walk into another room that is dark and dingy with water dripping from the ceiling There are leather whips chains and paddles all around A table carved from stone is in the middle of the room with restraints on every corner Jim grabs the doctor s ass JACK KEVORKIAN whispers Wrong program Jim JIM Of course it is Now where were we JACK KEVORKIAN As you can see right from the start the child is petrified simply by the sight of this hideous room It s so frightening in fact that every now and then the child will pass out before the therapy can begin JIM But not to worry doctor we have the finest line of smelling salts to ensure a quality visit The door to the room flings open two large men are carrying in a small boy BILLIE that is kicking and squirming to break free from their grip JIM Oh isn t this a treat We ve got a patient this very moment How about that JACK KEVORKIAN Very nice my friend JIM Step one is to grab the little ones chart to see just what he s in for JACK KEVORKIAN You got it Jim Jack takes the slate from one of the guards who is busy tying down the boy to the table He turns back to speak with Jim JACK KEVORKIAN Well this is very interesting BILLIE in a loud and shaky voice I m going to sue the hell out of you someday Billie begins to cry Jim walks over to Billie and gently pets his head JIM laughing a bit Silly Billy Government agencies get sued all of the time We just use the taxpayers money down to the last penny to defend ourselves But you can think about that while your being cured The guards finish strapping Billie down to the table on his stomach Jim gestures to the guard to shut Billy up The guard reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gag ball He precedes to place it in Billie s mouth JIM We got a little ahead of ourselves on this one but the gag ball is just part of step two You can also choose to have nature sounds playing for your child at this time We find that the sounds of the whales work the best Their calls tend to sound just like any screaming that may occur JACK KEVORKIAN Like I was saying it says right here that Billie is a fatherless child who is hard of hearing blind in the left eye and occasionally experiences muscle related spasms in his legs The guards exit the room and the door slams Billie is still crying JIM Wow it looks like we ve got a winner here You poor little bastard pauses And I really mean that Lets find out why he s in here shall we Jack JACK KEVORKIAN Sure thing Jim Jack Kevorkian flips the page over on the chart and periodically nods his head JACK KEVORKIAN Well it appears that Little Billie has refused to sit still when his reading tutor comes over on to the house JIM Oh now Billie JACK KEVORKIAN His mother has also left us a note saying that she finds it more beneficial for her to spend money on his tutor then surgically correcting Billie s vision JIM What a mom JACK KEVORIKAN She adds I want him to learn how important it is to read but teachers do not want to teach a child that is always jumping out of his seat JIM Very understandable indeed Most teachers don t even want to teach Well Billie it looks like your about to get the My ass is gonna be sore as hell treatment Billie starts squirming in his restraints with failed attempts to scream through the gag Jim walks back over to Billie and places a hand on his shoulder JIM Don t worry about a thing Billie your with a professional doctor now he begins to laugh a bit In fact with any luck your tailbone will probably crack in three different places before round two even begins You ll be slowly just fine Jack Kevorkian pulls some surgical gloves out of his pocket and snaps them onto his hands He walks over to the wall and grabs a large wooden paddle off of its hanger Billy begins to attempt screaming some more JIM Happy thoughts Billie happy thoughts Jim walks out of the cell room and back into the white hospital looking room He slams the steel door behind him and locks it He walks over to the white bed in the center of the room and leans against it INT HOSPITAL LOOKING ROOM DAY JIM Unfortunately due to our friends over at the FCC child therapy of this nature is not allowed to be aired on national television sorry You might try searching the web for similar video clips from out office in Pakistan but I didn t tell you that We can hear a smack followed by a muffled scream every so often Jim puts a smile on his face JIM Oh my It sounds like step three just began As you can probably tell our program is not only effective it s therapeutic I guarantee that once your child is admitted to our clinic he ll never come back in fact he might not ever go home again Either way you come out a winner Jim stops talking and a large smile appears on his face END 7 1 1999

The Space Shuttle Between May of 2009 and May of 2011 I visited Orlando and ultimately Cape Canaveral 13 separate times in hopes of seeing the Space Shuttle lift off With NASA s 30 year Space Shuttle program finally coming to an end this was the last chance I would have to see the spectacle The only thing I ve ever really wanted to do was to become an astronaut and visit space this was as close as I might get I was originally scheduled to see the 3rd to final shuttle launch My friend Dave G and I drove across the country for the opportunity After the launch was scrubbed several times we had to drive back home Dave wasn t interested in trying again but I decided I was going to see the launch regardless of the effort involved I missed the 3rd to last launch due to obligations and the situation grew more dire there were only two launches left After two years of routine trips between Austin and Orlando and after many many thousands of dollars spent and some 60 hours in the air I finally saw Space Shuttle Endeavour lift off on May 16th 2011 at 8 56am EST as part of a href http en wikipedia org wiki STS 134 STS 134 a The story of how it happened is even more amazing iframe width 521 height 293 src https www youtube com embed 2dfLr9O02l0 frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe My dear friend Tim had a connection with the NASA visitors team at Cape Canaveral As a hotel executive with the Gaylord Palms he ensured that families and friends of astronauts and other important people connected to NASA had the opportunity to see launches from the 3 mile VIP center photo 22841 564 0 right My visitors badge photo photo 25593 640 0 right The incredible F5 engines on the Saturn V rocket photo Experiencing a scrubbed launch was both frustrating and exhausting The launch process basically consisted of me driving 90 minutes from Orlando towards the outskirts of Cape Canaveral I d then have to board a private NASA bus that would take me from the bus terminal to the visitor s area 3 miles from the launch site I would often sit with families of the astronauts and extremely gifted scientists from around the world That part was wonderful The weather was a different story It was consistently hot and very humid I would be on site for six to eight hours at a time I passed the time by strolling around the NASA museum gazing at the old Saturn rocket series Those spacecraft are absolutely amazing marvels of engineering The launches would usually be scrubbed after about 8 hours of waiting when the clock was down to the last hour It was gut wrenching every time and I d have to spend another 2 3 hours fighting traffic to get back to Orlando I had just flown back to Austin after yet another scrubbed launch and was extremely disappointed This was the 12th launch that I had seen scrubbed I had become pretty well known to many of the officials at Cape Canaveral as Tim s friend from Austin Despite being a bad omen at that point they were very welcoming I hadn t been in Austin but a day when Tim called me up and told me that the launch had just been rescheduled and that he had a seat for me he always got the relaunch dates and times before they were made public I really did not want to make the trip because I was so exhausted of the process but he had a good feeling about it and so I did The catch was that he would be in Jacksonville going on a date with a girl named Courtney she was a friend of a friend I wound up getting to meet her that weekend and attended their wedding the following year I bought a last minute ticket to Jacksonville Tim told me he would take care of everything else He did When I arrived in Jacksonville I had a text message from Tim instructing me to visit the valet in front of the airport I was to show them my ID I did They presented me the keys to a car I got in the car and inside was a post it note on the GPS telling me to follow the directions to the pre programmed destination There was a note instructing me to use a false name when I got to the gate and that I was there to see the Daltons There was also a ticket to the Jacksonville PGA tour Without talking to Tim I drove about an hour to the GPS destination as instructed When I got to the private community gate I told the guard I was Brian Dalton as instructed He welcomed me and directed me to their home When I finally arrived at their home complete strangers to me mind you there was a guy waiting for me on a golf cart with a beer He asked me if I was Kevin and upon confirmation told me to get in and to bring my ticket The beer was for me He drove me on the golf cart to the front of the PGA security gate and walked me in with my ticket He walked me over to Tim hanging out with the girl he had just met and I got to watch all of the famous golfers do their thing I m not much for golfing but it was an enjoyable time getting drunk photo 25619 640 0 right The official clock with about 1hr 20m to go photo We left around 8pm with a bunch of people including Courtney had an incredibly drunken sushi dinner and proceeded to drive to Tim s house in Kissimmee Florida By the time we got there it was around midnight We went to bed woke up at 4 15 in the morning and drove our way to Cape Canaveral with the top down in his car jamming out to Lonely Island We were on our way to see the final NASA shuttle launch of all time Two hours later I saw one of the most spectacular sites of my life It s impossible to describe what a shuttle launch is like in person There is no film I have ever seen that truly captures the power of it I was delighted to check off another bucket list item Tim is a really great friend Even sweeter is that NASA wound up adding one last flight Courtney was there for that one

Best Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Recipe photo 1220612 1220867 0 right Make sure that the starter is super bubbly photo Having made dozens of near perfect sourdoughs at this point and having experimented with a variety of my own recipes for the perfect cinnamon raisin variety I believe I have found the one that I ll stick with It should be noted right off the bat that because cinnamon naturally inhibits the work of yeast in the proofing dough many recipes call for adding additional yeast into the dough I ve actually found that this is unnecessary and merely requires letting the dough proof a bit longer than it normally might Given the temperature of my own house most sourdough will proof for me in about 8 hours time This one takes closer to 12 hours but comes out perfect every time I ve also experimented with combinations of flour between white whole wheat and rye and have actually found that just using 100 bread flour works the best Build your starter however you normally do but just make sure that the starter is super gaseous before you actually use it for the bread It should float like a cork when you mix it with water strong The Recipe strong In a large wooden mixing bowl add ul li 520g white bread flour li li 2 teaspoons salt li li 2 5 tablespoons of ground cinnamon li li 110g raisins no need to pre soak them li li 40g raw sugar li ul Mix the dry ingredients before you add the starter so that they re evenly distributed In a measuring cup or similar container stir ul li 90g starter li li 385g water li ul Use a fork to mix 90g of your starter in 385g of water Then pour the mixture into the bowl Stir it up like you normally would for any other sourdough until it has a good doughy consistency If it seems overly dry add another tablespoon of water before starting the proofing process photo 1220648 1220867 0 center The dry mixture before stirring it up photo strong Proofing and Folding strong I use two initial folds 15 minutes apart and then two final post proof folds Once the dough has been made let it sit for 15 minutes and be sure to cover it with a damp cloth After 15 minutes do your initial folding being sure to turn the bowl 90 degrees before each of the 4 folds Once done cover it with the damp cloth and let it sit another 15 minutes After another 15 minutes passes 30 minutes from start repeat the same folding process Again cover with a damp cloth and now let it sit for 12 hours After 12 hours the dough should have risen to a satisfactory level and with any luck you ll even find some gas bubbles trapped at the top of the dough Perform the post proofing folding the first time and replace the dough back into the mixing bowl Turn the bowl 90 degrees and after this fold place it into a metal bowl lined with parchment paper photo 1220609 1220867 0 right The final product photo Sprinkle cinnamon sugar and white flour atop the dough and place it in the refrigerator for an hour While it s cooling set your oven to bake at 500 degrees and place your dutch oven inside After an hour remove the dough from the fridge and use your lame to make the top cut Remove the dutch oven from the oven move the chilled dough into the dutch oven I always add plenty of parchment paper so that I can just pick it up like handles and place it into the dutch oven Put the dutch oven back into your oven with the lid on Bake for 21 minutes with the lid on then remove the lid Bake for another 11 minutes

A man with brown hair and a scruffy beard and a blonde woman smiling at the camera. wide eyed, open mouth, cave, beard, blonde, sunglasses, blue shirt, coral shirt, white, brown, green, Caucasian, taking a selfie, rocks, boulders, small trees, leaves, gold, tan, gray A woman and a man is excited and laughing in front of a tree's bark and shrubs around it. Caucasian male with dirty blond hair, beard and sunglasses on top of his head with caucasian female blond in coral tank top with bra strap showing. Taking selfie in outdoor woodsy location showing top row of teeth and no bottoms. There is a bearded man with a blue t-shirt and blue sunglasses on his head. He's standing behind a surprised woman wearing a peach tank top. A man with sunglasses on his head and shaggy brown hair has a large smile as he poses with a woman with blonde hair in front of a mountain. A young white bearded man with sunglasses on his head is wearing a blue t-shirt is making silly faces while taking selfies outdoors with a young white blon

A woman kissing a man with her eyes closed as a man has his open. A beautiful white young teen and her hot white boyfriend are in romantic mood and they were kissing on their lips Black and White Photography, an aggressive with opened eyes man is kissing a woman with closed eyes. both have bangs. the woman is blonde the guy has light eyes and beard. This loving couple is kissing. The girl has long blond hair and the man has black hair, as well as a black beard. a woman with long blond hair with her eyes closed is kissing a man with long black hair and black mustaches and beard. A man with beard and long hair falling on his face is kissing a blonde woman, and the woman has her eyes closed. A young man with a thick brown beard kissing a young blonde woman passionately while she has her eyes closed and he is looking at the camera. a couple in which the girl closed her eyes while kissing a man with black hair and beard looking some where else. There is a sweaty man with a beard and a head full of black hair kis

Man taking selfie next to sleeping female partner. one woman sleeping on a bad and a man with beard looking someone one cycle is also stand in the background. The man is taking a selfie while in bed. He is very happy smiling while the woman sleeps with her hand on her face and her index finger touching her nose. They are both seem Caucasian. He has a beard. There is a hairy man with beautiful bright eyes watching a sleeping blonde woman sleep peacefully on her bed with her smooth hands on her face. Black and white photo, two people, man awake with moustache and beard, woman sleeping with hand across face, white bedding A women sleeping in the background while a man with mustache and beard is smiling and clicking a selfie Bed, white pillow, white woman sleeping soundly, oblivious. Middle Eastern looking man, black mustache, smiling, twinkly dark eyes, looking to the left. a man with bushy eyebrows and a thick brown beard smiling while taking a selfie with a sleeping with blonde hair and her hand resting on h

Allan Dick Response Here is the letter that I sent Mr Allan Dick regarding the portions of the article that were omitted from the published magazine article strong Email Response Below strong Dear Mr Dick I was pleasantly surprised to open a copy of New Zealand Today in a local bookstore this afternoon to find bits of my response published On a similar note however I was not so pleasantly surprised to find how you had treated the article As one who enjoys throwing my comments to the mercy of such writers as yourself I was not at all surprised to see many points cut out However I would like to use this letter to question both the integrity of your journalism and your moral obligations as an editor I acknowledge the following two things some digressions need to be cut in order to fit the given text space and cutting the entire passage regarding the Kennedy assassination is completely acceptable as it leaves no room for misquoting With that I will say nothing more of cuts where only additional insight was given and I will say nothing more of the Kennedy section or lack there of it What I would like to note however is that you cut a variety of significant passages in the middle of my text that would have given highly credible support to my overall argument The first such edit appears on page 10 of the magazine at the end of the second to last paragraph My final statement Not only that but specifically if people want to fix the aforementioned problems they will need to expect an increase in petrol tax was cut This line states that I am NOT advocating what I had just written but rather was used to imply an obvious fundamental flaw within your original article Again raising petrol prices hurts the less fortunate that is a fact Driving smaller cars and ultimately consuming less petrol hurts the government s profits that is a fact The next cut specifically leads me to question your journalistic integrity From the original text I sent you you cut the next three paragraphs that would have followed the above sentence To be honest the third such paragraph is merely my opinion to you on politicians and thus I understand its lack of necessity The first two however are necessary to the argument at hand Quite clearly what you wrote in the original text with respect to this section is entirely wrong I believe I need not point that out to you but I find it strikingly unfair that a journalist with any degree of integrity could find it fit to omit such a retort Whether or not you like how capitalism works is irrelevant to how you should choose to include facts With regards to the Challenge vs BP you could not have given a better example than you did to depict how capitalism is was intended to work for everyone not just the rich and certainly not just Americans Why then would you omit these passages It also clearly shows that the writer in this case me is not an uneducated ignorant and greed driven American but rather one who is economically aware of the reality in which we live and would like to see EVERYONE better themselves not just the already wealthy Again I take no personal grief in seeing my passages omitted but I feel you have done your readers a grave injustice There are people in your country and mine alike who are unaware of how the simplicities of a competitive market can benefit them Still such benefits are not without a cost People need to be aware that if they are to inherit such benefits they must do their part to make things happen The example of people switching petrol brands to save mere cents is a cost people must choose to pay a very small cost at that Now you may immediately want to respond to the above claiming there was a lack of space To save you the time I do not believe so The response printed after mine Taranaki Land Confiscations is two and a quarter columns long My comments including the paragraph you responded with are still only one and one half columns long This would normally bring us to the obvious notion that you felt more text from the latter response was important but again I beg to differ It logically seems to me given that I won the contest for submitting the best piece that the best piece would have priority over the others Perhaps I am confusing my logic with another god given rights of Americans to always be heard Clearly sir you did not like having obvious facts and figures pointed out to you Seeing as how you are the editor fair enough but again I am not so much complaining as merely pointing out the lack of honesty and integrity you have distilled upon your readers I noticed you cut a single word out three when I made reference to your cars Three being how many you own Good move as it no doubt takes away from your ability to connect with the more common New Zealander trying to afford just one Your agendas are hidden about as well as a giraffe in downtown Japan I hope you take no insult to that but rather realize that if I can figure it out who else might The irony of the situation is that while you made postscript comments antagonizing Americans you yourself are guilty of two things people around the world despise about America myself included The first is the lack of honesty and integrity coming from our media on a daily basis No doubt this happens but is it your goal to fight fire with fire especially when at least one American has written you a very factual and non biased rebuttal The second is always feeling homage should be paid to the corporation In this case you have even dishonestly represented me in paying such homage The opening line of my text While taking a rather enjoyable and short Origin Pacific flight from Christchurch to Dunedin As you know I did NOT make any note of Origin Pacific in my letter to you Given that you did not inquire towards my travel arrangements had it occurred to you that charter flights between Christchurch and Dunedin also exist In many cases they are even at a less expensive rate Had it occurred to you that as an educated traveler I might have looked into such arrangements Perhaps it did and perhaps it did not the simple fact remains that you plugged a giant corporation in an editorial of all places and for what reason Finally as I said I would like to question your moral obligations as an editor I see two flaws The first is again in regards to your postscript comments If your intention was to bring your own agenda into spectrum I suppose there is not much I can do from my laptop to stop that All the same if you are going to criticize my words in print at least have the courage to include what I actually said Do not omit the facts surrounding the included paragraphs and then choose to represent yourself The second is with regards to my contact information being published It is true that I included such information to you but intended for YOU to contact me I have to question your intentions upon including it at the end of the editorial Published is a full name address city state zip code and email address As an EDITOR of a popular magazine you know fully well that publishing ones personal contact information is a breech of confidentiality I did not ask to remain anonymous but misrepresenting my words and then allowing readers to personally attack those words is highly immoral and I will quickly be looking into the legalities of it as well I hope that in the future you will take better note of many of the issues I have just written to you On a more personal note America has its problems but so does New Zealand or any other country around the world Your false editing while I cannot prove it seems to be nothing more than an attack against Americans in general This is more apparent given your postscript comments Perhaps if you and other like you would stop merely hearing what many of our countrymen and women actually represent and rather start listening you might find you are pleasantly surprised Thank you very much for your time and good luck with your future editorials I have sent a copy of this letter to each person in your department specifically to remind them that personal contact information is NOT to be printed within a national magazine editorial Kevin Ludlow