It's a new year, got a new change of gear

But still the same old blog. At least it's still mine!

Another Map Update

Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Austria and Italy are now red!

Fun With Maps

I don't want them to take my blog away, so here's a brief update of my travel maps to hold my place here.

Since the last update, I've added eight states . . .


. . . and 3 countries:



More to come soon.

Keep it

Just keeping the seat warm. Or, less cold, at least.

Music is my king-sized bed . . .

I can’t think of a better way to get over the pain of watching a national championship bid slip down the drain over the weekend than to hit up an awesome concert in a classic venue on a snowy Monday night. I’m off to Cleveland in a few hours to see Jack’s Mannequin, an amazing piano rock band that I was recently introduced to, performing live at a sold out Grog Shop.



Jack’s Mannequin is fronted by Andrew McMahon, formerly of Something Corporate, and recently released their second album, The Glass Passenger. More info HERE.

I’ll post some pictures from the show later this week. Hope everyone is having a good one.

Where I've Been

With a number of fun trips coming up in the next few months, I thought it'd be fun to try to figure out exactly where I've already gone. Using this fun site, I generated a map showing how many of the 50 states that I've seen, followed by a (sparse) map revealing what countries I've visited. The most fun, of course, will be in updating this for myself over time. Anyway, here's the state map:



And here's the world map:

In Which I Try Not To Jinx My Favorite Team

Reading a friend’s recent blog post about her pumpkin salsa soup, I recalled that I had intended to post a picture of my own wanton pumpkin slaughtering:

These inspiring creations took shape mere hours before the Penn State football team took down the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road, seizing control, perhaps, of the easiest path to the MNC remaining to any undefeated team. It was apparent early on that this team had a chance to be special, and now the potential exists for them to be truly historical. Without venturing too far down the road towards Jinxdom by discussing future plans, I do want to post some pictures from my road trip to Purdue. The first picture is of my dad and I in front of Ross-Ade Stadium, the second is "The Boilermaker," a massive bronze statue standing near the Purdue athletic facilities, and the final shot is from inside the stadium.

My next chance to see the Nittany Lions in person will be November 22, when I’ll be road-tripping to State College to tailgate with some friends and watch PSU take on Michigan State. Go State!