Spaceshipone DAM GOOD JOB!

Hey, I'm an aerospace engineer so I would be crazy not to throw something in my bog about how excited I am with the success of Burt Rutan and his rocketship. Finally someone is doing something new and exciting. I'm a little upset because here in Italy they are showing Roberto Benini on the news. Please tell me they are going to say something about this historic event. I'm already saving my money for the day I can go into space. I saw a little of the flight on the web and they had a guy from The Guiness Book of World Records there. He said exactly what I feel. When I was a kid and I dreamed of going into space but in the last 10 to 15 years I've been getting more cynical that nothing is going to happen, until now. This is not some giant government effort. This is a guy, one guy, that got Paul Allen to give him some money (yeah 25 million) to do something we seemed to have forgot we could do. Invent something new!!!! Take a look at Burt Rutan's company website and see some of the other things he has done and continues to do: www.scaled.com . I'm excited and I can't wait for the next flight.... And my own flight!

Nice Boat

Here is a great boat that happens to be in harbor tonight. I feel a little sick but nothing keeps you from getting the picture (and a gelato). Check out the full moon right between the masts. I really like this shot and I hope you do too.

Shopping for a New Garage

Today I went shopping for a garage. Isn't that exciting. The garages near me were supposed to be done in November of 2003 but, hey, there was no hurry. All this led up to today when I was able to stroll around and pick the garage that best suited me. In the end I picked number 12. It's just a little wider then the next best one. I've scraped the car a few times trying to get into the current garage (which is actually my landlords, I was just borrowing it) so I was looking for the widest one I could get. It's sad that my next guests won't get to see the great maneuvering I have to do these days.

No Stress Band

One more photo today. This is out front of the main duomo in town. This is the "No Stress Band" playing some swing and big band music for the slightly older generation. No, this doesn't happen everyday it was part of the festival to celebrate the town saints, San Teodoro and San Lorenzo.

Big Ben Pub

Here we are at the Big Ben Pub. A damn good place for a beer. Can I say that? Daniele is moving too fast for my slow exposure shot but that's what makes this shot so good. I think I'll go tonight for a drink.

Looking out my window

This is where the Via Appia enters the old part of town. This picture is taken from my apartment window. There is a webcam across the street so you can see what's happening right now!!! Just click here: http://212.25.173.202/webcam/index.php

End of the Via Appia

This is where the Via Appia ends at the sea. Only one of the two columns is intact. The rest of the other is said to be in Lecce but that's another story. Also there is a very good place for gelato near here, called "Bar Betty".

Via Appia and Brindisi

One of the most interesting things about Brindisi is it's history. The ancient road Via Appia went from Rome to here and was finished in 190 B.C. What makes it so incredible is all the art, history, and ideas that traveled down this road from Greece to Rome. This was part of the main passage from Athens to Rome (and still is today for some). The photos with this post show the Via Appia today. Enough with the history lesson.

Weekend Fun thanks to Southern Italian Hospitality

This weekend very interesting. I went out Saturday night with a new friend at work and his wife. That alone might not sound so great but there was also with us was another married couple and TWO single women about my age. I don't need to spell out what that was all about. Now my Italian is still not very good and neither of these young ladies spoke English so on one side is was great (as they both seemed very beautiful and interesting) and on the other side it was horrible (so tough to communicate). We had a simple night of pizza, beer, and gelato in Lecce. Afterwards it's very interesting to look back on it, at the time it seemed so difficult. I can't say too much about it as I plan to go out with one of the women again and I don't want to write anything I'll regret. Maybe I'll update this story as it progresses. We'll leave it at that.

Another Item for the blog was spending Sunday with this same new friend his wife and few other people (some from work). It was just like you imagine a Sunday afternoon in Southern Italy. We went to the store for wine (we even had farmers bringing in grapes outside as we were buying wine inside) then back to his house for meal that his wife made that took probably 3 hours to eat. Everything we had I liked (although I didn't eat the dish with green peppers). I didn't have dinner that night and I barely felt like having breakfast the next day. It could have served as a Thanksgiving dinner. After lunch we headed the sea (at about 5:30 PM) and to my delight I had 5 people to throw Frisbee with (the others watched and took care of the one toddler along for the fun). This blog is for friends and family so you know how much I appreciated having people to throw with. All of them showed improvement just in the time we were on the beach. An element of risk was added when a stray dog thought the Frisbee was meant for him and he proceeded to attempt to steal it for a good 20 minutes. When it finally got too dark to throw we strolled around the temporary vendors that were setup to make some sales before the weather gets cooler. Then we had the necessary gelato, but no one was thinking about dinner. All in all it was a great day. I would have to say one of best experiences in Italy so far. One I will not forget.

Valley of the Temples

Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, this is in the south western part of Sicily. In this area there are the remains of 9 Greek Temples and other ruins. It is an incredible sight that I'm amazed that I never heard of it in history class. Do you like this "foliage framed shot" with the olive tree? I love this type of shot so you'll see more like it in the future.

Me at Pompeii

I usually don't like pictures of myself but Doreen caught me off guard with this one and I like it for some reason. Unfortunately the Ray Bans have disappeared.

First Post

As this is the first post it is more of a test of the setup. I've been in Itay for a year now before starting this blog so I guess I will attempt to update you on all the things that I have done as time permits. Right now I'm watching a TV show about a Tharros in Sardinia. I was just there a few weeks ago. More on this all later.