Going to see the Oracle> Travels

Yesterday I rented a car with three people from my hostel and drove to Delphi. It takes about three hours to get there and when we arrived at 2 PM we were surprised to find out that it would be closing at 2:45. Even though we only had 45 minutes to explore the ruins, it was well worth the trip. The setting is remarkable, perched on the side of a mountain overlooking a green valley below that happened to be covered in mist, adding to the atmosphere. Delphi was the home of the Oracle for hundreds of years. People would come from all over Greece to get her (The Oracle was a priestess 50 years or older) advice on political and personal matters. She would take a whiff of some gases which were thought to come from the ground beneath the Temple of Apollo and then mutter something incomprehensible which a Priest would fashion into advice. It was a nice time to go, right before the start of 2006. Do I have any predictions? Chicago will win the Super Bowl if Rex Grossman doesn't shit the bed.

Afterwards we went for dinner at a nice Taverna in a little ski resort village. Our waiter was great. If I were rich I would hire him to be my personal waiter. I'd bring him to restaurants and he would read me the specials, describe different dishes and take my order. Wouldn't it be fun to have your own waiter?

Zorba Hussein> Travels

I wonder how many American tourists called the CIA in 2003 with sightings of Saddam Hussein hiding in Greece. I have already seen at least 6 Saddam Hussein look-a-likes. Both young mustachioed and old bearded. Maybe all of Saddam's body doubles were granted asylum here after the government fell. I am filled with questions.

Fort Boyard> Travels

The other night I watched a Greek reality TV show called Fort Boyard. The premise from what I could gather was a team of 5 people had to complete a whole bunch of physically and mentally demanding challenges in this fort on a small Island to win money. The show was hosted by two midgets names Zack and Zock. At the end of the show, when the time runs out, they release several Tigers into the fort who I suppose try to hunt down and kill the contestants. So think Fear Factor meets Fun House meets Fantasy Island. Which is strange because that was the exact pitch I gave for my TV show concept, Model UN. It was even hosted by a midget. This leads me to several questions: Did someone steal my premise and if so how did they get a hold of it? Also, where are my royalties? Also, why two midgets? Was one of them getting tired running around the fort so they needed a second one to give him a breather? I want to know. Yo Z, (My big city lawyer) do we have a case here?

Walking and Hitching> Travels

So as I wrote earlier, Santorini is ridiculously beautiful. The buildings and landscape are unforgettable. Later on when I post some pictures you'll get a feeling for it. Today I explored the Island. I started by taking a bus to ancient Akortiri, a Minoan settlement that was frozen in time Pompeii style by the volcano of eruption of 1650 BC. Unfortunately it was closed so I can't really say much about it. The fence was a bit too high for me to jump, so no breaking and entering today.

Additionally, the bus that dropped me off at the site, which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't be back for 4 hours. So I decided to go for a walk to along the water. I ended up finding this very secluded beach of red sand with towering red cliffs above. I also found lots of really varied volcanic rocks along the way. Oh, also a dog was following me the whole time.

I believe his name was Raoul. I then decided it was time to find my way back to the road. This required me to climb a very large hill covered in terracing and very prickly plants. I was a bit lost until I found a sheep herder who shouted at me and pointed in a direction.


I would then walk in that direction and if I steered off course a bit he would yell at me again from across the valley. I am not sure if he was giving me directions or just heckling me, but I found my way to a little village where I climbed to the top of what must have been a long abandoned monastery. From there I hitchhiked to another small village called Pyrgos. The whole morning was pretty overcast and raining but I was rewarded with a pretty sweet rainbow over Thira, the town I was staying in.
I then was able to catch a bus back to Thira and from there began what would be a 12 KM hike to Oia, a picturesque town at the Northern end of Santorini. The hike took me along the rim of the Caldera, passing through a few villages clinging to the cliffs along the way.


The whole time I was able to look down into the bay formed by the eruption. There is an Island in the middle of the bay that emerged from the water in 1956 that is actually a volcanic cone that smokes at times.


Anyway, great views.

I finished my hike at sunset in Oia and after a while managed to hitchhike back to Thira with two old Greek guys who didn't speak any English. Warm weather again today and after a rainy morning the afternoon was pretty damned sunny. It would be great to stay out here longer, but I am going to head back to Athens tomorrow. It'll be a 9 hour boat ride but I have the New Years Double Issue of the Economist to keep me company. It's a good one.

Opening Santorini> Travels

You know that feeling when you were a kid and you had a birthday, Christmas or Chanukah present all wrapped up and you had no idea what would be inside, but you knew it would be good. That kind of excitement is unfortunately lost in adulthood for the most part with perhaps the exception of a clothed woman soon to be undressed.

Last night I arrived on the island of Santorini at 10:00 at night. I had read about it, seen pictures, but everything was all dark when I my boat pulled in to a small port at the base of a 400 foot cliff.

I was lucky to be there, having found out I could catch a free to Santorini from Crete at the last minute. After catching a lift into the main town on the island, Thira, I walked around looking for a hotel. Unfortunately pretty much every place was closed, but in my search I caught some amazing views in the dark. It was kind of like peaking under the lid or shaking the box and Santorini was my present.

When I woke up and walked out of my hotel the next morning it was like unwrapping a present and finding a Ferrari with the Mona Lisa in the driver's seat. Sitting shot gun? Mr. T circa 1986. (For security... "I pity the foo that tries to steal this Ferrari and Mona Lisa or isn't enjoying this analogy.") I don't think I have ever been anywhere that is quite as fetching as Santorini. A local told me that men don't need pornography here. They just look out the window. I sort of believe them. OK, I made that up.

Santorini is part of the Cyclades Islands and is actually one huge, active Volcano. It's eruption in 1650 BC was the largest ever in recorded human history. It caused the entire center of the island to sink underwater. Some think this was the mythical lost Continent of Atlantis. My theory? I may not be a big city archaeologist, but I do know this: Santorini isn't exactly Continent size so it probably isn't. But again, it's lovely.

The Search For Lato> Travels

Today I decided to visit Ancient Lato,some Dorian ruins in the hills of Crete near Agios Nikolaos. No public transportation goes there so my bus driver dropped me on the side of the road near a monastery and pointed West and told me to walk for about 4KM and ask locals for directions along the way. It was actually kind of warm out, the first time so far on my vacation. I walked on clover covered ground through cragly old olive groves for a half an hour. The route to Lato was not obvious at all and the locals were pointing me in all different directions. I ended up getting off the path and I could hear dogs barking in the distance. I steadied myself and put on my leather gloves, ready to fight off some wild canines. My 5 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws in animal combat is pretty decent and given the loss was to a kangaroo I have nothing to be ashamed about. I guess the dogs sensed my confidence and kept their distance.
So after a while of wandering around I came upon a main road, and after a while down that road I came to a fork. Fortunately I saw a roadsign for Lato. Unfortunately it was lying on the ground, not being particularly useful as far as signs go. I took one fork, and walked the wrong way for a while, crossed a ravine to get to the other fork and after a while, in the distance I spotted the entrance to Lato. Unfortunately today is a national holiday and Lato was closed. I should have known. I had gone to far to be turned around by what amounted to a pretty small fence. I jumped the fence and then and an additional fence, all the while staying low to the ground as to avoid detection. It was then that I heard the bells. Security goats! Damned! They blocked my path and I knew if they saw me they would start running and their bells would get me unwanted attention. I thought maybe I could sneak up on them and break their necks before they had a chance to run, but there were like 50 of them, so that probably would not have worked. They saw me and of course started running and making a lot of noise. What counts is I kept my head on a swivel. Luckily, nobody was around so I was free to explore Lato. There were mostly foundations of building, but it was the setting that made it worth it. The acropolis had some great views, which I'll post later. Satisfied, I left Lato and began walking back to the nearest town, 5 KM away. Some teenagers on motorcycles drove by and a minute later circled back and offered me a ride into to town. We drove to Krista where I caught a bus back to Agios Nikolaos. The ante for fun on this vacation has been ever so slightly upped.

Kala Hristougena!> Travels

So Merry Christmas to everyone or as the Greeks say, Kala Hristougena. Everyone celebrates the holiday differently around the world. For instance, us Jews go to the movies. In Greece, children go door to door playing musical instruments, usually triangles, but occasional violins and accordions. They of course beg for money. Not for charity either. The Greek Christmas tradition I found most interesting is children are not allowed to cry. If you are over the age of 5 and you cry on Christmas your parents will hand you a savage beating. Seriously, within an inch of your life. For most Greek children Christmas beatings are seminal moments on their path to adulthood.

What's on TV in Greece> Travels

I just got to Agios Nicholas on the Eastern side of Crete. Its a package tourist kind of former fishing village turned city, but because i am the only tourist on the Island of Crete (You think i am kidding right)it is lovely and peacefull this at the moment. On the Agean with great views of the mountains in the distance. Everything will be closed on the island tomorrow for Christmas so I checked into a pretty nice hotel with satellite TV to kill some time until Monday evening when I will catch a ferry to Santorini. I flipped through the channels and here is a rundown of what is playing on Greek TV.

1. Something involving a reindeer and ice skating.
2. A dating show, with the potential date shown in silhouette. It's a mystery. Sometimes they are hot, sometimes homely.
3. Desperate Housewives (with Greek subtitles)
4. Some guy holding a new pair of sneakers laughing. He is in a grocery store.
5. Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman
6. Ernest Saves Christmas (I shit you not)
7. A woman with a tremendous mole on her face. Good times!
8. A Greek Master Card commercial (Feta Cheese: 3 Euro. Bad smelling after shave: 7 euro. Closing everything in the country for the winter so LarryB feels like a sucker: Priceless)
9. Cock Fighting Quarterfinals, live from Dubai!

#92> The 100 Most Underwhelming Tourist Attractions in the World

I will guarantee you something. No child has ever uttered the words, "Daddy, please take us to Knossos again."
The ruins of Knossos, home of the mythical Minotaur, is a 4000 year old palace unearthed in 1900 by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Evans spent 35 years of his life and 250K Pounds of his own money to excavate and reconstruct sections of the palace. This was controversial because when he reconstructed he made a whole bunch of crap up based on what he thought it would look like. So using a whole lot of concrete he built directly on the ruins. Unfortunately this has the effect where you don't know what is his creation and what was really there actually made by the Minoans. I know Evans had his reasons, so I hold know ill feeling towards him. A for effort. Even with his reconstructions the place is pretty underwhelming.

Cretans> Travels

Last night I took an overnight ferry to Crete. Luckily none of the other people sleeping with me in the hallway of the boat had night terrors. Crete was where the Minoans lanuched Europe's first advanced civilization in 2100 BC. For the past few thousand years the island has been the world's village biycle/local slut, having been ridden by just about everybody. The Myceneans came in and messed up the Minoans and probably had some orgies, which they invented. That's a guess. In 1100 BC the Dorians (of Doric Column fame!) arrived and finished off the Minoans. Then Crete dissolved into city states and pretty much missed out on the flourishing of art, science and philosophy that was going on in mainland Greece. Hence the word Cretans. (Ok, I made that up. The Cretins were idiots found in the Alps.) Then the Romans came in 67 BC, then the Byzatines in 395 AD, then the Venetians (Of Venetian Blind fame!) in 1210, then the Turks in 1669, then the British, French and Russians in 1898, then the Greeks (peacefully) in 1913, then the Nazis (not so peacefully) in 1941 and then back to the Greeks after the war. I am currently preparing a military junta, but I am finding the whole undertaking more difficult than originally expected.

Night Terrors!> Travels

I have spent the past three days exploring Athens. Yesterday I visited the Acropolis and other assorted ruins with a Candinavian and two American college girls. The Parthenon was pretty cool and the views from atop the Acropolis great.

Uh, so there go.

Today I went with a Greek agency owner down South to some ancient temple ruins overlooking the Aegean Sea.


Last night at my youth hostel I shared a room with a guy who talked in his sleep. Actually more like he ranted in his sleep. Those damned night terrors of his kept me up all night. Top 5 things I can remember him yelling:
1. Chicken bones! Are you kidding me!
2. Stop telling me what to do! You are not my Uncle!
3. You could never do anything right you jerk, I am replacing you!
4. Why would you do that Rick?
5. Canada has my back.

Hellas> Travels

I am in Greece. So far I am whelmed, but I suspect there are some disappointing sites to add to the old underwhelming tourist attraction list. You are on notice Greece!

Impartial Redistricting> 5 Big Ideas

Americans must really love their representatives in Congress. Why else would they have reelected 98.2% of the incumbents in the house representatives in 2004? (Only seven incumbents, of 399 running, lost their seats.) Our country sure is doing great! Super duper! Way to go! Neato gang!

Actually less than 40% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job. Americans aren’t that happy with our government. So why do incumbents get reelected at such a high rate in the house? There are several factors including a big advantage in campaign financing, good PR from local pork barrel projects and of course naturally some areas are much more likely to vote for one party than the other. These factors would be difficult to change.

One factor we can change is congressional redistricting. Gerrymandering is a huge part of our electoral process and it shouldn’t be. Read this, this and this to get an idea of the problem and some possible solutions.

A call for nationwide impartial redistricting would be supported by just about everyone. This should be a completely non-partisan issue and there can’t be any deep seeded ideological reasons behind our current system other than career politicians not wanting to be held accountable for their job performance. I don’t expect such an unselfish act from the house, but if the Democratic leadership could grab this issue and get the party to adopt it as a platform we would come out smelling like roses. If the republican congress voted down bills for such a plan they would look really, really bad. As a side benefit we would be spreading Democracy and freedom, a favorite activity of our current government, however in this case we would be doing this in our own country.

King Kong> At the movies with LarryB

I saw King Kong last night. The first hour is really slow and could be cut a good deal but once Kong joins the show, wow, great times. Definitely worth seeing it in the theatres.

Hey Crackhead> Link

This is an old Craig's List posting. I wonder which option he went for.

Raise Gasoline Taxes> 5 Big Ideas

How do you feel when you see an SUV with one of those silly yellow magnetic “support out troops” ribbons? Do you think they understand the irony and are doing it to spite people like me? Or are they just too ignorantly hypocritical to get that our troops wouldn’t be in Iraq if we weren’t so dependent on the Middle East’s oil? Every time we fill up our gas tanks with petrol we are bankrolling the most repressive, dangerous governments in the world. We are doing irreversible damage to our environment. We are making more terrorists.

I think we should raise the tax on gasoline to European levels. In the US taxes make up roughly 30% of the price of gasoline. In the UK taxes make up roughly 76% of the price of gasoline. Sure, the price of gasoline would initially double in the states if we taxed it more heavily, but that rise in price would cause a fall in demand, which in turn would lower the price per barrel of crude, making the rise in price more bearable. This would mean a lot more of the money we pay for gas would go to our government instead of the Saudi’s, Venezuelans and Russians. With less oil revenues those countries would have to undergo much needed economic and political reform which won’t happen when they are flush with oil revenues and can ignore change. It is the lack political and economic reform that breeds terrorists. The money our government gets from those taxes could go to alternative energy research so we could kick our deadly habit and in a fundamental way make the world a better place.

For years Brazil has been benefiting from using biofuels they derive from sugar cane. This makes them less reliant on foreign fuel. Also, it is much better for the environment. Additionally it gives more work to their farmers. We could do the same for our farmers in the US and in that way save lots of money on those damned subsidies that not only are a waste of our tax dollars but also lowers worldwide agricultural prices. As a result farmers in developing nations suffer and then we end up having to give out more foreign aid, which also comes from our tax dollars.

America has a responsibility to the planet and the planet’s future people to be a role model in energy production and consumption. This is not going to be easy to sell to the American public, but it is probably the single most important action our government could take to fight terrorism, reduce the damage we are doing to the environmental and make the rest of the world hate us just a bit less. If our government wasn’t swimming in money from the oil companies maybe they would raise the tax on gasoline. Sadly they benefit from the status quo and we are paying for our cheap gasoline in countless ways.

Wine and Fondue> Travels

I arrived in Prague yesterday afternoon. It was cold and rainy, but it was nice to meet up with my friends Nate, Katka and Marketa. That night we went to a sweet Fondue party. Good times. Met a bunch of people. Ate hot cheese.

Universal Heathcare> 5 Big Ideas

Like approximately 45 million other Americans, I have no health insurance. Unlike most of those people I can afford to buy it, but won’t because I don’t fit into the system as it exists. When I graduated University in 2000 my parents told me I would have to pay for my own insurance. I got the least expensive plan available in New Jersey, from what I remember it was $175 a month plus a $30 co-pay every time I saw a doctor. Those were lean years and insurance payments swallowed up a good deal of my income. By the time I canceled my insurance at the end of 2002 my monthly payments were nearly $300 a month. The cost is now $530 a month for that same plan, their least expensive. Also, if I were to sign on I would only be able to see Doctors in NJ. I live in Europe so those trans-Atlantic check ups would add up. The only way the insurance would be beneficial is for something major, like cancer, getting hit by a bus or God forbid, a terrorist attack! But you may be asking, “Why don’t you just get catastrophic insurance which covers events like cancer and bomb shrapnel related injuries.” Well I would, but NJ is doesn’t allow insurance companies to sell this. Why? I have no fucking clue. I digress.

My point is the Democratic Party should bring this issue front and center. Many people detest our current system like I do. When Clinton tried to bring in a multi-payer (Like they have in Germany) national healthcare system he was defeated by a Republican controlled Congress. I am sure the Republicans haven’t changed their mind, but the country has. There are many more people without insurance since Clinton’s effort. Also those that do have insurance (or their employers) are paying roughly three times as much as they were paying in 2000. Single-payer Universal health care is now the stated preference of a majority of Americans (as well as Doctors). Politically, it would help to illustrate the differences in priorities between to the two parties. As a side benefit it would make Americans healthier.

I may not be a big city lawyer, but I do know this. Americans are ready for Universal healthcare. I know it will be a difficult issue to explain and even more difficult to get past entrenched interests, (Insurance companies, Pharmaceutical companies…) but it is simply the right thing to do. Other people actually did research on this so take a look at this, this, this and this if you want proof.

Guest Map> Link

This is a guest map that will allow me to see where the readers (all three of you) of this blog are. Please put yourself up on the big board.

5 Big ideas> Warm Beverage Discussions

5 big ideas that the Democratic Party should embrace (In no particular order)

1. Universal health care
2. Raise the Gasoline tax
3. Nationwide impartial redistricting
4. Really take the money out of politics
5. Reframe social/moral issues

There are more big ideas that I will write about later and also some important smaller ideas, but these are the first ones I would like to rant about. Each will have its own separate post.

Pull up a seat> Warm Beverage Discussions

Politics are complicated and there will always be counter arguments and consequences for every idea and action. This is what should keep a Democracy towards slowly realizing the will of its people. Unfortunately our current White House won't listen to counter arguments of its ideas and has ignored the consequences of its actions. As a result a good amount of the World isn't exactly enamored with Mr. Bush and the United States.

I would like Democrats to have the reigns of power once again. Obviously we are doing something wrong in presenting our party to voters. Our greatest failure in my opinion has been our lack of big ideas. Bush has done a horrible job, yet we still lost in 2004. Kerry ran his campaign on Bush's failings. He should have run his campaign on big ideas that would inspire people to vote for him instead of dissuade people from voting for Bush. I wish we had learned that lesson, but our timid representatives still do not present a clear vision of what they would do to improve this country.

The ideas I will present on this blog are by no means new, but I hope to share them with my readers and through the comments section start some kind of conversation. I can't get you all together for cups of warm beverages so this will have to do. Please join in.

Automatic Complaint Letter Generator> Link

This will be very useful when you feel the need to rant, but just can't figure out what to rant about.

Arrested Development> A Dose of Polemic

It looks like Fox is again leaning towards canceling Arrested Development. I have come to terms with this once rogue station becoming a mouthpiece for the Republican party. Canceling AD is simply going to far. It is an outstanding show according to voters at the Emmy Awards. Also, it's three Nobel prizes are unprecedented for a comedy series. Just because the Nielson ratings say it is unpopular is no reason for Fox to give away the yearly burlap sack of awards and future lucrative DVD sales. To quote Wes Mantooth, "You know those rating systems are flawed. They don't take in account houses that have... uh... more than two television sets... and other things of that nature." Indeed Mr. Mantooth, indeed. Join the rebellion if you like good television (or call yourself a man/woman)!

Political Compass> Link

I ended up being the slightly left, libertarian, centrist I thought I was.

My political compass:
Economic Left/Right: -2.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.10

Please feel free to post your compass's.

#28> The 100 Most Underwhelming Tourist Attractions in the World

Inspired by Hillman's list of the World's Wonders, (I have been to 37 of them so far, 40 by the end of the year) I have decided to create my own list. In no particular order I will name the 100 most underwhelming tourist attractions in the world. Suggestions are welcome.

I will start off the list with #28, the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. I visited it this weekend with a friend. There was a large crowd of tourists looking at this pretty small statue on the Danish shores of the Øresund (a body of water that separates Denmark and Sweden.) I just can't see why this is Denmark's biggest tourist attraction. It's tiny. You'd think they'd be ashamed by this. Get it together Denmark!

Think Tank Politics> A thing I learned today

Below is a list of think tanks and their political leanings. Good stuff to know.

Heritage Foundation / conservative
Brookings Institution / centrist
American Enterprise Institute / conservative
Cato Institute / conservative-libertarian
RAND Corporation / center-right
Urban Institute / center-left
Council on Foreign Relations / centrist
Center for Strategic and International Studies / conservative
Hoover Institution / conservative
Progress and Freedom Foundation / conservative
Carnegie Endowment / centrist
Freedom Forum / centrist
Progressive Policy Institute / centrist
Institute for International Economics / centrist
Economic Policy Institute / progressive
Hudson Institute / conservative
Competitive Enterprise Institute / conservative
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies / progressive
Manhattan Institute / conservative
Reason Foundation conservative/libertarian
Worldwatch Institute / progressive
International Institute for Strategic Studies / conservative
Institute for Policy Studies / progressive
Center for Defense Information / progressive

Elastic> Link

Fossils> A thing I learned yesterday

I have been reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It does a great job of explaining the scientific history of the world in a very readable style. Yesterday on the train platform I read a great section on fossils and just how rare they are. Estimates are that 1 in a billion bones becomes a fossil. That means that of the entire population of the US alive today there would be about 50 bones that would become fossils, or about a quarter of one skeleton. These bones would be distributed across the entire US and buried, most likely very deeply. So the chances of finding just one of these bones would be miraculous. The fact that so many fossils have been found is a result of billions of years of life on this planet. The reason we have found so many trilobites is because they lived for over 300 million years and in that time were a rather prodigious bunch, forming over 15,000 documented species. To put that into context humans have been around for less than one half of one percent the time that Trilobites existed. To put that into further context, my former cat, Tredeau, could eat a whole watermelon in one sitting.

Scaled Election Maps> Link

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Depressing

One Man Luge

Today I learned how to change the name of my blog. If you are unfamiliar with Lugeing there is both one and two man luge. Needless to say, I stay away from the latter. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but there is only room for one on this sled. The one man luger is known as the rogue in the world of competitive downhill winter events. (Not to be confused with Skeletoners, who are known as the misanthropes)
Being a rogue myself, as well as a traveler and business consultant, I thought that would be an appropriate name for this blog. At least for now. To be honest the name of this blog could change at any time, depending on how the wind blows and barometric pressure reads. Actually its entirely based on the home weather station I built. Anyway, you would be wise to buckle yourself in as to avoid injury. (That was a good call Claire.)

Dr. Beethoven

Ummm... or how I learned to stop worrying and just love the blog. So I guess that is the lesson of the day and the first of this here blog. Hopefully this won't end up costing me any jobs, relationships, elected offices and/or dignity.