A month or so ago my co-workers and I went to a great Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate Carolyn’s birthday. I ordered something that came with a skewer of pork deliciousness. I knew I had to make something like it. After all, we enjoyed the pork skewers I made a couple of years ago. Why haven’t… Continue reading Vietnamese Pork Skewers
Month: July 2017
Reading: Hue 1968
Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden My rating: 4 of 5 stars “As the subtitle says, the Tet Offensive in February 1968 was the beginning of the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War. The US top military, led by General Westmoreland, failed to discover the… Continue reading Reading: Hue 1968
Saturday at Seaside, Oregon
July 15, 2017
On Saturday Carla and I woke up early and headed to the coast. Normally we go down to Canon Beach, but today we decided to see the more commercial Seaside with its fun center, candy shops, T-shirt shops and what-not.
I’ll let the pictures tell the story.




Reading: Grunt, by Mary Roach
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the third book I’ve written by Mary Roach (the others being ‘Bonk’ and ‘Packing for Mars’) and is my favorite so far. In this book Roach covers the science and technology of keeping soldiers safe and… Continue reading Reading: Grunt, by Mary Roach
Life Aboard a Train
We’ve travelled on Amtrak overnight trains a few times now. You can read (and view) our experiences on The Empire Builder The Coast Starlight The Southwest Chief The California Zephyr Those posts focus on the view from the train. I thought it might be helpful to give an idea of what life is like onboard the train… Continue reading Life Aboard a Train