McKinney Arts 
I was wandering around Tralee after dinner on my recent trip to Ireland, when I noticed this big pizza slice hanging outside a second story window. As you can see from the sign, it’s a restaurant named “John Doughs,” and when I look up the website, I wonder if this is the backside of the … Read more
I’ve seen the topic of old churches, especially in rural areas, going up for sale and getting converted to single family homes. Of course it takes a certain type of person to want to live in a former church, but I think it could be pretty interesting. I saw one in person in New York … Read more
I was reading an unusual “interview,” between Taffy Brodesser-Akner and the A.I. actress “Tilly Norwood,” including interviewing the creator of Tilly, Eline van der Velden, the chief executive of Particle 6, a production company that creates media content, sometimes using A.I. The article was interesting from the perspective of how A.I. “actors” or “actresses” might … Read more
My girlfriend and I were on our way up to Rhode Island for the Newport Jazz Festival, and stopped by an antiques store in Connecticut for a look around. At one point she turned to me and said “I know you’ll like this one,” and pointed to the painted ceramic jug as seen above. Sure … Read more
I’ve been living at my condo for a few years now, and in the beginning, there was rarely anyone at the pool. The past couple of years have seen a lot of families move in, and now it’s quite crowded at certain times of the day. I’ve developed a love of swimming laps for exercise, … Read more
I was making my way around the Dingle Peninsula, and decided to pull over near the village of Ventry in order to see some beehive huts. The Irish Gaelic name for this particular location is “Tóchar Maothaithe,” and it features a group of dry-stone beehive huts (clocháin) along the slopes of Slea Head in County … Read more
On my drive around the Dingle Peninsula, I passed through the town of Ard a’ Bhóthair, west of Ventry, in County Kerry. This stone cottage grabbed my attention, and I pulled over to take a look. I don’t believe it’s any sort of commercial building, but rather a two-family or duplex residential cottage, but that’s … Read more
I’m writing more about my first day, in fact my first few hours in Ireland, as I drive south from Dublin and through the Wicklow Mountains. I had taken notes in advance of the trip, including tips such as the fact that one should definitely start this drive with a full tank of gas, as … Read more
I had a trip to Germany planned last fall, but had to cancel at the last minute for family-related reasons. United Airlines gave me credit for the flight, and I thought I had a full year to use it, but found out this spring that the year timeline was based on when I bought the … Read more
When I was in Paris in 2012, I had a chance to visit Notre Dame, among many other things. To reach Notre Dame, I crossed on Pont au Double, which is a cast iron bridge built in 1882. Other people were standing on the bridge, and birds were swooping down everywhere to land on people’s … Read more