So while I wasn’t learning new and exciting things via Daring Airlinepilot, I did manage to enrich my knowledge in a few areas:

• Apparently it is possible to win the National Gingerbread House Competition™ without making a gingerbread house at all (tune in to Good Morning America on Christmas Eve to see more if you’re a fan of elaborate food-and-candy structures).
• There are so-called “Black Friday” crowds even at historic country stores in small communities tucked into out-of-the-way valleys.
• It’s possible to be in a cabin in the mountains with outside temperatures in the 30s (°F), no heat on, sleeping bag unzipped, and still be sweating all night!
• My body told me that I’m now too old to be able to sleep on hard ground with only a closed-cell foam pad under my sleeping bag.

As a step in the right direction, though, I offer these links to some nifty graphics to keep your mind sharp for the weekend:

• Tallest Mountain to Deepest Ocean Trench from Our Amazing Planet
  • I never realized the Statue of Liberty was so short!
• Locals and Tourists from Eric Fischer
  • Having been a tourist in nearly a dozen of these places, a former resident of one,¹ and a general geography buff, it’s fascinating to see the places we find interesting, and the differences around the world (Greater Cairo, for instance, has a relatively low density of photographs, and an even-lower density of definable locals—but it is fun to see the tourists on felucca rides in the Nile!).

¹ Or two, by the definition used in the compilation—had I uploaded any photos to Flickr, of course. ↩

One of the longest and most enjoyable days of my life, from the Oslo heat wave to the rumbles of Thor to the Norwegian speeches and the cake and dancing long into the night. Congratulations again, Martin and Ingrid; I’m thinking of you fondly again on this day.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find this sign adjacent to your table.