Friday Donuts

Friends, When the summer doldrums bring you down, remember that crisp splash of freshness when you bite into ice cold lettuce. That smell of jasmine on a crisp autumn morning. That soothing sensation of a cool silk sheet as you slip into bed after a long day. That sound of an old favorite tune you haven’t heard in ages. Those last rays of sunlight turning the clouds and landscape into an expressionistic painting. Life is beautiful and contrasts are awesome! Change can be beautiful. Each season is awesome –and every season is perfect for a donut. Enjoy your summer! Happy Friday!

Friends, With all the hype surrounding Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong’s tour de Moon, it’s easy to overlook the Thai government’s semi-successful cloud seeding experiment carried out that same day. Also forgotten, Apollo 11’s designated driver: Michael Collins. Orbiting the moon, his description of the dark side is captivating. “Outside my window I can see stars—and that is all. Where I know the moon to be, there is simply a black void; the moon’s presence is defined solely by the absence of stars.” A view that almost makes moonwalking feel overrated. Almost. I’d definitely go if given a chance –one can dream. While I’m at it, I think I’ll switch my traditional Friday donut for a moon pie. Happy Friday!

Friends, I’m a fan of the unexpected. Granted, not all surprises are pleasant, however, many have the power to make you smile, chuckle or even laugh out loud. Take the view from this restroom in a place called Baños (named after the thermal “baths” around it, but which could also be taken to mean “restrooms”). It’s number one on my list of bathroom views! By the way, the preview of this photo on Facebook just shows the jungle, so it's been an interesting experiment to see who clicks on the photo (folks who laugh at the photo) and those who just see the preview (likes and loves). Speaking of restroom views, this sign was posted by a restaurant trying to minimize splatter. It reads “sir, please get closer to the urinal, it’s smaller than you think”. Signs are the gift that keeps giving. There’s the bad translation on the exit sign from the devil’s cauldron, one of the most spectacular waterfalls I’ve seen (although I couldn’t begin to guess it’s output in cu

Friends, Runners are crazy and so are the training apps we use. Nike Run Club, my app, seems particularly nuts. Take the six and a half mile “recovery” run (recovery, really?), or the 15 mile long run. It’s hard to tell which is crazier: the app, or the runner, me, blindly obliging the app’s sadistic inclinations. Then again, protracted running sessions give the mind plenty of time to wander. Think about the 4 th of July fireworks’ resemblance to a screen saver or ponder the 50 th anniversary of the moon landing. Then there are random trains of thought. Here’s a sampling from the aforementioned outing. Running down big dry creek trail, there’s a residence surrounded by half a dozen large gargoyles. These mythical beasts are supposed to ward-off evil by confronting it. Only, these gargoyles are facing the house. Are these folks trying to trap evil spirits at their home? Surely someone who’s handsomely invested in this type of sculpture understands the w