Mark Demeny

Free books rock!

I used to buy books like every bibliophile should, but moving to a much smaller apartment in Vancouver means less room for things like books (and more room for things like bikes!)

Also, the joy of saving that money that would normally go to Chapters makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

For your time, there are better things to do in Dublin. The bar at the top has an interesting view, but aside from that… it’s really ‘Disney-fied’ – I was hoping for a more ‘historical’ perspective on everything.

My friends and I go on the same trip year after year to stay in touch and ‘reconnect with nature’.

I maintain the Algonquin Park group on Flickr and I have hundreds of excellent photos from a few dozen members. I invite you to visit and join if you want to see or contribute photos of this wonderful place.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/algonquinpark/

At the time, it was still relatively small – at the edge of the megacity formerly known as Toronto. I really enjoyed growing up there, and I spent a lot of my youth biking around and enjoying the surrounding fields, woods and streams.

It’s now a giant mall/parking lot amalgam… so many open spaces that I recall are now rows of houses or sprawing malls.

I went to visit a couple friends that still live there, and there was no real place to sit and have a coffee… the downtown is a mere shell.

The entire city has been successfully WalMart-ized.

“The Guinness Book of Records calls this the world’s oldest restaurant (1725), and Hemingway called it the best.” – The New York Times.

It’s charming, and of course full of history. Try to sit upstairs if possible. You’ll get to see more of the resturant that way.

I’m in Raleigh, NC for work and I figure a trip to the birthplace of aviation is in order (when I was young I wanted to be a pilot – but didn’t everyone?)

I figure it’s worth the drive.

The city is a wonder – old world charm on the ‘seven streets’ and new world architecture by Gehry and Calatrava (the airport). Wonderful people, wonderful food. What more can I say?

I would go back in a heartbeat.