About Oregon Expat
Sometimes the best view is from the outside, and an American expatriate living in Portugal is, in many ways, outside of both nations. The views can be spectacular. I'm also a science nerd, Mac dweeb, and grammar geek, so the posts in this blog tend to be eclectic.
Click the "About" tab if that wasn't quite enough detail.
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Recent Posts
- Gecko tail update
- Nat Geo on the veranda
- Three minutes of art
- Portugal wildfire (we’re okay)
- Alien: Covenant review
- A must read: “My Family’s Slave”
- Curmudgeons
- Dia da Liberdade (Freedom Day)
- Nat Geo moment
- Song of Saturday
- Innovative teachers (subtitle: Ryanair is the Scrooge McDuck of airlines)
- Strange weather
- No good deed goes unpunished
- Raise your hand if you remember the modem dial-up tone
- Rogue One review
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Monthly Archives: December 2010
Happy New Year
In celebration of the end of this year and the start of a new one, I thought I’d point out a few feel-good news items: — Italy is outlawing plastic bags. Given the fact that this nation alone consumes 20% … Continue reading
Posted in good news, video
5 Comments
The “War’s Greatest Picture”
On the night of December 29, 1940, the German Luftwaffe unleashed such a barrage of incendiary bombs on London that it was called “The Second Great Fire of London.” According to Iconic Photos, “nineteen churches, thirty-one guild halls and all … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, life
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Mystery poop
While tromping through the hills today, I cut through an olive orchard and headed down the well-trodden path, only to stop at the sight of a poop on the trail. Something in it had caught my eye. And because yes, … Continue reading
Posted in life, Portugal, science
7 Comments
This is what 32 inches of snow looks like
It’s a bit cool here in the Algarve, with overcast skies and occasional rain. In other words, not much different than a typical winter in my old home back on the Oregon coast. I hear about snowfall from friends who … Continue reading
Posted in life, video
7 Comments
Wallpaper Monday
If you missed the total lunar eclipse on Solstice Night (and it seems like a lot of folks did, due to cloud cover), here is a chance to have it on your desktop. The composite of five stages of the … Continue reading
Posted in wallpaper
2 Comments
A Swedish Christmas tradition
Since we’ve been exploring the Christmas traditions of various cultures lately, I thought I’d add one more. A Swedish friend mentioned it once, so I’m thinking of her today as all of Sweden sits down for their annual tradition of … Continue reading
Posted in culture, Europe
5 Comments
December in the Algarve means…
…fresh oranges. I love this time of year.
Posted in Portugal
5 Comments
Geek moment of the day
Because I am both an editor and a geek, I was happy to find this post at TUAW settling, once and for all, the question of whether it’s proper to write “a 120GB hard drive” or “a 120 GB hard … Continue reading
Posted in tech
7 Comments
Natal and Navidad
A reader from Spain wrote: Although there have been changes over the years, the Spanish tradition is very similar to the Portuguese, as you described it in your post. On Christmas Eve is the big dinner of Nochebuena. Some families … Continue reading
Posted in culture, Europe
14 Comments
Wallpaper Monday
A blue hole is a deep, circular underwater hole, named for the dark blue color of its water as compared to the lighter color of shallower surrounding waters. Blue holes were created by weathering of limestone, a soft rock in … Continue reading
Posted in wallpaper
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