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.
-
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
Recent Comments
Categories
Monthly Archives: February 2011
Wallpaper Monday
This week: A misty, long-exposure shot looking toward Point Bonita Lighthouse from the Marin Headlands. Besides the dark beauty of this scene, I’m intrigued by the fact that the photographer pointed his camera this direction, rather than toward the far … Continue reading
Shuttle porn
This has been on my To Watch list for some time. With the final launch of the shuttle Discovery on Thursday, it seemed time to finally view it. “Ascent” is 45 minutes of the finest footage culled from the 125 … Continue reading
Posted in tech, USA
3 Comments
Identity papers
Yesterday I finally acquired my Cartão de Residência, the permanent residency card. (US readers: think green card.) While I am delighted to be freed from the annual stress of reapplying for a temporary one-year visa, I do have one question. … Continue reading
Posted in Portugal
14 Comments
Christchurch in pictures
The Big Picture has put up a must-see photo series on Christchurch. Looking at these, one understands that the death toll is only going to rise. And the courage of the rescue workers going into those impossibly unstable buildings cannot … Continue reading
Posted in life
5 Comments
Household jam
Take two wine glasses, some water, a bottle opener, a pair of panties, a hair dryer, a roll of tape, a whiskey tube pack, a spring, an old camera and a box wrench, and what do you have? A jam … Continue reading
Posted in just because, video
2 Comments
“A city destroyed”
Today the BBC called Christchurch “a city destroyed.” A report from the city opens with footage of buildings continuing to crumble as people run panicked in the streets. The count is 65 dead so far, with many more still trapped … Continue reading
Posted in life
7 Comments
Wallpaper Monday
Here’s something from a little closer to my old home: the view from Cascade Pass in Washington’s North Cascades National Park. This is five photos stitched together, and the itty bitty version here doesn’t begin to do it justice. Click … Continue reading
Posted in wallpaper
Leave a comment
Saturday picture show
Today feels like a day for cleaning out some of my bookmarked Astronomy Picture of the Day shots. Be sure to click the images to biggify them, because the full versions are gorgeous. (Note that when you land on the … Continue reading
Posted in just because
1 Comment
We do not wish to speak with you
I have been known to rant about Portuguese bureaucracy to my family and friends (and maybe even in this blog), but the truth is that the US isn’t covering itself with glory over here, either. Dealing with the US Embassy … Continue reading
Posted in USA
6 Comments
Movie rating
We saw “The King’s Speech” last night — great film! Afterward I read Roger Ebert’s review of it (he loved it) and was puzzled by his final comment: Note: The R rating refers to Logue’s use of vulgarity. It is … Continue reading
Posted in culture, Portugal, USA
16 Comments
