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, grammar geek, and science fiction author, so the posts in this blog tend to be eclectic.
Click the “About” tab if that wasn’t quite enough detail — or go to my official author website.
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Recent Posts
- Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
- Pompeii takeout and American assumption
- Far Enough
- I have an issue with Netflix’s “Away”
- Now, about *that* topic
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Alsea Rising: The Seventh Star is in the wild
- Alsea Rising is out and #1!
- Coming soon: Alsea Rising
- On his terms
- Beyoncé: Homecoming
- UPRISING and balance
- The brain radio
- Alsea lovers: This is the one you’ve been waiting for
- The chicken church
Recent Comments
- Fletcher DeLancey on Porto’s most famous bookstore
- pablohaake on Porto’s most famous bookstore
- Alberto on Throwing flowers
- Rael on Portuguese idiom of the day: Lança perfume
- Rael on Portuguese idiom of the day: Lança perfume
- Fletcher DeLancey on Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
- Miriam English on Hope, an unfamiliar emotion
Categories
Monthly Archives: July 2013
A change in the neighborhood
A few blocks from our flat is a corner that we pass every time we walk downtown. It’s distinctive because of the stench of urine that emanates from it, particularly on hot days. On the corner is a block of … Continue reading
Wallpaper Monday
Photographer Dominic Kamp writes: Taken from the top of Muottas Muragl, a minor summit situated near St. Moritz in Switzerland. It offers a great view on the four lakes of St. Moritz/Engadin and is reachable until 11PM by a cable … Continue reading
Posted in astronomy, science, wallpaper
4 Comments
A little Maine weather
My shutterbug friend Caren sent this photo, along with a description of the moment. She was vacationing at Washington Pond, Maine, where she spent two weeks kayaking, photographing loons and scenery, and generally loving life… This cloud built up in … Continue reading
Algarve roundabouts, part II
After Jorge commented on my Loulé roundabout post to remind us of the horrors of Guia’s N125 roundabout, I couldn’t help myself. The next time we passed through it, I pulled over and asked my wife (who had her trusty … Continue reading
Posted in humor, Portugal
11 Comments
Saturn and us
The Cassini folks have already released photos from humanity’s biggest selfie, and one in particular is simply gorgeous. It is, of course, the one featuring us. In total, Cassini took a mosaic of 33 “footprints” spanning Saturn and its entire … Continue reading
Posted in astronomy, science
3 Comments
Filed under “holy s**t!”
Depending on your interest in or tolerance for hair-raising weather phenomena, Florida is either one of the best or worst places in the world to live. Massive thunderstorms are regular occurrences, hurricanes are semi-regular, and the Atlantic Ocean off the … Continue reading
Posted in USA, weather
3 Comments
Wallpaper Monday
The photographer says only “Taken during a bird-show in Buchs, Switzerland,” but I’d like to know a bit more, such as…from what? An ultralight? A hang glider? Or the highest peak in the area? Looking a raptor straight in the … Continue reading
Posted in wallpaper, wildlife
2 Comments
Happiness is…
…sitting on the couch all sweaty and stinky from a good bike ride, and enjoying a well-earned scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream while watching the Tour de France riders get far sweatier and stinkier than me. And what … Continue reading
Posted in sport
3 Comments
Say “Cheese” — for real this time!
Remember when I posted about Cassini taking humanity’s biggest selfie last month? And it turned out that I had flunked Reading Comprehension 101 and it was actually this month? Well, guess what? It’s today! We Europe-dwellers will be in darkness … Continue reading
Lance Armstrong has been erased
We’ve been noticing something odd about this Tour de France: Lance Armstrong has been erased. It’s like he never existed. Nobody mentions him on TV or in the press, and the Eurosport channel never shows footage of him from past … Continue reading
Posted in sport, video
13 Comments