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Showing posts from February 15, 2009

100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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I can tell you I am pretty upset about the state of affairs with our government. Generally, I am upset that i get to keep so little of my wages. Between all the taxes and fees there is little left. There is no check and balance on spending. The folks in government feel they have lost control and must keep increasing revenues to keep the spending going. In NY state 50 percent of the voters are either a govenment employee or an employee paid by tax dollars. Where is the money supposed to come from? I think the more important consideration is that when does a voter really get a say on spending? It in effect does not happen. We may have the chance to vote on a budget, but these budgets are all out of control spending. Unlike most folks I actively participate in my local Government. I believe it is not an us-againist-them situation. We are the government if you get off your butt. There is a huge silent majority that is just plain untapped. I am excited about my vaction in 2 weeks. I have...
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