inamorato25

Great pics! Glad u had a great time!

Halloween comes early! Nice!

That sounded pretty gay....... I'd rather write words like who-re etc, but don't want any flags from abusive, power hungry, cowardly moderators. I probably shouldn't have said shite about it, but it seemed to fit the ghost topic. feature=player_embedded. Well, if you don't want any flags from us power hungry cowardly mods, then use better judgment and avoid making id-iot mistakes like trying to slip direct personal attacks under the radar. Leave the drama off the site, s'il vous plait.

Green is the new Gold. Most of the Intellectual Property that makes green profitable is from small start ups -- and as they grow, so will the efficiency and positive outcomes of the green movement. As an example, a company in China just taking off (New Energy Technologies) has found a way to make clear solar film that reacts to any form of light. So you can just spray it on an existing window. I can't see any downside to that. It won't scale up in the near future...but it will sooner or later. As will a truckload of other innovative technologies. As new tech arises, there will be alternatives for existing solutions such as nuclear power or even hybrid cars (which will be leapfrogged by EV vehicles). As for ethanol, it was the right idea, but the wrong feedstock. Algae based biofuels can do the same thing without using arable land or taking away from existing crop-based food sources. Indeed, algae itself can be used as feed for livestock. So we're now in a situation where new green tech is being leapfrogged by newer and better solutions. It's exciting to think where will be at the end of 2014..or even 2011 for that matter! And then there's the argument of conservation technology -- instead of thinking of new ways to create electricity and fuel, we find ways of using less. Green Building technology will explode over the next few years as more and more companies retro-fit old buildings to the tune of $500-700K savings in energy and water bills per year. The same is true for home owners. It all boils down to money. As Green becomes profitable, there will be more startups in the green space. Which will make it better and cheaper and make for easier entry into the consumer market....and so the world will turn. Green is gold!

Great post, Manee!

Darn. I won't be in country until later in December, so I hope it is a repeat event. Nothing like a live salsa band. Hope the event goes well!

Nice! Best LMAO lines in the trailer..."We just gotta grit our teeth and do it"...and.."Most people vomit the first time."

Sorry, but I'm bringing another Y Chromosome to the mix. I'll be passing through BKK this week and I'll be there! See you there!

Ghee: Great pics, thanks! Ciaran: How do I become the pervert. You're not still angry because I bar fined you, are you? And to Rob, Bill, Kas and other assorted people I met for the first time, I was awesome!

Congratulations, Rob. She's beautiful!

They actually have a word for middle-aged women in Japan who do that..."Obartarion." Totally annoying. But you were still in a good mood even after a crowded hot bus ride with a rushing ***** on board...so you win!!

Great post, dude!

Nice pics!! I was there for 2 weeks in May and LOVED both Phuket and Phiphi. Can't wait to visit again:)

Hey. that's great news that you'll be coming to visit Japan. And you'll love Yamanashi. It's very close to Tokyo so you'll have no problem getting there. Although if you're going to come, make it sooner than later. It's pretty cold and shitty in the winter in the Kanto area (Tokyo, Yamanashi, etc) -- but if you can get here by mid November, you'll be able to be up in the mountains during "kouyou" -- when the fall leaves are changing color. As for visas, it will definitely help you to use your relatives. As for the mangoes and fish -- if it's the dried stuff you can buy in stores, that's OK. But if you get caught bringing in anything fresh -- you'll get a huge fine at the very least. f you're not sure, ask at the Japanese embassy. Regarding hotels, almost all tourism in Japan is by Japanese people, so there are almost no English resources online for booking, and because Japan is like Bedrock City when it comes to modern convenience, most places don't let you use credit cards to book either. Once you're in Yamanashi, just go to an HIS or a JTB office with your relatives and they'll book you good, cheap hotels no problem. Finally, if you want to stay in a ryokan, and you're in Yamanashi anyway, consider Nikko. It's a small city up in the mountains in Yamanashi that is not much to look at as far as a city -- but it's built around the old Tokugawa shrine complex. So you can enjoy a ryokan, enjoy the mountains, and get your fill of temples all in one trip. You can even see the 3 monkeys (hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil). Just make sure when you book that the ryokan has an "onsen" (hotspring) and a rotenburo (outdoor hotspring). So you can sit buck naked outside in the hotspring and just enjoy the very nice surrounding there. Anyway, I haven't been sightseeing around here for years now, so I don't have any decent intel on hotels, but if there's anything I can help you with, just PM me. Cheers, Mike http://www.photopassjapan.com/nikko.html http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Japan/Tochigi_ken/Nikko-972359/TravelGuide-Nikko.html