Two Beers and a Pretzel

All of my old reef aquarium equipment is finally starting to sell as people get back inside and start paying attention to their tanks. I’ve listed pretty much everything on the national forum www.reefcentral.com and my local club www.corareef.org. My buddy Rob just got the tank, stand and sump. Andy got the monster Calcium Reactor and monster Skimmer. The lights and ballasts are selling quickly. CORA is having a fragswap on Nov 1st. Anything I have left will go on clearance there..

I loved the hobby, but it is expensive. My only consolation is that with the recent financial turmoil, I’ve lost significantly less on the tank than in the stock market on a percentage basis. I actually made back about 75% of my money on the tank – versus losing 40% in my IRA.

Since taking down the tank, one month of reduced electric consumption will pay for my SCUBA certification. Yep, the tank added about $300/month to my bill.

I also just found out that my Osprey Waypoint 80 backpack arrived at Benchmark Outfitters in Cincy. If you like camping or backpacking, you’ll get better service at Benchmark than at Bass Pro Shops. It seems everyone that works there is a hardcore outdoorsy hippie type who loves hiking and camping and seems to know everything about the equipment. I’ll gladly spend a few extra bucks to try before I buy and pick their brains.

I also just got a Solio Magnesium solar charger – just in case I’m nowhere near a power outlet and need to recharge a battery. It’ll also double as an international power adapter. Note: You can buy one on Page 2 of the “Favorite Stuff” category in my Amazon store.

TravBuddy Map of places I’ve been

I’ve been looking into flights from Nashville to Costa Rica, and the potential layovers bring up a question…

If I have a layover in an airport of a country I’ve never been to, do I count that as visiting that country?

My flight may be Nashville (BNA) to Miami (MIA) to San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO). There’s another flight that adds Guatemala City into the mix. If at all possible, I’ll avoid adding another layover.

Anyway, should I count El Salvador in the list of countries I’ve visited?

My first inclination is “No” – especially if I never leave the airport. However, I’m thinking if I have to go thru a security checkpoint with armed soldiers, that might count.

I’ll put a poll up and ask you guys…

A few people have suggested that I add my itinerary to the site… so here is a list of places I might be going (in approximate order):

Americas
Costa Rica – Nicaragua – Brazil – Uruguay – Paraguay – Argentina – Chile – Peru

Pacific
New Zealand – Australia – Philippines (safe parts)

Asia
Thailand – Cambodia – Vietnam – China – S Korea – Japan – Tibet/Nepal – India

Middle East
UAE – Oman

Africa
S Africa – Namibia – Botswana – Zambia – Malawi – Tanzania – Rwanda – Uganda – Kenya – Ethiopia – Egypt

Home – for the 2009 ACA Convention in late July

Then, if I still have money…
Europe
Iceland – Netherlands – Denmark – Sweeden – Norway – Finland – Russia – Lithuania – Poland – Germany – Belgium – England – Ireland – Scotland – France – Spain – Portugal – Morocco – Switzerland – Austria – Slovakia – Greece

More Middle East
Turkey – Jordan – Israel

and back home.

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Granted, that’s the 14 month plan. If it looks like I can afford it (please buy something from my Store), then I will try to stretch it to two years and barely be in China by the time I have to come home for 2 weeks in July…