Barrell Boondoggle

Dear Dad

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:18:07 -0500

Dear Dad,
You are my hero.
You always help me with everything I do.
You yell at me because you love and support me.
You respect me as a person.

I love how you do whatever you can for me.
You make me laugh when I am sad.
You support what I do.
You are my true hero.

from Noe

Untitled by Noe Barrell

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:14:46 -0500

This poem was done as an assignment by Noe on how escaped slaves felt when trying to flee to Canada.

The travel was hard.
The day was rough.
The night was unknown.
We looked for the sign that would lead us to a new world.
Our stomachs were screaming.
Our heart was empty.
We nearly were caught.

The night was unwilling.
Our bodies were aching.
Our bodies were screaming for rest.

The clues were growing scarce.
We traveled league after league.
Watchdogs barked loudly.
Slave catchers crept around.

We ran at dark and hid at light.
We knew what to look for.
We knew we'd reach the end.
We knew it.

Borders Digital Center Media Coverage

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:54:32 -0500

Here are a bunch of links to media coverage of Borders new concept store. The digital center is a big piece of the digital center.

Reuters

Forbes

USA Today

Detroit Free Press

Ann Arbor News

Detroit News

Interview with me on Genealogy Gems

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:47:27 -0500

I was interviewed by Genealogy Gems about the Borders concept store and the genealogy focus within the digital center. Genealogy Gems

Guatemala

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:46:35 -0500

We spent Christmas and New Year in Guatemala with a short detour to Copan, Honduras. Wonderfully craggy, wonderfully peaceful, wonderfully disorganized and hopelessly poor. Rich in beauty, rich in sunshine, rich in color and rich in history and tradition. I have tried to distill 2 weeks of stunning images into a couple of minutes. I hope it gives you a taste of what the place has to offer.

Winning Map

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 15:16:13 -0500

I was quite pleased to see that my platial map won the "Best Map" in the category "Best Blog/Published Map"...you can take a look here Platial 2006 Map Awards

Hooray for competitions that I win ;-)

Alistair makes Tappan honor roll

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:44:36 -0500

By getting all A's and Bs on his report card, Alistair today made the Tappan honor roll...congratulations Alistair...we promise not to put stupid "My Child is a Tappan Honor Student" bumper stickers on our cars.

North American Physical Features

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 17:21:19 -0500

by

Alistair Barrell

I am part of North America.
I am the Devil's Tower.
I am made up of 1000's of hexagonal pillars.
I am a volcanic plug.
I was formed about 1,000 years ago.
My surrounding land is scattered with boulders, fallen from hundreds of feet.
I am the Devil's Tower.
I am part of North America.

I am part of North America.
I am the Hoh rain forest.
I am located in the Olympic National Park.
I am green and lush.
I stretch from the north to the south of the park.
I am one of the northernmost rain forests in North America.
I am right by the coast.
I am the Hoh rain forest.
I am part of North America.

Thanksgiving Treat

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 17:14:50 -0500

by

Alistair Barrell

Steaming turkey
Many guests
Baby table
Not me!
Time together
Almost winter
Watching movies
Tasty pasty!
Boring adults
Awesome kids
Playing games
Blech carrots
Yummy potatoes
Near bedtime
Please Mom!
Goodbye guests
Kitchen mess
Not my problem
Mom'll clean
In the morning!

Going Home

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:46:07 -0500

Heading home...its took us 7 weeks to get to San Francisco and now we had about a week to go all the way back...take a look at the ourney up to lake Michigan on the South-Western-most corner of Michigan...next up - overall impressions of an amazing trip...

San Francisco

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:59:57 -0500

We reached the final place we wanted to spend time at on this journey...San Francisco...Jennifer lives here now and she took us to a nice Spanish tapas restaurant in the Mission district...somehow we managed to not take a photo or a single second of video the whole evening...stayed in a hotel downtown...first hotel on this trip and only the second proper bed in 7 weeks...

We had a full day for sightseeing...see some of the sights for yourself in the vlog in the extended entry...

California

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 11:40:25 -0500

We have arrived in Northern California...much more rugged coast than Oregon...beautiful beaches, but not as long and sandy...on the coast the wind blows all the time...sometimes like a gale, sometimes its a soft breeze...fog in the mornings and very sunny afternoons...on the coast the temperature is in the 70s...a few miles inland close to 100...the little villages along highway 1 are very picturesque...a combination of squalor and beauty...almost teetering, like they do on the cliffs above the ocean, on the brink of survival...Mendocino is our favorite...

Next stop Safran Crisco...

Giada Lia

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 17:03:22 -0500

She was born at 8:32 on July 13, 2006 weighing 3.35kg and 48cm in length...congratulations new parents Marco and Silvia...

Oregon Coast

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 20:15:39 -0500

More Oregon Coast good times...the mornings are misty and the afternoons are sunny...wonderful beaches...vignettes in the vlog

Today we crossed into California...370 miles to San Francisco

Oregon Coast, Newport

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:35:05 -0500

Oregon coast is beautiful, huge sandy dunes and rocky outcroppings. We learned to crab and to clam. Noe had fun eating crab - the rest of us are not big seafood fans...we flew kites and cycled through the sand dunes...for road bike fanatics the oregon coast - highway 101 - has a bike lane that goes all the way from the Washington border to the California border...we pass bikers every day on our journey South...the bike lane seems wider going South than going North and most bikers are going in that direction...

As always - video in the extended entry...