welcome

alright folks, here's the story: with a trip to japan rapidly approaching, i decided to set up a blog to chronicle the trip. i figured that the novelty of the trip would provoke interest in others, and this would be an easy means of sharing stories, pitfalls, pictures, and whatever else may come of the journey.

but first, a few ground rules:

1. i may not use caps. ever. maybe i will. depends on the day. i don't want to hear about it though. any other grammatical issues are open to criticism.

2. i have no idea what internet connectivity will be once in japan, so i may end up posting a may 5th blog (happy cinco de mayo) on may 15th. you'll just have to deal with this. i plan on having some sort of journal with me, so i can write on any given day and transcribe later.

3. i have no specific plans for this after the trip. maybe i'll keep adding with the random crap that happens in everyday life. maybe the blog will just go dark. i guess we'll see.

4. three ground rules isn't very many, so i'll add #4 to make the list more inmpressive. oh, and i reserve the right change the rules anytime i want, with or without notice. membership has its priveleges.

5. comments are allowed and encouraged, however this is not without peril. i take no responsibility for anyone's comments - they're not mine, so if you don't like them, take it up with the commentator.

6. comments (cont) : i do believe in free speech, and in that spirit i will generally allow anyone to say whatever stupid thing they want - but i will also leave it up so everyone can see what your stupid comment is. only highly inflammatory, accusatory, malicious, or otherwise offensive comments will be removed. i reserve the right to determine what that means.

7. interesting in something in particular? want an answer to a question in the format of the blog? well, you are welcome to request it (in an email, comment, phone call, whatever). maybe i'll follow up on, maybe i won't. maybe i plan on covering the topic at a later date, and you'll just have to wait. as they say (they? who is 'they') "ask and maybe you shall recieve... at some point."