Category Archives: Through Space

Observations from trips to Guatemala (2003, 2004), Scotland (2012), the Antipodes (2014), and numerous trips in and around the USA: language, food, culture, geography, people.

How to Estimate an Alligator’s Length

Posted on 05 April 2015 by Isabel Gibson

“To estimate an alligator’s length, convert the distance in inches from the tip of the nose to the eye ridge into feet.” I check it twice. Yes, that’s what it says, apparently dead serious, no pun intended. Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Humble Pie

Posted on 22 February 2015 by Isabel Gibson

They don’t have Pepsiâ„¢. Well, maybe that’s a little sweeping. In the spirit of Heinlein’s Fair Witnesses, let me amend that statement to reflect precisely what I saw or, more accurately, did not see. In four weeks in the major … Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Critters and ShamWows

Posted on 08 February 2015 by Isabel Gibson

Using my camera’s zoom, I keep my distance while documenting the encounter. Although it’s pretty surely dead, you never know what will jump up and suck your face off. Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Fauna, Through Space | Tagged | 8 Comments

Unusual

Posted on 01 February 2015 by Isabel Gibson

“Is that a tip?” The speaker is the desk manager at our hotel in Rotorua, a seismically active area of New Zealand. Well, an area where the country’s ubiquitous seismic activity shows in the form of steam vents, geysers, acidic … Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged , | 6 Comments

An Empirical Test Could Help

Posted on 25 January 2015 by Isabel Gibson

And, of course, you’ll see the water draining the other way. Before our trip to New Zealand and Australia, several people primed us to watch for a counter-clockwise spin in the bathtub or toilet. Coriolis effect, you know, they’d say. … Continue reading →

Posted in Thinking Broadly, Through Space | Tagged | 10 Comments

Say What?

Posted on 18 January 2015 by Isabel Gibson

And we’re coming up on the county symmetry, on the left. As we boogie down the highway, our guide is narrating notable bits in our surroundings, as usual, and I am listening oh so carefully, also as usual. OK, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

What We Got Here

Posted on 11 January 2015 by Isabel Gibson

What we got here”¦is a failure to communicate. Captain, Road Prison 36 in Cool Hand Luke Another in a set of reflections on our recent trip to New Zealand and Australia. We have lots of kinds of coffee. He shouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged , | 24 Comments

The Fuzziness of Time Zones. Oh, Yeah, and Tiger Butter.

Posted on 04 January 2015 by Isabel Gibson

They took a Friday from us. I’m not sure where they put it. I’m not annoyed. Really, I’m not. Just a bit fuzzified. Continue reading →

Posted in Laughing Frequently, Through Space | Tagged | 12 Comments

Season(ing)s

Posted on 16 March 2014 by Isabel Gibson

My season sensor sputters as February and March in Phoenix send me signals of all four seasons: shall I savour the variety or let it drive me crazy? My season sensor spins, trying to settle on a selection. Some trees … Continue reading →

Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Through Space | Tagged | 12 Comments