I don't get it.

If the earth is flat, how come it's still light outside in Kodiak, AK when you're bar-hopping at 1:00 am?

Happy solstice everyone! I celebrated the longest day of the year with some Kodiak Island Brewery brews, some rockband, and some karaoke. Well, sorta on the karaoke. I helped Bonnie belt out some Joyride by Roxette, the song Rhapsody calls the best new wave hit of 1991, with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Kodiak is pretty amazing. There's several thousand foot mountains rising right out of the sea. Said mountains are covered with snow and moss, giving a stunning contrast between emerald green and pure white. My colorado eyes aren't used to seeing mountains that are so green. The island here has a Coast Guard air station, with several amenities such as a little movie theater, a bowling alley, a commissary, an exchange, and gym with a pool and rock wall. The town is pretty small and generally non-touristy, with a few local eateries and bars. Like other small Alaskan towns I've been to so far, the locus of shopping appears to be the local Wal-Mart.

I'd love to spend a little more time here. A weekend doesn't do it justice; not with all the opportunities for hiking, biking, exploring, and relaxing. Being summer, the days are crazy long and the temperatures are generally mild. Maybe I oughta get a summer home here...

My girlfriend and I are in almost the longest possible long-distance relationship (Earth relative)

According to this website it is 13,924 km between Anchorage and Dar es Salaam. The circumference of the earth is 40,000 km, to a first order approximation. This means that the farthest any human being could possibly be from another human being and still remain on the surface of this spheroid we call Earth is about 20,000 km. Since I am currently in Sitka, AK and she is in Tanzania, we rank a 7 out of a possible 10 on the scale of long-distance relationships. Let's make some comparisons, shall we? Let's say you live on the west coast in, say, San Diego and your honey lives on the East Coast in, say, New York City. That seems pretty far, right? Well that's a mere 3922 km, ranking only a 2 on the 10 point scale. I got you beat by 5! Take that!

Or how about if you live in Reykjavic, Iceland and your sweetie lives in Perth, Australia? That seems pretty far, too, right? (It also seems awesome!) Well, you're right! That is pretty far, and pretty awesome! That's a distance of 15,403 km, for a ranking of 7.7 on the 10 point scale, edging out my measly Alaska to Tanzania ranking of 7. So, for all you sleepless in Reykjavic and Perth couples out there; dude, I'm sorry.

This is all to say that my girlfriend is really far away, and that I miss her.