After a prolonged absence due to largely technical reasons (and some life reasons), I offer this little tale that touches on time and death and memory and reality. A spinning kitten on the highway outside of Istanbul.

I recorded four episodes during this hiatus, and I will have to decide whether or not to upload them. My biggest and most OCD concern is that the dates are all whacked if I upload them now. I'll think about it.

In which I tell the story of unexpectedly finding myself in charge of a hostel in Rome. A crazy alcoholic owner, naked knife threats, a hernia expressed into the testicles. Just another day.

This time, my wife, Lisa, and I recall a story from my Great Big Europe Trip of 2005, in which she flies for the first time when coming to join me in Lisbon. And my efforts to buy hash in anticipation of her arrival.

A departure for me, this little episode features a live recording taken on our back deck (as always). What's different is that this time I started recording while my wife and I were talking, and she had no idea. We discussed farting behaviour at length, and eventually our oldest son joined in. I find the whole thing too hilarious not to post as a podcast episode. Of course, I got my wife's approval first - I'm not that stupid. The quality of the recording is questionable; one day I will have to get some audio editing software. In the meantime, enjoy the rawness.

This is my biggest, most important story. As it plays out it made me question my core beliefs about life after death. Let's just say a wedding ring came back via a dead fisherman.

In which I tell the tale of the time when, at age 18, I travelled to Europe with a couple of buddies and eventually landed in Corfu. While there I got a job cleaning up vomit and eventually dealt with a drunken sexual predator. Saturday night on the back deck while recording, and, yes, once again beers were involved.