This is my 200th published post on 80couches.com! When I started this blog five years ago prior to my move to Korea, I had no idea where my random brain-droppings would take me, or where I would take myself. Since…
80 Couches: 200 and Counting…
Tag: Korea
How Nice Should Your Airport Be?
I was a bit taken aback by the recent New York Times article on the world’s best airports. I had long known that Seoul’s Incheon International Airport ranked among the best, but I was not prepared for Munich’s entry in…
“The Interview”: How to Lose at Poker to Terrorists
I love poker. It’s a game that reveals the inner-workings of the human mind better than any, and the small battles that take place on the felt translate directly into the real world. Legendary poker psychologist Mike Caro says the…
Strange Places I’ve Called Home: Part 6, Paju, Korea
This is my latest in my “Strange Places I’ve Called Home” series. The rest can be found here. My first time up to Paju came two weeks before starting my new job at English Village. The first thing I noticed…
Strange Places I’ve Called Home: Part 5, Seoul, Korea
You can read about the other “Strange Places I’ve Called Home” here. In early spring 2007, I was at a strange place in my life. Nine months into my stay in Japan, and I was essentially told my services were…
The North Korean Humanitarian Dilemma
Once again, we wait with bated breath and watch while North Korea rattles its saber, and once again, we hope that it is merely talk and not a prelude to something more. Of course, the American media has made hay…
Dog is My Co-Pilot
Sydney, my Australian Shepherd pup, and I agree on a great number of things: enjoying a nice long walk, curling up on the couch to watch a movie, and the shared mutual benefit of having one of us enjoy eating…
The Gospel of Mark
Just over two years ago, I met my first real friend in Korea, a couchsurfer from England, Mark. We first contacted each other through the Seoul couchsurfing message board, and shortly thereafter met up in Hongdae for drinks and random shenanigans.…
Yongsan: The Bazaar of Technology
When shopping for a new shiny gadget in Seoul, the prudent resident can forget about going to the gleaming new halls of the closest mall, and head straight for Yongsan Station instead. Yongsan has long been the de facto hub for electronics…
The Last…
A little less than a year ago, I found myself watching the Brewers ill-fated playoff run online, while chatting with my cousin Danny and my uncle Robert. Well, the Brewers were getting spanked and during the lull in action (which…
What are the odds?
In school, math never really interested me. It’s a shame, because if there ever existed a subject that I was “a natural” in, it was math. I just found it boring and steadfastly refused to do the work or pursue…
Pest Control
One of my unexpected duties in India as the “guy,” was to chase down any unwanted critters from our hotel. And since this was India, this turned into a somewhat regular occurrence. Generally, I preferred not having to kill the unwanted…