Comments Posted By John McCrarey
Displaying 601 To 630 Of 6,593 Comments
Kevin, I’ll save that recipe for next time I’m hungover. I’ll have Swan do the cooking though.
Yep, Vitaly is screwed, likely in more ways than one.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 03/January/2026 @ 9:29 am
Brian, I’ve been to Bali (and loved it) but never Indonesia proper, so make it 100% for me.
Yeah, marketing isn’t a strong point for the Philippine Tourist Agency. It was so shocking to see all the young European tourists during my visit to Siargao. Most of them were apparently there for the surfing, so maybe it was word-of-mouth advertising amongst that crowd that brought them there. There are some beautiful places here, but like most things here, they don’t make it easy to access.
I’m going back to Vietnam for a visit next week. They do a much better job catering to tourists there.
Ha! I hadn’t noticed the misplacement of the Philippine flag on that map.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:47 am
Kevin, I don’t really trust those tourist numbers. For example, I’m on a tourist visa and have lived here for years. Many other expats are in the same category. So, unlike AI, I’m pessimistic about the numbers. I know the business owners here in Barretto have been complaining for quite a while about the lack of tourists.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:23 am
Kevin, you’d think that the language and cultural similarities, along with its natural beauty, would be enough to make the Philippines a popular tourist destination. So why isn’t it? Thinking back to the days when I was a tourist, there are many things the PI just doesn’t get right. The airport in Manila is consistently ranked among the worst in the world, and yes, first impressions matter. When I see your walk photos, the quality infrastructure in Korea really stands out. Nothing like that here. Then there is the litter and noise to contend with. Hotels aren’t always that nice, but are still comparatively expensive. Public transportation is Jeepneys, trikes, or scamming taxis. I’m guessing that many of the tourists who visit for the first time don’t come back.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 8:55 am
Brian, well, apparently, 21 years of blogging nearly filled my 50GB of storage. With the $500 upgrade, I now have 200GB to utilize. I guess I’d better get busy or live longer so I can use it. Or maybe both.
I was paying around $135 a year, but with the recent upgrades in storage and security, it has more than doubled.
Yes, I was a big Stickman fan and was sad to see him go. I’m wondering if the website owners will look for a replacement. Regardless, it won’t be the same without him. I hope Stick doesn’t regret leaving.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 10:08 am
Thanks, Tommy. Happy New Year to you.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/January/2026 @ 12:33 pm
Kevin, I did Google the question and found a Reddit post saying that once HostGator started offering malware protection suddenly his blog was full of malware. Creating a market for their new service would be a profitable business model I suppose. I’m not sure I’m convinced that HostGator is the culprit, but it seems coincidental that, after I bought enhanced malware protection, I suddenly had to purchase additional data space so the malware protection had room to operate. Hmm…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/January/2026 @ 12:32 pm
Brian, glad to hear blog access hasn’t been an issue for you. Hopefully, now that HostGator has drained my wallet for premium services, whatever the problem was will be resolved permanently.
As for the beer drinking, most of the lady Hashers do shots and or wine, so the menfolk had to fill the void. I’m not sure how many beers were left over, but I saw a lot of inebriated people by the end of the day. And yeah, a couple of them were falling-down drunk. Me and my Zero were not in that category, thankfully.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 02/January/2026 @ 9:16 am
Mike, I just spent an hour online with my blog host. They emptied my wallet of $500 and promised to resolve the redirect issues. Sorry for the inconvenience.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 31/December/2025 @ 8:38 am
Kevin, Doh! Jesus, that should have been obvious. I could have sworn that spellchecker thing underlined “mein” when I wrote it that way. Yep, it just did it again. My bad for believing I was wrong.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 2:39 pm
Kevin, sorry, I can’t find the error. I mean, chose might be better wording than opted, but that doesn’t make opted wrong. Oh, wait. Maybe I didn’t need the “the.” Swan opted for chow mien. Is that it?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:58 am
Greg, I doubt a once-a-week feeding contributed much to the obesity outbreak. It’s just time to do something else.
Thanks for the head-up on the site redirect issue. I’ll inform my blog host of the problem and hopefully they can resolve it.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:40 am
Kevin, yes, I read about them and their decision to focus on love rather than marriage. Oh well, too late for me.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 29/December/2025 @ 7:19 am
Kevin, yes, that’s what I liked about the story, too. The father accepted the reality of the situation and went on with his life, and found peace in that—a good lesson for us all.
I hate backtracking, and last time we did this hike, we looked for an alternative route back to where we started. Things went wrong after that. A hard hill climb that led us to a dead end. A tricky downhill, then we got lost looking for the original trail. It was a hot day, and we all ran out of water. Not a good situation, and Scott suffered the most. This time we sucked it up and accepted that our trail would be out and then back again the way we came. The result was much better this go round.
My phonetic spelling of gaenari wasn’t bad for an old-timer who doesn’t speak Korean. I do recall the forsythia connection. Not sure if what I saw here was in the same family, but it looked familiar.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/December/2025 @ 12:41 pm
Terry, yes, that story resonated with me on a deep level. People grow and move on in their own directions, sometimes leaving you behind. That’s life.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/December/2025 @ 12:29 pm
Brian, thanks for the insights and advice. You may not be a doctor or counselor, but I bet you’ve stayed in a Holiday Inn before…
Seriously, though, I recognize that I am as much at fault as the ghosters, and my refusal to seek reconciliation clearly places the onus on me. For me, it is not a matter of not caring; it is accepting the fact that I am not valued. I don’t want to try to convince someone who clearly doesn’t want me in their life to let me back in. I trust that they are happier without me, and what is a better measure of love than giving those you care for what they desire.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 30/December/2025 @ 9:53 am
Kevin, Mat spells his name with one “t” (I just double-checked to be sure). He’s remarried now and has a new baby. Life goes on.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/December/2025 @ 8:51 am
Brian, I hadn’t heard from either of my kids since Thanksgiving. I decided I’d wait to see if they greeted me for Christmas. My daughter did, but not my son. I don’t beg. If someone doesn’t want me to be a part of their life, I’ll accept it and live mine alone.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/December/2025 @ 8:45 am
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…not!
Kevin, you do the roasting. Then buy a drone to deliver it. Thanks again!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/December/2025 @ 5:21 pm
Kevin, I gave you the gift of disappointment for Christmas, but it appears you don’t like it. Damn.
I can solve the Wheel of Fortune question without even buying a vowel: dangling modifier.
What I should have said: “Christmas carols were playing in the background while I was grocery shopping at Royal.”
I admittedly struggled with the alumnus sentence, and your rewrite captures perfectly what I was trying to say. It is great to have a volunteer (i.e., unpaid) editor. Thanks for that!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/December/2025 @ 9:42 am
Kevin, thanks. I have good intentions to do a “normal” post today.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/December/2025 @ 9:24 am
William, I don’t dislike pizza per se, but back in high school, I worked in the kitchen at a pizza parlor. Let’s just say those memories make me cringe whenever I take a bite…
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/December/2025 @ 9:23 am
Kevin, ah, that explains it. I had forgotten about the shirts. Yes, they were from a special event last year and since they are the only “Christmas Hash” shirts most of us own, that was the popular choice for the #1685 Candy Run. Sorry for the confusion!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/December/2025 @ 9:27 am
Kevin, yeah, those memes were a whole other level of bad writing. Sorry about that!
Where did you get #1633? That was run #1685.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/December/2025 @ 5:04 pm
Kevin, Swan doesn’t like the litter culture and doesn’t seem to take offense to my teasing her about it. From my observations, it will take a generation to change things here, and aside from Siargao Island, I haven’t seen any effort underway. When I lived in Korea, I was disgusted by the litter I encountered, but nothing prepared me for these dirty islands.
Yeah, it’s a shame that John’s dream is dying too, but kudos to the family for keeping it going and maintaining quality for as long as they did. Perhaps the widow will find a new (and cheaper) venue and open her own place.
Oh, I like the birria. Swan and I share our meals, so I had a taco and bulgogi. Swan likes having guacamole, but I don’t use it.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/December/2025 @ 4:08 pm
Brian, I think I posted something about the PI being the world’s worst ocean polluter. Yeah, ” We’re #1 is a great slogan.
Yeah, I didn’t see anything in that video that concerned me directly. A cheaper rate for my wire transfers would be fine, especially with the enhanced exchange rate. But I like to keep it simple, and the fees I pay for ATM withdrawals don’t bother me much.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/December/2025 @ 4:00 pm
Kevin, yes, I need to do better at policing the comments. Once you pointed out the comment mimicking yours, I deleted it. I love the feedback in the comment sections, but I don’t need the bullshit.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/December/2025 @ 4:09 pm
Kevin, well, on my best day I ain’t got a 16K walk in me. Plus, we had a van full of supplies to distribute.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/December/2025 @ 10:20 am
Brian, more of my selfish charity, I help others so I can feel good about living large despite being surrounded by poverty.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/December/2025 @ 10:18 am
«« Back To Stats PageThompson, the girlfriend you used to write about was a bigger drinker than you are. Did this sober angel come before or after her? Anyway, hang in there. I guess the best way to keep from going into withdrawal is to not stop drinking. But instead of soup, try a sandwich.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/December/2025 @ 10:17 am