In addition to all the goings on, I've registered a new domain name: www.cycleiwakuni.com. That replaces the old cycling calendar location. While the old links will continue to work, I think the new domain name will allow for more adequate search engine hits. Now if I could just get it to show up on Google!

I put together a month to month web cycling calendar thanks to a new php script set that I've found. This seems to work like a charm and is open source. Folks can follow my progress through the year. Meanwhile, folks here in Iwakuni can see when I am riding to find out if they want to tag along.

I'll be on the first century ride of my year on Jan 20th. I've teamed myself up with the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association and their Year Round Century challenge. That should help me reach my 2006 goal set for 10,000 km of riding for the year. Wish me luck!

The year is nearing an end in Iwakuni, Japan. I've decided to change out the MS150 slot at the top of this page and turn it into a general cycling page. I'll work on it as I go, but it should eventually be a list of cycling routes that I take, as well as general cycling information about the Iwakuni, Japan area. We'll see how long it takes me to actually make the thing work, but it should be a relatively painless operation, right?

The move to Iwakuni ended last month. We're now on the other side of the world, and we'll be here for at least the next 3 years. I wanted to update the page while I had a chance. Now that the team has settled into the area, we'll start posting more updates and information to this page on a more regular basis. There's certainly a lot to talk about now that we've moved to Iwakuni. We did the beautiful cherry blossom festival last weekend and I think I've begun to fall in love with our temporary country.

The pain and suffering is over! Thanks to late coming donations from dear friends, we've missed our goal by just a hair. We account this to late-starting and promise not to do that again. Thanks again to all who have made the donations possible. Know that your money is going directly to the research for a cure to MS and continuing the fight.

Due to some pain and suffering still lingering, expect to see pictures in the next day or two. Everything from the waist down on Amy and I is rather... tender. I'm sure our pro-riding companions, Ellen and Denny, are ready to do another 150 next weekend, but this writer is just plain tuckered out. Look for updates in the next day or so!

TeamVW (Tom and Amy) are teaming up with Team HighSonoran (Ellen and Denny)! We'll all be participating in the MS 150 Bike Ride on November 13 and 14. The links in the menu bar above will take you to information regarding the Arizona chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. You can click the "ePledge" icon to pledge via Paypal. Tom's "NomadVW" icon in the upper left of the header, normally looks like: (the image now in the top left of the page!)

As of this evening (or morning depending on where you live), the editorials found on the main page have moved to the page listed as "Blog" above. I'd like to think I could find a witty name for the pages, but since "Blog" was taken, I just used that. This page will become news and events in the NomadVW home/life/world only. All other information will slowly be attached to the "Be" or "Filled" pages that have yet to be designated above.

One of the latest hobby/obsessions I picked up along the way is Geocaching. Geocaching is a "sport" of sorts. It involves a person, a GPS receiver and the desire to go places you haven't been to look for a container placed by another person with a GPS.

It's quite a blast, honestly. I've seen more of San Diego over the last two months than I had in the previous three years here. (Consider: of the 3 years I've been "in" San Diego, I've only been "in" San Diego for around 1 year.) There's plenty to see. One of my favorite places to travel here in San Diego is the Mission Trails Regional Park.

I recently "cleared" all the MTRP geocaches of my todo list. I took a lot of great pictures up there. It's easy to get good pictures from nature. It almost seems like it is just waiting for you to take its picture. Those of you that have tried to photograph kids have to understand what a vast difference it is from trying to get a gaggle of kids all looking the same way, smiling naturally, sitting up straight, not poking each other, not putting their two fingers over the other kid's head, looking the same way, smiling naturally... and well. So on...

I've uploaded my favorite pictures to the NomadVW pictures in the gallery (see top bar). My number one favorite of all the pictures I took, I drop here below.

Looking out through reflection - 2004/10/23

Sitting at the desk today, a thought occurred about what is seen of the outside world when you see it in the reflection of glass. For instance, in this room there is a certificate above the desk. If you look up quickly, you see the certificate - yourself. But upon a closer stare, you see something else - reflection. It's this reflection that has captivation. In the reflection you can see the rest of the room, light, darkness - yourself? and even what's outside.

When we look at something, so often we get from it the first impression that is given to us. In fact, we look so quickly, we neglect to see the possibility for reflection that might open us to the world around. But even greater, when we realize the potential of reflection, we know that we can focus on the goal, and the harder we focus on the goal, the more clearly we're given the view of reflection.

Web Site Open!!! 2004/10/22

After a lot of years away from the web hosting and html projects, we've acquired the NomadVW.org domain to begin hosting here. The future uses of this site will be the NomadVW blog, helps and tutorials, pages on hobbies and movement of the NomadVW interests and much, much, more....

This current site layout is the most temporary of the site layouts that are likely to come. Experiments in CSS, HTML, PHP, and all of the other new- fangled tricks will inevitably find the site you are looking at in all sorts of disarray. If at any time you come looking at this page to find it a garbled mess, you can expect that we are adjusting the look and feel. Don't worry! The site will reacquire stability in no less than 2 or 3 months.

We were hoping to fill up much more of this page, but alas - we cannot. For now, fans and foes will have to settle with the bit of snippet that we are uploading now. If you are uncomfortable with the shortness of the site, you can sit and stare at the NomadVW in upper left-hand corner for a few hours. If that doesn't pique your interest sufficiently, well... we have nothing we can do for you for now. Perhaps a good Dr. Phil book - or even better, a link to take you elsewhere.