Author: Dave

I've always been curious about the world beyond my own backyard. While many people spend their entire lives close to where they were born, I've been fortunate enough to travel across the United States and around the world. Every place I've visited has challenged my assumptions in one way or another and reminded me that, despite our differences, people often have far more in common than they realize. I don't write to tell personal stories for the sake of telling them, and I don't believe every article needs to revolve around me. Instead, I enjoy using my experiences as a starting point for exploring larger ideas. Whether it's something I noticed while walking through a market overseas, a conversation with someone from another culture, or simply observing how different communities solve similar problems, I'm interested in the lessons those moments can teach all of us. Travel has given me perspective, but it has also taught me humility. The more places I visit, the more I realize there is still to learn. Every culture has something worth appreciating, and every journey has a way of expanding how we see the world and our place within it. When I write, my goal is simple: to share thoughtful observations, compare perspectives, and encourage curiosity. I hope readers come away having learned something new—not just about another place, but about the world we all share. If one of my articles inspires someone to look at a familiar idea differently, ask a new question, or venture a little farther than they otherwise might have, then I've accomplished exactly what I set out to do.

Japanese Pig

Dave

I was playing around with the application called Procreate and drew this silly Japanese pig that says, “Boo Boo” instead of “oink oink.” Procreate was a very nice and intuitive application that I would like to play around with more to get the feel for it.

thekumachan_Pig_Drawing-1

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Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Monument

Dave

Drove over to Point Loma in San Diego, California today to see the Cabrillo National Monument and take some photos to document my experience. Prior to going here I knew absolutely nothing about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and his monument. Now I know that Cabrillo, a navigator sailing under the flag of Spain, landed at San Diego. Stepping ashore on Ballast Point, he was the first European to land on the west coast of what is now the United States of America.

Photos describing about Cabrillo and the monument:
thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-1thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-8thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-9thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-11

Photos of the Cabrillo monument itself:
thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-10thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-3thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-2thekumachan_Cabrillo_Monument_San_Diego-4

Photos of the view of the surrounding area:
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The plaque reads:
In homage to the Spanish expedition composed of the ships San Salvador, Victoria, and San Miguel that arrived at San Diego on 28th of September 1542 under the command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who took possession of these lands on behalf of His Catholic Majesty Charles King of Spain opening the maritime route that led to the subsequent development of California. The Spanish Navy September 28, 2003.

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United States and Mexico Border Wall

Dave

For those who are angry at Donald Trump for suggesting that he will build a wall to separate the United States and Mexico, have no reason to actually be angry at Donald J. Trump. It will be rather difficult for him to build a wall where there is already a wall that separates the United States and Mexico. These photos were taken in California separating San Diego and Tijuana. As you can see Mexico has a lot of houses and businesses near the border, but there was not very much on the United States side.

It is the same thing as if you want to keep trespassers off your land. You put up a fence. Does it completely stop them? No. Does it deter most? Yes. If you don’t think a wall or fence work, try asking Mongolia how well a wall works. Fencing companies aren’t going out of business anytime too soon. Why do you think that is? Because they do work.

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Interesting Bits of Knowledge

Dave
  • Glass takes one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!
  • Gold is the only metal that doesn’t rust, even if it’s buried in the ground for thousands of years.
    Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.
  • If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
  • Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals.
  • Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
  • The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.
  • Drinking water after eating reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent.
  • Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn’t smoke unless it’s heated above 450F.
  • The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
  • Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean.
  • The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.
  • Airports at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.
  • The University of Alaska spans four time zones.
  • The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.
  • In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
  • Warner Communications paid 28 million for the copyright to the song, “Happy Birthday.”
  • Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
  • A comet’s tail always point away from the sun.
  • The Swine Flu vaccine in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease it was intended to prevent.
  • Caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, that is why it is found in some medicines.
  • The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.
  • If you get into the bottom of a well or a tall chimney and look up, you can see stars, even in the middle of the day.
  • When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight.
  • In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.
  • Strawberries are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside.
  • Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.
  • The moon moves about two inches away from the Earth each year.
  • The Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust.
  • Due to earth’s gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters.
  • Mickey Mouse is known as “Topolino” in Italy.
  • Soldiers do not march in step when going across bridges because they could set up a vibration which could be sufficient to knock the bridge down.
  • Everything weighs one percent less at the equator.
  • For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at lift-off.
  • The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.

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Wisdom of an Older Man

Dave


An older man approached an attractive younger woman at a shopping mall. “Excuse me; I can’t seem to find my wife. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?”

The woman, feeling a bit of compassion for the old fellow, said, “Of course, sir. Do you know where your wife might be?”

“I have no idea, but every time I talk to a woman with breasts like yours, she seems to appear out of nowhere.”

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Buttercups & Golf Balls

Dave

Towards the end of the golf course, Doug hit his ball into the woods and found it in a patch of pretty yellow buttercups. Trying to get his ball back in play, he ended up thrashing just about every buttercup in the patch

All of a sudden, POOF! In a flash and puff of smoke, a little old woman appeared. She said, “I’m Mother Nature! Do you know how long it took me to make those buttercups? Just for doing what you have done, you won’t have any butter for your popcorn for the rest of your life. Better still, you won’t have any butter for your toast for the rest of your life. As a matter of fact, you’ll never have any butter for anything the rest of your life!” Then POOF!, she was gone!

After Dave recovered from the shock, he hollered for his friend, “Fred, where are you?”

“Fred yells back “I’m over here in the pussy willows.

“Dave shouts back, “DON’T SWING, FRED, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON’T SWING!

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