Gadling

Matt Gross, the New York Times' "Frugal Traveler," seems to have everything-- a dream job, plenty of money, a talent for travel writing, and dozens of interested women. So why, in his revealing new essay in Nerve, does he claim to be so sexually frustrated? Because, oh yeah, he's married.

We often stereotype travel writers as being rootless, wandering singles who bounce blithely from one location to the next. But this isn't the case for Matt Gross, who writes that being a married travel writer is often an "exercise in sexual frustration."

One of the great things about travel is the sense of adventure it brings, the willingness to try anything-- consequences be damned. But that only extends so far for the Frugal Traveler. He writes:

"Travel is about embracing new experiences: foods you've never eaten, languages you've never spoken, religious rituals you've never even heard of. To decline any offer at all - a spontaneous wedding invitation in Pondicherry, a swig of rice wine from an unmarked flask in a Saigonese goat restaurant - is to deny the very spirit of voyaging, and so I decline nothing. Except for it. The fact that I can't take part in it, that most hallowed ritual of travel - sex with strangers - frustrates me on a philosophical level as well as a primal one."

Read the whole entertaining essay here.

[HT: Our good friends at World Hum]

No, it's not politically correct. But it sure is funny. The brains behind the hilarious Fail blog have unveiled a new way to waste time at work: a blog called Engrish Funny.

It's definitely bookmark-worthy, and a great blog to check out whenever you're missing the mangled English from other countries-- and sometimes from your own.

More funny signs from Gadling here.

Ever thought about taking a video camera with you on your next trip? Over at Brave New Traveler, Gadling alum and documentary filmmaker Brook Silva-Braga talks about the challenges of shooting video while on the road, why long-term travel isn't so scary after all, and what his next video project is about. The interview is well worth a read.

Brook has done more to preach the benefits of long-term travel than just about anyone I know, and he sums up his argument for it thusly: "To me the most powerful evidence in support of long-term travel is this: I've never met someone who gave it a try and didn't like it. It's only people who don't go who can list all the problems with it."

For those wondering what Brook has been up to recently, you won't be disappointed. Brook is following up his award-winning documentary A Map for Saturday with a new film called One Day in Africa, which is an attempt to "show a more nuanced version of Africa than the devastatingly dire or falsely hopeful stories we see so often."

Brook plans on releasing that film in early 2009-- we'll keep you posted.

Read the whole thing at BNT here.

Ed Robertson, the lead singer of popular Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, survived a crash of his Cessna 206 yesterday, in an accident that involved Robertson and three others. The plane, piloted by Robertson, was traveling over a rural area of southeastern Ontario when its engine stalled unexpectedly.

Robertson managed to set the plane straight and land it among some trees. The four passengers were forced to exit through a window but were not injured.

Robertson hosts a show on the Outdoor Life Network called "Ed's Up," which documents Robertson's plane trips.

This should make for an interesting episode, huh?

More here.

This photo, from jrodmanjr, was taken in front of San Francisco's beautiful City Hall. Remember: if you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

Want your photo to be considered for Gadling's Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.

If you've tried to buy a train ticket in a place like Morocco or Indonesia, you know that this seemingly simple task is actually a full-contact sport. Rather than forming an orderly, single-file line, people are forced to scratch, claw, elbow, and gouge their way to the ticket window, in a process that even an Ultimate Fighting champion would describe as unnecessarily painful and violent.

So why does this happen? Why can't people in certain, usually less-developed countries form neat, single-file lines? Here are a couple possible explanations:

1. There's no incentive for the first person to stand in line. Though forming an orderly queue might be more efficient for everyone, it's not beneficial enough to one particular person for him or her to go through the trouble of starting a line. This is a classic example of what economists call a "collective action problem," in which a group of people are given a choice and, if following their individual self-interests, will choose an action that is suboptimal for the group overall. Merging on the highway is another example: It might be in your interest to cut in line at the last second, but if everyone chooses that same thing, the results will be worse than if everyone simply waited their turn.

2. The absence of orderly lines is not that big of a deal to people in these countries. Though seemingly chaotic and unnecessary to those of us in the "West", the truth might be that these "mobs" actually work. Their structure-- or lack of it-- rewards those who want the ticket or item the most, and only displeases those who weren't industrious (or ruthless) enough to work their way up to the front. This is a form of price discrimination in which those who were willing to "pay" the most, in this case with time and effort, are rewarded, while those who weren't, aren't.

Now this is a fun game. Developed by the Language Trainers Group, this ten-question quiz tests your ability to identify different English accents, including those from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and dozens of other countries.

In the game, speakers from all around the world recite parts of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If," then you're asked to name their home countries.

I only scored a meager 31 points (that probably puts me in the bottom part of the curve), but the test is pretty hard. I mean, am I really supposed to know how Latvian English differs from Lithuanian English?

So head over there, get higher than 31 points, then come back here and brag about it in the Comments.

[Hat tip: World Hum]

So far this Olympics, Indian athletes have garnered a grand total of one medal-- a gold in the 10-meter men's air rifle event (whatever that is). This matches the total number of medals India earned during the entire 2004 Games-- one silver in men's double trap shooting.

For a warm-weather country of 1.1 billion, you'd think India might fare better than this. So where are all India's medals? Here are a couple possible explanations:

1. Cricket is not an Olympic sport. In many ways, cricket is to India what baseball is to the United States. It is the country's most popular sport, and India's national team is consistently one of the best in the world. But cricket games can last for days, and this does not lend itself to Olympic competition. There may be hope, though: Some are suggesting that a shorter version of cricket called Twenty20 should be added to the 2020 Olympics.

2. Many Indians eat strictly vegetarian diets. In many ways, vegetarianism is just as healthy-- if not more so-- than a diet that includes meat. But vegetarian diets can also be lower in protein, which is important in muscle development. About a third of India's population are vegetarians.

3. Much of India is still poor. Though India's economy is developing rapidly, much of its population remains poor. In general, people are only free to pursue athletics once they've achieved a certain standard of living. But this does not explain why countries like China, Romania, and North Korea are still able to do well in the medal count.

If you haven't heard of the Happiness Project already, you're really missing out. The blog's author, Gretchen Rubin, tries out "every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study [she can] find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah." The blog then "report[s] on what works and what doesn't."

Every Wednesday at the Happiness Project is Tip Day, and this week Gretchen offered her six tips for getting the most out of your vacation. Some of my favorites:

"Return a day early. When I was growing up, we always returned from trips at the last minute, to eke out as much time as possible at whatever place we were visiting. But ...[o]n this trip, we came back on Saturday, so we had a day to sleep late, do errands, catch up on mail and email, re-stock the fridge, etc. The re-entry day made the trip shorter, but it made the overall vacation experience more enjoyable. It's no fun to go away for a relaxing week, but then find yourself stressed out again a few hours after you're back at home."

"Pack almonds. Several months ago, on a family trip with my in-laws, I realized that my periodic bouts of crabbiness were related to hunger. I seem to get hungry much more often than most adults, and I'm also a very picky eater. For this trip, I packed a bag of almonds, and it made a huge difference in being able to maintain my mood. Almonds made a great travel snack, because they're light, don't crumble, don't stain, don't need preparation, and are filling and nutritious."

Find the rest here.

And here are some past tips from Gretchen: tips for feeling happier in the next hour, tips for sleeping better, and tips for buying less.