Preston Theler

New Domain / Site Design

admin — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:18:14 +0000

Oh hai internet! It’s been a while. After a 14 month hiatus I have decided, due to unpopular demand, to relaunch my website…with actual content, and a less lame domain name. I don’t know what I was thinking running a .net for so long. For old times sake, here is one last peek at what has been up for the year +.

Stained Glass

Preston — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:08:30 +0000

A Few Of My Favorite Photos From Peru

Preston — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:56:05 +0000

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Peru. I shot the whole trip on my Tokina 12-24 f/4 wide angle lens. There were several times I wished I had a little bit more reach, but for the most part it was adequate. It’s definitely time for some new camera gear though. My crusty old 300d rolled over 40,000 clicks on this trip…It’s doing surprisingly well despite the years of thorough beatings I’ve given it.

You can check out the rest of my photos on flickr.

I’m still in Mancora/Peru Photos on Flickr

Preston — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:02:18 +0000

I have had some downtime the last few days and have had a chance to edit my photos from the first part of my trip and toss them up on flickr. I’ll have more in a little bit. I also plan to post my 16 favorite photos from the trip here on my site in a week or so along with more details on the trip.

For the time being I’m still in Mancora, a small beach town on the northern coast of Peru about 30 minutes from Ecuador. Also, I’m not good at surfing.

Check out my Peru photos on Flickr.

On My Way to Peru

Preston — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:49:55 +0000

Well, I actually managed to find a pretty sweet deal on some last minute-ish tickets to Peru last week. I found them on Kayak, $640 after taxes and etc round trip to Lima from Minneapolis. I’m flying Delta on the way to Peru, and Aero Mexico back to Minneapolis, I haven’t flown either airline before.

I’m in Atlanta right now, doing a Tour De Airline Lounges (DL has 8 Crown Rooms at ATL) trying to get the most of my Northwest World Clubs Membership. I take off for Lima in a few hours, it should be excellent.

Preston’s Amtrak Tips. Featuring: Drinking for Cheap and What to do Once You’re Stranded in St Paul

Preston — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:00:52 +0000

Ive been in the Midwest now for a month now…I don’t have a car (haven’t for a long time) and have been traveling in between Minneapolis, MN (where my friends are) and La Crosse, WI (where my family is) has proven to be easiest via Amtrak. They have daily service in between La Crosse and Minneapolis with relatively few stops, and it only costs $23 bucks. The trip takes roughly 3 hours, which is just about as long as it would take me to drive…if I had a car.

I have a few tips for anyone planning a trip on Amtrak:

Booze: Unless you have a private sleeper compartment Amtrak doesn’t allow you to bring your own liquor, beer, wine etc. No big surprise there. It’s not like taking the train in Romania where you can just wander around drinking out of a bottle of Jameson and the only the problem the conductor has with it is when you wont let him take a pull. The best bet is to pick up something they have available on the train. That way they wont know you packed your own booze.

Drinks you can buy on board:

Heiniken (bottle) $5
Corona (bottle) $5
Sam Adams (bottle) $5
Budweiser (can) $4
Bud Light (can) $4
Airplane Bottles of Liquor $5
Some Kind of Wine in a Tiny Bottle $5
(I’m sure I left one or two out, if you can fill in the gaps let me know)

Food: The food on Amtrak is shitty and expensive. Bring some. Bring too much. Give the extra away. Its better than choosing between the soggy microwave pizza or the $14 dollar mediocre omelette.

Power: If you’re on the train for more than a few hours you’ll need some source of power for your various gadgets. There are very few outlets on the train, so you’d be wise to bring a power splitter, power strip, or even better an extension cord with multiple outlets on the end.

Waiting for a ride or stranded at the Minneapolis/St Paul Amtrak Depot? Walk two blocks to the Dubliner on University. For some reason it never occurred to me in the past that there might be a sweet bar two blocks from the Depot. I spent a lot of time trying to sleep on a dirty linoleum floor in a train station full of scary rubes (Amtrak’s prime clientèle) while waiting for the train which was stuck somewhere in South Dakota because of a freight derailment, all the while I could have been having pints and listening to Irish folk music.

Additional Insight on Longer Trips: My friend Brendan took the Amtrak from San Francisco to Chicago (a 62 hour trip) this fall. He was packing his iPhone and kept a running travelogue on his website during the trip.

Franklin Nicollet Liquor: Minneapolis Minnesota

Preston — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:31:50 +0000

San Francisco Neighborhoods: Photos of The Mission

Preston — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:16:59 +0000

Photo of Postcard Row in San Francisco

Preston — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:21:23 +0000

I’m not too excited about this picture as a wallpaper, however I made wallpaper sized versions before I realized that so what the hell: 1680×1050 widescreen or 1280×1024 standard

Photo of Sutro Tower and San Francisco Cityscape From McKinley Square Park on Potrero Hill

Preston — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:40:43 +0000

I was riding around on my bike on Monday taking some photos and snapped this one of Sutro Tower, Twin Peaks and the San Francisco cityscape from McKinley Square Park which is at the top of Potrero Hill.

I’m using this photo as my wallpaper right now. Download it in: 1680×1050 widescreen or 1280×1024.

For more photos of San Francisco check my SF Picasa Gallery.