Hello and welcome to another series of Cleared For Departure, the only travelogue not planning any deep sea adventures in a vehicle built by, “… doing my own research.” This time we’re off to Iceland. We depart Friday, July 21st. Below are some housekeeping items.

You’ll notice this email looks different and did not originate from Google. We have switched over to WordPress.com. Am I happy about using WordPress? Of course not. It’s a terrible platform. The interface was designed by engineers who hate humanity and run by accountants who think the Spirit Airlines model of nickel and dime-ing customers into disgruntled profitability is the one, true path forward. However … though barely, and with much aggravation … it does what I need it to do. Kinda like a Ford. Or a Samsung phone. Or our co-op board.

The switch will be good for you, the reader. Pictures will be hosted server-side. Thus they can be larger file sizes with more eye-watering pixels. Emails should slip through spam filters, which has been an ongoing annoyance. (Please add donotreply@wordpress.com to your safe sender list to ensure they get through.) I will be able to include videos, which I could not do before. The travelogue will be easier to share with others and, finally, all prior trips are available for perusal at any time, though not quite yet. Enjoy adventures of far off lands while sitting on the toilet. Healthier than Instagram.

I wanted to get all the past trips loaded prior to this trip, but sadly I was unable. Should you log into the site, and I recommend you do, you’ll see the entries from past trips but no text or pictures. I plan to continue importing in August and September. I tried to get my IT friends to do it for me. I offered to pay. Handsomely, even. They laughed in my face and said some version of, “There is not a sum of money on this planet that would compel me to do this.” I get it. My experience with Americans is their tolerance for grunt work is remarkably low – myself included.

If you reply to the emails, you’ll still reach me. I always appreciate your comments and thoughts back, so please feel free to continue doing so.

If you wish to manage your subscription or unsubscribe, there is a link in the footer of each email for taking care of that.

My offer for subscribers still stands: If you’d like a copy of any picture I take, just let me know at the end of the trip. I’m happy to send a full resolution file, packed with all the pixels for a high-quality print. If you need help with that, please let me know and I’d be happy to assist.

Would you like to add someone? They can now add themselves. Subscribe at https://www.cleared-for-departure.com. I can also do it, just send me their address.

Thank you for all for allowing me an outlet to share my creativity. In return, I hope you enjoy our trip to the land of the midnight sun. (That phrase is technically Norway, but, you know, close enough.)

We’ll speak again on Friday.