Sigh

Post money bomb "reporting" on cnn.com's front page:

• Huckabee: I'm not apologizing to Bush
• Lieberman to back McCain for president

I shouldn't be too hard on CNN. They are probably searching for some photogenic white woman and haven't been able to cover anything else yet.

Kaboom!

The second Ron Paul money bomb went off even bigger than the first! On December 16th, the campaign raised over $6M making it the most amount of money a candidate has raised online on a single day ever. And this is still before the primaries. The previous record was John Kerry in 2004 after he clinched the Democratic nomination. Between the two money bombs alone, Ron Paul raised over $10M. That is quite a bit more than "mainstream" candidates John "Iraq is going well" McCain and Mike "Jesus wants me to win" Huckabee can hope to raise in the whole fourth quarter.

Maybe this will cause Dr. Paul to finally get a respectful amount of press coverage. Maybe he's no longer a "fringe" candidate. Or maybe that won't happen until he upsets the whole apple cart with a win in the New Hampshire primary. Either way, it's a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. We're boldly going where no campaign has gone before, and we're doing it in style!

Reasonable people

Reasonable people may disagree on our government's foreign policy. Some may even feel that indefinite detention without trial of people accused of terrorism (though probably not for American citizens). Fewer still may think that the stakes are so high that it is permissible to detain them without abiding by the terms of the Geneva Convention and treating them as POWs. I have my doubts about the the net effectiveness (let alone morality) of such policies given how it undermine our moral authority and plays into the hands of radicals. Despite my doubts I can accept that reasonable people may disagree.

But our government feels the need to be underhanded about even the rules it makes up on the fly. Instead of declaring who is being held in what facility (or, heaven forbid, what they've been charged with) they've maintained a network of undocumented facilities in foreign countries with Guantanamo being the public face. "But they are needed for the War on Terror!" Fine, for today only I will grant that reasonable people could disagree on this matter.

But why do these detainees have to be shuttled between these facilities in planes marked only by their tail numbers whose tail markings point back to CIA front companies? If these guys are a military threat why not transport them on military planes? Or since outsourcing is all the rage these days why doesn't an actual contractor like Haliburton or Blackwater do it and take their cut? Instead these "companies" are nothing little more than a PO Box. How is it appropriate that such a plane gets clearance to land in Guantanamo no less than three times? (We know this because people have been recording the tail markings of flights in and out. And plane registrations are public.) How can a reasonable person say that there is nothing wrong with that picture?

I suppose some die hard Bush Administration supporters may still see nothing wrong. But when this same plane later crash lands in Mexico carrying over three tons of cocaine while chased by (Mexican) military helicopters I hope that people of all stripes can agree this is unacceptable. How can the government justify that the same plane that ferries detainees to Guantanamo also ferries cocaine to Florida? Is this another Iran-contra type scheme where we are doing naughty things to finance other naughty things that we'd rather not show up as a line item in the federal budget? Has Bush decided that something is too sensitive for our democratically elected Congress to know about? In the current poisonous political climate we'll never know. I must be soft on terror and hate America for even asking.

Here's an article (with video) about the CIA drug plane that crashed. And another.

Ron Paul Tea Party in Durham this Sunday

This Sunday, for the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup group is throwing a tea party at the Durham Armory. Everyone is invited to come out and honor the patriots, past and present, who stood up and said "Enough!" Enough militarization, enough taxation, and enough government meddling in the lives of the people.

If anyone in the Raleigh area wants to carpool to the event or just discuss what the fuss is about, please send me a mail or leave a comment.

Heartwarming

This is the most heartwarming story and video I have ever seen. Just try to watch the video at the bottom and not cry. Can't be done.

Revolution

Lately I've been trying to find some inspiration. Something to sink my teeth into. Tonight I think I've found it. Revolution!

I've just gotten back from a meeting with the Triangle Ron Paul 2008 Meetup group and it was the most excited I've been in a while. The people were all smart, informed, eloquent, energetic, and completely fed up with the status quo. It is a breath of fresh air to be around such people even apart from the shared political agenda.

I've known for months I'd be voting for Ron Paul. I've sent in money and plan to do so again on December 16 for Tea Party 2007 which will be the biggest single fund raising day in history (234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party). I even figured I'd putz around with some light campaigning. After tonight, though, it is going to a whole new level.

The two party system sucks, but it is what we have. There are serious (and I believe immoral) legal, procedural and structural obstacles for the Libertarian or other third parties from competing on a level playing field with the big two. The Republican and Democrats are completely co-opted by big business, big media, special interests and the political caste. Ron Paul has become the nucleus that many disillusioned people such as myself have coalesced around.

Sure, It's a lot of fun to rage against the machine - bemoaning how the media won't cover him as a viable candidate - dismissiveness and outright hostility from the party establishment - massive corporate backing of the 'mainstream' candidates - but what does it accomplish? But Paul won't stand a chance, right? You can't win without the media and party, right? Not so fast.

Seven years of absolutely dreadful governance and mismanagement from the Bush administration and the neo-conservatives have left the Republican party demoralized. Sure Bush, Cheney, some in Congress, Rush Limbaugh, etc. still talk tough and flex their muscles, but who among the citizenry really yearns for more of the same? Who wakes up in the morning and says, "I care deeply for Giuliani and his positions" or "I really think the world would be safer if we bombed one more Muslim country."? People seem to have a vague idea that the want to be protected and they want someone else to take care of them. The media outlets and politicians themselves portray Hillary or Giuliani as people who can provide this; so people shrug and go along with it. It is easier than thinking, right? But I digress...

I believe that the grassroots of the Republican party is dead. Apathy is always a huge issue in American politics and in the wake of endless war, economic mismanagement, scandals and incompetence, the Republican grassroots has been wiped out. In straw poll after straw poll, Ron Paul supporters show up in force to trounce the 'mainstream' Republican candidates. "I like Romney, I guess, but I'd rather watch the game than go out and vote." But who cares about some stupid straw polls? The real vote isn't for months.

Here's why it matters. The various constitutionalists, libertarians, (true) conservatives and other assorted kooks that make up the Ron Paul Revolution are going to take over the Republican Party. Literally. If a precinct or district has a handful of demoralized 'establishment' Republicans, it will be nothing for the various active Meetup groups to vote as a block and get Ron Paul people elected to party offices and send them as delegates to the national convention. A bloodless coup.

Precinct captain Ed?

Found Vs. PostSecret

A few weeks ago I had to choose between Found Vs. PostSecret, a live show by the people from the Found and PostSecret websites, and an annual poker tournament with the Jaycees. By chance, both were to raise money for charity. Procrastinator that I am, I waited until last week to decide PostSecret may never come to town again and I really wanted to go. Others had the same idea and both the 7 and 9:30 show were sold out by the time I decided. All that was left was a $65 VIP ticket for the 9:30 show. Oh well, its for a good cause - I bought the ticket.

So the VIP ticket included a goody bag, a front row seat, and a 6 o'clock reception with Frank Warren of PostSecret, the Found guys and Brett Loudermilk, an 18 year old sideshow performer they picked up on the road. After grabbing some pizza I poured myself a glass of white wine. Just as I slammed the cork back home, someone else grabbed a glass. I started to push the bottle over and then thought the cork thing might be perceived as rudeness so I pulled it back out. The woman was holding her cup close by so I went ahead and poured her glass. Hmm...shes pretty cute.

The Found guys emcee'd. They were a riot. Man, that girl is cute. They introduced Brett who did some stand-up and a homoerotic audience participation trick. His bit was deliciously awkward due to the fact that there were just over a dozen quiet VIPs in a fairly big room. I really should talk to that girl. Then Frank came out and talked about PostSecret, did some Q&A, and showed us some unpublished secrets. One VIP told how a roommate's PostSecret was returned for lack of postage. She secretly added the postage and mailed it back but the secret she learned about her roommate was pretty outrageous. Stuffed full of wine and pizza, I went out to the lobby to wait my turn for the 9:30 show. I wonder if she's going to the later show as well.

At first I was a bit of a bummed at the prospect of downtime between the reception and the second show, but the goody bag had a Found magazine that kept me busy. Found is a magazine/website/project/community where people send in random notes they find. They might be love/hate letters, diary entries, receipts, posted signs...whatever. Some are funny, some are sad but they provide a window into something that was at one time important to someone you will never know, but can somehow relate to. I haven't followed Found too much (I don't relate to all of the stuff on the website) but I enjoyed the magazine.

After an hour or so Frank and Brett wandered into the lobby and had a conversation nearby. It was just the three of us there and, since both PostSecret and Found are both ultimately voyeuristic endeavors, I didn't particularly hide or feel bad about listening in. Brett grew up in "the business"...his parents were entertainers. He had lots of good stories involving David Copperfield, cleft pallets, Penn and Teller, sword swallowing, freak shows, billiard balls and more. He'd been a performer since he was 8. Good guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on TV one day.

Later that girl and her friend took a seat in the lobby with us and paged through their own Found magazines. They were going to the 9:30 show after all.! I noticed their magazines were a different issue than mine. Perhaps I could ask if they wanted to trade after they'd read theirs. Perfect! Soon the lobby became noisy with the incoming 9:30 folks and people started lining at the door. Since I had a reserved front row seat I stayed in my lobby chair for a bit and let the riff-raff fight over scraps. They filed in and I went to take a leak only to find out they started the show immediately. I had to grab a seat on the far edge of the auditorium. Then I noticed that my empty reserved seat was right next to her!

Brett was up first. He performed such feats as eating a light bulb, hammering a five inch spike all the way into his nostril (gross!), swallowing a twenty inch sword, snapping his tongue in a mousetrap and swallowing a two foot long inflated balloon. He also told some good jokes...his show was a lot of fun. As the Found guys were introducing Frank, I used the lull to claim my rightful seat next to her. Frank said that he gets a thousand secrets a week and posts just twenty. That's a tougher screen than the Ivy Leagues! He talked about the project and how much his readers have helped support a suicide hotline. He related some anecdotes that people have told him about how PostSecret gave them the courage to make changes in their lives. His own life was changed when, upon seeing how deeply people cared about PS, his father told him one of his own secrets. Of course he showed us plenty of postcards, too.

The Found guys went last. Davy, the main one, talked about the project and read some of his favorite found notes. He was clearly very passionate about conveying something universal in these discarded scraps of paper. He also seemed to be pretty much drunk which made the added jokes and commentary that much better. One of the early finds was a cassette tape with some low budget homemade rap songs. Davy's brother came out and played some songs inspired by the tape on his guitar. His soulful rendition of "The Booty Don't Stop" was a big crowd pleaser.

At the end of the show Davy reminded us that both Found and PostSecret couldn't exist without community participation and that we really should think of ourselves as a community. He told us to take a moment and introduce ourselves to the people sitting beside us.

Gulp!

As the nanoseconds raced by I scrambled to think of something, anything, interesting to say to her.

   Me: "Hi."

 Her: "Hi."

That's it. That's my game. I couldn't even manage "Hi, I'm Ed!", let alone "So, did you come here tonight for Found or PostSecret?" when the opportunity was delivered on a silver platter. In my defense she seemed mostly interested in talking to her friend on the other side, but I was mad at myself. I don't particularly care about being rejected but I get paralyzed by the thought of coming across as a creep. Sigh.


(Video report on Found. Found on Letterman.)

Apple Inc.

I'm a computer nerd and a wannabe economics nerd but somehow I missed it last month when Apple became a more valuable company than IBM. Apple is now worth $150B and IBM is worth $143B. Not bad for a company written off for dead in the '90s. Can Apple now dethrone Microsoft at $319B? Is Red Hat ($3.6B) going to get into the game?

See SmartMoney for more fun with market caps.

Posted from my totally awesome MacBook.

Brothers

Climax at Burning Man

One of the central tenets of Burning Man is participating rather than spectating. Everyone is encouraged to contribute - in whatever way they see fit. On Saturday morning Ju-Hui and I volunteered at the ice concession. (I mentioned previously that ice and coffee are the only things for sale at BM for the benefit of area schools.) On a hot day (i.e. all of them) the line of customers can be 30 minutes deep so we tried to keep the ice moving as fast as possible. During a three hour shift our crew of ten people sold almost an entire semi trailer worth of ice and kept the line down to a short or no wait. Two of the guys and I were in the trailer the whole time lugging and breaking up five packs of bags of ice. Ju-Hui and others would take the ice from the edge of the trailer up to the counter. It was funny to watch her wrestle the occasional intact five pack up to the counter. She did not break in half as I feared she would.

It was a fun, if exhausting, shift. Our frozen hands developed dozens small cuts from the mounds of jagged ice and packaging they handled and our backs protested mightily - but we were happy. It was good to get to know the other volunteers and give a little bit back to the event. As an unexpected bonus they distributed the contents of a tip jar yielding a bit over $20 and a bag of ice each. Getting paid for volunteering felt weird but oh well. Then again, two shifts a day for the whole week would cover the $280 BM ticket price (at the cost of leaving my oh-so-delicate hands in tatters.)

Following our shift we returned to our tent to find a note from Pepper and Sarah. They'd arrived! After a bit of tent-tag we met up. Ju-Hui and I had actually stayed with them for a night in San Francisco (thanks again!) and it was good to see them again. They had left SF after work the previous evening and arrived around 1am. They'd wandered around until 4am and had already seen several of the highlights. As an added bonus they brought us the requested emergency rations of bananas, a playa-proof comb and four bottles of vodka. Just the basics.

As we loaded our backpacks for the day the wind kicked up bit and blew dust around. Ju-Hui and I, now grizzled veterans of the playa, shrugged it of while the newbies zipped themselves inside their tent. Soon it passed and we were on our way to the Petting Zoo with some precious cargo.

Pepper and I, being ever so gallant, let the girls take the bikes on ahead while we walked to opposite side of Black Rock City. Somehow we beat them to the Zoo leaving Pepper charmingly concerned and me using the opportunity to make fart noises with my armpit. It turned out Ju-Hui had just taken Sarah to the Temple and some other landmarks on the way. In the meantime I had given three bottles of Absolut to the good folks at the Zoo and got some hearty appreciation. Between volunteering and the vodka I felt much more relaxed about not being a leech on the gift economy.

We spent a good chunk of the afternoon laughing, drinking and eating goldfish crackers at the Zoo. Apart from a disturbing episode where a guy on some serious drugs had to be restrained and removed, a good time was had by all. Unfortunately Sarah started feeling poorly and went back to their camp with Pepper. Ju-Hui and I stuck it out until night fell and it was time to grab a spot to watch the Man burn.

Burning Man started in 1986 on a San Francisco beach when a few friends got together to burn a small wooden effigy. Each following year the Man and the crowds got bigger and bigger; eventually the whole thing was moved to the desert and the event took on a life of its own. Through it all the burning of the Man remained the central, communal - almost religious - event. Ju-Hui and I and tens of thousands of our closest friends sat on the ground around the perimeter with reverence and anticipation.

A procession of a hundred or so people dressed in white slowly entered the inner circle. The tension was palpable. They fanned out and began spinning flaming balls at the end of a rope, frantically gyrating to the beat of deep drums. The tempo went faster and faster as the entire troupe revolved around the Man and ended in a finale capped by the beginning of a violent fireworks display. The fireworks themselves were capped by a mushroom cloud style explosion which engulfed the man in flames and set the crowd cheering even louder than before. (YouTube video)

The minutes ticked by slowly as the man burned. Euphoria was replaced by deep introspection. What does this mean? Why are we here? Why do we even exist? How can we be better people? The intense heat of the burn kicked off a few dust devils - 40 foot tall tornadoes of spinning dust and smoke. Eventually the Man collapsed, and calm was replaced by a mad dash toward still burning remains.

Crude Awakening was the name of the giant oil derrick and worshipers art installation. Later that night we watched it, too, go up in flames after a fireworks display. The central pipe on the oil derrick actually carried high pressure propane and jet fuel. This created an absolutely immense explosion sending a billowing ball of fire hundreds feet into the night sky. We were told it would be a big explosion but we were unprepared for the true scale. (YouTube video)

After Crude Awakening Ju-Hui and I got separated and I was lucky enough to go by Thunderdome while they had fights going on. Thunderdome is an absolutely spectacular recreation of the gladiatorial arena from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. In both, bloodthirsty spectators climb all over the dome to watch a pair of tethered combatants fight to the death.

Two men enter. One man leaves.

Even though the sticks were padded a bit, people were really going at it. Anyone was welcome to sign up and try their luck. The whole thing struck me as a breath of fresh air in our society where people file and win lawsuits because coffee is hot. (YouTube video)

On the ride back to the tent I felt profoundly happy after the days events. I also felt profoundly tired. The Temple would be burned the next night but I didn't see how another day at BM could top this one. I was ready to not be hot and dirty and bombarded by stimulus. Back at the tent was a note from Pepper and Sarah saying they had headed home. Ju-Hui was fine with not staying the last day and we had a whole string of national parks to visit besides. It was settled. The next morning we packed up, left Dav a gift of the last bottle of vodka and hit the road. Many others had the same idea, unfortunately, and it took us an hour and a half to reach the highway.

Burning Man was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I got a chance to go. Thanks to everyone I met there and especially to Ju-Hui for putting up with me.

Rainbows at Burning Man

Friday began with pancakes prepared by a friendly and fast working crew of volunteers. They had a queue of people fifty deep all morning long eating their pancakes as soon as they could scrape them off the skillet. Ju-Hui and I washed that down with some banana and strawberry smoothie that one camp was making with their solar powered blender. Yum!

Around noon we went on our typical wander through Black Rock City before heading out into the open playa. Notable sights included mini golf, a roller skating rink, a fiercely contested (by people of both sexes) Best Penis Contest and a truck sized motorized shopping cart. (You may wish to refer back to the pictures.) Out on the playa we stumbled into the path of the annual Critical Tits parade where many hundreds of women rode their bikes with either latex paint or nothing at all on above the waist. It took 8-10 minutes for the whole procession to pass us by. I almost reached the point where I didn't care to see any more boobs. Almost.

Just after the last of those intrepid women passed us by, the wind started gusting irregularly. Unlike the previous day's dust storm which arrived in a sudden, solid wall, the dust came and went as if on a dimmer switch controlled by an eight year old. Luckily we were right next to the canvass covered pavilion underneath The Man because soon we were in a "can't see you hand in front of your face" whiteout even more fierce than the last time. I'm not sure where the paraders ended up but I really felt bad for them getting caught out in the open like that (not to mention the amount of skin exposed to blowing sand.)

For the next couple hours the wind and dust continued to vary wildly. At one point it started to sprinkle lightly and I went a few steps outside the pavilion to bask in it. The contrast with the 100+ degree wind made each cool drop actually felt like it burned...glorious. Apparently a decent rain will turn the whole playa (ancient dry lake bed) into a mud pit but that day it evaporated as quickly as it landed. Though still irregular, the wind eventually calmed down enough that we felt safe enough to leave the shelter.

We found some guys flying a two line stunt kite and giving turns to passers by. It was amazing how fast the kite would zip across the sky...it had to be 50 mph at times. I seemed to be a quick study and was able to make it do loops and tricks after just a few minutes. Ju-Hui, at 85 pounds after a big meal, put on a nice show despite being pulled a good distance downwind. I'm just glad she didn't blow away.

The wind and dust had mostly given way to an overcast gloom when we found ourselves at The Temple. The Temple had a peaceful/zen/Asian feel and the silhouette was reminiscent of a pagoda. As we got closer and closer the simple beams resolved into intricate carved patterns over the entire surface of the structure. Visitors were encouraged to write heartfelt messages to loved ones on it...a communal Postsecret. Come Sunday night The Temple would burn and send those messages out into the cosmos. For the moment, it was an island of the sacred in a sea of the profane.

We watched two real life weddings happen there, one with 30 or so in the wedding party all dressed in bright red, the other with just the bride and groom and scores of random, supportive onlookers. Rather suddenly the gloom fell away and The Temple was bathed in bright afternoon sunlight. Mother Nature was giving us a break. A spontaneous round of cheers went up and the shutterbugs among us wasted no time getting some good photos of the light on the white pine. Ten or so minutes later an even bigger cheer went up and the previous shots became obsolete. A bright, full double rainbow filled the sky, perfectly framing The Temple.

Now even the casual photographers were frantically digging their cameras out of their backpacks. I ran around frantically trying to get that one iconic shot to go on the cover of Time magazine. In my haste I completely forgot the optics section from my physics classes and ran ever further away. My intent was to get the full arc of the rainbow coming down on either side of the Temple in a single frame. The reality is that a rainbow takes up a fixed proportion of the sky regardless of where the observer is and all I succeeded in doing was making the Temple really small. Ju-Hui and I each got some good rainbow pics, but none that truly captured the extreme beauty of that one moment in time. Regardless, I think it was my favorite experience at Burning Man.

Paging Nurse Daisy

I've uploaded my Halloween 2007 pics from both a house party in Asheville and the Jaycee haunted house. I've discovered my camera doesn't do too well in spooky low-light situations. Oh well.


Nurse Daisy



Nurse Daisy's daughter Maisy with Amy of WCRT fame



My brother Ryan with Lindsey

Remember, remember the fifth of November

Today is the anniversary of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up the English Parliament building. Guy Fawkes was tortured and executed for his roll in the plot. Guy was the inspiration for the terrorist/patriot anti-hero in V for Vendetta. V is a spectacular movie and I'd encourage everyone to see it. Many art theaters will having a one day only re-screening today.

The fifth of November has been adopted by the grassroots supporters of Ron Paul 2008. Paul is presidential candidate running as a Republican, though he is getting support from people who describe themselves as libertarians, constitutionalists and conservatives. He doesn't get nearly the press that the "machine" candidates like Clinton, Giuliani or Romney but his campaign has been slowly gathering steam and donations at the grassroots level. He doesn't hold fancy corporate fund-raising events or let special interest groups dictate his campaign. He just says it like it is, whether people want to hear it or not. He voted against the Iraq war when even most Democrats just went with whatever Bush wanted. He votes against spending more then we've collected in taxes. He does what's right, not what is popular.

I find both the Republican and Democratic parties to be hopelessly corrupt. Congresspeople of all stripes are only interested in getting reelected. The Democrats won both houses of Congress in 2006 largely in protest of the handling of the Iraq War. What has changed since then? Though I previously had no particular leaning I now get chills even hearing the word Republican. The ideals of limited government and being fiscally conservative have been replaced with evangelical meddling, nation building, financial recklessness, gross incompetence, 100,000 dead Iraqis, entrenched political divisiveness, and the erosion of our rights as American citizens.

In the early 90's I watched intently as billionaire Ross Perot came on the scene and shook up the '92 election. He ran on fiscal responsibility and a disgust of the corrupted two-party system. He led the polls at times before making a blunder due to threats to his family. He ended up with a still impressive 19% of the popular vote. In '93, though too young to vote, I joined Perot's United We Stand - a precursor to the Reform Party. As the presidential primary for North Carolina approaches, I intend to register as a Republican so that I can vote for Ron Paul in the hope that it will help bring end to this sad era in American History. I think Paul can succeed, where Perot fell short.

In memory of Guy Fawkes, the grassroots supporters of Ron Paul have organized a one day fund raising drive. So far it has raised $2.5 million (by 5pm) including a donation by yours truly (chart). I encourage you to check out ronpaul2008.com and consider voting for him in your state's primary. The likely alternative is more party machine politics and business as usual.

More pics

• Gulf Coast
  
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Point Pelee National Park of Canada

The Gulf Coast is the final set of pics from the West Coast Road Trip. New Orleans was discussed here. Both of my grandfathers served in the Navy Seabees in WWII. The Seabee museum in Gulfport, MS had a marker for one of their battalions, the 62nd. The construction battalions (CBs) were responsible for building and defending military installations during the island hopping campaign in the Pacific. The beach shots are from Pensacola, FL and the abbey is in Charlotte, NC.

I spent some time on the Blue Ridge Parkway as I went through Asheville, NC on my way up to Ohio a few weeks ago. The leaves are just beginning to turn.

I visited Ju-Hui in Ontario and we decided to take a day trip to Point Pelee National Park of Canada. I just couldn't resist the urge to get one more national park under my belt and we were hoping to see some fall foliage. Apparently Lake Erie has a warming affect in the fall, though, and the leaves were still green.

Whiteout at Burning Man

Thursday morning was fairly pleasant. A thick layer of clouds provided a welcome reprieve from the baking sun. A few hours later the clouds had yet to burn off. Something was up.

Around two in the afternoon Mother Nature let us in on her surprise. The wind started getting stronger and stronger with gusts that strained the sturdiest structures and collapsed the weaker ones. We watched a solid wall of dust sweep silently toward us from several miles away. It didn't take long. I can only compare the mixture of nervousness, fear and anticipation to those last moments before a first kiss.

After some last minute battening of hatches, we took refuge with our neighbors Dav, Tonya, and Nick. We couldn't have asked for better neighbors than these three. Ju-Hui and I benefited from their hospitality all week. Dav was a Burning Man veteran several times over and had things down to a science. We zipped ourselves inside his portable carport as the bright afternoon light muted to barely a glow as the leading edge of the dust storm poured over us. We hunkered down with our goggles and breathing masks, unsure of how long the storm would last. Suddenly Dav dropped to his belly and rolled out the bottom of the carport! What are you doing?!

Dav came back a short time later with an account of how things were going in the neighborhood. Though it seemed preposterous at the time, walking around in a whiteout isn't bad at all if you have well-fitting goggles and a mask. There is some sand blowing around, but primarily the cloud is just very fine alkaline dust. I took my own trip outside the carport to discover that things were business as usual in Black Rock City. People were walking around, riding bikes, and playing frisbee.

Vision was limited but my hearing easily led me to the Deep End, an elaborate Wild West style open-air club. The main plaza was boxed in by buildings on each side including a functioning (and free!) saloon, a water tower, a two story stage/DJ stand and a lounge. And It was packed! People were dancing on the water tower scaffolding and any other surface that seemed likely to support them. I really like techno music but usually feel a bit out of place around the club kids for whom partying is a way of life. The fact that everyone was filthy and anonymized behind goggles and masks allowed me to just relax and enjoy dancing in a dust storm.

After a few hours the storm passed and those who didn't properly erect their tents and shade structures set about trying to do better the second time around. Ju-Hui and I were relieved to find that our tent survived unscathed. Everything inside the tent, however, was covered in a layer of dust even though we secured bedsheets over the mesh windows. Just 100 feet away from our tent, a car was crushed by a flying geodesic dome while its owner took a nap inside. The dome had flown in from two streets over, a tarp apparently acting like a kite. Try explaining that to your insurance agent!

Boo!

Happy Halloween! For the past week my fellow Raleigh Jaycees and I have been trying to contain a highly contagious Outbreak at Possum Creek. I've been told I bear a striking resemblance to Nurse Daisy who has been creeping out hospital patrons in a frilly dress that seems much too short to be a regulation uniform. The fact that the line of patrons at times extended outside into the brisk October night made her choice of wardrobe even more questionable. There are two more chances for any Raleigh area folks to come pay us a visit at the Creek before Dick Cheney napalms the entire area in the name of national security. (I'm sure this has nothing to do with a recent oil discovery in the area.) Stop by and say 'hi'.

I hope to have a pic of Nurse Daisy to post soon. In the meantime here's one of my brother Brett and his girlfriend Jude. I'm not sure which is which. Those Connell boys!

Trying to be a bit less of a slacker

I'm back in Cary after three weeks in Asheville, NC, Toledo, Ohio and Windsor, Ontario. I never did make it to New England...maybe in the Spring. Combined with the West Coast Road Trip, I've been completely useless to society for over three months. I've decided it is time to start being productive again, though my first day of it was only mildly successful. Here's some things I'd like to work on:

• Blog


• Finish up Burning Man nrrative
• Wrap up road trip in general
• Post more regularly to maintain readership (Hi, Gramma!)
  
• Post stuff on topics other than travel


• Programming projects


• Learn Python
• Deep dive into Lisp
• Determine some Open Source projects to contribute to
  
• Facebook or Google Gadget application
• Get in a regular X hours per day routine


• Reading


• 10 issues of The Economist in backlog
• Finish Ishmael
• Oodles of economics/science/policy books


• Raleigh Jaycee Haunted House


• Housekeeping


• Help Ju-Hui sell her house in Cary


• Expand my social circle - meetup.com


• Ron Paul 2008
• Independent films
• Nintendo Wii


• Get SCUBA certified


• Reconnect with people after three months away

A steaming pile of pics

• Hoover Dam
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Sedona, AZ
• Casa Grande National Monument
• AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB (satellite pic)
  
• Pima Air and Space Museum
• Saguaro National Park
• Chiracahua National Monument
• White Sands National Monument
• Guadalupe National Park
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Austin, TX

For some of the back story, you can check out my previous posts. (1, 2, 3, 4)

Yet more Utah pics

• Glen Canyon/Capital Reef/Grand Staircase
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Parkway Motel, Orderville, UT
• Zion National Park

Parkway Motel was this random place we stayed at on the way to Zion. We got the last room in the place which turned out to be a very elaborate Indiana Jones "theme room". For $60, you can't beat it. Tell them Ed sent ya!

As always, you can check out the full gallery of my road trip pics.

Acceptance and Rejection at Burning Man

Needless to say, Wednesday morning was a bit rough for me. I swore off alcohol for the rest of my life or until that Saturday; whichever came first. Once we finally got moving we decided to go say 'hi' to Watermelon and Cherubic. On the way who should we run into but the Petting Zoo crew on an art car clear over on our end of town.

I went up to greet them but they didn't seem to recognize me standing upright. One by one, they figured it out. "Oh my god - He's alive!" We had a brief but hearty reunion and they invited us to stop by the bar again later. Later that day was the one and only time I used my laptop. My friend Pepper (formerly of SAS) and Sarah were going to arrive from San Francisco on Friday night and I emailed to ask him to bring some vodka. Lots.

We did stop by the Zoo later that day. It felt great to have a place where people were genuinely happy to have you around. Ju-Hui had a couple beers while I nursed a water.

That night I was full of anticipation for the Great Canadian Beaver Eating Contest. Where else but Burning Man can one experience competition in its truest form? The thrill of victory - the agony of defeat! I knew the organizers didn't allow spectators, only contestants and cheerers. Since Ju-Hui declined to be my co-contestant and no other volunteers seemed to be forthcoming, I was resigned to cheering on others. When Ju-Hui and I got to the front of the queue, the bouncer demanded to know what our cheer was. Huh? He wanted some rehearsed, junior high "Two, four, six, eight..." kind of cheer. When we didn't have one he booted us out of line (fine I suppose...his event) but in a very snotty, condescending way that made me want to punch him in the face. Not cool. The next three groups of people got booted as well.

Oh well, there were a thousand other things to see and do that night and every night at BM.

Excess at Burning Man

The next morning Ju-Hui and I discovered two unpleasant things. The first was that my tent heats up like a greenhouse by 7:30 in the morning. We tied bedsheets over the mesh parts of the tent to keep out the dust...at the cost of most of the ventilation. By 8:30 it was basically too hot to stay inside. The other thing we learned was that the Man was, in fact, burning the previous night. One guy didn't care to wait for the scheduled burning at the end of the week so he did some climbing and torched it early. The only problem was that it sits above a populated art exhibit up until the end of the week. The fire trucks got the fire out before there was widespread damage or injuries but the organizers decided to take down the Man and build a replacement for later in the week.

When we first arrived at Burning Man they gave us an eighty or so page booklet listing the subset of events which were scheduled. As the week progressed we learned that many of the most interesting things were spontaneous and many of the scheduled things just don't happen when they were supposed to. Still, the booklet was a place to start to figure out what we wanted to do that day. The simple act of reading and choosing a few interesting events in the 100+ degree heat required some serious willpower. Toss in the need for food, drink and daily hygiene and it was probably two in the afternoon before we were able to head out.

The first stop was a free sno-cone stand. What could be better on a hot day? Speaking of free, everything at BM is free except for specific ice and coffee concessions that raise money for local schools. Two of the main principles of BM are radical self-reliance and that it is a gift economy. You make sure you have what you need and you do what you can to improve the lives of your neighbors. Some people have an art installation or drive around an art car for people to look at or hitch a ride on. Others put on dance parties or yoga sessions or tutorials of various adult themes. One camp gave out pee funnels so the women of Black Rock City didn't have to stumble out to the port-a-potties in the middle of the night. Creativity reigns supreme and truly anything goes.

I was definitely on board for the self-reliance but the gifts are something I've never been completely comfortable with. I tend to want to earn what I consume and vice versa. Even knowing I would be participating in a gift economy I simply couldn't fit more stuff in the car to give away. I decided I would give buzz-cuts (I could run my clippers off a car power jack) and back rubs. In the end I didn't do either...I was always either exhausted or distracted.

After sno-cones we wandered by some people playing life-size Settlers of Catan. The game is a lot of fun but it was going to be a while before the next game started so we just watched for a bit. One of the players was already badly sunburned even though it was just mid-afternoon on the second day. He seemed largely indifferent; sunscreen could wait until the game was over.

We wandered around until a guy standing on a street corner brusquely yelled at us.

Get your ass in our bar and have a drink!!

Huh? Well I suppose if that's an order. I guess I'll just have to roll with the gift economy. Thus began Ju-Hui and my friendship with the Petting Zoo.

The Petting Zoo is a bar that just had its eight consecutive year at Burning Man. It was built in a square with 3-5 bartenders on the inside and bar stools all around. Over top was a huge shade canopy which was always a fantastic incentive to stay for one more. The population at BM seems to lean heavily in favor of club people but here was a good, old fashioned bar. People swapped stories with their neighbors and the bartenders went drink for drink with their patrons. Every twenty minutes or so, somebody would donate a bag of ice or bottle of liquor to the bar and the whole place would cheer. After the anonymity and immense scale of BM, it was a nice change of pace.

Ju-Hui and I had a bit of time to kill before the next event we wanted to go to, so one drink led to another...and another. Eventually someone busted out the moonshine and things started getting a bit fuzzy. I remember asking (and fielding in return) some seriously no-holds-barred questions to a couple, the man of which was married to another woman who would arrive at BM in the coming days. Eventually the alcohol got the better of me and my stomach decided to go on strike. A lot. The next thing I knew it was nighttime and Ju-Hui, with infinite patience, was trying to guide me the two miles or so back to the tent without benefit of a flashlight.

I've thanked her before and now I do so publicly. Thank you, Ju-Hui, for babysitting me for an entire evening.


A kind reader has sent a link showing an aerial shot of Black Rock City. There's no other way to really appreciate the scale of a tent city of over 40,000 people.

More Utah pics

• Canyonlands National Park (with a little something extra for the ladies)
  
• Natural Bridges National Monument

Stay tuned for more on Burning Man...

Back home

I'm back in Raleigh, for a week or so anyway. I've got my Moe's burrito and some Rome, Season 2 on DVD. I'll probably be a couch potato for a few days; catch up on mail, laundry, etc.

End of the road?

Heather and I are in Pensacola, FL about to head to the beach. I've now been on a two ocean road trip and have racked up over 11,000 miles on my car. It's been fun but I think it may be the end of the road. I think I just want the comfort of my home (or the home of friends and family) for a while. I'd still like to see New England, especially during Fall so maybe I'll just think of this as a pause to recharge and attend to Real Life for a bit.

The threat of violence

One of the things I've learned on this trip is that I just don't care for big cities. I don't care that there are eleven coffee shops within a three block radius. One would be enough even if I did drink coffee. I don't enjoy trendy restaurants more than simple ones. I couldn't care less about some hip new nightspot. Museums are nice but are they really worth all the noise and traffic?

Still, I was looking forward to seeing New Orleans; a city known for being unique and enjoyable. Sadly, the Big Easy didn't feel any different than other big cities for me. What I did feel was a sense of poverty and desperation. Part of it was the historic nature of N.O., part was the psychic aftermath of Katrina and part was feeling immediately identifiable as a tourist and possible mark. At 6'4" and 190 lbs., I rarely even think about my personal safety but in N.O. I just felt like a soft white boy who's had a desk job for the past ten years.

The man above threatened to have me beat up "by those guys over there" when I only gave him a dollar. I saw the sign from a distance and thought it was a street vendor with a sense of humor. I tried to take a quick picture while his back was turned and he was helping other customers. I forgot that the flash was on which made the camera take an extra second to fire just as he happened to be turning around. All it turns out he was selling was the right to take his picture. Fine....whatever. I'll give you a tip. He told us hold his sign while he took our picture and then said he accepted fives, tens and twenties. I told him I'm sure he did and gave him a buck for maybe 30 seconds worth of work. Then he started getting ugly.

The next morning Heather and I went to the St. Louis cemetery which is famous for its very old above-ground crypts. We specifically went in the morning rather than evening so it would be a bit safer. When we arrived, we found it to be in quite a bad neighborhood and even the morning didn't feel so safe. We walked around for maybe ten minutes before calling it quits. Well, I called it quits and Heather thought I was being a sissy. She's much tougher than I am. The cemetery itself was a bit of a disappointment to me as well; instead of aged and historic it was just old, crowded and in disrepair. Ehh...perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had been relaxed.

Bourbon Street was nice enough but it didn't feel much different than the main drag of a Spring Break town. I couldn't really appreciate the architecture or wrought-iron balconies in the dark of night. Didn't even see any boobies.

By the way, Heather is blogging too. You can follow her account at http://navigatingnewwaters.blogspot.com

Some Utah pics

• Salt Lake City
• Sego Petroglyphs
• Arches National Park

You may notice I'm lacking hair in some of these pics. The plastic guide fell off the clippers while in use so I had to choose between having a divot and going all the way. By now it's almost back at normal buzz-cut length.

Austin, TX

Since three of the four recommendations for travel destinations were for Austin, TX, I couldn't help but stop by and check it out. I had actually been to Austin once before with Amy (no, not that Amy, the other one) for the South By Southwest music festival. I expected a few bittersweet memories but actually I haven't recognized a single landmark from the previous trip.

Today I went to the Barton Springs pool which is basically a stretch of spring fed river they dam up slightly. The 68 degree, crystal clear water felt wonderful on a hot day, if a bit shocking at first. Toward sunset I went to the Congress Avenue bridge to watch 1.5 million bats pour out from the rafters. It was amazing to see them keep coming and coming.

Tomorrow I plan on stopping at Big Thicket National Preserve at the eastern end of Texas before continuing on toward New Orleans. In New Orleans I'll be meeting up with a surprise third travel companion. Heather recently quit her job and decided a road trip sounded good to her too. She'll be driving separately from North Carolina and we're leaving it open how long we travel in the same direction. Welcome aboard, Heather.

Perhaps I need to come up with some kind of application form for women to fill out if they want to join me for a segment of my road trip. Who knew I had such game?

One last request - I know some of you out there are fascist about grammar but nobody has yet pointed out any problems in my writing. Sometimes I read an article a week later and notice something glaringly wrong. Please send me a note or leave a comment (which I can delete after reading) if you think something should be fixed. Thanks!

Eclipse at Burning Man

In the month leading up to Burning Man I was excited yet a bit concerned about getting everything we needed to survive comfortably for a week in the desert. I'd already been living out of my Saturn for over a month and there wasn't all that much extra space for Ju-Hui, her gear and a week's worth of food and water for both of us. I tried to find someone online who could haul in water and a pair of bikes for us but none of the leads panned out. Eventually I gave up on the idea of bikes and resigned myself to leaving Burning Man mid-week to restock on water.

We stopped at one of the recommended water sellers in Reno on the way to BM. We started stuffing gallon jugs into nooks and crannies until, much to my suprise we got up to 22 gallons. At 1.5 gallons per person per day, we had the water thing covered. The Saturn was working hard under the load of all our gear, but didn't let us down. We just had to save A/C for when we happened to be going downhill.

After Reno we drove another two hours North, passing only a few very small towns. Some residents in the last town (ten or so miles short of the event) had a trailer full of used bikes left over after last year. What a good idea! For $70 we picked up both Ed and Ju-Hui sized bikes...now how to get them inside? I scribbled out a homemade sign and held it up for the incoming parade of Burners but after fifteen minutes and scores of vehicles, no luck. Ju-Hui took the sign from me and in about a minute had landed a nice couple with a big trailer who agreed to haul in our bikes. And that's how we met Watermelon and Cherubic.

Travelling always takes longer than one expects and by the time we dealt with traffic and got our tickets at Will Call it was nighttime. We wanted to set up camp somewhat close to where Watermelon and Cherubic said they'd be so we could retrieve our bikes, yet far enough away so as to be in a relatively quite section of the newly minted Black Rock City. Between the darkness, chaos and people trying to reserve vast tracts of land with a single traffic pylon, it took us a while to find a place to call home. Soon enough, though, we had our rebar-staked tent pitched and ventured out into the world.

Black Rock City is organized in a circular grid with the Man in the center. (PDF map) Radial streets go from 2:00 to 10:00 at :30 increments and cross streets go up alphabetically the further from the Man you get. Our home was at 8:40 between G(rassland) and H(abitat). Between 10:00 and 2:00 is the open playa, home to various large and small art installations as well as touring art cars just about anything you can imagine.

On our way out to the playa we met a camp of Hari Krishnas who were laying out lumber for a huge human powered cart they were building. They told us about its religious significance to them and how much they really identify with the idea of Burning Man. We intended to come back and help them build it but never made it back there. Between the heat, chaos and occasional sandstorms, things fall through the cracks for everyone at BM.

Continuing on to the playa we just walked around and soaked in as much as we could, noting places to come back to during the daytime. Around 2 AM, thousands of people stopped what they were doing to applaud a total lunar eclipse of a full moon. Some even shot of fireworks. On our way back we stopped by W&C's place and got our bikes. Just as we're drifting off to sleep we hear some people exclaim, "The Man is Burning!" but we were too tired to take them seriously.

Carlsbad Caverns and the Burning Man pics

I woke by 7:30, broke camp and drive to Carslbad Caverns NP. Though I got there by 9:30 the hardcore cave exploration tour was already sold out. Turns out it sells out a week in advance. I was rather annoyed with the Parks Service until I learned they only take eight people a week down in that particular area for conservation reasons. Oh well.

I did the self-guided tour and the King's Palace guided tour which were both quite good. The cleverly named Big Room could hold an ice skating rink as well as a few basketball courts. I met Louise on the King's Palace tour. She has been on a road trip almost as long as me. Instead of National Parks, she's watching a ball game at every single Major League Baseball field. She's up to 24 with 6 more to go. She's going to eventually post it all and send me a link. So there's at least two nuts in this world...

I started with over 550 Burning Man pics and got it down to under 200. I probably should delete more (especially the some of the temple/rainbow) but it is so hard to pull the trigger on some and I'm tired of fussing with it. This Burning Man set of pics is not safe for work but all in good fun. I'll add some narrative in future posts. Enjoy!

Star light, star bright

From White Sands NM I went South to El Paso, TX. I reached El Paso at just 9 and figured I'd get a room and call it an early day. The first group of motels didn't have wifi so I continued on a bit to the East (toward Guadalupe Mountain And Carlsbad Caverns NPs) to keep looking. Very quickly El Paso was in my rear-view and no lodging in sight. Oh well, how long could it take? Seriously, how long?

Let me just tell you, there is nothing but a border control checkpoint for 150 miles East of El Paso. I finally made it to Guadalupe Mountains NP and was able to get in and pitch my tent. Then I noticed the upside to being hours from civilization...the sky was darker and the stars brighter than I have ever seen in my life.

That was last night. I went on a 5.5 hour hike today here in GMNP and am now back in my tent with the rain fly off and all the windows open. I'm snug in my sleeping bag with the crickets chirping and most of the night sky in view. Life is good.

For the hike I new I needed to turn around at a certain time to make it back before dark and was a bit bummed that I wouldn't make the crest of the canyon. Being bull-headed, I pressed on anyway. Just as I was about to turn around I reached a hidden pass into the neighboring canyon; it was really breathtaking. The above picture shows part of it. The only other inhabitant was an eagle soaring in lazy circles at about my elevation.

Tomorrow I'm going to Carlsbad Caverns NP. Apparently they only offer the really gritty cave tour once a week and, as luck would have it, that day is tomorrow. There should be a bunch of bats flying out at sunset, too.

On to Las Cruces

The past two days have been really Intersting. Yesterday I stuck around in Tuscon and went to the Pima Air and Space Museum as well as Saguaro National Park. Today an hour side trip turned into an all day affair at Chiricahua National Monument; such a beautiful place.

I learned of Pima accidentally the night before as I got misdirected looking for lodging. It was dark but I could sense the silhouette of dozens of planes off to my left. This turned out to be the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) attached to at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Basically most military planes (from all branches) come here to either die, get fixed up or be scavenged for parts. Pima is a civilian outfit but they are able to offer tours in AMARG.

In addition, Pima has hundreds of military planes on site as well as lots of interesting displays. They have a whole building dedicated to the 390th Bombardment Group, a WWII bomber wing. The missions, crews and nose art are all lovingly catalogued. Though very successful, many in the 390th died in action and many more were shot down to become POWs. Reading the accounts got me a bit emotional, especially when I thought about what a mess of a war we are sending our young people into today.

I made it to Saguaro NP an hour or so before sunset. It was quite pretty. I came home with some good photos as well as a couple dozen hair-like cactus needles stuck in my leg. :)

Like Oregon Caves NM, I went to Chiricahua NM on a whim and was very pleasantly surprised. Within the first hour I had taken over 100 pictures (which I will go with the 1500 or so I still need to sort.) I saw several eagles soaring and lizards sunning. On the way out I ran over a snake (without it hitting my wheels.) I backed up to check it out and found a very angry rattlesnake coiled and shaking its tail.

Next up is the Las Cruces, New Mexico area with White Sands NM followed by Guadalupe Mountains NP and Carlsbad Caverns NP.

My Yosemite pics. Burning Man pics (and what stories I recall) will be next.

Bye, Ju-Hui!

For the second time this trip I've said goodbye to a friend and travel companion. Ju-Hui is back in Windsor, Ontario for the Fall semester. I'm really going to miss her.

I'm on the outskirts of Phoenix, heading South. I'll be going to Saguaro National Park before turning East towards home. Well, Raleigh. I'm not sure what home means to me at this point. I'm both tired and restless. Part of me wants to make it to the Mississippi River in a 24 hour binge of driving. But then what? An East Coast road trip? A Desperate Housewives marathon? All I know is I've had enough Phoenix traffic and stifling Southwest heat.

I'm thinking about checking out New Orleans and relaxing on the Gulf Coast. Other than that I'm not too inspired about places to visit in the southern, central part of the country. Please do send suggestions in the comments if you have any. And thanks to those of you who've added comments, in general.

Bay Area pics from two weeks ago.

A break from a break

In less than 24 hours I'll be dropping Ju-Hui off at the Phoenix airport. Before then we'll be stopping by the Grand Canyon and possibly a few national monuments (or Petrified Forest NP.) In the last week we've gone to:

• Salt Lake City
• Arches National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
  
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
  
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Zion National Park
• Las Vegas
• Hoover Dam
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area

In retrospect we probably should have been a bit less ambitious and therefore less rushed. But when are we/I going to have an opportunity like this again? Anyway, I will likely take a few days "off" in the Phoenix area to recharge (and likely catch up on my posting.)

Some pics from the California coast to tide you over.

Back from Black Rock City

Ju-Hui and I survived Burning Man. There was an impossible amount of interesting things to see and do. It was a lot of fun but it is nice to be back. And clean. And cool. And clean.

It is really great to be clean.

I'll post pics and stories when possible but with a with a whirlwind tour of Utah and Arizona national parks on tap for this week, they will be sporadic.

Next Stop: Burning Man

Ju-Hui (the woman formerly known as Natasha) and I have bid farewell to Yosemite and are on our way to Burning Man. We should be there in three or so hours and will be there until Labor Day. I've got a large backlog of pictures to sort and post but that will just have to wait until we get back; both power and internet will be fleeting if they are available at all.

Ju-Hui is pronounced "roo way". I used to use her anglicized name, Natasha, when talking to others but will just use Ju-Hui for now on.

Here's the plan for after BM.

The promised land

So I'm driving along, minding my own business when I see a divine apparition. A sign for the Ace-in-the-Hole Cider Pub. I could hardly believe my eyes. After years of suffering under the cold fascism of the Beer Hegemony, I found a place where my kind can feel safe and accepted. To my delight they took To-Go orders so I stocked up on all five flavors of brewed-on-the-premises cider.

On my way out the door I saw a man enjoying his cider in front of his laptop.

They have wifi here!

Truly this is the promised land. So I went out to my car and got my laptop and now sit here enjoying some fish and chips with my pear cider.

Partner in crime

Hello from Bodega Bay on CA-1. Later today I pick up Natasha at SFO. We'll spend a couple days in the Bay Area and a couple more in Yosemite before heading up to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for Burning Man. After BM we'll do a tour of several national parks in Utah and Arizona. On the 9th I'll drop her off at the airport in Phoenix and decide where I want to go from there. It was nice being alone for a bit but I'm definitely looking forward to having a fellow traveler again.

I'll have some pics from the coastal highway soon.

Pics for Redwood National and State Parks and Oregon Caves National Monument.

Late night in the Motel 6 parking lot

Stumbled on this. Hilarious.

Oregon Caves National Monument

I'm sitting at a hike-in campsite on the Pacific Coast somewhere in the patchwork of parks comprising the Redwood National and State Parks in California. I'm not on the beach but I can hear the waves roll in down at the bottom of the bluff, Heaven forbid I break the rules and actually sleep on the beach. I'm actually a bit paranoid I'll have a ticket on my car in the morning; I don't think I'm allowed to park overnight where I picked up the trail. Sometimes I wish I could turn off the hyper-conservative, risk-averse part of my brain. Oh well, that's me.

Around the corner is a nice family who seem to be something between hippies and gun-toting survivalists. They have a young child of unknown sex digging in the dirt in a pair of briefs. Other than that it is just me and the waves. No stars tonight...I think there might be a semi-permanent cloud bank in this part of the world.

I actually haven't been in the area long enough to scout out the beach. On a whim I went to Oregon Caves National Monument and spent the bulk of the day there. I ended up pitching my tent here in the last bit of dusk.

I'm so glad I went to Oregon Caves. The cave was cave-tastic, made even better by the enthusiastic tour guide and the rugrats in our group who were absolutely delighted. The kids would would see all sorts animals and faces in rock formations that just looked like, well, rock formations to us adults. I love kids...other people's kids.

The pleasant surprise for OCNM, though, was the hillside trails through old-growth forest. Everything was damp and green and alive. The place was crawling with big snails; apparently they thrive in mineral rich areas like the park where they can soak up the raw materials to construct their shell. It makes sense in retrospect. The main attraction was the huge, mist-shrouded trees. The effect was as strong for me as Crater Lake but without the advance expectation.

Alright class, who can tell me the difference between a National Park and a National Monument? I thought it was a matter of size, but this is wrong. A National Park is created by an act of Congress, while a National Monument is created by the President. Perhaps if President Bush can take a break from suspending habeas corpus, pardoning political cronies and tearing up portions of the constitution he finds inconvenient, he can create more of these wonderful places. OCNM was created by President Taft.


The next morning...err afternoon.

I've been sitting in a cafe for several hours today waiting for pictures to upload. Apparently they don't have a cable modem. Anyway it is nice to sit for a bit. The OCNM pics will have to wait and by then I should have some Redwood N&SP pics as well.

Camping has turned me into a bit of a morning person. Today I had a nice beach walk, broke camp and hauled the stuff back to my car all before 9am. I'm not even cranky.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park was absolutely awe inspiring. No matter how many times you see the lake, it touches you all over again. And it really is that blue. I luckily got one of the last available campsites...keep forgetting about concepts like 'weekends'. I successfully programmed my cell phone to wake me at 8 (two reasons to gasp!) so I could hike up Mount Scott (tallest in park) in the morning. Apparently the light is best before noon. I wasn't disappointed. Sadly they didn't allow the public into the watchtower. I would have moved in if they let me.

In early afternoon I hiked down into the crater. Unfortunately the tour boat was sold out (and later cancelled for high winds) so I couldn't get to the island in the middle of the lake. I did go for a swim though. Sure it was freezing, but I hadn't had a shower for over two days (with lots of hiking) and when the hell am I going to get a chance to swim in a volcanic crater again? My goal was to make it around the first buoy and I ended up turning around about 15 yards short since my lungs wanted to explode from the cold. I would have pressed on but I couldn't see the bottom despite the water being crystal clear...I doubt it could have been shallower than 50 feet deep and possibly much more.

On my way out of the park I hiked to Lightning Springs. Odd to see water just flowing out of the ground. Speaking of flowing, nothing flows into or out of Crater Lake. All the water consists of rain and snow melt within the boundaries of the crater itself. It helps that it is the second snowiest place in America.

Central Oregon drive

The drive from Hermiston down toward Crater Lake (I-84 West and US-97 South) had some lovely scenery. I-84 is entirely in the Columbia River Gorge and US-97 goes in and around several national forests along a mountain range. Central/eastern Oregon is very dry right now and I passed right next to a forest fire. I also spent some time in Smith Rock State Park, near Bend OR, which is famous for rock climbing...just wish I got there a bit earlier in the day. I camped near La Pine.

Pics.

Ed is not extreme

I spent the next three nights in Hermiston, OR. There isn't a whole lot going on there other than Brett, McNary Dam/Columbia River and mountain biking so that's what occupied me. Brett took his friend and I on a four mile course that completely kicked my butt. I mean that somewhat literally; even though my bike had front and rear suspension it hurt to sit for days afterward. I even walked the last mile. The terrain was very rugged and beautiful, though; I wouldn't mind going again after training on some tamer courses. I recommend not going at noon when it is over 100 degrees. Unfortunately, the pics show only the last leg of the route which was comparatively tame.

Pics (including Brett and I goofing off with the laptop camera. Beware!).

Last day in Seaside

I ended up staying a third night in Seaside. Nicole, (the hostel employee at the dinner three posts down) Gabrielle (another hostel guest) and I went to nearby Cannon Beach for a bit before going to The Simpsons Movie. Nicole has been to Burning Man twice and has given me lots of good pointers for what to bring and do. That night we had quite a collection of people at the campfire; lots of different backgrounds and viewpoints and we had lots of good discussions. It was the peak night for the Perseid meteor shower so I had a star map up on my laptop and we held it above our head to compare it to the sky to pick out constellations and likely locations for meteors. Things didn't die down until four in the morning...really fun.

Pics.

Ping

Howdy folks. Still alive. I've spent a few days in Hermiston, OR with my brother, Brett, and just left Crater Lake National Park an hour ago. Internet and even cell reception are hard to come by in central Oregon. I've got some Crater Lake pics to make it all worth it, though. Stay tuned.

No Google

I'd been involved in a drawn out phone interview series with Google. Yesterday they said "No thanks." I wasn't happy with how I did on the last two, so I don't blame them.

No other irons in the fire. No plans to put any in. Just full speed ahead slacking.

Still in Seaside

Your trusty reporter is coming to you live from the Seaside International Hostel campfire. There are more than a dozen of us listening to Colin sing some Neil Young, Bob Dylan and other songs. He's really good. A couple hours ago I came back to the hostel to be invited to eat with a family I'd never met before. The stir-fry was just sitting there steaming so I plopped down my hummus, Triscuits and tragically warm hard cider on the dinner table and joined them. It was the parents, two grown daughters, one of their boyfriends and one of the staff here at the hostel along with me. The family is just wrapping up a two and a half week reunion vacation. We had lots of good stories and laughs...felt like being back in Toledo.

I had a great time on the beach today. Not sure what I can say about it that the pictures can't do better. I caught the doubles finals for both men and women. For some reason I seem to have more pictures of the women's match. Go figure.

The water was a bit to cold too swim in for an extended length of time. Luckily Seaside has an indoor lap pool I was able to get a nice long workout in for a cool $2.50. My back had been not been feeling well since the Olympic NP hikes but I'm a new man after a $130 visit to a chiropractor on Thursday in Portland. He showed me some stretches that have helped a lot. Worth every penny.

Hmm...everyone has cleared out for the night. It isn't even midnight yet. Lightweights.

Seaside, OR (pics)

I still haven't fulfilled my mission of sleeping on the beach but I'm getting closer!

I planned on pitching a tent at Fort Stevens State Park on the coast but made the mistake of waiting until 6pm on a Friday to find a spot. They were full as were the next couple camp sites. An overcrowded KOA Campground had a few spot in their overflow lot for $35. I decided to press my luck even though it was getting close to 7 by now. I really liked the solitude of hike-in camping from the night before but couldn't be overly choosy at this point. The Seaside Hostel was nearby but I was sure they'd be booked. I called to see if I could pitch a tent on their lawn and they ended up having bunks available. Sweet!

The highlight, though, was a sunset kayak excursion leaving a few minutes after I checked in. This guy Colin gives nightly kayak tours for the hostel in exchange for rent. He is taking a bike tour from Vancouver Island down to Mexico and decided to stop here for a while. He alternates between kayak and snowboard instructing in whichever hemisphere suits him at the time. Six of us paddled from the river the hostel overlooks to where it meets the ocean. We had some tea and string cheese on a sandbar while watching the sun set. Hundreds of seagulls rested on the beach and hovered in the breeze around us. It was beautiful.

We got back at dark and I decided to get some groceries. The hostel has a delightfully old and creaky bike with a big basket (pedal backwards to brake) that I took on the errand. I took a detour down to the beach to watch the waves roll in and see the stars. The beach was peppered with campfires and people walking in the dark; the air warm and breezy. Next I pedaled back up the main drag which was alive with restaurants and bars and shops and vacationers.

I returned home with my groceries to a handful of folks sitting around a campfire while Colin played some bluegrass on a guitar. Bananas, peanut butter sandwiches and hummus never tasted so good. People got to telling about their various adventures and a few had been to Burning Man or had close friends who had. I got some good tips for places to stay as I make my way down to San Francisco. The owner of the hostel is a sweet little Vietnamese woman, Trung, with grown children. She told of a Pikes Peak climb gone wrong. She saved an unprepared couple from hypothermia with soup and heated water bottles. She was grateful to hear their snoring all night because it meant she didn't have to carry bodies down the mountain the next morning.

That's all for now. About to go check out a big volleyball tournament on the beach near here (20 or so nets). I'll do my duty and report back on how the women look in their bikinis.

Oh yeah, Trung asked me if I want to build a sauna for her in exchange for lodging. Hmm?

Late night thoughts

It is 11 at night and just about pitch black. I'm sitting at a hike-in primitive camp site in the strangely stupendous Stub Stewart State Park between Portland and the Pacific. There is maybe one other camper withing a half mile. Just me and the crickets. I actually have my pocketknife ready in case a bear wanders by. The rest of this post is me being introspective on a lonely night rather than fun travel stuff.

For most of my adult life I've been very content to be a loner. Do what I want, when I want. Don't plan anything. If something interesting comes up, go along for the ride; otherwise there's always a movie, book or the internet. Family will always be there and acquaintances will always be around without really having to work at it. I crave richer/fuller relationships and find myself a bit at a loss as to why I don't have more at this point in my life. Sure I don't strike up a conversation with strangers, or call up friends to do things or remember people's birthdays or even bother to pick up the phone half the time it rings, but why should that matter? Shouldn't fabulously interesting people be seeking me out on my terms?

I'm a weird guy (shocking!) and I realize that people I'm really able to connect with will most likely also be weird. Generally, though, I determine people are not weird in enough of the same dimensions as me to really get me or be worth investing a lot of effort in (and occasionally vice versa). Maybe I'm too picky or maybe this is just life. I always assumed that given enough time and chance encounters, I would accumulate more and closer relationships than I have. It would seem to be time for some changes but I'm not sure what will be fruitful (or if I'm too set in my ways.)

Portland (w/pics)

I've spent the better part of a week in Portland. I left yesterday and am now in Astoria, OR on the coast where the Columbia River lets out. Astoria has the charm of a small town and the traffic/parking of NYC. Odd. I'll probably work my way down the coast for a day or two.

Portland stuff:

• Stayed at a hostel on E. Hawthorne.
• Hung out downtown.
• Met Amy's friends, Miles and Rachael.
• Met up with Kelly and her dog Henry.
• Went to Powell's a couple times. (huge bookstore)
• Went to two different rose gardens.
• Went to a traditional Japanese garden. This was really pretty. (I wish I had gone earlier in the day to get better light.)
  

Cell phone

For someone supposedly up on technology, I've never cared for gadgets. I don't have a PDA, MP3 player, GPS or, until recently, a cell phone. Apart from the monthly expense, I didn't want to deal with keeping the dumb thing charged or worry about losing it. Despite not wanting a cell, my friend Jen bought me a pay-as-you-go phone for my birthday so I could no longer hide from her. It has actually worked out really well...a cell comes in handy when out on the road. Next year I think I will ask Jen for an iPhone. :)

At some point on the road, my cell phone just died. The screen would light up when the phone was charging but would be blank apart from that. After going without for a week I found a Cingular store in downtown Portland and went to get it fixed. I don't like stores and don't have much faith in the teenagers that work in them but what else could I do? I didn't even know if it could be fixed, being an ultra-cheap model. I walked up to the (I'm guessing high school) girl at the counter and handed it to her. A few seconds later she handed it back to me fixed.

You just need to turn it on.

Apparently the phone is usually on "stand-by". After the battery got drained on the road it switched to "off" and one needs to hold down the red button for 3 seconds to turn it back on.

Teenagers 1 - Ed 0.