Impending Slackerdom

McCain's VP

2008-09-03T01:22:00.003-04:00

Archival recording of McCain inviting Palin to be his VP.

Olympics

2008-08-24T21:57:00.006-04:00

A few notes about the Olympics:

I love the Olympics.
I've long thought NBC coverage of the Olympics was crappy. Drama over sport and only showing events dominated by Americans or attractive, white non-Americans.
nbcolympics.com is actually pretty good. You can watch a broad cross section of events, many with no commentary or only technical commentary. (No "Ra-Ra Go USA!" or "Jim-Bob came back from adversity to be here today.")
nbcolympics.com commercial selection sucks. I've seen the trailer for Tropic Thunder literally at least 50 times in the past week. It was uninteresting the first time around. I vow to die never having seen that movie.
Women's High Jump has replaced women's Beach Volleyball as my my favorite Olympic event of all time. Sorry, Misty!

BJ and Warren

2008-08-13T02:03:00.007-04:00

I met BJ Lawson when I got involved in the Ron Paul campaign. BJ was the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup organizer and decided he felt so strongly about responsible government that he'd run for Congress. I worked on BJ's campaign for the last couple months before I moved to Seattle and got to know him as a smart, hard working and very determined man. You can check out his campaign at lawsonforcongress.com.

I've long intended to write about his campaign but fell out of the habit of blogging regularly. The thing that gave me the final push today was learning that BJ's campaign is sponsoring the premier of a new documentary about the impending financial disaster of our national debt, I.O.U.S.A. The best part is that after the showing there will be a discussion with an A-list panel including my personal hero, Warren Buffett. Warren is to clean business what BJ and Ron Paul are to clean government. The world would be a richer place in every sense of the word if there were more people like these three.

Sadly I won't be in Raleigh on the 21st but if you are, be sure to check out the premier and meet at least two really good people.

Anniversary

2008-07-20T15:16:00.005-04:00

Well, it has been a full year since leaving SAS and starting this blog. I'm very much a creature of habit and I can completely forget about the passage of time if I don't make a conscious effort to think about it. But time marches on - people age, relationships ebb and flow, and things of crucial importance become trivial (and vice versa).

A year ago I had a blank slate and didn't know what I'd do with it. I knew I wanted to make some changes in my life but I wasn't sure exactly what those should be. And I was realistic that external changes like job and locale were not really what it was about. So how'd I do? I'm basically happy with my choices but I still have the same vague gut feeling that something is not as it should be. Is that just normal? Will I still feel that way this time next year? How much will I grow?

I can hardly remember who I was nine years ago when I came to North Carolina. Or the nine years before that when I entered high school with a face full of acne. Or the nine years before that when I was playing with blocks in kindergarten. But you hardly ever notice the change as it happens which I guess is a shame.

In nine more years I will be over 40. What a preposterous idea.

The Best of Youth

2008-05-28T03:18:00.002-04:00

I just saw The Best of Youth and loved it. It is the best thing to come out of Italy since Monica Bellucci. It follows two brothers for over 30 years starting at the end of college. You see their everyday joy, sadness, love and heartbreak against the historical and sometimes turbulent backdrop of modern Italy. Loved ones die; children are born and shaped and come in to their own. Life!

Not sure how else to express it, so I'll leave it at that. Be aware that this movie is six hours (on two dvds) and is in Italian with subtitles. No need to watch it all in one go, though.

DC pics

2008-05-18T18:19:00.004-04:00

About a month ago I went Washington DC with Sarah. We caught the final weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival. The blossoms were mostly gone but we had some nice weather and got to take a tour of the White House grounds which is only offered two times a year. I hadn't seen Arlington National Cemetery before and am glad I got a chance to before heading out West.

Pics

John From Cincinnati

2008-05-11T20:44:00.004-04:00

I watched John From Cincinnati (an HBO series) this past week and boy was it good. HBO makes such good stuff that I long ago stopped watching regular television. And watching the series on Netflix makes it cheap and easy; "I don't have HBO" is no excuse.

It is hard to give much of a synopsis of JFC. It reminds me a bit of X-Files where the audience keeps picking up clues but never enough know what lies in store for the characters. Add some LSD to the writer's room and set it in a surfing community and you've got yourself a show.

If you aren't accustomed to shows that make you scratch your head, start off with The Wire, The Sopranos or Six Feet Under from HBO. They are less trippy than JFC.

First week at Amazon

2008-05-11T20:40:00.002-04:00

My first week on the job was nice enough, but not very eventful. There is even more to learn than the large amount I was already expecting. Hopefully for this coming week I will have all the accounts and permissions squared away and can begin to do real work.

I'm in a cubical but it is fairly isolated and has a nice view of Qwest Field (where the Seattle Seahawks play) and Seattle's container port. And I am right in the midst of the people in my group which will be quite useful. My group gets along great and has been very welcoming to me; we went to lunch every day and out to the waterfront after work on Friday.

Nothing much else to report, but I wanted to put something up since I know people are curious. I'm happy that I decided to work for Amazon; it is way nerdier than SAS which is what I was looking for.

Meeting people

2008-05-05T02:06:00.002-04:00

I got moved into my apartment yesterday and transfered the stuff from my temporary housing today. As I was walking across my new courtyard my way was blocked by ten or twelve people taking swings at a pinata for Cinco de Mayo. I put down my suitcases to watch the show and am immediately informed that it was my turn. So I was blindfolded and spun and made a few pathetic swings. They went out of there way to make me feel welcome. I happened to have a few leftover ciders in my suitcase and passed them around to my new friends. As a bonus, at least half were nerds; Amazon, Microsoft, and Google were all represented. After the pinata candy was all eaten I went up to one their apartments to play Rock Band and Scene It on the Xbox for an hour. I'm really happy to have started meeting some people...

Tomorrow I report to work at 8:30 for orientation. Yeeha!

The eagle has landed

2008-04-24T00:32:00.005-04:00

I made it to Seattle today. I've run the whole gamut of emotions. Fingers crossed.

It's not a dress rehearsal.

ACK!

2008-04-22T11:12:00.002-04:00

My place is all packed and half emptied. I'm not usually all that sentimental but this is a bit unnerving. Is it too late to change my mind? Eight years of memories. Most of my adult life.

I need a drink. Too bad the liquor is already packed...

Open Invitation for Thursday Evening

2008-04-16T11:44:00.005-04:00

A week from today I'm leaving for the next chapter of my life in Seattle with Amazon.com. Procrastination and a busy schedule means I haven't been doing a good job saying my individual 'goodbye's. I'm going to be having an informal 'open house' kind of thing at Torero's on Harrison Ave. across from SAS tomorrow (Thursday, April 17) after work. I'll be eating burritos and drinking margaritas on the back patio from 5 until 7:30 or so or as late as people want to hang out. The weather is supposed to be great! (update: I will be inside if the patio happens to be closed.)

Sorry about the late notice, but hopefully it will be easy for people to stop by for a bit after work if they are so inclined. Please don't feel obligated if it doesn't work out, I know many of you are introverts like me and have busy schedules to boot.

Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested. All are welcome. It should go without saying, but please no gifts.

It's not your fault

2008-04-10T01:26:00.003-04:00

Recently a friend confided in me that they had been molested as a child. "Molested" is actually a bit tame of a word for what happened. The memory had been mostly buried until the recent news coverage of abuse and forced child marriage in a polygamist group in West Texas. I was the first person they had ever told.

Fortunately I never went through anything like that as a child but I did have an unpleasant episode as an adult several years ago. I've told a couple people over the years but always felt very embarrassed and shameful recounting the story (though the episode itself holds no power over me...it is just a learning experience at this point.)

I was alone on vacation, walking back to my hotel at the end of the night. Ahead of me a panhandler was getting in this guy's face. The guy was a bit rattled and saw a friendly face in me. "Would you mind crossing the street with me and walking down a block so I can get past this guy?", he asked. The situation wasn't quite that bad but I figure why not if it makes him feel better.

We got to chatting about my trip and the city and whatever. With the panhandler safely behind us he asked if I want to get a cup of coffee with him. It's a bit odd but what is visiting new places for if not to try new things. We walk a bit further and arrive not at a coffee shop but at his car. "The coffee shop is a bit too far to walk to." I would never have agreed to get in a car with him but since I agreed to get coffee I felt honor-bound to go through with it. There's a bunch of junk in the back seat covered by a sheet; I quickly felt it as I got in the car to make sure it wasn't severed heads or something.

The short drive became a bit longer as we get on the Interstate for a few miles. This is not what I had bargained for. "We'll just go to my place for some coffee and I'll drop you back off at your hotel." I was definitely on guard now but there wasn't much I can do from the passenger seat of a moving car. When we got to his place I am not impressed. It is a roach motel. There is no coffee. The conversation had remained superficially friendly but dripping with tension. In retrospect I should have just called a cab but at the time I was absolutely focused on maintaining the friendly charade and getting him to take me back to my hotel as promised. Plus I didn't want to give him any cause to draw a weapon if he had one. "Yes, I'll take you back. After we've talked for a while."

I didn't have much to say but he did. He told me about a suicidal teen he took in a few years ago. How the kid wasn't really gay but they came to be lovers anyway. How he was able to control him. How he graciously "released" him and allowed him to get married and start a family. How he could reclaim him at any time with a simple phone call. Through it all I just glared silently. Waiting. He had more to tell me but he wanted to give me a massage while he did so. "I want you to take me home now." I said calmly but forcefully. The charade was over. "Maybe I will and maybe I won't." he replied.

I remained firm about him promising to take me back and was very glad to have a good 40 lbs. on the guy. But he was on home turf and I had no idea where we were or if he had a weapon. We ended up reaching a bargain that is hard for me to admit to even today. He said he'd take me back if I let him take a picture of my feet and another of my face. "Fine!", I said through gritted teeth. Though he was annoyed I refused to smile for the camera, we did get back in the car afterwards. On the ride back I was quiet but seething with anger and shame. He threatened to drop me off in a part of town where "white boys don't last too long."

I quietly plotted a million different kinds of retribution. Upon pulling up to my hotel and getting out I settled for kicking off the passenger side mirror (he was very fond of his Mercedes). The plastic and glass shattered into a million satisfying pieces. That's the price for a photo of my feet, asshole. I tried to break the passenger side window, too, but it held. After two seconds of rage, fear (of him and of the cops) took over and I ran into the hotel. The elevator couldn't open or close fast enough; once inside I pushed buttons for floors other than mine so I wouldn't be followed. My heart has never beaten harder than it did in that elevator.

It ruined my vacation but in the end I got off cheap. I made some absolutely stupid and embarrassing mistakes but I still didn't deserve to be treated that way. And I was a grown man. To my friend and all the others out there who have been victimized (as children or otherwise), IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT! Predators target those who are unable to defend themselves and use your own sense of right and wrong to keep you off balance and submissive. They plan out their scenarios far in advance and you have only seconds to react. They capitalize on the fact that we are raised to see the good in others.

Say it to yourself. "It is not my fault."

Now say it again.

Condo For Sale

2008-04-04T01:04:00.002-04:00

With pizazz !

Imp Ending Slackerdom

2008-03-31T01:34:00.005-04:00

(click picture for a larger version)

An interesting period of my life is drawing to a close. Slackerdom is over; I'm going back to work.

I'll also be leaving North Carolina and SAS Institute after almost nine years (counting this Leave of Absence). Both have been very good to me and will be missed. And who knows, I may be back some day.

In the fourth week of April I will be moving out to Seattle, Washington to take a job with Amazon.com. I'll be working on their supply chain software (inventory/shipping/etc.)

The next few weeks will be a blur. There's a lot of people I need to meet up with again before I ship out. I'll be visiting SAS and making rounds. I'll also set up a time to sit out on Torero's back patio to throw back a few margaritas and reminisce about the MVA W-layer and the indefatigable JBI project. I guess I'll need a similar event for non-work friends that don't speak Nerd.

That's all for now. Start checking out airfare to Seattle and remember to order lots of books online!

Lightning

2008-03-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

A few minutes ago lightning just struck right outside my bedroom window. My heart is still racing. I'm not used to feeling mortal.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw electricity arc out of something on my desk (which I was sitting at). Nothing seems to be damaged though.

Hopefully the rain will at least put a dent in North Carolina's drought.

Patriotism

2008-02-22T01:08:00.007-05:00

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. -- Hermann Goering

(From politico.com, click image for larger version)

Respect

2008-02-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

I came to Ron Paul because he was for libertarian ideals, a change in our foreign policy and sound fiscal policy. The latter position is a breath of fresh air when the two major parties are locked in a battle to the death over whether we should spend recklessly on the military or whether we should spend recklessly on social programs. Essentially, which set of corporations and special interest groups should get the pork. Paul is running as a Republican because he supports what they claim to stand for on paper, though not at all in practice. This page shows the conventional wisdom that the Republicans are fiscally conservative to be complete fiction.

Given that McCain seems certain to win the Republican nomination and Paul has ruled out a third party run, I ask myself who, among McCain, Hillary and Obama, I'd prefer as president. None have made fiscal restraint as central to their campaign as I think is warranted to avoid long-term damage to the economy (though I'm sure they all pay lip service to it.) On foreign policy, however, Obama is by far the best choice.

We should engage the friendly nations of the world instead of demanding they follow our lead. We should talk openly with Iran and Cuba. They are both the victims of acknowledged U.S. plots to overthrow their government, yet we act indignant when they don't make such-and-such concessions as a precondition of negotiations. So their wary governments become radicalized against us. We should openly acknowledge mistakes made in Iraq and pain inflicted on its people. Instead we just blame the al Qaeda boogeyman for 100% of what's gone wrong like we are innocent bystanders. In short, we need to learn some humility and respect.

The culture of respect (or lack thereof) of people who think differently goes back to what I was saying in the last post. This video shows a long, but very good, speech by Obama about tolerance and respect in a democratic society. I defintely encourage you to watch it. If Paul is not on the ballot I will vote for either Obama or a third party candidate.

NBC is a bunch of pansies

2008-02-08T21:03:00.000-05:00

Hillary had her daughter Chelsea make calls to some of the Democratic superdelegates asking for their support. That's fine...free country. An anchor on MSNBC expresses disapproval that Chelsea was 'pimped out' for political reasons. That's fine...free country. Hillary gets mad and threatens to remove herself from scheduled political debate on MSNBC. Sigh...free country. NBC makes multiple on-air apologies, forces anchor to apologize on-air, and suspends anchor. Grr...free country? (AP story)

Don't want your daughter to be in the media spotlight? Then don't use her for political means. At 27 she's a big girl now and can decide for herself.

I'm sick of politicians who can't tolerate any dissention. "You're either with us or against us!" If those are my two options, then I guess I'm against you. The other choice means giving into your coercion. There's a name for that. Terrorism. This attitude is why people don't stay informed or get active in politics. This attitude is why our foreign policy and reputation is in tatters.

I'm sick of news media that lacks any kind of balls or integrity. Instead of Woodward and Bernstein style investigative journalism we are led to believe the whole story can be covered by letting someone with an 'R' and someone with a 'D' after their name speak for 20 seconds each. FOX News, ever so efficient, eliminates the person with the 'D'.

Microsoft bids for Yahoo!

2008-02-02T02:03:00.000-05:00

I often stumble on things on the internet that I find interesting but not quite enough to blog about. Today there were two such things: Microsoft's $44B offer to buy Yahoo! and the above snapshot of two men on the verge of giving in to exquisite carnal bliss. I decided the parallels between the two ran deeper than one might expect.

As both a nerd and a software professional, I've always found Microsoft to be distasteful and corrosive. They habitually behave in a way that restricts consumer choice and competition. They use their dominant position in one market to preempt competition in other markets despite producing low quality goods. There's nothing so annoying to an engineer than seeing manipulation get in the way of an optimal solution.

Given a long enough timeline, however, markets prevail. The growing technical superiority of Linux on one end and the design and polish of Apple on the other have started to bring back some good old competition. Microsoft is still giant, but mortal. Today MSFT trades at $30.45 which is the same price some people paid for it all the way back in 1998! Bill Gates is rich but not getting much richer.

The most pressing concern for Microsoft now is Google. On the Internet, Microsoft's dominance on the desktop counts for little and they are faced with competitors that actually want to serve their customers rather than treat them as captives. Money and power can't 'fix' that, especially when none of the nerds want to come work for you due to your track record.

Yahoo! was a plucky startup that made a lot of good choices as the internet was coming of age and then some not so good ones. Over time, they lost much of their spark, uniqueness and customer focus and fell behind Google despite a big head start. Given these problems, I find it implausible that joining with super-bland Microsoft will provide any benefit or even slow the decline.

As a libertarian and not being particularly gullible I've always found George Bush to be distasteful and corrosive. He trades in fear rather than reason and has no respect for civic debate or the rule of law. He completely disregards the half of the country that didn't vote for him and then went the extra step of disregarding many of the people who did vote for him, too. Over time his flaws caught up with him, leaving him politically weakened and discredited but still a viable force for his remaining year in office.

John McCain was a plucky politician at a time when people were growing tired of partisan politics. A maverick. Engineer of the Straight Talk Express. Respected for being above the fray. Over time he lost his independence. He became a cheerleader for the debacle that is the occupation of Iraq. Now he tells the public that the Surge is working and that he is prepared to dig into a hundred year war there. Yet even now our soldiers are dying at a rate of 'just' one a day. So expect another 350 deaths under Bush and 1500 under McCain were he to get four years in the White House. So much for the Straight Talk Express.

Well, it's late and I don't want to stretch this post's metaphor any further or invest time in the kind of tie-it-all-together concluding paragraph they teach you about in Composition 101. Plus my readers from the road trip posts are tired of me blabbing about politics by now. Peace out.

Charlie Wilson's War

2008-01-26T01:13:00.001-05:00

I just saw Charlie Wilson's War. It tells the story of a congressman who guided the US military and CIA to arm the Afghani mujaheddin against the Soviets in the early 80's. Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit despite some flaws. What little combat footage there was consisted of grainy footage from 25+ years ago interleaved with bad special effects; also I felt like I was watching Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts rather than Charlie Wilson and Joanne Herring. The story was decent and had you rooting for the good guys even though you knew "good" would gradually lose all meaning.

The writing for the dialog, however, was spectacular. Aaron Sorkin was the writer for some of the best shows to ever grace network television (Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60) and he brought the same fast, witty, biting dialog he did to those shows. Hopefully we can get the whole writer's strike behind us and Sorkin can get back to plying his trade.

Two other writers who are way ahead of the pack are Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) and David Milch. (Deadwood)

Who are your favorite writers/directors/actors? Leave a comment!

Pics from SC

2008-01-26T00:48:00.000-05:00

Haven't posted any pics in a while, but I liked a few I took in South Carolina.

The cemetery was really neat although these pics only partly capture it. Most of the tombstones had a last name of 'Venning' on them and the main street nearby was also 'Venning'. The area was a mix of really old, poor (but proud), dirt roads as well as swanky new subdivisions.

Also pictured are an aquarium at a sushi joint, a very young supporter of limited constitutional government, and Ron Paul himself.

Back from SC

2008-01-23T15:56:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back from South Carolina where, thanks to my help, Ron Paul had his poorest finish yet with only 4% of the vote. He did end up getting 2nd in Nevada with 14% on the same day, so it isn't all bad.

I went down to SC on the premise that there would be plenty of back office stuff to do. Something on the computer perhaps or even stuffing envelops. In the end I was 'encouraged' to do phone banking and door-to-door canvassing. Both go against my introverted and "live and let live" personality but I wanted to contribute and there weren't any alternatives on the horizon. There were some high points (getting to know the fellow canvassers, talking to a nice old man for 56 minutes, seeing a bit of Charleston) and low points (getting within a whisker of a very angry dog attacking me, being told I'm not welcome in this neighborhood). I don't necessarily regret going but I will never canvas/phone bank again. Not for peace in the Middle East, a billion dollars, or two chicks at the same time.

I came across this music video and it spoke to me about optimism, politics and community. Watch it...it will bring a smile to your face.

2nd in Nevada?

2008-01-19T17:27:00.000-05:00

With 78% of the precincts reporting, Ron Paul is running second in Nevada. It will be great to have such a high finish. The polls in South Carolina don't close for another hour and a half so there are no results yet. We'll be leaving Charleston, SC shortly for Columbia where the Ron Paul victory party will be tonight. Hopefully our canvassing and phone banking have made a difference.

On the road again

2008-01-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

I'm on I-95 barrelling South to Charleston, SC to canvas for Ron Paul. There are four of us from the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup group going and hope to get a few more later in the week. The South Carolina primary is this Saturday and we're hopeful we can improve the ~10% results Dr. Paul has gotten in the primaries so far. Today is Michigan primary and from what we hear Paul will get 4th ahead of Giuliani and Thompson.

When I say we're canvassing for Ron Paul I mean the others in the car are. I did canvassing for Kerry in 2004 and found it excruciating. (Especially since I knew I'd be voting third party anyway...I just hated Bush that much.) I often prefer not to talk to people I like so knocking on a complete stranger's door and initiating a conversation is just not something I'm built for. I will offer to do logistics or computer stuff or just about anything else for the campaign that doesn't involve ringing doorbells.

I didn't decide to go until today. I'm not sure what this week will hold, but it should be an adventure. Wish me luck!

"Once" and "Juno"

2008-01-14T02:40:00.000-05:00

I saw Once tonight and really liked it. It's a very simple but well told story about a boy and a girl. They are both musicians so it borders on a musical at times but not in a way that would bug people who don't care for them.

Friday I saw Juno in a theater which was quite packed for a movie not involving wizards or pirates. I also really liked this one. A high school girl gets pregnant and is none to happy about it. Offbeat, irreverent and funny like Knocked Up but that's about as far as the similarities go. Juno explores adoption; I have no idea why this isn't a more pursued option in our society.

Not the most verbose reviews you will ever read, but oh well. For a real reviewer, check out the Filthy Critic. His Kung Fu is strong.

Sigh

2007-12-17T12:51:00.000-05:00

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

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!

2007-12-17T02:31:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-06T00:24:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-02T00:27:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-11-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-23T02:59:00.001-05:00

Climax at Burning Man

2007-11-21T04:25:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-14T03:06:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-13T23:13:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-31T15:47:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-31T04:54:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-10-30T02:53:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-23T01:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-12T01:26:00.000-04:00

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

Yet more Utah pics

2007-10-03T00:21:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-02T22:35:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-24T14:11:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-24T03:14:00.000-04:00

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

Stay tuned for more on Burning Man...

Back home

2007-09-22T20:18:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-09-21T12:35:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-21T12:02:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-19T01:43:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-18T02:18:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-18T02:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-16T01:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-13T03:17:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-10T16:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-09T02:31:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-04T00:28:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-27T15:06:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-22T18:13:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-21T01:09:00.000-04:00

Stumbled on this. Hilarious.

Oregon Caves National Monument

2007-08-20T17:04:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-20T14:58:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-20T13:43:00.001-04:00

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

2007-08-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-14T19:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-12T01:44:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-08-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-10T18:51:00.000-04:00

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)

2007-08-10T18:37:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-10T17:51:00.000-04:00

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.

:(

2007-08-07T14:40:00.000-04:00

Amy is on her way back to NC. Grad school awaits her.

A week in review and Olympic NP pics

2007-08-05T19:18:00.000-04:00

So, what to say? We spent a couple days in Boulder at a camp site with wifi. Is there anything better? Drove all the way to Hermiston, OR in one day (~16 hours) to recharge and hang out with my brother, Brett and my mom who happened to be visiting him. We took a tour of McNary Dam where Brett works and checked out the turbines and fish monitoring apparatus. A good time was had by all.

Next we drove to Seattle and took a ferry to Vashon Island and spent a few nights sleeping in a teepee with its own fire pit. Sadly I forgot to take pictures but it was a lot of fun. By the third morning my pancakes had improved from pale piles of half-cooked mush into perfect golden circles. I'm having mixed feelings about actually preparing my own food...it probably won't become a habit at this phase of my life. Or ever.

After Vashon we drove to the other side of Puget Sound and visited Olympic National Park. The coastline is spectacular. It would have been great, if a bit cold, to camp there. Perhaps I'll have to find a secluded spot on the Oregon coast and do just that.

We recently arrived in Portland where we'll be until Tuesday when Amy flies back to North Carolina and 'we' becomes 'I'. So sad. And it will be several weeks before Natasha gets in from Windsor.

What will I do until then??

Seattle/Vashon Island Pics

2007-08-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

Here's a few pics from the Seattle/Vashon Island area.

The nautical pics are from the Seattle/Vashon ferry.

The funky looking building is the Seattle Public Library's main branch.

The disturbing pic is from the absolute last motel room available in Port Angeles.

More to come...

Seattle and Olympic National Park

2007-08-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

We're still alive. We've been having a grand old time in Vashon Island, Seattle and now Olympic National Park. There's lots of good pics but the internet is spotty out here in the middle of nowhere. Stay tuned.

A few pics from the Mountain Time Zone

2007-07-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

Enjoy.

Itinerary

2007-07-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

Here's the loose itinerary we've been going by in case you want to follow along at home.

We've been in Denver/Boulder for a day and we'll probably head for Oregon tomorrow morning. Boulder is beautiful.

St Louis

2007-07-25T11:59:00.000-04:00

It's night on day 2 and we're over a thousand miles in (somewhere in central Kansas.) This puts us a few hundred miles ahead of our off-the-cuff itinerary which gives me an oddly deep sense of satisfaction. Amy is amused at my apparent need for structure while on vacation. We're both looking forward to being in the Pacific Northwest as opposed to endless tracts of farmland.

We made St. Louis by early afternoon and walked around a bit. We each lost a dollar on the video slots of a riverboat casino but Amy won some kind of credit redeemable for 45 cents. We're keeping that credit in reserve for any future expenses that come up. Next we went to The Arch which was lovely (though I hear it had problems recently.)

The highlight of St. Louis was definitely the City Museum. "Museum" is a bit of a misnomer; this was a sprawling, three storey, indoor/outdoor jungle gym. Amy and I were the biggest of many kids there. It's hard to describe the endless maze of passages, ladders, and slides. A simple shadow may turn out to be the entrance to a tunnel you can only navigate by crawling on your belly. It was all very non-linear which delighted Amy and left me worrying if I was failing to maximize coverage. Yes, I'm a dork. The museum was in an old shoelace factory and much of the jungle gym was constructed of old machine parts and welded rebar. Highly recommended.

Here are some pics.

The Plan

2007-07-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

In broad strokes, the plan is to drive out West starting on July 23, wander around the Pacific coast until the end of August, go to Burning Man and finally head back to Raleigh in early/mid September. I'll have some fellow travelers along the way. I'll pick up my friend Amy in Charlotte for the drive out and she'll be with me until flying out of Portland on August 7. My friend Natasha will be flying into San Francisco in late August and will join me at Burning Man. Here we go...

AT&T sucks!

2007-07-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

I just spent an hour talking to a nice Indian lady about my outrageous long distance phone bill. I was being charged $1.43 per minute to talk to Windsor, Canada, which is directly across the river from Detroit, Michigan. Spread over a few calls they wanted to charge me almost $300. I was assuming maybe $0.10 instead of the usual $0.07 for calls to Canada...I've seen ads for 5 cents or less for such calls. After threatening (and meaning it) to cancel my phone service I was refunded around $200 but only if I agreed to sign up for some additional plan. Whatever. As soon as I get the credit I will cancel my long distance service and just have local. I will just use Skype or my pay-as-you-go cell phone for long distance. I only get charged $0.40 to Canada for the cell phone with absolutely no plan. AT&T will continue to charge me $0.61 to Canada even with their dumb plan.

It's looking like I won't even be home to answer my phone for 1.5-2 months. I'm leaving on Monday for a road trip out West with my friend Amy who I'll be picking up in Charlotte. She'll be flying back from Portland, OR. on the 7th but it looks like I'll be staying out there until Burning Man. Not much point in coming back to NC in between; so much to see on the West Coast. Details to follow.

Yippee ki yay

2007-07-14T18:24:00.000-04:00

I don't normally care for action movies. Usually the plot holes and crappy dialog take me out of suspended disbelief and gets me wondering what better things I could be doing with my time. Nevertheless the new Die Hard got a good score on IMDB so I went to see it on Friday for my inaugural post-employment event. It was great! Not Oscar material but quite enjoyable and actually a bit thought provoking about terrorism and national infrastructure.

As I was walking out of the theater I saw that Transformers was starting in a few minutes. That was too good to pass up, so in true slacker form I decided to sneak in for a double header. I played with Transformers a bunch as a kid and was really excited about the prospect of a movie. My heart sank when I learned Michael Bay, the man behind the absolutely atrocious Pearl Harbor movie, was involved. Happily, despite one awful "I love you" moment it was also a really good movie.

On the other end of the spectrum, I saw The Celebration earlier in the week. A birthday party/family reunion goes completely of the rails as decades of dirty laundry are put on display for the shocked party goers. The grit and tension are superb...I highly recommend this one. It is in Danish with subtitles if that turns you off.

The planning for the first leg of my travels is starting to take shape.

Burning Man?

2007-07-13T01:19:00.000-04:00

I might just have to go to Burning Man at the end of August.

Impending Slackerdom

2007-07-11T19:24:00.000-04:00

I've always been an academically/professionally driven guy. Identify goal, accomplish goal, repeat. At age 31 I'm comfortably established but not particularly excited about the array of possible next goals available to me in my cozy little bubble. As much as it goes against the strong work ethic and fiscal conservatism I was raised with, I've decided to take some time off work to travel and reflect. I now have only two more days of employment before I officially become a Man of Leisure. I plan on wandering without goals and a minimum of distractions for a time so that I can stumble onto things that are worth pursuing passionately. I am very grateful for the fact that I have this luxury; at times I feel guilty about it but if I'm going to do it I might as well do it to the fullest.

On Impending Slackerdom you can expect to see posts on travel, reflection, decisions, movies, books and, if all goes well, the answer to the meaning of life.