Recently in Miscellaneous Category
I could talk for days about what I've seen and what I think, but that's not gonna happen here. I'm currently dead tired and running on fumes (cookies and beer) so this is going to be my big 'Web 2.0 Expo' post for now. I've had some pleasant interaction with Six Apart, the company that provides the blogging platform software that I use. Most of the time I'm a happy Movable Type user (when things go wrong it's usually due to my own screw-ups), but lets not focus on the software. Lets talk about the reasons that Six Apart rocks that have nothing to do with blogging. Most photos by my colleague Moya and her ever-present Treo phone.
7. They build a mean ad-hoc mini golf course in their office.
I even got a hole in one!
6. They print their T-Shirts on women's cuts too
So did the Web 2.0 expo. Who knew women used the internet?
5. Payam can fix things
Like this Movable Type wrench thingee.
4. They had the best party of the South Park Crawl
Trust me on this one - we stopped by most of them.
3. I won a bottle of wine by giving them my card and being the lucky person to have it drawn from the fish bowl.
Alden Vineyard Cabernet. Their CEO's vineyard.
2. Historical truths on their office walls.
1. Vodka, even if it was gone when we were there.
That's what they told us, anyways. Web geeks definitely do not drink as much as the Outdoor Retailer crowd, however.
Today I welcomed a new addition to the gear closet - a Henry Shires Tarptent Double Rainbow. I'm already a thrilled owner of a Rainbow, so when it came time to replace the Cloudburst the decision was a no brainer - go for the the two person version of the shelter I am already in love with. I'm not sure when it will be broken in yet, but I'd like to get it out before our Grand Canyon hike that is planned for the end of March.
In the meantime, I'll be cleaning up my skis and checking the straps on my snowshoes. After the recent dump in the Sierra I expect that snow conditions will be superb in the near future!
This year our planned stops include Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Death Valley National Parks, with 40 hours of Las Vegas hedonism shoved in the middle. It'll only take one trip to the Bellagio buffet to offset the healthy hiking we have planned. As always, I'll be back here after the trip with the best of hundreds of photos to share.
You may have noticed a new little feature in the upper left hand corner of the site. It's my Twitter feed, a fun little Web 2.0 toy that lets me broadcast the mundane details of my life to the rest of the world. I can text updates to my Twitter feed from my cell phone, so even when I'm on the road I can share the exciting moments with everyone on my website and my Facebook profile. If I had a camera on my cell I could even text live photos from the backcountry, assuming the signal was strong enough to get the message through. Isn't the Internet great?
My photo posting has slowed down a bit in the past couple of days due to a stupid incident with a bread knife. I've been typing one-handed this week and that makes things go s.l.o.w. I hope that when my finger heals I'll have a wicked scar that I can make up a good story about - for now, the only story has a moral: when cutting crusty Italian bread with a dull bread knife, wear Kevlar gloves.
I have to get a rant off my chest....
I know that I get a lot of traffic to my website from people looking for information on hiking in Yosemite. If you are heading to Yosemite along 120, please do not take Old Priest Grade on the way out unless you understand the term 'engine braking'.
On our way out of the park this past weekend we were behind a caravan of five minivans on Old Priest Grade, all of which spent the entire 3 miles on the brakes. By the end of the short stretch all five vans were smoking and the drivers seemed oblivious to it. This is not an unusual sight.
Put your car/truck/van in 1st gear and coast - the drivers behind you will appreciate not having to drive through a noxious cloud of smelly burned brakes.
This was passed on to me from Steve Sergeant:
On Monday, April 9th, at 7PM, there's going to be kind of a party happening. It'll be at the Sports Basement, an outdoor gear and sporting goods store in Sunnyvale.
We'll be giving a slide show, serving decent refreshments, giving away some free gifts, and having a prize drawing.
You're invited, as is anyone you know who hangs out near the South Bay and is interested in backpacking.
The occasion is the backpacking season kickoff for the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club. Find out about the classes and trips we're offering this year, and get some free goodies in the process.
For more information, see this web page.
