Ode to my old Rig

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:48:27 +0000

Hours ago, I just sold my trustworthy Jeep for a small amount of money and a sandwich. My parents picked me up in that Jeep when I returned home from studying abroad in New Zealand. It has been my car since 2001. We have lived together in 4 different timezones with 3 sets of plates (she never committed to Illinois). She has crossed the Missisippi a few times, been to the top of Teton Pass several times, enjoyed both sides of Lake Michigan, been to the beaches of Maine and California. We have escorted various people around, from all aspects of my life. We have picked up ladies for dates and dropped them off. We’ve met hitchhikers, collided with a few snowbanks, offroaded on the lost coast, partied on the playa, and enjoyed the ‘road.’

It has been fun. Thank you for your support. You are now in car heaven with my beloved Volvo (with the Prep Lacrosse & Bob Marley sticker) and excellent S-10 pick up truck (truck, truck, truck…).

A Great Gift… is a thoughtful one

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:13:20 +0000

A thoughtful gift is always better to receive than any tangible, mass produced, item. It was a great pleasure to receive this from my friend Danny: The Iceland Album. It is a few, well edited, videos of our trip to Iceland last summer. It captures the pleasurable moments that are fond to those on the trip and it exudes the quality and spectacles of Iceland.

World, I urge you to put more thought and kindness into your gifts. And I dare you to send (via mail or email) surprises to your close family and friends in 2012. There is nothing better than a surprise, with history and/or meaning.

San Juan Islands – Pacific Northwest Confluence

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:37:16 +0000

Confluence, its a pretty cool word. I first learned of it, when someone mentioned it to me as a point of reference for the Gros Ventre & Snake Rivers. When applied in everyday living, it can make for great experiences. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a great confluence in the pacific northwest. Two close friends and I set out on a small San Juan 28, named the Canard. We left Seattle on Friday afternoon and motored across to Kingston, on the Olympic Peninsula. En route, we encountered our first hazard. We hit a massive log, adrift in the Puget Sound. I have sailed in a lot of places and I have never heard of that happening to someone. Between the shipping lanes traffic in the Strait of Juan De Fuca and random logs in the sound, we were now fully aware that staying alert was essential. The next day we set sail around Whitby Island and through the strait, for a wet and intense sail to Anacortes Island. Unfortunately, the weather kept us in Flounder Bay for two nights and held us back from sailing to Lopez Island. Eventually, we navigated our way through Deception Pass (a very dangerous tickle, with extreme tidal power). We sailed through Skagit Bay, wing and wing…as the only boat in the entire bay. It was a wonderful day. Our last night was in Langley, on Whitby Island. 4 days in the Puget Sound, with some squalls, some close friends, some brisk, and some solitude can make for the perfect confluence.

Surprise Surfrider Foundation Show: Green Day

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:06:41 +0000

Who knew that last Tuesday night would be so eventful? I woke up on Wednesday with massive ringing in my ears. But it had all been worth it. For the night before, I crowd-surfed at a Green Day rockshow. Rip Curl sponsored the first San Francisco ASP pro Surf tour event at Ocean Beach. The opening party was a benefit for the Surfrider Foundation. Toward the end of the Ty Segall’s (the headliner) show, he mentioned that he strongly suggests that we NOT leave. Then Green Day showed up for a surprise show. After witnessing and supporting Ty Segall’s stage dive, midway through the set, he dropped right by me. I mentioned that someone should do a human pyramid on stage. The notion was planted, we bum rushed the stage, I got caught by the bouncer, manged to escape…performed a semi-human pyramid and then proceed to jump into the crowd. It was the first time that I have ever crowd surfed. It rocked.

A pic of me on Stage: The fifth to last pic

Our first hand video on YouTube.

Yosemite’s Half Dome

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 05:28:04 +0000

Lately, I have been on a productivity kick. Call it a “phase” or call it a change. I have been trying to be optimal with my time, diet, and general approach. My roommate Matt and I have turned it into a bit of a game, with points. It started with a large list of some things that we have wanted to do, but continually put off. Getting to Yosemite and climbing Half Dome was on the list. we had both been to Yosemite when we are young and have fond memories. With the park in our backyard, we set out for a jaunt.

Our first stop was Turlock, Ca. There we cruised to Ballico, Ca. to see my buddy Damon’s almond factory. Damon’s family runs a farm that produces Almonds, Peaches, and Walnuts. It was like a field trip, being able to see the process behind almonds. Once they are brought from the farm (a whole process, in itself) they have to go through a series of machines to pull out the seed. It is kind of amazing.

The next morning we drove to Yosemite. We got a bit of a late start and some people warned us about leaving too late. However, that only gave us more incentive to get up there faster. We ascended about 5000 feet in 3 hours. We took the Mist Trail up and the Muir Trail down. From car to summit, back to car…it took us about 7 hours. Thats pretty good timing, considering that we weren’t really in a rush. Although, coming across some people can be a little discouraging sometimes…I tried my best to give most happy hikers a smile and a “Howdy.” National Parks are amazing.

The latest….

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:04:30 +0000

Its been a bit and I have been straying away from the posts and updates. Sometimes, that is a good thing. I pride myself on being offline. After a variety of travel over the summer (NY, Iceland, LA, Mexico, NY, Chicago, Seattle), it has been nice to get back into the groove in California. It was amazing to reconnect with a lot of my friends that are scattered across the country. Everybody seems to be progressing in their own right.

Sept 11

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:24:58 +0000

Thoughts, Prayers, emotions…..its palpable.

Iceland 2011

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:25:50 +0000

The sun never set on us in Iceland. It would linger on the horizon for about 2 hours and then just sorta pop up and it was a new day. That would be one of the cool facts about traveling in Iceland in the summer. Besides the distortion and the birds chirping all day everyday, it made for a wonderful setting. Extended dusks and dawns. Four of us managed to enjoy a nice little trip.

Danny spent the year in London working for some bankers, although he is a lawyer. He set this things up. We all met in this GeoThermal land and created a little more than a jaunt. We climbed a glacier (where Jules Verne wrote was the gateway to the journey to the centre of the Earth), took a ferry to Fjordland, made it close to the arctic circle, and camped out on a volcano.

I like to travel and I typically leave a place wanting more and plotting my return. The Point is…this country is definitely a place that I want to come pack to. Below are some pics. I usually post my own, but these are all Danny’s.

The Lost Coast

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:19:15 +0000

California has a Lost Coast. Its pretty big and its definitely impressive. If it were on the East Coast, it would be inundated with developments, boats off the coast, and homes. However, the Lost Coast is in California and considered the backcounty. We ventured up there for the Memorial Day weekend of 2011. Below are some of the pics.

TEDx Silicon Valley

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:36:35 +0000

I was fortunate enough to be invited to Stanford GSB’s TEDx Silicon Valley in May. The event was enlightening, to say the least. The theme of the conference was “Living by Numbers.” There will be a lot of cool things coming to market in the future, that will be integrating phones and GPS locations into great data points. For example, there are cool companies out there like, Zeo. It measures your sleep and through your own metrics, it can train you to get better sleep. Another company, GreenGoose, awards points for playful activities. It can be a great tool for tackling childhood obesity.

Other presenters like Tim O’Reilly and Chris Anderson are innovative figures in the Valley. They added great points about our capabilities and potential to make a difference by analyzing ourselves. Ultimately, it was a big day at business school for me…but it was super rewarding. ….Also, this is a cool photography project, Dear World