Phil Houtz

Double Wash Out

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Thanks to a freak storm, the Habitat Works Memorial Day Weekend Tamarisk Extirpation Pack & Die trip has been canceled. And I bought an expensive new sweater from Patagonia for the occasion.  Then Doug called and asked if I wanted to climb some real rock up near Wheeler Gorge. Sure! Why not? First time for

Caving on the Ultralight Backpacking Stove

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Alright kirby, you win this time. I completely wimped out on the DIY ultralight backpacking stove challenge. I sawed a clean hole in the bottom of a Diet Coke can and used my Dremel to drill 24 pinholes around the shoulder using the super-useful templates at Zen Stoves. But then something happened. While I was out

Crooked Business

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Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber has a thread about this type of attack. He doesn’t have a solution but it sheds a little bit of light. He seems to believe it was a problem with Dreamhost. This makes me wonder if Bluehost has been hacked, or if the hack was a php exploit. (Not that

I’se Been pwned!

I’ve been blogging sporadically so it took me a while to notice that the Google ads on this blog have been advertising a big breakfast of pharmaceuticals. My first thought was “hallelujah, I’m going to be rich!” Overnight my site became a billboard for SPAM, and any minute the cash should come rolling in. But

My First Stuck!

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“I’ve got a Jeep. I can drive anywhere!” Har, har har! So here’s how I spent the first part of my Yosemite weekend: digging the snow out from under my axles with a folding trench shovel the size of a coffee spoon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have had the shovel.  No matter

San Francisco Mission Trip Wrap-UP

Just a few observations about the High School mission trip with YWAM Mission Adventures in San Francisco. After doing this trip for five years I have to say that it’s the best way to expose kids to inner-city missions. San Francisco is such a diverse city and the various neighborhoods are so accessible. The YWAM