I Ain’t Broke, But I’m Badly Bent
Now that’s country. Amazon.com Widgets
Pet Rock
I love the wallpaper pictures that Patagonia offers free of charge on their website. I particularly love this Christian Pondella photo of Lonnie Kauk leaping from a boulder in the Buttermilks. But when I showed this photo to a friend at work, a person who has done considerable photo retouching professionally, he instantly said the…
Brain Therapy
As I posted last week, I’ve hit an emotional rough patch. A real feeling of burn-out. The cure, according to the proponents of Positive Psychology…and doesn’t the name of that discipline just inspire trust? Anyhow, the cure for depression is to block out significant activities where you can focus on the area of your greatest…
Following Your Happy Trail
Something happened earlier this month and I lost my will to live. Just reached a point where everything seems pointless. A lot of this is because of my job. Much of my effort is going into stuff that I am very qualified to handle, I’m arguably the most qualified and knowledgeable person in the organization…
Reset Button
My astute reader will note that I haven’t posted for a while. Fact is, I’m burnt out. An emotional cinder. Extra crispy. Too many irons in the fire. Too many candles burning at both ends. Too much heat, not enough light. So today I decided to hit the reset button. I purged all the items…
Sunday Sermon: God’s Weekend Project
I’ve been conducting a little experiment for the past couple of months – reading the Bible as if I was having a direct conversation with God. For instance, I’ll ask a question and then see if my daily Bible reading has the answer. Now I’m sure some of you may consider this to be like…
Know Your Knot
As I’ve said before, I can’t remember how to tie a knot to save my life. Maybe that’s why I don’t get invited to necktie parties. Here’s a great tip from Make Magazine’s blog: wallet-sized knot tying reference cards to help you remember whether the rabbit goes over the fence or down the hole. Another…
End of the Road for Bodie State Park?
California’s dire budget crisis has left vacationers with the very real fear that up to 220 California State Parks could be closed by the end of the season this September. Right now there’s no telling whether this is a political power play on the part of Governor Schwarzenegger, or how many parks would actually be…
Middle Sespe Toad-Hugging
Sespe Creek snakes through the heart of the Los Padres forest like a coronary artery. It starts below Oak Springs, south of Ventucopa and flows east until it smacks into the foot of the Hopper Mountain bioregion, finally emptying into the Santa Clara River after a 55 mile journey. Last weekend, while the rest of…
BMW Motorrad’s Viral Campaign to Promote Reckless Urban Motorcycling
BMW Scissors GPS Drawing from Max Rider on Vimeo. Gotta say that running a sometimes-used section of rail line is a hella-high-risk way to draw a picture on a map. Via NaviGadget
How to Survive a Cougar Encounter
Sooner or later it could happen to you. Might be in the backwoods of the Sespe. Might happen between the aisles at Trader Joe’s. Either way, it’s a good idea to brush up on your Cougar avoidance techniques. A study from UC Davis examining 185 cougar attacks from 1890 on, seems to suggest that the…
Accidental Irony
SPOT Personal Satellite Tracker This morning I noticed this odd arrangment I’d made on my desk. One is designed to prevent you from dying alone in the desert. The other advocates it.
Things to Do in April: Clean-Up at Lizard’s Mouth
Here’s the thing about suburban frontiers…too close to the suburbs. There’s some good to that. You can live and work close to nature. Problem is too many people don’t clean up after themselves. Real Cheap Sports in Ventura is sponsoring a clean-up day at Lizard’s Mouth, as I mentioned earlier a great local spot for…
BMW GS Brake Fix
Last week, riding home from work, I used a little more rear brake than usual and it felt “crunchy.” The BMW R1200GS has integral brakes, meaning that when you engage the front brake you automatically engage the rear brake as well. I tend to be light on the brakes in general, using them mostly to…
Following God Into the Wilderness
A couple of months ago I decided to read the Bible differently than before. I’ve always tried to wrestle Knowledge or Truth from the Holy Scripture. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not so much. This time around I’m trying to read more as if I’m having a conversation with God. It’s a subtle difference. But an…