New York New York

Cause everyone's my friend in New York City And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see But the best thing about New York City is you and me New York, New York! It's a hell of a town! The schoolyard's up and the shopping mall's down! The stray dogs go to the animal pound! New York, New York! New York, New York! Springfield, Springfield!*

Thursday April 24 2008

File under: travel, pics

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on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 07:36 am PDT Horge said: Anyone interesting at Letterman's? ************************ on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 10:17 am PDT Saxtor said: I had a random dude draw a picture of me in the central park in Antigua, Guatemala, and hand it off to me. But he didn't leave before asking if I had any illegal substances...weird. ************************ on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 02:28 pm PDT mandy said: you look extremely frightening in that sketch... ************************ on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 04:09 pm PDT Nesbitt said: isn't that the unabomber mugshot? ************************ on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 09:05 pm PDT Root Mama said: The Bronx is up and the Battery's downThe people ride in a hole in the ground ************************ on Fri 25th Apr, 2008 05:07 am PDT Wren said: RM, I always wondered what the real words to that song were. Who would have thought that the Simpsons could possibly lead me astray? ************************ on Fri 25th Apr, 2008 05:45 pm PDT Root Mama said: 1944 'On the Town' Bernstein. Comden/GreenNew York, New York --A hell of a town,The Bronx is up and the Battery's down.The People ride in a hole in the ground.New York, New York --It's a hell of a town. etc... ************************ on Tue 06th May, 2008 12:51 pm PDT blank said: springfield is thata way man! ************************ on Sat 13th Oct, 2012 06:54 pm PDT Wren said: For some reason, somewhere along the line, these images got lost, so I combed my archives to find what I think they were referring to. And in combing the archives, I came across a couple more that should have been posted first time around (so as to better remember the trip). 1 & 2 ************************

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Green Travel

We've all pretty much accepted that I am an eco-geek, sometimes to an annoying degree, right? So it shouldn't be a surprise that I put a lot of thought into the environmental impact of my travels*. I addressed the issue, albeit novicely, back when I got back from Asia (remember?). Well since then, I've done more reading on the subject. This is the conclusion I've come to. Calculating the impact of travel on the environment is hard. Do you measure the impact in CO2, which is ever so popular these days, or do you focus more on what type of fuel is being used and the impact of how we obtain that fuel? How does infrastructure play in? (ex: Building roads and rail lines across long distances can really gnarl up the landscape while planes just require a place to take off and land at each end.) What role does/should capacity play? (ex: If the plane I fly on is 1/4 full vs. totally full, my passenger miles per gallon are extremely different, with me having no control of that.) Even within a give style of transportation, there are huge variations that make generalizing towards a usable rule difficult. (ex: Turboprop planes, which are often used for short commuter flights, are way more fuel efficient than their jet engine cousins. And diesel trains belch more particulate matter per mile than electric trains.) This graphic (and an expanded version over at their site) does a great job of summing up a general rule when thinking about travel: in order of most to least harmful goes traveling solo by car, flying, traveling via mass transit (train, carpooling, bus), non-motorized travel (walking/biking), followed up by not traveling*. While is isn't a hard fast rule, it is helpful for a quick sanity check. The impact of all this for me is complicated, and I won't get into it too much. Sufficient to say, I take this all into consideration and I try to make responsible decisions. I try not to travel frivolously*, I try to fly less, and I actively seek out mass transit options. And I try to encourage awareness without being too much of a jerk about it. I hope I somewhat succeeded. P.S. Happy Earth Day!

Tuesday April 22 2008

File under: environment, travel

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on Tue 22nd Apr, 2008 02:41 pm PDT magdelena said: is carpooling really 'mass transit'? and just a thought to add - according to John Tesh radio yesterday, you are most likely to die or be injured while traveling by bike or on foot....the safest bet is the bus. ************************ on Tue 22nd Apr, 2008 09:03 pm PDT per said: uhm, guns don't kill people, I kill people.Happy Planet-is-Doomed day. Peace in the Middle East! ************************ on Wed 23rd Apr, 2008 05:11 pm PDT Sean said: The chart seems to be missing a column for the damage caused by gas station food induced farts. ************************ on Thu 24th Apr, 2008 02:25 pm PDT mandy said: where are the tiny amounts of CO2 coming from in the "walking" and "extra passenger" categories? breathing? ************************

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Easy Time in NC

Traveling can be tiresome, tedious, and draining. I was reminded of this yesterday as I left New Bern NC to start heading north. A botched attempt at hitchhiking (in a thunderstorm the likes of which you can only dream of) followed by bus, taxi, and train, all with their hidden annoyances. Normally I try to avoid noticing the grittier side of travel, or at least avoid posting about it on the old blog. Yesterday, however, it seemed particularly noticeable because I had just got done spending a care-free, easy time with with the SirMaxALot crew. I had such a great time. It was the perfect mix of downtime/recovery* and cultural and local activities, with plenty of time for catching up and philosophical conversation (with a healthy dose of Simpson quotes, of course). The weather was crazy good–so good, in fact, that I got to participate in one of my favorite activities ever: being shirtless outside*. I felt so welcomed into their home that it made all the hassle of travel just drift away. My collection of photos hardly does the time justice*. All the good shots ended up on their camera, so you will have to stay tuned over there to see the goodies (although I am hoping to snag a few for a wrap-up slideshow)*. That said, here are a few captured moments: my first NC geocache is Max's first cache ever; Sean, Max, and I enjoy some of the lovely riverscapes surrounding New Bern; and Christen, Max, Jack, and I did a little strawberry picking (the real photos from this one should be great). Yep, now I am back on the dusty road with the next stop in NYC. Small town North Carolina to the City; I'm sure I will hardly notice the difference.

Monday April 21 2008

File under: travel

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BdW Catch-22

Blogging can sometimes be a funny thing. When I've got all the time in the world to make posts, nothing bloggable seems to happen. On the other hand, when I am out having adventures that I want to write up and share, it is often hard to find the time (and computing resources) to make a post. During these periods of activity, posts inevitably either get totally out of sync with what's currently going on or lost in the excitement of the next thing. Case in point, the last two weeks. I never got a chance to report on how I had a truly Baltimore day, hosted by Dave (of Publius Baltimore) and Sarah; Orioles game, seafood* at the world famous Lexington Market, geocaching*, and walking around the inner harbor. Or about how enamored I am with Annapolis, with its wonderfully cute downtown and all the nautical goings ons, all guided so informatively by not-a-native-but-you-wouldn't-know-it Anne. Or how I spent half a day meandering around our nation's capital, peeking at monuments and cherry blossoms*, followed by a great chance to catch up with an old friend. And I didn't get a chance to relay how I was treated to a wonderful home-cooked meal, great conversation*, and a place to stay* by Annie and Sam in Arlington, VA. But I suppose if I had to pick a way for the scale to unbalance, it would be towards more bloggable happenings and less time to post. I still try to do my best keeping the blog updated, but sometimes I'd rather go camp on the beach than find a local library to make a post from. I'm sure you understand.

Saturday April 19 2008

File under: travel

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on Mon 21st Apr, 2008 06:30 pm PDT Mom said: Orioles Game??? Details please. ************************

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Biking Recap

Ten days ago, I bought a used bike in Baltimore. It was nothing fancy; just a couple of wheels, gears, and a rack. The whole idea was to show (both to myself and anyone else interested) that with very simple tools and very little preparation, biking was a viable semi-long distance transportation option. Five hundred miles later, I'm glad to say that I've presented enough evidence to myself, at least, to fully accept this premise (and therefore never have to prove it again). As with pretty much all my little hair-brained schemes, if I was to do it again, I would do it slightly differently. For one, I would have spent more time on finding a bike better suited to me. Because of the size of this bike, I didn't get to exercise all the muscles in my legs, but just my quads*. Also, learning over the handlebars as far as I had to left me with a bruised palm and tingly fingers. I also prolly should have spent a little more time in planning out a route, specifically planning overnight locations. When you are road tripping by car (or scooter, for that matter), you have the luxury of waiting until near dark and then starting to look for the nearest campsite, motel, or dirt service road. While riding, my legs had pretty much given up for the day around 5:30 and I was lucky if I could even find a place to eat dinner (usually a gas station*). This led to some need for creativity regarding sleeping spots, which I will address later. The other thing that I would do differently is to bring sunscreen. Who would have thought that having the back of your hands facing directly up to the sky for 10-12 hours a day would cause them to get sunburned? Well, it does, and in a big way. By about the 3rd day, I was resorting to smearing mud all over the back of my hands to keep the sun off. It actually worked surprisingly well*. All these little things aside, I think the whole thing worked out great. I'm extremely proud of myself* and this accomplishment. Biking 500 miles in just over a week is something to be proud of. On my long days (everything after Arlington, VA), I think I averaged 75-80 miles a day. Anyway, for anyone that wants to see a general route (with mileage), click here (please to note: this route mileage is somewhat of an estimate in places because I lost track of all the crazy back roads* I ended up on. Also, mileage is off because I did have to take a bus through a tunnel under a river/bay in Norfolk and I couldn't figure out how to dis-include mileage from the ferries.) Of course there are all the sights I saw (a surprising amount of wildlife, actually) and interesting characters that I met along the way that made this little trip such a grand adventure, but this post is too long as it is. You'll have to hear about that stuff in real life.

Thursday April 17 2008

File under: travel, USA

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on Thu 17th Apr, 2008 10:43 am PDT Saxtor said: Regular milk mud = chocolate milk. Got it. You deserve to be proud. I am pretty excited that you did this, as it sounds like an infinitely fun and rewarding experience, fo sho*. As far as having to muster up creative spots to snooze, I must say, having a hammy really reduces the scale of such a quandary. ************************ on Thu 17th Apr, 2008 11:48 am PDT Nesbitt said: I still can't believe Baltimore did not get greater space in the BLOG. Go O's and crabs! Not to mention the old dude you bought the bike from. Give us some love. ************************ on Thu 17th Apr, 2008 05:41 pm PDT Chris said: Hey, I've been touting the greatness of the bike for several years, I'm just glad to see you haven't let bad influences like Andrew and Per convince you that cool kids don't wear helmets. ************************ on Thu 17th Apr, 2008 06:54 pm PDT Sean said: What advantages does this bike have over say, a train, which I can also afford. ************************ on Fri 18th Apr, 2008 09:46 am PDT Saxtor said: The helmet debate is old hat to Per and Andrew. They've now moved on to convincing people that cool kids don't need bike gears. ************************

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OBX North Carolina

Have you ever been to the Outer Banks* of North Carolina? If not, you should check them out. I've never gotten too much exposure to the treasures that the south has to offer in terms of "Hey, you should go visit [insert cool southern place name here]", but I had at least heard of the Outer Banks. That was reason enough for me to check it out*. Although I only spent a brief day and a half there (and most of that was in the saddle), I can definitely say that it was worth the visit. If you can look past the rampant tourist/consumeristic overtones (that weren't in full force yet by the time I was there, luckily), there is a ton of history and natural beauty. As for history, there are all sorts of pirate stuff (ship wrecks, museums, etc.), civil war place markers, nautical landmarks, and of course Kitty Hawk, location of the first heavier-than-air, self-propelled manned flight. The natural beauty of the area comes in the form of gorgeous beaches and dunes, back water channels, and great wet lands. There are birds galore as well, but I would only be showing my ignorance if I tried to identify them. The area protected in the National Park/Seashore/Whatever looks as if it has been that way forever, which is so interesting to see. When cars weren't flying by, I sometimes would just stop* and marvel at how calming that bit of gorgeous nature was. Yep, next time I pass this way, I will allot much more time for beach sitting, nature walking, and pizza eating*. (Oh, and for all you schralpers, there is plenty of gnar to be shralped*.)

Wednesday April 16 2008

File under: travel, USA

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Signage

Forgive me if I have posted about this before. I remember spending a lot of time thinking about it when I was on my scooter trip. Signage can make all the difference when travelling, esp. by alternate means. Sure it is annoying when you go 20 miles off your route in a car and have to turn around. When you go 20 miles out of your way on a bike, however, it is very different. And it isn't only lost time and frustration that good signage can help alleviate. It can be a safety issue. Take today for example: it was all set to be the first big day of the bike portion of my trip. I wanted to go as far south as I could get. I left Arlington VA early and found a nice off-road bike path the 20 or so miles down to Mount Vernon*. After that, I just headed south. I eventually came across a visitor's center with a nice "Bike Virginia" map that was supposed to help keep me off the main roads and on the purty back roads. Well, the map was really unclear about how to get on this mythical bike route. And since it shared the same name as a highway, I figured I would just hope on the highway and find a sign. 25 miles (on almost shoulderless roads with traffic zipping by at 50 mph) later, I senendipitously found a sign pointing me to what a wanted. I'm hoping now that I've found it, I'll be able to stick on it. Moral of the story: good signage can make a HUGE difference. So for all you planners out there, whether it be for a bike route, a nature walk, or a tour of the bridges of Madison County, I implore you to not skimp on the signage.

Thursday April 10 2008

File under: travel

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on Thu 10th Apr, 2008 04:29 pm PDT Saxtor said: I don't know that I agree with your sentiment about signs. I typically find them to be always blocking out the scenery and breaking my mind. "Do this," "don't do that," they say. YES, I can read your bloody sign! ************************ on Thu 10th Apr, 2008 06:21 pm PDT Sean said: You don't have a satellite navigation system mounted on that sweet ride? ************************ on Thu 10th Apr, 2008 08:18 pm PDT Andrew said: Me? Well, I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said that I looked like a fine outstanding young man. He thought that I'd do. Well I took off my hat and said IMAGINE THAT! ME! WORKING FOR YOU! ************************ on Sun 13th Apr, 2008 03:50 am PDT dave said: a redeeming quality of a certain old gentleman who drives to leavenworth/winthrop and back just for lunch is that he is responsible for the imminent bike signage from the swinomish bridge to the fidalgo bay trail terminus on march's point. ************************ on Fri 18th Apr, 2008 03:20 pm PDT mandy said: a good map can also make a HUGE difference ;p ************************

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Day 2 in the Saddle

Don't worry. i'm not going to do a day by day posting of this whole bicycle thing. i will however use this as an excuse to post a little picture of my steed. Other than that i will not write much today because the computer i am using has multiple eys that don't wor (such as that one that comes after J and the comma (so no complaints about grammar typos or spelling on this post)). But i did mae it the 40 or so miles from Annapolis to D.C. yesterday and in record time too. i even had enough time to chec out a few of the monuments before meeting up with a friend for dinner and a place to crash. (There are more photos but since the alligator eys and equal sign don't wor either i will wait to post those another time. (Those that i did get to wor was all using cut and paste character by character which is tedious (but a good challenge (ind of lie a haiu)))

Wednesday April 9 2008

File under: travel

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on Wed 09th Apr, 2008 07:44 am PDT cardboard said: man you need some drop bars and toe clips at a minimum there buddy...narrow tires would be a joy as well. ************************ on Wed 09th Apr, 2008 07:20 pm PDT dave said: nice phallus protruding from your steed. ************************ on Thu 10th Apr, 2008 10:33 am PDT Ryan said: wheelies should be a breeze on this rear loaded steed. word to bicycles. ************************ on Thu 10th Apr, 2008 10:36 am PDT Ryan said: A big storm is headed your way, get some rain gear.http://www.nws.noaa.gov/radar_tab.php ************************

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In the Saddle

One used 12-speed bike on craigslist: $65 Used bike accessories (bike rack, lock, helmet, etc.): $30 Chance for a little adventure: Priceless Day one: Baltimore to Annapolis. 20 miles (after a ride on the light rail). Almost completely on a paved bike path. So nice. But having not ridden much in the past couple months, I was really feeling it. We'll see how my legs (and ass) feel tomorrow. Perhaps buying the first bike I came across (that turned out to be too small, kind of rusty, and fully ghetto) was a bad idea. Time will tell, I guess. Tomorrow is the Annapolis to D.C. leg. Prolly about 30 miles, unless I wuss out and take the metro for part of it. But that's okay. I shouldn't overdo it too much. I've got a long way to go.

Monday April 7 2008

File under: travel, USA

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on Mon 07th Apr, 2008 06:55 pm PDT Saxtor said: Any pictures of your steed? ************************ on Mon 07th Apr, 2008 07:08 pm PDT Nesbitt said: glad to hear you made it. ************************ on Tue 08th Apr, 2008 05:20 am PDT per said: uhm . . can't help but notice you're going south into a country that hates bicycles. flip that mighty steed around and pedal into a horizon filled with bike lanes and summer festivals . . . eh? ************************ on Tue 08th Apr, 2008 09:27 am PDT Katherine said: You are on the East Coast now- what fun-I was in DC last weekend- when do you make it up to NYC??!?! ************************ on Wed 09th Apr, 2008 05:01 pm PDT Sean said: The Per has a point. The city that brought you Just for Laughs, Cirque du Soleil, and the coolest Jazz Festival in the world is also very bicycle friendly.I'm the only one in North Carolina without a big truck. ************************

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Straight Forward Philly Post

At the risk of receiving more flak for making somewhat sterile posts not filled with reflection and insight, I'm going to tell you about my all too brief time in Philadelphia. (You are, of course, welcome to not read and skip ahead to all the pretty pictures.) I really really enjoyed my time in Philly. I'm not a city person, but I can appreciate a good city when I see one. The first thing that I noticed was how incredibly walker friendly it is. There are lots of people who live downtown, so the city doesn't shut down on the evenings and weekends like many other cities you see. Plus, there are produce markets, grocery stores, and other functional stores* interspersed. As a corollary to the walking, I noticed a big presence of car sharing. I'm sure this walkability had a huge influence on my impression of the city. Another great thing the city has going for it is history out the wazoo: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell*, lots of churches, and brick everywhere. I tried to take this picture to show the great balance of modern and historic, but the settings on my camera were all wonky so it didn't turn out great*. I could have easily passed the whole day wandering around the historic district and looking at all the firsts: the first bank, the first free library, the first place that Benjamin Franklin took a poo, etc. Unfortunately, I had a strict schedule to keep. Other activities (which I will mostly gloss over because this is getting wordy) were a visit to Love Park*, a tour of the U.S. Mint*, and the discovery of some very interesting crosswalk art*. Yeah, 24 hours isn't really enough to do this wonderful city justice, esp. if you are recovering from an all night drive on a tire you expect to blow out at any time with a complete (although, it turns out, very nice and generous) stranger*. City of brotherly love, I'll be back.

Saturday April 5 2008

File under: travel, USA

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on Sun 06th Apr, 2008 11:23 pm PDT Horge said: If I ever make it to Philly, the definite top of my list is to visit the basketball court where the Fresh Prince got spun around by that bully and then sent off to Bel Air, where he changed his name to Will Smith and became a movie star... ************************ on Mon 07th Apr, 2008 01:12 pm PDT soreyes said: Toynbee tiles...about 250 messages of mysterious origin found embedded in asphalt in several major cities in the United States and three South American capitals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toynbee_tilesthere was a Geocache, but its archived for being virtual or whatever. ************************ on Fri 18th Apr, 2008 03:16 pm PDT mandy said: Philly is my absolute favorite city ever, I'm glad you got to see some of it ************************

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