![]() In a famous graduation speech/column* (often falsely attribute to Kurt Vonnegut*), Mary Schmich of the Chicago Times compiled her own list of advice to graduating seniors. It grew in popularity from a forwarded e-mail eventually to a top 40 song. If you've never heard or read it, I highly recommend it. The speech can be found here and Wikipedia's entry on the history of it can be found here. Not that many folks about to, or having just, graduate(d) read BdW, but I thought it would be fun to compile our own list of advice gleaned from our own personal meanderings, just as Ms. Schmich did. To start off the list, I will borrow 2 pieces of advice that I've come to greatly support. Know thyself* (Those Greeks really knew what they were talking about.) and Just do it (Perhaps a little pushy for an advertising slogan, but often valuable as advice when faced with decisions of action/inaction.) What say you? |
Thursday June 14 2007 | File under: misc, participation |
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Inspired by a video put together by a friend of some of his transportation experiences in SE Asia, I decided to put together a little video of my recent scooter trip. I've got a long way to go before expecting an Emmy nomination in the mail, but it ain't bad for having only a 5 year old digital still camera and free editing software that comes with windows. If the inline version doesn't work, click here to go directly to the YouTube page. Oh, and for kicks, here are a couple pictures about the making of the video. |
Monday June 11 2007 | File under: video, travel |
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It's a rainy day here in Anacortes, perfect for catching up on the latest happenings on the interweb (pshaw...like I ever fall behind). But besides the latest goings-on, it is sometimes worth reminiscing over the gems that have had their time in the spotlight and then moved along. I almost consider it a crime to hear when a friend hasn't seen (or even heard of) some of my favorites, so I thought I would use this opportunity to share.
Because I have frisbee on the brain right now, I can't pass up sharing this gem (8MB .mov). If that doesn't get you inspired to play, then nothing will. Or if politics are your thing, check out these two classics of Will Ferrell impersonating President Bush. Here (QuickTime or YouTube) is one of my ultimate favorites: an ad for Sony's Bravia TV (worth watching in the high quality QuickTime). I know there have been a ton more over the years, but none come to mind immediately. And since sharing is a two-way street, you should leave a link to your favorite internet video in the comments for us all to enjoy. Ain't sharing a beautiful thing? |
Saturday June 9 2007 | File under: video, links |
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![]() So if you are in the Anacortes area, set aside Tuesday nights to come join us for a game. Smiley's Bottom at 6 pm. All skill levels welcome. (Spectators and cheering squads welcome as well.) Hope to see you there! Oh, and for those of you who don't know what Ultimate Frisbee is, www.whatisultimate.com has this to say: Ultimate is an exciting, non-contact team sport, played by thousands the world over. It mixes the best features of sports such as Soccer, Basketball, American Football and Netball into an elegantly simple yet fascinating and demanding game. |
Wednesday June 6 2007 | File under: Anacortes, games |
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![]() Motorcyclist have this hi-sign that they give to other motorcyclist as they zip by one another. While I saw many variations on it, it usually consists of a left hand extended below the handle bars with a few fingers out. At first, I thought it was a sign telling me to slow down or something until Dave explained it all to me. Then, on this trip, I got into the habit and really grew to like this welcoming sign of camaraderie. Besides including me in their group with the hi-sign, motorcyclist I met on the road were invariable interested in my scooter and my trip. On the other end of the 2-wheeled spectrum, bicyclists, whom I thought might lump me in with the motorcyclist category, always gave me a smile as I scooted by. It was almost as if they were saying, "I acknowledge that you too are an outsider on this road made for high speed behemoths." When there weren't bicyclists around, I would frequently use their lane to inverse pass the cars that had built up behind me. Without a metal box to separate you from those that you met on the road, it only seemed natural to acknowledge them with a hi-sign or a nod. It lent an unexpected friendliness to my time on the road. |
Monday June 4 2007 | File under: travel, road trip |
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![]() For those of you who don't know what a camera obscura is, think projector. If you ever saw the movie Addicted to Love, one features prominently in that. It is essentially a series of lenses and mirrors that project into a darkened space whatever it is on the other side of the lenses. Wikipedia does a better job of explaining it here. Seeing a 10X magnified verion of what's going on outside projected in super-dooper HD quality (actually, there is no comparison to any digital format) for some reason just amazes me. The camera isn't aimed at anything particularly cool, but seeing just the waves crash or the sea gulls fly by is excitement enough. Perhaps it is seeing an image so crisp but having the sound muffled by the building walls that makes it such a surreal experience. Anyhoo, camera obscuras are neat. If you are ever in San Fran, I definitely suggest you stop by this place and check it out. |
Friday June 1 2007 | File under: travel, road trip |
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![]() I could hardly capture the natural beauty of it with my dinky little camera (not to mention that stopping Scoot Scoot meant a throw of the dice as to whether I could get him up and started again), but my attempts weren't half bad. Moral of the story: drive U.S. 1 between San Luis Obispo and Big Sur sometime in your life. It's purty. |
Wednesday May 30 2007 | File under: travel, road trip |
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For me, one of the best parts about an extended adventure (like those I seem to have been taking recently) is returning home. The familiarity, the people, the routine, and even the backlogged mail all combine to form that concept of home. Nothing really makes you appreciate home as much as being away from it. That appreciation really came to the forefront this weekend as I passed over Deception Pass bridge on Scoot Scoot and traveled the familiar Fidalgo roads home. As always, awaiting me were the familiarity, the people, and even the mail that I was looking forward to.
Now it is back to the routine, but not in a bad way. But not to fear, I've still got stories to tell from the road. Over the next week, as I catch up with other computer tasks, I will be catching up on a few blog posts that I meant to make from the road but never got a chance to. So keep it tuned to BdW. |
Tuesday May 29 2007 | File under: travel, road trip |
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![]() After attempting Julie's idea of thumbing it out of the town of Yacht Hats (what's the deal with not picking up a scrubby forlorn looking fella and his 200 lb bike!?), I tried Ma's idea of AAA. Sho 'nuf, AAA came to my rescue, again. Since I had precisely 100 miles of free towing, that's exactly what I used. They pretty much told me there isn't anywhere on the coast to get a motorcycle tire fixed, so I was on my own. They dropped me off in the parking lot of the Tillamook Les Schwab last night at 9:30 and bid me good luck. This morning, after thinking I lost my keys (only to discover they were safely placed in plain sight in scoot scoot's ignition in the Les Schwab parking lot) I was feeling pretty down. But after doing some leg work, I found a new (used) tire and some helpful fellows to put it on for me...all for $20!! Granted the tire isn't an exact replacement, but if I ever need to go off-roading, it will be just the ticket! Whatever the case, although I didn't think I would be saying it this soon, it feels good to be back in the saddle again. Now I'm off to tour the Tillamook cheese factory! |
Saturday May 26 2007 | File under: travel, road trip |
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I'm afraid the scooter gods might be trying to tell me something. My excellent luck has gone unnoticed by them for too long. It is time for them to settle the score and punish me for thinking I was mighty enough to use the Yumbo 110C for something other than city driving for this long.
This morning, I ran out of gas. Not overly surprising with the .9 gallon tank and that it has happened before, to lesser degrees. Anyway, this morning, I was about half a mile outside of Gold Beach, OR when the telltale sputter happened. I shifted to neutral to see if I could coast into to town, but no dice. A brisk walk there and back got me ready to put major miles behind me. Then comes the fishtailing. No, not "fishtaling", like "I swear it was this big." "Fishtailing" like the tail of a fish all over the road. Luckily, it was at relatively low speeds and I was able to get to the side of the road relatively quickly. "What was the cause?", you ask. Well, a flat tire. More specifically, a blown tire. No hope for a patch. So here I am in Podunk, OR (oh, sorry; that could be almost any town on the Oregon coast ZING! Yachat, OR) with a flat tire. What does one do when one has a flat tire on a motor-driven cycle? Well, I'm trying to figure that out. I'm open to suggestion. The hardware store in the next town up the road says they could have a new tire here by Tuesday. I'm hoping I can do better than that. |
Friday May 25 2007 | File under: road trip, travel |
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