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Sand Gulch – Bank Loop Hike
A snowstorm slowly settles in, dispelling any notions of rock climbing. We don’t mind too much though. A slow morning feels nice, and the sign by the parking area suggests the possibility of a nice loop hike. We take note of trail and road numbers, then set off into the snow. BLM road 5825 climbs…
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Thanksfasting
Ann mentioned an idea to me a couple of days ago that has become more appealing to me as I mull it over. Instead of feasting for Thanksgiving, why not try fasting? We consume all the time. Is consuming more really a good way to give thanks? Going without seems like a better way of…
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One Laptop Per Child – and one for me
I’ve ordered an XO laptop as part of the One Laptop Per Child program’s Give One Get One program. This is a kid’s computer, but it runs Linux, has WiFi and mesh networking, and is quite rugged and portable. I’m betting that I’ll actually use it, and hoping a kid somewhere is inspired by it…
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Movie: Half Nelson (2006)
I like the storytelling technique of setting up a cliché, then exposing the cliché as a sham. This is a movie takes down a bunch of them: the irredeemable junkie, the heroic schoolteacher, the drug-dealing thug, the poor but bright student, and the list goes on. Mostly the reality exposed is grim, but the film…
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The Palace, Camera Discovery
Ann emails Kate and offers to trade me for a pound of stew meat. The deal is made, and I’m carried up to The Palace by Kate and Mark, where we enjoy some routes in pleasantly warm, hazy weather. One of the routes doesn’t even have a slash or a + in the grade! Cheerleaders…
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Live Music: Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth
Husband and wife performers are always interesting to watch, knowing that we see the public face of a relationship that continues offstage. I had heard of violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman, but not his cellist wife Amanda Forsyth. We begin with only Pinchas conducting Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, a piece whose hushed intensity was…
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Movie: The Prestige (2006)
I think I might have let this one pass as just a reasonably entertaining movie, but it incorporated a few elements that have extra appeal for me. One is the research station on Pike’s Peak where Nikola Tesla conducted genuinely mysterious experiments. The other is a philosophical conundrum I read about in I am a…
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35 Years of Thinking
When my birthday approached last July I was inspired to attempt a summary of my outlook on life after 35 years. I’m pretty sure I’ve been thinking for most of that time, so I asked myself, “Have I reached any conclusions yet? Do I have any idea what my life has been, or what I…
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Sun & Fun at North Table Mountain
Mark joins us to meet our friends Clare and Dennis for breakfast and some sport routes. We’re excited that they’re moving to Denver from our prior home of Ridgecrest, California. We get a positively summery day at North Table mountain – Clare has done a good writeup already, so I’ll just sprinkle in a few…
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Off day at the Palace
No pictures from me today. While Kate and Mark seem to have a good day, Ann, Sean, and I are all a bit off our game. After warming up on the always good Churchill Rejects 5.9+, I watched Ann and Sean get hacked up on Battle Axe 5.9+, a cantankerous climb with a nice clipping…