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Book: Incompleteness / Rebecca Goldstein
It was the perfect time for me to read about the life and work of Kurt Gödel, the mathematician who shook mathematics so violently at its foundations in 1931 that there is still widespread disagreement about where it has landed. Of course I encountered his name and theorems in my own investigations of the origins…
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Movie: Islam, Empire of Faith (2000)
An excellent and visually splendid historical account of Islamic empire. We were looking for some background on the Sunni/Shiite conflicts in the middle east, and it provides some of that. It clearly tries to present Islam in a good light, and the atrocities and brutalities inevitably involved in the building of empires are glossed over.…
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Crystal Wall Before the Rain
Inspired by some blue sky visible through the window when we wake up, we rally to Crystal Wall. We scope out the Palace too, but the river looks higher than we want to deal with. It’s a little windy and cold. Ann has some trouble with cold fingers, but manages to redpoint the 7-bolt 5.7…
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Movie: Time To Leave (2006)
Death approaches. Now and then a story reminds me that no other premise is needed, this is the engine of drama itself. When a story dispenses with the usual embellishments, though, it exposes itself to the pitfalls of cliché and sentimentality. This film avoids these traps with simplicity as well – with a believable character…
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Movie: How To Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog (2000)
A good enough amusement for a quiet evening, this story of a playwright confronting adulthood in LA doesn’t make quite as much fun of LA as I hoped for, but has it’s clever parts and some funny moments.
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Half day on the Nautilus
Camping near the road on the Saturday night of a giant Vedauwoo kegger somewhere further in is a noisy, dusty affair. We make a note to hunt down more remote camping next time. Nevertheless, we awake to another gorgeous morning. Today is my day to lead something wide. We park at The Nautilus and wander…
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Valiant attempts on Poland Hill
We wake up in Vedauwoo, the reward for punching through Friday night fatigue, packing the car, and meeting Kate and Mark in Wyoming. It’s well worth it. The tent never felt better, and the day greets us like a herald of summer sun and warmth. Eagerness for the day’s potential creeps in as water is…
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Afternoon showers make good fishing
I don’t know if these guys have heard the weather forecast of snowstorms on the way, but they seem unusually willing to let me watch them at their business of catching lots of fish. The whole pond is full of fishers, 3 herons, the pelican, ducks, and geese. I stop and watch for quite a…
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Barfy’s Favorite on Greyrock
It’s highly questionable whether we should be rock climbing today after we drive halfway to the crag with the hatch of our Subaru open, but these things happen to everyone, right? We also forget to drop our garbage off, so it will cook in the car all day. Hmm. The hike in to Greyrock goes…
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Palace Fun
We make it up to The Palace about the same time the rain clouds do. The river is 2 or 3 inches higher than our last crossing, and we hope a sudden downpour doesn’t raise the water level much more. We start on Churhill Rejects 5.9+, which is now my favorite starter route here, reminiscent…