Photos from June 20, 2007

Today, I caught a flight out of phoenix to San Diego at 7:00am. The economy parking took a little longer than I expected, so I was running a little late. I had no problem making my flight, but apparently my bag did :)

Right now I'm sitting outside in b beautiful San Diego, CA, but I'm stuck here waiting for the next flight in from phoenix which should have my bag.

Airports really bring out the best and worst in people. You should see some of these over-privileged people forced to wait in endless lines... It's a riot. Some people are so relaxed, and loving, but some are totally anxious, and are horrible to each other.

In an effort to keep up with my daily blogs, I snagged a few photos. Nothing great, but something to look at.

...OK... I'm stuck on this Sprint card, and I didn't have software to resize, so I'll add them as soon as they upload :-/

Sorry about that

Sorry about that :)

Taken at the San Diego Airport
June 20, 2007

Taken from a taxi in front of the hotel
June 20, 2007

So instead of using the web uploader for my picasa web albumn, I downloaded picasa. It's great, it resizes for me (so this sprint card can handle it) and it auto-connect to my online stuff for me. It's really pretty nice. I just wish their web stuff would get as good as gallery2 :)

Introduction to the CDT Project

As some of you know, I'm going to be hiking a small portion of the CDT (continental divide trail) in July. Last night I finally received Colorado's Continental Divide Trail: The Official Guide
It's very exciting, but a little scary.

The hike will be through about 50 miles of wilderness, but will be fairly strenuous. I normally wouldn't be too worried about it... you have to deal with the wildlife, weather, and altitude, but none of that is too much of a concern for a 50 mile hike. The problem, and the biggest concerns come from my knees. Recently I took a shorter hike, and one of my knees started to hurt. which makes me worry a bit about the longer hike. I hope that a little stretching and training will take care of that problem.

I'll be meeting later this week to get more details on the start and stop points, and then I should have a better idea of what to expect.

More to come on this one.... I'll label them "CDT"

Photos from June 19, 2007

Gas at the QT on priest, south of southern was $2.91 today. I think thats the best price I've seen in over a month. I was thinking about how that was a good price, and then I kicked myself and took it back. When did 2.91 become a good price?

On the note of gas, I almost drove today. As I drove up 48th st, I was thrilled that I didn't. Traffic was such a mess the whole way in. 48th st, priest, the whole way. I think there may be too many people for the streets to support them all :-/

Taken on Priest North of Southern
June 19, 2007

The Alternative? Yea... I need to stop this promotion of bikes. But they are defiantly more peaceful (and yes more sweaty)

Taken on Priest North of Southern
June 19, 2007

Photo from June 18, 2007

In phoenix, there is a service called "Bulk Trash". Four times a year, they will come through the neighborhoods of phoenix, and pickup any trash you have. All you have to do is figure out when it is and make sure to put it in a neat pile in front of your house.

I love this service, because my plants grow like crazy, and they drop a metric ton of leaves every quarter... (OK, maybe not a metric ton, but it seems like it)

So I usually end up having a small pile in the backyard just waiting for the window of time, when I can leave it on the curb. This morning, I started moving the little pile out to the front, and I unearthed a little nest. The nest had no living creatures, but did have a series of eggs. I'm guessing that these are either the eggs of a roadrunner that hangs out around my house, or of a lizard that I see from time to time.

Hidden Nest
Taken in my backyard
June 18, 2007

Unfortunately, now that the leaves and stuff aren't providing shade, I suspect they will over heat and die. The nest may also be abandoned because of the human scent all around it :-/

Hypocrite?

It is much easier to condemn someone else than to take a good look in the mirror; doubly so when you are predisposed to judge them because the opinions of the company you keep.

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye?

-Matthew 7:4

Photo from June17, 2007

This is a quick photo of one randomly selected flower on plant in my backyard. It is one of hundreds, and it it not better or worse than any of them. There is nothing special about it... It is just one part of a big system that makes up this plant. But if you look at it alone, it looks amazing anyway.

Many Parts - One Body
Taken in my backyard
June 17, 2007

Bowen Baby

Well this morning, I'm going to be late to work (waiting for the Terminex guy), and I still haven't really left my house. But I do have big news. Jonas Bowen was born yesterday.

Jonas Bowen
Taken at Desert Samaritan Hospital
June 14, 2007

Congratulations to Dad, Mom, and Grandpa. They looked so happy to have a new baby in their lives.

Photos from June 14, 2007

Apparently someone has something worth protecting :-p I thought this was a cool little gate/fence. It is really funny to me for some reason; it looks so cute and friendly, but the sign says, "BEWARE OF THE DOG" and the fence is clearly designed to injure anyone who tries to get over it :)

Taken on 48th st, south of Broadway
June 14, 2007

It seems weird to me that we spend so much time trying to grow plants that shouldn't naturally exist here, then we need to water them heavily, and spend all our time cleaning up after them. Then weeds start to grow because we spend so much time making it easy to grow things there, and we spend all our time removing them.

Taken on 48th st, south of Broadway
June 14, 2007

Photo from June 13, 2007

Today was a busy morning, I recently had a friend, Jason Farrier, help me out with a little dry rot issue. He is a home inspector with a history in the construction business, so I figured he was perfect for the job.

I'm feeling pretty good about what we've accomplished so far, but what's more important, is that he took a look at the house, and pointed out a number of other issues that he recommended I fix before I sell.

Here is a photo of the repairs that we did this morning:

Taken at my house
June 13, 2008

I need to finish it up (caulk, primer, etc) in the next few days, but at least the hard part is done.

Other upcoming projects that this has brought into light:

• Potential Termite issues
• Fixing additional trim that has rotted
• Fixing the leaky chimney
• Fixing some insulation issues in the attic
• Fixing the duct work for the AC system, and potentially removing the evap. cooler
  
• Fixing the pool's electrical system
• Landscaping the areas that touch the house to avoid bugs, and further rot.
• Finishing the master bath/closet leak
  

Its a long list, and it I'm not sure how much it will all cost, but I think it will be fun, and I think that its a great opportunity to learn. The current plan was to sell in January, when I get married, but I might try to convince Katie to do it in May to give me more time to repair, and one more spring to play with the landscaping.

A Special thanks to Tom and Jason Farrier, and Elite Home Inspections for their help so far. Jason is Great, and I would recommend Elite Home Inspections to anyone buying a house. He is way more thorough than the guy that did mine last time.

Photos from June 12, 2007

Today I had to drive to work again, but it wasn't all that bad... I was intent on taking a photo of something other than the rear end of a car, so I made a few turns that I normally wouldn't make, and I even got out of my car at one point to snag this photo:

RIP Trimble
Taken at the Double Butte Cemetery
June 12, 2007

For those of you who know me, this photos seems pretty ironic. When I saw the tombstone I couldn't help but snag a photo.

I also had one photo that I took while stuck in traffic turn out alright, so I've included that here:

Fairway
Taken on 48th st, North of Guadalupe
June 12, 2007

Photo from June 11, 2007

I had to drive to work today because I have an appointment at 11. So instead of being outside, enjoying the morning, I was stuck in this:

Taken on 48th st, south of baseline
June 11, 2007

When you ride your bike in the morning, you wake up during the ride. When you get to work, you're ready to go. Today when I got in I was dragging my feet, and really didn't feel much like doing anything. O well. I'm cleaning to coffee pot right now, hopefully some coffee will fill the gap this morning. :-p

Tomorrow I have to drive again, for an knee doctor appointment :-/ Maybe I'll get creative tomorrow, and come up with a photo of something other than a car's rear end :-p

Photo from June 8 2007

Nothing too great today... I was riding on the Guadalupe/I10 overpass, and I stopped for a second to watch the traffic. As I looked off in the distance, I could see a brown haze on the horizon, and the traffic was pretty solid for 7:00. It would be cool if the world cut back on driving, but that's never going too happen. We all live a million miles from where we work, so we are locked in :-p

Taken from the Guadalupe/I-10 overpass

June 8, 2007

Photos from June 7 2007

I'm going to start trying to do a daily post with one or two photos, actually taken that day. I've been trying to wake up earlier, and I've also been riding my bike in to work... Gas prices, Global Warming, Getting out of shape, etc :-/

Anyway, I've decided that since I am already out and about in the morning, I should try to make a daily post of photos, actually taken that day.

Enjoy! Check back in from time to time!

This is the Point South Mountain Golf Course, taken from the bike path on 48th st.
June 7, 2007

This is the Church in Guadalupe, taken from Priest
June 7, 2007

People are funny

Saw this on the way to work today... People are funny... I'm sure the author of this one was justified in being upset, but the message is lost in the absurd text that he put on this sign.

If you want to be successful in changing the world, make sure your efforts are fueled by Love, and not Hate. Hate will only make people resist you. (and probably make them think that you are silly).

Taken on 48th street, south of baseline
June 5, 2007

Stop the Negative Vibes

The world is full of negative people, and we need to fight them, or we
will end up becoming them.

If someone talk down about everyone else to you, they probably talk
down about you to everyone else, so stand up for everyone else, put an
end to the negativism. Add a little optimism to the world.

Investing in Life

In my high school sophomore math class, I remember learning about compounding interest. It seemed totally boring to me, until we got to the word problems. The problem asked about what the difference would be in how much money someone would have if they started saving when they were 18 vs 20, and I was floored. The difference was so huge. That year I started saving money.

The concept of investing is a good way to illustrate something in life that is hard to explain. So hard, in fact, that we don't usually notice it -- and if we do notice it, we don't understand it.

The way we live our lives is an investment in our future, and in our happiness. It's not as obvious as our financial investments, It's not like we get a statement in the mail every month, and there is no annual taxes to force us to look at how we've done this year.

Like investments, the good that we do now is not just put away and buried in the ground. It is an investment, and it grows and has returns. When we do nice things, it makes the people around us happy, and it promotes the behavior. Often times, this results in more happiness in your own life.

In this same metaphor, there is also debt. Doing mean things is like spending our money. And we can easily spend too much and go into debt. Like with card debt, we have to pay interest on what we owe, and what we have doesn't do as far because we're too far in the whole, and are busy just trying to break even. When we build a mean world around us, and we try to start being happy, you will be brought down by the mean nature of the world you've created. It's not like you can just start being happy, and the world will change. You need to keep working at it for quite some time before you break even and can start saving.

Moral of the story? Start promoting happiness now. Don't wait till you are older. If you build a bad world, you have to live in it, but if you build a happy world, it will hold you up even when you feel down for a little bit. Help to build a world that will help you live happily!

Happy Post

I promised a happy post a little while ago, and I never delivered :) but that's only because I've been incredibly busy being absurdly happy.

well some of the time anyway :)

I had such good luck this week. I brought my car into the shop, because the check engine light was on, and the mechanic told me that the problem was extreme, and that there was no reason to repair it: that I might as well sell my car for scrap. This news was so bad that I didn't even react bad. I just kind of laughed it off as incredibly bad luck. The funny thing is this: it was good luck, in disguise.

I went down to the shop and talked to the mechanic. He told me that the engine was misfiring, that the PSI on the cylinders was about 100 on 5 of them, and like 250 on 1. He told me that this meant that there was internal valve damage, and it would be major work, which would result in costs that were more than the blue book of my car... This is where it gets fishy: He offers to buy the car off me, and offers to "Help me out" with the bill I had with him, if I wanted to sell it to him. He indicated that the price he would give me was around $100. I told him I could sell the rims on ebay for more than that, and that I would spend a few days considering my options.

I called them up, and paid for their "Diagnostic" over the phone, and had a tow truck pick up my car and tow it to VW. When it got to VW, they told me that there was just a short in the spark plug wires and that it would be easy to fix.

They replaced the spark plug wires, and the coil, and gave it a full service for $1,600 (after tax).

Now here is how I see it: If I had brought it to VW from the start, I would have been mad that I had to pay 1,600. I would have thought that I was getting robbed... but thanks to the good people at Purcell's, I was expecting to be out about $10,000 on the deal, so $1,600 sounded great to me :)

How lucky is that?

positive?

I was looking at this blog, and I realized how hateful I sound. I rant on here pretty often, cause its a nice way to unleash, but I really don't have nearly as much hate in my heart as I would seem to from reading my own blog :)

I think my next post will be about something positive... More to come tomorrow.

Love My Work, Hate My Job

I love the work that I do, but I hate my job.

When I say that I like the work that I do, I don’t just mean software development, though that is part of it. I mean the exact work that I do at my current job. I develop applications for phones, I write code to integrate with google earth, I write web applications, I write windows applications, I get to do basically everything I want, and very little that I don’t. But even though I love EXACTLY what I am doing, I hate my job.

Many people around the office have this heir of entitlement. They all seem the think that though they don’t do anything, they should be promoted, respected, and empowered because they think they are somehow entitled to be. They have this idea that everything they do is right, and everything everyone else does is wrong, and everyone thinks they could do everyone else’s job better. They keep their noses in the air, and don’t listen to anything unless it comes out of their own mouth. If you have a killer idea, they don’t like it until they repeat it and coin it as their own.

I think we all know and hate people like this, but through some freak occurrence, they all ended up working here. Maybe it is this place that changes them.

When I started, all I wanted was what I had, plus a little raise every year. But I find that the more time I spend here, and the more I am attacked by these people, the more I become one of them in defense.

This attitude is poison, and it’s infected my entire office… thought I love the work I do, I need to exit before I let this poison take its toll on me. What a shame... give up something you love to protect yourself from becoming something you hate.

Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon

Well the 1/2 Marathon has come and gone... I always figured it would be harder than it was. You really don't have to kill yourself, it's not even as long as it sounds. That being said, the recovery time, would tell a conflicting story. My knees were pretty soar for about 5 days after the run.

About two and a half years ago, I trained for a 10k which is less than half the distance of this race. When I finished, I just kept running till I found a trash can, and I puked my guts out.

Now it's not like I've been training for 2.5 years straight for this, I only decided to run in it late November, and in the 1.5 months I had to train, I only ran 6 times (see the training log at the bottom of this entry). Though the training helped me build some muscle, endurance, and helped me find my style and pace, I think that there were two factors that really helped me out on this one that happened outside of the realm of training.

First off, I lost 40-50 lbs over the last 2 years, which makes a HUGE difference. When you can carry 170 lbs, compared to 220, its a world of difference.

Secondly, I read I book on how to run. It promoted the idea that running style was not all it was cracked up to be, that if you cared what people thought of you when they saw you, you would look better, but waste energy and cause injury. I focussed a lot of my training on finding as style that would keep my ankles, knees, and back comfortable, and would minimize the work I spent bobbing up and down. I tried to spend all my energy moving forward. I think that it really worked out. Day 4 of my training was the first day I figured out the style that I used in the marathon.

Anyway, it was a good experience, I don't feel as accomplished as I thought I would, but it felt pretty good to cross the finish line.

For anyone who is interested, here is my GPS training logs:

• Day 1 (4.93 mi, 0:50:02)
• Day 2 (5.86 mi, 0:53:58)
• Day 3
• Part 1 (?.?? mi, 0:30:01)
• Part 2 (?.?? mi, 0:35:04)
• Day 4 (9.88 mi, 1:50:14)
• Day 5 (3.68 mi, 0:38:48)
• Day 6 (5.90 mi, 0:58:49)
• The 1/2 Marathon (13.10 mi, 2:13:23)