Did you know there’s a Church of Scientology in Chicago? It’s on Lincoln just east of Belmont. In January 2011 the Church lost a court case that would prohibit protesters from demonstrating within 150 feet of their doorway. You can learn more about the details of the case in the original Chicago Tribune article. As of now the ruling has been overturned and the Church has lost the case. For some interesting background information including interviews, essays and legal documents on L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, click here.

These protesters are with the group Anonymous and are working to take down the Scientology organization. However, their goals are not just limited to dismantling the Church of Scientology. Recently they have taken credit for hacking into the website of Stratfor Global Intelligence. This was a major lapse in online security by a company routinely supplying intelligence and security information to departments of the US government. VentureBeat wrote a great article titled the “10 things you need to know about Anonymous’ Stratfor hack”.

Also, in a bizarre twist the Nation of Islam and the Church of Scientology have become allies. Read more about these strange bedfellows here.

A few friends and I rented a cabin in Wisconsin. We had fire, brats, beer, liquor, dj equipment, a pool table and nunchucks. We went hiking and found a turkey feather. It was fun.

I met the other Sean Costin for the first time this summer. He is a recumbent bicycle racer. You can learn more about his impressive bike building skills here, and watch him winning a world record here. You can also find more info about recumbents here.

Im lucky enough to have some friends with access to a sailboat. Although I barely know port from aft its alot of fun pretending Im a real deal sailor for a day. I say pretending because I spend most of the day drinking beer, eating food, taking photos and talking like a pirate. Mostly talking like a pirate.

The weather made for an awesome day for sailing and photos. Leaving the harbor we had sun warmth and wind. On our return we had high choppy waves, big gusty winds and rain. By the time we got back the rain had cleared and we could hear Nas and Damian Marley at Lollapalooza. Thanks Admiral James and Captain Tim!

A cable car ascends to the platform on Aguille du Midi (the Needle of Midday). The tram begins in the French town of Chamonix and completes the first leg of the journey, Les Pelerins to La Para, at Plan de l’Aiguille. A second tram then continues on the second stretch, La Para – Les Glaciers, finally ending on the platform. It ascends a total of 2807 meters/9209 feet in a matter of 16 minutes. From the top of Aguille du Midi you can see the peak of Mont Blanc, at 4260 metres/13,976 feet it is the highest mountain in all of the European Union.

(L)Two men climb a ridge in an attempt to summit the Aguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc Massif, a highly popular route that routinely sees around 20,000 climbers attempt it every year. Mont Blanc was first climbed by Doctor Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat on August 8 1786. The towering peak in the background is Les Grandes Jorasses.

(R)Visitors take a break in the high altitude.

This platform sits on the peak of the Aguille du Midi, and lies only 3300 ft beneath the peak of Mont Blanc. It is built into the rock and was completed in 1955. Quite a feat of engineering at 3482 meters, or 12,604 feet.

(L) The climbers continue their arduous ascent.

(R) A piece of wood lodged between the handles of the doors holds back the overflow of an “ice cave”.

Visitors look out on the Alps from the Mont Blanc terrace.

I went to Colorado a few months back and caught a show at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. Chali 2na was there as well as some members of Thievery Corporation. There were free drinks all night. I had fun.

Living in Illinois can be challenging for a climber. Its mostly flat and you cant really climb a cornfield. Finding vertical is a difficult endeavor and even when you do the quality of rock can be questionable. If you do find nice rock then it will probably be crowded. Thats why for the most part the Palisades are awesome. I say for the most part because they are 100+ miles from chicago and they can get crowded. It’s nice limestone, chossy in some places, but still decent. Its also got an awesome view of the mississippi and nice camping nearby. Check out mountainproject.com to learn more about the Palisades.

Dr. Mike is a large animal vet in Wisconsin. He is also my cousin. I spent some time with him on the job this past January. It is a very hard job and not for the weak of stomach. See more photos from the series on my website.

Chiditarod is amazing. Where else can you see people dressed in crazy outfits racing shopping carts from bar to bar in the name of charity? Nowhere. Go to my website to see the whole series.