Wanderings and Musings

Burning Man 2009

2010-03-07T17:41:04Z

This is my second Burning Man experience and it feels much different than the first time. I don’t know if it is because I have already been exposed to all of the excitement before, if there is just a different energy in the air, or people around seem to be more withdrawn this year.

But first, for those who don’t know what Burning Man is… it’s a huge annual art/party/spiritual/sexual/dance/anything-goes event in the Blackrock desert of Nevada held around each Labor day. Recently the numbers have been in the 50 thousand range of attendees. The conditions are harsh but the vibe is friendly, caring, and open.

As I sit and think back over the week in the desert, I find that words really can’t describe the experience. What happens and what you see and feel are so different from the pictures you end up bringing back. The inner personal experience is totally what makes Burning Man. The only thing I can suggest is that if what you see and read about the event excite you, then you really need to give it a try. Maybe I’ll see you there next round.

Location of Burning Man

Burning man evolve sign

The man enjoying the sun

A closeup of the man

A fabulous climbable sculpture

Climbing on the butterfly

The Lost Penguin

The fire tree before lighting up

Magnification of a skeletal sculpture

An evolving arm

A real mobile home

A nest out in the middle of nowhere

Starfucks oasis - a wonderful place to relax

The man at night

Imei all dressed up with anywhere to go

A seventy foot tall woman

The fire tree in action, interaction required

The love knot

Statue of ....?

Into the belly of the beast

Ice cream in the desert... any flavor you want

The salamander has lightning orbs for eyes!

Bioluminescent octopus

Vibrator Repair Camp

Fiddling hare

Dancing tortoise

The show begins

... and intensifies...

Until the man goes up in flames

Learning how to travel in Costa Rica

2010-03-07T16:44:42Z

Wow! It’s been two years since I took my trip to Costa Rica, and I’m just getting around to writing this article. Talk about procrastination! To be fair to myself, I hadn’t even started the blog yet at that point. But once I had started it, I kept meaning to write this and show a few pictures.

This trip was my first international trip, alone, traveling light and simple, not speaking the local language and with very little planning. Just the way I want to travel! But this would be the test of whether it was a style of traveling that I could handle. Instead of describing my trip in detail, I’m going to touch on points as to how this journey shaped my future travels.

Traveling Alone

The pool underneath Catarata La Fortuna

You’re never really alone when you travel… or very rarely so, as there are always people around to chat with or interact with in some way. And being a foreigner usually causes great interest from the locals if you choose to let them in. Other travelers are also very open to going on adventures or hanging out with you. So don’t fear that you’ll ever be alone unless you really want to be. Rather what I mean by traveling alone is that I came on this journey by myself without a travel partner.

What I like most about this is the freedom it gives you. Most people aren’t comfortable with no planning or preparation or have different physical comfort needs. So whenever you travel with another, you both have to compromise on those things. You may want to get up early and rush out to see a particular sight while your partner wants to have a leisurely morning followed by seeing a different sight. What do you do? How do you compromise on the plans? While compromise is an outstanding skill to learn and when I need to do it I can compromise with the best of them… I really enjoy not having to compromise and instead have the complete freedom to choose my path at any point in the day.

A cafe surrounding a tree

Another drawback to traveling with someone is the automatic social bubble it places around you. You have someone to talk to, so there isn’t a need to reach out and chat with someone else, and while you’re both merrily chatting away the other person that you don’t know but has an interest in talking with you to find out your story is usually wary of intruding into that circle. Not that it is all that difficult to avoid this pitfall, but it does take some conscious effort and is easy to fall back into at any point. I found that I really like the way traveling alone forces me into interactions with everyone around me, and how much I discover about myself and everyone else by breaking out of my shell.

And finally it opens opportunities to experiences that a pair or more of people might not be invited to. Of course it is also true that it closes some opportunities too, but I would guess that more opportunities are opened than closed as it is easier to accommodate for a single person rather than a few.

Traveling Light

For this trip I only packed a backpack; which in this case was a 55 liter one that I had maybe 2/3 full. From that experience I decided to drastically reduce the size of my pack and bought a 27 liter pack that has served me very well on my other trips. The reasons: Carting a large backpack onto buses and around town is a pain in the ass… or back, and I found that I didn’t really use as much as I had thought I would.

Simplifying the things you carry around with you, also simplifies the mental energy you spend worrying about those things, thus freeing you up to the pleasures of what is happening around you and not stressing about your “stuff”. This can easily carry over into your normal life too. Think how much more peaceful and relaxed you’d be without so much stuff in your life to worry about.

Traveling Simply

A beautiful locally known swimming hole

This is probably the driving factor for the two previous topics of traveling along and traveling light. I really like to live and thus travel simply. I don’t need a five star hotel room, a gourmet meal, and the latest fashion to feel great. Give me a blanket under the stars, a basic meal, whatever works to keep me dry and I’m just as happy as a bug in a rug. But this isn’t the way most others enjoy living so if I want to travel like this I have to do it alone.

This is where traveling turns from adventure into a part of my spiritual journey. How simple can I get, how much can I strip away to find the real me, what does it take to be happy? They are all questions I have, and I am still exploring them and peeling back the layers of my personal spiritual onion. I find that challenging myself on all aspects of my life cause me to learn things that drive me deeper into my true self.

Not speaking the language

An orchid collector showing one of his favorites

Not speaking the local language is probably the factor that keeps many people from venturing to other countries that they might like. I understand the fear, but in most cases it is highly unfounded. If you are willing to try to learn and can grasp the basics while reading a phrasebook, you’ll be just fine. People are helpful and friendly everywhere you go.

With a willingness to learn and ask questions, people will open up to you and help to teach you their language. We are all superb linguists when we have to be and it will come much faster than you think. At the barest of minimums, there are universal signs and body language for getting your message across, so even without speaking a single word you can make your needs or feelings known.

I know that society is complicit in stoking our fears of the unknown and we run all sorts of various scenarios in our head about the bad things that can happen to us and how if we don’t know the language it will be so much worse… Just realize that those fears are horrible edge-case guesses and jump in with both feet. Soon you’ll have actual experience to go from and you’ll also find that the world is a wonderful, not a scary place.

By the seat of my pants

The orange kneed tarantulas were huge

Of my international trips, I definitely planned this one out the most. After my experiences in Costa Rica though, I found that I don’t need to plan as much and in fact enjoy not planning or researching so that I am more in the moment as I travel instead of spending mental energy ticking through the various sights I ‘must see’ or time-lines I have to meet. It does occasionally cost a little more to not pre-plan, but it can also save when you can take advantage of opportunities you weren’t previously aware of. You also might miss that ‘must see’ destination, but so what? Ticking a list of things to see or do in no way compares to truly enjoying any moment of your journey or life.

What I learned

Stop, slow down, look around, enjoy each moment, drop your expectations, open up, speak up or quiet down each in their own turn, live, love and laugh.

Namaste my friends

Other Pictures

A view from the hike down to Catarata La Fortuna

Arenal Volcano from the top of Cerro Chato

While searching for poison arrow frogs... this is the only frog I found

A view down to the city of La Fortuna

This Black Guan came right up to me

A cane toad hiding under a walkway

Me in front of a waterfall

Parrots in a bird sanctuary

In a butterfly habitat

The Fleur de Lance is huge and deadly

Three waterfalls in one shot

Drawing – Flaming Soccer ball

2010-02-24T20:52:43Z

January 20th, 2010 – A birthday drawing for Briana. She wanted a purple soccer ball, with blue flames (she said she told me this, but I didn’t hear ) So instead I drew a blue and purple soccer ball, with regular flames. Opps!

Analysis – I haven’t had much experience with flames, or drawing the shading on balls… so I wasn’t very happy with the outcome. The overlapping colors was especially troublesome, as the colored pencils I am using don’t blend well together… so it takes a bit of planning to determine how you want the final overlapped colors to look (which I didn’t do).

–Click the images below for larger versions–

Drawing – Girl and her kitten

2010-02-24T20:52:32Z

February 22nd, 2010 – For Aleah’s 11th birthday, she picked an old picture of herself holding Neko. Although her birthday isn’t until August, I needed to get started on this early since I won’t be here for the 3 months right up to her birthday. I really like how it turned out.

Analysis – Shading came right along and just seemed to work. Her eyes and lips really stand out for me and give her character, but I still have issues with hair. I need to learn how to better show highlights and shading within hair. The cat’s hair isn’t much better either. *Sigh*…

I do like having a record of my progress as I draw each day… although I need to make it a more consistent output.

–Click the images below for larger versions–

Test Post from Phone

2010-02-22T01:20:48Z

I am writing this post from my Blackberry phone using the Wordpress application. Just seeing how easy it is

2009 Year in Review

2010-02-22T01:19:25Z

I really like the idea of reflecting back over the last year and analyzing if it met your expectations and if what you see can help you to steer your coming days a little better.
These are my reflections for the year 2009.

March

I moved to new apartment. This was precipitated by both my previous lease being up, and that my daughters and ex moved into their new house. I thought it would be nice to be closer to them so they could ride or walk over when they wanted. I like the new place, and my favorite feature is the big ambiently heated garage.

April

My daughters and I went for our annual spring break trip. This year we went to Arizona to ride in a hot air balloon. It was a very cool experience going up to 7500 feet, floating with the wind, and they had fun watching their spit fall. Haha.

September

Although my work contract was initially only for a year and would be up at the end of October, my boss offered for an extension to work plus I could still take my travels as I wanted. I accepted… for now…

Went to Burning Man for the second time. The first year ‘Wow’ factor wasn’t there, but it is still an incredible event with plenty to learn about yourself and others.

October

I attended a Conscious Growth Workshop put on by Steve Pavlina in Las Vegas. Although my personal growth has progressed to a point where there were no ‘Aha’ moments, it was nice to get others perspectives and to meet people who are also on a similar path.
At the workshop I made a decision to fully give Life Coaching a run in my life. I promised myself (and publicly by being video taped and put on the spot by Lori Painter. Thanks Lori!) that within 6 months I would stop doing software development for a living and dedicate myself to Life Coaching. This has culminated in me ending my current employment in the middle of March, and when I get back from Japan at the end of July I will be full on into Life Coaching.

November

I traveled to Peru and Ecuador to visit Machu Pichhu and the Galapagos Islands. I was traveling for five weeks, and loved every minute of it… I met so many amazing people and saw plenty of incredible sites. Discovered that I don’t get seasick on small boats out in the open ocean, which I previously thought I might.

December

I continued down my path of awareness and personal growth. When at home I do a lot of reading and thinking, but also when I am traveling I am putting those ideas into practice and truly being me and present in the moment. It’s not instant, but it’s noticeable.

Overall Year

I only wrote 11 articles over the year. That is a poor output and I’ve been queuing up many things I want to write about.
I only drew 4 pictures over the year. Again a poor output for something I both enjoy and have talent at. There must be a reason for my lack of desire in these areas…
I feel that my daughters and I still continue to develop amazing connections. They roll their eyes quite a bit at some of my suggestions on ways to approach life, but I see it taking affect and they seem to be struggling and suffering less against the world. It’s their journey, but if I can help open their eyes just a little to make it a bit more peaceful and enjoyable…

Plans for 2010

Life: Spend more time deciding what I want to have in my life, so I can focus on those and attract them.
Travel: So far I only have two trips planned. London for a week, and Japan for three months. But I’ve made plenty of last minute trips, so who knows…
Work: Life Coaching – I would like to help others start to realize their dreams and potentials. I’ve begun to do this with people around me, and now want to expand this to make a living at it.

Body Mass Index = Useless

2010-03-02T01:35:37Z

I was reading an article today online from The New Yorker about why Americans are so fat. I definitely agree that the general population is large and getting larger and many people can be considered obese, however, in the second paragraph they “roughly define” obesity as being measured by a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or greater.

This is about as helpful as diagnosing personality disorders with the use of horoscopes! The BMI charts are worthless as they don’t take body composition (percentage of fat, muscle, bone, water-weight, etc) into account in any way, and instead just rely on a height vs weight divisor.

There are no shortage of useless algorithms out there, but my biggest problem with this particular one comes from it’s use in the media, the government, and insurance companies.

Did you know that you can be denied insurance coverage based solely on your BMI? My workout partner is in no way obese. He is a solid block of muscle at 5′10″ and 225 lbs. However, recently he was denied life insurance solely on his BMI.

Then there are the government agencies that still push this index around like it could have any sense of worth. But what do you expect from governmental bureaucracy?

The one that confuses me the most is that medical doctors would even consider using such an antiquated idea that a persons physical health could be even remotely determined by a simple division problem, let alone the health of your heart or as an indicator of your prevalence for heart disease.

So what can you do with this information? Like with anything, knowledge is power. Knowing that your doctor, or insurance company, or whomever might be using this algorithm to determine your health status, means that you should know your BMI and know if you fall within a range that may cause them concern. I personally am 26.3 which is considered just under obese, while in truth I am more like a sculpted Greek god… (kidding), but I am in very good shape and in no way obese. So knowing that, I have the knowledge to question that statistic and provide evidence of my fitness. I can ask an insurance company if they will accept another indicator such as a body fat measurement, etc.

So figure out what your BMI is, so you can be forewarned, and learn why it really doesn’t mean a thing… then you’ll be in a place of knowledge when you hear about it again.

Vermont

2010-03-02T01:34:33Z

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 – I am really enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of this part of the country. I want to say “again” because it feels so much like the Pacific Northwest. The trees are lush and green and thickly line the road. There is a feeling of life and vibrancy emanating from the woods as I ride through.

Because I’ve got a possible CS up in Burlington VT tonight, I am heading in that general direction through the back roads of New Hampshire and Vermont. There is no specific destination in mind today other than Burlington by evening, so I’m off adventuring.

Articles in this series

My American Journey
Departure
Washington
Oregon
Northern California
Southern California
Death Valley
Zion / Bryce
3 More Utah Parks
Mesa Verde / G. Canyon
Route 66
More Arizona
Tombstone
West Texas
E. Texas and Louisiana
New Orleans
Along the Gulf Coast
The Carolinas
Virginia and more
New York, NY
Conn and Mass
Maine
Vermont

More to come…

All I’m seeing as I roll through the countryside are trees, the occasional lake or stream, and very small towns. It’s a sleepy afternoon and the traffic is light on these back roads, the temperature is warm but not stifling, and I feel fantastic to be on my bike and riding.

The roads are just throwing lazy curves at me and I’m in no hurry to get anywhere or to go in search of the tighter and faster ones. All the world is right today.

My first destination of the day is when I see the Adirondack Park and Lake Placid in my approximate path. It’s a name etched into my brain as it was the place of the first winter Olympics that I was aware of growing up. Being the end of June, it won’t have quite the same flavor as it would seeing it covered in snow, but then I’d be pretty limited in the places I would be able to get to on a sport bike!

Lake Placid Ski Jumps from afar

The first real sight I have as I enter the Lake Placid area are the ski jumps towering over the trees. It’s quite an impressive sight, and I bet it’s even better up top.

The rest of the town just wasn’t impressive, or more likely I didn’t know where to go to find the best spots. But no worries, I’m just enjoying the ride today.

On the way out of town towards the ferry over Lake Champlain to Burlington… a huge Ford F-250 Diesel decided to push his speeds up through the corners as if he could beat me. I just smiled and let him pass me, then followed him for about 10 miles at high speeds through quite a few curvy sections. Nothing to prove and didn’t even want to pass him, I was just enjoying the presence of someone else who was also enjoying the roads and speed.

As I waited for the ferry, I met two couples on Harleys that were taking a tour around the north-east. They fit the cliche image of older guys with big bellies and longish beards sporting their leather Harley vests. And their women were of the same mold. But regardless of the cliche, they were wonderful people, just like everyone I’ve met on my journey.

After a long wait for the ferry, a fairly short ride on it and watching a magnificent sunset, I was over into Burlington… a small college town with plenty of parties happening at the bars.

As my CS contact never called me back, I was turning up a big goose egg on a place to stay for the night. I went to a gas station to fill up both my tank and my back tire while I pondered over what I should do for the evening. There didn’t seem to be a near-by forest area other than across the lake I had just come across, and if I drove around it would be a couple of hours or more.

As I sat there contemplating and drinking an energy drink, I met “Tank”. Tank is a 60 something old ex football coach selling insurance or something of the sort, and he matched his name as he is a tank of a man. Maybe 6′3″ and 250lbs. I’m sure in his younger days he earned the name very well.

He was interested in what my story was all about with my luggage all strapped down on my sport-bike. After I told him, we started to swap various adventure stories. We sat in the parking lot and chatted about various adventures and ideas for about 30 minutes before he suggested we go grab a beer and chat some more.

Long story short on this one, but I soon enough figured out that Tank is a closet homosexual who is too ashamed to come out and confront his desires, but strong willed enough to end up going out and get what he is needing. Note that he never told me this, and nothing happened between us, but I could tell he was slipping in various hints to allow the openings to happen. A great guy with tons to give the world, but is still held back by his lack of acceptance of his own desires. I suppose at his age he has settled into a way of living his life that fits best for him. All my best to you Tank if you’re out there and happen upon this blog.

Maine

2010-03-02T01:33:26Z

** I wrote this back in August of last year, and never got around to finishing my journal of my trip. I will endevour to complete the articles again… **

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 – It is so NICE to get out of the city and the traffic I have been bothered by for almost the whole east coast!! I feel free and easy. The weight lifts off your soul and you relax into your life again. I wonder at the people living permanently in those areas… how do they do it? I suppose it’s mostly my personality that just doesn’t deal well with the lack of freedom and nature to connect with. To my mind it seemed that the feeling of my surroundings changed instantly when I entered Maine.

Articles in this series

More to come…

Throughout the east coast the franchises ruled the road. You see Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Subway, McDonalds and all the other crappy, overpriced, unhealthy establishments spread like a plague all over the landscape. But that all changed in Maine. As I ride along the highway I start to notice the independent eateries and stores. At first I just think it’s quaint and part of the draw to attract tourists, but then I start to notice that the franchises have been muted down too. There aren’t as many of them around. Imagine that!! People would rather eat at a quality run Mom and Pop place than heading to McDonalds, but that’s only possible if they’re given the choice.

If you have a chance, please support the independent establishments. Go the extra mile, take the time to do a quick search for something else, drive around and look. You might just find your new favorite place to eat in the world or you just might help to keep a proprietors dream alive.

The one exception I see everywhere, even in Maine, is Dunkin’ Donuts… this franchise is EVERYWHERE on the east coast. There were some places where there would be two of them on the same block!! I really didn’t know that east coasters loved their donuts that much.

I had made arrangements for a couchsurf in Portland this evening, and it was only about noon as I hit the area. So I started to head up the coast of Maine to the northeast. I got as far as Rockland before I thought it would be best to start heading back to Portland again. In Rockland I stopped into a restaurant on Rockland bay and had an awesome bowl of New England clam chowder.

Heading back the way I came, I made my way back to Portland. One thing I’ve found is that when I’m exploring I don’t like to take the same road twice. There are so many roads out there and so many new things to see it seems like a waste of my time if I’ve already been down that road. But in this case there weren’t many other options to get where I needed to go.

Back in Portland, I met up with my CS host Steph and after dropping my bags on her floor, we went out walking to find a bite to eat. It was a Tuesday night and we soon found that most of the places were closed. Portland is a sleepy little provincial town when you compare it to the big cities.

Photo Gallery for this article – click on a picture for a larger inline gallery

Data Backups

2010-03-02T01:32:36Z

Ultimately all computer access and all the programs you use is about your data. Getting to it, saving it, finding it easily, and modifying it. The same holds true for physical files like papers as it does for computer files. But paper files can easily get out of hand and worthless since the information you might require is so hard to find when you need it.

Thus, I decided to go 98% paperless. Everything that comes in that I want to keep, I scan and file into my on-line storage. It is put into a very organized folder structure with a well named and dated filename, so that finding it is easy when it’s needed. The files can also be emailed, or printed out whenever I want and I can access them from anywhere with an Internet connection.

I currently use one main method for backing up most my data, and that is Subversion. Subversion is a source control system mainly used for programming, but I use it for all of my files. Well…. almost all. I have a server somewhere out there on the web that I have my Subversion server on. This server also functions as my SSH (Secure Tunnel) server and Web Server.

The biggest exception to this rule are my media files… Music and Photos… which total over 60 Gigs.

So what are the biggest reasons to choose on-line backups of your files vs a portable hard-drive?

Being able to access them from home, work or when you’re on the road
Having them securely backed up for the cases of disk failure, accidents or disasters.
The ability to find your files quickly and easily (holds true probably more so for local backups)
Keeping track of any changes to your files by using versioning
And in the case of media files like photos, music, and videos… to be able to show them or play them where ever you want.

There are plenty of other options for online backup of most files if Subversion is a bit beyond your comfort level. For instance I also use DropBox as it provides incredibly easy setup across all your computers and if you drag a file into that folder it is automatically synced to the server and down to all your computers! No need for carrying disks or harddrives back and forth.

Backing up large media files

I have about 20 Gigs of music files and 40 Gigs of photos. Since those change very rarely and are so big, Subversion isn’t the best place to store them. I was just storing them on a portable drive until I decided to find an on-line storage point. And as of a few days ago the “accident” I spoke of above happened to me I ran a script that wiped out my portable hard-drive… and lost about 10 Gigs worth of photos that I hadn’t gotten around to saving to my on-line solution. That loss prompted me to get back into making sure everything is backed up.

Photos

For my photos I use Smugmug (if you sign up, you can use this coupon code eVUIu2CdBatR2 to get $5 off). It costs $40/year for a basic membership which includes unlimited storage of your full size photos and the ability to share your albums with everyone or keep them hidden. They allow you upload and store the original and then it can be viewed in various sizes up to the original size. This is great for a real on-line storage and sharing of your photos. There is even a plug-in for Firefox called FireUploader which allows you to bulk upload and download your photos when you want.

Music Files

I use Mp3Tunes for my on-line music storage. It also costs $40/year for up to 50 Gigs of music storage, or you can get a free account which holds 2 Gig. They provide a syncronization client to make sure as your music files change they are constantly backed up and in sync. And… while you’re at work, you can listen to your music or where ever. You can also direct download your music files to your phone or other music device.

It’s becoming simple and cheap to backup your data online. Don’t lose those important files. Take action now.