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Movie: An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
This is a movie with a clear message that has nothing to do with Al Gore. The fact that he delivers the message is almost a distraction. It’s about how we react to threats. We overreact to dramatic threats like a terrorist attack with very little evidence to support our reactions. Yet gradual threats with…
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Blizzard Commute
There were predictions for a big snowstorm starting yesterday, but I ride in to work like usual and see what will come of it. The ride in is nice – quiet, a gentle tailwind, and a few snowflakes. During the morning the university announces it will close at noon to let people get home before…
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Movie: First Ascent (2006)
This is the first DVD I’ve ever bought for myself. I’d only seen the trailer, but it hooked me. I don’t regret it. The movie is well filmed, and pulls off a remarkable trick: it manages to scorn sport climbing without being at all pretentious. Make no mistake, this is about first ascents of TRAD…
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Friendsgiving
It’s not easy to put together a big holiday meal, or to make time for friends during the holidays. Our earlier attempt to do so was canceled when people were just too busy. Today we tried again, and it went off swimmingly. Everyone brought or cooked something, most of it organic and all of it…
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Movie: Earth (1998)
The middle edition of this Indian trilogy is a little hokey in spots, but edifying. The setting is Lahore during the 1947 partition of India, of interest to me because my grandfather started a hospital in Lahore a few years later. The movie clearly portrays some of the social distinctions between Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians,…
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Black Powder Trail
Looking for a quick midday hike we drive up the Poudre Canyon to the Milton Seaman Reservoir to hike the Black Powder Trail. This turns out to be just what we wanted – short, but a good climb to a nice view. I’d never actually seen the reservoir until now because it’s tucked away too…
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Book: Where Mathematics Comes From / Lakoff and Nuñez
This book represents the second of two reading epiphanies I’ve had this year (the first was The Omnivore’s Dilemma). I pulled this book from the shelf at the library looking for a good follow-up to The Mathematical Experience. That book pulled the carpet out from under my mathematical education, and much of my personal philosophy…
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Compare Everytrail and ActiveTrails
I’ve uploaded my last outing to both Everytrail and ActiveTrails to do a little feature comparison. You can follow the links and play with each yourself. I come out leaning towards ActiveTrails, which has a nice simple interface and does things like printing with grace. Everytrail has a few more features for editing content, and…
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Moody Hill Snowshoe
Ejected from Redstone Creek, Doug and I continue up County Road 27 to CR 44H, which sports some hopeful forest service signs. We’re a little short on time at this point, but we soon see a parking area and a steep forest road heading into the trees. As we’re getting ready I also see a…
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Trail Reconnaisance: No love in Redstone Canyon
I want to see if there is any hiking to be had on the west side of Horsetooth Mountain, in Redstone Canyon. The topo maps show an unlabeled trail heading west, and a trail called Bardwell Trail climbing east toward Arthur’s Rock. Redstone canyon is full of gorgeous, deep red sandstone rock faces. And NO…