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A Sunny Day at Bogus Basin
Even though the snow at Bogus Basin was not quite as good today, I left with a real fondness for the place. With perfect blue skies and not a breath of wind, we were treated to one visual feast after another. Orange sun on spruce trees with every needle encrusted in snow. A bright half…
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The Outdoor Map
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been fiddling with a website called The Outdoor Map for almost a year now. My vision for it has changed, but I still use it all the time myself for finding places, keeping notes and links for them, and general map investigation. I had hoped that the site would…
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Bogus Basin Ski Area
We explore another small ski area. This one is near Boise, has six lifts, and is playfully named Bogus Basin. Once again we’re fortunate to hit decent snow, and several inches more fall while we’re there, keeping it fresh. The area is spread out, requiring some traversing from lift to lift. It has good trees,…
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Geo Mashup 1.0 Beta 1 Release
A Christmas present of sorts – some bleeding edge software for you! I’ve used some of my holiday break time to start implementing a few features I’ve been eager to add to the Geo Mashup Plugin. I’ve made a lot of changes in this one that will need some testing, so I’m going to release…
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Pomerelle ski area
We need some activity to break up the long drive to visit Ann’s family in Nampa, Idaho, so we stop at tiny Pomerelle Mountain Ski Area. We’re lucky to hit beautiful weather and a nice foot of fresh powder. I’m reminded of the virtues of little podunk ski areas like this: easy access to your…
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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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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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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…