Starbucks... on your iPod!!!

Starbucks just opened a store... in my pants!!!

iPod touch features.

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Mystic Venture trip report - 2007-08-18

Last weekend, Maria and I headed to the boat for our first time sailing with just the two of us. We arrive Friday evening, and got the boat ready to set out in the morning. Saturday we left around 10 or so in the morning... nice and casual. We only needed to make about 20 or so miles, so we had time to be lazy.

Saturday was the kind of day that makes everything worth while. The sun was out, the weather was amazing, the wind was decent... everything was awesome. We had an amazing sail from Salt Ponds to New Point Comfort. We anchored in a sheltered cove, hiding from the north eastern winds. We inflated the dive-yak... and went for its maiden voyage. Turns out, this thing is huge... and stable... and slow. It was like paddling a barge. Good work-out, but didn't get far. Maria saw phosphorescence for the first time... and it was pretty bright. It was an awesome evening.

For as awesome as the day was, the night, and next day was the opposite. Around midnight, the wind shifted to the south, and picked up to 15 or 20 knots or so. Our sweet little sheltered cove became a bumpy, un-sheltered, windy cove. I didn't really sleep that much, as I don't fully trust the anchor on the boat... but she held, without a slip. I was pretty impressed... but I did have allot of line out, I think I was 10:1 at that point.

Sunday we left the anchorage around 8 or so, and headed back. Because the wind was coming from right where we wanted to go, we decided to motor. I did some calculating based on the fuel gauge, and the distance and hours needed to motor and figured we had enough fuel. Turns out I was wrong... whoops. We bumped against wind and waves for hours, and were about a mile from the harbor entrance when the engine started to cut out. We shut her down, and raised a sail. I figured that with the boat rocking like it was, it cut the engine a little early and we would have enough fuel to get to the dock... this time, I was right... barely.

We cleaned her up, and headed home. The 9 hour drive home was not fun... and was made less fun by me completely missing our exit, and thus driving by Lexington KY on the way... only adding a few hours to the drive.

Saturday though... made it all worth it. What an amazing day.


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Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch - New York Times

"there’s a 20 percent chance we’re living in a computer simulation.”

Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy’s Couch - New York Times


I just started play World of Warcraft... and I played it while watching the Matrix the other day... did our opperator laugh at that? Or are they too smart for humor anymore.

"David J. Chalmers, a philosopher at the Australian National University, says Dr. Bostrom’s simulation hypothesis isn’t a cause for skepticism, but simply a different metaphysical explanation of our world. Whatever you’re touching now — a sheet of paper, a keyboard, a coffee mug — is real to you even if it’s created on a computer circuit rather than fashioned out of wood, plastic or clay."

There's nothing to see here folks... move along.

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One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008

Its almost one year till the Beijing Olympics.

Here is a video protest made by the Students for a Free Tibet at the basecamp of Mount Everest. China is planning on taking the olympic torch up Mount Everest, attempting to give legitimacy to China's occupation of Tibet.

These protesters have since been detained, and not heard from.



Here's a blog from Lhadon Tethong, the executive director of the SFT (Students for a Free Tibet), and her attempts to speak with the International Olympic Committee about China's humanitarian issues, and occupation of Tibet.There is an open letter to the president of the committee concerning failed Chinese promises. Since she has been in Beijing, she has been watched by Chinese police and apparently has been detained... nobody has heard from them for about a week.

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Why architects don't design cars

Zaha Hadid was recently commissioned by art dealer Kenny Schachter to design a car.

As is typical with some architects... while it looks pretty cool, and is shiny and smooth, there are some basic car criteria missing... like headlights. I guess thats what happens when you get an architect who built a firestation too small for the firetrucks.

Check out this page with more info and images.

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Joovc Doovde player... please.

This is one of the funniest videos I have seen in a while

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Two more photos of the Mudaritaville carnage.

A fun time was had by all.

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Mudaritaville 2007

This last weekend saw Mudaritaville 2007 Mud Volleyball for Epilepsy. It was an amazing event, which sold out this year, for the first time in the 16 years its been running. Our team won only one of the 6 games we played but we had a blast losing... we left before the afternoon session as most people on the team were burnt out by then.

A great time was had by all, and I will update this post, or add another one when the foundation finds out how much help we gave to the cause.

A Mystic Venture indeed.

Wow.... what a trip. Alot of people doubted that 4 people who don't know how to sail, on a boat which is completely unfamiliar, for the boats first trip of the season, and in waters completely unknown would live to tell the tale (or write a blog). Not only are we alive, have all of our limbs, and are better friends than before... but we had an awesome trip.

The crew for this journey are some friends of mine whom I met through climbing. TJ (now known as Consonant J), the legendary Aaron Taylor, and Kansas (who laughs in the face of adverse conditions... literally).

It wasn't all smooth sailing, infact, it didn't start out smooth at all. Our first night was spent sleeping in the parking lot of a VW dealer, which bumped our schedule off a bit... but in the end it was a good thing.

We arrived at the boat Saturday night, and proceeded to unload the tons of gear we brought. To set the mood for the trip... Aaron grilled some steaks to perfection, and we opened a specific bottle of wine... which we shared with the transom of the boat in a slightly ritualistic way. This was the first night spent on the boat.

Sunday was spent preparing the Mystic Venture for the journey ahead. We came to her with 7 bottles of wine, and by the end of the day, we were down to 9 bottles of wine... after drinking 3 since our arrival. We put her name on her, filled the galley with necessities, stowed all the gear, cleaned her inside and out, filled the water tank, bought some spare parts, and enjoyed the thought of the journey to come.

Monday was the sea-trial. The broker showed up, and was much less than helpful with the boat. We started the engine, ran her around the river, checking out the electronics, and being sure everything was operating as listed. In total, this "sea-trial" lasted 10 to 15 minutes because he had to get to another meeting... I would not recommend him to anybody.

Monday afternoon, with the right tide, we finally untied the Mystic Venture from the slip she was in, and moved her to the ocean. We stopped for fuel along the way, spending a total of $22 to fill her tank. The first night we spent on the hook in a little cove called Horseshoe Cove in Sandy Hook Bay... its something amazing to be on your boat, on the hook for the first time.

Tuesday morning, the crew and I woke up as early as we dared venture with the light, and made our way north into New York Harbor for the maiden voyage around the Statue of Liberty! Its quite something to cruise your own boat into NY harbor, and up to the Statue of Liberty for her first voyage! It is something that neither I nor the crew will soon forget. We then made our way to Manasquan inlet to spend the night. We sailed for some of this time, but mostly motored as we were heading right into the wind, and needed to make the miles.

Manasquan was not the prettiest place we stayed. We had to anchor in the harbor due to there not being any transient slips open in any of the marinas. We managed to find a tiny cove to anchor, with some help from a local. This "cove" was a bump in a river in the town... it felt like we were in a parking lot, rather than on the water. The train ran so close that the conductors would wave at us... and we could see which color Slurpee people were buying from the 7-11 across the way. Not an ideal place... but it was semi-secure anchorage for the night.

The next day, our plan was to get to Absecon Inlet, the inlet for Atlantic City. We woke a little late, and attempted to do some sailing, even though the wind was against us... which meant we had to do some tacking to make any headway. We headed about 7 miles offshore at one point, to see if we could find a different wind, which we didn't. We ended up not being able to make it the whole way to Absecon, and instead had to stop in Little Egg Inlet. The weather on the way took a turn for the rougher, and we ended up powering through 4 to 5 foot seas... but the boat handled it with no problem. Water came over the bow a few times, and washed over the deck, but I felt confident in the boat the whole time.

There aren't really good charts for Little Egg because the shoaling keeps changing here... which makes it tricky to find a place to anchor. Once in the inlet though, we spotted a couple of sailboats anchored up for the night, so figured that would be a decent place to go. As we were motoring over to them, we noticed a change in the water color likely indicating a shallow spot, but it could have been a current change also (strange currents in some of these inlets). We crept up to it, keeping a sharp eye on the depth gauge... once we realized it was shallow, we put the boat in reverse, and managed to only tap the keel into the sand bottom. There are two types of sailors, ones that have run aground, and ones that will. We spent the night on the hook here, where the boat sat strangely as the current and wind were in opposition to one another.

Thursday, we had to make up some ground... or water, as we were off our schedule some. The weather looked to be a bit rougher, and wetter. We motored for the entire day to make it to Cape May, NJ. The seas were not as rough as they had fore casted, but there was rain... and we had to don our wet weather gear for the first time. We made it all the way to Cape May in plenty of time, where we re-fueled, bought some fresh crab, and then made our way across the Delaware to a safe harbor on the other side. As we crossed the Delaware, we came across a huge pod of dolphins, probably 30 or 40 or so. They were tail slapping, jumping, and playing. We coasted close enough to see them, and they came over to see if they could surf our bow wave. We anchored that night in a beautiful cove, very protected, with only slight current. It was an ideal location... and would have been a nice place to get in a little earlier, and hangout at. Maybe I have to go back another time.

Friday was a day we expected to do alot of sailing. The wind was supposed to shift to a more desirable direction, and be generally nice for sailing. Turns out the wind was very light, so we decided to power on for most of the day... we had a plan of covering 65 miles that day... which is a big day. Our destination was Chincoteague... and I wanted to be sure to make it there before dark, as this is another inlet where local knowledge is needed... and we didn't bring any locals with us. We ended up finding a cool little spot to drop anchor, and had a great evening.

Saturday turned out to be one of the best sailing days on the whole trip. We woke up early, and began our 70 mile journey to Salt Ponds, Virginia, where the boat will be docked for the next several months. We motored for a while, until the wind picked up. Once we had a decent enough wind... I gave the order to raise sails, and we shut down the engine. We sailed for most of the day, mostly running with the wind, but with a few hours of beam reach. I had grown comfortable enough with the boat that I was tuning the sails at the same time as piloting the boat, while most of the crew lounged, read, or made meals. This was the day that made it all worth it... and the kind of day I hope to live again an again. We made port in the evening... crossing the Chesapeake with hardly seeing any other traffic. I was surprised to not see many others out as the wind was great, the water calm, and the sun warm.

The boat is now safely docked in her newest home-port... waiting for Maria and I to take her out. I can not imagine being able to do this without the amazing friends I took as crew... they all did an awesome job, and it wouldn't have been possible without them. My only regret is that Maria was not there for the trip... but, she and I will have many, many more miles in the Mystic Venture.

Island being formed.

I found this while wandering around the internets. Apparently, this couple were cruising the South Pacific, and came across some floating pumice... volcanic rock. Strange... but as they kept moving, they saw smoke coming out of the ocean. When they got closer, the discovered it was an island actually being formed right infront of them. How cool.

So, my question is can you claim it as your own... I mean... just walk up, (or sail, or swim) and stick a flag in it (once it cools off a little)... write the UN, and say...





"Dear United Nations,

I'm Russ, and I just found an island thats not anybody elses... so its mine. I am calling it... Larry the Island. Please send me the papers I need to sign for to be President and Ambassador.

My address is:
King Russ
#1 Main Street
Russtown
Larry the Island.

Thanks... I look forward to meeting my neightbors, and coming to the UN's yearly ice-cream social for ambassadors. Tell Fiji I said hi when you talk to them... and to send those palm trees we talked about when they get the chance."