Resolutions - the beginning

Every year millions of people come up with great resolutions on how they are going to be better, more awesome people. By now, most of them have forgotten about their grand schemes, or it has become just talk. I have been equally as guilty in the past of similar atrocities... but I think that this year will be different.

I read something yesterday on Gizmodo from Steve Jobs (mum, Steve is perhaps the most influential CEO of our time, he's the head of Apple) that made me realise why he is so successful, and its something I used to have. He actually was quoting the creators of the "Whole Earth Catalog", which he described as Google before the Internet. On the back cover of the final issue of the catalog there were 4 words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

To me, among other things, it is a battle cry against complacency and convention.

Last year was a rough year for millions of people... money was the focus of most peoples issues and definitely a focus of mine. More than that for me was losing myself in the stresses of life, and missing out on some phenomenal opportunities to live foolishly.

Last year, I was not me... I did not climb as much as I wanted (until towards the end of the year), I definitely didn't sail as much as I wanted, and I didn't live how I wanted. Way too many days were spent watching the TV instead of watching the sunset, cooking from a microwave instead of a campstove, sitting on my couch instead of swinging from a rope, sleeping in my bed instead of under stars....

I don't have all my plans figured out just yet, but I have some goals. Some are small, some are large, but they are all about me, and change. I will sail more this year, I will be a 5.11 climber this year, I will lead alot more trad this year, I will find more joy this year, I will travel more this year, I will dive more this year, and I will be hungrier and more foolish.

What am I doing right now about this... I am headed out to make a snow angel in 7 degree weather!

Brilliant ideas log.

Every once in a while... or every few minutes... I come up with something I think is brilliant... usually its only me that thinks this.

Here's some from this week:

• An LED light with battery, and radio beacon to attach to indoor climbing walls for climbing comps so you can change the route remotely... or even as the climber is on it!
• Beer Runners... a beer and wine delivery company. Saves everyone from driving drunk. Add pizzas to that, and it basically prints its own money.
• Graffiti finder... a website you upload camera-phone photos of graffiti and get more information about it. Maybe even a google-maps of where all those tags are found.
  

Thats it so far, its been a slow week. I have had to dumb myself down to deal with work. Maybe when I quit I can smarten up again.

Ofcourse, the greatest of all is the Dayton Rickshaw Company... where we are a rickshaw taxi service!

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Advice from everyone

So, I am sitting in my little cube right now... have been all year. Its cold out, but the sun is shining. I don't enjoy my cube much, so I practice a new form of escapism, where you listen to pod-casts (internet talk-radio) about sailing all day. and I have pictures of my boat up on the walls, and background of my computer, and let my mind wander.

The particular podcast I have been listening too is furled sails... where they interview all these people who are sailing, or doing awesome sailing things. Often they will ask people who have shared a great story about their adventures what advice they would give anybody considering doing something similar.

The first thing that every single person has answered was "go do it". Thats the first advice that anybody ever gives... not what sort of boat to take, sort of gear, when, or how... but that anybody considering something similar, should just go do it.

I hope that some day I will be able to give similar advice.

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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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Before and after

Best advice I heard all night

A beautiful, young red-headed friend of mine once told me:
"Never make someone a priority, when they make you their option!"

And, (now) I always say "always listen to hot red-heads."

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Exodus has begun

Dayton is like one of those giant rubber bands they use for slingshots. The longer you stay, the more it gets pulled back. How far away you move when you finally leave is based around how long you stayed.

Jabari didn't stay long, he is only able to fly to the NYC.

Can't wait to visit you dude. Hope my rubber band has not snapped by that time.

The new net... pNet.

The Internet is awesome... it has everything you could want. Movies, TV, music, knowledge, and sweaters. Problem is, it is too big, and you were always stuck staring into a computer to find stuff. Then came the devices, your cell phone, PSP/Gameboy, iPod, iPhone, PDA, smart phone, camera, camera phone, cellular iPDApod, yada yada. These devices usually live fairly independently, occasionally connecting to each other in order to share ability, or minor information.

With these, you can talk to others, listen to music, check your schedule, watch TV/movies, show off your photos, check your stocks, find out the current bid of the Wookie costume on eBay, or check the weather in Bolivia. Each device you have is tuned to do some of this better than others, but who really watches movies on their phones? Have you tried calling someone using a PlayStation Portable? How about making your calendar in your office computer, home computer, iPod, phone, and PDA all match?

I have a solution.

We need a Personal Information Server (P.I.S. for short). What is P.I.S. I hear you asking... it is essentially a tiny hard drive which stores all your media and information. Your music, your movies, your photos, your contacts, and your calendar. There is no screen, no buttons, just a few lights and a wireless connection to any available wifi or cellular network.

Then there are the devices that will connect to your P.I.S. to form a Ubiquitous, Redundant Information Network... or U.R.I.N. for short. Each device does its own thing... your cell phone no longer plays music, it just makes calls. Your PDA doesn't need to play games, it just acts as a data assistant. Your camera can dump photos directly to your server, letting you instantly free that memory card.

But why the shift in paradigm away from the wanna-be all-in-one type devices. They cost lots, when they break your hosed, they never do everything, or anything perfectly, and sometimes you don't want your "cellular iPDApod" with you, but you do need the cellular part of that. Device size alone is a huge reason... now your phone can be small enough fit in your jeans pockets. Another huge advantage is the dreaded upgrade. Upgrading your phone doesn't mean you need to upgrade your camera. Information sharing would also be extremely simple... want to try your buddy's camera out, just tell it to send the photos to your P.I.S. instead, and tada. Your phone breaks, and you need to make a call... grab anybody's phone, pass the biometric security, now your dialin'. Stream your music to your friends sound system.

The system comes alive when it gets smart. Your going to Vegas for your friends wedding, you put it in your calendar... now your P.I.S. goes and gets information from the internet for you. It grabs airfares, hotels, maps, show information, all the standard stuff. It also knows you like to climb, so it gets maps for Red Rocks, and digital guide books for the climbs. You can look at all this information when you are ready too, without needing a live internet connection, until you want to book something that is. When your in Vegas, your pNet suggests restraunts based on your location, it will even serve up the menus.

Apple just released what could be the first step for this. Their iTV Media Router connects your media to your TV without tapes, discs, or cords. It simply streams your media to your device, just like my hypothetical U.R.I.N. stream.

The 'i' is dead... long live 'p'.

Discovery

So... I figure its time to get to the new webby way of things, and begin my blogging experience.

What do I want this to be? I am planning on it becoming a container for many things, travelling updates, showing off photos, my random thoughts on how the world could be a better place... and life updates.

Stay tuned, could be cool.