Popping the question

After almost two years of dating, I decided I had waiting long enough and proposed to Joan. After calling me an asshole (cause she thought I was kidding, but the ring finally convinced her), and after she stopped crying (eventually) - she said yes! I've never considered myself a commitment-phobe, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But afterwards, several months worth of tension and stress just melted away. I didn't realized how much I was worrying over the decision, but now that it's done I feel completely happy and relaxed again - it's awesome! Of course within five minutes the news had gone viral over FB and chaos ensued, but it's all good.

Countdown to the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim!

The most complicated trip I have been involved in planning, hands down. But all the arrangements are made, and I can't believe how close it is! Pumped!





....time until The Red Fox, Landseer and I embark on what is sure to be the trip of a lifetime.

Amazon Kindle Review

Ok, maybe it's doesn't quite fall into the category of outdoor gear, but I drag this thing with me everywhere now. It's even light and compact enough to go on back country trips (just keep it dry!)


Some basic info about Amazon's Kindle
, in case you aren't familiar with it:

- It is a true 'ebook', not a portable computer or tablet
- Uses 'liquid ink' technology, not an traditional LCD or OLED display
- Can hold thousands of books
- Connects through either a free 3G connection or through Wifi to download content
- Battery life of about a month! (with wireless turned off)
- You can read it in direct sunlight! (even with polarized shades on)
- You get books from Amazon (literally hundreds of thousands of books available)

This review covers the new version of the Kindle, which is basically just a little faster and also sports a more streamlined look then the original. Amazon has also added 'ad supported' models for a cheaper price tag that will display Amazon ad's instead of the random artist portraits etc from the original. A small price to pay to save ~$50 I would say.

In a nutshell, I love the Kindle. I use it for exactly what it's intended for, reading books. This isn't for browsing the internet or checking your email. It is quite literally an electronic translation of a paper book. The advantages of this very specific purpose are many. As I listed above, the screen is truly electronic paper, you can read it in bright light just like it was a paper book (try that with your iPad). This means you will need a light source when reading in a dark room (or outdoors at night) just like a real book. The other huge bonus of this design - the battery lasts almost forever. You can forget to charge this thing for up to a month and still be able to read. If you totally forget that it's actually an electronic device and the battery dies completely - don't worry, you can fully charge it in about 45 minutes.

Content is pulled down from Amazon either through the free 3G service or through a Wifi connection. The Wifi only models are a bit cheaper, and totally fine if you don't absolutely have to be able to download books anywhere anytime.

Extra bonus - you can download a free Kindle book reader for just about anything, your PC, Mac, droid, Blackberry etc etc. At present time Amazon lets you download one book on up to five different devices. So you can even do some limited sharing with your friends using a little creativity (I will go into detail about this another time). And even better, all your devices will automatically sync to your current page! I regularly bounce between reading on my Kindle, Droid Smartphone, and Kindle for PC on my laptop. It's almost too easy.

And of course, there are a myriad of accessories available. You can customize your Kindle with a fancy cover. I keep mine protected with a simple leather cover. Though there are fancier ones with built in lights like this one: Kindle Lighted Cover (Fits 6" Display, Latest Generation Kindle) Charging is done with a standard micro usb cable. So charging from your laptop on the go is a snap, or with a portable USB charger.

My original Kindle has operated without flaw from day one, and I really expect it to live forever. The buttons all feel solid still, and the screen is very robust.

The only con I have ever encountered - getting harassed by flight attendants during take off and landing. They will insist you 'turn off' your Kindle, even after you inform them that it doesn't 'turn off'. (You can turn off the wireless connection, that's it). Even after you explain it to them, then will still demand you shut it off. So I just flip the cover closed, wait till they walk away, then continue reading. As an alternative, you can ask them to turn it off for you, and watch their dumbfounded expression as they push the standby button with no effect. Good times.

2010: The Year in Review

It was a pretty crazy one for me, and easily blew away 2009 and all the years before. Started a relationship with an awesome girl in early January, so far I haven't scared her off! Did the Polar Bear Plunge on my 30th birthday with my new friends from BSOM (E2P2!!!). We all managed to keep our lives and all our limbs despite the entire event being shutdown due to the cold - AFTER we had all plunged. This of course all happened right in the middle of Snowmageddon, during which The Bat Mobile earned it's hefty car payment.

From Snowmageddon Dec 2009 - Feb 2010

I cemented my position at the Sleep Lab. While far from my dream job it is a lot less travel and more money, so two steps in the right direction. This freed up time and funds for me to get outdoors again, doing the things I love. Biking, Hiking, Kayaking, evening running again. Camped out in the Outerbanks during a rainstorm, and then hit the beach when the weather finally broke. The Batmobile again gets a workout hauling people and gear out on the beach.


Went on several epic hiking/camping adventures, including the incredible adventure to Capital Reef National Park in Utah with my former college roommate and a hilarious group of guys. Also hit trails all over Maryland I had never experienced before, went to Skyline drive for more hiking with my girl and the next week back to the same area for another overnight backpacking trip in the gorgeous George Washington National Forest where we nearly froze to death at night.

From Capitol Reef Expedition

The entire year was definitely a roller coaster, lots of time spend with friends and family, lots of new friends made. A gazillion dollars spent on outdoor gear, gas and air travel. It was worth every penny, and I hope to fill 2011 with even more epic adventures. Just need to find a way to work less and get paid the same or more......

Even when I wasn't on some crazy adventure I was hardly bored. Every week there was always something going on. It really felt like the year just flew by. In the midst of everything else my girlfriend officially moved in. E2P2 graduated from BSOM and closed out the year with the marriage of two awesome people on New Year's Eve. I don't even know what to expect from 2011, but it will be hard to top last year!

Running again

Since treating it with kid gloves hasn't been helping my knee to get back to it's old self, I've been taking it in the other direction. Hiking again has been a big help, but not enough. So I started hitting the pavement and the treadmill. It was brutal to get running again, but I figure it's either gonna get stronger or totally explode so I can just get a replacement. I'm up to running 3 miles without having to stop, and so far it hasn't falling apart. Gonna go for more distance this week and see how it goes.

Calvert Cliffs on New Year's Eve

On the way to a New Years Eve wedding, my girlfriend and I decided to stop by Calvert Cliffs for a quick hike. Southern Maryland had gotten quite a bit more snow than we did in the 'Dena.  We parked the Forester in an icy space, I grabbed my trusty Maxpedition Versipack
and off we went. The weather was surprisingly warm (at least in comparison) so the trails were a mix of wet sand, mud, melting ice and slush.  I hadn't been here since I was a kid, so it was a fun flash back.  As time was pretty limited, we took the Red trail (the shortest route) to the beach.  We passed a surprising number of people and families for as cold and messy the trails were.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Part of the trail looked incredibly desolate. The marshy areas of the park were still frozen solid. So it made for an interesting hike. The Red Trail is a pretty easy walk, minimal elevation gain unless you explore the side trails along the way. We made it to the beach, and spent some time exploring. Got lucky and found one sharks tooth that the scavengers ahead of us had missed.  The sea breeze on the beach started to freeze us to the bone after awhile, so we headed back into the woods a made good time to the car.  Overall, it was the perfect short hike, and we made it to the wedding with time to spare.


View Calvert Cliffs in a larger map

Office Space

"Michael, we don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day...."

One of my favorite lines from Office Space, but I never realized how true it was until taking the Technology Coordinator position at my current company.  I spent the 2 years before that as a field technician, never in the same place (or the same state) from day to day. The constant driving and travel sucked, but at least you had different scenery every day. The 7 or 8 years before that I spent travelling around North America as a Acoustic Engineer, which is a fancy way of saying I installed and built sound proof chambers for radio stations, tv stations, labs and medical facilities.  The hours were insane, the work brutal, but I did love the physical activity and engineering challenges.  Getting to travel around all the time was sometimes interesting but quickly got old, especially in those years were I would only see my house for a month or two out of the year.

Jumping forward to October of 2010, I went to work for Sleep Disorders of the Mid-Atlantic as there Tech Guy, filling the roles of Technology Director, Maintenance Tech and general project manager all in one.  The first 6 months were pretty crazy in a fun way, setting up a new lab, rebuilding infrastructure and making new policy.  Basically getting all the disparate labs and personnel working together efficiently.  Of course once all that was over, the not-so-fun maintenance work starts up.  Now I spend 80% of my time behind a desk, a total departure  from just a few years ago.

It's amazing to me how the change from such a physical and diverse work to mostly office based work has affected me.  I feel fidgety most of the time, and constant staring into a computer screen feels like it is draining my brain and making my eyes go to crap.  And of course the ever present boredom despite the massive backlog of work on my plate.  Hence why I am rambling here instead of tackling my list of projects for the day.  Not that it is all bad, in this market a guy can't complain about having a job.  And I certainly have a lot more time to do fun stuff (like have a relationship with a girl, something that was totally impossible while living on the road), and driving 10 minutes to work beats driving 4 hours to Virginia Beach once a week.  I've also been feeling the call of the wild more strongly then ever in my life, and as luck would have it I've connected with some old and new friends for a couple of adventures already.  I've been on a dozen hikes this year, gotten back into biking, and if I can get my legs rehabbed a little more I'll start running seriously again.  It's funny how the mind pushes you to do whatever it takes to relieve stress, be it mental or physical.

Hmmm, so what is the point of all this senseless rambling?  I guess it all comes down to what we were meant to do, or built for, or whatever as individuals.  It really is a process of elimination as we go through life.  We try different careers, some work out, some don't.  Some people can sit at a desk and bang out code all day and be totally happy and content.  To some people, like Peter and myself, that sounds like death or insanity.  While I don't plan on jumping back into construction, some kind of mix up is in order I think.  Or maybe I can find some one crazy enough to pay me to goof around in the wilderness....