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more dubious accomplishments
Oct. 12th, 2004 11:41 amIt will probably come as no surprise to those of you who fondly remember our deathmarches that I ran a marathon this weekend.
I survived the Great Flood of 1911!
Oct. 7th, 2004 09:30 pmWell, giving a lecture on it, anyway. I had started to get really nervous yesterday when I went to the museum to set up the slides and a local radio station called to do a phone interview of me and Robert, the museum director, about the talk. And then on the way over there I was half convinced that nobody would show up - and when we got there the place was totally packed and they were trying to shoehorn extra chairs in! Britt counted about 70 people. Lots of little old ladies.
Amazingly enough, I didn't screw up too badly anywhere, people laughed at the funny bits, nobody left early, and I got bunches of questions and applause at the end. It looks like I might be invited back for another one next year.
Amazingly enough, I didn't screw up too badly anywhere, people laughed at the funny bits, nobody left early, and I got bunches of questions and applause at the end. It looks like I might be invited back for another one next year.
I believe...
Oct. 6th, 2004 10:16 amI went to a political rally yesterday and I picked up a pamphlet from the
literature table. This is what it said:
* I believe it is important to respect each person's ability, dignity,
freedom, and responsibility.
* I believe individual initiative must be encouraged in getting things
done.
* I believe government exists to protect the freedom of each person, not
restrict it.
( Read more... )
literature table. This is what it said:
* I believe it is important to respect each person's ability, dignity,
freedom, and responsibility.
* I believe individual initiative must be encouraged in getting things
done.
* I believe government exists to protect the freedom of each person, not
restrict it.
( Read more... )
Lots of things.
Sep. 30th, 2004 05:03 pmDoing a meme is a bad sign, isn't it. Gacked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caitlinburke.
ETA: Duh. Of course I've killed and prepared an animal to eat. Here, fishie, fishie!
( 200 things, some of which I've done. With occasional commentary. )
caitlinburke.ETA: Duh. Of course I've killed and prepared an animal to eat. Here, fishie, fishie!
( 200 things, some of which I've done. With occasional commentary. )
I am petty and shallow
Sep. 23rd, 2004 12:20 pmAs at least one person reading this knows, I'm a big fan of Pam Houston. She was in town last night as part of "celebrity author night" at our local independent bookstore, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
She writes short stories about outdoorsy women in the western mountains and deserts, mostly, river trips and hunting and backpacking with men who aren't worth it and dogs who are, and you can tell she's been there. Her novel is coming out in January. She also has a collection of essays out which are pretty much the same thing from a nonfiction perspective. Her writing is impressive and her stories are amazing, ridiculous deathmarches (heh, you thought mine were bad) and fly-fishing in midwinter in Montana in freezing water to her chest because she got invited with a group of guys and didn't want them to think she was a weak woman. That sort of thing.
When she walked in, the first thing I thought was, "gee, she's gained a lot of weight since her book jacket cover photo was taken. I could out-hike you now, fat girl."
Yeah, I pick the one thing I can assert my superiority in. She's still a more famous writer than I am, though.
And when I commented that I really enjoyed her essays and asked if she was writing more nonfiction, she basically said, "oh, essays are just what I toss off to make money, they're nothing, my fiction is all that I care about." Made me feel like I have poor taste. And that all my nonfiction writing is for naught. If I want to be a Writer I must write fiction, I suppose. Oh well. At least I've got a better body.
She writes short stories about outdoorsy women in the western mountains and deserts, mostly, river trips and hunting and backpacking with men who aren't worth it and dogs who are, and you can tell she's been there. Her novel is coming out in January. She also has a collection of essays out which are pretty much the same thing from a nonfiction perspective. Her writing is impressive and her stories are amazing, ridiculous deathmarches (heh, you thought mine were bad) and fly-fishing in midwinter in Montana in freezing water to her chest because she got invited with a group of guys and didn't want them to think she was a weak woman. That sort of thing.
When she walked in, the first thing I thought was, "gee, she's gained a lot of weight since her book jacket cover photo was taken. I could out-hike you now, fat girl."
Yeah, I pick the one thing I can assert my superiority in. She's still a more famous writer than I am, though.
And when I commented that I really enjoyed her essays and asked if she was writing more nonfiction, she basically said, "oh, essays are just what I toss off to make money, they're nothing, my fiction is all that I care about." Made me feel like I have poor taste. And that all my nonfiction writing is for naught. If I want to be a Writer I must write fiction, I suppose. Oh well. At least I've got a better body.
happy birthday Thomas Netter
Sep. 18th, 2004 01:44 pmThomas, if you're out there and reading this (your last email address that I have no longer works!) a very happy birthday to you. I hope things are better for you this year than they were last year - and that l'shana tovah is even better.
a wee bit of rantiness
Sep. 17th, 2004 11:04 amDear friendslist,
These are capital letters --> ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. By convention, they are used at the beginning of sentences and as the first letter in proper names. The pronoun 'I' is also capitalized.
To create a capital letter, depress a shift key simultaneously with the letter. There are usually two shift keys on the keyboard, one on each side, conveniently located near the pinky finger of each hand.
Text that is written with no capital letters is hard to read, particularly in large blocks or long paragraphs. I find it irritating. I am on the verge of defriending all of you who are not using capital letters in their normal, conventional positions. Just so you know.
Love,
Ilana
These are capital letters --> ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. By convention, they are used at the beginning of sentences and as the first letter in proper names. The pronoun 'I' is also capitalized.
To create a capital letter, depress a shift key simultaneously with the letter. There are usually two shift keys on the keyboard, one on each side, conveniently located near the pinky finger of each hand.
Text that is written with no capital letters is hard to read, particularly in large blocks or long paragraphs. I find it irritating. I am on the verge of defriending all of you who are not using capital letters in their normal, conventional positions. Just so you know.
Love,
Ilana
I have adventures so you don't have to!
Sep. 7th, 2004 02:59 pmBack now from a Labor Day weekend backpack that was rather more adventurous than we had intended, as an all-day rain on Saturday translated into snow on the mountains we planned to climb, and we discovered that a grassy slope + an inch or so of snow = the slipperiest surface known to man. Needless to say, grassading (= glissading down one of these slopes) ought to be considered an extreme sport.
But I'm not posting about this weekend's backpack yet. This post is to entice you to see the web page trip report I finally put together for our July 31-Aug 8 backpack, wherein we climb lots of really big mountains and hike over trailless passes and fish in remote lakes and stuff like that. Clicky click on the teaser picture to go read.
But I'm not posting about this weekend's backpack yet. This post is to entice you to see the web page trip report I finally put together for our July 31-Aug 8 backpack, wherein we climb lots of really big mountains and hike over trailless passes and fish in remote lakes and stuff like that. Clicky click on the teaser picture to go read.
still not famous, but getting closer
Aug. 24th, 2004 03:12 pmI am ridiculously pleased that the local museum director has asked me to give a talk as part of their fall lecture series. Since I write a column on local weather history, I'm now the local expert, woo! So I'm giving a talk on the flood of 1911. Which I now have to research.
blah blah mountaincakes
Aug. 23rd, 2004 06:54 pmNo, I still haven't written up the trip report of our big ol' backpack, but I did just climb another mountain. Woo. Snowdon Peak (the one in Colorado, eejitalmuppet), with my brother who was visiting. No mushrooms seen save one lousy puffball.
Oh, andlittleamerica, I'm bummed we didn't manage to connect. Grr. Hope you had a good time on Mt. Sniffles.
eejitalmuppet), with my brother who was visiting. No mushrooms seen save one lousy puffball.Oh, and
littleamerica, I'm bummed we didn't manage to connect. Grr. Hope you had a good time on Mt. Sniffles.I voted for Miles. Miles swept our county but lost the state to Salazar at about 3:1, a result that I expected and was actually happy to see, since I know quite a few rural Republicans who will choose the rural, conservative Democrat Salazar over city-boy rich-boy Coors.
I'd estimate that I've spent about 2 hours each day this week so far on party work. Yikes. It's only going to get worse, isn't it.
Oh, um, as some of you know I just got back from a truly awesome backpacking trip in the Weminuche, including five significant peaks climbed. Pictures and stories soon.
I'd estimate that I've spent about 2 hours each day this week so far on party work. Yikes. It's only going to get worse, isn't it.
Oh, um, as some of you know I just got back from a truly awesome backpacking trip in the Weminuche, including five significant peaks climbed. Pictures and stories soon.
unclear on the concept
Jul. 28th, 2004 06:30 pmSo I'm having some chips and salsa, and I notice on the salsa label: "LOW CARB"
So I look at the nutritional info label, and I see that a serving (2 tbsp) of this salsa (505 chunky medium hot, in case you're curious) has 0g fat, 0g protein, and 2g carbohydrate.
Er - that's 100% CARB.
By this logic anything is low-carb, as long as you eat a sufficiently small portion.
So I look at the nutritional info label, and I see that a serving (2 tbsp) of this salsa (505 chunky medium hot, in case you're curious) has 0g fat, 0g protein, and 2g carbohydrate.
Er - that's 100% CARB.
By this logic anything is low-carb, as long as you eat a sufficiently small portion.
Engineer Mountain ascent
Jul. 22nd, 2004 11:33 amDespite being rather difficult (4th class) Engineer Mtn. is one of the more popular climbs in SW Colorado. It dominates the view from Hwy 550 (the road between Durango and Silverton), it stands alone (and therefore has an excellent view from the summit, despite being just shy of 13,000 ft.), and from trailhead to summit is only about 2.2 miles (though about 2400 ft elevation gain!) We took off Wednesday morning to climb it and saw about 5 other parties; I can't imagine doing this on a weekend.
( Trip report, links to pictures )
( Trip report, links to pictures )
political dithering
Jul. 20th, 2004 11:13 amThere are two Democratic candidates in the Colorado primary for the Senate seat that Campbell's vacating. I think that Mike Miles represents my views and priorities better. But Colorado is a pale pink state (actually, it's dominated by unaffiliated voters, but tends to vote Republican) and I think that Ken Salazar, who is more centrist and from a rural background, can beat whichever of the Republicans (Coors and Shaffer, who are currently engaged in an "I'm more right-wing than thou" pissing contest) wins the primary, and I doubt that Miles can.
Argh. There are an amazing number of people I've met through the local Kerry campaign who voted for Nader in 2000 and have been kicking themselves since. I worry that a vote for Miles will be a vote for Coors. But although I'm confident that Salazar will be a strong advocate for the environment (which is a major issue for me), I'm less happy with his stands on health care, taxes, and the war in Iraq.
Argh argh argh. What to do?
Argh. There are an amazing number of people I've met through the local Kerry campaign who voted for Nader in 2000 and have been kicking themselves since. I worry that a vote for Miles will be a vote for Coors. But although I'm confident that Salazar will be a strong advocate for the environment (which is a major issue for me), I'm less happy with his stands on health care, taxes, and the war in Iraq.
Argh argh argh. What to do?
Highland Mary Lakes, July 4th weekend
Jul. 15th, 2004 09:44 pmHere, as promised, is the trip report from our long weekend of backpacking, with about a dozen pictures. Ok, it's not actually here, it's on my website, so here's a little thumbnail to tempt you to go look:
changing audiences
Jul. 14th, 2004 07:52 pmI first got this lj from ikkyu2, because all the cool t.b kids were doing it. I friended the folks I knew from t.b and a bunch of you friended me back. I haven't used it a whole lot, especially after I developed a rather specialized interest and mostly absconded to a new journal set up specifically for that purpose. (Which has an order of magnitude more friends than this one, and is a paid account while this one is free, which probably tells you something about my priorities.)
But now I've got a lot of non-t.b people on my flist, either from said interest, from other shared interests, or from real life. And I've started using this journal more frequently now that 1) it's outdoorsy season, and 2) I'm heavily involved in politics, and therefore I've got lots of stuff to say. Er, mostly involving mountains and politics. I'm going to try to talk a little more about my nonfiction writing, too.
So if any of you t.b people (heck, or the rest of you) are not actually interested in what I have to say, and only friended me out of a vague sense of guilt about keeping up with the t.b crowd, feel free to defriend me. I won't be offended. If I enjoy what you have to say, I'll keep reading your journals whether or not you read mine. And I may be dropping people from my list as I decide that my interests have diverged from what you post.
ikkyu2, because all the cool t.b kids were doing it. I friended the folks I knew from t.b and a bunch of you friended me back. I haven't used it a whole lot, especially after I developed a rather specialized interest and mostly absconded to a new journal set up specifically for that purpose. (Which has an order of magnitude more friends than this one, and is a paid account while this one is free, which probably tells you something about my priorities.)But now I've got a lot of non-t.b people on my flist, either from said interest, from other shared interests, or from real life. And I've started using this journal more frequently now that 1) it's outdoorsy season, and 2) I'm heavily involved in politics, and therefore I've got lots of stuff to say. Er, mostly involving mountains and politics. I'm going to try to talk a little more about my nonfiction writing, too.
So if any of you t.b people (heck, or the rest of you) are not actually interested in what I have to say, and only friended me out of a vague sense of guilt about keeping up with the t.b crowd, feel free to defriend me. I won't be offended. If I enjoy what you have to say, I'll keep reading your journals whether or not you read mine. And I may be dropping people from my list as I decide that my interests have diverged from what you post.
woo, politics
Jul. 8th, 2004 05:07 pmI've been at a conference in Santa Fe all week - had been planning to head home on Friday after the last meeting. Not that I was planning to, um, actually go to the last meeting. After the first hectic day, I've only had to go to a few meetings here and there - unfortunately, they've broken up the days badly and I haven't been able to go to one single museum. Fortunately, I've been here before and have seen the major sights; I've managed to walk around downtown a lot and eat in fancy places on someone else's dime, and I went on a lovely run along the "river" this morning. (I prefer my rivers with actual running water, myself.)
So this morning I was getting dressed and listening to NPR, and they announced that Kerry and Edwards are coming to Albuquerque on Friday evening! Well, that's only 60 miles from here. And the drive home from there is no farther than the drive from here - sort of an equilateral triangle arrangement. Best of all, I know someone in Albuquerque who will put me up for the night.
So yay, I get to stay (most of) the day in Santa Fe and play tourist, then I get to go cheer on John & John. It should be quite a show - the place here in Santa Fe that was giving out tickets was doing a land-office business, it seemed. When Britt and I visited Boston during the summer of 2000, we went to a Gore/Lieberman rally there, and it was so much fun - you don't get to that level of politics without being an interesting and motivating speaker.
So this morning I was getting dressed and listening to NPR, and they announced that Kerry and Edwards are coming to Albuquerque on Friday evening! Well, that's only 60 miles from here. And the drive home from there is no farther than the drive from here - sort of an equilateral triangle arrangement. Best of all, I know someone in Albuquerque who will put me up for the night.
So yay, I get to stay (most of) the day in Santa Fe and play tourist, then I get to go cheer on John & John. It should be quite a show - the place here in Santa Fe that was giving out tickets was doing a land-office business, it seemed. When Britt and I visited Boston during the summer of 2000, we went to a Gore/Lieberman rally there, and it was so much fun - you don't get to that level of politics without being an interesting and motivating speaker.
down from 12,000 feet
Jul. 6th, 2004 10:44 amJust came back from a lovely backpack up in the Weminuche Wilderness. I'll have an actual trip report and photos eventually.
There was a meme circulating recently where you were supposed to google for "You know you live in" and your state, and then boldface everything that applied to you. I didn't do that (although I did find some amusing Colorado statements, which were typically the same as those used for New Hampshire and Vermont, and a page of Durango ones which were hysterically funny to me as a local but which none of you would 'get'), but I now have a new one.
You know you live in Colorado when you've been snowed on - on the Fourth of July.
Because I was.
There was a meme circulating recently where you were supposed to google for "You know you live in" and your state, and then boldface everything that applied to you. I didn't do that (although I did find some amusing Colorado statements, which were typically the same as those used for New Hampshire and Vermont, and a page of Durango ones which were hysterically funny to me as a local but which none of you would 'get'), but I now have a new one.
You know you live in Colorado when you've been snowed on - on the Fourth of July.
Because I was.
hike: Kennebec pass and Taylor Lake
Jun. 13th, 2004 04:12 pmGot out on Saturday afternoon for another hike. This one was a bit of "long approach, short thrill" as we had to drive about 18 miles on a slow Forest Service road (2WD but twisty and rutted) and then it was only about a 1.5 mile hike to the pass and a further 1.8 miles to the lake, then back the way we came. Both pass and lake are around 11,750 ft, with a lovely (although very snowy) basin separating them. Nice wildflowers, particularly glacier lilies which lined the edges of the trail. Didn't see anyone until we got to Cumberland Basin, as there's another trailhead not far from there and several people had come up from that one.
( Five pictures, around 70K each )
( Five pictures, around 70K each )
