hexasphere

asteroid surveying

hexasphere

Tried my hand at this blender tutorial.

Stubbornness

If you have a fear of dealing with failure, give slacklining a try. It is the unholy embodiment of failure disguising itself as some sort of "sport". See this photo? You'll  never look this cool since you'll be too busy crying face-first in the dirt.

Do you remember your first baby steps? No? Well, your little baby brain was wondering how come everyone else was moving around the world so much quicker than you and you were like man, they do this thing with their legs ALL the time. What's up with that? I have legs, why aren't I doing this walking thing? Then you stood up, your mother gasped, and then the invisible hand of gravity pushed you, and next you were chewing on carpet. Then you gave up and never tried walking again. 

Only you didn't give up. Think about what that means. As a baby in your most primitive and basic form of existence, you attempting something you've never attempted before and never gave up. You succeeded. Look at you know, all walking about. How many things as an adult have you never attempted, that only if you were just stubborn enough to try more than once, you'd succeed? I ask myself that a lot. And as a result I try a lot of things I've never done before.

Slacklining is reliving the failure those first steps. Your first attempt at even standing is met with immediate failure. And the second.... failure. Again and again, falling, failure. Little bit further. Failure. Balance. Fling your arms. Don't fling your arms. Three steps. No steps. Repeated utter failure. Determination is just a sugarcoated word for stubbornness. There's things that you may want to do or haven't done before, and you just have to be stubborn enough to pull it off. You just need to do it over and over and over until it clicks. 

I spent the better part of half an hour today failing to stand on the beginning of a slackline. I spent the next hour going no more than 3 steps. 2 hours in, I was sweating, my feet hurt, I had tunnel vision, and I was angry. Then I crossed the complete 20 feet and was shocked. I had learned how to walk. 

Chromecast

I've been playing around with chromecast, the $35 HDMI video-player dongle. Connecting to the device in android, adds  icon to a number of apps to fling video to your TV. As well as chrome browser on a PC. These screenshots are from Youtube, Netflix, Plex media server, and LocalCast (media on the tablet) apps. 

      

         

         

Moving - Final Log - The Non-Pensive Version

I spent this last week establishing my apartment in Denver. I re-bought the necessary furniture (bed, couch, computer chair) and never want to purchase anything ever again (a lie). I have fully everything I need for living, thankfully.

Reluctantly, due to how full my car was, I left my books and other choice possessions to Phil in Charleston to do as he pleases. I quickly heard my friends went to reading my books immediately made me feel great about that choice. Unfortunately my ereader (1st gen nook) broke... it was mission critical! So it was immediately replaced with a nexus 7 tablet which I pretty much can't put down. Finally I can read manga in a sensible way and watch Archer on the toilet. Which by the way, if you ever wanted a cheap way to wirelessly sling video to a TV, check out chromecast and plex is kickass. This tablet rocks, I have a dumb phone because I don't care much for that bill.

I did go with Joseph out to the garden of the gods, no photos yet (his phone died), but it was incredible. Other than that, seeing as I start working this week, I pretty much haven't stopped reading on my new couch other than to begin playing Fallout: New Vegas. I game on a bit of a lag sometimes. It's been relaxing.

Time for sleep, I've got work in the morning. :)

Moving Log #3 - Arrival

People speak of past lives and ghosts in silly ways sometimes. I'm no less peculiar. When I think of my past self, it can feel like I'm catching glimpses of a ghost. It is a pensive peering into a comparison of my past and present self. It's often unnecessary, but when revisiting certain locations and people such fleeting glimpses are bound to occur. And I certainly had to drive through ghosts to get to here.

I visited with family and many friends driving through Tennessee on my way to Colorado. Countless memories flooded back from places I've lived, visited, and people I knew.

These ghosts, or thoughts of me in the past, aren't any less myself, nor where they frightening or anything like that. These are just thoughts imagining what I'd be doing if I woke up one week ago. Or one year. Or five, ten, twenty years ago. These are remnants and recollections of what was important and relevant at that time. To revisit such times can be haunting or tranquil. Obviously, I left such places long ago, but my impression stayed. Impressions being anything from breaking off a tree branch you were climbing as a kid to influencing those around me. I'm not saying for good or for bad, right or wrong, I only speaking of what is. There are places I've been and am known and the way that I was and the way that I am are both different and still... me.

Once I drove west out of Tennessee, this me became uncharted territory.

The present is at a cusp of blazing a new path. Far removed from past locales and influences, yet equally as far from the future where this environment is familiar and homey. Things don't remain new or unknown for very long which is why when they are that way, they're so exciting to me. Right know is fantastic and was unimagined a month ago. I love seeing where this is all heading. I know the future I've been chasing after for quite some time. But that's what I'm trying to say. It's no longer the future, it is now.

That 24+ hour drive to Colorado, this photograph, that worry, that's a memory now.

Moving Log #2 - Cleaning - Charleston, SC

Let's be realistic, moving is work. Last thing I'll remove from apartment is the internet router on the windowsill.

I can't hammock anymore since I sold my desk.

Moving Log #1 - Climbing - Chattanooga, TN

I'm sitting sleepy eyed typing this out at this awesome hostel called The Crash Pad in Chattanooga, TN. It's quite a unique place with friendly characters and is within walking and biking distance from downtown Chattanooga. Most everyone stops here for some sort of outdoor activity. There's always chatter around  a campfire about climbing or mountain biking or this week there was a film festival. This trip was a detour, a bit of time to break from the monotony of packing and just go enjoy some time with Phillip and Corey climbing outdoors at the LRC and follow up by relaxing at the Tennessee Aquarium. 

This is the first bed I've slept in a week. It's a bunk in a shared room with twelve other people and it's the best sleep I've ever had. I sold my bed a week ago for this move. I sold what furniture I could and donated the rest to Habitat for Humanity. I've stopped working in Charleston. I sold my 97' Toyota Camry and bought a brand new Subaru Outback. Theoretically I'm down to what can fit into my car, we're about to test that. But that's the plan, only keep what I can haul across the country in the Outback. The start, I think, is the hardest part of this move. Just determining how to go about things takes effort. The drive to Colorado, that's the straightforward part. 

Which is why I needed this detour. Nothing is really straightforward or predefined on how you should go about living your life. This trip was a reminder, not a farewell. It's been trips like these set a compass with what I wanted to be doing with my life. What I could be doing. Where I could be going. The premise for these trips have always been rather simple... find the things you love doing, gather as many friends together that would be interested, and take the party to locations you've never been to before. Never stop exploring. 

You get tired, you push harder. You get bored, you drive further.