Burning Man Here I Come

Posting from my new fancy Blackberry. Sitting in the Peppermill parking lot. Waiting for the Current TV van to pick me up. Yikes, here it is. Here comes the burn baby!

Trouble is a Brewing

So another batch is in the fermenter. This one is supposed to be a White Belgian Ale but seems like it came out a little darker than I had planned. Maybe it's cause the bottle is so big that it looks dark. It's got a week or so in there then two or so weeks in individual bottles and it should be ready. That is about mid to late September, time for the San Francisco summer. I should have the movie screen up and running by that time in the backyard. Sounds like it's all coming together. The rig below is the new process. Got a big ass burner and propane to do it right.

Yuba 2007 Web Gallery

Here's new feature on my Mac that I'm trying out. Another easy and pretty way to publish photo albums. Make sure to check out the different types of views that are available from the buttons in the lower left corner. Let me know what you think:

Yuba 2007 Web Gallery

Yuba River 2007

I've been feeling more and more daring the last several months and took another chance this past weekend. I know this might seem silly but I am so pragmatic and it is hard for me to change when what I have been doing works. So this is the story. It is that time of year for me to venture out into "nature" and was planning my usual trip to the Yuba River for some R & R. As it turns out, I was chatting to an (ex) co-worker at the Current party and he grew up in Nevada City within walking distance of the Yuba River. He told me he was planning on going there the same weekend I was and would show me the spots only the locals know about (if I promised not to tell anyone). I tried to stitch a photo together (below) so you should get a good idea of where we spent most of our time. The rapid on the right had a granite shelf right under it which made it ideal for lounging.


So he was right. Robert and I ended up in driving right to a trailhead that was a nice flat walk to an amazing campsite. Even better was the swimming. Larger, more dramatic pools of water, deeper and SO many fish. It was so great. It just feels good to try new things have have them turn out so well. I think they call it positive reinforcement. I guess I still haven't gotten out of my old habits enough to actually buy a pack made this decade. I supposed I should at some point but my old external frame dinosaur keeps working so why fix it.


We did make one friend when we were up there. We called him Snakey (see below lower right) I usually bring my swimming goggles with as well so I get to see all of the snakes and fish swimming around on the bottom too.


Here's a typical shot of the river and our camp. It turned out to be exceptionally clear and warm over the weekend so we had quite a night of star gazing and lots of shooting stars. We might be headed up one more time this season so if you want to come with let me know.

Sweet Opera

So I'm up too late and surfing the net and I find a video of my favorite opera and favorite performance of it. Thought I would share. If the video doesn't work, use this link

Farewell Current

We all have had those character building experiences. The ones that, after a few months or years have passed, we realize how much it changed us and we are better because of it. Well, I can't wait till I feel that way about my time at Current TV. Wait, wait... I'm trying to have a more positive attitude. OK, so what is my "take away" from working at Current:

1)I've basically gotten about 10 to 12 years of IT experience in 2.5 years.
2)I got to start a company from the ground up and touched every IT thing that they did up until I left. From which desktop mouse we should use to our WAN connections.
3)I traveled to LA, London and NY to setup the remote offices all on Current's dime.
4)I made a bunch of friends that I'm sure will be around for years to come.
5)I got to work in San Francisco and watch the Mission Bay neighborhood develop.

So Wednesday we had the big 2nd anniversary party at Current (and it was my last day). I had one last thing to do before I left, get my picture with Al. Yeah, it's silly but to put as much time as I did into that place I thought I had to have it. So the second photo is when I told Al I was leaving. He was acting all goofy and shocked. Yes it's true Al. I'm moving on. You'll be fine. Deep breaths



One of my favorite Al stories was when he asked me to look at his desktop computer cause he couldn't get an internet connection. I quickly noticed that the network cable was unplugged. I thought to myself of the irony of having to fix the computer for the man that (mistakenly quoted) "had invented the internet".

Onward and upward and about DAMN TIME!!!!