January 2011
15 posts
The Shape of Design
A cool looking book project from Frank Chimero, who I’ve linked to before, about the ‘why’ in design. He’s got a Kickstarter campaign going to fund it. Check it out:
The Shape of Design, Project by Frank Chimero
Kickstarter is such a great idea for funding startup or side projects, more on those thoughts later. In the mean time see Frank’s talk that is a prelude to...
“Q: What productivity tip have you discovered that now you can’t live without?
...”
– Rands In Repose: TECH LIFE: A CONTINUOUS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY Interview: Marco Arment
New ice/mixed climb in the Adirondacks →
A new variation called Endangered Species (3 pitches, M6+ NEI5+ R). “we came armed to the teeth,” with a prototype offset cam and homemade micro-stubbies (sawed-off ice screws only 4cm to 6cm long).
Cool to see custom gear to help with the thin ice and runouts. Couldn’t imagine lowering off ice tools to get off a route.
Mountaineering Accident Statistics →
Fascinating summary of the data from Accidents in American Mountaineering from 1951 to 2006. Interesting bit: a climber falling and slipping is a far greater concern than any type of gear failure.
via The American Alpine Club, @americanalpine
Fog and empty space
To contrast last weekends cobalt blue skies and biting cold, this weekend was gray, foggy and warm. Visibility was nil most of the day, and finding the difference between snow from sky was done by feel. We toured out of Alta to Catherine’s pass for a run and then back out and over to Grizzly Bowl. Really fun to be out and moving along the ridge lines, if we could have seen, it would be been...
“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest...”
– Paul Rand
Background on the Stuxnet worm →
One part of the program is designed to lie dormant for long periods, then speed up the machines so that the spinning rotors in the centrifuges wobble and then destroy themselves. Another part, called a “man in the middle” in the computer world, sends out those false sensor signals to make the system believe everything is running smoothly. That prevents a safety system from kicking in, which would...
“Glass is not a high-viscosity liquid at room temperature: it is an amorphous...”
– Wikipedia’s Common Misconceptions
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions
WatchVery interesting looking documentary of the people who live in the Tiaga in Siberia. I can’t even imagine what it takes to carve out a life year and year out in such a climate.
From Gearfuse: Happy People
Sunday turns
Got to get out for a tour into Monitor Bowl in Big Cottonwood Canyon with Brian today. Great to ski with him again, especially to this bowl (see previous misadventure), and! today was his birthday. Hard to find a better way to celebrate than getting in some good turns.
recovery hikes
Took some time to hike up Mill Creek Canyon with Polly and get out with her to move! and be out in the cold and smile for cold cheeks.
“If you want to succeed in the world, you must make your own opportunities as you...”
– Words Of Wisdom – Circa 1896
http://mantoaniblog.com/2011/01/words-of-wisdom-circa-1896/
3 tags
New Year's in Lillooet, BC
The wind on the peaks must have been howling.
I spent New Year’s climbing ice up in Canada with Wes and BJ. Very glad to get to climb with them again and to squeeze in a short trip between work and a wedding. Getting to fly up to Seattle and meet up with folks in Washington makes the world seem much smaller and more manageable.
Can you say BRRR!?
The ice was in, but not as full as we...