Category Archives: What’s Up With That?

Green Greed

“At this point they came in sight of thirty forty windmills that there are on plain, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, “Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God’s good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth.”

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes

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Solo Backpacking: Crazy and Dangerous?

What’s Up With That?

I must start by saying I usually hike alone. And by hiking alone, I mean going to places where I do not expect to see other people. That is a prime consideration for most of my trips. Now, I do not want to give the impression that by doing a lot of solo hiking I am especially brave or skilled. When you break it down, backpacking is just walking with your house on your back. Sure you need some skills, but it is not a big deal. Lots of people backpack. Mankind has been hiking since the dawn of time. It is nothing special – other than knowing when and how to avoid trouble.

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Backpacking with a Smart Phone: Multi-Tool or Anchor?

What’s Up With That?

It amazes me how many people hike with smart phones, or cell phones in general. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-technology. I use my iPhone for business a lot. I travel and manage a field force of consultants with my smart phone. I check schedules, read reports, handle email, sync with my laptop, read books, listen to music, pay bills, and do a myriad of other tasks with my phone. I even talk to people on my phone. But I abhor and don’t utilize the “texting” function. I also keep it synced with my iPad. The smart phone allows me to be more productive when I am working. Continue reading Backpacking with a Smart Phone: Multi-Tool or Anchor?

Olympic Opening Ceremony

 

What’s Up With That?

I was home for a couple days in between some trips and caught the opening ceremonies. What has happened to the Olympics?

Athletes took a back seat to queens and rock stars… sigh.

So I was looking for the Track and Field schedule on the official 2012 Olympic Website, but it is not listed as a sport. If you look at the 2012 Schedule and Results page, you will find a sport named “Athletics.” If you click on Athletics, you will find that that sport is Track and Field. So Track and Field is athletics. But are swimmers not athletes? That sport is listed under Swimming.

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What’s Up With That?

I grew up in the 1950’s and entered adulthood in the late 1960’s. As a kid I drove my parents crazy. I guess it was the “generation gap.” As I moved through adulthood I became more conservative than my parents, although I do not classify myself as a conservative or a liberal. Independent would be most correct, but some would say objectivist is more accurate. Use whatever label you want, it doesn’t matter to me.

So when I look around at Gen X and Y, I am often perplexed. It must be that Generation gap thing.

Occasionally I am going to post about things that perplex or confuse me; and it seems that it comes down to the culture of the younger generations versus my world-view. The posts will be sporadic, random, rambling, and satirical.

Wasn’t Satire some sort of existentialist French philosopher? Well, however he was or wasn’t, it doesn’t matter. Maybe Mr. Satire never existed. Maybe the name is a pseudonym for Mark Twain, Chevy Chase, Aristophanes, or even Al Gore. Hopefully it was Alfred E. Neuman. But I am not going to worry about it.