Status Updates

• June 2, 2017
  "The river cuts its way through stone / Not through sheer force, but persistence / At the end of the day, the relentless always win"—311
• December 6, 2015
  "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."—Chinese proverb
• October 1, 2015
  "I started downhill making flawless powder turns. I sliced through the powder effortlessly, and floated on top of it in between turns. The feeling of my flow was the best part. I was in balance and full of energy. I could go on forever, it seemed."
• September 20, 2015
  "Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, ... you are forced into direct experience. ... That's not always comfortable, but it is always invigorating."—Michael Crichton in "Travels"
• July 9, 2015
  "The method that makes sense is patience."—Nick Hexum
• June 19, 2015
  "You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love."—Jim Carrey
• September 28, 2014
  Monotony collapses time; novelty unfolds it. If you spend your life sitting in a cubicle, one day is bound to blend unmemorably into the next—and disappear. That's why it's important to change routines regularly, and take vacations to exotic locales, and have as many new experiences as possible that can serve to anchor our memories. Creating new memories stretches out psychological time, and lengthens our perception of our lives."—Joshua Foer (shortened for space constraints)
• July 7, 2014
  "Up late to earn the proceeds. All stressed out working 'til your eyes bleed. Overtime to buy things we don't need. You're always on the go when you're 30. Gotta make the ends and get dirty. Will it ever stop? Will it ever end? Is it worthy?"—311
• March 10, 2014
  "You got to keep climbing up the hill, because if you think you'll make it, you will."—Nick Hexum of 311 on "Made in the Shade"
• February 17, 2014
  "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."—Ralph Waldo Emerson
• November 18, 2013
  "Why don't you know what you want? Two reasons... Number 1: You have it. Number 2: You don't know yourself, because you never can."—Alan Watts
• October 18, 2013
  "We thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end. The thing was to get to that end—success, or whatever it is... But we miss the point the whole way along."—Alan Watts
• May 4, 2013
  The mainstream news media deal in turning real life into entertainment. Gather the tiny shreds of real information they disseminate and then ignore the rest.
• November 4, 2012
  "The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there."—Robert Pirsig
• October 28, 2012
  "If money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You will be doing things you don't like doing in order to go on living, that is, to go on doing things you don't like doing, which is stupid."—Alan Watts
• October 11, 2011
  All I truly have in this world is time and my sanity, and you, sir, are taking both from me right now.
• October 1, 2011
  Today is the first day of the rest of my life
• September 4, 2011
  Mission accomplished: I have skied in every calendar month!
• July 17, 2011
  "If there is no fun in it, something is wrong with all you are doing."—Norman Vincent Peale
• April 13, 2011
  "Do you feel cold and lost in desperation? You build up hope, but failure's all you've known? Remember all the sadness and frustration, and let it go. Let it go."—Linkin Park
• February 9, 2011
  Let the podiatrical misadventures begin anew!
• September 26, 2010
  "Back when we were beautiful... Before the world got small... Before we knew it all. Back when we were innocent... I wonder where it went... Let's go back and find it."—Bon Jovi
• July 13, 2010
  "The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously."—Henry A. Kissinger
• July 12, 2010
  Back from a 311 concert at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA. Pepper and The Offspring opened. Great concert. 311 highlights included: Sick Tight, the Applied Science drum solo, Hive and Jackpot
• May 24, 2010
  Went for a nice drive through the White Mountains of New Hampshire today
• April 25, 2010
  Went to the Orioles at Red Sox game on Saturday. Watching a ballgame at Fenway Park is always awesome.
• April 7, 2010
  Perspective. It's a valuable insight to obtain. Without perspective, we wonder and guess and worry. I like to think that in some matters I now have perspective, and that's a good thing, I guess.
• April 7, 2010
  I think the people that are most content are people that settle for something that suits them and eschew the lure of "inorganic" advancement based on factors other than experience
• April 6, 2010
  March was a busy month: a ski trip to Stratton Mountain, 311 Day in Las Vegas, a short road trip to Maine, plus a great trip to Utah
• March 23, 2010
  Long story on why this was important/fortuitous, but I randomly saw Guru Dave Powers (a semi-famous Snowbird local and Acton, MA native) at the Alewife MBTA station yesterday afternoon. Guru Dave Powers online: http://gurudavepowers.com/
• March 14, 2010
  Back from a successful trip to Vegas. 311 Day concert was awesome (60 songs, 5+ hours long, played lots of rarely-played songs and 3 live world premieres). Also had an awesome time otherwise. The new Aria hotel and casino at CityCenter is impressive.
• March 9, 2010
  Heading to Las Vegas tomorrow night for the 311 Day concert, and much more.
• March 9, 2010
  I used a typewriter at work today :-\
• March 2, 2010
  Stratton Mountain (2,003' vertical; 180" of snow; 600 acres) lift ticket: $82. Snowbird (3,240' vertical; 500" of the Greatest Snow on Earth; 2,500+ acres) tram and chairs ticket: $72. That is so messed up.
• February 4, 2010
  Cannon Mountain lift ticket: $66. Snowbird lift ticket (chairs only): $62. That is so messed up.
• January 11, 2010
  Last year I had to drive 7,975 miles to and from work (not counting miles during lunch breaks). This year I'm not technically obligated to drive any miles to and from work.
• January 9, 2010
  First ski day back east since early 2005. Some things never change: it was icy, cold, and windy.
• December 13, 2009
  Waltham's newest resident
• December 10, 2009
  The sun sets 48 minutes earlier in Boston than Salt Lake City. I will always hate that it's dark that early as long as I live here. Did I mention the weather is way more miserable, too?
• December 6, 2009
  Just had dinner in Rochester with the family. About to head out for Boston soon.
• December 3, 2009
  Last few hours in Salt Lake City...
• December 2, 2009
  My last Snowbird ski day as a local is in the books
• December 1, 2009
  Past the point of no return. My last day of work in Salt Lake City was yesterday. Now I have to pack up and head to Boston.
• November 23, 2009
  It's only the third weekend of skiing in Utah's Cottonwood Canyons, and I've already matched my ski day total from last year
• November 20, 2009
  Boston, here I come (officially)
• November 19, 2009
  Snowbird opens tomorrow!
• November 17, 2009
  "There are two kinds of people roaming the far fringes of the world: Mormon missionaries and Chinese businessmen."—J. Maarten Troost in "Lost on Planet China," my most recent book purchase
• November 15, 2009
  First "official" ski day of the season today at Brighton. Beautiful, clear day. Decent conditions because of the storm yesterday. LOTS of snowboarders.
• November 9, 2009
  Apparently, on a really clear day you can see the Tetons from the top of Snowbird
• November 6, 2009
  Two weeks until the ski season begins
• November 1, 2009
  It's been exactly one year since I drove myself to the hospital for the blood clot dilemna that killed my 2008/2009 ski season. (Long story.)
• October 29, 2009
  Skiing: Skied some October turns at Alta this evening. 311: Bought a ticket to the next 311 Day, which will be in Las Vegas.
• October 29, 2009
  It's October and it snowed this week, so I think I'm going skiing tonight at Alta. If I do, in fact, ski this evening, then that would leave September as the only month in which I haven't yet skied.
• October 18, 2009
  311 Day concert in Vegas next March. Hmmm... I might have to give this one a thought.
• October 4, 2009
  Hiked Mount Olympus with Steve last night. We ran across a rattlesnake on the side of the trail, and I found a working GPS unit amongst the boulders on the summit.
• September 30, 2009
  First day of snow in the mountains here. The snow line is as low as about 5,000 feet and Snowbird expects 9–13 inches of snow today.
• September 27, 2009
  What is the deal with people wearing jeans and other inappropriate hiking apparel on Mount Timpanogos?
• September 13, 2009
  Climbed Mount Raymond today. The summit ridge was a bit sketchy because of some exposure, and I got drenched by rain on the hike back to the car. Still, it was a worthwhile hike.
• September 9, 2009
  On an evening hike on Mount Olympus (great sunset, by the way), I passed three people sitting besides the trail. They suggested I stop and look up. So I looked up and saw the space shuttle and space station quickly streaking across the sky. Amazing!
• September 8, 2009
  Another busy weekend: Oktoberfest at Snowbird, a birthday party, a Labor Day hike to Cardiff Pass, and more
• August 23, 2009
  Good, busy weekend: Watched The Hangover at Brewvies on Friday night; hiked to Lake Blanche and went to a Bees baseball game (where we got to watch fireworks from the playing field after the game) on Saturday.
• August 16, 2009
  I'm back from my Tetons backpacking trip. We covered 19.2 miles and about 4,000 vertical feet in two days.
• August 2, 2009
  Just got back from skiing Gunsight at Alta Ski Area. (Yes, I know it's August.)
• July 29, 2009
  Mindy likes India Ink, a track off 311's Uplifter album 8-)
• July 25, 2009
  I have published two days worth of photos from my weeklong Glacier/Teton/Yellowstone trip, so far.
• July 14, 2009
  Back from a trip to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
• July 8, 2009
  Leaving for a trip to Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
• June 25, 2009
  I can't stand corporatespeak. For example, I've often heard the use of nouns as verbs, and vice versa: "The auditors tasked us with sending them the data." Task is a noun, not a verb! Or, "What is the ask from treasury?" Ask is a verb, not a noun!
• June 24, 2009
  Going to pick Mindy up from the airport
• June 18, 2009
  Went to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game last night and, of course, it rained. It has rained nearly everyday this month.
• June 15, 2009
  Back at work after another weekend full of miserable weather
• June 12, 2009
  Back from the 311 concert. One of the best performances I've seen from them. The new songs from Uplifter are awesome live. (They played 9 of the 12 songs from the new album tonight.)
• June 7, 2009
  Air show highlight: F/A-18 Hornet 700 mph high speed pass
• June 5, 2009
  Busy weekend coming up (if the weather cooperates): baseball game friday night, airshow saturday and sunday, barbeque on saturday, and, perhaps, some hiking mixed in as well.
• May 27, 2009
  Drove through East and Emigration Canyons tonight while blasting 311's new album, Uplifter. I'm loving it so far. It's definitely different, but good different.
• May 26, 2009
  Listening to the new 311 album, Uplifter, which the band is streaming on their MySpace page.
• May 25, 2009
  I went skiing again this weekend, finally. It rained and my legs got tired very quickly, but it was still great to get out on the mountain again.
• May 20, 2009
  I miss the canyon breeze I used to get every evening when I lived at Shoreline Ridge near the University of Utah
• May 19, 2009
  I went running after work today, but then it started pouring rain, so I ran home.
• May 15, 2009
  Money's just a means to an end, but you better have means, or the fun will end
• May 13, 2009
  Took my last 2.5 mg of Coumadin today, hopefully forever.
• May 12, 2009
  Back from NY. Saturday was a blast. Flew in, had a nice dinner, gambled for a while and then went to Niagara Falls, Canada. Sunday, the graduation was long and I was dead tired, so it wasn't so fun. Flew back on Monday evening.
• May 8, 2009
  Getting ready for a trip back to New York for my sister's college graduation.
• May 5, 2009
  "Alert and oriented, moves all extremities symmetrically." The most interesting thing I've read in a while ... my medical record from the past 6 months.
• May 2, 2009
  This is Utah. It's not supposed to rain this much. It's all good though because this weekend I'm just focused on checking things off my massive to-do list.
• April 29, 2009
  Wow, I really need a vacation.
• April 26, 2009
  Jacoby Ellsbury stole home against Andy Pettite and the Yankees. Awesome. I don't think I've ever seen a straight steal of home live before.
• April 25, 2009
  Your 2009 Toronto Blue Jays. Major League Baseball's best baseball team so far this season.
• April 24, 2009
  The bad weather got here just in time for the weekend. D'oh!
• April 23, 2009
  Pending a second opinion, I should be able to stop taking the blood thinning medicine. This news is very good because blood thinning medication is dangerous, and I may be able to get in some spring skiing, after all.
• April 22, 2009
  I went for a run tonight after work. Now the hard work begins. It's time to get back into shape.
• April 18, 2009
  Actually got something done on my to-do list today. It has taken me 6 months to finally just do it, but that's beside the point.
• April 18, 2009
  It's very nice outside, finally. I'm going to the Utah Utes' spring football scrimmage today, which should be fun.
• April 16, 2009
  I lost my three favorite pens today. They were in my pocket, and then they weren't. I have no idea what happened to them. If you know me at all, you know how traumatic this event is for me.
• April 15, 2009
  And it's still raining. By my watch, that's 12+ hours straight.
• April 15, 2009
  Now it's thundering. Crazy.
• April 15, 2009
  It's still raining. It has been raining for hours. That just doesn't happen here (except on Memorial Day 2008 and Labor Day 2008).
• April 13, 2009
  Wish I could've been skiing Baldy Chute today
• April 13, 2009
  I merged some of the Writing section items into the Web Log, dropped the Writing section from the main menu and begrudgingly added an About Me section only because the main menu needed another item
• April 12, 2009
  Another good quote: "Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."—John Wooden
• April 12, 2009
  A good quote: "Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."
• April 11, 2009
  Finally published all my Belgium trip photos
• April 11, 2009
  Got home from work and immediately fell asleep for 6 hours. Hard work is hard.
• April 9, 2009
  April showers bring... May snowpack that I hope I'll be able to ski well into June (and, perhaps, even July) again this season
• April 9, 2009
  I've listened to 311's new song, Hey You, a lot over the last 24 hours, and I'm still not feeling it. Of all the first singles released from their albums, You Wouldn't Believe (off From Chaos in 2001) is the only other one that didn't impress me.
• April 9, 2009
  I just finished creating a new index page for my website. The main upgrade is the photo features section below the main menu. Thoughts?
• April 7, 2009
  Listening to 311's new song, Hey You, for the first time. I'm a fan, but it doesn't blow me away. I'll have to listen to it some more.
• April 7, 2009
  Other than the ability to publish status updates via text message, I definitely prefer the application I developed on my own to Twitter's unreliable status updates service
• April 7, 2009
  I'm developing my own status update application for use on my website. This update is a test.
• April 6, 2009
  Major League Baseball opening day, finally. Gotta love it.