The Twilight Report

breakneck ridge

2008-10-15T10:24:00

Climbed Breakneck Ridge with Lena this morning. It was really wonderful.

(more)

More photos on the Facebook.

lunch, breakneck ridge (long) and shakespeare

2007-08-15T12:56:00

Yesterday I had lunch with Adil, Ed, and pretty much the rest of my old work colleagues in EDA. It was really nice to see everyone and a pleasant surprise that pretty much everyone wanted to see me. After everyone else left Adil and I had a chat and I got to meet his kids, which was quite nice. Adil, don’t forget to send me that picture!

(click to see in Google Earth)

As promised (or threatened) I did the long loop of Breakneck Ridge after lunch. I did it in the afternoon, so it was a lot hotter and a lot harder than last week. I ran into lots of people this time. Most of them asked me for advice or how far it was going to be to the turn off. I suppose I looked like I knew what I was doing. I had this conversation several times: “Are you from around here?” “I used to be. I used to live in Beacon.”

Upwise it is like the last Breakneck Ridge hike except for more up after the saddle where you turn off for the short loop, and a more gradual descent. It is also about a mile longer. I feel like I left this hike as unfinished business when I left Beacon a year and a half ago. I’d hiked it a million times, but I left in a state where I wasn’t really up to hiking it anymore. Now that I’ve come back and hiked it again I feel a lot better about it.

After the hike I met up with my friends at Boscobel for As You Like It. I was disappointed that I missed Richard III, because it is one of my favourites, but As You Like It was really funny and definitely worth it. They presented it using a Western theme that accentuated the humour. Joe said it was his favourite Boscobel Shakespeare yet. I’m not sure that I would go that far, but it was quite good. If you are ever in the Hudson Valley during the summer I highly recommend seeing one of the plays that they are presenting that year. They usually do two plays each summer, they present them outside at Boscobel, where there is a lovely view of the Hudson.

...and with that, my Hudson Valley adventure draws to a close, as I head back to New York City, and prepare for my next big adventure in New Mexico.

breakneck ridge (short)

2007-08-09T20:37:00

(click to see in Google Earth)

I was up for a challenge, so first thing today I drove to the foot of Breakneck Ridge, armed with nothing other than a small bottle of water. It was about 8am when I got there and it hadn’t gotten hot yet. The last time I attempted this hike, I was so out of shape that I gave up and returned. I wasn’t sure how I would be today, because I really haven’t been hiking since I did the Great Northern Trail from Cowan to Brooklyn (the one in Australia, not the one in New York). As you can see from this graph, the assent is quite steep:

There is a tree at about 550 feet that I like to make it to without stopping, figuring if I can do that I can’t be doing too badly. I made it there no problem. The hike was exhilarating. I felt so good about it, that I am now thinking of doing the somewhat longer Breakneck Ridge loop next week.

places to be

2007-03-14T21:22:00

Pluto

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, as Pluto passes overhead through New Mexico's excellent night skies, it be declared a planet and that March 13, 2007 be declared "Pluto Planet Day" at the legislature.

—New Mexico State Legislature

In August I am going to be in the only state in the Union where Pluto is (as it should be) recognized as full fledged planet.

I don’t usually get misty-eyed when reading legislation, but I did when I read “New Mexico’s excellent night skies.” The night sky in New Mexico is pretty, and NM is definitely the Land of Enchantment.

2007 US Tour

Some of you already know this, but for those that don’t, I will be in the USA for most of August to visit good friends, go hiking, and to eat some mighty fine New Mexican cuisine. Here are the approximate dates:

Location	Arrive	Depart	Activities
New York (Manhattan & Hudson Valley)	3 August	17 August^[1]	Hiking, hanging out in the city, bar fights^[2], museums, movies, enchilada night, breakneck ridge, awesome friends
New Mexico	17 August^[3]	24 August	hiking, heat, enchiladas, breakfast burritos, posole, chilies rellenos, green chili and of course green chili cheeseburgers
Los Angeles	24 August	27 August	Jack in the Box, Vasquez Rocks^[4], Castlevania, Wii, sushi, petquakerstalking, and more!

If you think you might coincide, let me know. You too can be part of the action. And knowing is half the battle.

somewhat flexible
just kidding
somewhat flexible
that place where Kirk kicked the Gorn’s butt with his home made cannon

It's a Beautiful World

2004-10-22T13:09:00

I like Trees.

Breakneck Ridge

This is my favorite tree on the east cost. It is a hardy one. It lives along the razor sharp Breakneck ridge that I climb with and without my friends a lot. It exudes strength in the face of adversity, and is always there to say g'day to me when I come over the ridge right before it. My friend e took this of me and Steve the day that we met. I had longer hair then.

Gosford Backyard

This is my favorite tree anywhere. It a beautiful white ghost gum. It reminds me Albert Namatjira, the native Australian landscape artist, and the raw beauty of the Australian outback. Even though, ironically it is well within sprawl of Sydney (right in my back yard). I would love to one day go back to the Northern Territory and get lost for a few years. Care to join me?

I recommend listening to happy music in the morning. It changes your outlook in life for the better.

Autumn

2004-10-13T01:22:00

Autumn

Ok, this is the last entry for tonight, I promise. I was on the top of Breakneck Ridge for magic hour today, and I had my new digital camera with me.

Brad: RedHanded

We've been coming out of our hikes later and later lately. Here is a portrait of brad from a few weeks ago. I call it Red Handed.

i killed starscream

2004-05-23T22:21:00

I was hiking back down from Breakneck Ridge today, and I suddenly had this strong urge to resurrect Starscream. So I when I got home and had some lunch, I went up to Best Buy to get a floppy disk drive. They didn't have one, so I tried Circuit City. The guy there found the spot where they were kept for me, stood right in front of them and said "Sorry we don't have any." So I picked up one of the floppy drives they didn't have and paid for it as I left. Got back home and installed the thing in StarScream. Turns out HA HA... I was able to get the thing to boot without the floppy drive. Took the ethernet card out of Reliant, which for some reason had inherrited it from StarScream and put it back. Pluged Reliant back into the network, and got everything working again (Reliant still had two other ethernet cards and is by gateway). I'm super happy, because Starscream is back working again. Press the power button on the front and NOTHING. I killed StarScream... I dunno how, but somehow just as I was finally getting StarScream back into the fold it dies. I think the motherboard shorted... which is a tragedy, because they don't make alphas anymore and getting a replacement is going to be tricky.