Mmmm…slopers.

Sam Whittaker Ben’s Groove SS Caley HD from Sam Whittaker on Vimeo.

Posted on 14 March 2010

Now that I’ve gotten over my “ethical” issues of (legally) downloading MP3s rather than actually buying the physical album, and discovered that Amazon often sells albums for $5.00 (!), I am listening to more new music. So, on the virtual turntable recently:

Curse Your Branches, David Bazan
My Maudlin Career, Camera Obscura (I am such a sucker for pop music)
Everything All the Time, Band of Horses
Set Free (demos), American Analog Set

In other news, the family is going to see They Might Be Giants tomorrow.

Posted on 12 March 2010

Do you want a (reasonably) concise summary of what Jacques Ellul thinks about technology in our modern world? Stick around ’til the end to really get a sense of how Ellul thinks we need to interact with technology to retain our human-ness.

Also note how many books this man owned, particularly in his office.

The Betrayal by Technology from Hive 2.0 on Vimeo.

Posted on 1 March 2010

I am nearly two months into my “training” for our trip to Hueco Tanks. I like to think that I am feeling fairly strong, but it’s been difficult to find benchmarks for my progress. But more on that later.

Primarily, I’ve been using the hangboard, generally three days a week (sometimes four). My big breakthrough there was finding the Beastmaker training guidelines. As I’ve noted before, the British often have an obsession for training (over, sometimes, actually climbing on rocks), so they are the best source for motivation and direction when using a one foot by three foot piece of plastic and wood in your cellar.

I started with sets of repeaters and encores, plus core work, and stayed with that for about a month of so, mostly to get my fingers used to the idea of working hard again. For the past few weeks, I’ve shifted over to doing pyramids (essentially offset pull-ups), throwing in repeaters and encores when I do workouts on consecutive days.

What about actual climbing? Well, motivation for that waxes and wanes. I was reasonably motivated to go to the gym during and after the holidays, since we spent quite a bit time setting new boulder problems. Motivation has waned, however, now that I’ve done most of those “projects” and I don’t feel motivated enough to do circuits. Its times like these that I miss the bouldering coop, or the old bouldering wall at the gym–large swaths of plywood completely covered with holds for an infinite selection of moves. Realistically, it would be good to start some circuits, at least once a week, and there is a good crop of steep, fingery problems to include.

So, where do I stand? That’s a good question. I have no idea if the grades I’ve given to problems I’ve set in the gym are in the right ballpark. If they are, well, I am rounding into shape and my ticklist for Hueco isn’t pie-in-the-sky, If those problems are soft (or, worse, horribly overgraded), then I am in for quite a surprise. Sadly, given the weather, I can’t be sure we’ll climb outdoors before the trip. I’d love to go to Coopers Rock and try some of the standards there, just to see where I stand.

Posted on 27 February 2010

Yeah, it’s not bouldering, but motivating nonetheless.

IKER POU – DEMENCIA SENIL 9a+ (Margalef) from jordi canyigueral on Vimeo.

Posted on 23 February 2010

Jen and I watched bits and pieces of Committed Volume II last night. Really good stuff, particularly the bit on the Whittaker family. I can only hope that in ten years we are living as they are. Katy and Pete, both teens, are filmed repeating and establishing hard, committing grit testpieces, belayed by their parents. I am in awe of the fact their mom, for instance, can watch Pete as he establishes a new route to the right of Braille Trail, let alone belay him. Of course, as Jen pointed out, mom and dad are fully taking responsibility for the safety of their kids (despite the apparent danger of the pursuit itself).

Posted on 16 February 2010

Hueco Tanks 2009 from Jimmy Webb on Vimeo.

Chbalanke looks very good.

Posted on 14 February 2010

(Taken from MoonClimbing.com)

I’d like to think Power of Silence will be one of my projects for the Hueco trip.

power of silence v10 from Walker Emerson on Vimeo.

Posted on 13 February 2010

Comment published a short symposium on my recent essay on convivial software. I’m deeply grateful to the Cardus staff for giving me this opportunity.

Posted on 12 February 2010

What to do when you get 18+ inches of snow.

Friday night: Shovel the 4+ inches of snow that fell already, and let the kids play outside way past their bedtime.

Saturday morning: Shovel enormous amount of snow, and be thankful that the sidewalk is only 15 feet long. Try to figure out how to shovel the walk next to house, since there is nowhere to put the snow. Give up on shoveling the path in the back since the pine bush has basically fallen over on it. Begin to dig out van, which just looks like a really big pile of snow. Break two snow shovels. Give up and eat lunch.

Saturday afternoon: Finish digging out van with a garden spade. Understand that this really sucks. Come inside and start to learn Haskell. Think really hard about what to make for dinner, since you couldn’t go shopping today.

Saturday evening: Do a hang board workout.

Posted on 6 February 2010