Been a Long Time

Time to re-organize and clean up a lot of crap. New year and all. Hmm...

Cloud's Rest

So...

Some engineering friends from work had the bright idea to hike Cloud's Rest to catch the sunrise. At night. Last night. Damn engineers!

Cloud's Rest is 9926 feet high (3025 m), the highest point around Yosemite Valley. The world-famous Half Dome is only 4737 feet high (1440 m). The published distance of the hike was 10.5 miles. We completely disagree with this published figure. Using our GPS tracker 10.5 appears to be "as the bird flies" distance, not the distance one needs to hike! 6 hours for the last 3.8 miles to the top just didn't add up!!

It was about 30 degrees fahrenheit (0 C) until the sun rose. And we hiked all the way to the top of Cloud's Rest in the freezing cold. With the only sleep under our belt from Thursday night. And we could have used warmer clothes. It was quite unpleasant. Huddling together for warmth is exciting only when it's not for survival. We are charging our "friend" who planned the trip with pre-meditated attempted murder. That, or it was just a PJ. A very PJ. One in the same?

We began our hike at 9:30pm. We arrived at the top of Cloud's Rest at 6:30 am. We didn't make it back down to Curry Village until 12:30 pm. 15 hours of continuous hiking.

Damn.

I need a beer. And another warm body. That'd be quite nice right now.

Rehnquist Dies

*GASP*

-Shit-

Man oh man....

*Yawn*

16 hours of solid sleep. 7pm-12pm.

Man, did I need that! Sleep is definitely the one "S" word that I'm sorely lacking these days. Well, snowboarding as well. But that will soon (in three months) be rectified.

Pre-Season!!

NFL FOOTBALL!!! So close I can almost taste it... Pre-season isn't bad. Just an appetizer though of the season to come.

Some sad news in the NFL, even in Pre-season.
Thomas Herrion

49ERS' Lineman who collapsed in the locker room and died after Saturday's game.
My prayers for his family.



I don't have a NFL Team that I'm a die-hard fan of. But I do have a soft spot for the 49ers. Grew up with them, you know? But they're in such a sorry state it's just difficult to watch. I wouldn't call myself a fair-weather fan, but maaaan, when the only time you can win is in overtime... against the Arizona Cardinals... well, there are other more entertaining games to watch.

I just love good football. Doesn't matter which team, usually. With NFL Season Ticket from Direct TV, it's not difficult to find at least one good game in the morning and one in the afternoon to pass the Fall and Winter Sundays. And they had almost half the games in HDTV last year. I hope they've added more channels in HD this season (I'm already paying for the programming!). HDTV Football was so clear you can see each blade of grass, each bead of sweat and the breath of the players. It's awesome!! I highly recommend it. (It's even better on larger TVs. Mine's only 50"... but maybe in a year or two when TV prices plummet even more I'll upgrade to a 60".)

But I am driven by an interest to see certain people do well. I'll check out a game just to watch how players are developing... or not, in the case of the 49ers.

From a different angle... I am actually interested to in a... shall we call it, "post-college NFL-continued rivalry" between two (now not rookies, but quite unseasoned) QBs: Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer. They were both QBs at Cal and USC, respectively, while I was in college. USC had an undefeated season, and the only game Cal lost that year was to USC. How well these two players survive in the NFL has been amusing speculation for myself and my college friends. For those who are unfamiliar with the newbies to the NFL (not the least because they haven't been performing as brilliantly and breathtakingly as Rothenberger on the Steelers), here's some visual background on the two:

Kyle Boller	Carson Palmer
Baltimore Ravens QB	Cincinnati Bengals QB
Cal's QB	USC's QB

A Sorority House?

Work hard, play hard. Hell, it's summertime! Why not?

I've been out every other night, on average, these past few weeks. This morning after partying downtown, my friends and I crashed at a co-worker's sorority house for... well, the morning... All I remember are beer bongs, paddles and cozy couches. Hmm... the redness will fade by Monday right?

I thought my real partying days were over when I graduated? I guess... not... It is getting tougher to recover from these excursions, but hey, I'm only young once!

Then we had to get up to attend an all-afternoon BBQ in the park.

And more partying tonight in the City? Maybe my friends are much younger at heart than I.

But then again, why not? It summertime!

My liver must hate me.

So much to do...

I don't get out much anymore. Work sucks. A friend invited me to their law firm's Napa wine-tasting tour this weekend, but I declined. I can't this weekend. Sigh..., I do need to get out more.

There are quite a few local events that I've never particiapted in and are on my list. This, from the travel-addict who will wander the world but not explore his own backyard...

There is, of course, the Buring Man.

The Man, after

The Man, before, with Fire Dancers

In other... "local" events, this weekend is the Gilroy Garlic Festival. I've never been. Gotta love garlic!! Garlic ice cream!!! (*GAG*) Some things are just not meant to be... but there must be other good foods they can cook with the stuff.

This weekend is also the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix in San Jose. Not sure if that would be fun to watch in person. It may be better televised. Perhaps a compromise... a downtown bar?

One past event that I couldn't attend this year was the Bay to Breakers. I've yet participate in this fine Bay Area institution. It's like Halloween in the Castro... mixed with college frats and media attention. Who can resist that?

Enough about all that. I need sleep to make it to the weekend. I'll decide what to do then. Could always sleep in...