Back To Basics

I've painted myself into a corner.

Somewhere around January I took this whole thing off track. I was so fascinated by the sociological implications of Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, and the countless other digital distractions that I thought I could do a commentary on them. I don't know why I thought I could be an authority when I didn't really do much other than read about them. Learning about them is really just a Google Search away.

Ironically the iPhone entered my life at the end of June and Twitter became very useful shortly after that (thanks to Tweetie.) In mid-July I took a week to analyze Facebook and hunt for old Marine Corps friends (with little success.) Alas, it was a great experience, but in the end I realized there is absolutely nothing wrong with Facebook...it's just not right for me.

I'm not sure why I wanted to write a long essay on the risks and rewards of these variable digital distractions. At this moment I realize that it's not the devices or websites that can be a problem, but the way people use them.

For those of you who have been waiting for this Facebook, Twitter, iPhone mega post...it's not going to happen. I'm not the expert. I love to talk to people in person on how I "feel" about social media, but I don't feel comfortable making blanket statements here. Lastly, I want the content of this blog to be unique and I'm okay with it not following any rhyme or reason.

* * *

So it has been nine months since I have written about the real world things going on in my life. I can tell that my writing is rusty and I need to write more even about the seemingly small stuff.

We moved to Washington D.C. in June in pursuit of "Better Living" and we are really happy to be here. The Northwest will always be where our hearts are, but we needed to move to an area that provided an "education" that we could take back with us. Most conversations that we get into with others (from new friends to strangers on the Metro) lead to learning something new. Since we've been out here, Nicole and I have been inspired in many directions that otherwise wouldn't have happened had we stayed in the Northwest. We're calling this chapter of our lives "The D.C. Internship."

Just yesterday we took the Metro to D.C. for Vegfest. While Nicole was volunteering at a booth there, I went searching for protesters that were marching to the Capitol. On my walk, I found a group of people playing roller hockey behind the White House. When I say behind, I mean literally behind...on the pedestrian-only street that runs behind it. It was a little surreal.

Meanwhile, there was a protest somewhere, but I must have missed it. I walked to Freedom Square only to find trash blowing in the wind and a handful of city workers cleaning up. It was really weird because I could almost feel the warmth of the thousands of people still on the bricks yet it was quiet (by then they must have reached the Capitol.)

Following my failed photo shoot I returned to Nicole only to hop on a shuttle bus to the Kennedy Center for an open house. We arrived to find clusters of people surrounding various street performers from all over the world. They were performing on various stages around the building. One thing about Washington D.C. is that there seems to be plenty of high quality free entertainment. This was no exception. I enjoyed watching the kids laugh and smile even more than I enjoyed watching the various performances of jugglers, unicyclists, and pantomime performances. A street performer can really grab the attention of a child (and an adult's "inner child".)

We left the Kennedy Center and headed to our favorite downtown theater, the Landmark E-Street Theater. Located just a few blocks away from the White House, it is a great theater for seeing foreign, documentary, and independently produced films. So far we have seen "Food Inc." (3 times), "In The Loop", and yesterday "It Might Get Loud". This last movie was great if you love guitar and Jack White-The Edge-Jimmy Page.

We returned to our place greeted by our full-bladder dog who was very happy to see us.

I hope to write more often on a daily basis. I will write about technology, simplicity, and perhaps the incredible things that happen to us while we're out here.

Twitter: Am I "Interesting" Enough For It To Be Useful?

My wife didn't want me to write about Twitter. In her mind she thinks it's pointless and a little "scary" how people want to use these applications in hopes of connecting and communicating. I'm not sure if I disagree with her, but I want to get this out just because Twitter seems to be growing.

You say Twitter to someone and one of two things happen. Either they get really excited and want to talk about it or their eyes glaze over and the force-field of "new technology fear" is raised. Like most things new on the web, there is this overwhelming feeling of concern and excitement as the latest "gadget" comes out vowing to make our (Internet) life more fun.

I won't try to explain Twitter. I've learned over the years that explaining new technologies that have never had application before are very challenging to understand. My parents swore up and down that Tivo was completely unnecessary when they had two VCRs and they never missed anything they wanted to watch. My brother and I bought them a Tivo anyway. They kicked and screamed for about the length of time it took to download the program schedule to the Tivo. Today you couldn't convince them to ever get rid of it. Other examples of these "hard-to-explain-to-your-parents" technologies are the iPhone, RSS, Blogs, etc. Once you find a use for them, you wonder how you could have ever lived without them.

If you want the best "explainer" I have found for Twitter watch this very short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o (youtube version)


Does anyone care what I do from email to email or from post to post? I have never had anyone email me and say "What are you doing RIGHT NOW?" or "Why haven't you blogged lately?" My friends and family understand that I contact them when something is going on...not when I've just switched brands of toothpaste or found the cleanest public bathroom in Portland or mowed the lawn in circle patterns. What I'm getting at is that the details between email or phone calls are important to store and talk about later.

I would argue that by not keeping a little information about yourself stored up and told later, you are destroying the romantic aspect of your life. When we store up a bunch of mildly important events and later tell them to someone else, we have the opportunity to embellish the story to make it more interesting...even if we stretch the facts a bit. This is what life is about. If you knew every aspect of my life before I had the opportunity to tell you personally, I would be an incredibly boring person.

Believe it or not, I do think Twitter is EXTREMELY useful...but probably not for me. If I were a teacher, I could use Twitter to inform my students that the geography assignment will be due in 2 weeks instead of on Friday. If I were a sales manager I could let sales people know that the new sales presentations have a typo on them and not to use them. And so on. If you have information that "impacts" others I think you should seriously consider Twitter. 

As for me, I wish I could find uses for Twitter in my life...but alas I can't. My Twitter page at the time of this post says it all:

• My first cell Tweet - about 7 hours ago from txt
  
• Actively experimenting with twitter - 10:11 AM Apr 22nd from web
  
• Learning about twitter - 8:47 PM Dec 18th, 2008 from web
  

Hopefully when you read this (maybe years from the actual post date) our page http://twitter.com/nicoleandjeff doesn't contradict everything I said . . .

Something Different: How To Shave Your Head (And If You Really Should)

It's time to do something different on BLTS - a "How To"

I've been considering writing this ever since I decided to shave my head during the winter of 2004. I still remember staring in the mirror asking myself...is it time? I wish that I had been given some advice and tips on what to do. Hopefully this post will help someone who is on the fence about shaving his/her head.

Not to go back too far in history but when I finished my time in the service, I noticed that my once head full of thick hair had abruptly stopped growing around the crown of my head. At first I rebelled...I bleached my hair blond (which matched my scalp more than brown did) and tried to conceal the fact that the hair on the top of my head was just not growing. Eventually I got sick of the toe-head look and let my original color grow back in. At that point it was quite obvious...the hair on the top of my head had fully retired.

For at least 3 more years I kept it short on the sides to match the apparent thinness on the top of my head. This resulted in a visit to the barber at least once every 3 weeks (if not more.) Worst of all, some barbers would say "You have a lot of hair! You're not going bald at all!" I'm not sure why some barbers would say such a thing when it was so obviously not true...but needless to say I never went back those liars.

Trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation, I tried to negotiate a yearly membership price with a favorite barber so I could come in as often as needed. I constantly needed to have my head cleaned up to hide the hair on the sides of my head that were growing 10 times faster than the top. Even though I offered to pay something close to the equivalent of 3 haircuts a month for a year, for unlimited haircut access...he declined. In the end I was sick of paying for these maintenance haircuts...so it was then I decided to take the leap.

To me, shaving your head says one thing about you...you're brave. You're willing to face the music and embrace the truth...you're going bald. The two dimension liar (also known as a mirror) will make you feel like you have concealed the problem, but the truth is people can tell you are losing your hair. Shaving your head is a way to say "I am not scared of going bald; I'm embracing it."

The sooner you shave your head, the longer you will live with this new identity (which I'm almost sure that you will prefer...if not...it grows back.)

It's important to note that shaving your head isn't for everybody. I highly recommend cutting your hair to the shortest "stylable" length before considering shaving it. Once your hair is gone you have committed to an appearance that may take months to grow out.

Some Of My Screening Questions To See If Shaving Your Head Is Right For You:

• Are you obsessed with a single hairstyle that cannot be changed (and swimming makes you feel self-conscience about your hairline? (Simply put...are hats a necessary part of your outfit?)
• Are you older than 30? (Young faces with shaved heads can look strange...unless you add the element of cool facial hair)

• Do you secretly wish that the cure for baldness will be developed in the next 5 years? (Don't count on it, in the 24th century Captain Jean-Luc Picard is cruising around space with male pattern baldness.)
• Do you spend more than 20 bucks a month for a haircut but the haircut itself takes half the time as someone else's haircut? (Trust me...your barber loves you...same price...less time.)
• Do you have a good wardrobe? (Since the focus will be off of your hair, your self expression will be limited to facial hair and wardrobe. Simple t-shirts won't look quite the same without hair.)

If you answered yes to some or all of these questions, it might be a good time to shave your head!

Before You Do:

Get advice! Ask your friends and family what they think. Your mother will probably tell you not to...that's normal. Listen to everyone carefully and try to discriminate the good advice from the bad. This is a big step. I don't recommend doing it as a form of rebellion because after the angst wears off you're stuck with a shaved head and no plan.

Look into the maintenance of a shaved head. A clean shaven head needs to be shaved every 3 to 4 days (twice a week.) This will require time in the shower and equipment. If you shave with clippers (not quite clean, but with stubble) you can do it once a week, but you have the clippings to deal with (not fun if you like a clean bathroom.) You MUST buy sunblock. Even living in Seattle, if I was going to be outside for longer than 10 minutes I would put a little sunblock on the top of my head. This part of your body is the most exposed to the sun and WILL get burned. Skin cancer that starts on the head could be very unsightly not to mention extremely deadly.

I recommend the following products:

For Shaving With Clippers:

• Wahl Pro PEANUT Palm Size Hair Trimmer Clipper 8685
• A barber cape
• A vacuum and broom for cleanup
• A hand mirror
  

For Clean Shaving*:

• The HeadBlade
• Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream
• Clinique Face Scrub
• Clinique Face Soap
• Lily Of The Desert - Aloe Vera Gelly (beware, it will make your head shiny)
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 70

Clean shaving may require a lot of products, but in the end you will get a very good shave. At the very least I recommend using the Headblade and the SPF.

*You will probably need to cut your hair first with clippers before clean-shaving your head.

How To Shave With Clippers:

1. Cut your hair standing on a sheet on the floor, or in your shower (turned off), to catch the loose hair. If you cut it out of doors, then you do not need to worry about hair on the ground.
2. Set the clippers to the shortest setting. With most clippers this means removing the guard completely. Avoid using an electric razor on your head as it does not work that well and the noise will drive you mad.
3. Choose to do it yourself or get help. You can do it yourself with practice, or get someone to cut your hair for you. If cutting yourself, plan to shower immediately afterward, so you don't worry about getting the clippings all over yourself.
4. Begin at the nape of the neck and run the clippers in rows up over your scalp to the front.
5. Be sure to give extra attention to the nape of your neck, the sideburns, and just over the ears.
6. Check the style. When you think you're done, use a mirror to check, and try running your hand all over your head. You should be able to feel any spots you've missed.

How To Shave Using a HeadBlade

1. Use clippers to bring your hair down to the shortest stubble possible.
2. Take a shower, and while you're in, do the following:
   
3. Use Clinique Face Scrub (followed by Clinique Face Soap) to ensure that your head is clean and that all hairs are above the surface (an ingrown hair can cause problems.)
4. Apply Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream to your head making sure that the consistency is not too thick (you will need to be able to feel for stubble along the way)
5. Go to HeadBlade.com for recommended techniques. There are videos and FAQs on the finer points of using this tool. I won't waste space here reiterating them.
6. After finishing in the shower, shave the rest of your face as necessary. I've noticed that I have to shave my temples and around my ears with a regular razor because it's a little awkward in the shower with the HeadBlade.
7. Apply SPF
8. I like to put aloe on my head. It seems to help prevent any nicks from getting infected and adds a nice shine.

The first time you shave your head you will probably go through a little bit of hair shock. You might find yourself staring in the mirror and not recognizing the face looking back at you. My coworkers seemed to be slow to like it, but eventually everyone said that it was really a good look. Allow 3-6 months to fully acclimatize and expect a reaction at reunions and holidays (but by then you should love it)

I met my wife 2 months A.S. (After Shaving) and she has never known me with hair. Sometimes I'll pull out old photos and she says over and over how much better I look with a shaved head. A huge bonus is that I can be creative with my facial hair (not so with my former ultra-conservative "hide-the-fact-that-I'm-balding" haircut) and have had fun growing handlebars, goatees, soul patches, and the like.

I am very happy shaving my head and do not plan to grow it out again (what little there is.) With a shaved head I look the age I feel. I hope that a shaved head works for you as it has for me.

My iPhone Killer...

For a long time I've been wanting to write more in the theme of why I created this blog in the first place...keeping things simple. The definition of simplicity is "the property, condition, or quality of being simple or uncombined."

In the electronics world, more and more it's about features, buttons, and menus that help sell the product. While I am a gadget lover and guilty of buying the most pointless and complex digital toys, there is one device that I believe has fallen off course from it's original purpose...the cell phone.

I bought my first cell phone in 1996. I was in the Marine Corps and had no means of communication other than payphones (remember them?) The phone was as big as a pack of cigarettes and had limited talk time. Also the rate plans back then were all by individual minutes (no 500 minute plans or whatnot.) I tried to use my phone only when needed and managed to keep costs low.

In the late 90s cell phones became more common and pricing plans were more affordable. In 1999, I signed up with AT&T Wireless and bought my first Nokia phone. This phone I used a little more because I was rarely home (work, college, etc.) Needless to say I found myself upgrading my phone every 2 years...but why? The truth is that I was in love with the gadgetness.

Enter 2009... The iPhone has been out for a couple of years and other cell phones (and "smart" phones) have made leaps and bounds in technology...but to what benefit? Isn't a phone for communicating with people in real time? How did the MP3 player, GPS, camera, internet browser, and video player become essential tools? I will agree that email on the phone in today's day and age is very important for people in certain professions. I also will concede that text messaging is a wonderful thing. What frustrates me is that it is very hard to find a simple phone minus the crap.

As I mentioned I used to buy a new phone every so often. One phone in particular that I purchased in 2004 was the Nokia 6820b (pictured right.) I cherished this simple phone up until AT&T became Cingular. The folks at the Cingular store said that it will not work on their network and I had to get a new phone. At the time I thought that it was just a matter of time before Nokia (and Cingular) would introduce the next version of this phone. Unfortunately...it never happened. Instead Cingular became AT&T again and the iPhone and Blackberry became the weapon of choice for gadget lovers like me.

I have ooohed and aaahed over the iPhone and the various Blackberry phones. I even had a Blackberry Curve for a week until I realized that I was wasting time (and an extra $30 a month) on this gadget. It was constantly demanding my attention. *BEEP*....'oh, a new email'....*BEEP*....'something from my work email'....*BEEP*....'oh someone just commented on my blog'. . .you get the idea. I returned it and begged them for something simple. I ended up taking the free basic Nokia phone.

About a month ago I was digging through some old electronic stuff and found my old Nokia 6820b. I thought since AT&T was now back that I would stick my SIM card in this antiquated phone and see if it worked. The phone display read ENTER UNLOCK CODE. I immediately went to the web and frantically tried to find some magical code that would make this phone work. After going to many geek sites with various codes (that did not work) I gave up. Just the other day I had some time to kill in downtown Portland and decided to see if I could find anyone who could help me get this phone to work again.

The first place I went was the AT&T Wireless store. I showed them my phone and described my frustration with the phones that they sell now. The salesperson went around and showed me all of the basic phones, which were a little too basic (not to mention I would have to restart my contract with them...which I am thankfully no longer in.) The salesperson said he did know someone in town that might be able to get it to work again. He handed me his card and I hopped on the MAX headed over the river.

After a short walk from the Hollywood MAX station I arrived at AIRLINK. (Located at 3626 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232) I tried not to get my hopes up when I showed the salesperson my phone and asked if he could get it to work. Without even blinking, he looked at me and said "no problem!" In less then 10 minutes and for a couple of bucks, my beloved phone from the past was working on the AT&T network.

View Larger Map

Needless to say, I have been overjoyed since getting this phone working again and have been (re)familiarizing myself with it's features. I have gone through and added all the voice tags (so when I'm wearing a headset I can say the name without having to dial.) One of the greatest features is the fold out keyboard for text messaging. Though many phones have QWERTY keyboards, many sacrifice the size of the phone for this feature. Additionally, I tweaked the phone so I can get to my Gmail account (which is good for emergencies, but which is not a necessity.)

I personally believe this phone is as complicated as a phone should be:

• It has a very basic camera
• The phone is small
• It has voice dialing
• It is Bluetooth capable
• The ringtones are basic and not obnoxious
• Very strong vibration in silent mode

I want to end by mentioning that I do LOVE the iPhone, Blackberry, and other smart phones...but only because they are like toys. I personally don't think it is wise to consolidate all of these things into a single tool. I believe in carrying a toolbox rather than just a Swiss army knife. I have an awesome hand held GPS, two wonderful cameras, a great computer, and an 80gb iPod that's almost full of music. I love having reasons to bring these items (each as needed) on trips and don't mind that they are independent of each other. If one of them breaks, needs new batteries, or just needs to be upgraded I don't have to give them all up to do so.

My cell phone is just one of my tools...not all of them.

Fitness Gadget For Desk Jockies (Or How To Get More Activity Back In Your Day)

I used to spend my entire day at a desk (yes...there was ping pong...thank goodness.) My problem was that I never got enough exercise during the work week. My commute was almost an hour each way and by the time I got home I was in no mood to go to the gym. I tried some of the old tricks such as moving my printer out of my office (which did help) and I tried to get out of my chair and meeting people face to face (instead of calling or emailing someone who was just down the hall.) I am no longer working there yet I have to be on top of my activity level and monitor it so I don't go the way of the couch potato.

Sometime last year I became fascinated with the concept of the pedometer. Previously I thought of a pedometer as one of those devices that someone buys in hopes to see how FAR they walk. My mother even had one years ago and we all agreed it was truly inconvenient. Back then you had to wear it on your waist, it looked like a garage door opener, and it never really did the job in a useful manner (it was just easier to drive in a car to calculate how far you walked.)

So sometime at the beginning of 2008 I did some new research to see if pedometers had improved. Much to my surprise, pedometers had come a long way. In my research I found one in particular that seemed to be a favorite: the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer.

This pedometer has an amazing 1,933 customer reviews (at the time of this post) on Amazon and has a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. I decided to order two of these (one for me, one for my wife) and see if I could use it as an "activity motivator."

The device has some really cool (and critical) features:

1. Seven day memory
2. Tracks: [STEPS, AEROBIC STEPS, KCAL, AND MILES]
3. Can be carried anywhere on the body (including a purse)
4. Resets itself at midnight (and sends your work to the memory)

Now all I have described is a pedometer (a good one at that) but what I really want to point out is how having a device like this in your pocket everyday helps motivate you. You can obsess about kcals, miles, and steps all you want, but that is unnecessarily complicated. All that REALLY matters is that you are active and are trying to be MORE active. This is where the memory on this device is crucial (and essentially why you should by the model I recommended.)

After only a week of putting this thing in my pocket as I dressed everyday I realized that the "Steps" category for all practical purposes SHOULD be used ONLY as an index. Like television ratings are to programs, broadcast executives care more about how ratings are up and down, not necessarily what the number indicates (and I might add that very few people actually know what a rating point is.) The "Steps" you take in one day is completely relative to the day before (and the day following.) If you are only starting with 1000 steps on your first day then you walk 2000 steps on your second day, you have DOUBLED your activity level (better than doing nothing.) We can't all walk 10,000 steps in a day (as recommended by sources on the web) the very first day or even a year later for that matter. But you can walk more than you did the day before and that is progress.

I created this chart quickly in Excel.

(Important note: I JUST started using my pedometer again on the 26th of November...it had been in storage for several months before so this is "out of the gate" data)



What is important to note is that my activity level went UP when I started putting it in my pocket again (Sunday was a very lazy day and Monday we were in the car delivering meals to home bound folks.) Today (which is not listed because it ends at midnight) I looked at my 7 day history and decided to try to beat yesterday's steps (6247) and ended up RUNNING a couple of miles which I haven't done for MONTHS (btw the pedometer works just fine if you run with it too.)

In summary, I want to push all of you out there who know that they are having a hard time getting to the gym and want to move in a positive direction. I believe if you use this on a daily basis, you will become more active and those other goals such as losing weight, running more, going to the gym more will follow. This device is the first step in getting you out of the "desk rut" that you may be in.

Where to order: http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HJ-112-Digital-Premium-Pedometer/dp/B0000U1OCI

It's the perfect gadget for a New Year's Resolution . . .

Off The Radar Until Next Year

(Please Note...I had been working on a huge blog about cell phones and how the wireless industry has steered so far away from functionality to "gadgetality." If you would like me to post it, please let me know...otherwise I will file it away.)

I've read time and time again that I should update this blog more often if I want to maintain interest. Because a lot of other things are going on in our lives currently I have put the writing to a lower priority. Expect to see something around the first of the year.

In the meantime I have been trying to catch up on my reading. I have been reading 6 books below at the same time and all of them are very interesting!

(all reviews below taken from the web):

Term Limits - Vince Flynn (Fiction)
In a night of shattering brutality, three of Washington's most powerful and unscrupulous politicians have been executed with surgical precision. Their assassins, vanishing without a trace, have delivered a shocking ultimatum to the leaders of the American government: set aside petty, partisan politics and restore power to the people, or be held to deadly account. No one, they warn, is out of their reach -- not even the president. A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals that the killers are elite military commandos, but no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O'Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive implications for his country's future.... In a tour de force of action and suspense, Vince Flynn takes the ultimate American ideal -- a government of the people -- to a devastating extreme.

Creating A World Without Poverty: Social Business And The Future Of Capitalism - Muhammad Yunnus (Non-Fiction)
The winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world - and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. Over the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, bringing with them enormous potential for positive change. But traditional capitalism cannot solve problems like inequality and poverty, because it is hampered by a narrow view of human nature in which people are one-dimensional beings concerned only with profit. In fact, human beings have many other drives and passions, including the spiritual, the social and the altruistic. Welcome to the world of social business, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today's most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick and protecting the planet. Creating a World Without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social business, including Yunus's own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already under way - and in the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.

Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-Free Productivity - David Allen (Non-Fiction)
In today's world, yesterday's methods just don't work. Veteran coach and management consultant Allen shares the breakthrough methods for stress-free performance that he has introduced to thousands. He shows how to assess goals, relax, and stay focused.







The Laws Of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life - John Maeda (Non-Fiction)
Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. We're rebelling against technology that's too complicated, DVD players with too many menus, and software accompanied by 75-megabyte "read me" manuals. The iPod's clean gadgetry has made simplicity hip. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do. In The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda offers ten laws for balancing simplicity and complexity in business, technology, and design—guidelines for needing less and actually getting more. Maeda—a professor in MIT's Media Lab and a world-renowned graphic designer—explores the question of how we can redefine the notion of "improved" so that it doesn't always mean something more, something added on. Maeda's first law of simplicity is "Reduce." It's not necessarily beneficial to add technology features just because we can. And the features that we do have must be organized (Law 2) in a sensible hierarchy so users aren't distracted by features and functions they don't need. But simplicity is not less just for the sake of less. Skip ahead to Law 9: "Failure: Accept the fact that some things can never be made simple." Maeda's concise guide to simplicity in the digital age shows us how this idea can be a cornerstone of organizations and their products—how it can drive both business and technology. We can learn to simplify without sacrificing comfort and meaning, and we can achieve the balance described in Law 10. This law, which Maeda calls "The One," tells us: "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."

Dune - Frank Herbert (Fiction)
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, DUNE is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, DUNE formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

Outliers: The Story Of Success - Malcolm Gladwell (Non-Fiction)
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky." Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendants of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.



Here is my progress on reading all of these as of 10:18am on December 2, 2008:

Intermission

We are still here.

Nicole and I have been reading and researching as much as possible in preparation for our next step. Unfortunately, the state of the economic world has made things seem like it may be more challenging. I make the mistake (daily) of looking at the gloom and doom that is being constantly reported and can't help but get sucked in. It's also fair to say that I really don't know how this "situation" will affect our future. Needless to say, I'm not too worried. . .we have worked really hard to break the chains that connect us to it.

I've been wondering if the movie "Fight Club" is being rented more often right now. I used to watch that movie nearly everyday before I went to work at a restaurant on NW 23rd in Portland. The year was 1999, everybody was drinking Starbucks, talking on cell phones, and spending money on knickknacks for their condos:

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The NW Portland Years (1999-2000)
I hated living in that part of Portland, yet I had worked really hard to find this "Shangri la" when I had been living in Bend. Don't get me wrong, Bend was great at the time. I ran everyday and mountain biked every other day but Bend at the time lacked the cosmopolitan experience for someone my age (25) . . . so I set my sights on Northwest Portland.

Northwest Portland is more than just a geographical reference to a part of Portland, it's more of a neighborhood. In the late 1990s it was an up and coming shopping district with boutique shops, outdoor dining, and coffee shops with parking spots for your dot-com Lamborghini.

I initially moved to NW 21st with a friend who also thought it would be fun to move from the small town of Bend to the giant city of Portland. He and I had already been roommates for a while in Central Oregon so we knew that we could get along. After only a few months in Portland, he bought a dog and moved back to Bend (then joined the Air Force and has been in for 8 years.)

Eventually it was only me in a two bedroom apartment overlooking The Gypsy (restaurant.) The apartment was the cheapest thing I could find in that neighborhood and it showed from time to time. An example of how "affordable" it was became evident when one morning I woke up to find that the walls of my bathroom were ballooning. It looked like giant moles had burrowed down the wall from the ceiling and were making their way to the floor. I lived on the 3rd floor of a 4 story apartment building so I knew that trouble was coming from above. The curious boy in me decided to push with my finger on these raised portions of the wall. The paint immediately gave way and a steady stream of warm soapy water sprayed all over my bathroom. Apparently the pipes above my bathroom had broken just below their bathtub.

What was funny about that experience is that in the days following, the management worked to fix it at a snails pace. At one point (or should I say the breaking point) the maintenance guy cut a hole in my ceiling (my upstairs neighbor's floor) right in front of their toilet. I walked in there and looked up to only see a pair of crumpled Levi jeans covering the a 5 inch by 5 inch hole. Minutes later there was a flush and the jeans disappeared and I could see my neighbor's bathroom ceiling. I was on the phone within minutes demanding resolution to this problem and used the whole situation as leverage for the best apartment in the building (at the same rent.) I moved to the fourth floor the very next day.

So now that I had the coolest apartment, in the hippest part of town, one would think I would have been happy. It didn't work that way at all. Because living in that part of town everyone would put on their best outfit to shop or "be cool" on a restaurant patio, I felt like I needed to look my best even when I would walk to the store for bread. Being single at the time compounded this environmental insecurity.

I eventually learned to tune out most of the neighborhood. I would listen to headphones if I was studying at a coffee shop, go on long drives out of the city, and I also kept a bag of water balloons next to my bed.

As mentioned earlier, I lived right next to a restaurant called The Gypsy. This place (at the time) was not really a destination restaurant, more of a "Let's meet at The Gypsy before we go dancing" or "Let's all go to the Gypsy now that we have been dancing." Get the picture?

I had no AC and in the summer everyone in that apartment had to leave their window open to stay cool. It was wonderful to be on the top floor with my windows open because the breeze kept it just right. The only problem was that The Gypsy down below tended to attract young drunk males who typically would take fights out to the sidewalk...at 2 in the morning. Because my sleep was valuable to me, I became very irritated with the constant scuffles that occurred just 4 stories below my window. The solution: water balloons.

To be clear, I had a couple of tactical advantages to my location.

1. I lived on the 4th floor
2. I lived above a huge tree (the tree top was around the 3rd floor)
3. The street lights were below my position
4. I lived in a keypad secured building
5. Everyone had their window open with the lights off
6. My door had double locks
7. They were drunk
8. I was sober

Nothing changes the attitude of two drunk alpha males like a water balloon to the head. Typically I would lob the balloon (this helped mask the point of origin) on to the head of the more aggressive of the two. After impact I would hide for a moment or two and listen to the reaction of the targets. Surprisingly it was often the same reaction. They would instantly befriend each other in the name of finding whoever threw the water balloon. "You go that way around the block and I will go this way and we'll beat the crap out of him." This response happened most of the time. Two would-be enemies would team up to fight a new bad guy. Fortunately for me, no one ever had the sense to look up to the apartments...thank goodness for alcohol.

This annoyance along with many others made Northwest Portland a tough place for me to be happy. Near the end I made the best of it. My form of entertainment was going to the Starbucks on the corner of 23rd and Hoyt and people watching. It is still a great place to watch people to this day.

One day just for fun outside of that Starbucks I pretended to tie my shoe on the sidewalk and instead affixed a quarter to the sidewalk with superglue. I stood on it for a couple minutes before going back inside. I sat at the bar inside Starbucks facing the window for over an hour watching people try to pry that quarter from the sidewalk. I watched as older women would pull out tools from their purse such as a metal nail file trying to get it. I had no idea a glob of glue and a quarter could provide so much entertainment.

I eventually moved far away from that part of town and look back at those years as a "growing experience." Years later I would learn that the love of my life, my wife Nicole, worked two blocks away from that apartment during the same time. I find myself constantly wondering how close we came to each other without meeting. I know that my whole perspective would have been different if I had met her then.

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I will try to write more little historical "episodes" when we have gaps between our adventures. Hopefully this will help provide insight for the inspiration of our journey.

Lastly, Nicole and I might be close to another adventure...but we have to keep it under wraps for now.

Crossing America: Day 10 (Includes Summary Since Chicago . . .)

I haven't really had the time or energy to sit down and write what we have seen and experienced since we left Chicago so I thought I would take a moment to recap. Before I start it's important to note that it is impossible to keep track of all the odds and ends we have seen so far and Nicole and I often comment back to each other how we hope to "remember it all." I will try to highlight some of the interesting sights since we left Chicago.

Chicago was such a recharging experience that nearly every day after we have been getting up early and trying to walk, take pictures, and grab coffee before we dawdle across America. This has really helped us feel a little better about sitting for hours (because of the exercise) in the car. It has also allowed us to take more pictures in good light (mornings are great photo times.) When we finish this trip I hope to post "The Best Of The Best."

As mentioned before, we left Chicago in the nick of time and traveled north toward Minneapolis. I was really surprised how beautiful Wisconsin and Minnesota are and quickly changed my preconceived notions about these northern mid-west states. Though they lack mountains (by definition a mountain is over 10,000 feet...citation needed) I was amazed how lush and "cozy" each little town felt.

Minneapolis was beautiful. It felt like Portland minus the hills and sprawl (although we didn't venture out into the surrounding areas.) We stopped in to a Barnes and Noble to find some music for our looming South Dakota leg (we weren't looking forward to it.) The styles and personalities in the bookstore mirrored Portlander attitudes and political views. Minneapolis seemed to be an island of liberal ideals in a sea of conservative states.

Leaving Minneapolis we headed south to Luverne, Minnesota. On this leg I finally saw something that Nicole had talked about since I met her...factory farms. I was a bit surprised having been raised in an area where livestock roam free and never as a child did I think that a cow, chicken, or pig had a hard life. My father would often take us by a sheep farm after church to see the baby lambs and I would think to myself how happy they all were.

We drove by many chicken/goose "sheds" that were literally wall to wall birds. They were all staring out the chicken wire crammed together barely moving...thousands of them. I am still a meat eater and don't plan to change soon, but I can say that I have never seen conditions like this for an animal...and it is saddening...no matter who you are.

After our stay in Luverne, we began our "South Dakota" leg. I knew it was going to be interesting when we passed a billboard after crossing into South Dakota that read "We Dakotans REJECT Animal Activists. Furs, Game, Fish & Livestock are Our Economy!" Nicole couldn't get to her purse quickly enough to write it down. Also, the welcome sign into the state read: "Welcome to South Dakota. Watch Out For Jack Rabbits."

We drove into Sioux Falls, South Dakota...very, very strange town. Our mission was to get an espresso...and it was nearly impossible. The town itself feels like someone created it on SimCity. All the buildings were 3 to 4 stories...and very similar. There were HUGE parking garages full to the brim yet the town had nearly no foot traffic. We stopped by the cafe and bakery to get a mocha and the girl behind the counter pointed to a machine found commonly in hotel lobbies that make "instant" mochas or lattes. Distressed (and wondering if we were in the twilight zone) we did endless circles radiating from city center. By pure luck we found a Starbucks and felt as if we had found the American Embassy in a developing nation. I did a little research on the city and found that it is home to many financial companies (South Dakota doesn't have corporate income tax.)

As expected South Dakota was a long day. We finally arrived in Rapid City, SD around 5pm only to find out that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally had just started (only a town away.) Hotel rates were through the roof and I honestly thought we would have to drive to Wyoming to find a place to stay. Thanks to Nicole, we were able to negotiate a pretty good rate in nearby Hill, SD.

Before we headed to our hotel, we swung by Mount Rushmore. From what I had heard and read about it, I expected to be underwhelmed. It was amazing. It was a lot bigger than I had imagined and the viewing area made for great pictures. I'm not sure if I would plan a family vacation around this destination, but I definitely would recommend it for anyone traveling on I-90...it's worth the detour.

The next morning we got up early and took pictures of Hill City before jumping in the truck and heading for Sheridan by way of Devil's Tower. For anyone who has seen "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" they would recognize this rock formation as the center piece of the movie's plot. Seeing it up close made me feel special; like I had some bragging rights or something. It's pretty spectacular...but I'm not 100% sure it's worth a side trip unless you are a rock climber.

We finally pulled into Sheridan early enough to get a fantastic dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant (which was amazing.) The hotel we stayed in was very interesting. The Mill Inn is a converted wheat mill (with giant silos) into a hotel plus commercial building. The rooms were very unique and had such an insulated feel that Nicole and I thought we were the only ones in the hotel (it was completely booked.) At sunrise we walked to a coffee stand (after walking to a baking only stand that looked just like a coffee stand) and took pictures of locusts along the way. By the time we got back to our room (around 7:30am) it was already hot outside. We spent the rest of the morning getting new windshield wipers, fix-a-flat, and extra water for our adventure over two high mountain passes (each over 9,000 feet.) After filling up we set out for Medicine Wheel (thanks to Pat S for pointing us this way) which is located at 10,000 feet in the Big Horn National Forest.

On our way up to Medicine Wheel, we stopped to watch people launch hang gliders high above the Wyoming flatlands. We had been driving for a while and stopped at a scenic lookout point to find that a bunch of people had gathered to watch two guys take off in hang gliders. I have never seen a hang glider take off (which were literally just a couple of feet from us) but it was incredible. A crowd gathered before they took flight and everyone gasped each time one would run and jump off the precipice. We could have spent all day there but we had to be over the 2nd pass before sundown.

We arrived at the Medicine Wheel parking lot and walked a mile and a half to the location itself. It was a very solemn experience and we elected not to take pictures (it wouldn't have translated anyway.) On our walk back we saw pica (which are super cute giant rats) and evidence of either bear or cougar (we found scat with fur in it.) We jumped back into the truck and descended down a 10% grade for over 12 miles bringing us down to around the 4000 feet in elevation.

We drove through many quiet Wyoming towns that seemed permanently separated from the modern world. We wondered how close the nearest municipal airport was and if people traveled much outside northern Wyoming. It felt very isolated.

After passing through the last of our Wyoming towns (Cody, Wyoming) we headed north toward the infamous Bear Tooth Pass. I love to study maps in my spare time and I have studied the Bear Tooth Pass on more than one occasion. Before we ascended the pass, Nicole spotted a cougar crossing the road ahead of us (I was of course looking at the beautiful landscape and not the road) and because it was a switch back we were able to cross it's prospective path. Instead of seeing the cougar again, we saw it's prey...a coyote. We stopped in the middle of the switchbacks waiting for the cougar to cross either in front or behind us...which never happened. The coyote crossed behind us and we suspect that the cougar gave up his hunt because of the two humans and their cameras sticking out of sunroofs and windows. Unfortunately, we didn't get the "National Geographic" moment we had hoped for.

Minutes before we started our drive up the Beartooth Highway, we were caught in the most spectacular thunderstorm. The clouds made everything so dark I had to turn on the headlights and Nicole barely got out "three Mississippi" before the thunder rattled the truck. I hoped quietly to myself that it would pass over before we climbed up to nearly 11,000 feet...into the heart of most storm clouds.

As we made our right turn onto the Beartooth Highway the storm ended and the sun came out. We only had an hour and a half until sunset so I made my best effort to get up the mountain as safely possible. Never really going faster than 20 miles an hour we eventually crossed over the top at exactly sunset. Along the way we tried to take pictures and observe wildlife but in the interest of time kept it brief. I got a little camera happy at the top and became obsessed with photographing the most incredible rainbow I have ever seen in my life (of course none of them really turned out.) We were both a little exhausted, the sun was going down, and I had absolutely no idea how far the city of Red Lodge was.

We descended down the most frightening switchbacks of my life. I joked with Nicole that it was incredible that a movie hasn't utilized this unbelievable scary road for a car chase scene. We would turn to the left 180 degrees...then turn to the right for what seemed to be 270 degrees and then back again the whole time with sheer cliffs on the outboard side. It was pitch black by the time we reached the valley floor and we didn't roll into Red Lodge, Montana for another 30 minutes.

Exhausted we stopped at the first place in town that didn't have the ominous "NO VACANCY" sign on. Fortunately we got one of the last rooms in town. We dropped our bags in the room and collapsed on the bed...still buzzing from the amazing sights of the day.

We woke up the next morning (today from the author's perspective) and walked around the beautiful city of Red Lodge. Full of antique shops, bakeries, cute espresso cafes, a candy store, and other tourist targeted venues, this city was extremely charming. I had a deep fried donut for breakfast and a mocha with one too many shots in it. Nicole had an Americano that made her so hyper she was pointing at everything and convincing me that we needed to move here.

After chewing the fat with a local at the Candy Emporium, we hit the road and ventured to Bozeman. After one of our shortest car rides yet, we arrived in the early afternoon which allowed us to check in to a hotel early, shower, nap, and best of all catch up on the blog.


Red Lodge, Montana to Bozeman, Montana
August 9th
Distance: 170 miles
Time In Truck: 10am to 1pm

View Larger Map
I haven't looked at the map in detail today, but I think we will head up north tomorrow...