You can play a beautiful song with this drawing.

I seem to remember an episode of Coach where, throughout the episode, Dauber was continuously doing something really atypical for a big oafy jock to be doing. I can't remember what this was, exactly; I think maybe he had to carry an egg around and pretend it was a baby or something. Regardless, I think this hilarious situation/constraint Dauber was in was used to elicit laughter during otherwise normal conversations on the show. Like, maybe, Coach would be all "blah blah Dauber we have to go over [some football thing] tonight". And Dauber would respond "sure thing Coach". And then Coach would totally give a deadpan "that is of course unless you have to [something related to whatever the weird thing he was doing was]." Then Dauber would respond "Oh, no, don't worry Coach... I already [did whatever that thing was] this morning." The unexpected second clause of that sentence more than likely resulted in hilarity.

Then maybe at some other point in the episode, Dauber would be leaving to do something related to his weird task just as Luther was coming in to Coach's office. Then Luther would be all: "Where's he going?" And Coach would say: "He's got to [do something weird relating to whatever the hell he's been doing all episode]." And Luther would, hilariously, just take this in stride.

Man, regardless of how they did on the football field, Coach certainly hired an incredibly compatible staff.

After a long couple of hours unpacking from the house move, and last weekend's trip to Auckland to watch shit dribble endlessly from a sick baby's bottom, Cowboy and I were quite tired.We decided to relieve our exhaustion by dressing up and attending a Halloween party, where we would drink ourselves into oblivion, thus forgetting - in that way that occurs after the fourth or fifth round -

Happy Halloween! We had our party last Friday. It was a blast, I took a ton of photos. If you want to check them out go here...Halloween PartyThis was one of the many great pics that came from that night. One minute I'm talking to Bean and the next he is on the ground, and then out of the blue comes some dude with a GUN...You got to love a Mariachi that doesn't spill his beer or lose his stogie when he hits the ground.......now that is skill....skill my friends

...but the unexpected cool part for me right now is the addition of the "New Reviews From" block when a Friend or Favorite pens a new review. I've got about 14 Favorites and consequently, i've not only got a new review here every single time I come to the website (which, as you can imagine, is fairly frequent), but i click on the "close" button to get rid of one after reading it, and then refresh the page, and generally have a steady stream of new reviews from people i've selected. I far prefer reviews from my Friends, but even with a dozen (and most folks have 2) they don't write much and this is a nice personalized filler. And once in awhile there are is something pretty cool unearthed here. Are any of you discovering interesting ways of using these features that may not be apparent to the rest of us? or are there parts you find unusually compelling?

Happy Halloween y'all!

If you want this image as a desktop wallpaper, you can find that here.

If you want to send this image as an e-card, you can do that here.

It's back! Some of the FS gang have started blogging again through official McAfee channels. Check it out here (or better yet, see the Foundstone-only archive here).

It may be a few days before this sees any action, so be patient!

If your from the south and you live in Florida then you know about the World Famous Peebles Bar-B-Q located in my hometown, Auburndale. A good friend of mine came into town to visit so naturally we took him to Peebles. Colin (on the right) loved it.....

Blogging is a craft and it takes time. I have many posts lined up in my head, but work is crazy and blah blah blah. That's right. I'm not actively shoring up my resources in readiness for NaBloPoMo. You and I both know it's in nobody's best interests for me to have to post about my father's vintage milk bottle collection.

Audio

The Skatalites – We nah sleep – Motion Records
Prince Lincoln and the Rasses – Kingston 11 version – Orange Street
White Mice – It's a shame version – Basic Replay
Junior Reid – Poorman transportation – Rockers Forever
Pablo Moses – Proverbs extraction – House of Moses
Early B – Wheely wheely – Roots & Culture
General Doggie & Tenor Saw – Chill out, chill out – Night Life Posse
Disrupt - Selassie I continually – Werk
Lee Perry – Flush it! – On U Sound
The Bug & Warrior Queen – Poison dart
Canartic – London 67 – Dank Disk Records
Dub Project – On the edge – M Records
Lord Creator – Such is life – VP
Lone Ranger – Dub a gone north coast – Heartbeat
Dub Trio – Jack Bauer – ROIR ruscd
To Rococo Rot - Freitag - "abc" Domino
Cylob - Naked Radio
The Decemberists - The Perfect Crime #2 (Doing Time Remix (Diplo)) - Rough Trade
Devendra Banhart - Lover - XL
The Sadies - What's Left Behind - Yep Roc
Octoberman - Run from Safety - White Whale Records
Indigo Moss - Nature of this Town - Butterfly Recordings
The Lovers - One-Two-Three - Fortuna Pop
The Checks - Take Me There - Full Time Hobby
Subway Sect - Stand Back - Overground
Adele - Hometown Glory - XL
Massshivers - Quinine Peninsula Pt 2 - Pickled Egg
'olafur arnalds - 3704/3837 - Erased tapes

Here's some interesting news at Wildlife Extra.com about a new dwarf species of Amazonian Manatee discovered by Marc van Roosmalen.

The Amazonian manatee was thought to be the only manatee fully adapted to living in fresh water, until the discovery of the Dwarf manatee, Trichechus Bernardi, or Prince Bernhard’s dwarf manatee.

The story started in September 2002 when Marc van Roosmalen collected a skull of a recently killed adult male. He had to wait for 2 years until he found living proof of the Dwarf manatee, when he was able to study and film a live specimen that was kept in a corral in its natural environment for 4 months.
[...]
Dwarf manatees are considered to be critically endangered as they are highly restricted ecologically and geographically. It is thought that there may be less than 100 individuals in this population, and they are not known from any other locality. They are hunted as game, and their habitat is highly susceptible to illegal mining of gravel and gold, timber extraction and commercial fishing.

This shot was taken during my second trip to NYC. A year after 9II. I starting working on Polaroids again, so I will have some art to post here shortly. I started another 70 polaroid collage, but I have no idea where its going, which is the case with most of my pieces. Well, if you read this blog thank you for stopping by and may the good Lord keep you safe as you go through out your weekend.

This trade comes in from Rob in Santee, California.

Giving: Bobby Abreu, #16 (red back); Zach Duke, #100
Getting: Mark Bellhorn, 2005 Topps Post-Season Highlights; Joe Torre 2007 Topps

As a lifelong Red Sox fan, it brings me a little sadness that the two best things about this trade have to do with the cards of the Yankees. First off, I've been on the record as liking this Goudey set for a while now, and this card of Bobby Abreu is just another feather in its cap.

My friend has labeled the Jim Rice card a forgotten Warhol portrait. In the same vein, the hint of stadium, the Rothko-esque blocks of red – the fact that this card is of Abreu is irrelevant. The real star of the card – and for the most part, this set – is the background image.

The other card that really makes this trade is the Joe Torre. Rob writes: "The second card I hate– not because it's Joe Torre, but that woman behind him! A real lazy hand over your heart!" Yes, she's sort of lackadaisical, but isn't that the new Yankee Mystique? (and why hasn't some opportunistic, enterprising sweatshop come out with Yankee Mystique Bodyspray yet?) Think about it: The Yankees have been coasting for almost ten years now.

They're making great money in merchandising, they've put together a team of All-Stars who fill seats, plus they make going to a game a beat-you-over-the-head, All-American patriotic experience (where else do they sing 'God Bless America' during the seventh-inning stretch at every home game?). So who cares if their lineup is anchored by a guy whose post-season psyche is so far ruined that the best thing for his team to do would be to leave him off the post-season roster or trade him to a team that has no chance of making the playoffs? (And yes, I'm talking about A-Rod. Really, the smartest thing for him to do is sign with a team like the Giants: world class city, passionate, knowledgeable fans, tiny daily sports section in the major paper, and a team that's really not very good.) The traditional Yankee Mystique of continuous winning isn't an undisputed fact or a fog that clouds the minds of the opposition like a South Bronx Brigadoon anymore: it's a brand.

So back to this card of Joe Torre. He's one of the best managers ever, no question. But 2007 for the Yankees was like the last year of The Gilmore Girls: coasting on past laurels, with bad writing and a sloppy ending unworthy of it's former glory. It's almost as if Torre knows he's at the helm of a ship about to run out of gas at sea.

Oh sure, you're probably thinking, it's easy for me to say all this the day after my beloved Red Sox laid a beating on the Rockies, but just look at him on this card: He's tired. He's been there. He's done that. He knows that the road to the World Series no longer runs through New York (and may not for a while).

So here's to being the one man in that New York dugout that Red Sox fans really feared, to twelve years of giving me baseball-related ulcers, and to hoping that if Torre does come back to manage, he goes to the National League.

Let's call him The Thug.Being of Gen X, I'm used to working in an open-plan environment. Although the open-plan office has its disadvantages, it becomes easier to ignore background chatter because there's a constant hubbub amidst which conversational details are lost and thus easier to tune out. I have also found that if you don't respond to verbosity, colleagues assume you haven't heard them

more words to come.......

This trade comes in from Bill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Giving: Chien-MIng Wang, #128 (red back)
Getting: Cal Ripkin, Jr., 1992 Major League Baseball Aces (9 of diamonds)

Just a few quick questions. 1) Did the US Playing Card Company or its printer employ a proofreader, or did anyone who works there casually follow sports? I know ... it's not like that job would be very demanding: make sure there are four suits, that there's fifty-two cards per deck, and that none of the face cards are subliminally flipping the bird ... but if the answer is 'yes' to either of those questions, why in God's name did they let Cal Ripken's name go out as 'Ripkin'? Unbelievable.

2) Why has Cal been relegated to the nine of diamonds? If I worked at the US Playing Card Company and was asked for a brilliant idea to really set those bastards at the Bicycle Card Company back on their asses, I would've suggested - maybe - possibly - putting Cal on a face card, if not on an ace (and if I were allowed to sport a little tongue in cheek humor about the whole thing, ol' Cal woulda been the six of diamonds).

Most of the improvements this coming weekend are internal - a range of bug fixes, and stuff like getting your reviews to stay put - but there are a handful of noteworthy exceptions:

1) Spoiler Alerts. We've been tracking the flagging, and effective this release, there will be a graphic that goes along with reviews that have been so flagged. Like other flags, it takes a handful of "votes" from different members in order to trigger this event.

2) Most Watched Actors/Directors (re: TV shows). We're starting to tune this such that TV series get less weight. It should be better now... and if it's still not ideal, we'll tweak it a little more. It's like cooking... and we're refining the recipe...

3) Faves Reviews. Up until now, when your Friends wrote a movie review, it was featured on your Community Home Page -- but Fave's reviews were not. Now Faves will be treated more like Friends, and when they write a new review, you'll see it.

Private work.

More at Sevensheaven.nl

In news that will send the spirits of skeptics, deniers and global warming critics soaring, their long maintained condemnation of climate change computer models has been justified.

For years, skeptics have maintained that computer driven models of global warming fail to accurately project changes to the Earth's climate. Recent research now supports their view. Unfortunately for them, the problem is that models have been too conservative in their projections.

"It turns out that global warming critics were right when they said that global climate models did not do a good job at predicting climate change," Robock commented. "But what has been wrong recently is that the climate is changing even faster than the models said. In fact, Arctic sea ice is melting much faster than any models predicted, and sea level is rising much faster than IPCC previously predicted."

The study also shows that carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere faster than expected, with emissions now 35 per cent higher in 2006 than in 1990.

Equally unfortunate is that due to a general failure to read and inability to generate coherent arguments in their own defense, skeptics likely won't read far enough into this post to get the punchline.

This trade comes in from Chris in Columbia, Maryland.

Giving: Brandon Phillips, #139 (red back)
Getting: Larry Bigbie, 2006 Topps

Of course, my scanner is not working, so you don't get to see that this Larry Bigbie card is not of Larry Bigbie. It is a card of Brian Roberts. In an airbrushed Rockies uniform, and stamped with a Cardinals team name. So here's the real question: Why did Topps stop there? Why not just show him wearing half of the Phillie Phanatic costume, smoking a cigarette and donning a top hat? Or better yet, a picture of the real Larry Bigbie scratching his head in front of a departures screen at BWI Airport. That would've at least been the most accurate thing for Topps to do.

Check out the Animal Planet channel from Friday, October 26th, and see Natalie Portman journeying deep into the Rwandan rainforest in search of mountain gorillas. Jack Hanna guides Natalie through her visit as she learns about these stunning endangered animals. There's plenty of airings of this TV special through the middle of November.

Also, check out this video coverage from CNN on the recent situation in the DR Congo.

This trade comes in from David in Alexandria, Virginia.

Giving: Michael Cuddyer, #134 (red back)
Getting: Jack Kubiszyn, 1979 TCMA All-Time Indians

You know, I'm not entirely sure that this card of Kubiszyn is from the All-Time Indians set. I don't have my SCD Catalog with me, so if someone else knows where this card is from, please leave a comment.

So I'm just going to assume it's from that set. And the fun thing about All-Time sets is that they include everybody. It's something that I wish one of the major manufacturers would make soon for all the teams. I'd think it would be a regional best-seller: in Boston it would be a 1,000 card set of Red Sox, with each guy from each year's roster included. They could even include a different card of each player for each year, in that year's style of baseball card. So there would be at least 23 different cards of Yaz (one for each year, 1960 to 1983), plus special team leaders and postseason cards. And it would be a field day for their designers, as new designs would be needed for those years that didn't have cards. This kind of set could be distributed in packs and then in a monster factory set, just in time for the holidays.

This seems to come up periodically here, so i thought i'd just raise the level of discussion a notch: Facebook. How many of you Netflix members are also frequent users of Facebook, and for those of you who are -- what would you think would be the most important features of a Netflix-Facebook application? If it could only do one thing, what would that be? And if I had all the time and resources in the world, what would an idealized tool do? (I'll post a poll to see how many of you use MySpace, Facebook, et al). If you have ideas, I want to hear 'em.

Audio

Bruce Langhorne – The Hired Hand – opening – Blastfirstpetite
Debashish Bhattacharya – Aanandam – Riverboat Records
Alejandro Franov – Isis – Staubgold
Alice Coltrane – Ganesha – Wounded Bird Records
Sandro Perri – Family tree – Constellation
PG Six – The dance – Drag City
Liz Green – Bad medicine – Humble Soul
Ian King – 4 loom weaver – On U cdr
Lou Reed – Wind coda – Sounds True
John Cale – Wall – Columbia
John Fahey – Summer cat by my door – Takoma
Lichens – Escapisms in a comedic forum – Table of the Elements
Wooden Spoon – Jesus – Bo'weavil Recordings
The Oscillation - Liquid Memoryman - DC Recordings
ONE BIG MOB - The Invaders
Animal Collective - Fireworks - Domino
Prefuse 73 - Smoking Red - Featuring John Stanier - Warp
Black Dice - Roll Up - Paw Tracks - PAW18CD
Beruit - Guyamas Sonora - 4AD
Unkle - Hold my Hand - Surrendar ALL
The Hold Steady - Massive Nights - Full Time Hobby
House of Love - christine - Renascent
Donal Maguire - Mayo - Rossendale
Olafur Arnalds - Eulogy for evolution - Progression
Oumo Sangre - Souri Magni - World Music Network

Any website owner is probably familiar with this one. Checking your Search Engine Referral logs for the wild and wacky searches people are performing that enables them to land on your site. Here's a couple of doozies from the last week...

Query: where can I buy condoms in shanghai?
Result: Post about the condoms for underwater sound recording in the Yangtze River

Query: Hugh is the only person I know who doesn't talk bollocks.
Result: Post about the Stephen Fry webchat at the Douglas Adams Continuum

This post will run on Beckett.com this afternoon.


Cents and Sensibility

Everybody makes mistakes. It's part of human nature. But with Michael Vick cards popping up in Topps Chrome Football, are we to believe the company when they say including him was unintentional? It almost seems that low- and mid-level product lines can't compete today without a well-publicized error card or cards. Alex Gordon and 2006 Topps Baseball. Derek Jeter and 2007 Topps Baseball. Blank-backed Lucky 13 rookies and 2007-08 Fleer Ultra Basketball. And now Michael Vick and 2007 Topps Chrome Football.

You know that news of the "unintentional" inclusion of Vick will spur sales. It almost feels like Topps is banking on that happening. So it begs the question: Is this what we have to look forward to? Deceivingly small checklists for base sets, potentially full of endless parallels, regional variations and the requisite error card? I wonder, does a set with 400 cards and 1,600 parallel versions test higher with audiences than an 800 card checklist with one or two parallels each?


To Have and Have Not

The topic of pack searching is one of the most controversial in the hobby today. There seems to be something ethically wrong with the practice, though it is not illegal. In a letter published in this week's Sports Collectors Digest, the reader writes that he no longer purchases packs for the chance at game-used memorabilia cards. Instead, he says he simply buys those individual cards, thus avoiding the topic of pack searching and cuts down on the overall bulk of his collection. I'm paraphrasing here, but the gist of the letter is that he now simply owns what he wants.

It's this idea – owning what you want – that gets to me. How does this particular collector know that he doesn't want the other cards he'd get from a presumably pre-searched pack? Also, why doesn't he just buy those product lines that offer greater odds on pulling memorabilia cards? There are plenty: Topps Co-Signers, Topps Sterling, UD Sweet Spot...


Baseball Card Art

To me, baseball cards are tiny works of modern art, especially those from classic sets like 1949 Leaf (newswire photos and woodblock prints) and 1959 Topps (like little covers of jazz records). They capture perfectly the prevailing design sensibility of the year they were made. Alternatively, when a design falters, one of the reasons usually has to do with it not "fitting" with its surroundings in contemporary design. Today's retro issues work, not just because the current collector values a sense of nostalgia, but because retro themes are common in today's design landscape. Look at any catalogue from stores as varied as Anthropologie to Restoration Hardware to even big box stores like Target and IKEA; you'll see what I mean.

Also, because cards figure into today's design landscape, artists have accepted them as subject and medium. Closing this weekend is the fantastic exhibition at The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design: The Artist and the Baseball Card, featuring over 100 works. Click here for more info.

If you have a spare second, click on this link: Mattingly Mosaic.

It's a neat idea, reminiscent of the wall-sized baseball card mosaic found behind the main stairs of the ESPN Zone restaurant in Times Square. But what I want to know is, why did the artist pick Don Mattingly and not Juan Samuel or Gary Gaetti? Or even better, a mosaic of every card from the 1988 Topps set that comes together to form a card of Floyd Youmans would've been a real feat. In any case, check it out.

My buddy Cameron has recently moved back to Atlanta and started doing quite a bit of travel for work. He tipped me off to a very compact power strip, ideal for airports like Newark where there are plugs, but they are always occupied. Now with mini-power strip in hand I'll be able to convince folks to share their electron stealing with me when I'm in need of a bit of juice in the laptop.

Thanks Cam!

Because we don't like to sit still for too long, we have moved house.The Fort did have spectacular views but unfortunately it suffered from the following practical difficulties:Being built in the 1990s and thus devoid of any character and arguably even ugly;Being built in the 1990s and thus of such poor construction quality that when Welly gets up any kind of a gale, the Fort shakes;Being devoid

There has been a lot of rumbling in the deny-osphere in the past week concerning the results of a lawsuit brought by one Stewart Dimmock against the British Secretary of State for Education.

The case was launched by Mr. Dimmock in opposition to the distribution of An Inconvenient Truth to UK classrooms. The verdict? Despite the blustering of the right-wing press, the court's decision upheld the use of the film in classrooms while new information has cast Mr. Dimmock himself in dubious light.

In the decision itself, Justice Michael Burton cited a short list of concerns about the film that deniers throughout the media and blogosphere have been quick to jump on while ignoring the actual judgment. Justice Burton endorsed the use of An Inconvenient Truth, its accuracy, and allowed it to remain in British curriculum.

"(The film) is substantially founded upon scientific research and fact."...."The Defendant (Secretary of State for Education) will not be promoting partisan political views by enabling the showing of AIT in the context of the discussions facilitated by the Guidance Note, and is not under a duty to forbid the presentation of it in that context."

Subsequently, the man who brought this so called David vs. Goliath case to court has proved to be a stooge funded by the fuel and mining lobby.

This court case, and the mainstream coverage of it, is simply the latest ill founded attack on Gore and global warming. And for the umpteenth time deniers and their blogging supporters have followed suit without so much as a thought....because their entire argument against global warming is itself devoid of thought.

Thanks to DeSmogBlog for the great coverage of the issue.

Went to Epcot this last weekend. This was taken on my trip around the world. It was the food and wine festival, my favorite food was in Poloand and France. Never thought I would say that about the frenchy french men! This shot was taken from the hip. To bad I couldn't get the whole umbrella in the picture. Oh well, you get what you get when you shoot like this. Maybe a few more images to come from the weekend.....?

This trade comes in from Clark in Tampa, Florida.

Giving: Ken Griffey Jr. Heads Up, #241
Getting: Frank Thomas, 1991 Upper Deck

One of the biggest crimes of early Nineties baseball cards was that Upper Deck failed to include Frank Thomas in their 1990 set. Instead, fans had to wait until 1991 for this gem of a card: Baby-faced Frank sitting on the bench, giving the finger to an unknown hater on the other end of the bench. Also, the guy behind Thomas looks a lot like Sammy Sosa, though I could be wrong.

About the Griffey card: I'm really confused about the blue bib illustration just below Griffey's chin. I'm hoping that it's not supposed to be the crew neck of the uniform, but actually a poorly-hinted-at Amish beard. Griffey with an Amish beard would rock. I think that should be his next goal to reach. 500 home runs is nice, but can he play with an Amish beard? If Brian Daubach can do it, I'm sure Ken Griffey Jr. can do it successfully.

This post will run on Beckett.com today, Tuesday, October 16, 2007.


If I know anything at all about baseball, it's that a star can emerge at any time. A guy can put together a hot streak (or an entire hot season), or a timely post-season hit or amazing defensive play, and his cards will catapult from common-dom to the dollar bin and beyond. Take a guy like Cecil Fielder. Or Denny McLain. Or Zoilo Versailles. There are a lot of players on this list (rookies not included).

But the thing about catapulting out of nowhere and becoming a star is that it's also very likely that same player will catapult back into nothing. You know what I mean? Those same three players I mentioned above fit this category nicely. (Actually, Versailles is part of a peculiar group: Former league MVPs whose cards can be found in the commons bin.) They were all good players after their breakout seasons, though none ever quite captured all of the magic again.

So why are certain players hobby stars and others not? It's not just benchwarmers who are commons. Some guys that have strung together long and impressive careers are considered commons, too. (And what's it like for a current or former player to come across one of his cards in the commons bin? First of all, I would be impressed that he was a collector, and second of all, it's probably pretty humiliating. Also, if you go to shows to buy cards of yourself, is that the baseball card equivalence of a musician kicking back and listening to his or her own records?)

In a previous column I brought up the idea of a player outlasting his rookie hype. Here's another question: How long does it take for a great player to become a common? Also, is that a course that cannot be reversed? In other words, if you were once a hobby star, but are now a common, can you ever be a hobby star again?

To illustrate this point, let's look at 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 Donruss. Here are the players I compared: George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Dale Murphy, Eddie Murray, Jim Rice, Lee Smith, Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Winfield. Every card of the four Hall of Famers, in terms of book value, is listed over a dollar apiece (in NM condition). Only two cards of the other four players are over a dollar: Lee Smith's 1982 rookie ($4) and Dale Murphy's card from 1984 ($1.50), and I'm fairly certain the value of the Murphy card is inflated; it's from the 1984 set. Another interesting note: The Lee Smith card from 1983 is listed at twenty cents. That's a devaluation of 95% from 1982 to 1983. Just incredible.

And Valenzuela? He's about as close to being a common (commonstar?) as you can get. Case in point: Smith's 1984 card is listed at twenty-five cents. Same with his card from 1985. And this is pretty much par for the course for mid-Eighties Donruss: 1984 provided a half-life for 1985's prices. But Valenzuela? While his 1984 card is listed at twenty-five cents, his 1985 card is right back down to common ground: Ten cents. So then for retired players, enshrinement in the Hall of Fame has to be the ultimate life preserver from a lifetime in the commons bin. Without enshrinement, a regional following (and regional pricing) is probably the most you can hope for.

And for those players whose regions no longer exist – who is left to revere Le Grande Orange? – well, here's to hoping they get another job and forget about their baseball cards. (Or don't mind living a one-in-a-million life and leaving a twelve-for-a-dollar legacy.)

I've read your initial comments on today's release, and i tend to agree that the TV folks are gumming up the works. I'll see what we can do about that (don't go deleting ratings on shows just yet... give us a chance to refine this). Have you guys updated your "personal statements"? Did anyone notice that we got the movie information (the "BOB") to pop up on those Most Loved/Hated box shots on the Community Home page. Finally. And your Friends' names are back in the activity block.

As for the genre similarity: any one movie might be in a number of genres and subgenres; we don't only look at how many movies in a given genre you've seen, but consider these in proportion to how many movies are in that particular genre, and how you tended to rate the movies in that genre.

Anyway, i thought this posting would be a better locale for your release feedback. I'm also glad we're done discussing the grammar of "my bad," it was one of the more radical thread departures i can remember...

I’m not one to pass along a straight regurg, but today's New York Times op-ed by Paul Krugman’s is superb. He asks the simple question, “Why do Republicans hate Al Gore?”. The simple answer is because he’s right, despite all right-wing attempts to convince people otherwise.

Today, being a good Republican means believing that taxes should always be cut, never raised. It also means believing that we should bomb and bully foreigners, not negotiate with them.

So if science says that we have a big problem that can’t be solved with tax cuts or bombs — well, the science must be rejected, and the scientists must be slimed.

Which brings us to the biggest reason the right hates Mr. Gore: in his case the smear campaign has failed. He’s taken everything they could throw at him, and emerged more respected, and more credible, than ever. And it drives them crazy.

Good stuff.

Thank you to the good folks at Blogger for tagging The Conscious Earth in their Environmental Blog Roundup. Here's the full list. Congratulations to all!

• Cleantech Blog - Commentary on technologies, news, and issues relating to next generation energy and the environment.
• The Conscious Earth - Earth-centered news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming.
• Earth Meanders - Earth essays placing environmental sustainability within the context of other contemporary issues.
• Environmental Action Blog - Current environmental issues and green energy news.
• The Future is Green - Thoughts on the coming of a society that is in balance with nature.
• The Green Skeptic - Devoted to challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment.
• Haute*Nature - Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle, blending style with sustainability.
• The Lazy Environmentalist - Sustainable living made easy.
• Lights Out America - A grassroots community group organizing nationwide energy savings events.
• The Nature Writers of Texas - The best nature writing from the newspaper, magazine, blog and book authors of the Lone Star State.
• Rachel Carson Centennial Book Club - Considering the legacy of Rachel Carson's literary and scientific contributions with a different book each month.
• Sustainablog - News, information and personal meanderings related to environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics.
• These Come From Trees - An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper.

There's lots of coverage around the web that Lulu (being anesthetized) is pregnant again. Back in January of 2007, Lulu gave birth to Layla, the first rhino conceived by artificial insemination. This time, the sperm used was deep frozen.

From EUX.TV...

Budapest zoo said that the foetus was now 10 centimetres long. Layla's sibling is not expected to be born before the end of 2008 as rhinos carry their unborn calves for up to 17 months.

Layla herself, who was 58 kilogrammes at birth, is now almost 500 kilogrammes and is in excellent health, the zoo said.

Budapest Zoo's other rhino, Easyboy, became the sperm donor after romantic sparks failed to ignite between the couple.

This time though, the zoo used sperm from Simba, 38, a rhino from Britain's Colchester Zoo.

From iht.com...

The implant was performed June 14 with experts from Hungary, Germany and Austria taking part, and the pregnancy was confirmed last week by an ultrasound scan.
[...]
All the pachyderms in the current project are Southern White Rhinos but experts hope to use the insemination program with the much rarer Northern White Rhinos, of which only three survive in the wild and eight in zoos.

Thanks to Gwen, who pointed me in the direction of this extensive article at the Smithsonian Magazine on the current rebel crisis in the DR Congo. The article also features some video reports.

It's the gorillas that have reason to fear. Only about 750 mountain gorillas are left in the world: 350 in Uganda, 270 in Rwanda and a mere 150 here in Congo (formerly Zaire). They have been ravaged by poaching, habitat loss, disease and the violence of war. Many live in lawless regions, sharing territory with armed rebels from Uganda or the remnants of Hutu militias responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis. Today the biggest threat comes from the Congolese area of their range. Rebel groups opposed to Congo president Joseph Kabila control territory in the turbulent east. The most powerful group is led by an ethnic Tutsi named Laurent Nkunda, who commands thousands of well-armed rebels in the Virungas. Not far from here in January, troops from Nkunda's group killed and presumably ate two silverbacks. A female was shot in May, another male and four females were slain in July; their killers had not been identified as we went to press.

This afternoon I was half way through the weekly food shop and wondering if Cowboy would return from his trip to the recycling centre in time to help me through the checkout, when over the radio* in the supermarket I heard the newscaster announce that a humpback whale had just been sighted "rolling around and having some fun" about 100 metres off the coast near the Fort.I sped up the shopping

When I started writing The Baseball Card Blog in January 2006, I thought that investing emotion into the pursuit and appreciation of baseball cards was an idea whose time had come. In fact, I was a little shocked that no one had beaten me to the punch.

I've had a lot of fun writing over the past two years. I've enjoyed the publicity, reading your emails and letters, and helping rekindle the collecting passion in those who'd lost hope in the hobby.

So why am I addressing you tonight? I know what you're thinking, but no, this is not a swan song good-bye note. I'm addressing you tonight as a way to motivate myself into making this blog better. I'm as frustrated as those readers who are bored with the Great Goudey Trade-away. I've always approached writing this blog as if I had an audience, though never once have I taken any of you for granted. I've put a lot of work into maintaining the site and keeping the content fresh enough for readers as passionate and as worthwhile as all of you are.

I appreciate your interest and attention greatly. This blog has helped me meet a number of exciting people and has given me an insight into my collection and collecting habits. And as it turns out, I'm not as lonely and eccentric in my pursuit as I once thought.

When I started this blog, I didn't know how long I'd be able to keep it going. Two years is actually much longer a lifespan than I initially would have guessed.

So, is The Baseball Card Blog still alive? Yes. Is it currently in a good place? No. Can it be saved? You bet. Am I the one to do the saving? I think so, but there's a lot of re-tooling to be done.

You know, the more I think about it, The Blog could be simply the start of something much bigger. A Pack A Day is going great. And there are other ideas that never really got off the ground earlier in the year. So, despite the problems we have weathered, the future is bright for The Baseball Card Blog.

Here's to another two years. (All right, technically it's been 340 posts over one year, ten months and thirteen days.)

Audio

Beastie Boys - 33% God / Dis Yourself in ' 89 - Beastie Boys
Doug Lazy - Let it Roll - Resist
The Human Body - Make you shake it - Bearsville
4hero - Morning Child - Raw Canvas
Reuben Wilson - Hot Rod - Blue Note
The Fatback Band - Feed Me Your Love - Soul Brother Records
Charisse Arrington - Down with this - MCA Records
Byron Moore - Life's Starts Today - Endluge
Derrick - Boogie Times - Graphic Records
Kenny Thomas - Keep the Fire Burnin - Soul-fi Records
Oliver Lake and Jump up - Trickle Up - Gramavision Records
Joy Denalane - Soweto '76-'06 - Resist
Cherrone Vs Louie Vega - Dance Ritual - Vega Records
Augustus Pablo - Havendale Rock - Pressure Sounds
King Tubby - Dreadlocks Dub
Dadawah - Burning Drums - Trojan
Sharon Jones - Got a thing on my Mind - Daptone
Syleena Johnson - Guess What - Jive
Tortured Soul - Why (DJ Spinna) - Delicious Vinyl
Ex Tras - Haven't been funked enough - Dancefloor
Fingers Inc - Bring Down the Walls - Jack Trax

When you walked past me sitting in seat 34C, you were chewing a mint. As it came flying out of your open mouth landing on me — didn't anybody teach you to chew with your mouth closed? — perhaps you could have said "Excuse me" or some other pleasantry, instead of "Oops" and ignoring the fact that I'm now stained by your saliva and half-chewed mint.

Oh maybe I'm just over sensitive to being assaulted with someone's half-chewed food...

In recognition of "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change", Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been announced as co-winners of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

In awarding the honour, the Nobel committee singled out Al Gore as "probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted". President Bill Clinton expressed similar feelings,

"Gore's ex-boss, former President Clinton, also said he's 'thrilled by this well-deserved recognition,' and credited Gore with 'warning and educating us about the dangers of climate change for decades. He saw this coming before others in public life.'"

Gore stated that he will donate his half of the $1.5 million dollar prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization he founded to persuade people to reduce global warming by cutting greenhouse gas pollution.

You can see the announcement via YouTube.

BBC News's Protecting mountain gorillas diary continues. The main concern continues to be the rebels who have seized large areas of eastern Congo, and threaten to overrun the Mountain Gorilla habitat.

Fighting has intensified this week, resulting in the rebels re-seizing the entire Gorilla Sector after beating back the army.

We are undecided whether we should evacuate our families from Rumangabo Park headquarters.

There is an army base just four kilometres east of our station, and that is one of the rebels' targets.

If they take that, they can cut off the road to Goma, which is our main communication artery.

This trade comes in from Stewart in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Giving: Johan Santana, #63 (red back); John Smoltz, #64 (red back)
Getting: Joe Rudi, 1973 Topps; Kevin Brown, 2001 Fleer Game Time Lumber

Stewart writes, "Rudi was always one of my favorites growing up. This card represents what most of my '73 Topps looked like – Off-center with worn corners from me bringing them with me everywhere ... This card [of Kevin Brown] represents my feeling of him perfectly – I hate pitcher cards that show the pitcher batting, but best of all it has a piece of his personality on it – a slice of wood."

I don't know how to follow that up, except that I agree about Rudi. I like to remind myself from time to time that he was on the Red Sox at the height of his career, even if it was only for a day.

I guess I would also add that this card of Santana is probably one of my favorite from this set.

Here's a few movies from my camera (yeah, the quality is questionable... deal with it!) from ziplining in Kaua'i. All of these are QuickTime movies from ~15 - 25MB each:

Carrie ziplining #1


Carrie ziplining #2

Mike ziplining

Me ziplining. This on was taken from my perspective as I went down the line... not for those who may get motion sickness. That means you, Steph.

I can't wait to try this again. With a high-def video camera... ;-)

The good news is that the new release should be in your hands by monday. The bad news is, well, we just noticed that it's not all that simple to see your own profile page. There is supposed to be a little link that lets you see yourself how others see you. It's not there. So, i'm not happy to report this, but the only way to see the external view of yourself is to go to your Friends & Faves page, visit one of your Friends (or Faves), go to their Friends & Faves page, find yourself, and come back to yourself.

Sigh.

We'll get this fixed for the next release. In the meantime... sorry.

Alex has written one of the clearest explanations I have seen to date of the applet security model. I was previously mistaken in some of my thoughts on this issue. Alex set me straight yesterday during a (virtual) work conversation (mmmm, Skype) and blogged about it to make sure everyone else understands it too.

Read it here: A Brief History of Applet Security

This trade comes in from Mark in West Chicago, Illinois.

Giving: Melvin Mora, #166 (red back)
Getting: Bob Hamelin, 1995 Fleer Ultra 2nd Year Standouts


The 1990s were a wonderful decade for over-hyped rookies, weren't they? Ben McDonald was going to be the savior of the Orioles, Van Poppel not only was going to follow in the footsteps of previous Oakland greats, he was going to break the mold. And what of Brien Taylor and Heath Shuler and Ryan Leaf and Rick Mirer? For all the bluster about these guys, most of them didn't even have one effective year in the majors.

It leaves me to assume that there must have been a training manual given to all card copywriters in the early Nineties called How To Set Impossible Standards for Players Who Show Promise. If I'm right, this card of Hamelin could have been a whole chapter:


Some call him "The Babe of the 1990's," and although this is obviously jumping a rather large gun, Kansas City's resident '94 rookie "Bambino" has proven to be a spectacular longball lasher. The American League 1994 Rookie of the Year finished last season first among his fellow AL rookie diamond dwellers in doubles (25), taters (24), RBI (65), walks (56), runs (64), hits (88) and slugging percentage (.599). This DH/1B will be banging them wayyy out for years to come.

This post will run on Beckett.com on Thursday, October 11.


It's always the same: I go to a card show with want list in hand, and I come home with a stack of random cards I don't really remember wanting (or purchasing, for that matter). It's like I enter a euphoric sleep walk between the orderly rows of eight-foot dealer tables, amongst Baby Boomers in over-stuffed, well-worn Mets t-shirts whiling away the hours haggling over commons, commiserating about the cards they used to have, and trading stories about forgotten utilitymen who still sign through the mail. It doesn't matter where the show is. Arena, junior high school cafeteria, or drunk tank – the feeling is the same: Bliss.

This past Saturday, I took the train up to the White Plains October Regional (I'm unclear about the show's actual name) at the Westchester County Convention Center in White Plains, New York. The County Convention Center is an old Art Deco/Neo-classical hall that, if I had to venture a guess, was probably built as part of a WPA project in the Thirties. It had that musty public library vibe in spades. It was fitting, perhaps, that one dealer's endless stacks of old sports books were relegated to a corner.

The show was good; my haul was good. I'm a dollar-bin, off-grade kind of guy, and shows like this one are great places for guys like me. I got a handful of mid-Sixties league leaders cards, a whole bunch of cards to help complete my 1978 Topps baseball set, and a number of cards of two of my favorite forgotten Dodgers, Claude Osteen and John Roseboro, including a perforated 1961 Post Canadian edition with John's last name spelled 'Rosboro' ... I'm finding it more and more enjoyable to buy cards from oddball sets. Perhaps it's a subconscious rebellion against the homogenized cards made today, but I'm having a great time discovering Topps' Venezuelan issues – new favorite card: Koufax's 'Retirado' Venezuelan Topps card from 1967– weird Topps inserts from the Sixties and Seventies, and Redman Tobacco cards from 1954 and 1955. I've also found that I appreciate those sets with weak rookie classes much more than I do sets with strong ones ... 1964 and 1959 Topps are especially high on my list ...

I bought a 1969 Topps card of Johnny Podres on the Padres, though shied away from having it signed by the man, even though he was in the building and I got a free autograph with my paid admission (I hope the show's promoters paid Mr. Podres well; there were a lot of people at the show).

I've always done that; I don't feel comfortable asking famous people for their autographs. Even though I guess from a celebrity's standpoint, signing autographs comes with the territory, I've never felt comfortable about asking. I'd have a pretty good collection, if only I'd have had the nerve: On a family trip to South Dakota one year, my dad and my sister and I saw Oil Can Boyd (still in his cleats) sitting on the hood of his Caddy in the parking lot of our motel in Sioux City, Iowa. My dad hustled us over to meet him, then told him that, as we're from Boston, we loved him. Then he and my dad shared an awkward handshake (or high-five, or hug – I'm not sure which) ... Luis Tiant, Norm Van Lier, and a few other semi-forgotten superstar athletes came to my elementary school to do a workshop on teamwork and when it was time for us to get El Tiante's autograph, I stood off to one side and watched ... My dad used to take my sister and I to Celtics Rookie Camp (back when they had such a thing), and while she collected the autographs of future stars like Vin Baker, in the one time I asked, I got shrugged off by John Havlicek ... And I feel the same way about asking through the mail. I find it's awkward to write a letter to a player when it's obvious to both of us that I want an autograph. I mean, I did get a couple of signatures this way, including Anthony Young (a pitcher for the Mets who lost a whole bunch of games in a row) and Loy Vaught (the poor man's Derrick Coleman).

But my enjoyment at the show wasn't only from the cards I bought. It also came from the eccentrics who surrounded me. I overheard numerous guys congratulating themselves on finding the rogue common that had eluded them for years and a few guys in mid-gloat about all the rare, valuable and fantastic cards that they had back home that were in much better condition than similar ones the dealers had for sale. My two favorite moments: First, two dealers agreeing emphatically that the Yankees, in an 0-2 hole and on the brink of elimination, had the Indians right where they wanted them. (That strategy worked out well.) Second, an older man with a cane limping down an aisle and stage-whispering into his cell phone that no, he was not at the baseball card show. He was at home, resting.

Like I said before, it was a good day. And then, on the train ride home, everything seemed to come full circle, like it was meant to be. There was a mother and her young child. The mother, though still young, was doing a very good impersonation of the classic overbearing mother. Even at a young age, the kid seemed to know what he was in for (the mother repeatedly asked him "PLEASE don't bang your head, Robert"). So while I'm hoping that little Bobby figures out a way to break the chains later on and listens to a lot of heavy metal (or his generation's equivalent), I've also come to appreciate mothers like this. I mean, let's be honest: Card collecting would be in a very different place were it not for the best intentions of overbearing mothers everywhere.

So let me amend my previous sentiment for young Robert: Let us hope that he breaks free of his mother's clutches, but let us also hope that she retaliates by throwing out all of his baseball cards, thus preserving the time-honored ebb and flow of this, our great hobby.

Ever wonder why the media ceaselessly singles out the airline industry as a global warming pariah when it accounts for just 2% of worldwide emissions? In what might be the most irrelevant alarm call of the year, Britons have been singled out as the "world's biggest emitters of CO2 from air travel" while Great Britain itself leads the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and compliance with the Kyoto Protocol.

So why the focus on air travel? As usual, follow the money and you'll find the answer.

Far and away the single largest source of greenhouse gases is the combustion of fossil fuels, a stat being driven largely by automobile use. By no coincidence the automobile industry is also the single largest spender in media advertising, while the airline industry doesn't even make it onto the pie chart (page 7 for those checking).

By keeping attention on airline emissions, mass media has framed a convenient scapegoat that distracts public attention from the real problem and avoided a significant threat to their bottom line. The greatest irony, is that worldwide travel may be one of the most significant social forces capable of driving action on global warming.

A true solution to global warming will start with a genuine world centric awareness that encompasses the needs of all people and the limits of our biosphere. And there is little that can drive this awareness faster and more effectively than the individual decision to get on an airplane and discover something about the rest of the world.

So go ahead and book your next flight, just bike to work when you get home.

This trade comes in from David in Acworth, Georgia.

Giving: Matt Holliday, #118 (red back); Jorge Cantu, #184
Getting: Juan Marichal, 1966 Topps; DeWayne Buice, 1988 Topps


About DeWayne Buice, Dave writes, "Just wanted to point out that if he didn't get the munchies for Chinese food, there might not be a 2007 Goudey set."

Duly noted. But also, if it weren't for Buice's random stop, the hobby might not be obsessed with high-end card sets, and maybe also not used to spending a week's salary on a box of eight cards.

This trade comes in from Jim in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Giving: Bill Hall, #109 (red back)
Getting: Mark McGwire, 1996 Sportflix UC3


UC3? I only have eyes for one. I want to go on record that I have never seen a better photograph of Mark McGwire anywhere as the one on the back of this card. It's a shame that Sportlix didn't use this photo as their marketing centerpiece on all their boxes, on their packs and in ads. In fact, why did they bother including any other players in the set? They could've been ten years ahead of the game if they had only used McGwire's "Look How Laidback I Am Even Though I'm Really Full of Steroids" photo on every card (only changing the checklist number).

Hope this example is not too vintage for you.
In 1991 I was asked to do an illustration for a magazine meant for yuppie-children, called 'Yukkies'...(What's in a name, right?)
The story to be illustrated was about shoplifting candy. My drawing was deemed not fit for the magazine (because of the tobacconist's hairdo?) and another illustrator was asked to do the job, apparently with my work as a back-up...

Stylized 3D illustration for an article about virtual network administrators.

More at Sevensheaven.nl

This trade comes in from Matthew in Long Beach, California.

Giving: Freddy Sanchez, #127
Getting: Shawn Estes, 2003 Topps Total

Matthew notes in his letter than he especially liked how the crack Topps designers airbrushed Estes' uniform to be a Cubs home jersey, even though it's very obvious that he's pitching in Shea Stadium.

You know what I like the most about this card? It's that it's the best part of this card. Boy, Topps Total is ugly. And what's with just the one line of stats on the back? Do we really need to know that Shawn's looking forward to reuniting with Dusty Baker in Chicago? And really, don't use a word like 'reuniting' on a baseball card; that word is reserved for only two situations: 1) they were former lovers, or 2) they were in a band a long time ago, back before Elwood was living next to the elevated and Princess Leia was actively trying to kill Joilet Jake.

This trade comes in from Robert in Walpole, Massachusetts.

Giving: Carlos Lee, #23 (red back)
Getting: Pascual Perez, 1982 Topps

Is this Pascual Perez card not the greatest of the twentieth century? All right, that may be leaning slightly to the extreme, but seriously, it is, right? Check out the letter by letter signature (what penmanship!). The simple mime of hands clasping air as if they were working a baseball (the man's a true Method actor). Not to mention that he wears the ridiculous early-Eighties Pirates uniform as naturally as flip flops and a sarong. But the one thing that truly makes this card one of the best is the bizarre drive-in movie screen in the background, like Perez owns a drive in theater in the off-season (I bet he only shows romantic comedies, because Pascual's a lover, not a fighter, baby).

This trade comes in from Jason in Rochester, Illinois.

Giving: Mark Teahen, #124 (red back)
Getting: Bob James, 1987 Donruss

Bob James is rocking out in this photo. He genuinely looks like he's having a great time being ... on the White Sox. Wait a minute ... it looks like, yes, he appears to be missing a tooth. Or maybe it's a gold tooth. OK, so here's Bob James's backstory: He's either a fun-loving mountain beast who was being shot at by poachers and climbed into the Guillen family van while they were on vacation in Appalachia (and Ozzie taught him how to live and dress like a person, though he still shits in the woods!), OR he's a free-spirit pirate who's got a great story to tell you about how he lost that tooth, but it's really long and you probably wouldn't understand (or believe!) half the things he would say, as he spent all those years on the high seas developing his own language, which he now takes city to city with him, one he calls Esperanto.

Mark Teahen is obviously E.T. In a Royals uniform.

Kaua'i Day 1

This was our first full day on Kaua'i. The phrase of the day was jet lag. Yuck. The animal of the day (week?) is the chicken. Wild chickens are everywhere on Kaua'i, ensuring that you can never go hungry if you are smart enough or fast enough to catch one of these birds.
Kayaking the Wailua River
We woke up early to drive to Kapa'a on the eastern shore of Kaua'i for a kayak tour up the Wailua River to Secret Falls. We met up with our guides at Wailua Kayak Adventures. Unfortunately, they give some seriously craptacular directions. Even though I asked numerous times for an address I was repeatedly told I couldn't have one. Instead, I got "We're at the north end of Kapa'a town behind Movie Tours." Well that's great and all, but I have no idea where that is either. So of course we got a bit lost on the way yesterday morning. I called them and told the owner where we were and got new directions. "We're just before the last building on the north side of Kapa'a." That's great and all, but I don't know if I am at the last building until I pass the building... argh. We did eventually find it, however.

We headed out to the river with our kayaks and guide, Cole. There were a few other couples on the trip for a total of 8. I was actually quite lucky not to have to share a kayak with another single guy on the trip, I had my own solo kayak, which was quite a lot of fun.
Carrie & Jerry
Kayaking the Wailua RiverWe hopped in the kayaks headed out up river toward the falls. Paddling upstream is pretty easy, the trade winds are at your back pushing you upstream making the upstream trip pretty low effort. I did have a bit of trouble getting used to the kayak and getting it to travel straight upstream. I guess I was padling harder on the right, my dominant side, than my left, ensuring the kayak tended to turn left as I paddled upstream.

After an hour of so of easy paddling we reached the landing point where we began our hike. We waded across a muddy part of the river and followed a trail for a mile along the river to the falls. The trail itself is an old aqueduct built to flood the taro fields that once occupied this part of the island. Along the way you could make out old stone walls and parts of an old community that has long since been abandoned and overgrown with trees bearing tropical fruit which littered the ground around us. Cole was full of information about the local area, plants and animals which made the hike enjoyable, even in soaking wet Keens! In about a mile we reached the (not so) Secret Falls where we stopped for a little bit to eat, pictures and swimming in the pool at the base of Secret Falls before hiking back to the kayaks.
Nice cock!On the return trip down river, the wind and currents were not in our favor, making the downstream paddle much more difficult. Not to mention Jerry's antics trying to ram my kayak with his... After an hour or so of paddling we reached the marina and ended our trip. This part of the trip was exhausting, but fun anyway. I thought I might have a little soreness the next morning since I'm not used to using these muscles and I haven't been to the gym in a few weeks due to travel for work. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, just a a bit tight in the shoulders.
(Not So) Secret Falls

We then headed to the center of Kapa'a for lunch at Mermaid's Cafe. Mermaids Cafe is nothing more than a tiny little lunch window where we picked up some nice fresh food. I had a burrito in a spinach wrap with brown rice, seared ahi tuna and cilantro pesto. Along with a few local beers, it was a good meal. Yummmmmmmmy!

Back to the hotel for for a few drinks and a pretty early night...
Kaua'i Day 2

Jerry overlooking the
Pacific Ocean
Awa'awapuhi Trail
This was supposed to be the day to sleep in. I slept in until a very late 5 AM. Woot. Jet lag. The next three hours of so were spent catching up on email, making calls and a quick trip to the beach for views of the sunrise. Unfortunately, the cloud cover ruined that plan for me. Oh well...

Jerry and Carrie managed to get their slack asses out of bed at 8 AM, so we didn't even head out toward the trail until around 10 AM. We drove across the southern end of Kaua'i toward the Waimea Canyon before driving up Waimea Canyon Road to the head of the Awa'awapuhi Trail in Kokee State Park for a hike toward the coast.
Carrie & Jerry
Awa'awapuhi TrailThe trail itself descends 1600' from the trail head to the lookout point at the end of the trail over 3.25 miles, for a 6.5 mile round trip hike. At the lookout you are about 3000' above sea level, with cliffs quickly descending down into the valleys below and to the Pacific Ocean. The trail itself was very nice with spectacular views of the cliffs along the coast, beautiful foliage, including lantana, guava and java plum trees. We stopped and picked some guava on the way down for a nice fresh fruit treat before stopping for lunch at the end of the trail. I've never been on top of cliffs like these before. From the cliffs you can see the ocean and sea birds. But instead of looking up to see the birds, you had to look down and view them from above! Of course, there were chickens there on the cliffs which tried to share our lunch with us. The locals tell us the only place you don't find any of the chickens is in the KFC parking lot. ;-) There were also plenty of the state bird of Hawaii: helicopters. (Yes, every guide we met all week shared the same joke. So I have to share it with you, dear readers.) They buzzed up and down the coast and into the valleys in a constant stream disturbing what should have been a pleasant, quiet hike.
The end of the trail...
Awa'awapuhi Trail

Heading back up to the car, I bonked (i.e. ran out of energy) and struggled back up the 3+ miles to the car. A combination of jet lag and eating poorly over the previous days had finally caught up to me. Slowly but surely we ascended to the trailhead, just in time for a strong downpour. The cool rain sure did feel good after a warm, sunny hike!

After we hopped back in the car to drive back to Poipu beach, where we were staying, we caught sight of a rainbow over the canyon. This is now becoming a regular occurrence, we saw rainbows both days of the trip and more would come in the next few days. Tired and hungry we headed to Puka Dog in Poipu. Puka Dog is a local Hawaian-style hot dog stand. The menu is limited to dogs, chips and lemonade, but the food was great.
The end of the trail...
Awa'awapuhi TrailBasically, you choose a hot dog, Polish or vegetarian, how hot you want the lemon & garlic sauce, mild, hot or volcano, and one of their island-style relishes such as mango, papaya and star-fruit. The grilled dog and sauces are stuffed into a large, fresh bun which has had a hole poked into the center to accomodate everything. To borrow a phrase from Rachel Ray, "yummo!". (Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that... or even *thought* to right that.) I have never seen three people shove hot dogs in their mouths so damn quickly... we knew we were hooked from the first bite. For the record, I had the Polish dog, volcano lemon & garlic sauce and mango relish. Hell yeah, that's some good shizzle... We then headed back to the hotel for some early evening drinks with some of our teammates and LLS staff before another early night to bed.

Kaua'i Day 3

Coming in for
a landing
Another bright and early morning, I'm up by 5:30 to meet Carrie and Mike for a drive to the north end of the island. We're going zip-lining in Princeville, about 90 minutes from our hotel. We meet our guides at Princeville Ranch Adventures, get suited up in a climbing harness and a stupid looking helmet before hopping in the Pinzgauer for a quick drive up the road to the zip line course. Over the course of 4+ hours we traversed 8 zip lines and a suspension bridge. The longest of the lines is well over 600' in length and 150'+ above the river valleys below. Even though it rained off and on through the day, it was a great time! Of course, there are some interesting tales to tell.

First, all participants must be under 280 lbs. There were two large women in our group who were probably pushing that limit. No big deal, right? WRONG. The tour states all participants should be in good physical condition. These ladies were anything but in good physical condition. If you are unable to walk up an uneven flight of stairs or stand up from a nearly seated position when landing, you probably shouldn't be on the tour.
Carrie taking off...

One of the ladies was particularly inept at the zip line. A mistake we all made the first time around was to jump before reaching the end of the platform and before the line caught and supported your weight. If not timed correctly, the line would dip enough that you could land on your ass on the platform before zipping down the line. I did this, once, but I didn't slam my ass on the platform. On the second line we were warned again. "Walk down the steps and on to the dirt at the bottom of the platform..." The goal is to walk down until the line catches you and supports your weight, suddenly you won't be able to touch the ground and you'll take off down the line. On this line we were warned the consequences of failing to walk down far enough were meeting "The Violator", a root sticking out of the ground which would violate your nether regions if you hit bottom...

What do you know, our large friend jumped from the step above the ground and landed ass first on the violator and the ground, covering her ample bootie in red Kauaian dirt. This pattern would continue, again and again, for all 8 lines. Her ass must have been in some serious pain from all of the abuse it took from the various platforms and stairs that she should have walked down, but bounced her ass down instead. Ouch.

Her landings weren't much better, either.

(Don't take this the wrong way, I know people are in various levels of physical condition and ability and some of these conditions are beyond their control. But you know your limits. If the event you are taking part in requires some basic level of physical fitness and this is outlined in the promotional materials, perhaps you should think twice before taking part next time...)

After a quick stop at Hilo Hattie's for some shopping and another stop at Puka Dog (Yay! Polish w/ volcano and papaya relish) we head back to Poipu for the HFD inspiration dinner. Due to weather, the dinner is moved inside to a ballroom. Good thing too! The rain was coming down in buckets as one of the speakers desciber her own fight with blood cancer years earlier before describig her brother's more recent fight against solitary melanoma which was found as it weakened his spine, crushing it and making him paraplegic. Her message was to spend the next day placing "one foot in front of another" and thinking about her brother who can no longer do that due to melanoma. I cried like a baby during her speech, it was extremely moving to me and the entire crowd of HFD participants. The next day, when the going got tough, I found myself reminding myself to put one foot in front of the other and repeat, while thinking how lucky I am to be able to do so while so many cannot.

Back to the room I packed my hike bag for the next day's adventure and went to bed with a 4:45 AM wake-up call.

Kaua'i Day 4
Kukui Trail

04:00 — Wake-up time! That must be Steph calling... hey, wait, its Delta Airlines?! I got an upgrade on a flight next week. Yay. Hey Delta, you flew my ass out here, shouldn't you know roughly what time zone I am in since you're flying me home, too? Bad Delta, no cookie. I tell Mike and we both fall asleep again.

04:13 — Wake-up time! Damnit, another upgrade call from Delta.

04:45 — Wake-up call/alarm/etc. Finally the right time to get up. 04:45. As Adrian Kronauer said, "What's the O stand for? Oh my God its early!" After a quick clean-up, I throw on my hike clothes, check the pack one last time to make sure I have all the water and food I'll need for the day along with two cameras (man, I'm a geek). I head down to the lobby to meet our guide, Bobby, and the hikers from the SF Bay Area and Silicon Valley for the drive up to the trailhead.
Waimea Canyon
Kukui Trail We're hiking the Kukui Trail down from the canyon rim to WiliWili camp (2.5 miles, 2300' elevation change one way) before following the Waimea River northward on the west bank, crossing the river and folloiwng the east bank up Poomau Stream, one of two tributaries (the other is Waiahulu) which merge to form the Waimea River. The goal for the day is Lonomea camp on Poomau Stream.

We hit the trail just before 7 AM, following a red dirt path as it quickly descends through various levels of vegetation, including some larger trees like silk oak and silver oak, along with smaller brush, like lantana. We find some wild java plums on the trail and try a few. They are very tart and slightly astringent, but refreshing since they don't taste like water or any of the other items in my pack. The vegetation on the trail thins, providing less cover as we descend.
Kukui Trail

The trail is rough, much less maintained that the trails I have hiked in Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and around Georgia. Its clear that people try to maintain the trail, but the constant rain and erosion makes it difficult to be effective and forces rerouting of the trail. In parts, the trail is strewn with scree (loose rock) which slows down our progress as we carefully step through, trying not to twst an ankle. I slip a few times here, planting a hand in the red dirt while trying to tay upright and not take out my team like stacked dominoes. Slowly we make our way down the ridge line and switchbacks carved into the walls of the ridges until we come to a large wash where the effects of wind and rain are most obvious. A steeply descending part of the trail across red dirt with many large veins carved out by the water flowing downhill strewn with rocks large and small, and loose, large grained sand continues for perhaps .5 miles until we reach a large stand of trees and vegetation further down in the canyon.

We enter the tree cover and continue descending toward Wiliwili Camp surrounded by various oak trees and fruit trees bearing guava and passionfruit, which our guide picks and saves for later. We also begin to identify a number of sisal plants which look like oversized agave plants that came straight of out of Jurassic Park.
Waimea River
Kukui Trail(JP was filmed on the island of Kaua'i, so its no doubt that there are some similarities.) Eventually we reached Wiliwili Camp. Users of this camp site have left it in deplorable condition with trash strewn everywhere. Beer cans, water bottles, food cans, random pieces of clothing, etc. were all over the camp site. It really pisses me off to see people abuse their environment like that and take away its natural beauty which others can no longer see. They need to learn the principles of Leave No Trace. We clear out of Wiliwili camp quickly and start heading up river where we meet our first challenge of the day: crossing the Waimea River.

I knew this was coming and wasn't particularly concerned, though it was the first time I had to cross an unknown stream. Our guide, Bobby, had done the crossing earlier in the week and reported the water to be waist deep, it was a bit higher on me since I'm quite a bit shorter than him! I threw my small camera and some other gear in the little dry bag I carry, place my large camera toward the top of the pack, kicked off my shoes and socks and tied them securely to my pack before stepping into the water. Bobby had already helped one of the smaller women on our team (she couldn't be more than 5' tall and 90# soaking wet) across.
Waimea River
Kukui TrailI decided to ford the stream alone, using my trekking poles for support and to help me find footing on the river bottom. Three steps into the river and I trip on a rock, nearly falling into the river unceremoniously. I say nearly becuase my poles saved me from doing more than just dunking the bottom few inches of my pack into the water, everything important remained dry. *whew* Once on the other side I got a chance to take some pictures of the river and some of the people crossing after me, cheering them on. After getting back into my dry boots — but still in wet clothing — it was time to continue up river through the canyon forest toward Lonomea camp. We traveled a mile or so upriver before stopping at the Hipalau camp for lunch. Due to time we were forced to turn around here instead of continuing another mile or so upstream to the Lonomea camp which was the original goal for the day. Here we sat down, ate lunch and a few pieces of guava and passionfruit that we had collected along the trail during the inbound hike. There is nothing better than freshly picked fruit collected trail-side!

Back upstream, we do everything in reverse. The river has started moving a bit more swiftly at this point, making he river crossing a little more difficult, but we all manage to cross without incident. As we pass Wiliwili camp the trail begins the ascent to the top of the canyon. While normally I'd rather hike under tree cover because its cooler, in this case the hiking was hot and steamy. The on and off rains along with our soaking wet clothing made this section of the hike very, very steamy.
Mike & Bobby
Kukui TrailI felt like I was hiking uphill in a large sauna, not the most pleasurable of circumstances. When we finally broke out into the sun I was a happy man. Finally my clothes could have a chance to dry off and there was a nice canyon breeze to keep us cool. Now we had to look for shade where we could find it along the trail, but the trade-off was well worth it! Slow and steady, one foot in front of the other we asended the walls of the canyon. Bands of rain showers came through the canyon, providing us with a cooling mist and brief respites from the hot tropical sun. As we ascend, I noticied significant changes in the look of the canyon in the early afternoon sun. In the moning, the light was strongly filtered through a low haze. Now, the light was strong and direct, bringing out the beauty of the canyon walls and making the colors, reds, greens, blue skies and more muted tones in the rock walls begin to pop visually. In just a few hours the entire canyon looks like a different place, just because of the position of the sun. Wild...

Further up the canyon, standing on a ridge line we get a good blast of rain and wind that feels wonderful, nice and cooling. Turn and look back into the canyon and we see a rainbow stretched out below us, running north to south in the lower parts of the canyon. By far, this was the best view of the day! We've been seeing rainbows daily, more often than not 3 or 4 a day, but this was one of the strongest I have seen all week long. One last big push forward and we work our way past the "Speedo and Crocs" crowd hiking down into the canyon (yes, seriously. Bannanna hammocks and Crocs are not really appropriate for hiking...) We all pop out of the canyon around 3:30 PM for a snack of fresh Hawaiian pineapple and some sports drinks, before heading to the car and back down to the coast. Round trip, we did ~9 miles &mdashl I'm still looking for better information on the length of the hike.
Me and a Hau Bush
Kukui Trail

On the return trip to the hotel we drop in on Jo-Jo's Shave Ice for a cold, sweet treat. Think sno-cones with pan-Pacific flavors. I had a shave ice with lychee and mango syrups and azuki beans (the base of red bean icecream). I figured I'd get a little protein with my sugar water. ;-) We get back to the hotel where I take a quick shower to get rid of the red dirt covering me from head to toe and then head down to the beach for a quick dip in the ocean. I've been in Hawaii since Tuesday, its now Staurday and I am just now making it to the beach. There is something seriously wrong with that!

Another quick shower to get rid of the sand I have collected and then we're off to the Mission Celebration dinner. Some numbers for you:

• This weekend 70 hikers in Kaua'i have raised a total of over $400,000!
• This season, HFD participants from around the US have raised to date over $2,500,000!
• In the past 2.5 years/5 seasons of HFD (I've now participated in 3 of the 5 seasons!) over $12,500,000 has been raised!

These are amazing numbers which make a difference in the life of patients dealing with blood cancers evey day.
Waimea River
Hipalau Camp

On a sadder note, this will be my final season with Hike for Discovery for a while. With our first child arriving in March, I'm not going to be able to participate again next year. I'll certainly be around and helping out on occassional hikes with the team, but I won't be able to dedicate the amount of time I have in the past 18 months to the HFD program and LLS. Once Steph and I get into a rhythm with the baby I'll be back.

For those who continue with HFD in the future: HIKE ON!
Heading back up...
Kukui Trail

Kukui Trail

Waimea Canyon rainbow
Kukui Trail