Hiking

Since last fall, Niki and I have been avid hikers. We started out smaller trails, some paved ones even at Powder Valley. Since then we've been looking for longer and longer trails. Highly recommend everyone own a CamelBak. Get only a CamelBak brand as the others just are not made the way a CamelBak is. Just this summer I finally got a pair of shoes better designed to do some hiking and I must say that is also a huge help. Some of our favorite spots are Rockwoods, Cuivre River, Young Preserve, and of course the family ranch. It really helps me to forget that I spend so much time in the city with its terrible smells and pollution and commotion. Crisp air, the smell of leaves, life and death, all extremely important to my peace of mind of late. We really try to get out about every weekend at this point, if we don't have anything else going on. I figure for that 1/7 of the week I'm actually getting to enjoy the things in life that living the other 6/7 of it is helping to destroy. It seems very difficult to just leave behind the parts of my life that I know, and I think many people do, are really unsustainable and destructive for ourselves and the rest of the world. What do I have to give up, what haven't I that I could? Is it really fair for me to have an XBOX when there are entire countries that probably have only a handful? Because I was born here...could have been anywhere else, but it was here. I guess I would be happy about that if I didn't know that having the things I have and living the way I do hurts someone else. Hard to deal with sometimes and somedays...

Monday,
Back to Work.

Too Much Rain

It has been raining and cold and miserable for about 4 straight days now. I'm not sure I could live in a climate where this is the norm. Perhaps everyone kind of settles into it, but I myself feel very "down". The past few days I could say that I have even been a bit more prone to anger than usual even. Part of my mood probably hinges on the changing of the season as well. I always appreciate the beauty of the change to fall and winter, but it is bittersweet. I see the wonder of cycles of life and how it all magically works together for a purpose. Somehow my own body and mind seem to take the cues of winter a bit too seriously. Sometimes of course I wonder if I have made the situation so real for myself by thinking and dwelling on it too much. Your mind makes it real. Just trying to keep my mind as positive as possible and distract it when necessary. On an absolutely unrelated note, I saw Zombie Land last night and that helped to cheer me up. It was straightforward in nature, it was what it was. It was funny. Awkward days at work of late. A change would be nice.

Rantings of the Fall

Just starting to feel the need to document my life a bit more now. I know I've written many pages in the past that have been lost. Perhaps my thoughts will stay here. I tend to over think a lot though. Knowing what I know about how much energy is required to keep data centers running, the problems that energy production will pose for the future, and the inevitable resource conflicts to come in the not so distant future. The wife and I always have an interesting time discussing the future. She tends to think positively and hope that things will work out right. My issue is not necessarily that I am incapable of hope or faith, but that I am always compelled to look at the current state of things, the trends, and the data pointing to the future. It is a little depressing what we all are doing to the world we live in. I was on a 3+ hour drive the other day and thought about the concept of "intelligent" life. I almost laughed out loud because of the inherent irony of that statement as it pertains to human life. If we, of all the species on the planet, are so damned intelligent then why are we the only ones refusing to live on the planet in a harmonious balance with the rest of the world. That realization almost makes humanity seem like a cruel joke. We have the ability to reason and think but can't recognize some of the most basic truths that animals, with fractions of the brain capacity we enjoy, innately know. It all stems from a very beautiful and tragic dilemma. Why not? I was driving 3+ hours to do some work for my employers and also visit my family. Why do I live so far away from my parents? Why do I live so far from work? How far do the things I consider necessary to live travel to reach me? We keep expanding and "improving" but why? What was so wrong with the world before the car? We always think to ourselves, we can so we may as well. But sadly we cannot think ahead and see the consequences. Anyways, wasting "company time" ..back to work.

/rant off