October 18, 2005
Brushing with a Vengeance
Work has had me stressed out. I haven't been stressed out since I was in high school, back before I discovered girls. Like Rincewind, when trouble calls, I generally run away. Destination: New Paltz.
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| Jonas, checking out my dad's house from the Near Trapps. Her face was glued to the camera all weekend. |
My dad's 59th birthday was Wednesday of last week, and we were going to go down then and celebrate. My boss needed me in late Wednesday, though. And Thursday morning. And Thursday afternoon. I finally gave my boss the finger, took my overdue vacation time, and we got out of town on Friday afternoon sometime. Getting to New Paltz was half the battle. Fortunately, Jonas was making a documentary of our trip, which kept me at least mildly amused through my failing memory of how to get around the Catskills backroads.
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| The main road from New Paltz to Gardiner was...well...wet... |
The Wallkill river decided to flood its banks after 9 days and something like three feet of constant rain. Bridges were closed, and USGS was out taking water flow measurements. Sad, but higher bridges were available, so we could at least get to my dad's house, even if it did take a bit of extra time.
Since the cliffs were wet on Saturday, we just did a mofo dayhike over the Nears and way out to Millbrook (where my dad's house is), then down into the west valley and back out to the Mohonk Preserve. Saturday night was the climbing film fest at SUNY New Paltz. Sunday...well, Sunday was the best part of the story.
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| Joel belaying Stephen on Tipsy Trees/Minty |
We did the same old climb, including much of Minty. I didn't feel nearly as nervous climbing this time, which means I have to get out of this 5.4 rut I've been in. Harder stuff is in order, for sure.
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| This old dude soloed the same route we did, sans shoes and rope. Yeah, I feel like a wuss. |
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009