Christmas With The Fam

I have spent a few great days with family for Christmas.

It was fewer family and fewer days than last year (which was a hoot and a half), but delightful and certainly worth the trip.

OK, here we go: Why? Because some of us are getting old, and some of us are sick; because good family is a gift to be appreciated and treasured; because we enjoy and love each other; because we wanted to check on each other and ourselves; because we ARE touchstones to each other; because of the hugs and kisses; because of the stories and conversation; and because, just like last year, we laughed so much that we cried tears and our abs hurt.

My 92-year-old aunt declared she's made a pact with God... that unless she's going up, she's just not going. We wondered if it was really God she was making that pact with. Then my brother cousin-in-law tells her that she would indeed be able to do that cruise she's always wanted if she went in a shoebox.

My nephew second cousin, back home after a breakup, was discussing a girl wearing a bathing suit with its neckline down to her bellybutton. I asked him if they use double-sided tape for that. He was incredulous, and said who cares how they do it... except maybe for an engineer.

I noticed my sister cousin gave everybody flannel pajamas... because South Florida had a few freezing nights recently. So, why also give everyone wallets and purses? (I wanted to know who had won the lottery!)

And some of us just acted a little goofy.

Oh, and the food was great, the weather beautiful, and bicycling terrific... as always. Thank you, guys. I will be heading home the slow way, missing everyone but remembering fondly.


- © 2011 by Willy

Another Year Sets

Amazing! Christmas is about here and another year is down. This one went as fast as a whirlwind!



What did I do? Contributions at work, serious hiking, some bicycling and regular weightlifting. I watched more sunsets. I fed the creatures. Got a better diet lifestyle. Did some socializing. Best of all... developed better discipline.

What did I get accomplished? I finally got everything fixed in my old Vette, it runs great and I drive it regularly. I painted most of the house outside. I maintained my old physical self. I got a National Park Senior Lifetime Pass. And I discovered that my mental self has discipline enough to weather multiple storms simultaneously.

What do I want to do next year? Of course, shed a few pounds. But I want to think about what to do for the next... 30 years.

Why?

Because my favorite aunt has lived to that rich old age, and blesses me with her wisdom and counsel. It's been time for me to do the same.

I found out that most of us really are self-delusional. That life is really about the fantasies. When I was a foolish young man, my fantasies might have been fast cars and loose women. Now that I'm an old man my fantasy is that I'm indispensable at work. The current fantasy is useful as a goal to keep me getting up in the morning due to the self-importance of what I do, but it won't do in retirement.

Or maybe because I want to use that Senior Pass just like the Vette uses Midas mufflers.

I've been through that age at which we have thoughts of wiping it all clean and starting over. And the age at which we come to grips with our own mortality. I've had enough difficult times that I know I'm living on borrowed time.

Do I really want to be around more years? Thirty of them!? Do I have any control over that? I don't know.

If so, there's gotta be a need to live, community in depth-and-breath, and planning and discipline.


Also, it would help to see problems coming... in order to accommodate or compensate.

After all, I'm a good controls engineer.

First is to get this plant... body and mind... in good order.

- © 2011 by Willy

Sing Song

"Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go..."

I've been hearing that refrain all day, perhaps due to my noticing of tomorrow's play of the 1956 Elvis movie on the tube. I whistled it continuously during my long Thanksgiving day before-dinner hike today.

When I was a kid... before Elvis... my mother sang a fairly similar lullaby. I felt very cuddled in hearing it. In turn, I hummed this Elvis tune to my kids to relax them at bedtime. Not only that, but I still self-medicate to this ditty. Lullabies are meant to function just so, and work amazingly well.

I'm in the midst of some turmoil: A nutty young punk threatened to beat me up and has evoked memories of early school bullies. I've been sleeping with a shotgun, and Elvis calms me down.

Or perhaps I was hearing God's lullaby.

Prayers can be the darnest things... whistling a lullaby!

More conventional: "For exercise to calm the body and prayer to calm the mind, I am truly thankful, amen."

It's best to accept the situation, prepare for a possible eventuality, and go through channels... calmly.


- non-Elvis text © 2011 by Willy

Fall Is Finally Here

Finally! My heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis has fully healed (it took four months!), and I've been out hiking in gorgeous fall weather. I have missed my therapeutic time in the woods. I'm back to nice multi-hour hikes.

Hiking through a rain of falling leaves today was both thrilling and healing.

I've also resumed other cardio, such as gym classes. I'm happy again!

- © 2011 by Willy

No More Drama

There are always people out there with a screw loose. I used to think that with a big enough screwdriver, I could fix 'em. But, no, I've had enough in life already. It's time to avoid them when possible. Yes, I may have to accept them to some degree when it is not possible to avoid them. It's a decision to be made and I'm now clued in... I figured it out: It's not a yes or no, not black or white, not diet or exercise, not machines or people... I like the right kind of people. Just like getting the right kind of car. It's a shade of gray. And this acceptance makes for good mental health, albeit it being conditional or partial acceptance.

- text © 2011 by Willy

P.S., no, I will never own an Italian car either.

Things Happen

Personal best happen and races get won, just like injury happens and we get sidelined... good things happen just like bad things do.

Is this luck?

I don't know when something is luck and when it is providence, but I believe in preparation: Good things happen when preparation meets opportunity, and you will be given the opportunity if you are prepared. There is no real control over opportunity but I sure can be prepared. I believe in training. Train like you play, because you will play like you train. I also believe in a higher power just like I believe in this chicken-and-egg cause and effect.

So, do we create our fate?

Both good and evil are out there. Evil is everywhere. Evil is not ugly and firebreathing, but charming and beautiful. It mesmerizes and seduces you until it makes you doubt yourself. Yes, evil functions best when nobody believes in it. Our decisions create our fate, and our decisions are based upon both good and evil influences. Things happen due to influences. I pray that my Father gives me the strength of character to keep me from temptation and deliver me from evil.

I'm going to stick to solo exercise and diet no matter the injury, no matter what shape I'm in, how stressed people make me or how attractive they are... whatever the siren song. I have faith that there just might be a reason to stay prepared.

- © 2011 by Willy

Recovered Back To Bicycling

The bane of my existence has been injuries. Yes, I admit it... even far worse than divorce, since divorce has happened far fewer times, and I've been rather klutzy. I'm an engineer, not a jock.

During the past couple of months, ever since I developed heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis during training, my regular cardio exercise has been swimming. There was no mp3 player and no scenery... I just followed the painted line in the pool, over and over again. Since I'm blind as a bat without glasses, I can't even delight in googling swimsuit beauties.

To me, my plantar fasciitis means a tendinitis tear between heel and arch, on the outside rather than the arch side. I am stressed and the foot tries to supinate. So, I have to think the feet to relax. The body tries to repair this tear/swelling using calcium and I get a heel spur. I've had this many times... my left foot being rather finicky. Walking and hiking on the swelling makes it worse and keeps the injury from healing. It will take months to heal.

The unloaded spin bike was OK, but did not elevate my heart rate like it should for conditioning. And bicycling outside hurt, specially uphills. Today I did a slow and flat one-hour ride, with minimal pain... and only at the end. I had a great ride. I was glad to be out, enjoying the sun, listening to the critters and dodging the cars. Today I had a delightful breakthrough. I will ride once a week and continue swimming so as to heal. I expect the elliptical on tiptoes is next, and will wait for healing before going hiking.

We heal slowly but surely... day by day.

In all aspects.


- © 2011 by Willy

Following The Poop

The mule poop, that is.

On doing the Yosemite High Sierras camp loop hike.

Summary: Last year, a group of us older adventurers put in for, and one won, the Park Service lottery to rights to get Yosemite park High Sierras camps loop hike reservations for the next season. Eight of us went. It was wonderful.

Getting to Yosemite from San Francisco airport uses a winding and slow road, which we drove at night. We spent that night at the Cedar Lodge just outside the park, and went to see crowded Yosemite Valley ("downtown") the next day to do the tourist thing. The second day we drove to Base Camp, spent the night and began to hike the loop. We completed the high-altitude, mountainous, five-camp, seven-day, fifty-five-mile loop... uneventfully and utterly amazed.


The High Sierra camps provide dinner, tents with cots, and breakfast. Lunch while hiking was granola bars or whatever we brought but a sandwich can be bought each morning. This means a light pack and luxury camping/backpacking, even though the loop is rugged, spartan and primitive. We hiked unguided but there is a ranger-guided option.

Views were amazing: balds, canyons and water. There was lots of water due to snow melt from twice the usual snow this past winter. It did not rain during our trip. Beautiful wildflowers lined our trail. Trail condition and signage was great. On-trail mule poop was everywhere (mules carry supplies to camps) and served as reassuring trail blazes or connect-the-dots.

Stats below are from my pants-pocket-carried Garmin 60CSx GPS. Besides miles and time, this GPS also computes up-only climb-feet, a great measurement of effort. Note that the group sometimes got strung out and different people came in at different times. Gary was fastest, then Diane, then me and the rest. Also note that GPS altitude does not often match a map's.

- On 13-15 Aug 2011, Gary, Diane, Suzanne and I did Yosemite Valley from Cedar Lodge, just outside the Park. I unfortunately had developed persistent heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis due to trying to break-in new boots, so I saved myself for the loop. I had originally trained to climb Half-Dome up to the cables.

- Day 0, the 16th: drove to and met Geanine, Ray, Carolyn and Skip at Base Camp for the High Sierras camp loop start at Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" (ja!), altitude 8720 feet. We ate burgers at The Grill, next door to the gas station. These three were the entire civilization at the Tuolumne area.

- Day 1, the 17th: hiked an easy 8.2 miles in 5 1/2 hrs with 1520 climb-feet to Glen Aulin camp, elev 7980', which had a water limit, due to sewer limits, due to being in the watershed to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, where Frisco gets 80% of their water. They served good food. We had a great campfire sing-along led by an 80-year-old lady guest. Glen Aulin camp had a beauuutiful waterfall.


- Day 2, the 18th: hiked moderate and beautiful-vista 8.8 miles in 7 hrs with 2820 climb-feet to gorgeous May Lake camp, elev 9360', with a beautiful reflection of mountain on lake. A family of husband, wife and daughter run the place very well (he's been there 10 years). Great food, very organized, showers and washtub with wringer, and the best camp by far. It would be definitely worthwhile to go there again, and it is an easy 1-mile hike from a side road.

- Day 3, the 19th: hiked 10.2 tough and painful climb miles in 7 hrs with 2650 climb-feet to Sunrise camp, at a huge alpine meadow, elev 9360', and stayed two nights. Sunrise camp season is only 3 weeks this year, was closed until our start due to snow melt flood and thus ineffective leach fields (we were formulating a Plan B). Had a million-dollar shower and toilets building but there were lots of mosquitoes and temperatures were freezing overnight.

- Day 4, the 20th: stayed at Sunrise for a rest day.

- Day 5, the 21st: hiked 10.4 moderate miles in 7 hours with 1350 climb-feet to Merced Lake camp, elev 7300'. On the way met a 15-person, four-generation group hiking to Sunrise with 75-year-old grandma and 80-year-old grandpa. Grandpa had fallen, was not doing well, and was getting helicoptered out when he got to Sunrise's meadow. Merced Lake camp is the furthest and least supplied, and of least altitude of all the camps, but still very cold at night, with lots of flies rather than mosquitoes. It had a drip for a shower and a sink for laundry but no washrag nor soap nor paper towels... and skimpy food. Too spartan, it was the worse camp but still appreciated.

- Day 6, the 22nd: hiked 9.2 miles in 8 1/2 hours with 4969 thin-air, high-altitude climb-feet through a river canyon, over a beautiful pass and through a gorgeous saddle meadow to Wogelsang camp, elev 10200'. Yes, here's where Suzanne said "And we've got to climb THAT?" There was no mule poop in this trail. It was a very tough hike (steep, cold and windy, with snow on top) but the views, especially from the south side of the pass, made it worth it. It was a moderately cold camp, laid out on rock, with lots of mosquitoes. Good food. No shower or opportunity to wash. Still, this one also would be definitely worthwhile to again hike (a 7-miler) there just for the view from the pass, and for the saddle meadow, or to backpack and camp at the meadow instead of at the camp.

Wogelsang (and other) camp food can be reserved without reserving the tent, still using the lottery.

- Day 7, the 23rd: hiked out a glacial canyon, a very painful (due to my heel plantar fasciitis) 7.6 downhill miles in 4 1/2 hours with 580 climb-feet back to Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" Base Camp to pick up cars, drink beer, and drive partly out the park to White Wolf camp, to shower, dine and spend the night (still in tents!). On this hike from Wogelsang to Tuolumne, we passed a bunch of oncoming hikers and two mule resupply teams, so it was the busiest trail, probably due to Wolensang pass beauty. The White Wolf camp restaurant was very disorganized, the dinner was disappointing and the mosquitoes were the worse, but we were back in civilization, and we were tired.


- On the 24th, we drove down or south to classy Wawona Hotel lodge to gawk at the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees. On the way there my three traveling companions hiked several waterfalls. I had had enough heel pain already and so stayed in the car to finish an Arthur C. Clark book I picked up at Sunrise. Wawona is a grand, old, historic hotel lodge that reminded me of my grandmother's beach house due to its big wooden porch. We met the other four there. It was a beautiful hotel, and dinner was great.

- On the 25th (today), we all drove back to Frisco and are spending the night in a motel, ready to get home on our early morning return flight tomorrow to clean up and and wind down.

- Conclusion: The loop was six camps in seven days for about 55 miles and 14,000 climb-feet, in luxury. And we had pre- and post-loop activities.

That was our adventure. We followed the mule poop.



This report was tapped into an iPhone on-trail.


- © 2011 by Willy

Breaking In New Anythings

I made the mistake of trying to break in new hiking boots... a revolutionary new model ("Airs") that promised to be gentler on my heels. Instead, the boots broke me... gave me an awful case of heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis just in time for a planned hike.

I knew better, but... mesmerized by the promise... I forgot.

I have had recurring trouble with my left heel for over twenty years. That heel is very sensitive to new shoes and boots to the point that...

- I have been using the same make and model boot for the last 19 years, and

- When my running shoes model was discontinued, I bought four pair.

Lessons learned:

(1) Return the revolutionary boots with promise.

(2) Order a couple of old model boots before they are discontinued.

(3) Reject temptation. Quit getting mesmerized by New. Quit trying new boots, shoes, things, people, processes... new anythings. Instead, continue to evolve and improve on what I have and do, a decades-long evolution. Evolutionary is good and revolutionary is bad. Evolutionary is good and revolutionary is bad. I'd better remember this!

- © 2011 by Willy

Just The Basics

Having had many busy weeks at work and beyond, I waited until the very end to pack for the latest adventure, resulting in a controlled panic. Yes, I always do this. To make it doable, what works for me is to keep everything hike-related in a huge duffel bag in my sports closet, including a check list.

I then separate items by place and function, depends on where and how I'm hiking. I am on the way to a two-week backpacking trip to Yosemite.

What goes into the wilderness itself goes in the backpack. Within that I have a bag for what I will carry in my pockets or person, like granola bars, whistle, tiny LED light, GPS, camera, sunglasses, DEET, sunblock, toilet paper, and etc.

I make a separate bag for the trip to base camp motel like extra clothing, snacks, cell phone, cell rechargers, reading material, car GPS, boarding passes, neck pillow for long night flights and etc.

So organized, eh? So, where was that blasted poncho!

OK, so I found it and finally got it together. Then I went through it all again, paring it down to the basic needs only: Out goes the rum (how did that one get in there?), the What-Ifs and redundancies. After all, I am an ultralighter... the most basic and smug of backpackers.

I have been an ultralighter since I was a kid, because I had nothing then. It was reinforced by a free spirit I dated in the '80s, and driven home recently by my daughter.

For instance, a light and small plastic hooded poncho with a tiny umbrella and hat saves at least a pound as compared to a heavy, bulky and sweaty multi-layered "breathable fabric" raincoat, and I needed that hat for mountain-top balds anyway.

Ditto re a coolmax liner or sheet instead of a light sleeping bag; chlorine-dioxide pills rather than a fancy troublesome reverse-osmosis pump filter; two tiny LED rather than a flashlight (redundancy needed here); a smaller tent; multipurpose bandanna rather than towel; two band-aids rather than moleskin; just floss, toothbrush and toothpaste (no comb, no razor, no deodorant, etc.); no radio/mp3; no cell phone if another group hiker is carrying his; no stove; and less food to eat, even.

I am realistic or careful enough to take a down vest, dry socks, backup disposable poncho, hiking pole and other safety-necessary items.

John Muir hiked Yosemite just carrying a loaf of bread.

I am trying to do Life that way too, getting rid of junk and junky people... and losing weight. Determining what is mental heath safety-necessary is big. Keeping just the basics.

- © 2011 by Willy

"You Look Terrible!"

I was sweating enough to create a puddle on the floor, ending the second of three hours of cardio at the gym when somebody hit me. I open my eyes on the stationary bike to see Emily laughing. "You look terrible!" she said. I took the complement, got off the bike, wiped the sweat, chit-chatted, and got on the treadmill for an relatively easy last hour. She looks terrific, I told her, since she also exercises constantly. I actually do strive to LOOK terrible, since that keeps women off my back, but I can out-press anybody at the gym at 61 years of age (100-pound dumbbell sets, anyone?), plus out-hike most people except true endurance athletes. I am all about function over form. I drive a junker truck and live a low-key but adventuresome life. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

I'm training for a two-week hike in Yosemite, and 3 hours of cardio a day is the minimum. I've been doing 6-hour 14-mile 2500-climb-feet hikes on the mountain on weekends. This weekend was a hot one, reaching 110 degrees, so I went to the gym today. Two weeks of vacation hiking is a long time for daily foot abuse, so I've gotten Nike Air hiking boots to cushion my heels, although they are VERY purple and gaudy, just the way Nike likes them. It's function over form here too.

Yes, life is good.

- © 2011 by Willy

What Makes Us?

"Pressure Makes Us." - Nike ad, World Cup. Is that it? Life philosophy in three words? What about time to enjoy family, friends, a pretty sunset and other?

As a very young man, I had pressure to excel and get the heck out of my bad family situation. Pressure did make me, and I have significantly contributed to technology... and still do. I had ideas as a young man and attempted many, with mixed results. Not having a baseline to compare to, I do not know what kind of unpressured man I would have turned out to be otherwise. The difference from then to now is that lately I have seen more opportunity, have more means and more capability... but take less risk. I suspect that I finally learned what pressure and pain are and thus have modified my endeavors, i.e., I've gotten tired of my head being in a vise. I am more afraid of some things but fearless in others: afraid of intimate relationships but fearless in adventure, whether physical or technical.

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, and I realized that relationships can kill me.

In summary, and in hindsight, I liked the pressure that made me. Family was a mixed bag and I did a better job of picking my friends, most of which I do still enjoy. I am awed by every sunset that I see, but I enjoy them better when I am by myself. Pressure made me what I am, and I am solo.

So, yes, "Pressure Makes Us," and it IS a life philosophy in three words.

- © 2011 by Willy

It was a dark and stormy night...

"It was a dark and stormy night," or so Snoopy's book always starts.

If you're thinking this way, then you are going through another of life's little disappointments which may be unwelcome but are always expected.

We can't change the wind but we can set our sail. The sun will come up again tomorrow. The tide ebbs and flows.

We all get through these downers and on to yet another high.

I have had my own struggles at work and elsewhere. They're not as bad lately. I had divorces, an angry son, two unsuccessful dissertations, two hospital stays and other. Such is life.

My daughter is going through trauma now. I am proud of her and of what she has become. She has a great goal, she is resourceful, and she will get through this too. I'm glad that she's gotten herself some help. I think of her and pray for her several times a day. I look forward to her continued growth and her bright future... but it is her future, and she has to do it.


- text © 2011 by Willy

Yet Another Adventure

Life has been busy, with no time for blogs. I continue my fantasy that I'm indispensable at work, I've been trying to clean up home after some tornado damage, and been training hard for my multiple summer hike adventures.


I nicely completed two back-to-back hikes. The first in The Smokeys followed by an A.T. hike in northern Virginia and West Virginia... going up LeConte with old folks, followed by multiple rollers in VA-WV with my daughter, and a home mountain hike my last vacation day. I was proud of myself, having done 8, 8, 17, 16, 5, 0 and 10 miles of hilly terrain in a week. Not bad for an old man, and good training effectiveness ("train like you play"), even though we did violate our established rules.

I continue training for an upcoming two-week Yosemite trip... up Half-Dome, then a circuit in the High Sierras.

- © 2011 by Willy

Reflection

"Only when I was alone, in quiet and reflective moments, did I have not only clarity but an inexplicable inner peace... a peace that exceeds human understanding." - Mike Huckaby on his decision to not run for president (believe it or not!), 13 May 2011.

That could have been Henry David Thoreau, or just about any monk on the planet.

Peace, reflection and mental health go together.

Solitude is underrated.

Old Men Aging Well

Five of us old guys at a nice German restaurant had just finished a good dinner. The fraulein, dressed for effect, was showing us a dessert tray. One of us said "Look at that!" and all of us looked at the desserts rather than at the amply endowed waitress. After we drooled and ordered no-sugar, low-fat cheesecake, another said "Yeah, you can get the dessert a lot cheaper than the girl."



The youngest old guy had just told us that he's just gone through a divorce in which he lost pretty near everything. My own divorce drove me insane and took a couple of years to recover.

Pitiful, but expected... both about the dessert versus girl and about the divorce settlement. This is the South, where the judges are biased. One urban legend goes that the feds, a few years ago, entrapped a judge in chambers after a divorce ruling with a wired undercover policewoman on her knees and his legs spread open for payment. And (some) women start preparations for divorce before they marry, believing of marriage as a very good tax-exempt long-term capital gains investment. Sex has always been a currency for (some) women. Men will throw away their whole lives and their careers for sex.

What a sad state of affairs.

The solution: Some of us finally learned to order dessert. That is a decision that we can still make that will prevent a future problem.

OK, solved that problem, let's go on to another.

None of us old men had a good solution to the economy. What's a solution to the plundering of this country by some politicians, bankers and CEOs working in cahoots? We must be insane to let them get away with this, we can't just order dessert to solve it, and it will take a lot more than a couple of years to recover... it will take throwing more bums out by electing fiscally responsible people. And where can we find responsible professional politicians? WHY does anyone want to run for office? What's his gain? Anyone who will do whatever you have to do to get elected shouldn't be allowed to run for office.

How about something like jury duty or military service draft? Twenty-five years after college graduation you are inducted into office... compulsory... for one term. This may be even better than term limits, and/or Tea Party. Heck, let's try something different... what we are doing now is not working.

You think about it while I go to the gym and work out that cheesecake.

- text © 2011 by Willy

Which Is Scarier?

Once upon a time, if a tall ladder didn't do it, you used two and got it done. But things have changed.

On the one hand, many politicians, bankers and CEOs are brazenly robbing the tax-supported treasury to the staggering tune of trillions while grandstanding and BS-ing us. The infrastructure is crumbling and Nero is playing the fiddle, and somebody keeps re-electing and re-hiring these crooks... other crooks, perhaps.

On the other hand, the "young" have languished. Most are a waste: overindulge; don't grasp the concept of work; chose part-time, dead-end, low-paid work instead of striving for better careers; passively amble about, caring more about their looks than their careers; live irresponsibly avoiding paying bills or sharing duties but use their disposable income for frills; and/or deal with anxiety by completely withdrawing from society to the point that they lock themselves in their bedrooms and belittle parents or spouses while parents or spouses allow and enable them. They BS us too. It's the gime-gime-gime entitlement mentality. They have no sense of purpose. They have no dreams. And they refuse every chance to do the right thing. Love and kindness is wasted on them because they will always be unhappy. These ahole parasites don't contribute.

In the middle is us.

I'm not sure how to fix it because I can't even explain it... we somehow lack the mental health to do it. I see a crash coming.

I'm not sure which is scarier, but I'm scared. I don't like it and don't want to accept it nor develop a positive but false attitude of hope about a rosy future. We need to proactively develop a real nasty, kickbutt attitude instead... an "I'm mad and won't take it anymore" one.

Lord Jesus have mercy on us.



- © 2011 by Willy

It Does Matter

Lending a hand with loving kindness can change everything.

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? Edward Lorenz in 1972 stated that the flapping wing could cause a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena.

We each start changing the world the second we are conceived. Day by day, action upon action, smile upon smile, act after act, one decision after another we form our character and that of others, and change the world in significant ways. If a butterfly's wings affect the environment, what you and I do matters powerfully... beyond our imagination.

We're stronger when we think. Life is a game in which every act that we undertake... working, hiking, helping... each of those choices is a move, and every move forms the next, and that changes us. One action has a chorus of consequences. Like moves on a chessboard. The way to win is by playing.

Nothing in life comes without a struggle. The butterfly struggles out of its cocoon. Turmoil, conflict and chaos are all parts of life. Screaming and laughter occur simultaneously in every playground, and in every life. Out of that mayhem come relationship, love and joy.

Life is always surprising.

We are always stronger than we think.

We can't control everything but we can think and control ourselves and by that we indirectly affect others. Every new decision is another chance to do the right thing... it's all about what you do next.

Everybody matters. Everything matters. Everybody and everything is connected. Pass it on.


- © 2011 by Willy

P.S., The problem is the aholes... Lord Jesus have mercy on me.

I Am Many

It had rained much. Huffing and puffing, hiking fast solo on the trail yesterday, I could hear Jennifer saying, "You've got boots, dad... just step into that mud." So I sank in the bog a couple of inches, powered my way forward without losing my boot, and lost no time. Later, going hard on a steep uphill, "Lengthen your stride." Soon Dallas was saying, "Shoulders back, man." Most of the time I was hiking I heard various priests from the past saying "Miserere nobis," to which I added "for your people in Japan, Father," in virtual community. Then I increased tempo and intensity.

A couple of weeks ago while pulling up front against cold wind on my fat tire commuting bike, spin class instructor Ed's comments were with me, "Use your quads. Pull those legs up. You won't win any events unless you do," and Roger's, "Forget about pushing the pedal, that will happen all by itself." So, I concentrated on pulling up. Then Karen's "Relax that upper body so you'll have blood for your legs" came through. So I relaxed wrapped onto the bars, concentrated, and increased to 18, still shivering but no longer wishing I had a second layer.

A week ago while on TDY, I wondered around downtown and I heard Jon, "Watch for the gypsies, put your wallet in the front pocket," and Joel's "Know them but don't meet their eyes. Do discipline of the eyes." At the food court it was Anna saying "More fruits and vegetables!" And then "Good thing you took a taxi," yes, thanks whoever told me that, if any. I'm getting old and I need discipline and safety, not that kind of adventure. Then I went back to the motel and worked a machine for an hour and a half and walked 20 flights of stairs.

I've been carrying a lot of people with me, but they feel light. They're my brothers and sisters. My Father, the head coach, coaches me through them.


- © 2011 by Willy

Miserere Nobis

+ In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Father, the people of Japan need your mercy. Their souls are on their knees. They are suffering the consequences of living in this world. Lord, I ask that you touch them, wrap your arms around each one of them. I pray you.

I pray for courage for your people and our neighbors, for strength to bear the unbearable, for the grace to remember what they have left instead of what they have lost. Help them tap those hidden reserves of faith and courage that are available to us.

Our Father, please be with them. We need you and we call to you. Calm them, accompany them, open their eyes, and help them deal with their problems. Offer them a way up and out of their predicament, so that they can further praise Your holy name, and so that they can help others in Your name. Come to their aid. We are asking Lord, and ready to accept You, to heal their body, minds and spirits... your way.

Lord Jesus, you held out a hand of mercy to so many who look for your help. Take hold of their hand and see them through this time of trouble. Grant them the courage to greet each new day. Renew their faith in your healing touch and help them to put their trust entirely in you in the days that lie ahead. Keep them close to you, that they may find comfort and peace in the nearness of your unfailing love.

Enlarge their thinking, be with them, keep them from evil, help them with their burdens and keep them from grief, amen (1 Chr 4 10).

Holy spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace.

I lift them up to You, Father, and into Your hands I commend my spirit and theirs.

Father, take this burden from them. There's nothing else they can do. It's happening. It's out of their hands.

Lord have mercy on us.

+ In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.


-not copyrighted, by Willy

Back to Regular Hiking Training

The temperatures have moderated, the ice and snow are gone, but the heavy cloud cover remains. Without sun, there are no "pretty" hikes. The clouds, however, are gorgeous.

I'm back to my fast-stepped mountain hikes. My favorite is a 6 1/2 to 7 mile round trip. Half of that is a 500-700 foot climb, then the second half is flat and downhill. To motivate me, I took an mp3 player and Stevie Nicks, Barry White and other 112-130 bpm songs. It's tough to keep that pace uphill and for that long. Hills provide good training, and fast pacing makes it so, plus the sentiment of "My Everything" when applied to a Higher Power is uplifting and thus further motivational. This fast-paced baseline/calibration hike keeps me breathless but usually results in around an hour and 42 minutes, including breaks. The resultant computation is 3.8 mph overall, which is a blazing fast hike, although not a run.

It provides good training but, this early in the season, tires me and makes me sore. It is a prelude to longer hikes, which have to be fast in order to get them done in a day. My favorite local long hike is Flat Rock at 14 miles and 2400 climb-feet in a leisurely 7 hours. Reaching Red Lizard is even more challenging. These long local hikes themselves are training to be able to hike the real mountains in Rockies, Yosemite, Whites and wherever.

Challenge and training go together.

- © 2011 by Willy

Did Watson Really Win?

So, "Watson," the IBM mainframe with artificial intelligence won at Jeopardy against the two best human opponents. It also thought Toronto was a "US City" (the category) and got every question wrong on "Month," a five-in-twelve guess! IBM will surely tout it as a PR win, but it was a dreadful performance for 25 scientists, four years of hard work and a mega-million bucks. Watson should have answered every question right, and first. I have a sneaky suspicion that, given a learning curve, the two humans could have beaten Watson, but that would not have been good PR.

Why did Watson do so badly?

The engineer would say that you're always one transistor away from failure. The athlete that he's one injury away from a loss. The old that he's one sickness away from bankruptcy. Algorithm guys should say they are one human away from being human. Humans think conceptually, whereas machines exhaust logic trees by brute force. Deep Blue beat Kasparov but Eliza is awful. Machines are profoundly ignorant of what humans take for granted. There's a lot of stuff we know that we don't even know we know.

Watson did badly because our AI algorithms just aren't there yet.

Should we worry about our own idiocy instead? What about our own human thinking, which only works when void of emotion? Should we work on our mental health instead of developing artificial intelligence?

Further, Watson really did not play against two humans... rather, Watson and the two humans played Jeopardy, with little interaction. The devil is in the interaction. For instance, even if we hold out for perfection, it may be that perfection is holding out for perfection too... and not us. And we may not recognize perfection even if it whacked us in the head.

One final point: There's a lot of difference between losing and being a loser. The two Jeopardy humans are not losers, and neither should we call ourselves that. Imperfect works just fine, and it's human. Perfection is God's business. We should be proud of being human... accepting, embracing it and applauding it.

We don't yet have to worry about machines taking over the world... no Terminator scenario yet... but Watson did well for a four-year-old toddler.

- text © 2011 by Willy

Pre-emptive Strike

I left work a little bit early yesterday when the sleet started. Yesterday's frozen precip froze into solid ice sheets overnight, so it looked like yet another boring day at home today. I did have two technical reports to work on, but then I had them a month ago when I got trapped home for three days.

So, in 20 degrees and some wind, I slipped my reports into a backpack, dressed in boots and down, and hiked down my hill to my favorite coffee shop (with binoculars, I could see cars at the coffee shop, so it was open). It was a nice adventure, even though it was only a couple of miles. I walked on crunchy frozen grass and slipped a couple of times at driveways. At the coffee shop I sat by a window, had breakfast AND lunch while working on the reports, and even took a picture of the house.

It felt good to have fought my anxieties with this preemptive strike. It was exhilarating... no feelings of being trapped today.

I was thinking of walking to the gym afterwards but reduced the risk and just went home instead. It was another couple of miles and maybe a 400' climb to get back. Tomorrow morning's early spin class will come soon enough, and things have dried out enough by tonight to drive, even though temps will be in the teens. Besides, I hiked 5 hours on Sunday, lifted Monday and yesterday, and did abs and step classes on Tuesday.

Being proactive and preemptive is the solution for the heebie-jeebies, whether trapped at home or trapped in a relationship, and makes for good mental health.

- © 2011 by Willy

P.S., I'm confused. I thought I lived in the south, so what's with this continuing snow and ice?

Dallas Waxing Eloquently

OK, so I've weightlifted with my buddy Dallas for twenty years now. He's usually quiet but every now and then the Holy Spirit comes out and he gets philosophical. That happened tonight.

I mentioned that I did not want to hurt this massage therapist's feelings and Dallas responded with "Did you miss your first day of Codependents Anonymous? Where you stood up and said 'Hi, I'm Willy, and I am not responsible for anybody else's feelings.'" "Oh!" I said, "Let me write that down... that's good," as I reached for my cell phone while he did some reps.

That wound him up and he hardly paused, continuing, "I remember Doctor Smith telling me the three different types of dependency:"

Lord, I trust you to take care of me, and not some other things or people. - Prayer of the dependent.

Lord I trust you to take care of me, and not me take care of me. - Prayer of the overly independent.

Lord I trust you to take care of the people that you bring into my life, and not me take care of them (don't be quick to take care of them). - Prayer of the Codependent.

"Unconditional love is a fantasy. People can't do it. Can only get it from God. God desires to fill my vacuum. People try to fill it with drugs, sex, money, muscles and etc." Amen to that, brother.

Free After Three Days

Spin bike for three days of being snowed in, followed by walking the stairs and doing various pushups. Then working on work stuff I had brought home.

Boooring.

But I broke out today!

After three days, a plow... actually a front-end-loader-backhoe... came by the neighborhood and carved a path in the snow and ice. Unfortunately, it shoved a lot of that snow and ice right into my parked cars (my driveway is too steep). It took me an hour and a half of shoveling to free the van (a good back workout), but then came freedom. Sweet freedom. I shed that ball and chain. No more heebie-jeebies. Trapped no more.

Lordy, how in the world did I ever think I could be in any kind of relationship?


- © 2011 by Willy

Cabin Fever in Two Days

OK, I KNOW now that I'll never retire. I've been snowed in just two days and already have cabin fever.

My neighbor Joanne says it's that us guys are just not used to being home. She might have something there.

Businesses are closed but my next-door neighbor Randy tried to drive out and got stuck in the snow instead and my across-the-street neighbor Larry has cleared the snow off his driveway. There's about a foot of snow in places, which means our vehicles would just push snow forward like a plow.

The snow won't go anywhere until it warms up on Friday, which means that I'm going to have to do a foot patrol recon tomorrow, or I'll go nuts!

GO nuts?


- © 2011 by Willy

Goals Vs. Resolutions

I don't know all the answers but goal setting seems better than new year's resolutions. Goals force the discipline that enables the journey.

Also, goals like big hikes... instead of a resolution to stay fit... inspire and motivate me.

This year I'll be doing a two-week High Sierras hike besides the traditionally tough one-week hike with my daughter.

Last year I noticed that I'm going for quality of life. That is, I chose to avoid slow suicide due to overweight-related old-age problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. And in order to do so I must stay fit through diet and exercise. This would give me independence in old age.

Besides, I enjoy nature, so I enjoy my long hikes... and being able to do them is a goal too. Circular logic, isn't it?

And having discipline with this helps me with "that." Lots of "that's."

I'll be using meditation and solitude with my discipline for training, but with a lot of community help.


- © 2010 by Willy