Category: Life
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2023 Ride for Kids
I must’ve been 15 when I saw my first “Ride for Kids” roll by. There were hundreds of motorcycles rolling down the road, two by two. I’d soon come to learn that motorcyclists are a highly philanthropic bunch. What I did know at the time was that I wanted to do that ride for one…
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Trainwreck turned Trainwreck
Trail info at All Trails Randy and I celebrated our anniversary on “BC Day,” a holiday unlike those celebrated south of the border. BC Day is a provincial-level holiday “focused on recognizing and celebrating the unique culture and achievements of British Columbia and providing a long weekend during the summer months for the citizens of…
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Grinding the Grouse Grind
This post is highlighted by Your Daily Word Prompt – a random word on a random website designed to spark creativity! Today’s word is grouse! I’m doing a look back on the climb of my life back in September 2021. I love playing tourist – especially in my backyard. Even here at home, I love…
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Aquagoggles: Super Sharp Swimming
I love it when I stumble upon a truly neat product. It’s even better when the company behind it is awesome as well. For me, Aquagoggles meets both bars. Let me tell you why I’m so excited about this product. I recently got back into lap and somewhat open water swimming as the pandemic has…
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Returning Sonora
After a night in Bishop, I realized I wanted an additional day up here in the Sierras. The air quality was fantastic, and being up here lifted my spirits and so many ways. I was adventuring again in a place I love to call home. There’s so much about this area that’s rugged, unexplored yet…
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Old motorcycle musings…
I still remember the thrill of buying copies of Cycle World as a kid. I remember pouring over each issue flipping through bikes, the riders, and all the latest gear. Somehow reading motorcycle magazines kept my desire for a motorcycle thriving until I was old enough to be on my own and make my own…
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Sodastream: pursuing fizzy!
This past weekend I ran into a couple of neighbors on the street, and we stumbled into talking about Sodastream. As we were speaking, she remarked, “you should do a blog on this!” So, here you go. This one’s for you! Sodastream is one of those products I didn’t know I needed until I saw…
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Shutterfly: Cloud Christmas Cards
I sent my first holiday cards out in 2002. I selected the least dorky cards I could find so late in the season. Based on what I saw, I was hoping that all of the fun cards had sold out. I hoped prepackaged cards really were better than what remained on the shelf that year…
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Juneteenth: Langston Hughes
Today is Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Today I want to recognize Langston Hughes who has had a profound impact on my life with his insightful poem, “I Too”. I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother.They send me to eat in…
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Moving Forward
“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating — in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around like rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.”…
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Max!
They say family comes in all kinds of flavors. I’ve always heard the expression there’s your birth family and your chosen family. As a gay man, I regularly hear in our culture, “You have the family you are born with and the family you choose. They may not be the same family.” that quote implying…
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The changing of seasons
It’s crazy to me that 45 days have passed since the original Bay Area shelter in place went out on March 17. In the beginning, days seemed like months. I blinked and then realized today is May 1. I’ve been hiking a lot in the local parks around my house. Whereas before a week or…
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It’s ok to say “I’m hurting”
Dear family and friends, It’s 11:21 PM on a Sunday night and I feel compelled to write after an interaction on social media that crystallized a few things in my mind about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In talking with family and friends I’ve realized a few things that are really important to get out on…
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The 2020 CovidCut
It’s no secret that I like my hair short. Even growing up, my mother and I would battle it out about when to get a haircut. Wearing helmets to ride two-wheeled contraptions has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I try to avoid overt “helmet hair”, which is…
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Coronavirus: Increasing Resolution
I remember seeing news reports of the coronavirus in China earlier in the year. It seemed far away and similar to SARS and MERS – both of which had very little impact to my life here in Northern California. As this virus continued to spread my attention quickly changed once outbreaks popped up within Italy…
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Out: Nine years later
Nine years went fast. Coming out was the decision that altered my life like no other decision I’ve made. I took the reins of my own life. My life is now high resolution. My highs are higher. My lows are lower. I don’t feel the insulating effect of living someone else’s life by hiding in…
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Leaving Amsterdam
#iphone #fisheye #schiphol #airport #delta
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It came upon the midnight clear
I remember that warm, summer night lying in my bed at camp just before midnight looking out at the thousands, no hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of stars just beyond the trees. All of camp was quiet. Not a creature was stirring. Not even a mouse! The Sierras are a place I hold close…
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A splash of color!
I’ve been guilty of overthinking blog posts. I often get into the scenario thinking I need to write a ton, have a bunch of pictures, and create this perfect article. There are times all of that happens. My article, “Confessions of a newly converted marsh kid” was one of those articles. “One V-Strom: 100,000 Miles”…
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A newcomer exploring the practice of yoga
So much of the world we see and recognize but never quite get to the point where we engage with it. Yoga was one of those things for me. I knew it was out there. I knew people who did it. Going to a yoga class never quite got on my radar. Sometimes in life…
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How to transition the office of president
Today was the monthly meeting for Homoto, the motorcycle club I ride with on a regular basis (when I’m not traveling :-)). It was the first meeting for me as a member of the peanut gallery again. My two-year stint as president has wound down! After the meeting, I took a fun ride down the freeway…
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The vending machine is watching…
It’s no secret I love technology. Technology enables us to engage in some pretty cool experiences as situations can be personalized to our unique taste. Everywhere we go we are sharing information about ourselves. We leak metadata. In short, metadata is data about data. Let’s take a simple phone call. If Jim calls John, that’s…
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Understanding Serendipity
Before WordPress, I used to run my blog on a system called Serendipity. Sometimes, you know what a word means but it isn’t actually real to you. It’s a dictionary definition- a clinical expression of a word’s value. Serendipity was one of those long words that other people use but wasn’t in my vernacular –…
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Appendicitis: Symptoms, Surgery, and Recovery
Wow… that was fast. The evening started by eating a questionable burrito salad. Everything seemed normal. Dinner was tasty and hit the spot. About 20 minutes later my stomach started rumbling and I just dismissed it as a bit of indigestion. As the night went on my stomach started to feel worse so I just…
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Ride On, Bob
Today was one of the first days I felt really far from home. From California, it’s a chunk of flying to get home. From Australia, it’s literally halfway around the world. It takes 24 hours of continuous flying to get to home from here to see family. I got news today that my uncle had…
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From across the country to across the world
I remember meeting Gustav Andressen of The Modern Nomad at the 2011 Bay Area Rodeo. Swedish by birth, he left his job in London for a life out on the road. No home, no corporate ladder, just a guy out to experience what the world had to offer. That encounter had a lasting impact on…
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SJC to SAN: One Last Hurrah
Hehe… I didn’t think I’d spend New Years Eve at my third office: The Sky Club at LAX. I somewhat like it here. It’s open and airy like home. You have a good view of the tarmac. It’s got a Aeron chair and enough food to just keep ya alive. The Australians have better beer…
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Craftsmanship
After a number of weeks in physical therapy, I was finally cleared to start light hiking again. I was excited about going up to Purisma Creek Redwoods to go hiking. Ben suggested it because there was a section of trail that was fairly gentle, but still a beautiful place to go enjoy the outdoors. I…
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CalTrain: 10 Years Later
I’m enrolled in physical therapy down south so I had to jet out of the office a bit early today to catch the 5 pm train back home. As I was boarding the train, I just caught the last few rays of daylight. From October to March I usually count the daylight by which train…
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I was humbled
Sometimes in life you truly are surprised. This was a fully packed weekend: rodeo, the motorcycle show, and then celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. Mark and Kari are great friends of mine. Mark married Kari, who is Canadian. As I’ve come to know her, I’ve been learning lots about our bretheren to the north. Canada is a…