Got any book recommendations?
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Hacking Insulin Pumps is a GOOD thing!
Dear CBC Editorial Staff, My boyfriend shared this article of yours, Health officials warn of hacking risk in certain insulin pumps, and after our conversation about the content, I felt compelled to respond. As an American who dates cross-border I’ve become keenly aware of the differences in our approach to care in each country. First of all,… Read more
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Mount Diablo – Fits like a leather glove!
When I was living down in the valley, I’d heard lots of things about “Highway 9”. It had a reputation for crashes when guys would get too throttle happy. It was usually packed on the weekends. Climate sometimes varied significantly from the valley floor to the ridge. Over the years what I found though it… Read more
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Working in the Wine Country
A few times a year we gather as a leadership team for annual planning. I’m always thrilled when it is located in San Francisco. Usually, we are up in the wine country. This year we were just outside of Sonoma. I know a great motorcycle ride is on the horizon. “Winter” in the Bay Area… Read more
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Sunrise on Mount Tam
This winter seemed to go on forever. We’ve had a lot of rain which I am thankful for, but this Californian definitely loves the sun. This year Easter came late, April 21 to be exact. With generally mild temperatures and no rain in the forecast, the annual trek to Mount Tamalpais (Mount Tam for short)… Read more
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Solar power: Year 1 review
Note: this article heavily focuses on Northern California. While some concepts may be similar in different locations, do your research on local specifics. I’ve gotten a number of questions about my solar system since I put it in over a year ago. I wanted to put together one article that contains all of the key… Read more
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Chevrolet Volt: First impressions from 6000 miles!
I bought a new car! I wanted something with good fuel economy as I’m driving about 20,000 miles a year, and my Tacoma just wasn’t the right vehicle anymore. I landed on a 2018 Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is a range-extended electric car (not a hybrid). The first 53 miles are fully electric. The next 350… Read more
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The Gateway Arch
I love traveling to cities with well-known landmarks. St. Louis is no exception. The last time I was in Missouri was about 10 years ago on my cross-country motorcycle trip. I only touched the extreme southwest corner of the state which doesn’t give me any sort of Missouri credibility. When traveling, I always try to… Read more
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Debridement: Can I have too many friends?
Facebook isn’t reality. In fact, it skews it. It magnifies the top 10% and bottom 5% (I’m inferring here) of my friends’ day-to-day life. Sometimes I find myself comparing my life, to those skewed views which Facebook presents to me. I’ve also become keenly aware of the cost, to have consumed all of that data… Read more
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Three approaches to panoramas for the iPhone
Starting off in print photography, I learned that the standard photograph here in the States is 4″ x 6″. Just about every film camera takes images in that aspect ratio. The prevalence of digital cameras and digital media changed all that. Photographers are less bound by fixed print sizes and thus can be significantly more… Read more
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Easter Sunrise
Easter Sunday affords one of the most unique rides in the bay area. This ride started in the mid-1980s by a couple of hard-core vintage motorcycle riders and some good friends within the California State Parks. What is it? It’s the annual sunrise ride to the summit parking lot of Mount Tamalpais. There’s an optional… Read more
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Tips for using Dragon for Mac
I’m a huge fan of voice dictation. I first fell in love with Nuance NaturallySpeaking on the Windows platform. After I switched over to the Mac and purchased Dragon for Mac 4, I was sorely disappointed. The dictation quality was not near as good nor was the cursor handling. I quickly backpedaled trying to get… Read more
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An evening in Vikingsholm
In the summer, this place is packed. The Vikingsholm parking lot is overloaded with cars on top of the $10 usage fee that goes to the state parks. What about in the fall, on a Tuesday, at 5 PM? The parking lot is empty. I don’t mind the $10. It’s actually complementary with the California… Read more
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The 5 o’clock ride
Yes, it is true that it is always 5 o’clock somewhere. At this moment, it’s 5 o’clock in Lake Tahoe, California. And yes, it’s time to go out on the motorcycle. One of the key things I look for in a location is the 5 o’clock ride. What is the 5 o’clock ride? The 5… Read more
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The Climb to Eagle Lake
Getting to Tahoe has been a journey. At first, I thought I wanted to live alone and rent an Airbnb. However, I’m so glad I rented a room from friends I know up here. I didn’t know if I was going to have much time both during the day and collectively throughout my entire stay… Read more
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Finding a new I-580
I’m settling into week three (and I know I’m behind on two blogs) but I wanted to quickly capture the essence of my evening. It’s different living in a small town. I’ve never spent a considerable amount of time in a place with less than 4 million people. Reno is the big city in these… Read more
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Farm Road 109
This is my first motorcycle ride back from the Sierras since moving to the East Bay and it was decidedly different in good and unexpected ways. I did my first long ride in almost 3 years. That in and of itself is awesome. When riding I’m often a stickler for mileage as it helps place me… Read more
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Mountains of gold – Highway 88
Autumn is in full swing! While there is not one chorus of yellow, orange, and red singing in unison across the mountainside like other years, all of nature is now is in the chorus. I’ve been tracking this Aspen tree sitting in the front yard since I got here. Each day its voice would be… Read more
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Highway 89 – Crossing Monitor Pass
Ask any experienced photographer “what is the best camera?” and they will almost always tell you “the one you have with you.” Having had a few solid point and shoots, a big SLR with interchangeable lenses, and a few iPhones I can now clearly see the wisdom in that statement. With the advent of Lightroom… Read more
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The Squirrley Rear Sprocket
That rattle in the sprocket was really starting to worry me. Whenever I’d touch it before it always seemed solid. I called Santa Clara Cycle who recently (< 350 miles ago) put a new tire on it and they offered to look at it. I was 200 miles away and not really interested in trailering… Read more
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Go rest high on that mountain, Eddy
Diabetes camp has always been a sacred place for me. Looking back in my high school and college days I always valued the time those in their 20s gave as camp counselors and mentors. I remember reading an article in the local newspaper confirming that those in their 20s and 30s have a special window… Read more
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Kingsbury Grade Run
Now with the motorcycle safely in the garage and most of my gear up here (minus my heated vest), it’s time to go riding. I know at home I tend to like to have my heated vest once the temperature drops below 60°. Given that the air is considerably drier up here I’m thinking I’ll… Read more
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Retrieving the bike
So it’s day two in Lake Tahoe. To say it was cold was an understatement. The morning started off in the low 20s. A friend of mine was traveling from South San Jose up to Lake Tahoe with a motorcycle trailer the day before I left. The good news is I didn’t have to trailer… Read more
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Finding Next
Ever have those callbacks to odd cult films in your childhood? Mr. Destiny is that movie for me. Every so often I come back to the scene where Michael Caine and James Belushi discuss how decisions and outcome affect the future trajectory of life. I always find it interesting how actions and reactions pave the… Read more
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QuietCool Whole House Fan
I remember growing up in the South always having a whole house fan. It occupied a 2′ x 2′ hole in the ceiling usually upstairs. We almost never ran it and as a kid I remember thinking, “why do we have this contraption that we never use?” The switch to turn it on was high… Read more
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The agile customer
As many of you know, I’m a big fan of agile methodology. I’ve written much about agile software development at work. A recent air travel experience reminded me that agile isn’t just about software. People and experiences can be agile too. In particular, savvy product owners know that customers can be agile too. Allow me… Read more
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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… Read more
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A second splash of fall color
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog. Working on the house took longer than expected. Writing blogs got hard with Dragon for Mac. I upgraded to Dragon Dictate for Mac version 6 hoping it would fix issues and I felt like it was a significant regression from version 5. Having the Mac… Read more
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The stars are bright at Bearskin Meadow
January 18, 2000. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. Type 1 diabetes hit me like a ton of bricks. Thousands of questions filled my mind about the future. Wouldn’t be able to ride a motorcycle? Could I go camping and backpacking? Would I be able to eat normally again? All of us… Read more