The GeekHiker

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 31, 2009

Distant Smoke

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve driven up Highway 2 into the Angeles National Forest over the years. So many that I suppose I could probably drive it in my sleep, it seems I know the twists and turns of the road so well.

Don’t worry, though, I won’t. The drop-offs on the side of the road are a bit steep, sometimes dropping 1,000 feet down a 60 degree slope.

At the Red Box trailhead, the Mt. Wilson Road splits off to the southeast. Five miles up that road sit a massive array of transmitters, cellphone towers, LAX ATC equipment and, at road’s end, the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory. Every time I passed the turnoff, over many years, I thought to myself “I should go out there and tour the Observatory.”

A couple of weeks ago, I did.

10 Comments

Posted in Hiking, Secret Spot, Stuff I Like

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 28, 2009

Stop-Motion World

For those of you of a certain age, remember shows like “Land of the Lost“? Specifically, the stop-motion dinosaurs that they had on the show, with the shallow depth-of-field and jerky motions that screamed, well, “stop-motion dinosaurs.”

What if our world were not our world at all, but instead we were all just stop-motion puppets? Miniatures played with by the hands of some giant, unseen animator, and all our actions occurred and that jumpy stop-motion way?

5 Comments

Posted in Friday Sillyness, Photography, Stuff I Like

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 26, 2009

Gymtastic

I don’t think that there’s anything I do, on a regular basis at least, that is so dichotomous (yes, I’m going there again for humor’s sake) for me as going to the gym.

I started going to the gym (very painfully) about the time that I started this here blog. I wrote about it regularly for a while, then stopped writing about it as it became just another part of my daily/weekly routine. Currently I head to the gym 3-4 times a week, doing a mix of cardio and weights, usually for about an hour or so.

And it makes me feel good. And crappy. Usually at the same time.

Fun, no?

13 Comments

Posted in Exercise, Random Thoughts, Rants

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 23, 2009

Sometimes…

Sometimes I just want to get away.

Just sell my furniture. Quit my job. Throw anything I want to keep in a storage shed.

13 Comments

Posted in Random Thoughts

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 20, 2009

Multitasking Deficiency

If there’s one skill that I wish I could obtain, it would be multitasking.

Wait, is multitasking a “skill” or more of a “trait”? I mean, is it truly a skill that can be learned or taught, or is it an innate trait that one tends to be good at or not?

12 Comments

Posted in Movies, Random Thoughts, Writing

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 19, 2009

It’s All A Matter Of Context

Remember my little project of going through old American Cinematographers and getting rid of them?

First, let me just say how fun it is to dump a two-foot tall stack of magazines. I mean, really, a whole bookshelf completely cleared (and ready for new books, natch) is just cool.

4 Comments

Posted in Movies, Random Thoughts

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 17, 2009

As Only Old Friendships Can

(I’m actually hesitant to post this. Mainly because I think the writing sucks. *sigh*)

I’ve been feeling oddly uninspired to write lately, and I don’t know why.

Maybe it’s just writers block, or this feeling of minor melancholy that’s descended on me for the last week or so.

Or maybe it’s just that my life seems pretty damn boring of late. This seems especially true as I tour around the blogroll, reading people’s blogs about the interesting things in their lives that seem worthy of blogging. Myself, on the other hand, well… I get up, go to work, come home, fix dinner for one, watch a movie or read or something, and go to bed. That’s about it.

11 Comments

Posted in Friendship, Life, Random Thoughts, Women, Work, Writing

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 10, 2009

Oh, Yeah, I’ve Got A Blog

Oh, hey, how ya ‘doin?

Yeah, I’ve got this blog here, see, but seems I’ve been ignoring for the past few days, haven’t I?

Terribly rude of me.

I suppose sometimes the mind just demands one take a break from certain mental activities. Whether I’d planned it or not seems not to matter.

13 Comments

Posted in Life, Random Thoughts, Writing

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 4, 2009

Insomniac (Or: Can’t Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me*)

(Fans of Dingo, read this post!) (*Simpsons reference for da geeks. 🙂 )

I can’t decide which is worse: the fact that I’m having trouble getting to sleep lately, or the fact that there’s no damn good reason why. Well, no apparent reason, at least.

I’m writing this on my lunch hour at work, currently trying to muddle my way through the day on less than two hours of sleep from the night before. I rarely resort to coffee as a stimulant, but I’ll be dammed if I’m not downing an iced mocha right now.

15 Comments

Posted in Life, Random Thoughts, Rants

Posted by: GeekHiker | August 2, 2009

A Familiar Trail

(Written mostly in my head and on a scrap of paper in my pocket. *shrug* It’s an experiment.)

So, it’s Sunday morning, and I’m relaxing on the couch watching the Sunday Paper for Lazy People: CBS Sunday Morning.

Still, I think I need to go hiking. It’s been a couple of weeks, and I suppose my feet are getting restless. But I don’t really want to do a new trail, and I don’t want to blog about it. Don’t want to take all those extra “marker” shots, don’t want to make sure the GPS is getting a good track, don’t want to take mental notes along the way. I mean, I like doing that stuff, don’t get me wrong. Today, though, I just want to hike on a trail I’ve done before.

Let me think… Ah, I’ve got it: Mt. Islip.

9 Comments

Posted in Hiking, Life, Random Thoughts