Archive for September, 2009

And that is the power of Twitter!

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Every week I get these emails from Travelzoo, usually I don’t pay much attention. Well, I have been thinking about going up to Los Angeles (well, Carson) again to see another Galaxy soccer game, and out of nowhere I get an email from Travelzoo informing me that there is a 50% off promo for the game I want to go to. Sweet!

So all excited I follow the link to buy the tickets, and it turns out that to get the promo on Ticketmaster you need to enter a promo code… Uh oh, no code was in the Travelzoo email or the linked page on their site. So I look all over their site for a way to ask questions. Can’t find one. The contact page is just a generic “comments” form. Bummer. Replying to the email probably won’t get a reply. So I try […]

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This weeks barefoot running update

Friday, September 25th, 2009

I guess it’s about time for my barefoot running update. The first couple times I tried to run barefoot I had extreme soreness in my arches and the lower part of my leg, I’m not sure of the muscle, but basically from the calf down to the ankle. There was no pain, but I definitely could feel the soreness, especially when I would get up after sitting for a few hours.

Two weeks ago I finally made it to Sports Authority to buy a pair of aqua socks. I know, not the most stylish footwear, but they do seem to work as far protecting my feet while still allowing barefoot style running. Right around the time I first tried going barefoot, I was having recurring calf pain while running in my sneakers, but since I’ve gotten the aqua socks, things are feeling better. I’m not even up […]

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Exploring the mud caves, Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Entrance to mud cave in the desert

Entrance to mud cave in the desert

With desert season coming here in San Diego, I figure it’s a good time to share some information about the mud caves out in the Anza Borrego desert. They are great to explore, all you need is a headlamp or flashlight, and a sense of exploration! Bring some water, make sure there’s no rain in the forecast, and don’t get lost!

Here is an excerpt of my previous write up about the mud caves:

I had always heard of the mud caves out in the Anza Borrego desert, and the fact that they are supposed to be some of the best in the world was enough to finally get me out there. I used the “Afoot & Afield San Diego County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide

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Colorado Beer Road Trip – Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Beautiful Colorado Rockies

Beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains

MARCH – After descending over the Rocky Mountains on one of the more bumpy flights I’ve ever had, we arrived in Denver on Friday morning. The plan was to check out the major cities of Colorado over the next four and a half days, and while we were at to sample a lot of the great breweries and pubs in the area as well. It turned out to be a sort of impromtu beer tour, but that worked just fine because it gave us direction and motivation to keep moving along. So to get started, we picked up the rental car and then headed straight to Boulder, which was the place I was looking most forward to seeing. I had only driven through Colorado, without ever having spent any time there, so this was all new to […]

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City of San Diego tells us to conservere water, then they waste it

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

I’m not sure how to feel about this whole water conservation effort here in San Diego. I’ve seen quite a few glaring contradictions lately that would seem to indicate to me that although they are telling us how to use our water, they aren’t doing the same at the public level. Of course San Diego is a big city, and I can’t expect them to know how every public water user is managing their water, but I would hope they would make their best effort to do so, being that they are running ads with the slogan “Waste no Water”.

A few weeks ago, the ball park at the Rec Center near my house was watering at 11:30 AM, which is prohibited under the new water usage restrictions which prohibit outdoor watering between 10AM and 6PM. Maybe it’s just me, but being that the rec centers are run […]

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Can I possibly create a business based on things I already know?

Friday, September 4th, 2009

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about this topic lately, and about how ordinary people are learning to monetize their existing skills, and ultimately employ themselves. Is it really possible? And do I have any skill or knowledge that people would pay for?

Often I’ll find myself browsing random job postings or gigs on Craigslist for non-traditional types of employment, and I’ll look and think, wow, I wish I had the skills they are looking for, then I could hire myself out rather than work for someone. (By non-traditional I really mean any jobs that won’t require me to sit and get paid for my time rather than my work, like most jobs in my field do)

My goal has been always to be self employed, but my major stumbling block is that I don’t feel like I am an expert at any one thing or skilled enough to […]

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Barefoot running update

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Barefoot - Footprints in the sand

Footprints in the sand – Photo credit Apidya

The running, and more specifically the barefoot running, hasn’t been going as quickly as I would like. I am still nursing a sore calf, so any progress is limited as I can only comfortably run 2-3 days per week, and only for 20-30 minutes at a time.

Also, I have been lagging in getting to the store to get a pair of water socks to start running in. I read water socks are actually great minimalist running shoes, which around here I really need since barefoot is hardly an option, unless I make it down to the beach. (There isn’t a whole lot of soft grass in San Diego.) The theory behind the water socks is that they provide a fair amount of protection against objects on the […]

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