onfocus

People wave at trains. No matter where the train was, if someone was in site they waved. The exception was Reno, Nevada, as the train passed casinos and hotels through downtown. And some rafters on the Colorado River dropped thier pants and showed their best side. Drivers in their cars at train crossings usually scowled. But people outside, railside workers, horse riders, lawn sitters, bike riders, roustabouts, baseball fans at the new Colorado Rockies park, hikers, readers; all waving.

When I was a kid I used to wave at planes when they passed overhead.

too. many. jokes. can't pick one. hehe. (be sure to check out all of the customer reviews. I especially like Succinctity is the sole of brevitousness.)

riding the rails

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Train routes have names. I took the California Zephyr, one of the longest routes. It has an interesting history, and one of the books I read on the train was Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America by Henry Kisor. It is an amazingly relaxing way to travel.

Most of the pictures I took were out the window. Many of them have reflections and scratches and other window badness going on. I took my digital, so I didn't have a polarizing filter to help out with that. boo.

I sometimes forget that America is a big, big country. Across this vast expanse of geography are fences. I'm not sure who maintains these fences; but they are maintained. And maintained in the most remote and rugged landscapes you can imagine. There must be enough barbed wire to circle the earth. twice. The American West is a triumph of fencing.

I'll be traveling for a while, so I put together this collection of traveling music:

• Tom Waits, Mule Variations
• Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeast
• Leonard Cohen, Best of
• Nick Drake, Way to Blue
• Kruder & Dorfmeister, DJ-Kicks
• Joni Mitchell, Blue
• Ani Difranco, Revelling: Reckoning

"I am on a lonely road and I am traveling traveling, traveling, traveling. Looking for something, what can it be?" - Joni Mitchell, All I Want.

things are finally starting to get back to normal at this site after being jostled about. The quotes section still needs a little work, and there are some broken images in my weblog archive...otherwise it's back to normal around here. I owe a big thanks to Nate at Luminee for helping out with some emergency server space. Thanks!

more proof that the old guard is beginning to see the way the Internet is changing Journalism. "'It was like a story being reported by locusts,' Mr. Cadenhead said of the diligence of the [MetaFilter] Scooby Doos. 'They swept in and just pulled facts out of the air.'" [via matt]

This article wasn't about the evils of identity and anonymity on the web. (and it very easily could have been...a year or so ago it would have been.) Instead, it was about real people. And it was about a large group of those people connected through the web, working together to discover truth.

Don't get me wrong, my trip this last weekend was great. It was a nice introduction to the area and the scenery was very dramatic. I'll definately be making more trips to the lost coast...there is so much to explore. I'll probably just try to get a little more lost next time.

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Car camping is that species of camping where you can drive your car right up to your campsite. You don't have to carry all of your gear on your back, so you can bring along such heavy items as:

• several coolers filled with your favorite food and drink.
• chairs. (on this last trip preston brought along a collapsable couch we dubbed the 5th man.)
• a big stove.
• water.

Unfortunately, car camping also means you can bring along:

• your diesel truck. (so at 5:30am you can rev it up for 45 minutes before you leave.)
• car stereos.
• a chainsaw for cutting up lots and lots of firewood. (lots.)
• your ATV for traveling between campsites. (apparently if you car camp you're too lazy to walk.)
• a hammer for pounding abalone for hours upon hours.

If you're going car camping - especially on memorial day weekend - don't forget this lightweight item like I did: earplugs.

From now on, I'm all about the backpacking. (But man that 5th man was comfy!)

This picture is amazing. But the picture itself isn't as amazing as the event. Over 2,000 people took off their clothes to contribute to Spencer Tunik's photography. For some puritanical reason, I don't think you'd get the same turnout in the US. In fact, there are probably laws against it. You can see some similar work he's done in the states here.

The question this forces me to ask myself: Would I take my clothes off in downtown Montreal if everyone else was doing it?

Blogging as a Form of Journalism: "Andrews thinks Weblogs and other forms of online journalism are on the rise in part because of the rapid decline in the credibility of big media. 'I think the Web is actually becoming more credible while established media are losing ground,' he says. 'And name me the last five serious efforts at public-interest journalism by institutionalized media.'" [via Scripting] This is the first part of J.D. Lascia's discussion with traditional journalists who have discovered blogging. While many of the ideas in the article are well known to weblogging veterans, it's nice to hear that old media people can see its value and possibilities. Let the assimilation begin.

Also check out Paul Andrews' article Who Are Your Gatekeepers?