jmccartie

Beautiful day. Enjoying an apple on top of the LifeChurch roof.

Personality Type and Strengths

Personality type: ENFP

Strengths:
* woo -  love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over
* empathy - sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations
* ideation - fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
* communication - generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
* positivity - enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

We're OK, C?

You may have heard that I quit my job with no other offer on the table.

And yet, within one week of that post, I had an offer.  Simply put?  Incredible!

But once again, the details may surprise you...

I'm taking a pay cut, moving my family to middle America, leaving family/friends/bands behind ... and am really, really excited.

Scared to death, mind you ... but really excited.

Let me give you a bit of background.

In October 2009, I had dinner with an old friend of mine from San Diego, @larsrood.  Lars was a youth pastor at a church we went to in San Diego for a few years.  I volunteered for the group for about a year and, during this time, became friends with Lars (who also got me into rock climbing!).  Well, Lars moved out to Dallas, TX to become a Youth Ministry Director.  Anyways...he came to visit us in Berkeley last fall and we went to dinner.  Over a (really good) pizza, he told me about this church that was doing "church online."  Crazy.  But even crazier was that he told me they were not only broadcasting their services to desktop browsers but that he'd recently watched a live church service on his iPhone.

"Preposterous!", I exclaimed.  "Lars, I work at one of the best mobile companies in the country for mobile video.  iPhone's simply don't do RTSP streaming."  But sure enough, this church had already taken advantage of the pseudo-streaming capabilities released with iPhone OS 3.0 -- something not even in our roadmap at our hot mobile startup.

Awhile later, I remembered our conversation and began to peruse their website.  Two things struck me -- 1) their leadership structure. Now, you may not have had much experience around big churches, but my experiences have been that they tend to be only two-levels deep: head pastor and everyone else.  Not only was this church incredibly well-staffed, but they had position titles like "Innovation Leader", "Media Distribution", and "Team Development Leader."  Honestly, these positions just don't exist in most churches, let alone at any of the companies I've worked at.  Very cool.  2) A job description looking for a developer.  I've been considering making a career change from what's on my resume (product/program management) to developing.  For the last few years, I've spent most of my free time learning to program and learning how much I enjoy the technical and creative challenges.  Trouble is, I have no CS degree, and the number of programming languages I know totals ... two.  But this job posting was like it was written just for me.  It was every skill I had, and none that I didn't.  So on a whim, I applied.

Fast-forward many weeks and many interviews later (including a few over Skype) ... and a job offer shows up in my email.  But I let it sit there.

For Erin and I both, the idea of moving to Oklahoma City was never on our list of life plans.  When we decided last year to quit my job, we had no idea what was in front of us, but San Diego seemed like the most likely of scenarios. Then this came along...

As strange as it may sound, there was just too much to consider.  Erin and I both have strong family ties in the San Diego area.  Off to top of my head, I count 30+ family members and lots of friends. Erin grew up here -- I've been here since high school.  We were married here.  We had our first child down here.  Oklahoma City?  What?

So, we called a family conference.  Yup.  We pulled together a group of 10 family/friends from San Diego to meet in person, and another six on a conference call.  We explained to them the circumstances, where we were with the decision (at the time, 50/50), and then let them pepper us with questions.

We finished our four hour meeting with more questions than answers, and still a feeling of unease.  We asked for more time on the decision, and decided to spend the weekend together, mulling over the possibilities.  We took long walks on the beach, we spent hours talking alone in our bedroom, and spilled plenty of tears.

But last Sunday, as we sat across from each other at Souplantation, we counted... "1", "2", "3"... "Yes." simultaneously.  Then a long pause ... then a synchronized "whoa."

Now the hard part -- telling family we're leaving SD for an unknown land.  Throwing away the dreams of long days at the beach, and taking on the ideas that air conditioning is actually necessary in the other 99% of the country.  And the idea that there's not a single Trader Joe's or REI in the entire state of Oklahoma.

For many of you, our friends from San Diego, we realize that this may come as a shock to you.  We understand. Truly.  We thought long and hard how this would affect our family and friends in San Diego.  We don't expect you to be happy, but we'd ask for your prayers and support as we step out and begin this new adventure.

To answer some of your basic questions, here's a Frequently Asked Questions section:

Seriously?

Yes.

When are you moving out?

We don't know quite yet.  Probably some time in February.  We're heading out Jan 29th to spend the weekend house-hunting, then will be back.  Hopefully, the house-hunting process is quick and easy and we can begin setting up shop in OKC.

When will you be back?

We'll be back in March for two events: Eric's wedding and Ava's birthday ... then we'll fly back.

Ok, when will you be back after that?

Don't know.  We may not be back for awhile.  With Erin due to have another baby in September, our flights may be limited.  Furthermore, we're really trying to do something different with this chapter of our lives:  "be here now."  When we lived in San Francisco, we simply lived our lives, trip to trip -- constantly trying to get back to San Diego and never putting down roots. We've decided to do this a little different.  But rest assured, we'll be back to San Diego a few times a year and we hope to see you when we're back.

You do realize there's no rock climbing in Oklahoma?

Actually, there's a decent amount in the SW corner of the state and the Ozarks have lots of climbing 3-4 hours East.  Horseshoe Canyon Ranch (featured in Dosage V) is also in Arkansas and has some incredible bouldering.  Trust me, I researched this all a long time ago.

Will Erin be working in OK?

Yup!  Thankfully, the church has a great daycare system, and I'm very excited to take a more active role in caring for Ava.  If you know of any great hospitals in the OKC area, let us know.

You realize you're destroying your career, right?

Perhaps ... and if you're right, I'm ok with that.  I realize how far I've gotten up the ladder, but I also realized that this wasn't all there was to life. This step for us fulfills a lot of needs we have as a family and as a couple that longs to strengthen our marriage.  Email me if you want more detail on that one.

What will you be doing?

Programming!  LifeChurch has a dedicated team called "Digital Missions" which creates free, online resources for the worldwide church.  There's been a huge amount of growth over the last year (500,000+ new users in December alone), and the numbers are expected continue this growth in 2010.  Fore more information on the team, visit this page.

I've been tasked with creating mobile web versions of some of their existing properties.  Example project I helped create: m.youversion.com (YouVersion is an online Bible and part of a larger strategy including Android, Blackberry, iPhone, J2ME, and www).  If you've got the "Bible app" on your iPhone or Android, chances are that these folks made it.  I've always loved developing for mobile and I'm excited to bring my experiences to this team.

A few more sites created by these folks: ChurchMetrics.com, VideoTeaching.com, BabelWith.me, open.lifechurch.tv, and the Church Online.

Does this mean you're one of those crazy right-wing evangelical Bible-beating Christians?

All but the right-wing part, yes.  ;)  And I looooove beating people over the head with my 300 lb Bible.  Seriously though, if you know me well enough, but never figured out that I was a Christian ... well, my bad.  Yes, I believe there is a God ... and yes, I believe He can change lives.  I'm one of those lives and I know a heck of a lot of others.

I don't believe in God.  Can I stop being your friend?

No.  That would be lame.  I've been your friend, despite all of your crazy ideas.  So there.

---

If you have any more questions, comments, or concerns feel free to leave a comment.  And yes, I fully expect at least one or two jokes about rodeos, gun racks, and/or pickup trucks.  (but know that I will counter with how cheap housing is out there)

Out On A Limb

I quit my job today.

In a down economy.

With no other job offers on the table.

Yup.

What would drive a man to such madness?  Why would I put the financial stability of my family at risk?  Heck - we just found out we're going to have another baby, and here I am throwing away a perfectly good job which provides for my family and  allows my wife to stay home.

The answer may sound a bit off to you.  I have no 12-step plan.  I have no idea what 2010 looks like.  All I know is that I need to do something different  -- for my health and for my family.

In 2009, I realized that I was turning into a divorcee dad -- seeing my kid on weekends only (she wakes up after I leave for work and goes to bed before I get home).  And heaven forbid I ever want to head out on the weekend and go camping or climbing -- that cuts my "visitation hours" to one day a week or less.  What good am I to my little girl if she sees me so little?  What good am I to my wife if I'm not there to help her raise our family?  I was coming home tired, exhausted, and completely unable to help.

This is very different than our lives when we were first married.  I remember when we made very little money and had a crappy apartment, yet were content just sitting on the couch together. We didn't need anything else.  Kinda reminds me of this song:

Newly married, new apartment
All our furniture was saved from the dump
Yes dear maybe we can afford a trashcan next month

All I need is my love for you and a seat for two

New baby new life
We will teach him to speak French
We’ve got no money so we’ll make it all ourselves
I’ll make the curtains and you make the shelves

All I need is a power saw and a new sewing machine

Honey, this house needs a little something
That bare mantle doesn’t look so good
Someone told me of a man
Who makes animals from driftwood

All I need is your monthly bonus for a wooden walrus

Honey, the Colbaughs are coming over
This house needs some renovations
Just a wall or two, just a little room
And a few new decorations

All I need is a sectional and a satellite TV
and dark-wood cabinets that were custom built for me
and a painting by that guy that paints with his feet...

That’s all I need
For now

I don't want to live like that, but I see us starting to follow this (rather depressing) pattern...  I'm not saying that I'm going to force my family into a shack to be happy, but I definitely feel like we need to do something radically different ... and fast.  I don't want to wake up 20 years from now and realize I've missed out on the best years of our life together.  Of course I want my daughter to have a big house and a big yard and a puppy ... but not at the expense of me not being there.

For 2010, I want to do everything in my power to be a better father to my daughter.  If that means leaving my cushy job and promising career, so be it.

For 2010, I want to be a better husband.  If that means working from home with a 50% pay cut so that I can do more dishes and change more diapers, so be it.  My wife will get my best -- not what's left over at the end of the day.

Could I fail?  Absolutely.  Could I find myself in 6 months, still unemployed and living at my in-laws, cruising Craigslist in my pajamas?  Yup. But thank God I married a woman who not only gets all the things I've just told you, but who's willing to love and support me through this transition.  For this, I am truly blessed.  And for her, I'll do just about anything.

Delta Spirit: Recording a New Album

I left the East Bay last night and made the 1 hour drive up towards Napa/Sonoma/Santa Rosa to visit my old friends in Delta Spirit.  I arrived around dinner time.  Jon was talking on the phone with his lady, Matt was recording a vocal track, Brandon was nowhere to be found, and Kelly was making dinner.  Guess which one I settled in with first?  That's right -- the guy with the grub.

After a magical dinner of salad and spicy sausages, Kelly picked some mint from outside and made us all Mint Juleps. Then, we cruised over to the studio where Kelly overdubbed a guitar part.  Following this, it was Brandon's turn to lay down a booming single drum track.  Two problems:  1) Jon managed to break the single mallet they owned while recording another track earlier in the week.  2) Brandon's kick drum was a little out of tune.

Step 1: make a new mallet.  We toyed around with grabbing the mallet from a kick pedal, but that was a bit unwieldy to handle.  So we did what any rational musician would do -- we used a sock.  We grabbed a drum stick, Brandon donated one of his socks, and we duct taped that thing together.  Wah-lah!  Insta-mallet.

Step 2: we needed to tune the kick drum.  What's that you say? Tune a drum?  Why yes.  Drums produce actual notes when they resonate.  Don't look at me like that -- it's true.  I remembered an old trick from my glory days: headphones can be used for "reverse transduction."  Basically, you can use the actual speakers in the headphones to convert (transduce) the acoustic sounds into an electrical signal.  It's basically the reverse flow of what headphones are designed to do (side note: I've also seen this done for recording a kick drum once.  Rather than using a microphone, someone placed a Yamaha NS-10 speaker right next to the kick drum, and ran the output into the tape machine.  Crazy.)  So we placed the headphones in particular spots on the drum, then ran the headphone cable into a tuner.  We first put the drum into Eb -- the root of the key for the song.  Too high for such a big drum.  We dropped down to a 4th?  Too low and made the drum sound bleh.  Major 3rd below?  Perfect.

Here's a incredibly grainy, crappy cellphone clip I took of Brandon beatin' the drum:

I'm really excited for these new tunes: I think they represent the perfect balance of progression and improvement for them, along with sticking to the raw sound that people have come to love.

Good luck on the rest of the record, gents -- I can't wait to hear the finished product.

iPhone vs. Android (myTouch 3G) -- What Matters To Me

No long post about why I'm switching phones, just this: iPhone vs. Android/myTouch.  And a comparison of the things that matter to me.

Note: I did not have a myTouch to test with -- but did have a G1 handy.  I've tried to restrict my comparison to OS and network related issues, attempting to leave device specifics and/or speed issues out of it.

App Store

One of my biggest annoyances with my Nokia E71 is the lack of a good app store.  When I originally purchased the device last year, there were a few random JAR's floating around the net for things like Twitter and Hotspot creation, but discovery (and support) of these apps was near-impossible.  They recently release their "Ovi Store", which is just as impossible to use as the previous setup.  I don't need 60,000 apps -- but I certainly want a few extensions to the platform that will allow me to use my smartphone as a powerful 3rd screen.

Apple likes to tout its app store as having tons and tons (and tons) of apps.  Like I said, I don't need 60,000 of them -- I just need a few that work and work well.  I think that despite a few bad pieces of press over the Google Voice incident (and other rejected apps), I really like their app store.  I like that:

1. I can browse it on my desktop


2. I can backup my apps simply, through iTunes


3. Apple is making strides to increase discovery of new apps beyond a simple "Top 10" list


4. Developers make their iPhone apps FIRST.  If they have time and money, they make an Android app.  It'd be nice to be in that first group for once.  (after being a Mac user for so many years.  Ironic, no?)

Android apps are ... well, they're there.  The Market app is, well ... functional.  I think the total now is around 5,000 apps(?).  Not bad, but not great.  I'm not excited about constantly seeing cool/helpful apps on my friend's iPhones and then being disappointed that a similar app doesn't exist on my Android phone.  And yes, I'm positive that will happen.  Like with music, I'm not too keen on Android's lack of desktop-syncing capabilities.

Winner: iPhone

Multi-Tasking

I multi-task a lot, so it's an incredibly important feature to me.  You can frequently find me hopping back and forth between my email, web, contacts, maps, etc.  My Nokia has a great (and fast) switching function and I love it.

The Apple cannot multi-task.  I've had people try to tell me that the closed apps remember their state, but the reality is that a) this only occurs in native apps, and b) I still must go find the app I was just in and re-open it.  "Switching" between apps is simply not an option.

The Android OS can switch like a pro.

Winner: Android

Camera

The iPhone's camera flat out pisses me off.  The other night, my little toddler girl decided to try on some of mommy's shoes and her hat.  Seeing this insane amount of cuteness, I reached for the nearest photo-taking device within reach: my wife's iPhone.  I "pressed" the "shutter" button (a completely unsatisfying experience) and the result?  A blurry blob of a fast-moving toddler.  It seems the iPhone's camera is great for taking well-lit photos of slow-moving subjects.  The shutter speed (no, it doesn't actually have a shutter) is laggy and makes it difficult to take photos.

My tests today with the G1 produced different, yet equally annoying results.  The G1's camera taking functionality seems far more responsive to the touch, however, when pressed, the camera pauses, focuses, and snaps.  There's about a whole second lag there -- and this seems to be by design of the camera taking software.  Different issue, equally annoying.

Winner: TIE (or "double fail" if you prefer)

Network Coverage

Despite a horrendous looking coverage map for T-mobile on their website, their coverage in San Francisco and San Diego is actually pretty stellar.  I actually spent an afternoon driving up and down I-5 from San Diego to Oceanside, constantly checking both a T-mobile and ATT phone.  The Tmo coverage map showed North County as having zero 3G coverage, but it was full bars -- just like my ATT device.

Based on a few other press releases, Tmo seems to be expanding their 3G coverage at an incredibly rapid rate -- in addition, I've heard a few rumors of them getting ready to launch their 4G service soon.

On the flip side, I've been pretty dissatisfied with ATT over the last two years.  Despite decent coverage, I frequently get "network busy" timeouts when trying to make a mid-day call in San Francisco.  In addition, dropped calls are not that uncommon for ATT and I've seen a drastic rise in reports about dropped calls on the iPhone.

So, ATT's got a larger coverage area, but struggles with network overload and quality.  Tmo's making some serious headway in expanding their coverage, but still falls behind in overall coverage area.

Winner: TIE

Google Integration

I've sold my soul to Google: Gmail, Calendar, Reader, etc. -- I love it all.  And I want my phone to work with these applications easily.

The setup on the G1 the other night was seamless.  Gmail in the OS?  Done. Calendar, contacts, lovely.  Even Google Voice -- simple.  It even includes a quick switcher to change the mode in which Voice operates -- all calls, international only, etc.

I haven't done my homework on Gmail on the iPhone, but a quick search in the store showed tons of Gmail apps -- none of them over a 3-star rating.  I've seen some posts about getting Gmail to do Push notification, etc.  It all seems like a hack (IMAP is nice, but avoids the delete/archive workflow I've come to love in Gmail).  And of course, no Google Voice.  Even when Apple finally quits their PR pissing match with ATT and Google and they release the app, I'm sure it will be handicapped in some way for quite some time.

Winner: Android

Battery

Everything I hear about the iPhone battery makes me sad.  At the last CTIA conference in San Francisco, I attented some after-work drinks with some business partners and our two business development guys.  They entered the bar, and frantically began looking around for somewhere to charge their iPhones.  "What are you guys doing?" I asked.  "We haven't charged our iPhones since 11am [it was 6pm] and they're almost dead."  Sad.

I thought the newer OS improvements and maybe the 3GS would fix this problem, but no.  My wife -- far from a "power user" -- is constantly on the look out for an open plug, and God forbid if we forget her charger and we're out for the day.  We pulled into San Diego last night after a long day driving down from SF -- her battery was red.  My Nokia had a full charge.  Sad.

I have no idea how to compare the myTouch's battery, but it can't be as bad as the iPhone.  And yes, I consider this a fair and valid argument.

The specs put the phones at equal talk time, but with the myTouch clocking in at double the standby time.

Winner: Android (simply because the iPhone has disqualified itself)

Plan Cost

Looking at my wife's iPhone bill makes me queasy.  She even swore to me she's not on the unlimited plan, but viewing her bill still makes me think I might need to pick up a 2nd job to cover the cost.

The Tmo plan averages about 25% less.

Winner: Android

OS Overall UI/UX

I love the iPhone OS.  It's slick and simple.  It reminds me of OS X (duh).  The User Interface reaches the perfect balance between simplicity and power -- the novice smartphone user can download their Light Saber app, and I can run SSH.  The menus make sense and Apple has gone to great lengths to make sure app developer conform to well thought out and well document specifications.

The Android shines with its home screen customization and widget features -- I love them!  However, there are 2 big annoyances I've had the last few days:

1. The "menu" convention needs more rules around it for developers.  I got the Twidroid app and instantly began asking myself: "Where's the _______ section?"  Behold!  The MENU hardware button.  Apps now split up their functionality -- some of it is on-screen, some of it is hidden in this menu button.  This UI convention makes it difficult to navigate any app because different developers do different things with the Menu.  You're taking the user out of the touch-screen environment and asking them to go back to pressing a hardware button that may, or may not, do what they think it should.  iPhone apps on the other hand, place all functionality on-screen.  No ifs ands or buts.  I like that -- and it makes for a less confusing user experience.


2. Exiting applications: some 3rd party apps have an "Exit Application" button, some don't.  Why?  Why do I have to run a 3rd party task manager app to close these other apps? Very annoying.

Granted, these are simple annoyances, and I'm sure the OS will get cleaned up with a few more iterations and a few more developers learning that UI actually matters.  But for now...

Winner: iPhone

Music

I'm sick of carrying around my iPod.  I'm looking forward to having a phone that does music -- easier.

My E71 can play music, but two things restrict me from doing it frequently: 1) it doesn't easily sync to anything, so I must mount it as a drive or transfer files over Bluetooth.  2) It doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack, so I've got to go find an adapter.  Something I still haven't done in a year and don't ever foresee myself doing.

And these are the two major problems I have with Android here.  Sure, I could use DoubleTwist, but like I said with Gmail earlier, I'm not keen on using hacks to implement functionality I think should just work.  And the headphone jack is just ... dumb.  When will device makers learn that no one carries around USB headphones?

On the other hand, syncing the iPhone with iTunes is a breeze and it's got a legit headphone jack.

Winner: iPhone

Conclusion

9 items that matter to me, two ties.  The score?  iPhone 3, Android 4.  So, naturally, the winner isssss....???

I have no idea.  Honestly.  Maybe I should weight these items to help me out. Despite the score, I still feel like the two are 50-50.  I guess the iPhone's App Store and OS UI are both important enough for me to even out the deficit in multi-tasking, battery life, and Google integration.

I dunno.

Which phone do you think I should buy?  Leave a comment and let me know.

My First Attempt With Phing

I've finally come to the place where I need some help in automated deployments. I've got a few weekend PHP projects that are getting large enough that deploying them takes a few minutes -- minutes where stuff can break and stay broken until I remember the exact command line call I need to make to fix them. SVN export, symlinks, mkdir's, etc etc. I want to automate this crap!

My first attempt was with using Capistrano. I'd heard it could be hacked a bit to make it deploy just about anything. So I installed the gem and tinkered. The trouble is, I don't have time to learn Ruby right now. Furthermore, I don't like having the Ruby/Capistrano dependencies.

...and in walks Phing -- automated deployment using PHP and XML. Hey! I know those!

Installing Phing was a bit more troublesome than Capistrano -- mainly because my hosting company (Dreamhost) has some restrictions around installing PEAR modules and also a small issue in that the default command line bin for PHP is v4 -- no good for Phing, which requires PHP5.

A few hours later, and viola! Phing is ready to roll.

Monday Update (On A Wednesday)

Chipotle Will Be the Death of Me

Here's what I had for lunch today. I'd heard that Chipotle's "nutritional" information was tough to look at, but ... wow. I think I need to go workout now.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 950	Cal from Fat 355
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 39g	59%
Saturated Fat 18g	90%
Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 130mg
43%


Sodium 2020mg
84%


Total Carbs 97g
32%

Dietary Fiber 14g
56%


Sugars 7g

Protein 51g

Vitamin A
0%
•
Vitamin C
0%


Calcium
0%
•
Iron
0%

*
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

INGREDIENTS: 13" Tortilla,Green Tomatillo Salsa,Rice,Black Beans,Barbacoa (4oz),Cheese,Sour Cream,Lettuce

The Things Tourists Say

Yes, I enjoy climbing small little rocks.  No, I do not use a rope.  No, it is actually far less dangerous that roped climbing.  Yes, I've climbed with a rope.  No, I have not climbed anything on El Cap.  No, it is not my life's dream to do The Nose.  This thing on my back?  It's a big foam pad.  Just in case I fall asleep and fall backwards.  I have narcolepsy.

Ah, tourists - when will you learn? The answer? Never.

And that's ok. Honest. After years of heading up the Tramway in Palm Springs with a crashpad on my back, I'm used to the weird questions and even weirder looks from tourists.

Tourist: "Is that a massage table?"
Me : "Yes, yes it is. My buddy and I like to head up the mountain, hike deep into the woods, and give each other nature massages. They're really quite great - you should try it."

(Of course, the louder and more excited you get when saying this, the more looks you get from the Tram passengers)

And my recent trip to Yosemite was no different. This was my 4th trip to Yosemite this year (and my 4th ever).  The other three trips were made in the off-season and -- in the spring -- Yosemite seemed to be filled more with climbers and adventurists than 30-person families with bike racks, campers, and 4-burner behemoth grills.  In the off-season, it seemed so common to see a crashpad or a rack full of cams that I don't think I ever got a tourist question.  But in the summer-time, the bouldering becomes slippery and those in-the-know seem to avoid the Valley and head for Tahoe.

Along with the summer-time hordes comes the uninitiated -- and like I said, it doesn't bother me anymore.  I get a pretty good chuckle -- especially hearing parents explaining my sport to their kids.

One lovely afternoon, my friend Dave informed me he'd seen a great looking boulder just off the road that connects Curry Village to the Happy Isles shuttle stop.  We hopped on our bikes and cruised over.  Despite a bit of chalk on a short finger crack, the rest of the boulder was dirty.  We set to work with my brushes, shaving off the dead moss and removing layers of dirt and pine needles.  We made quick work of the left and right aretes.  Dave then saw another line just to the right of the left arete.  Dave and I both spent 30 minutes or so trying to work out the moves.

The boulder is road-side and across from a very popular hiking trail, so there were plenty of tourists checking out our progress as they walked by.  Most were quiet, but my two favorite comments were:

1. Son: "Look dad!  Look at the rock climbers!"
   Dad: "Yeah, son -- they're practicing their rock climbing." (No, sir!  This is rock climbing... my goal is not to get strong for aid climbing [please note the subtle climbing humor here])


2. After I took a good fall after turning the lip, a lady called out: "Good thing this isn't Half Dome - you'd be dead! Haha" To this I simply had no reply.  Normally (especially hours later), I would have some fantastically sarcastic retort to a comment like this, but I still have nothing.  I just hope people aren't soloing v4's heading up the cables.  (I've heard the 1,000 steps are hard, but I don't think they're v4).  No.  See?  Even that isn't a good retort.  I'll work on it and get back to you with something funnier.

I must give a tip o' the hat to another friend, Jake, who came across us as he was coming back from Half Dome.  "Are you guys bouldering?" Jake, I applaud you.  Yes, we are bouldering.  It's hard.  And it's fun.  Carry on.

But my favorite moment of the week came on our 2nd day of our trip.  I'd spotted a great looking boulder only a few hundred yards from our campsite.  I'd attempted some headlamp climbing, but despite chalk on a few start holds, the rest of the climb was dirty and untouched.  So the next morning, I loaded up my backpack with a few pieces of gear and a short 30m rope.  I planned to head to the boulder, throw a rope over the top and rappel onto the climb to clean it.

I left Upper Pines Campground and joined the same trail mentioned earlier, heading towards Happy Isles.  I crossed the road and fell into the flow of foot traffic, just in front of a girl and her mom.

Girl: "Look mommy - he's got a big rope!" (I smiled, knowing the 30m rope was half the standard length, but enjoying the little girl's enthusiasm and awe)
Mommy: "Yes, dear.  It looks like he's going rock climbing."

Having a daughter myself, my mind turned to my not-too-distant-future of teaching my daughter the "ropes" of rock climbing.  I smiled and continued walking just in front of them.  As I neared the boulder just off the trail to my right, the girl made a keen observation:

Girl: "Look mommy - I think he's going to go climb that rock."
Mommy: "No, dear.  I'm sure he's going to go climb something much bigger."

With almost a hint of spite towards the older woman, I smiled big as I stripped off my pack, and began setting up the rope.  I smiled at the girl as she walked by as if to say: "See?  Your imagination wins!  And frankly my dear, you don't need to run out 30 pitches on El Cap to have a good time." I hope I run into that little girl again -- maybe next time on a 30-foot-long low-ball traverse.

The rest of my afternoon was spent hanging on a gri gri, roasting in the sun, and filling my shoes with brushed-off dirt and gray lichen.  The occasional tourist would stop along the path and offer me an inquisitive glance.  I was far enough away to not hear any of the comments, but I'm sure the sight of a guy hanging off a small boulder -- with a toothbrush in one hand and a toilet brush in another -- was something they'd not seen before.

"Look mommy - he's scrubbing the rock with a toilet brush."
"No dear, I'm sure he's just practicing for his janitorial job in Curry Village."

Epilogue: enjoy this forum post from WestCoastBouldering.com about the dumbest crashpad question we've ever gotten from a tourist.