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 Google. Nothing.

Oh wait, Twitter! I find them on Twitter, said an @Travelzoo tweet, and there you go, less than 2 hours later I get the promo code!

And that, people, is the power of Twitter.

Labels: internet, social networking, Twitter

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 to three miles yet, but considering that after my first attempt I made it probably barely a mile barefoot (after 1.5 miles with sneakers) and was unable to run for 5 days due to soreness, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. Earlier in the week I ran 1.5 miles in the aqua socks, then another mile barefoot, and then yesterday I did 2.5 totally barefoot, in the grass though, not pavement.

Regardless, I'm happy to report that my feet are feeling great, the soreness is pretty much non-existent, and I'm making good progress. I do have a bit of achiness in my feet and achilles, but again, a good ache, not pain.

Here's to hoping for three barefoot miles tomorrow!

Labels: barefoot, running

Ocotillo plant in the desert, there is life!Being that desert season is coming here in San Diego, I figured I'd 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!

Following is an excerpt of my write up about the mud caves, including information on how to get there, and some photos! Also, if you're in the area, check out my hiking page where I've reviewed some local San Diego hikes.


Entrance to mud cave in the desert 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" book as my rough guide for getting there and keeping my bearings. It turns out that I just used it as sort of a general guide, and then once there explored on my own. This isn't so much of a hiking trip as it is an exploring trip, but depending on the condition of the "roads" and the type of vehicle you have, there can definitely be a fair amount of walking. As a worst case scenario, if you have a sedan or low style car, and want to get a good taste of at least a few caves, be prepared for 2-4 miles of walking. With a car and decent road conditions, you can safely and easily drive to pretty close to the first of the caves.

To get there, take 8 East from San Diego to Imperial County... read more and see photos


Related Links:
San Diego hiking page

Labels: adventure, hiking, photos

Beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains

Memories from Colorado trip earlier this year...

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 me.

I had written down a few potential places to stay, but we decided on the Quality Inn, as it was the only one I knew of that was walking distance to Pearl Street. It turned out to be a great choice, and I can say without a doubt that it is probalby one of the nicest Quality Inns I've ever stayed at. Without going into all the details of what we did, I will say that we loved Boulder, and decided on staying a second night, which gave us more time to explore. (This was partly due to the snow storm in the mountains which we opted not to drive though heading to our next destination.) The downsides of Boulder for us were that it was such a college town, and also that we found out the cost of living was pretty steep. Which makes it a great place to visit but probably not a place to ever move to. The accessibility of everything was definitely nice; bike lanes everywhere, and even a paved walking/biking trail that led from the center of town right up into the mountains. A definite plus coming from California where everything requires driving.

Some of the boulder highlights were the Mediterranean Restaurant, Mountain Sun Brewery, Avery Brewing, and the Boulder Draft House. A couple places that were great but I think maybe a bit overrated were Walnut Brewery and Jax Fish House (overpriced).

While in Boulder, someone clued us in on the Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival that was going on in Nederland, so Sunday morning we checked out and headed up into the mountains. We didn't actually see any of the festival, but we did get a pretty good idea of what it was like based on the general level of debauchery going on in town. We had a few beers and some ribs at Wild Mountain Brewery, and then went north to Estes Park. Estes Park was gorgeous, but the brewery there was definiately not worth the drive. But the scenery and the wildlife sightings near the entrance of Rocky Mountain Natinal Park made it worthwhile.


Downtown Denver at Night From Estes Park our next stop was Lyons, where we hit Oskar Blues Brewery. We loved that place and it was everything we expected. So after a late lunch and a couple beers, we hit the road again for Fort Collins. We knew nothing about Fort Collins, but after driving around for a couple of minutes, we quickly found our bearing and got a nice room at the Armstrong Hotel. I would have loved to spend more time in this small city, but due to our impending departure from Denver the following day, we wanted to get down to Denver and have a little fun there before flying out. One of the reasons we wanted to go to Fort Collins was to check out the New Belguim Brewery, as I have heard many good things about the way they run their business, especially from an environmental standpoint. But as it turned out, we planned our trip there on Monday, which was the day they were closed to the public. But we did get to check out CooperSmith's Brewery, Fort Collins Brewery (which we were pleasantly surprised by due to how small they are), and Odells Brewing. But alas, we couldn't linger because Denver was calling.

Denver was a little stressful to arrive in after spending the last few days in smaller cities and on the open roads, but after only a little bit of confusion, we found ourselves at the the Jet Hotel downtown. It was nicer than we were looking for, but with night closing in we were getting frustrated and as it turns out the rate was better than expected and the location was great.

We made it out to dinner that night, and also to the Falling Rock Tap House. The following day we finished up our beer tour by hitting Great Divide and then Old Chicago for a late lunch before heading to the airport for our flight home. All in all it was a wonderful trip. It sounds like we drank too much, but we were mostly sampling, which is how we were able to fit so much in. And as for Colorado, I really liked how easy it was to move around between the cities and see so much in such a short time frame.

Click here to see more photos

Labels: colorado, time off, travel, vacation

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 by the city, I would expect them to be following their own rules. So I went ahead and called the hotline that allows you to report those abusing the waternig restrictions. When I told the woman that the rec center was watering, I think I caught a chuckle from her, hopefully she saw the irony.

Then the other morning after a run, I saw different sprinklers at the same rec center that were shooting water all over the sidewalk, which I don't believe is technically against the new rules, but again, I would expect the city to be practicing what they are preaching to the public. In fact this exact scenario is one of the things they are pushing in their "Waste No Water" campaigns. In fairness, this time the watering was at least happening in the early morning, so maybe they at least adjusted the schedules.

Also, although I don't believe that the city has any jurisdiction over CalTrans, everyone knows they are a huge water user (4th largest), and it's been well documented that they excessively water the freeway shoulders, even in the rain. And still after the water cuts, just last month I saw them watering at 9:30 AM. Granted, this is not technically prohibited, but I still take issue with this because especially lately, by 9:30 it's already over 80 degrees and rising, so I'm pretty sure a lot of this water will get wasted.

So what do I have to say? I say come on San Diego, get it together. Though I did hear that city water usage is down 20% from last year, which is great, I think we can be doing better. Start by watching what's going on in the city around you. While I do applaud your efforts to educate the people, I think there could be even better results if you focused your efforts on the big users, which are businesses, the city itself, and also the contractors you have working for you. Would it be impossible to work with CalTrans to put in native freeway shoulders instead of iceplant and change the watering schedules? Then another nice step would be to stop planting grass everywhere, since almost everyone knows San Diego is not really tropical, stop pretending it is and start planing native gardens instead of lush grasses at public buildings.


Related Links:
http://www.idealistcafe.com/2009/01/water-conservation-letter-to-city.html

Labels: conservation, San Diego, water

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 get paid the big bucks. I feel like I know enough to do my job and my hobbies well, but not enough to consider myself an expert. But as I mentioned, I keep reading more about success stories of people monetizing the current skill(s). Rather than going to school or getting trained in some new field that they may have been curious about, they are simply using what they already know and are learning how to simply make money doing that.

So this has gotten my wheels turning a bit. For one, I have been a software engineer for the past 8 years, and three of them have been with a small company where I am doing much more than software (web, database). But still I feel like I don't know enough to try to market myself in this field. However, I will admit that this could simply be a confidence issue rather than a skill issue, because in talking to other people it seems that plenty of people who employ themselves don't know everything prior to doing a job for someone. The difference is that they pretend that they know everything and then learn on the fly.

Here are a few other things that I could possibly market or monetize:

• I have in one form or another been hosting and running my own (and family member's) websites for the past 5 years. This includes setting up the hosting, doing all the coding, the design, fixing browser compatibility issues, setting up blogs, and wading through more HTML and CSS code than normal people care to look at. I don't consider myself a web designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm sure the skills I do have could come in handy for some people.


• I can usually find the answer to any question on any topic in a matter of minutes using the handy dandy internet. To me I consider this normal, but have realized that the majority of people who aren't computer geeks can't do this. They get caught on spam pages, with non credible data, or it takes them forever. I think I first realized how good at this I was when my girlfriend saw me find something so fast. She couldn't believe it. Now she calls or texts me when she needs an answer, and I can usually find it while we're still on the phone. Trivial, I know, but I'm sure this is a skill some people wish they had. I guess maybe I am an expert at using the internets.


• I read way too many books, magazines, blogs, and other articles and now have acquired a vast array of knowledge on a wide variety of topics.

Moving away from the geeky stuff now...

• I have had people tell me I am extremely knowledgeable about trails and hiking spots near where I live. I have been to and seen a ton (but not nearly all) of the things to do and see in San Diego, and apparently have ticked more things off the San Diego "to do" list than people I know that are natives here have. I know most of the neighborhoods and can point things out on a local map that people who grew up here have never heard of.
• Last summer, I managed to take my average body, casual runner's legs, and an endurance that was better for happy hour than an hour long hike, and I hauled it to the top of Mt Whitney, in one day... That includes the full 22 miles and 6000+ feet of elevation gain.

I am not putting all this up here to brag, trust me. But I am trying to convince myself that I have at least some set of skills that is marketable and can make me a living. Looking at things in this light is new for me, almost revelational. All of a sudden I am seeing that -- dare I say it? -- I just might be an expert at something.

Now I just need to hone in on what that is. And determine if there is any way to take the scope of different things I know and could be considered expert on, and connect them in a way to create something of value for someone else. And hopefully something that they would be willing to pay for.

Labels: 9to5, inspiration, lifestyle, thinking

Footprints in the sand - Photo credit ApidyaThe 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 ground, but don't provide any real support and don't encourage heel striking, which is what would be avoided going barefoot.

Yesterday morning though, I got in a nice 5-10 minute barefoot run and it felt great! After my 20 minute run which was split between concrete sidewalks and a short canyon trail near my house, I went down to the ball field at the Rec Center, and did a few laps around the field. The best part was that I did a couple sprints, and I have never felt better or lighter sprinting! (Though my conditioning leaves a little to be desired)

Near the end of the barefoot session, I did notice the pads of my feet were beginning to get sore, which is good I suppose. This means I am on my way to toughening them up. And now, about 36 hours later, I do have some soreness in my arches and calves, but have come to understand this is a normal symptom when you first go out without the support of shoes. Hopefully I can continue this training, get my feet to strenghten up, and maybe by the time they are ready to go 20-30 minutes I will have a pair of water socks that I can use.

Labels: barefoot, running, updates