Winter is Coming
After ten days in Austin during a 70-day streak of 100-plus-degree heat, a certain picture back home in Atlanta hit me with a special kind of connection.
Curtis Jones
Apricots
Apricots. I'm sorry for my prolonged absence. You're so very delicious.
Mission Control v1 = Spaces v0.5
Everyone praises Mission Control after admitting they never really used Spaces. But Spaces gave you two extra dimensions of spatial organization, and Mission Control flattened all of it into a single line. Kid's stuff.
Five Guys Online Fail
Five Guys is delicious and worth the wait, but their online ordering promised I'd skip the line. I didn't. My order sat finished in the corner while I waited like everyone else, and the only catch was: had I ordered fries...
Battle: Los Angeles
Like Independence Day but with no who, why, or explanation. The heroes were fine, but where was the Rage Against the Machine tribute? Still, it beat Cloverfield: at least they used tripods.
Spot Programmer Failure
The Spot Messenger app was acting up, so I hit logout. Hitting login got me: you need internet access to log in. So the everything-is-better-with-butter-and-bacon message, and every one after, died at 11,200 feet.
Mt. McKinley (2011) - Day 23
A last breakfast in Talkeetna where a stranger recognizes my iPad case as her professor's design, a ride to Anchorage, and then home. The trip was concluded.
Mt. McKinley (2011) - Day 22
The final push: Camp 3 to base camp through the bright Alaskan night, then Sheldon Air flies us out while the Rangers, who missed the previous evening's window by forty-seven minutes, sit stuck. A shower (twice), a shave, and Talkeetna restaurants that never quite manage to serve me.
Mt. McKinley (2011) - Day 21
Down from high camp in a t-shirt through a whiteout so total there was nothing to be seen. We pass the guide who nearly killed his team, give away free calories, dump the CMC in its peaceful resting place, and reach Camp 3 to thaw smoked salmon into ramen.
Mt. McKinley (2011) - Day 20
Summit day at last: the steep new route to Denali Pass, Team Yark, Team Gabby, the traverse that is still the best part of the whole climb. Then a slow descent that turns into a second rescue when the team that accused us of stealing biners peels off the autobahn.
