Shoulder to Shoulder

My former employer may finally have to pay the price. The first thing I noticed in the article's photo of the CEO in their new offices: there's no space. The developers are sitting shoulder to shoulder. Maybe that's just me.

Yosemite Valley Free Climbs

I first saw this book of Yosemite Valley free climbs while loitering in a ranger station after Liberty Ridge. It brings to mind being a few thousand feet off the deck with arms fatiguing, and no place to sit down and rest. Crazy.

The Economy of Hair Cuts

My new barbershop costs twice what my old Manhattan one did and peddles no porn, but the straight razor, hot lather and steamed towel are worth every penny. Now I'm wondering if cutting my hair more often would actually save on anti-chlorine shampoo.

No More Chinese Food

13:00: ordered kung pao chicken. The hours that followed involved a giant rock in my stomach, the floor, and a great deal of throwing up. I need to start stocking epicac.

iPad Fail

My iPad's 3G worked beautifully in Seattle, then went dead the instant we landed in Atlanta. The fix passed me through AT&T, Apple, a Genius Bar and the least inspired mall-cart employee ever. Not terribly painful, but a lot of people to talk to.

Scrum Sucks: Standups

Scrum is a development process, and right there it has already screwed up without having done anything. Starting with standups, which rest on three failed assumptions about how much I care what you're working on. Stop stopping work to talk about work and just WORK.

Drunken Monkeys

When this project's done, I'm writing an essay called Drunken Monkeys: a diatribe against formalized project management and feature estimation. First I have to find that paper I read forever ago about the fallacy of the perfect process design.

Good Weekend

Hard cider, homemade cookies, a corner room in the Hyatt, beautiful downtown Seattle. A good weekend, minus the climbing. Lesson from the hotel gym: don't drink and exercise, unless you enjoy hovering near the bathroom just in case.

Ecuador Video

Wes put together a video of our Ecuador trip, with lots of pictures and helmet-cam footage from the climbs. There's a good part near the end featuring a sketchy snow bridge. Enjoy.

Death March III

I know I talked up retiring from Death Marches in favor of leisurely camping, but with my climbing trips canceled and a thin ice season, I need another one. Early October, full moon, North Rim, maybe a helmet cam. Any takers?