dyno, the manliest form of climbing

I attended Pitt's 2009 fall bouldering competition. It took me forever to develop the roll of HP5 because I am film lazy. Developing film is a lot harder then developing digital pictures. Two of these pics are of dudes dynoing. Dynoing is like jumping, but on a rock wall. It is very manly and really has nothing to do with climbing. But it is very fun.

applications are done

I've finally finished applying to grad schools. Now I will resume blogging. If I participated in the New Years resolution thing, I would have incorporated blogging into mine.

Also, I found a 30 foot rock face in my backyard. I will be documenting the first ascent of it as soon as it goes above 50 F.

Here is a shot from the fall not far from said rock face:

Thanksgiving week

I started training for a sprint triathlon about a month ago. Today was the first time I swam 1km without stopping. I am thankful for this. My heart could use some conditioning because all I do is sit around and read books in my ambulance all day.

I am also thankful:

to see some of my best friends that are coming back to York this week for the holiday.

that I saw my Pittsburgh friends this past weekend.

that I am still able to climb (even though flashing 5 V3's completely exhausted me for 2 days)

that I get to see my extended family on Thursday. Here are two pictures of my Grandmother's house. It is super cool in that place.

Peak color

I got out for a nice ride on my new bike during peak fall color in York PA. Found these:







I've got a lot of film to process. More after that happens.

Music Videos 11-3-09

I discovered Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros on 88.7 XPN, a Philadelphia radio station that plays awesome music. This is my favorite song so far:



Anna Ternheim is another XPN artist I enjoy. Here is an acoustic song, What Have I Done. It is pretty cheesy, but shes pulls it off. Great voice too. Bonus: the piano player looks a lot like Gaius Baltar.



Check out Chase Jarvis' first music video for the song Ramshackle Hearse by The Blakes. Chase is a great still photographer who is making his debut in video with this:



And in the spirit of Richard Cheese here is a fun parody (discovered this via their cameo in the previous video):

Update 10-21-09

I have been absent for quite a while. In the last month I have: taken the GREs, started grad school apps, and started a new job as an EMT in York. I had no time to post. Sorry.

I have a trip reports coming up for my recent run up Seneca Rocks in WV. That post will also involve some fall foliage from the trip.

As I mentioned above, I just started using my EMT certificate here in York. This job is really different and a much welcomed change of pace for my "year off". I didn't want to respond to a ton of 911 calls right away, so I took a position at an ambulance company that primarily deals with distance transport. Basically, I take dying patients from the hospital to their home. Sometimes I take people to dialysis treatment or a doctor if they have no one else to help them. I rarely respond to emergency calls, about one or two a week.

A few interesting observations in the EMS business of York:
1. People pronounce ambulance the way it is spelled: ambu-LANCE. Maybe I am weird for pronouncing this "ambulence" OR maybe its just a Yorkism.
2. If someone says, "I think I am going to be sick", then this should translate to "I am about to puke all over your ambulance. This should be useful for anyone considering this profession. This happens quite frequently.
3. When someone is describing their loved one as being "somewhat confused recently", then what they really mean is that this person thinks it is 1943 and has just been drafted, is extremely agitated, and threatening to flee to Canada......or something similar. As a neuroscience/psychology major, I find the things that Alzheimer's/dementia patients say to be extremely interesting. They seem to revert to either their youth or a traumatic time in their life.
4. If you get so heavy that you can't walk anymore and must stay in bed, then there is a good chance your butt, heels, and shoulders will actually rot off of your body. As if obesity wasn't unglamorous enough, these people often have to dwell in the stench of their own bodies corpsifying. At the harshest degree, the wounds stop smelling and the nerves die. After only three weeks, I have given up trans fat, high saturated fat and cholesterol items, carbonated beverages, and most candy. This is purely the result of seeing how some people are forced to resign all hope in a normal life due to obesity and sedentary-ism.

Sorry to be gross. It won't happen often. Look for more posts soon.

Pittsburgh riots

Just when I leave Pittsburgh, the town decides to go crazy.



Flickr featured the Pittsburgh G20 riots today.

AND

Some of my friends at the Pitt News are getting a good workout covering the craziness. Check out their photos as well.

In other news, I am getting back in touch with my York crew. I'm also hoping to get out and shoot at Wildcat falls as soon as the leaves start changing.

Bonus shot - This is my dad last weekend at the Redskins home opener. He had no shame as the only Rams fan at our tailgate.

Alexandria Bay

I've always wanted to try for some star trails. While I was in the 1000 Islands of New York/Canada, I managed to try it on one particularly clear evening. My tripod slipped at some point during the three hour exposure, but I really like the product. When I get back to West Virginia or western PA again, I will try where there is less light pollution. My current location (south-central PA) has terrible light pollution from New York, Philly, Baltimore, and DC.



The castle in this picture is Boldt Castle. It was being built on a heart-shaped island in the early 1900's for a rich man's wife. She died before it was completed, the rich guy called it off, and he said that it can never be completed because his wife never got to live there. It is a fun place to tour.

This is Bailey

Craigslist love 1

Need to work on your math and rapping skillz?