Roundtrip


Clambering up and down a muddy hillside was what we wanted to avoid, so this trail was ideal: a completely paved path along a level shoreline. We doubled back at the 2-mile mark to get just enough exercise.


Clambering up and down a muddy hillside was what we wanted to avoid, so this trail was ideal: a completely paved path along a level shoreline. We doubled back at the 2-mile mark to get just enough exercise.


There is no way that a map can predict all pitfalls & problems or all pleasant surprises. A map is a metaphor that can point to but not capture the actual journey itself. A map is seen through; the journey is lived through.
Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

How much energy could be harvested from this string of lightning strikes?

On March 27th, 2021, a series of severe thunderstorms crossed middle Tennessee, causing widespread flooding and putting on an impressive lightning show.
While most of the lightning stayed up in the clouds, the occasional bolt went to ground, and “cloud crawlers” put on a spectacular display every so often, too.
Which famous son* of a famous father preferred to spend the night of his old man’s celebrations brawling in a bar five hundred yards from the party, rather than hobnobbing with his family?
Our spies tell us a punch was thrown, and his faithful assistant was unable to Hold It Back. A father-son competition for publicity? Dad definitely won this round.
*As Hold It Back was the name of one of Jonny Rokeby‘s albums, nobody could really be in much doubt which father and son were in question.
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith


Ride we had planned to take last year.
My biking buddy and I were stretching the concept of aging. We were trusting our instincts to keep us out of cars’ way, and pushing forward in terms of distance, testing our survival chances one way & another.

“To a biker the sensation is real and pure and akin to something spiritual: you seek, and on the road you find.”
Caroline Knapp
Found this diagram in some library book.

Termite Castle Culture: Swarms of termites build castle-like structures without supervision or a centralized plan. Working independently without communication or a leader, they proceed using environmental cues.

2012: As we drove south on the Mulligan Hwy in Australia and got down on the valley floor, we must have passed thousands of little termite castles.
Unfortunately, my environmental cues were not strong enough to make me stop the car and take a picture of any of those many interesting insect homes. Not one closeup photo; sad.
Mulligan Highway
Everlasting Impressions of Australia
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To all Explorers:
How Life Imitates Chess by Garry Kasparov
- Plan the route
- Marshal resources, discarding any excess
- Maintain a sharp tactical eye, never back away unless certain
- Remain alert for dangers, aware of changes in environment
- Energize with new confidence and inspiration

You and I have memories
Two of Us by The Beatles, Let It Be (1970)
Longer than the road
That stretches out ahead”
385 million years from now the world will be vastly different again as well, while the universe, during the same time period, will have changed insignificantly (in comparison to its totality, of course).
The point is: you don’t have to move all that far from where you are now to experience expanded consciousness. Merely step outside. Go to the beach if possible.


Winding backroads to Morgan Hill and Gilroy along Calero Reservoir south of San Jose are fun for motorcycle riders, and across the water are trails ideal for mountain bikers.
