filed under: random adventures

Every last Friday of the month in SF (and in cities world-wide) there is an event called Critical Mass.

To understand what 'Critical Mass' is in this context, first look at the Wiki definition of the general term:

Critical mass is a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and fuels further growth.

As a simple example, consider a big city. If a person stops and looks up at the sky, nothing will happen. People nearby will go on about their business. If three people stop and look up at the sky, perhaps some people will momentarily turn around, but then continue on their way. But only a small number of people is required - say, 5 to 7 (depending on such factors as the culture, time of day, width of the street, etc) - to cause others to stop and look up at the sky, too. This number is called the "critical mass" or tipping point.

In SF, thousands of people jump on their bicycles and ride around in a huge "mass" through the downtown area of the city, completely taking over the streets. Traffic signals and even road directions are not only totally disregarded but the police actually ride along with everyone to sanction it. I took a lot of pictures yesterday during the ride (my first time doing it) and the best ones are linked below.

critical mass sf

My most favorite one is this one. We rode through a one-way tunnel the wrong direction against traffic! It was soooo FUN!

Most of the cars appeared cool about being completely stuck for a while (some even honked in support and gave us high-fives as we passed by) and only a few were really pissed off about it. Most of those people were responsible for Twitter filling up immediately with negative reports about it (what else are you going to do stuck in your car with an internet-capable cell phone?). But once the cyclist got home the "this was so cool!" (click here for the CM-SF edition) reports started evening things out.

This was a LOT of fun and I can't believe I never did it earlier. Very cool!

filed under: random gibberish

I'm in love with my camera. I've had it for less than a month now and I've already taken more than 3,000 pictures with it. I'm still learning how best to gauge the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, and everything else that you can customize with it and I'm having a ton of fun doing so. I took a bunch of pics of my first guitar (which, cool enough, is my bro's first acoustic guitar that he passed on to me) and below are the five that I like the most. Which is your favorite?

guitar

filed under: California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, road tripping

A week or two ago me and five lovely friends that I live with (Otto, Erin, Alex, Tom, and Pink) went on a 2,700 road trip/camping adventure in Colorado. There was a huge CS gathering that turned out to be a lot of fun. Here are 157 pictures of that adventure. Enjoy!

CS Colorado Road Trippers

filed under: family

Cheers to my dad this father's day. He's always been someone that I not only looked up to but, fortunately, couldn't help but emulating in a lot of ways. He's always supported me, usually without trying to talk me out of it) throughout the many seemingly ridiculous things I had my mind set on in my life (like quitting my job/life and roaming aimlessly around Europe several years ago), and for that alone I've always been more than a little awed. I'm extremely blessed that I not only know this man but that he's my father. Dad - I don't say it enough but when I do I couldn't mean it more: I love you.

filed under: San Francisco, all about me, pictures!

For years I've been shooting thousands of pictures around the world with various "point-n-click" Canon cameras but I've always wanted a decent digital SLR to do what those little pocket cams couldn't. Yesterday I finally found a good deal on what I wanted and pulled the CraigsList trigger on a Nikon D50.

I bought the camera used but it appears to have only taken 1600 shots! It was in excellent condition (he included all the original packaging, etc) and came with two lenses. I love it already and enjoy learning how to use it better and better. I'm already thinking about which lens will be my next purchase for it :)

I took a few shots around my place in San Francisco's Mission district yesterday. Check them out if you are interested. I'll probably be taking a lot more pictures now and will try to post regularly.

Enjoy!

my new camera

filed under: random gibberish

The title question is what prompted me to post this here for future searchers looking for the answer:

Southwest Airlines informs upon inquiry that they allow carry-on of any "luggable" instrument so long as (a) there is available bin space, and (b) the instrument is in a SOFT PADDED CASE that fits in the overhead bin (SW is flying larger 737-400s these days, and the o'head bins are a lot bigger than they were a few years ago).

If (a) fails to be the case, you may gate-check the instrument (i.e. the flight attendant takes it from you just before you board the aircraft, and returns it to you as you step off at the end of the flight, so the "baggage apes" never get their paws on it.

Anyway, this has been great for carrying my gig-bagged Cort Parlor guitar back and forth between Houston and Tulsa these last couple of weeks.

--found originally here

I'll see if this answer remains true when I fly on a SWA flight on Thurs with the guitar that my bro gave me.

Greetings from Texas!