Bits, bytes and nibbles

Climbing

I’ve climbed at both of the Planet Granite gyms in my area–the new one in Sunnyvale and the old one in Belmont. The two gyms are similar. I think the wall surface is structured from plywood and two-by-fours, then layered with a nice artificial concrete/plasticy surface. They’re both taller than Vertical Edge. Maybe about 60 feet instead of about 40? It’s $17 for a day pass (for both bouldering and top-roping). If you go before 1pm on a weekday it’s only $12. But their monthly membership is only $64. I think I’m probably going to do that. They have free weights, weight machines and some excercise bikes and stuff too, though I’m not sure I’d ever use any of it.

Ultimate

I’ve played ultimate frisbee with work people & friends the past two Saturdays. It’s pretty cool. Definitely keeping me in shape. But I haven’t had time to do any cycling yet. Well, nothing other than riding to and from work. Or around the University Ave area.

Flying

One of the three co-founders of Meebo has a pilot’s license. Two weeks ago he took three of us up for a scenic flight around San Francisco. It was pretty sweet. We circled around Alcatraz, then flew pretty low over the Golden Gate Bridge. It reminded me of A View to a Kill. Then we flew back down over the coast. Sadly I started feeling a little airsick near the end. I think it was a combination of way too many gummy bears beforehand, not enough water, and not enough airflow. Oh, and the unavoidable bumpiness of being in a small plane. I think I made Seth’s flight a bit less enjoyable… I get the feeling he likes the freedom of flying, and not having to worry about anything else going on in life. Anyway, hopefully he doesn’t hate me :-)

It was pretty cool to hear the chatter on the headset, too. Basically each plane registers with the air traffic control tower for the area they’re in. Each plane is assigned an ID. The ID is entered into a computer which broadcasts the signal. As the plane flies through the airspace of a given control tower, the tower might ask each plane to move higher, or lower, or watch out for nearby traffic. When a plane reaches the edge of the airspace of one control tower, the tower advises the plane to register itself with the next tower. At least, this is how it seemed to me.

Music

I bought the new Nelly Furtado CD. It’s ok. I think I like her first CD the best. This one seems a bit more electronic, and a bit more rappy. I bought the new Guster CD, too, but haven’t really had a chance to listen to it.

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One Response to Bits, bytes and nibbles

  1. Anonymous says:

    go take a long climb off a short wall

    You got to hit the free weights Mark, you’ll turn into arnold on the rock walls.

    -G

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