Coder. Geek. Vagabond. Thru-Hiker. Lover of Knowledge. Pursuer of Fun. 2026-03-28T14:38:35Z https://reedmaniac.com/ Paul Burdick paul@reedmaniac.com 2026-03-28T14:38:35Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-meta-fication-of-instagram/ First post in my feed was an ad. And instead of my friends' stories at the top, suggested posts from unknown accounts. For years, Instagram has been my primary social media platform. The ... 2026-03-08T03:01:29Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/media-diet-winter-2025-2026/ .music-list a { font-weight: 600; text-decoration: none; } .music-list a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } .music-list .artist { font-weight: 400; color: #555; font-s... 2026-03-07T18:01:29Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/places-and-memories-of-46/ It’s hard to ... 2026-03-07T17:54:36Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/paul-at-46/ That was a memorable year of life… 2026-02-01T03:46:18Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/ice-out-protect-january-31st-2026/ Your browser does not support the video tag. Still prote... 2026-01-05T02:36:21Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/2025-activity-log/ For a few years now, I have been following a path of very structured training, and it is only after fully abandoning i... 2026-01-02T02:26:15Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/2025-year-in-review/ 2025. What a horrifically bad year, all things considered. But. I am currently in my favorite café, drinking a cortado, after... 2025-12-09T04:25:53Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/media-diet-autumn-2025/ Stormlight Archive [books 1-4] by Brandon Sanderson Brandon Sanderson is a solid writer. He knows how to create an entire world, complete with ecosystem and history, extremely well. Not on... 2025-11-18T00:17:25Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/pride-prejudice-sans-zombies/ "I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder at your knowing any.” It's a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in ... 2025-11-16T01:20:48Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/interventions-by-vorja-s-nchez/ "Unplugged" by Vorja Sánchez Scrolling through my Instagram Explore feed this evening, I came across this series of landscape photographs with cloud creatures (spirits?) drawn on top of t... 2025-11-01T14:20:39Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/on-second-thought-maybe-not/ "It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice." ––Kermit I was all set to post an entry about how I was ready to start dating again. I spent over a week writing it—reviewing... 2025-08-17T16:40:47Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/astronomy-moment-of-awe/ 500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption by PengFei Chou Kudos to Semi-Rad as I am currently enjoying today's moment of awe thanks to ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Put my favorite u... 2025-06-10T15:12:42Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-brain-chemistry-of-relationships/ It has been bothering me for months now about how this breakup has wreaked havoc on my emotions. As someone who studied neuroscience for half a year, it is painfully evident now: my brain chemistry c... 2025-06-09T20:23:31Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/larch-mountain-a-simple-ride/ Your browser does not support the video tag. After drivin... 2025-06-01T19:03:09Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-trip-to-sisters/ With a strong impulse of Needing To F'ing Go Somewhere after a bit of unpleasant news Sund... 2025-05-23T17:26:17Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/two-months-later-aliveness-in-the-bog/ (New addendum as of May 26 at bottom. Bit of a doozy.) If there is one thing to be said for the end of an 8.5-year relationship, it is that it makes you circumspect. If I am being brutally honest, I... 2025-05-18T04:57:08Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/olympic-discovery-trail-and-a-circumnavigation-of-the-olympics/ As I edit this, I want to be crystal clear: I g... 2025-04-30T18:22:14Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/fire-and-fire-danger/ Just an abandoned fire in the Olympic National Forest I had a lovely ride up in the southern Olympics today, deep in the National Forest. I saw only one hiker and two cars the entire ride... 2025-04-17T18:19:30Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/death-and-documents/ So. Real talk. After posting about updating my living will and power of attorney on an Instagram story, a bunch of people messaged me saying things like, "I really need to do that" or "it's on my to-... 2025-01-03T19:58:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/2024-year-in-review/ While returning from Mallorca, I found myself. People of Earth. This is my 2024 Year in Review post. Will it be funny? Will it be introspective? Gosh, I dunno. I read the news tonight and the tempta... 2024-12-24T19:58:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/coronary-calcium-scan/ Last week I got a coronary calcium scan (aka CAC score or Heart Scan), and my score was 0. That means no calcification... 2024-12-22T21:51:37Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/dancing-to-train/ Your browser does not support the video tag. When you did not sleep well, still have a busted toe, the skies are grey and the temps are cool, and yet there is 5 hours of... 2024-12-15T18:53:14Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/toe-recovery/ Thinking of my poor wee toe When you had 9 hours of biking planned for this weekend (not including prep or cleanup) and then you slammed your little toe into a box full of books Friday ni... 2024-11-29T18:59:13Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/fresh-fruit-is-expensive/ But it's soooo tasty! Spent the better part of today doing some budgeting for various scenarios for 2025, including a potentially epic adventure in 2026. And? Well. My coffee shop habit i... 2024-11-27T19:13:43Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/peanut-butter-cups-cravings-are-real/ Am I really craving a peanut butter cup or is there a zombie-ant fungus in my brain controlling me? Today on #paulthoughts. Zombie-ant fungus and all it suggests about possible parasitica... 2024-11-18T19:18:25Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/is-it-over-yet/ One of the holiday cards I created and sent way back in 2017. Thinking of buying in bulk in preparation for the next 4 years. 2024-11-16T19:27:12Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/alliterative-autumnal-adventure-into-academics/ The Great Thinker? My alliterative autumnal adventure into academics has alas and assuredly adjourned. Things concluded satisfactorily with a 94% in Biochemistry, 96% in Physiology, 97% ... 2024-11-08T19:31:11Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-numbing-rage-of-an-election/ Trying to gain some perspective. Numb rage. That’s where I am at. Squeezing that rage so tightly that you dare not unclench because you’ll completely lose your shit. Knowing that your rag... 2024-10-07T19:34:27Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gravel-bike-crash-2024/ Photographing the scrapes, post-cleanup. Ah, crashing your bike. How humbling. How thrilling! Oh gods why does it hurt so much? As I lay on the ground, trying to recall the 1.2 seconds o... 2024-09-24T19:41:57Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/back-in-school/ I should have done this weeks ago when everything first started, but I’ve been busy trying to adjust to ... 2024-07-16T01:09:17Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/nedgravel-gold-course-2024/ That was a very warm, very dry, very fatiguing race. As an individual who has ancestry from Northern Europe, who can grow a b... 2024-07-10T01:14:36Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tire-selection-for-nedgravel/ Your browser does not support the video tag. Tires. Tires tires tires. Tires!! Some thoughts about tire selection, specifically when it comes to NedGravel. This was my... 2024-06-09T16:07:29Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/unboundxl-2024-summary/ Your browser does not support the video tag. Unbound XL 2024 summary video! Spoilers: I’m a 45 year old male who hurt his ickle back at sunrise going over a small rock ... 2024-05-20T01:15:38Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/marshall-mesa-at-dusk/ Early evening riding at Marshall Mesa to test out a possible tire choice for Unbound XL before we rode into the night ... 2024-05-13T01:17:53Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/co2ut-2024/ Ah, what to say about CO2UT 2024? First, the 125 mile course is still exceptionally hard and eve... 2024-04-23T01:07:12Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mallorca-2024/ Many of the coaches arrived... 2024-02-07T23:54:09Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/old-man-winter-rally-2024/ Your browser does not support the video tag. ... 2023-07-20T19:58:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/do-you-need-a-power-meter/ Yes. Probably. "A power meter allows riders who are serious about performance and training to monitor their workload, track progress, and pace efforts during important events or races." 1 If you ar... 2023-07-12T19:42:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/nedgravel-2023/ Moi? On a podium?! (photo credit to Laurel) Yes, I won the NedGravel Silver course this weekend. I will not allow a podium to change me though! (sorry?) As a heavy and slightly dense individual, I ... 2023-07-04T17:28:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/do-you-need-a-coach/ Skip to tl;dr During our evening walks, Tina and I frequently discuss coaching decisions, training concepts, workouts, etc. both for ourselves and the individuals she coaches. A discussion that came... 2023-06-23T16:10:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tour-divide-2023-gear-list/ Your browser does not support the video tag. A short video showing the gear laid out. For posterity and potential usefulness for future Tour Divide victims racers,... 2023-06-18T16:39:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/scratching-tour-divide-2023-part-2/ Scratching the Tour Divide 2023, Part 1 The morning of the Grand Depart was early thanks to a 7:15am start and our hotel being a 25 minute drive from the start. Also, upon arriving in Banff, I would... 2023-06-14T17:56:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/scratching-tour-divide-2023-part-1/ So, I already posted an Instagram reel where I explained most of what happened during the Tour Divide this year, but here is a written account with even more detail, for posterity. First, the backst... 2023-06-13T17:14:53Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/scratching-the-tour-divide-video/ Your browser does not support the video tag. 3.5 days after scratching on Day 2 of the #TourDivide, here is a video (originally posted on Instagram) explaining what happ... 2023-05-23T16:35:10Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tina-vs-paul-recovery-approach/ Your browser does not support the video tag. 2023-05-15T17:58:11Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/co2ut-2023/ CO2UT. So. First off. Ow. I have never sworn during a race like I swore during this year’s CO2UT Utahraptor 12... 2022-10-06T17:56:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/cycling-talents-vs-interests/ With the copious amount of free time granted to me by not currently having a job, I am continuing to contemplate this year's race season and all the training that went along with it (part 1, part 2).... 2022-10-05T20:06:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/is-type-3-fun-actually-fun/ Most adventurous, outdoorsy, athletic people are well acquainted with the Three Types of Fun (explained here and here). To simplify it, here is how I think of the three types of fun: Type 1: Wo... 2022-09-28T20:50:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/job-hunting-again-part-two/ With the shutting down of buddhi in August, I am once again doing a job hunt. And while job hunting is rarely an enjoyable experience, this one has been far and away my most frustrating one. So far. ... 2022-09-28T20:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/job-hunting-again-part-one/ DOOM!! 2022-09-27T14:44:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/race-season-2022/ With race season over, I thought a little race recap was in order. Here are... 2022-09-23T17:34:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/pct-anniversary/ It has now been nine full years since I finished thru-hiking the PCT. And since I am currently unemployed and can only bake so many loaves of sourdough, I have created a little movie of that summer. ... 2022-08-24T20:54:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/bike-racing-for-fun/ With the 2022 race season wrapping up with only RPI remaining, I have started pondering what I want to focus on for the autumn and what races might be tempting for 2023. And I keep on coming back to ... 2022-08-10T16:40:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/new-blogging-platform-and-stuff/ Upon this static site generator, I shall build my blog. Greetings, fair viewers, it has been a while. Now that I am once again unemployed and have copious amounts of free time, I have decided to try... 2021-11-08T03:35:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/rebeccas-private-idaho-the-queens-stage-race-ride-report/ RPI’s Queen Stage Race was THE race we had been waiting for. Our entire training program for the summer had been focused on preparing us for this race. Point of fact, neither of us had originally sign... 2021-11-05T22:43:39Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/post-rexy-arches-trip/ Our original plan was to spend two full days exploring national parks near Moab, but both the riders and crew w... 2021-11-03T22:48:41Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/rexy-2021/ You may have heard that I tried to do a 200mi gravel race called Rexy a few days ago. I saw that race go... 2021-08-08T16:57:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/ned-gravel-2021/ Back in mid-March, in what I can only assume was an uncharacteristic streak of blind optimism, I signed up for three gravel races in less than two days. The first one on the calendar was Ned Gravel wh... 2021-06-18T23:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/once-upon-a-time-on-ncar/ I am getting really good at failing at Everesting. Although, if you graph my three attempts thus far, it seems probable that I will succeed by my fifth attempt. I am not sure if that is encouraging or... 2021-05-12T01:44:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/its-recovery-week/ After three weeks of my training plan, I have reached my first recovery week. That means it is time to absorb all of the training that I did by giving my body the time to rebuild and rest. Woo! And I,... 2021-05-04T18:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-second-vaccine-dose/ Exactly two days ago, on Sunday mid-morning, I got my second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Having had multiple friends that had already received their second doze of Pfizer or Moderna, I had a... 2021-04-30T21:06:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/this-weeks-bike-tech/ It is nigh impossible to talk about starting a training program without bringing up the new, shiny technology required. Effort needs to be measured, progress needs to be tracked, and pretty graphs mus... 2021-04-23T17:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/starting-a-training-plan/ Around the middle of October, Tina and I acquired two Wahoo Kickrs thanks to our local bike shop, Boulder Bicycle Works, having a couple used ones to sell. While they were definitely a couple years ol... 2021-03-27T23:06:34Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/rapha-boulders-ride-and-seek/ I woke up this morning with the intention of having an easy day. Last night was an anaerobic power workout that had le... 2020-12-31T18:28:49Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/rapha-festive-500/ The Rapha #Festive500 is a simple challenge. Bike 500 kilometres between Chr... 2020-11-27T18:35:18Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/secret-groad-2020/ Like so many things in this household, it all started when one of us shared ... 2020-09-27T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/everesting-take-2-fuck-it-all/ Mr. Bubbles: And things have indeed gone wrong.Tina has informed me that I cannot read her blog entry about my second Everesting attempt until I finish writing my own and post it. So, here I am, almos... 2020-09-06T20:12:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/everesting-interrupted/ It has been four weeks since my first Everesting attempt. That attempt ended when an already sore quad was combined with cold temperatures and eight hours of biking to result in serious knee pain. It ... 2020-09-06T18:32:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tinas-everesting/ Last Monday, at approximately 10:30pm, Tina completed her first Everesting. I provided support throughout the day (3am-11pm) by refilling water bottles, organizing gear, and making sure she never forg... 2020-08-14T20:42:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/an-everesting-attempt/ As last weekend started, the forecast was shifting so that the weather for Wednesday morning in Jamestown was looking less promising for an Everest attempt. Where it had previously been forecasted as ... 2020-08-11T23:42:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/training-for-an-everesting/ Thanks to COVID-19 and the ludicrously bad response to it by the federal government, almost all organized outdoor events have been canceled for 2020. That included the Double Triple Bypass ride that w... 2020-07-04T18:42:50Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/half-everesting-july-2020/ Your browser does not support the video tag. Yester... 2020-05-03T21:34:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/missing-things-during-the-pandemic/ A year later, Paul checks back in.Instead of doing a recap, I will just point out that Tina and I now reside in Boulder, Colorado. Approximately six months after moving here, the pandemic hit and now ... 2020-04-05T19:02:44Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-broken-clavicle/ The Broken Clavicle Post. Let me explain....no, there is too much. Let me sum up. About 10 days ago, Tina and I decid... 2019-06-14T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/how-did-the-picnic-training-go/ Well...this is a bugger of an entry to write. First off, I am not terribly pleased with either Strava or Garmin Connect as a training platform. Garmin is convenient in that it automatically uploads al... 2019-06-04T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mt-hood-picnic-part-deux/ After our first Mt. Hood Picnic attempt was foiled by wind, windsurfers, and stormy weather on the mountain, we decided to reevaluate our route for the swim and also wait for a more solid weather wind... 2019-05-28T06:49:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-mt-hood-picnic-a-first-attempt/ Our idea of swimming back and forth across the Columbia, biking to Timberline Lodge, climbing Mt. Hood, and then biking back to Hood River has always required a 24 hour period when nearly everything a... 2019-05-19T23:48:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-18/ May 12, 2019 to May 18, 2019 Sunday - Rest Day! Woo! Monday - 1 hour bike ride (16 miles, 817 ft) Tuesday - Rest Day! Woo! Wednesday - 10 laps on Tabor (2.5 miles, 1385 ft) and 7 miles of bike commuti... 2019-05-13T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-17/ May 5, 2019 to May 11, 2019 Sunday - 1 hour bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest Day Tuesday - 1.5 hour bike ride (20 mi, 1667 ft) Wednesday - 40 minute swim (2000 yds) with 5 miles of bike commutin... 2019-05-07T00:05:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-16/ April 28, 2019 to May 4, 2019 Sunday - 2.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest Day Tuesday - 1.5 hour swim (4050 yds) Wednesday - 15 laps on Mt. Tabor stairs (1,962 ft) and 7.5 miles of bike ... 2019-05-01T03:10:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-15/ April 21, 2019 to April 27, 2019 Sunday - 1.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest Day Tuesday - 50 minute swim (2,150 yds) with 5 miles of bike commuting + 1.5 hour bike ride (20 miles, 1654 ... 2019-04-24T04:33:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-14/ April 14, 2019 to April 20, 2019 Sunday - 2.25 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest Day Tuesday - 1.5 hour bike ride (20 miles, 1600 ft) Wednesday - 1 hour swim (3000 yds) and 5 miles of bike ... 2019-04-15T17:37:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-13/ April 7, 2019 to April 13, 2019 Sunday - 2.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest day. Tuesday - 2 hour bike ride (28.4 mi, 2680 ft) Wednesday - 45 minute swim (2000 yds) and 5 miles bike comm... 2019-04-08T23:44:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-12/ March 31, 2019 to April 6, 2019 Sunday - 2.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest day. Tuesday - Sick day! Wednesday - 1 hour bike ride (16.2 miles, 774 feet) Thursday - 1.5 hour bike ride (19... 2019-04-01T15:55:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-11/ March 24, 2019 to March 30, 2019 Sunday - 3.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest day. Tuesday - ~1 hour swim (2,475 yards), 1.5 hour bike ride (21 miles, 1627 ft) Wednesday - 17 easy laps on... 2019-03-25T01:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-10/ March 17, 2019 to March 23, 2019 Sunday - 1.75 hours on bike trainer. 30 minute ankle rehab + core workout Monday - 1 hour windy bike ride (1000 ft, 16.5 miles) Tuesday - 2 hour windy bike ride (2,270... 2019-03-16T22:35:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-9/ March 10, 2019 to March 16, 2019 Sunday - 2.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - Rest Day Tuesday - Rest Day Wednesday - Rest Day Thursday - 5 miles of bike commuting. 1.1 mile pool swim Friday -... 2019-03-13T00:31:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/40-thoughts-on-turning-40/ This birthday happened sooner than I expected. At some point, you are just living your life, day to day, month to month, doing your thing, and then the year 40 rolls around. Oh, is it here? Already? W... 2019-03-10T08:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-8/ March 3, 2019 to March 9, 2019 Sunday - 3.75 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - 9 miles of bike commuting. 1.5 mile pool swim Tuesday - Bike ride (21 miles, 1700 ft) Wednesday - Rest Day Thursday... 2019-03-05T05:31:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-7/ February 24, 2019 to March 2, 2019 Sunday - 3.5 hours bouldering at NE Circuit Monday - 1.75 mile pool swim Tuesday - Cold and windy bike ride (21 miles, 2000 ft) Wednesday - 16 laps on Mt. Tabor stai... 2019-02-25T04:28:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-6/ February 17, 2019 to February 23, 2019 Sunday - Downhill skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Monday - Rest day! Tuesday - 1.5 hours on bike trainer. Wednesday - 1 mile swim. Thursday - Council Crest bike ride (20... 2019-02-19T04:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-5/ February 10, 2019 to February 16, 2019 Sunday - 3 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit. Monday - Rest day! Tuesday - 1 hour of swimming (2700 yd = 1.5 miles). 1 hour on bike trainer. Wednesday - 1 hour o... 2019-02-11T05:28:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-4/ February 3, 2019 to February 9, 2019 Sunday - Full day of downhill skiing at Snoqualmie Pass Monday - Rest day! 2.5 miles of walking. Tuesday - 1 hour of swimming (2650 yd = 1.5 miles). Wednesday - Bi... 2019-02-04T02:03:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-3/ January 27, 2019 to February 2, 2019 Sunday - 3.5 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit. Monday - Rest day! 4 miles of walking. Tuesday - 52 minutes of swimming (2200 yd). 1 hour bike ride, 17 mi, 942 ft.... 2019-01-29T18:09:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/rye-hast-thou-forsaken-me/ If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a number of stories and posts about baking bread these past few months. Way back in September, Tina checked out Flour Water Salt Yeast from the Mult... 2019-01-28T02:03:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-2/ January 20, 2019 to January 26, 2019 Sunday - 3 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit. Monday - Rest day! 2.5 miles of walking. Tuesday - 40 minutes of swimming (1400 yards), 90 minute massage. Wednesday ... 2019-01-25T19:09:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/training-for-a-mt-hood-picnic/ Now that I have written up my ideas for A Mount Hood Picnic and posted them publicly, there is more pressure to sit down and work out some manner of training plan. Strict training plans have never bee... 2019-01-24T22:20:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/full-stack-developer-maintenance-edition/ The phrase "New Year, new you" comes to mind when it comes to websites. Sure, it is a little cliché, but January is a nice time to step back and double check that everything is working well for your w... 2019-01-20T08:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/picnic-training-week-1/ January 13, 2019 to January 19, 2019 Sunday - 3 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit. Monday - Bike to Mt. Tabor, do six laps, bike home (21 miles, 2000 ft elevation) Tuesday - 20 minute swim (1100 yards... 2019-01-17T22:22:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/internet-security-checklist/ Presented here, an open source checklist of resources designed to improve your online privacy and security.The only things I have not checked off is using a VPN and freezing my credit. The VPN is beca... 2019-01-14T18:27:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-mount-hood-picnic/ Update: Read about our Mt. Hood Picnic! A couple years ago, REI produced a short video titled "A Walk in the Park", where Kelly Halpin attempted a Grand Teton backcountry triathlon, where she biked 23... 2018-10-10T05:56:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/wilderness-first-aid-kits-on-the-guide/ Wrote up my first How-To article on The Guide called "Wilderness First Aid Kits" 2018-09-06T16:41:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/6-months-to-40/ Hello there. Wow, the summer went fast. I swear it just started a month ago and now we’re squarely in September. I can barely remember spring too. Really meant to go for more bike rides, more trail ru... 2018-08-03T19:09:13Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mt-shuksan-august-2018/ Alpine Training up on Mt Shuksan last weekend with @kafadventures Working on raising our skills t... 2018-06-21T23:36:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/money-to-the-cause/ We as Americans have a difficult time talking about money. For instance, the question "How much do you make?" is tacitly understood to be forbidden in many offices. And yet, transparency and informati... 2018-05-28T18:30:21Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/immigration-in-the-united-states/ ACLU Report: "Migrant children under the care of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were allegedly beaten, threatened with sexual violence and repeatedly assaulted while in custody betw... 2018-05-12T20:08:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-trip-report-for-mt-hoods-spicy-day/ Your browser does not support the video tag. ... 2018-05-11T03:40:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/thoughts-before-a-climb/ We're intending to climb Mt. Hood tonight, or at least give it a shot. We were planning on going up early Saturday morning with a friend, but she has gotten a bad case of nasal lubrication galore and ... 2018-04-30T22:56:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-connections/ Sarah Jeong posted an insightful article on The Verge today titled "I tried leaving Facebook. I couldn’t" and I think it really encapsulates the reality of Facebook for many people, including most of ... 2018-04-26T04:34:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/bring-coffee/ I am having one of those days where I am feeling a bit slow and lazy, where one feels like they are not accomplishing anything or achieving things fast enough. Sure, sure. I donated a pint of blood to... 2018-03-11T19:26:51Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mount-st-helens-march-2018/ Your browser does not support the video tag. What does on... 2018-02-26T23:13:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-case-of-mistaken-wax/ I have many crafty friends. They can do everything from making their own clothes to building a pizza oven in their backyard. While I dabble in baking and have on occasion made my own Halloween costume... 2018-02-18T19:11:17Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/open-letter-to-americans/ Look, I try not to be an ass. Here’s the thing though. Most of you assholes are not trying hard enough to make the world a better place. I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more! But, yo... 2018-01-22T06:51:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-continuing-climbing-saga/ At the end of November, The Circuit had a Black Friday sale where annual memberships were 20% off. Given I had been going consistently 2-3 times a week since early September, a membership seemed inevi... 2018-01-11T05:41:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/adulting-so-damn-hard/ A combination of factors towards the end of last year convinced me that it was time to take care of a few matters that I had long neglected or simply put off because I felt it was not quite time to fo... 2017-11-12T23:57:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/technical-skills-vs-will-power/ It really gnaws at me when I cannot get a bouldering problem well within my abilities. Unlike running, biking, thru-hiking, backcountry skiing, and a significant amount of mountaineering there is no w... 2017-11-09T18:36:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/shit-am-i-a-climber/ Last night while bouldering at the Circuit, I banged out two new v4s. The previous session I did the same thing and redid my third v5 with a cleaner start. I started bouldering on a regular basis at ... 2017-11-04T20:03:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/progression-of-things/ Oh, I was a foolish man when I thought the Kilvin CMS beta would happen if I started working again. The contractor in Boulder has been keeping me busy and I have been incredibly focused on completing ... 2017-10-17T19:44:39Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/leavenworth-climbing-october-2017/ Bouldering in Leavenworth this past week. Chilly at night but you could not ask for better weather to cl... 2017-09-05T23:03:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/inching-closer-to-an-alpha/ Back in May, on a whim, I took an old CMS that I had worked on years ago and start playing around with its innards trying to make it work on a more modern foundation. The only goal was to help myself ... 2017-08-30T23:12:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-light-of-other-days/ Here we are 3.5 weeks until the Mountain Lakes 100 and I am about 50% sure that I am not going to do it. The ankle took longer to rehabilitate than I would have liked but after two weeks of steady pro... 2017-08-15T05:20:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-best-laid-plans/ The training week of July 31st to August 6th went a little nutty towards the end. According to Weather Underground, Portland's temperatures for that week had our average being 96°F, with our high bein... 2017-08-02T05:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-day-of-reckoning-approaches/ Here we are in August and the NUT 100K is less than three weeks away and the Mountain Lakes 100 is five weeks after that. The time is approaching where the countless hours of running, recovering, and ... 2017-06-26T23:07:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tea-lunch-coffee-breakfast-and-beer/ As a typical specimen of Introvertus sapien, keeping friends up to date with the various going ons of my life can be exhausting.That is one of the reasons I continue to use Facebook. By simply uploadi... 2017-06-26T17:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/groot-cms-wip/ I continue plugging away on the new CMS, which I have codenamed Groot CMS for the time being. The conversion to the Illuminate Query Builder was completed after working steadily every morning for two ... 2017-05-19T20:59:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-continuing-voyages/ Coding. Training. Eating. Those are my tasks right now. First, the coding. On a whim, I pulled out an old copy of ExpressionEngine 1.7 and started modifying it to work with PHP 7.1 on my local Homest... 2017-05-08T16:46:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/death-on-mt-hood-yesterday/ A man from Seattle fell on Mt. Hood yesterday and died at the hospital. According to reports, he fell long after we were down and on our way back to Portland, so we did not hear about it until last ... 2017-05-01T16:22:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/ueli-steck/ We all learned yesterday that Ueli Steck died yesterday while climbing on Mt. Nuptse near Mt. Everest in preparation for an ambitious project connecting the two mountains. The NY Times has an obituary... 2017-04-27T17:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/catching-up-on-my-reading/ One of the downsides of being fully employed and using oodles of mental energy just to get through an 8-hour work day is that I felt completely drained by the time I came home. Not much of a desire to... 2017-04-24T17:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/reboot/ Oh, let's see. What's going on around here?My fifth Wilderness First Responder course was completed in February and I am now certified for two more years. The course took place at the OMSI Hancock Fie... 2017-02-08T06:55:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/adventures-in-sickness-and-training/ Tried to write a blog entry last weekend and a cruel stomach bug took me down a notch for the entire weekend. Nothing like being pale, shaky, and exhausted when you should be trail running and skiing.... 2016-06-29T03:48:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-tedium-of-job-applications/ I'd hire me... Greetings, [redacted] - Year ago, back in Jr. High, I won 1st Place in the Earth Sciences division of my school's science fair. It was the crowning achievement of my early life and I... 2016-06-12T19:46:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-nation-of-mass-shootings/ It’s frustrating. My Senators and Representative definitely know my views and they overwhelmingly agree with me. I annually give money to organizations that work to advocate for gun control and reduce... 2016-06-04T18:28:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-first-week-of-summer/ One of the greatest difficulties with having a blog that is read by friends, acquaintances, current and former employers, current and former coworkers, and then the entire internet (who only knows you... 2016-06-02T17:27:20Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-guide/ Ladies and gentlemen. Here is a little project that I started in the last month and am now unveiling a bit more publicly today. The Guide! This is an idea that has been percolating for nearly a year... 2016-05-26T20:45:54Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/everything-wrong-with-star-trek-the-motion-picture/ Link. CinemaSins does an excellent job showing how painfully bad the first Star Trek film was. I am not much of a fan of the Star Trek reboot films, but I have to admit, they're better than this one. ... 2016-05-24T03:56:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-second-cup-of-tea/ Wrote an article for the new project, completely rebuilt my computer’s OS and software including all development systems, biked 24 miles (which included doing Portland's Steepest Climb twice), and eve... 2016-05-19T18:13:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/dissatisfaction-and-dependencies/ The blog post "Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed" is making the rounds on social media again two years after it was written and rereading it now is pushing me to write about my own views. In j... 2016-04-29T18:37:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/reed-class-of-2001-reunion-email/ Hi Paul, Can you believe it’s our 15th Reed reunion this year? Nope. Thanks for the reminder that 15 entire years of my life have flown by though. Whoosh! We’re planning a party for the Class of 2001 ... 2016-04-26T21:12:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-temple-of-productivity/ Watched my first episode of Silicon Valley the other day and was completely horrified. Not by its lack of technoliteracy or its presentation of nerds as socially inept children (which still seems pret... 2016-04-25T16:42:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/disney-development-mashups-beauty-and-the-beast/ 2016-04-22T05:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-fistful-of-words/ Lots of typing today. There are two startup ideas I have that a potential partner wanted more information on, so I spent an hour this morning typing up an email for each startup describing the problem... 2016-04-17T20:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/strava-wars-the-search-for-more-data/ A year ago, when I switched from training for a 50K trail run to training to bike 100+ miles for Reach the Beach, I finally downloaded the Strava app for my iPhone. At the periphery of my knowledge, I... 2016-04-10T17:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/print-worthy-photos-from-mt-hood/ Three weeks ago, after a night of revelry in celebration of a friend's birthday, I got up early on Friday and drove to Mt. Hood for a solo ski up to the top of Palmer Glacier. This winter has seen a c... 2016-04-09T23:26:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/2016-activity-log/ As an active, outdoorsy, geeky, and nerdy individual who gobbles up medical studies and gear reviews nearly every single day, I have oddly never made a real record of my athletic activities. Off and o... 2016-04-04T19:03:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/laravel-logging-customization/ It has been bothering me for a while that Laravel's default logging sort of tossed everything together into one file. I use Info and Debugging messages quite frequently in my work just to keep track o... 2016-03-23T18:17:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/fuck-yes-or-no/ I remember reading this "Fuck Yes or No" for dating a couple years ago and generally agreeing with the approach. Not just for dating but pretty much all serious relationships in one's life. Love and w... 2016-03-23T17:18:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/sanders-coverage-by-ny-times/ It is a bit mind-blowing how skewed the coverage for Sanders has been compared to Clinton on the NY Times. Even when he wins multiple states like he did yesterday, they often put him in as an aftertho... 2016-03-15T05:46:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/how-to-make-the-ultimate-outdoor-tinder-profile/ Link. "While it’s a lot of fun to be a dirtbag, sleep in the back of your truck, shower at public restrooms, and eat ramen for dinner six nights a week, that lifestyle may not be super appealing to po... 2016-03-14T20:41:49Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-monday-in-march/ The same day I opened up a document and titled it "Resupply Strategy" I also received an email asking me to do a phone interview for a job in London. I lead a special life."But, Paul, have you asked y... 2016-02-29T22:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/thats-now-how-the-force-works/ Update (Jan 25, 2019): RedBubble sent me a notification today that they have removed my work because of a DMCA request from LucasFilms/Disney. Given it's Disney, I cannot really fault RedBubble for do... 2016-02-05T07:14:28Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/late-night-thoughts/ Google Search: How to run for President."Wow, that's it? Hmmmmm..." 2016-01-27T05:24:32Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/composition-in-storytelling/ "Every single shot in cinema uses composition. Those images that haunt us, astound us, they evoke such emotions not just because they are beautiful but because they carry meaning." The more I learn ... 2016-01-26T22:20:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mpc-the-martian-vfx-breakdown/ Mind-blowing how nearly perfectly integrated special effects are into the movie creation process. It did not even occur to me while watching The Martian that their helmets might be digitally rendered.... 2016-01-22T19:53:59Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/db-backup-script-for-forge-or-homestead/ Had a client that wanted to have hourly backups but also keep a daily backup around for a couple weeks too. Shell scripting is definitely something I only dabble in but this seems to do the trick. Con... 2016-01-20T17:32:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/just-another-wednesday-in-january/ Is today the day I get my life on track? Could it be? I mean, it could be! Let's close our eyes and wish really hard! ::apocalypse starts:: Figures... 2016-01-13T05:34:33Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/nano-impressions-with-ross-marquand/ These are truly stellar. 2016-01-11T17:38:24Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/wwii-hero-credits-luck-and-chance-in-foiling-hitlers-nuclear-ambitions/ Link. NY Times profile of Joachim Ronneberg, 96, the only living member of a World War II commando team that blew up a Norwegian plant that was Nazi Germany’s only source of heavy water. “There were ... 2016-01-11T01:09:09Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-fall-of-ben-solo-from-chewies-perspective/ Link. Oof. Can you imagine? Not even touched on in The Force Awakens but now that this relationship has been into my mind I am having a hard time not wanting to know more back story. 2016-01-11T01:06:37Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/obi-wan-remembers-the-truth/ I have often thought the Prequels were a worthwhile world to explore but the films were poorly executed. Videos like this just reinforce this belief. 2016-01-06T05:47:48Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/82-summits-in-62-days-ueli-steck-tests-his-endurance-in-the-alps/ Link. "Ueli decided to return to the Alps to attempt a very different take on a classic alpine challenge; climb all 82 summits of 4,000 metres or above in the European Alps in less than 80 days, and t... 2015-12-31T19:14:15Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/happy-new-tropical-or-anomalistic-or-sidereal-earth-orbital-time-period/ Link. The Bad Astronomer (Phil Plait–you should totally follow him on Twitter) explains exactly what a year is. Sort of. Read the article, you will understand what I mean. 2015-12-24T00:20:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/cabin-designs-from-balance-associates-architects/ Link. Just idle daydreaming while a download is happening on my computer. Found via Cabin Porn. 2015-12-23T17:33:37Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/how-we-made-the-muppet-christmas-carol-the-guardian/ Link. Probably my favorite Muppet movie by far, mostly because they treated the source material so well. It felt like the Muppets were actually actors in a production of the Christmas Carol. 2015-12-17T18:12:03Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/google-doodle-for-beethovens-245th-birthday/ Link. Was starting to have a seriously ugh morning before I started playing with this. 2015-12-17T17:51:46Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/propublica-we-blew-17-billion-in-afghanistan/ Link. "ProPublica poured over more than 200 audits, special projects and inspections done by SIGAR since 2009 and built a database to add up the total cost of failed reconstruction projects. Looking a... 2015-12-16T04:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/laravel-craft-cms-caching-and-gzip-oh-my/ Last month, I launched the new site for a client's online resource for books. While only a beta (client just announced it to friends this week), it is a taste of things to come as I am about halfway t... 2015-12-16T03:56:11Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/why-were-going-back-to-the-moon-with-or-without-nasa/ Link. ArsTechnica dives deep into why the discovery of water on the moon means we might have a solid chance of transplanting a few humans on other worlds before I die. 2015-12-14T18:32:23Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/new-zealand-war-against-the-fruit-fly/ Link. Announcement was quickly followed by a response from Fruit Fly High Command: Insects! We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it... 2015-12-13T19:24:35Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/copyright-is-really-getting-out-of-hand/ User banned from Facebook for taking photo of purchased Star Wars toy.UK Copyright changes may make it technically illegal to photograph your own furniture. 2015-11-30T21:04:55Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/donald-trump-just-going-to-keep-saying-he-saw-new-jersey-muslims-celebrating-9-11/ Link. Xenophobic blowhard running for President continues to tell lies and be delusional. In other news, another Republican Presidential candidate has become well known for his Princess Bride impressi... 2015-11-30T18:57:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-north-american-indian-1904-1924/ Link. "With Morgan’s backing, Curtis spent more than 20 years crisscrossing North America, creating over 40,000 images of more than 80 different tribes. He made thousands of wax cylinder recordings of... 2015-11-23T19:00:25Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/i-turned-off-javascript-for-a-whole-week-and-it-was-glorious-wired/ Link. "It showed me how unnecessary the clutter that’s been built up around the web really is, and just how easy it is to make it all go away." 2015-11-23T18:56:50Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/server-environments-puphpet/ For the past few months I have been exclusively using Laravel Homestead for all of my personal and professional development, mostly because when combined with Forge it greatly reduces my need to focus... 2015-11-20T17:29:04Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-syrian-refugee-debate-a-closer-look-late-night-with-seth-meyers/ Link. Half of the state governors and pretty much every GOP Presidential candidate wants to either block or greatly restrict the number of Syrian Refugees entering the United States. Seth Meyers provi... 2015-11-18T03:23:48Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/syrian-refugees-those-in-need/ More than half of the governors in the United States support refusing entry of Syrian refugees into the United States. These are people who are desperate to escape their war torn country and the very ... 2015-11-18T03:02:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gods-of-egypt-trailer/ Link. This is ridiculous! Ridiculously awesome!! Stargate meets Thor? 2015-11-16T18:04:04Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-most-misread-poem-in-america/ Link. "The poem isn’t a salute to can-do individualism; it’s a commentary on the self-deception we practice when constructing the story of our own lives." 2015-11-12T06:37:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-return-of-the-reedmaniac-blog/ Welcome back to reedmaniac.com! It has been gone for years! It went off exploring the world and trying to find itself. Naturally, that did not work out and only resulted in a few odd quirks in persona... 2015-10-01T07:03:07Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/how-doth-the-little-busy-bee/ How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!How skilfully she builds her cell! How neat she spreads the wax! And labors hard to store... 2015-09-20T18:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/se-alaska-trip-report/ So, I went to SE Alaska for two weeks and it was amazing! Took the Alaska Marine Highway up to Ketchikan and saw gorgeous scenic beauty with multiple sightings of whales–or at least their spouts and a... 2015-08-03T22:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/where-do-we-go-from-here/ Been an interesting few days here at the Lohrenz Shelter for Displaced Persons - Anacortes branch. Ideas are being discussed, links shared, and decisions slowly being made. Now, plans are slowly being... 2015-08-01T22:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/western-huckleberries/ During the Upper Rogue River hike with Oregon Wild two weeks ago to learn more about the Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal, I continually had to slow down to pick the berries that were tantalizingly clo... 2015-07-31T16:24:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/old-snowy-moody-weather-edition/ Old Snowy — Moody Weather Edition 2015-07-05T22:19:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/summer-revelations-of-cosmic-importance/ I am not so good with sitting still and relaxing.Hot afternoons do not agree with my constitution.Despite my easily attained swarthy summer complexion, it is possible for me to receive too much sun.Re... 2015-07-05T21:34:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/first-five-days/ 2015-06-30T18:37:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tangled-in-strings/ Today I leave for the summer. I am unemployed. I am homeless. And, I have no idea where I will eventually end up.Part of me is trying to work itself up and feel at least a little excitement or perhaps... 2015-06-07T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/best-of-times-worst-of-times/ I am not one to raise my voice in times of intense pressure. Neither do I ignore responsibilities or easily lose my ability to focus. I am gifted with the ability to push myself to an exceptional degr... 2015-04-06T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/welcome-to-your-midnight-rabbit-hole/ At least once a week I suffer through what I like to call Someone is Wrong on the Internet! syndrome. I will see what is obviously meant to be an offhand comment about an article on either Facebook or... 2015-03-31T22:21:25Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/on-a-rainy-afternoon/ And then you randomly discover an email that you thought you had long ago deleted. Ah yes, there, there was the girl who made you think that maybe falling in love was too dangerous. Even for you. 2015-03-31T03:17:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-relationship-with-work/ Not sure whether it is the season (In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to...job hunting?) but there seems to be no shortage of people currently seeking a change in employment. Numerous t... 2015-03-20T03:58:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/greedy-greedy-greedy/ Through the usual social media channels, I found a handy little guide written by an AT thru-hiker called Mariposa that helps people decide on whether they should carry a hammock, tent, or tarp on thei... 2015-02-18T04:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/im-a-developer/ I didn't want to be a CTO. I wanted to be...a developer! Leaping from repo to repo as they are forked from among the mighty projects of GitHub! With my best Mac by my side!The Laravel! The jQuery! The... 2015-02-14T08:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/on-the-nature-of-things/ While last year was the year of taking care of things–paying off student loans, paying off credit card debt from the thru-hike, buying a new computer, getting the car maintenance done–this year is the... 2015-01-31T08:32:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/diego/ Diego wormed his way into my heart by being exactly the kind of animal I could not resist. He was so content just to hang out and be your calm, reliable best friend. I so desperately needed a friend... 2015-01-30T06:57:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-troubling-lack-of-snow/ Back in the month of November, Mt. Hood seemed to be preparing us for an excellent season of snow. On my first trip up to the mountain, the sky was clear, the temperature was in the teens, and one c... 2014-12-30T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/13-years-1-month-15-days/ That is how long I have been paying my Reed College student loans. And today, they are entirely paid off.There is no excitement, no cheer being raised, only a sense of finality. The debt has been paid... 2014-10-12T17:41:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/impactflow-is-alive/ Just under two weeks ago, the ImpactFlow platform was officially launched during a party at the EcoTrust building in downtown Portland The development process was not unlike the writing of a Reed Seni... 2014-10-04T18:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/river-of-lethe/ A bumper crop of engagements and weddings appeared this year, providing a rather steady stream of pokes from the stick of singlehood. Gentle reminders that many friends are buying houses, taking engag... 2014-06-17T03:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/damage-assessment/ While cruising down a bike route ten days ago during one of our recent spats of hot afternoons, I was observing the neighborhood for a possible move when my front bike tire got snagged in one of the m... 2014-05-29T17:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/vp-of-engineering/ Despite requiring significant allocations of mental resources, I am not one to really jabber on about my work recently. There is a slight problem in that our main product has not launched yet, so we... 2014-05-21T18:09:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/pacific-crest-trail-2013/ Hola, comrades!During one of Hatch's monthly Community Gatherings, I was talking with a woman whose son was contemplating hiking part of the Pacific Crest Trail and wanted a few resources to help him ... 2014-04-27T04:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-terrible-inconvenience/ In the continuing saga of navel gazing because, let us be honest, YouTube is growing a bit stale, we attempt to evaluate why I prefer to spend my Saturday night working, reading, or writing blog entri... 2014-04-01T06:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/a-shadows-shadow/ If there is one component of my personality that seems to cause the most difficulties, it is my questioning of nearly every component of my life, repeatedly and without mercy. Even when an internal co... 2014-03-14T04:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/training/ There is a misconception among friends that since I was able to complete the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail that my knee is magically all better. I am not sure how to politely phrase it to them h... 2014-03-09T18:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mind-and-iron/ Where do we begin...My birthday was last week and despite my continued calls to absolve the day of any significance, I still find myself suffused with thoughts of the past 35 years of life. In inverse... 2013-11-24T20:40:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/negative-ghost-rider-the-mind-is-full/ The disconnect from self and society stemming from my thru-hike is rather difficult to verbalize. Ask me details about how to successfully backpack 2600+ miles and I can talk your ear off. Ask me how ... 2013-11-09T21:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-secret-life-of-the-thru-hiker/ Returning to civilization has been more of a struggle than I expected. While thru-hiking I can only remember a few mornings when it was exceptionally difficult to get out of my sleeping bag and contin... 2013-10-27T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gear-review-clothing/ According to the PCTA, the Pacific Crest Trail travels through three national monuments, five state parks, seven national parks, 24 national forests and 47 wilderness areas. It traverses deserts, fo... 2013-10-19T18:30:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/post-hike-first-aid-kit/ When I was building my first-aid kit for the Pacific Crest Trail, oh so many months ago, I was aiming for a balance between weight and what my training would realistically let me handle in the wild... 2013-10-09T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gear-review-not-clothing/ Sleeping Pad - Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite A sleeping pad is critical to any sleeping system nowadays. Gone is the era when four hobbits would cuddle together underneath an outcropping with their woo... 2013-10-08T16:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/thru-hiking-the-pct-in-1977/ While reading another thru-hiker's blog, I discovered this collection of photos from 1977 from a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker. Mind blowing how much has changed in the past 35 years and yet still se... 2013-10-06T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gear-review-the-big-three/ Taking a cue from Amelia's first post-hike gear review, I am breaking my reviews up into slightly more manageable chunks. This first one will be about the big three of backpacking: the pack, the sl... 2013-10-03T03:46:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-pct-final-gear-list/ Below is my final PCT gear list. These are the items that I ended up carrying and wearing by the end of my thru-hike. In point of fact, this was pretty much what I was using from Agua Dulce on and w... 2013-10-02T21:09:35Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-post-hike-doldrums/ The first few days after a thru-hike seem to be a bit more organized and settled than the week after. When you first get off the trail, you still have a bit of a journey to get clean, fed, and back to... 2013-09-30T01:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/officially-a-thru-hiker/ Last Monday morning (September 23rd, 2013), I crossed the Canadian border and officially became a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker five months and one day after starting from the Mexican border. After... 2013-09-15T15:06:40Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/almost-there/ Sitting in a hotel room in Skykomish, Washington waiting for the cafe downstairs to open to have my last, civilized breakfast before finishing the last 187 miles of the trail. Yup, that is all th... 2013-08-23T17:25:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/northern-california-oregon-and-portland/ Two months! I have not posted in two months! Not since Tuolumne Meadows! And now I am sitting at my friend Dave's house in Portland, where I will be leading a backpacking trip for Reed College star... 2013-06-26T00:57:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/hike-your-own-hike-purism/ The phrase "Hike Your Own Hike" is thrown around regularly by hikers as a reflexive catchphrase meant to suggest that everyone's hike is their own and despite any differences we may have between ou... 2013-06-22T03:18:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/connection-not-found/ Been quite a long while since I posted a blog entry. While the trail has challenges when it comes to water and food, it is nothing compared to the inability to reliably connect to the internet. Fir... 2013-05-26T19:18:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/what-do-you-miss-most-being-on-the-trail/ Thinking about this question, what first comes to mind is what I do not miss. The noise of civilization comes to mind first. I have taken longish backcountry trips before and when I returned to Portla... 2013-05-26T02:35:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/bad-days/ You know what they say.Some things in life are bad,They can really make you mad.Other things just make you swear and curse.When you're chewing on life's gristle,Don't grumble, give a whistle!And this'... 2013-05-20T04:07:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/what-do-you-think-about-while-hiking/ A somewhat common belief about long distance hiking is that you will have plenty of time to think. Figure out your troubles, work through problems, and contemplate deep thoughts. As I have a tedious t... 2013-05-20T03:18:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/hiker-heaven/ Mile 454.5 is in a little town known as Agua Dulce. The main "strip" is a grocery store, a few restaurants, a bakery, and a liquor store. However, if you take a left right after the bakery and go a mi... 2013-05-15T19:23:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-body-review-part-i/ When I started this trip, I had very little confidence that I would finish it. Honestly, when I was boarding the flight from Bellingham to San Diego, I admitted I thought I would be back within the we... 2013-05-14T21:33:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/the-gear-review-part-i/ Despite having rather speedy 4G access in most towns, I have been finding it extremely difficult to write anything on the iPhone. Simply is not a big enough screen with the keyboard to make writing ... 2013-05-09T18:49:17Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/booking-it/ I am sure this comes as surprise to no one who has ever done any manner of outdoor activity with me, but I am both rather speedy and impatient. Prone to hours of intensive activity with single minded ... 2013-05-03T23:28:56Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/fires-and-burn-bans/ Southern California is extremely dry right now. This is the second low snow year in the Sierras and every single hiker is referring to the PCT Water Report as if it was holy scripture. Our lives are c... 2013-05-02T21:10:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/idyllwild/ My day is ending in Idyllwild in a motel room with three other hikers who I just met earlier today on the trail. That is one of the magical parts of the Pacific Crest Trail. You meet people from multi... 2013-04-29T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/warner-springs/ Here we are 110 miles into the Pacific Crest Trail. I am waiting inside the Warner Springs Post Office's lobby waiting for it to open so I can grab my first mailed resupply package and my first set of... 2013-04-26T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/tuning-in-from-the-pct/ The hiking is going well but the energy levels at the end of the day for blogging have been non-existent. I am currently sitting underneath the overpass at Scissors Crossing waiting for the sun to sin... 2013-04-19T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/outwardly-calm/ Almost feel like I could just publish this entry with that title and skip the whole explanation bit. I mean, we have all had that experience where there is nothing left to do but wait and see how the ... 2013-04-18T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/certifiable/ In mid-February, I spent two weeks in Central Oregon taking a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course offered by NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute and sponsored by the Oregon Museum of Science and ... 2013-04-15T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gear-list/ Below is my current gear list for the trail with everything in my pack measured with a baking scale for accuracy. This is actually copied over from an even more detailed spreadsheet I created, so ho... 2013-04-11T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/pct-frequently-asked-questions/ As I sit here munching on peanut M&Ms that are meant for my first few days on the trail, I think I will finally buckle down and answer the most commonly asked questions when I mention my Pacific C... 2013-04-11T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/mind-the-gap/ Despite feeling adequately prepared for the trip itself, the pace of things needing to get done beforehand has quickened of late. This is my last week of work, so naturally there is a rush to polish o... 2013-04-09T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/gear-testers-for-keen/ Your feet are likely the most important part of your anatomy for long distance hiking. With 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments your foot absorbs shock, keeps ... 2013-04-05T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/too-much-latitude/ To assist in preparing physically I have been spending a couple hours after work every day hiking in Fort Worden State Park with my backpack loaded to the gills with clothing and water. While the park... 2013-04-03T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/food-conversations/ Amelia: I am not sure this is enough.Paul: OK, then just add more calories.Amelia: ::looking askant:: I feel like we're not having the same conversation!Paul: Oh, right, I will eat whatever is put in ... 2013-04-02T07:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/never-tell-me-the-odds/ Trying to discover the success rate for thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is problematic with estimates ranging anywhere from 20-60%. For example, the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) has a ... 2013-04-02T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/imperceptible-eye-twitching/ If all goes according to plan, I will start hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in under three weeks. This very month! As I am so very human, I am starting to develop little momentary panics over things th... 2013-03-31T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/what-s-for-dinner/ As one would imagine, when you are hiking for 8-10 hours every day for months on end, food is an important consideration. I particularly love this tidbit from the Plan Your Hike website: The Basa... 2013-03-27T00:00:00Z https://reedmaniac.com/entries/hard-as-life/ Stubbornness is one of my defining characteristics. There is a voice in my head at all times that is a cheeky and rather brutally honest critic. I do not always listen to him because, let's be fair, s...