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 ✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 3rd of December 2013 at 12:08:43 PM You might know well, after looking at this blog, that Ellie is my Husky, or more to the point of this post, was. She had a series of strokes today and as a result the compassionate thing was to euthanize her. The need to make this decision for an animal that depends upon you is heavy and it was the concern of everyone involved that she not suffer. I am deeply appreciative of my mother, who tended to Ellie in old age. My mom was a trooper in helping Ellie up and down the steps, nearly weekly vet runs, and all the various chores involved in taking care of such an old dog. I do not know what else to say, except two core concepts to what it means to be me:
- Dogs give us this micro view of our own lives – reminding us always of the joy in the world, and the limit of our time here, which remind us how important it is to love as much as we can. This is why I love this article: The last word: Why old dogs are the best dogs
- In order to take on love you need to embrace the totality of the experience, which can, in this case, end in sadness. I wish there were a word for this sense I have, but I think of it like ying and yang makes a the whole.
I suppose if you read this or see my annoucements of her passing, and you want to do something, hug a dog, child, person or otherwise that you love.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Monday, 26th of November 2012 at 12:39:37 AM Where to being with this one; it was another amazing trip at a time which caps my first year of climbing outside. A year with 40+ days at the Gunks, Katahdin, Whitney-Gillman, The New River Gorge, Indian Creek and Red Rocks. I have met some incredible people, had some amazing adventures, been scared nearly to the point of crying, and lots of cuts and bruises.
This trip, with Alex, to Red Rocks was simply perfect in every way; from the patience of Alex and his gentle “we have to keep moving” to the routes we picked and the laughing back in the hotel at night. I think one night we were laughing because we were both happy to have made it back. More on that later.
Day one: landing and we went right to the climbs, picking Tunnel Vision. A great multi-pitch at about 750 feet or so. Alex and I alternated leads with my leading the tunnel. This climb was really fun – I know that sounds lame, but the chimney, face, caveish, and crack climbing all added up to a really fun 5.7. I am convinced I did the crux pitch where there was a strange move from the face back into the crack. Maybe thiner people with no packs on might be able to chimney move of this climb. The tunnel was really fun with my laughing the whole time. It is really thin of pro, but I got in three pieces.
Day two: up CRAZY early, I am grumpy, and I accidentally break smash my bottle of bourbon on the floor of the hotel’s breakfast area resulting in us being branded as trouble makers by the staff. I think Alex has some photos of my trying to clean up an entire bottle of bourbon at 6am.
» Continue reading Red Rocks – End of Year One
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Thursday, 15th of November 2012 at 10:14:25 PM
The highlights and some good beta:
- Tape gloves, make them, it is like climbing on sandpaper
- BLM lands for camping are great, but be prepared to share with people
- Camping meaning brining everything in with you, wood, fuel, etc…
- Access Fund has put in a heck of a lot of outhouses
- The common guide book is pretty crappy, we relied on Mountain Project on my iPhone. I cannot tell you how many times we said, ‘this guy never did this climb…’
- Cell service is spotty/non-existant in the canyons, you will be mostly off the grid while there (which is cool, if you ask me!)
- So you think you have enough gear? You dont, make friends by chatting people up and swap gear.
- The best climbs are “unnamed”
- Crack climbing is radically different then other kinds of climbing and there is almost no way to climb easier cracks, which is why most of the climbs are 10 and above.
The desert is stunningly beautiful.
Alex and I flew in late Wednesday evening, meeting in Denver. Be warned the flight from Denver from Moab (CNY) is a small 16 person propeller setup. It was not fun. Here is a lesson, maybe think hard about flying into SLC and driving down. The second reason for this is that the airline that flies this short route lost all of Alex’s luggage. We arrived in Moab on the most gear heavy climbing trip on earth and half our collective gear is MIA.
We decided to stay in a hotel in Moab and get some food, hoping the luggage would come the next day. It didn’t, it didn’t showed up until days later. We went to the local outfitter and got a sleeping bag, a stove, and a harness for Alex, because the rest of the stuff I had and we figured we could work it out.
» Continue reading Indian Creek and Moab
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 6th of November 2012 at 09:17:19 AM A quick note to let everyone know that aquaDRAMA was devastated by the week long power outage. Let me be clear, this is the only thing that happened to me, otherwise I am perfectly fine and INCREDIBLY lucky compared to many. Having my tank die is nothing compared to having no home, a family member lost, etc… If you can help people who are badly off, please go do so.
As for the tank, I have rebooted it – drained it, removed all the dead animals, cleaned the sump, and filled it back up with good water. I then seeded it with a started culture to help the cycle restart and I am hoping it will be good in a couple days. I will post more as this unfolds. I am also going to install a new sump, replumb, and install a new UPS to help make the tank more stable in the future.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Monday, 15th of October 2012 at 04:14:58 PM  For those who do not like the metal cables to the ceiling; aquaDRAMA got a new lighting setup over the weekend based upon 2 EcoTech Marine Radion LED fixtures mounted lengthwise across my 90 gallon tank. There is one small issue, the controls of the lamps are right next to the mounting hole and it makes it harder to push on them. Honestly, I am not sure how often you would need to touch them, so I am not too perturbed. If I were the solution is simple, buy slightly higher risers and longer bolts. The whole mount was less then 100$ and was able to order the parts precut from Esto Connectors.
532300-BX 1″ STRAIGHT BASE CONTR (BLACK)
521100-BX 1″ 2 WAY RIGHT ANGLE CONNECTOR (BLACK)
109150-AB 1″ SQ. .A.A. TUBING .065 (BLACK) 4 lengths @ 5 inches
109150-AB 1″ SQ. .A.A. TUBING .065 (BLACK) 2 lengths @ 45 inches
I also ordered 4″ and 6″ risers just to be safe. EcoTech sugests the lamps be 8″ off the water and I wanted to be able to adjust as needed.
The bolts I used are listed on Amazon as “Metric Black Oxide 12.9 Alloy Steel Socket Head Cap Screw, Hex Socket Drive, M5-0.80, 40 mm Length”. I bet you can find them around supply shops without buying 100, but oh well. Again, if you want to be able to touch the controls use longer bolts. I also put in small rubber washers between the bolt and the rack.
As for the holes, find a drill but a drill press is better. Measure the middle of the 1″ tube, and then space them out as much as you like. The mounting holes are 9.72″. I would not cross beam the rack as it doesn’t need it, and that just makes for more trouble in lining up the mounting. The units are only about 3lbs each, so weight it not an issue at all.
If you have any questions, let me know.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Monday, 20th of August 2012 at 07:15:11 AM So, listen my children and you will hear of the weekend of your protagonist – and if you can name where that opening live is from, then you are from New England for sure. It was the best of all bests lined up for a great time.
The ingredients; some off width madness as seen on the internet, amazing weather, some old friends and some new ones, good conversation, a little whiskey and a little less skin on your protagonist this morning, who by the way, is enjoying writing Saramago-esqe, massively joined sentences, while rocking out to Led Zeppelin on the the PATH train, with a huge smile on his face, as he realizes that life is just about as good as it gets, which is pretty damn good; there Saramago, do I need to bring life to a dog character, oh wait, I have. Whoa, even my digression is a little off today. It is going to be a good day.
 Back to the tale at hand; the pack forms mid day and decides to remove the metaphorical flesh on Disco Death March, Nathan Named ‘Disco Death Match’. I give it this name because it isn’t a march, it is a match between you and some awesome crazy off-width mess that makes the mind light up and the abs hurt. Up, kneebar, out to the left, up around a crazy corner and, I mean, I have no idea what you call this move; body jam, skin removal, agressive dermabrasion?
» Continue reading The Bag of Sand Encased in Hydroxyapatite
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 14th of August 2012 at 10:19:14 PM It was early Sunday morning, I was with Paul at The Gunks and the climb we wanted to do was occupied a couple parties deep. I am bad at recalling what they are named, because most of the names are a little dated, so I tend to make up new names that are close. This was one was dubbed Snookie’s Revenge, her revenge being that she turned being a loud mouth into a career, just like my Governor. Next door is a 9 that I believe is called Friends and Lovers, “Nathan Name” Wake Me Up When It Starts, also in contention is Paranoid Delusions of Grandeur. Why these names?
I will explain, I mean really, you can see this post goes on, you had probably assumed I would explain, no?
A bit of background, Gunks climbs are old, most of them, the majority of them and were graded in a time when there was nothing higher than a 5.10. This results in most climbers saying things like “A Gunks 9″ or “Historical Grade” with more than a few climbing veterans telling tales of what a 9 used to be like, etc… I get it all. I love it all. Nothing is static, this is all impermanent, even grades are impermanent. Again proving climbing is the embodiment of enlightened philosophies on earth.
Hitting up a 9 at 9:30 am on a Sunday might seem like a good idea, might seem like a bad idea. I like to climb harder grades in the morning, cooler, rested, etc… and it mostly seems like Paul prefers afternoon, so I lead morning, he leads afternoon. Perfect!
» Continue reading This Is What Happened
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Monday, 6th of August 2012 at 04:01:53 PM A quick update so you know that at some point I will get my life together and work on some blog updates. I mean if it would rain or something then I would have a home day and get caught up…but…as I was told last night, “you are a real climber now, when you are in a different crag each week…” So I suppose that running around from The Gunks, to Cannon, to The New (um, we raised some cash for AAC), to Maine, to Rumney, to Maine, back to The Gunks, and maybe CO before the end of the month means what? I am crazy, perhaps… I like to go with adventurous and it is summertime!
When I have a moment, I will buckle down and write up something about each of the trips. I do have notes. The bottom line is that I am having an awesome time and climbing grades I didn’t think were possible, meeting a lot of great people, and spending a serious amount of time outside!
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 10th of July 2012 at 09:49:45 AM I am working on a full post about my recent trip with Paul to NH for a long climbing weekend. Here is a teaser, the view from on top of the Eaglet Spire
The trip was amazing and I learned a ton about Apline climbing! As I read this week…
One could be forgiven for thinking that climbing is supposed to be fun, but something beyond pleasure drives people to push themselves to exhaustion in such a hostile environment.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Monday, 2nd of July 2012 at 04:57:34 PM It has been about 8 months since I start climbing outdoors and started leading as well. In that short time I have learned a few newbie tips that I thought I would share:
- When placing gear and giving it a tug to check if it is in snug, do not do this towards your face.
- The sling loop that you attach to your harness can be clipped between your legs to keep it out of the way. I have one from Metolius
- When cleaning/following try to clip the protection to your harness or sling before you remove it from the rope, this reduces the chance that you will drop it.
- Slings are your friends, you need them to reduce rope drag. Be thoughtful about making the rope in as straight a line as possible underneath you. This can be hard, but practice it as rope drag really, is, well, a drag
 . I use the Transformer Sling from Mammut
- Put your rack together with bent gate biners towards the rope as they are much easier to clip. I really love Petzl Spirit‘s as they have a smooth feeling and close actuation, which makes clipping super smooth.
- You are going to want to wear trad shoes, not some crazy bouldering shoes. Look for a comfy flat slipper type shoe. I wear La Sportiva Mythos and notice that about half the people at the Gunks have this shoe on. I also like the Millet Yalla, but the pair is taking a bit of time to break in.
- Make sure you practice rappelling setups on the ground, you need to feel solid up there when doing it. You can never practice too much. There are some good how-to’s out there on using an autoblock system that is much safer.
- Ropes are obviously needed in climbing, I would check out the Mammut series of ropes, they have all variation, dual sheaths for knowing the middle, and all kinds of useful information on rope types and handling.
- A handy blog post about twin/double/single ropes.
- I am sure there are lots of great brands out there, but I go with what I know: Patagonia, Black Diamond, Petzl, Mammut, Metolius.
- Lot’s of people talk about how they dislike the Gri-Gri, dont listen to them. The thing works and works well. It is just heavy so lugging one on a 2 mil approach might not be a good idea when you have 50 biners, 20 slings, 2 ropes, etc… and you are looking for ways to save weight.
- There are lots of great packs out there, but this one really is the best I have found – it is rugged, has good capacity, and is not too expensive: REI Pinnacle
- Try to avoid telling guides what to do, they don’t like it.
- Remember that most people are not scientific about information, therefore take everything anecdotal you hear on the wall as a story not fact. Always back it up with real research from trusted sources.
- If you want to have some fun, tell boulderers to “get a rope” when you walk by them.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Thursday, 31st of May 2012 at 08:21:49 AM Recently I went and saw, on the same day, the about to close Cindy Sherman exhibit at MoMA and the Keith Haring exhibit at Brooklyn Museum.
At first I was skeptical of Sherman as I do not particularly like modern photography. I was intrigued to learn that she is the subject of all of her photos. This effect is remarkable in both how unnoticeable yet how creepy it is. I learned this fact from reading the exhibition catalogue, which contains a funny interview between the artist and John Waters. My favorites were definitely the movie still series and the aged socialites series – both interesting is their seemingly satirical intent and detailed composition. I do have to say that I was put off by how grainy the enlargements were; the lack of clarity in key parts of the larger photos was often distracting.
The Keith Haring exhibit was next and interesting in for both how it covered his art and the world in which he existed: the ramping up of the AIDS crisis of the 80s into the 90s and NYC night life of that era. I admit to not being a fan of his art and dismissing it when people would want to stop at his shop on Lafayette across from the Puck Building back in ‘the day’. Funny thing is I recall having a debate about his work on that corner in front of the gas station there in the early 90s. File this one under my rule of if the majority likes it, it has to be mediocre.
I am now reconsidering his work after this exhibit because it was put into context more by the people who set this one up – good job on the curation! I think this exhibit closes in about a month. It is worth checking out as it gives you a putty good idea of the artistic process as it was evolving in Haring from street artist to international star. It is also a stark reminder of what we lost because of AIDS.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 27th of December 2011 at 11:23:08 PM It was a last minute idea, hiking in Katahdin in October can be iffy. In the history of us doing these treks we have had every weather state from freezing snow to bright sunshine, but it is always worth a shot as the hikes are not too long, so even in the rain, it is enjoyable.
We hiked into Chimney Pond on the first day. The hike was unremarkable except for the cheer joy of being the in the Northern Maine woods – from the sounds to the smells. It was just, well, like being at home.
Upon arrival we quickly got cold as the temperature dropped nearly 20 degrees as the sun went down. Huddled up on the lean-to, wearing everything I had with me, in a sleeping bag, I woke up in the middle of the night and told my father that if it didn’t warm up, I was going to hike down in the middle of the night. He told me I was crazy and to at least wait until morning. I think the recorded at the ranger’s station said 15 degrees. Yeah, cold!
We woke up in the morning and I reluctantly joined the group to hike up the Saddle and down Hamlin ridge. It was a noce col late fall day, crisp clear air, a light breeze, and as long as we kept hiking we kept warm. We briefly sat in the sun just on the side of the ridge to avoid the wind. The sun was bright and I actually got a sun burn.
As the sun went down, on of the my father’s friends, an accomplished climber, arrived at Chimney Pond. It was a great surprise, as we thought he was not going to join us. The verdict was immediately, in the dimming light, that there was too much ice on the mountain to go rock climbing. But, we also knew that a very warm front was supposed to move through and it could be nice in the morning. There was hope…and as the night went on, a warm breeze cam through and you could hear the ice falling in the night.
» Continue reading Fall Hike and Climb in the Maine Woods
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Tuesday, 20th of December 2011 at 02:04:32 AM Up to some old tricks this weekend up at West Point sport climbing wall. Jim, Paul and I braved the cold and got in a bunch of climbs. Some 5.8′s were lead by all! Well, maybe not Jim, he isn’t to into leading, but you get the idea.
 Know the Code awaits your arrival!  Safety check in progress  It was warmish in the sun…  All done with this one!  Pickles the goat is right at home
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Wednesday, 7th of December 2011 at 02:35:08 PM What is there to say? Low 60′s, fall, pals, and The Trapps = a couple trad climbs that scared me, some good runs cleaning up, and a slab problem from hell, aka Pebbles. You can check out all the photos from climbing in The Gunks this fall as well.
I have to really report that jumping into this sport again has really changed my life. The combination of the physical, mental, and social aspects are a perfect balance for me. I just love it. Climb, chat, hang out, get input (beta) from people, etc… Plus being up and out of the city area is what I have missed for so long. It is nice to spend the day encountering people who actually want to chat with you. It reminds of the part of Maine I love the most, humans being humans.
A view across the way while up on the rocks. 
Me laughing at what just happened, which I am not sure happened. 
Nathan looking over the edge using the new fisheye lens.
✡ Nathan wrote this entry on Sunday, 25th of September 2011 at 11:49:02 AM I was asked today about some of the ways that I help organize and run my life. I will start by saying that all of this is my opinion and my interpretation, so you will more than likely disagree, which is part of the fun.
I would consider myself an early adopter – I had a bluetooth headset in 2000 and ran my life form an iPaq back then. These rules were developed for myself to help temper my desire to buy everything techno-cool or even worse stay up far too late building my own versions of something. Although you will find black spray pint, burn marks, and cracks in my apartment from me hammering away at something electronical.
The overarching idea here is that technology can help you a heck of a lot, but it is also the major part of the problem! I have learned from buying, building, and throwing away far too much technology (and thereby money).
Rule one: If the phone rings you dont have to answer it. Ignore the interruptions that technology can create and remain focused in the moment you are in. Your coworkers and significant other will appreciate your increased focus and attention. This rul applies to text messages, MMS, facebook, google+, and any other random interruption that technology can bring.
Rule two: Simplicity! If you can have 3 things to do that function, try to find one! Think about your audio/video setup. Do you really need all that equipment and wires? Probably not. Think about what you listen to or watch in the course of the week and build towards that state, not the exception when you watch 1 movie and need to rearrange the setup.
Rules three: Minimalism – not exactly the same thing a simplicity, but closely related. Focus on the core things you need to do, and give up all the fluff. If you do not need to look up restaurant listings because you never eat out, why buy a smartphone? I know this seems simple and I even laughed a litte when I wrote that last sentence, but I think you understand at this point!
Some tools & examples
- The Omni tools, especially OmniFocus – it syncs all my to-do’s on all my devices, I can organize them by location and projects. I put the most simple ideas and notes into this tool and it frees me up from strings on my fingers.
- BBEdit and Google Docs NOT Word – All I do is write text and bold things occasionally. So I use BBEdit on my Mac. This is bring written with BBEdit. It starts up in 10 seconds, the txt file can be read by everything, etc… SIMPLE!
- Online backups and TimeCapsule – Carbonite and TimeCapsule along with a cheep software RAID in my closet keep all my backups. Simple, easy, mindless and has saved my butt!
- Only one piece of audio equipment – ok two, AppleTV and a Denon AV Receiver. All hooked-up to a TV. Why do you need anything more complicated than that? If you don’t want to do Apple, pick another media device.
- Get rid of cable – This is the most transformative thing EVER! If you do not think I am serious, time the amount of TV you really watch in a week, and you might be sick to your stomach. Yeah all that time sitting and doing nothing. Once I disconnected it, I found hours and hours of free time to do other things in my week.
- Google Reader and Twitter – With these things properly stocked up you can get more than all the news you ever wanted organized how you want it.
I am sure I can think of more and more things that fall into this category, but some of them are so normal to me that I wouldn’t think of them as exceptional.
But keep in mind this one guy manages to keep track of a fish tank, a car, a motorcycle, hold down a job, travel, study Talmud, observe Jewish customs, etc… all with a nice dose of help from some of my pals, but managing all that information and physical resources could be daunting without a dose of simplicity.
Moreover, I would like to think me “do you really need that” approach saves me money and lowers my already heafty coarbon and slave footprint – maybe just a little, but every bit counts, no?
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