Monkey See, Monkey Do

access to the internet should be as fair as a system of roads. support net neutrality!

one thing you can do to help is to sign the SavetheInternet.com petition. but you’re still not sure, watch a convincing further explanation from askaninja.com.

i hear in my mind…
all of these voices, these words, all this music…
and it breaks my heart…

as a young adult, i found this book quite moving. it was made into this short animated movie, that you can watch if you have half an hour to spare. i recommend it!

here’s the book on amazon and also a dvd of works by the same animator.

but even in all the work i’m still trying to make it to the rock climbing gym a little. manage to complete my first V4 bouldering problem last week, without too much trouble - right after finishing a couple tricky V3’s. fun fun fun!

tis the season for work for me, all the components of my main consulting contract are coming together this week and next, so i have a ton of work to do and coordination to manage. please forgive me if i’m slow in responding to email, as i’m putting aside my rule of have an empty inbox for the next two or three weeks.

a college fund for his daughters is in the works, and if you’re in san francisco there’s a fundraiser at The Endup tomorrow night. deets:

The End Up
Thursday Evening 9:00-1:00 all proceeds go to fund (make sure you are there by 1:00AM please)
DJ’s: Dean Samaras, Ben Seagren, Layne Loomis, Jeffery Allen…possibly Chuck & Roll

my philosophical contemplations lately are still mostly about free will, interdependence, and cause and effect. how much of our thoughts and emotions are really within our control and how much are simply the result of cause and effect, conditioning and stimulus? our thoughts really “ours” or are we more witnesses to them?

cause and effect is definitely playing out nicely in the gym. i keep practicing and i get stronger, more confident, and better at holding onto smaller or smoother things. today i completed my first 5.11a pitch. i have been getting pretty comfortable climbing 5.10a, b, c, and d’s though still having trouble with some - especially when tired. the 5.11a i tried yesterday and failed to finish nearly bested me again today. i pushed through and made it to the top! it had lots of really tiny, fingery hand-holds, and a couple sloppy hand-holds with nothing to really purchase. i know, i’m celebrating meaningless milestones again. but it made me happy. <smile>

for friends not in north america, here is a comparison chart for different rock climbing difficulty ratings. for example, today i completed a 22 in australia, an e3 in britain, a 6c in france, or a 6+ in finland.

my cousin jack passed away this week, from an unexpected and fast acting cancer. his funeral is tomorrow.

jack was in the army air corp in world war 2, he flew in a B-24 bomber that would shuttle loads of gasoline over the himalayans from india to supply chinese nationalist forces fighting the japanese. he was later decorated by the Republic of China for this. he then worked for thirty eight years in the Boston Public School system, first as a teacher then as a counselor. quite a remarkable fellow. more about him is now published on his web site dedicated to the eighth army air corp.

we were both interested in the family genealogy for the side of our family that we shared; though generally that would degrade into a disagreement about our irish and possibly french roots. our common ancestor had been born in quebec, canada in the mid 19th century. i thought he had solely irish roots, his parents refugees from famined ireland. jack thought they were entirely or at least partially french. but public records then were poor, and we haven’t yet solved the riddle.

John J. “Jack” Brennan Jr.

Of West Roxbury, December 6, 2006. Beloved husband of the late Anne M. (Driscoll) Brennan. Loving father of John J. Brennan III and his wife Maureen R. Tierney Brennan, MD, MSc of Maryland and East Sandwich, and Patricia L. Brennan of Alexandria, VA. Devoted grandfather of John IV and James Brennan. Loving brother of Barbara (Brennan) Smillie of Walpole and the late James F. Brennan. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home, 1803 Centre St. WEST ROXBURY on Saturday, December 9 at 9:00 AM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Theresa of Avila Church at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Visiting hours Friday from 4-8 PM. Interment Monday, December 11 at 10:15 AM in The Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Late WW II US Army Air Corp Veteran. Retired Pupil Adjustment Counselor, Boston Public Schools. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Jack’s memory to The American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St. Framingham, MA 01701 www.lawlerfuneralhome.com Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home 617-323-5600. Published in the Boston Globe on 12/7/2006.

Mr. Kim’s body was found today just after noon, deep in a ravine.

UPDATE: it’s poignant and sad to read now that he most likely died only a few hours before they found him. so so close. they almost got to him in time. and it looks his downfall was slipping and injuring himself trekking along the creek. a college fund is being setup for the girls, and a support fund for the family. details are on their web site.

the family has setup a website with daily updates on the search for james kim. they just dropped packages of provisions in the area that hot spots were seen night before last with infrared helicopter imaging. last night no hot spots were detected.

they’ve also setup a temporary cell tower in the area. that’s an interesting point these days. if you’re lost in the woods and people are searching for you, best to keep your cell phone with you and turn it on briefly each day. then a temporary cell tower could pick up your signal.

another interesting point, the rangers were suggesting that to survive overnight in that wilderness, besides snow caves it would be easy to dig into any soft spot of earth with fallen branches and soft wood. one could make a cosy nest out of vegetation and use that as insulation. and that area is full of that kind of material, so if James knew that he could survive the nights.