Recession or no, we are racing. Max, one of these headed to Brighton today bud! Keep your fingers crossed on that lottery. The LR's are pretty excited! Thanks go out to Katie at AK Apparel in Ohio and to Chris Steeley at the Shirt Shop in Missoula for the logo.
28 January 2009
We're In Business
Recession or no, we are racing. Max, one of these headed to Brighton today bud! Keep your fingers crossed on that lottery. The LR's are pretty excited! Thanks go out to Katie at AK Apparel in Ohio and to Chris Steeley at the Shirt Shop in Missoula for the logo.
24 January 2009
Wooden
Another item we listened to on the way to Red Lodge was Coach John Wooden, at 96, deliver a speech to executives in L.A. last April. I like Wooden. Wooden spent his youth in his native Indiana. Wooden later drew up a "Pyramid for Success."
Success is at the top of Wooden's pyramid. Success is not as defined in the dictionary, the attainment of power and prestige or of material accumulation.
"Never try to be better than someone else" (from Wooden's father). Always try to be the best you can be and learn from others.
Wooden changed the definition of success to a verse he came across: "At God's footstool to confess, a poor soul knelt and bowed his head. "I failed!" he cried. The Master said "Thou didst thou best, and that is success." You are the only one who will ever know (that you tried your best) because you can fool everybody else.
Some of his cornerstones and building blocks include Industriousness and Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm rubs off on others. One must enjoy what one is doing. One must work at it and be conditioned.
One must have Intent.
One must have true friendship and work at it. Friendship is not easy.
Loyalty and Cooperation. One must also maintain Self Control. Disciplining your children at home is much better than punishment. Keeping emotions under control.
One must have initiative. Don't be afraid to fail.
Alertness. Abraham Lincoln, Wooden's favorite American, was alert. Lincoln said he always learned from others. Lincoln said "The worst thing you can do for your children are things they could do for themselves."
Team Spirit is defined by many as "A willingness to lose one's self for the welfare of the group." Willingness is not something one maybe wants to do, however, so Wooden changed willingness to eagerness. Something clearly desired.
Two upper blocks in his pyramid: Poise (just being yourself - not pretending) and confidence. These things will make one competitive - the competitor enjoys it when it is difficult. He revels in difficulty. One must also have patience. Good things take time.
We must have Faith that things will work out as they should.
Wooden had a picture framed that he kept in his office that showed a man walking on the beach with a little son following walking in his footsteps. It was given to him in 1936 when his son was born. Beside it, the text read:
"A careful man I must always be, a little fellow follows me.
A little fellow follows me, I dare not go astray,
For fear he'll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whatever he see me do, he tries.
Like me, he says, he's going to be,
The little chap who follows me.
He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see,
That little fellow who follows me.
I must remember as I go, Thru summers' sun and winters' snow.
I am building for the years to be,
In the little chap who follows me." ~ Author Unknown.
Wooden says this applies to all of us, with or without children. Someone is following.
Success is at the top of Wooden's pyramid. Success is not as defined in the dictionary, the attainment of power and prestige or of material accumulation.
"Never try to be better than someone else" (from Wooden's father). Always try to be the best you can be and learn from others.
Wooden changed the definition of success to a verse he came across: "At God's footstool to confess, a poor soul knelt and bowed his head. "I failed!" he cried. The Master said "Thou didst thou best, and that is success." You are the only one who will ever know (that you tried your best) because you can fool everybody else.
Some of his cornerstones and building blocks include Industriousness and Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm rubs off on others. One must enjoy what one is doing. One must work at it and be conditioned.
One must have Intent.
One must have true friendship and work at it. Friendship is not easy.
Loyalty and Cooperation. One must also maintain Self Control. Disciplining your children at home is much better than punishment. Keeping emotions under control.
One must have initiative. Don't be afraid to fail.
Alertness. Abraham Lincoln, Wooden's favorite American, was alert. Lincoln said he always learned from others. Lincoln said "The worst thing you can do for your children are things they could do for themselves."
Team Spirit is defined by many as "A willingness to lose one's self for the welfare of the group." Willingness is not something one maybe wants to do, however, so Wooden changed willingness to eagerness. Something clearly desired.
Two upper blocks in his pyramid: Poise (just being yourself - not pretending) and confidence. These things will make one competitive - the competitor enjoys it when it is difficult. He revels in difficulty. One must also have patience. Good things take time.
We must have Faith that things will work out as they should.
Wooden had a picture framed that he kept in his office that showed a man walking on the beach with a little son following walking in his footsteps. It was given to him in 1936 when his son was born. Beside it, the text read:
"A careful man I must always be, a little fellow follows me.
A little fellow follows me, I dare not go astray,
For fear he'll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whatever he see me do, he tries.
Like me, he says, he's going to be,
The little chap who follows me.
He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see,
That little fellow who follows me.
I must remember as I go, Thru summers' sun and winters' snow.
I am building for the years to be,
In the little chap who follows me." ~ Author Unknown.
Wooden says this applies to all of us, with or without children. Someone is following.
18 January 2009
Absaroka & Beartooth Ranges
Just got back from a fun little weekend jaunt to Red Lodge for a junior ski race. Took a few shots of the Beartooths. Not far behind the peak in the above photo is Granite Peak, Montana's highest at 12,800 feet. Unfortunately, I was unable to see it from my position behind the patrol shack on Nichols Peak. Between the races, I managed to get a few runs in down some of the chutes northeast of the Cole Creek lift. Coverage was a little sketchy. Lots of excellent winter recreation opportunities in this area. 
They had a pretty significant fire in the area (as seen in a below photo). It did not quite make it close enough to the hill to clear some of the popular tree skiing terrain, however, which according to a few locals needed some clearing. On top of the ski hill (about 9,300 ft) one could see (in addition to the Beartooths) the Crazies, Snowies and Little Belts.
The bank in Columbus said it was 60 degrees today. Unreal. I now know were Rapelje is - just north of Columbus. I've never made it to the bike race there, which each year is a 24 hour event. Friends have said it is a ball.
It is a little over 5 hours over from Missoula to Red Lodge. We managed to listen to Casper, Wyoming's 1030 AM from Columbus all the way to about Clinton cheering for the Steelers. They've made it in again! Red Lodge is a beautiful place. Another quiet little Montana secret.
14 January 2009
Spot Check 2
I was able to find a pretty good deal on Spot given the retail season's recent pangs. So I picked one up with the hopes that it may give my wife a little more relief while I'm out trekking wherever I happen to be - typically alone (and happy). The mountains are, quite simply, my peace. At any rate, I'm not big on reviews (never done one); however, for a few amigos, I thought I might point out a few things about this new device.
LR was making a few GS turns tonight at the Bowl with the team on Sunrise (photo at bottom), so I saw another opportunity to put Spot to work. The first time, I went cross country skiing with it up Pattee to the windsock, and (like I often do with the Garmin 305) I left it in the outside pocket of the pack thinking it should have no problem getting a satellite - wrong. Not one "track" was received while in the exterior pack pocket up Pattee. So, do not attempt to use if not clearly on the exterior somewhere. Issue one for mountain bikers-where to put this thing while riding if using it for tracking? I should back up. Spot is not primarily for tracking. It is primarily for the ability to send out an "I'm ok" or "I need help" to friends. Or a 911 option to ultimately search and rescue with the owner's gps coordinates.
The subscription fee is $100 per year for the above three features. Tracking is an additional $50. The "I'm ok" is sent when the user presses the button to send that message. It goes to an e-mail to a spouse, friend or whomever the owner wishes, or you can send it via a text message. You can have anyone have access to your Spot account and view your messages there as well. Tonight I listened to the "I'm ok" text hit my cell (also in my pack) after I sent it. Messages can be sent multiple places. Most of my haunts do not have cell coverage however so typically one may not know if the message actually "went." You can press the help (different from 911) button and have your friends come get you. Each signal goes to a satellite then to where you want to send it. Spot has Google Maps (Earth) for its primary gps mapping link; however, I've taken the gpx file and dropped it into National Geographic Maps no problem. Your friends can see your exact location, as at the top of this post. It gives the gps coordinates in the main e-mail text.
The issues with Spot are that the interface needs attention. Knowing when something has been sent is spotty at best. If I had not had the cell to hear the receipt of the coordinates, I would not have known if it had been sent. One is supposed to know by the flashing lights doing certain things (like having a signal when in sync), but this bugs me. I bought the tracking feature too and will not renew that unless something dramatically improves over the next year. I spent 2 hours out walking on roads today and only one "track" was sent out. My other gps unit, while in my coat pocket, said I walked 3.38 miles, climbed 364 feet and the file, of course, can be dropped into most mapping software applications. Granted, my buds cannot "track" me real time with my gps unit as they can with Spot; however, this is a weak area for the device and friends can know were I am if I simply send an occasional "ok."
The key to Spot is to stop, send an "I'm ok" or "send help" message, wait a while and then hope it gets through. The above photo was taken where the "ok" is on the top map. Looking across the ravine to the Bowl road and out Grant Creek to Missoula at dusk. A person can stop every so often, pull this out of the pack, send an ok signal, wait a while looking at the devices lights (if you can figure it out) and then put it away and ride on. However, if someone goes down in the jungle somewhere (read East Fork of the Rattlesnake -for example) and hits the help button, it may be a long night. Getting a satellite on roads is one thing, the real forest is another. I sent an "I'm ok" from the base of the Bowl road driving up, while keeping Spot on the dash, and the message never went out. Maybe I moved it back into "track" mode too quickly after sending the "ok." Clearly the benefit of Spot is that it could save a person's life. More learning and testing will have to be done, however, for me to get more comfortable with this new gadget.
04 January 2009
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