Gold coast

I'm up in gold coast for the half marathon. I'm by myself because whit is on a weekend away with friends, and my running mate hasn't arrived yet.  I'm eating Mexican food and drinking Mexican beer at a restaurant called gringo loco cantina. I think that means "crazy white guy" 

Anyway I'm alone at this restaurant and I say to myself " no regrets" because this is delicious. 

Then the guacamole falls off my quesedilla and Im like "devastation" 

Tasmania! (continued)

Sorry for leaving the last post as such a cliff hanger, but I ran out of time, and haven’t gotten back to post an update until now.

Obviously we eventually got out of the mud, thanks to a couple guys with a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a tow cable.  Thanks to them we spent a nice evening back in our campsite, watching shows on my computer in the back of our camper.

The next day we set off to Bruny Island!  yes, island.  Which means we were heading to an island off the coast of the island we were already on (Tasmania), which is actually just off the coast of a much larger island (Australia)  its like “island-ception”

To get to Bruny, you need to take a ferry, but it leaves every hour, and is pretty cheap.  Once we got there we checked in at a campsite and got some recommendations for activities.  We opted for the lighthouse on the other side of the island.  To get there we took a 4WD track and got the camper VERY muddy.  But after the stressful drive, we eventually made it.

The Lighthouse itself was just what you’d expect: a lighthouse.  But the surrounding terrain was breathtaking.  gigantic cliff faces and waves crashing off the rocks had us feeling tiny by comparison.

After the lighthouse we went and got an early dinner at the hotel bruny, where i had a delicious meal of braised lamb.  I must say Tasmania has really impressed me with its food offerings thus far!  The first night i had probably the BEST chicken parmy of my life at the dive we got stuck at.  Then this braised lamb on an island in the middle of nowhere that melted in my mouth.  And then last night we got “Mr. Burger” off a food truck at the “Dark Park” event in Hobart, and it was DEE-LISH!

Oh yeah, did i mention we went back to hobart?

After Bruny Island we headed up to hobart, checked into our campsite, and then headed out on the town.  We started at an Irish pub and asked the staff if they had any recommendations of things to do.  They suggested “Dark Park” park of the “Dark Mofo” event happening throughout Hobart.  

“Dark Mofo” is an arts/food/culture festival throughout hobart, closely tied to the “MONA” museum.  “Dark Park” is one event/installation within “Dark Mofo”.

The event took place at/near Hobart Brewing Company’s premises, where they had a great variety of beers, and live entertainment.  When the “park” opened up, we took our time going through the various installations, and generally had a really nice time.  Some of the works were more abstract and less “accessible” than others, but they were all quite interesting and often interactive.  Whitney and I had a great time, and ended the event with aburger from the Mr. Burger food truck just near the exit of the event.

That brings us to today!  Today we got up nice and early and headed up to Freycinet National Park, to see Wineglass bay and go for a hike.  It took us just about two hours to get to our campground in Coles bay, but because we had an early start we still had plenty of daylight.  We headed to the park visitors center, got our permit, and set out on the ~5 hour trek from the visitors center, to wineglass bay, to hazards beach, and back.  

The hike took us a little over three hours.  We stopped to take pictures every so often, but if we stopped, we wouldn't stop long, and while walking, we kept a pretty brisk pace.  What took us the longest, was walking along hazards beach, which was littered with beautiful coral, sponges, and shells from the sea.  We couldn't help but take pictures and collect shells.  

The walk was great.  I think the sights would have been better if the weather had been better, but we enjoyed ourselves just the same, and came out with an appreciation for the area, and a flood of endorphins.

After the walk we headed back to our campground, freshened up, and then walked down to the pub for some grub.  The meal consisted of a cheeseburger (which was delightful), and the BEST onion rings i have ever had in my life!  Tazzie, you’re on a roll!

Now, we’re back in the camper, about to watch Ghostbusters, and fall asleep for another early morning tomorrow :)

Thanks for reading, and G’night!

Tasmania!

Today was the first day of our trip to Tasmania, and Whitney and I are already struggling to survive.

It was meant to be a liberating experience for us.  Rent out a camper, and roam the beautiful frontier of Tazzie without being tethered to strict timeframes and pre-determined itineraries.  Well, with freedom, comes additional responsibility.

"I feel too small and young for this," She said as drove the Camper-van out of the rental lot.  At 5'7''/130, Whitney Sellnow looked like a baby sitting on her fathers lap behind the steering wheel, pretending to drive.  The reality, however, was that she alone was in control of this two tonne residency on wheels, as it barrelled over the tasman bridge.

I called the campsite as whit drove, letting them know when we'd be arriving.  The woman on the other end of the line let me know that she was about to close up, but that she would wait for me.  I let her know that we appreciated her staying back, and that we would come straight there without stopping to shop or eat.  I made this promise despite a burning hunger.

When we arrived at the first campsite of our trip, we checked in and then promptly asked the innkeeper where we could go to get a bite.

"Its only about 700 meters.  You could walk from here if you wanted to,"  She explained,

"perfect," i thought,

...

"Can we just drive there?" Whitney asked,

"Sure," I said.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

As we approached the bar, we could see that there was plenty of space for parking, all around the structure.  The presence of such a large parking area was a huge relief for the two of us, who were not well acclimated with the beast of a vehicle we were now responsible for piloting. 

Once we actually turned into the parking lot itself, however, we noticed that at some point, among the trucks that surrounded the pub, the pavement had ended.

"I don't know where I'm going," Whitney said as she slowly pulled into the end of a row of vehicles.  I told her just to find somewhere she feels comfortable and gives us plenty of space.  She agree'd and went to straighten out the park job at the end of the row, but when she reversed, we didn't move.

We were stuck in the mud.

Liddle Fact No. 127

Fingernails grow fastest on the hand you favor

whoa, fingernails are weird.

Speaking of fingernails, this time lapse was on reddit just the other day, and it gave me the exact same reaction: "whoa, fingernails are weird"

https://i.imgur.com/15Vm5sS.gifv

Slate Site for our Outback Trip

I made a slate site to highlight a bit of our recent trip to the outback.  Check it out here

What do the rich owe the poor

I responded to a question on Quora and wanted to highlight it here.  Any thoughts? 

 https://www.quora.com/What-do-the-rich-owe-to-the-poor?__snids__=1423664763

Liddle Fact No. 145

I'm back with today's "fact"

"The average person falls asleep in seven minutes"

I don't know how they come to this, maybe sleep studies?  but I think i certainly take different amounts of time to fall asleep all the time!  last night i passed out watching bob's burgers, but some other times i roll around and can't sleep for what feels like hours!  am I an average person in this regard?  

Liddle Fact #189

I went " no carb" for a while which meant no orange juice because it has so much sugar.  But today i treated myself, and you know what? the lid treated me back!  today's fact is exceptional!  so without furhter ado, i give you "Liddle Fact No. 189" :

"Flamingos pee on their legs to cool themselves off."

boomshakalaka

Existentialism through Boardgames

I got a repeat "liddle fact" today so i'm going to write about something else.

I recently started playing chess with a colleague through an app on our phones.  Its tons of fun, and i am always excited to receive his next move so i can continue with my master plan!  Of course when i realised this my mind started jumping all over the place.

I am an optimist to the point of self destruction.

This is manifested almost perfectly in my excitement during a chess game.  I have a gameplan and a set of steps/moves planned out that I feel will surely lead me to success/victory.  Sometimes, however, something will happen that i didnt foresee (imagine that!), and the opponent will totally shoot a hole in my plans, and i'll be so surprised!

So, while i'm trying to romanticise it, really i could just say "When I get excited and don't think things through, sometimes I overlook things" but that doesn't quite sound as profound

Caps

More Liddle Facts, and my comments

Liddle Fact No. 208:  Milk is heavier than cream

This one is interesting to me because it highlights to me that in different parts of the world people might have different notions of what "cream" is.  Back in Wisconsin i would either think whipped cream, maybe ice cream, or maybe the "cream" that you put in coffee, which really is just milk.

Since coming to Sydney, however, cream is always referred to as the thicker substance that "whipped cream" comes from.  this stuff was something i didnt even know existed before coming here.  

furthermore, the more i think about this, the more i realize that this could have absolutely nothing to do with cultures or geography, and everything to do with my exposure to the kitchen!  Back home i did not do much cooking... here i don't do much either but i seem to be around people who talk about food more (other than chicken wings, there was plenty of "wings" talk back home)

anyway so thats my thought process upon reading this "Liddle fact"

I also have liddle fact No. 212: "Eskimos do not have a common written language"

another very interesting one.  To me this raises the question of "what is an 'eskimo'?"  I always thought this was a sort of generalisation of various indigenous tribes located in polar climates, so the fact that they dont have a common language isnt really all that notable, since they're separate communities...

I'm looking at this post now, and all the contractions are highlighted as spelling mistakes.  i also am noticing that i'm not capitalizing the proper "I" all the time.  This is something i'm aware of, but have decided that its my blog and if i dont feel like correcting these things, then i dont have to.  there, i've said it, that feels better.  you dont intimidate me you squiggly red underlines!

Double Liddle Fact

I missed yesterday, but i still have the cap at my desk so today there will be two!

Liddle Fact No. 200 is: 

"The most productive day of the work wee is Tuesday"  I gotta say, i'm not all that surprised.  Monday is annoying, there will be catching up from the weekend, and a lot of complaining about it being Monday, so there is surely more chit chat on Mondays.  Tuesdays you really don't have an excuse.  Really i think as a species we really will take any "excuse" to behave in the laziest way possible.  Wednesday you have "hump day", Thursday is a popular night to go to dinner and shopping (at least in Sydney), and then Friday is Friday!

Liddle Fact No. 222 is:

Most lipstick contains fish scales

This one grosses me out!  I don't think whit wears lipstick... i hope not now.

Liddle Fact No. 206

On some Caribbean islands, the oysters can climb trees.

Liddle Fact No. 195

Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk!

By the way, these facts are brought to you by spring valley orange juice.  It comes in a glass bottle, which i personally feel makes for an excellent drinking experience :)

Liddle Facts

I have an orange juice every morning, and three is a fact under the lid, sometimes they're funny, sometimes they are lame, sometimes they are interesting.  I may start posting my "liddle facts" here just for something to do.

Here is one :

Male monkeys lose hair on the top of their head, similar to human males!

Notable thought

You can learn from mistakes, but you cannot learn from inaction 

Post from Bali

Sitting on the lounge chair at the resort we're staying at in bali.   

Being here in bali, or any other society that has not organically seen society progress in the western way, but rather just been affected by it, always stirrs up conflict within me.  

Fundamentally it doesn't seem right to me.  That we should be so lucky as to have not only the day to day luxuries we do, but to also have a destination we can go to, that amplifies the value of our western currency, all the while the locals here live below a level we would call poverty.  Not all of them of course, but so many.

It's almost like our generation's version of slavery.  "we cant pay people less than minimum wage domestically, but we can always go somewhere people are willing to work for cheaper." 

I could probably write all day about this and still not have a clearer understanding about where i REALLY stand on the subject.  The same globalization that allows me (and businesses) the ability to easily visit third world countries, gives the citizens of that country the ability to emmigrate and seek a better life in a country that DOES have a higher miinimum wage/standard of living/etc.  

I also would have a hard time doing anything about this issue.  I've thought about it.  I could start a manufacturing company that makes lets say shirts here in bali.  we could sell to tourists and locals on the basis that they are locally made goods, and i could pay my workers a fair wage, or at the least create a bunch of jobs, and put money into the local community for schools and other things.   But then what would happen?  well someone else could probably undercut me on price if they imported stuff (maybe) or just paid their staff less.   And how much of a difference would i ultimately make?  Being american you heard stories of rockerfellers and fords changing the foundation of the country and cities they are from through industry and innovation, but the world we live in is tough.  Its more convoluted and crowded.

Then you have my own human desires to do well for myself and my family.  If i quit everything and go on some humanitarian campain to fight poverty around the world (largely regarded as an unwinnable fight) am i damming my future wife and kids to lower quality of life?   

I want to create something for my children so that they can have a good life when they are brought into this world, and be able to take advantage of all the opportunities in this life.  I also want the world to be a better place for them though.  I want them to grow up in a world that has progressed since my time as a child. I want them to see the world, be excited by it, and be inspired to want to pass that same excitement down through time. 

I have to cut it there.  i'm really just rambling and dont think i'm any closer to finding "clarity" around this matter, but it does feel good to get it out.  If you're one of the few people in the world who come across this, post your opinion on the comments, i would love to have more opinions.

Repent!

This most recent Sunday, Whitney and I were invited to check out some friends' place of worship.  The service was really intense, and I had a pretty good time.  The church was like a rock concert, there were people on stage playing live upbeat music, and the sermon was delivered via livestream, by a VERY energetic preacher.  The members of the church were all VERY friendly, and engaged us when they noticed we were new.  The whole thing was a FAR cry from the conservative, dry services I grew up attending in my youth.

But as the preacher was up there giving his sermon, I spent some time reflecting upon myself, as I usually do in environments like this.  I often times find myself feeling regretful for things i've done or the way I've treated people in the past, and some things still haunt me from years ago.  Well, the Bible has a tip for this, and that is to repent; to face your sins, admit to being human, and seeking forgiveness.

So I wanted to use this blog to air some of my grievances and publicly get some things off my chest.  In the past, I have been selfish, and put my comfort and feelings before others. This is something I'm still battling; as I strive for happiness, I sometimes get so transfixed on things that are important to me in that moment, that I forget to think of the people I love.  I am lucky to have such a forgiving partner, and loving family.

Thank you to everyone in my life who have supported me throughout my life.  My parents have had to deal with me as I have grown and developed as a human.  From a spaz little kid, to an angstful teenager, to a young businessman, trying to learn the ways of the world.  My siblings are amazing.  I have two sisters who provide me with so much love, support, and laughter, without ever asking anything in return.  I have a brother who looks up to me (for some crazy reason) and listens to me and the things I say a way that no-one else ever has or maybe ever will.  What he may not know, is that I admire him so much for the incredible things he's done and man he is becoming.  I have been blessed with friends who I've known for years and who still surprise me.  I have been lucky enough to have made new friends in the past couple years, who treat me with more respect than I deserve, who take me to new places, and inspire me to grow as a person.  Finally, I have won the lottery of life, and have somehow convinced the most charming, fun, outgoing, talented, and beautiful girl in the world, to spend her life with me.  She has been on the receiving end of my worst faults every day for the last four years of our lives.  I've put her through so much, even made her move halfway across the earth, and she still cooks for me, cleans up after me, and is my shoulder to cry on when I'm overwhelmed.  She pushes me all the time to be a better person.  She encourages me to do what I love and to reach for the stars.  She genuinely wants me to be happy, and actively works toward achieving our mutual happiness.

I love you all, 

Wes

Article on management

Pretty much testing out other ways I can use the app on my phone to publish content to my site. 

Anyway, this was a neat, easy to read info graphic that I wanted to share and keep handy to refer to: 

http://visual.ly/20-expert-hacks-become-ultimate-manager