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Chip at Everest Camp 2

Just a few days ago Chip has reached the second camp at Mt. Everest. They are waiting for a Chinese team to return before proceeding on to camp 3.



This is his second rotation to camp 2 as he gets acclimated to the elevation. Everything is going as planned (apart from some communication blackouts).

Finished Deck

I finally got around to cleaning and resealing my deck. Rather than buying abrasive chemical cleaners I opted to try the oxygen bleach route instead. It proved rather effective (after some scrubbing)!



The stain I put on is a bit darker than the look I was going for but overall I'm quite pleased with it. Some fresh white paint later for the railings and its almost as good as new! Ready for use this summer anyway.

Safe at Everest Basecamp

Many congratulations to my friend Chip Popoviciu who is climbing Mt. Everest! At over 16,000ft he was battling a stomach bug while trekking towards basecamp. But just earlier this week, Chip has arrived at basecamp safe and sound. Good luck to him in his attempt to reach the summit!

GoreTex is Useless

So I've been in need of a good rain jacket for camping/hiking. Now that the trip to Alaska is looming, I needed to bite the bullet and finally buy one. Naturally, the first thing I think of is GoreTex: the first water proof breathable fabric. But alas, after some research I discover that humanity has yet to achieve a functional waterproof breathable fabric.

GoreTex is a thin membrane that does exactly what it says it does. However, this membrane is very soft and easily torn. So usually this membrane is sandwiched in between two layers of nylon for protection. But now gunk can get trapped in between the nylon fibers, blocking all the pores that GoreTex used to breathe. Water itself can get trapped in and your jacket will be "wetted out". Water can't get in, but now your skin can't breathe.

Never fear, the solution is to coat the outer nylon in a DWR or Durable Water Repellent. With this the water just beads right off.... but then whats the point of having the GoreTex underneath? Furthermore the DWR will eventually come off with time so you have to reapply it every so often. So how is this any better than just a nylon jacket with a DWR and no GoreTex for half the price?

I decided to go with a Marmot PreCip Jacket from REI. I like the cut and I'm hoping it will do the trick but I've yet to give it a real test in the shower. From what I've read the occasional NikWax treatment will maintain the DWR coating.

Preparing for Alaska

This July I am taking off work and flying further north than I have ever been. For two weeks I will be traveling around Alaska. Ultimately I'm hoping to make it to and venture north of the arctic circle because come on, how cool will that be! I probably will not have enough time on this trip to climb Mt. McKinley (right, that's the reason) so it will have to wait until next time. For now though I need to start looking at the gear I'll be taking with me.

New Camera!

My new camera just recently arrived at my doorstep. After a long and arduous period of researching I finally opted on the Canon 400D (also known as the Rebel XTi in North America) to replace my Canon S2 IS.

Yes, I've finally entered the realm of SLRs (about time).

Most of its technical specifications are the same as its big brother, the 30D but its almost $400 cheaper and I just couldn't justify that price difference for the "semi-pro" camera.

I also decided to get the Sigma 18-200mm DC OS as my all purpose walk around lens. Based on all the reviews it seemed to be the most popular for this purpose, although I can definitely forsee myself purchasing one or two higher end L series lens from Canon in the near future.

More info and test shots coming soon.

Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix

Im slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I went to see the fifth Harry Potter movie, on the opening day no less. I immediately noticed, and was sad to hear, none of the themes that had existed in the previous films. I then learned that John Williams did not score this one. The director, apparently lacking vision of his own, tried very hard to replicate that of Cuaron's version from the third film. And after all that, it was better than the book.

Telepresence Rocks

Today I had the pleasure of attending a conference via Cisco Telepresence. You've seen ads for it on tv, on the internet, and in a few movies and tv shows. They say its really easy to set up. And for once all the marketing hype is true. It works just as they said it would. It was held between RTP and Switzerland and the video/audio quality was excellent. And there was no network lag whatsoever, everything occured in real time. Cant wait to get one of these installed in my house!

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