First Father's day

Well, it was Father's Day in the USA today. We decided to go camping last night, the first trip with our new son who is 10 months old (the dude in my avatar picture, busily writing code). Went fantastic. He slept better than his parents, who kept waking up every hour to make sure he wasn't frozen solid.

We woke up and made breakfast, packed up camp, and began a hike up Hunchback mountain. The trail is steep. We climbed about 2700 feet, then the terrain began to get, let's say, "serious." Trail was 8 inches wide, with steep, treeless drop-offs to the side. Low blood sugar began to kick in, and I started to brain-lock while turning switchbacks, so we stopped and ate sandwiches. I probably consumed over 2000 calories in a single sitting. We tried to continue upward, to gain the ridge, but my wife continued to brain-lock (a dangerous condition where panic freezes you and you are unable to make forward progress) so we felt it was safer to turn back. I wish I had photographs, but the camera would have been dead weight, and I was already carrying my son on my back.

On the way down, we collected wild mushrooms and gorged ourselves. Don't worry -- my fungus identification abilities are excellent, and we have eaten wild mushrooms many times before. In all, a fantastic day, and we accomplished more than I could have hoped.

Some photos for those who are interested, of some of our previous excursions:

http://www.neuralnw.com/gallery/adams
http://www.neuralnw.com/gallery/album41
http://www.neuralnw.com/gallery/Till...oper-Spur-2004
http://www.neuralnw.com/gallery/album64

If you care to poke around neuralnw.com you'll find lots of other pictures.

I hope other people had good weekends as well. Our brethren in the Midwest are dealing with massive flooding. I send them my best wishes. Hopefully they have kept their spirits up. Remember, flood plains... flood... from time to time. But the floods are what make the land fertile.

Love ya all!

Brewbuck

Congratulations. It sounds like you're having a good time with your son. When he's old enough to understand what's going on in life, you'll probably enjoy it even more. ;)

You do realize, though, you're ruining the stereotype that programmers never get out...... it could have severe repercussions for the rest of us.

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Originally Posted by MacGyver

You do realize, though, you're ruining the stereotype that programmers never get out...... it could have severe repercussions for the rest of us.

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Thanks -- I'll put it this way, though: the programmer who shaped my mind the most, is about 100 times more "hard core" than I am. Once, he fell off a mountain face, plummeted about 160 feet, shattered his femur, and had to be shipped out on the top of a railway car, 90 miles to the nearest town. Now that's hard core.

I don't mean to be elitist, but I have to say: Get off your butts! Experience life a bit, feel the fear, see the beauty. The way things are going, it might not last much longer.

Woo sounds like fun. I'd like to go romping around in the mountains; not that theres any where I am. There arent even woods big enough to get lost in, unless you end up eating the wrong mushrooms.

Awesome sceneries. Am a mountain lover myself. I think they are the most amazing natural formations the planet has to offer. Wish I lived under one. But never tried climbing or trekking, curiously enough.

I notice your son has already mastered the space key at such a tender age. He's so gonna take your job! ;)

Wow that's awesome, looks like a great place.

I'd eat the mushrooms I find, but I don't like them (nor do I know they're actually mushrooms).

I break the stereo-type a bit, doesn't make me fit in well with my fellow degreesman (lol?) at uni (ie they play games all weekend while I go hunting or race enduro).

Where I live there may or may not be mountains, depending on what time of year it is. (Let's see if any of you can figure that one out :D )

Congrats on being a recent father and also props on your fungus identification skills. I usually just kick mushrooms and watch them fly 10 feet because I assume them all to be poisonous :)

I think DavidP is still in Italy, to be more precise Napels; if garbage collection isnt being done there are awsome mountains of rubbish piling up :D. (no offence to anyone living in Napels)

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Originally Posted by DavidP

Congrats on being a recent father and also props on your fungus identification skills. I usually just kick mushrooms and watch them fly 10 feet because I assume them all to be poisonous :)

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Well, that's better than assuming the opposite! By kicking them you're just helping them to spread around though. ;)

congrats on being a new dad. Its awesome. Mine made me a coffee mug that has 'I love you Daddy' with a bunch of hearts. We spent the day playing in the back yard.

And I live near where the flooding is taking place. Its mostly out of staters that think flood plain means you occasionally get a big puddle in yoru yard and buy houses in those areas. Personally I dont feel sorry for a single one of them, its just evolution in action. Word went out weeks ago around here that flooding was coming, so any of them that say 'It just caught us completely by surprise' I'm going to track down and shoot them in the face.