We did much better at getting going today. Cereal for breakfast was fast and easy. It is warmer and sunny. About 60 degrees warming up to over 70. Gotta love this Canyon weather. I changed our plan from going 15 miles to Dinosaur Camp to going 18 miles to Nankoweap, which is a better camp and has a great hike. Before we left camp we hiked up to see the fossils embedded in the rocks.
Ariel checking out a nautiloid fossil.
Ariel enjoyed hiking up and sliding down the dry creek bed.
Hiking at Nautiloid Canyon
She also found a flower that only bloomed at night. It looks much like a morning glory. (later research revealed it is called sacred datura. The plant is toxic and hallucinogenic.)
Sacred Datura flower
TRIP TIP: NRS makes a map case specifically designed to fit the Grand Canyon river map book. While the map book is made of waterproof paper, the pages hold the water long after it gets wet (mine was still wet and sandy when I got home from the trip a week later.) The case would also be good for charging a solar charger while on the river during the day.
We left camp at 10:00 and reached Nankoweap at 3:30. Lunch was at President Harding camp. Strange day for injuries. Craig cut his finger on a can lid; Kathleen told me that Elizabeth has a bad cut on her elbow from 2 days ago that is now swelling up; and Captain Shu had Craig row his boat because his hand was swollen from getting hit by the oar handle or Natalia’s knee while rowing through a rapid. Kevin also took a break from paddling his kayak to row Kika’s raft. Lucy joined me and Ariel for the day. I like rotating the passengers. It gives a chance to spend time together and get to know people. I got to hear more about how Gary and Lucy live on a canal boat in England. It’s a lot like living in a motor home. Their simplistic lifestyle makes it easy to afford big adventures like this one. They toured Italy just before this trip.
Jay was playing his guitar while drifting down the river today, even while floating through a smaller rapid. Now THAT’S living on Canyon Time!
Playing guitar on the river
When we reached Nankoweap we found that the main camp was already taken, so we went down to the lower camp. Not quite as nice, but a few people found some particularly private tent spots in the trees and tamarisk. Spaghetti for dinner. Gary, Lucy and I were on cleanup. I decided to make tomorrow a layover day. We’re all ready for one. That should give some time to assess the injuries too.
The trail to the groover is right beside the river, but Captain Shu brought a collection of solar powered lawn lights that look like flowers. They work great for lighting the path with a soft glow.
View from the groover
TRIP TIP: The solar powered lawn lights are very handy. I keep one just outside my tent to make it easier to locate in the dark.
I was the last one to go to bed (10PM) As I lie here writing, it is interesting to rub on the sleeping bag and see the static electricity light up so brightly. No moon tonight. Lots of stars in the sky and a planet, probably Jupiter. Darn, we forgot to put the dishes away from the drying rack. I had better go do that! If they are left out overnight, they get covered in sand. The sand blows easily because it is so fine. It seems to get into everything.
Important secret detail about upcoming IamLUG conference in St. Louis next month
Sun, Apr 14th 2013 12:15p David Hablewitz Lotus IBM professionals, have you made plans to attend IamLUG? Perhaps you never get to attend Lotusphere / IBM Connect because it’s so expensive for the travel and the conference fee? This is your chance to get all of the meat of the Big conference without all of the fluff. You won’t get an evening trip to one of the theme parks. You won’t have all the hoopla and grandeur of the Opening General Session or the intellectual entertainment of the Closing Session. But you&# [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
notes
community
development
laptop
198
A web resource by the Federal government to educate managers and employees about effective telecommuting
Mon, Mar 4th 2013 5:16a David Hablewitz In light of all the recent controversy Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has stirred up over telecommuting, you may be interested in checking out this online resource by the U.S. Government. It has training materials if you are a telecommuter or if you manage telecommuters or if you are a telecommuter coordinator.
http://www.telework.gov
One trend I have noticed in the computer industry is that, when it comes to working remotely, companies tend to be much more tolerant of it for software developers than [read] Keywords: office
server
virtualization
359
Breaking News: The Passport Advantage website has been updated!
Thu, Feb 28th 2013 10:11p David Hablewitz In case you hadn’t noticed, the Passport Advantage website has a new look. I have not yet had a chance to explore it in detail. It looks like some (but not all) of the old issues have been cleaned up and it sports the new IBM website skin. I will post a more detailed review later. Meanwhile, take a moment to have a look. For comparison, see my article reviewing it almost 2 years ago. I’m anxious to see what was done that took 2 years of business justification and web development to [read] Keywords: ibm
development
145
IBM announces MobileFirst and partnership with AT&T
Tue, Feb 26th 2013 11:14a David Hablewitz News sources are reporting the new announcement of IBM MobileFirst solutions portfolio. This is big because, unlike other players in this market, IBM is the leader in remaining device agnostic in the BYOD (bring your own device) business world. Mobile technology is blurring the lines between consumer and business tools. There is no doubt in my mind as I watch my 13-year-old daughter do 90% of her computer-related activities on her smartphone that this is the destiny of technology. It is [read] Keywords: ibm
application
development
mobile
wireless
209
Putting Social Media to the test: Face-to-face vs. Online
Thu, Feb 14th 2013 3:11p David Hablewitz Which delivery method do you think has the greatest impact: Face-to-face, telephone, or online? Certainly face-to-face allows you to deliver the most personal message, but the web allows for a much broader reach. Phone calls are somewhere in between. So here is the challenge…
I am a firm believer in charity. I feel it is important to give back to the community. Over the years I have been helping with the YMCA Partners With Youth (PWY) campaign. This fund provides scholarships to families [read] Keywords: connections
community
email
google
236
Doing well or not, it’s all about attitude.
Tue, Feb 12th 2013 7:11p David Hablewitz I first posted this in my status on Facebook. But the comments that followed my post made me realize this is relevant to a broader audience, so I will share it again here.
These people on the Carnival cruise adrift in the Gulf of Mexico are complaining because they have no air conditioning, no lights, no flushing toilets, limited hot and cold food, stuck in close quarters with a bunch of people they don’t know. Some are sleeping in tents outside because it’s so hot. Funny. We h [read] Keywords: facebook
219
How IBM is raising the stakes with Social Business right in Microsoft’s back yard.
Mon, Feb 11th 2013 12:10p David Hablewitz IBM is coming to Seattle to talk about Social Business!
See the event schedule. The event is March 5.
Did I have anything to do with this? Not that I’m aware of. But I am glad to see IBM finally recognize the Seattle area market is tired of having no options besides Microsoft to choose from. Like everywhere else, businesses here like innovation and they like competition.
So from the makers of Watson, the computer that beat the champions on Jeopardy! and the perennial leader in new p [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
email
instant messaging
microsoft
network
networking
281
Passport Advantage Revisited 2 years later…
Thu, Jan 31st 2013 6:12a David Hablewitz In August 2011 I posted an article giving a detailed analysis of the design of the IBM Passport Advantage website. That article received a great deal of attention, not only from the Lotus user community, but also from executives at IBM. I was even contacted by the person who oversaw the team responsible for the site. Finally, I thought, we would see some relief in our pain dealing with this website.
It’s nearly 2 years later. There have been some changes to the IBM websites, but Pas [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
community
269
Preparing for IBM Connect 2013 (Lotusphere) and another “Outlook can’t do that” moment
Tue, Jan 22nd 2013 9:17p David Hablewitz As I review my flight itinerary, I’m looking forward to the Alaska Air non-stop from Seattle to Orlando, fondly known as…The Disney Flight. No lie. See the photo.
This time there will be no missing B.A.L.D. due to missed connections, flight cancellations or delays because of a storm blanketing the center of the country. Wuhoo!
As I added my IBM Connect (Lotusphere) Conference travel plans to my IBM Lotus Notes calendar, Alaska Airlines graciously pointed out on their website y [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
notes
outlook
