This is a big year for me. I’ve turned 60 years old and I feel great! I’ve got much to look forward to, and much to look back on. Specifically, I’m looking forward to placing high in my new age group in the Boston Marathon in April, the Tour of California Alps Death Ride in July, the Ironman Canada triathlon in August, and the Alcatraz Invitational swim in September. Wow! What a way to celebrate being alive! Continue reading Going Further, Faster at 60
I had a chance to work with a very good song writer, bass player, lyricist, and producer named Kerry Thomas. This left handed musician had great feel for grooves and melody.
We met in the 80’s while I was attending San Jose State. He was good friends with Gavin Green, who played guitar in one of my college bands. But it was years later when we began our song writing partnership. Continue reading The Band Life, Part Two: Song Writing in the 90’s
Outsourcing to offshore vendors appears very attractive as a cost saving measure. However, there are inherent dangers that a company must address before committing to an offshore business model, or possibly face costly consequences later. Continue reading Boeing 787 Dreamliner Illustrates the Dangers of Offshoring
I am now 9 weeks into my training for this year’s Boston Marathon. It’s the first of the 4 events I’ve signed up for this year. But more on that later. I just wanted to make this a short blog of one of the secret ingredients of my training. It’s my homemade granola. It’s a variation on the original recipe I was given when I was living in New Zealand in 1978. (Yes, that’s a lot of granola behind me.) I eat it nearly every morning during training and before an event. It’s good fuel and easy to digest. I can make a big batch that lasts me about 3 weeks. This saves me a lot of time, and I really like it. It seems to be popular, so I thought I’d share the recipe. Here it is: Continue reading My “Secret” Granola Recipe
Do you ever wish you could play in a live band? Well I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12 years old. Sometimes I’ve stepped away to pursue a “real life” but I can’t keep away from music. Continue reading My Life in Bands, Part One
This isn’t suppose to happen. Generally it can be avoided by packing a flat-tire repair kit. But how do you prepare for the possibility of four or five spokes snapping? That happened to me near the Coyote Creek Lagoon of the Bay Trail, some 6+ miles from the car. Not particularly far to walk unless you have to carry the bike all the way. The rear wheel twisted so badly that it couldn’t turn in the frame. Fortunately, my stock road bike is fairly light at 21 lbs: ideal for loading onto the peninsula commuter trains but a mountain bike would hold up better against the rough conditions on the trail and the surface-street portions of the loop. Continue reading Avoiding Those Long Walks Back to the Car Carrying Your Bike
I halve a spelling checker;
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I dew not sea.
I’ve sent this message threw it,
And I’m shore pleased to no
It’s letter perfect in its weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.
This takes a little bit of back story, so bear with me. During my adolescence and early twenties, I spent most of my time in Palo Alto, CA, and was constantly skateboarding. Constantly. And as a result, (despite the occasional shin ding, knee scrape, or hip bruise), I was in the best physical shape a person can possibly be in . During this time I was also lucky enough to have met a cadre of some of the sport’s legends. I became pretty good friends with one in particular: Jeff “ffej” Hedges. Continue reading Old Dog, New Tricks
…Instead of taking landscape photos on the family farm, you compulsively take photos of safety hazard warning labels on the John Deere tractor!
(Taken at Sibley Park in Berkeley)
When Andrea is not hiking, she is a Senior Technical Writer at Phoenix Technical Publications. Phoenix Tech Pubs has provided complete technical writing and documentation services in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years.