Over the last few months, my workout regimen has consisted almost exclusively of running, or lifting weights at the gym (free, brand new gym I might point out). Recently, it's been getting a little old - the act of distance running is inherently repetitive, and sometimes that can be a little dull, even as routes, weather, podcasts, etc. change. I needed to sprint, jump, throw a ball, something more stimulating. This mindset led me to do two things:1 - I signed up for the Tough Guy comp... Read Full Story

At work on a Saturday - you know you're jealous. Got here via my long saturday run, long being anything beyond the 4-mile standard run to work, so it's not saying too much. This morning I ran west along the river then north once I got to Battersea park...and that probably means nothing to you. Point is, it was one of those wandering runs where you know the general direction you want to go but have no idea which street to take. Found myself conveniently at the Whole Foods, where my... Read Full Story

Jellyfish might not be the most frightening creatures in the ocean, but for north Atlantic salmon farmers these days, there's nothing scarier. About a week ago, it emerged that an enormous swarm of jellyfish invaded a salmon farm in Northern Ireland and engulfed hundreds of thousands of salmon. The sea was so dense with jellies that the boats used to try to go rescue the fish couldn't cut through the gelatinous mush. This story would be a science-fiction-esque curiosity if it did... Read Full Story

Nothing particularly coherent about my day today, and in that spirit, here are a few random thoughts. We have become completely desensitized to fire alarms - it's "the boy who cried wolf" times a thousand. When was the last time you heard a fire alarm go off and thought to yourself "gee golly, it's really great that we have electronic devices that sense smoke and emit an amplified noise to warn us all of the potential danger we may be facing!" Yeah, that's w... Read Full Story

So this weekend was the Explore! conference at the Royal Geographic Society, the meeting that tells you everything you need to know about planning and running an expedition to the ends of the earth. The speaker's list is pretty intimidating; probably >50% had climbed Everest, and the ones that hadn't were too busy walking across Antarctica in the winter with only a t-shirt while dragging a Land Rover behind them and juggling penguins. No, not really. Here's a video from last... Read Full Story

Wow, lots to get caught up on, so let's get started. The weekend started on Friday with a talk by Jason Lewis and Stevie Smith - Lewis is the first person to have traveled around the world only using human powered transportation. This means bikes, rollerblades, walking, kayaking, and, best of all, a paddleboat type contraption that got him across the oceans. Smith was his companion on the expedition for the first half, then he bailed, and Lewis was on his own. Here's the amazing p... Read Full Story

Out in the East African savanna, where grasses sway and wildebeest get eaten by crocodiles, Kenyan schoolchildren live in remote villages miles away from health, economic, or educational infrastructure. But having few resources, there are no cars, no bikes to take them to town; no, they must run. Every morning to go to school, they run miles through the countryside, and every evening they run home. This is the popular folklore surrounding the state of the Kenyan hinterlands, the story used... Read Full Story

A couple weeks ago, I expressed some...uncertainty about the role of science in our manned space program. Well, I just read an article about space policy addressing this issue, and there may be some cause for optimism.Historically, science has not been the primary goal of space exploration. When first expounding on the need for a space program, the president's Science Advisory Committee outlined the purposes as follows:"The first of these factors is the compelling urge of man to ex... Read Full Story

The phenomenon of celebrity is pretty odd when you think about it, especially as an outsider. Being a Monday evening, I walked quickly through the rain to the Royal Geographic Society for the weekly lecture. I got there about 20 minutes early only to find that it was standing room only inside the grandiose theater. Turns out the speaker was Nick Crane, just another guy to me, but a renowned television personality to the Brits. He has hosted several documentary series, and his most recent,... Read Full Story

Saw "Into the Wild" last night, the movie about an Emory (Emory was my back-up school!) grad who renounces his family and the material world and embarks on a two year journey to find himself. First of all, I saw a trailer for the movie a few weeks ago, and it gives the general impression that it's a joyful celebration of nature and of a heroic quest. I had read the book on which the film is based, so I knew better, but it seemed clear that distributors were trying to capitali... Read Full Story