In case you didn't already see greg's or alan's writeup, here i am to report on our success solving the Königs-Pittsburgh Bridge Problem last saturday.

The idea is that while the original problem is not solvable, pittsburgh's variant is, and it turns out to be a 35-mile hike. The rules are that you must cross every bridge with at least one ( Read more... )

i've been reading this book - it is several stories by a therapist about patients fighting difficult problems that each have something to do with death anxiety. hearing what therapists have to say about life leaves me with this intense feeling of mental vitality, and also a bit of an urge to flee pittsburgh and pursue such a career myself.

somewhat ( Read more... )

yesterday we saw Arches National Park. this involved hiking about 5 miles in 90 degree heat, which was actually pretty tolerable. though i was quite tired at the end, my feet/legs were not remarkably sore. i call that a good sign ( Read more... )

i have been reading this book on-and-off. it has an interesting point in its beginning:

humans are much more loss-averse than gain-seeking. this is because in evolutionary times, it is cool if we see something to eat, but if there is, say, a snake lying on the path, we'd damn well be afraid of it. avoiding danger has to be dealt with always; feeding ( Read more... )

i think my sandals are bad for distance walking. we walked for an hour and a half today and my feet were complaining; other incidents this summer involving sandals and walking have had similar results. my feet are not generally that weak.

my alternative choice is the heavy snowproof hiking boots, which have worked but are a bit inconvenient. or ( Read more... )

I've found myself developing a taste for doing things I've never done before. Early this summer I determined that if there was a cool thing that I could choose doing instead of whatever normal activity I'd spend or waste time on, I'd pick it without hesitation - because even if all else fails, I could say I tried it and had the experience. There's ( Read more... )

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3859098

my goal was to avoid walking on either miramonte or grant, which would be the boring routes home. miramonte i chanced upon because i'd lost my sense of direction after exiting the hospital, and when i finally reached grant i decided it was ok to follow it since it would no longer be boring and i was tired ( Read more... )

last summer i was quite happy in general, but never really managed to settle into anything, and so didn't quite ever feel totally comfortable. this summer i'm trying to do better.

biking to work is going quite well. six mile trip time started at 40 minutes and is now down to 25 minutes. i've been using my echostar flashlight (EOC swag) as a ( Read more... )

I decided that it would be more prudent to go for a walk around Mountain View than to sit on my ass all day, as the former option would allow me both to feed myself and to buy some necessities. Google claims to provide wireless throughout the city, and it is true that their coverage can only be pecked from indoors - however, once connected, I was ( Read more... )