Nobody Cares

As I was over hearing a recent conversation between a couple of stereo typical climber dude bra's I gained the inspiration for this entry. As always I am just writing what I know to be true for myself and apologize for any offense because it isn't intentional.

I listened to these two over enthusiastic climbers and I realized the only people who actually cared were themselves, and the only thing that either of them cared about was one-upping the other. Through this one-upping they seemed to just inflate each others ego's more and more. While they continued to stroke each other I realized that nobody else cares about how badass you think you are except you. No one cares that you climbed a blah blah blah, how you went left-middle-left on some class blah rapid, or even if you just shredded blah deep pow all day in the backcountry. Well, except for maybe your mom but even she probably just cares that your safe afterwards, which is why you should always call her and let her know your safe after a trip.

You don't have to go into excruciating detail about how this crimper, that jug, this sloper, and that crack was the sickest hardest move. I don't care if you climb 5.19+ please just shut up! If I, or anyone, asks you about local climbing, boating, biking, skiing, or outdoor activity do not, I repeat, do not launch into inflating your own ego and telling me how cool you think you are. Because, your not that cool, and I know that because if you were that cool then you would be on the cover of a magazine instead of Sharma. But your not and I know that because I read magazines when I want a dose of over inflated ego.

In the end the best way to phrase and/or sum up this whole rant is to quote a movie line that says, "quiet frankly my dear, I just don't give a dam!"

A Little Reflection

Warning! You are about to enter into a scary realm that is Travis's thoughts.



Over the last year I have had the challenging task of launching a new retail website. It has been a long rode that has bordered on self mutilation and overwhelming exhilaration. I realize now that when I was approached by my boss about being in charge of putting us on the web that I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. Absolutely no idea. It sounded cool though, and for the most part it has been a very cool experience.



One of my first frustrations that I was meet with was time. When I started working on the website it was in addition to my other responsibilities within the physical store. Those responsibilities consumed the majority of my work week as it was and combining that with helping customers on the sales floor there really wasn't a lot of time to devote to the development of the site. I had to fight very hard for anytime and was constantly being pulled away from it. However, perseverance and dedication along with being a slight bit stubborn (some would use a stronger word here) I was able to slowly shift responsibilities and resources to allow for me to devote close to 100% of my energy on the site. Plus, the amount of work required to launch a retail and informative website is a lot to fall on only one person especially when that person is little old Travis.



The second frustration that I encountered was direction. We had a vague idea of what we wanted from the website, but we weren't really sure how to get there. Therefore, there was a lot of trial and error. Sometimes we would discover that we worked for a long time on something that was unimportant, unnecessary, or that could have been done a lot faster if we had only known. Also, we changed direction several times and each time we did that we starting back almost at square one.



The last frustration that I will mention having was training and knowledge. While I am a computer savvy hip dude I do not have formal training in web development, web design, or computer science. So, all of the html, AspDotNetStoreFront, blah, blah, and blah was completely foriegn to me. Therefore, I had to spend the majority of my time learning before I could ever start working. This was probably my biggest frustration because it was the biggest limiter of productivity and efficiency.



On the positive side each time I made a big jump in progress or learned how to accomplish the task at hand or reached a goal that was set it was hugely rewarding because it took so much dedication, learning, and time. It was very long process that I have been extremely attached to emotionally. And when the site launched I didn't know what to do. I had a feeling of being lost and not knowing what my place or roll was anymore for the store. However, since the launch my work load has not decreased, and in fact it has increased. The task of managing a site is different then developing on so responsibilities are again completely foreign and I am struggling to keep up with the work load and learning process.



My biggest fear now is that people (other then my mom!) will actually start buying from the site!



In the end I am left with a website that I am extremely proud of and that I think is unique within the industry. I feel that it is truly a resource for the locals and the tourists and I think we are selling some cool stuff too. I am excited for the next batch of products to be uploaded and to see where this long road will ultimately end.

Climbing Porn

We got the latest edition of Rock & Ice, Climbing, and Urban Climber in this last week. The very site of them annoyed me, and provoked me enough to have the need to vent a little.

As the saying goes, "I've had it up to here!" Okay, well, maybe not quite but close. I am not at the point of completely writing climbing magazines off, but I am extremely tired of grabbing the latest issue (insert any climbing magazines name here) and seeing some overly ripped guy or gal cliff-hangared on some gnarly overhung problem hanging on one handed picture.



As if that is what really happens when or while climbing. I know that I don't have the worlds most experience when it comes to cimbing. However, I have been climbing 5+ years now and have never once encountered the above mentioned situation nor have I ever heard of anyone else. Staged and posed images are stupid.



I'm not going to say that it is false advertisement because I don't think that is what it is. I understand that imagery and capturing your audience's attention is necessary. But come on! Is that really the best that your "creative" team can come up with for your cover image? It seems like such an artistic cop-out. I guess my other question is, does anyone care? I can't think of anyone who picks up or buys a climbing magazine because of the uber fake climber on the cover.



While image is important and everyone knows that it's not how good of a climber you are but how good you look most climbers i know aren't into the images depicted on the cover of those magazines. Really, for me it reduces my desire to even pick up the magazine let alone read it. In fact, it turns me completely off to the sport and reduces my desire to go out to the climbing gym or my local crag.



Also, I think that it stereotypes the men and women who climb and makes them less approachable and intimidating, which is bad for the industry. The more intimidated new climbers or interested climbers are the less likely they are to start or go climbing because they have this mental image of climbers as the people on the cover of the magazines.



Honestly, the cover images are so over the top and fake it is just ridiculous. It's not like climbing magazines need to follow suit with Cosmo, Vogue, or Mensblahblah! I guess I thought that climbing was better then that, but lately I have been proven wrong.

Old Gear: At Some Point Let It Go

I was out on a mountain bike ride a few weeks back with an individual who was wearing a torn up pair of bike shorts. The shorts were torn almost a full year ago in a crash. It got me thinking, and now, as my mom taught me to do, I'm sharing with you!

Who doesn't love gear? I know that you love your gear. I definitely love my gear. We spend a lot of time researching it, time using it, and money on it. Our gear becomes an extension of our body, and slowly over time it starts to define us and becomes part of our ego. But at some point you really need to let it go.

My Gear Bunker

Now the obvious reason for getting rid of an old piece of gear is safety. If it's broken, torn, or no longer working as it's originally designed to then it is no longer safe for you to be riding, climbing with, or utilizing in anyway. Not only should you not being using it but you shouldn't be subjecting your friend's to you still using it. I guarantee you that your friends are tired of waiting for you to "fix" your "whatever" for the billionth time. If they were a true friend he/she would be telling you exactly what I am right now, and if he/she has been telling you this then it is time you actually listen because now a stranger is on your case.

Busted Boots

If your gear is out dated, over used, and needs to be retired please for the love of everything holy retire it. You are not vintage because you still use the same pair of ski's that you did 20 years ago, and no they do not work just fine. When they are being held together with duct tape, bailing wire, twine, or are in need of a foreign object apart to hold it together it's time for something new. And no you cannot just get a new piece and retro fit it to your 800 year old tent.

Gear in Use

There is another reason to get new gear. New technology. Now you might think that your old gear is still the hippest and coolest thing since sliced bread, but it's not. Whether your belief on the theory of evolution in life is you have to accept that when it comes to gear and technology that evolution exists. There is new gear because there are new discoveries in materials and how those material work and respond to the stress's they are put under while in use. Therefore, each year the gear evolves into a stronger, lighter, and maybe just maybe even safer.

I don't really care what you do with it (e.g. build a fence, bench, hang it over your mantle, or use it as a scare crow in your garden) as long as you take it out of commission. Please don't just pass it along to your niece or nephew because that isn't fair to him/her. Maybe you can donate it to a local fire department for fire testing or recycle it.

If you still use this stove then this post applies to you

A good rule to live by is that if the company no longer exists, no longer makes that piece of gear, or no longer sell's replacement parts for it you should take it out of commission. Also, if your bike shorts are torn please get new ones cause I don't want to see that.

I want to clarify something. I am not saying this to you today because I work in a gear shop or because I want everyone to run out and buy the most recent "whatever" just because. I want people to be more mindful of their gear and when you break it, it has it's 50th birthday, or you have to reinvent the wheel just to make it work please for the love of the snow gods let it go.

Frankie

This is a clarification post. Now you know.




Okay, so here is the deal. There is this thing called a whipping post. The whipping post was used a form of punishment in the oldie day's of lore. It was a brutal form of punishment, and wasn't severe enough to actually take the life of the punished therefore it was highly feared.



As society has developed and human rights have increased forms of "physical" punishment and torture such as the whipping post have been removed from our day-to-day culture. However, intellectual, rhetorical, and emotional punishment is harder to control. If you have read a my blog you will have noticed that I've made reference to an individual as the particular source of my rant. I have each time named this individual "Frank."



Frank is a real person. Frank is my colleague, coworker, roommate, and friend. Unfortunately, for him, Frank is my whipping post!



His name has become the call tag for my rants. Therefore, he will always be associated with what I am criticizing. He may not always deserve this but I have to have some sort of word association for the reader. Now I could change it up and use different names each time, but I don't feel that is fair to you as readers. Familiarity to the subject is crucial to my subject matter.



There was nothing he did to initiate this abuse (although he did shoot me at close range in the ear with a rubber band) but his reaction to it was so priceless and beautiful that it stuck. If I am murdered in my sleep then you probably know who did it because he might end up killing me over this.



I feel like I should redeem myself and say some good things about Frank, and there is a lot I could say, but I think that would defeat the purpose. I mean, after all, it's not going to kill him.

TeamKit

I have never been one for much need for association to groups. I've never really been the lone wolf type, but just haven't found it necessary to belong to an established group. I never played competitive team sports competitively as a kid. My parent's weren't super into it, and it was a bit to structured for me. By structured I mean I couldn't change my mind on what I wanted to do every 5 seconds. I played a lot of sports (i.e. baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and trampoline) with my dad, older brother, and friends, but I always liked having the ability to jump from one sport to the next because I didn't have the best attention span.

Since I never had been part of a team I was really surprised to have the experience I had dawning my team kit for the first time. During this last winter I became part of a Northern (I mean the real Northern) California and Southern Oregon Cycling team Etna Brewing Co./ DeSalvo Custom Cycles. Being still fairly new to the sport of bike racing (crossed over from Triathlon) I was excited to be part of a team for many reasons, but mostly because it would offer me some discounts and people to train with.



When I picked up my teamkit this spring I was mostly excited to have a couple new jersey's and bike shorts because it was just that time of the year. However, when I pulled on my Etna Brew bibs and jersey for the first time I was overwhelmed with the sense of pride! It gave me an immense feeling of accomplishment and instilled a huge amount of drive in me. From that moment in time on all I have wanted to do is train more, train smarter, train harder, and race race race race my bike. The issue of jumping from one sport to the next on a whim as vanished. Everything in my life is now structured around insuring I get to ride my bike six days a week, and race as much as possible.

Being a part of a team or recognizing myself as part of something has been a very positive experience for me. I now have more understanding why so many people pursue association with a social group in the vast array they exist. It even compounds the significance of Chuck Palahniuk's book Fight Club.

Are you correcting my spelling?

Disclaimer: This post has absolutely nothing to do with the outdoors!

I grew up in a family that obsessively corrected ever miss spelled word and grammar error I ever wrote or spoke. I am grateful that I was raised in a family that cared enough about my education to put in the effort to teach me the correct way to read, write, and speak. It influenced me later in life when I finally chose my major in college as a Bachelor's of Science in Human Communication. The well established background gave me a advantage in all of my public speaking classes as well as researching and writing a copious amount of papers.

I find myself as a college graduate and, what I consider, a moderately well educated person still having people correct what they interpret are miss spelled words or grammar mistakes. This really annoys me! I can understand the assumption that a young kid has spelled a word incorrectly out of error. However, one should not assume that all words spelled untrue to traditional form are in error. We live in a free thinking world, or at least some of us like to think that we do, so why should we forcibly conform our use of language. Its barbaric. In the art world its an insult to trifle an artist expression even if it is outside the traditional realm of art, but somehow it is okay to presumably correct someone's self expression through words. If I so choose to spell a word a certain way or not put a comma in my sentence or string multiple sentences together without the traditional means of punctuation's who cares?

Personally, I think that there are much bigger issues in this world then if I used affect when I should have used effect or since instead of sense or just simply didn't feel the need to go back and change the fact that i didn't capitalize my i or put in that letter I left out of a word. I will give all due respect to the english language and there are situations where I believe sentence structure and spelling should comply to a traditional form. But in the end it is a language that is ever evolving. And, so what if the traditional rules are slowly falling off. If they are falling by the wayside it just means that we don't need them anymore because the are out dated and superfluous. Some might say, we have to draw the line somewhere or it will be anarchy. This is not a gateway drug situation. The world is not going to fall out of orbit and were not all going to die if I don't spell every word the way it is in the dictionary. Stupid Webster anyways!

None of this is to say that I disagree with the proper education of language, speaking, spelling, and grammar. But at some point do not just automatically jump to the conclusion that someone has made a mistake, and then feel the need to jump in and prove how much smarter then them you are. And, even if it causes major issues for you emotionally, mentally, and physically allow nontraditional thinking and expression to happen.