Mark's Google plus backup

Charlie the Dog and I hiked up Sacajawea Peak today ... and at the very top, Charlie met something he'd never met before. Even though he can't talk, I distinctly heard him say, "Holy crap ... what the heck is that?!"

Just added another 8 GB or RAM to my iMac, and now life is worth living again.

I'm dating myself, here ... but as far as tech magazines go my favorite was definitely Byte. I was very sad when it was killed off, and I don't think there's anything out there now that compares. Anyhow, now it turns out that Byte has been reincarnated ... at least of sorts, in online form. Jerry Pournelle is even back! So far it looks pretty good, but we'll see. http://www.informationweek.com/byte/

http://www.macnn.com/articles/11/07/28/statistic.used.to.highlight.debt.crisis/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69RpEBJFAY

So after a week with Lion, I've almost got the "reverse scrolling" thing down pat ... but I still haven't gotten over how thoroughly ugly (in different ways) the Finder, Address Book, and iCal are. I wonder if there are any good Lion-compatible Finder substitutes out there?

Here's my collection of waterfall photos from last weekend's Hyalite Creek hike. Some extraordinary spots, indeed ...

Hyalite Creek waterfalls ...

Hyalite Creek waterfalls ...

A webpage that will absolutely, positively make your day. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/portraits-of-gay-couples-just-married-in-new-york

Originally shared by Andreas Duess Dante's google+ account....

Charlie and I did the spectacular-but-snowy hike up to Hyalite Lake yesterday ... a gorgeous trip. Outside of Glacier, at least, for my money this is the best day hike in Montana. Here's the first batch of photos -- shots of the trail, and of the lake itself, which is one of the most gorgeous spots you'll ever see. The hike is mostly known for its waterfalls, though, and with the high runoff this year they were amazing. I'll post some shots of those next.

Hyalite Lake - 2011

Hyalite Lake - 2011

I am currently at "Evel Knievel Days" in Butte, Montana ... and as you might guess, I will be getting the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

For me, the most interesting statement in this article was that Facebook had a total of 157 million visitors in May. Given that the total number of FB accounts is now supposedly somewhere around 750 million, that means that roughly four-fifths of all Facebook accounts have been at least semi-abandoned by their creators. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388908,00.asp

I like it. :) Originally shared by Andre Speek How to troll on Google+ :-)

Installed the Lion upgrade on my iMac this morning, though not without difficulty ... the download crashed the App Store application! My initial thoughts are mixed. Safari seems much improved, and the left/right swipe action there is brilliant. I'm already used to the "reversed" scrolling, but I re-enabled the always-visible scroll bar ... it makes no sense at all to have that disappear on a desktop device. Launchpad is useless for anyone with more than a handful of apps, and since I don't use Spaces I don't really like the new look of Mission Control. Mail seems more solid, though I went back to the classic UI there. There's a lot of serious ugliness in the UI, especially for a design-conscious company like Apple. The Finder and Mail went way too far towards the monochrome look ... the font choices, spacing, and graphic layout all suck. On the other hand, Apple went too far in the other direction in the Address Book and iCal, sacrificing usability and ...

Hmm ... the Google+ homepage just suggested that I add myself to one of my circles! Gotta love beta software. :)

Another small photo album moved over from Facebook ...

South Africa - 2006

South Africa - 2006

South Africa - 2006

South Africa - 2006

Not that this (or anything) will convince the conspiracy theorists, but ... Originally shared by Ryan Estrada Here is the entire section about rights, explained section by section. As with any personal interpretation, read the original text and make up your own mind!

I think it's more than a little creepy that G+ continually has Mark Zuckerberg's name near the top of my "Suggestions" list.

Charlie the Dog and I backpacked to a tiny Forest Service cabin in the mountains south of town last night. An idyllic spot, gorgeous views on the way, and even some snow on the trail! I had a fine time, and as you might guess, Charlie had an absolute blast. He was a little skeptical about the cabin ... but man, that dog is born to hike. And now, we're both ready for a nap. :)

Forest cabins ...

Forest cabins ...