My Year 2010

My year - 2010: Had a job, had a car, had a girlfriend. Lost the car, lost the job, lost the girlfriend. Started a website business, made some money. Lived in a tent by a river, lived in an apartment downtown, slept on a couch a lot. Hitch hiking ... Moab to El Paso, Jackson to Rexburg, Jackson to Salt Lake, Jackson to anywhere I want. Calculus Class (still pushing for that Engineering Degree). Spiritual growth. Feeling older - Decade #3. Planting "roots" ??? not yet apparently. But my direction has never been more sure.

--WBC--

hide your kids, hide your wife

A very interesting article about the TSA x-ray backscatter machines:

My Helical Tryst: Review of the TSA X-ray backscatter body scanner safety report: hide your kids, hide your wife

--WBC--

Why learning Chinese is so hard

--WBC--

Hello World

Hi, I don't post here very often, but just wanted to let you all know about my portfolio site at www.wbcobb.net. Well, see ya later ;)

Posted via email from cobbman's posterous

The Rent is Too Damn High

Stanford

I just looked at Stanford University online to see what it would be like to attend school there. I WANT THAT.

Oh yes, I want the atmosphere of success, the high academic discipline, the open-minded thinking, the diverse student body, the Varsity-grade sports programs and the new associations that will come with it. Most importantly of all, I want to gain a personal ability to believe in myself and follow my dreams. 

Tuition is $38,000 + all the other stuff. Estimated at around $54,000 total per semester. OUCH.

Hopes fading... what should I do?

--WBC--

Cycles: Cause and Effect

In this world of duality, all things & variations are possible. We entered into a physical existence for the possibility of experiencing joy, misery and many types of outcomes. Many can have cycles of misery and loss of control, or cycles of joy and increased agency.

The Gospel outlines the path of continual growth - avoiding all pitfalls and building upon greater agency. These decisions enter the individual into a cycle: Some cycles for better, and some for worse. Either one may have effects which will not be seen in this lifetime, but after many years from now. Imagine the personal hell of realizing that after hundreds of years a particular habit you have been doing is detrimental to your progressions. How hard would that be to change; and would you have rather changed your pathway while living on Earth, when the habit was young and more pliable.

--WBC--

Around Camp

Hello from Jackson! Once again, just a quick update: I'll be coming back to Salt Lake for General Conference. Hope to see everybody I can there!

Next, Jackson is awesome of course. I've been working on websites like a mad man, but I love it. I'm glad I took a long retirement from it, and I'm glad that I'm "back in action" with the world wide web. I've been rebuilding my portfolio while I work here. Soon, I plan to migrate this blog back to my own host (no longer using blogger), for those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning, you remember that I used to hard code everything on my own, before migrating all my content to blogger in 2004 (I like to consider myself a seasoned blogger, since I kept an online log of myself since 1999, before I ever heard of a "blog"). Though convenient, I think for the sake of personal pride and practice, I'm going back to doing it my way, without blogger tools. Well, one day at least, when I get the time to do the migration and creation of a new blog site. (actually, if you want to see the wordpress installation I set up , go here: www.wbcobb.net/blog).

I've been hosting some couch surfers on the river banks, which has been a lot of fun. 3 people from Germany, and 2 people from New York. I love the Couch Surfing Project, because I get to meet new people all the time.


Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment:

--WBC--

Teton Valley

What's This?

I never could have predicted this. Homesick for the city? Actually wanting to be surrounded by noises of public transportation machines roaring down the street busied with people going places and their faces being lit up by lights from stores all around? Really? Are you kidding me?

I came down to SLC for Sven and Brenna's wedding. It was awesome and I loved being there when they made their vows. Sometimes you don't realize how much you care about people until you see them do big things in their life (like get married. BTW, I'm sorry to all of my friends out there whose weddings I missed; Sometimes for whatever reason things don't go as planned). This is one of those times where I realize that I have some super awesome friends right here.

Frankly I like SLC. I'm not going to explain every reason why I like it, I just do. It's awesome here and I'd love to stay. But my Summer job is elsewhere and I won't be done there until October. I'd like to stay, but I have to work the job I have right now. That's fine. I'll be back.

Looking for Outdoor Jobs until then (in SLC of course!). I'm done with Recreational Therapy though. I want to try Outdoor Education instead. Know of any jobs? Send me a note. Thanks :)

I'll be travelling back to Jackson tomorrow (today actually... it's 12:30am).

--WBC--

Shoot out

Dusty and I planned a little bachelor party for Sven tonight... No strippers, just a couple of guys, lots of toys and targets, and lots of ammo. The stuffed turtle and toy piano were really fun to shoot. My shoulder is sore from the 12-guage, which normally doesn't happen. I guess working in a deli doesn't exactly make for tough shoulders.

--WBC--

Music is great from the living room

Forest Artwork

Nice guy playing a Swiss Alps Horn in front of Smiths

Ink Bink is Awesome

Jackson had a small earthquake yesterday. I felt it while sitting on a rock by the river. Though I wasn't sure it was and earthquake until I read about it in today's paper. I think it was a 4.8 and didn't do any major damage. Just a little hop.

I've started a creative writing blog with my friend Ray called Ink Bink. It's totally fun and so far I'm excited about it. We have 4 authors so far (including me) and may choose to recruit more in the near future. Please check it out!

www.inkbink.net

Lastly, it's been a great time up here. I'm still building websites, and blogging. Sven and Brenna are getting hitched on the 19th, so I'll be in Utah for that event. Can't wait to visit Salt Lake again. Later!

--WBC--

BYU Idaho's new food court

The Salt Lake, Utah

--WBC--

Life at Snake River Park

I've been living at the KOA in a tent by the snake river. I'm using someone else's tent, which is nice because it's large.

Working via the internet proves difficult in the evenings because the wireless internet here is used a lot by the campers and always lags and resets. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I hitchike to town and use the library's or Heidi's internet connection.

Speaking of hitchhiking, that's what I did yesterday to get to town (actually, Bud who owns KOA saw me on my way out and gave me a ride). I worked at Heidi's until 1am. I woke up early and started hitchiking back to camp. Got a ride from my first female driver to pick me up - a lady from Chicago who just moved here. She was driving a Jeep with the top off - pretty cool - and took me as far as the Enclosure climbing gym. 10 more minutes on the roadside, and a police officer stopped and told me hitchiking was illegal in Wyoming. Let me go but told me to walk. So I did for about a mile, then called Mary and had her pick me up so I could make it back to the KOA in time to start my shift at 10am. Luckily, she wasn't working. Oh, and I should add that I didn't know hitchiking was outlawed in WY. It's legal in UT, NM, and AZ. Whatever the reason, here's what I found about the laws here...

====================
This is from digihitch.com

According to Wyoming state law, it is illegal to hitchhike on a highway. State and local police will enforce this. However, many hitchhikers have had successful trips across the state by either hitchhiking from on-ramps or by using a highway loophole which many cops allow...

It is legal to walk on a highway, if a person is walking facing traffic. In some cases (if the other side of the road is not safe to walk on) a pedestrian can walk with the flow of traffic.

As long as a hitchhiker is not actively requesting a ride (sign raised or thumb out), he or she can keep walking. And this is what cops are likely to tell you in Wyoming:
"Keep walking..."

So be sure to look like you are going somewhere with your own two feet while in Wyoming. Read a section of the law below, and click the link for more related pedestrian laws.

Code 31-5-606 Soliciting on streets and highways.

(a) No person shall be on a highway for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle. This subsection does not apply to persons attempting to obtain assistance for disabled vehicles.

31-1-101. Definitions.
(viii) "Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained or if not publicly maintained, dedicated to public use when any part is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel;

====================

Though I plan to be here until October, my priorities are daily reviewed in my mind: build a portfolio so I can work for CouchSurfing.org as a web designer, and eventually earn income online so I can have the freedom to travel while earning enough income to live well. I am also applying for Forest Service jobs in the Fall, and maybe even something with the Coast Guard. It's still open, but I'm going to apply.

So far, I've worked on 3 websites: my portfolio, thanksgivingforall.org, and secretspeakers.com (only edits on the last one). I have a few ideas for more, it just takes a lot of time to get back into the swing of things. I've discovered that paying attention to the right "teachers" online has helped me the most. I pay $9 a month for nettuts tutorials online from Jeffrey Way. It's one of the best investments I've made for learning website stuff (I stopped getting Netflix so I could afford this).

So that's me on top of Mt. Olympus (in Utah. no pics from Wyoming yet). I'm always searching for new friendships, and oh yeah, I'm not going to school this Fall. I have to get out of debt before getting into more. I'm happy to feel in my heart that I have the skills I need right now to be successful in life. That's not saying I'm not learning, and won't return to college; It means I'm accepting who I am right now and planning my future wisely.

--WBC--

Happy 4th of July!

T. Wood

Happy 4th of July!

Travels and Decisions

I am back in Salt Lake City after being gone for over a week. I drove to Rexburg with Tim and Bradyn two Sunday's ago, and I got back by getting a ride to Logan (stayed with my brother Sterling for a few days) and then hitch-hiking to Farmington where I took a train to Salt Lake.

In Jackson, WY the weather was perfect, though cold on our first day. I went rafting, mountain biking, and still found time for finishing some website projects. Despite the hardship of staring at a computer for long amounts of time, I really enjoy being involved in website design, structure and maintenance. My clients are also happy with my work too :)

In Jackson I found a job at Dave Hansen Rafting. They need a person to help at the front desk. I accepted it, because, well, I just wanted to be up there this Summer. Now I have to be back in Jackson this weekend, ready to work. I'm taking it because I can work 2 days a week if I want. I'll need the flexibility so I can still freelance. The big down-side of taking this job is it will last until October - so I'll have to postpone a semester of school until January. But maybe this is a good thing because I need the extra time to get out of debt first.

I also really want to work for the Forest Service. I thought about this a lot while in Jackson and really felt good about pursuing a Forest Service job. I just need to volunteer my time with them first, before I can land a paying job with them.

There's a lot of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with too many options and commitments. Between my new Jackson job and website freelancing, I'm also supposed to 1. start day-trading with my 401-K $$, 2. finish my online Calculus class, and 3. volunteer for the Forest Service. Oh yeah, don't forget about some basic recreation in between all of that too! Yeah, it's too much I think. I'm still deciding which thing to let go of. update July 1, 2010 1. I'm not doing any of these three things! I have decided to stick to working at Dave Hansen and building websites. Those two things alone keep me plenty busy. I hope to work for the Forest Service in the Fall. --WBC--

Driving in Idaho

Beards: they grow on you.

just a hint of the view

HTML5 Infographic

What is HTML5?

Click to enlarge...

Just caught my first White Bass!

Location: Utah lake

Gone Fishing :)

Crude Oil

There's a reason BP does not want photojournalists anywhere near the oil spill currently devastating the Gulf of Mexico. If people were to behold the raw effects of this tragedy, they might demand justice against those responsible, namely BP. Being over 5,000 feet below the water's surface, the leak has proven to be difficult to stop, and has resulted in millions of gallons of oil scourging the Gulf waters. Though disasters such as this are rare, it doesn't make the effects of them any less cruel.


AP Photographer Charlie Riedel captured the following photographs off the beach of Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island on Thursday June 3, 2010:

For more information:
New York Times Article
New York Times Multimedia Gallery
Boston.com Article
--WBC--

Resurrecting old skills

I can't believe I'm actually doing it...

I'm bringing back the online portfolio, practicing web development, and subscribing to geeky newsletters again.

Why?

The most obvious reason is lifestyle. I have a passion for the power of the internet and I want to harness it again.

Truth is, I never fully let it go. Even though I stopped keeping an online portfolio and stopped coding on a daily basis, I always kept up to date with the latest in developments, helped friends with websites they were building, and talked about one day returning to it all.


I plan on doing much more this time around: One obvious change will be my approach to web development. I've learned a lot of techniques from watching others and talking about the web. There are far more resources available today than there was even 3 years ago. I'm excited for such a vast field of knowledge at my fingertips.

From here the sky is the limit. A web page can be about anything you want it to be. I'm like a chef in a kitchen with unlimited ingredients. Who knows what will be made next, and how much fun it will be to create.

--WBC--

Notes on the past week

Went all the way to El Paso, TX. Visited the sister.
Hitchhiked from Albuquerque to Moab. 4 rides, 5 interesting people, 1 night camping, 9 hours of travel (includes standing on the road).
Back in Salt Lake. Time to work and earn some money.
Visiting JoC was awesome and I love her job; so does she ;)
Currently freelancing work doing websites. Taking Calculus too.
USU in the Fall. Yes... more school for me. I'm gonna be an Engineer.
Environmental? Aerospace? Mechanical making outdoor equipment?
Next travel destination: California

--WBC--

Back in Moab

I arrived in Moab today around noon. It's a nice hot windy day. I feel like going swimming. This trip was made possible thanks to generous people who gave me a lift. Four in all. I'll have to update this post more later tho... I'm at the Library right now and I'd prefer to be outside :)

Milkshakes

Moab and New Mexico

I left Salt Lake City a week ago and went to Moab with Sven and Brenna's Family. From there I found a ride to New Mexico (met a guy in Moab at a free lunch) and I'm staying with Jo for a few days. She is working near Cloudcroft, NM as a Wildlife Technician studying the Mexican Spotted Owl. It's a cool job where she lives in the woods. Now she has 5 days off and we're at her friend Kristy's house in El Paso. Today we're going to Carlsbad Caverns. I'm having a great time, and a much needed vacation.

Yesterday we went climbing, where Jo led some awesome hard routes and I could hardly follow. She's a great climber and I'm proud of my sister for all the great things she does in life.

This weekend is the ward Moab trip, so I'm going to hitch hike back to Moab on Friday and join them, where I'll catch a ride back to Salt Lake with the one and only Sara Barclay.

From there I'm staying in Salt Lake and working full time on some personal projects and necessary things. I'll be traveling to California a week later with my brother, hopefully. I want to meet some CouchSurfers down there, plus, a visit to the beach can't hurt either.


--WBC--

Hello New Mexico

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks for visiting me mom!

Yin and Yang

Over the years, life's little let-downs can start adding up and turn whatever faith you have into a cynical anticipation of expected failures. Despite attempts to accomplish dreams in life, past unfortunate events create a learned behavior which leeches away all hope and motivation to succeed in the future. A truly damning state of mind, and one which has been adopted by so many.

Yet, some success stories have illustrated that it is only in these states of mind that we discover our greatest potential and power: the ability to choose our own destiny.

When exactly does the change happen? When will the negativity recess and the positivity grow?

The irony in this is, that the mere expression of my own self-doubt is an indicator of a desire to abolish that mentality and turn it into self-confidence. The question I keep asking myself is: will I be able to do it.

--WBC--

Joy or Sorrow

The greatest joy or sorrow comes from reaping what you have sewn. --WBC--

It has been sold and taken away

Good Hiking

Reason #26 where I live is cool: Found this hiking playground next to my house.

Salsa Garden

I planted a salsa garden today in my front yard. It consists of tomatoes, cilantro, onions and fish peppers. My coworker provided me with the seedlings. I think this is my first garden i'm doing on my own. It's totally worth it.

The Great Outdoors

The great outdoors: it changes people. Everything I needed to know about life I learned in the Great Outdoors.

And you may imagine, as I used to, that being able to enjoy the outdoors requires special equipment such as big maps, special shoes, or backpacks. No, you don't need them. But you use them sometimes for safety. But those aren't the things I learn from. No, it's really the interpersonal interactions I find out there. Whether with mother nature, or the people I'm with.

--WBC--

K'mon April where is the sun?

General Conference!

Calculus

I finally started Calculus through BYU Independent Studies. The other day I checked out 5 Calculus help books from the public library, including "Calculus for the Clueless." So far, in studying the first topic - limits - I'm enjoying it very much. I have 1 year to complete the course at my own pace, though I anticipate on finishing it earlier so I can start Calculus 2 in the Fall.

--WBC--

Random Giver

When I went to purchase a Trax Pass today on my way to work, someone put their ticket in the cash machine where I would have bought a pass at (they last for 3 hours), so I got to ride for free. Thank you, random giver.

--WBC--

The Going Gets Tough

Sometimes the going gets tough. You think you're heading in a good direction, moving forwards, only to find out that you're doing it all wrong, and because you did it wrong, you've actually set yourself back.

I just paid $82 for background checks to start my teacher certification, but when I re-read the directions on their website I discovered that I didn't even need this. Money is so tight right now and I blew it on a background check that I don't need! (non-refundable of course).

My Jeep overheated a few days ago while I was driving on the freeway. I immediately pulled over and parked it, but I guess it was already too late - blown head gasket. Do I have $3,000 to pay someone to fix it? No. If I had a garage to fix it myself, then I would, but I don't.

Body pain? Yep: Sprained wrist that just won't heal, worst part is that it makes rock climbing all the more difficult. (this really isn't too bad, I mean, of all things that could go wrong, a sprained wrist is nothing).

This seems to be part of life however, and I've been here before. So, not to despair, I'll just pick up the pieces and move on.

I'm looking into selling the Jeep to a mechanic who can fix it up for himself, and then buying a motorcycle (lower gas bill, and lower insurance). I'll just keep on applying for my teacher certification using the correct check list this time, and I wrapped my wrist in an ace bandage today. Woot!

Life is good.

--WBC--

Bed Hair is the New Awesome

bed hair is the new awesome

New Look

It was time for a blog makeover. I really hope you enjoy the new look as much as I do. I changed the blog title because I wanted to better reflect its purpose. This blog is a collection of William's Notes.

--WBC--

SLC

It's a nice day today, and rightly so for a Friday. I've been gym climbing at the Front a few times a week in preparation for the Spring season. I'm working, and it feels nice to be financially stable for once. I plan on staying here for the Summertime - even though a lot of friends and fun people I know are heading to Jackson for the Summer. Currently I have a good thing going on here in SLC.

--WBC--

German Couchsurfers staying with us

Bye Bye Danger

I think I forgot to mention that Danger Kitty ran away from home, 4 days after I moved to Salt Lake (in October). I don't think she enjoyed the move; and even may have felt like I "stole" her from our old home because I had no way of telling her what was going on. Four days after being in our new place I thought I would let her outside to look around. She promptly ran down the sidewalk and around the corner. I chased her but she ducked behind a house, and that was that last I saw of her.

I hope she found a better place to be - like a nice old lady's house somewhere around the block, which is warm and she'll get fet lots of food, and together they can keep each other company. I just believe that is where she is now.

I am living and working in Salt Lake City. I love what I've found here. I like the people, the surrounding mountains, the Salt Lake Temple, and the lingering heritage I sense here.

I'm starting calculus (finally) through BYU's online courses. It is more economic for me to take classes this way while I work full time.

So I'm outta time here, but I'll try to make some more updates soon.

--WBC--