This could take a bit...

This should get to the RSS readers no problem, but I just wanted to send out this message letting everyone know that Just a Leaf blog is going through some changes, so please have patience with the poor thing :).

I will explain what is going on as soon as things are up and running again!

*Cough* - *Hack*

From whence it came, I know not, but alas the truth is not easily denied. Mine throat, ears, and nose are all stuffethed up... I think I have a cold **sniff** :'(

Unfortunately, this may mean that I miss my chance to go visit our Orange Cove friends (double **sniff**!) tomorrow. But I'm not going down without a fight.

• Lemon-water, all day
• Vitamin C, 2 doses
• Garlic 400mg
• Chicken broth (home made and organic!)
• Rasberries, high in anti-oxidants
• Get to sleep early
• NO SUGAR

It may be better if I don't make it on Sunday though... I'm sure the Church would appreciate a quiet day of worship for a change :).

Inspirational Skit - MUST Watch

A family we know sent us this video, a skit from a Church in Tennessee, I think.



Yeah, we cried too.

2 days left to vote!

My fancy-pants poll will close in 2 days! If you haven't voted already, make sure you do! It makes me happy ;)

I need these shirts...

And the best for last...

Google Docs Get Presentations!

Too cool.

http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dh99v8n_224crm7nd&fs=true

by Your's Truly

-Garrett

Audio Blog Vote: Do you want to hear my unrecorded songs?

This is a poll. It means nothing if you don't vote! So please go to my site if you are reading from a reader.

I have a poll on my site, on the right sidebar, asking if you are interested in hearing my unrecorded songs (currently a little over 50) as part of my personal project to "archive" them so I don't forget about them.

Since I currently do not have the facilities to record them properly, I'm going to record them alone, live, and with my trusty $15 desktop microphone. And I won't guarantee that they sound good (I can't even use my vocal harmonizer/pitch correction deck because I don't have an interface!) because raw audio rarely does (listen to the Jesus Record by Rich Mullins if you want to here what a legend sounds like in the same situation)

photo by giggie larue "one man band"

So vote with a click if you think I should make it public!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the poll closes at the end of the month!

-Garrett

Wubi: Install Linux on Windows Safe and Easy

The ease of the Wubi installation is self-evident so that newbies are without excuse.

Wubi installs Ubuntu linux as a program on your Windows computer and uninstalls just as easily.

• No Reformatting or Partition changing, it runs in a Windows folder
• Easy Install/Uninstall
• No changes to the Boot record in Windows
• 100% safe to your Windows machine

So everyone who's been wanting to try installing Linux, give it a shot! It's free.

One Warning: Takes longer than a typical install of Ubuntu, so set aside a good hour for the installation (uninstalling is much faster).

Free Running or Parkour or Urban Exploration???

I must say, I'm developing a soft spot for Parkour...

...or is it Free Running... or Urban Exploration?

Well it's time for me to get my definitions straight, and I did, here's a quick synopsis (excerpts from Wikipedia) with a small conclusion at the end:

Parkour

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement^[1] (English: the art of displacement) is an activity of French origin, the aim of which is to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.^[2][3] It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Male parkour practitioners are recognized as traceurs and female as traceuses.^[4]

Parkour is also known to have an influence on practitioner's thought process. Traceurs and traceuses experience a change in their critical thinking skills to help them overcome obstacles in everyday life, whether they be physical or mental boundaries.

David Belle was introduced to the obstacle course training as well as Hébert's methode naturelle by his father, Raymond Belle, a French soldier who practiced the two disciplines. David Belle had participated in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics, and sought to apply his athletic prowess in a manner that would have practical use in life.

Understand that this art has been created by few soldiers in Vietnam to escape or reach: and this is the spirit I'd like parkour to keep. You have to make the difference between what is useful and what is not in emergency situations. Then you'll know what is parkour and what is not. So if you do acrobatics things on the street with no other goal than showing off, please don't say it's parkour. Acrobatics existed long time ago before parkour.

Free Running

Free running is a physical art, in which participants (freerunners) attempt to pass all obstacles in their path in a smooth and fluid way. Free runners interact with their environment using movements such as vaulting, jumping, somersaults and other acrobatic movements, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practised at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacles.

Founded by Sébastien Foucan and inspired by the similar art of displacement (parkour) which was founded by Foucan's childhood friend David Belle, free running embraces elements of tricking and street stunts,^{[citation needed]} which are considered by the parkour community to be inefficient and not parkour. Initially, the term free running was used interchangeably with parkour. However, as free runners became interested in aesthetics as well as useful movement, the two became different disciplines.

The conflict between free running and parkour occurred when the founder of parkour, David Belle and his colleague Sébastien Foucan included, split up and went their separate ways. David Belle mainly stuck to parkour as efficiency while Sébastien Foucan focused on the freedom of movement, self-development and aesthetic aspects of parkour thus making free running more popular. Although both activities may be defined differently, still there is a lot of discussion on what is free running and confusion in its definition.

Experienced free runner Jerome Ben Aoues explains in the documentary Jump London that:^[24]

"The most important element is the harmony between you and the obstacle; the movement has to be elegant... If you manage to pass over the fence elegantly — that's beautiful, rather than saying I jumped the lot. What's the point in that?"

Urban Exploration

Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilization. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. In the USA, it may also be referred to as "draining" (when exploring drains) "urban spelunking", and "urban caving", "vadding", "building hacking", "Reality hacking" or "roof and tunnel hacking".

Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps the most common example of urban exploration. Abandoned sites are generally entered first by locals, and often sport large amounts of graffiti and acts of vandalism. Explorers face various risks in abandoned structures including collapsing roofs and floors, broken glass, guard dogs, the presence of chemicals, other harmful substances, most notably asbestos, hostile squatters and sometimes motion detectors.

The common, but not always entirely accurate catchphrase for this ethical standpoint is the Sierra Club's motto: "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." Some try and adhere to this motto which frowns heavily upon theft, vandalism, tagging, graffiti, and any other crime except for trespassing.


Conclusion:

While the lines that divide these various practices are blurry, at best, there is still enough difference that they can be separated in our vocabulary :).

Each one is undeniably cool, but I can't help but feel that both Parkour and Urban Exploration are just a bit on the "shady" side. Free Running is the only one out of the three that can be most convincingly referred to as a sport.

Free Running is also much more recreational in its intent and is highly creative, therefore much more interesting to me (if only I can get into some decent shape...).

But I can definitely see the allure of Parkour's efficiency, knowing that you are capable of getting to or away from difficult to reach locations in a rapid manner that is likely only possible with mastery of the human body.

Yeah... it's cool.

The Big Hike

Well, the big honkin' collection of photos from the 3-day backpacking trip is up... maybe one day I'll get the pics off my phone too...

http://picasaweb.google.com/ptelian/12GuysGoHiking

Thanks Pete!

-Garrett

Aliens from Sesame Street

Thanks to ol' Krusty again for this video. Maybe it's late, but I'm tearing up in laughter!



I remember these guys from when I was little :). I just didn't get it then.

What is it that orbits around the Earth?

The backpacking trip pics are still coming, as soon as I have the time, but I just had to post this from Kamp Krusty... it's a great confidence booster:

Who Wants to be a Millionaire (French)
"The question is, 'What is it that orbits around the earth?'"

Back, Bruised, and Busy

Well, despite my best intentions it does not seem I was able to get anything out to my blog as planned.

Funny, you'd think there'd be decent cell-phone coverage at 11,000 ft in the Sierras...

Oh well, that's the way the Pop-tart crumbles. Yes, I broke my pop-tarts by attempting to bring them in my backpack. ='(

Anywho, I DID send photos from my phone, they just never made it. While our field photographer is busy sorting through some 400-600 photos from the last three days, I will try to post my puny little shots later tonight. Maybe we'll have a much bigger collection in a few days though.

... after I get out from under a mountain of emails, rss feeds, and pressing needs that developed while I was out working on my asthma cough and generally killing myself.

-Garrett

PS: You know that there is no simple way to take photos off my phone? I have to email each one to myself in separate emails. Who designs these things? "Smart" phone indeed.

On our way

Just left auberry forrestry station. Heading to courtright.

Test

This is a test from my phone. Hope it works!

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Well, I'm about to head on a 3-day backpacking trip. So the question now, that I know is in your mind, is:

Can Garrett last 3 days without a computer?

... I'll let you know for sure when I get back. :)

I'd tell you where I was going, but I don't rightly know. Something about "Prather" and "Quartright" (I bet I can't even spell those right) and 2 1/2 hours away.

Maybe I'll try to send pictures to my blog while I'm up there.

Anyway, here's another crazy jumping video. Actually, I really like this one, it's considered "free running" which actually seems like a lot of fun.



There's a french rap song in there... so if you speak french... I hope you're not offended :).
-Garrett

Jump Jump!

I have recently been building a site for "jumping". Sound strange? Stranger than you might think.

Using explosive exercises based on Plyometrics, you can do some pretty amazing stuff... makes most other sports seem bland.

Check out the following videos to see what I'm talking about, but WARNING: the music is not entirely wholesome, so you may want to turn down your speakers.