busy building and belaggles

I got my computer back working (mostly), which is nice. The new SSD is a lot faster for loading programs and booting up.

I have been out a bit climbing and bouldering and hiking and slacking, but not too much, mostly I have been ripping things out of my place and plotting and planning the work to be done there. The carpet is all gone and also a little wall and some other things. You can see pics of that action here on the project 512 page.

One day I got a heads up call that there was a highline set up at the Buttermilks, so I grabbed my harness and headed up to give it a try. Thanks to the guys who set it up and let me walk it. I fell a few times but managed to catch the line so I didn't hit the leash. I also managed to walk across both ways, which was nice. Highlines sure are a different head game compared to a line close to the ground. Georgie sent me one pic, but the other person who took pics hasn't sent me any yet... Hopefully they will come through eventually.

Peabody Boulder highline walking fun (Georgie pic)

I am pretty weak for climbing, but it is fun to get out and try stuff and work on my weakness. One other fun thing to report is that I got a pair of belay glasses at the Red Rock Rendezvous. I also had a good long chat with the company founders Arash and Louise. These belay glasses feature prisms so that you can see the climber you are belaying without craning your neck to look up. It is nice not to get a sore neck from belaying. You wear them around your neck for the first bolt or so and then put them on. There is enough peripheral vision so that you can see where you are stepping and manage the rope but the field of view is big enough to see the whole climber once they get up a bit. The plastic frame is designed to provide good peripheral vision but also protect the rounded glass prisms in case of dropping or bumps. They stick out far enough so that the helmet isn't in the way (as long as I lift my helmet visor into the even dorkier up position). The company is belaggles belay glasses, I'd put the - over the "a" if I knew how. If you buy and use the code REFTOM then you are eligible for free shipping.

I will get some pics of them in real use someday - I have tested them out at the Owens River Gorge and in Red Rocks.

belaggles on and looking up - watch out for the sun.

top view - you can see my peepers peeping through the belaggles

front view of the belaggles - a little cyborgish

They aren't perfect, due to my wide nose they are a little farther from my eyes than I'd like, and like any eyewear they can get dirty pretty easily, but they are glass and they provide a cleaning cloth and a nice case which helps a lot.


Here is a gopher snake that was sunning itself on the buttermilk road. I had to shoo it off when another car came.

Gopher snake

Gopher snake head

I have also been working on planting a few things, kale, some lettuce, some peas, a tomato, and some berries. Hopefully I will have a good source of fresh and nutritious deliciousness soon.