Monthly Archives: January 2006

The Fates Are Cruel

1/23/2006 – 1:56 pm

So for my birthday Amy was going to get me an entry-level cross-country ski package from REI. Since that sounded too easy (and I tend to shudder at “entry-level” quality anything when it comes to gear) I spent about an hour working with the blessedly-knowledgeable REI saleman (not nearly as plentiful here in Madison as [...]

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Totally Addicted to Google Earth

1/20/2006 – 4:48 pm

Yes, I’m totally hooked and resisting the urge to drop $20 on the annual subscription fee to Google Earth which allows you upload GPS waypoints and draw tracks and other cool things. Below is the view from one of my favorite Washington dayhikes. If you ever get out to Washington State, you must make the [...]

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Flashback

1/19/2006 – 10:20 am

Greg van Eekhout blogged about playing with Google Earth recently and I forgot how much time one could kill just cruising around and checking out the planet in colorful 3-D maps. My favorite is the tilt function. My first instinct is to go back and retrace my favorite backpacking trips. This morning I checked out [...]

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PBR Me ASAFP

1/18/2006 – 10:55 pm

Just finished my last grad school application. Leave it to institutions of higher learning to use the Internet for evil. Yes, online applications are rad but not if you have seven different pages giving you fifteen similar (yet each slightly different) sets of instructions. What amazes me is that all five schools I looked at [...]

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The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night

1/18/2006 – 3:25 pm

I decided to pick up my four-volume set of “The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night” (aka “Thousand and One Nights” or “The Arabian Nights”) and start over. I got about three-quarters the way through Vol. I an eternity ago (1996?) and then put it down. I remember reading this book on my [...]

By Trent | Posted in Reading | Comments (0)

A Year Older, Debatably Wiser

1/17/2006 – 10:53 am

I turned 32 yesterday. It was okay. Seriously though, I had a good birthday weekend. Went to the in-laws and had dinner in Milwaukee’s Third Ward District which is surprisingly hip. In my only previous experience, Milwaukee’s cultured night life was limited to meatheads shouting obscenities on Water Street at bar time. The Third Ward [...]

By Trent | Posted in * American Football, General, Reading, Writing | Comments (4)

William = Protector, Trent = Torrent

1/13/2006 – 10:00 am

You scored as Guardian. Congratulations. You are a Guardian. You believe that the purpose of the strong is to protect the weak. You love all life and dislike seeing someone not realize that it is precious. You are more than likely a Mainstream religion. Combine this and your second result to get your answer. Guardian [...]

By Trent | Posted in General | Comments (6)

I’m Interesting, I Swear

1/11/2006 – 11:40 am

I finished the academic writing sample for my grad school applications and I’m fairly pleased with it. The biggest flaw is that while it purports to talk about Tolkien and northern European mythology, it really is mostly about Tolkien and Beowulf. I manage to squeeze in a few comments on The Kalevala and I quote [...]

By Trent | Posted in Reading, Writing | Comments (5)

Publication News

1/8/2006 – 4:21 pm

I got some good news this morning. The e-zine Alien Skin bought my story “Secretary’s Day” and will be publishing it next month for their February/March issue. The story was written at Clarion during week five when we were all climbing the walls. Jeff Ford told us to forget all the critiques and other stuff [...]

By Trent | Posted in Writing | Comments (0)

All About Me

1/5/2006 – 12:03 pm

I am now officially five pounds heavier than I was in October. As part of our residency recruitment program we take candidates out to dinner the night before their interviews, so this means I’ve had nine extra dinners at various brewpubs in downtown Madison. There aren’t many healthy options on the menus and, if there [...]

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