://World Wide Will

Vegetarian Places in Bali

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:02:05 +0700

By far, the most comprehensive and relevant listing of vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants and warungs around Denpasar – Singaraja area.

Spiritual Fluency

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:06:29 +0700

Spiritual Fluency:

The way we engage in these experiences and the imprint they leave on our consciousness depends on the state of our being. Whether pleasant or unpleasant, joyful or miserable, our own state of being–the way we engage and perceive the situation–will influence the experience and its imprint. Being aware of our sensibility, sensitivity and the correlative relationship they have on our experiences is Spiritual Fluency.

Any attempt to dissect this topic should be kept light but deep, simple but engaging, and above all: should leave us wonder in questions, discussions, rather than a satisfying nod of agreement.

Tim’s post is all of the above and none of that last part. I’d go with an even-simpler title, like, ‘Spirituality’ but I’d take fluency for any biblical terms anytime.

Patagonia doesn’t own Farms, Mills, or Factories

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:57:26 +0700

Patagonia doesn’t own Farms, Mills, or Factories:

Straight from the souce:

Patagonia started off quite small as an outgrowth of an even smaller climbing equipment company that at the time had its own machine shop in Ventura but also had ice axes and crampons made under its name in Japan and Europe. The climbing community in those days was small and mostly poor – and decidedly international. People traveled a lot on cheap tickets and slept on each other’s floors. So we were all inclined to consider ourselves citizens of the world as well as Americans.

I only own one Patagonia product, but that’s enough to learn how thoughtful the people are behind the brand.

Layered Clothing

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:17:01 +0700

Layered Clothing:

Detailed guide on how to minimize clothing for lightweight packing while maintaining comfort and all-weather protection.

And a video too if you’d prefer watching.

Packing Ultralight

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:17:00 +0700

Packing Ultralight:

We’ve been moving gradually towards this for a few years. We traveled to Tokyo in 2009 with a backpack each, and moved from Guam to San Francisco in 2010 with a backpack each, then took a month trip with a backpack each. In those cases, the backpacks were usually filled with clothes and computers and various gadgets and toys.

If you think my pack was tiny, check out the 7-item content of Leo’s backpack, which amazingly, extends to his entire family.

Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:46:00 +0700

Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10:

“I told the customs officer that all I want is a permit to see my boy for one last time. They treat me as if I am a criminal,” Lopez, 34, a bus driver, said in an interview Saturday. “Right now, I need their support, and they are refusing to help me.”

Sometimes, rules are made to be broken. The world is awesomer that way.

Arthur Hitchcock: In addition to police threats, other...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:32:00 +0700

Arthur Hitchcock:

In addition to police threats, other perils of highway travel included a number of sexual propositions from truckers, violent thunderstorms and scorching heat. In Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, Hitchcock ran out of water and was stranded in 100-degree weather, unable to reach Felix via cell. Felix would often misplace his phone in the camper shell or forget to charge it.

He walked across America and got himself a fiancé when he got back.

archenland: The Pulpit Rock - Stavanger (by Juliano Yamakawa)

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:02:30 +0700

archenland:

The Pulpit Rock - Stavanger (by Juliano Yamakawa)

The One that Didn't Get Published

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:10:00 +0700

The One that Didn't Get Published:

People often ask me if my editor ever rejects particular Dilbert comics for one reason or another. It’s rare, but it happens. In fact, it happened yesterday. You won’t see this comic in newspapers. I guess I went, um, a little too f…

Funniest Dilbert strip you won’t see in newspapers. The web is awesome.

Gore-Tex's Dirty Tactics

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:11:23 +0700

Gore-Tex's Dirty Tactics:

Here’s a fascinating story about Gore-Tex’s claim to fame and how they use their market-leading position to render their competitors as second-rate:

Then, in 1999, a small company called BHA Group began peddling an ePTFE membrane, similar to Gore-Tex, called eVent. Used for years in industrial smokestack filters, the membrane, tweaked to work in garments, was purportedly more breathable than Gore’s. Companies that had grown weary of Gore’s micromanaging now had a viable ePTFE alternative. “eVent was every bit as good as Gore-Tex,” claimed a marketing specialist who works with a number of brands and requested anonymity. But getting a piece of the waterproof-breathable market wasn’t that simple. “Gore literally built the industry,” said the marketer. “It’s hard to come in after two and a half decades and compete with such a well-established and respected brand.”

One of the thing that annoys me most about these outerwear products are their brands and how their brandings are everywhere on the product. If a company like Gore-Tex legally requires its licensees to prominently display the Gore-Tex logo, naturally they would want their brand to be even more visible on the apparel.

For this very reason I applaud companies like Muji or Uniqlo. They respect the customers and avoid these logo-stamping madness, but instead focus on the wearability and the design of their products. For example, Uniqlo’s Heattech, Silky dry — or the premium cotton product line — is not only affordable but is a very good base layer product that cost much less than those of the North Face, Patagonia, or Colombia. And if you aren’t blinded by Gore-Tex prominent presence, there are better products out there that do not turn you into a walking billboard promoting their second-rate stuffs.

Want to know what you should be doing with your life?

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:54:53 +0700

Want to know what you should be doing with your life?:

As told by Patrick Rhone from his talk with the farmer:

“You gotta love the land.”, she said. Her whole tone of voice and body language changed when she said it. There was an unassuming yet palpable passion behind every word. “Not just the way it looks. The way it feels to be in it. To be a part of it. I wake up before sunrise every morning just itching to get up to my neck in it. The smell too. I smell like shit all day but that shit is part of the land and the land needs it as much as it needs me. I go to bed each night broken, exhausted, yet thankful. Not just thankful for the three showers I need to wash it off me but for the chance to do it all over again tomorrow. I love the land and my place within it. You have to.”

“You have to love the land…”

Find your shit. Love the hell out of it.

Twenty-four hours before the party, Bali embraces itself for...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:52:00 +0700

Twenty-four hours before the party, Bali embraces itself for their most auspicious celebration in the entire island. It’s a very powerful experience whose pictures won’t do justice, one whole day of silence followed by one whole day of celebration whose tradition goes deep to one’s true core as well as the community, a deeply personal celebration that begins and ends with your self, your loved ones and the others before you.

Nyepi is one of the best experience of Bali. It’s serene and peaceful, auspicious and seclusive. I wonder why we don’t celebrate this all around the world.

Eye of the Riley (Runyon Canyon) (by Syejukoon)

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:32:29 +0700

Eye of the Riley (Runyon Canyon) (by Syejukoon)

What are some proven creativity patterns of great thinkers?

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:43:39 +0700

What are some proven creativity patterns of great thinkers?:

The word ‘work’ appears in more than half of the answers.

Hong Kong Trampers: Just Turn Up & Start Walking

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:25:00 +0700

“We meet up in a lighthearted manner, but we take hiking and the preservation of the countryside and the habitat of Hong Kong’s wildlife seriously.” wrote John Ure, one of the founding member of the Hong Kong Trampers, a group of passionate trail walkers who gather and organize weekly walks every Sunday morning.

Since its informal formation in 1997, it has seen hundreds, if not thousands of highly memorable walk and completely non-commercial gathering. Its members — my self included — are submitted based on presence alone: Just turn up & be responsible for your self.

There may be countless of beautiful places around the world, thousands of incredible trails in every continents, but no walk is ever truly enjoyable without a great group of company, and the HK Trampers is one-of-a-kind. I have not seen anything quiet like it elsewhere.

If you ever find your self in the city, just go to the website and find the next rendezvous and show up. You’re in on a big day.

The way how the trampers operate promotes sustainable fun, based on a communal need for a pure experience. It does not get tainted by commercial interest or social agenda.

This is what I’m not seeing enough in places in the Lonely Planet destinations. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we can just arrive in a place with our backpack and not to have worry about someone sniffing our pockets for every dime we have? For all the urban extravagance Hong Kong tends to create, it’d the last place on earth to expect such a decent hospitality. Maybe that’s what’s great about it; whenever I find my self craving for Polo Pao I have another reason to convince my self to come and visit.

Are you a traveler or an overpacker?

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:46:17 +0700

Are you a traveler or an overpacker?:

I like traveling. But I don’t like carrying too much stuff. I have a 26L Goruck GR1 that I put to good use. I use it in the city, or on a one-day or week-long trip, I also use the same bag for long-term backpacking trip like the photo above.

My rule is only to carry the bare necessities. When you bring something just because you think you’d need it you’ll end up taking more than you can handle. Most backpacks aren’t designed for easy packing/unpacking, so getting things in or out will be more dreadful of a task than actually using them. Think twice before you put your stuff in cause it probably won’t be out much.

But it might be just me. If you think you need or can carry more, Philip’s tips may be handy for your next travel.

Diary of a Man with Wings

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:31:04 +0700

Diary of a Man with Wings:

Jarno Smeets:

“At one moment you see the ground moving away, and then suddenly you’re free, a really intense feeling of freedom. The true feeling of flying. A fucking magical moment. The best feeling I have felt in my life.”

He boldly claim to be the first man in history to fly like a bird. His secret? A self-built haptic wings that amplifies his arm flapping to mimic an albatross in flight.

Boy he just had the best day of his life.

What are the best ways to take photos in cloudy, hazy conditions?

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:32:00 +0700

What are the best ways to take photos in cloudy, hazy conditions?:

There’s no single correct answer to your question. It all depends on what’s in front of you.

For landscapes (urban, nature, etc.) pay attention to the light and the resulting contrast in your picture, like what Rob Weir has suggested, such approach can bring strength to your photo.

For people, buildings & general subjects, it’s best to play with light and/or the surrounding objects, when you have no bright sun to deliver your message, use the ‘irony’ of your surrounding to accentuate your shot.

Generally, a ‘beautiful photograph’ is the one that has good content, good composition and good engineering (color, saturation, focus/sharpness). Exceptional photograph has all three, and great ‘contrast’ in the engineering side (either black, or white, not grey!), but any photo that has either one of the above is good.

The question is, are you one who seek other’s approval on how good looking your photos are, or you just want to enjoy the ride? The latter has some magical element that puts everything together.

Joy makes everything you do just works.

"Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:27:47 +0700

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.”

- John Jakes

The Professional Hobo: 'my cost of full-time travel is less than staying in one place.'

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:33:07 +0700

The Professional Hobo: 'my cost of full-time travel is less than staying in one place.':

…with the creative travel strategies I use to get free accommodation, travel slowly, and fly for pennies on the dollar, my cost of full-time travel is less than staying in one place.

Jump to read her cost-saving tips on her site. Including — cough — how to deal with a relationship fall-out on the road.

://World Wide Will

Vegetarian Places in Bali

Spiritual Fluency

Patagonia doesn’t own Farms, Mills, or Factories

Layered Clothing

Packing Ultralight

Man Denied Entry to US From Mexico to Bury Son, 10

Arthur Hitch­cock: In addi­tion to police threats, other...

archenland: The Pulpit Rock - Stavanger (by Juliano Yamakawa)

The One that Didn't Get Published

Gore-Tex's Dirty Tactics

Want to know what you should be doing with your life?

Twenty-four hours before the party, Bali embraces itself for...

Eye of the Riley (Runyon Canyon) (by Syejukoon)

What are some proven creativity patterns of great thinkers?

Hong Kong Trampers: Just Turn Up & Start Walking

Are you a traveler or an overpacker?

Diary of a Man with Wings

What are the best ways to take photos in cloudy, hazy conditions?

"Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every..."

The Professional Hobo: 'my cost of full-time travel is less than staying in one place.'

Arthur Hitchcock: In addition to police threats, other...