Defending the Vandenberg

Last October, we took OceanGate's sub to Monterey, CA, for a month of ocean exploration and education outreach. During that time, we connected with film-maker Bob Talbot, who was shooting a short film for the new visitor center for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Santa Cruz. The star of Bob's film was Kirk Krack, a freediving coach who also founded Performance Freediving. We shot several scenes with Kirk, including him climbing around the sub while it was sitting on the bottom at 50+ feet. He is an incredible talent and a genuinely "good guy", so our whole team enjoyed spending time with him and the rest of Bob's team.

This is an absolutely amazing video that features Kirk and some of his colleagues:

Defending The Vandenberg from Ren Chapman on Vimeo.

River of Dreams

As I do during the last week of every December, I recently conducted a personal self-analysis, reviewed the prior year, and set goals for the next. This year in particular has been especially significant because we are in the process of relocating our business--and therefore my family--from Seattle to South Florida. This helps mark a much deeper personal transition from one phase of life to another, so I have been unusually introspective.

To help my efforts, I have been spending a lot of time with one of my favorite songs of all time, River of Dreams by Billy Joel. Like many others who have listened to this song, I find the lyrics to be extremely powerful and inspirational:

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin' for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross
Even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole
I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

I’m not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' through the promised land

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

Man Reaching for a Star

For years I have been thinking about getting a tattoo, and lately my 13-year-old daughter has been pushing me to get one. Unfortunately, I just have not been able to find anything that I felt would look good on an 85-year-old man (after all, tattoos are *permanent*). However, if I ever get one, it would probably be the image below ... over my heart.

Many years ago, a close friend gave me a greeting card by Richard Stine which had this image on it. It really spoke to me on a number of different levels. A while later I was amazed to find a sweatshirt with the same image on the front, so I bought it and I have since used it regularly during my morning workouts. I find it so inspirational ... and so do my three kids. Perhaps someday soon I may take the plunge and get that tattoo. Who knows?

Robert Frost's "Road Not Taken"

The previous post came as a result of a conversation that started with my friend quoting Robert Frost's Road Not Taken ... another personal favorite:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Macbeth Soliloquy

A close friend recently reminded me of a soliloquy I once had to memorize back in 6th grade. Amazingly, I still remember this powerful passage from William Shakespeare's Macbeth:

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)

Cave Diving in the Bahamas

Over the past year I had the pleasure of connecting with Kenny Broad, a University of Miami ocean researcher who was also named 2010 National Geographic Explorer of the Year. His work exploring underwater caves in the Bahamas resulted in some breath-taking images captured by award-winning photographer Wes C. Skiles, who shared the Nat Geo honor with Kenny. Sadly, Wes died in a diving incident shortly before his photo below graced the cover of Nat Geo Magazine. For more stunning photos, check out this gallery.

click for larger image

Wes C. Skiles

Crazy Soccer Goal

I played soccer competitively for ~25 years. I loved playing in all sorts of weather conditions: sun, heat, rain, snow, whatever. The only condition I did not like for soccer was wind. Here's a great example of why wind and soccer don't mix very well:

Earth-Moon Desktop Image

For the past few weeks, I've been using the image below as my desktop background. Many people insist that it is Photoshopped. In fact, the photo was taken by NASA astronaut Ron Garan (@Astro_Ron on Twitter) from the International Space Station on October 21, 2011. I just think it's way cool.

Do Humans Matter?

Over the years, I've seen many different graphical representations of the history of human existence in the context of the history of the earth (or the universe). This recent one using a 24-hour clock image was not necessarily unique, but the title generated some interesting debates in the comments.

AC-DC on Howard Stern

It seems like I'm kicking off the new year with a focus on music, so ... here is one of my favorite "unplugged" tunes: Brian Johnson, Angus Young, and Malcom Young of AC-DC playing You Shook Me All Night Long on an episode of Howard Stern:

Favorite Mashup: All Summer Long

Last summer I was trying to explain to my kids the idea of a music mashup. They (and I) ended up loving Kid Rock's All Summer Long, which combined Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon and Sweet Home, Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd into a unique third song that is vintage Kid Rock.

Update: Kristine Elezaj

Over four years ago, I wrote about fellow Bullrunner Kristine Elezaj. Since then, her career has really taken off. Here is one of her latest videos:

Orianthi Panagaris

I have to end 2011 with a posting I've been meaning to write all year: one of my favorite new musicians in a long time is Aussie guitarist Orianthi Panagaris. Listening to her play reminds me of the first time I ever heard Eddie Van Halen on Eruption. Or some of her idols and mentors, such as Joe Satriani, Carlos Santana, and the man who discovered her at the age of 15, Steve Vai. Here she is playing an instrumental duet with Vai. Enjoy!

About Time: Innovating our Calendar System

Every now and then, someone comes up with an innovation that seems like "D'oh! That makes sense!" ... *after* they bring it up. As we celebrate the dawn of the new year, it is only fitting that Steve H. Hanke and Richard Conn Henry have now devised a new twist on our old Gregorian calendar. Their proposed system would ensure consistent days/dates every year, with 30-day months, a 31-day month every third month, and an additional week in December every 5-6 years to replace our quadrennial leap year day. Sounds cool to me ... now, they just need to convince the world to make the switch!

Update: Danny MacAskill

A couple of years ago, I was blown away by the street trials skills of Scotsman Danny MacAskill. That was when his first online video went viral. Now he's gone professional and grown to become one of NatGeo's 2012 Explorers of the Year. And he's released another video of insane urban bike riding stunts. Enjoy!

Danny Macaskill: Industrial Revolutions from Cut Media on Vimeo.