My wife is going to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this weekend. 39 miles in 2 days is going to be quite the feat. She and her friend have each raised over $2,000 in pledges and have been training pretty diligently for this event. Considering the fact that they will be taking on this challenge at ~9600 feet above sea level, the story even becomes more impressive. The least I figured I could do is go with her to support her in this effort.
As luck would have it, the Blue River, and the Colorado River, are both within a short drive of where we will be staying. This of course had nothing to do with my decision to help... or at least not much. As of the last reports I read, the flows are down, bugs are hatching, and the fish are hungry after fighting off the spring run-off for the last month or so. 10 days ago I read a one-word fishing report for the Blue - BLOWN. Like anything else you read, you have to read between the lines. Fly shops will always provide information about what the best anglers are able to do do catch a single fish in a day. When no hope is offered, you should take it seriously.
Anyway, the goal is to get some fishing in on Friday, Saturday during the middle part of the walk, and if fortune holds out, maybe a little on Sunday as well. Now I understand that the likelihood of the planets aligning properly for this to take place are slim, but you can always hold out hope. While there may be some ethical dilemma that I am missing, I will be doing my part on Saturday in that making sure that the ladies make it to the starting line on time, and my wife will be joining me on Friday, so I feel a little better about myself. Like Jeff Goldbloom said in the Big Chill, when was the last time you went a day with out a rationalization.
Even if all of this falls through, the creeks in town are beginning to clear and after-work/lunchtime fishing is about to return. I love summer in CO.
This last weekend, I met up with some friends and friends of friends in Las Vegas to celebrate a buddy's 35th birthday and 5-year anniversary of his cancer remission. Two notable and worthy events for sure. This trip to Vegas took on a slightly different meaning as the group was made up of guys who are/were married and/or have kids, (with one notable exception, but we'll get to that later). In the past, trips to Vegas, and Reno for that matter, usually revolved around a rugby match, a bachelor party, and 6-7 guys crashed on the floor of some lower scale hotel. Not this time.
For some reason, we ended up staying at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, having a host at Tryst (still not exactly sure where that is), and several rides in school buses that have been transformed into limos.
The trip definitely provided an different perspective on what Vegas has become. The following are some impressions from the trip, in roughly chronological order.
1- Bachelorette parties are train-wrecks waiting to happen. While waiting for my plane to board in the airport bar, 8 women walked in the bar, trying to strut what they once had to strut some years ago. I figured they had to be on the same plane, based on the presence of more than one feather boa. As fortune would have it, they sat right behind me on the plane. (I knew I should have paid the extra $39 for the seat with more legroom) It was pretty clear that the more liquored up these ladies became, the less they actually liked one another. That party was about 4 rounds away from a meltdown, and it was only 7pm. Should make for some interesting chatter at the reception.
2- Welcome to Vegas, but if you want to sit down anywhere, it's going to cost you. Saturday morning I decided that my hangover was going to require more blood circulation than sitting on the couch was going to provide. So I took a walk down the strip toward the north end where the old standards of Circus Circus, The Stardust, and Westward Ho still reside. After walking in and out of a few casinos, it struck me that there is no place to sit in the whole town. Unless you are at a gaming table, a slot machine, a bar, or a restaurant, or in a cab/limo, there is not a chair to be found. Sitting requires the exchange of funds. Granted, you can go to the sports book and hang out without being harassed, but that's about it.
3- When did LA move to Vegas? On Friday night we went to some place called Tryst. It is basically the 8th sign of the apocalypse. Because my friend has some loose association with a woman who either is or was a showgirl, we were hooked up with a "host" who got us VIP treatment which included "table service". Because we were "VIPs" we got a couple of little tables and a couch that we could call our own for a couple of hours. All we had to do for this service was drop $500 apiece on two bottles of vodka. There were mixers too, but I'm not entirely clear if they were included or cost extra. I'm always one to go to a human circus, and this was certainly one of them. We must have looked important, because several people walked by with that inquisitive, "who are these high rollers?" look. These tables are also quite the pick-up tool, every girl that my single buddies went to talk to was miraculously interested in having a conversation. Even when they decided to dispose of lines and went straight to pelting the young ladies with ice.
4- The model has definitely changed, Vegas has become it's own destination. Food, drinks, and rooms used to be afterthoughts. The hotels used to seem genuinely interested in getting you fueled up and on your way, so that you could spend more time at the tables. The model these days is much more focused on getting you to drop coin at every corner, and if you get to the tables, then that's ok too. The first glimpse of this change in model was the $6 bottle of Budweiser. The second look was the journey to the pool. Any pool with 3800 lounge chairs, a wave pool, a concrete river, a kiddie pool, its own food court, and 50-60 cabanas for rent at a thousand dollars a day is a business in and of itself. They didn't even have a blackjack table. Doesn't anyone gamble anymore?
5- Who would want to live in Vegas? Apparently, people want to get their own pad in this oasis in the desert. The owners of the Mandalay, Excalibur, Monte Calro, Luxor conglomerate are building residential towers. After talking to the real estate representative in the lobby of THE Hotel, 500 sq. ft. studio condominiums are going for ~$650K. 3200 sq. ft. penthouses can be had for anywhere between $4.5M and $10M. Maintenance fees are anywhere from a buck to a buck-and-a-half per foot. Yowsers.
Some things, however, have not changed:
1- Vegas is still really ugly in the daytime. It's like the morning after at a frat party.
2- It's still flippin' hot in the desert.
3- Never gamble with a bunch of guys who don't gamble. Nothing like a new guy who utters "seven" 8 or 9 times in a row as the shooter is getting ready for the next toss.
4- 48 hours is as much time as anyone should ever spend in Vegas. After this last sojourn, I'm looking at revising that rule to 36 hours.
5- If you want to gamble, go downtown. The strip has the nicer hotels and all, but they also come with a ton of overhead. If one place is not working for you, it's a much easier leap to go to another casino downtown.
This last weekend, two of the best rugby matches I have seen in a while were on the tube. Both matches contained 80 minutes of non-stop battling for their respective championships, and the outcome of both matches was in doubt until the 78th minute. The matches were the finals of the Guinness Premiership (London Wasps V. Leichester (sp.)Tigers) and the Super 14 (Canterbury Crusaders V. New South Wales Waratahs)
Thanks to the magic of Tivo, I was able to watch both matches at a reasonable hour, instead of waking up at 3am. Below you will find a some video snippets:
The Setanta network is playing reruns of the matches, so if you have the chance, take a look, it'll be time well spent.
This weekend, I had one of those retail experiences, where you know you need an item and spend a lot of time figuring out exactly which item you want. The next logical step, is that the item in question will have been discontinued.
When we bought our house, we purchased a "lawn tractor" from the previous owners. I have the term in quotes, because what we really bought was a complete piece of cr*p with a Montgomery Ward brand. After examining the tractor, I found that it has sludge, where one might expect to find oil, the air filter had about two handfuls of dirt in it, and the steering was broken. I managed to squeeze one more summer out of it, but during the last mow of 2007, it gave up the ghost and started spewing that bluish gray smoke out the back.
With the long cold spring, I hadn't needed to acquire the replacement until this weekend. During the winter, I would periodically do some online shopping, talk to the guys at the major hardware behemoths, and check for specials. Apparently, these things never go on sale. Anyway, what I arrived at was the John Deere, Model LA135. It's got the V-Twinn engine and a 42 inch deck. When I called the nearest JD dealer, I found that the LA135 had been discontinued, but for $100 more, I could purchase the LA145. The 145 basically has the same engine, but has a 48 inch deck, and electric blade engagement. My first instinct was to say stick to my guns and search around for the 135, but then decided that since there was a better alternative, I might as well step up for the extra $100.
Long story short, after backing it off the trailer, and giving the yard a mow, all I've got to say is, oh yeah. This thing is sweet, takes about half the time as the old piece of cr*p, and it even comes with a cup holder; should there ever be a need to consume a beverage...
Since the streams are blown out, and it will be rafting season for a few weeks until the spring runoff is over, it's time to work on some other activities.
I was running by Boulder Creek yesterday afternoon, and saw an angler casting a nymph at a hole; this triggered a thought.
A few weeks ago, I told our CEO, Todd Vernon, that I would take him fly fishing. I have introduced a few people, including my wife, to the "sport", with varying degrees of success. Because I enjoy it so much, I want to present fly fishing in a way that the other person will develop an appreciation for it, even if it doesn't turn into a regular pursuit. As I continued to jog along the path, I tried to come up with a way to describe the goal and workflow in a meaningful way, that would be relevant to Todd. Then it hit me, create an analogy between Social Networking and Fly Fishing.
Admittedly, this thought is in its nascent stage and will be developed more fully as I write this post, but I think it has some merit.
The similarities: 1- For the newbie, social media and fly fishing have a similar WTF? factor. If you walk into the world of either without without a primer or guide, you will soon become overwhelmed with all of the different options. In social media you can share your pictures, videos, thoughts, articles you read, blogs you read, and whether you decided to go with a skinny latte instead of a regular latte that morning. Walking into a flyshop without knowing what you are looking at will soon result in data overload. I caution anyone who thinks that asking the guys behind the counter where to start will condense the information for you.
2- In both fly fishing and social media, everyone needs to figure out why they do it, what works best for them, and what they are trying to get out of it. There is a lot of trial and error that will need to take place. Both offer an individual the opportunity to go over the top and become singularly focused on the activity, while also offering the casual participant the ability to play at just about any level they want.
3- Neither are really "social". Social media is largely composed of strangers interacting on a superficial level. Dialogs that happen across twitter or some other means do not reach the threshold of actual social interaction because the people involved rarely conduct a meaningful discourse. At the end of the day, everyone shares what information they want, with the hope of gaining more information than they provide. Fly fishing is the same way. You may meet people on the river, but rarely is the interaction meaningful. Someone may ask if another angler has had any luck, but that is really just an entry point to the next question of what are you fishing with (so that I can cut to the chase and use today's hot fly).
4- The only people you really trust are the ones you know from other places. The other day I went fishing with a buddy and fellow rugger at this golden spot. We were pulling big trout out of the river. We fished opposite banks of the same stream for hours without an issue. Guaranteed, if it was some guy that I didn't know, we'd be catching each other's lines and getting in each other's way. Social media is similar in that you really don't really care what others have to say, unless you actually know the person who makes the post, tweet, or other assertion. At best, strangers provide a perspective, and/or entertainment.
5- Unless you're really good, you better keep your day job. There are professional fly fishermen, and there are professional blog publishers. There are no barriers to entry for anyone to attempt to become a professional at either, but unless you have figured out a way to unlock the secret of success at the highest level, you are going to need to maintain an alternate source of income.
6- Both have a vernacular that makes no sense to the uninitiated. Only because I work for Lijit, do I know the meaning of Tweet, Digg, Technorati, rick roll, and Flikr. Similarly, a BWO, PMD, Parachute Adams, or a Comparadun will not mean anything to someone who doesn't toss flies at the seams. It's best to learn these things as you go and keep the ones that are relevant. Like anything else, discard the noise.
There are of course differences: 1- In fly fishing, you actually need to leave the house and do something. A 6 mile trek through the woods to a lightly fished spot is well worth the effort. While I know it can be murder finding a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi, I don't think it quite compares.
2- Unlike social media and video games, if you don't watch your ass, you can get seriously hurt. The woods, rivers and lakes are unforgiving. Take a wrong step, and they might need a helicopter to get you back to civilization. There's no reset button, and you can't delete the post.
3- You can't fake it in fly fishing. You can't throw out some random post to see what happens; nor can you create a persona. You can't bullsh*t a fish.
4- There is no instant gratification with fly fishing. You can spend 8 hours standing in cold water without catching a fish, and I have. You have to enjoy the journey. Social media is much more about the instant return.
5- Cost of entry: Assuming that one already has a computer, and a cell phone that is capable of sending text messages, the cost of entry to social media is only time. With fly fishing, unless you fall into the right garage sale, or have a buddy with a complete extra set of gear (there are more of us out there than you might think), you're looking at a $500-600 investment. If it becomes a real pursuit, figure on another $500 that you will gladly spend.
The fly of the day is the Copper John. Ugly little sucker that doesn't look like anything, but the fish sure seem to like it.
I was running by Boulder Creek yesterday afternoon, and saw an angler casting a nymph at a hole; this triggered a thought.
A few weeks ago, I told our CEO, Todd Vernon, that I would take him fly fishing. I have introduced a few people, including my wife, to the "sport", with varying degrees of success. Because I enjoy it so much, I want to present fly fishing in a way that the other person will develop an appreciation for it, even if it doesn't turn into a regular pursuit. As I continued to jog along the path, I tried to come up with a way to describe the goal and workflow in a meaningful way, that would be relevant to Todd. Then it hit me, create an analogy between Social Networking and Fly Fishing.
Admittedly, this thought is in its nascent stage and will be developed more fully as I write this post, but I think it has some merit.
The similarities: 1- For the newbie, social media and fly fishing have a similar WTF? factor. If you walk into the world of either without without a primer or guide, you will soon become overwhelmed with all of the different options. In social media you can share your pictures, videos, thoughts, articles you read, blogs you read, and whether you decided to go with a skinny latte instead of a regular latte that morning. Walking into a flyshop without knowing what you are looking at will soon result in data overload. I caution anyone who thinks that asking the guys behind the counter where to start will condense the information for you.
2- In both fly fishing and social media, everyone needs to figure out why they do it, what works best for them, and what they are trying to get out of it. There is a lot of trial and error that will need to take place. Both offer an individual the opportunity to go over the top and become singularly focused on the activity, while also offering the casual participant the ability to play at just about any level they want.
3- Neither are really "social". Social media is largely composed of strangers interacting on a superficial level. Dialogs that happen across twitter or some other means do not reach the threshold of actual social interaction because the people involved rarely conduct a meaningful discourse. At the end of the day, everyone shares what information they want, with the hope of gaining more information than they provide. Fly fishing is the same way. You may meet people on the river, but rarely is the interaction meaningful. Someone may ask if another angler has had any luck, but that is really just an entry point to the next question of what are you fishing with (so that I can cut to the chase and use today's hot fly).
4- The only people you really trust are the ones you know from other places. The other day I went fishing with a buddy and fellow rugger at this golden spot. We were pulling big trout out of the river. We fished opposite banks of the same stream for hours without an issue. Guaranteed, if it was some guy that I didn't know, we'd be catching each other's lines and getting in each other's way. Social media is similar in that you really don't really care what others have to say, unless you actually know the person who makes the post, tweet, or other assertion. At best, strangers provide a perspective, and/or entertainment.
5- Unless you're really good, you better keep your day job. There are professional fly fishermen, and there are professional blog publishers. There are no barriers to entry for anyone to attempt to become a professional at either, but unless you have figured out a way to unlock the secret of success at the highest level, you are going to need to maintain an alternate source of income.
6- Both have a vernacular that makes no sense to the uninitiated. Only because I work for Lijit, do I know the meaning of Tweet, Digg, Technorati, rick roll, and Flikr. Similarly, a BWO, PMD, Parachute Adams, or a Comparadun will not mean anything to someone who doesn't toss flies at the seams. It's best to learn these things as you go and keep the ones that are relevant. Like anything else, discard the noise.
There are of course differences: 1- In fly fishing, you actually need to leave the house and do something. A 6 mile trek through the woods to a lightly fished spot is well worth the effort. While I know it can be murder finding a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi, I don't think it quite compares.
2- Unlike social media and video games, if you don't watch your ass, you can get seriously hurt. The woods, rivers and lakes are unforgiving. Take a wrong step, and they might need a helicopter to get you back to civilization. There's no reset button, and you can't delete the post.
3- You can't fake it in fly fishing. You can't throw out some random post to see what happens; nor can you create a persona. You can't bullsh*t a fish.
4- There is no instant gratification with fly fishing. You can spend 8 hours standing in cold water without catching a fish, and I have. You have to enjoy the journey. Social media is much more about the instant return.
5- Cost of entry: Assuming that one already has a computer, and a cell phone that is capable of sending text messages, the cost of entry to social media is only time. With fly fishing, unless you fall into the right garage sale, or have a buddy with a complete extra set of gear (there are more of us out there than you might think), you're looking at a $500-600 investment. If it becomes a real pursuit, figure on another $500 that you will gladly spend.
The fly of the day is the Copper John. Ugly little sucker that doesn't look like anything, but the fish sure seem to like it.
Fly fishing has it's mores, lore, etiquette, standards, and a lot of other overhead that I do my best to ignore. I either use barbless hooks or crimp down the barbs because it is more of a challenge. I only keep a fish if I have backbacked to a campsite and intend to eat the fish that day. I wash my waders and boots after each outing, because I don't want to transfer whirling disease from one stream to another, but that's about it.
I try to stay out of conversations about what really is a fly, whether or not using weight is within the bounds of the ethos of the fly fisherman, and whether or not using a strike indicator is acceptable.
Yesterday, however, I broke one of the few other rules that I follow. I failed to return a fish that I caught safely back to the stream. In the course of removing the hook from it's mouth, I managed to drop the fish into the stream. The fish may very well live, but I certainly did not do my part in giving him or her the best odds of making that happen. It kind of killed the rest of the outing for me. The entire notion behind catch and release is that you don't kill the fish, so that it may produce more fish, and that it may again be caught one day by yourself or another angler. Whether you cook it, or handle it negligently leading to its demise is no different in the end.
I'll get over it, and fish again soon, but every so often when you do something that is really not that impressive, even to yourself, it is important to admit it and make an effort not to do it again.
