The World of Brian

Still Around

2011-12-06T20:49:00.001-07:00

Donkeys In The Road - Gunlock, Utah

Man I feel like I've been up to a lot and a little at the same time. 2011 feels like it only lasted a few weeks!

But this year has proven to be both simple, and drastic. The simple part is: I worked some trail jobs and build my Freelance Portfolio. The drastic part is: I stopped pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Yeah, that's right - no more Engineering Degree for me. And for a very good reason. I had this huge awakening in February and realized that my passions really are in making websites and helping people via nature (hence the freelance work, and consistent trail jobs for the past 6 years). Not so much on the mechanical side of things (even though I was getting straight A's). However, I will still watch a rocket take off in awe and sit there and think about how it all works :)

I've been working pretty hard this year at building up my skills in website awesomeness. I have new clients, and new strategies for how I run things. I'm pretty happy with it all. Overall, running my own business as a freelancer has been hugely rewarding, but is also just as challenging and at times can be super tough. Right now my portfolio is not up. I took down the old site because I just didn't like it very much. As soon as the new site is up, I'll be sure to blog about it so you can go check it out. Most of my work comes by word-of-mouth anyways.

I LOVE trail work too. Nothing in the world beats going out for many days, or weeks at a time and living off the land (with Anasazi) or camping out (with Aspiro). Yeah, I forgot to mention that this year I tried something new: I spent the Summer (and Fall) at Aspiro. It was a totally great new experience and really opened up my eyes to what other programs are like. That's what I went for. I loved what I learned at Aspiro, and especially the people I got to know there. I am also very excited to return to Anasazi in the Winter and come back to some of my roots that I've planted there. I think I will always want to have a part in this type of work - even when I grow up (I haven't grown up yet, okay?)

Well...

here I am, still in Utah. I keep pushing back my plans to move to AZ for the Winter due to various reasons:

Ended up working at Aspiro for a few extra weeks
Decided to stay and help out some family with moving their stuff
Working on some websites with clients located locally
The Holidays... why travel around when you can just stay here?

So by the time November came around I didn't see any reason to travel back South again just to come back up here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I decided to stay here until after Christmas.

Not that we even have any big Christmas plans.

Yep, my family is pretty cool. We don't ever make big plans, and just see what happens. It annoys most other people. I'm proud of it because I'm always ready for whatever happens. Comes with the territory.

Have a good life, and in case I'm not back here by the time Christmas rolls around... Merry Christmas.

--WBC--

Meanwhile...

2011-11-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Southern Utah - Photo by Steve Kugath

Meanwhile, in The World Of Brian:

A Summer full of the Aspiro trail, canyoneering, rock climbing, website building, and some good 'ol fashioned family time.

Looks like I'm hanging around Utah for a while longer before returning to Arizona.

Stay tuned...

--WBC--

Summertime

2011-08-23T16:57:00.000-06:00


Dragon Fly that landed on our rope while climbing Black Rocks. St. George, UT

My goals this week are to get a new vehicle and get www.WhatIsNoni.com up and running.

First, the vehicle - since I'm not living in Salt Lake anymore it has been tough to get around on just a bicycle. Plus I have been asking for rides more often than ever. That can only last so long before it becomes necessary to get a vehicle again. An opportunity came for one, so I'm taking it: A 1997 Dodge Minivan. The price is right and with a little bit of work on the breaks I should have this thing registered and up and running in the next few days. And the first thing I plan to do with it is drive up the canyon and go rock climbing! Yes, it will feel good. The best part is (for me) that I can sleep in it when I have to, and keep my bike in it for some good riding whenever I want. Oh, and I'll be parking it by any river I see just so I can tell the kids that "I live in a van, down by the river." For those of you, like my mom, who dislike the thought of me living in a van, my next plan is to get some land and build my own house on it. Yeah, whenever Recreation Jobs actually pay enough money to do that, I will.

The website, www.whatisnoni.com is a new purchase of mine because my brother and I are planning on selling Noni Juice online again. If you don't know what Noni is, you'll have to google it for now, but by the end of this week we should have the site up with some good information about Noni. I hope that within a short time WhatIsNoni.com will become a main resource for people wanting to learn about the Noni fruit and a great place to find coupons for different Noni products.

I can't believe August is just about over. This Summer has flown by and I feel like I'm just getting started.

--WBC--

Up at Aspiro

2011-07-18T23:49:00.003-06:00

Car rides!

Just a quick update: I've been working at Aspiro in Utah since May. It's a great therapeutic adventure program. Instead of survival based, we go rock climbing, mountain biking and some backpacking. I've been really busy working on some web projects during my off-weeks. Life's good. Still full of challenges as usual. I'm doing a schedule where I work 2 weeks and then I have 2 weeks off. The past two weeks I was in Moab and Escalante for work. It was awesome! Now that I have some time off I think I'm going to enjoy some movies and swimming. Then finish a few websites that have been awaiting my attention.

--WBC--

El Norte

2011-03-28T13:31:00.002-06:00

I left Phoenix (shown above with the sunset) and took a trip to Salt Lake City this week. Not so much as a vacation, but to get some things done. I hitched a ride to St. George with my buddy Lincoln and Reggie ("my buddy" includes 2 people). I spent the week sleeping on the couch at Tamra's house. Got to meet her awesome and roommates: Caroline, Kandace and Jenny. They live in a beautiful duplex on a hill that overlooks the city. Each morning Tamra made the most healthy smoothie in the world, and after she and Kandace and I would go for a run. St. George has some of the most beautiful scenery surrounding it hands down. I don't care where you are from, and no matter how green and magnificent you think the mountains are where you live. Nothing compares with red and white sandstone hills with etched markings of wind and water, with black lava rock and green junipers painting the rest of it.

While there I zipped over to Moab and attended the Aspiro Tryouts. Aspiro is an outdoor therapeutic program similar to Anasazi, but they do adventure based activities (rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking, etc.) instead of wilderness survival. After the tryouts I was pulled aside and offered a job right away! This made me really happy, but I had to postpone the offer because I'm committed to work at Anasazi until May. If you're thinking I'm leaving Anasazi for good, that's not true (it never is for those of us who are "lifers" there). I'll be coming back in the Winter to Anasazi as usual.

I have made a big decision: not going to pursue a degree in Engineering anymore. I realized this in January when I got my acceptance letter into the program. I was not excited when I got it. I didn't want to believe it, but it was true. Needless to say I've decided to pursue Experiential Education as a career choice at this time. It is what I've loved doing for many years now, and so much that I hadn't realized how far I had come with it. My education is in it, and 90% of my work experience is with teaching in the outdoors. It's not that I don't like math and science and rockets and computers... I love it all, but my passion has shifted to people.

I'm still doing math and programming on the side. I have a need for this technical stuff as well in my life. I still want to know how things work. I'm pretty happy doing these two things as a balance.

Really, if I could contribute anything to society right now, it would be the understanding of the true connection we have with out planet and how our modern technology is actually a part of it. Let me explain for just a minute: we are connected to our Earth. Not just in a spiritual way but literally physically. Our cells, and atomic structure are based off of carbons just like our planet. We resonate with it, whether we realize it or not. Most people don't see this. We only watch movies about it (like Avatar) and wish we had it too. But my message is that WE DO! This has become more apparent to me the more time I spend in the great outdoors - sleeping on the ground, and not separating myself from nature with modern camping equipment. I hope I'm not sounding too off the wall here. I completely support the expanse and discovery of our modern technology. Someone told me this a few weeks ago and I agree: "What we are doing with technology is natural, because our planet has produced us and given us this ability to create what we have made." Now I still believe we have to fix how we do things and make our technology cleaner and less intrusive to our planet. The paradox of our existence is our ability to create and destroy simultaneously. But I wish we respected the balance of our planet among all this invention and modern living. Too many people are scared of nature, see it as dirt, or disregard its importance. I get to work in a place right now where I take kids who don't understand nature and after a few weeks in the wilderness they realize how ALIVE and connected our Earth is. And once they realize that, they become better people too (thus is the concept behind therapeutic wilderness programs). We seem to take for granted how dependent we our on our planet until something changes - like a natural disaster - and that is when we realize how fragile we are without the complete support and cooperation of our planet Earth. I wish the general population would understand this better. I know there's a lot of people out there who know this, but there is still too many individuals preoccupied with their image or their bank accounts to care enough about where it all comes from. We are married to our Earth, and must understand it. Our practices need to change more than just using a recycling bin. The best thing is knowledge. Learn what our Earth is and understand why we are who we are - because of our planet. Lastly, I'd like to build myself an earth home. They are pretty dang cool.

Good To Be Back

2011-02-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

Returning to Anasazi this Winter has been a great decision. I've loved being back on the trail and working with kids in the outdoors again. Everything from cooking on a campfire to sleeping under the stars and working with TrailWalkers. I love it.

Lately I've been really sick. For 2 straight weeks I've had a bad cough and been in bed. But today I feel much better (a friend told me a few days ago to stop eating bread and processed food, and only eat veggies and oranges). Since doing that I've been getting well quickly. Here's a picture of when it all started...

I fell asleep like this because I was so sick

Being sick so long has given me a lot of time to sleep and think about life. The University of Utah has accepted me to start school this Summer in their Mechanical Engineering program :) but I've had a lot of second thoughts about returning to school. I'm planning on giving this more thought, as my other option is to stay in Outdoor Education and work on some business ideas I can do with the experience I have.

I plan to visit California next week and go sailing with my buddy who's living there right now on a sailboat. It should be tons of fun. I'll take some pictures to show y'all when I return. In the mean time, please enjoy these pictures from the Anasazi Trail...

Swimming Hole

Making Fire

Wild Edibles

Cooking on the fire

Work Motto

2011-01-24T23:41:00.002-07:00

So recently I realized that I've been stressing out about my workload. I have an online Calculus class to finish, websites to build, and regular life to live (including moving into a new place this week). I've been working for too long - pushing too much. Need a break.

It's really just too much work. So I've started making some changes: I turned away some web clients, because I currently have enough work, AND Calculus is actually more important to me so I can be prepared for school this Summer.

What is it about life that causes us to get into these tough places? I try to find a balance in my life, but often find that I'm playing or working too much, without a balance in the middle. I guess my motto might have something to do with it:

"Work Hard, Play Hard, Die hard."

But maybe I should change it to this:

"Work some, Play some, Never die."

It's funny how these things go. I kept thinking I needed to add more to my life, and now it's time for me to appraise what I'm doing and shave away the non-essentials.

I spent most of today working on 2 things (among other things):
1. Putting some new links and images on my portfolio: www.wbcobb.net
2. Updating the QuikCamo website: www.quikcamo.com

Winter '11

2011-01-20T22:45:00.003-07:00

It seems that blogging has not been a priority of mine for quite a while now (around a year). I've been blogging since 1999 fairly consistently, and with pleasure. But I don't know why lately I've been neglectful of this blog. Perhaps I lost interest because of other things. Or perhaps I just felt like I shouldn't be telling the world about my personal life as much. I can't really say for sure. But those reasons are a slice of it.

It has been interesting how things have evolved over the years in the blogging world as well as the wonderful attention the internet has now as compared to 10 years ago. Obviously Facebook has captured the biggest audience by being the best at re-creating our social lives online, which I believe has a significant impact on how we communicate with each other today. i.e. I was just talking to my roommate who created a Facebook group so he can get addresses of all his friends to send wedding announcements to. It was then that we realized: "How did we ever get all of the addresses of our distant friends and family before Facebook?" As the saying goes "Everybody is on Facebook." Whatever. I think it's a great trend, and I think they're big enough now that they will always be successful - kind of like Microsoft. Both companies can get away with a few dumb mistakes and still recover just because they are so well known.

Moving on...

It's Winter now. And those of you who know me know that I am more of a desert rat than a snowboarding junkie. I think that's why I'm loving Arizona so much right now :) Working the trail has never been better, and I'm keeping super busy during my off-weeks doing Calculus and freelance web development. I feel like I'm pushing my limits with all of these things I'm doing. It's a good push though - because I'm always finding more efficient ways to do things and multitasking. I am definitely more productive and efficient than I have been for years.

So here I sit in my room and finally taking time to write on my blog again. I have a feeling I will be blogging more often. I also feel like there are some more adventures which await, and that keeping a blog through it all would be worthwhile.

If you've read this far I am impressed. I'd be bored by now ;)

Here is a fun video for you: The "Techno Viking" in Berlin...

My Year 2010

2010-12-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

My year - 2010: Had a job, had a car, had a girlfriend. Lost the car, lost the job, lost the girlfriend. Started a website business, made some money. Lived in a tent by a river, lived in an apartment downtown, slept on a couch a lot. Hitch hiking ... Moab to El Paso, Jackson to Rexburg, Jackson to Salt Lake, Jackson to anywhere I want. Calculus Class (still pushing for that Engineering Degree). Spiritual growth. Feeling older - Decade #3. Planting "roots" ??? not yet apparently. But my direction has never been more sure.

--WBC--

My Helical Tryst: Review of the TSA X-ray backscatter body scanner safety report: hide your kids, hide your wife

2010-11-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article about the TSA x-ray backscatter machines:

My Helical Tryst: Review of the TSA X-ray backscatter body scanner safety report: hide your kids, hide your wife

--WBC--

Why learning Chinese is so hard

2010-11-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

--WBC--

Hello World

2010-11-08T17:21:00.001-07:00

Hi, I don't post here very often, but just wanted to let you all know about my portfolio site at www.wbcobb.net. Well, see ya later ;)

Posted via email from cobbman's posterous

The Rent is Too Damn High

2010-10-25T10:55:00.002-06:00

Stanford

2010-10-24T15:53:00.000-06:00

I just looked at Stanford University online to see what it would be like to attend school there. I WANT THAT.

Oh yes, I want the atmosphere of success, the high academic discipline, the open-minded thinking, the diverse student body, the Varsity-grade sports programs and the new associations that will come with it. Most importantly of all, I want to gain a personal ability to believe in myself and follow my dreams.

Tuition is $38,000 + all the other stuff. Estimated at around $54,000 total per semester. OUCH.

Hopes fading... what should I do?

--WBC--

Learn about Drugs

2010-10-07T00:25:00.002-06:00

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html

--WBC--

Cycles: Cause and Effect

2010-09-29T16:18:00.001-06:00

In this world of duality, all things & variations are possible. We entered into a physical existence for the possibility of experiencing joy, misery and many types of outcomes. Many can have cycles of misery and loss of control, or cycles of joy and increased agency.

The Gospel outlines the path of continual growth - avoiding all pitfalls and building upon greater agency. These decisions enter the individual into a cycle: Some cycles for better, and some for worse. Either one may have effects which will not be seen in this lifetime, but after many years from now. Imagine the personal hell of realizing that after hundreds of years a particular habit you have been doing is detrimental to your progressions. How hard would that be to change; and would you have rather changed your pathway while living on Earth, when the habit was young and more pliable.

--WBC--

Around Camp

2010-09-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

Hello from Jackson! Once again, just a quick update: I'll be coming back to Salt Lake for General Conference. Hope to see everybody I can there!

Next, Jackson is awesome of course. I've been working on websites like a mad man, but I love it. I'm glad I took a long retirement from it, and I'm glad that I'm "back in action" with the world wide web. I've been rebuilding my portfolio while I work here. Soon, I plan to migrate this blog back to my own host (no longer using blogger), for those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning, you remember that I used to hard code everything on my own, before migrating all my content to blogger in 2004 (I like to consider myself a seasoned blogger, since I kept an online log of myself since 1999, before I ever heard of a "blog"). Though convenient, I think for the sake of personal pride and practice, I'm going back to doing it my way, without blogger tools. Well, one day at least, when I get the time to do the migration and creation of a new blog site. (actually, if you want to see the wordpress installation I set up , go here: www.wbcobb.net/blog).

I've been hosting some couch surfers on the river banks, which has been a lot of fun. 3 people from Germany, and 2 people from New York. I love the Couch Surfing Project, because I get to meet new people all the time.

Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment:

--WBC--

Teton Valley

2010-08-29T18:02:00.002-06:00

What's This?

2010-08-20T00:29:00.001-06:00

I never could have predicted this. Homesick for the city? Actually wanting to be surrounded by noises of public transportation machines roaring down the street busied with people going places and their faces being lit up by lights from stores all around? Really? Are you kidding me?

I came down to SLC for Sven and Brenna's wedding. It was awesome and I loved being there when they made their vows. Sometimes you don't realize how much you care about people until you see them do big things in their life (like get married. BTW, I'm sorry to all of my friends out there whose weddings I missed; Sometimes for whatever reason things don't go as planned). This is one of those times where I realize that I have some super awesome friends right here.

Frankly I like SLC. I'm not going to explain every reason why I like it, I just do. It's awesome here and I'd love to stay. But my Summer job is elsewhere and I won't be done there until October. I'd like to stay, but I have to work the job I have right now. That's fine. I'll be back.

Looking for Outdoor Jobs until then (in SLC of course!). I'm done with Recreational Therapy though. I want to try Outdoor Education instead. Know of any jobs? Send me a note. Thanks :)

I'll be travelling back to Jackson tomorrow (today actually... it's 12:30am).

--WBC--

Shoot out

2010-08-16T22:07:00.003-06:00

Dusty and I planned a little bachelor party for Sven tonight... No strippers, just a couple of guys, lots of toys and targets, and lots of ammo. The stuffed turtle and toy piano were really fun to shoot. My shoulder is sore from the 12-guage, which normally doesn't happen. I guess working in a deli doesn't exactly make for tough shoulders.

--WBC--

Music is great from the living room

2010-08-12T21:02:00.001-06:00

Forest Artwork

2010-08-08T19:18:00.001-06:00

Nice guy playing a Swiss Alps Horn in front of Smiths

2010-08-07T13:00:00.002-06:00

Ink Bink is Awesome

2010-08-05T09:59:00.001-06:00

Jackson had a small earthquake yesterday. I felt it while sitting on a rock by the river. Though I wasn't sure it was and earthquake until I read about it in today's paper. I think it was a 4.8 and didn't do any major damage. Just a little hop.

I've started a creative writing blog with my friend Ray called Ink Bink. It's totally fun and so far I'm excited about it. We have 4 authors so far (including me) and may choose to recruit more in the near future. Please check it out!

www.inkbink.net

Lastly, it's been a great time up here. I'm still building websites, and blogging. Sven and Brenna are getting hitched on the 19th, so I'll be in Utah for that event. Can't wait to visit Salt Lake again. Later!

--WBC--

BYU Idaho's new food court

2010-07-17T16:20:00.001-06:00

The Salt Lake, Utah

2010-07-11T20:44:00.002-06:00

--WBC--

Life at Snake River Park

2010-07-09T18:53:00.003-06:00

I've been living at the KOA in a tent by the snake river. I'm using someone else's tent, which is nice because it's large.

Working via the internet proves difficult in the evenings because the wireless internet here is used a lot by the campers and always lags and resets. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I hitchike to town and use the library's or Heidi's internet connection.

Speaking of hitchhiking, that's what I did yesterday to get to town (actually, Bud who owns KOA saw me on my way out and gave me a ride). I worked at Heidi's until 1am. I woke up early and started hitchiking back to camp. Got a ride from my first female driver to pick me up - a lady from Chicago who just moved here. She was driving a Jeep with the top off - pretty cool - and took me as far as the Enclosure climbing gym. 10 more minutes on the roadside, and a police officer stopped and told me hitchiking was illegal in Wyoming. Let me go but told me to walk. So I did for about a mile, then called Mary and had her pick me up so I could make it back to the KOA in time to start my shift at 10am. Luckily, she wasn't working. Oh, and I should add that I didn't know hitchiking was outlawed in WY. It's legal in UT, NM, and AZ. Whatever the reason, here's what I found about the laws here...

====================
This is from digihitch.com

According to Wyoming state law, it is illegal to hitchhike on a highway. State and local police will enforce this. However, many hitchhikers have had successful trips across the state by either hitchhiking from on-ramps or by using a highway loophole which many cops allow...

It is legal to walk on a highway, if a person is walking facing traffic. In some cases (if the other side of the road is not safe to walk on) a pedestrian can walk with the flow of traffic.

As long as a hitchhiker is not actively requesting a ride (sign raised or thumb out), he or she can keep walking. And this is what cops are likely to tell you in Wyoming:
"Keep walking..."

So be sure to look like you are going somewhere with your own two feet while in Wyoming. Read a section of the law below, and click the link for more related pedestrian laws.

Code 31-5-606 Soliciting on streets and highways.

(a) No person shall be on a highway for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment, business or contributions from the occupant of any vehicle. This subsection does not apply to persons attempting to obtain assistance for disabled vehicles.

31-1-101. Definitions.
(viii) "Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained or if not publicly maintained, dedicated to public use when any part is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel;

====================

Though I plan to be here until October, my priorities are daily reviewed in my mind: build a portfolio so I can work for CouchSurfing.org as a web designer, and eventually earn income online so I can have the freedom to travel while earning enough income to live well. I am also applying for Forest Service jobs in the Fall, and maybe even something with the Coast Guard. It's still open, but I'm going to apply.

So far, I've worked on 3 websites: my portfolio, thanksgivingforall.org, and secretspeakers.com (only edits on the last one). I have a few ideas for more, it just takes a lot of time to get back into the swing of things. I've discovered that paying attention to the right "teachers" online has helped me the most. I pay $9 a month for nettuts tutorials online from Jeffrey Way. It's one of the best investments I've made for learning website stuff (I stopped getting Netflix so I could afford this).

So that's me on top of Mt. Olympus (in Utah. no pics from Wyoming yet). I'm always searching for new friendships, and oh yeah, I'm not going to school this Fall. I have to get out of debt before getting into more. I'm happy to feel in my heart that I have the skills I need right now to be successful in life. That's not saying I'm not learning, and won't return to college; It means I'm accepting who I am right now and planning my future wisely.

--WBC--

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:15:00.002-06:00

T. Wood

2010-07-04T20:10:00.001-06:00

Happy 4th of July!

Travels and Decisions

2010-06-24T08:01:00.002-06:00

I am back in Salt Lake City after being gone for over a week. I drove to Rexburg with Tim and Bradyn two Sunday's ago, and I got back by getting a ride to Logan (stayed with my brother Sterling for a few days) and then hitch-hiking to Farmington where I took a train to Salt Lake.

In Jackson, WY the weather was perfect, though cold on our first day. I went rafting, mountain biking, and still found time for finishing some website projects. Despite the hardship of staring at a computer for long amounts of time, I really enjoy being involved in website design, structure and maintenance. My clients are also happy with my work too :)

In Jackson I found a job at Dave Hansen Rafting. They need a person to help at the front desk. I accepted it, because, well, I just wanted to be up there this Summer. Now I have to be back in Jackson this weekend, ready to work. I'm taking it because I can work 2 days a week if I want. I'll need the flexibility so I can still freelance. The big down-side of taking this job is it will last until October - so I'll have to postpone a semester of school until January. But maybe this is a good thing because I need the extra time to get out of debt first.

I also really want to work for the Forest Service. I thought about this a lot while in Jackson and really felt good about pursuing a Forest Service job. I just need to volunteer my time with them first, before I can land a paying job with them.

There's a lot of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with too many options and commitments. Between my new Jackson job and website freelancing, I'm also supposed to 1. start day-trading with my 401-K $$, 2. finish my online Calculus class, and 3. volunteer for the Forest Service. Oh yeah, don't forget about some basic recreation in between all of that too! Yeah, it's too much I think. I'm still deciding which thing to let go of. update July 1, 2010 1. I'm not doing any of these three things! I have decided to stick to working at Dave Hansen and building websites. Those two things alone keep me plenty busy. I hope to work for the Forest Service in the Fall. --WBC--

Driving in Idaho

2010-06-15T17:22:00.002-06:00

Beards: they grow on you.

2010-06-15T17:18:00.001-06:00

just a hint of the view

HTML5 Infographic

2010-06-08T01:26:00.000-06:00

What is HTML5?

Click to enlarge...

Just caught my first White Bass!

2010-06-05T16:40:00.001-06:00

Location: Utah lake

Gone Fishing :)

2010-06-05T15:56:00.001-06:00

Crude Oil

2010-06-04T16:56:00.000-06:00

There's a reason BP does not want photojournalists anywhere near the oil spill currently devastating the Gulf of Mexico. If people were to behold the raw effects of this tragedy, they might demand justice against those responsible, namely BP. Being over 5,000 feet below the water's surface, the leak has proven to be difficult to stop, and has resulted in millions of gallons of oil scourging the Gulf waters. Though disasters such as this are rare, it doesn't make the effects of them any less cruel.

AP Photographer Charlie Riedel captured the following photographs off the beach of Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island on Thursday June 3, 2010:

For more information:
New York Times Article
New York Times Multimedia Gallery
Boston.com Article
--WBC--

Resurrecting old skills

2010-06-02T14:16:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I'm actually doing it...

I'm bringing back the online portfolio, practicing web development, and subscribing to geeky newsletters again.

Why?

The most obvious reason is lifestyle. I have a passion for the power of the internet and I want to harness it again.

Truth is, I never fully let it go. Even though I stopped keeping an online portfolio and stopped coding on a daily basis, I always kept up to date with the latest in developments, helped friends with websites they were building, and talked about one day returning to it all.

I plan on doing much more this time around: One obvious change will be my approach to web development. I've learned a lot of techniques from watching others and talking about the web. There are far more resources available today than there was even 3 years ago. I'm excited for such a vast field of knowledge at my fingertips.

From here the sky is the limit. A web page can be about anything you want it to be. I'm like a chef in a kitchen with unlimited ingredients. Who knows what will be made next, and how much fun it will be to create.

--WBC--

Notes on the past week

2010-05-24T15:17:00.002-06:00

Went all the way to El Paso, TX. Visited the sister.
Hitchhiked from Albuquerque to Moab. 4 rides, 5 interesting people, 1 night camping, 9 hours of travel (includes standing on the road).
Back in Salt Lake. Time to work and earn some money.
Visiting JoC was awesome and I love her job; so does she ;)
Currently freelancing work doing websites. Taking Calculus too.
USU in the Fall. Yes... more school for me. I'm gonna be an Engineer.
Environmental? Aerospace? Mechanical making outdoor equipment?
Next travel destination: California

--WBC--

Back in Moab

2010-05-22T13:19:00.003-06:00

I arrived in Moab today around noon. It's a nice hot windy day. I feel like going swimming. This trip was made possible thanks to generous people who gave me a lift. Four in all. I'll have to update this post more later tho... I'm at the Library right now and I'd prefer to be outside :)

Milkshakes

2010-05-20T14:26:00.000-06:00

Moab and New Mexico

2010-05-19T12:30:00.005-06:00

I left Salt Lake City a week ago and went to Moab with Sven and Brenna's Family. From there I found a ride to New Mexico (met a guy in Moab at a free lunch) and I'm staying with Jo for a few days. She is working near Cloudcroft, NM as a Wildlife Technician studying the Mexican Spotted Owl. It's a cool job where she lives in the woods. Now she has 5 days off and we're at her friend Kristy's house in El Paso. Today we're going to Carlsbad Caverns. I'm having a great time, and a much needed vacation.

Yesterday we went climbing, where Jo led some awesome hard routes and I could hardly follow. She's a great climber and I'm proud of my sister for all the great things she does in life.

This weekend is the ward Moab trip, so I'm going to hitch hike back to Moab on Friday and join them, where I'll catch a ride back to Salt Lake with the one and only Sara Barclay.

From there I'm staying in Salt Lake and working full time on some personal projects and necessary things. I'll be traveling to California a week later with my brother, hopefully. I want to meet some CouchSurfers down there, plus, a visit to the beach can't hurt either.

--WBC--

Hello New Mexico

2010-05-16T06:11:00.001-06:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-11T12:52:00.002-06:00

Thanks for visiting me mom!

2010-05-11T12:49:00.001-06:00

Yin and Yang

2010-05-05T18:30:00.003-06:00

Over the years, life's little let-downs can start adding up and turn whatever faith you have into a cynical anticipation of expected failures. Despite attempts to accomplish dreams in life, past unfortunate events create a learned behavior which leeches away all hope and motivation to succeed in the future. A truly damning state of mind, and one which has been adopted by so many.

Yet, some success stories have illustrated that it is only in these states of mind that we discover our greatest potential and power: the ability to choose our own destiny.

When exactly does the change happen? When will the negativity recess and the positivity grow?

The irony in this is, that the mere expression of my own self-doubt is an indicator of a desire to abolish that mentality and turn it into self-confidence. The question I keep asking myself is: will I be able to do it.

--WBC--

Joy or Sorrow

2010-04-30T06:54:00.004-06:00

The greatest joy or sorrow comes from reaping what you have sewn. --WBC--

It has been sold and taken away

2010-04-22T14:47:00.002-06:00

Good Hiking

2010-04-18T17:06:00.001-06:00

Reason #26 where I live is cool: Found this hiking playground next to my house.

Salsa Garden

2010-04-17T12:55:00.001-06:00

I planted a salsa garden today in my front yard. It consists of tomatoes, cilantro, onions and fish peppers. My coworker provided me with the seedlings. I think this is my first garden i'm doing on my own. It's totally worth it.

The Great Outdoors

2010-04-16T11:20:00.005-06:00

The great outdoors: it changes people. Everything I needed to know about life I learned in the Great Outdoors.

And you may imagine, as I used to, that being able to enjoy the outdoors requires special equipment such as big maps, special shoes, or backpacks. No, you don't need them. But you use them sometimes for safety. But those aren't the things I learn from. No, it's really the interpersonal interactions I find out there. Whether with mother nature, or the people I'm with.

--WBC--

K'mon April where is the sun?

2010-04-06T07:53:00.001-06:00

General Conference!

2010-04-04T16:39:00.000-06:00

Calculus

2010-04-02T11:35:00.001-06:00

I finally started Calculus through BYU Independent Studies. The other day I checked out 5 Calculus help books from the public library, including "Calculus for the Clueless." So far, in studying the first topic - limits - I'm enjoying it very much. I have 1 year to complete the course at my own pace, though I anticipate on finishing it earlier so I can start Calculus 2 in the Fall.

--WBC--

Random Giver

2010-03-29T15:17:00.000-06:00

When I went to purchase a Trax Pass today on my way to work, someone put their ticket in the cash machine where I would have bought a pass at (they last for 3 hours), so I got to ride for free. Thank you, random giver.

--WBC--

The Going Gets Tough

2010-03-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the going gets tough. You think you're heading in a good direction, moving forwards, only to find out that you're doing it all wrong, and because you did it wrong, you've actually set yourself back.

I just paid $82 for background checks to start my teacher certification, but when I re-read the directions on their website I discovered that I didn't even need this. Money is so tight right now and I blew it on a background check that I don't need! (non-refundable of course).

My Jeep overheated a few days ago while I was driving on the freeway. I immediately pulled over and parked it, but I guess it was already too late - blown head gasket. Do I have $3,000 to pay someone to fix it? No. If I had a garage to fix it myself, then I would, but I don't.

Body pain? Yep: Sprained wrist that just won't heal, worst part is that it makes rock climbing all the more difficult. (this really isn't too bad, I mean, of all things that could go wrong, a sprained wrist is nothing).

This seems to be part of life however, and I've been here before. So, not to despair, I'll just pick up the pieces and move on.

I'm looking into selling the Jeep to a mechanic who can fix it up for himself, and then buying a motorcycle (lower gas bill, and lower insurance). I'll just keep on applying for my teacher certification using the correct check list this time, and I wrapped my wrist in an ace bandage today. Woot!

Life is good.

--WBC--

Bed Hair is the New Awesome

2010-03-03T14:50:00.001-07:00

bed hair is the new awesome

New Look

2010-02-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

It was time for a blog makeover. I really hope you enjoy the new look as much as I do. I changed the blog title because I wanted to better reflect its purpose. This blog is a collection of William's Notes.

--WBC--

SLC

2010-02-26T15:58:00.001-07:00

It's a nice day today, and rightly so for a Friday. I've been gym climbing at the Front a few times a week in preparation for the Spring season. I'm working, and it feels nice to be financially stable for once. I plan on staying here for the Summertime - even though a lot of friends and fun people I know are heading to Jackson for the Summer. Currently I have a good thing going on here in SLC.

--WBC--

German Couchsurfers staying with us

2010-02-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

Bye Bye Danger

2010-01-08T13:58:00.001-07:00

I think I forgot to mention that Danger Kitty ran away from home, 4 days after I moved to Salt Lake (in October). I don't think she enjoyed the move; and even may have felt like I "stole" her from our old home because I had no way of telling her what was going on. Four days after being in our new place I thought I would let her outside to look around. She promptly ran down the sidewalk and around the corner. I chased her but she ducked behind a house, and that was that last I saw of her.

I hope she found a better place to be - like a nice old lady's house somewhere around the block, which is warm and she'll get fet lots of food, and together they can keep each other company. I just believe that is where she is now.

I am living and working in Salt Lake City. I love what I've found here. I like the people, the surrounding mountains, the Salt Lake Temple, and the lingering heritage I sense here.

I'm starting calculus (finally) through BYU's online courses. It is more economic for me to take classes this way while I work full time.

So I'm outta time here, but I'll try to make some more updates soon.

--WBC--

To grow a beard...

2009-12-31T18:44:00.001-07:00

This very well could be my last shave in a long time. Starting tomorrow I'm bringing back the beard. No shaving allowed in 2010!

Avatar

2009-12-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

I watched the new Avatar movie today in 3-D and it was absolutely amazing! The artistic visuals, the story, character development, and effects were above anything I've ever experienced in a movie. Props to James Cameron (producer/director/writer) for the vision he had in creating it. I will definitely be watching this again soon. If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend seeing it in 3-D.

--WBC--

2009-12-29T19:43:00.001-07:00

Jo and Kona!

Battle of the bands. Love it!

2009-12-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

New blog

2009-11-13T14:33:00.001-07:00

I found something...

A better blogging program.

No, not wordpress or even b2evolution.

But just a simple, much more user friendly, blog.

Visually, it kicks blogspot's un-designed square butt.

The user interface is better too.

I might have to switch.

Blogger, we've been together for a long time, but we were only committed to each other as long as we were a good match. Sorry.

Hello, tumblr...

--WBC--

EDIT 4/14/2010 Pay no attention to this post. Tumblr was cool, but just a fling. I'm still keepimg my blog here at blogger!

An Organ Festival in the Cathedral

2009-11-08T20:41:00.002-07:00

Been there, done that.

Gilgal Statue Gardens

2009-11-07T15:54:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City. I was there.

Look what I found down the street from my house...

2009-11-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

Salt Lake City LDS Temple

Ubuntu, I miss U

2009-10-13T23:47:00.001-06:00

--WBC--

Ahhhhh

2009-10-12T18:31:00.001-06:00

Google Number

2009-10-06T00:21:00.005-06:00

I have a Google Voice number! Hoot Yeah! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can watch a video of it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Q9MJdT5Ds

I'm planning on using this as a business number, however, Family that calls this number will get my personal voicemail instead of a business one, SWEET!

Please try it out if you want to...

--WBC--

General Conference

2009-10-04T14:19:00.001-06:00

Sunday afternoon session. This is awesome.

Names

2009-09-25T10:35:00.000-06:00

I'm making it official... I will always go by the name of "William" (my first name). Most of you know me as Brian, that's fine. If you still want to use that name I'm not going to hold it against you. Brian is a great name, and I've used it for years and still like it. But from now on I will always be introducing myself as William to keep it simple.

In fact, I even made a new Twitter account (www.twitter.com/william_cobb). My name is "william_cobb" on twitter. If you have a twitter account, please follow me on it (not that I use it a lot, but sometimes I do).

The other "new" news about me is that I'll be staying in Utah a lot longer than I expected. On October 9th I'll be moving to Salt Lake City into a nice house set downtown. I'm pretty stoked to be living in Salt Lake - unexpectedly glad in fact. Utah has great rock climbing in the summer, snowboarding in the winter, and all around Salt Lake is cleaner than the average downtown's I've been to before. Not to mention a lot of cool people.

--WBC--

Pink Floyd Tribute Concert

2009-09-16T20:23:00.001-06:00

"Shine On"

Starving Student Cards

2009-08-31T16:17:00.002-06:00

I'm selling them on the University of Utah campus this week.

Camping For Fun

2009-08-15T15:08:00.000-06:00

I went camping up in American Fork Canyon by myself. This time I traveled farther up the canyon than I've done before. Though it rained yesterday, the night was clear and fresh. I set up my 1-man tent and left the rain cover off and watched the stars. I slept great.

The morning light woke me up, and I when I poked out of my sleeping bag I saw a beautiful orange sunrise glowing above the canyon's horizon. Indeed this was just what I needed after a hard week's work and not much sleep.

About an hour later (and I'm still sleeping in) cold air blew in and a cover of gray - more precipitation. So I packed up quickly and sat in my jeep. Not wanting to go back home so soon, I took the road deeper into the canyon knowing I might have to backtrack later. However, the road kept going. I had nowhere to be so I kept driving, sightseeing along the way. Turns out, the road went over the pass and to the other side of the mountain where I discovered a nice valley and a town far below.

Asking a guy in hunting clothes taught me that it was Heber, Utah. As I made my way down the mountain, I saw a sign for "Cascade Springs" and a nice parking lot so I stopped to take a walk.

Cascade Springs is like being in Yellowstone Park - with boardwalks everywhere to protect the landscape from all the visitors. The water was cold, but clean and even smelled like sulfur like hot springs do. Anyways, the walk was peaceful, and though I was alone at first, I must have just beat the rush b/c by the time I was leaving the place was swarming with local visitors despite the cold sprinkling weather.

On my way to Heber and down the mountain and through Wasatch Mountain State Park, I drove by an expensive housing development with lots of lots for sale. Yep, lots of lots. I checked out some of the lots with houses (since the entrance sign said they would give you a 2009 Acura with every house purchase :) and they were "only" about $850,000! Hehe. Well, at least they looked nice and the property location had a prime view of the valley. I gathered a few fliers to remember them by, and kept driving into town, calculating in my head what kind of income I would need to even seriously consider such a habitation (and even if I did have that much money, would I really want to put all of it into a house on a tiny lot with a view? I got to enjoy the view for free just by being curious and driving around!).

I kept driving and found a more humble situation at the bottom of the valley. The paved roads still felt new in this community. No sidewalks, just a paved road and green grass on both sides checkered with well kept old houses. There was something special about this place. I don't know if it was the sunlight that shined into the city while everywhere else was shadowed in the clouds (Really, like in a movie or something supernatural), or maybe it was that farm-town home-grown style with all the green grass and old grain silo's and lingering stables from the early 1900's. But something was cool about this little place.

I drove around for at least an hour, listening to Calexico and observing the sights. After a few conversations with myself I stopping at a gas station, filled up, and used my GPS to find my way back home -- down Provo Canyon and back up the 15 Fwy to American Fork.

--WBC--

Just one of the perks of being here...

2009-07-24T14:57:00.001-06:00

Life Update

2009-07-17T18:04:00.001-06:00

I am moving to Utah for a while to work and save for school. I will be there within the week.

Look what the old west does to ya

2009-06-25T22:40:00.001-06:00

Cobb

2009-06-25T22:37:00.001-06:00

Tim Heywood

Jackson Hole Pictures

2009-06-23T17:33:00.002-06:00

Hey everybody! I haven't been blogging because I've been super busy. Well, it's finally stopped raining constantly and the sun is great. Everything is so green, and I love the people I've met. It's like being in one big family here. You often see people a few times a day in this tiny tourist town, and the locals also know each other pretty well. "Andy Griffith" hospitality if you will.

The public library and the grocery store are frequented by everyone so it's pretty cool to be bumping into friends all the time.

I've posted a new photo album on Facebook called "Jackson Hole" which you are invited to check out here. Or click on the picture below...

--WBC--

Strawberry cake: are you kidding me?

2009-06-17T17:21:00.002-06:00

i made it

Livin' the Dream in Wyoming

2009-06-06T16:45:00.001-06:00

So it's been raining in jackson everyday for about a week. Doesn't make for a friendly camping experience, but at least there's this nice library to hang out at, and my tent is freaking awesome dry. Hiking in the rain for fun is out, since a hot shower costs $6.50 and I would only want to hike in the rain and get muddy if I could finish with a hot shower and a laundry machine.

My job starts on Thursday - driving a Wonderbread truck and delivering goodies to all the little forest animals who live around the Teton Mountains. It is supposed to last until September.

Today I returned from Utah again where I met Zac and Franklin to get my paint equipment, thanks to them for bringing it all the way up here from AZ!

I bought a cast iron skillet so I can cook bacon and eggs on the fire. It's pretty sweet with a 2 for 1 set up: both dutch oven and 2 skillets when you need them. My outdoor haven is almost complete - when the rain stops long enough I'm going to set up the cabin tent and "move in."

image from Cabelas.com

--WBC--

Grizzly Video

2009-06-05T09:46:00.002-06:00

--WBC--

Grizzlies

2009-06-01T13:51:00.001-06:00

Things are on the upswing finally. That's all I have to say for now about my life.

Other news: I saw a magnificent sight of two Grizzly Bears play fighting by the road while driving back from Pacific Creek campsite. People stopped all over the road and grabbed their cameras for a picture. I even took a video which I hope to post soon. It was really cool and they were about 50 yards away duking it out.

--WBC--

Fast Update

2009-05-27T19:17:00.001-06:00

I had a job interview today, which went pretty well. Then I hiked to the top of Snow King Mtn. Still making plans and such. Life is good. I've been stressed out on money though.

--WBC--

2009-05-22T18:36:00.001-06:00

this is Jackson. it blossoms in the summer with jobs everywhere; only i don't have one yet. you could say that i'm a buck short and a day late, since thats exactly whats happening. i hiked this hill next 2 town to think for a while. worried but hopeful. questions and questions.

Basement Flood

2009-05-18T11:19:00.001-06:00

i woke up this morning and discovered the basement flooded... again! luckily a shop vac makes cleaning up go faster, but the bigger problem is all the water damage, and i may have to remove the wood flooring my sister installed a year ago, not to mention i had other plans for today.

Camping in Jackson

2009-05-10T21:37:00.001-06:00

Lunch at the park

2009-05-10T20:02:00.001-06:00

When i told Sven to dig into life he did this...

2009-05-09T16:40:00.001-06:00

and while he dug a ginormous hole in the yard (he has no idea what for) i printed job applications.

2009-05-06T19:14:00.001-06:00

Outta Here

2009-05-06T17:50:00.003-06:00

Just a quick update: It's been a great adventure visiting my parents for a couple of days. Now it's time to continue north. I will stop in Rexburg first to see some friends I haven't seen in a long while before I continue my journey.

I plan on coming back down to Utah for the Slickrock gathering on May 10th. I hope to see many friends there as well. Plus there's always the slight chance that I'll forge a road trip to CA soon... so if anybody would like to tag along, you know who to call.

My friend Price gave me a book that I've been reading: The Rock Warriors Way. I've just started it, but thus far I like the vibe it has. One of my goals this summer is to read a good book or two, starting with this one. If I can, I'll also try and read the Hobbit or some kind of non-fiction book, as it has been years since I've read any non-fiction books.

And now it's time to stop typing and start driving to the Berg...

--WBC--

Gotta Love Bollywood Action

2009-04-30T20:44:00.006-06:00

Say Hello to the Chuck Norris of Bollywood:

--WBC--

Price and I climbed this today: The Coffin 5.9

2009-04-30T19:30:00.000-06:00

Shampoo the Jeep

2009-04-30T18:54:00.001-06:00

It all looks super nice inside and smells purdy too.

Good Life

2009-04-29T00:01:00.005-06:00

I'm loving life and the simplicity of it. I am at my parents house again, preparing what I'll need to live in Jackson Hole, WY.

I made a 5-day camping trek from Phoenix to here. Actually, I drove to Boulder and saw some friends... for 5 days before continuing on to my parents house Sunday (Kandis tells of the story here: http://tele-hike-bike.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-will-leave-tommorow.html)

Danger Kitty is great, and sleeps all day in my room and always wants to play. After dinner I ran around with her in the back yard. She bounded through tall grass and chased the sticks I was dragging. She's a great friend to have around...

--WBC--

The Weekend

2009-04-26T12:18:00.000-06:00

View from a cabin

2009-04-24T12:20:00.001-06:00

I'm staying in a cabin while in Boulder. A few friends convinced me to stay another day, so it looks like i'll be here until Saturday. I've been doing more relaxing than hiking today: played guitar, sketched, did push ups, and listened to music while looking out the window you see here. (Posting this from my phone as usual). Tonight is a dinner and "New Moon" dance. Moab tomorrow - weather permitting.

Worth The Drive

2009-04-22T14:46:00.000-06:00

This is a picture (from my phone again) of part of the drive on Cottonwood road. I passed many trailheads which I hope to return to later. I'm about 35 miles (half way) and its been totally worth it.