Travel
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Road Cycling the Big Island
I’d rank the 10 days I spent road riding and training on Hawaii’s Big Island as likely (highly likely) the best riding I’ve done anywhere. I based all of my rides out of the Waikoloa Resort area, which is 40km north of Kona. Most of the ride distances below are based on starts in Waikoloa. Here’s…
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Cycling Vancouver to Blaine, USA
A combination of bicycle riding and public transport. View Vancouver to Blaine in a larger map Total round trip is about 4.5 hours, including lunch in Blaine: Ride from home to Commercial Skytrain Station Take Expo Line (heading east) to King George Station, $5 (or take the risk of riding for free Get off King…
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Oregon to San Francisco
Second segment of my bike touring trip from Vancouver to Baja, this portion from Xmas day to just after New Years, where I’m taking a few days off to visit a friend in San Francisco. Day 7 144km 5:40 26 Dec 09 Just south of Waldport to Florence to North Bend to Sunset Bay Park…
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Victoria to Oregon
A recap of the first week of the cycling touring trip from Vancouver to Baja Sur, this portion covering mainly Washington and Oregon. Day 1 70km 20 Dec 09 Vancouver to Victoria 6:50 Larch House leave. Bus driver gives me free lift through Massey Tunnel. Ferry terminal. Tea with Melissa in Quay. 9:00 sailing, ride…
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Vancouver to Victoria
What’s in my panniers: Today’s route: View Playa Costa Baja in a larger map
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Silver Circle Bicycle Diary
A day-by-day account of the 2,000km, 14-day bicycle touring route that loops across British Columbia from Vancouver to Banff and back. This particular trip was undertaken June 14-27, 2009. Part 2/2.
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Silver Circle Bicycle Tour
[See Part 2 Silver Circle Bicycle Diary for a personal day-by-day account of the trip, distances, times, etc.] Silver Circle Bicycle Tour Route in a larger map Route The route is a circle with the first half following the Trans-Canada and its prevailing tailwinds north through the Fraser Canyon and then east to Kamloops, through…
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Emily Carr Pilgrimage
A video: students of the Emily Carr University make a winter morning pilgrimage to the grave site of their school’s namesake, and Canadian painter, Emily Carr, in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, Canada. Post-respects coffee at Cafe Fantastico in Cook Street Village. Ed. note: best espresso I’ve maybe ever had. Also: below, an image of Carr’s…
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Learning to Drive
I am learning to drive a manual transmission as we truck across America. Although I’ve driven extensively for 12 years, and have owned two cars in that time, I never had the opportunity to own or command a stick. Scott is teaching me how in his ’91 Nissan pickup. The first lesson in first gear…
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Montana to Murdo, South Dakota
We woke up at sunrise in the Middle of Montana to the sound of a vehicle passing on the gravel road close to the tent. Two minutes later the vehicle returns and a man yells “This is private property, get going.” And so we did, and continued across the never-ending rolling ranches and farms that…
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Interning With NGOs
A friend is about to embark on an internship with a South East Asian NGO and asked for some advice. I’ve been thinking about some general principles I learned during my time in the Philippines, in Bali, and with other non-profits and project-based organizations over the years. The following is my response, a sort of…
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Anne Frank House
I likely first heard about the Diary of Anne Frank in grade school, though I don’t recall reading the actual diary. I never gave her much thought again until I happened to walk past the Anne Frank Huis, now a museum and major tourist attraction, on my first visit to Amsterdam in 2003. At that…
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Utrecht Excursion
Spent the day (April 26, 2008) in this happening central Netherlands city with some fellow design students visiting the Dick Bruna Huis and the Rietveld Schröder House.
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Student Exchange Spring 2008 Map
A Google map marking the locations of 24 23 24 Emily Carr Institute students currently on single-term exchange at art and design universities around the world. View Larger Map Camila Arango – COMD – IED-Barcelona/Spain Alex Buss – COMD – Designskolen Kolding/Denmark Jennifer Griffiths – COMD – ENSAAMA/Paris Tobias Ottahal – COMD – The Cooper…
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Petra Blaisse and Inside Outside
A design firm I toured recently through a friend. Blaisse’s Inside Outside, located in an old school house in Amsterdam, consists of two studio spaces (one for Outside or landscape work and one for Inside, or interior design projects), as well as a meeting and supply room. Blaisse and her firm have completed work for…
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From Java with SMS
SMS messages I sent during a trip to Java, Indonesia
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Bali Intern Day
A typical day during my first two weeks of a design internship with John Hardy, the bamboo company and Kul-Kul School near Ubud in Bali, Indonesia, August 1-14, 2007. Wake up with the sunrise around 6am, get out of tent. Make my way down to John Button (Australian permaculturalist living on-site for five weeks)’s place…
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John Hardy Bali
My Philippines Internship ended in mid-July. I then flew to Jakarta and rode my bicycle across Java to start a second internship on August 1st near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. I am working, observing and learning with a company that designs and builds bamboo buildings and sustainable communities, among other things. I am working with the…
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Filipino Text Slang
So the Philippines is literally the text–or txt–capital of the world. More people send messages through their cellphones here than anywhere. The P1200 (approx. $27 CAN) used, ubiquitous (Nokia has sold over 1 billion) Nokia 1100 phone I bought from a street vendor in Baguio. Here pictured during a hike overlooking the Banaue rice terraces,…
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Philippines Bicycle Hunt
Or more specifically: How to Buy a Used Road Bike in Manila. A set of instructions. View of my new used bike riding a street somewhere in Quezon City, Metro Manila. It veers right without hands but otherwise pretty great. Spend two months spanning half the country asking everyone you meet where to buy a…
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Philippines Internship Part II
A recap of input and output from the second month–Part II–of a two-month, two-part design internship in the Philippines. Locations include Baguio City; dates span May 28 (arrive in Baguio) to July 12, 2007.
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Dog
For lunch. The menu on the wall: Head 145 Toasted 150 Liver 120 1/2 Liver 60 Pulutan P65 1/2 Pulutan 45 Pinoneg P65 1/2 Pinoneg 45 Spare P65 Toasted + 5 1/2 Spare 45 Which one is dog, I ask. They all are. That’s all they serve. Served in mugs as a starter: dog soup.
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Baguio Digs
Some pics of the provided digs for the past six weeks of my Philippines Internship, i.e. where I live: Narda’s main building and factory in La Trinidad, where all the dyeing, weaving and business goes on. Narda’s also rents office spaces on various floors. The guest apartment I live in is on the top right,…
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I plug away in Baguio
On prompting, an update of my daily activities. The past two weeks have been pretty much like many other summer spent 18 hours a day on the computer HTMLin’, CSSin’, Flickrin‘, Blogin‘, Surfin‘. Except I’m doing it in an office alone in a small weaving factory in Baguio City, Philippines. My meals are fairly regularly…
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Ifugao Hunter Backpack
Remember the picture I posted of Aklay (aka Philippe) the French Baker in Sagada wearing one of those water-proofed traditional backpacks? I found it (well, both Aklay and the backpack) interesting and posted a photo of them on my Flickr. I’d actually secured a standard variety model without the covering a week earlier, but when…
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Philippines General Design Observations B
Part two of two of a collection of general considerations from a design internship in the Philippines. We know packaging can speak to contents, but how do these conventions shift from culture to culture? Generally utilitarian isopropyl alcohol in more ‘designer’ green, contoured bottles; jumbo ‘banana catsup’ bottles. If you could only change one aspect…
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Philippines General Design Observations A
A two-part collection of general considerations from a design internship in the Philippines. Bridging the gap: traditional basket weaving with contemporary hardware. Souvenier shop, Baguio City. Variety based on geographic, climate, use and/or tradition? Woven pasikings (backpacks) from the Cordillera Mountain Region, for sale in Baguio City. The French baker of Sagada, Aklay, wearing a…
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Straight Shave
One of my indulgences this internship is going to the barber for a shave. Waiting. The other barber at this stall would play and sing a few chords on the guitar during my shave. At 40 peso (a little under $1) in Baguio City you get a 20 minute straight-razor shave and a brief facial…
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Philippines Internship Part I
A recap of input and output from the first month–Part I–of a two-month, two-part design internship in the Philippines. Locations include Manila and Puerto Princesa; dates span April 25 (leave Vancouver, Canada) to May 27, 2007.
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Philippines Ukay-Ukay
Recorded June 5, 2007 walking around an oki-oki ukay-ukay (thanks to Marco for the spelling correction) complex in Baguio City, Philippines. Ukay-Ukay means to rumage and find from a pile, i.e. a used clothing store. Baguio is somewhat of a hub for ukay-ukay, receiving truck- and ship-loads of second-hand and discount clothing from Hong Kong…