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Jon and me, with the Ruku Pichincha peak behind us

First Day in Ecuador

panaramic view of Quito showing mountains and smog
Quito is a fascinating city, but it’s plagued with air pollution and could really benefit from some electric cars. The gondola lift run is visible to the right.

We made it! We flew in last night and arrived at our Quito hotel, the elegant JW Marriott (yay points!), to find we’d been upgraded to a seriously sweet room. Like, I’ve seen dorm rooms smaller than just this bathroom. So we bathed in luxury prior to setting off into the rural highlands tomorrow.

Jon and me, with the Ruku Pichincha peak behind us
Jon and me, with the Ruku Pichincha peak behind us

Today, however, we decided to do an acclimation hike. Up Pichincha.

Quito itself sits at of elevation of about 9,400 feet (2,850 m), and since we’re coming from a home elevation of about 500 feet (<200 m), we should have taken a couple of days to acclimate. Even if coming from a higher elevation, everything you read says you shouldn’t go up Pichincha on your first day.

We went up Pichincha on our first day.First Day in Ecuador

Roof with solar panels beside leafless branches and trees with dead leaves.

When Solar Goes Bad: A Case Study

Apparently someone reposted an old 2015 story and gave it new legs, and my news feed has been full of reports regarding a rural town voting a moratorium on solar energy because the panels would, among other terrible effects, suck up all the sun and stop photosynthesis. I think you… When Solar Goes Bad: A Case Study

Drawing a sword from the book, not stabbing the book. In case it was unclear.

What is up with #Inktober?

Drawing a sword from the book, not stabbing the book. In case it was unclear.
Drawing a sword from the book, not stabbing the book. In case it was unclear.

If you follow my social media, you might have noticed that I’ve been posting ink drawings for #Inktober, and that they’re generally awful. You might have asked yourself why I would do that. Do I know how bad they are, or do I see my work through a blissfully ignorant filter? Is it some sort of prank?

So here’s what’s up with Inktober.

First, in case you aren’t familiar with it, #Inktober is a month for doing one drawing — in ink — and sharing it per day. You can find the brief background and this year’s optional prompt list from the creator Jake Parker. It’s something like National Novel Writing Month, but for visual artists.

Now, let’s recognize that I’m bad at drawing. No, I’m really bad at drawing. The local catchphrase for referring to truly hideous visual design is, “It looks like Laura drew it.” (Don’t feel bad. I’m often the one saying it. It’s not wrong to acknowledge my skills are in other sets.) So why on earth would I do Inktober, which unlike NaNoWriMo specifically requires publicly sharing one’s work?

I’m doing Inktober for several reasons:What is up with #Inktober?

poster for The Giant of Marathon, 1959

A Marathon Legend

I posted this on my Facebook page and got more reaction than I expected. So here’s an expanded version for your reading pleasure.

For most of my life, I’ve believed the story in my 5th grade schoolbook about Pheidippides running 25 miles from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to declare “We won!” before promptly dropping dead, and that’s the origin of the marathon.

Today I learned that’s not at all true.

A Marathon Legend
photo of trees with red arrow pointing to tiny distant Great Blue Heron on a branch

Birds & Fish

photo of trees on the other side of pond
the heron, in the trees beyond the pond

I walked out to my pond today and was not nearly fast enough to photograph the Great Blue Heron I startled out of it, but I did manage to snap a photo when he perched in a tree to avoid the enthusiastic Doberman chasing and barking at him. (Undómiel apparently did not get the memo about large birds not being dangerous aliens.)

What? You can’t see the heron? Well, sorry, all I had was a cell phone and some excitement, which does not equate to a telephoto lens, no matter how much excitement is involved.Birds & Fish

Paramour Broadway poster

Paramour: A Broadway Review

Paramour Broadway posterI had the opportunity recently to visit New York City and attend Paramour, the new Cirque du Soleil Broadway musical at the Lyric Theater. The show closed shortly after, and I had a number of people ask me to share my thoughts on this unusual fusion of circus and theater. We like circus, and we like theater, but would they work as well together like some sort of fusion cuisine?Paramour: A Broadway Review

Tiny Laura in green dress with mushroom inside hollow tree trunk

Contest Results: The Derpening

You might recall that I offered a prize for making fun of my awkward pictures. Because I take myself that seriously, all the time. And now, we have the results. The grand prize of three ebooks and a $20 Amazon gift card goes to Alex McGilvery, for his… Contest Results: The Derpening

Contest: Derp Me!

I was shooting some video and realized I’d accidentally bumped the selfie button while using my phone camera to check lighting. That’s how this starts.

hair flip
Accidental hair flip selfie.

And I thought that expression and that green screen were just too inviting, and so we’re going to play with them.Contest: Derp Me!