I got up at 10:00, and headed out to Durham at a little after noon.
I stopped at the Bojangles on Western Blvd to get us a picnic lunch, which Robert and I ate at the Eno River Picnic shelter at the end of Cole Mill Road before starting off on our hike.
It was a little chilly there, and we sat at the very end of a picnic table to be in the sun.
We hiked the Cox Mountain Trail, which was rated as strenuous. And it was. Basically you climbed over a, well, a mountain – hence the name of the trail.
There were some very steep hills in this trail, and during the hike, I wondered what the distinction between a “walk” and a “hike” is – specifically, at what point does a walk become a hike.
Walk 2 a : to move along on foot : advance by steps b : to come or go easily or readily c : to go on foot for exercise or pleasure d : to go at a walk
Hike 1 : a long walk especially for pleasure or exercise
So, I guess it’s a length thing.
At the end of the trail we didn’t see a good indication of a section that would lead us back to the parking lot. Where the Cox Mountain Trail, marked with blue paint spots on the trees, seemed to end, there was only a choice to cross the river precariously, or to take the only trail at that juncture, but it was marked with purple paint spots.
From a technical communications perspective, clarity suffered at the expense of conciseness.
It looked like purple, but you wanted it to be blue, since blue was what you were following, but was nowhere to be found now.
So, it made you think, “Well maybe they ran out of that blue, or just tried to remember what shade it was, but didn’t quite match it.”
Two effective solutions come to mind:
- Diminish conciseness to strengthen clarity: Add the name of the trail at this point.
- Strengthen clarity alone: Use a color like orange next to blue, instead of purple.
At home, I took a 45-minute nap, showered, and then headed to Bahama Breeze for the STC Social today.
Attendees included: Cindy, her husband Terry, Angela, Heather, Sharon (Heather’s friend), Michelle, her husband Scott (hunk), E-Ching, and David.
E-Ching and David sat on the other side of the room at first, but then quickly moved over to our side of the room, which made me happy. I really like them.
We ended up all sitting in a little circle beside the circular fireplace, instead of around it, as we originally started, which really helped us to be able to have a more inclusive conversation.
The night ended with a fun conversation between Terry, Cindy, me, E-Ching, and David. Turns out Cindy has a gay brother who lives in NYC, who is into “aht.”
Currently, his website is highlighting a self-portrait, called Asshole, made out of cut-outs of vagina pictures.
In the parking lot, I found a voice mail message from Joe, which I returned. I also checked in with Robert, and confirmed that he’d be over later tonight. We’re planning a day-trip to the beach tomorrow.
I listened to these podcasts today:
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Title
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Time
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Description
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| ABC News Money Minute | A Little Something Extra | 1:41 | Etiquette experts share tips on tipping during the holidays. |
| NPR | Most E-Mailed Stories for Saturday, 11/12/05 | 36:33 | The Links Between the Dalai Lama and Neuroscience, Wright’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ at the Austen Society, Democrats Learn Lessons on Religion from Kaine Victory, Judith Miller Defends Her Reporting at the ‘Times,’ Medicare Web ‘Drug Finder’ Hits Snags, A Survey Course on Alito Legal Views. |
| Ebert & Roeper | Reviews for the Weekend of November 12-13, 2005 | 19:47 | Reviews of Derailed, Bee Season, Zathura, Pride & Prejudice, Walk the Line (Early Review), Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. |
| The FrenchPodClass | FrenchPodClass #1 | 21:12 | Bonjour! Here is the first number of the FrenchPodClass. This week: Presentation and Introduction & the family vocabulary. There is also a (PDF) review sheet. |