Because It's Cool To Be Indifferent
Why does there always have to be an end to a great weekend or to anything for that matter? I spent mine rambling around Gulf Shores with some of my family. The major highlight of the adventure occurred on the first night of the trip, the Avett Brothers show at the Wharf amphitheater. I’d have to say that this was hands-down the best performance that I’ve ever had the opportunity to witness and those in company agreed as well. The amount of energy mixed with the raw talent harnessed by the two brothers and their band just blew me away. Don’t get me wrong, I knew to expect one hell of a performance out of these guys, but I didn’t expect them to pour it all out for us. Honestly it seemed as if they were playing their last show. The small, but ecstatic crowd was able to encore the band out for another five song set, leading to the highlight of the night, The Ballad of Love and Hate, played solo by Seth Avett. I have never left a show feeling so humbled and appreciated by a band. They’re a hard working group of guys, they’ll keep me and the rest of their fans hungry for more.
The next day the family and I spent a full day at the Perdido public beach. There was hardly a soul in sight. A perfect beach for the person seeking solitude and clean sand. I feel like I’m giving away a secret here, but I think for the most part that the general public are interested in being crammed like sardines into a tight space with several other thousand people, which is evident by the Gulf Shores public beach only a few miles down the sand. I’ll take the isolation any day. Because of the freezing temperatures of the gulf water this time of year, which my nieces were unshaken by, I spent most of the day lounging around and reading a Krakauer novel. I was unaware that I was being cooked alive, I definitely put too much faith into the SPF-30 that was supposed to be on guard. I’m still feeling the burn a few days later.
Later in the evening we took to our mobile apps to find a great place to eat. This lead us to the “Original” Oyster House, there’s one in Mobile so I’m not sure which could possibly be the most original. The place was a little too commercial for us. I’m not a fan of any place that charges $2 extra for me to build my own salad at the salad bar, just make it for me and bring it to my table for no extra charge. The oysters and crab claws were excellent though. I was in the mood for crab legs as an entree, a grave mistake. Not only was the crab severely overpriced, but it was really dried out. All in all, I don’t think the Oyster House will see the likes of us ever again.
Dallas
Thoughts On My Relocation
Thoughts of backpacking deep into a rarely seen wilderness fill my mind as I yet again open up my Macbook to start a new day of normal, rote tasks. It’s early and my mind always seems to wander away from the glaring screen. I ask myself, “where do you want to be? and how can you get there from where you are now?”. After pondering this for a few moments, I’m again met with the same normal excuses. Either it’s “I don’t have enough money” or “there’s important work to be done here”. Now that I’ve gotten a little older, I am starting to realize that unless the world is just handing over favors, you just have to take life by the reigns and dig in. Like most people, I have a hard time grasping this, especially if it’s not learned or natural. If one grows up in an area or culture where they’re supposed to create and live out their life, than it’s hard to really see beyond that. I grew up reading National Geographic and watching television and movies about foreign places, so I knew, but I never really thought I’d make it there. I don’t believe that “work” should be such an encompassing part of our lives, I’m not necessarily happy that I’ve dedicated so much of my young adult life to work. Maybe if I’d chosen a different career path it would be different, is it too late to change directions?
It seems that at least a third of my week is spent running through these thoughts and this has been on going for quite some time. I’ve got to find some adventure before I implode, before I give in to a life that I’m not interested in living. I want to be just minutes away from mountain trails where I can find some beauty and satisfaction for the constant urge. I think that it’s time I relocate. I’ve had this on my mind for quite some time. It’s time to take it seriously.
Targeting Containers with jQuery
I love solving problems with jQuery and a little while back I came across a need to make entire list items targetable while preserving any anchor links within. After a Google search I was able to find a few jQuery plug-ins that could handle the job, but I thought it counter-productive to use an entire library of code to perform such a simple task. So I set out to solve this on my own, with a little help from jQuery of course. Here’s how it works:
The HTML:
<ul id="target_list">
<li>Item #1 <a href="#">Link</a></li>
<li>Item #2 <a href="#">Link</a></li>
</ul>
The jQuery:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#target_list li").each(function() {
$(this).click(
function(){
var hreflink = $('a',this).attr("href");
if (hreflink) {
window.location = hreflink;
}
})
});
});
</script>
The Breakdown:
Basically what we’re doing is making an entire unordered list’s list items targetable based on the anchor link within each item. After making sure the document is ready to execute, we use the each method (much like a foreach) to loop through each nested list item within the unordered list. Then we set a click event for this, meaning the currently selected item within the loop, to set the “hreflink” variable equal to the anchor tags href value. After checking to make sure this is set, clicking the item will set window.location equal to the value of the link inside the list item. And there you have it.
For UI purposes, I like to set the li‘s cursor in CSS to pointer so that the end user will have an indication that the entire item is clickable. This can be achieved as such:
#target_list li { cursor: pointer; }
This is a cross browser solution that I have tested in IE7+, Mozilla, Chrome, Safari and Opera.
It also works to target other container elements such as a <div> and <p>
Hope this is helpful.
Dallas
"... I have at least learned to contemplate the events of life with tranquillity and not let myself be flung to and fro by circumstances in a sea of doubt." - Heinrich Harrer
The Giant, All G'd Up
Yesterday the new Avenir bike rack and tour bags arrived in prompt fashion from Amazon. After about half an hour of bending and twisting metal, I was able to get the rack properly mounted onto the rear of my Giant Defy. The Defy has proper mounting screw holes on the top and bottom of the rear forks. The only real issue that I came across was that the rear brake calliper was almost totally blocking one of the top screw holes. After a little creative bending of the longer mounts that shipped with the rack, I was able to securely fashion the rack to the bike.
I was a little worried as several reviews of the Avenir XL saddle bags indicated that people with big feet might have issues with constantly kicking the bags while riding. If any of you know me, you’ll know that I’m tall with big feet, so I was a little concerned, but ordered the bags anyway. Luckily, with the large frame size of the bike and with the way that I mounted the rack away from the rear forks, my feet are clearing the bags by more than a few inches.
My Giant is enjoying the new gear and I’m more than excited to test it out on a new expedition that I’m currently planning, more news on this soon.
Rack and saddle bags mounted to the Giant.
I'm Envious of This Life
This New Zealand based documentary follows a family’s struggles as they live a simple life the way that they see fit. I often dream of a life in which my worries are only focused on the things that I need and not my wants. A life where simple actions are way more fulfilling than the unachievable dreams that are constantly running through my head. Peter Karena is a strong and honest man, who is an unbelievable provider for his family. He believes in maintaining his integrity over falling for the emptiness that’s so often met in today’s society. Although in some ways the Karena family is forced to conform, they maintain a lifestyle that allows them to live without waste and as a single unit. Did I mention that they have 6 kids as well?
However, they’re not the only family that lives this way, just one of many all over this world of ours, but living amongst a modern society makes it difficult. Their are plenty of families here in the states that attempt to live a simple life, but are often met with ridicule. Are we all really free or are we just bound by the chains that society places upon us? I hope you’ll take the time to check out this great film, you won’t regret it.