Day 6 – Wednesday, 21st October 2009

After breakfast we left Machha Khola for our next camping destination. We were to spend the next night near a village called Yaru Khola. The path continued to follow the Buri Gandaki, which name means ‘the old river’. The trail ran right above the rapid waters of the river, so we had to watch each step if we wanted to avoid any unpleasant surprises. The scenery around us was wonderful and it felt like being in a jungle. Everything was so vividly green, we passed palm trees and bamboo, cicadas were playing their usual concert. It’s unbelievable how such small creatures can make so much noise! We often wondered how they produce those shrill droning sounds. Apparently it is the male cicada, which vibrates two membranes on its abdomen, creating that amazing racket. The sun was scorching as we were crossing one ridge after another, up and down. We admired our porters, who seemed to have no problem at all with climbing up the path with heavy loads on their backs. Every day they would tie up two heavy kit bags (just to remind you, I could barely walk a few metres with mine) plus a bundle of sleeping mats and walk with that load for hours and hours. Their trick was to stop for very short breaks, but frequently.

We stopped for a moment in a village called Tatopani. It was very pleasant, with a string of guest houses and a few little shops, where we could buy drinks and a Mars bar to get some energy. The main attraction, however, were hot springs, which come out from a stone wall placed in the village centre. The word ‘tato’ means ‘hot’ and ‘pani’ is a word for ‘water’, hence the name of the village. It’s a good opportunity for a trekker to wash some clothes or even have a quick shower. That, however, requires some degree of imagination and a bit of cunning, as the springs are exposed to public view.

We had lunch by the river, in a small clearing by the side of the trail. A few children showed up out of nowhere and ran towards us. They were looking after their goats, which were grazing close by in the shrubs. Some of the children were quite cheeky, asking us for treats and posing in front of the cameras. There was one girl, however, who was rather shy and wary of this crowd of strangers. She just sat nearby on a stone and observed what we were doing. She had a very serious face.

Our cooks were amazing, carrying all of the kitchen appliances and food on their backs every day. And each day on the trek they would set up everything again for lunch. They usually placed a huge plastic blue sheet on the ground, on which we could sit and eat. The boys always prepared delicious and nutritious meals for us and they were supervised by the head cook, Tenzing.

The cooks made us some lovely paratha, which is traditional Indian pan fired flat-bread. It can be stuffed with vegetables or cheese. The paratha can be round, square or triangular. We had the last version, which is made from a ball of dough, then flattened into a circle and closed like an envelope. It’s really good and makes a great accompaniment for other things we had, such as spicy potatoes, beans in tomato sauce and canned meat.

Suddenly, as we were enjoying lunch, a goat decided it wanted to join in, thinking it might get a snack. It jumped on our blue mat and refused to go away. Nothing you could say or do would make her leave. Then Matt, our team leader, just grabbed it by one of its horns and dragged the animal off the mat, leading it towards some shrubs. The goat was very stubborn, however, and soon came back, but this time observed us from the safety of a nearby rock. It was very sociable and a great model too!

After lunch we continued our trek to Yaru Khola. The walk was at times strenuous, as we were gradually gaining height and there were more up-hill bits. The track, however, was well marked and maintained, so it was like walking up stairs most of the time. One of our Sherpa guides told us that the paths in this area were actually made in the 1960s, when the government of Nepal tried to resettle people from Kathmandu to the country, giving them free land.

Luckily, we didn’t meet any Maoists carried away by their revolutionary zeal and demanding money from us. We could peacefully continue walking towards our next camp.

At the end of our walk we entered an enormous gorge, with the Yaru Khola River running right through it. Great steep rocky cliffs were majestically surrounding the river. I suddenly felt very small in comparison to this spectacular ravine. It was the first time I actually realised the enormity and strength of the mountains. It was a magical place to camp in and somehow scenes from ‘The Lord of the Ring’ crossed my mind the moment we entered the gorge.

Before we got to our campsite, we passed a tiny villages with just a few houses and two shops, one next to the other. We sat down for a drink, as these shops, like any other we encountered on our way, were fully supplied with soft drinks such as Pepsi or Mirinda. Enjoying our dose of sugar and various strange substances hidden in these sweet beverages, we watched a little show put on by a couple of cute children. They were brother and sister and their parents owned one of the shops. It was a charming sight. The little ones were dancing to a traditional Nepalese song that was on the radio, twirling with their hands in the air. It was such a nice sight and the children were having so much fun.

When we finally got to our camp the Sherpas and our team leader Matt started putting up the tents. Rafael was enthusiastic about helping out, I was more enthusiastic about walking around and enjoying the view. It was spectacular! We were on a plateau, yet surrounded by magnificent cliffs. It was peaceful and quite around, no people apart from our group. The only sound was the gentle noise made by the river. This was definitely my favourite camp so far!

]]> http://theappleblog.com/2009/11/24/should-the-app-store-let-you-demo-apps/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:25 +0000 David Klein http://theappleblog.com/2009/11/24/should-the-app-store-let-you-demo-apps/

Recently, here at TheAppleBlog, we made some backstage changes. Over time we realized that Socialcast was great for sharing and discussing ideas, but not ideal for handling business related tasks. As a result, we made the jump over to Basecamp. It doesn’t have the microblog feel of Socialcast, but it’s definitely easier to organize and communicate.

When we made the switch, my first thought was “I wonder if there are any iPhone apps for Basecamp!” A quick search in the Store reveals 17 Basecamp related apps ranging in price from free to $12.99. As a potential buyer, how can I possibly decide which one is the best value?

One of my issues with the app store is that ratings are very inconsistent. A few complaints over accidental crashes can definitely skew a score, and screenshots really don’t help me understand the app’s look and feel. I need to click around and play a little before I decide the fate of an app’s life on my iPhone.

My question is: why won’t Apple (s aapl) allow me to try an app before I buy it? The availability countdown works great for content rented from the store like movies. I can play all I want for 24 hours, and then it’s deactivated. That would be ideal for apps too. I download it, see how it works, and after some time the app prompts me to purchase when launched. The prompt has a link to the app’s page in the store and I can make my decision. This is often how it’s done on the desktop. Why not the iPhone?

As for Basecamp, I ended up sticking with the free version of Sherpa. It covers the basics and it doesn’t crash. I would prefer to try them all, but that’s impossible. For now…

So, what do you think? Should Apple implement a trial period on all for-pay apps? What do you think are the pros and cons?

Yoda will have to do.  My wee model is at school.  Roan still dons the first tuque I made of this style.  Surprisingly I only have the picture of him in it from Christmas’s past.

I seasonally make Ford proud by doing some assembly line production of the hats.

Some sell at Essenza here in Fremont and the rest make great gifts to my friends or a charity donation.

Fabric Crush is peddling these for me at the Magnolia Village Holiday Shop this Friday from 6-9pm.  Come drink some wine and mingle…AND buy some holiday gifts.

Well, I’ve had a bunch cut out, so I unofficially joined Jacquie’s Joy In the New Year UFO Challenge.  I am far from finished, but I did manage these, plus tackling a pile of fabric to produce aprons, napkins, pillowcases and pjs as Christmas gifts.

How come it’s so satisfying to cut fabric to bits and sew it back together?

I like them mostly constructed of Sherpa, but I am really trying to get rid of fabric, not buy more, so some are fleece.  I use Sherpa on the interior of the ear flaps.

The patchwork is a new twist on it from last year.  Up till then I had always done stars.

The Park Slope fabric lends itself so well, it’s the perfect scale print.

Some left overs from this simple quilt make the patchwork on the fleece ones.

My Value Quilt top is going to The Quilting Loft for the week as promotion for my classes and I am happy for the break.  I’m still plugging away at the back.  Are you all caught up?

Day 4 – Monday, 19th October 2009

I survived my very first night ever in a tent without any major crises. I actually enjoyed the whole experience of feeling snug as a bug in my warm sleeping bag. Writing my diary and reading a book by the head torch light was also fun. It reminded me of my childhood days, when I would read under my blanket with a torch in my hand, way past my bedtime. Although it was easy to get used to life in camp, I still had to figure out a good system of quickly unpacking and packing my kit bag in the morning rush. After bed tea, served by our Sherpas, we got a bowl of hot water to wash ourselves. Then we were expected to quickly leave our tents, as the porters were waiting to dismantle them. We had a very nutritious breakfast, consisting of porridge, eggs and toasts with jam, honey or peanut butter. And tea again. We had to get into the habit of drinking a lot. This is very important when you’re in the mountains, as being well hydrated prevents getting most of the unwanted symptoms of high altitude sickness.

After breakfast all our bags, tents, tables and chairs had to be quickly prepared for the upcoming journey to our next campsite. The porters gathered everything into huge bundles, tied them together and were ready to go. I couldn’t imagine this trek taking place without the help of our staff, the Sherpa guides and cooks and all the porters, who patiently carried our equipment and provided us with all the basic needs. It is unbelievable, how strong these people are, how heavy loads they can carry for hours and hours, uphill, downhill and on every possible terrain. Where we needed our professional mountain boots and trekking poles, they would just wear flip-flops. Where we had to take every step carefully to avoid twisting our ankles, they would jump carelessly or run through those rocky paths like some sort of super heroes. We sometimes felt awkward about the fact that they have to work so hard but then again, being a porter on a Western-organised trek is supposed to be quite a good job in Nepal.

We left Arughat before 8:00 am and followed a path leading along the Buri Gandaki River. There were a few suspension bridges on the way, which were certainly not the highlights of the walk for me, as I was still fighting my fears. At one point, however, a bridge of some sort would have been quite useful. The path went right across another smaller river, which nobody expected to be there. It wasn’t as bad as it looked at first, and anyway, we didn’t have a choice, we had to take our shoes off and just keep on marching. Our guides made sure nobody would slip on the rocks and very soon we were all happily on the other side. It was actually nice to take off our boots and give our feet some nice treatment in the cold river water after a few hours of walking in the heat!

The views we could enjoy during this walk were stunning. We passed green rice fields and mountain slopes covered in trees. We were accompanied by the ever present sound of water, flowing dynamically in the mighty Buri Gandaki and falling from high above, creating beautiful cascades. We passed small villages, where people greeted us enthusiastically. In one of them a group of small children approached us and encouraged us to take some photos. They were very excited and all over the place. They wanted to see their own faces on our camera screens, so each time someone took a photo, the children would surround the person and point at the picture laughing and shouting ‘It’s me, it’s me!’ in Nepali.

We had lunch under a tree by the river, close to a village called Naya Bazaar. Our team spread a plastic blue mat on the grass, on which we sat and enjoyed our lovely meal. We were happy to stop for a while and relax after a few hours of walking. Sheila and Richard are wildlife enthusiasts, so they entertained us by pointing out the strangest and most beautiful creatures, from birds and butterflies to caterpillars, spiders and leeches (the latter I watched from a distance for obvious reasons).

After lunch we carried on walking until we came to a village called Sati Khola, where we stopped for a drink. It is worth noticing that although this is meant to be a remote area of Nepal, there is no trouble with finding Coca-Cola or other Western soft drinks and chocolate bars in practically every local village shop. Once again we were surrounded by children, this time dressed up in colourful garlands and with huge tikas painted on their foreheads. These kids were quite cheeky, especially one boy, surely the leader of the group, who insisted on being the centre of our attention… and our frames. He was always first to pose before the camera and then persistently wanted to see himself (and only himself) on the screen.

Just a few minutes after Sati Khola, in a village called Armala, we were stopped by a group of local Maoists. They set up a (quite illegal) check point and insisted that we pay money for a permit to continue our trek. The whole situation was ridiculous, as we already had various government permits bought in Kathmandu and this one was certainly not planned. The men demanded that we pay 2500 rupees per person. Of course Tenzing, our sirdar, began lively negotiations with the Maoists as nobody wanted to pay that amount. It was obvious that the men wanted to take advantage of the situation seeing a big group of Western tourists. Tenzing was very persistent in guarding our interests. We couldn’t refuse to pay altogether, however, as we wanted to avoid a more problematic and unnecessary confrontation. Luckily our guide managed to reduce the price to a thousand rupees per person, which considering the illegality of the whole enterprise was still much too much. It’s funny that the sign on their check point said ‘All visitors are warmly welcomed by United Revolutionary People’s Council Nepal Tamwan state Committee Workers.’ I say, what a genuinely warm welcome… When we asked the Maoists what they do with the money, they replied that it is ‘to fight with the government’. This argument is quite funny, especially as the Unified Communist Party of Nepal is now a legitimate political party, which even led a coalition government until May 2009. I don’t see why they need to ‘fight’ the government and take money from trekkers. We were all pretty sure that they would buy themselves some beer with it anyway…

We reached our campsite in Liding at around 14:00. Our tents were already being put up by the team, including probably the most important one – the toilet tent! It was the very first time I was to use this facility in Nepal. I am used to Asian style toilets, as I experienced the dreaded by Westerners hole-in-the-ground during our 2008 trek in Turkey. But this was something special, a separate tent, with a hole dug in the ground! Sounds awful, but wasn’t actually that bad. I would say it’s even better and cleaner than so-called toilets in lodges.

We had a bit of a rest and then followed our new daily routine – washing in a bowl of hot water, having our (traditional by now) afternoon tea, reading books, writing diaries, chatting with each other, having dinner at 18:00 (banana fritters for desert – yummy!) and after some nice evening conversations, going off the bed… that is off to our tents and sleeping bags. A new journey awaited us the next day…

Day 3 – Sunday, 18th October 2009

I’ve never been a morning person. Early starts, however, were to become something natural in my new daily trek life routine. On Sunday (when I would usually have a nice lazy lie in) we got a wake-up call at 6:00 am and were expected to leave the hotel within an hour. Half-conscious (me) and with a nasty cold developing (Rafael) we nevertheless enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant and were ready to go. We were about to set off on a journey into a fascinating and beautiful part of the country and see some of the most spectacular views in the world, so we were very excited!

In order to get to Arughat, the starting point of our trek, we went through hell. It all started nicely… We met our Sherpa guides, Tenzing and Dorchee, and then sat down comfortably in our colourful and very cheerful bus. Kit Spencer wished us all good luck and waved goodbye. Sweet. Then came escaping the dreaded Kathmandu traffic. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, had we left a couple of hours later, but still, it was crazy. People from the city and local villages were crowding in the streets, setting up their tiny stalls, already selling things or just standing there without a purpose. Whenever we stopped by a police check point someone would run towards our bus trying to sell newspapers or fresh cucumbers and various other products. It was loud, drivers were honking (of course) and overtaking one another in the most unbelievable configurations and we were just trying to get out of the capital as quickly as possible. Alive. But then again, in all that madness there was something fascinating. I couldn’t stop looking at people running around in the streets and at the shops and houses, nicely decorated for the Diwali festival. I just wanted to absorb the atmosphere of this city and try to somehow understand it.

Once we left Kathmandu, the journey from hell began. Never in my life had I experienced such a bumpy, unpleasant and nerve-racking ride. Don’t get me wrong, our driver tried everything he could to make it as comfortable as possible, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. For more than six long hours I was desperately trying to find some kind of position, in which a) I wouldn’t fall of my chair b) wouldn’t smack my head into the window constantly b) wouldn’t hit Rafael in the side with my elbow trying to avoid getting all bruised up myself. Ouch. You can imagine the state of the roads in that part of Nepal. ‘Rough’ they call them. Indeed. I have no idea how our lovely, yet quite rickety bus made it through all of those craters in the ground.

One of the ways to make the journey less painful (at least mentally) was looking out the window and observing the country life, as we passed quite a few villages along the way. It was interesting to see people not really doing much, just sitting in front of their houses, chatting or playing games. I guess they were in their festive mode, so they were excused from doing any chores. They would usually look at us with curiosity and sometimes scepticism. Children would more often run towards our bus, shouting ‘hello’ and waving at us. It was shocking for me to compare the two ways of living – our comfortable, relatively wealthy Western households and those poor simple rough-looking Nepalese houses – what a contrast!

Towards the end of our journey we had a little incident. The road was very narrow, but we were lucky enough not to pass any large vehicles… until we encountered another bus. The situation was quite simple for us and our driver. It would be easier for the other driver to reverse and find a wider spot to pass instead of us having to do a risky reversing manoeuvre uphill. But the other guy just didn’t want to give way. A funny, but frustrating scene took place. Most of the men from the other bus, a few from a vehicle standing behind us and our own Nepali guides stood in the middle of the road discussing the issue in a very lively manner for about ten or fifteen minutes. The funny thing was that everyone wanted to participate in the discussion, but nothing was happening. Finally, a compromise was achieved. Yes, we had to reverse a few metres, but it was the stubborn driver, who had to pass us on the side where the drop was…

After some time our misery ended and we reached our destination – Arughat. The village has two parts, which lie opposite each other by the Buri Gandaki River. We left our bus in the Eastern part of the village, which is a large prosperous bazaar with many guest houses, craftsmen’s workshops and shops selling souvenirs, clothes and food. To get the other side of Arughat we had to cross a suspension bridge. This was one of those things I knew would be difficult for me, as I suffer slightly from vertigo. Remember, don’t look down and just walk as quickly as possible – it swings a lot and if you are afraid of heights you don’t want to stay there for long! Somehow I managed to cross my first suspension bridge without too much of a panic, but I was happy to be on the other side!

Stone steps led us to the other side of the village, where we were supposed to camp. Our itinerary included camping instead of staying in guest houses, which I think was a really good idea. I’d never camped before, but I’ve heard and read lot about the lack of adequate hygiene in traditional lodges so I wholeheartedly embraced the idea of sleeping in my own clean tent.

After unpacking and settling in our camp we were served afternoon tea and biscuits by our Sherpa kitchen staff. This five o’clock tea was to become another pleasant tradition on the trek, which everyone was always looking forward to. It was a splendid occasion to chat and get to know each other better. After tea Rafael and I went on a walk to the village. We wanted to take advantage of the last rays of light before sunset and take some photos of the people in Arughat. We passed a few boys playing table tennis and in no time I found myself competing with the local champion. I find this game very addictive and had to show those Nepali teenagers just how good I was. Soon a small crowd of locals and our new friends from our group gathered around. At some point I had to let go, although the temptation to play another set was big. We left however, to see more of Arughat.

We met Tim and Bob on our way and we walked around the village together. The people of Arughat seemed very nice and open. We greeted them with the word ‘namaste’, which means ‘I salute the God in you’, commonly used for saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’. They answered back with a smile on their faces. The villagers were visually striking. Women wore beautiful saris in all the most vivid colours possible. Red seemed to be a very popular one. Because of the Diwali festival, people were decorating their houses with flowers, garlands and gave them a new coat of paint. There were special stalls on the street, were men were selling colourful dyes, used to paint tikas, special marks on one’s forehead.

There was one woman, who particularly enchanted all of us. It was an older lady, sitting on the porch of her house, peacefully smoking a hubbly bubbly and observing the street. She looked very dignified in her red blouse and colourful ornate skirt, wearing traditional jewellery and glasses. She had a red tika painted on her forehead. She patiently allowed us to take a series of her portraits. She was wonderful, seemed to be a symbol of the village community, proud and independent.

After a little while we went back to our campsite. We had a lovely dinner prepared by our Sherpa cooks and stayed outside for a bit enjoying the warmth of the night and each others company. It was still pleasant as Arughat is situated only 606 metres above sea level. We would gradually go higher and higher, but the trip was designed smartly, with a steady ascent in order to avoid anyone getting any high altitude related illness. Symptoms, such as headaches, nausea and fatigue are quite common high up in the mountains, especially if you try to go up too quickly. You should never rush, but take your time and then you will get to the top happy and healthy and have the opportunity to enjoy the views and take some splendid photos.

The next day we were to have our first long walk, a six hour trek to our next campsite in a village called Liding. The whole trek around Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, which is 8163 metres above sea level, would take us eighteen days in whole. We would have two acclimatisation days before crossing the Larkya La Pass, which was the high point of our circuit – 5213 metres above sea level. This would be my lifetime achievement – I’d never been higher before. What is more, I would have the chance of not only setting my new record but also doing that in the highest mountains on this planet, the mighty and beautiful Himalayas!

To be continued…

Tenzing Norgay adalah nama orang, mungkin buat kebanyakan dari kita akan mengatakan nama yang aneh…..dari negara mana nama tersebut berasal?…..

Mungkin Anda pernah membaca atau mendengar namanya…mungkin juga belum…bagaimana kalau saya sebutkan nama Sir Edmund Hillary…ya kalau yang ini sih saya sering dengar atau pernah baca biografinya atau pernah mendapatkan kisah hidupnya dalam sebuah artikel atau sewaktu mengikuti seminar. Ya, Sir Edmund Hillary adalah orang pertama di dunia yang berhasil mencapai puncak gunung tertinggi dunia Puncak Gunung Everest. Tetapi saat ini bukan Sir Edmund Hillary yang akan kita bahas, tetapi Tenzing Norgay.

Tenzing Norgay seorang penduduk asli Nepal yang bertugas sebagai pemandu bagi para pendaki gunung yang berniat untuk mendaki gunung Everest. Tenzing Norgay menjadi pemandu (orang nepal menyebutnya Sherpa) bagi Sir Edmund Hillary. Pada tanggal 29 Mei 1953 jam 11.30, Tenzing Norgay bersama dengan Sir Edmund Hillary berhasil menaklukkan Puncak Gunung Tertinggi Everest pada ketinggian 29,028 kaki diatas permukaan laut dan menjadi orang pertama didunia yang kemudian menjadi inspirasi dan penyemangat bagi ratusan pendaki berikutnya untuk mengikuti prestasi mereka. Pada rentang waktu tahun 1920 sampai dengan tahun 1952, tujuh tim ekspedisi yang
berusaha menaklukkan Everest mengalami kegagalan.

Keberhasilan Sir Edmund Hillary pada saat itu sangat fenomenal mengingat baru berakhirnya Perang Dunia II dan menjadi semacam inspirator untuk mengembalikan kepercayaan diri bagi seluruh bangsa di dunia. Karena keberhasilannya, Sir Edmund Hillary mendapatkan gelar kebangsawanan dari Ratu Inggris yang baru saja dilantik saat itu Ratu Elizabeth II dan menjadi orang yang paling dikenal di seluruh dunia.

Tetapi dibalik keberhasilan itu Tenzing Norgay memiliki peran yang sangat besar, mengapa Tenzing Norgay tidak menjadi terkenal dan mendapatkan semua yang didapatkan oleh Sir Edmund Hillary padahal ia adalah sang pemandu yang membantu dan mengantarkannya mencapai Puncuk Mount Everest? Seharusnya bisa saja ia lah orang pertama yang menginjakkan kaki di puncak Mount Everest bukan Sir Edmund Hillary.

Sesaat setelah Sir Edmund Hillary bersama Tenzing Norgay kembali dari puncak Mount Everest, hampir semua reporter dunia berebut mewawancarai Sir Edmund Hillary, dan hanya ada satu reporter yang mewawancarai Tenzing Norgay, berikut cuplikannya :

Reporter : Bagaimana perasaan Anda dengan keberhasilan menaklukkan puncak gunung tertinggi di dunia?

Tenzing Norgay : Sangat senang sekali

Reporter : Andakan seorang Sherpa (pemandu) bagi Edmund Hillary, tentunya posisi Anda berada di depan dia, bukankah seharusnya Anda yang menjadi orang pertama yang menjejakkan kaki di puncak Mount Everest?

Tenzing Norgay : Ya, benar sekali, pada saat tinggal satu langkah mencapai puncak, saya persilakan dia (Edmund Hillary) untuk menjejakkan kakinya dan menjadi orang pertama di dunia yang berhasil menaklukkan Puncak Gunung Tertinggi di dunia….

Reporter : Mengapa Anda lakukan itu???

Tenzing Norgay : Karena itulah IMPIAN Edmund Hillary, bukan impian saya…..impian saya hanyalah berhasil membantu dan mengantarkan dia meraih IMPIAN nya.

I would like to invite you to watch one of movie of Everest collection…

Puja Ceremony at Mount Everest Base Camp.

A Puja Ceremony is always held at Mount Everest Base Camp. Until this ceremony is held, no climber or Sherpa is allowed on the mountain, for fear of angering the gods.

A lama, a Buddhist holy man, usually oversees the ceremony. During the Puja, the climbers and Sherpa’s pray to the gods for their permission to climb Mount Everest and for a blessing for a safe and successful expedition.

A small temple, known as a chorten, constructed from rocks, is where the whole expedition team crowd around for the ceremony.

During the Puja, climbers and Sherpas place their ice axes, crampons, and other items against the chorten to be blessed.

A flag pole is also raised upon the chorten and prayer flags strung across the camp. The prayer flags are said to purify the air and pacify the gods, as they flutter in the wind and, in so doing, release the prayers written upon them to the heavens.

After all the prayers and blessing are said both Sherpa’s and climbers throw rice into the air and smear it upon the faces of others around them.

This is then usually followed by drinking plenty of chang (beer)!

* Source :  – http://www.everest1953.blogspot.com/

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

zapraszam do subskrypcji mego bloga

You know your do’s, but do you know your SEO DON’Ts?

On Thursday David Felfoldi of Atl-based Sherpa Web Studios talked about the do’s and don’ts of SEO/SEM.  Many people are somewhat familiar with the basic do’s (I wrote a research paper on it, available here), but what of the don’ts?  I realized I hadn’t given it much thought.  Dave pointed out a few great “don’ts” that will enhance your overall optimization attempts:

Don’t..

..Choose a hosting service that drops your page- if it’s not up a bot can’t find it and you’ve missed your chance to get indexed.  This happens at lower cost sites, so the cost benefit analysis is up to you.

..Use low-quality external links.  A link from your site to somewhere with a page rank of  or 1 does you no good, telling bots you’re network is less relevant.

..overuse your keywords.  Don’t make it any easier for the competition to tap into your strategy.

..Let your keywords get inconsistent.  If you use a plural because it gets hits, use that everywhere.  Typically using the singular form is advantageous but like with anything it depends.

..Forget to use a pay-per-click test campaign first to see what works and what doesn’t.  In many instances it’s not how many hits you get but the quality of those hits.  Are the right people finding you?

Thanks, Mr. Felfoldi for taking the time to give your excellent presentation.

-SR

Sure, Sir Edmund Hillary got all the accolades for being the first to scale Everest.

But the locals celebrate someone else — Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who some say beat Hillary to the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

Source:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/091030/everest-edmund-hillary-mountaineering-tenzing-norgay

OBEY Garcia Jacket in Black

While Chicago may have not had much of a Summer, we are definitely experiencing the Fall season in full effect right now. There is not a better way to stay warm for the Fall season than to rock the OBEY Garcia Jacket. This “military style” jacket is lined with a fleece sweatshirt, deep pockets, and a sherpa lined hood. The jacket comes either Black or Grey.

From OBEY:

OBEY Military jacket with fleece sweatshirt lining, sherpa lined hood, shoulder epaulettes , metal bar logo rivet and custom logo print.
100% Cotton
OJ0160

OBEY Garcia Jacket in Grey

OBEY Garcia Jacket - Back

OBEY Garcia Jacket - Side

OBEY Jacket Garcia - Back (Black)

°

un sherpa
utilise-t-il
une serpe,
une hache,
une perche
une harpe
un pare-chemin
pas chers ?

°

d.(11/10/9)

This past Monday, Apple announced that more than 2 billion mobile apps have been downloaded from its Apple App Store.  There are now more than 85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide and over 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program.

So there’s now an app for virtually everything, from flashlights and silly games to top notch applications with valuable and interesting information.
FierceMobile has created an interesting list of the Top 10 Apps that “simplify your life”.

- 3Deep:  3deep users share information on their current status, whereabouts and preferred means of contact, and the app’s Tell Me When feature indicates whether communications are best initiated via voice, text, e-mail or IM. Users also determine when and with whom they want to share deep presence information, and can limit how much personal data they wish to divulge on a case-by-case basis.

-Aha: Power to the people: instead of relying on official traffic info, this app connects (American) iPhone users on the (same) road and lets them inform each other with traffic info.  Basically someone can record an audio message and it’ll be transferred to other users in the neighborhood.

- MotionX GPS: indicates and tracks the user’s position wherever they go–not just on street maps, but also topographic and satellite maps, which explains why the software is so popular with runners, hikers, skiers and boaters. Also allows users to save up to 303 personal waypoints to identify favorite locations (including sharing via Facebook, Twitter and Google Maps) and store up to 101 tracks to retrace later.

- Put Things Off: A simple, efficient tool for creating notes and lists, Put Things Off encourages users to focus on what’s important each day and “put off stuff that’s not”.

- Sherpa: Sherpa promises a customized user experience that improves each time you use it, recommending retailers, restaurants and attractions as it begins to understand your likes, dislikes and behavioral patterns.

- Snac: makes it easier to get at popular applications like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr while also offering up news, weather, email and related tools in a user-friendly, at-a-glance format.

- Vlingo: speech recognition app delivers a single voice interface that works with native and third-party applications, offering one-button access to contact lists, search tools, local listings and social networking status updates.

- WeatherBug Elite:  offers live local weather conditions and forecasts with the addition of full radar animation as well as supplementary map layers spanning infrared satellite, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and next-day high and low temperatures.

- Wertago: this free app not only pinpoints where the action is, complete with real-time ratings, tags and reviews, but it also tells you which of your friends are already there and includes tools to message and coordinate plans with them.

- Zagat to Go ‘09: includes over 40,000 reviews from the venerable ratings guide, as well as suggestions covering nightclubs, hotels and retailers.

Which are your favorites? Post a comment below.

Côté Face : le chef de l’Etat se rend aujourd’hui en Avignon pour présenter son plan “Agir pour la jeunesse” et rencontrer les étudiants de l’IUT et de l’École hôtelière.

Côté Pile : Nicolas Sarkozy, qui a peu goûté le désistement d’Hubert Falco comme tête de liste UMP aux régionales, dicté selon lui par un manque de courage, entend choisir rapidement le futur adversaire de Michel Vauzelle (Président socialiste sortant de la région Paca).

Convocation vaut raison… Tous les candidats putatifs du parti présidentiel étaient présents dans la cité papale aujourd’hui pour un conclave régional au sommet.

Hubert Falco jette l’éponge
Jusqu’alors pressenti comme le candidat incontestable, Hubert Falco, actuel Maire de Toulon et Secrétaire d’État à la Défense et aux anciens combattants a jeté un pavé dans la marre en annonçant le 18 septembre dernier qu’il avait décidé de ne pas se présenter : « Je donne ma priorité à Toulon et aux Toulonnais », a-t-il expliqué avec gravité au cours d’une conférence de presse. « Je ne veux pas rompre les liens de confiance qui nous unissent depuis 2001 et qui ont été renouvelés, à hauteur de 65% des suffrages, dès le 1er tour des municipales de 2008. Ce sont les Toulonnais qui m’ont donné ma légitimité. Je dois respecter leur vote » ajoutait-il.

Une annonce d’autant plus surprenante que le Président de la Commission d’investiture de l’UMP, Jean-Claude Gaudin, n’hésitait pas à affirmer lors de son entretien de rentrée politique donné le 28 août 2009 à Objectif Méditerranée, « Nous sommes tous unanimes pour dire qu’Hubert Falco sera notre meilleur candidat. Notre camp est uni, il est soudé. »

Faut-il entendre donc que le parti présidentiel devra se contenter d’un deuxième choix ? Pour Hubert Falco, son retrait n’a en aucun cas pénalisé son camp, sa décision intervenant à temps pour permettre à son parti de s’organiser. La validation des têtes de liste et des chefs de file départementaux n’intervenant qu’en novembre lors de la convention nationale.

C’est donc dans une longue lettre adressée au chef de l’Etat et après avoir été reçu à la suite du Conseil des ministres, que le maire de Toulon aurait pris sa décision, se défendant de vouloir conserver coûte que coûte son portefeuille gouvernemental pour une hypothétique victoire régionale.

Mariani, le nouveau joker élyséen ?
Depuis le 18 septembre, le marigot Umpiste s’agite. Dans les starting blocks, Guy Tessier et Bernard Deflesselles, députés des Bouches-du-Rhône, redoublent d’arguments par interviews interposés pour légitimer leur candidature à la présidence de la Région. Info ou intox, tous deux affirment avoir le soutien des parlementaires. Bernard Deflesselles en rajoutant une louche, la plus digestive, celle d’avoir les encouragements de Nicolas Sarkozy.

Jean-Claude Gaudin et Renaud Muselier n’ont, quant à eux, guère attendu pour pousser, plus que de mesure, l’option Deflesselles, et montrer une fois de plus, leur inimitié envers Guy Teissier. Ce dernier n‘avait donc d’autre choix que de sortir du bois promptement, « j’en ai marre de toujours laisser passer mon tour » déclarait-il récemment au quotidien La Provence.

Il est vrai que du côté de la mairie du 5e secteur de Marseille, l’image droitière de Guy Teissier a de quoi rassurer un électorat en quête d’un marqueur identitaire doté d’une forte implantation locale. Ainsi, il ne manque pas de rappeler son engagement « écologiste » au profit de la biodiversité par la création du Parc national des calanques ainsi que sa forte implication dans les milieux économiques avec la présidence d’Euroméditerranée.

Ce à quoi, Bernard Deflesselles, en quête de popularité, répond en arguant une légitimité acquise au terme de 17 années passées au sein de la Région lui conférant une certaine technicité et expérience des dossiers structurants de cette institution.

Si les médias marseillais se délectent de ce duel, la question du choix du candidat de droite est loin d’être réglée. A l’affut de la moindre indiscrétion, c’est aujourd’hui l’éventuelle candidature de Thierry Mariani, député du Vaucluse, qui agite les salles de rédaction. Sherpa officiel du voyage présidentiel en Avignon, la rumeur court que Sarkozy l’aurait déjà choisi.

Se montrant jusqu’alors très hésitant au prétexte de sa récente mission de représentation nationale en Afghanistan et au Pakistan, l’ex maire de Valréas, testé par un sondage de notoriété secret interne à l’UMP, se dit désormais intéressé par cette opportunité.

[Et pour cause, il arriverait selon ce sondage en deuxième position, derrière Renaud Muselier (candidat malheureux en 2004).

Reprenant un "morceau choisi" de La Provence, Thierry Mariani publie sur son blog, en page d'accueil : " Hier le chef de l'État a évoqué les élections régionales dans l'avion entre Avignon et Paris après son discours sur les jeunes. Dans l'appareil, Guy Teissier, député des Bouches-du-Rhône, candidat déclaré, et Thierry Mariani, député du Vaucluse, à qui il a demandé, en catimini, s'il était intéressé. Sa réponse a fusé : "Je suis disponible." D'après un conseiller du Président, c'est sa notoriété qui mettrait Thierry Mariani en pôle position face à Guy Teissier et Bernard Deflesselles, députés des Bouches-du-Rhône. L'Élysée devrait rapidement se déterminer pour choisir son candidat face au Président PS sortant Michel Vauzelle". Comment tuer ses amis ? C'est fait !

Pourtant, ledit sondage donne vainqueur Vauzelle dans toutes les configurations...] *

Les cibles UMP : Vauzelle ET Le Pen
Mais comme souvent en PACA, une troisième force vient brouiller les cartes et s’invite dans les débats : Jean-Marie Le Pen qui, dans un ultime combat politique, compte bien mettre un terme à la “propagande immigrationniste” du gouvernement. Or, selon le sondage confidentiel de l’UMP, le patron d’un Front national ruiné ferait encore 10%…

Ainsi, au-delà d’un adversaire coriace de Michel Vauzelle, le Président ne chercherait-il pas d’abord à siphonner la campagne du FN en présentant l’homme de l’amendement ADN au regroupement familial ? On comprend mieux, dès lors, les récents confidentiels élyséens publiés par Le Figaro voyant en Thierry Mariani un homme capable de reprendre le flambeau régional : « Il a plus de notoriété, il pourra mordre sur l’extrême droite, et il est le plus politique. »

Reste enfin la possibilité d’un parachutage de prestige : Le porte-parole de l’UMP, Frédéric Lefebvre ou le Conseiller spécial de Nicolas Sarkozy, l’arlésien Henri Guaino ? La fumée blanche devrait assurément sortir du conclave avignonnais…

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* Pour la bonne lecture de nos lecteurs et pour l’absolue transparence de notre démarche, les propos entre crochet [...] ont été rajoutés, en fonction de l’actualité, à 23h45, le 1er octobre 2009.

Sherpa ofrecerá uno de sus últimos conciertos antes de la gira con Barón Rojo en el primer festival de 2ismultimedia.net el próximo sábado día 21 de Noviembre en la sala La Nau de Barcelona. Nemesis y Nasty Army completan el cartel del festival que incluirá sorteos, regalos y la entrega del trofeo 2ismultimedia al mejor vídeo 2008 a Sherpa por su concierto en Barcelona el pasado febrero de 2008. ¡Os esperamos a todos!

As Rahul Sonnad told me for my earlier piece on Sherpa, Geodelic, Inc. has a number of partnerships lined up for announcement over these first few months after the roll out of the App. these announcements are for partnerships to increase the usefulness of their Sherpa app. Ultimately the goal is to allow users to receive localised and customized experiences based on their current location.

With that in mind, Geodelic, Inc. announced yesterday that they have partnered with Skyhook Wireless to increase the accuracy of Sherpa’s location reporting.

“Skyhook offers a major enhancement to the application’s location awareness,” said Rahul Sonnad, CEO and founder at Geodelic. “This allows Geodelic to more accurately target content for a user, whether they are in a mallor walking down the street. We developed Sherpa to give users a customized experience based on their location and interests. Skyhook provides the location performance that our application demands.”