I’ve always been fascinated by Black Holes, not because of the movie (though as a kid that was cool and I love the soundtrack) but because of the thought experiments that happen in my head when I think of them. Information loss, relative time, etc. If you have any interest at all in Black Holes, I highly recommend you check out Leonard Susskind’s book, The Black Hole War. It’s a pretty dumb title but a fascinating read, even if you’re not a theoretical physicist.

Anyway, since I read that book, I’ve done lots of calculations using the Schwarzschild Radius (Rs = 2GM/c2) to determine the size you would have to compress some matter (like the Earth or Sun) to create a gravitational constant (aka a black hole). So I found this cool video on YouTube and REALLY liked the video at towards the end when he describes the evidence of a black hole at the center of The Milky Way. Awesome stuff, I’ve read about it but had never seen those images.

Looking back on the past couple of years, I knew this was post was inevitable. Though we often appreciated each other, I often felt we were together out of mere convenience than true desire. It’s been five years and I guess that’s a long time for any couple to be together. We just grew apart. I suspect we’ll remain good friends and I still admire her every time I pull my car into the garage.

I’m talking about cycling of course and for whatever reason, the fire just didn’t return this year. I’ve put about a hundred miles on the trainer (41 on Superbowl Sunday) and maybe two rides outside. Rather than being fun, it was a chore. I dreaded weather forecasts of warmer temps rather than daydreaming about them.

Instead, I’ve found a new lover. Hiking. The more difficult the better but I’ll take easy ones with great views too. I finally got some decent hiking boots (courtesy of the annual REI member dividend) and my winter conditioning hikes up Mt. Si have paid off.

Though I haven’t had much time to blog about my experiences, I have taken some pics and posted them on Flickr:

Oyster Dome
Rattlesnake Ledge
Twin Falls