The Enthusiast

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

A novel about a writer who moves through the world of special interests.

A novel about a writer who moves through the world of special interests.


Acrobats, Beekeepers, Campers, Divers, Fossil Hunters, Glass Blowers, Hikers, Kite Flyers, Lego Builders, Model Railroaders, Numismatists, Orchid Growers, Poker Players, Rollerbladers, Skydivers, Tinsmiths, Videographers, Wind Surfers…

We live in a world of enthusiasts, special interests who flock to their own websites, discussion groups, activities and magazines.

My friend Charlie Haas has written a novel, The Enthusiast, about Henry Bay, a writer who works for magazines of this sort. Bay jumps from specialty to specialty, learning the language and meeting the players.
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Tackling the Volcano

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Flanked by her team, Emily pilots the helicopter toward the volcano.

Flanked by her team, Emily pilots the helicopter toward the volcano.


Remember the team of young women who intended to learn to fly a radio-controlled helicopter in one month?

Saturday was their day of reckoning, when they had to guide a payload of six ping pong balls to a target inside a model volcano 20 feet away.

It was Tech Challenge 2009, sponsored by the Tech Museum.

More than 1,000 students in grades 5 through 12 competed, 250 teams from around the Bay Area and as far away as San Diego and even New York.
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Snow Melts Back East

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Norman’s helicopters pose on a checkered tablecloth.

Norman’s helicopters pose on a checkered tablecloth.


It’s raining today so I’m cowering indoors, but Norman McKinstry, our East Coast Correspondent, checked in recently to remind me that we’re sissies when we complain about California weather.

Regular readers will remember Norman, an inveterate flyer who who recently celebrated his 85th birthday in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Here’s his breezy email:

Hello friend. Today is first time this year: NO SNOW ON GROUND around here. Been a rough, long, cold, snowy one! I bought 3 indoor helicopters as outdoor flying was impossible.

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A Different Wetlands

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

A sea otter relaxes in the sun.

A sea otter relaxes in the sun.

The day after my 1,000,004th birthday, my friend Lee Smith and I went to Moss Lading to take a boat tour of the Elkhorn Slough (“slough” is pronounced “slew”), a National Estuarine Research Reserve managed by the California Department of Fish and Game.

Like Baylands Park, Elkhorn Slough is a restored wetlands area. The 105 acres of wetlands adjoining Baylands Park are a largely dry marsh. Elkhorn Slough is much bigger and wetter: at 1,400 acres, it’s the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay.

Mammals we’re most likely to see at Baylands are ground squirrels, rabbits and gophers. In Elkhorn Slough, it’s sea otters, sea lions and bay seals. I’m sure there are many small mammals along the shore, but they’re hard to spot from a boat.

After buying tickets from the captain of the Elkhorn Slough Safari, we boarded a 27-foot pontoon boat — a box riding on a pair of floats — along with about 25 other sightseers. Our guide and captain was Yohn Gideon, a local naturalist and birder.

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Tasmania Time

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

The size of a small dog, it’s the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.

The size of a small dog, the Devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.


Dave North is standing upside down. Or maybe he’s sitting upside down.

He and Akkana Peck left last week for a Linux conference in Hobart, Tasmania. Akkana is speaking at the conference on GIMP, an Open Source alternative to Photoshop.

So they’re both inverted, relative to us.

Most of us know only one thing about Tasmania: it’s the home of the Tasmanian Devil.

The poor critters are endangered, plagued by a communicable form of cancer that causes facial tumors.

Before they left, Mike Nadler asked Dave and Akkana to check to see if water spiraled clockwise as it drained from sinks and bathtubs in Tasmania. He also asked Dave to bring back a Tasmanian Devil.

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