Volasail

“So let me guess,” she says, “you are the guy doing the software.”

“Yeah,” he admits, a little defensive, “but the software is the only interesting part of this whole project.  All the rest is making license plates.”

That wakes her up a little. “Making license plates?”

“It’s an expression that my business partner and I use,” Randy says.  “With any job there’s some creative work that needs to be done — new technology to be developed or whatever.  Everything else — ninety-nine percent of it — is making deals, raising capital, going to meetings, marketing and sales.  We call that stuff making license plates.”

– Crytonomicon, Neal Stephenson

Cruised down south to hang with the in-laws this past weekend.  Spent most of our time driving from grandparent to grandparent so they could all see the baby.  Now that all 7 great-grandparents and both sets of grandparents have seen her, hopefully next week’s trip will be a little more relaxing.

Despite the hectic schedule, I managed to find time for climbing.  Since it’s so freakin’ hot, the only option was to wake up at 5:30am and get to the boulders before it got too hot.

I usually hate climbing at Santee — I’m not a big fan of dime-edged feet and relying solely on the quality and stiffness of your shoes.  However, my buddy Jon took me to a new boulder I’d never climbed on: the “20 Point Boulder.”  It had a few very unique and gymnastic climbs — very rare for the area.  I ticked one v4 and began working on a traverse that a friend had told us was a v2.

My only guess is that the problem lost a foothold somewhere during a recent fire, because that climb was not a v2.  By the time I figured out the sequence, the sun was roasting the rock and I failed to finish.  Unfortunately, I then spent the rest of the day thinking about the climb…which meant another early morning trip to Santee.  I figured out some new beta and sent early Sunday morning.

20-Point Traverse.  V4.