We didn’t catch a donkey show, but we were in Tijuana, Mexico and did see a Zedonk (photographic evidence below). That’s right, we drove across the border into Mexico. It was fun. My Spanish sucks. We went to some crappy mall initially, of course, don’t take my word on this because I think all malls are crappy. My mother asked some clerk, who barely spoke English, "where do the locals shop". The woman seemed confused and surprised. I know enough Spanish to know the woman was trying to figure out why my mother was asking: "where do the crazies shop" (locals sounds like locos and locos could mean crazies) and I helped clarify the question. She directed us to Via Revolucion, which definitely is not a shopping center frequented by locals and is definitely commonly trafficked by tourists, but it is a colorful strip to walk and shop. And I suspect one could get raging drunk at discos or one of the many strip clubs that line the road were they inclined.

I was unclear how to get to Via Revolucion from the mall. While on the way I asked some police officers I had pulled up next to at a stop light for directions. All the windows of the squad car were rolled down. There were three officers (two men and one woman) in the front seat and three very hip looking criminals in the back seat that had long hair and one wore funky sun glasses. The three cops were super friendly. They conferred amongst themselves and directed me to the next circle, down the road to the left for four or five blocks a right, a left, and another right onto Via Revolucion. I asked for clarification on one of the street’s names (we were speaking Spanish and I didn’t catch the name) and they insisted I follow them instead. I couldn’t believe it. these three cops where going to lead me to the road while transporting criminals! I love Mexico. Anyway, it gets better. In Tijuana they have these crazy traffic circles. it reminds me of Napoli, Itallia. It’s total chaos. While we were navigating the circle our police friends used their sirens to break up the traffic so we could follow them more easily! Unbelievable. Mexico rules. The color. The noise. The people. It’s wonderful.

On Via Revolucion we bought a couple bottles of great tequila: El Jimador Anejo and Centenario Anejo. Both are 100% agave and, in case you didn’t know, anejo (old) means it’s been aged for three years. Also, we bought some bracelets and a couple rings. It’s Tara’s birthday on Sunday, February 11th. If you’re shopping for jewelery in Tijuana and you’re frequenting the touristy sections of town you’ll want to go to El Dorado on Via Revolucion. They actually even have an, albeit crappy, website. Tell them Aaron sent you. 😉 Romulo and Ricardo are the proprietors. Romulo is the silver smith. He’s been making jewelry for 28 years. These guys were great. They were [seemed to be] sincere. They also had the best quality jewelry that we saw and as it turns out many other vendors carry Romulo’s work in their stalls. Some vendors had low quality silver, what I was later told, by Romulo, fake gold, and plastic beads they were passing off as stone. Not that I’m into gold, but I do like stone beads.

Coming back into the United States only took us an hour. Ricardo from El Dorado gave me the advice to always stay in the far right lane when exiting Mexico. I followed this advice and it saved us probably 45 mintues.The trip was loads of fun and I look forward to returning.

Photo set

Out of the mountains of Colorado, into Utah, a sliver of Arizona, and onto Nevada. Tara and I escaped the snow covered ground for the debauchery of Vegas. We hit the road before sunrise because our room in the Ramada Inn stunk of stale cigarette smoke. I woke up in the morning and coughed out something I hadn’t seen since I quit smoking three years earlier. We would have changed rooms, but Ashby was so tapped out, as were we, we didn’t bother. Also, we figured the next non-smoking room was likely going to be as smokey.

We watched the sun break the over the Rockies as we neared Grand Junction. The scenery was stunning. An hour or so into Utah we came across some of the most amazing mountains you’ll ever see, they looked as if the wind had blown them on their side. We stopped at a viewing area to take some photos. Turns out at this viewing area I was standing atop rocks from the Permian extinction that have been thrust upward and exposed. I was standing on rocks were from about 250 Million years ago when the greatest global extinction known to man occurred. It’s beleived that volcanic eruptions in Siberia 251 million years ago began a series of of events that lead to high hydrogen sulfide levels in the oceans and atmosphere and precipitating the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. During this extinction 95 percent of all species on Earth became extinct, compared to only 75 percent of all species in the next major extinction, which is theorized to be when a large asteroid caused the dinosaurs to disappear. When you read up on the Permian extinction it’s a little terrifying. It all with a little global warming. It was all downhill after that. Sound familiar?

After Utah on highway 15 we passed through a small piece of Arizona, about 20 to 30 miles. This was some of the most spectacular scenery of the entire trip. White River Canyon in Colorado was amazing, but this too was brilliant. The section is the Virgin River Gorge. I found this page that describes the highway segment by segment in great detail, very cool. After the gorge you roll out into the desert of Nevada. We were in Las Vegas before 5 PM.

After initially booking a place at the MGM Grand I realized there was no way I could easily slip the cats past the door men. None of the hotels on the strip take cats so we ended up at a La Quinta about a half mile off the strip. After getting the car unloaded for the night we headed for the nearest buffet. Unfortunately it happened to be Excalibur, which sucked. While Tara was with Ashby I played the 3 dollars I promised our renter in a slot machine. He lost. Then I dropped 20 bucks into another machine on my way to catch up with Tara and Ashby. About three minutes later I walked away with $47.75. I broke Las Vegas!! WoooOOOOooo!

• Photo set

With Nebraska behind us we lunched in Sterling, Colorado and spent the night in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Sterling is a town of 1,500, which according to the waitress has "boomed" in the last several years since the state penitentiary opened. It’s in the high desert plains about an hour or more out of Denver. We ate at the closest restaurant to the highway, which happened to be a Country Kitchen. The service was good as the waitresses, like so many people, were enamored with Ashby. The food was what you would expect from a Country Kitchen, which is to say: poopy.

Tara and I sped through Denver and headed into the mountains. This was why I chose this route rather than heading south and cutting across on 40. The route is spectacularly picturesque. We got into Glenwood Springs a little after 6 PM MST and stayed at the Ramada Inn, which was probably pretty nice twenty years ago. We dined at Tequilas, which makes a mean margarita and had some pretty good mexican food. Tara and I have finally learned that kids meals are easily the size of a reasonable adult portion.

I really wanted to stick around for another day in Glenwood Springs and check out the hot springs, but duty called and I needed to be in San Diego by Wednesday so I could make the Content Week conference on Thursday. It’s small and probably a waste of my time, but it’s local and we should be there representing.

• Photo set

On the road to California the food is bad, the cold is worse, and Ashby is cool as ever. Tara, Ashby, and I got on the road late this morning. The temperature, with wind chill, was well below zero. Re-packing the car was a chore in the bitter cold. I don’t know how I could have ever fit everything were it not for the Yakima Skybox. That thing rules! Here’s a shot of our vehicle that was taken later in the day in Iowa.

Notice the "Baby on Board" sign and UNC ram that was supplied by Roy. Tara got the "Baby on Board" sign to deter people from road raging around her. I’m not sure the sign effective is with road ragers. However, It’s been my experience that there are a couple signs you can place on your vehicle that will deter police from ticketing you, no not the UNC ram, but:: 1). "I love Jesus" 2). "Baby on Board". Don’t ask me why, but both have worked for me.

We got on the road at 10:34 AM CST. We made it to Iowa about an hour and a half later. Tara and I stopped for lunch about an hour out of Des Moines at a fancy roadside diner and gas station. It was so bloody cold I had to pry the car’s gas tank flap open with my knife. Although we didn’t eat the buffet, I did shoot a photo of it. Fabulous. The highlight of our meal was when Tara asked the waitress (photo below) if she enjoyed the salads the diner served. Something tells me this server mostly enjoyed the buffet.

Kansas may be flatter than a pancake, but Nebraska, I suspect, is at least as flat as one.

I’m currently writing this from a hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’ve driven by Lincoln several times before, but I’ve never actually been in the town, until now. It’s clean. And what little I’ve seen of the city it seems strangely new. Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska and has a population of 250,000, the main industry is insurance. Odd, insurance. We’ll hit the road very early in the morning and will make Denver, Colorado tomorrow.

Everything is packed. The house is cleaned and ready for our renter. I made the mistake of touching up some paint, which resulted in me having to paint a couple very large walls, one of which was 15 feet high. That sucked. I also had to repaint part of the kitchen because a handyman I hired to help get some things done around the house to get it ready for us to leave the state had used the wrong paint, cream not white. That sucked too. Home Depot is like a black hole. Why is it that if I have to make one trip to Home Depot I end up making at least three? I hate that! I can never seem to get what I need in a single trip. I suppose it’s best that the house have fresh coats paint now. It will surely save us money later. It still sucked.

In preparation for the trip I’ve got my podcasts stacked up on my iPod and some new audio books to tide me over during the 30 hour, 2000 mile drive. I have the route planned. If you like, you can review it. If I had more time I would take a route through Wyoming our mover was telling me about that’s mostly 2 lane highways and not much longer. However, I have to be in San Diego Wednesday for a conference on Thursday and with Ashby an all…we’re going to get the drive done quickly. We’ll be sleeping in or near Omaha, Nebraska tomorrow night. I’ve taken this route before. Tara hasn’t. Hell I think I’ve taken darn near every reasonable route one can take from MN to CA. I considered going south to Oklahama City and cutting across to avoid any potentially bad weather. I took this route last time though to California and stopped off to visit Paul Yellowhorse (an old buddy I’ve known since I was about eight) and I’ve trafficked that souther route from east to west most often recently; so, this time I figured I would take the route through Colorado, which I haven’t done for many years nor has Tara ever seen.

I can’t wait to get on the road. It definitely feels like I’m going home. I’ve also been freezing my ass off today. It’s bitterly cold here in Minnesota. Bitterly cold. I mean really freaking cold. Also, my gloves were packed. I think I lost two fingers today.

I just finished reading Cobra II. Well, I say reading, but I use this loosely. I actually listened to the audio book over the last few days as I packed and cleaned the house. Wow, what a book! I suspected Rumsfeld was an incompent and stubborn Secretary, turns out I was right. Great book. Must read.

Yes, I feel like I’ve mentioned I’m leaving MN here a dozen times. It’s probably getting tiresome me always talking about this. But this post is necessary because I’ve got to supply a post regarding my going home (un)celebration that we had at the Loring Pasta Bar last Friday. I noticed my depature was mentioned here. I wish I had had a chance to meet or get to know this Garrick guy. I remember seeing him once and thinking: "he looks cool, where did he get that name?" I mean come on, he sounds like a medieval baron or something: Garrick Van Buren. I know he’s into podcasting. That’s cool. Anyway, like I talk about in response to PeteE’s comments I feel like I’m leaving the cities with things not quite finished. I’m not going to mull over that again though. Instead I’ll just share photos of the event and a review of the restaurant.

• Photo set

Learn about microformats, which is what I used to write the above review.

Have you watched the CNN podcast In Case You Missed It? You need to check this out if you haven’t. It’s obscenely B-A-D. I guess this is CNN’s attempt to be cool and hip. They’ve got video with a crappy techno-beat layered over it and minimal commentary. Then each transition has one of those brilliant swish noises. Maybe this works with the under 25 demographic. I watched one episode, was awed by how bad it was, and watched parts of a couple other episodes just to see if maybe it was some sick joke. Turns out they actually produce that crap.

On the opposite end of the spectrum you have Democracy Now!, which offers audio and video podcasts. This is without a doubt the best news source I’ve found. I recommend it highly. Another personal favorite is On the Media, which is a weekly program.

Stop Big Media – Tell the FCC to Stop Big Media
The FCC wants to lift media ownership rules and open the floodgates to wholesale consolidation of local newspaper, radio and television outlets. The FCC needs to hear from you before they hand over local media to concentrated giants like News Corp., General Electric and Clear Channel. Big Media’s drive to control local outlets stifles the competition and diversity that are the lifeblood of a democratic media system.

The FCC under the present administration, more so than ever before, has been facilitating the consolidation of media under the umbrella of only a handful of large corporations. This kind of monopoly is detrimental to our democracy. Local media outlets are quickly fading away. Aside from this stifling democracy, do you really want to hear the same friggin’ Daniel Powter song about his bad day over and over, even as you travel 2500 miles across county?!

Speaking out about this will take you two minutes. Click the link above, complete the form, VOILA! You’ll have been heard by the FCC. Do this immediately, Comments are due January 16

I have been reading about microlenders for a while now. I’ve thought a couple times: man, I wish I could help these lenders, or better yet, be a microlender and finance entrepreneurs myself. I just found Kiva, which allows me to exactly this. It’s amazing. Become a loaner now! You can donate as little as $25 and you select the entrepreneurs you wish to lend to. Tara and I have just lent to two entrepreneurs. The details follow.

Vasil Mindov

Location: Bourgas, Bulgaria
Activity: Food Production and Sales
Loan Use: To buy a packing machine
Loan Repayment Term Range: 14-18 months

Vasil Mindov has special engineering education but he was not able to find an engineering job so after his graduation he started to work as a restaurant manager. In 1990 he decided to start an own business and opened one of the first grocery stores in the city. Later when the big food chain stores opened their stores in Bourgas Vasil had to close his grocery. Then two years ago he opened a small manufacture for cereal and cornflakes. He has no serious competition and the products he makes are very attractive. Now Vasil Mindov needs a packing machine for his manufacture. The loan amount is $ 2000.

Maria de los Angeles Castellon
Hamburguesas Mary

Location: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Activity: Restaurant
Loan Use: Buy ingredients and equipment
Loan Repayment Term Range: 12-18 months

Maria Castellón began her business a year ago; she has a Snack store in which she sells hamburgers, hot dogs, quesadillas, and sodas. She has great season which has allowed her to stay in the market and get more clients, that is why she has planned to buy more ingredients and equipment for her commercial space, so she is soliciting a loan of $1,500.00 that she expects to pay in 1 year.

So, you may think: yah right, you’re never getting this money back! Actually, Kiva to data has a 94% repayment rate. Also, from what I’ve read about microlenders the repayment is typically in the 90 percentile. For the recipients of these loans this could mean entry to middle class and could potentially benefit their families for generations to come.

The following explanation is taken from Kiva’s one-pager explaining itself.

What is Kiva.org?

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through loans for the sake of alleviating global poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions (MFIs), Kiva lets you lend as little as $25 to help fund small businesses run by low-income entrepreneurs around the world.

How does it work?

Kiva’s model is similar to eBay. Microfinance institutions around the world post up profiles of qualified local entrepreneurs online. Lenders can then browse and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. Kiva aggregates loan capital from individual lenders and transfers it to MFI partners to disburse and administer. As loan repayments are made by the entrepreneur, the MFI remits funds back to Kiva. Once the loan is fully repaid, Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-loan it to another entrepreneur.

Social Impact

Most of the poor in the developing world are self employed entrepreneurs. A small amount of affordable capital can dramatically change the life of an entrepreneur and their family. Despite
the fact that over 10,000 MFIs exist worldwide, less than 10% of the global poor have access to affordable capital. Kiva connects MFIs to a new source of low cost, flexible capital – individuals. This additional capital helps MFIs reach more clients in their local community.

Early Progress

Since concluding an initial beta round in Uganda in October 2005, Kiva has expanded to MFI partners 11 countries (see map). Kiva has also established key relationships with PayPal (free transactions) and Microsoft (research grant to enhance Kiva’s web interface with MFIs). Kiva has also received significant early coverage in the blogosphere and press. Kiva is on track to raise over $1M from +10,000 internet lenders and expand to 25 countries by the end of 2006.

: I have to point out I discovered Kiva through Mike’s Blog. Also, Mike has offered to match lending for each person that notifies him. He kindly matched my lending for Vasil and Maria. I’ve mentioned Mike here previously, a wonderful fellow.

That’s free like speech, not like beer. I received a link to this article in Minnesota Technology magazine today. It has a short piece about wikis and MindTouch. I wonder where my free knowledge shirt went. I love that shirt! This is what my focus has always been. Knowledge should be open and free (within reason). Obviously I’m not talking about publishing the recipe to saren gas, but I am talking about, among other things, opening up how we manufacture and engineer. Imagine if all our engineering were open and accessible to anyone who had the desire to review and contribute. I’m talking about chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, software, aeronautical, whatever engineering. People could review, contribute, and assist in improving. What if, for example, an electric car’s design, manufacturing, parts purchasing, etc was completely open? Think about how quickly this could improve. Surely there is more overhead in manufacturing than in software, but the process would certainly be improved were it open. Sticking with the electric car idea, perhaps all the laid off auto-workers could even start their own boutique car company. It’s not impossible or unrealistic. The costs of goods sold are significantly lower than what they used to be in car manufacturing. What’s the business model? The same that exist for open source software. Let’s say for the electric car it could support and services.

: I should have known. I mentioned this to Brian, the electric car example that is, and sure enough there is a post at MAKEzine about an open source car, which is really just a bunch of useful links on the topic. I would really like to explore this further. Especially since it would actually be practical for me now that I’m moving somewhere other than Minnesota, which simply wouldn’t be conducive to an electric car with my commute.