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Today was the first day of the America’s cup between Team USA and Team New Zealand. Everyone was anxious to see how fast against Team New Zealand’s boat Oracle’s boat would be. We guessed that the boats were close in speed and close they are… The first race was close and saw a change of leader happen twice (unseen until today in any previous races with the AC72s). The kiwis made no mistakes, sailing a very good race. The second race was also close but not as close as the first one. That’s two wins for the kiwis. The kiwis left no chance to the Americans. They show that they are fast and sail clean lines, a very hard to beat combo. They will be a lot of analysis and video watching tonight at Oracle’s base, they have to win...

“So we’re going to burning man?” was my wife question when I bought two tickets in May. I was sure I wanted to go, why is not to like at Burning Man? Great art display, cool vehicles, half-naked people and of course a gigantic bonfire at the end! It’s in a middle of the Nevada desert at the end of August. There is no hotel, facilities, cell phone coverage and not even water, how hard can it be? First, Burning Man is expensive! Tickets are $380 and give you the entrance right and access to  portable toilets. Now you have to bring every thing you need to survive (food, shade structure, water) and more importantly you have to collect and bring back with you all the water you are using (also called gray water). You cannot dump your water...

Today, Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton cup 7 win to 1 against Luna Rossa challenge. For the very beginning Team New Zealand was the favorite but today they have proven, they are the team to beat and Oracle Team USA (the defender) should be worried. Those kiwis are fast, really...

We spent a very short weekend in Portland last month (already, time flies). It was supposed to be a break from this crazy year of photography. I took and kept more images in the first 6 months of 2013 than I did in all 2012 (my highest photo count on record). So the trip to Portland was just to enjoy the city. The short answer is I fell in love with Portland! It’s a city where you don’t need a car (amazing in the US), public transportation is top notch, bike paths and bikes are everywhere. Did you know that 8% of portlanders commute to work by bike every day! If you go up on some hills around Portland, you get a great view of the city and if the weather is nice, you can even see Mount Hood (50 miles away). During our weekend, we happened to get to a...

I was rooting for the Artemis team today! Not that I don’t like the Luna Rossa team, it was just that I really wanted the swedish team to win. I didn’t want the italian team to win with a clean sweep. I didn’t get my wish, Luna Rossa sailed a perfect race and they deserved to win, but Team Artemis made several mistakes including two unecessary out-of-bound penalties. It’s also sad for the Artemis team. A win today would have been so right. Congratulation to Luna Rossa for winning the semi-final. They will race against Team New Zealand next Saturday. Like Max Sirena said: “We hope that our design changes can make us more competitive than last time we meet Team New Zealand”. Let’s hope so, otherwise it will be again a...

Bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) are remarkable for their great age and their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. In fact, it seems that one secret to their longevity is the harsh environment in which most bristlecone pines grow. We met our friend Daniel and Paule at the Grandview campground in the Inyo National Forest for the 4th of July weekend. This is a very rudimentary campground but it’s really cheap ($5/day) and really close the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Bristlecone pines in the White Mountains grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3000–3400 m) above sea level. Conditions are harsh, with cold temperatures, a short growing season, and high winds. Bristlecone pines in these high-elevation environments grow very slowly, and in some...