Photos like this one available in my Etsy Shop

I have a friend who is suffering from Lyme disease. Yeah, you’ve heard of it, because nobody likes ticks. Lyme sucks. It’s chronic, debilitating, and there is very little financial support for those who suffer. So I’m using my photography to donate Kat’s way. Plus, I hope to spread some awareness of Lyme Disease and Chronic Fatigue.

The popular craft and artisan marketplace, Etsy, made setting up my print shop pretty easy. I have plenty of photographs to feature. For a relatively small price you can own a photograph like the one to the right here. For now, prints will be professionally printed on satin photo paper.

So if you are on Etsy, add me to your circle!

Here is a little about Kat’s and her condition:

“Unfortunately so much time had passed between transmission and diagnosis, the bacteria had disseminated and crossed into my brain. I now have late stage (also known as Chronic) Lyme Disease. I would also soon find that Lyme Disease is incredibly controversial and despite strong medical and scientific evidence to the contrary, the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) denies the existence of Lyme disease that persists after 28 days of antibiotic treatment. The IDSA is who insurance companies listen to when it comes to covering treatment. The Social Security Administration also follows their guidelines when reviewing applications for disability.”

You can also be a hero and donate to Kat!

If you want to learn more about Lyme disease, check out Lyme Disease 101, and the movie Under Our Skin.

The next day, we hit up Pebble Beach and Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach. We actually had decent weather for January. On Monday we scored some passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you have never been, this is a must go place if you are anywhere near San Francisco visiting. It’s a great aquarium. I took over 250 photos that day – yikes! I only posted a handful of the best ones over on my Canon s95 Photo Blog.

It was a great weekend!

To confess, I did this unconsciously. Simply lost interest in it all. It might have been because my routine has been thrown off this last year with all the travel I’ve done. Work a 9 to 5 and I might have needed those beers to relax, but I’m certainly relaxed enough now to not lust after them. Plus, spending $5-$10 a night (yeah I like the good stuff), well, that will discourage you too.

Since those three months, with a little eating right and a little exercise, my long time friend Mr. Spare Tire has gone missing. I didn’t intend this, I didn’t expect this, but hey, I’ll take it! I also feel fresher in the morning and am getting better sleep. Not to mention, I’m being nicer to my heart and my liver.

According to the MensHealth book, The Testosterone Advantage Plan:

So there you have it. Probably wasn’t anything you didn’t already know. Especially if your are a trainer or athlete, but not everyone is. I still have drinks, just more socially and not on a regular schedule. I’ve also cut down on sugar and bad carbs and have tried to keep up with the Mens Health Belly Off Workout. My body is thanking me for it and I feel pretty healthy these days.

Taking a lot of pictures, I wanted to find a great way to showcase the best shots, rather then just dumping them into Flickr, which I was doing for a little while. I had been using Tumblr for my travel blog and I liked it’s simplicity and flexibility. So since July I’ve been photoblogging my best photographs on Tumblr and it is going great.

My photos are now being enjoyed by lots of people around the world, made possible by Tumblr. Similar to Twitter, Tumblr has a unique discovery engine which makes good content go viral. So everyday I post new photos and check to see which photos are getting “liked” and “reblogged,” and who’s subscribing to me. I’ve also hooked up FotoMoto to Tumblr so if anyone wants to make prints or share my photos, they can easily do so, and I get a percentage.

That’s pretty much my photoblogging strategy. I’m really just doing it for fun, because I love to take photos. Do you have a photoblog? What do you use? Curious minds want to know.

I remember seeing a friend post a status update on Facebook about a run that he completed so I looked into the app he used called iMapMyRun. I downloaded the application and I’ve now used it twice. I don’t think I’ll run without it again.

iMapMyRun

iMapMyRun uses your GPS to track details such as your speed, distance, elevation, and route. At the end of your run it delivers this information along with calories burned, then gives you the opportunity to share your run info or keep it private.

A host of other features are also available that you can access once you login with your computer, including the ability to sync with your Nike + sensor or other GPS device. Other features include:

• Log you workout type: run, walk, cycle, canoe, swim, etc.
• Calorie budget and food log
• Training plans
• Connect with friends
• Challenges: Join public challenges to help you set goals, motivate yourself, and/or challenge friends.
• View public routes to get new ideas where to run.

So that is that. Download this sweet mobile app, get your butt in some running shoes and jog your way to better health. If you dislike running as much as me…did I mention that I really don’t like to run? Well then…check out my public running playlist I made on Spotify. It keeps me moving, maybe it will for you too. Another great workout I wrote about a while ago called the BellyOff by Mens Health is also paying dividends and I highly recommend it, especially if you don’t belong to a gym.

I found Evernote last year and had used it a little and liked it, but I didn’t have a purpose to use it on a regular basis. I logged back in and cleaned up my notes and I soon found that it is absolutely perfect for writing a novel. I can tag and organize my chapters, and share bit and pieces with friends and family.

If you are a writer looking for a way to write and record your notes which you can take and retrieve anywhere, then try Evernote. It’s working for me and I really like it’s simple easy to use layout, ability to tag and folder items, auto saving function, and it’s sharing capabilities. They have apps for various platforms and other extensions.

Here’s another resource to check out:

• 7 Ways to use Evernote

Let’s see, San Francisco. You can see a lot in just a few days, and in my opinion, San Francisco is a very beautiful city to hang out in. San Francisco’s unique districts each have their own personality and flavor, so study up or just explore. Here’s a pretty good list of stuff to do:

Get a Clipper Card

You can purchase these at any of the BART terminals. The Clipper Card is free, you just load money on it and you can use it on any transportation in the city (except for taxis). Otherwise Muni buses are $2, and BART ranges in fees.

Take a Bike Ride Through Golden Gate Park

Rent bikes and ride through Golden Gate Park and over the Golden Gate. Try and make it all the way to the cliff house. The Haight is just southeast of GGP, so look for a place to rent bikes around there. Golden Gate Park also has the Academy of Art and Science which is a great place to check out.

Marin Headlands

If yourent a car or have a bike, take it across the golden gate bridge and get off at the second exit and head up the hill to the Marin Headlands. You’ll get a beautiful view of the City and the Golden Gate.

Go to a Game!

Giants & A’s (Baseball) – 49ers (American Football) – Warriors (Basketball) – San Jose Sharks (Hockey)
Those are the home teams. Go check out the Giants if they are playing (March-November). The ballpark is right downtown and easy to get to. If you don’t want to buy a ticket, you can visit the Public House, a restaurant/pub at the park. During the game, make your way to right field where you can watch through the fence for free.

Shopping and Mt Diablo in the East Bay

Here’s a hidden gem…Take a trip on BART to Walnut Creek (40 minute ride) and check out Walnut Creek for great shopping and views of Mt. Diablo.

You can stop in Berkeley on the way there or back.

Learn to Climb

Go climbing at Planet Granite in the Presidio.

So there are a million things to do in the city and it changes depending on the time of year, but those are some of my ideas. I’ll add to this list over time.