Tag Archive for 'california'

Bad Ads - A Political Sidestep

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on November 3, 2008
in Politics
. 8 Comments

It came to my attention this morning that Modern Hiker was getting some Google Adsense advertisements for California’s Yes on 8 campaign — the ballot initiative that aims to eliminate the currently-existing right for same-sex couples to marry in the Golden State.

I sincerely apologize if anyone came to my web site looking for hikes and found that message on the sidebar. I do not in any way support an effort to enshrine discrimination in a constitution, and I think Yes on 8’s campaign has been one of the nastiest, misleading political efforts I have ever seen. Regardless of how you feel about gay marriage, singling out a single group to have its rights removed is wrong. That is not democracy. It’s Tyranny of the Majority.

Obviously, this is a hiking blog — not a political one. I highlight local environmental issues from time to time, and that’s as far as my political writing for Modern Hiker usually goes — but Yes on 8 forced my hand with this one.

Tomorrow is Election Day. It’s an important one, especially for Californians. Don’t skip casting your ballot — and when you’re done, go hit up a peak to celebrate our great democratic experiment.

Oh, and if Yes on 8 is smearing up your web site, fix it with these instructions.

… and because those other ads may still show up for a few hours, let it be known the following political links ARE endorsed by Modern Hiker:

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Update: It’s also happening on Two-Heel Drive and Calipidder. Get out of our hiking blogs!

Garmin 24k Map Update

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 23, 2008
in GPS, Gadgets and Gear, Technology and maps
. 0 Comments

nullReader Bruce was poking around a post I did on free Garmin-compatible map alternatives from a while back. In the post, I wrote that I hadn’t bought any MapSource maps for my GPS unit for three reasons: 1. You can’t transfer maps from a National Geographic Topo program onto the Garmin units and I HATE closed systems. 2. Hiker-friendly 24k resolution for Garmins was limited to National Parks and recreation areas, and 3. They’re expensive ways to get information that is essentially free to the public … given a reliable printer and some free time.

What can I say? I’m a New Englander. I hate spending money.

Bruce was similarly frustrated — and since the free options GPS Tracklog rounded up have made little progress in making more California based maps, it appears we’re up a certain scatalogically named creek without a paddle … or map.

Garmin has been working on solving one of those problems, and may have convinced me to drop 99 bucks on some maps — because they’ve finally started releasing regional 24k resolution map packs.

Right now, they have one pack for California and Nevada, and another for Washington and Oregon, available only on MicroSD cards. There are no announced planned release dates for further packs, but we can assume (and hope) they get here quickly.