Shawn Lankton Online

Last weekend I traveled to Denver, Colorado for a “business consulting summer camp.” All in all, it was a nice way to spend a weekend. I learned a lot, met very quality people, wined and dined, and slept at the Ritz. I could get used to being a consultant! Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to work and science, last week I spent some time ascending ice in Alaska! Rome and I rented a car and drove north from Anchorage to the Matanuska Glacier [map]. There we met our guide, got geared up, and headed into the white. It is amazing to see a 26 mile glacier snaking into the huge snow-capped mountains looming all around.

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I’ve been living in Atlanta for years and years now, and the city holds a special place in my heart. I went out yesterday to take some pictures in my neighborhood, the “No-No” district. This is the area just North of North Ave. on the South side of Midtown. “No-No” is my little joke since my hood is just North of the area city marketeers are now referring to as “So-No” (South of North). Atlanta is starting to feel more like London and New York already!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

The beginning of February found me making my way up the West Coast on the coastal Highway 101. My friends Jimi and Rome and I flew out west to present some recent research at a conference. Jimi and I decided to take the long way home and drive up the coast all the way to Seattle. Along the way we met old and new friends, saw some amazing things, and had loads of fun. Check out some of the pictures we took:

Even though we spent a week on Pacific time, I realize that I need to spend a lot more to see even a fraction of what there is to do out there! I might try to spend a month out that way this summer. I left some of my heart in San Francisco, I was inspired and entranced by the beautiful landscape, and Seattle is nothing but great!

This afternoon found me ankle deep in New York City. I stopped by a friend’s office in Harlem to have some lunch, and since then I’ve been hanging out (reading, writing, and programming) at Colombia University in the quad across from the library.

First off, whenever I step out of an airport and start walking around a city I marvel at how quickly life moves. When I ate an apple for breakfast this morning I was nearly 900 miles away from where I sat down to eat lunch. The world is certainly very small.

Something that always strikes me about New York in particular, though, is how it is a wonder just to wander. Some other big cities (Paris comes to mind) have a similar quality. It dawned on me, though why its so fascinating just to look at things. New York is an organic thing. Just as you can look in awe at the bark on a tree (or at least I can), I can see nature’s beauty in the big apple. This is not a city that was planned in the way that a suburban neighborhood is. This city grew up on its own, adapted to its little island, to the throngs of people living here. It says something powerful about the human animal that we can build and thrive in hives like this!

This Saturday a troop of friends made our way out of the concrete and steel that holds Atlanta together and ventured North in search of rocks, trees, birds, and waterfalls. We came to rest in the Tallulah Gorge. This place could still remember when it was an untouched natural wonder. Today, it’s hiking trails have been replaced by paved sidewalks and metal staircases. These staircases and hand-railed trials took us to see some beautiful waterfalls and overlooks, but also led us into the arms of danger…

Last weekend, I spent some time in my hometown of Gulf Breeze, Florida with my dear, sweet, mom and my little sister. There were some lazy days by the pool, and by the beach… lots of napping, and some kayaking.

This Saturday I took my second expidition into the earth. I went with ORGT caving on a trip into Cagel’s Cavern. This cave has an awesome entrance; a 160′ pit that goes straight down. Looking over the edge with nothing but a rope tied to a little tree to keep you from accelerating too quickly towards the bottom can get your heart pumping!However, after a few rappels, you get the trick of it and you are flying down the ropes! What a rush. Inside, its a very nice view to the top. After enjoying that for a few minutes, we went exploring. I like the old quote from inside a hole in the cave somewhere, “Wow, its tight in here… hey… I don’t think there’s a way through… oh wait…. SWEET! Come on!”

We heard that a few times as we were making our way! This is a really cool way to spend a Saturday. Look out for more caving posts as the year goes on. If only there were cool caves that weren’t 200 miles away.

Earlier this week I returned from Phoenix, Arizona. I go there periodically to visit my father who lives there, but on this particular trip, I did something more. A friend of mine who works with the research group I was involved in during my undergrad (CATEA) published a paper to a conference in Phoenix.

The paper was the continuation (and improvement) of a project I started long, long, ago in 2005. In fact, you can check here for some info about it. This paper was so good that it was worth a free trip for both of us to present it at the RESNA conference.
Of course, I didn’t spend too much time inside, dressed up, talking about papers. I spent most of the trip visiting with my dad and his new wife. We relaxed in the back yard, checked out the pash shopping and dining of Phoenix, and hid from the 115 degree heat!
One day we drove North to a cool town called Sedona which has lots of great hiking and rock formations. Here’s me at the end of ‘Long Canyon.’ It was a nice little 10 mile hike, and where I’m standing in this picture is one of the several “Power Vortices” in Sedona. (I certainly felt more powerful than usual!)

I finally put them online! You can find ‘em here:

Europe2007

If you met us in Europe, and took some pictures… remember to share! I’ll put them on this album so everybody can get them.