Working a Minute at a Time (on Vacation)

My new rule is I work a minute at a time— when on vacation. 😂

This rule has been working well for me because it balances two real-world concerns: One, unplugging from work (mostly) when on vacation. Two, keeping up with work just enough that I don't come back to being completely snowed under by a blizzard of email and Slack messages.

What can I do in one minute increments? Not much— and that's the point. One minute is enough for me to browse my inbox once a day and delete spam and automated messages of low importance. Just deleting all that crud once a day really helps avoid the feeling of being snowed under after a week away or, in the case of our New Zealand trip last month, just over two weeks away from work. I no longer get that "OMG, 300 new messages!" shock upon returning. After New Zealand there were only about 50. 😅

Mexican Dark Beer Comparison

Recently I got to try two Mexican dark beers head-to-head. Modelo Negra has been one of my mainstays for years and is widely distributed in the US. The challenger this round, Bohemia Oscura, is, well, pretty obscure in the US. Its more common sister, Bohemia Original, is available in most stores though not as widely in restaurants as Modelo. I have a few bottles of Bohemia Oscura that I bought in Mexico a few weeks ago and hand-carried home via Phoenix Let's see how they compare!



These two beers represent the same style. They are both dark lagers. The style is also known as Munich lager (based on where the style is popular) or Vienna lager (based on the one of the varieties of hops used in their brewing).

The beers look virtually identical in the glass. The Bohemia, on the left in the photo above, looks a touch lighter than the Modelo, but that's more an artifact of the lighting than the beers themselves.

The beers taste nearly the same, too. Tasting them forward and back without food, I was hard pressed to find a difference between them. They both have the rich, sweet taste, but not overpoweringly so, that's made Modelo Negra one of my go-tos for years. I'd say the Bohemia had a slightly sweeter flavor, but the difference was barely there. I'm not sure I could tell one from the other in a blind test.

Enjoying these beers with food, their similarity continued. It was hard to tell them apart. That also means it was hard to call one better than the other. As much as I've like Modelo Negra for many years, I think the Bohemia is a hair better because of its ever-so slightly sweeter taste. Though because they are so close I wouldn't go out of my way to find Bohemia Oscura when Modelo Negra is available. ...Which means I'll be sticking with Modelo once I finish my last few bottles of Bohemia Oscura because Oscura isn't sold anywhere around here.

Another Shoulder of Mt. Ruapehu, Another Surprise Waterfall

I've said it many times now in a bunch of blogs, our day-long visit to Tongariro National Park in New Zealand last month was a packed one. ...Of course, the reason I've said that many times is that there are so many things to write about! And here's yet another.

As we returned from our beautiful hike to Taranaki Falls both Hawk and I were admiring the far-off views of Mt. Ruapehu. Clouds were still circling its 9,177 ft (2,797 m) summit but there were often clear views to the mountain's distinctive triple peak.



"How about we drive up the road and see what kind of views we can find?" I proposed.

"Sure," Hawk answered, "As long as we leave time for hiking Tawhai Falls." Tawhai would be the the fourth waterfall track on our list for the day.

So we drove up the road, stopping at multiple pull-outs along the way to appreciate the scenery. Though in the photo above I had not pulled over the car over to the side but merely held my phone out the window with a one-hand grip to take a picture. 😅



As with our visit to Turoa on the southern flank of the mountain this morning, the road ends at a ski resort. Though this one, Whakapapa Village, was operating. ...Not for skiing, because as you can see in the photo there's only snow at the very top of the mountain, and even there it's only spotty. But at least here the ski lift was operating... to take visitors to a restaurant a little higher up the mountain than road's end.

Another similarity between Turoa and Whakapapa was that we spotted a waterfall on the way up. This one was quite distant from the road, though, so we passed it quickly on the way up intending to check it out more carefully on the way down.



Indeed this waterfall is distant from the road. Distances can be hard to estimate in wide-open landscapes like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a solid mile from the closest vista point along the road. The photos above and below I made using a telephoto lens on my camera.



Yet another similarity between this roadtrip and the one earlier in the day is that the road was almost empty. Each time we saw only a few other cars. The relative solitude up here was pleasantly surprising after how crowded the parking at the previous trailhead was.