“You know it’s funny whats happening to us. Our lives have become digital, our friends now virtual, and everything you could ever want to know is just a click away. Experiencing the world through endless second hand information just isn’t enough. If we want authenticity, we have to initiate it.”  The opening lines from Travis Rice in the snowboard film “The Art of Flight” really made me sit back and think about what I’ve been doing with my life and how wrapped up in this digital world I really am. 

I’ve always been interested in anything technical and  it’s been an addiction to understand how everything works. From the day I was introduced to computers, I have been consumed by learning and  understanding it’s most intricate complexities. From building circuits and computers to  networking and programming. I’ve had a hand in everything digital, but the other hand has been immersed in a whole other world. A world where anything digital takes a back seat. Adventures are embarked on via 4×4. New places are explored rather than the latest IEEE standard and your biggest worry is a busted axle shaft rather than a server room melt down. Life in the outdoors is much more simple and gives a sense of freedom. This is where digital lives are replaced by a sense of adventure and at times, a dose of adrenaline. Pushing your physical ability and the ability of the equipment you brought along is all part of the fun.

Although 4 wheeling is a much more simple and fun way to spend some time than living in the digital age with every breath, I like to take it a step further. Venture into the outdoors where there is even less complicated equipment required and there is no cap on the potential adrenaline rush. Leave the 4×4 behind and replace it with a snowboard  starting at 11,000 ft, the top of a mountain after a storm dropped a fresh layer of virgin powder. At this moment you’re free to ride as fast as you want, turn where you want, catch air off of what ever may come your way, dodge trees if you wish and do it all on a whim. you’re free.

The possibilities are only limited by your physical ability and unlike anywhere else, here is where putting your mind over matter, matters most.

To experience this sense of freedom without leaving the couch check out the full DVD:”The Art of Flight”

Here is some teaser footage but be sure to check out the full DVD:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The Art of Flight

Snowboarding – Escaping The Digital Age | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

After a weekend in Calico, CA exploring the canyons via Teryx, I put together this 3 minute video.

Enjoy

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Teryx Riding in Calico | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

Due to the building of a new computer, I’ll finally be able to get back into the media side of things. I’m getting ready to make the switch from 10 year old desktop machine that doesn’t play well with modern software to the absolute latest technology enabling me to run my favorite programs in both Windows and Linux at the same time. This is huge for me being that i can now get back to taking pictures and start taking and editing HD video from a Go-Pro camera on trail runs and at 4×4 events for RuggedRocks.com as well as streamline my day to day workflow from sending/recieving e-mail and product design for my primary job at Rugged Rocks. I can now be much more efficient at multi-tasking my rugged rocks work with my side jobs in the IT field from server setup & management to website development and programming. So in short, after technology left me in the dust, things should be well up to speed in all aspects of my broad scope of work.

As far as The Steven Experience is concerend with this technological revamp, this means more documentation on all the cool places that I visit and projects that i get into complete with pictures as well as posting some of my photography from my top shelf.

Bring’n Photography Back | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

Most people these days know me as somewhat of a gearhead and as a nissan truck guru but those who have known me the longest know that I’m a computer nerd at heart.
Over time I have accumulated both the resources and knowledge to build and host websites. If you need a website built to have a personal blog or for a small business, feel free to shoot me an E-mail or even just give me a ring. I’ll take on larger projects on a case by case basis depending on how time consuming my primary job is at the time. Please pass the word along!

Small Websites and Hosting | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

“Hold my beer”, It’s heard when hanging with friends, around campfires and the like. If you didn’t know, this is merely a clue for whats to come next. If you’re new to this phrase, please don’t complain; but instead shut up, hold the beer, grab your camera and pay attention. When you hear the key phrase, it’s clear that the following event is serious enough for the stunt man to part with his beer. “hold my beer” can be safely interpreted into “watch this!”, “get your camera..”, “stand back” or any other phrase signifying the need to document all following actions and to remove yourself from harms way.   The following event may be simply cool, the winning attempt at a meaningless competition between friends or possibly found on an unseen episode of  ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’.

Regardless of if the stunt-man escapes the act uninjured or is hauled off in an ambulance, be sure to return said beer to it’s rightful owner.

There is no way to tell where ‘Hold my beer’ instances originated from, however it’s fact that it’s spread throughout the U.S. and beyond. we know this because of these various you-tube videos that have been posted from various corners of the globe. Enjoy:

“Hold My Beer” – The Interpretation | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

I was browsing around online and found this cool rock crawl video filmed in Johnson Valley at the hammers trails.
enjoy:

The PolyGoats (Un)Official Tin Benders 2011 Trip from Scott Winsor on Vimeo.

Cool Johnson Valley Wheeling Video | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

We hear it all the time, in stories and in casual conversation, people use the word ‘almost’. Instances like ‘I almost got in a fight..’ ,’ I almost rolled my 4×4′ or ‘I almost landed that a trick on my snowboard’ are not all that uncommon. But how close do you need to come to a foreseen outcome to say ‘almost’?

In my opinion there better be some pushing, shoving and severe name calling going on before I hear the word ‘almost’ used in describing a near fight scene.
For 4 wheeling, there is a difference between getting your rig pointed straight at the sky with only the two rear wheels in contact with the earth and merely feeling like 25 degrees off camber is a lot.
On a snowboard, go big. But turning just past a 180 isn’t good enough for the story you want to tell. You should be pulling tricks with complete confidence, in harmony with mother nature, and at the last fraction of a second, that harmonious relationship is broken resulting in a gnarly fall.

I’ll tell you about almost…

What is Almost? | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...

It’s said that everyone in their life gets 15 minutes of fame. What if you were able to pick how you were famous for those 15 minutes?

I decicided a long time ago that I want to be rich and not so famous.  But since we all inevitably get this 15 minutes, I decided I’d spend my 15 minutes at the top of the Google. At first this may sound like a waste but I’m not talking about being the top Steven Lutz, I’m talking about building a website which consists of 6.3 million pages all of which would be at the top for 15 minutes for various search terms simultaneousely. Now lets say for example that these pages are products and this website gets one order for 100 visitors and I pocket 5% of the retail price and in that 15 minutes for argument sake each product gets viewed once, we would have a sale every 63000 visits and if every item sold for $1 I would walk away with a little over $3k. So maybe that’s not too impressive but what if the average retail price was a little more realistic but not too high, say $30? I really couldn’t imagine spending my 15 minutes of fame doing anything but making $100k. That’s of course if the math off the top of my head is correct at 4:30am.

15 Minutes of Fame | The Steven Experience - The Steven Experience - My Adventures, Random Thoughts and Project Notes...