The nice weather in Palo Alto, which seems to be stuck in eternal spring, somehow reminded me of the other extreme — 1816, the “Year Without a Summer.”

In that year, a volcanic eruption caused a pronounced cooling effect on the northern hemisphere. Ice on lakes in July? Pennsylvania had it. Widespread famine? Europe experienced it. The good news is that the climactic abnormality helped to spur invention, exploration, and creativity (e.g., a precursor to the bicycle, travel west from New England, and Frankenstein)

I wonder if our current climate change will spark such ingenuity?

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

It’s done so much in California that it’s become part of the stereotype: surfing!

On Sunday morning, Tyler and I drove to Santa Cruz to experience the thrill firsthand. Neither of us had surfed before, so we took lessons at Cowell’s Beach.

Thanks to wetsuits and a clear sky, the water hardly seemed cold. We joined dozens of others playing in the surf, riding the waves towards the beach before paddling back out. Time flew by. It was exhausting yet strangely relaxing.

Now I understand why people become surf bums.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

I haven’t forgotten about the 100/100/100 challenge. The posts for yesterday and today will be up as soon as I have access to a real keyboard.

Hints of what’s to come:

• Surfing in Santa Cruz
• Endless spring in Palo Alto
• The Stanford d.school
• Winding roads
• How a bicycle really works
• And more!

I took a stroll around Stanford this morning. This happens to be “admit weekend,” so the campus was awash in a sea of prospective freshmen. I saw them, and I suddenly felt very old.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

I’m writing this on the world’s most unusable keyboard, so this will be very short.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)