Showing posts with label Not at work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Not at work. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Decamping for the weekend

We went on a small tour this past weekend... destination was a place called Parker Pie in West Glover, Vermont, about 50 miles north of here on some of the most beautiful back-roads you'll find anywhere. If you like country-style pizza joints with friendly service and delicious beer, then this place is for you!


One might wonder what this blog entry has to do with Ursa Major... well, actually, not very much at all! Except for the fact that we believe it's essential for entrepreneurs to get away from their desks on weekends and do what they love. In our case, we love exploring on bikes and skis.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Spring is in the air

On days like yesterday, there's no excuse NOT to get outside. Ranch Valley cruise.

Pretty soon the bears will be coming out of hibernation...

Friday, February 26, 2010

Global HQ... not quite

We wish this was global HQ for Ursa Major, but it isn't. Give us some time...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Believe it or not, we're @ home working!

Local Severe Weather Alert for Stowe, VT
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY...  THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON CONTINUES THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SNOW ACROSS THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY AND NORTH CENTRAL VERMONT...UNTIL 1 AM EST THURSDAY.  * 10 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED BY TONIGHT. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN.  * SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES WILL CONTINUE TODAY...AND TAPER OFF THIS EVENING. SOME RAIN MAY MIX IN WITH THE SNOW THIS AFTERNOON.  * HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL PRODUCE VERY POOR VISIBILITIES AND HAZARDOUS TRAVEL.  * THIS WILL BE A HEAVY WET SNOW...WHICH MAY CAUSE POWER OUTAGES AND DOWNED TREE LIMBS.  PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
This on top of 14" of heavy snow last night! Just in time for the Stowe Derby. Oh yeah...

Feels like we're the only people in town working today and I'm sure that's true! Not for long however...

Monday, February 22, 2010

Testing the Big Bear's mettle on snow

 It feels great to be back in the Green Mountain State! Winter's still in full effect up here and we're making the most of it by trying our luck at both the Stowe Derby this coming weekend and also Peak Pitch next week at Bolton. While the Stowe Derby and Peak Pitch seem to have little in common aside from snow and skis, they're in fact both about survival! More gruesome details to follow here soon.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Upper Old Camp Trail

Testing out that SPF 13 again... Tough to beat the quiet woods on a
day like this.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Inspired by backcountry skiing

More brand inspiration. Came across these Rossignol BC70 skis last year up at the Trapp's cabin.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Marketing out in the wilderness

We see these signs from time to time along trails in this area. They're posted to help trail-goers find and stay on trails. This can be very helpful when you're on a trail for the first time or if the visibility is poor (snowstorm, fog, cloud cover).

Tubb's is a for-profit company that makes snowshoes and other gear so I take it this is a marketing exercise. I'm curious to learn more... On the one hand, it seems like it could be a good way to create goodwill with potential customers; on the other, I have serious doubts about commercial messaging out in the wilderness. What if state forests started auctioning off trail-marker signs every 25 yards?

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sky Top Trail

Testing out our All-Season Face Protector with SPF 13. It works!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Aaahhh New York

Blistered peppers and sea salt, in case you're wondering.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Finding our pace and rhythm

It's only day two of the new year and we can feel ourselves getting sucked into the start-up morass. It seems like there's always more to do! And, in fact, there always is. If you like to work, it's easy to keep going... and going... and going. A slippery slope, even if you love what you do, and unsustainable.

So it's a good time to remind ourselves that one of the reasons we moved up here away from the city to launch Ursa Major was to slow down the manic, full-throttle pacing that is often associated with urban start-ups and find our own healthy rhythm up here in the woods! 

We've been pretty good at doing that (usually sneaking out for a run or bike or hike or x-c ski late afternoon, then working for an hour or two before/after dinner) and we're convinced this leads to better thinking, less stress and hopefully a greater chance at long-term success. Time will tell!

Of course a bustling urban environment also has much to offer a start-up, including a vibrant cultural scene and lots of energy, people and possible connections, all of which feed creativity. To be honest, we like having access to both Vermont and NYC for different reasons and hopefully Ursa Major will reflect this.

The photo you see above was taken yesterday (or maybe the day before... ) while x-c skiing up one of our favorite local trails, Oslo, at the Trapp Family Lodge. It feels like it's been snowing every day up here since mid-December. And it probably has! Gotta love the four seasons in New England.

Photo(s): Oliver