derrick
The Don Ho Solution
Published January 25, 2012 | 
Now here’s a bit of interesting news. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Makers of great big ships among other things.) has come up with this cool, efficient, and dare I say, “fun” way to cut up to 25 percent of CO2 emissions from large cargo carriers. Heck, they’ll even go a bit faster as well! The big idea? Blowing bubbles!
No Parking
Published January 24, 2012 | 
Now here’s the real problem with outdoor recreation during the winter months… No parking. Oh sure, the roads get plowed. Even that crazy road that climbs the hill to nowhere gets plowed. The driveway at the dentist’s office gets plowed. I mean, who really wants to go there?? And you can bet that some dude in a 4×4 will be up at 3am plowing the drive-through lane at the fast food joint. Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat, nor hail (Not even the gloom of night!) will keep us from our daily Big Mac.. Continue reading
The Real 2012 Outdoor News From CES?
Published January 23, 2012 | The coolest news for paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts may have come not from Outdoor Retailer’s 2012 Winter Market, but from the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show where new nano-technology was introduced that may soon bring us all waterproof smart phones and tablets. It’s hard to imagine another innovation that has such potential to actually change how we do what we do when it comes to exploring our wild outdoors.
Let’s face it, most of us are getting pretty tech savvy these days and our electronic gizmos are becoming an important part of our outdoor experience. Like it or not, we’ve followed the curve from paper maps, charts & compasses to GPS to smart phones and tablets without much of a hitch. We also know that when it comes to navigation, charts, weather and even photography these days, there’s gizmo and an app out there just perfect for our needs. The problem is that it’s pretty risky taking a smart phone or tablet out in inclement weather, let alone on our kayak! Experience has taught us that even electronics designed and advertised as “water proof” rarely are, no matter what they say on the box. Dry bags work, but are not a great solution either. They often just get in the way, either being too bulky or too thick for our sensitive touch screens to work properly. Well, things might be about to change.
At the recently held Consumer Electronics Show a company called HzO demonstrated its new “WaterBlock” system that basically covers every part of your electronic gadget in a thin, waterproof nano-coating. At the show they demonstrated how treated iPhones and Android devices will still function when under water. (See the video above) How cool is that? This may be the first step toward a world where we can bring our smart phones and tablets out into our watery world with out a second thought…. Well, that is until we realize we can’t get a signal… Keep your compass handy!
More:
Posted in More Gear Reviews, Outdoor Recreation, Paddle Gear, Paddling | 
electronics, HzO, waterproof | 
5 CommentsThe Season of Sticks
Published January 5, 2012 | 
The brown season is upon us here in central Wisconsin. Well, it’s nearly brown, mostly brown, primarily brown. Yes, there’s some snow, some ostracized bits of white clinging to the edges of the roads and hugging the walking trails. These miniature mountainous ranges of white are all that is left to remind us of this season’s occasional short snowfalls. Snow that had not been pushed or plowed into serpentine heaps has long since receded into the earth. Occasionally hidden in the shadows of the forest or tucked at the foot of the tall prairie grass, a small smattering of snow remains, just enough to make anyone who complains of having “no snow” a liar. Continue reading
Posted in Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Quixotica, Random Thoughts | autumn, hiking, winter | Leave a commentThin Ice & The Forward Stroke
Published January 3, 2012 | 
I’m no forward stroke guru. Thank the gods! We’ve got too many of those types already! Still, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned along my never-ending path to paddling enlightenment. Like, if you want to learn to have a great catch, paddle in thin ice. What’s the catch? Continue reading
New Years… Whatever…
Published January 2, 2012 | 
OK. So I suppose I should do some sort of New Year’s post. I actually forgot it was New Years until halfway through yesterday. A Toast! ”Speech! Speech!” For me, 2011 was a bit like an iPhone photo of a salt truck. The content was really only mildly interesting to me, and soon forgotten all together. It was ok, but not high quality and all-in-all it was a bit subdued, even a little blurry. The upside is that many folks had that sort of year so I’m not alone. In fact, many folks had a much worse year, so I should feel better than I do I suppose. If we’re honest, we all have those sorts of years.
In the end, I don’t even want to imagine what 2012 will be like.. I’m not all that into ritualistic resolutions that are born of self recrimination and soon lead to more disappointment. There are better routes toward self-improvement. For what it’s worth, I’ll take 2012 as it comes. If in the end, it’s nothing more than another low quality photo of a boring subject, I’ll remember to be happy that I had the camera to take it all in, in the first place… Welcome to 2012. .. “And they’re off!”
Well, that’s a gloomy read.. I suppose I could have just as easily have posted.. I feel fine.. Aww, but where’s the fun in that?
O.K. So let me be honest here. I’m dreaming of summer. I’ll admit it. I don’t know what ever came over our silly ancestors as the continued to move north way back in the day. Sure, it was probably summer as they traveled further and further north toward the top of the earth. At first, things probably seemed pretty sweet. What more could you ask for than open fertile land, lots of animals and air conditioning? Yeah, but come November they had to be thinking, “What the hell are we still doing here?” Next thing you know they were all huddled in caves around a dwindling fire and just hoping the meat would hold out. And they stayed?! Idiots! Continue reading →