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!
The 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 commentNew 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?
Frickin’ Kayakers
Published December 29, 2011 | 
“Is it worth risking your life for a fish?” Good question from a spokesman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission a day after authorities rescued 6.. Let that sink in… 6, Again, 6! capsized fisherman from Chesapeake Bay a couple weeks back. [ Read the full story here. ] No wonder there are so many folks who think kayaking is crazy. Well, no. What’s crazy is going out into potentially dangerous situations without any clue how to deal with it if something goes wrong. In the vernacular of the day, “Really?” Continue reading
Waterline
Published December 20, 2011 | 
It’s that time of year. You know, the time of year when you finally get to catch up on all the video games you bought but never played, and dig in to all those old episodes of Ghost Adventures.. Frankly, I love Ghost Adventures. This show has single-handily proved to me that ghosts don’t exist and what’s more, it’s educational… What better program could you ask for to teach your child all about critical thinking? Yeah, well.. Between the ”how-did-you-get-that?” EVPs and that ghostly Ovilus language database thingy… Continue reading
I’m A PC… Sometimes…
Published November 23, 2011 | 
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes – bowie
Gear wars are gear wars. It doesn’t matter if it’s paddling, cars or technology. Lendal or Werner? Valley or Current Designs? Chevy or Ford? Whatever. The important question for any sane person is what is the best tool for the job. When that doesn’t narrow the field, it’s all just a matter of personal taste. Of course there’s no accounting for taste! That’s probably why we now own our first Mac. Continue reading
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 →