Thoughts and musings longer than notes.
The state of Maine has legalized switchblades for amputees. Backers of the measure say legalizing switchblades would eliminate a need for one-armed people to be forced to open folding knives with their teeth in emergencies. The state of Maine has legalized switchblade knives for people with one arm via BoingBoing
I’ve heard this before – that humans, like bears, were meant to squat in the woods. But finding the proper bathroom posture is danged inconvenient. It means going outdoors with a trail shovel and bundle of “quail tickets” or leaving sneaker prints on the potty seat. All the other tips featured by this article in…
Candy Chang’s installation project “Before I Die” transforms an abandoned house in New Orleans into a place for people to dream about what could be.
If you want to know more about where you live, and thereby know more about who your are, you can start with the birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has the most amazing site, All About Birds – and like some of the best things in life, it’s free! The site has everything from Birding…
Jaymi Heimbuch puts together an industrial-strength survival pack, the sort you might need to survive a Haiti-style disaster. There are plenty of good resource links here, plus lots of chatter in the comments. Heimbuch’s main complaint? This first aid, survival kit tips the scales at 30 lbs. (Hint, go with LED flashlights and lose the…
There’s a peculiar comfort in a map – it extends the boundaries of our consciousness to the furthest regions, giving a clear picture of relationships that might otherwise be lost in the murky fog of our lizard brains. Maps bring to light new possibilites. Maybe I can get there from here… and reveals existing boundaries…
Jose Luis Rodriguez may have faked this year’s most amazing wildlife photo but he could be responsible for the year’s most awesome meme: three wolves jumping over a fence under a full moon. The photoshopped version of Rodreguez’ photo comes from myconfinedspace.com, a site that recycles NSFW, crude, lewd and silly images, by way of…
There’s nothing worse than going for a morning stroll only to find yourself with the “rubber side up” as they say. Black ice, slippery sidewalks and refrozen snow can be a game-changer for people (like myself) in a certain demographic. I don’t make it to the snow very often, and when I do I’m usually…
Usually I don’t like to use the words “darn” and “socks” together in a sentence, but “Darn Tough” is how Ric Cabot describes the socks his family has been making for over 30 years. Outside Blog has just endorsed Darn Tough in their Gear Army section. I like the fact that these socks are made…
Could you go for 130 days without soap…washing your body with just water? Richard Nikoley gave up soap and shampoo about six months ago and reports that the results are amazing. His skin and hair are soft and silky. His wife comments that he smells good! Nikoley’s post begs some questions. 1. What is Soap…
The number one choice of discriminating bruins? According to the LA Times black bears in Yosemite have come to think of minivans as their own personal “meals on wheels.” Minivans roll into the park wafting the aroma of spilled Cheerios and milk, and the bears seem to have learned that the classic Mom-missile is your…
In the first week one May, 3-year-old Joshua Childers decided to go on a hike. His adventure lasted three days and two nights through a heavy rain and in 40 degree temperature in Missouri’s Mark Twain forest, 53 hours in all. When he was found by search teams what he wanted most was a glass…
Witch hazel is something you may have seen in your mother’s medicine chest, but she probably didn’t tell you why she was using it. Consequently you may not have discovered the extract’s many magical properties. Fact is, witch hazel is good for a lot of things, some that you can talk about in mixed company…
Fitz Cahall of the most excellent Dirtbag Diaries, has a most excellent side project blog in connection with Steve Bohrer and Danny Maynor. Three dads working together to “keep the Stoke” through that long season we call parenthood. The Outdoor Parent is a different kind of blog…one that doesn’t tell you how to keep your…
Don’t try this at home kids! It appears that with spray of flammable liquid (starter fluid, carb cleaner, brake cleaner) you can reseat a bead and inflate an off-road tire that rolled off the rim in a matter of seconds. Of course, it helps if you know hhow much flammable liquid to put in the…
