I Ain’t Broke, But I’m Badly Bent
Now that’s country. Amazon.com Widgets
Pet Rock
I love the wallpaper pictures that Patagonia offers free of charge on their website. I particularly love this Christian Pondella photo of Lonnie Kauk leaping from a boulder in the Buttermilks. But when I showed this photo to a friend at work, a person who has done considerable photo retouching professionally, he instantly said the…
Brain Therapy
As I posted last week, I’ve hit an emotional rough patch. A real feeling of burn-out. The cure, according to the proponents of Positive Psychology…and doesn’t the name of that discipline just inspire trust? Anyhow, the cure for depression is to block out significant activities where you can focus on the area of your greatest…
Following Your Happy Trail
Something happened earlier this month and I lost my will to live. Just reached a point where everything seems pointless. A lot of this is because of my job. Much of my effort is going into stuff that I am very qualified to handle, I’m arguably the most qualified and knowledgeable person in the organization…
Reset Button
My astute reader will note that I haven’t posted for a while. Fact is, I’m burnt out. An emotional cinder. Extra crispy. Too many irons in the fire. Too many candles burning at both ends. Too much heat, not enough light. So today I decided to hit the reset button. I purged all the items…
Sunday Sermon: God’s Weekend Project
I’ve been conducting a little experiment for the past couple of months – reading the Bible as if I was having a direct conversation with God. For instance, I’ll ask a question and then see if my daily Bible reading has the answer. Now I’m sure some of you may consider this to be like…
What a 3-Year-Old Can Teach You About Wilderness Survival
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…
Know Your Knot
As I’ve said before, I can’t remember how to tie a knot to save my life. Maybe that’s why I don’t get invited to necktie parties. Here’s a great tip from Make Magazine’s blog: wallet-sized knot tying reference cards to help you remember whether the rabbit goes over the fence or down the hole. Another…
End of the Road for Bodie State Park?
California’s dire budget crisis has left vacationers with the very real fear that up to 220 California State Parks could be closed by the end of the season this September. Right now there’s no telling whether this is a political power play on the part of Governor Schwarzenegger, or how many parks would actually be…
Use Witch Hazel to Cure Posion Oak Rash
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…
To Be a Good Parent, It Helps to Be a Slacker
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…
Middle Sespe Toad-Hugging
Sespe Creek snakes through the heart of the Los Padres forest like a coronary artery. It starts below Oak Springs, south of Ventucopa and flows east until it smacks into the foot of the Hopper Mountain bioregion, finally emptying into the Santa Clara River after a 55 mile journey. Last weekend, while the rest of…
BMW Motorrad’s Viral Campaign to Promote Reckless Urban Motorcycling
BMW Scissors GPS Drawing from Max Rider on Vimeo. Gotta say that running a sometimes-used section of rail line is a hella-high-risk way to draw a picture on a map. Via NaviGadget
Seating a Tire Bead with Flammable Liquid
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…
How to Survive a Cougar Encounter
Sooner or later it could happen to you. Might be in the backwoods of the Sespe. Might happen between the aisles at Trader Joe’s. Either way, it’s a good idea to brush up on your Cougar avoidance techniques. A study from UC Davis examining 185 cougar attacks from 1890 on, seems to suggest that the…