I enjoy good conversation and a good beer or two... "Beer is far more than a drink, it is a token that a man can move his limbs and stretch in safety."
- Erich Remarque
Rick Smolan, a photographer who has worked for National Geographic, has published a fantastic book that discusses a worldwide concern: safe drinking water. The powerful images and essays in Blue Planet Run make it a compelling read. A PDF of the book is available on Amazon for free.
In an interview with Robert Scoble, [...]
I’ve been a fan of simplicity for a while, but I’ve never been able to get it working quite the way I wanted. Turns out my sights were on the future, possibly on the unattainable, rather than on the here and now. Aside from refocusing my personal goals, a la 101 Goals in 1001 Days, [...]
I recently stumbled across the cargo bike community and was amazed at the number of options for folks who want to dump their cars. Clearly, 10-speed commuter bikes have been around for years, but people who want to get groceries or take their kids to daycare have an increasing number of options.
I was really [...]
Have you ever wondered how you could get involved in ham radio?
It’s easy. There is a wealth of information online including study sites, practices tests, and the complete test question pool for each license class. In addition, many local clubs hold classes. In case you haven’t already heard, learning Morse code is [...]
Here are a couple new(er) arrivals to accompany my earlier review of portable cooking systems.
First is a how-to for building a soda-can stove. This concept has been around for a while, and it is widely used by travellers and ultra-light hikers. An ingenious concept - MacGuyver to max.
Next, the wood-gas stove is a concept similar [...]
I learned about the Kelly Kettle on Wikipedia, and Outdoor Idiots has an entertaining article about this fascinating device. It appears the Kelly Kettle was invented by Irish fishermen for making tea in remote locations. With only a limited amount of time and fuel, one can have one or two cups of tea.
It [...]
It’s official: Effective February 23 the FCC will no longer requires learning morse code (CW) to pass any of the ham license exams. Kinda sad and the end of an era. FWIW, CW still has legit uses, and is the best mode of transmission for long distance and lossy conditions. The [...]
If you are interested in emergency preparedness, you should check out the Citizen Corps. As part of the Citizen Corps, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program offers free online training through FEMA.
The main focus is to help out your community after a disaster, although “disaster” can refer to events all the way from a [...]
Business Week has a great list of resources for getting assistance after a disaster. It’s targeted at Katrina victims but contains great links for anyone needing help.
The Seattle Times also has an excellent article on preparing for a disaster, as well as a printable disaster tip sheet.
One of the latest recommendations coming from [...]
I was talking with another outdoor enthusiast about cooking systems, specifically outdoor dutch oven cooking using charcoal briquettes. He brought the multi-fuel pyromid cooking system to my attention. It’s pretty efficient, and has add-ons for baking. The whole unit folds down into a compact package. The literature proposes it as a possible solution to [...]