Summer Doldrums

Last weekend was a tranquil affair involving sleeping late, coffee at the Mockingbird, and getting carried off by bugs from the Bethel mountain bike trails.  Caught up on some reading, but didn't quite finish any books worth mentioning.

Maybe more later, maybe just take a break for a bit here.

In the meantime, here's a tale of climbing a mountain and rigging a temporary 160 meter antenna.  I envy the guy and his bearably cool weather over across the pond, though I'll be glad to be on the Gulf coast and not atop a windswept mountain in just a few months.  Got to give 160 meters QRP a shot next winter.

Music Review: OCMS "Volunteer"

Old Crow Medicine Show is back with a new album, and it's a strong showing.  Tucked between a mix of bring-down-the-house string band classics (Flicker & Shine,  Shout Mountain Music, Elzick's Farewell) and some more reflective songs about family and downtime (Homecoming Party, Whirlwind), there are tunes that are a little more Southern-fried than their usual fare (Dixie Avenue and Look Away, for two).  One song, A World Away, could almost be an early Jimmy Buffett tale with its lyrics of longing to be on the inside and saltwater harmonica backing.


Overall it sounds like OCMS is expanding their subject matter, but incrementally.  In a recent short interview on Route 650, Ketch Secor talked about one of the songs, Old Hickory, as being an ode to a fictional musical hero.  Blending names we're vaguely familiar with along with Andrew Jackson's nickname and evocative phrases – shades the porch of a house that's been torn down – it's a story we all know but don't quite remember.  That pretty well sums up the entire album.  In many respects it puts me in the same mood as R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction" but with OCMS's vastly superior musical skills.

It's a small but noticeable step up from some of their other very good recent albums.  If you don't have any of their other albums beyond the eponymous one (you know, the one with with Wagon Wheel), this is the one to go buy.

Seaside Continues

Article recommended by The Older Brother:
New Urbanist Seaside Paradise Celebrates 25 Years, by James Kunstler

If you haven't read the book Suburban Nation, written by the architects largely responsible for Seaside's overall design, you owe it to yourself to do so in the near future.  Everyone's rushing around wondering what the hell's wrong with America these days.  Maybe if we weren't so distracted by an hour commute in one direction followed by a 45 minute drive to the new strip mall on the far edge of town, we'd have time to sort these things out.  Maybe if we had places to sit and talk with friends – without having to drive a half-hour to get there, meaning that it never quite seems to happen – we'd be able to get past some of our differences and put the "civil" back into our civilization.

Remember, Seaside was built on the cheap on what was essentially wasteland.  It only later became expensive as a reflection of its underlying value.  Value to human beings who were looking for a sane place to live.

Summer Solstice on Thursday

Just so you don't forget to wear sunscreen, this year's summer solstice is Thursday.  The click-of-the-moment will be at 5:07 am CDT, which I fully intend to celebrate by sleeping in for approximately another hour.

Later in the day beginning at 4:30 pm CDT, the BBC will begin their annual shortwave midwinter broadcast to Antartica.  You can find some more details, including frequencies, over at The SWLing Post.  I plan to celebrate this event by leaving work sometime during the subsequent hour.  Were it not for the blasts of RF noise from some as-yet-unlocated source in my neighborhood around that time of day, I'd probably come home early and give it a try.

Around New Orleans

For your weekend web-surfing:

New Orleans Rocket Scientist, Barbecue Pitmaster to Host PBS's "Nourish"

A Brief History of Central City

Spain's King and Queen Visit New Orleans

The first two are courtesy of The Darling Daughter, while the last one popped up in a random glance at the news.  Interesting things going in the general area.

We're Number 4!

According to Expedia.com, Bay St. Louis is #4 on their list of the Ten Most Beautiful Towns in America.  Here's the article at the Sea Coast Echo.

Really though, after a forced make-over in the last decade The Bay's looking pretty good these days.

Scratch My Back with a Lightning Bolt

No not literally, not even a close call.  It's just a lyric from a Jimmy Buffett song.  But these last few days I've been dodging between thunderstorms while trying to road bike, and it has become a little challenging.  Mostly it's a matter of looking at an animated radar map and trying to out-guess exploding thunderheads, and then exercising a willingness to scrub a ride at the first hint of trouble.  So far so good.

Not even worth trying to mountain bike for the time being.  Trails are too wet and it's too far to drive to just pack things in in a timely manner.  Ah, it'll clear up soon, say about October.

In the meantime, we can all enjoy some Buffett songs and fiddle on some indoor projects.

Ultralight Backpacking? Getting Started

OK, so that last post pretty much said "you've got to go ultralight if you know what's good for you."  I am such a hypocrite on this too, because my gear is nowhere near ultralight.  But let's get started anyway, with this post from Section Hiker: Ultralight Ultra-Fast Backpacking Makeovers.  Their sensible method is to start with the heaviest components a backpacker usually carries: pack, tent, and sleep system.  Minimize the weights there and the work is mostly done.

In that article, the writer at Section Hiker puts together three sets of basics: inexpensive, 6 lbs for $623; moderate, 4.6 lbs for $1017; and expensive, 4 lbs for $1435.  Even the inexpensive option is a chunk of change, but comparing to say getting started in mountain biking, these are all bargain prices.  What's more, I don't think that even the money for the expensive option here would get you past the initial consultation for knee replacement surgery.  It's something to keep in mind.

BTW, the same items from my gear total out to 9.5 lbs.  Not ultralight, but on the flatlands around here it's working pretty well and I'm not having any particular difficulties.  However, I do need to sweat down the total weight of some of the other items before backpacking season starts again next fall.

Anyway, go read that article at Section Hiker and read Nutall's book.  Those two will get you started in the right direction.  Alright, enough of this backpacking and camping business until fall.

ps, 5/13: Before you run out and go buy some wonder-fiber ultrasuperduperlight backpack, it's worth reading these three reviews of Osprey's new sub-2 pound Levity backpack: GearJunkie | Section Hiker | Outside   As appealing as dropping two pounds automagically may be, ultralight packs have some drawbacks in durability and haul weight.  Something to think about if you want to throw in an extra five pounds of radio gear and go bushwhacking.  On the whole, glad I got what I got.

Backpacking Book: A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike

A couple of weeks ago here I mentioned briefly meeting Rick "Risk" Allnutt, the author of A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike and subsequently picking up his book.  If you're thinking of taking up backpacking beyond short day hikes, you really owe it to yourself to get and read this one.  The most important part of it all is the "why" of ultralight backpacking.  It's not about just having more spring in your step and to commune better with the wilderness, which is the usual way ultralight is presented.  Nor is it about some "my pack is lighter than your pack" competition.  (it happens; go look on youtube)  Rather, it is to head off debilitating, trip-ending injuries from hauling too much crap around on a set of half-century old knees.  Afterward the fun part of hiking is greatly enhanced by not going around sore, to be sure, but the important thing is to keep yourself in the game.

The book is in four main sections, first centering on the three main hike-enders and then on a great solution to tie it all together.  The trip enders are: blisters and chafing, knee pain, and losing the will to hike.  The solution, hinted at above, is to keep your pack weight down to about 15 pounds.  This includes food but not water, which is slightly different than the usual "base weight" so many backpackers quote.  Base weight, by the way, is everything in your pack but expendables such as food, water, and stove fuel.  The thinking here is that while the load of expendables will fluctuate, the base weight will remain constant.  Back to Allnuttl's total weight metric, it is a slightly different but realistic way of thinking about the problem, and at least as valid as the more common base weight figure.

So what's my take on this?  The guy's an M.D. and has more trail experience than I do, so I'm inclined to listen.  Face it, it's a hell of a lot cheaper to buy and haul around titanium bits in your pack than it is have titanium bits implanted to replace the knees you wore out hauling around cheap, heavy gear.  More fun too.  What's more, while Allnutt is specifically addressing the over-50 set in his book, it's never too early to stop needlessly tearing up your body.  We'll get to it in the next post, but ultralight gear doesn't have to be significantly more expensive than regular-grade lightweight backpacking gear, especially if you're starting from scratch.

Ham Radio: More Than Fun & Games

Sailor Grateful for Maritime Mobile Service Network Assistance, story at the ARRL site.  The summary is that the husband of a couple sailing in the Pacific 200 miles off the coast of northern Mexico had a medical emergency.  The MMSN got them linked up with the US Coast Guard in southern California and their on-duty MD, and ultimately arranged for timely transport back to the US.

You (yes you) can tune in to the MMSN on 14.030 MHz USB between 1700 and 0200 UTC – that's 12 noon to 9 pm CDT – any day of the week on something about like this. (receive only, so no license needed)  Usually it's not quite so active as in this week's story, but then you never know.

What a way to end a ten-year recreational circumnavigation of the planet.

Variation in Poison Ivy

You know how hard it can be to compare some random plant to the picture you sort of memorized from a book?  It looks close, maybe, but it's still quite different than the reference sketch in some field guide?  Well surprise, the appearance of poison ivy is all over the place.  Article at NPR.

Those four examples hardly look like the same kind of plant.  This has all kinds of implications for outdoor activities.

Optimal Caffine

Article over at Big Think.

Worth a try.

Two for a D-Day Catch-Up Post

Air Force flies a specially painted A-10 over Normandy.  Too bad this plane was unavailable on the actual day!

A few recently discovered photos from training landings at Camp Gordon Johnson.  

Last Not-Quite-So-Hot Front

Likely the last real burst of cool-ish weather we'll see until late September:

Lows in the low 70's, highs in the high 80's.  Looks like it'll be nice for a couple of days.  Make the best of it while it's here.

Small Errands & an Impromptu New Orleans Trip

After an hour or so of perusing the kitchen and bath section of the local Lowe's for counter and sink ideas, I got a call from my contact in New Orleans – "hey, you've been looking at day packs and I need some bike gloves, you wanna go to Massey's and then get some coffee?"  Don't need to twist my arm twice.

Massey's was a success.  We spent some time comparing and contrasting two packs in particular, the Osprey Talon 22 and Escapist 25.  The difference in capacity was a wash, but the Talon seems to have slightly better back-panel ventilation and with a ten pound test weight somehow it felt narrower, less blobular, more bike-able.  The Escapist has its own plusses too, like an integrated rain cover, but in the end the Talon won out.  Got the electric green one.  It's a funny thing, but I bought a really great day pack my first week in college, been needing another one ever since that one blew out about ten years ago.  May have found it, I'll let you know in another ten years.

Then it was off to Coffee Science, a new place opened just last winter by a true master of the brew.  The coffee was wonderful, and now I'm pretty well ruined now from ever drinking a bad batch.  Mostly I hung out while Tom the owner and The Darling Daughter talked about on-line marketing.  The the place was meticulous without being fussy, right down to the tube amplifier sound system.  If you're in the neighborhood (410 S. Broad St.), be sure to stop in.

Listened to Dom Flemons' new album all the way over and all the way back.  More on that album later, but on the whole: thumbs up, go buy at your earliest convenience.  Took Hwy 90 for the late-afternoon drive home, that's somehow always better than the mad rush of I-10.  It was a good day well spent.

Happy Hurricane Season

So far, so good, other than that little dust-up last weekend.