The Most Concise Explanation I've Seen

Boy Scout Motto

As I alluded to in a previous post, I've been wanting to learn to live a simpler life. It's part of a broader plan to make me more self-sufficient in less-than-ideal conditions. (plus, I enjoyed camping)

And although the idea is to be less reliant on material items, my plan does require a little gear. This weekend, I picked up a critical piece of that equipment. REI was having a sale, and they had North Face's Big Fat Frog 24 on sale.

I thought it would be fun to take it for a test drive this evening, so I set it up in the back yard.


It went up in record time with almost no effort. The real selling point for me is the rain fly / vestibule.


Even though this is a small 2-person tent, this gives me plenty of room to stash my gear.


I think it's about time to grab the LED headlamp, a book and head out for the night.

Not this time

If you love something, set it free.

Admittedly, "love" is much too strong of a word. (but that's the quote) For the first time, I was presented with the opportunity to live this quote in a literal fashion.

I did the right thing. I let him go, knowing that if it's meant to be, he will be back. But I've convinced myself that I'll never hear from him again.

I'm proud of myself for doing what was right--regardless of the consequences. But that doesn't stop it from feeling like I just got kicked in the chest.

This weekend!

The Onion makes fun of Star Trek? Man, does it get any better?


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

WTF Copter

So, I'm sitting at home this evening--minding my own business watching a little TV after dinner. I hear a helicopter fly by and it sounds kinda low. But that's not too strange. But after a few minutes, I realize that I can still hear it flying around.

So I step out onto my back porch and there he is--flying really low (~500 ft) and only about a block away. So I watch for a bit and realize he's flying in circles over a point that can't be more than a block away.

I stand there for 10 minutes and he just keeps circling. Then I see another helicopter flying slowly above at about 1,500 ft.

So I grab my camera and decide to snap some pictures. Somebody must be watching because he hovers directly over my house for about 15 seconds before continuing the circling.

That's the strangest thing I've seen in a while. As I write this, I can still hear him making his rounds.