Archive for April, 2007
I met a couple from Great Britain last year who took leaves from their jobs and were on a trip around the world. My wife and I stayed in a hostel with them in Cambria, CA. We bought a bottle of wine and shared it with them. Over that bottle of wine they told us their plan; US west coast, south pacific, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, through Europe, and then home. Wow!
What about you? Where would you go? Which countries, cities, shrines, mountains, rivers, etc. would you visit? Ohhh, nevermind, how would you even book a flight for a trip like that…. Airtreks.com, that’s how.
I found this about a year ago, and I hit the site about once every few months. Whenever I get the itch to travel, or at least dream about travel. It’s easy to use. You just click the interactive map and start picking major cities around the world you would visit. Pick them in a logical order so you don’t have to backtrack. Then it will spit out your potential itinerary along with your map. Usually cities will need to be added to the itinerary to make the trip work, since there aren’t direct flights between some of the cities. Check out my itinerary below…
Hmmm $6,661 to fly around the world… If nothing else it’s fun to plan that ultimate trip you are going to take. Of course, the trip will take months. So many of us won’t do this until after we work up the nerve to walk into your bosses office and say “Take this job and shove it!”
April 30th, 2007
Saw this on a few sites, including The Piton lately and had to post it.
April 27th, 2007
Check out this review of ODZY on a cool Web 2.0 review site - Business Hackers…
April 26th, 2007
As I posted yesterday, today is Malaria Awareness Day. It only takes $10 to save a life. So, c’mon, spend 3 minutes and save a little kid from dying. Most cases of malaria occur in children under the age of 5 years old.
Here are some things that cost $10, that you could skip this week…
1 Pizza
2 Starbucks Coffees
1 Crappy Movie
3 Gallons of Gas
1 Chinese Buffet
April 25th, 2007
Okay, with a title like that, you’d think I’m throwing a guilt trip acha, right?
Yes.
I am. 
Tomorrow is Malaria Awareness Day. While you are reading this blog post, two people will die from Malaria. The disease is easily preventable too. Most cases of malaria are contracted while the person sleeps. A simple bug net can be draped over the bed or over the spot on the floor where the person sleeps. These nets cost $10. But that is alot of money for an impoverished person scraping by in Africa. Many of you know I visited Africa a few years ago and witnessed first hand what is going on over there. Please find it in your heart to donate. I just did and it took a whopping 3 minutes of my time. For the price of a pizza you can save a persons LIFE. Okay, enough of the guilt trip. Post a comment if you donate! We’ll give a free bumper sticker to everyone who donates and draw a name from those who donated to give a free Outdoorzy t-shirt to.
You can go to Malaria No More to donate $10 and save a persons life.
April 24th, 2007
The 2008 Toyota Prius is reportedly going to get around 94 MPG highway/80 MPG City.
All I can say is WOW! The auto makers are targeting 100-120 MPG for the next generation of hybrids. The goal is to offer this type of fuel efficiency for the same price as an average fully fuel burning small car that gets 30 MPG. The choice won’t be hard. You will lose a few miles per gallon once you throw your roof rack on there. I am told your Outoorzy.com bumper sticker will not affect gas mileage, and may increase it.*
*Information pertaining to the Outdoorzy.com bumper sticker increasing gas mileage may not be factual and may actually be a complete fabrication.
April 23rd, 2007
Hopefully you’ll be out enjoying the outdoors this weekend. Don’t forget though that it’s
Earth Day Sunday. If you are out enjoying the outdoors, take along a trash bag and pick up some trash. Or reduce your impact on the environment by choosing not to drive a long way. You could even go out and buy some fluorescent light bulbs that save energy AND save money. Or just go get a free one…
Home Depot is offering a free compact fluorescent light bulb to the first 1 million people to swing by on Sunday. $12 million dollars in energy savings will result from this over the next year. That’s offsetting the carbon emissions of roughly 70,000 automobiles. You can also check out their site and tour the Eco Options Virtual Home. It’s a good way to find out what you can do to your existing home, or how to build a home that is more energy efficient.
So head to Home Depot and get you a free bulb Sunday. Or, just head out and buy a few of these anyway. I use them, and frankly, it’s nice not to have to change the bulbs all the time! Prices are actually dropping on these bulbs, you can get a 12-pack of them at Wal-Mart now for less than $20.
April 20th, 2007
Xtracylce is a company started by two guys who had a great idea; build a bike that could carry a load around. Because biking can be more of a lifestyle for some people. So, they invented a “SUB” Sport Utility Bicycle. The idea was to take a good solid bike and alter it, pushing the back wheel out to allow room for saddle bags and a board to carry… well to carry anything you need; groceries, school books, your briefcase, a purse, or even your dog. Below is an example of one of their bikes built using a Marin as the base bike.
These guys are on to something if you ask me. With the environmental movement kicking up a notch, and people being focused more than ever on health and independence from foreign oil, this could be a great niche. I have to admit, it’s tempting me to buy the conversion kit for my own bike. My bike commute is short, but it would be nice to be able to stop and buy a bottle of wine or a gallon of milk on the way home if I wanted to.
April 19th, 2007
I thought this scenario I stumbled upon after work today was the epitome of irony. Natures mouse trap trapped in the jaws of a man-made mouse trap.
He/she found its way into my garage and into a mouse trap I have set. At first I thought it was dead because there was no movement. Then, when I poked it, it moved. I have discovered lately that I really love poking snakes. I don’t want to terrorize them necessarily, but as a kid growing up on a farm, i was taught to kill them. Now with more of a Buddhist nature about me I work hard not to kill anything unless I have to. Why then do I own a mouse trap you ask? Well I’m also married, and I want it to stay that way
Here he is after I freed him with a bit of ingenious work using a tobacco stick and a 5 iron.
April 18th, 2007
I found this cool idea on AsTheCrowFlies.org , a blog written by a guy that goes by “crow”. He had an idea that seems pretty basic, and if you take an umbrella with you on a backpacking trip then this might be a cool method of keeping the bugs off when you’re in an infested area. I could have used this on the Timberline Trail on Mt Hood a few years back. We got eaten alive by biting flies. Here’s his artistic rendering…
In the words of Crow, “make a big bag out of no see um netting with elastic, lycra binding, or a draw cord at one end. Then throw the big bag over my umbrella when I’m hiking and secure it around my waist for the ultimate head net. At night, I could sleep under it, when the weather is nice but the bugs aren’t.”
I think it’s an excellent idea. Now, to find an ultralight umbrella… Any ideas?
April 17th, 2007
Previous Posts
