Five Things This Week: week 31

Atlas Obscura
This story leads with a couple that got married on the bow of the titanic. 12,000 feet under the water. From there are the myriad plans to raise the Titanic from its watery grave, as well as (largely unsuccessful) attempts to protect it. 
Us Weekly
Don’t judge me! This 25 Things was done in 2013 (and it shows: “I love to play Wii tennis.” We all did, darling, we all did) but they re-released it for her role in the new Mama Mia sequel (and, no, I haven’t seen it. Nor plan to. Nor have I seen the first one. Make of that what you will…). But there are some amazing lines that I can only imagine could spin off into (obviously) Cher-starring films (“I have driven a taxi through New York City at 4 A.M.”). This is cotton candy, people, eat it up!
BBC
Cats purring. Need I say more?
Okay, calm from the purrs? Okay, I’m going to drop this here then:
Vox
Are you familiar with the whole Q-Anon conspiracy? You probably should be. It’s gathering steam and, while it’s really easy to dismiss it as whackadoo-crazy (complete with echoes of “Pizza-gate”), it’s not going away. On the contrary, its believers are doggedly loyal to the conspiracy (Washington Post), and that makes them and this whole movement particularly dangerous. Don’t believe me? How about the Q-Anon guy who showed up on the Hoover Dam in June armed with a handgun and a rifle (dailybeast) and a sign demanding the release of an Inspector General report… that had already been released (though, Q-Anon asserts, not the real report). I’m not posting this here to ridicule the movement (though the more you read, the more ridiculous it seems) but rather for edification; if you’ve heard the term “QAnon” and don’t know what it refers to, it’s time to understand just what it is all about. “And knowing is half the battle!” — G.I. Joe.
And your respite from that…
NYTimes
Lately Fern has been posting pictures of puppies to BookFace to try to alleviate the constant stream of bad/partisan/terrifying news flooding her friends’ feeds. This isn’t a puppy, but who doesn’t love baby ducklings. All 76 of them. They’re not all Mama duck’s – think of it as “ducky daycare”.

Selfie Week 30: Resolution Progress Report, Q3

That’s up on the East Ridge trail at Armstrong Woods and is part of my new workout regimen to get into better shape – more on that in a moment.
Wow, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Here we are in Week 30, a few weeks out from the start of the third quarter of 2018 and I’ve been slacking! Oh, wait, might as well get started on the New Years Resolutions check-in, right?…
  • Stick to a posting schedule — yeah, that’s fallen off, hasn’t it? I think the term is “blog-fade”. My three-posts-a-week started dipping with me falling behind on my stories. Then the selfies. Then the Five Things This Week. There aren’t any good excuses on this one other than I made my blog less of a priority. There’s reasons for that, sure, but nothing particularly notable. But this week is a nice, round week 30, so let’s try to pick this three-posts-a-week thing back up! Sure, we’re supposed to post Selfies on Monday and it’s Tuesday, but… you know, let’s work on the numbers and worry about hitting the right days later, shall we?
How about some good news?
  • A Selfie Post Once a Week — Yes, I’ve fallen off, but I’m patting myself on the back here. I started in week 3, and we’re on week 30. Out of the possible 27 Selfie posts, I’ve missed six. That’s a high C! I can build on that! Remember that old adage about what you call the medical student who graduated with a C average – Doctor!
  • Achieve low-hanging Bucket List Fruit: Cross off five items this year — While I still haven’t finished my ride report (hoping to get that up this week!!), I can say I definitively crossed two items off:
    13. Soak in a hot spring in the middle of nowhere!

    20. Ride Sherman Pass Road through Sequoia National Forest!
    And I’m claiming a half for 8. Meditate among the ancient bristlecone pines because I did get to the bristlecone pine forest, and I did see some of them. But they were the young ‘uns (only about 3500-4000 years old. Only), and I didn’t have a chance to do the hike out to the really old trees (spoiler: maybe this fall!)
    So at least 2 out of the 5 items I committed to! That’s progress!
  • 10,000 step days — At the last review I mentioned I blew this one, so I was starting fresh for the quarter: one 10K day a week, and Q3 (now) I’d do two 10K days a week. We’re in the fourth week of the quarter and so far I met that goal 2 of the 3 weeks (only one 10K day that first week of July). I’ve got one 10K day in this week and I’m on track for at least one more. So far I’ll take this as a win!
  • Make Things! — The resolution called for making one thing a month. Haven’t lived up to that. Money is a big part of that, but time as well – I’m bartending every Saturday this summer, and that doesn’t give me a lot of free time. Nonetheless, I’m working on this one!
All in all, a little past the halfway point of the year, I don’t think I’m doing too badly. That’s especially true when you realize that most people don’t even remember what resolutions they made by this time in the year. But still room for improvement. Let’s see what we can get done before Q3!

Five Things This Week – week 27: Camping Edition!

This was all ready to go up on Friday but, well, life happened. So, even though it’s Week 28 – and there will be a Five Things for this week on Friday – I give you this link-heavy list – ed.
Last week I was incommunicado on a little motorcycle trip so I wasn’t able to file a Five Things This Week. I’m putting the finishing touches on my overdue trip report, but in the meantime I wanted to mention a few of the items I used and loved. I had intended to camp three nights but ended up spending just two at campgrounds (more on that soon), and I’ve been accumulating camping gear for a while now. Here are some of the things that made my camping trip fantastic. This is also an Amazon Affiliate linkapalooza, so if anyone happens to purchase anything Amazon kicks me back a few pennies. Just letting you know for the sake of full disclosure!
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Camper – This thing amazes me. When I was young and camping with Boy Scouts I either didn’t use a pad at all or used your standard foam mat you probably have for Pilates now. A few years later I upgraded to my first Therm-o-Rest self-inflating pad, which was a nice upgrade. This NeoAir? It doesn’t seem like it should be possible. I’m both a) a side-sleeper and b) a large guy and the NeoAir Camper has me covered. It’s not self-inflating, so you’re going to expend some lung power (unless you spring for the pump, which I haven’t (yet)). But it provided phenomenal comfort for the size. The size – that’s the thing. If it were comfortable, that’d be enough. But it folds down and rolls into the size of a liter bottle of water. It’s amazing. And it works. I love this thing.
Sea to Summit straps – In my past motorcycling life, I was all about the bungee cord. My life upgraded when I discovered a bungee net, but I have heard too many stories over the years of bungee-related injuries. Besides, strapping down and tightening my over-packed gear sounded more secure. It was. I got two pairs of these to affix my tent and rain gear to the tops of my aluminum side cases and they worked flawlessly. Bungees have their place, mind you, but it wasn’t on this trip.
Jetboil single burner camp stove and Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy – I didn’t intend on setting a campfire because a) I wasn’t sure whether my secondary camp site options would have a fire ring, but mainly b) I didn’t want to haul wood. I’ve had the Jetboil for a number of years and found it to be a great little stove. Is it ultralight for hardcore backpacking? No, but it’s also not a multi-burner Coleman stove. For me, the Jetboil fits perfectly into the “sometimes camper” category that I reside. Everything (fuel, heating element, stand) fits neatly inside the cup itself. The cup locks onto the base for security while cooking. That does create one major drawback: you can only use the cup it comes with because nothing else fits. Which is why I recommend also getting the pot adapter ring that lets you use whatever small pot or pan you want to with the stove – bonus: with a little care while packing, the ring fits inside the cup with everything else. I didn’t plan on making anything elaborate this trip, and I started my Day 2 adventure with Mountain High’s biscuits and Gravy which was surprisingly good – I’ve been served more diner biscuits and gravy that were worse than this freeze-dried version. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Aeropress and Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill “Skerton Plus” grinder – My particular Jetboil was their “Java Kit Coffee Press” version which comes with a plunger to use the whole vessel as a French press as well as a packet of Green Mountain Coffee to try it with. Yeah, I threw out the coffee and press part. The Java version was deeply discounted at REI when I bought it and that, and not the potential giant French press, attracted me. Let’s be clear here: I’m not ultra-light camping but neither am I full-on car camping. My large bike has rather large aluminum panniers which afford me more space than your average motorcycle, and one of my choices to use some of this space is to indulge in equipment required to make an exceptional cup of coffee. I’ve touted the coffee-making prowess of the Aeropress before, but one of the things I didn’t mention is it packs pretty tiny. I took the accouterments (funnel and stirrer) because, again, I could, but ultimately all you need are the two tubes that pack together. Sure, the wafer-thin filter and the cap, but that’s it. It’s pretty small. Know what’s not small? My beautiful wooden coffee mill at home. That’s why it’s at home. What’s smaller yet nearly as good is this Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill. The glass bowl that it comes with does make it a bit more ungainly, but it has threads that accommodate a small mason jar, so I left the rounded bowl at home, attached a small mason jar, removed the crank, and it packed down quite nicely! Waking up to a fairly quick and amazing cup of coffee was worth carrying this extra equipment.
Insulated growler – I picked this up on sale on Amazon years ago and it’s lived at work as a reminder for me to drink enough water through the day (it works!). I knew I would be going to a couple sites that didn’t have water (thank you, Campendium!) so I also brought along this 1.25 gallon collapsible cube which was great, but when you put a gallon of water in an aluminum box and subject said box to 115° for a few hours, that water gets pretty warm. While still wet and lifesaving, it’s not the most agreeable thing to drink. Wanting more water storage and having the room, I opted to bring my insulated growler and, boy, am I glad I did. It sat in the top box in the same heat, and yet it kept the water refreshingly cold. True story: though this is a growler, it’s never held beer – I bought it before California let brewers fill outside growlers. But at Indian Wells Brewing Company I found myself tempted to pour out the water I filled in Fresno in favor of 64 ounces of their Amnesniac IPA. In hindsight, the water certainly was better for me and my mild head exhaustion at my campsite in Death Valley. But I still wish I could have taken that IPA with me! The pictured (and linked-to) version comes with a lid that’s makes it more convenient to carry, though a lot taller than the version I bought which looked like this:
Well, mine is covered with stickers now (of course it is):