Recent content by Uncle_Skwid

Walter Kirn has a theory from Harper's April Easy Chair that the reason behind Google's big hot button push for self-driving cars is that driving is currently about the "last significant part of our waking lives in which it's inconvenient to use the internet." Once we get our cars driving for...

Good call there, Alan. I'll definitely look into the time stamp on the video... I told Tom as much about the writing style, too, for certain, and he reminded me this is for the record, and he gets no points for style. And no worries about ghost writers or overly exuberant editors. They won't...

Ticks in the wrong place are about the extent of my disturbing bug stories. Lots of ticks; lots of bad places. They can quickly and seemingly without movement end up in the Wrong Place. (See posted video above and imagine the tick, tiny and difficult to pick at and STUCK... ) The bug in the ear...

Thanks for the kindnesses. It's been a long strange trip for certain and it seems to keep on keeping on. Tom Martin of Grand Canyon fame typed up a little mini-report for the "record" on his River Runners for Wilderness site and Grand Canyon folks are weighing in. (There was even one kind soul...

So the lost and found trip of Grand Canyon from January keeps on unfolding. I got an email from a kind-hearted soul living out in Meadview who came across a red helmet with a camera attached amongst the flotsam and jetsam of Lake Mead. No name inside (you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by...

I'm squeemish. My wife is not. I fear that if I carry hefty first aid, I'll have to use it. But she's a nurse. We go thru my kit from time to time and she keeps everything within expiration and reminds me what things are for. Tampons, as mentioned twice above, are probably becoming not that...

Ya. It looks and feels at least a little like a canoe, not a bathtub. Quality PE canoes are still in their early stages of development. But I've only paddled it demo style, in a boat not set up for me. I am working on the captains deck as we speak! (Beer break at the pub which probably means Im...

Ha. Of course. Leave ole Nolan out of this! He's got a notebook full of firsts and needs to leave some stuff to others. :rolleyes: I guess the questions are did Jim or Nancy run everything? I assumed that being on a commercial trip they had run it all. Why not? And then: was Nolan self-support...

That's the money. Is it worth it? This makes it sound like a yes. And frankly those plastic gunnels I've been looking at for so long are getting pretty boring. Maybe I'll learn a little something along the way. Thanks for the education.

Ha ha. Touche. The gift that keeps on giving. I wouldn't want to bore ya! Busy month but it's coming along.....

Ha. Indeed. I hope I'm not wasting my allotted fifteen minutes of fame in the Dunce Cap. But I probably am.

There was some question a few months ago about the history of canoes in Grand Canyon. Well, for those curious, Tom Martin, the unofficial (and oft times official) historian of GC, has done a little digging for the record. Here is what he has found: 1900 - Ten foot long stick/ canvas canoe used...

Ah yes, thank you Mr. Gage. (And Mr. Dodd.) The fact that Watco can be applied like oil sounds like a boost. Mr. Canotrouge, I am :o. But certainly not trying to be coy, rather trying to keep any of my beloved east coast American friends (at least one of whom makes his own PE boats) who happen...

Thanks for the insight and tips. I appreciate them. Sounds like getting rid of the boat is easiest, swapping out the gunnels is second, oil is third, and varnish/thane/Watco is a PITA but possibly the most durable. And don't neglect the hidden end grain, the side against the boat, the machined...

You Northern Dwellers and your snowmobile trips are making it look kinda fun, cruising around out there in the snow, hauling a bunch of stoves and food, crashing into trees and such. But I know that secretly, beneath all that fun, it's bone death cold. Awesome.