Losing wieght the old fasion way... Betting!

My brother and I made a bet. We are getting to our 40's. Not quite there but close. So, we are in danger of putting on (or encouraging) the middle age paunch that seems so prevalent in our society. Soooo, we are having a first to lose 15lbs gets an audiobook bet.

My method will be exercise, whole grains, and greens.

I would love to say that I am cutting out the booze but I'll probably have beer or two in the process.


I'm the guy on the right. Yeah!

Break from blogging now officialy over. Sort of.

Yep We've got some stuff to talk about.

Seal!

So we hit the Santa Monica beach break at a place called chet this weekend. Saturday and Sunday were really nice peaky rollers that allowed for great lefts or rights sometimes all the way to the beach. Due to an achy shoulder I took out the eight foot fun board which was great. It picked up the waves nicely and no last second hard paddles which is usually where my shoulder gets tweaked.

Halfway through the Sunday session one of my compadres pointed out a dark triangle that was poking out of the water about a hundred yards out. Everyone saw it and after the shark sighting a few days earlier we thought that it deserved some looking in to. Lifeguards are cool people in general and they have all sorts of neat stuff in there little huts such as oh, binoculars. I went and asked them to check it out and in stead of a killer shark (!) it was a chiller seal(.).

Who me?

This guy was just bobbing around enjoying the summer sun kind of like us.

Yeah you!

Never hurts to check.

Shark!

So relatively flat surf and busy days have kept me in from surfing lately. We had a great session at a place we call Chowders that was reported to be 2 foot surf and blown out. It turned out to be 5+ foot and really fun! Keep up the good work Surfline! Been back to Chowders since then and it hasn't been as good.
I was going to go for an afternoon session at Sunset so I checked the surf report and found this!

http://www.sunsetsurf.com/sharks.asp

Yikes! Big shark equals good news for Bella. We went on a long walk instead.

Shark^

Dolphin^

Here is some good information on sharks and some flimsy advise on what to do in case of a shark sighting.

http://www.sunsetsurf.com/sharks2.asp

In case of a shark sighting I would advise to:

#1 Warn others
#2 Scram!
#3 Go home caffeinate and watch Jaws! with a new sense of terror!

Shark sightings are like rain days. Stay out of the water the next few days and you should be fine.

In case you or someone you know has any sort of an "unfortunate event" start here:

ABC'S in case of emergencies are alway prudent.
Airway
Breathing
Circulation'
Spine

Pressure points are better than tourniquets unless the entire end of the limb is missing. Pressure points are usually where you find the pulse on a patient Femoral Artery, Brachial Artery etc.. Putting serious pressure on these should slow bleeding down without cutting off blood flow in and out of the rest of the limb.
Cutting off blood flow completely for an extended period of time could be dangerous and actually cause loss of whatever limb is left or sepsis. Sepsis is basically poisoning of the blood stream by, in this case untying a tourniquet and letting dead red blood cells back through your circulatory system.
Tangent.
Oo oo oo.

Just clicked on the following link

http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm

Cool!

Fly Fishing the Eastern Sierra

So I've been threatening to do a fly-fishing video for a while. I guess it was in the stars because I made this one by default. After switching cars and driving to our destination I had realized that my still camera was still in the truck. So here is my first attempt at taping fish! I had a video camera hanging around my neck and stuffed in my front pocket. Big pocket. So once the fish were hooked I'd pull out the camera and then switch it on and let it dangle. The video I cut out was a little nauseating. Kind of like the last Bourne Identity movie. Shaky Cam to the max. Some of the shots I was holding the camera some it was just hanging from my neck and I was trying to get the fish in the shot. Kinda fun.

Also the soundtrack is a tune that I wrote while my friend was in town with his pretty little daughter Amelia. Thus the songs title.

Hope you enjoy. It was fun to make and I think does a good job showing off some of the prettiest fish on the planet. Each one is like a canvas that is painted differently. A few of these fish are hybrid goldens. Such as golden browns, and golden cut throats. Beautiful. It's a little over 3 minutes long.

I have just viewed it online and the detail is pretty poor. If someone would like a DVD of this vid let me know and I'm sure we can come to some sort of an agreement. It's not high def. But the detail comes through.

Mammoth Blues and Brews

http://www.mammothbluesbrewsfest.com/breweries.html

Great weekend.
Mammoth 5.5-6 hours North on the 395. Their is about 2.5 hours of desert driving so wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants or suffer a wicked farmers tan. Also I brought along my plant sprayer with water in it that I sprayed on my sun exposed parts while driving. Evaporative cooling is great and yes it even helps with the AC on.

The Blues and Brews setting is out in a stand of pine trees. There are more breweries every year and the bands this year were great. Even though it was hot out, there was ample shade and a cool breeze blowing. Their were plenty of choices for food booths and they have added additional porta johns which was great. As per my M.O. (5th year running) I ran around to try different brews for about the first 45 minutes. The goal is to find a new or interesting beer that is clean dry, crisp and properly hopped for it's style and their was a lot of them. Getting slightly intoxicated is not a goal, but it is a pleasant side effect.

I was impressed with Huntington Beach Beer Co. it was a really quality I.P.A. Russian River, Lagunitas and Bear Republic are always putting out a quality product and it was a pleasure to see that and San Diego had 5 or so breweries represented including Stone! My So. Cal. favorite. The guys and girls from The Kern River Brewing Company were there and it was great to check in with them and taste some of their great brews.

After the first burst of tasting (which usually includes some serious smile at the brewer and dump the beer at the nearest convenient tree) I settle in to EJ Phair and enjoy just pouring and shooting the shizzle with whoever comes by the booth. JJ had brought an English IPA and Shorties Revenge which is a strong amber ale. He puts out some of the best beer that I have had and if your in the East Bay Area, Concord to be specific look up his Ale house. I'm not just saying this because he's a good friend but the food is great and the beer is better and it's close enough to a BART Station that you don't even need to risk a dumb drive home. The night ended with dinner at Nevados (really good quality and tasty but spendy) and a cigar under the stars at Mammoths upper lodge. Somebodies got to do it...


Than there was the fishing... Next Post.

We Do Special Requests!

These prototypes were made for a great company that has stated that they will highlight our product in their booth at the annual Veterans Administration Trade Show this year.
(Bella not included)
Pretty snappy no?

The camo cases are to make the pillow available to medics in the military. Keep your fingers crossed!

Saturday Surf and Turf 7/19

So those who know me know that I have this affliction of waking up early and not getting back to sleep. The whole early to bed, early to rise deal does have its advantages.

Saturday I blinked awake at 5:45 and decided that it was surf time. I dragged out of bed and threw my nine footer in the back of the truck. There was a rumor of a significant swell coming in that should be peaking Sunday. I headed to Sunset and discovered that the swell consisted of 3 foot cruisers every few minutes. The typical weekend crowds were there but minimal and mellow.

After picking up some peelers and chatting it up with a few new friends I looked at my watch and it was about 7:45 it felt like the swell was building a little but my shoulders had had enough and the crowds were picking up and getting a little more serious. Time to go.

On the way out I saw a bunch of folks dressed in costumes with their long boards. For example William Wallace was playing bagpipes, Jesus and his buddy an the Arab were chatting it up, their was an alligator with a massive tail and all sorts of costumes that involved capes. WTF, eh. So I changed out of my wet suit and got back to the beaches entry point just in time to see all of these really stoked goofy people just flat out taking over the line up.

(From another year but you get the picture)

I specifically remember a very sullen face older (non participant) guy speeding in from the point and getting taken off of his wave by a squatty female in an alligator outfit. It was great! What are you going to say to an alligator? He just paddled back out and probably had a laugh later that day. Every significant wave was a party wave with ten people paddling for it and six people catching it. Then the trick was trying not to run in to every one else that was on the wave. Mayhem!
One wave had Jesus the Arab and some guy in a cape all zooming towards the beach and laughing their heads off. What a blast!

Dooda Surf 2008. It was really fun to see the pretension taken out of what is just a great past time. It will also teach me to leave my camera at home...

After that it was time to walk the livestock and Bella and I headed to the top of Mandeville Canyon. It was overcast in town and it was socked in on the top of the mountain.

Really good start to a great weekend. Went to the Santa Monica GLOW exhibit that night (someone else can review it. It was neat but not my ball of wax) and then had a mellow Sunday surfing at station 8 and getting ready for the week.

The Toledo Show

Sunday nights, The Toledo Show happens at Harvelle's Blues club on 4th and Santa Monica. Great club, great show. Get there early.


I was a little buzzed and had my camera with me. So enjoy.

http://www.harvelles.com/Harvelles.html
The Toledo Show is considered a burlesque show but is really like stepping in to an artists canvas. The dancers are really good, sexy, tortured as per the formula and it all works. Apparently the band has off nights. When we saw them everything was clicking.
Again good seats are a good thing for the show. Try to get near the dance floor. Try to get near the stage. It's worth the I believe, $10 cover charge and they say it's the best show going on Sunday night. It's hard to ague.

Hiking Kenter 7/10

To get to the top of Kenter trail head:
Go to Bundy.
Head North
Bundy turns in to Kenter after Sunset.
Follow Kenter up a long and winding road till it dead ends.
That's it.

When you get there you can follow the trail all the way over to a housing tract that is accessible from the valley. Halfway up this hike their is also an oak tree that shades a bench that over looks really, the whole LA Basin and has a great coastal view. That's usually what I do.

This time of year staying on the main road is a good idea but even there keep your eyes out for these guys.
I walked past this little guy (and so did Bella) and he was maybe 2 feet off of the trail. He was really lethargic as it was pretty chilly out. Notice the camouflage and the fact that he's sleeping in an almost strike position (in strike position his head would be raised and cocked back).
Western rattlesnakes are equipped with a venom that dissolves soft cell walls in whatever it bites. When the cell wall dissolved it creates serious pain and swelling. The swelling can block blood flow to areas distal from the bite and cause a serious issue. The venom can make its way to vital organs and that is also a problem. If you want to see a picture of Ms. Bella's ear after she was bit last year email me. It's pretty ugly.

From Mayoclinic.com

If you've experienced a snakebite:

• Remain calm
• Don't try to capture the snake
• Immobilize the bitten arm or leg and try to stay as quiet as possible
• Remove jewelry, because swelling tends to progress rapidly
• Apply a loose splint to reduce movement of the affected area, but make sure it is loose enough that it won't restrict blood flow
• Don't use a tourniquet or apply ice
• Don't cut the wound or attempt to remove the venom

Seek medical attention as soon as possible, especially if the bitten area changes color, begins to swell or is painful.

____________________

I'll add. Go straight for the medical attention. Don't wait for the symptoms. Time is important on this one. Also keep the bitten area lower than your heart. I don't know how much this helps but it makes sense to me to use gravity to your advantage here. For example, if your hand is bitten keep it down by your side, not up in the air. Just a thought.

Don't let snakes keep you off the trail. Rattlers keep the rodent population down and are a part of the Wests ecosystem like 'em or not. They don't want to mess with you and would rather be left alone.

That being said the next time I go out I will be taking my hiking polls so if I see one of these little natural wonders I can fling it off into the bushes.