New Old Camp Stove Technology

Here is a crude alcohol stove I made from a mint tin and a coffee can. It uses denatured alcohol (which is available at any hardware store), burns clean, won't explode, and is very light and portable. This one burns very hot and burns out very quickly; my next one will have a larger resevoir (made out of a bigger mint tin) and smaller holes to make it last longer. This little thing will come in handy when there is a burn ban (which is about half the time, here in central Texas).

Urban Gladiators, New for Summer 2011!

Whether you're wielding a net and trident against a hungry lion or just fighting the crowds on mass transit for an afternoon at your favorite bodega, these DIY cut-up Reebok demi-sandals are your best bet for keeping your tootsies cool and protected. Equally fitted for training cross-country or training to slaughter Christians, their vaguely Romanesque lines and 21st century materials make them your next favorite footwear!

Pioneer Farms, Austin

I spent some time this weekend volunteering at Pioneer Farms here in Austin. It is a collection of very old buildings, period farm tools (and a working blacksmith shop), and some animals for the kids to visit. Great place, and neat history.
I could definitely see myself living on a small piece of land in a house this size. With my wife and no kids, that is. This farmhouse belonged to German immigrants in the 1850's. Herr and Frau Kruger lived here with their 13 kids. The daughters slept in the loft, and sons slept outside on the porch!

Texas Drought Continues

Man, oh man. We need the rain! That picture is a front that blew in that should have brought us rain, but didn't. And the winds were so high this weekend that one of the sailboats in the weekly regatta capsized. I don't think anyone was hurt or anything damaged too bad. I can't say the same for some of the houses of Oak Hill. On my way home from the lake I spent 45 minutes in traffic because of this. The other pic is of one of two helicopters that were carrying water to the fire. Start yer rain dances, people, it's only APRIL!

Sailor, 85, crosses Atlantic on raft with friends

'What else do you do when you get on in years?' he says

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — An 85-year-old British sailor who dreamed of crossing the Atlantic on a raft as a young boy has completed the journey in 66 days with three friends.

The 2,800-mile crossing to this Caribbean island, led by Anthony Smith of London, took about two months and was generally smooth except for damage to two rudders on the large, sail-powered raft.

"Some people say it was mad," he told The Associated Press when he arrived in St. Maarten Wednesday. "But it wasn't mad. What else do you do when you get on in years?"

The jovial crew said they wanted to raise awareness about the environment and to prove the elderly are capable of embarking on adventures that are mistakenly considered dangerous.

They also aimed to raise money for the British nonprofit group WaterAid, which provides potable water to impoverished communities.

The crew of the An-Tiki included John Russell, David Hildred, captain Anthony Smith and Andrew Bainbridge.

A stroke of bad luck paid for the trip, courtesy of Smith, who was hit by a van and broke his hip.

"I got some compensation money," he said. "So what do you blow the compensation money on? You blow it on a raft."

The crew departed from the Canary Islands after bad weather delayed their trip for about a month.

Fresh bread
Smith delivered a farewell speech — in nearly impeccable Spanish — to a crowd gathered on the dock and then waved goodbye.

The raft, named "An-Tiki" after Thor Heyerdahl's famous Kon-Tiki raft, was loaded with food including oranges, avocados, potatoes, cabbages and a pumpkin. Once the store-bought bread was consumed, sailing master David Hildred began making it from scratch in a small oven.

Hildred, a civil engineer who lives in the British Virgin Islands, also was summoned to help fix the rudders that broke three days into the trip.

The raft was built with four water supply pipes nearly 40 feet long, and 14 cross pipes.

Seven pipes held the crew's fresh water supply.

"Water strikes at the very heart of need," Smith told the U.K.'s Press Association news agency. "To voyage almost 3,000 miles upon the salty kind makes us intensely aware of places in the world that are without adequate supplies."

The raft also had a nearly 40-foot long mast and a 400-square-foot sail. Twin rudders provided the steering, along with centerboards and two oars.

The raft traveled at an average speed of 4 knots, with the crew taking turns to keep watch when they were not reading or playing cards.

"I think all of us enjoyed our night watches when it was just oneself for company," Smith said. "Not an awful lot to see, but it was great."

'Mutiny'
A whale played alongside the raft one day, and a school of mahi-mahi followed the raft almost the entire journey, said crew member John Russell, 61, of Britain.

"The wildlife was just fantastic," he said. "There is nothing to be scared of. We were all old men."

Halfway across the Atlantic, Smith celebrated his 85th birthday with a chocolate cake that his doctor, Andrew Bainbridge, cooked on board.

The crew intended to end their trip in the Bahamas, but strong winds and currents forced them to the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

"Yes, of course it's a success," Smith said with a smile. "How many people do you know who have rafted across the Atlantic? ... The word mutiny was only spoken about two or three times a day."

Submarine For Sale (Austin Texas)

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Date: 2011-03-30, 7:54AM CDT Reply to: sale-za47v-2294809614@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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Two man wet submarine for sale with trailer, serious offers only. Austin Texas Call to schedule appointment to see this craft. 512-XXX-XXXX

• Location: Austin Texas
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

That's a craigslist post I saw today. I love this town! One question: by "wet submarine" do they mean inside and out? Isn't the point of a submarine so you can go underwater and not get wet? Ok, two questions. How much does one of these go for?

More on Hops...

Well, not much to report sailing-wise. Another J-24 race yesterday, and a beautiful day it was too, but no recent canoe work. I have to get on that!
So, in the meantime here's a rickety time lapse video of a few hours of hops growth. You can see the taller vine on the left really going at it, completing two full twists around the twine. The larger part of the rhizome I dug up and planted at my friend's is over almost 3 meters tall now (yeah, I'm trying to go metric. It's my new thing).