Goodness Gracious Great Cotton Balls of Fire!

I have a little time on my hands so I decided to make some petroleum jelly covered cotton balls to use as emergency tinder for starting fires. Petroleum jelly aka Vaseline (I'm looking for sponsorship money) will increase the burn time of a cotton ball, just like a wax candle on a wick.

I first acquired the triple sized cotton balls and Vaseline freegan-style from my parents house. This jar of Vaseline is so old it may be the original jar used for my diaper rash 40 years ago. It's still good! All you have to do is take a cotton ball and saturate it in Vaseline. The inner core can be kept dry. When you are ready to light it, just expose the inner core and light the dry fibers. I tried burning both a plain cotton ball and Vaseline (how's the sponsorship money coming along?) coated ball. The cotton ball burned quickly and shrunk while the Vaseline-ball burned for a very long time. Today was especially windy but it did not go out until I blew it out myself with some force. This long burning, wind resistant tinder is an added edge when you absolutely need every advantage to get a fire started.

I stuffed four of these balls in a film canister. If you don't know what film or a film canister is, go find an old person and ask them and see if they have any. Now this canister sits next to my emergency Snickers, ready for action. This only takes a couple minutes to do and will be worth it if you need an emergency fire. Go do it!

And a major plus, no need to pack lip balm (Chapstick! $$$?) anymore! Just whip out one of these cotton balls if you're feeling a little chapped...

My bday! Bidet?Temperatures a high of 60 degrees and sunny!

My girlfriend got me a card, some dark chocolate, the Yvon Chounaird
book Let My People Go Surfing, and a Patagonia movie 180• South. I
highly recommend both the book and movie. Good stuff.

Got a call from my bro but not parents.

Then went to the Library to return the Hardback Patagonia book (yes
same I just got) from an interlibrary loan. Read tons of magazines.

Washed my hands! We went to Hardees and got a Thickburger. Since it
was my bidet I got the large burger but it was too big, but good as
usual.

Went to Honda motorcycles to check out the Ruckus scooter. I like it a
lot! Very tempting to get one but I'm all set for transportation at
this time and it would be more of a hobby than just practical
transportation. Maybe one day. Also like a 230cc supermoto. Good size.

Got cupcakes (which I am current eating for breakfast as I write this)!

Went on a walk and enjoyed the sun.

Took a nap.

Had a wonderful dinner cooked by girlfriend. Filet mignon with blue
cheese and sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and broiled broccolini.

And with a full stomach, watched the Patagonia movie.

Great birthday overall and today is supposed to be even warmer and
hope to spend some time outdoors.

Current (fleeting?) obsession: Honda Ruckus

What am I thinking about currently and perhaps to abandon tomorrow? The idea of getting a Honda Ruckus scooter! It's a scooter with very little body work and bugeye headlights. Has a little of a utility dualsport aesthetic. The good part is that it is great on gas, cost $2500 new and in certain states, does not require a license or insurance to drive. Huge plus! Also there is aftermarket support to make it faster and more fun to drive. The negative part is that it is only 50cc and top speed is about 40mph. Can't drive it on the highway. But I think it could be a decent replacement for a car for local driving around. The other bad part is that car drivers will have no respect for you on the road.

Ideal modification list: suspension upgrade, change from drum brakes to discs, handlebar/ mirror upgrade, saddlebags maybe hard aluminum cases like you would find on BMW motorcycles, wheel upgrade, gps mount (directionally challenged and need to avoid highways), engine upgrade.

Then again, some Korean guy drove across the US in a stock Ruckus so probably don't need all these modifications. go check it out.

Municipal Geographic Presents...

Red tailed Hawk. Muni Geo scours a one block radius to bring you the finest wildlife shots within a block radius.

Simplify, simplify.
-Thoreau

One "simplify" would have sufficed.
-Emerson

Saving My Sole

I've had my New Balance 790 running shoes for probably over 2 years now and have been everywhere with them. I have worn through the sticky orange rubber to the more slippery midsole. Since I still like them very much, reluctant to buy another shoe and feel that there's still life in them, I decided to repair the sole.
I dropped by my neighborhood sporting goods store and picked up a tube of Shoe Goo for about $6
I washed and dried the surface to be repaired and spread a thin layer of goo. Caution, the goo gives off a lot of toxic fumes so work in a well ventilated place. I used the cardboard packaging to spread the goo evenly. I then set it aside overnight to dry.
The goo dries clear and definitely feels grippy. I probably could add additional thin layers but I think I'll wear them around and see how it goes.

There. Unnecessary shoe purchase delayed.
Now to see what else I can repair with this stuff. I'm thinking...everything.

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the Year of the Rabbit. '.'

Can someone explain to me why there is no Year of the Panda? My guess is everything on the Chinese Zodiac is edible and the Panda is too revered to eat.

And now for my Chinese New Year resolutions...they are the same as my regular new year resolutions except I add "in bed" to the end of them.

yeah.