Weber Q 220 Grillin'

I bought my first grill earlier this summer and I've realized that I have a long way to go. I've already downloaded a pretty cool app for my iPhone: On the Grill. It wasn't free, but it seemed like a fair enough deal for the information and feature set.

Review of the Q Grill: My Grill (Weber Q Grill)

Indirect Grilling:

Cooking indirect on the Q is a simple task there is several different set-ups that can be used you, once you understand the basic method you can come up with different ways to meet your requirements. The basic method is to place a doubled over sheet of foil on the grill ensuring that you have an air gap between the edge of the foil and the sides of the Q of at least 1” on the long side and 1 ½” – 2 “ on the short sides. Then place a roasting trivet or a wire rack on the foil, which sits at least 3/4” above the foil, providing an air gap between the foil and the food being cooked. article

Trout fishing links and info

I haven't had much luck fishing for trout this season. I'd better study up and get out as much as I can before the season finishes up.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/fish/iafish/trt-fish.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Live-Worm-Fishing&id=536009
http://www.fishsa.com/kntiessn.php
http://www.in-fisherman.com/magazine/articles/if0406_AnglesSwimWorm/
http://www.boatingobsession.com/articles/read.php?id=131&C=How%20To
http://www.animatedknots.com/snell/index.php?LogoImage=LogoStripers247.jpg#Overhand

15- or 20-pound monofilament or fluorocarbon
salmon-style hook like the Eagle Claw L7226 (size 2/0)
gang size 8 or 10 gang hooks
small barrel swivel (size 10 or 12)
split shot

Out fishing

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Hyunjoo and I have recently taken up fishing. It's nice because it takes us outside and it's a great motivation to see rural PA. My nephews will one day come fishing with us, so I figured that it'd be nice if I knew a thing of two before we took them out. Now, keep in mind that it's been something like twenty-five years since I've last fished. I think the fish have gotten a lot smarter in that time.

Our first time out we went to Coyler Lake and caught a small sunfish and some kind of pickerel. All the fishing excitement came in the first hour. We didn't get another hit the rest of the day.

Our second outing to Black Moshannon was last weekend in questionable conditions. We spent most of our time boating around than casting for fish. Hyunjoo nearly had a bite near the surface, but that one go away. We weren't out long before it started to rain, so we just packed up early. It was still nice to get out.

I think we'll keep heading back to Black Moshannon until we catch more. I've heard there's nice bass out there and it'd be nice to get a fight on our hands.

Hyunjoo's new knit hat

I don't think Hyunjoo wants me to post these pictures, but I'll do it anyway since I think she did such a nice job. There are these knit "gauntlet" things too that she made, but I'll have to upload pix of them later.

Ahoy!

We just picked up a sweet boat just in time for the Labor Day Weekend. If the weather holds, we'll be out to enjoy the water at one of the nearby lakes or rivers. We're planning on bringing our fishing rods and cooler along of course. We might just get lucky!

OGE crew in town

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Marc, Mike, Josh, and Audrey from The Outdoor Gear Exchange came into Las Vegas a couple days ago to climb at Red Rock Canyon before the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City. I joined them on their first day out climbing. We drove out to the first pullout: Calico 1 and hiked about 40 minutes to the Ultraman Wall at about 4100 ft.

It was a mostly cloudy day and the temps were in the high 30's. It was pretty cold standing around and I'm sure it got quite chilly on the longer routes. There are some long climbs there, well beyond the reach of a single 60M rope. It's good to bring extras with you in case you get too high to rap off the anchors.

It has been great to hang with the crew again. Lots of old and new stories to swap. Even though I'm not really climbing anymore, it's great to rekindle my past life.

We went out for a sushi buffet last night and they're off climbing again today. I don't know where they are today. I suppose I could drive around looking for their white Hyundai (?) they've rented, but I'd still have a considerable hike to find them. I guess we'll have to rely on more SMS texting.

Messin' with Photoshop

Well, I thought a good way to break in Photoshop CS3 would be to make a collage of the day's events. It made sense at the time since my camera is busted and I can't add new pix. So, I logically thought that I'd take old ones and make an account of the day. Knowing this would take a little time, I gave myself an hour and whatever I was left with I would post. Well... I doubt I'll do this again. I didn't even finish.

Yukon HQ Sport Kite

Went out to CCZ again with Casey today to try out his Yukon. We were getting what felt like consistent winds, but it wasn't enough to fly the Yukon for longer than about 15 minutes or so.

I was impressed with the kite for a number of reasons:

1. it looks solid - carbon fiber/fiberglass construction
2. it flew well - very responsive lines
   
3. it packed up nicely - came with a nice carrying case
   

Testing Casey's Kite at CCZ

Casey, his friend Sean and I went to the beach yesterday. We took a quick trip to Kanazawa's CCZ to try out Casey's new kite, but unfortunately we didn't have much wind. We ended up body surfing and throwing the frisbee around instead which was fine by us.

Man rides kite into the air

I believe this one is in the Guiness Book of World Records.

A-Bike

Looks like a great idea for keeping in the car or for around town. They're priced at around $300. I just wonder how long the tires last. There's even a folding helmet to go along!

Uchinada Kite Festival

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Hyunjoo, Katya, Sheryl and I took off for Uchinada around 10:30 to check out the annual kite festival along the beach near Kanazawa. We were immediately impressed with over 10 massive octopus "kites" flying low over the beach. They were brought by a team that flew out from Berkeley, California. Unfortunately only a few traditional large Japanese kites were flying. And my favorites, the bug kites, were rarely seen that day as well. After getting pumped watching the team sport kite competition, we decided to try it out for ourselves. There were instructors that let you fly a sport kite for yourself. It was a rather difficult design to fly since it wobbled a high speeds and it gave a wicked pull in those winds. We soon switched to my own sport kite and continued having fun taking turns flying it until the winds died down at three. You can find Katya's video from this link.

Hikin' Mt. Hunger

Even though my stay in Vermont was so short, I was able to meet up with Adam and Katya to hike Hunger. It was a great day and we made it up in no time thanks to Katya in the lead. I really have missed the mountains of the NE.

Aquarium R/C

Hyunjoo and I found this cool little submersible that's perfect for our fish tank. It has a 6-channel radio controller that smartly moves the little critter we've begun to call "Piranah" along all three axis. The submarine charges off the controller and will zip around the tank for about 5-10 minutes before it needs recharging. Our fish don't mind, they just think Piranah is another fish in their tank. I'm quickly discovering that our 15 gal. tank is too small now!

Kite Park

HJ and I went with Phil and Jessica to a new park JPN009 - Kite Park not too far from home. It being built off the new road behind our house. The park is perfect for kite flying as the hills catch winds coming off the city headed into the mountains. We flew a number of kites with various success. The big experiement was lauching his kite-camera to take pictures of the city. I attached my altimeter to the camera and found that it reached a height of 177 feet at its apex. Hopefully we'll get some good pix from the camera. We lost a bunch of exposures due to technical difficulties, but I'm confident we got at least one good shot.

Portable Boating

Alpacka Raft

Alpacka rafts are built tough with fabrics designed especially for us to meet adventure travelers’ extreme demands. All seams are butt welded for strength and durability. And they are designed and tested to survive all sorts of use and abuse. Inexpensiive pool-toy boats work fine for quiet lakes and ponds but as soon as you hit the river you need an Alpacka. Alpacka rafts stand up to season after season of adventure. And Alpacka users don’t worry about running out of patches before they run out of river.

Feathercraft

The wonder of a Feathercraft is not just that it folds into a backpack. It also lets you experience the nuances of the water surrounding you. The skin on frame kayak responds actively to the changing sea conditions. From the gentle undulation of a calm day to a storm’s fury, your Feathercraft kayak offers a sense of security, of being taken care of. Wave energy is absorbed, and the skin kayak flows through surges and swells, protecting you. You experience the fluid environment that surrounds you. You are not separate from the water, but joined.

Rockin' little robots!

These little robots were made by Phil (and I helped him with a couple of the models). They are custom-made from parts found at a local electronics store and run on button batteries. Very cool!

Click the "play" button to start the narrated slideshow!