An imperial eagle soars over Dubai after being launched from the world's highest building.
FALCONRY -- Just how sharp are an eagle's eyes?
Good enough to find a rabbit in range land, for sure. But could an eagle pick out a single human standing on a red carpet in a major city?
Check out this video captured by a tiny camera harnessed to the back of an imperial eagle named Darshan. The eagle was launched in Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates, from the top of 2,722-feet high Burj Khalifathe, the world's tallest building.
This two-minute clip is an edited version of a flight that lasted five minutes as the eagle captured breathtaking views of the city while taking cues from its trainer on the ground.
The eagle flight was arranged by the nature conservation group Freedom Conservation to draw attention to eagle conservation. This white-tailed eagle has been critically endangered for 50 years, the group says.
If you love being outdoors, you either have a cooler or you need one. This Explainer Series article breaks down the world of portable cold storage, from soft-side units to bear-proof ice chests built like a tank.
For those new to the world of outdoor cold storage, this article offers a primer on key factors to consider when shopping for the ultimate outdoors cooler, or at least the best one you can afford.
Types Of Outdoors Coolers
There are three common types—basic, soft-side, and heavy-duty. There are a couple others we will skip over, including disposable (styrofoam boxes) and ice-less (read: portable refrigerators).
Those don’t really count when figuring out how to store food and drinks at camp; the foam ones are largely illegal in national and state parks now, and they’re a bad idea anyway; and the ice-less units can’t go far from a running car or a generator.
Basic coolers are the ones we all grew up seeing at picnics and family outings. They have relatively minimal insulation, and they only sort of seal around the lid (don’t tip them over!). But they carry a negligible price tag at every hardware store and big-box across the country.
Soft-side YETI Hopper cooler
Soft-side coolers are a little more specialized for weight- and space-conscious consumers but tend to have slightly lesser insulation. A $30 soft-side cooler will hang just fine with a $20 Coleman hard-side, while a $300 softie (see photo above) can keep up with heavy-duty coolers of almost any type.
Heavy-duty coolers are a new category in the last decade. Their thick insulation, locking lids, and tight seals make them ideal for long outings and harsh conditions. But they weigh a lot more than either of their counterparts and cost a lot more, too.
How Will You Use The Cooler?
If you’re only camping a couple nights each year and hauling sodas to the backyard for your kid’s birthday party in between, there’s no reason to drop hundreds of dollars on a YETI, Grizzly, Engel, or Pelican cooler.
Conversely, the lighter-stock coolers won’t work for long trips in the backcountry where you need ice for days, and they won’t hold up to wildlife visitors like the heavy-duty ones can.
If you’re packing in to your campsite and feel that cold drinks by the fire and fresh bacon in the morning are worth the weight, go for a soft-side cooler, but choose one with good straps and handles.
In reality, there are a hundred different options. I drew a little chart to help you decide.
Which cooler to buy? Click to enlarge
Cooler Price Range
Obviously, your personal budget plays a big role in which cooler is right for you. Keep in mind the cost difference between the types.
Basic coolers range from about $20 – $150 based on size, and you usually get what you pay for. The $60 cooler below will get you through a lot of weekend BBQs, but if you’re loading it with fresh fish that need to stay cool for a couple days in hot weather, I’d be nervous.
One of these Coleman Xtreme coolers will cost you about $60 and do the job for many
Soft-side coolers run the gamut, from an $8 insulated lunch sack to a $400 backpack that doubles as a dry bag and floatation device and keeps its contents frosty for a couple days.
Heavy-duty coolers start at about $50 for one designed to hold a couple cans and an ice cube, up to $1,300 for YETI’s top-line bear cooler (seriously, it’ll hold a whole bear).
Don’t forget, though, the initial sticker price isn’t the only financial consideration. Ice costs money, too, and long trips with an under-insulated cooler mean extra ice runs while short trips with a cooler that’s too big means you’re buying more ice than you really need.
Plus, heavy-duty coolers are usually top-quality all around and could indeed well outlive their owners. So, if you have the money to pay out once, you should get many years of use from a high-end cooler.
Outdoors Cooler Features
There are a few specific features that may matter beyond price, portability, and how long your food stays cold.
The Stanley Adventure Cooler stood up well to GearJunkie testing
A basic cooler is just that — basic. It’s a plastic and foam box with a hinged lid and a drain on one end. That’s the foundation. From there, cooler designers have added locking lids, better seals, screw-in drain plugs, non-slip tops (for anglers and short people), thicker insulation, and harder plastic to make the heavy-duty coolers usable in many situations outdoors.
Soft-side coolers switch out a box for a bag, using flexible insulation and adding waterproof zippers or roll-tops to seal in the ice melt.
I spend most of my days outside and depend on my coolers as long-term food storage, protection from wildlife, both a seat and a ladder, and I don’t mind the burden of extra weight in order to get those features.
My go-to cooler (though I have several different types, styles, and brands) is a YETI Tundra 35 . It’s just big enough to handle the essentials on a weeklong trip in the backcountry but it’s small enough to carry around full without a second set of hands. I’ve seen a bear try and fail to open one of my YETI coolers before so I’m confident in the security of my bacon regardless of the local fauna.
Best Cooler Size For Outdoors?
The last major consideration is size. Unless you’re an outfitter, caterer, guide, big-game hunter, or escape artist, you don’t need a 350-quart cooler . Guys, if your wife asks, I will retract that statement and back you up, but don’t put me in that position.
Obscenely massive YETI TUNDRA 350 will run a cooler connoisseur $1,299.99
Most of you will be camping with family, a few friends, and the random guy from your office who overheard your plans and asked to tag along.
You’ll carry dinner in a grocery sack and put drinks in the cooler with some ice and a few things for breakfast. That means (unless you’re an alcoholic or really popular) you’re looking for something in the 20 – 50 quart range. Fishermen will claim you need something bigger but, let’s be honest, you probably only need a little one.
The best way to determine the right size is to plan the menu for one of your typical outings, buy the food and drinks, then stack it all neatly and measure the pile. Figure a 2:1 ratio of ice to food for trips longer than two days and switch it for overnighters. Any food that’s going into the cooler frozen can be counted as ice.
After years of cooler use and abuse, that’s my input. There are a dozen brands and hundreds of models on the market. Look to brand names, find good deals, or drop the big cash for a heavy-duty tank one time and you’ll be set pretty much forever. Now, get out there and enjoy the portable chill.
The kick is good, but most viewers of the accompanying video will agree that the most exciting play on this day was made by the bald eagle, during a skirmish with an osprey over the football field. That's three points for the kick, a teriffic mid-air catch for the eagle, and an osprey that appears to have come up empty-handed.
Dave Strege, my colleague at GrindTv.com , writes: "One might call it the animal kingdom's version of the Immaculate Reception."
The event was captured on videotape during a Kohl's Football Kicking Camp session in St. Petersburg, Fla. The footage was magnified for the closeup segment toward the end.
Ospreys and bald eagles both prey on fish and the latter species is often more of a scavenger. As viewers can see, the two species sometimes clash over the rights of captured fish.
Yesterday, I published a new audio at FindingChurch.com called My Hope for His Church . (If you missed it, you might sing up for updated on that website. We are about to launch a book discussion of Finding Church and will be anchoring it there.)
It includes a twenty-three minute audio clip drawn from my opening comments to a group of people who gathered in London last month. This is best recorded statement I have about my heart for the church Jesus is building and how I view her taking shape in the world. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of response I’ve already gotten to this brief clip and want to make sure people on this blog don’t miss it.
Some of the thoughts included there:
Let’s use the term “church” only the way God is uses it—as an endearing term for the family he is shaping in the world. He calls her a bride for his Son, prepared for his Son and his hope in her is that she will demonstrate the character and wisdom of God not only to the world, but the spiritual principalities and powers that underlie it. A people living in love will topple the powers that hold humanity captive.
There are two churches in the world, the one that humanity is building in its own image, and the one Jesus is building in his. Sometimes those realities can overlap, but not always.
Our institutions are often more preoccupied with their own needs and managing political power instead of helping people learn to live loved.
The church is not something humanity can build; it is the fruit of a new creation where people learn to live in the reality of his love and share it freely with others.
When our preoccupation is on the church instead of Jesus, we’ll see less of his church and less of him. The bride’s focus need to be on the groom, because the groom’s focus is on the bride.
While artists like Lane 8 are politely asking us to put our phones away while we’re in the clubs, others are exploring innovative new ways of turning our compulsive device usage around by encouraging a more social aspect. This was showcased in style at Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands over the weekend, with the debut of the Smartphone Orchestra.
The performance saw thousands of attendees coming together to create a composition inspired by the methodologies of minimal music, with the ringtones and notification beeps used as key compositional elements, and the crowd’s phones synchronized in harmony.
‘We wanted to reverse the operation of the device, and use it to get people to come together and share a wonderful experience,” organizer Steye Hallema told the BlackBook blog .
“We are very proud that we were able to achieve something on this scale at the Netherlands’ most pioneering pop festival. It was an experience that I, in any case, will not quickly forget.”
Watch the world premiere of the Smartphone Orchestra below.
Catching an opah off Southern California is rare, although a dozen or so catches were logged during an unusually warm summer-fall season that also produced other odd catches.
Finally, however, somebody went overboard and photographed an opah underwater, and most people will agree that the images are spectacular.
Ralph Pace , a conservation photographer and Scripps Institution of Oceanography graduate, was part of a research team conducting studies recently near San Clemente Island. The group had snagged an opah with experimental fishing gear, and Pace dove in with his camera before the opah was cut free.
“We found this guy off San Clemente and he [weighed] about 120 pounds,” Pace said, via email. “I was able to jump in the water with my underwater camera and enjoy a few moments with the opah before he dove back down.”
Pace said he barely had time to capture the images he sent for use with this story before the fish disappeared.
Opah, or moonfish, are mostly solitary inhabitants of tropical and temperate zones. They typically roam at depths between 300 and 1,200 feet. That’s why catching them is so rare.
There's no direct commercial fishery for opah, because they're not a schooling fish, but enough are caught incidentally by longline fishermen–primarily off Hawaii–to make them available on some restaurant menus.
The opah’s flesh is prized as table fare, either cooked or raw, as sushi and sashimi.
Y’all are in for a treat. Today’s post is a wedding graduate post written by the groom. And I have, in fact, thought quite a bit about weddings and gender relations , but for some reason lightbulbs kept going on over my head over and over again as I read this post. I wanted to go back in time, and plan our wedding all over again, and this time understand where David was coming from much better. It made me laugh, and it made me smarter. Does it get better than that? Jordan’s wife Sara writes at Eco-Vintage Weddings , but today it’s all Jordan, all the time (and lucky you):
I’m sure there are many grooms are out there, like me, who dreamed of having a perfect wedding some day.
Anyone?
No, okay, me either. Before I considered a wedding seriously with my wife, I (being serious) really wanted to have a projector dedicated to updating fantasy baseball stats throughout the day. Now that did not happen, nor did I request it. But, I did turn out to have a pretty awesome wedding all said and done, mostly thanks to my very talented wife.
When my wife and I began to consider an engagement, the typical wedding-related conversations started. My wife, Sara, had all these details in mind – colors, décor, dress, rings, and church, among many other things. I had two things in mind: honeymoon and cost.
I did make a small push for a destination wedding that failed, based on the requirement that family needed to be there. (Which was valid, given how close we are with our families, especially Sara.) This left us at our very first financial crossroad as a couple, and we came to the conclusion that we wanted a personalized wedding, but with costs that were within reason, and we had to pay for it in cash.
After this point, almost positive that my creative touch would start and end with the engagement, I decided I needed to put as much into it as I could. Long story short, she got a message at work in the form of two dozen roses and a small note with a clue. These clues lead to other meaningful (to our relationship) gifts, along with more clues, which led her eventually to me. When she arrived at my destination (the local waterfalls), I said some great things, got down on one knee, asked her to marry me and she said yes (HOT DOG!).
Much to my surprise, that was not the end of my wedding planning career. Sara is a very creative person who knows what she wants. Since I did not have those wedding-day dreams, I didn’t have many strong opinions, as I’m very breezy by nature. But, one of the things I learned through our wedding planning process was that Sara was very capable of sharing her fun with me. There were times I did not want to share in “the fun” (centerpieces?), but there were plenty of times that I was very happy to help, and we definitely bonded through the process.
I enjoyed taking part in some of “the fun,” including designing our own invitations, ceremony programs, and other print materials on my computer. To complete our ceremony program project, Sara and me holed up on my makeshift bed/couch in my 250 sq. ft. apartment in June with no air conditioning. Some of the other “fun” was hearing Sara gush about her dress (that I wasn’t allowed to see), or being able to make wedding-related decisions based on Sara’s research.
But, the best part of the wedding planning was that we were able to put together an amazing wedding that generated many compliments, and we did it on a budget that never had to get stretched. We never used the credit card, we never had to skip meals, and we never had to make drastic cuts in our daily spending. We splurged on some areas (our reception space – a museum – and a yummy taco bar), and we got creative with others (our iPod was our DJ, and we made our own photobooth wall, among other DIY/DIT projects). The experience of planning our wedding led Sara and me to believe in each other, and in how talented and committed we were. We really created something from nothing, and we survived the highs and lows of wedding planning with each other.
The real wedding day for me started once I put on my tux. I shaved, fixed my hair, and everything became very clear. I felt amazing. What really stands out to me about the wedding day now is that I felt an overwhelming calmness about the whole process. I was nervous about remembering all the steps I needed to take during the ceremony, but I was excited about marrying Sara, and I was confident from the moment of the first look.
Sara came up with the first look concept that was special and intimate for us, as we decided to do pictures before the wedding. I sat waiting in the front of the church facing forward, and ten minutes later (it felt like hours), the door opened in the back, and I could hear my wife walking towards me. Eventually, I felt the sweet touch of her hand on my shoulder that gave me chills, and I got my first look at my wife in her wedding dress. She blew me away. She was gorgeous. She was strikingly beautiful, and I felt like I just won the lottery. Of all the fun we had that day, I’ll remember that moment forever.
Looking back at all of it, the only thing I wish I had known during the planning process was that I could trust us to keep within budget. I was always fairly stressed about it, even when I didn’t have to be. However, this was almost a blessing in disguise as I was continually surprised by how we were so responsible and conscious of our decisions.
Almost one year after the wedding, there are three things that really stand out to me. First, surprisingly to me, was Sara’s dress. She was a knockout. The dress fit her personality, it fit her style, and it made her look (and feel) more gorgeous than she already is. Second, the pictures were perfect, primarily because we had photographers that were personally invested in our wedding. Creative Kindling , our photography team, consists of Kara and Aaron, a husband and wife team who went to high school with Sara and are rather new to the wedding game, although you wouldn’t know it by looking at the pictures! Kara and Aaron took the time to take pictures that we wanted (as crazy as our ideas may have seemed), and they had the creative knack to take some that they knew would be awesome. They did a wonderful job of capturing the day.
Lastly, the detail is something that I’ll look back upon fondly. I said to Sara hundreds of times that every little detail would not get noticed, so she should not stress over every last one of them. While this still is true, I was shocked that while I cannot recall each and every last detail of our wedding day, I will always remember the unique style, look, and theme of our “ eco-vintage wedding .”
What didn’t end up mattering to me in the end, was any of the money that we spent. It really is as simple as that. It could have been a different story in the end, but we ended up making every penny work for us, and we made it a special day.
The whole experience of planning our wedding really cemented what is great about Sara and me. We are both interesting people who like to put a certain amount of effort into something we’re passionate about, and in terms of the wedding, we put enough effort in that when we were done, we were confident that our supportive friends and family would take notice and appreciate our “art.” And they did. But even more importantly, we were both extremely happy with the end product, and that is all that really matters to us. Our wedding proved to us that we were (and are) a team: a damn good one.
Photos By: Creative Kindling . Much more (but from Sara’s point of view) at Eco-Vintage Weddings
We monetize all the links on our site. If you click on the link and make a purchase, APW may receive a commission. APW only links to products and services that will add value to our audience. All opinions are our own.
***NOTE FROM ENO: This post is the first of a week-long series of blog posts celebrating National Relaxation Day on August 15th! Check out our relaxation sweepstakes going on from now until August 14th, and enter to win some ENO goodies!!***
According to a recent article by The College Store Magazine , more than 30% of fall 2012’s freshmen said that they felt stressed and overwhelmed during their last year of high school. Researchers say that this stress could very likely continue through their first year of college. So what’s a hard-working student to do?!
Relaxation products are a great tool that students can use to unwind whenever they have a break between classes and during a late night study session. And one of the best relaxation products is a hammock !
Here are 6 ways that hammocks can help as student de-stressor:
1. Gets You Outside. When you think hammock, you automatically think of being outside, under a tree, feeling the breeze float over you. Hammocking is a great way to get you outside, which is beneficial in many ways. For one, open spaces allow you more opportunities to boost your health. Going outside is exercise in itself, and exercise is a natural mood enhancer. Finding that perfect spot to hang your hammock will get your body moving and being out in the fresh air will do your mind a world of good. Being outside also allows you to socialize, and social contact is another great way to reduce stress.
2. More Sleep. A hammock is one of the best places to sleep and recharge for your next busy day. Because the natural rhythm of swinging promotes relaxation, you will fall asleep faster and sleep deeper. Sleeping in a hammock also increases the length of Stage N2 sleep, where muscular activity is at its minimum, and conscious awareness of the external environment disappears. This stage takes up about half of a good night’s rest. You also get the luxury of no pressure points – making a hammock one of the most comfortable place to get some shut eye.
3. Get to Class Faster! When you make your hammock your bed, you no longer have to worry about making it every morning. You just hop out, and you’re ready to go! It’ll be there, hanging out and waiting for you to come back for a quick nap before Geology class.
4. Increases Concentration. The hammock’s swinging motion does not only help you sleep better, it also helps you concentrate by stimulating the cerebral cortex – the area of the brain that helps you focus. Stimulating the cerebral cortex helps your memory, attention, and perceptual awareness, so you’ll be more alert, respondent, and retentive. This makes a hammock one of the best places to study in!
5. Nap Anywhere, Anytime! Because hammocks are so portable and convenient, you can take them with you anywhere. Hang them up wherever you want (as long as it’s between 2 stable supports) between classes, on the quad, on the porch of your apartment, in front of your dorm, or even under the classroom desks! They’re a portable nap in a bag!
6. Reduces Clutter. Clutter is a stressor. When your room is messy, you will feel more anxious and overwhelmed. It makes it difficult to relax because it demands your attention away from what you should be focusing on. It also tricks your brain into thinking that there are unfinished tasks needed to be done and inhibits creativity and productivity by occupying open spaces in the room. Utilizing a hammock’s small size by replacing your bed with it can minimize the amount of clutter and open more space.
We all know that being a student can be very stressful and hectic. And when things become overwhelming, what better way to relax the stress away than in a hammock?
Noodles for breakfast, sailing pirate ships at lunch and putting out fires for dinner.
What kid would not want to spend their holidays in Southeast Asia?
For Australians, a visit to Southeast Asia is convenient. The region is close, the exchange rate generally works in our favour and the locals love kids. But with such a wide range of cultures and a plethora of countries to visit how do you decide which one is going to be best for your family?
Here are 4 countries with fun attractions that we think have something for everyone in your family, especially the kids, because let’s face it, if they are happy then mum and dad are happy too.
Bali, Indonesia
There is a very good reason Australians continue to flock to Bali each year and it’s not just for cheap beer. Bali has a huge number of things for families to do, and sipping cocktails in the resort pool bar while the kids are in kids club is only one of them.
Our top 3 things to do in Bali with kids:
1. Waterbom Park
The whole family will want to spend at least a day or two screaming on the thrilling waterslides or gently floating down the lazy river. And even younger kids will have a ball with the smaller child-friendly slides.
2. Canyon Tubing & Quad Biking
Something for the older kids. Hidden deep in the jungle north of Ubud, the whole family can take a fun quad bike tour through small villages and tropical rainforest. Then after lunch hop in an inflatable tube and drift down a scenic river bordered by a steep canyon with lush, cool, shady. The perfect combination of excitement and relaxation.
3. Bali Safari & Marine Park
This is actually 4 parks in one, so enjoy seeing the animals in the Marine park and the Safari park before heading over to the small water park and rides in the amusement park.
Singapore
Next stop Singapore. Singapore is immaculately clean, safe and very child- friendly. Be prepared to spend a little bit more money in this country, but it will be well worth it.
Our top 3 things to do in Singapore with kids:
4. Universal Studios
Kids of all ages will want to stay the whole day. You will be enamoured with the number of rides on offer, food to try and shows to see. Not to mention the excitement the little ones will have when meeting characters from their favourite movies.
5. Port of Lost Wonder
A beachside pirate ship with water guns, slides and tipping buckets, makes this a great day out for the younger members of the family. But parents don’t disappear, there’s free Wi-Fi at the Port of Lost Wonder too!
6. Singapore Zoo & Night Safari
This is one of the best zoos in the world and definitely worth a visit. Bring your swimmers, as there is a kids water park half way through, which is a huge relief on a hot tropical day. Stay until the evening and walk to the nearby Night Safari to see nocturnal animals in action and fire-breathing dancers.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Most parents think of Kuala Lumpur as a teeming metropolitan with nothing to do but shop and eat. But we guarantee there is a lot more to Kuala Lumpur then that.
Our top 3 things to do in Kuala Lumpur with kids:
7. Kidznania
This is a little world built for kids . Your children will have a field day playing the part of any number of adult careers including fire fighters, dentists, pilots, chefs and more. Oh, and did I mention there is a parents retreat upstairs with free Wi-Fi.
8. KLCC Playground
Right in the city centre is a vast area that sets the benchmark for public playgrounds. Situated beside this is a public wading pool. And then just outside the nearby Suria Shopping Mall you will find a beautiful fountain display. Head in one evening for a play, a swim and then oohs and ahhs at the evening fountain show. The mall also has plenty to do including a science museum, cinemas and shopping.
9. Sunway Lagoon
Amusement park, water park, resort. If you are looking for a special treat, stay at the resort and spend a few days enjoying this Asian wonderland.
Bangkok, Thailand
Here’s our wildcard. Why would anyone want to take their kids to the hectic city of Bangkok? Well, other than the great tasting food, memorable rides in fast-paced tuk-tuks and colossal shopping malls here’s 3 other reasons.
Our top 3 things to do in Bangkok with kids:
10. Fantasia Lagoon
This was a complete surprise. A small waterpark located on the roof of a shopping mall. What makes this such a great day out was the superlow entry price of only AUD$7 each. Bargain!
11. Ocean World
A well-maintained aquarium, again in the heart of a shopping mall. You can even ride a glass bottom boat over the shark tank or walk along the ocean floor. The range of marine life is massive, and the complex is very pram friendly.
12. Royal Dragon Restaurant
Not your typical Chinese restaurant. This restaurant holds the Guinness World Record for largest restaurant with over 5000 seats. Plus your food could be delivered on roller skates or zipline. There’s even a show held every night on a stage propped above the water.
Hopefully, these 4 locations have whet your appetite because there is a whole lot more countries out there offering family friendly holidays.
Hoot Holidays also has a helpful list of family friendly favourites that you can check out.
For your next family holiday think outside the box and discover Southeast Asia. You will not only find so much variety and entertainment, but you will probably end up saving money as well.
Written by Erin Bender
Erin has been travelling with her husband and two children since May 2012. It’s an open-ended, unplanned, round-the-world trip discovering amazing places for families. You can find unique family travel insights at her award-winning travel blog , follow her on Facebook , or see more beautiful images on Pinterest .
Start: From Inglenook, PA, head SW on S. River Rd. for 1.7 miles to trail crossing just past Clarks Ferry Bridge. End: From Powells Valley, PA, head S on Peters Mountain Rd. (PA 225) to trail crossing at road switchback.
Commercial fishing boats are tied up at the Port of Brookings-Harbor, Ore., in 2009. (Associated Press)
FISHERIES -- The Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet Wednesday for a week-long session, Sept. 10-17, in Spokane to address issues related to groundfish, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, salmon, ecosystem management and habitat matters.
Sessions will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center , 322 N. Spokane Falls Ct.
The PFMC, which meets five times a year, is one of eight regional fishery management councils established in 1976. The council's decisions have an impact on commercial and recreational fishing.
The 14 voting representatives from Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho -- assisted by advisory bodies and 16 staffers -- have jurisdiction over 119 fish species in a 317,690 square mile economic zone off the Pacific Coast.
Agenda items for the Spokane meeting include:
Electronic monitoring regulations and seasons for groundfish fisheries.
Protection for unmanaged forage fish.
Fishing permits for swordfish.
Columbia River natural coho harvest rules.
2015 Pacific halibut fishing regulations.
The sessions, which are open to the public, will attract a wide range of interest groups.
Forage fish conservation issues, for example, are key to a wide range of fish species and wildlife, says Erik Robinson of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The trust's ocean conservation experts will be at the meeting to support "the council's efforts to improve protection of little fish prey fish -- 'forage fish' like sardines, anchovies and smelts -- that eat plankton and, in turn, are eaten by seabirds, marine mammals, and bigger fish like Northwest salmon and steelhead ," Robinson said.
"Over the past three years, the PFMC has made steady step-by-step progress to marshal protection of forage fish species that aren’t currently managed on the West Coast. Some of these species – like Pacific saury, sand lance, and lanternfish – are obscure to the general public but they occupy a critical space in the middle of the ocean food web," he said.
"Many are already fished heavily elsewhere around the world. So we believe it makes sense for our West Coast fishery leaders to put basic conservation measures in place as soon as possible, before industrial-scale fisheries begin."
See more information and a video on the importance of forage fish for Columbia basin salmon.
A large sheet of rock is missing from the face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, and it's likely to alter climbing routes on the iconic granite monolith.
According to the Associated Press , the rock fall, which occurred as recently as Monday, did not cause any injuries. There were no known witnesses to the fall.
Park geologist and climber Greg Stock said the sheet measured about 100-by-200 feet, and that climbers utilize multiple routes on Half Dome's 1,000-foot face.
The fall occurred on the Regular Northwest Face route, the most popular climb in Yosemite, with 23 pitches.
The fall probably will not change the path of hikers on the popular cable route to the top of Half Dome.
Rock falls in the California wilderness park occur sporadically, but typically involve much smaller rocks.
–Generic Half Dome image is courtesy of Kenny Karst
This cold be the ultimate outdoor gadget you never knew you wanted–the Fogo is not only a smart flashlight, but packs in a GPS receiver, two-way radio, and USB backup battery among other things. Still not convinced? Don’t worry. After you read this, you are going to want one.
The Fogo features a powerful 1000 lumen LED flashlight to light up camp or find your way around in the dark. This is no ordinary flashlight, however. Fogo features an open OS for developers to create cool apps to control the flashlight. Two apps come loaded on the device already, including a Morse code translator that turns messages into pulses of light.
You can adjust the flashlight brightness manually, but it also works similarly to Petzl Reactive Lighting and adjusts the beam according to your environment and feedback from the accelerometer. The accelerometer can also detect if you have an accident and alert other Fogo owners in the vicinity. The cool part is–their flashlights will act as a beacon and alert them when they are headed in the right or wrong direction.
The built-in GPS and digital compass work to help you navigate in the backcountry, while you can send data, voice or text with the two-way radio smartcap hooked to the base of the flashlight or connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth.
Two 3500mAh batteries will not only power your Fogo, but also charge your other gadgets. The flashlight is waterproof (IPX8 up to 30m), so you can take it under water for up to 4 hours.
Fogo will hit Kickstarter sometime next week, asking for a $200 pledge with delivery in early summer (smartcaps later). Other smartcaps in the works are a dive computer, avalanche beacon, satellite phone, and rangefinder.
Scout, an English setter, takes a break with his first bird of the hunting season, a ruffed grouse taken on the morning of the Sept. 1 opener. (Rich Landers)
HUNTING -- A nice, easy, fulfilling start to the hunting seasons.
Henry Shires is a backcountry engineer. The founder of Tarptent is a lifelong backpacker trained in physics. The combination of a keen scientific mind and decades of outdoors experience led Shires to found Tarptent with his wife Cynthia in 2002.
Tarptent Double Rainbow
Since the brand’s inception, the shelters have become a go-to for minimalists world-wide.
Tarptent shelters take on many forms with a roster of 14 different models , but across the board, they are American-made, ultralight, affordable and intuitively designed. We sent Henry a batch of questions to get more insight on what sets Tarptent apart.
There’s a murky spectrum of USA-made, USA-built, USA-assembled. What does Tarptent’s production process and material sourcing look like?
All Tarptents are manufactured at a sewing facility in Seattle. There’s a staff of 20 who sew the tent bodies before shipping to our HQ in Nevada City, where a staff of seven, myself included, inspect each tent prior to shipment.
We source almost exclusively US fabrics and materials. All our shelters use 30D siliconized ripstop nylons for the coated and uncoated “solid” fabrics. We also use some lighter grade mesh materials and heavier vinyls for reinforcement. All poles are Easton aluminum and carbon fiber. Some of the small stuff like cord toggles, small buckles and YKK zippers aren’t domestic.
Tarptent office in Nevada City, CA.
How do you address Tarptent durability?
We opted long ago to use 30D silicone coated fabrics. Silicone, unlike urethane, is an inorganic material and doesn’t rot. At the time we started using the fabrics in 2002, they were the lightest available, and they’ve proven themselves over the years on all the long distance trails.
We see very low incidences of rips and abrasions after thousands of miles and many months of continuous use. We’ve even seen some shelters come back for relatively minor repairs after as many as three thru-hikes comprising over 8,000 miles and nearly a year of continuous use.
These days there are certainly lighter and more expensive available fabrics, but I’m not convinced they’re anywhere near as durable or waterproof. There does seem to be a somewhat disturbing trend of moving to fabrics as low as 15D for flys and floors, in the interest of saving weight, but we won’t go there because we feel that performance and longevity matters more than saving a few ounces.
Repairs, when we do see them, are done on a non-profit basis and everything is otherwise fully warrantied against defects in fabrics and workmanship.
Tarptent Notch
In your mind, what makes Tarptent different than competitors?
I try really hard to make every shelter different than others on the market. Cookie cutter design is just lazy. My goal is to tweak basic forms to enhance the performance of every shelter.
It’s always a priority to maximize usable volume within the constraints of the given basic structure. The StratoSpire series ($309-$349) is perhaps the best example of that — no other trekking pole design within the given footprint can touch it.
Lastly, I think we have great depth and breadth across our sleeping range — one to four people — with lots of different styles to choose from that fit the needs of both the trekking pole crowd and those who don’t use them.
Tarptent StratoSpire 2
You only sell directly to customers. Why?
By exclusively selling to customers, rather than to retail stores, we have the most direct customer feedback possible. We lowered the fly edge on the Scarp series ($349-$369) in direct response to requests from UK customers.
I remember early on when we released the first Rainbow ($259). I designed that tent in the relative constant humidity of the San Francisco Bay Area and changes in humidity didn’t even enter into my thinking. Subsequent customer reports of fabric shrinkage impacting long pole sleeve lengths in low humidity areas led directly to implementing a tension buckle to allow for field adjustment.
I consider the StratoSpire one of our finest innovations, and that tent was a direct, albeit inadvertent, collaboration. It started with a customer suggestion to offset the poles on a standard A-frame and became a unique, now patented, product when I combined that suggestion with one of our bits of tent DNA: the “PitchLoc” corner already present on the Scarp and Moment.
It was one of those joyful “Aha!” design moments I was fortunate to experience and one I’ll always remember.
Tarptent Scarp 2
How does your physics background impact Tarptent shelter design?
I’ve always been interested in how things work and how parts come together to work as a whole. I studied physics in college and was most drawn to classical mechanics, which, in retrospect, ties directly to tent design because a tent is just a body subject to multiple applied forces.
Studying physics also gave me a really strong appreciation for the elegance and power of simplicity. A guiding scientific principle is “ Occam’s Razor ”—the idea that simple explanations are preferable to complex ones—and I try to apply the same thinking wherever possible to tent design.
Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion (F=MA) and its rotational analog for torques are most applicable to tent design. They are so simple and yet so predictive and explanatory.
What I’ve learned over the years is that good design is just evolution at work; that what works best is finding the right recombination of proven design elements that perform the function in the most efficient and elegant way. Breaking design elements down into bits of “tent DNA” has led directly to most of the designs I’ve done in recent years and will continue to drive the process in the coming years.
Tarptents in winter
We put Tarptent’s newest shelter, the 26 oz, $209 ProTrail to the test during a bike packing trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains in February and were highly impressed. A more in-depth look at the ProTrail, along with a spread of other North American-made products will go live on GearJunkie next week.
Everyone interprets Scripture on some criteria, the most dangerous ones are those who don’t think they do and presume to merely take Scripture literally. These are often those who most want to force their distorted views on others.
This is the view that awaited us for the first 7 nights of our extended journey through beautiful New Zealand. I know it’s only 10kms from our home in Richmond but the Stepneyville hill area of Nelson has quite a history…and this restorative view…wow!
…here’s Michael with our precious laptops in our current outside office.
It’s the unexpected little treats that often give the biggest thrill. Every Wednesday and Sunday, a yacht race is held in the Nelson harbour and as the sun starts to move under it’s duvet, we have the best seats in the house to enjoy the spectacle.
Always something to see in this beautiful harbour.
…and tomorrow, I think it might be a ‘fish ‘n’ chip dinner right on the wharf….just for a closer view.
EDC stands for everyday carry, a term used in the military to designate the most useful tools carried on your person at all times. Product design blog and online merchant Kaufmann-Mercantile, has put together a similar EDC Kit, using the same military suppliers, that will come in handy to almost any type of outdoor enthusiast.
The EDC Kit contains a pair of precision tweezers, Phillips screwdriver, flat head screwdriver, pry bar, and a waterproof emergency lighter. A lightweight titanium key ring holds all the tools together. Weighing only 2 oz. all in, this utility kit is not going to load down your pack.
The pry bar or mini crowbar, made from industrial grade metal, comes in handy for prying open cans, such as hot cocoa, or even for use on those stubborn tent stakes that don't want to come back out of the ground. You can even jam the pry bar up under a beer bottle top if you forgot your opener or aren't wearing beer friendly gear .
The precision tweezers can be used for everything from plucking out slivers or cactus quills, to removing ticks from you and your pet. Made from hardened steel, the screwdrivers can help fix almost any of your equipment including your camp stove, snowshoes, skis, crampons, you name it. I even found the flat head screwdriver to offer good leverage to help open a bear canister.
The 1 inch high refillable capsule lighter features a waterproof and airtight seal. No water can get in and no lighter fluid will leak into your pack. The flame stays lit until you blow it out, great for those times you need to light your stove or start a fire if you get caught out somewhere.
I once forget to carry a lighter with me when backpacking through the Desolation Wilderness and as my Jetboil igniter was malfunctioning, I had to cut my trip short. Though I plan to never make the same mistake again, I will feel much more comfortable knowing I always have a waterproof lighter backup as part of my multi-tool kit (just can't forget to pack it now).
I plan to always keep the EDC Kit in my climbing pack during the season. As Kitty Calhoun has lectured many times, the one thing you always bring is a lighter as you never know what is going to happen. I can see the screwdrivers also coming in handy for fixing crampons, ice axes, or even rock gear.
The EDC Kit retails for $44 and can be purchased from the Kaufmann-Mercantile website.
It’s time to grab your favourite super-soaker and start stockpiling some water balloons, because Vancouver’s largest water fight is back for the seventh time in Stanley Park .
The event will be held at Lumberman’s Arch (near the water park on the North side of Stanley Park) and will begin at exactly at 1pm to the sound of the theme song (the very interesting signature Vancouver Waterfight Theme Song performed by The Legion of Flying Monkeys Horn Orchestra).
There are a few rules of conduct to abide by, including:
clean up after yourself (especially when it comes to water balloons)
Don’t be rude and attack innocent bystanders
Don’t take it too seriously (it’s not a contest, it’s a water fight!)
Most importantly, have fun and get soaked! The Vancouver weather report is looking promising with a 14-day trend of sun, sun, sun — so cool off with the help of hundreds of other like-minded people water fight aficionados.
Learn more about the event at the official facebook page .
Vancouver’s largest water fight kicks off on Saturday, August 10th at 1pm at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park. Don’t miss it!
A northern hawk owl was hanging out near Moscow, Idaho, in December 2013. (Terry Gray)
WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Sad news: the northern hawk owl that's been attracting birders from far and wide to the Moscow, Idaho, area has been reported dead.
The rare visitor from the arctic has been hunting and hanging out in the area since it was spotted Dec. 3 near a Moscow shopping mall by raptor expert Erik Stauber, a retired wildlife veterinary professor from Washington State University.
Moscow birder Terry Gray, who's been watching and photographing the bird almost daily just reported the news.
The hawk owl, a bird of boreal forests in Alaska and Canada, became a sensation because of its willingness to stay in the same area and be photographed by many, many birders after Gray posted photos and began giving daily reports on where the bird could be seen.
Northern hawk owls have been recorded and documented farther south in Idaho (Hailey and in eastern Idaho) and several had been recorded for Moscow and Pullman around 20 years ago, says birder Charles Swift.
But the bird is a rare or maybe once-in-a-lifetime bird for many enthusiasts in this region.
Birders had expressed concern about the bird's lack of fear for powerlines and vehicle traffic as it hunted for mice and voles in the wild patches along the town's edges and roadways. The bird was found injured but alive on a road where it had been hunting. Apparently it was struck by a vehicle. It was taken to WSU veterinarians but did not survive.
Click Continue reading for more details about the bird and from WSU News. (Note the error in reporting that this is the first documented sighting of a hawk owl near Moscow):
From WSU News
Owls, like most creatures, “sometimes just hit the road and go,” said raptor expert Erik Stauber, a retired wildlife veterinary professor from Washington State University. So when he spotted an odd looking bird perched on a bare tree near a Moscow, Idaho, shopping mall, he suspected it was a rare visitor from a faraway land.
His hunch was spot-on. The bird Stauber saw from his car window on Dec. 3 turned out to be a northern hawk owl, a breed that normally resides in remote boreal forests of Alaska and Canada.
Slightly larger than a pigeon, with the barring and spots of an owl but the long, tapered tail of a hawk, this one is still visiting the Palouse.
“Moscow, Idaho - that’s the farthest south I’ve ever heard of one being positively identified,” said field biologist Jessica Larson of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Mont., who’s been studying northern hawk owls since 2006. “It’s really exciting news.”
Rarely seen species
Since Stauber’s discovery, birders, photographers and the curious have flocked to Moscow’s Eastside Marketplace mall where the owl perches on nearby traffic signs, utility wires and small trees as if ruling the neighboring townsfolk. Staring straight ahead with yellow cat-like eyes, the bird seems unruffled by the parade of gawkers hoisting binoculars and cameras with lenses as long as baseball bats.
Not only is it unusual that this owl flew so far south, but also that it has stayed so long in a specific location - and an urban one to boot, said Larson. She’s accustomed to observing the species in “fairly rugged terrain,” where she must trudge over ravines or cross-country ski across frozen lakes.
“Northern hawk owls aren’t migratory, but they are nomadic, flying from one spot to another in search of food. The fact that this one is staying in one small area tells me there must be great hunting opportunities there,” said Larson, adding that, if not for her newborn baby, she’d travel to Moscow to see the bird.
Because of their remote habitat zones, “northern hawk owls are challenging to study and we know far less about them than we do most birds of North America,” she said. “So now you’ve got one perched on a traffic sign near a shopping mall? I wish I could be there.”
13,553 hits and counting
Stauber, who created WSU’s Raptor Club in 1981 and whom the university’s raptor facility is named after, had never seen a hawk owl before that December afternoon.
“My mind kept clicking off all the birds that I knew it wasn’t until I reached a tentative conclusion of what it was,” he recalled.
To make what birders call an official sighting, Stauber phoned Terry Gray, a member of the Palouse Audubon Society.
“I said, ‘Terry, it looks like we’ve got a northern hawk owl across the highway from Eastside Market.’ Before I could finish explaining, I think Terry was already there,” Stauber said with a laugh.
Gray drove to the site and watched the bird fly from one lookout perch to another, its wings moving in slow, hawk-like strokes. As the 15-ounce force of nature swooped down on small rodents, “there was no question that Erik had guessed right,” said Gray. “To say that I was excited about a northern hawk owl being in our midst would be an understatement.”
Gray posted the official sighting on eBird , along with multiple photographs on Flickr .
“Within 24 hours, the site got 13,553 hits, which amazed me. Clearly, Erik and I weren’t the only ones interested,” said Gray, who observes and photographs the owl almost each day. The number of voles and mice it pulls from Paradise Creek’s riparian zone near Safeway indicates it has an abundant food supply, he said.
Bird, humans, from afar
After following Gray’s updates on eBird, John Facchini of San Francisco decided to drive to Moscow from Seattle where he had been visiting. The self-described birder and nature enthusiast drove through the night, arriving near the mall just after sunrise. After seeing the owl land atop a pine tree, Facchini spent an hour or so watching it hunt and snapping pictures.
“It was a very cooperative bird,” he said.
Northern hawk owls are diurnal, or active by day, explained Stauber; that’s one of the reasons it’s so easy to view this visitor. Even so, the bird is surprisingly calm as spectators congregate near the utility poles, signs and trees where it perches to scope for food.
“I’ve never seen a non-captive raptor so unconcerned with humans,” said Stauber.
No matter how much the owl enjoys all the attention and fast food, it will probably hit the road again by early March, he predicted: “It will want to find a mate and realize that one isn’t here.”
In the meantime, folks keep asking why an owl of the great northern forest alighted on a patchwork quilt of fields, stores, cars and a creek.
“It’s an example of nature offering a great story of life,” said Stauber. “To which the answer is, ‘Why not?’”
