The Walking Dead, A Movie Review

No, this is not a zombie. Its a neighbor man hiking in the woods. His photo was shot with a trail camera.

This is me as a zombie Personal Chef. Halloween Party, a karaoke night, brought out the best or worse in us.

The Walking Dead is an AMC series filmed in Atlanta. The first season, 2010 had only 6 episodes.

44 minutes is a good amount of time to explored this theme. The premise of a devastating virus on the loose infects live people who are bitten or scratched by the walking dead. These zombies can smell the live humans, can hear all the sounds of mechanical and human device, but can not speak. This is a valuable piece of information. Talk if someone is about to shoot you because you're dripping blood from someplace.

The series is gruesome enough for all thrill seekers. We have a cop as a hero who is near fatally wounded and left for dead in a local hospital. He wakes to find the place deserted, zombies clamoring behind a chained door, and dead folks lying head to toe, rows upon rows on the loading dock.

We have some survivors holing up near a quarry, camping and sending supply parties back into Atlanta. We have rescues going on, and likable people getting overrun and eaten. Funny how the flesh always stretches into elastic gory messes.

But, I'm "enjoying" the series and will look for the next season of this.
Happy Halloween.
Go eat some candy.

Minimalist Lifestyle Lends Itself to Survival

I am friends with Treehugger on facebook. That means I get neat links to stories like this:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/soccer-moms-can-be-survivalists-too-video.php

Yesterday I read a story at that site about a sixteen year old who is building himself a portable 130 sq. foot home. It will cost him $2,500 and eliminate the rental and mortgage problem as he goes on to college, then finds a job and settles down. It will make him available for various jobs nation wide.

The key here, of course, is minimalism. If a person can keep their gear down to manageable size they can easily live in 130 square feet. However, if a person needs a host of different products for bathing, washing, and house cleaning, for example, all those things take space.

Minimalism is an art form, in backpacking, traveling, lifestyles.

With the economy so challenging, its becoming the fashion. Good thing for the planet, too.

My little studio is 12 x 16. The livable space is nearly 180 square feet. With the addition of this wood burning stove, I can use this space all winter long with no heating costs. There's a full size bed, electricity and wifi.

Its not portable, however, but look at my yard. Color is peak.

This photo makes the studio look like its slanting. But, believe me, its level. The company that brought it out 5 years ago leveled it and installed hurricane anchors.

Wrangler Reroutes Griz near West Glacier

This is an amazing interview. Check it out at:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2011/oct/11/erin-bolster-and-tonk-late-show-david-letterman/

She is a great spokeswoman for seasona workers dedication and fun personality. Put the bravery and knowledge with that and you have a winning combination.

I love it!

Fresh Beats Fried Who Knew

I personally  never thought the day would come when Subway beat out McDonald's in total locations.
According to Time Magazine, by the end of 2010, home of the foot long for $5 had 33,749 locations while McDonald's had 32,737.

They say this is the "world's biggest restaurant chain" in terms of locations, not sales or pounds of aficionados.

No problem, I love Subway. They have this great bread and fix the sandwich right before your eyes with gloved hands. Wrapped in a nice paper instead of Styrofoam, a couple napkins, and its pretty low on the carbon footprint scale, one would think.

My only "beef" with them is not all locations serve coffee after noon.  Hopefully, this winter when its cold, we can have a hot beverage with our meal. But, hey, don't do it just for me, Subway Owners. I seldom eat out anyways.

Borowitzer Report Hilarious on Occupy Wallstreet

I find Andy Borowitz hilarious. His short news stories cover political events like no other can. Check it out:

http://www.borowitzreport.com/2011/10/17/a-letter-from-goldman-sachs/

I've been invited to come camp out at a number of venue's protesting Walstreet. We've got Occupy Atlanta going on, theres the one up in New York, and I hear its spreading across the country. Personally, I'd like to go Occupy Key West.

I know they need some Occupying going on cause housing down there is unaffordable for folks like me. Especially in the upcoming season if I'm going to commit to a tent for any length of time, its going to be south of the Mason Dixie line, youbetcha.

I'd like to see Occupy Manhattan (Walstreet or anywhere's north) in about a month. Hell's about to freeze over. Will there be bon fires and space heaters?

Interesting stuff. I see mostly dome tents, free standing. Easy to move, too. Just unstake them, and carry the structure as is. Soon the grass will be dead beneath.

I'm not saying I support or dis the movement, I'm saying its not sustainable. These rich folks know it, too, so time is on their side.

Looking forward to the Halloween scene in Gatlinburg. Hope to post photos here , stay tuned.

Second Book Completed

I haven't posted in awhile. Between enjoying the fabulous color here in north east Georgia and completing the second book of my trilogy End of Days, time just sort of got away from me.

I created this book cover on the Paint Program, a challenge in itself. The background is a shimmer of light off my car, which actually became an exciting canvas to work on. If you would like to view more details on this work, please visit  Journey North (Book 2 :End of Days) or see more on my website at
http://trailquest.net/brawny.html which is more personal page currently under construction.

May all your journeys be light.

Refrigeration using Sand and Claypots

I love learning new tricks for creating necessary items out of unlikely components. I read The Survivalistblog. He usually has a guest post contest going whereby people write articles and the best one  wins a prize. This is a great idea because so many good writers detail creative ideas.

Check out today's post describing how to create a viable refrigeration unit with ordinary clay pots and sand.

I'll be testing this idea soon.
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/

Silnylon Bag Set-Sale Item

Ultralight Stuff Sacks and Ditty Bag set includes:

Four stuff sacks:9 x 14, 7 x 11, 8 x 10, 8.5 x 11

One stake bag
one belt loop pouch 4 x 7.5

and 3 ditty bags: 4.5 x 4.5, 7 x 7.5, 5.5 x 9.5

The entire collection weighs just 3 3/8 ounces. The variety of sizes and colors makes organizing your backpacking gear easy.

See Sales Page http://brawnyview.blogspot.com/p/sales-page.html
to purchase for only $30, which includes shipping.

Eureka Spitfire Tent-Sale Item

Read my review and click on the link to see manufactures photos and stats. This tent fits anyone in the six foot range, very generous for someone of my size.
 http://store.eurekatent.com/spitfire-1-tent

I'm selling it for $70 which includes shipping. In excellent shape, used to produce this review. As a gear designer, I make my own tents, so this one is now available.




http://www.trailquest.net/ultralight.html#Gear Reviews

See the Sales page on this blog if you are interested in proceeding with questions or would like to order.

Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker Dies

Its always a sad day when someone you love passes away. For those who have hiked the trail, a special affinity and speculation on "what went wrong" also occurs.

Here's the link for the article concerning the guy who died in Maine:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44733461/ns/today-today_news/t/hiker-dies-just-short-appalachian-trails-end .

 

In the end, we all will die somewhere. I'm happy this man was not alone, nor stuck someplace he didn't want to be.

 

This was his third thru-hike, and I give special thanks to all the family members  and trail angels who supported him emotionally and assisted him in living his dreams.