The Ultimate Dog Toy

Do you want your dog to be occupied to for an hour or more? Do you want him to be fed super healthy food while being occupied? Here is what you do.

1. Buy your dog some Kong Toys
2. Buy cheap human food for your dog. For me this consists of chicken thighs, hamburger meat, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and brown rice.
3. Throw it all in the slow cooker. I did it on high for 5 hours. I just put it all in at the same time, at the beginning. Your dog wont care that its over cooked, it tastes too good for him to care. Here is what it looks like when your done (it was cooled in the fridge so I could remove the fat).
   
4. Then I take it to the cutting board and mince it all up. I have experimented with mincing vs. larger chunks and the mincing seems to take him longer to get through. You will see why in step 6.
   
5. Stuff the ever living daylights out of a Kong - I mean really pack it in there!
6. Freeze the Kong... Freeze it solid. The reason I think the minced last longer than the bigger chucks is that I think its easier for the dog to get the chunks out of the Kong and chew threw them easier. I think the minced stuff acts more like ice so the dog has to work it with his tongue more and then eat it. Just a thought.
   
7. Give the Kong to your pooch for long lasting fun and nutrition.
   

Subaru WRX

Yikes!

Toyota Landcruisers

This is a video of the Toyota Landcruiser Association club that I belonged to in Boston. It is from their main meeting in NH. Even though I did not attend from down here in Austin, I can assure you... it was a great time had by all really.


Yankee Toys Fall Gathering FJ40 landcruiser land cruiser from rabid on Vimeo.

Messenger Bag Reviews

Embarrassingly enough, I have had many messenger bags over the years. No, I am not a bike messenger but I do ride mine a fair amount. As a result, I have always been looking for a bag that could perform and one of the following tasks:

• Carry my computer and work documents
• Carry my clothes for a weekend trip
• Hold my mtn bike gear - helmet, shoes, camelbak, gloves, glasses, shorts and t-shirt
• Transfer a modest about of groceries
• Be easy to adjust based on the load
• Be relatively water resistant
• Look good

What bags are we going to talk about:
Patagonia - My version is older than the newer Critical Mass bag but it is still relevant
Courier Wear - The Travel Bag
Freitag - The Messenger - Top Cat
R.E. Load - The Executive
R.E. Load - Backpack

The Patagonia Critical Mass messenger bag:

• Initial Impressions - This bag is one big cavernous sac. In the end, it was basically used as a duffle bag. It did not shine as a bag for commuting to work or running errands.
  
• Storage - There is a basic internal zipped pocket and one mesh pocket on the outside. The internal pocket will not fit a computer but it will hold your wallet and such while the outside one if perfect for a small lock or a Nalgene bottle. It is not a good work bag because everything has to just be thrown in there. The computer, charger, folders, documents... There is no way to kep it organized with out buying other bags to separate the stuff For this reason, it is a good travel bag for clothes and such.
  
• Comfort & Adjustability - The fabric is tough and after 8 or so years, it shows no sign of wear. The shoulder strap is very stiff and uncomfortable. It digs into my shoulder prettybadly and because it is so stiff, it is not easily adjustable.
• Usefulness - This bag is best suited to packing clothes and soft goods. Becuase the fabric is so soft and doesn't hold it shape. As a result, any documents, folders or paper tend to shift around a lot and come out malformed and "curved". Was I able to use this bag for a lot of purposes? As I said before, it basically got used as a duffle bag.
  

The Courier Wear Travel Bag

• Initial Impressions - This bag is the biggest bag they make and that is why I bought it. What attracted me to is most was its size (the largest allowable carry on size for an airplane) but it has compression straps to keep your load in check. I used this bag on our honeymoon. It was perfect. It was comfortable and manageble the entire time. It was able to do everything, carry all of our camera quipment and clothes, as well as be strapped down and secured down for plane travel with just a few things in the bag.
  
• Storage - Very well thought out pockets! There is one outside pocket, small and dead center on the bag. Its perfect for your lock or quick to reach items like your phone, wallet, tickets or whatever. Inside, there is one large velcro pocket along the bag that is the size of the bag. You can fit a 17" laptop in their easily. Inside, along the front of the bag, there are 4 same sized pockets that allod you to organize whatever you want, how ever you want. An interesting aspect to this bag is that the inner casing is not attached to the outer shell except for at the top. This allows the contents of the bad to move and shift and contour to the shape of your body. It does not work well for documents but it is a dream for anything else.
  
• Comfort & Adjustability - The outside fabric is soft yet durable and molds to your body really well. The strap is thick enough that it feels good with a heavy load but it is also maluable enoguh that it moves well through the easily adjustable buckle. The side compression straps are what really make this bag one of the most versitile of the bunch. Although, they do dig into your back or side and become annoying at times. I need to look into how I can soften the edges of the nylon straps where they are sewen to the bag.
  
• Usefulness - This bag is is really really big so it is not too useful for every day commuting to work but it is great for just about everything else. The amount of pockets allow you to organize really well and the compression straps make it all manable. The cut and stitching of the bag make it great for carrying all sort of stuff like groceries and clothes and your computer and just about everything.

The Freitag Top Cat messenger bag:

• Initial Impressions - This bag is made from recycled materials. A used polymer coated canvas truck tarp, used seatbelts and bike tires. I think maybe the only parts that are not recycled on this bag are the material for stitching, the velcro and the the buckle. Very urban looking, unique and one of a kind. It was the most corporate of the group. It fits a 17" laptop and lost of documents. Because of its narrow profile, it is good at keeping things verticle. It was too small for anything other than work.
  
• Storage - The bag has one thin thin narrow pocket along the bag of the bag which is perfect for file folders and such. The main cabin does not have room for much more than your laptop and a few books. Maybe a small umbrella, your charger and some other do dads. There is one outside pocket which wont fit a bike lock but it will fit pens, phone, a small datebook, a checkbook and so on.
  
• Comfort & Adjustability - Because it is so narrow, it cant carry a big load which makes it fairly comfortable. The strap glides through the buckled easily and is very simple to adjust.
  
• Usefulness - The is basically a large murse.
  

The R.E. Load Executive messenger bag:

• Initial Impressions - Heavy, overbuilt, tough, strong, thick. After a few weeks of use, the bag softened up and feels good. It is still stiff enough to keep its shape but soft enough to mold well around your body. The inside is heavy ballistic material. Waterproof. The seams aren't sealed but I bet it would take a deluge to get through this bag. The strap is a but thick but there is a pad and it's comfortable.
  
• Storage - An inside pocket that is not the full size of the bag but big enough to hold stuff. Not a computer but smaller stuff. There are pen holders which is cool. There are two large pockets on the outside. They are individually open and closeable (my own word). Nice. The bag itself is a good size. Manageable. Carries most loads well including for work or a weekend or running errands.
  
• Comfort & Adjustability - The tough exterior fabric softens up pretty quick. The strap is thick and has some added nylon ribbing on the outside edges which keeps it from really digging into your shoulder. Its is not that easy to adjust though. I think it will get better over time.
  
• Usefulness - The perfect shoulder bag for all around use. Built by messengers for everyone that bikes.
  

The R.E. Load Backpack :

• Initial Impressions - Same as the Executive bag... Heavy, overbuilt, tough, strong, thick. After a few weeks of use, the bag softened up and feels good. It is still stiff enough to keep its shape but soft enough to mold well around your body. The inside is heavy ballistic material. Waterproof. The seams aren't sealed but I bet it would take a deluge to get through this bag. This thing is damn comfortable. Nice padded shoulder straps, a waist strap, a strap across the chest if you want to use it. The back is padded so nothing pokes or prods you and because its a back pack, your shoulder(s) don't hurt!
  
• Storage - This is the biggest bag in the history of bags. You can fit two file folder boxes in the damn thing. You can fit anything in this bag. Seriously, anything.
  
• Comfort & Adjustability - The bag is 100% adjustable. 2 compression straps on each side, straps for the flap that covers the top (2). To straps along the bottom so you can literally cinch the whole thing down if you arent carrying a big honkin' load. Totally comfortable.
  
• Usefulness - This is too big for work but its perfect for everything else. If I were a messenger, this would be my bag. If I do need to carry my work stuff + gym stuff + other stuff to work, this is the bad I am using, with out question. If I ride to the grocery store, this bag goes with me. It's great.
  

The overall winners for best bags are the R.E. Load bags. Done.

Cheap Eats in Austin - Days 10-14 Unemployed

So, where does one eat, or where do two eat when one of the the two is unemployed? Here is Austin there are plenty of options. Here they are, by night of the week:

Monday:

• Huts - 2 for 1 veggie burgers
• Eddie V's - $0.50 oysters
• Green Mesquite - 2 for 1 burgers
• Doc's - 2 for 1 burgers

Tuesday:

• Quality Seafood - $2.00 fish tacos + $2.00 beers
• Green Mesquite - 2 for 1 chicken fried steak
• Patsy's Cowgirl Cafe - 1/2 price burgers

Wednesday:

• Huts - 2 for 1 burgers
• Doc's - $1 crispy tacos

Sunday:

• Eddie V's - $0.50 oysters

So, I wont be getting svelte eating the above menu but I will be saving $$$ by eating it.

VOTE!

Don't forget to vote tomorrow. Here in Austin we were able to vote early. I voted last Friday - check it:

Digicam mount for your bike...

I am going to give this a try. I friend of mine sent it over to me today.

Bicycam - A simple camera mount for bikes

Nikon

So I am a camera snob, big deal. I do happen to love almost all things Nikon, even with Ashton pimping out the brand right now. My most recent enfatuation is with the D90. Don't worry honey, I am not going to even think about getting one. I happen to think the hi-def video capturing is pretty damn cool. Check out this vid made with it:


Nikon D90 test from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Not bad right? For a digital SLR? Pretty damn cool I think. Me? I use the D80 and love it. I have the 18mm - 200mm VR lens and it pretty much shoots what ever I want, where ever I want in what ever light I want. I do want a real flash but as soon as I get that I am all done with camera stuff.

COSLEY LAKE CAMP || Glacier National Park

The picture above was taken from where out tent was pitched at the Cosley Lake Campsite in Glacier National Park. It is amazing! The prep and eating area are right on the lake (practically) and your view is unparalleled by any other camp site in the valley. I think almost all the campsites are along the lakeshore like this one is. The picture is a bit deceiving, there is row of trees and bushes that separate the tents sites from the shore. It's about 6' deep at most. Truly lovely.

There is very little wind at this location (unlike the gross Elizabeth Lake Foot campsite) and it was truly a pleasure to stay here. Another great part of this site is it's location. If you have time, you can take a side hike up to the Bear Mountain Overlook (pic from the overlook seen here). It was a great side hike. A long hill climb up a scree slope but well worth it. Some of the best views in the valley.

We bumped into the ranger on our walk back to camp and he told is that the look out is big horn sheep terriroty. We didn't see any but if you get a chance to walk this walk, keep your eyes open.

All in, this was my favorite camp that we actually spent the night at. I bet Helen Lake is better but this one took the cake for us. Even better than Mokowanis where we had our Moose encounter.

LIMMER BOOTS - What is all the hubub about?

Limmer boots (mine) on the left, Asolo boots (my wife's) on the right. Who's boots were broken in? Mine. Who's feet had blisters? Mine. Who's feet hurt like hell? Mine. Why are Limmer boots so sought after and so "great"? The only reason I can think of is that they last a long time.

What kinds of boots have I had in the past? A great pair of all leather, inside and out, Merrells and a really good pair of Millets, again, 100% leather. I guess I like them with an M eh? The Merrells didnt last because my foot is so fat that it blew out the side. So, because I blew out the side I went with the welt construction of the Limmers.

Hand made in NH right? Not so, mine were made in Germany. I think only the custom ones are made in NH. So, I got em a year ago and followed the break in instructions to a T. I even drove to their store in NH to make sure they fit right after they came in the mail. Yup, a 7 hour drive round trip to make sure my boots fit right, that is how serious I was about it.

I would not reccomend these boots, save your money, save your time. They just arent that comfortable and when it comes down to hiking for 12 hours, you need something more durable than comfortable in my opinion.

LAKE HELEN CAMP || GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Let me start by saying we did not stay at this camp. However, if I ever get back to this area it will for sure be a stop for us. What an amazing camp site. There are only 2 tentsites so you are guarenteed seclusion. The lake itself is so high that is in a true alpine setting. You are surrounded by 10,000 foot mountains which are homes to two glaciers. The toilet? Yeah, its an open air toilet... so nice!

Along the cliffs surrouding the lake there are waterfalls, lush green grasses and who knows what kind of animals and raptors. While staying here you will not see people passing through because this is a dead end. There is one way in and one way out and no one passes through as they hike from one destination to the next.

Go here! You will love it!

MSR WINDPRO STOVE

Not a great pic of the MSR Windpro stove but you get the point, we used it on our trip to Glacier National Park. This is about my 5th time using this stove on a camping trip. I love it. Here is the one downside to it, and any other stove that uses gas cannisters of this kind, IT WILL NOT WORK IN VERY COLD TEMPS. You can do your own research as to why...

So, back to the stove. Why do I love it so? Because it has a nice, even, wide flame pattern which heats the food more evenly that other blast furnace stoves I have used. If you want to go from nuclear hot to a warm simmer this stove does so in seconds. You can literally cook at about any temp. Did we need that on this trip? No, a Jet Boil would have been perfect because all we did was boil water for freeze dried food but whatever, we had this, so we took and and we love it.

It burns nice and clean, never got clogged or gunked up and boiled water in a fine about of time. The base is nice and broad and sturdy which is more than I can say for the stoves that screw right onto the stop of the fuel cannister. They tend to tip over if not on a solid base. Also, those require too much attentin to where you have to place the pot, etc... This one, you can plunk it right down and not worry about it. Here is what the set up looks like with out the windscreen and such -->. A good, clean set up right?

I have never used another stove as I stand by my MSR Dragonfly so I can't say much about others but... If it ain't broke, dont fix it. That is how I feel about my MSR products, they have never ever let me down so I keep going with them. I would definately buy this stove again and it is going to come on every trip with me that does not have snow or ice in the picture.

MSR / MOSS TENTS

4 nights of wind, hail and pouring rain and our 2 person, 4 season Moss tent which is pictured above, performed flawlessly. Now, the great people of Moss no longer hand make their tents in Maine as they did years ago when I bought mine. Instead, they sold the business to Mountain Safety Research (MSR). The current version of our tent is called the Fury. The tent currently costs $500 and here is the description from the MSR website:
One of the lightest,most bombproof mountaineering tents on the market just got even lighter. The 2-person Fury offers great internal space, unmatched strength, and a large hooped vestibule that provides increased storage and usability. It also features excellent high/low venting for superior airflow and internal pockets to help keep gear organized.

• Strong Compression Tension™ Design: Unique pole design works like a spring against the fly.
• Roomy: vaulted ceiling maximizes head and floor space.
• Large Hooped Vestibule: Designed for ultimate usability and gear storage.
• Superior Ventilation: Excellent high/low venting through large rear mesh window and a peak vent with kickstand support.

I am glad they made it lighter because that is my biggest concern about this tent, the tent, its fly and poles are one hell of a heavy combination. However, that is the only con. Well, that and the condensation that forms on the inside when you have it all buttoned up. I have talked to a lot of friends that backpack and they all complain their tents do the same thing when you have them all zipped up. Especially with two people inside sleeping, breathing heavy and perspiring during sleep.

Now, onto the good parts...

This 4 season tent can be set up in 3 minutes, as well as putting the rain fly on. This came in handy when we got to camp, it started to rain and then hail. We had the tent set up and all the necessary gear into it before it really got nasty out.

The vestibule is very effective. It might seem small but it was the perfect place for out boots and the other messy, muddy wet things we did not want inside the tent. It is not big enough for both of our packs, however, I have yet to see a backpacking tent that does have enough room for 2 4,000+ cubic inch packs.

The ventilation is good... With a huge screen door on each and and a moonroof, there is plenty of ventilation available.

It's bomber, bulletproof, strong... The 3 pole design (4 with the rain fly on) is a strong, sturdy free standing design. If you steak it down as designed and use the guides as well, this tent will not move or crush. Our last night at the Elizabeth Lake Campsite was severely windy and rainy and the test performed flawlessly. The wind bounced right off its rounded shape. It did not rattle and flap and keep us up all night.

This tent, the shape of it and the design of the rain fly, keeps dry. There was no soggy floor or leaky corners as I have seen in other tents. Sometimes the fly does not fit perfectly and the rain will drip from the fly to the tent, wet the wall and leak down to the floor resulting in a went tent wall and/or a wet floor. Not the case with this tent. Aside from the few drips of condensation, it remained dry. Not to mention that when the sun came out, the tent and fly dried very quickly.

The tent sheds snow well. This was not from out glacier trip but from a previous trip with my friend Peter on the spine of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. We get about 9 inches of heavy wet snow through out the night and the tent help up just great.

If you are not going to get a single walled tent and need something for 4 seasons, I highly recommend this tent.

Glacier National Park

My wife and I spent 6 nights, 7 days in Glacier National Park. We went there the first week in Sept. (2008). What a great time to be there. Most of the kids were back in school, it seemed a bit less crowded and the weather was great. We saw everything from snow and hail, to rain and sun.

My next couple of posts to the blog will be about the various experiences in Glacier National Park as well as reviews on the gear that we used. For now, I wanted to provide you with a link to some of the photos what we took.

Check out our pics from Glacier National Park!

She is Good...

Funny yet the reality. This holds true for any grandparents in FL


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

BAD ASS or BAD ASSES...?

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

Dog owners are Psycho

I can say this because I am one of them - dog owners are psycho. I total nut job. For this reason, I can call a spade a spade. I am working hard and having a very well behaved dog that can assimilate well into any situation. By doing this, I am hoping the dog won't run my wifes and my life. Because, that is what happens right? The dogs end up running you or your friends life. Does this sound familiar?

• I can't go out for drinks after work, I have to go walk the dog.
• I can't spend the night, I need to walk/feed the dog.
• I would love to go away for the weekend on a whim, just let me find a kennel or dog sitter for the dog.
• Oh my god! My vet bill was just $2,000 because my dog ate a cob of corn.
• I can't come over because I am out with the dog and he will run away because you don't have a fenced in yard.
• I would love to come over to your BBQ but I can't because my dog will just beg for food the whole time.
• No, sorry, you can't bring your kids over because my dog will jump and knock them over.

So, yes, I think we are all insane to let our dogs do this to our lives so I am trying to do something about it. Train him so he can be brought most everywhere. If he is a well behaved companion and comfortable in most situations, then there is no reason he can't hang out with us most of the time. The only thing we would have to deal with are his walks and feeding. Piece of cake...

OK, so I digressed. I started talking about me.

The crazies... why do we let dogs run our lives? They are not children, they are not human, yet we treat them as such. I surely consider my dog MOOSE part of the family and I would do just about anything for him. We just lost our last dog PJ and in the process spent over $7,000 trying to save her. Crazy? Yes. Worth it? Yes! Would I do it again? For her, yes!

In an article on PetEducation.com it is illustrated that the cost of owning a 50lb dog over a 14 year period can range from $4,200 on the low side to a "normal" cost of about $12,000 to a high end cost of nearly $40,000. That does not include major surgery! Insane if you ask me but I still do it.

I have seen fist fights break over dogs that are playing too rough. I have seen people nervous wrecks as they worry about their dog and their well being. I have been in tears for days and weeks over the loss of a dog more than once.

What is the point of all this? I am making no sense. This is the epitome of a dog owner being crazy. My point exactly. What a waste of a post but I am not going to delete it.

Seriously... Home sellers in Austin, please come back to Earth, come back to reality and bring your prices down from space. This house is about to go on the market. The big one you see, not the little one. It is going to be listed somewhere between $815,000 and $915,000 - I forget exactly the amount, but really, is it worth that? No. Look at the house next to it. There is a similar one on the other side of it, across the street from it and behind it. The price is too high for the street and its location. But, Oh My Gawd! It's in Travis Heights! Yup, that right there somehow give people the notion that they can ask for these prices.

Simply put, its out of control. Within a 5 or 6 block radius of this house there is, or was by now:

• A brand new modern home going for $575,000
  
• A crappy ass bungalo with no A/C going for $470,000
  
• A burned down and condemned home going for $475,000
  
• A house in barely move in condition going for $400,000
• Two new townhomes going for $700,000 and $800,000.
• And with in about 100 yards of this place a little vacant bungalo like the yellow house for $350,000.

The market is all over the place... A burned down house that you cant move into costs more than a 2 bed 2 bath down the street that you can move into... How does that make any sense?!?!?

All for what? To be with in a few minutes of S. Congress? I do love this hood but I am beginning to think it's not worth living here at all. Especially with the wonderful public schools my future children would get to go to. Can you see the dripping sarcasm?

Hey! You Austinites trying to cash in and all you house flippers! Do you really think the "housing crisis" that you read about in the papers every single day is not going to effect (or is it affect) Austin? I do. For this reason, my wife and I going to ride out the summer and see what happens to these prices. If people get what they are asking, well than I will be eating some serious crow and will have to cough up the cashish when the lease is up or move to El Paso or something.

Africa

It's been over 9 months since we got married and went on our honeymoon in Africa. Truly magical. Here is a compilation of all the photos I took, unedited, in a quick movie.


It is hard for me to write about each of the place we stayed and the things we saw. I think it is too personal and I am still trying to put it all in perspective. Having said that, the places we visited were:

• Amboseli National Park and we stayed at the Totrilis Camp
• Lewa Downs Wildlife Preserve and we stayed at the Lewa Tented Camp
• Masai Mara and we stayed at Little Governor's Camp

Do you research and you can't have a bad trip if you go and stay at any of these places. It was truly amazing.

Training MOOSE

So, MOOSE continues his training regimen. We are still working on what we learned in our puppy class from Greg @ Gateway Dog Training. Lots of sit, down, high-five, shake and well, Bang! Dead dog. Greg is totally great and awesome and we love him. We will be taking more classes with him in a bit. Take a look at the latest and greatest from MOOSE.



Tonight we are off to Lee Mannix for our 2nd of 6 classes. I'll write more when I have more time. I mostly wanted to get the vid of MOOSE up.

Working from Home is Hard

It is... Everyone thinks it's all about doing laundry, playing vids, watching porn and doing as little work as possible. For those of you that do it on occasion, this may be true. For those of us that have to do it daily, it's WRONG. It's a bear to work from home. There is no interaction with people except over the phone and it gets tedious. You have to work that much harder than your co workers in the office to get the same respect and attention because working from home is a joke to most people.

Working remotely is a better term I think. Either way, its not all its cracked up to be.

Some suggestions for the one or two people that happen to see this page and maybe even read this:

• Go through a morning routine like you are going to a normal job! Shower, eat breakfast, put on something other than your PJs
• Get out of the house at lunch time even if it is for a walk - this seems ovbious but you would be amazed at how it helps
• Try to work in an area that you can keep designated for work... In other words, if you work on your bed or couch or kitchen table it will be hard to separate yourself from work
• SHUT DOWN... when its time, the end of the day, your co-workers go home don't they? You should shut down your machine and walk away from your designated space
• Don't let your boss pile on the work. This will happen if you are good. They can't see you in the office working away, staying late, getting in early and being all stressed out. So, they will pile on the work. Push back when you can and when its appropriate. I just did, we'll see how that goes
• Try to keep your desk clean. This is hard for me but when it is, it helps
• Get yourself a headset and a landline
• Don't foget to expense our internet and phone bill
• If the walk for lunch is not cutting it, try to meet friends in the area for a quick bite or coffee... the actual people to people interaction works wonders
  
• DO NOT think its a good time to get a puppy. It's not. It's the worst time, trust me

Yelp is getting REDICULOUS...

I used to love Yelp. I am a big opinionated jerk and it was fun to go there and write about places I had been that sell goods or provide services and then write about them. I thought that by sharing my experiences I could help other people make an educated decision on whether or not they should go to the same place, or, use the same service I did.

I thought I was being helpful, I still think I am.

Then I began to browse the site and actually go to places and try them out based on other people's reviews. In fact, it became my go to place for a review on a restaurant someone had suggested or even just to try someplace new, I would go see what had lots of stars and check it out.

Then... the transformation. It happened about a month or so ago. Yelp really gained popularity and people began to use it as their personal blog... for everything. They began to "Yelp" (it's not even a fucking verb people) about everything. There are people that write reviews on anything from transvestites to British accents to day light savings time. Guess what people, Yelp is not CL, it is not your blog, it is a site about reviews of goods and services. You aren't that funny at all, you aren't terribly creative and all you are doing is taking something good and fucking it up for the rest of us.

My favorite one as of late was someone that reviewed this great farm that they love and would give it 5 stars except for the "yippies" that go there... Based on that the person had to give it 4 stars. Now, this is not indicative of Yelpers bastardizing their own site for their own self indulgence. It is just an example of someone being a total moron. Its one thing to be a yuppie, its another to be preppy... but a Yippie? Sure, I guess I can be them all.

What
The
Fuck?

I guess I take slight offense because I can't be a young (that part is now debatable) upwardly mobile professional that cares about the environment with out being made fun of, mocked or teased. Yes, I do feel like I am in Jr. high and not part of the cool crowd, so what? Instead I should forgo my career and salary and lifestyle to satisfy some dirty hippie that, by being that in and of itself, full fills some sort of definition of what it means to eat locally, organically and care about the environment? Screw you dirty hippie. I can hang with the best of 'em.

Anyway, I got way off track on that one.

So then... when someone decides to post a message about people writing reviews about business or services, she gets torn a new one. I even posted such a message and got the same reaction from the Yelp community.

The community should be policing itself. It is not doing so in such a manner than rings true to Yelps goal - to be the "...the ultimate city guide that taps into the community's voice and reveals honest and current insights on local businesses and services on everything from martinis to mechanics. " I will stick with it for a while and see if it straightens itself out. If not, addios Yelp. The shit on best of CL is way better than what that "community" can pump out any day of the week. I will go there for my entertainment and Chow Hound for my reviews.

The ride that epitomized Austin

I think its been a full 6 or 7 months since we packed up and left Boston MA for Austin TX. It feels like we left yesterday. My mountain bike a while back pretty much epitomizes my experience and perception of Austin thus far.

Here goes...

I started out, it was hot, 99* - Austin is hot.

I rode the 15 minutes it takes me to get from Travis Heights to the Barton Creek Greenbelt. No one honked, no one flipped me off, no one almost ran me over. The same ride back home from Davis SQ to the Fells was riddled with near death experiences, fingers and horn honking - Austin has more mellow drivers.

I was about 5 - 10 minutes into the ride when I came across a hot sweaty German couple standing next to their bikes. People that know me know what I think about Germans but I stopped anyway to ask if they needed anything. Of course I did, the woman was topless. One simple question later and I was on my way, biking again. They simply asked "Where is za water?" - Austin allows women to be topless with out it being illegal.

I rode and rode and rode... Fast sweeping hardpack trails sparsely littered with rocks. I found a great little loops which was located off of the main loop - Austin has good single-track.

As I was riding, there was the faint sound of bongos? drums? in the distance. Then the sound of voices, then the smell of weed and then the smell of burgers on a grill. Eventually I came across a swimming hole which was the source of all of the sights and sounds. About 50 people loving life, eating, drinking, smoking, swimming, sleeping, kissing and just plain hanging out. I was certainly the odd man out. I was in friggen tights for crying out loud - well, bike shorts really but could I have been a bigger dork. Some folks took pitty on me and offered me a cold Lone Star. Damn it was good. - Austin has creeks and swimming holes and people love them.

Heading back to the house I passed groups of women in group rides being lead by women from the Bicycle Sport Shop. Every single person I passed had a huge smile on their face and was very very friendly. - Austin's inhabitance are friendly, outgoing and love the outdoors!

Right outside the park on Barton Springs Rd. there are billboards advertising for Barton Place Condos. Their motto seems to be "Live Austin". Someone spraypainted over the "live" and wrote "SAVE" so it read "SAVE Austin". They also wrote EVICT THE YUPPIES which made me laugh because I guess that is what most people would refer to me as. - Austin is growing in all directions and experiencing some significant pains as a result.

Once back on the street I was huffin' and puffin' my way home when I turned onto S. Congress for the last push. Well, that little hill was enough for me and by Jo's I was wasted. So tired. So I asked for an iced T with a promise to go back and pay later - they gave it to me. It was just what I needed to get home. Thanks for that! - Austin's independent businesses are good for the city.

To sum it up, so far I think, and it was confirmed on my bike ride that:

• Austin is hot
• Austin allows women to be topless with out it being illegal
• Austin has good single-track.
• Austin has creeks and swimming holes and people love them.Austin's independent businesses are good for the city
• Austin's inhabitance are friendly, outgoing and love the outdoors
• Austin is growing in all directions and experiencing some significant pains as a result
• Austin's independent businesses are good for the city