Day 224- National Parks

Day 224- National Parks

I love national parks. They are a great resource. Where else can you learn, explore, and/or be in nature all for free or near free.

Last Saturday, Christine and I went on a hike in one of the 23 national parks in Washington DC, the C&O Canal. We hiked for about 2.5 miles and then turned around and hiked along the Capitol Crescent Trail.

We also took the ranger led mule boat ride for $5 each, we got an amazing tour of Georgetown by canal. All in all, we got exercise, fresh air, sunshine, an educational boat ride and saw amazing things for less than $20 including transportation and snacks.

Next week, we are planning a trip to Rock Creek Park for a hike and a picnic. And our house is planning a trip to Greenbelt Campsite for a house camping trip.

You can find out where your local parks are located by going to nps.gov or by googling your local state park service.

Day 214-And We're Back!

Day 214- And We're Back and Keeping Cool

Well, friends of competency. It turns out that my July Sabbatacal from the blog went a little longer than expected. But, I am back and I promise to really be back this time.

This being the first of August, it would be good I think to talk about keeping cool.

Its summer here in the Nation's Capital and if you ever wonder why government stops functioning in August, you have never been in DC in August.

It is so godlessly hot and sticky, you feel like your face may melt if you were to go outside. Its easy to break out in a drippy sweat, even while sitting still.

Of course, the obvious choice of keeping cool is cranking up the AC and doing absolutely nothing. But the unfortunate thing, of course, is all those air conditioners are doing their part to raise the overall temperature of the earth. And on top of that, if one too many air conditioners are on at the same time, you run the risk of a black out--much like the 20 hour black out our street had two days ago.

So, here are some cheap, easy and environmentally friendly ways to beat the heat.

1. Find places that are already cool- There are plenty of places that have the AC cranked up high. Restaurants and Theatres are obvious choices. But public libraries and museums are also a great choice, too. That way you can keep cool and support public education. Finding a shady tree in a public park is a great place to have a picnic, read and listen to your transistor radio.

2. Drink tap water- Sure, it feels really good to pull that pitcher of water from the fridge and fill a glass with ice and chug it down. But, once the cold water is inside of you, your body works hard to warm that water into body temperature. So, while your body core temperature is brought down, you body actually turns up the heat in order to bring it back to a comfortable level. Its better to just drink room temperature water. Or, drink one glass of ice water and follow that up with room temperature water.

3. Watch out on caffeine, sugar and alcohol- While an ice cold Coke, iced tea or beer may sound wonderful refreshing, you get the side effects of drinking something cold plus the physiological effects of caffeine, sugar and alcohol. The first two speed your heart up, causing your temperature to rise. And alcohol is a diuretic, causing you to loose important fluids through urine rather than cooling sweat. So much like ice water, if you drink a soda or beer, follow it up with some room temperature water.

4. Get some ice packs- When Christine worked at the LA Catholic Worker, they didn't have air conditioning at all and summer in LA can get pretty hot at night. So, they got some reusable picnic cooler ice packs from the local $.99 store. Every day, the cooler packs went in the freezer and every night they got wrapped into t-shirts and slept with. It really helps cool down those hot summer nights. On top of that, it fills the freezer. And full freezers work more efficiently and use less electricity than empty ones do.

5. Jersey Bed Sheets- Jersey bed sheets are made with soft cott0n and have a lower thread count than other bed sheets. The effect is a fabric that resembles t-shirt material. This allows for your sheets to breathe better and lets breezes cool you down. A set of Jersey sheets, an ice pack and a box fan near an open window are pretty much all you need to have a good night's sleep in the summer months.

Good luck keeping cool this summer. And we will see you on Monday.

Day 189- Urban hiking

Day 189- Urban Hiking

Well friends, it has been a month--a whole month since we were last together.

No, I had not forgotten about us. I just needed a wee vacation to get myself all together again.

General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and so I took the train down there and then slowly made my way back up via Greyhound.

It gave me a lot of time to see these fair states of ours with a lot of time to think, and read and reflect.

The highlights of my trip were walking around strange cities and seeing what I can find.

Some call this "Urban Hiking" or "Urban Exploring". It is the process of hiking through a city instead of nature. It is one of my favorite hobbies. It is a great way to get to know a city, have some exercise and it is free--or mostly free.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to urban hiking. One is the pre-planned route. Doing a little research of the city beforehand can show preplanned historical walking tours, art crawls, or architectural tours. Boston, for instance, has the Freedom Trail, a historical walking tour of Revolutionary Boston. Washington DC has Heritage Trails sprinkled throughout the city. Philadelphia has a walking tour of the Mural District. Chicago has a walking tour of the Art Loop. Or you can plan your own. Sarah Milstein gives the following advice on planning an Urban Hike for friends:

Plan your route, and — this is going to sound crazy — assume you’ll go a mile or maybe two an hour. With a group, you’ll move a lot more slowly than you expect. We usually aim for about five miles (www.gmap-pedometer.com is good for figuring out distances) and include about six points of interest and two takeout food stops.

The other school of thought is the just-show-up school. That is what I did for my trip through the South. For both Savannah and Columbia, I just showed up. While approaching each city, I would ask my neighbors on the bus if any one could recommend sights in the city to see. I kept a budget of how much I was expecting to spend in each city for food, drinks, and souvenirs. Then, I went to the visitor's center and picked up a map. I would then just walk. I would walk up and down streets looking at buildings, gardens and art galleries. I went to brew pubs to eat and would ask the locals who worked there for highlights. And I would just walk. I saw great things. I read every historical plaque I could find and absorbed the cities.

Some highlights of my trip include:
Paula Deen's Restaurant- The Lady and Sons
The Mercer-William's House from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah--Location where Jingle Bells was written
The South Carolina Statehouse and the Vista Arts District
The South Carolina Holocaust Memorial
The Memorial to the inventor of modern day gynecology

After a week of walking and exploring, I burned off 5 lbs from my waistline and took nearly a hundred photos.

It was a great week. And I have urban hiking to thank. So, head out into your city and see what you can discover.

Day 143--When Cheap Ass Hobbies Become Expensive

Day 143- When Cheap Ass Hobbies Become Expensive

As a photographer, technology sure has made one of my hobbies cheaper and easier to perform. Film has been replaced with reusable digital data cards. And the darkroom has been replaced with photoshop and inexpensive printers.

However, it has not come without its fallout.

In order to stay competitive, Kodak--the inventor of the affordable camera--as ceased to make film cameras. And Polaroid has stopped making instant film.

No big deal right?

Not for me.

One of my personal favorite techniques is the emulsion transfer. It is where the artist takes a professional quality of instant film and before the emulsion dries onto the paper, the artist transfers it to a piece of watercolor paper. The effect is interesting and unusual.

However, with Polaroid ending it is production of instant film, not only are the days of my hobby numbered, each day the materials become more expensive.

What once cost $5 for materials now cost $20, $25, even $30 depending on what site you use.

Yup, one of my cheap ass hobbies has become expensive, and ultimately obsolete.

I bought two packs of film the other day, all I could afford right now. I am afraid they may be my last.

Good-bye Polaroid Emulsion Transfer, you have been a good hobby for me. I will miss you.

Day 113-Cheap-ass Hobbies

Day 113- Cheap-ass Hobbies

Hobbies are important, I think. After all, idle hands are the devil's playground. But mostly, hobbies allow you to express yourself. They let you explore new ideas and build a life that is more fulfilling.

But hobbies can be expensive. They can clutter your life. They can be pretty darned useless.

So, I present to you my four principles to a cheap-ass hobby.

These are four ways you can tweak or grow a hobby that is fun, fulfilling and inexpensive to your livelihood.

1. Make a hobby out of something you have to do anyway. Lets face it, you still have to eat. You still have to wear clothing (for now). You still have to do a lot of things. So why not make it fun? If you have to eat, learn how to cook well. That way you enjoy what you are eating. If you have to wear clothing, why not learn how to make it? That way, you can save money and take pride in what you wear? Just last week, I wrote about how I turned shaving from a chore to a hobby.

2. Have a free hobby. There are loads of free things to do if you just know where to look for them. If you look in the back of your local free and alternative papers, you can find all sorts of free shows, gallery openings, concerts, etc. But don't forget about other free things that are always free. Instead of buying a new book or DVD, check out the library first. Check and see if your city offers free swimming pools, public beaches, or public parks. My new free hobby is making tourist maps for friends and family on google.

3. Have your hobby pay for itself. Thanks to the internets, we can get a bunch of free stuff and craft it into something beautiful and then resell it. So, if you are craft oriented--if you knit or papercraft or make jewelry or sew, you can get things and then sell it to folks.

4. Share a hobby. Sharing is a great way to save money on a hobby. Split on bulk supplies. Or trade techniques instead of taking a class. Or borrow materials from a fellow hobbiest.

With these four principles, you can be a master of cheap-ass hobbies. And every Wednesday, we share cheap-ass hobbies for you to try. Or ways to make your hobby even cheaper.

Competency Moment for the Day: I ran to work today. Well, mostly. I probably ran for about 1/3 of the time and then walked the other 2/3. Not bad anyways.