James’s Blog

The Times hid this in their Fashion & Style section, and I would never have clicked on it had there not been a picture of a smiling half-naked man, showering.

Anne Sherwood for The New York Times

It’s a slideshow of portable outdoor showers, with reviews. The lightest one, the Sea to Summit Pocket Shower, is only 4.25 ounces! I think that’s a purchase. And I should never have gone and looked for it because then I discovered that the all-too-useful Campsuds now comes in a Nalgene bottle!

Another slideshow about kayaks is also a good reference for the future.

There’s a change of policy when climbing Mt. Whitney: you must pack out your own poop. New York Times did an article about it, with a riveting video. There goes any chance of Carson climbing Mt. Whitney with me. I thought one only has to do this for glacier crossing and mountaineering, because of a lack of decomposition in that environment, but the trend is coming to backpacking. I only knew about these poop tubes, but apprarently the new Wag Bags work pretty well, and the rangers are handing them out to the hikers.

a Wag Bag in action

The videos prove that the butcher you appear, the queasier you feel about pooping in a bag and taking it with you:

Eww! No way!

No problem. Look.

It’s a rare event for me to find shoes that fit my small, slightly wide feet. So I was very happy to find this pair of Merrell Landpro Ultra-Sport at Nordstrom, while out on an impomptu shopping spree with Carson, who shall henceforth be considered my good luck charm of shoe shopping.

They were on sale, too! The price was about $73 with tax, saving me about $30 from the usual price.

I never realized that there was an actual inventor of instant noodles. Momofuku Ando was born Taiwanese, and became a naturalized Japanese citizen after the War. The New York Times ran a funny piece paying tribute to Mr. Ando and his beloved noodles. I enjoyed this powerful passage:

Ramen noodles have earned Mr. Ando an eternal place in the pantheon of human progress. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Give him ramen noodles, and you don’t have to teach him anything.

The Chinese Wiki article has more information about his life. It claims that Mr. Ando said the key to longevity is eating chicken-flavored instant noodle every day!

吳百福/安藤百福/Momofuku Ando, 1910-2007

(Via Andrew Sullivan’s sub Ana Marie Cox)

I really can’t describe it better than Ms. Cox has already. It’s supposed to tone your abs, core, etc. This video demonstration shows you how. It is “fun to ride,” and it costs $600. (When is Rosi’s birthday??) From the looks of the ad, iGallop is mainly for women, but I suppose that a guy can enjoy it, too. Might have to lean forward a little bit. There’s gotta be mods that personalize your iGallop somewhere.

I know many boys and girls who could definitely use one of these. (When is Rosi’s birthday??)

From boysstuff.co.uk [via Gizmodo]:

This naughty nipple-topped pair attaches to your shower wall with the suckers provided, with each bosom having a compartment for shower gel, shampoo or conditioner.

Doesn’t that mean they need to provide a 3rd-boob option? I tried to look for a similar product that’s shaped like a penis, but didn’t find any. Maybe the idea of a penile shampoo dispenser is a bit too much.

Another oldie. Are you tired? Turn up your speakers and enjoy this video. It’ll “give you a natural boost,” but please don’t die while watching.

Then there’s this.

There is more where that came from.