Spring Break!! (all-Canadian music edition)

I'm a bit behind in my writing...and that will remain for a few more days, at least.

The last few days has involved an inordinate amount of time on the interwebz, a lot of it spent getting the new 2012 product up on the fly shop's website. 

Lots of other random (& exciting) things are happening, too; unfortunately it means writing has taken a back seat for the time being. This will change hopefully soon!

(note: that hyperlink is a hint of exciting things to come)

Enjoy some tunes!

Clouser Madness!!!

Time/Date: 2200 CST, 21-May-11

Location: An undisclosed top-secret saltwater fly-tying training facility above 57° North (Canada). Nowhere close to saltwater.

Alternate title: I have no friggin' clue. Apparently I have the rare case of writer's block known as Title Writer's Block. #Lame

Also, this is not a rant. Well, maybe a little bit...

I was swiping through an article in a back issue of Fly Fishing in Saltwaters magazine I downloaded through the Zinio app on my iPod last night.

The publication is great; they have a contributing editors list that has, by my calculations, roughly 3,457 years of fly fishing experience. The fact I can carry 9 or so issues of the mag on my iPod is pretty damn awesome, too.

I read an article about year-round angling opportunities in the Fort Myers area. It was a really good article and was simultaneously entertaining & informative.

Then I stumbled upon their little FFSW Tackle Bag sidebar for angling in Fort Myers and read this:

REELS: Any of the reputable brands, such as Tibor or Islander, that have smooth drags and large-arbour designs.

For fly rods, the author wrote "8- or 9-weight for redfish, snook, tripletail and Spanish mackerel; 11- or 12- weight for tarpon and cobia." No mention of brand names. Same for lines, leaders & polarized sunglasses.

Any old rod, line or sunglasses will do. But for reels, any of the reputable brands, such as Tibor or Islander. I mean, nothing against Tibor or Islander, but why the plug for them?

I know a smooth drag & large-arbour design is pretty much needed for those species. I also know Tibor & Islander, and others (Nautilus, Hatch, et al.) are among the best for providing those. But they're the top of the line.

Suppose some newbie (aka, me, 8 months ago), just trying to figure this whole fly fishing in saltwaters (ha! got that in there!) thing out, reads that, hops online and sees a $700 price tag for a reel.

Do you think that's going to bring more people into the sport (and lifestyle) of fly fishing?

This goes back to an earlier post (rant?) about $800 fly rods vs. $250 fly rods, and something Dylan over at Skate the Fly has written about as well.

Too many people semi-interested in trying out fly fishing are intimidated by the (supposed) money & skills required. And some companies & publications & people in and around the industry perpetuate this, whether purposely or not.

Simple math:

More people fly fishing
= more money for shops/manufacturers/publishers
+ (hopefully) more people involved in conservation
+ a happier society in general (& less focus on shit like reality TV and the like)

Getting into fly fishing ranks in my top 5 things I have done with my life. Yeah, there are still lots of skills I need to learn. But they're not that hard (except whip-finishers...bastard tool of the devil, those things are). 

It hasn't left me in the poorhouse, either. In fact, for the price of one of those reels, I could outfit a person with TWO of my rigs. Possibly three, if you tossed in my 3-weight set-up.

So here is my edited version of that section of FFSW's Tackle Box for Fort Myers, Florida:

REELS: smooth drags are highly recommended. Reels with large-arbour designs are an asset, as they retrieve line quickly. 200 yards of 20lb backing for 8- or 9-weights or 250-300 yards of 30lb backing for 10- or 12-weights.

See? Not being a corporate shill, and not scaring potential anglers away with $700 price tags for reels.

By the way, I caught redfish last fall on a reel that retails for $125 and did just fine, thank you very much. Even got my saltwater fly line off of ebay for $36.

********
This is what I tied up tonight. I find my very limited materials here are keeping my options for tying, well, limited. But I like how this one came out.

I have a fever, and the only cure is more Clouser!

********
Just because I was humming this song all day:

Tweet

Act like you're supposed to be there (and get free cookies)

Time/Date: 1820 CST, 20-Mar-11
Location: American Express Centurion Club, Benito Juarez Int’l Airport (MEX)

There are two slightly devious ways to get something you may or may not be supposed to get:

• Act like you’re supposed to be there. 
• Act like a lost puppy.

I’m naturally good at the second, mainly due to actually being lost most times. I’m getting better at the first.

Case in point:

Due to (cough-cough) issues that might arise by driving through Mexico at night, I was dropped of at MEX for my 0030 CST flight to Toronto at 4PM. After killing a couple hours sitting in the sun, tooling around, drinking some red bull, buying local coffee beans, etc., I still had another four hours to kill before I could even check my bag.

So I did the discreet wander trying to find an unlocked wifi signal to bum around on the ‘net for a bit and came across the network “American Express Centurion Club.” Quick scan of the terminal, found the entrance and went over to check it out.

There were images of AmEx’s Black, Platinum & Gold cards beside the door. Interesting...

I signed up for AmEx’s Aeroplan Gold last December to get the 15,000 mile sign-up bonus and haven’t charged anything on the card since the Charity: Water donation from Christmas night. I wouldn't be their preferred customer by any stretch. But it's still an American Express card. And it's is (mostly) gold.

So, wearing my best flipflops & dusty shorts, I strolled on through the door like I owned the place & presented my card and passport to the receptionist.

Victory tastes sweet. Especially in the form of complimentary cookies.

(Home in 19 hours. Not that I'm counting)

Here are some tunes:

Tweet

Random Senegal Post, v2.0 - I ponder the arts

Time/Date: 2335 (GMT), 17-Jan-11
Location: Senegal

Note: There’s a pile o’ videos in this post. If you can’t see them in your RSS Reader, click here to go directly to the post.

A minor side-benefit to sitting on drill rigs through night shift: they occasionally break down.

This allows one to do fun activities, like having a sip of water/coffee, eating, using the bathroom, or completing data entry. When the drill is coring, it’s possible to have no chance to do them.

(Un)fortunately for me, even when things are semi-chaotic, I ponder things a lot. Blame lack of focus, multitasking, whatever.

Since I’ve been listening to my iPod non-stop since leaving YFC, I’ve been pondering music. And I’ve been reading a lot, so I’ve been pondering books, too.

At this very second, the rig is on a prolonged breakdown (& I completed all activities listed above). So I get to type up my ponderings in my corner office.

The corner office. Great view.

Pondering Topic #1
I firmly believe Hey Rosetta! (myspace here) is severely underrated. I’ve listened to Into Your Lungs a few times while working & find it brilliant.

You can pick up their album on iTunes here. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Pondering Topic #2
One of my 11 for 11 goals was to read more meaningful shit. Not being mentally prepared to dive into Walden (reading it now, more on that below), I started with The Prospector by J.M.G. Le Clézio.

Le Clézio was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008, so it’s easy to believe he writes meaningful material. The book was good; I recommend it.

But...

**SPOILER ALERT**

The ending pissed me off so much I wanted to throw the book in the nightwatchman’s campfire. I like stories with endings of ‘boy wins game (in this case, finds treasure), boy gets girl, they live happily ever after.’

I read hundreds of pages to discover the main character doesn’t find the treasure or get the girl, and then lays down in the woods to die. He doesn’t do much to change that whole ‘cheese-eating surrender monkey’ stereotype.

Pondering Topic #3
To recover from the piss-off of The Prospector, I grabbed Playing for Pizza by John Grisham from the community pile in camp.

I’m not a Grisham fan, but I needed a light-hearted read & the first few pages seemed to fit the bill.

Verdict: #win

And yes, the boy wins the game & gets the girl.

Pondering Topic #4
Wintersleep (myspace here) was on Letterman last week (video below). This is great; congrats to them. The US is a tough market to break into; national TV is a delightful way to do it.

I really enjoy their first three albums & saw them live a few times in F’ton & Vancouver. The Van show at the Commodore Ballroom ranks up as one of my favourite shows.

My personal opinion: I was disappointed they hauled out Weighty Ghost for Letterman. They have much better stuff. I can assume why, though: it’s the tune most appealing to the masses.

If I was to see them live (again), I’d much rather hear this:

Or this:

(yes, I realize they wouldn’t be able to crank out a 9 minute song on Letterman. If anyone writes a comment to me regarding that, you’re officially a tit-head)

Regardless, best of luck to them. I love it when Maritimers kick ass.

Pondering Topic #5
I’m a couple chapters in on Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It’s pretty deep.

To summarize:
Shit just ain’t right.

Pondering Topic #6
When you find yourself at a drill rig at the wee hours of the morning & having a few more hours to push through (without the aid of coffee), I highly recommend this tune to help get the synapses firing:

On that note, the drill just fired up.

I must have one last sip of water to prepare for the onslaught of drill core.

See you at 7AM cross-shift.

Tweet

Yes, I'm alive...and you should be thankful you are, too.

Time/Date: 1900, 10-Nov-10
Location: F'ton

This is probably the longest I've gone between posts. And this isn't even a full post...

Short version: been busy working on geo data & slinging booze at Lava & helping out at Fredericton Outfitters. And throw in about 30 hours of a flu-induced coma. But that's neither here nor there

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. It's kind of important. I urge you to do something tomorrow to honour those who have served. Go to the service.  Or turn on the radio & observe the moment of silence. Even if you only donate an extra $2 for a poppy, just do something.

Murch & Meghan posted this video. Yeah, it's from a cell phone company; regardless, it is very poignant. If it doesn't get you even a little emotional, you're a heartless and/or ignorant bastard.

Now that you're all emotional wrecks, I'll bring you back with some fun music; something else to stir a little Canadian pride: Hey Rosetta!

All for now, keep it real.