Jillian and Karissa and Brad Kinnison and I went to the beach on Saturday, and Karissa, BK and I went surfing. It was soo much fun. The waves were really great for it, and we were actually getting up on our boards a lot. One thing I learned was that the bigger waves are harder to catch, and for starters its best to catch the smaller ones that are closer in to shore. That gave us a lot of practice and by the end of the day we were out farther catching the bigger ones.

We have some pictures from the trip and Jillian took some video of us surfing, but the videos came out like a blooper real because she always got just the end when we were falling off and our boards are shooting into the air. I’ll post some of the pics here tonight, and maybe a link to a couple of the videos. We had a great time, and are looking forward to hitting the waves again maybe a couple more times before the end of the summer. Saturday trips out to the beach rock!

Ok so a little while ago I said I got a snowboard, but I haven’t shown any pictures yet.  Here are some pics that I took tonight.  Enjoy!

Well I finally did it. I bought a backpack. Now I know all of my readers are scratching their heads and thinking wow, he is always talking about trips and gear and all that, but he has never had a backpack? Well so far I haven’t. I have used my dad’s backpack for all the trips I have taken up till now, and i have been focusing more on buying gear a little bit at a time instead.

Basically the idea is buy your gear first, and then you will have a better idea of how big a backpack you need and what kind of support it needs to provide, etc. I have been trying to focus on getting lightweight gear that packs small so that I dont have to buy an enormous pack. I also wanted to keep one big weight catagory down, which is the pack itself. However I didn’t want to take hit when it comes to quality and durability as I think would happen i think with a lot of UL packs. So that is one reason i have been waiting.

Another reason i have been waiting is because I have been very particular about what I want in a pack. I want something with a top and bottom compartment and some not too bulky sidepockets. I also wanted something that was around 4000 cubic inches and that wasn’t too expensive. Now you would think this isnt that picky and you can probably find a lot of packs that meet the discription, but that isnt really true. I have been looking at packs for the past two years and this is really the first one that I think actually meets all my requirements. In addition this pack is really snazzy looking.

So what is this wonderful pack of which I speek? Drum roll please… it is an Osprey Aether 70. The 70 is for how many liters it is, which comes out to about 4200 Cubic inches, exactly what i was looking for. It has top and bottom main compartments, two slim side pockets, and a back pocket. It weighs in at just 4 pounds 9 ounces. It has a durable construction and very comfortable harness and frame. Overall it is my dream pack.

So I am sure that your next question is when will you be taking it out. Well hopefully my next trip will be back out to Western NC from August 9th to the 12th. We are thinking about doing the black mountain ridge trail, starting at the top of Mount Mitchell and hitting the peaks of 5 or 6 over 6000 peaks. It is supposed to be one of the most spectacular trails in NC and its something I have been looking forward to for a while. We are not locked into doing that trail however. We are thinking about doing Shining Rock Wilderness or Linville Gorge, depending on who else is interested in joining us. Regardless, I anticipate putting this pack to use very soon, and will be sure and give a full report on how it faired in the backcountry.

Today is Alex Rodriguez 31st birthday. Yes, believe it or not one more player on the New York Yankees is aging uncontrolably. Oh yeah, and arod, for your birthday you dont have to play any baseball today! Woo Hoo, that means no boos from all your fans at Yankee Stadium until TOMORROW! May you live many years and may the Yankees still be massively overpaying you to play crappy 3B when you are 57 years old.

Pay-fraud: leading every player in the American League in one catagory (errors!)

This is just crazy, watch the whole thing.

Here is an article containing the results from a survey of the Iraqi people concerning the current state of Iraq. Of course if you dont support the war then I dont expect you to give any credit to the Iraqi people and I suspect that you would rather believe all the negativity that surrounds us. However if you believe that the liberation of the Iraqi people was a worthy cause and if you are looking for the side of the story which is not often told then check out this article. Please also continue to pray for our troops and pray for success in the middle east. Much progress is being made, but there is still work to be done. May it be finished soon and may our troops quickly return home.

Why is it imperative that taxpayers are going to be forced [to support] what many consider to be the killing of embryos?

Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.): Why are taxpayers going to be forced to support the embryonic stem-cell research? Well, there are many taxpayers that disagree with many governmental policies. You can start with the war in Iraq or you could take Amtrak, but we live in a society where the majority rules and we have very, very powerful public support and congressional support and time is on our side in embryonic stem-cell research. It is going to happen. And the sooner it happens the better, and I think President Bush will be applauded and will have a legacy if he is willing to reexamine his thinking on the subject and to agree with the hope that’s been so fervently expressed here routinely by the senators at this podium.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah): If I could just add to that. As a senator who believes that being pro-life is helping the living as well as the unborn, I can’t see for the life of me how we could justify 7,000-20,000 in vitro fertilized eggs being discarded as hospital waste every year as a justifiable thing. Why wouldn’t we use those eggs rather than having them become hospital waste and die? Why don’t we use them for the benefit of mankind, especially for our young children who have these dreaded diseases and have a lifetime ahead of them full of pain, distress and suffering? To me, I don’t think it’s pro-life to just accept that disposal of those 7,000-20,000 in vitro fertilized eggs and not doing everything we possibly can for people who are ill.

Software Engineer Brad Hicks (R.-North Carolina): To Spector I say why dont you just admit that you are a democrat both socially and with regard to the countries security. Thankfully what he says here is correct, that we live in a country that contains a structure which is capable of resisting evil. Thankfully in this case evil was resisted and this attempt to fund mass murder was hindered. Issues like this are the reason why it is so important that we become involved with politics and get out and vote for people who will stand up for what is right the way that President Bush has. We as Christians ought to take advantage of a social structure constructed to give us a say in the lawmaking of our country.

To Hatch I say that your logic is totally screwy. As Christians we believe that all murder is wrong. Whether it is murder in order to use body parts for research or murder because the embryos are unwanted. If we had the choice we would do away with all fertilization of eggs that are not allowed to grow into born children. The issue of in-vitro fertilization is one on which a lot of people differ because its intent is to help people who have a hard time having babies, and ultimately its goal is to bring life, not death. However I believe it is still wrong because the method ends up creating one life and freezing or letting die thousands of others. I would only approve of it if the method were improved so that no life was discarded.

Meanwhile going back to Hatch’s comments, just because one murderous practice is occuring doesn’t mean its ok to fund another. Maybe currently the only babies that are used for stem cell research are those left over from in-vitro fertilizations. However if you increase funding and give stem cell research the big thumbs up, will no one start producing babies solely for the purpose of research? Also, lets say republicans went with hatch’s logic and decided to fund stem cell research. Later down the road when we decide that the waste of human life that occurs during in-vitro fertilization needs to end, are we going to then reverse stem cell research funding? I think that President Bush and other republicans realize that its better to stop stem cell research in the first pleace then later attempt to reign it in once it is going full speed. If something is wrong then it is wrong, regardless of whether or not a similar practice is taking place.

It is shameful to me that Germany has taken a stand against stem cell research, and is seeking to ban it accross Europe, while we in the US are so blinded by the liberal agenda that even republicans feel compelled to support funding a practice that Europe acknowledges is wrong.

Here is a very cool little thing.  Its a streaming video of grizzlies in a river catching salmon.  If you like that sort of thing or are bored it is an enjoyable way to pass time.

This is why a trip out to Zion National Park is on my list of things I have to do before I die. Here is a video from utoutdoors of them climbing Kolob Canyon. The pictures below are really beautiful as well. One thing when you are watching the video make sure you have your volume up because there is a song for the second half which is very entertaining. Enjoy!

A while ago I mentioned a boycott of Citgo gasoline because Citgo is owned by the communist country of Venezuela, and when we buy Citgo gas then it supports Hugo Chavez and his oppresive regime. Well It appears that a boycott is working, because Citgo is closing down 1800 of its 13,100 gas stations in the US. So far North Carolina stations are still open, but we can change that! If the many readers of the bradlands are faithful to this boycott then very soon we will see an end to the financial support the US provides for tyranny.

My only regrets? Just outside one of my favorite places in the world a Citgo sign stands as an icon. Most people consider it as vitel to the aura of Fenway park as the green monster and the Pesky Pole. However if its the last Citgo to close in the US, I would be happy to see it go, just as I am happy that the Berlin Wall was pulled down.