Kayaking

I put my kayak on the truck Thursday evening, with the intention of heading directly to the water after work for an afternoon paddle.

When I walked out the door to get the clothes I was changing to, that plan changed. Nudging 100, not a cloud in the sky, and pretty much miserable. Instead, I went home and puttered around the house for a bit, picked up our weekly farmshare with MrsZ, and when it had cooled off a bit (down to the high 80s) headed to the lake near the house.

I paddled out a few hundred yards and sat back to soak up the sun and light breeze and quiet for a while. Then I headed for the south end of the lake, which I hadn't been to in the numerous times I'd gone out last summer. Started down the creek and saw a beaver dip under and disappear. Plenty of birds were scolding me.

The water was just shy of bath-water warm, but the breeze was wonderful.

I stayed out until about 8:45; the sun was behind the hill and the lake was starting to darken down when I left to head home.

My shoulders are telling me about it a little bit, but it was well worth it. Next step: finding a better way to transport this thing on the truck.

Kudos...

To Lyman. I got out my tumbler a week or two ago for the first time in months and found that it had lost one of its rubber feet somewhere along the way.

I checked Lyman's site to see about replacement parts, but the feet weren't listed. I clicked their "contact us" and sent them an email inquiring about a place to purchase new ones. I got an email yesterday asking for my address so they could send me a few.

Customer service like that is what keeps people buying your product. Excellent job.

Deal Alert

From Woot!Sport: Gamo Lady Recon air rifle for $50.

Gamo has a pretty good rep, and if you can get past the pink stock (or repaint it) that's a pretty good deal on a basic plinker.

More than a handshake

CNN rattles off their "top 4 historic handshakes" here.

- Nixon and Mao Zedong (1972)
- Reagan and Gorbachev (1985)
- de Klerk and Mandela (1990)
- Rabin and Arafat (1993)

I think they forgot one of the big ones...
Stafford and Leonov (1975)

Really?

So desperate for spin control... After O's booing in Boston - by ticketholders to his fundraiser! - the dithering idiot on the box this morning suggested that the crowd was not saying "boo", but "Youk"...
Really?
No sir, they're saying Boo-urns!