geoffadams.net

While you were tucked up in bed, Mieke slid into the world.

http://mieke.adams.net.au/

Go and say hello.

It appears I was simply born at the wrong time, sandwiched between the Baby Boomers and Generation Y.

I'll have to find another way to take over the world. Time for Gen X's to go underground and topple the younger mob.

Gen Y @ 30: charmed, tech savvy and ready to take over
GENERATION Y finally means business. They are far better educated and more globally aware and technologically savvy than any generation before them, and they are about to turn 30 this year. The oldest members of this privileged generation are poised to grab the management reins and revolutionise the workplace to suit themselves...

...The baby boomers love them - after all, they were the doting parents that raised them. And as the boomers' extended reign in the workplace draws to an end, social and economic forecasters predict they are more likely to anoint gen Yers as their chosen successors over the unfortunate generation Xers who have been politely waiting their turn.

Here at the Art of Email Archiving Institute (AEA), we try hard every day to help others that have became laden with an overflowing Inbox. Every now and then, we receive feedback from those that have managed to climb out the other side after a life changing moment.
Here is a recent communiqué that arrived in our Inbox:

Hi Geoff,
Just like you to know, that it has taken two weeks of almost daily sessions, but my gmail inbox is now officially empty and aorting is occuring daily as the mail arrives. Life is generally now better overall thanks to the Adams' AEA101 (Art of Email Archiving).
Thanks:)

Thankyou Z, for the wonderful feedback. If you wish to discover the Art of Email Archiving, simply drop us a line and let us show you how to climb out of the overflowing Inbox.

Anson Cameron considers the fall out of Victorian Minister for Water, Tim Holding, getting lost in the Victorian Alps:

To couch potatoes all over: get lost

It's sad to live in a time when a man is slated for walking alone on a mountain. A cowardly age where the supine pontificate through a spray of Cheezels crumbs.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/to-couch-potatoes-all-over-get-lost-200...

Cross posted on the Camp Cooinda Facebook page

I was reminiscing recently about time spent away from what many would call, "life's modern conveniences", in a land far far away - at least a tiny low lying island in East Gippsland. The special place that is Cooinda Island.

I remembered all the things I learnt on that place both as a camper and leader, some of which I still use today - also, some that strangely do not come up during day to day activities.

How to make bread and skin an eel

My first memory of the Isle, is what I think was my first summer as a camper. Dave and Al were the charismatic island directors and provided so much of what I feel Cooinda 'is'. Dave is the author of the 'Dave's piece of piss bread' recipe, the handwritten recording of which still in the Island cookbook today (I think?) - also attached at the bottom of this post.

Also on that impressionable summer, I learnt how to skin and smoke an eel, who 'CondoMan' is and most importantly, learnt the 'Noddy Joke'

I have never eaten eel again, mainly because I doubt I could ever manage to achieve the same amazing flavours again. I did however, twenty years later, make a CondoMan t-shirt which I still wear today.

The bread has been cooked by island directors every year since and, is something I continue to whip up - using a black garbage bag (to help with the proving) and imprecise measurements - at home from time to time.

Bake a cake in the sun and whip cream with two butter knives

My first cake produced in the solar oven was a piece of mastery, the discovery that so little can produce a little something wonderful, was amazing.

Scones, jam and cream was called for next. But the cream needs whipping.

No problem, we'll grab the beaters...rusted solid... No drama, apparently the desired result can be achieved using a couple of butter knives. I have no idea how I discovered this, I imagine from whoever was on the island of knowledge at the time. So, two butter knives and about half an hour of frantic beating later, whipped cream!

All life long knowledge and skills that I suspect I would struggle to acquire anywhere else.

What has Cooinda Island taught you?

I am amazed at the hype and stamina surrounding the US elections. GIven all of that, here is some wonderful journalism...

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/callie-bp.html

Callie Shell followed Barack Obama for much of the last two years, and captured some excellent photos (and micro stories to go along with them). Keep clicking 'Show More Images' at the bottom to see them all.

via

On the wall of Country Road at the corner of Faraday and Lygon Streets, Carlton. Some food for thought:

The best things in life
are not the things...

The more you know you know you don't know shit...
So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything.
(ben folds 2005)

Ahh yes, that famous energy giver on just about every outdoor excursion.
A good serve of scroggin can almost make or break the journey. Ok, I may be
overdoing it a little, however, this combination proved to be a winner.

Scroggin is a very personal thing, I think. So this is purely a guide, I wouldlove to hear of any other popular variations.

Quantities, need to be carefuly measured in handfuls to taste.
Generally though, more nuts and sultanas. The more you make, the more variety
you can achieve.

We recently acquired a bike trailer to carry our son in. Having undertaken a good deal of research, I thought others may be interested in the factors that influenced our decision.

There is quite a bit of information already available on the pros and cons of various child carrying systems. What is not readily available is up to date local information on pricing and availability for trailers in Australia.

Existing information

The below is recommended pre-reading for the rest of this post.

• Bicycle Victoria has a couple of very good articles on carrying babies and toddlers, and tag-alongs.
• Trail Kids has some good advice from personal experience.
• Adventure cyclist magazine (pdf) has a general trailer round-up from 2004 which includes child trailers

Narrowing our options - Trailer verses seat

After doing lots of reading, talking to others and even looking at a couple of trailers and seats in the flesh, we decided to go with a trailer rather than a seat for several reasons:

• We are likely to be either touring (long distance) or go shopping/picnicking etc. Both of these activities would require extra carrying capacity for shopping or toys/books/snacks.
• Trailers are easier to get in and out of. Sturdier, with a lower centre of gravity
• Little people are more likely to grow out of a bike seat quicker, as their legs tend to get in the way of the cyclist. Trailers could potentially carry a small person up to the age of about 4 years old (size dependant)
• Easy to use as a pram at the other end of the journey

Safety was a big concern in our research. Aspects we looked at were:

• what happens when the bike falls over or in the case of an accident
• visibility to other road users (We have found that trailers are still an odd thing to see around our neck of the woods. Drivers tend to give us a wide berth on the road, I suspect because we look so strange.)
• protection from the elements

Based on the answers to the above questions, we decided on a trailer.

Which trailer?

Any quick internet search for bike trailers will produce pages of results, with trailers varying massively in price and quality. Being pretty confident that we would make good use of a trailer, we felt that it would be wiser to invest in one which was likely to last longer and provide a more comfortable ride for everyone.

As such, we pretty quickly discounted many trailer models, which although cheaper, were substantially heavier, larger when packed and with less storage capacity. For people who infrequently use a trailer, these cheaper models may be a good option.

We came up with our top three options and chose the Burley Solo in the end. We went with a single seat model, hoping that by the time a sibling came along for Cosmo, he will be big enough to ride a tag along - this would certainly make for an interesting sight, tandem with a tag along, followed by a trailer!

We made this choice from a short list of three.
The three options were:
Chariot Cougar
Croozer 737
Burley Solo

(All of these models come in either one or two child carrying capacity.)

Let's look at each one and their pros and cons:

Chariot Cougar
Pros	Cons
Sleek and light	Small space for carrying extra goodies
Converts easily into many different guises (eg. Stroller)	Slightly lower headspace
Suspension	Expensive
Folds up easily for transport or storage
Excellent ventilation

Croozer 737
Pros	Cons
Easily available in Australia	Converting into stroller not quick and easy
Sturdy design	No easy method of carrying trailer arm when using as a stroller
Excellent storage space for extra goodies	Carrying single child in a double seat model could be tricky with bucket seats
Bucket seats which would assist in child staying upright	Heavier than both the Chariot and Burley
	Limited ventilation

Burley Solo
Pros	Cons
Easily converts to stroller (in about one minute)	Lacking some support for children that have trouble keeping themselves upright early on. Bucket seating may help here, or just some makeshift padding
Padded seating
Lightweight
Excellent storage for extra goodies with ability to add a carry rack on top
Good headspace for growth
Excellent sun protection and ventilation
Good company structure/working conditions
With a fluro flag flapping about and bright colours adorning the trailer we are probably more visible than just the bike alone.

Availability and Pricing (Australian options) - Current as at Jan 2008.

All three trailers are available locally in Australia. With the strong Australian dollar at the moment, we investigated sourcing trailers direct from the USA. All three trailers were significantly cheaper in the US. While we wish to support local importers, the price difference was just to great to ignore. Burley was the only brand we could import directly from the US, the other two companies have exclusive deals with Australian importers, which means they do not allow direct US purchases from outside the country.

Here is the final breakdown for the models we looked at.

Chariot Cougar

Australian importer
New Zealand based Morris Stanley

Available
Melbourne from Bike Now, South Melbourne.
Flying Furniture in Canberra

Local price
$1225.00 (with cycling kit included - extra $80 for a stroller kit)

Croozer

Available
Croozer
Flying Furniture in Canberra

Local price
Croozer 737 single child trailer with strolling, jogging and cycling kits included is $525.
Croozer 535 TWO child trailer with strolling, jogging and cycling kits included is $575.

Burley - Solo

Australian importer
Greenspeed

Available
Melbourne from Greenspeed
Flying Furniture in Canberra

Local price
$750.00

Other models
Burley D'lite two child trailer, alloy wheels - $950.00
Additional hitches for more than one bike - $38.00

More information

The above is by no means comprehensive let me know if you would like any more details. There are also more pics in the gallery. Enjoy.