Zedagain

Tag: future

  • Rocking the Night Away. Camping in My Future Hammock/Tent/Shelter

    Thurston Meadows
    Chilliwack, British Columbia
    Canada

    My two boys and I decided to go camping last weekend. I was very excited, a field test for my Hennessy hammock was needed!

    The weather was hot! 32 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit depending which side of the thermometer you read. I was proud of my boys, we built inukshuk in the middle of chilliwack river, found a couple rock fossils and maintained a well kept campsite for almost 72 hours without my wife.

    The boys had their own tent that didn’t fit any stinking adults. I was freed to sleep over night in my hammock. I had made some preparations based on my test nap and front yard setup. I also followed some online advice.

    The biggest difference between my nap and a full night rest is about 7 hours. The hammock fit me best when I was laying on my back, I normally sleep on my side. I could get used to the change though. The shelter was VERY comfortable, I did wake a few times both nights aware of differences but it was a great way to catch shut eye. If you are concerned make an effort to sleep on your back in bed for a few days.

    I had read online that adding an inflatable pad was a necessity. The tent is suspended off the ground and during the night, wind will cause considerable heat loss. I purchased a Thermorest Trail lite regular length self inflating pad at MEC. I feel I choose the wrong pad for the task. The regular length pad obstructed the womb style entryway and my legs did not need the extra support. Once settled it did give great shaping to the hammock though. I had plenty of breathing room for a guy in a water proof cocoon! I plan on trading for a short length mattress somehow.

    The next consideration was tent pegs. For a complete setup four ground pegs are required if there are no laterally located anchor points. I feel the shelter is more comfortable when the side tether straps pull straight out, at the forestry campsite there was nothing to anchor to and I was forced to use ground pegs. I went through 7 plastic tent pegs making 4 stick. I was disappointed. I am going to look for some titanium or aluminum pegs designed for gravel. If I find something better, I will let you know! Until then, I will be trying for campsites that allow me side anchor points which I prefer anyway.

    I am a voracious reader. I carry books everywhere I go. This was a problem. As a novice hammock shelter user I had no tolerance for anything loose in the tent. Which was why about an hour after going to sleep, I woke up, pulled the trade paper back out of my back, threw it out the womb opening and fell back asleep. My advice is that you leave everything but yourself, your pad and your sleeping bag out.

    The hammock looks like a tight fit but allows freedom of movement. The second night I watched an episode of True Blood on my iPhone. I had plenty of room to hold the phone up. My shoulders were not restricted either.

    The Hennessy hammock impressed me at every turn. I couldn’t recommend one more. I drifted off to sleep rocking in the wind. Just like a normal hammock, gentle movements turned into pacifying sways.

    I am thrilled with my Hennessy hammock. On Sunday morning packing my tent took 4 minutes. I plan on buying the Hennessy Snakeskin, a sock-like tube that makes packing it down even easier.

    Next test, Radium lake trail in Chilliwack. 13 kilometer hike, 1 kilometer of elevation. I am very excited.

  • Scarcity is Becoming Obsolete, Are We?

    I like talking about change. I am very optimistic about the future. All the things that challenge our world are changing.

    In the past, society was based upon scarcity. People wanted access to things they could not have. People started to exchange goods they had access to for other desirable goods. To facilitate this societies created currency, a portable representation of assets. Barter changed to commerce.

    Commerce is great. For a three year monthly cash commitment to a mobility provider (www.fido.ca) and a small start up payment, I got this sweet iPhone I am typing this blog on. This is very reasonable when compared to a feudal barter transaction! Feudal Zack might have wanted access to the duke’s library and archives ( the nearest communication and information analogue I could think of ). What would that have cost me?! My life indentured to a duke as his scribe? He certainly wouldn’t let me have 24/7 access to the Internet and a low day time minutes rate!

    The problem with commerce is that it depends on scarcity. Technology is pushing against that barrier. Would commerce work in a society based on abundance? Probably not. If a freely accessible energy source was tapped would our society be poised to use it? If distribution was not a concern would we have shipping magnates? If production was reduced to a 3D printer that could self replicate would we need production lines or slaves making phones in some other country? I doubt it.

    So what could a society barter in a world without want? Artistic expression? Information architecture and discourse? Unique insights and divine interpretations? It sounds cool. Like a Greece inspired Olympus conclave.

    There is also the opposite possibility. Horror films and science fiction stories love to frighten the audience with a world where abundance is withheld from Joe Everyman. Freedoms and liberties suspended. My favorite two are 1984 and The Island. 1984 has been heavily dissected but is very illuminating anyway, history and information is altered, controlled, destroyed or withheld to control three mighty societies. The Island is very blunt in it’s criticism of technology unfettered but features a society who creates a small internalized society and harvests from it.

    As a society we need to be poised to alter with these winds of change. I would rather be writing haiku than doublespeak.

    Fleeting time well spent.
    Our changes leave us behind.
    Singularity.
    ~singularity haiku by Zack

    Govt inc 2(taxation) 2 aid troops.
    ~ newspeak

  • From Here to There for Hardware

    I love tech toys. I dream of a future: plugged in, tuned up and better than now. The things I buy reflect that.

    I am picky with the innovations I choose but have an input device weakness. I’ve dragged my wife to an industrial district in Los Angeles to buy a programmable macro system, hit every Fry’s Electronics between Vancouver, San Diego and Las Vegas looking for a joystick with one extra button, my iPhone has an external bluetooth keyboard and I have four different mice I use depending on my needs.

    One of the biggest problems with input devices is the materials they are created with. I am tired of clutching impact plastic and slowly etching my fingerprints into a dull matte surface with the salts in my nerd rage sweat! I am digging this new aluminum trend. The aluminum doesn’t scratch easily, radiates hand heat and has a very solid feel.

    The perfect input device needs to address certain needs. Is it solid? Input devices should not shift, or click inside when moved. Are the buttons reliable? Buttons will see hard use for the entire life span of the device. How connectible is it? Wifi and Bluetooth input devices are great and extra wires just ruin my computing zone.

    So far I have been impressed with Saitek, Microsoft, Apple and Logitech input devices. Keep them coming.