"Do you suppose they will choose to make war against lean, solid dogs rather than against fat and tender sheep?"
I'm outgrowing my love of cheap Communist Bloc stuff as I prepare for the looooooooong all-night ruck in Carson City. I don't want to get halfway through the event only to drop out just because the last of my skin has been rubbed off by smelly Czechoslovak canvas. So today I surrendered, embraced the capitalist... Continue Reading →
Old Soviet gear is often ugly, heavy, and uncomfortable. What can make it a winner is that it streamlines your life. You may get bored or sore, but you will get a lot done. As an example, my friend and I both love exercise, but we have totally different setups. He has a membership to... Continue Reading →
http://www.varusteleka.comva Strong, cheap, unattractive, and indestructible. That's how you know it's Russian. It’s the “veshmeshok,” a primitive canvas knapsack. I used to think of it as a crappy, “last-ditch” item, but now it’s my first choice. When traveling with one Huge Freaking Backpack, I still need a small daypack, unless I want to empty out... Continue Reading →
Dainius Šileika, you get double bonus points here, for turning me onto the cobber and for insisting on a sternum strap. (Here it's just improv, but it worked well enough. I can't stand to abuse a pack I like by filling it with bricks. Then again, I've been trying to kill off this unloved... Continue Reading →
Mud run tomorrow. Behold the Backpack of Bricks (BoB)! I’m defining success as the team (Jason and Michelle Skadisdottir) finishing intact *with* me schlepping the BoB the whole way by any means necessary. (OK, any means that doesn’t involve a golf cart.) In case of Catastrophic Backpack Failure (CBF), the bricks must still get across... Continue Reading →
Behold the face of endorphins! A wise man once told me, "There's magic in loaded carries." I did what I always do with really great advice: I ignored it as long as possible. But 2018 is shaping up as Jason's Year of Loaded Carries. Today's game was to hump Vanya the 32kg Bell and the... Continue Reading →
As my friends know, I struggle with Athletic Distractibility/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When untreated, I train ineffectually for unrelated events all at once, like the highland games, mud run, and NorCaldic biathlon. For today's act of foolishness, I humped Vanya the 32kg Bell from the Writing Cottage of the Immortals to the top of the Rock... Continue Reading →