Pic 'o the day

I would like to introduce you to the RSOC Banana Tree: Reginald!

I picked this up about a month ago. My plan for this week is to separate it into three individual pots! They are ready for the warm rays of spring and summer! I hope that they grow into beautiful trees.

Keep checking back to see the progress!

Osprey Momentum 26 Overview

My bag from Osprey finally arrived! I could not be more excited. For years I have coveted an Osprey pack and finally I have one!

Since I have only just gotten the pack I will not be able to give a full review, however I would like to give an overview of the pack.

First off; This pack is a real looker:

The bag is very visually appealing. I really enjoy the Bamboo color as well as the stylish use of reflective material that is both flattering and functional. Major Plus!

Second: Pockets Galore

The accessory pocket contains mesh dividers to organize your necessaries.

This is the main compartment of the Momentum. As you can see it too contains mesh dividers. I think that I will use this bag for bike trips and short hikes in warm weather, so these will most likely be used to hold camera equipment and the like. I think that this a great idea to have divider pockets in a bag of this size because it provides the ability to protect you camera gear without lugging around a big stiff camera specific bag.

The laptop compartment has ample room for this 15.4 in comp. It is also very padded to protect your investment.

When I initially looked at the bag I was a little bummed by the fact that it appeared to have no side pockets for a water bottle. However, upon further investigation I found that it did in-fact have such pockets, and they were better than expected. Unlike most bags where you have open-top pockets, the Momentum has pockets that zip out when you need them to hold a bottle, and zip up when you need to carry precious cargo in them; DOUBLE SCORE!

What comes next still blows my mind:

Now you see 'em...

Now you don't! The shoulder straps have a compartment that they can be tucked into to make this sweet backpack into a streamlined brief-case! What a cool idea. I can think of so many useful applications for this feature; air travel, functional professionalism for those who ride their bike to work, and even storage. This is a great feature, and the good news is that even when you pack the straps, the interior capacity is not inhibited.

From what I can tell this is going to be a great bag. I cannot wait to put it to the test and check each feature individually.

Thank you Osprey for choosing me!

UPDATE: I HAVE A NEW REVIEW THAT FOCUSES ON THE FEATURES AND NOT THE COSMETICS. CHECK IT OUT: http://randomstreamoc.blogspot.com/2011/04/update-osprey-momentum-backpack.html

oh yeah, thanks for the cool hat too:

Look for updates every once in a while and a review in a month or two, the testing begins today.

This could be the beginning of something special,

-J

We are open and hoping...

For some business!
I would like to announce the official opening of Redrocket Studios!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RedRocketStudios

Check us out on Etsy.com, we will be putting new work up weekly, expect some photography, paintings, jewelry, fly fishing flies and other up-cycled items!

Thank you for looking.

Ps I hope you follow my Twitter: @randomstreamoc
            if you do so then you know that an Osprey bag overview is coming this afternoon! Prepare.

Study time,

-J

The pic 'o the day!

Well, I was away for a day, but never fear, I am back with this little pic:

this illustrates the deadly grasp that winter has on my catnip. It actually makes the winter look a whole lot worse than it really is. I Just thought it was a cool shot!

Have a good weekend!

-J

Pic 'o the day 1//27/2011

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

Great song, great skies over Lake Michigan, late fall

Inspiration:

Today's Inspiration comes from Mother Nature, and the beautiful Lake Michigan

I know that this inspirational shot is of me, but I cannot lie, this is pretty inspirational. There we were, out there where no one else was loving the feeling of being away from people in this busy world!

Just got done working out, so my day has already begun. Working out to prepare for this summer's activities. I am thinking: kayaking, hiking, road biking, mtn biking, jogging and fishing.

On a side note, I would like to thank my friend Sharkbytes for featuring me on her blog My Quality Day. Please visit it when you get the chance!

Have a great day,

-J

Pic 'o the Day 1/26/2011

Some mushrooms that I found last summer after a warm summer storm.

Daily Inspiration!

So the past two days I have been busy studying so I have not done much on here. However today is a new day and I am still geared up and excited to be continuing with my daily exercise regiment.

Today's inspiration is Cross-Country Skiing.

I have read that the average man burns 300 calories in 30 minutes of XC skiing. I would really like to try it when I get some time. If it is anything like snowshoeing I know that I will not be let down.

In other news, I am still considering biking more and more. I think that I would like to find a road bike, and also use my mtn bike a lot more this summer. But let's leave that for summer.

I am still looking for a pic o the day.

enjoy

-J

Prepping for some summer fun out in the boats! I am very excited to take these things out the first chance I get. If there was a safe way to get them out into Lake Michigan so that we could paddle up to the huge ice mountains on the shore that would be awesome. Maybe the best place to do this would be from a pier, it would probably be calmer in a channel.

Well, there you have it, today's inspiration; me, getting ready for some sunny paddlin'.

I am ready to work out!

-J

HOMES (Huron Ontario Michigan Erie Superior)

You have to love this region. Look at all of that water!

Image taken from http://tech.mn/news/2010/03/23/interview-with-frank-samuel-proponent-of-%E2%80%9Cgreat-lakes-21st-century-fund-part-2/

Today's Inspiration:

I know you have all seen this picture before (if you really read the blog that is!). If you are not an avid reader well then look here for the full details!

Anyway, I love to snowshoe, and today's inspirational shot is of Chelsea snowshoeing. It inspires me to keep in shape so that we can continue to do things that we love, and also so that we can experience new things!

What kind of new things? Well: biking, rockwall climbing, slacklining and cross-country skiing to name a few!

Hope your weekend went well.

-J

The making of glasswares

Last night we set about to start a new venture in our lives; up-cycling glass soda, wine, and beer bottles into glassware and art.

I think that what we did was a great success and I cannot wait to get them up on our Etsy.com account. However I would like to afford you with a sneak preview!

Oh, the possibilities that await us! If you have any cool ideas for glass bottle craft let me know!

In other news, my studies are going swell!

1/22/2011 Pic 'O the Day!

Here you have it folks, The RSOC Command post!

As you can see there are my law books of choice for the weekend, along with my Pocket Black's Law Dictionary.

Front and center is my RSOC-POD (aka the twitter monster), the headphones of solace and my phone. You know, all of the essentials.

The highlighters strewn about along with all of the cables and the rest of the rip-rap are just part of daily life. The life of a law student who doubles as an adventurer that is!

Enjoy your weekend!

-J

Today's Inspiration:

Today my inspirational shot comes from me! I got to play some Racquetball with a few guys that I met at the complex gym today. It was a nice surprise. I am a little out of practice, but I held my own, and now I remember why I am getting back in shape: to be able to do the things that I did before and much more!

Time for lunch and Studying!

Hitting up Red Hawk today since we didn't get a chance to earlier in the week!

Burger; prepare yourself, here I come.

-J

Heading to the Gym, looking for some inspiration:

Today's shot is of a random guy climbing some rocks. I have always wanted to at least try a rock wall, but have lacked the upper body strength and stamina to do so. So this is a pretty good shot of someone doing something that I would love to do!

I am thus inspired.

Time to workout, then hit the books again!

1/21.2011 Pic 'O the Day!

I bet you didn't think that I could get this up so early in the morning hey!

Today's pic is of a "lower laker," a freighter that is almost exclusive to the great lakes area due to its unique shape. I have been reading The Living Great Lakes lately and they describe them quite a bit in the book. So here you have it.

This one was captured a few years ago, cool fact: this was taken at Whitefish Point, the place of the famed Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. Fun fact number two? Well that is that my Great Grandfather was on the ship just ahead of the Fitzgerald, the Arthur Anderson! How cool hey?

Well there you have it, your history lesson for the day!

Take care

-J

1/20/2011 Pic 'O The Day

Today's pic 'o the day comes from Dixboro and Plymouth roads! This appears to be an old school. I just thought that it was a cool place.

Hope you do too!

-J

ps new episode of The Office is on tonight!

In the making from RSOC

Still working on a few new additions to the blog; don't want to show them 'til they are just right, and looking at plans for the summer. Along with all of the Law School reading I am managing to hack my way through The Living Great Lakes. Look for a review in a week or so.

But in other news; we have opened an Esty.com account! This is an online community for artists to pedal their wares. I am very excited. We should have an inventory up, along with out official store URL, in a week or two.

Our site will have:
glasswares
fly fishing flies
photography
painting
and many other fruits of our artistic outlets

Keep watching here for a posting with the info you need.!

In other news, the Osprey bag is on its way! I am very excited. New bag day is one of my favorites!

Still waiting on a pic 'o the day.

I am also in the market for guest writers with inspirational stories!

Please email me if you have knowledge of any upcoming events, races, if you know of any cool places or if you have any stories that you would like shared.

Happy Thursday!

-J

Osprey Bag

Wanna Hear something really cool?

Yesterday I got a Face Book Message from someone who said that I had won a Free Osprey Backpack! How cool is that!

I am waiting to hear back from them as to which bag it will be, I am hoping that it is the Momentum in green!

Like this sweet thing, but in the Bamboo color!

When it arrives be ready for a full testing, I am going to put it through the riggers! I have heard for a long time that these are the most comfortable and durable bags on the market, and I am very anxious to get my hands on it!

It was all part of their 10,000 likes promotion on Face Book. You should go ahead and like them on FB, and you could be a lucky winner too!

Thank you Osprey Packs!

-J

1/17/2011 Pic 'o the day! Juicin' it up!

Today's pics are not pretty. But oh how I cannot wait to reap the fruits of my labor tomorrow! I ended up making carrot-orange-melon juice!

Wrapping up a busy day. Time to enjoy a Vicious brew from North Peak, brewed in Traverse City.

I also spent a little time this evening looking into a small remote control helicopter. Kind of like this one:

You know, just for fun!

Hope you enjoy this week!

-J

1-13-2011 Pic 'o the day!

Today shall be ode to my KleanKanteen. The Pic 'o the day is of my blue KleanKanteen, which I found on the side of the road. I guess you could say that I was borrowing it from something. However a few weeks ago it was returned. While spudding a hole to spear fish through my baby blue fell out of my bag and into the drink! My brother and I just looked at it for two or three hours while we waited for fish to come. The depth of the water was far too deep and the bottle was lost!

Alas, my fears of dying of thirst were quenched when Chelsea's little sister gave me a new KleanKanteen for xmas! Hurray!

You will never be forgotten... babyblue.

Enjoy the pretty weather today!

-J

1-12-2011 Pic 'o the Day!

Lookey here at this pretty little guy. I remember this summer at the Matthei Botanical Gardens when I came across him. He was content as ever just extracting his pollen, even when I hung around for a few minutes taking pics of him.

I think that sometime, soon, my pic of the day will be taken that day! Until then, enjoy some of my Summer and Fall shots!

Enjoy,

-J

1/11/2011 Photo of the day

How beautiful the open spaces of Northern Michigan. Today's Pic 'o the day is taken looking North from the northern tip of Old Baldy in Arcadia.

This was not taken today, however it is the image that I am focusing on today.

Hopefully I will get one more chance to get out here before the end of this semester; hopefully by snowshoes!

On another note:
       -We are getting a pretty decent amount of snow here in Ann Arbor today. I am not upset about that in the slightest.

Hope you all enjoy the snow and the outdoors, even if it is just standing outside and breathing in some clean air.

Take Care,

-J

Photo of the Day!

Today's shot is of my new reading material:

Michigan Blue, Dwell and National Geographic.

I believe all three to be quality reads and I will update you on any interesting things that I find in them. School is kicking my butt a little so it may be a while before you hear about them.
take care.

-J

Photo of the day 1/8/2011

We will be having a new feature on RSOC; a photo of the day (POTD)

I figured that since I am now a full-timer at law school and adventures will be at a minimum that I should keep daily content up for people. No no no this is not going to become a hodgepodge blog where I ramble, not at all! It will still remain focused on the outdoors!

So the first POTD will be:

Tada: today is the tale of two tails.

Pepper and Calvin are enjoying a lazy saturday afternoon. Lucky felines!

Enjoy your weekend,

-J

Yukon Charlies 8x25 Trail Series Snowshoe

A year ago Chels and I decided that we were tired of being stagnant during the winter months.

We made of list of things we love to do in the non-snow season which included hiking, going places most others don't bother to go, and being alone outdoors. So we decided to that the only way we could do any of this was with cross-country skis or snowshoes. XC skis were a little out of the question due to the monetary investment they carry.

So snowshoes it was, now to find a place to buy them. We checked out our local outdoor sportshop and found a few upper level brands and models. We were told that the $300 pair would probably be the best ones to start with. While I do not doubt that they were a great pair, I would never spend that much to find out if I was interested in a sport. Also I do not currently have the funds for such an expenditure.

Enter the Yukon Charlie's 8x25" Trail Series Shoe.

I decided that 300 was far too much to spend on a beginner pair. So I checked out my local Dunham's, a discount sporting store that offers beginners a place to get an affordable foothold with midrange gear.

We stumbled across a few pairs by different makers and decided that we approved of the construction of the Yukon Charlie's.

They were reasonable priced at around $90. I can not be happier with them. We got the lady and men's pairs, respectively, and neither of us has had a problem with them.

They have a ratchet style strap-in system, which I have heard bad things about, however, mine have not failed yet. The straps hold steady even on long hauls with deep snow.

The 25" in model holds me above the snow with ease, I am about 5'7" and I hover around 153 pounds, and even with a pack full of camera gear, extra layers and drinks it holds me up.

The deck material looks as though it would be cheap and that it might even crack due to cold conditions, but I have had them out at and around 0 degrees F and they are still going strong.

On the whole the shoes are lightweight, quite durable, and are made of great materials.

BOTTOM LINE: I would purchase these shoes again, even as a second pair I have thought about purchasing the next size up for more powdery days. For the money you cannot beat the Yukon Charlie's Trail Series. You will not be disappointed by any aspect of these.


If you are looking into getting in to the sport/ hobby of snowshoeing, or if you are just looking for a cheaper alternative to the overpriced models and versions I suggest you check out the Yukon Charlie's, they will take you wherever you want to go!

Enjoy the out of doors,

-j

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