Blogs and Bandwidth

I woke up this morning in a half daze thinking about all the data inputs I have and the blogs that I read today. I did a quick walk through memory lane and remembered the card catalog at the public library, the micro fische tapes you would load into a machine with a 20 inch CRT, and what I thought was nirvana at the time, LexisNexis. Things have definitely changed in the last 15 years. The access to data, and the ability for any individual to publishing data have exploded. I worked for a guy named Rob Tercek at PacketVideo who would talk about the impending explosion of user generated content, and how it would be a good thing and a bad thing. He was certainly right about that. There is some stuff out there that leaves you scratching your head, both because there are wickedly smart people out there, as well as an equal number of those who are obsessed with... well just about anything.

A year ago, I would check in with one or two blogs periodically, but stuck to traditional media outlets or other places for information and research. Since coming to Lijit, with our focus on online publications, my information acquisition and processing paradigm has definitely shifted. Like anything new, there is a period of over-exuberance, followed by a retraction to a self/organically-defined optimal level. Looking at my Google Reader sidebar I seem to have acquired an eclectic group of publications, for different purposes including, work, entertainment, education, and simple interest. Now it is time to figure out which ones to cull. As it stands today, the list is as follows:

Blog Maverick
Calculated Risk
Cleantech News
ClickZ News
Colorado Green Tech Meetup
ColoradoStartups.com
Compete Blog
Efficient Frontier
false precision
Feld Thoughts
Foundry Group
GigaOM
Green Inc
HotSauceDaily
Learn to Duck
Lijit Blog
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis
Passive Aggressive Notes
Stock Car Science
Tech Crunch
The Silver Fern
Yield Blog

This list is hardly an exhaustive list of all things that I may find interesting, and there are probably better sources for the same topics, but before I start adding more to my list, I need to cut the dead weight. The sole criterion will be to ask myself if I actually read the posts, or do I skim at about the same speed as I do my spam folder.

With all the sources out there, managing them in an effective manner on an individual basis will become more and more of a challenge for just about everyone with a computer and an Internet connection. There are good tools out there like Google Reader and Filtrbox to help with customized data management, but I'm not sure anyone has effectively nailed it yet.

The pattern of the day is the Muddler Minnow, provided by the folks at The Fly Fishers' Republic



Tight Lines,

Dave

Long Term Value of a Customer

A few weeks ago, I went to Lowes to pick up some baseboards to complete a flooring project I have been working on in my house. While I was there, I also picked up some odds and ends, as one is wont to do in a hardware store.

When I got home, I realized that I had tied the baseboards to the top of the car, and forgot to throw the bag of odds and ends into the car. So I went back to the store and before going an buying the items - AGAIN - I went to the customer service counter to see if someone had turned in the bag. Of course nobody did. I'm sure whoever found the bag was looking for some wood putty, some razor blades and whatever else I had in the bag. As I was about to leave the counter, the customer service agent told me that the store would replace the items for free. I must say that this was a complete surprise.

On my way home, it occurred to me why they did it, and why it was a sound business move on their part. From this point going forward, I will always drive the extra 4-5 miles to go to Lowes, instead of Home Depot. My lifetime value as a customer, being an admitted tool junkie, will go well beyond the $38 (retail) of the items that they replaced. I'm sure my name is on some list of potential fraudulent clients, but that's ok, I'll be more careful about putting everything in my car from now on.

Granted, I will still go to McGuckins, a local Boulder hardware store, because their service and inventory kick a**. But when it comes to making the big ticket purchases that you have to go to the big box retailers for, Lowes is the default choice.

The fly of the day is the Texas Bullfrog, quite possibly one of the ugliest flies I have ever seen. It is provided, courtesy of the nice people at Fly Anglers Online



Tight Lines,

Dave

All Quiet on the Negative Front

Anyone else enjoying the lack of negative noise that has been dominating just about every form of media? Even with Tivo, the negative campaign ads were difficult to avoid all together. The last few days have been noticeably calming.

Of course, forward thinkers like John Boehner are back at it already. He wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, with the conflicting assertions that he would work together with the other side of the aisle while fighting the leftist agenda to help the country get out of the economic crisis that the Republicans have to take just a little bit of blame for creating.

I guess we can thank Boehner for at least declaring his intentions to be an obsturctionist, pain in the arse.

I think we can guarantee that congress will pass Obama's initial economic package without much resistance other than the ususal CYA saber rattling. Grudgingly, they will also accept the war in Iraq as a lost cause and opt for whatever quiet exit strategy comes around, as long as they don't have to do it under W's watch. What will be interesting is the hearings after Obama's first selection for the supreme court. The same people that jumped all over Joe Biden for making Alito's wife cry are going to pummel the nominee.

Anyway, enjoy the relative lack of noise now, because it is going to return to the same old shyte soon enough.

I started this post, mostly to post a fly, and somehow went off on a political rant. I guess that will happen.

Good news: the doc says the shoulder, other than the fractured humerus is stable and likely will not require surgery.

The fly of the day is the Red Eye Damsel, courtesy of the nice people at Fly Anglers Online





Tight lines,


Dave

Trim the bottom 40

Most of the time I look at presidential and other elections and think that what you see is a repackaging of the same old cr*p. When McCain picked the little known governor from Alaska, I thought to myself that this is really odd. Then I saw her speech at the convention, it was fairly impressive in it's delivery, not to mention a bit frightening. In the next weeks, it became obvious that there was not a lot of depth to be found. At the end of the Vice Presidential debate, it was clear that all Palin was capable of was rhetoric, and claiming to be a Maverick, which I'm not entirely sure she can spell.

Over the last few days, the theme in the media is how she is dragging down the ticket. One poll said that 55% of people thought she was incapable of being president, while 40% thought she was.

This morning in the Washington post, I saw this quote:"Overall, 52 percent of likely voters said they are less confident in McCain's judgment because his of surprise selection of Palin; 38 percent are more confident because of it. That represents a marked reversal from the initially positive reaction to the pick."

The other day, she told Brian Williams that the Vice President is in charge of the Senate. Um, maybe one of her handlers ought to have fed her the right answer after blowing it a few weeks ago. Those pesky ambush journalists.

My question is, who the F*ck are these morons that make up 2 out of every 5 adults? From which planet, or parallel universe, does she meet the minimum qualifications to lead a country? Perhaps knowing what her job description is might be a place to start. If someone wants to make the argument that McCain would be a better president than Obama, I would disagree, but would have to acknowledge that it was an opinon of merit. If the twit can't handle the tough questions posed by Katie Couric, how is she going to represent, let alone lead a country? Anyone who thinks that Sarah Palin is remotely qualified to be president needs to have their right to vote rescinded.

Apparently this opinion makes me some form of elitist selective racist who disparages rednecks, and casts aspursions against the real people of america. Based on the fact that I like to fish, enjoy NASCAR, have a garage full of power tools and drive a 14 year old Bronco, I myself might be categorized as a redneck. While I don't have anything parked on my lawn, don't have a gun rack, and I obtained a graduate degree in business might disqualify me, we'll leave that aside. Maybe I should start a grassroots group, Rednecks for Obama, or even better, Rednecks for Literacy and Cognitive Processes.

I guess I could go on with the litnany of reasons she is unqualified, but anyone who reads a newspaper and thinks for themselves should understand this already.

The fly of the day is the Yellow Sally Stone Fly, courtesy of the nice people at Fly Anglers Online




Thight Lines,

Dave

On the Shelf

One of the facts of life if you play a contact sport, is that you run the risk of getting injured. You are guaranteed to have soreness and pain if you play hard, but actual injury is one of those things that you would rather avoid.

It's never a good idea to blow up a joint or crack a bone, but more of a nuisance than the pain and discomfort, is the amount of time that you will spend going to doctors, getting X-rays, killing a day of work for the surgery, and the next 3-12 months going through the frustrating experience of rehabilitation. It's been 8 years since my last significant injury, but the memory of the seeming eternity that is rehabilitation is still clear in my mind.. The key to a successful rehab is that you fundamentally have to start over and refrain from doing even basic exercises. Even though you can take stairs 2 or 3 at a time, you need to take them one by one until the doctor gives you the green light. Even though you know you can start doing slide drills, you have to work with the little rubber band for the next two months. Arghh...


A couple of weeks ago at Ruggerfest, I ended up at the end of a string of passes "through the hands". It was almost like we knew what we were doing. (Oh yeah, we're old and we've been playing for a long time, we're just slow.) I had the angle to the corner, but there was no way I was going to beat the last defender to the try zone. After an amazingly deft move, amazing in that I couldn't believe that he bought it, I turned back toward the middle and was running toward the posts. With each step, I was getting closer to scoring (This happens about every 2-3 years). Right as I was getting to the try line, the defender dove and swept my ankles. As I was about to lose my feet, diving seemed to be the thing to do, as I figured I could reach the try zone and set the ball down. Somewhere shortly after I set the ball down, the rest of my body followed. At this point, the shoulder attached to the arm that was holding the ball buckled (that's technical term). I figured I twinged it pretty good, but no major damage. Guess again, Dave. I've yet to meet the person who has had an MRI and not had surgery, which will likely be my fate in about a month.

Long story short(er), I'm out of action for the next while. One thing that is important for any rehab stint is to have a goal event that you are getting ready in time for. While this may sound strange, my target events are Cowpie and Mother's Day, as in the Cowpie Classic rugby tournament in Steamboat, and the Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Arkansas river. May and July are a long way away, but they'll get here soon enough. About the only thing I'll be able to do between now and then is tie flies, so all is not lost.

The fly of the day is the spent caddis. A particularly hot fly, right after a hatch. (This particular video features A.K. Best, an angling legend in these parts.)



Tight Lines,

Dave

Silver and Bleak

Being a Raider fan is either a blessing or a curse, depending on what year it is.  In the 70's and 80's, life was pretty good in Raider land.  In the 90's they were just plain bad.  In the early 00's things were beginning to look up, and then Al Davis traded his coach to Tampa Bay.  It's funny, but I can't ever remember a team trading a coach.  

Last night, the Raider faithful are wondering of 0-16 is truly possible.  They looked like a JV High School football team.  It was freaking pathetic.  After paying top dollar to bring in that headcase Angelo (sp?) Hall, some rookie wide receiver used him like soap.  The denver quarterback never even touched a black jersey.  Their top draft choices of the last couple years are marginally effective behind their porous offensive line.

In other words, there is no hope, until Al Davis relinquishes control of the team.  I don't care if he sells the team or hires somebody, but he needs to understand that he had his last hurrah in 2002.  Since then they have 19 wins.  If it wasn't for the 49ers and Dolphins, they would run away with the worst organization in the league award.

Once you bleed silver and black, you can't root for another team, so I guess I'll just stop watching the NFL.

I'm too depressed to post a fly, and I can't think of one that starts or ends with "loser".

Tight Lines,

Dave 

Beadhead Caddis Puppa

Not too much that I can say about this one.

Biggest fishing day I've ever had standing in a river. Once I put this badboy on, it was all over. Even as I was pulling it out of the water to show my buddy what I had on, another fish bit it. Sometimes you just guess at the right fly...

Here is an example, courtesy of the nice people at The Fish Sniffer

Click the image for the tying instructions.

Tight Lines,

Dave

Why Colorado Rocks Part II

I could more or less write a blog under this heading every day for a year, and then I would need to start thinking about a new topic.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go on a hut trip. The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association maintains a number of huts in the mountains between Copper Mountain and Aspen. It's flippin' beautiful up there, assuming you like nature and quiet.

Below are some pics.

Skinner Hut

The fly of the day is the PMX. A nice stimmi for this time of year.



Tight Lines,

Dave

Why Colorado Rocks

There are probably a small handful of places where you have the opportunity to do as many things as you can in Colorado. Believe it or not, this actually turns into a problem, because there is only so much time to do so many cool things. At any one point, you can really only do two things well, and still have a job. Fishing and rugby seem to have bubbled to the top of my priority list.

This last weekend, there was a rugby tournament in Steamboat. It is one of the more social tournaments where players will 'whore' for other teams when they need an extra body to fill out a side. Players take it seriously, but to much less of an extent than league play or RuggerFest. Nobody gets upset at bad calls, or at least not very, and the town is more than happy to see a bunch of folks come in and dump cash at the local stores, restaurants, hotels, and campgrounds. Coincidentally, the path to and from Steamboat runs along and/or near several spots where an angler can drop in and attempt to coax a fish into biting on a hook. Basically, it's an all around weekend for myself and a couple of guys from the club that I fish with on a regular basis.

At the end of the day, the rugby was good, the party was great, and I caught a flippin' monster up in Stagecoach state park. Dry fly season is upon us, which is what all, or at least most, anglers wait for all year. Watching a fish come up to nibble a fly and then setting the hook is much cooler than waiting for your strike indicator to get pulled below the surface by the fish that you can't see.

The fly of the day is the Yellow Stimulator, provided by the folks at www.oregonflyfishingblog.com




Tight Lines,

Dave

USNAFU

USA Rugby fired three people last week. No notice. No discussions about job performance beforehand. Nothing that would indicate that the organization takes itself seriously as an employer. The terminations were guised as a layoff, but when was the last time an employer hands each employee a cardboard box and walks them out of the building in a layoff. Layoffs generally include some form of transitional strategy, with an admission that there is just not enough cash in the coffers and that reductions in costs are necessary for the long term viability of the organization.

While the point of this story could well turn into one about how employers should treat their employees, and that is a valid thread, the punchline here is that USA Rugby is still the same dysfunctional organization that it always has been. It is run on the agenda of a small scale fiefdom where personalities and the ability to kiss the correct buttock at the right time are the measures of merit.

Two years ago, the organization fired two of the better known and certainly more accomplished players ever to play for the national side. If nothing else, these two were ambassadors to the sport with international recognition. At least a handful of other employees at various levels were also let go. A new management team was brought in, including a funny-talker CEO, and everything was supposed to get better. I was told that we should give the new leadership a chance to let their model prove itself. Well, it didn't take long for the new administration to show that nothing had changed. USA Rugby was, is, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be the same small scale fiefdom that it always has been.

The basic problem with the organization is that it is the national governing body of a sport that nobody cares about, except for those of us who play the game and our relatives. Because nobody cares, there is little support at the national or local level. Since I started playing the game about 12 years ago, the US national team was ranked somewhere between 19 and 22 in the world, depending on the time of year. Today, the Eagles are ranked #20 in the world, despite new sponsors, a boatload of money from the International Rugby Board, a fundamental restructuring of the club level divisions, and a few palace coups at the national office. While soccer and lacrosse have both proven that building from the ground up with youth programs is an effective model, USA Rugby continues to pump money and resources into the top levels. The end result is that the sport has not increased the base of support, and the US is still an easy W for the opposing club in international competition.

When there is no performance to point to as a metric of success or failure, politics and bullsh*t become the basis for decision making. In a way it's a shame, because the whole effort is misguided. If you asked anyone who plays the game whether it was more important in the near-to-mid future to introduce the game to more youth or to actually win a match in the World Cup (let's face it, that in itself is a stretch goal), 95% of the respondents would vote for expanding the sport through the youth. We are after all the US of A. I can't think of a single silver medalist with an endorsement deal, so why waste the resources on a national side until we can actually compete?


The fly of the day is the Blond Wulff courtesy of the nice people at Fly Anglers Online




Tight lines,

Dave

Save Second Base

So I went up to Summit County this last weekend, with the intention of being my wife's support crew and get in some fishing on the Blue. The fishing reports for the Blue were off the hook, right until the day I left. Apparently, the water department decided to let more water out of the Dillon reservoir, and blow out the fishing holes. The reports at the local fly shop read like, Don't Bother" "Wait a bit, it'll get better soon" and my favorite, "Get a tube and a 30 Pack".

Heading into the weekend, I must admit, I was more concerned about which spot to fish, instead of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer itself. I figured there were people who had that organized, and my wife is one of those corn-fed girls from the midwest. In other words, she's tough. What I did not figure on, was the production value that was going to take place that weekend. There were obviously a lot of pink license plates, and a lot of pink t-shirts and caps in town. The only comparison I could come up with was a 'Dead show. Cars were well appointed with messaging, pink ribbons, signs, pictures, flags, boas, and just about anything pink that you could figure out how to attach to the exterior of an automobile. The support crews were amazing. There was a group of bikers, as in Harley not Trek, who stopped at a few places along the way to tell jokes and cheer on the participants. There was the self-named Moo Crew, dressed in bovine themed attire, likewise providing encouragement and improv. humor. One lady, whose granddaughter is a 3 time survivor came to support the cause and held the sign in the photo above.

Overall, it was an awesome gathering of folks who came together to support a cause and did as much walking as they did talking.

The one altercation I heard of included a biker, Trek not Harley, who yelled at the ladies on the path to share the path because they were in his way. Sidenote: In what frame of mind does it seem that yelling at 50-100 ladies all wearing pink and on the same 39 mile hike is ever going to sound like a good idea? According to my wife, the ladies responded with a plethora of pejoratives that would have made any rugby club proud.

All in all, ~1100 people participated in the walk. Approximately 10% were survivors, and $3.3 million dollars were raised by the participants through donations. The walk itself was no mean feat. 39.3 miles in two days at 9300 feet, is nothing to sneeze at. I must admit that the takeaway from the weekend was the magnitude of the weekend, and the dedication of the participants and their supporters.

There were a few fish caught, but at the end of the day, I can't really say that counts.

The fly of the week, going with the theme of pink, is the Hi Viz Caddis: (Courtesy of the folks at Royal Gorge Anglers.)



Tight Lines,

Dave

Big Blue

My wife is going to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this weekend. 39 miles in 2 days is going to be quite the feat. She and her friend have each raised over $2,000 in pledges and have been training pretty diligently for this event. Considering the fact that they will be taking on this challenge at ~9600 feet above sea level, the story even becomes more impressive. The least I figured I could do is go with her to support her in this effort.

As luck would have it, the Blue River, and the Colorado River, are both within a short drive of where we will be staying. This of course had nothing to do with my decision to help... or at least not much. As of the last reports I read, the flows are down, bugs are hatching, and the fish are hungry after fighting off the spring run-off for the last month or so. 10 days ago I read a one-word fishing report for the Blue - BLOWN. Like anything else you read, you have to read between the lines. Fly shops will always provide information about what the best anglers are able to do do catch a single fish in a day. When no hope is offered, you should take it seriously.

Anyway, the goal is to get some fishing in on Friday, Saturday during the middle part of the walk, and if fortune holds out, maybe a little on Sunday as well. Now I understand that the likelihood of the planets aligning properly for this to take place are slim, but you can always hold out hope. While there may be some ethical dilemma that I am missing, I will be doing my part on Saturday in that making sure that the ladies make it to the starting line on time, and my wife will be joining me on Friday, so I feel a little better about myself. Like Jeff Goldbloom said in the Big Chill, when was the last time you went a day with out a rationalization.

Even if all of this falls through, the creeks in town are beginning to clear and after-work/lunchtime fishing is about to return. I love summer in CO.

I'll post a follow-up report on Monday.

Today's Fly is the Barr's Tungstone: (Courtesy of GigHarborFlyFisher)




Tight Lines,

Dave

Random Musings from Vegas

This last weekend, I met up with some friends and friends of friends in Las Vegas to celebrate a buddy's 35th birthday and 5-year anniversary of his cancer remission. Two notable and worthy events for sure. This trip to Vegas took on a slightly different meaning as the group was made up of guys who are/were married and/or have kids, (with one notable exception, but we'll get to that later). In the past, trips to Vegas, and Reno for that matter, usually revolved around a rugby match, a bachelor party, and 6-7 guys crashed on the floor of some lower scale hotel. Not this time.

For some reason, we ended up staying at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, having a host at Tryst (still not exactly sure where that is), and several rides in school buses that have been transformed into limos.

The trip definitely provided an different perspective on what Vegas has become. The following are some impressions from the trip, in roughly chronological order.

1- Bachelorette parties are train-wrecks waiting to happen. While waiting for my plane to board in the airport bar, 8 women walked in the bar, trying to strut what they once had to strut some years ago. I figured they had to be on the same plane, based on the presence of more than one feather boa. As fortune would have it, they sat right behind me on the plane. (I knew I should have paid the extra $39 for the seat with more legroom) It was pretty clear that the more liquored up these ladies became, the less they actually liked one another. That party was about 4 rounds away from a meltdown, and it was only 7pm. Should make for some interesting chatter at the reception.

2- Welcome to Vegas, but if you want to sit down anywhere, it's going to cost you. Saturday morning I decided that my hangover was going to require more blood circulation than sitting on the couch was going to provide. So I took a walk down the strip toward the north end where the old standards of Circus Circus, The Stardust, and Westward Ho still reside. After walking in and out of a few casinos, it struck me that there is no place to sit in the whole town. Unless you are at a gaming table, a slot machine, a bar, or a restaurant, or in a cab/limo, there is not a chair to be found. Sitting requires the exchange of funds. Granted, you can go to the sports book and hang out without being harassed, but that's about it.

3- When did LA move to Vegas? On Friday night we went to some place called Tryst. It is basically the 8th sign of the apocalypse. Because my friend has some loose association with a woman who either is or was a showgirl, we were hooked up with a "host" who got us VIP treatment which included "table service". Because we were "VIPs" we got a couple of little tables and a couch that we could call our own for a couple of hours. All we had to do for this service was drop $500 apiece on two bottles of vodka. There were mixers too, but I'm not entirely clear if they were included or cost extra. I'm always one to go to a human circus, and this was certainly one of them. We must have looked important, because several people walked by with that inquisitive, "who are these high rollers?" look. These tables are also quite the pick-up tool, every girl that my single buddies went to talk to was miraculously interested in having a conversation. Even when they decided to dispose of lines and went straight to pelting the young ladies with ice.

4- The model has definitely changed, Vegas has become it's own destination. Food, drinks, and rooms used to be afterthoughts. The hotels used to seem genuinely interested in getting you fueled up and on your way, so that you could spend more time at the tables. The model these days is much more focused on getting you to drop coin at every corner, and if you get to the tables, then that's ok too. The first glimpse of this change in model was the $6 bottle of Budweiser. The second look was the journey to the pool. Any pool with 3800 lounge chairs, a wave pool, a concrete river, a kiddie pool, its own food court, and 50-60 cabanas for rent at a thousand dollars a day is a business in and of itself. They didn't even have a blackjack table. Doesn't anyone gamble anymore?

5- Who would want to live in Vegas? Apparently, people want to get their own pad in this oasis in the desert. The owners of the Mandalay, Excalibur, Monte Calro, Luxor conglomerate are building residential towers. After talking to the real estate representative in the lobby of THE Hotel, 500 sq. ft. studio condominiums are going for ~$650K. 3200 sq. ft. penthouses can be had for anywhere between $4.5M and $10M. Maintenance fees are anywhere from a buck to a buck-and-a-half per foot. Yowsers.

Some things, however, have not changed:

1- Vegas is still really ugly in the daytime. It's like the morning after at a frat party.

2- It's still flippin' hot in the desert.

3- Never gamble with a bunch of guys who don't gamble. Nothing like a new guy who utters "seven" 8 or 9 times in a row as the shooter is getting ready for the next toss.

4- 48 hours is as much time as anyone should ever spend in Vegas. After this last sojourn, I'm looking at revising that rule to 36 hours.

5- If you want to gamble, go downtown. The strip has the nicer hotels and all, but they also come with a ton of overhead. If one place is not working for you, it's a much easier leap to go to another casino downtown.

Tight lines,


Dave

Best Matches in a While

This last weekend, two of the best rugby matches I have seen in a while were on the tube. Both matches contained 80 minutes of non-stop battling for their respective championships, and the outcome of both matches was in doubt until the 78th minute. The matches were the finals of the Guinness Premiership (London Wasps V. Leichester (sp.)Tigers) and the Super 14 (Canterbury Crusaders V. New South Wales Waratahs)

Thanks to the magic of Tivo, I was able to watch both matches at a reasonable hour, instead of waking up at 3am. Below you will find a some video snippets:





The Setanta network is playing reruns of the matches, so if you have the chance, take a look, it'll be time well spent.

Fly of the day: The Black Foam Caddis Courtesy of the folks at Virtual Flybox.

For folks new to fly tying, this one is super easy, and is really good for a dry/dropper rig as it will hold up a nymph quite well.



Tight lines,

Dave

Runs Like a Deere

This weekend, I had one of those retail experiences, where you know you need an item and spend a lot of time figuring out exactly which item you want. The next logical step, is that the item in question will have been discontinued.

When we bought our house, we purchased a "lawn tractor" from the previous owners. I have the term in quotes, because what we really bought was a complete piece of cr*p with a Montgomery Ward brand. After examining the tractor, I found that it has sludge, where one might expect to find oil, the air filter had about two handfuls of dirt in it, and the steering was broken. I managed to squeeze one more summer out of it, but during the last mow of 2007, it gave up the ghost and started spewing that bluish gray smoke out the back.

With the long cold spring, I hadn't needed to acquire the replacement until this weekend. During the winter, I would periodically do some online shopping, talk to the guys at the major hardware behemoths, and check for specials. Apparently, these things never go on sale. Anyway, what I arrived at was the John Deere, Model LA135. It's got the V-Twinn engine and a 42 inch deck. When I called the nearest JD dealer, I found that the LA135 had been discontinued, but for $100 more, I could purchase the LA145. The 145 basically has the same engine, but has a 48 inch deck, and electric blade engagement. My first instinct was to say stick to my guns and search around for the 135, but then decided that since there was a better alternative, I might as well step up for the extra $100.

Long story short, after backing it off the trailer, and giving the yard a mow, all I've got to say is, oh yeah. This thing is sweet, takes about half the time as the old piece of cr*p, and it even comes with a cup holder; should there ever be a need to consume a beverage...

Runs Like a Deere

Since the streams are blown out, and it will be rafting season for a few weeks until the spring runoff is over, it's time to work on some other activities.

Tight lines,

Dave

Similarities and differences

I was running by Boulder Creek yesterday afternoon, and saw an angler casting a nymph at a hole; this triggered a thought.

A few weeks ago, I told our CEO, Todd Vernon, that I would take him fly fishing. I have introduced a few people, including my wife, to the "sport", with varying degrees of success. Because I enjoy it so much, I want to present fly fishing in a way that the other person will develop an appreciation for it, even if it doesn't turn into a regular pursuit. As I continued to jog along the path, I tried to come up with a way to describe the goal and workflow in a meaningful way, that would be relevant to Todd. Then it hit me, create an analogy between Social Networking and Fly Fishing.

Admittedly, this thought is in its nascent stage and will be developed more fully as I write this post, but I think it has some merit.

The similarities:
1- For the newbie, social media and fly fishing have a similar WTF? factor. If you walk into the world of either without without a primer or guide, you will soon become overwhelmed with all of the different options. In social media you can share your pictures, videos, thoughts, articles you read, blogs you read, and whether you decided to go with a skinny latte instead of a regular latte that morning. Walking into a flyshop without knowing what you are looking at will soon result in data overload. I caution anyone who thinks that asking the guys behind the counter where to start will condense the information for you.

2- In both fly fishing and social media, everyone needs to figure out why they do it, what works best for them, and what they are trying to get out of it. There is a lot of trial and error that will need to take place. Both offer an individual the opportunity to go over the top and become singularly focused on the activity, while also offering the casual participant the ability to play at just about any level they want.

3- Neither are really "social". Social media is largely composed of strangers interacting on a superficial level. Dialogs that happen across twitter or some other means do not reach the threshold of actual social interaction because the people involved rarely conduct a meaningful discourse. At the end of the day, everyone shares what information they want, with the hope of gaining more information than they provide. Fly fishing is the same way. You may meet people on the river, but rarely is the interaction meaningful. Someone may ask if another angler has had any luck, but that is really just an entry point to the next question of what are you fishing with (so that I can cut to the chase and use today's hot fly).

4- The only people you really trust are the ones you know from other places. The other day I went fishing with a buddy and fellow rugger at this golden spot. We were pulling big trout out of the river. We fished opposite banks of the same stream for hours without an issue. Guaranteed, if it was some guy that I didn't know, we'd be catching each other's lines and getting in each other's way. Social media is similar in that you really don't really care what others have to say, unless you actually know the person who makes the post, tweet, or other assertion. At best, strangers provide a perspective, and/or entertainment.

5- Unless you're really good, you better keep your day job. There are professional fly fishermen, and there are professional blog publishers. There are no barriers to entry for anyone to attempt to become a professional at either, but unless you have figured out a way to unlock the secret of success at the highest level, you are going to need to maintain an alternate source of income.

6- Both have a vernacular that makes no sense to the uninitiated. Only because I work for Lijit, do I know the meaning of Tweet, Digg, Technorati, rick roll, and Flikr. Similarly, a BWO, PMD, Parachute Adams, or a Comparadun will not mean anything to someone who doesn't toss flies at the seams. It's best to learn these things as you go and keep the ones that are relevant. Like anything else, discard the noise.

There are of course differences:
1- In fly fishing, you actually need to leave the house and do something. A 6 mile trek through the woods to a lightly fished spot is well worth the effort. While I know it can be murder finding a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi, I don't think it quite compares.

2- Unlike social media and video games, if you don't watch your ass, you can get seriously hurt. The woods, rivers and lakes are unforgiving. Take a wrong step, and they might need a helicopter to get you back to civilization. There's no reset button, and you can't delete the post.

3- You can't fake it in fly fishing. You can't throw out some random post to see what happens; nor can you create a persona. You can't bullsh*t a fish.

4- There is no instant gratification with fly fishing. You can spend 8 hours standing in cold water without catching a fish, and I have. You have to enjoy the journey. Social media is much more about the instant return.

5- Cost of entry: Assuming that one already has a computer, and a cell phone that is capable of sending text messages, the cost of entry to social media is only time. With fly fishing, unless you fall into the right garage sale, or have a buddy with a complete extra set of gear (there are more of us out there than you might think), you're looking at a $500-600 investment. If it becomes a real pursuit, figure on another $500 that you will gladly spend.



The fly of the day is the Copper John. Ugly little sucker that doesn't look like anything, but the fish sure seem to like it.





Tight lines,

Dave

Similarities and differences

I was running by Boulder Creek yesterday afternoon, and saw an angler casting a nymph at a hole; this triggered a thought.

A few weeks ago, I told our CEO, Todd Vernon, that I would take him fly fishing. I have introduced a few people, including my wife, to the "sport", with varying degrees of success. Because I enjoy it so much, I want to present fly fishing in a way that the other person will develop an appreciation for it, even if it doesn't turn into a regular pursuit. As I continued to jog along the path, I tried to come up with a way to describe the goal and workflow in a meaningful way, that would be relevant to Todd. Then it hit me, create an analogy between Social Networking and Fly Fishing.

Admittedly, this thought is in its nascent stage and will be developed more fully as I write this post, but I think it has some merit.

The similarities:
1- For the newbie, social media and fly fishing have a similar WTF? factor. If you walk into the world of either without without a primer or guide, you will soon become overwhelmed with all of the different options. In social media you can share your pictures, videos, thoughts, articles you read, blogs you read, and whether you decided to go with a skinny latte instead of a regular latte that morning. Walking into a flyshop without knowing what you are looking at will soon result in data overload. I caution anyone who thinks that asking the guys behind the counter where to start will condense the information for you.

2- In both fly fishing and social media, everyone needs to figure out why they do it, what works best for them, and what they are trying to get out of it. There is a lot of trial and error that will need to take place. Both offer an individual the opportunity to go over the top and become singularly focused on the activity, while also offering the casual participant the ability to play at just about any level they want.

3- Neither are really "social". Social media is largely composed of strangers interacting on a superficial level. Dialogs that happen across twitter or some other means do not reach the threshold of actual social interaction because the people involved rarely conduct a meaningful discourse. At the end of the day, everyone shares what information they want, with the hope of gaining more information than they provide. Fly fishing is the same way. You may meet people on the river, but rarely is the interaction meaningful. Someone may ask if another angler has had any luck, but that is really just an entry point to the next question of what are you fishing with (so that I can cut to the chase and use today's hot fly).

4- The only people you really trust are the ones you know from other places. The other day I went fishing with a buddy and fellow rugger at this golden spot. We were pulling big trout out of the river. We fished opposite banks of the same stream for hours without an issue. Guaranteed, if it was some guy that I didn't know, we'd be catching each other's lines and getting in each other's way. Social media is similar in that you really don't really care what others have to say, unless you actually know the person who makes the post, tweet, or other assertion. At best, strangers provide a perspective, and/or entertainment.

5- Unless you're really good, you better keep your day job. There are professional fly fishermen, and there are professional blog publishers. There are no barriers to entry for anyone to attempt to become a professional at either, but unless you have figured out a way to unlock the secret of success at the highest level, you are going to need to maintain an alternate source of income.

6- Both have a vernacular that makes no sense to the uninitiated. Only because I work for Lijit, do I know the meaning of Tweet, Digg, Technorati, rick roll, and Flikr. Similarly, a BWO, PMD, Parachute Adams, or a Comparadun will not mean anything to someone who doesn't toss flies at the seams. It's best to learn these things as you go and keep the ones that are relevant. Like anything else, discard the noise.

There are of course differences:
1- In fly fishing, you actually need to leave the house and do something. A 6 mile trek through the woods to a lightly fished spot is well worth the effort. While I know it can be murder finding a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi, I don't think it quite compares.

2- Unlike social media and video games, if you don't watch your ass, you can get seriously hurt. The woods, rivers and lakes are unforgiving. Take a wrong step, and they might need a helicopter to get you back to civilization. There's no reset button, and you can't delete the post.

3- You can't fake it in fly fishing. You can't throw out some random post to see what happens; nor can you create a persona. You can't bullsh*t a fish.

4- There is no instant gratification with fly fishing. You can spend 8 hours standing in cold water without catching a fish, and I have. You have to enjoy the journey. Social media is much more about the instant return.

5- Cost of entry: Assuming that one already has a computer, and a cell phone that is capable of sending text messages, the cost of entry to social media is only time. With fly fishing, unless you fall into the right garage sale, or have a buddy with a complete extra set of gear (there are more of us out there than you might think), you're looking at a $500-600 investment. If it becomes a real pursuit, figure on another $500 that you will gladly spend.



The fly of the day is the Copper John. Ugly little sucker that doesn't look like anything, but the fish sure seem to like it.





Tight lines,

Dave

Bad Angler

Fly fishing has it's mores, lore, etiquette, standards, and a lot of other overhead that I do my best to ignore. I either use barbless hooks or crimp down the barbs because it is more of a challenge. I only keep a fish if I have backbacked to a campsite and intend to eat the fish that day. I wash my waders and boots after each outing, because I don't want to transfer whirling disease from one stream to another, but that's about it.

I try to stay out of conversations about what really is a fly, whether or not using weight is within the bounds of the ethos of the fly fisherman, and whether or not using a strike indicator is acceptable.

Yesterday, however, I broke one of the few other rules that I follow. I failed to return a fish that I caught safely back to the stream. In the course of removing the hook from it's mouth, I managed to drop the fish into the stream. The fish may very well live, but I certainly did not do my part in giving him or her the best odds of making that happen. It kind of killed the rest of the outing for me. The entire notion behind catch and release is that you don't kill the fish, so that it may produce more fish, and that it may again be caught one day by yourself or another angler. Whether you cook it, or handle it negligently leading to its demise is no different in the end.

I'll get over it, and fish again soon, but every so often when you do something that is really not that impressive, even to yourself, it is important to admit it and make an effort not to do it again.

Tight lines,

Dave

Forcing Summer

It's a trap I find myself in around this time of year in Colorado. The mind plays tricks on us, particularly those who grew up in a coastal climate, where one day is usually similar to the previous with seasonal trends. Springtime in Colorado is it's own beast. It reminds me of the scene in Good Morning Vietnam where Robin Williams does an impersonation of a soldier giving a weather report and says "Got a window, open it".

When planning my weekend I had two goals, fish and organize the garage. The first is not much of a task, yet the second was clearly going to be an all day challenge. Foolishly, I planned ahead, and designated Saturday the day to fish, and Sunday the day to work on the garage. As luck, or at least the weather would have it, Saturday was cold, snowy, cloudy, and the water temp in St. Vrain was somewhere around 37 degrees. Twice I had the pleasure of sticking my arm in the water to remove my fly from whatever it was snagged upon. My two buddies each got a fish, and I was skunked.

Sunday was of course clear, sunny, and warm. I did manage to build a rack for all the gear that we store in the garage, and it is now a much better use of space; but that all could have been done on Saturday.

The lesson from this experience, never plan outdoor activities more than 30 minutes ahead of time. You have a 50-50 chance of having the opportunity to make a better choice when it is Springtime in Colorado.

Tight lines,

Dave

Poudre River Canyon

On Sunday we went to the Poudre River in search of fish that that are willing to bite on a hook with some feather, fuzz, and thread attached. It was a gorgeous day, with the exception of the wind, which made casting a bit rough. I had heard that the fish were feeding on the Baetis pretty regularly and the various BWO patterns were doing well. Unfortunately, they call it fishing instead of catching for a reason. By definition a day on a river is a good day. What seemed like a couple of hours turned out to be 4.5 hours by time we got back to the car.

For those of you who haven't been, the Poudre River is phenomenally beautiful.

While going to the woods and catching no fish is not a disaster, let's face it, the point of fishing is to catch fish. Going to try a couple of more local spots on the St. Vrain and the Big T. on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, I'll have some better luck.

Below there are are a few pics my wife took from the road.

Poudre Canyon

Fly of the day: The Beer Baetis , courtesy of Rocky Mountain Fly




Tight Lines,

Dave

Douchebag Extraordinaire

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The contest to see who is the biggest Douchebag in the world is over. There is a Honduran "artist" named Guillermo Vargas, a.k.a. Habacuc, who found inspiration in the notion of starving a dog for public display.



Long story short, this walking piece of excrement tied a dog to a short leash without food or water for 6 days so that people could watch it die. I understand that there are cultural differences in how people treat animals, however, this particular episode crosses any lines of cultural acceptance.

I certainly hope this guy makes the mistake of coming to the US. I'd rather not have to run into the challenge of getting myself extracted from Central America after putting the boots to some weanie artist wannabe.

There will be no fly of the day on this post. I will add one to my post about the fruitless journey to the amazingly beautiful Poudre Canyon.

Tight Lines,

Dave

Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, Viva Chile

I've been meaning to put together a post about the Boulder Old Boys Rugby tour to Chile. Long story short, it was flippin' awesome. I'm not sure that I would go to Chile again, only because there are a long list of places that I also want to go, but I'm sure glad I went. The Chilean people are fantastic. The Chilean food and sites are well worth the trip, and the dollar still goes a pretty good way, as long as you stay out of the hotel bars.

Food:
One thing I will say about Chile is that the food, without exception is fan-freakin-tabulous. The fish, beef, and pork dishes are awesome. Don't expect the food to resemble any of the Mexican dishes you get either here in the states or in Mexico itself. While there is a lot of flavor, there is not a lot of spice. The salsa would typically rank among the bland, compared to the burrito shops on B Street in San Mateo.

Fish dishes are plentiful. Lots of salmon, shell fish, and white fish. Be somewhat careful of the translations. At one restaurant a friend was told that he was ordering abalone. I think what he actually meant was albacore, as in chicken of the sea. Abalone is a fairly rare shell fish that can be caught in the shallow waters along the coast of California and other places. It is a family favorite in the Ferro house, and this certainly was not abalone.

Steak dishes. If you like a good rib eye, Chile is the place for you. I had some unbelievable cuts of meat while down there. The best I would have to say was at a place called the Gaucho in Vina del Mar.

Rice: Other than on a few business trips to Japan, I can't say that I remember the rice being anything to speak of. The type of rice they have in Chile is awesome.

Pisco, Pisco, Pisco:
The national drink of the Chileans is the Pisco Sour. Pisco is made by distilling fermented grapes. It's about 70 proof, and packs quite a wallop. They will mix it most often with sour mix, yielding something akin to a margarita. Personally, I preferred the Mango Sour, which oddly enough doesn't actually have any sour mix in it. It is just Pisco and mango. I also don't recommend having more than two of any drink including pisco. While it is theoretically just booze, it seems to have some form of evening accelerant included as well.

Beer:
Ah yes, a necessary part of any rugby tour. We were quite pleased with the beer selection. Cristal, Royal, and Escudo are the primary low level beers. All were very cheap, and pretty darn good. Budweiser, Heineken, Guinness, and other imports were also available, but at a hefty premium, as I recall.

Dogs:
One of the things that is truly amazing about Chile is the number of stray dogs that populate the streets of Chile, and how well they are integrated into society. People will feed them, pet them, or walk right by them without noticing that they are there. The dogs don't bark, beg, or approach people, but when greeted, they are completely friendly. They even have mastered the skill of looking both ways before crossing the street. As owners of 4 high maintenance dogs, it took us a little while to figure it out, but whatever system has been developed down there certainly seems to have worked itself out. The only time I saw any aggression from any dog was when a pack of 4 were all trying to mate a female in heat. Nothing like a woman in heat to cause an uproar.

Santiago:
Santiago is the capital city of Chile. I got different numbers, but about 5.5 million people live in Santiago. I would recommend spending a day or maybe two in Santiago. After that, you are just in another big freakin city, where you don't speak the language. It's got some beautiful buildings and parks. There is also a huge amount of development going on in Santiago. The skyline is littered with cranes that are helping replace short buildings with taller ones.

We played a round robin against three clubs from Santiago, and one from Mendosa, Argentina. The rugby in Santiago was probably the worst day of rugby that I have ever participated in. They play the game with uncontested scrums. For the uninitiated, that's like having a jump ball where the ref just hands the ball to the team that he wants to have it. Because we were winning, the ref seemed to consistently blow the whistle in our opposition's favor. At one point, one of the wives was laughing at my displeasure over the referee situation. She asked me what I expected to happen, we were in South America afterall. Solid point. We won 3 and tied one match, so on the overall, I'd say it worked out. Oh, and they had beer too, so all is good.

La Serena:
La Serena is a sleepy little beach town after about a 7 hour bus ride from Santiago. It was my favorite stop on the tour. Mining and Fishing are the two major industries there. Though the Wynn Corporation is building a casino along the beach, so I would imagine that tourism is becoming more of the focus.

We arrived about 2-3 weeks after their version of Labor Day, when all the tourists go home. So for us, we more or less had the town to ourselves, which is probably a good thing. One evening when a handful of us went to dinner, our departure from the restaurant was applauded by a table of women who might have thought that we were a bit too loud. These things will happen on tour.

About 2 hours due east of La Serena is Pisco country. It's kind of like Sonoma or Napa before all the McMansions started popping up. Miles and miles of grape. The Pisco industry must be doing quite well. They are excavating and planting grape on hillsides that you would think impossible to grow or maintain vines on. Picking the grape on these hillsides must be an adventure of its own.

Between relaxing by the beach, playing rugby against a great club, and the phenomenally beautiful countryside just east of the coast, La Serena is a place that I would highly recommend to anyone going to Chile.

We played the La Serena Rugby Club on a foggy afternoon in La Serena. Earlier in the day, a bunch of the Boulder OB hosted a rugby clinic for the kids at the local school. What a great experience that was. The kids were so happy to have us come and teach the game, it was just awesome. Our arrival was apparently quite the big deal in town. Many people showed up to watch the game and we made the local paper. The match against the La Serena club was a good fun match. Both teams played hard, we won, and a good time was had after the match. They hosted a dinner, and some of the kids from the school performed a dance in traditional attire, pictures can be seen below.

Top to bottom, La Serena was the highlight of our trip.

Vina del Mar:
Large city along the water. Chile's version of Miami beach I would imagine. 40-50 story shoebox condominiums everywhere. Buildings that block the sun. Great food, very modern, yet no reason to go to South America to see another big city by the beach.

The Boulder OB lost their first match on foreign soil on April 29, 2008. We were pretty worn out by the tour at this point, and we ran into a club that came to play. They beat us 4 tries to 1. They outplayed us in every facet of the game. You hate to lose, but when you do, you want it to be to a solid club. The Sporting Rugby Club of Vina del Mar are a great bunch of guys, who play solid rugby, and have perfected the art of the maul. Rugby is big down there. We played on the infield of the horse track. They have 4 regulation pitches in that infield. When we arrived, a couple of youth teams were being taught the technique of the maul. No wonder these guys we played knew what they were doing.

Alas, it came time to head back to the states. Note to travelers, for long trips, those pillows that support your head are worth every freakin penny. We arrived safely, and with the exception of needing to help pull the limo driver out of the ditch, all was smooth.

Pictures of the trip can be found at:

Chi Chi Chi Le Le Le

Fly of the day:

The Blue Winged Olive Hair Stacker - Courtesy of Fly Anglers Online




Tight Lines,

Dave

Claudia Picolo Glassman

When I left for the tour to Chile, I figured I would blog about various occurrences that took place during the trip, post a few pics, etc. On the first Saturday of the tour, I was reminded of what is really important in this world.

Claudia Picolo Glassman passed away after a 6 month battle with cancer. The only good thing to be taken from this is that she was able to have her family and friends with her as she went through the fight. She is survived by her children Nick and Emily, grandsons Jonas and Gavin (who she was able to meet upon his arrival to this world a month ago), partner Karen, and countless friends, family, and admirers.

I will always remember Claudia for giving me a turn or phrase that I have and will use in the future: "... then you are either a liar or an idiot, and I'm not going to deal with you any longer."

There's and old blues tune with the lyric, "Heaven done called another blues singer back home." Well, G*d called in an ace from the bullpen. Must have needed something straightened out up there...

There will be no fly of the day for this post.

Tight lines,

Dave

Burgers, Babes, and Rugby

I didn't make it up.

On the RugbyFanz site, I saw a Burger King TV commercial created for southern hemisphere television that would certainly earn the ire of many in the US. Though similar content could be found on daytime television, it would probably be too much for some to take. The piker no-fun patrol at USA Rugby would also probably frown on such frivolity. Thank G*d for the Internet.

Click here to see the commercial

Enjoy

Today's fly:
The Patagonian Runner (Courtesy of the really great people that run Fly Anglers Online.)




Tight Lines,

Dave

9 Days to Santiago

"The best thing about Old Boys rugby is that it is 90% of the fun and 10% of the bullsh*t."
- Rich Frankendon'tforgettogivemeattributionheimer

In 9 days, Boulder Rugby's Olde Boys will be boarding planes to Santiago, Chile for a 10 day tour. There is a pool as to who will be the first player to interact with the local authorities and a few other items that should stay within the confines of the tour. Amidst all the revelry, we'll actually be mixing in some rugby. On the 22nd, we are scheduled to play in a round robin with a couple of clubs from Santiago, and possibly one from Argentina. On the 26th, we have a match against the La Serena Old Boys, closing out the tour with a match in Vina del Mare on the 29th. (Special shout out goes to our own Julie McCoy - Rich Etzkorn - who has navigated through the compulsory mountain of cr*p, laziness, and general abuse that go with organizing any event for a rugby club, particularly the Old Boys.)

One of the great things about rugby is its inclusiveness. Ruggers are an inbred society of folks who are always looking for an excuse to play the game, have a few grogs in celebration of the event, and regale each other with somewhat inflated stories of accomplishments that took place both off and on the pitch. Many clubs set up tours to domestic and international destinations solely for the purpose of playing a few matches. A club that is traveling through any place where rugby is played can almost always get a match arranged with a phone call or an email. Similarly, any player who just shows up to a training or match with a pair of boots and shorts is welcomed to the fray.

About a year ago, we started throwing around ideas for the next tour destination. Someone suggested Chile, because they had heard of another club going down there and having a great time. Piece by piece the tour started coming together. Judging by the photos on the web sites of our hotels, we will be traveling, or at least lodging in style. Spending a few days by the beach and getting my salt water fix will do this kid from California some good. There have been several emails going around the club list, discussing training, pre-tour matches, lodging, flights, kit, and all that good organizational stuff. I can almost guarantee that almost no actual training has taken place. In the spirit of fair play, that only seems right. Training is cheating, or at least it should be, in OB rugby.

It is guaranteed to be quite the adventure. I will post some updates when I get the chance, and possibly a photo or two that are fit for public consumption. Similar to the ad slogan of Vegas, what goes on tour, is supposed to stay on tour.

Fly of the day:
The Stimulator



Tight lines:

Dave

Last of the Men's Hiko's

One day last fall, I decided that it was time to retire my rugby boots. I had been playing with a pair of the Hiko model, made by Canterbury, for the previous 4 years. Not a record, but certainly a solid stint for a pair of boots. (BTW: Rugby has it's own terminology, cleats are referred to as boots) Hence, I needed a new pair. It started as a simple search, like many searches I have made before for rugby gear and just about anything I have ever purchased online. I went to an online retailer for rugby gear, found the pair of boots that I wanted, selected my size, entered my shipping and credit card information and confirmed the purchase. Pretty straight forward to this point. I even received the usual email, stating that my order had been received, and that the item would ship in the next day or two. This is where the story turns south.

Two days later, I received a phone call from the retailer, telling me that they were out of the Hiko's in my size, and that they were not sure when they would get any more. They did however have a pair of the new and improved boot by Canterbury, the "Rampage". The sales guy assured me that they were a great boot and that he had received positive feedback about it. Going against my gut instinct, I told him to change the order, and that I would take a pair of the new boot. The boots came in a few days. What pieces of cr*p those turned out to be. After one training (rugbyspeak for practice) and a match, those boots have sat in my office at home awaiting the decision about their final destiny. The only thing for sure is that they will never be placed on my feet again.

For some reason, Canterbury has decided to put a 'hard' toe on the boot. After getting stepped on once, there is now a crease in the toe of the boot that rubs against the foot. Nice design. The boot is made of some form of synthetic leather garbage that just looks cheap, even though they charge the same amount. The fit of the boot is just terrible as well. The foot bed is probably just wide enough for a rhino, but I would say a little large for the human.

As the spring season approached, I thought I would search around for another pair of boots. I found several online outlets who carried the Hiko, but all of sizes for the basic midget, 8's, 9's, and 10's. It was pretty clear that Canterbury had decided to discontinue one of the better and more popular boots ever sold in the US. The next day, I was having a beer with some teammates after practice, and the coach of the women's team who works for USA Rugby. (Living in Boulder, we are both blessed and mostly cursed with the presence of the headquarters of the national governing body.) I then found out that the US rep from Canterbury was coming into town to meet with USA Rugby, and he would be coming to the bar later that night. When he arrived, after going through the usual pleasantries, and finding out that he in fact played with a teammate of mine from a previous club, I asked him what happened to the Hiko. I was less than impressed with the response. Essentially, the Hiko was canceled and that Canterbury was going away from the high/mid top boot because only dinosaurs like me actually wanted them. They came up with the Rampage as a middle of the road boot to satisfy old timers who still think rugby is a game that requires strength and leverage. Apparently I missed the memo where it became a finesse sport.

My response was that if you are a forward, which this guy clearly was not, you were going to want a boot with a little more support, because in the scrum you are basically in a press. He told me that the scrum only makes up 3.5 minutes of a given match. Which is true, but possession of the ball is also being contested during all of those 3.5 minutes and if you can't push, you lose the ball.

Anyway, I will go on a diatribe about the euro-wannabe, self-appointed stewards of the game, but that is another post. When I got home, I decided that if there was a Size 13 pair of Hikos to be found, I was going to find them. Well, I finally got to the point of where I should have started, Google. I Google'd Hiko Size 13. Amazon had a pair through Red Rhino. (I've worked with RR before and they kick ... um... butt) I decided to call Red Rhino and verify that they actually had the boots that I was looking for. In talking to the very friendly person who answered the phone, I told her what the Canterbury rep had to say. She laughed. She said that they get calls for the Hiko all the time, and that it is a very popular boot. They also have nothing but problems with the Rampage. She also said that I probably found the last pair in the US. Because I'm in Boulder, "Sweet" was all I could say. (Sweet is a key term in Boulder, not sure why it just is)

I have to ask who is doing the market analysis for Canterbury? Clearly it must be their solitary and 26 year old rep for the US. No wonder Canterbury no longer is the manufacturer for the New Zealand All Blacks, the most well known national side in the world.

Whatever the case, I've got a few more years with a good set of boots. Maybe Canterbury will come to their senses by the time I have to retire these.

Fly Pattern of the day:
Probably the most popular dry fly of all time - The elk hair caddis , invented by Al Troth.




Tight Lines,

Dave

Spend Your Time Wisely

About 4 months ago, I learned that my friend's mom had cancer and that while there was an amount of hope, it didn't look good. 2 days ago, I found out that another friend's mom has cancer, and that we will find out more in a couple of weeks.

Events like these make you step back and assess what is going on, and where your priorities lie. For one reason or another, time became the commodity that I focused on. Everyone's life contains static that we don't need. Some of it is beyond our control and some of it is self-inflicted.

It seems to me that a worthwhile exercise would be to take a look at what you do in a given week, month, or other time increment and ask yourself a few questions:

• How much of my time and mental bandwidth is consumed by each activity?
  
• Am I getting any value out of these activities?
• Am I getting enough value out of these activities?
• If not, what are the alternatives (including bailing all together), and are they achievable.
  

The answers to these questions are highly individualistic. By no means am I suggesting that everyone needs to spend every waking moment trying to be productive with tangible evidence of value. Some of the best things in life yield no tangible benefit, i.e. spending 4 hours in a car to fish for 7 hours and catch no fish - see last post.

As life goes on, it is easy to layer on one more thing to which we all need to dedicate our time. The key idea is to take a periodic inventory and see if the list of things we are spending our time on is yielding a net benefit, whether tangible or intangible. It's kind of like the kitchen cabinet, there are some things in there that you know you haven't touched in years, and if asked honestly, you couldn't come up with a possible use for at least half of those things. Clearing out the cabinet won't yield any great change, but the next time you open that cabinet and every time after that, you won't have to spend any effort or bandwidth working around the dead weight, in order to get what you are looking for.


Fly of the day:
The Hare's Ear Nymph
http://www.flyfisherman.com/Learn2Tie/haresearnymph/
(Link to Video on page)











Tight Lines,

Dave

A good day on the water

I finally got on the water for my first day of 2008. I had a trip to the San Juan River planned for about a month ago, but had to get some stuff done for the job that I quit about 3 days before I was scheduled to go. (Funny how that works, cancelling a fishing trip because you just gave notice. Clearly my logic was flawed in that thought process somehow. )

Anyway, it was a glorious day on the water. One of those rare days where you get 50+ degree weather, intermittent clouds and sun. Didn't catch a single fish. Thought I had a nibble or two, but hard to tell when you are dragging weight along the bottom. My buddy Scott caught a pretty nice fish, so the we didn't get skunked completely.

Regardless of not catching fish, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a saturday. Fly fishing is one of the activities you can do that requires you to focus completely on the task at hand. Work, life and other drama producing entities are completely filtered out. It's a beautiful thing. Now don't get me wrong, catching fish is always better than not catching fish, but getting that first day in of the year has it's own rewards.

Fly of the day:
Larry's Golden Stone (Courtesy of the very nice people at Royal Gorge Anglers)
http://www.royalgorgeanglers.com/fly_pattern_recipes.php

Tight Lines,


Dave

Got to get better at this blogging thing

I've joined a company called Lijit, which provides search functionality for other blogs in a publisher's trusted network of blogs and other content, yielding more relevant searches for the reader. Part of the job is to "eat the meal", or use the product and become immersed in the bloggers' workflow. Makes sense, so that we can build and mold products that provide real utility for our community of users.

The hurdle I'm facing is going from "hey, that's a cool idea, I should post an entry about that" to actually doing it seems to be a chasm that I am finding difficulty crossing. I'll get there, like everything else it is a learned behavior or pattern, but I must admit that there is a frustration level that I will experience that I will endure until I make that leap.

Over the last week, there have been a variety of topics from the NBA, to why nobody should ever allow themselves to being talked into serving a second term running a volunteer organization, to the Daytona 500, to politics, etc. Blogging about 'cold' topics just doesn't seem as interesting as blogging about 'current' topics, and besides, I probably would produce inferior blogs. One of these days, I will get my act together.

Rather than the pattern of the week, check out this site, it is amazing. These are flies that this guy ties. Bang around on the site, and you'll see come of the monster fish that have been coaxed into taking a bite.

http://www.solarexpert.com/fishing/fly-tying.html

I'm going to see if I can get a brown to bite on the Arkansas tomorrow, I'll post report, that is more or less accurate on my return.

Dave