« March 2010 | Main | May 2010 »
April 17, 2010
Plastiki
There is a lot I love about California, and this is the latest. A 60-foot catamaran made entirely out of recycled and recyclable materials, including 12,500 soda bottles. She set sail out the Gate (under Golden Gate Bridge) on March 20. Her name is Plastiki. on a voyage around the world to further the message about plastic in the world's oceans. I first read about it in a local sailing magazine called Latitude 38.
You simply have to visit their site and explore. Wonderful photos, videos and a virtual tour of the boat.
Fantastic!
Posted by dave at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2010
Platypus?
"A semi-aquatic, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-fiited mammal." Wikipedia
Close, but not quite. Christopher McDougall wrote a book in 2009 called "Born to Run". He was in pursuit (pun intended) of the answer to one question: Why does my foot hurt? His study of a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners reveals that perhaps we were meant to run barefoot. Or, nearly barefoot.
And so, welcome FiveFingers by Vibram.
These things are surprisingly difficult to find in stock, but Chis lucked out finding a lonely pair at Zombie Runner in Palo Alto.
With all things new, you would think tossing them on your feet and heading out for a 6 mile run would be ideal. Alas, no. These things force you to take smaller steps and move your body weight forward. All the muscles in your feet, legs and hips need reconditioning. And they recommend first wearing them around the house, then run around the block, slowly and gradually increasing your distance.
He has been walking in them around town, and while at first I suggested I would walk on the other side of the street to avoid embarrassment, this is, indeed, California. Here, anything goes!
After Chis tries these out for a while, and my shoes are on their last legs (pun intended), I may just get a pair. At least then I will understand why people look at me funny!
Posted by dave at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)