Category Archives: What’s Up With That?

Kickstarter (or brother can you spare a dime)

What's Up With That?

What’s Up With That?

kickstarter logoRecently I have read several posts requesting money on Kickstarter. Not knwoing what Kickstarter was, I did a little research. Kickstarter is a “crowdfunding” website. That is, people/companies looking for capital to develop a product or service request donations to their project. I guess you would call it donations, because you cannot “invest” in the project and receive part of the profit. For your gift you usually receive some sort of minor gift or trinket. Sometimes, if the request is for a product, then you are basically pre-ordering that product. Of course, usually you don’t know if the product is any good because it hasn’t been produced yet. Kickstarter is not a store. Sounds like panhandling or begging to me. However it is not all bad. There are some good things going on over there and I will share some later in this post.

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What's Up With That?, , , ,

What’s Up With That?

facebook likeThe other day I was doing some research on the Internet and came across a website that was raffling off some backpacking gear. Now, I don’t know why the owner was giving away gear, it was a personal website, not a business. And curiously, it you went to the owner’s Facebook page and clicked the “Like” button; you would get an extra 4 chances to win the raffle.

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Green Greed

The Environment, What's Up With That?, , ,

“At this point they came in sight of thirty forty windmills that there are on plain, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, “Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God’s good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth.”

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes

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Solo Backpacking: Crazy and Dangerous?

General Talk, What's Up With That?,

What’s Up With That?

I must start by saying I usually hike alone. And by hiking alone, I mean going to places where I do not expect to see other people. That is a prime consideration for most of my trips. Now, I do not want to give the impression that by doing a lot of solo hiking I am especially brave or skilled. When you break it down, backpacking is just walking with your house on your back. Sure you need some skills, but it is not a big deal. Lots of people backpack. Mankind has been hiking since the dawn of time. It is nothing special – other than knowing when and how to avoid trouble.

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