A
cool story about the spread of libraries in Nepal, a
country where things have not been going well lately. Maoist rebels in Nepal have made the country dangerous for
visitors and the political situation there remains dodgy, but this story covers a side of things there you don’t often
hear about. In Nepal, where literacy rates are at 50 percent (or less…the rate among women is 35 percent), a new
program to build libraries throughout the country, especially in the small towns, is introducing lots of Nepalese kids
the wonder of words. The effort is led in part by an organization called READ, headed by Antonia Neubauer, who has been
building libraries in rural and remote Nepali villages and towns. This really is a good story. Could be a good
documentary.
Inka Pen
I am a pen fanatic. Sounds weird, I know, but over the years I’ve used so many crappy pens that I now am pretty
finicky about what I take with me. If you rifle through my pockets on any particular day (hey! stop that!), you can
usually find at least one (often more than one) Uni-ball Micro, black.
But now I have another favorite. I just got my hands on an Inka
Pen, a real outdoorsman’s pen.
The Inka pen in the brainchild of Greg Adelman, an optical engineer, who came up with the idea for a new kind of
outdoor writing instrument while doing field work for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, where he
helped oceanographers design instruments for oceanic research.
In the course of his work, he discovered there was a real niche for a pen that could hold up under extreme
conditions. Most pens (even my beloved Uni-balls) don’t handle wet, windy conditions, and so Adelman began to think
about creating a pen that you could take anywhere. The result is the Inka pen, which uses a pressurized ink cartridge
that writes in heat, cold, upside down, at high altitudes and under water.
It is great. I keep it now right on my keychain, and even went paddling with it recently. The
uniqueness of the pen stems from its non-corrosive casing, complete with a watertight seal built to withstand harsh
environments. The pen folds up nicely, halving its size when it’s not in use. And it’s ridiculously light, weighing in
at a mere 0.6 ounce.
Completely weaning me from my Uni-balls is probably impossible, but I now take the Inka wherever I go.
Everest Growing?
Is Mount Everest, the grand-daddy of all mountains, growing or shrinking? Good question, and scientists can’t quite
seem to figure it out. But
Chinese
scientists headed up the mountain yesterday to find out…they hope. They placed a survey beacon on the summit and
set up radar and GPS to determine its height which the Chinese say in 1975 was 29,029 feet, 3 inches. This was a bit
higher than an Indian survey had found in the 1950s. And then there was the US team who did a measurement in 1999 a
U.S. team measured the mountain at 29,035 and some.
So, hopefully, the new measurements will clear up some of this confusion…but who knows for sure?
Teva Mountain Games
Cool event alert. The Teva
Mountain Games is happening June 1 to 5th in Vail, Colorado. This is a seriously fun event for outdoor fanatics, as
numerous sports are represented ,and there is also music and food…all within the blissful surroundings of Vail.
Professional and amateur athletes compete in six sports and ten disciplines including: freestyle and extreme
kayaking, kayak and raft paddlecross, bouldering, speed and dyno climbing, mountain bike trials,cross country racing
and the Vail Hill Climb, trail running championships, and the GNC adventure sprint race. One helluva a great way to
usher in summer.
Here’s the schedule.
Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
Well, Sacramento doesn’t have much of a reputation when it comes to a party town. Most
folks I know who live there say it’s quiet and nice living, but not much goes on. That said, each Memorial Day, the
city kicks up its heels for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. The
four-day party features
lotsa good music, dancing, food and old-style Western garb.
The festival grew from a mere dock party in 1969 to an event that draws some 100,000 visitors a year
to 38 stages around the city, including the refurbished Delta King, now a popular hotel and restaurant. The nice
thing about Sacramento, though, is that it is also very close to San Francisico and Lake Tahoe, so if you’re bored with
the festival, you can also go to the City or do some sweet mountain biking in the Sierras.