If you plan on doing much rock climbing, you’re going to need some climbing equipment.  Though renting climbing shoes from your climbing gym is a great way to get into the sport, once you’re hooked you’re going to need some of your own gear.  How much climbing equipment you buy and what sort you get will depend on both your commitment to the sport and what sort of climbing you plan on doing.

Every rock climber is going to need two basic pieces of equipment - climbing shoes and a chalk bag.  Climbing shoes are the most important piece of climbing equipment and you should spend a good deal of time looking for the right pair for you.  There are lots of choices, from slip on, down cambered technical shoes to lace ups that you can comfortably wear all day, it may take awhile to make a decision.  Be sure that whatever climbing shoes you buy that they fit properly.  Climbing shoes should be very snug, most climbers wear the smallest size they can fit into without completely curling their toes.  If you buy your shoes too loose you’ll lose sensitivity and have sloppy footwork, but if you buy them too tight you’ll be in pain every time you go climbing.  A chalk bag and chalk is indispensable in keeping your hands dry on the rock.  When your hands get sweaty you’ll start to slip off of holds.  Though some gyms and crags outlaw the use of chalk, it’s acceptable in most areas and pretty much required any time it gets warm.

Climbing shoes and a chalk bag are all the climbing equipment you need to start with, if you plan on doing any roped climbing you’ll soon want your own harness.  With harnesses you won’t have as many choices and usually fit and comfort are the most important features.  When testing harnesses, try to find somewhere where you can sit in the harness for awhile, since a harness that feels comfortable when walking around the store may not be so comfortable when you’re setting up a hanging belay.

Speaking of belays, another important piece of climbing equipment is the belay device.  Opinions differ, a tube style belay device like the ATC (air traffic controller) is pretty standard, with a few manufacturers producing variations on the theme.  If you’re planning on doing much outdoor climbing you’ll probably want a rope as well.  Your first climbing rope should be a dynamic rope.  Allowing you to lead climb with it and can either be dry treated or not.  The decision is usually dependent on local climbing conditions and climate.

Chronometers and chronographs are often confused and are names sometimes used interchangeably.  They are in fact two completely different devices.  A chronograph is basically a stopwatch or any instrument that is designed for measuring elapsed time.  Chronometers on the other hand are highly accurate watches and are not meant for measuring the duration of a specific event.

The first chronometers appeared in the middle of the 18th Century, invented by an English carpenter named John Harrison.  What set them apart from ordinary clocks of the time was that they did not rely on a pendulum, but rather worked based on the oscillations of weighted beams connected by springs that were impervious to motion.  This meant that unlike a pendulum clock, Harrison’s chronometer could tell time accurately on a boat at sea, even under storm conditions.

The ability to tell time accurately while at sea may not sound like a big deal, but it was a major breakthrough for ocean navigation, allowing for a high standard of accuracy for maps and greatly reducing the risks of getting lost at sea or running into dangerous waters.  Prior to Harrison’s invention, navigation at sea was based on ‘dead reckoning’, which allowed a sailor to determine a vague latitudinal position based on the position of the stars, but gave no insight to his longitudinal position whatsoever.  By using a sextant to gauge the position of the sun or stars, you can determine what time it is where you are locally.  Then, if you have an accurate time keeping mechanism based on the time in some other location, you can determine your distance from that location.

So the first chronometers did just that, they kept an accurate measurement of the time in a designated location, which was always Greenwich, England as a standard.  Then as sailors traveled they could measure the longitudinal distance they had gone by comparing local time to time in England.  Harrison’s first inventions were very large and suffered from slight inaccuracies that became apparent on longer voyages.  Eventually he produced a small and highly accurate model called the ‘H4′, which was the worlds first pocket watch, an invention that eventually led to today’s wristwatches.

Mechanical chronometers advanced over the years, but used the same basic weighted beam idea Harrison invented until the 20th century, when the discovery of the microchip and quartz time keeping movements rendered his ideas basically obsolete.  Today, chronometers actually used in navigation are electronic, and function with GPS satellite support.

Now the word chronometer doesn’t mean what it used to.  Any time keeping mechanism that meets the standards of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute, designated COSC based on the organizations French name, is a chronometer.  What that basically means is any watch that meets a high standard of accuracy under an array of conditions, including different pressures, temperatures and even under water, is officially labeled as a ‘chronometer’.

My family has a tradition, we build things. While other families take Sunday drives, play card games, or go and see movies, we spend a day in the workshop putting together something or other. I have three kids. The oldest is 17, but the youngest is only 5. She has not been able to get involved in putting any of our projects together in the past, so I thought that this summer I would find something easy to involve her in. We bought a  professional charcoal grill kit, thinking that nothing could go wrong with such a simple, straight forward project. Boy were we mistaken!

It was a patio professional charcoal grill, really nice and perfectly designed to fit into our backyard. The term  professional charcoal grill is really a misnomer, all kinds of different grills are used by professionals. For the most part, there are a few things that distinguish  professional grills from the rest. They tend to be better designed so that the charcoal can burn more easily. Many charcoal grill designs are made in such a way that most of the charcoal just sits on the bottom, not doing anything. You have to continuously douse it with lighter fluid to get even a spark. With professional charcoal grills, air can come through the bottom grate, allowing much easier and more even ignition of the charcoal. Besides that, they are a little bit better made and easier to clean as well.

This professional charcoal grill that we were building was pretty fancy. In retrospect, I probably should have started with an easier project. It was a kit that you could build out of bricks and metal grating. Working with bricks and mortar looks deceptively simple, but if you have never done it before, you are in for a few surprises. We couldn’t get anything to fit evenly and my small daughter accidentally dropped her teddy bear in the cement. By the time she pulled it out, it was completely ruined. Worst of all, the professional charcoal grill looks lopsided and uneven. The pieces don’t fit very well together and we can’t really get a consistent flame. Because I had put together a lot of different projects, I assumed that I was up to this one. I guess I was wrong. We still use our portable charcoal grill for barbecues. The professional charcoal grill sits, unused and slightly embarrassing, in the corner.

My brother-in-law is going “four-wheeling” this weekend. This usually means that my sister and I will spend the day shopping and it also means that new Jeep mud flaps will be on the list of new items to buy. These items are must haves for anyone who owns a Jeep or truck.

I never gave Jeep mud flaps much thought until I was in college. Back then the “mud flap girl” was the hot new design on these items. I mentioned these sexist flaps to my sister within earshot of her soon to be fiancé. They were everywhere on the highway it seemed at the time. His ears perked up when he heard me talking about the Jeep mud flaps.  His interest wasn’t so much in the image of the girl, it was more focused on the image of the vehicle. He talked about wanting to buy an off road vehicle one day and he also mentioned wanting to have someone to take along on the trips. My sister bought him Jeep mud flaps the following Christmas and he asked her to marry him on the spot.

She used to go on the four wheeling adventure weekends regularly up until she became pregnant with their first child. After that, she was content to see him off and look at some pictures and videos of his weekend. I really think that she spent time on the trips just to be with him. She still likes to buy him Jeep mud flaps every so often.  I wondered why they would invest in something that needed to be replaced so often, but when I realized how inexpensive Jeep mud flaps really are I figured that it wasn’t much of an investment. I know that the off road trips do a lot of damage to the vehicle, not to mention the accessories that go along for the ride.

When we were shopping around for the auto parts and accessories I noticed Jeep mud flaps with the icon of the girl that used to be everywhere in the early 1990’s. I joked that my sister should pick up a set for her husband for old time’s sake. She just laughed and said that he already has those Jeep mud flaps.  Actually, I was pretty surprised that he owned a set after all of these years. Then my sister explained that he never used the Jeep mud flaps that she bought him for Christmas on the year they got engaged.

My dad and my brother do a lot of fishing and when they do, they have a lot of fun. Though they may tell you the time I slipped in the mud and slid into the river was one of the funniest moments they remember, I have to say that fishing line is usually sends me into fits of giggles. I don’t fish, but I have been known to go along on trips just to get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors. Time and time again there have been moments when I couldn’t understand why they love fishing so much, but I know that everyone loves what they love and there is usually no reason for it. They just do.

My brother often needs help with his fishing line. This means he must remove the new line from the spool it comes on and then it must be put on his reel. This is always a problem for him for some reason and this may have something to do with him always asking me to help him with their endeavor. Just asking me to touch fishing line is a curse and he is better of trying to take care of it by himself.

Putting the line on the reel is only half of the problem for my brother. He seems to be cursed though it never seems to stop him from wanting to go fishing. At least twice each time he goes, he gets his fishing line caught on something and it is usually an article of clothing. It makes you wonder why there are so many articles of clothing in water and how exactly they got there. He’s broken his line pulling in many things, but old work boots seem to be something he finds quite often at the end of his fishing line.

If he isn’t pulling in something odd, he’s getting his fishing line caught on something that for a while he is sure is a fish. Once the tugging begins, he gets excited when he sees his line go taunt. After a few moments, it becomes obvious that it is not a fish. A fish on fishing line has movement. When the line is steady and unmovable he knows it is more likely a log or branch in the water. Inevitably, he ends up having to cut his fishing line and has to start all over again. It’s not all bad, he does catch fish. It just seems that when it comes to fishing and my brother, God does indeed have a sense of humor.

Indoor outdoor carpeting can turn a dirty old porch into a welcoming display for your home. There are many options in style and color and you don’t have to deal with Astroturf at all. The new indoor outdoor carpeting available on the market is the real thing only sturdier.  Everyone has been to a home that had the green, prickly Astroturf on the porch. It is supposed to look like grass, but it really doesn’t do such a great job. The entire thing looks like something that might grow under the porch instead of something that is placed on purpose in the area.

We have come a long way since the Astroturf days and indoor outdoor carpeting has paved the way to a bright, decorative future for both the inside and outside of the home. You can choose from a ton of designs as well as solid colors for your space. The options are vast and you have no reason to keep your porch bare any longer.  The indoor outdoor carpeting is perfect for anyone who has a breeze way like I do. I love that the breeze way serves as a kind of sunroom. There are two doors facing each other in the area and it is entirely enclosed with glass windows. It makes for the perfect place to stop right before entering the home.

When we first moved into the house, we immediately removed the Astroturf that seemed to be growing on the breeze way. Under the plastic grass rug we found lots of dirt and an unattractive cement foundation for the porch. While I was thrilled to be rid of the green stuff, I was just as turned off by the grey stuff.  My husband painted the breeze way with epoxy paint which made it appear better, but there was still something cold and uninviting about the space. I didn’t think about indoor outdoor carpeting as an option just because we had just gotten rid of the Astroturf. I just couldn’t imagine covering up my husband’s paint job.

That is, until I was at a home improvement store. I saw indoor outdoor carpeting that boasted blue and yellow tones that matched the French country decorating theme I had started. I bought the indoor outdoor carpeting immediately and took it home.  We are thrilled with the results. The breeze way is now an extension of our house. It is warm and inviting and we spend many hours enjoying the beautiful space. It is amazing how something like indoor outdoor carpeting can make such a difference.

Sports and all the equipment that goes with it is big business in our country. All kinds of sports are highly valued. Our professional sports teams are multi-million dollar businesses. Professional athletes get paid multiple million dollar contracts for their skills on a playing field. Many people wish they could join this elite group of individuals. There are also individuals that make a great deal of money for other popular pass times, such as the professional fishermen. They are less well known because fishing does not appeal to as large of an audience, however big money can be accumulated for doing what many people enjoy as a weekend sport.

A friend of ours is trying to break into the ranks of professional fishing. You do this by fishing in tournaments. You need to pay your entry fees and then gather points which are based on how many fish you catch and if you place in the tournament. To place you need to catch the greatest weight of fish during the course of the tournament. Some tournaments are one day others are up to three days. There are different professional tournament circuits that a person can join. Each tournament you enter in the circuit keeps a running total of your points. As you fish more and hopefully win tournaments your name becomes recognized. Once this happens you can get sponsorships to help defray the cost of the entry fees, tackle, gas and travel.

Our friend has won enough tournaments that he has added mercury outboard engines to his group of sponsors. This is a great benefit to him because he gets the mercury outboard engines at a lower cost. In return he displays the mercury outboard engines decals on his boat and trailer. He also wears the logo on his clothing. He also has smaller sponsors such as tackle and fishing line companies. They give him a break on his tackle in exchange for his display of the logos. This is free advertising for the companies and also increases their sales when other fishermen buy their products because they see the professionals using them.  The larger the company you are able to get as a sponsor the more seriously you are taken as a professional fishermen. This can lead to getting your own line of tackle as well as a fishing show on sports television.

Being a professional fisherman takes a great deal of time away from your family. It also places pressure on the person to catch fish. The pressure to catch fish to earn money may take some of the fun out of having a day on the lake. Trying to sell yourself to get sponsors also becomes time consuming. The big companies, like Mercury outboard engines are going to expect some results from the people they sponsor, or they will find another person to back that is performing. It gets to be quite a competitive venture.

In today’s backyard, we see more and more garden sheds made of metal popping up every day. You might wonder why anyone would choose something so bland and plain looking as metal for gardening sheds. After all, wood is much more appealing. So what exactly are the wonderful benefits that come with a metal garden shed?  Aesthetically they’re nothing to look at, so no wonder it’s impossible to figure out where the appeal lies.

Anyone who’s ever owned one can testify as to how much better they are compared to wooden sheds. More than anything, a hefty, well built metal garden shed is worth their weight in gold. If you’ve ever looked at a wood shed closely, you’ll see evidence all over the structure of blistering and cracking. This doesn’t bode well for the smooth look wood is allegedly supposed to provide. With a metal garden shed you’ll never have to worry about that unsightly image.

Another reason one made of metal is a better buy than a wooden one is the fact that during the winter months, wood sheds experience serious problems. Once the warmer months hit you’ll notice the horrible splitting within the wood panels. Frost and extreme cold temperatures can play havoc on your wooden building. With a metal garden shed, there will never be any splitting or tearing on any of the walls or roof. You can be sure that when those cold months hit that your metal garden shed will be able to withstand the cold winter weather.

If you’ve bought a wooden shed, you’ll soon notice that after any hard storm with high winds, the first thing to suffer is the shingling. No matter how many nails that you force in, wind always seems to rip one or two off. A metal garden shed will come with a metal roof. And while it’s true that extreme high winds could potentially destroy even this heavy structure, you won’t have to worry that a little thunderstorm is going to destroy your building.

Unlike other structures and buildings, it also has a natural benefit. When you pick up one of these gardening buddies, you’ll be able to store fertilizer, grass seed and mulch without having to worry about vermin chewing through the walls of your metal garden shed. This protects you from having to constantly spend even more money in the home improvement stores than you already do. Aside from protecting the inside materials, a metal garden shed will ensure that because mice can’t chew through metal, your structure will be sound.

With just about every wooden shed, you have to always spray and treat for termites. These wood eaters can destroy a wonderful shed in a matter of months leaving you high and dry. With a metal garden shed, your treatments are unnecessary, leaving you time for other, more important things. No broken glass, no warping of wood and no swelling leaves you content and a very happy gardener!

There are many who love to take a ride on a motorcycle to feel the wind and the weather, and to enjoy the feeling of the sun on their face. Though I am not partial to them myself, I have family members who love to ride them and one that owns a motorcycle shop. I have learned a lot of things about these machines through them and some things that I never knew about motorcycle clothing. I never really thought about it, but you do have to watch what you wear when you ride.

Most children learn that it is not a good idea to have anything hanging down from their legs when they are riding their bikes. The same holds true for motorcycle clothing. You don’t want to be wearing anything that could get caught in a moving part while the bike is in motion. You may notice that some have tight jeans on no matter what the fashion trends of the day are. They are protecting themselves from getting hurt.

I always thought that leather jackets were a fashion statement for bikers, but really, they make a lot of sense if you think about it. When you are riding in a car, you have protection from bugs and other things that might be in the air. You don’t have that protection on a motorcycle. Those things can feel like bullets hitting your skin and the leather jackets are some of the best motorcycle clothing protection you can have. Other jackets work, but these are probably the best choice. Even on hot days, you can get chilly on a bike and they offer warmth as well.

One thing I never thought about was long hair. Though it is not technically motorcycle clothing, there are some things that women and men with long hair should consider before hopping on a bike. The wind can do a lot of damage to hair and it is a good idea to protect it. Most put long hair in a ponytail or a braid, but there are hair protectors that go down the length of that ponytail or braid to stop the wind from knotting the hair. Though some motorcycle clothing might seem like a fashion, it is mostly for the protection of the body. Though a short ride on a motorcycle might not be that bad if you aren’t prepared, anyone going for a long ride needs to have the right clothing.

A natural mosquito repellent can be the one of the most important things that you can take along with you any time that you are outdoors in the summer months. There is good news for anyone searching for different options in this protection from insects. You can find a natural mosquito repellent and use it in conjunction with some preventative measures to maximize your protection.

Dark clothing in the hot season isn’t really comfortable and it isn’t really smart when dealing with insects, either. If you choose to use a natural mosquito repellent, do so in conjunction with light colored clothing. This will make you less of a target for insect bites.

You also might want to forgo the fabric softener that has fragrance. While this may seem really subtle, insects are really attracted to the scents. A good natural insect repellent used as a preventative measure is scent-free fabric softener. Your clothes will reap all of the benefits of your regular fabric softener without the attractive scent.

Perfumes and colognes are insect magnets. This is especially true for the floral fragrances. Avoid fruity fragrances as well. This may seem like a no brainer, but we really put on more fragrance than we realize.  Fragrances can be a significant part of your skin lotion. You might find fruity or floral scents in your sun block or other sunscreen products. Don’t forget your hair products, too. There is a lot of fragrance in these items as well. Trying a series of products that offer scent free options is a great natural mosquito repellent.

Ever hear the phrase, “Cold hands, warm heart”? Well, there is something to this when it comes to natural mosquito repellent. It seems that the little buggers go after those of us with warm hearts. If your extremities are cooler, the insects will be drawn to dine. Warm up your paws before hitting the road to avoid attracting mosquitoes.

Now that we have some idea of preventative measures that can be taken as a natural mosquito repellent we can discuss some topical options. These include oils found in nature like citronella, castor and peppermint among a handful. The great thing about using plant oils as a natural mosquito repellent is that many of these fragrances are as lovely as perfume.