Cool cooler hack, I needed a cooler while in Europe to keep insulin cool (Ice is hard to find).  I looked at power supplies designed to run 12v coolers and they all work on 110v 60hz (and produce 12v 5Amp).  I found an old computer power supply the produces 15v 6Amp and works 110v or 220v 50/60hz.  Put a cigarette lighter plug on it and the coolers runs great.

Truly bummed with flickr today.  In the past I could send an email to flickr with an attached photo.  It would upload the photo to flickr and then post the title and email message to Blogger.  It was great for updating blogs on trips.  I have used to with Boy Scouts on two trips to keep parents informed of our status.  Flickr/yahoo deleted this feature in an recent update.

Example:  http://westquest2012.blogspot.com/

6 days of backpacking food and gear

6 days of backpacking food and gear, a photo by cdrdwd on Flickr.

Gear for backpacking

6 days of bacpacking food

6 days of bacpacking food, a photo by cdrdwd on Flickr.

I had to do one last check of the backpacking food. Everything is good for both crew 1 and crew 2. Click on the photos to see the menu meal by meal.

No meat non-vegetarian cooking

Trying to change my diet and support my wife's mostly vegetarian requirements, so I tried a new French Onion Soup with portabella mushrooms. It was good, but the mushrooms did not add anything new: I also cooked Lentils and Red beans: This is simple tasty and full of protein. I know the beef broth, butter and cheese is not vegan, but it makes the soup taste so good! Now if I could just finish off the Christmas cookies without gaining any weight I will be all set.

Next steps

Had my annual Boy Scout required physical and all is well except my weight. You would think that food poisoning and 5 days of not eating would have helped me lose weight. So what else could I do but start backing Christmas cookies Now that the visiting with family and eating all day thing is over it's time to try and do better what I tried to do last year: Eat better, learn to cook a few more dishes, exercise more, do well at work and spend more time with friends and family. The getting into shape thing is now more important because in August I have major Boy Scout trip planned, carrying a 45 pound pack is extra hard when you are carrying an extra 20 pound belly...

My thoughts on picking a camera. First my constraints: Good point and shoot capability – My 75% use case is not “art” Rugged – Backpacking and hiking are not easy on a camera Always with me – Too big, too costly or too delicate to risk in bad weather hiking is not OK SLR like – Good & easy control over camera features Can produce an acceptable 11x17 print My current camera – Kodak Z1012 Good point and shoot Not very rugged – buttons stick, lens grinds Always with me – Yup it's been dropped on many national parks SLR like – Most of the functions I want Can produce a very good 8x10 print. 11x17 is not acceptable. My test of the Nikon P500 Point and shoot is poorer than my Z1012 Rugged – Looked solid, no field experience Always with me – On the high end of price and size $380 (US dollars) SLR like – Good set of features Photo quality was poorer than my Z1012. Poor color and a soft focus (could be corrected in post processing, but a lot of unnecessary work) My test of the Kodak Max Z990 Point and shoot features a good, easy to use, many more functions than the Nikon (or Z1012) Rugged – Looks solid, no field experience Always with me – $260 I can feel OK about it being ruined on a backpacking trip. Size/weight is my limit SLR like – Good set of features I'm still learning Photo quality – It looks to be better than my Z1012, but not dramatically better.