The Green Way of Handling Junk Mail

A friend sent me a link to this service. Green Dimes is a service that will contact junk mailers and get you off their list. This works for credit card companies and catalog mailers. The service is $36 dollars for the year and they plant a tree every month for you as well. You can also add another person of the same household for $3 more. Essentially the service costs a dime a day. While they are for profit, I like the idea and it is good for the environment.

Check out the site for more details and statistics on how many trees and water consumption you can conserve.

Written by on April 27th, 2007 with no comments.
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Sweet Fly-Fishing Video

My friend is heading to Cabo to help build churches, so I suggested that he hit up the Rooster fishing. Well once I opened my mouth about it, I was interested myself. Then it was time to do some research. Surfing the net to find guides, gear, and info we happened upon a video made recently called Running Down the Man. Here’s the trailer.

I went out and bought a copy of the film. Its short but really gets you excited about giving beach rooster fishing a shot.

And props to the main guy in the video. I don’t think that you can see it in the trailer, but he is wearing a Western Rivers Flyfishing shirt. It is the local shop that I love to frequent.

Written by on April 25th, 2007 with no comments.
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Cool Website for Runners

I found this site while using StumbleUpon. It utilizes Yahoo Maps. If your trying to set a route around town to run or ride this is a great service. No longer do you have to drive the route like I used to do or rely on a pedometer or odometer. With Running Map you can plot your route against Yahoo Maps and it will tell you how far you have gone. Its really easy to use and extremely helpful to figure out distances.

New slogan for the site as well. We had a T Shirt contest on Myspace and we had several good submissions by people. We did pick a winner but it inspired us to make a slogan for the company. “Live Beyond the Beaten Path” Hopefully soon we will have some T Shirts made up and available for purchase to anyone who might be interested.

Written by on April 23rd, 2007 with no comments.
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Digital Cameras and the Outdoors

We all love to capture the moments we have outside. Whether its a beautiful sunset, a huge fish caught, or a unique animal encounter. I personally am really hard on cameras. I have broken several of them over the years. Most of the time it has been due to water damage. I only carry point and shoot when off the beaten path. A nice SLR would take up too much room and I would be terrified to break it. Digital cameras have come a long ways since I got my first one. It was a 1.3 mega pixel camera. It took pretty good pictures as long as you didn’t blow them up very big. Now camera are taking pictures at over 10 mega pixels. The latest breakthrough with point and shoot cameras is that they are waterproof.

The Pentax Optio W20 came out a year or so ago. It looks like just a regular camera, however you can take pictures under water up to 15 ft. I have used it and I like the features and size of the camera. It now comes is a 7.0 mega pixel model. The only feature is doesn’t have that I would like to see is a stabilizer. When the boats rocking or the light is low, the pictures suffer. Other than that the camera is great and takes great pictures.

The next camera that I looked at but haven’t had the chance to thoroughly test out is the Olympus Stylus 770SW. It is another point and shoot digital camera. It also is a 7.0 mega pixel model. It has similar features to the Pentax. A few other features are added as well though. It is waterproof up to 33 ft and it does have a stabilizer. You can also drop it up to 5 ft, freeze it to 14 F or put up to 220 lbs. of pressure on it. Olympus is basically trying to make a bombproof as possible camera. Which sounds like the type of camera I need. However the camera is more pricey than the Pentax. I will have to test it out and put it the test to see if it is robust as it says.

We’ll see.

Written by on April 20th, 2007 with no comments.
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Fun Camping Desserts

I found this recipe for making ice cream while camping. Its easy and doesn’t require any equipment which makes it even better. Check out the story:

It’s really been a big month for Zip lock bags here at GoBlog. First we marveled at the genormous zip lock bags big enough to hide a dead body or two, and now this, ice cream in a zip lock bag. The perfect camping treat. Here’s how it works. Gather the ingredients:

* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 6 tablespoons salt (rock salt is best)

Put the milk, vanilla and sugar in a zip lock freezer bag. Put ice and salt into another zip lock freezer bag and drop the sealed bag with ingredients in and shake for 10 minutes. Bam. Ice cream. Kids will love it. Especially if you let your kids make it.

Another fun food to make while camping is the banana boat. Here is the recipe.

If you need something for a camping trip,try this one.
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 Banana (not peeled)
* Mini marshmallows
* Chocolate chips

PREPARATION:
Peel banana down one side and cut a wedge into it. Place marshmallows and chocolate chips into the wedge, and cover with peel and alumumin foil. Put into coals for about 5 minutes.

I used this one just this past weekend in Moab. They are always a favorite. You can also try other types of chips beside just chocolate. We used Reese’s Pieces and they were incredible.

Written by on April 17th, 2007 with no comments.
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What can’t Google do?

I ran across this post on the official Google blog today. Google has paired with Trimble Outdoors to create a layer on Google Earth that allows you to pull up hikes that have been loaded into the system. Here is the story -

Hikes on the fly
Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 3:19:00 PM
Posted by Larry Fox, Business Development, Trimble Outdoors

Many of you reading this may already know that Trimble Outdoors has partnered with Google to provide Google Earth viewers with GPS-based interactive hiking information. We’re very excited about being able to share all the great GPS content we’ve developed over the years and through partnerships with magazines including Backpacker, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. It’s an outstanding resource for outdoors enthusiasts, or really, anyone who wants to do a little research before setting out on a hike. You can access lots of multimedia info on fitness and outdoor adventures, including routes, points of interest, pictures, video segments and even audio clips. Essentially, anytime, anywhere you can launch Google Earth, you can view hundreds of hikes that have already been logged and completed, and view personalized web content. Then, through the convergence of Trimble Outdoors’ technology and Google Earth, you can click one button, and the exact trail route is exported to your GPS-enabled phone.

This partnership between Google Earth and Trimble Outdoors is designed to support the community of outdoor enthusiasts with exciting new ways to explore the earth and share adventure stories online.

This is really sweet. Just load it on your GPS enable phone and you’ve got the route. And its all free!

Written by on April 13th, 2007 with no comments.
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Renewable Resource Clothing

Sure saving the environment is a nice thing to do, but a lot of times it costs the consumer more. For example Campman.com is going to print all our T Shirts on Bamboo Shirts. These shirts are at least twice as expensive if not more. The Shirts are softer, breathable, and naturally anti-bacterial. Will consumers pay more? I think that some will. However I think a lot of people will pass due on price. It seems like the thing to do now a days. The latest Fortune magazine has Patagonia on the cover.

The latest Outside has Arnold on it and is the “Green Issue”.

I hope this trend does continue as it seems to be good for everyone. Only time will tell. But in the mean time our company will try and follow the new trend and see what happens.

Written by on April 9th, 2007 with no comments.
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Caffeine Dosage

I saw this article on the front page of Yahoo! today. Most people that I know who love the outdoors, also love their caffeine. So I thought that I would share this information with the few if any who actually read this blog. I think its pretty interesting. Some of the products were ranking differently than I would have guess. But the rankings are as follows:

DIET COKE Everybody’s default diet drink
THE CAFFEINE FIX 45 mg
THE CALORIES 0
THE OTHER STUFF A lot of flavorings and colorings,
not much else-call it caffeine lite

WATER JOE For the purist: plain H2O with a jolt
THE CAFFEINE FIX 60 mg 16.9-ounce bottle
THE CALORIES 0
THE OTHER STUFF Artesian water and caffeine?that’s it.
No additives, no carbonation

RED BULL The energy drink that started it all
THE CAFFEINE FIX 80 mg per 8-ounce can
THE CALORIES 110
THE OTHER STUFF Has taurine, a “detox,” amino acid;
B vitamins; loads of sugar?so beware
the crash after the rush

TAB ENERGY A revved-up version of old Tab cola
THE CAFFEINE FIX 95 mg per 10.5-ounce can
THE CALORIES 5
THE OTHER STUFF Sweet and pink, it’s spiked with ginseng
and guarana, a mild caffeine-like stimulant

ENVIGA Controversial new green tea drink
THE CAFFEINE FIX 100 mg per 12-ounce can
THE CALORIES 5
THE OTHER STUFF Laced with 200 mg of calcium and
green tea antioxidants but in trouble for
claiming that it makes the body burn up
extra calories

ROCKET
CHOCOLATES Candy with more zip than a cup of joe
THE CAFFEINE FIX 150 mg per piece
THE CALORIES 70
THE OTHER STUFF Comes in trendy flavors like mocha latte;
individually wrapped so you can stash in
a pocket?but can you eat just one?

FUSION ENERGY 7/Eleven’s new-ish “functional” brew
THE CAFFEINE FIX 250 mg per 12-ounce cup
THE CALORIES 0
THE OTHER STUFF Freshly-ground coffee brewed with an
alertness-boosting blend of ginseng,
guarana, and yerba mate

STARBUCKS Coffee, just coffee
THE CAFFEINE FIX 280 or so per 12-ounce cup
THE CALORIES 0
THE OTHER STUFF Starbucks coffee averages twice the
caffeine of a regular 8-ounce cup of java,
but the hit can vary wildly-in one study,
by 200 mg on different days

SPIKE SHOOTER Heavy-hitter energy drink
THE CAFFEINE FIX 300 mg per 8.4-ounce can
THE CALORIES 0
THE OTHER STUFF Spiked with tyrosine, yohimbine, and
a huge dose of vitamin B12; label warns
you not to drink more than 1 a day

Stock up on the good stuff and don’t waste your time with something that won’t deliver enough kick.

On a side note, we are having a T Shirt Design contest on Myspace. The winner gets a free T-Shirt with their design. Check out the blog on the Campman myspace account to see the submissions. Campman Myspace

Written by on April 5th, 2007 with no comments.
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New Utah Law Impacts Keywords Buying

A new Utah law has just been passed that will allow companies in essence to trademark keywords. Thus not allowing competitors to bid against the company in online advertising. The story is here.

The state of Utah has passed a bill that could impact the practice of buying competitive keywords, reports Search Engine Land.

Some search engine marketers buy up keywords associated with the copyrighted terms of their competitors. Utah’s Trademark Protection Act would make that practice illegal.

The bill creates an “electronic registration mark” as a new form of trademark. Registering that mark will cost $250 but once done a competitor may not use that term to trigger advertising.

The bill will almost certainly face legal challenges. Previous federal rulings have found that use of competitive keywords in search marketing is allowed under trademark law.

This allows companies to trademark phrases on the internet and not allow anyone else to bid on them for advertising. This law will most definitely run up against legal opposition. If allowed to stand people will probably run out to “trademark” all kinds of keywords in order to tie them up. I think just let competition take its coarse and let the best company’s advertising win. Allowing the law to stand will just hinder internet advertising and business on the net more than it will benefit those that the law protects. Only time will tell whether the law will stand, but I hope that it doesn’t.

Written by on April 4th, 2007 with no comments.
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Interesting New Products

Since taking over the site I receive emails from people looking to get their product on the site. A couple of them are quite interesting. The first is a pack called the Symbiot Pack. Its kind of based on a flyfishing vest design. It spreads the weight more evenly that a traditional backpack. It is designed for more active use than traditional designs.

The second pack that I am intrigued by is the Helius Solar Backpack. It features built in solar panels. It will charge you cell phone, MP3 player, or any other small electrical equipment while worn outside in the sun. It is a bit more on the pricey side ($135) on our site but its a pretty cool idea. I think it would work great for students who are out and about all day long.

The packs can be found here. Packs

Finally the one I like the most is the hammaka. It is a hammock system that has a few different ways to mount the chairs. They have truck hitch mounts, portable tripod systems, as well as a couple of others. I think this is a sweet idea for car camping. The hitch mount is really cool and accommodates two chairs. A picture of the portable tripod can be found here. Hammka

Written by on April 2nd, 2007 with no comments.
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