Maybe you’ve been following the story of SpaceShjp One since Scaled Composites chased (and won!) the Ansari X Prize back in 2004 for successfully taking a manned craft beyond the boundary of space twice in two weeks, and then through Richard Branson’s acquisition of the craft and the founding of Virgin Galactic. Maybe you saw the press about the tragic desctruction of SpaceShipTwo during testing. And you might have even seen that they recently completed a powered test flight of the replacement vehicle. This long read article covers the history, but through the lens of one of the test pilots. It’s a fascinating perspective on this 21st century space race that you might have missed.

Is Elon Musk our Henry Ford? Or Thomas Edison? Or Preston Tucker? However you think of him and his accomplishments, it’s hard to argue he has recently been going through a rough patch. His companies (Tesla, SpaceX) are doing great, but the man behind them seems to be feeling the brunt of the pressure he’s taken onto his shoulders. And from this unusually frank interview, it’s clearly taking a toll.

This. I so want to do this.

I adore Atlas Obscura for its collection of odd and unusual locations, often nearby places you’ve never been. I’m lucky/blessed/unreasonably proud of the fact that I’ve ridden the coast from Long Beach to the top of Washington and there’s only one place on this list I’ve actually gone (the Chandelier tree). I was further shocked to see the FRICKEN MAMMOTH RUBBING ROCKS are seriously 10 minutes from my house and I haven’t been there!!! That needs to be rectified post haste! And while summer winds down and we resist the siren song of these adventures, noting our depleted vacation hours, please take a few minutes and enjoy this virtual road trip and, you know, maybe put some markers on a map for a trip next year. Or this fall…

Because, naturally, you’ll need some reading material for your virtual road trip…

This one hit my sweet spot right now. I can’t explain what has lately been drawing me to the desert, but it’s undeniable. This list of books draws from varied genres and the books themselves are neither dry nor, obviously, unending.

It’s been a crazy political week/month/year/term. We seemingly have more scandals in a week than we’ve had in twenty years.

It’s exhausting.

Take a deep breath.

Now click on the above link and read about what former President Jimmy Carter’s days are like. No, let me help you: here’s the first three paragraphs:

Jimmy Carter finishes his Saturday night dinner, salmon and broccoli casserole on a paper plate, flashes his famous toothy grin and calls playfully to his wife of 72 years, Rosalynn: “C’mon, kid.”

She laughs and takes his hand, and they walk carefully through a neighbor’s kitchen filled with 1976 campaign buttons, photos of world leaders and a couple of unopened cans of Billy Beer, then out the back door, where three Secret Service agents wait.

They do this just about every weekend in this tiny town where they were born — he almost 94 years ago, she almost 91. Dinner at their friend Jill Stuckey’s house, with plastic Solo cups of ice water and one glass each of bargain-brand chardonnay, then the half-mile walk home to the ranch house they built in 1961.

Go read the rest. It is salve for out battered and bruised national consciousness.

An extra because, well, farewell Aretha Franklin:

Washington Post

Did you ever see a famous picture in a gallery and think,”I wish that were in my home?” This unassuming couple apparently went through with it and enjoyed their own private de Kooning for the rest of their lives.

Topic

A hellaciously toxic lake in Montana becomes an international tourist destination, while at the same time threatening to drown an entire town. Not gonna lie, I want to visit!

Inverse

Caught in the fire caused by a massive earthquake and then frighteningly close to the epicenter of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, the last survivors of the division Ginkgophyta are serious! I wonder if I could even keep one alive!

While we’re in Japan…

Afar

I find this concept of lining up fascinating. “Queuing is a big deal in Japan, a physical exercise of the principles of discipline and etiquette that are drilled into every schoolchild and reinforced for every adult.” she writes. Hard to think of that in our culture, and yet I look forward to the annual release of Russian River Brewing’s Pliny The Younger and the multi-hour wait in line. For that event, I wholly embrace the idea that the author is putting across which is “The wait isn’t part of the cost, as I’d always considered it; to a Japanese person, it’s part of the value.”

Spotify

I still intend to put together a podcast for the playlists I curate every month, I just haven’t gotten my time organized enough yet. In addition to those hour-long new music (mostly) playlists, I’ll ocasionally put together something a little different – a “Songs that Shaped Me” playlist, or a “Albums that turn 10 this year”. Or, like this, “A Brief History of Punk Rock.” My conceit was, if you wanted to put together about an hour of songs (mine ended up being an hour and a half), how would you introduce someone to punk rock. I chose 27 songs that run from Patti Smith to Minor Threat to Green Day and finish up with The Interrupters. Along the way I listened to some bands I eschewed growing up for no good reason, and I revisited some of my old favorites. Just writing about this makes me want to sit down and do a podcast explaining my choices. Maybe I’ll make time sooner than later. Until then, if you have Spotify, check the above link or let’s see if the below player works:

Last week I was incommunicado on a little motorcycle trip so I wasn’t able to file a Five Things This Week. I’m putting the finishing touches on my overdue trip report, but in the meantime I wanted to mention a few of the items I used and loved. I had intended to camp three nights but ended up spending just two at campgrounds (more on that soon), and I’ve been accumulating camping gear for a while now. Here are some of the things that made my camping trip fantastic. This is also an Amazon Affiliate linkapalooza, so if anyone happens to purchase anything Amazon kicks me back a few pennies. Just letting you know for the sake of full disclosure!

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Camper – This thing amazes me. When I was young and camping with Boy Scouts I either didn’t use a pad at all or used your standard foam mat you probably have for Pilates now. A few years later I upgraded to my first Therm-o-Rest self-inflating pad, which was a nice upgrade. This NeoAir? It doesn’t seem like it should be possible. I’m both a) a side-sleeper and b) a large guy and the NeoAir Camper has me covered. It’s not self-inflating, so you’re going to expend some lung power (unless you spring for the pump, which I haven’t (yet)). But it provided phenomenal comfort for the size. The size – that’s the thing. If it were comfortable, that’d be enough. But it folds down and rolls into the size of a liter bottle of water. It’s amazing. And it works. I love this thing.

Sea to Summit straps – In my past motorcycling life, I was all about the bungee cord. My life upgraded when I discovered a bungee net, but I have heard too many stories over the years of bungee-related injuries. Besides, strapping down and tightening my over-packed gear sounded more secure. It was. I got two pairs of these to affix my tent and rain gear to the tops of my aluminum side cases and they worked flawlessly. Bungees have their place, mind you, but it wasn’t on this trip.

Jetboil single burner camp stove and Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy – I didn’t intend on setting a campfire because a) I wasn’t sure whether my secondary camp site options would have a fire ring, but mainly b) I didn’t want to haul wood. I’ve had the Jetboil for a number of years and found it to be a great little stove. Is it ultralight for hardcore backpacking? No, but it’s also not a multi-burner Coleman stove. For me, the Jetboil fits perfectly into the “sometimes camper” category that I reside. Everything (fuel, heating element, stand) fits neatly inside the cup itself. The cup locks onto the base for security while cooking. That does create one major drawback: you can only use the cup it comes with because nothing else fits. Which is why I recommend also getting the pot adapter ring that lets you use whatever small pot or pan you want to with the stove – bonus: with a little care while packing, the ring fits inside the cup with everything else. I didn’t plan on making anything elaborate this trip, and I started my Day 2 adventure with Mountain High’s biscuits and Gravy which was surprisingly good – I’ve been served more diner biscuits and gravy that were worse than this freeze-dried version. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Aeropress and Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill “Skerton Plus” grinder – My particular Jetboil was their “Java Kit Coffee Press” version which comes with a plunger to use the whole vessel as a French press as well as a packet of Green Mountain Coffee to try it with. Yeah, I threw out the coffee and press part. The Java version was deeply discounted at REI when I bought it and that, and not the potential giant French press, attracted me. Let’s be clear here: I’m not ultra-light camping but neither am I full-on car camping. My large bike has rather large aluminum panniers which afford me more space than your average motorcycle, and one of my choices to use some of this space is to indulge in equipment required to make an exceptional cup of coffee. I’ve touted the coffee-making prowess of the Aeropress before, but one of the things I didn’t mention is it packs pretty tiny. I took the accouterments (funnel and stirrer) because, again, I could, but ultimately all you need are the two tubes that pack together. Sure, the wafer-thin filter and the cap, but that’s it. It’s pretty small. Know what’s not small? My beautiful wooden coffee mill at home. That’s why it’s at home. What’s smaller yet nearly as good is this Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill. The glass bowl that it comes with does make it a bit more ungainly, but it has threads that accommodate a small mason jar, so I left the rounded bowl at home, attached a small mason jar, removed the crank, and it packed down quite nicely! Waking up to a fairly quick and amazing cup of coffee was worth carrying this extra equipment.

Insulated growler – I picked this up on sale on Amazon years ago and it’s lived at work as a reminder for me to drink enough water through the day (it works!). I knew I would be going to a couple sites that didn’t have water (thank you, Campendium!) so I also brought along this 1.25 gallon collapsible cube which was great, but when you put a gallon of water in an aluminum box and subject said box to 115° for a few hours, that water gets pretty warm. While still wet and lifesaving, it’s not the most agreeable thing to drink. Wanting more water storage and having the room, I opted to bring my insulated growler and, boy, am I glad I did. It sat in the top box in the same heat, and yet it kept the water refreshingly cold. True story: though this is a growler, it’s never held beer – I bought it before California let brewers fill outside growlers. But at Indian Wells Brewing Company I found myself tempted to pour out the water I filled in Fresno in favor of 64 ounces of their Amnesniac IPA. In hindsight, the water certainly was better for me and my mild head exhaustion at my campsite in Death Valley. But I still wish I could have taken that IPA with me! The pictured (and linked-to) version comes with a lid that’s makes it more convenient to carry, though a lot taller than the version I bought which looked like this:

Well, mine is covered with stickers now (of course it is):