The following story shares the facts about how our house was negligently remodeled, how that construction nearly got somebody killed, and the struggles we’ve encountered trying to hold the responsible individuals accountable. Final Project Cost: (as of 5/8/2018) $20,170.38 November 16, 2018 Update: The house is repaired, but I’m continuing to suffer the effects of…
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Build a Chicken Coop Fit for a Flock of Queens
A few months after Aidan was born, my wife came to me and said she wanted backyard chickens. I knew the day was coming, but I honestly didn’t expect it so soon after our son’s birth. I made it clear from the get-go that I was fine with her having chickens, but that I wasn’t…
Nursery Design: From Drab to Fab
I had been (unnecessarily) stressing out about how to approach the design for the nursery without being completely unrealistic. The “function” side of me says “Get a crib, changing table and glider. Call it a day. The rest isn’t important in the grand scheme of things.” The “form” side of me just wants to go wild and design…
Build a Low-Profile Medicine Cabinet
The drawers in the guest bathroom were filled with medications, ointments, and sorts of other stuff that 1) our guests didn’t need access to, and 2) kids don’t need easy access to. To alleviate that problem I decided we’d get a medicine cabinet for our bathroom. Thing is, most budget-friendly medicine cabinets are MUCH deeper than…
Skyrim – Better than a Great Book
A few months ago I picked up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for about $20. I’d heard a multitude of good things about the game and had several friends who were really into it when it was released. Being a big fan of Fable II when I played it years ago, I figured maybe it…
Black Diamond: A Model on How Customer Service Should Be Done
I don’t regularly find myself in a situation where I need to look up or pursue warranties on my outdoor equipment. I treat my gear with care and it usually lasts me a long time. When it does fail, it’s usually because of something I did, and I wouldn’t expect the manufacturer to cover it….
First Visit: Edgeworks Climbing Gym in Tacoma
Let’s start this out by being very clear on one thing: Michelle I were members at Vertical World for a few months almost a year ago, and after moving south and canceling our membership, we’ve been back a couple of times to climb with visiting guests. We never truly felt welcomed at Vertical World, and…
Cavalia – The Greatest Show I’ve Ever Seen!
It all started with the billboard on the way to the climbing gym. After a few weeks of seeing it, I finally remembered to look it up. It looked like a cool combination of circus horse tricks, dressage, and cirque du soleil acrobatics. Despite the exorbitant ticket prices, we decided that if we were going…
MSA and the Future of Auto-Belay Systems at Climbing Gyms
About a year ago, Sportrock was forced to remove their MSA Redpoint™ Descenders due to a “Stop Use” notice and subsequent massive recall that followed a couple of accidents in Australia and Malaysia. That seemed like a pretty big inconvenience for everyone at the gym, but I think most people assumed it was nothing more…
Retiring Gear: When Is Enough, Enough?
A series of recent articles posted over on BackcountryBeacon.com discussing when to retire gear hit home with some questions and concerns I’ve had lately about my own gear. Retiring gear that is unquestionably damaged or unsafe is easy to do, but what about that piece of gear you’ve had for a few seasons now that…