Grum general update

Some while ago I posted an image of a clipping, also from a police plotter, stating that there was a report of a "swanson chicken pot pie running east on Clay street". I suspect the chicken escaped from the pie and is now "at large". We'll keep you informed as this breaking story continues to break.

On a sidenote, recently I've noticed several incidents of people misusing "break" and "brake". Get it straight: to decelerate a vehicle is to brake (v). The device in a vehicle that decelerates it and/or keeps it stopped is called the brake (n). A brake (n) is also a device for crushing flax or hemp to separate the fibres. It's also a name for a type of harrow in farming. Any other time you want to use a word that sounds the same, use "break". I am a little obsessive about grammar and spelling. Feel free to mock any errors I make. Especially with witty reinterpretations of my intended meaning, with a total disregard for the principle of communicative charity. Joe.

Anway news from grum... I'm loading up on technology for the field; a new digital camera with fantastic closeup focussing for rock photos (it came with a free $130 printer through a bestbuy promotion I didn't even know about until I was paying for the camera), a (refurbished) ipaq for ebooks and papers in acrobat form, an extra battery for the lappy, soon an extra camera battery, memory chips (ipaq and camera), and of course the power systems for the field. Ed thinks just the motomaster battery on a full charge should be able to charge everything over a two week camp... but when you calculate the number of watt-hours needed and the number a battery will provide, we do need a bit of supplementary power. Items that need charging (decreasing order of importance): 2-way Radio, camera (two if my field assistant also has the built in rechargeable battery), GPS, satphone (don't know if we'll have one yet), laptop, ipaq, ipod (two if field asst also has one), and various rechargeable AAA and AA batteries for other appliances eg shortwave radio (but I could just get disposable ones and not worry about that drain on electricity). My flashlight is hand-charged. If only I could get more person-powered chargers (eg exercise bike)... my field assistant would really earn his keep that way. When we're with the truck it'll be no problem, we just have to make sure we don't drain the truck battery charging everything...

My bike is in terrific condition - better than new. I got high quality parts for the entire transmission instead of the quick-to-wear rubbish that came with the bike. The reason the bike is fairly cheap to buy is that Trek spent most of the money on the awesome frame (it's the same one used on their top-of-the-line bikes) and skimped on the rest. Anyway the bike feels fantastic now... shifting is quick and smooth, and it generally oozes long-term reliability.