My Heart to Hammocks 

It's been an interesting year since I've switched from traditional tents, to the more modern, lightweight,  and overall more comfortable hammock. Since the switch, I've been able to pack more and camp longer, pack light and go further, or spur of the moment, quick set up camp for a one night excursion. The versatility of the hammock allows one night trips to be a possibility, as set up time takes a fraction compared to that of traditional tents. Along with the plethora of uses in a camping environment, the hammock proves to be enjoyable in urban environments. Skeptical at first, I'm glad I tossed out my tent and bought a few hammock,  here's my take.

My Grand Trunk 'Super life-weight' two person hammock weighs in at a mere 20 ounces. That's 3.75 pounds lighter than my two person Marmot tent. That does't seem like much, but when packing for a backpacking trip, 3.75 pounds can make an enormous difference. When thinking about making long distance, week long backpacking trips, efficiently packing is one of the most important things you can do. Keeping in mind food, clothing, bedding, cook wear, and much more, the weight of your pack adds up quick, and that 3.75 pounds will either let me eat more, or tread lighter. The extra weight saved from the hammock has definitely made it my staple for backpacking in the warm summer months.

Along with the versatility from being as lightweight as it is, the hammocks set-up time is also much less my tent, making one nighters a more possible, and frequent occurrence! With a good enough idea of how I'm going to set up, it takes me approximately two minutes to set up my hammock, where as it takes me around 15 minutes to set up my two person, and 20+ to set up my five person. It's not to say 15 minutes is too extraordinarily long for my short attention span to sit through, but the hassle of battling through setting up a tent has stopped me from many one night trips. With my hammock, that is no longer a problem.

The hammock is not without its critics. Attacks from animals, rain, temperature, wind, and many others, the hammock was commonly thought to be a joke for a means of camping, until recently! The most important thing to keep in mind when thin

king about the shortcomings of hammocks is common sense. If the weather forecast provides rain for a stretch of days, bring a tent, or at least bring a tarp to create a canopy. If you're in an area where bears are known to be, place the hammock higher in the air. And if it's 10 degrees, you shouldn't be camping unless you have a sleeping bag equipped to handle those temperatures, and if you do, hammock camping is possible!

With the addition of hammocks being a positive aspect to my camping outfit, I think with the right common sense they would be to anyone.

I mean come on.. Don't I look comfy? (Very poor quality)

"Your most unhappy customer is your greatest source of learning" - Bill Gates

The third of my life spent working as a host has taught me two things; there's no better feeling than the crumple and toss of a four page wait, and most restaurant goers personally sign their names on the shit list of the waiting staff. Take this with a grain of salt, or continue to take the container of salt. It's up to you. But here's how to really peel back the skin of a host/hostess.

You just got your name onto an hour an a half wait list, you have three options; leave scowling in the wake of successful business, sit down and wait for your treat, or tell a joke. Two of the three make the host or hostess only managably irate, the other explodes like a grenade with its shrapnel composed of annoyance. Don't tell your host the same old exhausted jokes when they're in the weeds. As funny as it may seem, your host has called a name on the wait, had them not respond, and had someone giddily  shout "We can be Margie!" They've heard it six thousand times, just stop.

Don't get mad at the host. It's their job description to get as many people in and out of a restaurant in an efficient manner. That being said, telling a customer a longer wait than they're actually anticipating actually makes their job harder! So if we say an hour, were sorry (actually not), but that's just how long we think it'll be!

Overall, just treat your waiting staff with respect, and PATIENCE. After all, it is your food they're dealing with.

I Make Smart Cool

Prince EA, an award winning poet, hip-hop artist, and further education advocate has taken a stab at trying to 'make smart cool'.

Aimed at poverty stricken, inner-city youth. Prince EA aimed his 'Backwards Rap'  at a younger generation with their values and ideals in a mixed up place, hoping to spark a yearning for knowledge in these troublesome children. By using hip-hop as an outlet for education versus say selling drugs, Prince EA is trying to inspire change in these ill-focused youth.

For poverty stricken individuals, further education is a concept becoming less and less obtainable.

The video starts with lyrics mimicking stereotypical hip-hop lyrics, talking about "Being on the block", etc. By using this style of hip-hop, he catches the precise audience.

By just watching the video, it's impossible to tell the credibility of the rhetor, but upon further research you can find tidbits of information pertaining to Prince EA's past and can see he's spent years acting in the way of the crowd he's trying to reach.

He speaks of hardship, which is a concept virtually all of the audience can relate to, creating a direct link with their emotions.