Friday, December 10, 2004
Have A Wetass Weekend...:
"If I close my eyes and maintain position, maybe my bike will magically reappear beneath me before I land..."
"If I close my eyes and maintain position, maybe my bike will magically reappear beneath me before I land..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 1:30 PM 
Watersport Wackiness...: There's been a lot of video this week already. But I couldn't resist posting this wild compilation of waterskiing and jetskiing wipeouts. Note that most of the time the problem is due to some seriously poor driving. Anyhow, it made me laugh, particularly the little kid in the last scene who was the only one among a group of adults who had the sense to get the hell out of the way...
"Hey, Bob. I know you can't see cuz you're driving. But is the head dunk a standard move...?"
"Hey, Bob. I know you can't see cuz you're driving. But is the head dunk a standard move...?"
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 1:17 PM
Ugliness At The Top Of The World--Fear And Loathing On Everest: Earlier this year, a seven-member climbing team from Connecticut went to Everest. Michael Kodas, a reporter for the Hartford Courant, was a member of the team, there to document the climb. The expedition was led by Romanian immigrant George Dijmarescu and his wife, Lhakpa Sherpa, both experienced Everest climbers. It was supposed to be a story of adventure and triumph. It turned into a saga of brutality and abuse, with Dijmarescu threatening clients ("From now on, I will do all I can to hunt this bitch down, like a hiena [sic]"), punching out his wife, and turning the whole adventure into a twisted mountainous version of "Lord Of The Flies." Not to mention all the porn in the mess tent, sherpa rebellion on the mountain, and allegations of oxygen poaching. You can read the harrowing, gut-wrenching, Made-For-TV, story here (free reg required). Here's just a taste, and the whole thing is well worth the time:
Russell Brice, an Everest legend who has been climbing in the Himalayas for 30 years, 10 of them running commercial expeditions to Everest, wanted to talk to me in Base Camp. Last year, on his 13th Everest expedition, all his clients reached the summit. This year more than 100 people lived in his tents, which spread out in long rows like a suburban subdivision.
In the frontier town that is Everest Base Camp, Brice is something akin to Wyatt Earp. Not everyone agrees with the rules he and the rest of the mountain's most experienced guides impose, but they're the only order high on the mountain.
He had problems with our expedition, and George in particular.
"He's cheating you guys," Brice said, sitting amid memorials to fallen climbers on a hill above his camp. "He organizes an expedition and doesn't take responsibility."
Brice was getting cheated, too, he said. While we prided ourselves on climbing without guides, he said we were really just parasites feeding off the work and resources of bigger expeditions.
Each year, Brice hosts a meeting in Advanced Base Camp to determine what each expedition will contribute toward installing the ropes that are critical to the safety of all the climbers on the mountain. But George led us down to Base Camp the day before this year's meeting. We didn't hear about the meeting for nearly a week.
George doesn't do his part on the mountain, Brice said.
This year, the expeditions that did contribute only managed to fix ropes up to Camp Three, the last camp before the summit. Brice had enough rope to equip the summit, but wouldn't put them up until his clients were climbing. Those who went for the summit earlier would hang on old and dangerously tattered lines.
He said our expedition was causing problems lower on the mountain, too. One of our cooks was sent down alone to Base Camp when he became altitude sick. Friends who found him in our cook tent three days later were convinced he was dying.
"The kitchen boy was sent down with no support and no medicine," Brice charged. "I used two bottles of oxygen to care for [him]. Am I ever going to get that back from George?"
Experience made him confident he could forecast our future.
"You're going to run out of food," he said, predicting as well that the shortage of provisions would end some climbers' chances for the summit prematurely.
"He probably didn't tell you about the tip structure for the Sherpas' trips to high camps," Brice added. When we told Brice that George had each climber who wanted help from a Sherpa hire one individually, he was flabbergasted. "That's not how you do it," he said incredulously. "You hire your Sherpas as a team."
Brice said that when he first came to Everest, climbers banded together and helped each other out. Today, he said, many hide to avoid responsibility or lurk in the shadows to exploit other teams.
"These people are in my tents, in my sleeping bags, using my gas and eating my food," Brice said.
Brice has had oxygen bottles stolen and tents filled with crucial equipment thrown from the mountain.
"I drop oxygen at Camp Three and you come and take it and it's not there for my client," Brice said. "That's manslaughter."
His tents were once open to any climber desperate for a port in a storm. These days there are locks on the doors.
Later, Tina Sjogren, one of the founders of Explorer's Web, and an Everest summiteer herself, picked up the story. Here's what she got back from Dijmarescu:
"...you understood that I was accused several times of criminal activity and you made little or no effort to do an investigative work toward the truth...You believe I only threatening you with a law suit. As I asked before and ask AGAIN:
PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH YOUR PHYSICAL ADDRESS OF MOUNTEVEREST.NET/EXPLORESWEB.COM AND ITS OWNERS AND YOU WILL SEE FOR YOURSELF, SOONER, I AM NOT BLUFFING
YOU HAVE 30 (THIRTY) DAYS TO RETRACT YOUR ARTICLE ON MOUNTEVEREST.NET. THAT TIME STARTS TODAY DEC 6TH 2004.
YOUR RETRACTION SHALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE AS EQUALLY AS NOTORIOUS AS THE FRONT PAGE OF MOUNTEVEREST.NET"
Does that sound like someone you'd like to be above 8,000 meters with? You can also read the raw expedition blog, and check out the photo gallery. But Explorer's Web has the two most important photos...
George Dijmarescu
His Handiwork: Team members carry the unconscious Lhakpa to the cook tent.
(Photos: Hartford Courant and Michael Kodas, via Explorer's Web)
Russell Brice, an Everest legend who has been climbing in the Himalayas for 30 years, 10 of them running commercial expeditions to Everest, wanted to talk to me in Base Camp. Last year, on his 13th Everest expedition, all his clients reached the summit. This year more than 100 people lived in his tents, which spread out in long rows like a suburban subdivision.
In the frontier town that is Everest Base Camp, Brice is something akin to Wyatt Earp. Not everyone agrees with the rules he and the rest of the mountain's most experienced guides impose, but they're the only order high on the mountain.
He had problems with our expedition, and George in particular.
"He's cheating you guys," Brice said, sitting amid memorials to fallen climbers on a hill above his camp. "He organizes an expedition and doesn't take responsibility."
Brice was getting cheated, too, he said. While we prided ourselves on climbing without guides, he said we were really just parasites feeding off the work and resources of bigger expeditions.
Each year, Brice hosts a meeting in Advanced Base Camp to determine what each expedition will contribute toward installing the ropes that are critical to the safety of all the climbers on the mountain. But George led us down to Base Camp the day before this year's meeting. We didn't hear about the meeting for nearly a week.
George doesn't do his part on the mountain, Brice said.
This year, the expeditions that did contribute only managed to fix ropes up to Camp Three, the last camp before the summit. Brice had enough rope to equip the summit, but wouldn't put them up until his clients were climbing. Those who went for the summit earlier would hang on old and dangerously tattered lines.
He said our expedition was causing problems lower on the mountain, too. One of our cooks was sent down alone to Base Camp when he became altitude sick. Friends who found him in our cook tent three days later were convinced he was dying.
"The kitchen boy was sent down with no support and no medicine," Brice charged. "I used two bottles of oxygen to care for [him]. Am I ever going to get that back from George?"
Experience made him confident he could forecast our future.
"You're going to run out of food," he said, predicting as well that the shortage of provisions would end some climbers' chances for the summit prematurely.
"He probably didn't tell you about the tip structure for the Sherpas' trips to high camps," Brice added. When we told Brice that George had each climber who wanted help from a Sherpa hire one individually, he was flabbergasted. "That's not how you do it," he said incredulously. "You hire your Sherpas as a team."
Brice said that when he first came to Everest, climbers banded together and helped each other out. Today, he said, many hide to avoid responsibility or lurk in the shadows to exploit other teams.
"These people are in my tents, in my sleeping bags, using my gas and eating my food," Brice said.
Brice has had oxygen bottles stolen and tents filled with crucial equipment thrown from the mountain.
"I drop oxygen at Camp Three and you come and take it and it's not there for my client," Brice said. "That's manslaughter."
His tents were once open to any climber desperate for a port in a storm. These days there are locks on the doors.
Later, Tina Sjogren, one of the founders of Explorer's Web, and an Everest summiteer herself, picked up the story. Here's what she got back from Dijmarescu:
"...you understood that I was accused several times of criminal activity and you made little or no effort to do an investigative work toward the truth...You believe I only threatening you with a law suit. As I asked before and ask AGAIN:
PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH YOUR PHYSICAL ADDRESS OF MOUNTEVEREST.NET/EXPLORESWEB.COM AND ITS OWNERS AND YOU WILL SEE FOR YOURSELF, SOONER, I AM NOT BLUFFING
YOU HAVE 30 (THIRTY) DAYS TO RETRACT YOUR ARTICLE ON MOUNTEVEREST.NET. THAT TIME STARTS TODAY DEC 6TH 2004.
YOUR RETRACTION SHALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE AS EQUALLY AS NOTORIOUS AS THE FRONT PAGE OF MOUNTEVEREST.NET"
Does that sound like someone you'd like to be above 8,000 meters with? You can also read the raw expedition blog, and check out the photo gallery. But Explorer's Web has the two most important photos...
George Dijmarescu
His Handiwork: Team members carry the unconscious Lhakpa to the cook tent.
(Photos: Hartford Courant and Michael Kodas, via Explorer's Web)
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 10:55 AM
Vendee Globe Update--Here Comes A Good 'Ol Southern Ocean Pasting: Well, it didn't take the big winds, and rough seas of The South to start pruning the Vendee fleet. Our man, Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss, was forced out when his boom broke loose and speared a hole in his coachroof. And Herve Laurent on UUDS, and Norbert Sedlacek (great name; I bet he got beat up a lot in grade school) on Brother, are also out with damage. And the Southern Ocean is only getting warmed up. This weekend it is going to absolutely cream the two front-runners, PRB and Bonduelle, with 50 knot winds and mountainous 35-foot waves. The rest of the fleet will feel it, but not as bad. Latest daily report here. Latest positions here.Want a sense of how cool these guys are? Here's leader Vincent Riou's take on the forecast: "I think we're going to have 40 to 50 knots but I'm not worried about it, we'll just have to try not to go too crazy with the boat speed. It's going to freshen up a bit and it looks like it will be pretty sporty. You really can't helm at the moment, so shockingly perhaps, I'm only helming for about 1% of the time and we're in survival mode down below." "Pretty sporty." I think I'll start using that instead of "Force 10." Alrigthy, then. No great surfing videos yet. But go to the video page and check out Dominique Wavre's 12/09 clip to get a feel for the howl of the wind and the speed of the boats. Hope they all survive the weekend...
The Hole On Hugo Boss: Not exactly Southern Ocean watertight...
The Hole On Hugo Boss: Not exactly Southern Ocean watertight...
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 10:22 AM
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Department Of Stunning Natural Phenomena--Aurora Borealis: Ever seen one? No? Well, thanks to our weather-obssessed buddy Mike Hollingshead at Extreme Instability, you can see all you want right here. No LSD was involved...
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 1:54 PM
Ellen Update--Slip, Sliding Away: Le Petit Anglais' fourteen hour lead on Francis Joyon at the Equator has been whittled down to just over 12 hours, with more pain to come. Click here for the latest daily report. And here for the latest 3D animation comparing B&Q's course to Joyon's IDEC. Up ahead, the weather gods do not look as if they will give Ellen a free pass to the Southern Ocean (here's the analysis), so she is resigning herself to losing a pile of time to Joyon, who waltzed right through this area.
If you are wondering how Ellen is staying healthy through all this, her sports nutritionist is happy to summarize the nutrition situation:
"Physically and mentally Ellen is pushing herself to her limits. Her body is flooded with stress hormones that mobilise her fuel stores (fat and muscle), dampen her appetite, reduce gastric secretions and direct blood away from the gut. Stress hormones provide the body with all it needs for shorts bursts of powerful energy, whilst also ensuring a full gut doesn't make a quick power burst impossible. Whilst these hormones may be lifesaving in the very short-term, over longer periods of time they can weaken the body and seriously impair performance. It is important to combat some of the effects of these hormones, such as the reduced appetite, so that Ellen will remain strong throughout her challenge."
Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And the hard part has not even started yet...
"Damn, I'm slowing down. Better strip to my underwear again..."
If you are wondering how Ellen is staying healthy through all this, her sports nutritionist is happy to summarize the nutrition situation:
"Physically and mentally Ellen is pushing herself to her limits. Her body is flooded with stress hormones that mobilise her fuel stores (fat and muscle), dampen her appetite, reduce gastric secretions and direct blood away from the gut. Stress hormones provide the body with all it needs for shorts bursts of powerful energy, whilst also ensuring a full gut doesn't make a quick power burst impossible. Whilst these hormones may be lifesaving in the very short-term, over longer periods of time they can weaken the body and seriously impair performance. It is important to combat some of the effects of these hormones, such as the reduced appetite, so that Ellen will remain strong throughout her challenge."
Sounds like fun, doesn't it? And the hard part has not even started yet...
"Damn, I'm slowing down. Better strip to my underwear again..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 1:33 PM
Annals of Kiting Craziness--Maui to Molokai: The difference between the massive AAPT kite Sean Langmann is sailing with and the kite of a kitesurfer is just a matter of degree. And thanks to TWC reader Dan Phelps, here's something in between: a bunch of guys who race an outrigger canoe across the fearsome Pailolo Channel...pulled by a 12-meter Naish kite. Here's an account of the action, from "Bailer" and "Communications" specialist Todd Carle. And here's the take from steersman Loch Eggers. They survived winds of 15 to 45 knots, and seas of 6-10 feet. Here's part of the action:
"It wasn't long before we pasted all our competitors and became the lead contender early on in the race...Shortly after the helicopter arrive we found that the swells were getting larger and we were finding ourselves surfing down the wave at over 15 knots, while Loch ,our steersman, was fighting with everything he had to keep the canoe from twisting away from him and dodging with his paddle and hitting sometimes the rear mounted camera . Don kept the kite steady and keeping the kite in one spot most of the time in fear of powering up the kite too much and risk breaking the lines...And Barkley, our on board dentist and bailer, kept the morale up by telling Don, who could not turn around because he was concentrating on the kite, that the canoe was dry and everything was under control, all the while we sunk twice and we were continually bailing with an endless of waves crashing into our hull, sometimes both of us were bailing at the same time, throughout the entire race..."
Sound implausible, even outrageous? Well, it's all on video and you can watch it right here. Dan spent some time tracking this down, so thank him, then shut up and enjoy...
Molokai Ho!: "Uh, Loch. We're doing fifteen knots and the island is coming up fast. Did Naish by any chance tell you where the brakes on this thing are...?"
"It wasn't long before we pasted all our competitors and became the lead contender early on in the race...Shortly after the helicopter arrive we found that the swells were getting larger and we were finding ourselves surfing down the wave at over 15 knots, while Loch ,our steersman, was fighting with everything he had to keep the canoe from twisting away from him and dodging with his paddle and hitting sometimes the rear mounted camera . Don kept the kite steady and keeping the kite in one spot most of the time in fear of powering up the kite too much and risk breaking the lines...And Barkley, our on board dentist and bailer, kept the morale up by telling Don, who could not turn around because he was concentrating on the kite, that the canoe was dry and everything was under control, all the while we sunk twice and we were continually bailing with an endless of waves crashing into our hull, sometimes both of us were bailing at the same time, throughout the entire race..."
Sound implausible, even outrageous? Well, it's all on video and you can watch it right here. Dan spent some time tracking this down, so thank him, then shut up and enjoy...
Molokai Ho!: "Uh, Loch. We're doing fifteen knots and the island is coming up fast. Did Naish by any chance tell you where the brakes on this thing are...?"
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 11:59 AM
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Video Wednesday I--Wetass Video Of The Week: Before I descend into silliness and irrelevance (see below), kick back and watch this great video (shot from a helo) of Le Defi Wind, one of the biggest long distance windsurfing races in Europe. It's staged in the south of France, and last May pulled in more than 400 competitors...
"Damn it's crowded!"..."Stop whining! At least you're in the South of France!"
"Damn it's crowded!"..."Stop whining! At least you're in the South of France!"
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 9:41 AM
Video Wednesday II--Fun With Animals: I don't know what it is, but today it's all animals, all the time, here at The Wetass Chronicles (see below, too). And we've got 'em on tape:
Did you ever wonder: How high can a bear bounce?
Don't mess with this monkey...
Do horses mind being branded...?
"Mama didn't raise no stupid bears. And the only way you're going to make me bounce on this thing is if you put me in a tree and shoot me with a tranquilizer gun..."
Did you ever wonder: How high can a bear bounce?
Don't mess with this monkey...
Do horses mind being branded...?
"Mama didn't raise no stupid bears. And the only way you're going to make me bounce on this thing is if you put me in a tree and shoot me with a tranquilizer gun..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 9:28 AM
Video Wednesday III--Animal Kingdom Smackdown: Check out this tense video. Reality TV at its best. In one corner: a young grizzly bear. In the other: a pack of wolves. The prize: a rotting moose carcass. No one ever said it was easy out there...
"Damn, missed again. Guess I'm going to have to go fight those stupid wolves for moose scraps..."
"Damn, missed again. Guess I'm going to have to go fight those stupid wolves for moose scraps..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 9:17 AM
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Ellen Eviscerates Equator Record: Round 1 (or Leg 1, from the Channel to the Equator) goes to Mme. MacArthur. She crossed The Line last night, 8 days, 18 hours and 20 minutes after setting out, setting a new solo record and besting Francis Joyon by about 14 hours. Half a day into Leg 2 (Equator to the Southern Ocean) now, Ellen still has an 11 hour lead on Joyon, and she'll need very bit of it as she works her way around the St. Helena high to get to the Roaring Forties. Right now the high does not look like a major obstacle, but during his circumnavigation Joyon sailed this leg at high speed and on an unusually direct route. Here's Ellen's assessment of the situation ahead:
"At the moment, the St Helena high is looking like there may be a corridor between it and the low pressure developing off the Brazilian coast. It's going to be actually quite difficult to sit between the high and the low because if we go to far south, and go behind the front of the low the sea conditions will be terrible and there will be no wind, and if we go into the north into the high we will lose the wind completely and we won't be able to stay in the gap, so timing is going to be absolutely crucial. It may pay off, it may not, but we don't really have any choice - we've got to go through that gap and we've got to hope we make it so it's going to be very, very important to get the timing right and get the boat sailing as fast as I possibly can to get through that gap to spit us out into the Southern Ocean."
If this works out Ellen should be in the Southern Ocean spitoon early next week, and chasing after the Vendee Globe sailors...
Ellen's Ahead: "All I know is that I've been going like a rocket ever since I started sailing in my underwear. Not sure how this will work out in the Southern Ocean, though..."
"At the moment, the St Helena high is looking like there may be a corridor between it and the low pressure developing off the Brazilian coast. It's going to be actually quite difficult to sit between the high and the low because if we go to far south, and go behind the front of the low the sea conditions will be terrible and there will be no wind, and if we go into the north into the high we will lose the wind completely and we won't be able to stay in the gap, so timing is going to be absolutely crucial. It may pay off, it may not, but we don't really have any choice - we've got to go through that gap and we've got to hope we make it so it's going to be very, very important to get the timing right and get the boat sailing as fast as I possibly can to get through that gap to spit us out into the Southern Ocean."
If this works out Ellen should be in the Southern Ocean spitoon early next week, and chasing after the Vendee Globe sailors...
Ellen's Ahead: "All I know is that I've been going like a rocket ever since I started sailing in my underwear. Not sure how this will work out in the Southern Ocean, though..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 10:26 AM
Annals Of Innovation--KiteShip: Kiteboarding already blurs the lines between sailing and flying, but no one ever imagined turning large yachts into massive kiteboards. No one, that is, except the mad wizards at the KiteShip Corporation. They orginally developed their massive kitesail for Larry Ellison and his Oracle/BMW America's Cup team (talk about a radical technical approach), but it was never used. Now, though KiteShip wants to market its kites to commercial ships, they haven't given up on freethinking racing sailors. And they found one in Aussie Sean Langman, who has been experimenting with the thing on his 66-foot AAPT (e-Grundig). Langman wants to fly the kite in the Sydney-Hobart race, which starts December 26, hoping it might help bring him home first, before much larger maxis. The 420-square meter kite-sail needs 10 knots of wind to fly, and sailors have supposedly launched it in winds up to 45 knots. Here are the sails alleged advantages:
- On average can be 50 - 100% more powerful than spinnakers
- Most conditions where a spinnaker can be used
- Flies from the deck of the yacht, not the mast, greatly reducing the tendency to broach or to lose control of the yacht i.e. safer to drive yachts harder in higher winds and under greater pressure of sail
- No alterations to the yacht has to be made - it can be flown from the yacht's existing winches and 'hard points'
- The kite-sail does not require spinnaker poles, bowsprits or much of the rigging and deck hardware
- Simple and safe to launch and recover, unassisted at sea
- Mark II kites offer increased performance over a wider range of wind speeds, especially at the lowest wind speeds.
We'll see. Check out the pictures below and see if you think this is really going to work (or watch some of the videos here). I'm skeptical. But I love the fact that Langman will try to turn the Sydney-Hobart upside down with one...
"Hey, Sean. If this thing gets any bigger, 30 knots of breeze will launch us like a SCUD. Say, is there anything in the rules that says the hull has to touch the water?"
- On average can be 50 - 100% more powerful than spinnakers
- Most conditions where a spinnaker can be used
- Flies from the deck of the yacht, not the mast, greatly reducing the tendency to broach or to lose control of the yacht i.e. safer to drive yachts harder in higher winds and under greater pressure of sail
- No alterations to the yacht has to be made - it can be flown from the yacht's existing winches and 'hard points'
- The kite-sail does not require spinnaker poles, bowsprits or much of the rigging and deck hardware
- Simple and safe to launch and recover, unassisted at sea
- Mark II kites offer increased performance over a wider range of wind speeds, especially at the lowest wind speeds.
We'll see. Check out the pictures below and see if you think this is really going to work (or watch some of the videos here). I'm skeptical. But I love the fact that Langman will try to turn the Sydney-Hobart upside down with one...
"Hey, Sean. If this thing gets any bigger, 30 knots of breeze will launch us like a SCUD. Say, is there anything in the rules that says the hull has to touch the water?"
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 9:29 AM
Annals Of Achievement--Flying Fossett: Last week it was a Zeppelin record in Germany. This weekend it was a glider record in Argentina. Uber-Wetass Steve Fossett never really stops in his ceaseless hunt to own just about every record in the world. And now he has pocketed the glider free distance (straight-line) record, flying 1,358 miles with co-pilot Terry Delore. The flight took Fossett about two-thirds the length of Argentina, and lasted 15 hours and 42 minutes (his only real problem was that he thought his feet might freeze). Even though that's like gliding from New York to Dallas, Argentina is the place all the glider nuts congregate to go after this record, because there is a little mountain range there called "The Andes." Fossett now owns 11 of the 21 major glider records, so he has some more work to do before he can pack up his glider for good. I'm sure that's a relief to the gliding community...
Mountain Hopping: "Er, Steve. Could you stop playing with that Zeppelin medal, and pull up a bit..."
Mountain Hopping: "Er, Steve. Could you stop playing with that Zeppelin medal, and pull up a bit..."
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 8:37 AM
Monday, December 06, 2004
Masters Of Speed--The Videos: We've all seen Finian Maynard rip off his record-setting windsurfing run. But if you want to see what the rest of the gang looked like--or just like watching windsurfers blasting along--the full video lineup has been posted here...
Ben Van Der Steen, On Der Vay: "See, Finian's not the only one who can freeze his ass off while topping 40..."
(Photo: Jean Souville)
Ben Van Der Steen, On Der Vay: "See, Finian's not the only one who can freeze his ass off while topping 40..."
(Photo: Jean Souville)
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 11:46 AM
Wetass Gift Registry...: Tis the season and, yes, calendars can be a lame way to go (particularly if they are from your real estate agent). But when they are full of spectacular sailing photography, well...And Rick Tomlinson is one of the best. So check out his 2005 calendar. Here's a preview (though having this stuff on your office wall might drive you crazy...):
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 11:29 AM
Wetass Gift Registry II...: Or, if you like a little more adrenaline in your stocking, there's Sharon Green's Ultimate Sailing calendar...
Posted by Tim Zimmermann @ 10:41 AM
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