Non Sequitur

Two things.

First, I finished Charles Stross' latest book The Rhesus Chart yesterday on my way home.  I have to say that it was a fun read, but not up to the rest of the stories from the Laundry Files.  It feels a bit like Stross was lining things up for a future story.

It's kind of like the Bill Cosby album "When I Was a Kid" and he tells the story of him and Weird Harold coming home from the monster movies and trampling a wino in fear.  Then he says, "I told you that story to tell you this one." and goes on to tell about the time he got trampled by Fat Albert after trying to scare him with a Frankenstein's monster statue.

I still enjoyed the book, but I am really hoping for an amazing next one.

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Second, have you heard about Endura Cool by Mission Athletecare?  Because this stuff is amazing.

Jennifer and I came across a commercial for the towel one day while watching non-network TV.  The Dish Hopper doesn't automatically skip on non-network, non-prime time shows, and we get complacent sometimes and forget.  So we catch the occasional commercial, and this one intrigued us.

I was done with the long project in Lodi, but I knew I'd be going back out into the field, and summer is here.  All I had to do was go to a Lowe's.

I happened to be going back to Lodi for a brief visit, and knew where a Lowe's was, so I stopped in.

I ended up buying two items: the towel and the multi-cool.  I use the multi-cool as a turtleneck every time I ride home now because of the whole 20 degree difference between Walnut Creek and Emeryville, and how hot the BART trains get in the sun.  I use the towel both when I first get into the office and home.  I wet it, wring it, and snap it, and then just drape it over my shoulders.

The multi-cool keeps me cooler while I'm riding, and the towel accelerates my cool down when I'm done riding.

Last week I was in San Rafael, and I used the multi-cool under on my head under my helmet with the tail hanging down my neck and tucked into my shirt.  It was a wonderful cooling feeling.

I cannot recommend this family of products enough.  I think they should be included in first aid kits for cooling heat stressed individuals.  I also wager that they would be great for helping cool someone with a fever.

But then remember, I'm a geologist, not a doctor... Jim.