Bill and Kate, Plus More

Kate and Bill are returning this week from a trip to Idaho and Montana for photo shooting, testing, meeting the press, and generally soaking in the beauty of the west. We noticed Bill got a shoutout on the Bicycle Retailer website this morning showing off a 2010 prototype.

More stories to come from this trip.

-Suzanne

Museum of Science Washburn Climb

Bradford Washburn is a name you should know. Calling him a jack-of-all trades almost seems to dilute his accomplishments and the depth to which he pursued his interests.


Washburn and his wife Barbara put up numerous first ascents on major Alaskan peaks (she was the first woman to climb Denali). He also pioneered the use of aerial photography in the analysis of mountains/mountain climbing. Washburn was renowned for his cartography skills, creating notable large-scale detailed maps of not only Mt. Everest and Denali, but also of ranges closer to home of Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range. In his later years (at age 29), Washburn also helped to establish the Boston Museum of Science, building the museum into one of the leading institutions of its kind.


In celebration of an incredible man's life (and the need to fundraise), the Museum of Science sponsors the Washburn Climb every year, a challenge to climb Mount Washington twice in one day. This year's climb is on July 13, and an invitation is open for both climbers and donors.


-Connie

T.A.E. - Little Known Trials Enthusiast

Thomas Alva Edison is most well known for having invented a mass-producible filament light bulb, but it's the other 1092 patents he holds that make him one of my biggest heros. Its pretty hard to imagine a contemporary inventor having the same impact on the world.

What I didn't know about my idol is that he too was a fan of trials riding. I came across this video on Kottke.org of a man performing some rather modern tricks on a turn of the century bike. It seems the person holding the movie camera (a relatively new device in 1899) was T.A.E. himself. Presumably a fan of thinking outside the box, its understandable why he might have been drawn to the art of figuring out what to do with a bike that doesn't involve sitting on the seat and riding it like a normal person.



If you make it to the end of the clip, you'll see a crash that would make the outtake reel of a Danny MacAskill video. Ouch. I wonder if someone did the physics equations first...

-Suzanne

June's Beach Cleanup

Yesterday, NEMO had its monthly cleanup on Jenness Beach. Despite the relatively light load we carried off the beach (73 lbs), there was a large tally of dead animals including 2 seagulls, 2 large fish, 1 duck, and 1 beaver (?!). We decided to leave those on the beach.

The waves were mostly waist high chop -- nothing like the glassiness that Tom, Suzanne, and I had fun on the morning before. We had fun though, and look forward to the new system that will bring in more waves next week.

-Connie

Surf Flicks and More

International Surfing Day (June 20th) is coming up soon, and there are a few exciting events going on next week. If you haven't heard of this holiday before, don't worry -- it was established in 2004 by Surfing Magazine and The Surfrider Foundation, as a world-wide celebration of the sport of surfing. Maybe this is where marketing folks got the idea for National Camping Month? In any case, I don't know about you, but I'll be inquiring to the higher ups here to see if we have International Surfing Day off.


For East Coasters, come join us at the film premiere of Ben Keller's BlueGreen on June 18, 7pm at Leavitt Theatre in Ogunquit, ME. Tickets are $8 at the door.



There will be more surfing fun on Saturday, June 20 from 6pm to 9pm. Be there or be square, and you'll enjoy equipment to demo (if the waves gods comply), bbq, hotdogs, desserts, live music, bonfire, raffles on the beach at the end of Union Ave in Old Orchard Beach.

As a reward for those who have read this far, check out this stunning shot in HD of a breaking wave (thanks kottke.org)


-Connie

Sneak Peek at 2010 Ditto Backpack

We're excited to release a few early pictures here of the 2010 Ditto backpack. Made from Hypno PQs (the official tent for 2006 Primal Quest), the bag is a lightweight roll-top backpack with an integrated stuff sack that lets you stuff the bag into itself.

This year, we've also received generous donations of manufacturing seconds from our friends at Dimension Polyant (sailcloth fabric), ITW Nexus (buckles), and Sterling Rope (webbing) for some of the bag components. The webbing will likely be used on some of the new Ditto Totes, but all the other company donations will be integrated into the bag design.


We patterned the bag to have a nice sweeping/continous curve that follows the bag all the way around. You might be able to see this better in the side view. There's also good continuity in the seaming curves that run from the orange to the black fabric.



As usual, feel free to share your thoughts on the design, materials, production process, etc.

-Connie

Free National Park Weekends

National Parks around America are offering three free weekends throughout the summer. Take a look at some of the National Parks that are offering this promotion.

U.S. National Parks have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world... start planning your free weekend adventures now! Look for Suzanne and I around Yellowstone National Park on the July 18-19 weekend. Below is a picture from last year's trip to Yosemite National Park around Cathedral Lake.


Remember to keep supporting your national/state parks even when there are fees, because that money is used for upkeep of the park, free transportation, forest maintenance, educational programs, etc.

-Connie

Nashua Culture

We came across this sign yesterday and were surprised to hear that a flute recital was happening right outside the front doors of NEMO headquarters. Nashua is a pretty hip town, but its not often that cultural events are brought right to our doorstep (said doorstep can be seen in the center left of below photo).


However the sign was a little vague. We're going to keep our eyes peeled for the aforementioned musician. If anybody has any information on who, what, where, or when this musical treat is to occur, please let us know!

-Suzanne

New River Rendezvous Recap

Here's a quick video of Cam at the 2009 New River Rendezvous. He gives a rundown of a few of our more popular tents. If you look closely at about 0:50, you can spot Tsuba (Cam's malamute) looking bored in the background.


-Connie