SouthernDrifters

the show

2011-04-04T12:01:00.000-04:00

My Wife and I have been married almost ten years this month. We agree on most things, and disagree on others, as couples always do. It is a rare occasion that we both like the same music, as she is slanted towards 80's alternative and I towards guitar noodling.

We both love the Minneapolis-based Jayhawks, pioneers of alt-country. They have few albums, but the ones they released made a huge mark on the lives of so many songwriters of the 1990's and 2000's. We both love the Jayhawks to the core, and have never had the chance to see them, as the band has gone through breakups, reunions, permutations and a general lapse of 'being around.'

There also a newish band that we both love dearly, Band of Horses. Southern-rooted rockers with a beautifully written catalog of songs that will make you both dance and reflect. They are my new musical heroes, and they refresh my belief in the power of rock and roll with each release.

So, both bands are our favorites. Our best-est favorites. If you asked what concert we would love to see, it would probably be these two bands in any order.

I cannot adequately describe the way the planets aligned last Saturday night in our own respective worlds of music. The Jayhawks opened for BoH at a venue not 20 minutes from our home. Both acts brought their absolute A game, and the somewhat smallish crowd was engulfed in a wave of musical beauty and power I will probably never experience again. I was with my best friend at the best show on a beautiful night in our town.

Thanks for saying Yes, babe.

Beautiful Sounds

2011-03-24T14:55:00.003-04:00

Once in a while I will get the chance to play guitar with friends, and it is always time well spent. Last weekend several families went with ours to the southern Blue Ridge mts for a bit of a getaway. The acoustic guitars came out on Saturday night as we all sat (kids fast asleep) picking and singing on the back porch of a cabin, overlooking the Toccoa river. It was very close to what I would describe as the ideal evening.

This song came to mind, as it always takes me to a far away place. I love Mark Knofler's sound, even more now than in his heyday with Dire Straits.

If you have a moment to listen to the track, it's worth the time.

Naima

2010-09-22T07:30:00.006-04:00

Today is the late, great John Coltrane's birthday. Sit back and listen to one of the smoothest jams ever, and try to remember the first time you heard it.

The Last Best Place

2010-09-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Here is a 3,000 word essay on how our recent Montana trip went. If it were not for the 6 feet of snow that they sometimes get in the winter, one could lull me into living there.

There's a first time for everything...

2010-08-09T17:12:00.000-04:00

and this time, it was Cash's first fish! I have been fighting off the urge to drag this kid to the river for about a year now. So glad we waited until he was a little more ready. Cash reeled in this little guy last Saturday afternoon at Lake Murray in SC. He screamed that he wanted to catch "this many more" while holding up all ten fingers. Pride. Elation. Awe. I fantasize about being the crusty dad with the "old guy hat" rowing in the middle of the boat with two sons fishing in the bow and stern. Weird fantasy... I know.

Way to go buddy!

P.S. He named this fish 'Nemo', patted it on the head and then we let it go. (Thanks to Disney all of them were named Nemo or Dory)

File Photo

2010-08-02T13:11:00.001-04:00

Sometime circa 2004 Scotty and I went to Medieval Times to see if Cable Guy was completely accurate. It was. They also take your photo on the way into the place, and the results were too funny not to purchase. Found this photo while were were cleaning out a closet this past weekend.

Cash

2010-07-27T11:26:00.000-04:00

Forever, the P51 Mustang has been my favorite aircraft. No idea why. The look of the plane just screams victory, and it does it in style. Cash and I went with his buddy down the street (also named Cash, random) to our first air show last month. It was way better than I expected. There were WWII and Korean Conflict era planes all over the PDK tarmac. Stunt plane displays punctuated the day's events, and Cash was impressed by the upside-down flying skills demonstrated by the daredevil pilots.

Somehow I think Cash's favorite plane will also be the Mustang.

Hank

2010-07-26T22:03:00.001-04:00

Our boys were with us when crossed the Continental Divide for the first time last week. We really enjoyed the trip up the Old Fall River Road while in RMNP. If you have a chance to get out there, take the trip up this gravel track. The views are spectacular, and you can have lunch at 11,000+ ft, or just pick some grass.

Hope this wont be Hank's last time up there. We'd love to go back in a few years.

Bessingers... the whole story

2010-07-22T12:40:00.002-04:00

I was reminded today of a great article from 2001 in the NYT. Thanks to Karl Z for turning me on to this story a while back. The Bessinger family has a long history of BBQ in the South, and this is worth the read if you're a fan of all things porky.

Customer Service

2010-06-11T11:31:00.000-04:00

I lost an old friend two weeks ago. It was sad, but he went out fighting the good fight. I will miss him.
I'm speaking of course of the fly rod I broke while casting on the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, GA. Yeah, put up the Kleenex.

The point of writing this is to let anyone interested know that Orivs, although they have gotten a reputation of being more of a clothing company lately, still stands by their fly rods with a 100% guarantee. My old (circa 1999) Trident TL 906-2 broke under strain while I was hauling a back-cast a couple of weekends ago. The rod disintegrated at the ferrule, and I knew it was probably beyond repair. Hopeful for the best, I sent it off to Orvis in VT for inspection.

The call came in from customer service this AM, and they have decided that the rod is beyond repair. They are replacing it with a NEW T3. I'm pumped. They even let me pick a different configuration on the replacement rod, one that will actually work better than the old TL.

Orvis stands by their rods, and I will continue to be a happy customer for years.

It's important to note: their rod policy has changed recently to a 25-year guarantee instead of a lifetime guarantee. That's still pretty stand-up. 25 yrs is a lifetime in rod years (excluding bamboo of course)

Imitation of Life

2010-05-13T16:58:00.002-04:00

Roswell GA has great community art programs. Several times a year, the city parks and rec department offers classes at all times of the day on a variety of subjects. The instructor I ended up with the first time my wife forced me to get out and try a class was Maureen Engle. She is a fantastic painting teacher for all skill levels.

I'm addicted to Maureen's "Palette Knife Acrylics" class and have taken it three years in a row now. We just wrapped up the course for the Spring 2010 session, and there is a free student show at the Roswell Visual Arts Center from late May through early July.

Many of the current students have art posted there, so you should go take a peek if you're in the area.

Here's my favorite work from this year, an acrylic of a juvenile brown trout in a mountain stream.
Makes me want to go fishing or at least go take some more photos.

If your community offers public classes through the city, county, or university nearby, I urge you to take advantage. You just might find that you love to create!

Little ones mean big ones

2010-05-03T13:31:00.002-04:00

Erik Masefield and I floated from Abbott's Bridge to Medlock Bridge durin gthe nice low water period yesterday and caught 20 fish, of these 16 were wild browns. Our river is supporting a fine population of S. trutta and their numbers seem to be growing.

I applaud Chris Martin for originating the study which will possibly grant the Chattahoochee a higher priority with regard to protection against sedimentation. It's working, keep it up. If it can be tagged as primary trout water, we'll all be better off down the road.

Mmmmmm

2010-04-30T13:33:00.003-04:00

"Mmmm! I can't wait to take this sharp knife and fork and dig into this plate of... WAIT A MINUTE!!" "That's PORK! - That's ME!"

I chuckle every time I see the Slopes logo. The image may be cannibalistic, but they do cook a fine ham. The sauce is yummy too.
Check em out next time you're in metro Atlanta and are craving a not-so-messy BBQ sandwich.

Eight years ago today...

2010-04-27T09:55:00.000-04:00

Scotty and I were married. We're still best friends. I wouldn't change a minute of the past and I look forward to every second of the future. She's a brave soul, a beautiful wife, a fantastic debate partner and a great mother to our children.

Happy Anniversary.

Love you babe,

T

The clique

2010-03-14T22:58:00.001-04:00

I made it up to NC to reconnect with some of my Kappa Sigma brothers again this weekend. It is always good to see them and catch up on news on their lives, families, and get in some R&R.

We've known each other longer than we've not. That's powerful, and I hope we can keep up the contact each year. It's always a fun trip, and this year we hiked up to Storyteller's Rock near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail was snow-covered, and the route crossed several creeks, when we made it to the top, the view was worth the climb. Its always good to see these guys, and we're making plans already for 2011.

Bye Bye Win7 (for now)

2010-02-16T12:18:00.002-05:00

Sadly, but probably prudently, we have decided not to migrate to Windows 7 at work quite yet.
I have been running the RC for several months now, and really liked its navigation properties, speed and general appearance. Time to dump the 7 OS before the March 1st shutdown process begins.

If you had the RC, and need to uninstall it properly, here is a video detailing how to remove the dual boot options.

Back to XP SP3... good old patches. Hey, it works.

Creo Design

2010-02-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

My good friend Andrew Davis has a very talented sister who is artistically wise beyond her years.
Must run in the family, because Andrew crafts a very fine beer, which I view as art.
Check out Caroline Davis's new site for handmade jewelry.

I think you'll likey.

T

Beautiful

2010-01-13T22:26:00.005-05:00

Every now and then I have to pop open the link Karl sent me some time ago, for the Retro Matchbook Museum. Wading through these designs is a look back into advertising's true golden age.

I like it, a lot.

T

Big Green Egg - Pork Butt (1)

2010-01-10T21:33:00.026-05:00

Working my way through the user's manual recipes for the BGE has been a lot of fun this month. Saturday evening was the start of a long, slow, low temp cook for a 9lb pork butt.

Here's the way things went...

I trimmed the butt of exterior fat, leaving lots of marbling. Most of the fat is supposed to render out during the long, slow cook.
At least that's what Dad and Alton Brown say.

Rubbed it down heavily with a dry mixture of brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper and everything worth using from the spice cabinet. Nutmeg? Why not?

Injected the 1 remaining tablespoon of rub along with 1/4 cup of worchestershire and cider vinegar.

Wrapped in plastic for 4 hours in the fridge

After 4 hours, took the butt out of the fridge to sit for 30 mins at room temp.

Fired up the egg for indirect heat. Including some large chunks of hickory in the coals.
Dropped in the BGE plate setter, legs up, drip pan in the gap.

Dropped in the rack and placed the butt over the drip pan.

Lots of beautiful good-smelling smoke, smoke and more smoke.

Adjusted the damper and top vents on the egg until it hung around 225 degrees.

Watched football (9 PM Saturday) went to bed (midnight)

Woke up at 7AM and went to check on the egg, which had gone out completely (DOH!!!!)

Popped the butt in the oven at 225 degrees, covered the top with foil, stuck in the probe thermometer and went about the day's activities (watching more football, diaper-changing, etc...)

Pondered what I had done wrong to make the cooker go out, lamented on the phone to David Henderson, a Big Green Egg veteran. Turns out I had not put large enough lumps of charcoal in the firebox, and sometime in the night, ash had probably fallen into the air intake holes. Chalk it up to experience.

At 5:30 PM (20 hours after starting the cook) the internal temp of the butt hit 195 F

Took the butt out of the oven and covered it in foil, set aside on the counter for 30 mins.

Unwrapped, pulled out the bone and shredded the whole thing using two forks

6:30 PM... DINNERTIME! (burp) more football, satisfaction

Got any good BBQ recipes, sauce or rub mix ideas? Email me. I won't divulge secrets... promise.

Smoke & Spice,

Travis

8x10Fakes.com (you should go there, now)

2010-01-06T15:15:00.004-05:00

Big Green Egg - whole chicken

2010-01-04T23:28:00.007-05:00

Santa (Bob & Ruth) brought us a medium BGE this Christmas. I have always heard good things about this ceramic cooker, and have been curious if the stories were just folks worshiping their device because of its "different" style and high-ish pricetag. Well, after cooking two dishes on the egg, Im a true believer. This thing is as stable as an oven. Its job is to cook with an even temperature without burning, and it does its job precisely as advertised. Wonderful when things do that.

Tonight, I washed and patted dry two whole frying chickens. Then brushed them with ollive oil nd rubbed on Mrs Dash spice mix. (no time for a fancy rub, maybe next time.)The egg was set up for direct cooking with the porcelain covered grate, allowed to come up to 500 degrees F, then the chickens went on (front to front) on full containers of beer. One is a "sittin chicken" I picked up at the BGE store, and the other is simply on an open can of Coors Light.
Per Karl's suggestion, I set the top daisy wheel so that the small openings were 100% open, and set the lower damper to halfway open. I added several small chips of dry hickory to the fire, then shut the lid. I did not peek for a full hour. At one hour, I poked in a quick-read thermo, yielding an internal meat temp of 160. I shut the lid again for another 30 mins and reached the final temp of 170 degrees F. Note, the BGE never varied below 275 or above 300 degrees F. Beautifully stable. I can never get this kind of consistency with my brinkman charcoal smoker.

Then we too the chickens off and rested them for 15 mins before pulling them.

I was pleasantly surprised that even the white meat fell right off the bone and the end result was a moist, succulent chicken with a crispy smoky skin.

People who may be considering the Big Green Egg, do it. You will not be disappointed with your purchase. This thing is super stable and the flavor coupled with the moisture retention is fantastic.

Happy grilling!

Travis

Mr. President, Have Pity on the Working Man

2009-12-15T15:47:00.003-05:00

I'm just saying... it's a good song.

Randy Newman also scored the new Disney flick, which I think we'll be taking the boys to see very soon.

I Love Football Season

2009-10-29T16:23:00.007-04:00

Why? Sure, there are great SEC and NFL games on the TV box, but there's another reason...

The Fall is the time when the older brown trout go CRAZY in the Chattahoochee here in Georgia.
It's magical to see a big ol' fat brown all colored up in golden yellows, ready for spawning. We have a fairly strong population of these browns in the river from Cumming all the way down to the City of Atlanta. Well, at least before the flood of 2009 they were there. The stocked fish are probably all in West Point Lake by now. Who cares about stockers anyway though?

Our Georgia Department of Natural Resources has performed a 5-year+ long study on the possibility of brown trout reproducing naturally in our home river, and that coupled with massive amounts of non-scientific research that lots of anglers do is pretty convincing. We have wild browns in our river. Big ones. Ones that eat the stocked rainbows. Cool.

Look at this guy. How'd you like to be a crawfish on his glide-path? Crunch!
The fish in this photo is most likely one that was born in the river but there's no sure way for me to tell. I'm guessing since the stocking of browns hasn't taken place in about 5 years, that he's probably a good healthy example of a streamborn salmo trutta.

Go fish the Chattahoochee next time you're through Atlanta. Call Chris Scalley at River Through Atlanta for guided trips that are worth the bucks. There is a good population of brown and rainbow trout right here in the metro area. You don't need to go to Wyoming to catch a 2 pounder.

Are you kidding?!

2009-10-12T17:33:00.003-04:00

Come on PETA... seriously.
Sea Kittens?

Go get a hamburger, or a BBQ sandwich. That's the best way to spare a fish.

Get real.

Success!

2009-10-08T23:50:00.008-04:00

Roswell GA Clear Users - take heart!

So... if you flip the modem over and hang it upside down from the attic trusses, the signal strength doubles?! I'll take it.

CLEAR Improvements

2009-10-08T23:13:00.004-04:00

I moved the WiMAX modem to the attic and put it near the roof. The CLEAR rep on the phone today told me the position of several towers in our area, and I mapped them on Google Earth. We have one 1.5 miles dead South of the house. Upload speed is slightly better, but the download is still DSL-Lite-like.

This will probably work, as long as the uptime is as good as cable, which I imagine it to be.
We'll keep testing.

CLEAR WiMAX in Roswell, GA

2009-10-07T23:37:00.007-04:00

Clear has launched in Metro Atlanta, and I thought I would try it out this week. I live in Roswell, GA, an area shown in the "green" on the coverage map. Thought I would try a month and see if I could "cut the cord" from Charter, since the cable went out during the first quarter of the LSU v GA game last weekend. Got the box today, easy setup,plug it in and it seeks a signal... only the signal is a little wimpy:
Here is the speedtest.net result from my home near Coleman Road and Post Oak Tritt. As good as dial-up, but not as good as the cable I'm trying to ditch. I think this will be an interesting alternative once the towers are built out. Looks like I'll have to wait, since I can already imagine the "tech support" calls from the household users during my workday.

Note: The best signal I got on the Motorola modem was 2 out of 5 possible LEDs. I went to every window in the house, and even into the attic. Sure wish there was an external mast on this box. Wireless everything would be great, but it needs tuning.

The Rolex

2009-07-24T12:52:00.006-04:00

Here's a fly pattern that I have seen lots of variations on, when looking through fly boxes on the rivers of the South. The Rolex is mainly used as a general attractor streamer that imitates a minnow or crayfish, and it performs well on brown trout in the Chattahoochee river in GA. I imagine this would also work for redfish or speckled trout in saltwater.

Recipe: (for this variation, there are many)
Hook: #6-8 2x Streamer
Thread: Red (any color works)
Tail: Gold Flashabou
Body: Gold Flash-in-a-tube or any shredded foil dubbing
Head: Gold / Silver Bead or Cone

Tie thread down shank of hook and stop at the bend.
Tie in lead wire and wrap lead up the shank, overerap and tie off thread at the head with a half hitch.
Wrap thread back down to the shank and put in a half hitch.
Wax the thread and twist on a rope of small pinches of the shredded foil dubbing.
Wrap the dubbing "rope" up the shank, adding dubbing when necessary to cover.
Tie off at the head with a whip finish.

The color of the dubbing material can be varied to just about any color combo; shown above are rust and rainbow trout colors.
Fish it out of logjams or cover with 12" strips and hang on.
This pattern is perfect for spawning brown trout in the fall.

Enjoy!

T

YearbookYourself.com

2009-07-24T10:28:00.006-04:00

OK - it's Friday, you've got a job, you've got lots to do... but

You really should yearbook yourself today.
You'll thank yourself tomorrow.
LYLAB, RHTS!

Sincerely,

1988 Travis

Thanks to Andrew for pointing me to that gem of a site.

Rainbows in Metro Atlanta

2009-07-09T23:42:00.006-04:00

Nice 'bow Erik. As usual, the dry fly addict strikes again, with a big fat stimmy'.
The Chattahoochee continues to produce some quality fish this summer.
And, if we all keep putting them back, they'll be even nicer the next time you tangle with them.

Put 'em back. Zero Limit. Catch & Release. It's worth it, and BBQ tastes way better than trout anyhow.

-T

Eight Years Ago This Week...

2009-05-29T13:59:00.009-04:00

Well I dont know if I would have done it today, but 8 years back we thought it was a good idea to go up in a Cessna and land on Ruth Glacier below Mt McKinley.
Makes for a great photo, one that Mom still things is photoshopped.
That's the Sheldon Mountain House in the background.

If you ever want to do this type of thing, call K2 aviation in Talkeetna, AK.

Erika Bennett was our Pilot, and I believe she was also working as a filmmaker at the time.

Alaska has a special place in my memory, and the itch to go back has started...
Baby, guys' trip...

Water Clarity on the 'Hooch

2009-04-01T17:26:00.004-04:00

On the metro Chattahoochee, silt and mud are the worst enemy of a good weekend fishing. I'm watching the Medlock Bridge gauge this afternoon and hoping to see the waters clear before Saturday. This spot is monotored by a USGS sampling station that feeds data ranging from water temperature, CFS, and most importantly, turbidity... or clarity.

Gin clear is a zero on the meter, a 15 and up is muddy, we were at 100+ last Saturday.

Here's to the 7.5 reading dropping to a 5 by the weekend!

Fish on,

Travis

In Dreams

2009-02-13T06:32:00.009-05:00

Today I awoke from a dream at 4:00 AM. It was similar to a recurring dream that I have had dozens of times. The dream includes myself and a small group, often two others, wading and walking down the banks of the most perfect trout stream you could have ever ordered up from God.

This stream is actually a medium sized river, about 75 feet across (almost a long cast wide) and runs between several inches and 7-8 feet deep. It's shallow enough to wade, but deep enough to drown you if you're not careful. The river is cold, but not freezing. The bright green weeds on the dark gray bottom are broken up by rocks about the size of footballs. There is no mud, silt or sand. The weather is in the high 70's and we are comfortable wading up to our waists most of the day. The bankside runs are shaded by mature pines, spruces, and hemlocks. It's warm enough for short sleeves, probably late Spring. Perfect.

We cast long perfect shots with our fly rods, mending our lines against the current to get the flies deep (we're often casting streamers.) Roughly one out of about every 30 casts produces a fish. There is plenty of time between hookups to talk about nothing in particular, including what's probably around the next bend. None of us can believe how perfectly wonderful this river is, and that's mainly the conversation topic.

My faceless companions in the dreams are always guys. I cant place exactly who they are, but sometimes they seem to be my Father and a few friends from today and long ago. One thing is constant, they are trusted peers, and they know that they are in a special place.

There is no hooting or hollering. There's no loud music or cars driving down the road by the riverside, only the sound of the falling water and the occasional joking prod or friendly remark from a fellow fisherman. Sometimes one of us us singing or whistling a tune. It's perfect in every way.

When a fish is caught, it is most often a rainbow trout in the range of 16-20 inches. Thick and shiny, these fish come to the net after long fights sometimes involving aerial acrobatics. It is wonderful. We release the fish after everyone has a chance to inspect them, and marvel at their beauty and strength. They swim slowly away to their hiding places, unharmed.

The day seems to never end as we fish a section, hop out and hike to the next, and slide in for another round.

I wake up. It's morning, and I'm smiling, thinking about the river in my dreams. I'll visit it again one day soon. Photo note: I'm fairly sure my dream river draws many of its features from the Thorne River on Prince of Wales Island near Ketchikan, AK. Chris Stock, Azim Surka and I visited there in 2001 for several days. I will never forget it, and will return when my son Cash is old enough to wade up to his waist.

Ikea Instructions

2008-12-01T12:27:00.006-05:00

Recently my wife bought a bookshelf from Ikea here in Atlanta. Every time I grab one if their items to load or unload it, I'm amazed at how heavy the very compact packages can be. They have thousands of items in a self-serve warehouse, organized by row and shelf number... kind of like a walk-in Amazon. Pretty cool.

When I open one of their products I always get a chuckle out of the included instructions. No words, just little stick figures doing things.

Here's my take on the instructions with the "Billy" bookshelf.

1) I smile when I think about my screwdrivers and my hammer. There's room for more tools... hint hint.

2) Being duct-taped to a wall is not cool. And look at this pile of boards... man.

3) Hey neighbor, I sure like that pencil behind your ear. Looks nice. Check out these boards.

4) Being duct taped to the wall, handcuffed, kind of stinks. It appears that the shelf has broken.

5) Everythings cool. Which way is East?

6) Oh man. Something fell off, and I can't read, drag.

7) Hey Ikea, I'm happy to inform you that something fell off.

The instructions are actually pretty intuitive, and I'm just making fun because it's not my idea. They work great, and I wish more companies would put this type of artwork in place. Bottom line, no one actually reads instructions, but illustrations are something we can usually understand.

Stripers in the Hooch

2008-11-25T10:21:00.010-05:00

For more than 10 years I have heard the various stories of the schools of striped bass making their way up to our part of the Chattahoochee from down in West Point Lake. I always "sour graped" them and dismissed the tales as fishermen's conjecture or wishful thinking. That is, until August 2008. Dave Henderson and I were out floating from Morgan Falls Dam to Johnson Ferry throwing streamers for trout when this guy slammed a #8 Olive Bugger on a sink tip line. The explosive fight in this small striper was incredible. He must've lasted about 10 minutes, ripping drag and running downstream and across the whole time. Dave (thankfully) grabbbed the oars and chased after him at one point. I've got to say that this is the closest fight to a bonefish as I have experienced in fresh water. You Northeast striper guys have got it good!

Sauce Wars IV Winner!

2008-11-03T17:07:00.004-05:00

Zig, being the Swell Guy that he is, sent me a couple of bottles of the championship BBQ sauce that took the gold in Sauce Wars IV

Thanks man! Can't wait to try this stuff. The label states "Flavor You Can See" and that's the truth. There's some spice in this mix for sure.

Get yer' own at SwampSauce.com

Take a kid fishing... this might happen

2008-09-05T14:04:00.005-04:00

Quality time with the kid(s) is something I'm just now figuring out, and it's rewarding as can be. For this guy, it was record-breaking!

Looks like Mattel may be making some pretty sick rods. I'm still keeping my Sage's and St Croixs for now.

Do You Love Rock?

2008-08-07T12:33:00.014-04:00

Hang on there buddy, let me qualify that question with a few more questions:

1) Have you ever blown out a stereo speaker in your (or your spouse's) car, because that certain song on that certain album just wouldn't sound right at low volume?

2) Have you ever camped out for tickets?

3) Have you ever waited hours backstage to meet the band?

4) Did you (or do you currently) have concert T-shirts in your regular wardobe rotation?

5) Does Lou Reed come to mind anytime you see velvet?

6) Does Pete Townsend come to mind when you see a windmill?

7) Does Angus Young come to mind when you see a private school kid in uniform?

8) Have you ever seen a band more than two nights in a row, on purpose?

7) Is Almost Famous in your top 25 movies? Top 10?

8) Did you start an air band in elemantary school?

9) Did you hide music under your bed?

10) Do you know what I'm talking about if I say "This one goes to 11"

11) DO YOU LOVE ROCK 'N ROLL?

If you ansered yes to more than 1 of these questions, I salute you. You are probably a rocker from way back in the days when you had a Captain Kool and the Kongs toy drum set. Chances are there's not a bunch of hip hop in your music collection, unless it's RUN DMC.

You probably own Exile on Main Street, and you absolutely considered playing "Loving Cup" at your wedding reception for the first dance, if it weren't for Grandma. (She might not have understood)

If you love Rock 'n Roll, you might like blues a little more than you thought. Karl Z (AKA Curly Bones Allison) has turned me on to so much music that I never knew I loved, but it's the roots of the rock that always made me happy.
I never knew these artists were so incredible:

Derek and the Dominos (no I'm not talking about Layla), R. L. Burnside, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Muddy Waters, John Mayall, Junior Wells, Paul Butterfield, Mississippi John Hurt, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly... and all their contemporaries - alive and passed on.

I was listening to "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" on Sirius Blues 74 today on the way back from lunch, and I just had to roll down the driver's side window and turn the volume to 11. That's the good stuff, and it's so great when you find it.

Keep listening for it - not with your ears, with your soul.

Abbotts Bridge to Medlock Bridge

2008-08-04T16:22:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago, Mike Hendrix (who used to work next to me) and I hit the "artificial only" section of the Chattahoochee Tailwater near Duluth, GA for some catching up. Mike works for Red Hat, and loves his new job. I enjoyed reconnecting with him for the afternoon. Here's a nice wild brown that Mike caught and released near the Atlanta Athletic Club. Fish like this are not that common in my boat, and I was really excited. Once again, this fish reinforces the theory (which may as well be considered fact) that Salmo Trutta is reproducing in our river, and doing well.

We had it, for a little while...

2008-07-11T12:31:00.004-04:00

I just got finished watching "Who Killed The Electric Car", a fascinating and puzzling documentary regarding GM's EV1 vehicle. Evidently, the capability to manufacture 100% electric passenger vehicles is not something new. Read more about it here. Sure wish these were available now. My truck is averaging 13 mpg, ouch!

My man!

2008-07-09T17:14:00.005-04:00

Cash and I like to hang out and sport our tie-dye on the weekends. Here I think we were talking about the day that he will be big enough to go out on the boat with me... guy stuff. Life is good!

Seth Just Gets It Right

2008-06-24T12:09:00.003-04:00

I love to read Seth Godin's blog beccause he simply gets it right, whatever it is. Read him sometime, you'll understand what I mean. Thanks to KZ for turning me on to Seth.

T

Dad

2008-06-15T21:28:00.005-04:00

Today is Fathers Day in the USA. This is my first one as a father, and I am very happy to be so blessed. Fathers teach you lots of great stuff, like how to build a proper camp fire, sharpen your pocket knife, make a bow and arrow, drive a car, fish for bass with a topwater plug, and most importantly, how to behave as a man. Throughout my much younger years, Dad was constantly telling me something, and it sticks with me to this day. Every time I would head out for a date, or go on a school trip, or leave home after a holiday visit, Dad would say "Remember who you are." I remembered every time a tough decision came up, and made sure to try to act accordingly (with the exception of a couple of years, we'll call that 'college'.)

My Dad has taught me some things, but how to be a Dad has been the basic message of them all.

Happy Fathers Day Dad -

Love,

Travis

The Happy Land of Brownies

2008-05-27T13:30:00.006-04:00

A Perfect Day on the Chattahoochee River

Yesterday was one of those made-to-order conditions days for trout fishing. Chad and I headed out late, 2 PM, and planned to return around 7ish (which became 8:00) in the evening. The weather was uber pleasant, with temps hovering around 80, wind from the east about 5mph. From the put-in at Abbotts bridge we immediately saw trout chasing our lures, and had released 3 average rainbows within the first 1/4 mile of river. We floated down through the three quality shoals from Abbotts to Medlock Bridge and released about a dozen brown and rainbow trout. Lures included Little Cleos and Black/White Rooster Tails - with debarbed hooks. Flies included Olive Woolly Buggers, Hares Ear Nymphs, and Tan Elk Hair Caddis (#14).

Above is a shot of a juvenille brown, the textbook wild Chattahoochee trout. She had the sparse red spots that we so often see in this river. This is great to see so many of these in this size range becasue it further reinforces the theory being tested regarding wild brown trout reproduction in the tailwater here in metro Atlanta. They haven't stocked these fish in the upper river for 4-5 years, and small ones are still showing up again and again. The standard catchable size rainbows were present as well, pictured below is the SNIT (Standard Nine Inch Trout). It was good to see a few fish so late in the afternoon at the "Indian Triangle", an old Cherokee fish weir that still remains in place today. Its shape creates an almost perfect delta shoal in the river. This spot usually produces large numbers but we were the last boat down (probably #10 at least) the river on Monday, so we only got a few there.

Good times!

Troutnut

2008-05-23T08:46:00.003-04:00

Jason Neuswanger at troutnut.com constantly amazes me with his photography work. His underwater photos and videos are second to none on the web. He usuallly concentrates on macroinvertebrates (trout yummies) but often has great fish photos as well. This is not your usual "grip and grin" photography, as it leans towards a more scientific and taxonomical view. Here's a great action shot of a brown jumping. The photo says it all - you can almost feel the fly rod in your hands. Nice work again Jason!

Guilty Pleasures

2008-04-09T21:17:00.004-04:00

I am a man. A hickory smoked BBQ devouring, fishing, hunting, t-baccer spittin', dude... but I listen to Thievery Corporation sometimes. It's just damn fine music to get down to when youre working on a project. Especially if said project requires lots of typing, cropping, dragging and dropping. Listen to Theivery Corporation next time you say, um, have to rename and resize 250 image files, or sort 5000 excel records for duplicate values in a text field. You'll be a robotic productivity machine, and you wont make any mistakes. Although you may work through lunch, since robots don't eat.

Nantahala!

2008-03-20T21:44:00.012-04:00

The Cherokees named the river "Land of the Noonday Sun" because of the steep-sided gorge that embraces the flow for most of its course through Swain County, NC. But, I'm officially changing the interpretation to "Land of Trophy-Size Brookies" after my last trip there on March 16th. I have NEVER seen such healthy specimens of Salvelinus Fontinalis in my life. The ones we usually catch a glimpse of in GA are a mere 6" on average. These guys were bruisers, and there was a mob of them around every bend and behind every rock. Chris, Stephen and I got into a sampling of Brook Trout, ranging from a respectable 12 to an incredible 18 inches! Gotta go back ASAP. Chris got his first grand slam, a Rainbow, Brown, and Brook Trout in the same day on one river. Here's a sampling of the fishporn. If you have not fished the Nanty, stop reading and go... now!

Spring! (has sprung)

2008-03-13T09:55:00.010-04:00

Well, some folks like the fall because of the SEC, while others may love the winter and the NFL. I wait all year for spring becasue of the CRNRA and all it's offerings. Yesterday as I was unpacking from vacation I couldn't help but smile when I looked outside to see the sun still up at seven in the evening. It's magic time.

The daffodils are blooming, the days are finally growing longer and the rivers are calling me. It's time for the mayfly nymphs and caddis pupae to climb on out from under their respective rocks and that means dinner for the 'bows and browns on the Hooch. Spring has sprung and it's been far too long a wait for me. This weekend is the annual meetup with some of my best and oldest buds from high school and college. This time it's for a little fishing on the Nantahala River in NC. Should be a blast, even if we get skunked. Good friends and old times worth reliving are something worth hanging onto.
Get out there and love living this spring and summer. See you on the water!

Anagrams, sorta

2008-02-25T23:26:00.005-05:00

Well, my good friend Doug turned 31 last week and we ended up having his family over Saturday for a dinner that included a belated birthday cake. My wife Scotty planned to distract Doug while I put the candles on the cake and then I was supposed to bring it in, all lit up, while everyone sang. When the time came Scotty said she needed help in the kitchen, hurredly dumped out a box of candles onto the table in front of me and told me to put them on the cake (and to "hurry up" because Doug was almost done with dinner.) She then left to go back to the dining room to keep Doug occupied, and seated.

Well, the candles were in a pile, and there were lots of different letters in no particular order, so I thought it was just a "be creative" grab bag and you were just supposed to come up with something and stick it on the cake. My buddy Chad an I came up with this.

Guess we should have looked at the box, and the little letters below "Party Candles" - it said
C E L E B R A T E

But what do us guys really think about all day? That's right: Beer, etc...

Needless to say, the L and the A were not on the cake. The ladies were not pleased with our choice but all the guys had a good belly laugh.

Park Passes are now Plastic

2008-01-15T09:17:00.000-05:00

The CRNRA kiosks are now up and running at Jones Bridge and Johnson's Ferry units.
Anybody know if they are up at any of the other park units?

Travis

2008-01-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

Tailwater Rivers

Tailwater is a term used to describe rivers created by water flowing from the bottom of an empoundment. In simpler terms, a river that becomes a lake, then a river again. Tailwaters are often unnaturally cool since their waters are pulled from the bottom of the lake or reservoir on the upstream side of a dam. This cold, usually clear water provides uniform flows and year-round temperatures to support trout, even here in the deep south. My home waters near Atlanta, Georgia include the Chattahoochee and Toccoa rivers.
Photo - Morgan Falls Powerhouse, Chattahoochee River near Roswell, GA