Puerto Rikostan : News / en-gb Shut up and sit down riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:08:11 -0700 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:08:11 -0700 http://backend.userland.com/rss e107 (http://e107.org) 60 Puerto Rikostan : News http://rikostan.com/e107_images/button.png / 88 31 A Quote That Really Hits Home. http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.7.1
I am reading Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage by Bryon Ricks. He has a great grasp of flowery prose, but there is also some real meat to his writing. Lines you can really sink your teeth into.
One passage that really struck me was.....
"You can paddle with agility, skill, and endurance along a shoreline, but that is entirely different from letting go of that shore. On a crossing you confront that which lies beyond, a vague and distant land, exposure, changes in wind and tides, and after a point, no returning, no chance to abort. When you have crossed open water, no matter how calm or tempestuous or how often, you have crossed something in yourself, confronted and conquered and transcended a fear, a doubt, and passed into the gracious shores of new land and known water. "


I want this. I need this. I want to feel this, to experience it. This is a part of what kayaking means to me.
]]> riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:44:09 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.7.1 My Wife, Part II http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.6.1
She has given me three awesome kids, a warm and welcoming home and a love most people can only dream about. There is nobody I would rather be with and I always look forward to getting home in the wee hours of the morning (from work) to curl up with her. We have spent one a total of three nights apart in almost 17 years, and neither of us slept well with the other one not there.


Don Williams wrote a song called "You're my Best Friend". It is our song. The lyrics describe exactly how I feel about her....


You placed gold on my finger
You brought love like I've never known
You gave life to our children
And to me, a reason to go on.

Chorus:
You're my bread when I'm hungry
You're my shelter from troubled winds
You're my anchor in life's ocean
But most of all, you're my best friend

When I need hope and inspiration
You're always strong when I'm tired and weak
I could search this whole world over
You'd still be everything that I need.


I don't know how you do it Michelle. All the mistakes and bad choices I have made, all of my obsessions. I don't deserve you, but I wouldn't want to live without you.

I love you.



Rick
]]> riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:31:42 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.6.1 Kayaking.... my new Obsession http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.5.1
I am hooked!
I love it. This morning I went out on East Bay a little bit too. I only did 2.44 miles total this morning, but I didn't have a lot of time, so I was happy to get any paddling in at all.
I think I have done about 5 miles total. I am going to start keeping a log with all the miles I do, just for fun.

Sitting out in the middle of the marsh. I couldn't hear a sound except for the birds. Not a single soul around me. The water was flat as a mirror and the sky was heavy with awesome cumulus clouds. I didn't want to leave.
I really don't have the proper attire for this time of year. It was about 40 F degrees out and the water was pretty cold. I think I have one, maybe two weekends left unless I get a dry suit, and then I will go until the ice forms.
The kayak I am using is a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140. You can see a review of it here http://www.topkayaker.net/KayakData/Reviews/Tarpon2.htm




I am not sure if this is the yak for me yet. I might go with something just a little bit wider, even though it won't be as fast. I think I am just a little to big for this one, but it is not uncomfortable at all. The friend who loaned it to me said I could keep it for quite some time, so I am already chomping at the bit, hope this winter will be a short one.]]> riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:20:51 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.5.1 List of Weather Books http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.4.1 riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:58:23 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.4.1 My Wife http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.3.1 Scratch that.
I have to be the luckiest man in existence. My awesome wife Michelle does so much for me. I can not even count that ways she helps me every singe day, with never a grumble or thought for herself.

I just do not deserve such a loving, caring wife.

Today she brought me lunch at work. Earlier today she did a couple of things I can not discuss here. I always offer to reciprocate(sincerely!) but most of the time she does not take me up on it. She just does these things because she loves me.

We have been together for 17 years (on may 3rd) and it seems our love is still growing. There is nobody I would rather be with and no place I would rather be, than with my wife.

I love you Michelle.]]> riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:12:31 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.3.1 Second Life... good for something. http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.2.1
Take a look at the link. It contains a video if NOAA's island on second life. It's pretty damn cool and very informative.

If you are already messing around with Second Life, check out http://slurl.com/secondlife/Meteora/177/161/27/ for a direct link.]]> riko@nospam.com (Rikostan) Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:58:12 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.2.1 Hey, WTF? http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.1.1 I'm back!
Just getting the site up and running again. Going to be mostly weather related this time around.]]> http://rikostan.com/comment.php?comment.news.1 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:44:36 -0700 http://rikostan.com/news.php?item.1.1