Fire Horsin' Around

 February 3, 2026

Welcome celebrants!

It is indeed a festive time of year as you well know:

·       If you are like many of us, you have recently woken from your post-Groundhog Day hangover.  Perhaps you have seen your shadow and it scared you back to bed?  I feel you.

·       Superbowl is this Sunday!  I will be attending a Superbowl party with family and friends.  It should be fun, although I am guessing the other guests will be unimpressed by my contribution to the potluck, as usual.  In addition to my questionable taste in recipes, I have recently read most of a book called Superlife that has got me thinking that a delicious quinoa casserole is in order.  More on this later.

·       Year of the Fire Horse is just a couple weeks away!  So awesome!  Who can restrain the power of the fire horse?  Neeighh!  No need to retort, 'twas a rhetorical question.

So, I thank you for taking a bit of time off from your partying so you can check in with me.  Here are a few things I’ve been doing/considering these days:

So apparently the groundhog saw his shadow.  I am not surprised by this since there was a magnificent Super Groundhog Moon shining as I awoke and pedaled off into the sunrise on that glorious occasion. 

So, even if the ‘hog was up early, he likely would have been startled to see his moonshadow lying threateningly on the ground near his home.  Also known as the Snow Moon, here you can read all about the significance of this event.  

Since we all know astrology holds intense truths, not to mention truisms, I felt this was very compelling reading.  We must be bold and not dim ourselves!  That is good to hear since I will soon be boldly switching jobs!  I know, that is intense!  I will be switching to a different company and getting a different job description, etc.  I haven’t had a new job for around 12 to 15 years, depending on how you want to allocate the time off I had to try to become a middle school teacher (Ouch!  My soul hurts just thinking about it!  Thank you to all educators, especially middle school teachers!)  So, I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop about how this works out.

Although I recently predicted that the Superbowl would feature Bob Weir’s two favoured contenders (i.e., Bears and ‘Niners) I was obviously wrong about that.  However, as I mentioned earlier, I do think that the Superbowl will be a great place for me to provide my friends and family with a somewhat healthy quinoa casserole.  Let me tell you about a great book my friend Todd lent me:  Superlife.  It was written by Darin Olien, a superfood hunter, and it basically tells you a lot of truths about nutrition in a “hey bro, let’s not bullshit” kind of way.  In addition to the book, he's got some blog entries here:  https://superlife.com/blogs/  So, I am now pretty inspired by these ideas, to the extent that I recently ate some oatmeal WITHOUT BROWN SUGAR!  I know!  I was freaking out too!  However much I didn’t appreciate that, I think our tastes can adapt to healthier eating - next time I may sweeten it up with more berries and/or raisins.  One of my main takeaways from the book is there’s too much sugar in our diets and I’m afraid that includes most breads and pasta!?  Now please join me in a moment of silence ....  I am now crying inconsolably, as you may be too (virtual hug)!  However, I think there is still hope, although you may not be feeling it in this moment.  Here are some things to consider:

·       Ezekiel bread (not sure exactly what this is yet) might still be pretty healthy

·       Everyone is aware of the Sourdough Cult.  Although not mentioned in Superlife, I think this is probably still pretty healthy and I’m not just typing that to avoid angering the Sourdough Cult.

·       I think some nutritious things can still be delicious.  Like that black bean soup I made a couple weeks ago.  My coworkers made some great soups too, like a spicy ramen (with tofu) and a hearty minestrone. 

·       Here is “the best a quinoa casserole” recipe.  I think I will try this one (or similar).

So, as you can tell, I am getting amped about Superlife and Superbowl!  I will also have a few days off while I decompress between jobs and I intend to make the most of it by tormenting blessing my family with a healthy recipe or two and getting out on some hikes to break in my new Keen hiking boots. I've only worn them once so far, so I don't have a fair review to proffer.  Also, I personally guarantee the Seahawks will win this game (by more than 4 1/2 points).  How do I know?  Well, it’s because I have enjoyed myself a lot whenever I’m in Seattle.  New England is great too, but they’ve already won a bunch of Superbowls.  The good news is that, when the Patriots lose, they can still win by treating themselves to a delicious quinoa casserole!  You can find Tom Brady’s favourite quinoa casserole recipe, the Brady Bowl in his book – The TB12 Method (which, to judge a book by its cover, seems suspiciously similar to Superlife):  

So are you ready for The Fire Horse?!  In the spirit of being prepared, here are a few things to be aware of when the fire horse rears up in front of us:

·       The fire horse rewards those who act decisively with discipline and clarity rather than impulse.

·       Here is some good background on the fire horse:  

Fire horses are also popular in Pokemon (please add accent!).  

Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your festivities now so you can prepare with the intensity of the Quinoa Bowl / Year of the Fire Horse!

To your health!

BSO

Bootin Up for 2026

 1/10/26

Hello fellow 2026ers!

How is your year going so far?  Some good, some bad?  Withholding judgment?  Valid, valid, you and your thoughts and feelings are most certainly valid.  Just stand up where you can against the oppressors and try not to get too stressed please.

I have been doing a little more walking than bicycling so far this year.  That is because my friend Todd mentioned he was interested in hiking up to the top of Longs Peak over in colourful Colourado!  I am very excited about this prospect!  I am not one to avoid an alpine excursion, it’s just that (as you may be aware) I don’t live very close to any mountains here in Omaha.  I now have a goal and an excuse to purchase some new hiking/backpacking boots.  So, as you can tell, I’m very excited about this.  Let me calm down by taking a few deep breaths.  Fyew!  That’s better.  Let me put this into a somewhat reasonable sequence:

Speaking of footwear and walking, here are a few photos from a recent walking expedition over at Fontenelle Forest.  It was last weekend and the weather was unseasonable warm so I decided to head over to ye olde FF to get a few steps in.  This was shortly after Todd had mentioned the Longs Peak mission so I was anxious to get a few trail miles in ASAP.  I got a brisk 2.5 miles or so in and about 1.5 pounds of mud on my Altras.  

Alright, that photo only contains a few ounces, but a lot of it fell off on the way across the parking lot.

I have been enjoying the Altras (Lone Peak 7) since I forked out about $140 to REI for them about 2 years ago.  Footwear can be pretty important, especially for moderately active individuals and the value of the products can vary substantially.  So here are a few thoughts about some of the footwear I’ve been associated with:

Altras:  I love the feel of these shoes.  When I bought them I was looking for a minimal-type shoe for trail running/walking.  More or less a more focused version of my older Oboz (Sawteeth Lows, if I remember correctly) that I’ve had for 10+ years.  I wore those Oboz for general purposes, but the Altras have been pretty much limited to the trails.  I think the Oboz were waterproof or at least water resistant.  However, the fact that I’m not sure about that made me decide that I don’t really need a waterproof shoe.  The Altras aren’t waterproof, but that hasn’t bothered me so far.  They are unique looking, comfortable, and secure on the trails.  They have a wider toe box than the Oboz and any other shoe I’ve had, which is a good fit for me.  I don’t really like lateral pressure on the side of my forefoot.

Asolo boots:  I’ve had these since around 1998!  

Another REI purchase.  They have been great and have seen a lot of miles:  desert, mountain, snow.  They’ve been reliable, supportive, and comfortable for a stiff backpacking boot.  I don’t think they were advertised as waterproof, but they’re made of good leather and I was pretty good about waxing on a regular basis.  They kept my feet dry on a snowy expedition out to Rocky Mountain National Park a little over a year ago, but the tread was getting pretty thin 

and I noticed I was slipping around and falling (nothing dramatic and the snow made for a pretty good landing) a fair bit during the descent.  So, maybe a pair of new boots with some new thicker tread would be a good idea.

Prior to ordering boots I looked at a few options and discovered a few things:

·         Polyurethane midsoles, well generally durable and supportive, can separate from the sole if not worn fairly regularly and especially if left in a damp condition.

·         There are a lot of poly- and perfluoro aromatic substances (i.e., PFAS / forever chemicals) still being used in boots.  It seems especially common in synthetic boots or ones with a lot of seams.  My understanding is that a solid leather boot (like ye olde Asolos) shouldn’t really need a PFAS coating for waterproofing (or at least water-resisting?).  Just wax ‘em up from time to time and you should be good. 

Oboz Bridger Ridge Mid GTX (waterproof) – I ordered these from Campmor shortly after getting super amped about the Longs Peak venture.  However, once they arrived I noticed they had a GoreTex tag on them.  One thing I should have figured out prior to ordering these boots:

·         If I had paid attention I would have noticed that they have GoreTex in their construction.  GoreTex used to have a lot of PFAS in it, and it turns out that it probably still does.  There are some newer versions of GoreTex that probably have fewer PFAS, but I’m not yet convinced that the newer formulations are fully PFAS-free or that whatever replacement chemicals are being used are any better.   

So now I was left with a pair of boots I wasn’t too crazy about.  I’ve got ‘em packed up and ready to send back; however, according to Campmor’s return policy I’ve got 90 days.  So I figure I may as well keep them until I can find a suitable boot to meet my preferences.  I’ll be sure to let you know once I find the best boots I can.  Don’t worry, price is not a major factor.  As Mrs. Snot will attest, I’m not typically a big spender so I’ve got enough scratch saved up to get a reasonably good pair of hiking/backpacking boots.  Please feel free to let me know if you have any recommendations. 

To summarize, choosing a pair of boots is similar in some regards to choosing our political representatives where that is an option.  I’d say it’s a good idea to avoid PFAS in boots and it’s also a good idea to avoid leaders who support our continued fossil fuel addiction, US-ian expansionism, and ICE idiots gunning down people on the streets.   That is probably enough soapboxing for now, since I doubt that’s why you are perusing my semi-annual column.

So what else has been happening?  Today I made it out to the old climbing gym to get a good workout and to discuss a potential Longs Peak trip with Todd.  We also discussed nutrition and fitness a bit and he gave me a book called Superlife that he credits with turning his life around and getting him into good shape.  He’s definitely in good shape and much leaner than he used to be.  I think he said he lost 40 pounds in 6 months or so, which is pretty damn impressive!  I am sure I could benefit from losing a few lbs, especially around my gut, but it’s not currently one of my main priorities.  Surely being moderately active is pretty good, right?!  We’ll see how ambitious I get once I’ve perused the book and thought about it for a while.

1/16/26

So it’s been a few days since I started typing this up and quite a few things have happened since then:

·         Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead passed on.  He was an avid bicycler in addition to a musician.  

 As a casual fan of the Dead, he also seemed to me the more rational, grounded of the frontmen.  Since Bob was born in the San Francisco area and the Dead played some shows at Soldier Field in Chicago it is obvious to me that Bob’s spirit has chosen the Chicago Bears to play the San Francisco 49ers in the National League Championship in the sport known as el Fútbol de muy Norte America. 

·         I purchased a pair of Keen Durand II hiking boots.  They seem pretty nice from when I wore them in the shop for 5 minutes or so.  I’ll let you know more once I get them out for a nice hike.  They also don’t have any PFAS that I am aware of.  Thanks Keen!

So I got the boots!  Now we just have to give the boot to all the toxic thugs who are trying to pull the rest of the world with them down into their oily pit of deception.  It’s a new day.

                                    

                                                           One way or another,

                                                                                              BSO