Out of town

It was initially hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that being "out of town" or "out of the city" is quite an easy thing to do.
If you are confused, consider how long it would take you to be in an area that is surrounded by trees, a forest-like setting. Yes, you might have that where you are now, maybe even in a town or city, but what I am referring to is outside of a built up area.

When I first started playing with Google Earth, I was fascinated by the detail that some areas showed. Then, I began to explore locations that I thought seemed pretty small, at least, by looking at it from miles above, a forest can seem pretty small. That is, until you use the ruler / measuring tool. Dragging from one end to another of a wooded area, you can quickly see how much land you are dealing with. It might look small on the map, but inches on the computer screen can mean kilometers or miles. And this is what intrigued me. There are more wooded areas around town of significant size that I was only partially aware of. Having noted the location of some of these areas, I hope to visit them very soon.

I have, in the past, endeavored to visit some of the lesser known "local" forested areas and woodlands merely for the purpose of examining the habitat and environment, I've always marvelled at the deer crossing signs that I see on some roads, only to find that my closest dear is probably is a zoo, or even in a super market.
How close do you feel to the great outdoors? Has city living ruined it for you? Are you just itching to move into a more rural and laid back area? Well until you do so, take comfort in knowing that most people do not act upon their wishes, goals or dreams. Why? Well, money for one reason. The second is that I really do feel that we are a fat and lazy society of convenience and that we only do stuff if we absolutely have to. No, I'm not speaking for everyone, but again, it is merely just an opinion.

So when you get a chance, get out there. Enjoy it while you can.

J

Entourage CIS

This is a neat product, called Entourage CIS. It's a GPS tracking device that is subscriber-based ($179 per year or $14 /mth). It uses your local GSM / GPRS cellular network to relay the GPS data to the control center (Blackline GPS) and allows you to track the location of the device anywhere in North America.
The advantage of having such a device became clear after hearing about the horror stories of people losing equipment, trail cameras, equipment trailers, ATV's, etc.

Very small and drawing only 20mA of current @ 12 volts, this is definetely something that could run for a very long period of time in the bush, possibly forever, should you incorporate a small solar panel to keep your 12v battery charged.

The unit also incorporates an internal battery to give it a few days of run time should the external battery fail. A simply 2-wire hookup is all that is needed (positive and negative) and arming / disarming is done by a RFID key-fob that works up to about 20-30 feet away. Basically, the GPS device senses the presence of the key-fob and it disarms when it is near, and arms when it is no longer detected.

The monitoring costs might seem a little steep, but the features are plentiful. Through a web interface, you can see the exact position of the device, the battery condition (strength) and if the object is moving, the direction/heading and speed.

While it is still new, I am going to run it through the paces and see how well it performs.
It was a web deal from "The Source" that was being offered at an AMAZING discounted price of $49, regular $374 (The Escort GPS Site has it listed online at $399!!!!!)

Yes, it's not a typo - as of today, Dec 21, 2010 it is still available while quantities last @ $49. When I ordered mine I had it shipped to the store and it arrived 2 days later. Shipping to store is free of charge.

Here is the link:
http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=GPS_Locators&product=1914522

Life

A chain of events took place yesterday, of all days, Remembrance day. And it is no indication of what has yet to come but disturbing non the less that the reminders are inherently built into the name of the day.

It’s a tough time of year, moving at the speed of life, sometimes things just creep up on you and yet sometimes your mind just wanders, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Christmas is coming soon and its a time to reflect on past life experiences. Friends, family, joy & sorrow.  A good friend lost his mother earlier in the year and it was a trying time for him to come to grasp the situation and work through it. He did it, but I’m still sure he feels pain, as anyone should.

And so we look upon our past experiences. Our friends. Our families. We are all moving at the speed of life and as we move on, that speed limit is being increased……day after day……Sometimes it’s refreshing to just put on the brakes for as long as you can and absorb and enjoy what is around you.

Something is out there….

I took a bit of time to travel to an area of Ontario that has always intrigued me, so much so that I considered camping out for the weekend to try and come to terms with what was going on there. Do you ever get that creepy feeling – the feeling like you are being watched? You try to satisfy your curiosity for what might be out there by going back and confronting your weaknesses? Or do we even consider calling it a weakness?

I cannot say for sure that whatever is out there defies description and is not meant to be found. I think that at some point, we will come across a formidable being that has eluded us for years. Until this happens, I will always be wary of the fact that there is something out there, watching us. Why do I think this? Well, it’s that feeling I get, particularly in this one specific area. No other place in Ontario seems to do this to me. To the average person, it would just be a considered a typical heavily wooded area that is somewhat remote.

To me, I think that it is home….home to a being that thrives on being elusive, yet lurks just around the corner, keeping an eye on you.

Might sound silly, but I’m sure that we have all had that “feeling” that something isn’t right and something is watching you.

Hoaxing?

No doubt one would seemingly want to get as far into the bush as possible to fire up their research on the subject we all want to learn about yet seem to know little about. Yup, our hairy friend. Why do we think it is drawn into the depths of the forest and that we have no other choice but to follow behind and find it in this habitat?

Well we do have a choice. And it certainly does not live in the middle of nowhere. We are getting sighting reports from all around the world of these things moving about  - many reports occurring during the daytime, which begs the question, is this thing nocturnal?
Some of the activity we have heard about, whether it happened recently or long ago, has taken place during the night time. I can tell you that if I were a hoaxer, I would do the same - I would carry forward activities during the evening which would conceal my identity. So lets back up a moment - of all these reports we have received, happening during the daylight, why do we continually believe that Sasquatch may be a nocturnal being?

I do not think it is. I think that opportunity exists during the evening hours but our friend is well adapted to life abroad during the daylight hours.
But getting back to the hoaxing thing - where do we stand with this? Are we spending the time looking at photos or videos to observe this species, or are we simply dispelling it from the get-go and saying to ourselves "lets find the flaw in this and send it on to others".

Yeah I'm sure that happens every day.
Then you have one fellow come by (as it has happened in the past) who saw something - it moved, wasn't a bear - and video or photos were taken. GREAT!!!
That poor fellow; He already became stereotyped as a hoaxer the moment he clicked SEND in his email. What a shame.


There is stuff out there that is meant to be shared. Please have the strength and wherewithal to come forward with it. Those who laugh or dispel your information are shallow, if you are indeed sincere and honest. Share with us and reap the benefits of your discovery and knowledge.

Connected

Being connected nowadays is a pretty easy thing to do. From social networking sites to cell phones, text messaging, email, VOIP & cheap long distance, we really have no excuse for not being connected.

Of course, we still need to respect the privacy of those who feel the need to stand back from all of this connectivity. It seems to be the baby boomer generation but I have also noticed that some of the younger groups, albeit only a few that I personally know, are stepping back from the stage and taking a deep breath.

It can be a tiring and time consuming process to stay connected. Some even go as far as losing focus on things that are more important than sending that twitter or writing on someone’s wall. It all adds up to what you actually want to achieve. If you are simply doing it just to gain status and make more friends, well maybe you should go back to the basics. Making a phonecall or sending a simple email then meeting up for a coffee or beer, or whatever you may have done in the past before this technology swooped down upon us, but now, we are letting it control our lives and literally mandate our decision making process and associated actions.

For those who take it all in stride and can control their exposure and adaptation of such new technologies, maybe even leverage them to their benefit while still "being yourself” – well my friends, kudos to you.

And for those who take all this technology and really look at it with a microscope, methodically breaking it down and seeing how you can make it work in ways that would really be beneficial or unique – that’s great too. I guess in the end, all I am saying is, don’t let it run your life. Your still an individual. You are unique. You are one.

I was encouraged to write this blog post by a situation that caught me off guard a little while ago. You see, I had been experimenting with urban WiFi radio links to try and get a better understanding of the concept of low power communications in an environment that offered some challenges. These challenges included localized interference, lack of line of site communications. Speed degradation due to link latency. My ultimate goal was to create a WiFi audio / video link between my home and my boat which is about 900 meters away – but in a location that has LOADS of wireless access points and routers, man-made and natural interference and of course, it’s close to being line of site but not exactly.

Now you may ask why? Well, if you work the common demons out during your testing such as those described above, transplanting your operations to the field – in the middle of nowhere, will certainly see a system that will perform extremely well in an ideal environment. No local WiFi, noise or other sources of interference. Nailing a solid radio link for 1km + should be quite simple. And I am happy to say that I have indeed achieved reasonable streaming performance over a link of that distance – in the city. So to imagine what I can do in the field, well, those wireless cam’s and data links to other camps might not be a pipe dream.

The next test is the LOS (Line of Sight) test where I will orientate the directional antenna towards the Niagara Escarpment, to the north of me, clearly visible and without any obstructions, to see if I can launch a signal via a 10dBi bi-polarized antenna with 600mw of power to a monitoring post that measures out to be roughly 18km or approx. 11 miles.

Now for those of you who have followed some of my work and perhaps Simply Sasquatch radio, you may recall that we did a radio test with some FRS / GMRS radios from my home to the same location (the escarpment) using Hi, Medium and FRS Low (500 mw max power). I was in communication with a fellow who drove around the escarpment to dispel the myth that manufacturer’s claims about range on FRS/ GMRS are over-stated. Nope – they are not – as long as you are line of sight (or literally line of sight). We could hear eachother perfectly on all power ranges and channels.

So given the fact that the walkie talkies are driving very inefficient rubber antennas that are not directional, we did pretty good with that test. Now, we are moving to a directional antenna system that offers gain – 10dBi – and a power outage that is slightly higher than FRS (500mw); We are going to be using 600mw – which would give us an ERP (Effective radiated power) of 3.6 watts or 5.63 dBW or an EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) of 6 watts or 7.78 dBW.

Mind you, we are operating at a higher frequency which is something we need to consider because the radio wave does not travel, penetrate and bend like the lower frequency walkie talkie, but it is certainly worth the test – and if we are successful, it brings a whole new world of opportunity to field research and remote viewing / surveillance and communications.

Connected. Now this is to our benefit. This is something that will be neat to try and even better to implement as part of our research arsenal.

The hunted

The more I think about bigfoot and how elusive it is (much like my recent blogging - or lack thereof), the more I think about how intelligent it may be - more than we probably know.
I've been able to spend a lot of time reflecting on past experiences, not only that of which I have gone through, but those of others who have relayed their stories of a creature that they have - for lack of a betetr explanation - experienced.
As I sat on the train travelling through the Italian and Swiss Alps, I thought about that day when I heard the scream - a vocalization so powerful it stopped me dead in my tracks. And it was close - very close. I didn't see  the beast but I knew it was there. I knew it saw me. I knew it was warning me. I knew....well.....I knew that right at that moment, I was vulnerable.
A master of disguise and perhaps deception, for I never saw or heard anything before hand. No, I was carrying on, minding my own business - all the time something was working around me. Moving - observing - perhaps conspiring to commit an act that may have seen me respond with defensive aggression. I don't know - but I can tell you one thing - you are just as easily deemed "the hunted" as the beast you set out to search for to begin with.
No, I wasn't looking for Bigfoot at the time. Far from it. I was simply washing my dishes in the lake when I heard the scream. I did not know what I was hearing - but it was very real and very intimidating. My curiosity got the better of me and had led me on a path of discovery. A path that would eventually lead me to the concept of bigfoot.
It seems that the more I look for it, the more elusive it becomes. Just when you think you've stumbled onto something, there's another curve to bend around. It makes the hunt ever more enticing and I will never give up until the the mystery is clearly and open & shut case.
The hunt is on....

Real World Trail Cams

I'm sure many of you are already aware that the website http://www.chasingame.com offers reviews of trail cameras and associated equipment.

What you probably don't know is that many of their reviews are based on camera placements around feeders or baits and so a camera may see more intense activity than what it might normally go through, such as being used by people like us - who plant them, cross our fingers and hope that we get something.

The point is, stuff like battery usage & drain statistics that this site offers is based on the actual usage of the camera in the environment that they have set it up in. And it is these environments that drastically vary from our setups, which means we really should take some of the information provided with caution.

I can tell you that a camera in the bush that sees little traffic and has a good set of batteries in it will last longer than that specified by chasingame. Sometimes over 100% longer. I recall a friend mentioning that the batteries in his trail camera have been in there for quite some time. Now, I know it's not "consistent" use, but still, if you add up the days & hours it has been operating...this is when you start to see real world results

To me, battery life is very important because the areas that I want to research are at least a few hours away. These are places where I simply cannot attend over the lunch hour....no, these are areas where I have to set aside a half or full day to get up there, hike in, plant the cam, **Test the Cam**, then make the drive back. (Notice how I highlighted 'test the cam' ? Can't be overstated) .

So you see, to me, I want to be able to plant the cam and not have to worry about it running low only after a few days, otherwise it really doesn't make the trip worthwhile.

Mind you, some of us - me especially, will jump on a trail cam deal regardless of the performance and longevity in the field, but hey, thats what experimentation is all about. As we learn from our experiences, we pass along info to others so they are better informed!

In closing, I have a Wildview EzCam that chasingame had reviewed and they mentioned that after 12 days and 549 photos, the camera was done (batteries exhausted). This was using new "C" Energizer batteries in a baited area. The review is here: http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=106

What I wanted to do was put my camera to the test and see how it compares to their findings, based on different circumstances.

The differences would be: 1) A non-baited area and 2) different batteries
(When I say non-baited, it doesn't mean that I can't put the camera near a place that naturally draws animals, such as a blueberry patch. But putting out salt licks, seed, corn, anything like that -no, that is considered baiting)

And so, I have my EzCam deployed with a new set of Sony stamina platinum batteries as a comparable substitute to the energizers (These batteries have gotten reviews), no bait, in an area that I feel will offer average animal activity yet it is not a "deer highway".

The camera is sitting attached to a tree overlooking a clearing that animals may travel through. Trying to reduce false triggers, I ensured that I had a bit of cover above to prevent heat-based snapshots from the sun. I also made sure that I did not expose the camera to the easterly sunrise / westerly sunset directions as to further eliminate false triggers.

Now for the math. This is the part I find intriguing.
Chasingame says 12 days with 549 photos before the unit died. Well, the first thing we do is divide that number (549) by 3. Why? well, the EzCam has no adjustable settings except for the date & time. Everytime there is motion detected, the camera takes 3 pictures, each 10 seconds apart.

This means that in those 12 days, there were 183 detections or 15.25 (I will round it down to 15) detections per day if we average it out across all 12 days.
So, it will be interesting to see how my deployment works out. I wonder if we will surpass these figures? Here is what I think. My daily detections will be minimal, say 3 or 4 per day, but my runtime will be longer, say 18 to 26 days? Maybe longer? I don't know but it will sure be interesting to find out.

And what about you other folks? How do your cameras compare to what has been reviewed about them? Are the reviews accurate? What has your testing shown?
I will share my results as soon as they are in, hopefully with some great pics!!

By the way, I did catch a deer at about 3am passing by, but it was the only animal I captured. Attached are the pics. You can see the eyeshine and the rump.


EYESHINE MIDDLE, slightly to the right




RUMP, walking off to the right of the screen





Certainly not the best photos, especially given the fact that they are only 1.3mp, but in a pinch this camera works well and I ahvent had any operational issues with it.

One last thing....if you've lasted this long on this long and winded post ( )
I discovered what might be a little known secret gem (of course, I am not sure at this time but I am checking into it.....)

You know the Bushnell Trophy Cam - it's received some excellent reviews, has a great small size, long battery life, great trigger time and overall gives really good performance. They range from about $160 onwards, usually you find them for around $180

Well, Tasco is owned by Bushnell. And Tasco has a 5mp infra-red cam that is little known. Looks almost identical to the trophy cam. It is model 11-9215C but trying to find anymore than just some really general specs is like pulling teeth. I can't find a manual and I have emails into Bushnell to find out more about this camera since they dont have any resources on their site.

Why is this camera so appealing? Well, it can be had for $89 - $99. Yup, at that price, I might get two if the specs are in line with the nearly identical Bushnell product.

J

Reflections..Or stuff you want to forget!

With all that has been going on lately in my life and those around me, I haven’t been finding much time to reflect on what is on the horizon and what has already come and gone.

And for the few moments that I did find the time to do just that – “reflect”, well, it was this ONE particular moment – a traffic jam in front of the Ford Plant in Oakville- I smirked and thought to myself “Oh yeah, I TOTALLY forgot about that!” as I mindlessly crawled forward at 5km/h. Yeah, that’s right, 5km/h. I can walk faster than that.

So let me draw you back to when I ventured out for a 3 hour trip north, to my old stomping grounds once again.

I knew I was in for quite a hike – as to be expected,  but I felt confident. At least until the point when the car disappeared from sight. Then, that confidence seemed to wither away pretty quickly.

And so you know what made me think of this while I was stuck in traffic? My stereo. You see, I have this channel on XM radio called “Chill” and it’s a relaxation station that plays soft, ambient music to help calm the nerves. Something that I need after a long day at work and a grueling drive home.

Yeah, it was my stereo; as soon as I tuned it to chill, I had a flashback about that hike into the bush – the car was out of sight, and the first thing I did was grab a small portable radio from my knapsack and I tuned it to whatever I found comforting, playing it at a volume that was loud enough to say “I’m here” but not loud enough to be disturbing. And it was those voices – other people talking – that had such a calming effect over me.

Now I’m not saying that I became totally oblivious to my surroundings but It gave me that extra “umphhh” I needed to get me into the woods to the point where I was going to try and plant a trail camera. Yeah, the little radio was the company I needed and it was welcome. You see, this place is pretty desolate. In fact, a lot of areas of Ontario can be downright intimidating and spookey.

So as I approached the area , I turned down the radio and took a peek at the GPS. I was within 100 meters of the small clearing where I was going to mount the cam. I looked up after viewing the GPS and that’s where I saw a flash of Red and the soft chatter of humans not so far off in the distance. I was stunned at first - “People? Here? Why?

I did not believe they noticed me so I immediately retreated to take cover and try to observe the group with my binoculars. I just couldn’t get a good enough view through the bush, but I could hear them. At this point the radio was obviously off and I just waited, huddled down to see if they were transient or locked down to that one area. It seemed to be the later, so I decided to backtrack and reconsider a different area to plant the cam.

Now the thing is, I had never seen anyone is this area before. No signs of life (humans), nothing. To see this was quite unusual and I felt compelled to find out what they were doing, which meant that I had to get within viewing range of these folks, so I held off backtracking to plant the cam and I went into Ninja Mode (LOL!! ;)

Lo and behold, I found myself gazing upon two couples who were doing pastel paintings of a small rock outcrop that had a group of trilliums growing from it. I’m guessing students on a art class adventure, how the heck they ended up here, I had no idea, but it was a peaceful discovery that had me leaving the area satisfied that all was good.

And so I spent the next 2 hours scouting around the area. I did a big “loop” around the students to plant myself further north of them – much further north, and I found a beautiful spot that would please even the most fanatic trail cam operator – not saying that I am one LOL but I wanted to really give it a good run for the money. After all, It was a 3 hour drive there and back!

I was meticulous about the mounting of the equipment and I spent some time camoflaging everything to make it look right at home. And it worked. Quite well, for the next planned trip up there – two weeks later for fishing, I followed the GPS until I arrived at the cam. Low battery light was on, but it was still running.

I removed the camera from the mounting strap and opened it up. Voila! Lets see what we got!

Damn!!! I forgot to put in the SD card!!!!!

I needn’t say more. When you are distracted or overly-ambitious, you sometimes forget the simplest things.

And in this case, I think I just wanted to forget the whole thing…but now, in hindsight, I learned something and I can only chuckle at it. Nothing more.

Good night!

The Hermit

We often tend to think that we are "normal" in comparison to others; Self comparison leads to a level of sanity that we follow along with to ensure that we keep in line with all those who push the envelope. The term "your crazy" is so common now that we don't even consider it a threat to our existence and comparison to what we do. No, we simply strive to look at ourselves and with any luck say that we conform to everyone else's standards and so we are "cool". We fit in. We are ok. And that's that.

So what about those who to want to live a life alone, away from society? Does that seem crazy? Out of the ordinary? Why do some people, albeit perhaps only a few, decide to live this type of life? Is there something that attracts them to this solitude?

It would seem that this sort of lifestyle is referred to as being "a hermit". And the more I think about it, I believe it represents people who may have had a "jaded" past and this becomes part of the healing process, even though that healing process might be the wrong process - running away and avoiding the problem. Life away from it all.

Social structures are very different in all parts of the world and as we look at each nation and culture, I'm sure that many of us have turned our nose up to the way that others interact and survive on a day to day basis. As a Canadian, seeing what the rest of the world has to offer, I would really have to say that I am indeed one of the lucky ones. I really have no beef with anything or anyone that would drive me to the point where I would say "Fuck this, I'm done with everyone...I'm outta here".

Yet, some do that. They just get pushed one too many times. They have had it and they want an extreme change to put them in control, and the only way that is going to happen is if they are left to live on their own. A hermit. In the middle of nowhere.

With the paragraphs that I have written you might be saying to yourself "Ok Jason, what the hell are you trying to say here? What has this got to do with?"

And so we draw the conclusion. Solitude and peace are methods of escape. Being out of "radar range" gives people the comfort of knowing that their actions are not noted or monitored, rated or condescended upon. You are left to your own devices and lifestyle.

And these "hermits" as we call them, they do a damn fine job of being just that - I mean, when was the last time you ran across one? We know they exist.

Now take these same thoughts and apply the considerations and assumptions to sasquatch. Does it want to interact with humans? Perhaps, but there are scarce reports that solidly point in that direction. In fact, we have too little to go on and so with all the reports that we have - from vocalizations to actual sighting reports, the only thing that sasquatch wants to do is a) leave the area and b) not make a big show.

So what does that sound like to you? Something much like a hermit? Wants to be left alone and wants to live it's life in seclusion? I don't blame it!! It's got enough to worry about being out in the wild, let alone human interaction.

And then we have one other thought to consider, to be fair until we actual find out the truth about sasquatch - Feral humans. Outcasts, Strays. The sheer disgrace that may follow. Enough intelligence to know that it does not belong in society yet it must survive. What it boils down to is that when you compare a feral human to sasquatch - for whatever sasquatch really is, their objectives would more than likely be very similar to each other.

If we are looking at feral humans - people who are so far removed from society yet withold an intelligence that we ride closely against, then yes, I can see the hermitage. I can see the displacement from society. I can see, even if it wasn't a feral human, but just something that had a human-like intelligence.....something that just wanted to be alone. For it's own good. For its survival. Yes, I can see a hermit. And that hermit is trying to survive.

J.

Alone

Alone. It's a powerful word. "I did it by myself. I was all ALONE". It builds power. Statements become reinforced when one say's "It was just me, I did it. I was there...alone".

On the other hand, "Alone" takes on a whole new level of everything that we thought would mean nothing, really, physically or mentally, until you look at the end result.

I saw a Sasquatch. It was terrifying. At least 6 feet tall, dark, hairy. Moving with a slight hunch.

Now that is quite an opening line, don't you think? Now imagine if it was opened with or closed with "I was alone at the time". Do you step back.....do you go into skeptic mode and say "wait a minute...you were alone? No one else can back you up on this unusual event? Are you pulling my leg?"

Yet some stick to their guns and swear up and down that they saw, heard, smelt or just plain "experienced a sasquatch". Oh, of course, they were alone at the time. ALONE. Yeah, back to that word again.

It's hard to give any more than a bit of attention to a word that is so loosely used. "I was going it alone" "I saw it there, I was alone". "There was no one else around me. I was alone".

People will always try to reinforce the situational environment that they have "apparently"

been exposed to in order to try and draw a more attentive and agreeing crowd.

For example, one might escalate a story (and draw skeptics and such alike) into the scene by saying "I was alone" but it doesn't necessarily build things up. It adds a questionable circumstance about one's situation and the actual incident that occurred. Without others to back it up, we might as well throw it into the blobsquatch category.

Look at the amount of reports by people saying that they were alone at the time but this is when it happened. Now in contrast, how many people really do venture out into the bush ALONE? And of course, come back with these stories?

What stories you ask? Well, I was alone at the time.....

Hope you had a great weekend.

J

Survival of the fittest

I wasn't feeling too good today. Lack of sleep and a pinched nerve (I think) had led to a morning of pain and much discomfort. I took a couple of Ibuprofen and tried to go back to sleep. I managed to get a couple of hours but just couldn't sleep much more beyond the noon hour which was a miracle by any means to begin with. As I awoke the pain in the back of my neck and upper back really stung but I managed to get myself into the kitchen to make a coffee and try to wake up completely.

As groggy as I was, I sat down to read my emails and that in itself was a task because I had to squint. Somehow in Jason's body the eye muscles are connected to whatever is hooked up in the back and neck, for when I squinted to read a couple of messages I felt sick and I had sharp kicks of pain go through my neck.

Meanwhile, to take my mind off things, I thought about what I have done in the past. I mean, the places I have been and the conditions at the time. I was trying to make myself feel better, comparing the "poor conditions" in the field compared to being in the comfort of my own home. Yeah, even being in my own home I still felt like crap. I have a good bed, good pillows, everything was "typically" good. And there we have the jokers who made a few cracks about it all just being the result of a hangover from SuperBowl but all kidding aside, I was genuinely worried about my well being because it's not like me to be taken under the weather by something as simple as muscle pain. I tell you, it was a very quick decision made in the morning to just give up and call into work today because of the pain that I was in.

Well here we are. It's 11:03pm EST and it's almost bedtime. I feel better, but not "sparkling". I can move about and feel a little more relaxed but I still get stabs of pain in my neck and shoulders. As in the past, this will surely disappear. I can only hope.....but it's that sort of wishful thinking that also draws my attention to common illnesses and pain. As humans, we can recognize when we are in pain. We do stuff to fix the problem. A lot of it does not actually correct the problem, it just masks it. Why am I even mentioning this? Well, perhaps a little far fetched but I think we need to look at what animals do when they are sick. They hide. They hunker down. They seem to almost "hibernate" and take refuge from the world and in doing so they come out surviving their malady with minimal disruption. By way of instinct, an animal does what we would do if we did not feel well. We would disappear from the public, relax and get better, then re-emerge and continue life as we know it.

I don't need to tell you where this conversation is going but if you put 2 + 2 together, you might just realize that illness is in the eye of the beholder. If you feel that you can't just make it work you stay held back at your place, making sure that you are getting better. Something to think about next time your in the field. There are no hospitals, pharmacies, doctors, etc. It's just you and the woods. Our big hairy friend knows this all too well. It will be reserved and cautious with it's movements for fear that injury could really take it's toll. Any injury - could lead up to the demise of even the most formidable creature, including Sasquatch. We look at smallpox - an invisible enemy that literally wiped out a nation. We cured it but it took us by surprise. Where we seem so strong in some areas we remain considerably weaker in others. This is what kills us. This is what "turns over" a species. It's a sad way to put things but in the end, it's just life.

And so no doubt it might be one of the reasons why it has been to hard to gain proof & evidence of it's existence. Perhaps we killed it or have come close, simply by the viral and bacterial plagues that we are so used to. Perhaps it is like the North American Indian who lost several thousand to disease and viruses that we introduced unintentionally. We don't know, but in the end, it comes down to the same thing. Survival of the fittest.

J

Glowing Eyes - Yes, it happens.

I never bought into the idea that some Sasquatch reports noted "glowing" eyes. Not that I didn't believe the report in itself, but perhaps it was "enhanced"to draw attention. Glowing eyes is certainly a unique characteristic which is worthy of examination, don't you agree? In some respects it detracts from the actual sighting in itself. You saw a Sasquatch, or so you think, but you dwell on the "glowing eyes". Back up for a sec - you saw a Sasquatch? Aside from the glowing eyes, what else did you see? Or did you just see glowing eyes and then assume it was a Sasquatch. You need to put the horse before the cart to make reports like these move.

Now I certainly do not dispel the idea that "glowing eyes" exist. And I know that for a fact, only because I came across a unique situation that had me do a double-take when I noted a small fawn cross the road in North Oakville. Late at night. Glowing eyes. Glancing over to the shoulder and quickly noticing the eyes, but cautiously roaming back to the road to maintain control and care of the car - in that instance, I did not know what it was. I did not think Sasquatch - no, it was an animal, but it caught my attention and it caught me off guard. I quickly identified it as it leapt across the road, thankfully it did not pause like many do and become a splattered hood ornament. If that was the case I probably would not be writing this post right now.

The thing is, it was a perfect re-enactment. The fawn, the eyes, the fast action & movement. For a moment one might think of many things, see a shadow associated with the eyes, or just be travelling in a car too quickly to make sense of an observation. That was me, for a moment, but I put 2+2 together and I figured it out. As for these creatures in the forest that have glowing red eyes, I can only look back at my own experiences to relate to such stories and ask myself "Why"?

And you know, it's funny that the first answer I got was the most obvious. Your looking for something. Your waving your flashlight all over. Yeah, you might startle an animal, so what is it going to do? You got it - look at you. Voila -Glowing eyes. Surprised? Shouldn't be. You ever hit a tree with a Q-Beam after you scared the hell out of those little critters in your garbage can (for you city folk we call them raccoons LOL). Look at those little glowing eyes peering down at you. They don't really care about you. They just want YOU to disappear so that they come come back down out of the tree and continue their meal.

Reports are increasingly suggestive that much of a Sasquatches activity occurs during the nighttime. No doubt a nocturnal creature, thus the eyesight must be quite good in low light and the eyes themselves must be quite reflective. So let's take this one step further. As a creature that we deem to have an extended level of intelligence, would you think that it would continue to stare at a light source (causing the eyeshine) for any extended period of time? Not likely. Especially considering the fact that it's nightvision may be blown for a few minutes after such an exposure, thus limiting it's endurance. We've done it ourselves. If we look at something bright, we immediately squint and in most cases turn away. It preserves our vision based on the circumstances.

So, as I mentioned at the beginning, I never bought into the idea that Sasquatch's have glowing eyes. Based on what I mentioned, it's just a matter of the reflection of light. Many animals exhibit such visual behaviour. and no, I'm not classifying Sasquatch as an animal but just reiterating fact. Next time you see glowing eyes, think of the circumstances. Eyes usually only glow when a light source (visible or not) causes a reflection of such. Think of flash photography. Think of red-eye. The rest is left to your own thoughts.
Jason

Establishing a known presence

It was during one trip into the bush that I realized just how quickly things seemed to appear and dissapear, for example, cars on the gravel road would just come out of nowhere and dissapear just as quickly. Not only visually but audibly. When we spoke in the past (on SS Radio) about a heightened sense of awareness when we are in the bush, I keep thinking about and wonder if a background process kicks in and tells the brain "ignore" when it's something that we are familiar with, such as a car and the associated road noise. Who knows? Is this why it comes and goes so quickly? We just tune it out?

So this opens a question about how a "being" can identify that "something" is out of place or approaching the immediate area. I believe that animals can certainly sense a car approaching far and long before a human can, so does this mean that it gives them that extra time to take cover and hide? Yeah, you know, it probably does. Until the "threat" passes and all gets quiet again.

Now if there was something out of the ordinary that was making noise or was of a visual or olfactory nature, yet it remained somewhat subdued and contained, would your interest be perked? Would you approach the area to take a peek?

Having your presence known yet remaining non-offensive or overwhelming just might be the ticket to getting those bold little critters to come forward and take a peek. Look at the time that the fox came up from behind me during one of our expeditions. We had a couple lights on, we were talking in a normal tone of voice. There was nothing really intimidating at play and so the fox approached.

I think its this sort of activity that needs to be evaluated for it's value when it comes to research. Some prefer a stealth approach, leaving as "small" of a footprint as possible during their visit. Others prefer to just setup camp and act as they would if they were on a regular camping trip. Whatever you decide, consider your objective. The more you act differently than what you normally do might draw caution and skepticism by a creature who may be smarter than you think. Just be yourself. It may just be the ticket we need to see the big guy let it's guard down.

J

Darkwoods Media & More!!

I got a pleasant surprise this afternoon when Tim contacted me about the progress of the Darkwoods Media project. It's alive!! Yes folks, Http://www.darkwoodsmedia.com is the place to take a peek. Kudos to Tim for his hard work!

Let me draw your attention to the phrase or term "360 x 24".
It's easy to understand if you grasp the concept. 360 degrees x 24 hours.
And where this applies is video footage and audio recording. Advances in recording technology makes it really cheap to get a multi-channel DVR going and this could end up being the eyes needed to keep a lookout when human eyes just aren't around.
It's hard to grasp the concept of having to sit down and review hours of video that may show absolutely nothing so a DVR that has a motion sensing capability would be a great benefit, however, we fall into the same problem that we often see with trail cameras. The trigger time.
And so we keep this in the back of our mind when setting up a monitored perimeter. Just one more thing to consider.

A "monitored perimeter" you ask? Well, yes, but probably not to the extent of what you might think. It's simply a way of describing an area that has most, if not all of the entry and exit points monitored to the extent that it would be very hard to bypass the setup without detection. And so we are looking at a very good chance of catching something - anything - that approaches and this is what we are kicking ourselves about with regards to the "breather" audio that was recorded during one of our Still River trips. A quick recap, the three of us that were on this trip took off for just over an hour down the road to check out another trail and we setup a call-blast that went off every 30 seconds. We setup a recorder to see if we could get a response and we heard something that came into the area, apparently breathing and walking around the camp. Creepy!!!

Anyways going back to the "monitored perimeter" thing...Can you imagine having a video surveillance perimeter with audio capabilities setup to monitor all point of your camp? North, West, East & South. Or take it one step further. I call it the "Escher" setup.

M.C. Escher was an artist who created some thrilling and stimulating pieces of work that challenged logic and the human eye. They were puzzles in some respects...can you see the beginning or is the beginning the end? The art that never stops. Google Escher and take a peek. Look at "Drawing Hands" or check out some of his waterfall pieces. Wonderful. So what has this got to do with video surveillance ? Well going back to the "Escher" setup...it's the way that one thing leads to another...to another...to another...back to the beginning - oh wait? There really is no beginning.

Yes, that's right. Take a box. Say a trailer. Mount a camera on each corner of the trailer, each camera is pointed to the next. Wide angle camera's are probably best but you can make due...

Pictured below, each arrow is a camera. Can you tell the start or the finish? No - it's a circle. It covers all ground around the perimeter.
Looks kinda neat eh? If you look at some industrial facilities you will notice that the cameras are setup this way so that everything is covered in a full continuous rotation, 360 degrees. And of course, say for whatever reason a camera gets knocked out of commission, the reason for it will be recorded by the other cameras. Nothing will be out of view.

It would also be neat to take a telescoping pole and erect it on top or very close to the trailer with a wide-angled camera looking down and capturing everything. Now we really have the entire camp covered. The pole mounted camera is not a necessity but would be nice. In reality, we really only need 4 cams around the camp to keep an eye on everything. Fed into a DVR, we are good to go. How many people actually do this? What if we made a "imaginary" trailer - but say it was the entire camp. All the cameras were arranged in the Escher format. Would this work? Yeah quite possibly but it falls back to camera resolution, quality, IR projection range (for night video) and sound recording capabilities to cover the area.

So thinking about it, a small investment and a smart setup might lead to a better chance of capturing something. And even if you don't, the effort made will help to put your mind at ease that you are point in the right direction, trying to secure the audio and video of your camp. I mean, wouldn't you want to know what's "lingering around" out there?

Have a good one!!!!

Burlap blankets

You might have caught a glimpse or two of the cold spell that has hit Florida. Reports of Iguana's falling out of trees, apparently "dead" but in fact their bodies have just slowed down to the point that only their heart is beat enough to keep them alive, but nothing more. It's a normal response and when things warm up they spring back to life. And then we have the zoo's down there. They have been taking some of the burlap sacks that are used to carry in feed and cutting them open, then just placing them in the dens of apes, orangutans and some monkeys. They picked up on it pretty quickly and began to use them as blankets. Pretty smart, eh?

Would sasquatch take advantage of such opportunity should it exist? Well if it's living in the bush in northern Ontario then I would say no. The species should be adapted to the cold or have some sort of shelter to provide warmth. Or maybe....just maybe it migrates south. Who knows?

As humans, we would try to stay as warm as possible in a situation where we are exposed to extreme temps, but think about how we might go about this? Just turn up the heat? Put on a sweater? Eat something to give you energy? Well it could be all three but I looking at the last option -Eating. There is no doubt that food can make you warm and give you the energy needed to continue whatever you are doing, but you have to rest at some point, so when you do, your body slows down, you begin to feel cold, and it takes a while to get warmed back up again.

These creatures must be on the move. They must be eating well. They must have a shelter or some sort of protection to make them comfy during trying times. So where do we go from here? It's that time of season when the mercury hits single digits and we ask ourselves how something could live out there in these conditions.

Many questions, many thoughts.
Good Night.

Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone and here I am at the helm of many responsibilities and projects and I sometimes just have to step aside to take a breath of fresh air in order to recap some of the items that have occurred in the past.

I have to take off to BC for a week to get a grip on a few things that have developed out there. I don't believe it will be overwhelming or raise any issues but it reminded me of just how one can be displaced very quickly. Air Canada fires a bird out to BC almost every hour. It's really the only way to get traffic across Canada as quickly as possible when time is of the essence. Westjet follows that tradition and if I had a choice I would be booking them for this trip but it's AC at this point. Anyways, I'm expected to be greeted by rainy weather and a 30 minute cab ride to the hotel. Something I can deal with, but when I wake up in the morning, I am in a new land. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but still, I was in Ontario the day before and now I am in BC. Do I register any immediate differences? Usually, aside for the time change, no - albeit the effects of that change see me wanting to fall asleep at 7pm but we will wait and see.

It draws me to think about changes in society, structure and our day to day activities. We have become very accustomed to our daily activities and so when change is involved, we react accordingly. Sometimes with haste, sometimes with aggression, sometimes with depression. As unique individuals, we all react accordingly, living in this great land that we call Canada, without scrutiny and comment - except as opinion, which is based on the freedom of speech principals that we all share. We don't take it to heart if someone says BOO to our goal(s). Our expressions, our loves and desires. No - In Canada, we have a vast diversity that speaks volumes about our openness and acceptance as a unified country, but delving deeper into the fiery pits of ones obsession can sometimes strain even the most open and forward thinking individuals. This is why, when we bring up Sasquatch, people begin to go silent. Why?

Simple. Something you are not used to. Not familiar with. At some point you know you are going to have to accept it for whatever it turns out to be, but it's not going to go away, not until we

have proof. It is because of our openness that we can be drawn in many different directions. I hate that people can be gullable in many respects but I also see it as a sign of openness and appreciation for what one might want to offer. And so, as we begin this new year, I wish to welcome everyone to 2010. It's been a hell of a trip but we are getting closer to the answers we have been waiting for.

To all, it is with admiration that you review this blog to the point where you have gotten this far, as so to you, thank you for reading. You are part of the true meaning of "Freedom of Speech" and your participation carries through the traditions, laws and respect that we each deserve.

Happy New Year.

Jason