Now this is where the significant part of the story comes in, my Grandfather, is the sole survivor of that crew aboard that B17 Flying Fortress #44-6349, of the 483rd Bombardment Group, in the 840th Bomb Squadron. More particular to the reason of the phone call is because this guy is putting together a website on his Uncle, Staff Sargent Richard G “Dick” McNerney, which you can read at McNerney’s Journey. He also is considering putting together a book about his Uncle, and considering that my Grandfather is the sole survivor of that B17, he says that he would like to add a chapter, section, or something of some sort on my Grandfather.

But I have saved the best for in just a moment. I was about eight or nine when I asked my Grandfather about WWII. I found him to be particularly under detailed, very short, and generally refused to talk about it at all. In fact he never comes off to me as if he did serve in a war, but just one time, I got him to tell me about his experience. I never got any details about his training, deployment, or friends and family while he served. While on Christmas vacation at his retirement home in Florida, he just told me this one short story about the B17 he was on.

I was flying over Germany on a bombing run to disrupt some manufacturing plants. (My memory is hazy, but I think he told me something about ball bearings.) When we neared the target area, we came under attack from the Germans. Being the tail gunner of  B17 if anyone was to go, it was going to be me. The next thing I know an explosion went off and the airplane was split in half. I was knock unconscious and have no idea how I exited the plane or how my parachute opened. Maybe it was someone in the crew that saved me, but I think it was an Angel watching out for me that pulled me out of the plane and opened my chute. Once I regained consequence, I woke up, on the ground, with Germans pointing machine guns at me. I was taken prisoner, in Germany for an entire year (His burial flag lists the dates August 7, 1943 – November 5, 1945).  I was treated very well as a prisoner because the German’s were scared of the American’s coming. And these Germans worried that if the American’s had found fellow Americans being tortured or starving that they would have been literally beaten to death.

And that was the story I was told by my Grandpa Schwarz. Now this guy that called me, tells me that there is more to this story written in his own words. I’m told that in a letter my Grandfather wrote, he mentions being blasted into his guns from the explosion and that the next moment he remembers, he is clinging to the outside of his airplane. This man also has this letter that I’m afraid to read, but I look forward to it, it is the letter my Grandpa wrote explain his Uncle’s death. On the lighter side of things he claims to have a photo of my Grandfather, letters from my Grandmother (I think he meant Great Grandma) to his Grandmother about what may have happened to his uncle and my Grandfather, and more.

So all in all, I look forward to diving deeper into what this man offers and that my Aunt will have some amazing possessions of my Grandfather’s to show me.

Which is why I had to have 686‘s Destructed Denim. They have this punk arrogance right in line with doing battle with winter that I enjoy about them, and if you were to call them out on being arrogant as a fault, you’d  be wrong. While they are labeled “Jeans” and look extremely like distressed jeans, they are anything but. These Jeans are actually nylon snowboarding pants. Fully taped seams, 20g of polyfill insulation, the trademarked INFIDRY-15 meaning 15,000mm Waterproof / 10,000 Breathable rating, these pants are not only going to keep you warm and dry, but as long as the mercury is above 10°F  your in the comfort zone.

What was the final nail in the coffin for me was the cut of these Jeans. Unlike the other ghetto Jeans out there, which just aren’t my style, I prefer a regular fit, which is “Not too baggy, not too emo, but just right.”

Be sure to check out the Video 686 put together on these Jeans,

See ya on the slopes!

Now to give some back story as to why I got a phone call from Pat Muldoon, began with me getting upset over a post on the Facebook page of VWerks. I commented saying all I see are other manufacturer parts being bolted on and would like to see the modifications they did. When I woke up the next day and went to see if they commented back, I realized that my post was deleted. Which lead to me blogging about it on my website. Which in turn through a strange turn of events my website showed up in a search result where Laura who handles marketing, PR, and Media for VWerks, reached out to me and talked to me about this post.

In that post, it is this one just updated, I made the claim that VWerks is taking credit for Gen-Right‘s bumpers, fender flares, and Superlift‘s suspension as their own creation. And while my original accusations are justified, according to Pat Muldoon, he is good friends with Tony Pellegrino, the President / Founder of Gen-Right, and while Pat’s bumper is based off of Tony’s bumper supposedly everything is okay for Pat to produce it. I was wrong about the tube fenders to some degree, because no matter what you do, if you produce tube fenders for the JK your going to have parts that look the same out of necessity. Finally, VWerks did use Superlift’s 4″ suspension, just the thing is that they have a deal worked out with Superlift so they can sell the lift kits. So in a way it is their lift kit, but it will never count in my books.

Now for some things I didn’t know and learned. While you can buy the JK-8 Pickup Conversion Kit, you will be disappointed to find out that this very truck has had the frame rails stretched 6 additional inches in the rear crumple zone (the area behind the rear wheels). Now even though the Jeep is stretched 6 inches, it doesn’t change the factory wheel base at all. VWerk’s must have been hard pressed for time to make it to SEMA or something because as of right now the Jeep still has the factory 4.10 gear. But those gears are on their way out to be swapped out for 5.30 gears which will be much more appropriate for the massive BFG 40×14.50R17/C” Krawler T/A KX tires. While those are the factory Dana 44 axles under there, supposedly they have been beefed up with Dynatrac‘s help by replacing the axle shafts, bearings, other odds and ends which are equivalent parts Dana 60, or so Pat said. I thought Fox Shocks seemed weird on this build, so I asked about them and was told that they tried other shocks but the Fox’s seemed the most responsive.

I did get some other off topic cool tidbits from Pat Muldoon during are short conversation. Hopefully this isn’t suppose to be a secret, but apparently another Jeep is in the work for Red Jacket Firearms and the request for the color “Flat Grey” and a real gun mount for weapons and grenades. I was told the mount for the turret is difficult and that there is some elaborate skim of hoops and mounts going on to ensure plenty of strength. I also found Pat has had some sort of hand with my favorite Mopar Jeeps, the Immortal, blue crush, Pork Chop, and many more. I shouldn’t be surpised though, he said he had been working for Mopar for 23 years.

So all in all I had one great conversation with Pat Muldoon and hope to see him in Moab so I can stick him to his work saying I can drive it.

Now these Jeans, the Shift Racing Torque Jeans, are worlds beyond anything I have ever owned. Thick high quality fabric, great fit (for me at least), Kevlar lining, and a style of it’s own that I admire. I wear these Jeans chasing women at bars/club, running my daily errands, on my bike, basically everywhere. The other day I was walking downtown (Chicago), when that wind kicked up and I flinched at the coming cold, but to my surprise these Jeans don’t let the wind just cut right through the denim and as it turned out, I was toasty.

Thing is, the street portion of Shift Racing seemingly went out of business or something in early September this year. I cannot figure out what happened to them, but I would like to raise alarm that this was a great product and I’m upset to see it just disappear because I want to buy more. What I do know is that Fox Head owns Shift Racing and that is about it. I have been searching the webs for some form of  a ray of sunshine, but to dismay I have yet to find one. Over all, when I wear these Jeans I can feel the quality of them and definitely know that they vastly superior than the crap I had been buying.

I like these Jeans so much that I decided can’t be caught buying jeans ever again unless they matches the three pairs I got in quality, form, and function. Which I might have found said “match” with this company I just learned about, Sartso. When I look at the photos they seems to be very similar in design as to the jeans I got, I wouldn’t be surprised if the two companies were linked some how, but I have never seen or held Sartso’s product yet.

Anyway here’s to holding my breath for Sartso jeans being up to my expectations and to Shift Racing making a come back with these jeans, hopefully one of those statements will become true.

I’m not sure why or how, but I had SirusXM Satellite Radio for about month free, and when it got turned off I had to have it again. I started by looking up the prices of SirusXM and was immediately disappointed because of the pricing and wasn’t going to purchase it. But after some internet research, I found out that the trick to getting SirusXM at a price I’ll pay for, is to jump from promotion to promotion. To do this, all some one has to do is call in and ask for what ever the promotion they are currently offering, I got six months for $25.00 which includes everything but the adult channels and NASCAR. Then when ever that promotions time is about up, just under six months for me, call in and sign up for what ever the next promotion is so that the payments don’t go to the normal rates.

I have read a lot about people saying that the H3 Hummer is under powered and slow, but I’m not sure what they are comparing it to. Maybe they are used to driving Mustang’s, Camaro’s, and SUV’s with huge v8′s because they are completely off base by my  judgement. To me the H3 Hummer moves plenty fast, and has plenty of torque. I constantly have to monitor the speedometer because the Hummer quietly keeps on pulling. I have no problem holding 80 miles / hour on the highway, and I have never seen the Hummer gear hunting when heading up hills. What I really think is going on, is that these people want something that cannot be done. They want this imaginary, heavy duty SUV, that drives and handles like a sports car, and all the while getting great gas mileage, which is just something that will never happen.

After owning my H3 Hummer for a month or so I have decide on changing up what aftermarket parts and modification I want to do. I decided that the factory sliders are just to flimsy and that I will be building my own out of half-inch steel plate, 5×2-inch square tubing, and 1.75 inch DOM tubing to produce the strength, look, and price range I so desire because the aftermarket one’s are just to expensive. I already have the whole Hunner Skid Plates setup to protect my rear axle’s shock mounts and u-bolts getting powder-coated by my favorite guy for the job at Paradigm Coatings. I also plan to make and produce some longer shackles for the leaf spring in the rear to add some precious inches to the ground clearance that the H3 could use. I still plan on getting the winch mount by DeFelice Off-Raod and I have narrowed the winch down to the Warn VR8000 and like I said, I still plan to purchase the WARN Wireless Control System so that I don’t need to run in cab controls. I wasn’t lucky enough to get all the factory skid plates, which means I need to either purchase the factory one’s, or more likely, I want to make my own out of 3/8 inch thick steel. Finally, I plan to bring the front end of the Hummer up a bit by cranking the torsion-bars to about 1.5 inches higher than factory height, while factoring in the added weight of all these parts, so I can fit 35 inch General Grabber tires.

So all in all I’m like a kid at the night before Christmas all excited to get started building these Heavy Duty Rock Sliders, and I can wait to show you the build.

I have been looking at this harness for quite a while because I felt the harness I have was lacking compared to the ones my friends are using. There was nothing wrong with mine, just the new one’s are simply newer and by that I mean lighter, stronger, faster, sharper looking. Basically the same situation in car market year to year, something is always better in some way.

The Momentum SA Harness had one thing that did quickly push me over the edge and sort of impulse buy when I tried it on. The Harness has the new technology from black diamond called “trakFIT leg loop adjustment system,” which basically means you can adjust the leg loops in a matter of seconds. It is hard to explain with words, but I’ll try, trakFIT IS FAST! Hmm… that is close but you’ll just have to try one to see for yourself to really know.

I was disappointed to find that their sizing is completely off. To get the harness to align properly I had to buy the XL which is suppose to fit a 36-39″ waist. I am dead on a 33 in Jeans and buy 34s because I feel more comfortable in them. While the harness fits me great I feel sorry for anyone bigger than me because it just won’t fit properly on them, sorry big boned people.

Black Diamond has these features listed on the site for the harness

• Pre-threaded SpeedAdjust buckle on waistbelt
• Bullhorn-shaped OpenAir waistbelt built using Dual Core Construction
• Patent-pending trakFIT leg adjustment for easy, worry-free adjustability of OpenAir leg loops
• Adjustable releasable rear elastic riser
• 4 pressure-molded gear loops
• 12 kN-rated haul loop

And finally a link to the instructions located here.

I will be giving the harness a good work out next weekend when I return to Red River Gorge for Halloween weekend. So if I find any problems I’ll be sure to update this post.

Till the next Adventure, Later!

*Quick Upadate* Black Diamond put a video up on YouTube about the Harness

While the rest of the multi-tool was still good to use, I decided I should warranty it out. So I filled out a paper explaining the situation to Gerber and mail it to their place in Oregon. After not hearing from them in 2.5 weeks I made a phone call to them and find out that they had already fixed it and shipped it. They told me that they normally don’t call or email you, they just fix it and send it back. I got mine back with-in three weeks with shipping to and from Gerber, plus the time it took to repair it. I was amazed at how easy it was, no hassle at all, and it came back just as good as new. I was surprised to find out that they even put another Gerber sheath in the package, you can see in the featured image, and there was note too that made me feel good.

Dear Valued Customer

Your Gerber Legendary Blades product has been replaced. We hope you continue to use our products for many years to come.

Thank you for being part of the Legend!

Be sure to visit our website at www.gerbergear.com to see all of our current products.

Even though I have been praising them, I have one last bug to pick. I wish they would make some products that use the ultimate metals that is at our disposal, like the D2 Tool Steel that my 583 Warn Barrage Knife is made of. Either-way, I still love this multi-tool and plan to buy more products from Gerber in the future.

A few requirements I had when deciding on a performance t-shirt I liked was first and foremost the shirt would seriously ward off the nasty smell of sweating, which knocked most company I knew about out of the list. The only ones left standing where Merino Wool Shirt which I would rather not pay for and the fable anti-microbial properties of t-shirts with silver in them. I only say “fable” because I knew that companies made shirts with silver in them, but for the life of me I couldn’t find a single one. Secondly, these t-shirts had to handle dissipating sweat rapidly, and finally I wanted an athletic cut.

After about 4-5 months I  literally stumbled across a company that met all my requirements, XGO. I was  excited when I read their slogan “Welcome to XGO-Highly-Technical, next-to-skin garments designed for Performance,  Protection, Comfort, and Durability.” The prices are just right for me at $27.00 a shirt and of course their Tactical T-shirt has that athletic cut I desire. Even better yet was that XGO, a brand of Longworth Industries, is produced in America, more specifically West End North Carolina. They make a claim on their website that “all of our designs, sources, production, shipping, marketing and management are handled within a 15-mile radius of West End, NC.” But I knew I was sold when I realize they had the fable AG-47 silver for anti-microbial protection.

The Tactical T-shirt is listed as a lightweight Technical mesh that weighs 4 oz./sq. yard, breathable, quick-drying that is ideal for hot to temperate weather. Form fitting, especially under personal protection gear.

• 100% Acclimate® Dry Polyester wick and dissipate perspiration and moisture away from the skin—keeping the wearer dry and comfortable for extended periods of activity.
• Ag47 Anti-Microbial Protection, As moisture passes through the fabric, Ag 47 Silver attacks the bacteria contained in the perspiration and effectively eliminate odor and harmful bacteria–improving overall hygiene.
• Superior Moisture-Wicking
• Lightweight First Layer
• Won’t Shrink, Pick or Fade
• Durable and Breathable
• Extra Length
• Clean Seams

After I got my first t-shirt I was so happy with it and that ordered 2 more with in a month. I have no problem with the moisture-wicking properties and this year has been plenty hot and humid to test the shirt to the extremes. The Anti-Microbial Protection has me on the fence though, I think it smells way better than anything I have sweat into, and I swear it does. I just don’t think I have really put it to real challenge yet.  Durability is up for debate, but after a couple washes everything is fine, except the logo in the lower left corner is coming off but I kind of like that not it is completely plain.

All in all I recommend this shirt.

Then one day while at the Bristol Renascence Fair, a thought a cured to me that a fully functional Tomahawk Peace Pipe, with the powerful duality of war axe on one side and on the other a peace pipe, that this would be the ultimate experience of  smoking a pipe. As I thought about getting a tomahawk more and more, I got down on myself because of two things. First, a fully functional Tomahawk is going to be incredibly unique and second, most likely very expensive. Even though I knew about those two problems I decide I should at least find out where I could get one and how much they cost.

So I began to searching around the internet and immediately found cheap ones floating around, but they wouldn’t even come close to making the cut. I had better luck on Amazon.com, but again they where not what I was looking for, they had something missing. The something more that you can see, but can never point at. That is what I was looking for in my Tomahawk. I began to lose hope because I could not finding anything remotely close to what I wanted and I went to eBay in hopes maybe someone might not realize how valuable or desired a real Tomahawk is, but no such luck either. Just more of that same old cheap stuff I kept finding.

Determined, I kept killing time on eBay in hopes I would find just one. When suddenly I came upon a replica Tomahawk that was so close to what I wanted. Thinking to myself, quietly, I said, “If their is one, there most be more, and one of those has to be the one.” Sure enough when I did a search on guys other products for sale I found my axe. I knew it the second I laid eye’s on it. There it was, something so real, so solid in a world of fake hood scoops on cars, poorly manufactured Chinese junk, and the next Brittany Spears sensation, this Tomahawk was real.

Made of damascus steel, the Tomahawk is rust resistant, incredibly durable, and strong. The metal is said to have legends of it cutting through a rifle barrel and cutting a single hair in half that fell on it. This Tomahawk has a handy knife that unscrews from the top of the head with the add bonus of making very easy to clean the pipe. Engraved on the axe is four skull and cross bones, on the shaft is beautiful brass inlay, and the filter inside the bowl is made of brass too. I have tested it out on chopping wood and have to say it does a fantastic job.The leather sheath that came with it and the knife have the knife-smith name engraved in both, “Felix.”

Finally the whole reason I purchased it, which is to smoke out of it, I find this to be unbelievable. When properly packed this Peace Pipe Tomahawk smokes amazingly well, also can be easily shared with 5 – 10 people, and basically start your own little personal pow-wow.

The CamelBak Ambush water pack carries 102oz (3.1 Liters) when full which is plenty for a day. The pack also has room for things like cameras, cigarettes, notes, a knife or two, and of course a multi-tool. The webbing at the bottom is perfect for attachments of just about anything, I use it to help carry my Tom-a-hawk for the up and coming burning man event. Of course with all the military gear it has a lifetime warranty. Comes in the colors AUC, Coyote (my personal favorite), Foliage which meets military standards for infrared reflectance (which hopefully won’t need that). Finally the pack is made of varying sections of 500D Cordura, 420D, 210D High density Nylon, and 7mm thick EVA foam for padding and measures out to be 16in x 10in x 5.5in (410 mm x 250 mm x 140 mm).

The pack even has the option of putting a filter in-line between the bladder and the bite valve so you can filter the water as you go. Developed by MSR you can rest reassured that this works flawlessly.

Having used this running, mountain biking, and what not this hydration pack is above the rest. And rightfully so, because the military uses and needs the best out there. I don’t see much room for improvement, everything is as it should be and has no negatives. If you are at all interested, don’t hesitate, just get it.

When I say plan, I mean plan everything, the dates, the location, type of expedition, etc. I choose to climb the famous ex-American National Monument “Mount Holly Cross,” a 14,000 Ft. in Colorado. Now, I don’t plan to have much, if any, trouble climbing the huge mountain but instead I quote Walter Bonatti, “Mountains are the means, the man is the end. The goal is not to reach the tops of mountains, but to improve the man.” And in that spirit I decided it would be great to just center the trip around finding craigs, rock climbing, climb to the top of a 14,000ft iconic mountain, and focus on improving (upon) the man.

So now that I have made it to the team building phase all I have to do is just find 5 team members and get approved by the panel. In an email I recieced I was told to note the following points when preparing my project and selecting team members.

• The tours will be selected one after the other up until September 2011. There is therefore no set deadline. As soon as the jury decides in favour of a tour, the status of the team changes to “Selected”.
• All team members must be available at the time of the expedition.
• The expedition travel costs are to be covered by the team and/or the individual team members. Mammut provides the team with the anniversary equipment and a mountain guide from the Mammut Alpine School.
• The team leader and all team members have the necessary physical and sporting skills for the expedition.
• By participating in the expedition, the entire team grants Mammut the rights of use for all photo and video material.

You can check out my Mammut Basecamp by clicking the link, my team is ever so cleverly named “Adventure Seekers.” Be sure to wish me luck on the wall, or if your skilled enough apply for a spot on my team.

Eric J. Schwarz

This book so far is proving to be very fun to read, especially after having read the book “The Kid Who Climbed Everest” by Bear Grills. The whole premise of Jessica Watson‘s book is, and I quote.

“The True Story of a 16-Year-Old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted Around the World.”

Now some people might be thinking “she’s just some rich kid,” but Jessica isn’t a kid specially privileged in any or with parents living vicariously through her. This whole idea of sailing solo came from when she read the book by Jesse Martin, “Lionheart,” and in her book she says “it made me wonder… Could I do it? Could I sail around the world on my own?” Referring to how a young Jesse Martin had successfully sailed solo around the world without being privileged or a superhero for that matter.

Now, I as in myself, can’t help but dream as I read her book similar to how she dreamed when she read Jesse Martin’s book. I ask myself “Could I do it? Can I find my adventure too?” Now I’m not saying I want to be the youngest to sail around the world (little late for that anyways), or even sail for that reason, but rather I want to find my own similar story when read this book. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to tackle an adventure like solo sailing around the world, just I’m not sure if it is my thing, especially since I want to find my own path.

Getting back to the book, I enjoy reading it because for her it seems like this adventure was the farthest thing from an easy one, especially if you read the prolog to this book. Also the book is very straight forward and easy to read with no slow points (in it so far), which is just the way I like it. And the cherry on top for me is that this story is someone’s first hand true accounts of an epic adventure they had.

If this is at all interesting, you might want to check out Jessica’s website http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/ where you can check out her Latest News, Read Her Blog, Video’s of her, and check out her next big adventure, “Another Challenge.”

Well… time to get back to reading,

Eric Schwarz