Blog Status, 3 Feb 2013

Well, I ain't dead yet,   ;)   but 2012 was a tumultuous year for me. I got let go from a job I had held for 21 years and was left to flail about in the "new economy." I spent a total of 6 months unemployed. My repeated searches for employment and getting my skills a bit more polished led me to all but abandon Adventures In Stoving, much to my chagrin. I did do a bit of blogging on my personal hiking blog (Hikin' Jim's Blog), but I just didn't have the time or energy to do any organized stove testing or blogging.

Henry Coe State Park

I just got back from the annual GGG last week at Henry Coe State Park (The GGG is a group backpacking event organized through Backpacking Light), and I got pretty fired up (if you'll pardon the pun) about exploring the technology and variety of backpacking stoves once more.  My "jobs" these days are all contracts -- with end dates, not traditional jobs, so I have to "make hay while the sun shines" and put in a lot of hours when the opportunity to work arises.  I never know how much time I'll spend between periods of employment.  Despite my very real constraints, I hope to have something to offer to the general and ultralight backpacking community in 2013. 

The Kovea Spider (KB-1109), the outstanding (in my opinion) remote canister stove of 2012

Stick around; I've got lots more to show you,

HJ

Notes on Advertising on My Blog.
I do allow advertising on my blog.  My blog is mainly a hobby, but I do derive some limited financial remuneration from the blog, an average of $1.70 per day in 2012.  I view the blog as "self supporting" in that it pays for itself in terms of fuel for my stoves and perhaps allowing me to occasionally purchase a stove that I have a particular interest in.  Basically, your presence here helps to pay for the content that you view (and helps me to continue my hobby), so I thank you for joining me on my Adventures in Stoving.

Ancient limber pine, just off the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)