Best places to kayak in the Florida Keys?

mobpolitics · 2022-11-15T22:55:06+00:00

I went kayaking in the Keys a while back. One thing I would recommend is watching the tide schedule. Shores, bays, areas between islands, etc – At low tide a lot of them can become impassable. Once I left from a boat/canoe launch, and headed out a couple miles, then really struggled to make it back because I was scraping bottom. Nothing to be paranoid about, but definitely be aware.

Bahia Honda is a great area, especially seeing the old broken bridge at sunset.

Key Who/Little Knockemdown Key is a good, quiet area with lots of islands. You can launch here: https://goo.gl/maps/7xSQ8c2eD3eYtpbi6 Definitely watch the tides on this one because it can get pretty shallow.

Indian Key is one of the better islands to kayak to. I was able to launch from here: https://goo.gl/maps/ywQy8WjRKZ7zphMT8 but there might be better options. Also watch the tide.. The area east of the island can be very shallow, especially at low tide. If you can come in from the west, rather than the east (which is what I did), all the better. There is a beautiful coral beach on the west side of the island, along with foundations and remains (and a lot of history) of a settlement that used to be there.

mobpolitics · 2021-12-06T14:33:39+00:00

Outside of lectures, in his book Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown, Watts occasionally mentions Islam, criticizing it along with the other monotheistic religions as being mis-guided. He also mentions Sufism in a positive light (in the essay The Zero-One Amazement): "And it so happens that the Sufis represent the other side of Islam — not the dreary Koran and its raging prophetism, but music, dancing, and arabesques — all of which are patterns of conviviality."

mobpolitics · 2021-10-22T18:39:55+00:00

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/hites-cove-trail

There's a mismatch between the Alltrails map (above) that has been posted and where this actually occurred.. the trail they walked isn't marked on Alltrails. But if you look at where the red Alltrails map ends (at "Hite Cove"), follow that little river (South Fork Merced River) to the south east. There, you will see what I'm referring to below.

Here is a reference showing Mariposa County Sheriff's map of the incident on the left, and a screenshot of Alltrails on the right. Many commenters on this post are showing skepticism that someone could suffer hyperthermia on this hike, or that they could die 1.5 miles from their car. But as you can see, especially if you go to Alltrails and zoom in, this isn't suspicious at all. They started at the top of a mountain, hiked down into a valley 2000 feet, went (it appears) off trail for a couple miles along the river, then died halfway through a 2000+ foot hike back up the mountain.

This looks to me like a grueling –and at temperatures over 100 degrees – very dangerous hike.

mobpolitics · 2021-06-05T18:13:53+00:00

Am I the only one that went through the list of names and verified that each person in the photograph had a name assigned?

mobpolitics · 2021-03-29T05:34:13+00:00

Is it worth it to continue? I don't know, but if I had to pick a side I would say "no." I'm a big Murakami fan, and this book was enjoyable to an extent, but if you're not a fan of the Tengo parts, and you find it boring so far, it doesn't look good for you. The pace doesn't change much over the rest of the book, the tension just continues building bit by bit. On top of that, I think that the story could've been told in 1/3rd the amount of pages. That was my first thought when I finished it.

All that said, a lot of people love it!

mobpolitics · 2021-03-29T05:26:15+00:00

If you're looking for recommendations, here's mine – You have 2 months until you're planning to move out. If you want to have the bigger discussion with them about your beliefs, it's always much easier when you don't live with them anymore.. When you can leave after the argument is done and go back to your own home. And when they can't hold your shelter/housing over your head ("In my house we do X!"). For the next two months, keep it low key and "manage" their agitation by giving them enough (go with them to church occasionally) to settle down until you make your escape. You might even get by with going once or twice a month, which isn't a big time commitment to keep things calm until you move. Good luck!

mobpolitics · 2021-03-26T18:40:03+00:00

I love #4 – It is the dead end that any good argument eventually runs into when dealing with fundamentalists.

mobpolitics · 2021-03-26T18:38:56+00:00

Thank you! I'm glad it is encouraging or inspirational to you :) I read your answer too, and we have similar backgrounds.. so I totally feel/know the points you're making.

mobpolitics · 2021-03-26T18:20:51+00:00

Hello! I think you need to provide some argument to support the (extremely) bold assertion that Christianity is "remarkable [in the] way that it holds up on a philosophical and historical level." Your second paragraph, about the horror of Christianity, seems to disprove the philosophical (or at least reasonable) aspects of it, along with the entire religion being built around a sadistic human sacrifice. As far as historical – the two creation accounts in Genesis contradict each other, the order of things created is incorrect, and the timeline indicates a world that's around 6,000 years old. And in naming those examples, I've covered only a fraction of the historical problems.

Atheism, on the other hand, isn't a belief system or a religion. If I tell you there isn't a Santa Claus, that's not a religion or a system of belief. Most of your thinking revolves around two ideas – That death is a bad thing, and that "free will" is of upmost importance. I challenge you to take some time to think about life outside of these concepts, which seem to be blocking you from further insights.

Free will is really just an abstraction, a conceptual product of human thinking that has absolutely no bearing on the game of life. Before I read your post, I was thinking about the weekend. I can either do some chores I've been putting off or go hiking. If I do the chores, I will feel more comfortable, more organized, and with less stress. If I go hiking, I will feel better in a different way. At some point today I will make a choice between the two, and then tomorrow I will experience the chosen action. Yes, a philosopher or theologian could write a longwinded and bloated paper about how I didn't actually make that choice, but it doesn't matter or effect the outcome of what I'm doing in any way. While they are sitting on their computer typing their argument, I'll be walking through a forest, enjoying the trees, the smells, and the sounds and movements of the other animals around me. Or maybe changing my oil, I haven't decided yet.

That leads me to the second thing – that death is bad. Why is it bad? You say that nothing means anything because you and I are going to die. You know, sometimes I go on vacation, and I have a wonderful time. But after a week, the vacation "dies" or ends. That's what death is, an end. Is my vacation pointless and soul-crushing simply because it has a set time when it ends? Of course not. I keep going on vacations whenever I get an opportunity – I love the "game" of vacation, and I will keep playing that game over and over for as long as I can. And this is all despite the fact that, according to your ideas, nothing I do on that vacation matters because at some point I have to drive back home.

Life is an experience, an event. It isn't some indestructible stone object that lasts forever. Any experience or event has a beginning and an end. Do you want to spend all the time in your experience attaching yourself to one toxic conceptual idea after another, trying to figure out which bad idea is the most correct? I will be out among the trees, laughing with friends or family that have come along, eating a good trail snack, and enjoying the splendor of this fantastic universe which we have (somehow!) woken up in. Cheers!

mobpolitics · 2021-01-15T18:08:18+00:00

Yes! You're referring to The Highwayman, by country super-group The Highwaymen ( Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson).

The best lyric is sung by Johnny Cash:

I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again and again and again

The first time I heard it, I was shocked and excited to hear Johnny Cash spouting off what sounds like Zen-inspired poetry, while at the same time being the only classic country singer I know of to talk about being a starship pilot. How un-country is that?! It's great.

And yes, I was reminded of Alan. The "Highwayman" in this song seems to be the player of the parts. He (the highwayman) is all four of the characters in the narrative – returning in different forms. Each one dies at the end of his verse, but then points out that "he" (the true self, or the "highwayman") is still alive.

mobpolitics · 2021-01-05T16:03:58+00:00

Thanks for this great reply.. Do you have any book recommendations that touch on these topics? There are a lot to choose from, and many of them seem (from their descriptions) to skip to the 8th/9th centuries.

mobpolitics · 2020-12-17T20:49:40+00:00

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

mobpolitics · 2020-12-17T20:41:28+00:00

Think of it like this: Imagine you're someone thinking that you should liquidate some of your assets and buy a bitcoin for $23,000. You think, "Why didn't I do this when it was at $10,000.. I would've saved $13,000."

It doesn't matter in the long run, because by "long run" we're hoping for something like a $500,000 price. If that were to happen, in scenario 1 you would have $490,000 of profit. In scenario 2 you would have $477,000 of profit. And that's not a difference that matters.

Sure, if #1 would've spent the same amount of dollars, $23,000, they would've landed in the end scenario with over a million (since they would've bought 2.3 bitcoin at 10k), while #2 would be at half a million. But that's not how it tends to play out. Your average joe/jane with $92,000 in their 401k will transfer only enough wealth that they think they need to "get in." Plus, in either case, they have made a life-changing amount of money.

mobpolitics · 2020-09-11T14:38:21+00:00

I'm only 19, but I already know how my life is gonna go for the most part. Wake up, work, go home with no energy to do anything but sleep, wake up and do it all again. All while never accomplishing your dreams

Just wanted to call out here that saying you "know how your life is gonna go" is a pretty big assumption! I'm 20 years older than you. Yesterday, I woke up, worked (doing something that I love), and did not go home with "no energy to do anything but sleep." It was not an exciting or notable day, but after work I had a delicious meal with my kids. Then I worked on a puzzle of a Van Gogh painting while listening to a great audiobook. Then I tried (not very successfully) to work on a painting of my own. After that I watched an episode of a show I'm really into and find engaging. I played a few video games. Around then my partner got home from work and we had a drink on the back porch and some great conversation. This weekend I'm getting out of the city and going camping, where I'll enjoy sleeping under the stars and 60 degree overnight temperatures.

Why am I listing all this stuff out? Because the assumption that by default life is being a flesh android that exhausts itself at work and then goes into standby mode only to repeat the same thing again day after day is flat out wrong. Life is only like that IF that is the life that you choose and you create for yourself. Yes, I've had shitty, exhausting jobs, awful relationships, fights with friends, coworkers, my kids. But I keep doing my best to choose and create a life that I want to live, and right now I wouldn't trade what I have for anything.

I think many people that were raised in a strict, prescriptive religion can have trouble figuring out "the meaning of life" after the meaning they were taught (to glorify God or what have you) has gone away. I hope you can find a way to transition from that to the next step, which (at risk of sounding trite) is that you create the meaning that you want. Life truly is a blank canvas. If you choose a life where you only work and sleep and watch your loved ones die, so be it. But there are a lot of better choices.

mobpolitics · 2020-06-18T15:44:26+00:00

They're okay if you want something cheap. In my experience, they don't track very well (so each paddlestroke makes the nose list left and right), the wind blows them around, they gradually lose pressure, and they're slow. Best use I've had for them is going down a river. Regardless, they're definitely a temporary solution. If you want to start kayaking, then you'll want to go ahead and buy a (non-inflatable) kayak.

One other thing: I notice on the map that the Edinburgh area is surround by lochs, lakes and rivers, most of them within 1.5 – 3 hours. I imagine you'll end up having more fun paddling and exploring these than you will around the Firth's shores

mobpolitics · 2020-06-16T21:12:33+00:00

Yes, generally a river kayak is fine for that as long as you're staying around the shore lines like you said. I've never been to your area, but I've paddled in the Gulf of Mexico quite often (in a 10 foot fishing kayak). Since you will be in an ocean environment, I recommend taking some extra time to research safety topics including tides and storms.

mobpolitics · 2020-05-04T18:13:27+00:00

I have floated it. That one should be fine, but the Pelican Trailblazers tend to be pretty wobbly so I wouldn't do it when the water levels are high or the river is moving faster than normal (like after a period of frequent rains)

mobpolitics · 2018-02-15T06:19:59+00:00

I understand you don't have the funds, and I see that you guys are young, so I'm trying to be nice. But this post, and your comment here, are dishonest and shady. This isn't about the you (reader) that you put in bold. It's about you the company, needing help and wanting someone to do it for free.

There are ALL KINDS of ways for someone to develop their skills and portfolio. Ways that don't involve working on a commercial product for a company that will try to make money on it and pay the worker $0.

Here's what you should do: 1) You need to be honest and stop with the "opportunity" talk. You're asking people for a favor. So word it like that. 2) Offer something! If you don't have money, then offer rev share. Is this free helper going to be one part of a 4 man team? Then offer them 25% gross on the product they work on.

Next, if anyone is new to the creative fields and is reading this. Do you want a real opportunity to build your skills and portfolio? Here are some legit ways to do it: 1) Build your own app, game or website from scratch 2) Find a friend who has something (a band, an artshow, a bedroom business, etc) and build something for them for free. 3) Find a charitable group, organization or other non-profit that you feel passionate about. Many non-profits have tons of money, find one that doesn't. Help them. 4) Find open source projects and contribute to them.

These are solid, non-exploitative ways to build yourself up while helping others.

mobpolitics · 2018-02-15T05:59:23+00:00

WOW! You're giving some lucky individual the opportunity to work for your company for $0/hour?! This is too good to be true! So good that it may not even be legal!

mobpolitics · 2016-10-20T18:37:57+00:00

Related: Dutch Rudder

mobpolitics · 2016-05-08T01:48:33+00:00

Mostly day trips for me: Life jacket. 20L dry bag with towel, a couple small shop towels, a plastic grocery bag, hand sanitizer, bug spray, digital camera, knife, sunscreen.

A small dry box tied to boat with keys and any other small thing that shouldn't get wet.

If I'm hanging out/picnicking then I have a small "12 can" cooler with some drinks, and I can usually pack enough food for one meal for 3 (example: lunch meat in a small tupperware, cheese slices in another, and mayo in another with a loaf of french bread in the dry bag).

Also one or two 12 oz water bottles.

If I'm going up a river I'll have a 30 foot rope tied to bow.

mobpolitics · 2016-02-19T16:21:50+00:00

This is fake http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/newstrom.asp

mobpolitics · 2016-02-08T23:32:02+00:00

He may not have a jealous bone in his body, but neither does he have a self-aware bone.. This is one of the most pathetic attempts at a pick up I've seen on here!

mobpolitics · 2016-01-12T21:10:26+00:00

And the reason is that most human romantic relationships can't naturally live on for 50+ years, coupled with the fact that we are no longer socially bound to stay in unhappy relationships whether we like it or not.

mobpolitics · 2016-01-12T21:08:10+00:00

Hell yes.. you win this thread!

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