Category: Travel

Robert F.J. Barnett,
B.A.(Waterloo), M.A.(Queen’s)
Professor Emeritus of Economics
Bishop’s University.

Barnett, Robert Francis John, June 9, 2021, at Cheticamp, NS. Predeceased by his parents and his sister Dorothy Ann Jane Barnett; wife of the late Dr. Alan Bruce Hood; mother of Susan (Toronto) and Thomas (The Hague). His brother William resides in Cheticamp, NS. 

Robert passed away on the morning of June 9, 2021. He had a complaint and died on his way to the hospital and really had pretty good health up until that time.

I don’t really know the particulars and perhaps won’t. There hasn’t been any obituary up until now from the family and if he follows suit as his long-time buddy William Shearson there won’t be any.

I considered Robert one of my better friends in life while we were at Bishop’s and living in Lennoxville and North Hatley for the better part of twenty years. He moved to Cheticamp with his brother and I came out west; I will miss him dearly!

He was one of my professors of economics at Bishop’s University, a mentor and provided me with the use of his office on weeknights and that was instrumental in getting me through the Economics Faculty and finally graduating. As did his colleges Stan Groves, Cecil Haver, and Fakhari Siddiqui with whom I had Friday lunch on many occasions as well as numerous other occasions on and off-campus. Bishop’s was one of the greatest times of my life and all the professors at the time made the experience so. Our foursome of John Karpluk (deceased), Tim Belford at golf was great fun and went on for years. Tennis at the club in North Hatley on the clay courts was just our speed and skill to spend the afternoon. He had two residents in North Hatley but none with a beach so most weekends he spent on my beach in the Hat. Large parties and barbeques were the norms in those days and we had the greatest of times.

The fishing camp dating back to 1896 was a great retreat for him; a private camp way out past electricity with a lodge on a private lake. A great place to chill and enjoy the club membership.

Stan Groves, then a professor of Economics at Bishop’s, co-founded the Golden Lion Pub with Robert and Dr. David Seale, fellow profs in 1973; his son Stan Jr now manages the pub and brewery.

Cards at Lucie’s with Caroline will be missed but will live on in memories as will all the other times at football games or road trips to Queens to watch the Gaiters.

His generosity and hospitality were legendary as he was a pillar of the community on and off-campus. A gentleman, that will be dearly missed!

It was a pleasure Robert and in your own words, “well done”!

How to Off-Road Responsibly

• 6/15/2021
• 4:16 PM
• Outside Magazine: All
• Outside Editors
• Web site view

With the #vanlife and overlanding lovers joining the legions of outdoor enthusiasts pushing their trucks and all-wheel-drive wagons and SUVs further into the backcountry, there have never been more people exploring our nation’s back roads, forest service roads, and off-road trails. “Whether your objective is just a fun off-road adventure or you’re using your vehicle to access a trailhead, crag, or river, it’s more important than ever to follow proper off-road rules and etiquette,” says Ryan Dull, stewardship and outreach specialist for Stay the Trail Colorado, an off-roading educator. “The goal is to minimize your impact on the trails but also to safely share the trails with fellow off-roaders and hikers, cyclists, and anyone else who might be enjoying the trail.” From how to navigate obstacles to advice on how match tires to your vehicle and local terrain from the experts at Toyo Tires, here’s everything you need to know to off-road responsibly.

Know Before You Go

“One of the biggest reasons you need to know all the rules and regulations and proper etiquette is to keep these areas open,” says Stay the Trail’s Dull. “Your impact on the land can have lasting damage.” Start by obtaining copies of any applicable maps, like a Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map, which will tell you which roads and trails are legal to drive on, and use mapping apps like Gaia GPS or OnX Off Road. You should also check the land agency’s website or call to ask whether there are any restrictions due to seasonal road closures, forest fires, or other events.

Match Tires to Your Vehicle and Conditions

“When choosing a new set of tires, it’s important to think about your vehicle, your driving habits, where you live, and the terrain and weather you typically encounter,” says Todd Bergeson, senior product manager of light truck tires at Toyo Tire USA. If you principally drive on pavement but plan to spend a fair amount of time on rough dirt roads, Bergeson recommends looking for a tire like the Toyo Open Country A/T III, the tire Bryan Rogala is running on his truck in the video above. With a more aggressive tread pattern and sturdier build than a standard all-weather tire, the Open Country A/T III is designed for lots of miles on dirt and rock and will provide more traction and protection against flats. It also comes with up to a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty and a three-peak mountain snowflake rating, meaning it does well in the snow. And, it’s available in a wide variety of sizes and several load ranges for vehicles ranging from a Subaru Outback or Honda CRV to a Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma, or Ford Super Duty.

If you spend more time off-road but want to maintain lower road noise and comfort for the times you are on pavement, Bergeson recommends a hybrid tire like the Open Country R/T, which offers excellent off-road handling and added durability with the on-road manners of an all-terrain tire. It also comes with a 45,000-mile treadwear warranty. Finally, for overlanders that frequent ungroomed roads with lots of mud, dirt, and rocks, Bergeson points to the legendary Open Country M/T, Toyo Tires’ most durable, aggressive tire. The “M/T” in this case stands for Maximum Traction, which is reflected in this tire’s seriously burly tread and purpose-built sidewalls designed for traction in the most severe terrain. 

Whatever tire you chose, remember to inspect them after each adventure. Make sure your air pressure is at the recommended PSI; check your tread depth and look for any signs of punctures, cracking, or wear. If you need someone to help, Toyo Tires has a long list of reputable dealers on their website.

Be Prepared for Anything

As for all the other gear, it’s easy to dive into the gear rabbit hole with off-roading, but beyond tires, you’ll really just need some basic recovery equipment. A tow strap, shovel, water, food, and perhaps some emergency overnight gear will ensure you can handle just about any situation.

How to Navigate Obstacles

Everything from sand pits and stream crossings to rock gardens and deep ruts are all part of the adventure. The key is knowing how to approach them before you encounter them. The number-one rule of off-road driving, says Dull, is to go “as slow as possible and as fast as necessary.” “Always cross a creek at a 90-degree angle, and don’t try to splash water, because that causes more erosion,” Dull says. 

You can apply that same principle to rock gardens and hills. Instead of using throttle and momentum to get up a steep hill, or riding your brakes down a scary descent, make sure you put your vehicle in four-wheel low and keep it in first gear to use engine braking and lower gearing to your advantage. “You never want to spin tires. Spinning tires is the quickest way to lose traction, whether you’re on rocks, in the sand, or in mud,” Dull says. “You always want to maintain throttle control with traction.” 

Just as with mountain biking, it’s also important to go over obstacles rather than around them. “Always try to place your tire on the obstacle. That leaves the least impact and you’d be surprised how capable your vehicle is of going over things,” Dull says. Driving around a large ledge, rock garden, or other features also causes trail braiding and widening, which should be avoided. 

Trail Etiquette

In general, if you’re in a motor vehicle you’ll need to yield to everyone else on the trail and slow down or stop to let hikers, cyclists, or anyone else pass. If you encounter another vehicle on a narrow road and there’s not enough room to turn around, you’ll need to figure out how to move briefly off the trail while doing the least possible damage to plants beside the road. Predetermined hand signals and in-vehicle communication devices like GMRS radios or walkie-talkies come in extremely handy if you’re traveling in a group.

Leave No Trace

Off-roading, just like camping and other outdoor activities, should follow Leave No Trace principles. Don’t drive on muddy trails; pack out everything you pack in; don’t create new campsites, fire rings, or trails; and in general leave wherever you’re exploring better than you found it. Do your homework before you head out—organizations like Tread Lightly and Dull’s Stay the Trail Colorado are great resources for learning more about responsible off-roading. And if you’re new to off-roading, look for a local 4×4 club to go out with your first time. “It’s really pretty simple,” says Outside’s Rogala. “Know your vehicle, know where you’re going, don’t go too fast, and make sure you have a good set of tires.”

China’s famous herd of wandering elephants has stopped for a rest after a 15-month journey far out of their natural habitat, an odyssey that has captivated the country.Authorities have marshalled extraordinary resources to monitor the herd and keep it away from residential areas. According to Chinese media, the Yunnan forest fire brigade said a team of eight people were tracking the elephants, 24 hours a day, both on the ground and by drone from the air.The herd of wild Asian elephants was tracked to a forest just outside a village in Xiyang township, in Yunnan, around 90km south-west of Kunming city, heading back in the direction from which they came.Drone images showed the elephants lying down in the forest, resting during their travels which have so far covered 500km (300 miles).

Source: China’s herd of wandering elephants takes a rest after 500km trek | China | The Guardian

The Earth has finally attained popular recognition for its fifth ocean, with a decision by the National Geographic Society to add the Southern Ocean around Antarctica to the four it recognizes already: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.Although the designation of the frigid waters around the icy southern continent as a separate ocean has kicked around for almost 100 years and is widely used by scientists, until now it has not had popular backing.But on June 8 — World Oceans Day — the society announced it would henceforth be labeling the Southern Ocean as the fifth ocean on its maps of our planet.Related: See photos of Antarctica: The ice-covered bottom of the world”The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it,” the society’s official geographer Alex Tait told the National Geographic website. “It’s sort of geographic nerdiness in some ways.”One of the biggest impacts would be on education, he said: “Students learn information about the ocean world through what oceans you’re studying. If you don’t include the Southern Ocean, then you don’t learn the specifics of it and how important it is.”

Source: Earth’s fifth ocean just confirmed | Live Science

The Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower) is an important building in the history of skyscrapers. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), which also handled this recent Skydeck renovation, it was originally completed in 1973 and stood as the world’s tallest skyscraper for 25 years. Even now, it’s a very tall building, at 442 m (1,450 ft) in height and remains the USA’s third-tallest tower.

Source: Willis Tower’s renovated viewing point is not for the faint of heart

CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing tool, but it’s not without its downsides. Now, scientists at Harvard have demonstrated an alternative genetic engineering system called Retron Library Recombineering (RLR), which works without cutting DNA and can be quickly applied to huge populations of cells.

Source: Harvard gene-editing tool “sneaks” DNA into cells without making cuts

VINCENZO SPENDS EVERY AFTERNOON IN Alianello to feed his chickens and “to pass some time.” Before darkness falls, he secures the animals in a natural cave, then he goes home to Alianello Nuovo. The mild-mannered retired garbage man, who lived here from 1976 to 1980, is the last caretaker of a town that was declared not fit to live in after the 1980 earthquake but was definitively abandoned only in 2000.Alianello, a hamlet of the Municipality of Aliano, risks the collapse, like many things in this part of Basilicata. The eviction order was ignored by about half of its 300 inhabitants at the time, those who did not want to move to the prefabricated buildings built a few kilometers away. But since 1980, the Municipality of Aliano has no longer provided essential services so one after the other, even the most loyal ones had to raise the white flag.Among the abandoned houses there are cradles, bottles of preserves and liqueurs, telephone directories from 1988, strollers, chairs, hangers. Shutters creak with every gust of wind, yet Alianello isn’t as scary as many other ghost towns. Those who have abandoned this village have done so reluctantly, who have experienced it remembers it with a tender nostalgia.“Until 1978 there was no telephone line, the only way to call relatives or children who emigrated to work was the only telephone booth in the village. Some houses did not have running water. But there was a grocery store, a minimarket, a butcher, a tobacconist, and a stationery shop. In short, we had everything we needed,” says Domenica Rinaldi, an employee of the Municipality of Aliano who lived in the hamlet up to the age of 14.“I look at the trees that have grown up in the middle of the kitchens, the weeds everywhere and I feel sorry: we used to keep this town like a garden” Vincenzo reflects bitterly. He still remembers the names of those who lived in every single house. The 1980 earthquake started the diaspora of a tight small community. “In Alianello we shared everything. It was a big extended family and teeming of children. The little ones were always supervised by a neighbor” continues Domenica.“If I close my eyes and think back to life there, I feel a sense of lightheartedness and tranquility. And I seem to smell of the bread that you always breathed in the morning. I have never felt it so intense anywhere else.”

Source: Alianello Ghost Town – Alianello, Italy – Atlas Obscura

When I finish one book and am deciding what to read next, there usually isn’t always rhyme or reason to what I pick. Sometimes I’ll read one great book and get inspired to read several more about the same subject. Other times I am eager to follow a recommendation from someone I respect.Lately, though, I find myself reaching for books about the complicated relationship between humanity and nature. Maybe it’s because everyone’s lives have been upended by a virus. Or maybe it’s because I’ve spent so much time this year talking about what we need to do to avoid a climate disaster.

Source: 5 ideas for summer reading | Bill Gates