SKWOOSH: A shameless blog of self promotion

RIO de BUCKET LIST

2012-02-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

This place has to be on every outdoor enthusiast’sbucket list – Pico Bonito National Park. Never heard of it? Either had I but I read an article in the WSJ that makes this a place I’d love to play and paddlein.

The 265,000 acre Pico Bonito is one of the most biodiverse places onearth. It encompasses a variety ofmicroclimates, from tropical lowlands to cloud forests. A 20 minute ride fromLa Ceiba on Honduras’s northerncoast, it remains relatively undiscovered. One of the crown jewels of PicoBonito is the Rio Congeal, which runs from high in the Cordillers Nombre deDios Mountains to the Caribbean Sea.Rio Congeal is one of the world’s great white water experiences.

What a place to sell Skwoosh Paddle gel cushions, Kayak fishing seats and Extreme gel pads. Skwoosh kayak seats aredesigned for just the high performance paddling needed to make it through theRio Cangrejal’s 20 boulder clogged milesof different rapids, from Class II to Class V. In the dry season the river islower and rafting and kayaking is limited to the lower and middle sections ofthe river.

When it rains the Congrejalchanges drastically as a single downpourcan drop as much as 10 inches of rain causing a 30 foot rise in water levels.After a rise in level like this the river can toss around even the biggestboulders, making the local guides claim that each trip during high water is acompletely different experience.

So, pack up your favorite paddles, PFD, helmetand Skwoosh gel paddling cushion and ride the Rio Cangrejal. Remember - for comfort, convenience andperformance always travel with a Skwoosh gel cushion

HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN!!!!

2012-01-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

Are youready for the Year of the Dragon? February is almost here. And the Dragon - thefabulous beast that is the most powerful sign in the Chinese zodiac is almostupon us.

At Skwoosh we celebrate the dragon with our popular AGP Dragon Boat Gel pad.It’s certified by the IDBF - the International Dragon Boat Federation. If youcan’t get on the water but you happen to live in or near San Francisco you can really share andcelebrate the Year of the Dragon in this city steeped in rich tradition ofChinese culture.

On February 11 there will be a parade featuring floats, bands,dance teams and other performances. You can pay $30.00 and get a hardbleacher seat. However, to enjoy the parade in comfort go to www.skwoosh.com and order a Skwoosh gel bleacher seat. It's lightweight, compact, easy to carry and usually ships within 24 hours.

The SanFrancisco Symphony will present a Chinese New Year Community Concert. TheChinatown YMCA will hold its 34th annual Chinese New Year 10K Run. You can watch Chinese acrobats, traditionallion and folk dancing and take a self guided Zodiac tour leading to animalsfound on the Chinese calendar, all at the San Francisco zoo. Stay fit, use your Skwoosh fitness gel padand celebrate The Year of the Dragon. Happy New Year- again.

NFL PLAYOFF GAMES _ WHAT A WEEKEND

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

49’ers vs. Saints, Bronco’s vs. Patriots, Green vs.BayGiants, Ravens vs. Houston, all in one weekend - can’t leave the TV.

Thank G-D for my SKWOOSH Office Gel Cushion and the All Purpose Gel Seat with EZ Swivel. Have toadmit it’s been exciting so far and I’ve been able to keep my New Year’sresolution to drink less beer and more coffee. At my house we call it the Irish Coffee Bowl.

This bowl game is:

Part pick me up

Part snack

Part 50 yard line warmer upper.

The basic 4 down strategy is part coffee, part whisky, creamand sugar. As a game winner thisstrategy is more than the sum of its parts. Drop your tush on a warm and cozy SKWOOSH Gel Bleacher Seat, in yourteam’s colors and put together:

2 teaspoons of unrefined sugar

1 oz apple brandy

7 ozs of fresh brewed coffee

3 ozs of heavy whipping cream

1 sugar cube

Cinnamon

And an orange peel.

Set up a preheated Irish coffee mug; add the apple brandyand sugar. Now go for the goal with thisspecial end around play. It’s all in thecream. You need to make your own whipped cream in a shaker (like cocktailshaker). Pour the heavy whipping creaminto the shaker with ice and the sugar cube and shake till you get within fieldgoal range. Once in range use a spoon tocarefully layer the cream on top of the drink. Split the uprights with grated cinnamon and orange peel. Three points - game over and enjoy the finalplayoff game next week and on to the Super Bowl.

New Year Resolutions and Other Promises

2012-01-11T06:39:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year when gym haters resolve to go tothe gym and when ice cream lovers swear never to enjoy that sweet, creamy,lusciously delicious treat. We resolveto fit into our high school jeans, to paddle our kayaks more, to travel and tokeep our motorcycles and bikes cleaner, shinier and operating like Swisswatches.

At Skwoosh, we resolve to helpmake your resolutions easier to keep. Hate the gym, get a gel fitness pad.

Resolving to do longer and more adventurous kayaking, be sure to add the classic paddling cushion to your boat. Lookingto reduce your waist size by more intense rowing, reduce “sitz” bone pressurewith a Master AGP row pad.

If comfortable travel is in your 2012 plan you needthe Skwoosh Travel gel cushion.

For all you cold weather parents resolving toattend more of junior’s ice cold hockey games, be sure to get the Skwoosh bleacher gel seat – it will keep your bum comfy and warmer while you cheer the littlepewee leaguer on. Whatever your resolutions - you can count on Skwoosh toprovide additional comfort and performance, if not the direct support, that youneed. Happy New Year.

BASKETBALL, CHINA AND WINE

2012-01-04T04:46:00.000-08:00

We’re sitting here in center court bleachers watchinga great high school basketball game. Ofcourse we are among those who are the most comfortable because of our portableBleacher Gel Seatsfrom Skwoosh.

We just saw a magnificent drive and layup performed by an averagesized Chinese American kid whose present goal in life is to attain the fame ofthe great Yao Ming. Remember him, the 7foot, 6-inch Chinese basketball player who performed for the Houston Rockets fornine NBA seasons
.
Well Ming is back in his native Shanghaipitching his own Californiawinery, aptly named Yao Family Wines. A risky venture for the Chinese marketwhich is still (no pun intended) in its infancy. Priced at 1,775 yuan (US$289)a bottle, Mr. Yao is capitalizing on his fame throughout China and ishoping to ride the 240% rise, from 2008-2010, in imported bottled wine.
Whoknows, some of us will soon be sitting on our Skwoosh Travel cushions at the Great Wall sipping California wine and nibbling on Wisconsincheddar. What a wonderful world we livein.

GEL COMFORT IN PERSONAL ACTIVITY PURSUITS

2011-12-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys under 40 learn something from your experiencedelders and get yourself a New Year’s gift of a gel cushion to increase your outdoor performanceand comfort. We all know that the worldpopulation just hit the record high of 7 Billion souls but have you lookedaround and noticed what’s happening right here in the good “OLD” USA? Thatheretofore long shot age threshold of “nine o (yes 90) is the 2011 version ofthe 1990’s version of 72. According to arecent AP article nearly 2 million of us are now 90 plus. That’s three times as many super seniors asthere were just 30 years ago. Now this is great news for the supers but it’snot without its downside. Supers aremore likely to live in poverty, and to have disabilities more than those whoare merely elderly. Here at Skwoosh we recognize the “graying” of our population.Skwoosh is out to make pre-baby boomers, baby boomers and all those that followmore comfortable in their personal activity pursuits or “PAP”. We tailor our gel products to all these PAPfolks with the mission of advancing their years of participation in theirchosen activities from paddling a kayak, travelingor watching a grandkid’s hockey game from the bleachers. Who cares if the longevitystatistics are the result of better nutrition or advances in medicine? We at SKWOOSH are looking to provide comfortto the almost 8 million over ninety folks who will be with us by mid-century.

RR U READY FOR SOME FOO-OOT BALL

2011-12-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

Skwoosh Office Gel Cushion

We're nottalking about sitting on a Skwoosh Gel Office Cushion in front of the TV, we're talking about PaulCunningham's "Handsome Dan" handmade designer football.

Like mostmacho wan-a-bees, Paul had a hard time grasping "The Duke", as theclassic NFL football is called. As mostof us know, the Duke is huge, rock like, intimidating and impossible for most nonTim Tebow folks to throw. Cunninghamdesigned and built Handsome Dan to fit his hand. He uses soft boot leather so it's easy togrip and making it a ball that’s easy to throw. He builds his football in Glen Rock,NJ using a simple design, rawhide laces and very little print on the outside.Handsome Dan is a huge success, as the ball of choice, for rich guys who paythe cost of ten Skwoosh bleacher gel seats, $120.00 for it.

Skwoosh Stadium Gel Seat

Cunningham has tried his hand at designer baseballs, rugby balls andpeach colored basketballs but it’s footballs that put his company, Leather HeadSports, on the radar of style blogs and menswear magazines. For Paul Cunninghamfootball is no longer a passing game.

NAVY SINKS ARMY FOR THE 10TH STRAIGHT YEAR – AMERICA WINS

2011-12-12T04:33:00.000-08:00

NAVY SINKS ARMY FOR THE 10^TH STRAIGHT YEAR –AMERICA WINS

From a WSJ article by Lucas Y.Tomlinson

Last Saturday was the 112^th Army Navy footballgame. This is the 11^thstraight year that team members from both sides know they are preparing formilitary service in time of war. Some of these gridiron warriors turned downcollege scholarships and cushy, elevated campus status for the hell of being a“plebe”, enduring “beast barracks” and physically demanding, grueling basictraining. Hell, football practice must feel like a vacation to these cadets.Skwoosh wasn’t around selling bleacher seats in 1890 when Navy won that first game on theparade field at West Pont. Thisgridiron rivalry has had its ups and downs (no pun intended). It was evenabolished under President Grove Cleveland in 1894, probably because the vendorselling Skwoosh motorcyclegel seats didn’t show up. The game resumed in 1899 and was played untilAmerica’s entry into the First World War. The war effort needed officersquickly, so both academies shortened their academic programs to three years byeliminating extra curricula activities and sports. The game resumed in 1930 andhas continued ever since. In the 113contests, Navy has won 56 games, Army 49 and there have been 7 ties. As much aswe celebrate the games and past heroes like, Joe Bellino, Doc Blanchard, GlennDavis and Roger Staubach – we should recognize the courage and toughness ofthose in uniform in the stands. All theparticipants, players and many of the spectators might be showing theirtoughness, focus and determination on fields with unusual names like Fallujah,Helmand and Ramadi. The real winner ofthe 27 to 21 contest is America – our team is the best.

Curious about Curiosity – Exploring Mars

2011-12-01T07:20:00.001-08:00

Curiosity is really the Christmasgift of the year for

America

’sscientists.

NASA will launch a new7-foot-tall, 2000 pound rover to look for habitable environments on Mars. The rover will land in Gale Crater, where it'sbelieved water existed more than 3 billion years ago. Now how in the world is SKWOOSH going toweave its products into this amazing scientific undertaking and adventure?There’s no pilot aboard so no need for a gel Pilot’s seat. They’re looking for signs of water so no need for a gel fishing seat and all thespectators are on earth so who needs a gel bleacher seat or travel cushion. With ten remote controlled instruments on board, Curiosity will surveyits surroundings, take detailed pictures and analyze samples of rocks, soil andatmosphere. Curiosity will land on Marsin August, spend a full Martian year there (98 weeks) and transmit tons ofdata back to earth. What an achievement.Here are a few facts about Curiosity:

It has six 20 inch cleatedwheels, each independently steers so the rover can turn 360 degrees in place.It will roll over 25 inch high objects.

It's nuclear battery powers it'sinstruments, allows it to travel about 660 feet per day and keeps Curiositywarm during the cold Martian nights.

The laser cameras vaporize rocksto identify chemical elements they contain.

Two camera systems study thelandscape, track weather conditions and aid in driving operations.

At the end of the rovers roboticarm is a turret that can dust off rock surfaces and collect and sortsamples. There is a camera for close-upphotos and a spectrometer to determine the different elements in the samples.

Now I ask you, how can watersports enthusiasts complain about complicated rigging systems for fishing kayaks?

THE GIFT OF THANKSGIVING

2011-11-23T04:56:00.001-08:00

30 Rules for Thanksgiving Touch Football from Jason Gay inthe WSJ.

It’s touch if you have a healthy, speakingrelationship with your family. Its tackle (without Skwooshgel pads) if you see each other once a year.
Keep the field size small, less than 100 yardslong. If half the people in your family ran 100 yards they’d end up in thehospital.
Play before dinner. There will be no playersavailable after dinner. Nobody can run in unbuttoned pants.
Everyone plays, parents, grandparents, uncles,cousins even Spot, the one eyed terrier. Spot’s the best wide receiver on thefield (when he’s not cuddled up and napping on a gel office cushion).
The following are prohibited: spikes, stickygloves, Smith jerseys, lit cigars and running with a martini. No Therapy gel cushions forprotection allowed.
A Nerf ball is okay but a real leather footballis classic. We’re waiting for a leather covered gel motorcycle seat.
No Frisbees, winged footballs or soft,lightweight gel travel cushionsallowed.
Two hand touch is required. One hand touch is for lazy folks whocelebrate Thanksgiving at KFC.
Gay says two completions is a first down. Heknows.
Savethe taunting, cursing and back-handed compliments for the dinner table.
Playing in most of the country comes with“skwooshy” cold mud inviting a familymember to fall and ruin his or her Thanksgiving outfit. No penalty just one ofthe highlights of the game (Skwooshwashes easily).
Don’t baby the kids even your 7-year-oldniece. It’s OK to intercept her pass and run it back for a touchdown. She hasto learn when not to throw into triple coverage.
Thecount is five “Mississippi” a FULL four syllables not a quick “MISS-IPPY” andknocking gramps to the ground.
Ifyou’re old enough to have grandchildren and you sack the quarter back and youdo a sack dance you will be worshipped forever.
No, you don’t get to be “permanent QB” if youwant anyone to like you.
Noshow-off football lingo like “trips left” or “zone blitz”. Uncle Earl wants toget the game over with, have a vodka and watch the game on TV sitting on his All Purpose Gel cushion from Skwoosh.
Withthe control freak uncle just listen to the elaborate plays and forget them ASAP.
Thereare only two plays in the game, “Everybody Go Out” and Everybody Go Deep”.
No, that running play never works. Ever.
QB’s be sure not to throw the ball too hardwhen you think you see an opening. Guaranteed you’ll peg Aunt Francis in theneck.
Don’tbe a wimp. A little pass interference never hurt anyone.
Afteryou throw six interceptions let someone else play QB or sign with the Redskins.
Three-minute half time. Remember: if Daddy sits, Daddy is done.
Ifplaying on the street, don’t dent the powder blue Cadillac. It belongs to UncleGuido’s new wife and he’ll find you.
Ifyou’re a Thanksgiving guest it’s your job to be good at touch football. Lie andsay you played a little at OSU.
Puntsare the hippopotamuses of touch football. Botched punts break more windows anddent more cars than any other play in the game.
Ifit snows while sitting in the bleacher seats the game’s a classic.
Becareful. You don’t want any injuries that can’t be treated with a bag of frozenpeas and a SKWOOSH Gel Acupressure Pad.
Ifyour team wins and stands undefeated please let LSU know that you’re availableto play in the BCS championship.
Inthe end there is really only one rule for Thanksgiving touch football. Takeyour shoes off before you go in the house or Mom is going to kill you.

A Gift for Fishermen

2011-11-18T10:49:00.001-08:00

Fishing from a kayak andenjoying the comfort and convenience of a Skwoosh gel kayak fishing seat isn’t anythinglike the adventures depicted on the TV show “Deadliest Catch”. But it doesvalidate ones deep interest in fishing, fishing safety and the place in man’s existence for both commercial and sport fishing.

Kayak fishing is a sport while commercial fishing, especiallycrabbing, is at the top of the USlist of deadliest jobs, with a fatalityrate 33 times above the average for US workers. Contributing to these grim statistics was the old regulation whichforced fishermen to race the clock to catch enough to pay expenses and makea profit before they had to stop once the entire fleet's limit wasreached. In the effort to controloverfishing, an arbitrary fleet limit was set for each catch. When the limit was reached all fishermenworking that catch had to stop or face heavy fines. This caused the great fishing race, oftenwith disregard to safety by the contestants. Thankfully today fishing is done under the catch shares system whichdivides up how many fish the fleet can catch among individual fishermen and notcollectively. The catch shares systemis safer for the fishermen because itallows them to fish comfortably at their own pace during longer seasons.

Next time you are lounging in your kayak fishing gel seat, orenjoying your own catch or purchase from your local seafood store, give alittle thought to the tough men who work their heavy equipment in 20 foot seasin icy conditions. So this holidayseason give a gift of comfort and performance – give Skwoosh - the perfect giftfor all sport fishermen.

TO CLIMB A TREE OR NOT TO CLIMB A TREE

2011-11-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, William L. Hamilton talks about the latest fad in outdoor activity, tree climbing. According to Mr Hamilton "recreational tree climbing" is now "technical tree climbing" or climbing with ropes just like professional arborists do. What you did as a kid or "free climbing" is not encouraged as a sport.  You've got to be kidding. 

Can you imagine living in New York City, throwing a good rope, several carabiners, a saddle harness, a helmet, goggles and your trusty throw weight into a Macy's Big Brown Bag shopping bag, riding down the elevator in your building and heading straight for the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx to climb a tree?  
Classic Paddling Cushion
I prefer a strenuous workout out on the water in a kayak, canoe, sculler rowing or just some lazy fishing from my boat.  I don't know about you but I'm a comfort hound when it comes to my recreation.  I like to load my kayak on top of my car, drive a short way to a river, a lake or the ocean and put her in.
For paddling comfort I always have a Classic PADDLING GEL kayak cushion by SKWOOSH in my boat.   

Pro Angler Kayak Gel Seat
When I decide to fish from my kayak I make sure that my SKWOOSH Tournament or Pro Angler kayak gel fishing seat is set up.  Skwoosh lets me fish in comfort all day long.  

Master Row Pad with AGP

When I'm in the mood for a vigorous workout I get into my one man scull, drop in my SKWOOSH Master gel row pad and get a 30 minute comfortable work out.  

Suffice it to say I can pass up the 120 year old red oak for a comfortable paddle in my kayak with a SKWOOSH Gel Cushion any day.

The Field of Goals

2011-11-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

The Field of Goals

Would anyone have predicted that number 1 LSU would play No 2 Alabama in the battle of the field goals? Whether you were sitting in the stadium in Tuscaloosa AL enjoying the comfort of your SKWOOSH bleacher gel seat or watching the game at your computer sitting comfortably on your SKWOOSH AirFlo Gel Office cushion you have to admit this game was a real stunner. After an unbelievable defensive struggle the game to get a step closer to the BCS title owes its outcome to Drew Alleman’s 25 yard field goal in overtime. This game will be remembered not because of Cade Foster’s 52 yard missed field goal (he missed three others) but it will go down in history as a 9 to 6 LSU win over the Crimson Tide where neither team ever reached the end zone.

I’ll bet a pair of SKWOOSH Bleacher Buddy gel seats or a comfortable kayak gel Paddling cushion that few out there can name another college football team that won a big game 9 to 6 while never getting the pigskin into the end zone.

Stay calm, relax, get in some kayak fishing and stay comfortable but always watch the NCAA game of the week sitting on your Gel Stadium seat. You might get to see a 30 to 27 game where no one scores a touchdown.

Skwoosh: Water Sports

2011-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Skwoosh: Water Sports

SKWOOSH CONUNDRUM(S)

2010-07-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here's the Skwoosh conundrum.
After receiving numerous testimonials, like the one below, we are still concerned about over selling our pressure relief cushions in any medical or health cure environment. Our experience has shown that we are contacted by customers who are obviously searching for a "miracle" cure and are hoping to find the same in a Skwoosh cushion. We know that our gel really offers relief but certainly not in all cases. How do we capitalize on the effectiveness of TekPad without misleading or over promising that effectiveness to our customers? How do we communicate that Skwoosh generally works but may not be the answer to every customer's ailment or condition?
Then we have the case of the person who orders a Skwoosh and because of the cushions size, weight and thickness (our gel technology allows us to make Skwoosh thin so it does not look or feel like a thick foam pillow cushion) they return it immediately without giving it a fair evaluation. We understand that we can't please or solve everyone's problems but we know that we must continually search for the most efficient and effective way to communicate the virtues of Skwoosh to our potential customers.
Any ideas or comments?

Testimonial received and edited to hide the sender.

"Dear Skwoosh,

I want to thank you for rushing my order, (Order #1445). I received the Pro Traveler Seat Cushion yesterday. I tried it out at my computer and I would never had expected the results that I experienced.
I broke my hip on Sept. 1999. It healed and I thought I had no physical problems that related back to that. I spend many hours in front of my computer as I am a webmaster. Getting up from my chair my legs are stiff and they are not as flexible as they used to be. I thought I was getting osteoarthritis. Since I prefer to go the natural holistic approach to healing, I have taken nutritional supplements to help, to no avail.
After being by my computer for around an hour, sitting on my new skwoosh cushion I got up. I was shocked that I didn't have any stiffness and my walking was easy and smooth. Next I tried it when watching TV. Again I had the same result getting off my couch I discovered that my legs were flexible and not stiff.
As I told you, I am attending a convention in Sacramento California July 9-11, I leave on Thursday. My neighbor who is watching my dog, told me she will be ordering a cushion for herself as soon as I come back.
I am so impressed and grateful. I have added two links to your site and became an 'affiliate'.
Thank you for your kindness and assuring me that the cushion would come in time. Most of all thank you for helping me to get back my health.

Take care,"

NBA FINALS

2010-06-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

After Game 2

The Boston Celtics vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, what a great NBA lineup? Rondo, Pierce and Allen vs. Kobe, Artest and Gasol just to name a few. We were on the edge of our gel comfort cushions throughout game one when the Celtics took a beating. The only comfort we had in the game one Celtic’s loss was our Skwoosh gel stadium seats. The pain was so great for us Boston fans we could have used the gel therapy cushion to relive some of the pressure as the Celtics failed to come from behind and ended up losing to the Lakers. Game 2 was another story. Keep the gel kayak seats and the comfortable gel motorcycle seats in reserve -we didn’t even need the gel Pillion pads in this game. Allen and Rondo energized the Celtics to a 103 – 94 win. It’s back to Boston for game 3 on June 8 (happy birthday Ted) and a great chance to pull ahead on home court. With a couple of days off the NBA guys should take a day off and do some kayak fishing and yes, we know how to get them comfortable while fishing. Better yet NBA management should address the $400 million loss the league experienced this past season. If Skwoosh had super stars like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant along with the Pro Angler gel fishing seat and the super Travel gel cushion we sure as heck wouldn’t loose $400 million. Maybe the NBA should reduce the number of games they play from the outrageous 82 down to something like 65 or 70. This would make each game a little more valuable and it might help to sustain interest and fill some of the empty seats. Take a page from the NFL playbook. With just a 16 game season every game counts, teams have to perform 110% in each game if they want to rank. The same goes for fans. With so few games fans have to get as many in as they can before the season is over. Go Celtics and bring it home.

SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS

2010-05-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

The Final Voyage
On Friday, May 14, 2010 the space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on its 32nd and final flight into space with a crew of six and tons of gear and supplies. The commander of this final flight is Kenneth Ham, an experienced astronaut, who along with all the men in his crew have been in space on previous flights. A huge crowd of more than 40,000 were on hand to see this near picture perfect launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. We hope a few thousand brought their Skwoosh stadium gel seats and bleacher seats along to watch the final liftoff of Atlantis. Officials called the Atlantis launch day audience the largest ever. It’s only fitting that so many came to participate in this galactic retirement party. At Skwoosh we like all travel and travel related activities that’s why we built the Skwoosh Travel Gel cushion. Even astronauts could use the of TekPad pressure relieving gel on their flights. A Skwoosh gel cushion is perfect for space flight. It takes up no space, folds into a thin compact size and is not affected by temperature and normal altitude changes. We haven’t tested any of our Skwoosh gel cushions (like the Therapy cushion, the Motorcycle gel cushion or the EZ Swivel cushion) in space yet but we think the day is not too far away when we’ll get the chance. While the shuttle is on its way to hook up with and resupply the International Space Station we will be following its progress on the web keeping comfortable in front of our computer and sitting on a Skwoosh gel cushion.
The six orbiting space station residents will welcome the Atlantis crew sometime on Sunday morning. Shortly after their arrival Commander Ham and his crew will begin unloading food, lap top computers, other supplies and a Russian built compartment for the space station. All this “stuff” was crammed into a 20 foot long module in the space shuttle. The Atlantis crew will install the new compartment on the space station and conduct three space walks to replace batteries, hook up an antenna and replace a number of other parts on the station. Here’s another Skwoosh thought: since all Skwoosh gel cushions are so light weight that many of them float right here on earth can you imagine a Skwoosh gel cushion in space tethered to an Astronaut during a spacewalk? That’s what I call floating.
The final mission of Atlantis will last 12 days and will be followed by the last two remaining flights of the shuttle program. The final flights will be flown by Discovery and Endeavour and will bring to an end NASA’s 30 year space shuttle program. We’re truly sorry to see the end of one of man’s greatest endeavors.

MOTHER’S DAY

2010-05-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

From the American Civil War to the end of war

In 1868, Ann Jarvis created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day". The purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War". She wanted to expand her committee into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. It was left to her daughter, Anna Jarvis, to continue her mother's efforts to establish the annual holiday that we all know as “Mother’s Day”. Mother’s Day is celebrated in the USA on the second Sunday in May to recognize mothers and motherhood and the positive contributions they make to society. In the 1870’s and the 1880’s Mother’s Day was celebrated by woman’s peace groups who met at local levels to bring together groups of mothers whose sons fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War. Famous women like Julia Ward Howe of New York City and Juliet Calhoun Blakely of Albion Michigan carried on the promotion of Mother’s Day. It was Blakely who somehow got the Mother’s Day movement involved with the temperance movement, another huge woman’s issue of the time.
On the first celebration of Mother’s Day, in 1908, Anna Jarvis delivered 500 carnations to the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, thereby creating the symbol of Mother’s Day, the carnation. This practice of wearing a carnation on Mother’s Day soon lead to a broader commercial promotion of the holiday resulting in the giving of all types of flowers, floral bouquets and gifts. Today it is common for an active mother to receive a white carnation along with the new Skwoosh gel fishing seat or the classic kayak gel paddling seat. For Mom’s who travel, the Skwoosh Travel gel cushion might show up or she might find the Skwoosh EZ Swivel auto gel cushion for extra comfort when she drives around town. We’ve heard that there are many mothers who cruise or tour behind dad on their Harley, Gold Wing or BMW motorcycles. These bike moms get front seat comfort when their Mother’s Day gift is a new Skwoosh Pillion gel pad or Motorcycle ICS Gel cushion for their special motorcycle passenger seat.
Enough of this self promotion and back to more of the history of Mother’s Day. West Virginia was the first state to officially declare Mother’s Day a holiday in 1910. The rest of the states quickly followed and on May 8, 1914 the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother’s Day as a day for Americans to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war. In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt approved a stamp commemorating the holiday and in May 2008, the House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother’s Day so that all Congressmen would be on record showing support for the holiday.
At Skwoosh we support Mother’s Day and want to let everyone know that we thank mothers around the world for their unending sacrifices, hard work, love and understanding. We also know that it will be the mothers of the world who will unite to end wars and put an end to the loss of their children and husbands and bring a lasting peace for us all.

RAIN, MUD AND GEOMETRY – THE 136th KENTUCK DERBY

2010-05-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

The strategy of the shortest distance between two points

To cheers of “Bo-rail” the fastest two minutes in sports concluded the festivities of “Super Saturday” the running of the 136th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. All the post race hoopla about the jockey and not the colt is understandable. The name is Borel, Calvin Borel. He just rode to his third Kentucky Derby victory in four years (the first jockey to do so) using simple geometry, the shortest distance between two points. He took his favorite winning position along the rail and rode Super Saver to the winner’s circle. Borel used a different strategy in this race on his home track. In almost all of his past races Super Saver was never farther back than second in the early stages of the race. On this grueling, mud puddle of a track he decided to hug the rail allowing many of the other horses to squander t heir energy well off the rail in the muddy center of the track. A winning strategy as the 8 -1 second choice won and paid $18.00 $8.80 and $6.00. A $2.00 bet on Super Saver would more than pay for the cost of a Skwoosh Stadium gel seat. Better yet, all the rain and muck wouldn’t touch any of the super comfortable, super waterproof, maintenance free gel cushions by Skwoosh. So while the name of the winner of the this year’s Derby outing sounds more like a special airline fare than the winner of the first leg of the Triple Crown everyone at Churchill Downs who carried their compact, convenient, light weight stadium gel cushion was a winner. Now it’s off to Baltimore for the Preakness on May 15. Can “Bo-rail” and the “FARE” Super Saver, keep it up and equal the feat of Affirmed, the Last Triple crown winner who did it 32 years ago?

THE GREAT TRAIN ADVENTURE PART II

2010-05-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

When a NON STOP is really a NON STOP

Here’s a sequel to an article that appeared in this shameless blog of self interest and promotion a few weeks ago. On Friday, April 16, 2001 Skwoosh posted the “THE GREAT TRAIN ADVENTURE - SKWOOSH READIES FOR MASSIVE TRAVEL GEL CUSHION BUSINESS. We all thought this was a very interesting piece of information about China’s new and proposed high speed train system. and one in which we could shamelessly promote the Skwoosh gel Travel Cushion, the EZ Swivel and the Skwoosh Office gel cushion. Well the blog was interesting and the promotion of Skwoosh gel cushions fit very well, so off went the post. A few days after our posting an article appeared on the internet asking a very good question. If a high speed train travels at 200 miles per hour between Beijing and Guangzhou, a route that could have as many as 30 stations, doesn’t stopping and accelerating at each station waste a lot of energy and time. If you dug deep into your academic pas and dust off your arithmetic skills you would calculate that a 5 minute stop per station results in a loss of ( 5 minutes X 30 stations) 2.5 hours. Just think what would happen to this 2.5 hours as the Chinese population ages and these elderly folks need more time ( and hopefully more Skwoosh EZ Swivels gel cushions, wheelchair gel pads and the great new Gel Therapy cushion). Fear not, for while sitting comfortably on their Skwoosh office gel cushions Chinese engineers came up with a simple performance solution to the high speed train problem – DON’T STOP. You got it. Send the train from point A to point B without stopping to disembark or take on passengers. That’s exactly what the Chinese engineers did. They developed a train that never has to stop at a station.
You read it correctly- get on and off the high speed train without the train stopping. No time is wasted. The train is moving all the time. Here’s how it works:
1. For those who are boarding the train: The passengers at a station embark onto to a connector cabin (a pod type vehicle suspended over the high speed train tracks) before the train even arrives at the station. When the train reaches the station it will not stop. It just slows down, the connector pod attaches itself to the roof at the front of the train (it piggy backs or hitches a ride on the roof of the fast moving train). As the train is moving out of the station the newly boarded passengers find their way down into the main cabin, take out their compact Skwoosh travel gel cushions and sit in heavenly comfort as the train speeds on to the next station. Once all the passengers who just boarded are comfortably seated the empty connector cabin or pod is moved from the front of the train’s roof to the rear of the train.
2. For those who are getting off: Those passengers who wish to get off the train at the next station are advised to move to the rear of the train and to seat themselves in the connector cabin which is now affixed to the roof at the rear of the train. When the train arrives at the next station, it will simply pick up another full passenger pod and drop off the pod containing the passengers (without stopping of course) who wish to get off at that station. Simple and ingenious. Pick up in the front, get off in the rear and it all happens at the same time with no need for the train to stop and wait for passengers to get on or off. Do you think Skwoosh should build a special travel gel cushion for high speed comfort specifically designed and engineered for use in the “connector cabin” or “pod”?

EYIAFJALLAJOKULL HALTS AIR TRAVEL

2010-04-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

SKWOOSH Travel Gel cushion works on the ground as well as in the air

As the ash (read silica and other highly abrasive forms of lava) from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano managed to keep European airspace shut down, affecting millions of travelers around the world, government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans. Some restricted airspace is now beginning to open up and some limited flights are being allowed as airlines push for the ability to judge safety conditions for themselves. The volcano continues to rumble and hurl ash skyward although at a slightly diminished rate. As the dispersing ash plume drops closer to the ground the World Health Organization is issuing health warnings to Europeans with respiratory conditions while frustrated, stranded passengers are slowly finding their way onto rescheduled planes that hopefully will take them on to their pre volcanic destinations. It is hard to imagine the discomfort that was experienced by many thousands of stranded travelers. At Skwoosh we are very sensitive to comfort, especially the lack of comfort. Discomfort to travelers stranded in airports, stranded on the tarmac or stranded in a cramped airline seat is the purpose of our commercial being. Hence, the Skwoosh travel gel cushion or the upgraded Pro Traveler gel cushion. Travelers who are prepared for all types of unimaginable situations always carry the Travel cushion in their hand luggage, briefcase or shoulder bag. It is so convenient ( approximately 8” W X 11” L x ½” H when folded) and handy to have with you that most Skwoosh travel cushions find a permanent home in frequent traveler’s hand luggage. The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull and the subsequent cancellation of thousands of flights came as a real surprise to many folks around the world. Before Eyjafjallajokull very few people in the world ever considered an erupting volcano to be a hazard to air traffic. In fact, the only vision many have of airplanes and volcanoes, is of a small plane circling an erupting volcano, taking pictures or performing some sort of scientific experiment. Not since Roman History class and the story of Pompeii, have most of us even given any thought to “volcanic ash”. Well one US airline has been and continues to prepare its pilots and flight crews for the dangerous pollution of air space by volcanic ash. Since the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, Alaskan Airlines decided to develop procedures that would minimize volcano disruptions to its flight schedules. Resources were added in 1989 with the establishment of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, a collaboration of aviation and weather experts. These collaborations lead to the creation of computer models that predict the trajectory for volcanic ash in Alaska and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. One thing is for sure, even with a great Skwoosh travel cushion, or a super comfortable Skwoosh Office gel cushion no traveler or airplane wants to get any closer than 35 miles from an ash plume.

TAX DAY AND WE ALL SHOULD PAY

2010-04-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

The stretch relating Skwoosh to taxes

This humble, self promoting blogger has been trying to find a way to promote Skwoosh light weight pressure relieving gel cushions and pads by writing a blog about taxes and Tea Party rallies. How can one relate a gel travel cushion or a high performance Kayak gel seat to federal taxes or the Tea Party movement? People complain about how many days they have to work just to pay their taxes (anywhere between 110 and 120 days and climbing), and how long they can paddle their ocean or touring kayaks before the discomfort and pain set in. We know how many days the average US citizen has to work to pay his or her taxes but how long can one paddle before the stress, pain and discomfort set in? That’s another story. Take the case of Freya Hoffmeister. This amazing lady from Germany recently completed a solo circumnavigation around Australia. Freya maintained the comfort of her shapely bottom by reducing discomfort and stress on the same by using a pair or Skwoosh light weight gel performance cushions. Freya used the Skwoosh Extreme gel cushion and the Skwoosh kayak gel seat paddling cushion. This duo of light weight, waterproof Skwoosh kayak seat gel cushions helped Freya reduce lower back pain and relieve spinal pressure. In the interest of full disclosure Skwoosh had to provide Freya with a replacement pair of cushion about half way through her adventure.

Relating a Skwoosh Travel cushion or motorcycle gel pad to the Tea Party movement is an even greater stretch. Maybe we should poll Tea Party attendees around the country and find out if any of them use the Skwoosh Stadium Gel Seat or the Bleacher gel seat when they attend roadside demonstrations? There is also the possibility that tea partiers who travel to conventions will be using one of the great gel travel cushions offered by Skwoosh.

So what has all this bloviating about Skwoosh got to do with taxes or tea parties? Well you caught me. Other than relating the pain of sending hard earned money to Washington and the pain of prolonged sitting and demonstrating there is no relationship. So as you sit at your desk or kitchen table collating and organizing a year’s worth of bills, receipts, 1099's and K-1's be sure to sit on a Skwoosh office gel cushion or the new, super comfortable EZ Swivel. Like the certainty of death and taxes Skwoosh gel cushions will provide great comfort and posture improvement for lower back pain and discomfort caused by prolonged sitting.

THE GREAT TRAIN ADVENTURE

2010-04-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Skwoosh readies for massive Travel Gel Cushion business

Today Chinese rail passengers zip between cities on trains traveling three times faster than the average train in the USA and a 217-mph line linking Wuhan and Guangzhou (the old Canton) will soon be the fastest train on Earth. Known for our shameless self promotion, Skwoosh would like to sell our travel gel cushion for the Wuhan to Guangzhou line. Not content with fast trains linking cities within its borders, China now plans to extend its high-speed network all the way to London with a rail line through 17 countries. What a market for the Skwoosh Therapy gel cushion. Can you imagine training that distance and sitting in one seat for 48 plus hours. That’s two whole days with only hot pot wanton soup and potty breaks. This is exactly what the Therapy gel cushion was designed and built for – relief from the stress of sitting. Of course Skwoosh has to thank Dr Brad from Backbenimble.com for his help in the development of this great therapeutic gel cushion.
The Chinese high speed train project calls for the construction of three lines. Hopefully by 2020 the first will link London's King's Cross Station to Beijing and take approximately two days to for the trip (it will then continue on down to Singapore). A second line will connect China with Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The third line will link Germany and Russia, crossing Siberia to terminate, of course, in China.
Ambitious- you bet! Wait till you read how they plan to get 17 nations on board such an ambitious and expensive project. For starters, they're offering to pick up the tab. China will build the infrastructure in exchange for rights to natural resources in the nations that benefit from the high-speed links. So China gets timber, minerals, oil, gas, etc. as well as a fast, efficient means to pipe them to cities within its borders. Smaller, sometimes isolated nations (here's looking at you, Burma), get a high tech, high speed connection to the greater global economy. Meanwhile, in the U.S., we have the comfort of Skwoosh but we can't get federal, state and local bureaucracies to agree on funding for a mere three hour trip between Chicago and St. Louis, and San Francisco to L.A. Maybe if we tell Washington the trip will take two days and serve Chinese food we could get their attention. Dream on train lovers.

TAKING THE GUESSWORK OUT OF BASEBALL STATS

2010-03-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

If you’ve read past blogs you are aware that at Skwoosh we love baseball – Red Sox baseball. As we sit in the stands, ever so comfy on our Stadium gel seats and our Bleacher seats, we have time to contemplate baseball stats and how they happen to come about. Are they accurate? Are they fair? Batting averages are objective. The player is up, he hits, he walks or gets out. It’s simple arithmetic. Two times at bat, one hit- batting average is 500. How about the choosing the MVP or Golden Glove winner – that’s purely subjective. Sort of like airline seats are comfortable –Ha! Ha! Try a Skwoosh Travel cushion. Well New York Yankees and Derek Jeter fans watch out.

This could be the year that baseball-stat freaks finally crack the “Derek Jeter enigma.” A panel of coaches has awarded the New York Yankees’ shortstop four of the past six Gold Glove awards for fielding excellence. That drives statisticians nuts, because nearly every statistical model ranks Jeter’s defense below average. The Skwoosh Office gel cushion is in line for best performing, most comfortable office seat cushion ever and we got there without ESPN or sports talk radio or a panel of coaches. In any case, we all know that evaluating fielding is baseball’s hardest math. There are just too many unknowns in a play. How much ground did Jeter cover? How fast was the ball moving? In essence: How unlikely was it that he’d catch the ball? Key word here is UNLIKELY. Just like it’s unlikely that you’ll get blisters on your bottom if you use a Skwoosh kayak gel seat when you paddle.

This off-season, the broadcast-tech company, Sportvision, will install a new player-tracking camera system into ballparks that could finally help produce accurate defensive statistics. Sportvision’s FieldFX camera system records the action while object-recognition software identifies each fielder and runner, as well as the ball. After a play, the system spits out data for every movement: the trajectory of the ball, how far the fielder ran, and so on. “After an amazing catch by an outfielder, we can compare his speed and route to the ball with our database and show the TV audience that this player performed so well that 80 percent of the league couldn’t have made that catch.” That information will allow a much more quantitative measure of exactly what is an error. The tech could transform how teams scout players and dole out contracts, and it will provide more in-depth analysis during broadcasts.

How many hours can you sit in a cramped airline seat without a Skwoosh gel Travel cushion before you become violent? But it’s the stat junkies who are really salivating for the data. “We can pick out systematically who’s good and bad, but there’s still guesswork with our models,” says Wharton School statistician Shane Jensen. “We’ll certainly be able to settle who the best shortstop is”. And then there’s the new Cuban kid in the Red Sox farm system, Jose Iglesias, who’s just itching to have the tech stuff compare him to Jeter.

This high tech stuff is all done with lights, mirrors and computers – stuff you don’t need to tell you who has the best lightweight, most comfortable kayak seat or kayak fishing seat in the league - Skwoosh does.

SPRING SWAMP BUGY CHAMPIONSHIP

2010-03-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Skwoosh makes a “big splash” in the Everglades

Eclipsed by the Oscars and spring training, the ‘DUNKING” of Megan Hoolihan, an 18 year old senior at Golden Gate High School and the 2009 - 2010 Swamp Buggy Queen, almost went unnoticed. Megan was officially dunked on Sunday, March 7, at the Swamp Buggy Spring Championship which was held at the Florida Sports Park in East Naples Florida. Never heard of a Swamp Buggy let alone the Swamp Buggy Races? I wonder why.
Here’s a little history:
It all started with farming, fishing, hunting, and hunting buggies. During the development of Collier County (encompassing a major part of the Everglades in S.W. Florida) strange looking vehicles featuring huge balloon tires, gun racks, and sporting catchy names like “Dirt Dobber” or Tumblebug” began to emerge. There were no developed roads so the only way to penetrate the vast boggy mire of the Everglades was the “Swamp Buggy”. Back then, before Skwoosh gel cushions, kayak seats or waterproof kayak fishing seat backs, the Everglades was a perfect place for kayak fishing, camping and hiking. Swamp Buggies were built primarily as vehicles for hunting but soon they were being used for everything from Sunday afternoon outings to hunting expeditions in the Everglades. Prior to the opening of the hunting season many of the “Crackers” would gather and spend a week preparing their Buggies for the “season” by camouflaging, stocking up with fuel, food and ammunition. They waterproofed their Buggies and layed in at least a one week supply of their favorite home brewed beverage. After all, they were going into the murky Florida swamps for a week or two of gators, snakes and panthers. Now just imagine the comfort these harty South West Floridians could have experienced if they had a waterproof gel Therapy cushion to help support their backs and improve their swamp driving posture. They wouldn't have needed their home brewed buverage to kill their pain.
The first races started around 1943, featuring a dozen or so local hunters racing only for the pride of finishing ahead of their neighbors. By the late forties, 30 to 40 would-be racers would gather the week before hunting season to race for valued prizes, usually a new shotgun donated by local merchants.
On November 12, 1949, with a field of almost 50 competitors, these awkward, determined vehicles motored their way into history.
As the popularity of the sport grew, so did the rewards. Cash prizes began to replace the turkeys and shotguns of the past. With purses of several thousand dollars, the incentives to go faster grew. Buggies were now being constructed for racing only. The newer designs were too fast and too loud to be used for hunting and an engraved trophy replaced the at-a-boys and the trophy deer. It was during this era that several important traditions were born. The most popular and colorful, is the legendary "Swamp Buggy Queen's Annual Mud bath!" The Swamp Buggy Queen Pageant is held every April, and a Queen is chosen. The "Dunking" tradition began in 1957 when race winner H.W. McCurry, in a state of exuberant celebration, grabbed the Queen, gown, fancy hair-do and all and dunked her in the deepest and muckiest part of the "Mile 'O Mud" oval race track. This grimy, slimy, hilarious tradition lives on today and is the final act of every race weekend. Let’s say the weekend closes with a great big “mud splash”.
Now you ask “how could the Oscar’s and Spring training eclipse a major activity like the Spring Championship Swamp Buggy Races”? We don’t know the answer to that question but we are pondering the strategy Skwoosh will use to promote our swamp kayak paddling gel seat. How does “travel to the Swamp Buggy Races on a Skwoosh gel travel cushion” sound? Do you think we might be able to offer the 2010 Swamp Buggy Office gel Cushion? If Skwoosh is successful in winning a grant for the construction of bleacher and stadium seats for the Swamp Buggy Races we could see sales of Bleacher gel seats and Stadium gel seats skyrocket. Come to think of it, Skwoosh can be dunked all day long. Each and every Skwoosh gel cushion is WATERPROOF and unaffected by “mud dunking”, you know.

OSCAR, OSCAR WHO WON THE OSCAR?

2010-03-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

And the winner is – you guessed it - Skwoosh

Mo’Nique, Sandra, Jeff, Christopher and what about Kathryn Bigelow and “The Hurt Locker”? They won, made their thank you speeches and we’re off to see what next year brings. Then there’s Meryl Streep. The cynic might say “couldn’t give Meryl another one, she’s won too many already so let’s go with Sandra” (Skwoosh loved the blond hair by the way). Or maybe the same cynical mind might have said “time to go PC and reward Bigelow”. But alas-nominations for best gel cushions are: Travel gel cushion, Office gel cushion, Motorcycle gel pad, Kayak gel seat, Custom Fishing gel seat, the gel Bleacher seat and the newest, sensational Therapy gel cushion-- the Doctor recommended therapeutic gel cushion from Skwoosh. Well let’s get off of the self promotion and back to the Oscars. The winners are all great. They are talented, beautiful, and beautifully talented. What’s better and more fitting than to be named the best by one’s peers or equals? Congratulations again. So let’s get back to Skwoosh and why Skwoosh didn’t win an Oscar? It’s obvious-Skwoosh has no peers or equals. Who is there to vote? Skwoosh gel cushions have no equal in weight – it is the lightest gel cushion out there. Who has better design? Skwoosh is designed for each specific use – no one else can claim that. Who is the only gel cushion that is truly maintenance free and waterproof (thanks to sensational materials and Hi Frequency welding (no stitching you know)? Who is made in the USA using the best materials? Yes the winner is----SKWOOSH.

SKYAKING

2010-03-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

An Exciting, Exploding, Kayak Seat Market-Maybe!!!

Ever heard of Skyaking? If you happened to be watching the Today show on MSNBC this morning you would have caught a great segment on Skyaking. The man who introduced this new sport is a fellow named Miles Daisher from Twin Falls, Idaho. He sounded like and looks like a sane guy. He is married and has a little daredevil offspring. Skyaking is a combination of sky diving and Kayaking, explained Miles. Almost like Yakfishing only a heck of a lot more thrilling. In Skyaking, the paddler is strapped into his kayak, in this case a high performance, high impact plastic kayak called a whitewater creek boat or just plain creek boat. Most owners of the Skwoosh Kayak gel seat are familiar with this short, stubby, lepricon shaped kayak into which a fearsome paddler squeezes him or herself. One of the differences between creek boaters and traditional kayakers is the fact that the creek boater has to be as one with his boat and therefore wedges himself into the cockpit. Creek boat paddlers often line the inside of their snug cockpit with foam in order to fill the empty places between themselves and their boat. They are literally wedged into the boat. Of course, Skwoosh makes a very high performance kayak gel seat, appropriately named the XTREME, that is very popular among creek boaters around the world. Yes XTREME. The Skwoosh Xtreme performance paddling seat is designed to be very thin, with light weight gel to help protect a creek boater’s bottom and now, a skyaker’s bottom. Once entrapped in the creek boat, thetraditional paddler usually heads for type 5 rapids, traverses the fiery white water and climaxes with a few feet of free fall over a mild to mildly raging water fall. Well if you think traditional creek boating is exciting, look into the newest thriller, Skyaking. Here’s how modern day kayakers push the boundaries of the sport. The yaker loads his favorite creek boat, swaps his paddles for a super performance Skwoosh XTREME gel cushion and boards a light plane. Once the plane reaches altitude (a lot higher than your average waterfall), the Skyaker, strapped into his boat, parachute attached, pushes his boat and himself out of the plane and begins a free fall. It takes a few seconds for the sky paddler to stabilize his boat by letting the air catch the flat bottom of the kayak. Once stabilized, the Skyaker uses his outstretched arms as “wingerons” (wings and ailerons) and proceeds to enjoy the exhilaration and freedom of free fall. The total time of this orgasmic flight depends not only on weight and altitude but on balance and the skill of catching air. Now comes phase two of this adventure. Yes you guessed it – the landing. As terra firma rushes toward the skyaker, he deploys his main chute (he always carries a back up) and out pops a Ram Air Canopy parachute. The Ram Air Canopy chute is a more rectangular shaped chute, designed to help make pin point landings. The fun or the flight isn’t over yet. The skyaker must still find a body of water on which to land his airborne creek boat and use wind power to power him to shore. This is where the cushioning effect of Skwoosh’s TekPad gel could come into play. TekPad gel is known to help cushion the sudden impact by padding the Skyaker’s “stitz” bones. When asked if he ever missed a landing point Miles answered “yes”. When asked what happens if he misses water and lands on dry land he said “it’s a little more of a sudden stop but the boats can handle it with no problem”. If asked about Skwoosh, he would have undoubtedly commented on its light weight, design, premium materials, construction, and waterproof construction. No kidding, Miles really would have said all that.

2010-03-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

A Skwoosh ode to spring

We haven’t yet seen the birds, cherry blossoms or tulips but we know spring is really here. How do we know of spring’s arrival without the aforementioned natural confirmations? OK I won’t tell you that we know that spring is here because Skwoosh introduced its brand new, Doctor recommended, Therapy gel cushion. Of course not, but it’s not a bad concept if we could only make the Skwoosh – spring connection. Spring is here because the all American sport says spring is here. Here’s a Skwoosh ode to spring:
Battered, Bruised, Bunted Boston Boys,
Battle, Big, Bad, Boston Brothers,
But, Better Being Broiled By BoSox …
in sunny Ft. Myers, Florida than batting in the cold and spitting snow still hitting Bean town.
You guessed it – Spring Training is here and the BoSox got some opening game therapy (not the Skwoosh Therapy gel cushion therapy). The Boston Red Sox had double therapeutic wins over Boston College (6-1) and Northeastern University (15-0). And what about the strong debut of Boof Bonser who is recovering from shoulder surgery? He threw a scoreless inning on his first outing. The hearty Boston bleacher fans were ecstatic at the spring arrival of the BoSox and the comfort they experienced sitting in bleacher seats on their comfortable stadium gel seats and Skwoosh bleacher seat cushions. Skwoosh is told that many, many fans flew to Ft. Myers just for the opener. They took great care to use a travel cushion for a comfortable flight. It’s even rumored that some of the fans used their Skwoosh Office gel cushion or the Skwoosh therapy gel cushion for comfort on their flight south for the spring training games.
Spring training games in sunny Ft Myers Florida are the greatest. Twenty bucks for a seat (just like the Skwoosh stadium gel seat), seven bucks to park (only three minutes away) and all the players sign autographs for the kids. Peanuts, cracker jacks, hot dogs and all those made in USA Skwoosh therapy gel cushions, swivel cushions, motorcycle gel pads and bleacher seat cushions. Isn’t America great?

CYBER HACKERS – SHOULD SKWOOSH WORRY?

2010-03-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Cybercrime and Gel Cushions

When you’re the best, especially the best in the world, hackers will try to break through your firewalls to get at your secret code. The hackers want to know all your secrets – they want to know how you make TekPad® gel. Why is it so light weight? Why is it the only true pressure relieving gel to be used in Skwoosh cushions? Why are Skwoosh Kayak Seats waterproof and why do they float? Why are all Skwoosh gel cushions made in the USA and why is Skwoosh the only gel cushion manufacturer to use hi tech radio frequency welding to build all the Skwoosh gel cushions they make. We are now reading about the armies of Cyber hackers supported by the People’s Republic of Hacking. The newspapers say that some of the biggest cyber security worries can be traced back to Wuhan, China, located somewhere in the center of China. That’s the place that gave us the Panda virus. What appeared to be a friendly email message really was a deadly virus that spread from computer to computer around the world. The friendly looking Panda was able to steal passwords, financial information, cash balances and tried in vain to steal top secret gel cushion secrets from Skwoosh. As word of outstanding performance, light weight, super gel cushion comfort spread around the world it attracted the attention of cyber hackers like fish to live bait. Fishermen in Thailand gave up their tradition net fishing and switched to kayak fishing. Ice fishermen in Siberia clamored for the Pro Angler kayak fishing seat in an effort to gain more comfort, support and warmth while fishing on the cold Siberian ice. Word is the owner of the only Kayak outfitter and Dragon Boat shop, located on the giant manmade lake in Dubai, paid $6 million dollars to have a Chinese Cyber hacker break into the Skwoosh web site to steal the secrets of the Angler II kayak fishing seat and the Classic kayak gel paddling cushion.
I know this all a little (or a lot) farfetched as far as Skwoosh goes, but it is a real problem for the cyber world. It appears that cooks hacking into a computer because they can do It, has elevated to Governments using hacking as a new and ferocious weapon in the world community.

OLYMPICS 2014 - WATCH FOR THIS

2010-03-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Topless Tobogganing - a Viewer’s Sport

In our ongoing campaign of shameless self promotion and out of a sincere interest in bringing less important news briefs to our ever expanding worldwide cadre of lovers of light weight performance gel cushions, Skwoosh found an interesting article about topless (and jockey shorts only) sledging. Skwoosh was given a heads up about this topless tobogganing tournament, which took place in Braunlage, Germany, by our friend Ernest Weiss, a fully garbed skier and author of the best seller “OUT of VIENNA”. It seems that more than 14,000 spectators, some carrying Skwoosh gel travel cushions others with gel office cushions and some with kayak gel seats, cheered 30 male and female topless competitors as they bounced and sledged along the 100 meter track. The ladies, competing for cash prizes of nearly 300 pounds each, were required only to wear a hard helmet and footwear. Given the direction of the Euro, Skwoosh will try to convince the organizers to give the winners Skwoosh gel bleacher seats, gel stadium seats and even a few famous Skwoosh fishing seats as prizes in next year’s races. Christian Schmidt, 26, won the event, while one 70-year-old man got the biggest round of applause for stripping down to his long johns. Because it was so very cold during the race one fan was heard to complain that “the women had a bit of an advantage in the photo finish”. Rumor around the topless circuit is that “enhanced sledging” is soon to be introduced to the world as a new Olympic sport. Topless sledging fans will be cautioned to hang on to their Skwoosh as they jostle to get a “better view” of this event.

CANADA ON ICE- VANCOUVER OLYMPICS 2010

2010-02-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

THE NO STORY - STORY Team Canada’s victory celebration

18 year old Marie-Philip Poulin, who scored the winning goals in Team Canada’s 2-0 win over the USA women, was one of the celebrants sprawled all over the ice in celebration of that victory – cheers to you Marie-Philip. As the world now knows, Marie and 13 other rowdy carousers of Team Canada returned to the ice after receiving their gold medals and let loose in celebration. These triumphant woman let their hair down, smoked cigars, drank beer and guzzled Champaign. A hasty apology was given and the lineup of officials began. Bottom line, if these victorious women had just remained in their locker room, perched atop their Skwoosh Office Gel Cushions, they could have consumed gallons of Coors, Budweiser and Millers (they did beat the USA), smoke their Cubans and showered in Champagne. There would not have been a story or an apology. The world would not have noticed. Instead, Team Canada returned to the ice, sat, sprawled and celebrated. Could these Canadian hockey stars be seeking gel cushion comfort as well as a cool venue for celebration? How many of these ice athletes use a gel travel cushion or even a Skwoosh gel Kayak seat in their off the ice hours or as part of their other celebrations. Skwoosh knows that hundreds of hockey fans use gel bleacher seats and gel stadium seats to add to their comfort. Well the woman won, they celebrated, they will participate proudly in the closing ceremonies and eventually they will pop a gel travel cushion under their “sitz” bones and return to their homes across Canada. Skwoosh will remember their defense, their shots on goal, their speed and playmaking. Unfortunately too many will only remember their on the ice “cool” victory celebration. Some might say “check for those dreaded celebration steroids”, you know, that combination of celebration enhancing libations, beer, champagne and cigars. How will the IOCC test for this? Team Canada you played your hearts out and won the gold. Congratulations and keep on celebrating.

OLYMPICS AGAIN IN VANCOUVER-2010

2010-02-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

The fairness and sportsmanship of Skwoosh wins a gold.

Did the Austrian Super G course setter “Vonn-proof” the downhill course in Vancouver?
Rumor out there is that Super G course setter, Austrian coach Juergen Kriechbaum, “Vonn-proofed” the downhill course. Shades of Augusta where the givers of the green jackets lengthened the course in an effort to keep the Tiger (Woods) from repeating or bettering his 18 under 1997 performance. No one will ever know but the course was set in such a way as to limit a powerful, super fast, downhill skier like Lindsey Vonn. At Skwoosh we are all about fairness so we will rename our Swivel Therapy gel cushion the Lindsey Vonn Super G and we’ll be happy to endorse Lindsey whenever gel cushion comfort is needed – especially after winning a bronze.
We also stand ready to endorse Apolo Anton Ohno. Apolo’s great balance and the comfort gel power of Skwoosh might have pushed him from bronze to gold in the men’s 1,000 – meter short event if the pushy Koreans were out fishing instead of skating.
How about Team USA, men’s hockey vs. Team Canada – what a game. Goalie Ryan Miller had a “Time” of his life moment. He won even after removing the “Miller Time” slogan from his mask. What a game, one of the best ever enjoyed by Skwoosh Olympic junkies sitting comfortably in the stands on their gel bleacher seats. The house was packed and we wished that every seat was covered with a gel stadium seat or a gel bleacher seat as the fans watched one of the toughest, fastest, most competitive games of the 2010 winter Olympics. Team USA took the lead and kept it for all three periods. Their power play defense was superb and their Miller time goalie was the best.
Go Skwoosh – Go USA

WINTER OLYMPICS 2010 - VANACOUVER

2010-02-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

Self promotion in Figure Skating

What a great Olympics this has been. The Canadian management has had the horrible Luge disaster, no snow, opening ceremony malfunctions and not enough Canadian Gold. We have had a Japanese figure skater on the Russian team and a group of angry Korean speed skating judges trying to get even for the 2006 Olympics. Here at Skwoosh we are at wits end trying to find a way to self promote our light weight performance gel cushions in a witty, tactful, but not too obvious way, for use in the sport of figure skating. We have gone inside and outside the men’s costumes with no success. How do you fit a gel travel cushion to the bottom of a male figure skaters costume? For sure the compact size of the travel cushion looks like it will fit many of the Olympic skaters. In fact we theorize that placing the gel travel cushion or even our gel stadium bleacher seat cushion inside the costume may serve to “gel cushion” a skater's fall. But would the damage done to the aesthetics of that skin tight costume be worth it? We won’t even try to get into the thinking process that went with the discussion of “ what if” the woman skater from China tucked a Skwoosh……… In every case, the propriety of using a gel travel cushion or gel stadium bleacher seat to cushion a skaters costume won and Skwoosh will be sticking to Travel, Gel Therapy, Swivel and Stadium Bleacher Seating for the foreseeable future.

LINDSEY VONN WINS THE OLYMPIC GOLD – THE SECRET SHIN CURE

2010-02-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Curds or Skwoosh either whey.....

When Lindsey Vonn was injured, Feb. 2, during training in Austria, she did as some Austrian skiers do: She wrapped topfen cheese curd on her right shin to ease swelling.
"I've never heard of it," said Zack Schafer, manager of Cheese Traders & Wine Sellers in South Burlington — Vermont ski country.
Rachel Riggs, who owns the cheese and wine shop Quel Fromage in Bellingham, Wash., just this side of the Canadian border and 45 minutes from Mount Baker, was similarly challenged.
"Is that a home remedy, or is that an old wives’ tale, or what is it? She basically tried to leave no curd unturned," Riggs said. "
In the dairy lands of Wisconsin, food chemist John Lucey said Austrian topfen does indeed come from cows but is virtually unheard of his way. It's a white, semisoft cheese but doesn't have chunky bits like cottage cheese. It's fresh, high in acid and low in fat with a grainy texture somewhere between mayonnaise and spreadable cream cheese.
Vonn's not the first athlete to reach for unusual treatments for help with an injury: Serbian soccer player Danko Lazovic reportedly had placenta juice rubbed into a bad hamstring by a Belgrade housewife with a reputation for speeding up recovery. His experience led Dutch player Robin Van Persie to the housewife's door after an ankle injury. Now there you go. Is there a connection between soccer and riding a motorcycle? If there is, we know that many motorcycle cruisers find great relief and comfort by simply placing a Skwoosh motorcycle gel pad between them and the seat of their bike. Skwoosh users ride for many extra hours without numbness in their legs and butt and no lower back discomfort or pain. So who needs placenta juice when gel cushions are a lot neater and easier to use.
There are devotees to oil from the fat of emu for a multitude of ailments, including a rub for pain, swelling and aching muscles and joints, just as the Aborigines of Australia have done for thousands of years, according to Emuoilnaturally.com. "The ancient people of Australia have long known what the western World is just beginning to realize in the last decade or so." It’s even rumored that the infamous jumper “THE EAGLE”, of Olympics past, always used his EZ Swivel therapy gel cushion to relieve stress and pressure by relaxing in comfort in his automobile or while sitting at his computer refining his jump strategy.
Olympic athletes are usually ahead of the curve when it comes to finding alternative methods for either enhancing their performance or their healing that’s why the Skwoosh Kayak Paddling Gel Seat and the Xtreme Kayak seat have been so popular with kayak paddlers – but CHEESE – I’m afraid not. Any athlete who wants to enhance their performance by adding comfort without weight has only one real choice – the world leader in lightweight performance gel cushions, SKWOOSH.

DIRECTOR TAKES ON AIRLINE OVER SEATING

2010-02-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Could a Skwoosh Gel Travel cushion have helped?

Film director Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”) was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight on Saturday because he was too overweight to fit in one seat. In its statement Southwest said that Mr. Smith originally bought two seats for a flight from Oakland, Calif., to Burbank — “as he’s been known to do when traveling on Southwest” — but went standby on an earlier flight, where only a single seat was available. The pilots decided that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat. Mr. Smith said he was “ejected” and put on a later flight. Mr. Smith denied the airline’s statement that he regularly purchases two seats. Mr. Smith said, “I’m way fat, but I’m not there just yet.” Southwest said that its policy had existed for more than 25 years, and that the pilots were simply adhering to it. The airline apologized to Mr. Smith and gave him a $100 voucher.
“Making airline seats more comfortable is our business” shouted Skwoosh. We’re in the gel cushion business to provide travel comfort on airlines, trains, buses and automobiles. Single seats on an airplane are uncomfortable enough, can you imagine how double the discomfort must feel when air travel rules (and the laws of physics) require that you occupy two seats. From our biased selfish perspective Skwoosh loves it. Mr. Smith should take the Southwest Airlines $100.00 voucher and trade it for two (2) Skwoosh Travel Gel Cushions ($60.00) and two (2) Gel Stadium Seats ($40.00) and double his travel comfort, enjoy his double airline seats and as a bonus, get to choose his own colors. Heck a travel cushion for each side and a double wide seat belt sounds better than a Big Mack Happy Meal, large fries, a chocolate shake and a crispy apple pie.

LET'S TALK PRESIDENT'S DAY

2010-02-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

How a Skwoosh gel cushion “might” have changed the course of history.

To school kids all over the USA President’s Day means vacation – no school. To auto dealers and car shoppers it rings sales and full page ads in the newspapers. At Skwoosh we think about honest Abe and George W (Washington not Bush). How did these old timers cope with uncomfortable travel in a horse drawn coach or better yet in an open boat across an almost frozen Delaware in the middle of the winter?
Imagine how the lives of great American leaders would have fared if world famous SKWOOSH light weight performance gel cushions were around the Original 13 and Washington DC during those early days of American politics. By golly, if President Abe Lincoln had a super comfortable EZ Swivel Gel Cushion or a Travel cushion under him on the way to Gettysburg his famous address would have been at least three hours longer. If George Washington had the Voyager Gel Kayak seat or the new Custom gel Kayak Fishing seat (also by Skwoosh) attached to his boat, that trip across the Potomac would have been much more comfortable and the war could have ended a lot sooner. Come to think of it, if old Ben Franklin, not a President just one of the original lobbyists, had a Skwoosh gel Office cushion to sit on every time he wrote one of his flowery letters he probably would have sat the war out in France . The gel office cushion is so darn comfortable old Ben simply would have forgotten to come home.
You know we’re just kidding and everyone at Skwoosh has President’s day off – with full pay. So let’s honor all our Presidents, past and present, by grabbing an EZ swivel gel cushion, throwing it in the car and driving out to visit our Presidents way up there on Mt. Rushmore.

VALENTINE'S DAY AND FISHING

2010-02-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

A special gift from Cupid

We all know Saint Valentine's Day (Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards ("valentines"). Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid shooting arrows of love into the hearts of lovers. Wow!! What has all this got to do with Skwoosh? In another desperate act of shameless self promotion Skwoosh has added fishing, specifically Kayak fishing, to Cupids repertoire. Kayak fishing you say, now that's an outdoor sport worthy of clebrating on Valentine’s Day?
Well, Cupid passed on the love bug along with comfort in the form of the Skwoosh Custom Gel Fishing seat by firing his arrow at Lovers everywhere who are avid, dedicated Kayak Fishermen. With three quivers set to hold 3 fishing rods or 2 rods and a net, pockets for jaw and hook pliers and an “O” ring to tie other gear to so it won't float away. It’s the perfect valentine’s day gift for everyone who has the Skwoosh Travel cushion, a Gel Motorcycle cushion and of course the ever ubiquitous Bleacher Buddies stadium cushions. This brand new addition will keep Cupid hovering over your fisherman or lover all year long.

STWART’S 15th WIN AT DAYTONA

2010-02-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

SKWOOSH was in the stands—Did it Help?

Only Dale Earnhardt with 34 wins and Bobby Allison with 16 lead Stewart in the Daytona win column. Of course there’s the fabled Cale Yarorouh who has 15 as well but who’s counting.

Kevin Harvick knew his race cars were good enough to get either he or Tony Stewart into Victory Lane. Once Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out of contention, their path was wide open. Stewart held off Carl Edwards, Harvick and Justin Allgaier to win the Nationwide Series opener at Daytona International Speedway for the fifth time in six years.

We all know the driver is important and the pit crew and the car but WOW!!! What about all those stadium gel seats in the stands. Skwoosh had Stewart covered from every angle. Comfortable seating in Daytona, great comfort on the road with the EZ SWIVEL in his truck and don’t forget the plane trip down from the super cold, snowy north. The flight from everywhere to Daytona was a breeze and in comfort with the Travel and Pro Traveler gel cushion.

OK Tony, just ride on a Skwoosh EZ Swivel Gel cushion for the rest of the season and you’ll be in great shape for next years Daytona.

Jon and Kate Plus Eight Plus [Insert Sponsors name Here]

2009-06-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

Skwoosh admits to a morbid fascination with the very public implosion of the Goessling marriage. As we tuned in to Jon and Kate Plus Eight last night, however, Skwoosh was totally distracted from the marital woes of the obviously mismatched couple by Kids Crooked House.

Jon and Kate "bought" the brood four Kids Crooked Houses and the company wasted little time filling the Goessling estate with subtle and not so subtle KCH hints - the delivery truck, completely out of proportion to the little homes it disgorged, looked like something out of the 1970's trucker flick Convoy, the children were bedecked in KCH tees, there were large Kids Crooked House signs on each of the playhouses, etc. Jon and Kate even gave a testimonial about KCH (separately, of course) at the end of the episode.

Somebody at TLC obviously owed somebody at Kids Crooked House a favor and cashed in big.

Skwoosh thinks that it should look into its own product placement - let's start with our pilots seat. Unfortunately classic shows about pilots and air crews such as Wings and more recently Swingtown have gone the way of the Wright Brothers. So we'll have to write our own.

Skwoosh envisions a drama about a dashing Captain Sullenberger-esque pilot dealing with life, love and teenagers. Scenes of the good Captain striding purposefully through the airport, Skwoosh Pro Traveler swinging jauntily from his carry-on, will open the show. Sully-esque will casually name drop as he chats with his co-pilot, "Gee, good thing I have my Skwoosh gel cushion made especially for pilots on this red eye." His love interest, a flight attendant, will also use her Skwoosh travel cushion on those cute little jump seats stewardesses sit on. And, not to be outdone by Jon and Kate, his teenage son will of course rock a Skwoosh t-shirt while he is rebelling against his often-absent yet fabulous father.

Now, who owes us a favor at HBO?

The Yellowstone Club Not a Good Investment - the Skwoosh Pilot Cushion on the Other Hand ...

2009-06-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Yellowstone Club in Montana was touted by its owners, Edra and Tim Blixseth, as the ultimate ski destination. Catering to titans of capitalism, politicians and the glitterati in general, the club was designed specifically to afford privacy to its well-heeled members. (Unfortunately details about the owners' divorce, bizarre proclivities and financial ruination have been anything but well-kept secrets.)

In addition to the fabulous skiing, the resort's location was chosen because private pilots could ferry their uber-rich passengers and their families directly to the resort. Good thought - anyone with the scratch to put up a minimum of 250k to join, plus another 5 mill or so for a house, ain't flying commercial.

Skwoosh, ever mindful of the little guy, wants to know what happens to pilots now that the resort is in bankruptcy. Will the next "it" resort require their services? Will they go commercial?

Well, we can't offer you all jobs but we can make you more comfortable while you look for one. Our pilot cushion is an aviation essential, especially for those of you who will be making the cross country flight twice a day for JetBlue and the like. Skwoosh thinks that you will be spending a lot more time on your tushes, and our pilot seat will help you make the most of it.

The Skwoosh pilot cushions for both pilots and crews - a much better investment in your comfort than membership in a club!

Even MORE Shameless Self Promotion - This Time it's Coke's Turn

2009-06-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Skwoosh has met its match.

When Skwoosh started the shameless blog of self promotion, we thought that we would remain on top for quite some time. Looks like Coke has beat us at our own game.

John F. Brock III, Coca-Cola's chief executive, recently delivered the commncement address at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Rather than address the hopes, fears and aspirations of the graduating class, Brock used the occasion to shill his signature product. The CEO referred to "a product like Coca-Cola that invites you to 'open happiness'" (Coke's new tag line), mentioned that "Coca-Cola operates in more corners of the world than any other enterprise," and declared that "Our business has chosen the idea of 'happiness' as the best way to connect our brand with billions of people in more than 200 countries." Skwoosh's personal favorite - "It's been said that after the word 'hello,' Coca-Cola is the most recognized word in the world."

Wow. We are humbled.

But we're fighting back. In the spirit of shameless self promotion, please see the next paragraph:

gel seats, pilot seats, pilot cushion, gel cushion, kayak seat, canoe cushions, travel cushions, travel seat, pilot gear, pilot accessories, flight accessories, stadium seats, bleacher seats, wheelchair cushions, lumbar support, Skwoosh, Skwoosh, Skwoosh

Touche.

Times Square - Are Pink Flamingos Next?

2009-06-13T07:34:00.001-07:00

New York City is embroiled in yet another searing cultural debate - lawn chairs in Times Square.

Times Square, as part of the city's ceaseless drive to reinvent the former host to all manner of seamy entertainment, has been declared a pedestrian mall. As if the sight of the former adult entertainment mecca now populated by Toys R Us and the M&M's store weren't surreal enough, the neighborhood is now devoid of Manhattan's iconic yellow cabs. That's a whole lot of space to fill.

The Times Square Alliance, charged with outfitting the newly declared pedestrian mall, came up with a solution in the form of permanent furniture, which is due to arrive in August. In the meantime, the space is home to close to 400 rubber lawn chairs from Ace Hardware. Reaction has ranged from appreciation to outrage.

Skwoosh, always willing to take a stand on the hard issues, says rock on NYC! The kitschy cool of these retro lawn chairs matches beautifully the spirit of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, however, retro furniture is completely lacking in comfort. Enter Skwoosh gel seats. Our gel cushions would allow both native New Yorkers and the throngs of tourists who flock there to spend a lot more time hanging out. Either of our travel cushions, the Pro Traveler or the more humbly christened Travel Cushion, would do the trick. Or better yet, our exercise cushion. After all, it is hard work looking cool in Times Square!

The Ivy League Apparently Does Have a Sense of Humor

2009-06-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Although the stereotypical Ivy Leaguer is a rather buttoned up chap (or chappie), if their commencement speakers are any indication the schools in the Ivy League certainly do have a sense of humor. Harvard commencement speakers include Will Ferrell, Conan O'Brien and Sasha Baron Cohen (he of Borat), Princeton has hosted Stephen Colbert and 1997 MIT commencement speaker Kurt Vonnegut has been (incorrectly) credited with delivering the infamous "sunscreen" speech.

Apparently Skwoosh needs to keep better company - having attended the final and umpteenth graduation ceremony of the season, none of them at an Ivy, nary a chuckle has escaped our lips.

In addition to the complete lack of brevity and humor, all of the ceremonies Skwoosh has attended were characterized by the lack of comfortable seating. Hardback folding chairs, church pews, stadium bleachers - you name, Skwoosh has sat on it. Fortunately, we were armed with an arsenal of gel seats.

The Skwoosh stadium seat saw us through the graduation in the football arena, the travel cushion got us through the five hour drive to a college graduation and the Pro Traveler came in mighty handy during the three held in churches.

Whew - now that graduation season has ended Skwoosh is grabbing a canoe cushion and heading out for some well deserved relaxation!

Drag Racing's Hot Evil Twin

2009-06-10T12:45:00.001-07:00

Drag racing, typically depicted by the movies as the activity of choice on steamy summer nights in small Midwestern towns, has an evil, even hotter twin - sand drag. Sand drag pits all manner of four wheel drive vehicles against one another in desert races. Considered my many as an introductory step into the National Hot Road Association drag racing circuit, sand drag races are hotter, dirtier and, perhaps not surprisingly, sparsley attended.
Skwoosh, a rabid sports fan, would like to do its part to boost attendance. Even though sand dragsters themselves spend little time in their car during the actual race - Geoff Gill recently broke the standing world record with a time of 2.284 seconds - both the racers and the fans must travel fairly long distances to reach the race site.Our travel cushion could go a long way in convincing fans to make the trek - driving an hour or two into the desert without a gel cushion can, after all, be a rather unpleasant experience. Our stadium seats are anotherway to pamper spectators - if sand drag ever develops a logo we could even customize the sport cushions.
So keep on truckin' sand dragsters!

Martha's Vineyard - Not Just for Prepsters

2009-06-05T15:56:00.002-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, the vacation idyll that is Martha’s Vineyard does not shut down after the last Lilly Pulitzer-clad mainlander leaves the island after Labor Day. That’s when the real fun starts – the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. The five week fishing contest becomes an obsession for many of the participating anglers, who have been known to quite literally eat, drink and sleep the Derby.

Skwoosh is hardly a social climber, but we do recognize a golden opportunity when we see one. Although the purists would likely argue that there is no room for comfort in a month-long fishing derby, Skwoosh begs to differ. Our fishing seats relieve back and leg pressure so that contestants have more energy to do what they are there to do – prevaricate and catch fish.

And for those mainlanders who choose to stick around for the Derby, perhaps we can monogram your fishing seats. A Lilly Pulitzer pink perhaps??

3 Games in 1 for Bostron College Sluggers

2009-06-05T15:56:00.001-07:00

ACC powerhouse Boston College set another NCAA record last weekend, this one in baseball. In the baseball team’s first Division I tournament appearance since 1967, BC set a record for the longest baseball game in NCAA history – a 25 inning contest that lasted 7 hours and 3 minutes, finally wrapping up at 1:05 am EST.

We can only hope that the diehard fans who made it to the end of the game, and the players for that matter, had their Skwoosh stadium cushions with them. Ironically in a sport noted for its languorous pace, baseball stadium seats are some of the most uncomfortable in sports. Our gel cushions make sitting through a game, even one that long, a much more pleasant experience. Plus the BC players could have used their stadium seat cushions for the ride home – bested 4-3 by Army, they needed all the comfort they could get.

Skwoosh Gel Cusions - You Can Bet on Them

2009-06-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Professional poker player Tom McEvoy won the first World Series of Poker Champions Invitational tournament this week. McEvoy bested 19 former champions over two days of play and walked away with a ceremonial trophy and a fully restored 1970 Chevy Corvette. Not a bad take for two days of work.

Skwoosh, always eager to support alternative sports, would like to get in on some of the action. What better place for the manufacturer of gel cushions to be than at a poker tournament, where contestants literally spend days sitting on hardback stools. May we suggest our stadium cushion or even our travel gel seat? Either of these comfort cushions will prevent numbness and back pain. After all, players need to prevent poker butt so keep up their poker faces.

Canoe Racing as Extreme Sport

2009-05-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

Those of you who consider canoeing a sport for blissed out, eco-sensitive non-athletes should check out the Texas Water Safari, a 260 mile race that meanders through some of the roughest rivers and bays in the sun-baked state. Billed as “World’s Toughest Canoe Race,” splash holes, snakes and even the occasional hallucination are hallmarks of the event. At stake are simply the coveted Texas Water Safari patch and the bragging rights that go along with it.

Skwoosh wishes not to challenge the macho nature of this aqua marathon, but the question begs itself – would it really be so bad for the racers to avail themselves of a little comfort? Our water sport cushions were designed to make any boat trip, even ones as arduous and lengthy as the Texas Water Safari, gel cushion comfortable. However we wouldn’t want to open a can of worms with our canoe cushions – they could be considered performance enhancing!

Time for Stand-up Comedian Jay Leno to Sit - with Skwoosh

2009-05-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Stand-up comedian Jay Leno recently retired as host of the Tonight Show, which he has officially hosted since 1992 but had been a regular substitute host since 1987. Over those years Leno has hosted luminaries from a post-Divine Brown scandal Hugh Grant to US President Barack Obama, all from behind the iconic desk formerly manned by his predecessor Johnny Carson. That’s a lot of sitting Mr. Leno!

Skwoosh, always concerned for the well-being of American icons, would like to support Leno in his semi-retirement. After years of sitting behind Carson’s desk, may we recommend some of our gel seats to ease the transition to your new desk on your prime time show? Our travel cushion, with its low profile and easy storage, would be ideal for your new desk. The travel gel seat will also perform double duty for you. Known for your penchant for classic automobiles, we suggest using the Skwoosh travel cushion when you take the Studebaker for a spin.

Yoga from Mysore - Oh the Irony!

2009-05-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

It is with much sadness that we announce the passing of Krishna Pattabhi Jois, yoga guru to the stars, at the age of 93. Much sought after by celebrities as diverse as Sting and Gwyneth Paltrow, Jois was considered the founder of Ashtanga yoga, an athletic and sweat-inducing form of the art.

That Mr. Jois became a yoga instructor at all is credited to happenstance. However Skwoosh, always alert to nuance, has to believe that karma had a lot to do with it. Jois, having connected with the city’s ruler, taught yoga at the Sanskrit University in Mysore. Jois settled in Mysore and that is where he died last week. Jois made Mysore the epicenter of Ashtung yoga.

Skwoosh appreciates the irony – we do have a sense of humor - as well as Jois’s accomplishment. After all, we are dedicated sports supporters who serve outdoor enthusiasts with our camping cushions and hunting seats as well as gym rats with our exercise cushion. Although our exercise seats may not be appropriate for yoga practitioners, who don’t spend that much time on their bums, they are perfect for those exercisers who walk by the yoga studio en route to their exercise bikes. Our gel seats for exercise bikes, like all Skwoosh performance cushions, are portable comfort. With all due respect to Jois - Mysore no more!

Yankess vs Red Sox - Everybody Wins!

2009-05-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Like many other stadiums slated for demolition so that a new facility can be accommodated, New York’s Yankee Stadium is auctioning and selling all kinds of memorabilia to fans from across the country. Items include signs, brick, beer carts - even trash cans. Some of the more plentiful, and lucrative, items, however, are the stadium seats.

Yankee Stadium is selling their stadium seats for a minimum of $1,499 each. That is a rather eye popping sum when you consider the fact that they are not even branded with the team’s logo! Skwoosh, an unabashed Red Sox fan, would still like to see Yankees fans get more for their money, especially in this economy. Why not package a Yankee stadium seat with a Skwoosh stadium cushion with the team’s logo imprinted on it? That way fans can have a piece of the ballpark they loved as well as a way to show that it actually came from the aforementioned stadium. Who says that Yankee and Red Sox fans can’t work together?!

American Idol Gives the Symphony an Idea

2009-05-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Skwoosh, long a supporter of the fine arts, was mildly shocked to learn that certain symphonies and museums are integrating cell phones into their repertoire. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, for example, asks the audience to text message their vote, American Idol-style, for the encore. An attempt to reach a more youthful audience, it also supports efforts aimed at increasing audience participation.

We’ll leave the question of whether Hayden, Mozart et al truly intended for the audience to have any type of say in the matter to another post. However if arts institutions would like to broaden their appeal, may we suggest starting with something a little more basic – the seating. It is almost as if concert halls take the whole “suffering for your art” adage literally. Why not use our stadium seat to make the entire experience a more comfortable one? Designed for sitting on bleacher seats, our stadium cushion can nonetheless be taken upscale and would appreciate a day at the opera or symphony. Our gel cushions can even be imprinted with the organization’s logo, a great way to appeal to today’s label-obsessed youth.

Passengers' Bill of Rights - Food, Water and the Loo

2009-05-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Commercial airline passengers may have something to look forward to as they book travel in the coming months. Congress is considering what amounts to a passengers’ bill of rights as part of the FAA appropriations bill currently working its way through the Senate. The bill would among other things require airlines to give food, water and access to a functioning bathroom to passengers stranded on grounded planes. Also under consideration is a three hour limit on the amount of time passengers must remain on a grounded plane before being offered the option to disembark. Not surprisingly, there is tremendous resistance on the part of the airline industry to this part of the bill.

Where does Skwoosh come down on this point? On one hand, the more time our customers spend on their posteriors the more need they have for our gel cushions. Should we back any effort designed to get people off their rear ends? In this case we must! Skwoosh is, after all, in the business of comfort. It is our mission to make any leg of your trip, be it on an airplane, car, bus or motorcycle, as comfortable as possible. In fact our travel cushion was specifically designed as a buffer between you and the notoriously uncomfortable seat cushions found on commercial airplanes. And just to prove that Skwoosh doesn’t take sides, remember that we make a pilot’s cushion for the men and women at the front of the plane as well.

Technology and the Great Outdoors

2009-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Technology has made inroads into virtually every aspect of modern life including leisure, with advances in video gaming, television and computers significantly altering the way we spend our free time. Now outdoor enthusiasts can get a piece of the pie with a handheld digital field guide currently in development by the National Science Foundation.

In essence a database of leaf images, this high-tech twist on the traditional dog-eared and well-thumbed field guide allows leaf-peeping neophytes to accurately categorize their findings.

Purists may argue that a digital field guide is in fact cheating and no substitute for field experience, but Skwoosh is in the business of making people more comfortable in the great outdoors. After all, we developed both the Sportman and Camping and Hiking cushions to cater to the more adventurous of our fans. Our Sportsman hunters’ gel seat relieves the numbness that comes with sitting still for long periods of time. We also offer shooters’ pads – pressure relieving cushions that can be used as knee pads or elbow pads. Likewise, our camping and hiking cushions offer comfort, portability and pressure relief.

A digital field guide and Skwoosh outdoor cushions – essentials for outdoor enthusiasts brought to you by technology.

It's National Train Day

2009-05-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

May 9th is the anniversary of a number of historic events, including President Woodrow Wilson’s 1914 proclamation commemorating Mother’s Day and the first flight over the North Pole in 1926. Amtrak, a company truly with its finger on the nation’s pulse, has chosen this auspicious date to celebrate their second annual National Train Day to memorialize the establishment of the first cross-country railroad.

A fitting tribute indeed when one considers that the comfort afforded by rail travel has in fact changed significantly since its inception. The china and silverware of yore having been replaced by microwaves and canned beer in the “dining car,” rail passengers today are subjected to conditions the glitterati of the day would scoff at.

Enter the Skwoosh travel cushion. Our gel seat not only relieves the pressure and numbness in the legs that plague the modern day rail passenger denied the comforts of the sleeping car, but can be folded up and stowed in a carry-on bag or briefcase.

Happy National Train Day America! At least you can celebrate in comfort.

Skwoosh is a Hockey Fan

2009-05-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

With all our talk this week about culture and the arts, we wanted to let you know that Skwoosh can also talk sports.

Hockey goalies are a mythic lot. There is something quite out of the ordinary about someone who would willingly allow a buff, 250-pound man to shoot pucks directly at him. Of course goalie equipment today has changed significantly over the past 30 years. The increasing size of the pads, glove and mask not only offers greater protection but has actually changed the way the position is played, with goalies spending way more time on their knees than in the past.

Although Skwoosh does not make hockey pads, we can offer goalies some comfort after they leave the ice. All that time on their knees in an out of the butterfly position must wreak havoc with their backs. Enter our gel cushions. Our fitness cushion would be an apropos choice for these warrior-athletes. Although we wouldn’t recommend replacing the equipment pads with our exercise cushion, it would be a great addition to their fitness routine. Even better, our gel seat cushion will also do double duty as a travel pillow for those long plane rides to road games.

The Cinco de Mayo Custom Car Show and Fiesta

2009-05-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo! The Cinco de Mayo holiday commemorates the 1862 defeat of Napolean III at the Battle of Puebla by a rag-tag and greatly out numbered Mexican army. Like St. Patrick’s Day, however, it is a bigger celebration in the United States than in its country of origin.

Topeka, Kansas, for example, is a hotbed of Cinco de Mayo activity. In addition to a fiesta-themed street party and dance, the Washburn University Hispanic American Leadership Organization sponsors a Cinco de Mayo Custom Car Show and Fiesta. Always one to support cultural events, Skwoosh would like to contribute. May we suggest our gel cushion car seats? Although designed for law enforcement officers, our patrol seat would be ideal for any driver who has to spend a significant amount of time in the car. With car enthusiasts from all over the country heading to Topeka, now is the time to spread the word – you CAN be comfortable on lengthy car rides with our gel cushions.

Classical Musicians - A Stand Up Group

2009-05-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

The Australian Chamber Orchestra recently performed in New York City’s Zankel Hall. Although they garnered generally positive reviews, the concert was remarkable for the way in which it was presented. All of the musicians in the group, not just the cellists, performed standing up.

This intrepid blogger was unable to unearth any reason for performing in such a manner but of course this will not stop us from conjecturing. Our theory – musicians are given the worst seats in the house. They are forced to sit for long periods of time on hard folding chairs with no seat cushions! Back aches and numbness are part of their encore. Skwoosh, in a selfless effort to support the arts, would like to offer our assistance. Our line of gel cushions includes an exercise seat that would be ideal for musicians. Designed to relieve back aches and numbness, our exercise cushion allows musicians to focus on high art, not their lower backs.

MIT Rowers - Competitive Studying as Training

2009-05-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

M.I.T. recently announced the dismantling of eight of its varsity sports, including competitive pistol, in response to the economic woes besetting the country. Fortunately the university’s historic and much-heralded crew team was not affected.

Why the Ivy League churns out such competitive crew teams is a matter of debate. There does not seem to be a connection between intellectualism and the sport, although the M.I.T. rowers arguably spend more time seated in the library than other college students. Perhaps it is this competitive sitting that prepares these athletes for spending hours upon hours in a shell.

We at Skwoosh have the perfect solution for Ivy League derrieres – our rowing cushion for the athletes and the stadium seat cushion for their fans. Even better, our personalized seat cushions can be emblazoned with the M.I.T. logo. School support and back support in a single cushion. Not bad for a non-Ivy Leaguer.

Volcano Boarding - Is it for ANYONE?

2009-05-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Nicaragua, long a go-to destination for adventure travelers and kayakers alike, is now the epicenter of the latest trend in adventure sports – volcano boarding. Volcano boarders seat themselves atop a tricked-out sheet of plywood and hurtle down the side of an active volcano.

Not being ones to turn our backs on potential customers, even those who have clearly lost their minds, we at Skwoosh asked ourselves how we could get ingratiate ourselves with the practitioners of this exciting new “sport.” Performance cushions for the volcano boards, of course! Although the volcano boarding purists out there will likely accuse the sport of selling out, those willing to quite literally risk life and limb in pursuit of their passion deserve to do so in comfort. We’ll be there on either end of the trip as well. Our travel cushions will make the lengthy plane ride to Nicaragua bearable and for those unfortunate few who do succumb to the power of the volcano, keep in mind that Skwoosh also makes wheelchair cushions.

Skwoosh for Cave Sitters

2009-05-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Although when booking accommodations most look for the most luxurious features in their price range, there are those who have a different idea of what constitutes luxury. Take for example patrons of the Gamirasu Cave Hotel in Turkey. Far more luxurious than one would assume a hotel built into a cave would be, guests are nonetheless staying in an actual rock shelter.
Although Skwoosh hasn’t developed a gel cushion specifically for cave sitters, our camping and hiking outdoor cushions would be ideal for these hotel adventurers. The camping cushion is so lightweight and portable that you can discreetly cushion your derriere while looking like you are partaking of the true “cave experience” by sitting directly on the floor of the cave. And don’t forget our Pro Traveler travel cushion – the flight to Turkey is a long one!