May 8, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Conclusion

May 8, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Part of why this is so late is that I have been dragging my feet on wrapping this book up. Trust me, I am ready to skip this all together and get started into “Fountainhead”. But, sometimes we must do what we must. I must put everything aside and give my honest opinion.

I remember reading “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” in 6th Grade Language Arts. I was a big fantasy reader as a youth at least through high school. It was part of my Dungeons and Dragons phase. I read “Lord of the Rings” as well as the “Hobbit” as well as some pretty weird stuff as well. My favorite fantasy series was actually written by Terry Brooks call “The Elfstones of Shannara”.

Narnia was definitely not my favorite fantasy series. I found it a little tame in that I wanted sword fighting and fireball spells. I don’t think I read any farther than “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” from Lewis but at least it was adjacent to the subject matter I was interested in. It was certainly better that reading Tom Sawyer again.

A large part of why I stopped reading fantasy was because I was so tired of poor writing. That includes names that you couldn’t recognize talking about events that had no context and seemingly disconnected story lines. I know that elves are not real but come on, what is with the rites of the fourteen moons of Fortuna? Maybe I am just dense.

Getting back to Narnia, it was well established that C.S. Lewis was a literature powerhouse in the 1980s. Of course when he has something to say, it might be worth trying to figure out if it was of some value. It was many, many years later that I realized Lewis was more than a fantasy writer. In fact, for me it was the fact that he was a recognized author that made me investigate his theory on religion in the first place.

OK, enough beating around the bush with Lewis related items. My take on the on the book is forthcoming. Nothing real earth shattering here, it is a biography about Lewis’s early life. I think what he was trying to portray was that it seems logical that when bad things happen to you, your outlook darkens. The surprised part of the title has to do with his dark outlook seemed to self heal.

I will try not to sound too boorish but I really didn’t enjoy the book at all. It was a gift, from my son for Christmas. I am pretty sure that he saw me reading “Mere Christianity” and then saw this. I had higher hopes about this book based on my previous reading but what I am trying to say is that I didn’t seek this out.

There were a couple of things that I found interesting even if I did not care for the book. The first was the whole culture of being a student in Britain. I went down a complete rabbit hole trying to understand what in the world Lewis was talking about when he talked about that stuff mid-book. I really had no concept how ridiculous the rigid social boundaries were in that environment.

The second thing I found interesting how many classic works of literature were referenced and how many I have actually read. I have to say that most of them I did not care for so it was no form of validation for me. I guess what I thought was the interesting part was that it seems like Lewis did enjoy reading most of those works. It could be possible I am just too dense to get it. I have also mentioned in the past when I was reading Dante that it is possible that there were so many less choices back then that whatever survived was considered a classic. It does make me do a double take on whether I am in a right frame of mind.

I said that I didn’t care for this book, but why? If you were interested in reading a biography of C.S. Lewis, then I would say this fits the bill. But, if you were looking for some epiphany moment or even something to look for or work to go from Atheist to Christian you are going to be out of luck. I would go as far as saying Lewis used his status as a Christian to sell a biography, It is good business but really sets the wrong expectations. It could also be that Lewis was badgered to tell his story and so he reluctantly did. But then what is the point?

End Your Programming Routine: Look, not all of them can be winners. I feel like I have had more losers than winners over the last couple of years. That is not all bad because discriminating taste has to be critical to be of any value and not simply like or approve everything. I still respect Lewis as an author, but I am pretty sure that I am done with him now.

May 7, 2026 – Try This Out, Rod Covers

May 7, 2026 / / 0 Comments

A couple of years ago, I did what I always do. I waited around until the last minute to start Christmas shopping. My dad is not too hard to shop for, he is pretty predictable in that he is using the same fishing rod and reel that he had when I was born. That being said I still need to feel like I need to put out some effort. I was browsing through the fishing isles and I saw these woven rod covers. I had never seen anything like this before.

As I often do, I will go back to my childhood again. I would say that we probably took at least one fishing trip a year. Some years it was four or five and some later years none. But, I will never forget the sound of clinking willow leaf spinning lures as the poles are propped up in the boat as my dad is pulling the boat out of the water. In all those years, I will never say that I remember any rod damage but these things are inexpensive and they couldn’t hurt.

I had kind of forgotten about those rod covers until I was pricing out heavier weights for my ocean going gear and I saw the display. I remembered that I had bought some of those for my dad and that I was interested in how they worked. Now that we spend a couple of days a week at the lake house, I am routinely taking different rods back and forth. I don’t make a habit of leaving my more expensive setup at the house considering the owners still have the right to show and sell until we actually close the deal.

I don’t feel like I need a cover for every rod that I own. Really, I only want a cover for rods that I am taking back and forth. So, I got a couple of the to try out myself. One thing that I learned is to buy them on Amazon. At Sportsman’s Warehouse, one cover costs $12 whereas on Amazon I paid $7 for two. They also come as six and twelve packs (or something like that) at even more of a discount. I just didn’t want that many.

What is the criteria for success? Clearly that is the lack of broken poles and to a lesser degree scratches. They also advertise that you can leave your pole rigged up so the lack of hooks and closures snagging on anything else could be a perceived benefit. As I stated earlier, I have never had a broken pole as a result of transportation. These are items that are mostly about making you feel better about using.

When I started researching the options, I soon discovered that while the combinations seemed vast, actually there really were not that many choices besides color and package quantity. The primary choice is between casting rod or spinning rod. Then, most of them are for rods that are between 6 1/2’ and 7 1/2’. Those are common, safe choices.

When I look at my fleet of rods, I have a 4 1/2’ and a 9’ rod as well as sizes in-between. I would say that the majority of my inexpensive rods fall in the 6’ category making them too short for these cover technically. The other thing I would say is that all of my spinning rods are two pieces. I nearly always break them down for transport. The only time that I don’t is when I am being lazy.

The verdict? I think that if you have a one piece rod that fits the length criteria, this is a good idea. I do worry about the load shifting and breaking the tip off with a well placed force. But, if I had a two piece rod, I would break it down and not worry about it. The only other caveat would be if I left my two piece rod assembled all the time like when rods are stored in pole holders on a boat. That doesn’t match my scenario.

End Your Programming Routine: It’s good to try things out that are inexpensive. Since I am going to use two for sure, this really only cost me an additional $7. I won’t say that I will never use the others, I simply don’t see the value. That being said, I will keep them for some potential use in the future. I have other rods on the wish list.

May 6, 2026 – Seis de Mayo

May 6, 2026 /

If you are anything like me, you are regretting that last margarita from last night. Five AM comes awfully early and I have to hit the ground running. I am kidding, I regret nothing and I am old enough to respect my limits and take my lumps if that it what it comes to. What I am dancing about is that my wife and I went out last night to see how our new town throws down for Cinco de Mayo.

If you are truly like me, then you don’t have a lot of desire to jump into another culturally appropriated holiday like St Patrick’s Day as another example. That being said, I am all gung ho to explore my new home town even if that means I need to have multiple margaritas to do it.

Last week, I agreed to go out to a Mexican restaurant because I wanted to know if it was any good. I was actually pleasantly surprised because my expectation levels are pretty low when it comes to Mexican/American restaurants. So, when I come away thinking not too bad, it is a huge win. That doesn’t mean that I am going to crave this place but it does mean that I am not going to wish I would have stayed home and made peanut butter and jelly if we do choose to go there.

I ran across something pretty neat a few months ago. It is called the Central Coast Food Trail. Take it with a little bit of a grain of salt, I am pretty sure the list is sponsored and not necessarily awarded. Nevertheless it is a good start on getting a bead on some quality food.

As a kid, my family came to the beach for two things. The first was camping but the second was fishing. Grade school and middle schools we typically made a trip to go salmon fishing and consequently we camped the weekend. When the salmon regulations were changed so that there was not a concentrated couple of weeks in late August, we stopped coming to the coast.

On my mom’s side of the family they were fairly smitten with the coast. So much so that several of them had beach houses. They were never fisherman and from the 1990s onward my trips to the coast were almost strictly leisure. They involved going out to eat and shopping. I am aware of some good restaurants in the area but I have a pretty limited experience level with what it offered.

I actually got to the point that I would prefer to stay home as to go to the coast. Many times my wife would spend the weekend with her friends and I would stay home with the kids. I have nothing personal against the coast, it was more a function having no desire to live a life of consumerism. I start to get board going too long into stores that I like, a whole day is dreadful.

I wrote the above to say that connecting with my future community in that way is revolutionary. It is a completely different way to see this area. It is not simply a collection of restaurants that primarily service the weekenders and the spring breaker families but people that are growing and harvesting with the same amount of passion that anyone, anywhere would exhibit.

It is not just restaurants either. I learned that there is actually a culinary teaching center here in our town. I don’t know much about it at this point but I am definitely going to look into it. That sounds like a good date night idea.

I think that it goes without saying but that the ocean translates into seafood. There are opportunities to get salmon, rock fish, halibut, Dungeonous crab, bay shrimp, clams and oysters. Depending of the season, there is also tuna out there. You just have to go way out. Seafood is great, but it definitely needs to be paired with other items. Finding out about local produce and seasonal fair is critical for top notch meals at home.

End Your Programing Routine: I am getting to the age that I don’t need an excuse to drink or eat enchiladas. I like to go to bed at 9:30 after I have made and eaten my enchiladas. That being said, it is kind of fun to open the doors to someplace I have seen my whole life but never stepped inside. While I don’t really want to spend my time frequenting these places but I would like to be somewhat of an authority of my new home town. Last night I sucked up my preferences and hit the town with my wife. You just have to do that sometimes, even if the reason is flimsy.

May 5, 2026 – ‘Til You Can’t

May 5, 2026 /

This is the second time this YouTube video has made an appearance on AltF4. If you want to reference the first time see here. Often on Fridays I have caught up with all of my podcasts for the week and I like to crank up some music while I finish off the work day. It often starts off angry with bands like System of the Down, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Rage Against the Machine. After I get that all out of my system, I start to mellow out to songs that are much more sentimental.

I keep coming back to this song because I identify so strongly with the issues, it almost hurts. All week long, I have been procrastinating hole filling and touch up paint because I was planning on tackling it on the weekend. I am doing this as a ‘show ready’ mechanism because as we have taken stuff off the walls and packed all the anchors and hangers remained. When everything was on the wall, it looked fine but all the holes and adhesives remained.

On Saturday morning, my Dad called me and said that he had tickets to the OSU baseball game. I declined because I was planning on filling holes and painting and I hadn’t done anything all week. Realistically, I could have spent a couple of hours working and then went to the baseball game. But, then I thought about all the wasted evenings that I had not used and the what if’s about a potential house showing.

It would be one thing if this was the only time I had ever done this. I remember that we drew deer tags in 2019 when I wasn’t working and I thought I was going to go all season, a first for me. But, then we got audited and I felt guilty about spending money when I didn’t have an income and we owed an additional $10,000. So, I didn’t go because I needed to ‘support the audit effort’.

I think about my son’s 1969 Mercury Cougar. It was my idea to buy a car and work on it. But, we couldn’t get on the same plane about how to go about it. I wanted to spend Saturdays and he wanted to start work at 10PM, my bedtime. I wanted him to put together a plan about how he would like to go about it and he wanted to just take parts off. So, I have hardly helped him a lick.

There is definitely an advantage to being a planner. It has served me well in a lot of the aspects in my life. But, like all personalities it is not all good. It ruins the spontaneity of things. Part of why I coasted all the evenings was that I have taken to sitting down with my wife after dinner. She watches whatever and I read or scroll through the news and blogs that I follow. I read somewhere that couples that are together regardless of whether they are doing the same activities have stronger relationships.

Make no mistake I could probably work from wakeup to bedtime. I always have things the I want to do or need to do. Even the other night I was dozing off to sleep and I was thinking, I should get that pork roast out of the freezer before I fall asleep but I was too tired to move. Guess what didn’t happen? Dinner preparation for the next night and then I was scrambling like crazy to get it all ready in a reasonable hour.

Periodically, my wife reminds me that I have a 100 year old, living Grandmother. Then she uses the the guilt trip on me on how she would love to have living grandparents still. And then, every couple of times I make arrangements to take her out to dinner and spend time with her.

Maybe you are thinking that I am douche or something but this is the way that it was supposed to be. Her end of life plan was to spend her last years at an assisted living facility. Not necessarily to be ignored, but because she is going to handle things the way that she feels is best. For the record, I don’t think that I am completely ignoring her but I will admit that I could do a better job at scheduling time.

I can’t tell you the huge disparity between what my family expects and what my wife’s does. For instance, when my sister in law got married 30 years ago, my in-laws actually went to the hotel to check on them while they were on the their honeymoon. Talk about boundary issues. That is just one example of many times where I couldn’t condone family closeness.

End Your Programming Routine: I know that we don’t live forever. That day is coming for my Grandmother and my Father sooner than I wish to think about. I also know that I could do better and living in the moment. I don’t really know how to and it is a struggle everyday. So, I listen to this song over and over to remind myself that sometimes I need to skip the paining and go to the baseball game.

May 4, 2026 – When Things Go Silent…

May 4, 2026 /

After putting out a podcast week after week and then all of a sudden to go silent, it is strange. I will admit that I think about it a lot, but time, time, time. And even then, what to say? If there was something important to say, I would probably make the time. With me trying to stay out of politics and living in boxes, what the most important thing to do is actually survival to the next phase.

May 1, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapters 11-15

May 1, 2026 /

I know that it hasn’t been the most direct path, however we have gotten to the end. This week I have finished Surprised by Joy. That means if you are reading along, then you are done as well. The plan is to cover the last five chapters this week and then go over a total review next week.

If I could say anything about this week, I would say that this is my favorite third of the book. Not only did we get the details of Lewis’s conversion but the subject manner was more than dry, ancient authors, titles and fantasy land. You have a bit of a war story, introductions to the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and the final, happy conclusion.

I will save my overall opinion for next week. We will focus on the subject matter on hand. Here is a brief summary of the final five chapters. Last week we ended in what I would call high school in today’s parlance. We begin there again. There is one thing that I noticed in chapter 11 and that is kind of a change in tone. It is still primarily reading literature and poetry but an internal struggle seems to crop up. That struggle is the difference between fate and faith.

I think many non-Christians can relate to this. How can God be good and all powerful and yet bad things happen especially to good and faithful people? You hear that as a criticism to faith. That is a question that everyone has to wrestle with but I tend to side on the side of fatalism. I cannot diagnose any situation other than my own but I tend to look at it more like ‘your mission is done’. We cant see the future and only the individuals knows all of the details about their past. What may appear to be upstanding could only be a shell. I simply do not know.

Of course there are all kinds of nuances. Babies cannot be shells, right? Agreed, but it could be that death of an infant spurs some kind of reaction like starting a foundation or a sibling becomes a doctor or researcher. I simply cannot say the impact outside of the obvious ones.

From there, Lewis enlists in the Army and is eventually shipped off to the front in World War I. There is surprisingly little written about this time. It seems that this experience is so polarizing in those that have survived but it really does not seem to make much of an impact in Lewis’s life. I would characterize his attitude as ambivalent and certainly not galvanizing.

After getting wounded and subsequently discharged from the army he starts his life again, now at Oxford. The next chapters cover his life and changing attitudes as they are shaped by that experience. For example, Lewis starts to notice that Christian authors have more depth to their stories. And for that reason it starts to persuade Lewis that he needs to change his path.

I find this a little strange actually. I am not aware of many author’s religion but I cannot say that Lewis or Tolkien stories are any deeper than a lot of the fantasy I have read in my life. One reason that I stopped reading that genre is that I found it incredibly convoluted and nonsensical. Sure, I can suspend belief that magic can happen but when it comes to names, characters and events without definition or context, I simply kind of glaze over.

Another strange behavior is that Lewis admits to attending church without actually believing. I think in most cases, people lose their faith while attending church but never have I heard the other direction. The sensibility of it all is irrational. I shouldn’t have to explain that but dedicating time to something that has no significance is simply not what people do.

In the last chapter, Lewis describes that he doesn’t really know how it happened. Somehow throughout this process he became a Christian. Lewis’s description is Atheist to Theist to Christian. As a result, here is my synopsis of the book title. Joy is a synonym for faith and belief. The whole title is about being surprised to find faith despite the path to get there.

End Your Programming Routine: I would say the ending is a bit of a letdown. Based on how I started this post and where I am at, I bet that you can guess how I am going to come down next week. As evangelists, it makes no matter on how you come to faith but I find it hard to believe that reading literature written by Christians that would make it so. In fact, this might be the only documented case. Then again, people emulate those that they admire. Does that make genuine faith? I am not here to tear down Lewis. He most likely has done more good in his work. It is just that the story seems so improbable.

April 3, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapters 6-10

April 3, 2026 /

I certainly can appreciate that C.S. Lewis is a famous and respected mind in the field of Christian thought. I also admire his desire to take on the philosophical debate about the existence of God. Talk about using your power for greater purposes. But, I have to say, the more I read this book the more that I am ready to move on. If I was not doing this series, I probably would quit the book. That is not somethings I never say.

I went to grade school in the 1980s. When we had some sort of media day, we looked forward to it with great zeal. Remember screens only came into the classroom a couple times a year. I remember that in fourth grade we were watching a rented VHS video. It was something about a boy and a seal. We got about ten minutes into the movie and the kid cussed a couple of times. I think he said something like ‘shit’. The teacher immediately turned the movie off and media day was over.

It made no difference how disappointed we were, movie time was over. The teacher deemed the whole thing unworthy because of a couple of bad words. I am not going to say that I would have made a different decision if I was the teacher. But, I am here to say that I had heard swear words before. It was the loss of what could have been that was more significant.

There is some bad stuff in this book. I am not necessarily ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, C.S. Lewis that is. However, I what I am learning is that I am getting to the point that I don’t really care. I find myself drifting off while reading because I am not following all of the technical details. Before I started reading this book, I was expecting that there was going to be some kind of epiphany or Devine moment that we could all benefit from.

I applaud Lewis for being candid. I can understand that any victim of sexual assault would turn away from God. School sounds a lot like what I imagine prison to be like. A rigid hierarchy of status and expectations followed by a lifestyle of debauchery. Things are starting to change and we have to take Lewis at face value but it seems like getting lost in fictional la la land is not something I would prescribe to fix his situation.

Part of my attitude relates to my complete and utter inability to relate to the situation. Early on in the book, there was references to literature that either I read or at least was aware of. As the book goes on, those touch points become more frequent and more obscure. Lewis switches context between fantasy and reality using characters and plot lines that make it very difficult to follow.

On top of fading in and out of reality, there is this school hierarchy affectionately called ‘fagging’. I am aware that there are alternate definitions of the word fag but I can certainly see where today’s most common connotation has it’s origin. It is absolute adherence to to the made (typically older) boy having other’s as subservient, regardless of the ask or outcome. Today we would most likely equate fagging to slavery.

The concept is also distinctly un-American. In a culture where we all believe that the opportunity to pull up our own bootstraps is valued, having servants or slaves or at least not having our own autonomy is not relatable. I realize that this is a simplification of the situation, I also understand that this is an argument to be against the idea that God is Good. For that reason, I can see why Lewis continues in the path that he has been travelling.

Things have to change or at least I am hoping so. That is about the only hope left I have in this book. We can start to see that Lewis platonic relationship with the neighbor Arthur is leading in a more positive direction with an emphasis on more and more esoteric book titles. I say that because I have heard of a lot of them but I have no idea what the plot line is about so more fantasy time.

End Your Programming Routine: I would have to say that in the book to date, it is a wonder that Lewis came back to Christianity at all. Today, we are ultra sensitive to mental health as well as equality. I suspect that in those days, if you weren’t born into privilege then your social position was pretty static. In some ways, accepting that position is far healthier than wishing you were somewhere else and everything being someone else’s fault. We will have to stay tuned to next week for that big event.

April 2, 2026 – I Miss ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

April 2, 2026 /

Thursday’s are those days in the week where the eye and the mind start to turn toward the weekend. If you have plans and are a planner like me then those are often the evenings where you are doing the prep so that you can take action as soon as you are off the clock. For instance, if we are leaving for the beach Friday evening you can bet that the goal is to head out as soon as my workday is done. The only way that can happen is if I am ready to step out the door.

Tacticool Thursdays was a cheap and easy way for me to plan my week. It fit into my interest range and I always thought that it would become a business expense. It was the election of 2022 and the passing of Measure 114 that really prompted me to stop doing Tacticool Thursday. I don’t want to be taking pictures of all my stuff and writing about things that were soon to become contraband. That is just not smart.

That is what is called Operational Security or OpSec in the Tacticool world. It certainly doesn’t fit into my ‘gray man’ philosophy. The truth is that I shouldn’t even be writing about this now. It just peels off a scab that is almost healed. The fact remains that I miss doing the segment. I imagine it is what being ‘in the closet’ would feel like. There is a whole world that I don’t dare bring up for fear of the potential consequences.

Thursdays have become much more of a catch all day. It used to be that I would think of things and then wait until they fit into the right day of the sequence. Now it is more like I am writing about whatever comes to mind. That way of working makes it more difficult to plan and execute. I do still try to keep Thursdays focused on recreation however.

For that reason, I am going to talk about fishing again. It is socially acceptable and currently a re-found passion. You might even say that I have kind of gone of the deep end a little bit. I think back to when I was a kid and I had a fishing pole. I didn’t care what type of reel it had or what kind of line was on it. It didn’t matter if it was a casting pole or a spinning pole and the reel type matched to the pole type. More so, the line was within the acceptable specs for the pole.

I don’t know if you have ever taken a charter fishing trip. I am speaking specifically about the ones that you pay and show up. The last one I took, I was looking at the gear that they used and it was all remarkably simple. They were using an Ugly Stick pole with the reel that came with it. The tackle rigged on the pole was rubber jig that we called ‘hootchies’. All hootchies were the same color. That is it.

Was it a salt water pole and reel? Probably not. It was the cheapest option to get things going since it was almost as likely to get lost overboard as it was to catch a fish. I include myself in this conversation because I think that sometimes the details actually get in the way of objective.

This reminds me of a time when I used to work as a chemist. I remember a peer of mine getting a technical service call. The basics of the question were ‘What are the recommended ratios of mixing A and B’? The answer was none because those two items are technically incompatible. We as the experts knew the composition of each as well as the reasoning behind that but it was not public knowledge. Since the caller did not know there was no stopping them.

The right answer is that there are reasons, good ones at that for following guidelines. That however doesn’t mean that things can’t be done, it simply means that there could be consequences for doing things that are not recommended. Maybe those consequences turn out to be less than ideal, long term performance. In the case of fishing, maybe you cannot cast as far or impart the desired action on a lure. But what it does not mean is that you cannot catch a fish. Isn’t that the point?

End Your Programming Routine: I didn’t even talk about the picture. This is my new casting rod. There is a lot of semi-cryptic statements on it. The line should be 8-17 lb test, lures should be 1/4 – 3/4 oz weight. Once you open the package and throw it away, how do you know the lure weight? What if you are trolling or jigging does the reel type actually matter? Guidelines are important when it comes to getting expected results for sure, I am just not sure that it matters that much to the fish.

April 1, 2026 – No Foolin’, It’s Good To Have Box Seats

April 1, 2026 /

Last weekend I went to a baseball game with my Dad. It happened to be a college baseball game with a perennial national contender. The weather was nice, the teams were good and I was looking forward to it. As the OSU team stays chronically good, so does the access. The games are on radio and TV and they get first billing on the local sports report.

Growing up, we had a neighbor whose name is Frank. Frank owned a regional construction company. When I say regional, I mean throughout the western United States, not just doing work but established quarries, trucks, facilities, staff, etc. Frank also happened to go to our church. Even though Frank was our neighbor and went to our church, his kids were four or so years ahead of me and so we were kind of out of cycle. It was a situation where we knew of each other but didn’t necessarily interact routinely.

It has been probably been twenty years now but Frank decided that he was old enough to retire. I am not sure exactly what age that was nor am I exactly sure what in to the decision on how to disposition the company. From what I know, the construction company was started by Frank’s father. Given that I know he has kids, I am guessing that they did not have any interest or possibly ability to run a large regional corporation.

Regardless of the motivations and reasons, the construction company was sold. Frank went immediately into politics and performed a couple of terms as a state senator. I haven’t asked personally, but I assume that he realized it was pretty fruitless to try to accomplish anything in that venue and so then he really retired.

I have already stated that we had some connection. The truth is, I didn’t know him well and neither really did my parents. As us kids moved away from the house and the dynamics in the family home changed, my parents started to get closer, particularly my dad. It was more like a friend of a friend situation. Some church members that were close to my parents were also close with Frank and so that relationship developed. More on this in a bit.

When I was considering career change from chemistry to computer software, I had interview. I remember sitting at a large conference table speaking with a middle aged man. Through the door walked one of the tallest people I had ever seen. He introduced himself as Bill. I hired on and continued to marvel at how tall Bill was.

After working there a few months, another new co-worker was talking about Bill and OSU basketball. It all clicked for me Bill was a basketball legend. He played one year with Gary Payton one of the most successful alums of all time, not to mention an NBA great. And, the year Gary played Bill was the team leading scorer. I was working for one of OSU’s best athletes.

While I worked there, I found that Bill was a patron of the OSU sports teams. The basketball program was not great and there were often eight tickets sitting on the table for tonight’s game. Bill and his co-owner got into football. They had a premium tailgating spot right next to the stadium. I would go to a game or two and so I would stop by and say hi on my way into the stadium.

It has been a number of years now that I have worked at that company. Bill sold out and bought a house in Palm Springs as well as a really nice fishing boat. I am sure that we would recognize each other but I really haven’t seen him in years. I of course deep sixed my position and then went on to work at other competitors after a couple year hiatus.

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I came to know how Frank has left his mark on OSU. My Dad periodically got some basketball tickets from Frank and these were among some of the best seats in the house. The were mid-court, a couple of rows up and behind the bench. So, you could see all of the action. It was actually the parking that signaled to me the significance of the situation. We were parking against the basketball arena, right next to the entrance door.

After a couple of experiences where I attended games under other circumstances, I couldn’t find a parking spot. I was late to the game and when I did, I had to wait over an hour to get out of the parking lot on a school/work night did I come to know how premium the parking was. Walking into the box to watch a baseball game I looked at the plaque to see the donor’s list and sure enough Frank’s name was near the top. I knew that this was someone that has invested heavily into various athletic programs.

End Your Programming Routine: This isn’t a story of jealousy, clearly I have been a benefactor of Frank’s generosity. I have no idea how much that construction company was sold for but it was a pretty penny. It was enough to get season tickets to every major sport for twenty years, premium parking and still more to build a luxury box and still have plenty left over. I know that Frank is a faithful man, I also know that he inherited some fortunate circumstances. I would even go as far as to say more fortunate than a gifted athlete. I enjoyed the game and we won 19-2.

March 31, 2026 – Could This Be the Best Reel Ever?

March 31, 2026 /

I told you I had fishing on the brain. I am actually at the lake house right now and every time I am there, I try to go to the dock for 20 minutes and try my hand. This is one of those things that is necessary for me to accept moving and downsizing. I have significant access to another hobby that has taken a back seat to others over the years.

In the picture below is my first fishing reel. I can’t remember exactly how old I was when I got it from my grandparents for Christmas but I would guess 12. This was paired for quite a few years with the fishing pole that was given to me by my great grandfather that I never met. I used that setup until my mid twenties when I finally retired that pole because I broke the tip off of it several times.

I replaced that setup with a Shimano Carbomax/Sedona combo that I purchased at a local sporting goods tent sale. It was a carbon fiber rod and sleek, modern looking reel. I thought in my head that my gear needed to match a look as much as perform. The Mitchell reel went on my wife’s super inexpensive fishing pole. I think that we paid $10 for the pole/reel combo that already had line on it.

We still have my wife’s pole, but the reel was junk. I think it lasted a couple of years and something broke. So, my old trusty Mitchell found a new home. Some number of years ago, we went on a camping trip to the beach. If the camping trip is long enough, I find it worthy of packing the fishing poles.

We fished, I caught some bull heads but there was nothing to write home about. This reel has taken some abuse and it happened to get a bunch of sand in it. So I took it apart and when I put it back together, it did not work. That should have been my first clue. A few years later, I was talking to my dad about it and I thought that maybe I should take another look at things. So I did and I found that I had put a compression gasket in upside down. The reel was back in service but I had already replaced the reel on my wife’s pole.

This reel has kind of bounced around homeless since it’s initial pole. I had it on my Shimano pole for several years because I moved that reel to a tiny, gimmicky pole that my wife bought me a number of years ago. I would have put the Mitchell reel on that pole, but it was too big. That finally brings us to today.

This may become fishing week because I have been making a lot of changes in my inventory of fishing gear. But, one of the changes I made was taking the reel off of my backup pole and moving it to another super cheap pole that we purchased for my nephew. When my kids were young (and before I knew that my son was going to be a vegetarian), I purchased some extra gear so that we could go out as a family.

The backup pole happens to be an Ugly Stick when that brand was owned by Shakespeare. I was reading the specs on the pole and it said that it was rated for 6-15lb line. I think I had the original line on the reel so I am guessing it was 8lb line. But the fact that it could hold 15lb line got me thinking that I could set this up as a salmon or steelhead pole.

I had some extra paypal money that came out of some class action settlement that I thought I would find a suitable reel for salmon fishing. I ordered the reel and then about ten minutes later, I thought that I bet the Mitchell reel would be a good fit on that rod. I started looking at the markings on it and it said that it could hold 120 yards of 30 lb mono. That is when it hit me that this could be the greatest reel of all time.

Today’s reels are sized. To get 120 yards of 30lb mono it would have to be at least a 5000 or 6000 series reel. This Mitchell is rated from 8-30 lb line capacity. I looked up the drag specs and this reel is rated for 14lbs. This means that with the drag cranked all the way down, it can stop a 14lb fish. That is definitely salmon sized.

With my primary pursuits being trout and such, I have definitely trended toward the lighter side. I have been lining my reels with either 4 or 6 lb line. But, with my recent goal of moving to the coast, I have started thinking about bigger. That means bigger poles, bigger lines and bigger reels. A reel like this Mitchell is so versatile, it can fill the bill in so many applications, unlike today’s reels that are so specific. I can’t believe that I thought it was outdated and no longer had value.

End Your Programming Routine: Not only did I not appreciate what I had, but I also took a look on e-Bay as well. There are plenty of affordable Mitchell 300s out there. I mean under $30 for functional reels. From what I see, that is half price of almost any other modern option out there. Not only is it flexible but affordable as well. That is what makes it possibly the best.