Month: February 2022

February, 10 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

February 10, 2022 /

I have been sitting on this one for a couple of weeks. There is a lot of todo in the tacticool world about gear. Mostly, it is a lot of flash and no bang if you will. People imagine that an ultra tricked our AR will annihilate any disturbance in the force – to mix metaphors. Today I wanted to talk about the practical situations and just being smart.

I start work most days a little after 5 AM. If my schedule permits it, I run up the stairs and make sure my kids are getting ready for school. Sometimes, I am in the kitchen when they leave for school. I noticed some behavior that is really the opposite of common sense.

Before I go there, early in my podcast listening career I listened to the Practical Defense Podcast by Alex Haddox. I enjoyed it while it was active because it was usually 5-15 minutes a day of mindset of safety and security. I remember a story one time where a burglar poisoned his German Shepard and then used the extension ladder left outside to access the open window on the second story. The morals of that story were 1) your defenses are probably not impenetrable 2) don’t help criminals out by leaving tools to assist in the crime.

There were so many tips that I just never gave much thought about. For instance, boxes in your recycling (or trash) are indicators of inventory to steal. Or, anytime a fight goes to the ground increases your chances of losing. First, don’t fight but if it happens, do whatever you can not to go down if you want to survive. I highly recommend it as worthwhile on many topics like digital security to staying safe at a rest stop.

So what happened? I have observed both of my kids actually unlock the door before they leave the house as a matter of habit. Conventional advice says to keep your doors locked, particularly when you are still at home. The reason being is that stuff is replaceable but you are not. I still remember in November 1997, a very nearby murder that occurred when a husband left the house at 6AM and left the door unlocked. I thought about that every day I left the house for work and everyone was still in bed, which was most days when I worked outside of the house.

I was already freaked out to live in the city, that was burned into my mind. Whether it is the recommendation to continue to carry a firearm at home or it is to lock your door when you are home, the tendency to get complacent is strong when you get comfortable.

I don’t have to do any investigation to know what is going on in my home. My town is very safe. Looking at the crime statistics, we are much lower than other college towns in this state. We are lower than towns in this region per capita. Once, in 2006, someone stole half of my birdbath from the front yard. That was before both of my kids were born. They know no fear, they have experianced no loss. And you know what? This is why we stay where we are. This is the way it should be.

Technically, I live on a state highway with no legal parking in front of my house (on a corner lot). To the east, there is an adjoining street with a church as a neighbor. It was also the first Pokemon Go gym in the town that I knew of. That means that weirdos frequently pull off of Main Street and park across the street to battle at the gym (at strange hours of the day). Just the fact that the property is not a residence invites many more people to feel comfortable to spend more time than typical doing who knows what.

People have broke down, ran out of gas or looking for lost pets among the many things I have encountered across from my house. I do feel safe, I do think most encounters are legitimate but it still doesn’t mean that I should let down my guard. My wife’s cousin was a local police officer and he kept trying to convince me that bad stuff happens. I guess that what I am saying is that it is not that evil can’t happen. It is the frequency and the per capita that is the difference.

End Your Programming Routine: Don’t get complacent. As safe as I believe that I am, I don’t believe that it is not possible. That is why you lock the door when you are in the house. My boys have been given a key, it is easier for them to leave the door unlocked than it is to have the key handy. That doesn’t mean it is safer or the right decision.

February 9, 2022 – No Secrets By Now

February 9, 2022 /

It is probably no secret by now that I am not home. It is another business trip and there is worse news. I wouldn’t have volunteered this information except for the fact that this is another birthday that I have not been home for. I wrote about it in November, my last business trip the downside of traveling.

I am on little bit of a junket type trip. I am providing training for a group of users so it is an 8-5 type hours. For a lot of the attendees, this is the first time traveling on the company dime. There is anticipation for the work to be over so they can gather in the bar and drink the night away. I chose to skip that and come back to my room and write.

Not too long ago, I travelled a lot. I have been on projects that had no limits on travel expenses. I have had $250 meals and 10 drink nights to get up and do it again the next night. I guess I saw it as a way to commiserate with my peers that I didn’t want to be there week after week.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a teetotaler, I am a little bit anti-social. More than anything, I guess I have been there, done that and want something different. When I started in this line of work, I was in my early thirties. I think that I have gotten to an age where fun has a different definition than a hangover. Especially when you are up for meetings at 7AM followed by presenting all day.

The truth is, I might be in a better mood if I wasn’t missing my son’s birthday again. A few years ago, it was half a joke that I was always gone for his birthday. The years 2011 – 2015 I was gone all of those birthdays on ’critical’ business trips. I had hoped those days were behind me, as long as I am in this type of work it is a risk.

I suppose that one difference with this trip was that I knew it was scheduled last fall. I was more prepared for the ultimate reality in a way. It doesn’t make it any easier when I have been working seven days a week for the last month.

I guess I will have to wait and see how it all plays out. I have always said that I don’t mind a couple weeks of travel a year. This year it is looking like three trips at least. You always have to temper that: Michigan/Minnesota/Toronto in the winter doesn’t really qualify as much fun either.

End Your Programming Routine: Most people I know have made the transition from exuberance to weariness on business travel in their careers. The people that did not were typically single and this was as much of their lifestyle as being home. Their social interaction was at dinner or the bar and they would be doing the same thing at home. I do try to find some kind of birthday gift from the places I have been. Maybe those trinkets will hold a special place someday.

February 8, 2022 – Review: Arteck Bluetooth Keyboard For iPad

February 8, 2022 /

A few months ago, I made this purchase. It was $30 and works in conjunction with my iPad. For my job, I am a contractor. That means that I logged my time worked in two systems. It also happens that my primary assignment computer is not allowed to connect to my actual employer.

All that is to say that I need two devices when I travel. Normally, when at home, it is not a problem. I also have the ability to put in time on my phone. It is a little problematic when I want to continue to write daily. So, I thought that I would give this a shot.

Since all of AltF4 is cloud based, all I need to access is an internet connection. I also need access to OneDrive to retrieve photos and video for pasting purposes. Typing on a screen is OK for small edits but it does not work well for lots of writing. This thing almost makes my iPad a real laptop when doing cloud based work.

On my trip in November to the midwest, I carried two laptops and that was heavy. It was so heavy, I decided to look for a better solution. I used this keyboard for the first time for my Thanksgiving trip and I was very pleased. The tablet simply snaps into the overall keyboard case and then folds like a laptop. It is definitely a smaller form factor but not unpleasant to use.

In fact, TSA said that it was a computer when I sent my bag across the scanner. The biggest thing that I miss is not having a trackpad. I find my fingers reaching for the typical location to move the cursor, then I remember that this is an iPad and I have to touch the screen. It is instinctive muscle memory.

I made my selection the way any typical Amazon shopper would. What can I get that is reasonably inexpensive because I wan’t sure how I would like it and can I get it before I leave? Yes, I did read some reviews but I don’t trust reviews with off-brands (like Arteck). I figured $30 was a reasonable gamble.

The keyboard is charged with a micro-usb cable and I haven’t run out of batteries yet, with my usage.

ScoreAdvantagesDisadvantages
Quality4Runs as advertisedPlastic-y feeling
Value5-Price to productivityNone
Performance5Huge productivity increase for iPad-No mouse or trackpad
-No battery life indicator

Needless to say, I am very pleased with it. I am happy not to have a second laptop on a business trip. It has allowed me to use my free time to keep writing on my trip, rather than doing it before I left. It has made my underutilized iPad a much more valuable device.

End Your Programming Routine: There have been a number of items that I have purchased since I started writing routinely. Most don’t warrant my time to write a review. I could probably write at least a review a week but I don’t necessarily want reviews to play such a major role. This keyboard is something that I have found helpful and valuable. I thought I would share.

February 7, 2022 – What Does Eight Month Old Mozzarella Taste Like?

February 7, 2022 /

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but my threshold for food queasiness is pretty low. We had some mozzarella in the fridge that I bought last summer. It wasn’t open so there it stayed. The refrigerator in the garage, that is.

One more thing about that fridge. The door is slightly warped and the seal is bad. Occasionally, I will find that the kids got into it and didn’t close the the door with the proper technique. In the winter, it tends to not be an issue with the refrigerator portion but the freezer warms up. In the summer, the freezer tends to ice up but the refrigerator doesn’t keep stuff cold if the door isn’t properly shut. This cheese had the looked like it was melted a bit.

One time, I ate some yogurt that was probably three months expired. I look at it and then give it a sniff and if it seems alright, then I will give it a taste. If all goes well I will proceed without fear.

There is a little more to story, I am not going to go into today. But we also had a Costco sized tub of cottage cheese. I was looking up ideas to try and use that cottage cheese and decided to make some lasagna. I thought it would be a good time to use up the mozzarella if it was still good.

I opened the package, smelled fine. I cut a slice off and it was not what I expected. It tasted like sharp cheddar. I used it anyway and the lasagna came out pretty tasty if I say so myself. The one complaint I had was the cottage cheese was pretty wet, so the entire lasagna didn’t have a lot of integrity. But, it tasted good.

I happen to know a lot about mozzarella, probably too much. I spent years working for the largest mozzarella manufacturer in the country. I am not going to divulge information that I shouldn’t but let’s say I know where the bodies are buried. First of all, when buying at the store, it can already be months or years old. After the cheese is initially made, it is put into a freezer.

They produce so much volume of cheese that they will make cheese first before determining if it is any good. This is a common practice in food manufacturing. The food will be handled while fresh and then they will figure out the grade and characteristics and then sell as is, blend with other things or transform to something else. It called bulk-off/add back.

Maybe someday I will talk more about the process, but today is about the cheese. I usually find mozzarella bland and rubbery specifically the manufactured version. This cheese was not. It was soft as the variety is. Another process that drives me crazy is that they add nonfat, dry milk to some cheeses. This is to make it more inexpensive but I hate how it coats the knives and shredder. It is very difficult to clean.

The word cheddar actually means to age. Mozzarella is a fresh cheese or no aging required. It seems like in this case, it worked out alright albeit maybe not what some people want.

End Your Programming Routine: Just because something has a date on it doesn’t mean it is bad after the printed date. For instance there was a study on pharmaceuticals called the Shelf Life Extension Program to determine efficacy after the expiration date. It was found that most pill forms are still useful years after the expiration date. This is a liability limiter, not a quality indicator (in most cases). I say, if it looks and smells OK, why not?

February 4, 2022 – Introducing the “American Dream” Series

February 4, 2022 /

Even though I have been spotty over the last couple of weeks, I got really inspired to go deeper into Wikipedia’s definition of the “American Dream”. I realized that I talk around it quite a bit but I have never really defined it. According to Wikipedia, the American Dream is comprised of five values: democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality. Each week, I am am going to take one of the five values and analyze the origins and the state of the value. I will sum it up with an overall score card when I am done.

In 2001, a bipartisan bill was introduced called the DREAM Act. While DREAM is an acronym, it is a play into the American Dream ethos. At the heart, the DREAM act is essentially an amnesty program for undocumented aliens that were brought into the country as minors (without consent). It even spawned a self-labelled generation of ‘DREAMERs’. My point being, from our history to our culture, the American Dream is something uniquely indigenous in our beliefs from the origin this country.

Have you ever really read Martin Luther King Jr’s I have a Dream? There is no doubt that that it was racially targeted, however if we take the speech out of context of it’s deliverance, the words are still relevant today. I cut some excerpts below.

“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.“

“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.“

“And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.“

“We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only.“

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.“

Now, re-read those quotes and replace ‘white’ with vaccinated and ‘black/negro’ with unvaccinated. Or if you would rather, replace ‘white’ with liberal and ‘black/negro’ with conservative (or vice versa if it pleases your bias). I ask you, can we deny that we are living a civil rights conflict at this moment?

I realize that the comparison is not perfect. I am not saying that beliefs are equated to physical traits i.e. race. You can’t necessarily look at a person and know on what side of the argument they stand, unless maybe they are wearing/not wearing a mask. I am also not saying that this new dichotomy was something that we were born into and likely will never leave. here are aspects of choice to the conflict. We can choose compliance at the expense of ethics but isn’t that the opposite of freedom?

We don’t fear lynching, we fear being cancelled for having an opposing view. We don’t fear being barred from voting, we fear our vote doesn’t matter. We do fear our children will not be allowed into schools, we fear losing our jobs from lack of vaccine passport, we fear being barred from the lunch counter.

What I am saying is that institutions are starting to produce the same policy that put us squarely back to the 1890s, separate but equal (Plessy v. Ferguson). Isn’t ironic that the states with the most institutional segregation in the 1960s are the states that are implementing the least amount of segregation today and vice versa?

End Your Programming Routine: Why did I choose this to kick off the discussion when a good introduction should highlight what I am going to talk throughout the series? Because King’s speech is encouragement to fight for and problems within his socioethnic status from obtaining the American Dream. He directly uses the phrase American Dream, quotes the Declaration of Independence and heavily references the Emancipation Proclamation all in support of that effort. That is some of the most poignant works on freedom I can think of.

“And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.“

February 2, 2022 – I’m Not Dead, Just Really Busy

February 2, 2022 /

I had topics lined out for the rest of last week and I haven’t really even thought about it this week. I am coming into an extremely busy time at work that is consuming all of my free time that my family is not. So, those topics will stay on the back burner until this blows over, likely all of February.

I got a laugh at these two pictures. I think where the person in the second one got it wrong is that it is not SJW Canadians that are angry. It seems like it is the average, common sense citizen. If you have been following the truck driver rally happening in Ottawa, I think that you would agree with me.

From my sources, it sounds like a similar cross country convoy is being organized in the US; likely scheduled for the spring time. One person in particular expects that this is going to cause massive supply chain disruptions as if we don’t have them already.

To quote Eminem, “and get ready, this shit’s about to get heavy”. Here in my state, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) just approved permanent mask mandates and vaccine proof. That is with no legislation and of course pending adjudication but who thinks this is not going to be upheld, at least at the state level? Regardless of what side of the debate you are on, I don’t see us ever going back to tolerance of different opinions (even if the science is settled). We are witnessing an American empire collapsing from within.

If you are not paying attention, we have the crystallization right before our eyes of the blue versus red. People are leaving blue states in droves for the favor of the American Dream. Before the pandemic, the signs of division were clearly evident. However, some states (Oregon) has doubled down on keeping it that way. The tools of executive authority and administrative enforcement protect the legislature from being exposed, even though they don’t need the protection.

Let’s take a look at Wikipedia’s first sentence of the definition. The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. And, how are we doing with the ideals

  • democracy – I am going to give this one as OK despite election fraud claims and other problems
  • rights – We still have them but where is the right to state opposing view going?
  • liberty – Losing this one. the right to be an individual and act accordingly
  • opportunity – Losing this one as well, do you have your vaccine passport?
  • equality – this one has definitely gone out the door. Equality no longer means equal, it means super equal or stack ranking all of the other races and genders and whatever self identifier I want to make up.

The people leaving want an affordable lifestyle, opportunity to succeed and neighbors that don’t think they should be under house arrest because they haven’t been convinced by the flimflam from the medical establishment and political propaganda. You can debate my posted source and opinion, but it is one example among many. It represents policy and precedent that state governments are not addressing issues, but consolidating power. As I see it, protecting and enriching the establishment and power base for total control. If you look at this state, the legislature already has more than a super-majority of one party, it is pointless to resist.

End Your Programming Routine: Even if I am wrong at this juncture, I think you would have to be blind to see that there is serious doubt about the future of this country as we want to see it. Rampant inflation, supply disruptions and serious ethical division all the while we are trying to be convinced that everything is normal. What is that… do I hear Nero’s fiddle?