Month: June 2024

June 28, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto X – XIII

June 28, 2024 /

I think that we can all imagine stepping onto the moon. Possibly we could imagine going to Venus or Mars, but the sun? That is where we landed today on the fourth layer of Dante’s paradise.

I haven’t done the research but I find it interesting that when Dante went to the moon, he goes to great lengths to describe the ‘glassy’ surface. The topography of planet played heavily into the how the characters interreacted with Dante. As we go farther along in the journey, the more abstract the surroundings become.

There is barely a mention of being on the sun in four Cantos. When it is, it really is not clear where the characters really are. It is just the brilliance of the souls as a inference to the sun. In fact, the surface and interaction on each planet are more closely related to the Roman mythology than the are to the actual astronomy.

I know that this is written before the great scientific discoveries of the Renaissance. Dante’s theory about the planets and the sun rotating around the earth proves that they didn’t have all the data. It certainly predates anything but rudimentary optics. I suppose that it is fair to say that they just didn’t know much about the planets.

Not being Catholic, I am not well versed in many of the important figures. I have heard of some of the monastic orders, not well enough to name them all, let alone what the primary focus is about. Once again, this section is heavily influenced by the figures of Dante’s Catholic world.

The basic premise of this layer is Dante is met by one group. After they have made fun of one order, that order shows up to make fun of the former. I think this is part of the ‘divine comedy’ aspect of the work. I really didn’t get the jokes. Unlike a lot of this study, I at least recognized the overt attempt at comedy. For a lot of it, I suspect that you had to be there.

The first circle was led by Thomas Aquinas. There is a name that I have heard before. In fact, I have written a little bit in this series referencing him. Aquinas was a member of the Dominican order. Looking up their mission, they are focused on preaching, specifically against heresy. They use their spotlight to make fun of the Franciscan order.

Francis of Assisi was the founder of the Franciscan order. There focus was on a nomadic, evangelical mission. He and his group make fun of the Dominican order. Then, they get together an sing Dante and Beatrice off to Mars. If you are interested in Catholic politics, then this may be the level of Paradise for you.

I think what strikes me as a protestant is the cult of personality. I have no idea whether these people were creepers who happened to do something good or not. In fact, while I heavily disagree with the theology of the Catholic church, I won’t deny that the appearance of piety has my respect. I think that with all things a degree of critical thinking is necessary for goodness.

What I mean is that I am positive these orders have done many good things for the world. That being said, I highly suspect that they have been involved in some pretty bad things too. If we accept the fact that all men sin, that means even founders and followers do as well. Preaching, educating, helping the poor, trying to live like Jesus are all noble goals. I don’t foresee saking one approach over another is necessarily the end all be all.

That is not to say that I don’t respect the decision to join an order, all I said above applies. I just cannot concretely agree that one is better or worse than the other. We as believers need to be careful that we are not sucked into human hierarchy of better/worse and one right way.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week is one of the longer remaining sections. That would be Canto XIV – XVIII. Every since we have have been in Paradise, I just see technicolor weirdness. I guess my vision of eternity was always light, bright and serene. This seems manic and all over the place. It sure beats the alternative I guess but seems a little too surreal for me.

June 27, 2024 – Am I the Doppleganger?

June 27, 2024 /

I am keeping it light and fun today. I am digging deep to keep up with everything going on in my life. I am also struggling to do anything other than what I can do. So, why not do something fun?

When I started dating my wife, this would have been the mid 1990s I met her grandparents. One of her grandmother’s ‘hobbies’ was to identify celebrities that looked like people that she knew. One day my wife took me to the refrigerator to point out my picture along with one of Michael Keaton.

Honestly, I didn’t see it. But, that was really just one of me and one of him. Subsequently, There have been times that I definitely see it. This picture being one of them. Subsequently, I have had multiple people say to me that I look like Michael Keaton. I usually share this photo afterward.

As I am writing ahead, by the time this posts we will be through the initial part of the transplant process. We have a little over one week until we are at the hospital for at least 35 days. Aside from working, I will also be caretaking. I have been wondering if I will be able to do any Altf4.co work. I certainly will probably have time to read and write but anything other than that will be a push.

Why am I saying this? Because I am not sure that I can keep up. If you remember last year, I had to take a hiatus in the July time frame for our vow renewal, exchange student hosting and preparation. The difference being that I had written my Friday book reviews already. I am just barely keeping up with Paradise because it is too complicated and I am starting to get fatigue from reading a book this long. I am sure that my situation isn’t helping much either.

I am going to plan on doing some posting but I cannot guarantee anything at this point. Just know that it would not be my preference to go radio silent but it might happen. Fair warning.

End Your Programming Routine: Michael Keaton is a generation older than me. I could be his child, so clearly I am the doppelganger. Since accepting my fate, I have become more of a Michael Keeton fan. Always a fan of Batman, now I will watch movies just because he is in them, not that I am interested as much in the plot. I don’t know if I really want to watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice but I probably will just because he is in it. Maybe it is something to do while we are cooped up at the hospital.

June 26, 2024 – Proving That I am Not a Purist

June 26, 2024 /

Not that I care about judgement, but I do want you to know that I am a normal person. I don’t always hold true to my beliefs. One of my beliefs is avoiding processed foods. We were experimenting with a ‘boxed dinner’ as they say in Canada. This was to see if this was something that we wanted to use to get by when we are staying up in the hospital.

Back in my early life, before I really started to challenge myself cooking we used to eat these boxed dinners. They were right sized for the two of us, the were cheap and easy to make. I shifted away from them as we started to work toward healthier choices but I remember thinking that they tasted pretty good.

I am a big fan of Crocodile Dundee. He has a famous line ‘you can live on it but it tastes like shit’. After eating one of these, I kind of know what he means. Mushy noodles, thin sauce with a slight chemical undertone. It certainly was easy to make and it definitely filled us up but boy it was not good.

Unfortunately, I bought several of these. Maybe the kids will eat them while we are gone? I doubt it since they didn’t grow up with it and my younger son is a vegetarian. But I will continue to side with Crocodile Dundee.

As I stated on the title, I am not a purist. While I would not like to recommend this as a diet plan, I think that there is a time and place. A good time would be a camping trip or being stuck at a hospital with limited facilities and options. Based on my exposure to freeze dried meals, I don’t think that this is any less bad. This was another thing that I used to think tasted much better.

One of the things that we used to consider gourmet in the early years was a boxed pasta. We would also buy some fish parts that were off-cuts of salmon considered cheeks and odd bits. I would grill them on a tiny barbeque and then serve them with fettucine. We thought that was kind of high society. At least it wasn’t ramen like we were eating in college.

Talking to my wife’s insurance company, they have a benefit for meal planning and food drop off. There is more on that to come but it sounds like they are going to suggest a menu and then drop off the food too. It will be interesting to see what they suggest. One of the restrictions on her recovery is that food cannot be over two days old. So, there is only so much planning we can do. I am thinking maybe those frozen stir-fry packages might be a better option than boxed dinner.

End Your Programming Routine: Well, we have this in our back pocket as an option. I am hoping the meal planning provides a better solution but I am also glad that we tried. It just reminds me why we left these behind. Sometimes we need reminders of why we make the decisions that we make. It is almost like you remember why taking tequila shots on Thursday night is not a good idea on Friday morning.

June 25, 2024 – Ten Essentials

June 25, 2024 /

Back in my day… We were required to have two things to leave the campsite, a compass and a whistle. Of the two, the whistle is probably less obvious but possibly more useful. In case of getting lost, the whistle could be used to try and draw attention. It could also be used for self defense against animals or people. I still have one although I have never used it.

The compass kind of makes sense although I would argue it is one of those things that makes you feel better than actually helpful. A compass is really no good without a map and you really need a kind of sort of idea where you are on the map. Further, I have seen a lot of people doing poorly despite active practicing in orienteering.

Today’s Boy Scouts have a more sophisticated set of requirements than I had. The rule of safety is the Ten Essentials. It is not just Boy Scouts, but hiking guides, REI and others recognize the value of being prepared. I am going to cover what is exactly part of the ten essentials as I prepare to get ready for my PCT hike.

List vary slightly and in their detail but this is an example

  1. knife
  2. First Aid Kit (with bug and sun protection)
  3. Extra Clothing
  4. Rain protection or sun protection depending on the season
  5. Water bottle (filled)
  6. Flashlight or head light
  7. Trail food
  8. fire starters
  9. shelter, like a personal bivy
  10. Map and compass or GPS or Personal locator beacon

I do believe in making some modifications. For instance, I like a heavy duty garbage bag. It can make an emergency poncho, it could be part of an makeshift shelter and it can serve it’s intended purpose as a trash bag. They are cheap and light. A proper set of raingear adds a lot of bulk and weight that is likely not necessary in most cases. I would probably also add cordage like paracord. If you need to make a shelter or a splint, you are going to be super thankful that you had 20′ of cordage.

Another alternative to shelter might be a space blanket. I have a lot of them but honestly I have never used one. The have three principle advantages being cheap, light and reflective to help with being found. I carried one when I was in Boy Scouts and I have multiple in each vehicle just in case.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned on any list that I looked at was signaling devices. I always carried a steel mirror along with the whistle. The theory being that I could flash an airplane or helicopter or even a far away ridge.

I don’t think that it is possible to have everything needed when needed. So for instance, having an extra set of clothes doesn’t make a ton of sense in the summer when the sun can dry you out but may be imperative in the winter to stave of hypothermia. My preferred way to handle this requirements is more like layers. I might bring an extra garment like a pull over or sweatshirt that can double as a single outer layer if needed.

One item that I have seen listed but mostly ignored is hunter orange. There are a hell of a lot of dumbass hunters out there. I have known some of them. There are also a hell of a lot of ignorant hikers out there. Typically those two worlds don’t intermingle and operate independent of each other. In Oregon turkey, bear and predator season start in April and some run through November. This would be prime hiking season as well. I like earth tones as well but maybe one of the spare garments should be hunter orange.

Water is obvious but food is very subjective. I don’t think you will ever carry enough food to matter if you really are stuck or lost. A short, temporary delay you will be fine skipping a meal. A broken leg where nobody knows where you are, I am sure you didn’t carry enough. I have a couple 2000 calorie bars that I take hunting with me that probably need to be replaced but that is my solution. I will often carry lunch as well for a day hike. Of course a multi-day hike you will already be carrying food for your trip.

End Your Programming Routine: I didn’t talk about all of the items but this could get out of hand if I gave my opinion on everything. Boy Scouts was one of my seminal experiences in my preparedness lifestyle. I always err on having more than I need within reason. I carry a bandana, fishing gear (also doubles as mending) and don’t get carried away with first aid. There is only so much you are going to be able to do in the woods anyway. Smart money says get help when you can. One last tip – keep a one shot of toilet paper. When you need it, you need it.

June 24, 2024 – What Is a Stem Cell Transplant?

June 24, 2024 /

Am I at the beginning, middle or end of this? Well, if you don’t understand or know the process then it might be difficult to figure out. I am talking about the high level process and some of the gotchas in the Stem Cell Transplant process. Hopefully you will never have to be involved in it, but if you do then give this a listen.

June 21, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto VIII – IX

June 21, 2024 /

Today, we are on Venus. In Roman mythology Venus is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, victory and generally all those good things. So what are we going to hear about? Why all of those spirits that have love for the lord of course.

A funny story I guess. But these various characters that Dante meets have taken their turns with sin, as all men have. What I found extremely interesting is that punishment seems to be unevenly handed out. These characters admit to their sins which they attribute to making their exuberance for the lord that much stronger. This is like saying that ‘I am just a passionate person. Of course I murdered that person when I got angry. I just couldn’t help it, it is my being’. And by the same token, there is no real penalty as a result.

Whereas in the same book, certain figures could progress no further in heaven because they married against wishes when they were serving in the clergy. So approved sin is not penalized while unapproved sin has eternal consequences.

A lot of the commentary talks about the erotic love of god. I find this to be a little unholy personally. That being said, I heard a fascinating discussion a few months ago about the feminization of Christianity. This is playing a role in the ultimate decline of the church. While other major religions are focused on key tenants, Christianity has emphasized the concept of worship. Worship by it’s nature has a feminine appeal. Hence, men are turned off each generation and dwindling in participation.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is true. What I knew to be Agape or sort of spiritual love has become more of an perverted lust or love affair for some. That unhappy marriage has a new partner. Something new to worship and love and never lets you down. I think that this is much more typical in evangelical protestant denominations.

Relationship with god is a tricky thing. It requires something called faith. I have to believe that I am having one without becoming delusional about it. It is serious without being fanatical. I wouldn’t go as far as saying subdued though. We cannot deny or discount faith but rather be quietly confident and upfront about it. We have to trust the process without getting lost in it.

I actually didn’t realize that there were so many video analyses of the Devine Comedy. There are multiple series of the work in 100 days (Because there are 100 cantos). It seems like they were all published during the pandemic. This probably came out of the online only school movement. If I would have realized this, I probably would have linked to each canto every week.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week is the Sun. This is Cantos X – XIII. From what I have learned, we are about to go into some kind of new dimensional shift. I guess we will have to see when we get there. For now, we will just keep ticking boxes and collecting information. You probably get the sense of what I think about Venus.

June 20, 2024 – And Now, Quilting?

June 20, 2024 /

If you were looking at the tools displayed in the picture, it looks like I am starting to quilt. I don’t blame you, I would too. In fact, these are quilting tools. But in fact, looks are deceiving. I am making rifle cleaning patches out of rags.

My wife has an image problem. That would by my image. She insists periodically that I clean out t-shirts that are no longer completely white. Using my moral filter, I do not give anything to charity that I wouldn’t buy myself. So while I would consider the clothing serviceable, it is not proper to try and pawn off on somebody else.

At times, I have tried to use them as rags using the cut an rip method. This means that I cut the shirt and then try to rip it into sheets. Why I get something, they are not uniform size and can have varied results. I try to work around screen printing by using the rest of the shirt. I will likely continue to make rags out of colored, cotton shirts.

Most gun cleaning patches are made out of some sort of synthetic or blend. I like how 100% cotton works better. I discovered a brand called Bloomers a few years ago but like everything since the pandemic, inventory is spotty. It is not like I use that many patches over the years, but finding the caliber and quantity with price has not been easy.

Why not just make them? I will warn that it will take a bit to return on investment. The mat, ruler and cutter setup cost $50. That buys several thousand cleaning patches. Then, there is the time. I would estimate that I spent two hours making several hundred patches. I did figure out that I could gang the strips together significantly speeding up the process.

I would point out that having something custom is never about cheaper and faster. In the end, this process will be cheaper than buying patches. I do always plan to have a surplus of clean patches. It is another thing I can do with music or a podcast on in the background. For me this is about putting a resource to work that would otherwise be trash. I feel good about that and I don’t have to buy them when I see them.

End Your Programming Routine: No, I am not quilting. I could if I wanted to though. This rotary cutter setup gives me nice, clean cuts in fabric so that I can repurpose discarded clothes into a second life. Sometimes that is a quilt and sometimes that is gun cleaning patches.

June 19, 2024 – I Am Doing This (I Guess)

June 19, 2024 /

I have gotten some books and maps and started reading them. I have purchased some of my desired equipment upgrades. I have started training by walking the dog a couple of miles nightly (baby steps for me and her). I have even taken an inaugural day hike. Most poignant of all, my wife is telling all these people and inviting them to come along. So I feel kind of committed at this point.

I figure my greatest risk is actually my physical ability. Unfortunately, I have enjoyed too much sedentary life of excess over the last couple of years and the clock is ticking. My tentative plan is to cover somewhere between 10-20 miles per day with a pack that is loaded for a week’s worth of travel. That will likely be 40-60 pounds.

The one thing that I remember vividly from doing this as a youth was how my shoulders ached from the weight of my pack. I remember the salesman saying that the hip belt was going to significantly reduce pack fatigue to almost nothing as long as everything was adjusted properly. While in theory I think that could be true, it sure wasn’t for me. I would like to be to the point that I have prepared adequately and be able to enjoy my trip while I am doing it, not just the edited memories afterward. I do plan to add a pack with weight to my training at some point. I am not just there yet.

As this is my dream, I feel the obligation to act as a leader. I am reading about the section of the PCT that I am considering doing and wondering to myself ‘Is this the best section to do if I am only going to do this once?’ or ‘If the recommended campsites can only hold one tent, then where can we stop?’ I feel some extra pressure that I really wasn’t anticipating when I came up with this idea.

My physical milestone at 40 was to run a half marathon. I never really thought that I would continue running after achieving the goal. Sure enough, I really didn’t. But, this hiking thing is something that I really would like to continue as long as possible. I have always been outdoors oriented and the practical physical fitness of packing transcends into hunting and preparedness as well.

I am no longer young and don’t have nearly as many competitive allusions of being ‘hardcore’. My fantasy as a young adult was to camp and fish all summer then hunt all fall. I let life get in the way and have really done very little of it over the years. Now I think it would be a-OK for me to just be able to do it, whatever it happens to be. I would like to ultimately be ‘hike ready’ in physical condition and with gear going forward.

I could definitely see performing many more hikes and certainly not running half marathons. But, that is putting the cart before the horse. Let’s get one big one in first and see how it goes for the rest of it. I have no formal training plan yet, but certainly there needs to be some gear checks as well as overnight practice. So that is to come.

End Your Programming Routine: On top of the challenges I already have, it is pretty likely that my wife’s treatment is going to interrupt my exuberance. I plan on writing about my progress as I go along so be forewarned. That being said, don’t be surprised if I get off to a slow start. Already June, July and most of August are penciled out to be primary care taker and cooped up in a small room not to be out of earshot of the patient.

June 18, 2024 – REI’s Re-supply and Gear

June 18, 2024 /

I have long had a love/hate relationship with Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). Founded in the Pacific Northwest for serious outdoor aficionados in 1938. I am a member and I do occasionally shop there. In today’s world of internet shopping, anything and everything is available. But nothing substitutes seeing, feeling and holding gear before buying.

I should say, it is more a love relationship than a hate one. They carry serious, performance gear (mostly). I do find that the prices are at a premium but the service is impeccable. It is nice that members get a cash rebate each year to ease the sting of over-paying. But members also have access to equipment rental, classes and group events if so inclined. I have always wanted to get into snow-shoeing or cross country skiing but it really doesn’t make sense to invest until I know something about it.

The hate part is no doubt related to politics. After Sandy Hook (2012), REI discontinued relationships with any brands related to firearms, like Vista Outdoors. I think this is a large reason why Vista has already split the company and is selling all of those brands. I definitely think twice before putting them as a first choice. I prefer to spend my money almost anywhere else than to support this stand.

Ultimately, I am not a purist. My boys and I were sent to REI recently to spend my son’s rebate of almost $70. Technically, this was all money that I spent, we reimbursed him for money that he spent for Boy Scout stuff. Always looking for a deal, I like to check the Re-Supply area. This is gear that was returned for some reason. Some of it is nearly new and some of it might be missing accessories or packaging.

As I am putting my gear list together for my hiking trip next year, I am on the lookout for deals. I found a sleeping pad for $36. It was used, but everything was there. The best part is that the list price (@REI) was $200. I checked online afterward and found it running $140-170 depending on the source. Whether I really needed it or not, I am taking that.

This is a full length pad. My actual preference would have been a partial pad. These are about 2/3 the length of a normal pad. The reason is less length, less weight and your feet get very little benefit compared to the back and spine. The older I get, the more I find that the ground is really hard. Multiple nights on the ground is downright painful. Having a proper sleeping pad is one of the few luxuries on my short list of things I wanted.

It wont be long and I will be putting up my initial packing list. The truth is, I may not have everything that I want, but I certainly have everything that I need. The one other thing notwithstanding is I am in the market for a one man tent that is ultralight. I want to be able to get away from bugs and rain if the need arises.

Don’t expect to find everything or even anything in Re-Supply. This is the first time I have ever found anything there that I actually wanted to buy. But when you do find something, take it because you are unlikely to find something equivalent again or at least before you need it.

As I stated earlier, we went to spend my son’s credits. We were actually buying bear spray for a camping trip my boys were taking after graduation. The one thing that I wanted to look at were the one man tents. Believe it or not, they had zero inventory. While that was bust in terms of research, it is a data point. It is highly unlikely that will be buying the tent from REI if I have to order it online. I don’t need it yet and I am not in a hurry but if I cannot see it or hold it, I am not going to spend $400 on it.

End Your Programming Routine: Even if I choose not to shop at REI, many of these high performance brands also have corporate ethics that do not resonate with me. For that reason, I am not sure that it really matters whether I take some sort of ethical stance. I will continue to go in the store and I will continue to make my purchases carefully when I am there. Sometimes a deal is worth the compromise.

June 17, 2024 – AI and You

June 17, 2024 /

This is an episode more in line with what I hope to deliver. I have had to recently take training in artificial intelligence. As a result, it got me thinking about why I should care. I don’t really, but I suddenly realized what the future was going to look like after AI becomes widely adopted and implemented like so many companies in my work space are pushing for.