Month: September 2024

September 6, 2024 – The Art of War, Waging War

September 6, 2024 /

If you are reading along with me, by now you probably see why this book is held in high regard. There is so much wisdom packed in each chapter that we probably have heard but didn’t know the source. I am finding that myself.

While this chapter is titled Waging War, I found it to be more about logistics and overall objective rather than super secret tactics. Our politicians may be clever, but they are definitely not students of Sun Tsu. As a result, most recent conflicts have ground into failure (by my judgement).

Sun Tsu says that what motivates people to fight is anger, but what keeps them going is the spoils of war. We probably have heard ‘Gung Ho’ stories. In the days post 9/11 there were lots of them. Does Rusty Tillman ring a bell? Tillman was a young NFL safety that felt the call to his country immediately after 9/11. He gave up the money, the glamor as well as likely his childhood dream to be killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

My own grandfather told me that he volunteered for the Army in 1941 because he wanted to kill Germans. Granted most Americans were more mad at the Japanese, I suspect that his first generation French motivation had to be with the takeover of his family homeland. Anger is what drove enlistment.

Spoils are more complicated today than standard practice during Sun Tsu’s era. Even as late as Korea, GIs were sent home with their service weapons. Not just that, but they also brought home anything that was collected during the tour of duty. This was not just firearms but swords, jewelry, flags, uniform pieces and pretty much anything that could be carried. While I don’t think those things were a motivation to keep fighting, it was certainly a nod to military, victory tradition.

There are all kinds of variables here but a soldier wasn’t a soldier wasn’t a soldier. The lowest group were conscripts or militia members. They were called into service on an as needed basis. The leaders tended to be the rich folk of society. They certainly took advantage of war to enrich themselves. If there was a regular army, they tended to be a hodgepodge of things like criminals and misfits. In that case, being a soldier sure beat the alternatives.

The key of this chapter is not what motivates but if you will win. “No army will win a prolonged conflict.” This is the principle that proves our politicians have not read The Art of War. Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq sum up the last sixty years of US military action. These are all conflicts greater than ten years in duration and all losses in my opinion.

If you remember the mid-2000s, the question was asked, and asked and asked ‘What is the exit strategy’? Silence. We got into this war because of anger and we killed a lot of ’em. But good news for the Taliban, we left a lot of good weapons and equipment for them. So much so, they have donated some to Hamas to use in Gaza.

I go back to the self-realization in my podcast earlier this week. We act like we are surprised that militant Islam hates us. After we have spent the last sixty years meddling somewhere that we don’t belong or understand, we created generational hatred. We duped them into the petro dollar and keep getting involved in something that is not our concern every chance it warrants. We are the problem here, period. I digress from the Art of War.

If we evaluate the other side in what we call conflicts, it is pretty easy to see the perspective difference. It wasn’t a war to the Vietnamese (or take your pick), it was life. The fighting will end when I am dead or they are gone. Until such a time, this is how I live. There is no option to withdraw or leave. Long wars require long supply chains and tricks for morale since there is no opportunity to enrich the soldiers. Anger toward the enemy fades fast when you cant leave your post. It soon becomes anger at the controller rather than the ‘enemy’.

End Your Programming Routine: I love the idea of my country but I hate what it has become. Freedom takes maturity and that is in short supply when you can take at every opportunity. This is the reason we don’t have short wars. It doesn’t benefit the oligarchical pocketbook. That would be the ones that own the politicians and by proxy the politics.

September 5, 2024 – Peter Piper Picked a Pack Of Pickled …

September 5, 2024 /

Cucumbers. One of the things that my new approach has freed me to do is write more complete posts. In the recent past, I would have written an article starting something and then maybe I would have come back to it a few weeks later. Because I have released my pressure to write everyday, I can now save up and get out what I really want to share in the format I want to use.

One of the things that I wanted to do with my crock is make some pickles, the original way. I love vinegar and quick pickling but I want the preservation skill of anerobic fermentation. In fact, I have heard that fermented salsa is the bomb. It makes me want to get another, smaller crock to satisfy all of those itches of things I want to try.

A few weeks ago, my son wanted to make some Korean military stew otherwise known as Budae Jigae. This was perfect timing because I used copious amounts of kim chi in the dish so I could clean out my crock and get prepared for the pickles I was going to make. The neat thing about budae jigae is that it was perfect for the wilted baby bok choy and a couple of stray hotdogs in the fridge. You literally just throw things in that you want to use up.

I went to the farmers market in search of fresh Kirby cucumbers at a good price. I found them, minus the good price but hey I appreciate them making money and continuing to be there year after year. Pickles are pretty simple: cucumber, dill, garlic and salt is all that is needed. I threw in about half a cup of pickling spice because I had it and I like a little extra kick.

The one thing I couldn’t find was fresh dill. I see it in the grocery store around this time of year, but I happen to know someone that has copious amounts of it, my parents. I haven’t seen them much this summer since most of it I have been holed up in Portland. So, I thought it was good to go see what was going on with them and collect as much dill as I wanted.

Unfortunately, it took me a couple weeks to get this project going after I had everything; still having hangover events to being gone all summer (like everyone else’s doctor appointments). I washed and sorted through the suspect cucumbers that stayed in the refrigerator too long. From the recipes I read, it said that day of pickling will yield the crispest results. I had to deal with the situation that I had.

Prep you ingredients and cover with 3% salt solution. That translates to two tablespoons of salt per quart. Wait three to six days and you have pickles. It seemed a little improbable to me that it would be that fast. However, the picture below is after six days.

The real results are how do they taste? I thought it was pretty good considering I really didn’t know what I was doing. I thought that they were missing a hint of sweetness but I don’t know where that would naturally come from. My wife said that they were way too garlicky. I deliberately put more in because she said that she wanted lots of garlic. Oh well, she is highly subject to strong tastes and smell right now anyway. Maybe as she heals, she will like it more.

Something I would do differently next time is not make so much. I bought 11 pounds of cucumbers. It filled my crock for sure but what happens if they are not good or turn? That would be $20 down the drain. It is always better to make more next year than bear the sting of failure or waste.

Speaking of turning, like all fermenting it continues until it is done. So if you are happy with the current results it is hard to stop. The concept of cold crashing or cooling them to halt the fermentation is in order. That presupposes that you have a fridge or somewhere cold to put the crock. I do, but I think I will leave it in the basement in the name of science this year.

End Your Programming Routine: I am looking forward to a late summer burger soon. I can have all the pickles I want without feeling guilty. In fact, it would probably be best to get on eating these fast before they get forgotten in the basement. I would definitely call this a success with an eye on perfecting the recipe in future years.

September 4, 2024 – Something About a Dog

September 4, 2024 /

We have been dog owners for most of our lives. We have had a number of breeds but I am particularly fond of the hunting breeds. I grew up with a Springer Spaniel and we have had a Dalmatian, Beagles, a Shiatzu and our two retrievers. That is a pretty good sampling of dogs. I also like the more docile nature of female dogs. Admittedly, I appreciate that they don’t stop and pee every thirty steps either.

Pictured below is our current dog, Raya. She is a descendant from our last dog Snowflake. Snow was a particularly loving dog that used to lay at the end of the driveway as the kids walked by on their way home from school. The kids would run up and pet her and she loved it. She would run off (not far) to get petted and attention from strangers. Multiple times we got calls from people that said they had Snow in there car to bring her home.

Unfortunately, Snow died of hyperthermia due to an unknown heart defect. We were tragically hurt by that so after a year of grieving we tried to fill the hole with another dog, Raya. Snow was a purebred English Retriever. Raya is a mix of Golden Retriever and Bernese Mountain Dog. Hence, she is all black rather than a typical color spectrum of Goldens. I would say that overall, she looks like a large Golden Retriever that is black with the long hair and everything.

It is really not fair to compare the two. Snow was pure love. She loved everybody and everybody loved her. Raya takes some getting used to. She can be very off putting and even come off as aggressive to strangers by growling and baring her teeth. The vet has a muzzle order on her even though she has mellowed out with age. They said it was because she was a Covid dog and was very isolated for the first year. I don’t know, she is very steady at the groomers and stands calmly on the table while they do their work.

The funny thing is that this behavior is not exhibited toward everyone. So, I don’t know if she knows something I don’t or what it is. When I am walking her, people sometimes ask if they can pet her and I decline because I don’t really know how she will react. But once Raya gets to know you, which doesn’t take long, she won’t leave you alone. She is constantly underfoot if possible. I feel like she is the exact mix of her two breeds. She has some of the exuberance of a Golden Retriever as well as the livestock guardian of the Bernese.

There was a night that I was staying in Portland and the kids were home alone. Our son called about two in the morning saying that the dog was barking and he saw a flash of light. You can see how often we actually get thunderstorms by that confusion. As much as I miss the lovey-dovey Snow, I feel confident that Raya really feels a duty to protect this house and this family.

At the beginning of the year, my wife was really sick. We cancelled Thanksgiving and my wife didn’t get out of bed in between Christmas and New Years. Raya knew that something was wrong and would get up on the bed and lay her head on my wife’s lap as she laid in bed all day. Some people say that some dogs can smell cancer (or at least sense something is majorly wrong). I suspect that this was a recognition that something had changed, but who knows.

Thankfully, Raya doesn’t do some things that Snow used to do. Raya doesn’t eat socks left out overnight. When my kids were younger, I had to go on sock patrol every night to make sure that we wouldn’t lose another one. Sometimes I forgot, sometimes I missed them and I would find it in the yard a few days later.

Snow used to run into the ocean and take big gulps of saltwater. In retrospect, I think this was a missed sign of her heart condition. Even when walking, she would just lay down in puddles sometimes. In about thirty minutes, explosive diarrhea. It could be in the car and often it was all over her coat. That made the trip home very challenging as well as knowing there was a nasty cleanup job ahead.

When my wife was in the hospital in 2010, several times volunteers came by with a therapy dog. No surprise, it was also a golden retriever albeit a much calmer and very nice temperament dog example of the breed. They offered in this in our recent stint in the summer, but I never saw a dog in the halls or heard that there was an opportunity. My point is that a good dog can even make us feel better.

End Your Programming Routine: So, Raya is not Snow, Raya is Raya. As much as she can be a pain in the butt, she brings some really nice qualities and leaves some that Snow had. When the going gets tough whether it is health or a shady situation, you want to be with the entity that has your back, always. For that reason, Raya is my ride or die.

September 3, 2024 – If Not Me, Then Who?

September 3, 2024 /

Today is a look at political polarization, some of the reasons and if there is anything that can be done about it. Before we get caught in the trap that polarization is somebody else’s problem to solve, we need to think about our role and what we can do about it.