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June 8, 2021 – Am I a Fan Boy, Do I Have a Man Crush or Is it Just Respect?

June 8, 2021 /

I have talked about my dabbling into social media in the past. I check LinkedIn almost every day but I don’t interact much because I don’t get any real value from it. I find Nextdoor to be largely busybodies that want to complain about their neighbors and identify speeders with blurry pictures. I also have a MeWe account that I made in 2019.

One of the podcasts I listen to made the entire switch from Facebook to MeWe last year due to privacy and Cancel Culture risks. I initially thought that I was going to push this blog more into interaction in MeWe in an attempt to build this enterprise. But, I just get turned off every time I log in. I am not interested in memes and snark all day long. If Instagram was not tied to Facebook, maybe that is more along my lines.

I want to see people doing cool and inspirational stuff, that is really it. I find that these platforms attract an echo chamber of whatever flavor of ‘room’ you happen to be in. Today, I made my first ever contribution to a post on MeWe that someone else made because I wanted to. It happens to be a group for a podcast that I joined. I have been listening since probably 2012 and the podcast has ebbed and flowed with the times.

The podcast is Harvest Eating. The owner is Keith Snow and he has had a cookbook (which I own) and a TV show (which I haven’t seen). But in the end, he is just a man that I seem to have a lot in common with. He is a about my age with a family is about the same age. We seem to share values about food. faith and politics. People that have lived in my house know his name because he has inspired me to cook things that I might not otherwise, like sauerbraten.

I can’t remember what ‘holiday’ it was but one time my wife ordered some olive oil from him (for me) and he threw in some seafood seasoning because the shipping was so expensive. While that may not be the best business move, it shows that he cares about his customers. It is that kind of caring that has made it difficult to reconcile careers in the corporate world, which I think we both share. We care about the impact that we have.

I suppose another reason that I like and identify with Keith is that he is spontaneous to where he doesn’t just stay in the food/recipe box. I feel like even though I have a formula here, I do wander around and change things on a whim. The basic thrust for my style was influenced by his podcast because I have just enjoyed it. I liked knowing what his kids were doing or hearing a rant about poor cookware or the infamous ‘Chinese Chair’ as long as the I always got some value out of the overall episode.

I have waivered a bit about how much food content I want to have. There are already so many resources and competition out there that I don’t want to be another me too. Plus, I have too many other interests. But, I do want it to be my mixture topics. So, I am going to try and add back more along the food front. Ultimately, I would like it to be once a week.

Over the years, podcasts have come and gone. From Harvest eating, I have learned about and tried sauerbraten, migas, palak paneer, olive oil, crepes with mascarpone, butter, rye bread, fondue, german potato salad and steel cut oats to name a few things. I have improved techniques like a better Thanksgiving turkey, more perfect grilled steaks and Mise en Place. More than anything else, it has sparked my interest in quality ingredients and the effort that goes into them. It probably prompted my involvement into the culinary book club for a whole new perspective and certainly other podcasts.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t know if I solved my initial question. I have been accused of invoking Keith’s name too often at times. I guess that what I would say is that this podcast pushes all the right buttons for me, it entertains and educates. I am really glad that he has come back to focus on his own business which means more podcasts. I cant say if this will tip the social media scales for me but if you are interested, join us at https://mewe.com/join/harvesteating

June 7, 2021 – Un-masked

June 7, 2021 /

This last weekend we were our and about. We started out Saturday morning at the local Saturday Market. Then we went to Costco, the local grocery store and then to the local brewery for dinner. I didn’t put my mask on for any of it. This state is still trying to waffle through it’s desire to control the population and the reality that it is eventually going to loose.

As policy is evolving, the current trend is vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks. Additionally, the CDC recommendation is that you no longer need to wear a mask …outside… alone …or not, but still remain socially distanced. I want to take a side detour on opinion first.

As we were leaving our home, my wife and I had a discussion about this. My position was that for private property reasons, I would comply with mask mandates like Costco has had in place for the entire year. But, if it wasn’t required for entry I wasn’t going to do it. Part of the reason was I wanted to see if anyone was going to say something. But, the other bigger reason was that I wanted to set an example that we do not need to be scared or shamed into the false premise. Based on the numbers I have seen, it sounds like more people are vaccinated than not. My experience last Saturday, it was more like 10-20% of the people were going mask-less.

Our first stop was Saturday Market. They had controlled entry and exit points and a directional traffic flow. The sign at the entrance said “Masks are strongly suggested”. Here we go. We walked in and I flipped down my sunglasses so I could read peoples faces before anything went sideways. Some vendors and some patrons were enjoying freedom but I got no hassle at all. My guess is more people were wishing that they had the gumption to take the mask off. Although, this is the Saturday Market and therefore this is probably an higher compliance demographic.

Next, we went to Costco. I walked into the return counter while my wife went to the bathroom. I saw probably one out of twenty people leaving the store without a mask. When I went into the store, the people that check your card asked me “Are you vaccinated? Do you have your card on you?” I said yep as I pushed the cart past them. A quick aside: No I am not vaccinated so of course I do not have a card. I have had the best vaccination which is the actual virus. The gray part of this is that they don’t really care about safety, it is about limiting liability. I knew that they were not going to force a showdown over proving that I had a vaccine card. It seemed like the longer I was in the store, the more people were not wearing a mask. My theory was that once people saw that enforcement was letting up, they started taking their own masks off.

After we put all of the groceries away, I went to the local grocery store. The sign on the door said that masks were required. I walked right in and right past the store manager. He didn’t say a word. I picked up the few items and checked out. I saw one other person not wearing a mask in the store.

Finally, we went to the local brewery for dinner and a couple of beers. It has been common behavior to have your mask on until seated for the last year. This time, I walked in to the counter to order without a mask. The Brewmaster wasn’t wearing one either, so I knew that we were going to be fine here. Only a handful of people were wearing masks following the wear it until seated protocol.

There are numerous ‘conspiracy theories’ about all of this behavior. But, we are bombarded with propaganda constantly. As I am writing this sentence, the radio is playing a song glorifying the virtues of vaccination. The best one that I have heard as of late is that the real power elites do not benefit from centralized power i.e. one nation leading the world. Therefore, by disrupting the economy and group dynamic this country has become unstable and consolidating power at the top, regardless of geopolitical boundaries.

You can choose to believe that or not but look at the mask mandates are a perfect example. 1) No, not going to work 2) You must wear them 3) If you are vaccinated, you no longer need to wear masks. I saw a couple days ago that e-mails from Fauci are being ‘leaked’ that he never believed in masks (of course he did say it himself last March so I don’t know why anyone would be surprised sources altf4.co, 11/17/2020). Get ready for his fall, he has performed his useful idiocy role in the consolidation of power.

It wouldn’t surprise me is mask wearing becomes the next racism analog. It is easy visible and will be a sign of your affiliation to the issue. I have heard and I believe it that some people will never go back to mask less. They are just too scared to do so. I think that is perfectly fine, I guess we will have to see how the political winds blow for the two groups.

End Your Programming Routine: I could probably write about this for another couple of hours. However, I am not going to change the world. What I can do is help end the fear and give people the courage to start acting human. If more people start asserting themselves, this thing will finally be over.

June 4, 2021 – 1984 2:4

June 4, 2021 /

Sorry all you 1984 fans, I kind of punked out last week as I had this stubbed out already. I just kind of gave up in the middle of the week. I thought about doing this Monday, but I thought I would get too out of cycle. So here we are.

In this chapter, we have Julia and Winston taking up a more permanent residence at the antique store where Winston bought his diary and paperweight. My grandfather would have said ‘playing house’ or ‘shacking up’ because it is not really fully committed (of course circumstance has a lot to do with it). The old term ‘flop house’ might be a better description.

Up until now, I would have said that everything in the book has been plausible, how the characters would act given the situation. This seems clearly to be a mistake. No longer is there an only meet at one location twice strategy, this is the place that they will make their stand. It is interesting how the mind works because when I wrote my notes on this, I had written successful risk taking leads to more risk taking as one of today’s concepts from the chapter.

Last night as I was thinking about what I was going to write I had forgotten I had written the above and I thought my concept was going to be delusion becomes reality. In many ways, the two statements are saying the same thing with two different twists. The words in the book didn’t change but my analysis and view did. I suspect that it is influenced by environmental factors.

As we wander way off the path today, I will say that the project I am working on for my job is making many of the same mistakes I have seen other failed projects make. I am not at the right level to influence, nor do I have the social capital to get close. When I do talk at the level that I am at, I am told that it not my concern. As an aside, I am OK with it as I understand my position but I am simultaneously frustrated because I know where this is leading.

Consequently, my outlook on the chapter has changed since I first wrote the notes. No longer am I cautiously optimistic that Winston and Julia are living happily ever after, they have made a Type 1 Error. Because I have read the book before, euphemistically I was in no mood to beat around the bush with what was happening in the story.

End Your Programming Routine: For a little while, there was a podcast for the Gambler 500 which was supposed to explain how to get involved in the event. What it turned out to be was more of the philosophy of the people that started the event and by proxy understanding them would lead the listener on how to participate. They ended every show with ‘ABG’ (Always be Gambling) which is supposed to mean always live by your values.

This is a light chapter in terms of story and concepts. I don’t think that it takes a lot of analysis or relational stories to get across that Winston and Julia are now in dangerous territory because of complacency. Instead, I would say understand that there is always bias in interpretation of the data, know and understand yours.

June 3, 2021 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

June 3, 2021 /

We are starting to get into a tough season. This weekend is the only free weekend we have this month. July has at least half of the weekends claimed already and at least one in August. I love the summer but it is hard to do the things that I want to do.

Since I haven’t been to the range since February, I am very delayed in my planned goals for the year. In my head, I am OK with it because I have shot trap a couple of times and there is no ammunition to refill once it is gone. But I thought that I would share my plan on how to make the most of my time.

I am going to do my best to get there this month. But just in case, I will call it my next range trip plan. I have two 20 gauges. Last year I purchased a shorter barrel and a red dot sight for one. Neither have I ever had on the rifle range to see how slugs would perform, let alone sighted in. I would like to see the difference that a longer barrel vs. a shorter barrel would make. I would like to switch brands of ammunition to verify effect.

Said another way, I plan to sight in the red dot with slugs at 50 yds. Then I plan to check the difference of ammunition. After that, I plan on checking the pattern of buckshot at that difference. Along the way, I am going to switch barrels and firearms to see if I can tell the difference of different variables on the same ammunition. Below is the breakdown of my plan.

870 20 – sight in red dot on 18″ barrel (15)
870 20 – slug test field barrel (5)
870 20 – brand change (5)
R22/20 – test fire on range (5)
870 20 – pattern buck on range
870 20 – field barrel buck pattern
R22/20 – test fire buck

If you look carefully at the picture, you can see that the Remington slugs are 5/8oz and the Winchester slugs are 3/4oz. Reportedly, both are at a muzzle velocity of 1600 fps. It is highly likely that they will not zero at the same point with the red dot. And certainly, the heavier slug will have more drop at distance. This is why it is important to take your check your hunting ammunition at the range.

This is a fairly simple plan. It will likely take a couple of hours to perform. And even at 40 shots at most, it is still $125 worth of ammunition. My dad wants to go as well, so it will probably go a little longer, I would say it will be a good half day,

If the cost (and availability) of ammunition wasn’t so much of a problem, I would also have liked to try more ammunition variations like 2 3/4″ vs 3″ shells of the same brand, standard vs reduced recoil of the same length shell and some different chokes. I would also like to move out to 100 yards and maybe even 200 yards. I would also like to do some similar variations with buckshot as well. I am just not going to be able to get this done at least at this time.

Change Your Programming Routine: When time and resources are limited, planning makes the most of both. Being deliberate with your actions is the most efficient training that you can perform. I don’t know anyone personally, but I have heard through podcasts and radio people that shoot 1000 rounds a session. I have never had the inclination to shoot that much from a cost and time standpoint. I just want to make everything count.

June 2, 2021 – Recipes and Lies

June 2, 2021 /

In my recent stint of ethnic cooking and looking at recipes I have noticed a theme about times and how they are portrayed. They always seem to be way too short.

For a long time, I have subscribed to and enjoyed the podcast ‘Harvest Eating‘. Way early on, probably within the first 20 episodes, Keith talks a little about the process of testing recipes. This was in the context of producing the cookbook and how recipes had to be tested multiple times to validate everything was correct. He never went in depth about the process and I always wondered what the process was about.

My technique for making something new includes trying to find three or four recipes and look for the similarities. If most ingredients and proportions seem to agree, then I generally consider the premise reliable. Sometimes I am looking to add the outlier ingredients and sometimes I am looking to skip them, it depends on what I am trying to use up or not have something that has very little future use.

I suppose that it goes back to simple/easy conversation a few weeks ago. For the most part, recipes are a collection of steps that build on each other. Those steps can be both simple and easy or one or the other but rarely neither. One of my problems is that often I am looking at a blog on my phone and ultimately goes blank and then I have to scroll through all of the pictures to get back down to the recipe.

But also, I question the twenty minutes of prep that seems to be ubiquitous. Rarely do I see something that is less or more than that. Last week, I made a vegan Bahn Mi that contained tofu, yam. taro root and egg plant. That recipe’s prep time was also 20 minutes and I don’t think I had everything on the counter and peeled in that time. Additionally, cook time was twenty minutes which included frying all of those roots, then braising them with the softer and more fragrant items like eggplant and lemon grass. Needless to say, it took more like an hour and a half to get everything done.

It seems like when chef’s test recipes, it may be coming from someone that has done it a dozen times or more. In addition to that, they likely have a vast experience base of culinary skills and tools. It also might be that they don’t care how many dishes are used to make the dish (I try to minimize the number of bowls, utensils and tools that have to be washed at the end, I think that might slow me down some too). This was my first time using taro root, I wasn’t quite sure how to approach it.

We are having Indian tomorrow, and the Aloo Gabi is on the menu because it is vegan (so my son will eat it) and sounds good. I will give it a test and see. I have to peel potatoes and break down cauliflower as well as get all the spices gathered up. I can be kind of a risk taker when it comes to food and cooking Indian never having done it is one of those things. I will start right after work and we will see if I get it done in time for dinner.

One more quick tip I use is you can reduce cooking time by getting everything out of the refrigerator and allowing it to come up to room temperature (while prepping). It also tends to cook better and more consistently. There is nothing worse than trying to cook something that is almost ice cold with a stir fry technique.

End Your Programming Routine: For making something new, exotic or unknown, I would plan on at least doubling the total time of a stated recipe. Using the concept of Mise en Place you can always delay cooking until everything is staged, but you cant get time back if you start too late.

June 1, 2021 – Happy Birthday Mom

June 1, 2021 /

It has been a few days. Last week was a somewhat busy and hard week. I did little on my project and little on most of anything else. It seemed like stuff kept coming up that got in the way.

Now that the season has shifted towards summer, my focus and dynamics tend to change a bit. A lot of it is making sure that the different plants get some attention so that they can make it another year. I also have noticed through the years that life is busier when the weather gets nicer. For instance, how many people are walking on the sidewalk at 8pm in January? Not many.

At least, over the weekend I was able to buy the majority of the materials to finish my project. All that is really left to buy is finishes, like paint. I also spent a couple hours completing the blocking and framing so I am ready to start the drywall. I had some landlord obligations this weekend and we had a family gettogether yesterday. I washed my pickup for the first time in several years as well.

Today is my mom’s birthday, 70 in fact. That means that she was born in 1951. It is interesting to think about how much has changed in a lifetime. That puts her smack in the heart of the baby boom generation. Born in the idyllic 1950’s, coming of age for Vietnam and the draft and then peaking in the 80s and 90s. Not being there personally, other than maybe attitudes and opinions, I don’t think life was that much different in the 1950s versus the 1970s when I was born.

My dad did some travel when we were young and they weren’t trips where he was home on the weekend. Sometimes, he would be gone for a month before he came back home, so we spent a fair amount of time alone. From my perspective, I don’t really remember much about those days other than it seemed normal.

I think the family dynamic is different and personal. My brother for instance has a largely strained relationship with my mom while my sister’s is fairly close. I fall somewhere in the middle where I see both sides. If we look at characteristic traits, I inherited some of my most distinct views from my mom. Things like frugality, reading, independence, faith and probably some emotional distance are attributable to her.

I can’t say that there is any one particular thing but if I speculate, maybe my brother feels like the middle child and that he wasn’t the first or the favored. We didn’t exactly have a typical 80s-90s childhood, but it was far from being horrible. We lived out in the country and my family didn’t spend money unless it was necessary. I did get my entire college paid for (he got four years paid for), we had annual family vacations and trips and were selectively involved in extra curricular activities.

I think where I fall on the spectrum is that I have come to embrace my individuality. I do need to watch to make sure that some points don’t push into the unhealthy side of my own relationships. It can be a struggle sometimes with my wife being the complete opposite of me but I tend to believe that it brings a balance to life. I can embrace the parts of me that are unique while monitoring that my personality doesn’t squash emotion.

We are having a family dinner tonight thanks to my sister organizing it. I think that it is going to be nice, we have a good time when we are all together. I think the last time that happened was Christmas 2019. Although we are getting together in three weeks again for a family trip.

As I got to know my grandfather (my mom’s dad) later in life, it was definitely worth it. He told me numerous times, that he wanted to have relationships with his family. As much as he said that he wanted it, he didn’t really try to create one. It was more us making the effort. We rarely spent time when we were young with him as he was divorced and my step grandmother had her own family all from before I was born.

It makes me at least understand that my vision of relationship is colored by my experience while my wife would say the same thing which is a whole different perspective. This is all to say that this whole thing is complicated difficult to put into categories. Forget all of that for now, tonight we celebrate.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t think that I did a real good job with this one, I started out with Happy Birthday and degenerated into dissecting family dynamics. I guess that what I was trying to get across is that you are a product of your environment, but it doesn’t have to define your relationships, happiness or future. The one constant with this is to continue to analyze your thoughts and behavior and do what you can to learn and become better from your experiences.

May 25, 2021- Rough wiring complete, Insulation mostly done

May 25, 2021 /

Time is a consistent theme for me. I never seem to have enough of it. There are the things I want to do, I do some of that. There are the things I have to do, I do those things when I must usually dragging my feet. There are the things that I should do that seem like I rarely do those things.

It is always better when time constraints overlap like should/want and want/need. Planning what I want to write about falls between want to do and should do, but definitely not a have to do. Because of that, I didn’t really have a topic today. My choice of free time is going toward my project work. So you are getting a project update today with a helping of thought provoking commentary.

I have the materials and the wherewithal to finish the insulation. But, without light inside the space, I am delaying the final enclosure as long as possible. I would like to get as much of the drywall installed before I finish the final wall. I do have work lights, but they are a pain. I could also install a temporary fixture, but I would have to daisy chain all the proceeding electrical together first and then it would still be in my way.

I have a little bit of framing, blocking and stiffening work to do, they are all on the north wall to. So, I will see if I run out of things to do before I only have insulation to work on. I do plan on buying the drywall this weekend. That will be the last major chunk of expense. In the mean time, I have two pieces of drywall that I had carefully removed before I started.

For some reason, I didn’t push the right buttons to build a career in this line of business. It would have combined multiple interests like business development and hard skills like building. I suppose that it didn’t turn out to be my lot in life but it is really on my brain all day long. As I sit here doing my work, I can smell the lumber and the craft paper of the insulation and it I keep turning to look at my project causing me to get distracted and scheme about my next moves.

Sometimes, I can’t help myself and start cutting pieces of insulation or pull a run of wire when a meeting is droning on. That gets me thinking along the lines of content generation and how I can utilize my skills and interest in that direction. Pretty soon, I am not paying any attention to what is going on. I am sure that God has a plan for me, I am much less sure what it is.

On an semi-related note, yesterday I was listening to the Outside podcast. They snuck one in on me and the subject matter was an interview with a transgender outdoor athlete. When podcasts get too deep into social justice and social engineering, they don’t last to long in my feed. Outside tends to lean that way to begin with but as long as it is not the only subject matter, then I listen with an open mind.

I do not get it, but I do believe that people can be living lives that do not fit with how they are born. It is clear that when they describe the before and after life that the release is genuine. It makes me wonder what it would feel like to feel that way and how a person would struggle with identity and contentment. Fortunately, my problem is more of building and plan and executing rather than doing something that is impossible.

Circling back to time now. In order for me to re-invent myself, I would need to dedicate the time to do so which is hard. I have things that I want to do as well but it comes down to how much pain is the current situation versus desire to change. For that, I will not complain but continue sculpting whatever my life will end up becoming; I guess that if it was quick, then I would already be doing it.

End Your Programming Routine: I don’t think that I was ever planning on talking about let alone connecting transgender to insulation. Regardless, just like all things that I write about, we have to evaluate the data that we have and execute decisions based on what we think has the best outcome. The most important thing to do is to think about the variables and potential outcomes. At least that way, we don’t continue to do the same things for reasons that we don’t understand.

May 24, 2021 – Family Meal Night

May 24, 2021 /

It has been a long time since I have talked about cooking. It is one of those things that I do most nights but don’t plan well enough to take pictures during the stages. Consequently the meal comes and goes and I don’t end up talking about it.

My son came up with idea that we would pick a theme and he would do part of the meal and I would do the other. We picked Thursday because it is one of the few nights of the week that we didn’t have an evening commitment (at the time). One of the reasons I really like the idea is that this is something we can bond over. I don’t have a lot of interest in video games or silly YouTube videos but we talk, plan, shop and cook together.

The first time we did this, we chose German. I made sauerbraten and fried cabbage and mashed potatoes and Aaron made strudel. I think that it was a big hit so we decided to do it again.

Aaron is vegan/vegetarian, depending on the month and so he tends to focus on the dessert. I work on the main courses. We choose Greek for some reason. This was supposed to happen two weeks ago, but when we came down with Covid, it got sidelined until we could dedicate the appropriate attention.

Here, I made the lamb meatballs, the orzo and the cucumber salad. He made the bread. He also made the Baklava.

Next week we have chosen Vietnamese likely followed by Indian. I haven’t decided on the my part of the menu yet. I like a good challenge so I am up for picking a direction and heading there. Maybe I will incorporate this into a weekly segment as well, it is something more than pictures of 2x4s and survival kits. Certainly food needs to have a higher profile than what it has gotten in the last year.

End Your Programming Routine: I struggle a little bit with both relating to my kids and supporting Aaron’s interest in baking because of the mess and the risks he takes without the skills. But, I think back to how bad of a cook that I was when I was his age and I need to let them try so that they will be able to have the skills when they get older. This seems like a low risk high, reward way to build our relationship and we have to do it anyway.

May 21, 2021 – 1984 2:3

May 21, 2021 /

Alright, so I tried it the other way and now I don’t know. What am I talking about? I read this chapter last night and while the details are fresh, I have really had time to analyze and think about what I read. But what the heck, let’s give it a whirl.

In this chapter, we get more of the details about how Winston’s relationship is working. I would call it the honeymoon phase as everything seems to be new and exciting. It talks about strategies to avoid detection and how they interracted.

It would seem like this chapter is light if you are just following along with the story. However, within the dialog some of the more hard-hitting points of the book are addressed. Certainly, I agree with the early ideas like without freedom, there is no real happiness. Those were just distractions to what Orwell is really getting to.

Motivation is Driven by Absence: Within the context of the dialog, Julia is talking about how a contented population is much less likely to want to rally to politics and aggression. I think that we have all heard the concept that hunger drives action. It is the same reason why the political dichotomy works.

Victory Without Clear Moral Justification is Empty: This was an interesting one. Winston talks about his opportunity to push his wife off a cliff. But as much as the idea appeals to him, he would never do it because there was nothing that circumstantially would have changed. Within Winston’s speculation, he would have been in the same position that he was in now.

These two things really strike a chord with me. This is what I was trying to write about on Monday, As much as I had what I wanted and proved that my ideas worked, it didn’t change my situation. My passion to prove what I was trying to do kept me going until it was complete. The emptiness of achieving what I set out to do and my situation not changing was too demoralizing. .

I suppose that it was in my deep subconscious, because I really didn’t put these things together fully until I started analyzing it a couple of weeks ago. I knew in my conscious brain that things were not going to change. I knew that I couldn’t gain anything with a victory lap and that it was only for personal satisfaction. But, I wanted the validation that my methods were viable.

Not being educated in psychology, it only seems intuitive that this is a process. Once we have achieved, we can now move on in our mental frame to the next idea or challenge. In my case, I felt trapped and dismayed. I didn’t want to expend the energy to look for a new job while I was working this time.

It is not yet clear to me how this information will drive my future goals. I will say that I can learn from it and try to be aware and not fall into the same traps. I guess that is a wonder in life is that our experiences make us who we are. Those that really analyze these waterfall events probably gain substantially from a personal standpoint.

Change Your Programming Routine: It is strange because I had no idea that this was going to be the result when I started writing this today. I guess that is the power of journaling. It organizes thoughts and forces connections to seemingly unrelated topics. I don’t think that I am trying to draw a relationship that doesn’t exist, it seems clear to me. I hope that I translated it adequately. Have a good weekend.

May 20, 2021 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

May 20, 2021 /

As I was trying to figure out what to write about today, I was cleaning up some miscellaneous stuff that I have drug out for various reasons. One was a tow strap that I loaned out a couple of weeks ago and the other was some ratchet straps that I was using to tighten the framing on my project. Both of those things belong in my vehicle kit which the contents were in a bit of disarray as a result.

Now, I should say that I used to carry this box around in my pick-up. When I moved to the Mustang, I took it out and never has it gone back permanently. It gets put back in for camping and hunting trips or if I have to grab and go to maybe help someone stuck. Truthfully, it is not much help if you don’t have it when you need it. But, I do make a point to carry some gear in each vehicle.

Vehicle preparedness gets some coverage, typically in the beginning of winter. Every couple of years, there seems to be a story about someone getting stuck with their vehicle for a couple of days. I really started considering the possibilities of being stuck with a vehicle about 15 years ago when a guy took a wrong turn and ended up freezing to death.

I did have one occasion where I did something kind of foolish and got my vehicle stuck in the woods. I left without saying where I was going and ended up getting my pickup stuck. My decision was to walk 12 miles out and eventually, I got some help. Mind you I was out of cell phone coverage, which is quite common when you get off of the paved roads here.

As with all topics in preparedness, it starts with what are we preparing for? In my case, I would say it is sort of a general preparedness. The categories I have made are getting stuck, mechanical problems, sheltering in place. I still do carry jumper cables and the like in the vehicle, but this box augments what I always carry. Lets take a deeper look at what is in here.

From the top, I see two wool blankets, a tarp, a fleece and a collapsible fishing pole (that is for fun mostly).

Things get a little more busy after the top layer. But from here there is a first aid kit, automotive tools, folding shovel, container with ratchet straps, tow strap, a spare jacket and then a bag containing who knows what. I think there are some matches, fire starter kit, cordage and other small things. I probably have a knife and multi-tool in there somewhere too.

I suppose the number one (and two) thing that is not in here is food and water. My original idea for that was to carry a separate bag, sometimes called a ‘get home’ bag where I would always have it with me. Because of temperature extremes and perishability, I wouldn’t want to leave that stuff in the car for an extended period of time.

One of the reasons that I haven’t put this back in my vehicle is that I realized having all of the tools in the world isn’t helpful if you also need parts. Sure, there are some field repairs that could be done but you have to have some knowledge about that stuff too. Other reasons include it is bulky and heavy and I don’t have a good way to secure it (to keep from being stolen). I needed my extra cab space for passengers at this point and it is too cumbersome to put in and take out all the time.

I will say that when I carried it, I probably got into it every month or so, mostly for tools. Despite not routinely carrying this box, items that are always in the car are a flashlight, a 110 voltage inverter, spare charge cords, small notebook with pens and tire gauge, flares, space blankets equal to the max number of passengers, fire extinguisher and a couple of tools.

Change Your Programming Routine: I have to say, it is not likely that this is going to back in the car full time. But the exercise is definitely valuable from a mental standpoint. I helps you visualize the possibilities and how you would adapt by what you have or not.