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February 20, 2020 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

February 20, 2020 /

Earlier this week, I got a really cool invitation to hike the Timberline Trail in mid July. A typical hike is four days and three nights around the north side of Mount Hood. The trail is approximately 40 miles with about 9000 feet of elevation change.

I really haven’t discussed any of the details yet, but from what I have heard so far, the plan is to hike about 10 miles a day. “Oh no, what have I done?” I haven’t done anything like this since I was a teenager and in much better shape. From what I remember then, it was hard and my body was sore, especially my legs and shoulders.

In 2016, I ran a half marathon, but since that time, there has been a lot of beers down the hatch, not to mention 30 pounds and four years. The good news is that I have a lot of the gear still albeit I remember wearing jeans on the trail, my tent was probably seven pounds, etc. I have been using some of it from time to time time with the kids and scouting, but a lot of it wouldn’t be considered ultra-light.

What I wanted to talk about in this post really was functional fitness. I don’t think I am there. When I first left my job I started trying to run again, but I overdid it and had a lot of hamstring and hip pain, so I stopped to heal and never started again. But, if I am to survive this trip without injury I need to get started again. It seems like a good reason to start.

A good program I have used before is the “Couch to 5k” or “Couch to half marathon”. It is a metered approach to getting cardiovascular fit. As someone that has attempted this recently and noticed the effects of aging, I am just going to do the best that I can. I do want to practice carrying weight as well.

Functional fitness is about being prepared to handle life’s adversities. Can you walk 10 miles or carry three days worth of gear (or even touch your toes) if you had to? If you were stuck somewhere, can you physically walk home? If you were trapped by something, do you have the strength to move it? Do you have the ability to climb a tree to stay out of harms way? Being in shape and healthy are good ways to live a cheaper and more fulfilling life as you age and take advantage of opportunities when they occur.

It is definitely something I know, but haven’t practicing, so its time to get started. I would like to hear your ideas on this as well.

February 18, 2020 – Review: Amazon Warehouse

February 18, 2020 /

What an epic hassle dealing with bad thrust bearings on the bandsaw has been. Today I will be discussing my experience with Amazon Warehouse and not the guide upgrades that I had ordered. I think that it will be clear when I am done why.

First, for the uninitiated, Amazon Warehouse is a division of Amazon that resells returned items from Amazon. These items are supposed to be inspected, cleaned but otherwise in ‘like new’ condition.

In my case, the Jet JRBG-14 were bandsaw guide upgrades that cost $153 from Amazon. I noticed that Amazon Warehouse had them for $112 with Prime Shipping. Rather than trying to see if they were stocked locally or find a replacement thrust bearing, I decided that I would work around the problem for four days while I waited for a significant upgrade, according to reviews.

When the package arrived on Thursday, I eagerly opened the package and to my surprise there was a problem.

  • Top Guide
  • Bottom Guide

I wont make you guess or wait too long to get to the point. So, upon closer inspection, I was sent two parts that do not match the diagrams or my expectations. And worse, the bottom bracket was missing the blade guide as well. What it appears to me is that someone ordered this upgrade and returned the OEM guides back to Amazon. The dope that supposedly inspected this clearly did not do their job.

Needless to say that I was pretty PO’d. I lost four days waiting for this to not get a usable part. To top it off, some dishonest actor got away with this. And quality control at Amazon Warehouse must be very poor. This has got to be one of the few items that is returned with a diagram of what the item is supposed to look like. The next day I drove up to Portland to solve my problem for good, costing me about three hours to get the replacement bearing (but not the upgrade).

I think the Latin phrase Caveat Emptor should be put into place when buying from Amazon Warehouse. I would be skeptical ordering anything complicated or expensive in this manner. Unfortunately, you cannot actually see what you are buying and there is no guarantee that getting what you bought.

February 17, 2020 – President’s Day

February 17, 2020 /

Today is the third Monday in February or otherwise known as President’s Day. It was officially declared a Federal Holiday in 1971 as an amalgamation of Washington and Lincoln’s birthday the 12th and 22nd respectively.

Interestingly, it is not a holiday that is universally celebrated or recognized. Sources I checked said that twenty-four states recognize Presidents Day as a state holiday as well. Oregon is one of the twenty-four. There are nine states that do not recognize Presidents Day or any other individual President, like Washington’s birthday. Another interesting fact is that Alabama recognizes Washington and Jefferson’s birthday but not Lincoln’s.

I can remember as a child getting Washington’s birthday as a holiday. I think in the 1980s Oregon aligned with President’s Day over individual birthday holidays. In my adult life, I have always worked in the private sector and never had this day as a holiday. Ironically, my Canadian co-workers got this day off as ‘Family Day’ in Canada. Since I was home for the first time ever, we spent the time doing family activities. Back to regular posting tomorrow.

February 14, 2020 – Happy Valentines Day and Happy Birthday Oregon

February 14, 2020 /

It is always a weird day when there is some official event on the same day as Valentines Day. Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859. I remember going to the Sesquicentennial in 2009. It was interesting and fun where there was a party at the capitol and special flavor of ice cream released by a local maker. We went to the top of the capitol dome and looked over Salem (for the first time in 20 years for me). There were music, exhibits and festivities; quite the party.

But then we get back to reality, it is Valentines Day after all. Now, you have probably guessed that I am not a romantic. However, I do understand the importance of making specific time for your spouse. We will spend a few hours together today and attend an event that is focused on our relationship.

Relationships are hard… I feel strongly about my cabinets being natural, she feels strongly they should be white. I think it is OK the kids can choose not to wear a coat even after being hounded, she feels differently. As I age, I feel like I am getting more stuck in my ways and not as flexible or forgiving or tolerant or maybe gun shy overreacting without empathy. I always need to try to re-center and remind myself of the reasons below.

This person is my biggest critic, but also my biggest supporter. She is quick to anger but first to apologize. She is the fun, the encourager, the enabler, the people person, the caregiver and the love. Believe it or not, she is the reason that I up and left my job and never looked back, not something I would have done without significant prompting.

So, still not a hopeless romantic. But reminding myself that I am lucky to have this someone to be my partner. Yin/Yang or karma or God will give you what you need. Give your partner your attention and Valentines Day that they want. Your relationship will thank you and you might get something out of it too.

February 13, 2020 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

February 13, 2020 /

I feel really lucky that I have a shooting range membership. It could be considered a little pricey at $150/year but it makes me want to get out there and get my money’s worth. Before I got the membership as a gift, it was pretty hit and miss getting any sort of trigger time – in some cases years in between time.

As a natural planner one thing I like to do is set some annual goals. One of those came from an idea that I first heard of from Bob Mayne https://www.handgunworld.com/about/ called the ‘1,000 round trigger job’. The idea is that you need to spend some quality time with your firearm to get familiar with its intricacies.

This trigger has gotten the test

So what does that really mean? In my interpretation it means testing the durability of your firearm, how it functions with many brands and types of ammunition, what is best for accuracy, how your clothing and the season hinder motion and felt recoil, practice reloading and off hand use and so on.

My tastes can be eclectic and it can be expensive to perform the ‘1000 round trigger job’ so for that reason, it usually plan to shoot 100 rounds per range visit per firearm. I also try to get to the range once a month. So, it can take nearly a year to to do accomplish this if you do it with intention on a new firearm. If it was a used firearm, I would tend to treat the round counter as zero because I haven’t learned the intricacies of the particular weapon yet. Yes, I do keep track (roughly) of the total round count for each firearm.

One side benefiit is that I reload, so saving all of my brass gets me a great stockpile of material to reload and cuts down on future costs. What I have learned over the years is that 1) it is fun 2) it motivates me to keep my shooting skills fresh 3) I am not a great handgun shot 4) devising tests is part of the fun. If you like to shoot, try the ‘1000 round trigger job’.

February 12, 2020 – It is almost Valentines, it’s time to talk about six inches of wood

February 12, 2020 /

I thought that I would make a video how to make lumber from a rough sawn board. I did some experimentation this time by merging two video streams: one from the phone and one from a Go-Pro. I can say that I probably need a little more work on the Go-Pro side of things because it is hard to see what you are actually filming and the lens has quite a bit of curvature too.

The process of making boards

As you can see from the volume of my posts, I am enjoying this project and this process. Hopefully tomorrow I will be installing the bandsaw blade guide upgrades and I will be in the business of wrapping this project up. Probably two weeks more of solid work.

February 11, 2020 – The case for changing your own oil

February 11, 2020 /

The warning light had been illuminated for over a week now. Then, last Saturday, my son ran into the house yelling ‘the car is on fire!’ I immediately dropped everything and went outside to look at it, maybe use the fire extinguisher. Fortunately, it was a coolant hose that was dripping onto the hot engine causing steam and stink. I said ‘shut it down, this car is going nowhere’. We all had to pile into the old pickup to get to our scheduled family function.

I keep supplies on hand for doing maintenence

Today I spent a some time doing maintenance including replacing the heater inlet hose. The following is a time line for the oil change.

  • 3:05pm – Pull into the garage
  • 3:10pm – Remove the oil plug
  • 3:20pm – Replace the oil plug and remove the old oil filter
  • 3:30pm – Replace the oil filter and start filling oil
  • 3:40pm – Complete

Now, I normally do not spend thirty five straight minutes changing the oil. It usually takes me much longer because instead of pushing through all of the steps, I drain the oil and go do something else. So, I really don’t calculate the time it takes at all. The only real impact is that you must be around and that particular vehicle is not moving during the process.

In between the steps that I listed, I refilled the washer fluid eliminating that warning. I topped up the coolant that was lost during the hose change and I did a quick visual inspection of the other systems and fluid. I hardly know anyone that changes their own oil and I think that is a shame. Below are some reasons why I think changing your own oil is a good thing.

  • Time – Unless you have an appointment somewhere, you aren’t going to get a much faster oil change (consider the drive). I run my supplies like a pantry and pick them up when they are low, eliminating that emergency or specific shopping trip.
  • Peace of Mind – looking under the hood gives you a view of how your car is doing. You can see wear, leaks, battery health and other observations that indicate your car’s condition.
  • Tools and Skills – I mentioned this on a previous entry but tackling some of the easier jobs gives you the confidence and the ability to take on more complicated tasks. I was able to identify the hose leak, order the part, and replace it in about an hours worth of time. I don’t even want to consider what a hassle it would have been to get it to a mechanic, let alone cost.
  • Cost – Filter $4, 6qts Motorcraft 5/20 synthetic blend $24 for a total cost of $28 (minus labor). That is an OEM oil change, see what Ford charges.
  • Better Service – Almost every used car that I have purchased has a stripped or dripping plug because oil change businesses don’t care. They don’t use premium products and they don’t treat the vehicle as their own. I also don’t try to up-sell myself on BS services or scare tactics like ‘air’ in my differential fluid.

I suppose the counter arguments are 1) there is no place to do an oil change like an apartment 2) the car is a lease and you don’t care about longevity 3) you are physically unable to do the work. Those are the only real objections that I can think of. Don’t be one of those people that cant be bothered, buy some tools, read a manual or watch YouTube, get to it and good luck.

February 10, 2020 – First Change Order

February 10, 2020 /

I got the base cabinets in place last week. My first motivator was to get them out of my way, but I wanted to see how they fit.

Base cabinets put into place

The first thing my ‘customer’ said was that she wanted the cabinets white (along with asking some questions about some minor flaws). Now, I have spent quite a bit of time on the finish already and I was trying to match the other cabinets in the house at least in look. But, after some sharp disagreement from me… I will be painting them white tomorrow.

I don’t know if you can see the first major design mistake I made, but I am not going to disclose it now. I will talk about it when I get done, I think that I have figured out a solution.

I have almost all of the lumber milled up for the upper cabinets, but I ran into a serious snag today. The thrust bearing on the upper guide is seized up. So, to replace it, I ordered a Carter guide bearing setup. I am hoping for a significant improvement in performance. That will probably get a review this week after I get it installed.

Finally, I have some auto maintenance to do this week, which I will also talk about later this week.

February 7, 2020 – Cook like a Caveman

February 7, 2020 /

We received a nice gift the other day. It was a whole salmon, filleted. It had just arrived from Alaska frozen, so both halves needed to be defrosted at the same time. This was a treat that needed a special preparation.

I looked for inspiration from Raichlen and though about cooking it on a shovel, but then I thought of Mallmann and the ‘Seven Fires’. I thought perfect, I have a lot of wood piling up from my cabinet project. The weather was dry, and nobody was home.

Christmas salmon on the fire

The preparation actually came out of a book “Plank Cooking: The Essence of Natural Wood” by Scott and Tiffany Haugen and the recipe was called ‘Christmas Salmon’. One fillet was a traditional green pesto and the other was a sun dried tomato pesto.

Finished Christmas Salmon

The combination of Salmon and pesto is a winner, not one I have tried before. The one thing I would have done differently would be to cook longer with a fire that wasn’t so hot. It came out a little dry. I am sure it was me and not the technique since I was in and out of the kitchen and trying to get the other aspects of dinner done.

There will be other entries cooking over fire since I have multiple cookbooks oriented toward that idea. Have fun experimenting and good luck with yours.