Page 15 of 134

April 22, 2025 – Bear Chili

April 22, 2025 /

Tennis season is in full swing. This means that every Tuesday and Thursday until mid-May are scheduled for tennis matches. My son is a senior and our exchange student is also playing tennis. The matches start at four PM and end when they end so I am going to try and make meals that require zero preparation after we get home. Out comes the crock pot.

I don’t know if we are weird or just didn’t get the memo but we are usually the only parents at most matches. I figure, you watch football, basketball, wrestling and even track. It is odd that parents generally do not come to their kid’s tennis matches. Fortunately, I am done with work with plenty of time to travel if I have to. Maybe it is a match timing thing? Ultimately, no matter how good they are, we support our kids and that means meal planning.

Chili is on the menu today. I would really prefer to use a tough cut that I cut down to a smaller pieces. The other option was hamburger. When was looking into the freezer to figure out how I wanted to proceed, I thought that I did not want to spend the extra prep time to start with a solid piece of meat. I saw this package of ground bear that the neighbors had gave me several years ago and that was the ticket.

I thought that I was saving it for something special, but then I realized that I had no idea what that was, hence it had been in the freezer for several years. My mom didn’t like game meat and she always tried to ‘disguise’ it in highly spiced meals. There were a lot of Elk burritos in my day.

I am no expert in game meat. From what I have heard, all meat is a reflection of how it was handled. You can imagine that an animal shot in early Fall and out in the field for four or five days may not be the best. People I listen to say that ‘gamey’ is not a flavor of the meat but an indication of meat spoilage.

I think that this bear was shot in late August. I could not detect any off flavors in the chili. But, I know that my neighbors ate the meat all year so I imagine that they got on processing it and handling properly. As far as usage, I just substituted one to one with beef.

Conventional wisdom says that a fall bear is a fatty bear. But, because I live in a very temperate climate I don’t think that they do much hibernating which means that there is no need to fatten up before a long winter. This meat had almost zero fat on it.

Most game can be treated exactly like domestic meat. With bear, you do need to use Trichinosis protocol. The means it has to be cooked well done to prevent parasites. Nearly every single bear has it and it is no joke. Apparently, unlike pork (which almost never has it today) freezing does not kill the parasite.

Trichinosis is a parasite that is transmitted by eating dead animals. While the fear of pork having it is real, factory farmed pigs have no access to eat dead animals which is why that fear is largely overblown. I have heard that freezing pork for five days will take care of any potential contamination which I almost always do anyways. Best to be safe and just cook to well done.

The recipe got no special treatment. I wish that I had a super secret recipe but I don’t. I just followed a Food Network recipe that exactly matched others I saw online, so I know that it is kind of tried and true. My wife insists on kidney beans in it. I really would rather use something like pintos instead. But then again I don’t have a super secret recipe so I go with what pleases her.

All the planning was great. What I wish I did better was taste for seasoning. I was very hungry and sat down for a meal when we got home. It needed salt in a major way. It definitely could have benefitted from more depth of flavor, so it needed more seasoning as well. But hey, dinner was ready when we got home.

End Your Programming Routine: We try to plan every meal. What gets us is always the day after a big meal or busy day where we went out to eat. Tennis puts an extra emphasis on that planning unless we want to eat a nine PM. Expect a lot of crockpot cooking in the next month. With that, don’t be afraid of something that you don’t see everyday, like bear meat.

April 21, 2025 – Know Your Facts

April 21, 2025 /

It is easy to get into a groove and seek validation with sources that meet your bias. I am just as guilty of this by listening to things like talk radio and podcasts. I do this sometimes because I wonder how or why some event is going to be spun. It was years ago that I was listening to Glen Beck and he announced that he was no longer going to talk about Obama as well as pray for him. I thought, what a novel idea. Someone that lives by values that he proclaims to oppose the establishment. We should all make up our minds with facts rather than siding with people we largely agree.

USA Today: Inflation eased in March but Trump’s tariffs could still bite despite 90-day pause

Reuters: US consumer prices post first decline in nearly five years

April 18, 2025 – Revelations 8-20

April 18, 2025 /

He has risen… again? At least that is what the prophecy of Revelations claims. Since Easter is this weekend, I want to be the first one to wish you a happy Easter. Unlike Christmas, this is a true Christian holiday. A day of salvation and redemption for all that seek it.

Today is actually Good Friday. This is the day of Jesus’s crucifixion. The day that he was nailed to the cross and hung to die. But it is also the day that mankind’s sin died as well. So while it is bittersweet for Jesus, that was his purpose on earth and a victory for eternal salvation.

From what I have gathered reading these chapters, this is the rapture. As soon as the seventh seal is broken, the action begins. One third of the plants, water, animals and sunlight. Then, god sends down the devil and locusts.

Something that I found kind of interesting when I was reading some commentary on Revelations came up. In Chapter 12, it says that Satan was thrown to the earth. What? I thought that he was already condemned to Hell? Yes, but no. Apparently, Satan has the ability to go back to Heaven in order to lobby for his case. Meaning that if he sees some soul go the opposite direction, he can appeal to God.

Remember, this is a vision of the Rapture. This has not really happened yet according to Biblical belief. So if that is really true, then that means that Satan currently has the ability to appeal for souls. Interesting.

Revelations 13 is a good one. This is the chapter that identifies 666 as the mark of the beast. I remember the first time I ever heard this concept back in the early 1990s. My scoutmaster affirmed that if we were ever to get some sort of tattoo that was the mark of the beast. Now, I am not totally sure about just any tattoo but I am a little bit conflicted.

You may have heard of people embedding RFID microchips into their skin so that they can just wave their hand over some sort of scanner to check-out in something like an Amazon store. I am not sure where we are with that experiment at this point but I think that this is coming much closer to the mark of the beast than a tattoo.

I will not make comparisons between Amazon and Satan. But, I do have to say that permanently forfeiting your sovereign humanity at the expense of convenience is starting to tip the scales. I don’t think that Amazon is pure evil but they are surely not benevolent either. RFID implants is definitely a step too far for me.

Much of today’s readings focus on what happens during tribulation, particularly when you have accepted the mark of the beast. Chapters 19 and 20 finish that and see Christ’s second coming. Satan and the False prophet are cast off the earth forever.

I think that there are two things that come to mind reading Revelations that are somewhat puzzling. The first goes back to Revelations 10. John is instructed to eat a scroll of judgement. This has two purposes. One is so that he can ‘ingest’ the real sins and the vision as it is revealed. The second goes hand in hand with not revealing the details of the vision. How is it that John is writing this book of the Bible if he promised God that he would not reveal the vision? That seems in direct violation to something the John holds so personally.

The second is God’s promise of judgement after a millennium. By our time measurement, we have seen at least two since the prophecy. This of course added extra significance to the Y2K hoopla. I have often pondered the Biblical accounting of time. This is particularly true with Noah living 900 years. He wasn’t the only one but he was remarkable at siring children at such an advanced age of 500.

I do believe that miracles are possible through God. I just wonder about some of the accounting. Further more, why? What is the purpose of Noah living 950 years? Did it really take that long to establish a flawed, human civilization? It almost seems like the early Bible was trying to fill in the gaps of known time versus known people because in the New Testament people seem to have more typical lifespans.

This is all to say that I have no idea of what measurement a Millennium really is. I tend to think that because this is New Testament text, it is more similar to our modern calendar. But then again, I don’t understand the rhyme or reason to the Christian calendar either. As a person that is pretty good with patterns and algorithms, how is it that Eater changes every year? You try to understand it so you can explain it to me.

End Your Programming Routine: I am sort of getting the gist of why this book is controversial. From the Jewish standpoint, they are waiting for the first coming and the Muslims have already had the second. The best policy is to be faithful just in case. It might not be the rapture but it might be a sudden car wreck which has the same result as a religious cleansing. Next week we will close the book on Revelations. “He has risen indeed.”

April 17, 2025 – It’s Been a Good Run

April 17, 2025 /

I read an article recently that said that the iPhone Xr (10th generation) was not going to support iOS 19. The current operating system version is 18.4 which means that it is still a viable product but I wondered what that meant to me. I remember vividly December 7, 2018. That was the day that my iPhone 6 just stopped working.

I remember it because I was on call for my job. I had received a call about midnight and worked several hours to resolve the issue. I tried to call back stating my position on the issue and my phone didn’t work. Several hours later, my phone was still not working. Several hours later again, a trip to the Apple store confirmed that my phone was bricked. The answer was some phones just do that when they get old. What a crappy answer.

The next day which was a Sunday, I picked up a Red, iPhone Xr that I have used every since. I was still on-call until the next Thursday but at least I had a working device. As a result of running around I decided to skip the company Christmas party due to lack of sleep and a lot of frustration. It didn’t take a lot for me to not want to go to the party but my wife was very disappointed. This was her Christmas bonus for putting up with me travelling on a dime and being on-call every three weeks.

In retrospect, I was being a little cheap and didn’t want to pay the extra money for the smaller Xs model. I regretted that since the day that I made the decision. One of the primary drivers I wanted in a new phone was a smaller format. I am tired of the the bulk of large phones. I have other devices to watch video and or type. But, it turns out that Apple discontinued the smaller format phones with the 13 model.

Of all of the latest iPhone 16 models, at least the 16 and 16e are the same size as my old Xr. It turns out the more expensive models are larger than what I got which is the 16e. So, I couldn’t get a smaller phone but at least it is not any bigger.

Let me tell you that I think I am fairly tech savvy. I run my own website, I am a software programmer by trade. Swapping data from the old phone to the new phone was not easy. Neither my iPhone nor my wife’s Galaxy were able to activate and required going to the factory store. Fortunately, I took a back-up before I started doing all of the work so I was able to start from ground zero.

Since my iPhone Xr was running iOS 18, most everything seems familiar. There is one feature that I wish I knew a few weeks ago however. It turns out that since the iPhone 14, they have the capability to make satellite phone calls in case of emergency. This relegates my brand new, not even activated yet Garmin inReach significantly less valuable.

Don’t get me wrong, the inReach is not obsolete. I have decided on the plan that I want and the strategy that I want to use. It will allow breadcrumb style tracking as well as periodic messages and pictures included in the plan. But, one of the primary justifications for buying it was ‘In Case of Emergency’.

I am probably not a typical user. I barely touch social media and my phone remains almost charged most days. I can typically last two days without charging due to minimal use when travelling. As a result, my phone has lasted six and a half years and was running fine by all accounts. My kids and wife in contrast have all had at least two phones each since I got this phone in 2018.

The one thing I have noticed lately is the battery draining much quicker. I blamed it on the other devices connected. It seemed to me the battery life started to drain much quicker when I added the Garmin Instinct 2 watch. Then when I paired the inReach it was if the phone would lose about 5% per hour. My quick research on the subject seems to debunk that theory so maybe the battery is just losing steam.

For a lot of people, getting a new phone is a status symbol and not an obstacle. My little observations today may seem ignorant, putting me as a technological rube. Notice I didn’t get the most high powered device that I see so prevalent when I am out and about. That is OK because to me it is a tool that I applied my requirements before purchasing and size was more important than the best camera and the most storage. I learned my lesson from the last time and would have gladly paid more for a smaller format if available.

End Your Programming Routine: I am not a iPhone snob but I have used both Apple and android. I much prefer the iOS experience to android. Since my wife has a Samsung phone, I frequently have occasion to use that operating system. As a result, I have made my preference. I wouldn’t be surprised if my next phone is an iPhone as well. Look for an update in six plus years if things hold true this round.

April 16, 2025 – Local Dirt

April 16, 2025 /

Local Dirt by Andrea Bemis is one of several books for the April Left Coast Culinary Book Club meeting. When I say one of several, what I mean is that sometimes we pick an author and it is Sophie’s Choice for what you want to read. Local Dirt is the second of a two book series. The first one is titled Dishing Up the Dirt.

She has a third book called Let Them Eat Dirt which seems to be recipes oriented towards children. I elected to purchase just one because I can always buy the others if it turns out that I like the author. I will say that I do like the author but it is unlikely that I will purchase any more books. There is only so many cookbooks I will use and reference and my shelves are quite full.

Why Bemis resonated with me is that she is from Oregon. If you are going to have a reference for eating locally and seasonally, it is nice to have guidance where there is a shared experience. I talked about this in my podcast last week but it is pretty hard to follow someone eating seasonally that lives in a climate that produces all year long.

That being said, my earliest growing season would be for me early May and would run until late October. So we are realistically talking six months for the most enthusiastic gardener. Our farmers market is just getting started for the year and it will be plant starts and Beanie Babies until about July. I jokingly told my wife that I will be making a dish with Beanie Babies since that is what seems to be abundant in this season.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Portland Saturday Market has vendors that have some year round produce using artificial methods. The rub there is that no longer becomes local to me. Bemis does reference preserving and using preserved foods. For me, that is going to be the only way to make it from a strict local standpoint.

The book is presented in a way that you would expect for seasonal eating. Hearty meals in the winter give way to heartier greens in the spring to fruity bounty in the summer and moving back into the richer foods of the fall. Because Bemis owns a vegetable farm (for retail sales) there are some interesting ingredient choices. For instance I would wager that 20% of the recipes have kohlrabi in it. I’ve never even seen that.

Despite my aforementioned grievances, I do find it inspirational to consider local and seasonal. I used to spend more effort in steering out diet that way but it has been difficult as the family grows. That comes with strong preferences and busy schedules. It also made me want to keep up with my gardening this year. I had moments where I was disappointed with what germinated. It made me want to give up and just get starts for everything.

The other thing that I appreciate about Bemis is that she recognizes that what is local to me may be exotic to you. Each recipe has some suggested substitutions. For example, this is Hazelnut (filbert) country. They are abundant here but if you live in almond country, use those instead. Think texture and purpose rather than specific ingredient.

Do I recommend this book? The short answer is no. But, if you are part of a Community Supported Agriculture share and don’t know how to use all of the ingredients then this might be the book for you. I think it would be a good reference for trying to keep up with all those weirdos like kohlrabi. I do also wonder what the difference is in book one versus the one that I purchased.

End Your Programming Routine: It is the mark of experience to have an opinion. When I was a kid and saw very few movies, the ones I did see I loved. This is no different. Our group is very eclectic and I appreciate others interest and ideas to get me to try new things and get out of my shell. This is a good book and I respect the author’s attempt, it just doesn’t hit my mark.

April 15, 2025 – It Can’t Be True, But It Is

April 15, 2025 /

Oregon is awash with idiocy. I am sorry to say but it is true. Because measure 114 has been tied up in court since 2022 and both the senate and the house have a Democrat supermajority there are now eight different bills that are going through to supplant measure 114, just in case.

I have been receiving notifications from both the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF) to go to the capitol and show my indifference to the bills sometimes more than once a day. As if going there and holding a sign is going to stop this. My own neighbor, that claims to be pro-second amendment is going to vote for these bills to pass.

One theory that I heard the other day is that because gun control has been beaten so badly in most of the United States they are focusing their efforts in states that are the most receptive like Oregon, Washington and Colorado. I do have to say that as much as I see much of my second amendment getting written away, so far Oregon has nothing on the other two. It won’t be long.

It sure seems like this is the case when I look at the pro-second amendment advancements throughout the country. What is the drive for all of this gun control in the first place? In my opinion, it is the fictitious phenomenon that gun violence is increasing and that mass shooter events were created at Columbine.

The other day, I was reading the local newspaper and I saw this article saying that there was sniper fifty years ago. You can read the entire article in the picture below. I looked up the census information and saw that the population was 6,361 in 1970 and 8,530 in 1980. Presumably, the population was 7,500ish in 1975.

The reason I looked up the population is that Dallas is a small town today, I figured it was smaller fifty years ago. More than that, it was an active shooter in a small, homogeneous town twenty years before Columbine. I had never heard of it, probably because the shooter was not successful.

“If we could save one life…” is a phrase commonly uttered in these kind of political situations. But really? I could think of a lot of things to ban. What about airplane travel of any kind? How about eliminating the 0.08 blood alcohol limit? For that matter a lot of people die in car crashes, I think driving can be dangerous. People die skiing, mountain climbing, hiking and swimming. People literally kill themselves with their diet.

If we were serious about eliminating risk then there would be a whole lot of things no longer permitted. I think that it really comes down to all the things that I think are risky and don’t effect me should be eliminated. As an example, I believe that there certainly is a place for wolves in the landscape but when they are killing your livelihood then it is a different perspective. The best compromise I can think of would be that wolves should be allowed to exist and they should be allowed to be eliminated when causing damage.

It is an ecological fantasy to say that man does not effect the environment. It is also part of the same fantasy that man is not part of the environment. Self defense is a God given tenant that pre dates our country and goes back to the origin of our species. Firearms are the best tool for self-defense and codified in our American heritage; not a specific type or construction or even needs based. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it or whatever baggage you bring to the conversation.

I understand the pain of loss, especially when it is senseless or even innocent. My own 16 year old cousin committed suicide with his shotgun in 1994. It was hard on my young 19 year old psyche. We were relatively close and it changed our family forever. I have never blamed the firearm or the access to it. I blame the choice of the individual.

Would that have happened if the shotgun was locked up or not there at all? I don’t know. I don’t have an accounting of how the situation unfolded and the other circumstantial parameters. It doesn’t matter in the slightest because it doesn’t change the outcome. It also wouldn’t be addressed in this latest round of gun control bills. This was a common, pump action shotgun with bird shot setup and used for hunting. It was not a high capacity, rapid shooting, already possessed tool.

I am not for any further restrictions. If you told me that if enacting all of these bills I would be having a conversation with my cousin tomorrow I would still say no. Something tells me that a person in that kind of mindset would subject to other ills of life like drugs or even worse violence against others regardless of the means. There is something sick and psychotic about wanting to keep other’s tortured in their own life in the name of do-goodery. Besides, mental health is a conversation significantly deeper than a one day blog post.

End Your Programming Routine: When I declared that I was going to leave this state in November 2022, I did not fully consider the complications. I can see that this is not the state that I want it to be and I still do want to leave. It is just quite a bit more than just reacting to legislation. I am under no delusion that I can save this state and preserve my rights no matter what I do. Doing what I can means writing my thoughts down trying to persuade the world in my point of view. I doubt it will work but it is what I can do.

April 14, 2025 – Six Months After Helene…

April 14, 2025 /

I thought that it would be fun (for me) to reminisce about my time in the Carolinas. Of course, I was interested about whether they were getting equitable treatment in the clean-up efforts as well as whether Helene was as bad as I imagined. I suspect that it was worse because things look alright considering the amount of work that was still being done.

April 11, 2025 – Revelations 1-7

April 11, 2025 /

There is a bit of controversy surrounding the book of Revelations. It was allegedly written by John based on some visions that he had. It is the last book of the New Testament and follows a couple letters from John. Apparently, during the Counsel of Nicaea this book was on the chopping block as to whether it belongs or not. There is even controversy that Nicaea actually debated the bible. For simplicity sake, let’s just agree that the Bible is was adopted in its current form at that event just like a lot of other things they adopted.

Revelations is one of those books that is extremely galvanizing. It has often been a focus of Christian splinter groups (or cults) like the Branch Davidians as an example. The colloquial view of the book is that it predicts the second coming of Jesus Christ. As such, those who have been faithful will ascend directly to heaven while those who have not will be damned. At least this is what I have already heard and believed.

One might wonder about it’s placement in the bible. I actually think that it is genius. Scare the Christians into obedience. If you have just read all of this love your neighbor doctrine straight through and then you get obey or else. That seems like a strategic position.

I am certainly no bible scholar. I have read bits and pieces here and there. One time I set off to read it and got into Joshua of the Old Testament and then put it down. There were too many names for me and it is really hard to read the Bible like a novel. I have also read all of the Corinthians I and II as well as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke of the New Testament.

What drove me to want to read Revelations is that attraction of the Doomsday groups to this particular book. I cannot condone the Branch Davidians activity, but I recently watched an accounting of the FBI masacre and I really cannot condone that either. There is something like us tin foil hatters that have to stick together.

Here is a quick synopsis. Chapter 1 is John’s vision of Jesus. Chapters 2 and 3 are about what the churches are doing wrong and what they need to change. Chapters 4-7 are all about the elements in the vision.

Having never read this before, I am not sure what to really expect. One thing that I can say is that Chapters 4-7 read remarkedly like Dante’s Paradiso. Dare I say that maybe this was the template to what Dante used? It kind of makes sense how Dante would come up with the dancing and singing angels. It was all in John’s vision with Jesus.

If this were a sermon, I might start off talking about the the seven churches and the context of each in relation to John and maybe even history in general. Then I would talk about the animals, thrones seals and scrolls. But I wont. Partially because I don’t really know all of that and partially because I think this time we will read all the way through before disecting each little part. There are internet sites that can help with the symbology if you want that.

I have to leave you with something though. So we have some churches gone astray as well as scrolls that contain a list of sins that is getting checked out. It probably indicates that trouble is brewing or at the very least stuff is being accounted for. Better get ready because the rapture could come at any time. We will see what happens next week.

End Your Programming Routine: When I think of the theology, there is probably a reason why Revelations doesn’t get a lot of Sunday air time. I know the bible stories about Noah and starting over but is God going to really empty the earth? I thought that he created it for companionship? Would this be the end of the human experiment? It sure seems likely.

April 10, 2025 – A New Year New Gear, Part 8

April 10, 2025 /

Whoa. It has been a busy period. I have been waiting for a long time to pull the trigger on my next purchases because of cost. Recently, I bought my tent, a satellite tracker and a new head lamp. Not only is this a big purchase but it represents a significant change to my strategy in training. I am shifting from my training pack to my new trail pack. I will also be moving from day hikes only to include overnights.

After these purchases, I have a few other things that I want to buy but they are truly optional. There are a few things that are possible as well. For instance, I may or may not buy new shoes. Right now it seems like they are holding up just fine but my actual hike is still a ways away. The last expensive and necessary purchase is going to be my food,

This tent is incredible. I have yet to set it up but I will of course test it out. I researched features and made some optional choices like doors that open to the side so each doesn’t have to climb over to get out. I decided on a two person tent rather than a one person tent. This is because it only added three ounces. I figured the versatility of possibly allowing another person and certainly more space was worth the weight.

The tent itself is only two pounds and eight ounces. It feels like nothing. I have seen bread loaves that are bigger than everything when it is packed up. There is one optional accessory which is called a footprint that I would like to buy. It’s purpose is to add a second layer to the bottom and prevent moisture coming through. But it also adds more resiliency to prevent tears in the fabric. I sure don’t want a $400 tent with a rip in the bottom.

A tent is potentially optional. I could have chosen a bivy bag or hammock or even toughed it out under the stars. I wanted a tent for two reasons. If the bugs get crazy, I want to get away from them, especially as I sleep. Also, if the heavens open up I want to be able to get away from rain if I have to. A tent is peace of mind for me and it is something I can use for years to come.

The satellite communicator is definitely a luxury. What it is supposed to do is send periodic GPS coordinates to somebody as well as contact emergency services when summoned. I don’t think that it is strictly necessary and wouldn’t have one if I hadn’t fought with my wife for the last twenty years about going into the woods alone.

I am looking at this device as an opportunity to be able to do some more back country hunting and fishing. Year over year, I have held back because I didn’t have a partner to go with me. Even this trip, I am supposed to be lining up some fellow travelers (which I do not really want). This of course requires a subscription service that can be turned on and off. I am planning on turning it while I train and probably leave it on until hunting season is over.

I would have gone on the trip without the satellite communicator but it happened to be 25% off this month. When the stars align with income and sales, it is time to act. More on how this works as I do more testing with it.

Finally, I really did not need a new headlamp. However, there were some new features that this has that I wanted. First of all, the other headlamp I have is in my hunting pack. I used it on my fishing trip last year and it worked fine. I didn’t really like how it accidentally would go to the red light when the button sequence was not pushed correctly. Plus, it is good to have some redundancy.

But more so than that, this new headlamp has a rechargeable battery pack that can also take alkaline batteries. Hopefully using rechargeable, batteries will never explode in the device and when it becomes discharged, I can replace with alkaline batteries until I get the point to charge again. It also has a nice carrying bag that will turn the lamp into a lantern by the light reflecting inside the bag. Pretty cool.

End Your Programming Routine: What started as a desperate search for topic ideas has now gone eight versions. As I said, I am not likely done buying things but this topic has run it’s course. It definitely wont be the end of my hiking topics. I plan on doing a whole pack-out before I leave. I am going to talk about lessons learned from my training as I get through them but the strictly buying gear posts are done. You probably didn’t enjoy them as much as I enjoyed planning and buying the stuff but more hiking coming on Thursdays.

April 9, 2025 – I’m a Lumberjack and I’m OK

April 9, 2025 /

You may have seen the Stihl Timbersports competition on ESPN. This is the logging related competition where competitors cut through a log the fastest called ‘hot saw’ with souped up chainsaws. They also chop through telephone pole thickness poles with an ax in less than 20 seconds. Like other competitions, rodeo as an example, timber sports have their origins in practical skills.

When I was a kid growing up, our town hosted the biggest timber sports competition in the world and the competitors reflected that. It was called the Albany Timber Carnival. As with the fall of timber in the mid 1990s, so too went the Timber Carnival. But the lasting tradition of the competition and quietly preserved skills can still be found, if you know where to look.

I shouldn’t be surprised but I ran across the Oregon State University’s competition area when I was doing some of my practice hikes. One of OSU’s foundations is a strong forestry school. The hiking I have been doing is in the forest owned and managed by the college for teaching purposes. Why wouldn’t they have a competition program and the facilities to perform?

Ultimately, these competitors have to come from somewhere. My cousin competed on a team in high school in the late 1990s. I remember asking what the secret was to chopping with an axe. He said that there is definitely technique but a lot of it is how you sharpen your tools. That part I don’t quite know but I spent a couple of days sharpening my ax one time. I put a whole new bevel on the blade that was much sleeker. That thing definitely cuts like a house of fire.

I am no expert in this by any means. I have never competed or trained let alone barely watched one of these competitions on TV. I just think it is pretty cool to see this of throwback activity (to me and my past) is still alive. I takes me back to when I was a kid and timber was king. It was a time when my town crowned the world champion in each of these events.

End Your Programming Routine: I would love to be able to climb up a pole and know how to sharpen an ax so that I could whack a giant log in less than ten swings. Even more than my sentimental pride, the point of my writing today is you never know what you are going to find in the world. You have to get out there and explore that world to find it. TV and internet can expose and publicize things but when you just run across it incidentally, it is pretty neat.