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December 12, 2024 – Crimes of Opportunity

December 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Sometimes I have things that I want to do but don’t have the desire to put in all the work to do it. What I mean is that I bought a splitter and some extra cable so that I could split the signal from my AM antenna on the roof. I am thinking of adding an additional input to my scanner.

Right now, the scanner is in my office but in the future I am setting up a radio area elsewhere in the basement. I think the attached antenna to the unit works ok most of the time but given that I am in a basement, I cant help but think that there is an impact on reception. I have found that weather (or something) is giving me significant feedback at times.

I have two places to split the signal. One is outside somewhere along the house and the other is in my office. The best place to split it would be at the source but who wants to get out a ladder and make another penetration in the wall? But there is another devil out there, the penetration into my office is buried behind all of the Christmas decorations. Given all I had going on this summer, I bought the stuff but I didn’t have the desire.

Since I had to drag all the Christmas stuff out last weekend, I thought that would be the perfect time to get access and string the wire I bought over the summer. Like all things, it turned out that the process didn’t go as smoothly or quickly as I hoped. I had to drill another hole and use fish tape and monkey and fiddle around. But I got it.

The point I want to make is, being prepared and taking the opportunity saved me the work of moving all of the bins out of the way. This is not an insignificant task. It was two hours of hauling stuff upstairs last Saturday. Granted, the first time I did this, I just moved everything out of the way in the basement. But, it is still effort and it takes a lot of Tetris to get everything back in its place. I usually have to make several attempts each year as things trickle back in after the season.

The same logic goes when we were re-siding the house. I wanted to add some more energy efficient windows in my wife’s office so I ordered them as soon as the job was starting. I wanted to upgrade the skylight in the upstairs bathroom when the roof was replaced. The best time to do the job is when it is in progress so it can be flashed properly.

Our ancestors were opportunists. Yes, sometimes they set out to hunt because they were hungry. But, it is better to take advantage of a situation when they came across it. As long as they had the capability to process and preserve or hold their fortunes. I think that we have lost some of this recognition with places like always stocked grocery stores or widely open home centers. We don’t recognize opportunity when it occurs.

End Your Programming Routine: I know that our culture values constantly work. I am just as guilty of that myself. But, I don’t think our ancestors thought that way. We have shifted from doing just enough to ‘just do it’. In this case, I don’t think it is a big deal but it is that mindset training that is valuable. Unfortunately, if we don’t practice looking for opportunity then we will think about it after the fact. Then we are stuck in the ‘just do it’ mode.

December 11, 2024 – Can’t Stop Genetics

December 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I have always admired people that have a dog that will stay with their owner and act under complete control. I suppose that there is an element of trust that the owner and the dog need to have with each other. I have never had that either or maybe I haven’t had the nerve to try.

It has been a few months since I have written about my dog Raya. I wrote all of this and I was going through my pictures and I saw one from August. So I had to come in and edit today’s. See https://altf4.co/september-4-2024-something-about-a-dog/ She is a Covid dog. After our beloved Snowflake tragically died we had to give it a break. That was all pre-Covid so once we had been homebound for several months we changed our minds about getting another dog. It seemed like we were always home with nowhere planned to go, so might as well.

Unlike Snow, Ray is not a pure breed. She is a mix between Golden Retriever and Burmese Mountain Dog. This makes for some interesting characteristics. I used to believe that she was mostly Golden with the look of Burmese but now I think it is the other way around.

When Snow was young (about a year) and I was training for the half marathon, I would run with her. As she got older, she would just flop on the floor after a short walk. I attributed it to being out of shape but I think that it was more than that. Because Snow died from overheating on a very mild late summer day and Raya comes from the same blood line, I keep a wary eye on Raya for the same thing.

But, Raya has become my training partner of sorts. Sometimes I take a short loop and drop her off before I go out for longer. That way I don’t feel guilty about leaving her at home all the time as I put on the miles for my future hike. My plan is to slowly work her up in fitness level.

Raya has some of the exuberance of a Golden, but you have to get past the Burmese first. She has a very instinctual protection trigger. Anytime someone comes to the door she barks ferociously. She barks when she can see people outside the window. She will growl or bark when we are outside and anyone walks by.

Snow used to lay in the driveway as the school kids would walk by and they would come up and pet her. Raya will leap off the deck eight steps up, barking and snarling. I keep her inside for the expected thirty minutes of school traffic now because there is no reason to subject kids to that. She have never been violent and I don’t think she would but she is going to let you know that this is her territory.

However aside from the barking, I have never seen her act aggressive. If people ignore her, she will eventually start warming up to them. Pretty soon, she will not leave them alone. With me and others in my family she is always underfoot. The picture was taken next to the bed where she lays until I kick her out before I go to sleep. Often times, I find her against the door in the morning. I have actually come to appreciate that she can seem aggressive but really isn’t. It makes me feel like she can play a role in defense of the home without me having to worry about unwanted attacks.

The reason that I am writing today is that we took Raya to Montana. Sometimes she can be a real pain. When she excited, she can pull like a sled dog so I let her off the leash even though you are not supposed to in a national park. But there were very few people at the park anyway.

We took a short walk in the snow and Raya was herding us. She would run to the back person and then up to the front person. She was keeping us in line. I have never seen that before. Dogs were bred to have a job and she was having the time of her life doing hers.

End Your Programming Routine: A boy and his dog. I sure miss Snow because she was so loveable. But Raya is her own kind of special. She is protective, loyal and loving to her pack. My wife actually trained Snow to go get the paper every morning. She lived for that. Raya has her own job, I am just looking at how to harness it.

December 10, 2024 – So True, So True

December 10, 2024 /

I finally received my home base CB radio. It was marked as ‘for parts’ on eBay. The seller claimed that it powered up but he did not have an antenna test. It is often the case that when sellers do not have the capabilities or the experience with items that they will mark them as parts only.

So far, I have had pretty good luck buying cheap. My CB works, I think. I am able to transmit and receive. That doesn’t mean that everything is as it should be. When I key the mic, sound also comes out of the speaker. I don’t think I need that and I certainly don’t want that, but maybe that is what it is supposed to do? I am on the path of trying to find out.

There is one other thing that is wrong, the volume button is wobbly. I haven’t gotten into it to the point that I have figured out what is wrong. But, presumably something is wrong with the mount. The volume controls still works fine. Trying to figure out some information, I ran across the video below.

If you watched the video, then you would have seen that the host was trying to encourage people to be adventurous. Using your intuition, there are some problems that can be diagnosed and solved just because you are paying attention. This doesn’t have to be about electronics either. I won’t deny that it would be a lot better to have a little bit of high level theory to go along with your gumption. But, nevertheless electronics could be as simple as a fuse.

When my wife and I were on our honeymoon, we visited some of her family in Mexico. They had a microwave that was not working. I looked at it and found a fuse that was blown. We replaced it and the microwave worked once again. Everywhere we went, I was the hero that fixed the microwave. It was kind of embarrassing actually. To this day, I still do not know anything about microwaves. I didn’t even know that they had fuses. But, I looked around and found a potential problem that turned out to be the fix. All because I had some fundamental knowledge and a willingness to look.

When I look back, I kind of wish that I had studied physics instead of chemistry. In today’s silicon world, I would probably get more use from a better grasp of electronics than chemical reactions. We had a couple of weeks of circuits in general physics. I cant remember much about anything. But, this is all stuff that I can learn, especially if I keep going down the rabbit hole.

The reason I posted this video is because this philosophy applies to much more than radio repair. It just so happens that this is a weak area for me. Car problems, leaks even business problems can be approached this way. What do I know? What doesn’t seem right? Follow the trail and validate each step. If nothing looks wrong, then maybe the problem is too complicated for your knowledge level. As such, there is no harm in escalating the problem to a higher level.

Back in the early 2000s, the check engine light came on. At that point, I had more time than money. I purchased an OBDII scanner (for $450!) and plugged it in. I found out the code suggested that the gas cap was loose. Because Oregon prevented us from pumping our own gas, I had no idea what was going on in that area. I reset the code and tightened the gas cap and the problem was solved.

In many ways, I felt kind of stupid spending that kind of money for a tool that had a no cost fix. But, I still use that scanner today and even though you can buy one for $30 now, I have probably gotten my money’s worth through the years. I would have felt even stupider towing my Volvo an hour away to find out the same results. When you know, you know.

End Your Programming Routine: If something is not working you have my permission to see if you can figure out what is wrong with it. You never know when the problem is a simple fix. Look at it this way, when something is broken how can it get more broken? Just be mindful of what you are doing so you can put things as they were.

December 9, 2024 – Choose One, Or Not

December 9, 2024 /

I probably should spend less time speaking on politics. This is based on the number of times that I say it doesn’t matter. It almost could be perceived as hypocritical. What I try to do is justify why we shouldn’t and today is no different. Tune in to hear more evidence on the harmful effects of choosing sides.

December 6, 2024 – The Art of War, Conclusion

December 6, 2024 /

If you were reading along with me, then you as well have now read another ‘classic’. This is definitely the first time for me reading the Art of War. I have heard a whole lot of references to the book over the years. Now I can contribute my own opinion on it is worth to the average person.

I am kind of a funny guy. I have extreme reverence for some old things. Architecture is an example of that. But when it comes to books and media, it turns out that I am a skeptic.

Throughout my academic life, I can remember reading things like The Iliad, Shakespeare and Moby Dick. I would say that they have an important role in literature because of their existence. As far as being great works, that is definitely debatable in my opinion. Each surviving work provided a framework and story lines to supplement new work.

Sticking closer to the subject, I see Art of War as a similar comparison. If you were studying military history then this is a very important work. It has shaped military tactics and thoughts for thousands of years. But, aside from that I really don’t see a lot of value to the non-military, non-historian, modern man.

I read that there have been attempts to turn the study of Art of War into some sort of business philosophy. I fail to see the connection unless you are going to make metaphors for terrain and feudal leadership to other situations. Certain authors like Ayn Rand and George Orwell clearly are using innuendo to make a point. I really don’t believe that Sun Tzu was using military terms for guiding the modern business man, especially because this incarnation did not really exist.

Was the book worth reading? From a standpoint of checking a classic off of the list, yes. From the standpoint of getting a lot of insight from the book, no. This book is for military historians and the Sinophile. It doesn’t hurt to read these short chapters and try to rationalize what is written as a thought exercise. I wouldn’t expect it to change your life in any meaningful way however.

I know that when I started this, I talked about how this was a book of several. I heard a conflicting version that Art of War was an amalgamation of different authors. This was pieced together from oral legend and ancient text fragments. Sawyer goes through a lot of effort to justify credit of Sun Tzu to the work. You can make similar claims about the Bible whereas the difference is the application. It is the subject and not the author that makes the book valuable.

End Your Programming Routine: I was listening to the Art of Manliness podcast and I heard this statement “negative people are perceived as smarter”. I don’t think of myself as negative. But, if you are skeptical and open minded then you are much more likely to keep searching for the truth. Whereas if you just accept something at face value then you are susceptible to any rumor that you run across. Read Art of War and decide for yourself. You got my opinion.

December 5, 2024 – Not Even Close

December 5, 2024 /

The first thing that we did on the day of our arrival was to go on a hike. This is called the ‘M-trail’ at the University of Montana. It is essentially a mile up a very steep hill. I was interested to test my readiness and progression. Plus, it is like a bonus training exercise which I have been pretty lax about lately with lack of daylight and poor weather.

The M-trail goes to a giant letter M on the hillside. You get a complete look at the college as well as most of Missoula. It was very popular as we probably encountered at least fifty people going up, down and waiting at the top. Some were running, some were dogs, some were students and others were families clearly visiting for the holiday.

I did it. I wasn’t wearing a pack and I did have to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. I am not claiming to be in good shape but I think some of the strain was that we started at 3500 feet to begin with. Then we went straight up. I felt OK and maybe a little tired by the time that we were done.

The way that I looked at it though, is that I need to be able to do this ten more times with a loaded pack. The section that I am planning on hiking has some 20 mile stints between water sources. Granted, it probably won’t be this steep but the starting elevation is close.

I definitely felt it in my shins, they were sore the next day. I am not sure why exactly but I think that it has to do with rotating the foot, toes up and heel down. I am thinking that stretching movement was the cause. I am not too worried about the temporary pain but it does make me wonder if I can keep that level of strain for a week.

Clearly, I need to push myself more. It is difficult because we have no elevation to speak of. I walk the dog with a weighted pack but even then, I am only going an hour or hour and a half at a time. When I was younger, I would have dealt with it. But, at my age I don’t recover as quickly. I also noticed that I have been having some arch pain. My wife thinks that it could be the beginnings of plantar fasciitis. That is also something that you don’t want to come up on the trail, miles from anything.

It was a good check to see where I was at with readiness. Clearly I need to do more and fortunately, I have time to keep at it. It those days that the weather is nasty and I didn’t get out early enough that I need to not lose because I don’t have much time to waste.

End Your Programming Routine: You cannot tell from the picture, but my wife is in it. I was kind of torn between staying with her and pushing myself. Ultimately, I decided to continue on and wait at the top if she was going to make it. Believe it or not, the trail does continue to go up. We stopped at the official terminus but multiple people we met kept going up. It makes me wish I had something like this for my training purposes.

December 4, 2024 – Keeping It Real

December 4, 2024 /

What can I say, we all need inspiration. It is especially true when the environment changes and you didn’t welcome it. Today I talk about two different streams of changes and how that has impacted the way business was done. It is sometimes overwhelming to change when that is not what you want to do.

December 3, 2024 – Off Season Investigation

December 3, 2024 /

You probably have gone on vacation and fallen in love with the place you were at. I know that I have. But, vacationing and living are two different things. First, it is likely that you are visiting at the ideal time of year. Can you deal with living somewhere on the less than ideal time of year?

November 29, 2024 – The Art of War, Employing Spies

November 29, 2024 /

We have reached the end of another classic tome. You will get my full opinion on the overall book next week. If you have been following along, then you probably can guess where I am going to go with this. But for now, we have one more chapter to get through.

I get the sense that what Sun Tzu is implying is that the use of spies will help shorten the war. But it is the beginning of the chapter that caught my eye. Continuous fighting is extremely costly. First and foremost, it effects the men that are fighting. That is obvious. But, then it effects the families and the economy and the morale and the country overall.

Let us just look at things for a minute. Who benefits from twenty years of war? Was it the soldiers? No. Was it the families? No. Was it society? No. So I ask again, who benefits from the twenty years of war in Afghanistan? Was it freedom? No, we have less than ever. Was it the Afghans/Iraqis? No, they are right back where they started.

Remember when I talked about right for the wrong reasons? Here we are. This is not hindsight. It was less than four years ago that the US withdrew from Afghanistan and the writing was on the wall years before that. Sun Tzu wants spies to shorten war. For some reason, others do not want the war to end.

Who might that be? If it is not good for the people or society then who could possibly want it to continue? The only answer is the people that profit from war. That would be first and foremost the military industrial complex enabled and sustained by politicians. Such an insidious relationship where they wrap themselves in an American flag. They are there for the soldier and freedom.

The politicians use their Newspeak to point fingers at the other political side and the fictitious enemy. You know that it cannot be true when all the news stories cover children following soldiers around asking for candy and the people are so warm and welcoming. The perception given is that people are liberated and happy when inexplicitly the war continues.

There is certainly a time to fight. The very best reason is when you are invaded and you definitely don’t want it. So Poland in 1939 is a pretty good reason. Sometimes getting provoked is a pretty good reason. But like I was taught in Sunday school, do unto others that you would have done onto you. Or how about grade school? Two wrongs don’t make a right.

What amazes me is the approval rating of congress has been perennially less than 30%. And yet the re-election rate of incumbents is over 80% for all positions (house and senate). So let us say that I disapprove of the job the senate has done but yet I have sent my same senator for six straight terms. Is it always someone else’s fault? Logic would have to say no. Maybe, just maybe I shouldn’t keep re-electing the problem.

Unfortunately, when military actions are taken without a declaration of war, the system is broken. And when the system is broken, nothing can be trusted. You cant actually expect someone to change a system when all involved ignore the rules.

I am not going argue that intelligence is key to making the best decisions. It is really hard to say that Sun Tzu includes that vast topic under the umbrella of spies or not. It doesn’t really seem written that way. So again, if we stay myopically under spies, I cant think of relevance in the civilian world.

End Your Programming Routine: I should talk that that I am advocating for power to the people. I don’t even believe that we can vote our way out of this. At the same time, I cannot agree with Sun Tzu more that war is costly. It is why it should not be entered lightly and should end as quickly as possible. We absolutely get caught up in taking sides on a conflict where we are always the losers.