Actively Disengaged

Seven out of 10 workers have "checked out" at work or are "actively disengaged,"
from LA times, quoting a Gallop Poll




I love that term, “actively disengaged.” Not only do they hate their job, they are actively hostile towards it.

Well duh. Anyone who's been in the working isn't surprised. People are treated like crap, used and abused by employers. No wonder so many are just putting in their time. You know where else people are doing time? Prison.

Give people a living wage, responsibility, control over their environment, rewards for doing well, reasonable work hours and maybe they'll be a bit more engaged.

The only logical response to companies that treat their employees like disposable commodities is hostility. After all, those companies are hostile to the workers.

-Sixbears

Chemical Weapons?

The United States Government has decided to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war. The “red line” that was supposedly crossed was the use of chemical weapons. Does this sound like Iraq's “weapons of mass destruction” to anyone else? Evidence is weak, and we aren't even sure which side is responsible.

Could someone explain to me why a Syrian civil war is worth American tax dollars or even American lives? These things have a way of escalating.

Nobody remembers history so we are doomed to repeat it. The Syrian problem has already involved its neighbors. How long will Israel be on the sidelines? Russia? China? Who knows where this will end?

It could end in a world war, that's where.

History could show up what to avoid, but if we can't even remember the Iraq war, there's not much hope of learning from earlier conflicts.

-Sixbears

Boat building hints

Someone asked me how I got the bottom panel on my boat project secured to the sides. It does have a pretty good bend to it.

I piled up some lumber in the middle of the plywood panel and put some weight on the ends to give it at least some bend in the right direction.

The glue was applied and the panel squared up on the back. Working stern to bow, I screwed it down with very hefty decking screws. The long screws were able to pull the plywood down into position.

Once the glue dried, I removed the decking screws and replaced them with shorter brass screws. The hole and divot left by the decking screw made a good pilot hole for the brass screws. It would be labor saving to just use one screw type to do the job, but the brass screws weren't up to the task by themselves. The decking screws were able to pull the panel down, but left a lot of exposed screw inside the boat.

The glue could have probably held the panel in place by itself, but I'm a belt and suspenders man, so hence the brass screws.

Later the whole thing will be reinforced with fiberglass tape on the outside. There will also be epoxy fillets on the inside of the hull. So maybe I'm a belt, suspenders, a rope and safety pin sort of builder.

I do not want that hull to spring apart the first time I hit a rock with it.

-Sixbears

Franconia Notch by bike

Why should the tourists have all the fun? My daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, explored the Franconia Notch by bike. It's funny, I drive though the notch all the time, but it's been years since I stopped to check out the sights.



The bike trail is incredible. We left from the top of the notch and did the whole length of the park. The bike trail is away from the highway. Even though it was a weekend and the park was busy, we often had the trail to ourselves.


We positioned the van on south end of the notch. That way we had a bit more downhill than uphill. There was still plenty of uphill for my tastes. Great day and a good time.

-Sixbears

A couple hours for the boat

It's starting to look a bit more like a boat. In fact, flip in over and put it in the water and it'll behave like a boat. That's progress in my book.

It's rough. The extra glue needs to be cleaned up, holes filled, and the bottom fiberglassed.

All that so I can flip it over and build the cabin, seats, and so on.

Right now there's a tarp covering it to keep everything dry. As time and breaks in the weather allow, I'll whisk the tarp off and play with the boat some more. Good fun.

It's a nice break from all the depressing news out there.

-Sixbears

Antique Solar Panels

My original 8 solar panels are over 20 years old. I guess that makes them antiques. The 20 year warranty is expired, but that probably doesn't matter much. The company that made them and the company that sold them to me are both out of business.

More importantly, they pretty much look and function as well as the day they were installed. I have done nothing to them. How many things keep functioning for 20 years, day in day out, in the heat of summer and cold of winter?

As for the rest of the system, the battery bank has been chanced a couple times. That's to be expected as lead acid batteries have only so many cycles in them. The charge controller was replaced, not because it failed, but because I upgraded to better technology. The old charger has been saved as a backup.

The inverter is an old 2425 Trace. It's original. It converts 24 volt DC to AC house current. It also functions as a battery charger. This is long past its warranty date, but keeps on ticking. It works hard as I'm powering a ½ horse submersible pump and power tools with it -along with the rest of the house stuff.

The only other thing that's been replaced on the whole solar electric system is one battery cable on the battery bank. That was my fault. Once of the connections was loose and improperly corrosion protected. The connector had a lot of corrosion on it so I replaced the whole cable.

The cost of the system was paid off in energy savings in 7 years. The piece of mind from having a good power supply independent of the grid was immediate. When times were tight, it was nice to know the lights were going to stay on.

My guess is that my grandkids will one day have to figure out what to do with those old solar panels.

-Sixbears

The linchpin of preps

A linchpin is that little pin that keeps the wheels from falling off -both in actuality and metaphorically.

Everyone who's at all into being prepared has their pet prep. For some it's all about security. They may become a bit over prepared in the gun department. Of course, if someone comes to shoot you and you don't have a gun, you are drastically under prepared.

For some it's all about their bug out vehicle. There are some amazing ones out there. Anyone who grew up liking cars and trucks will be temped by the quest for the baddest bug out vehicle.

Then there's food. One well know survival blogger is big on 3 years of food storage, as that's what you need before you achieve 5 years of food. I like to eat so having a lot of meals packed away isn't bad. Really nice to have a lot of food when 5 friends and relatives stop in for a 5 year visit. The hope is that they'll move on after eating cracked wheat month after month.

One of my biggies is potable water. Three very uncomfortable days without it and you are dead. So I'm all about having a secure supply and good water filtration.

The list could go on and on, but I won't. Suffice it to say there are lot of important preps and everyone has a favorite for most important. We tend to focus on those we like best.

Consider that there may be something even more important than the stuff you own. Even more important than your knowledge and skills. Adaptability. Things never go down the way we plan or expect.

The guy with a great survival shelter, stocked to the max, may suddenly lose it in a divorce -or a fire. (the divorce is nastier as fire might spare something) You could have the perfect prepper set up, but find yourself thousands of miles away and unable to get home. That's when the ability to quickly assess the situation and adapt to it is crucial.

So if I have to pick a linchpin, it would be adaptability. One never knows what the universe might deliver.

A buddy of mine says he isn't too sure if there is a god, but feels certain that there must be a devil. There must be a powerful supernatural force against him as all the crap that has come his way is far outside random chance. He should be grateful. The guy's gotten really good at rolling with the punches. Practice, practice, practice.



-Sixbears