Too Many Gizmos

Sometimes I go down the rabbit hole of YouTube prepper channels. Ho boy. There’s a lot of gizmos for sale. A number of these channels are little more than commercials. (check the affiliate links below!) 

I love gadgets but even I know better than to stock up on all the prepper toys out there. 

What people really need is knowledge and skills. Then they have to practice to keep those skills sharp. 

Focus on the essentials. Fire to keep warm and to cook. Pure water to drink. Food. Decent clothing and shelter to protect from the elements. Know your environment. What conditions are you likely to have to deal with? Rain? Cold? Heat? Wind? You get the idea. Those basic needs can be satisfied fairly cheaply. Heck, if you have the skills it’s possible to go into the forest with basically nothing and survive. 

However, there are a few tools that make things a lot easier. A decent knife is a big one. Keep it sharp. 

You might need to cut some cordage, so let’s add paracord to the list. It’s useful for so many things -if you’ve learned a few basic knots. 

Being able to boil water is a big deal. Get something big enough to at least heat a couple of cups of water. Not only is it useful for cooking, boiled water is much safer to drink. 

Making fire is essential. I happen to like larger sized ferro rods. They can be soaking wet and still be able to put out a spark. Turning that spark into a blazing fire is another of those skill things. Don’t just throw one in your go bag and call it good. Practice. 

Personally, I like a good sized heavy duty rain poncho. I’ve even successfully strung one up with some  paracord and made a decent shelter out of mine. It kept the rain off and I got a decent night’s sleep. 

As you can see my choices tend to be fairly simple. I didn’t include stuff like the stove that also charges your cell phone or other gizmos like that. 

-Sixbears

Trip to Lowe’s

Building supply centers excite my lovely wife. Her imagination runs wild. She gets all kinds of home improvement ideas. 

We decided to get the 5 cubic foot freezer that was on sale. That’s the purchase we agreed on . . . but then there’s the old sink in the bathroom. My lovely wife wasn’t wrong it does need replacing. Apparently it needs replacing real soon as there’s a new sink in the bathroom waiting to be installed. 

Oh well. 

. . . and to think I balked at the $90 delivery fee. Picking it myself cost over $150 -if you include the new sink and lunch, plus a few gallons of gasoline for the trip. Good thing everything was on sale. 

At any rate, it was a fine day out and I really don’t mind doing these projects. That sink install will be a good rainy day activity. 

I’m just lucky she didn’t like any of the new style kitchen lights. I made the mistake of saying I didn’t like the old kitchen light all that much. Now it’s another mission for my spouse. Eventually she’ll discover a new light she likes. 

-Sixbears

Summer ain’t over

Sure, it’s getting down into the 40s at night, but summer isn’t over. Sure, the kids are back in school, but summer isn’t over. Sure, the darkness comes earlier, but summer isn’t over.

It’ can’t be. 

I don’t have all my summer projects done yet. 

To be fair summer officially has a few weeks left. There’s time to get a few more things done. On the plus side some projects have been completed. My health is better than it’s been in some time. That right there is reason enough to celebrate. 

If we are lucky we’ll get another beautiful fall. It’s pretty here in the mountains at any time of year but the fall is special. There’s a reason people come from all over the world to experience it. Even though I’ve lived in the area most of life I’ve never become jaded. The beauty is still appreciated. 

-Sixbears

Battery Boom!

This happened during a cold winter some years back. A guy from work was tightening up the battery terminals on his plow truck. He dropped a wrench and it just happened to land on both the negative and positive terminals. The wrench welded itself to the battery, shorted it out and the battery exploded. The guy’s hand needed medical attention. He’s lucky he didn’t lose any fingers or eyes in the fiasco. 

So now I maintain a battery bank of a dozen batteries in my basement. Each battery is bigger and has a lot more energy than that guy’s plow truck battery. You really really really do not want to short out the whole battery bank. With that in mind all my metal battery tools have rubber handles or are wrapped in electrical tape. 

Electric cars have more electrical capacity than my modest home battery bank. Not only that they have lithium batteries which are more dangerous than lead acid. When an electric car catches fire it’s a bad time indeed. 

Regular car fires are bad enough. There’s gasoline, of course, but the rubber tires and plastic body parts burn energetically. That pales compared to an electric car. Typically it can require tens of thousands of gallons of water and many hours to extinguish one. 

I’m glad I retired from the fire service before electric cars became common. There are special extinguishers being developed but they aren’t in common usage. In the mean time I’m using a rule of thumb when it comes to electric car fires. If I can see the car that’s on fire -I’m too close and need to back off. 

-Sixbears

To freeze or not to freeze

I’ve been thinking about our food storage situation. It’s always evolving as needs change. One thing I haven’t owned for sometime is a stand alone freezer. Years ago I had a big side by side freezer and took part in one of those frozen meat delivery services. That only lasted about a year. The food was okay, but not really that great a deal. 

To make matters worse the freezer wasn’t very efficient. Even keeping it in a cool basement didn’t seem to reduce the electrical usage all that much. Eventually it just sat there empty and gathering dust. I sold it soon after. A friend who owned a restaurant had their freezer suddenly die and needed one in a hurry. They made a good offer on mine and brought a crew over to haul it away. 

The other day my lovely wife and I were in a big box store and they have a nice little 4.9 cubic foot chest freezer on sale. It’s tempting. One of the interesting features is that it can also be used as a refrigerator -all depending on the temperature setting. I might even replace my regular fridge one day. Those freezers are really efficient when used that way. Even if I don’t like it as a freezer there is that option. 

It would be nice to take advantage of bulk sales, plus hunting season is just around the corner.

-Sixbears

Bean Hole Chili

There’s a guy in town who throws a big party every year about this time. The main event is a bean hole chili he puts together. Saturday is the prep day. My lovely wife and I gave him a hand getting everything ready. I chopped a lot of onions. Once the fire pit was ready and the cast iron kettle loaded up we lowered the pot into the fire. To move the loaded kettle it takes a very long lever and a lot of chain. 

It wasn’t all work and no play. Folks brought a few dishes to share and we hand plenty of time to visit. 

Sunday was the big day. I’m guessing there was around forty or so people there. The chili was amazing and there were plenty of side dishes. A few musicians brought instruments and jammed together. 

We met some old friends and made new friends. Some folk come from far away for this event. We are lucky to have someone who is willing to host this sort of get together. 

I can’t believe how much work he puts into it. Not only that, next weekend he’s making another bean hold chili at a county fair. 

We’ve already be invited to next year’s event. 

-Sixbears

In the dark without glasses

On the spur of the moment my lovely wife and I decided to go fishing in the evening. We were supposed to meet up with friends but my buddy threw his back out. So much for that. He called just as we were about to start the car.

We decided to drive to a nearby lake that we hadn’t been to in a while. The place was empty. It’s a beautiful lake nestled in the mountains. The only cottages on the lake are on the other side in a private compound. 

I keep a couple of compact fishing poles in the back of the car just in case we feel the need to do some fishing. By then it was starting to get dark. It was great fun trying to tie fishing line in the dark without my reading glasses. Apparently the fingers remember what to do and it didn’t take too long to set up both poles. 

Did we catch anything? Naw, but it was a beautiful evening. The loons were doing their crazy calls and we watched the stars come out. 

Sometimes the best experiences are spontaneous. 

-Sixbears

Beef Shortage

I went to the farmers’ market where I normally get some of my meat. They farmer was totally out of beef. He said the national herd is small right now and he sells out quickly. 

I jokingly said that he could have taken a few of the neighbor’s cattle so I could get some hamburg. A look of horror came over his face.

“That’s rustling. They’ll hang you for that,” he said.

I replied, “Is that really a thing in this day and age?”

“I had two stolen from my herd. That’s a lot of money you know,” he said. 

He did have plenty of lamb and pork. Unfortunately nobody at my house really eats lamb. One person in the household doesn’t eat pork but I got some chops for those of us who do. 

Let’s just say I picked up more veggies from him than I normally do. 

-Sixbears

Cross Country Trips

So far I’ve tentatively planned two cross country trips for 2025. If you’ve been paying attention you know that one of them is the Scooter Cannonball from Oregon to Texas. Since I’d be leaving from northern NH it’s a heck of a trip to Oregon. The current plan is to haul my scooter in the back of my daughter’s truck. That will be a trip across the top of the US. We may cut across Canada for part of it. 

After the Cannonball I’m looking at two options. There’s a chance a good friend may pick me up in TX and we’d meander our way back home to NH. Another option is take the scooter home and do a lot of camping along the way. That’s up in the air. 

The Northwest is the one part of the country I’ve never been to. The best time to visit, in my opinion, is during the summer. Most summers it’s hard for me to leave my place here on the lake in NH. The Cannonball is a good excuse to get out there. 

Before that my lovely wife and I are thinking of going to California to visit family out there. Last time we went was by train. That was fun, but there’s not a lot of time to experience things along the way. With that in mind we are thinking about driving across the country in our own meandering way. We’d probably come back using a different route too. 

I’m looking forward to seeing how things really are on the ground. You won’t learn anything flying over on a jet. 

-Sixbears

Not in Stores

My lovely wife and I were down to North Conway New Hampshire doing some shopping. There are a lot of stores. Many people come from out of state just to shop there. New Hampshire’s lack of a sales tax helps a lot too. 

There are a number of outlets that cater to the outdoor recreation crowd. I was looking for a couple of items that used to be pretty common but nobody in town had any. The L. L Bean outlet was a major disappointment. It’s probably about 98% clothing store now. Forget about buying most camping gear. We once bought a tent there but I didn’t see any this time. 

Much as I like to support brick and mortar stores they have to have what I’m looking for. When we got home I went on-line and quickly ordered what I wanted. That’s fine for some things, but some items are best when bought off the shelf. 

I’m a big guy and getting anything that fits is a trial. One shoe store manager explained that the suppliers won’t even ship the larger sizes to stores. They save those for on-line shopping. Clothing and shoe sizes only get you into the ball park -maybe. 

What I end up doing is ordering my best guess, wait for the item to come in, then half the time ship it back. It’s a waste of time and energy all around. 

-Sixbears

Invading Russia

It’s darn interesting to listen to Russians complain about being invaded by Ukraine. They are astonished that in this day and age one country can just go out and invade another. The lack of self awareness is astonishing. Then again it’s not like Russia has a monopoly on people blinded by propaganda. 

Ordinary Russian citizens are still vacationing in Crimea. Never mind that popular beaches are right next to military targets. Never mind that stray munitions have killed people on the beach. I’m not sure if this is an example of propaganda, normalcy bias, or a mix of the two. 

There’s a lot of speculation on why Ukraine is invading. I’m not privy to Ukrainian strategic thinking. There are probably a lot of reasons. The invasion is drawing more experienced troops from other areas of the front. They’ve captured a lot of very young conscripts for future prisoner exchanges. Supply lines are disrupted. A tremendous amount of political pressure is on Putin. 

One item not too many analysts are talking about is the effect on agriculture. The lands being occupied are the most productive in Russia. Most of Russia has poor soil and climate but the Kursk region is an exception. It’s harvest time and a significant amount of grain won’t be going to market. 

There’s one thing I’m asking myself: where are the F-16 jets? The jets that have been used in the invasion appear to be their old Soviet era planes. So where are the new jets? Are they holding them back for another operation? 

On thing for sure, the invasion changes a lot of political thinking. Russians are waking up to the fact that war goes both ways and it’s not pretty. Putin better have a food taster and stay away from open windows.

-Sixbears

Three Cheers for the Humans

When I want to relax some evenings I listen to a lot of YouTube story channels. Generally I’ll go with a  S/F story. They tend to run somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes. It’s just the right length when I want to take a break but don’t want to commit to a movie. 

When I was getting into those stories it didn’t take too long to discover something about the narration. The best ones had human narrators. It wasn’t long before the AI narrated channels were identified and avoided. 

Both humans and AI make errors. That’s to be expected. After all, to err is human. The AI errors stuck out as being weird. They weren’t the sort of errors that humans make. No doubt, over time, the machines will learn to do a better job. 

I’ll still prefer the humans. There’s something emotionally flat about AI. It’s something you might not pick up in the first few minutes, but after a while it’s noticeable. Humans bring some hard to quantify qualities to story telling. I’ll always support the humans over the machines.

Just for fun, here’s one of the channels I listen to: https://www.youtube.com/@AgroSquerril  I get a kick out of how the narrator even dresses up for the part. While most of these stories aren’t exactly high art, they are entertaining. 

-Sixbears

Still running air filters

I’ve been running a couple air filters in my house. There’s plenty of pollen in the air and we also have a woodsy hint of burning Canadian forest. The filters help quite a bit. 

They would take some modification to be useful during a radioactive fallout event. The idea is to flood a room or a house with clean filtered air. The trick is to have the indoor space at a higher air pressure than the outside. 

It’s similar to the way self contained breathing apparatus works in the Fire Service. The old ones worked like a scuba mask. As you drew in breath a diaphragm would trip a valve allowing air to flow from the tank. The downside: if the mask did not fit perfectly you could draw in toxic smoke through the gaps. The newer ones kinda work like that but with one extra feature. The mask is under a constant pressure, like a cpap, so that any gaps in the mask fit would cause air to blow out the gaps. Sure beats sucking in nasty stuff.

So here your room or house is like the inside of the firefighter’s mask. It’s at a higher pressure than the outside. Any gaps or cracks in the room would blow the radioactive particles out. If your structure is close to air tight a simple one way valve would exhaust the stale air allowing it to be replaced with fresh. 

Back in the 70’s there were some pretty simple designs for air filters. One used toilet paper rolls, big metal juice cans and a fan. 

Of course, the trick is to some way to power your air filter, which is a whole ‘nother subject.

-Sixbears

Another Doctor’s Visit

So I’m 66 and on Medicare. Now that I have decent enough medical insurance I’m keeping my doctor’s appointments. 

It also helps that I have a doctor I actually get along with. There haven’t been too many of those over the years. Too many of my former doctors appear to have never heard of the “Do no harm” pledge. Then there’s the doctor I saw when I was 35. He told me I’d never make it to 45. 

My doctor’s visit on Wednesday went much much better than that. It’s nice to hear a doctor say that I’m doing “fantastic!” How sweet is that? Not to shabby for an older fat guy. 

Oh yeah, about the fat guy part. I’m working on that too with a doctor’s supervision. I made some progress. My clothes fit looser. The driver’s seats in my cars are more comfortable too. It’s like the seats can slide back a few more inches now -but it’s not the seats, it’s me. 

Anyway, I’m encouraged. There’s plenty of more stuff I’d like to do while on this pretty blue marble of a planet.

-Sixbears

Stupid Credit Card Companies

My lovely wife and I eliminated all but one of our credit cards. That one is truly only for emergencies. 

It didn’t take long but we just got a preapproved credit card in the mail. The terms of the card were awful, combining a yearly fee with a high interest rate. One of the reasons we got rid of the credit cards in the first place was due to a jump in interest rates. 

Now we are running on debit cards, cash and checks. Yes, checks. I’m a boomer. Some people think having to deal with a check is a hostile act. That’s cool. I actually write checks to one company knowing they hate to have to deposit them. It’s one of those companies I have to deal with but don’t much like. 

I’ve no payment apps on my phone. Last year my PayPal account got hacked. It was soon straightened out, but that’s all I needed to eliminate them too. 

Actually, I do a lot of “business” in the barter and gift economies. It’s a win for the little guys and doesn’t leave a paper trail. 

Money is something for use outside of one’s tribe.

-Sixbears

Appliance Gambling

It’s no secret that most major appliances are no longer built to go the distance. The Maytag repairman is no longer a lonely bored guy. Actually, I bought a Maytag washing machine once and it was the worse I ever owned. Little did I know they were being made in China at the time and were coasting on their old reputation. This one’s big problem was a recurring transmission oil leak. The laundry room floor would get covered in sticky goo and heaven help you if it got on clothes. The repairman just topped off the oil then threw the empty jug in the woods. My woods. By the time I noticed what a crappy job he did the guy had moved out of town. 

So now my current front loader machine is on its way out. Over the years I’ve performed numerous repairs on it but eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns. On the bright side I was able to stretch its life beyond the 5 – 7 years of most washing machines. 

Unfortunately, I really didn’t have a new machine in this years budget. Next year we should be in much better shape. However, clothes have to get washed between now and then. The local dealer in used appliances had a few machines. For less than half the price of the cheapest new ones I got a clean used washing machine, delivery and installation, and removal of the old. 

If you really want a decent machine get the same brands your local laundromat uses. Of course, something like a Speed Queen will go for around $1200 or so. Ouch! Then again: quality only hurts once. 

-Sixbears

Honda PCX Vs Honda PCX

There was a surprise knock on my door. One of my cousins, who hasn’t been to my house in years, was at the door. He just picked up a scooter, a 2023 Honda PCX. He knew I had a 2013 PCX and wanted to ask some scooter questions. 

His scooter was a dealership hold over from the previous year. While it’s essentially new, it was missing the owner’s manual. The dealership promised they’d get him one but you know how that goes. In the mean time he though he’d pick my brain a bit. 

I was curious to see what changes Honda did over a ten year period. Honda tends to do incremental improvements. The first thing I noticed is that the tires were wider on the newer scooter. They probably will wear better and provide better traction on gravel roads. The other big change is that it has all LED lights and more streamlined directionals. The instrument cluster has been updated. It also has a simpler yet better parking brake. The old style parking brake fails all the time and is nearly impossible to fix correctly. Of course, there are slight changes to the body panels. 

While it’s a slightly improved bike it’s not worth upgrading -as far as I’m concerned. 

My cousin and I went or a great little ride together and my older scooter didn’t have any trouble keeping up -even with me on it. 

-Sixbears

No Bad Weather

There’s a saying: there’s no bad weather, just bad gear. There are some variations on the saying. I found multiple sources with different claimed origins. At any rate I’m sure it’s from somewhere that gets a lot of rain. 

Right now my home town feels like it’s part of the New England rain forest. It’s hard to get decent enough weather to mow the lawn. It sure grows well with all the rain. 

Gardens are a mixed bag. Some things are doing well -others, not so much. I’ve noticed that large potatoes have mushy centers. That’s caused by too much water, or so I’m told. One of the issues is that when it’s raining the sun isn’t shining. Plants need sun too. 

My solar electric system has had an interesting summer. There are days when the panels are generating power like crazy. Other days I have to rely heavily on the battery bank to get us through. Now and then it’s been necessary to charge the battery bank off the grid. 

So back to my gear. I’m a big fan of decent rain ponchos. Don’t bother with those thin flimsy ones that self destruct in a light breeze. Get something heavy enough to do double duty as a tent ground cloth if necessary. The poncho is easy to throw on and off for quick trips outside. 

What I’m lacking is something suitable for wearing on the scooter. I’ve a decent Columbia rain jacket but it’s a tad tight. Good thing I’m losing weight. That still leaves me in need of a decent pair of rain pants. It would be great to have something easy to slip on and off over my regular clothes.

Anyway, judging by the change in our weather patterns, it won’t hurt to have more rain gear. 

-Sixbears

Scooter Plans Moving Along

The Scooter Cannonball plans are moving along. There have been a couple of major developments. One of my daughters is definitely driving me and the scooter to the Northwest coast. That’s a lucky break. Seaside Oregon is a long long way from northern New Hampshire. The road trip out there should be fun. 

The second thing is reserving my hotels for the event. That took a huge chunk of change. I had toyed with the idea of spending some time in campgrounds. However, after long days in the saddle a climate controlled room with a shower will be hugely appreciated. I can also lighten up the bike by not having all kinds of camping gear with me. 

I’m debating on splitting the room costs with other riders. However, for right now, having my own personal space and schedule might be worth the cost. 

The destination cities and official hotel list came out on August 3rd. A couple of days later some of the hotels were already booked up. Considering there’s 300 riders registered this year that’s no surprise. Add in more rooms for the event organizers. That add some more rooms for people’s individual support crews. I’m glad I didn’t try to do this booking a few weeks before the event. 

So how do I get home after the event? South Padre Island Texas is still about 2500 road miles or so from where I live. Right now I’m toying with two options. Option one: a good friend picks me and the scooter up and takes us home. A buddy has friends who actually live on South Padre and he’d love to drive down and connect with them. 

The second option is to have my camping gear shipped to my sister-in-law’s place in Texas. From her place I could take my time going home and camp most nights on the way back. There are some places along the way that would pretty cool to visit. It’s a big country with a lot of things to see. 

Progress is being made. There haven’t been any show stoppers yet. 

-Sixbears

Disaster Indicator

No, I’m not talking about the stock market. Market fluctuations barely ruffle my Zen. They happen. It’s all part of Capitalism. If a market crash causes you to miss meals you’ve been investing in the wrong things. Maybe you should have invested in rice and beans. 

The real disaster indicator is when Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel comes to your town. If he shows up wearing a rain coat get the heck out of Dodge and head for high ground. 

The stock market is just a bunch of numbers. Storms will directly kill you. Unfortunately there have already been deaths from the storm known as Debby. There are going to be more. Flooding is the main killer during tropical storms and hurricanes. The storm is dumping record amounts of rainfall in places that have bad drainage during the best of times. These are not the best of times. 

Monday evening, here in northern New Hampshire, we had some impressive rain storms -again. A trip that normally takes a half hour took a full hour. Visibility was bad and we’ve had numerous road washouts this summer. 

At least I already live in hills so there’s no need to head for them. 

-Sixbears

Wife’s Close Call

My lovely wife had a close call on the way home from town. She fell asleep at the wheel. She woke up to the sound of tansys slapping against the car as she careened across a field at 60 mph. In the confusion her foot hit the clutch instead of the brake so the car wasn’t slowing down. She was able to avoid a metal highway reflector and steered back onto the road. 

She was fine. 

The next day we backtracked her path. That short section of field was the only place where it was possible to drive off the road with disaster happening. The rest of the 15 mile route she would have gone down steep embankments, into the river, crashed into trees or rocks. Her guardian angel must has PTSD.

Even the car didn’t make out too badly. There’s a loose heat shield that rattles now. It’s an easy fix. All the plant debris plugged up the cabin filter. The last thing is that the front of the car is covered in pounded up tansy bits. 

The car being in good shape is just a bonus. If the car would have been totaled but my lovely wife okay it would still have been a good day. 

-Sixbears

Drone video: Lyndonville flooding

For four years I traveled this road several times a week. It was a pretty good shortcut that shaved about 15 - 20 minutes on my commute to Lyndon State College. I know the road well but the damage is so extensive it took me a bit to recognize the location. 

Northern Vermont has lost a lot of roads, bridges, and buildings to flooding. When you get a month's worth of rain in a day something has to give. One big problem is that the rains just aren't letting up. 

Here in northern NH we've also had a lot of damage from flooding, but not quite as bad as northern VT. 

-Sixbears

The Lysteria Shuffle

Lysteria bacteria is a pretty nasty food contaminant. There’s been a lot of food recalls recently. Cold cuts with lysteria is a more recent one.

I went into my local grocery store the other day. The deli counter was shut down. All meats had been thrown out. The deli section was isolated from the rest of the store using big heavy plastic sheets. There was a sign about how they take customer safety seriously. They were in the middle of a deep clean. 

Seeing the empty shelves gave me a flashback to the pandemic when certain foods were unavailable. However, just like then, there are work arounds. Fortunately I have a fair bit of canned meats in storage. It also isn’t that hard to cut up roast chicken into sandwich meats. 

If it was just me I’d be perfectly happy to live mostly on vegetable proteins. It’s not that practical right now as someone in my household has to eat a low fiber diet. Believe it or not, some people have digestive issues from fiber. That person normally eats most of the cold cuts that come in the house. 

There seems to be a lot more news stories about contaminated foods recently. I guess we even have to worry about heavy metals in chocolate. That’s just one more example. Fortunately my weekly stops at the local farmers’ market keeps us well supplied with good food. It really helps to know the farms where you food comes from. 

At least none of them have lysteria issues.

-Sixbears