Around the Corner, A New Year

In just a few days there'll be one more year into the past. For better or worse whatever hasn't been done isn't and it is time to look ahead. This isn't some rosy post about resolutions. I have one goal for 2018. There are mileposts along the way but just one goal.

I haven't exactly kept it a secret that I've been at least thinking about a long hike over the last couple years. There's been experimental hikes, planning, and now training. Miles and miles of walking at a brisk pace while under thirty or more pounds of gear. 2018 contains quite the adventure; some would view it as a frivolous, selfish, grueling ordeal of privation. They're probably the same people that have worked the same underappreciated position at the same job for twenty years out of apathy and terror.

By the same token, the same "traditional career" jobs will be forever closed to someone like me. Ageist managers don't want someone who isn't young and impressionable. Managers who have attained their position by Peter Principle would be in fear for their jobs based on my life experiences alone. Add in a successful thru-hike, the perceived tenacity, and the rest would know it's just a matter of time before I shoulder past them up the ranks. Further, I would be miserable trading in the fresh air, trees, and mountains for a cubicle, substandard computer and petty coworkers. Physical labor jobs might be temporarily satisfying, but only for busywork. Abuse, anxiety, and depression have all taken their toll, any of those jobs would just be a disaster waiting to happen. If society had a use for people like me, I haven't found it yet.

But all that will be something to remember in a fistful of months. In a few days, it will be a new year and the opportunities have just to be revealed. I have projects on hold until after the trail unless I want to work on them from the wilderness. I think I'll be busy walking, eating, being tired, hangry, wet, cold, hot, astonished, awestruck, inspired, motivated and present.

A long hike is a valuable reboot. It becomes a chance to ground, have a simple goal with simple tools and get back to taking each day as it comes. To meet a challenge and surmount it with the resources you either had the foresight to bring or the fortitude to carry.

Another week closer to the Trail

So there's been a move out of our comfort zone and into a motel room not unlike some lodgings I'm likely to find along the AT next year. It's surprisingly roomy and if I had been on the trail for a week, practically palatial. Even though this is in a fairly urban area, and our room has a solid signal for WiFi, the bandwidth per device is throttled. So, just like being out in the wild with random WiFi and trying to get vlogs uploaded, it does take some planning. An eight-minute vlog produced at 720p instead of 1080p does save time, but I am finding even that, in these conditions still needs about two hours to upload. It's something other trail vloggers have run into and is another reason I'm packing a tablet. I can plug it in, open Youtube in a Chrome tab, start the upload and it happily chips way at the gigabytes with no further attention. That still leaves my cellphone in my pocket for running around town to gather supplies.

Video uploads are still a sticky problem as there are long sections with no WiFi to be found. I'm not going to pony up for a wildly expensive unlimited data plan and second smartphone on a second network with another expensive unlimited data plan. What will add to the challenge is my idea of doing neros instead of zeros. I want to pick a place near a resupply, before and after. I want to get into town early, find WiFi, a place to charge my brick and leave my tablet while I get groceries. I would like to think I will find those sorts of places easily enough. When done, just head out for the nearest camp spot and binge on town food there.

I have now repeatedly hiked a nearby preserve. It is typical Florida, generally pancake flat. There are some sections of trail torn up by feral pigs, crisscrossed with roots or other features which make sections of the loop trail I've been using slightly more interesting. I'm still waiting for a good cold forecast to reserve the (one) campsite there so I can make sure my clothing and sleeping options are good ideas. I'm also dealing with some plantar fasciitis, so it's good to get that figured out and a pattern established to maintain it. There's no ice machine at this motel, but I have a steel water bottle that I took a little water out of and put in the freezer. I'm rolling my foot on it as I type.

60 Days From The Appalachian Trail

Surprisingly, the easiest part of prepping to start my first thru-hike was working on the gear. My selections have already been finalized and most of it has been tested. The section hike I did on the Appalachian Trail this year back in the summer wasn't all that informative. However, it was a classroom wherein I had the opportunity to hone some skills and learn a few things that really bugged me. For example, while my pack was one of the best on the market, it made too much noise for me and I had to constantly adjust straps. I was also wearing a front pack and in the summer it blocked too much air flow around my torso and I was extra hot as a result. It also added extra stress to my shoulders. Instead of adding functionality it enabled me to just carry too much stuff which just added to the weight. So I would say the experience was more one of fine-tuning than anything else.

Now I am doing semi-daily training hikes which have landed me in the camp of plantar fasciitis, so I am doing exercises to correct that. My feet have also expanded a full size already. Really the only things left are to keep putting in miles, try to get out for a cold overnight or three and get a bus ticket.

I've already looked into what used to be an economical shuttle/bunk/shuttle package to get me to the trailhead on time. It no longer exists as of this season just passed. So I'll be DIYing my own. I made a call to the first on trail outfitter and worked out something with them. I get a shuttle from Atlanta to them, get a bunk overnight then shuttle back down to Amicalola first thing in the morning. So long as Greyhound doesn't wreck my pack or put it on the wrong bus I'll be good.

I'm still Vlogging and intend to continue that habit as best as I can on this adventure. I have screen recording software on my tablet so I can discuss on trail plans while displaying the guidebook. I have streaming apps so I could even live stream parts of the journey. There are multiple sketching and art apps to make the downtime productive plus I want to Blog. A little less video per day than when I did the section hike and a few more pictures. Text to Twitter worked well, and hopefully, I'll be able to post on Instagram once a day as well.

Long range weather forecasting is showing another La Nina winter so I feel fairly confident about my clothing choices and sleep system. However, I do have some misgivings about pushing some of that gear. To that end, confidence is more important so I jumped on board with a new quilt which was literally just ordered moments ago. I have a 40 degree down quilt and a 30 degree hybrid sleeping bag which I was going to layer to deal with possible 10 degree weather. The combined weight was 43 ounces but I was going to ditch the bag as soon as the weather broke. The space it took up and the weight and knowing I really needed just one 20 degree quilt was a hard pill to swallow. The confidence will be worth it.

That brings me to the mental aspect of doing a long trail. The Appalachian Trail is a 2200 mile, four to six month marathon hike. I have my reasons for embarking on this journey. Depression is a big monkey to carry along, and there is a lot I am doing wrong. There is a lot I'm doing right too, but I'm still using language like "if I succeed" which needs to stop. I also have no post trail plans. Other than knowing I need to lose about ninety pounds and that weight loss is easily achievable on a long hike. Which will make a lot of post trail plans easier. So I am still doing short hikes, planning multi-day excursions once the temperature drops a little more.

Currently I am about to change lodgings, I and my family have been living with a cousin in central Florida. We took shelter here to dodge hurricane Irma and never moved on. That time has come for better or worse. There are some unexplored parks and preserves in our potential new stomping grounds.

This is the version of my Packlist I am working from.

Prepper's Midterm: Hurricane Irma in Florida

As I sit here, the first bands of rain are moistening the ground. Light gusts of wind are sighing through the oaks in the yard. Cloud cover is near complete, but lighter patches create a mosaic of false hope. Smells of food in the oven permeate the house creating a cozy feel. Pantries full to bursting were augmented by a footlocker of camp ready foods. The battery of socially responsible appliances are fortified by a gamut of off grid capable equipment. The menu has been arranged in a way to be ever less reliant on mains power.

Batteries and storage banks have been freshened, radios are already set; one remains active in WX alert mode. My tech watch is set for barometric alert. The assortment of battery powered lights have their batteries installed and are ready for deployment.

We are monitoring the hurricane path with the tools available to us. The time to bug out was seven days ago, when there was time to completely leave the storm path. Now it is only a bug in situation. There is plenty of food, water is easy to procure if supplies run low. Plans are set to triage morale with group games and solo activities.

When faced with serious, catastrophic events such as this hurricane there are only options until the probability cone narrows. However, there are advanced warnings. You know a major event is imminent, it is not going to suddenly occur, and there is little chance for surprise. The steps to prepare for a hurricane are a prescription, and following it is simple. It does make for a working test of your abilities and gear. It also has the potential for testing skills and perserverence in the face of sudden catastrophe, like the collapse or destruction of your storm shelter. Even then, when forced to switch to a bug out plan in that situation, those plans get tested under stress.

My pen is ready, and the papers are being passed out, ready or not.

Adapting to Florida

I have to say first, that I am not a lover of heat and humidity. That said, Florida is a very poor choice for me to attempt to live, especially as an outdoor enthusiast. On the other hand, it is so hot and I am sufficiently uncomfortable that eating is much more of a chore. Over the past couple years, as my depression worsened, eating made me feel better. While I did not balloon back up to my previous high weight, I did make an attempt at it, and the sixty pounds I put back on certainly adds to the discomfort. However, one of the last things I want to do now is eat, and when I finally do, my portions are much more moderate. Unfortunately the other part of the equation is activity and all I want is shade and a fan while sweat beads up and rolls down my arms.

 Fauna have been entertaining so far. We are currently camped on a little hill which seems to be riddled with ant warrens. We sprinkled some diatomaceous earth around our temporarily claimed territory and they seem to be willing to accept the armistice for now. Our clothing is treated with permethrin and skin gets dusted with picaridin while citronella candles and scented plaques work to against the mosquitoes and ticks. Lizards scatter every time we head to the bathhouse, barred owls hoot at us and bullfrogs serenade from the cypress dome. The ground is soft enough I needed to sacrifice some tennis balls to put over the feet of my chair to stop me from sinking and falling over. A large tarp covers the screen house to help with the heavy rain. So far the Y style stakes are holding in the sandy soil just fine.

A tree, Spanish moss and sun combine for interesting shadows 

Driving is a different experience as well. Just the way things are laid out and traffic patterns are set isn't what I expect. On the drive down, it seemed like once we traveled out of the pit of diaspora which continually spewed from the DC/Baltimore area, there was a significant difference. While Atlanta had some traffic, it just seemed easier to deal with compared to the furious desparation I was accustomed to. Yes there were lane jumpers and the usual shenanigans you get when there is six or seven lanes of congested urban traffic. I want to say it felt more respectful. It was easier to maintain a decent distance between my car and the one in front, and other drivers responded to my turn signals with courtesy. 

When it came to stopping for comestibles or other needs even the people were helpful. Unlike the Martinsburg area where we were typically greeted with gruff "not my department" or other lowest common denominator service. I don't expect much, just some decency. The apparent short supply in that area was a deciding factor in this change of situation. Until moving away I only suspected how inhumane the area was.

The First Weeks

It was only with great trepidation that the change to a fully nomadic life was embarked upon. Many difficult decisions had to be addressed, assessed, and finally either slain with prejudice or postponed with enthusiastic procrastination. Chief among them was plans to immediately begin an adventure much like an unfortunate Hobbit.

For years I had endured the struggle of moving in the direction of simplicity and modest means but found it difficult to eschew the extravagances foisted upon me by social pressures. I continued to drive the same tired vehicles, held together as much by force of will as by the required repairs. This blog itself was started at a time when switching to laptop from desktop and after losing convenient internet. I continued my wonder whether the technology of the time could further my approach to simplicity and nomadicism. It proved out, but my own inner censor prevented much of the logging of that process. I wonder now if it was mostly an incompatible schedule, which interfered with other aspects of my creative endeavors.

I am composing this from a shady campsite at Amicalola Falls. I am typing on a small Samsung tablet and my internet is through the hotspot on a matching smartphone. The water for my coffee and oatmeal was heated in a stainless tea kettle on a propane stove made by Coleman twenty years ago. In a footlocker to my left there is three weeks' worth of dry goods, I have water filters and other chemical means to make water potable. I have sufficient solar collectors to maintain my electronic devices and various batteries. The site does come with all the power and water I need, but I have the options should a site not have them readily available.

Life has consisted largely of driving hundreds of miles, as per plans. The first night was at a Dispersed Camping Area prior to entering Red River Gorge. The following days were at various campsites with either limited or no amenities, but the assets possessed made life comfortable. Trips were made back to civilization to raid WiFi and eat unhealthy food, only to return to camp, hike and eat camping rations. Other lodging was purchased when we felt the need for machinery to launder clothes and limitless clean water to contaminate with either soaps or other bodily soils.

Eventually we made our way to southern Illinois where the second part of our adventure plans placed us in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. We fought heat and humidity, but persevered. Special photographic filters had not been added to the list per the plan, but extra viewing glasses were on hand to create them with the addition of adhesive tape and things scavenged from the trash. That Saturday night I participated in a transformative activity wherein we walked barefoot upon a pathway of glowing coals of cedar. The eclipse came and went with a few hours devoted to observing and recording it. After this we watched all the others attendees of the festival flee to their social normative existences. Accordingly, we executed the third part of our plans, reducing and prepacking our camp.

I should mention that some time every day was set aside for creative pursuits. Whether that be photo or videography, other graphic arts or processing the photos and videos gathered previously. I do not find it possible to keep up with my collections yet, but it is just a matter of time.

Today's adventure will be the viewing of the falls, which I am presently preparing my equipment for. I would like to take a few longer exposures to capture the flow of the waterfall as a misty, dreamy blur.

In Every Ending, There is a Beginning

The struggle has been real. I've needed and wanted to relaunch this blog. Yes, again. As I sit here in Red River Gorge, I am reflecting on the things that had to happen to get me here.

This blog has always been about finding, learning to use and replacing outdated technology with newer. The aim being, to simplify and make more accessible a freer lifestyle. To be comfortable accomplishing frequent moves to take advantage of life's opportunities. To become nomadic if that was the desire.

To that end, the past several months have been spent quite literally shedding thousands of dollars of possessions. The purge was extensive and I would be remiss if I did not admit that it was painful. In the end, I feel as though I am close to answering, for myself, an important question. "What does one need to live?" Not just survive, but live. To go about the activities of life, and feeling fulfilled and satisfied.

Turning back time a little, allow me to explain an interest I had when younger. I liked camping, but my family always traveled in an RV of some sort. Us kids were evicted to tents when we parked. I asked a few times about carrying my tent into the woods a ways and my father bought me a copy of a popular magazine devoted to backpacking. The hook was set then and there. Unfortunately that was where parental support ended. I was able to collect some gear, but never everything I needed and requests to try what I had out fell on terrified ears. A class trip to dayhike a trail as part of a science lession didn't help. Soon the desire to hike was set aside because of the misguided expectation to chase the american dream.

About a year ago, while in existential crisis and psychotherapy, the desire to just go for a long walk came back. The topic of the Appalachian Trail came up. Research started, gear was accumulated from my extensive stocks and plans began to be made. One overnight trip later and I decided to jump on it with both feet. No halfway, quit the secure job, dump everything non-essential and go. I am a technology addict, so some things could not be parted. I am an amateur photographer and discovered vlogging. Seems hiking and those things go well together. I have a gift in writing, and morning or evening wordsmithing is also apropos.

To get ready and really decide I wanted to do such an undertaking I completed a section hike on the AT. I started just north of Harper's Ferry and ended on the morning of the sixth day at Pine Grove Furnace to take the half gallon challenge. As out of shape as I was, I still averaged decent miles, and after six days I was ready for a break, but not wanting to stop. Thus the die was cast.

Power Cooker Pro 6qt

We've cooked a lot of different things since the Power Cooker Pro 6qt was added to our kitchen. One of the first things I cooked was beans since the hour long hot soak, then an hour or more to cook could be shortened down considerably. Honestly, even following the directions explicitly I still overcooked them.

We've gotten rid of all our crockpots since getting this. It's no joke, cooking with a pressure cooker cuts down the cook times dramatically. Instead of loading a slow cooker and letting it run most of the day, coming back later to put the food in containers and wash up, we are doing that ten to twenty minutes later. Controls are very basic, but you do have full control over cook time and the pressure if you want it.

There is no hot cooker slowly heating up the kitchen all day. A big bonus in the hot months. This model does have a slow cooker option, but we haven't used it yet. There is also a rice button, and that does work, don't vent the pressure right away if you're cooking brown rice. The flat disk is for steaming, it rests on the ridge halfway down the inner pot. The instructions say not to use it for pressure canning with the claim that it doesn't regulate the pressure accurately enough. It does so electronically and there is a lag between when power to the heating element is switched back on and it builds pressure back up. 

The power cord is pretty standard, recognize that port? The one that comes with it is pretty short. We haven't needed a longer one, but they are readily available nearly everywhere.

It is important to never overfill this cooker. That Max Fill line is for safety. If the valves in the lid get splashed the vent orifices could become clogged. This could result in a possible overpressure.

Steamer plate in place. A couple cups of water in the bottom and either put the lid on and use pressure, or just leave it venting. There are some things, like asparagus that steam really fast. The cooker would never have time to come up to pressure before it was done.

The seal just drops in behind a stainless ring. It doesn't take too much finagling to get it out or put back in for cleaning. Just be gentle so it doesn't tear. Yes it's loose, but it works just fine. The two fittings are safeties. The upper one is a removable guard over the vent you use to depressurize the cooker. The lower one is a pin that once steam begins to build, will rise up and block the latch to stop you from taking the lid off. It hisses and sputters then goes silent. The silicone washer blocks the small port. All of these things can be removed for cleaning, they're small parts.

The switch just lifts the weight so the cooker can vent when it's done cooking. This unit is electronic, don't cool it in the sink. Remember that sudden drops in pressure can make some food items pop. If you are impatient and vent right after cooking, remember the contents are above the normal boiling point. That's what pressure cooking allows, higher temperatures because you stop the water from boiling away. That doesn't mean food won't burn, I will not attempt lasagna in the pressure cooker again.

And there is the weight popped off. There is a spring clip that retains it so it doesn't get lost or blow off when you vent the pot. The small hole above that is the secondary safety. Don't block either of these. I do like to tent a towel over the vent when I release the pressure to help mitigate the steam that geysers forth.

Overall operation is dead simple. The controls on this one are overly simplistic and there are better ones on the market, most of which are far more expensive than this one which still does the job. The instructions are not all that clear. I recommend trying a few simple things before doing something complex. Like making soup stock. Remember it needs to make steam to get pressure, so always put a cup or two water in it minimum. The pot is non-stick, but the heating element is in direct contact with the bottom of the pot, thus you need to plan your recipe to avoid burning. Mine lives on the counter and gets used at least once a week.

Morakniv aka Mora Knives

I have several as you can see, starting at the top they are:

• Morakniv HighQ Robust
• Morakniv Companion MG
• Morakniv Craftline Q Allround 510
• Morakniv Craftline Q 511 (older version pictured)
• Morakniv Classic No. 2/0

Both Craftline knives have seen hard work, the black handled 510 sees use in the kitchen and replaced a paring knife. The red handled 511 is my box opener and a fresh spare is in my large medical kit. The classic 2/0 lives in a pencil jar next to pencils, pens, and hobby knives. I use it when the smaller knives are either just not long enough, or too fragile. I have not used either the Companion nor the Robust regularly. I believe the reputation of Morakniv is sufficient that I do not need to test them harshly. They are both destined to go into bug-out kits.

The Companion and Robust scabbards both have a clip on feature where they can be hooked over a belt or pantwaist. The slots on both sides of the button attachment also make a good place to thread a lanyard. I have attached the scabbard of the Companion to the scabbard of the Robust and it locks on very firmly. Most metal blue jean waist buttons also seem to the be same size, so any jacket with the extra buttons around the waist to cinch the bottom tighter can be an attachment point. All of the scabbards except the Classic 2/0's have drain holes in the bottom and a positive feeling click when the knife is inserted fully. The black handled 510 and the Classic 2/0 are ambidextrous. The Classic 2/0 is retained only by friction, and while it has not fallen out, I do not trust it not to without modification. I plan to use a heat gun to soften the plastic scabbard and increase the contact area.

This is a top down, showing how much thicker the blade is on the Robust. The handle is also significantly larger. I can get a much meatier grip on the Robust, my fingertips just touch my palm. With the Companion I have a fully wrapped grip. None of these knives have a sharp edge on the back for use with a firesteel, and in the case of the Robust is actually beveled. All knives were shaving sharp when I received them and resharpen readily. The scandi grind is a time-tested classic and so is the laminated blade construction. Several major high-end manufacturers also use a similar construction.

Like so many other things that come my way and I have the ability to spend a long time working with, Moras are a pleasant blend of old and new technologies that do not break the bank. All of these knives go for less than twenty dollars, and you have a choice of old school wood, impervious utilitarian plastic or rubberized composite handles. There are also stainless versions available now if you'd rather not watch your shiny blade acquire its own unique patina. They are often viewed as starter knives for budding outdoorspersons but they have a long history and there is no reason not to have a knife such as a Mora in your kit if they fit within your plans.

Wonderbag

As always I like to find products and companies that I feel give back to communities and help alleviate poverty related issues in developing countries. The Wonderbag is such a product. A Wonderbag is essentially an insulated cooker. You combine your ingredients in a pot, bring it to a good, hard boil and put the pot in the bag. The food then continues to cook slowly on the remaining heat energy.

The Wonderbag arrives in a vacuum bag and must be fluffed up and allowed to fully decompress before using. You can put a pot of hot water in the bag or set it in a warm place to speed up the process, but it needs several hours or overnight. It will continue to fluff up over the first couple uses. It is recommended to wrap your pots in a towel and place a folded towel in the bottom. This is to prevent soiling the Wonderbag, catching stray condensation and in the case of cast iron to prevent damaging the fabric. I use a silicone hot pad for the bottom of the bag.

Just loosen the drawstring and place the pot in the bottom. Cover with the top and pull the string until the bag is closed up, it doesn't need to be tight.

The pot you use can be quite large, though today I used something less than three quarts. I made quinoa in a microwave cooker, after a few minutes of boil time I put it in the Wonderbag. Actually I forgot about it, but it wasn't overdone, and cool enough to put it in the fridge. No big deal as it was destined for a chilled quinoa salad.

The inside of the bag is about fourteen inches across, and as you can see, the insulation pillows puff up a good bit so be mindful that a fourteen inch pot may not fit well. The key is the insulation which needs to not get excessively compressed. I should note the bottom is actually semi-rigid closed cell foam, the remainder is shredded reclaimed open cell foam.

The pot can also be quite deep, though remember big handles or knobs will likely get in the way. I usually put an old pillow on top just as an extra layer of insulation, and when the bag is not in use, I stuff it in the Wonderbag to help it keep it's shape when stored. I keep mine on top of the kitchen cabinets so it's always ready. Some people toss it on the couch as a throw pillow. You can also use the Wonderbag to keep things cool, insulation is insulation. It also works well for holding hot food during transportation to pot lucks, or just around the holidays in a crowded kitchen. Those casseroles will be just fine in the Wonderbag and moved into the dining room, out of the way. I have also used it for rising bread and on a cold day put a heating pad around the bowl, plastic over the top, and a thermometer to make sure I don't kill the yeast.

Cook times are much like using a crockpot on low, but you need to keep an eye on the temperature. If it cools too much, you'll be taking a risk of bacterial growth. Better to put the pot back on the stove before it gets too cool and heat it up and put it back in the Wonderbag. Generally speaking it takes hours before there is a problem. It also depends on the overall mass you put in the Wonderbag. Mostly full, heavy pots near the size limits of the Wonderbag will have the necessary mass to last long enough to do the difficult things like beans.

Hot Logic Mini

The Hot Logic Mini is a small, portable, electric food heating device. I have had mine for about three months or so. I did not buy it with the pyrex baking dish, I sourced that locally from the grocery store.

The case appears to be nylon with an insulating layer. There is a fabric handle on top and inside is what looks like woven aluminized polyproplyene or mylar. The hot pad itself is slightly smaller than the case and has a power cord with a decent length. I did not measure it, but it's about four feet long. There is a slit in the middle of the rear of the case to feed the cord through. Generally though, the plate just stays in the case.

Here is the data plate on the bottom. 45W isn't much and that makes it critical to have as much contact area as possible. I have seen cooking temperatures in chicken breasts reach 160F. I also experimented with food service grade plastic trays, food cooked faster in them and tended to dry out easily. It is imperative that containers have tight fitting lids.

There is a tunnel on the back of the case where the cord can be rolled up and stored.

This is what the six cup pyrex dish looks like in the Hot Logic Mini. It is a good fit and zips up fine. I have also used a three cup dish with a little foil in the bottom to reheat frozen burritos and a four cup round to make oatmeal. Typically I give it two hours to work for most of the cooking I've done with it so far. Brown rice is the only failure I've had, so I precook that prior to using it in the Hot Logic Mini. 

For the most part I use the Hot Logic Mini to help keep myself to a diet and reduce my instant gratification cycle. Instead of heating something up in the microwave, I put something together in one of the pyrex dishes I have and try to forget about it for a couple hours. I have also used it to hold hot food while I cook other parts of a meal, like the bacon so I can make dirty eggs or a stack of pancakes so everyone gets to eat together.

Depending on what you want to cook, this can almost replace a crockpot. While brown rice and beans can be done in a crockpot, the Hot Logic Mini doesn't have the horsepower to be successful with them. That said, if you keep in mind the limitations of the lower temperature there is still a lot that can be done. If you work a job where you don't have a set lunch break or that break is easily interrupted, this is an excellent tool to free you from that time constraint. As I mentioned before, about two hours seems to be about when frozen vegetables become al dente (except carrots unless sliced thin) so whether you're cooking or reheating seems like a good timeframe. If your meal is interupted, just close it up, leave it plugged in, and when you come back to it it'll still be hot. Remember to use good food safety practices. I have also had good luck with a variety of frozen microwavable meals, just leave them sealed up or transfer them to something with a tight lid.

Size-wise, as can be seen in the pictures, the Hot Logic Mini is about the size of a child's lunchbox, or a large bento. Even with the six cup pyrex there is just barely room for an icepack, two if you take out the heating plate. So you could use it for a cooler if necessary.

Wow, so I unintentionally walked away from this for three years.

Another attempt at a reboot? Why not? On with the update, line by line.

• I have successfully paid off all my debts. I have a perk at work where we can take loans out of our 401K, and this I did a bit more than a year ago.
• I have nearly moved once, and for real twice.
• Both ZAST and Blur are no longer in my possession. ZAST was turning into a moneypit, so I walked away from that one. Blur ate its second timing chain the day before my birthday. 
• Plans were made and broke to move across the country.
• I purchased an urban commuting bicycle and kitted it out for my transportation needs after the above mentioned move, it has one mile on it due to the heinous risk to bicycles in my current area.
• I have more Mora knives than I use, however one is my box opener, another is regularly used in the kitchen, and a third is used for a utility knife. I have two others that will be going into some sort of survival kits.
• I am still using WiFi exclusively, except for the cell phone. I have had to replace the laptop.
• My extended camp kit has been completely changed, the 18' tent was deemed excessive.
• Several of my firearms have been sold off, partially due to living circumstances and lack of security. I felt it was more important to keep them out of undesirable hands and replace them later with more appropriate tools.
• I made a vague attempt at attending Munches and found the few I attended cliquey and unwelcoming.
• I have attended several regional burns.
• My 9V scale which was so integral to my food preparation was replaced by a slim glass topped scale which uses a 2032 lithium cell, about once a year.
• I've moved from doing nearly everything in OpenOffice to cloud based Google Docs, Sheets, etc.
• I am using Google Keep for shopping lists, Journalling and all sorts of things and it syncs to everything I own.
• The paper shredder finally died while processing Polaroids.
• I got a gym membership again, and canceled it six months later.

And now for the new stuff and I'm going to forget a lot:

• Latest move placed me in a two bedroom apartment with a life partner and her daughter, and I just moved everything out of storage and am in the process of doing another heavy reduction in preparation for the next move.
• I have been (personally) car free for six months and the next move must take into consideration the need to remain car free.
• I have a lot of mobile technology and changed my calling plan to allow the mobile hotspot to work.
• I have started gaming again, and have chosen Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition and my primary game of choice. Which has required an explosion of rulebooks. All my prior editions I have discovered in electronic formats, not so with the 5e. Also I now have two foot lockers of D&D supplies, which now need to be sorted and reduced. Instead of going to 3D scenery again, I used a large magnetic whiteboard, magnets, and poster printed maps. That has already been reduced to using Roll20, and the laptop with a large TV as a second monitor for the players.
• I have given away most of my oil painting supplies, as I do not have the ability to leave an easel set up for long periods of time. Instead I switched to oil pastels so I still get to manipulate physical media. Recently I started dabbling in digital media and purchased a digitizer tablet to make it friendlier.
• I am back in therapy for anxiety, depression, existential and suicidal thoughts. I am fighting the day job for time to work on my own creative pursuits. I have a large backlog of projects I want to work on, but being hounded to work overtime and being threatened with no job for refusing. . .so I had to "doctor" up and I qualified for FMLA protections.
• I now have a 1080p capable camcorder (they don't call them that anymore) and have been recording audio only for the past several game sessions I have run, and posted them up on the Youtube.
• I am trying to consolidate my efforts to becoming a published creator, the only thing I need is uptime, but when it hits, the dayjob is usually in the way.

Seems like it or now, stay tuned as I attempt to produce content, one more time!

Another Year, Another Recap

It's been a while since I put any posts on here, and it looks like a good time to start with a recap of the steps I've taken or fulfilled towards my goal of achieving a nomadic lifestyle.

First I should mention what being nomadic in the modern sense means to me: being able to exercise the options when they become available to better my life in an immediate fashion.  This requires the ability to pack and move house in short order, not having towering debts that restrict me to a job that pays at least $xx,xxx and other things that result in just being fiscally and materially nimble.  Reducing attachment and dependence to material things is a good start, forgiving myself prior purchases for what is best called JUNK at this later stage and disposing of it as such is another.  Making smart purchases for things that replace large, outdated things is yet another.  A good example is my new Mora knife: at $9 it takes over the duty for every Buck knife I own, it's lighter, just as durable and if something happens I can easily get another and not beat myself up for destroying the $60 Buck 110.  The Mora may see KP duty soon and if so it will have eliminated about four knives.

On to the recap, mostly going line by line with last year's:

• I am now two years into the debt management process, having the manager automatically debt my checking account has been a big stress remover.  I feel like I only have to keep my job.  The downside is I cannot easily become fiscally nimble until the end of this process.
• I no longer even use the 3g wireless modem, the radio internet tower upgrade has been completed for some time now so I surf the gratis connection that was given to the housemate over the wifi.
• My extended camp kit has been expanded to an 18' diameter modern teepee which was just used for the first time in a winter camp.  Over this year I plan to start dropping some layers of redundancy, spreading it out over my EDC, 72hr bugout and long term/permanent kits.  The biggest gear reduction will happen after Pennsic 42 which will be my last Pennsic and I just don't wear the historic stuff anywhere else.  It will drop back into the long term kit.  I have plans to go to PDF which may require a very stripped down camp.
• My largest reduction in material goods happened with things that were never brought here.  The Harley was sold, all my gaming materials were given away, and all of my big ticket tools were sold off, giving away over 500' of extension cords.  I still have the Blur (Toyota pickup at 30mpg avg for cheap daily driving) and ZAST (Suburban reimagined as a survival transport).  I still live in the same situation, I did get a raise but still much less than I need to comfortably afford a place on my own.  I do look for that to happen this year, but the place I have found that is budgetable has no phone or internet connectivity.
• The dating scene has been a total wash, I have either deleted or made unavailable every internet dating profile I had.  I will be leaving the SCA (again) after Pennsic this year which will also remove myself from the "Scadian Singles Club," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the hookups that frequently happen there.  I am content to realize that I am sufficiently unique that few females find me of romantic interest, I've already met most of them, and I'm still single for a perfectly logical reason.
• My 9V scale is still going, though I expect the battery to quit soon.  I am, however, using it much less.
• My heavy glass measuring cups have been replaced by collapsible silicone cups with markings on the inside.  I've also reduced to two plates, two bowls, and four sets of silverware.
• I have repurposed two canvas totes into more re-usable grocery bags, one used to hold my clothes pins (overkill, but it was handy at the time) another was used as a tool bag at work.  They're nice when I'm buying something densely heavy like tanks of propane, cans of turpentine, etc.
• I use Open Office exclusively now, and use the Save As function if I need to make something available to read in other formats.
• I no longer participate in BOINC, I only have a laptop (borderline obsolete) and it was just using too many resources even after setting limits.  I may need to maximize the lifespan of this laptop so it does need to be in sleep mode when I am not using it.
• I no longer use TaskSmash, I switched to Google Tasks which also appear on the Calendar, but I have also fallen into disuse.  I don't do well with to-do lists, I find it is better to just do it when I recognize it needs to be done.
• I am amazed my paper shredder is still working.  Especially after processing all of my old tax records.  I also reused a lot of printed-on-one-side paper.
• I no longer have a gym membership, and have sold nearly all of my workout equipment.  I primarily do yoga now which only requires (optionally) a mat.
• I have added a "Prepper" element to my Nomadic efforts which ties in nicely.  I do have an ECD, have worked out a 72hr bugout kit and can camp self sufficiently.  I did reacquire certain defensive elements again, with strict purposes and portability in mind.  My 30day plan is complete.  I will not hoard anything because it would limit my mobility, and what I have is going to be maintained in the most mobile fashion possible.  5gal buckets with gamma seals, color coded and other plain sense modular storage options which lend themselves to rapid loadouts.

Reuse is Second

There is a hack to get the plastic grinder off the top of these.  I'm going to refill it with some sea salt I happen to have in the cabinet, but other things are possible to be ground in these.  When it wears out I'll pull the top off for recycling.


In short, if you take a dull, rounded tip knife such as a classic butter knife, slide it up under the plastic lip, and start twisting the top, you'll stretch the plastic just enough to get it off.  If care is used and you're watching what you are doing you will be able to snap it back on.  The knife has to get past the glass lip.  There are two of them, the first is there to prevent you from doing this little hack.  The plastic bead that locks the top on sits between two glass lips.  You need to wiggle the knife past the one you see and coax the plastic over the other one.  Once you get it off you'll understand.  Just remember you're prying with a metal knife against glass!

Repair comes first

I went to trim my beard the other day and my cordless trimmer didn't even twitch.  The charger didn't light up, nothing.  So remembering that the manual said something about taking the battery out, I cracked the case open.  To my delight it had a standard rechargable AA NiCd.  Out came the intellicharger and the leads on the trimmer were just long enough to get it in.  Originally the battery was so dead the charger didn't register it.  A pair of jumper wires and a quick connection with a healthy NiMH woke the charger up and I started it off on a refresh cycle.  It took two days, but it looks ready to put back into service.

More Inspiration from Lifehacker

Another idea used from a Lifehacker article.  This was also a concept I considered when it came to organizing my spices, however the pocket to jar size ratio was ludicrous.  Much better for bigger things like all my workout supplies and and other odds and ends that were not space efficient left on a shelf.  Things like storage bags, rolls of foil and cling wrap.

The pockets are even big enough to fit that 500g bulk container of creatine monohydrate.  I did put two small thumbtacks through the organizer and into the door about a third of the way up from the bottom to reduce the swing when the door was used.

Once I did this, I moved my tubs of whey protein to the empty shelf I discovered during yesterday's project, which then left two fully unused shelves on the other unit.  So I moved my (very) few small appliances down from the very top which made the unit wobble less with the weight further down.

As a side benefit of having this stuff stashed in a flexible organizer, when it does come time to move, I can just unhang it, roll it up and drop it in a tote.  I may see if I want to organize the bathroom in a similar way.  Obviously the TP and towels aren't going to fit in there, but I'd say the boxes of band-aids, bottles of OTC's, and all the other assorted toiletries will go just fine.

Inspiration from Lifehacker Strikes

So I'm reading one of the posts from Lifehacker in my G+ stream, about hacking small apartments.  Anyone that's followed any of my posts across the social networks will know I have been streamlining things, and a current peeve of mine is some clutter I just cannot seem to permanently correct.  I present exhibit A, the before image:

Plastic food bins and things on top, fairly accessible, nested, a little chaotic, but liveable.  Spice shelf, bad jumble, cannot see half my stuff, and a time waster when cooking.  Bottom shelf, more of the same, with two sets of measuring cups, three sets of measuring spoons, and a tableware sorter piled up with things that don't fit.

What got me started was in one of the subarticles it mentioned the use of the ceiling for storage and magnets for smaller things in jars with ferrous lids.  This reminded me of an old Boy's Life magazine that suggested using baby food jars or mayonnaise jars to sort things like small nails and screws.  You could drive a couple roofing nails through the lid, securing them under a workbench.  Just look under the bench, see what jar has what you need, unscrew it take out what you need, and screw the jar back on.  No wasted workbench space.  So I got the sudden idea of grabbing some extra adhesive velcro I had laying around and was going to cut tabs, stick them to the lids of spice jars, and glue them to the underside of that top shelf.  Then I didn't have as much velcro as I thought I had.  It would have to wait until I go in to work, we have it in bulk rolls, and it's not a big issue to grab some.  We're always using it for the oddest projects anyway.  On further thought I decided that the whole side of the shelving unit was open, so I'd just put long strips of velcro on the side, mating strips on all the jars and just slap them on the side, freeing up the shelf even further.

Next I looked at the jumble of measuring accouterments.  They have hanging holes on the end, and I have a stock of cup hooks.  Those shelves are freecycled and will be again, so I got out my DeWalt cordless drill and started putting pilot holes in the particle board.  I hung up the good stainless set of cups and spoons and put the plastic ones off to the side.  I have long handled nylon spoons, drilled holes in them while I was at it.  Cup hooks went in the fronts of the doors and all the long stuff went there as well as my GSI Outdoors Fair Share Collapsible mug.  Next I noticed there was a lip all the way around the tableware sorter, so more cup hooks went in the underside of the shelf and the sorter became a drawer.

Well, I didn't feel like waiting to pick up velcro, and I remembered there was a scrap piece of baseboard trim laying outside.  I sold off my chop box, but I still had a sharktooth tool box saw.  So I used an old trick I learned years (25??) ago and made a mini-shelf.  Quick, dirty and free.

Here is exhibit B, the aftermath:

The two white rectangles you see on the left end of the first shelf are some labels I made, volume conversions for the common kitchen measurements.  I reuse many of the metric serving scoops that come with supplements (you can see a few extras on the shelf next to the knife block) but rarely are they exactly any of the sizes in typical cooking use.  For example there is a 33ml, 60ml, 90ml.  I just pick one that will do the job and leave it in the container.  If I want a different serving size, I just pick a different one, consistency is what is important.  Previously I had been looking at the other set of cups and spoons for the conversion which was printed on them.  The metal ones do not have metric equivalents on them.

No more jumble, but not excessively organized.  Much more efficient.  Another expense free project completed.

Solstice Recap

Looking back and seeing if I accomplished anything within my goals over the three hundred-sixty odd days just passed.  Looks like I've done a lot.

• I'm a bit more than a year into the 52 month debt management program, which means roughly a quarter of the debt I had when the rug was yanked out from under me is paid down.
• I am still not missing a desktop PC, nor am I missing a hard wired internet connection, I've had a 3g wireless modem for two years now.
• I have a solid extended camping/disaster preparedness kit assembled which contains one temporary and one sustainable method to recharge a smartphone.
• I have unloaded about two thirds of my total possessions through yard sales, gifting and freecycling.  Of what is left I plan to unload two thirds over the next year: books, gaming materials, tools, my Harley and most likely the Suburban.  The volume depends heavily on the living situation  which depends on whether work recognizes my value.
• I have attempted to get back into the dating scene.   One meetup through mutual friends which exploded spectacularly three hundred-fifty-seven days ago, one meetup from an internet matching site which never progressed beyond "coffee dates", one hookup from getting pounced at an SCA event which became a massive letdown after a few months of exclusive dating.  I have profiles on Geek2Geek, Fitness Singles, Plenty of Fish, and HerWay.  None of which have gotten so much as a nibble.  I will be revamping all of them and reevaluating around Memorial Day.
• I have finally dug out all my archive CDRs, parsed them all together on the hard drive, and gotten all the MP3s plugged into iTunes.  Some of these files were originally on 5.25" floppies, backed up from my original IBM clone (Tandy) 486DX2/50.  Nothing from my Apple programming days nor Linux nor C++ have made it to today.
• I don't buy paper books when they are available from Google Books
• I don't buy batteries anymore, I use NiMH cells almost exclusively.  I have a scale which uses a 9V which will be replaced by one that uses AAA's when the battery and the spare I have expire.
• All of my plastic water bottles have been replaced with stainless bottles (discontinued items from Gander Mountain), my heavy ceramic mugs have been replaced with type 5 polypro insulated tumblers (GSI Outdoors).
• I have two recycled PET plastic grocery bags (ThinkGeek) and they see regular use.
• I have started using Open Office and migrating documents created in proprietary formats.
• Starting yesterday I am donating CPU time to BOINC projects, currently I am processing data for SETI, MilkyWay, and Einstein.  I also signed up for the Large Hadron Collider and uFluids but there are no data packets currently available.  I last ran data for SETI when I had the Linux platform, the data being processed today is the data that got first pass analysis back then.
• I use paperless grocery lists (android widget), workout logs (smartphone app and Blog), to-do lists (TaskSmash.com) and internet banking with e-statements.
• To prevent paper clutter I immediately shred receipts, bills, statements, mail and anything else the shredder will safely handle as soon as they are identified and recorded as appropriate. 

Short test of self sufficiency: Power Outage

Yesterday the electric went out.  It was cool out, enough that heat is nice to have, but no real danger of pipes freezing.  No wind, storm or anything I was aware of that it could be blamed on.  The laptop never even twitched, though I was bummed to be without my constant companion music.  Easily I made an assessment of what supplies I had, how long before I would have to move my refrigerated and frozen goods to other storage, water saving measures I would apply and how I would get my music back on.


First, I put a fresh cylinder of propane on the camp heater and got it going to maintain the warmth in my area.  Next I opened the closet where my encampment was stored.  The miscellaneous locker was the top of the stack, and I took out the camp battery and the 100W inverter.    That got the music going and kept up the charge in the laptop.  A quick search told me the power outage was not on any maps, so it had not been called in yet.  This informed me that the outage must be extremely local, and town should have power, and thus any store I would go to for water or ice.  I had a sink of dishes that needed to be washed, and my reserve of drinking water was insufficient.  My reserve of propane was enough for cooking and heating water, but the camp heater is a fiend when it comes to fuel consumption.  A check of the weather revealed that it was supposed to stay around 40F all day and drop to the mid-20's during the night so ice would not be needed.


Shutting down the laptop to conserve power, and unhooking the camp battery, I took the battery, a multimeter and the charge cable for the powerstation up to Blur and hooked up the battery to charge during the town run.  Voltage checks confirmed it was charging from Blur.  Quick run up to Maul Mart where I grabbed eight gallons of water (enough to fill one empty storage shelf), and two tanks of propane (filled out the row on the shelf where I kept my reserve propane).


Getting home, as I was beginning to set up camp protocol for dish washing, the power came back on.  I was disappointed.  However I still discovered you can get two flushes with one five gallon bucket of used wash water.

Repurposeable: McCormick small spice bottle

With my new smaller lunch bag, I do not have the room for the 4oz Glad reusable/disposable containers I used to pack mixed nuts in.  I pack one ounce of mixed raw almonds and raw pumpkin seeds every workday.  It was such a waste to use a ziplock bag even if I was reusing them.  Then while measuring out ground cloves for an oat spice cake it hit me that the small spice container might be just the right size.  So the next time I had an empty one I put it on the scale, and sure enough there is just a little room left over.  The only thing that would make it better is if they switched to a type 1 or 2 plastic so I could recycle them.