Boiled dinner

 

Carrots and rutabagas went into the bottom of the pot first. They take longest to cook. I added some chicken bouillon to the water for flavor. I put a cover on the pot and checked it after half an hour and then at five minute increments.

All amounts are "by eye".

When the carrots could be pierced with a paring knife, I added the potatoes and sausage. When the potatoes could be pierced by the paring knife, I cooked the red cabbage separately in a casserole dish in the microwave. I wanted the potatoes and other vegetables to remain brightly colored.

I added a dollop of butter and "tossed" the contents to mix the layers.

Mrs ERJ enjoyed the meal and the total amount was about 8 quarts of food. 

Guten nacht, Onkel Horst. Schlaff Gut.

A sobering story.

"Mamma’s boys. You could tell right away who were the Mamma’s boys were", he nearly spat out of his mouth with disgust. Being young and naïve we asked how and he said"they’re the ones that died first". 

A five minute read. You might still be thinking about it five weeks later. 

Origins of Disney Princess names

Looking around at Quicksilver's play-date classmates, I see all kinds of apparel that sport pictures of the Disney princesses "Anna" (pronounced On-ya) and "Elsa" from the movie "Frozen".

Their mothers think that Disney invented the characters because they didn't grow up with anybody who had those names.

I grew up in the 1960s. Gangs of kids swarmed the streets. Unlike the Boomers, EVERY parent from the Greatest Generation named at least one of their kids Elsa. 

Elsa was one of the first non-gendered names. There were both boys and girls who were named "Elsa". The reason none of us chose to name our children "Elsa" is because the boys and girls with that name was always the most defiant and contrary brats.

But let me back-up a little bit. Elsa was always their middle name. Their first name was always "Or". Maybe you grew up with a bunch of kids named Elsa, too.

"YOU get your butt over here, Or Elsa I will paddle your bottom!" 

 

God (and women) laugh when men make plans

Rain

Radar image of what is heading our way

The weather-guessers are promising us 2.8" of rain today

Yesterday morning, Mrs ERJ and I talked about what we should do before the rain hit. Friday was a beautiful, sunny day and, in the morning, the possibilities were endless.

• Mow
• Pick peppers
• Dig potatoes
• Run 3.2 miles
• Mop floors (they dry faster when it is sunny)
• Landscaping
• Construction
• Cleaning up the front porch 

We agreed that the first thing I should do is to go for the run. Our thinking is just like what they tell us on the plane "In the event of loss-of-pressure, take care of yourself first. Put on YOUR oxygen mask before helping your child with his".

I went on the run. I took a nap. I helped Mrs ERJ with the ONE thing on the front porch that required two people to move. I made a commando shopping strike to the grocery store.

And I was pretty much worthless for the rest of the day.

Running notes

Acorns from Quercus alba in the road

I only timed the first 1/2 mile. Obsessing about the times was sucking the joy out of running.

My legs were sore and heavy because I hadn't fully recovered from the walk-about. Of particular note were the muscles directly in front of my pant's front pockets. Those muscles move my knees forward and up. 

Another notable ache was my left shin. The knobs of my healed broken tibia were irritating the fascia. Fascia are the membranes that encase muscles so they can slide relative to other body parts.

This too will pass.

A dead pine (Pinus strobus) along my run

The woodpeckers have been hammering this tree. Borers? Bark beetles?

I still have no word that the team of volunteers for the run in early October is a go.

My gut-feel is that since my goal is to show-up and to finish, that my training should focus on knocking out an easy 3.2 miles every-other-day until three days before the "race". Then basically do nothing but a little bit of walking in the days immediately before the race.

I now have enough miles under my belt that running has become automatic. I am comfortable enough that I can enjoy the scenery or think while running. That is a good place to be.

While I expect my 5k time to be in the neighborhood of 40 minutes, I don't have a lot of ego invested in hitting any particular number. If one of my team-mates taps-out and drops down to a walk, I am fine with walking with them. 

Boiled dinner

Mrs ERJ has been hankering for a boiled dinner: Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, rutabagas...maybe a bit of smoked sausage.

Mrs ERJ is easy to keep happy! 

"The Oligarchy"

"The Oligarchy"

Screen grab from the movie "The Death of Stalin"

The Democratic Socialists love to blather about "The Oligarchy" which implies that they believe that society is run by a handful of men who make all of the decisions in a smoke filled room, decisions which are then carried out by legions of stooges and fall-guys.

Their reasoning is that the complex and sometimes convoluted modern economies don't look like a series of simple, individual decisions. They also like blaming their failures on "evil villains" rather than acknowledging those failures are due to laziness, stupid decisions and random chance.

These are the same "smartest people in the room" who insist that oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and pinches of of trace elements self-organized into creatures ranging from the influenza virus to Elon Musk and Blue Whales.

VO2MAX

Data for men

VO2MAX can be improved but it improves slowly. How slowly? Three ml/kg/minute of improvement in a year of steady PT is a typical number. If you are starting at 22, then a year of 3x or 4x a week work-outs is likely to increase your VO2MAX by 15%. The GREAT news is that it isn't going down as you age. 

If you are average and start a regular work-out program at age 65 (lower red dot) and stay with it, in less than four years you will intersect the 95th percentile 70 year-old. (upper red dot).

Another perspective: An average 69 year-old finishing four years of physical conditioning training peeled 25 years off of his VO2MAX's decline and now has the cardio-vascular capacity he had when he was 40 years-old. 

If you completely tune your work-out routines specifically to improve VO2MAX, you might get five ml/kg/minute improvement but there is a very high risk of burn-out and then you will achieve zero improvement. Source.

Dog-chain

A neighbor gave me a gift of some dog-chain. I am pondering how to best use it.

My current thinking is to use it to suspend a feedlot panel from the ceiling of the overhang. I can then use the panel to hang tools and buckets. I saw the idea used in a tiny kitchen where it was used to store pots, pans and cooking utensils near the stove.

Some random pictures

Locust borer

Moth

 

Chestnut tree

"...non-practicing White" and other stupidity

My IQ dropped ten points in the first 10 seconds

I clicked on a link that another blogger had posted and it took me to a Progressive talking about the Lindsay Clancy trial. The Progressive identifies as "a non-practicing White".

Sharia Law enclaves in Michigan

I am willing to consider the possibility. Presumably, that means that victims (or their families) can amputate the right hand of shop-lifters from those communities and castrate rapists. 

Q: What do you call a first-offender from Dearborn? 
A: "Lefty".

Q: What about a rapist from Hamtramck? 
A: "Squeal O'Neil" or "Squeaky" or "Mickey Mouse", your choice.

Jonesing for a 6.5mm Creedmoor

I don't need another firearm.

I do have the dies to reload this caliber.

One of the Creedmoor's selling points is its mild recoil. The Ammo.com comparison claims that the .308 Win generates 50% more recoil energy than the Creedmoor. Lower recoil from "factory ammo" is a major selling point when introducing kids to shooting.

Maybe I can talk Handsome Hombre into buying one. 

Inflation 

Another consideration is that firearms hold value better than most other items I could purchase. Inflation driven by fuel prices is accelerating. And it isn't just at the fuel-pump. Many of our gadgets come from eastern Asia and they are being slammed by oil availability MUCH more severely than we are. Low availability drives up price of production and it will get passed along.

Hold onto your shorts, we are likely to be in for a wild ride. 

 

Walk-about AAR

 

I left the house at 9:40 AM. 6mph wind out of the NNE. Occasional raindrop hitting my bare arms.

My backpack weighed 9.5 pounds at the start of the trip and contained 100 ounces of liquid. I drank 20 ounces at 1:10, 2:20 and 3:30 which left me with 40 ounces extra.

I took two acetaminophen at about the 3:00 mark. My left shin was hurting. 

Provisions were two packages of Great Value Mountain trail Mix (240 Calories each) and 12 Triscuits (another 240 Calories) and an apple. That was exactly the right amount.

 

Most of the road was a series of gently undulating hills of approximately 20 feet, about four per mile.

I wonder if they realize that they will be able to sell this truck more quickly if they included their phone number somewhere.

 

The turn-around point. Yes, I slapped the sign.

This keys-out as Blue-stemmed Goldenrod, Solidago caesia

The flower clusters sprout out at every leaf all the way down the stem and it was growing in dry soil in full shade beneath Northern Red Oaks.

It was an uneventful, 13 mile walk. I saw 12 motor-vehicles in the first 6.5 miles and didn't bother to count them on the way back. I was also passed by a guy riding a bicycle.