Ted’s essays

FastTing

I am now certain that the ketosis state of fasting arrived this time almost immediately. In that phase, the body has settled into a ‘cave-man’ mode that can sustain it until the hunting and foraging delivers more food. For people of typical USofA lifestyle, that takes about four days on a diet of water only. I am now into Day 3. My bowel purged Saturday (Day 1). The low-grade fever that I have experienced around bed-time with every fast I undertook also began Saturday – which surprised me for arriving so soon. By Sunday my recently chronic congestion was reduced. I was somewhat disbelieving that I could be in the healing phase of ketosis THIS EARLY. Today, however, I am […]

Guerrilla’s Guide To 2-Way Radio

For my heading, I purposefully modified NC Scout’s bestselling book title that I am discussing in this post. The Guerrilla’s Guide To The Baofeng Radio goes far beyond the make/model amateur radio he recommends in it. I and a fellow active licensed radio operator (HAM) took a local class from him a few years ago. It was extremely informative and valuable. I expect this book to have much of what we learned in that class, and quite a bit more packed into it. I have ordered my own copy, so this is a recommendation in advance of being able to review it, based on what I know of the author and of the subject matter. He created and operates Brushbeater […]

simple pleasures in the workshop

Once in a while I simply get lucky as a photographer. I suppose as a modestly inspired amateur, that will be the only way I get a photo that really tickles me. Below is one of them. At my skill level, getting the lighting just right to comfortably light the background while focusing attention, and projecting a welcoming feeling has to be totally a lucky shot, but this one speaks volumes for the shop guy, and the car guy in me. I briefly opened the bay doors to admit the Honda for its overdue wheel swap from summer to winter. The woodburner in the far corner got the shop heat back up to a workspace comfortable 45-60 in no time. […]

My 11-day fast ends with fascinating health improvements

My hunger denial system broke down last night. Fasting experts often claim interest in food goes away after a few days of fasting and that your signal to end the fast is the return of hunger. I was ravenous last night. I called it to a close. Eyes, ears, nose and throat are all much healthier than a couple weeks ago. My double-handful of belly fat is now a single handful. The following is straight from my journal/fasting log: Personally, I can no longer imagine going to a very expensive petrochemical pharmaceutical dispensing expert to passively ingest whatever expensive side-effect-laden concoction he prescribes in hopes of curing my numerous health imbalances – when my body is amazingly well designed […]

why reload your own ammunition

By the time you have purchased the equipment required to load your own ammunition, then bought primers, powder, brass and bullets, you will not have saved any money over purchasing commercial factory loaded ammunition. Trained snipers use commercial high-end ammunition made specifically for that task. Cost per round doesn’t matter, but repeatability, reliability and lethality mean everything. Hunters only take a few shots per year per rifle. They cannot make handloading pay off for them. Your typical handloader is a guy who shoots in competition. We shoot a lot. The cost-per round must be on par with the cheap ammo while the accuracy through OUR GUNS has to be nearer the high end. I shot DCM, then CMP, and […]

video gamer rules for life

I have a good friend who enjoys video games. He is active, creative and productive in the real world too. However he often shows me how gamers approach life and ‘meat-space’ (vs meta-space) quite differently from those of us who do not and have not spent time video gaming. If you don’t like how things are going in their world, turn the game off or start a new one. In our world, we figure out another approach for our life, the challenge in front of us, or the direction we were going, then forge ahead. We sometimes have to drag an old burden along for a while, but eventually pull our way clear. A new idea for a business, […]

clearing the air

For the last few days, the wildfire smoke around here has been rated “UNHEALTHY”. I use the site AirNow to verify. Click the link to see any city. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and relatives offer this advice: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens – take any of these steps to reduce your exposure: Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Keep outdoor activities short. Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them. Everyone else – take any of these steps to reduce your exposure: Choose less strenuous activities (like walking instead of running) so you don’t breathe as hard. Shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors. Be active outdoors when air quality is better. […]

bargain basement boot rack

We have muck boots for ourselves, family, friends and guests – anyone who happens by to work or play in our chicken yard, creek, snow or mud. Mostly the collection has been standing in the alley between our house and garage. One such friend recently discovered a mouse nest in one of the boots we were loaning out. Turns out more than one boot was thusly violated. Fortunately this particular guest is an earthy guy who was not put off by this violation, but the ICK-factor was something we could not tolerate. My wife sent me links to several boot rack models she wanted so the boots would be unwelcome to mice, keep them dry, visible and ready for […]

intermittent fasting – getting ready for swimsuit season

I have written about fasting and published here, at Bitterroot Bugle, and Idaho Liberty. There are many forms a fast can take with “intermittent fasting” likely the most popular. The easiest of those is skipping one of our three standard meals of each day. I began leaving lunches off the table several years ago. That was rather convenient and helped my waistline a lot. I am now older and slower. I don’t even burn off two good meals a day any more. Last summer the kitchen help took a nine day vacation to visit her family. I minded the homestead and took the opportunity to do a full water-only fast. That is nine days between meals. It was very […]

hair care

Via age and personality, I have approached caring for my hair a wide variety of ways. Some will be surprised that I was normal once upon a time. My hair looked like every other guy’s hair and the products in my shower were the same stuff that everybody in the country had in theirs. Once in a while circumstances would put extended periods of time between barber visits, both professional and volunteers. I was rather indifferent to that. The stuff grew. It was cut or not cut. I dealt with it either way. I have written and published several articles on why Nature tries to grow long hair on our heads and why we should respect that. I won’t belabor […]

finding peace

I realized an urgent need to find a peaceful place for my head. Knowing I live in one of the great places on Earth, it had to be somewhere around her if I looked. Sure enough, leaning back in my easy chair I saw it right in front of me. The clutter had to go. Hiding right there in plain sight was the studio space I had created as my personal ideal. I had simply allowed myself to move to rapidly from one project to the next without resetting my space to the order and neatness I require. Yesterday I restored it. Then I returned to music and art after a long absence. Lovely. […]

over stove rack

One attribute of mine appreciated greatly by my spousal unit she nicknamed “The Shelf Meister”. I never build any two alike. Everything is a prototype, custom for the situation, location and application. It is a constant game for me to move things off the flat working surfaces and her to bring more gadgets and gizmos out that then occupy the space thus cleared. Rinse. Repeat. My newest creation is from flat-bar steel and rods cut and heat-bent. The copper paint amuses me and fits the decor. I get a kick out of people puzzling over why magnets stick to my copper. […]