I Give Us (SM) an "F" as in "Fail"... told you some will not like it

I agree & thanks for bringing this up @Bear . It is something that needs to be discussed and I personally like the idea of streamlining and getting rid of the bulk in this lifestyle. I don’t want to spend $100 for something to sit in my closet for just in case. I personally want to learn how to use what is in my world to get the job done and then some. I have made expensive mistakes and I think it was from questioning the wrong people or not enough people or maybe just getting suck in the material world. It is real easy to read someone’s review on gear and think that is what I have been looking for, yet that gear item may not truly be what you need. @duane sums it up nicely-

 

This is a great idea. I find myself paring down what I own and concentrate on quality vs quantity. As my knowledge base increase the need for gear decreases, it is a natural progression. What it nice is the ability to pass it on to others when they are lacking.

Now is the time to get out, use and test gear, and develop skills because it is painless. A failure means you go home, get warm and start again vs not having the ability to get home, go to the hospital or crawl into your warm bed if or when things go upside down. Right now a failure is more meaningful than success, imo there is little to learn from a success vs a failure. Right now gear can be replaced and there is no penalty for failure.

Quality always trumps quantity. Buying the best you can afford is something that was taught to me years ago and it has served me well. But confusing quality with the latest greatest product can get one into trouble. I catch as many fish with my old walmart fly rod and reel as many do with the latest super expensive orvis rod.

There is a willingness to help new members I have experienced it first hand. When I needed help with a receiving antenna BTpost was there, giving down to earth instructions that even I could understand, lol. I understand where Bear is coming from but I think an "f" is too harsh.

 

Thanks @Brokor for the kind words and for taking time to read my long post...

I have the best of intentions and I know that many times a "kick in the butt" is just the wake up call I need to "make a change"... yeah I'm a "Man in the Mirror" kind of guy...

I encourage you and anyone here, if anything I have said "inspires" or "motivates" you to do something or begin new threads... to please go ahead and do so... hijack anything in my post and run (or fly) with it... I think there are a lot of things we can teach, discuss and demonstrate... that will benefit SM as a whole... I say... "Just Do It"....

I'm still learning... and many of your and the other member's posts and thoughtful threads have indeed impacted my own thinking, "inspired", "motivated" and even "kicked me in the butt"....

I appreciate your time and comments....

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Thanks @Hanzo

You are always a great friend and sounding board with thoughtful insights...

I like the Ray Mears quote as well as the other references made... gave me pause to consider the applications in my own life and journeys....

I am not sure how I will apply Sun Tzu to my Sourdough Journey ... but I am still thinking on that... I will find a way

Your "Wealth" quote and comments made me recall another quote... I have absolutely no idea where it is from... but I believe it applies here to my OP... it goes something like this

Happiness is not found in the things you really want but don't have... but rather ... Appreciating and really wanting the things you already have.

I my own cockeyed, sideways, upside sort of bear point of view... that's pausing to think of and be grateful for all the things you have in your life now ... and then continuing on your journeys... sort of a "happier" way to trek down what can sometimes be life's not so pleasant or difficult paths....

Thanks again buddy...

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Aloha and Mahalo (Thanks) @duane ... I appreciate the kind words and comments...

I have to agree with you on your second sentence... see the end of my post to Hanzo above....

Knowledge and Wisdom really is tough isn't it? I pray for that each and every day... Life and the World has changed... people and environments... new knowledge and new wisdom is needed... not forgetting the old... but if we don't move forward... then we fall back as the world passes us by....

Sad to see the old ways go and yes real estate is such a good example... Farms and Ranches... big yard and parks for people and the kids... lots are gone for planned communities, high rises, industrial parks etc... and that's happening pretty darn fast... population density increasing and never ending material desires made for an "interesting" landscape ...

How do we navigate that on our journeys?... probably no problem for most who are "auto-pilot" for most of their lives... but for the few that took that "Other Pill"... and woke... and want something different... that can be a challenge...

Thank goodness for National Parks and a few wide open spaces, big yards and beautiful parks.... even a tiny little garden is precious.... I often sit amongst my gotten plants and do some carving or knapping and practice skills like I'm "out there"... LOL....

Thanks again,

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

@Ganado you are so kind and such a "wordsmith".... Thank you...

Believe it or not... I don't believe if you are a "prepper" that you will ever believe that you have achieved an "advanced" level of preparations... there is always something else... something new to replace the old... expired or soon to be expired supplies... training... etc.. etc... sheesh... it get's exhausting and down right depressing some times... not enough TIME, MONEY, ENERGY etc... It's not just a "Life Spiral".... but I think in all honesty... it's also a "Death Spiral"

At some point you tell yourself... the "rush" to get prepared is now done... I'm good... I will not let it consume me, my life or my family...

How many times was the S supposed to hit the fan in the past 30 years?... that's a very long time to be pushing yourself to hurry and prepare... and let's be really really honest and realistic with ourselves... BALANCE in life is everything... where you find it is up to you to decide based on a myriad of variables that are different for each member...

I won't let my own fear and uncertainty or for that matter the fears and uncertainly of others imposed on me... be an excuse for making questionable decisions with my resources, time, family and friends... I certainly won't let them dictate how I define my "Happiness and Satisfaction" in life either...

Wish I had your skills... but more happy that you have them... you're so good at it... well at least the bread stuff recently

Keep on keeping on... this Survival thing, I fear, often becomes a nagging rush to fill a perceived gap or inadequacy... I believe its really, or at least should be.... a Satisfaction, Self Sufficiency, Independent, Confidence, Happy thing....

I like your suggestions... I will make it a point to go and check out some of my older post... I really think... I am very different from some of them...

Thanks again,

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

@ghrit that's one of my favorite quotes ... not quite sure where it came from but supposedly it has military roots?

I like it because it reminds me to have back up... a plan b, c, d,... to be prepared to be unprepared ... to expect the unexpected... etc...

But you are right... too much of a good thing?... well that's not helpful either... where do you draw the line?

You make good points and are correct on your observations.... and maybe your assessment is more accurate than mine...

I wonder though... if sometimes, even with all that we do well... the end result is as I described in my OP?

It's a thought I pondered... that if I do everything I think I can do ... take every consideration I can think of and apply it in what I think is and effective, respectful and thoughtful manner.... and the end result does meet the original objective and is still unsatisfactory... did I fail?

You make good points and have caused me to ponder... Thanks for that...

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Absolutely hit the nail on the head @HK_User ...

as we get older... the tools we use and need change... most older blacksmiths invest time to make or money to purchase a hydraulic, air or mechanical hammer(s) or presses (if they don't already have one) as their strength and endurance changes....

Even thought I sold my beloved Little Giant 25 lb. Power hammer for 1929... I will definitely have another... already have the design endorsed by many seasoned blacksmiths, which I will fabricate myself, which will be a simpler, safer, smaller, much less expensive hammer that will hit harder and more efficiently than my Little Giant...

Guess you also get smarter and better as you get older and invest the time to learn... no reason not to these days with information and resources readily available on the net....

It's the argument to never stop learning... not just world around us... but we are changing... getting older... maybe we have an injury or a health condition... or maybe it's just that we don't have time... or maybe we have more time

It's a fluid dynamic thing... and we are all resources with knowledge and wisdom to share and ensure our own and the other generations understand, value and embrace... not just hear us say or watch us do....

I was hoping to place a bit more emphasis on the impact of our actions here and an awareness of that... at least that was my intention... Success is when your "student" knows what to do, why, how, when, where and actually does it.... JMHO...

Thanks again,

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Thanks for the kind words @kellory

Great observations and examples... good thoughts and assessments in there...
Your posts are always a pleasure to read and I find myself thinking through them carefully....
Yup... nails were a limited resource out there ... way back when... wood for cabins was plentiful....
Your points are well taken... especially your last ones...
I'm not advocating taking a knife to a gunfight if you can afford not to... and you know how to use that gun...
But it sure helps to know how to survive a gunfight if you have to...

Now you have me curious... teach me... a green sapling and a boot lace?

Thanks again,

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Thanks for the reply @RightHand

You and I agree on skills first... stuff second... unfortunately... I wasn't always that way... age teaches you a few things I suppose
I respect your "outside the perimeter" existence and see how that could foster an active thought process...

There sure are a wide array of choices when faced with the old conundrum of all the ways to skin a rabbit.... I for one value the knowledge of all the options available to me... especially the simplest and easiest... to the fastest and most cost effective...

Good points to ponder....

Thanks for that....

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Sun Tzu and sourdough... too deep for me!

But I do believe in appreciating what you have. That's why I always feel blessed. Less stress that way. And if you can afford it, get what you want. But not at the expense of what you need. Now my monkeys both want new bikes. Sheesh...

 

We know you are "out there." I am "out there" somewhere too.

 

Yup @Ganado like @RightHand said... skills first and gear second... gear is of less use if you don't know how to use it effectively...

Take a look at all your gear... or the gear you are thinking of acquiring... and ask yourself tough questions... do you know how to use it, do you really need it... do you still need it the same as when you purchased it... etc...

It may lead you on the path you were on anyway.... or it may take you down another...

And yes... don't let an "expert" talk you into something or a path... that your own best sense... says is wrong, uncomfortable or poorly timed... especially if it is more than you want to spend....

JMHO...

Thanks for the comment...

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

Great points @Witch Doctor 01 ...

I like the "Art" vs "Science" thing... and yes the challenge is that we are definitely different and have different circumstances... I think SM is and has always been up to that challenge... hence my post....

Your "two bits" are important and I most definitely have been known to be dead wrong and way off base on things.... maybe I am on this one.... maybe not... I'm thinking about what I was thinking about as I read and respond to all the comments here...

Thanks again for yours...

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

You can do everything you are supposed to, do everything right, and still fail or lose. That's pretty much just life. But I do believe if you do what you are supposed to do, things generally work out in the long run. I know this goes in the face of OPSEC, but I will share. OPSEC isn't everything. We named our oldest daughter Kina'ole, one of her names anyway. Most times, sharing feels like kina'ole. Kina’ole: Doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, for the right individual, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time.

 

Kinda funny you bring this up...

The reason I very rarely post on SM anymore and voluntarily became a lurker is because I had the exact opposite experience you describe.

I did go out of my way to give "open, honest opinion, reflection and self evaluation. Maybe even some constructive discussion." Many of my replies were very detailed and took several hours to prepare. By your measuring stick, I should get an A+.

Then one day I was told, in essence, that I was acting like too much of a "know it all" on a particular topic and my style was not being taken well.

My solution was simple: I just up and quit. I immediately went into lurker mode. This is only my second post in nearly a year.

This is not a job interview and I am not here to prove anything to anyone. I know more about my field than probably 95% of the members on this forum and it does not bother me at all to remain silent while others hand out horribly bad and sometimes dangerous advice. I don't need this crap. I already know what I'm doing.

The good news for me is that a few months ago I started a second blog (in addition to one that I was already running not related to survival/prepping) and published technical articles and information that in another time I would gladly post on SM or some other forum. The project is so far a modest success.

So my suggestion to @Bear or anyone else is to be very guarded about how helpful you are in public forums. The membership won't appreciate you and the site moderators don't care. If you really know your stuff, go start your own blog (it's quite easy) so you can run the place the way you want, collect all the credit, and have the satisfaction of not giving page views away to ungracious people who will take your goodwill and stick it up your ass.

Since I don't make many public appearances, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

 

Thanks for the great comments @Kingfish ...
Yeah... what I can afford is way different on a lot of things... sigh... but life is great and I'm good with that!

What a great point... "If we fail... they fail"... like my parents drilled into me... "so if everyone jumps off a cliff... you're gonna jump off a cliff too????" yikes I remember hearing that so many time when they were drilling home for me to be smart and use my own brains and common sense....

Good luck on the gardening and electricity... great goals....

LOL... yeah I do need to lighten up sometimes.... thanks for the reminder!

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear

 

My guess is a springing type trap. FUN.

 

Good one @Hanzo... my line... you don't just want to survive... you want to survive well... TCAGB Bear

 

Thanks for the comments @melbo

Enjoyed our conversation and your perspectives on this... always a pleasure...

Have a great weekend!

Take Care and God Bless,

Bear