My lower back went out yet AGAIN! !@@@###%%^@&&!!! …. This is getting old. Worse than the first time. Almost 5 weeks now this has been slowing me down. At least now I can get to a chiropractor. That has helped but it is still been slow. So DAMN frustrating! But just have to keep nibbling away at improvements with tiny steps.

I was able to go to a local park the last couple of days to at least hobble around a little. That was nice. If I can keep up level of improvement I eventually want to start rucking around that park with a 15 – 20kg load. We’ll see.

I saw a cute aphorism the other day in an Ilona Andrews book I was reading. I thought it apropos as I had been thinking in terms of a post-apocalyptic world and getting a wilderness kit together to go walkabout. But as the one of the author’s characters that lived in the mountains said … “If it weren’t for supplies, I’d never go back down to town. But a man has to do what a man has to do. It’s hard to live like a king without toilet paper.” 😊Hard to argue with that.

Origin of APHORISM - General sense of "short, pithy statement containing a truth of general import" – Came from the Greek (what a surprise) - from Greek aphorismos "definition; short, pithy sentence,". Distinguished from an axiom, which is a statement of self-evident truth; an epigram is like an aphorism, but lacking in general import. Maxim and saying can be used as synonyms for aphorism, but maxims tend to be practical and sayings tend to be more commonplace and have an author's name attached. [ https://www.etymonline.com/word/aphorism ]

Went on a 3-mile hike with my friends 2 weeks ago. Barely off road. High desert environment near to highway. Close to Mt. Charleston near Las Vegas. 6000’ altitude give or take. What a re-education for me. I had forgotten so much about being outdoors even in a baby step environment like this. But I enjoyed it.

But it is so easy to get yourself into a dangerous situation just a little off the beaten path. No cell signal. Not enough water. Slipping on loose gravel or stones. Snakes. No sun block or covering. No gloves. Not that we had a problem. But I saw the potential. Many of my lessons from my military days came back to me by the end of the day. I will definitely do more of this, but I will be better prepared next time.

TECHNOLOGY

I have been using the Cisco Webex platform to meet with people in Asia. I thought this better than Zoom. I don’t have the security issues with Zoom that other organizations have but I think they are having a hard time scaling to the volume of people that flooded onto their service. My brief experience with them in North America and Argentina has not been stellar. Cisco Webex is quite a reasonable free offering. Actually, an excellent offering, even for a small business.  And the two video meetings I’ve had to Asia (Philippines) have been quite stable and responsive.

See https://www.webex.com/pricing/index.html

I am starting to listen to music again – Amazon Unlimited Music streaming service has been the impetus behind that. That is really convenient. I can use on the phone or iPad or web browser. Even responds as Alexa. Even though I have 10s of thousands of songs, listening through this service is really better for me.

Listened to a cool TED talk the other day by an Argentinian.

https://ideas.ted.com/why-do-so-many-incompetent-men-become-leaders-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/

He (an Argentinian) had a joke; How do you become really rich? You buy an Argentinian male for what he IS worth, and sell him for what he THINKS he is worth 😊 … I believe my Argentinian friends may appreciate that (I did hear it from an Argentinian after all). ¿Como convertirse extremadamente rico? Comprar a un hombre argentino por lo que vale y venderlo por lo que el hombre cree que vale. (Jajajaja …) [Corrections on my Spanish are welcome]

Essentialism

I’m looking at creating a trunk set for moving around in North America. It will consist of just a few major components. The idea is that I can pack a few heavy-duty trunks together that could fit in the back of a large SUV or a truck / U-Haul and go. Any place I rolled these trunks into would become an instant home. That does assume a minimally furnished place, although if necessary, one could buy a few essential furniture and appliances for an unfurnished place [new or from garage sales] and be fine as well.

Why am I doing this? I guess angst from the current situation. Feeling like I have the ability to move with minimal baggage (physical and mental) at a moment’s notice … allows me to feel like I have some control. Even though I don’t 😊. Stoic fundamentals remind me of that. All the same, preparation, or planning at least, does no harm and makes me feel better.

One could live right out of the trunks themselves. I was inspired by the steamer trunks from the golden age of travel in the 20s and 30s. The bags / trunks would be:

Bug out bag – if I really had to go with just 2 bags this would have the essentials

o   Clothes + Toiletries

o   Computer + Communication Stuff

o   Medical

o   Small Tool Kit

o   Cash

In fact - this is what I left Argentina with and it was OK.

Medical kit – Full Medical Bag – This is being a bit difficult to build frankly but I’m working on it.

Kitchen supplies + linens and towels + Tools – 2 Trunks

Office setup + Shelving – 2 trunks

Trekking Gear – 1 Trunk

That’s a lot of trunks. But once I get my lists figured out I can probably reduce by 1 or 2 hopefully. Or use some small trunks (cubes) instead for some things.

For the shelving I was looking at the industrial shelving, epoxy coated, or chrome that one can flat pack relatively easily and then assemble again. Nexel shelves look good for this (www.globalindustrial.com ). This I would carry separately. My thought is that I could also carry one sheet of 3’ x 6’ plywood in the truck bed, then rest it across two of the shelves adjusted at the correct level to provide an adequate work table.

The trunks need to be rollable. Waterproof not absolutely required but I am considering it. These guys have a very nice selection:

https://www.rhinotrunkandcase.com

Researching and constructing the lists is an enjoyable exercise. The benefit of this from the essentialist outlook is that it helps develop a laser like focus on what one really needs to be comfortable and get by. The recent events have put me in a place where I have been on the road for 4 months with no end in sight. I don’t have a single one of my momentos or knick knacks with me (not that I have many). And do I miss them? Not even a little. Truth to tell, I would have to think hard to remember what they were.

Some quotes I really enjoyed from books I am reading and other sources.

Sweep of the Blade – Innkeeper Series – Ilona Andrews - “I don’t exactly know, my flower. I think it’s because they lack confidence. They think they figured out the rules of their world and when something falls outside those rules, it scares them.” – Woman trying to explain to her daughter why people hate others who don’t agree with them. Geee. Why would I consider that an appropriate quote for the times?

I really like this author (A pseudonym for a wife / husband writing team). They have several series all in the Sci-fi / Fantasy realms. I’m working my way through them all.

Hammer of Witches (Thaumatology Book 6) – Niall Teasdale – “Self-delusion is just stupid”. Another of my favorite authors.

Death’s Handmaiden – Niall Teasdale - ‘When you get down to it, everywhere is really quite generic, but if you’ve never been there before, it can still have some charm. Until you get used to it, anyway.’

Lord Byron [Romantic English poet from 1800s] once said that “his religious upbringing never prevented him from sinning but always prevented him from enjoying it as much as he wanted.”

“Don't fight forces, use them.” R. Buckminster Fuller – Quite apropos at any moment in time, let alone now. Bucky Fuller was a prolific American inventor, writer, and futurist who died in 1983. He reinvented and popularized  the Geodesic dome (Originally invented by Walther Bauersfeld). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller

Other Thoughts

https://www.sheshouldrun.org/ - Hard for me to disagree with the aim of this web site.

https://anchor.fm/practicallyzerowaste - Elsbeth Callaghan does this podcast. I find it really informative and relaxing.