Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I just discovered that Steven Rinella (of Meateater) wrote a two volume series directly in line with the theme of this thread. The first volume arrived from the library and I've been reading through it over the past week. The book is broken up into five sections: -Gear -Tactics and strategies -Big ...

..barstow Amtrak stop is close, but bus connections to QH are tricky. A much more convenient stop is Bakersfield Barstow - two quick and cheap buses through scenic mountains will get you to within 4mi of QH, if you line them up. I just took the Amtrak from Bakersfield to Denver (San Joaquin to Sacr...

I had some other points to add to my post above about rail travel that the forum ate. Coach class on Amtrak is nothing like coach class on a plane or bus. There is a ton of legroom and the seats can recline about halfway back. I took a 42 hr ride (two nights) from Chicago to Seattle once and found t...

I recently learned about the US rail pass. The terms have changed slightly since the OP. The current offering is 10 segments within 30 days for $499. It seems like a no brainer for anyone looking to travel around to multiple places in a month. It's probably worth including that ERE Fest/Quail Haven ...

Another one on the theme of body language: Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication. I have not read it yet, but the author was on The Art of Manliness podcast and shared some of her research there. https://www.artofmanliness.com/people/social-skills/podcast-837-the-cues-that-ma...

Starlink. The other old school satellite providers (Hughes Net and similar) are woefully slow (max speeds of 3 mb/s), have very limited data and are only $20-$30 cheaper. Starlink offers 100 mb/s + download speeds at $120/month. There are other companies similar to Starlink (like OneWeb) but I'm not...

Thank you, all!!

@WRC- Chris Ryan did put the episode on his website, but the link does not appear to be listed. Here's the link: https://chrisryan.substack.com/p/606-ja ... -you-carry

We never ended up buying a cooler, we have just continued to use what we have on hand. I don't think this is the exact model that we have, but it seems like it's pretty close. https://www.coleman.com/coolers-drinkware/collections/316-series-hard-coolers/316-series-70-quart-hard-cooler/SAP_2179159.ht...

I think you'll find this thread of use: viewtopic.php?t=11374

Agreed. This is why I envision ERE City working out of people's homes and garages. For example, one person might have a garage gym, another a woodworking shop, a third is doing bikes and cars. Coordination is informal. MMM HQ has/had a slack channel (I was a member once ... maybe I still am) which ...

I like it.

Some questions for further thought. Assuming the intended market is not local, who is it going to be marketed to? How will you get the finished product there? Will initial capx involve buying a truck and trailer?

After nearly 9 months of traveling, we are finally home! We are both overjoyed to be home and have swore off leaving the state for a long time. We’ll see if we’re singing the same tune at the end of next winter. Mrs. Animal finished up her massage therapy coursework and has just a few more hours to ...

One of our favorite snacks on the PCT was a concoction called "raw cookie dough" that we learned from Andrew Skurka. Ingredients 1/2 lb cashews 2 oz of rolled oats Cinnamon to taste Salt to taste 1 tsp of vanilla 2.5 oz maple syrup 2.5 oz chocolate chips Blend everything in a food processo...

I'd missed your last update. Your fence looks really good. That was a good sized brush pile! Besides waiting for the right conditions, what do you do in terms of contingency planning in case things get out of hand? Considering it's spring, I figure the ground is fairly saturated. But in the extreme ...

I came across stainless steel in my earlier searches. There's a few different options on Amazon in varying sizes. The largest I've been able to find is this one, which is just over 1 gallon. Some of the others have a clear strip on the side (I don't remember if it's glass or plastic. I think the lat...

Have you tried seeing what your library offers? They may provide access to a streaming service or allow you to check out digital files through a service like Hoopla. My library offers the latter and I can check out albums for a week at a time. It doesn't have everything, but there is a decent variety.

That's a serious score! I got mine from someone with the same circumstances at $270 and I thought that was a deal. I like the pack a lot, I think you'll get good use out of it.

Something stands out to me with your endeavors. Money isn't really a constraint, but you don't subsidize away annoying parts of reality. IE - just pay for the premium zines, but sell at standard prices. Or eat the insurance and tooling cost for bike repair, so you can play without the other overhea...

A couple small nitpicks. 8-) 1) West of the continental divide, we have mostly mediterranean climates ranging from hot dry summers (100F) to warm dry summers (80F). Snow is rare or light. In the summer, these places are often on literal fire. Water is often imported from elsewhere. Most of these pla...

Ah! You were so close! I think you should go forward with your move. I'm worried that your new plan is a step back and that you are procrastinating actually moving and seeking comfort in further analysis. What is visiting some more cities going to do to change your mind? You already know that you ne...