4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Where are you and where are you going?
Saltation
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:20 am

4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Saltation »

4622. This will become more important over time, will always go down and is an ending point.

Matrix. Philosophy and surrounding topics.

Kaizen. Emphasizing incremental improvements.

Reckoning. An accounting of sorts on financial matters and relationships.

Adaptation. Systemic and personal changes observed.

Whistling. What's life without a bit of enjoyment?

About me:

32.
Male.
Married; two children, dog.
Bachelor's degree.
Bank owns home and we make payments. 196k left.
Three vehicles: 2018 RAM (owe 18k), 2010 Prius (own), 2003 Corolla (own)
Wisconsin.
Activities: Walking, hiking, meandering, causal road cycling, reading, cutting wood, camping, hunting, fishing, observing, listening, talking stupid.
Current book: Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber.

This journals goal: To discuss the mentioned items above in some amount of detail and expand, learn and implement new thoughts, ideas, frameworks into my life. This can also be a random walk to nowhere. Meandering is allowed. Interjection is allowed. Overindulging in cheap adult beverages is allowed. Popcorn is allowed but bring floss.

My particulars will be detailed in later posts. I anticipate posting and responding about every once in a while.
Last edited by Saltation on Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:07 am, edited 2 times in total.

RooBadley
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2020 10:47 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by RooBadley »

This is too easy, get rid of the car loan.
And welcome.
Last edited by RooBadley on Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Alphaville »

Saltation wrote:
Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:01 am

Whistling. What's life without a bit of enjoyment?
indeed

tonyedgecombe
Posts: 450
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:11 pm
Location: Oxford, UK Walkscore: 3

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Saltation wrote:
Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:01 am
Current book: Debt the First 5000 Years by David Graeber.
Is it any good, I've been meaning to reserve it for a while now.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Welcome. I like your headings!

Saltation
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:20 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Saltation »

@tony
The book is informative, well-written and detailed. ~220 pages in and have learned quite a lot. The title describes exactly what Graeber wants to discuss. The most enjoyable part of reading this book is the breadth of subjects that are used to bring a greater picture to the process of how debt has been used for control/power/manipulation and the impact it had on various cultures. This book up to my current place of reading is not an economics book. It is a book based on anthropology, psychology and sociology with economics considered only to round out the greater definition of what debt is. Before picking the book up I did read about Graeber and given his background his approach to writing about the topic is clear and as of now falls in line with his overall agenda and ideology.

Matrix: Meditation. Tenting in the rain/snow at 22-40F with a wet sleeping bag because your children left the door open with soaked socks, a whining dog and a child that just wet himself all at 2:00AM in the middle of 5000 acres requires a special type of meditation. There is no moment of contemplation or much planning you can do at this point. This was my weekends version of Tiananmen where I eyeballed the tank. Everything has unfolding while I asleep. None the less waking up to this wonderful situation a Zen mental state that's best described by this special quote from the Dalai Lama (I'm sure he said this) "Don't be a douchebag, everything is moving to its proper place." Well, it was. I let the pooch out with my wet socks on in the snow/rain, grabbed a few blankets for the boy, found another pair of socks and shivered as close to the top half of my wet sleeping bag as I could for the remainder of the night. Going in and out of sleep every 20 minutes thinking of when it was appropriate to rise for the day and drink a warm mug of thick percolated coffee.

Kaizen/Adaptation/Whistling: Moved the thermostat from 60 to 55 (our heat still has not kicked on). Found a box of candles and a brick of candle wax with 2 ft of wick. Burned up some cheap Ikea candles for heat, melted the wax and poured into an old candle jar and have been burning that for the last couple days. Wood stove is cleaned, chimney is swept and the wood is burning. The baseline goal is to make it into November without heat from the utility aside from the bathroom space heater and natural gas used for the water heater and stove. If our school districts continue to be closed hopefully this can be moved into December. We are 44.5133° N so this is an accomplishment given the wood stove is located in our finished basement and can heat the first floor to ~65. I look at this as a systems approach to heating our home. I go tenting/camping up north at a co-owned piece of property and while there cut standing dead wood and burn it for heat at home, enjoy time with family and friends while there, participate in hiking the woods, bird and deer hunting etc. and pass on to my children what it means to do a little something to provide for yourself.

Reckoning: October's budget going to be absurdly high for a variety of reasons: emergency vet bill from the pooch ingesting about 50 grapes on a Saturday, still paying full-time childcare, purchased a 1/2 pig and 1/4 cow and camp fees for materials associated with pouring a concrete slab.

Culinary activities this week include homemade chili made from a variety of free food. I had family that moved south and before the move they unloaded a pile of food. I used venison, ground chicken and beef broth from them to supplement a meat based chili. I also added stew meat, one pound of ground beef, onions, garlic, a dash of chicken stock and hot Portugal and red lantern peppers from the garden. We also made cornbread from some free cake flour and left over masa sitting in the cupboard. Made my first batch of chocolate chip cookies. There will be an outdoor gathering this weekend and I anticipate smoking bratwurst and serving with some homemade sauerkraut.

Next up is finding a way to grind coffee beans without a coffee grinder. I'm tempted to just bring this large container of beans I picked up from a friend to Costco and run it through the coffee grinder after checkout and chalk this up to being a membership benefit.

rref
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon May 29, 2017 12:24 pm

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by rref »

...
Last edited by rref on Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Maybe I misunderstood your post, but I wanted to alert you to the fact that it is dangerous to burn candles for heat due to carbon monoxide.

Saltation
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:20 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Saltation »

7w5: The candle burning is an act in using items up: it's a couple candles burning in the center of an island in our kitchen that have sat in a box for 5-10 years. This is not a large scale operation with 40 candles going simultaneously; written and performed as an act of jest. We monitor air quality with carbon monoxide detectors in the basement/first/second story because our home has a natural gas furnace/water heater and a wood stove.

rref: I looked into a mortar and pestle but honestly wanted to find a free, quick and mechanical way to process which led to using Costco membership benefits when I go monthly. Plus the amount of coffee beans used would required a lot mortar and pestle time. I have ~5 lbs of coffee beans and would need to grind ~20 grams daily to meet my consumption. I'll follow up with the Costco run and see what they say when I just walk in and start the grinder.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Gotcha. I only thought of it because it happened to me once :oops:

User avatar
Alphaville
Posts: 3611
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
Location: Quarantined

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Alphaville »

large bags of coffee will go rancid, and ground coffee goes rancid faster.

i keep my costco coffee beans in vacuum cans after the bag is open, and then use a manual grinder for each brew.

the manual grinder is a thing of beauty and quiet and worth the money and takes up little space.

i had cheap electric grinders before and they were noisy and craptastic and took up a lot of counter space.

i have used stone mortar and pestle to grind coffee before, and it was a slow and imprecise method, but it did work. it’s just hard to control the size of the grind that way. you’ll get large chunks and powder and all sizes of particle in between.

burr grinders still make some powder but minimize particle size variance vs other methods.

Hristo Botev
Posts: 1731
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:42 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Hristo Botev »

Interesting. Do you think it'd be appropriate/useful for a 10-year-old? Or is this something that would just go over a kids' head until they've got some algebra, etc.? Basically, would this program lay a practical foundation such that when my daughter gets to algebra and trigonometry in school, she'll have a better understanding of what's it all for?

Hristo Botev
Posts: 1731
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:42 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Hristo Botev »

Sorry! I posted my question on the wrong thread. Oops!

Saltation
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:20 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Saltation »

46......

Quite a lot happened in October and it was a red October.

Kaizen: Looking for suggestions: I have a couple boxes of Pho Bo rice noodles I need to use up and do not anticipate using the seasoning packets that accompany them. Any cheap suggestions on how to turn these basic rice noodles into a low cost dish without eating them plain? I have already tried adding a dab of soy sauce to the water after microwaving and shredded parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Reckoning: one of the highest expense months recorded since tracking expenses over the prior three years excepting a pool removal last year and pay as you go college education expenses. Please keep in mind the expenses below do not include insurance premiums that are taken out as part of our employer benefits. This was our take home pay. To keep it simple: we pay our insurances (health, dental, vision, life) and my DW has a pension she contributes ~6-7% to and I contribute 10% pre-tax to a 401k.

Take home: 7324
Expenses: 6858
Net savings: 466

I will provide a few details as this is embarrassingly high.
340 extra truck payment (506 is actual loan payment)
1095 daycare
1187 vet bills
873 1/4 beef, 1/2 pig (both grass/fruit tree fed, humanely raised)
100 camper storage (this is the total for seven months of storage)
195 camp fees for pouring concrete slab
78 propane tank fill up (4 tanks, done yearly, used as space heater in hunting blind, grill, brewing beer etc.)

Adaptation: Cooking for the month was excellent; we ate like royalty. Between multiple loaves of homemade bread, ham hock/neck bone soup, chocolate chip cookies and mixed meat chili the family was able to eat very well on food that cost us very little.

Whistling: 22 trees cut last month (most small-only came out to a few truckloads); some will be used for heating camp, others are being used for the woodstove at home. Yesterday the children, beagle and myself went walking through the woods and witnessed a few interesting sightings. Came across some coyote tracks about 200 yards from my blind and also watched two porcupines scamper up a large pine tree. A grouse flew directly out from the front of the truck but was unable to exit vehicle and grab shotgun quickly enough for a shot.

Had the opportunity to ride a modified KTM 300 EXC 2-stroke dirt bike on the farm and it was exhilarating. Ripped through all six gears on some back roads and the farm fields. The smell, sound, noise, control and responsiveness were all top notch. Not for the faint of heart. Whistling was strong. When the front tire pulls up in the first four gears with ease you're filled with excitement.

basuragomi
Posts: 418
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:13 pm

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by basuragomi »

Classic stir fry. Chopped onion, minced garlic, noodles, bean sprouts, oyster/black bean/hoisin/soy sauce, random herbs on top. Throw in an egg or fry the meat scraps used to make the pho until they're crispy.

zarathustra
Posts: 172
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:15 pm
Location: VEGAS, BABY

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by zarathustra »

I recently added some rice noodles I had in my cupboard to my weekly chicken stock to do a noodle soup of sorts that you can add meat to on any given day. I added some shallots, juliened carrot, and some bok choy that was going bad. Then the next day I saw shrimp were on sale so I stir fried those with garlic and added to the soup and it was the highlight of the month.

Saltation
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:20 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Saltation »

449....

Matrix: Been lurking on the forums for a couple months intending to provide another journal post but realized that I had nothing specific to contribute at the time. A portion of this post is to motivate others to keep this community strong. There has been a lot of deleting of posts and journals modified as well as concerning discussion on the future of the ERE forum, community etc. While I'm not a significant contributor it is alarming as this community has been very important to the development of many a folk. It was crucial in my decision to go back and get a Finance degree, to expand my garden, to supplement with wood heat, to play well with others, to search for answers diligently and not accept anything at face value. It has been an educational outlet that has changed my perspective on a variety of topics such as waste, system theory, politics, religion, parenting, money etc. Book clubs and recommended readings/watching has been eye opening to say the very least. Coming from a blue collar, gun toting, heavy beer drinking family with little focus on individual intellectual development can provide a variety of obstacles to overcome and the community here is what provides the breadcrumbs to a more enlightened life.


Kaizen:Rice noodles have been slowly used up. I made multiple stir frys that I had from frozen vegetables and the noodles with some soy sauce. Family enjoyed. I also ate them normally for lunch with an apple to complete a meal. Next item on the list is a turkey. The plan is roaster oven, with mashed potatoes as a side with a pressure cooker split pea soup.

I have started utilizing the smart response feature on my thermostat at home. Schedule follows: M-F 65f 4pm-8pm, 57 rest of day. SS 65f 7am-8pm, 57 rest of day.

Reckoning: 4.5 months left of daily childcare . Utilized the stimulus money to make a lump sum payment on the truck loan. If another stimulus passes and a tax return is reasonable I expect to have extinguished this loan by July 1. Business income was up last year even with the pandemic. Small raise at work.

Adaptation: My digestive system is undergoing changes: the significant influx of dried beans and peas into our grocery budget to make more soups and inexpensive side dishes creates intestinal disturbances more regularly than my previously chosen foods.

Whistling: Daily walks, 3/week lifting, ice fishing once (good time, not a lot of fish), snow blowing, waffle making, rabbit hunting and shooting weekly trap. Trap shooting is hovering at 22/25. Rabbit hunting came back dry. Snow blowing neighbors end of driveway resulted in beer, bread and homemade pear sauce.

DutchGirl
Posts: 1646
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:49 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by DutchGirl »

Okay... I'm curious... is that number 4622 the number of days that you plan to still have/need a job?

As for the "adaptation" of the digestive system... from embarrassing experience: some digestive systems will never get used to some specific food items and will continue to revolt against them. You might be stronger and more persistent than I am, but essentially after a couple of years I've started avoiding two specific types of veggies that just... make the bad bacteria in my gut waaaaaayyyy too happy and means that they're throwing loud and odorous parties in there. I believe that these food items can be different for different people, so you might want to try and find out whether it's a specific type of food or maybe even a specific type of preparing a specific food item that makes your gut unhappy.

Laura Ingalls
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:13 am

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Laura Ingalls »

Enjoying your journal. I detect a very fun-loving Cheesehead-centric vibe. Your life seems much like mine 20 years ago complete with the big truck payment and day care. Now I am a geezer who is mostly retired with offspring that are mostly grown. Still eating beans.

Gilberto de Piento
Posts: 1942
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm

Re: 4622. Matrix. Kaizen. Reckoning. Adaptation. Whistling.

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Just read your journal. Sounds like things are going well. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work!

Random comments coming months too late:

A regular kitchen blender works fairly well on coffee beans for a coarse grind.

Jealous of the KTM ride. Never had a Euro bike but I miss dirt bikes in general. To me it feels like dirt bikes are kind of a dying breed. 20 years ago it seemed like everyone wanted an ATV and now side by sides are the thing to have. Braaaaap!

Also jealous of the wood stove heat. Nice way to save money in your situation, I'd like one as back up heat in case of furnace failure or whatever.

(Some kind of joke about a truck named in all caps. RAM!)

Post Reply