Random Thought Thread

BTW,

Update on more testing with the ice/cooling vest.

This time, I put 2 of the homemade packs in the freezer and stuck those in the front pockets of the vest, and 3 of the homemade packs, and 1 of the ice packs that was included with the vest, cooled in the fridge, in the back pockets.

90f 55%RH.

After 1 hour of yardwork, the 2 homemade packs from the freezer were still at 52f and 55f.

2 of the homemade packs, and the 1 included ice pack that were all cooled in the fridge, and placed in the back pockets were 71-72f. One of the homemade packs was 62f (I'm guessing it wasn't making good contact with my back).

Still, the vest kept me comfortable in that temperature (although the packs from the freezer that were placed in the front pockets were uncomfortably cold for the first ~15 minutes).

When I get the chance, I'll try to soak a small towel in the homemade solution, and place it in some kind of bag (eg. ziplock, or use the vacuum sealer), so I can wrap the cooled towel around my neck, to see how that feels.

I also need to do some longer tests in 90f or hotter, to see just how long the fridge cooled packs continue to cool (eg. How long they continue to stay cooler than the ambient temps. I'll take 72f @ 90f ambient, if it can maintain that for a decent length of time).
 
All the doomsday talk about Fords makes me feel lucky. I hauled a bunch of tongue & groove out to my cabin today, and the trail was a mess after a ton of rain. Some places were about a foot deep. My 25 yr old bubba truck 7.3 seems happiest loaded and off road. Poking along at under 1,000 RPM’s just rolling through the mud, water holes and rough sections. Getting back off the trail I unlocked my hubs (manual) and drove 75mph 95 miles home. I freely admit that I LOVE Cooper STT tires.

Nathan, I hope your new truck brings you much needed reliability!
 
yoko said:
Off the top of my head there's only a few things to look out for around here, couple of breeds of rattlesnake, recluse spiders ....... and the Detroit crackhead often known to cross borders
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I find watching the crackheads in Detroit can be very entertaining. You just have to treat the experience like a trip to the zoo and keep them at a distance. Crackheads at the Detroit zoo, that’s a very different thing.
I’ve never almost accidentally ran over a crackhead while driving my work truck through the zoo, peacocks, you have to keep a sharp eye out for.
They should have those things in an enclosure 😁
I used to drive through the zoo while “ working “. The people on the sidewalks didn’t like it very much, but they moved. The zoo eventually blocked off the entrance that went under the railroad tracks leaving me one less way to kill time on the clock while waiting for emergency calls.
 
Wasps are assholes. Discovered a ~10" paper wasp nest about 15' up in a tree near the corner of the house while doing the yardwork today.

Waited until nightfall to hit the nest. I'd never tried the foaming wasp killer before but decided to try it based on positive comments I'd read.

Learned a couple things:
- while the foam coats the nest, there's only so much you can cover the nest.

Unlike the non-foaming spray, where you can continue to saturate and soak the nest until the can is empty, as I was continuing trying to cover the nest (it was set back in the tree, so the spray could only hit maybe 40-50% of it), I had the bottom hole covered, but as I continued spraying, the foam build-up grew enough for a big clump of foam to fall off, allowing the assholes to stream out of the hole.

- fortunately, since the nest was up pretty high, only one of them came straight for me. Even so, it literally kamikaze'd straight into my chest (I just saw a streak in the flashlight beam, as it zipped towards me) and immediately stung on impact. Not even a pause between feeling the hit and the sting. Immediately swiped it off and ran, but in that split second, it already injected venom.

Also fortunately for me (I've mentioned this in another post about yellowjackets), I seem to have outgrown my insect sting/bite allergies from childhood.

Back then, being stung meant I'd swell up. It never got bad enough to require an epipen, or even worse, an ambulance ride, like my buddy in Grade school, but a sting on my upper chest like tonight would've probably made my neck start swelling up. Instead, it's just the little welt most normal folks would get, and doesn't really hurt too much (I probably brushed it off before it had a chance to inject too much venom).

Going to see how the nest is doing tomorrow. If it's still active, I'll use the regular jet spray tomorrow night. At least while continuing to saturate the nest with that, the assholes who try to come out, get soaked, can't fly, and die.
 
bluemax_1 said:
Wasps are assholes. Discovered a ~10" paper wasp nest about 15' up in a tree near the corner of the house while doing the yardwork today.

Waited until nightfall to hit the nest. I'd never tried the foaming wasp killer before but decided to try it based on positive comments I'd read.

Learned a couple things:
- while the foam coats the nest, there's only so much you can cover the nest.

Unlike the non-foaming spray, where you can continue to saturate and soak the nest until the can is empty, as I was continuing trying to cover the nest (it was set back in the tree, so the spray could only hit maybe 40-50% of it), I had the bottom hole covered, but as I continued spraying, the foam build-up grew enough for a big clump of foam to fall off, allowing the assholes to stream out of the hole.

- fortunately, since the nest was up pretty high, only one of them came straight for me. Even so, it literally kamikaze'd straight into my chest (I just saw a streak in the flashlight beam, as it zipped towards me) and immediately stung on impact. Not even a pause between feeling the hit and the sting. Immediately swiped it off and ran, but in that split second, it already injected venom.

Also fortunately for me (I've mentioned this in another post about yellowjackets), I seem to have outgrown my insect sting/bite allergies from childhood.

Back then, being stung meant I'd swell up. It never got bad enough to require an epipen, or even worse, an ambulance ride, like my buddy in Grade school, but a sting on my upper chest like tonight would've probably made my neck start swelling up. Instead, it's just the little welt most normal folks would get, and doesn't really hurt too much (I probably brushed it off before it had a chance to inject too much venom).

Going to see how the nest is doing tomorrow. If it's still active, I'll use the regular jet spray tomorrow night. At least while continuing to saturate the nest with that, the assholes who try to come out, get soaked, can't fly, and die.
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The absolute best spray for wasp I've ever used is Killa Vanilla (it says roach and ant on the can) but it works wonders on wasps ... and that shit kills quick. It's saved me from a crapload of stings. I go through two or three cans a summer. It's tough to get around here the Vet carries it.

20240731_234747.jpg

Way better than when we were growing up, it was wait until dark ... a really good nozzle on the garden hose and the dance of the dead wasp as they hit the ground stomping them while their wings were wet was our preferred method of "asshole" removal.
 
TRfromMT said:
Mean Gene Leather? He makes some nice, ah... Coin Purses
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These are not custom pieces. They are inexpensive saps made by Boston Leather and purchased from Baton Warehouse online. I've dealt with them a couple of times over the years and they are reliable.

Don't buy saps unless you are familiar with your local laws and ordinances. They are restricted in many places.
 
Blues said:
These are not custom pieces. They are inexpensive saps made by Boston Leather and purchased from Baton Warehouse online. I've dealt with them a couple of times over the years and they are reliable.

Don't buy saps unless you are familiar with your local laws and ordinances. They are restricted in many places.
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I never understood the laws behind saps and similar. I mean, I can lawfully carry a pistol, but will be arrested for some stupid brass knuckles, saps, nunchakus, etc.
 
91bravo said:
I never understood the laws behind saps and similar. I mean, I can lawfully carry a pistol, but will be arrested for some stupid brass knuckles, saps, nunchakus, etc.
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That's the way it is in many jurisdictions. If I wasn't a current or retired LEO, or meeting one of a very few other exceptions, I would be prohibited from carrying a sap. And the funny thing is that, like pepper spray, it is intended as a "less lethal" option. (Though it can of course become a lethal option quickly.)
 
91bravo said:
I never understood the laws behind saps and similar. I mean, I can lawfully carry a pistol, but will be arrested for some stupid brass knuckles, saps, nunchakus, etc.
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A lot of places have dated laws on the books that specify all sorts of weapons like that dating back to the 19th century through the mid-20th century. Same thing about switchblades - brass knuckles, Apache knives, 'sand clubs,' 'dirks,' 'daggers,' 'bowie knives,' etc. all had a public reputation as being the weapons of choice for street lowlifes. Most of those laws just remain on the books because there's not really a constituency looking to overturn them, and the argument is difficult because lots of normies just say "Why would you need a thing like that?" and there's not a clear upside for legislators to revoke them. Doesn't really make an effective campaign slogan.

One of the most irritating things about them is that often those terms are not defined, or they're very vaguely defined.
 
madcap_magician said:
A lot of places have dated laws on the books that specify all sorts of weapons like that dating back to the 19th century through the mid-20th century. Same thing about switchblades - brass knuckles, Apache knives, 'sand clubs,' 'dirks,' 'daggers,' 'bowie knives,' etc. all had a public reputation as being the weapons of choice for street lowlifes. Most of those laws just remain on the books because there's not really a constituency looking to overturn them, and the argument is difficult because lots of normies just say "Why would you need a thing like that?" and there's not a clear upside for legislators to revoke them. Doesn't really make an effective campaign slogan.

One of the most irritating things about them is that often those terms are not defined, or they're very vaguely defined.
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We can have/carry pretty much whatever (almost).........
but where I live it's illegal to dance.

or at least it was last I heard..... (just like Footloose)

and there are Other weird things on the books.
 
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