Well, I had a half a productive day...

Got going early on Saturday ahead of a heavy rain storm that was predicted (3-4", think we ended up with 1.5" here but the Taylor Swift concert in Foxboro got absolutely drenched).

Couple trips to Harbor Freight in Willimantic, because they had both size ammo cans in stock unlike Dayville was showing online. Once I knew the 50 cal size was the right one went back for more; and then took the Fusion to Putnam for an oil change and tire rotate.



So two things came together here.

First, after the tire change last weekend realized I wanted to pull the trigger on some [Safe Jack](https://safejacks.com/) accessories for my jacks to make them...safer. And also more verstaile.

Second, while I had the jacks in an electrician's bag and another kept my miscellaneous oils and parts and stuff...I would like a way to store them that they could be outside in the dew / rain when camping to make more room inside the Jeep.

Packed the main kit so the 6 ton jack is mostly upright -- I think that should keep it from leaking, or at least not leaking any worse than standing up (not that it currently leaks).





Boxes re-organized. Still have some more stuff to put in them, but it was about 1pm at this point and I was getting hungry -- I had skipped breakfast in addition to the shower!



LOL...of course since hte seats lean backwards you can't stack the boxes up square :D

I figure these can also act as "sand bags" if I'm somewhere with a tent (or the pop-up outhouse/shower) that I can't peg it down.



So the down side of heading out early on Saturday, I'm thinking I didn't take a shower -- which usually means I didn't take my morning pills, which means this time of year I probably didn't take my Claritin. Which would explain why I desperately wanted a nap by Saturday afternoon and still felt out of sorts on Sunday even after a shower and pills :(

So didn't get much else done, but then as I'm typing this up with one of my usual YouTube channels on TV I look up and I'm like, "I've stayed at that hotel!" (I knew they had to be near Richfield from the route they were on, then they mentioned the city name as I was thinking the hotel looked familiar!)

Wheeling at the Farm 2023

More photos to follow...but first verified my Spot still works for tracking :)

At least Search & Rescue will have a last 10 minute location if I go missing while it's on. Going to try a new way to mount it to the A-pillar in the Jeep and see if I still get good coverage.

(And videos! But I don't feel like processing them tonight :) )

Owned the Jeep for 3-1/2 years, finally realized the GPS has a memory when I wasn't looking forward to entering the address of The Farm again...**sigh** bottom one should be the destination :)









Heading out on the Green run. Small group this year, several who signed up had to back out for various reasons. Sean in the lead, me tailgunning.








Jeeping the old fashion way...you know with GPS, Ham Radio, iPad, GMRS radios, cameras, etc.



After lunch Raj left. Sean, Me, and Jerry headed down one of the long green trails to map it better and see how much work it would be to turn a short blue section green in order to make a complete loop that is (a) Green and (b) Stock Friendly for future years. The main green isn't bad, but once it goes blue it got rough. But my guess is there is only a couple stones that look like they may be challenges to work around -- a lot of the rest is maybe trimming turns wider, pulling a few smaller diff grabbing stones that should winch out, and half a dozen stumps that could be cut down so you could roll a tire over them.

I don't mind talking people over obstacles, I don't want to body damage something like a stock Sahara.





*sigh*...the mechanic who does most of the work on my Jeep is an idiot. I'm the mechanic who does most of the work. After 3 years finally had the right combination to hit a sway bar bolt I put in backwards and destroyed a tire. I was hugging a stump and it pushed everything just right.

So got through that section and to a "rough" Green that required a lot of manuevering around large stumps. God as my witness, I thought I was completely clear and had a decent head of steam up when I saw my front fender go flying. I knock it loose once or twice a year, this stripped right off. I think it got "squeezed" where by tire was clearing a stump just fine, but it didn't.





SUNDAY

Analyzing the situation the next morning, it was clear that top bolt was the culprit :/








So Sunday afternoon a new tool arrived -- playing with a magnet mount, solar-rechargeable, wireless backup camera but using it on the front bumper as a cheap trail cam:



Playing with it on the rock slider:



Time to build a better/easier holder for my Spot X than rubber bands. Also, the iPhone sure got confused by the LEDs indicating the backup camera (just sitting on my dash for reasons) was charging...that's definitely not the normal LED blue color they have.

Had some really dense cardboard they use for wrapping metal corners and stuff in shipping boxes.





Some of it was structural electrical, but then I put a decorative layer around it so it would be all black. Realized later I should've also wrapped the very top edge.



Piece of velcro to hold in place aroudn the tweeter on the dash.

Mulch Day!

Used to have a co-worker who had annual mulch week off. Joked I was taking today as a Mulch Day...but wouldn't be doing mulch.

Well...I kind of eventually did.

Was one of those days that oddly I was both on the go all day and actually felt like I accomplished stuff.

Harbor Freight run, checked with Norm on my tire (good news, didn't need a new tire I had just gouged the layer of white rubber they put on for raised white lettering tires), ran back and had them replace my spare tire that had cracks in the treads with a better tire I had, four (4!) runs to the dump (and I'll probably do two more on Friday), then spent a couple hours forking away much of the remaining pile of logs I bought in 2017 before I knew just how bad my knees were.







I'm at the point I'll need to switch to the bucket to clean up for a bit, then fork a few last logs away, then finish with the bucket. But progress!

Moosup has a song....who knew!?

Just enough mud...

Went over to Eric's farm after work Monday, they had picked up pigs that afternoon.

The Underlying Logic of Honor, Face, and Dignity Systems

From: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8096119/

Honor

Honor systems are thought to evolve when rule of law is weak, making it incumbent on citizens, primarily men, to provide security for themselves and their families. They do so by establishing a trustworthy reputation and using anger and violence to demonstrate that they cannot be taken advantage of (Aslani et al., 2013; Leung & Cohen, 2011). To enhance security, many honor systems prioritize reciprocating favors (e.g., Cohen et al., 1999; Fischer, 1989; Shafa et al., 2015). Self-worth is based on reputation in a competitive milieu. Personal honor derives from both individual and family actions. Honor is needed to secure support and is critically damaged by failure to punish and avenge insult (Leung & Cohen, 2011). Thus, one must be vigilant for even minor threats to self or closely related others.

Face

Self-worth in a face system is externally determined and predicated on performing social obligations with care and humility (Lee et al., 2014). Prioritizing harmony, humility, and hierarchy, face systems demand a high level of social cooperation, self-restraint, and conformity with tradition (Güngör, et al., 2014). Unlike honor systems, group members are expected to cooperate to protect each other’s reputation and dignity (aka, face). Collective goals of one’s group and family are prioritized over personal goals (Lee et al., 2014), with mandatory social obligations specific to one’s role in a stable hierarchy. In face systems, individuals entrust superiors to punish norm violations, as personal retaliation threatens group functioning.

Dignity

Dignity cultures presume that all persons deserve equal opportunities and share an obligation for fair-dealing. While trust in strangers and out-group members is relatively high, social institutions are expected to step in when trust is violated (Aslani et al., 2013). Thus, a strong rule of law is needed to provide protection and administer justice. Personal acts of retaliation are improper, as they undermine rule of law. Within dignity systems, self-worth rests primarily on intrinsically derived standards. Each person is thought to have an inalienable self-worth that cannot be damaged by the actions of others (Leung & Cohen, 2011). Thus, neither insults nor familial transgressions pose an existential threat. In dignity systems, it is acceptable to prioritize personal goals over those of one’s social group (Lee et al., 2014).
And here is another summary:

In honor culture, there is a strong emphasis on protecting your family and on your reputation. Your sense of self-worth is reflected externally in the eyes of others. I like to say to my students that in an honor culture, an “A” is not an “A” until your mother sees it,” explains Ramirez-Marin.

“Face culture is similar to honor culture in that you build your sense of self through the eyes of others, but the emphasis is on humility, respect, and harmony. In contrast to both honor and face cultures, however, in dignity cultures more importance is placed on the individual than on society. You make decisions on your own, autonomously.”

More Jeep work...

Plugged away in the garage quite a bit on Sunday. Cleaned up a bunch of stuff, then went on to miscellaneous Jeep stuff.

Even went to use the mower, but the battery is dead -- had the little NOCO jump kit but it claimed polarity reverse (I think they battery is just to dead -- when I ran it dry of gas last year I must've forgotten to go out and turn the ignition off). I'll have to charge up and lug out the big jump box.

As I was organizing stuff, found these two WAY out of where I would've ever looked. They'll go in the bottom of the tool bag where I would expect them.



Fluids and "stuff"...still have some work sorting and organzing this. Keeps everything from WD-40 to duct tape to rags to contractor grade garbage bags.



Checked the spare tire to find the leak -- the outside bead is leaking like a sieve. I suspect it was low so often that road grime got in and made it worse. I'll stop to see Norm this week; I suspect he'll make me get a new tire (or two) to replace the one that has sidewall damage. If that happens I'll probably put the "not good enough to drive long distances" tire on as the spare.




Put the tools for fixing the Sunrider top gasket in the Jeep. Haven't tried the blue tool yet, I think it'll work as-is; worse case I'll have to narrow up the wheel a bit.



Had lunch (at 3pm) and went back out to size up the license plate light to make things legal.



Was going to splice into the tail lamp harness, then started thinking I'd hate to cut the factory stuff if I could just make an "extension cord" between the two connectors and tap that.

It took a lot of Googling trying to find the right connectors. The ones I'm pretty sure but not 100% sure would've been $120+ o_O ... then I found a kit to wire in a trailer plug for $75 from e-trailer. Ok, we're getting somewhere. Then found the $22 version on Amazon which should be "good enough" -- more wires than I need, but I can cut this down to just what I need.

And the grommet for the brake light, the wires are molded in :/ So I'll try very carefully drilling a couple holes for the license plate lamp wires and use silicone to seal them if it works.



So while I probably won't get this completed this week, at least I have a plan and stuff on order to finish getting it wired in.

Jeep Mattress

Actually bought this privacy shelter (Green Elephant Utilitent) before I took my big trip out west. Finally set it up once to see how it works :D




Trying to see if I can get a comfortable "coyote camping" set up for the Jeep -- what is the minimal amount of stuff I need to be comfortable. Partly because I'd like to camp on the next trip out west, but not necessarily carry the big tent for the time it takes to set up and take down as well as the space it takes up in the Jeep.

The big tent is great if I plan to be at a base camp for a few days, not for overnight and get moving early in the morning.

Bought this foam mattress made for the Jeep. There is actually a piece for the driver's side, but I've already determined I don't need to fold down the driver's side rear seat to be comfortable. This takes up I think less volume than my roll-up self inflating mattress, and probably is a much easier shape to pack around.



Have an event with the Jeep club on the 13th I'll probably try camping at. I'll get the rest of the camping stuff I need into this coming weekend.

My biggest challenge right now is getting my bedding (sheets & especially blankets) as compact as I'd like without taking a risk and buying some really expensive camping quilts that pack up super small -- like https://enlightenedequipment.com/accomplice-2-person which I can get good for 40° and fit in a 13.5"x7" stuff sack. Couple that with a couple other layers like a woobie, etc. I should have some good flexibility.

Update: Was looking around Amazon, and while there where synthetic quilts for around ~$70 (high end for Amazon) they still had mixed reviews. But googling a bit more led me back to Enlightened Equipemnt which turns out has a synthetic line for less than half the price of natural down. That I was willing to pull the trigger on this morning: https://enlightenedequipment.com/revelation-apex. I know I like a warm bed (camping I often end up wearing socks and sweatpants for extra warmth), so I went with the 30º one which is a bit larger at 17.5"x8" stuff sack.