Lizard Brain

A letter to my Primary Care Physician today...

Thank you for the great visit yesterday! Please thank your nurse for me as well.  She was professional and kind.

I had an “ah ha” moment this morning that may benefit your other patients, as it did me. From Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation for today, regarding our “lizard brain”.  Full article here.

”In turning our gaze to this divine truth—in dropping our many modes of scapegoating and self-justification—we gain compassion toward ourselves and all others who suffer. It largely happens on the psychic and unconscious level, but that is exactly where our hurts and our will to violence lie, lodged in the primitive “lizard brain,” where we have almost no rational control.”

Then this from Psychology Today. Full article here.

[The Limbic Cortex] is the part of the brain that is phylogenetic ally very primitive. Many people call it “The Lizard Brain” because the limbic system is about all a lizard has for brain function. It is in charge of fight, flight, feeding, fear, and freezing-up... The point to all of this is that 12-step recovery recognized (before the limbic system was described) that we all have this tendency to do what we don’t want to do and we are powerless about certain behaviors. Understanding this automatic behavior allows us to surrender to what we cannot control. It frees us to do the next right thing by staying in the present rather than worrying about the future or being shamed and experience guilt about the past. It takes practice.

Post Script: Also see this article How To Tame Your Lizard Brain by By Susan Murphy, PhD of Desert Health.

Sincerely,

gus

Task Force for the Family

I sent this to the president, Donald J. Trump today...

Dear Mr. President,

President David O. McKay, president of the LDS Church (serving from 1951-1970) taught that our most precious possession is our family and that home is the chief school of human virtues. Of the home, he declared: No other success can compensate for failure in the home. (This quote was on our family wall when I was a child.)

Home, its responsibilities, joys, sorrows, smiles, tears, hopes, and solicitudes form the chief interest of human life. When one puts business or pleasure above his home, he that moment starts on the downgrade to soul-weakness. When the club becomes more attractive to any man than his home, it is time for him to confess in bitter shame that he has failed to measure up to the supreme opportunity of his life and flunked in the final test of true manhood. The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of far greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches. In such a home God can work miracles and will work miracles.

Our country is being torn apart from its very roots (the family unit) upward. We see it in increased crime, mass shootings, the opioid epidemic, disdain for human life, common decency and upheaval in our schools.

Please create a Task Force for the Family, which could be called The Parent Commission, to encourage mothers and fathers, grand parents and relatives to step up and raise our precious young children in American with values of kindness, generosity, and decency. This task force would be lead by clergy, major service organizations and academia to help American families to reinvigorate our youth with positive values in and from the home. This would be an investment in America, that will save the country billions of future dollars.  It would reduce crime, creating honest, healthy of mind, body and spirit the youngest of our citizens, which are our most impressionable today. 

I would be honored to lead this committee. Please contact me for my resume and references.

With deepest respect,

Gus Koerner

Cam, Joey and the Turtles

This story is by Julia Koerner, about Cameron Koerner and Joey Fairbanks back in 1999. I am posting this today as a birthday present for Cameron, who is unavailable to receive gifts right now, due to his Marine Corps obligations.

Cam, Joey and the Turtles

I took these photos on a day when Cameron and Joe were on a self-initiated,100% official turtle rescue.

There was talk around the (Royal Oaks) golf course that a small alligator had been spotted in the pond just a few hundred feet from our backyard. Groundskeepers had been looking for the Jurassic critter for a couple weeks, but had nothing to go on but golfer tales up in the clubhouse.

That same pond was actually one of Cam and Joe's favorite spots for collecting abandoned golf balls, but this one particular morning they had found a hidden nest of hatching turtle eggs.

When the boys heard tell of the baby alligator from a few golfers, they came running into the house - frantically asking for a bucket they could put their newly hatching turtles in so the alligator wouldn't eat them.

We found a bucket - and I, of course, followed them out to the spot with my broom in hand to retrieve the turtles and assure their safety from any free range gator babies that might be lurking in the rushes...and of course, bash the gator with my weapon, if necessary.

Now, 18 years later, these are still 2 of Joe's favorite photos. He posts them on his bedroom wall with a push-pin wherever we live. Joe can't remember how many turtles they rescued that day. Perhaps Cameron will remember.

That same afternoon, the boys and Mother and I made an official trip to the wildlife preserve so the boys could deliver their treasured find to the appropriate authorities and ensure the safety of the hatchlings.

You should have heard Cameron retell their tale of danger, intrigue, excitement and wonder at having watched turtles hatch; kept a look-out for the mystery alligator; collected their specimen and escaped without harm. He spoke almost all in one run-on sentence...with Joe piping in, "Me, too! Me, too!" as often as he could squeeze it in.

The rangers were amazed and entertained, to say the least! On the drive home, Mother decided the boys deserved ice cream from her favorite haunt, the Moonlight Drive In.

I'm sure you heard this whole tale first hand on the day it happened - but now, nearly 20 years after the fact, here's the photographic proof of the boys' humanitarian efforts.

Getting The Most Out of Your GPS Receiver – Consider Geotagging

An alternate title for this story could be, "Using GPS in Genealogy, A Marvelous Tool, Part 2"  See Part 1.

We are fortunate to have tools such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) to help us navigate anywhere in the world. Initially for military use, and then expanded to commercial shipping, the technology has evolved to the point where every person on the planet either owns a GPS “device” or is directly affected by one. A feature on today’s cameras and smart phones often overlooked and underappreciated, is attaching GPS location data to ordinary images which is called geotagging.

At the bottom of this story is a challenge with a prize.  I encourage you to read on and go for it!

The ubiquitous influence of this technology can be seen in a car, on the news and even in social media. Who could have ever realized that the Russian flight of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite launched in 1957, could lead to a geotagged selfie of a person on Facebook®? Consider what technologies are utilized in this example. Being used to send this image is a marvel of hardware and software including a mobile telephone, a GPS receiver, the internet and complex programming for the sender and the receiver of this information. But besides entertainment, are there other ways we can use these tools for self and public benefit, and how did GPS get to be so accurate? Of course!

Timeline of GPS Accuracy

Between 1978 and 1985, ten NavStar satellites were launched as the first GPS system for military use. In the 1990s the first consumer GPS units became available and were accurate to about 100 yards. The inaccuracy was due to Selective Availability (SA) which is programming of the GPS signal to make them less accurate for nonmilitary use. During the 1990–91 Gulf War, the shortage of military GPS units caused many troops and their families to buy readily available civilian units. Selective Availability significantly impeded the U.S. military's own battlefield use of these GPS, so the military made the decision to turn it off for the duration of the war. On May 1, 2000 President Clinton turned off SA completely. Since that time, because of more sophisticated satellites, systems such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to augment GPS, and land based beacons accuracy has increased to less than 1 inch!

Geotagging

The word Geotag is derived from geo, referring to earth and tag which means to mark. Closely related to geotag is the term waypoint. Waypoints are sets of coordinates (north or south and east or west) that identify a point in physical space referred to as longitude and latitude. If a person leaves the Earth they could also measure altitude. A geotag is that waypoint that has been attached to that application, photo or message. Depending on the technology and software, the geotag information may be more or less accurate. Accuracy however is relative to the needs of the user, in that a person looking for a restaurant, or car in a parking lot needs less accuracy than someone searching for something very small such as a property line or utility cover under snow. These two examples although practical, do not enrich our lives per se, so why should we know more?

It is helpful to know and to refer back to where location information was collected years later, and we can if we attach compass coordinates to our data (text, image, video). Examples include coordinated attached to:

• A beautiful plant or historical marker you want to show to someone else.
• A grave stone or historical landmark for genealogical purposes.
• A pothole in the road to notify public road or utility companies.
• The perfect fishing spot you found on your last outing.
• A quick reference to your location in an emergency situation.

To enable Geotagging on your electronic device go to the Setup menu and look for an option to adjust your location parameters to enable or disable it. Once it is enabled, proceed to take a picture and then review the picture in your image gallery. In the image gallery open the picture and look for the option to show picture details. You should see a screen similar to the one left. Notice in the picture details is the filename, date, time, etc., but most importantly, the information we need in under location where it shows exactly where the picture was taken. This number can then be recorded and then back referenced in Google Earth or other mapping software to find its exact location. Easy! Right? It does take some practice, but the information you can get from this simple feature may be very useful in the future.

Tip! To enable "geotag" on your phone camera, open up your camera app and check the Settings there if it is not in your general Settings.

Here is a challenge with a prize!  In the photo left are the coordinates North 28.359655°, West -80.780788.  The first person who emails me with the nearest city and cross streets to this location I will personally send a prize and highlight them (if they wish) on all my social media streams. My email address is guskoerner@gmail.com. (I know I'm a nerd.)

Where have I been? Water for everyone.

Last night I headed to the store to pick up family groceries to carry me and my wife over for a few days. Drinking water was not on my grocery list. As I drove down the road about 9 PM, my default radio station was on NPR and I listened to BBC Radio, World Hacks, The Sun Water Solution and I asked myself, Where have I been?  Why didn't I know this?  What can I do so share this information to the masses?  Perhaps this is a start.  Please listen to the story or check my sources.

This is a story about how the most amazing ideas do not always work how you would like in practise. In theory it is so simple. You put disease-ridden water into a two litre plastic bottle, screw on the lid and leave it in the sun. After six hours on a cloudless day, almost all the bacteria and bugs that cause diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are killed or inactivated by the UV light and gentle warming. Professor Kevin McGuigan has proven this in the lab, but for the last 20 years he has been trying to get it working in rural African communities. It has not been anywhere near as easy as you might think.

Sources: 

• About the author of this article Dr. Kevin McGuigan, director of the RCSI Solar Disinfection Research Group, Ireland,  Link
• Wikipedia, Solar Water Disinfection, Link
• SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) started as an initiative of Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology. Link
• SODIS from the CDC (U.S, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Link

Maps for Going Afield

Navigation has always thrilled me using maps, a compass, GPS or the stars. Using a standard USGS topographic map is especially a pleasure because it is like hiking through the woods holding a piece of art. They are as beautiful to me as the surroundings themselves and often contain treasures on the landscape that do not show up through other methods of navigation.

About 1976 I learned this skill of laminating the map on a piece of natural cloth, making it more durable and I've always wanted to do it again and share it with folk like me. so here it is...

Maps for Going Afield

An original article by T. Fegley, Field and Stream Magazine, 1971. Reproduced verbatim, and by permission for preservation of this skill.

With more and more people taking to the out of doors and many wishing to get away from it by all exploring new territory, topographic maps have gained a new popularity. Similarly, hunters, fisherman, hikers, backpackers, snowmobilers, and Jeep-born navigators rely on their maps in the field and constantly use them for reference. As new trails are discovered and plotted, the map becomes a tool matching the compass in value. 

Although the cost of a topo map is small, constant replacement of heavily-used maps is unnecessary if you take 30 minutes or so to reinforce them with a cloth backing. It is easy and inexpensive and will give more mileage to your valuable silent guides. 

Basic equipment for mounting your topo includes scissors, a yardstick, razor blade cutter, two pans, commercial wall paste, paintbrush, and backing material such as an old starch-free muslin sheet. The sheet must be larger than the map since it is stretched and tacked along the edges. A smooth, tight surface can be had by fitting the sheet over a straight edged piece of plywood and tacking it on the opposite side after stretching. 

Fold the map so that it fits conveniently in your coat pocket. Unfold and cut the map carefully along the folded lines with a razor blade. Since the larger 7 1/2 minute maps may require more folds to get to pocket size, only the creases of the larger sections need to be cut. It is unnecessary to divide the map into too many small segments. 

Float the pieces in a pan of warm water for about a minute. With a brush, apply the paste to the back of each section and position them on the sheeting about 1/8 inch apart. The paste should be completely free of lumps before applying. 

After mounting the sections in their proper order, clean off the excess paste with a damp cloth. A gentle pressure will assure a contact between the paper and cloth. The map must be allowed to dry slowly and thoroughly for 24 to 48 hours depending upon drying conditions. 

When the map is completely dry, cut it from the board and trim along the papers edge to keep the cloth from fraying. Should any of the maps edges lift after use, a bit of white glue will do the trick. 

Your reinforced map is now ready for many hours of use and should stand hundreds of foldings. Along with a compass it will provide pleasure and safety for your travels into the wild. 

As an alternative, the map may be mounted in one piece by applying moisture to the back with a damp cloth to soften the paper before pasting. The map is then mounted and cleaned by applying pressure from the center toward the edges with the moist cloth. When dry, the map is folded to fit into the pocket. - Tom Fegely

References for Topographic Map Lamination to Cloth:

• Tom Fegley, “Maps for Going Afield”, Field and Stream Magazine, June 1971, page 150.
• William Hillcourt, “Your Hiking Pals”, Boy’s Life Magazine, October 1947, page 11. “I’m happy when I’m hiking, pack upon my back, I’m happy when I’m hiking off the beaten track…”, an old Boy Scout tune.

Interesting and Fun Alternatives to Conventional Freshwater Fishing

The reasons to go fishing are many. It is a time-honored sport that can be relaxing, fun and contribute to a healthy mind and body. A rod and reel are what most think of as the primary tools, but a few alternatives to conventional methods for catching freshwater fish, namely bow fishing, cane pole and survival fishing can also bring another level of fun and excitement. Catching a fish is challenging enough even with the most sophisticated equipment and years of experience. On the other hand, it is a sport that can be done with success by a young child under adult supervision with equipment that can cost less than $25. To the angler who is experienced and thinks they would like to try an alternative, using more primitive methods can be rewarding to connect the fisherman with traditional methods, ways that were once the only means to provide fare for the table. Additionally, the target species of fish caught by these primitive methods are nongame and non-native fish, which are a threat to native game species.

Bow Fishing is done with archery equipment but using a fiberglass arrow with a barbed point, and the arrow is connected to the bow via a mechanical reel or simple spool. Done from land or by boat, during the day or night, this is an exhilarating challenge. Image left is Gus in 1976 with Gar and bow in hand. Photo description below.

Cane Pole Fishing often referred by Florida statute as the cane-pole exemption, because cane pole fishing does not require a license. The law states, “In Florida you must be a resident who is fishing with live or natural bait, using poles or lines that are not equipped with a fishing line - retrieval mechanism, and you are fishing for noncommercial purposes in your home county. However, you must have a valid fishing license to fish by any method in a fish management area.”

Survival Fishing is simply cane pole fishing, but without the pole. Using natural or artificial bait, natural or synthetic string, this method will strip away most of the technology and just leave the fisherman verses the fish.  If successful, it will bring a sense of confidence to the angler that perhaps they could survive in the wilderness with minimal tools. Exciting!

Although Florida fishing laws are used as an example, other states have similar laws and/or exemptions so checking with the state game commission on a regular basis is important. Fishing regulations change so what may be legal this year may not be the next.

Since not all Florida fish can be taken by all methods, clarification is necessary. Florida freshwater fish are divided into game fish that have specific bag and length limits and may only be taken with pole-and-line or rod-and-reel, and nongame fish, which are all others.

See the chart for types of Florida Game Fish. Non-native fish are those that do not occur in Florida naturally; most should be harvested and never released. Florida Nongame Fish includes all freshwater fish that are NOT defined as game fish. A license is required to take nongame fish, but additional gear types are allowed (as mentioned above).

** See regulations for exemptions other than Cane Pole.
♦ See regulations for special region-specific restrictions.

Resources:
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Freshwater Fishing Regulations, 2016-2017.

Photo description: The photo was taken by my Mom when I was 16 or 17 years old in Fort Worth, TX after a day of fishing on the Trinity River, downtown Fort Worth.  My buddies and I would go there regularly to shoot Carp and Gar. Although some were just thrown away (because they eat game fish), most were harvested and given to resident neighbors to the river who ate them.  We made a lot of friends when we gave away our catch. In the background is my first car, a 1967 Rambler American which I kept until 1982.

This article also appears as a University of Florida / IFAS, Brevard County Extension Fact Sheet Number 6175, by Gus Koerner 4-H Program Assistant.

Holiday Greeting To My Friends at B.O.S.S.

Merry Christmas to my friends at B.O.S.S.!

I just wanted to check in and wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I like to check in every year or so, and as I've mentioned in the past - in 1979 I was a student in the month long BYU Youth Leadership 480, Course D-12 under Doug Nelson. It changed my life to this day. I was inspired to attend by my Dad, Karl Koerner who attended two years earlier, and at the time was the oldest person to complete the course at age 56. Wow - I'm 57! Where have the years gone?

Some of my life long memories of the course include:

• My 7-day solo spent in an overhang on the Escalante River. That inspired me to devote much of my adult life to study the outdoors, ecological theology, and share that with others in my career.
• To this day I still remember scrubbing my big #10 can in the river every morning and on my way back up the mesa would collect more Brigham Tea. One day a baby Rattlesnake greeted me by my shrub, so I gave him his alone time and found another bush to harvest.
• I remember laying by my fire, eyes fixed upon Polaris and through the night watch the Big Dipper rotate around that fixed beacon that always points north.
• I remember starting my fire in the first 30 minutes of my solo and while blowing on the embers getting a piece of glowing ash on my arm. I have a scar to this day, and it’s a sweet reminder of my days in the desert.
• Thanks to technology, I've deduced the location of my solo spot is N 37.774437° W -111.423868°
• I remember my ~13 mile run in from the river basin into Boulder. I think I came in 1st or 2nd! When I got to Boulder I called my family from the payphone for a nickel!
• I remember sharing pot holes of water with my brothers and sisters on our small group week. One of my buddies later got Giardia.
• I recall my breath taking traverse through Devil’s Canyon, knowing Butch Cassidy and his gang might have followed the same route.
• I’ll never forget my deep gratitude to God and for the sacrifice the sheep made of his life to feed our large group.

Does any of this ring a bell to you?  Since then I’ve had a number of friends and family attend the course upon my recommendation and it made a profound effect on their lives too. Professionally I work in Youth Development through the University of Florida 4-H Program. Here is a synopsis of the program I developed, in part by my experience with BOSS.

The Youth Ecology Series (YES!) is a unique University of Florida / IFAS / Brevard County Extension 4-H program for youth ages 10 to 16. The mission of YES! is to teach and inspire young people to learn about and conserve their natural outdoor environment with a combination of hands-on, classroom and field activities. The goal of YES! is to give young people a broad overview of our natural ecology and tangible skills to thrive and participate in nature and an appreciation for the methods of sustaining our fragile ecosystem. Side benefits of the program include having fun, meeting new people and getting to know some of our local outdoor treasure sites, organizations and related programs.

If any of you would like to participate in a consulting role to my programs I would welcome it. Feel free to share this letter, or parts of it with your staff and alumni. Give them my best and tell future participants they can do it! and are part of something very significant and that the program you deliver is having a positive effect on its students and beyond. 

Blessings to you all. 

Gus

This Week's Limericks

Sunrise Over Edgewater (My Drive to Work)
I set out and I’m greeted by sun on the rise,
Blue and pink glowing - blessing my eyes.
The animals stirring.
The birds are a chirping.
Beaconing all of mankind to arise.

gk, 3/7/2016

The Romantic Elephant
There once was an African elephant,
Who learned to paint with great eloquence.
He courted his sweetie,
With art and graffiti.
On a tree with picturesque elements.

The Chewing Giraffe
A giraffe from afar Mozambique,
Kept a chaw 'tween his gum and his cheek.
Other animals didn't get it.
They said, "You'll regret it,
You'll be hooked in less than a week."

This next one is a tribute to my wife Sandy.  The other night she just got home from work and  was watching our grandsons.  At the same time she was cleaning the house and cooking a marvelous rib dinner with fixins.  This was all done between 6 and 7 pm.  She's such a champ and I appreciate her so much.

My Daytona Woman
My wife, Nana and sweetheart,
Faster than Daytona and Earnhart.
At cookin' up dinner,
She's a First Place Winner;
and shows all evidence of a good heart.

The Tootsie Roll
We all enjoy a Tootsie Roll.
Of which I’m willing to pay a toll.
The chocolate is sweet,
and is such a retreat.
It has to be good for one’s soul!

gk

How Bright Is Your Fire?

I am so excited that tonight is the first night of the season for our monthly Men's Group Campfire Meeting!

It is almost fall in Florida.  The days are under 90 and nights in the 60's - one of the cheapest months for utility billing and I like that!  But most importantly, our Men's Campfire group is starting again where we get together for an hour or so, and talk about our life as workers, husbands, dads, and men of the community.  Once a month, and that's it.  Below is the message I prepared, a great story by Zoe Weil.

This is one of my Top 100 Blog Stories that made a difference in my life.  As I read it over and over, I ask myself, How bright is that ember burning in my soul for my calling, my family, my children and all that I hold dear?  Do I need to stoke the fire, or is everything okay?  It is an accountability moment for me.  Here is the story...

Be the Campfire, Not the Forest Fire (click link for the whole story)
by Zoe Weil, November 17, 2010

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Humane Education website at
The Institute for Humane Education Blog.

There's a metaphor I like to use when talking to fellow activists. I ask them to imagine two fires. The first is a campfire in an opening in the woods. The fire is warm and bright and draws people toward it. They are eager to find a place around the fire, and their beautiful faces glow in the reflected light. They feel good. There is nowhere they'd rather be. The second is a forest fire. It blazes hot and out of control, everyone - people and animals alike - flee.

Each of us has a fire inside of us. It is the fire of our passions and our beliefs, and all of us who are activists know it well. It is the fire that spurs us to learn about what is happening on our planet - to people, animals, and the environment - and it is the fire that spurs us to action to solve the crises we face and challenge the atrocities that still pervade our world. It is often a blazing hot fire. And sometimes, when we have burned out, it is a barely glowing ember. (There is a reason for the term "burned out" after all.)

As change agents, we have a choice about what sort of fire we will be. Will we be the warm campfire that draws people towards us so that we can share what we know and inspire others to make a difference, or will we be the forest fire that rages too hot, causing people to run from us? This is one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves because the fire we cultivate makes an enormous difference in our effectiveness as change makers.

But as we know, fire is not static, so whatever fire you have been or are today is subject to change. Fires die out if we don't add fuel, and the sparks that fly off of them can ignite infernos if we add too much fuel too quickly. As change agents, we must seek that perfect balance, adding enough fuel in the form of knowledge and resources to burn just hot enough to ignite change without igniting a conflagration. We will know if our fire needs more fuel if we are not doing the work that must be done and aren't inspiring others to join us, and we will know if we need to let up on the fuel if people avoid us. If we've been activists for a long time, we may have noticed that our fiery youth has diminished too much. If we are new to change-making, we may need to take great care in cultivating our fire so it doesn't burn too hot.

Tend your fire carefully. The world needs you to burn just right.

Zoe Weil, author of Most Good, Least Harm and Above All, Be Kind

Testing of Our New Rocket Stove

Back in January I was introduced to the Rocket Stove.  It is a hand made, economical, very efficient cooking and heating tool. The principles were described by Dr. Larry Winiarski from Aprovecho in 1982 and stoves based on this design won Ashden Awards in both 2005 and 2006. Interest in rocket stoves has led to the development of rocket mass heaters and other innovations. Source and photo (left) by Wikipedia, Rocket Stove.  They are available to purchase, but can easily be built with local materials at a fraction of the cost. I don't want to under emphasize the value of how little wood this stove uses.  It has allowed people in remote African and South American countries to use small sticks, leaves and grass to cook and heat for their families and not have to wander into dangerous remote areas to collect large amounts of firewood.

I built mine with materials purchased a the local home center, some scrap 4 inch PVC pipe, cut at a 45 degree angle and an old 5 gallon bucket.  I spent about $30, for materials enough to build two stoves. I followed the instructions from Gene Lonergan on YouTube when I made the stove. I mixed my Cement/Perlite mixture at 8:1 by volume using an empty coffee can and a wheel barrow. If I did it again, I would use 6:1, decreasing its thermal conductivity a bit and increasing its mass and structural stability.  As is, the weight of my stove is about 6 lbs, and as you can see from the photo (right), is light enough to sit on a glass table without worrying about breakage.  Also notice that it is the shape of a 5 gallon bucket.

Cooking with the stove.  For free, I was able to get gas stove grates from the local scrap yard to place on top of the stove, and underneath the cooking surface to allow for adequate air flow.  With the handful of dried sticks shown, Sandy and I were able to cook a meal of Blackend fish in the cast iron skillet.

One thing I need to add is this is not a coal burning fire!  Just the opposite.  It is a voracious wood burner, but in very small amounts.  It is best to use longer sticks than the ones I used, so as to be able to feed them into the fire.  We kept stoking the fire to provide a continual hot fire throughout the cooking process, and when the meal was done we stopped the wood feed.  After that, the fire was virtually out in 10 minutes.  At no time did the table or sides of the Rocket Stove come even close to warm to the touch.  The insulating properties of the volcanic Perlite responded as predicted.

For survivalists, naturalists and those interested in inexpensive sustainable energy tools and resources, the Rocket Stove is a Top 10 innovation in my opinion!

On My Honor

When I was 11 years old the only thing I knew of or cared about God was the word itself.  I knew He was important, “God” was a big deal, but had no inkling of more.  I was 11!  In Boy Scouts we sang a song that would later have a profound effect on my life.  I can still sing it to this day – verbatim.

Back Row: Karl and Gus Koerner
Front Row: Charles Buck and David Sturdivant
about 1975

My life priorities in 1970 were 1) being acceptably popular, staying unnoticed at age 11 is a good thing.  2) girls – especially Lisa  from a distance, 3) football, and 4) Boy Scouts.  I loved Scouts.  We did cool things, and I had a Dad that participated with me (a little too much in my opinion).  To his credit I think he tried to keep a distance and tried to let me have a parent-less experience.  We camped, went on canoe trips, hiked in the woods, caught snakes, started fires and shot guns.  What more could a kid want?

In Scouting at the time, they weren't ashamed to say the word God.  After all, it’s still part of our nation isn't it? - In God We Trust and all.  It was the 1970’s and things were different then.  Mentioning God was acceptable in public.

At the weekend campfires which I either participated in or lead we always sang this song at closing, which I would now call a hymn.  It’s called On my Honor, and here it is…

On My Honor
by Harry Bartelt 
On my honor, I'll do my best, to do my duty to God.
On my honor, I'll do my best, to serve my country as I may.
On my honor, I'll do my best, to do my good turn each day,
To keep my body strengthened and keep my mind awakened.
To follow paths of righteousness.
On my honor, I'll do my best.

When I now think of the song I can see plainly it contains the principles of Commitment, Discipleship, Patriotism, Service to Humanity, Personal Physical and Mental Health responsibility.  I’m sure a person could also attach other attributes, but I won’t here.  These are enough.  To this day, even though I may not live this song to its fullest, I certainly know and own the values of the song and do my best to uphold them.  I hope it is continuing in the Boy Scout program.

Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. Proverbs 22:6

The photo above is when we went as a troop to Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base for three weeks.  I'm not quite 11 years old there, but we were still singing the Scout Hymn, "On My Honor".  I'd like to give a special tribute to David Sturdivant who was my best friend and passed away a few years ago.

I hope you'll share this with a friend.

-gus

Rope

What is it I love about rope?

You can tie it, bend it, mold it and format potters clay.  If you mess it up, it straightens out, over and over again for another day.

It's useful, decorative, conforms to my imagination and will.  When I'm done with it, I just put it down, and it waits for me so still to play another day.

Sadly, I'm afraid rope has other uses; like over the limb of a hangman's bough.  But proudly it does its job, serving its purpose, forever neutral to the user's intentions.

For me it will always be a useful, creative and trustworthy friend, that does its best to serve my needs.  Thanks rope!

- Gus Koerner, 01/22/14, 2:00am

Easy Mountain Man Breakfast

• 1 lb pork sausage, or bacon or ham – cooked and crumbled
• 1 bag (~2 lbs.) frozen shredded hash browns, or raw potatoes
• 12 eggs
• 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese

This recipe was adapted from Mountain Man Breakfast by ScouterMom and can be made indoors or out.

Prepare meat as necessary. Grease the bottoms and sides of a deep camp Dutch Oven or camp stove. Spread hash browns in the bottom of the oven. Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl and pour evenly over hash browns. Sprinkle with meat and bake, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheese before serving. If using whole potatoes, wash and cube to one-half inch pieces, peeling is optional. Increase cooking time until the potatoes are tender.

Outdoor cooking instructions: Place about a dozen hot charcoal briquettes beneath the oven and about another eight on top. Cook until the eggs are set, about 20 – 30 minutes. Indoor cooking instructions: Bake in a 350 oven until eggs are set, about 20 - 30 minutes.

Serves 10 – 12

Skill level: Easy.  Any teen could make this one!

Photo: borrowed, original coming.

Estimated nutritional summary: Serving size about 1 cup, Calories 600, Fat 38 g, Carbohydrates 45 g, Protein 22 g

Acknowledgment - many thanks to people like ScouterMom who posted this recipe, and she has others like it!  When I was a Scout, we did cooking like this all the time because it was simple, fun and nutritional.  No-nonsense cooking.  Nowadays simple skills like this are being lost with our younger generations.  Next time you want to make something like this, grab a kid and let them help.  We can't all be Scouts, but we can enjoy some of the same things, and can still teach wholesome values. -  Mr. Gus.
 

Enjoying the urban wilderness.

Working now in Orlando for the prison system puts me in the woods far less than my previous job as a 4-H Agent involved with youth shooting sports, but I'm hanging in there.  Do you know the saying, "You can take the boy out of the woods, but not the woods out of the boy."?  Well that's me, even if that saying goes completely different.

I started enjoying nature as a six year kid in old Fort Worth, Texas catching craw-dads in Mary's Creek by my house.  As a teen I worked and went to Scout camp for six summers in a row, and as a young man attended the BYU 30 day outdoor survival class now owned by B.O.S.S.  The woods, everything about the outdoors, and even the color camo brings me peace and comfort.  Can anyone who reads this relate?

Every day I look forward to going to work, not only for the challenges with my students but for the ride alone.  Driving to and from work along the Beachline Expressway, down four lanes of concrete I constantly spot wildlife and it makes my day.  Yesterday a raccoon blocked my walk way as I left the compound, driving home I spotted about 30 turkey, with one tough young Jake (young wild turkey) strutting his stuff, five miles later I saw a mama eagle sharing a fish with her two babies along the Saint John's River.  What a day!

I hope you have opportunity to enjoy nature and "the woods" in your area where ever you live, and if you're lucky enough to live in the country, count your luck stars and know that your envied by some, but have some kindred spirits among the rest of us.

Got a story to tell?  I'd love to hear them and see your pictures!  Comment below or send them to Mr. Gus via this email roundball@ymail.com.  I'll post them below in the comment section.

The Beauty of the Portuguese Sinnet

For a few extra Christmas dollars I'm making bracelets out of parachute cord and selling them for $5.  They go by the names Paracord, Survival, Cobra Stick and rope bracelets.  The reason for survival bracelet, is when it is disassembled, a large one may have as much as 10 feet of cord you can use. You know I never ever make too much money at these kinds of things, because I teach people how to do it!  That's okay though.

Photo from Knots by Grog

I learned this knot a few years ago from ITS Tactical  (he does some really beautiful stuff) but today I'd like to especially highlight Animated Knots by Grog.

 Search for Cobra Knot or click here.  A great webpage with some neat links and animations.  Also checkout some of the phone apps they highlight.  The reason I'm partial today to Grog, is that he is quick to reference the source of all sources, the Knotter's Bible and my favorite book, The Ashley Book of Knots, written in 1944.  This book is worth a write-up all of its own.  My dad gave me a copy of this $50+ gem when I was 14 and I've loved tying ever since.

Here's another great source, that shows step-by-step how to make a bracelet.  Great job Wilderness Wiki contributors!  So for fun, money or carrying on the tradition of knot tying with your children, grab some rope and learn a new knot!  If you want parachute cord, check out your local Army/Navy store first or google it.  I happen to love the Supply Captain.

From One Kid to Another, "My First Deer Hunt"

My First Deer Hunt
By Harley P., age 12, Titusville, FL

  October 11th:  840 miles and 36 hours before the start of the 2012 Kentucky Youth season and with my license and two youth deer tags in hand my dad and I are finally on the road. The butterflies in my stomach feel like a swarm. Dad said if I passed the Hunter Safety Course we would go to Kentucky and could hunt on a couple of farms owned by family and friends.
     We arrived at my uncle’s house Friday morning and after a quick breakfast I got to practice shooting an inline 50 caliber, a percussion cap 50 cal black powder, a lever action .22, and a scoped single shot .243. My uncle said that I had great shooting skills and that made me very happy to hear that because I have not gotten to shoot a lot. The first time I shot the inline, I shot 100 grains instead of 80 because my dad tricked me. But 100 grains was still very fun to shoot. The Rossi .243 single shot had no kick but it was loud and we decided that was the gun I would use since we were going to be hunting open fields and shots over 100 yards were possible. After shooting, my uncle gave me some hunting clothes that my cousins had outgrown.  I packed the inline 50 caliber, the .243, the hunting clothes my uncle let me borrow, and my dad’s first bb gun into the car and then we had to leave and go to my dad’s friend, Mr. Frank’s house.
       When we got to Mr. Frank’s, we took a ride down to his hunting stand and saw several deer out feeding. After a dinner of pork roast and baked beans cooked by Mr. Frank, I finally went to sleep thinking about tomorrow and my first deer hunt.
        I woke up early the next morning and immediately got my hunting clothes on and got all the things I needed for the hunt. When dad and I were ready, we headed to the deer stand at about 6:00 A.M.  The trail getting there was very steep and it was really dark at the time so we had to watch our step. It was still dark when we got to the deer stand and we had to wait for legal shooting hours to start hunting but we still had to be very quiet. At about 7:00 I saw two deer, a doe and a little button buck. I waited a while thinking if I wanted to shoot the doe because I wanted my first deer to be a buck. While I was trying to decide, she walked 50 yards from us and stood broadside, offering a perfect shot. After watching her for several minutes I said “Dad I’m going to shoot this one.” When I was about to shoot she started to get nervous, blew, and ran.  I got really frustrated because my finger was on the trigger before she started to run. I never had butterflies in my stomach like that before.
         About twenty minutes later, a small eight pointer showed up but I had to pass on him. Mr. Frank’s rule was “the antlers had to wider than the ears”. We watched him feed for awhile and I wanted to shoot it so badly but I couldn’t. After the 8 pointer left, a small spike came into the field that I could not shoot.
           After the morning hunt I went to my cousin Levi’s house because he wanted us to hunt with him and his dad at his dad’s friend, Mr. John’s farm. It was early afternoon when we got to the farm and we headed straight to the stand. It was very hard to stay quiet because my dad and I both had a very bad cough. But I waited and waited, watching the soybean field, trying to be quiet.  Finally we saw a deer and it was a big doe. I was ready to shoot that deer even though it was not a buck. I got my gun up, focused my cross hairs on the spot where I wanted to hit the deer, put my finger on the trigger and “CLICK!”- I forgot to take the safety off! She left the field very fast. About 20 or 30 minutes later we see a really good sized doe so I picked up the .243, cocked it, took the safety off, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The deer fell right in her tracks and that made me the happiest person ever.  I went to get my cousin so he could help me load her up but we couldn’t put it on the 4-wheeler by ourselves so I got my uncle to help and we still couldn’t pick her up so we ended up pulling her with the ATV.
     We put her on the trailer and took it to my cousin’s house to skin and butcher her. We put her on the scales and she weighed 170 pounds live weight and after taking pictures and I had to eat part of its heart raw and I did because of tradition. After we cut the deer up and packaged her, I had to go to bed because the next day I was going to try to get another deer.

     Sunday morning we woke up and it was raining very hard. After the rain stopped we went back to Mr. John’s farm. It was still cloudy and looked like it was going to rain again. We went to the same stand and about 30 minutes later it started to rain so I put the rifle under a rain jacket and then I put a rain jacket on. It stopped raining about an hour before dark.  Thirty minutes later, I see a 4 pointer standing near the same spot were the doe had stood. I took the .243, cocked it, took the safety off, and shot.  When I shot him, he fell, got back up and RAN.  Then it really got hard because I had to track it through some very thick bushes in the dark. Levi brought flashlights and I had to find the blood spots and Levi stood at the last place I found blood. After 60 yards I found my first buck and that buck made me even happier than the doe that I got. Levi got his dad and Mr. John to help us and we finally got it to the 4-wheeler. It was hard work to cut it up and get the meat but it was fun and I got to fill out 2 tags in 2 days which made me happy.
     Deer hunting in Kentucky was amazing and I want to thank God for the 2 deer that I got during that weekend. Deer hunting in Kentucky made me so happy I will never forget everything I did there.  Deer hunting in Kentucky was really fun and I hope to hunt there again someday.

End Note by Mr. Gus...
I'm really proud of Harley, not only for this story he submitted and his successful deer harvest, but also for his completion of his Hunter Safety course where we met.  He and his Dad are also strong supporters in our 4-H club, the Mosquito Lagoon Muzzleloaders.  Stories submitted by guest writers are not edited for content, punctuation or length, because it is their story!  If you have a story you would like to have us share with the world, please let us know.

Why Teach Outdoor Education?

Here it is 2012 and it seems like there's an abundance of outdoor programs to choose from.  There are more than there was ten years ago.  That's probably because of the educational studies that have come out in response to what's now known as Nature Deficit Disorder.  Are more individuals and families participating in these programs because of this child malnutrition of outdoor experiences?  It doesn't appear to be the case.

Something is still keeping the kids inside, and parents don't really seem to care - for the most part. The result is a host of youth not having a thorough knowledge and appreciation of wildlife, living in the outdoors or how crucial it is to preserve our nation's natural resources.


When I was a boy I loved being outside, mostly because there was nothing to do inside! In 1967 when I was eight we didn't have home computers, video games or more than six channels on the black and white TV set. Even the channels we did have came in fuzzy. Occasionally I did go down to the creek and catch crawdads. Photo credit flickr.com

In order to keep me from driving my parents completely nuts, they enrolled me in Scouts. Of course I didn't have any real opinion about it, I'd just did as I was told because I was eight, but I did have fun. In Cub Scouts we did mostly crafts with the occasional outdoor event. When I became a Webelos Scout (age 10), we started to camp, but then as a full-fledged BoyScout we were outdoors most of the time, especially in summer.  Out of the 20 some-odd merit badges I received, a good portion of them were in skill areas of hiking, camping, canoeing and similar.  Through the merit badge program, I learned real outdoor skills some of which I can still call up and use even to this day!

When I was 19 I attended the Brigham Young University, YouthLeadership 480 course (now managed by B.O.S.S).  That was my one and only BYU class.  YL480 was an evolved course originally designed by the great survivalist Larry Dean Olsen, to help reform troubled youth offenders.  In the class we spent 30 days in the southern Utah desert living off a pocket full of minor supplies and gathering the rest from a less than abundant supply of plants and an occasional aquatic critter from a creek bed.  On one segment of the survival excursion, we were granted 1 red shiny apple, and to this day I still eat ALL of the apple but the stem.  I am also still known to eat a bug now and again.  I digress.

In my later associations with 4-H, we  had a good share of outdoor activities, but no hard-core outdoor programs in "roughing it" type camping in that sense, at least in my geographic region. 4-H environmental and camping programs such as fishing, shooting sports and kayaking were (again, in my experience) are mostly day activities with cabin lodging or going back home in the evening.  In that job, I was a paid Youth Development Agent and we did teach some really neat skills, but the focus was more on developing well rounded leaders and citizens, and less on the skills.

I think people trying to answer the question about why teach outdoor education will mostly come from a philosophical perspective like, "giving an appreciation of the outdoors, or of what it’s like to…”, etc.  In my honest opinion, the value of learning ONE outdoor skill really well, will give a child something they can use later, perhaps as a necessity.  For example, if a child learns to start an outdoor fire with natural (local) materials, and just one match (or no matches!), that skill may come in handy later in life.  Now add to that skill another, like building a woods shelter, or purifying water, a child will begin to gain a sense of self-reliance, and confidence that they will carry on for the rest of their lives and probably build upon themselves.  In the meantime, while learning these specific skills; they will see deer and other wild animals, and unspoiled land and appreciate the setting.  They’ll remember and know why our forests, wild lands and waters are important and will naturally grow an attitude of ecological stewardship that they hopefully will try to pass on.  So I guess, the bottom line for me to teach outdoor education, is to impart new skills primitive to them, to teach self-reliance and connect kids to our ancestors by stories,  people who did this out of necessity, while building self-confidence and esteem.

I think I’ll sleep outside sometime this week.

Maintaining Equipment in a Youth Shooting Sports Club

I speak here specifically about archery, but the same is true of all similar youth shooting sports programs, so shotgunners and muzzle loaders, please read on...

As a youth archery instructor, one of the greatest challenges is to make sure the young people always have ready quality, safe equipment.  On the surface it doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but when you consider all the things used in archery, it gets to be quite a challenge.  One archer alone will use a bow, that has a string, multiple arrows that will have a quiver, the safety equipment of an arm guard, finger tab or glove, and will shoot at a target that has paper held on by pins, at a fixed distance that is laid out on a range with safety lines, perimeter rope and signs.  Right there I named about seven items, now multiply that by 10 to 20 shooters in a club.  It takes a virtual warehouse to store all these things, and each of them are wearing out, if only just a little bit, one practice after another.

It can be justified to have a youth shooter and a dedicated parent to take charge of all the equipment, because if not, it soon becomes more than a club leader can handle under the job description of a volunteer archery club leader.  Let's for a minute talk about cost.

Is your 4-H, Scout or JOAD program free of charge to the children?  It better not be.  A free program cannot survive, plus children must learn to pay to play.  Where in your adult life can you have a free hobby? It is sending the wrong message of value when we run a program that is free of charge.  It says to the participant that some sugar-daddy person or organization is providing a charity program, which gives an unjustified sense of entitlement, or it says that your program is not worth much.  A quality program can have maintained equipment if even a token amount is charged, say $3.00 to $4.00 per shoot.  One quality archery target is about $70.  Nowadays virtually every family can come up with that fee, which is about the same cost as candy or two bottled sodas.  When I was managing a youth archery program a few years ago, I did have some kids that couldn't afford that.  I worked out a deal with them to bring in aluminium cans at every shoot, and provided a barrel to put them in. Did that pay for the wear and tear on the equipment they were using?  No, but it helped, and gave the children a sense of ownership in the activity, and that even by collecting aluminum cans they were paying their own way for the enjoyment of shooting.

If you are leading a youth shooting sports program, God bless you and thank you for your service.  Every kid needs something like this to learn and reinforce safety, leadership, responsibility and build their self worth.  Please remember though that keeping equipment ready, properly cared for and safe will make the program run smooth and will indirectly teach and remind us all to be good stewards over the things we have.

In researching this topic, I ran into a Hunt Chat forum post by a fellow archer and Dad, in Wisconsin with the username Rancid Crabtree.  In his very detailed July 2008 post My Latest Longbow, he shows how to make a longbow bow, bow stringer, inset medallion and tip guard (see photo), in a way that is very easy to understand.  Check it out!

A day on the water celebrating family and freedom.

I think yesterday was one of the most enjoyable 4th of July holidays I've ever had!

Prepping the Hobie Wave
on the shores of the Indian River.

We got to spend a day on the water with our kids, with the excitement of an afternoon thunderstorm, followed by the opportunity to see my daughter and granddaughter Maddie who's been in China for the last year, and ending the evening with the Titusville hometown fireworks show with our good friends Jeff and Julie Holton.

After having the boat sit in the yard since 2009, it took a little bit of work, but we finally got our Hobie Wave up and running. We worked all the previous weekend getting it ready, and Tuesday after work got it out onto the water for a test sail. We had a little trouble getting into the groove of putting up the 20 foot mast, but we did it. We made it to the banks of the Indian River (Intercoastal Waterway) in Titusville about 7:30pm, and managed to sail around a nearby island and get back right as it was getting dark. The temperature was in the 80's I think, and winds were about 7 mph.

Sailing is such a wonderful sport and skill to learn. When ever I go out, I always think of the early explorers who navigated the seas and tamed the elements to survive and discover new lands, being away from home for years at a time. My Dad taught me to sail before the age of ten on an El Toro dingy, and with a little practice I was able to master the skill enough to go out by myself by the age of 14 or so. I've loved it ever since, and it has prompted me to learn other associated skills such as knot tying, the mechanics of ropes and pulleys, navigation, and reading the weather. Similar to the other sport of archery that I love, a complete novice can have a lot of fun but to master the sport can take a lifetime of learning the different aspects.

On the morning of the 4th after sleeping in a bit and getting our gear, food and drinks ready Sandy and I headed out to the river again with the boat and found a good spot to launch. One of the great things about any Hobie Cat, is that you don't need to put in at a boat ramp. In fact, it it much easier to leave the rest of the boating crowd, set up and launch from any sandy shoreline. This time the winds had to be only about 3-5 miles per hour, and the sailing was pretty slow. Sitting still on any sailboat can tax your patience, so that's when good company is nice to have. An up-side of the slow moving is that we were able to see Indian River Redfish tailing, dolphins porpoising, and alligators watching all the action. We were supposed to meet our kids on another one of the barrier islands. After about an hour of moving slow as a turtle, we called our kids and had them come tow us with their motor boat. That was a little jarring to my Sailor's ego, but it was fun.

Headed out after lunch.

Right when we got to the island a storm started coming in with lightning bolts in the distance. That's when we decided we were going to be there for a while, so we tied everything down real good and enjoyed a good lunch with all the kids, while the grandkids looked for shells, snakes and bears on the tiny island. They only found shells, and the snakes and bears just turned out to be rumors.

The storm finally passed, and we were able to catch a few good breezes on the Wave again for a little while and then we headed in for good. That's when my daughter Melissa stopped by with her daughter Maddie, fresh from the airport, home from Shenzhen China for a visit. Melissa is a teacher there.

The Finale of the day was enjoying the small-town fireworks show with patriotic music in the background with our friends the Holtons, their friend Rusty and his hound pup Duke. They too have a son in the Marine Corps, so of course we talked about our boys, and all the kids, just enjoyed each others company and the spectacular fireworks show.