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Quorten Blog 1

First blog for all Quorten's blog-like writings

Popular Mechanics? Yeah, we already know what Wikipedia has to say about them: not much. Okay then, let’s do a web search and go to their website.

20180831/DuckDuckGo popular mechanics
20180831/https://www.popularmechanics.com/

Wow, now this looks like an interesting article. But… when I read into it, the biases are clear. Sure, Popular Mechanics is about mechanics, but this list of 100 skills everyone should know are clearly slanted toward that bias. Especially, vehicles, and cars in particular. I only skimmed this list, but I’ve found one reference of “manly,” another bias if it needed to be stated that way.

Beyond the bias, there are a few clearly agreeable important skills in there:

  • escaping from a car on water,
  • building a fire,
  • split firewood,
  • paddle a canoe,
  • filleting a fish,
  • shoot straight,
  • find potable water,
  • navigate with map and compass,
  • grill with charcoal,
  • build a shelter,
  • cast a line,
  • tie a bowline knot,
  • hang food in the wild,
  • use a sledgehammer,
  • put out a fire,
  • changing a diaper,
  • whittle wood,
  • grow food,
  • escape a rip current,
  • treat a snakebite,
  • surviving frostbite,
  • treat burns,
  • handle seizures,
  • remove ticks,
  • shovel the right way,
  • reverse hypothermia,
  • perform the Heimlich,
  • Perform Hands-Only CPR.

Also, I don’t entirely agree on the ordering they placed the skills in. A lot of the technology-based skills of course require such technology being built in the first place. Thus I’ve omitted over 2/3 of the listed skills. It’s clear that if the technology exists, having the using skill is important, but in general you would have to assume such technologies won’t be found in the wild. So, those other skills are clearly a divide between the developed world and the undeveloped world.

Oh, and I like the tips for teaching bike-riding by taking the pedals off a bike. The learner will learn to use it as a scooter, and when they get more experienced, they’ll start gliding, then they’ll want the pedals back on.

20180831/https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g87/skills-everyone-should-know/

On another note, this article. Yeah, this article is really useful relating to quality metrics of a well-built home, and how to improve an existing one. Particularly interesting points:

  • Once you make a home more efficient in temperature control, you may need to control for humidity separately. For air-conditioned environments, you may need to run a separate de-humidifier more frequently than the air conditioner to prevent the risks of mold growth and rotting that come from a excessively high humidity.

  • Beyond insulation in the attic, if the upper rooms are too warm in the summer, putting a radiant barrier, a shiny foil-faced sheet, in the attic can help keep things cooler. Place this on the underside of the roof joists and be sure to leave spacing at the edges so that condensation does not form on the roof.

20180831/https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/interior-projects/a22553555/keep-house-warm-insulation-energy-check/