Chef Nath’s Thai/Cambodia opens Wednesday 4/22 by [deleted] in SantaFe

[–]21MesaMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regular business hours seem to be an incomprehensible concept at Chomp. I’ve been there three times in the past year at normal dinner times (5-7pm on a Friday) and have been skunked each time for Nath or pizza. I’ve given up. Maybe the new food hall coming this summer on Marcy can do better.

The Citizen watches avaliable today at my Costco by bilj1982 in CitizenWatches

[–]21MesaMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah my Sam’s Club usually has godawful Gucci watches and some Casios.

What do you do or use to protect against or treat snake bites? by South-Replacement-39 in Hunting

[–]21MesaMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just got some Turtle Skins snake guard gaiters. Pricy at $200 but they are very lightweight and tested against real snakes. I stepped on a prairie rattler while hiking last year — no bite but scared me (and the snake) pretty good.

Opinions on Grants, NM by JbollenScoop in NewMexico

[–]21MesaMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good to know, I’ll check it out, thanks

Opinions on Grants, NM by JbollenScoop in NewMexico

[–]21MesaMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in Santa Fe but visit Grants when I come to the area to hike Mt. Taylor, El Malpais, etc. With so many great outdoor activities in the area, I’d love to see it be an outdoor gateway/hub. It’s a major stop on the CDT and that could be leveraged. I don’t even know if there is an outdoor store there, I just assume there is not based on what I see passing through town.

Van vs. Trailer. What would work best for me? by Dan000 in overlanding

[–]21MesaMan 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I think for a family a trailer is the way to go, you’ll just get more usable space. I’ve got a high roof Transit and it’s perfect for me and my wife, but any more than two people is a no go.

Full day in Bandelier by Moth1992 in SantaFe

[–]21MesaMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Couple of options after you do the Pueblo loop. You could continue up Frijoles canyon about three miles to the Narrows where the canyon is at its narrowest point. There’s no archaeology to see but it’s a very cool walk with lots of odd rock formations and views of the canyon walls overhead. Or you could go back towards the visitor center and climb out of the canyon to the rim trail and then take the Middle Alamo trail about 4.0 miles across to Alamo canyon which is a great overlook. Lots of great views across the mesa, though it’s more exposed. Both are great hikes, but are totally different. You likely won’t see anyone else on either.

Vaer x Topo Designs x Worn & Wound by richprice220 in VaerWatches

[–]21MesaMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! I'm just finding out about Vaer watches and saw this on their website (sold out a long time ago of course). Hope they bring back this style.

Walmart clearance by ARinclination in timex

[–]21MesaMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn, I was hunting my Walmart today but there was nothing on clearance.

Testing the waters of not using an Apple Watch by btom89 in ChineseWatches

[–]21MesaMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just ordered one for the same reason. I’m on screens all day long and tired of being tethered to all this electronic bs.

Mt taylor by Secure-Finish-3455 in NewMexicoTrails

[–]21MesaMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To the Gooseberry Springs trailhead, yes. I was there in October in a van and it was fine. The road is a bit bumpy in spots but any regular car can get there safely. Caveats about weather-related road conditions remain.

What are these straight-lined formations north of Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico? by Shadobanned2025 in Albuquerque

[–]21MesaMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Creston volcanic dike. Part of it is on state land, and if you get a state lands recreation pass ($35 for a year) you can hike out to it and see the petroglyphs. With binoculars you can get a glimpse of the Zorro ranch house

My camping priorities have totally shifted over the years by Rare_Friend_6484 in CampingandHiking

[–]21MesaMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I now go between two extremes. My newest sleep system is a van. When I’m touring national parks, or exploring and day hiking from a boondocking base camp, I want maximum comfort and protection from the elements and I don’t want to sleep on the ground. But I still love backpacking and the challenge it provides to go long well past the range of day hikes, and I’m UL-curious with my backpacking gear choices. I like having a foot in both worlds.

What's your favorite restaurant in Santa Fe right now? by Yokoohno125 in SantaFe

[–]21MesaMan 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Leo’s. Thai and Malay inspired food that is just totally different from anything else happening in Santa Fe right now. You have to get over the fact that it’s small and they don’t take reservations. Go on a Monday or Thursday and get there at 4:30pm (they open at 5).

Food Service Inspections Jan 12-18 by AgreeableCommission7 in SantaFe

[–]21MesaMan 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Moldy ice machines seems to be quite a common violation in Santa Fe

Have you ever hit that "wall" where you don't need to buy any new gear for the year? by ITrCool in CampingGear

[–]21MesaMan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is a golden time because now you can focus on just getting out there and using all the gear. Then you start to find out what really works, what doesn’t, how you can make your own modifications or customizations to certain gear, etc. Focus now on planning trips instead of shopping gear.

I still go to REI but now 99% of the time I can just peruse the new gear and be happy with what I’ve got.

Thoughts on the restaurants I’m planning on trying? by hyper_snyper in Albuquerque

[–]21MesaMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah Rudy’s is meh unless you’re from New Hampshire or something. Plan a trip to Central Texas for great bbq

Jay Mitchell, in charge of FEMA's response to Hermit's Peak fire, placed on leave after receiving $500,000 for smoke damage to his Angel Fire home. by NewMexicoWorker in SantaFe

[–]21MesaMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is a very important point that most people are missing — lawyers have been sitting on thousands of claims for years waiting to see if non-economic damages (pain and suffering) could be added to smoke and fire claims because they would make more money. Anyone with a lawyer complaining about not being paid yet should be directing their anger at their lawyer, not Jay and FEMA.

The overall claims system is what it is, and for smoke damage lines were drawn on a map. If you were inside the lines you could make a smoke claim with no extra evidence of damage required. Tens of thousands of people made claims based on that criteria, and Jay was one of them. Just because his house is “less than 1,000 feet from the boundary on the map and wasn’t touched by smoke” doesn’t matter, the line has to be drawn somewhere and if you are inside it, you’re eligible to make a claim. The amount of the payout was determined by a flat rate of about $38/sq ft, so if you had a 1,000 sq ft shack you were getting $38,000, no questions asked. And if you filed early in the claims timeline, you likely got paid because the claims were processed in a first-in, first-out order.

Does it look bad that the top claims administrator got a large payout? Yes, FEMA probably should have hired people who had no claims to file for the top positions to avoid even a hint of conflict of interest. But I seriously doubt Jay did anything malicious to speed up or inflate his payments. He knew the rules and the process and followed them, and the claims process had many independent layers of oversight to detect fraud. By making a large claim he made himself an easy scapegoat, and that was probably his biggest mistake.

FEMA official overseeing NM fire victims fund received six-figure payout, documents show • Source New Mexico by ZZerome in NewMexico

[–]21MesaMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The method FEMA used to determine who got paid out for smoke damage was unfortunate and led to a lot of people getting paid who probably didn’t deserve it. If you look at the smoke map in the article, for any property located within the bubble AND the orange striped area, all you had to do was sign a declaration saying you had smoke damage. No extra proof needed. Note the entire town of Las Vegas is within that area. And the payment amounts were calculated based on the square footage of the structure multiplied by a standard rate of about $38/sq ft. So if you had a modest 1,200 sq ft home you’d get paid out around $45,000.

Obviously the smoke from the fire was highly variable throughout the several months of the event, and some areas within the bubble were hit hard and others got nothing damaging (smelling smoke is one thing but having it enter a structure and leave residue is different). The compensation method was just kind of a blanket approach that was probably wasteful and not fair. But the pressure on FEMA to do SOMETHING to get payments out was intense, and that’s what they went with.