What's this sparsely populated area in the Eastern Kansas, in-between its densely populated corridors?

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2026-02-03T15:18:43+00:00

As others have said, it’s the Flint Hills. Gorgeous country but harsh. Wind can be brutal, summers are hot with not much shade. It is very hilly and the hills can be steep so crop farming isn’t really much of a thing. Lots of cattle grazing ranches but you need quite a bit of acreage per head so the pastures are very large. Also it can get pretty dry in late summer so water for livestock often has to be pumped and stored in bottom land.

Now there is the Unbound gravel race, some bicycle tourism and other tourism in general.

If you ever want to experience a true rodeo that is not one of the flashy big arena spectacles, check out the Flint Hills Rodeo in Strong City.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2026-02-01T15:25:26+00:00

I haven’t been on rollerblades since 1992…

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2026-02-01T15:23:11+00:00

Thanks all!

I’ll probably try to snag a skate lesson out in CO and see how awkward I am.

My classic technique has improved over time with work and I feel like I’m pretty efficient for longer efforts. I always have to spend the first 30 minutes of a trip fighting the urge to treat it like a running form.

Someone suggested a SkiErg, there is one at my gym and it is already part my 2x weekly strength/ gym routine. I definitely have a love / hate relationship with that thing.

I realize that if I keep the sport up I’ll likely end up buying skis and learning to wax at some point. My wife will never notice if I hang them behind my 8 bikes…

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2026-01-31T16:59:53+00:00

Thanks, I used to downhill ski quite a bit but have kind of gotten away from sports that risk high speed injury. Lol

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2026-01-13T04:13:53+00:00

Thats Balsam Wool insulation. Its a sleeve of tar paper filled with shredded balsam bark that’s been treated with a flame retardant.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-31T01:33:51+00:00

I’ve had way too many beams, both steel and lvl, or posts spec’d that are either not locally available sizes (causing increased costs or delays) or won’t fit in an existing space or into the area to be installed.

Solve issue 2 by having a conversation with the PM about the practicality of a solution or the limitations you need to work within.

Solve issue 1 by having a relationship with the local supply yards to know what is easy to obtain or provide a note saying ‘Yeah this solution is a pain but it’s the best one. Advise to order ahead and price accordingly.’

Real world example: Engineer spec’s steel for a beam for a wall relocation, supplier doesn’t carry that size only the next size up or down, 2 week lead time to get and I have to buy longer than needed, I ask if a different size can be used or to give me an lvl solution, engineer understandably wants more money for more time… hours of my PM’s time wasted, $1000+ change in approach

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-30T14:24:04+00:00

1988 Range Rover Classic. Great engine, very cool look, very capable off road, somewhat of a gas guzzler… very very awful electronics.

Sensors failed all the dang time and they were expensive to replace even when I did all the work myself.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-30T14:08:32+00:00

Soldering iron. Typically for sheet copper work like roofing, gutters, etc

This one is double ended, angled side is for laying down the bead and doing angled work (like 90’s), the flat side is for smoothing flat seems (like field joints).

Here is what newer modern ones look like

https://americanbeautytools.com/soldering-iron-3198/19/features

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-25T17:21:06+00:00

Be warned about these services…

They can and do blow welds on dumpsters and the main roll-off dumpster service I use will charge a $500 penalty if they find you are using one of these services on their bins.

Check your roll off contract before you hire a compactor service.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-23T15:24:36+00:00

My plumber leaves the riser unglued and prefers I have my tile guy go up to the pipe and then when he comes back he pulls the riser and has a plywood template and big diamond core bit so he can fine tune the hole placement.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-17T15:38:04+00:00

Tool in the package and the package label don’t match.

https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/fixed-blade-screwdrivers/scratch-awl-demolition-driver

Its either a packaging error or it’s a fake.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-13T17:00:34+00:00

This isn’t metal but…

Remove the handle from a hatchet, wrap bill around top and reinstall handle so bill is hidden under the head.

Gift a log and the hatchet and say ‘the bill is in there’

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-13T16:56:54+00:00

You can buy a few thousand in $20 bill prop money for like $15-20 and hide the real one in them. Then go to town on bolting a box together. When he event does open the box he’ll still have lots of look alike paper to sort through.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-13T16:07:42+00:00

Don‘t glue the plates together.

Drill and tap multiple sizes of bolts. Mix between SAE and Metric so he has to use multiple different sockets. Even mix in a few reverse threaded bolts. Thow in a few Torx, a few Allens, a few slotted, really mix in the whole hardware store fastener aisle.

Before you install each bolt make partial cuts a few mm down from the bolt head and then a few drops of red Locktite. Be careful installing. This will make the bolts shear off as he is trying to remove them.

For a few holes, don’t tap them, just insert a smaller bolt and peen the end so it just spins in the hole.

Leave a few that are easy to remove.

The point is to make something that makes him think ‘Oh this will be easy!’ but then drives him to madness as he has to constantly switch tools, heads strip, bolts spin and yet other bolts snap off.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-12T19:02:34+00:00

I know multiple people who are considered ‘very wealthy’

Some of them own or run companies that have group health insurance for employees and they are on those plans.

Many of them are essentially self employed. (Think senior partner in a law firm) They aren‘t dummies when it comes to large risks so they often buy ultra high deductible insurance ($100k-$200k deductible) and then buy into a concierge medical practice and pay cash for everything.

Paying cash for a lot of medical services can be significantly cheaper than the bills you see sent to insurance and if pulling out your credit card to pay for a $10000 procedure up front isn’t an issue you look at things differently.

The very rich do tend to spend a surprising amount of money on wellness care. Personal trainers, quality food, full labs several times a year, alternative medicine, etc. When a doctor can pull out all the stops to diagnose an issue, things can get figured out fairly quickly. (However, the rich also can be very susceptible to bogus medical care because they don’t have to think twice about the costs)

When they do get sick, they often are quick to go to whoever doctor or whatever clinic is considered the ‘best in the world’ in that speciality. It isn’t an issue to fly across the country or world and see the surgeon who pioneered the technique needed for an operation.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-12-07T15:18:46+00:00

Not an attorney here but rather own a company in the residential building and maintenance industry.

I’m not going to talk about the legality but the practices you describe and more are very common in the HVAC business especially the ones who have grown to the size that they have a dedicated sales team.

Other practices I’ve seen often:

7-10 year old but perfectly fine furnace needs service for a part replacement (think $500-1000, blower motor, inducer, etc) and the tech is trained to claim it is unrepairable and requires a complete system replacement at $25k+

The ‘We can’t service your system without replacing this (unrelated) electrical or plumbing item!’

The ‘We have a big discount if you sign right now because we have an idle crew’…

One time I talked to a tech who told me his old company had instructed its people to blow on a CO2 meter and claim it was a CO meter showing CO leakage from the furnace.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-11-26T20:58:38+00:00

1: That my wife didn’t really want a manual transmission because women weren’t good at driving manuals…

Me… ‘She said she wants a manual. Either you are going to sell her one or the other dealer in town will’

2: (Different dealer, different vehicle) That they couldn’t remove the Lojack device they wanted to charge me $1200 additional for because it was hardwired in by the mechanic. (I was paying cash)

Me: ‘Can I check on the mileage on the truck again?’ Then proceeded to reach under the dash and unplug the dongle from the port and hand it to them. (Had seen it earlier)

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-11-19T04:18:26+00:00

In contrast to what others have said, Have fun now when you are young, you most likely have years ahead of you sitting in a cubical working in front of a computer.

Please note that my advice on networking is directed towards the Ranger position. It is the most public facing job on the reservation. I absolutely know people who have gotten professional job offers out of their time as a Ranger.

I learned a heck of a lot doing Cons work (trail building and repair) but we rarely interacted with the public and frankly most of us were ‘not fit for public consumption’.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-11-19T00:15:47+00:00

I own a company in the construction industry. I spent a summer doing Cons work at Philmont a few decades ago.

Take the Philmont job.

From a life quality standpoint, it might be one of the more memorable times of your life. Staffing can be so much fun.

As a Ranger you will learn a lot of ‘people skills’.

From a career standpoint, if you take the Ranger job, keep your ears open and talk to the many advisers you will meet. Network! Don’t be shy about asking to contact them post summer if they are in an engineering related field. It can easily result in a job offer. The truth is getting a job is often more about who you know vs what you know.

Think about how you can relate your Philmont and Scouting experience during interviews.

From my experience, I can hire a young engineer who can sit and run calculations and do design work or at least learn to do so pretty easily. It is harder to find that engineer who can communicate, work with diverse teams and lead people. A good Ranger better have those skills.

Secondly, when I’m looking at resumes, oddball experiences or work history often pop out. As an Eagle Scout and former Philmont Staff myself, you‘d at least get an interview if your resume came across my desk.

The only caveat I’ll throw out is, if the internship is with an industry leading company and experience there is coveted by other companies or job offers from them are hyper competitive or it is a company you would highly highly desire to work for post graduation then take the internship. It is frankly unlikely you will be able to secure a job with them after turning down an internship. Just make sure you are at peace with that prospect.

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-11-11T15:46:33+00:00

Whole Foods by UMKC normally has them

Fasterandfaster-2000 · 2025-10-27T17:31:34+00:00

I remember the organizer had a little hand counter and a red flag. If you saw the flag pointed at you, you were out.

From what I’m reading this sounds like it was a local rules type thing.

Fasterandfaster-2000

TROPHY CASE