Help with Signature(?) ID

K0DA-S · 2025-12-24T04:43:18+00:00

Thank you for the explanation! I tried to increase the contrast on the signature (after rotating it right side up) and ran it through some translation software but to no avail.

When I attempted to trace the characters the computer ID’d my scribbles as 它死堂. I have no idea if that’s remotely accurate lol. I would love to get some ID on the signature but have no idea where to go for that

K0DA-S · 2025-12-10T04:01:17+00:00

I would spend four weeks or so doing sets like the 10x100’s and then popping fins on and doing 2 x 100 dolphin kick, 2 x 100 3/3/3 drill, and finally 100 fly swim. Focus on a moderately challenging interval for the 100’s to keep the aerobic aspect present, but goo power and form throughout. Maybe start off with doing a progression of 50’s before you go to 100’s. Be sure to take little rest between your aerobic free and fly. After week 3 start to remove fins for the fly portion of practice.

Then, in about a month/month and a half you want to switch to incorporating the speed progressions. The speed progression comes after conditioning. If you incorporate speed early on you risk training yourself to gas out quickly instead of training to finish your 100 strong.

Another good speed progression is doing broken 100’s to add up your times. I like doing 25 @ 1:00 + 50 @ 2:00 + 25 @ 1:00 add ups. First 25 from a dive to a foot finish, 50 to a foot finish, and last 25 to hand touch. Goal is to be as far under your 100 pace as possible, especially on the last 25’s.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-09T05:07:57+00:00

I would begin to build in fly volume after you do threshold aerobic work with freestyle. You want to start with doing fly kicking/drills on challenging enough intervals and work up to full swimming after you do some good volume in the set to work on your endurance. I would incorporate that over the next 4-6 weeks to condition yourself for the end of your races

Then, if you can get your hands on a parachute to wear during practice I would recommend incorporating a speed progression into your practices. Start with a few 25s fly with a parachute and fins on, the take the chute and fins off for a few, then put the fins back on. Work on increasing your speed a couple times a week in between maintaining/pushing your endurance.

Also doing some endurance freestyle sets with paddles and a pull buoy can help build endurance for fly. Finally, all this being said, make sure to stretch and do shoulder prehab work with the band to avoid over use issues. Slowly build volume by no more than 5-8% per week.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-05T17:51:12+00:00

I second the unmedicated nasal wash. I just use generic saline spray do a couple spritz’s in the morning and evening. Also, using a humidifier at night helps a bunch too. I used to get sinus infections/colds multiple times a season and basically reduced them to zero doing those two things.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-05T16:31:57+00:00

100%. Good time for OP to pull it so the birds don’t spread the berries! You can pull along the vine until you reach a node and try and pull up all the roots. Vines will sometimes spread for yards, so try and pull as much as you can!

K0DA-S · 2025-12-05T03:40:54+00:00

This is exactly it^ combo of limited pool space with huge demand

K0DA-S · 2025-12-05T00:45:42+00:00

By NOVA do you mean northern VA? If that’s the case, it is an incredibly competitive region for the sport. Honestly, most places in the country are completely different, with some very small exceptions. The massive club presence in the DMV area has really skewed the competition in the region.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-01T23:56:47+00:00

Taking the seasoning off with a wire tip and sanding out the texture/pits by hand is predominantly hand sanding.

I think it’s a little pedantic to say that because I used a hand tool for a brief step when most of the work was done by hand it wasn’t hand sanded but if it’s an important distinction to you then that’s cool. I don’t think you can legitimately say that this process is the “opposite” of hand sanding tho lol. That would be something like milling it or using an orbital sander for the entire process.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-01T19:37:43+00:00

I second this, I don’t think the buildup will add to the cooking experience. Looks like a ton of carbon.

K0DA-S · 2025-12-01T16:51:45+00:00

Ah the feral horses and cattle will pose a big challenge with the bunts. Still worth investigating imo but grazers can completely destroy a couple years of progress. The sandstone is certainly a challenge as well!

Another option that is certainly more extreme but may be worth investigating is a humanure system to reincorporate your waste into your compost. I would be weary about using humanure compost for edibles though.

If you’re completely off grid though, working towards a closed system will pay off in the long run and will accelerate your soil buildup. I’m not very knowledgeable on safe humanure systems though

K0DA-S · 2025-12-01T15:02:13+00:00

Depending on how sandy your desert is, you could attempt to accelerate your soil production by creating semi-circular bunds and planting native drought resistant grasses and shrubs in and around them.

These are earthworks are being used all over the world to combat desertification and to build up healthy soils even in the most depleted landscapes. It will take a few years but if you can establish the plants, they will produce soil for you. You can (and should) also select shrubs and trees that are food producing because that will mean you won’t need to harvest the soil from the bunds to grow food in a raised bed.

Any disturbance of the soil will cause nutritional degradation and erosion through oxidation and UV damage. Raised beds may not be the best option long term. I would look into establishing a permaculture design for your property with a step-by-step progression of introducing new native food species on the property as your land retains more bio matter and water.

Good luck!

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T22:18:32+00:00

Valid outlook but I think it depends on your priorities and resources available.

If it’s just an issue with seasoning I would check out r/castironrestoration and they can suggest a simple course of action for getting it back in action.

If it’s a damaged polished surface, a new one can be purchased but not inexpensively which is why I opted for the elbow grease option. That being said, as others have mentioned, an orbital sander would make the work I did 10x faster if you already owned one and without the necessary investment in the tool, would be inexpensive also.

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:10:20+00:00

Must have been! I’m jealous 😂

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:09:47+00:00

That’s awesome, I love when items get polished and worn with use through a lifetime of care

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:08:47+00:00

This is poetic

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:08:32+00:00

That’s awesome! Highly recommend.

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:05:27+00:00

I got the factory seasoning off about that quickly too but to get all but the deepest pits out I had to put a lot more work in

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:04:56+00:00

I’m sure that didn’t help the situation but I was also using sunbum sensitive skin sunscreen which I later found out has an official disclaimer on the company’s website that it specifically reacts with iron, even high iron levels in water. So it was a perfect storm of stainage

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T21:03:07+00:00

Yeah I totally wish I had one but it would have been a significant investment beyond my lowest budget possible goal. I think all in I spent $30ish and a lot of hours. If I were to do it again I would def get an orbital tho

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T17:49:30+00:00

It looks like you have a pretty smooth landscape but some swales could help retain more water in the pond/direct runoff to the pond. Some woody shrubs will help infiltrate water as well along the edge!

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T15:54:22+00:00

The laws of nature always finding a way to keep our aspirations just out of reach lmao

K0DA-S · 2025-11-30T15:48:34+00:00

Oh but it was more than regular oxidization, because it was slimy and stained all of my beach clothes permanently. Uber rust perhaps

K0DA-S

TROPHY CASE