Neither side has been willing to change, or even talk about, the shift of wealth that has left most people barely able to get by. Working people get less and less reward for their efforts and the difference all goes to the owners. I think that is at least one aspect of Bernie’s complaint about the Democrats.

I did not know about that. Time for me to do some reading. Thanks for your post!

I’ve tried a great many different black and green teas, but my favorite is Constant Comment. I realize that makes me a barbarian low-life, but I genuinely enjoy the flavor.

I have thought for years that we needed more political parties in this countries, but the current system makes it almost impossible for them to hold any real power.

What’s needed is a takeover of the Democratic party. The Republicans did it, for evil. We could do it for good.

The practical problem is that Citizens United gives the super-rich most of the power. It would take a very large-scale populist movement to push them out and take back control.

I like the design, but it seems expensive for the materials. Sometimes odd mechanisms are complicated and expensive to machine. I don’t see that being the case here.

That aside, it is a clever design and a surprisingly elegant looking knife.

My first presidential election was in 1980. I waited almost six hours to vote for Jimmy Carter in Iowa City, Iowa, USA (a medium-sized college town).

It was surprisingly festive. There were people walking the line handing out water and snacks. There were several musicians performing at various points along the line.

This may be the most brilliant get-out-the-vote tactic I’ve ever seen.

You can’t go wrong with ESEE. They’re tough, practical, and reasonably priced, although not cheap.

These days, my bushcraft knife is a Guardian 5.5 in Magnacut from Bradford Knives. Their designs, materials, and production quality are all top notch. I don’t always carry a fixed blade around town, but when I do it’s a Guardian 3.5.

If you can get relatives to help, do that. If not, contact a local women’s shelter or other abuse-related non-profit. They may or may not be able to help directly, but they will most likely know what other resources are available.

I wish you the best.

That depends a great deal on what the local police are like. They may help. They may just let the family know about the complaint. Generations of abused women provide an unfortunate history of these issues.

And even if the police do help, they will not be able to provide protection. Their job is to arrest and prosecute the brother after he commits the murder. It’s sad and wrong, but that is the way the system works.

Possibly, but life is full of risks.

What you really need is a carbon fiber shoehorn. If you do manage to deform it the thing will go right back to its original shape.

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice, but let me throw in a few random suggestions…

I use Tuf-Glide on all my knives. You can spray it on or wipe it on with with a cloth. The stuff dries and bonds with the surface layer of the metal. It’s a great lubricant, but it also prevents rust and provides some physical protection.

There is nothing inherently wrong with pull-through sharpeners, but avoid any sharpener that uses carbide as the abrasive. There are some excellent and easy-to-use sharpeners with ceramic and diamond rods. My field sharpener is the AccuSharp Diamond Pro. It’s easy to use, compact, and produces a surprisingly good edge. I’ve given the to all my friends and they’ve stopped bringing me all their knives to sharpen. :-)

There is some decent damascus out there, but most of what you get in lower-end knives is really terrible. Materials science keeps uping the game of knife steels, but 440C was considered one of the best maybe thirty years ago. It is still a solid performer with a good balance of edge holding, toughness, rust resistance, and ease of sharpening.

Don’t use your knife for things it wasn’t designed to do. Get yourself a small cheap prybar to pair with it. Something like 3" prybar will save your blade and do a better job of prying anyway. I prefer mine a little longer than that, so here’s a 3.8" prybar.

Have fun!

Thank you for bringing another of these gems to my attention. And for writing the great review. Otherwise my cupboards would be filling up these things.

I understand the desire to get even, but it isn’t likely to happen and it isn’t likely to be satisfying, even if you succeed. You should focus on things that will make your life better and not things that will make someone else’s life worse, even if they richly deserve it.

You are going to have to make some compromises. You are currently putting up with a situation you don’t like, in exchange for the salary, side benefits, and location. That’s isn’t necessarily a bad tradeoff, but it is not likely to be a good long-term situation. Once management decides they have a problem with you, things are going to get worse sooner or later. It will be better for you if you leave rather than being forced out.

You need to make some decisions about which of the things you like about your situation you would be willing to give up for a better job. That will tell you what to do next. Maybe the answer is to hold out for a better position within your current organization, although the chances don’t sound good. You may need to take a salary cut to find a local position that’s better for you. You may need to move. You may even need to change careers entirely.

The key is to make your own decisions and not allow others to force them on you. There are a lot of factors you can’t control. Focus on the ones you can. And don’t stay in a bad situation with the hope that everything will work out the way you want it to.

I once stood maybe 40 feet from a moose, in the wild. It was fairly heavy forest and there was no sign of it until it stepped out onto the trail. Moose are not normal animals. They’re more like small kaiju.

I suggest you try some other kind of sharpener. One of the inexpensive pocket sharpeners with crossed abrasive rods would work. Just make sure you get one with diamond and ceramic, not carbide. This is my favorite of those: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AU6CM2I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The blade should always be oriented so the belt is moving in the spine-to-edge direction. Using it in the other direction (into the blade) will grind away the metal faster and less evenly, It sounds like that is what’s happening.

It’s also worth noting that any kind of inward curve is difficult to sharpen evenly on a belt (or any other wide sharpening surface). You may get better results if you try to work along the edges of the belt instead of the center. For hawkbills and recurves I generally use a narrow sharpener, like an edge of the triangular Spyderco Sharpmaker rods. It takes longer than using a belt, but it produces a very clean bevel and edge.

Best of luck!

That is a life well spent.

He’s a beautiful croissant!

My 75 lb (34 kg) puppy has unusually long legs, but he’s still figured out a way to fit in my lap. He has also mastered the croissant technique. Mathematicians should ask dogs for help with their unsolvable topology problems.