http://www.manversation.com Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:24:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The following is an essay written by my father-in-law. He is in the backcountry by himself two-thirds of the year and has a wealth of knowledge pertaining to survivability which I think everyone should have at least a basic knowledge of and is why I am sharing his essays ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/12/17/possibles-pouch/ During some recent web surfing I came across the site ikea hacker, in which creative individuals from around the web submit ways in which they have modified (hacked) various items from the discount furniture giant to suit their individual needs. This got me to thinking that, as with so many ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/29/the-creativity-continuum/ I live in one-half of a duplex (a “paired home” or “single family attached home” according to the latest marketing terminology) in an HOA-controlled subdivision. I’m not really sure how I wound up in an HOA community and I guarantee you that my next house will not be in one. ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/28/painting-my-house-and-dealing-with-the-hoa/ I’m about to share something not many men will openly admit, but I have been known on rare occasions to watch an episode of Oprah.  Well, maybe I shouldn’t say ‘watch’ because that may carry an inherent repetitious characteristic, but when the stars align I can be found alongside my ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/26/it-seems-the-most-beautiful-thing-about-memory-may-be-its-uncanny-ability-to-forget/ My wife and I had a five year plan: once married, we would wait five years before starting a family. We wanted to travel together, experience the journey we embarked upon on our wedding day, and unify our lives together as one. Like most newlyweds we didn’t have much in ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/24/the-five-year-plan/ The Men of Manversation and our friend Ruben worked in my garage for about 6 hours yesterday, and in that short time, in utter defiance of the get ‘er done formula I wrote about earlier this week, we actually got everything done that I had hoped for it the amount ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/23/man-project-a-smashing-success/ Today, the Men of Manversation, Nate's wife Erica, and our good buddy Ruben are coming by the house to help with with a litte garage project. Over the last couple years, I've been in the process of building a woodworking shop in my garage. I spent a couple semesters at ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/22/a-man-project/ In honor of the famed Austin Powers, “Let me introduce you to…um…myself”.  From here on out I will be known as “Bol”. I selected this screen name primarily because it allows a certain level of anonymity to the outside world, but also carries a distinctive classification among my friends and ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/21/meet-bol/ The “Get ‘er Done” Formula I once heard from a friend that when attempting some sort of a project that involves physical labor such as painting a house, remodeling a kitchen, tiling a bathroom etc., you should take the amount of time you think it’s going to take you, go to ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/19/formulas-for-home-improvement-projects/ Lifestyle inflation in a nutshell One of my major goals this year has been paying down the principal balance on my home loan and building up my long-term savings. Along the way, I’ve discovered the personal finance blogosphere and I’ve been reading great blogs like Get Rich Slowly, Early Retirement Extreme, ... http://www.manversation.com/2008/11/18/i-gave-in-to-model-inflation/