MacGyver

  At least at the university level, they've always been pretty "socially progressive" historically.  It's probably simply a product of people getting paid to sit around and think vs. actually needing to do something that actually provides tangible value right now.  

  Increasingly, more doctors and lawyers are starting to have these conversations.  Doctors are being hit from all sides.  As debt loads increase, salaries are less, insurance costs are up, and other factors come into play - a lot of students are looking at it and deciding it's not worth it.   Law is changing, too.  A lot of students are looking at the traditional model of working 80+ hours a week in a big firm for peanuts for years before maybe becoming a partner and are pushing back.  Couple that with the fact that there are some other routes available to law school.  Nashville School of Law is a great example.  Students take a class or two at a time, and it's pay as you go.  Almost all work and go to school at night - they graduate with little or no debt.  Some big school lawyers speak poorly of it, but those are generally ones who haven't been up against them in court.  I remember talking to a colleague who was Harvard Law educated talking about getting his tail end handed to him by a Nashville School of Law graduate in the court room.

I'm going to try to respond to this thread in more detail when I've got some time.  Higher education is changing a lot, and in a lot of respects is a different animal today than it's ever been in the past.  A few thoughts:   Higher education - like most other areas of our economy is being raped by the finance industry.  They're taking all they can get, and there are a lot of participants.  They're not going to stop until they drive it (and the economy) off the cliff or some other force acts upon them. The universities have been participating in raising costs to where it's difficult to work your way through school at these elevated tuition levels.  Not saying it can't be done, but it's a lot more difficult than it was 20 years ago when I was in school. There is a fundamental failing at the family/high school/mentor level where college is sort of expected.  For a lot of big organizations today, the bachelors degree is sort of the new high school diploma.  Frankly, there are a lot of positions that simply aren't available to someone without a four year degree.  So, to some extent, companies are feeding this problem, but it's something that's going to have to be addressed.  And, to address it, we may have to start to go back to the old days where "college isn't for everyone." People in counseling roles need to have honest conversations with the students they are counseling about what the debt load is going to look like in  comparison to what you're going to make.  Mind you, a lot of these students aren't in a position to hear this when all they've heard is, "do what you love." But, we need to have that conversation.  Study something that will allow you to feed yourself - then do what you love. If a student is going to graduate from college with more total debt than the salary level they can expect to make in their first year out of school, someone needs to have a hard conversation with them.  They're going to be a slave to debt for a long time, and they need to know what that looks like. We need to encourage a return to the trades.  I teach at the university level, both undergraduate and graduate.  I tell my students all the time about paying welders more in 1995 than many of them will make upon graduation today.  For the health of the economy - we need healthy trades.   At the university level, I think we need to have an honest discussion about what the heck we're doing.  Frankly, a lot of college is glorified trade school these days as they just sort of regurgitate what companies tell them they're looking for.  We're not teaching.  We're making good little "information worker" drones.  Teaching people how to think and solve hard problems is important - and most of our universities have lost this ability.  I think in the future, universities may look more like the universities of old where there is a liberal arts grounding with room for experimentation and learning in the sciences. There are alternative paths emerging with a lot more sustainable cost structure - and this is really exciting.  Coursera, EdX, etc... are making some awesome content available.  If you want to learn - and the piece of paper at the end isn't that important, there is some great stuff out there.  I've taken several Stanford courses over the past couple of years for free, and the content was on par with any class I had in undergraduate school.   Learn to code.  In today's economy you'll be able to feed yourself and your family.  You'll be able to think about problems in different ways, and you'll likely never hurt for opportunity.

Student loan debt is one area of our economy that is positively unsustainable.  Something is going to change because there's not another option.  It has to.

  One of the great secrets to getting big things done is simply not being particularly afraid to screw it up.     Good luck!

Y'all are going to hurt my feelings if you don't call me to help. Did you get them cut okay?

I've got a printed copy of our amortization schedule in my top drawer.  Every month when I pay the mortgage, I make the mortgage payment, and then find the next month's portion to principal, and pay that amount as well.  I then cross both payments off the list.  It's one of the most satisfying things I do every month.   To each their own, but I'd much rather be totally out of debt and make the decisions about where my money goes than to just simply be content with, "mortgage interest is deductible."   At the very least, print an amortization schedule on your mortgage and play around with it some.  You'll be offended when you see the interest numbers - especially in the first half of the repayment period.   I'd agree with others - pay off the cars first and get some rainy day savings squared away.  But following that, feel good about putting the money towards your mortgage.

He's from Kentucky. They won't let you leave without that knowledge.

Martin's, Peg Leg Porker and a newcomer Smokin' Thighs. They only do dark meat chicken, and it's great. Their "Hawaiian burger" is awesome.

I've been through a dozen Leathermans over the years - from the big ones down to the smallest.  I've never had one that didn't develop an issue or three.  I've all but sworn them off.   I've always wanted to like Gerber's stuff, but their quality control is awful.  And, their commitment to turning out a dozen new designs each year doesn't help.  I've yet to break one, but I've got some that really beat up.   The SOGs I have used have always been pretty tough - but bulkier and heavy   I've had good luck with Victorinox's tools, but I've not used one in a decade.   Truthfully, I don't know what tool I'd pick right now if I had to choose.

I have yet to meet a pig that's gotten along well with those 110gr Barnes TAC-TX bullets.

My MRO has been great so far. Use Loctite.

They're really two different use cases.  The AR10 could be a good hunting rifle, and has more legs than the 300, but it's a lot heavier rifle.  I wouldn't want to lug mine around the woods all day.   For pigs and deer, the 300 is more than adequate at the ranges you're most likely to encounter in Tennessee.  And, if you're going with 110gr or 120gr supersonic stuff, you can stretch it out further if you spend some time getting to know the rifle.  That said, I don't know that I've ever shot a pig that's been more than 100 meters away.  The terrain they prefer here in the South just isn't conducive to longer shots in most cases.  

  I'll buy a ticket to watch you shoot it.

I'd definitely add an grommet where the lanyard runs through. I wouldn't mind a grommet in the sheath where the knife rests, either. With a leather sheath in the field, I like something to get the water out. I'd probably run my belt through the lower part, but that's just because I like my knife to ride a bit higher. Looks great!

I was channeling my best Hank Hill as I typed it.

What kind of communist hootenanny is this? ;) No way I'm getting behind a Soviet designed weapon as a state firearm.

If you'll get the orange filament, I'll be glad to print a few.  A kilogram spool of orange PLA would be more than enough - that shouldn't run more than about $20.  I've got some grey that could be hit with a quick shot of spray paint to make it black.

If you're posting for a regional event, you're welcome to title it appropriately - maybe leading with the City/Region in the title.     We've got a bunch of members that will travel a couple of hours to events - training, gun shows, etc...   Truthfully, we favor more visibility as opposed to less.

  I often wonder if any of the new "bro-country" artists ever put on an old Haggard or Jones album and think, "where did we screw it up so badly?"

If I can't be trusted with one - they shouldn't be either.

  Something that has worked pretty well for me is context switching in the evening.  I avoid screens altogether for the last few hours before bed - a lot of the research shows that exposure to blue light in particular can cause issues with sleeping.  I also walk every evening.  It's the last thing I do before bed.  No browsing my phone.  Not getting out there at an exercise pace.  Just walking leisurely for 30 minutes and specifically clearing my head from the day.  If I need to, I'll jot any action items down on a quick list when I get home.  I find that my brain and I have to reach some sort of detente.  By literally switching context and emptying that inbox if you will, I'm telling my brain that it's okay to turn off and go to sleep.   Kids are tough.  None of ours slept through the night until after they were a year old.  Our youngest who is 4 occasionally still struggles with nightmares and stuff - so my wife and I just try to share those duties - usually it doesn't take more than just reassuring him and covering him back up.  Communicating who's going to handle out of band stuff before bed helps, though.   I find that to sleep well, I need several things:   I need to be physically and mentally tired - both are important - either or doesn't work for me I need to switch context and get all of the open items out of my head While I can sleep if I have caffeine later in the day, I've been tracking my sleep for long enough to know that I'll sleep better if I avoid caffeine after 1500CST.  Caffeine has a half life of about 6 hours, so if you're drinking energy drinks or a lot of cokes or coffee during the day, you can set yourself up for a bad night's sleep. Temperature matters.  I sleep a lot better in a cool room.

She was Born that way.

Keep me apprised here.

That looks like a lot of fun!