The Great Material Continuum
I've been called exceptionally nerdy, and while I don't particularly agree in all cases, there are a few bits and pieces of my personality that definitely have an abnormal vibe to them. One of these is my interest in Star Trek, which has waned over the years, particularly since Voyager sucked; and while I liked Enterprise, it was too preachy and political. That means that there hasn't even been a decent Star Trek series since Deep Space Nine, which went off the air when I was in high school. Anyway, that's beside the point.
There were a couple of episodes of Deep Space Nine that mentioned a concept: the Great Material Continuum. Basically, it says that throughout the universe, one person will have something that another person will want or need. On the show, it served as religious symbolism and philosophy for a mercantilist species, but I feel as if there's some legitimacy to the concept.
As I've gotten ready for the move down to the Mojave, I've been trying to get some gear together that I'm going to need. The item I was told that I'd need, as uniforms are being provided (probably something like this), was a pair of steel-toed boots. At the end of my shift at the surplus store last Monday, an Army captain came in looking to unload some boots, and said that he'd just give us one pair, an unused pair of short-top steel-toed boots. He happened to be the same shoe size as me; I said I was tempted to take them for myself, told him what I was going to be doing, and he said that he'd just give them to me. I'll still buy another pair, but it won't hurt to have these, and I'd guess that I'll probably get some use out of them.
The name of the game in the desert, for both comfort and survival, is going to be hydration. I've had a Nalgene bottle since I was a junior in college, and the thing's got dings and dents in it, but it still seals; for those of you unfamiliar with Nalgene bottles, I've heard stories of these things being shot at and run over by cars without breaking. However, a single sixteen ounce bottle doesn't cut it, even when coupled with a canteen, so I've been looking for a hydration system. I've had my eye on a Thermobak Omega by CamelBak, in Coyote Tan. None of the local sporting goods stores carry that model, nor do they carry anything in Coyote Tan. I've been trying to figure out how to get the thing before I start work, and coming up empty. Today a guy came into the store (today being my last day here), just back from Iraq, and he knows the owner of the store. Luckily, the store owner was here to buy the stuff, since I can't do that myself. Among many other items he brought in, he had a brand new SDS Military Hydration System. While it doesn't have the built-in pocket that the Thermobak Omega has, it uses the MOLLE/PALS system that's currently being employed by the Department of Defense; this replaces the obsolete and cumbersome ALICE system. Instead of being in woodland camouflage as pictured, it's in Desert Tan, which is the color I need; also, it still had the plastic shrink wrap seal on the mouthpiece, though it had picked up some sand over the course of its trip from College City to Iraq and back again. Since it doesn't have an integrated pocket, I purchased a MOLLE/PALS compatible Spec Ops Brand Medical Pouch. A CamelBak Thermobak Omega carries a recommended retail price of $66.00; I got the SDS hydration pack and the Spec Ops Brand Medical Pouch for a total cost of $38, and I don't have to worry about having it shipped to me.
Another part of the game plan, both during the hot days and cold nights, is sweat control. During the scorching days, sweat gets extremely uncomfortable; during the cold desert nights, it's important to avoid retaining sweat in order to avoid hypothermia caused by prolonged contact with cold water. Because of this, I've been looking for Tactical Full T-Shirts by Under Armour, in Marine OD Green. The regional sporting goods chain has been able to come up with three of them, one of which I've already purchased; they're giving me the military discount on all three of them.
The Great Material Continuum, as hokey as it sounds, is doing its part to get me into a great vehicle as well, and I'm sure there will be other bits and pieces along the way. This isn't even counting the paycheck from the surplus store, which I wasn't expecting so much as a month ago, or the opportunity to spend a bit more time working at the office before I leave, so that my paycheck for the month of April won't be completely miniscule. Let the Great Material Continuum, a wholly owned subsidiary of Providence Unlimited, continue its monumental task of coordinating trade, production, and industry throughout the universe!
There were a couple of episodes of Deep Space Nine that mentioned a concept: the Great Material Continuum. Basically, it says that throughout the universe, one person will have something that another person will want or need. On the show, it served as religious symbolism and philosophy for a mercantilist species, but I feel as if there's some legitimacy to the concept.
As I've gotten ready for the move down to the Mojave, I've been trying to get some gear together that I'm going to need. The item I was told that I'd need, as uniforms are being provided (probably something like this), was a pair of steel-toed boots. At the end of my shift at the surplus store last Monday, an Army captain came in looking to unload some boots, and said that he'd just give us one pair, an unused pair of short-top steel-toed boots. He happened to be the same shoe size as me; I said I was tempted to take them for myself, told him what I was going to be doing, and he said that he'd just give them to me. I'll still buy another pair, but it won't hurt to have these, and I'd guess that I'll probably get some use out of them.
The name of the game in the desert, for both comfort and survival, is going to be hydration. I've had a Nalgene bottle since I was a junior in college, and the thing's got dings and dents in it, but it still seals; for those of you unfamiliar with Nalgene bottles, I've heard stories of these things being shot at and run over by cars without breaking. However, a single sixteen ounce bottle doesn't cut it, even when coupled with a canteen, so I've been looking for a hydration system. I've had my eye on a Thermobak Omega by CamelBak, in Coyote Tan. None of the local sporting goods stores carry that model, nor do they carry anything in Coyote Tan. I've been trying to figure out how to get the thing before I start work, and coming up empty. Today a guy came into the store (today being my last day here), just back from Iraq, and he knows the owner of the store. Luckily, the store owner was here to buy the stuff, since I can't do that myself. Among many other items he brought in, he had a brand new SDS Military Hydration System. While it doesn't have the built-in pocket that the Thermobak Omega has, it uses the MOLLE/PALS system that's currently being employed by the Department of Defense; this replaces the obsolete and cumbersome ALICE system. Instead of being in woodland camouflage as pictured, it's in Desert Tan, which is the color I need; also, it still had the plastic shrink wrap seal on the mouthpiece, though it had picked up some sand over the course of its trip from College City to Iraq and back again. Since it doesn't have an integrated pocket, I purchased a MOLLE/PALS compatible Spec Ops Brand Medical Pouch. A CamelBak Thermobak Omega carries a recommended retail price of $66.00; I got the SDS hydration pack and the Spec Ops Brand Medical Pouch for a total cost of $38, and I don't have to worry about having it shipped to me.
Another part of the game plan, both during the hot days and cold nights, is sweat control. During the scorching days, sweat gets extremely uncomfortable; during the cold desert nights, it's important to avoid retaining sweat in order to avoid hypothermia caused by prolonged contact with cold water. Because of this, I've been looking for Tactical Full T-Shirts by Under Armour, in Marine OD Green. The regional sporting goods chain has been able to come up with three of them, one of which I've already purchased; they're giving me the military discount on all three of them.
The Great Material Continuum, as hokey as it sounds, is doing its part to get me into a great vehicle as well, and I'm sure there will be other bits and pieces along the way. This isn't even counting the paycheck from the surplus store, which I wasn't expecting so much as a month ago, or the opportunity to spend a bit more time working at the office before I leave, so that my paycheck for the month of April won't be completely miniscule. Let the Great Material Continuum, a wholly owned subsidiary of Providence Unlimited, continue its monumental task of coordinating trade, production, and industry throughout the universe!
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