Category Archives: human animal

Follow me on manhacking

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Hey,everyone. I wanted to let you know that I am putting primalfringe on the back burner for a while and focusing instead on a new site called manhacking.

What is manhacking?

Manhacking is kind of the next logical step in the primalfringe journey. I will absolutely be looking at human development (more specifically MY human development) through a historical lens, but I will also be incorporating more things into it. Manhacking attempts to answer – and eventually will answer this question via community – how we make ourselves be the very best we can be, how we find ourselves and work towards becoming not just a Rennaissance men, but a Resurgent men. From literature, to forestry, or needlework to snares, the Resurgent Man is a man infinitely capable, industrious, and critical, but above all, a man living in tune with both his time and his history.

So join me over at manhacking today and start hacking yourself into a Resurgent Man, and your life into a resurgent life.

30 Day Challenge – Rules and Regulations

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Brass Tacks

Careful, they're sharp!

So you’ve decided to join me on my 30 day quest for even better health. Awesome – so what are the rules? Well, let’s get down to brass tacks.

First things first. We’ll be following, for the most part, the whole9 30 day program. It’s currently the best laid out 30 day plan, and a lot of people have had a lot of success with it. Be sure to read through the linked page, as it provides a framework in which everything else will stem from. Continue reading →

30 Day paleo challenge

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So I’ve decided that it’s time to refocus my diet once more and start eating paleo for a thirty day period. Today was day one.

Ribs are delicious! How can you say no?

I woke up this morning and weighed in – 214.3 pounds. I had been hovering around 208 for the past several months, and 214 isn’t unexpected nor even why I’m doing this. I’ve noticed a slow and general decrease in my overall sense of ‘wellbeing’, that nebulous term for “How do you feel at this very moment?” In addition, I had been letting some small amounts of wheats and grains into my diet from time to time, which I knew I wanted to guard against, but because ‘it was easy’ or ‘convenient’, they were slipping in with increasing frequency. Not good.

Continue reading →

Paleo Thai Larb

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Today for dinner we adapted a recipe from “Glorious One-Pot Meals” called Thai Larb. For those of you that don’t know, Larb is a meal that is considered the national dish of Laos, as well as being a staple in parts of Thailand. I had never heard of this before, but rest assured the paleofication of this meal was simple. It makes an affordable, filling and healthy meal, and for the most part it’s pretty simple to make. So let’s get down to business and take a look at the recipe and instructions.

  • Cooking fat (coconut oil is probably the best option for Thai food) – subbed in for Canola Oil Spray (or as I like to call it, the devil)
  • 1 head of cauliflower, grated – subbed in for 1 cup Jasmine rice
  • 1 lime, zested
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/2 c lime juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar (dunno if this is considered ‘paleo’ or not, but no sleep lost over this)
  • 1.5 tbsp honey – subbed in for brown sugar
  • 1 tsp minced jalapeno
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 scallions (green onions), chopped
  • 1 bell pepper (orange or red)
  • 1/4 c chopped fresh mint
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/4 head of chopped green cabbage
  • 1 c. snow peas

Make this in a cast iron skillet. Grease well with cooking fat.

Add a layer of riced cauliflower, spread evenly.

Add all ingredients except meat, mint, cabbage, and snow peas. Add meat to ensure it ends up crumbled. Add mint.

Arrange clumps of meat mixture over the cauliflower. Do not pack together – mixture should be loose.

Add a thick layer of cabbage and top with snow peas.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes @ 450 degrees. Serve hot.

And it’s some good stuff. Make a lot, because you’ll want to go back for more.

A little rooster sauce adds a nice kick, too.

Enjoy!

Dealing with Plantar Fasciitis

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First there was turtleneck and chain, now there's towel and ball.

First off – I’ve been fighting with plantar fasciitis for a while, now. Like years, off and on. Years ago I treated with off the shelf orthotics (Superfeet) with relative success. However, for the last year and a half or so – and really the last 8 months – I’ve been transitioning to barefoot and barefoot analogue shoes – both vibram five fingers and Merrell’s ‘Glove’ line. (Full disclosure – I prefer the Merrell’s and they have become my everyday goto shoes.) Continue reading →

Thursday hike night

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The great white mountain

Tonight my brother in law and I took a quick hike up to Mason Lake in the Cascades. We had both taken off a little early from work so we could make the whole trip without the need for flashlights. As it was, it worked out just perfectly. Continue reading →

Solving problems, fostering hope

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From steps to chairs to trees and beyond

“The world is collapsing/around our ears/I turned up the radio…”

– Michael Stipe, R.E.M.

This has been a topic that’s been brewing for a while, and was recently resurfaced when Peggy (http://theprimalparent.com) stated the following in a reply to a comment: “…I don’t think “hope” is about the world being saved. I think we should accept that we are out of control as a species. It’s fine. That’s the path nature is taking with us. “Hope” is a bit narrower to me. I have “hope” that each of us as individuals can figure out ways to skirt around all the mess the rest of the world leaves. And there is hope for that, as long as we all keep trying…” (http://theprimalparent.com/2011/06/30/credence-to-the-paleo-movement-bad-press-blogs-paleo-magazine/). Continue reading →

A quick evening hike

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Mountain Huckleberries ripe for the picking.

I got done with work this afternoon and recalled that I was flying solo – my wife and the boy were away. Rather than head out to see a movie or sitting on the couch playing video games until my eyes rotted out, I decided that it would be a fun evening event to go for a hike instead. In the greater Seattle area we have ample hiking trails within a stones throw from most metropolitan areas. I decided the best one to tackle today was Rattlesnake ledge – it was already 6 PM and the hike is a good 4 miles.

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You have to be fit if you want to thrive

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Learn how to lift heavy things.

Fuel seems to be a major topic in the paleosphere. I have spoken about it at length (perhaps ad nauseum, considering all the other places out there). What’s not addressed nearly so much is the fitness aspect. There is definitely a call to action in paleo circles to get fit, and many folks turn to CrossFit – myself included. In many ways the two philosophies go hand in hand – CrossFit focuses on ten spheres of fitness – cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Paleo or primal lifestyle (particularly the fuel portion of it) focuses on quality of intake vs. calorie of intake, the eating of nutritionally benevolent foods vs. nutritionally indifferent (or even malevolent), eating the correct amount of food, and eating in such a manner that is ethical – insofar as it is the diet the human animal was meant to eat – as well as caring about the status of our food BEFORE it became food – whether plant or animal.

Continue reading →