Edward Lye

The shortest answer here: Masanobu Fukuoka.

I was so inspired.

Yes, the name is plucked directly from my memory. No referring to notes. No Google.

I failed my college diploma exam.

Not a dropout because I passed the degree exam
(it's a 2-in-1 program) but I never flaunted
that piece of paper anywhere. Not even my
employer caught sight of it - they trusted
their entrance/aptitude tests more.

I have long been retired and yet I still continue
to learn and the hardest thing is to UNLEARN.

Looking back, a lot of knowledge I accumulated
has been junk.

Anyway, I am indebted to the college library.
It held treasures like
Forman S Acton's Numerical Methods That (Usually)
Work. The word "Usually" was un-embossed from
the hardcover. I noticed that.
Other books like The Newtonian Casino and the
various books about Feynmann including his
famous lectures. I learnt to break out of the mould.

We never learnt practical things like knot tying.
  (Based off a Constrictor Knot, I invented a
   more secure one that is unfortunately  
   impossible to tie - underlying the constrictor
   is a simple overhand knot BUT what if it is
   two interlocking U-turns instead? I have
   since moved on to the better Woodland Zip-Tie
   which stays secure even in mid-air. Also, the
   Double Dragon is replacing the Bowline and
   Alpine Butterfly)

How to obtain potable water on a desert island.
   (Eliodomestico)

How to open coconuts wuthout tools.

How to open tin cans without tools.

How to rig shelter.

How to make cordage.

How to start a fire without tools.
   (Ever heard of the Rudiger Roll?)

How to drownproof.
   (I don't float well and no stamina to
    thread water(I taught myself from a
    magazine article and first tested at
    the diving pool - it works!))

How to fix a car that wouldn't start.
   (Yeah - Air, fire, fuel - but there is a
    fourth cause books don't mention)*.

How to trap and kill small animals.
   (Mojave Scissor Survival Trap)

How to rig an extension ladder.

YouTube content creators have been generous
and good to me.

Can you explain to a child why light bends in water
or how a prism splits white light?

Can you explain to a child how an airplane keeps aloft?

Can you explain how a passenger falling
out of a hot air balloon causes the balloon to
equally fall out of the sky killing everyone?

Can you explain why light has momentum but no mass?

In which Act and Scene of Romeo And Juiet does
the balcony first appear?

Did you get 5 out of 5?
With my degree I scored 0.

We learn't stuff but not how to think or question.

So I reeducated myself. I reexamined everything
all over again. My justification is backed by Buddha
in his Kalama Sutta.

I have dabbled in automotive repair (even repairing
the leak in the vacuum diaphragm).
I invented my Yin-Yong Potato recipe.
I can draw the circuit diagram for a fluorescent light fixture.
I can repair the toilet cistern.
I can explain why the Trinitarian God is
not Shrik nor violate Tawhid.
I know where Heaven is located(take that Professor Jones)
and thus where Hell is.
I am formulating anew the specifications for Heaven
because unless you tell God, you end up with the
default settings. If you read Genesis carefully, God
is a Master Gardener.
In college, I made my 4-banger calculator spit out
the usual 6 trigonometric functions as well as
logarithms and anti-logarithms.
Lastly I know how to solve the real-world-plastic
problem.

Do I qualify as a polymath?

*my air conditioner compressor siezed. True story.
(the belt didn't move - troubleshooting tip)

A token YouTube video in case you consider
yourself smart - Infinity Category Theory.

I live in the suburbs. I have a small garden. Trees have grown
and one 2-storey high was blown down in a storm.
I have handled them all by myself.

A couple of times I needed to reach a spot above the tree and
I supported an extension ladder on an A-frame ladder and
added lots of weight at the feet of the extension ladder - enough
to counterbalance my weight at the other end.

Naturally I do things by parts - branches then the trunk.
Always manageable bits.

My gotos are a couple of ceiling fan hooks. I tie each about 6-inches
from where I perform the saw cut. I wind several loops around the
branch/trunk to attach these hooks - enough that in the case of
a sudden jerk/break the hook still remains secured.

Then a short length of chain joining both hooks together with  
chain links. Loose but not too loose because the intention is
to constrain the movement of the cut end. The other end is
tied to several anchor points/posts/other trees to limit the
travel and keep it from dropping where it is not wanted.

While I reduce the problem by taking off the smaller branches,
I can also choose to leave them intact because as the trunk is cut,
the leaves and branches left will serve to cushion the fall
on the roof tiles.

Each cut is unique and weeks of mental simulation may pass
before an action is taken.

I like this method instead of betting the entire ranch on a
single cut  because this is almost always successful.
I remain unharmed enough to post this.

The saw cut is slowed as the branch  starts to break. Any break
is limited by the rope binding the ceiling fan hook. I am usually
on a ladder and sawing by hand. When the break suddenly
happens, the detached branch/trunk will not turn into a
battering ram and slam into me/my face/hands. No seesaw.
No wild unexpected rotations as it hits an obstacle on the way
down. Just a swing down.

Lastly I pass a rope through both ceiling fan hooks, detach the
chain and lower the branch/trunk slowly with a capstan.

I mentioned that the free end of the branch/trunk is constrained
by a few ropes. That is not the full story. I also add via Alpine
Butterfly Knots, weights along those ropes so there is active
tension working all the time. In addition, sometimes I set these
weights swinging to produce a pulsating pull as I gingerly make
lighter cuts.  

I illustrate the key points below.

Your mileage may vary.

We bought an oven-door-style-air fryer.

I cooked chicken wings for us and our cat.

It was pure simplicity.
Cut up 4 wings.
Rinse and drip dry for 2 minutes.
Drizzle soy sauce and oil.
Massage them.
Arrange them flat in the deep pan.
13minutes at 195centigrade and it's done.

Unbelievably succulent.

This is not the mistake.

The mistake is in thinking I can do the
same with pork liver. So I watched a few
YouTube videos . . . until . . . wait a minute
. . . some of them admitted that things
did not always turn out right.

That's when the bulb lit and it occurred
to me that with liver you cannot fire and forget.
Furthermore you cannot pause and inspect.
Not with an air fryer.

So much easier and precise with a frying pan.

A extra minute in an air fryer is pure disaster.
You cannot adjust by the seconds.

I like the latest version.

There are some conversations I wish to continue to add to and
there are the links neatly collected.

Kevin David wrote:
Water? Not sure yet, hoping you guys can help me out

For drinking/cooking water,

Starting from saltwater, the Eliodomestico (5 litres per day)
or the Watercone(see Appropedia, 1.5 litres per day)

Eliodomestice

Starting from unclear/muddy water, biochar filter demo
(the best demo I have come across)



To Pasteurize water for drinking,

search Appropedia.org for SODIS and WAPI.

You asked this 3 years ago. How have things turned out?

I don't have a preference for any of the One-eyed Jacks.

If you can swing the License, I would vote for the Minion version.

I don't go much for decorative plants but I have a very soft spot for the Chinese Lantern.
Someone up there is listening because I have never seen it around for 5 decades but
one day, there it was and it pops up occasionally on its own. But it isn't a house plant.

So that accolade goes to the "Mother-in-law's tongue" (Sansevieria trifasciata).

We have a few pots. I moved one into the kitchen. The gas stove is long retired.
And it died!.

So I tried another pot. It seemed promising. A few leaves withered but a couple
of new ones appeared. But it also died!