MAMBO #5 LEARNED HOW TO PRESS THE LEVER TODAY!  V FOR VICTORY!!!!

Graduate School

So, everyone meet Mambo (rat #5).  Thank you Brian for the name suggestion.  Yes, this is my rat.  And I am attempting to train and reinforce and shape his behavior.  Crazy.  Feeling a lot like Skinner and all the basic researchers these days.  Poor Mambo has defecated in the research box.  And yes, that red thing is a lever.  

Thoughts from the trail

Brian and I went camping this past weekend.  And, we learned some lessons...

1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN - actually think about what you are doing

2. Choose where you want to go - this we did the day of

3. Let someone know where you are going in case something troublesome happens - this we did!

4. Strategically pack your bags - ha, this is a definite no

5. Buy food that will not burden your body, i.e. stay away from can goods (like progresso soups)

6. Split your water up into nalgenes or camelbacks - we decided to carry 2 gallons

7. Don't pack three or four days worth of dog food when you are going for a shorter amount of time

8. If your pack is super heavy, you can make it up the hill, but it might not be that much fun

9. Eat a lot of food at dinner and breakfast so that your packs are lighter on the way down

10. Are you in bear country?  If so, make sure you pack rope and what not to make a bear bag

11. Pack warm clothes!  It gets super cold at night in the mountains.

12. Make sure your tent has a foot and a rain fly (mine does not have a foot... it is worth the purchase)

13. Via packets of coffee and hot chocolate packets are a necessary must.

There will be more to come soon.  After a trip of successfully not preparing nor planning, we made it back in one piece minus the water bottle that was sacrificed for the bear bag (walmart nalgene knockoffs shatter when they hit rock, fyi).  And it was beautiful.  And now my butt is extremely sore.