Knowing one's audience is good advice for any speaker.

Perhaps a Chaff Taxonomy would help posters know to whom they are talking and thereby promote interposting harmony.

The taxonomy could sort posters by:

rich or poor
democrat or republican
experienced or novice
warm or cold hiking areas
dry or wet hiking areas
smart or stupid
myog or store bought

If I knew the answers to these questions I would know if I'm talking to a jury of my peers or a nest of folks quite different from myself.

I would say, for example, that I'm a rich democrat with a lot of experience who hikes in cold wet areas with a lot of myog......and I am stupid.

Any thoughts on this subject?

Faster just to do it by state/city.

religion
race
weight
height
sex

Okay... I'll start. (smiles)

Rich or poor is all relative. Compared to Oprah I am poor, compared to a brain surgeon I am poor... but my life is very rich and fulfilling. I am prosperous in a middle class sense of the term and have everything I need to enjoy life.

Democrat or Republican? Conservative, Liberal, New Democratic, Green, or Bloc Quebecois? I'm Canadian and we don't have Republicans... lol.

Experienced is a matter of perspective. I have considerable experience in both backpacking and paddling. Experienced in a lot of other things... snowshoeing, orienteering, etc. I have experienced taking children on longer wilderness trips which is something many parents would run away from (kicking and screaming - lol). Altitude, mountains... not so much experience there.

Warm or cold hiking areas. Well, a bit of both. Summer can be 100°F (without the humidex) and winter can be as cold as -4°F (not counting wind chill values).

Dry or wet... depends entirely on the season. I hike and paddle in the Canadian Shield/Boreal. There are lots of lakes and trees and bogs. Dry... if you are talking desert dry... I've never been to a desert.

Smart overall and not afraid to speak my mind... although, on occasion, I can open my mouth and insert my foot (or my leg right up to the knee - lol). I'm not a rocket scientist but I'd like to think I am fairly intelligent. When I am nervous I come off as a complete bubble-brained flake. There are some things I am completely stupid in. Like algebra and trigonometry and driving a car (I might learn to drive this year). Some of my friends think going into the wilds for 14 days at time (and taking the children) is utterly and completely stupid. So, like the rich/poor question - that is all relative. I think they are silly for camping in vehicles that have more square footage than my first apartment. I like to think I am witty too - but it's a drier wit that sometimes people don't get... and I talk way too much.

myog or store-bought... that depends entirely on the gear. I have an extremely lightweight ground sheet that I made from sil-nylon (for the record that stuff is a witch to sew) as well as a ditty bag or two from the same material. I make my own food and I'm working on making an alcohol stove with my son. I love making things so the myog is of great interest to me. The challenge of it is fun and the education worthwhile.

I would like to think that much of this list you've made is irrelevant and that the mere fact that we all enjoy a similar recreational activity is enough in itself to make us worthy peers. I don't feel that political persuasion or personal economy really comes into it much.

So that's my two cents. I'm broke now... lol.

Variety is the spice of life.

Diversity keeps Chaff interesting.

Edit: Thread update. Just goes downhill fast from here.

Edited by kthompson on 12/28/2011 19:09:04 MST.

And for Jerry....

Religion... oh boy. You had to ask that. A little bit Buddhist, a little bit Pagan, and a little bit Tree Hugger. Confused?

Race... April 28th... Ford Race to End Diabetes

Weight... light to moderate pack weight moving toward UL

Height... Amazon woman at 6 feet tall

Sex... in a Tent (it's a great book - you should read it)


Now that I am done being a smart-alec I will sign off for a bit... lol.

Edited by Laurie_Ann on 12/26/2011 07:32:21 MST.

Me:

Middle class.

I live in the highly red corner of a liberal county. Our corner votes conservatively and often. It is basically a large pocket of Mormons and people who want to be left alone. So while we may not be a majority, our voting keeps a balanced nature. (Notice I didn't say Republican). It is why I love living out here. No one out here thinks we are odd for what we like - because they all are similar to us. But I don't talk politics while hiking. That is just bad manners! Although I am known to wax on about gun rights and developing a system of self reliance at home.

Experienced and full of myself.

Cold and wet hiking area. Duh........I live in the foothills of Rainier. Although in summer the moss sometimes dries out.

I'd like to think I am smart...lol! But there will always be critics who think otherwise. That is called life. My husband would say that when I am on a trip I lose all my brains - especially when I start thinking 20 mile days are a great idea ;-)

Middle of the road for MYOG/store bought. Both have their positives. And their places.

>A little bit Buddhist, a little bit Pagan, and a little bit Tree Hugger. Confused?

Laurie: My favorite Holiday song is "The Christians and the Pagans" by Dar Williams. Search on youtube for it. Although a New Englander, she has a Canadian perspective on health care, government, world peace and such.

For myself:
More spiritual than religious. If I had to pick a chapel and a church, they would be the library and the forest.

Race: only against myself. I believe I should "hike my age" so I'll do a 50-mile day hike this year.

Weight: FAA average human weight

Height: Same as the Amazon, above.

Sex: Yes. Make love, not war.

1. Poor, as i spend all my money on gear.
2. I live in Scotland, so neither D or R. But would probably vote for neither.
3. Over 30 years experience.
4. Temperate.
5. Wet usually, but we get a dry day every summer. Usually a Tuesday.
6. I must be stupid, as i think i'm smart.
7. See answer to no. 1.

My wife the MD likes to think we're upper-middle class, but I grew up as middle class and we're far above that.

I'm definitely with the D's on "Keep Government out of the bedroom" and not the R's "Keep government out of the boardroom". I rather like the parks, hospitals, schools, airports and such that we get through paying taxes, so the only tea bagging I do is Earl Grey in the morning.

40 years of camping experience, 35 years of BPing. 25 years ago I did a 9-day High Sierra trip with 30 pounds total weight, 19 pounds non-food, and that was with an external framed pack. I'd like to use new ideas and items to cut that further as my 11-year-old starts to be a capable hiker (we did Grand Canyon together in a day this year) - I see low pack weight as a way to start his BPing earlier and extend mine longer.

I do much better in cool climates. 75F is a very hot day at home, so most trips here are cool to cold. The bottom of my fun meter to be about -15F. I can get by at lower, but it's not fun to be nervous about the survival aspects of it.

I love a California day hike with its predictable weather. In Alaska, rain is a possibility all summer.

I'm not a rocket scientist, but I do clean up after them (my last design was a solar-powered treatment system to clean up perchlorate from the groundwater in the badlands east of LA).

When there's a great item for sale, I like to support the manufacturer and vendor that makes it available. When I can do better myself, I enjoy puttering in the garage. I built all my own kayaks, and our house - which tested out as the tightest house in town by a factor of 4. I'm best at the intersection of electronics, chemistry, plumbing, combustions and plumbing.

This has been very entertaining for me. Love the creative responses!

You would not learn too much about me with those 7 parameters.
1,2,3 neither
4,5,6,7 both.
;)

rich or poor: Rich in snarkiness, often poor timing on when to use it....

democrat or republican: I'll date either, I'm not that picky

experienced or novice: again, I'll date either, in this case I'm really not picky!

warm or cold hiking areas: Hmmmm. Less clothes when it's warm. More snuggling when it's cold. This one's hard.

dry or wet hiking areas: wet, definitely. You have to get undressed to dry off....

smart or stupid: Hmmmm. Not sure whether I'm too smart to put down an answer for this, or too stupid to have one.

myog or store bought: I tried making my own girl, but it was a disaster, so definitely store bought. Lars and I like our real girls.

d

Edited by asdzxc57 on 01/25/2012 17:37:40 MST.

More rich than poor. It's better to be lucky than good, and my company seems to keep making a profit, albeit sometimes a really small one.

Democrat, if only because they seem to get this idea that wilderness should be protected.

Experienced. Or maybe just old.

Sierra Nevada in the summer...that's warm and dry.

Smart--what? You want to match SAT scores or something?

1/3 myog; 1/3store bought; 1/3 scrounged/thrift shop

Edited by balzaccom on 12/26/2011 19:18:23 MST.

Thanks for the song recommendation. I'll check it out shortly. I adore our healthcare system here in Ontario and I often wonder why other countries (US) are so afraid of universal health care.

My take on spirituality (little bit tree hugger, little bit Buddhist, and little bit Pagan) can be found here (if anyone is interested).

my thoughts on spirituality

Edited by Laurie_Ann on 12/27/2011 08:17:04 MST.

"I adore our healthcare system here in Ontario and I often wonder why other countries (US) are so afraid of universal health care. "

I'd rather pay for my health care and make my own decisions. Sure, I gripe at the costs but I am OK with not having Socialist medicine. Currently I was crabbing over a $350 bill right at Christmas time for my share but in the grand scheme of things it was pretty cheap overall. Considering every time I see a Maternal Fetal OB Doctor it is billed at $1,500 - I only pay maybe $40 which is a pretty good deal considering the level of care I receive. I never wait for my care because I am paying - if I need it, I get it immediately.

And it isn't that America doesn't have a system similar to other countries - Medicare is basically that. But as with anything...you get the minimum and you often have to wait to be seen when it isn't private payer. I have been on all three sides of healthcare - private payer, no insurance and Medicare. All have good and bad points.

But as I said....I vote conservatively. I don't agree that our system is broken. It is flawed but not broken. I would rather have flawed choices than only one way in our lives for anything (be it medical, gun rights, human rights, freedom of speech, etc) You can't make everyone happy but you can have a truce.

And that my friends....shows you more about me than you might think.

Why the capital 'S'? :)
Yip, it shows a lot.

"I adore our healthcare system here in Ontario and I often wonder why other countries (US) are so afraid of universal health care. "

Okay, since you spoke up Sarah, I respectfully have to offer other opinion : )

Sarah, you say we do have system it's called Medicare. Let's make this available to all people if they want to buy into it. Or better, just tax everyone and have it cover everyone.

Our system is broken. Medical costs have gone up exponentially and we have to do something soon. Health insurance companies make huge profits. Pharmaceutical companies make huge profits... We pay twice as much as other countries and our care is less effective. Sure, everyone gets some level of care, but what's this about large number of people declaring bankruptcy over health costs?...

And our political system is broken. We have "the best government money can buy". Wealthy people and big corporations can anonymously donate unlimited money to "super pacs" that can attack any politician.

Like that Grover Norquist group. All the Rs have pledged to not raise taxes (on rich people and big corporations). Any politician that goes against this is "primaried" by unlimited ads paid for by anonymous people.

Health care in this nation needs a major overhaul. There are far too many people who without. It's not just the poor, but college educated middle class folks who are having trouble with this too.

If you want your own private plan, then that is fine. If you pay taxes then you should have health care. How many ignorant people spout off that don't want their tax dollars spent on "Obama care".... Well even if his plan was not put forward your own tax dollars are still funding the un-insured.

By having a healthy country, we save money. It is pretty simple