Patrolling Fans (original) (raw)

Okay, I'm curious to know. Has anyone actually implimented changes to their lives because of Patrolling (or any other RR shows for that matter)?

What I've done:

Daily Checks list
Yup, first and foremost. Those links which I need to check every day, all in one links folder. Firefox's "open in all tabs" means it's a one-click way of bringing up all you need to look at in the day. Also created a Weekly Checks folder for items I know update far less often.
Webcomics, news sites, tech sites, forums. Also a couple of other things I've found handy is to find yourself a good 5-day weather forecast and to locate your own home city on Time And Date-dot-com, since it provides you with your local Sunrise, sunset and any upcoming changes to the clocks (like British Summertime, which I tend to forget).

System cleansing
I tried the lemon cleanser. It was nifty enough, but something more than that, it encouraged me to wean myself off caffine and chocolates. The key seems to be finding alternatives. Chocolate, I substituted fruit and drinking water. Filtered water too. I now keep a reserve stock of several bottles worth, and the filtering jug in the fridge. Cold and clean. But the main bit is just getting out of the habit of buying the stuff. When you're out and about, you see if and think "ooh, I can afford one of those.." instead of "I don't really need one of those, do I?". Break the snacking habit. I have more loose change now though.
Caffine was trickier though. 6 cups of tea a day, each with three sugars. First off, I switched from using refined cane sugar to a couple of teaspoons of honey instead. It alters the flavour slightly, but doesn't take too long to get used to (especially if you intelectualise about what you eat anyway. "What is it about what I'm hungry for that my body wants? Yes, that's it. Protein/fat/carbs.. this other thing I actually have to hand also has the same thing in it.. yes, body will except that just as happily..". Your desire for specific foods is just your mind's front end interface to your bodys needs. Hack it.).
The caffine withdrawel was a bitch. I hear some people can get addicted to the tannin too. Filtered water worked well, because it was cold. Gave the body a bit of a jump of a different sort. I found a better replacement though. It's called Roobois tea (african red-bush tea). It tastes a fair bit like regular tea, and can be trated much the same. No caffine, no tannin (so it can brew as long as you like) but 40 times the antioxidants. That with a spoonfull of honey has now become my drink.

Clothing
Still an ongoing project. It really does pay off though to do your research before you buy. You save time and money in the long run.
Let's put it in some context.
I recently borrowed money to buy a suit, so I'll be able to get a decent paying job (I hope). Now, I hate shirts. As Sean says in S2E2, the sweatstains are just rank. Plus I have poor circulation, so I get cold easy. So combining season one and two ideas, I've found a source of white under-armour Ts. They'll do the job of the simple vest, only more and better.
I also found perfect underwear from another source. They're comfy, and generally do all the right stuff. Cheaper and better fitting that under-armour versions, so I recently bought 8 pairs. My entire underwear stock has been replaced with identical pairs now. Just need to find some good socks now.
On the subject of socks, keep your toenails trimmed and they'll last a lot longer. If you're part of a no-shoe household, then get yourself a nice pair of slippers. Socks aren't ment to be your only barrier between foot and floor, and will wear out a lot quicker even only walking on carpet. Get slippers.
Also, back to the suit, if you possibly can, don't go near Next or Gap or whatever. I went around them before I finally found my suit. All of the ones at these stores are for standard body shapes and sizes. I'm a pretty slim guy and my back curves more than it should, so the jackets in the suits rucked up around the neck and shoulders, or made my bum stick out. Every place had the same member of staff, "Yes, looks good.. want it? Put it in a bag for ya?". Eventually we found a small, but well stocked shop (The Branded Suit Company). I walked in the door, the old guy in there took ONE LOOK at me and just pulled a suit off the rack. It fitted exactly. Perfect. Like it had been made for me. We also managed to negotiate on the price, somethign you can't really do at big stores. In the end it came to only £10 more than the mass-made suits from Next. Support these old-school stores!

Kit
Seeing as I don't have that well-paying job yet, I'm still kinda short on the things I want. I have a fairly decent jet lighter, though it has it's faults. Maybe once I redesign it I could get some people together to pool money on a production run of one that works properly.
I used to wear my webbing out and about, keeping a lot of tools and things on me. Since the London Tube Bombings though, I decided it'd be safer if I didn't wear it out all that much. Doing so has made me rely on it less, like removing a safety blanket. Still though, I need a new multitool. My old one's cheap and no longer works right.
Also taking the workbag and AWOL bag concepts, I have my eye on a new bag. The Vango Planet series 70+20. The series is a 60 to 80 litre main pack, with a 15 or 20 litre daypack that hooks on the back. Since the Work Bag and Awol Bag share some of the same componants, my idea is to keep the workbag parts in the daypack, and awol only parts in the main pack. In event of emergency, the two can be recombined quickly to make the full awol bag, and will require less total outgoings to get the same number of bags.

Motivation
I'll wrap it all up here, but I do need to say there's something that can't be beat about having someone say and even scream at you EVERY DAY that you can do anything you like, that you're part of something amazing, that you can be part of something that will make the world a better place.
I feel damn good about myself. I still have my faults and weaknesses, but I have the confidence to analysise and attack them now. Thankyou RantRadio!
The whole thing's also encouraged me to try and do my own bit. I send in stories when I find them, I do more exercise now, I have more mental strength, and I'm working on my own projects. Sites to help in the large and small, and I've got myself a decent set of camera equipment. Although it's by myself, I'm filming my own show. I need to find someone to play cameraman really, else everything's going to be very Edison Carter style. Could do with some radio mics too.

This has taken longer than I intended. Catcha later, I'm off for a run.