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Wednesday, August 22, 2012


Dual Use
      Some of us think this way routinely.
            Here are some obvious examples:
                        Long term vice short term.  An example is the food we eat, shelf lives, storage ideas, and mostly I have to ultimately eat it; and whether it is now or later just depends on the circumstances. Otherwise I am wasting my money, especially if food goes bad.
                        A foxhole is basically a hole dug in the earth, but it can be both a military type position, and a kids play hole; and should be set up for both if one even digs such hole.
                        Manual widgets that work whether we have electricity or not obviously work in both cases.
                        Medicine. We can use it short term and long term. Storage is important for the long term. I have learned that the stated sell or use by dates in the USA can often reasonably be extended for most over the counter and prescription drugs.
                        Financial plans can have both long term and short term objectives. One example is the type of timber contract a Plantation I used to work at favored it after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and I and many others reaped the benefits half a century later.  All the decision makers back then were deceased at the time, that is the half century later time, but all the descendents and other people like me benefited from their dual use plan.
                        Manual tools can be used whether we have electricity and fuel, or not.
                        Pet dogs are good companions, but also can be good guard dogs, too. And food for them can feed us first, with leftovers going to them rather than the garbage, within reason of course. And today's dog food can feed them, and humans if need be if times get hard. Even Lewis and Clark ate horse meat when they had it, during hard times.
                        Clothes bought for use, vice fads, can be used to keep warm both in the near term, and the far term; and by one or more.
Well the examples could go on and on, but the idea of dual use appears to be timeless, at least to me.

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