TJ

Christian | Husband | Father | Engineer
Whatever the world's arguing about today. Always up for a good debate.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Growing up, holidays mostly meant a lot of food and the adults partying.

I want to build something different for my family. Cook them a good meal. Watch them smile around the table. Maybe pour myself one good drink.

And croquet in the yard every year. That one's non-negotiable now.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Source: https://t.co/S9AyFhWP0v

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Putting the boat up for winter? The old advice was to run the tank low. With E10, BoatUS says the opposite.

A nearly full built-in tank leaves less room for humid air to condense. That water can pull ethanol out of the gas and sink to the bottom.

Once that happens, no stabilizer fixes it.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Our house has exactly one TV, and it lives in a separate theater room away from the rest of the house.

That's where my wife and I watch our shows after our son goes to bed.

Everywhere else in the house is for talking, playing, and actually being together. Best design decision we've made.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

USFWS, Feb 2026: https://t.co/I2Ei7415Ds

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

$1.2 billion.

That's what went to states for fish and wildlife conservation in FY2026 alone through Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson.

Paid for mostly by people buying guns, ammo, bows, and fishing gear.

Not exactly the profile of people who don't care about animals.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

USFWS on the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration programs: https://t.co/I2Ei7415Ds

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Federal conservation money isn't free money.

States have to match up to 25%, usually with hunting and fishing license revenue.

So a license isn't just paying for a tag. It's what unlocks the federal dollars.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Honest question for people who've never hunted:

If hunting license and excise-tax money disappeared tomorrow, what should replace it?

I'm genuinely asking. Somebody has to pay for wildlife conservation.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

26 U.S. Code 4161 and 4181: https://t.co/vrbImb5tRS

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Buy a rifle, a box of ammo, or a bow and there's an 11% federal excise tax baked in.

Handguns: 10%.

Arrow shafts get taxed per shaft.

That money helps fund state wildlife conservation. Most people have no idea.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

My wife makes the best smoked gouda mac and cheese I've ever had.

As long as I have a say, it's on our Thanksgiving table every year.

What's the one side dish your family would riot over if it went missing?

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

If I could pass one value on to my son, it's this: question everything.

Question the news. Question the trend. Question the loudest guy in the room. Question me.

Not so you turn cynical. So you find out what's actually true and build your life on it.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

@NickiZevola Things do move like that over time. I hope not though in this case. You would think there’s enough longevity data that this could be avoided?

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Since our son turned 1, my wife and I started getting overnight childcare every month or two and getting away for a night.

A great restaurant. A night in Nashville. Sometimes the beach.

Time alone together is rarer now, which is exactly why it's worth more. We don't waste it.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Unpopular take for a hunter: not understanding conservation doesn't make someone a bad person.

My only ask is simple. Don't lobby to change the laws or how conservation is funded.

Or if you do, be willing to pay more in taxes to make up the difference.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

People ask if becoming a dad changed how I feel about hunting and fishing.

Absolutely nothing changes that.

My son is one and already has his own fishing pole. That should answer it.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Source: https://t.co/nshHUFGpTo

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

If the bite on your lake died this month, it might be turnover.

All summer a deep reservoir sits in layers: warm on top, cold and oxygen-starved below. In fall the top cools, sinks, and the whole lake mixes.

Fishing's often off for a few days, then it comes back.

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

Source: https://t.co/pqI9o7qSeu

[TJ @LiveFreeOrDieTJ]

UCLA researchers squeezed mouse skin cells for milliseconds, and the share CRISPR turned into neurons jumped from about 3% to about 40%.

The squeeze briefly loosens packed DNA so the right genes are easier to switch on.

Sometimes the breakthrough isn't a sharper tool. It's opening the door.