Articles written by Mac Pike

What is Helium

About me - Mac Pike

Mac Pike lives in the northern, wooded section of New Jersey. He hunts a little, fishes a bit, grows many vegetables, splits inordinate amounts of firewood and is on the throwing end of incessant games of fetch.

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Pets & Animals > Animal Rights & Issues By studying extinction patterns, can we save endangered animals?: 1 of 9
The idea that studying the extinction patterns of the past will enable us to save species currently endangered from becoming extinct in turn has a certain visceral appeal but the concept is essentially flawed. It is like using probability theory to predict the outcome of a single coin toss, or the roll of a single die. It is ... More..
Home & Garden > Gardening (Other) How to build your own raised garden: 2 of 11
When I put in my first vegetable garden almost forty years ago, I approached the project with more enthusiasm than knowledge. In the back yard I marked out a patch thirty feet by thirty feet that received full sun, rented a gigantic rototiller and ripped up the real estate like a maddened bull tears up the pasture. I planted ... More..
Home & Garden > Weeds & Pests Pest control in your garden: 3 of 16
Here, we give detailed instructions on how to deal with one specific garden pest; Sciurus carolinensis, or the eastern gray squirrel. The reader will be walked step by step through the construction of an Involuntary Rodent Relocation Device or IRRD. Remember, the zuchinni you save may be your own. A poultry wire fence seven f... More..
Food & Drink > Cooking with Spices & Herbs Spice racks: Add some flavor to your kitchen: 3 of 15
Generally speaking I abhor torture and stand four square with the UN, Amnesty International, and all other organizations that ban its use. I would personally rather water ski through shark infested waters than water board a single living creature. Except when it comes to spices. Yes, it is true, I whole-heartedly endorse the ... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: My best fall memory: 7 of 28
I remember... Dickie Moran barking signals, his voice cracking just a bit on the "Hut" in "Hut Three!" as it still did on occasion to his acute embarrassment. I remember the "thwack" as Barnes snapped the ball into his hands, Barnes getting rid of it quickly so he could move out fast and maybe nail Haskell, the intrepid numbe... More..
Health & Fitness > First Aid Muscle injuries and their treatment: 1 of 4
Muscle injuries like sprains, strains, pulls and bruises are a common fact of life. Weekend athletics, amateur home repair, yard work, firewood gathering or splitting, even accidental falls can leave any of us limping, stiff or sore when we least expect it. Remedies for such injuries are virtually innumerable. These may be mo... More..
Home & Garden > Home & Garden (Other) Beginner's guide to seasoning firewood: 1 of 4
Nothing is more comforting on a frosty, frigid afternoon than a cozy fire crackling in the fireplace. Few things are more romantic on a snowy winter's night than the warmth and cheery glow a well made fire provides. But there is nothing either romantic or comforting about a fire hissing like a barrel full of cobras or banging... More..
Sports & Recreation > Freshwater Fishing How to catch Muskies: 1 of 4
Esox masquinongy, largest member of the pike family of fresh water fishes,also known as the muskellunge or more commonly, the muskie. The Native American Ojibwe tribe called the muskie "maaskinoozhe" or "ugly pike" and indeed the muskie is not an attractive fish, unless you have just caught a forty pound specimen. Then, it is... More..
Home & Garden > Gardening (Other) What are some necessary tools for gardening?: 3 of 11
The satisfaction a successful garden brings to the gardener, to the gardeners family and sometimes even to the neighborhood cannot be overstated. Beautiful flowerbeds, attractive landscaping or a productive well maintained vegetable patch can be a source of justifiable pride and in the case of the veggie patch, a source of he... More..
Pets & Animals > Animal Rights & Issues The Tasmanian Tiger: Could the reported sightings of the extinct animal be true?: 2 of 7
The extinction of a species is a sobering concept requiring as it does the final and permanent removal of an entire group of living entities from the playing field of life. While we would build statues to anyone who could finally eradicate the malaria carrying anopheles mosquito the same does not hold true for a broad spectru... More..