Redneck Computer Geek

I’m getting ready to go on vacation in two weeks.  My family is headed to the ‘Rivah’, where we stay in a little house on an inlet for a week.  We keep the boat at the dock, and can fish right from the pier.

We also go crabbing.  (This inlet is near the Chesapeake.)  One of the ways we do this is with something called ‘crab rings’.  These are basically metal rings about 18 inches in diameter, with a cloth net in the ring.  You put bait in the middle, attach the ring to a float, and drop them overboard.  Crabs walk on top of the net to nibble the bait, and you pull the net up quickly and the crab stays in the net.  Not as risky as king crab fishing in Alaska, but the Blue Crabs here are just as tasty!

So yesterday I pulled out the rings again to get them ready for the trip.  They needed some fixin’.

The nets have a little doo-hicky in the middle that the bait (usually chicken necks) gets connected to.  But many of the doo-hickies had come off.

When it comes to fixing stuff, a Redneck Computer Geek has two options:  Duct Tape and Zip Ties.

Duct tape was out.  As good as the stuff is, saltwater is just too much.  Time to bust out the Zip Ties.  I rummaged through my network cabling bag and found the right size.  Quick as a wink, all the bait doo-hickies were reattached.  I even used a few zip ties to repair some holes in the nets.

In the evolution of the redneck, a new tool is added to his arsenal.  Zip ties are now a part of my toolbox.