Gunplumber

what is interesting is there is Democrat mayor and a Democrat city council. The mayor chose this step because the city council wouldn't raise taxes. Bottom line - if there is no money to pay them . . . then there is no money to pay them. How much of the problem is due to the unions demanding ridiculous compensations that are far above the public sector? Of course - it isn't as exciting to say "mayor's typist on minimum wage". Always has to be police, teachers or firefighters. As if they somehow are more righteous than their neighbors. This is the logical consequence of decades of irresponsible behavior. Is anyone surprised? Remember these people were all elected by a majority. And I bet they had overwhelming support from those same city workers who are now enjoying the consequences of electing tax and spend liberals.

There are some problems with the "correct" answers. Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft of the DofI, after which a committee edited it. John Hancock PHYSICALLY wrote it because he was a junior member presumably with good handwriting. which is why his signature is at the bottom. So both answers are correct. John Adams wrote the preamble. The DofI begins with "When in the Course". The Preamble to the DofI begins with "We the People". If you want to get technical, the DofI actually begins with "In Congress July 4th . .. " I missed succession - Speaker of house is #3 and ProTem of Senate is #4. And the 2 above which I submit, I am right and the test answer is wrong.

you've got part of the story. "Canning" in glass jars, versus "canning" in a metal can. Any low acid, high water content food is at risk for Clostridium botulinum. This includes corn, asparagus, green beans, garlic & oil, and beets. They need to be processed in pressure-cooker as jars aren't designed for the type of dry heat one would need ( 240F.) The "troops got sick" is a myth. It never happened. At least nobody has ever been able to produce a single report of it in the last 20 years. The Spanish American War - yeah, that was bad, but canned rations were in their infancy. Part of my Special Forces Medical training was on classifying and identifying bacteria on a slide, and I'm also state certified as a food safety inspector (well, I'm sure it's expired, but I haven't "forgotten") Anyway, Botulism is pretty rare. If you aren't comfortable canning bread in jars, don't. If you are, keep the temp up in a pressure cooker. I'm not sure how bread is canned in metal cans. I've done volunteer work at our local cannery and it always seems to be dry goods (beans) and jams, so that's not very applicable. The current military shelf-table bread (which tastes surprisingly good) is vacuum sealed in mylar-type material

When I was a wee lad in PA, one of my favorite deserts was "Boston Brown Bread" and it came in a can. For years, nobody understood what I was talking about. Then I watched an episode of Anthony Bordaine's "No Reservations" where he was in New Hampshire, or Maine, and they were cooking this bread in a can. Boiling actually. Heavy on the molasses. Tin foil lid was duct taped in place. Fantastic. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/boston_brown_bread/

darn, I thought you'd gotten a Calico . . .. http://calicolightweaponsystems.com/home/uploads/images/LIBERTY%202.jpg

Oh yeah, I love that sign at Panda Express that says "We add no MSG". Unfortunately, most Americans are stupid and cannot differentiate "We add no MSG" from "Product contains no MSG". Like the bag of sugar that says "fat free" or the tin of lard that says "sugar free". Both are true statements, and deceptive. They are designed to create an emotional response, not a rational one. This is the reason that Monsanto and others have fought so hard to prevent companies from labeling their food as "non-GMO". The implication being that GMO is bad. What a world we live in where one company lobby to prevent another company from labeling a product accurately. How interesting it would be if all products required the same "truth in advertising" as the FedGov demands of the Tobacco industry.

been reading a lot more labels when I heard that MSG was being called "yeast extract" to avoid calling it MSG. My bulldog has particularly sensitive skin and is always scratching his ears - his scratching causes more visible injury than anything I can see in his ears.

I was listening to some vet on the radio - he mentioned that if a food animal was sick and the "cure" was more than the market price of the animal, the animal would be slaughtered immediately and nobody would think twice about it. Therefore veterinary medicine is far more competitive in producing inexpensive results than with humans, where the goal is to keep them sick until their insurance runs out. Yeah, I know that is a simplification, but the point is, dog food is probably more healthy than the processed food we eat. There is a strong financial motivation to pack all the good things at a particular price point. Taste aside, I wonder what the sustainability for humans would be on a quality dog food. Maybe I'll go on a week dogfood diet and see. I've been eating milkbones for years - definite preference of those over other brands - but I've never checked for their human nutritional value.

I free fed my dogs beneful. they ate all the bits except for the red ones. I free fed my tortoises a similar multicolor food - they ate all but the red ones. I've had two other people tell me their dogs got sick off benefeful and independently came to the conclusion is was the red dye. I don't know, but I don't use it any more. Now they are on Iams. I know there is "better" but with 275 pounds of dogs, it gets expensive. I have one with the chronic brown tarry stuff in the ears. I just wipe it out with Q-tips. Johnson brand with the paper shaft are much more rigid. I was originally concerned about going too deep, but my large animal vet said that the ear canal makes a 90 degree turn and unless you are pulling the ear way back along the neck, you can't get to the tympanic(sp?) membrane, and even then it's hard. I've used vinegar when my own ears itch, and on the dogs. Don't know if it does anything more than plain water. Alcohol seems to dry them out and stimulate more wax production. Alcohol does make any water evaporate faster. I tried one swimmers ear (yellow) drop that caused me such extreme pain I ran to a vet friend of mine who put a few drops of something (epi?) to neutralize the reaction I was having.

anyone ever sprouted wheat? What's involved? I'm wondering if graywater can be used for that

Had I realized it was so old, I'd not have commented. My (reasonable) assumption, as it came up in "new posts" was that it was new.

Yes, you sound sexist. Guys are on this site because you can't expect a woman to understand anything mechanical, so there are a few guys to explain it in little words. . . . . ooh, do I sound sexist? (rolls eyes). You can be sure there are forums I avoid. Touchy-Feely I am not. And there are conversations such as like the last get-together where I hear key words like "Menopa . . ." and immediately my hands go to my ears and I say "lalalallalalalalala" while rocking back and forth. Tell you why I'm here - 'cause I met the owner through a mutual friend over some gun stuff and was invited. And I've always felt welcome. And when I want to know why my home-made ravioli isn't turning out right, I don't ask the guys at my buddy's transmission shop. It's a big world out there and survival and preparedness are topics one can study for a lifetime and still only scratch the surface. It is a time to access one another for strengths and weakness and work with what we've got. I know a lot about a little. A little about a lot. And absolutely nothing about a whole bunch of stuff. As do other members. We compliment each other in our overlap, and while I've only been a member a few years you're the first post I've read that suggested plumbing was relevant. Maybe it is "MRS SURVIVAL" 'cause Darlene's nom de plume is "MRS SURVIVAL". To take your query to its logical conclusion, unmarried women would be unwelcome as well as men. Personally, I think your post says more (and not favorable) about you than it does any male members here. quasi-rant mode off.

I do a lot of writing on technical subjects. I read my own stuff as critically as am I able. Same with other stuff I read. My point was not the usefulness of the list. Only the presumption by it's title that these were the top 100 things to first disappear in a disaster. I believe that it is purely speculation by the author. I'd have no issue if the title was "100 things to consider having before a disaster" or something like that. But as a technical writer I try hard to separate fact from opinion and alarm-bells go off when others do not. I think it would be an excellent study, however, to compare home Depot/Lowes/Walmart inventory 6 weeks before, during, and 6 weeks after Katrina. On a side note - As someone else had mentioned, the lack of alcohol on the list surprised me. Like .22 Ammo, lighters, candles, and other conveniences, I see it as a barter system of the future. The stress of TEOTWAWKI will be a catalyst for those seeking to alter their reality, if only for a while. It's medicinal properties also cannot be ignored but the cost is much higher than denatured alcohol.

The writer implies that he got his list from actually examining what the top 100 purchases were in disasters. Since we have not had any disasters longer than a few weeks, and some of the items on his list are for long term sustainability, I assert that he made this list up and it is not based on any actual data. For myself, it is a matter of priority. The 2 week disaster I believe to be imminently more likely than a permanent wipe out of civilization, so I make those items a priority of chicken and goats and seeds. The mostly likely long term disaster I predict will be illness or injury that prevents me from working, which is another reason I have 6+ months of food on hand.

And stuff like a manual grain mill? Sure - it's a great idea if you're working on your 20 year storage food, which means you're out of beans and rice and dried pasta. Which means it has been weeks if not months since civilization ended. I see three tiers of storage/supply. The first is wet goods. Canned food. Ready-to-eat stuff. This is stuff that I use regularly, so it gets rotated. Parallel to that is the more expensive but lighter weight and longer storage stuff like MREs. This is if I have to go mobile. High calorie to weight ratio. But I don't use it on a regular basis because it is expensive. Second tier is the bulk rice & legumes. And dried pastas. While I do use pasta on a regular basis, not in the quantities. Spaghetti is my preference because of its density. I see no point in soaking beans when I can open a can. But the dry-pack beans last a lot longer. 3rd tier is what I don't have - the 20 year grains for which a grain mill would be needed, or a mechanism for sprouting them as the sprouts are supposedly more nourishing than the bean itself. What kind of disaster would have me grinding wheat? A lot more than a week, or a month. Probably around month 6 I'd be breaking into that stuff. While Katrina was bad, it was localized. Did anyone really need to go more than 2 weeks on their own? That's why I don't buy the list as being anything other than the author's fantasy. We haven't had any disasters long enough for some of his items to move from convenience to necessity.

While I don't have a problem with any particular item on the list, since it was made prior to Y2K, I wonder what evidence the creator had to support the list. Or if he just made it up based on what he thought should be on it. What disasters did he analyze? How did he obtain his inventory results from the various stores? How far from the epicenter of the unknown "disasters" did he go? Forgive my cynicism, but I bet he just made it up. If you look at riots, the first thing to go are designer clothes, alcohol/cigarettes, and consumer electronics. I have my doubts that a denizen of New Orleans during Katrina would be seeking tuna packed in oil over booze, smokes, and corn-chips.

Presentation, Presentation, Presentation! The lettuce leaves really make "simple" food look fancy. I've been playing a game with cooking. 20 minutes is my goal. Gas BBQ mostly but I do stovetop too. My friend and sister can't eat gluten, so I was playing with gluten free stuff. One thing that has helped fast prep is using rice noodle instead of rice. 10 minute cook time instead of 30-40. Anyway, all of these are done in 20 minutes. Grill goes on pre-heat when I put the starch in water (bolil in the pot, I never wait for it to boil before adding). grill ready in 5 minutes. 5 minutes to cook fish, maybe 10 for the chicken.Vegis can get 2 minutes in the microwave with some olive oil before adding to the grill. the noodles are done in 10. Tossing the lettuce while the grill cooks, then 5 minutes to drain and arrange. Takes some co-processing skills, but with practice, I can get a "wow" (and healthy) dinner in 20 minutes. Primary seasoning is Mrs. Dash. and lemon (or Tone's fish seasoning, but I don't like the high salt) BBQ tuna, zucchini, cilantro. lettuce tossed with minimal lemon juice, olive oil, and ground Parmesan pork chop, rice noodle with ground peanuts, green onion tilapia, zucchini, broccoli (should have nuked the boccoli half-way as it was under-done) chicken breasts with GF teriyaki sauce, rice vermicelli, roma tomatoes.

yes, that makes sense. what do commercial growers do?

I know how to make potato cannons but this growing stuff has me perplexed. Why are you continually covering? I can't believe in a big field of potatoes the farmer keeps piling dirt on top - why do it here?

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

I have a couple Chinese and Lodge odds and ends, but am ready to buy new (used, new to me) cast iron. Griswold and Wagner are now both owned by the same company. So does it really matter? I just want to stick with one brand so that a #6 skillet and a #6 lid will fit together. Are there any real differences in quality or value (quality/price) between the two. I've seen some nice deals on ebay - like 5 skillets for $60.

While the guy that wrote the book on cast iron collecting says to never sandblast - I've sandblasted and then beadblasted all kinds of old cookware, cast iron and steel, as a quick way of removing 50 years of crud. I don't see any problem with it. When quality pieces are made, they are finished by grinding flat, and that is far more aggressive than blasting with something like #80 aluminum oxide followed up by fine glass bead, thorough rinse, then season as you would a new one.

you'll also need the pot, fuel, and water to cook it. How many cords of wood to boil a pot of water every day?

It is common in famine areas to augment rice portions with plant oil. The LDS church has a starvation recipe they use in africa. Shortening is extremely valuable - I understand it was the mechanism for barter in germany during the second world war. I keep a lot of crisco in my pantry. Lot of uses, shelf stable and dense. For health reasons, I prefer olive oil, but the latter doesn't keep as well. One of the things I have done is to replace my large containers with multiple smaller ones. Food is a barter item and its nice to have small change, and not just hundred dollar bills. It is odd that the same foods I avoid for heath reasons in good times are the ones I'd choose in bad times. Minute rice has no fiber - but it will rapidly "cook" even in cold water. This granola bar says "only 200 calories". Maybe nice if you're on a diet, but in hard times I want the one that says "over 400 calories." Same with cooking oils. The same things that make them "bad" for you, versus olive and canola, are what help them keep shelf stable for ten years.