Sarah

Different spices and seasonings require different amounts and types of desiccant. One variable is whole/coarse/fine grind, Another variable is what type of desiccant. There are different type/uses of silica. Some should not be used with foodstuffs. I do not have a chart. I do not know if there is one. I know that silica is used for long term storage of non-salt based seasonings, but not short term. Metal cased silica bricks of different sizes are used. If by 'flip top' you mean something like the plastic shaker cap containers like McCormick, about three and a half ounces, then perhaps I do have a tip. If it is a salt based mixed seasoning, a quarter teaspoon of rice in a tight tea bag paper bag/bundle is used. The bag is cut down and crimp sealed. Why not loose rice I do not know. I also know salt and sugar table containers often have loose rice in them. Another tip, a .22 copper flashed shot pellet is used here in salt shakers to break up any caking. Hope it helps. Sarah

I have a question given to me that I can not answer. Is the Karo tree, sometimes tapped as a sweet sap, like maple, the origin of the trade name, 'Karo'. I do not know. I suspect some folks here might know. From the Standard Encyclopedia of Horticulture, 1914, page 2653, I have: 'Pittosporum', 'Crassifolium, Soland. Karo. Tall shrub or small tree, 15-30 foot.: young arts densely clothed with white or buff downy pubescence: lvs 203 in long, narrow-obovate or oblong, obtuse, narrowed to a short tetiole, leathery, dark green above, downy beneath, the margis revolute. fls 1/2 in long, in terminal clusters.' ... 'New Zealand.' 'United States east coast' .. 'Suitable for windbreaks and shelter near the sea, said to resist gales and salt spray; too coarse and rigid for ordinary yard planting. Wood white and tough; used for inlaid work, difficult of combustion.' ... 'Sap potable'. Sarah

Tack-on. We have some of our girls taking the Better Kid Care online courses required by the state to be child care workers. "If a child care program has a child or children on site with severe food allergies, staff should be trained on the administration of epinephrine and should know the proper procedures to follow." "The location of epinephrine injectors (such as one brand called EpiPen) should be clearly identified in the school’s emergency plan as well as the child’s food allergy action or emergency care plan. It may be a good idea to have more than one injector on hand, especially if the ECE program is located in a large facility." But they stop just shy from saying they are required.

A 'white night' for me. Volunteered at a local community fair, we ate there, and now all of us have Montezumas. And none of my pies took any ribbons. Little Lee on the toilet, with that woebegone look on her face, definitely a 'mommy moment'. But we had fun. English can be so funny. Now I need to apologise for that knee jerk reaction to all the red. Yes, the blue is better. Thank you. Jeepers, the military units I remember were designed to shoot through clothing. I as a Mennonite Medic, I got that training, and do not ask how many years ago that was! You felt your 'cargo pocket' on your outer thigh, which we did not have, and fired though it, so four plies of cloth. I definitely remember that Army officer doing a demo by 'test firing' though a heavy cape dress with two petties under that, laid on a sandbag. Poor sandbag. HUGE needle, with barbs. Which brings me to updates from inquiries. "Epinephrine autoinjectors are often prescribed to people who are at risk for anaphylaxis. Brand names include Anapen, EpiPen, Emerade, and Auvi-Q". None are rechargeable. and "A newer variant of the autoinjector is the gas jet autoinjector, which contains a cylinder of pressurised gas and propels a fine jet of liquid through the skin without the use of a needle. This has the advantage that patients who fear needles are more accepting of using these devices, the autoinjector can be reloaded, and a variety of different doses or different drugs can be used, although the only widespread application to date has been for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes" . Hmm... I see applications of this. I think I will be talking with some of our paras today at services. Mental trigger is snake bite kits. And, no, epinephrine is not used for that, not sure what it is, but am sure I will find out. That stuff comes in 'punch through the blister' packs. Right now, standard BD brand insulin needles are in the kits for this. and "The military no longer uses any form of epinephrine for NBC. The autoinjectors you remember are still made, but with different drugs. Google 'L4A1', 'Mark I NAAK', and 'ATNAA'. " Yuck. Much more than I needed to know. (memories of that poor sandbag). But we have gone a far bit wide. My question still remains. Why, when there are other, cheaper, alternatives to the epipen, such an issue exists. Would such a simple boycott work, or are they they 'only', as in monopoly position. What am I missing? Sarah

All that red. OK, I consider myself moderated. But I still do not understand why... Sarah

Mt_Rider, my bad... by preloaded, I meant by ME. Not asking a doctor for such, I doubt it would be legal for him/her. And dosage is by body mass, so I could 'tailor' to the person, not just slug them with an overabundance (like the epipen does.)(A lurker sent some evidence of legal actions over this point. Thanks to her!) We have no people with such issues, so we do not have much for this. Do not confuse diabetic with tuberculin syringes. Tuberculin are 23-27 gauge needles, Insulin are 30. Smaller the number the larger. Also, the tuberculin are shorter, about 3/8 inch, vs the 1/2 inch of the insulin ones. The tuberculin are larger and shorter, so less fragile. From my knowledge, I doubt a person having an 'attack' could load and fire, which is one reason the epi exists. Jeepers, no refrigeration. Cold breaks it down. But same with heat. I suspect light... The amps (ampules) we have in the EAC are in a cardboard sleeve, in a sealed opaque bag. Um... The military auto-injectors, nerve agent antidote, back in the 80s, had no expiration date on them. They had a patch on them that changed color when no longer good. Four or five years? If I preloaded, I would ask one of our doctors to find out what to mark the expiration as. Jeepers is right on the placement. The old military units say outside thigh, and across buttocks. Not in buttock, soldiers were stabbing themselves in a nerve. As always, talk to your doctor. Sarah This thread has me wondering if there is still a manufacturer for the military units, or even if that counter nerve agent self medicating is still done, and what the cost per unit would be. It would be an automatic overdose though.

A good one. Thank you.

I still do not understand this. I would ask the doctor for an amp of epinephrine, 1:1000, 1mg/ml, and a tuberculin syringe. (Actually, not true prescription, but...) I do not know the dosage, but that can be googled. Preloaded with cap on needle. Cost? Less than $10. Sarah

Tip: If you are looking for a wrist brace, look for one with the metal bar that runs from the palm and up the arm. You will find yourself probing with it, metal first. In my case, it got me out of the 'protect it' mode.

The epi was the generic. Epinephrine. Replaced the military units. We had the military units in the CD kits. I do not know if such are still used. Ask any service member, from the mid eighties on, about the NBC 'auto injector'. I know the Army had to do annual testing to show 'proficiency'. I think you may be right about 'modified' foods. Sarah

No joy. Going to approach a glass blower and see what they say. Perhaps we can put handles on regular ones. I do not think so, that is specialized glass.

Argh, another supplier is gone. Looking for glass top canning jars, the ones that use the rubber rings and clamp, with handles. We were getting the Ball 'Ideal' ones. "1908 patent"... We use them, with the handles, for olive oil candles/lanterns. A SHTF shelf item. Anyone have a supplier? Sarah

On his property, or theirs? If his, same problem here. Here is a new wrinkle. We use cameras to capture plates. Then call them in to the sheriff to get a 'writ of no trespass'. If, on serving, the camera gets them again, it is a misdemeanor, and goes up to low felony with repeats. Not any more, they will not do a lookup, only law enforcement may, and not at the request of citizens. Some thefts reported. The online plate lookup services are not that accurate. Our emergency services work hold us in 'good stead' with the local authorities though, so we might get some help. SDP? Sarah

“A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future.” Heinlein

I have an update. Alert applies only to 2.5 and 3 liter bottles, green. The triangle emblem will have a '0' or a '-' inside. The 'prototype' pellets got into the system accidentally, and are now supposedly, out of the supply system. Also under the alert are slugs for the injection molding hobbyists and 'saline' bottles. Both have the odd triangle markings. I was surprised at the molding slugs, as I thought all that had been replaced with 3d printing. Supposedly, no triangle marks of other than 1 through 6 are supposed to be in system. The '0' are water leech. The '-' are sensitive to phosphoric acid and carbonation. Both are intended to be 'bio-degradeable'. Thats all. Sarah

I came back in to pass on an alert from the MCC about using soda bottles for long term water storage. Apparently, the newer pet plastics standards have changed, and are no longer safe for such storage. Leeching. At first I thought this was another urban legend repeat, and swopes poo-poo's, but when the MCC says something, I take it seriously. I am awaiting the full discussion notes. But if you are storing water this way, heads up! Sarah

We have 'jump pack's to start deads. We have not bought a battery since the early 2000's. We 'shock' all deads, and recondition. If you have a shop to work in, and/or have a fleet to support, you might want to research this. Google for how to recondition ni-cads, and remove 'memory'. Same process, except you do a fluids replacement after shocking. Even if I had only one vehicle to maintain, I would still do this. Having a reconditioned spare on a trickle charger just makes sense. Sarah

This will be interesting. Thank you for the link. Hmm... I think it is also time to raid the Archivist's cookbook section. I understand they got six more though the copyright free clearance process. Oh, sorry. Check out icsarchive.org, our spin off site. It has a huge public domain cookbook section. All pdf. All free. Sarah.

I had forgotten about this thread. Yes, Jeepers, in the seventies there was a false scarcity of lids. We here at the Librum are working on the ILL ATOCI (think index) for Countryside and Small Stock Journal magazine from that time period. The uproar! I kept getting 'sucked in' and reading more than indexing. Well, you ladies can have a laugh at me. I thought I had 'scored' on 'pull top' lids for standard cans. Lesson: Do not process with water over the lid top, it can weaken the pull top lip. They may implode. I lost three out of fourteen. Sarah

??? Is subset of hardcopy original. Hmm... I will check copyright status, (may be in U.S., but we have to check international too). Our patrons would enjoy it. Thanks.

Ordered to take a break. (A bit of 'stream of consciousness', it is such a kadeoscope.) This snow is causing havoc. The county, and state, folks, are using the Librum's emergency action center, mainly as it is the only EAC with it's own, non generator, power in the county. It's radio section is also one of the few who's radios can reach the entire county. For me, it is normally prep and augment until needed, then get out of the way! The two 55 gal drum coffee makers, they can not keep up. Plenty of coffee though. We are out of the thermal mugs, and I remember inventorying over two thousand. Memo to self to increase the stockage level. The sugar/cream/substitutes are holding up well. Truvia is gone though. And the cracker packs, a dozen ritz type crackers in wax paper wrap, I had a room full, gone... Another note to increase stockage. Tea is going fast, especially Majere's high octane breakfast blend, but I think it will last. I got a good laugh at these big burly men seeing the cases of Carnation brand water hot chocolate packs. I made the mistake of blinking, gone... Thier plows have water heaters, so hot choc on the roll... The medical and emergency response folks are really suffering, several cases of 'trench hands', the thinsulate gloves are not waterproof and hold water. What was Land's End thinking? The plow and emergency drivers are coming in, and collapsing in the bunks. Dr M's making the rounds of them, and administering a lot of vitamin shots, etc. Several accidents with the clearing equipment, and the medical needs for that are taking a toll. The salt heat pads are holding up. Also the hydroculator's. The electric heating pads are doing well. Several nearly frozen state troopers in the kitchen. I was joking with one I know, asking if he wanted me to stack him in with the firewood. He actually seemed to consider it. Several of their 4-wheel drive cruisers are having heat problems, wrong coolant corroded the heating systems. Gutta Percha! How did I not stock enough of that! We 'slick' the wipers with it. Snow/ice will kill wipers very quickly. The state militia and guard are in route. With some of their tracked vehicles. They do not want to use them on the roads, the tracks will damage the roads, but may be forced to. A civilian doctor, one I do not know, looking for me. Chloroaqua packs? Sure. Hold on...

A follow-on to this. The freezing unit, reportedly, works in the 'Slow' temperature range, limiting it's use. No, we do not have one in the enclave, but observing reports from others. Some unhappy customers. Quoting from the Librum FaceBook website: "Another update from the ICS side of the house. Due to the new 'home freeze drying' machines appearing on the market, and their freezing limitations, a request for prioritization change of ICS TP 5139 (1952) Quick Freezing of Foods was received. The Archivist did so, and it is now up. This training paper details the types of freezing, temperatures, etc for various types of foods. Sharp vs Quick vs Slow, etc." It's at the archive in the ICS TP section, icsarchive.org. Ummm.... http://www.icsarchive.org/tp/5139-1952_quick_freezing_of_foods.pdf A good read, even if a bit too technical for me. Sarah

Yes and no. Our people do not 'do' wine. Beer. But our late mentor's mother did. From scuppernong and muscadine grapes. I distinctly remember the five galleon glass water jugs and vintner traps on top. She used a 'mother' to start fermention of the 'broke' grapes in ceramic crock. She then would strain the juice into the jugs, set the vintner traps, and let it work. No steaming/juicing, but with a mother, that should not be an issue. I also remember a system to make wine from Welchs grape juice, which is steam juiced before freezing. I would do a google for welch grape juice wine. Sarah

I got it! And am experimenting away. I never would have thought fish and cheese would be good, but he attacked that too. His family has the tradition of black eyed peas on new years, which I do not care for, he got it, from the crock pot. But we have a problem. Husband, son, and daughter make three. Now that we have our new daughter, I have to find a four or five count unit. Sarah

For those into self abuse... http://www.doomandbloom.net/how-to-make-insulin/ Make your own insulin!