It's almost that time of year again - September, which is National Preparedness Month! And like last year, I'm going to do the 30 Days 30 Ways challenge. The goal is to do some type of preparedness activity every day for the entire month and to post about it here in this thread. It's meant to be an interactive, social activity, thus a thread to share with everybody.
As was the case last year, I've already started a list with some ideas of preparedness tasks. Last year's list was quite long and I still haven't done all of them, so I might do a few of those too. Here is last year's list: Prepping Idea List.txt (https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=3274)
Everyone is welcome to join in and to post about what you're doing. It helps all of us to consider things that we might not have thought of on our own and it also provides encouragement to keep our own preparedness journey moving forward. Even if you don't do something every day, doing one thing is better than not doing anything. Every little bit counts!
Consider this your three-ish day warning - September is Coming!
Last year's thread: https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=1691.0
This is a great exercise and glad to see you're making it an annual tradition. I started strong last year but petered out about half way through the month. But as you say, it's still a very useful exercise even if you're not doing something every day.
Easy things that can count as a daily activity:
- Inventory. It can count for multiple days by dividing your supplies/equipment into separate categories and doing one each day.
- Check expiration dates of your food stores.
- Function test your equipment (lights, radios, etc)
- Charge up your rechargeable batteries.
- Top up your power station/phone power bank.
- Recharge your car's battery powered jumpstarter (seriously: if you have one in your vehicle, when did the you last check its charge level?)
- Sharpen your EDC knife
- Test your smoke/CO detectors, replace batteries as necessary.
- Make a list of all your prescriptiion medications. Put it on your phone and keep paper copies in your wallet, purse and all your emergency kits
- Rotate the gas in your fuel cans.
Everybody ready? September starts in a couple of hours! (for those of us in the US anyway - those in Europe are already there!)
Day 1 - Swap out all the alarm batteries
I use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (yes, you can get them in 9v (https://a.co/d/1Hi4Mfo)) in all of the battery-operated alarms in my house and it was time to swap them with freshly charged ones. So this morning I took some of the batteries out of my stash, put them on the charger to top them off, and then switched out the ones in the alarms. Two smoke detectors (there's a 3rd, but it's wired and doesn't need a standalone battery), two CO detectors, one CO/explosive gas detector, and a high-water alarm for the sump pump. Pretty easy, other than getting some of the PowerOwl 9v (https://a.co/d/4OZW7Vu) batteries out, as they're slightly larger than standard.
I'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening. Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps. Pretty sure it was more than that... Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.
Getting a new smartwatch is one of the possible "preparedness" items this month!
Day One: went through and organized all the tools in my mobile tool cases. Those are the ones I'd reach for if I felt I was bugging out for the long term.
Day 1 worked on bug out truck. It's going to take a while so y'all going to see a lot of this.
Removed truck bed, cleaned up frame under bed, made a list of what parts i need,and removed burst brake line.
Day 1: Canned applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and started some (solar cooked) mint jelly. Charged radios in field day / disaster go box.
Edit: How could I forget? Pickled jalapeno peppers....
I am bit out of sync with this date. I do all of this before May 31.
That said with potential tropical weather I did check the generators and topped off the fuel as well as rotated the monthly supply of gasoline for the cars. I keep 3 filled 5 gallon cans during hurricane season and 2 the rest of the year.
I also put 6 2 liter water jugs in the freezer to ensure a supply of ice for any ice chests if needed.
Day 2 - Nebo Rambler PS100 power station review (https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?msg=47092) (finally!)
I've been meaning to get around to this for quite some time now. I know that several other members bought one and provided some information about their experience, but I wanted to go ahead and run it through the full test cycle and do a write-up like I do for other power stations (there are more coming, hopefully yet this month!).
tl;dr I gave it a 3 out of 5, due to very low capacity utilization (around 70%), dirty power curve (modified sine wave), and high price (the MSRP is $200!!). However, I also use mine on a regular basis, because it's the only "power bank" with wireless charging that I own, and that makes it handy to use for keeping my phone topped off. If you can find it on a deep sale (I got it for $55) then it's a much better value. But for the $160+ that I usually see it? Nope.
On the exercise front, I didn't do any traditional exercise today, but I did work in the yard for an hour and a half this evening, mostly cleaning up branches and twigs from last week's storm. Given how sore I am from just that activity, I think that it'll have to do for the day! And I only cleaned up half of the front yard tonight, so I've got a long way yet to go this week!
Day 2 ran around to the local parts store, had nothing. Ordered parts online to fix bug out vehicle.
Day 2 (yesterday): I went through and inventoried some of my extra gear. Man, do I have a lot of stuff! These are extra supplies I've picked up over the years that are not part of my "official" preps - my various grab-go bags, vehicle kits and emergency stores, etc.
This is what happens when you live near Goodwill stores that regularly get donations from LL Bean's returns department. And when you have a penchant for sniffing out online deals to share on our Bargains and Discounts section. But we all have our prepping gear fetishes, right? Ebuff75 has a thing for power stations, NT2C gets weak in the knees over the latest flashlights. Some of us are way into knives while others collect firearms. Some of this stuff I have on hand will be given away (to friends or as future prizes if we can figure out how to properly promote ufozs.com contests). Or perhaps sold off if I can figure out how to connect with the right kind of buyer.
But it's good to know exactly what you have and I definitely found some things here that I had forgotten about. Like 5 additional Meal-spec brand high output flameless ration heaters. Those will get added to 5 more of those Sopacko low sodium MREs I and some other forum members bought this summer. The food items are fine but we discovered the included FRHs were pretty much shot.
I'll probably replace those dead FRHs tonight - that'll be my Day 3 prepping activity.
(https://i.postimg.cc/zvT274SR/20240902-135412.jpg)
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 01, 2024, 08:50:52 PMI'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening. Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps. Pretty sure it was more than that... Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.
seems low for that speed unless you're 7ft tall.
Here's a step calculator based on your height and speed. 1.25 hours to go 4mi is 3.2 mph.
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/how-many-steps-in-a-mile
Make sure you scroll down after calculating to see all the data.
You might want to walk at your speed over ground where you can actually measure your stride. Also check to see if you've got your settings correct on your smartwatch app.
Quote from: MacWa77ace on September 03, 2024, 09:15:47 AMQuote from: EBuff75 on September 01, 2024, 08:50:52 PMI'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening. Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps. Pretty sure it was more than that... Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.
seems low for that speed unless you're 7ft tall.
Here's a step calculator based on your height and speed. 1.25 hours to go 4mi is 3.2 mph.
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/how-many-steps-in-a-mile
Make sure you scroll down after calculating to see all the data.
You might want to walk at your speed over ground where you can actually measure your stride. Also check to see if you've got your settings correct on your smartwatch app.
Keep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for. Yes, that's
negative $2. Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card. I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new. But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity. However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch. And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin.
The screen actually started to fail over 2 years ago. I bought another inexpensive watch, but that one only lasted 13 months before the battery started to expand and popped the watch body apart. So I switched back to my "Virmee" watch and just used it with the failing screen.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 03, 2024, 12:34:06 PMKeep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for. Yes, that's negative $2. Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card. I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new. But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity. However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch. And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin.
LOL, ok, sounds like some of my equipment. I'm squeezin' every ounce per dime.
Still sounds like you have a dedicated 'step counting' watch which is off by 45%. Is that Garmin expensive? I've seen a couple reviewed by John Lovell and Michael Jones [aka Garand Thumb]. They were expensive but good although I don't really remember them counting steps.
Quote from: MacWa77ace on September 03, 2024, 01:31:17 PMQuote from: EBuff75 on September 03, 2024, 12:34:06 PMKeep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for. Yes, that's negative $2. Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card. I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new. But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity. However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch. And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin.
LOL, ok, sounds like some of my equipment. I'm squeezin' every ounce per dime.
Still sounds like you have a dedicated 'step counting' watch which is off by 45%. Is that Garmin expensive? I've seen a couple reviewed by John Lovell and Michael Jones [aka Garand Thumb]. They were expensive but good although I don't really remember them counting steps.
Most of the Garmin watches are actually focused more on the fitness side, rather than the smartwatch side. I'm considering several different ones which range in price from $250 - 450 (Venu Sq 2, Vivoactive 5, and Venu 3s, if you wanted to know). They can go up to the $3000 mark at the top of their range, but I don't think that I need to get one like that! I also don't think that I need to get one that has a GPS map showing on the screen (all of those have GPS tracking which can plot your walk/run/bike/swim on a map when you're done).
Oh, and the reason that I was looking specifically at Garmin was that they don't charge a monthly fee to unlock all of the features like some brands do. Just download the app on your phone and you're all set.
@EBuff75 Yeah the Garmins I've seen were more for navigating and altitude, but in that price range.
I have an Amazon Fit Bip Pro uses the Zepp app counts steps , seems pretty accurate to my untrained,not paying attention brain.I got 4500 steps, work in an office and sit in my hole most of the day.
For the 3rd day of prepmas i yet again worked on the truck. I also went to work to make money for prepper needs,and financially preparing the 401K.
Stretching it i know , i promise to do better later when i get caught up with the truck and moving 900 miles.
Prepmas Day 3: Took those 5 Meal-spec flameless ration heaters (FRHs) I came across yesterday going through my backup/excess prepping gear and taped them to 5 more of the Sopako MREs I got on sale earlier this year. I and some other forum members discovered that the original FRHs had lost their potency. Even though these Meal-spec ones (I don't think they're sold anymore) are circa 2016, they still kick out plenty of heat when activated. Wapped inside each of the replacement FRHs, I added a little zip lock bag containing hot sauce, salt, pepper, a wet nap and powdered drink mix.
(https://i.postimg.cc/wMKY5qxP/2024-Prepmas-MREs.jpg)
Day 3 - Shop cleanup & micro projects
I think I posted here about the cheap flat-pack shelves that I put up in my shop earlier this year. I still need to do even more rearranging, but they're a lot better now after I spent some time on them this evening.
Mini Project 1 - I finally installed those gel earpads that
@Moab recommended for the Howard Leight Impact Sport hearing protection. It took longer to unbox and for me to find the video on how they pop out than it did to actually swap them! You really do just pinch and pull inward a bit for them to come right out!
Mini Project 2 - When I had my deck restained this summer, I pulled off the old gate hardware (hinges, latch, and support caster wheel that keeps the gate at the proper height as it swings across the deck) as they needed to be stripped and repainted. I soaked them in some apple cider vinegar and then scrubbed them off tonight. The hinges aren't worth trying to save; I'll just buy new ones. The latch is just a slide bolt style (https://a.co/d/ePCzQMk), but the ends of the bolt had corroded (it's aluminum) and pitted really badly. Pulled out the angle grinder and a flap disc to grind off the ragged ends, then polished them off with the die grinder and an abrasive pad. Still need to prime and paint it, but it cleaned up pretty nice! I'm also not sure if the caster will be salvageable; I might have to replace it as well.
No "official" exercise again, but I did get a pretty good upper body workout in the yard today. The mower doesn't really pick up acorns and I've got a ton of them. So I raked a bunch of the front yard and filled several yard waste bags (probably half of that was acorns or acorn caps). I also used a ladder to get at the twigs and leaves that were starting to pile up in the valley on the front of my roof. Fortunately, the weather has been cooler this week, which makes doing this yard work much more pleasant!
And to officially keep things weird, my music choices while working this evening were Perry Como's Greatest Hits, followed by Animusic 1! :icon_crazy:
So on the 4th day of prepmas i once again worked on the truck. I also put all the "charged" 9 volt batteries in the charger to make sure they are full so i can change them in the smoke detectors. Did quick maintenance sharpen/oil on the EDC blade, changed the battery in the EDC flashlight,only 3408 steps today.
Prepmas Day 4: Made up another wallet sized card with all my prescriptions. CVS pharmacy staples a sheet of peel off adhesive labels to every medication refill. One goes on the actual pill bottle, but for reasons unknown to me, there are several others that are left unused. One of which contains your name, RX number, medication and dosage. It's the perfect size to fit across the width of a credit card sized piece of stock. Up to six of them will squeeze onto the card. I actually have two of these made up already. One lives in my wallet and another is in that Surviveware 72-hour Emergency Go Bag I reviewed earlier this year. But I didn't have one for my original emergency bag: a get home bag (GHB) that lives in my car. So that's where this one will go.
A record of all your prescription medications, along with other important papers, is an important prep for emergency situations where you have to evacutate (bug out) in a hurry. It can be the difference between getting vital, life sustaining medications during a prolonged emergency, or having to take your chances doing without.
(Opsec note: I've temporarily covered up my name on the individual labels in the picture below. If you want to try to make out the actual medications, knock yourselves out. We're amongst friends here, so I'm comfortable with y'all knowing that I have high blood pressure and since I'm an older guy, I also have prostate issues. :smiley_knipoog: )
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvhxTKMY/2024-Prepmas-RX-card.jpg)
Quote from: majorhavoc on September 04, 2024, 09:30:39 PMPrepmas Day 4: Made up another wallet sized card with all my prescriptions. CVS pharmacy staples a sheet of peel off adhesive labels to every medication refill. One goes on the actual pill bottle, but for reasons unknown to me, there are several others that are left unused. One of which contains your name, RX number, medication and dosage. It's the perfect size to fit across the width of a credit card sized piece of stock. Up to six of them will squeeze onto the card. I actually have two of these made up already. One lives in my wallet and another is in that Surviveware 72-hour Emergency Go Bag I reviewed earlier this year. But I didn't have one for my original emergency bag: a get home bag (GHB) that lives in my car. So that's where this one will go.
A record of all your prescription medications, along with other important papers, is an important prep for emergency situations where you have to evacutate (bug out) in a hurry. It can be the difference between getting vital, life sustaining medications during a prolonged emergency, or having to take your chances doing without.
(Opsec note: I've temporarily covered up my name on the individual labels in the picture below. If you want to try to make out the actual medications, knock yourselves out. We're amongst friends here, so I'm comfortable with y'all knowing that I have high blood pressure and since I'm an older guy, I also have prostate issues. :smiley_knipoog: )
(https://i.postimg.cc/BvhxTKMY/2024-Prepmas-RX-card.jpg)
I really like that idea with the labels! I've got a typed out sheet, but that's just a list of my medications / supplements so that when I get asked during appointments (doctor, dentist, ophthalmologist, etc) I can just hand them the list. But it makes sense to have the Rx number as well.
Day 4 - Clean / rearrange garage; download offline copies of Wikipedia and others; camping light testing
I spent several hours this evening working in the garage, cutting up old boxes to put in the recycling, hanging tools (I've got a whole box of assorted hooks), and generally tidying things up. I've been putting off actually putting up hooks for some of my power tools, like the leaf blower and string trimmer, but since I've got hooks that will work for those, I might as well get things a little more squared away.
I also confirmed that with some judicious rearranging, I should be able to move my motorcycle over to the space in front of the car so that I can work on it. :smiley_bro:
I've been meaning to download an offline copy of Wikipedia for a while. How long? I purchased a 1Tb SSD during last year's Amazon Prime Days for it, but hadn't even gotten around to opening the package until today... Unfortunately, about 4 hours into the Wikipedia download, it failed, so I'll have to try it again overnight. The downloads of iFixit and Wikihow were successful and Project Gutenberg will be done in another hour and a half. I also have a huge file full of various .pdfs that I'll add to the drive. If you're interested, the downloads can be found here: https://download.kiwix.org/zim/ Just look for the "en" listings for English and download the "all" file of your choice (no pictures, limited topics, etc.). City Prepper did a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1aQX9HO8-4) about it if you want to see how to go about everything.
The drive will work with my phone, my old phone, any of the three laptops that I have here, plus my desktop (and probably a few older desktops that are in my computer "graveyard" as well). I've already installed Kiwix on several of those as a way to access the files. I might also put the files onto memory cards as well, just to cover my bases.
Unfortunately, I can't access an external SSD on my Kindle Fire, but that's because Amazon really limits a lot of Android functionality on their tablets. I could work around it, but it's probably not worth the effort. What I might do is pick up a cheap Android tablet that will work properly with it and then put it aside in a Faraday cage of some type with a few other items (power bank, solar panel, radio, old phone, USB light, flashlight, etc.). That'll be another post if I get that far.
As for the light testing, I'll post about that when it's done. I'm checking the runtime right now, as well as confirming the internal battery size on one that's recharging. I bought a 3-pack which let me test one each for high output and low output, while still having one left that was fully charged to compare their light output to as the batteries run down.
Spent 20mins on the exercise bike tonight. Nothing too strenuous, as I'm out of practice / shape for biking and don't want to be too sore tomorrow. Of course, the first thing I had to do was put in new batteries, as the ones in it were dead (my bike is an oddball in that it doesn't have a way to power it other than 4 D-cell batteries, which are just used for a small LCD screen and to position the resistance magnets).
My (fairly inaccurate) watch recorded 2881 steps today. I'm still trying to decide on a replacement, but I'm leaning toward the Garmin Venu 3s. Unfortunately, that's the most expensive of the ones that I'm considering. Figures... :-\
Day 5 - Wikipedia download (finally!), apps set up, files copied to drive
Turned out that the boot drive had gotten filled up and that was what was causing the download to fail. Spent some time today cleaning up my computer and then the download went fine. Moved the files over onto the SSD, along with a big folder full of .pdfs of various survival-related books and such. Then I installed Kiwix on my laptop. Still going through some cleanup on my old phone, but it might be too old for Kiwix to work anyway (it's an LG G4 from back in 2015).
Did another 20 mins on the exercise bike tonight. During the time on the bike I was listening to Riverdance. Forgot to mention that yesterday while I was working in the garage I listened to The Ventures Play Telstar and to Oceanlab. :smiley_bril:
Edited to Add: I was able to install Kiwix on my old phone. For whatever reason, I couldn't push the app to the phone from the Google Play store, but once I finally got the phone reset / recharged, it was able to load just fine from the phone. Man it's weird going back to that phone after getting used to my Samsung over the last few years!
Prepmas Day 5: Sampling old food stores
Repeat after me: "I will rotate my food preps on a timely basis. I will rotate my food preps on a timely basis. I will rotate my ..."
I'll fess up to what I suspect a lot of us are guilty of: I'm not as conscientious as I should be ensuring my emergency food preps are up to date. Sure, I talk a good line here on the forums but the ugly reality is a lot of my kit is way past its expiration date. But a true disaster won't time its arrival for when you finally do get around to renewing your food stocks. So in the spirit of authenticity, I sampled the oldest DIY food ration packs I have on hand. Here's one from <ahem> March, 2016.
(https://i.postimg.cc/JhR3Gzwc/2024-Prepmas-DIY-Meal-Kit.jpg)
Note that the plastic vacuum bag isn't pulled tight against the contents - a tell tale sign that I didn't properly heat seal the vacuum bag on my Food Saver. This happens more often than I'd like to admit. Also, this was before I discovered oxygen absorbers.
Opening up to reveal the contents.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VkqBfbhk/2024-Prepmas-DIY-Meal-Kit-contents.jpg)
Ritz peanut butter sandwich crackers, a Nutrigrain bar, Ocean Spray Craisins (dried cranberries), chewing gum, Swiss Miss Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate mix, Wallyworld brand powdered beverage mix, a Werthers hard caramel candy (not visible in this pic), an individually packaged wintergreen Lifesaver and - what this whole kit is built around - a 5 Minute Chef Spaghetti and meat sauce self-cooking meal. Wanna guess which of these ingredients survived 8.5 years of imperfect storage in a damp, semi-heated basement?
I'll spare you the suspense. The cardboard box of Craisins and the chewing gum were each a soggy mess that were giving off a foul, profoundly unwholesome odor. They went straight into the trash. I did try the Ritz PB crackers, but literally spit those out of my mouth. And had to repeatedly rake my tongue against my upper teeth to clear that botulism-inducing yuck out of my mouth. The Nutrigrain bar was fine - some of the moisture from the fruit filling had permeated the "crust" so the texture was different, but it was completely edible. The Werther's hard candy had morphed into a soft caramel, but otherwise was yummy. I didn't bother with the Lifesaver or the powdered drink mix, but I don't doubt both were fine. That left the 5 Minute Check Spaghetti entree. The decidedly not-airtight box listed the best buy (impt: best "buy", not best "by") date of 15 MAY 2016.
(https://i.postimg.cc/YCKzBxbP/2024-Prepmas-Chef-5-minute-meal.jpg)
The inside of the box has a reflective inner layer that serves as the "oven". The contents consist of the food product in a sealed black plastic tray (think: 2/3rd size Lean Cuisine-type microwave meal), a white styrofoam tray, a completely unsealed (ie: exposed to ambient air) heating element, a small pouch of salt water, and instructions (ETA: and a package of disposable utensils and a paper napkin). The instructions direct you to place the heating element in the styrofoam tray, add the salt water, place the entree face down on top of the heating element, and then slide the tray back into the box and let heat for 5 - 10 minutes.
Now, a few weeks back I and a couple of other UFoZS forum members (here's looking at you
@MacWa77ace and
@EBuff75) bought some circa 2016 Sopacko Low Sodium MREs at a bargain basement price. They weren't official military MREs but they contained several authentic milspec components, including the flameless ration heaters. Even though those FRHs were sealed in airtight plastic bags, they proved to be completely expired, producing no heat at all.
Well, guess what? This crappy, equally-expired civilian Chef 5 Minute Meal kit, with its completely unprotected heating element, fired up like a champ. I mean this thing rocked - after 10 minutes in that reflective cardboard box, that spaghetti entree was
piping hot. Whatever voodoo magic juju Chef Meals uses in their flameless heating elements, they should be supplying those to the military, because it's clearly the superior product.
Even more surprising, the spaghetti entree itself was completely enjoyable. Even the gray little meatballs in the meat sauce, while not particularly appetizing in appearance, tasted fine and definitely added some much-needed "substance" to the entree, if you get my drift.
So that leaves the pumpkin spice hot chocolate mix. I was really in the spirit of my mock disaster meal exercise at that point, so I acted as if I were contemplating the end of the world as I know it: I splurged by making it with hot coffee instead of boiling water. And I will neither confirm nor deny that I might of splashed a wee dram or two (or three) of Evan Williams Bottled In Bond 100 proof bourbon whiskey into the mix.
That was the best damn hot chocolate I've ever tasted! :awesome:
I wonder if you're losing the apparent vacuum due to some off gassing of meal components vs a failed vacuum seal?
I think your craisins may have exhaled and pillowed the bag. If that's the case reviewing 'what' goes into these is important. Freeze dried fruit vs dried. I'm not sure the max life of peanut butter but nuts with oils, the oils go rancid.
What is that spaghetti meal that comes with its own heater? All those candies and sugar reminds me of lifeboat survival.
Quote from: MacWa77ace on September 06, 2024, 08:19:27 PMI wonder if you're losing the apparent vacuum due to some off gassing of meal components vs a failed vacuum seal?
I think your craisins may have exhaled and pillowed the bag. If that's the case reviewing 'what' goes into these is important. Freeze dried fruit vs dried. I'm not sure the max life of peanut butter but nuts with oils, the oils go rancid.
What is that spaghetti meal that comes with its own heater? All those candies and sugar reminds me of lifeboat survival.
"Dried" fruit was a huge no-no, for sure. Agree now that freeze dried is the way to go. Remember this was 2016. I always say that prepping is a journey and let's just just say I had a lot to learn back then. I still do.
I really feel like the failed vacuum seal was user error. I still occassionally do it. Most of the time it works great and the vacuum effect practically crushes whatever I'm sealing. But occasionally and for reasons I can't explain, it just doesn't take. Maybe there's a small section of the heating strip on my Food Saver that intermittently doesn't heat up.
I think it's important to highlight our prepping failures. Like I said, an emergency situation won't wait for you to get around to correcting deficiencies in your preps. When disaster strikes, you're stuck with what you have, expired foods and poor storage methods be damned. I wanted to show what it would be like having to make do with what you have on hand.
And man: those Ritz crackers! They seemed like such a good idea at the time but ... blech!!! :smiley_sick:
And yes, the Chef 5 Minute meals came with its own heater and it was amazing, even after over 8 years. The company doesn't seem to exist anymore, at least not on Amazon, which is where I remember getting them. This is the closest equivalent (https://www.amazon.com/Heater-meals-1-case-12/dp/B005Z74Z5E/ref=sr_1_6?crid=180TOCYZ27KVA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sMdOUp8lhahcP2QGTVitn1dKQy_B7C5vEZg5UBJg1WN154LNFqpaM8JiD8n8QpR-G9W2AvFIemQG4etbP5fvxvfXF8ujr4h5UMt2qRj2J4ZT8wE6kN3poyKLCryv5P-KDSL_HbW7EBjYgAJimmhy-4SxfetKBPgEeWvO74cjLzg.oWOLt6BQv70FNDTe4W9AvewLRpS9sV71-j9i609fNU4&dib_tag=se&keywords=chef+5+minute+meals+self+heating&qid=1725673288&sprefix=chef+5+min%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-6) I could find now. I didn't pay anywhere near that price.
ETA: Re-read your last question. The candies are something that I added, along with the Nutrigrain bar, Ritz crackers, etc. This was a DIY meal kit. The Chef 5 Minute meal only came with the spaghetti entree. No other food items were included with Chef 5 Minute meal kit.
Day 6 - Fly2Sky camping light review; rewatch 'The Book of Eli'
I picked up these lights last month to have some super-cheap lights that I can loan out at various events where CERT is working, or just to have something for a kid or a friend who just needs a simple light to use. I got them for around $4 each, so it's not something that I'd be too concerned if it got broken or lost. Here's the full review: https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=2524
And tonight I re-watched 'The Book of Eli' which I hadn't seen in years. It's still an interesting view of an apocalyptic future, although I really wonder how it is that any of the people in it survived without any plants or crops of any kind... (sort of the same way that I wondered how people had air to breathe in 'Reign of Fire' after the dragons in it burned everything wood/living on the entire planet...) And for such a minimal score, it's impressive to me how impactful just a handful of chords can be (as soon as the movie started, I immediately flashed back on that music from the last time I'd seen it).
I used my treadmill for about 30mins of the time I was watching the movie. I would walk for 10mins and then sit down for a bit. I'm not a huge fan of treadmills, but it's better than just sitting down the entire time. This is one of those low speed (up to 4mph) walking treadmills that are meant to be used with a standing desk. I don't have room to use it at my desk, but it works just fine in front of the TV and can easily be propped up, out of the way when I'm done. The only thing I wish was that it had a longer cord. It looks like they don't make my model anymore, but it's very similar to this, if anyone is interested: https://a.co/d/df3uTVg The thing I like is that the walking area is long enough that I don't have to take tiny little steps to avoid going off of one of the ends.
5th day worked on truck, changed batteries in smoke /carbon monoxide detectors.
6th day worked on truck, tested the "road side" repair state of the truck. Flat tire things like that. It got an F so i used an angle grinder to bring it up to a C.
Day 7 - New fitness tracker / smartwatch - Garmin Venu 3
Bit the bullet and spent a lot of money to hopefully get a watch that will last me for quite a few years. The biggest selling point for me on this was the battery life, which can be up to 13 days! I could've gotten a watch with even more (up to a month), but the screen on that one didn't have color or touch-sensitivity.
Still working through all of the setup on it, but so far so good. I wore my old Casio Pathfinder when I went to the store so that I could compare sizes. I figured that if I could get used to the enormous Casio, that anything that size or smaller would be fine. The body of the Garmin is just a touch smaller than that of th eCasio and doesn't have all the protrusions that the Casio has either.
Hopefully this will now do a better job at tracking my activity levels than my old "Virmee" did. One of the other big reasons that I went with this watch over the others that I had been looking at is that this one is supposed to be able to track stair usage. I live in a 1500sqft, 2-story house, and I'm going up and down stairs all day long. 2nd floor is bedroom, office, and half bath. 1st floor is kitchen, full bath, living room, and treadmill. Basement is laundry, pantry, workshop, and exercise bike. I'm definitely curious to see how many stairs I do each day, because it's probably a LOT!
No exercise data yet, given that it's only mid-afternoon. I need to do some yardwork though, so we'll see how what the new tracker registers after I get done with that.
Day 7 i didn't really do anything. Bleed the rear brakes on the truck, text people to help tomorrow to put bed on truck. Grocery shopping for bare necessities ( yes i sang the song from jungle book while i typed that). Had a friend come to visit.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 07, 2024, 01:32:36 PMDay 7 - New fitness tracker / smartwatch - Garmin Venu 3
Bit the bullet and spent a lot of money to hopefully get a watch that will last me for quite a few years. The biggest selling point for me on this was the battery life, which can be up to 13 days! I could've gotten a watch with even more (up to a month), but the screen on that one didn't have color or touch-sensitivity.
Still working through all of the setup on it, but so far so good. I wore my old Casio Pathfinder when I went to the store so that I could compare sizes. I figured that if I could get used to the enormous Casio, that anything that size or smaller would be fine. The body of the Garmin is just a touch smaller than that of th eCasio and doesn't have all the protrusions that the Casio has either.
Hopefully this will now do a better job at tracking my activity levels than my old "Virmee" did. One of the other big reasons that I went with this watch over the others that I had been looking at is that this one is supposed to be able to track stair usage. I live in a 1500sqft, 2-story house, and I'm going up and down stairs all day long. 2nd floor is bedroom, office, and half bath. 1st floor is kitchen, full bath, living room, and treadmill. Basement is laundry, pantry, workshop, and exercise bike. I'm definitely curious to see how many stairs I do each day, because it's probably a LOT!
No exercise data yet, given that it's only mid-afternoon. I need to do some yardwork though, so we'll see how what the new tracker registers after I get done with that.
Dang, wish I'd read this thread sooner. That Garmin Venu 3 is essentially a Huawei GT3 and the GT4 blows the GT3 out of the water... and the GT5 is about to drop soon. Oh, and the GT3 runs about $150 less than the Garmin. Even the GT4 runs about $100 less. The GT5 will be high when it drops but once it gets into circulation the price will come down.
We can chat more about them over in the watch thread.
Day 8 (yeah, I've missed a few). Attention to my food preps continues. Last week I actually got a popup reminder on my work calendar for an activity I set up last year: "Rotate Food in Emergency Bags". The Surviveware 72 hour kit was easy - the Datrex rations are good for another 4 years minumum. But I swapped out the energy bars for fresh ones. The food supplies in my GHB are a bit more varied:
(https://i.postimg.cc/9Fw2hjWX/2024-GHB-food-preps.jpg)
See that package in the upper left, next to the Jif To Go PB cups? That sure doesn't look good.
(https://i.postimg.cc/mgQGPNz0/2024-GHB-food-spoilage.jpg)
Not sure what happened here. My vacuum sealing looked good for a change, and there weren't any boxed raisins, chewing gum or candies in there to introduce/attract moisture. I've never had either oatmeal or hot chocolate go bad like that before.
Both the oatmeal and the hot chocolate packets smelled awful, but my money's on the oatmeal as the culprit. So those went straight into the trash. I'm curious about the hot chocolate mix, so after replacing them with fresh stock, I'm hanging on to them and will give them a closer inspection (i.e. taste test) when the mood strikes me. (just as soon as I replenish my stock of bourbon whiskey.)
I swapped out the fruit & granola bars, tuna and chicken retort pouches, and the Welch's Fruit Snacks with fresh stock even though they looked fine. I'll eat those retired foods in the coming weeks/months. I'm confident everything else is good for at least another year.
I'm realizing that while the primary benefit of rotating food stocks is to ensure they're always well within their usable shelf life, it also forces you to inspect your food supplies closely, and spot any unexpected spoilage. And hopefully identify what went wrong so you don't make a similar mistake in the future.
@majorhavoc that one pack has walnuts and raisons. Both suspects in the other kit. At least IMO.
How old is that kit?
We write dates and info such as weight and contents on our bags
Thanks Mac. If you look at the first picture, I do write the dates on the vacuum sealed bags. It all begins as newly purchased stock, so I didn't pay attention to individual "best by" and "best buy" dates. Since I was rotating those food supplies on an annual basis, I honestly didn't think it mattered. Obviously, it did - for the oatmeal packets at any rate. The replacement oatmeal I put into the GHB today (apples & cinnamon, exclusively) were all vacuum sealed together. So if they go bad before Sept 2025 (next rotation date), at least they won't contaminate anything else.
Does make you wonder, though: say the S were to HTF in August of next year, and I need my GHB supplies for real. Spoilt oatmeal wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would be a major bummer.
What's weird is I've been storing instant oatmeal of various varieties for several years and never had a problem until now. Then again, my GHB leads the hardest life of all my emergency bags - it lives in my car. So over the course of the year it's exposed to temps from -15 deg F to I'm sure well over 110 deg F in the hot sun.
Regardless, this is good stuff. The exercise of going through food supplies on a periodic basis, discovering where preps can fail, your insights about the walnuts and raisins. This is why we share - so we can learn from others and help anyone reading this thread avoid the same mistakes. :smiley_coolpeace:
Day 8 - Collecting and (trying to) process acorns
This is something that I wanted to try and it's a partial success. I have a couple of huge pin oak trees in my front yard and several smaller (but still large) ones in the back yard. They drop a ton of acorns this time of year, but I've never tried to do anything with them besides rake them up and dispose of them.
Yesterday evening, I collected about 2/3 of a gallon bucket of acorns from my yard. They're actively falling from the trees right now, but I did avoid getting hit by any of them! I tried to just pick out ones that didn't have any damage, caps, or obvious holes in them. I brought them inside and float-tested them, which resulted in removing about 15-20% of what I'd collected. I dried them off in a towel, then put them back into the bucket and put a fan on them.
This is about half of what I collected:
Acorns_bucket.jpg
This morning, I used a plastic cutting board and a tenderizing mallet (spiky side, to keep them from skittering off after the hit) and cracked about half of the bucket. Quite a few of them still ended up being bad and were discarded, but I ended up with about two handfuls of them to test out. Shelling and cleaning them was a loooong process! If the acorn was good, I would pry the cracked shell apart and then try to pull out the meat inside in as large of pieces as possible. I also removed as much of the "skin" on them as I could. The best way to do this was to rub my thumb on it to try to get it to roll off. The best comparison is that innermost skin on a garlic clove.
With that done, I boiled them four times to try and get out as much of the tannin as possible to reduce the bitterness. By the fourth time, the water was much clearer. In hindsight, I probably should've done one or more cycles, since there was still a bit of bitterness left.
Boiling the nut meat:
Acorns_boiling.jpg
When I was boiling, I also added some salt to the water, since I planned to dry roast them. Once I'd drain them the last time, I spread the acorn meat onto a baking tray that I'd covered with baking paper and then sprinkled them with salt again. The instructions I'd found online said 350F for 15 mins, then add 5 mins several times as needed.
They were... edible... I ended up roasting them for about 25mins total and they ended up brittle and crumbly at that point. There is still some bitterness left in them, which would possibly have been reduced by a few additional cycles of boiling. Also not sure if I might've over-baked them when doing the dry roasting. Maybe just 20mins would've worked better. And the salt didn't adhere well, so they didn't have much flavor.
Bag of dry roasted acorns:
Acorns_processed.jpg
After several hours of effort, I ended up with less than 2oz of nuts which, while edible, aren't that good. I ate a few and a friend of mine tried some as well, but neither of us were impressed. Interesting, they smell a bit like spaghetti noodles with a hint of maple syrup! Several articles mentioned the maple syrup smell / taste, but none of them had mentioned the cooked pasta smell.
I have a book coming this week which is all about harvesting, processing, and cooking with acorns, including a number of different recipes. I know that the preferred process takes a lot long (it involves drying them in the shell, then processing them at a later date), but I wanted to go through all of it to try it out. I still have the other half of the bucket and the second time around should go a lot faster now that I have a bit better feel for how to get them out of the shell. I'll see what advice there is in the book to see if I can improve things on the next try.
No specific fitness item for the day. My new watch recorded a little over 4000 steps, most of which were probably from me working on the acorns this morning! I spent the evening hanging out with friends and now it's a bit late to be trying to fit in a workout. I listened to a Bruce Hornsby album and then to a Beach Boys greatest hits album while I was working on the acorns.
Quote from: majorhavoc on September 08, 2024, 07:13:05 PMThanks Mac. If you look at the first picture, I do write the dates on the vacuum sealed bags. It all begins as newly purchased stock, so I didn't pay attention to individual "best by" and "best buy" dates. Since I was rotating those food supplies on an annual basis, I honestly didn't think it mattered. Obviously, it did - for the oatmeal packets at any rate. The replacement oatmeal I put into the GHB today (apples & cinnamon, exclusively) were all vacuum sealed together. So if they go bad before Sept 2025 (next rotation date), at least they won't contaminate anything else.
Does make you wonder, though: say the S were to HTF in August of next year, and I need my GHB supplies for real. Spoilt oatmeal wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would be a major bummer.
What's weird is I've been storing instant oatmeal of various varieties for several years and never had a problem until now. Then again, my GHB leads the hardest life of all my emergency bags - it lives in my car. So over the course of the year it's exposed to temps from -15 deg F to I'm sure well over 110 deg F in the hot sun.
Regardless, this is good stuff. The exercise of going through food supplies on a periodic basis, discovering where preps can fail, your insights about the walnuts and raisins. This is why we share - so we can learn from others and help anyone reading this thread avoid the same mistakes. :smiley_coolpeace:
I agree, the military spends millions on testing stuff like this. We share info and experiences for free here using trial and error.
It would be interesting to track how long each flavor lasts to see which is the best for long term. What's the longest past expiration you've ever gotten out of those?
We've been storing bulk bought plain oatmeal [costco has 10lbs for $12 that we have been caching since it was $8] (https://www.costco.com/quaker,-oats-old-fashioned-oatmeal,-10-lbs.product.100381521.html) that we then transfer into vacuum sealed bags and put those in sealable buckets. This is cheaper than buying those Auguson Farms bucket of oatmeal even doing our own vacuum sealing and bucketing. We put them in small bags so we don't have to open and unseal 20lbs at a time. Had to buy specific rectangular buckets at a specific width and then the size bags that fit in them. Same for rice storage. Other dry foods we store in smaller bags in the same buckets.
(https://i.imgur.com/XYcvhLG.jpeg)
An Oatmeal breakfast is preference of mine going back to my bodybuilding days where I didn't eat any processed food, and definitely nothing with simple sugars added. Oatmeal is a slow release complex carbohydrate food that is filling and gives lots of energy.
I haven't considered making custom individual B/O meals like that but would probably do the same thing in regard to separating the ingredients to be combined later. Some of those instant oatmeal packs have nuts or oils, and other additives like 'creamers' that could keep them from lasting a long time. They also add lots of Salt and Sugar for flavor.
5 days a week for breakfast I eat oatmeal with milk and bananas. [no salt no sugar added] So guess what my first 90 day food cache was. Oatmeal, powdered milk, and cans of freeze dried banana slices. LOL, aint no Pakalips going to interrupt my preferred breakfast meal. But that's all stored separately in buckets and cans. [I might be up to 6 months for 2 people now]
I haven't figured out how to store emergency food in my car yet. I'm sure the trunk gets to over 130 [ :smiley_shrug: ] degrees in the sun in the summer in my AO. When I get to it, my next attempt is going to be a insulated cooler to help level out the temp swings in summer. I'm sure it goes from 130 to 80 in there in a 24 hr period. But I'm going to put a temp tracking thermometer inside the cooler and see what the max lows and highs are inside a cooler before I add contents. Right now I have to just carry the food on my EDC which doesn't work so well. Also for an IFAK. I keep a TCC IFAK under my seat but I don't think it gets that hot down there compared to inside my trunk. [i've stored a mag of 223 in my trunk for over 10 years now as a 'test'.]
Day 9 - Updated GMRS radio programming and conducted repeater check
I had previous posted about how our CERT group is losing access to the old police radios that we've been using. As a result, we're switching over to GMRS, at least in the short term (we might get another set of police radios next year, but that's not a done deal yet).
Last month I bought a TIDRadio TD-H8 and programmed it according to the radio plan that our group had published. Right after that, I also conducted a radio test with the guy who is leading this effort and all was good, both with the repeater and in simplex (he's only about 1.25mi away). However, I'd noticed a few issues with our radio plan which I reported to him (we're close to Canada, so we have to deal with the Line A / Line C agreement rules, which hadn't been taken into consideration. As a result, he sent out a revised version of our radio plan, with changes to several of the channels in it.
Well, I finally got around to reprogramming my radio today and then tonight I got a message from our radio guy asking if I was available to do some testing (he had no idea that I'd just reprogrammed my radio, it was just a nice coincidence). He'd gotten some new radios for him and his wife and wanted to try them out. So I got my radio off the charging cradle and we talked for a few minutes. Because we're reasonably close together, with the repeater, it's nice and clear.
He also said that he's been in touch with someone in the area who is running a big 50w, 95ft repeater tower to see if we can get access to that as well. It would be a nice backup to our smaller (10w) portable unit, particularly if we have any type of event where we're more spread out. Of course, a big tower like that probably won't be active if the power is out (unless the owner has it on a generator), so our portable 12v repeater is still important.
So an unexpected prep-related thing for the day. That's cool - it keeps me from having to come up with something else to do! :D
And I think I'll go down and use the exercise bike tonight. I'm re-reading the Dresden Files books and I can bike and read at the same time!
Day 10 - Update prescription list, with copy for wallet and full-size copy with Rx labels
Thanks to
@majorhavoc for this idea (https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?msg=47173). I tweaked my medications list to include a column with the Rx number and then made a small copy to go into my wallet next to my medical cards. Then I printed a full-sized copy and stuck those extra CVS prescription labels on it. That copy went into the binder of emergency information that I'm building up (not just personal info, but also things like phone numbers, maps, radio stations, response plans, etc.).
For some reason, my new Garmin watch decided that I was bicycling this evening when I was mowing the lawn! That's a reeeaally slow bicycle! Despite that, it registered 76 "intensity minutes" while I was working in the yard and measured it as 2800 steps. It's always hard to get accurate counts for steps when you're pushing a mower (or a grocery cart), because there isn't any arm swing to measure. I'd guess that most of those steps tonight were from collecting branches and running the leaf blower.
Last night I did get in about 20mins on the exercise bike and listened to some Vivaldi and Stravinsky while alternating between biking and reading. The music selection for yard work this evening was Guns & Roses!
Day 11 - CERT meeting (radios, upcoming nuclear / radiological training, upcoming events)
We had our monthly CERT meeting this evening and the main topic of discussion was our new radio plan. The guy leading things for the radios brought along his computer and programmed radios for several people in the group and provided an overview of why we're changing and what people need to do. We discussed running our repeater off of the trailer batteries (the trailer has 200w of solar to keep the batteries charged) or one of my power banks in a pinch. It only draws 36w so no problems there.
One thing I didn't know is that he's been in touch with people running some local repeaters and has gotten us permission to use those as well. Also, due to recent FCC rulings on linking repeaters, several of them are also adding private repeaters for use by emergency response groups likes ours. Once those are set up, we'll be given the information for them as well.
We also have some training coming up next week for nuclear / radiological event response. This is being done by an outside group who will be in the area to do training for some first responders. We were able to get a CERT-oriented session for several local groups and our last count was nearly 50 people who were planning to attend.
On top of that, we have our local Oktoberfest event coming up next week as well (yes, I know it's not October yet, the local one is always in September) and then next month we're helping out with the 'Movie In The Cemetery' event. That one is a big deal for us, because not only do we handle parking, security, and first aid for it, we also provide lighting, mark all the gravestones near the road (so they won't be driven over), put up signs for the event (entrance, parking, vendor access, etc.), and usually we do some cleanup at the cemetery beforehand! For an event that's only about 5 hours long, we put in a lot of work!
Given that our meeting went for over 2 hrs tonight, that's all I really got around to doing today. Even my watch just gave me a message about it having been a stressful day for me! Only 2818 steps recorded, which is higher than what I used to get with my old watch on a non-exercise day and right about in-line with it reading only about 2/3 of what my actual steps probably were. Looks like the Garmin is doing a much better job of tracking my movements!
Day 12 - Maintenance check on vehicles, fix reverse light, and re-watch 'The Martian'
Checked all the fluids, air filters, wipers, and tires on both my Mazda3 and Suburban. Everything was in good shape. I added a bit of air to the car tires (they were each down about 2psi) and one on the truck (down a similar amount) and then addressed the one issue that I was already aware of: a non-functional reverse light on the truck.
This was an LED bulb that I put in last year and I was a little annoyed that it had quit on me. I locked/unlocked it using the remote (which activates the reverse lights) after I'd removed the assembly and pulled the bulb out. It flickered a few times when I pushed it back and forth, so I thought maybe the socket was bad (which is a fairly common issue and easy to fix). But after swapping in the old incandescent bulb (which I'd kept) the socket was fine. That was when I noticed that one of the contacts on the LED bulb had broken off. Grrr!
Here's where the cool part happened - I was able to FIX the LED bulb! Took it into the workshop, used a tiny screwdriver to pry back the plastic a little where the broken contact was, bent a staple over into a U-shape, trimmed it to the proper length, stuffed one leg of the U down inside the base where the old contact had broken off, used my Dremel tool to polish up the exposed metal a bit, then reinstalled it in the truck It works! Feels good to be able to actually fix something, rather than just tossing it and buying another. :smiley_bril:
Repaired contact is on the bottom. The staple (from a staple gun) was a perfect fit!
LED_bulb_repair.jpg
Exercise today was about 40mins on the walking treadmill while watching 'The Martian.' That's one of my all-time favorite movies. I've seen it described it as "smart people, solving problems" and that about sums it up. It's a classic man-vs-nature story, so there is no human antagonist. It's just Mark Watney trying to survive on Mars until he can be rescued, with all of NASA helping him with problem solving along the way. Great film with gorgeous cinematography and music. The scene where he is traveling to the other launch site, which is a series of aerial camera shots and soaring music gives me chills every time.
Edited to add: While working on the vehicles, I was listening to some "futuristic soundscape" music by Eon Odyssey on YouTube. That's just one of a bunch of synthwave / ambient / chillwave / darksynth sort of channels that I'm subscribed to.
The past couple days, i ain't done much. Work on truck, go to work, work friends chicken farm, work on house preparing for move to Indiana.
The house move it getting to a more prepper friendly area. Working my friends chicken house, well it's always nice to have good friends. Truck is my BOV, and work need to pau bills and finance more prepper related stuff.
Day 13 - Purge bathroom meds
As with a lot of people, I tend to collect various medications in my bathroom and never really go through them to get rid of the ones that are out of date. Tonight I purged my bathroom and it was quite the pile! Some of them will stay until I get replacements (hopefully this weekend), and some were still within date. Others, I'm not all that worried about having "expired" because they're things like bandages, alcohol wipes, hand cream, toothbrushes, etc..
After pulling all of the expired stuff out, I went through it and made a shopping list of the ones that need replacement. The oldest item I found was a mini-bottle of daily multivitamins that had expired in... 2002... Yeah, really need to do this more often... I'm guessing that it used to be in my overnight kit and that at some point it got dumped in the drawer and forgotten about. The funny thing is, I actually remember buying it, because it was one of the few times in my life that I found something to be cheaper to buy in small packages than in the large package! I ended up buying a bunch of these little 30 pill bottles, because overall it was cheaper than buying the 150 pill bottle. I want to say they were each $0.99 vs something like $7.99 for the larger bottle. So losing part of one bottle to non-use still puts me ahead! :smiley_shrug:
Some of the problem is in wanting to get "the best deal" when shopping. As a result, I have a bottle of 400 allergy pills that I probably use a half-dozen a year out of. Same thing for the bottles of 600 ibuprofen, 500 aspirin, and huge bag of throat lozenges. So this time around, I won't buy the giant-sized bottles out of a sense of "thrift" that is based merely price-per-pill!
On the plus side, I've suddenly got a lot more room in the storage! I still need to rearrange things, but it's a lot better now. And not everything needed to be replaced after I threw it out. Some of them were things that I'd tried and didn't like (some horrible "orange-flavored," chewable vitamin-C tablets), or didn't feel like I got any benefit from (various supplements). No need to get replacements for those! Once I've restocked with the things I need, I'll clean and organize everything a bit better.
No workout notes today. I may try to get in some time on the bike while I'm reading tonight, but so far it's just the 2777 steps that my watch recorded as I went about my day. Oh, and my watch says that I've climbed 12 flights of stairs today, but only gone down 7. So Apparently I'm hovering about 50 feet above my house right now! :smiley_superman:
About those "expiration" dates and the disposal of medications...
The US Army did a study some years back of various prescription and non-prescription meds looking to establish hard data on when meds truly expire (lose significant efficacy or become toxic) and everyone was surprised by the results. Some medications were so stable as to effectively have 30-50 year (or beyond depending on storage) expirations, most had significantly longer lifetimes than previously believed, and some became dangerously toxic way sooner than expected if improperly stored.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7040264/#:~:text=The%20best%20evidence%20of%20acceptable,maximum%20extension%20of%20278%20months. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7040264/#:~:text=The%20best%20evidence%20of%20acceptable,maximum%20extension%20of%20278%20months.)
https://wms.org/magazine/magazine/1305/Expired-Drugs/default.aspx#:~:text=SLEP:%20The%20Shelf%2DLife%20Extension,drugs%20and%20save%20significant%20money. (https://wms.org/magazine/magazine/1305/Expired-Drugs/default.aspx#:~:text=SLEP:%20The%20Shelf%2DLife%20Extension,drugs%20and%20save%20significant%20money.)
https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Medical-Logistics/Shelf-Life-Extension-Program#:~:text=The%20Defense%20Health%20Agency%20administers,postponement%20of%20material%20replacement%20expenses. (https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Medical-Logistics/Shelf-Life-Extension-Program#:~:text=The%20Defense%20Health%20Agency%20administers,postponement%20of%20material%20replacement%20expenses.)
It's a lot of info to wade through, admittedly, but it can give you a better idea of what you need to store more carefully, what can be left in a vehicle safely, and what might be downright dangerous at some point.
Then we get to the disposal issue. The disposal of medical waste is a huge problem worldwide, and the disposal of medicines can have ecological consequences that are frightening. There are safe ways to dispose of expired or unwanted medications. Some pharmacies offer it as a service to their customers, your doctor's office may do it for you, and there are kits that can be purchased (https://a.co/d/eU0B3ps) to safely dispose of medications. In the old days we'd just toss them in the trash or flush them, but no longer. Certain drugs are now showing up in animals in the wild and, such as in the case of cocaine showing up in the bloodstream of sharks off the coast of Columbia, the effects of which can be mind-boggling. (Imagine the shark from Jaws looking for a coke fix.)
I didn't go through all of the footnotes, but except for this one linked reference (https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-shortages/search-list-extended-use-dates-assist-drug-shortages), I didn't see an actual list of common RX medications. Seems like at one point we had one here (or on the old ZS forums). Or maybe it was a list of medication types (antibiotics, channel blockers, etc.). But in my memory, that list indicated which drugs could be safely stored past their expiration date and - perhaps most importantly - those few that actually do become toxic over time.
Maybe I'm just imagining that list. Closest I could find was this article (https://www.goodrx.com/drugs/safety/expired-medications) warning against using expired tetracycline.
By accidentally forgetting to take my rx meds every once in a while, and by deliberately taking advantage of every opportunity to refill a prescription a few days early, I've slowly built up a reserve supply of meds that would see me through the first few months of a widespread emergency scenario. I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I must have almost a year's reserve of one particular blood pressure medication, Licinopril.
I am aware that none of my rx meds are - strictly speaking - life sustaining. I won't drop dead if I go off them, even for a period of weeks or even months. I know that a lot of people with presciptions don't have that luxury.
I consume my oldest meds first, so my reserve always consists of my most recently filled prescriptions.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 12, 2024, 09:06:43 PMand re-watch 'The Martian'
Somehow missed this the first time I read it, but need to give props. 'The Martian" is one of my all-time favorite movies. First and foremost, it's a ripping good yarn of survival. Second because Ridley Scott and Matt Damon are two incredibly talented human beings.
But also because it channels a key aspect of survival and resilience in a crisis that's been proven in study after study: don't give up. Just keep solving survival challenges and live for just one more day. And then do it again, and again. And again. Even if it's just clinging to the side of a capsized sailboat with no realistic hope of rescue, account after account has demonstrated it's not the person who's the strongest or most experienced or even the best equipped who survives. It's the guy who decides that no matter what, they're going to continue living to see the next day.
The final scene of the movie sums it up. And it's not giving anything away because the story is, after all, one of survival, not death.
Day 14 - Repainted address on house, plus miscellaneous painting
I've needed to do this for a while now and it's one of those things that first responders hate (unreadable addresses). Mine is pretty simple, black numbers on a piece of white board that's attached to the brick. But the paint has been flaking off for a while and the numbers are faded.
I removed the numbers, scraped and sanded the wood, primed, painted, and reinstalled the numbers. I'd also spray painted the numbers while they were off. Now I've got nice, white background and crisp, black numbers on it again.
And since I was doing this, I primed and painted the trim around the front door and did some touch-up on the garage and basement walking door trim as well. Both of those last ones are due for complete replacement due to rot, but they look a little nicer now. I have the replacement trim / weather seal for the garage, I just need to install it. The basement door is a much bigger job, as the entire structure needs to be removed and rebuilt, which is well beyond my skills.
I also removed the mailbox on the front of the house (wall-mounted) and spray painted it black too. That was mainly an issue of sun-damage over the years that had faded it out, plus some overspray from having the front porch painted this summer. Looks much nicer now.
No before picture, but here's what it looked like just before I put my address numbers back on:
Trim_addr_mailbox.jpg
No step count today, as I wasn't going to wear my brand-new watch while I was painting! I did get in about 20mins on the exercise bike last night after I posted. I really need / want a shower right now, otherwise I'd go for a walk (it's pretty nice out right now).
Day 15 - Review guest room toiletries
I keep my guest room fairly well stocked for anyone who is staying with me. There are a few clothing items in the dresser, in case someone has to stay there in an emergency situation and didn't have a chance to pack. Other items include paper, pens, extension cord, multi-strip, USB wall plug, cords, extra Kleenex, toilet paper, etc., just in case there's anything that runs out. It gives them a way to restock without needing to wake me up. Playing cards, night lights (since guests might not be as familiar with my house), flashlights, and batteries too. Of course there are extra blankets and pillows for those who need them, but the room is also right above my furnace / blower, so adjusting the damper on the vent should cool / heat the room to the resident's needs quite easily.
There is a pretty good stash for toiletries. Various soaps (bar, body, shampoo), oral care (toothbrushes, travel toothbrush containers, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, and dental picks). Hair care items (spray, combs), medications (ibuprofen, Tylenol), Rolaids, allergy pills, eye care (contact case, saline solution, eye drops), feminine products, deodorant, hand sanitizer, hand cream, and shaving supplies (razors, shaving cream). I'm sure that there's a bunch more that I missed here. It's quite a pile!
I took a quick pass through all of it to make sure that it's mostly within date. A few items were past their use by dates, but since all of it is brand new (almost everything is 'Travel Sized') and nothing was more than a year or so out of date, I'm not worried. The only items which I ended up swapping out were the batteries. The ones in there were quite old, so I put newer ones in the supplies and moved the old ones into my battery drawer for rotation into use.
Exercise today was just general walking around while doing stuff. I'm just under 5000 steps, but that included an hour and a half of working in the yard tonight, collecting leaves, acorns, and twigs. I only cleared about 1/3 of my back yard, but that was enough to fill three yard waste bags. It also included scooping 10 piles of deer crap, just from that portion of the yard. For some reason, the deer have suddenly decided that they love my house and there are some that come by and spend hours napping in my yard almost every day. This is the result!
While I was working in the yard, I had the Bluetooth speaker playing the soundtrack from 'The Wraith.' Such a great 80s flick with an excellent soundtrack as well! :smiley_clap:
Day 15. Charged up my power station and all of my power banks. Added lighter fluid to my keychain peanut lighter and went on a 2 mile hike that including a lunch stop where I used up another of those 8 year old DIY ration packs. I took pictures, but my phone is being a PIA. I may be able to add pics to this post tomorrow.
Ok what day is it i don't remember. I have off today and tomorrow vacation to burn up, and need to get stuff done round here. So as everyday this month i have been working on the truck. Got it beat this time though. Added bonus, after repairs were finished i had to reload the truck with all the crap i keep in the tool box. So reorganized, replenished, checked the BoT supplies. Also i freed the spare tire from the evil clutches of the seized , rusted solid double safety lock spare tire winch. So checked the spare for air and it was at 0 psi. Filled it and the 4 on road to there recommended pressure.
Quote from: Rednex on September 16, 2024, 06:19:50 PMOk what day is it i don't remember. I have off today and tomorrow vacation to burn up, and need to get stuff done round here. So as everyday this month i have been working on the truck. Got it beat this time though. Added bonus, after repairs were finished i had to reload the truck with all the crap i keep in the tool box. So reorganized, replenished, checked the BoT supplies. Also i freed the spare tire from the evil clutches of the seized , rusted solid double safety lock spare tire winch. So checked the spare for air and it was at 0 psi. Filled it and the 4 on road to there recommended pressure.
Might want to set a reminder for yourself to check the pressure in that spare again in a couple of weeks, just in case the tire or valve is leaking.
Quote from: NT2C on September 16, 2024, 06:56:26 PMQuote from: Rednex on September 16, 2024, 06:19:50 PMOk what day is it i don't remember. I have off today and tomorrow vacation to burn up, and need to get stuff done round here. So as everyday this month i have been working on the truck. Got it beat this time though. Added bonus, after repairs were finished i had to reload the truck with all the crap i keep in the tool box. So reorganized, replenished, checked the BoT supplies. Also i freed the spare tire from the evil clutches of the seized , rusted solid double safety lock spare tire winch. So checked the spare for air and it was at 0 psi. Filled it and the 4 on road to there recommended pressure.
Might want to set a reminder for yourself to check the pressure in that spare again in a couple of weeks, just in case the tire or valve is leaking.
Well it's the original spare from 08 it's cracked, dry rotted, rim is almost rusted through. I will be surprised if it has pressure in it tomorrow. I got a set of rims that fit the truck , when i can i'm going to get a new tire on one of them as my spare. the truck has a lot of rust not sure where it was before i got it, but they must have used a lot of road salt.
Day 16 - Replenish purged medications (aka, grocery shopping!)
I hit up the grocery store tonight and spent half of the trip in the pharmacy section, replacing all that expired stuff that I found this past weekend. Of course, they were out of the generic version of several items - aspirin and cortisone cream - so I'll have to get those on a future trip.
This past weekend, a neighbor asked if I had some glue that she could borrow for a project. At first I thought I did (Gorilla Glue), but then discovered that it had completely dried out. My glue stores were a bit thin anyway (a few small bottles of Elmer's, a half-bottle of wood glue, some model glue, and a few single-use superglue tubes), so I added to that this evening while I was at the store. Came back with some E6000, fabric glue, and rubber cement. I figured it was a good idea to have some variety. I'll pick up some Gorilla Glue sometime as well, but they only had larger tubes and I didn't feel like getting that much of it.
The watch only said 2500-ish steps, because those never do a very good job counting steps while you're pushing a cart. I figure that I probably got in another 2500-3000 while I was shopping that wasn't registered.
It's an early night for me tonight, as we've got a major project at work going live tomorrow morning and I've got to get up early for it. Keep prepping!
Day 17 - Test out my new folding wagon and radio pouch
My TIDRadio TD-H8 came with a belt clip, but it's plastic and uses two small screws to attach, so there is the risk that it might break or come loose. To give me an alternative, I bought a radio belt pouch from Agoz (https://a.co/d/0auD6e6). I can stuff the radio in with the clip still attached, but it's difficult, as the pouch isn't designed to have that much depth (it's actually intended for a Baofeng UV-5R radio). It fits almost perfectly with the clip off and has just enough leeway to allow me to plug in the shoulder mic. I'm planning to test the radio with the clip only and with the pouch at Oktoberfest this weekend to see if one or the other is preferable.
For a long time, I've used one of those collapsible "hand trucks" (sort of like this one (https://a.co/d/65rj9Ru)) for schlepping things around with various groups that I volunteer with. It's okay for smaller amounts / loads, but it just doesn't have enough capacity to carry everything that I frequently need, resulting in multiple trips to haul everything.
Enter, a folding wagon! There are a ton of these for sale and I spent quite a few hours browsing around the ones on Amazon to find one that had good reviews, wide tires (that were made of rubber-ish material), and could carry quite a bit. There were a few that appeared to be virtually the same wagon. So I picked a color I liked, that happened to be marked down a bit, and bought it. I ended up with one from Sekey (https://a.co/d/3tVezBD) (part of my research was whether the brand had their own website, this one does) that met all my requirements. It came pre-assembled. All I had to do was pull it out of the box and unfold it, just like you do every time you use it. The red things are wheel locks and the wheels are a hard rubber/plastic.
Cart_unfolded.jpg
Here it is with just under 100 lbs of stuff in it (two power stations, a folding table, and a 24-pack of Mountain Dew Zero). Yes, it's as big as it looks. Interior dimensions are: 36.2" L x 22.4" W x 14.2" H
Cart_loaded.jpg
I hauled it around my driveway and yard for a bit with that load. No problem! The wide tires do make it a little less maneuverable (the handle is just used to pull and isn't connected to the wheels), but they also make it easy to pull across grass, which is a huge plus. It could also be used during an event where I might need to carry large amounts of stuff or even people (given the large weight capacity), such as a bug-out. While not as rugged as something like a garden wagon (https://a.co/d/1VG5En6), it's better than nothing if I needed to haul things for a long distance.
Folded, it's a bit smaller than an overhead compartment-sized roll-along. I'm already feeling better about having to set up during future events!
Cart_folded.jpg
Heading downstairs to use the exercise bike again. Oh, and our rollout at work went just fine this morning, which is always a good way to start your day off! Starting early also meant getting done early - yay!
Edited: Got in 20mins on the bike while listening to the soundtrack from Amelie and reading a Dresden Files book.
Day 18 - Prep for Oktoberfest
Our CERT helps out with the local Oktoberfest event every year. We keep people from bringing in outside booze, keep the booze contained to the event perimeter, move barricades around for the hay ride to get in/out, provide first aid, and generally act as the unofficial information booth. As usual, I'm signed up to be there for both Friday night and all day Saturday. On top of that, I have a training event tomorrow night (also for CERT - more info to come), so I need to start to get ready for Oktoberfest tonight.
It takes place in the parking lot of the local police department, so I don't need to go over the top, as our "backup" is literally right there if we need them! Most of what I bring for this event is stuff for me - drinks, snacks, my on-body carry stuff (radio, pepper spray, hi-viz gear, hat, ID, flashlight, etc.), and other things that might be useful (sunscreen, fan, personal first aid kit). I'll also have my 12v fridge in the car, along with a power bank to run it.
But I do bring some stuff for the group as well. Mainly some string lights and a couple of Onite USB lights, plus USB power banks, to put in our canopies (we have one at each entrance). The parking lot is very well lit, but under the canopies it can be a bit dark, so I'll have those to put up if we need them.
Anyway, I've got water and Gatorade cooling in the fridge, USB power banks charging, power stations topping off, and all the rest of the stuff in a big pile in my dining room. Once the training is done tomorrow night, I'll start loading it all into my car (not enough stuff to bother with the truck) so that I can leave as soon as I'm done with work on Friday and it'll all be ready. The lights are all packed in a bag already and I've got a big pile of snacks ready to take out to the car.
And since it's me, I've got a list of all the stuff to take along that I put together a few days ago so that I wouldn't forget anything. I'll go through and make sure to check everything off before I leave. And on the plus side, if I forget anything critical, I only live about a mile away! :D And for any really simple items, there's a Family Dollar across the parking lot, with a Little Caesars right next to it! (yeah, we usually end up eating pizza during the event, because the only food offerings there are a bit heavy on the "Oktoberfest" theme and aren't to everyone's liking).
No exercise tonight, other than tromping up/down stairs hauling things to add to the pile. I didn't sleep all that well last night, so I'll likely call it an early evening and try to catch up. It's going to be a long couple of days here!
I donated blood today.
Day 19 - Attended "Introduction to Radiological / Nuclear WMD Operations" (AWR-140) FEMA training class
Because the trainers were in town to do some classes for local first responders, local CERTs were offered the opportunity to take the 100-level class. The trainers were very good and did a great job communicating the information in the book (nearly 200 pages long - we each got a copy). They even brought doughnuts for us! I'll put the book aside and go through it in more detail later, since we really just zipped through 3/4 of it over the course of a 3-hour class.
This isn't meant to make us into first responders for radiological emergencies, which they were very clear about. It's really intended to give us some passing familiarity with the subject so that we can better understand what is going on if we're helping out. They emphasized that CERTs are going to be in support roles, doing things like putting up signage, helping to direct people for decontamination, helping with paperwork, or other logistical work.
And my evening isn't done quite yet. Next up is to load gear into my car for Oktoberfest tomorrow, since I'll need to jet out as soon as I'm done with work. Mostly that's just reorganizing the trunk and putting some of the bags / totes into the car. I'll also lay out my clothes for tomorrow. Everything that needed to be recharged has been and the drinks that need to be cooled went into the fridge yesterday. Just gotta pack it all up and load it.
No time for exercise today, although I've gotten in around 3000 steps so far and will be adding to that as I get the car loaded.
I requested my absentee ballot today. I have no intention of being anywhere near a polling location on Nov 5th.
Quote from: majorhavoc on September 20, 2024, 01:23:25 PMI requested my absentee ballot today. I have no intention of being anywhere near a polling location on Nov 5th.
Several years ago I had to wait for three hours in line, with light rain on and off in order to vote. When Michigan started allowing absentee / mail-in ballots for anyone a few years ago, I signed up right away and have used that in ever election since!
Day 20 - Renew car insurance and volunteer at Oktoberfest event
Car insurance was almost due, so I took care of that this afternoon. Not sure why, but it actually went down a little. Not much, but that's better than going up!
Pretty slow night at Oktoberfest. CERT set up our pop-up and I hung some lights in it. The area is actually quite well lit, but the canopy creates shadows. It's just some USB powered cafe / string lights and one Onite light hanging right in the middle. That's enough to do a really nice job without being too bright.
Edited to add picture of our pop-up. The lights work well to just fill in so that we're not in the dark with all the lights around / above where we're set up.
Oktoberfest2024CERT.jpg
There's a local karate school that comes to all these events and the guy stopped to talk for a few minutes. He remembered the power stations that I had at the National Night Out event and he wants to talk with me tomorrow about what that would take to run a TV to show videos. I told him that I could point him her for all my reviews and he thought that would be perfect!
Still about two hours to go tonight and I'm at 5700 steps. It would be more, but I'm just sitting at one of the entrances doing "beer containment". 😁
Day 21 - Work at Oktoberfest (again)
I spent a little over 12 hours working at our local Oktoberfest today and I'm completely wiped out. The event ended at 11pm, but I stayed for another hour, helping to load up the temporary barricades.
Oh, and I had 13,850 steps today, most of which was just pacing around at one of the entrances.
Day 22 - Reset from Oktoberfest
Making sure that you put things away after using them is an important part of being prepared. After all, if you can't find your stuff when you need it, then it's not much use!
I pulled out a fair amount of gear to take to Oktoberfest (lights, power stations, snacks, etc.) and now that the event is over, I needed to put things back in their places. I did some of that last night when I got home (technically, it was early this morning, since I didn't leave the event until just after midnight), but I just finished up the rest of it. I did plug in the power station to charge, along with the USB power bank that was running the string lights, and the battery from my flashlight once I arrived home, so those were fully charged by the time I got up this morning.
Why didn't I do the rest of the cleanup sooner? Because I spent the day visiting family on the other side of the state and didn't get home until about an hour ago. Everyone is well, we had some good food, and got to see my cousin's new house (it's newly built and they just moved in a couple of weeks ago, so it still has that "new house" smell). I did find that the tires on my Suburban need to be balanced. The initial "it's been parked for a bit" flat spots never fully resolved and I had to deal with vibration all the way there and back. It's probably due for a rotation anyway. Looks like a trip to the tire store is in my future.
I'm still sore / tired from yesterday, so no official exercise for the day. I'm at a hair under 2800 steps so far today. Not much exercise to be gained in doing 300 miles worth of driving, unless cursing at other drivers counts as aerobics... :D
Day 23 - Swap furnace filter, print new insurance cards
I don't have pets and it's just me here in the house, so I tend to let this go longer than you're supposed to. The filter I removed today had been in for a full year, but I could still see plenty of light through the very thin layer of captured dust in the pleats. The filters that I use (https://a.co/d/i9E8XR3) are just one level down from the best that Filtrete sells, so it's not like the dust is escaping being caught! Of course, the filter companies tell you to change them every 3 months, but at 3 months I can barely tell that the filter has been used. They're expensive enough as it is!
I'm still recovering from all my activities over the weekend. Even after sleeping 10 hours last night, I'm still tired today and I'm anticipating heading off to bed early again, so today's task was an easy one.
I've only gotten about 1600 steps in thus far, but I'll try to get in some time on the exercise bike, or even go for a walk this evening yet.
ETA: I do check the filter more than once a year, it just hadn't needed replacement the last time I looked. This is the 5th filter out of 6 in that package and I bought it a little over 4 years ago, so it's somewhere around 9-10 months on average.
ETA2: After renewing my car insurance last week, it took a few days for the email confirmation with the new insurance cards to arrive. Today I printed them off and put the copies into each vehicle. Yes, digital versions are legal here and I do have the app on my phone, but this is just in case of: I forgot my phone, no service, old-school cop. Never hurts to have a printed copy to give them along with registration and driver's license.
Day 24 - Sharpen knives using new sharpening system
Despite buying it a couple of months ago, I hadn't done anything more than just take my new sharpener out of the packaging and put it together to make sure all the parts were there. It's just a cheap one from Vevor (https://a.co/d/dUOm8RL) and it... works... mostly. I did have the handle come loose and fall apart when I was swapping stones, but it went back together just fine. The knives that I sharpened were my EDC knife, which is the discontinued SOG Mini Aegis (https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SOGAE21/sog-ae21-aegis-mini-folding-knife-assisted-satin-plain-blade-black-frn-handles?srsltid=AfmBOooN4bs5VbQL3-Ngy0w_o-zXaN-S0jI7J0NHO8inmC5BC-aTHpHn), and an eBay purchased Kershaw Drivetrain (https://a.co/d/7ntCaBo) that needed some touch-up.
The sharpener works like a lot of others and comes with a pretty good range of sharpening stones (180 grit up through a glass sharpener that's 10,000 grit). The storage bag is useless, but the box for my Commountain shoulder mic was a good fit for the stones and I put them in there to keep them from rattling around too much. The clamp mechanism for the knife is sort of annoying. You have to press a button on the back to release it, but to hold the knife firmly, you also have to tighten the hex screws once the knife is clamped in place. On top of that, the arms aren't held firmly in the base and want to shift when you apply pressure. So I ended up supporting the knife with one hand while I drew the stone across it with the other. I guess there's a reason it was only $30!
Sharpening_Vevor.jpg
After sharpening, the knives were pretty sharp, but I thought I could do even better with yet another new-to-me sharpening item - a strop (https://a.co/d/g7uVgOA)! (purchased at the same time a couple of months ago and also unused until now) I watched a video on how to use it, since I'd never used one before, rubbed on some of the compound and went at it. Okay, NOW they're sharp! Almost scary sharp - they went through cardboard like it was barely there! Me likey! :smiley_clap:
Sharpening_strop.jpg
I also used a small half-round file and a round diamond file to sharpen the cord cutter on the Kershaw. The annoying part is that there's a bolt on one side that gets in the way, so I did most of my sharpening on the other side and only enough to cut down the burr on the side with the bolt. It's better, but to get it really sharp, I'd have to disassemble the knife to work on it. I'm not planning to use it all that much, so I didn't bother going that far.
It was good to finally break these out and give them a shot. For the nearly 50 years of my life up until now I've just done freehand sharpening with either a whetstone or a diamond sharpener from Smiths (sort of like this one (https://a.co/d/5Vk6Vx9)). Doing it that way worked okay, but this was much better and gives a much more consistent edge.
Only 1800 steps so far today, but I'll hit the exercise bike again tonight. Last night I did 20mins on it (which is generally enough to work up a pretty good sweat) while listening to some old Kylie Minogue. Gave me flashbacks to middle school when I bought the album (on cassette) and listened to it non-stop for weeks. I still know almost all of the lyrics!
Day 25 - Review Rockpals Rockpower 1300 power station (https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=2563.msg47747)
Well, Rockpals went out of business last year, but I never got around to reviewing this power station, so I'll post it for posterity sake. If you happen to come across one really cheap and it works, then it's a decent unit. Just be cautious, as there wouldn't be any warranty or support for it. Mine has worked quite well and is the 2nd largest power station (by capacity) that I own. I've run power tools, a refrigerator, and large floodlights on it with no issues. *fingers crossed* that it will continue to work properly (I've seen general reports on the Facebook page of Rockpals power stations bricking or whose charging systems stop working). Also be warned that there's no AC pass-through, the included AC charger is quite slow (160w, which takes about 8hrs to charge it), and it weighs 39lbs (although the built-in handles are pretty good).
Got in another session on the exercise bike tonight, while listening to a couple of early 90s Billy Joel albums. Last night I did the same, except that I listened to Flood by They Might Be Giants. As you can tell from the last few days, I've been listening to some throwback albums from my middle school and high school years!
Rockpals power station owner here. I had no idea they went out of business.
Maybe we should form a support group on Facebook, lol. Mine's still working fine.
Quote from: majorhavoc on September 26, 2024, 07:15:28 AMRockpals power station owner here. I had no idea they went out of business.
Maybe we should form a support group on Facebook, lol. Mine's still working fine.
There's a group on Facebook called 'Rockpals VIP Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/504875083986723/)', but it's not very active. There were a few people sounding the alarm there last summer before the company sort of ghosted everyone. Basically, people started having trouble getting warranty support last summer, then the company just sort of stopped responding entirely. All that's left now is a landing page that says goodbye: https://rockpals.site/
Here's hoping that ours keep running for years to come!
Day 26 - Update wallet emergency contact card, address list, and vehicle info
This was another one of those really overdue things, as my previous address list was from 2018. But it's all back up to date now, with as much new information as I have. You just about need a magnifying glass to read the list, but that's because it has name, address, phone number, and email address columns, but is still just wide enough to fit into a credit card slot in my wallet. I also printed larger versions to put into the GHB in each car, plus copies for my BOB and emergency binder.
I also had an "In Case of Emergency" card behind my license that was also out of date. The old one was hand-written with my parents' old address and home number. That's all updated now and printed out on the computer. I also added my brother's info on the back.
And finally, I had a reference card that listed vehicle details, including license plate number and VIN for each of my vehicles (Mazda hatchback, Suburban, and motorcycle). I used to know my plate numbers by heart, but they changed a few years back and the new ones haven't stuck. The VIN is just for quick reference if I'm at a parts store or repair shop.
Day 27 - Pack for cemetery cleanup
Okay, so it's not really "prepping" other than in the sense of me "getting prepared/ready" for an event tomorrow. The 'Movie In the Cemetery' event is coming up in a few weeks, which means that it's time to do a clean-up of the cemetery in preparation for it. The historic society does a cleanup 2x a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be raining tomorrow and so far it looks like they're planning to go forward with it (next weekend is supposed to be beautiful).
To get ready, I removed some of the gear that I normally carry, as I won't need it for this. Then I took out the 3rd row seats in my Suburban. And then, for the first time, I removed one of the 2nd row seats. It's not too hard; just pull the carpeting back, unclip the electrical connection, remove four bolts, and lift the seat out. It's not even that heavy. And it finally gave me a chance to use my impact wrench, because those bolts were tight! I also found plenty of crap under the carpet, including some broken glass that looked like it came from a bottle. I'd never considered pulling the carpet out of a vehicle to ensure that it's REALLY clean in there, but it looks like it might be needed in some cases!
I'd made a list earlier in the week and have been adding to it whenever I thought of anything else. I do all my own yard work, so I've got quite a few tools to bring - rakes, shovels, a wheelbarrow, a leaf funnel, saw, axe, gloves, loppers, plus power tools like a string trimmer, leaf blower, and electric mini-chainsaw. For those last few, I also put chargers and a couple of power stations in my truck so that I can top batteries off if needed (I also put a bunch of batteries for the tools in the truck). On the "random items" side of things, I have my big first aid bag, water, snacks, a pop-up canopy, assorted tools, starter spray, and safety gear (including a full kit of chainsaw gear - helmet, face shield, gloves, and Kevlar chaps).
This evening, I drove through the cemetery, just to see how bad it was. Actually, it's pretty good right now. There are scattered branches that will need to be picked up, some garbage, one big chunk of tree that appears to have fallen recently, and the bushes next to the drive that goes in a loop through the cemetery need to be trimmed back by both the entrance and exit. Not nearly as bad as I was afraid it might be.
Since all of this took several hours tonight, I'm pretty well beat, and I'm just going to count this as my "prepping" item for the day. Removing the 2nd row seat was something that I'd wanted to try out for a while now, as the layout in this truck vs my 2004 is quite a bit different, and I'm going to have to take out the 2nd row seats when I use it for camping. So this was a good run-through for that. The Movie In the Cemetery event is just two weeks away now, so I'll probably leave the seat out, since I'm going to need to pack even more gear for that!
Unfortunately, this didn't get me a whole lot of steps. I'm around 3200 right now, even with all the back-and-forth of packing the truck. Last night I did get on the bike again, and listened to Aaron Copeland's Greatest Hits. I've got a weird music library...
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 27, 2024, 08:16:50 PMDay 27 - Pack for cemetery cleanup
Okay, so it's not really "prepping" other than in the sense of me "getting prepared/ready" for an event tomorrow. The 'Movie In the Cemetery' event is coming up in a few weeks, which means that it's time to do a clean-up of the cemetery in preparation for it. The historic society does a cleanup 2x a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be raining tomorrow and so far it looks like they're planning to go forward with it (next weekend is supposed to be beautiful).
To get ready, I removed some of the gear that I normally carry, as I won't need it for this. Then I took out the 3rd row seats in my Suburban. And then, for the first time, I removed one of the 2nd row seats. It's not too hard; just pull the carpeting back, unclip the electrical connection, remove four bolts, and lift the seat out. It's not even that heavy. And it finally gave me a chance to use my impact wrench, because those bolts were tight! I also found plenty of crap under the carpet, including some broken glass that looked like it came from a bottle. I'd never considered pulling the carpet out of a vehicle to ensure that it's REALLY clean in there, but it looks like it might be needed in some cases!
I'd made a list earlier in the week and have been adding to it whenever I thought of anything else. I do all my own yard work, so I've got quite a few tools to bring - rakes, shovels, a wheelbarrow, a leaf funnel, saw, axe, gloves, loppers, plus power tools like a string trimmer, leaf blower, and electric mini-chainsaw. For those last few, I also put chargers and a couple of power stations in my truck so that I can top batteries off if needed (I also put a bunch of batteries for the tools in the truck). On the "random items" side of things, I have my big first aid bag, water, snacks, a pop-up canopy, assorted tools, starter spray, and safety gear (including a full kit of chainsaw gear - helmet, face shield, gloves, and Kevlar chaps).
This evening, I drove through the cemetery, just to see how bad it was. Actually, it's pretty good right now. There are scattered branches that will need to be picked up, some garbage, one big chunk of tree that appears to have fallen recently, and the bushes next to the drive that goes in a loop through the cemetery need to be trimmed back by both the entrance and exit. Not nearly as bad as I was afraid it might be.
Since all of this took several hours tonight, I'm pretty well beat, and I'm just going to count this as my "prepping" item for the day. Removing the 2nd row seat was something that I'd wanted to try out for a while now, as the layout in this truck vs my 2004 is quite a bit different, and I'm going to have to take out the 2nd row seats when I use it for camping. So this was a good run-through for that. The Movie In the Cemetery event is just two weeks away now, so I'll probably leave the seat out, since I'm going to need to pack even more gear for that!
Unfortunately, this didn't get me a whole lot of steps. I'm around 3200 right now, even with all the back-and-forth of packing the truck. Last night I did get on the bike again, and listened to Aaron Copeland's Greatest Hits. I've got a weird music library...
That was quite a bit of work. We were only there for about 2hrs, but during that time we got a lot done. I had just under 5000 steps on my watch while cutting up branches, hauling them to the dumping area (back edge of cemetery) and hauling several loads of dirt/clods from edging, plus two loads of firewood from cut-up branches that was moved to the parking lot.
Turned out to be a good thing that I brought all the equipment, because the other volunteers brought... gloves and a few leaf rakes. We used the wheelbarrow, leaf blower, string trimmer, chainsaw (and extension pole), tarps, and shovel that I brought. I continue to be impressed with that little Seesii mini-chainsaw. It ran for almost an hour straight one one battery! When it finally ran out, I put it on the charger (I already had a Milwaukee battery on a charger in the truck as well), but didn't even need the 2nd battery as it had literally run out of juice as I was making the final cut! The other volunteers were very grateful that I'd brought things like the wheelbarrow, because hauling buckets of dirt / grass clods all the way to the dump area would've sucked.
I'll probably go back sometime in the next few weeks to do some trimming along the driveway, as we didn't get to the overgrown bushes. Hopefully I can get some other folks to come and help with that.
And the weather kinda sorta cooperated. It sprinkled a bit on and off, but that was all. Could've been much worse!
Day 28 - Reorganize belt FAK and purchase floor jack
I took advantage of a daily deal that Harbor Freight had today (40% off) and bought the Daytona 3-ton, long-reach, low-profile, with rapid pump (https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-long-reach-low-profile-professional-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-green-64785.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Flex_Engage&utm_campaign=Store_Order_Confirmation). I've needed a floor jack a couple of times, but never had one, so now I do! Still need to get some jack stands, but that'll be a separate trip to Home Depot for the ones I want.
This evening, I pulled out the waist pack that I use with CERT as a portable FAK when I'm working at various events. Because we have our big pack at those, I don't have a ton of stuff in it. It's mainly so that I could deal with something minor (boo-boos), or something more serious for a short period of time until other team members or emergency services arrive. I'd like to put some more stuff in it, but the pack is pretty well full with what I've got already. I'll have to search around and see if I can find something a bit larger (this one is probably around 1L, but I'd like about double that).
Fanny_pack_FAK.jpg
What did you pay for the jack? Says 239 this morning.
Dood[ie] Wipes?
What are the big green tinctures?
I like the label on the aspirin ziplock.
Quote from: MacWa77ace on September 29, 2024, 07:57:12 AMWhat did you pay for the jack? Says 239 this morning.
Dood[ie] Wipes?
What are the big green tinctures?
I like the label on the aspirin ziplock.
The jack was $144 after the discount.
Dude Wipes, for any sort of hand cleaning or other wipe-up tasks.
The green vials are Sting-Kill treatments
All-hail the label maker! All of my first aid kits have baggies with labels like that and I've gotten lots of comments about them in the past.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 28, 2024, 09:16:44 PMDay 28 - Reorganize belt FAK and purchase floor jack
I took advantage of a daily deal that Harbor Freight had today (40% off) and bought the Daytona 3-ton, long-reach, low-profile, with rapid pump (https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-long-reach-low-profile-professional-floor-jack-with-rapid-pump-green-64785.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Flex_Engage&utm_campaign=Store_Order_Confirmation). I've needed a floor jack a couple of times, but never had one, so now I do! Still need to get some jack stands, but that'll be a separate trip to Home Depot for the ones I want.
This evening, I pulled out the waist pack that I use with CERT as a portable FAK when I'm working at various events. Because we have our big pack at those, I don't have a ton of stuff in it. It's mainly so that I could deal with something minor (boo-boos), or something more serious for a short period of time until other team members or emergency services arrive. I'd like to put some more stuff in it, but the pack is pretty well full with what I've got already. I'll have to search around and see if I can find something a bit larger (this one is probably around 1L, but I'd like about double that).
Fanny_pack_FAK.jpg
Thanks for jogging my sluggish memory. I've been meaning for months to replace some of the stuff in my vehicle FAKs with better/newer versions, but kept putting it off because, unlike when I was an EMT and could "strategically relocate" needed supplies from the ER to my kit as required, that shit takes a bite out of my slim monthly budget.
Just ordered a half dozen better-quality tourniquets with metal windlass dohickies out of concern that high interior vehicle temps could weaken the plastic/nylon ones. The replaced ones will be tested and moved to the house FAKs as appropriate.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 29, 2024, 08:28:13 AMQuote from: MacWa77ace on September 29, 2024, 07:57:12 AMWhat did you pay for the jack? Says 239 this morning.
Dood[ie] Wipes?
What are the big green tinctures?
I like the label on the aspirin ziplock.
The jack was $144 after the discount.
Dude Wipes, for any sort of hand cleaning or other wipe-up tasks.
The green vials are Sting-Kill treatments
All-hail the label maker! All of my first aid kits have baggies with labels like that and I've gotten lots of comments about them in the past.
One of the things I really like about the Surviveware FAKs that we give away on here is that everything is well-labeled:
IMG20240929093620.jpg
Day 29 - Inspect fire extinguishers / fire blankets
Given that I've never needed to use one, I have somewhat of an obnoxious number of fire extinguishers in my house. Tonight I went around and confirmed that they're all in good shape (no damage) and in the green. From smallest to largest, I've got a 1-2lb one in my car (hatchback, not much room), a 2lb in the garage, and a 2.5lb in the basement rec room. Then, I have all of the 5lb units - truck, garage, basement workshop, kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Yes, I've got 9 fire extinguishers - deal with it! :shades:
There are also XL and XXL size fire blankets (59" x 59" and 79" x 79") in my vehicles, workshop, and bedroom. The one from my car needed to be cleaned off, refolded, and repacked after I used to to contain sparks from cutting metal during my brother's bathroom remodel this summer. I shook off most of the metal splinters and after several tries, figured out how to fold it in such a way that it would fit in the bag. Rather than put it back into my car, I swapped it with the one in the workshop, since that's probably not the last time I'll need one for that sort of thing.
After working on the cemetery cleanup yesterday, I recharged all of the batteries and mostly unloaded the truck. There's still more to go, but I've probably gotten 80% of it out now. Other than that, I sort of lazed around today. I'm down to the last few books in the Dresden Files series and will probably finish up my re-read of them sometime this week.
Quote from: EBuff75 on September 29, 2024, 07:33:48 PMDay 29 - Inspect fire extinguishers / fire blankets
Given that I've never needed to use one, I have somewhat of an obnoxious number of fire extinguishers in my house. Tonight I went around and confirmed that they're all in good shape (no damage) and in the green. From smallest to largest, I've got a 1-2lb one in my car (hatchback, not much room), a 2lb in the garage, and a 2.5lb in the basement rec room. Then, I have all of the 5lb units - truck, garage, basement workshop, kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Yes, I've got 9 fire extinguishers - deal with it! :shades:
It's not enough just ensuring they're in the green, expiration dates matter too, particularly in extinguishers that sit in one place and are rarely moved. The dry chemical powder in them can pack itself over time, causing clumps that can clog it when discharging. I make it a habit to take mine off the mounts and give them a good shaking twice a year, just to help prevent this but I also will not rely on an extinguisher that's expired. I may still keep it as a spare but it won't be a primary. I do buy higher end extinguishers that have better quality valves and that are refillable but given the cost to recertify one and refill it, buying new is sometimes the cheaper alternative.
Currently, there's one 15lb 3A-50BC just inside every entrance to the house (garage doors, front door); one of the same in the laundry area; and another attached to the center leg of my workbench. There's also a 2.5lb. BC attached by the corner of the bench. There's currently a Halon extinguisher next to the fridge in the kitchen, wool blankets (naturally fire resistant) in each bedroom, and the wife just told me she wants a couple of fire blankets.
edit: The halon extinguisher is in the red so I ordered a new extinguisher for that location that's non-toxic and also rated for class D fires and lithium batteries.
edit edit: As someone who has lost almost everything they own in a fire (clothes on my back and a photo album found in the cast iron kitchen sink) I look at fire protection gear a bit different than most. I don't quibble on price and I buy quality gear because saving a few bucks and losing something priceless because of it is a poor bargain.
Quote from: NT2C on September 29, 2024, 07:56:53 PMQuote from: EBuff75 on September 29, 2024, 07:33:48 PMDay 29 - Inspect fire extinguishers / fire blankets
Given that I've never needed to use one, I have somewhat of an obnoxious number of fire extinguishers in my house. Tonight I went around and confirmed that they're all in good shape (no damage) and in the green. From smallest to largest, I've got a 1-2lb one in my car (hatchback, not much room), a 2lb in the garage, and a 2.5lb in the basement rec room. Then, I have all of the 5lb units - truck, garage, basement workshop, kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Yes, I've got 9 fire extinguishers - deal with it! :shades:
It's not enough just ensuring they're in the green, expiration dates matter too, particularly in extinguishers that sit in one place and are rarely moved. The dry chemical powder in them can pack itself over time, causing clumps that can clog it when discharging. I make it a habit to take mine off the mounts and give them a good shaking twice a year, just to help prevent this but I also will not rely on an extinguisher that's expired. I may still keep it as a spare but it won't be a primary. I do buy higher end extinguishers that have better quality valves and that are refillable but given the cost to recertify one and refill it, buying new is sometimes the cheaper alternative.
Currently, there's one 15lb 3A-50BC just inside every entrance to the house (garage doors, front door); one of the same in the laundry area; and another attached to the center leg of my workbench. There's also a 2.5lb. BC attached by the corner of the bench. There's currently a Halon extinguisher next to the fridge in the kitchen, wool blankets (naturally fire resistant) in each bedroom, and the wife just told me she wants a couple of fire blankets.
edit: The halon extinguisher is in the red so I ordered a new extinguisher for that location that's non-toxic and also rated for class D fires and lithium batteries.
edit edit: As someone who has lost almost everything they own in a fire (clothes on my back and a photo album found in the cast iron kitchen sink) I look at fire protection gear a bit different than most. I don't quibble on price and I buy quality gear because saving a few bucks and losing something priceless because of it is a poor bargain.
When Kidde had their big recall back in November 2017, I replaced two recalled extinguishers out of the three that I had at the time. After that, I decided to add more, so most of them date from 2018, or very late 2017. The non-recalled one is over 20 years old, which is why it's just a backup in the garage. Based on a 10-12 year service life, I've still got another 3-6 years before I need to worry about replacements. All of them are ABC rated, made by either Kidde or First Alert, and the 5lb and 2.5lb extinguishers are all refillable (the only non-refillable ones are the small one in my car and the old expired one in the garage).
I haven't bothered with any specialty extinguishers, although I've considered getting either Halon or CO2 for the garage in the event of a fire while working on a vehicle (just due to it being less of a mess than dry chemical). My kitchen is all electric appliances and I've never deep fried anything in my life, so ABC should be good enough there!
The thing to remember about dry chem extinguishers is that the stuff is very corrosive and a nightmare to clean up. The one I just bought for the kitchen is a water-based foam, non-toxic, non-corrosive.
https://a.co/d/6VZpok5
Ok so since my last post during the 30 days of prepmas I change or charged all battery things, including charging all rechargeable batteries. I upgraded to some Panosonics e loop and got away from bunny Amazon basic NiMi . Jump starters in truck, xterra, flashlights, portable cell power banks,smoke co2 alarms, everything. Re did Dec bag , my wipes dried out so replaced them, umbrella broke so replaced it. And as always worked on House deck to move and worked chicken farm on weekends.
On my tablet so typing may suck.
Day 30 - Order planner refill, and a bit of a talk about lists and organization
I've used a Franklin Planner almost since the time I graduated college and today I ordered a refill for 2025 (I bought an At-A-Glance refill, because the ones from Franklin-Covey are crazy expensive!). I put all my meetings / appointments in there, fill in what I do at work in 15 minute increments, list expenses, put down tasks (both for work and personal), and write notes on the 2nd page (I use the 2-page per day version).
If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm an IT Project Manager and there's a lot of stuff to keep on top of! I currently have 8 projects at work which I color-code in Outlook (each project gets a separate color). All of the meetings, emails, and tasks for each of them get that color so that I can quickly spot what I'm looking for, or filter based on the project. It makes for a very colorful calendar view in Outlook!
So am I this organized at home? Eh, sorta. Being a bachelor, I tend to be a bit messy (although my friends with kids scoff at this, as my house is generally cleaner than theirs are), but I can usually find what I'm looking for pretty quickly. My house tends toward clutter and I'm always working toward better organization of the stuff that I have. Generally, I'm pretty successful at it.
One thing that I've done for many, many years now is to make lists. I already mentioned having tasks in my planner and in Outlook, but this is far beyond that. Just glancing at the desk in front of me, there are probably a dozen Post-It notes with lists of things on them. Anything from lists of house repairs / maintenance / updates, to ideas for 30 Days of Prepping, to upgrades I'd like to do to my truck. Most of them are on Post-Its, but there are also pieces of note paper or even notepads with lists on them. There are also several pens, including one of those 4-color Bic pens that have been around since before I was born, so that I can mark things in different colors if I need to differentiate them. Eventually, a lot of these lists get converted into Microsoft Word or Excel, so that I can easily go back to them for updates.
Lists are great! They help you to remember everything you might need to buy on a trip, give you a checklist to go through to make sure you don't forget steps of a complex event, or give you the exhilaration of checking something off of a to-do list when it's done.
Given my (possibly over-much) reliance on lists, I'm always surprised at how underutilized that they tend to be. There are annual volunteer events that I work at where the organizers just sort of run by the seat of their pants each year, rather than creating a checklist to make sure they remember everything. It's the same thing at work, where people frequently comment on me knowing what "the next thing is" during a project. Yeah, that's because we gamed all this out months ago and I'm operating from a list / project plan that we put together and reminders that I added to my task list in Outlook.
So take it from someone who uses lists for just about everything - they really can help you to get things done.
Let's use the example of building a BOB. Make a list of what you want to include so that it's specific to you and your geography. Put those items into categories, like food, water, shelter, first aid, etc. and don't be afraid to add, remove, or move them around. Next, work out the tasks to complete the task. Do you need to buy a bag or any of the items in it? Put those on your shopping list. Is there some training that you're deficient in, add that to the list as well. What about actions relating to it, like calling a relative to get some contact info that you're missing, or needing to reach out to your eye doctor for a copy of your current prescription. Put all those on there too!
Once you've done all that, you've defined the work that needs to be done in order to accomplish your goal. Sometimes, things can seem too big to tackle, but if you break them down into smaller pieces, and break those down even more, you can reduce it to a list of achievable items, that you can check off as you do them.
Lists, they make the world go 'round! :shades:
And a big round of applause for everyone who participated this month, whether you only did one thing, or if you did things every day. Completing one thing is that much closer to being ready when it counts. Even reading about things that other people are doing can help you recognize ways to improve or how to respond to a new situation. :smiley_clap:
Personally, I've lost about 4 lbs this month, as I've been exercising almost every day and keeping a better eye on what i eat. I've gotten some projects done around the house, a few reviews out of the way (there are plenty yet to come), and gotten better organized.
Hopefully you've all gotten something out of it and we can all come back and do it again next year!
Keep prepping!