Supply Chain Breakdowns

[NT2C]

[NapalmMan67]

Survival Lilly!    She's awesome; I used to watch her all the time.  Her solar, gardening, rainwater and food stores set ups in this video very impressive.  That woman is the real deal.

Anyone know how long wheat flour keeps?  Remember at the very beginning of the pandemic store shelves were stripped bare of flour and yeast?  I remember finding a store that had some so I bought a couple bags for myself and two more for a family I look out for.  I also gave them some fairly new yeast I had on hand.   

That was over two years ago.  The family immediately embarked on a regular COVID bakefest, but I didn't do anything with my flour and yeast.  The yeast, already at least a year old at the time, probably isn't viable anymore.  But the flour should still be good, right?  Stored in my kitchen cabinet.  No special packaging, just the paper bag it came in.  Anyone have thoughts?

In case you still needed to know...

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-best-way-to-store-flour/

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/05/04/can-i-bake-with-out-of-date-flour



And yes, agreed, Survival Lily rocks! 
.

[NT2C]

Survival Lilly!    She's awesome; I used to watch her all the time.  Her solar, gardening, rainwater and food stores set ups in this video very impressive.  That woman is the real deal.

Anyone know how long wheat flour keeps?  Remember at the very beginning of the pandemic store shelves were stripped bare of flour and yeast?  I remember finding a store that had some so I bought a couple bags for myself and two more for a family I look out for.  I also gave them some fairly new yeast I had on hand.   

That was over two years ago.  The family immediately embarked on a regular COVID bakefest, but I didn't do anything with my flour and yeast.  The yeast, already at least a year old at the time, probably isn't viable anymore.  But the flour should still be good, right?  Stored in my kitchen cabinet.  No special packaging, just the paper bag it came in.  Anyone have thoughts?

In case you still needed to know...

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-best-way-to-store-flour/

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/05/04/can-i-bake-with-out-of-date-flour



And yes, agreed, Survival Lily rocks! 
.

I have about 35 lbs. of bread flour in a tub out in my spare room.  It's gotta be at least 10 years old now and I'm still baking with it.  The taste's fine.

[MPMalloy]

As I heard it, it was the other way around.  I am sending a message to the VA about this.

Thank you everyone!

How long have u used a cpap?

Several years now.

[NapalmMan67]

Survival Lilly!    She's awesome; I used to watch her all the time.  Her solar, gardening, rainwater and food stores set ups in this video very impressive.  That woman is the real deal.

Anyone know how long wheat flour keeps?  Remember at the very beginning of the pandemic store shelves were stripped bare of flour and yeast?  I remember finding a store that had some so I bought a couple bags for myself and two more for a family I look out for.  I also gave them some fairly new yeast I had on hand.   

That was over two years ago.  The family immediately embarked on a regular COVID bakefest, but I didn't do anything with my flour and yeast.  The yeast, already at least a year old at the time, probably isn't viable anymore.  But the flour should still be good, right?  Stored in my kitchen cabinet.  No special packaging, just the paper bag it came in.  Anyone have thoughts?

In case you still needed to know...

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-best-way-to-store-flour/

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/05/04/can-i-bake-with-out-of-date-flour



And yes, agreed, Survival Lily rocks! 
.

I have about 35 lbs. of bread flour in a tub out in my spare room.  It's gotta be at least 10 years old now and I'm still baking with it.  The taste's fine.

Ya, not to say it can't be done.  I've used old flour also, and I've had some newer that smelled sour/ musty that I've tossed because it wasn't worth the chance to me.
.

[Raptor]

Assuming all purpose flour is kept dry and not in a moist area or in an open counter top container it should last 5+ years (in a sealed container). 

This says 2 years +
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-flour-go-bad#signs-of-spoilage

https://www.rd.com/article/does-flour-go-bad/

[NapalmMan67]

Assuming all purpose flour is kept dry and not in a moist area or in an open counter top container it should last 5+ years (in a sealed container). 

This says 2 years +
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/does-flour-go-bad#signs-of-spoilage

Yes... and no?  So many factors may effect the outcome.  I think the kids say something like "YMMV". 

" For example, all-purpose flour lasts 6–8 months on the shelf but up to 1 year if refrigerated and 2 years if frozen."

"Flour has a long shelf life but generally goes bad after 3–8 months.
White flour may last longest due to its lower fat content, while whole-wheat and gluten-free varieties spoil sooner. You can extend flour's shelf life by sealing it properly or refrigerating or freezing it.
Be sure to throw out your flour if it has any unpleasant odors, discoloration, or mold growth."
.

[NapalmMan67]

And recently I inquired about delivery of some bearings we ordered July 5th...   

Their response: " Unfortunately these inserts are behind in production over seas and this is the current best date we can offer."  Except they didn't offer any delivery date. 

I have left a VM for our CS rep to see if we can get any kind of projected date at all.


Although may be a mute point shortly, as I heard we'll be out f diesel fuel shortly any way.  Already had several vendors and trucking companies warn us there may be further delays in deliveries as they are starting to see shortages. "FVCK!"
.

[RoneKiln]

The petrochemical industry is desperately trying to staff up and we just don't have the skill base available. Local politics keep snarling up efforts to ramp up diesel production in most regions as well.

The grandkid of one of my coworkers just finished a two year tech degree in instrumentation systems and walked straight into a 6 figure income at 19. 

[majorhavoc]

And recently I inquired about delivery of some bearings we ordered July 5th... 

Their response: " Unfortunately these inserts are behind in production over seas and this is the current best date we can offer."  Except they didn't offer any delivery date.

I have left a VM for our CS rep to see if we can get any kind of projected date at all.


Although may be a mute point shortly, as I heard we'll be out f diesel fuel shortly any way.  Already had several vendors and trucking companies warn us there may be further delays in deliveries as they are starting to see shortages. "FVCK!"
.

NPR did a piece last week on supply chain issues. The two things they specifically mentioned as a drag on the economy?  Yup, diesel fuel and ball bearings.

The NPR reporter seemed surprised that ball bearings, of all things, are so vital to the economy.  As a WW2 history buff, I knew otherwise. German ball bearing factories were relentlessly targeted by the Allies as part of their strategic bombing campaign.  

[Raptor]

And recently I inquired about delivery of some bearings we ordered July 5th... 

Their response: " Unfortunately these inserts are behind in production over seas and this is the current best date we can offer."  Except they didn't offer any delivery date.

I have left a VM for our CS rep to see if we can get any kind of projected date at all.


Although may be a mute point shortly, as I heard we'll be out f diesel fuel shortly any way.  Already had several vendors and trucking companies warn us there may be further delays in deliveries as they are starting to see shortages. "FVCK!"
.

NPR did a piece last week on supply chain issues. The two things they specifically mentioned as a drag on the economy?  Yup, diesel fuel and ball bearings.

The NPR reporter seemed surprised that ball bearings, of all things, are so vital to the economy.  As a WW2 history buff, I knew otherwise. German ball bearing factories were relentlessly targeted by the Allies as part of their strategic bombing campaign. 

I would be shocked if an NPR reporter knew what a ball bearing looked like much less knew why they were vital... to me NPR is an asset code ... NPR = non performing remediation (needed). 


  

[Brekar]

And recently I inquired about delivery of some bearings we ordered July 5th... 

Their response: " Unfortunately these inserts are behind in production over seas and this is the current best date we can offer."  Except they didn't offer any delivery date.

I have left a VM for our CS rep to see if we can get any kind of projected date at all.


Although may be a mute point shortly, as I heard we'll be out f diesel fuel shortly any way.  Already had several vendors and trucking companies warn us there may be further delays in deliveries as they are starting to see shortages. "FVCK!"
.

NPR did a piece last week on supply chain issues. The two things they specifically mentioned as a drag on the economy?  Yup, diesel fuel and ball bearings.

The NPR reporter seemed surprised that ball bearings, of all things, are so vital to the economy.  As a WW2 history buff, I knew otherwise. German ball bearing factories were relentlessly targeted by the Allies as part of their strategic bombing campaign. 

We're feeling the diesel fuel crunch at the railroad. Work has slowed to a crawl, and I've went from working damn near ever day of the week, to working 2-3 times a week MAX. Add that to another possible strike happening on November 19th, and we are in for a potential world of hurt...

[Anianna]

There's a lot of niche parts used by one or maybe a handful of industries, but ball bearings ain't one of those things. 

[NapalmMan67]

And recently I inquired about delivery of some bearings we ordered July 5th... 

Their response: " Unfortunately these inserts are behind in production over seas and this is the current best date we can offer."  Except they didn't offer any delivery date.

I have left a VM for our CS rep to see if we can get any kind of projected date at all.

Estimated delivery to us is mid to end of April next year.  
.

[sheddi]

Anyone know how long wheat flour keeps?

In case you still needed to know...
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-best-way-to-store-flour/
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/05/04/can-i-bake-with-out-of-date-flour

I recently found a bag of granary flour at the back of my cupboard that has a BBE date of April 2015. I''ve made a couple of loaves with it. There's something slightly *not right* about the resulting bread but it's still perfectly edible.

(I thought about putting this in the near-death experiments thread but decided that seven years wasn't old enough for flour to count )

[majorhavoc]

Was in my local Walmart today and two things jumped out at me (I mean besides the fact that I willingly paid $6.23 for a dozen eggs):

The flu and cold aisle in the pharmacy section is really picked over.  Some kid's alergy medications, a few bottles of Nyquil and that's about it.  I've been dealing with RSV or some sort of respiratory virus for over 2 weeks now and have plowed through what I thought was a healthy supply of cold medications.  At least they had a few packages of generic Musinex, which is what I need for my symptoms at this point.

The camping goods section is also extremely sparse - it doesn't look like it's been restocked in months.  In my mind, many types of camping goods are prepping items, but there's not much left to chose from.  And Walmart used to have true prepping supplies: go bags, UST rations, emergency stoves and such.  That kind of stuff is completely gone - most of what's left consists of bug repellant, cast iron cookware and a few shitty backpacks.  Beyond that: mostly just bare shelves.  Even their flashlight section is mostly empty space.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Was in my local Walmart today and two things jumped out at me (I mean besides the fact that I willingly paid $6.23 for a dozen eggs):

The flu and cold aisle in the pharmacy section is really picked over.  Some kid's alergy medications, a few bottles of Nyquil and that's about it.  I've been dealing with RSV or some sort of respiratory virus for over 2 weeks now and have plowed through what I thought was a healthy supply of cold medications.  At least they had a few packages of generic Musinex, which is what I need for my symptoms at this point.

The camping goods section is also extremely sparse - it doesn't look like it's been restocked in months.  In my mind, many types of camping goods are prepping items, but there's not much left to chose from.  And Walmart used to have true prepping supplies: go bags, UST rations, emergency stoves and such.  That kind of stuff is completely gone - most of what's left consists of bug repellant, cast iron cookware and a few shitty backpacks.  Beyond that: mostly just bare shelves.  Even their flashlight section is mostly empty space.

On the flip side of that, Walmarts in my AO seem to be pretty well stocked in the camping section and flashlight section.

Even the pharmacy departments seem to be stocked as normal.

The only stores in my AO that have bare shelves are the Dollar Generals and that's less of a supply chain issue and more of a problem with the employees not doing more than standing around checking Twitter on their phones.

[Rednex]

My local Walmart was never " good" with there camping, fishing, hunting. That section was always a mess and mostly low quality items. They still have a lot of it like it gets stocked weekly, just people come through and move everything. Flashlight part is normally stocked and has some good enough items, with plenty of batteries.
 

[Anianna]

My local Walmart was never " good" with there camping, fishing, hunting. That section was always a mess and mostly low quality items. They still have a lot of it like it gets stocked weekly, just people come through and move everything. Flashlight part is normally stocked and has some good enough items, with plenty of batteries.
 

My Walmart doesn't keep the batteries with the flashlights.  They have a mobile kiosk for batteries that can be anywhere in the store and they sometimes but not always sell batteries on a register end cap or two.  Sometimes the kiosk is in electronics.  Sometimes it's just in a random place somewhere in the store.  There is no single dedicated location for batteries and it can be pretty frustrating when the one time you actually need batteries, you didn't run into the stupid randomly-placed kiosk. 

[flybynight]

Same. I rarely get batteries at Walmart cause most of the time I can't find where they moved them