… the Santas, secret and otherwise, who are making my Christmas (and Ava’s, Robbie’s, and Nadja’s) so merry: To SR for the mmmmm-delicious “flossies” (aka water buffalo penises). And I hasten to add that it’s the furkids’ opinion of “deliciousness” I’m quoting here. Ain’t catchin’ me anywhere near one o’ them things. To WH for the Aqua Blox — which will not only give me an extra-convenient five-year water storage method, but will enable some experimentation with carrying them in vehicles and such. To MH for the delightfully offbeat film Off the Map — the story of an IRS agent…
Category: Preparedness
Over the weekend I canned eight pints of this and 5-1/2 pints of that. And from start to (endless) cleanup, it took about half the weekend. The whole time I kept wondering, “How did Grandma do it?” My grandmother (like yours, most likely) canned hundreds of pints and quarts of … everything. It was part of the routine of feeding an enormous family. And she did it without help. No one but Grandma was allowed in Grandma’s kitchen. (Which was unfortunate, because not only did she work herself to death; her daughters grew up with minimal kitchen skills. But that’s…
Wow. Promising news for dogs and humans alike. Experimental treatment helps paralyzed dogs walk again by injecting them with cells grown from their own noses. ‘Bout time judges started questioning some of this wholesale data scooping. Another example of how government “help” stinks. Literally, in this case Sigh. Despite Katrina. Despite Sandy. Despite everything. The preparedness message still isn’t reaching Joe Average. (Via The Price of Liberty) Small favor Thanks to you using those Amazon links, I’m on the way to my best-ever Amazon month! And boy, is it welcome! Now, if you’re willing, you can help accomplish one small…
Water storage, continued Previous post on water storage here. Read that first. Returning to our series on preparedness basics. These posts are aimed at newbie preppers (please share with your family and friends), though they might also help us fill gaps in our existing preps. As always, comment away if you have helpful experience and/or other options to suggest. How much water should you store per person/per pet? For a long time, most experts on preparedness recommended keeping one gallon of water per person on hand for the duration of whatever emergency we’re anticipating. That’s bare bones. It’ll be sufficient…
Reader “just waiting” writes once again from the heart of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction — this time to say thanks for the help you gave the other day and to report on how government is “helping” the situation. His own home is inland and was spared, but his parents live on one of the hard-hit barrier islands. —– “just waiting” writes: I want to send my heartfelt thanks to the members of the Commentariat for their good thoughts and sage advice in this difficult situation. My parents home of 40+ years was in the path of Sandy, and suffered some pretty…
We had a whomp of a storm blow through here yesterday. Oh, no Sandy or Katrina. Not even a Great Gale of Ought Seven. But a pretty good sample of winter weather. Real estate signs and garbage cans cartwheeled through the streets. The smaller rivers all overflowed, leaving farmhouses sitting on grassy islands. Lots of limbs went flying. And two big pieces of sheet metal blew off my neighbor’s wood pile and into my yard while I was gathering the last of the apples, which the winds had kindly harvested for me. Those airborne guillotine blades didn’t even come close…
This is another guest post from Will Kone (BusyPoorDad), who works as a paramedic and emergency manager. I couldn’t decide whether it was part of the Preparedness Priorities series or not, so I’m running it as a standalone. I know many people are preparing for the day when the EMTs and the ambulance won’t arrive. But until then, it may help to understand their methods and how best to either assist them or keep from hindering them. As usual, I expect Will will be on hand to talk further about this in the comment section. —– You used your kit.…
Too bad granite slabs don’t include a spellchecker “Epitaph for a Four Star.” A scathing retrospective on Petraeus from a military man. (H/T EN, who knows the author) Um … lessee if I understand this correctly. You can’t quit favoring women and minorities because it violates the equal protection clause??? The Seattle PD has done a lot of baaaad things. But once in a while they get it right. They just hired a former journalist from an alternative weekly to write a handbook to cannabis legalization. It’s called “Marijwhatnow?” Among other advice: “Hold your breath.” This fascinating story about linguists…
The other day, reader “just waiting” emerged from two weeks of post-Sandy blackout. He conveyed some lessons learned and joked that he couldn’t see a downside to the storm from where he sat. However, there’s a definite downside in the aftermath. This morning he requests help from the Living Freedom Commentariat: I’ve never had to clean up after a major flood before (water was about 2 ft high over entire first floor). I’ve done some research and got the basics, but I bet there’s tips and pitfalls, what not to do’s, etc. that the sites I’ve seen don’t list. With…
Reader “just waiting” — who was without power for nearly two weeks after Hurricane Sandy and got back online only yesterday — posted this in comments. But with its combo of good advice and scary warnings, it deserves more exposure. Everything that follows is his. —– We just got the internets back yesterday after Sandy. Street power came back on late last Saturday, we were out for almost 14 days. My ears are still ringing from the constant hum of the gen, silence truly is golden. We were as ready as we could be, so it wasn’t really a big…