Chip Burn Redux

Part 1 found here.


Lokidude

Minimal Air Travel Does Not Mean Unprepared!

Knowledge is Power. Not only are you smarter and safer, but thriftier as well!





Godspeed to you all.

Hurricane Dorian AAR*

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

(*After Action Report)

As you probably know by now, Hurricane Dorian skipped Florida entirely. This was good news for me, as I made the decision not to evacuate based on its projected route -- I figured that, at worst, we'd get a glancing strike from a Category 1 which all houses in Florida are built to withstand -- and I'd have felt pretty dumb if it had changed course and/or intensity and hit us harder.

Still, I learned a lot from my first ever Hurricane Bug-In, even if nothing happened, because the mere act of readying my preps pointed out two things that they lacked.

A Wingnut Driver
I talked about hurricane shutters last week, and my house has the metal kind which attach via bolt and wingnut. "Fast installation" is a bit of a relative term, as it took me two hours to cover up 6 windows. Something that would have sped that up some is a wingnut driver for a drill; I had previously been using my hands to finger-tighten them, then using pliers to torque it down. A drill would not only screw the shutters down faster, but also more securely.

https://amzn.to/2UymnyB

I have since bought one at the local hardware store for around $10 (you can order one from Amazon for $11 plus Prime shipping)  and that will definitely make taking the shutters down much faster and easier. As an added bonus, if I ever need to drive in some eyebolts this will do that, too.


An Off-Grid Way to Recharge Batteries
As I was was topping off my rechargeable AA and AA batteries, I realized that I lacked a way to recharge them if the power stayed off for any amount of time. Fortunately for me, my friend the General Purpose Egghead (listen to his segments on the Assorted Calibers Podcast for good advice on batteries, flashlights and HAM radio!) sent me a "hurricane care package" which included a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus battery charger!

https://amzn.to/2PSxGTC

The Guide 10 can charge both AA and AAA batteries via a mini-USB port. This gives me a variety of ways to charge them:

• With a Nomad 7 solar panel (I bought an older model years ago on closeout prices)
• With a hand crank, such as with the Lighthouse 400 lantern (bought on clearance at the same time)
• With a conventional power outlet

What's more, the Guide 10 acts as a power bank, meaning that I can plug a USB cable into it and use the batteries* to power anything which takes a USB charger, like a cell phone or mp3 player. This gives me a great amount of versatility when it comes to charging what I need in a grid-down situation. Thanks Egghead!

* It can even technically do that with alkaline batteries, although that's discouraged since the higher voltages of the alkaline might damage the charger. 

There's a saying in the military that "No plan survives contact with the enemy." I'd say there's a corollary with prepping, in that "No preps are 100% ready for an emergency." A near-miss by a hurricane showed me some flaws, and I'm pleased to have discovered them now instead of when it was too late to do anything about them. Review your preps regularly to discover things you've overlooked!

Canned Meat

Last year was a bit rough on my pantry. Two major surgeries and a few extra unplanned expenses meant I had to dig into the food storage, but that's part of why I prep; having food stored is normal for those of us who have lived through a disaster or two, or who have survived on noodles and peanut butter for more than a month.

I buy canned goods by the case and stack them in the basement pantry to ensure that I have something to put on the table when it's time to eat. Things are starting to get back to normal for my finances, so I'm starting to restock my shelves with things we eat on a regular basis as well as a few new things to test. The canned bread and pilot bread articles from a few weeks ago are part of the new things, and there will probably be more in the near future.

One of my go-to foods (a comfort food, if you will) is corned beef hash. It's a breakfast staple, and it used to be a lot more prevalent than it is now; truck stops and diners always had eggs and hash on the menu, but that's starting to die off for some reason. Easy to prepare and filling, it gets used in my home as a late-night meal or snack almost as often as a breakfast meat.

Corned beef is a salt-cured (preserved) meat, using large pieces of salt called “corns”. The practice of salting meat as a method of preserving it goes back centuries, and it's an effective way to keep meat on the menu without having to butcher an animal for every meal -- salt pulls the water out of meat, drying it to a point where bacteria can't grow and allowing you to store it. This does add a lot of sodium to the meat, so if your doctor has you on a low-sodium diet you may want to look into the lower-sodium versions that replace about a third of the salt with potassium chloride.

Spices are usually added to help the curing and add to the flavor, while sodium nitrite is added to modern forms to give it a pink color (rather than the brown-gray it would have naturally) while also killing off the bacteria that cause botulism.

Hash is just another way of saying “finely chopped”, and typical corned beef hash consists of beef, potatoes, water, spices, sugar, salt, and nitrates. Simple is good and I've not seen any mention of wheat or gluten in the brands I've bought, so they should be safe for the gluten-intolerant. Watch the labels on what you buy if that is one of your criteria for store-able foods.

I recently bought a case of 12 cans from Amazon's Prime Pantry for $28.32. That works out to $2.36 per 14 ounce can, which is a little cheaper than I can find the same brand in my local grocery store. Amazon also offers half-sized cans for individual servings as well as #10 cans for if you're feeding a large group, but I find the 14 oz cans convenient. Each can has two servings in it, and each serving provides the following:

• 380 calories, 220 from fat: The calorie count is high, and the fact that most of those calories come from fat mean that it is a very slow release of energy. 
• 970mg sodium: The sodium is higher than most people need, but absent other forms of processed foods and plenty of exercise it shouldn't be a problem. 
• 23g carbohydrates, 1 as sugar: 23 carbs is a healthy chunk of a diabetic's intake per meal, but again it's slow-release energy for the rest of us.
• 17g protein: a healthy amount of protein for a meal. 

I bought my case is July of 2019 and the “best by” dates were all May 2022, so a comfortable 3 year shelf-life that could probably be extended out to 5 years if kept in a cool, dry location. The cans are sturdy tinned-steel cans with a traditional rolled-lip lid, so you will need a can opener. (I've noticed a correlation between reduced shelf-life and pull-top cans, but that needs more research to confirm.) The contents are packed into the can with some pressure, so you will have to dig it out. Hash normally contains enough fat/grease to be able to fry without a need to grease the pan, but that also means you're going to have grease to clean out of your pan when you're done.

As a food storage idea, this works for me by several criteria:

• 3 year shelf-life
• I can afford it
• I already eat it
• Simple to prepare
• Sturdy containers

I'll keep looking around for other things to add to my storage foods, I know the ubiquitous Spam and Dinty Moore beef stew are already on the shelf, but I need to find things to break the taste monotony and give me more options to work with.

Prudent Prepping: August Roundup

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping. 

This week I have my usual assortment of slightly too-short or 'reminder' topics to use as stand-alone posts, so here goes!

Seasonal Prep Reminder
I'm still in Summer weather and will likely have warm and dry conditions until sometime in October. Many of you may remember that the past few Octobers here are when all the fires started. Luckily for me, I'm far enough away that I only smelled a little smoke and had ashes on my car two or three times. 

One thing that recently came on my local all-news radio station was a report on masks that many people bought and wore during the N. California wildfires, specifically the various brands of N95 masks. From my time as an employee of a tool and chemical company, I was trained on safe use of various masks and from that I know the N95 mask is rated for particle filtering ONLY.

https://amzn.to/2PDcfWd

  From the 3M site on the most widely sold N95 mask:

"3M™ Particulate Respirator 8210, N95 is a disposable particulate respirator that is designed to help provide reliable respiratory protection of at least 95 percent filtration efficiency against certain non-oil based particles. This respirator is designed for use for particles such as those from grinding, sanding, sweeping, sawing, bagging, or other dusty operations. This respirator can also help reduce inhalation exposures to certain airborne biological particles (examples: mold, Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis), but cannot eliminate the risk of contracting infection, illness, or disease. The respirator incorporates 3M’s proprietary technology with advanced electrostatically charged microfiber filter media designed for ease of breathing. This respirator is compatible with a variety of protective eyewear and hearing protection."  

Please look over the information on the linked page for the detailed recommendations for use! 

Now, this doesn't mean I'm not keeping masks in my car GHB; I'm just aware of their limitations and willing to work/live with the protection a 3M N95 mask provides.

Not A Mask
A surprise was on my doorstep today: a box from my friends and Blue Collar Prepping contributors Evelyn and D. R. Zinn! I wasn't sure what was in it, but I certainly liked what I saw when I opened the box -- three shemaghs! 

Several of the bloggers here have, use and recommend the use of shemaghs and as usual, I'm Tail End Charlie in the adoption of cool toys. I needed a quickie tutorial on the use and remembered Erin had a video but (once again) I couldn't find it in the Blue Collar Prepping archives. It was from her personal blog from several years ago, featuring Creek Stewart. I found it informative and pretty easy to follow, even for a Lefty! 



I need to practice wrapping it so I can do it quickly, but I sorta kinda got it done. Sorry, I won't be showing pictures or video until I can make myself semi-presentable!

Consumables
I've checked on the dates of the food in my GHB bag, since the temperatures in my trunk are at the upper limits of safe, long term storage. Since I check my food twice a year nothing is going to get 'old', but I still want to move things up and out. 

• Canned goods were rotated into the pantry and will be used in a week or two. 
• Summer clothes are still in the bag, along with a full case of bottled water. 
• First aid kit was looked into and none of the critical things like triple antibiotic, pain reliever and such were even half way to the expiration dates but I'm still thinking of moving them out.

The Takeaway

• Sometimes what 'everybody knows' isn't what everybody really needs to know. Always ask and look for more information.
• The 'not a mask' will certainly do more things than a mask, just not as narrowly focused.

The Recap

• Nothing was purchased this week, but 3M 8210 N95 masks can be purchased from Amazon for $15.27 with Prime.
• Sorry, y'all are on your own for Shemaghs. I got the hook-up from my friends!
• Editrix's note: I got mine from Amazon for $12 and free Prime shipping. 

***

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

The Great Corn Chip Burn Off!

Lokidude

Hurricane Bug Out: A Short List

Hurricane season is in full swing. Sometimes you just have to evacuate, so here’s a short list of gear and advice for those who are bugging out.

Godspeed to you all.