Friday, October 28, 2011

Past Two Weeks


Time passed quickly these past two weeks. Between regular activities, thunder storms, working on my Mobile Survival Kit, trying to find sugar-free iodized table salt, checking out the 30 Kindle ebooks that were available for free yesterday only, and wondering what's going on with my Kindle and what to do about it, I forgot to blog until now.

About storms - I keep my laptop unplugged during lightning storms so it won't get zapped and save the battery for use in case of emergency. Although I have a surge protector, I prefer to ensure I'm safe rather than sorry.

Mobile Survival Kit - I have all but hand sanitizing and insect repellent wipes which won't much change the current weight (under 5 lbs.) and bulk (approx. 540 cu. in.). I'd like to trim it down further.

Kindle - nothing's actually wrong. In fact, several things are much better. One thing is now Kindle ebooks are available for borrowing from participating libraries. Another is that user-documents are archived.

My issue is in order to use the new features, there's an update for which I have to go to the library to use the Wi-Fi. Normally, that isn't a problem. What makes it an issue for me is that somehow, I have an Audible book, a foreign language course, also waiting to download via Wi-Fi. I'll get the Audible book, whether I want it or not, when I receive the Kindle update.

Since I did not order the book, it must be a gift. However, gift Kindle books are supposed to be announced by an email stating who is the gift-giver and allowing the recipient the opportunity to accept or exchange it for a gift card. I did not receive the email.

Because I have several foreign language courses on CDs and already used up 1 Gb on my Kindle, I'm reluctant to receive the Audible book. As a result, I decided to try the sample only to discover to my dismay that the sample is also too large to be delivered except by Wi-Fi to my Kindle, not that I thought to try to request the sample be delivered to my PC in the first place.

At this point, I'm thinking I'll have to call Customer Service. But, wait! Look, there's a shiny thing!

What if I finally buy an MP3 player? I could put the Audible book on it thereby saving space on my Kindle and retrieve Kindle space by deleting the MP3 Bible's New Testament in favor of putting the entire Bible on the player.

So, I started shopping. I really like the idea of SanDisk's expansion SD slot because it means I can have my entire music collection, all my foreign language courses, the entire MP3 Bible, plus any Audible books I may acquire with me, conveniently, at all times wherever I may go. All I have to do is decide whether to buy a Fuze, Clip+, or Clip Zip and figure out how to write to an SD card from my laptop which doesn't have an SD card slot. I would probably have to take it to a computer shop for the transfer service or buy something external to do it myself.


Saturday, October 15, 2011

Versatility


Deciding to make my Westwind stove more versatile by adding a can as a fuel platform for solid fuel cubes, it took me a while to find the right one. It turned out to be a 5 oz. evaporated milk can. All I did was open one end as usual and wash it out so I may store a few items in it such as Esbit cubes. If I don't want to use the Trangia alcohol burner, I will set a fuel tab on the can, light it, and set my pot on the pot stand.

My next step is to get a disposable foil pan to use as a windbreak for the Westwind stove because I want to reduce the overall weight of my Go bag. I'm figuring a foil pan will be malleable yet sturdier than foil wrap and lighter than a commercially-made windbreak.


Friday, October 14, 2011

Sugar-free Salt?


Thinking to buy more salt yesterday, I was surprised and dismayed to find every box of iodized salt in a local grocery store also listed dextrose as an ingredient.

When did they start doing that? My old box of salt has only salt, iodide, and something to keep the salt free-flowing.

It doesn't do much good for people trying to decrease the amount of sugar they consume to have it added to salt.

Since sugar is addictive and since there's no good reason to add sugar to salt, why did the salt companies add it? What were they thinking? Is it to keep people tied to their product who would otherwise decrease the amount of salt they're putting in their food?

Are we going to have to demand sugar-free salt?