Gail Rhea sounds off!

Score! (Sugar-free Salt)

2012-01-14T10:23:00.003-06:00

Last night, stopping by Dollar General for a plastic storage box they no longer carry, I thought to look for sugar-free salt.

There were only three boxes of salt on the shelf, one of which contained dextrose.

I bought the other two boxes.

Score!

Discouraging

2012-01-14T10:09:00.003-06:00

I've been discouraged from blogging because my posts are being corrupted upon publication and I don't like spending the time it takes to fix them. I thought it just started happening this year with my last post about my mobile survival kit and the other survival kit lists I recently updated only to find it's been going on since last November when I updated my car survival kit :(.

When I fixed it a few minutes ago, instead of omitting chunks as before, all the spaces were changed to plus signs ("+"). Fortunately, as a result of the corruption, I had started saving my posts as html so all I had to do was paste my copy back in and republish, hoping it wouldn't get corrupted again.

Yay! It worked.

Now, let's see what happens to this post.

Mobile Survival Kit

2012-01-07T09:42:00.011-06:00

Supplemental to my EDC mini survival kit, the reason I had so much trouble with this kit is because I wanted it for everything from hiking to air travel. The purposes, however, are different enough that separate kits are needed although they may share the same items.

For example, a backpacker goes out with the intention of spending a night or more in a wilderness area and prepares appropriately. The wise hiker packs the Ten Essential Systems intending to be home at night knowing it may not be possible because getting lost or terrain difficulty may lengthen the hike so a night to usually no more than three nights have to be spent outdoors.

On the other hand, nobody else from day-trippers and travelers to office workers, has any intention or expectation of sleeping anywhere other than in a bed. The survival kit is in case something happens to throw us into a survival situation.

This kit is for when I'm in somebody else's vehicle. It can easily be taken up to my room on my own road trips without rummaging through or dismantling my car kit. I might integrate the two kits later making this a subset of my car kit, but because I already had duplicate items because of camping and hiking and trying out various products, it's not an issue at this time.

1. NAVIGATION - Luminous compass; the same as for my Micro Survival Kit, this is an EDC item on my key ring.

2. PERSONAL ATTIRE - Now that I have all the other components for my exposure kit in my purse, the only items for this category are swim goggles for eye protection and a couple of oven bags to wear inside my shoes to waterproof my feet.

3. HYDRATION - Because water is vital, I want at least two methods for making water safe to drink. For the first method, I have (20) Micropur MP1 tablets, a quart zip bag, and 4 feet of aquarium airline tubing to aid collection.

If I don't carry a stainless steel water bottle which can be used for boiling water (I've been using my Brita bottle), a (1 qt. capacity) 8" x 3-7/8" x 2-15/32" foil loaf pan, flattened by folding in the sides and ends to make it easy to carry, is a lightweight and considerably less bulky alternative to a pot.

If I take my Katadyn water bottle, the ViruStat cartridge or the microfilter cartridge used with the MP1 tablets will purify water for me.

4. SHELTER - A Heatsheet survival blanket.

5. COMMUNICATION - In addition to my EDC: (2) orange bandannas, Sharpie, mechanical pencil, eraser, Rite In The Rain pocket notebook, AM/FM/NOAA radio, and a small kite. My Mini Maglite LED flashlight has SOS and strobe features.

The kite is tricky because it can't be flown near kite-eating trees and a mini kite isn't as easy to see as a full-size kite is from a distance. Still, under the right conditions a kite would help show others where I am and a key ring, pocket, or mini kite takes hardly any space in the kit.

If you decide to get a kite for this and entertainment purposes, bear in mind that a parafoil kite is excellent because it won't have any sticks. However, parafoils fly lower, closer to the horizon, and need more wind than other types. A sled kite is similar and may have sticks.

The common diamond kite flies higher and needs less wind than parafoils and sleds while a delta kite flies the highest of all and needs the least wind.

Another idea is to fly a small American flag upside-down several feet below the kite because an upside-down flag is an official distress signal. For country flags that look the same either way or that duplicate a different country's flag when flown upside-down, tie a knot in the flag.

I recommend you visit a kite store to find the best assortment of small and specialty kites and that you select a predominantly red and orange kite because those colors show up against the sky better than other colors.

6. FIRE - Since I already EDC three methods to start a fire including tinder and magic birthday candles, only a tealight candle and hand sanitizing gel are needed for this kit.

7. ILLUMINATION - A Mini Maglite LED, a neck lanyard because I really don't like wearing a headlamp, and a headlamp because sometimes a flashlight swinging from a lanyard isn't good enough. Because my key ring LED flashlight has a pressure switch to turn and keep it on which also means something can turn it on accidentally, and because I have no way of knowing when the battery will fail, I added another key ring LED to this kit with an on-off switch that can't be turned on accidentally.

8. NUTRITION - (4) Clif and Zone Perfect energy bars plus a tin of Altoids.

9. FIRST AID KIT, HEALTH, AND HYGIENE - A pocket FAK to cleanse and protect minor wounds from infection, a tube of Super Glue with a brush to keep larger wounds closed until medical help can be received, Ultra (SPF 30) Chapstick, a stick of sun screen, StingEze, (10) Wet Ones, mint dental floss, (5) panty liners to make an unpleasant situation more bearable, hair elastic, a folding trowel for digging cat holes, travel toilet tissue roll, and (2) gallon zip bags for trash. I still need to add insect repellent wipes.

In an extra small Pac-It Sac by Eagle Creek, I have a FUD (feminine urinary device) kit: Freshette in its zip storage bag, toilet tissue, hand sanitizing gel, (5) Wet Ones, and (2) quart zip bags for trash.

10. REPAIR AND TOOLS - A sheath knife with 4.48" blade. a folder with a 3.4" blade, Leatherman Mini, Lansky pocket knife sharpener, wire saw, leather gloves, and pry bar. The pry bar is in case of an earthquake and to have something to knock out a ground-floor window to climb out in case I can't get a door open.

For cordage and repairs: (4) safety pins, 50' utility cord 1/8" diameter, 150 yds. unflavored floss, large-eye straight & curved needles, 30' invisible nylon thread wrapped onto a dental floss core, self-threading sewing needle, thimble.

Extras: (2) gallon zip bags, (2) extra AA cells for Mini Mag, (3) extra AAA cells for headlamp.

11. DOCUMENTATION - Cloud and survival information cards; this list. The cloud cards are to help predict the weather in case the radio fails.

12. FINANCES - $1.00 in quarters for a pay phone. A phone card would also be good. Obviously, this is for an urban survival situation.

13. TRANSPORTATION - I took a webbed, clip-on strap I had lying around and put it on the U.S. Army sustainment pouch I bought last month so I can carry it as a shoulder or cross-body bag or a waist pack.

14. ENTERTAINMENT - In addition to my EDC items, the same kite listed under 5. COMMUNICATION.

15. SECURITY & SELF-DEFENSE - My knives and a fire will keep wildlife at bay.

Excluding the water bottle and extra batteries, the total weight of everything listed is 6.5 lbs.

Test Your Vocab

2011-12-14T20:11:00.001-06:00

How many words do you know? A quick test gives an interesting result.

Back to the Drawing Board

2011-12-09T18:46:00.000-06:00

Having nearly everything I want for my mobile survival kit, I've been scouring around for the few remaining odds and ends. My latest visits were to a salvage store and a military surplus store.

Finding a reflective safety vest at the salvage store that looks brand new for only $2, I scarfed it up for my car kit along with a canteen for $1.25.

Purchases at the military surplus store were a waist pack, sustainment pouch, insulated canteen cover, and other small miscellaneous items such as a piece of screen to contain the perlite in my Altoids stove and extra fine waterproof sandpaper to glue onto the tops of my match safes to use as striking surfaces.

While I don't like the army camouflage colors of my new waist pack and accessories, I love the price and that they're sturdy enough for the military. A bonus is that everything fits with room to spare for my Cascade II poncho and extra socks plus more if I want. It's perfect for warm weather hiking and to use for the bare essentials for cool weather hiking or backpacking.

The problem is that I can't quite see taking it along when riding in somebody else's vehicle much less using the set-up for air travel.

Back to the drawing board.

Rethinking My Mobile Survival Kit

2011-12-01T21:47:00.001-06:00

Contemplating my mobile survival kit, loath to make duplicate purchases, I realized that my first idea of using my hiking pack as the base for my car survival kit was a good idea. Only the implementation of my hiking pack needed to be altered.

Changing from a lumbar pack for warm weather to a backpack for cool weather to a larger backpack for backpacking trips is what made me think I needed a separate car kit because I don't always keep the pack in the car. However, using a waist pack as the constant component, with the addition of a lumbar pack or backpack as warranted, would satisfy the minimum basics for survival.

For example, the waist pack alone would suit warm weather day hikes. For cool weather hikes, I would use it with my hiking backpack which would contain a sleeping pad and extra clothing. For backpacking, always wearing the waist pack would help me through a rough time should I set my main pack down to rest, go fetch water and not be able to find my way back, have to jettison my main pack to prevent my drowning during a water crossing, etc. There have been stories of individuals wandering away from their base camp to explore just a little and ending up in a survival situation because they couldn't find their way back to camp. The stories get grim when they didn't have anything with them. Wearing a survival waist pack at all times except while sleeping, swimming or bathing, would be a lot better than having nothing.

The waist pack would also supplement my evacuation kit which I plan to be a backpack for greatest portability. Even if I chose a rolling suitcase, the mobile survival kit in a waist pack would integrate nicely.

Keeping the waist pack in my car or taking it along when traveling in someone else's vehicle gives it the widest variety of applications. If I didn't work at home, this mobile survival kit could be carried to and from my workplace daily.

The main purpose for having a mobile survival kit is it will supplement and contain more than my mini kit. While I may not always wear it away from the great outdoors, it will be small enough and lightweight enough to keep in reasonable proximity and should have the capability of being carried hands-free should a survival event occur. The reason I decided on a waist pack instead of a messenger bag is because I already use a cross-body bag as a purse.

Rule No. 9

2011-11-29T22:52:00.003-06:00

"Rule No. 9 - Never go anywhere without a knife." -- Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS.

I've pretty much obeyed this rule most of my life. While young, Dad let me "find" tiny folding knives with pretty marbled handles and 1.5 inch blades. He'd tuck them on top of the door moldings, I'd get a chair to see if he had hidden a knife over the doorway and got to keep whatever knives I found.

(No, I don't think Mom knew what we were doing.)

In high school, I took to carrying one of these little knives in my purse, rotating them according to whichever color I preferred that week. I never told anyone, and never used one, but felt good having one along. It gave me a sense of security knowing I could sharpen my pencil if the classroom pencil sharpener ever failed.

Then, I switched to mechanical pencils and quit carrying a little knife.

In my late teens-early 20s, I carried a diver's knife strapped below my calf while scuba diving off the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i, mostly off a boat out of Poka'i Bay in Wai'anae, but also shore dives along the North Shore and south shore over to the Blow Hole on the Halona Coast.

I mainly used the blade to crack open sea urchins. Spearing the animal with the point, I would offer it to a nearby moray eel peering out from its hole in some rocks. My dive buddy thought I was crazy-brave to be feeding moray eels this way, and didn't hesitate to tell our dive companions when we rejoined them, but I was never in any danger since I wasn't threatening the eels. Sea urchins are special treats to them because they can't get to the animals because of the spines and the morsel was at a safe distance at the point of my dagger, not in my fingers. It was a calculated risk that wasn't at all risky, the way I did it.

Later on the Mainland, I was given a Classic Swiss Army Knife that I promptly attached to my key ring. Using it mostly to open letters and packages, cut hang nails, file broken fingernails, and trim errant hairs in my bangs using my car visor's cosmetic mirror, it remains a convenient EDC tool.

Years later, I got another Classic SAK for my hiker's survival necklace and a Trekker SAK for my hiking pack knowing I should have a fixed-blade sheath knife in case I ever get into a survival situation because the hinge of a folder is the weakest part and a survival event is the worst time for a knife to break.

However, I couldn't rationalize the cost of the knife I lusted after. A few weeks ago, I finally ordered an affordable survival knife. Made by Benchmade as is the expensive knife I coveted, I got the Rant with a drop point, plain blade that is just under 4.5 inches long. The overall length of the knife is slightly over 9 inches. The sheath is Molle compatible. Benchmade not only has an excellent reputation for quality, the company offers sharpening for life for its plain edge blades for only the cost of return shipping.

At the same time, I ordered a Benchmade Griptilian H2O folder to replace my Trekker. The Griptilian has a modified drop point, plain blade that is under 3.5 inches. The overall open length is slightly over 8 inches; it is 4.62 inches closed.

Popular with other hikers, I don't like the Trekker because of its weight and because the serration starts at the tip of the blade instead of at the base. I also don't like the way it closes. If I don't position my fingers exactly right and am not very careful, I could end up cutting myself while closing it. It makes me nervous.

The Griptilian is much lighter and much easier to open and close. It is very comfortable in my hand, unlike the Trekker. While I might miss the Trekker's awl, I don't mind not having the saw blade because I already had a wire saw in my pack before getting the Trekker. I wouldn't miss the other tools of the Trekker because of the Leatherman I carry for the pliers and wire-cutter.

I'm thinking to use the Griptilian as my motel camping knife as well, to replace the Farberware kitchen utility knife I've been using and don't like.

Remembering Aron Ralston's difficulty in retrieving his dropped multi-tool in the movie, "127 Hours," I immediately threaded wrist lanyards through the eyelets of my new knives using 1/8" utility cord with mini cord locks to cinch them to my wrist so the lanyard isn't loose to slip off and let my knife fall to perdition, thinking a survival event is the worst time to lose a knife.

I'm very pleased with my new knives especially since I got them both for less than MSRP from Amazon Marketplace Sellers and the Rant came with free shipping.

Mini Survival Kit

2011-11-12T15:34:00.007-06:00

After beginning to use my Kindle as a reusable shopping list with the Notepad app, I changed from my wallet-on-a-string purse to one with a pocket large enough to hold my Kindle so I would not set the Kindle down on the seat of the shopping cart and risk having it walk away behind my back.

This meant I could upgrade my Micro Survival Kit of my previous post into a Mini Survival Kit, the subject of this post. While many of the components are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit, there are some additions, the major addition being the Pocket Survival Pak from Adventure Medical Kits. Initially purchased several years ago and modified for my hiking pack, I realized I could EDC it as part of my Mini Survival Kit. The changes are noted below in the sections designated as "AMK PSP" within each system.

As with the Micro Kit, you'll notice some items have to be worn, hand-carried, or left in the car, but not as much as before.

Please note that [items within brackets like this] need to be omitted or packed in checked luggage to comply with TSA restrictions.

1. NAVIGATION - luminous compasses; the same as for my Micro Survival Kit, this is an EDC item on my key rings.

AMK PSP: Includes a 20mm button compass, a good back-up for my own. I added 14 ft. 3 in. of surveyor's tape (same as 5. COMMUNICATION) so I can find my way back to a particular point and avoid getting lost.

2. PERSONAL ATTIRE - Sun glasses with retainer cord, winter or sun hat/cap/visor, Neckbandoo/scarf/neck gaiter, poptop mittens/gloves, shawl/sweater/jacket/coat, footwear, Cascade II poncho with DIY ties; all are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. The exception is that a 27"x27" Trainman's bandanna is now always with me in my purse and I added the rest of my exposure kit sans goggles. Although inadequate, I'll use my sunglasses for eye protection since my purse is too small to hold swim goggles; wrap-around sunglasses would be better than my current sunglasses and I'll tackle those later. E-kit: aforementioned bandanna, earplugs, 1 pair nitrile gloves, plastic poncho.

AMK PSP: N/A.

3. HYDRATION - Water bottle/thermal bottle & insulated carrier with shoulder strap, the same as for my Micro Survival Kit.

AMK PSP: Includes 3 sq. ft. Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil that can be formed into a pan to boil water. I added (10) Micropur MP1 tablets from a pack of 30 tablets, an oven bag & tie and a quart zip bag, both to hold water.

4. SHELTER - Folding umbrella and poncho, the same as for my Micro Survival Kit.

AMK PSP: 10 ft. braided cord and 26 in. duct tape (both the same as 10. REPAIR AND TOOLS) may help construct a shelter.

5. COMMUNICATION - Fox 40 Mini whistle and LED on key ring (same as 7. ILLUMINATION), cell phone, Trekker Space pen, and calling cards (same as 6. FIRE); all are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit and are basic EDC items. A pocket-sized notepad was added.

AMK PSP: Includes a Fox 40 Micro whistle, a Rescue Flash Signal Mirror, a tiny #2 Pencil, and a couple of pages of waterproof notepaper. Because I already have a Mini whistle on my key ring, I removed the Micro to make room for other items. I added 14 ft. 3 in. of surveyor's tape (same as 1. NAVIGATION) so I can mark it with my Trekker pen for SAR to be able to find me.

6. FIRE - Fresnel lens magnifier (same as 10. REPAIR AND TOOLS), calling cards (same as 5. COMMUNICATION); both are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. I added a disposable lighter and a magnesium bar and returned the Spark-Lite of my Micro Kit back to the AMK PSP from where I took it.

AMK PSP: Includes a Spark-Lite Firestarter and (4) Spark-Lite Tinder-Quiks. I added (2) "Magic" can't-blow-out trick birthday candles to help start a fire in windy conditions, rolled in plastic to ensure they would not melt and get wax on everything else in the PSP.

7. ILLUMINATION - key ring LED (same as 5. COMMUNICATION), the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. Since that LED has to be constantly pressed to turn on, I put another key ring LED in my purse that has a on/off switch I don't have to hold on.

AMK PSP: N/A.

8. NUTRITION - P-51 can opener and Ekco Pocket Boy folding can punch and bottle cap lifter, the same as for my Micro Survival Kit and EDC items on my key ring. I added a Ti-Ware spork in a snack zip bag because the plastic forks you can get for free sometimes break.

AMK PSP: Includes 6 ft. of stainless steel wire that can be used for snares and a mini fishing kit with hooks, swivel, and split shot. Use the included thread (same as 10. REPAIR AND TOOLS) as fishing line.

9. FIRST AID KIT - Chapstick, floss, pill fobs with antacids and allergy pills; all are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. I increased the number of Wet Ones to (4) and added (2) ½ in. wide Band-Aids, facial tissue, and (11) multi-vitamin, multi-mineral tablets in an Altoids Smalls tin.

AMK PSP: Contributes nothing toward this system unless you count the duct tape. I added (2) alcohol prep pads and (2) ½ in. wide Band-Aids.

10. REPAIR AND TOOLS - ResQMe car escape tool, fresnel lens magnifier (same as 6. FIRE), [Swiss Army Classic knife]; all are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. I added a battery-assisted solar calculator and a monocular.

AMK PSP: Includes [a scalpel blade], 26 in. duct tape (same as 4. SHELTER), (4) safety pins, 10 ft. braided cord (same as 4. SHELTER), 50 ft. thread (same as 8. NUTRITION), sewing needle, fresnel lens magnifier.

11. DOCUMENTATION - Driver's license, In Case of Emergency card, library and other membership cards; all are the same as for my Micro Survival Kit. I know how to tie some knots, but not others, so added Knots cards to help.

AMK PSP: Includes Survival Instructions and a few knots along with a list of Pak contents which may be used as tinder for 6. FIRE. (Use the contents list as tinder, not the Survival Instructions - Duh!)

12. FINANCES - Cash and credit/debit cards in wallet with store discount tags on key ring as EDC; all are the same as my Micro Survival Kit.

AMK PSP: N/A.

13. TRANSPORTATION - Primarily a medium-sized purse and key rings unless worn or left in the car as noted above.

AMK PSP: Includes a waterproof, pocket-sized clear vinyl pouch to protect the contents. The pouch has a hole to attach a neck lanyard (some of the included braided cord) to ensure it will not be mislaid or lost during a survival event.

14. ENTERTAINMENT - Kindle, the same as for my Micro Survival Kit except it now fits in my purse instead of needing to be hand-carried separately.

AMK PSP: N/A.

15. SECURITY - Fox 40 Mini whistle (same as 5. COMMUNICATION); the same as for my Micro Survival Kit.

AMK PSP: N/A after I removed the included Fox 40 Micro whistle in favor of the Mini whistles on my key rings.

Many people like to assemble their own pocket survival kits that fit into an Altoids tin or other small container. Some buy an AMK PSP and use the components for their own kits because it's easier and less expensive than searching for and buying the pieces of similarly high quality gear individually.

The main point is that it is possible to have a Mini Survival Kit that is small enough and lightweight enough to carry on your person, in your pockets or purse at all times. I encourage you to set up your own because the only good survival kit is the one you have with you when you need it.

[Updated on 1/1/12 to change bandanna to Trainman's bandanna and to add E-kit, magnesium bar, LED with on/off switch, Pocket Boy, and knots cards.]

Micro Survival Kit

2011-11-12T12:40:00.004-06:00

Before I get too carried away working on my Mobile Survival Kit, I thought I should document my Micro and Mini Survival Kits. This post is about my Micro Survival Kit.

Ideally, everyone should carry the bare essentials with them all the time as Every Day Carry (EDC) items which may be a challenge due to size and weight. However, when I carry my wallet-on-a-string type of purse that includes a pen pocket, cell phone pocket, and clip-on cross-body strap, I found I am able to cover all of my Fifteen Essential Systems although some items have to be worn, hand-carried, or left in the car as follows:

1. NAVIGATION - luminous compasses. These are on my key rings.

2. PERSONAL ATTIRE - Sun glasses with retainer cord, winter or sun hat/cap/visor, bandanna/Neckbandoo/scarf/neck gaiter, poptop mittens/gloves, shawl/sweater/jacket/coat, footwear, Cascade II poncho with DIY ties. Depending on the season, these are worn, stashed into pockets, or left in the car depending on the day's weather.

3. HYDRATION - Water bottle/thermal bottle & insulated carrier with shoulder strap. This is carried or left in the car.

4. SHELTER - Folding umbrella and poncho which has corner loops so it can easily be rigged as a tarp. When the weather is so iffy that I want to carry my umbrella with me, I hook it onto my waistband with a belt clip commonly used for keys so I can carry the umbrella hands-free.

5. COMMUNICATION - Fox 40 Mini whistles on key rings, LEDs on key rings (same as 7. ILLUMINATION), cell phone, Trekker Space pen, and calling cards which may be written on the back to leave notes or used to help start a fire (same as 6. FIRE). The Trekker comes with a metal split ring which I hook onto one of the strap clips of my purse. My calling cards fit into the wallet part of my purse. The cell phone goes into the cell phone pocket of my purse, but if I ever want to put more things in the cell phone pocket than I already have there, I could clip the phone onto my waistband.

6. FIRE - Spark-Lite firestarter, fresnel lens magnifier (same as 10. REPAIR AND TOOLS), calling cards (same as 5. COMMUNICATION). The Spark-Lite goes into the pen slot of my purse and the fresnel lens fits into a credit card slot in the wallet.

7. ILLUMINATION - a Garrity key ring LED on each key ring (same as 5. COMMUNICATION).

8. NUTRITION - P-51 can opener and Ekco Pocket Boy folding can punch and bottle cap lifter on key ring. This purse is too small to hold a snack.

9. FIRST AID KIT - Chapstick, floss, pill fobs with antacids and allergy pills, (1) Wet Ones. The Chapstick is held by a Leashable clipped onto my key ring. The floss and Wet Ones fit into the cell phone pocket. The pill fobs go on the clips of the purse's strap.

10. REPAIR AND TOOLS - ResQMe, fresnel lens magnifier (same as 6. FIRE), Swiss Army Classic knife with scissors, file, tweezers, toothpick; newer models have a screwdriver on the end of the file. The ResQMe and SAK are on one of my key rings.

11. DOCUMENTATION - Driver's license, In Case of Emergency card, library and other membership cards.

12. FINANCES - Cash and credit/debit cards are in the wallet. Store discount tags are on a key ring. My check book now stays at home, but fits into a larger purse-on-a-string that I own should I want to have it with me.

13. TRANSPORTATION - Primarily my wallet-on-a-string purse and key rings unless worn or left in the car as noted above. If my clothing does not have a pocket, I can clip my key rings onto the purse's strap.

14. ENTERTAINMENT - My Kindle has to be carried separately when I use this set-up.

15. SECURITY - Fox 40 Mini whistles on key rings (same as 5. COMMUNICATION).

For your own Micro Survival Kit, before you tackle the other systems, I recommend you first figure out how to carry a safety whistle, a compass, a knife (check your local and state laws to ensure you do not carry a knife that is illegal), items to make a fire and hold water even if they are as simple as a disposable lighter, pocket lint for tinder, and a quart zip bag for a canteen; and a light which can be used for signaling as well as to see in the dark.

[Updated on 1/1/12 to add Pocket Boy.]

Another Two Weeks Gone

2011-11-11T02:08:00.002-06:00

First, my appreciation goes to all veterans for their service to our country. Thank you and all the best to you on Veterans Day!

In my last post, I mentioned an Audible book French language course waiting to be downloaded via Wi-Fi to my Kindle. I went to the library and downloaded it, but nothing was there although it said I was at the 100% point when I opened it. Oh, well. I didn't order it and don't care enough about it to contact Customer Service after having heard the sample.

I went ahead and ordered a Sansa Fuze by SanDisk because of the longer battery life compared to the Clip+ and Clip Zip and its ability to play videos. I immediately loaded it with my MP3 Bible and road trip mix as soon as it arrived and was charged. Plugging old mini speakers from a cassette recorder into the Fuze, I enjoyed listening to it while shopping for a couple of knives for my Preparedness kits.

Having decided on Benchmade knives more than a year ago because of the company's excellent reputation for high-quality knives, I decided it was time to settle on the models and placed my order on Monday.

For a sheath knife, I chose the Rant, model #515, drop point, plain edge, and am very pleased to have gotten it below retail price from a Marketplace Seller on Amazon. It should be delivered next week.

For a folder, I selected the model 511H2O Griptilian in orange so it's easy to spot, modified drop point, also plain edge, also below retail price, which arrived yesterday morning in excellent condition from Outfitter Country, a different Amazon Marketplace Seller. I really like how easy it is to open and how it feels in my hand. After attaching a wrist lanyard with a mini cord lock so it can't fall very far like in the movie, "127 Hours," I slipped it into my Mobile Survival Kit.

But, I keep taking it out to play with it, it's that nice.

Past Two Weeks

2011-10-28T01:41:00.001-05:00

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.

Versatility

2011-10-15T07:15:00.001-05:00

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.

Sugar-free Salt?

2011-10-14T06:44:00.000-05:00

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?

N95 Masks

2011-09-30T08:03:00.000-05:00

I opened a package of N95 masks to see how well one folded to see if I could put it in my mobile survival kit. Reading the enclosed literature, I learned to my dismay that it's good only for non-harmful particulates such as sanding dust. So, instead of my risking not being protected from something by taking "only a bandanna" for my air travel exposure kit, I actually wasted money by buying N95 masks instead of packing a simple cotton bandanna in my regular exposure kit.

I'm annoyed the Powers That Be advise us to buy bulky, expensive, specialty items we'll use infrequently, if not rarely, instead of inexpensive, easy to EDC items many people already use on a daily or other frequent basis.

Since N95 masks only filter out non-harmful particulates such as dust, more reasonable alternatives are cotton bandannas, those keffiyehs or shemaghs the military are finding so helpful in Iraq and Afghanistan, or cotton pareos. Shoot, when I encountered dust storms without protection, a dampened paper towel from the ladies' room held over my nose and mouth was enough although inconvenient because it wouldn't stay in place by itself.

My Key Rings

2011-09-24T17:06:00.003-05:00

Speaking of key rings, I have two because a friend had to pay a couple of hundred dollars to have her ignition switch replaced. The mechanic said it broke due to the weight of all her keys hanging from it. We each immediately got a second key ring to hold our other keys.

On my car key ring, I have the car key, gas cap key, car top carrier key, store discount tags, Fox 40 Mini whistle, LED flashlight, and a luminous Suunto Clipper compass using the webbed nylon fob from an el cheapo compass that failed during my 2006 road trip and was replaced by the Clipper.

On my other key ring, I have my other keys, ResQMe, another LED flashlight, another Fox 40 Mini whistle, Swiss Army Classic knife, P-51 can opener, Ekco Pocket Boy folding can punch with bottle cap lifter and Chapstick in a Leashables holder.

For those times when I ride in somebody else's car and leave my own car keys at home, I moved the luminous Brunton 9041 key ring compass on my traveler's key ring to my second key ring to help keep me and whoever's driving headed in the right direction when I don't need my traveler's key ring.

Seriously, it's happened twice before. Once, a van-load of us were going to Dallas on a day trip when my internal sense of direction said we were going in the wrong direction. The driver and I proceeded to get into an argument which was settled by a sign that said, "Fort Worth," with an arrow pointing straight ahead.

The other time was at night. Again, my internal sense of direction said we'd gone off. It was a lot easier convincing that driver to pull over under the light of a convenience store and gas station where we checked the map...and turned around. At the time, not only did I not have a compass, I didn't even have a little flashlight.

Although neither situation was dangerous, both were a waste of time and gas, the first much more than the second. If anybody had a compass, the waste could have been avoided.

You live. Hopefully, you learn.

[Edited on 1/1/12 to add Pocket Boy and because I moved the Brunton Glow Mate to my second key ring.]

Why I Need a Mobile Survival Kit

2011-09-24T15:57:00.003-05:00

I haven't given up on making a personal survival kit. It occurred to me that when I'm in somebody else's car for a day or road trip, I've got nothing to help me through a bad situation except for my water bottle, key ring LED flashlight, Fox 40 Mini whistle, Swiss Army Classic key ring knife, P-51, ResQMe, and the Spark-Lite I carry in the pen slot of my purse. It isn't a bad list but it isn't enough and I know better than to rely on somebody else having a Space Blanket on hand for me or even a first aid kit (FAK).

For example, in 2004 or so, there was a woman whose trunk I saw before we took off on a day trip and there was nothing in it. Completely bare. Absolutely naked. That was before I got serious about preparedness and it made me uneasy even then.

I've ridden with others on day trips to Wichita Falls and Dallas and overnighter or longer road trips to Houston, Albuquerque, and Milwaukee, but didn't know what they had for a car kit which was probably just as well.

Also, for hiking or backpacking, although I made a hiker's survival necklace consisting of my Suunto MC-2G compass, Fox 40 Mini whistle, Mini Swedish FireSteel, (4) Tinder-Quiks in a colored key ring pill fob I bought from CVS, a key ring LED flashlight, Pro Tick remover, and Swiss Army Classic knife; if I get separated from my pack, I won't have an emergency blanket or FAK. Definitely not good.

That made me think, if I have a bag I could convert from a waist pack to a cross-body shoulder bag, I could set up one small kit as a mobile personal survival kit for hiking and riding in other people's cars and put my exposure kit in it, too. If I remove the sharp things to make it TSA-compliant, it could also be my air travel survival kit.

The trick is to keep it small and lightweight enough for me to not mind taking it along every time.

[Edited on 1/1/12 to change the title.]

Dead Batteries

2011-09-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

In rotating out my flashlight batteries last week, I encountered one that had leaked and gotten stuck in the Mini Maglite LED I keep in the car.

Unable to pry or shake it out, faced with having to buy a new flashlight, I took a chance and filled the battery compartment with water hoping to dissolve the cell loose.

It worked.

After rinsing it several times to get all the battery acid out, I shook the excess water out into the sink as best I could, disassembled it as much as I could, and let it set a couple of days to air dry.

After reassembling it and installing new cells, I turned it on and was very happy to see it working as it should. Whew!

The next battery to go was in my laptop. The flashing light quit blinking a couple of days after getting my flashlight working, indicating that I was running only off the AC. All I had to do was install the replacement I bought in May.

What's the Point?

2011-09-10T08:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I took a car trunk full of plastic to a nearby recycling establishment I've gone to several times before only to be told the recycling facility they take the plastic to doesn't accept anything except recycling codes 1 and 2.

Giving the man one gallon jug, one liter bottle, a grocery bag full of #1 containers, and another bag of #2 containers that barely filled out the bottom of the bag, I left with six bags full of codes 4, 5, 6, and 7 containers.

I haven't checked the telephone book for other recycling collection points to see if this is the only one that discriminates which recyclable containers are accepted, but the disappointment has me wondering if recycling facilities aren't accepting all the recyclable plastics, what's the point of having the various codes? Are the other codes not profitable enough for the recycling facility or the collection point or is it simply a matter of the recycling facility having never been set up to process the other plastics?

The plastic recycling codes were set up to help save the planet. It's bad enough when consumers don't care enough for their children's future to recycle. What about when the very companies that are established to receive and process the materials are the road blocks?

Obviously, I've been patronizing the wrong recycling collection point. I just hope a better one is nearby.

Preparedness 2011

2011-09-03T12:20:00.001-05:00

This is the eighth annual National Preparedness Month.

Ideally, our first priority is to prepare our evacuation kits since they may be used anywhere if stored in our vehicles where they would be easily accessible whether we're at work, home, or simply running errands.

Ideally, we'd have our stuff in backpacks, duffel bags, or other easily transportable containers in case we have to abandon our vehicles and walk.

As a traveler, I already have travel packs and wheeled suitcases I could use. However, the travel packs are too small for everything I want to have on hand and the wheeled suitcases are too heavy and bulky to easily navigate rough terrain.

My solution is to get a backpack. However, I need to figure out what capacity I need before I'm ready to shop for one. Since I'll have to go out of town to get the best fit and avoid mail-order returns, it doesn't have the highest priority. I rather research reviews online to narrow the field, first.

So, I converted my Preparedness Food & Beverage list last week to a text file and transferred it to my Kindle as a reusable shopping list for the items I need to check every six months for rotation.

All I have left to do this month are the following:

1. Go shopping and rotate my food and water supplies.

2. Replace all batteries, saving those being phased out for my electronic Solitaire game.

3. Check the air in my car's spare tire. This should be done whenever I check my tires, but I usually put it off and now I can't recall when it was last done, it's been so long.

4. Add a bottle of hand sanitizing gel to my car kit because it will also help start a fire.

Simple dimple!

Losing Faith

2011-08-26T13:40:00.001-05:00

I believe in preparedness. I really do. I have, however, hit the wall.

It started innocently with my contemplating using a waist pack instead of my hiker's survival necklace so I could add a Space Blanket and have my camera and wallet immediately accessible...and safe should I happen to get separated from my backpack.

Next, I thought how convenient it would be to keep that waist pack in my car within reach so I may quickly grab it if I had to.

Then, I read a story about how a man parked at a scenic lookout, got out to enjoy the view, and fell down the hill. Unable to return to his car, he lay shivering for hours until a patrol car stopped to investigate what a vacant car was doing there in the dark. If he had a mini survival kit in a waist pack on his person, the man would have been able to cover himself with a Space Blanket and blown his safety whistle to let others know he needed help.

So, okay. I can accept having a mini survival kit on my person at all times, can't I? At ALL times? Like when I'm running in to the Post Office? Like when I'm at Wal-Mart?

What about when I attend the opera???

Maybe I wouldn't use a waist pack so much as a larger purse except I don't want to use a larger purse. Ugh.

Maybe I really only need a survival pack along the lines of other people's Get Home bag which is a small evacuation kit intended to have just enough supplies for a person to make it home safely from work which could be part of a car survival kit.

After all, what are the chances of my needing a survival kit closer than my car while I'm in town amongst other people? It isn't as though I'm a man with all those pants pockets in which to store things. I'm lucky if my skirts have any pockets at all.

Mutter-mutter-mutter...

GRUMBLE...

Mutter-mutter...

Within Arm's Reach

2011-08-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

Still too hot to spend much time outside, I spent this past week refining my car kit by buying a couple of plastic Sterilite CD bins to stack in a rear passenger's foot well where I may easily access the contents from the driver's seat so I don't have to open the car door and let warm air escape in order to get a few items that may save my life or assist in my being rescued. The bins take up nearly half of the foot well, but since I usually have no more than two passengers, a third passenger would rarely be inconvenienced or I could put the bins in the trunk.

One bin contains a lighter, matches, ferrocerium rod, candles, hand-warmer packs, light sticks (increased from two to four), Space Blanket, plastic tubing in case I have to siphon water, and 30' of surveyor's tape in case I go searching for water, so I can find my way back and so SAR knows which way I went.

The other bin contains some of my hygiene and nutrition supplies: plastic cutlery set, citrus peeler, can opener, salt & pepper, floss, Shout towelettes, my Freshette, toilet tissue, toilet seat covers, baby powder (a new addition inspired by this record-breaking heat), hand-cleaning wipes, baby wipes, No Rinse body wash and shampoo, Campsuds, and insect sting relief.

The danger in having my hygiene supplies within arm's reach is that I might use and not replace them in time for a survival situation.

Leave No Trace

2011-08-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of nights ago, I decided to burn one of the Warm Vanilla Crème tea light candles by Better Homes and Gardens in my UCO Mini Candle Lantern that I bought for travel preparedness.

Surprisingly, maybe because I don't usually burn tea light candles and this was the first one I've burned in what appears to be a plastic cup, the others being in aluminum cups, one side of the cup disappeared. I had set the lantern on top of the TV set and could see the flame from where I sat working, but couldn't see the candle itself until I went over to check on it a few hours after I lit it.

The flame was very low. All the wax was liquid and very low as well. Concerned that the liquefied wax had drained out the open side of the cup and had pooled below the holder, or worse, had leaked onto the TV, I blew out the flame.

After letting it cool, I examined it only to find... nothing! The remaining portion of the cup was still there along with the resolidified wax, of course. Other than that, there was no trace of what happened to the missing part of the cup or candle wax anywhere. It's as though however a dripless candle can burn and leave no trace was how the cup was made, too.

It elevates "Leave No Trace" to a whole new level.

My Car Kit

2011-08-07T21:11:00.011-05:00

This was birthed when I first started driving with a few items like a tire pressure gauge and entrenching tool, grew with more items such as jumper cables and flares, was the beginning of a survival kit with the addition of a gallon of water when I crossed a desert, then expanded as I saw the wisdom of preparedness.

In keeping with my 15 Essential Systems and using my EDC (Every Day Carry) items as well as items from my hiking, camping, and road trip packing lists, this is my current car emergency and survival kit.

Although I reduce water and food items for running errands in town and day trips, keeping the bulk at home as my home preparedness kit, I take everything listed on road trips.

1. NAVIGATION:

a. Luminous Suunto Clipper compass - on my car key ring.

b. Map(s)/road atlas.

c. Highlighters - I use yellow to plan and a darker color to mark my actual route to make it easy to see how far off-track I went.

d. Carson Lumi Click - a lighted magnifier.

e. GPSr and cigarette lighter adapter - optional. These things are great, but I've never relied solely on one.

To confirm my distrust, when I went to see "The Marriage of Figaro," I planned on dining at a particular restaurant after the opera and programmed the waypoint two nights before I left home. After the opera, however, something happened and my GPSr screen blanked out. It wasn't the batteries because I was using the DC adapter. It wasn't the DC adapter because it did the same thing with the batteries which registered a full charge on the meter before blanking out again.

Since I always have a variety of maps with me, I simply selected one and proceeded to the restaurant by memory of the street name and approximate cross street. It turned out that I was two blocks off on the cross street, but that wasn't far to drive in that vicinity.

I never did figure out what happened to it. It worked fine when I tested it after my return, even I went out of town to meet a friend for lunch.

2. PERSONAL ATTIRE:

a. Sun glasses with retainer cord, & clip-on keeper for car visor.

b. Sun hat or visor, winter hat or knit cap, scarf or neck gaiter - depending on the season.

c. Red bandanna - multiple uses.

d. Driving gloves/poptop mittens - convertible mittens are the greatest because they provide the warmth of mittens with the manual dexterity of fingerless gloves and all I have to do is pop off the top of the mitten to switch from one to the other - luv'em!

e. Shawl wrap, sweater, windbreaker, and winter coat - depending on season.

f. Walking shoes/hiking sandals/hiking boots/winter boots & socks, YakTrax Walkers - again, depending on the season.

g. Change of clothing appropriate for the season.

h. Cascade II poncho with DIY ties - breathable and much more comfortable than the PVC poncho of my exposure kit (next item).

i. E-kit: PVC poncho, N95 face mask, swim goggles, earplugs, nitrile gloves, plastic bags - in addition to protecting from dust, noise, or hazardous NBC materials; for extra protection in case of self-rescue, I can put the plastic bags over my socks inside each shoe to waterproof my feet and help prevent frostbite. The nitrile gloves may be used similarly inside my gloves or convertible mittens to further protect my hands.

3. HYDRATION - because water is vital, I have multiple backups for this system:

a. Brita Bottle/thermal water bottle/Katadyn filtering bottle, insulated carrier, Katadyn ViruStat or microfiltering cartridge - which water bottle I use depends on the season and how far from home I'm going.

For example, if I'm only running around town, I use the Brita Bottle or thermal bottle when I want to keep ice longer in over 100° F summer heat like it's been for 65 days so far this summer. For a long road trip, I take all three since the Katadyn bottle is part of my hiking and preparedness kits, using the Brita Bottle as it's intended to be used or to fill the thermal bottle with great-tasting water instead of taking along a Brita pitcher like I used to do.

I like the Katadyn bottle because it may be used as a regular water bottle, a microfiltering bottle when used with the microfiltering cartridge, or a purifying bottle when used with the ViruStat cartridge. It would be great if the carbon filter for the Katadyn bottle could be purchased separately so we have the option of using it as an aesthetic filtering bottle because it would allow every option. Then, I wouldn't need the Brita Bottle.

b. 18 oz. stainless steel bottle mug with fold-in handles and graduated measurements on the side and a foil pot pie pan as a DIY lid - to boil water if necessary. A regular 1 quart/liter Nalgene-type water bottle fits into these bottle mugs so there's very little additional space needed to take one along. Some come with their own lid.

c. 1-4 gallon(s) water, 1 DIY cozy - 1 gallon for day trips to 4 gallons for crossing a desert. I still need to make the cozy to keep the water from freezing during the winter. I thought of using an inexpensive polystyrene ice chest, but it takes up too much space.

d. Katadyn Micropur MP1 tablets and a quart zip bag - to collect water if the location is too shallow for my bottle or mug and to purify water if viruses are a concern when I'm using the microfiltering cartridge in my Katadyn or another bottle that's less than 1 quart/liter capacity. While it's okay to use an MP1 tablet with a lesser amount of water, I think it's a waste since the quart zip bag is so easy to have on hand.

e. Aquarium tubing, 4' - to siphon water if I can't collect it with my water bottle or zip bag.

f. Evaporated milk with non-dairy creamer to improve taste.

g. Hot beverage fixings such as powdered spiced apple mix and bouillon cubes. Since caffeine and alcohol aid both dehydration and hypothermia, there's no coffee, cocoa, or alcohol in my kit. The only tea is decaffeinated.

h. Box juice - optional, usually apple which is better for alertness than caffeine.

i. (3) 2-liter PET bottles for SODIS - optional, depending on how much space is available after packing my small car for a road trip.

4. SHELTER & COMFORT:

a. Umbrella - use as portable sun shade as well as for rain.

b. Window shades & solar-powered fan - the fan hangs on the edge of a window to vent the interior hot air to the outside. Sorry, I've had it so long, I can't recall from where I bought it.

c. Space Emergency Blanket - I got one years ago and still keep it in the car at all times since I take the All Weather and Grabber blankets along only for road trips.

d. Space All Weather Blanket - sturdier, quieter, and easier to refold than a regular Space blanket; use as ground sheet, tarp, and signaling.

e. Therm-A-Rest Women's Trail Lite pad - from my hiking pack. I have an inexpensive closed-cell foam pad I use for car camping but it's too bulky for my pack or to keep in my small car. Not thinking, I got a 3/4-length Uber pad which doesn't insulate my usually colder legs and feet at all simply because it's short, so switched to the full-length Therm-A-Rest.

f. Space Grabber hooded all weather blanket - use as a hooded blanket and for signaling.

g. Plastic sheet (=> 2 mm thick) - create a greenhouse effect with a fire on one side when a Space blanket is used on the opposite side as a heat reflector for warmth. The sequence is: fire, plastic, person(s), Space blanket, and car or other surface to which the plastic sheet and Space blanket are secured. Also for additional purposes such as collecting dew or rain runoff for hydration.

Relying on only the car as shelter might not be a good idea because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and not being able to stretch out to sleep may prohibit getting the best quality of rest during an already stressful situation; it's a personal judgment call.

The problem with rigging a tarp or pitching an open-ended emergency tube tent is that wind shifts may cause the elements to storm in and the open sides permit insects and larger critters to share my shelter. I really don't like the idea of a snake snuggling up to me to share my body heat as I sleep and cringe at the thought of rolling over onto a rattler. While a mosquito net would help the open ends of a tube tent, it would have to be a large net to help with the open sides of a tarp.

I do have a hiking tent that needs to be staked out which I carted around in my car for a few years until I realized a free-standing tent would be better because of the variety of surroundings I was driving through.

When high summer temperatures turn a car into an oven making hyperthermia a concern, rigging a tarp to create shade would be more comfortable than getting under the car to stay cool. I can tie my All Weather blanket to my roof rack or close the car doors on the edge of one side and use my hiking poles or buy taller, collapsible tarp poles to hold up the other.

5. COMMUNICATION:

a. Cell phone with In Case of Emergency (ICE) info in phone book + cigarette adapter - I probably should get an additional way to recharge it in case I can't recharge it using the car battery.

b. Antenna help flag (red bandanna).

c. Fox 40 Mini whistle - on key ring.

d. Parker Jotter with Space Pen refill - the Jotter cost me less than the Space Pens were priced; I put a Space Pen refill in it because it writes when other pens won't.

e. Mechanical pencil & eraser.

f. Rite in the Rain® All-Weather notepaper - to leave weatherproof notes in case I leave the vehicle to attempt self-rescue so rescue personnel know which way I went and my condition; this paper needs a pencil or Space pen to be able to write on it.

g. Surveyor's tape, 30' - to leave a trail of "breadcrumbs" in case I leave the car to search for water so I can find my way back and so SAR may track me down.

h. Signal mirror.

i. Radio Shack NOAA Alert radio.

j. Grundig AM/FM/SW radio, optional - to keep up with what's going on in the rest of the world.

6. FIRE - Vital for heat, purifying water, signaling, cooking, light, and morale; I have multiple backups for this system as well:

a. Lighter - with an adjustable flame that mimics a blowtorch, butane lighters are not dependable at high altitude or when wet or cold, however, there are windproof and water-resistant models available.

b. Wooden safety and storm-proof matches in waterproof match safe - backup to the lighter.

c. Swedish FireSteel Army model by Light My Fire - ferrocerium rods work even if wet and will outlast both the lighter and matches by far.

d. (2) "Magic" can't-blow-out trick birthday candles - for windy conditions.

e. Magnesium block firestarter - the shavings are too easily blown away, but if sheltered by kindling and wood, will help dry damp wood so it can burn.

f. (6) PJ cotton balls and (5) PJ tampons - triple-sized cotton balls and super plus tampons slathered with petroleum jelly as DIY tinder stored in a plastic snack zip bag.

g. (3) Firestarting sticks - in case natural kindling is too wet.

h. Portable stove & fuel - for this car kit, I selected the Esbit Pocket stove.

i. (1) Nuwick 120-hour candle - to warm vehicle and some foods, it also provides light.

j. Silicone & wooden trivets - there's no point in melting or burning up the vehicle or ground sheet. The wooden trivet could also serve as fuel in a pinch.

k. Set of two nested camping pots (with fold-in handles) with lids, 1.3 & 0.9 liter capacity. The smaller pot stays in the car kit all the time while the larger pot gets added for road trips. I used to include a kettle, but decided it's unnecessary between my bottle mug and these pots.

l. (2) EzHeat instant reusable handwarmers - boil in water to reactivate.

m. Fire extinguisher - required by some U.S. National Parks.

7. ILLUMINATION:

a. Mini Maglite with red lens from accessories pack - in glove box to read maps and preserve night vision. I got this years before and converted it to LED before getting the LED model and haven't had a reason to remove it from my glove box.

b. Mini Maglite LED, accessories pack, Nite Ize headband, neck lanyard. A brighter light than my converted, older Mini Mag, I really like having the SOS and strobe features of the next-generation model.

The problem with the headband is wearing the flashlight on the side of my head makes me feel lopsided. As a result, I prefer the lanyard except it bounces when I move and I can't always direct the light to precisely where I'm looking without holding the flashlight in my hand.

c. Headlamp - I currently have three I don't like and continue to look for one I do. I put one of these three in my car kit.

d. (4) Chemical light sticks - to light car interior to aid visibility while I sleep without running down batteries or risking a fire. I'd hate for another driver to not see me when I need help or, worse, hit my car but because they have expiration dates and I bought a lighted traffic cone, I doubt I'll replace them after they're gone.

8. NUTRITION:

a. Snacks - a small selection chosen from Clif/Luna bars, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, or peanut butter-filled snack crackers. These are for day trips.

b. Three or more days worth of meals - instant oatmeal and Cream of Wheat, Bumble Bee's Tuna Salad Lunch on the Run, instant miso soup, Knorr's Sides - rice and pasta, Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, Ramen, foil-packaged or canned fish, chicken, or meat, canned vegetables, fruit cups, and Mountain House freeze-dried food (so far, I haven't liked the other brands I've tried). These are also my home preparedness kit. I prefer dried, dehydrated, or freeze-dried products because they don't have the weight of canned goods and there's no risk of breakage as with glass making this kit double as my evacuation kit. Although I realize they need water to prepare, and water might not be readily available, I hope to be rescued before my water supply is exhausted or be able to evacuate to a locale with an adequate water supply outside the disaster area.

c. Plastic plate as cutting board, paring knife, and a Frisbee for a plate because the raised edge helps prevent spillage. One of the camping pots can double as a bowl.

d. Eating utensils: plastic set of knife, fork, & spoon; citrus peeler for fresh fruit bought along the way.

e. Salt & pepper.

f. Manual can opener - even though I have a P-51 can opener on my key ring.

g. Punch can opener + cap lifter + corkscrew - leftover from my first attempt at making up a car kit for spontaneous picnics.

9. FIRST AID KIT, HEALTH, HYGIENE, LAUNDRY:

a. Commercially prepared FAK, lip balm, sun block, insect repellent, insect sting relief, artificial tears, rehydration mix.

b. Personal medications, multi-vitamin & multi-mineral pills.

c. Floss, toothbrush & toothpaste.

d. Toilet tissue pack/roll, toilet seat covers - this started out as a travel item.

e. Feminine supplies including a Freshette feminine urinary device (FUD) and a 2 L colored PET bottle - the Freshette is because I don't like exposing my bare butt in the great outdoors and hours in a car on an evacuation route wouldn't give me anything in the way of privacy much less a clean restroom. The bottle is so I don't have to let more cold air in by opening the door to go outside; it's colored so I don't confuse it with my SODIS bottles and so I won't have to regard the color of its contents.

f. Hand sanitizing wipes/gel - alcohol-based sanitizer gel will also help start a fire.

g. Facial tissue, hand lotion, foot powder, baby wipes - convenient sponge-type bath.

h. No Rinse shampoo, No Rinse body wash - for a more thorough clean-up when water is in short supply.

i. Biodegradable washing liquid - for body, hair, dishes, and laundry in fresh or sea water.

j. Solar shower - this black plastic bag, tube, and nozzle contraption that uses the sun to heat the water started out as a camping item because there's nothing like a hot shower.

k. Shout stain removal wipes, optional.

l. Quart and gallon zip bags for trash.

10. REPAIR & TOOLS:

a. Squeegee, Rain-X wipes, windshield interior cleaner, ice scraper, spare wiper refills - leftover from the last time I bought refills since my wiper blades are different lengths

b. Leatherman multi-tool, knife & scissors sharpener, LifeHammer, ResQMe - on my key ring for when I'm not in my own car, I didn't know about the ResQMe when I bought my LifeHammer.

c. Gorilla Grip universal socket, 3/8" ratchet handle & driver extension set, adjustable wrench, entrenching tool, ax, Sierra saw.

d. Duct tape, 100' paracord, zip ties, bungee cords, bungee net - to secure items on the trunk lid's luggage rack.

e. Jumper cables, spare fuses, tow rope, traction mats & plastic bag to keep car clean after use, 1-gallon gas can, funnel, siphon, plastic bag to hold used funnel and siphon.

f. Bumper-mounted deer warning devices - absolutely fantastic for keeping bugs from executing kamikaze dives into my windshield; when the splats start up again, I know it's time to wash out the devices. And I've never hit a deer which is why I originally bought them.

g. 2-AAA Pack-a-Cone, warning triangle, flares, reflective safety vest.

h. Wheel block (a brick), jack, tire iron, spare tire, air compressor with cigarette lighter cord, tire pressure gauge.

i. (6) spare AAA cells for Lumnifier, Pack-A-Cone.

j. (4) spare AA cells for flashlights.

k. Eyeglass repair kit - gotta have sunglasses!

l. (3) 1-quart zip bags, (5) 1-gallon Hefty One Zip freezer bags, (3) kitchen can trash bags, (3) leaf trash bags.

m. (1) roll paper towels.

Some lists include a drive belt, hoses, and clamps. I don't because I have my car serviced according to the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual and take the car in for an oil change and to have such things checked before each road trip for my own peace of mind, ounce of prevention and all that.

11. DOCUMENTATION:

a. Driver's license - in wallet.

b. Proof of insurance & phone #.

c. Registration & owner's manual.

d. Roadside assistance membership card with phone #.

e. ICE info - in wallet.

f. [Disposable] camera to record scene of accident.

g. Notebook to record accident info: other driver's license #, car plate #, insurance.

h. This list - to quickly assess what's available, use as tinder.

12. FINANCES:

Cash & coins - I'm not sure what good these will be in an emergency or survival situation except to pay for a taxi, tow truck, or on-the-spot repairs since many businesses accept credit/debit cards. I keep coins in a Tupperware pudding cup in one of the car cup-holders for toll roads and parking meters.

13. TRANSPORTATION:

a. Small ice chest - used without ice to insulate my FAK medications from heat when I park for a while to visit a site enroute to my next lodging.

b. Plastic bins - to store and easily transfer non-canned food and other preparedness items between home and car.

c. Doubled shopping bags for canned food.

d. Car accessory litter bags with Velcro closures - hung off the back of the front seats using the head restraint supports. These are used to hold my folding umbrella, maps, Mini Maglite LED flashlight, and other small items.

e. Car accessory storage bag that hangs in the trunk next to the back of the back seat - to hold almost everything in the Tools & Repairs category using a minimum of trunk floor space. Some items, like the brick, saw, and ax, are stored underneath or because of the angle of the seat back, between the bag and seat back such as the solar fan and sun shade during the off-season.

f. Car top carrier - for road trips. Abundant shopping in San Francisco and Los Angeles motivated me to buy a car top carrier system while I was in L.A. because of the greater capacity and providing more protection than the luggage rack on the trunk lid. I don't store car kit items in it.

g. Da car - ideally, items needed immediately such as the FAK, candle, matches, Space Blanket, and water would be within reach so the occupant(s) can preserve body heat while taking care of immediate needs without having to open the vehicle doors.

There's a luggage rack on the trunk lid, but because any cargo has to be netted, depending on state law, and tarped to withstand weather, I view this as a temporary carrier or for the last resort.

14. ENTERTAINMENT - The only items kept in the car at all times are my pocket and mini kites. I take my Kindle when I foresee waiting time while I'm doing errands in town. The rest are added for day or road trips as desired:

a. Camera, recharger, tripod.

b. Binoculars/monocular.

c. Crossword puzzle book, playing cards, assorted pocket, mini, and full-sized kites - under the right conditions, a kite could be used to signal my location.

d. Cassettes and MP3 player.

e. Cassette adapter and sticky pad for the MP3 player.

f. Kindle (also needs the cassette adapter) with games as well as reading material - I can recharge the Kindle using the inverter I got for my laptop.

g. Small musical instrument such as a tin whistle or harmonica and music book.

h. Watercolor painting supplies.

15. SECURITY & SELF-DEFENSE - Because this category depends on the variety of states' laws as much as personal preference, I generally limit it to my Fox 40 Mini whistle because if close enough, three blasts can really hurt a bad guy's ears giving me a chance to get away as well as signaling my need for help, three being the universal distress signal.

[Updated 11/18/2011]

Review: Outdoor Products Water Bottle Sleeve

2011-07-30T10:56:00.001-05:00

Last month, I bought the large neoprene insulated water bottle sleeve designed to fit most 750 ml bottles, item #1161 OP, by Outdoor Products for US$3.00 at Wal-Mart's sports department. The measurements are 7.75" x 3.125" (19.6 cm x 7.9 cm). The available colors I saw were black, red, blue, and orange.

Since a carabiner clip and a webbed carrying strap are included, I don't need the Brita Bottle's carrying loop anymore and removed it. Because the sleeve is tall enough to reach the lower edge of the Bottle's cap, I don't have to be as careful when capping my Bottle after refilling it because the sleeve catches any drops and absorbs them just like it absorbs condensation produced by the ice I put in the Bottle.

When inserting my Bottle into the sleeve, I align the mark I put on one of the seams of the Bottle with the stylish, diamond-shaped silver logo on the front so I may get as much water as possible before having to refill it.

The care instruction tag states, "SPOT CLEAN OR HAND WASH WITH COLD WATER AND MILD DETERGENT DRIP DRY ONLY."

It works well and I'd buy it again. In fact, I did buy another in a different color to rotate them from day to day so one may air dry while I use the other figuring nearly constant moisture on the inside of the sleeve from the condensation and drips would create an environment for breeding things I rather not think about. Those wanting to be able to visually monitor their water level may want to buy the smaller size, instead.

However, with the scorching temperatures this summer, yesterday being the 55th day the high temperature has been over 100°F, last week I went back to using my 17 oz. (.5 L) stainless steel Aladdin thermal bottle simply because ice lasts longer in it. The bottle sleeve fits it, too, better than all the other insulated carriers I've tried on it. Whoo-hoo!

Too Hot

2011-07-24T14:39:00.002-05:00

It.

Is.

Too.

Hot.

To.

Blog.

Evaporated Milk +

2011-07-16T06:13:00.003-05:00

The advantage of evaporated milk, whether powdered or canned, is it doesn't have to be refrigerated making it ideal for hikers, campers, boaters, travelers, and preparedness.

The disadvantage is it doesn't taste as good as fresh milk prompting me to buy expensive box milk that doesn't need refrigeration.

Trying out a tip I read in "Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail" by Roland Mueser © 1998 Ragged Mountain Press, I added a couple of spoonfuls of non-dairy creamer to my cup of evaporated milk, stirred well, and gingerly tasted it.

It was great! Whoo-hoo!

[Updated 12/1/2011 - If I use non-fat, non-dairy creamer, it's even better to add a couple of spoonfuls of "Original" Carnation Malted Milk.]

DIY Poncho Improvement: Side Ties

2011-07-09T06:03:00.002-05:00

What I used:

-- a Cascade II backpacker poncho,
-- (1) 36" shoelace,
-- (4) eyelets from a 5/16" (8mm) eyelet kit by Prym Creative, part #14015, US$2.97 at Wal-Mart,
-- a hammer,
-- a measuring tape,
-- the scissors on my SAK Classic,
-- disposable lighter.

Contemplating for what else I might use the eyelets mentioned in my last post, it suddenly dawned on me that they're perfect for keeping my poncho from flapping in the wind. As mentioned in a previous post reviewing the Cascade II poncho, I stitched a few heavy-duty Velcro coin sets in mine. Since then, high winds once separated them during a storm. Sure, it was such bad weather I wondered why I wasn't safely indoors, but considering I was already out, there was no reason for me to get wet if it could be avoided.

Following the rule of "measure twice, cut once," I put eyelets in my poncho near the knees, left and right sides, front and back. The cutting part of the eyelet tool didn't cut as well as the enclosed instructions portrayed or maybe I didn't hit as hard with my hammer as I should have. I used the wonderfully sharp scissors of my Swiss Army knife Classic model to complete the holes.

Finishing the rest of the eyelet installations was easy.

Next came deciding what to use as ties and what type of knots would be best.

Settling on a 36" shoelace leftover from a pair bought to make a fore-and-aft cord for a hat, I cut it into fourths and sealed the cut edges with a lighter to prevent fraying.

After tying a double overhand knot on one end, I threaded each piece of shoelace through an eyelet ensuring the knot stopped it from going all the way through.

After each quarter-shoelace was in an eyelet, I tied another double overhand knot in the opposite end to prevent it from slipping out of the eyelet.

Finally, I tied the pair of front and back quarter-shoelaces together on the left side using a slipped reef knot to make it easy to untie if necessary, then repeated with the pair on the right side.

If I didn't pull the poncho on over my head from the bottom like a T-shirt, if I ducked into it from an open side, for example, I'd have to leave the tie(s) undone until after I had the poncho on. Either way is possible since this modification provides the options of tying before it's put on, tying after it's put on, or leaving it untied altogether.

Grommets

2011-07-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about my soft-sided travel pack which has an easy-access zipper to the main compartment that can't be locked.

Since there might be times I need to check the bag during a domestic flight, foreign train stations usually won't allow baggage in their baggage-hold rooms if they can't be locked, and considering those Pacsafe wire nets are so darn heavy and might even lead a thief to believe there's something inside worth stealing, I've been thinking about putting grommets into my bag in a place convenient to insert a lock through them and the zipper pull.

Wal-Mart's sewing notions section has a Prym Creative eyelet kit for US$2.97 that should work, part #14015, the bar code on the back is #72879 25061. Maybe I'll put more in to lock the zippers on the outside pockets while I'm at it.

The discouraging thing is that suitcase locks are meant only to keep bags from opening accidentally during transit which could also be accomplished by safety pins or cable ties. While locks will also keep an honest person honest by discouraging crimes of opportunity, anyone determined to get into a bag won't be deterred.

Searching for a Headlamp

2011-06-25T14:32:00.001-05:00

I'm in the process of searching for the perfect LED headlamp for me to have easy, hands-free portable light. A few years ago, I bought one by Energizer for about US$10 that has wonderful features. It's just too bad the headband is too tight and isn't replaceable.

After that, I bought a Nite Ize headband designed to adapt mini flashlights such as my Mini Maglite into headlamps. Unfortunately, I find it best used as a neckband to help support the flashlight on my shoulder and actually prefer to clip the flashlight onto a regular neck lanyard which gives me general lighting although I rather have lighting that's more specific to my task at hand.

Exit stage left, a Rayovac headlamp for less than $6 at Wal-Mart. The headband is very comfortable but the battery compartment is extremely difficult for me to press to open. Although the white light is okay, the single red LED has a large dark circle in the middle of its light.

Enter stage right, a Coleman Max headlamp for nearly $25 at Wal-Mart. This has high beam, low beam, lower beam, plus red and blue LEDs. The headband is adjustable and replaceable. The battery compartment is the easiest to open of the three I've tried, having its own tool as part of the headband adjustment. Very nice. However, I think its having so many sexy features made it too heavy for my delicate head.

Back to the store for another try.

New Tent

2011-06-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

A year ago, I decided to buy a new hiking tent. There's nothing wrong with the hiking tent I already have other than it isn't free-standing and I don't like having to contort myself to get around the center pole blocking the entrance.

I shopped until I dropped last year, not finding any tent I liked well enough to buy. Either the tents weren't free-standing, the ceilings were too low, the carry weight too heavy, or the cost too high.

This year, I settled on the Kelty Salida 2 which came out just last year.

Now, all I have to do is wait for this unbearably hot weather to subside.

Traveler's Key Ring

2011-06-10T19:21:00.001-05:00

I've been fiddling with my traveler's key ring and decided I may as well post the list.

It originated many years ago when I got tired of digging out a coin every time I wanted to use my tripod. That was before getting a tripod with a quick-release mount. I put a coin-like screwdriver onto a split-ring and hung it on my waistband with a belt clip. Items gradually accumulated until last weekend when I decided to see how everything fit into my 15 Essential Systems.

1. Navigation - luminous compass, mini highlighter. I used to have a Suunto Clipper on a fob I liberated from a cheap no-name compass that developed a honking huge bubble during the first part of my road trip in 2006. Before getting the Suunto, I tried using one of those several-function compass-whistle contraptions, but the compass was too small, the luminous points too dim, and the whistle too soft.

I bought a Brunton 9041 last year so I wouldn't have to move the Clipper from my car key ring to my traveler's key ring and back again. Currently, the 9041 is kept on a small carabiner so it's easy to remove from the split-ring to avoid letting other metal objects influence the compass.

As for the highlighter, I plan my routes using a yellow highlighter and use a darker color to mark where I actually go since I travel with a "that looks interesting" attitude and often stray from my intended path whether driving or walking. It helps me get back on track and is a reminder of what I did and where I went after the trip is over and I'm back home. The mini highlighter, bought at Staples, is a Sharpie Accent with a metal loop on the cap to attach it to a key ring.

2. Personal Attire.

3. Hydration.

4. Shelter - mini umbrella. Since this goes on another belt clip on the other side of my waistband when it looks like it might rain, it really doesn't count although it could. That's why I am.

5. Communication - Fox 40 Micro whistle, Trekker Space Pen. Every woman needs a loud, dependable whistle at hand and I don't like digging around in my purse for a pen whenever I want to make a note, either.

Fisher Space pens and the pressurized Space refills made for other pens are great because they write on any paper, even that slick thermal stuff, under any temperature, at any angle including the gravity-defying position of upside-down.

6. Fire - Spark-Lite, invented by the owner of Four Seasons Survival and also distributed by Adventure Medical Kits, or a Mini Swedish FireSteel by Light My Fire. This is an offshoot from my hiker's survival necklace. Realizing I got carried away with this preparedness endeavor and having too many items on my traveler's key ring, I put the sparker on a second small carabiner to live in my travel purse until needed. Since the Spark-Lite doesn't come with a lanyard, I duct-taped the melted and knotted ends of 1/8" orange utility cord onto the stem of the Spark-Lite.

I occasionally swap the two sparkers because I can't decide which I prefer to have where. The Spark-Lite is operated with one hand so is probably better for hiking where the potential for getting injured is greater. However, a Swedish FireSteel is much easier for me to use.

7. Illumination - Garrity key ring LED. Acknowledging this is never used until it's too dark for me to see without it, I relegated it to live in my travel purse on my second carabiner with my sparker until needed.

8. Nutrition - P-51 can opener, bottle cap lifter-can punch. For those who don't know, the P-51 is the big brother of the P-38 military can opener. The other is an Ekco Pocket Boy I happened to see in a local grocery store. It folds in half making it a nice size for key rings. To reduce weight and the number of items on my traveler's key ring, I added these to my second carabiner as well.

9. FAK, Health - Chapstick in a Leashable, Pro Tick remover. The Leashable is a clip-on neoprene holder that came with a tube of different lip balm. I borrow the Pro Tick remover from my hiking survival necklace for areas where I might encounter ticks I'd want to remove as soon as possible. Maybe I should buy another tick remover to ensure I don't forget it.

10. Repair & Tools - Craftsman 9-4160 screwdriver, Swiss Army Knife Classic model, ResQMe. The Craftsman 4-in-1 screwdriver I bought at Sears is what got me started on creating my traveler's key ring. Even though my current Slik tripod has a quick-release mount, I still use it to change over to my mini tripod, and change batteries and memory cards.

The SAK is now on the second carabiner in my travel purse and will have to be left behind or put in checked luggage when I fly.

The ResQMe only goes on my traveler's key ring when I rent a car. Otherwise, it remains on my house key ring for when I ride with other people since my own car has a LifeHammer mounted on the center console.

11. Documentation - USB drive. It fits into a clip-on holder and contains a copy of my current computer files since my laptop and backup external hard drive were both stolen in 2007. Eventually, I'll get around to putting report-loss-to phone numbers and critical information on it, password-protected, of course, if not encrypted.

12. Finances - emergency cash in a fob. I saw what looked like spy capsules online, designed to hold one or two folded and rolled bills in a key ring fob. CVS and Wal-Mart have good-sized pill fobs that will hold more which I think is better since I prefer to have easier-to-spend ten and twenty dollar bills than fifties and hundreds.

I may be wrong, but when it comes to traveling, I think of emergency cash in terms of a few meals and maybe cab fare back to my lodging where I can use the phone to get stolen credit/debit cards replaced or to a bank to cash a check. Never one to carry much over $25, I once spent six weeks with nothing more than a dime and a penny in my wallet. Hey, if I don't have it on me, I can't spend it, right?

13. Transportation.

14. Entertainment - pocket kite. Yup, a mini kite on a key ring means I'm ready to fly a kite any time there's enough breeze and the room for it.

15. Security & Self-defense - the same Fox 40 whistle in 5. Communication and the same USB drive in 11. Documentation. Having the USB drive on me is more secure or makes me feel like it is because losing all the work I did over the 10 months to that point of my trip was terrible.

There it is. Twelve categories out of fifteen on a key ring! Admittedly, it's better to wear it under a blouse that isn't tucked in to avoid looking like a building superintendent, but it's a great convenience to have often-used items at my fingertips and a comfort knowing I can add the items of the second carabiner back to it at any time.

To recap, the 17 items are:

On my traveler's key ring clipped to my waistband - highlighter, kite*, lip balm, pen, pill fob, ResQMe*, screwdriver, tick remover*, USB drive, whistle, luminous compass on a small utility carabiner.

On my second carabiner - Ekco Pocket Boy, LED flashlight, P-51, sparker, SAK.

On another belt clip - umbrella*.

* when conditions warrant it.

Lists

2011-06-04T16:45:00.001-05:00

This past week was spent trying to trim a packing list down to only what will fit in a carry-on bag. I've yet to succeed.

This is odd for me since I've traveled with only a carry-on before without any problems, but I didn't save any of those packing lists. Besides, this time, I'm organizing my packing list according to the 15 Essential Systems.

As a result, after I get this list done, I'm planning to use it as the basis for a master packing list that will have additional components for such things as kite-flying and motel camping during road trips.

That way, I'll already have my packing list and will only have to copy it to make a new file then delete whatever won't be needed for the current trip. I thought about simply printing it and crossing off what I won't need, but don't want to waste the paper and ink printing unneeded items and want to keep a record of what I packed for various trips. If I find something that consistently isn't being used, I can delete it from my master list unless it's a preparedness item such as my whistle or water purification tablets.

I don't think it's the preparedness items that are making me have too much for a carry-on. I think it's having clothing for temperatures ranging from 45° to 80° F. Theoretically, I should be able to layer a shirt over a top, adding thermal underwear, a beret or knit cap, convertible mittens, and a windbreaker if I get cold. Or, not wear either the overshirt or the top if I get too warm.

It isn't the quantity of clothing, either. Except for one or two sets of thermal underwear, I'm planning on three sets of underwear (one to wear, one to wash, and one for spare), two skirts, one pair of pants, two long-sleeved shirts, two short-sleeved tops, and one of my summer seersucker dresses to double as a nightgown to eliminate my needing a robe to go down the hall. That isn't much for a three-week trip. It isn't much for a one-week trip.

For footwear, I'm planning on one pair of shoes or boots that I'll wear plus flip-flops that I'll pack, so that's not the problem.

Thinking about it as I write this post, I think the problem is my tripod. Since 9-11, some airlines have been ignoring the Bern Convention that says camera equipment is exempt from carry-on limitations, so I'm planning to pack it into my carry-on instead of carrying it separately in its own case as I did prior to 9-11. However, doing so may mean I'll end up checking a bag. Damn terrorists!

I've also been considering different backpacks for my Grab & Go bag. I nearly decided on one before realizing it has about the same capacity as my travel pack which qualifies as a carry-on bag for air travel. That's too small since I want to be able to carry camping equipment as well in case I decide to get into backpacking which sounds really good to me right now.

Finally, thinking about cooking, eating, and sleeping outdoors whether I get a backpack or not, I started working on a camping list based on my 15 Essential Systems. I plan to create the list, then see what I actually have and which items I need to buy to fill in the holes. I think I already have everything and using the 15 Essential Systems to organize my list will ensure I do.

Interesting Week - Preparedness

2011-05-27T04:57:00.004-05:00

Between Joplin, MO suffering from tornado devastation and a long line of huge storms with tornadoes passing through on Tuesday, the local CBS TV station polled viewers asking if they were going to step up their emergency preparations. Surprisingly, since the broadcast area includes Wichita Falls, TX that was devastated in 1979, 73% of the respondents said, "No."

One couple, looking like they're past the mid-life crisis stage of life, said they always have water and other items in each of their vehicles because they've learned to be prepared. I've been thinking along that line simply so I won't have to haul stuff out to the car I might forget under the stress of having to evacuate suddenly and to have it already there when I go on road trips.

Considering the government initiated National Preparedness Month in 2003 and all the natural disasters that have hit this country since, I wonder why it's more important for so many people to have the latest electronic games and smart phones than it is to set some things aside for the proverbial rainy day, not even having a basic, inexpensive car survival kit to keep themselves from freezing to death.

Are the relatively few of us who are prepared, or at least are trying to be, living amongst a nation of hedonists or are they just stupid people who should be left subject to the law of survival of the fittest? How many of us could be that hard-hearted knowing that we might need help ourselves someday despite our preparedness?

Maybe I'm fortunate in that I've been able to draw from other peoples' experience and knowledge as well as my own. My father grew up in Idaho on a farm which necessitates self-sufficiency. My mother and I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. She and her parents lived through the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the initial shock, panic, and subsequent war conditions. As a family, we experienced a hurricane and tropical storms along with warnings of tsunamis that, fortunately, never materialized.

As an apartment-dweller, I went back to my experience during a spring break in Honolulu living with a high school friend and her family on the 36' ketch they sailed from the state of Washington to Hawaii trying to remember what they had and how they did things in their small, compact, floating home. I'm also drawing from my experiences traveling, hiking, car camping, and camping with horses with friends who were in the Army.

Dad, who drove through all the lower 48 states plus parts of Canada and Mexico, taught me how to navigate using a road map during our Mainland road trips. I learned how to navigate using a topo map, lensatic compass, and protractor courtesy of the U.S. Army coming out #4 on the test which pretty well embarrassed many of the men. A few real men that were there near me congratulated me on doing so well; the rest were sullen. To the latter, I didn't exist.

Having been taught to put an extra gallon of water in the car trunk when crossing deserts on road trips and stocking several gallons of water in my apartment because of the Y2K bug scare, I already knew to have water on hand for emergencies. Traveling through areas flooded out by 2006's Pineapple Express prompted me to keep extra food on hand.

Also in 2006, a friend in WA advised me to have a 72-hour kit. I didn't know what one was, but found out and have been working on it basing my kit on hiking's 10 Essential Systems I adapted to cover travel and general preparedness to suit me and my lifestyle.

As a result, I've been thanked for sharing what little knowledge I've shared and someone suggested I write a book. At the time, I said "no" because I rather concentrate on writing novels, but thinking about what I know and my experiences and all the research I've done over the past 2+ years for hydration alone (there's a lot of misinformation out there and even the CDC is putting out info that isn't as accurate as it could be), I'm reconsidering.

Already having gear for hiking, camping, and traveling, I'm actually farther along with my own preparedness than this blog indicates. At this point, I'm filling in relatively small holes and organizing or reorganizing.

For the Communication category, because of the tornadoes of the past few days, I'm thinking wearing a lanyard with a whistle during storms, maybe my hiking survival lanyard since I already have it set up, would help get me found faster if I'm under debris, conscious, and able to blow my whistle.

I consider the Documentation category to be incomplete because I misplaced the key to my fireproof lock box which is way too heavy for air travel or evacuation if I have to go on foot. My passport is out because of traveling; I couldn't find the key to put it back in the lock box.

For Finances, I have a little cash on hand in case plastic can't be used due to power outage, but should have much more. A friend in Alabama who experienced April's storms that took out the electricity in her area putting stores and gas stations on a cash-basis said her residential area was without power for 5 days but power wasn't fully restored for 11 days.

For the Transportation category, I need to gather everything together to be able to Grab & Go quickly. Of course, my primary mode of transportation is my car, but what if I encounter a situation like in the movie, "The Happening," where people leave their vehicles to proceed on foot?

A large backpacker's backpack would be best, but since I'm travel-oriented already having a couple of carry-on travel packs, the kind of suitcase that converts to a backpack, that I can use for evacuation, do I shell out the money for one?

Because I'm geared up for hiking, camping, air travel, and road trips, I'm undecided about how to transport my stuff in the event of evacuation by foot without buying a backpacker's backpack to serve as my Grab & Go bag and duplicating stuff to store in it all the time. I have practically everything I need. However, I don't want to risk robbing Peter to pay Paul only to get caught not repaying Peter before the SHTF.

For the category of Security, I'm still figuring out what to do since a lot of stuff was stolen out of my car trunk in 2007 in San Ysidro, CA. Almost everybody knows to keep valuables out of sight, but thieves know the car trunk is where people put them. Lacking a car alarm system, securing the trunk with a cable that sounds an alarm if cut might be the answer for rental cars in addition to long road trips where I have too much stuff to immediately take everything to my room.

The matter of self-defense is a highly personal one because of the variety of state and local laws governing guns, knives, pepper sprays or Mace, and stun guns. Not to mention the TSA.

Personally, I can't see any sense in buying a gun only to have it confiscated without compensation if I'm in a situation like those being bused out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina who had to give up their guns and knives before being allowed to board a bus.

OTOH, I much rather have a gun than be raped.

On the other other hand, if I can evacuate soon enough, getting far enough away from whatever bad guys remain behind, the money spent buying a firearm would be wasted and better spent on a motel room.

For the time being, I'm relying on prayer and the Fox 40 Mini whistle on my key ring which will hurt a bad guy's ears, hopefully stunning him/them with ear pain long enough for me to get away while it signals my need for help.

Finally, the Entertainment category is covered, I'm sure, although I still intend to get a pocket-sized MP3 player to replace my portable CD player. Since it's low priority, no rush. My Kindle, pocket kite, playing cards, journal, camera, tin whistle, and watercolor paints, etc., should be plenty enough to keep me occupied if necessary in the meantime.

Writing it all up for this blog as promised is the bitch.

Interesting Week - Laptop Battery

2011-05-27T01:23:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, my laptop started displaying a pop-up warning about my battery reaching the end of its usable life with a link to order another whenever I powered it on or took it off Stand By. You'd think I would have been getting this warning since November, but I haven't.

So, first thing Monday morning, I ordered a new battery from Dell which currently has an offer for free shipping with a minimum purchase the battery satisfies. The order process and confirmation email indicated that the battery would arrive today. It arrived Wednesday from TN. That's great order fulfillment. Plus, it was free!

After ensuring the new battery is the right one, I decided to set it aside to save it until the old one is dead. A new battery is so expensive (the old battery was 32 months old when the flashing light first appeared), I want to make it last as long as possible.

I've been working off of AC, mostly, anyway. The only reason I need a battery otherwise is so I don't lose anything if the power suddenly goes off.

Review: Brita Bottle

2011-05-21T09:51:00.010-05:00

The new Brita Bottle, available since mid-February, is an on-demand, aesthetic-filtering, environmentally-friendly, reusable water bottle made of durable, easy-to-squeeze, BPA-free, recycle code #4 LDPE plastic.

It is available in translucent blue or green for MSRP US$9.99 each, including one replaceable filter, or in a Twin Pack from $18.99. Replacement filters are MSRP $7.99 per pair.

The Bottle is 9.75" tall. The circumference varies from 7-5/8" at the waist to 9" at the largest point.

The literature inside says the filtering system was tested and certified in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standard 42 for aesthetics to reduce chlorine taste and odor by at least 50%. The Brita Bottle averaged 79% with the minimum at 58%.

The NSF requirement for the reduction of particulates is 85% to be a Class VI filter which is 50 to <80 microns. The Brita Bottle averaged more than 99.9% that was also the minimum.

Not finding the Brita Bottle at Wal-Mart and not wanting to drive out-of-town to Target or shop online, I located my blue Bottle at Walgreens. The enclosed directions say to first hand-wash it with mild soap, but knowing soap can leave a residue even when well-rinsed, I used regular liquid dishwashing detergent, instead. The directions also say that everything except the filter is top-rack dishwasher-safe.

After flushing out the loose carbon dust as directed by squeezing a full bottle of water through the filter, I was ready to begin my evaluation. Since I work at home, my interest in the Bottle is for when I'm out-and-about longer than water in another convenient-to-carry bottle filled from my Brita pitcher would last like for festivals, day trips, and travel to areas with safe water.

For road trips, the Bottle will save my having to pack my Brita Space Saver pitcher which is much too large for air travel. Although I haven't flown anywhere since I bought the Bottle, I expect it to be acceptable by the TSA just as my Brita Fill & Go filtering bottle was as long as it's empty when I go through inspection.

The capacity according to Brita is 20 oz. Filling the Bottle to the ledge below the screw thread for the cap, I measured the capacity as 21 oz.

The cap consists of several pieces. First, there is a base cap that screws onto the 49 mm opening large enough to add ice cubes and for easy washing. The filter slides into a hole in the center of the base cap and is held in place by a screw-on, push-pull sport cap. The sport cap is covered by a snap-on hygiene cap.

According to the label and enclosed literature, the filter, Model No. BB02 which also fits Brita's older Fill & Go bottle, needs to be replaced every 128 (20 oz.) servings/20 gallons/75 liters or every two months for proper performance.

Knowing that 128 (20 oz.) servings equals 20 gallons, I was curious how it correlated to two months and did some calculating. By using the Bottle for all of the standard hydration recommendation of 64 oz. per day, it would take only 40 days to consume 20 gallons.

However, after keeping track for a week and learning I average two fillings (42 oz.) per day, I calculated the filter would last 61 days (128 servings x 20 oz. per serving / 42 oz. per day = 60.95 days).

Of course, YMMV, but if you drink an average of two Bottles per day, getting the rest of your hydration needs from other beverages and food, marking your calendar to replace the filter in two months will be both close enough and a whole lot easier than counting refills or calculating the number of gallons consumed.

The Bottle is very comfortable to hold, but once leaked a drop or two because the push-pull sport cap wasn't closed all the way although it looked like it was.

It leaks a lot more if I don't put the large base cap on carefully. I discovered I have to press the carrying loop down while screwing on the cap or it won't go on level. With the loop removed, it still leaks a little unless I unscrew the cap until the threads click before screwing the cap on. It's best to set the Bottle on the counter or other support to avoid squeezing it as the cap is screwed on.

After figuring out these little tricks, the Bottle is dripless no matter how vigorously shaken.

The leaking isn't due to the cap because I can put it on my Fill & Go without having to be careful about it and it doesn't leak, so it must be something about the Bottle.

I suspect it's because the thread goes around only once plus about a third where the ends overlap while the thread on the Fill & Go goes around twice. Wrapping the Bottle's thread with plumber's tape might resolve this minor issue; I plan to buy some, try it, and report back, but it really would be better for Brita to fix this issue for us rather than our having to be so much more careful than with the Fill & Go or trying to fix it ourselves.

[Update 6/2/11 - Too lazy to buy plumber's tape, I tried different tape only to get a small flood when I squeezed to drink. Since I figured out the little tricks required to make my Bottle dripless (other people haven't had these issues, so it just depends on the Bottle or maybe I'm squeezing more vigorously than they are), and I'm very happy with it preferring the new Bottle over Brita's older Fill & Go bottle, I decided against trying the plumber's tape.]

Disliking the plastic taste of my first Bottle of water as sometimes happens with LDPE water bottles I've tried, I put in a couple of tablespoons of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), filled it with hot tap water, capped it without the filter, shook it, and let it sit overnight.

Since my second Bottle of water still tasted of plastic, I dumped in enough baking soda to cover the bottom over 1/4 inch, filled it with hot tap water, capped it without the filter, and let it sit over 24 hours, shaking it occasionally. That fixed it. Subsequent servings of water have all tasted absolutely great.

If I couldn't have gotten rid of the plastic flavor or should I ever want a bottle with a different capacity, I could substitute a recycle code #1 PET/PETE bottle with a 28 mm opening such as is found on standard .5 L, 1 L, and 2 L water and soft drink bottles, Coke products excluded, since the filter and push-pull sport cap fit without leakage on the bottles I tried. A 1-liter bottle would be especially good for foreign travel and preparedness because it's the capacity recommended for most chemical treatments for unsafe water. I'm thinking the Brita Bottle filter will remove any lingering chlorine odor and taste, but don't care to speculate about iodine treatments.

By aligning the filter's arrow-shaped openings with the Bottle's seams for easy tactile detection and keeping a seam underneath the Bottle as it gets empty, I can squeeze out all of the water but a tablespoon enabling me to get a maximum quantity before needing to refill it.

[Edited 6/2/11 - If the seam that is aligned with the top end of the screw thread is downward, the Bottle leaks a drop when I upend and squeeze to drink if I set it on the counter while screwing on the cap although it still doesn't leak when shaken while the sport top is closed. It leaks a lot if I grip it around its middle while screwing on the cap, but less if it's supported on my palm. As a result, I marked the opposite seam with a Sharpie to ensure I have it downwards when I drink so there is no leakage as I squeeze.]

Aligning the filter with the Brita logo on the cap is another option for a visual indicator. Aligning my collapsible koozie seams with the Bottle's seams provides both easy visual and tactile indicators.

The koozie also serves its original purpose as an insulator helping keep the water cool and as a sweat band to collect condensation when ice is added.

[Update 7/30/11 - The Outdoor Products insulated water bottle sleeve, reviewed here, is better than a collapsible can koozie.]

Not only does the Bottle fit into my collapsible koozie and car cup holder, it also fits into the water bottle pockets of my travel purse and other carriers such as my water bottle parka with shoulder strap.

Like other sport caps with snap-on dust covers, the Brita Bottle's hygiene cap is likely to be easily lost. Since this is an on-going problem of mine that isn't likely to change, I attached a 4" cable tie to the carrying loop and Krazy-glued the loose end to the hygiene cap to leash it to the Bottle. Unfortunately, the Krazy Glue did not hold, perhaps because the cable tie was too short and/or too stiff to withstand the stress of movement as I removed and replaced the hygiene cap.

Losing the hygiene cap is no big deal since I don't put the cap in my mouth and figure I can easily use the water's outward flow to rinse it off. Besides, I don't wash my hands every time before pulling the top open and only God knows what germs I pick up from the surfaces I touch between drinks.

However, since I do like having a cover to prevent a fly from landing on the center of the sport cap behind my back, I'm trying another way to make a leash and will post a report on it, later.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Brita Bottle and prefer it to the older Fill & Go except for needing to be careful about closing the cap to prevent leakage. It's easy to use, comfortable to hold, conveniently-sized, and produces great-tasting water.

I recommend it to everyone wanting an on-demand, aesthetic-filtering, environmentally-friendly, reusable water bottle that can be refilled from any source of potable water.

Review: Brita Bottle vs. Fill & Go

2011-05-15T03:25:00.011-05:00

Last week, I bought a new Brita Bottle. Wanting more time to evaluate it before posting a review, this post compares it to Brita's older Fill & Go model that I've had since 2001.

First, the similarities:

1. Both are made of easy-to-squeeze, recycle code #4 LDPE. I've found this to be an inconsistent plastic in that sometimes it smells and/or imparts a plasticky flavor and sometimes it doesn't, even with the same product from the same manufacturer. Usually, the problem can be resolved by soaking the item in a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and hot tap water overnight or longer, but sometimes, it can't which is why I generally prefer a stainless steel water bottle. I got tired of dealing with the inconsistency in my search for the perfect water bottle after the Fill & Go and Lexan (polycarbonate) products were discontinued.

2. Except for color and translucency, the caps for both bottles are exactly the same and all parts interchange. For those of you who are hoping the new Bottle filter fits the old Fill & Go bottle, yes, it most certainly does fit. In fact, right now I'm using my old Fill & Go cap with the new filter on the new Bottle, only because I like the color combination. My now all-white Fill & Go bottle looks pretty sharp, too.

3. Both bottles are leakproof although the new Bottle is somewhat persnickety about it, requiring me to be careful about getting the cap on exactly right.

4. The openings for both bottles are wide enough to allow the addition of ice cubes.

5. Both bottles fit into the water bottle pocket of my Pacsafe travel purse, but not at the same time.

Now, the differences:

1. Capacity - filling each bottle to the ledge below the screw-on threads for the cap, I measured 24 oz for the Fill & Go and 21 oz. for the new Bottle.

2. The new Bottle is slightly shorter with a smaller circumference than the Fill & Go enabling it to fit into standard car cup holders and snugly, but easily, into a collapsible koozie I have but too tightly for ease into another koozie that isn't collapsible. The Fill & Go doesn't fit into my car's cup holder or either koozie.

3. Color - the Fill & Go was available only in opaque white with a blue cap. The new Bottle is available in translucent blue or green with a translucent white cap. From my research, opaque, light colors are the safest for plastic water bottles. This makes the Fill & Go's opaque white perfect. However, the translucency of the new Bottle makes it a whole lot easier to know exactly how much water remains so one may decide whether to fill up now, at this faucet or water fountain, or if there's enough to last until the next one is encountered. Considering the size of the bottles, I don't think opacity matters as much as it would for large capacity bottles because, since we should be drinking much more than 21 oz per day, the water shouldn't remain in the bottle as long.

4. Comfort - the new Bottle is much more comfortable to hold anywhere from the widest to the narrowest point whereas the Fill & Go has uncomfortable sharp turns going from the broadest part to the waist of the bottle.

5. Carrying loop - the new Bottle comes with a flexible, removable carrying loop. The Fill & Go didn't.

6. Filter - the new Bottle filter has openings near the top instead of near the bottom as the Fill & Go filter did. This makes it easier to consume more of the contents before having to refill. The Fill & Go filters came with stickers that fit into a depressed area on the bottle as a reminder of when to replace the filter and the new Bottle does not. Not having the stickers anymore doesn't bother me, but others may wish they were still available.

Overall, I'm more pleased with the new Brita Bottle than with the Fill & Go because the new Bottle is more comfortable to hold, makes it easy to see how much water remains, fits into my koozie and car cup holders, and has a convenient carrying loop. Brita also did very well with the redesign of the filter.

National Day of Prayer

2011-05-05T08:19:00.000-05:00

This year's theme is Psalms 91:2 "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

What keeps going through my mind is:

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Fortunately, we can pray whatever our hearts desire and if it is His will, He will grant it:

1 John 5:
14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15. And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Because of the disasters all over the world as well as in the U.S., my prayer this year is for the healing of our land, air, and waters. I pray also for liberty and justice for all people, everywhere.

And, yes, of course, that "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

Matthew 18:19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

This Week's Cancellation

2011-04-29T14:25:00.002-05:00

This week's post has been cancelled due to (Pick one or more of the following)...

1. Rising gas prices.

2. The royal wedding.

3. Weather too beautiful to remain indoors on the computer.

4. My researching and editing my yet-to-be-published posts on "The Essential Systems: Hydration" and "Packing List: Hydration."

5. My researching more DIY car survival kit lists and cleaning out my car.

6. My finally getting around to answering my email (still not finished).

7. All of the above.

8. Some of the above.

9. None of the above.

10. Who cares? I'm hungry. What's for dinner?

[You are correct if you selected 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and/or 10.]

Earth Day 2011

2011-04-22T12:31:00.001-05:00

The only thing I'm going to say about Earth Day is to point out that after God created man, He gave him the job of taking care of his environment giving us the example that we need to be doing the same.

Only idiots and the ignorant destroy that which sustains their lives.

Genesis 2:15. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Blogging About Preparedness

2011-04-22T12:12:00.002-05:00

It's only April and already this has been an eventful year for preparedness issues from snow and ice, to tornadoes, flooding, and wildfires.

Just last Friday, a wildfire broke out on the west side of town from high winds knocking down a power pole. Industrial employees as well as residents were evacuated while firefighters battled for 12 hours to contain the blaze that consumed 3500 acres, returning the next day to put out flare-ups. Although multiple homes were scorched, only the trailer at the site of the fire's origin was totally destroyed.

On Monday, trying to absorb that 80,000 acres had burned in Oklahoma and Texas, a 200-acre fire destroying at least 30 homes in Texas, I learned that another wildfire on the east side of town caused a friend to leave work because her 15-year-old daughter was at home. Fortunately, any concerns were quickly dispelled because the firefighters had the fire out by the time she got home.

At 3:30 early Tuesday morning, firefighters began evacuating residents of a mobile home park RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY APARTMENT because of a big grass fire in a field behind it. The raging flames got within 100 feet of the nearest line of mobile homes, making great footage for the local TV news along with the billowing smoke, but again, the firefighters were able to contain the fire; this time within only 30 minutes, and no property was damaged.

Whew! May God bless firefighters! And all our emergency response personnel!

Residents so close to my own home being awakened at Oh-dark-thirty to evacuate within mere moments emphasizes the necessity of our having Grab & Go bags at the ready.

I admit that even by my own standards, I've been extraordinarily slow about finishing my series on Fifteen Essential Systems. It's because I got snagged on my post about hydration, discovering that I bit off a whole lot more than anticipated. I thought I could pose situations, possible solutions, and product recommendations to help other people save the time on all the research I had to do for myself and got overwhelmed by what I was learning. Do I address those with wells? What about those manufacturers snowing consumers with words and numbers that mean practically nothing in regards to keeping us from getting sick from drinking water? Plus, the product line-up has changed, making newer products available before I have the post ready to publish, trapping me in an endless loop of research to keep up. Auwe! The only way to break out of the loop is to eliminate product recommendations.

Since I resolved my own hydration concerns two years ago and many of the others since then, one might wonder why I bother. It's simply because I said I would. Plus, it's great being able to share information about something I really care about.

The greatest benefit about being prepared is the confidence of knowing I'm able to face just about anything I might encounter at home or on my travels.

Psalms 91:
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

Brita Bottle

2011-04-16T16:33:00.006-05:00

I was really glad to see a recent TV commercial for the Brita Bottle. I have the older Brita Fill & Go bottle, also BPA-free, from 10 years ago and, since it was discontinued due to a U.S. lawsuit for patent infringement by Innova Pure Water, I haven't been able to find replacement filters for it except on Amazon which doesn't always have them; the Innova website has had all its products on back order for years. I was thinking I'd have to do something drastic like go to Europe to stock up.

Evidently the patent infringement is no longer an issue since Brita has its own bottle back on the market, newly designed to fit car cup holders, in blue or green with a MSRP of US$9.99. The capacity is 20 ounces.

The replacement filters are good for 20 gallons, 128 refills, or about 2 months. The new filters have holes near the top rather than the bottom like the old bottle filters and carry the MSRP of $7.99 for a package of two filters.

The reason I like the Brita filtering bottle so much is because it's great for domestic travel providing consistently great-tasting water no matter where I am without the inconvenience and expense of buying bottled water. It's lightweight, easy to squeeze, and the push-pull sport top means I don't have to put my lips on it and ruin my lipstick.

Yes, I know. It's a girly-thing, but there it is.

In addition to my lipstick issue, I also prefer a sport top because not needing to touch it with my lips means there's no backflow to contaminate the water or the inside of the bottle.

With Brita being such a large brand name, the bottle filters will be easy to find at many stores across the country once again.

I also like the Brita filtering bottle because the Brita filter makes water taste good by removing chlorine and reducing heavy metals, if any. Also, because it filters on-demand, chlorine remains in the water, keeping the water safe for consumption, until right before I drink it.

I feel better about on-demand filtering when I'm out and about than filling a water bottle with pre-filtered water such as from a filtering pitcher because unless ice cubes are added to keep the water cold, the absence of chlorine allows the growth of organisms if the water is not consumed soon enough. This last isn't an issue with filtering pitchers kept in the refrigerator because the low temperature inhibits bacteria growth which is the main purpose for refrigerating food items.

Besides, with water pre-filtered at home or motel room, if I drink it all, there's no way for me to filter more water while I'm away making me subject to whatever bad-tasting water is available or buy a bottle of water which doesn't always taste good to me, either, depending on the brand name.

With on-demand filtering, I can refill my bottle from any tap, anytime I want.

Another advantage with the new Brita Bottle is that it comes with a removable carrying loop; the older Fill & Go bottle didn't. For that, I got a carrying strap holder that clipped onto my laptop briefcase. Since I had no problems with either the TSA or the airlines after 9-11, there's no reason to anticipate issues with the new Brita Bottle as long as it's empty for the TSA screening.

Based on my experience with my old Brita Fill & Go bottle, I think anyone wanting a filtering bottle should try the new Brita Bottle. Just remember that the filtering is for aesthetics only, to improve taste and remove odor, and is to be used solely with water that's already safe to drink. Because the filter is for particulates 50 to <80 microns, it will not make unsafe water potable.

To make water safe from protozoans such as cryptosporidium (protozoans being the largest of the three groups of nasties that make us sick followed by the smaller bacteria and viruses, the smallest), the CDC and EPA recommend an absolute pore size, not nominal pore size, of 1 micron or less.

I may buy a new Brita Bottle just to compare it to my old Fill & Go. If I do, I'll post a review after I use it awhile.

"Romeo & Juliet"

2011-04-07T23:56:00.000-05:00

Feeling like I have a great love story to write, but not knowing anything about how to write one, I decided a good place to start learning is to read "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare since I've seen two movie versions several times.

Do you remember the story? A teen boy and girl from feuding families fall passionately in love and the only way to solve the mess is to fake their own deaths so they can run away to be together.

More or less.

It turns out to be much more.

First of all, Romeo is already in love with Rosaline to the extent that he crashes a party thrown by Daddy of the feuding Capulets in order to see her.

Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, spots Romeo and reports him to Capulet with the intention of having Romeo thrown out or worse.

Surprisingly, Capulet thinks Romeo has a decent reputation and tells Tybalt to leave Romeo alone. Perhaps Capulet is feeling magnanimous because Paris asked to marry Juliet who told her parents she's willing to think about it and they'll get to know one another at the party.

Except Romeo and Juliet do the love-at-first-sight thing at the party. Rosaline and Paris are forgotten as they pledge their love, not knowing anything about each other.

They must've been hot-hot-hot to fall so fast for each other, don't you think?

Somehow (you need to read or see it to learn how if you don't already know), they learn they're from rival families, decide to overcome it with a secret marriage, and the rivalry breaks out again with Tybalt killing Mercutio and Romeo avenging Mercutio's death by killing Tybalt.

As a result, Romeo is exiled and Juliet mourns his leaving.

Understandably, Capulet assumes Juliet is mourning the death of her cousin, Tybalt. However, it's beyond me why he thought getting married to Paris in two days would end her grief. It's also beyond me why Paris would agree to it. What decent man wants to consummate his marriage to a grieving young woman, sobbing in their marriage bed?

So, there are the main male characters of this love triangle:

1. Romeo, an outrageously rude party-crasher whose fickle-mindedness causes him to dump Rosaline for Juliet in a heart-beat

2. Capulet, the father who thinks getting married will dry the tears of his grieving daughter, and

3. Paris, who wants to wed and bed the grieving Juliet.

In my opinion, they're nuts.

Mid-Year Check

2011-03-31T23:03:00.001-05:00

Making the food list last year turned out well for me. All I had to do for the mid-year check this week was eye the list and add the items expiring before September to my shopping list. After shopping, it was easy to dig out the items to be replaced from the plastic bin because I put things in chronological order by expiration date so those items expiring sooner are on top. Then, I moved them to the space for current use and put the new purchases in the preparedness food bin after writing the expiration date on the front or top with a black Sharpie so it's easy to see.

Replacing the water was no big deal. All I did was buy more and move the jugs reserved for preparedness so they can be used for current needs which I pretty well do whenever I buy spring water by the gallon for my tea, anyway. The only difference this time was that I did it on purpose because it's the mid-year check, not because I needed to buy water which means I'll have more water than usual in my regular supply for a while. I'm unsure of the sense of doing things this way except it ensures my preparedness supply of water is fresh whether or not I use my regular supply.

What's new is that I started thinking about medications for a preparedness first aid kit (FAK) and bought an extra box of allergy pills, generic pain relief, and other basic first aid medications. I usually wait until I need these before buying them because I've stocked them in my home FAK before only to discard them after the expiration date without ever using any, but decided that a period of tumult is not the time to be needing a drug store that may not be open during a disaster.

The allergy pills won't be wasted because I can rotate them into current use and buy a new box for the preparedness kit when my daily supply needs to be replaced, and I should add a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplement to aid good health in whatever stressful situation this preparedness kit is to see me through, but I expect to take a hit on the cost of the rest since they are more likely to expire than be used.

Finally, I decided to store the FAK meds and my Katadyn Micropur water purification tablets in an insulated cooler bag designed to hold four cans. Since I don't know whether a preparedness situation might be too cold or too hot, either of which may degrade the chemicals, I figure it's better to play it safe by storing them in a cooler.

Besides, I wasn't using the bag for anything else. I originally bought it on sale for air travel because it folds flat for easy packing so I don't have to buy, then leave behind, a cheap Styrofoam cooler at every destination just to keep a few beverage cans cold. It'll do fine in my Grab & Go bag and for road trips, but I'll have to think about what to do for preparedness issues when I travel by air since it can't fold flat when full. It's easy enough when I travel by car, but air travel requires paring down to the bare minimum especially when trying to use only a carry-on bag.

I'm becoming increasingly aware that going on vacation doesn't exempt people from disastrous situations. Vacationers and business travelers should have basic preparedness kits with them in order to survive the unexpected just like anybody else, probably more so since they're away from their home turf in unfamiliar surroundings.

Book Pricing

2011-03-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

When I went to the store last week, I was pleased to find "The Brass Verdict" by Michael Connelly back on the shelf and displeased to find it US$2.00 more than in February.

Still, the $7.44 price is less than the cover price of $9.99 which was two dollars less than the ebook price of $11.99, now up to $12.99, which is why I wanted to buy the paperback instead of the ebook. It's simple economics.

What I don't understand is why the publisher wants more money for the ebook than for the paperback instead of less since no trees are killed in the making of ebooks and no oil is consumed to truck ebooks to the distribution points of sale.

One might assume that the publisher is taking advantage of ebooks to cash in on their rising popularity. It isn't only Connelly's publisher that's doing it because I've seen higher prices for the ebook version of other best-selling titles, too. Even the typical $9.99 is too much for an ebook because it costs so much less to make and distribute compared to a paperback.

One might also deduce that by pricing ebooks higher than paperbacks and releasing ebooks several weeks after books printed on paper, publishers are trying to retain their traditional control over authors' works by discouraging readers from buying ebooks through delayed availability and over-pricing.

Once an author realizes that s/he can receive more money from a self-published ebook or print-on-demand contract than through a traditional publisher which takes approximately 52% of the price of the book, there might not be enough incentive for an author to try for the traditional route. Already, publishers are experiencing the desertion of writers, although not yet in the droves one may expect due to the lingering stigma of the vanity press.

The advantage for readers is that with traditional publishers losing control over the writers who are going for independent publication, they're also losing control over what is available for readers to read. Censorship by editors rejecting manuscripts solely because of personal bias, such as the editor who rejected a novel containing capital punishment only because she is opposed to capital punishment, is being eliminated by authors bypassing the traditional publishing houses in favor of the independent route. This makes the digital revolution the best expression of freedom of the press we've yet to experience.

What's surprising to me is how traditional publishers are fighting against and trying to resist the inevitable change after seeing how newspapers have declined and blogs have flourished instead of trying to figure out how to work with the transition for everyone's benefit. It's always difficult for those in power to step back and give up even a little of their power when the normal attitude is to gain even more power.

These certainly are interesting times.

Kindle Games on Sale

2011-03-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know, beside reading material, there are games to play on the Kindle when we want a break from reading including a variety of Sudoku games and New York Times crossword puzzles plus free games like Blackjack, Every Word, Mine Sweeper, Shuffled Row, and Video Poker. Occasionally, some of the games go on sale which is, of course, the best time to get them. At this time, several games are available until March 27 for only US$0.99. Unfortunately, some are not available to residents outside the U.S.

So far, the games I enjoy most are:

Maze A Thon (regular price $0.99)

Slingo (regular price $3.99) and

Solitaire (regular price $3.99).

This week, I picked up:

Chess (regular price $2.99)

Hangman 4 Kids (regular price $1.99)

Mahjong Solitaire (regular price $3.99)

Scrabble (regular price $4.99) and

Texas Hold'em (regular price $3.99)

saving nearly $13 off the regular prices. Score!

Score your own by checking out your favorite games or find new ones you might enjoy while the sale lasts.

Free MP3 Bible

2011-03-10T16:41:00.003-06:00

A couple of years ago, I downloaded the book of Jude from the Firefighters for Christ which offers a free MP3 KJV Bible, read by Stephen Johnston, as part of their ministry for those who want it on their computers or MP3 players.

I downloaded it to see if it's like my Bible on cassette (it is) because I like Stephen Johnston's narration with faint background music between the chapters and books better than Alexander Scourby's narration with no background music of my CD Bible. I forgot about it because I've been waiting to buy an MP3 player when I really need one. Finding Jude on my laptop while looking for an MP3 file to try out on my Kindle, I realized that maybe I didn't need to buy the TTS Bible.

However, since the complete MP3 Bible is 1.1 GB, and since the Kindle's 3 GB is shared by ebooks, magazines, Audible files, MP3 files, and personal documents, the MP3 Bible may be larger than anyone might want to keep on a Kindle.

Fortunately, individual books may also be downloaded.

As a result, I downloaded the New Testament, 231 MB, one book at a time during last month's snow storms and am enjoying it on my Kindle. An important point I learned in the process is that everything has to be moved to the Kindle at one time to keep everything in order. When I transferred another book later, it didn't get appended to the end but was inserted somewhere else, chapters straying at random.

I'm thinking about transferring the entire Old Testament to my Kindle as well because I can always delete ebooks I've read and restore them from my Kindle Archive.

Also, I can free up Kindle space by deleting the MP3 Bible after I get an MP3 player. I think I still need to get an MP3 player eventually because I have over 15 GB of music on my laptop and don't like having to hook it up and turn it on just for music on the road. My road trip mix folder alone is over 6 GB.

Last week during my day trip to lunch with my friend, I tried listening to my Kindle but found it too soft for the ambient road noise. Fortunately, I also took along the cassette adapter from my Sony Discman. Setting the Kindle's volume to the max enabled me to listen to the New Testament through my car speakers just fine.

As usual with no buttons being pushed to keep my Kindle awake, the screen went into Sleep mode but the audio kept playing. After reaching my destination, I slid the power switch to awaken the Kindle and turned the audio off by pressing Alt + Space before powering the Kindle off. Tucking the unit into its case then into my handbag, I headed into the restaurant and had a great visit with my friend.

My Kindle's turning out to be everything I hoped it would be.

Visiting with a Friend

2011-03-06T06:01:00.001-06:00

I had a funny experience on Facebook a few weeks ago when a friend now living in South Dakota was talking about her daughters' Girl Scout cookies.

Being facetious I asked, "Do you deliver?" and it turned out she was planning a trip close enough for me to drive over on a day trip to meet her. As it turned out, her husband came instead and we met for lunch last Thursday at the Red Lobster restaurant in one of the larger cities.

We talked about lots of stuff from the last time he ate at Red Lobster (when he proposed to his wife on her birthday) to driving in San Francisco (We agreed the thing to do is not drive - park your car and use the excellent public transportation to get around instead.) & L.A. to our beliefs and how some people like to ignore the scripture and make God out to be what they want Him to be, in effect, turning Him into a man-made god. Our backgrounds are different, but we're pretty close in many of our beliefs when we're not spot on. He gave me some things to look into the Bible about and I believe he got some from me, too.

Somehow, our conversation inspired some changes I've been wanting to do on my websites and I've been busy incorporating them. One has to do with the copyright notice. I had made one using JavaScript which makes it maintenance-free for me, but part of it won't show up if visitors don't have JavaScript enabled in their browsers.

Another modification is to change a drop-down menu into an include file so I won't have to upload all the other pages whenever I add a new page. By using an include file, all I have to do is upload the edited drop-down menu and the new webpage.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. Putting my copyright notice into an include file will solve the issue. I'll have to edit and upload only one little file one time each year I modify my websites and it won't matter if visitors have JavaScript enabled or not.

Whoo-hoo!

RSS Feed

2011-02-27T20:56:00.001-06:00

This is a notice for those of you who subscribed to my blog via RSS feed: I will be discontinuing it later this week for personal reasons.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Cabin Fever

2011-02-25T11:48:00.000-06:00

It's overcast and cold which is to be expected of February.

Imagining myself outside flying a kite under a warm, blue sky, I think of things I want to do, need to do, could and should do. They range from going through mail to shopping for new clothes to (re)learning French, German, and Spanish because I want to travel, to redesigning my websites. Yesterday, I tried a couple of color schemes.

Reconnecting with a past president of my former writers group whose memoir chapbook is scheduled to be published next year, reminded me that I need to learn how to use the aids I've acquired to market my own books which I have to actually finish writing first in order to get published.

The horse goes before the cart.

Honestly, I have so much to do, I don't see how I'll ever die.

If only life worked that way for everyone.

James 4:
13. Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Snow Days

2011-02-14T16:19:00.000-06:00

Now that the worst of the snow days have passed, it's time for a recap.

Since I checked my emergency food kit last fall and had plenty of groceries for regular daily use, the day before the big storm hit two weeks ago, I looked for what last minute items I'd need to see me through the rest of the week and, not needing anything, decided to be snowed in with a pan pizza from Pizza Hut. The pizza lasted two days.

Although I stayed in for the most part, there were a few times that I went outside just to get out. I've never had problems in fresh snow, but after it melts and refreezes overnight, walking gets dicey. I easily pulled the YakTrax Walkers onto my rain boots for the first time since I bought them in 2009 and really like how they bit into the icy snow and secured my footing. My appreciation tripled after hearing another woman slipped and fell, breaking a leg in two places. She's due to have surgery next week.

After the roads were cleared of the worst, I went to buy a few perishables such as bread, cheese, and bananas. Either I was too early and the store hadn't been restocked or other customers had already purchased the same items I wanted preparatory to the following week's snow storm that turned out to be a lot milder. I lucked out on bread probably only because I wanted wheat; all the white bread was gone.

Another store had bananas so green, I decided to buy grapes instead.

While unloading my few groceries, I visited with a woman who said she and her sister went to the store to stock up the day before the big snow storm hit and found it such a madhouse, they put their children in the shopping carts to protect them from the other customers' pushing and shoving. She said all the bottled water was gone.

I gave my report and was secretly glad I was able to skip buying groceries until after the big storm when the store was a lot calmer.

Being prepared is well worth it!

The only glitch was that a book I want to read is more expensive as an ebook than as a discounted paperback. Since buying the paperback was a spur-of-the-moment impulse, and I wasn't sure of the title, I didn't get it thinking there were enough copies on the rack for me to get it when I returned after the next snow storm if it was the one I hadn't yet read.

Surprise, surprise! Not only was "The Brass Verdict" by Michael Connelly completely sold out when I returned after last week's snow storm, there was only one copy of his "Nine Dragons" left. Obviously, other people had the same idea about reading through the snow storms that I had.

I passed the time during the snow storms and waiting for the roads to reopen by watching TV, downloading an MP3 Bible, reading several ebooks including "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The House of the Seven Gables" and playing Solitaire on my Kindle.

Death of a Liar

2011-02-08T07:07:00.000-06:00

I feel odd.

Over five years ago, my ringing phone awakened me from a nap. It was an attorney in another state dunning me to pay on my credit card.

Being sleepy, my first reaction was fear that I had forgotten to make my payment on time. Then, I realized that the company would have added a late payment fee onto my next statement and wouldn't have sicced a collector onto me until I missed several payments. That this was an attorney meant the situation was serious.

Gradually more alert as minutes ticked away, I began arguing with the attorney. I wasn't the one she was after. She had the right phone number, but the wrong location, wrong occupation, wrong Social Security number, wrong spousal information, and wrong everything else because she was talking to the wrong person. I didn't even have the credit card she was calling about.

After she apologized for disturbing me and hung up, I started pulling pieces together from things I recalled seeing on the Internet about a person fitting what the attorney said was supposed to have been about me. Spending a few minutes to verify my memory and find a phone number, I used my Caller-ID to call the attorney back and gave her the other person's phone number saying, "Try this number."

She thanked me and was curious as to why I tracked it down for her and from where I got it.

I replied, "Because I hate lying deadbeats and remembered I saw it before on Yahoo."

The reason I feel odd now is because while searching for something else on Google, I discovered that the person who had apparently given out my phone number to avoid collection calls back then was a member of the First Baptist Church in her town. From her photo, she was a nice, responsible woman like my deadbeat aunt who also attends church albeit Lutheran in a different state.

The sad part is that I ran across the information about her being a member of the Baptist church in her obituary online. I wish I could ask her, as a Christian, whatever in the world made her think she could put my phone number on her credit card account as if it were her own and get away with it? It wasn't a mistake. The numbers are much too different for it to have been a typographical error.

I hope she repented.

Psalms 37:21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again

Revelation 21:8. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Does H.R. 3 Redefine Rape?

2011-02-03T16:39:00.004-06:00

There's a lot of noise going around about how H.R. 3 "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," sponsored by House Reps. Christopher H. Smith (R) of New Jersey and Daniel Lipinski (D) of Illinois and 175 mostly Republican cosponsors, redefines rape.

The noise-makers are trying to rouse opposition to the bill by saying things like federally-funded abortions will no longer be available to rape victims unless the victim is battered and suffers broken bones. They say rapes occurring to women who are incapacitated by alcohol or drugs will no longer be considered rape if the bill becomes law because force will no longer be a factor. They say statutory rape will no longer be rape, either. They say a lot of things.

The actual text at the heart of the controversy is:

''SEC. 309. TREATMENT OF ABORTIONS RELATED TO RAPE, INCEST, OR PRESERVING THE LIFE OF THE MOTHER.

The limitations established in sections 301, 302, 303, and 304 shall not apply to an abortion-

(1) if the pregnancy occurred because the pregnant female was the subject of an act of forcible rape or, if a minor, an act of incest; or

(2) in the case where the pregnant female suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the pregnant female in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself."

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook (2004), which is used by local, state, colleges for crimes on campus, and other federal agencies when submitting data to the National Incident Based Reporting System states:

"Forcible Rape-Rape by Force

Definition: The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.

'Against her will' includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of her youth)."

In United States v. Bright, the decision includes that "the force involved in penetration will suffice." United States v. Torres and United States v. Sargent say that force can be subtle and psychological, and need not be overt or physically brutal.

Therefore, H.R. 3 is merely closing loopholes left open by other federal rules, many temporary, prohibiting our tax dollars from being used for the abortions chosen by women wanting to limit the size of their families who eschew the options of contraceptives, abstinence, or adoption.

Please encourage your Members of Congress to support this bill and encourage your Representative to cosponsor it if s/he hasn't already.

Happy 3rd Blogiversary!

2011-02-01T07:48:00.000-06:00

Today is my third blogiversary!

Thanks to my readers and visitors who encourage me by continuing to stop by, I produced 61 posts over the past 52 weeks, a slight increase over previous years.

Since a celebration calls for some type of refreshment, please help yourself to the Red Velvet Pancakes.

Happy Blogiversary!

TTS

2011-01-28T19:36:00.001-06:00

For this week's blog post, I was going to write about the Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature of the Kindle.

I was going to point out that whether the feature is enabled or not is up to the publisher of the ebook.

I was going to highlight the choice of a male or female voice that may be adjusted to speak faster or slower than the default setting.

I was going to mention it's a bit mechanical sounding, compared to a real person reading aloud, but it's a minor limitation of the Kindle 3 that doesn't bother me.

I was going to say that because my car has a cassette player, I can use my portable CD player's cassette adapter to listen to an ebook or a few MP3 files on my Kindle through my car speakers while I drive.

I was going to blog about how I enjoy listening to scripture at home and on the road and that long road trips killed several of my Bible cassettes through the years. Changing over to a Bible on CD and taking along a CD player means more clutter in my car. Anticipating the purchase of an MP3 player and having to find an MP3 Bible to play, I was going to rave about how very happy I am to have found OSNOVA's TTS-friendly KJV Bible for only $4.99.

I was going to write that, unlike my other ebook Bible, the speech is very easy to follow either listening or reading along because the verse numbers were removed and the text set in normal paragraphs.

I was going to mention that since I bought this TTS-friendly Bible for listening purposes, sometimes I forget that the speech function has to be stopped in order to use the Next Page/Last Page buttons or the 5-way controller arrows to skip forward or back to another book. I was going to add that using the Shift and Sym keys makes it easy to toggle the speech off and on again.

I was also going to post that for the low cost, ease of use, and convenience of not having to pack everything I used to and considering I can use it at home, too, the TTS feature on the Kindle and this TTS-friendly Bible are real blessings.

But I decided to get a rotisserie chicken and seedless grapes for dinner and read another ebook, instead.

Romans 10:17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

More Retail Therapy (Score!)

2011-01-19T18:07:00.000-06:00

This isn't the same as my previous experience in the candy store.

I had obtained free ebooks of Aesop's Fables and the complete works of William Shakespeare and Mark Twain (counted as one book apiece), discovering it extremely difficult to locate what I want within them because there aren't active links to make it easy for me to go from the Table of Contents (TOC) to what I want to read. If it wasn't the first piece, because I don't know the location, I'm supposed to repeatedly press the Page Forward button which quickly exceeds the limit of my patience.

Therefore, I spent several hours over several days comparing various ebook samples to find those I was willing to buy. My main criteria are the ease of using the interactive TOC and the formatting especially for Shakespeare since weird line breaks in his plays and poetry could make for awkward reading. Also, too much white space is annoying.

A few customer reviews complained about nasty line breaks with the publisher responding with a recommendation to set the font size down to 1 or 2 from the larger default size 4.

They're both nuts since the Kindle may be rotated to make the screen horizontal instead of vertical, effectively eliminating the line break issue without having to shrink the font size.

In the end, I bought the complete works of Honore de Balzac (150+ works), Charles Dickens (200+ works), William Shakespeare (38 plays, 154 sonnets, 5 poems), Mark Twain (14 novels + short stories, essays, and non-fiction), an illustrated Aesop's Fables, and all 16 volumes of Sir Richard F. Burton's translation of "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night" (aka the 1001 Arabian Nights).

Imagine, 42 novels plus plays, short stories, essays, and more for only $12.05. The hardback book of Shakespeare's complete works alone costs over $25 and it's so darned heavy, I can't imagine taking it traveling.

Score!

Paint Job

2011-01-14T13:27:00.001-06:00

My love affair with my Kindle continues.

Examining my keypad, I noticed that the arrows on the five-way controller as well as the letters E, T, I, O, A, H, L, and the arrow on the shift key are starting to fade. Since I was aware this happens on some graphite units, not the white units, before I bought my Kindle and bought it anyway, it doesn't bother me.

Following the advice of others who didn't want to return their Kindles for this mild cosmetic issue, I painted all my keys with clear nail protector after removing the excess fluid from the brush. One woman wrote that she used a toothpick instead of the brush that came with her clear nail polish to make sure none of her polish would overflow the buttons and ruin her Kindle.

Losing the arrows on the five-way controller isn't anything to me, but I'm not so good a typist, much less a thumb-typist, that I can afford to lose the letters. I plan to repaint when the shine wears off to ensure the letters remain as long as possible.

Retail Therapy

2011-01-06T10:49:00.000-06:00

I feel like a kid in a candy store, grabbing handfuls of whatever I want.

Since I received my Kindle a month ago, I've shopped until I dropped looking mostly for free ebook versions of the classics I've wanted to read as well as those I want to reread discovering in the process that "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas is the first book of a trilogy and that the old Errol Flynn swash-buckling movies, "Captain Blood" and "The Sea Hawk," were made from books by Rafael Sabatini who had other international best-sellers.

I've been reading what I've been downloading, too. "My Man Jeeves" by P.G. Wodehouse, "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and "The Red Badge of Courage" by Stephen Crane are a few of the 17 books I've read so far of the nearly 260 ebooks I've acquired.

Yup, two hundred sixty. It's "nearly" since one is the Kindle User's Guide.

Under typical retail therapy, at an average of $5 each if I was lucky, 260 books would cost me half a fortune ($1300) and fill several bookcases.

Practicing the ebook version of retail therapy, I spent $32.74 for six books: one Bible, two novels, four references; and was surprised that the 260 ebooks left 2.7 GB free out of the 3 GB available on my Kindle.

What else can I say?

Signs of the Times

2010-12-30T17:48:00.002-06:00

Telling an acquaintance who likes to read ebooks on her iPhone about Amazon's free Kindle for iPhone app reminded me how I used to hear adults remark, "They oughta make a pill for that."

Now, people say, "There's an app for that."

As we enter the second decade of the third millennium, I wonder if there will be a new catch phrase associated with the period and, if so, what it will be. Only time can tell.

In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of the holiday season.

Happy New Year!

On Eclipses and the Coming King of Kings

2010-12-21T22:55:00.002-06:00

Did you see the lunar eclipse last night? I did even though I've seen both solar and lunar eclipses before. This one was special because it's been 372 years since a lunar eclipse coincided with a winter solstice.

So close to our celebration of the birth of Christ, the event reminded me of the signs of His second coming.

No, I don't believe the predictions for May 21, 2011; May 21, 2012; or Dec. 21, 2012.

Yes, although the Bible says no one knows the day or the hour of His return, the Bible also states that we will know when to look for His coming.

First, we must not forget that the word will be preached to ALL nations before He returns. Currently, there are tribes in South America that are known about but have yet to have any contact with outsiders much less preaching.

After the great tribulation occurs, there will be the signs of volcanic eruptions, the great earthquake, a total solar eclipse, during which the sun looks black, followed by a total lunar eclipse, during which the moon turns blood red under the right atmospheric conditions, followed by meteor showers and/or stars going dark.

Back in 1998 or '99, I quickly scanned NASA charts that went up to 3000 and found no predictions of a total solar eclipse followed by a total lunar eclipse. Not seeing anything in the charts that match the Bible and not hearing about actual events, I quit thinking about it.

The bottom line is that I do not believe the Lord will return before Y3K. If He does return sometime during this third millennium, it would neatly correlate to Jonah's three days in the whale and the three days between Jesus's death and resurrection.

Merry Christmas!

Matthew 12:40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

2 Peter 3:8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Matthew 24:
14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16. Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25. Behold, I have told you before.
26. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

(Notice that the angels gather the elect after the tribulation. Mark 13 and Luke 21 agree.

Matthew 13:30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Other than pointing out these four confirming references, I'm not going to get into the Pre- versus Post-Tribulation Rapture argument.)

Acts 2:
19. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come

Revelation 6:
12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

(A lot of things happen between Revelation 6:13 and Revelation 19:11.)

Revelation 19:
11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

For Holiday Shoppers

2010-12-12T18:48:00.008-06:00

For those of you still considering what to get the bookworms on your holiday gift list or if you're licking your chops anticipating what you might buy yourself with the gift money you receive, here's some information about ebook reading devices. If you need only a stocking stuffer, Book Darts has Christmas specials.

This CNET article, updated last month, compares Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Apple's iPad with mentions of other e-readers, including the Sony Readers, to give you an idea of what's out there and their features. It says they're available at Best Buy if you want to see them in person without driving thither and yon.

As may be expected, the Nook is also available at Barnes & Noble with the iPad at an Apple store. Amazon's Kindle is also available at Staples and Target. Sony Readers are also available at Borders, Costco, and Fry's. Kobo eReaders are available at Borders and the new wireless Kobo Wi-Fi eReader is available at Wal-Mart stores in black only.

Four things you might want to know:

1. The Nook's touted LendMe feature lets you loan your ebooks to friends. However, it depends on the publisher and, if allowed, permits loaning only one book to one friend for only 14 days. You can't read it while it's loaned out. You can't loan it out again.

[Update: Amazon released this feature for the Kindle on Dec. 30, 2010 with the same limitations.]

2. If you've been borrowing books from your local public library and think getting an e-reader will significantly decrease the length of time you'll have to wait to read current popular fiction, don't count on it. I read a report of how libraries have ebooks in the EPUB format, but because publishers are concerned about decreased sales if libraries loan ebooks, there's a restriction making borrowing an ebook comparable to borrowing a hardcopy or worse. As a result, the author had to wait 18 weeks before getting the ebook he wanted to read on his Nook.

3. The Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and Sony Reader all use E Ink technology. However, at this time, only the Kindle and Sony Reader Touch are using the latest E Ink Pearl displays.

4. The Kobo eReader battery is not replaceable.

For comparison purposes, e-reader user guides are available for the Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and Sony Reader.

Try before you buy or avoid buying an e-reader because you already have something that will do - free apps for ebook reading devices such as the Android, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone/iTouch, Mac, PC, and Windows Phone 7 are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

(Note: All devices are not supported by every bookseller and the free app may not have every feature that is available on the corresponding e-reader.)

I <3 My Kindle

2010-12-09T17:18:00.003-06:00

Finishing my Christmas shopping last Friday, my thoughts dwelt on how convenient Amazon's Kindle would be for me at home apart from its being a travel accessory.

1. Although I've enjoyed reading free ebooks on my laptop courtesy of the free Kindle for PC application, reading at bedtime makes my laptop magically grow progressively larger and heavier as I get sleepier, shrinking back to its regular size and weight before I awake. Being able to switch from my laptop at any point in a book to the much smaller and lighter Kindle would enable me to continue reading until I'm ready to nod off.

2. Checking Amazon for five books I bought this year, I saw that Kindle editions are available for all of them at a lesser price, one for free. Not only would it save me money, it would greatly decrease the amount of space I need for storing books at home. Sure, I'm a great fan of public libraries even while traveling, but there are books I just have to own. Of course, I can store more ebooks on my laptop, but see #1 above.

3. The Kindle has a Text-to-Speech feature that, depending on a publisher's allowing it to be enabled which may be determined on Amazon's description for the book, allows me to listen to an ebook when I want to rest my eyes like being read a bedtime story as a child. This feature is not available in the PC app. For road trips, I can plug my cassette adapter into the headphone jack, insert the adapter into my car's cassette player, and by turning Text-to-Speech on, listen to a book as I drive as if it's an audio book.

4. Another feature not available with the PC app is the ability to organize ebooks into folders, called Collections. Kindle for PC sorts by author, title, most recent, or by file size making quite a list for me to go through to find what I want out of the already 99 ebooks in my library. Being able to go to a Collection will greatly relieve me of the annoyance of not being able to quickly find something I know I have. Because ebooks may be categorized in more than one Collection, there's less chance of my not being able to find what I want due to forgetting in which Collection I categorized it.

As a result, after reading the 1-star and 2-star negative reviews on Amazon that did not put me off in the slightest, I ordered a Kindle last Friday, Dec. 4, at nearly 6 P.M. ET along with a neoprene case by Belkin. Assured they would be delivered Dec. 10-14, continuing to read on my magical laptop (see #1 above), I found waiting to be as hard on me as waiting for Christmas Day when I was a child.

Amazon and United Parcel Service must have really gotten their acts together for the holiday season. Despite my ordering after normal business hours on a Friday, considering the weekend and that I selected free shipping which usually takes a few days longer than the paid-for standard shipping, my Kindle arrived on Tuesday morning, shipped from Lexington, Kentucky. Remembering one Amazon shipment originating in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas that drove me crazy watching it spend three days going from one UPS distribution center to another before it left the state of TX, I was determined to not monitor the tracking status for my Kindle during the six to ten days it was supposed to take to arrive. Surprised by the fast delivery, I was jumping in joy.

Having read the PDF User's Guide through the Kindle for PC app over the weekend, I unpacked the box and plugged in my Kindle to charge.

Noticing the indicator light changed from orange to green two to three hours later, I eagerly turned it on, registered it to my Amazon account, downloaded and synchronized my library, then tried out a few features before organizing my ebooks into Collections.

(The instructions said I wouldn't have to register it if I bought it through my Amazon account, which I did, because it would already be registered, which it wasn't. No matter. Registration was fast and easy, taking only a moment.)

I'm not reading ebooks on my laptop, anymore.

Imagine reading that's much easier on your eyes than using a backlit screen.

Imagine electronic paper and ink technology that's easier to read than paperback and some hardback books.

Imagine having nearly a hundred books, with room for up to 3,500 books, in a device that can be held in one hand, either hand, that's thinner and weighs less than two ounces more than a giant (6.8 oz/192 g) bar of Hershey's red Symphony chocolate.

Imagine being able to access any of your ebooks at any time with only a few clicks of a thumb or finger without having to move from your chair.

Imagine being able to turn pages with a slight movement of your thumb on the same hand holding the Kindle.

(Picture how not having to lift a finger to turn a page, much less an arm or hand, deepens the meaning of the term "couch potato.")

Since it arrived Tuesday morning, I've spent about ten hours reading on it and I love my Kindle. I really love it!

Praise the Lord!

Correction

2010-12-06T22:08:00.002-06:00

In my last post, I wrote that the dictionary feature doesn't work in the Kindle for PC app. I was wrong. The reason it didn't work for me was because I wasn't online as I should have been to let the dictionary download the first time I tried to use it. After it downloads, it works just fine without my needing to be connected.

I edited my previous post to remove my erroneous observation.

Score! (Kindle for PC)

2010-12-02T03:53:00.004-06:00

Always on the lookout for ideas to make traveling easier for me, recent television commercials for Amazon's Kindle got me thinking how nice it would be to have a single ebook reader when I go to Europe one of these days instead of packing travel guides, phrase books, and reading material for flights and long train rides.

Checking the features and reading the reviews for the latest version of the Kindle, the only thing I didn't like is that when the non-user-replaceable battery has to be replaced, customers have to send the unit back. After it's returned with a new battery, users have to download their libraries all over again. Since Amazon stores a backup copy of the user's library, bookmarks, highlighting, and notes, the inconvenience is only a matter of time unless there's a glitch somewhere that causes the loss of some books. However, users are able to download to a PC and save to a hard drive or other media, so it's easy enough to make your own backup of your library of ebooks and magazines which you should do anyway if you want to save all your magazines.

Seeing that the Kindle can read free ebooks from other sources as well, such as those from the Gutenberg Project, I decided to download the free Kindle for PC application along with several free ebooks to try out on my laptop. I have already finished reading two of my free ebooks and am very pleased.

In addition to the Kindle for PC app, other free Kindle apps are available for the Android Phone, BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. With the iPhone app, you may also read Kindle books on the iPod Touch.

As a result, when I'm ready to travel to Europe, I plan to buy a Kindle to keep my load down. Looking at the two piles of books next to me, maybe I should get one sooner. After all, it is a whole lot less expensive than an iPad and according to KindleTruth.com, it has a lot of nice features that make it better for reading than an iPad.

Whether I get a Kindle right away or not, free app + free ebooks - the inconvenience of going to a library or buying from a regular book store = Score!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T01:40:00.002-06:00

Going through Wal-Mart yesterday morning, I noticed that a shelf had a large bare space where the Great Value French-fried onions were supposed to be. So, if you don't have a green bean casserole on your table as usual, it might be because whoever does the shopping for your feast got there too late and didn't want to buy the significantly more expensive brand. Maybe Wal-Mart will have enough in stock for Christmas to satisfy everybody.

Me? I'm feeling lazy, too lazy to actually count my blessings, but not too lazy to think about adding them up.

Hopefully, you'll be better about it before you eat or watch the game, the fights, the hero show, Beyonce, or whatever you plan to do.

Hopefully, I'll be better about it by that time, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Working on a Car Emergency Kit

2010-11-18T17:08:00.003-06:00

I've been looking at several lists for what to include in a car emergency kit to ensure I've got my bases covered. Some lists include items that make absolutely no sense to me.

For example, a couple of lists include a gallon of window washer fluid on the basis that winter driving uses more. However, I'm thinking why don't they check the reservoir once a month or every weekend or every few days depending on how much is used and keep the fluid at home instead of waiting until they run out to refill and taking up valuable trunk space that would be better used for a gallon of drinking water for a car survival kit?

Then, three lists have recommendations for oil: a pint, a quart, two quarts. What's going on with vehicles that they're saying to carry oil? None of the lists explain. And a PINT??? What's with that? The add mark on a car's dipstick means you're a quart low. Also, I've only seen oil sold by the quart except for motorcycles. Yes, the author is American.

On the other hand, one list recommends spare headlight bulbs because "several European countries require them." Another recommended spare headlight bulbs and the tools to make the change. I think spare bulbs are a good idea for those who drive long distances at night as I've done at times, as long as the entire headlamp doesn't have to be replaced and realigned. According to my owner's guide, mine needs only a bulb. I still need to look at the car to see how easy it would be for me to do myself and what tools it would take because I've never done it before.

Spare fuses are another good idea and are very easy to replace. I had to install a heavy-duty fuse on my last car for the taillights to work when I was pulling a trailer with a small sailboat that I used to have and was surprised at how simple it was. I didn't even get my hands dirty. When I checked my owner's manual for this car, I learned that I already have three spare fuses. Unfortunately, I'm puzzled by one being 5 amp and there's no 5 amp fuse being used that it could replace. Very odd. Anyway, I'm planning to buy three other fuses so I have a complete set.

Another list recommended a plastic bag for storing the funnel all the lists recommend after it's used. I think that's a good idea and will get a zip bag for the gas siphon, too, or maybe store both together in one bag.

Another item is water. One list specified enough drinking water for the occupants for a 24-hour period and the radiator while others simply listed "water." I used to get a gallon jug for the car only when I was going to drive across a desert. Starting in 2006, that changed to 2-3 gallons at all times because a lot of tap water doesn't taste good to me anymore. Now that I do road trips with a Space Saver Brita pitcher, I don't need bottled water for normal drinking but will probably keep a gallon or two anyway for my car survival kit.

Other items I'm not sure about are things like plastic cable/zip ties, clamps, tape to seal hose leaks, light sticks, and a bag of sand or cat litter.

Lacking explanations for the zip ties, I think they'd melt from the heat of the engine.

Then, I always take my car in before a road trip to have an oil & filter change and to have the belts, hoses, and clamps checked. Plus, I have my AAA membership.

As for the light sticks, along with the car's hazard lights, I already have a Mini Maglite LED flashlight, flares, and the UCO candle lantern that's part of my cool weather hiking pack that doubles as part of my car survival kit. However, since light sticks aren't battery-operated, aren't fire hazards, don't cost much, and are small enough that the room they'll take up is negligible, I'm more likely to keep a couple on hand for my car emergency and car survival kits than get the other things I'm not sure about.

Finally, I used to carry a bag of cat litter, but when it didn't work and I ended up using a malfunctioning telephone answering machine to get traction, I quit carrying it. After that, it was the tow rope and helpful strangers with their vehicles that got me out of stuck spots. Once, my wheels spun in mud when I parked off the side of a road to watch a bicycle race in another town and once it was in sand down on Padre Island. Both times, others did the same thing but didn't get stuck. Only me. Huh.

For Veterans on Veterans Day

2010-11-11T04:14:00.000-06:00

To all veterans of the armed forces of the United States of America -

Thank you so very much for your service to our country! I treasure the freedom that you fought and bled for, for each one of us Americans. I am often appalled at how women are treated in too many other countries and thank God for letting me be born here with people like you who believe in protecting us and preserving our freedom.

My prayers are with you.

Flashing Light

2010-11-07T17:20:00.004-06:00

My Dell laptop's battery status light is repeatedly flashing red-red-red-red-green.

It's supposed to flash only orange when the charge is low, and be a solid orange when critically low. I've never seen it orange before, only green since I don't use the battery much.

The green light is on when I'm working off of the battery. It flashes when the battery is recharging. The light is off when I'm working off the AC and the battery's charged.

However, I'm on AC and have been for several weeks. The Power Meter says the battery is charged 100%.

Also, the light on the power brick is green, so I know the AC is coming from the electrical outlet just fine. Thus, the puzzlement and concern of my previous post.

With the help of my good friend, Google, I learned where to click and finally found a message on my laptop that says:

"Your battery is able to charge normally. However, you may begin to notice reduced operating time because your long-term battery life is reducing."

After that, there's a button to order a new battery online. Evidently, my battery's health is diminished so while it can still be charged, I won't be able to run my laptop off the battery for as long as I did when it was new. No big deal. As much as I use my battery, I can afford to wait and get a new one sometime next year.

[Updated 5/27/11 - The message started popping up, so I finally ordered a new battery.]

It surely would have been easier, and less alarming, if the combination of flashing lights I'm seeing was described in the User's Guide.

BFN

2010-11-04T18:29:00.000-05:00

There's a red light blinking on my laptop.

Since I don't know what it represents, I'm currently backing up my hard drive.

Since I don't know how bad it may be, this post is "Bye for now" because if it's bad, I may be offline for a while.

Some Thoughts About Hiking

2010-10-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, a friend went on a six-mile hike that turned into a nine-mile hike. When I asked if she went alone, she replied no, she had gone with a guy. She never hikes alone because if you fall, you might not be found soon enough.

True. However, there are easy to moderate trails where I can't imagine anyone falling that are popular enough that someone in distress would soon receive help.

Setting aside the different degrees of hiking difficulty, here are additional considerations:

1. Do you have a hiking staff or trekking poles that can support your weight to help you rescue yourself? Can your companion(s) carry you out or make a travois to drag you out?

2. Does anyone in your party have a cell phone and the number to call for a rescue team, usually the sheriff's department?

3. Can your or your companion's smart phone provide a GPS fix so the rescue team can be told your location? If not, do you hike with a GPS receiver? If your electronic devices fail or if you don't carry any, is your companion skilled enough with a map and compass to give coordinates for a search unit to begin looking for you?

4. If your companion goes for help, does s/he know the way there and back? Is anyone carrying a pen or pencil and paper, preferably waterproof, to give your coordinates to the rescue unit?

5. How will you protect yourself from dying of hypothermia/hyperthermia while waiting for help that might be many hours away? Do you have insulation from the cold and protection from the sun among your personal attire and emergency sheltering gear? Do you have a fire-making kit?

6. How will you prevent yourself from dying of dehydration while waiting for help that might be days away? Did you take more water than you expected you'd need or do you have the means to collect and purify water your companion might find in the area for you before s/he goes for help?

7. If your hiking companion is the one who gets injured, are you able to do the same things that you're counting on if you were injured?

It's this last point that bothers me. Too many times, I've found that women depend on men to bail them out of trouble to the extent they're virtually helpless. What if it's the man who gets injured?

After all, I once skied with a man who hit a tree. Another man got bucked off a horse and was knocked out for about an hour.

What if a companion hiker doesn't know where they are or how to get help back to the injured party? If it's a less popular trail, it won't be like in town where you can stop at a gas station to ask for directions.

This isn't a matter of one person being more able than another solely because of sex as if it's a matter of physical strength. It's a matter of knowledge and there's no good reason for anyone of either sex not to know or be able to figure out where they are and how to get back.

This isn't about my friend hiking with a guy, either, since I know she's gone hiking with women. The same thing goes for two women hiking together, two men, or a larger group, mixed sex or not. It isn't about her at all. This post contains some thoughts about hiking that arose after my exchange with her.

My point is that more than one person needs to know how to use a map and compass. Leaving the responsibility to a single person just isn't the smart thing to do.

If you hike or want to start, please take a navigation class or teach yourself how to use a map and compass from resources online or books from the public library and PRACTICE.

If you're not interested in hiking but know someone who hikes, please challenge her or him to ensure they know how to use a map and compass and encourage them to learn if they don't.

It's a basic skill for hiking and someone's life may depend on it.

Cue Evil Laughter

2010-10-21T00:07:00.000-05:00

All this preparedness stuff got me thinking about camping. This means I have to inventory my camping gear because a lot of things were stolen from my car when I was in San Ysidro, CA.

One of the items stolen was a BearVault. Although I'm not currently in bear country, a bear-resistant canister also protects food from being stolen by small creatures such as raccoons that are quite adept at accessing food campers thought they had secured.

Not only do I have to decide whether or not to replace the BearVault now or wait until later, I also need to decide whether to buy another BearVault or get a canister made by a different company.

Reading customer reviews, I was struck by a series of thoughts:

Considering that bears can break into cars but not into canisters approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group (SIBBG)...

Considering that BearVaults are made of super-strong polycarbonate, the same stuff used to make bullet-proof glass...

Considering that some campers were able to open their BearVaults to store food inside but missed meals because they weren't able to re-open them to get their food out...

Considering that I may have removed the label on the lid that has instructions on how to open the BearVault (I can't recall)...

Considering that San Ysidro, being a border town, has a majority Hispanic population and the thief might not have been able to read English if I left the label on (considering some restaurants there had menus only in Spanish and many business signs were in Spanish)...

Considering I had nothing worth more than US$20 stored in my BearVault (a coffee mug gift for a friend wrapped in a couple of shawls for cushioning)...

The thief likely expended great effort over a period of time to open my BearVault for very little reward, if it was ever opened at all!

Cue evil laughter.

I'm getting a kick from the thought of buying another see-through BearVault, putting a $20 bill in it, and Super gluing the lid shut just for the joy of knowing another thief will be aggravated by not knowing how to get the money out.

Except bear canisters are too expensive to buy just for the heck of it, I'd rather spend the $20 myself, and when the time comes, I've decided to try the Model 812 by Garcia Machine that can be opened, obviously, with a simple tool such as a coin.

Still, it's good to laugh at the idea.

Preparedness 2010 - Testing

2010-10-15T19:27:00.003-05:00

After we make our plans and collect supplies for our various preparedness kits for home, workplace, school, and vehicle; testing is the next logical step.

For a test to be realistic, it needs to be conducted under as similar conditions as possible to those you're likely to encounter.

For example, during winter, it's easy enough to turn down the heat and forbid everyone from using water from a faucet for the weekend of the test. I wouldn't actually turn off the heat or water for a winter power outage and water shortage scenario because I wouldn't want the pipes to freeze. Turning the thermostat down to 45° F and letting a faucet drip slowly should prevent a weekend adventure from turning into a bona fide emergency.

The trick is to pick a weekend that's good for your scenario and unlikely to become a real event.

Another option is to test while the weather's still warm enough for you to shut off the gas and water, which you need to know how to do anyway, without the risk of your pipes freezing except then you wouldn't know if you're able to stay warm enough or will have to evacuate to a motel which you may not be able to do if an ice storm covers the roads with ice for several days.

Also, you'd have to restock supplies soon after so the test doesn't leave you unprepared for the real deal.

Testing a car survival kit realistically is easy enough since all you'd have to do is get a camp site then spend the entire weekend in or near your vehicle. For the sake of the camp ground and other campers, I'd use the camp ground's toilet facilities, but figure out the wheres and hows as if there wasn't a restroom because there probably won't be one when you're out stuck somewhere in your car.

The more kinks you can identify during a trial run and work out will make a real event less stressful but if the nearby camp grounds are closed for the winter, you might have to spend the weekend in your vehicle in your own driveway which will make the neighbors think you're very odd. Plus, there will be the temptations of getting things from the house and spending more time indoors than using the bathroom warrants.

Think of the emergency situations you're preparing against, then put your preparations to the test over a weekend for each scenario. Of course, unexpected situations such as reuniting with your family after something like 9-11 or a tornado that hits while you're at work and the children are at school won't need the entire weekend unless you combine testing your Get Home kits with the power outage and water shortage test at home.

Some situations I can think of testing are:

1. Sheltering in place with a power outage and water shortage at home or wherever you might be when conditions prevent you from reaching a community shelter.

2. Evacuating your home because of a fire, flood, tornado, or hurricane.

3. Reuniting with your family at home after a common disaster disables public transportation and closes major roads.

4. Reuniting with your family after a common disaster but at a different predetermined location.

5. Surviving in your vehicle because you can't reach your destination due to being lost or impassable road conditions such as a mud slide, snow, or ice.

People are advised to have various kits ready for their workplace, vehicle, and home to meet the events likely for their locale. For traveling, I'm thinking my Grab & Go bag should be modified into an I'm Already Gone bag or I need to make other provisions since I'm used to leaving such things as important documents at home when I travel. While not valuable to anybody else, the destruction of insurance policies, shot records, home inventory, and family photos could range from terribly inconvenient to emotionally devastating.

Practice not only highlights the rough spots, giving the opportunity to smooth them out prior to an actual emergency situation, but also builds confidence by letting everyone get acquainted with their part and the equipment through testing the plans.

Preparedness 2010 - Stoves

2010-10-07T11:00:00.014-05:00

Instead of a camping canister stove costing US$25 - $295, here are some low-cost, low- or no-maintenance alternatives to see you and your family through an emergency situation:

1. Esbit Emergency Stove, $2.99, comes with three hexamine fuel cubes. A flat piece of steel you bend to form a pot stand, it is ideal for day hikers, travelers, and vehicle survival kits for one to two persons. Best use is to boil water for safe drinking, hot beverages, instant foods, freeze-dried meals, and preparing Ramen and soups. Natural fuel can be used to supplement or as an alternative to the fuel cube which also is an excellent fire starter.

Needing to be lit by a flame, such as from a match or cigarette lighter, each cube burns for about 13 minutes. It takes about 8 minutes to bring 16 oz. (.5 L) of cold tap water to a full rolling boil, less if you have a windscreen (recommended). Cover the vessel, however, as an uncovered vessel gets merely steamy. If you want to light it with a sparker such as a Spark-Lite or Swedish FireSteel, place some tinder on or next to it and light the tinder, instead. Only a small bit is necessary; it took only a few strokes of my FireSteel to light about a quarter of a square of toilet tissue moistened with hand sanitizer that I set on top of the cube.

If you want to conserve fuel, and as fuels go, hexamine tabs are expensive so should be conserved, simply blow it out like a birthday candle as soon as you don't need the flame anymore and save what remains for future use. Since it will stick to the stove's fuel platform, you may want to set the cube in an Altoids Smalls tin before lighting it to make it easier to store after extinguishing it. You can make the lid removable by simply pushing out the tabs forming the hinges to release the lid from the bottom of the tin, then pushing the tabs back so they won't catch on anything.

An alternative to the fuel cubes is an alcohol burner made of an Altoids Smalls tin (see 6. Alcohol Burners below for instructions). Be aware, however, that since the slits for the hinges won't permit you to completely fill the tin with your liquid fuel, you may not be able to attain a boil.

By bending the stove to support my 18 oz. stainless steel backpacker's mug (the handles fold in for easy packing), I can store it in the mug along with 11 fuel cubes (four go in the stove and one in the Altoids Smalls tin), an Altoids Smalls tin, a disposable cigarette lighter, and one of those tubular orange, waterproof match boxes that can be found online, in camping stores, and Wal-Mart's camping department for about $2.

Having both wooden matches and a lighter is better because matches may fail or break and butane lighters don't work when cold or at higher elevations. If using safety matches, be sure to tuck the striker strip from the original box into the waterproof match box or you won't be able to get the matches to light.

2. Esbit Pocket Stove, $9.99 although it may sometimes be found it in military surplus stores for as low as $3. The website says, "Includes 3 large solid fuel cubes." Mine came with six and the steel isn't pliable like the description states. (Frankly, I think they put up the same description as the Emergency Stove instead of the description for the Pocket Stove.) Four cubes store neatly in the stove when it's closed.

Popular for its small size by outdoors people, military forces, and expeditions since 1936, the Pocket Stove is more robust than the Esbit Emergency Stove and more versatile in fuel options. As well as a Kiwi alcohol burner (see 6. Alcohol Burners below), natural fuel or two charcoal briquettes will fit and may be continually added if you want to keep the fire going outdoors.

Since there's no heat control other than the two positions in which it may be set, the Pocket Stove is better for simple cooking like frying bacon or burgers or boiling water for one to three people. Substituting a tealight candle allows simmering.

Because hexamine fuel cubes, a safe fuel, aren't always available in local stores, it's best to stock up on Esbit tabs (12 for $5.95) and/or make an alcohol burner. Trioxane tabs are available, usually through military surplus stores, but need to be used outdoors carefully because they're toxic. The advantage of trioxane tabs is they can be lit with only a spark, not requiring a direct flame as do hexamine tabs.

3. Coghlan's Folding Stove, $8.98, is limited to canned fuel such as Sterno, the Nuwick 44-hour candle (the 120-hour Nuwick candle doesn't fit), or an alcohol burner such as a Trangia or a DIY project, although I don't see why natural fuel or charcoal briquettes can't be used as long as it's set on the ground outside with a foil pan underneath so nothing will be harmed when hot embers and ashes fall off the fuel platform. Hexamine tabs might be used if an empty can is put on the platform upside down to boost the height.

Because it's rather large when compared the Esbit stoves and is heavier, being made of steel, than the Sterno Portable Folding Stove (next), the best use is for a family at home if you have only heavy pots or for car camping. I don't like it for a car survival kit because it's heavy for lugging around should you have to leave the car; rarely advisable but a possibility.

4. Sterno Portable Folding Stove, $9.75, uses 7 and 8 oz. Sterno canned fuel that will simmer but might not boil water depending on conditions, as well as 44-hour and 120-hour Nuwick candles that can have the heat output regulated according to the number of wicks lit. It is also available in a Stove Kit that includes two cans of Sterno fuel and in the Sterno Emergency Kit that includes the stove, cans of Sterno, and candles.

When I tested it with a can of Sterno, I got 16 oz. of water, uncovered, to a slow, gentle, boil in 25 minutes. I quit ten minutes later when there was no change.

Because the fuel platform is only a couple of wire supports instead of being solid, using a Trangia alcohol burner is too close to being a balancing act for my comfort so I set my Trangia burner into an empty, clean, 5 oz. chicken can to make it stable. With the Trangia filled with 91% isopropyl alcohol, my uncovered stainless steel mug with 16 oz. of cold tap water took 5.5 minutes to reach a full, vigorously rolling boil.

To make your own alcohol burner that fits the fuel platform, I suggest using up a can of Sterno, and then making an alcohol burner with the empty can (see 6. Alcohol Burners below). Not having an empty Sterno can, I used a 1.76 oz. (50g) Altoids tin with a thin layer of 0000 steel wool and 91% isopropyl alcohol and got a full boil in 6 minutes. The flame went out nine minutes later making 15 minutes the total burn time for the Altoids burner.

Using a 120-hour Nuwick for cooking that needs high heat isn't feasible; after an hour with three wicks, I didn't get anything more than steamy water. Starting over, reducing the water from 16 oz. to 8 oz., I got some steam at 30 minutes and gave up knowing it's much faster for me to use an alcohol burner if I need to boil water.

Like the Coghlan's stove above, I don't know of any reason natural fuels or charcoal shouldn't be used as long as the stove is set on the ground outdoors with a foil pan underneath to catch the ashes.

The advantage the Sterno stove has over the others is that the pot support portion of it is made of wire that campers have used for toasting bread and grilling. However, it is faster to toast more than one or two slices at a time by using a stove toasting rack.

Because of its size and being made of aluminum, this is a good choice for a family at home, for a family's Grab & Go bag, as well as for a car survival kit, and car camping.

5. UCO Candlelier, $36.95. Not readily apparent as a stove, the flat heat shield top has been used for years by campers and backpackers to boil water. The amount of heat may be lowered by extinguishing one or two of the three 9-hour candles. Although it's more expensive than the cheapest canister stove, it provides light, heat, and a stove in a single unit making it as good for a car survival kit or an individual's Grab & Go bag as for backpacking. If bugs are a problem, 9-hour citronella candles are available.

6. Alcohol burners or stoves might be the least expensive option of all since the majority of them are DIY projects. Known as a "Cat stove," "Super Cat stove," "Pepsi stove," "Penny stove," or by whatever container or design is used, alcohol burners are popular for their reliability, ease of use being practically maintenance-free thus no hard-to-find parts to break or buy when access to camping stores is limited, and use inexpensive denatured or 90+% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol that's available practically everywhere, from marine stores, hardware and home improvement stores, service stations and automotive parts stores, to drug stores, and doesn't require special fuel bottles. In a pinch, more expensive alcohol is available from liquor stores.

I made my first Kiwi burner back in 2006 by cleaning out all the residue from a 1-1/8 oz can of Kiwi shoe polish that fit perfectly into my Esbit Pocket Stove, then filled it with fine steel wool (recommended grades are 0000 or 000). When I was ready to cook my scrambled eggs and sausage, I filled it with 91% rubbing alcohol and lit it with a match.

Unfortunately, after my last meal was eaten and the stove cooled off ready for storage, I stored the steel wool in the Kiwi can which corroded during the three years I didn't use it. As a result, next time, instead of steel wool, I plan to use perlite with a piece of aluminum screen cut to fit inside the container to keep the beads from scattering when the lid's off or I'll store the piece of steel wool separately.

The best-known of the commercially-made alcohol stoves is the Trangia that's been used since 1925 by military forces and outdoors people. Available in cook sets for one to four people, with accessories to use other fuels, the alcohol burner is available separately for about $14.95. Made of brass so it's a lot sturdier than any DIY burner, the best features of the Trangia burner are the adjustable simmer ring that allows you to regulate the flame or extinguish it by moving the damper (Caution! Hot! Use something like the pliers of your multitool to lift the simmer ring off the burner and protect your fingers from being burned while adjusting the hot damper), and the cap that lets you store unused fuel in the burner which can't be done with others.

As with my Kiwi burner, all that's needed to operate a Trangia is to pour in the fuel and light it. When done, close the damper on the simmer ring and set the simmer ring on the burner to smother the flame.

If the burner is filled to capacity, it will cook at full blast for 30-45 minutes depending on wind and outside temperature. The only cautions are to set it on a stable surface so the fuel won't spill, don't check the difficult-to-see flame by passing your hand over it (Duh!), don't refill the burner while it's still warm - avoid a flare-up by using a second burner if you need to continue cooking longer - and avoid ruining the O-ring by waiting for the burner to cool before capping it. Also, it's better to coat the O-ring with silicone grease when you first get it and occasionally after so it doesn't dry and crack.

Detractors claim alcohol stoves are slow, but it's significantly true only for making coffee or hot cocoa for a crowd of eight which seems like it takes forever. Breaking the task down into two to four cups at a time will get it served a lot faster. Parties of only a few people won't notice a difference between a canister stove and a Trangia because of the pre-cook fiddling and priming that canister stoves require and the Trangia is sometimes even faster. Besides, what else are you going to be doing that's making you impatient over so very few minutes other than wait for your situation to improve?

For winter conditions, there's a Winter Attachment set ($26) that comes with a burner, a pre-burner to warm the burner so it starts easily in cold temperatures, and a pan so the burner won't sink into melted snow and disappear from sight.

In addition to the pot stands mentioned here, there are others made by other companies specifically for the Trangia burner. I favor the Westwind, available with a Trangia burner ($29.95) or without ($17.95), because it's lightweight and can be taken apart and easily stored flat in your pot or a Grab & Go bag.

*****

Accessories for whichever type of stove you choose for your preparedness kit should include a windscreen for cooking outdoors or with adequate ventilation and a pot cozy.

While a windscreen may be fashioned from heavy-duty foil doubled and wrapped around your pot stand, it might be easier to use one made of aluminum with accordion folds available for about $11.

A pot cozy is recommended to conserve fuel. When instructions say to simmer for n minutes, you can remove the pot from the stove after the water's boiled and set it in a pot cozy to continue cooking for the remaining time using residual heat.

Preparedness 2010 - Part 5

2010-09-30T00:29:00.017-05:00

I was looking for another knife for my hiking Essentials, a subset of my preparedness kit, when I realized I hadn't replaced my pocket-sized knife sharpener that had been in my hydration pack when it was stolen from the trunk of my car three years ago while I was in San Ysidro, California.

My first thought was to buy another Smith's 2-Step sharpener from Wal-Mart for less than US$4 because, although uncomfortable to hold (and you can NOT hold it at the base as illustrated on the packaging because drawing the blade through will topple it toward you and possibly get you cut), it produces a satisfactory edge on the cheap Pampered Chef paring and Farberware utility knives I use for motel camping and is a lot less expensive than professional sharpening.

However, the poorly designed finger guard prevents as much as 7/16" of a knife's edge from being sharpened depending on the knife's design. For a 2-1/2" blade I have, this means about 20% won't be sharpened. For a small knife like the SAK Classic model, close to a third of the cutting edge is left dull. That's unacceptable.

Unable to recall the brand name of the stolen sharpener that I liked better than the Smith's 2-Step and happening to run across the Lansky Quick Fix pocket sharpener, I bought one for US$5.95 and was pleased to find it the most comfortable to hold of the three pocket sharpeners I've used and able to sharpen the entire length of the blades the Smith's sharpener can't.

I advocate having a pocket-sized knife sharpener in your preparedness kit to touch up your knife should you have to leave home because the safest knife is a sharp knife since less pressure is needed to cut. A duller knife, needing more pressure, is more likely to slip and cut you.

With a pocket sharpener that has the angle preset for you, all you have to do is hold it firmly on a stable surface and draw the knife straight through three to five times although a hard stainless steel blade like a SAK, will need more than those few. The carbide side is for very dull or damaged edges while the ceramic rods are for touch ups. Inexpensive and easy!

Preparedness 2010 - Part 4

2010-09-23T01:05:00.016-05:00

Basically, I'm the kind of person who rather install new flashlight batteries and forget about them until they fail and need replacing which always occurs while I'm using it.

Playing electronic solitaire gave me an idea. Why don't I replace all AA cells every six months whether they need it or not when I check my emergency food and water supplies and save the older cells to power my solitaire game that also uses AA cells?

That way, the flashlights for my home, car, and Grab & Go bag will always have the freshest batteries.

After all, it isn't much more effort than replacing the cells in my NOAA weather radio or home's smoke detector twice a year when we change to/from Daylight Savings Time.

Preparedness 2010 - Part 3 update

2010-09-21T03:53:00.000-05:00

After putting the packages of food likely to be chewed into by mice into a plastic bin with a latching top, it occurred to me that if I enter the expiration dates on my new list in pencil, I wouldn't have to reprint the list until I change the contents.

If I do the entire list in pencil, I will save paper because I'll be using an eraser instead of reprinting the list.

Hooray for low-tech solutions!

Preparedness 2010 - Part 3

2010-09-16T00:19:00.040-05:00

I've been doing it twice a year for two years and it's gotten old.

I'm talking about checking the expiration dates on my preparedness food supplies.

As I unpack everything from the two large shopping bags in which they're stored, I check each date, having rewritten those that are hard to find or read with a fine Sharpie before putting them in the bags.

Those expiring within 9-16 months, for example, January 2011 for this past April's food check and January 2012 for this month's food check, get moved to my regular food supply and are added to my shopping list to replenish my preparedness kit so I always have fresher food in my kit and nothing's wasted due to an expiration date. The rest are put back into the bags.

It's dull work and I'm doing it for only one person. Imagine how grumpy I'd be if I were doing it for a family!

This year, I decided to make a list of items with their expiration dates. The list is organized by meals: breakfasts, lunches and dinners with meat or fish, rice or potato, and veggie; followed by snacks and beverages. That would make it quick to check what I set aside and the quantities as well as their expiration dates because I have only to scan the list and won't have to remove anything from a bag until it's due to be moved to my regular food supply and replaced.

When I replenish items, all I have to do is write the new expiration dates onto the list until it's so cluttered and difficult to read that I have to make a new printout.

Ha! Let's see how well this idea works out.

[Update 3/31/11 - The list is working out well. I left the spaces for the expiration dates blank on my computer and filled them in with pencil so I can erase the old expiration dates and write the new dates for the replacements in the same spaces. As expected, the list is staying neater, longer.]

I also need to change from storing them in shopping bags to something more secure like a plastic bin and an ice chest. While shopping bags are easy to load into and out of my car in case of evacuation or while traveling, they're also too easy for critters to get into. Although canned food is secure and will stay in a bag, lined with another to hold the weight, the last thing I need in an emergency situation is to discover holes in my packages of instant oatmeal, potatoes, rice, or snacks where wee furry beasties helped themselves to the food as they would depending on where I stay and park.

Preparedness 2010 - Part 2

2010-09-09T02:21:00.016-05:00

Another cause for concern last winter was that a part broke in the city's water supply system. The pressure dropped and residents were advised to conserve water until the new part, expected to be delivered the next day, was installed.

Panic ensued with people rushing to buy every single bottle of water in town, arguing and pushing to fill their shopping carts with as many bottles as they could get.

Although we might laugh at people over-reacting that way, the truth is that water is precious. The panicked response is proof.

The shame of it is that it was totally unnecessary not only because there was no danger of the city running out of water, but also because if everyone already had their three days to two weeks worth of water set aside for emergency use and checked it every six months as federal agencies advise, they never would have panicked.

Having the confidence that you can face an emergency situation is what preparedness is all about.

Preparedness 2010 - Part 1

2010-09-01T23:39:00.000-05:00

This is the seventh annual National Preparedness Month.

One of the lessons of last winter was how important it is to be prepared for ice storms.

With power lines down, local officials asked residents to shelter in place because the iced-over streets were too dangerous for people to make their ways to the community shelters.

I was fortunate in that where I was lost power for only two hours.

Some neighborhoods went without electricity for a week and a half while rural areas between towns didn't get service restored for up to two months.

That meant, of course, that motels filled up and most guests stayed far longer than the 72 hours minimum for which we are supposed to be prepared making finances for lodging and meals the primary concern.

I'm thinking the simplest way for a family to save up the funds is to shave off a few days from the annual family vacation for two to three years and set the saved money aside for emergency lodging.

For those who vacation at home or restrict their traveling to day trips, it isn't that simple. They'll have to figure out another method to squirrel money away that works for them.

One friend, for example, returned home at the end of each day and emptied all the coins that accumulated in his pocket during the day into various big glass jars and piggy banks he kept.

That way, he managed to save up about $300 per year without feeling like he was depriving himself. The trick is that he always paid with paper money, never coins received as change from a prior purchase.

Another method might be getting cash back while paying for shopping with check or credit card and stashing into the emergency fund the extra $5, $10, $20, or whatever amount that won't be missed.

No Way (Yes, Way!)

2010-08-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

Rox just sent me a forward that I can't resist posting:

"I have often wondered why it is, that the conservatives are called the 'right' and the liberals are called the 'left.' By chance I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV):

'The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.'

Yep, that's gotta be it!"

Too funny!

Friend or Foe?

2010-08-25T18:23:00.004-05:00

While working on my new journal pages for my website, something strange happened to my Facebook news feed. Whenever one of my Friends liked or commented on a status of one of their Friends, a stranger to me, the stranger's status and all the associated comments were displayed on my news feed. This happened one day, disappeared the next, and returned the day after. It was odd.

That's not what this post is about.

One stranger's status was about her ex-husband remarrying and her hope that someone warned his new wife about his alcoholism and abusiveness because none of her friends who knew him had the decency to warn her. She ended her status with, "SHAME ON YOU!"

I know exactly what she means because when I was 18, I got engaged to an abusive man before knowing he was abusive. A couple of my friends from high school knew what he was like but didn't warn me because I was so happy they didn't want to spoil my happiness. They said they didn't want to hurt my feelings. As a result, I ended up in the emergency room.

Fortunately, my friends owned up to their mistake and apologized although that didn't happen until several weeks after I got him out of my life with the help of the police, my apartment building's security guard, and my dad.

Years later, I discovered a true friend in Roxie whom I've mentioned in previous posts. Not only does she support me with my writing, when I got close to a friend with the expectation of more, she warned me about an undesirable aspect of his that had great potential for causing problems if we had married. Unbeknownst to her, I already knew about it and because he was in counseling for it, I thought it would work out somehow.

My affinity for the man ended when he abandoned me, not saying a word nor giving me a hug or anything but keeping his distance when my mother died unexpectedly. That's not what good friends do and there's no way anyone should entertain any thoughts of marriage whatsoever to someone who won't stand by you during a hard time like the death of a parent.

But, because of my supposed friendship with him, I learned that Roxie is a good friend because she has my back. She has proved that she wants only good for me.

Unfortunately, none of the comments for the Facebook stranger's status acknowledged her pain at the betrayal of her friends who should have warned her about her ex. The best comment reassured her that she will find a good man. The others told her to put it behind her and move on.

I was appalled. Although they probably had good intentions, what they did was like telling a victim of a traffic accident to get up and walk away after being hit by a drunk driver instead of helping her get to a hospital. As a result, I sent her a message telling her to ignore them and go get counseling because that's the best way to get over the kind of injury she sustained and be able to move on with her life. She thanked me for taking the time to give good advice to a total stranger.

Another type of friend was revealed when I posted "Understanding Rape." A woman with a rape recovery blog had linked to my post and when I went to check out her blog, I read that some of her friends blamed her for being raped. Yes, her own friends blamed her for being the victim of a violent crime! There are also supposed friends who are stupid enough to have the nerve to ask the rape victim if she enjoyed it. Who enjoys being violated?! Talk about revictimization.

Yet another type of friend was exposed when a woman was going through recovery and healing for being raped and abused by her husband whom she eventually divorced. The friend didn't simply say, "It's over. Move on," as another callously insensitive friend did, this one spent hours and hours over several days badgering the victim to abandon her recovery and healing process.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

What kind of friend are you, a true friend like Roxie, or a foe in disguise like the others I described?

Interesting

2010-08-20T16:15:00.002-05:00

Returning to Wal-Mart today, I was surprised to see that only the orange plates are 75 cents. The other colors are US$1.50 for a set of four.

The bowls are 75 cents per set, not 50 cents.

Still a great price, I bought my bowls and am setting one aside for motel camping.

Double Score!

2010-08-19T17:20:00.002-05:00

One of the challenges of traveling is finding suitable gear at affordable prices. Because I don't want to always eat in restaurants, my packing list includes a picnic set consisting of a plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork, spoon, salt & pepper shaker, and a can opener.

While I love my Orikaso plate and bowl that I've had for four or five years because they're extremely lightweight and take up practically no space, after a while on a long trip, I sometimes get tired of having to be careful of the plate's flexibility and my food trying to slide off the edge when I leave it flat to make the most of the 9.5-inch square. Although I can snap up the corners to make it less flexible and to raise the sides 1.5 - 2.75 inches, doing so decreases the usable surface to either 6.25" or 3-7/8" which makes a nice, square bowl.

(The current model Orikaso plate uses tabs instead of snaps and the resultant size may not be the same as mine.)

A Frisbee works well, but is heavier, thicker, and doesn't pack as well for air travel.

A Titanium plate, while durable and lightweight, costs too much for me to consider at this time.

A Corelle pie plate is a nice change from the Orikaso plate, but is suitable only for motel camping, being too heavy for air travel.

A coffee can lid is too small and too flexible for my taste.

A round, plastic plate costing US$2 - $3 seemed like the best alternative until I went to Wal-Mart a few days ago.

Walking past an alcove at the front of the store where the banking, hairdressing, and other services are located, a colorful array caught my eye.

The shelves were stacked full with plastic plates, bowls, tumblers, and aluminum and stainless steel water bottles on clearance.

Checking out the Mainstays polypropylene (resin ID code #5) square plates in fuchsia, blue, green, and orange, I was pleased to find them lightweight with very little flexibility. Generously sized at 9.75 inches, each plate has a slight, rising edge that stands 5/16" above the table top, acting as a speed bump for crumbs and other food items trying to make a fast escape, yet low enough for easy packing.

Best of all, the plates are sold for only US$0.75 for a set of four.

Score!

At only $0.50 for a set of four, I think I'll go back for the matching bowls. Since they won't pack as well, I'll continue to use my Orikaso for air travel, but I might use one of these bowls instead of the heavier Corelle bowl I've been using for motel camping. Considering the price, the loss will be negligible if it doesn't work out as well as I hope.

Double score!

Go to Now

2010-08-14T11:21:00.001-05:00

Today, I'm finally getting back to what I thought I'd be doing before I was so rudely interrupted by the revelation that spammers have been using one of my domain name email addresses to forge their headers.

Such is life: God's will, God's way, God's timing.

Or, as I've heard it said in this part of the country, "...Lord willing and the creeks don't rise."

James 4:

13. Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

D*@%! Spammers

2010-08-06T17:20:00.012-05:00

Some low-down, no-good, dirty, slimy, frickin spammer(s) stole one of my domain names and an associated email address to forge email headers to escape detection and being shut down as they've done to so many other netizens.

As a result, I'm busy with damage control and what can be done to protect my other domain names.

Fortunately, the last few years have seen the acceptance of the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record to help authenticate legitimate email. Had I known about and used it in time, it might have saved me from jumping through hoops getting up to speed this week trying to protect my domain from being blacklisted.

So far, I've set up and published SPF TXT records for my DNS to authenticate my outgoing email with the help of the SPF Setup Wizard. One thing I don't like about the wizard is that it doesn't give the option of -all which means the email is to be treated as spam if it doesn't match the passing criteria, although changing the softfail ~all to the hardfail -all is easy enough by manually editing it.

For the domain names that I'm not using for email, my SPF record is simply:

v=spf1 -all

because any and all email from those domains should be considered forgeries by spammers. Should I decide to use one for email later, it's easy enough to modify the record and republish it through my DNS.

I'm also transferring my domain name registration to another registrar, that I've been using since 1999, because it offers free privacy protection.

(I'd provide a link, except I can't find one for only domain registrations and the current website is all about packages. Using the same company for both domain name registration and web hosting is a really bad idea because you could lose both in one fell swoop. For an idea of how bad a situation can be, read some of the complaints at NoDaddy.)

Some registrars charge for the privacy service and my former registrar of the forged domain name doesn't offer it at all. I'm sure that's how the spammers got it because the email addy that I've seen in spam had to have been harvested from the public Whois listing since I use it exclusively as my contact email address for domain name registration and web hosting.

Just to make sure, I've also changed my contact email address on my website from a simple disguise that some might now be able to decrypt to an image that can't be read by computers. Visitors won't be able to click a mailto link anymore, but I don't get enough emails through my website to warrant my setting up an email form.

Maybe the slight inconvenience of having to read, manually call up their email client and enter my addy will discourage the weirdoes from emailing me like the guy who complained about my dissing pencils on one of my pen pages. (Please see the last paragraph for what I wrote about using a pencil and remember that I didn't make the rules; I was merely reporting them for my visitors' convenience.)

My next step is to set up a webpage to let any recipients of spam purporting to be from me know that I did NOT have anything to do with it. I've already created the page, but must wait for the registration transfer to be completed before I can set it up with my web host.

GRrrrrr...

Luke 6:28b ...pray for them which despitefully use you.

Eye for Eye

2010-07-30T08:33:00.004-05:00

Since the 1982 movie, Gandhi, a version of a quote attributed but never actually sourced to Mahatma Gandhi has been floating around:

"'An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth' leaves the whole world blind and toothless."

I pretty well ignored it, feeling that it was mocking God, until I saw an episode of a TV series recently that had a Jewish man say that scripture is about money.

"It is?" My attention was caught.

I looked it up and to my surprise, of the four references in the Bible, only one is about justice in general.

The first reference, Exodus 21:22-25, is about being careful around women, specifically a pregnant woman. It's saying that men can't cause harm to an expectant mother either on purpose or inadvertently.

It says that an unborn child is precious and the father will determine the amount of the fine as punishment for causing the miscarriage and judges shall determine how it shall be paid.

It also says that should the mother be injured, the person who injured her will receive the same injury. He will have to endure the result of the same injury he caused her to bear.

How good God is to have a law ensuring an expectant mother and her unborn child won't be harmed by instituting consequences if they are.

How sad it is that men were so disrespectful of women and children that such a law had to be written.

How sad it is that after all this time, there are still people today who don't value women, motherhood, or unborn children.

The second reference, Leviticus 24:17-20, says that someone cannot kill or physically harm someone else without being put to death or receiving the same bodily harm as punishment. I believe this is the scripture used for general retribution. However, I see it not as leaving the whole world blind and toothless, but as a deterrent. How many people would purposely kill or injure another person knowing that they will be put to death or receive the same injury? That's like putting out your own eye. It simply isn't believable that people would do that to themselves.

The third reference, Deuteronomy 19:16-21, is about a false witness who lies with the intention of causing harm to someone else. The harmful judgment the victim was meant to get is to be the liar's punishment. This scripture is to discourage people from framing others and to discourage lying.

The fourth reference, Matthew 5:14-16, 38-48; is the most interesting because Jesus tells His followers that we are no longer like everybody else, but that we are the light of the world. In our new position, we are to treat everyone as God does, with love.

Do we do that?

If we do, with the wisdom that the Lord gives us, don't some non-believers, and so-called Christians, too, misinterpret our obedience and trust in Him as weakness and try to take advantage of us? After all, they don't know God or understand that our turning the other cheek or going the extra mile is done out of strength.

Because we already know how the story ends.

Wal-Mart to Put Radio Tags on Clothes

2010-07-23T17:43:00.003-05:00

"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to roll out sophisticated electronic ID tags to track individual pairs of jeans and underwear, the first step in a system that advocates say better controls inventory but some critics say raises privacy concerns."

For the rest of the article, please see the Wall Street Journal.

I remember there being a huge squawk several years ago because of privacy concerns when Wal-Mart embedded e-tags into other, non-clothing, soft goods.

These sound better because they're removable, if they're removed at the checkout counter.

If Wal-Mart refuses to remove them before we leave the store, I think shoppers should remove them at their cars and toss them into Wal-Mart trash cans to avoid taking them home.

A keychain knife or multitool such as the 2.25 inches long (closed) Classic model of Swiss Army Knife and Leatherman Micra, Squirt, or Style include a pair of scissors that might be ideal for this purpose.

The Classic SAK is available in several colors and designs from Amazon from US$9.50 and in red at Wal-Mart (US$9.97). The Leatherman keychain multitools which have more tools and, as a result, weigh more than the Classic SAK, start at about US$21.

Definitely get an RFID-blocking wallet if you have a driver's license, credit cards, or other personal information with RFID chips attached to protect yourself from snoops and the bad guys.

Journal Excerpts Online

2010-07-23T00:11:00.005-05:00

Finally! I put a baker's dozen worth of excerpts from my travel journal of my Road Trip 2006-2007 to The Reading Room of my website and invite you to read them.

One reason I wait is to get some distance to make it easier for me to see the glaring rough spots so I may edit them out. This time, other factors including the theft of my laptop in 2007 while I was in San Ysidro, CA, made the length of time several years longer than intended.

While reading them to select which journal entries to add to my website, I was surprised by the number of details I had already forgotten. One, a man telling me that he and his friends were in a local establishment during a storm when a tree fell on another patron's car, brought back the memory of my waiting in the lobby of that particular Motel 6 in Oregon so vividly, it was as though I was there right after the man finished his story.

As a result, I encourage all travelers to take the time to record their travels in a journal. Even if you're not a writer, or find writing difficult, whatever you write will bring back precious memories of your trip for you to savor years after it's over.

While I email mine to myself and other travelers may blog, all you need is a pen and a journal. Nobody else has to read it unless you want to share; it's up to you.

The benefit is immeasurable.

Wonderful Seatbelt Ad

2010-07-21T02:06:00.001-05:00

Thanks to my dear friend, Roxie, I've just seen the "wear your seat belt" ad the UK started doing in January. From the news articles I've read about it, it's being hailed across the world as a beautiful commercial and is so popular, it's gone viral and has its own fan page on Facebook.

If you're behind the curve and haven't watched it yet, here's the link.

This Week

2010-07-16T18:19:00.001-05:00

It's another brief post as I'm working on new pages to add to my website.

Have a great weekend!

More LED Flashlights & Conversion Kits

2010-07-08T01:22:00.017-05:00

Getting that 2-AA Mini Maglite LED flashlight for my friend last week prompted me to order more LED conversion kits for my incandescent Mini Maglites and finish this post I started working on last year.

My requirements for a mini flashlight are that it's affordable, costing less than $30, and is powered by one or two AA cells because they're inexpensive and widely available, a consideration for foreign travel since cells we're used to getting here are not always available elsewhere.

My intended use is general preparedness, household, auto, travel, and outdoors such as hiking, geocaching, and waymarking.

My research taught me that the best of the high output LEDs are made by Cree, Philips Lumileds (Luxeon and Rebel), Nichia, and Seoul Semiconductor (SSC). Lights that use these LEDs are likely to mention them on the packaging to assure you of getting a quality product.

The flashlights with which I've gotten familiar since posting "Let There Be Light" are:

1. 2-AA Coleman Max (Cree XR-E): 115 lumens, 5 hours runtime - This is the same length as the incandescent Mini Maglite but for the slightly protruding push-button on the tail cap that prevents it from standing on end. Unlike the push-button on the Duracell Daylite (below), the push-button on the Coleman Max is easy to operate. The Max weighs slightly more than the Mini Maglite LED (below) and has a really good feel in the hand.

However, the light is significantly warmer (yellow) from the hotspot throughout the corona.

If I didn't like the next generation Mini Maglite LED flashlight so much because of its white light and features plus the Accessory Pack or the incandescent Mini Maglite with an LED conversion kit, this would be my favorite.

Comes with lanyard. US$24.88 at Wal-Mart.

2. 2-AA Duracell Daylite: 80 lumens, ? hours runtime - The housing is attractive with a textured surface to enhance grip and the diffused beam is a nice white.

I didn't bother to look for nor test the runtime because I really don't like the flashlight. The adjustable focus doesn't vary much. The corona of the light doesn't really exist because it's so dark, it's not useful. It's marked by rather attractive circles at the narrowest focus setting and strangely-shaped light rings at the widest adjustment. You have to provide your own lanyard to attach to the hole on the tail cap.

Considering that it isn't comfortable in the hand and is more unwieldy being longer, larger around, and heavier than the next-gen Mini Maglite LED or the Coleman Max, and that the recessed push-button on the tail cap is significantly more difficult to use than that on the Coleman Max, in addition to it costing more than either of the other two, it simply isn't worth buying.

Not recommended. US$26.88 at Wal-Mart.

3. Next generation 2-AA Mini Maglite LED (Luxeon Rebel®): 69 lumens, 18 hours runtime at 100% setting, 31 hours at 25%. The one I bought last year didn't have ratings on the packaging and not finding any online for the next-gen Mini Maglite LED flashlight, I did my own runtime tests using new Duracell alkaline batteries for each test that performed considerably longer than what the package now says.

At 100% power, it dimmed and started flickering at 116 hours (4 days 20 hours) until it went out at 117 hours.

At 25% power, it started flickering at 192 hours (8 days) and went out some time during the next 6.5 hours while I was asleep.

As far as brightness goes, at full power it's definitely brighter than the 50 lumens of the TerraLUX TLE-5 conversion LED (below) and the center hotspot is brighter than the diffused beam of the 80-lumens rated 2-AA Duracell Daylite (above). It looks a bit brighter than the Coleman Max (above), but that might be because the Max is warm (yellow); it's hard for me to judge between the two.

I like the 25% power level for reading and, as a result, eliminated my formerly ideal, incandescent 2-AAA book light from my packing list because the 6-8 hours runtime for it is much too short by comparison to warrant taking it along anymore.

The strobe and SOS features make it ideal for preparedness for situations ranging from natural disasters like Katrina to getting lost in the great outdoors. Being shock- and water-resistant, it's just as good as the incandescent Mini Maglite that was the standard by which other flashlights were judged for many years prior to LED flashlights coming out.

Available in black, red, silver, blue, gray, and camo according to Maglite, I've seen only black and gray at the two Wal-Mart Super Centers I've visited. If you want another color, please be careful of buying online as some don't have the lanyard hole on the tailcap and, as such, may be the previous version that the Mini Maglite Accessory Pack doesn't fit instead of the next generation that does have a lanyard hole and for which the items of the Accessory Pack do fit.

My guess is that online stores such as Amazon are selling existing stock of the first version before getting the next gens.

Still my favorite LED mini flashlight, the next gen 2-AA Mini Maglite LED is US$21.88 at Wal-Mart.

For those who may have a hard time getting used to the twist on/off of the Mini Maglite, there are rear clicky conversions available. The best seems to be the TerraLUX TCS-1 Tailcap Switch for the AA Mini Mag for US$5 at Amazon.

If you already have an incandescent Mini Maglite (12 lumens, 5 hours 15 minutes runtime, currently US$8.88 at Wal-Mart), there are several LED conversion kits offered by Nite Ize and TerraLUX. These are excellent for giving new life to the outdated incandescent Mini Mags. At first glance, the conversion kits may seem expensive but what you'll save in batteries and/or gain in brightness will more than make up for the purchase price plus you'll never again have to change a light bulb.

Also, since LEDs are not to be shined into someone's eyes because doing so will cause retinal damage, you could give your children incandescent Mini Maglites for their own recreational use or preparedness kits and upgrade their flashlights with LED conversion kits when they're old enough to use LEDs responsibly.

Other than for children, there's probably no reason to buy a new incandescent Mini Maglite and an LED conversion kit unless it's to get a color finish like purple or pink or the American flag that isn't available (yet?) on a Mini Maglite LED flashlight. You're better off simply getting the next-generation Mini Maglite LED flashlight unless you want to assemble your own tactical flashlight (see TerraLUX #4 below) or need a specialty LED for another purpose such as a UV LED for hunting scorpions or inspecting hotel rooms.

Just be sure you're getting the next generation version that has a lanyard hole instead of the first version without the lanyard hole unless you're 100% absolutely sure you will never want to attach a lanyard or want to use the rubber head cap that is a great anti-roll device, a colored lens, or replacement clear lens of the Accessory Pack. A quick way to tell the difference between the two versions is that the packaging for the first version has three colored circles on the front while the packaging for the next generation has four colored circles.

Nite Ize:

1. The Nite Ize 3-LED Upgrade Kit is approximately 8 lumens and runs up to 20 hours. I bought one of these when I first saw them years ago at a local Gibson's and was disappointed because the incandescent Mini Maglite is brighter. My disappointment was such that I held off converting my other Mini Mags until last year when I found out about other LED conversion kits. However, using it as a map-reading light with the red lens from the Mini Maglite Accessory Pack to preserve my night vision redeemed its purchase. From US$4.50 through Amazon.

2. The Nite Ize LED Upgrade II is approximately 30 lumens and has a runtime of about 25 hours. About $9 through Amazon.

3. The 1 Watt Nite Ize LED Upgrade Kit is approximately 55 lumens with a runtime of 15 hours. About US$19 at Amazon. With the IQ Switch, the kit is about US$25.

TerraLUX offers the following Luxeon LED conversion kits for the Mini Maglite:

1. TerraLUX MiniStar3 TLE-3: 15 lumens, 50 hours runtime - This has 3 LEDs. Because this is about the same brightness as an incandescent Mini Maglite and because of the long runtime, it's ideal for your preparedness kit if you don't want to buy a new flashlight. Other than that, I recommend getting one of the others that produces a brighter light because they're so nice. From US$5.99 through Amazon.

2. TerraLUX TLE-20 (Nichia Regel), 0.5 watt: 36 lumens, 15 hours runtime - This produces a nice, white light. To avoid going bump in the night, I chose this one to upgrade my bedside flashlight. Also for the 2-AAA Mini Maglite. From US$9.95 through Amazon.

3. TerraLUX MiniStar2 TLE-5 (Luxeon III?), 1 watt: 50 lumens, 6 hours runtime - This has a distinctly yellow tint in the hotspot but not as yellow as the Coleman Max. This is my favorite upgrade kit because it yields suitable brightness coupled with a decent runtime. I put it in my kitchen flashlight. I got mine last year through Amazon for US$9.70.

4. TerraLUX MiniStar2 Extreme TLE-5EX (Cree XR-E), 3 watts: 140 lumens, 4 hours runtime. I got it just to see and... Wow! It's bright! Use this kit and the TerraLUX TCS-1 rear clicky conversion to turn an excellent general purpose incandescent made-in-America flashlight into an LED tactical light for about US$35.

I couldn't find a runtime rating, so I did my own test using new batteries.

At 4.5 hours, the circle of light began to get smaller and smaller until it was so tiny it was useless at 6 hours. I turned it off at 6.75 hours.

The nice thing about alkaline batteries is that they tend to recharge themselves when they're not being used which is the reason alkaline batteries for any LED flashlight will last longer than the rated runtimes if the light is used intermittently instead of continuously as during tests to rate the runtime.

As a result, I was able to use it for another hour a week after the test. (It didn't quit. I was through using it.)

After another week, I decided to resume testing with the same pair of batteries. It ran for 1.5 hours before going out. I let it rest for 8 hours and turned it on for another 3 hours with it dimming and shrinking over the last hour.

This LED produces a nice, white light and cost me US$17.95 last year through Amazon.

If you have other styles of incandescent Maglites, Streamlights, or SureFires, TerraLUX has LED upgrade conversion kits for them, too, as well as a couple of universal upgrade kits that work with other brands.

Something to keep in mind is that there are no industry-wide standards for rating flashlights. As a result, a flashlight rated n lumens with a stated runtime may be brighter or less bright and have a longer or shorter throw than another flashlight with the same rating and may run longer or for less time. Your best bet is to check independent reviews such as those on CandlePowerForums Reviews.

Another thing is that, although I've listed the wattage as do several manufacturers, watts are not indicative of the amount of light produced like we're used to thinking when looking at incandescent bulbs. In fact, watts only indicate how much power an item needs such as how much power an LED needs to produce its best light. For an example of how we can't use wattage to indicate output, a 26-watt CFL bulb produces light equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

For more info, Flashlight Reviews and the flashaholics on the CandlePowerForums may be the most helpful sources.

Her First Solo Road Trip

2010-07-02T14:29:00.013-05:00

This week, there was a three-day visit with a friend from high school I haven't seen in eight years because of the distance between us.

As a former flight attendant who married a pilot, my friend is, undoubtedly, an experienced traveler by air. She enjoys getting lodging through Priceline saying that's how she gambles.

Isn't she smart? She never loses money that way plus saves money by getting nicer rooms for less.

What makes this trip especially exciting is that it's her first solo road trip because her husband didn't want to drive from Texas to Nebraska and back with all the stops she planned along the way.

Among our sharing, reminiscing, and verbal battling caused by her pushing me to live my life as she sees fit (Yes, she lost points for that!), we discussed her preparations and the rest of her itinerary only changing her whistle for an extra Fox 40 Micro I happened to have because it's much louder and her keychain flashlight for one that's brighter that was leftover from a bunch I got to give out for Christmas.

(Isn't it interesting that I just happened to have them? Isn't God good?)

I also gave her a next generation 2-AA Mini Maglite LED flashlight because it has the SOS feature along with an accessory pack with a red lens so her night vision won't be impaired should she have to check a map at night.

Since I know many women who want to travel but won't go by themselves, I applaud her for not allowing her husband to deter her from pursuing her dreams.

POOF!

2010-06-25T20:51:00.006-05:00

I typed up a post and saved it as a Draft to verify something before submitting it.

The screen flickered.

POOF!

The post disappeared.

Apparently, you don't need to read what I wrote because I can't find it anywhere and I'm certainly not retyping it.

Sorry, this is all you're getting this week.

Have a nice weekend! I'm going to practice playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on my tin whistle to see how good I can get by Independence Day.

Website Maintenance

2010-06-19T02:19:00.001-05:00

Not much of a blog entry this week because I'm still busy with my website. Mundane tasks such as fixing a couple of pages that had the text listing to larboard, restoring missing borders, correcting ALT text, selecting a nicer-looking font for the header, and other similar maintenance that I put off long enough effectively drove all raves, rants, rambles, and thoughts of reviews from my head.

After I finish checking for dead links, I'll be ready to upload everything and carry on with whatever I was doing before.

I think a pink lemonade would go down nicely right about now.

Get Your Own Domain Name

2010-06-10T11:03:00.005-05:00

Ever since 1998 when I first started doing websites, friends and acquaintances have come to me saying they think they'd like to have their own business or ministry websites. Although I quit doing websites for other people about seven years ago because it takes too much time away from my writing and because I don't want to have to keep current on the latest flashy website design or search engine optimization (SEO) for other people, the topic keeps coming up.

As a result, here is a blog post so everyone may read why they should get their own domain name sooner rather than putting it off until later along with some tips for how to get one.

(If you are one of those writers who doesn't want anything to do with having a website for your writing endeavors - and there are successful writers who eschew the entire concept of having a presence online whether it be a website, blog, Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter - please feel free to click away now and not waste any more of your time when you should be busy writing.

Yes, you! You know you're procrastinating by reading blogs instead of writing! If, however, you've read or been told you need to have a website and think you might agree, please read on.)

The first objection to getting a domain name now is that you're not ready for it. Deep down inside, you know you'll have your own website eventually, but not just now. You don't want the expense, you don't know precisely what you'd put on a website, or who will design and maintain it for you if you don't learn to do it yourself.

That's okay.

There are two components to having a website and the web host - where the website will reside - won't matter until you're ready to put up content.

However, the domain name - the URL, the address that tells everyone where your website is, for example, mine is gailrhea.us - may be considered a prime piece of real estate in cyberspace and should be obtained as soon as you know what you want it to be to prevent someone else from getting it because, like real property, once it's gone, it may be gone for the rest of your lifetime and beyond.

It happened to a man I knew who was starting a ministry. He selected the ministry name and proceeded to set up his organization but ignored my urging him to get the domain name saying he wasn't ready for it. After several months, he was ready, but in the meantime, it had already been registered by another ministry with the same name in a different state.

It's more important for writers to get a domain name that matches their real or pen name since that's the first URL readers will try before resorting to a search engine to find an author's website. For example, back in 1999, I typed "www.johngrisham.com" into the address bar of my browser and landed on a cybersquatter's website because, evidently, nobody in Grisham's corner was 'net savvy enough to have registered his domain name for him before the cybersquatter got it. To this day, if you try to visit his official website, you can't use johngrisham.com; you have to use jgrisham.com instead.

It may seem like a small matter, but really, it isn't a good idea to inconvenience your readers and potential fans by making them use a search engine or locate their copy of your book that has your URL in small type on the back cover in order to visit your website. If you decide later that you're absolutely certain that you don't want a website, you can always release it by letting the registration expire.

The second objection is the expense. What expense? Sure, if you're a starving artist living in a garret, the US$10-35 may be hard to come by, but if you're a writer who kept your day job, simply skip a couple of pizzas or dinners out and the registration fee for your domain name will be covered for an entire year. Or, hint to your friends and family that you'd like your domain name as a birthday or Christmas gift.

A related objection might be that you're not willing to pay the registration fee year after year with nothing in return on the purely speculative notion that you're going to need a website. Sure, the arts are highly competitive and there is the possibility that you won't make it big, but your domain name may be used as your email address while you're waiting to finish writing your current book or, if you're an artist, attain the level of artistry that will sell enough to pay for your domain name and web host and then some.

By setting it up in your registrar's control panel to forward your emails to your current email addy, a simple task that's a free service at many registrars, you can have a single, permanent, easily-remembered, individualized email address that will work no matter to what ISP you may decide to switch in the future and your contacts will never again have to change their address books.

Now that you have more info to mull over, you may be inclined to type your name into your browser's address bar with ".com" appended just out of curiosity. If you don't land on someone else's website, go to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), read the info for first-time visitors and the FAQs at InterNIC that is operated by ICANN, then register your domain name with one of the accredited registrars on the ICANN list or a reseller. (Here is a list organized alphabetically by country.)

What will you do if someone else's website comes up? You have several options:

1. Wait and hope that the owner forgets to renew the registration or changes his/her mind and releases it so it may be registered by someone else, hopefully you rather than another person - which may never happen.

2. Offer to buy it - which may be more expensive than your wallet can bear.

3. Register your name under a different generic top-level domain (gTLD), such as .net or .org, instead of .com. For example, John Sandford's domain name is johnsandford.org.

You may also choose to use your country's two-character country code (ccTLD) such as .us for the U.S. or .de for Germany.

If you're a licensed professional, .pro may be the best TLD for you especially since it's use is restricted. Just by seeing the .pro, clients will know you're a licensed professional.

If you want to put up a website to disseminate information about your area of expertise, consider using .info as your gTLD.

If you're a private individual who wants a non-commercial domain name, .name is designated for personal websites and email addresses. However, please note there is no email forwarding available with the second-level domain name (example: rhea.name) and no email SMTP sending capability with the third-level domain name (example: gail.rhea.name), only email forwarding, i.e., you can receive email using your third-level domain name but not send. To send, you'll have to use the address you set up with your email provider.

4. Pick a different name - entirely do-able especially if you intend to use a pseudonym - or use a different form of your name. For example, instead of firstnamelastname, try firstinitiallastname like John Grisham has with his jgrisham.com. Or, use only your last name like Janet Evanovich did: evanovich.com. You might also use a hyphen as in firstname-lastname although hyphenated domain names aren't commonly known.

Many registrars have a search tool for you to check on availability of the domain name you have in mind that also displays a list of suggested alternatives in case the one you want isn't available.

Other tips I want to pass on are:

* Understand that you don't actually own your domain name. When you register it for your use, it's more like leasing office space.

* Use an ICANN-accredited registrar. This alone will greatly eliminate potential issues.

* When you're ready to register your domain name, be sure you will be the registered owner by examining the fine print of the registrar's policy. Some registrars or resellers register the domain you select and take your money, but put it in their own company's name so you can't take it with you should you decide to transfer to a different registrar. Be careful of the policy also, if you get a hosting package that includes a free domain name because some tie the free domain name to the hosting package which means you can't take the domain name with you if you decide to have your website hosted elsewhere.

* Don't ever let your domain name expire until you're ready to let it go!!! Many registrars charge oodles to reinstate an expired domain name registration. Depending on your circumstances, it might be safer to sign up for auto-renewal on a charge card so you won't be caught off-guard by an expiration date as one person was when he had a long-term disablement. His domain name registration expired while he was recuperating from surgery and it was a hard pill to swallow as it matched the name of his business.

* Geocities is closed, but there are other free web hosts or blog hosts if you want to forward your domain name to one of them. URL forwarding, typically a free service provided by the registrar, is useful for those who can't yet afford paid hosting but want to start establishing an online presence and who, rather than paying someone else, may want to learn how to create their own website perhaps using their word processing program's ability to save in HTML. A simple website is all a writer really needs until hitting the New York Times Best Seller list with translations in umpteen different countries.

Plus, an email address using your own domain name, with or without a website's URL, looks great on your business or contact card.

It's something to think about, eh?

Seriously.

Recipe: Fruit Juice Soda

2010-06-03T16:31:00.002-05:00

Getting tired of soda's sugary sweetness two years ago but unable to resist it through the heat of summer, I eventually realized what refreshes me are the bubbles of carbonation.

Unfortunately for some, plain carbonated water, even chilled and iced, may be an acquired taste. It was for me.

As an alternative to squeezing in a wedge of lemon or lime for flavor, I made up a recipe for Fruit Juice Soda (serves one):

1. Fill 12 oz. glass with ice cubes.

2. Fill half way with fruit juice of choice or empty a 6-7 oz. box of juice into the glass. My favorite juices for Fruit Juice Soda are apple, fruit punch, and grape.

Tip: If you use a box of juice, enlarge the hole as much as possible, then squeeze the box to make the juice flow more easily.

3. Fill the rest of the glass with Seltzer (plain carbonated) water.

4. Give a quick stir to help blend the juice with the fizzy water, but not much or you'll lose too many bubbles; once or twice around the glass is enough.

Enjoy!

"Prey"

2010-05-27T15:38:00.006-05:00

I watched the movie, "Prey," this morning on HBO and can't contain this rant. I didn't know it was supposed to be a horror flick which is okay because it isn't. It is, however, the type of movie that has great scenery, excellent animal action, and an encounter with natives that had me tense up.

It's also the kind of flick that's great to hoot and holler at and for throwing popcorn at the screen.

For those who have yet to see it, "Prey" is a survival story about a woman and her two step-children, all seemingly fairly typical American tourists, who go off on a game safari in Africa for a day.

Got that? I don't want to spoil the story for you so it's important for you to get those parts. Game safari, in Africa, for a day.

Oh, heck.

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Who in their right mind goes off into the WILDERNESS in AFRICA without WATER? Sure, they hired a guide and he should have had a large container of extra water, but he didn't and they didn't think to check. I didn't see a can for extra gas, either, and he certainly didn't have a radio or a satellite phone, nor a first aid kit not that the latter would have helped considering the way the lions were killing off the people.

The guide dropped his keys in the grass and the step-daughter used her camera's zoom to verify that the bright shiny thing is one of the keys so they know it's worth leaving the vehicle which may put them at risk of being attacked by the lions that kept them in the vehicle on the afternoon of the first day and all night.

Why didn't they use the camera to check for lions before leaving the vehicle to get the keys?

Why didn't they have binoculars with them in the first place? It wasn't a visit to a zoo where the animals are sure to be closer than they are in the great outdoors of Africa. The guide didn't have any, either.

Unbelievable. No water and no binoculars.

Yes, they had a little water with them that quickly ran out, but when the girl went to get water, she didn't take any containers with her. Surely, she wasn't planning to carry water back in her palms, was she?

I don't mind when what goes on is plausible such as when the woman panicked driving away from the attacking lion, got them lost, and damaged the vehicle by driving too fast off-road.

I didn't mind so much that they didn't have whistles or red bandannas to signal for help or didn't think to gather enough grass from around the vehicle to make a fire on the roof of the vehicle to signal the helicopter or use a mirror from the vehicle or a compact, if either the woman or teen step-daughter had one.

I didn't mind that no one thought to take inventory of what was available to them until the third day...except they waited until the THIRD day.

However, I did mind that they didn't think to even try to collect rain water during the first night so they'd have something to quench their thirst.

Come on movie people, especially the writer(s). In the WILDERNESS, in AFRICA, without enough WATER to last them through the first afternoon.

Puh-leeze, gimme a break.

Contemplating Boobquake

2010-05-20T17:23:00.018-05:00

Over the past month, I've been contemplating the concept that women's immodest attire contributes to earthquakes and wondering how Muslim women got such power. Evidently, Western women don't have it as shown by the results of Boobquake.

The Iranian senior cleric, Kazem Sedighi, who first preached, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," later explained in a lame attempt to wipe out any notion of observable cause and effect for this first Boobquake that earthquakes didn't hit the immorality-filled Western world because God may be waiting for us to sin more so He can send us "to the bottom of Hell."

I'm laughing because Sedighi leaped from immodest attire to promiscuity to earthquakes, but is blind to how the promiscuity of the Western culture is the same as his Shia Islam religion's allowing polygamous marriage with up to four permanent wives PLUS multiple temporary wives.

The only differences between our version of promiscuity and Iran's Shia version, called Nikah al-Mut'ah in Arabic or sigheh in Persian, are the contract and that the concubines are paid an agreed-upon price, mahr, without which payment, the contract for a temporary marriage is void (Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Articles 1075, 1076, and 1095).

At best, their promiscuity is legalized which doesn't make it less ungodly.

At worst, the temporary wives are legal prostitutes albeit for longer periods of time than the illegal prostitutes.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! At least, Western culture isn't so hypocritical as to go through the sham of instituting a legal code to support fornication.

The sad part is that the immodest attire to which Sedighi was referring is about the women who are letting some of their hair show by wearing a scarf instead of a hijab.

Yes, he calls them immodest because of their HAIR, that millions of women around the world for thousands of years have, without recrimination much less earthquakes, worn uncovered or partially covered as some Iranian women have started to do. How do extremists get so perverted?!

Ignoring Sedighi's later explanation of the reason Boobquake didn't have the expected result because I don't want to thump the Bible over his statement's gross inaccuracies, my question is, "Does the Qur'an say Muslim women must cover themselves completely when in public or is that something the extremist Islamic religious leaders made up?"

I'm asking because I read somewhere that the burqa and hijab are cultural, not religious, and that the veil applied only to Muhammad's wives because they were in close view of many strangers who visited the mosque next to their home; it was to provide privacy from prying eyes as they held a degree of celebrity status being wives of Muhammad like celebrities today wear hats, scarves, and sunglasses.

Also, I don't recall Hebrew women ever having to cover their faces nor completely hide their hair in the books I've read.

While I don't know the Qur'an, it's logical that if their god is the same God of the Jews and Christians as some people believe, the Qur'an would teach the same things as the Old and New Testaments: that we are imperfect, unable to follow each and every point in God's Law, sinners who need a Savior, and that Savior comes from the house of David.

What's scary is that the U.N. has given Iran a four-year (2011-2015) seat on the Commission on the Status of Women, which is "dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women."

HAH! Yes, Iran. The country that set a nearly impossible standard for proof of rape and severely punishes women for not being able to meet it with the result that most rapes are not reported.

Iran, the country which legal standards include "the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man" and "a woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a contract granting that right" even though a husband is "not required to cite a reason for divorcing his wife" and mandates that a man inherits twice that of a woman's share (Civil Code of the IRI, Articles 1133, 892-1, 899-1, 900-2, 906, 911, 913, 920, 923-925, 931-932, 935, and 938-948).

[NOTE: For the U.N. document at the following link, see page 27, section G, paragraph 82, and section H, paragraph 83. If the link doesn't work, verify that a cookie for un.org is allowed.]

Iran, the country that has a law allowing a father or paternal grandfather to make his 9-year-old girl marry any man he chooses upon payment of a sum of money (Civil Code of the IRI, Article 1041).

Iran, the country that prohibits executing a condemned female virgin but gets around it by having the condemned virgin, too often between the ages of only 9 to 17 years old, "married" to a prison guard on the eve of her execution for the purpose of legally raping her in the outrageous belief started by the Ayatollah Khomeini that rape prevents such a virgin from entering heaven and consigns her to hell.

Execution isn't punishment enough? They have to go to hell, too, as if anyone on earth has the power to designate who goes to hell? Doesn't the Qur'an say that only Allah knows who will go to heaven and who will go to hell?

(Spousal rape is not illegal in Iran because a wife is required by law to service her husband as he desires as long as she is able, i.e. if she's not menstruating, or he may deprive her of her bed, food, clothing, and shelter. It's how a husband can coerce his wife into submitting to rape - Civil Code of the IRI, Article 1108).

The U.N. is letting a hungry wolf guard the lambs.

What I learned from Sedighi is that he believes Islamic men are so weak, so unable to control their impulses and passions, that Islamic women have to cover themselves completely. I know it isn't true because there are many Muslim women in other countries who have adopted Western attire, the men around them are quite stable, and the earth beneath them isn't threatening to rumble with earthquakes like what is threatening Tehran.

Therefore, behind Sedighi's insult to Muslim men about their inability to control themselves is his goal to continue the subjugation, repression, and oppression of Irani women.

Think about it, if women's indecent attire causes earthquakes, it would be a simple matter for Iranian women to go outside, remove their hijabs, roll up their sleeves, raise their skirts to show their calves if they're comfortable going that far, stay clear of the falling walls, and take control after the earthquakes having proved irrefutably that they've got the power Sedighi says they have.

The problem with that idea is if earthquakes don't happen right away as I doubt they would, the participants are likely to be arrested.

Maybe what they could say is, "If you don't treat us right, we'll bring the walls down around your ears and then, you'll answer to us!"

God may do it for them, anyway, if the fault lines threatening Tehran somehow manage to kill the extremist Mullahs since the Bible has an example of an earthquake swallowing up the wicked (Numbers 16:28-33). And it didn't happen because of immodest attire, either!

(I need to report that Muslim men also have a dress code. Not as restricted as women as might be expected for that culture, men are supposed to be covered from their waists to below their knees.)

Indeed, after doing a word search, I can't say that women or men showing skin has any scriptural bearing on earthquakes.

Does that mean God doesn't disapprove of immodest attire?

Were Adam and Eve naked in the Garden of Eden?

Did Isaiah wear a thong?

To be fair to Mr. Sedighi, we need to acknowledge that Boobquake is an incomplete experiment because he said immodest attire leads to the corruption of men's chastity and adultery that then result in increased earthquakes.

Therefore, without a way to evaluate the effect of immodest attire on sexual misconduct and the effect of sexual misconduct on earthquakes, we'll never know which stance is correct, Sedighi's or the participants of Boobquake, if either.

Unfortunately for Mr. Sedighi, his perception of sexual misconduct is idiotic because it means only that the couples didn't bother with the sham of a temporary marriage that is so shallow it need consist merely of the couple agreeing on the length of time they will be together which may be extended or shortened as circumstances or desire dictates, their saying to each other "I marry you," and the payment of the mahr.

In conclusion, please pray for the people of Iran. The women, especially, need our support. Perhaps you'll feel led to additional means of support such as contacting the U.N. to protest Iran having a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women and demand that Iran be removed.

Isaiah 20:

1. In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2. At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3. And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4. So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Lesson 7

2010-05-12T17:28:00.003-05:00

Hallelujah!

I finally made it past Lesson 7 which has eight measures of the "Ode to Joy," the theme of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, that was hanging me up.

Indeed, playing it on the tin whistle is soooo much easier than on a recorder!

Now, I'm on Lesson 10, the last lesson of the book that came with my recorder, having skipped Lesson 8 because I have no idea how the songs are supposed to sound, and am looking forward to my next tutorial that I'm expecting to be delivered tomorrow.

Using a tutorial with a CD is important for me since I don't read music well enough to play by the timing indicated on the sheet music. I play along with the song running through my head, and if I don't know a song, I can't play it.

For Lesson 7, because there's more music running through my mind than there are notes on the page, I searched this afternoon and found the rest of the sheet music. By the looks of it, I'm not intimidated although I still have to learn how to play it. That's okay for now because while I can play the eight measures smoothly, I'm still learning since I'm not yet able to keep up with the music in my mind. I'm sure I'll get better with practice and when I can do it all, I'll be able to play along with my CD of Symphony No. 9.

Just imagine - me, playing Beethoven on my tin whistle backed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt!

Whoo-hoo!

Score! (Meg)

2010-05-06T09:01:00.009-05:00

I decided to learn how to play a tin whistle as being more practical than learning to play an ocarina because I can change to different whistles, if I want, without having to learn new fingerings.

Selecting the Clarke Sweetone because it sounds close to the Clarke Original tin whistle, which breathy sound I like, but is reputed to be easier to play with a comfortable plastic mouthpiece designed by Michael Copeland instead of the metal mouthpiece with wooden block on the Original, I then modified my choice to the lower-priced Meg, also by Clarke, because of a review that included an mp3 comparison between the Sweetone and the Meg that's supposed to sound nearly like the Sweetone except I couldn't tell any difference.

I looked at a few websites to check the range of prices.

Calling a couple of music stores in my local area, thinking to get my whistle right away plus save on shipping, I found one store with the Clarke Original in D for over $15 more than the highest-priced Sweetone and another that had the Clarke Original in the key of C for a similar price. Neither have the Sweetone and only one store would be able to order it - for more than the lowest price online including shipping. Neither have the Meg nor would be able to order it.

That's definitely not cost-effective for me, a rank beginner who doesn't yet know how far she'll go with this endeavor.

Considering that some websites sell the Meg for the same price as the Sweetone (talk about profit margin!), and finding prices too good not to share at The Whistle Shop, I had some Megs sent to a musical friend with children in another town. Thom Larson's excellent service is so fast with Priority Mail (2-3 days) that is also the least expensive method to ship, that they've already received their Megs and started playing.

I received mine as well and started playing by using the book that came with my recorder. Fingerings for the beginning notes (B A G F# E D) on the whistle are the same as for my recorder and a fingering chart with a song sheet was included, so I'll be occupied for a while learning the fingerings for the notes that are different on the whistle. One thing for certain is that a whistle sounds a WHOLE lot better than a recorder. Let's see if I can finally get past Lesson 7!

You'll have noticed by now that I haven't quoted exact prices and if you've read my other "Score!" posts, you know this is where I normally state the price of the item I scored. However, because my above-mentioned friend is a faithful reader of my blog, I'm not doing it this time because that would be like leaving a price tag on a gift.

So, sorry to inconvenience you, but you'll have to look it up yourself, if you really want to know the price. Besides, if you intend to buy a tin whistle, or anything else for that matter, you should check out websites yourself to comparison shop with the stores in your town to see if you can come up with something better.

More importantly, your satisfaction with any whistle you may choose will depend a lot on whether or not you like how it sounds which is entirely subjective.

In conclusion, I'll merely state that I'm extremely pleased with my find and shout...

SCORE!

The Downside of Learning to Play a Musical Instrument

2010-04-30T14:49:00.012-05:00

Ever since I was a child, I've wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument. Back then, it was the organ. My parents enrolled me in a package of ten piano group lessons that I complained about because I was too young to appreciate having to wait around for 40 minutes of the hour-long lessons while the two other students received their 20 minutes apiece.

(Not that I'd appreciate waiting around for 40 minutes now, either.)

It was too boring for words and the little electric piano the teacher had us using sounded terrible. There was absolutely no joy in the experience that I had eagerly anticipated and my parents never tried it again.

In my teens, I got myself an acoustic guitar, some instructional material, and tried to teach myself to play. I thought I was doing fairly well and enjoyed the sounds I was making but quit because I didn't know it was normal for fingers to hurt like crazy until calluses built up on tender skin.

I'll spare you other painful details with more instruments in the intervening years because those two examples should suffice for you to get the big picture.

During my road trip in 2007, I bought an instructional book by David Harp that came with a CD and harmonica from the REI store near San Diego. It was different because it didn't have songs like other music books but taught riffs for blues and rock songs. They were very easy to learn and I was imitating a train with whistle the first night. Maybe it wasn't music in the sense of playing a melody, but it sounded good to me and, most of all, it was fun!

Until I misplaced the book and CD.

Last year, I bought a book and recorder from the Wal-Mart children's toy section for about US$10. Being adult about it, I refrained from buying one of the translucent bright red or blue or purple recorders and settled on a solid, sedate, ivory; not that I wasn't tempted to get one that was more colorful.

Several times last month, I watched "Australia" on HBO thinking more and more, "I can do that" whenever the boy played "Over The Rainbow" on his harmonica. So, I got my harmonica and copied the tabs for the song off the Internet.

Except the song doesn't sound right.

Getting another copy that doesn't sound right either, but in different places, I spent over three and a half hours one Thursday night with them and my harmonica making a third set of tabs that sound right to me.

My lips still hurt on Saturday.

This time, I know not to give up entirely as I did with the guitar, but what do I do in the meantime? I still want to make music and even my sporadic, paltry attempts are deeply satisfying.

Another thought that crossed my mind was, "What if I get another episode of Bell's Palsy?" although I've been at least 95% free of it since Christmas. With a minor sense of not being 100% okay, I decided that I need something else that's travel-sized to alternate with the harmonica. That way, should I lose control of one side of my mouth again, I could stick the mouthpiece into the other side and still be able to play.

I went back to the recorder and played through the lessons to see why I quit. Ah, yes, I remember. Lesson 7 introduces a note that requires me to uncover the thumb hole. That was the show-stopper.

You see, my thumb has a mind of its own.

When I tell it to cover the hole, by golly it's going to keep that hole covered no matter what. As a result, when I tell it to uncover the hole, it yields only with intense reluctance after much earnest protesting. When I tell it to cover the hole again, it yells at me to make up my [blinking] mind. There's no point to switching hands because both thumbs are in cahoots.

I hate being chewed out by my own body.

After a week of fighting over that single note, I'm thinking there's got to be something better for me.

My remaining options appear to be an ocarina or a tin whistle, also called a penny whistle although many are no longer made of tin and none cost only a penny anymore.

The ocarina is an old South American wind instrument that was made popular by Giuseppe Donati, an Italian brickmaker circa 1850. Issued to soldiers during World War I and II, ocarinas are having a revival because of "The Legend of Zelda" game series by Nintendo. Ocarinas are available in different styles, materials, colors, and prices starting at US$5 with the number of holes ranging from four to twelve.

The ocarinas with four finger holes that don't have thumb holes sound like they'd be the best for me. Those that have six or more holes may instigate more arguments with my thumbs.

Researching tin whistles is encouraging because they are reputed to be the easiest instrument to learn, don't have thumb holes (Hallelujah!), sound better than recorders, and are available in a wide range of prices. Since even professional musicians use whistles that cost US$25 or less, there's no snob appeal in having an expensive whistle. The thing that matters is whether or not you enjoy the way your whistle sounds.

The sole negative is that since the increased popularity of Celtic music that started back in the 1970s and because the majority of Celtic music is in the key of D, it's hard to find instructional material in the key of C even when it isn't Celtic music.

The good part about the soprano or high D whistles that beginners typically use is that they're easier to play than those in the key of C because they require less air. Because the holes are closer together, it's less of a stretch which may be a determining factor for the small hands of children.

Another good thing is that tin whistles all use the same fingering to produce the notes. Once learned, what one has to do to play in a different key is merely get a whistle in that key and get used to the whistle's different length and spacing of the holes which isn't that easy when it's something like a low D.

Learning on a whistle in a key other than D results in the student not sounding right only when playing along with an instructional CD or with other people unless they're also using instruments in the same or a complementary key.

Hannah Kate Kinnersley wrote in her Wall Street Journal article, "Music Lessons: Learning To Play The Tin Whistle," that learning to play a musical instrument is good for children because "Studies say that children who play an instrument score higher on math tests and show improved concentration. Adults who play score better in memory tests."

The advantages of getting an inexpensive, travel-sized, musical instrument is that you'll have something to entertain yourself and others during overly long waits, car and bus rides, hiking rest stops, or evenings by the camp fire; you'll be able to cheer and comfort yourself when you're lonely, and it won't cost much to replace if lost.

In addition to these advantages, it's ideal for your preparedness Grab & Go bag because it doesn't require batteries.

Even if you don't count relaxation or the sense of accomplishment that comes from making your own music, it's all upside. There is no downside to learning how to play a musical instrument.

All you have to do is select an appropriate instrument and find the method of learning that works best for you.