@M.E. and Redneck, CSA is great if you don’t garden or want to supplement.  My parents did it when I was a kid and we always looked forward to what we got. My family started eating lots of vegetables, fruit and cooked from scratch when two of out kids had ADHD symptoms. It eliminated their problem (un-diagnosed) and improved our health. But it can be tough to ween ourselves from processed food, due to sugar content, IMO. But I found a way to eat better, even when tempted by unhealthy processed food: I allow my self junk after I have eaten 7 helpings of fruit or vegetables, all organic. For example, I always have steamed vegetables with lunch. Usually zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms or peppers. I add 2 apples and 2 grapefruit through the day. This almost always satisfies the temptation. I also don’t keep processed or junk food in the house. If I really want it, I have to go to the store. My doctor has told me I am his only patient +50 that is not on any meds. He thinks it’s because I don’t smoke, drink alcohol or soda pop. I think the good food is also responsible.

Keep gas in your car. I got a call from one of my sons telling me the gas station in town (the only gas station) is out of commission. The fuel delivery guy loaded diesel fuel into the gasoline tanks and many customers started pumping it. If you don’t drive the vehicle and have it towed to a mechanic, it may cost $400 to have the tank pumped out and flushed. If you start driving it, until is stops (this will happen fast) it could cost $4,000 – $17,000 to fix the engine. The next nearest gas station is about 12 miles away. I don’t see a way to avoid pumping tainted fuel but if your local station is out of commission, for whatever reason, have enough gasoline to drive to the next station.

This is reportedly a fish kill, but fish are part of animals’ food chain, as well as the water. I am not sure how someone could prepare or adequately react to this, other than not living within a few miles of railroad tracks. Relocating until the full environmental and health impact is understood could be very costly. In most of the country, especially the Midwest, towns were built along the railroad lines. It might be hard to sell your home in that town for some time. Ohio toxic train crash killed nearly 45,000 animals

Thank you. This is a really nice, simple and portable setup. I just need the battery and the lights. My wife has poor night vision, in fact, she has avoided night driving since we met. She’s uncomfortable during power outages even though we have many types of flashlights. This may solve part of that problem for her. Although, I am also going to buy a few of the lithium powered LED lights from Harbor Freight too. I knew someone 20 years ago that plumbed part of his house with propane lines during a renovation. He installed indoor propane lamps, kind of like Alladin. Like these (this one is NG). The only problem with these is fishing the fuel line. I don’t know if it would be possible with a finished wall, because NG/Propane lines are coated aluminum and stiff, like CPVC. Your idea is most practical. Thanks.

I never said this: “trying to convince people that the 3rd leading cause of death is somehow good for you.” You are not in a position to “explain where your analysis went wrong”. You are a forum admin, not a SME. Read the links and either accept or reject the research. Don’t shoot the messenger. I have said many times to get vaccinated and I was probably vaccinated before 99% of the people at TP (Dec ’21). You continue to violate Rule 1. Personal attacks have no place here.

Can you post what you bought and how you put it together?

@Barb Lee, That looks really good. How long will the lawn mower batter keep those going?

@Eric, From the same CIDRAP article: “In a related commentary, Cheryl Cohen, MBBS, DPhil, of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and Juliet Pulliam, PhD, of Stellenbosch University, both in South Africa, noted that the global percentage of people who had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by September 2021was estimated at 59%, with substantial variation in the proportion of those with immunity from infection or vaccination in different settings.” In August, 2022:“In a media briefing late last month, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha, MD, said more than 70% of the U.S. population has had the virus, according to the latest CDC data. That’s up from 33.5% in December (2021).” From the same source: “In September 2020, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine said “approximately 40% to 45% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 will remain asymptomatic. A follow-up analysis of 95 studies, published last December, reached similar findings, estimating that more than 40% of COVID-19 infections didn’t come with symptoms.“…the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that only 7% of positive COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are being detected. That means case rates are actually 14.5 times higher than the official count of 131,000 new COVID infections each day, according to the CDC…” In November, 2022:“By November 9, 2022, 94% (95% CrI, 79%–99%) of the US population were estimated to have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 at least once. Combined with vaccination, 97% (95%–99%) were estimated to have some prior immunological exposure to SARS-CoV-2.” I applaud you for the effort to avoid COVID, but if these numbers are to be believed, it may be simply impossible at some point. You may want to ask for a blood test to check for antibodies to be sure you have not had a very mild case or an asymptomatic case. Read the research, especially of medical professionals that propose a different approach, talk to your doctor, and make a decision that’s right for you. But don’t make fun of people that do the same thing and come to a different conclusion for themselves.

@Erica said on the Community Challenge topic “My state currently averages around 504 COVID cases per 7 day average with about 5 deaths in a 7 day average. The interesting thing is that most of the state has low rates, but some counties are at medium and high rates. The most densely populated areas are low rated for cases, by the way.” At this point, no states have a meaningful method to measure positive, active COVID cases; at-home tests don’t make it into government or public health databases and so many cases are mild that people treat it like a cold and don’t call or go to a doctor. The most meaningful source of data to estimate COVID prevalence is hospital admission with/for COVID19. Some larger cities have the facilities to test wastewater and make an estimate but those systems are not widespread in the US. Serology studies (blood tests) are often used by epidemiologists to estimate how many people in an area had COVID (or other things) and whether it’s rising or falling. These studies are widespread and have become more useful since it’s so common for a doctor’s office or hospital/clinic to take a blood sample. Norovirus has been more common this winter too. It is a nasty gastro bug that usually lasts 24-36 hours. Most of my family, other than me and one son, had it this winter.

If you haven’t had COVID yet, especially if you’re older or suffering with comorbidities, get vaccinated or boosted. If not, the natural immunity after infection lasts around 10 months. If I had not had COVID yet, and didn’t have significant risk, I would want to get the mild COVID going around.  “Decision makers should take both natural immunity and vaccination status into consideration to obtain a full picture of an individual’s immunity profile.” That’s the doctor/patient relationship.

Previous COVID-19 may slash severe illness at reinfection by 89% Vaccines recommended for at risk. CIDRAP

I thought I was skeptical enough to protect my resilience. This story is depressing, but the journalism is inspiring: “Team Jorge”: In the heart of a global disinformation machine ‘Team Jorge’ at Haaretz – much better graphics Who is ForbiddenStories? (Since its creation, 60 news organizations and more than 150 journalists – from 49 different countries and five continents – have worked on the collaborative investigations coordinated by Forbidden Stories.)

@Hardened, Valisure is an independent lab that touts their Harvard and Yale trained scientists and their proprietary analytical technologies. Glaxo didn’t seem to need that service; they knew about the risk to customers and covered it up for 40 years – and made billions. Many are suffering from cancer. Glaxo needed an ethicist, at a minimum. Be skeptical and make them earn our trust. That builds resilience.

Trust Big Pharma: I know sometimes people don’t like seeing articles that question their beliefs. I get that. But reading the MSM-approved narrative can jeopardize our situational awareness and readiness, in some cases. More information about COVID vaccines seems to be published almost every day. Much of it conflicts with the MSM-approved narrative. Only time will tell where the truth lies and who knew what and when. I took the vaccine too. But how reliable and trustworthy is big pharma? Bloomberg link

He has always said it ‘Could’ become a pandemic, for the last 15 years I have read his stuff, but he sees no indication now is the time. Elsewhere in the podcast, he suggests it is more likely that the next big pandemic will be a more deadly COVID virus or more deadly Influenza virus because both already have a history of pandemic-level transmissibility, whereas H5N1, among humans, does not. He also says it is not prudent to prepare for an H5N1 pandemic, for many reasons. And no, his remarks were not in the context of the NYT article because he went on to explain the history of H5N1 in humans since it was first seen in 1997. It was a nice way of telling the journalist to do your research before you yell fire, hence his comments about the article being a ‘generational’ problem.

H5N1 is not a pandemic From Dr. Mike Osterholm at CIDRAP: H5N1 initially appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. “Since the beginning of tracking for H5N1 in humans, which really started in the early 2000 time period after the Hong Kong experience. We are aware of 868 cases that have occurred in humans, of which 457 have died. “The majority of cases, in each outbreak, occurred in 5 countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, China and Thailand.” “There were a total of seven cases reported in the world from 2020 to 2022.”In the United States…”And yet in both the 2015 large outbreak where we lost 50 million birds in the United States and now this one in 2022, 23, where we’ve lost over 58 million birds, there hasn’t been a single documented case of (human) infection that was actually tied to illness.” “But we, again, don’t see evidence of the fact that it’s actually creating a greater risk for humans.” Read the transcript beginning at 00:43:58, or listen to the whole podcast: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-124-taking-long-covid-seriously

@M.E, “That way if I am either robbed or a disaster damages what is in the basement, I at least have a good supply spread out in other locations.” This is excellent advice! Resilience is being prepared for the time your preps are gone / damaged / destroyed. “For me one of the main points in being prepared is to live a life free of fear.  Shifting my attitude from “how can I hide this from other people?” to “how can I organize my supplies so I’m best able to help other people who might need it?” was a very healthy way to shift perspective and keeps prepping fun and abundant.” This summarizes the best advice about a resilient attitude! A willingness to help others is prudent. It doesn’t mean we are naive, it’s all about readiness, resilience and community.

If you simply can’t open the door, or if there is fire or visible arcing, you may need to exit via a window. In our case, that is a straight drop from the 2nd floor to the ground or the driveway. Use a chain ladder. Then go around the house and use a ladder to the other bedroom window. You would need a ladder outside, possibly chained to something to prevent theft, and the key/combination. If this is your situation, keep in mind that you have lost your bug out bags in the front closet, unless you have your keys (!) and the door will open. You may want to drop your crowbar and hammer out the window first so you can try to get your stuff. This is a good reminder to have a second go bag at another location, like friends or family.

Shifting door frames can make life very difficult. Remember how difficult it can be to close an interior door if the door hanger is heavily laden? We have a few of these and it’s difficult to shut the door completely if too much is hanging. If the foundation shifted, it would be many times more difficult.  If an earthquake shifted our foundation, we would have to open 4 doors to get out; (2) bedrooms, the front closet with out go bags, and finally, the front or back door. That could take a lot more time than I usually think about exiting quickly. And if there is a gas leak, the need to move quickly is much greater!  A crowbar could possibly pop the door out of the misaligned frame, but it is also more likely you will need to break most of the door to open it. If you are not confident you have the upper body strength to get it open, prepare yourself with a longer crowbar. Greater leverage will be your equalizer.  If the door is jammed tight all the way around, it may be easier to simply destroy the door. These will be hollow core doors and easier to destroy than a perimeter (front) door. I would use an engineer’s hammer – get whatever weight you are comfortable with. I have used my 4 lb hammer many times but my wife would want a 2.5 lb hammer.  If I have to do it in the dark, I definitely want a headlamp. Heavy work gloves and boots go without saying.

@Barb Lee, you’re talking about those silicon muffin molds and not any other size? My wife uses those all the time for GF/DF almond flour muffins. Much easier than peeling paper. And how long have your frozen eggs been ok?