Welcome and informal drop in

I'd like to welcome Linda from Practical Parsimony as my newest follower. I've arranged an informal drop in to check out her blog. Be sure to post a comment!

Buying Myself a Present

Okay, here's the deal. The weather has made it hot and brutal in the kitchen. To help endure the heat, I have made a promise to myself that if I stick it out to the date that I want, then I'm gonna buy myself a new handgun. The monthly budget has been done, but this will leave half a paycheck for me to play with. I have really been partial to the Ruger brand because of the value and durability.

Really leaning towards the Ruger P95. It will be an EDC too. Maybe my Ruger LCP if I really wanna go light but that's another post.

I'd like to stick with a 9mm just for the ammo cost. I do have a Kimber .45 Pro Eclipse and a day at the range can break the bank.

What do you really like, as far as handguns go?
What Handguns should I look into?
All suggestions welcome!

How to Research Fish Antibiotics for When IT Hits The Fan

=== DISCLAIMER===

All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. I cannot and do not give medical advice. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before purchasing any product(s). The information should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation or advice of your physician and/or other health care provider. I do not recommend the self-management of health problems. This Information may not be complete. Should you have any health care-related questions, please call or see your physician or other health care provider promptly. You should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here.

=== DISCLAIMER===

Now, with the legalities out of the way. This is what I have found in regards to fish antibiotics and the hypothetical human use for when IT hits the fan.

First and foremost, I would make sure that the pills have a United States Pharmacopeia, or USP.   " This is a compendium recognized officially by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that contains descriptions, uses, strengths, and standards of purity for selected drugs and for all of their forms of dosage."

Secondly, I would make sure that it is an antibiotic that I have taken for a previous reason. This greatly reduces the risk of an allergic reaction.

Third, I would start my stockpile of medicines for the most common ailments for your family. For my clan this would include ear infections, upper respiratory infections, strep throat, and Urinary Tract Infections.

For the purpose of this exercise, I'll choose strep throat, since that is why I am currently taking medication.

• Open new page to Google.
• In the search box, type "webmd.com" and your ailment. Ex:  "webmd.com strep throat" ( link for example)

According to webmd.com, "Antibodies such as penicillin, cephalexin, or amoxicillin are used to treat strep throat infection." ( http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/tc/strep-throat-medications ).

Next, I'll need to figure out the dosing schedule for amoxicillin for an adult. This is very important since the dosage will vary from an adult to a  child.

• Open new page to Google
• In the search box, type "drugs.com dosage amoxicillin"  ( link for example ).

I plugged "drugs.com dosage amoxicillin" into Google and got this :  Dosage Schedule   (http://www.drugs.com/dosage/amoxicillin.html ).  

After a lot of research and personally buying the medicine, I would recommend this site medicine. This is the direct website from where we purchase our antibiotics. It has the USP and is also an American manufacturer.

Make sure to printout any information in case of power failure.

I added The Doom and Bloom (tm) Survival Medicine Handbook to the recommended list onto  My Amazon store. Link Here


As always, comments are welcome and encouraged. Keep Right On - K

UPDATE POST ON 09-04-2012

I have provided a link to Fish Antibiotics.org . They have Youtube videos of the actual pills and descriptions so that you can further research the medicines. This website is an excellent resource.

I have also removed the link to My Amazon store, since Amazon no longer carries any aquarium medicines.

Sources:
http://thomaslabs.com/category/64-fish-antibiotics.aspx
http://www.truthistreason.net/guide-to-veterinary-drugs-for-human-consumption-post-shtf
http://www.shtfblog.com/are-fish-antibiotics-safe-for-human-consumption/
http://preparednesspro.com/fish-antibiotics/
http://www.drugs.com/imprints.php
http://www.doomandbloom.net/2011/10/fish-antibiotics-in-a-collapse.html  (Best site)
http://www.emedexpert.com/conditions/strep-throat.shtml
http://www.drugs.com/dosage/amoxicillin.html
http://www.fishantibiotics.org/

All Used Up....Antibodies

I was off work Wednesday to do a Meet and Greet at the hospital. That went well, I got to meet the instructors, and size up the classmates for potential study group people. I also found out that the classes are starting 9 days earlier than last year..so my time frame was really changed. It wouldn't affect our trip to the beach, but rather the projects I wanted to get completed around the house. Work is not going to be happy....oh well. After 23 years, they can deal with it. I guess you could say my Asperger's and Short-timers has kicked in.

Anyways, Wednesday night I didn't sleep well and woke up several times, which is a rare occasion. Even before the alarm was set to sound, I knew I was calling in sick. I didn't feel well, and the thermometer proved that I had a fever. Called in, and went back to sleep. Slept most of the day..probably around 18+ hours. Before the night was up, I called work again to let them know that I wouldn't be at work on Friday either. I was thinking that it was just a virus, but Friday morning the fever still remained, and a doctor's appointment was made. All the symptoms for strep throat....fever, nausea was less that day, body ache, fire red throat, but no white pus pockets, and my lovely wife reminded me to take some mouthwash to the appointment. A terrible headache that abated the second day too.

 Cefdinir 300 mg ( 2 a day for 10 days )

I have used all of my buffer posts to keep the blog going, and probably won't have the MRE Monday done this week. I am supposed to return to work on Monday, which I am ready to do, at least mentally.

The main purpose of this post is to get everyone to look into antibiotics for when the SHTF or economic collapse.

I have another post idea about Fish antibiotics and will add them to my Amazon store. I was hoping that I could do a photo comparison of those that I already have versus what I got form the drugstore, but I didn't get the kind that I already had on hand.

Stay well & Keep Right On - K

How to Depit Cherries

My Sweetheart wanted to dehydrate some cherries and I really dreaded having to depit the cherries. Being the awesome wife that she is, she did all the work for me on Father's Day. She also showed me a trick to depit the cherries.

Remove the stem from the cherry. Place the top of the cherry towards your dominate hand.

Place the straw at the top of the cherry. This straw was from the kid's drink cup, quite sturdy.

Push the straw into the cherry, and wiggle it around a little to find the pit, then push the pit through the bottom of the cherry.

So, if you find a great deal on cherries, don't be afraid to dehydrate then for storage.

House Fajita Seasoning - My Favorite Seasoning

 This is how it came into creation....

The fajita seasoning that we were buying from our food vendor contained MSG, and some of our customers kids were ordering the grilled chicken strips. I didn't want any allergic reactions to happen, so I came up with our house recipe fajita seasoning. Mind you, we didn't sale any fajitas at this store, but nevertheless used it.

We usually make a BIG batch, but I've broken it down into more manageable size for you to try out.

The main problem with converting such a large recipe into small ones is that the smaller batches are harder to achieve the correct taste, balance might be a better word here. This being said, I recommend the full batch to be made. In the interest of frugality, I would make the 1/2 batch to see if it is pleasing to you.

K's FAJITA SEASONING

==================

Full Batch

1/2 Cup Black Pepper 

3/4 Cup Onion Salt

1 Cup Paprika

3/4 Cup Salt

1 Cup Granulated Garlic

2 TB Ground Cumin

1 TB Cayenne Pepper

Half Batch

1/4 Cup Black Pepper

6 TB Onion Salt

1/2 Cup Paprika

6 TB Salt

1/2 Cup Granulated Garlic

1 TB Ground Cumin

1/2 TB or 1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

I've also tried this as a marinade, but the flavors are too strong and it overpowers the flavor of the meat. Seasoning should compliment the meat, not flavor it. I've also used this as a base for a dry rub and add about 1/2 sugar to 1/2 fajita seasoning. You can adjust the amount of sugar for your own taste, or even use brown sugar.

MRE Monday - Drink Mixes

This is my choice for today's MRE selection. I purchased several drink mixes through Emergency Essentials.

The MRE drink mixes that we ordered were: Pink Lemonade, Lemonade, Grape, Fruit Punch, Sugar Free Lemonade, Sugar Free Raspberry, and Orange. The sugar free drinks are 40 cents and the regular drinks are 60 cents each.

Nutritional Information: (Regular Drinks)
24 grams
Calories: 90
Total Fat: 0
Sodium: 100mg or 4% DV
Total Carbohydrates: 21g or 7% DV
Sugar: 21g
Protein: 0
Vitamin A: 0
Vitamin C: 100%

Sugar Free drink mixes are 5 calories each and 100% Vitamin C

 
Expectations:
I expected them to taste like Kool-Aid Brand drink mixes.

Opened package of Lemonade Mix with 12 oz water

 

Mix poured into water without stirring.

Presto! Lemonade when mixed!

Realities:

So far, The Pink Lemonade has been the kids favorite drink mix. It taste and acts just like regular Kool-Aid. I will be ordering these again, but first a few negatives that I have found. The cost is quite high at 60 cents each and the odd measurement of water ( 20 oz. for the sugar free & 12 oz. for the regular ). If I had been manufacturing them, they would be made for the .5 liter water bottles that are currently in use. The newer packages might be doing this, if anyone knows please comment.

Final Thoughts:

Anyways, the positives outweigh the negatives. These make an excellent drink mix for caches and long term storage due to their packaging. I have purchased the Kool-aid brand mixes and they tend to clump after about 6 months due to humidity. The 100% Vitamin C is also a huge plus since it is an excellent antioxidant. The water-soluble properties, rather than fat-soluble, of vitamin C prevent it from being stored in the adipose tissue (fat) of the body. This is a definite purchase for caches. I would purchase limited amounts, due to cost, for long term storage. I'm thinking along the lines of comfort food and special occasions like birthdays.

Keep Right On - K

MRE Monday - Grilled Seasoned Beef Patty (Caramel Color Added)

Today's taste treat is brought to you by the letter "H". It was purchased for $1.60 at Emergency Essentials.

Nutritional Information:
Calories:190
Calories from Fat:90
Total Fat: 10g or 15% Daily Value (DV)
Saturated Fat: 4.5g or 23% DV
Cholesterol: 65mg or 22% DV
Sodium: 490mg or 20% DV
Total Carbohydrates: 1g or 0% DV
Dietary Fiber: 0g or 0% DV
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 22g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 15%

Expectations:
I was expecting a Hungry Man TV Dinner entree type of Hamburger Patty.

Size Comparison

Reality:

The beef patty was well formed and looked like a hoagie patty.

The juice kept the beef patty moist and the grill marks were a nice aesthetic touch. We were having quinoa meatloaf for dinner, so I thought this would be a great time to sample this MRE. Row,the six year old, was the first to sample and proclaimed, "I don't like this." Red Ant with Spikes, the three year old, also tried his with ketchup and said, " Tasted pretty good, I don't want any more." Hummm...conflicting statements. My Sweetheart thought it was okay, "as long as there is something to dip it in." It kinda leaves me to wonder if I didn't have anything else to eat, would the boys eat it? They might with enough hunger and ranch and/or ketchup. I thought that the texture was okay, but if you remember, this MRE was brought to you by the letter "H". The letter "H" stands for High School lunch food. This is probably my best description of this MRE. UPDATE!!!(Note: My wife thought this tasted better worse than the meat in High School).

So the final thought, I would order this again for a couple of reasons. Meat is a hard item to stockpile in a SHFT scenario or backpacking menu. Also, I would probably have at least one meal out of 28 (Note: MRE were designed to be eaten no more than 28 days) to add variety. I would wait for a sale and order five for my family of four.

I've also been thinking that I need to standardize a grading system for the MRE review. Another project and updates are on the drawing board.

Keep Right On - K

How to Calculate How Much You Really Need

As some of my long time readers know, I have been prepping for one income. I'll be quitting my job and attending medical school full time in August.

I have also been using coupons to get some really good deals, but how much do I really need to get us through the two years? ( FYI: All of these bottles were either free or less than 50 cents each! )

 Bargain Dawn Stockpile

The first step needs to be to find out how much you are actually using on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. You do this by labeling the product the date it was opened with a sharpie. I opened the last Dawn on 5/10 and opened a new one on 6/2, so a 9 oz. bottle lasted for 23 days.

Next, I have to figure out how many 9 oz. bottles I have , so that I can multiple it by 23 days.

I have 15 ( 9 oz bottles ), 1 ( 10.3 oz bottle ), and 1 ( 24 oz. bottle). With the amount and usage of Dawn, I can now figure out how long my stockpile will last. 

For ease, I'll use the 9 oz. as a standard,
so 10.3 oz. plus 24 oz. = 34.3 ounces in the odd sized bottles, divide by 9 (standard bottle size) = 3.8 ( 9 oz. bottles ) to get everything to a common standard.

15 bottles plus the 3.8 = 18.8 ( 9 ounce bottles ).

18.8 times 23 days =  432.4 days

I should use my last stockpiled Dawn in 432.4 days.

So, to answer my own question. I should still be on the lookout for bargain Dawn. About 10 more 9 oz. bottles should get us through the 2 year period without having to purchase any more.

You can use this same procedure to found out how much of something you need. Figure out how long a product lasts, then divide by the time frame to derive the amount of that product(s) you need. 

Cutting the cord with ROKU XS - NO cable bill & Install Link

One of my followers has posted a nice post about the ROKU player. It allows you a ton of content and allows you to "cut the cord" on your cable bill. CNN Money pegs the average monthly cable bill to $86 per month ( http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/06/news/companies/cable_bill_cost_increase/ ). That is $1032.00 a year.

 I have a ROKU XS on top of my television ( with a Netflix subscription for $8.00/month) and haven't missed a day of cable television. That's a $936.00 a year in savings...Hey, it's more money for preps..and the kids get their cartoons! The adults get Pandora, a music site for the TV that is personalized for you by you. Oh, and very few commercials...we really like that one. Also, for the tech savvy, it has a UBS port that can play mp4 and .mkv files. These types of files are usually downloaded from various sites.

Twins N Tidbits Link

The above link has an excellent photo shoot of the complete setup. Check it out.

 I have provided a link to my Amazon Store for those interested...($10 cheaper than China-mart).

ROKU  ran a special at Mother's Day and have one for this Father's Day too...$10 off...so wait for a sale or buy it now.  I imagine that they will have one of July 4th too ( unsure about this though ).


Keep looking for ways to reduce your bills and Keep Right On -K

MRE Monday - Filled French Toast

 

I thought I'd try to spread out on the MREs and review a breakfast food. Today's treat is the Filled French Toast that I picked up on sale for $1.50 last year.

Nutritional Information:

Calories:290 

Calories from fat:80

Total Fat: 9g or 14% Daily Value (DV)

Saturated Fat: 3g or 15% DV

Trans Fat: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 0mg or 0% DV

Sodium: 360mg or 15% DV

Total Carbohydrates: 50g or 17% DV

Dietary Fiber: 2g or 8% DV

Sugars: 19g

Protein: 8g

Vitamin A: 0%

Vitamin C: 4%

Calcium: 6%

Iron: 2%

Thiamin: 20%

Riboflavin: 10%

 The preferred heating method at our house

Expectations:

I pictured a big slice of Texas Toast split in half and stuffed with something.

I cut it in half to show the filling.

Reality:

We had a conversation at the dinner table about pseudonyms with the kids. I asked them what they wanted to be called on Daddies computer, they haven't quite gotten the idea about blogging yet. I had a hard enough time telling them about typewriters when they were eating corn. Anyways, the oldest son wanted to be called "Row". The youngest, who is 3, wanted to be called Red Ant with Spikes. We'll just shorten it to Ant, because he is always busy!

I did two Filled French Toast and had them waiting on the table. Row asked, "What is this?" Took a small  bite and announced that he didn't like it. Ant also took a small bite and followed Row's lead and said he didn't like it either. I did ask him if he would eat it if their was no food and he was hungry. He said," No, we can go food shopping."

Sweetheart said that she would definitely eat it again and would order some more.

I would order it again too. The bread texture was a little doughy, very similar to the wheat snack bread. The filling could be described as a lighter fruit leather consistency for the maple syrup filling. A thick molasses style consistency would be an excellent way to describe it. Both Sweetheart and myself would throw it into our backpacks for a weekend trip. It would break the monotony of instant oatmeal on a long trek. I would rate it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Tyler Bend - Buffalo National River

 America's First National River

I was going back through some old photos on my computer and ran across these of Tyler Bend on the Buffalo National River. This public campground is on the middle section of the river, which means the river is good for canoeing year round. The Bull Shoals dam on the White River affects the water level of the Buffalo National River's lower half because the dam is located near the conflux.

The campground is nice. I prefer going during the middle of the week, so that I see fewer people. The campground has a visitors center, bathrooms, and water.

Here are a few links that are a lot better than what I could do:

National Park Service

Recreation dot gov

Buffalo River Outfitters : I have not personally used them, but have heard good things.

Map : Great overview of most of the Buffalo National River.

This campground is accessible for all vehicles.

Keep Right On - K