The REAL state of the Economy

After a post for The Small Hold, I decided to conduct an experiment about the real state of the economy. You see, in Arkansas when you buy a new car, or a car over $5000, you have to pay the 8.5% sales tax within thirty days to get your license plate. On my commutes, I kept a log of all the cars that had the paper temporary plates, and made a note whether it was within the thirty day range or expired.

Here is the data set:

May 17 - bad 5-7
May 18 - good 6-5
May 19 - good 6-9 : bad 5-9
May 20 - good 5-31 : bad 10-15,5-3,4-23
May 21 - none
May 22 - none
May 23 - bad 4-3, 3-27
May 24 - good 6-1
May 25 - good 5-25
May 26 - bad 3-23
May 27 - none
May 28 - good 6-9
May 29 - good 6-22 : bad 5-12, 5-23
May 30 - none
May 31 - bad 5-30
June 1 - good 6-6
June 2 - good 6-17, 6-22 : bad 6-1
June 3 - good 6-23,6-26 : bad 4-24
June 4 - good 6-23,6-24
June 5 - none
June 6 - good 7-5
June 7 - good 7-7 : bad 7-5,5-23
June 8 - good 6-25 : bad no tag
June 9 - good 6-24 : bad no tag
June 10-June 13 vacation
June 14 - good 6-16,6-24 : bad 5-12
June 15 - good 6-17 : bad no tag,5-23
June 16 - good 7-29
June 17 - good 6-19
June 18 - good 7-8,7-8,7-4 : bad 5-16, no tag
June 19 - none
June 20 - bad 11-30,6-20
June 21 - good 7-1,7-6 : bad 4-24
June 22 - good 7-1
June 23 - none
June 24 - good 7-20, 6-24 : bad 3-17

Totals: good tags= 31 (54.3%) bad tags = 26 (45.6%)

The data will be skewed towards the bad tags since more people will replace the temporary tags with the permanent license plate, which I'm guessing would look like a U-shaped graph (time on x-axis and all new tags on y-axis).

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Enjoying Life AND Prepping

I've tried to post on a regular basis but my motivation and busy schedule seem to get in the way. We are enjoying our home, and still preparing for the next power outage or job loss. Sweetheart and I have been trying to live in the moment more, which means enjoying life but still being responsible. We recently took a trip to Pigeon Forge in Tennessee with the boys (and extended family) for a mini vacation. Dollywood was expensive but the boys had a good time. Now the cousins, they had a blast and lasted the whole day! My boys were spent after lunch, and wanting to go home. I told Red Ant, our seven year old, that we needed to get our monies worth, so we needed to walk around the park three more times, and ride all the rides once more. "Really?!", was his response. We left a few hours later.

We are also planning a week long vacation to Destin, Florida. We try to take the kids somewhere every year to expand their horizons. I got to travel as an Air Force brat, and enjoyed the new locations growing up, but it sure is nice to grow some roots in one location. I guess the vacations cure the bouts of wanderlust.

I've decided to start or improve, I'm not sure which, on my carpentry skills. For example: On Father's Day I had an old cabinet that my Dad built while he was in High School. It was being used for storing school supplies that I picked up on sales over the years. Typically, the penny sales for pencils, paper, binders, and such...

I built a frame using 2x4's for the chest to sit into since, I didn't want to alter the original, but wanted the added functionality of being able to roll it around the garage.

I bought 4 swivel casters at Harbor Freight for $20 or so...

Made sure I had enough room so that the wheels wouldn't stick out so the 4" wheels were set back 2" from the inside of 2x4.

The cabinet fit snugly into the frame, and the bottom drawer has enough clearance to be pulled out. Honestly, it's something that I hadn't thought about, but it worked out very well. I'll know for any future designs to account for this.

I will replace the pulls in the future. I got to use a few screws from my Grandfather's collection, so I've got a tri-generational rolling tool cabinet.

Also the truck had a brake light out and the local oil and lube shop wanted $26 dollars to replace it. No thanks, I can fix it myself. $6.50 and 10 minutes, it's fixed and I have a spare bulb.

Keep on Right On Prepping - K
(and learning)

JUGM- I've got the cheese and going to be waxing them soon.
PP- I've been collecting information for a post you might like...

Random Thoughts

While these generally get me in trouble, I'll still post them here anyways...

• Instead of banning AR-15's, why don't we just ban latent homosexuals from buying them?
• Kia drivers are the worst. I hope their insurance premiums counteract the monthly car note.
• MRI + Overweight = claustrophobic (statistically speaking).
• I'm not a doctor, but I know why your ankle hurts (375 pound patient, spoken internally).
• I'm convinced that the medical field is battling Darwinism.
• Just because we offer free drinks and snacks doesn't mean that you get to stuff your purse with them.
• If you need a good doctor, ask a friend that works in the medical field.
• A good attitude and being nice will get you more special treatment than being an A$$hole.
• It's easy to do a good job and be pleasant when you enjoy your work.
• If you are an hour late for your appointment, don't expect to get seen in front of all the other people that can tell time.
• When you go for an MRI, wear comfortable clothing that doesn't have metal (Sports bra). 
• I don't know of too many professions where I can ask women to take off their bras, and them not get offended.
• I like my job: I play with magnets and get to read comic books.
• If someone is a vegan and does crossfit...what do they tell you first?
• Whenever you sign your name on medical papers, you are shifting the liability to yourself.
• The story of Cinderella would have been a lot shorter if she had just gotten naked before midnight.
• Why don't Jedis use the force to turn off the other person's lightsabers?
• I'd love to have a mini EMP weapon attached to my truck, so that I can disable the self important a-hole's car that just cut me off.
• Why is it that no one in zombie flicks call them zombies or has ever heard about zombies?
• If three people having sex is called a threesome. I guess you can call me handsome!?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Outside Products I Endorse

In a previous post, Senior [Link to his Blog] offered to help me with my sprinkler system which I greatly appreciated, but I figured it out. He meant to underground system, but I went a different more frugal route. i am endorsing the Orbit sprinkler system that attaches to the faucet. It has worked very well, and a fraction of the cost of an sprinkler system installation.

Runs of 2 AA batteris

Variable sprays and angle of watering

Be sure to sure brass couplings for the garden hoses. The main comes with 4 or 2 unit controllers, and the set up has a steep learning curve...so read the instructions.

The next item is Sta-green Bermuda seed from Lowe's. In early May, we had to have a leak fixed, and the side yard got taken to the soil. Here are before and after pictures of the seed doing it's work. It did take about 2 weeks for it to look really good, but I am happy, really happy, with the results and the price compared to sod.

We also added a flagstone pathway (in progress)

Any outside products that you've found amazing and want to pass along the info?

Keep Right On Prepping- K

June 6th - The Week In Review

First and foremost, I'd like to thank "The Greatest Generation" for their courage, especially to Granddad James (my Mom's Dad). My Grandfather-in-law (my Sweetheart's Grandad) who gave his live after D-day on or around July 4th,1944. The events surrounding his death are still cloudy and inconsistent.

The week in review. We have continued to work on the front yard, but at a much slower pace since the finances are limited. We've added more mulch, and added four bags of soil to the low lat=ying spots in the front yard. Of course, I added Bermuda seed to those spots, and fixed the automatic sprinkler system. It turns out that reading the instruction manual helps in correctly setting up the individual timers. Both of them worked this morning, and I reprogrammed then to run much early in the morning.

The last time I went to the doctor my blood pressure was 153/112. Way too high! I also bought a blood pressure monitor to keep tabs on the myself.  So, I've eliminated (for the most part) eating out, and have started walking/running to drop some weight (193#) to get it under control. I will not start taking daily meds if I can change by eating habits and lifestyle. I've gotten it down to 130/99 the last few days, which still isn't great but an improvement.

Sweetheart and I took The Doctor on an hour long walk along a popular trail. The Doctor had a great nap in the stroller. I also downloaded a game called Zombies,run! [LINK] which is a smart phone fitness game. I've really enjoyed it, and find it a good motivator to get out an running/walking.

We are getting ready to head out to Dollywood which is in Pigeon Forge, TN with the kiddos and extended family for a mini-vacation. Sweetheart and I are calling it a trial run for Disney World in 2017.

Preps have been focusing on bullets, magazines, and a few garden plants. I'll be buying another long rifle in August before the run of firearms takes hold, and the selection is limited.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

T-Minus 3 Days (Trinity Butter)

Memorial Day food preparation was very light,but a lot of cleaning was done yesterday. I had Row help me make compound butter for the steaks, or what I called it: Trinity Butter. The Holy Trinity in cooking is salt, pepper and garlic, so I included roasted garlic, Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, and fresh ground black pepper to a mortar and mixed them together. Row called it tri-ology butter, and I had to let him know that was the study of threes! He meant to say trilogy butter, since it had three main spices. I'm good with that...

Smash it!

Mix it!

Roll it out!

The Trinity Butter was placed in the refrigerator to let the flavors blend, and small pats will be placed on top of the freshly grilled steaks on Sunday.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

T-Minus 4 Days

We are getting ready for our friends to come over on Sunday for Memorial Day. We hang out in the front yard: no electronics for the kids, food, beer, pool (baby and kiddo) appetizers, steaks, Baggo, football toss game, hammock, other games are being planned, as well as our semi-annual 80's music trivia game. Why Sunday? Gives us all a chance to relax and recover before work. I'm sure our house will be invaded by the neighborhood kids.

I am slowly ramping up the preparations (cleaning and food) this week, and will make "What I did today" type posts.

Sweetheart had two adult cherry Cokes in Branson, MO and we are replicating our own version.  The Maraschino cherry syrup is drained and replaced with Cherry Moonshine so that the cherries become little alcohol bombs of goodness. Cherry Coke anyone?

Two ounces of mung beans were started on Monday with a 24 soak, then rinsed and drained every morning and afternoon. These will be used for an Asian appetizer that I have planned. More to follow on this little delicacy...

The menu is firming up to look like this:

Hors d'oeuvres 
Asian Plate Appetizer (meat, mung salad, rice,and spicy dipping sauce)
Jalapeno Poppers
Teriyaki Chicken Sticks

Main Menu
Tenderloin
North Carolina Cole Slaw (family recipe)
Potato Salad (family recipe)
Brussels Sprouts
Grilled squash, zucchini, and red peppers
French Fries

Evening Snack

Frozen Cheese Pizzas topped with grilled veggies and steak (leftovers)

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Weekend In Review

I told my wife that I was hoping to post a weekend in review, or a week in review every Monday depending on the events of the week and time permitting. I always have time, just lacking the inclination. The older I get, the more I realize that not having the time is a poor excuse, because we all make time for the things that are important.

This is my brain:

The good thing about working in an MRI clinic is the opportunity to jump into the scanner to work on improving the imaging protocols. When my boys are teenagers, this is proof that I have a brain.

We continued to work on the front yard, and improve the curb appeal. We have exhausted the landscaping budget, and I think we've done pretty good on a $1000.00. This weekend we spread two truckloads of super soil and 8 bags of bark mulch. The bark mulch went under the two trees that we ringing with metal edgings, over weed block. I'll have to squeeze out about 4 more bags of mulch ($10) after payday to finish this area to my satisfaction.

This area was begging for a hammock.

A lot of plants were planted, but I was inadvertently a terrible father and accidentally covered Red Ant's watermelon plant he had grown from seed at school. When he came out and saw what had happened, it was full tears running down his face. Talk about feeling bad...

We (Sweetheart mostly) finally got Row calmed down and I promised him that we would go buy more plants just for him. He selected six watermelon seedlings, and a pretty tray of flowers (bottom right) that he was sure that Mommy would like the colors.

I'll post more pictures of the plants when I get a written list of the plant spellings. A lot of marigolds, 2 strawberry plants, 2 tomato plants, and 2 Zinnia plants went into the new soil. I also got my new toy hooked up, the Orbit automatic watering system. I have plans to expand the system to get most of the front yard, so that I can plant some Bermuda seed, then weed and feed the yard for a really lush yard. I figure it'll take a two or three year time frame for my dream lawn. We have the time, not the money.

My school's official graduation ceremony was this weekend, but I opted to work on the house instead of spending 3 hours listening to self-inflated old men talk to themselves. Besides, my wife, boys and parents told me that they were proud of me...that's all that really matters.

That being said, I had thought about going out to eat, but really just wanted an awesome steak dinner. You know me, I'd rather go to the butcher shop and get some REALLY nice steaks for the price of an average restaurant meal. Here's what we had: Angus T-bone for parents, Ribeye for Row, Filet for Red Ant, grilled chicken for The Doctor, Asian salad, baked potatoes or psuedo-McDonald's french fries, roasted asparagus, and croissants.

Keep Right On Prepping - K