Articles by NJMike

Thanks Reb. I appreciate your sharing the first hand experience. This will be a test in my interim location. I’m curious to taste them and see if I’ll be interested in growing them at my next place.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sun May 07, 2017 1:01 pm

Got divorced. Now I have the financial obligations set, so I can plan around that.

Picked up some more unusual plants at an Asian market this week. Sunchoke aka Jerusalem Artichoke, Perila, Dropwort, and Aralia Root.

I found some great deals at a rummage sale yesterday. In addition to a dozen books on various useful topics, I picked up another recurve bow for $12, a camping shovel/pick for $6, two medical storage boxes for $13, arm sling, wrist splint and cervical collar for $6, two frame backpacks for $12 each and I happened upon a Condor sniper drag bag for…$6, a great deal for adding a range bag.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sat May 06, 2017 9:47 am

Not a whole lot going on lately, mostly maintenance- keeping seedlings going before planting and the like.

I did make a call on my damaged food order and sent in pictures of the can dents and a mylar package improperly sealed. Waiting to hear back on that.

I was going through my communication equipment and making sure everything was fully charged. A pair of Midland radios in storage had both batteries low and they didn’t recharge properly. Ordered replacement batteries, and took the opportunity to add some short whip antennas for my other hand held radios.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Mon May 01, 2017 1:06 pm

Ahem.

One thing to consider is not just the % of people who have guns but likelihood of running into someone.

Per 2015 info, Pennsylvania had 27.1% ownership, New Jersey had 11.3%
http://reverbpress.com/politics/firearm … -by-state/

However, per 2010 info, people per sq. mile in PA is 283, and in NJ is 1185.
http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/s … 10_psm.htm

So, just playing with the numbers above at hand, one might estimate 77 armed people per sq. mile in PA, and in NJ the land of gun control there would be potentially 134 armed people per sq. mile.

There are perhaps more armed LEO, Federal Agency, and Military in NJ per Sq. Mile too.

That will all make for an interesting time.

Good news is any international humanitarian aid from Western Europe might arrive in NJ more quickly than the interior, depending on if Ports Newark-Elizabeth or the airports are intact. Ha ha.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:03 pm

Picked up some incremental purchase supplies like first aid and gadget batteries (regular and rechargeable Eneloop).

I also bought several useful medical references, used and new. For those interested, the newer pocket sized guides were:
Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopeia 2017 shirt pocket edition
Tarascon Adult Emergency Pocket Book (same size)
The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy 2016

I do have to contact one of the leading makers of long term food storage. I received a delivery this week and two #10 cans were badly dented, and a mylar bag was not sealed properly leaving stroganoff flavored dust everywhere in another box. Hoping they’ll address that.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Fri Apr 21, 2017 10:17 am

Another congrats on the weight loss, Cin.

I did a little shopping this weekend.

Picked up an old radiation detection kit that I’ll be looking to get fixed up. There’s a place in Texas that calibrates and re-certifies these.

Also bought some more first aid items, new items, replacement items (e.g.-fresh hydrogen peroxide), and also additional fire extinguishers for home and vehicle.

Other than that, a relaxing weekend. My taxes are almost done.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:02 pm

Another congrats on the weight loss, Cin.

I did a little shopping this weekend.

Picked up an old radiation detection kit that I’ll be looking to get fixed up. There’s a place in Texas that calibrates and re-certifies these.

Also bought some more first aid items, new items, replacement items (e.g.-fresh hydrogen peroxide), and also additional fire extinguishers for home and vehicle.

Other than that, a relaxing weekend. My taxes are almost done.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:02 pm

Nice frog. Suppose if she loses her voice, she’s good for a single serving of frog legs too. lol

I had a few medical/first aid items arrive this past week, so I took an inventory of my medical supplies which has helped identify a few gaps to still fill in, and some expired items to replace.

Bought more books at the Thrift store. Books included an old ARC Advanced First Aid and Emergency Care, 2 books on basketry, a 70’s book on brick laying with more instruction than pretty pictures (the way I like books), and a two binder set from U of Nebraska Cooperative Extension – “Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage”. This was a great find. It had habits and information on many kinds of animals, including specifics on how to bait and trap them. The previous owner also included in the 2nd binder two other publications on predation of livestock and dealing with aquatic rodents.

My seedlings are doing fine, but my peppers are a bit leggy. I should be able to fix that though. Picked up some more containers today for the container garden.

The last Radio Shack in this area (as far as I know) just went out of business and closed this weekend. I unfortunately caught wind of the closing sale too late to get electronics components (resistors, capacitors, etc. were all gone @90% off), but I did get some AA and 9V battery packs @70% off.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:33 pm

Agree with the prior comments.

More risky to go looking for stuff that one may/should already be prepared to have.

That said, it’s not a bad idea to consider local resources, or where to look for people to trade with, depending on the duration of an event and severity. In some cases, areas not emptied outright may be held. For example, if there’s a group held up in a machine shop/garage and you have a need for some equipment repair, then that’s something to keep on one’s radar. If there’s a group sitting on the roof of their store, perhaps bringing them extra water might be welcome and they might offer in exchange some goods they’re protecting.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Thu Mar 30, 2017 10:08 am

I enjoyed the Kindle version of Survival Medicine so much I bought the paperback.

And that led to several other medical purchases.

My fish will be safe at least.

Also completed the indoor seeding/transplanting to larger pots that I wanted to get done. I’ll be picking up remnants from two older portable greenhouses that have seen better days. I’m going to re-purpose just the shelf portions of the frame for stacking seed and pot trays for better vertical space use indoors.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:01 am

Thanks for sharing.

I liked the use of music wire in v2. Something I can add to my preps before I get around to a 3D printer.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sun Mar 19, 2017 8:35 am

I was away for work all this past week. Today I thinned out my seedlings, took advantage of KMart closing sale to pick up discounted fishing supplies and canning lids, and ordered some Mountain House with my Cabelas Club points.

Tomorrow I’m headed to Philly for a prepping Meet Up.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:14 pm

Picked up some more canned goods.

A recent Home Depot trip had the grow your own mushroom kits for half off. I picked up two and will be starting one of them next week. I added some flashlights from the clearance section too.

I also finally began using the Kindle I’d picked up on a Black Friday sale. I’ve been downloading free books on various prepping topics. It’s another backup to the paper books and the PDFs I have on other electronic media.

One of the Kindle books I’ve added is the Survival Medicine Handbook. It’s been a good read so far. Excellent information for some medications needed for my fish.

Statistics: Posted by NJMike — Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:23 pm