10:06 – Updated polling results. Last time, I surveyed five people, of whom only four were likely voters. The results were Trump 100% and everyone else 0%. But that was when Barbara had told me she wasn’t going to vote. Yesterday, she changed her mind because not voting would essentially be a vote for Clinton. So, with the sample size now five, the results are now Trump 125% and everyone else 0%. Even with a large margin of error, things are looking dim for Clinton.
Barbara called me on her way back from Winston yesterday when she was about half an hour from home. She suggested picking me up on the way past and heading into Sparta to refill her gas tank and vote. Gas had gone up Monday from $2.13 to $2.19, and it was still at that price. No line. So we filled up and headed for the early voting place downtown. No lines there, either. We voted and headed home, all within ten or fifteen minutes. I was pleased to see that, although the voting machines were electronic, they produced a paper audit trail.
As we got in the car to return home, I commented to Barbara that the last time I’d voted Republican was for Nixon in 1972. Barbara and I were among those millions (or tens of millions) of “hidden” Trump voters. Not that we like Trump. Both of us despise him, but he’s infinitely better than Clinton. It felt very strange to me to be marking the Republican boxes instead of the Libertarian boxes, but there it is. I mean if I, as a radical anarchist libertarian and a former member of the Libertarian National Committee, voted Republican, how many votes can the LP expect to get? My guess is that a huge majority of those who are either large-L Libertarians or small-l libertarians will be voting for Trump.
The Colonial pipeline fire was still not completely extinguished as of late last night, but Colonial is still saying they expect Pipeline One to be back in full service as of this Sunday. They obviously know things that I don’t, so at this point I’ll believe them. Of course, even once they start pumping again, there’s a lot of empty pipe between the break and the tank farm in Greensboro. They’ll have lost a week or so of transfer, but I’m assuming the gigantic tank farm has enough capacity to buffer that loss and continue distribution uninterrupted. If so, the disruption may be minimal.
Barbara made a small Costco run yesterday on her way out of Winston. The only food she picked up was two boxes of Ritz crackers, two dozen cans of Kirkland green beans, and two 3-liter bottles of Kirkland olive oil. FedEx showed up here yesterday morning with my Walmart order. That included a gift Barbara wanted for her sister and four 2-pound boxes of Alpo Variety Snaps for Colin. As usual, I filled in with dry staples to get to the $50 minimum for free shipping, so we also got a 5-pound bag of store-brand macaroni and ten 1-pound bags of egg noodles. The macaroni was indistinguishable visually from the name-brand stuff we get in one-pound boxes at Costco, and we already knew that the store-brand egg noodles from Walmart are indistinguishable from the name-brand ones Barbara gets at the supermarket. Everything was in plastic bags and had best-by dates from 18 months to two years out, so I’m not going to worry about repackaging it.
I also ordered a 400W off-grid solar power starter kit, which gives me four panels and a PWM charge controller. For a functional system, I still need to add a couple of deep-cycle batteries and an inverter, which I’ll do shortly. And the good news is that all of this solar stuff is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit and possibly a state tax credit as well, so our actual out-of-pocket cost will be only a small fraction of the total cost.
And I see that the FBI has issued an alert. They’re apparently expecting muslim terrorists to pull something on Monday in New York, Texas, and/or Virginia. As alway, keep your eyes open, and stay away from urban areas and crowds.
“Even with a large margin of error, things are looking dim for Clinton.”
Try your little poll in Manhattan, Cambridge or Berkeley, CA.
I still expect the EC to be the deciding factor and she’s got that nailed. Pop vote be damned. And if that isn’t good enough, I’m sure they have something else lined up.
Overcast today so fah; minor cleanup ops around the house and cars, topping off tanks, Mrs. OFD working in her studio, etc. I’m also fiddling again with our state tax situation and trying to clear up some errors and problems on THEIR part.
Yeah, we really need to do something about the EC system. I suggest that we stop using the popular vote to determine EC votes by state. Instead, in NC for example, each of the 100 counties should determine the winner for President/VP, Senators, and Representatives by popular vote. Whichever candidate carries the most counties would receive all EC votes. If this were done nationwide, the liberals/progs/demoncrats wouldn’t carry a single state, and the power of the two major parties would be destroyed.
Voting machines with audit certainly are a good idea. We have them here but they actually offer both the electronic or punch card. Whichever you want. I still think the electronic should put out a receipt like a cash register as well as keep the internal one. That tech has been around for decades.
“If this were done nationwide, the liberals/progs/demoncrats wouldn’t carry a single state, and the power of the two major parties would be destroyed.”
True for the city/state dichotomy nationwide for the most part, but small blue states like NJ and MA would probably stay blue. I remember back in the day when MA was the only state to vote for McGovern. Otherwise, yeah; we’d finally break the stranglehold of the Party. Nice to dream. But the corporate fascist oligarchy would never allow it to happen.
“True for the city/state dichotomy nationwide for the most part, but small blue states like NJ and MA would probably stay blue. ”
I doubt it. Remember that government employees and people on welfare would not be eligible to vote.
Edit: Nor would women.
Sales look weak this week so I’ll continue with the housework and garden. Got a lot of backlog…
Last week I did get some stuff, and missed some from previous weeks.
Got some radio stuff, RF signal generator, SWR meter, couple ref books.
Got some food for the pantry. Freezers are full. Did some minor inventory, mainly counting to see how many weeks or months of various items are there. Got some mismatches that need fixing. Got some I’m gonna let slide.
Kids tastes keep changing, which is one risk no one addresses. I’ve got stuff in the freezer and pantry that they insist they no longer want to eat. If they were hungry they’d eat it, so I’m not worried, but it will be taking up space other new stuff could occupy.
For Halloween I ran some decor off the 700w car inverter, and then stashed it back into the Expy. Voltage was a bit low, but not really an issue. It will do fine for the occasional power tool, and chargers. I’ve got at least a small inverter for each vehicle now.
Time to do some more car maintenance. Wiper blades. It’s minor but if you think there will be a decline, auto maintenance supplies, oil changes, etc go short. If you are buying, might as well buy for the next change too.
The work on my bargain whole house generator is done. Now I’ve got to get it home and installed. Freaking transfer switches are pricey when you get over 150A. So far the total for repairs and rebuild is still far under what a new one would cost, and it’s a much nicer unit for the capacity besides (water cooled instead of air.) Gotta get it sited and installed.
Scrap metal prices have recovered a little bit, which is helping my cleanup effort.
Ebay sales have slowed a bit. I’ve noticed that one of the keys is to keep listing. Sounds basic, but I tend to do it in spurts. When I do a bunch of new listings, I sell a bunch of stuff. More/most of each burst sits on ebay for a while, continually building the listed inventory until it eventually sells. The key to generating cash flow seems to be LIST STUFF. If 10% of every burst of listings sells, and the rest slowly sells over time, you need to keep putting up the bursts.
Craigslist flakes are even flakier than usual. The no shows have increased even from their normal high levels.
There have been a bunch of Honda EX1000 generators in the surplus auctions lately. They were mostly smashed up. Seems that they get dropped and smashed. Just ’cause it’s a smallish unit, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy and dense. Be careful! (also they don’t seem to be very drop resistant 🙂 )
In theory I can get a bunch of root veg in the ground and get a spring crop. We’ll see. Dark green leafys are doing better where they are in the sun. I got 3 grapefruits from the new tree in the pot. They are racquetball sized. Super cute, not very filling.
Better get my day started.
nick
I’m not at all into the whole self-sufficiency/back-to-the-land thing. Instead, my preparation assumes that no matter how great the catastrophe, the country will gradually recover, with rural areas like ours leading the way. So my focus is on being able to ride out that interim period, as long as it lasts. Right now, I think the five of us could ride out an 18-month to two-year interim with things getting gradually less comfortable after the first year, as stored food, toilet paper, etc. etc. starts to get short.
Yes, I store seeds that could provide us with grains, beans, and oil indefinitely, but I don’t see myself becoming a farmer, if only for physical reasons. Maybe I’m fooling myself in expecting a gradual slide rather than a catastropic black-swan event. Maybe it’s just because I don’t want to see 100 million or more dead.
But I always keep in mind that the better-prepared the more people are, the better.
And I have a question for you skilled cooks out there: Is there really any difference at all between different types of pasta, other than their shapes? Why do different recipes call for different types of pasta? If the recipe needs a pound of whatever type of pasta, why not just list “pasta” as the ingredient rather than a specific shape? Surely it doesn’t taste any different or vary in nutrition?
I realize that egg noodles contain about 5% eggs, which regular pasta does not, but I don’t really notice much difference in flavor. And with egg noodles costing more than twice as much per pound as standard pasta, I’ve focused mainly on the latter for LTS. Should I care?
@RBT said: “And I see that the FBI has issued an alert. They’re apparently expecting muslim terrorists to pull something on Monday in New York, Texas, and/or Virginia. As alway, keep your eyes open, and stay away from urban areas and crowds.”
When/If this happens it will be a False Flag operation so that Obuttwad can declare Marshal Law, call of the election, install Killary as POTUS by his acclamation.
BTW, since Hell has frozen over and the Cubs have won The Pennant, I see this as a sign that Trump will win the popular vote IF the election is held. However, somehow the numbers for the Rectorial Collage will go to Killary.
@RBT, I may have missed something, but do you plan to use a Charge Controller with your solar setup?
/tinfoil hat on/And finally, don’t get any comfort from that ballot paper receipt. Yes, it shows how you voted, but not what got recorded. There is a software step that prints out your selections and then parses your votes in the ratios that the “fixer” has predetermined. Very simply put, a specified percentage of votes for candidate A actually end up being credited to candidate B. This is nothing new and has been documented in the past. /tinfoil hat off/
My Italian grandmother pretty much used just spaghettini and rigatoni for pasta with tomato sauce. Small macaroni like shells for pasta with brown butter and cheese.
Smaller pasta holds more of the sauce.
Sometimes she would make gnocchi and while used much the same is a whole ‘nother thing.
Obama can take his cues from his good buddy Erdogan in Turkey.
https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/2016/11/03/breaking-nato-member-turkey-descends-into-autocracy-as-kurdish-lawmakers-arrested-internet-apps-blocked/
“@RBT, I may have missed something, but do you plan to use a Charge Controller with your solar setup?”
Yes, of course. I got a cheap PWM controller with this kit, but I plan to order a second kit eventually, this one with the MPPT controller, which costs about $200 more than the PWM.
@RBT said: “And I have a question for you skilled cooks out there: Is there really any difference at all between different types of pasta, other than their shapes?”
Really only for pasta snobs. Have what you like, or have on hand. Pasta shapes do have a purpose, though. When you want your sauce to hang on to your pasta you use a shape, pick your shape by how much sauce you want. It goes without saying that hollow tube shape will hold the most sauce. The other thing with pasta shapes is that they usually take longer to cook than a noodle/spaghetti which becomes important when fuel is limited. WRT egg noodles, I have found that they do get a stale/off taste when old, therefore I only use basic pasta for LTS.
Thanks, that’s pretty much what I thought. We have eight cases of LDS spaghetti and macaroni (156 pounds total) in LTS, along with another 100 pounds or so of the Costco boxed stuff in various shapes. I plan to try making a meal with the Walmart GV macaroni, although I’m sure it’ll be fine. Then I’ll order another 20 or 30 five-pound bags of it.
There are actually some minor taste differences in the pasta Costco sells in the mixed six pack.
I treat them as interchangable.
And the biggest difference in taste, after storage, is if they are in cardboard, they don’t taste as good.
n
I note that the mexican peso is currently around 18/$. When I lived in southern Cali, it was 3, and then 7. This was AFTER they knocked some zeros off and started over.
6x decrease in purchasing power. in my (not so very long) memory.
n
I also note that it gets hammered whenever Trump is ascendant in the news. SOMEONE thinks Trump will have a real effect on mexico….
n
Nick: Back in the 70’s I was an avid radio nut. CB fox & hound. Short wave DXing. Big into antenna design and tuning. Sat for my amateur license. But haven’t done any of that in 40 years. I know I need to get my communications needs sorted but just don’t have the enthusiasm. I picked up two Bofeng UV-5R handsets and put CHIRP on my Linux box but ran out on energy for the project. Is there a decent pre-built configuration I can load without having to spend boring hours checking settings? If I were 20 again this would be fun but at 64 it feels like a chore. Any advice would be heartily appreciated.
PS: I still have a Midland 75-820 CB unit in each cars emergency kit with magnetic roof mount antenna.
Wow, I just noticed that one of my employees has a Trump / Pence bumper sticker on her 4WD Tahoe. I told her that she was bold and that I did not have enough guts to do that. But, she is tough, having raised three boys by herself (the youngest is now 19).
Is there really any difference at all between different types of pasta, other than their shapes?
As others pointed out, the shape determines how much sauce sticks. For example, shells and elbows will hold more meat sauce than spaghetti. In part it’s not just shape, but surface area – pasta is extruded and that leaves a rough surface that is preserved by proper cooking. (Salt the water, no oil, cook until al dente.) Most home cooks tend to overcook pasta.
I would download the default settings from the radio and add the information for your local repeaters then upload back to the radio. If you want, you can also add the FMRS/GRMS frequencies.
Who did Colin vote for?
@H. Combs
https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/prepper-shtf-survival-comms-ht-vhf-uhf-frequency-programming-file/
I prefer the taste of egg pasta. YMMV.
Perhaps by itself, but we invariably use pasta or egg noodles in something with sauce, which overwhelms any minor taste differences, at least as far as I can tell.
Well, the Land of Sugar has finally noticed our neighborhood (Greatwood) and is thinking about annexing us. That may or may not suck. No more volunteer fireworks, shooting, etc.
http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/fortbend/news/article/Planned-annexation-would-triple-Sugar-Land-s-size-10591910.php
More thought on pasta:
As @ech said, be sure to salt the water, your pasta will taste much better. I use a big 12 quart pot, 6 quarts of water, and 3 heaping tablespoons of Kosher salt for a pound of pasta. The salt to water ratio is important 1Tsp Kosher salt to 2qt water. I use Kosher salt because it is a flake and dissolves easily. It does not contain Iodine so it does not cloud the water as I have found Iodized table salt does as well as I can detect an added taste.
If you have kids, using different pasta shapes can make the “same ol’ pasta dish” seem different.
Dad’s dinner tonight will be my “Many Can Soup”. Basically, look in your pantry and add cans of stuff you like. Tonight I will use 2 cans of Kirkland Canned Roast Beef, 1 can of cut green beans, 1 can of corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes (all undrained as you want the nutrition that is in the water), and 2 cans of small potatoes (drained because you’ll get a starchy taste if you don’t drain). I’ll add some dried minced onion and dried minced garlic. To richen the base I’ll add some Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and some water to adjust the quantity and flavor of the broth. I’ll use the Crock-Pot to heat this so I don’t have to watch it. If I’ll be serving in 3-hours I’ll use High, 4 or more hours I’ll use low. The leftovers taste even better the next day.
I made a loaf of no-knead bread (using @RBT’s/King Arthur Flour recipe) this morning to go along with the soup.
I “borrowed” this from somewhere 10+ years ago and liked it enough to put it on my site so I can find it again. It covers Shaped Pasta, Tubular Pasta, Strand Pasta Noodles, Ribbon Pasta Noodles, Soup Pasta, Stuffed Pasta, Asian Noodles.
http://remsset.com/pasta/
My two cents’ worth: rotini pasta grabs sauce quite well, and it seems to cook pretty quickly.
Thanks Mr. paul. I just downloaded your page with SiteSucker. It opens and functions fine in Safari.
That is one nice pasta site !
Thanks!
Dad’s dinner tonight will be my “Many Can Soup”. Basically, look in your pantry and add cans of stuff you like. Tonight I will use 2 cans of Kirkland Canned Roast Beef, 1 can of cut green beans, 1 can of corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes (all undrained as you want the nutrition that is in the water), and 2 cans of small potatoes (drained because you’ll get a starchy taste if you don’t drain). I’ll add some dried minced onion and dried minced garlic. To richen the base I’ll add some Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and some water to adjust the quantity and flavor of the broth. I’ll use the Crock-Pot to heat this so I don’t have to watch it. If I’ll be serving in 3-hours I’ll use High, 4 or more hours I’ll use low. The leftovers taste even better the next day.
The wife’s variant of “many can soup” is Progresso Chicken Pot Pie soup and then add green beans, corn, and butter beans. Maybe other stuff too.
I note that the two main electoral maps are slowly changing in Trump’s direction. But both still say a win for Hillary:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/2016_elections_electoral_college_map.html
and
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/?ex_cid=rrpromo
Both of those are prog sites.
Both of those are prog sites.
Especially the 538 website. Got one that is not ? And I count Fox News as prog nowadays. There is a rumor flying around that Hannity is gone after the election.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2016/election-prediction#map_s=1
Yeah, good question: are there any, and I know I’m trolling for boffo laffs here, any OBJECTIVE nooz or poll sites that will show us ACCURATE figures out there???
Or can we just all assume it’s all lies and bullshit from every frigging quarter now?
I told you my poll is honest. If Trump gets < 125% of the vote, you'll know the results are fraudulent.
“”Or can we just all assume it’s all lies and bullshit from every frigging quarter now?””
Well, yeah. Time to get one’s own ducks in a row [or insert your favorite cliche’ here] and acknowledge that most of the reactions that one needs to make to whatever happens will pretty much be the same, relative to how bad it gets, no matter who’s elected, no matter how many zombies come after you (including none), and so on. Yeah, could be totally overwhelmed, but other than just being prepared to surrender, there’s not much you can do if you are over-powered by circumstances. Just cover all the options you can cover, hope for the best…
The first exit poll on election day that has a Canklesore win, you can bet the Libturdian spin will be: “Hey, Coffin has already won, why go vote for tRump?” The Dumbocrat GTVO machine always plows the Redumblicans under. We can only hope the hidden tRump voters get out. Drudge has MI as a tie. If tRump takes MI he could win the EC.
If I had limited storage space spaghetti seems to be the way to go. It lines up nicely with little wasted space. Question to the pasta-razzi: what is the densest storing of the tubular pasta?
Brilliant! But of course you have to have the larger pan to cook that long stuff in!
Oh, but for dense storage… and extremely quick cooking… you can’t beat couscous!
RE: Trump take MI: – My sister-in-law lives in Detroit suburb and she is TERRIFIED of Trump. He will take away her health care and leave her (grown) kids to starve. She can’t stand that he might have said naughty words a decade ago but thinks the multiple Hillary scandals are just Republicans making up lies. BTW: She gets ALL her news from CNN
She suggested picking me up on the way past and heading into Sparta to refill her gas tank and vote. Gas had gone up Monday from $2.13 to $2.19, and it was still at that price. No line.
That is today, I wonder what the gas station will look like in a couple of weeks. Are they allowing container buys ?
Oh, but for dense storage… and extremely quick cooking… you can’t beat couscous!
I have never found a store bought couscous that I like. My favorite couscous is actually at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant when they have Greek days.
RE: Trump take MI: – My sister-in-law lives in Detroit suburb and she is TERRIFIED of Trump.
Afraid the remaining auto makers won’t leave?
My sister-in-law lives in Detroit suburb and she is TERRIFIED of Trump. He will take away her health care and leave her (grown) kids to starve.
Well, there is two points of failure right there. So are the feddies supplying her healthcare right now ? And are the feddies feeding her grown kids ?
Shadowstats says that the real unemployment is still 23% which is what my friends tell me. I have had four of my friends and neighbors take involuntary early retirement in the last 18 months.
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts
@Spook said:“Brilliant! But of course you have to have the larger pan to cook that long stuff in!”
I’ll let you all in on a secret my Grandmother taught me: break spaghetti in half, thirds, or quarters. Quarters are particularly good for kids who do not know how to properly spoon and fork twirl long spaghetti.
This does not apply to those of Italian heritage, their kids’ can twirl spaghetti and drink red wine (watered down) almost as well as the old folks. 😉
A Dad story:
In my early 20s I dated a 100% Italian girl (a few years older than me). She took me to meet her folks and have dinner, on a Sunday. Well I knew that was family day and proper attire would be a suit. Her whole family was there, her Mother remarked “see what a nice young man my Hazel has (blush). Dinner is typical big bowl of spaghetti in red “gravy” and meatballs in more red “gravy”. Now the test. They all watched as I properly handled the big spoon and fork to get my spaghetti out of the bowl, next test was getting a meatball (huge). That all went well. Now I grab my fork in my right hand and my spoon in my left hand and proceed to twirl my spaghetti neatly on my fork, no long hangers. Well Hazel’s Mom yells out something in Italian and all the family starts talking in Italian, Hazel leans over to me and says “she likes you and you may continue to date me”. Fun was had by all that evening (I bet I had the most though 😉 ).
“I’ll let you all in on a secret my Grandmother taught me: break spaghetti in half, thirds, or quarters”
Isn’t it bad luck to break spaghetti or noodles?
I’ll let you all in on a secret my Grandmother taught me: break spaghetti in half, thirds, or quarters. Quarters are particularly good for kids who do not know how to properly spoon and fork twirl long spaghetti.
This does not apply to those of Italian heritage, their kids’ can twirl spaghetti and drink red wine (watered down) almost as well as the old folks.
You can break if it’s over 12″, no smaller.
Yes you learn early to twirl spaghetti, but no need for a spoon. You just lift a couple or strands on the bottom tine of the fork, lift a couple of inches (several if your a kid) and twirl. Mangia.
There’s another difference in pasta, the surface texture. Some kinds have a more porous texture and the sauce will soak in more. The one is better for tomato-based sauces and the other better for cream- or oil-based sauces.
I’m guessing that if you can’t tell the difference between egg and regular noodles, this distinction will be of exactly no concern to you. Also, the difference might go away in boxed pasta with an indefinite shelf life.
I’ve been out and about doing family stuff ask day. First chance I’ve had to check in.
Wrt quick start for ham, I’ve got advice in comments here and at thesurvivalistblog.net I’ll link when I get home. For radio programming, all you really need is one or two local repeaters. Then you can start listening and eventually participating. You should do this manually so you know how. The chirp file RBT linked it’s good for adding the fluff. You should be able to find your local repeaters with Google.
I break pasta in half and store in reused Costco smoked almond plastic jars. I use jars for a lot of stuff.
Nick
Quickie list of prepper sites, some good, some bad, some indifferent?
Yo, check ’em out; I’ll do the same for ones I dunno about.
http://www.topprepperwebsites.com/index.php?s=backdoorsurvival&t=1478310069
Updated voting statistics for this county: Total votes ~ 46% of total registered, R ~ 52% / D ~ 45% / Other ~ 31%
And I’d like to see states adopt the Electoral College model used by Maine (and I think Nebraska). Win the popular vote in a state, get two votes. The rest of the votes are allotted to the popular voted winner in each congressional district. It might bring a lot of states at least partially into play in both directions.
Attention DH and SteveF!
Chelsea needs to have one of these fitted. BONUS, you get to fit one to Illary too… 🙂
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-05/diy-sperm-gun-gives-women-more-freedom/7991622
More common sense from Robert (not RBT, though he has plenty of it):
https://straightlinelogic.com/2016/11/04/elections-are-about-issues-by-robert-gore/
I call it a win-win for us Normals based on Mr. Gore’s article. If the pig wins, the whole thing blows up, implodes, whatever, on her watch, so long as she survives, and the whole Universe will see and hear and know what has really gone on and what she and the crime families represent, along with all the damage they’ve done and continue to do. If Trump gets it, there’s a dwindling window of opportunity that we may be able to reverse some of the damage and make some major repairs.