I made this hobo stove from free materials and common tools:
a coffee can,
a hammer
a screw driver.
Then, after a test run and posting a video on http://youtube.com/user/brawny03
I took it out in the real world. This overnighter, shown below, was so sucessful, I took it on a hike of the Foothills Trail.
Even though there was drizzle and light rain, it proved sustainable and highly effecient. I didn't have to worry about wet ground or fire rings, digging up new ground.
Simply preparing the surroundings and collecting dry branches off the ground, I was able to cook under the canopy of pines.
I believe in testing gear in all conditions. Some things just don't work as well as you'd think. Others actually work better.
I Believe In Testing
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How to Make a and Operate a Sluice Box
This is the youtube video I made for the sluice box hand operated system.
I think it's always important to test innovations. My exploration of the entire stream bed is possible by bringing a bucket and shovel and searching for areas where gold may have settled into sand bars, bottoms of small water slides or bends in the stream bed.
Watching Gold Rush Alaska has inspired me to check out nearby areas which yielded gold in the early 1800's, but were abandoned due to the California and Alaska finds.
Buyer Beware-Pending Cancer Risk
A whole page of disclaimers for a vaginal cream is disturbing.
Surely there must be something with no death risks involved.
Recently I came across this "important information" regarding a cream for women who experience "dryness"
"estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus.
Report any unusual bleeding right away...may be a warning sign of cancer.. do not use estrogen with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, stroked or dementia. Using estrogens with or without progestines may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. ....may increase your risk of dementia, ..."
I'm surprised this stuff could be on the market, given the risks of serious, even fatal side effects. I have several friends who treated menopausal symptoms with estrogen based prescriptions. They got breast cancer, underwent surgery, including reconstruction.
Seems like we could learn to treat symptoms like "dryness" with natural, non threatening products.
I know. These possible side effects are not that common. "The most commonly reported side effects include vaginal discomfort or pain, breast pain, vaginitis and itching."
Does that sound like fun?
Gold Mining with A Sluice Box
After watching some you tube videos on the subject, I created my own sluice box, took it down to my creek and tested it. The area is just below an abandoned gem mine in North East Georgia. The water was cold, so I built a fire on the sandbar. Having the alternative fuel stick as a starter really helped. First I lay down the wet rocks, piled dry branches on top of it, then small try twigs. Setting the fire starter on top of that, and adding a few more dry twigs, I soon had my fire. Using my can, I heated water in the fire to boiling. I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee in the plastic mug I brought along. The sluice box was created using a plastic drain pipe which has the built in riffles. It really did collect the black sand. No gold so far, but a successful testing of this home made equipment. The whole thing is anchored to a long water sodden log to keep it from sliding off the falls. My labor is really decreased when washing the material due to the action of the falls.
Law Abiding Citizen-Movie Review
We nearly turned this movie off as the hero began dismembering the murderer of his family with a chain saw.
Still, only half an hour into the film, with Jamie Fox yet to make serious contribution, we knew it had to be worth it.
So true.
Gerard Butler couldn't have been more convincing. The victim of a terrible home invasion, wounded, gagged and watching his family assalted and murdered, he takes vengence when the justice system plea bargains and declares,"Its not what's true. Its what you can prove."
Jamie Fox does an excellent job, proffessional, mentoring his assistant in the pursuit of legal wins.
She wonders aloud if at 35, perhaps she hasn't chosen the wrong path.
Our hero is much more than meets the eye and gives the entire city a run for its money, shutting down the whole place even though he's in solitary confinement.
Thankfully, the producers do allow us into the secret method he's killing all these people, even though incarcerated.
Excellent, thought provoking movie. Very worth the time to find it and watch.
Women Who Run with The Wolves In Cool Places
I'll be working and playing in the Grand Tetons this year.
I got an awesome job working at Jackson Lake Lodge, cooking, baking, and whatever else they need.
I found this gig at CoolWorks.com, met friends, and connected with a potential room mate.I look forward to whatever adventures come my way.
I wrote this blog post there:
Preparing for the season, we find ourselves packing up. Not stuff, I mean kindred spirits.
We know the sound of our pack when we hear it, listening for that certain sound, a recognizable wildness and independence.
I'd rather take some chances living on the edge, running wild in cool places than den up safely in a cage while my paws turn grey.
We've learned to watch for bait, usually there's a trap hidden under it.
Wolves may wander alone, but they have the most fun in their pack, accomplishing more, bringing down big game.
A word to the wise, if the howl doesn't sound right, give it a wide berth. The sun is shinning, the rain is refreshing, we den where we will.
Some call us wild. Others call us free.
Movie Reviews of the Apocalypse Genre
Maybe its just me. Seems like lately there's a lot of films coming out about the pending doom or aftermath of the world as we know it.
Or maybe, having seen The Road, I'm tuned into that sort of thing.
Read the review of that excellent movie on my December 2, 2010 blog.
Although some say it moves too slowly, it continues to have an impact on our lives. My partner has oiled and sighted in all his weapons. He has added slings and bought ammunition.
I have amped up my studies of survival skills, improvization, and learned how to shoot. We have extra supplies stashed around the house.
Watching The Book of Eli, I found it lacked the substance to instill fear in one's soul as we found in Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.
Here we have a seriously muscled man, gifted in the ways of survival and cunning, carrying a pack heading to the coast. A town in the way contains a "mayor" of sorts who is looking for a book, one special book.
His thugs rape, pillage and otherwise come into possession of books, bringing to their master employer these offerings. Not the right one, stupid, keep looking.
At any rate, there's a young girl, a town of raggeds, and water is the commodity of value.
Things unfold, we see evidence of a prevailing fear: cannibalism. Does the man's hands shake? A telling sign.
Its worth watching, and there are lessons here. Women, stay off the road during daylight.
2012. Most of us have heard that number associated with catastrophy, a pending doom prophesied by the Mayans dating B.C. Although I take a limited view of that idea, the movie was worth watching.
Scientists find evidence of a catastrophic pending Sun Event. Governments are warned, theories
verified, and behind closed doors preparations made by those in power. As the movie unfolds, we realize the general population is not being informed. The most important people,
ie, heads of state, government (old gray headed men, and ovary challenged women) are to be evacuated into Arks of safety which are built by the Chinese
We see things come to a head when the populous finds out, and demands to be boarded also.
Excellent special effects include whole streets folding, cracking, buckling and swallowing cities. Cars dropping off bridges, explosions and volcanoes erupting.
All the scientific basis of these interactions are explained to make it believable. The unbelievable is that all the general population love each other and work together when their own survival is at risk.
Another film, The Final Storm opens with horrific weather happening across the globe. We feel a sense of, hey,
that's on the news, for real. This makes the pending doom feel eminent, and we check the cabinets to be sure there's enough food stashed. A family of three, on the farm, doesn't realize whats happening until a man falls into their door, disoriented. When they head to town, its deserted and trashed. A few thugs beat on them, they escape, the neighbor is missing.
Its a good knock down drag out, and ends with some attempted lynchings, murder, mayhem. The lesson, keep your doors locked, and some choice weapons at the ready.
Of course, Zombie Land is a parody and comedy at its best. We love the actors, the action, the girls who trip up the heros.
A virus takes over humans turning them into mad cannibals which come at you if there is any noise or blood. Woody Harrleson is absolutley adorable in his quest for twinkies. Jesse Eisenberg has a intellectual innocence in his youthful attempts to cope with this new reality.
The young women are capable, manipulative, and worthy of persuit.
I recommend this movie; the bloody graphics are so over the top its hilarious.
Or maybe, having seen The Road, I'm tuned into that sort of thing.
Read the review of that excellent movie on my December 2, 2010 blog.
Although some say it moves too slowly, it continues to have an impact on our lives. My partner has oiled and sighted in all his weapons. He has added slings and bought ammunition.
I have amped up my studies of survival skills, improvization, and learned how to shoot. We have extra supplies stashed around the house.
Watching The Book of Eli, I found it lacked the substance to instill fear in one's soul as we found in Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece.
Here we have a seriously muscled man, gifted in the ways of survival and cunning, carrying a pack heading to the coast. A town in the way contains a "mayor" of sorts who is looking for a book, one special book.
His thugs rape, pillage and otherwise come into possession of books, bringing to their master employer these offerings. Not the right one, stupid, keep looking.
At any rate, there's a young girl, a town of raggeds, and water is the commodity of value.
Things unfold, we see evidence of a prevailing fear: cannibalism. Does the man's hands shake? A telling sign.
Its worth watching, and there are lessons here. Women, stay off the road during daylight.
2012. Most of us have heard that number associated with catastrophy, a pending doom prophesied by the Mayans dating B.C. Although I take a limited view of that idea, the movie was worth watching.
Scientists find evidence of a catastrophic pending Sun Event. Governments are warned, theories
verified, and behind closed doors preparations made by those in power. As the movie unfolds, we realize the general population is not being informed. The most important people,
ie, heads of state, government (old gray headed men, and ovary challenged women) are to be evacuated into Arks of safety which are built by the Chinese
We see things come to a head when the populous finds out, and demands to be boarded also.
Excellent special effects include whole streets folding, cracking, buckling and swallowing cities. Cars dropping off bridges, explosions and volcanoes erupting.
All the scientific basis of these interactions are explained to make it believable. The unbelievable is that all the general population love each other and work together when their own survival is at risk.
Another film, The Final Storm opens with horrific weather happening across the globe. We feel a sense of, hey,
that's on the news, for real. This makes the pending doom feel eminent, and we check the cabinets to be sure there's enough food stashed. A family of three, on the farm, doesn't realize whats happening until a man falls into their door, disoriented. When they head to town, its deserted and trashed. A few thugs beat on them, they escape, the neighbor is missing.
Its a good knock down drag out, and ends with some attempted lynchings, murder, mayhem. The lesson, keep your doors locked, and some choice weapons at the ready.
Of course, Zombie Land is a parody and comedy at its best. We love the actors, the action, the girls who trip up the heros.
A virus takes over humans turning them into mad cannibals which come at you if there is any noise or blood. Woody Harrleson is absolutley adorable in his quest for twinkies. Jesse Eisenberg has a intellectual innocence in his youthful attempts to cope with this new reality.
The young women are capable, manipulative, and worthy of persuit.
I recommend this movie; the bloody graphics are so over the top its hilarious.
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