I wander around my yard with my herbal medicine & flower books to
see what I have. It is amazing what you find if one lays off of weed
killers, fertilizers. A quick and short video of some of the plants I
have in my yard in N. VT. Search the web for recipes, I have made teas
& tinctures. Search the internet for more information, get a few
books. Stop using pesticides and weed killers to see what can be
provided for you to use for your health.
A quick video of the backyard medicine cabinet
Self-Heal (Prunella)
White Clover
Plantain
Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium)
Wild Rasberries (No need for further information)
Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium)
Enjoy,
Monday, August 4, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
A Pouch to???
Ok, I am going to post some links here. Some time ago I posted about this cool little mess kit for my pack; Stanley Camp Cook Set, this set comes with two small cups and the cooking "pot" with lid. Over all a really nice, simple cook set.
Then I picked up this handy-dandy carrier or MOLLE pouch for it; Ncstar Vsim Airsoft Molle Hydration Bottle Water Carrier Tan - CVWBC2948T. This pouch can be attached to a backpack or ruck. Also has a shoulder strap to carry solo. In my MOLLE pouch I carry my field silverware, small single burner stove, fire starter, one can of fuel for the stove, a small stainless steel tea strainer for making various woodland teas for refreshment, and one stainless steel cup that the mess kit fits nicely in. Very spacious and keeps the field mess kit together. Another handy product is this Stanley Utility Water Bottle 24 ounce. One can replace the mess kit with this stainless steel water bottle if desired.
The links are from Amazon, but you can find some of these items at one of the big box stores for a bit cheaper (W*lmart). The pouch is a bargain on Amazon.
Below are some photos of the goodies. The digital pouch has a smaller pocket, the tan pouch is a bit bigger overall.
Below is the contents of the digital pouch attached to my pack.
Seeing a couple of pictures always helps. Check around for pricing on these gadgets, you just never know where a bargain can be found.
Enjoy,
Then I picked up this handy-dandy carrier or MOLLE pouch for it; Ncstar Vsim Airsoft Molle Hydration Bottle Water Carrier Tan - CVWBC2948T. This pouch can be attached to a backpack or ruck. Also has a shoulder strap to carry solo. In my MOLLE pouch I carry my field silverware, small single burner stove, fire starter, one can of fuel for the stove, a small stainless steel tea strainer for making various woodland teas for refreshment, and one stainless steel cup that the mess kit fits nicely in. Very spacious and keeps the field mess kit together. Another handy product is this Stanley Utility Water Bottle 24 ounce. One can replace the mess kit with this stainless steel water bottle if desired.
The links are from Amazon, but you can find some of these items at one of the big box stores for a bit cheaper (W*lmart). The pouch is a bargain on Amazon.
Below are some photos of the goodies. The digital pouch has a smaller pocket, the tan pouch is a bit bigger overall.
Below is the contents of the digital pouch attached to my pack.
Seeing a couple of pictures always helps. Check around for pricing on these gadgets, you just never know where a bargain can be found.
Enjoy,
Monday, May 26, 2014
My Macbook to Print!!!
Well, today I am going to USE LINUX as my PRIMARY OS from now on. I have this Macbook Pro I bought for school. As most folks know Mac's are awesome machines. Mine was to, but at some point Apple changed something that broke my printer connectivity (HP Officejet 6310 All-in-One). I can print test pages for ever and a day, but try to print a document... Forget it. I have reloaded drivers, updated drivers, and tried all sorts of BS to make it work. I could print fine to this printer before. What broke it? Not sure, but the web is filled with folks who have had this same problem. Some fixed it, but the fixes did not work for me.
Ubuntu works fine. Never have a problem.
The Apple addicts will gasp... But, I don't need garage band. I don't need all of the other neat things a Mac can do. I just need the blasted POS to work. So, back to Linux as the primary laptop.
I have been using Ubuntu for several years along side the Mac. I guess the Mac gets set aside and data backed up.
Enjoy,
Ubuntu works fine. Never have a problem.
The Apple addicts will gasp... But, I don't need garage band. I don't need all of the other neat things a Mac can do. I just need the blasted POS to work. So, back to Linux as the primary laptop.
I have been using Ubuntu for several years along side the Mac. I guess the Mac gets set aside and data backed up.
Enjoy,
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
A New Type of Educational Card Game...
Where to start for this one? Not sure, but the card game is call Conflicted. This deck of cards will make your brain work overtime if you take them seriously. The deck consists of 52 different scenarios that deal with survival. Some will be directed to individual situations while others place you in a group or responsible for a group of people.
The game maybe helpful in identifying personal weaknesses; e.g. difficulty working with others. On the other hand the game could be useful in helping someone find people that they are compatible with and associate with for mutual benefit?
No need to continue rambling on. Follow the link and read what folks are saying about the game here: Conflicted Card Game.
** Not associated with the folks who produce the game. Purchased the game and find it interesting and worth sharing.
Enjoy,
The game maybe helpful in identifying personal weaknesses; e.g. difficulty working with others. On the other hand the game could be useful in helping someone find people that they are compatible with and associate with for mutual benefit?
No need to continue rambling on. Follow the link and read what folks are saying about the game here: Conflicted Card Game.
** Not associated with the folks who produce the game. Purchased the game and find it interesting and worth sharing.
Enjoy,
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Information During a Power Outage....
Continuing on from the last post. One of the areas that I wanted to work out was the ability to gather news from the local media in the general area. Specifically the media would be local television. The goal is to pursue DC power and the DC power source had to be common. My location makes 12 VDC the easiest to work out and get batteries easily.
My laptop is a dual-boot machine. I run Linux & Win 7, while the better half uses Win 7. The laptops will run for one to three hours depending on how they are configured. Purchased 12 VDC adapters for laptops that could have them. To use the battery power more efficiently the WiFi gets turned off. No need for the laptop to keep looking for a network to connect to. Not to mention that my internet connection went through a revamp. I will share that as well, nothing earth shattering, but the new config lets the UPS last much longer. Back to getting local TV...
I picked up a couple of the USB digital TV tuners. A Monoprice Digital TV Anywhere USB device, the other happened to be a Hauppauge HVR 950Q. Both tuners come with the ever important disc to load the software and drivers for MS Windows OS', expandable whip antennas, and remote control. These two devices are separated by price, but function is the same. Both work very well on Windows while the Hauppauge works on Linux as well. The Monoprice device did not work or rather I have not worked out a way to make it work on Linux. The Hauppauge gave me a bit of trouble. Had to poke around on the internet to get an updated firmware patch.
One way a fellow got it to work on Linux can be found here: Hauppauge HVR 950Q Updated Firmware. Linux is funny. It never loads the same. Each machine is different and will give different results.
The top device is the Monprice and the bottom is the Hauppauge. The cable came with the Hauppauge and should be used. It will take stress off of your laptop USB port. I tried a couple of generic USB extension cables; a big No GO.
Put up a small digital TV antenna picked up from Amazon.
With this antenna we get twelve to fourteen channels. Not to bad for being mounted approx. fifteen feet up off the ground. A little more elevation and I may be able to get another 5 or so. On Linux Kaffeine seems to be the choice of most folks from what I have read. No complaints from me as it seems to work well.
Linux and the apps on Linux are FREE. Awesome. So now we can attempt to receive the local news in the area during disasters, power outages, etc. Pretty cool stuff. More to follow in internet equipment and configuration.
Enjoy,
My laptop is a dual-boot machine. I run Linux & Win 7, while the better half uses Win 7. The laptops will run for one to three hours depending on how they are configured. Purchased 12 VDC adapters for laptops that could have them. To use the battery power more efficiently the WiFi gets turned off. No need for the laptop to keep looking for a network to connect to. Not to mention that my internet connection went through a revamp. I will share that as well, nothing earth shattering, but the new config lets the UPS last much longer. Back to getting local TV...
I picked up a couple of the USB digital TV tuners. A Monoprice Digital TV Anywhere USB device, the other happened to be a Hauppauge HVR 950Q. Both tuners come with the ever important disc to load the software and drivers for MS Windows OS', expandable whip antennas, and remote control. These two devices are separated by price, but function is the same. Both work very well on Windows while the Hauppauge works on Linux as well. The Monoprice device did not work or rather I have not worked out a way to make it work on Linux. The Hauppauge gave me a bit of trouble. Had to poke around on the internet to get an updated firmware patch.
One way a fellow got it to work on Linux can be found here: Hauppauge HVR 950Q Updated Firmware. Linux is funny. It never loads the same. Each machine is different and will give different results.
The top device is the Monprice and the bottom is the Hauppauge. The cable came with the Hauppauge and should be used. It will take stress off of your laptop USB port. I tried a couple of generic USB extension cables; a big No GO.
Put up a small digital TV antenna picked up from Amazon.
With this antenna we get twelve to fourteen channels. Not to bad for being mounted approx. fifteen feet up off the ground. A little more elevation and I may be able to get another 5 or so. On Linux Kaffeine seems to be the choice of most folks from what I have read. No complaints from me as it seems to work well.
Linux and the apps on Linux are FREE. Awesome. So now we can attempt to receive the local news in the area during disasters, power outages, etc. Pretty cool stuff. More to follow in internet equipment and configuration.
Enjoy,
Monday, December 23, 2013
Nothing at All...
Over the weekend NW Vermont had a wonderful ice storm. The news was reporting that it was worse than the 1998 ice storm. One of the electric co-ops actually requested the Red Cross to open a couple of shelters. During the early morning hours on Sunday I was was what looked like lightening, but it turns out that the transformers were popping and trees shorting out power lines were the cause.
The weather was funny. Raining and freezing as it hit. Overcast, foggy skies. I cleaned off a two inch blanket of ice of the cars. Trees are popping and snapping leaving one heck of a mess. Sunday appears was the worse day at the moment in the this storm. Still have the branches loaded with ice and it is going to get a colder. More snapping with limbs and trees coming down soon enough. We were without power most of Sunday until late evening. No TV, no internet, I live in an area where cell phone coverage is generally not available for the carrier I use.
What did I do and what did I learn?
Nothing beats a quiet day with the wife and Christmas music playing on the radio...
Heat - I used a small indoor propane heater called or made by Mr. Heater. Has two ceramic waffle plates that heat up a small room nicely. When I bought the heater I bought the extension hose that connects to a grill tank. Normally the heater will use two Coleman fuel lantern tanks. The wife was happy about being toasty warm. No smells or fuss.
Food & Water - Well, what can be said about this. I suppose that people should exercise a bit of common sense here. Having a supply of food and water to go for a week or more is a given. If you don't I would give some thought to it. No issues with hydrating or eating.
Communications - I have a small portable radio that I listened to local news, music, and shortwave. My scanner radios were working as well as my 2M/440 radio. Used FRS radios to update and keep in touch with the neighbors. The one radio I was not going to use is the HF rig. I need to work out the DC power for that. I have car battery that I trickle charge that I connect to my DC distribution panel. It is not a deep cycle battery so I don't get to carried away when it is hooked up.
Lighting - I have purchased some 12VDC LED reading lights from Amazon. Very bright and useful. I plan to get several more as they draw .020 amps DC. The battery will last forever with lamps like this. For wandering around we have some LED flashlights. No worries with lighting.
Power - As mentioned above I have a auto battery for the radios and a couple of lights. Total draw with radio receiving and LED RV Lamp was four (4) amps. Also, cranked up the generator long enough to recharge the battery.
What do I want or rather what does the wife want? What do I need to do to provide the wants?
TV and internet. Working out the details for these two. Got pieces & parts on order.
Stay Tuned....
Enjoy,
The weather was funny. Raining and freezing as it hit. Overcast, foggy skies. I cleaned off a two inch blanket of ice of the cars. Trees are popping and snapping leaving one heck of a mess. Sunday appears was the worse day at the moment in the this storm. Still have the branches loaded with ice and it is going to get a colder. More snapping with limbs and trees coming down soon enough. We were without power most of Sunday until late evening. No TV, no internet, I live in an area where cell phone coverage is generally not available for the carrier I use.
What did I do and what did I learn?
Nothing beats a quiet day with the wife and Christmas music playing on the radio...
Heat - I used a small indoor propane heater called or made by Mr. Heater. Has two ceramic waffle plates that heat up a small room nicely. When I bought the heater I bought the extension hose that connects to a grill tank. Normally the heater will use two Coleman fuel lantern tanks. The wife was happy about being toasty warm. No smells or fuss.
Food & Water - Well, what can be said about this. I suppose that people should exercise a bit of common sense here. Having a supply of food and water to go for a week or more is a given. If you don't I would give some thought to it. No issues with hydrating or eating.
Communications - I have a small portable radio that I listened to local news, music, and shortwave. My scanner radios were working as well as my 2M/440 radio. Used FRS radios to update and keep in touch with the neighbors. The one radio I was not going to use is the HF rig. I need to work out the DC power for that. I have car battery that I trickle charge that I connect to my DC distribution panel. It is not a deep cycle battery so I don't get to carried away when it is hooked up.
Lighting - I have purchased some 12VDC LED reading lights from Amazon. Very bright and useful. I plan to get several more as they draw .020 amps DC. The battery will last forever with lamps like this. For wandering around we have some LED flashlights. No worries with lighting.
Power - As mentioned above I have a auto battery for the radios and a couple of lights. Total draw with radio receiving and LED RV Lamp was four (4) amps. Also, cranked up the generator long enough to recharge the battery.
What do I want or rather what does the wife want? What do I need to do to provide the wants?
TV and internet. Working out the details for these two. Got pieces & parts on order.
Stay Tuned....
Enjoy,
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
To Listen/Watch RF Spectrum...
Sometimes I like to know what is happening around me. Actually most of the time I want to know what is happening around me. Scanner radio's can be expensive and in some cases controlled and have limited coverage. Governments have a tendency to want to hide what they are up to. What can the average person get a hold of without spending a ton of cash to be able to listen and watch what is happening around them.
First off get a hold of this free application. Donate if you can afford it and like it.
SDRSharp(#)
Get this one. Plugins for SDR#: SDR# Plugins.
This one has a few plugins as well: RTL-SDR SDR# Plugins.
On to the hardware. A person can be one of these USB DVB-T RTL2832U tuners for 10$ on e-bay. Amazon has them, I am not sure who is cheaper. Depends on the day I suppose.
The tuner I bought has the MCX connector for the antenna. I purchased an adapter that changes MCX to BNC with a short length of cable between the two connectors. The cost for the adapter was 6$ with free shipping. Next on the list was a three foot USB extension cable M/F (3$). This lets me get the tuner up a little bit away from the laptop. Finally a collapsible antenna (10$).
This little setup lets me listen 30 MHz to 1.8 GHz, AM, FM, LSB, USB. Has a waterfall to watch for transmissions. While you may not be able to understand if they are using P25, but you will know something is happening. Guesstimate distance from your location.
So for 30$ I have a wide band receiver. The software works with Linux and Windoz. Lots to explore.
** Remember these types of devices can be used by good people as well as bad.
Enjoy,
First off get a hold of this free application. Donate if you can afford it and like it.
SDRSharp(#)
Get this one. Plugins for SDR#: SDR# Plugins.
This one has a few plugins as well: RTL-SDR SDR# Plugins.
On to the hardware. A person can be one of these USB DVB-T RTL2832U tuners for 10$ on e-bay. Amazon has them, I am not sure who is cheaper. Depends on the day I suppose.
The tuner I bought has the MCX connector for the antenna. I purchased an adapter that changes MCX to BNC with a short length of cable between the two connectors. The cost for the adapter was 6$ with free shipping. Next on the list was a three foot USB extension cable M/F (3$). This lets me get the tuner up a little bit away from the laptop. Finally a collapsible antenna (10$).
This little setup lets me listen 30 MHz to 1.8 GHz, AM, FM, LSB, USB. Has a waterfall to watch for transmissions. While you may not be able to understand if they are using P25, but you will know something is happening. Guesstimate distance from your location.
So for 30$ I have a wide band receiver. The software works with Linux and Windoz. Lots to explore.
** Remember these types of devices can be used by good people as well as bad.
Enjoy,
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