Apple Pie and Potatoes

I almost forgot to post about the amazing Apple Pie we made for Christmas.
One of the big issues with baking up here in Denver is that it is usually so dry, typical humidity is often only around 20%. So instead of 5-7 tablespoons of liquid (near Atlanta) to moisten the crust we ended up using 12 tablespoons, before it would hold together properly.

We got a 8-16 convertible apple corer/slicer from Williams-Sonoma to make eating apples more fun and it also makes for the prefect-sized wedges for pie. Princess Pea Pod helped me make those wedges, which is safer then a knife for her, since it requires the use of both hands and so they are out of the way.

We couldn't find tapioca flour so we just took some small bead tapioca and gave it a spin in the spice grinder. Worked fine.

We also made some scalloped potatoes, but since one of the families we were eating with have to deal with milk allergies, we made it with chicken stock instead.

Milk-less Scalloped Potatoes for a party
5 lbs of red potatoes
3 large yellow onions
salt and pepper
oil
1 quart chicken stock

A deep 9x13 baking pan
Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Peel the potatoes and onions.
Thinly slice the potatoes and onion.
Wipe a thin layer of oil onto the bottom of the pan so the potatoes don't stick (usually I'd use butter for this, but the food allergy.)
Put down a layer of potatoes followed by a layer of onions, and sprinkle salt and pepper.
Keep layering until you use up all the potatoes and onions.
Pour the stock over the whole thing (I usually put a layer of cheese on top for taste and pretty, but not in this case.)
Cover with the foil and bake until the potatoes are soft when poked with paring knife, about an hour. Remove the foil and broil for a few minutes to brown the top.

FT.com / Technology - Secret mobile phone code cracked

FT.com / Technology - Secret mobile phone code cracked: "The hacked GSM code could compromise more than 3bn people in 212 countries. It does not affect 3G phone calls, however, which are protected by a different security code."

Oh, bother.

Survivalism Lite | Print Article | Newsweek.com

Survivalism Lite | Print Article | Newsweek.com: "So for the moment, people like Bedford are reteaching themselves lost skills—and in some cases, learning new ones. Bedford has read up on harvesting an urban garden, and is learning to use a solar oven to bake bread. She is ready with a pointed shot in the event she ever needs to hunt for her own food. And until then, she's got 61 cans of chili, 20 cans of Spam, 24 jars of peanut butter, and much more stocked in her pantry; she estimates she's spent about $4,000 on food supplies, an amount that should keep her family going for at least three months. Now, even if something simple goes wrong, like a paycheck doesn't go through, 'we don't need to worry,' she says."

That's what it comes down too a little preparation brings a lot of peace of mind in case of those little hiccups that come up from time to time.

Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up | Magazine

Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up | Magazine: "But Dunbar, who had spent all those years watching Stanford scientists struggle and fail, realized that the romantic narrative of the brilliant and perceptive newcomer left something out. After all, most scientific change isn’t abrupt and dramatic; revolutions are rare. Instead, the epiphanies of modern science tend to be subtle and obscure and often come from researchers safely ensconced on the inside. “These aren’t Einstein figures, working from the outside,” Dunbar says. “These are the guys with big NIH grants.” How do they overcome failure-blindness?"

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'

Isaac Asimov

This is far more generally useful to everyone then just scientists.

I think we need more stories about Semmelweiss and Pasteur and Tesla and how they actually looked at what was really happening and did the work to figure out why.

Actually, I think this explains more about politics then is comfortable. No wonder we can't kill any gov't bureaucracy. It also is why companies will death march on a project that is in a death spiral.

This is something to be cognizant about and careful of in our own lives.

Couple stranded 3 days after GPS leads them astray - Yahoo! News

Couple stranded 3 days after GPS leads them astray - Yahoo! News: "A Nevada couple letting their SUV's navigation system guide them through the high desert of Eastern Oregon got stuck in snow for three days when the GPS unit sent them down a remote forest road."

Good thing they were well prepared with food, water and extra clothes, but you are smarter then the machine. Don't just blindly trust it.

A Prepared Christmas

We did get a few items this Christmas to round out our Ready Kit.

The number 1 thing is a Katadyn Vario microfilter. This is water one of the most important thing you need. You can live for a long time, a month or more, without food. But lack of water will kill you in days.
Denver is not exactly big on water in any case. Sure, there are a good number of small lakes and rivers nearby, but they are artificial so they would stagnate quickly.
There was a town just south of here that had a problem with their water treatment plant and they had to boil their water for a couple of weeks. This would be helpful even in a case like that.
We'll have to get a few replacement filters and make sure to pack it with a bandana and rubber bands to use as a pre-filter.
This will go in the survival kit.

We upgraded our radio receiver, we had an old Panasonic AM/FM/SW world radio, but it was falling apart and the volume knob was twitchy and it only took D-cell batteries. Now we have a Voyager KA500 which also has the weather bands and solar & hand crank charging systems that you can use for charging cell phones and iPods.
This is a supplement to our handheld Ham Radios mainly for information gathering.
It has a USB charging port I am thinking about making a USB to car adapter so we can charge those things we have car adapters for.
This will go into the Home 72 hr kit

We also received a Solar Battery Charger. It can charge AAA through D cell batteries. I'll have to test how long it will take to charge a set of batteries. We mainly only get afternoon sun which cuts the amount of sunlight it can get but if things get really bad it will give us something.
This will go in the Energy kit.

Oatmeal Challenge Update

I've been doing my Oatmeal Challenge for a week now and I am feeling pretty good even considering all the junk food we've received for the holidays.

I don't feel nearly as hungry during the day. I seem to have a more stable energy level during the day as well, rather then it swinging up and down.

I am using the Good Eats Overnight Oatmeal recipe with whatever dried fruits we can get and it is very nice. It makes enough for a few days and I have to thin it down with some milk after the initial batch, though eggnog works really well.