|
Written by Calusa
|
|
Thursday, 26 January 2012 09:48 |
|
The other day, Publix had a two-for-one sale on Organic Batter Blaster so I figured we would give it a try. This is instant pancake and waffle batter in a can. Normally I do not go for the ‘instant foods’ but it was on sale.
Overall, I was not very impressed with the product. The batter consistency was like shaving cream when it came out. Very foamy. Their website says they use CO2 as a propellant so at least it is safe to eat. No strange chemicals in your food. I do not know what they mean by ‘Organic’. Personally, I do not see how a ‘spray can batter mix’ can be organic in any way, shape, or form. I do give it very high marks for convenience. All you do is shake up the can, and squirt it out on your frying pan. Really, it cannot get any easier.
It is the taste that is the problem. Like I said, it comes out very foamy, with small bubbles. The first pancake I let cook through like a normal batter mix. It cooked ALL the foam from the pancake and I had a very flat, rubbery pancake. It was like a Fruit Roll Up, only out of pancake batter. It tasted alright, I guess, for a pancake batter Roll Up. Very, very rubbery. I could have used it as an inner wall tire patch.
So I tried some more. The next time, as soon as a sear developed on the bottom of the pancake, I flipped it over. This seemed to work much better as it kept the foam inside of the pancake. They were still a little rubbery, but not terribly so. Unfortunately, the top half of the pancake was still a liquid so it tended to make a mess most times when I flipped them. Also, in order to get the sear on the bottom before all the foam escaped, I had to have the pan temperature higher than normal. This tended to burn the bottoms of the pancakes. Not terribly, but I was not happy with the results.
Obviously there are some special techniques that need to be practiced with this instant batter. If you are single and hate doing dishes, this product might be for you. If you want to impress a ‘special someone’ the next morning for breakfast, you better practice, practice, practice before hand.
Honestly, it has no place in your emergency food storage. The product has to be refrigerated, which is a shame. This would be very nice if you could buy a can or two, and put them in the back corner of the pantry and if a hurricane can through and tore up the power grid, you could fry up some pancakes outside on the grill. Convenience foods and a touch of normality are very important in an emergency.
We will probably use up the two cans we have remaining but I doubt I will buy any more unless they go on sale again. Perhaps there is some special trick to get them perfect, but I think they are as good as they will get.
I would give them 2 out of 5 stars for taste, but all 5 stars for convenience. |
|
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 January 2012 09:56 |
|
|
Written by Calusa
|
|
Wednesday, 25 January 2012 09:51 |
|
 Well, we had an event in our neighborhood that few noticed, our planetary neighborhood. I know I did not know about it until afterwards. Our sun had a little ‘burp’ and spat out a solar flare. Apparently a pretty big one.
Solar flares reach us as a wave of energy. Usually they just give us the pretty Northern Lights because the earth’s magnetic field protects us. This latest flare is supposed to energize the Northern Lights enough that they will be able to be seen in New York. This one actually caused air traffic to be rerouted.
OK, this is not The End Of The World As We Know It. But this is not the biggest solar flare out there. In 1859, there was a massive solar storm. It energized telegraph lines such that they threw sparks and shocked telegraph operators. Now, the telegraph was just in its infancy then and they have long passed on. What is troubling? Power lines.
Look around. Everywhere you see power lines strung through the air, like a giant network of antennae to soak up all that energy from a solar flare. Our power grid is pretty robust and here in the Calusa Commons area, we have a new one thanks to the hurricanes of 2004. But it does not take a lot to cause a big disruption. Just last September, a simple short-circuit in a substation in a small town in Arizona turned the lights out for millions.
What troubles me about this scenario are all the transformers and capacitor banks in the system. These are the critical components that step the voltage up and down and help keep it regulated. You see the smallest versions as small trash cans hanging on the power poles by your house. There are millions of these throughout the grid.
If a solar flare only shorted out one percent, we are talking thousands will need to be replaced all across America. Hell, across the entire world! If ten percent get fired, tens and tens of thousands. Bluntly, as a society, we do not keep that many in stock. It will take some time to replace all of them. Perhaps some areas will be without power for months. Last year, a transformer fire at the Crystal River power plant put it out of service for 4 months.
Now, being without power is not the worst thing to happen. Been there, done that. We can always just fire up our backup generator and keep some lights on. (You do have a backup generator, don’t you?) But where will you get the gasoline to run that generator? Fortunately a lot of the gas stations in Florida have their own backup generator, again thanks to our hurricane experiences. Will the shipping terminals have generators? Will the rail and pipe systems that supply those terminals have backup power? Hell, will the refineries and ports have backup power? I am sure they will have some level of generator power, but those plants are big! You need a power plant to make enough energy to run one. Plus, with everyone running their own generators, where will the extra gasoline come from? You can see this quickly spiriling out of control.
So what is the “Take Away” in all this? It could have been much, much worse. We need to structure our lives and society so we are not as dependant on outside systems. If we live in a walkable community, we will not need to drive as much. If we all have a garden, we will not have to ship in as much food. If we build energy efficient homes that are designed to work without outside power, we will not need as much outside power. It is everyone being prepared for a disaster that makes it not a disaster. It does not take a lot to make a big difference. It is everyone doing a little that quickly changes everything. We just need to do a little bit every day, to make a big difference in the end. |
|
Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 10:20 |
|
Written by Calusa
|
|
Monday, 23 January 2012 09:03 |
|
My wife and I treated ourselves this weekend to a massage and went to The Oasis Spa , a small day spa in downtown Lake Wales. While not the most extravagant spa I have seen, it is quant and cozy. The ladies there have always been very friendly and cheerful.
Melissa was our therapist and she did an excellent job. She has eight years experience and it was incredibly relaxing. We both got Deep Tissue massages to work out all the tensions and aches. Melissa has a very gentle touch that did not leave you aching for the rest of the day.
One thing I like about The Oasis is it actually is IN downtown. It is located on Park Street in Lake Wales. If we are to revitalize our communities, we need to have business located together so we can walk from one to another. The only way for these businesses to survive and thrive, is we need to spend our money with them
A day spa is an incredibly local business. You cannot get more localized than someone rubbing on you for an hour. However, there are other places you can also visit to spend your time and money. Try to make your dollars count. We are in the middle of an election cycle and too many times we feel like our votes and voices do not matter. With local businesses, you can know your dollars count every time.
|
|
Last Updated on Monday, 23 January 2012 09:17 |
|
|
Written by Calusa
|
|
Tuesday, 24 January 2012 09:47 |
|
 Yesterday, I saw one of the most aggravating, agitating, infuriating sights that I cannot stand. It really pissed me off. I watched a bicyclist blow through a red light. OK, this might not be high drama for most of the world, but it drives me nuts.
Cyclists are all the time crying how they do not get any respect on the roads. How they are vehicles too. How they have the right to be there and the roads should be shared. Well, with rights come responsibilities. We have the Right of Free Speech in this country, but you cannot shout “Fire” in a crowded theater (unless there actually is a fire).
Do not think for a moment this guy did not know what he was doing. In his twenties or thirties, he was flying on his eighteen speed Trek. The good news is he was at least wearing a helmet. Unfortunately he was cutting across State Road 60 where the semi-trucks routinely run the same traffic light. Bug on a windshield, baby.
Personally I do not have a problem if someone wants to play Chicken with a 80,000 pound vehicle. Hey, it is a free country. You may get it right 99.99% of the time, but the truck only has to be a fraction of a second faster one time, and you lose. Some other driver has to live with the trauma of killing you. Ghost bikes are posted. News reporters swarm in for the story. Other cyclists bemoan how they are not respected on the roads. And you are D E A D.
So what is my problem? Until that magic day when you become a hood ornament, every time you run that red light in your tight spandex, other people see. They see it and say “Those bicyclists are not serious about being proper vehicle operators.” (Actually they probably use some profanity while doing so.) And when paying for a recreational trail comes up on the ballot or something has to be cut from the budget, how do you think they are going to vote? When they pass you on the road, how much room are they going to give you? Yes, the law says they need to slide over three feet, but really now. You do not follow the law, why should they?
Every time a cyclist ignores a traffic signal or whizzes past a stop sign, it becomes just that little bit harder to give them respect on the road. Think about it. What goes around comes around. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 10:35 |
|
Written by Calusa
|
|
Thursday, 08 September 2011 01:13 |
|
The world we live in is going to change. This is not new or even shocking. Change happens every day. It is how we deal with the change is what makes all the difference. Peak Oil will greatly impact our lives in unimagined ways. Peak Phosphorous and Fish Depletion will change how much we can eat. The Climate will change, it always has. And to call the world Financial System a shambles would be a form of charity.
The way to handle change is to understand and prepare for it. This website will look at Seven Elements of this preparedness and what we can do to build a more resilient and sustainable society.
Food: We need to eat. Sometimes just the act of getting food can be a challenge. What we eat can impact our health. And food is more than nourishment. It helps build our relationships. The act of ‘Breaking Bread’ is an ancient and vital social ritual.
Shelter: Every night, we need a place to sleep. We need a place to put our stuff. We need a place to call home. The design and construction greatly impacts a building’s usefulness and resiliency.
Security: Keeping people and property safe and secure allows all of us to sleep well at night. This goes beyond simply defending one’s self but involves the building of a community united.
Energy: Our world literally runs on energy. A single gallon of gasoline contains the same amount of energy that a human produces in a year. It is energy that allows us to live better than any of our ancestors.
Transportation: The ability to travel and ship goods is critical for a society. Without easy and efficient transportation, the world suddenly shrinks. Any point beyond the horizon becomes a foreign land. Being able to move about is what keeps us together.
Trade: All forms of exchange are simply barter or theft. By trading with others for either dollars or oranges, we are able to get items we need or desire without resorting to violence. This allows a peaceful society to exist and prosper.
Medical: Health care goes beyond being able to make a trip to the emergency room. It is the preventative care to keep the Grim Reaper away. It is the psychological component helps us deal with the trauma we all experience.
The trick is not to avoid change, but to be prepared to handle what life can throw at you. Society does not have to collapse for all of our lives to be a lot poorer. By structuring our society in a different fashion, we can all live more fulfilling lives.
|
|
Last Updated on Thursday, 08 September 2011 01:24 |
|
|
