Survival Eyewear

So I must admit that for the last several months I have been down to one pair of glasses. This is really against what preparedness is all about. So for my birthday a friend got me a pair of Wiley X PT-3 sunglasses. These glasses feature removable lenses that can be swapped out for clear or amber lenses. In addition to that, I ordered a prescription insert that clips above the nosepiece behind the safety rated lens. 


Overall a pretty rugged design, they are comfortable as well as functional. They ride a little higher than I'm used to from a pair of sunglasses, but when I sighted down my rifle I figured out why. The spacing below the lenses provide clearance for a good cheek weld on a buttstock. So I know that they will be great at the range, and that space reduces fogging as well while hiking or during any other physical activity. I am very much looking forward to wearing a darkened lens again, as I have gone without contacts for awhile and don't have dark prescription glasses. I'm hoping they will be good on the motorcycle as well, unfortunately it's been a bit cold to try it out. I did stick my head out the window while driving last night and the results seem promising.


My only complaint would be that it's kind of a pain to swap out the lenses, and it cannot be done quickly. For the most part I will probably be using the amber lenses in a day to day sense, so it will only be a minor annoyance. In a survival situation it would be strictly clear lenses I'm sure. While I was at it I figured I should probably have another backup, so I ordered an emergency backup pair of regular eyeglasses as well. Went to Greateyeglasses.com and got a decent pair for under 20 bucks delivered. You can't beat that, especially since they didn't even call to verify my prescription.

A cautionary tale...

The End.

Spruce tea mead 2

So just a quick update on the mead. It was done a mere 20 days after the the first post, and it's all gone due to the fact that it was very good. This has by far been the fastest mead I have ever brewed. My first thought was that the smaller quantity facilitated the process. Now I'm thinking it was the many vitamins found in the spruce tea. I brewed two half gallon batches at the same time, one with spruce and one with plain water. The regular one took an added two weeks, so it must be that spruce is excellent yeast food.

In short, this mead is great. It has amazing amount of flavor even considering the lower alcohol content. It would be on the sweet side by many opinions, but that's how I prefer it. It could probably go another day or two and dry out further. It has an almost minty smell to it, with juniper like spruce notes. After racking in the fridge for two days it cleared out considerably. Many of the spruce notes fell to the back and it was left with a clean, dry finish with a distinct medicinal quality. I am currently brewing another gallon today, with a heavier dose of spruce, hopefully the flavor will come out a bit more.

Fun with Bacon Fat!

That's right everyone, save that precious bacon grease because we're making candles!

I can't really take credit for this idea, my friend at Immortal Potential sent me a link to this cool process. But I have wanted to do something like this ever since I read about tallow* candles in "My Side of the Mountain" when I was a kid.

The first step is to collect the grease. About three pounds of bacon will give enough fat to make a good sized candle when pan fried. Take fat and an equal amount of water and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and pour in 1/4 of the total mixture's worth of cold water. Do not pour in cold water while it's boiling! This will result in skin grafts. When it's cool enough, pour into a container and refrigerate. 

While the mixture is setting up, gather your preferred candle vessel, string, a toothpick, a magnet, and a beer cap. For my string I used a waxed twine I got for my birthday from the aforementioned friend for just this purpose and a mason jar to hold my tallow. Punch two small holes close together on the bottle cap and thread the string through. Twist the string to create the wick. If your string isn't waxed you may have braid them. Drop the bottle cap in the jar and twist the top of the string around the toothpick at the top of the jar. Place the jar on top of the magnet. This will keep the cap from floating in the fat. Obviously the cap needs to be made of a ferrous metal for this to work. If you don't have a strong enough magnet you can use a small nut or even a rock.

Now check on your grease; by now it should be hardened up. Remove it from the water and blot it with a paper towel to remove any water. If there's any bacon bits on the bottom remove them while the tallow is still hard. Place the tallow in a glass measuring cup and place that in a pot of hot water. The fat will now return to a liquid state. Pour it into the jar being sure to get the wick wet as well. Place in the freezer until hardened. 

When it's all set up, cut the wick to about 1/8 of an inch from the top of the tallow. Light, and enjoy the mood lighting. (And in case you're worried, there is no bacon smell at all. I say boo to that.)

*Tallow is clarified at used to burn in a lamp or candle.