What the hell is going on in Tallahassee

Over the course of the last hundred years, Norwegian forests have tripled in size according to a new report. They have doubled in size in just the last 40 years, which the report claims is because of more CO2 and warmer temperatures in Norway than in previous decades. Published by Statistics Norway, the survey is […] The post Norway’s Forests Have More Than Tripled in a Hundred Years appeared first on Good News Network.

This is an excerpt from my book, How to Prep When You’re Broke. It contains dozens of thrifty ideas for getting prepared, even when the budget seems too tight to make it happen. I live for lists. If I didn’t have a list-making obsession, I have no idea how I would’ve gotten through being a single mom with two busy kids, both with different extracurricular activities, all while holding down a full-time job and managing my home. Wow, I’m tired just typing that. Prepping isn’t very different in its varied pieces, however. It’s impossible to keep all this stuff in your head. List-keeping is essential. I like to have running lists of things like: Food items for the stockpile Hygiene and household supplies Pet supplies Power outage supplies Larger preps to grab if I see them on sale or secondhand As well, I keep an inventory of the things I have on hand, but we’ll get to that in a little while. I like to use graph paper for my lists with those nice little squares. Then I can check things off and keep all my lines nice and neat. It’s not necessary, but it makes my strange brain happy. In this chapter, I wanted to provide you with a few lists you can use to get started with your own listmaking. Now, my family’s likes and needs may not be the same as your family’s, so this is just an example of the kinds of lists I use. Use these as inspiration and make your own lists. The 2-week food supply I think the best way to start without getting overwhelmed is with a simple, two-week food supply. Below, you can find a list for if you don’t have a way to cook during a power outage and a list for if you do have a way to heat things up and boil water. Each list is per person, so multiply it by the number of people in your house. Customize it with foods your family enjoys. If you have folks with big appetites, take it into consideration with your quantities. If some of your family members are small children, you may not need the quantities listed per person. Remember, these are just a starting point. 2-Week No-Cook Food List What if the power goes out and you have no way to cook? The following list will keep you nourished and keep your tummies full, although it may not be the absolute healthiest way to eat. 14 gallons of potable water 24 ounces of powdered milk or shelf-stable non-dairy milk 2 boxes of breakfast cereal Raisins 24-pack of juice boxes 3 boxes of crackers 2 small jar of peanut butter/other nut butter/sunflower butter 12-pack of V-8 or other vegetable juice 12-pack of fruit cups 12-pack of applesauce 12-pack of pudding 6 cans of peas and carrots (they’re not too bad eaten at room temp) 6 cans of corn 6 cans of vegetarian baked beans 6 cans of Vienna sausages 2 packs of beef jerky 6 cans of tuna 6 cans of chicken Shelf-stable travel pouches of mayo 10 pouches of precooked rice and/or quinoa 4 cans of refried beans 1 bottle of taco sauce 1 package of soft tortillas 1 box of granola bars Optional: Snack foods like chips, cookies, nuts, trail mix, and dried fruit 2-Week Can Cook List This food list* assumes that you have a way to at least boil water or heat things up. Because of this, the variety is more extensive, and the choices are a bit healthier. The overall health of the menu depends on the quality of the options you choose. 14 gallons of water Variety box of instant oatmeal Box of cereal 24 ounces of powdered milk or shelf-stable non-dairy milk Raisins 12-pack of juice boxes 3 boxes of crackers 1 small jar of peanut butter/other nut butter/sunflower butter 6 cans of vegetable soup 2 cans of chili 8 pouches of pre-cooked rice and/or quinoa 7 cans of beans (pinto, white, kidney, garbanzo) 2 boxes of stuffing mix 1 bag of dried cranberries 4 cans of chicken breast Shelf-stable travel pouches of mayo Instant udon noodle bowls (Annie Chun brand is fairly healthy) 7 cans of vegetables 7 cans of fruit 4 boxes of macaroni and cheese 4 cans of pasta (ravioli, spaghetti, etc.) 2 cans of refried beans 1 bottle of taco sauce 1 package of soft tortillas 1 box of granola bars Optional: Snack foods like chips, cookies, nuts, trail mix, and dried fruit In later chapters, we’ll talk about the standard prepper food supplies you should have on hand, and what you can do with those supplies. Now, let’s move on to other lists. Hygiene and household supplies I group a lot of things into this category – I suppose it could also be called “non-food” supplies. These things aren’t emergency supplies for a disaster, though many could do double duty. These are the items you should keep on hand for everyday use. If you buy them on sale or in quantity, you can put them back and use them until you find more on sale in the future. This can save you big money in the long run. I try to add at least one thing to this stockpile each week when I shop. Here’s my list: Baby wipes Band-Aids Batteries Blankets Bleach Calamine lotion Candles Canning jars, lids, and rings Cleaning supplies Clothespins Coconut oil Cosmetics Cotton balls Cotton swabs Dental floss Deodorant Diatomaceous earth Dish soap Disposable cutlery Disposable razors Duct tape Essential oils Extra parts for your water filter Feminine hygiene items Flashlights Garbage bags Garden tools Hair elastics Hand sanitizer Heirloom seeds Insect repellant Kitty litter Knife sharpener Laundry products Lighters Lip balm Long-burning candles and tea lights Lotion and moisturizer Lye Matches Mouse and rat traps Nail clippers and emery boards Nails and screws Office supplies Paper Paper plates Paper towels Pencils Pens Peroxide Pet food Razors and blades Rubbing alcohol Safety pins Scissors Sewing/mending supplies Shampoo and Conditioner Shower gel Soap Socks Spare parts for important equipment like canners or tools Spiral-bound notebooks Sunscreen Tin foil Toilet paper Toothbrushes Toothpaste Vaseline Vitamins White vinegar Zip-lock bags in a variety of sizes Zip-ties Your list may look very different. Maybe you don’t wear makeup – scratch cosmetics. Perhaps you have a baby – add diapers and butt cream. The best way to figure out what you need is to write down every single consumable thing that you use in a day. Morning coffee? Write down filters on your non-food list and coffee on your food list. Shower? Write down shower gel, body pouf, shampoo, conditioner, and razor. Crafts with the kids? Write down glue, construction paper, and colors. You get the idea. You may not need to stock up on every single thing you use in a day, and you may decide NOT to stock up on certain things because if times are tough, you’ll phase them out. But I can tell you for a fact that having extra basics can make hard times feel a whole lot easier. When I got laid off from work one year, I could use my entire unemployment check to cover my mortgage and utilities. We had all the day-to-day items we normally used on hand in quantity, so the girls never even noticed that there was a financial change afoot. We went months only grabbing a few fresh items at the store each week and living from our stockpiles. And that is what the prepping for personal emergencies is all about: maintaining normalcy. Pet supplies You don’t want to forget about your beloved pets during an emergency. Here are some ideas for things you may need to keep on hand. Shoot for a supply that will last two weeks to one month and then build on that. Food and supplies ½ gallon to one gallon of water per day Dry or canned food Pee pads  for dogs (in case it’s a situation in which pets can’t safely go outdoors) Poop bags Medications Kitty litter Kennels or carriers Leashes Muzzles – even friendly dogs can bite when they’re scared Flea and tick preventatives Favorite toys or comfort items – pets get stressed too Pet paperwork Veterinary records in case they have to go to a kennel during an evacuation City registration/license paperwork Photos of your pets Microchip information Emergency prepping list When you evolve from preparing for everything things like money problems to getting ready for a power outage or other emergency, you’ve officially graduated to “prepper” status. As I mentioned before, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why I recommend starting off small – with supplies that will last you for two weeks during a blackout. This list is only basic supplies. Later we’ll talk about more specifics, such as prepping for hot-weather power outages (like during a hurricane) and cold-weather outages (like during a blizzard). Here’s the list of basics I personally keep on hand. 2-Week Power Outage Checklist This is in addition to your 2-week supply of shelf-stable food. You may not need every item (for example, you don’t need every single cooking method as long as you have one or two that are reliable during different situations. Water Fill every empty container in your house Get some filled 1-gallon jugs at the grocery store Travel water filter. Stackable water containers A good quality gravity-fed water filter A manual pump for your well Cooking Rocket stoves Indoor emergency stove, a chafing buffet dish, fondue pot Outdoor barbecue or firepit Fireplace or woodstove Propane camping stove Don’t forget the extra fuel! Heat  Fireplace or woodstove (and extra firewood) Set up one room to close off and insulate if the power goes out. Invest in a Mr. Buddy propane heater Battery-operated carbon monoxide alarm for safety Light Garden stake solar lights Long-burning candles and tealights Matches or lighters Flashlights (Don’t forget batteries!) Inexpensive headlamps for hands-free lighting Kerosene lamps and fuel This isn’t comprehensive, of course, but if you have these things, you’ll be far ahead of those who have not prepared. Sounds expensive? Don’t panic! You may be looking at this and thinking, “Holy crow, Daisy!  I bought this book because I’m b-r-o-k-e-BROKE and you’re giving me huge lists of things to buy!” Please don’t let these lists overwhelm you. These are wish lists and things you’ll acquire as time goes on and as you can afford it. We’ve already freed up a little bit of money in our budget and perhaps sold a few things to make prepping possible. The rest of it is just stuff to add as you can. Plus, in the next chapter, we’ll talk about the prepping supplies you already have. Yes, YOU! Even if you haven’t started prepping yet! Where to learn more Please check out my book if you find yourself in a situation where the spirit is willing, but the budget is weak. It’s available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/4dLfGkx I have truly been there. My advice is based on real-life experience. It’s not theoretical. You really can get better prepared with very little money, if you find yourself in that position. Of course, having all the bells and whistles is great – but it’s not in the cards for all of us, particularly in our current economy. What are some lists you find essential for preparedness? What are your best prepping-on-a-tight-budget tips? Share them in the comments section. The post A Prepper’s List of Lists appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

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In the summer of 1875, Sir Cecil Edward Denny, an inspector with the North-West Mounted Police, encountered what modern paranormal enthusiasts might label a “time-slip,” an event so out of the ordinary that it left him puzzled and without explanation. This phenomenon, as described in his 1905 memoir, occurred near the Oldman River in Alberta, Canada, where Denny witnessed an entire Indian camp vanish after a sudden storm. Here’s an exploration into why Denny found this event incomprehensible and what we understand about time-slips today. Cecil Edward Denny, 1850-1928, was born in Hampshire, England. In 1874 he came to Canada and enlisted in the recently-created North-West Mounted Police. He made the historic trek west. He rose to the rank of Inspector in the force, and was a signatory of Treaty 7 in 1877. In 1884 he resigned from the Mounted Police, and became an official of the federal Indian Department. During the 1885 Riel Rebellion (North West Rebellion) the Department placed him in charge of western native peoples. In 1905, Denny published memoirs titled “The Riders of the Plains: A Reminiscence of the Early and Exciting Days in the North West.” In chapter titled “A Strange Adventure,” Denny describes an experience he had in the summer of 1875 that we today would call a “time-slip.” He was traveling along the Oldman River near Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, to the foothills of nearby mountains in order to do some fishing and deer hunting. Young Sir Cecil Edward Denny A Strange Adventure While camped about noon the weather began to look threatening, heavy banks of clouds gathering in the north, and now and then the growl of thunder in the distance could be heard. As I was not more than half way, I started again on my downward journey as soon as possible, but the farther I went the darker it grew, and I soon saw that I was in for a heavy storm, which, to say the least, was by no means pleasant. The thunderstorms along the mountains, although seldom of long duration, were often very severe while they lasted, and by the look of things, I was in for one of the worst. I however made my way steadily down the river, and after a while the storm came down with a vengeance. There was a heavy wind, with hail, rain, and perpetual lightning, followed by deafening peals of thunder, seemingly right overhead. I found it difficult with such a light boat to make any progress, as the heavy wind would drive me from one shore to the other, and the river was lashed into quite heavy waves, so that, although the boat could not sink, I was sitting in water up to my waist, and sometimes sheets of water would be blown right over me. As it was getting quite dark, although not more than four o’clock in the afternoon, I found it impossible to make my way, and I determined to land and wait until the storm was over. In rounding a bend in the river I saw on the south ban a good clump of timber, and determined to take shelter in it. I made for that shore, and as I approached the fury of the storm for a moment lulled, and in the stillness I could plainly hear the drums beating in an Indian camp, and the sound of the Indian “Hi-ya” mingling with it. The sounds came from beyond the clump of trees, and I congratulated myself upon meeting with an Indian camp where I could take shelter from such a storm. I concluded that this was the camp I had been told had gone up the river. I therefore landed and drew up the boat into the brush, tying it securely, and, taking my gun, made as quickly as possible through the wood towards the point from which the sounds could now be plainly heard. The storm had now come down worse than ever, and the lightning was almost blinding. I made my way through the timber as fast as possible, it not being any too safe in such close proximity to the trees, and coming out into an open glade of quite an extent, I saw before me the Indian camp not more than two hundred yards away. I could see men and women, and even children, moving about among the lodges, and what struck me as strange was the fact that the fires in the centre of many of the tents shone through the entrances, which were open. This surprised me, as you do not often find the Indians moving about in the wet if they can help it. They generally keep their lodges well closed during a thunder storm, of which they are very much afraid. They look upon thunder as being the noise made by one of their deities called the “Old Man,” while throwing great boulders from the mountains. There were, I should consider, about twenty lodges in the camp, and a band of horses could be seen grazing not far off on the other side of the camp. I stood for a few seconds watching and considering which lodge to make for, and had taken a few steps towards the one nearest me, when I seemed to be surrounded by a blaze of lightning, and at the same time a crash of thunder followed that fairly stunned me for nearly a minute, and sent me on my back. A large tree not far off was struck. Piegan Indian camp in Montana, 1893 (Associative photo). I could hear the rending of the wood, and it was afterwards found nearly riven in half. Some of the electric fluid had partly stunned and thrown me down. I was fortunate to have escaped with my life, and, as it was, it was a few minutes before I was able to rise and look around. I looked towards the place where the camp stood, but to my unutterable astonishment as well as terror, it was not there. It was quite light, although still storming heavily, and was not much after four o’clock. A few minutes before not only a large Indian camp had stood there, and the voices of the Indians could be distinctly heard, but now all had suddenly disappeared, even to the band of horses that were quietly grazing there only a few minutes before. I stood for a moment almost dumb with astonishment, seeing and hearing nothing, when suddenly an overwhelming sense of terror seemed to seize me, and almost without knowing what I did, I ran towards the bank overlooking the river, which was about a quarter of a mile away, dropping my gun as I ran. I did not stop until I reached the top of the bank, and there I had to rest for want of breath. Here I managed to gather my wits together, and to think of what had taken place. The open place where the camp had stood was in plain sight from where I was, with the clump of trees behind towards the river, but it was empty, and not a tent or human being in sight. There was nothing but the trees tossed by the storm and the driving rain, and now and then a flash of lightning. I could even then hardly believe my eyes, but there was no doubt about it, and I did not remain long in sight of that spot, and being afraid to go down to my boat, I determined to walk down the river bank to the fort, which must have been a good fifteen miles away. It was one of the hardest journeys I ever undertook. What with the shock from being thrown down, and then the most astonishing and inexplicable disappearance of the camp, and also being soaked to the skin, I was in a most uncomfortable condition. The storm continued until night, when it cleared up, and I made my way into the fort at about midnight, completely fagged out, turning into bed at once, with no explanation to anyone. In the morning I told my story at breakfast to my three brother officers. I was not much the worse for my experience of the previous day, but the more I thought over the matter, the more bewildered and astonished I became. As I expected, I was only laughed at by my companion, who called it imagination. But this I am firmly convinced it was not. I was not unduly excited when I first heard the Indian drums. I did not expect to find a camp there, but when I emerged from the wood and saw the camp before me, everything seemed perfectly natural, and in no way out of the ordinary. But the sudden and complete vanishing of the camp I could in no wise explain. I however determined to again proceed to the spot that morning, and bring down my boat and gun. I therefore took an Indian and our Blackfoot interpreter with me. We found the place without trouble, but it was vacant, and look as we could no sign of any recent camp was to be seen. A few rings of stone partly overgrown with grass showed where an old camp had been many years ago, and on questioning the Indian, he stated that the Blackfeet had surprised and slaughtered a camp of Cree Indians at that place many years ago, and in fact we came across two bleached skulls lying in the grass. The Indian did not seem to have any superstitions regarding that place. We found where a tree had been struck by lightning, and the boat and gun we brought away. I have, until now, but seldom mentioned this circumstance, but I am to-day as firmly convinced as ever that the Indian camp, together with the men, women, and the horses, was most certainly there, and that I suffered under no hallucination whatever, but account for it I cannot, and look upon it as one of those inexplicable riddles which cannot be solved. “Time slips” are paranormal episodes during which someone—or a group of people—somehow experience traveling through time without knowing how or why it occurred. Understanding Time-Slips A time-slip, as understood today, is a paranormal phenomenon where an individual or group of individuals seem to travel through time, experiencing another era for a brief period. These events are often spontaneous and leave those who experience them with a sense of disorientation. Theories attempting to explain time-slips include: Some suggest these could be hallucinations or vivid memories triggered by certain locations or emotional states. From a more speculative scientific angle, quantum mechanics offers a playground for time anomalies. The idea of multiple universes or the concept that time might not be linear but more like a “lake” where different times coexist could theoretically allow for such slips. There might be unique environmental conditions, like electromagnetic anomalies, that could distort one’s perception of time or even physically alter time’s flow locally. From a modern scientific standpoint, Denny’s vision could be analyzed through several lenses. He might have experienced a transient neurological event, where his perception of time was altered due to stress, fatigue, or an unknown environmental factor like electromagnetic fields which are known to affect human perception. The storm he described could be linked to unique atmospheric conditions that might create illusions or affect cognitive functions temporarily. Although highly speculative, if we entertain the idea of quantum mechanics or string theory, perhaps there was a natural, albeit extremely rare, occurrence where different times intersected due to some quantum event triggered by the storm. Given the isolation and the harsh conditions of his work, a psychological explanation might involve a dissociative episode where Denny’s mind briefly detached from his current reality, interpreting his surroundings through a historical or cultural lens familiar to him. The Incomprehensibility of Time-Slips in Denny’s Era During Denny’s time, the understanding of time was predominantly linear, influenced heavily by Newtonian physics, where time was an unchangeable and consistent progression. Concepts like relativity, quantum mechanics, or any notion that time could be non-linear or that different times could intersect were not part of the scientific discourse. Einstein’s theory of relativity, which introduced the idea that time could be experienced differently depending on one’s speed and gravitational field, was still decades away from being formulated. Thus, an experience where time seemed to fold upon itself, allowing glimpses into another era, would have been beyond the scientific or even popular imagination of the late 19th century. Denny, therefore, lacked any conceptual framework to interpret his experience as anything but an inexplicable mystery. The post Sir Cecil Edward Denny and His Story of a Possible Time-slip Incident appeared first on Anomalien.com.