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This Week in Books, September 24, 2017
The Dangerous Book for BoysConn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden William Morrow, 2007 Taking a break from history, here we have a bit of levity and a lot of good information in The Dangerous Book for Boys. I picked up this book and its sister title, The Daring Book for Girls, as a way to expose my children to acts and facts which seem to be disappearing. It also makes a great bathroom book, a term I use for books full of short stories and unconnected chapters which can be picked up and put away to be read again at leisure, and I mean this term with the utmost respect. It is a collection of stories, history, and how-tos. The section titled Girls had me rolling and nodding. Page 110 5. Avoid being vulgar. Excitable bouts of windbreaking will not endear you to a girl, just to pick one example. There is a small sample of simple, easy humored advice pieces, and the style works throughout the book. Here, after the topic of hunting rabbit, how to tan the skin. Page 241 Once the skin is completely dry, it can be dipped in warm water with a little soap to cut the grease. There is a membrane inside all animal skins that must be removed before tanning. One way is to rub the skin back and forth on an edged object, like a wooden board or a large stone. We found steel wool useful, as well as the back of a kitchen knife. It took a long time. It smelled. Peeling off wads of fatty membrane was not an enjoyable experience. Still, no one said it would be easy. How to identify fish, trees, clouds. The story of Douglas Bader. Latin phrases. First Aid including shock. Page 132 Staying calm is most important for your own safety and other people who may be relying on you. It helps to prepare. When the injury occurs, the first thing you should do is take a deep breath and reach for the first-aid kit you have prepared long before. Remember the ABC of "Airway, Breathing, Compression" and check one at a time. Making your first-aid kit, making a tree house. Lessons on American History and government. How about the Battle of Hastings? yup. Rorke's Drift? got it. This book is just chock full of useful and fun information, as is its sister book, which I will cover later. At just under 270 pages, illustrated with color when necessary, it is one of my favorite pick ups. Link is to Amazon. I recommend the hardback. This Week in Emergency Prepardness Being hurricane season and reading all the fresh tips from bloggers from Texas and Florida, a very simple yet very real problem plopped in my head - how to go poo, or relieve oneself in general, when you can't go outside and the waterworks quit -- or worse, back up. Obviously, every camping section on the internet has a solution to such a problem... except a lot of them figure you had a septic dump handy at some point. Me, I was picturing something like a toilet seat, except it fit onto a drywall bucket and latched closed to seal off or at least mitigate the leftovers. When filled satisfactorily, slap on the normal lid, maybe duct tape the heck out of it, label it human waste in big letters, and waddle it off for storage until proper disposal is available. Now, if there is one out there I could not find it. I then started to wonder if I was the first to think of such a thing. Then I set my drink down and pondered what could go wrong. With such a contraption, would expanding gasses pop the lid off, or worse with the half-roll duct tape sealing job? Last week there was talk of how to make hot/boiling water. This is good not only for purifying iffy water, but nice for dehydrated foods and comfort foods such as coffee. I don't use the word comfort like Modern Man, who does not use the word 'copter for helicopter and orders the $80 meat loaf. I mean cold, noisy, no power, what the crap was that noise? Ah, nice cup of coffee to relax and not freak out. Adding to propane, which is real handy and the right accessories can get it from your 20# BBQ into your portable camp stove or the flammable gels which a person must be very respectful of; because what is worse than being in a hurricane or serious ice/winter storm? Your house catching on fire after you scream and kick over the flame because you got a 3rd degree burn from a nearly invisible flame you didn't know was there. Wise products has a fire bucket which claims the fuel can be used in wind and rain and snow; I am going to say resistant. Wood-based and shielded by a paraffin mix of secret herbs and spices, it weighs in at three pounds and claims up to 60 cups of water can be boiled (3.75 gallons). Non-volatile (no flame ups) and benzene free. I have not used it, but it reads well. Scoop out a quantity, light it, stir embers and add to as necessary. Anyone try this stuff out? Posted by: swksvolFF 2017-09-24 |
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