Wastfull old farts !!

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.
The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my earlier days.”
The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
She was right — our generation didn’t have the ‘green thing’ in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn’t have the “green thing” back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown Paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbling. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.
But too bad we didn’t do the “green thing” back then. We walked upstairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn’t have the “green thing” in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throwaway kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
But that young lady is right; we didn’t have the “green thing” back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she’s right; we didn’t have the “green thing” back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn’t have the “green thing” back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family’s $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the “green thing.” We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.
But isn’t it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the “green thing” back then?

     I did not write this it was in a comment section and i had  post it.

the bacon that was'nt

   Well this weekend i smoked the buckboard bacon up in the smoker.It looked great smelled delusions.After i let it cool i sliced a couple of thin slices and fried them up.They cooked up nice BUT they did Not taste like bacon.What they did taste like was good sugar cured country ham.A bite of the salt and a slightly sweet taste.They had a good smoke ring but i didn't use a thermometer and i under cooked them a little.I am happy with the test and will do it again and try different mix of spices.I think if i had used a salt box to draw the moister out of the meat rather than a rub then smoked it.It would have yielded a room temperature stable product.

A good read.About what may come

     http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2014/01/seven-sustainable-technologies.html

         If you have never read his blog i strongly recommend it.He is a little different in that he is a practicing druid and believes we are in for a long slow decent as a civilisation back to sustainable population and level of technology.Now if you are a believer that we will have a TEOTWAWKI event he my piss you off.The druid says we are going to repeat declines of the past.He thinks most preppers want to survive and not have to change from today's lifestyle.
        I have read his blog for over a year and he makes a strong argument for his beliefs but even he admits that there will be periods of steep decline followed by periods of recovery.Now i don't know about you but a steep decline in my life time would qualify as the SHTF but to him its history repeating itself.

     I do not know about most people but to me long term thinking is in decades.To some it is only a year others it may be generational.It is hard to think in terms of hundreds of years.At 50 years of age i only have to think about the next 30 or so years.To think beyond my life time is scary.

Buckboard bacon almost ready.

       Sorry for not posting in a while me and the wife have had bad colds.Plus this cold weather busted pipes at my daughters house that i had to fix.
       The pork butts are at day 10 today but i am going to wait till Friday before i  smoke it. I smoke my BBQ on Friday every week so i will add it in the mix.I think its brinning good been turning it every day got over a cup of liquid in the bag so i know its drawing it out.

Raising the minimum raise !

     On several blogs there has been a lot of discussion about our head socialist president wanting to RAISE the minimum wage.Normally i am against anything that comes out of his mouth but i favor raising the minimum wage.Not for the same reasons as Kenyan but because we are #10 in the industrial world as far as minimum wage in terms of dollars and #12 in terms of its purchasing power!!
     We have the second largest economy in the world but rank #10 and 12 as far as required pay.Wow that came as a surprise when i googled it.The department of labor says that less than 1.1 percent of American workers make minimum wage but that's horse crap.Wal Mart ,McDonald and a dozen other large employers DO NOT PAY MINIMUM WAGE.They start at 7.45 they pay more,why so the minimum wage will stay low.Most real minimum wage jobs are with mom and pop business's that struggle to pay that.I know iwas one 3 years ago.Many weeks you get nothing so you can make payroll.We need a tiered system for teens 16 to 18 and 18 and over.
     Even if we went to 9.00 we would only move up to #8and #9 as far as world ranking.The argument that it would cut jobs is BS company's have cut so deep most cant cut any more.Some people think that employers will expect more work with a hike,maybe but i have always gave my all regardless of pay i think most people do.
    Overall the benefits to a higher minimum wage far outweighs the adverse affects it will have.The worst offender of Poor pay will remain they always have an excuse as to why.Mom and POP company's will be hurt but they will adapt.Maybe a big mac will go up 25 cents its not worth 3.25 now.Can many places increase prices on products that are garbage?

Buckboard Bacon

     Today i started making Buckboard bacon.I have been wanting to make some for over a year now.I have read about it on other blogs and wanted to have a go at it.Normally i BBQ 8 to 16 Boston Butts a weekend so i always have them on hand.This weekend i cooked 14(not bad for January on the side of the road)and had 2 left over .I debone 1 and cut it in to2  4 lb pieces.The cure i used was from this blog http://simplyselfsufficiency.blogspot.com/2012/02/buckboard-bacon.html   the only changes i made was i used 8 oz salt and 8 ounces brown sugar and no nitrate salt.I used 2 oz of rub from the BBQ in the mix (my preference).
   In 10 to 12 days i will be cold smoking this overnight and then finish smoking it to 140 to 150 internal temp.I hope it turns out close to this  pictures marbling.

     The name Buckboard seems to have come from cured and smoked pork carried on wagon trains out west. It was packed in a box or barrel of buckwheat.To head west a family was required to have 50 lbs of salted cured pork packed in Buckwheat.Remember this was late May through  September.
    

Propane tanks do have a expiration date.

    Last summer i was out making a round of yard sales in my area.They are a good place to pick up great deals on some items.On one trip came across 3 20 lb. propane tanks for 20 dollars.Of the 3 two were old and didn't even have the new safety valves on them but one was newer and almost full so i jumped on them.I have been using the one that was full on my vending trailer but it ran out just before Christmas.
    I took all 3 down to the local ACE Hardware to be refilled this week.I have dealt with this store for years they are good people.They put 17 to 20 lbs in a tank for 12.00$.The last time t carried my other tanks they showed me how 20 lb tanks are stamped on the collier with different weights of fill.I always assumed a 20lb tank held 20 lbs .

   This trip they refused to fill the tanks.The 2 old ones were made in 1997 and one i had used was made in 2000.The man showed me the date stamp and informed me they wouldn't refill any over 8 years old and by law any over 12 had to be re-certified as safe.I do go in there a good bit so he told me to take them to Wal-Mart and swap them out.If i could he said grab the newest of the 17lb plus ones. I swapped the 2 oldest ones for 2 made in 2011 that held 15 lbs but are stamped as 17.8lbs safe for 36$.The other tank i will take later with one i found i already had that was dated 8/07 its being used first.
       I now have 6 tanks my goal is for them to be all refillable with 17+ lbs and under 4 years old so i can refill them before swapping them out.Around here a refill is 12.00$ for what a tank is rated a swap is 16.00$ for 15 lbs.
     P.S. Propane never goes bad but the tanks do have a refill date for some its not an issue but for me it is because some months i can run through 3 or more tanks.


   

a new tank has a date and fill weight stamped on collar