Stormbringer's Thunder

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Almost two years ago, I wrote about my beginnings in emergency preparedness . I learned many things but let much of it slide. Even so, it is good to keep some things stocked for situations such as blizzards, power outages, confinement, and so on. Especially water. An employee in a big box store was asked about storage containers. A storm was coming, and she wanted to fill them with water from the bathtub. If she found containers, I hope she washed them first. It would be good for a short-term solution. Water storage bottles, Unsplash / Jude Wilson The CDC recommends having at least  one gallon of water on hand per person for three days. Water from the typical municipal faucet is regulated and safe even if it does not taste wonderful. I learned that those gallons and smaller bottles of water deteriorate structurally, and plastic breaks down —  and microplastics and chemicals leech into the water. (Those clear or slightly-tinted bottles are good for...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  The other day, I was going through a storage cupboard to find things my late wife had purchased but never had a chance to use. A few were past the "use by" date, some from even before she passed away. A few canned goods were past due. I took a notion to check online about expiration dates; it seems I heard that there is a kind of grace period. Very much so! In fact, if people check for damage, rust, bad smells, and so forth, most canned foods will last indefinitely . Prepping pantry photo by Cowboy Bob Sorensen, modified with FotoSketcher "People have safely used canned stuff that is sometimes decades out of date, Cowboy Bob. Why do they even have expiration dates? I can think of a few reasons. One is they may be required by the government. Also, self-preservation in case something is damaged and the contamination is slow and a customer gets sick. Third, they are just trying to get people to throw something away and buy more, but I kind of doubt t...