DIY Junk Box Flashlight

I decided to do this project because I wanted a small but vary bright flashlight, so that I could use to use up all the old smoke detector 9V batterys.  I change them every New year so I have a good supply of half dead batterys. This is what I came up with 3 white LEDs a chunk of pc board and a top to a 9V battery and some hot glue and some solder.

Emergency Chocolate

Emergency Chocolate well there goes another one of my ideas. I guess it has been around for years in c- rations and MRE's but as direct marking what a great idea. I need to get some for my wife!

MISTO the Magnificent

No It's not some hot new magician. But it does preform some magic!
I don't endorse products unless I have used them. I have had a MESTO now for a about a year and I have to say it was one of the best buys I have ever made. It has saved me quite a bit of time and money on PAM. Plus I can fill it with what ever oil I like and who knows what is in PAM?  So if you do a lot of cooking like I do its worth your time.

Movie Review :Alone in the Wilderness the story of Dick Proenneke

I've seen this documentary in bits pieces over the past few years on PBS, but finally after years I broke down and rented it from the library. It's about a man named  Dick Proenneke who move to the Alaskan wilderness and hand built his home and everything else he need. He built every with just a few hand tools. It is a unique look into the life of a truly free individual. So if  you get a chance rent it.

Cheap tent stakes!

I saw these tent stakes at a flea market and thought what a simple yet ingenious design. I just had to share I'm thinking of making a few. 

Brass Oil lamp for 5 Bucks!

 I picked up this oil lamp from a salvage store for five bucks!  It reminded me of an old emergency civil defense lamp. I figured I could shine it up plus it came with a bag of new wicks and heck you never know when you might need emergency light. 

Another reason to Prepare!

This picture was after a heavy rain the other day. The white line in the water in the lower part of the picture is the divider between the right and left lane on the express way I was on my way to work we had to drive through the water water to get to work.

X-Arcade project

OK so I learned a big lesson on this one. I got this for free and it had a bad connector on the control board so I went to the scrap electronics heap and found a donor board that had the part on it. Then proceeded to replace the part and reinforced it so it wouldn't break again and it worked!  Now here is the lesson it was a wast of  time because when I went to look up the user Manuel on line this is what i found. 

Indestructible Design With Lifetime Warranty

Whether you are thinking about forking over some cash for the X-Arcade™ Tankstick or the X-Arcade™ Machine, your X-Arcade™ product is built tough, really tough.

How tough?

Well let’s put it this way, some scientist friends of ours predict that when the world ends there will be two things that will survive; cockroaches and your X-Arcade™.
Now having your X-Arcade™ survive the apocalypse may not be all that useful, as you probably won’t be around to enjoy it, but it does give you an idea of what kind of punishment it can withstand.
So go ahead, let the kids beat way at it, have your rowdy friends over, put it through the paces, this materials are soo tough it is hard to even scratch it.

Cuddle it if you want, but you don’t need to!

Most electronic gaming gear is built with Barbie doll plastic components, but each component of your X-Arcade gear is industrial grade stuff, tough stuff that is then riveted and bolted together with the loving care of drill sergeant.
You’ll probably love your X-Arcade™ so much that you will want to coddle it and wipe it with diapers and we do encourage that, if that is your thing. But you really don’t need to. We mean it when we say X-Arcade™ game room gear is tough and guaranteed to bring you a lifetime of fun.

Built to last: tested for 10,000,000 Uses!

Xgaming Lifetime Warranty covers your X-Arcade™ for LIFE. It’s that simple. No gimmicks.
In the event that your X-Arcade™ can’t take a beating or is defective, Xgaming will either fix it, or send you another one. We’ll even pay the tab for all the shipping charges! (USA ONLY).
No other gaming company on the planet has the huevos to offer such a warranty. See all details here.
Oh yeah!.... you’ll also get Toll Free Support, Online Live Help, and a 30 Day Money Back 

Fast tasty and healthy

This is something that makes a quick lunch or dinner it inexpensive fast tasty and healthy. It's a good way to use up extra production from the garden in the summer too. So here is what you need a cucumber,red pepper, 1 veg burger,some wheat tortilla and some garden blend cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese on the tortilla and peal and cut up the cucumber place on the tortilla cut up the red pepper and put on the tortilla. Now cook the veg burger and crumble on top of the whole thing and rap up and enjoy!

Experiments in money Update!

So here is a clip from a email that I got from a friend that knew I was saving my pennies and nickles.
The Government just keeps closing the loop holes, but that's ok I'm still saving my pennies and nickles can't melt them or sell them out side of the U.S. But you can still sell them in the U.S. and we all know they will keep going up in value.

Have you ever spotted a 1964 quarter in your spare change?

Odds are slim to none.

If you’re a student of history, you know why. These coins were hoarded out of existence... years ago... for their silver content.

And that’s why beat-up quarters - dated 1964 or earlier - sell for $5 or $6 apiece on eBay.

But now, the lowly penny and nickel are following suit.
Most people don’t know this - but it’s ILLEGAL to carry more than $5 in pennies or nickels out of the country.
The U.S. Mint says, “We don’t want to see [these coins] melted down so a few individuals can take advantage of the American taxpayer.”

What’s going on here?
Well thanks to the surging price of nickel... copper... and zinc, the government is terrified. If they allow these coins to freely move about - they could disappear overnight.
In short, anyone with half-a-brain would melt them down - and double their money.
So to put a stop to this, the government has slapped a $10,000 fine or five year jail sentence on anyone caught with more than $5 in coins heading out of the country. (Thanks to David Hall Rare Coins and Van Simmons for passing this story along.)

Did you get that?
The Government will throw you in jail if you so much as try to make a $5 profit melting down pennies and nickels.
If that’s not a sign of desperation... and that the end of the dollar is near... I don’t know what is! It’s literally a financial death-threat from the Treasury.

Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers

I had to find out how to make Black Bean Burgers after paying $3.98 for 4 burger patties. I mean a buck Pattie get real!

So here is my try at it!

1 Can of Black Beans

1/2 Onion

1/2 Green Pepper

1 Table Spoon of Garlic Powder

1 Table Spoon of Chili Powder
1 Table Spoon of on Cumin Powder
1/2 Sleeve of Wheat Saltines Crackers
Hand full of shredded pepper Jack cheese

First drain the can of beans and rinse the put them in a blow and mash with a fork. Then add all of the spices. Chop the onion and the Green pepper and Crackers into small bits and add to the mix. Now form them into patties.

Now Cook them!

I found that the Gorge Foreman works the best for cooking them. I have heard that freezing them you can cook them on the grill. I'll will try that and let you know you can also pan fry them too.

Experiments in money

So I have been doing a long term experiment with money for about a year or two. I walk everyday at lunch and look for change and other things of value that people have lost. I find quit a bit of each, I like to call it Urban Treasure Hunting. So let me get to the experiment part, all of the pennies I pickup I sort out by date and all the pre 1982 pennies I roll and put on the shelf. Any thing that is 1983 or newer I put in a jar take to the bank and cash in.

 So here is the idea behind it. The pre 1982 penny's are 95% copper and worth 2 cents in copper value. So if I melt them down I just dubble my money. On a side note it's illegal to destroy U.S. currency in the U.S. so I would never do that. But you can sell it to some one out side of the U.S. for it's copper value and what they do with it is there own business.

The other though on this subject is that the goverment is going to get rid of the penny all togather. Basically because it costs the government to much to make a penny. It costs the government about 3 cents to make a penny. If they stop making them it's no longer money, so you could melt it down legaly. Also if pepole start melting them down, those coins will become more rare so they will increase in value because there will be less of them in circulation. I'm also saving nickel's because there basically just a nickel coated copper slug and there worth about 6 cents each. I also live close to the Canadian border so I save there pennies and nickle's too.