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40 Comments

  2. Thanks for the good information. Sorry to hear about the nature of the women’s movement in your experience. It is just an example of the pecking order. Right or Wrong it is what it is. Best wishes in your schooling and future.

    1. I, too, was puzzled by the author’s advice to boil water for 30 minutes. In fact, I have even read articles that conflict with the government’s advice to bring water to the boiling point for 1 minute.

      I only know what I’ve read on the internet, but since the information was on the internet, it must be true. 🙂

      What I’ve read is that simply heating water to 167° Fahrenheit will kill any bacteria or viruses (which, by the way, is consistent with the information about heating N95 face masks in an oven at that temperature for re-use).

      The likely reason that the government advises that water be boiled is because few people will have a thermometer available to check the actual temperature. Guessing about whether the water is hot enough is a recipe for disaster. When water arrives at the boiling point, a condition that is easily observed, a person can be sure that its temperature surpassed 167° F because water boils at 212° F. As for me, I will make stick to bringing water to a boiling point.

      In desperate times, it could be extraordinarily important not to waste precious fuel by boiling water longer than necessary. If boiling water for one minute will do the trick, saving that fuel could be critical at some future point.

      If my comment contains misinformation, I welcome reader comments.

      1. That is essentially correct. Bringing water near a boil, makes any bacteria incapable of reproducing. They don’t need to be 100% dead, just incapable of reproducing in your gut. The UV water wands have a similar effect.

      2. Good point about the possible need to conserve fuel in an extended “grid down” situation. I recall reading an article years ago explaining how villagers in Africa often place (clear) glass bottles full of water on their roofs and leave them there in the sun for an entire day. The combined effects of UV rays plus heat help to sterilize the water, leaving it suitable for drinking the next day.

        This would be, of course, a more applicable method in warmer latitudes such as the Southwest where I live. Not so much up North.

      3. vivormann99,
        I think the difference here is “boiling” water at 212 for a minute to big bubbles=no trouble, or even just raising it to Pasteurization temps of 167 sterilizes the water.

        However boiling surgical instruments (retractors, scalpel handled, forceps, etc) at 212 for six hours will sterilize these tools. Or you could use an autoclave with water and or steam at higher than 212 under pressure for 1-2 hours depending on what tool, instrument or even things like Petri dishes full of agar.

    2. I think the difference is 30 minutes is for sterilization, killing the microbes, while 3 minutes is for safe to drink. ( After cooling back down of course, don’t drink boiling water 😉 )

      1. Spamreader1,

        No. Boiling for three minutes is not necessary if you are just “hiking in the woods” unless you are at altitudes above 6,562 feet.

  4. Good morning

    Excellent article. I just recently purchased a Freeze Dryer, oxygen absorbers & Mylar bags.
    I am patiently awaiting the unit to get started on this one (of several) methods of preserving our food.

    I also like the autoclave section. I’m thinking that my All American pressure canner would be useful to sterilize items like kitchen utensils & grooming items like nail clippers Ect.

    The UV section interested me also. I went and purchased a lamp and extra UV bulbs from the pet store (can’t remember who on here suggested this, maybe JWR?) to rig into a large foil lined Uber Eats type bag that I purchased on Amazon.

    I must also admit that before businesses started closing up for this pandemic I went and “Fake Baked” a couple times 1. For a blast of Vitamin D & 2. Why not, maybe it irradiated some stuff off me! LOL

    I Really enjoyed reading this and I also think you will make a wonderful nurse! (I am trying to figure out a way to get into nursing but also be able to care for my elderly parents, who require my attention and devotion right now).

    Have a Rockin great day

  5. As a home canner I prefer to can all my meat at 260 degrees or more using pressure canners . A autoclave works on the same principle but achieves the necessary 273 degrees for 3 minutes . In a pinch, grid down a pressure canner could work as a poor mans autoclave ..

    1. To use a pressure canner to sterilized, the object must be placed above the water and were the hotter steam can sterilize. I would use 45 min at 12lbs of pressure as the rule of thumb for most elevations. Too much is better than not enough.

      1. Too much is better than not enough.

        I’m with you, TR. If ever faced with a fuel shortage, we will be making tough choices.

        Carry on in grace

  6. Thanks for the info. As an aside, many women have to ‘go it alone’. Don’t forget that men can be abusers: financial, sexual, physical. When you form your position, don’t forget that many of us grew up in single-mom households, ‘cuz our dads were NOT the men God called them to be. I understand that the pendulum has swung waaaaay too far left…where every man is considered a rapist, murderer, etc. My advice/as an older person: balance your position. Recognize that the Bible IS FULL of men who abused in one way or another. Recognize that God uses women as well….think Deborah, Abigail, Anna, and Lydia….. Recognize that 1/2 of the women in the WORLD have no man to ‘get under the authority of’. Recognize the we are”‘neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female” in God’s eyes. Be thankful that you have a good, decent man to ‘get under’. Not everyone does.

    1. The FemiNazis would have you think that all men are evil. They have infiltrated the family courts in states such as New York and New jersey, where men can’t get a fair trial during divorce proceedings. It is assumed that the man is the aggressor all the time, which flies in the face of research which shows women are the aggressor 25 – 33% of the time. They have already greatly influenced the media, even as far back as the 1930’s.

      1. Your Research tells then that men are the aggressors 67 – 75% of the time?

        Ask a few Police officers who found Woman abused, beaten, raped and even murdered by their men.

        1. Police officers, bless their hearts, will always find a reason to arrest the man in a domestic violence case and typically if it is the woman who committed the violence they will find a way to not arrest her. In fact, fair warning to all men, the police officers, bless their hearts, will prod and push to get the man to resist so they can beat them up for sport.

    2. Agreed. My “main man” is Jesus and I am under His authority. In my humble opinion, I think the church as a whole has not done a good job of teaching what “submission” is about. Are we to submit to an abuser? No. It’s really about Respect with a capital R. A man is to “cleave” to his wife and sacrifice for her as Christ has for the church. A woman is to submit to her husband, in other words, give all Respect to him, freeing him up to be the man God intended him to be while supporting his efforts as the leader of the household. Together they submit to the Lord. That is the ideal state and it’s a beautiful balance. But, alas, we live in a fallen world and that is most often not the case. We just need to realize that and not get stuck on the legalism of it. I also agree that Feminism has done more damage to the family than just about anything. But, then again, unfaithfulness has as well. Lots of blame to go around. Thank the Lord, we are saved by His Grace, and nothing else.

    3. @OPrepHOU,

      As an older generation female, I can attest from the 1950s back to Eve in the garden, the majority of men respected women and women were always seeking her “cover” from a man to marry even when she widowed. There was no single mom-hood or 50% of women married with 50% women single and liberated BIT prior to 1960s when Feminism took root in our nation and the world.

      I think the author is illustrating that rape, murder, domestic violence, and infidelity are met with a firm brunt of the law. Rape gets a man 7-10 years, Domestic violence and adultery gets him fired and/or a restraining order, and murder gets him 50 years to life. What I believe the author is saying is that these “boys” that need lab partners and also be treated with respect by these girls which they treat other girls in the class doesn’t have the full brunt of the law behind these misguided girls’ conduct. There’s no penalty for accosting a boy/man.

      It’s one thing to profess that men are murderers, rapists, abusers of women and then have those men before a judge in a court of law all throughout history to account, then compared to having ZERO account for these young feminists treating men/boys with such inhumane premise and contempt.

      Is these young feminists conduct are now mainstream and warranted because of many millenia of men treating women bad, doesn’t the “bad” man enter into the law and give an account? Why should a broad paintbrush stroke be painted against the “good boys” which are the majority of society to “pay” for the sins of bad men in the past?

      Feminism is not fair to MEN and it is destroying not only microbiology laboratory learning but the entire family structure in our country. I agree with the author we will loose our country soon to Women’s rights smashing “ALL men” good or bad.

  7. Thanks so much for a well written and thoughtful article on another important topic!

    You’re in our prayers for every success as you work forward toward a career in nursing!

  8. Noticed today on Fox a company named Whoop that tracks their member’s respiratory rate 24/7 with a wrist strap similar to Fitbit. For their member’s self-identifying with COVID-19, there is a marked increase in their sleeping respiratory rate at the very beginning of infection and during infection, but then returns to their normal after infection runs its course. This could be an amazing self-test for those with COVID-19 who don’t have typical symptoms and can therefore “increase the denominator”. This may also determine if California has had the virus maybe since November. Here is the link to their study.
    https://www.whoop.com/the-locker/respiratory-rate-tracking-coronavirus/

  11. JWR: Thank you so much for the Harvest Guard link and coupon! I just ordered 50 each of the regular lids and wide mouth lids + replacement liners for each. I’ve been wanting to purchase reusable lids, but I couldn’t stomach the price. The coupon really helped and the shipping was free. Happy happy.

  12. As a physician who works with infectious disease issues I commend you on your article. A few fine points, most of the sterilization techniques you describe work on bacteria, not necessarily on viruses. The preservative part really doesn’t apply to most viruses.

  13. Survivorman99: “What I’ve read is that simply heating water to 167° Fahrenheit will kill any bacteria or viruses (which, by the way, is consistent with the information about heating N95 face masks in an oven at that temperature for re-use).”

    To take a point from the author, your process ought to reflect your goals. If your goal is to “… kill any bacteria or virus”, a chat with the folks who sterilize instruments for surgery will be enlightening. They Do NOT immerse surgical instruments in water at a temp of 167 degrees F for any length of time.

    Rather, autoclaves apply temperatures in excess of 212 degrees F, under pressure, for an extended length of time.

    I am not a microbiologist (have been an RN for over 30 years, now am a PA), BUT! I have supervised central sterile supply workers.

    While you may, indeed, have read that the 167 degree water thing is cool, please remember that I have read that Mr. Trump is both a dictator, as well as not authoritarian enough. Having read it does not make it accurate.

    1. Reltney McFee,

      What I said is true. “Boiling for three minutes is not necessary if you are just “hiking in the woods” unless you are at altitudes above 6,562 feet.”

      As they said in the first “Star Wars” movie, “Stay on target! Stay on target!” I said nothing about autoclaves, or immersing instruments, or Donald Trump. I simply addressed the author’s statement, “If you’re hiking in the woods and you fetch water form a stream to drink, please boil it to 100 degrees Celsius for a duration of 30 minutes.”

      “Stay on target!”

      1. Another star wars quote. “Your focus determines your reality”, if you are just hiking in the woods and you boil water for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on temperature and altitude, you are absolutely correct, it is generally accepted as safe to drink, but it is not sterile, you should drink it quickly once it has cooled and not store it. If you are just hiking in the woods and you want to sterilize water for drinking now and/or a few hours from now, or tomorrow, you need to boil it at or above 100c for a minimum of 20 minutes (20 min is generally accepted, some suggest 10, others 30, overkill can be under rated imo) and store it in a sealed sterile container. If you were to pick more nits, you might also consider filtering other contaminates from the water found hiking, as i am sure you are already aware. I will say no more to remain respectful.

  14. Good article. As a male, who has been a practicing RN for 27 years, I offer you this encouragement. I have never encountered open discrimination related to my gender. In fact, I have had conversations with many female nurses who have said they would rather work side by side with male nurses as they are more emotionally stable (their words, not mine). Flaky people are flaky people, whether male or female. Just avoid them. Welcome to the fold.

  15. Ole Granny: All I’m asking (as a Grandma myself) is the ultra-conservative position to be ‘balanced’ a little bit. Otherwise those Feminazis (and yes, they are!) will win the day. If we on the right, can’t bring ourselves to acknowledge that married men beat women (my dad did my mom) and drink and look at porn….we lose in the Christian worldview argument. It doesn’t mean THAT ALL MEN DO THAT. It means ENOUGH do, to be a problem. Take a look at Jacob’s sons: Levi, Simeon, some of the others. Not the greatest examples of patriarchs/at least in their younger years. I wish we Christians would make more time to ‘bring along’ men that are struggling. Actually GET OUT THERE and help men addicted to porn, wasting the family money on gambling, and surfeiting/surfing with the sports game of choice or on the web. The feminists are winning the argument, because Christian men don’t want to roll up their sleeves and help their struggling co-worker. As an aside, ask a feminist ‘why’ she believes her position: ‘cuz Uncle molested her, Dad looked at porn, or she had to put a drunk Grandpa in the car time and time again. What is our answer to those problems? Shake our fist at the wind? Or get in there and show the way to the Savior….Jesus Saves.

    1. Well said, friend. While I am married to a woman who says, “feminism saved my life”, we manage to find common ground. We both strive to live in a world of “responsibility rather than blame”.

      We too often fail. And, then we get to work in resolving the issue at hand and making amends.

      Since we were both abused by an opposite sex family member when little (yes, women sexually abuse little boys, at least in my case), we have developed strong compassion for each other.

      Forgiveness, as we are commanded by Jesus, has carried both to be excellent marriage partners.

      Carry on in grace

  16. We have 3 solar ovens we can cool pies, turkeys, and boil water with. I wonder if this would provide sterilization with the dry heat option?

  17. We have 3 solar ovens we can cook pies, turkeys, and boil water with. I wonder if this would provide sterilization with the dry heat option? (auto-correction spelling is killing me today)

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