Category Archives: Product reviews

Review of AccuMed BNX Model A96 Respirator

Update: When this review was published, the N95 approval was still pending. It has now been approved, and qualifies as a NIOSH N95 respirator. Becuase the mask is now approved, it has a new listing at Amazon. To order, use this link rather than the links below. I also have reviews of other Made in USA N95 masks at this link.

Bottom Line: The the AccuMed BNX Model A96 Respirator appears to be an effective measure to protect yourself from coronavirus. While N95 masks remain unavailable to the general public, this mask appears to be one of the best available alternatives.

“Masks Don’t Work”

As my anti-mask friends often point out, masks don’t work, and most people wear masks incorrectly. Those statements might very well be correct. Where I differ with my anti-mask friends, however, is what to do about that information. Their conclusion is that since masks don’t work, and since most people don’t wear them correctly; therefore, one shouldn’t bother wearing a mask.

It seems to me that this isn’t a very logical conclusion. If most people wear masks that don’t work, and most people wear masks incorrectly, then it seems to me that the logical conclusion is that I should wear a mask that does work, and I should wear it correctly.

The prevailing wisdom is that I should point out to my anti-mask friends that a cloth mask isn’t designed to protect the person wearing it–it’s designed to protect other people. But I won’t waste my time doing that–I am essentially a selfish person, and I want something that protects me. That it also protects those around me is a pleasant side effect, but it’s not my primary motivation.

My anti-mask friends often offer the criticism that I am blindly following orders. That’s surprising, since almost all of them wear a mask more than I do. I very rarely wear a mask. My average time per day of wearing a mask is probably about five minutes. Very few of even the most avid anti-maskers can make that claim.

This is because I prefer to simply avoid situations where I might have to breathe the same air as other people. For example, I have never been inside a Walmart wearing a mask. I’ve never been inside a bar wearing a mask. I’ve never been inside a church wearing a mask. I’ve never been inside a school wearing a mask. Most anti-maskers can’t say these things, because they’ve been inside one of these places, and they were wearing a mask at the time. I’ve avoided all of these problems, because I haven’t gone inside these places in the first place. My anti-mask friends often point out the fact that Walmart has the official government seal of approval of being a safe place. Well, they might believe the government’s pronouncement, but I don’t. I generally stay outdoors, where there are billions of cubic feet of air, and it’s unlikely that anyone else has breathed the same air as me.

The Occasional Need for a Mask that Does Work

Even though I try to stay outside, there are increasingly common situations where I need to go inside and breathe the same air as other people. On one occasion, I had to go inside the bank, and there was no way to do this particular transaction online. I’ve had to go inside the post office lobby to get my mail from my P.O Box. And occasionally, I’ve had to use the restroom (although when possible, I prefer the vault toilet.) So on these occasions, I need to wear a mask, because the government tells me that I need to wear a mask. And since I need to wear one anyway, I may as well wear one that works, and I may as well use it correctly.

Changing Advice from Government

We can debate all day whether the government should tell me what to do. But since I need to wear a mask anyway, again, I may as well wear one that works. If you remember back a few short months, the government hasn’t always told me to wear a mask. In fact, the initial advice from the government was specifically that I should not wear a mask.

For example, this March 2 Washington Post story quotes the Surgeon General’s recitation of the then-conventional wisdom: “One of the things they shouldn’t be doing, the general public, is going out and buying masks. It actually does not help, and it has not been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus amongst the general public.” It also quotes a February 29 Tweet from the Surgeon General: “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!”

(The editors of the Washington Post have since added an editor’s note saying that the official advice has changed.)

The Surgeon General actually had a point back in February. There was a severe shortage of effective masks, and it was best to reserve the remaining stock for health care workers, who really needed them. So I dutifully followed the official government guidance and refrained from trying to buy a mask. It was the right thing to do. In the meantime, I simply stayed away from other people, let the health care workers get the masks they needed, and gave American industry time to ramp up production.

On the other hand, I can’t stay away from other people forever. In July, I decided that I had given American industry sufficient time to start making masks in sufficient volume, and the time had come to buy myself an effective mask, namely an N95 respirator.

According to the FDA website, an N95 respirator is “a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles. Note that the edges of the respirator are designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth.”

The official government advice from that same website is still that I shouldn’t get one, because they are still in short supply:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including coronavirus (COVID-19). Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

I’ve given American industry plenty of time to produce respirators. While I am sympathetic to the plight of healthcare workers, I’m also selfish. In July, I decided to ignore this official government advice. (Ironically, it’s the anti-maskers who are obeying this government edict.) I decided that it’s been long enough, and I should buy myself a mask for my own selfish purpose: Reducing the possibility of infection if I need to use a public restroom or go inside a building for some other reason. So my anti-mask friends will be glad to know that I’ve decided to selfishly ignore government recommendations.

Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy, since there are no N95 masks to be found. An N95 mask becomes an N95 when it is approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

A year ago, I could have walked into my friendly neighborhood hardware store and, for a couple of dollars, bought a genuine NIOSH-approved N95 respirator, proudly made in the USA. And as someone who likes to be prepared for emergencies, I should have done exactly that. But I didn’t. And in 2020, you can’t buy them, because there aren’t enough, and the entire national supply is earmarked for healthcare workers.

There aren’t even enough for healthcare workers. For that reason, the FDA has relaxed its standards, and has issued an emergency use authorization for American healthcare workers to use imported respirators meeting other countries’ standards. This includes, ironically enough, Chinese-made respirators meeting the Chinese KN95 standard, which is similar to the American N95 standard.

Buying a Chinese Mask

Chinese KN95 mask.

I’d prefer not to have to use a Chinese-made mask meeting the standards of the communist Chinese government to protect myself from a virus that originated in communist China. So I’m still kicking myself for not going to the neighborhood hardware store in 2019 and buying a supply of American-made masks. But beggars can’t be choosers, and as of July, the best that I could do was get a Chinese mask. There were KN95 masks available in July, and I bought one similar to this one from a reputable medical supply company in Texas. Even though it was made in China, it was better than nothing, and it met the FDA requirements for healthcare workers. So I decided it was adequate for my rare ventures into public buildings. The one that I purchased was marked that it met the KN95 certification, and the seller had available the lab report showing that it had the better-than-nothing Chinese certification. The one that I purchased did (at least for me) have a good fit. (The CDC website contains instructions for putting on a mask and ensuring a proper fit.) The mask must be tight against the skin all around so that all of the air passes through the mask, and not around the gaps. While this mask fits me, it doesn’t fit my kids very well, and it’s difficult to ensure a proper fit on them.

Re-using Disposable Masks

These masks are disposable, which makes perfect sense if you can walk into the neighborhood hardware store and buy a replacement. But since there’s a shortage, the FDA has addressed the crisis by allowing re-use. For example, these instructions from the North Dakota Department of Health show the approved procedure for re-use. Basically, you remove the mask carefully and store it in a paper bag until the next use. This video from the University of Nebraska is a good overview of the procedure:

I use a similar procedure with my masks, which are normally worn for less than five minutes at a time. I store it in a brown paper bag until it’s time to re-use it.

Review of AccuMed BNX Model A96 Mask

AccuMed. Google Street View image.

Even though the Chinese-made KN95 masks seem to be effective, and they are certainly better than nothing, I am somewhat dubious having a Chinese mask protect me from a Chinese virus. Fortunately, there is now an alternative, namely the BNX Model A96. They are available at Amazon from this link, although I bought mine directly from the manufacturer, AccuMed of Houston, Texas. They are made in the USA, and they originate from the brick and mortar location shown here.

“A96” is simply the product’s model number. They are, however, certified KN95 masks, meaning that this American product has the Chinese communist seal of approval. If that’s all I knew, I might not be particularly impressed. But more importantly, the manufacturer has applied for N95 certification, and that NIOSH application is pending. All of the documents in support of certification are linked on the AccuMed website. I would feel even more comfortable if the N95 certification were already granted. But again, what I should have done in 2019 was gone to the hardware store and bought a NIOSH-approved mask. I didn’t, so now I have to make the best of the situation. This mask has met the KN95 requirements, which makes it at least as good as the previous mask I purchased. And it’s made in the USA, which in my opinion makes it better. And it seems likely to me that it will meet the N95 requirements. At such time as it is certified, I suspect it might become unavailable for purchase. So it seemed to me that now was the time to buy.

I tried this mask on at home, and I made one trip to the post office with it. My initial reaction is that it is a good product.

It is smaller than my previous Chinese mask. As far as I know, all N95 masks have straps that go over the head, so that one is worn at the crown of the head, and the other one at the neck. Most of the KN95 masks have ear loops. In my opinion, the head bands make the mask much more comfortable, since it’s not constantly pulling on the ears.

This mask is smaller than my previous Chinese mask. That does make it somewhat more difficult to put on and take off. However, the straps, even though a bit tight, were still comfortable. More importantly, they ensured a tight seal against my skin. Once I had the mask on, it took very little adjustment to make a tight seal. The Chinese mask, even though it did make a seal, required more adjustment to get it just right. (With both masks, it is quite obvious that there is a seal, since I can see the material bellow in and out with each breath.) I did a self-test, and there were no leaks around the edges.

The smaller size also means that it’s a better fit for children. Both of my kids (14 and 16 years old) were not able to get a good seal with the Chinese mask. With this mask, the seal is much better, and when they breathe, the mask fabric visibly bellows in and out.

Just as soon as it becomes possible, I plan to walk in to the friendly neighborhood hardware store and buy myself an N95 mask that rolled of the assembly lines of the 3M corporation. You can even view them on Amazon today, where you are told that civilians aren’t allowed to buy them, even if they had any. But I suspect it will be a long time before I’m able to buy one. I’m reminded of the line from Alas Babylon where one character opines that he’ll probably never be able to buy gasoline in his lifetime.

Eventually, they’ll be back in stock at the hardware store, and at that time, I plan on stocking up. But in the meantime, the AccuMed BNX Model A96 appears to be the best choice.

Note: Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site receives a small commission if you place an order after clicking on the link.

Cub Foods Grocery Pickup Review

During the pandemic, my family is minimizing as much as possible direct contact with others. We’re staying home, going out only when necessary, and staying away from other people when we do go out. To purchase groceries and other items, we’re ordering online. Earlier this week, I reviewed our experiences with Walmart pickup.

Today, we picked up an order from a local supermarket chain, Cub Foods. We had to chose a pickup slot about five days out. We placed a small order initially, and kept adding to it during the week. For our Walmart order, we had to make any final changes about 12 hours before the pickup time. With Cub, we were able to make changes up until the last minute.

When our order was being shopped, we received a text alerting us. We were able to log in to the app (or to the website, which I used) and chat directly with the person doing the shopping. When a product was out of stock, we were given a suggestion for a replacement product which we could either accept or decline. In a couple of cases, she texted us and asked for our choice.

A few items (rice, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper) were completely out of stock, and we were informed. We were informed when she was finished, and at the store, we alerted them that we were there using the app. The employee loaded the groceries into our car, with no personal contact needed. Unlike at Walmart, we didn’t need to sign in, and it was possible to stay back several feet.

One big advantage of Cub was that the whole pickup took place without any close contact with the employee. We opened the door, and he loaded the groceries. At Walmart, there was the additional step of having to sign for the order on a small tablet computer, meaning that there was some chance of contamination. Update: As of March 25, Walmart is no longer requiring you to sign for the order. At Cub, you identify your car on the app (including the license number), so there is no need to sign personally. The employee simply comes out to the right car and delivers your groceries.

Walmart had two advantages over Cub. First of all, it was possible to get a slot slightly sooner. It appears that slots open up at midnight (local time, I’m guessing) and you can make reservations for the next day. It appears that with Cub, you need to make the reservation about five days out. Also, with Walmart, it appears that you can purchase any item in the store. So if you need items such as hardware, electronics, or even clothing, Walmart would be the best option. Since Cub is a grocery store, you’re limited to mostly groceries. (However, like any major supermarket, Cub always has a small selection of non-grocery items.) Also, Walmart has somewhat lower prices overall.

Despite those advantages of Walmart, we preferred Cub. Being able to communicate with the shopper with respect to substitutions was a very nice touch. If you think of an item at the last minute, you can add it in.

At Walmart, most of the substitutions were very reasonable, and we did have the opportunity to reject them. But there was no mechanism to ask for a different replacement. With Cub, that was possible. At Walmart, you reject any substitutions when you’re picking up your order, with no opportunity to get a different replacement.

To chat with the shopper while your order is being filled, you of course have to be available online at the right time. When life gets back to normal, perhaps that will be difficult. For the time being, though, that’s not a problem.

Of course, unlike at Walmart, nobody crashed into our car when we were picking up items at Cub. But that’s hardly the store’s fault. We’ll probably use Walmart again if we’re in more of a hurry or need non-grocery items. Their service was very good. But for most of our grocery needs during this crisis, we’ll probably rely on Cub.

Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site gets a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on the link. The links to Cub, however, are not affiliate links, and we are not compensated if you use them..

Walmart Grocery Pickup Review

During the pandemic, my family wants to keep to an absolute minimum our direct interaction with others. If they’re infected, I don’t want to catch it. And just as important, if I’m infected, I don’t want to spread it to them. To minimize the amount of shopping we need to do, I’ve decided to alternate between online orders at local stores, and Amazon orders. I think we have enough supplies for the duration, but it’s nice to maintain our normal diet, including things such as fresh milk and bread.

Today, I picked up our first Walmart order, which was more or less a normal weekly grocery order, including milk bread, soft drinks, and canned goods. We happened to need some superglue, so we added it to the order, showing that you can order anything in the store.

I placed the original order online on Friday afternoon, and picked it up today (Monday). This was the earliest slot available, so the process does require some planning. As of today, no slots were available, and the website asked me to check later. So perhaps this is our one and only order. At the very least, the process does require some planning. However, once you reserve the slot and place the order, you are able to add and remove items from the order, up to about 12 hours before the pickup time.

Update: The Walmart site seems to have changed since I posted this. You can now make reservations only for “today” and “tomorrow.” The best bet seems to be to check the site right after midnight. For example, if you check at midnight Monday night/Tuesday morning, you’ll be able to reserve a slot for Wednesday.

Today, I received an e-mail telling me that my order was ready. The e-mail instructed me to check in on their app to let them know I was on the way, so I installed the app on my tablet. It turns out, however, that this is unnecessary. You can simply proceed to the store, park in the designated area, and then call from your car to the number posted there.

A couple of minutes after calling, the Walmart associate came out with our order and loaded it into the car. It was a well organized process. Our bags were in tubs labeled with my name. I noticed that some were marked “cold,” and some “ambient.” I apologized for not helping her load it, but I explained that I didn’t want to risk contaminating her. I did have to sign on a small tablet computer. Update: As of March 25, you no longer need to sign for the order. I was able to stand back 6+ feet the entire time. I got out my hand sanitizer, and sanitized my hands immediately after doing so.

When placing the order, I was able to select whether I would be willing to accept a substitution for items. Some items were out of stock, and I received a substitute item. In most cases, the substitute was a slightly different brand, size, or flavor. For example, they were out of the two-pound package of white cheddar cheese, so I received two one-pound packages of sharp cheddar, for one cent less than my original order.

The only case where the substitute wasn’t useful was our order of a spray can of Lysol (which we were ordering for a neighbor). In the case, they gave us Febreeze, which really wasn’t useful. However, the choices were e-mailed to us, and we had the option of removing the item. I told the associate that if it was difficult, not to bother, but she quickly found the item, scanned it in, and we were credited for the amount.

We ordered a package of toilet paper and were hopeful that we would get it, but it was out of stock and no substitution was available. We also ordered a container of Ensure for an elderly friend, but it was also unavailable.

Overall, the process worked very well. If it remains available during the current national emergency, we’ll definitely make use of it again.

The only glitch was, upon leaving, another customer backed into my car. Despite what sounded like a loud crunching sound, it left only a small dent in the rear door. I’m sure if I took it to a body shop and let them know the other driver’s insurance would pick up the tab, they would gladly replace the door for hundreds of dollars. On the other hand, it’s a twelve year old car, and I doubt if I’ll pursue the matter.

In the car, I had a pencil and sheet of paper, so I tore it in half, wrote my information on one half, and then had the other driver do the same. When she was finished, I had her keep the pencil. She was apologetic, and in better times, I would have shaken hands before we left. In the time of pandemic, we just went our ways.

Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site gets a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on the link.

Product Review: Walmart Equate Plus Nutritional Shake

Update: This page was written pre-COVID, and in the intervening years, only the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors are available.

As I’ve previously recounted, I was quite sick just over a year ago and was hospitalized. In the process, I lost a lot of weight, and needed something to provide easy nutrition. As a result, I became something of a connoisseur of nutritional drinks, the most familiar brand names being Ensure and Boost. These products are designed to partially replace part of one’s normal diet. They generally contain a warning that you shouldn’t use them as your sole source of nutrition without consulting your physician, but they are a good supplement to ensure you’re getting adequate calories and nutrition. Most, for example, provide about 350 calories.

As I discovered, some tasted better than others. My health has recovered, and I guess there’s really no medical need for the added nutrition. But I like them, and they make an extremely convenient breakfast if I’m in a hurry. The 350 calories keep me going even if I don’t have a chance to eat anything else. They’re now part of my routine.

The major brand names tasted OK, but I also sampled some of the store brands. Initially, the Walgreen’s store brand was my preferred choice. Unfortunately, however, at some point they changed the formula. The old version’s label stated that it provided 25 vitamins. The new label proudly proclaimed that it now had 26 vitamins. Unfortunately, the changed formula didn’t taste as good. So I had to do more shopping, and tried the Walmart store brand.

Initially, I was a bit disappointed. I bought the chocolate, and it wasn’t quite as good as the Walgreen’s brand. It’s hard to articulate, but something about the chocolate flavor seemed a bit artificial, and the overall experience wasn’t as “smooth” a taste as I wanted. Fortunately, however, I decided to try some of the other flavors.

My favorite was the mocha flavor. If you like coffee, you’ll like this flavor. The addition of the coffee flavor brings back the “smoothness” that was missing in the plain chocolate. In fact, if you ordered an iced mocha at Starbucks and they served you one of these, you would be quite satisfied.

I also enjoy the strawberry and banana flavors. It’s also available in vanilla, but I haven’t had a chance to try that flavor yet. While they can be consumed at room temperature, they are best served chilled. Refrigeration of the unopened bottle is not necessary, so they’re handy to keep a few on hand.

If you’re looking for a product with fewer calories, the Walmart brand, as well as most of the other brands, offer an “Original” version. The “Plus” version is 350 calories, but the “Original” version is 220. Look for the words “Plus” or “Original” on the label, or glance at the Nutrition Facts label to make sure you’re getting the 350 calorie version.

I much prefer the Walmart store brand to the name brands. As an added bonus, as you might have guessed, the store brand is also cheaper. Tastes may vary, but if you or a loved one have been prescribed a nutritional drink, you’ll want to consider trying this less expensive store brand. In addition to saving a little money, you very well could prefer it. And if you’re a busy person and might occasionally miss a meal, it’s not a bad idea to keep one in the back of the fridge, or even in your desk at work, to quickly give you the nutrition to keep going.

And while one of these products is too expensive to buy in bulk for emergency food storage, it might fill a niche, and keeping some on hand for emergency preparedness purposes might be prudent.

Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on the link.

Product Review: GPX Model R300S AM-FM Portable Armband Radio

I recently acquired the inexpensive radio shown here, a GPX Portable Armband Radio, model number R300S. I bought it at Walmart, and it’s also available at Amazon. It’s a very inexpensive AM-FM radio, but of astonishingly good quality for the price. It measures about 4 by 2 by 1 inches. It has a digital tuner with LCD display, and also features an alarm clock which displays the time when the radio is turned off. The WalMart product description incorrectly states that it has an analog tuning control. Instead, it has plus and minus buttons that you use to tune the digital display up and down the dial. It comes with an armband, although this can be removed to turn it into a nice pocket-sized radio. It does not have a speaker, but has a stereo headphone jack and comes with a set of earbuds.

I didn’t use them, but the radio does have a number of preset memories. I simply used the up-and-down tuning and didn’t bother with the memories.

The Need for a Cheap Receiver

I purchased it from Walmart because I needed it quickly and didn’t have time to order online. My pastor will be traveling to Africa to visit a remote congregation with which we partner. Our denomination also helps sponsor an FM radio station in the closest city. I do not know whether it is possible to receive the signal at “our” church in the remote village. Therefore, I wanted her to do a test to see if it’s possible. If she is able to receive even a weak signal, then it will be an easy matter to send some solar radios and perhaps an external antenna so that they can listen on a regular basis.

Therefore, I had to quickly find a suitable radio that I could send with her. And despite all of the radios I have lying around the house, I didn’t have exactly the right thing. It needed to meet the following criteria:

It had to be small. I’m sure her suitcase will be packed to the brim, not only with her personal belongings, but with other gifts to leave.
It had to have digital tuning. The person doing the experiment for me is not a radio expert. To do the experiment, the radio needs to be set to the exact frequency, and then moved around to see if any signal comes up out of the noise. This wouldn’t be possible with an analog dial.
It had to be relatively cheap.
It had to be sensitive. I’m unsure of the exact distance, but the station we want to receive is miles away, and only puts out 1 kW. Therefore, it had to be a good tuner. Selectivity probably isn’t important, since there will be few, if any, other FM signals.

I found the GPX R300S at WalMart for about $8. It met the first three criteria, and I hoped against hope that it would meet the fourth. It was in stock at the local WalMart store, so I ordered online and picked it up at the store about an hour later while doing some other shopping.

Surprisingly Good on Both AM and FM

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is an extremely good tuner on both AM and FM. I only had time to play with it for a few minutes, but it did pull in all of the local FM stations, even weak ones, with no difficulty. If any commercial receiver is going to pull in the station we want to hear, then this one probably will. If it gets absolutely nothing, then I’m satisfied that a more expensive receiver won’t, at least without a high antenna.

It wasn’t necessary for this particular experiment, but I was also astonished at how good an AM receiver this set is. Unfortunately, in most cheap radios these days, the AM receiver is tossed in as an afterthought (if it’s included at all), and is only able to pick up the strongest local stations. I did the test at night, and was astonished to see that the radio was pulling in something on almost every 10 kHz channel. I was able to positively ID WSM Nashville and KFAB Omaha from my Minnesota location. Those stations are obviously powerhouses, but in my experience, most cheap AM receivers these days are not able to pull them in. The internal AM antenna was very directional, and I was able to easily null out signals by turning the radio.

Selectivity was also remarkably good for such an inexpensive set. Local 50 kilowatt blowtorch WCCO is on 830 kHz, and on many cheap radios spills over onto the adjacent channel. But I was able to hear another station faintly on 840, with no sign of interference from WCCO.

Has 100 kHz Tuning Steps on FM, But Only 10 kHz Steps on AM

The station we want to hear in Africa is on FM, so the AM performance wasn’t necessary for my test. But it was amazing how well it worked on that band. Unfortunately, the radio tunes only in 10 kHz steps, covering the AM band in the Americas, where all stations’ frequencies end in zero. Unfortunately, in the Eastern Hemisphere, stations are 9 kHz apart. Some frequencies are used in common, e.g., 540, 630, 720, etc. And some stations will be off by only 1 kHz, e.g., 549, 621, 639, etc. But some stations will be off by as much as 5 kHz, e.g., 585, 675, etc., and will be very difficult to tune. This is one case where an analog tuner would be better. I suspect it’s probably possible to modify this receiver to tune in 9 kHz steps. After all, they probably sell a similar version elsewhere in the world. But the instruction manual didn’t hint at any method of doing this.

The station we need to tune in happens to be on a frequency that is also used in the Americas. In other words, it’s on an “odd” frequency following the 200 kHz separation band plan, namely 96.7. Therefore, any North American receiver would have worked. This radio, however, does tune in 100 kHz steps and includes the “even” frequencies, such as 96.8, that are also used in the Eastern Hemisphere. Therefore, it will be able to tune in all local stations.

Usefulness in Rural Africa

I told my pastor to leave the radio as a gift with someone in Africa, since there’s no good reason for the set to make a round trip. If it’s not useful in the village where our partner congregation is located, it will certainly be useful in the city, where there are a number of FM stations, and she’ll have an opportunity to leave it there. The AM stations are more distant, and hopefully the radio will be able to pull at least some of them in at night. I noticed one of them in the nation’s capital was on a frequency ending in zero, so it least it will be able to pick up that one at night. The radio also contains an alarm clock, and I set it to the Eastern Africa time zone.

Unfortunately, it won’t be of much use after the batteries run out. It uses two AAA cells. It’s unlikely that those are available in the village. They almost certainly are available in the city, but I’m not sure at what price. I included two extra sets of batteries, which I assume will allow it to work for a few months of listening an hour or two a day. A solar radio would be much more suitable, and if we send any in the future, that’s what I will use.

Bottom Line

Most of the online reviews are favorable, but a few are not. So it’s possible that quality control is not the greatest, and that some units do not perform as well as mine. But for the low price, it’s certainly worth the risk. For the price, the GPX model R300S Portable Armband Radio is a very solid performer. If you need a cheap radio that still pulls in both AM and FM stations well, this radio is what you need.

Note: Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on the link.

Review of Keystone School Credit Recovery

US Gov’t image.

My son’s high school freshman year didn’t include stellar grades. In fact, it included failing his geography class. There were two causes of this. The major cause was the traditional reason, namely, a failure to apply himself. He might have squeaked by with a passing grade, but when he finally handed in quality work, the teacher was already convinced that he was incapable of quality work. So she accused him of cheating, even though she admitted that she couldn’t prove it. Since she couldn’t prove it, she instead gave him poor grades, meaning that the average score for the course was still a failing grade. As a result, he had to make up the course over the summer.

One option, of course, was to send him to summer school. Logistically, this wasn’t a convenient option for us. And there was still a chance that subjective grading would keep him from passing the course. Therefore, after some research, we settled upon The Keystone School, which offers a number of “credit recovery” courses. The school, even though it is apparently accredited in Pennsylvania, does not actually offer the credit itself. Instead, before enrollment, an official from his home school, in his case, the counselor, has to sign the application. Keystone School then reports the scores to the home school, and the home school changes the grade from an F to a grade of P, a passing grade. The school agreed that this was a suitable option, and signed the application.

We were a bit hesitant, since many of the online reviews I saw were rather poor. Many of the criticisms in these reviews were justified, but for our purposes, the course actually served us quite well. For families in different situations, those shortcomings could prove to be very frustrating, so please use caution before registering.

The school’s course catalog can be found at this link. The course my son took was entitled “Geography Online Credit Recovery Grades 9-12,” and the tuition was $155 for two semester credits. It was also possible to take one semester credit for $116. The course goes quite fast, so I’m glad I paid for both credits at the same time.

There were many technical glitches with the course. In fact, he was never able to view some portions of it. I suspect we would have eventually figured out how to view all of the material, as we probably needed to update some of the software on our computer. For example, most of the lessons included at least a few videos and Flash presentations that we never were able to open.

The bulk of the lessons consisted of slides similar to the one shown at the left. These are interspersed with videos, links to other websites, and the various Flash plugins that we weren’t able to view. Fortunately, most, but not all, of the missing elements had a PDF transcript that he could open, which contained the same information. These actually proved to be more convenient, since the text could be searched when taking the open-book quizzes.

For some students, the missing elements might have caused a major problem. It’s likely that problem could have been solved by updating our software, but in my son’s case, having the missing items wasn’t a major problem.

This is because the course is set up so that the student takes a quiz for each unit before reviewing that unit. Each quiz can be taken up to three times, and the student is instructed to take it the first time as a pre-test for the unit. If the student passes the quiz (it appears that 70% is the passing score), then the student simply moves on to the next unit.

With one exception, my son passed all of the quizzes (usually with a score of 90% or 100%) on the first try. Therefore, he was never required to actually review the lessons. However, for many of the chapters, he did open the lessons and quickly review them. (The method for doing this was somewhat counter-intuitive. From the course main page, he had to click on “Start Here,” and then on “Table of Contents.” From the table of contents, he had to right click on the unit he wanted to view, and then open that unit in a new tab. For some reason, it didn’t work to open the lessons by left clicking.) He usually had one or more tabs open with the course materials, with the open book quiz in another tab. He was able to answer most of the questions from his prior knowledge (much of it presumably learned in the class he failed). Other questions required him to regurgitate material from the lessons, so he would search for the material in the other tab.

Most questions were relevant, but quite a few were somewhat confusing. A few of the answers were simply wrong, such as the one below. But he picked the least wrong answer, which turned out to be the right answer. (Thailand is not east of Cambodia):

Over the course of about a month, my son passed the course (with a score in the high 90’s). He probably learned a few things (such as the true location of Thailand in relation to Cambodia), but more importantly, the school will accept the credits and change his grade from failing to passing. The technical glitches weren’t a problem, because he used the Keystone course essentially only to “test out” of the subject. If he needed to actually learn something from the course, it wouldn’t have worked very well. But despite the shortcomings, it was vastly superior to bringing him to summer school, and the $155 was well spent.

Review of XioNiu Hand Crank Generator

When I placed another Amazon order, I decided to try one of these little hand crank generators. The XioNiu Hand Crank Generator is designed for use in an emergency to charge USB devices. The cost was so low, that I couldn’t really resist. You can see the current price at the Amazon link below. I believe it’s eligible for free Prime shipping. I got free shipping by combining it with a larger order:

It does work as advertised (at least until it gets broken), but you need to understand its limitations. The product is really more of a novelty than something that is particularly useful. I received it from China a couple of weeks after ordering it. The one I ordered was broken. I requested an exchange, which prompted a few e-mail exchanges from the seller in China. The seller didn’t want me to bother sending it back, and offered me a refund. I asked for a replacement rather than the refund, but the seller didn’t seem interested. The link I ordered from didn’t have any reviews, but I found another link for what appears to be the identical product, and a good portion of them seem to arrive broken. So it looks like the XioNiu factory has some quality control issues they need to resolve.

Finally, I agreed to a refund, and it was applied to my Amazon account promptly. Rather than throwing it away, I gave it to my son and asked him whether he could repair it.

Amazingly, he was able to fix it, at least for a while. The actual generator was slightly out of line inside the case, and didn’t connect to the gears attached to the crank. My son simply set it back in place and it started working. In the process, however, the plastic into which the screws go broke off, and we had to put the case back together with electrical tape. And after working for a day, it must have gotten jostled and stopped working again. He’ll probably be able to repair it again, although I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.

There is a small red LED on the outside of the case which comes on when the crank is turned. This light is very small and red, so it’s not particularly useful as a flashlight. But in a pinch, it does provide some light, so if you’re trapped in utter darkness, you’ll at least have enough light to find your other flashlight.

The USB charger does seem to work. It would probably take forever to fully charge a device, but at least it would provide enough juice to make a call or two in an emergency situation.

Overall, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to keep one or two of these at home, and toss one into your vehicle or desk drawer at work. It does perform its intended function, assuming you get one that’s not broken. However, I wouldn’t want to rely upon one of these as my sole source of electric power in an emergency. Even though it works, it is cheaply made, and won’t last forever. Indeed, as my experience shows, it might not even survive being mailed here from China.

This charger contains a USB socket, so you will need the cable to connect to your phone or other device. I wouldn’t want to rely upon this charger in an emergency, but it is infinitely better than nothing. You probably have a phone and the connecting cable. Eventually, the battery will go dead, and this charger would at least allow you to use it for a few minutes.

If you’re thinking about making more serious preparations for a power outage, see my earlier post and some of the others linked to it. If you’re just looking for a good quality crank charger for your phone or other device, then I recommend the Midland Emergency Radio shown here. It’s larger and more expensive, but it seems to be very well made. It is first and foremost a radio, and a quite good one, pulling in all local AM and FM stations as well as any portable. At night, it does receive distant AM stations very well. It has a NOAA weather radio, and includes the alert feature, meaning that you can set it to sound an alarm in case of a severe weather warning. The flashlight is also excellent. It contains a built-in battery which can be charged in three ways. To keep it topped off before an emergency, you just need to occasionally plug it into a USB adapter. It also has a solar panel, so it should maintain its charge just with normal daylight. And it does have a hand crank that seems a lot more reliable than the cheap Chinese one I tried.

If you don’t mind taking it apart and fixing it occasionally, then by all means get one of the cheap hand crank generators shown at the top of the page. And it looks like many buyers luck out and get a working one, so it might be worth taking your chances. I would imagine that some of them are working when they arrive, and it is a good concept. However, this particular model is simply unreliable for emergency use, and should only be considered as an additional backup if your basic needs are already met.

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Phono for Dubbing Your Old 78’s

For those seeking to convert their 78 RPM records to a digital format, this product seems to fit the bill. I haven’t had an opportunity to try it, but this Victrola model V50-200-BLU turntable stands out as about the only modern turntable I’ve seen that will play 78 RPM records. Of course, it’s possible to use your vintage phonograph and run the audio into your computer’s sound card. But this is probably the only 78 RPM phonograph ever made with a USB connection to go directly to your computer.

Even if you use the unit to copy just a few old 78’s, the low price makes it worthwhile. It is available at Amazon. The set also includes CD player, AM-FM radio, and serves as a Bluetooth speaker.

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Product Review: Wise Food Storage “Savory Stroganoff”

One of this site’s advertisers is Wise Food Storage, who recently sent me a free sample to review. The company supplies dehydrated food for emergency food storage, camping, and backpacking. On their website, they sell mostly packages consisting of assortments of food, such as the package shown below, which is billed as providing enough food for two people for 72 hours:

THe sample I was sent was a single meal, namely their “Savory Stoganoff.”

I was initially a bit skeptical, since my experience has been that most suppliers of “survival” food seem to charge a considerably higher price than one would pay for comparable items at the supermarket. In many cases, they hide the higher price by making inflated claims as to how long the product will last. For example, some companies offer a “30 day supply” of food, but if you look carefully, you realize that you would be eating starvation rations for those thirty days.

It was refreshing to see that Wise doesn’t follow this same practice, and the claims on their website are reasonable. A normal diet consists of about 2000 calories per day. You can certainly survive on less, but if you want to replicate a normal diet as much as possible during an emergency, you should plan on having about that many calories per day per person. And Wise seems to use honest figures on their website. For example, the 72 Hour Kit for 2 People shown above supplies over 13,000 calories, which is indeed enough to feed two people for three days, with their normal caloric intake. In fact, with a bit of scrimping, it would probably last even longer than advertised. It is refreshing to see a company that didn’t fall into the trap of making exaggerated claims. As you shop around, you might see lower prices. But before you buy, make sure you’re really getting the number of days’ supply that the company is claiming. In Wise’s case, you are. In the case of some other suppliers, you are not.

I’m not normally a fan of “kits” for food storage. From a price point of view, you’re probably better off buying normal food from the supermarket. You’ll know that they are items you like to eat, the cost will be lower, and the supermarket has many items that can be stored for a long period of time, especially if you rotate them into your family’s normal diet. On my food storage basics page, I have ideas for emergency food storage using items available at any supermarket.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for buying a well thought out “kit.” You know that everything is optimized for long-term storage and minimal preparation. And there’s something reassuring about looking at a single container and knowing that it will give you enough food to eat for X days. I wouldn’t recommend a kit as your family’s sole source of emergency food, but they do have their place. In addition to Wise’s 72 Hour Kit, they have a variety of other similar assortments. such as a 1 Month Emergency Food Supply for 1 Person – 56 Servings and a 2 Week supply geared for backpackers. Again, you can probably put similar kits together yourself at a somewhat lower price, but for some people, the convenience is worth it.

Package of Savory Stroganoff being reviewed.

Wise’s website doesn’t seem to sell individual meals, but they are available from WalMart. For example, you can purchase a single package of the “Savory Stroganoff” reviewed here. The price is quite reasonable, and you can order online and have it delivered to a local WalMart, so there is no shipping cost.

The Savory Stroganoff I reviewed exceeded my expectations. I wouldn’t describe it as a gourmet meal, but it was reasonably good tasting, easy to prepare, and would be quite adequate during an emergency or while camping. The nine-ounce package was billed as having a storage life of 25 years. It was packaged in a heavy plastic pouch with an oxygen absorber inside (and I’ll say more about the oxygen absorber in a moment). According to the nutrition facts, the package supplies four servings of 250 calories each. In other words, the one package contains a thousand calories, or about half of one person’s caloric needs for the day. We did feed four people lunch using the one pouch, and the meal was filling. Each serving contains 45 grams of carbohydrates, 4.5 grams of fat, and 7 grams of protein, so it’s a reasonably well balanced meal by itself. The vitamin content is relatively low, supplying 0% of the daily requirement of vitamin A, 2% of the daily requirement of vitamin C, 8% of the calcium, and 8% of the iron. During a short-term emergency, vitamin deficiency isn’t an issue, but those planning for a longer-term emergency would be well advised to include some multivitamin tablets if relying on this kind of storage food.

The main ingredient is the pasta, along with nondairy creamer and textured vegetable protein. You can view the full list of ingredients and nutrition facts at the WalMart website.

Preparation was very straightforward, and we followed the instructions on the package exactly. You start by boiling four cups of water, turning off the heat, and then adding the contents of the package to the boiling water. We used the stove, but the water could be boiled by any emergency heat source. Since the only actual cooking is the boiling of the water, there’s really nothing that can go wrong. You simply cover the pot and wait 12-15 minutes.

The glitch in the instructions was that it didn’t mention the oxygen absorber inside, so we wound up pouring it into the boiling water, where we had to fish it out. But other than this oversight, the instructions were self-explanatory.

After 15 minutes, you remove the cover, and let it stand for another 2-3 minutes. We used a normal kitchen pan, but any container with a lid could be used. In an emergency, to minimize the amount of cleanup, I would boil the water in one container, and then “cook” the food in some kind of disposable container.

The completed Stroganoff.

The finished product didn’t look particularly appealing. Perhaps it would have looked better if we had let it sit a while longer, but it was rather watery. It looked more like a thick soup than Stroganoff. It was best served in a cup or bowl and eaten with a spoon.

However, it tasted quite good, and neither my wife and I nor our kids had any complaints. It did not have the “dehydrated” taste that I feared it would have. It tasted like noodles and sauce. There was a bit of seasoning–I noticed that the ingredients included dried onions. However, it was rather bland, and adding a little bit of salt and pepper improved it considerably. My daughter added a little bit of Knorr chicken bouillon, and she reported that this made it taste quite good. So my main advice if you’re going to rely on prepackaged items like this, it would be a good idea to also include familiar seasonings.

In summary, the stroganoff tasted better than I expected without a “freeze dried” taste, and was more reasonably priced than I expected. It’s more expensive than comparable supermarket items, but much less expensive than comparable items billed as “survival” or “backpacking” food. I probably won’t order one of Wise’s food “kits,” but I’ll probably purchase a few packages of the stroganoff and other meals to keep in the camper, or just to keep in the house for times when a relatively quick meal is needed.

Full Disclosure: The product reviewed was supplied to me free of charge by Wise Compnay, one of this website’s advertisers, in exchange for an honest review. All product links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on the links and purchase the product, I will receive an advertising fee.

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