My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 30, 2012

With a recent 2012 report that we have a case of West Nile Virus close to home here in Ohio, this “how-to make insect repellant” post from The Boat Galley is timely. Check out the full article here or some of the article below.

Store the mix in a dark plastic bottle so it won’t degrade.  If you can’t find a dark bottle, just cover a clear one with duct tape.   I found that using an old (well-rinsed out) shampoo worked well as it had a small opening for pouring the repellant out. I also tried putting it in an old window cleaner bottle with a spray nozzle so that we could spray it on. However,  pouring a bit out from the shampoo bottle and then rubbing it on seemed to work better for us, probably because we used more of the mix, so I wouldn’t worry about trying to find a spray bottle.

Now, on to the formula.  The mixture should be 5 to 10% essential oil(s) and the rest the “carrier” oil or alcohol.  So, to make a reasonable quantity:

1 fluid ounce essential oil(s) — total of all oils (this is 2 tablespoons, or 30 ml)

9 to 19 fluid ounces carrier oil or alcohol (1-1/8 cup to 2-3/8 cups)

I opted to make it on the strong side and used 1-1/4 cups of carrier, which made a total of 1-3/8 cups of the mix (11 ounces).

Make Your Own Insect Repellant

Store the mix in a dark plastic bottle so it won’t degrade.  If you can’t find a dark bottle, just cover a clear one with duct tape.   I found that using an old (well-rinsed out) shampoo worked well as it had a small opening for pouring the repellant out. I also tried putting it in an old window cleaner bottle with a spray nozzle so that we could spray it on. However,  pouring a bit out from the shampoo bottle and then rubbing it on seemed to work better for us, probably because we used more of the mix, so I wouldn’t worry about trying to find a spray bottle.

Now, on to the formula.  The mixture should be 5 to 10% essential oil(s) and the rest the “carrier” oil or alcohol.  So, to make a reasonable quantity:

1 fluid ounce essential oil(s) — total of all oils (this is 2 tablespoons, or 30 ml)

9 to 19 fluid ounces carrier oil or alcohol (1-1/8 cup to 2-3/8 cups)

I opted to make it on the strong side and used 1-1/4 cups of carrier, which made a total of 1-3/8 cups of the mix (11 ounces).

What essential oil(s) to use?  It depends on what you need protection against:

• citronella oil (no-see-ums, mosquitoes and biting flies)
• cinnamon oil (mosquitoes)
• lemon eucalyptus or regular eucalyptus oil (mosquitoes, ticks, and lice)
• castor oil (mosquitoes)
• sweet orange oil (fleas)
• rose geranium (ticks and lice)

IMPORTANT:  With all of these,  you need the highly concentrated “essential” oil.  For example, you can get “citronella oil” for Tiki lights in lots of places.  But that’s not what you need — it’s already been diluted (and with things you probably don’t want to rub on your skin).

Carrier oil or alcohol (choose one or a combination):

• olive oil, sunflower oil or any other cooking oil
• witch hazel
• vodka

Just pour the essential oil and the carrier into the dark bottle you’ll store it in, cap it and shake to mix.  If you prefer a “gel” consistency, you can mix in some aloe vera gel — but be aware that you’re cutting the concentration of the essential oil.

You can either rub it on or spray it on.  Apply about once an hour or more often if you’re swimming or sweating a lot.

And one final related note:  If you need to replace — or make — a no-see-um screen, it can be hard to find the material.  Try bridal veil material, which you can find in most moderate-sized towns.

Full article: http://theboatgalley.com/noseeum-repellant/

What essential oil(s) to use?  It depends on what you need protection against:

• citronella oil (no-see-ums, mosquitoes and biting flies)
• cinnamon oil (mosquitoes)
• lemon eucalyptus or regular eucalyptus oil (mosquitoes, ticks, and lice)
• castor oil (mosquitoes)
• sweet orange oil (fleas)
• rose geranium (ticks and lice)

IMPORTANT:  With all of these,  you need the highly concentrated “essential” oil.  For example, you can get “citronella oil” for Tiki lights in lots of places.  But that’s not what you need — it’s already been diluted (and with things you probably don’t want to rub on your skin).

Carrier oil or alcohol (choose one or a combination):

• olive oil, sunflower oil or any other cooking oil
• witch hazel
• vodka

Just pour the essential oil and the carrier into the dark bottle you’ll store it in, cap it and shake to mix.  If you prefer a “gel” consistency, you can mix in some aloe vera gel — but be aware that you’re cutting the concentration of the essential oil.

You can either rub it on or spray it on.  Apply about once an hour or more often if you’re swimming or sweating a lot.

And one final related note:  If you need to replace — or make — a no-see-um screen, it can be hard to find the material.  Try bridal veil material, which you can find in most moderate-sized towns.

Full article: http://theboatgalley.com/noseeum-repellant/

Category: Advice, How-To, News, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: advice, bug, How-To, repellant, spray, virus

Posted By RichC on July 29, 2012

When did Americans become so critical of free enterprise and capitalism? Either they have been blinded by those who have socialist philosophical views or they have seen “free market capitalism” turn to “crony capitalism” in recent years.

… capitalism is the best thing that has ever happened to the material condition of the human race. From the dawn of history until the 18th century, every society in the world was impoverished, with only the thinnest film of wealth on top. Then came capitalism and the Industrial Revolution.  Everywhere that capitalism subsequently took hold, national wealth began to increase and poverty began to fall. Everywhere that capitalism didn’t take hold, people remained impoverished. Everywhere that capitalism has been rejected since then, poverty has increased.

LINK

Remember the above when you walk into the voting booth this November and let’s fix the problem with our capitalist system (the crony capitalism part) … and not pick a path that history has proven repeatedly fails and immiserates the masses.

What we hear nowadays is a war of words from the media — the political left and the  right have opposing views on how to best revive our economy and create jobs –– liberals want bigger government, more regulation and growth in entitlements requiring more taxes; the conservatives want  smaller government,  fewer regulations, more individual responsibility … as well as across the board lower taxes trusting the earner to spend wiser than our goverment.  One would think that a look to history gives a clear cut answer, since it wasn’t until individuals were given the freedom “from” oppressive governments and their heavy taxes that the American experiment was tried. With this new found democracy,  innovation advanced and gave a chance for individuals to capitalize on their own work. That said,  I recognize that capitalism works best when our government representatives are not tied to (or in the pockets of)  corporations, powerful individuals or groups such as unions. Thankfully, we as individuals still have the ultimate control … one person, one vote.  The less dependent we can be on government and the smaller the government’s influence on business, the better it will be  for the country and ALL our citizens. A functioning free market capitalist system is the best way to improve the quality of life of all citizens, so let’s reignite the spirit that founded this country and embrace capitalism once again.

Category: Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: capitalism, election, government, Politics, socialism

Posted By RichC on July 28, 2012

Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Category: Misc, Video | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By RichC on July 27, 2012

I spend a few hours each day focused on trading and inventing and have been regularly asked about my opinion on buying Facebook stock. My reply has often been that it is a great company and is one of the leaders (if not “thee” leader) in social networking, but Mr. Zuckerberg and Company hasn’t figured out a way to make enough money to support their $38/share IPO stock price.  After a strong  couple of days for the broad market due to indications that the U.S. Fed and European central bankers plan to infuse more money into the markets, Facebook stock (FB) continued to close down … not a positive sign.

Another valuation analysis came late in the afternoon from Dan Niles at Alpha One Capital who compared Facebook to Google and detailed the numbers. He convinced me that unless Zuckerberg can come up with a way to generate income from mobile ads, FB is still over priced at $23.70. (CNBC Video below)

Category: Financial, Social Media, Video-TV | 1 Comment »
Tags: cnbc, dan niles, facebook, investing

Posted By RichC on July 27, 2012

Peter Fisher, the head of Blackrock Global‘s fixed income, made a few observations this morning regarding economic slowness worldwide. One of the important conclusions that I’ve been hearing from experienced voices is that the U.S. is the safest bet when securing capital and inching out returns. In other words, investors globally move to the security of U.S. based companies, dollars and bonds as they are perceived as the “least” risky worldwide.

CNBC (mp3) — Peter Fisher, Blackrock Global