Archive for June, 2012

Ep 126: Bugout Home Update

Sorry I haven’t had a chance to publish much on the net lately.  It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks with several long drives.  Anyway, I wanted to give you an update on what I’ve been doing, and I’ve been VERY busy.

Since I finished teaching in mid June, I’ve been focusing my efforts on the bugout house.

Some of the things I’ve done in just over one week:

• Used a reciprocating saw and a grinder to cut down the old chain-link fence that surrounded the back yard and was infiltrated with shrubs–cut down about 200 feet of fence, fence post and steel.
• Dug up accompanying shrubs and bushes that were in-grown in the fence.
• Painted three rooms (ceilings and walls)
• Attacked and destroyed (and rebuilt) the closets from Hades
• Cut the grass–actually enjoyed that one
• Took out 15 bags of building trash
• Removed two cabinets and donated them
• Removed a toilet
• Brought in tile guys to tile the master bath
• Cut down one tree and removed/cut down three tree stumps
• Began demo-ing old fire pit
• Assembled modern brass fire ring
• Planted numerous pepper and tomato plants
• Tended to asparagus and horseradish
• Made contact to haul-in fill/dirt in back yard
• Attended nephew’s graduation party
• Re-lined the bath and kitchen with cardboard to protect the tiled floors

Some of the things worth discussing with you:

• Never throw out cardboard when working on a big project.  Cardboard is absolutely the best floor protectant.  The multiple layers of paper protect floors from contractors, dirt, and falling objects.  Remember, dropping materials on tile breaks them.
• Paint: If you are considering selling your house in the near future or want THE BEST neutral color for your house that everybody loves…go with RELAXED KHAKI.  It is by far the most amazing color.  It’s made by Sherwin Williams and any paint company can take their swatch and match the paint.  Trust me–it’s amazing.  Swiss coffee
• Also, if you’re painting for yourself–consider soothing colors in bedrooms.  Think relaxing.  I think oragne, red, and black are horrible colors for bedrooms.
• I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating:  DO NOT TAKE UP THE CARPET IN A ROOM YOU ARE ABOUT TO PAINT.  LEAVE THE OLD CARPET DOWN AND USE IT AS A DROPCLOTH.  I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE TEAR UP A CARPET, INSTALL NEW FLOORING, COVER IT, AND THEN PAINT THE WALLS OR DO REPAIRS IN THE ROOM.  IT MAKES NO SENSE.
• Another point on paint:  taping off walls can be a pain.  A steady hand and a trim brush may be a better option.
• Don’t wait until old trees die.  If you know a tree is going (or you’re going to remove it)  plant its replacement so its ready to take over and it already has a head start in/near the same spot.
• I’ve spent three days in one bedroom.  Stripping, cleaning, prepping, spackling, priming, painting…the window sills were horrible and the closets were filthy. the old people who lived here did NOTHING to take care of this house.  We’ve spent so much time on things that would never need to be done if they did the basic maintenance on the house…shame on them for letting leaks ruin wood, paint crack on the walls, and shrubs become forests.

My show is about many things, and today, prepping wasn’t one of them.  Don’t worry, though.  I’ll have some prepping goodies for you in the near future.

Until then, hang in there.

Dan

Ep 126_Bugout House Update

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$8,000.00 For an Ounce of Gold?

Some in the paranoid/conspiracy camps see doom and gloom for the not too distant future.  While I think economic hard times MAY lie ahead…I find the paranoid fear mongerers annoying.

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Little Things Can Make A Big Difference

While working on my vacation home, I made a couple of mental notes to myself about things I wanted to share with you guys.  First, little things make a big difference in the appearance, and, ultimately, the value of your house.  Working on my money pit, I realized how spackling, caulking, and paint add immediate value and impact to a room.  We are in the process of re-doing the master bedroom.  The window trim was so beaten-up, disgusting and falling apart, I was considering starting all over from scratch.  With some spackling, caulking and so paint, however, the windows came back to life and the room took on a clean, fresh look.  Now I also painted the ceilings, walls and trim, too.   The value I added to the room was palpable.  You could feel it.

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Ep 125: Lowering Cholesterol: Two Approaches

Let’s agree to lower our cholesterol.

Let’s start by finding foods that lower your bad cholesterol

• Breakfast:  oat cereals, cereals containing flaxseed, whole grains.
• Snacks: currants, grapes, strawberries, nuts, seeds, olives, blackberries, raspberries, citrus fruits, apples.
• Lunch and Dinner:  legume dishes, beans, peas, lentils, hearty soups and stews and salads.  Switch to whole wheat bread. Include lean meats like chicken and bison.  Salmon, swordfish, tuna and trout are good (any fish high in omega 3 fatty acids).

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

And then let me tell you what worked for me:  I stopped eating a lot of carbs, ate a high protein and relatively high-fat diet, and SHED weight, cholesterol and triglyceride numbers in a few short weeks.  And it defies most common logic.

From LiveStrong.com

THE BEST LOW CARB DIET PLAN TO LOWER CHOLESTEROL
0 COMMENTS
May 28, 2011 | By Ashley Jacob

Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
A well-designed low-carb meal plan should be moderate in protein and high in fat. Not only can a low-carb diet help you lose weight, but it can also help you optimize your blood cholesterol levels. Although many fear low-carb diets because of their high saturated fat content provided by bacon, sausages, butter, cream and full-fat cheese, saturated fats are not associated with cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases, according to the most comprehensive meta-analysis done on the subject. It looked at 21 studies and 347,747 participants followed for up to 23 years and was published in January 2010 in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”
TRIGLYCERIDES AND HDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS
Low-carb diets are particularly effective at lowering triglycerides levels, which should be below 150 mg/dL to keep your cardiovascular risk low. In addition, your heart-protective HDL cholesterol, which should ideally be above 60 mg/dL, can be significantly increased by reducing your carb intake. In a study including 120 overweight and hyperlipidemic volunteers, the low-carb diet, which provided less than 20 g of carbs a day in the initial phase, resulted in a reduction of 74.2 mg/dL of their triglycerides, compared to a decrease of 27.9 mg/dL in the low-fat group, and boosted their HDL cholesterol levels by 5.5 mg/dL, compared to a decrease of 1.6 mg/dL in the low-fat group, as published in the May 2004 issue of “Annals of Internal Medicine.”
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LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS
LDL cholesterol levels are usually not significantly influenced by following a low-carb diet, as shown in the May 2004 issue of “Annals of Internal Medicine.” However, the size of your LDL particles appear to constitute an even more important factor in determining your cardiovascular risk profile. A high-carb diet is associated with a more deleterious phenotype, characterized by small and dense LDL particles that are more likely to clog your arteries. On the other hand, low-carb, high-fat diets are associated with large and fluffy LDL particles, which are a lot less dangerous for your health, as explained in the August 2005 issue of “Nutrition & Metabolism.”
CARBOHYDRATE RESTRICTION
The first step to establishing your low-carb diet plan is to have a look at your carb intake. Start counting and keep track of your daily carb intake. You can use food labels or online food composition tables to help you. Online tracking tools, such as the LIVESTRONG.COM MyPlate, can also be useful. Most studies showing good improvements on blood cholesterol levels recommend an initial carbohydrate intake of less than 20 g a day. To keep your carb intake that low, you will need to eliminate all grains, starchy vegetables, sugar, fruit, milk and yogurt, but you can keep eating plenty of non-starchy vegetables. Talk to your doctor, especially if you take medications, before lowering your daily carb intake.
WHAT TO EAT
In addition to including non-starchy vegetables at each of your meals, your low-carb diet plan should include moderate amounts of protein and considerably high amounts of fat. For example, you can include 4 to 6 oz. of protein at each of your meals, whether you choose chicken, fish, seafood, pork, beef, cheese or eggs. To get enough fat, add 1 to 2 tbsp. of olive oil, coconut oil, butter, cream, full-fat mayonnaise or full-fat dressing to each of your meals. You can also have avocado, bacon, fatty cuts of meat, full-fat cheese, nuts and nut butter to get enough fat in your low-carb diet.
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Food To Lower Cholesterol These (3) Foods Will Shock You! Reduce Your Cholesterol Now. knowwhatsbest.com
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5 Foods you must not eat: Cut down a bit of stomach fat every day by never eating these 5 foods. Beyonddiet.com
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REFERENCES
“Annals of Internal Medicine”; A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia; William S. Yancy Jr., et al.; May 2004
“Nutrition & Metabolism”; The Case for Not Restricting Saturated Fat on a Low Carbohydrate Diet; Jeff S. Volek, et al.; August 2005
“The New Atkins for a New You”; Eric C. Westman et al; 2010
“American Journal of Clinical Nutrition”; Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat With Cardiovascular Disease; Patty W Siri-Tarino et al; January 2010
MayoClinic.com: Cholesterol Levels
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/457117-the-best-low-carb-diet-plan-to-lower-cholesterol/#ixzz1xvYuF7i2

Ep 125_Lowering Cholesterol_Two Appr

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EP 124: The Skinny on Dental X-Rays

EP 124_ The Skinny on Dental X-Rays

My dentists, and I’ve had several, are ALWAYS trying to get me to have X-rays done. ..like EVERY six months.  I found that a little insane and have had to walk away from several practices in the area because they would not accept my terms: no more x-rays than necessary–meaning no “routine” x-rays.  In fact, pediatric dentists have been hounding my daughter since the age of three for x-rays.  Of course, that doesn’t happen, and I’ve had to fight to keep it that way on several occasions.

So, why the push for x-rays so often?  Two reasons:

1. Liability–with a sue-happy society that wants a fast buck, doctors have to protect themselves.  I get that.
2. Financial Gain:  make no mistake about it: doctors need to do procedures to pay the bills and x-rays bring in money.

While doing her residency training in anesthesia, a doctor performing colonoscopies humorously remarked that “there’s a thousand dollar bill up everyone’s behind.”

My wife didn’t find that particularly funny.  Neither does she find the all-out battery of tests and procedures we throw at the dying.  Many doctors and hospitals throws tons of unnecessary tests and procedures at the dying because it makes them money.  It sickens my wife’s stomach and she honestly counsels families about the value in subjecting the dying to procedures that won’t help them and drive health care costs through the roof.

But, I digress…that’s a great topic for another episode.

But those two reasons seem to be the best reasons why dentists seem to be pushing x-rays at you at such a ridiculously regular rate.  But is it warranted?

(Courtesy of webMD)First, the pros:

• Regular x-rays help dentists detect decay not visible on a traditional exam ( but how regular is regular?)
• can proactively identify issues before they become larger problems
• Identify bone loss
• Reveal other medical issues like abcesses, cysts, tumors, etc
• Assist with implants and other procedures
• Reveal issues in tooth and root canal health
• In children, they help identify decay, determine health of primary teeth and eruptions
• Check for development of wisdom teeth
• Check for adequate space for growing teeth/wisdom teeth

The cons:

• Exposure to radiation causes cancer (oops..that’s just a small one)
• People in the health professions and the tsa and anyone who creates something that produces radiation always mentions their source is just a itty-bitty, teenie-tiny little bit of radiation.
• BUT YOU, as a consumer, know that all of these things add up:  cell phones, trips to the dentist, trips to the doctor/hospital/ER, airport screenings, appliances, radon in your home…all of these add up to a not-so-small amount of radiation.  And why are the people flooding you with radiation so cavalier with YOUR health?  Because it’s your health and not theirs.  Doctors and other professionals that work with radiation wear lead shields…but I thought it was just a little bit of radiation?  Those shields should remind you that radiation adds-up.  Levels and exposures take their toll.

My recommendation to you is very simple: be careful and don’t expose yourself to radiation unless it’s necessary.

FURTHER: Current Dental Guidelines Recommend X-Rays ONLY When A Clinical Diagnosis Is Needed…NOT As A Routine Procedure Every Time You See The Dentist!!!

WebMD Article

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The Father’s Day Podcast: A Tribute to Fathers–Just The Facts

Today we discuss fatherhood by the numbers.  Our society and our schools are failing because the family is failing.  Today I will simply cite the facts and show you what a positive impact a father has on a family financially, emotionally, and with regard to the law (legally).  Be prepared to be shocked, amazed, and emboldened.

The Father’s Day Podcast_ A Tribute

Data on the Consequences of Father Absence
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America — one out of three — live in biological father-absent homes.

Consequently, there is a “father factor” in nearly all of the social issues facing America today.

Scroll down to view data on the effects of father absence on: poverty, maternal and child health, incarceration, crime, teen pregnancy, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, education, and childhood obesity.

Father Factor in Poverty

Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 38.4 percent of children in female-householder families.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Children’s Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2002, P200-547, Table C8. Washington D.C.: GPO, 2003.

During the year before their babies were born, 43% of unmarried mothers received welfare or food stamps, 21% received some type of housing subsidy, and 9% received another type of government transfer (unemployment insurance etc.). For women who have another child, the proportion who receive welfare or food stamps rises to 54%.
Source: McLanahan, Sara. The Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study: Baseline National Report. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2003: 13.

A child with a nonresident father is 54 percent more likely to be poorer than his or her father.
Source: Sorenson, Elaine and Chava Zibman. “Getting to Know Poor Fathers Who Do Not Pay Child Support.” Social Service Review 75 (September 2001): 420-434.

When compared by family structure, 45.9% of poor single-parent families reported material hardship compared to 38.6% of poor two parent families. For unpoor families who did not experience material hardship, 23.3% were single-parent families compared to 41.2% of two-parent families.
Source: Beverly, Sondra G., “Material hardship in the United States: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.” Social Work Research 25 (September 2001): 143-151.3
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Father Factor in Maternal and Infant Health

Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants of unmarried mothers than for married mothers.
Source: Matthews, T.J., Sally C. Curtin, and Marian F. MacDorman. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 12. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000.

Based on birth and death data for 217,798 children born in Georgia in 1989 and 1990, infants without a father’s name on their birth certificate (17.9 percent of the total) were 2.3 times more likely to die in the first year of life compared to infants with a father’s name on their birth certificate.
Source: Gaudino, Jr., James A., Bill Jenkins, and Foger W. Rochat. “No Fathers’ Names: A Risk Factor for Infant Mortality in the State of Georgia, USA.” Social Science and Medicine 48 (1999): 253-265.

Unmarried mothers are less likely to obtain prenatal care and more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. Researchers find that these negative effects persist even when they take into account factors, such as parental education, that often distinguish single-parent from two-parent families.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Report to Congress on Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing. Hyattsville, MD (Sept. 1995): 12.

Expectant fathers can play a powerful role as advocates of breastfeeding to their wives. Three-fourths of women whose partners attended a breastfeeding promotion class initiated breastfeeding.
Source: Wolfberg, Adam J., et al. “Dads as breastfeeding advocates: results from a randomized controlled trial of an educational intervention.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 191 (September 2004): 708-712.

Fathers’ knowledge about breastfeeding increases the likelihood that a child will be breastfed. Children who fathers knew more had a 1.76 higher chance of being breastfed at the end of the first month and 1.91 higher chance of receiving maternal milk at the end of the third month.
Source: Susin, Lurie R.O. “Does Parental Breastfeeding Knowledge Increase Breastfeeding Rates?” BIRTH 26 (September 1999): 149-155.

Twenty-three percent of unmarried mothers in large U.S. cities reported cigarette use during their pregnancy. Seventy-one percent were on Medicare.
Source: McLanahan, Sara. The Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study: Baseline National Report. Table 7. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2003: 16.

A study of 2,921 mothers revealed that single mothers were twice as likely as married mothers to experience a bout of depression in the prior year. Single mothers also reported higher levels of stress, fewer contacts with family and friends, less involvement with church or social groups and less overall social support.
Source: Cairney, John and Michael Boyle et al. “Stress, Social Support and Depression in Single and Married Mothers.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 38 (August 2003): 442-449.

In a longitudinal study of more than 10,000 families, researchers found that toddlers living in stepfamilies and single-parent families were more likely to suffer a burn, have a bad fall, or be scarred from an accident compared to kids living with both of their biological parents.
Source: O’Connor, T., L. Davies, J. Dunn, J. Golding, ALSPAC Study Team. “Differential Distribution of Children’s Accidents, Injuries and Illnesses across Family Type.” Pediatrics 106 (November 2000): e68.

A study of 3,400 middle schoolers indicated that not living with both biological parents quadruples the risk of having an affective disorder.
Source: Cuffe, Steven P., Robert E. McKeown, Cheryl L. Addy, and Carol Z. Garrison. “Family Psychosocial Risk Factors in a Longitudinal Epidemiological Study of Adolescents.” Journal of American Academic Child Adolescent Psychiatry 44 (February 2005): 121-129.

Children who live apart from their fathers are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma and experience an asthma-related emergency even after taking into account demographic and socioeconomic conditions. Unmarried, cohabiting parents and unmarried parents living apart are 1.76 and 2.61 times, respectively, more likely to have their child diagnosed with asthma. Marital disruption after birth is associated with a 6-fold increase in the likelihood a children will require an emergency room visit and 5-fold increase of an asthma-related emergency.
Source: Harknett, Kristin. Children’s Elevated Risk of Asthma in Unmarried Families: Underlying Structural and Behavioral Mechanisms. Working Paper #2005-01-FF. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2005: 19-27.
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Father Factor in Incarceration

Even after controlling for income, youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.
Source: Harper, Cynthia C. and Sara S. McLanahan. “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397.

A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.
Source: James, Doris J. Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002. (NCJ 201932). Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, July 2004.
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Father Factor in Crime

A study of 109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency.
Source: Bush, Connee, Ronald L. Mullis, and Ann K. Mullis. “Differences in Empathy Between Offender and Nonoffender Youth.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29 (August 2000): 467-478.

Adolescents, particularly boys, in single-parent families were at higher risk of status, property and person delinquencies. Moreover, students attending schools with a high proportion of children of single parents are also at risk.
Source: Anderson, Amy L. “Individual and contextual influences on delinquency: the role of the single-parent family.” Journal of Criminal Justice 30 (November 2002): 575-587.

A study of 13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent. (Fathers and Daughters)
Source: Snell, Tracy L and Danielle C. Morton. Women in Prison: Survey of Prison Inmates, 1991. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, 1994: 4.

Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.
Source: Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.

Youths are more at risk of first substance use without a highly involved father. Each unit increase in father involvement is associated with 1% reduction in substance use. Living in an intact family also decreases the risk of first substance use.
Source: Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta, Kristin A. Moore, Randolph C. Capps, and Jonathan Zaff. “The influence of father involvement on youth risk behaviors among adolescents: A comparison of native-born and immigrant families.” Article in Press. Social Science Research December 2004.

Of the 228 students studied, those from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.
Source: Griffin, Kenneth W., Gilbert J. Botvin, Lawrence M. Scheier, Tracy Diaz and Nicole L. Miller. “Parenting Practices as Predictors of Substance Use, Delinquency, and Aggression Among Urban Minority Youth: Moderating Effects of Family Structure and Gender.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 14 (June 2000): 174-184.

In a study of INTERPOL crime statistics of 39 countries, it was found that single parenthood ratios were strongly correlated with violent crimes. This was not true 18 years ago.
Source: Barber, Nigel. “Single Parenthood As a Predictor of Cross-National Variation in Violent Crime.” Cross-Cultural Research 38 (November 2004): 343-358.
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Father Factor in Teen Pregnancy

Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree.
Source: Teachman, Jay D. “The Childhood Living Arrangements of Children and the Characteristics of Their Marriages.” Journal of Family Issues 25 (January 2004): 86-111.

Separation or frequent changes increase a woman’s risk of early menarche, sexual activity and pregnancy. Women whose parents separated between birth and six years old experienced twice the risk of early menstruation, more than four times the risk of early sexual intercourse, and two and a half times higher risk of early pregnancy when compared to women in intact families. The longer a woman lived with both parents, the lower her risk of early reproductive development. Women who experienced three or more changes in her family environment exhibited similar risks but were five times more likely to have an early pregnancy.
Source: Quinlan, Robert J. “Father absence, parental care, and female reproductive development.” Evolution and Human Behavior 24 (November 2003): 376-390.

Researchers using a pool from both the U.S. and New Zealand found strong evidence that father absence has an effect on early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Teens without fathers were twice as likely to be involved in early sexual activity and seven times more likely to get pregnant as an adolescent.
Source: Ellis, Bruce J., John E. Bates, Kenneth A. Dodge, David M. Ferguson, L. John Horwood, Gregory S. Pettit, and Lianne Woodward. “Does Father Absence Place Daughters at Special Risk for Early Sexual Activity and Teenage Pregnancy.” Child Development 74 (May/June 2003): 801-821.
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Father Factor in Child Abuse

Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect.
Source: America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

The overall rate of child abuse and neglect in single-parent households is 27.3 children per 1,000, whereas the rate of overall maltreatment in two-parent households is 15.5 per 1,000.
Source: America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

An analysis of child abuse cases in a nationally representative sample of 42 counties found that children from single-parent families are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents. Compared to their peers living with both parents, children in single parent homes had:
a 77% greater risk of being physically abused
an 87% greater risk of being harmed by physical neglect
a 165% greater risk of experiencing notable physical neglect
a 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect
an 80% greater risk of suffering serious injury as a result of abuse
overall, a 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse.
Source: Sedlak, Andrea J. and Diane D. Broadhurst. The Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect: Final Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, D.C., September 1996.
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Father Factor in Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Researchers at Columbia University found that children living in two-parent household with a poor relationship with their father are 68% more likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs compared to all teens in two-parent households. Teens in single mother households are at a 30% higher risk than those in two-parent households.
Source: “Survey Links Teen Drug Use, Relationship With Father.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 6 September 1999: 5.

Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.
Source: Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.

In a study of 6,500 children from the ADDHEALTH database, father closeness was negatively correlated with the number of a child’s friends who smoke, drink, and smoke marijuana. Closeness was also correlated with a child’s use of alcohol, cigarettes, and hard drugs and was connected to family structure. Intact families ranked higher on father closeness than single-parent families.
Source: National Fatherhood Initiative. “Family Structure, Father Closeness, & Drug Abuse.” Gaithersburg, MD: National Fatherhood Initiative, 2004: 20-22.

Of the 228 students studied, those from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.
Source: Griffin, Kenneth W., Gilbert J. Botvin, Lawrence M. Scheier, Tracy Diaz and Nicole L. Miller. “Parenting Practices as Predictors of Substance Use, Delinquency, and Aggression Among Urban Minority Youth: Moderating Effects of Family Structure and Gender.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 14 (June 2000): 174-184.
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Father Factor in Childhood Obesity

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than are non-obese children.
Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

Study that looked at family lifestyle and parent’s Body Mass Index (BMI) over a nine year period found:
Father’s Body Mass Index (BMI) predicts son’s and daughter’s BMI independent of offspring’s alcohol intake, smoking, physical fitness, and father’s education
Furthermore, BMI in sons and daughters consistently higher when fathers were overweight or obese
Physical fitness of daughters negatively related to their father’s obesity
Obesity of fathers associated with a four-fold increase in the risk of obesity of sons and daughters at age 18
Source: Burke V, Beilin LJ, Dunbar D. “Family lifestyle and parental body mass index as predictors of body mass index in Australian children: a longitudinal study.” Department of Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Western Australia, and the Western Australian Heart Research Institute; Perth, Australia.

A fathers’ body mass index (a measurement of the relative composition of fat and muscle mass in the human body) is directly related to a child’s activity level. In a study of 259 toddlers, more active children were more likely to have a father with a lower BMI than less active children.
Source: Finn, Kevin, Neil Johannsen, and Bonny Specker. “Factors associated with physical activity in preschool children.” The Journal of Pediatrics 140 (January 2002): 81-85.

A study that looked at dietary intake and physical activity of parents and their daughters over a two year period found:
Daughter’s BMI predicted by father’s diets and father’s enjoyment of physical activity
As father’s BMI rose, so did their daughter’s BMI
Source: Davison KK, Birch LL. “Child and parent characteristics as predictors of change in girls’ body mass index.” Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.

Study that looked at the relationship between parent’s total and percentage body fat and daughter’s total body fat over a two and one-half year period found:
Father’s, not mother’s, total and percentage body fat the best predictor of changes in daughter’s total and percentage body fat.
Source: Figueroa-Colon R, Arani RB, Goran MI, Weinsier RL. “Paternal body fat is a longitudinal predictor of changes in body fat in premenarcheal girls.” Department of Pediatrics, General Clinical Research Center, Medical Statistics Unit, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.

Two studies that have looked at the determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children found:
Obese children less likely to report that their father’s were physically active than were the children of non-obese children. This determinant not found for mothers.
Father’s inactivity strong predictor of children’s inactivity.
Source: Trost SG, Kerr LM, Ward DS, Pate RR. “Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children. School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Source: Fogelholm M, Nuutinen O, Pasanen M, Myohanen E, Saatela T. “Parent-child relationship of physical activity patterns and obesity.” University of Helsinki, Lahti Research and Training Centre, Finland.

Children who lived with single mothers were significantly more likely to become obese by a 6-year follow-up, as were black children, children with nonworking parents, children with nonprofessional parents, and children whose mothers did not complete high school.
Source: Strauss RS, Knight J. “Influence of the home environment on the development of obesity in children.” Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA.
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Father Factor in Education

Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics. Survey on Child Health. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1993.

Father involvement in schools is associated with the higher likelihood of a student getting mostly A’s. This was true for fathers in biological parent families, for stepfathers, and for fathers heading single-parent families.
Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.

Students living in father-absent homes are twice as likely to repeat a grade in school; 10 percent of children living with both parents have ever repeated a grade, compared to 20 percent of children in stepfather families and 18 percent in mother-only families.
Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.

Students in single-parent families or stepfamilies are significantly less likely than students living in intact families to have parents involved in their schools. About half of students living in single-parent families or stepfamilies have parents who are highly involved, while 62 percent of students living with both their parents have parents who are highly involved in their schools.
Source: Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.

In 2001, 61 percent of 3- to 5-year olds living with two parents were read aloud to everyday by a family member, compared to 48% of children living in single- or no-parent families.
Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2002. Table ED1. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003.

Kindergarteners who live with single-parents are over-represented in those lagging in health, social and emotional, and cognitive outcomes. Thirty-three percent of children who were behind in all three areas were living with single parents while only 22% were not lagging behind.
Source: Wertheimer, Richard and Tara Croan, et al. Attending Kindergarten and Already Behind: A Statistical Portrait of Vulnerable Young Children. Child Trends Research Brief. Publication #2003-20. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2003.

In two-parent families, children under the age of 13 spend an average of 1.77 hours engaged in activities with their fathers and 2.35 hours doing so with their mothers on a daily basis in 1997. Children in single parent families spent on .42 hours with their fathers and 1.26 hours with their mothers on daily basis.
Source: Lippman, Laura, et al. Indicators of Child, Family, and Community Connections. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2004.

A study of 1330 children from the PSID showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child schooling increases the likelihood of their child’s achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child’s education, students feel a positive impact.
Source: McBride, Brent A., Sarah K. Schoppe-Sullivan, and Moon-Ho Ho. “The mediating role of fathers’ school involvement on student achievement.” Applied Developmental Psychology 26 (2005): 201-216.

Half of all children with highly involved fathers in two-parent families reported getting mostly A’s through 12th grade, compared to 35.2% of children of nonresident father families.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics. The Condition of Education. NCES 1999022. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Education, 1999: 76.

Statistics on Fatherless Children in America
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There is no question that children who grow up in fatherless homes have a much greater risk of major challenges in life than those who grow up with a father at home. These statistics are alarming and should give any father pause.
Incarceration Rates. “Young men who grow up in homes without fathers are twice as likely to end up in jail as those who come from traditional two-parent families…those boys whose fathers were absent from the household had double the odds of being incarcerated — even when other factors such as race, income, parent education and urban residence were held constant.” (Cynthia Harper of the University of Pennsylvania and Sara S. McLanahan of Princeton University cited in “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397.)

Suicide. 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of the Census)

Behavioral Disorders. 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes (United States Center for Disease Control)

High School Dropouts. 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes (National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools.)

Educational Attainment. Kids living in single-parent homes or in step-families report lower educational expectations on the part of their parents, less parental monitoring of school work, and less overall social supervision than children from intact families. (N.M. Astore and S. McLanahan, American Sociological Review, No. 56 (1991)

Juvenile Detention Rates. 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988)

Confused Identities. Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely that those in father-present homes to have trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity.(P.L. Adams, J.R. Milner, and N.A. Schrepf, Fatherless Children, New York, Wiley Press, 1984).

Aggression. In a longitudinal study of 1,197 fourth-grade students, researchers observed “greater levels of aggression in boys from mother-only households than from boys in mother-father households.” (N. Vaden-Kierman, N. Ialongo, J. Pearson, and S. Kellam, “Household Family Structure and Children’s Aggressive Behavior: A Longitudinal Study of Urban Elementary School Children,” Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 23, no. 5 (1995).

Achievement. Children from low-income, two-parent families outperform students from high-income, single-parent homes. Almost twice as many high achievers come from two-parent homes as one-parent homes. (One-Parent Families and Their Children, Charles F. Kettering Foundation, 1990).

Delinquency. Only 13 percent of juvenile delinquents come from families in which the biological mother and father are married to each other. By contract, 33 percent have parents who are either divorced or separated and 44 percent have parents who were never married. (Wisconsin Dept. of Health and Social Services, April 1994).

Criminal Activity. The likelihood that a young male will engage in criminal activity doubles if he is raised without a father and triples if he lives in a neighborhood with a high concentration of single-parent families. Source: A. Anne Hill, June O’Neill, Underclass Behaviors in the United States, CUNY, Baruch College. 1993

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Ep 123: Bugging In Equals Redundancy; Bugging Out Equals Lean and Mean

What is the real difference between bugging in and bugging out.  I discuss one important aspect of it: Redundancy.

What I really mean in this mini-podcast is this:  If you bug in, if you are a prepper, your home has everything you need to survive (almost)

By bugging out, you have to travel LEAN AND MEAN and have very little in the way of redundancy.  A 72 hour bag(EEB) has to be light and portable.  You need to be deliberate as to what you pack and the space/weight it takes.

Ep 123_ Bugging In Equals Redundancy

http://hdivs.com/ep-077-basic-preppers-list/

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Ep 122: Apples

There are some amazing categories of apples out there.  Today’s episode discusses some of the most prominent ones.

Additionally, I discuss vanishing heirloom apple varieties and the seed exchange which is dedicated to the preservation of these vanishing heirloom varieties.

http://www.traxfarms.com/apple_variety_chart.html

http://www.bestapples.com/varieties/index.aspx

Ep 122_ Mixed Bag

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Fed: American’s Wealth Dropped 40% in Last Three Years

ARTICLE

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Preserve Heirloom Apples w/ Seedsavers Exchange

Article

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Growing Sweet Potatoes

Article

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Beware: Reality TV Scouts Are Looking to Humiliate You

I got this in my email the other day.  Another Hollywood suit wanting me to sell-out and be made a fool of on some reality tv show:

ia

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There’s A Pharmacy in the Forest

Mother Earth News’ article includes a cold remedy in addition to useful plants from mother nature.

Article

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Dan’s Cajun Prime Rib

Cajun Prime Rib

8  lbs of Prime Rib

Can’t find a prime rib roast, you say…if a local butcher isn’t an option, Costco and Sam’s club will have them (Costco even has pre-seasoned ones in roasting pans around the holidays).

16 ounces of melted butter or olive oil (or oil of choice)

4 ounces of tobasco or preferred hot sauce

1 liquid food injector/hypodermic needle

2 tablespoons garlic

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt the butter with all dry ingredients over low heat in a small sauce pan.

draw marinade into the hypodermic.

Place Roast into 2-3 inch deep roasting pan with lid or covered with aluminum foil

Inject 2 ounces of marinade per pound, injecting small amounts deeply and frequently.

Take remaining marinade and lightly coat exterior of roast

Cover and cook for 1-2 hours until 10-20 degrees below desired internal temperature is reached

Take out of oven to rest…the roast will continue to cook as it cools

Sauce: Mix 2 tablespoons grated horseradish to 8-10 ounces of sour cream.  Mix completely.

Serve with a green dish like asparagus or FRESH (not canned) green beans, and whipped potatoes.

REMEMBER, we are ROASTING…not grilling: S-L-O-W and L-O-W is the theme for this dish

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Attract Butterflies With These Plants

Article

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Ep 121: Book Review: The Foxfire Book

This book review pays homage to old-school prepping, homesteading and survival.  All three of those components can be found within the pages of this book.

You see, Eliot was a northeastern yankee who moved to Georgia to teach English.  Thinking he knew it all, he soon realized there was a lot to learn about the south and the people around him.  He became interested in tho old ways and traditions of Appalachia and began to write down what he saw and learned. The Foxfire book is the culmination of his years of research and study.  It’s a prepper’s guide and how-to book all-in-one.

Some of the wonderful skills recorded and discussed in his book are:

• wood: types and identification of
• tools and skills:
• building a log cabin
• chimney building
• White Oak splits
• making chairs
• rope, straw and feathers (sleeping)
• quilt making
• soapmaking
• mountain recipes
• preserving vegetables
• preserving fruit
• churning your own butter
• slaughtering hogs
• curing and smoking a hog
• weather signs: how to read the weather
• planting by the signs
• home remedies
• dressing and cooking wild game
• hunting lore
• snake stories
• moonshine as an art form
• faith healing
• and many others revolving around personalities more than specific skills

.Ep 121_Book Review Foxfire Book

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Green, Eco-Friendly Ideas

Mother Earth News is on her game with several articles on environmentally friendly products:

The best eco-friendly cars

Solar food dehydrating systems

Ec0-friendly flooring

Sustainable wood for heating

woodgas trucks

net zero energy home

Articles

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Thank You: HD Passes 130,000 Visits Since December

Thanks to all of you for making this site so popular and successful.  Please continue to spread the word and let everyone know the good work being done over here.

I couldn’t do it without you…and thanks again to my founding 50!

Dan

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Ep 120: Camping IS Good Prepping

Camping out and Camping in are great ways to test yourself and your preps as a prepper and survivalist.  A camping trip is a rudimentary, essential activity to test one’s self-preparedness and I do it all the time.  Also, consider camping in and use only your preps to survive.  Turn off the phone, power and water.  What are you left with?  The results will be invaluable to you and your family in improved prepping going forward.

Camping IS good Prepping BECAUSE:

You can use the opportunity to manage:

• food
• water
• shelter
• clothing
• cooking and misc. supplies

You can also use this trip to learn about the unpleasant things you don’t want to talk about:

• hygiene w/ limited water
• bathroom and waste issues, including storage, removal, smell management, sanitation

You will also be able to do a readiness assessment of your preps, your family’s readiness and address those weaknesses (only if you write them down (so you remember them) and work on them)

You will also, hopefully, leave most modern conveniences (like cell phones & ipods) at home so the kids (and you) can get re-introduced to “reality:”

Now that you’ve gotten some outdoors/prepping experience under your belt:

KEEP THE SUPPLIES AT HOME, PULL THE CIRCUIT BREAKER, SHUT OFF THE WATER, AND “CAMP IN”

See how your preps work when you have to live an entire weekend with no power, running water, etc.

You will learn so much..I’ve done this many times “unplanned” by circumstance, but never by choice.  I will camp in with the family “on purpose” sometime soon.

I hope this episode gets the ball rolling and I wish you all the best.

Cheers,

Dan

Ep 120_Camping IS Good Prepping

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New Podcasts this Saturday and Sunday…

and a follow-up video on installing blinds on YouTube.

Summer hours are in full swing.  I have 2 brand new podcasts for this weekend ready to go and my Youtube video is being uploaded as we speak.  You couldn’t actually see the install of the blinds since I was up on the 2nd story of a great room, but my wife taped the final installed blind from the balcony..so you can see JUST how easy it is to install blinds (even 2 stories up) yourself and save a ton of money.  Blinds in one-story rooms are even easier.  I did it, and so can you.

Happy Homesteading…Dan

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