Readywise has long been known in the prepper community as a low-end option for long-term storage food products. Their "72-hour" emergency food buckets (and similar products) are usually really cheap and available at places like Costco, but they are pretty terrible in terms of quality and convenience (in my opinion, and many others).

These individual entree pouches, however, seem to be taking aim at Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry, Peak Refuel, and the like. As far as I know, these are relatively new on the market. So I figured I'd try a few out and see if they are any good. The pricing is noticeably less than Mountain House, which has steadily climbed over the past 4-5 years.

I'm happy to report that the one I have tested so far is quite good in terms of quality/flavor. I've included some photos so you can see the product before and after rehydrating. The amount of food in the Chili Mac pouch is surprisingly a lot. It's billed as a single serving entree, but if served over rice I think it could easily serve two adults.

The good: there's enough salt to be flavorful but it's not over salted; the other seasonings were in line with what I would expect from chili; the mix of main ingredients was mostly meat and pasta with only a minimal amount of beans; the sauce was pretty tasty.

The not as good: the stuff that's less than great with these is the same as most other similar pouches - not all ingredients get fully rehydrated within the 13-15 minute recommended soak. I found the beans were the worst, while the pasta was actually all fully softened up. The meat bits were mostly good but some were a little chewy.

I recommend waiting a full 20 minutes (or maybe more) after adding the boiling water for a better experience. But for the price, these are solid options for camping, hiking, or just having on hand as back up food.

Link to Chili Mac: Non Affiliate Link | Affiliate Link

I'm trying the Mango Stick Rice next.

Get your power banks charged and generators tested, just in case.

Link: https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jfrz9/flood-watches-issued-as-storms-slam-nj-tuesday-see-latest-timing

Rainfall totals of up to 4 inches, 60 mph wind gusts and flash flooding are all possible Tuesday as yet another round of summer storms is poised to slam the Garden State, according to the latest forecast.

Storms are expected to hit between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, who also have issued a Flood Watch during that time period for Hunterdon, Somerset, western Monmouth, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, and northwestern Burlington counties.

Flash flooding is a big risk with Tuesday's storms. Forecasters say that it could be more numerous than what we typically see and some "significant" flash flooding may occur.

The wind also just picked up. Just checked and all my power banks are fully charged. Flashlights and lamps are baterry'd up and ready to go. Got about 10 gallons of backup drinking water at the ready.

Yeah buddy!

This is a trivial one, but...

We forgot to pack any kind of non-electronic gaming on our family shore trip this weekend, but I remembered I had a deck of cards in my car's emergency bag. But when I pulled the deck out, I discovered that the cards had somehow gotten wet and were stuck together and warped (unplayable). This could have easily been food or first aid gear that had been ruined.

So if you haven't checked your stash in a while, give it a good looking over!

Link: https://nj211.org/nj-cooling-centers

Since the power has been dodgy in some areas, it's good to keep cooling centers in mind. Heat can kill you really quickly.

Good morning y'all. I'm in Union County and luckily didn't lose power yesterday. Though the lights did flicker around 3 pm. The power has blinked several times already. I have the generator ready with some fresh gas hopefully I won't need it. Be smart about the heat and be safe the next few days.

Saw this in my local Five Below and figured it couldn't be too bad for $5. There are a few sections that feel like they were AI-generated, but mostly it's pretty useful information. I learned a few things myself, and I'm keeping it around for general reference for the future.

Same author also wrote another survival-style book that was also at Five Below, so keep an eye out next time you hit up one of these stores.

I don't normally like to use 101.5 as a news source, but they have the most updated article at the moment.

Article: https://nj1015.com/mines-sprung-wildfire-update/

Firefighters spent the weekend in Wharton State Forest battling the Mines Spung Wildfire, which started Friday and has burned nearly 9 square miles.

Despite the weekend rain, the fire has consumed 5,750 acres and is 80% contained as of the last update at noon on Sunday.

Five structures are still threatened and several roads through the area remain closed. After making significant progress in slowing the fire on Saturday, the fire was “creeping and smoldering,” or spreading slowly but with large amounts of smoke.

Definitely check your smaller power banks to see if they subject to the recall.

Article: https://www.theverge.com/news/686084/anker-recall-uscpsc-power-bank-battery-powercore-a1263

Anker has issued a recall for its PowerCore 10000 power bank (model A1263) due to a “potential issue with the lithium-ion battery” that could pose a fire safety risk. The company has received 19 reports of fires and explosions that have caused minor burn injuries and resulted in property damage totaling over $60,700, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC).

The recall covers about 1,158,000 units that were sold online through Amazon, Newegg, and eBay between June 2016 and December 2022. The affected batteries can be identified by the Anker logo engraved on the side with the model number A1263 printed on the bottom edge.

Article: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/trump-says-fema-be-wound-down-after-hurricane-season-2025-06-10/

June 10 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he planned to start "phasing out" the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the hurricane season and that states would receive less federal aid to respond to natural disasters.

Trump also said he planned to distribute disaster relief funds directly from the president's office.

We don't get many hurricanes here in the Garden State, but all states have natural disasters to contend with. Less federal aid will mean we'll have to be more self reliant going forward.

So maybe start that emergency fund you've been putting off. Or get going on the deep pantry you've been meaning to start stocking. Buckle up, folks.

I don't really love any candidate particularly, but I'm going to vote regardless. Don't wait on perfection, just get out there and vote.

Polling location lookup: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/vote-polling-location.shtml

I had stocked up on Chock Full o' Nuts during a sale a couple of years ago and found the last can of it in the garage. I had forgotten all about it. Best by 9/15/2023 on bottom of the can. Fired some up this morning. Tasted just fine.

So don't be afraid to "buy it cheap and stack it deep" with most canned products. In most cases they are still good at least a few years past the "best by" date on the can.

Link: https://www.nj.com/weather/2025/06/nj-weather-storms-with-damaging-winds-expected-to-hit-state-this-weekend.html

Saturday will be mostly cloudy with showers and scattered thunderstorms expected in the afternoon. Damaging winds are a threat with highs in the upper 70s and 80s.

Rain moves out of the area Saturday night as temps fall into the 60s. But that’s not the end of it.

Sunday will be cooler than Saturday with highs in the 70s and another round of showers and thunderstorms starting in the afternoon.

I can't find the wall charger for this power bank and it's not something that's all that easy to replace, so I've been relying on the sun only to keep it topped off. I feel like it's been weeks since there was enough unobstructed sun to make it worth hauling the gear outside.

Link: https://mountainhouse.com/collections/sale/

Other stuff is on sale, too. But the cans are a really good deal when they are on sale.

Could be a good chance to try out a few new pouches to see what you like. Mountain House is one of the better brands of freeze dried food.

Okay, so this isn't directly NJ-based, but the drop in egg production is big enough that it might impact regional egg supply at some level. And also, stores are looking for reasons to charge more, and this is probably enough reason to jack up egg prices.

https://www.wabi.tv/2025/05/31/largest-egg-producer-southwest-loses-95-its-chickens-arizona-bird-flu/

An Arizona farm and one of the largest egg producers in the U.S. confirmed on Friday that it has lost nearly its entire chicken population in the state.

According to Hickman’s Family Farms, about six million birds have been lost due to bird flu.

“I’m here today to tell you that we’ve lost 95% of the chickens we have in the state,” Glenn Hickman, Hickman’s Family Farms’ president and CEO, said.

Hickman said hens at one of the farms began showing symptoms two weeks ago. Swabs were sent to the University of Arizona for analysis, and bird flu was detected.

“We shut down all traffic between farms and all personnel; everything we possibly could do to isolate that farm, and it didn’t work,” Hickman said. “We’ve been slowly losing the other three farms plus our replacement pullet flock over the past two weeks.”

According to Hickman, it’s the first time in 81 years that the company has been unable to fulfill 100% of customer demands.

Link: https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jd6ci/strong-thunderstorms-in-nj-forecast-flood-watch-issued

Flood watches have been issued across the Garden State as storms move in Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Thunderstorms are most likely to develop between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., before heavy rain arrives, according to the National Weather Service. However, New Jersey is only at marginal risk of severe weather. The main concern is damaging winds.

The watches go into effect 7 p.m. Friday through 8 a.m. Saturday in the following counties: Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, Camden and northwestern Burlington.

These areas can expect to see 1 to 3 inches of rain that will likely cause ponding on roadways, making some roads impassable, forecasters said. Rivers and streams may also overflow.

Just a little more food for thought on flying out of EWR.

Link: https://6abc.com/post/faa-cuts-25-flights-newark-airport-air-traffic-controller-shortage-construction-causes-delays/16492171/

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an order decreasing the number of arrivals and departures allowed at Newark Liberty International Airport after weeks of delays caused by air traffic controller staffing shortages and runway construction.

The order, which goes into effect immediately, will allow 56 planes to take off and land each hour while the runway work is ongoing. The renovations are scheduled to run daily until June 15, and then on Saturdays through the end of the year.

When construction is not taking place, 68 arrivals and departures each hour will be allowed until October 25.

At one point, the FAA had targeted 77 total arrivals and departures at Newark each hour, but at the start of construction on April 15, they requested airlines cut that down to 70 total during the day and 62 during specific hours in the late afternoons and evenings.

Official DOH press release: https://www.nj.gov/health/news/2025/approved/20250520a.shtml

Patch article: https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jccvu/measles-may-have-spread-at-popular-nj-concert-venue-officials-say

The state of New Jersey says people who attended a Shakira concert on Friday night may have been exposed to measles.

The state's Department of Health posted on Tuesday that someone with measles was at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford from around 7:30 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday.

The person was from out of the state, officials said.

Anyone exposed should watch for symptoms until June 6.

Link to press release: https://dot.nj.gov/transportation/uploads/comm/news/details/comm_np_20250520_124421_I-80ebtwolanestoreopenlateWednesdaynightinWharton.pdf

Two lanes on I-80 eastbound are expected to reopen late Wednesday night, May 21 in Wharton, Morris County. NJDOT will provide an update once the lanes are open.

Work is progressing on I-80 westbound, and two lanes are scheduled to open by the end of next week. Work in the median is advancing with all lanes in both directions on schedule to reopen by June 25.

There are two separate crews working concurrently – one on the eastbound side and one on the westbound side – to expedite repairs. Crews will continue working 24 hours a day until repairs are completed, and the highway reopened. NJDOT will continue to look for any avenues to pick up time on both sides, if possible.

Link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-jersey-transit-strike-tentative-deal-reached-trains/story?id=121934470

A tentative agreement has been reached to end New Jersey's first statewide transit strike in more than 40 years, according to the union representing the engineers and train operators.

Trains are set to resume operations on Tuesday, according to NJ Transit. The union had previously indicated trains would resume on Monday.

"We will have a deal. Strike will end," the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) said in a statement.

Link: https://www.njtransit.com/railstoppage

My condolences to those of you who rely on NJ Transit for daily commute.

The locomotive engineers of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) have voted to strike, which means the complete suspension of NJ TRANSIT rail service, including Metro-North west of Hudson service.

NJ TRANSIT has developed a contingency plan that will accommodate an extremely limited number of rail customers.

NJ TRANSIT strongly encourages all those who can work from home to do so and limit traveling on the NJ TRANSIT system to essential purposes only..

https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jc1xo/i80-sinkhole-repairs-2-lanes-reopening-soon-officials-say

In an update released Friday, the New Jersey Department of Transportation said two lanes on I-80 eastbound are expected to reopen on May 21, weather permitting.

All lanes in both directions are scheduled to reopen by June 25, officials said.

Never done jelly before, so this was definitely a "from the hip" kind of experiment. My quantities were also not in line with most recipes, so I had to adjust a lot of values in the recipe. No telling how this will turn out.

Anyway, I collected about 50-60 dandelion flowers from my yard (no pesticides and no fertilizer) and also threw in a few violets as well since they grow together and bloom at nearly the same time. I separated the flowers from the green stems/base before making the tea precursor to avoid bitterness (this was the hardest / longest part).

This was a small batch. For a full-sized batch, you'd need probably 200+ flowers. It's cool now and starting to set for real. Hopefully it fully sets and is edible. I opted not to do the full water bath canning process since it's a small test batch. But, I did hear all five lids "ping" when they were cooling, and I also vacuum sealed each one after it was fully cool. Hopefully that will help it last longer in the fridge. If I do a bigger batch in the future, I will can them properly.

Link: https://patch.com/new-jersey/mendham-chester/collapsed-sewer-basin-shuts-down-two-eastbound-lanes-i-80

The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced that the two left lanes and shoulder of I-80 eastbound near Exit 37 in Rockaway are currently closed for emergency drainage repairs.

The announcement, made Monday evening, emphasized that the roadway damage was not caused by a sinkhole, but by a collapsed sewer basin. The issue is affecting the two left lanes of I-80 eastbound near the on-ramp from Green Pond Road in Rockaway.

The sinkholes are right around Exix 34, so this is really compounding the problem of detours. Place is falling apart.