I bought a titanium spork for travel purposes. I can report that you cannot use a spork to eat yogurt.
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I ordered an UCO Candlelier Candle Lantern today, in a classic forrest green. This is the 3-candle emergency light that can also function as a heating element. No cold beans for me!
I would have ordered it last month, but I had other expenses. I didn’t want to wait too long, since it is made out of aluminum.
Be warned — if you plan on ordering this from UCO themselves, their website keeps trying to add additional items onto your order.
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This video on a planned vs. an emergency exit from the US has some good advice:
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I’m in your anti-DEI, clogging your portals!
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Seems to help by being retired. My aunt is preparing to hit the streets hard. Retired, financially responsible (I’m her estate executor, financial position confirmed), and her employer was the US government for 30 years. She’s righteously pissed and fully understands why Gen X and Millennials can’t protest the way her cohort can. Gen Z won’t suffer as hard for protesting, because if they don’t protest, they won’t have a future at all.
What a fucking shitshow. 
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My Uco lantern was delivered yesterday. That’s pretty quick. Thank you, USPS.
I just want to point out that everywhere I have lived, the USPS has always been the most reliable delivery service. I use them as much as I can.
Anyway, it arrived, so of course I had to try it out.
Gives off a decent amount of light. The enclosure gives the candles enough air, while protecting it from drafts. So it was easy to walk with when holding it by the handle.
I would only criticize the build quality. It is certainly robust, but not more robust than it needs to be. Basically don’t take this if you are going dogsledding across Antarctica. The base is the worst part, a rather cheap-feeling plastic with a sharp edge.
I let it burn for a couple of hours to test out the spring-loaded candle holders. I wasn’t sure they would work, but it looks like they did. Good for them.
How was it for cooking?
I took about 20 minutes to heat-up a can’s worth of Progresso Soup. About the same time as a burner at it’s lowest setting. Not bad. I don’t know if it can actually cook anything, but it can at least get your food steaming.
For scale, the picture above shows the Toaks 1100 ml pot. Enough to hold about two cans of Progresso Soup.
In the end it was easy to blow the candles out, carefully, through the upper openings. It took about 30 minutes to cool down totally.
So, in short, I am now ready to throw a post-apocalyptic fondue party.
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Nice. Was it all that expensive?
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Not so bad. About $50. That explains the plastic base.
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I received a few months of Norton 360 as a freebie after buying a new tablet. I’m thinking, considering things, I might want to keep access to a VPN for a time.
Any recommendations for one HQed outside the US?
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From what I could find, Proton is currently the least-evil VPN provider. But that is subject to change.
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I’ll second the recommendation of Proton (Swiss).
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Apart from their MAGA chud CEO of course.
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I’ve been considering getting one of these for the cottage, as an alternative to a propane camp stove, even the regular price is pretty reasonable.
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