أدوات للحياة جيّدة يمكن^[تم]

أنا استعملت أن يحبّ [شو غم]. شيء حول هو مهدىء. أنا واحدة من أنّ الذي يحافظ هم أيادي مشغولة [تينغ] عقدة ميل بحري, ينقف عملات, يرمي [يو-و] أو يلفّ صينيّة [يين-نغ] كرات. [شو غم] يضرب أنّ بقعة عندما ليس أيادي حرّة.

أجل, السكر في الصمغ سيّئة, غير أنّ, يضرب هو سيجارة [ألّ دي لونغ].

[بك تو] الجيّدة [أل]' أيام

مثل [أونبّلينغ] بما أنّ بعض من العناصر هذا كان الأيام جيّدة قديمة:

هو كلّ أتى إلى نهاية ل ي مع الغزوة من ال اللون قرنفل, زرقاء ومادّة خام صفراء بمحبّة يدعى سكر بدائل:

• لون قرنفل حلوة & منخفضة أيّ يكون سكرين حيث حامض أنثرانيليّة على التّوالي يتجاوب مع [نيترووس سد], [سولفور ديوإكسيد], كلور, وبعد ذلك أمونيوم أن ينتج سكرين ([يومّي]!).
• زرقاء يتماثل أيّ يكون [أسبرتم] يستنتج من ال [أمينو سد] [ل-سبرتيك] حامض و [ل-فنللنين] ويختلّ داخل فورمالديهيد, [فورميك سد] و [دكب] (روحيّة لذيذة!).
• صفراء [سبلندا] أيّ يكون دكستروز, [ملتودإكسترين] وسكروز حيث طعام صيدليات يستبدلون كلور ذرة لثلاثة [هدروجن-وإكسجن] مجموعة على السكروز جزيء (لما مضغ ماء عندما أنت يستطيع [سلورب] أنزلت كلور?).

[تثرن ووت] الزرقاء مادّة خام يخسر [مركت شر] إلى المادّة خام صفراء لأنّ المادّة خام صفراء بعد يذوق حلوة عندما يسخّن. تخمين هو [بك تو] ال يسحب لوح للفريق زرقاء.

سكر بدائل, مثل [ستفيا], جيّدة لداء سكّريّ, ارتفاع ضغط وبدانة. لا يسبّب [ستفيا] أنسولين مسمار مثل سكر وحل قريبة كاملة إلى المبلغة فاحشة سكر يستهلك بالشخص معدّلة. غير أنّ, الحريرة عمليّة قطع مظهر من سكر [سوبستيتس] في صمغ تافهة. يحرق كثير الناس ال 15 حريرة السكر في عصا الصمغ في ال جدّا عمل من يمضغ هو.

علبة هناك أيّ شك أنّ سكر الأكثر يصحّ إختبار بين هذا فرانكنشتاين سكر مخاليق?

[إكسليتول] إلى الإنقاذ?

[إكسليتول]. أنّ المادّة خام حلوة أنّ يحصل يخلّص من جراثيم مضرّة في الفم, حق?

[ج], ربّما يقتل هو جراثيم مضرّة في الفم. غير أنّ, لا هكذا سريعا. وفقا ل [در.]. جيم [هومفريس] قد مات كثير كلاب من [ليفر ديسس] نتيجة [إكسليتول] تسمم. He advises keeping children’s chewable vitamins and candies (Ok for the kids, you see) away from dogs.

As for humans, Dr. Russell Blaylock says studies have shown that xylitol can cause damage to brain cells in his September 2008 Blaylock Wellness Report.

Without delving further I think it’s IX-NAY on the Xylitol-NAY.

SteviaDent?

Awesome: A gum sweetened with the natural herb Stevia. What could be better?

SteviaDent has Xylitol in addition to stevia extract.

Other Ingredients in SteviaDent: maltitol, gum base (i.e. original latex from sapodilla trees), xylitol, natural flavoring (peppermint oil, menthol), gum arabic, lecithin, glycerin, carnauba wax, beeswax.

Bubblelicious Burst?

Better than most, but, what’s up with the BHT? BHT and BHA prevent rancidity at the expense of being carcinogenic for the gum chewer.

INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Gum Base, Invert Sugar, Water, Artificial and Natural Flavoring, Soy Lecithin, Glycerin, Corn Oil, Red 40 Lake, BHT (to maintain freshness) and Red 40.

Come On, Bazooka!

Now, we’re talking. For me, Bazooka is the very symbol of the good ole’ days. Surely they just kept stamping out this classic bubble gum and we can pop one for a trip back in the time machine?

Ingredients for Bazooka:
Sugar, gum base, corn syrup, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, softeners, red 40 lake, red 40, BHT (preservative).

Yikes! Foiled again. Hey, I was just a kid. For all I know it always had BHT.

Peelu

You may have seen this one at the health food stores. I opted out because of the Titanium Dioxide.

Ingredients:
Sorbitol, Gum Base, Maltitol Syrup, Natural Oil of Spearmint, Lecithin, Peelu Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Resinous Glaze, Carnauba Wax. Does not contain Sugar.

Last Gum Standing

So much for the old days. It’s down to the last gum still standing: Ginseng gum.

Ginseng Gum

There’s a warning for pregnant women, but, with immune system benefits and a nice minty taste this one might be worth the risk.

Ingredients: Sugar, Chewing Gum Base, Glucose, Corn Syrup, Glycerine, Gelatine, Sucrose Fatty Acid Ester, Ginseng Extract, Ginseng Powder, D-Sorbitol, Licorice, Peppermint Flavor, Propylene Glycol, Persimmon Juice Concentrated.

Note the corn syrup, propylene glycol and sucrose fatty acid ester and keep it away from your pregnant wife.

Like I said . . . I used to love chewing gum

As said in Three Knots and the Truth it’s incredible what can be done with three knots: The Bowline, Buntline and double sheet bend. If you’re content to learn only these three then get two pieces of rope and start practicing. For those who want to learn more it’s helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture.

There are knots for everything. However, almost every one of the thousands of knots invented do one of five things. They:

1. Stop – Stop rope from passing through a hole or to stop strands from unlaying.
2. Bind – Bind objects to other objects.
3. Loop – Put a loop in the middle or the end of a rope.
4. Bend – Joins the ends of two ropes together.
5. Hitch – Attach a rope to an object.

To optimize your time I propose learning the best single knot for each of these five functions before learning many knots that do the same thing. In other words . . .

Go Wide Before Deep

You’re better off doing more with fewer knots than learning many ways to do the same thing. For reasons of memory, time and spatial confusion I’ve ordered the following practice list to cover the widest range of function with the fewest number of knots.

When you’ve got a minute practice these knots, in order. If you can tie one easily then go to the next knot. If you’re stuck on one it’s best to master it before moving on. Knots that you can tie easily are much more valuable that knots you can’t remember.

These 24 knots represent a lifetime competence list. Your ability to improvise rope solutions will be quite incredible with just the first seven knots. Don’t feel you must get to the end of this list to be competent.

A Note on Choices

The following knots are from my real life experience from the vantage point of a generalist. They are not activity specific. My choices favor knots that are most useful, strong, secure (Won’t slip), stable (Won’t capsize), easy to tie and untie though few have every one of those characteristics. No knot is perfect.

Practice Materials

All you need is two pieces of rope. Get 12 feet of small rope at the hardware store and cut it in half. Pick up a carabiner while you’re there.

Web

You can watch each knot being tied on the web.

Book

My favorite knot book is DK’s Handbook of Knots by Des Pawson. It’s compact, comprehensive, the pictures are clear and the plastic covering and glossy pages don’t run when they get wet.

Wallet Cards

I used to carry these waterproof knot cards when boating. Now, I practice from memory, learn new knots from the DK book or the iphone apps, below.

Phone Apps

John Sherry’s animated version of the wallet cards is slick, but, doesn’t have enough knots. I purchased the full version of the winkpass knot guide because it’s the most comprehensive. If you prefer video over slides then the full version of knot time is good though with less knots than the winkpass. I purchased both (For a total of $5) just to have the same knots tied from two points of view. Both apps advertise they intend to keep adding knots.

References

International Guild of Knot Tyers

IGKT Discussion on Best of Breed Knots

Knots on the Web

Knots for Life – Part 1: Three Knots and the Truth

Stay tuned for "Knots for Life – Part 3 and 4":

• Knots for Life – Part 3: Improvisation and Rules of Thumb
• Knots for Life – Part 4: Real Life Examples