Seriously, though, I got back from the convention and tore this place apart trying to find it. Then I was worried that I’d left it, and had these horrible daydreams about someone finding it . . . so I was almost relieved that my stupid dog took off with it.

You can get them locally, though. Both Main Market and Pilgrim’s (CdA) have them on the shelf.

Place several cups of uncooked rice on a cookie sheet in the oven at ~350F for an hour or so. Whenever I’ve done it the rice gets a reddish tinge.

Ideally you leave it in the oven to cool so that it doesn’t absorb moisture from the air before you can get it in a hermetic box (which, if its plastic, won’t appreciate 350F rice!). When it gets down to around 100F place it in said hermetically sealed box. If you leave it until the oven is room temperature it will start doing its work inside the oven instead of your target…

This also works for rejuvenating silica gel, although if it doesn’t have the color indicator its a little more difficult to know when its done, or when it needs renewing.

For what its worth, I wrapped some #12 solid copper wire around the body of the grill lighter to make a bigger “negative” terminal. You just hold the unit parallel to the skin when treating the location in question. The biggest mistake in implementation is touching the skin with the high-voltage (“positive”) terminal — hold it away to get the longest possible spark; the gap lets the voltage build up high enough to do some “good”.

The consensus I’ve seen (primarily Guderian) is that 5 applications of 2-5 sparks each is the point of diminishing returns — give it 30 seconds between applications to see how things go. I’ve seen a swollen spider bite disappear in 30 seconds from just two zaps! Then again, my dad tried to save my sister from some “harmless” African bug and he was in pain all night because this didn’t help.

I first heard about this as treatment for scorpion bites from missionaries in Sudan — it seemed a bit more plausible than the alternative wetting a cigarette and rubbing it on the opposite ear!

Suggested reading:
http://venomshock.wikidot.com/
http://www.snakebiteshelp.com/2.htm
http://electroshockbite.blogspot.com/

These guys have nothing good to say about it, but I’ll mention them in the interest of balance: http://www.herper.com/venom/electro.html

Their main problem is with using too high of a voltage. Anything higher than 30kv doesn’t penetrate well and burns the skin instead. So most stun-guns are ineffective. But lawn-mower sparkplug wires and most car and truck sparkplug wires would work well (unless you have a diesel, but then you’ve already chosen your poison with more care than most). =)

— Alan

Such a great book, love his writing style and humor. Can’t wait to read more of his stuff.

How are you and the fam btw? lol

Love and miss ya!
Melissa