I enjoyed the podcast, especially the banter!
Dave, you mentioned that cheap two-mil Zip-Loc baggies tend to tear at the top. I agree about SOME cheap ones, but others that I've bought resist as well as those fancy-pants crystal clear 4-mil Excelsior Zippies.
I've even had good luck with 2 mil Wal-Mart Zip-Locs.
However, there is a way to open even the cheapest Zip-Locs without tearing them. The nice thing is that, after I practiced this trick that someone taught me (RisingCreek?) , it's faster and EASIER than grabbing each lip with thumb and fore-finger, then pulling them apart. And it's one-handed!
The hard part is describing it without video.
Dry your fignertips and make sure they aren't oily or greasy. You need some skin friction.
Put the zipper of the Zip-Loc between thumb and forefinger as if there was some crud that you had to rub off.
Put moderate pressure on the zipper, as if you were squeezing it shut.
That pressure will give you some friction between your fingers and the plastic.
Now rub your finger and thumb in opposite directions parallel to the zipper.
They only have to move about 1/2 inch.
If there's enough friction between plastic and finger, the two halves of the zipper will slide relative to each other.
Even 1/4" of movement will "pucker up" the lips of the baggie and pop the zipper partly open.
I think the technical term is using "shear force" instead of "pulling" apart.
Now pushing a finger or a funnel or even a slip of paper between the partly-open lips will open them the rest of the way.
When I'm dividing up harvested seeds or some big pkts of commercial seeds, I can open Zip-Locs with one hand while pushing labels or funnels in with the other hand.
This may be a new record for verbosity for me - two screenfulls of labored text to describe a half-inch finger movement!
P.S. I no longer store seeds in a freezer either. Not even the fridge. The only worse place that comes to mind is the crisper drawer - the MOST humid part of a fridge, and subject to siwngs in tmeperature and humidity every time you open it.
But when I did store in the fridge, the seeds themselves were double-bagged and then the double-bags were inside plastic jars with well-sealing lids. Every time I took a jar out of the fridge, I wiated for it to come ALL the way to room temp before opening the outer jar.
Even that would have made my seeds soggy, but I stored silica gel desiccant inside each jar so that when I put them into the cold, most room-air-humidity was grabbed by the silica gel before it could diffuse through two plastic Zip-Locs and contaminate my seeds.
I use the Kraft paper coin envelopes that you mentioned to hold a tablespoon or two of silica gel. I staple them closed so they don't leak dust. Since they are paper, humidity blows freely right through them.
The silica gel is exhausted pretty quickly unless you can seal it tight in glass and never open the jar. Humidity and oxygen can diffuse right THROUGH plastic, just slowly. Is that why you like the classy 4-mil baggies?
Humidity and oxygen diffuse through the "zipper" pretty quickly.
BTW, here are online places where I would buy more Zip-Locs. They have all sizes, including "tiny". And many colors. Look for "Apple Bags" to get as small as 3/8" x 3/8" and a whole rainbow of colors.
Oh, darn, the IT department at work, in their infinitesimal wisdom, have BLOCKED Clearbags.com.
FFFPPPTTT.
