Tag Archives: logistics

Incremental progress

Posted on by

A few weeks back, I got a tad more religion in terms of keeping an up-to-date list of what I have and, more importantly, what I needed. It’s settled into a routine now where, every weekend, I print out my most up-to-date version of the Preponomicon and head off to Costco or Wallyworld. I tell myself “I’m not gonna spend more than $XX today” and I try to stick to that. Thus far…meh…I do a fair amount of sticking to the amount I promised myself I’d spend, but, more importantly, I am always better provisioned after each trip.

Food was, of course, the biggest priority. Can’t repel the zombie hordes if youre weak from hunger, right? And while the food isn’t at 100%, it is mostly all in the green levels so I am comfortable moving a little bit into the other categories. Most notable, cleaning and hygiene.

Don’t let The Walking Dead fool you… wear the same sweat-stained shirt for days on end in the summer, while getting coated in dirt, grime, and bodily fluids, and take a hot shower once a week with laundry done even less frequently…. and you’re headed for major problems. Eat from filthy stained tableware, plates, or cookware and you’re gonna have a bad day. Add the threat of pandemic into the mix and now you relly have a reason to try and keep yourself and your environment reasonably clean. You don’t have to be fastidiously OCD clean, but try to keep yourself and your living conditions as clean as if you had a hot date coming over tonight.

So, what’s sitting on the wire shelving in large quantity? Pine Sol, Simple Green, Lysol, Clorox (which needs to be rotated every so often), sponges, bleach wipes, paper towels, brillo, laundry soap, dish soap, disinfectant, shower soap, shampoo, floss, toothpaste, toothbrushes (shouldn’t that really be teethbrushes?), mouthwash, TP, Q-tips, Kleenex, deodorant, lip balm, and a buncha other goodies. After a long day of hanging looters, quelling riots, and rescuing morally-challenged coeds from Aryan blood gangs wouldn’t you want to look and smell nice for the celebratory barbecue later that evening? Truth is, though, decent hygiene and sanitation prevents a whole lot of badness that you would prefer to avoid during a crisis. And it’s a lot easier to stay somewhat clean when you have the necessary resources. Plus, hey, in times of economic uncertainty when your paycheck is unexpectedly cutoff it’s kinda nice to know you don’t have to spend money on any of those things for over a year.

Just one more thing to ‘get into the green’ levels on the list. But, gotta admit, when i run out of something in my day-to-day usage it’s darn convenient to just trot downstairs and pull some extra off the shelf and get back to business.

Housecleaning

Posted on by

I often joke than when I die, the garage sale will truly be epic. Might also be historical too since some stuff has been in storage for over 2o years. Since I have some time on my hands these days, I’m cleaning up a few things and laying eyes on things I have not seen in a very, very long time.

Freeze drieds from pre-Y2k, old flashlights, rain ponchos, MRE entrees, etc. There’s quite a bit of stuff. And, surprisingly, some did not hold up as well as I would have expected. Case in point – sometime in the wee hours of the new millennia CostCo had a close out on Baygen windup flashlights. They were, as I recall, $20. I think I bought about six or eight. I pulled one out of the box and kept it handy in the bunker for when the power goes out and I need something to find my other gear with. Out of curiosity, I pulled the others out of their boxes and tried them out. None of them worked. Not a one. Perhaps almost 20 years of inactivity deteriorated the internal capacitors or something. But…not a single one worked. Instead, they’ve been taking up space for the last two decades. Obviously, this was before I had adopted the protocol of ‘function test everything before you put it away for the Deep Sleep’. Lesson learned. Interestingly, the one that I took out of the box and use from time to time still works. So, wither that was the one winner in the bunch or the inactivity of the others proved to be detrimental. Regardless, the lesson is the same: test before rest.

Everything else seems to have held up fine. Ammo still works, flashlights work when you put new batteries in them, etc, etc. But its interesting to see how the technology has changed….krypton bulbs replaced by LED, electronics being smaller and more full-featured, that sort of thing.

Its some of that older, more dated stuff that should probably be upgraded. My older MagLites, for example, should be swapped out for LED. Older MRE entrees swapped out for newer. ALICE gear upgraded to MOLLE, etc.

Also, according to the last inspection dates I noted on the boxes, it’s past time to inspect the #10 cans in storage for damage. I’m 99.9% confident everything is fine, but why take chances? Plus, during the course of things I may find other issues that I hadn’t thought about.

So…off to the basement to deep-deg through layers of time like some sort of prepper archaeologist. It’s like a cross between Indiana Jones and Burt Gummer.

Momentum

Posted on by

Funny..it seems like it was just two or three weeks ago my focus was rather intense about getting topped off on various foodstuffs and other items. And now…the sense of urgency seems…diminished…I suppose. That is, of course, the classic survivalist trap – you get fired up over something and pursue it with great intensity and then that intensity wanes. And then, something big happens, and you’re caught flat-footed.

Solution? Well, for me, it’s reminding myself that we aren’t out of the woods by a long shot. Oh sure, virus-wise its a maybe-maybe-not thing, but my concern is more economic. The repercussions aren’t going away anytime soon and I need to be in a position to not only survive it but be able to take advantage of the situation as the less-foresighted suddenly have to choose between their pre-ban Bennelli M3 Super 90 or making the mortgage that month.

Did you know that, as a group, the Mormons came out of the Great Depression better than when they went in? Because of their conservative nature and dogma they weren’t as impacted as most other groups. As a result, they were in a position to take advantage of opportunities that arose.

From an economic standpoint, the impact the virus (and it’s ‘control measures’) inflict on the economy are pretty big. I don’t see a lot of new hirings for the rest of the year, I can see a lot of places shuttering up from not being able to withstand the revenue loss of a couple months, surviving businesses might have to cut back hours/employees, and the smarter folks will cut discretionary spending to the bone to make sure hey have enough cash ‘just in case’. In short, the worst person to be right now is a Starbucks barista with $50k in student loans, a car loan, credit card debt, and a month-to-month lease with roommates. (Actually, thats a pretty crappy position to being pretty much anytime.)

Other things I find interesting are how the media beatas a slightly different drum every few days. Drug shortages one day, restricted airline travel the next, and the current crsis du jour is….meat shortage. Here’s how strong an influence that media can be – I saw no less than three articles on various news wires predicting a beef shortage. My natural inclination was to think “Ok, time to head up to CostCo and buy a case of beef” and then I realized, waitasec, I don’t really eat beef. (True fact: other than cheeseburgers, I don’t eat very much beef. Rarely do I eat a steak. My go-to animal protein is chicken and Italian sausage.) But the media hype had gotten to me to the point that I was almost ready to go stock up on something I don’t even really eat. Insidious the way these media panic stories mess with your head.

On the other hand, as I said, there’s also the problem of them not messing with your head and you becoming complacent or losing your momentum/initiative. Thats what I have to be on guard against right now. The ship is sinking, and it’s a slow leak, but the fact it is happening slowly does not change the fact that it is happening.The Current Situation seems to move slowly and invisibly but it is moving….and not for the better (economically). So, stay focused, keep your eye on the big picture, and stick to the plan.

Scenes from Costco

Posted on by

If you flip around the blogosphere enough you start seeing those clickbait ‘Things That First Disappear From The Shelves During A Crisis” sorts of lists. Apparently my local CostCo is proving to be a source of a bit of empirical data:

Most of that stuff on the first sheet makes a lot of sense, the rest…well…reasons.

Interestingly, we’ve seen that, as far as a pandemic goes, the masses went straight to the TP and rice aisle and cleaned ’em out. The more savvy folks hit canned goods and then went to the appliance store and bought freezers.

There’s that saying that the military is always planning on fighting the previous war. (Which is why a lot of guys fought Gulf War I in woodland camo.) It’s easy to fall into the trap of preparing against the previous disaster…meaning that you you’re so wrapped up in what did happen that you neglect to prepare for what could happen. Take note of what sailed off the shelves this time, but don’t make the mistake of assuming it’ll be the same way in the next one.

As an aside, when I go to CostCo I also usually hit WallyWorld. The selection is broader at WalMart and the crowd is not restricted to members like CostCo is, so WalMart is probably a better representation of what the hordes will be after. While WalMart has had some of its shelves swept clean, they get them restocked mighty quick. Their logisitics footprint is probably bigger than Costco’s and their network of supply and transport is probably also commensurately larger. Point being, sometimes wading through the human genetic frappe that is their customer base may pay off when you can’t find something elsewhere.

Excel-ence in logisitcs

Posted on by

First off, that last poll really surprised me. A full 50% of you people don’t keep track of what you have using anything more complicated than what’s between your ears. And only 1/5 of you use anything more technologically advanced than a paper and pencil.

Why am I surprised? Well, you’re sitting in front of a computer right now, aren’t you? You know how to work the thing, don’t you? So it seemed reasonable to figure that people who can figure out how to use a computer would take advantage of it for this sort of thing. However, a previous poll showed that the readership around here is..shall we say…a bit ‘seasoned’…and perhaps with the older demographic there is a resistance (or ignorance) towards the technological. Who knows. All in all, though…I was very surprised.

I use spreadsheets for keeping track of all my stuff that I need to consider myself ‘prepared’. You can call it your Master List, Inventory, TOE, or whatever. Since I have a bizarre sense of humour, I call mine The Preponomicon.

Anyway……

I use Excel. Mostly because I’m familiar with it and because I still haven’t sat my butt down in front of the computer and mastered Access. My spreadsheets don’t have anything really fancy to them, but I do have them wired up to alert me when inventory levels are at particular thresholds. This is signalled to me by changing the colors of the cells that show my percentage of quantity. At the moment it’s set up like this:

100%-90% = Green – All good
75%-89% = Light green – Okay, but you might wanna jump on this
50%-74% = Yellow – Next trip to the store, get this stuff
0%-49% = Red – Get this fixed ASAP.

It looks something like this:

How do we do the color change? Conditional formatting. Somewhere in your menu bar you’ll see it.From there, under “Manage Rules”, are the rules I made:

And here’s the actual rule saying that if the value in that cell is equal to 90%, or more than 90%, make it green:

For the other values its just a mater of creating a separate rule for each one. And, yes, you can also use a rule that uses a color gradient rather than just these….I just went with something basic. What’s that you say? Still seems overwhelming? Alright, how about I give you a template to work with?

template

Fairly simple….Just a basic template. As you add stuff to your list copy the cells in Column M downwards to your new line. I threw in filters for the column headers in case you want to sort or see only a specific category.

Delete or add columns to add/delete the things you want to sort by. I de facto go with four categories so I can narrow down my focus….Gun stuff, Magazine, Glock, 9mm……Food, Dry, Freeze Dried, Rice & Chicken……Hygiene, Dry, Paper, TP….. that sort of thing. I throw two descriptors after that for brand/model and size. If you really want to go nuts, add a column for ‘servings per qty’ and ‘servings total’, throw in some math, and get yourself an idea of how many servings of oatmeal three five pound sacks will provide. I’m sure there’s someone reading this who is chuckling to themselves that this is a kludgy spreadsheet and that there’s a more streamlined way to do this. Hey, have it. Just showing ya what works for me.

If your virus warning pops up as you try to open the template, ignore it. They do that if there isn’t some sort of certificate or whatnot. This is just a half dozen or so lines of Excel.

If you find this useful, how about thanking me in a renumerative way? Oh, and I lay claim to the term ‘Preponomicon’ which, if you haven’t figured it out, is a nod to the necronomicon from ‘Evil Dead’.

 

 

Inventory

Posted on by

A genuine sign of the apocalypse: I had to cut my own hair. Turns out, I look good in a ball cap. It occurred to me that if I can’t find a haircut because my barber is closed up, then there must be a lot of chicks out there who can’t get their waxing done. Now theres a crisis. #welcometo1987
———————

Government setting up internal checkpoints and tracking your movements, standing in line for toilet paper, rationed healthcare, economic freefall, empty grocery shelves, neighbors ratting out neighbors to the police…it’s like a free 30-day trial of socialism.
———————-

I’ve been using some of this downtime (which for me isn’t very much) to streamline a few processes. Most notably, my inventorying system. I know that there are still folks who use a clipboard and pen but I find Excel to be the shiznits for this sort of thing. Formerly, I used to keep a very simple, sortable list. As of late I’ve changed it up. I recognize that having less than the desired amount of something is not necessarily the same as a ‘go replace it immediately’, situation. Lemme give an example.

I like to keep 210 rolls of TP on hand. Thats seven of the CostCo 30-packs. Formerly, my spreadsheet would subtract the amount on hand from the amount desired and whatever the difference was is what I needed to go get. Or, put another way, I want 210, I have 208, so in theory I need to go out and buy 2. And thats how I rolled (heh) for a number of years.

As of late, I’ve changed the system to something I find more fluid and flexible but still allowing me to keep inventory numbers up. Previously, anything less than 100% was “running low”. I’ve adjusted my numbers and reformulated the spreadsheet so that if I have 90% of an item or more, I’m at an acceptable level of readiness. Anything below 90% is the trigger to immediately restock back up to 100%. Under this paradigm, if the supply of TP drops from 210 (100%) down to, say, 200 (95%~)…no immediate action required. But if it drops below 189 (90%) then it’s off to CostCo. In short, I figure that I am content with 90% of my desired amount of an item in case things suddenly go off the rails.

This did mean making some adjustments to what my desired levels are on some things. It meant assuming, worst case, I would start the apocalypse with 90% of what I thought would be the perfect amount. Some things I was cool with that (TP), some I was not (rice) and so those items had their amounts bumped up.

I’ve got it set now so that anything on my spreadsheet that is at more than 90% shows up in green, and anything below 90% shows up in ‘warning yellow’. Anything below 75% show up in ‘danger red’. So, at a glance, I can see by color code what needs attention and how soon.

I’ve been plugging a few holes in my list lately and, surprisingly, with the exception of 25# bags of long grain rice, anything I need thats on my list is available somewhere in this town. Tell you what, gang…this is the slowest moving end-of-the-world I’ve ever seen. Where’s the cannibal army? Where’s the rogue military units? Where’s the plucky survivor who rallies the townies? Where’s Charlton Heston?

Ah, but seriously… I suspect it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and the getting better part won’t necessarily be the same as ‘back to normal’. Much how things never got ‘back to normal’ after 9/11. But, for now, I’m just watching the news and my local scene, wondering when the real crapstorm is gonna start.

Trading stock

Posted on by

I was talking with someone today and they asked me about whether I stockpile things like cigarettes, booze, or coffee for bartering purposes.

I actually do not. The biggest reason, for me, is that I simply do not use any of those products. Whether its inventory for resale or items for my own personal stash, I never acquire anything in bulk that I cannot use for my own needs. To do otherwise would risk wasting resources on something I can’t use.

However, there are things that I keep a rather large quantity of that is so large it could double as a supply of barter goods if it had to. And, if I got stuck with them, theyre things I use anyway. Such as? Well, medical supplies spring to mind. Same for food, batteries, toilet paper, silver, some ammo and guns, clothing, fuel, etc.

Bartering assumes that there is something I need or want that I do not already have. After all, no one exposes themselves (and their goods) to the risk of some sort of post-apocalyptic marketplace if they don’t need to. Would you? Would anyone? Why advertise to the world that you not only have something but you have enough of it that you can actually use it for trade?

Of course, we can’t think of everything. And something may happen that forces your hand. Maybe floss weevils got into your dental floss stash and you’re completely out of the stuff eve though you had stockpiled cases of it. Things can happen.

For my interests, I figure the things I already use (and have) in large quantity will have plenty of value. Will there be people who would kill for a drink? Or a cigarette? Or coffee? Absolutely. And thats why some poeple stock up on that sort of stuff. But there’ll also be people who’d kill to have food for their kids. Or themselves. And since I already am a user of food, it makes sense have that on hand as trade fodder if I decide to have a reserve of some kind for trading.

I suppose it wouldn’t kill me to throw $20 on the counter at WalMart and grab a couple dozen single-serve packets of freeze dried coffee. Or a couple airplane-sized bottles of Jack Daniels. And I might do that. But, for me, it simply makes more sense to stockpile things I can use since a) if I can use it someone else can too and b) if i wind up keeping it then I only wind up improving my situation.

Let me put it another way: which makes more sense..buying $100 worth of an item that may have some barter value but has no use to you individually, or buying $100 worth of an item that may have some barter value AND can benefit your stockpile if you wind up keeping it. Hmm.

Anyway, your mileage may vary but, no, no hoard of cigarettes and Mad Dog in the bunker.

I’m not driving in that

Posted on by

So it’s about -2 outside, which is bad enough but the wind is insane. And the roads are slicker than Mikhail Baryshnikov at a Wesson oil party. No real reason to risk limb and lira out there on the roads. BUT….I’m trying to clean my kitchen and while I have plenty of fuel for the flamethrower I am out of dish soap. So…do I risk losing momentum and halting my kitchen cleaning? Or do I go driving on the frigid skating rink and risk everything for a $6 bottle of Dawn? Well, neither…

One simply trots down to the basement, peruses the shelves, and finds a half dozen jugs of the stuff sitting patiently on the shelf.

In this particular case, about eight years ago I tucked this guy away in case I needed it. And that foresight is keeping me from skidding through intersections and into traffic this very evening.

The point? Well, we stockpile things against that uncertain future when the zombies rise or the economy crashes. But those same preps have a happy way of coming in handy at opportune moments. In this case, I can completely eliminate the risk of heading to CostCo on a freezing, icy, winter day.

Because this stuff is one of the things I stocked up on (mostly for economic reasons), I can wait until the weather is nicer before I have to go up there and replace it. Sure, stocking the usual guns & freeze-drieds is important, but stockpiling the incredibly mundane day-to-day stuff pays off too.

I have literally not left the house all weekend and I can be perfectly content, fed, warm, clothed, entertained, and secure without exposing myself to ‘The Vortex’. Prior planning pays off, people.

ETA: Since I’m cleaning my kitchen, and scrubbing the floors for the first time in…well…ever. I decided to resort to some…force multipliers. Check out this BAMF:

Man is a tool-using animal, baby. And this tool was AWESOME. My bathtub is so smooth and clean now that I might actually slip in the tub now. And this sucker did some major work on my kitchen floor. Recommend.

Adventures in food storage

Posted on by

Todays “Lets See What Happens” episode is a six year old can of corned beef hash. Nominal ‘best by’ date was three years ago. So….how is it?

Fine. Of course.

Properly canned food lasts pretty much indefinitely. This can features the pre-scored ‘pop top’ feature that don’t really like in canned goods. If you drop the can or pressure is applied against the pre-scored region the can will fail more often than if it were not pre-scored. But, unfortauntely, these small single-serve cans were not available without the pop-top features. But…they held up just fine.

Storage conditions? Just sitting in the back of my kitchen cabinet for six years. Nothing special.

And that’s sort of the point. While I fully appreciate the nitrogen sealed, ceramic lined #10 cans filled with freeeze dried meats that will last longer than I will…..I also appreciate that modern food canning processes, by first world companies, do an awesome job of creating a product that will last a long time. Sometimes there is a need for a $40 can of freeze-dried pork chops, but sometimes you’ll get along just fine with a case of Kirkland canned pulled pork. It just depends on a few other things like if you plan to transport it, what the storage conditions will be, etc. I love me some long-term food but, really, you can put together a very reasonably long-term food supply without breaking the bank on ‘survival food’.

I bet the folks in whats left of Florida would be happy to have some hash and eggs for breakfast after a long evening of clearing debris and unblocking roads. A case of this stuff, a #10 can of powdered eggs, a case of instant oatmeal, a case of fruit cocktail cups, a jar of Tang, instant coffee, some hash browns, and you’ve pretty much got a breakfast that’ll last five-ten years.

As I’ve mentioned, around this house the food storage paradigm is short-, mid-, and long-term storage. This stuff counts as ‘mid-term’ storage….it’ll be good for more than a year or two but probably not out at the twenty year mark. I wish I had written the price down, I’d be curious to see where the price went.