Author Archives: Commander Zero

Melange

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I received a very thoughtful note of encouragement from someone in the mail a couple weeks ago ( you know who you are, person in AZ), and a few people have, as of late, stepped up to chip in a few bucks towards keeping the lights on and the brain droppings flowing. Figured I should recognize their generosity… so, here ya go. Mucho thanks! ( I should also mention that while many people prefer to be anonymous in this sort of thing, the ones who do send me things in the mail and use their real return address wind up getting on the Paratus card list.)

The local CostCo is selling Boyt hard cases at a decent enough price that I might have to pick one (or five) up. Not as good as a Pelican case, IMHO, but nothing really is. However, for just organizing some of these guns that are laying all over the place here it should do nicely.  I do need to find a smoking deal on Pelican 1750’s though.

A loaned out copy of “One Second After” was returned to me the other day. It’s a good book, in terms of story, although a little heavy-handed at times. But it seems far more gritty and realistic than similar works. Two thing I really didn’t like was the obligatory armed-townies-versus-cannibal-army climax which seems to be a requirement for any post-apocalypse book, and I felt like the depths of starvation and it’s attendant issues were happening sooner than I think they would in real life. Nonetheless, it was a good read and certainly a bit motivating.

Independence Day is this weekend and, like Patriots Day, it is properly celebrated by including the handling of arms and the usage of same. Folks who fought and sacrificed in the Revolutionary War would expect no less of you. But…don’t shoot off all your ammo. We do, after all, seem to have a cold civil war a-brewing.

It’s pretty telling that it takes a global pandemic, economic upheaval, and race rioting to make Joe Biden look like a contender for President. Once again, this is going to be ‘the most important election of our generation’….as we are reminded Every. Single. Election.

It’s a heck of a time to try to stock up on guns and mags against the election, what with the ‘Corona Tax’ making guns more expensive than they were this time last year, but if you’ve been so remarkably short-sighted as to not have your thundertoys purchased by now….well…you kinda deserve this.

 

Working down the list

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As I’ve mentioned, every weekend I commit about fifty bucks towards working my way down the Perponomicon. It’s a bit more regimented and regulated than my previous acquisition process, which was basically to just pick up a few things each time I go shopping. Nope, this is a purposeful and deliberate task each weekend. (And, unsurprisingly, the secret, it seems, to getting anything worthwhile done is…deliberate and purposeful activity.)

The good news is that in the last several weeks I’ve moved a lot of stuff on my list ‘into the green‘. Which is nice. Thing is, though, those were all the easy..and relatively inexpensive…things. $2 cans of tomatoes, $9 jugs of cleaning solution, $20 packages of batteries….that sort of thing. The kinds of items that, no doubt, are definitely worth having on a list but what is starting to remain to be done is the more expensive things. The things like optics, radios, cases of ammo, gold, backup drives, large propane tanks, etc.

And, naturally, at the very top of the list…very tippy top….Rancho Ballistica – Commander Zero’s Post-Nuclear Bunker O’ Love and Lingerie Proving Ground. That’s the the big one. Right now, I’d be happy just to get the land..I can always build later. But get the land soonest since it usually doesn’t go down in price.

And then, on top of all that, I have to prepare for the non-EOTWAWKI. I have to prepare for civilization, such as it is, to keep on truckin’ on. Property taxes, Roth contributions, HSA contributions, insurance payments, emergency funds, property improvements, dental cleanings, etc, etc.

I wonder what would happen if, by some stroke of fortune, I managed to actually complete and compile every single thing I think I need or wanted in terms of preparedness. Would I then know not what to do with myself? Or…

 

Video – 1911 vs. M1 Carbine

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As you know, the M1 Carbine was never supposed to be a replacement for the M1 rifle. Rather, the purpose of the M1 Carbine was to give people who normally don’t carry a full-size rifle (radiomen, mortar crews, messengers, truck drivers, etc.) something more efficient than a pistol. Basically, the idea wasn’t to replace the M1 Rifle, the goal was to replace the 1911 pistol for people who would, normally, only be carrying a pistol.

The 1911, like any pistol really, is challenging to shoot well under stress. A carbine is way easier to handle and get hits with under stress. Gun Jesus ran an impromptu course using both a 1911 and an M1 Carbine and the results are interesting.

As Chuck Connors pointed out in virtually every episode of his show, a short carbine with a pistol cartridge at pistol ranges will outperform a pistol pretty often. This seems to answer the age-old question of ‘what good is a pistol caliber carbine’. Or..does it?

An M1 Garand is about ten pounds. The M1 carbine was about half that. Obviously, theres a tremendous weight advantage. But….a 9mm carbine like a 9mm AR is virtually the same weight as…a .223 AR. So you get virtually no advantage.

You could say, though, that a 9mm AR pistol would be more compact and lighter than a .223 AR carbine and you’d be right. But then you could also just carry a .223 AR pistol and be right back to zero.

So, comparing apples to apples…..AR platform to AR platform..is a zero-sum game it seems. But as mentioned, the M1 Carbine wasnt meant to replace the M1 Garand, it was meant to replace the pistol. So…what about when you compare the 9mm carbine against the pistol? Thats where things would change. But…since you can get your 9mm AR carbine in .223, why not just use your .223 carbine?

It’s an interesting mental exercise. Almost anything you can do with a 9mm carbine you can do with a .223 carbine, so why take the ballistic penalty of being in 9mm? I gotta say, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a 9mm carbine is a better choice than an M4. Easy to suppress and marginally lower recoil but after that…………..?

Having said that, though…I still like my 9mm carbines. I especially like my Ruger PC Charger which is probably the only format (an arm-braced ‘pistol’) that gives an advantage over the M4..namely, compactness.

Anyway, an interesting video although I’m not sure the implications it suggests are as relevant in a world of M4 carbines that ape the M1 Carbine in terms of length and weight.

The utility of vacuum sealers

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Fella I know, who is getting started in the realm of preparedness had his birthday earlier this month.  I got him what I think is one of the best gifts you can get a fellow survivalist: a vacuum sealer. For the record, the best gift you can probably get for a survivalist is a huge chunk of land in the middle of nowhere. For this survivalist, the best gift you can get is a slightly drunk and mildly self-esteem-challenged Jennifer Lawrence. Or, if you’re on a budget, her body double.

Thing is, most people have a very narrow view of what a vacuum sealer is good for. In fact, the gift was met with a ‘my freezer is already full’ response. A lot of folks, in my experience, don’t think creatively about the uses for one of these things that have nothing to do with food. So, lemme mention a few of the non-food things I do with mine and maybe it’ll send you down a new road of thought in regard to using yours. (Or getting one.)

  •  Compressing high-loft items of clothing so they take up less space in a pack
  • Preventing powdered items from clumping – The cleanser that comes in the cardboard cans? I put each can into a bag and vaccuum seal it so that after years of sitting on the shelf it hasn’t drawn moisture and caked into a rock-like consistency.
  • Water bottles that get left in the vehicle in the winter are vacuum sealed in a bag so if the plastic bottle does explode from freezing (which almost never happens) any leakage is contained. And the water is still potable.
  • All the fire-starting materials in my hunting/bushwhacking packs are vacuum sealed to keep them dry, clean, and in one place.
  • Small first aid items get vacuum sealed for rather obvious reasons.
  • Critical documents are vacuum sealed so they are protected from moisture, wet, etc. For example, my birth certificate(s) and passport(s) are sealed up and sitting in the safe. (Uhm..yeah…plural….I know a guy…)
  • In the Pelican case I keep in the winter vehicle kit there is an an entire change of clothes that has been vacuum sealed to consere space and keep the clothing clean and dry so that in an emergency it’s ready to use.
  • Bulk first aid gear that would normally take up space gets vacuum sealed to allow me to pack more of it in a smaller space, as well as to protect it.
  • Have a dog? Dog food MRE’s. Phydeaux’s kibble and treats packed into individual servings.
  • Toilet paper that you keep in the truck or at the cabin. If you’re putting together a bugout bin or kit you really, really wanna make sure the TP is protected.
  • Medications in tablet form. Most pills come in plastic bottles that offer good protection, but a lot of stuff comes in blister packs and although you’d think those foil and plastic sheets would offer good protection…not always. So, into the sealer they go. Try to keep stuff in original packaging when you do this…last thin you want is a little vacuum sealed bag of unidentified pills laying around with nothing to tell you what they are or how much to take. And the cops really get curious when large quantities of pills are loose in a plastic bag.
  • Bars of soap. Bar soap seems to ossify over time. Seal ’em up so theyre still useful years later.
  • Road flares. Seal ’em up, wrap in cardboard to protect the integrity of the plastic bag, and tuck ’em away in your vehicle. Wet flares are the literal damp squib at a rescue.
  • Small electronics that absolutely need to be protected. Handheld radios get vacuum sealed with dessicant and then tucked away in a protective case of some kind. Suspenders and a belt, perhaps… but its an extra step that costs virtually nothing and makes sure that you have communications when you really, really need it. And thats worth pretty much anything.
  • Batteries. Water and batteries do not mix..at least, not in a good way. I store batteries in plastic tubs but I also vacuum seal the large CostCo-sized bulk packs of batteries.

The list goes on, but I think you get the idea. And, yeah, they are also handy for food as well. If you haven’t bought one already, do yourself a favor and don’t cheap out. Yeah, there are some models that are $50-$75. Skip them. This is not the kind of item you want to cut corners on. Get the Foodsaver brand, not the Cabelas, not the Walmart, not the other brand you’ve never heard of. Get the Foodsaver branded rolls of material as well. Plan on spending about $200. I absolutely promise you that it will be the best $200 you can spend on preparedness gear. Do it.

 

Signs of the time

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Whats missing from this picture of the CostCo meat counter?

Answer: Prices.

Usually there’s a couple big signs on the wall listing the regular and case prices. Those signs, clearly, are now absent. Reason? I’m guessing it’s because prices (and availability) are uncertain. Now, remember, this is just my opinion…I didn’t actually ask anyone there. For all I know they pulled the signs down so they could paint the walls or something. But…given the Current Situation, I suspect its a matter of pricing and availability.

Just one of those little things I’m sure not many other people at CostCo noticed, but little things like that kinda jump out at me.

 

Beef – it’s what’s not for dinner

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I was in my local Albertson’s and was doing my usual trawling of the meat department for bargains when I notices that a large amount of ground beef was plastered with the “30%” off stickers. But no “50%”. I inquired at the meat counter and was told that a) meats aren’t getting marked down 50% because the demand is high enough that it will sell at 30% off and b) the 50% is too much of a price cut because of the higher prices they are having to pay these days. That last part made no sense but the guy in the white coat and hairnet isn’t a finance major.

Regardless of the guy’s statement, I can see some of what he’s getting at. No two ways around it, beef prices are up. Ground beef is at prices that, to me, are just ridiculous. Fortunately, chicken is my main go-to for animal protein and I can usually get that on sale for around $1.99/#. But my meat trays, which have been a staple of my freezer stocking program for quite a few years now, are reflecting these new sensibilities. Gone is the 3# “Log” of ground beef that used to make up 1/4 of the tray. And the sirloins which sometimes were part of the tray are now completely gone. Whats left? Pork and chicken. Invariably it’s now some type of sausage, pork steak, chicken legs, and some other cut of pork. In my opinion, not really worth the bother anymore.

Meat tray as it used to be

Another version of the meat tray as it used to be. Note this one is 1/2 beef.

Fortunately, I’ve been stocking the freezer long before this, and chicken is my main choice of meat, so the relative high price/scarcity of beef doesn’t really faze me. But…it is kind of unsettling to think that in a country whose supermarkets were incomprehensible to people from communist countries, we are starting to get the very faintest of whiffs of the kind of supermarket shortages that we always associated with Communist/Socialist states.

Come to think of it, this year is the first time I have ever seen national-level grocery store shortages. We had The Great TP Rush of 2020, and similar runs on things like Rice, pasta, frozen pizzas, and that sort of thing. Sure, we see it when hurricanes and earthquakes occur…but that’s usually a local-level thing. Earlier this year it didn’t matter if you were in Alaska or Alabama, you weren’t gonna get to squeeze any Charmin.

And now, as there is talk of ‘re-lockdowns’, it might be time to make sure that you’ve learned your lesson from earlier this year. And,  by the by, even if there’s not a shortage of [beef/pasta/rice/TP] I can almost guarantee you that there is going to be a shortage of money. I think right now people are holding onto their cash with both hands as they worry about the market, their jobs, etc. Housing prices in my town, which were ridiculously high, have come down slightly as people are deciding that perhaps this isn’t the year to be spending huge money and perhaps it might be better to just hold onto that down payment money until next year…you know…’just in case’.

Its the weekend, so for me it’s time for another $50 towards getting items on the Preponomicon into the green. Go. Buy. Stockpile.

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There’s a link at the top of the column on the right hand of your screen. I think what I’ll probably do is, on an experimental basis for now, post a footer in a random post once a week with a quick link. We’ll see if that doesn’t come across as too crass and self-serving.

The first rule of Prep Club

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I was talking to someone the other day and they mentioned that their wife, who had been ‘on board’ with his interest in preparedness has, as of late, become more approving of his interest. I told him that he was not the first person to experience this lately. I know several people whose wives tolerated their interest in preparedness as a sort of ‘quirky guy thing’ and have suddenly discovered that they rather appreciate the increased feeling of security it provides.

But, any situation threatening enough to make an on-the-fence/humouring spouse suddenly a believer is also threatening enough that the old “I’ll just come to your place in case anything happens” scenario a bit more dangerous.

This is brought to mind by a dream I had the other night. I dreamt that there was a Mount St Helens type of explosion off on the horizon and my neighbors and I stood on the street and watched half a mountain disappear. Then we watched it re-appear as Volkswagen-size chunks of earth came crashing down around us, destroying homes, cars, power lines, etc. In the dream, I told me neighbor not to worry and to follow me into my basement. The were, naturally, impressed. And I thought “This may have been a bad idea.” Then I woke up.

The message? In calmer times it’s a good idea to obey the first rule of Prep Club. In times of…excitement…it is even more vital. The classic scenario is that the world comes to an end and everyone tries to get into your bomb shelter. But things don’t have to reach that level for secrecy to be your friend. Even without bombs dropping or the dead roaming the land, you still have a ton of resources tied up in ammo, guns, radios, gold, and a dozen other things that your garden-variety burglar or thief is interested in. So, yeah, the first rule of Prep Club is that you don’t talk about Prep Club. (Which is ironic since I am, at the moment, talking about Prep Club.)

I suppose that’s one of my biggest gripes about ‘survival groups’ or ‘mutual aid’ groups. You’re trusting people whom you otherwise might not even spend time with ‘in real life’ with information and location about very valuable things you have. Personally, I find it hard to hand out that level of trust. This is why, in my opinion, the best ‘survival groups’ are very small and have a common social denominator that is extremely intimate. Family, for example, is probably the most intimate social group you can have. And even then, we all have that Aunt Jane or Cousin Joe who we would probably not trust with that sort of information. So if something as closely knit as a family has members who you’d not want ‘in your inner circle’, imagine what it’d be like when you start looking outside that family group. All relationships are transitory. The people you trusted with the GPS coords to your stash buried in the National Forest may, for whatever reason, wind up no longer being part of your circle. And when they depart, they take that information with them and you wind up having to change locks and rebury caches.

On the other hand, you could play it close to the vest and your family may not even know about all the things you’ve put away for them. And you get caught away from home (or worse, killed in the crisis) and they have no idea that their salvation was hidden in the basement behind the grandma’s old furniture or sitting in the rafters of the garage.

It’s definitely interesting times that we are living in. And it is reasonably possible that some aspects of the preparations we have made (almost certainly the financial ones, at least) will wind up coming in handy and getting put to use. It’s because of this increased likelihood, and the increased awareness (and desperation) of others, that keeping information about our personal WalMart we’ve created in the basement should stay under our tinfoil hat.

Ben Franklin said that ‘three can keep a secret if two of them are dead’. I wouldn’t go quite that far but, in todays heightened environment, I definitely do keep a pretty tight hand on who I let in my house and who I talk about this sorta stuff with.

 

Article – How long you can take medications like ibuprofen and aspirin after opening them

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One of the things on the Preponomicon that I am trying to get into the green is some OTC medications. Presumably, these things are going to sit on a shelf for, at least, several years. Does aspirin turn into some sort of toxic acid a few years after its ‘Best By’ date?

Just like food, medication is required by law to have an expiration date on its packaging. But how long past that date can you keep using your over-the-counter and prescription drugs? And is it safe to take expired medicine?

INSIDER talked to medical experts to find out how long you can keep using some common medications after opening them.

The answer, it seems, is ” a usefully long time”. But, honestly, this is one of those times where I’m probably going to disregard the common advice, as well as the small financial hit, and simply throw out and replace my 500-tablet bottle of ibuprofin every five years.

Hunter S. Thompson’s Continental breakfast

However, up until a few years ago I was still using a gigantic bottle of Advil that I’d bought at CostCo with an ‘Expiration date’ in 1997. Made my headaches go away just fine.

TL,DR: your Tylenol, Advil, and aspirin are GTG for about 5 years.

 

ETA: I was sent this in email:

The military did a study back in the 80’s examining the bioactivity of stored drugs…  And found that almost all of them were good to go years after their expiration dates. These are drugs that were stored in climate controlled warehouses, in original factory packaging.

ProTip:  Don’t buy one big bottle of a drug, buy lots of little ones… Drugs are hermetically sealed at the factory, and once  you open them and start shaking things out, moisture gets in and starts degrading the drug.  Not to mention whatever you may introduce with your finger..

For drug storage, put the unopened drugs in a refrigerator – don’t freeze them.  Why keep them cool?  In general (rule of thumb time) for every 10-degree C reduction in temperature a chemical process (like a drug, degrading) experiences, the rate of the process reduces by 1/2.  So, your drugs will last about 4 times longer in the refrigerator at 2-c, then at room temperature at 22-c.

Why not freeze them?  Because they may degrade (especially liquid or ointment products) and separate (the various components freeze at different temperatures).  When they thaw, they melt at different temps too, and don’t reconstitute.  This is ESPECIALLY important for drugs like insulin, a protein: Freezing the protein breaks it apart, and then it is done.  No longer useful…   So, cold:  Not frozen.

The military did a study back in the 80’s examining the bioactivity of stored drugs…  And found that almost all of them were good to go years after their expiration dates. These are drugs that were stored in climate controlled warehouses, in original factory packaging.

Disclaimer:  I am a physician. I am NOT your physician.  This is not medical advice.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-myth-of-drug-expiration-dates

https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/expiration-dating-extension

Furthering the resilience

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Another weekend, another couple items on my list moved ‘into the green’. While I was at CostCo picking up oatmeal and hand sanitizer I noticed that the seemingly endless social distancing annoyances are fading. The directional arrows to encourage one-way traffic in an aisle? Gone. The “Please wait here until called forward by cashier” signs? Gone. The red tape on the floor marking where to stand with your cart while in line? Gone. Requirement to wear a mask? Still there. Can’t have everything, I suppose.

Having finally gotten the house paid off has freed up enough cash from the monthly budget that spending $50 a weekend on ‘preps’ is a less than zero sum game, budgetwise. I need to start moving some of that available money into my Roth, cash savings, and metals.

The hardcore among you will say that I’m foolish to be putting money into my Roth when the economy is going to come crashing down any day as the BIlderbergerTrilateralCFRIlluminati sre only moments away from executing their grand plan to crush the US economy and get the Blue Helmets out on the street.

Look, I’ve been a survivalist for over thirty years…I’ve needed $50 bills far more often than I’ve needed .50 BMG. And being a survivalist means you prepare for the future…and if the economy doesn’t come crashing down, I want to be ready for that too. So..I continue to put money into the markets through my Roth. And, just in case, I also put money into silver. And, for those middle-of-the-road emergencies…cash. And none of those strategies, such as they are, are preventing me from making progress. Putting money in my Roth isn’t leaving me vulnerable and unprepared against the boogaloo, and preparing for the zombie apocalypse isn’t keeping me from making smart moves with my Roth and savings. I can do those things at the same time.

Right now, I don’t see the economy imploding and turning us into a crowd of Steinbeck characters standing around a campfire trading .22 cartridges for gasoline. So, what do I think is going to happen?

Unemployment is going to stay high for the short term, GDP will improve but still be negative for at least another quarter so not a recession in the technical sense but, really, a recession, and the market will continue to gain until the election, when all bets are off.

Whats that mean to me? It means continue to live well within my means, buy now what I think I may need later that may not be available, buy and hold when something in the market looks underpriced, steadily and consistently buy a little metal here and there, and put back as much cash as possible. Think about the effects of a hobbled economy and what risks and opportunities it’ll present.

What should you do? Beats me. Your situation is unique and you are the most qualified person to evaluate the courses of action you should take. But, the one thing I can recommend to you is this: think. Don’t just daydream when you’re in WalMart about “Oh, maybe I should get some of these…” or jawbone with your buddies “If it gets bad, I’m gonna…” Get away from the computer, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, sit down with a notebook and a pen, and actually, actively, purposefully…think. What are your liabilities? What are your priorities? What are the risks to you? What can you stand to give up? What are you willing to do to make your position more secure? What opportunities are you aware of that may present themselves? Whats your worst case scenario? Whats your most likely case scenario? “I want to be resilient enough that if XXXXX me and the family will be okay for the duration”…great, now plan how to get there.

Very few people build anything well…a car, a house, a relationship, a life…by just spitballing it and going about it half-assed. Some people do, and thats more luck than anything else. Luck is for rabbits. Don’t rely on luck. Find what it is your worried about and then come up with a plan, a strategy, a course of action and behavior, a roadmap to get to the position where that thing you are worried about becomes something you’re not worried about.

My life is not yet nearly as resilient as I’d like it to be. But it has reached a point where it is leaps ahead of many other people’s lives. I’m not unsinkable, but I can withstand icebergs that would crush my neighbors. So..I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

Patreon

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Several people have emailed me over the last few months to suggest that I get a Patreon account in order that they may contribute to the literary dumpster fire that is my blog. So be it.

Usually Patreon is something where, by ‘subscribing’, or pledging a particular amount each month you unlock some sort of bonus. For example, if you pledge $1 a month you might get to read posts that are not normally available to folks who don’t pony up. Yeah…I’m not doing that.

Look, I’ve got 17 years worth of blogging posts here for you to read. Some good, some bad, some fluffy, some insightful. If you think it’s been enjoyable for you and become part of your routine, I think it would be awesome if you kicked in $2 a month to keep the lights on and the freeze-drieds flowing. But I really have no intention of creating tiers of postings for folks. I’m willing to live with the tragedy of the commons.

There’s a link at the top of the column on the right hand of your screen. I think what I’ll probably do is, on an experimental basis for now, post a footer in a random post once a week with a quick link. We’ll see if that doesn’t come across as too crass and self-serving.

Anyway, it’s there if you’re feeling particularly generous….although in this current economic clime, I may have picked the worst time in the world to set up this thing.