A couple links I think we’ll all enjoy:
Home Built Generator project
Rainwater harvesting
and my fave:
Hurricane Rita After Action Report

Interesting reads!

Was up at CostCo the other day and found not one, not two but three different handcrank/dynamo flashlights for sale…including a four-pack of the things for $30. Naturally, they are all made in China but what interests me is how items like this are becoming more and more mainstream. What I was after while I was at CostCo was neat little ‘puck lights’. These are small hockeypuck sized battery operated LED lights meant for use in closets or cabinets. They run on 3AAA batts, have two intensity settings and were $12 for a pack of three. My purpose? When the power goes out it’ll be nice to illuminate a path to the bunker…cause once you get there all your lighting issues become a thing of the past. However, navigating stairs and accessways is a bit difficult in the dark. And if youre going to be relaying boxes of goodies out of there it’d be nice to have some hands free lighting. So, I’ll mount them on the ceiling or wall at the most useful points and that way they’ll be there when I need them. Turned all the lights out last night and tried them out at various points in the house to see where they’d offer the most assistance. They definitely throw out enough light to navigate stairs and hallways.

I actually had similar lights but they were incandescent types which don’t put out nearly as much light with the minimal power requirements afforded by LED’s. It used to be widely advocated that fluorescent lighting was the way to go for emergency lighting because of its lower power consumption. LED technology has pretty much supplanted that. LED bulbs (such as they are) really never burn out (for all practical purposes Im calling 10,000+ hour use life ‘never’), are far less susceptible to shock and impact than the alternatives, and most importantly the power consumption rate is magnificently small…an important factor if you don’t know when the lights are coming back on.

Thus, Im leaning towards LED’s for most of my emergency lighting needs. However, there is still indeed a place for the 1,000,000 candlepower handheld floodlights and the wonderful SureFire lights. But for stumbling through the dark garages, checking through the cabinets and lighting a path down the hallway the LED’s are the way to go.

I did pick up one of the LED D-cell MagLites a while back and I like it. The biggest drawback Ive experienced so far has been ‘range’. That is to say, you cant light up a distant object with the LED MagLite like you can with the non-LED one but for every other use I find it to be a terrific choice. For example, I dropped the stupid thing the other day onto the concrete floor and it worked just fine…whereas, IMHO, a regular bulb would have had its filament rattling around leaving me with a dead flashlight.

Since I try to stick to the AA and D size batts, I leave lithium batts in the LED lights. This way they are good to go with literally no attention for many years. Leave ‘em in the car, in the bag, in the desk and they’ll work just fine in five or ten years.

Although I hate the price of lithium batts, they are the way to go for the critical gear. I can find AA and AAA batts without difficutly. I can even find 9v lithium (sold at Lowes/Home Depot for smoke detector use) but I’m having a hellacious time finding lithium D batts locally. Gonna have to hunt them down online I guess.

Speaking of LED vs. non-LED I have been very taken with SureFire’s ‘Aviator’ line of lights. A hybrid light utilizing both Xenon and LED lamps, the Aviator with red LED’s and bright white Xenon lamp seem like the best of both worlds. Pressing the switch halfway in gives you the LED lamp and pressing it all the way in gives you the blinding Xenon lamp. I very much need one of these things.

However, before anyone gets the wrong idea, theres a lot to be said for flashlights that don’t cost two hundred bucks. My big D-cell MagLites can be had for $20 at CostCo and that includes batteries and a little AA MiniMag as well. Theres no shortage of cheap, durable, quality plastic flashlights out there (Streamlight makes some very nice one) I like the brutal ruggedness of the MagLite. And its ability to double as an impact weapon certainly has some appeal as well.

I currently carry the Streamlight 4AA LED light in my everyday bag along with a MiniMag with LED conversion. (Two is one, one is none ……..) [I also took an Altoids tin, lined it with bubble wrap and it makes excellent storage for 6 spare AA batts. The bubble wrap insulates from the metal case and also keeps the batts from rattling around. A rubber band made from a piece of bicycle tube keeps the lid from opening in my bag.]

For around the house I have the 3D MagLite, a SureFire 6P hanging on a lanyard on the bedpost, a weaponlight on the nightstand Glock, and another Streamlight on top of the gun safe. It’s a personal thing but unless you’ve got a battery powered light in your gun safe it makes loads of sense to keep a dedicated ‘gun safe flashlight’ on top of your safe. Even when the power is on its still dark in there. Add a power outage, noises at 3am, and a white-on-black combination lock dial and you’ll be glad you always leave a flashlight on your gun safe.

Last thing I wanted to mention – Trasers. These are small vials of tritium such as we use in our night sights. These keychain-trinket-sized goodies are used as fobs on gear you want to find in the dark. Extremely handy…unfortunately in this country its considered a frivolous use of radioactive material and thy are usually unavailable. There are some sources online but almost all are in the UK. The US sources I’ve found are expensive. However……I am trying to put together a deal for some and if I can swing it I’ll make them available as part of a group buy or something. I did manage to procure a bunch of tritium safety markers and they are very much worth the $..they are, broadly, directional whereas the Trasers are omnidirectional.. The Trasers are perfect for affixing to backpacks, containers, or other gear that you want to be able to find in the dark. Hopefully this deal will come through and I’ll get some at a decent price. Hell, just being able to find your car keys in the dark would make them worth the bucks.

For reasons that Ive never understood, I have always been fascinated by the story of the ‘Four Corners “surivivalists”‘ who got into a shootout with the cops and then disappeared ten years ago into the desert. One by one their remains turned up in the desert over the years. Someone stumbles across a pile of bones and a mound of rusted gear and the nex tthing you know the FBI is crossing a name off the list. The final guy, JasonWayne McVean, apparently fared no better than his comrades…cowboys found his gear and remains a few months back. Note the rusted topfolder AK in the picture of his gear.

The manhunt for these guys was remarkable for the way they simply disappeared as well as for the surprising amount of stuff the search parties encountered…including a hidden bunker belonging to an uninvolved citizen. Its a fascinating story and worth reading.

Picked up another rack of food-service-type shelving the other day. I was greatly pleased with the first one I got that I was chomping at the bit for another. Theya rent cheap but they work wonderfully and have freed up a large amounto f space.

One rack is strictly for the long-term food in the bunker. The other rack is for stockpiling and roating the day to day stuff. For example, the girlfriend loves Mount Olive pickles which were formerly unavailable here. When our local Albertsons started carrying them we figured we’d stock up in case their carrying of the product was a temporary thing. Thus, we have about 50 jars of pickles. Now, keeping all those jars in the kitchen cuts down on space for other things like pots, pans, Cuisinarts, etc….so 45 of them will go downstairs on the new shelving and five willr emain in the kitchen for use. As stuff gets used up in the kitchen, more will be brought up from downstairs where a clipboard and spreadsheet printout keep track of whats there. The end result will be a kitchen with more usable space, a larger supply of food onhand, and a serener me.

Rearranging things onto the new shelves also gives me a chance to go through my gear and supplies and see what’s what.The trick isnt so much to get more space for storing things as it is to make efficient use of the space that I have.
=-=-=-=
Been running the Dillon pretty much nonstop during the day these last few days and have a good bit of ammo to sock away. I need to reinventory the stuff and come up with a solid count. My goal is at least 5k of everything. On things like 9mm thats easy and relatively cheap. On things like .357 Magnum…well, thats another story. Still, its cheaper than factory ammo.

Speaking of .357’s……buddy of mine wants to sell me his Marlin .357 carbine. I’ve wanted one for years but never got around to picking one up. Given an environ that frowned on black guns and Glocks, the Marlin and a Smith .357 would make a very decent doesnt-look-threatening package. This particular Marlin does, saldy, have the crossblolt safety but on the bright side it has a nice receiver sight mounted on it. I just need to scratch up $300 for it.

=-=-=-=

You know I loves me that Nalgene stuff. Heres a cool product that I didnt know they made:
http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=86
http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=71

Its a flexible bladder but has the rigid wide-mouth opening and lid of a normal Nalgene bottle. This means that it’ll work with all he usual filters and accessories that are sized for a Nalgene bottle but this thing can be comapcted or even have the excess air evacuated to keep it from sloshing. Very cool!!! Not sure about durability but im willing to find out. Seems like a very cool product!

Picked up some new shelving the other day. My kitchen, like many peoples kitchens, has two levels of cabinets. You have the usual eye-height cabinets and then another row of inconveniently high cabinets above that. These higher, difficult-to-access cabinets are usually home to things like fondue sets, waffle irons, old china and other stuff that you don’t use often enough to warrant moving them to the lower more useful real estate. Unfortunately, that location is ideal for longer term foods such as canned goods and the like. Problem is, heat rises and when its 105 degerees outside and I’m cooking in the kitchen all that heat rises and the result is that anything stored near the ceiling isn’t going to be getting its full shelf life like it would at a moderate, consistent 65-70 degree clime. So…enter the new shelving.

I don’t have a pantry in my house so storing food away is a bit more work. There is space, its just not conveniently located space. I’d love to have a big door in my kitchen that would lead to an enormous walk-in-closet sized pantry. Aint gonna happen. What I do have is a large basement that is cool even on the hottest days and stays above freezing (usually) in the winter. So, I’ll trade convenience for usability and set up the shelving in the basement.

Anything more complex than just setting up shelving and stacking food on it? Of course there is. First of all, everything has to be in seriously hardcore containers. Everything is either in a can, glass or a sealed bucket. Why? This is Montana..there is no shortage of organisms that would like to sneak into a basement and set up residence in a 50# bag of rice. I have no desire to become the five-star dining establishment for Montana’s rodent population. Additionally, heaven forefend, if a pipe breaks and the basement floods I’d like everything to be fairly waterproof. So – only durable packaging. What sorta stuff is going down there? Well, 80% of my canned goods for starters..the soups, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned pasta, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc, etc. The rice is already packaged in 5-gallon buckets with liners so I’ll just keep a big jar of the stuff in the kitchen for immediate use. This should free up at least three cabinets worth of space, giving me room to get my cookware put away.

The true long-term stuff (MRE’s, freeze drieds, etc) already live in the bunker where there are safe from temperature extremes and late-night snacking.

=-=-=-=

Quick inventory today shows I still have a decent amount of the Mountain House #10 cans if anyone is interested. Additionally, I’ve still got about three dozen of the AR mags for sale.

=-=-=-=

The more I read the various newswires the more convinced I am that these are ‘interesting times’ as the Chinese call them.

The election? In the back of my mind I can see it becoming an Obama/Hillary Giulliani/Romney ticket. (although I get the impression Hillary would never take second fiddle so it may be a Hillary/Obama ticket.) From a realistic standpoint I don’t think it’ll happen but who knows…I am, however, reasonably certain that the Republicans will lose the White House and I am certain enough that I will spend money and resources based on that belief. Less jet ski’s, more semi-autos.

=-=-=-=

I remember bitching when 7.62×39 jumped from $85/1000 to $100/1000 but I bought some more anyway…and now I pat myself on the back for doing so. My point being that no matter how expensive it is today, I think a year from now you wont regret having bought. But, if you’re an optimist and think prices will be dropping next year do yourself a favor and only buy half as much. That way if prices go down you don’t feel like you wasted as much money and when prices go up you wont feel foolish for not having bought at all.

=-=-=-=

Had a customer drop off 5200 pieces of once fired .40 S&W brass, 6000 9mm brass, 3500 .38/.357 brass and 2500 pieces of once fired .45 ACP brass. Thus, the Dillon RL 1050 is getting a bit of a workout. What does it cost to reload 1000 rounds of ammo these days? Using 9mm as an example, assuming I have saved 1000 pcs. Of brass from previous range outings I’d be looking at $81.20~ per thousand or $4.06~ per box.

=-=-=-=

Thanks to those who dropped a few bucks at the wedding registry. Every bit helps ’cause them .50’s ain’t cheap!

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Picked up some new shelving the other day. My kitchen, like many peoples kitchens, has two levels of cabinets. You have the usual eye-height cabinets and then another row of inconveniently high cabinets above that. These higher, difficult-to-access cabinets are usually home to things like fondue sets, waffle irons, old china and other stuff that you don’t use often enough to warrant moving them to the lower more useful real estate. Unfortunately, that location is ideal for longer term foods such as canned goods and the like. Problem is, heat rises and when its 105 degerees outside and I’m cooking in the kitchen all that heat rises and the result is that anything stored near the ceiling isn’t going to be getting its full shelf life like it would at a moderate, consistent 65-70 degree clime. So…enter the new shelving.

I don’t have a pantry in my house so storing food away is a bit more work. There is space, its just not conveniently located space. I’d love to have a big door in my kitchen that would lead to an enormous walk-in-closet sized pantry. Aint gonna happen. What I do have is a large basement that is cool even on the hottest days and stays above freezing (usually) in the winter. So, I’ll trade convenience for usability and set up the shelving in the basement.

Anything more complex than just setting up shelving and stacking food on it? Of course there is. First of all, everything has to be in seriously hardcore containers. Everything is either in a can, glass or a sealed bucket. Why? This is Montana..there is no shortage of organisms that would like to sneak into a basement and set up residence in a 50# bag of rice. I have no desire to become the five-star dining establishment for Montana’s rodent population. Additionally, heaven forefend, if a pipe breaks and the basement floods I’d like everything to be fairly waterproof. So – only durable packaging. What sorta stuff is going down there? Well, 80% of my canned goods for starters..the soups, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned pasta, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc, etc. The rice is already packaged in 5-gallon buckets with liners so I’ll just keep a big jar of the stuff in the kitchen for immediate use. This should free up at least three cabinets worth of space, giving me room to get my cookware put away.

The true long-term stuff (MRE’s, freeze drieds, etc) already live in the bunker where there are safe from temperature extremes and late-night snacking.

=-=-=-=

Quick inventory today shows I still have a decent amount of the Mountain House #10 cans if anyone is interested. Additionally, I’ve still got about three dozen of the AR mags for sale.

=-=-=-=

The more I read the various newswires the more convinced I am that these are ‘interesting times’ as the Chinese call them.

The election? In the back of my mind I can see it becoming an Obama/Hillary Giulliani/Romney ticket. (although I get the impression Hillary would never take second fiddle so it may be a Hillary/Obama ticket.) From a realistic standpoint I don’t think it’ll happen but who knows…I am, however, reasonably certain that the Republicans will lose the White House and I am certain enough that I will spend money and resources based on that belief. Less jet ski’s, more semi-autos.

=-=-=-=

I remember bitching when 7.62×39 jumped from $85/1000 to $100/1000 but I bought some more anyway…and now I pat myself on the back for doing so. My point being that no matter how expensive it is today, I think a year from now you wont regret having bought. But, if you’re an optimist and think prices will be dropping next year do yourself a favor and only buy half as much. That way if prices go down you don’t feel like you wasted as much money and when prices go up you wont feel foolish for not having bought at all.

=-=-=-=

Had a customer drop off 5200 pieces of once fired .40 S&W brass, 6000 9mm brass, 3500 .38/.357 brass and 2500 pieces of once fired .45 ACP brass. Thus, the Dillon RL 1050 is getting a bit of a workout. What does it cost to reload 1000 rounds of ammo these days? Using 9mm as an example, assuming I have saved 1000 pcs. Of brass from previous range outings I’d be looking at $81.20~ per thousand or $4.06~ per box.

=-=-=-=

Thanks to those who dropped a few bucks at the wedding registry. Every bit helps ’cause them .50’s ain’t cheap!

Here you go:
.50 cal. registry

Ignore the registry info for Amazon. Ignore the registry info for a honeymoon. Ignore the registry info for everythign except the One True Gift.

Also, feel free to flog this around the internet…esp since pretty much every gunny on the interweb is familiar with kitiara from various ‘post pics of girls with guns’ threads and her work with/by the acclaimed olegvolk

What? You never saw her stuff? Geez…..

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Here you go:
.50 cal. registry

Ignore the registry info for Amazon. Ignore the registry info for a honeymoon. Ignore the registry info for everythign except the One True Gift.

Also, feel free to flog this around the internet…esp since pretty much every gunny on the interweb is familiar with from various ‘post pics of girls with guns’ threads and her work with/by the acclaimed

What? You never saw her stuff? Geez…..

http://splodetv.com/how-make-ultimate-smoke-bomb

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

http://splodetv.com/how-make-ultimate-smoke-bomb