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

Y’know, it seems to me there should be a holiday for the LMI’s. So, since even a convicted kidnapper and torturer can make up a fake holiday and achieve a degree of acceptance (i.e. Kwanzaa), I propose the holiday to be known as “Paratus”. (Thats Latin for ‘prepared’..)

Now, there has to be a gimmick..Jews get a menorah, Christians get a tree, Kwanzites get the menorah-ripoff, etc, etc,…therefore I think the gimmick for Paratus shall be…hmmmm…..man, right out of the gate Im stumped…uhm…well, lets see..what is a hallmark of preparation? Food? Tools? Shelter? Aha! The backpack! Yes, the symbol of Paratus shall be the backpack. You set it up somewhere in your house and people stuff it full of preparedness-themed gifts. Your gifts to them go in their Paratus backpack.

Now..activities…instead of going door-to-door singing Christmas carols you go door-to-door probing your neigbors perimeter for weaknesses in their security.

Since nothing says self-determintaion and individuality like a quality firearm, the traditional token gift shall be ammo. Instead of a card or other greeting you simply hand over a round of .223 or .45 ACp or 7.62×39 and wish the recipient a happy holiday.

Which reminds me…Happy Paratus? Joyous Paratus? Merry Paratus? Hmmm….Good Paratus?

Still havent decided on a time of year….I was thinking something spring/summery since thats the time of year your out in the field. April already has Patriots day (4/19), May is a possibility as is June. July is out since it already has a holiday. Hmmm….maybe sometime in late May.

*sigh*
Being Commander Zero is not all sunshine and stun grenades…its the preparedness equivalent of Whack-A-Mole. I have hundreds of things to do to prepare and I have to hope that the event/issue that requires one of those hundreds of things doesnt happen. Or, that if it does happen, it happens to require one of the things I *have* gotten squared away. While I’m prepping for a flood, a forest fire rolls through..and by the time I get the forest fire stuff prepped, a blizzard rolls though.
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I see that theres been a case of Annoyed Rosie O’Donnell Syndrome in Washington. (I’m sorry…I meant Mad Cow Disease) Hmmmm…I need to study this more. I dont eat that much beef these days except for hamburgers…I suppose I shouldnt be surprised about all this..if it were a more widespread situation the government wouldnt tell us anyway – they dont want to cause a panic (socailly or economically). I guess I’ll have to find a local source for beef that I can trust.
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My two-strand wire showed up yesterday. I need to find some spools to wind it around and then store it away with the phones. I do love shopping milsurp catalogs, I must say.
———————-
Came *this* close to getting the Yugo SKS yesterday. $150. Grrrr. It would fill a niche in my battery of arms (a disposable, semi-automatic centerfire carbine) but I just now that right after I buy it something will come up requiring my attention and money.

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

*sigh*
Being Commander Zero is not all sunshine and stun grenades…its the preparedness equivalent of Whack-A-Mole. I have hundreds of things to do to prepare and I have to hope that the event/issue that requires one of those hundreds of things doesnt happen. Or, that if it does happen, it happens to require one of the things I *have* gotten squared away. While I’m prepping for a flood, a forest fire rolls through..and by the time I get the forest fire stuff prepped, a blizzard rolls though.
——————–
I see that theres been a case of Annoyed Rosie O’Donnell Syndrome in Washington. (I’m sorry…I meant Mad Cow Disease) Hmmmm…I need to study this more. I dont eat that much beef these days except for hamburgers…I suppose I shouldnt be surprised about all this..if it were a more widespread situation the government wouldnt tell us anyway – they dont want to cause a panic (socailly or economically). I guess I’ll have to find a local source for beef that I can trust.
———————-
My two-strand wire showed up yesterday. I need to find some spools to wind it around and then store it away with the phones. I do love shopping milsurp catalogs, I must say.
———————-
Came *this* close to getting the Yugo SKS yesterday. $150. Grrrr. It would fill a niche in my battery of arms (a disposable, semi-automatic centerfire carbine) but I just now that right after I buy it something will come up requiring my attention and money.

Was reviwing my spreadsheet of things to buy (147+ different items, different quantities of each) and also reviewed my list of projects…things I want to get done. They include building a UPS for lighting the main room of the house, installing an isolated lighting system leading to the bunker, installing emergency lighting in the bunker, building new shelves in the basement, and a bunch of other things. Things that need to be done and that will, ideally, make my life a bit easier and more secure.
———
Saw a Yugo SKS for sale yesterday. I’ve been meaning to get a few SKS to keep around and to store. Theyre cheap, better than a 10/22 for repelling boarders, and can always be traded off for something usefull. The Yugos have flip-up ‘night sights’, grenade launcher spigot with gas-tube cutoff and generally seem pretty decent. They are sooooooo not my first choice as a defensive longarm but theyre price and ubiquitous caliber make them an ideal ‘stash’ rifle, truck gun or loaner. $150. What I’d like to get is a couple AK’s but I really just dont have the money right now. For an urban environ, I think the AK is far superior than the AR…the cartridge is better for short-range entanglements, the mags are robust, the guns are compact, etc.
———-
So the terrorists are possibly plotting another strike. *yawn* What else is new? I have to fly on 12/28 and 1/4 … hopefully those two days will be quiet. I’ll be visiting relatives in a major city so hopefully nothing will happen. The relative I’m visiting has only two guns in the house. A SIG .40 and a Browning A-5…but when the neighbors dont have any guns at all, thats quite an arsenal. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
———
Speaking of, my surplus 400-meter spools of two-strand wire should arrive today. Just the thing for my field phones and my AN/PSR-1A seismic alarm set. Matter of fact, I should get on the phone and get a couple more spools…

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

Was reviwing my spreadsheet of things to buy (147+ different items, different quantities of each) and also reviewed my list of projects…things I want to get done. They include building a UPS for lighting the main room of the house, installing an isolated lighting system leading to the bunker, installing emergency lighting in the bunker, building new shelves in the basement, and a bunch of other things. Things that need to be done and that will, ideally, make my life a bit easier and more secure.
———
Saw a Yugo SKS for sale yesterday. I’ve been meaning to get a few SKS to keep around and to store. Theyre cheap, better than a 10/22 for repelling boarders, and can always be traded off for something usefull. The Yugos have flip-up ‘night sights’, grenade launcher spigot with gas-tube cutoff and generally seem pretty decent. They are sooooooo not my first choice as a defensive longarm but theyre price and ubiquitous caliber make them an ideal ’stash’ rifle, truck gun or loaner. $150. What I’d like to get is a couple AK’s but I really just dont have the money right now. For an urban environ, I think the AK is far superior than the AR…the cartridge is better for short-range entanglements, the mags are robust, the guns are compact, etc.
———-
So the terrorists are possibly plotting another strike. *yawn* What else is new? I have to fly on 12/28 and 1/4 … hopefully those two days will be quiet. I’ll be visiting relatives in a major city so hopefully nothing will happen. The relative I’m visiting has only two guns in the house. A SIG .40 and a Browning A-5…but when the neighbors dont have any guns at all, thats quite an arsenal. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
———
Speaking of, my surplus 400-meter spools of two-strand wire should arrive today. Just the thing for my field phones and my AN/PSR-1A seismic alarm set. Matter of fact, I should get on the phone and get a couple more spools…

Hmmm…California shimmied a bit today. I’m trying to think if I know anyone in that area but Im drawing a blank. However, its always events like this that make me take note of who is standing in line for food and ice, and who is standing in front of their house removing debris and running a generator.

Nice thing about my location…no real earthquakes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes. Forest fires and blizzards are about all you have to worry about…fire n’ ice.

I shall head over to Frugals and see if anyone there is posting after-action reports….

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

Hmmm…California shimmied a bit today. I’m trying to think if I know anyone in that area but Im drawing a blank. However, its always events like this that make me take note of who is standing in line for food and ice, and who is standing in front of their house removing debris and running a generator.

Nice thing about my location…no real earthquakes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes. Forest fires and blizzards are about all you have to worry about…fire n’ ice.

I shall head over to Frugals and see if anyone there is posting after-action reports….

Y’know, its tough to prepare for the upcoming apocalypse and not get political about it. Way back when (“Back in the day”) our friendly .fedgov used to give out brochures and blueprints for making your own bomb shelters. Now Tom Ridge, the grasshopper of “The Ant And The Grasshopper” says that if we all just store three days of food and water we’ll all be fine. I suppose the only upside to this is that if youre stupid enough to believe that then the world will be a better place when you die because you didnt know how to use a gas shutoff wrench, staunch the bleeding in your leg from the broken window, or asphyxiated because you lit your barbecue grill indoors.

You want Homeland Security? Put me in charge…I’ll show you Homeland Security. Government pamphlets on preparedness, tax credits, surplussed military rations and equipment given to states for their own emergency agencies, completely non-porous borders, disaster response teams that work…and funded quietly and cheaply.

Ah well…chaos brings change…control the chaos and you can control the change. Maybe some sort of horrible national tragedy is whats needed to effect a sea change among the sheeple. What sort of change is needed? Very simple – get people back the the way of thinking that made this country great … that each person was responsible for their self and their families. That government assistance was something to be eschewed and avoided at all costs. You get people away from the idea that government is their mommy and you start getting people who want smaller government..and smaller government is good.

Really, the well-being of others is not my concern. My concern is the well-being of me and my tight little circle of LMI’s.

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

Y’know, its tough to prepare for the upcoming apocalypse and not get political about it. Way back when (”Back in the day”) our friendly .fedgov used to give out brochures and blueprints for making your own bomb shelters. Now Tom Ridge, the grasshopper of “The Ant And The Grasshopper” says that if we all just store three days of food and water we’ll all be fine. I suppose the only upside to this is that if youre stupid enough to believe that then the world will be a better place when you die because you didnt know how to use a gas shutoff wrench, staunch the bleeding in your leg from the broken window, or asphyxiated because you lit your barbecue grill indoors.

You want Homeland Security? Put me in charge…I’ll show you Homeland Security. Government pamphlets on preparedness, tax credits, surplussed military rations and equipment given to states for their own emergency agencies, completely non-porous borders, disaster response teams that work…and funded quietly and cheaply.

Ah well…chaos brings change…control the chaos and you can control the change. Maybe some sort of horrible national tragedy is whats needed to effect a sea change among the sheeple. What sort of change is needed? Very simple – get people back the the way of thinking that made this country great … that each person was responsible for their self and their families. That government assistance was something to be eschewed and avoided at all costs. You get people away from the idea that government is their mommy and you start getting people who want smaller government..and smaller government is good.

Really, the well-being of others is not my concern. My concern is the well-being of me and my tight little circle of LMI’s.

Christmas rolls around, and what, may you ask, did the Zero get? Well, for starters I got a really cool 3-point tactical sling for my AR. I also got a very handy small Schrafe folder that clips to my backpack strap. And a couple books, including “Where There Is No Dentist”. Lemme tell ya, fellow bunkerdwellers, some people just know the perfect gifts when they see ’em.

I’ve been busy with my non-Zero life so I havent been doing much lately. Interestingly, there have been several things of note going on….lets review:

Saddam Hussein capture:
At least Hitler had enough class to take his own life. This guy had bunkers and palaces all over the place and all he can come up with was a hole in the ground? Where were the anti-personnel mines? The fanatical followers? The guy has the whole Iraqi treasury at his disposal maybe he coulda learned how to fly a plane and get his ass outta Iraq? (Sure, where would he go with a $30million price on him….)

The Flu:
It isnt Captain Trips, but its making news. I keep disinfectant soap (“Dial”) in the bunker and make it a point to wash my hands frequently during these times. Conspiracy theory fodder: its a govt made bug designed to scare people into getting ‘flu shots’ that are not really flu shots at all but something else.

Reports of terrorist threats:
This again? Department of Fatherland security should just come out with a form letter to save time – “We have (confirmed/unconfirmed/anonymous) reports that (suicide bombers/terrorists/Al-Qaeda operatives) will strike (NYC/Washington/US interests abroad) sometime during the next (week/month) to coincide with the (holiday/Christmas/election/Independence day) celebrations”. Yeah, yeah, yeah…Ive heard it before, Tom.

Sometimes its hard to know who to root for these days. Oh, wait, no its not..I root for me.