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

Sure, it has a dozen names..Rancho Ballistica, Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker, Area 52, etc, etc…but it all amounts to the same thing: Zero’s Dream House.

The design is completely up for grabs as long as several caveats are kept firmly in mind:
a) security
b) durability
c) efficiency
d) redundancy

Someplace with enough thermal mass to stay warm in winter, cool in summer. Completely and easily adaptable at the flip of a switch to go from grid power to self-contained power. (Not *that* big a trick…) Several layers of energy production..solar, hydro, etc. Nice big gardens, fish pond, gated driveway, enormous basement with unbelievable storage possibilities, shooting range, workshop, guest quarters, etc.

Nice thing about such a place is that the kind of land no one wants to buy is perfect for it. People want stuff close to town, close to roads, with power lines nearby, etc. Not me. I want something that you have to drive up three miles of washboard road before you even get to the (locked gate) driveway. Something that if you didnt know it was there, you’d never find. Someplace that, in winter, if you dont have seriously good four-wheel drive you will never, ever make it to.

Naturally, being the Zero, it would have thick strong walls, heavy shutters, odd markers at various distances, intrusion detection devices, area lighting, and all that goodness. But, ideally, what we’re shooting for is something that is as close to perfectly self-contained and self-sufficient as you can get. Someplace that if the power goes out you wouldnt notice it for a few months.

Whats involved? Hmmm..I think 15-20 acres abutting against national forest or timber co. land. That way you get a several million acre backyard. Build a small cabin to use as slabs and walls get poured, rafters nailed up, powers systems laid in, ponds and irrigation ditches dug, barricades poured, gardens planted, etc, etc. Wouldnt be cheap, but when it was over you’d have the perfect retreat from the world…everything you’d ever need, food, water, power, shelter, warmth, security, etc all in one place and all exactly to my specs.

And, I should point out, it wouldnt look like a missle silo. You can build some pretty darn attractive structures that dont compromise on durability and survivability. I’d love some sort of mission-style house with huge walled courtyards….

Ah well, the land will be the cheapest part. I need to get that first. Once thats under my belt, the rest can come later….

Post-apocalyptic movies are a fave of mine (surprise!). So I finally caught 28 Days Later last night. Spoilage ahead:

spoilage

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

Post-apocalyptic movies are a fave of mine (surprise!). So I finally caught 28 Days Later last night. Spoilage ahead:

Now, if you come into contact with the blood of one of these ‘infected’, you get infected. Ok, I can see that. But if thats the case wouldnt you make it a point to use weaponry that does NOT result in huge blood spatters? C’mon, a machete??? The baseball bat would have been a better choice. Personally I would have gone for a nice shotgun…kill at a distance.

Also, since you *know* that you want to keep the blood of the infected off of you, wouldnt you dress in such a manner as to cover your skin? The girls father had the right idea with his riot-police garb. The soldiers had the right idea with their MOPP gear.

Rogue soldiers!!!! I knew it! But, really, 28 days is not so long to go without women that things go to hell like they did. The soldiers had a fairly good setup but I think their security was lacking. And did you see the stuff they were hoarding? VCRs????

Pepsi and candybars are not survival food. I’d ahve grabbed every PowerBar in the supermarket. And, speaking of, dont you think that they should have left someone at the door in the supermarket to keep an eye out for trouble?

I suppose this is to be expected from Britons since theyve been so effectively emasculated as a nation.

An intense movie, much more violent and ‘real’ than any of the Romero zombie movies.

Rogue soldiers….ah, one of our contingencies that we’re still troubled about. Tough to prevail over a military unit that has decided to go into business for itself.

Commander Zero loves a bargain. He also likes quality. Usually, those two things are exclusive..not always, but often enough. Saving money is a big deal when youre gearing up for Ragnarok…every five bucks you save is another freeze-dried entree, another four-pack of batteries or another case of bottled water.

So, I must say, I like my local Albertsons grocery. All the way at the end of the meat displays is the ‘bargain bin’ of meat. Its usually meat that is one day away from its ‘use by’ date. Its perfectly good but you must either cook it immediately or freeze it. The savings? Well, the $1.99/# ground beef is $1.19. Thats a savings of around 40%. Bonless pork chops, normally $2.99/# are $1.99/#. You get the idea. Since I get into work at around 10am I usually head over to the grocery after checking my mail at the post office. Its early enough in the day that I can have a good selection of marked-down meats. I usually by $5 worth and put it in the fridge at work until I can take it home in the evening. From there, it gets vaccuum sealed, dated, and packed into the deep freeze in the basement. Keeps easily for over a year. Now, at this point you may say, “Zero, when the end of the world comes all that stuff is gonna spoil since your freezer will be without power.” Yes and no. For something like a two or three day power outage, it’ll be fine. I keep alot of bottled water in there for just such an event…the frozen water will help keep things cool until power is restored. But, importantly, this supply of meat isnt so much for TWOTWAWKI as it is for more mainstream emergencies…like sudden economic problems that preclude me from getting groceries. Plus, the money I save (since I do use this stuff on a day to day basis) gets put towards other preps. Say I break a leg and cant work for a few weeks, not a problem..Ive enough food and meat set back to keep me and mine fed just as well as ever.

Money, though, is a big deal when preparing for the future… theres some seriously expensive gear out there. For example, you can buy a typical made in China kerosene lamp for about $8 at any WalMart. Or you can pay $100 for an Aladdin kerosene lamp. When push comes to shove, the quality and durability of a product will usually make the cost worth it. I dont *mind* paying alot of money for something if its *worth* it. Example: motorcycle helmets. Do you really wanna skimp and go with the cheapest you can find? Same idea.

Buy quality, you pay once…buy cheap, you pay many times over. ‘Tis true.

Anyway, I’ll be sealing up some meat and tucking it away in the deep freeze tonight and then I shall sleep quite well knowing that I’ll never starve.

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

Commander Zero loves a bargain. He also likes quality. Usually, those two things are exclusive..not always, but often enough. Saving money is a big deal when youre gearing up for Ragnarok…every five bucks you save is another freeze-dried entree, another four-pack of batteries or another case of bottled water.

So, I must say, I like my local Albertsons grocery. All the way at the end of the meat displays is the ‘bargain bin’ of meat. Its usually meat that is one day away from its ‘use by’ date. Its perfectly good but you must either cook it immediately or freeze it. The savings? Well, the $1.99/# ground beef is $1.19. Thats a savings of around 40%. Bonless pork chops, normally $2.99/# are $1.99/#. You get the idea. Since I get into work at around 10am I usually head over to the grocery after checking my mail at the post office. Its early enough in the day that I can have a good selection of marked-down meats. I usually by $5 worth and put it in the fridge at work until I can take it home in the evening. From there, it gets vaccuum sealed, dated, and packed into the deep freeze in the basement. Keeps easily for over a year. Now, at this point you may say, “Zero, when the end of the world comes all that stuff is gonna spoil since your freezer will be without power.” Yes and no. For something like a two or three day power outage, it’ll be fine. I keep alot of bottled water in there for just such an event…the frozen water will help keep things cool until power is restored. But, importantly, this supply of meat isnt so much for TWOTWAWKI as it is for more mainstream emergencies…like sudden economic problems that preclude me from getting groceries. Plus, the money I save (since I do use this stuff on a day to day basis) gets put towards other preps. Say I break a leg and cant work for a few weeks, not a problem..Ive enough food and meat set back to keep me and mine fed just as well as ever.

Money, though, is a big deal when preparing for the future… theres some seriously expensive gear out there. For example, you can buy a typical made in China kerosene lamp for about $8 at any WalMart. Or you can pay $100 for an Aladdin kerosene lamp. When push comes to shove, the quality and durability of a product will usually make the cost worth it. I dont *mind* paying alot of money for something if its *worth* it. Example: motorcycle helmets. Do you really wanna skimp and go with the cheapest you can find? Same idea.

Buy quality, you pay once…buy cheap, you pay many times over. ‘Tis true.

Anyway, I’ll be sealing up some meat and tucking it away in the deep freeze tonight and then I shall sleep quite well knowing that I’ll never starve.

Lemme see if I have this right…the Dept. of Fatherland Homeland Security get billions of dollars for their budget and the *best* thing theyve done for the average citizen is tell them to keep three days of food, water and meds on hand??? The Boy Scouts deliver the same message for lot less money.

Civil defense is a joke in this country. The North Koreans have entire underground cities..as do the Chinese. The Swiss are *legendary* for their hollowed out mountains, armed citiznery, and dedication to protecting themselves..so much so that not even Hitler wanted to drag his boots into that quagmire.

Whereas we, arguably one of the most economically and technologically advanced socieites on the face of the earth, do almost nothing to prepare our citizens for disaster and then we mock the ones that do.

In the 50’s and 60’s we actually had a budding CD program going on. Remember shelter drills in school? Remember those funky fallout shelter signs? Theres still alot of big, concrete buildings and malls out there with old rotting cases of CD gear in their basements..Ive seen ’em!

So how would the Zero work Civil Defense in this country? Glad you asked! First off, the Bunker Tax Credit. You build a bunker in your home, yard or property that meets a minimum spec and you get a tax break. Disaster supplies would be non-taxed. Basic preparedness would be a course in schools, like ‘hygiene’ and sex-ed. On a larger scale, every state would have at least one regional base..preferably on reclaimed abandoned military bases, to stockpile vehicles, food, fuel, medical gear and the like for whatever disaster occurs. Tornado in Kansas? Teams fly into the Kansas redoubt, stock up, and head to the scene. Hurricane in Florida? Teams fly into the redoubt there, load up in the prepositioned road-clearing and cargo-hauling vehicles and head to the incident area. You get the idea.

And the cost? Not what you’d think….we have various military that sit idle most of the time, might as well use them since theyre getting paid anyway. Have the engineers get out there and refurb that old military base. Have that Nat’l Guard water-hauling unit set up a purification plant and equipment at the base, etc, etc. Tons of military gear that is past its prime can still be used quite nicely for CD programs..instead of giving old deuce-and-a-halfs to third world militaries or Canada, give them to the states for their CD programs. Same for leftover rations, generators, medical gear, buildings, etc, etc.

Then, next time theres an earthquake that sends Los Angeles toppling into the ocean all the gear is in place and ready for it.

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

Lemme see if I have this right…the Dept. of Fatherland Homeland Security get billions of dollars for their budget and the *best* thing theyve done for the average citizen is tell them to keep three days of food, water and meds on hand??? The Boy Scouts deliver the same message for lot less money.

Civil defense is a joke in this country. The North Koreans have entire underground cities..as do the Chinese. The Swiss are *legendary* for their hollowed out mountains, armed citiznery, and dedication to protecting themselves..so much so that not even Hitler wanted to drag his boots into that quagmire.

Whereas we, arguably one of the most economically and technologically advanced socieites on the face of the earth, do almost nothing to prepare our citizens for disaster and then we mock the ones that do.

In the 50’s and 60’s we actually had a budding CD program going on. Remember shelter drills in school? Remember those funky fallout shelter signs? Theres still alot of big, concrete buildings and malls out there with old rotting cases of CD gear in their basements..Ive seen ‘em!

So how would the Zero work Civil Defense in this country? Glad you asked! First off, the Bunker Tax Credit. You build a bunker in your home, yard or property that meets a minimum spec and you get a tax break. Disaster supplies would be non-taxed. Basic preparedness would be a course in schools, like ‘hygiene’ and sex-ed. On a larger scale, every state would have at least one regional base..preferably on reclaimed abandoned military bases, to stockpile vehicles, food, fuel, medical gear and the like for whatever disaster occurs. Tornado in Kansas? Teams fly into the Kansas redoubt, stock up, and head to the scene. Hurricane in Florida? Teams fly into the redoubt there, load up in the prepositioned road-clearing and cargo-hauling vehicles and head to the incident area. You get the idea.

And the cost? Not what you’d think….we have various military that sit idle most of the time, might as well use them since theyre getting paid anyway. Have the engineers get out there and refurb that old military base. Have that Nat’l Guard water-hauling unit set up a purification plant and equipment at the base, etc, etc. Tons of military gear that is past its prime can still be used quite nicely for CD programs..instead of giving old deuce-and-a-halfs to third world militaries or Canada, give them to the states for their CD programs. Same for leftover rations, generators, medical gear, buildings, etc, etc.

Then, next time theres an earthquake that sends Los Angeles toppling into the ocean all the gear is in place and ready for it.

Im telling ya, folks…eBay is the best thing to hit the preparedness-minded world since the advent of freeze dried food.

USPS dropped off another pair of field phones today. Heh…I love these things. When I have Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker up and running these babies will be used for the various observation posts. Additionally, there will most definitely be one down by the locked gate…because coming ont ZeroLand unannounced is *such* a bad idea.

In addition to the phones themselves, Im also bidding on a couple 1/4 mile spools of wire and a couple headsets for these things.

Interestingly, most of the small, easily affordable acquisitions are done or very close to being done. There are two outstanding acquisitions however: uber-reliable vehicle (see earlier post on the subject) and the nice piece of remote real estate that will become the legendary haven that is Rancho Ballistica.

For now, I’ll just settle for the bare land…I can always build at a later date. Id just like to have the actual property. I think thats what the next post will be about…

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

Im telling ya, folks…eBay is the best thing to hit the preparedness-minded world since the advent of freeze dried food.

USPS dropped off another pair of field phones today. Heh…I love these things. When I have Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker up and running these babies will be used for the various observation posts. Additionally, there will most definitely be one down by the locked gate…because coming ont ZeroLand unannounced is *such* a bad idea.

In addition to the phones themselves, Im also bidding on a couple 1/4 mile spools of wire and a couple headsets for these things.

Interestingly, most of the small, easily affordable acquisitions are done or very close to being done. There are two outstanding acquisitions however: uber-reliable vehicle (see earlier post on the subject) and the nice piece of remote real estate that will become the legendary haven that is Rancho Ballistica.

For now, I’ll just settle for the bare land…I can always build at a later date. Id just like to have the actual property. I think thats what the next post will be about…

Crossposted to survivalist..

One of my all time favorite collapse-of-Western-civilization books…online:
http://www.wtshtf.com/Triple%20Ought.doc