Category Archives: Uncategorized

The problem with remote locations

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Minding my own business the other day, and I ran into someone at the post office. He’s an LMI, and rather serious about it, but for some reason we interact very, very infrequently. I probably haven’t seen him in about a year. So I ask him how he’s doing and how tings are coming along vis-a-vis the whole preparedness thing.

Sadly, he told me some meth-head broke into his bugout cabin and, with privacy and time on his side, took a hatchet and managed to whittle through some concrete to get to his stash of guns and ammo. Also tore open a couple Stack-On gun safes cabinets. And that he destroyed what he couldn’t take…tossed a buncha guns in the river. Then the useless tweaker dragged himself to his campsite to get his nod on and thats where he was, gorked out of his mind, when the cops and the very annoyed cabin owner found him.

The LMI in question mentioned that the whole thing sorta soured him a little on the idea of preparedness. Makes sense…you invest time and money and some waste of skin sets you back to square one.

Thats yet another one of the Great Survivalists Quandaries – how to have a remote location that is secure enough to be left alone and unattended. The easy answer that I would imagine 90% of the blogosphere would come back with is something involving large waterproof containers and a backhoe. Mind you, I’m not asking what you think the ideal solution is. Already I know the comments are going to be filled with people saying “He should do this….”. My point is that when it comes to stashing goods away at those lovely remote locations you should always expect that it ain’t so remote some piece of trash can’t get into it when youre a hundred miles away.

Its also a pretty good reason to not keep all your eggs in one basket. Sure, it’s entirely possible that when The Day comes and you have to leave now, now, now you may not be able to grab as much gear to throw into your vehicle as youd like. Maybe you’ll be leaving straight from work ,or the supermarket, or the ball game, and have no chance to return home to grab your gun cases and gear. Thats why you pre-position your gear, but you don’t pre-position all of it.

I know folks that keep a storage rack system bolted to the ceiling of their garage. It holds several storage containers full of gear and supplies. In a crisis, their plan is to back the pickup into the garage and just lower those ready-to-go containers into the bed of the truck and be out the door in about five minutes.  But their arrangement of gear is such that if they load the truck and can’t get to their secondary site, the gear will keep them safe…and if they have to leave without their gear, they have enough gear at the site to keep them going. Its when the possibility of having to leave without their gear AND not make it to their secondary location comes up that the problems start.

The fella I mentioned is pretty bummed, and he’s a bit disillusioned, but I have a pretty strong feeling he’ll stick to the program and continue his journey in preparedness. I suspect he will make some very big changes at his cabin in terms of construction, concealment, contents, and countermeasures. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen to him, but it’s incidents like those that remind us that just stacking AR15s in the closet might not be the best idea for long term solutions.

 

Article – The grandmaster diet: How to lose weight while barely moving

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I am in no way a sports guy, so for me to link to an article from ESPN must be an indication that there is something interesting going o. And, indeed, there is…

At 5-foot-6, Caruana has a lean frame, his legs angular and toned. He also has a packed schedule for the day: a 5-mile run, an hour of tennis, half an hour of basketball and at least an hour of swimming.

As he’s jogging, it’s easy to mistake him for a soccer player. But he is not. This body he has put together is not an accident. Caruana is, in fact, an American grandmaster in chess, the No. 2 player in the world. His training partner, Chirila? A Romanian grandmaster. And they’re doing it all to prepare for the physical demands of … chess? Yes, chess.

The TL;DR version is this: even though chess is the least apparently physically taxing sport since competitive napping, the studies show that the stress, mental load, and related stresses cause your body to lose weight the same as if you were engaged in heavy sports.

What this means for survivalists is that the people who stress about long-term food being loaded with fat, salt, and calories that you don’t need when all you’re doing is sitting in a fallout shelter waiting for the rads to go down are missing a point. And in a crisis, the severe stress and mental taxation that you will be subject to will take a toll on yourbody even if you’re just sitting around a battery radio in the dark as the city crumbles around you.

Read the article and substitute ‘chess’ for ‘disasters’ and you’ll see how this affects you and I.

Grandmasterssurvivalists in competitiondisasters are subjected to a constant torrent of mental stress. That stress, in turn, causes their heart rates to increase, which, in turn, forces their bodies to produce more energy to, in turn, produce more oxygen. It is, according to Marcus Raichle, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis, and Philip Cryer, a metabolism expert at the school, a vicious, destructive cycle.

Meanwhile, playerssurvivalists also eat less during tournamentsdisasters , simply because they don’t have the time or the appetite. “The simple explanation is when they’re thinking about chess disasters, they’re not thinking about food,” says Ewan C. McNay, assistant professor of psychology in the behavioral neuroscience program at the University of Albany.

Stress also leads to altered — and disturbed — sleep patterns, which in turn cause more fatigue — and can lead to more weight loss. A brain operating on less sleep, even by just one hour, Kasimdzhanov notes, requires more energy to stay awake during the chess game. Some grandmasterssurvivalists report dreaming about chessdisasters, agonizing over what they could have done differently for hours in their sleep, and waking up exhausted.

Sound familiar?

Continue reading the article and read what these people do to maintain mental acuity under these conditions of heightened stress. Big exam coming up? Strategy session with your department chairs? Making long-range plans for your familys survival? You’ll need your brain in peak performance so you might want to read what these guys do to their diets, exercise patterns, the way they breathe, and even the way they sit in order to maximize brainpower for “the ultimate test of cerebral fitness.”

I’ve noticed that when I need stone-cold clear-headed maximum-brainpower I get best results if I exercise to get the blood flowing and don’t eat for several hours beforehand. The ability to think clearly and efficiently is probably the most useful talent for someone who plans on making their way through the crapstorm that life tends to hurl at us once in a while. Optimizing your body to allow you to ‘think better’ may be one of the better tricks you can have up your sleeve.

15 years after the ban

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It has been brought to my attention that this weekend is the 15 year anniversary of the expiration of the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban. Fifteen years. If you remember the ban expiring, and you are, at this moment, scrambling to find ARs and mags “just in case”, then you’re one of those fools who, as the saying go, “…does not remember history is doomed to repeat it.”

If, after the ban expired, you had bought one AR mag a month, and one AR per year, you would have 15 AR’s sitting in the safe and 180 magazines to go with them, for a somewhat-comforatble gun:mag ratio of 1:12. And it would have cost you, by my math, $75 per month.

Not an AR guy? Well, you could  be sitting on around 540 Glock mags for that same $75/month

“But I only came to guns in the last ten years!”, some will say. Or the last five years. So what? That’s still enough time to have put away an AR and a dozen mags every year.

Kids? Job? Car Payment? House payment? Sure, that gets in the way. But you make room in your life and your wallet for that which is important to you. $75 a month is about $2.50 a day… drink one less Starbucks coffee each day, smoke two less packs of cigarettes a week, or just cut back from eating out once a week to once every two weeks.

I guarantee you that 95% of you make more money than me and even then I am still able to squirrel away a few (ahem) guns and ammo. The difference isn’t financial, the difference is intentional. To me, it’s important enough to give up buying a new bicycle, to pass on buying the expensive groceries, to make do with a ratty pair of shoes for another month or two, to ride my bike rather than drive, to eat another plate of rice and chicken rather than go out to dinner….because, to me, I’d rather have the guns in the safe.

No matter what it is you want out of life…money, fame, cars, women, expensive toys, whatever….if you want it bad enough, really bad enough, you will find a way to get it. You just have to want it more than the other things.

This is why I have no sympathy for anyone who, fifteen years after the ban, is suddenly now worried about getting more mags and Evil Black Rifles. You had fifteen years to get ready by doing something that takes most people one year. If you get caught with 10-round magazines and neutered rifles this time around it’s poor planning on your part, buddy. (and, of course, the fault of those idiots in Washington.)

 

Hamilton gun show

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I’m a cheap bastard. But, I’m also a dude who likes certain things a particular way. And, once in a while, I’m a dude who will pay the extra coin for something that is literally no better than a similar item at half price simply because of the brand (‘goodwill’). I was walking through the gun show today and found this:

What is it, you may reasonably ask? Why, it is a tanker holster that is made to fit a 9/40-frame Glock. A regular GI tanker holster ain’t gonna fit a bulky gun like the Glock. Who made it? Thats the nice part….

The fine folks at one of my favorite I-wish-I-could-afford-it leathergear makers. This was virtually new and cost me sixty bucks. I am pleased.

The other deal I found was the classic “My buddy died and Im selling off this stuff for his wife” deal. Federal and CCI large pistol and large pistol mag primers…$13.33 per brick. Or, put another way, $160 for twelve thousand pistol primers. And I didn’t even buy them all…there were still about 20k left. And recent-production 1# cans of Bullseye for $15. So much stockable reloading supplies, so little cash.

But…I’m feeling pretty smug on the holster.

 

Oh…and I ran into the guncoating people from when I had the Watergun done. They didn’t remember me but they sure remembered the gun. They apparently talk it up to customers. I need to send them some really good images for their advertising.

Link – Beto O’Rourke Goes Off on Gun Control at Debate: ‘Hell Yes, We’re Going to Take Your AR-15, Your AK-47!’

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“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47!” O’Rourke said. “We’re not going to allow it to be used against a fellow American anymore.”

Rejoice!

When someone  loudly, unequivocally , clearly, and with no trace of doubt declare themselves as your enemy it is time to rejoice. Why? Because they have removed all specter of doubt that they are your enemy. You can now proceed with a clear conscience and moral clarity that this person is, indeed, your enemy. All doubt is removed, all ambiguity is gone. Would that all of our enemies be so clear and forthright.

So, freely donate to his opponents, disparage him far and wide, shun him and his supporters, ridicule his policies and beliefs….and do it without the least bit of remorse or compassion….the man has clearly said he’s your enemy.

Call it what it is: confiscation with compensation

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I’ve gotten a couple emails from people asking me what I think about this push towards  mandatory ‘buybacks’ of ‘assault weapons’.

First, you can’t buy back what wasn’t yours to begin with, so right off the bat the name is flawed. Let’s call it what it really is: a “confiscation-with-compensation” program. Think of it as a form of eminent domain directed at your guns… like eminent domain against ‘real property’ the .gov gives you no choice in the ‘sale’, hands you a check for what they think is fair, and then say you ‘sold’ it to them.

You know, if I take your car out of your driveway without your permission but leave a check for what I think your car is worth on your doorstep…guess what?..I still go down for stealing a car. It doesn’t matter if someone pays you…if you don’t want to sell something, and they take it a give you a check, to me that isn’t a ‘sale’ … thats a crime. But, of course, the rules are different for .gov.

Laws like this never start on a national level. They are birthed on state levels (NY, CA, IL, etc.) and are then held as shining examples to be replicated on the national level. You’re not going to see a national mandatory buyback before you see a city/state level mandatory buyback. Sure, it’s already happened in some places… somewhere there’s an ancient copy of the letter I received from the NYPD many years ago telling me I needed to turn in my HK93 to the cops, take it out of city limits, or render it inoperable…with no compensation, mind you. But those sorts of things are fairly rare. Expect that to change.

Solution? Well, there’s only two solutions.. first is you politically quash this thing with such extreme prejudice and furious righteous outrage that, to paraphrase Tip O’Neil, gun control becomes the ‘third rail of politics – you touch it, you [politically] die.’

The second solution, which isn’t necessarily a solution as much as it is a personal choice, is to head over to GunBroker, Palmetto State, GrabAGun, and all the usual firearms venues and work your credit cards so hard they lay limp in your wallet like sheets of overcooked lasagna.

I’ve been saying that the sky is falling regarding rifle/mag bans for over fifteen years now and I do not see that belief changing for the better anytime soon. Had I the financial resources, I’d have a case of 50 stripped AR lowers and about 500 Pmags sitting in a Hardigg case somewhere. :::shrug::: But that’s just me.

Anyway, someone asked me what my take is on the ‘mandatory buyback’ threat and that’s it – I see it happening on a local level in some places, but I do not see it on a national level for quite some time. Note, thats not me saying it won’t happen…Im just saying I don’t believe it will be happening (on a federal level) anytime soon. But, I’ve been wrong before so it’s up to you to decide if it’s the jet ski this year or another couple AR’s. Choose wisely.

Lighting

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Last week I plugged in the 12v desk lamp into the rehabbed Goal 0 battery to see how long it would run. Well, today is about a week since then and the little battery meter says it’s down to approximately 40% charge.

So, seven days at 24 hour usage means I could run this thing for six hours every night for a month. Or eight hours a night for three weeks. Thats a not inconsiderable amount of time to have ‘normal’ lighting.

Sometimes it’s hard to wrap your head around something like an economic collapse, a gigantic earthquake, a global pandemic, etc, but pretty much everyone can relate to a blackout or loss of electricity because we’ve all experienced it before at some point in our lives.  A power failure is probably the ‘disaster’ that the majority of people can relate to. Not everyone thinks keeping a case of 5.56 and years worth of freeze drieds is a good idea, but pretty much everyone has a flashlight at home.

Anyway, as I mentioned in the previous post on the subject, I like keeping a couple battery-in-a-box type of items on hand so that I can just set up a light source and pretty much not have to worry about it. I’ve yet to experience the outage that lasts more than a day and at the moment I have the resources to not have to sit in the dark for an entire month.

Gotta say, man….Ii remember when LED lighting started to be a thing. I recall thinking that if it delivered the lighting they promised at the low-usage rates they calculated it would revolutionize emergency lighting and low-power lighting systems for remote locations. Apparently it lived up to the hype.

Article – Feds Demand Apple And Google Hand Over Names Of 10,000+ Users Of A Gun Scope App

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TL;DR version: a high-end riflescope lets you link to your phone to get images and other data from the scope. A buncha the scopes were illegally exported.  .gov is demanding to know who uses the app so they can try and see where the scopes wound up.

According to an application for a court order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 5, investigators want information on users of Obsidian 4, a tool used to control rifle scopes made by night-vision specialist American Technologies Network Corp. The app allows gun owners to get a live stream, take video and calibrate their gun scope from an Android or iPhone device. According to the Google Play page for Obsidian 4, it has more than 10,000 downloads. Apple doesn’t provide download numbers, so it’s unclear how many iPhone owners could be swept up in this latest government data grab.

This is quite similar to the blanket searches the cops are doing where if someone gets shot in XYZ neighborhood they demand the phone records of everyone who was in that are at the time and then they troll through that info looking to see if they recognize a suspect.

The solution to these rather broad and offensive assaults on privacy, other than politely walking these people to the end of a long pier and giving them a strong pat on the back, is not to discard your smartphone but rather acquire one that isn’t attached to your ‘real life’. Theyre a tad more expensive, but burner smartphones that don’t require ID might be worth it. And, of course, never leave your phone with the battery in it anyplace where you’re going to be spending a lot of time.

 

Paratus reminder!

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A friendly reminder, September 20 is Paratus…the holiday for survivalists. As always, the Paratus FAQ is available for your reading pleasure.

If you’re too lazy to bother, here’s the short version: Paratus is the holiday that is all about preparedness. You are expected to give/receive preparedness-related gifts, engage in preparedness-related activities (which are broadly defined enough to include ‘sitting around with your buddies, drinking beer, and watching The Walking Dead’), and hang out with like-minded individuals. In a perfect world it would be like a heavily-armed version of Mardi Gras.

However….I take it slightly more seriously. I’ll be handing out Paratus gifts to various folks, probably using the day as an excuse to do inventory, and hopefully receiving Paratus wishes and goodies from other survivalists.

As best I can tell, no one has marked down their merchandise and started playing Paratus carols yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Mylar after two years of exposure

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A few years back I picked up a heat-sealer and a supply of heavy-duty mylar pouches. The goal was to use them to store small first aid items in a protective package that would be impervious to dirt, moisture, etc. (Links are still good in that post, so if you want your own sealer and bags go hit those links.)

SO, I went through my extensive piles of first aid supplies and pulled out the basics, loaded them into a mylar bag, and sealed them up. This was, ostensibly, for me to basically throw under the seat in the vehicle.

At some point, I needed to clean out the accumulated detritus in the vehicle and loaded all the loose items that were kicking around (water bottles, pens, loose ammo, maps, e-tool, etc.) into a milk crate and kept that milk crate in the vehicle. One day, I needed to maximize the space in the vehicle so I pulled out the milk crate and tucked it away in a corner of the yard while I did what needed doing. And then forgot about it. That was two years ago.

So, I was straightening things up and found this mylar pouch of first aid supplies that had been sitting out in the elements – snow, rain,sun, heat, cold – for two years…completely unprotected. Seems like a good opportunity to see how it held up.

Two years in the sun, rain, snow, heat, and cold of Western Montana. Dusty, but otherwise undamaged.

Tear it open and take a look inside. Contents appear to be undamaged and just fine.

Everything appears as good as it was when I packed it up two years prior.

Unfortunately, I loaned my heat sealer to someone last year and despite my occasional requests for it back they’ve not returned it, so unless they get a sudden dose of responsibility I’m probably going to have to order another one. I still have a goodly supply of pouches and the evidence seems to show that they are very good at protecting important items from the elements. In addition to the obvious things like a bit of first aid supplies, small objects that need to stay clean and dry would be suitable candidates….small electronics like radios and such spring to mind.

I rather like the convenience of having several of these pouches sitting in a bin in storage and I can just grab one and throw it in a pack or bag if I’m going somewhere. And when you buy the stuff in bulk like I do, it’s ridiculously cheap to put one of these together. Cheap enough to the point that I can just give them away to friends and like minded individuals, keep on e in every bag, stash a bunch at some offsite location, etc. Of course, if you’re willing to pop for the larger size pouches you can put together some extensive kits.

By the by, these pouches are the resealable kind…so once open, the contents can be put back inside and the bag ‘zipped’ closed. But if you really wanna go the suspender-n-belt route you could easily stuff a ziploc bag in there to perform the same function.