A few people were very thoughtful and threw a few bucks in the donation jar and wished me a happy Paratus. ( You do know theres a link there on the right side of the screen that says ‘Bunker Equippage Fund’, right?)

Since the gift-giving paradigm for Paratus requires that when someone gives you a gift and you do not reciprocate:

Unreciprocated gift giving is acceptable if the recipient makes a tremendous expression of gratitude and makes a self-deprecating remark about their own lack of generosity. The giver then agrees with the recipient about their lack of generosity, injects a level of snark or good-natured mild condemnation, and the obligation is then discharged.

(Yes, I am linking to my own blog…the internet equivalent of shouting your own name during sex.)

So, for those who generously threw a few bucks in the hat: Thank you very much. I appreciate every bit of help. I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything..but I’m cheap. I’m so cheap I named myself as the beneficiary in my will. Heck, Im so cheap the suits I wear have been in style four times. I mean, I know money talks but all mine ever says is goodbye!

Oh merciful Crom, whatever happened to the good gun shows that this region used to produce? I went to the Hamilton gun show and it seemed smaller than ever and there was virtually nothing of note. I did see a cute little Ruger Compact in 7-08 (which is a nice little gun in a nice caliber), an FR-8 (the pinnacle of bolt-action truck guns), and that was about it. Even the usual mishmash of survival-related stuff was absent. Very much not worth the drive, or the six bucks to get in the door.

However, as long as I was in the neighborhood, I hit the local gun shops. Wound up getting a trigger for the project AR. Got it installed, seems to work, but I’ll need a trip to the range this week to confirm it with live ammo. All thats really left is to replace the standard A2 stock with a Magpul PRS, attach a sling of some kind, and thats about it.

As I was heading down the valley I could see that, surprise, the snow has started to fall in the mountains. We’ve had a major weather change in the last couple days. Finally had two days of drizzle, cold, and high-altitude snow….an excellent recipe for getting the fire situation straightened out. The air, while still just a touch hazy, is much better than it has been and I welcome it.

All in all, not a bad day since I got to visit some gun shops, but I still think the quality of local gun shows has gone downhill. I clearly need to start expanding my range and hit the out-of-valley shows and see what theyre like.

The Hamilton gun show is this weekend. I’ll be heading over there today to look around. And, since that little preparedness shop mentioned in the previous post is on the way, I’m going to stop in there and look around and see if it’s worth the trip.

Happy Paratus, guys..

In a startling coincidence, the local leftist fishwrapper has this:

There’s a line, though, that most of us don’t care to cross. It’s one thing to stock up on essentials ahead of a blizzard, but what about stashing a military-style backpack by the back door with enough dried food, medical supplies and handgun ammo to last weeks? That’s tinfoil hat territory, the kind of over-the-top survivalist prep reserved for those who have watched Red Dawn one too many times. I’m as big a fan of The Walking Dead as the next nerd, but the zombie apocalypse is pure fiction, no alien invasion is imminent, and I’m only about 60 percent sure we’re headed for a full government collapse. I need a bug-out bag full of waterproof matches and MREs like I need a hole in my right foot, right? At least that’s what the Southern Poverty Law Center would have me believe.

Havent read the article in its entirety yet, but I’m sure it will live down to the Independent’s usual standard of journalism.

Someone was nice enough to email me this link to share:

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp signed an emergency order allowing the seizure of private guns, ammunition, explosives and property the National Guard may need to respond to Hurricane Irma.

Mapp signed the order Monday in preparation for Hurricane Irma. The order allows the Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands to seize private property they believe necessary to protect the islands, subject to approval by the territory’s Justice Department.

I thought this sort of thing was proven to be an extremely bad PR move after the Katrina episode but some people don’t learn, I guess.

A couple questions worth asking: how do they know where the private guns are so they can seize them? Hmmmm.

Further reading:

Second Amendment groups are in arms over orders given by the Caribbean territory’s governor activating the islands’ military forces and granting them emergency powers.

With powerful Category 5 Hurricane Irma tracking for the islands, Gov. Kenneth Mapp (I) called out the 1,000-member Virgin Islands National Guard and, as first reported by the Daily Caller, issued orders to Adjutant General Deborah Howell on Monday that the force is “authorized and directed to seize arms, ammunition, explosives, incendiary material and any other property that may be required by the military forces for the performance of this emergency mission.”

It is unbearably smokey today. The winds picked up and it’s blowing out there pretty strongly. The Lolo fire, which is the one making things so fun to breathe around here, apparently flared back up and we are now in the smokiest air I have seen since the great fires of ’01. In short, it’s some really bad air out there. I’m hiding in my house with all the doors closed to try and mitigate the situation. My basement is the only place with relatively clean air since there’s no access to the outside down there.

There is virtually no vehicle traffic nor pedestrian traffic outside. Its like this place was neutron bombed or something.

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Reminder: Paratus is in about two weeks!