Freezing rain going on here in the Land O’ Zero today. This is the sort of weather that really causes the winter chaos. Oh sure, you can talk about your blizzards and your -30 temps, but the real damages come from these ice storms. Power lines get heavy with ice and snap. Same for tress (which, naturally, land on powerlines that arent already down), and road conditions are just unbelievable.

Is the Zero worried? Is there fear in the Zero’s heart? Is the Zero running down to the supermarket in a pacnicked state to buy milk and bread???
No. Of course not. I am the Zero and the Zero has prepared.

Kerosene in the heaters and lamps, vehicle will be parked away from overhead objects, constantlly updated weather map is playing on the desktop, plenty of food, and the Baygen radios are ready for use if the power fails. In short, I can just look at the weather map, shrug, and say “Hunh.”
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Did some geocaching the other day. I usually pack a bunch of zipties in my bag because they can come in handy for all sorts of things. In this case, they safety-wired the girlfriends YakTrax (foot-traction overshoe) to her boots so that if one came off in the snow it wouldnt get lost. Moral of the story: carry zipties. Find them in any hardware store, get several sizes, I carry about 20.
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Wonder if LJ has gotten the usericon image servers back up yet…..

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

Quiet today. It dumped about 4-5″~ of snow last night so theres not alot of noise outside right now. Im wearing my Sorels (pac boots, 'pacs') since the snow comes up about halfway to my knees and wearing regular boots without gaiters would be a wet drippy mess. The felt liners in the Sorels, when worn by themselves, make the most outstanding household slippers Ive ever worn. I may have to get a few extra liners just for the purpose of wearing them as slippers.
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Little ditty on the news abouta  company developing solar power technology that is five times more efficient than what is currently used. The article says current efficiancy is around 6% and this new stuff is around 30%..and its off a material that also works on non-visible light like infra-red so you could actually generate electricity from heat sources. Coolness. I really, really, really need to immerse myself into a study of these sorts of things..esp. just the fundamentals (watts, amps, volts, line drop, AC, DC, batteries, etc..)
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Im also reminded that another glaring deficiency in my abilities is my utter lack of knowledge when it comes to things automotive. Limited slip? Differential? Transfer case? Lift kit? May as well be speaking ebonics. I have certain ideas about what I want in a vehicle, then its just a matter of putting such a rig together. In an ideal world I'd take the thing apart completely so id know how everything works and relates to each other. In fact, one of the LMI is involved in such a project..he has a trapezoid of welded steel he calls his 'jeep'. Its just the frame. He's building it from the frame up and I really think that would be the way to go. Realistically though, what I'd probably wind up doing is buying an older vehicle (Ford, Toyota Land C., etc) and tweak it out. Thats what I love about some of these older 4-wheel drive vehicles that have a cult following – the aftermarket parts abound. Dual tanks? No sweat. Removeable doors and windshield? We can do that. Gas can rack? Piece of cake. Winch? Of course.
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Having used up all the lumber from an earlier shelving project/disassembly, the shelving project in the bunker has come to a halt. Most everything now has a place, but I want some better organization. For example, right now alot of stuff simply sits on the shelves in milk crates with labels attached to them…not a bad way to store things, actually, but Id prefer a more protective ontainer system. Ammo cans in various sizes are almost perfect except for their weight. The gamma-sealed buckets work very very well except their round shape and limited size have their own drawbacks.
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Remember the radio relay station from earlier this year that me and the girlfriend were looking at? I wonder what its like up there now with all that snow.

Quiet today. It dumped about 4-5″~ of snow last night so theres not alot of noise outside right now. Im wearing my Sorels (pac boots, ‘pacs’) since the snow comes up about halfway to my knees and wearing regular boots without gaiters would be a wet drippy mess. The felt liners in the Sorels, when worn by themselves, make the most outstanding household slippers Ive ever worn. I may have to get a few extra liners just for the purpose of wearing them as slippers.
=====
Little ditty on the news abouta  company developing solar power technology that is five times more efficient than what is currently used. The article says current efficiancy is around 6% and this new stuff is around 30%..and its off a material that also works on non-visible light like infra-red so you could actually generate electricity from heat sources. Coolness. I really, really, really need to immerse myself into a study of these sorts of things..esp. just the fundamentals (watts, amps, volts, line drop, AC, DC, batteries, etc..)
=====
Im also reminded that another glaring deficiency in my abilities is my utter lack of knowledge when it comes to things automotive. Limited slip? Differential? Transfer case? Lift kit? May as well be speaking ebonics. I have certain ideas about what I want in a vehicle, then its just a matter of putting such a rig together. In an ideal world I’d take the thing apart completely so id know how everything works and relates to each other. In fact, one of the LMI is involved in such a project..he has a trapezoid of welded steel he calls his ‘jeep’. Its just the frame. He’s building it from the frame up and I really think that would be the way to go. Realistically though, what I’d probably wind up doing is buying an older vehicle (Ford, Toyota Land C., etc) and tweak it out. Thats what I love about some of these older 4-wheel drive vehicles that have a cult following – the aftermarket parts abound. Dual tanks? No sweat. Removeable doors and windshield? We can do that. Gas can rack? Piece of cake. Winch? Of course.
=====
Having used up all the lumber from an earlier shelving project/disassembly, the shelving project in the bunker has come to a halt. Most everything now has a place, but I want some better organization. For example, right now alot of stuff simply sits on the shelves in milk crates with labels attached to them…not a bad way to store things, actually, but Id prefer a more protective ontainer system. Ammo cans in various sizes are almost perfect except for their weight. The gamma-sealed buckets work very very well except their round shape and limited size have their own drawbacks.
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Remember the radio relay station from earlier this year that me and the girlfriend were looking at? I wonder what its like up there now with all that snow.

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

Wallet Busting Department:

Sportsmans Guide 'HQ' catalog (military surplus stuff) arrived today. They have black Mickey Mouse boots for $30/pair (!!!!!) and, interestingly, #10 cans of Mountain House freeze-drieds. The prices on the MH are only about $2 less than what you can get off of MH's website, and MH pays the shipping on orders over $50….so, unless you are a 'member' at Sportsmans Guide and get the additional 10% off, it probably isnt worth it. There were also a few other goodies in there, but the Mickey Mouse boots….grrrrrr….me want.

Wallet Busting Department:

Sportsmans Guide ‘HQ’ catalog (military surplus stuff) arrived today. They have black Mickey Mouse boots for $30/pair (!!!!!) and, interestingly, #10 cans of Mountain House freeze-drieds. The prices on the MH are only about $2 less than what you can get off of MH’s website, and MH pays the shipping on orders over $50….so, unless you are a ‘member’ at Sportsmans Guide and get the additional 10% off, it probably isnt worth it. There were also a few other goodies in there, but the Mickey Mouse boots….grrrrrr….me want.

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

“Crisis Preparedness Handbook” by Spigarelli (ISBN 0-936438-07-0) arrived the other day. Thus far, its not bad. It isnt as broad and vague as many books but its nowhere near as detailed as, say, “Making The Best Of Basics”. Still and all, it seems a good book and one that I dont think I'll regret purchasing. About half the book is devoted to food storage and preperation which is good since too many books try to be too many things within the narrow confines of their covers…some (Passport To Survival, for example) try to get in a chapter on *everything* and wind up giving short shrift to other topics.
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The shelving project in the bunker continues. I got all the MRE's and freeze drieds in one place and that was a big plus. I need to make a rack to hold the 5-gallon buckets, though. I dont really care to just stack them on top of each other and I certainly want them off the floor. Simple frame made out of 2×4's oughtta do the trick. Also need to make one for the various water containers as well.
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One project I would very much like to do this year is to set up a solar panel on the bay window roof, run it to a charge controller in the basement and have a couple of batteries constantly being tricklecharged/topped off. Given my lack of knowledge on the subject im going to have to do a good bit of research and see what I can come up with. My biggest concern is that I want to use batteries that wont give off any gas when being charged. Thats limiting me to, I think, gel-type batteries. As I said, I need to do some more research. I want to have enough power to run a simple and small LED array of lights and power a two-way radio. Thats it. I was thinking something in the 75-100ah range. Research is called for.
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Its hard to believe but I am one gun away from completing my ideal battery of guns. I need to pick up a Ruger MkII at some point to fill in the '.22 pistol' niche and I can then pick up the redundant spares at my leisure. There are , however, a few guns I'd like to have but that are not critical…a Vaquero .44, a Beretta 21A in .22, a bolt action .223 and maybe a nice Marlin .22. But right now Id be very well served with the current inventory of thundertoys. Still need more ammo though.
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I see on the news that California motorists got stranded and had to sit in their cars for as longas 12 hours the other day. 12 hours? Bah. Talk to me when youve spent three days or so. I think right now theres at least that many days worth of gear in the vehicle right now. Getting stuck on a snowy road in the middle of nowhere would almost be a vacation given the sleeping bags, candle lantern, MRE's, etc, etc. that are packed away. Of course, being California Im sure none of these people had any gear with them for a prolonged stay.

“Crisis Preparedness Handbook” by Spigarelli (ISBN 0-936438-07-0) arrived the other day. Thus far, its not bad. It isnt as broad and vague as many books but its nowhere near as detailed as, say, “Making The Best Of Basics”. Still and all, it seems a good book and one that I dont think I’ll regret purchasing. About half the book is devoted to food storage and preperation which is good since too many books try to be too many things within the narrow confines of their covers…some (Passport To Survival, for example) try to get in a chapter on *everything* and wind up giving short shrift to other topics.
=====
The shelving project in the bunker continues. I got all the MRE’s and freeze drieds in one place and that was a big plus. I need to make a rack to hold the 5-gallon buckets, though. I dont really care to just stack them on top of each other and I certainly want them off the floor. Simple frame made out of 2×4’s oughtta do the trick. Also need to make one for the various water containers as well.
=====
One project I would very much like to do this year is to set up a solar panel on the bay window roof, run it to a charge controller in the basement and have a couple of batteries constantly being tricklecharged/topped off. Given my lack of knowledge on the subject im going to have to do a good bit of research and see what I can come up with. My biggest concern is that I want to use batteries that wont give off any gas when being charged. Thats limiting me to, I think, gel-type batteries. As I said, I need to do some more research. I want to have enough power to run a simple and small LED array of lights and power a two-way radio. Thats it. I was thinking something in the 75-100ah range. Research is called for.
=====
Its hard to believe but I am one gun away from completing my ideal battery of guns. I need to pick up a Ruger MkII at some point to fill in the ‘.22 pistol’ niche and I can then pick up the redundant spares at my leisure. There are , however, a few guns I’d like to have but that are not critical…a Vaquero .44, a Beretta 21A in .22, a bolt action .223 and maybe a nice Marlin .22. But right now Id be very well served with the current inventory of thundertoys. Still need more ammo though.
=====
I see on the news that California motorists got stranded and had to sit in their cars for as longas 12 hours the other day. 12 hours? Bah. Talk to me when youve spent three days or so. I think right now theres at least that many days worth of gear in the vehicle right now. Getting stuck on a snowy road in the middle of nowhere would almost be a vacation given the sleeping bags, candle lantern, MRE’s, etc, etc. that are packed away. Of course, being California Im sure none of these people had any gear with them for a prolonged stay.

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

Went down to the GunPimp today. He had a supressed Browning Buckmark that he let me try out in the backroom. Fun. Not sure what use Id have for one other than the occasional silent sentry removal, but still fun. Had a nice little Rem 100 AOW with a 14″ barrel. That was more useful in my opinion. More importantly, he had new manufacture Glock mags on hand that were not LEO marked. $25@ but he let me have one for $20 … Id like to go back and get some more. The Glocks in this household are all 9mm, and the 17 mag will fit all of them..the 17, 19 and 26. Thus we really need to only stock one type of Glock magazine.

Speaking of 9mm, I need to really get on the ball and load some ammo. The whole point of being copped up during winter is to reload ammo.
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Well, that and test winter gear…..

Went down to the GunPimp today. He had a supressed Browning Buckmark that he let me try out in the backroom. Fun. Not sure what use Id have for one other than the occasional silent sentry removal, but still fun. Had a nice little Rem 100 AOW with a 14″ barrel. That was more useful in my opinion. More importantly, he had new manufacture Glock mags on hand that were not LEO marked. $25@ but he let me have one for $20 … Id like to go back and get some more. The Glocks in this household are all 9mm, and the 17 mag will fit all of them..the 17, 19 and 26. Thus we really need to only stock one type of Glock magazine.

Speaking of 9mm, I need to really get on the ball and load some ammo. The whole point of being copped up during winter is to reload ammo.
=====
Well, that and test winter gear…..

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

I was wondering about the various BTU output of fuels. Here you go:

Wood: 6,500 BTU (assumes 25% moisture in wood)
Coal: 8,500-15,500 BTU
Kerosene: 135,000 BTU
Gasoline: 125,000 BTU
Diesel: 138,000 BTU
Fuel oil: 140,000 BTU
LPG (propane): 91,500 BTU
LPG (butane): 103,000 BTU
Natural gas: 100,000 BTU
Alcohol: 65,000 BTU
Charcoal: 12,600 BTU

Its cheap, stable, long lasting and throws out a goodly amount of heat..all hail kerosene!