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

Every morning is the same for the Zero – get up, turn on the TV, check all stations for ’special reports’, turn off TV, get dressed. Fairly routine.

Leading a dual life isnt as easy as I thought it would be. That isnt to say that being Commander Zero and being Joe SomewhatAverage are exclusive, its just that some parts of it are easier to manage. Basically, I dont mind *you* knowing that I’m Commander Zero, its my neighbors and certain friends I have a problem knowing about it. Why? Well, how would you feel if you looked out your window and saw your neighbor shuttling cases of ammo and MRE’s into his house from a pickup truck full of the things? Sets off a few bells, don’t it? When the power goes out or the looting starts guys like us are ‘wow, Im glad youre here’ but during normal times we’re ‘he’s one of those surivival freaks’.

On the other hand, there isnt much in my normal life Im low-key about anyway. But, for some reason, theres such a perjorative association with the term ’survivalism’ (which is why I prefer the term ‘preparedness’) that its always a reluctant thing to let others know about it.

So, out of curiousity, how many people know about how heavily Commander Zero is prepared for..whatever? Uhm…locally, maybe 4. And three of those are LMI’s.

I dont mind sharing all this with the relatively anonymous audience that the internet provides…thats why I can have LJ, the website, etc, and not feel that Im giving away secrets. Of course, I should probably remove some of the evidence from my living room so that the casual visitor doesnt suspect anything..right now my shelves read like a library of survivalist books and theres all sorts of related materials laying around…..

Every morning is the same for the Zero – get up, turn on the TV, check all stations for ‘special reports’, turn off TV, get dressed. Fairly routine.

Leading a dual life isnt as easy as I thought it would be. That isnt to say that being Commander Zero and being Joe SomewhatAverage are exclusive, its just that some parts of it are easier to manage. Basically, I dont mind *you* knowing that I’m Commander Zero, its my neighbors and certain friends I have a problem knowing about it. Why? Well, how would you feel if you looked out your window and saw your neighbor shuttling cases of ammo and MRE’s into his house from a pickup truck full of the things? Sets off a few bells, don’t it? When the power goes out or the looting starts guys like us are ‘wow, Im glad youre here’ but during normal times we’re ‘he’s one of those surivival freaks’.

On the other hand, there isnt much in my normal life Im low-key about anyway. But, for some reason, theres such a perjorative association with the term ‘survivalism’ (which is why I prefer the term ‘preparedness’) that its always a reluctant thing to let others know about it.

So, out of curiousity, how many people know about how heavily Commander Zero is prepared for..whatever? Uhm…locally, maybe 4. And three of those are LMI’s.

I dont mind sharing all this with the relatively anonymous audience that the internet provides…thats why I can have LJ, the website, etc, and not feel that Im giving away secrets. Of course, I should probably remove some of the evidence from my living room so that the casual visitor doesnt suspect anything..right now my shelves read like a library of survivalist books and theres all sorts of related materials laying around…..

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

One of the problems with bunkerfood is that it either tastes lousy or requires reconstituion using perishables (milk, butter, etc). In a perfect world you’d have a food that tastes great and requires nothing except water.

Behold!

Now, Idahoan potatoes are pretty much a staple of any well-stocked bunker. Big drawback is that they require milk and butter to reconstitute. Sure, you can use instant milk and dehydrated butter but it aint gonna taste the same. Well, as it turns out they have several products that do NOT require butter or milk. Simply pour a pouch of potato granules into a bowl, add two cups of boiling water, stir, wait one minute and *presto*.

How good could this be?

Damn good. I mean, really good. Like, eat it every day even if theres no apocalypse good. Thats right – bunkerfood you’ll wanna eat every day.

mentioned this product to me and I found some in my local Albertsons. $1.20 for a four ounce sealed package that makes 4 servings. (Really, two servings…after a day of rebuilding society and manning a security point you get hungry.) So I tried the ‘Buttery homestyle’ flavor last night. Literally, it was as simple as the directions said – two cups boiling water to a bowl of this stuff, wait one minute and eat. And it was delicious! A little creamier and smoother than I prefer but thats easily taken care of with using a bit less water. Great buttery taste and no need for additional salt.

I was extremely impressed. I mean, really impressed. So impressed that these suckers are going into the bunker as soon as I locate a #10 can of them. I called Idahoan to ask about this product. My questions:

Q: How di I read the product date code? (In this case: 3246YDM4) Seemed it would be Year/Date/Month [YDM, get it?])
A: Julian code – year first, then date, then month.

Q: Whats the shelf life of the product?
A: We recommend using it within one year of that date.
Q: Okay, I understand thats the official line..between you and me, what? Two years? Four years? Im trying to stock a bunker here.
A: Well, I’ve had some a year and a half old and they tasted fine. It depends on the ingredients..the flavored ones use ingredients for flavoring that may not last as long. On the regular unflavored mashed potatoes its [indefinite].

Q: The normal Idahoan requires milk and butter. These flavored ones dont. Do you have the regular Idahoan that doesnt require milk or butter?
A: Yes, thats product #00142, ‘Real Premium Mashed’

Q: Outstanding. Is that available in the #10 cans?
A: You’d have to contact our food service division at Nestle.

Seriously, kids…this is some good stuff. I tried the Buttery homestyle and loved em. Gonna try the herbed ones tonight and try frying them as potato patties/latkes. Current packaging is a cardboard box with wax paper bag (like breakfast cereal) or a 4 oz. paper package. Neither one lends itself to the rough-n-tumble lifestyle of your average LMI but Im going to see if I cant hunt down some #10 cans (I love #10 cans!!!!). Worst case, I could simply store/transport them in 5-gal buckets.

Man, that was yummy. And can be made using an alcohol burner and a canteen cup. Perfect!!!

One of the problems with bunkerfood is that it either tastes lousy or requires reconstituion using perishables (milk, butter, etc). In a perfect world you’d have a food that tastes great and requires nothing except water.

Behold!

Now, Idahoan potatoes are pretty much a staple of any well-stocked bunker. Big drawback is that they require milk and butter to reconstitute. Sure, you can use instant milk and dehydrated butter but it aint gonna taste the same. Well, as it turns out they have several products that do NOT require butter or milk. Simply pour a pouch of potato granules into a bowl, add two cups of boiling water, stir, wait one minute and *presto*.

How good could this be?

Damn good. I mean, really good. Like, eat it every day even if theres no apocalypse good. Thats right – bunkerfood you’ll wanna eat every day.

kitiara mentioned this product to me and I found some in my local Albertsons. $1.20 for a four ounce sealed package that makes 4 servings. (Really, two servings…after a day of rebuilding society and manning a security point you get hungry.) So I tried the ‘Buttery homestyle’ flavor last night. Literally, it was as simple as the directions said – two cups boiling water to a bowl of this stuff, wait one minute and eat. And it was delicious! A little creamier and smoother than I prefer but thats easily taken care of with using a bit less water. Great buttery taste and no need for additional salt.

I was extremely impressed. I mean, really impressed. So impressed that these suckers are going into the bunker as soon as I locate a #10 can of them. I called Idahoan to ask about this product. My questions:

Q: How di I read the product date code? (In this case: 3246YDM4) Seemed it would be Year/Date/Month [YDM, get it?])
A: Julian code – year first, then date, then month.

Q: Whats the shelf life of the product?
A: We recommend using it within one year of that date.
Q: Okay, I understand thats the official line..between you and me, what? Two years? Four years? Im trying to stock a bunker here.
A: Well, I’ve had some a year and a half old and they tasted fine. It depends on the ingredients..the flavored ones use ingredients for flavoring that may not last as long. On the regular unflavored mashed potatoes its [indefinite].

Q: The normal Idahoan requires milk and butter. These flavored ones dont. Do you have the regular Idahoan that doesnt require milk or butter?
A: Yes, thats product #00142, ‘Real Premium Mashed’

Q: Outstanding. Is that available in the #10 cans?
A: You’d have to contact our food service division at Nestle.

Seriously, kids…this is some good stuff. I tried the Buttery homestyle and loved em. Gonna try the herbed ones tonight and try frying them as potato patties/latkes. Current packaging is a cardboard box with wax paper bag (like breakfast cereal) or a 4 oz. paper package. Neither one lends itself to the rough-n-tumble lifestyle of your average LMI but Im going to see if I cant hunt down some #10 cans (I love #10 cans!!!!). Worst case, I could simply store/transport them in 5-gal buckets.

Man, that was yummy. And can be made using an alcohol burner and a canteen cup. Perfect!!!

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

I really need to sit down with Excel and whip out some solid spreadsheets listing things to buy, prices, costs per use, etc. and start making my purchases much more organized and regimented.

It also occurred to me that for $10 for 550 rounds of .22LR ammo I really should have a bit more of it than the lousy 5,000 rounds I have on hand at the moment.

Speaking of .22 , I really do need to look into picking up a Ruger MkII and a nice bolt action rifle.

I really need to sit down with Excel and whip out some solid spreadsheets listing things to buy, prices, costs per use, etc. and start making my purchases much more organized and regimented.

It also occurred to me that for $10 for 550 rounds of .22LR ammo I really should have a bit more of it than the lousy 5,000 rounds I have on hand at the moment.

Speaking of .22 , I really do need to look into picking up a Ruger MkII and a nice bolt action rifle.

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

Hmm…California is set on ‘broil’ and solar flare activity is causing concern.

There was a solar flare-related event a few years ago..wound up shutting down a wireless phone network. Not too big a deal except that it also managed to disable the phone service that allows gas pumps and ATMs to operate with credit cards. Does any of this matter to the Commander? Not really. Im pretty low-tech for most things… obviously, inability to use ATMs or to have debit/ATM cards suddenly not function is a headache, but not as critical as it would be to some urban professional who hasnt used cash in ten years.

Getting nippy here..supposed to be in the low teens for Halloween. Time to bring out the heavier clothing. Also probably time to start making the usual ‘just in case’ plans for what to do when pipes freeze, power goes out, etc, etc. One nice thing about power outages in the winter is that I dont have to worry about the meat in the freezer thawing…just stick it in a cooler in the yard and youre good to go.

Interesting link of the day: Bucket caches

In other matters, I need to spend some time in the kitchen as the Guerrilla Gourmet. The recipes I have for cooking with stored foods are either terribly bland or require additional ingredients that are definitely not long term. The Commander Zero Cookbook? Entirely possible.

I was reminded the other day that I still need to pick up a good shortwave radio for listening to various programs and news. Need to pick a good one and find it on eBay…

Hmm…California is set on ‘broil’ and solar flare activity is causing concern.

There was a solar flare-related event a few years ago..wound up shutting down a wireless phone network. Not too big a deal except that it also managed to disable the phone service that allows gas pumps and ATMs to operate with credit cards. Does any of this matter to the Commander? Not really. Im pretty low-tech for most things… obviously, in ability to use ATMs or to have debit/ATM cards suddenly not function is a headache, but not as critical as it would be to some urban professional who hasnt used cash in ten years.

Getting nippy here..supposed to be in the low teens for Halloween. Time to bring out the heavier clothing. Also probably time to start making the usual ‘just in case’ plans for what to do when pipes freeze, power goes out, etc, etc. One nice thing about power outages in the winter is that I dont have to worry about the meat in the freezer thawing…just stick it in a cooler in the yard and youre good to go.

Interesting link of the day: Bucket caches

In other matters, I need to spend some time in the kitchen as the Guerrilla Gourmet. The recipes I have for cooking with stored foods are either terribly bland or require additional ingredients that are definitely not long term. The Commander Zero Cookbook? Entirely possible.

I was reminded the other day that I still need to pick up a good shortwave radio for listening to various programs and news. Need to pick a good one and find it on eBay…

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

Project time…

One of the things Ive been wanting for a while is a dedicated lighting system for when the power goes out. Ideally, it is to be utterly and completely ‘normal’ looking. I’ve got a cabinet-type nightstand that would house a battery, charger and, if necessary, an inverter, quite nicely. What I was thinking of doing was picking up a 12v trouble light and swapping it out with the innards of a normal table lamp. Then I’d simply run the wires to the battery inside the nightstand and , ideally, run it off of the battery. Now, the problem is, I’m very fuzzy on battery/electronics. As I understand it, since I’d be charging this battery indoors I would want a sealed UPS-type battery so that no hazardous fumes/gases would be given off during the charging process? Is this correct? The other question is can I leave the battery hooked up to a charging device constantly so that it charges to the proper voltage and then maintains it? Ive seen several chargers that charge batteries and then ‘float’ them, keeping them topped off as necessary. This seems to be what Id be looking for..something I could plug into the wall and know the battery is always at its peak…and then when the power goes out I can operate the light off of this completely charged battery.

Or would doing such shorten battery life or short the battery itself?

Project time…

One of the things Ive been wanting for a while is a dedicated lighting system for when the power goes out. Ideally, it is to be utterly and completely ‘normal’ looking. I’ve got a cabinet-type nightstand that would house a battery, charger and, if necessary, an inverter, quite nicely. What I was thinking of doing was picking up a 12v trouble light and swapping it out with the innards of a normal table lamp. Then I’d simply run the wires to the battery inside the nightstand and , ideally, run it off of the battery. Now, the problem is, I’m very fuzzy on battery/electronics. As I understand it, since I’d be charging this battery indoors I would want a sealed UPS-type battery so that no hazardous fumes/gases would be given off during the charging process? Is this correct? The other question is can I leave the battery hooked up to a charging device constantly so that it charges to the proper voltage and then maintains it? Ive seen several chargers that charge batteries and then ‘float’ them, keeping them topped off as necessary. This seems to be what Id be looking for..something I could plug into the wall and know the battery is always at its peak…and then when the power goes out I can operate the light off of this completely charged battery.

Or would doing such shorten battery life or short the battery itself?