COMPARISON SHOPPING
I have a temporary mental block going on right now, almost nothing is going on in the cranial block at present. Not only that but my mind has wrapped itself around a certain idea and it won’t let go. This happens on a frequent basis. I am plowing through a proverbial cornucopia of ideas in cyberspace and usually for no reason at all that I can decipher my brain likes one it sees and gets all emotional over it and takes it into it’s proverbial arms and coos at it and makes embarrassing baby faces at it and just plain won’t let go. And you can’t talk rationally to your brain. You would think at this stage in our evolutionary cycle ( hoping against hope that this isn’t as far as we go because we still pretty much act like dirty hairy apes in nice clothing ) that we could but it just doesn’t happen. Just like a loyal minion put an idea into my head about the reptilian brain we have and now I can’t get the darn idea to go away.
*
So soon I’ll get all stupid wasting time on Google researching for hours something I’ll cover in a few sentences or at best paragraphs and you won’t really care about. You should have seen the time I devoted to researching primitive/cottage industry methods of ammunition case manufacture ( and didn’t come up with anything ). Anyway, yesterday I was in Wal-Mart doing the fortnightly grocery shopping ( and bringing it home on my bicycle just to prove to all of you that you don’t need a car ) and I ran into two different products that surprised me in that their costs were counter intuitive ( ass-backwards ). And I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So now you have to read this slop because I can’t get it out of my mind. See, this is what happens when you develop an addiction. You stick around reading my blather because you know any day now I’ll accidentally vomit forth a peal of wisdom by accident that you can actually use. In the mean time you get me trying to fill a page about comparison shopping which is little more than just comparing the “price per ounce” number on the price stickers.
*
I was in the flour section since lately I keep track of the cost so I can get worked up about the price of wheat. I forced my pounding heart to slow as I saw the generic flour was up again, from $1.50 to $1.68. A double digit increase in two weeks. I was aghast, appalled, angered and agitated. But, wait! Hold the phones! Pillsbury brand flour was still a buck fifty. Who would a thunk it? And it was a price rollback, not ( theoretically ) a holiday overstock item. If I hadn’t accidentally noticed the brand name price I would have embarrassed myself by complaining to all of you. Then I was in the ethnic isle ( beans and chop suey ) looking at salsa since I had skipped a week of drinking my sprouts ( it was cold enough the OJ AND the sprouts both froze ) so my body started craving veggies. Like any good shopper I looked at the big super deluxe Mormon/Mexican family/restaurant size to get the best deal. But while I like Mex food I didn’t eat it enough to want to spend five bucks on a container that would fill up half a refrigerator shelf. Sure enough, the smaller size generic were only a fraction of a cent less per ounce. I’m out a nickel or dime a pound not buying the large size. Big woop.
*
Next I ambled/sauntered/glided ( next to the regular Hippo shopper I look good ) over to the rice and beans and started looking at those prices. There seemed to be very little price pain associated with buying the smaller bags. Is it not enough that most conventional shopping wisdom is being challenged ( name brand cheap as/cheaper than generic, too little discount for large sizes )? Must we be tortured both by food inflation and by needing to be re-educated at the frugal shopping game? The point being, it seems the companies are feeling as much pain as we are. They are charging too much even for bulk purchases, or they are shaving off more profit to boost volume that has declined. Either way we seem to win here, as long as we pay careful attention when comparison shopping. We can buy small bags of rice and beans those weeks the budget is tight, not really paying much of a penalty. We can pay less by buying small size units and not pay too much extra, when we don’t need that much of it.
*
I can’t see it lasting forever, as transportation and packaging costs increase. But for now, enjoy a break from super jumbo industrial size packages being the only answer to grocery shopping or stockpiling.
END
visit www.bisonpress.com for e-books, Amazon books, prep gear, free books, my e-mail address, etc.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
guest article
GUEST ARTICLE
ALPHA MALE
Many of us have read TEOTWAWKI fiction. We enjoy thinking of ourselves as being as smart, strong, resourceful and charismatic as the lead hero in all these stories. Many of them deal with forming groups or retreats of co joined families to ward of the hoards of fat lazy unprepared masses or the evil uncivilized masses that roam the countryside like locusts.
*
Fess up, you imagine yourself behind your steel shuttered windows dropping the enemy with well placed shots from your top of the line battle rifle while they are still 1000 yards away and they mutter about how you are swatting them like flies. You also imagine your supplicant followers doing the same from their positions that were so strategically figured out by your superior mental abilities.
*
Just one problem, is there even one of us who imagines ourselves as one of those pliable, never questioning supplicants rather than the leader? I highly doubt it. Just the very mindset we carry means we have at least latent feelings of superiority. We feel we are above the common masses. We prepare. We think ahead. We plan. We are smart. We are leaders when the time comes, not spineless sheep followers.
*
So, what do you think is going to happen if you try to form a group of like minded people in order to provide protection in numbers and secure that retreat against threat? I can see it now. Ten alpha types who all want to be the leader, because they are sure they are the smartest, strongest, fastest, best equipped or most experienced. A group of leaders and no followers that will fall apart the first time there is a crisis and they don’t agree on how to react. At worst, failing and all dying, at best splitting up and going separate ways.
*
What are our alternative options then? How about this: If you feel the need to have a group, make sure you create a group, (where you are the leader of course), and a number of followers. You are going to have to work though to find people who will accept your leadership, be competent enough to not form a liability to you, smart enough to figure things out, but not so smart as to depose you, brave enough to stand by you when things get tough, but not so tough as to take over, and intelligent enough to take over if something happens to you, but not so intelligent to figure out they don’t need you.
*
An additional problem is created when you try to form this group with people who will understand the need to prepare. Just acknowledging this need is enough to normally elevate them above the common sheep out there. Once they understand the need to prepare, they start to move beyond just being followers. Your task to find good followers is going to be tough. You might not be as smart as you think, or as prepared, experienced or able to lead.
*
My suggestion is to start looking inside your own family. If you already have some standing with them as a decent person with smarts and skills, your job is a third done. Now you just have to get them prodded in the right direction on prepping. Now you are two thirds of the way. Finally you need to get them to cooperate with each other, possibly the hardest part of any family. That is your final step. If you can do that, then you probably deserve to lead the group. Fail at gaining their mutual cooperation and you may as well go it alone.
*
If you cannot find enough people or the right people inside your own family, your job is now twice as tough since you will have to move out to friends, coworkers, and associates. Good luck. Personally, at that point I would decide to go it alone.
*
I realize many will have family they feel obligated to protect, who do not share in the idea of preparing. I do. This is the point where you will have to decide to become the benevolent dictator when crisis arrives. Not an easy job, but it will probably be the only way. Just make sure you don’t have any other alpha types in your pack………
TMM
and don't forget to visit www.bisonpress.com for books and gear
ALPHA MALE
Many of us have read TEOTWAWKI fiction. We enjoy thinking of ourselves as being as smart, strong, resourceful and charismatic as the lead hero in all these stories. Many of them deal with forming groups or retreats of co joined families to ward of the hoards of fat lazy unprepared masses or the evil uncivilized masses that roam the countryside like locusts.
*
Fess up, you imagine yourself behind your steel shuttered windows dropping the enemy with well placed shots from your top of the line battle rifle while they are still 1000 yards away and they mutter about how you are swatting them like flies. You also imagine your supplicant followers doing the same from their positions that were so strategically figured out by your superior mental abilities.
*
Just one problem, is there even one of us who imagines ourselves as one of those pliable, never questioning supplicants rather than the leader? I highly doubt it. Just the very mindset we carry means we have at least latent feelings of superiority. We feel we are above the common masses. We prepare. We think ahead. We plan. We are smart. We are leaders when the time comes, not spineless sheep followers.
*
So, what do you think is going to happen if you try to form a group of like minded people in order to provide protection in numbers and secure that retreat against threat? I can see it now. Ten alpha types who all want to be the leader, because they are sure they are the smartest, strongest, fastest, best equipped or most experienced. A group of leaders and no followers that will fall apart the first time there is a crisis and they don’t agree on how to react. At worst, failing and all dying, at best splitting up and going separate ways.
*
What are our alternative options then? How about this: If you feel the need to have a group, make sure you create a group, (where you are the leader of course), and a number of followers. You are going to have to work though to find people who will accept your leadership, be competent enough to not form a liability to you, smart enough to figure things out, but not so smart as to depose you, brave enough to stand by you when things get tough, but not so tough as to take over, and intelligent enough to take over if something happens to you, but not so intelligent to figure out they don’t need you.
*
An additional problem is created when you try to form this group with people who will understand the need to prepare. Just acknowledging this need is enough to normally elevate them above the common sheep out there. Once they understand the need to prepare, they start to move beyond just being followers. Your task to find good followers is going to be tough. You might not be as smart as you think, or as prepared, experienced or able to lead.
*
My suggestion is to start looking inside your own family. If you already have some standing with them as a decent person with smarts and skills, your job is a third done. Now you just have to get them prodded in the right direction on prepping. Now you are two thirds of the way. Finally you need to get them to cooperate with each other, possibly the hardest part of any family. That is your final step. If you can do that, then you probably deserve to lead the group. Fail at gaining their mutual cooperation and you may as well go it alone.
*
If you cannot find enough people or the right people inside your own family, your job is now twice as tough since you will have to move out to friends, coworkers, and associates. Good luck. Personally, at that point I would decide to go it alone.
*
I realize many will have family they feel obligated to protect, who do not share in the idea of preparing. I do. This is the point where you will have to decide to become the benevolent dictator when crisis arrives. Not an easy job, but it will probably be the only way. Just make sure you don’t have any other alpha types in your pack………
TMM
and don't forget to visit www.bisonpress.com for books and gear
Saturday, December 29, 2007
killing the messenger
KILLING THE MESSENGER
We no longer hunt down escaped slaves and maim them to prevent future escapes. We no longer keep women in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant ( I better not expand on whether that is good or not ). We no longer burn witches. We congratulate ourselves on being modern and progressive. And yet we still insist on killing the messenger of bad news. Oh, we may not actually decapitate them. But we kill them figuratively. Or economically. The scientist that doesn’t follow the herd soon finds a lack of grants hampering his research. A military officer advocating strategies too far from the established methods is assigned to a weather station in Greenland. A blog writer that advocates low income disaster preparations sees advertising revenue below Third World poverty levels.
*
People don’t want to hear bad news. Even those planning for the collapse of civilization. They say they want to prepare but the bulk will cling to dangerous illusions or practices in order to avoid reality of at least soften the harsh sting. Yuppie Survivalism is either a way to avoid living below the middle class threshold or using it as an excuse to avoid anything other than short range disasters ( well, only farm land will do-I’ll just stay in the city until I can afford that. But I do have a hundred MRE’s and a shotgun ). None of us want to live a lifestyle below middle class. And middle class want to move up the economic ladder. Volunteer frugal living will not be embraced by 99% of the population. I used to be weird just because I never liked the car ownership idea. Other than that I aspired to lower middle class. A mobile home instead of a house, in other words. But it was still close to home ownership. All the rest was normal. Work 9 to 5. One point five children, family pet, weekend BBQ. My preps were pretty much Mormon minimalism with grain, grinder, water filter and some guns. The preps were put away and I didn’t worry much about the future.
*
Then the ex-wife, demon spawn that she was, threw me far below the poverty line and I was forced to live like a pauper. I didn’t volunteer to do it. Now I won’t go back, but it was tough. Most people won’t volunteer. The norm in this country is a middle class existence. And upward mobility for the really motivated hard workers. No one likes to think they will be forced to live in the ghettos ( be it trailer parks or city slums ). Middle class is normal, poverty is a reflection on people. They are lazy or stupid or criminals or dishonest. The only class system in America is money based. No one wants to buck the herd. We are social animals and when everyone hates you it takes a strong person to keep their dignity. So most of you will hate me for my message that not only will you not be able to prepare unless you embrace poverty, it is coming and soon will be your only option. Some will recognize a kindred spirit, others will hate my message, hate me, and reject my teaching. The world view is too much, they need to hold out some kind of hope for normalcy. I understand this. It takes pain and effort to be honest with yourself ( a continual process since it is hardwired into us to lie to ourselves for group survival ).
*
In the last twenty five years wages have essentially frozen ( inflation adjusted ). Yet, twenty five years ago the norm was for only one parent to work and the other to raise children. Now it takes two to earn the same wages as one. If you want to look at it honestly, wages have dropped 30-40%. On top of that, tuition, housing, medical, transportation, etc., all are rising 5% a year faster than wages. If you can’t own a home, send your kid to college, afford health care, you can’t really pretend to be middle class. The middle class dream is being squeezed hard. The politicians, corporate titans and bankers are stealing your dreams for the high life. They could care less if both spouses work full time, commute two hours a day, stay in debt for life, only see their kids for ten minutes a day during a fast food meal and give up health care.
*
We are far past the point where the bulk of the population is given some of the loot to appease them and give them hope. It is now every man for himself. It is not because anyone got any greedier. Or more dishonest. That will never change. It is because on a per capita basis everyone has less energy than before. That has been pointed out by authors much better than myself. Energy is life and extra energy is wealth. Less means life styles will devolve. Don’t hate me for telling you this. Thank me for painting a picture of your future so you can prepare. Well, that and spend money at www.bisonpress.com .
END
We no longer hunt down escaped slaves and maim them to prevent future escapes. We no longer keep women in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant ( I better not expand on whether that is good or not ). We no longer burn witches. We congratulate ourselves on being modern and progressive. And yet we still insist on killing the messenger of bad news. Oh, we may not actually decapitate them. But we kill them figuratively. Or economically. The scientist that doesn’t follow the herd soon finds a lack of grants hampering his research. A military officer advocating strategies too far from the established methods is assigned to a weather station in Greenland. A blog writer that advocates low income disaster preparations sees advertising revenue below Third World poverty levels.
*
People don’t want to hear bad news. Even those planning for the collapse of civilization. They say they want to prepare but the bulk will cling to dangerous illusions or practices in order to avoid reality of at least soften the harsh sting. Yuppie Survivalism is either a way to avoid living below the middle class threshold or using it as an excuse to avoid anything other than short range disasters ( well, only farm land will do-I’ll just stay in the city until I can afford that. But I do have a hundred MRE’s and a shotgun ). None of us want to live a lifestyle below middle class. And middle class want to move up the economic ladder. Volunteer frugal living will not be embraced by 99% of the population. I used to be weird just because I never liked the car ownership idea. Other than that I aspired to lower middle class. A mobile home instead of a house, in other words. But it was still close to home ownership. All the rest was normal. Work 9 to 5. One point five children, family pet, weekend BBQ. My preps were pretty much Mormon minimalism with grain, grinder, water filter and some guns. The preps were put away and I didn’t worry much about the future.
*
Then the ex-wife, demon spawn that she was, threw me far below the poverty line and I was forced to live like a pauper. I didn’t volunteer to do it. Now I won’t go back, but it was tough. Most people won’t volunteer. The norm in this country is a middle class existence. And upward mobility for the really motivated hard workers. No one likes to think they will be forced to live in the ghettos ( be it trailer parks or city slums ). Middle class is normal, poverty is a reflection on people. They are lazy or stupid or criminals or dishonest. The only class system in America is money based. No one wants to buck the herd. We are social animals and when everyone hates you it takes a strong person to keep their dignity. So most of you will hate me for my message that not only will you not be able to prepare unless you embrace poverty, it is coming and soon will be your only option. Some will recognize a kindred spirit, others will hate my message, hate me, and reject my teaching. The world view is too much, they need to hold out some kind of hope for normalcy. I understand this. It takes pain and effort to be honest with yourself ( a continual process since it is hardwired into us to lie to ourselves for group survival ).
*
In the last twenty five years wages have essentially frozen ( inflation adjusted ). Yet, twenty five years ago the norm was for only one parent to work and the other to raise children. Now it takes two to earn the same wages as one. If you want to look at it honestly, wages have dropped 30-40%. On top of that, tuition, housing, medical, transportation, etc., all are rising 5% a year faster than wages. If you can’t own a home, send your kid to college, afford health care, you can’t really pretend to be middle class. The middle class dream is being squeezed hard. The politicians, corporate titans and bankers are stealing your dreams for the high life. They could care less if both spouses work full time, commute two hours a day, stay in debt for life, only see their kids for ten minutes a day during a fast food meal and give up health care.
*
We are far past the point where the bulk of the population is given some of the loot to appease them and give them hope. It is now every man for himself. It is not because anyone got any greedier. Or more dishonest. That will never change. It is because on a per capita basis everyone has less energy than before. That has been pointed out by authors much better than myself. Energy is life and extra energy is wealth. Less means life styles will devolve. Don’t hate me for telling you this. Thank me for painting a picture of your future so you can prepare. Well, that and spend money at www.bisonpress.com .
END
Friday, December 28, 2007
suicide by election
SUICIDE BY ELECTION
Today was one of those unfortunate times when the media was presented with a golden opportunity to pretend they still reported the news rather than served as a propaganda arm of the Fatherland. With the assassination of the Pakistani opposition leader Pravda Broadcasting Service took every spare moment they had to remind us of a supposed “important breaking news item”. They deemed this the most important thing to happen to the world since Britney Spear’s flashed her wrinkled crotch at the cameras. I don’t know if it was because it was a female leader that was killed and the PC crowd is so eager for their favorite Clinton to be elected that now they think only politicians with boobs can bring democracy to the huddled masses ( of course in their democracy it is okay to be fascist as long as it pertains to the environment ) or if the assassination benefit’s the US in some way and they were ordered to cover the event in nauseating detail, but the end result is I for one am driven to indifference due to the repetition and sickening insincerity.
*
Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish any evil on others unless they are my ex-wife, politicians, lawyers, bankers and some corporate types. Foreign politicians don’t even make that grade so I am not happy to see this death. A tsunami wiping out DC, that I would cheer ( sorry, civilians, but DC is classified as a sewer you should escape from so you don’t get any sympathy from me ). A woman trying to change a military dictatorship into a democracy, a relatively noble endeavor ( not a big fan of democracy over a Constitutional Republic ). So I am sorry to see this happen. But let’s assume she had not been killed. She would have made little difference. The Prez had already transferred a lot of the Prime Ministers duties over to himself ( including control of the nukes ) so she would have accomplished little actual change. So my current take on the assassination is that it was done not to protect the Presidents power from a rival but to use the event to his advantage. What, I don’t know. Widespread riots to justify a crack down? We can be sure it will accomplish a goal to those in power.
*
And don’t listen to the Liar In Chief. I doubt he is all heart broken. More likely the CIA was involved somehow. Heck, Iran might have there hand in all this. Destabilize the country since it is the only Muslim nuclear power that could threaten us? Use that as an excuse to use nukes ourselves? Or keep our guy in power indefinitely? A lot of possibilities. Now let’s tie this in to Ron Paul. Just as I am sure that there is one or two good lawyers out there ( sorry to those two that I’m wishing for an extinction to your whole profession but better safe than sorry ) Ron Paul seems to be about the only honest politician out there. So it is going to be a shame if anything happens to him.
*
My personal opinion is that the Presidential elections have been rigged. Either cheating through easily hacked electronic machines or bribing contenders to give up the race. Hitler won through honest elections but the Powers That Be couldn’t take that chance so they “produced” the votes they needed. Gore was bought off by being financially rewarded with the Green Czar job. If I am right, the next election is already decided. If I am wrong and Ron Paul is actually elected ( assuming he even gets through the primaries ) then he will in very short order be assassinated. He has already given notice to the Central Bankers that he will revoke their fiat money monopoly. Just on the national debt alone that is a loss of almost a half trillion bucks a year ( to speak nothing off all the other bank loans ) in interest and even the Pope himself would kill anyone who threatened that kind of income. And don’t get all religious on me, past popes have done worse in the pursuit of power and wealth.
*
Ron Paul seems like quite a nice guy, I hope he is not trying to commit suicide by election ( taken from the term “suicide by cop” where instead of killing yourself you get the cops to do it for you by threatening them ). Call me a cynic but either he stands no chance or he will be “rewarded” for his troubles. It is nice to see those fight against all odds, either in Pakistan or in this country, but it is a bit much to put your life on the line. Financial ruin, okay. You can earn more money. But your life? Are some people so optimistic they can’t see a hopeless gesture for what it is? Well, to each his or her own. Just remember this as my prediction for 2008. The economy will get worse, and Ron Paul will never get elected ( or killed if he does ). And the sun will rise in the east.
END
e-books, Amazon books, prep gear www.bisonpress.com
Today was one of those unfortunate times when the media was presented with a golden opportunity to pretend they still reported the news rather than served as a propaganda arm of the Fatherland. With the assassination of the Pakistani opposition leader Pravda Broadcasting Service took every spare moment they had to remind us of a supposed “important breaking news item”. They deemed this the most important thing to happen to the world since Britney Spear’s flashed her wrinkled crotch at the cameras. I don’t know if it was because it was a female leader that was killed and the PC crowd is so eager for their favorite Clinton to be elected that now they think only politicians with boobs can bring democracy to the huddled masses ( of course in their democracy it is okay to be fascist as long as it pertains to the environment ) or if the assassination benefit’s the US in some way and they were ordered to cover the event in nauseating detail, but the end result is I for one am driven to indifference due to the repetition and sickening insincerity.
*
Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish any evil on others unless they are my ex-wife, politicians, lawyers, bankers and some corporate types. Foreign politicians don’t even make that grade so I am not happy to see this death. A tsunami wiping out DC, that I would cheer ( sorry, civilians, but DC is classified as a sewer you should escape from so you don’t get any sympathy from me ). A woman trying to change a military dictatorship into a democracy, a relatively noble endeavor ( not a big fan of democracy over a Constitutional Republic ). So I am sorry to see this happen. But let’s assume she had not been killed. She would have made little difference. The Prez had already transferred a lot of the Prime Ministers duties over to himself ( including control of the nukes ) so she would have accomplished little actual change. So my current take on the assassination is that it was done not to protect the Presidents power from a rival but to use the event to his advantage. What, I don’t know. Widespread riots to justify a crack down? We can be sure it will accomplish a goal to those in power.
*
And don’t listen to the Liar In Chief. I doubt he is all heart broken. More likely the CIA was involved somehow. Heck, Iran might have there hand in all this. Destabilize the country since it is the only Muslim nuclear power that could threaten us? Use that as an excuse to use nukes ourselves? Or keep our guy in power indefinitely? A lot of possibilities. Now let’s tie this in to Ron Paul. Just as I am sure that there is one or two good lawyers out there ( sorry to those two that I’m wishing for an extinction to your whole profession but better safe than sorry ) Ron Paul seems to be about the only honest politician out there. So it is going to be a shame if anything happens to him.
*
My personal opinion is that the Presidential elections have been rigged. Either cheating through easily hacked electronic machines or bribing contenders to give up the race. Hitler won through honest elections but the Powers That Be couldn’t take that chance so they “produced” the votes they needed. Gore was bought off by being financially rewarded with the Green Czar job. If I am right, the next election is already decided. If I am wrong and Ron Paul is actually elected ( assuming he even gets through the primaries ) then he will in very short order be assassinated. He has already given notice to the Central Bankers that he will revoke their fiat money monopoly. Just on the national debt alone that is a loss of almost a half trillion bucks a year ( to speak nothing off all the other bank loans ) in interest and even the Pope himself would kill anyone who threatened that kind of income. And don’t get all religious on me, past popes have done worse in the pursuit of power and wealth.
*
Ron Paul seems like quite a nice guy, I hope he is not trying to commit suicide by election ( taken from the term “suicide by cop” where instead of killing yourself you get the cops to do it for you by threatening them ). Call me a cynic but either he stands no chance or he will be “rewarded” for his troubles. It is nice to see those fight against all odds, either in Pakistan or in this country, but it is a bit much to put your life on the line. Financial ruin, okay. You can earn more money. But your life? Are some people so optimistic they can’t see a hopeless gesture for what it is? Well, to each his or her own. Just remember this as my prediction for 2008. The economy will get worse, and Ron Paul will never get elected ( or killed if he does ). And the sun will rise in the east.
END
e-books, Amazon books, prep gear www.bisonpress.com
Thursday, December 27, 2007
rocket stove
ROCKET STOVE
A rocket stove is pretty simple. Air is drawn in where wood is added and channeled up, either into the heating chamber if a stove or under a pot if a cooker. This is a much more efficient design for cooking than an open fire and if done correctly the heater burns the wood more efficiently. I’ll get into a few simple designs for primitive heating here shortly but first a word about a specific design of a heater. I can’t remember if I stumbled on to the site or someone sent me a link, but a week before it was featured on Survival Blog ( proving how efficient he is and how unorganized I am ) I visited www.rocketstoves.com and read about a super efficient rocket stove heater. Rawles stole my thunder on announcing the site so of course in a fit of one-up-manship I wanted to actually order the book and share its secrets with you. Plus, it seemed like a really great idea. Use much less wood and emit almost no smoke. Perfect for both before and after Peak Oil.
*
The book is called “Rocket mass heaters, super efficient woodstoves you can build” by Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson. Cob Cottage Publications. It has an ISBN number so it is possible that someone else sells it cheaper ( I haven’t checked ). My copy was $18 plus $5 shipping. Now, obviously I was procrastinating investing in $23 for a mythical stove to go in my mythical shanty in that illusive time when I might actually finally move out to the sticks to my land. But a lone heroic figure stepped out of the good night, a Super Loyal Minion PayPaled me $20 as a “I Think You Are Greater Than All You Survey” end of the year gift. I gladly took it as any pride I might have once had was crushed like a spineless bug along with my ego. It wasn’t like I was going to mainline heroin with it, it was for a good cause. Me, ( and to a somewhat lesser extent ) and all of you. So with out of pocket expense at a more reasonable $3 I ordered the book. It was shipped rather fast and I sat down and enviously read about great radiating warmth as I sat around on a cloudy day, huddled about in multiple layers of sweaters and a beanie to warm my melon.
*
This design is different than most rocket stoves, as it surrounds a long horizontal chimney with masonry to capture all of the heat in the smoke. Also, it uses a two chamber combustion process to burn the wood. Think of a J shape. The lower end is the wood feeder. The bottom of the wood is burning, at the bottom of the feeder chamber and in the section leading into the higher section. The heat rises up and out of the top of the J. That pipe ( or stacked bricks ) is surrounded by a large metal drum. The smoke hits the inside of the top of the drum and then falls down between the outside of the pipe and the inside of barrel and is channeled down the chimney. All along the way the heat is captured. The chimney can be wound around in a small area until it leads outside ( by this time so cool it only takes something akin to a laundry vent to vent the smoke ). It is suggested you make the area a couch or bed of sitting area. The masonry is heated up and radiates heat long after the fire is out. The room itself might get down to fifty the next morning but by sitting or laying on the chimney area you are nicely heated.
*
A few problems with the stove design ( he freely admits this is an experimental design ). You can only use hard woods and they need to be somewhat straight to feed into the stove. That might not be a problem in moist areas, but in the arid parts pine is mostly it. The combustion process is efficient but creosote could not effectively be removed with this design unless you make the chimney straight or at a continual incline. You need a minimum of twenty feet for this design to work well. Also, there is a certain layout process you should follow ( the combustion chamber so long in relation to the feed, so wide, etc. ). If it works as outlined you will only use one quarter the wood of a conventional cast iron stove and have no tell-tale smoke.
*
This is a great book. Well worth the price. At a later date I might go into better detail on the construction, but don’t hold your breath. You really need the illustrations to build this puppy. Plus he covers such things as building on top of a wood floor, etc. Chances are good you can build this stove under $100 so spend the $23 buying a proper set of instructions to do so. As far as more primitive rocket stoves, you could do nothing more than dig a hole straight down. Dig another smaller hole at an angle to meet the bottom of the first. Feed wood into the small, your cooking pot over the large ( resting on a few small stones to allow the air draw ). Much more efficient cooker. For heat you could take a 55 gallon drum and cut two pipe holes on the top. One is the chimney, the other is the wood intake. Feed the wood down the intake pipe, which goes almost all the way down to the bottom. Drop in a few flaming papers and add small kindling to start. If you could surround it by stones you would get something of the radiant heat effect, but you would still generate smoke.
*
There are plenty of web pages on rocket stoves. Most are the camping type, or perhaps of Third World cooking stoves. Rocket Mass Heaters pretty much just focuses on the radiant chimney design, but it does it quite well.
END
books and gear www.bisonpress.com
A rocket stove is pretty simple. Air is drawn in where wood is added and channeled up, either into the heating chamber if a stove or under a pot if a cooker. This is a much more efficient design for cooking than an open fire and if done correctly the heater burns the wood more efficiently. I’ll get into a few simple designs for primitive heating here shortly but first a word about a specific design of a heater. I can’t remember if I stumbled on to the site or someone sent me a link, but a week before it was featured on Survival Blog ( proving how efficient he is and how unorganized I am ) I visited www.rocketstoves.com and read about a super efficient rocket stove heater. Rawles stole my thunder on announcing the site so of course in a fit of one-up-manship I wanted to actually order the book and share its secrets with you. Plus, it seemed like a really great idea. Use much less wood and emit almost no smoke. Perfect for both before and after Peak Oil.
*
The book is called “Rocket mass heaters, super efficient woodstoves you can build” by Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson. Cob Cottage Publications. It has an ISBN number so it is possible that someone else sells it cheaper ( I haven’t checked ). My copy was $18 plus $5 shipping. Now, obviously I was procrastinating investing in $23 for a mythical stove to go in my mythical shanty in that illusive time when I might actually finally move out to the sticks to my land. But a lone heroic figure stepped out of the good night, a Super Loyal Minion PayPaled me $20 as a “I Think You Are Greater Than All You Survey” end of the year gift. I gladly took it as any pride I might have once had was crushed like a spineless bug along with my ego. It wasn’t like I was going to mainline heroin with it, it was for a good cause. Me, ( and to a somewhat lesser extent ) and all of you. So with out of pocket expense at a more reasonable $3 I ordered the book. It was shipped rather fast and I sat down and enviously read about great radiating warmth as I sat around on a cloudy day, huddled about in multiple layers of sweaters and a beanie to warm my melon.
*
This design is different than most rocket stoves, as it surrounds a long horizontal chimney with masonry to capture all of the heat in the smoke. Also, it uses a two chamber combustion process to burn the wood. Think of a J shape. The lower end is the wood feeder. The bottom of the wood is burning, at the bottom of the feeder chamber and in the section leading into the higher section. The heat rises up and out of the top of the J. That pipe ( or stacked bricks ) is surrounded by a large metal drum. The smoke hits the inside of the top of the drum and then falls down between the outside of the pipe and the inside of barrel and is channeled down the chimney. All along the way the heat is captured. The chimney can be wound around in a small area until it leads outside ( by this time so cool it only takes something akin to a laundry vent to vent the smoke ). It is suggested you make the area a couch or bed of sitting area. The masonry is heated up and radiates heat long after the fire is out. The room itself might get down to fifty the next morning but by sitting or laying on the chimney area you are nicely heated.
*
A few problems with the stove design ( he freely admits this is an experimental design ). You can only use hard woods and they need to be somewhat straight to feed into the stove. That might not be a problem in moist areas, but in the arid parts pine is mostly it. The combustion process is efficient but creosote could not effectively be removed with this design unless you make the chimney straight or at a continual incline. You need a minimum of twenty feet for this design to work well. Also, there is a certain layout process you should follow ( the combustion chamber so long in relation to the feed, so wide, etc. ). If it works as outlined you will only use one quarter the wood of a conventional cast iron stove and have no tell-tale smoke.
*
This is a great book. Well worth the price. At a later date I might go into better detail on the construction, but don’t hold your breath. You really need the illustrations to build this puppy. Plus he covers such things as building on top of a wood floor, etc. Chances are good you can build this stove under $100 so spend the $23 buying a proper set of instructions to do so. As far as more primitive rocket stoves, you could do nothing more than dig a hole straight down. Dig another smaller hole at an angle to meet the bottom of the first. Feed wood into the small, your cooking pot over the large ( resting on a few small stones to allow the air draw ). Much more efficient cooker. For heat you could take a 55 gallon drum and cut two pipe holes on the top. One is the chimney, the other is the wood intake. Feed the wood down the intake pipe, which goes almost all the way down to the bottom. Drop in a few flaming papers and add small kindling to start. If you could surround it by stones you would get something of the radiant heat effect, but you would still generate smoke.
*
There are plenty of web pages on rocket stoves. Most are the camping type, or perhaps of Third World cooking stoves. Rocket Mass Heaters pretty much just focuses on the radiant chimney design, but it does it quite well.
END
books and gear www.bisonpress.com
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
staying put in the sewer
STAYING PUT IN THE SEWER
Rawles post today on Christmas was pretty good. As I keep saying, I like Survival Blog and find it quite useful many times. It is just our opposing philosophies that cause me to snarl at him from time to time. Nothing too personal. Today he responded to a letter from a New York City apartment dweller and did a great job pointed out all the hazards he was facing, from too little water to fire hazards to noise discipline. At the end of the whole daily section there was a link to an article about a tent city in California. No evicted former home owners, just those down and out. One guy was there even though he got Social Security ( “the rents are too high”-no crap, Sherlock. You’re living in SoCal ). These two items got my ire up as far too many people refuse to leave their sewers.
*
In a nation of nomads, gypsies, wanderers and restless migrants it is still amazing that so many people stay put in really bad surroundings. I’m not saying that many of us live in the perfect place. Too few can claim that. Many of our choices are less than perfect. We might live in a bigger city than we like because family is there. Or live too close to disaster areas because we stay at jobs that provide medical insurance that we are dependant on. Or need to keep our current job due to being unable to sell the current house, or have school loans to pay off. There are a lot of reasons we stay in less than perfect areas. But why does anyone want to live in an out right sewer, a complete crap hole? New York City, LA, Chicago, etc. come to mind. Some places are so friggin bad that almost any sacrifice is more appealing than continuing to live in a guaranteed death trap.
*
L.A. has ten million people. It is completely surrounded by desert and has no water supply of its own. The crime rate is insane. NYC has twice been attacked by terrorists. It has twelve million population ( in an area much smaller than LA ). It has no possibility of surviving a serious collapse. Chicago is a crap hole in a windy freezer. You can add most of the northeast cities to the list. Phoenix, with way too many people, a water dependency, horrid summer heat. I could go on. Of course, these are my lists of bad places to be and yours might vary. But some places just don’t have any chance of being survival friendly in the future, not to mention good places to live now. Why stay? Listen, I know a lot of you live in these areas. A lot of you have good supplies and good plans. You might just make it fine after a collapse. And a lot of folks in “ideal” locations will fail to survive. I am merely playing the odds here. Generalizing that surviving in East Dog Breath, Montana is going to be a much surer thing than in a great metro area.
*
Do you really need to stay in these terrible places? Remember the story by Heinlein? An owner of a bar is talking to a customer about nuclear war with the Soviets. The customer gives the odds of an exchange so high it compels the owner to simply walk away. As he clears the city it is hit with a nuke. The point being, walking away from your anchors can save your life. No one can realistically just walk away from a job or an investment without very compelling evidence of impending disaster. But you can alter your location with minimal sacrifice to greatly increase your odds of survival. In the above case, the owner sells his bar and sets up a tavern in a smaller city not targeted by the Russians. In your case, moving as if for regular reasons such as a new job but with longer term safety in mind. The guy mentioned on Social Security. He has a pension that can follow him anywhere. For Christ sake, move to an area of the country where it is cheaper to live. The weather sucks everywhere compared to Southern California but you can pick another climate which is not too bad. Why stay in a tent city? The apartment dweller in NYC can surely escape the city if he wants to. We are a group that believes bad thing will happen, right? We of all people should be able to move to less unsafe areas. It is not painless, but it can be necessary.
END
Thank you to JRG in NcAllen TX for your cash donation. Got it just in time for Christmas.
The rest of you, go buy e-books or gear or Amazon books at www.bisonpress.com
Rawles post today on Christmas was pretty good. As I keep saying, I like Survival Blog and find it quite useful many times. It is just our opposing philosophies that cause me to snarl at him from time to time. Nothing too personal. Today he responded to a letter from a New York City apartment dweller and did a great job pointed out all the hazards he was facing, from too little water to fire hazards to noise discipline. At the end of the whole daily section there was a link to an article about a tent city in California. No evicted former home owners, just those down and out. One guy was there even though he got Social Security ( “the rents are too high”-no crap, Sherlock. You’re living in SoCal ). These two items got my ire up as far too many people refuse to leave their sewers.
*
In a nation of nomads, gypsies, wanderers and restless migrants it is still amazing that so many people stay put in really bad surroundings. I’m not saying that many of us live in the perfect place. Too few can claim that. Many of our choices are less than perfect. We might live in a bigger city than we like because family is there. Or live too close to disaster areas because we stay at jobs that provide medical insurance that we are dependant on. Or need to keep our current job due to being unable to sell the current house, or have school loans to pay off. There are a lot of reasons we stay in less than perfect areas. But why does anyone want to live in an out right sewer, a complete crap hole? New York City, LA, Chicago, etc. come to mind. Some places are so friggin bad that almost any sacrifice is more appealing than continuing to live in a guaranteed death trap.
*
L.A. has ten million people. It is completely surrounded by desert and has no water supply of its own. The crime rate is insane. NYC has twice been attacked by terrorists. It has twelve million population ( in an area much smaller than LA ). It has no possibility of surviving a serious collapse. Chicago is a crap hole in a windy freezer. You can add most of the northeast cities to the list. Phoenix, with way too many people, a water dependency, horrid summer heat. I could go on. Of course, these are my lists of bad places to be and yours might vary. But some places just don’t have any chance of being survival friendly in the future, not to mention good places to live now. Why stay? Listen, I know a lot of you live in these areas. A lot of you have good supplies and good plans. You might just make it fine after a collapse. And a lot of folks in “ideal” locations will fail to survive. I am merely playing the odds here. Generalizing that surviving in East Dog Breath, Montana is going to be a much surer thing than in a great metro area.
*
Do you really need to stay in these terrible places? Remember the story by Heinlein? An owner of a bar is talking to a customer about nuclear war with the Soviets. The customer gives the odds of an exchange so high it compels the owner to simply walk away. As he clears the city it is hit with a nuke. The point being, walking away from your anchors can save your life. No one can realistically just walk away from a job or an investment without very compelling evidence of impending disaster. But you can alter your location with minimal sacrifice to greatly increase your odds of survival. In the above case, the owner sells his bar and sets up a tavern in a smaller city not targeted by the Russians. In your case, moving as if for regular reasons such as a new job but with longer term safety in mind. The guy mentioned on Social Security. He has a pension that can follow him anywhere. For Christ sake, move to an area of the country where it is cheaper to live. The weather sucks everywhere compared to Southern California but you can pick another climate which is not too bad. Why stay in a tent city? The apartment dweller in NYC can surely escape the city if he wants to. We are a group that believes bad thing will happen, right? We of all people should be able to move to less unsafe areas. It is not painless, but it can be necessary.
END
Thank you to JRG in NcAllen TX for your cash donation. Got it just in time for Christmas.
The rest of you, go buy e-books or gear or Amazon books at www.bisonpress.com
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
the sky is falling how?
THE SKY IS FALLING HOW?
Survivalists, doomers, preppers and others of like minds are always acting in alarm and fear. Just ask them and they will tell you that the sky is falling, the end is nigh. There is always a disaster a la mode. The panic of the week. We are like the retail store that is constantly putting on 50% off sales due to liquidation/going out of business. The same owner is constantly “losing our lease” or “stripping the inventories to the wall” or making some other pretence of being forced to lower prices. All the gain is yours and all the pain is his. Yet somehow he still manages to pay the lease and keep the lights on. To those on perpetual panic mode there is always some reason you need to prepare.
*
The general reason is that they are in a business. They make money off of you panicking. I’m not saying that are not a lot of fly-by-night operators cashing in on perceived threats. Our wonderful government is always playing the fear card to get what it wants. But those in business seem to take all of the heat. It is as if the Communists running the media and institutions of higher learning have won in their fight against capitalism and have succeeded in brainwashing us. Why is making a profit such a bad thing anymore? Profit is the business owners paycheck. So why should it be wrong to make money off fear? People fearing for their lives are prone to spend a lot of money. It can be a lucrative market. My readers are basically poor and desperate, so they won’t be putting me into a mansion or limousine anytime soon but even on a lower income scale the desire to spend money is still strong ( and yes, I realize a lot have good paychecks but almost zero disposable income ).
*
I’m not in business to make that much money. You could never spend a dime and still learn all you need to know on frugal survival if you so choose. It would take more effort on your part, but it is possible. So I’m not exactly robbing the desperate for a living. But others in it strictly for a buck shouldn’t be criticized too readily. They still provide a service, regardless of motivation. So, yes, a lot of “education” is purely out of profit motive. The economic sites by gold bullion sellers comes to mind. The product might determine the content. Might, because I don’t think in general very many are really dishonest. Again, the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent cause 80% of the crime. So eight out of ten business owners are statistically honest and scrupulous. But as the saying goes, when you are a hammer everything looks like a nail. They look through the prism of their product. Not trying to cheat you, just with a limited reality.
*
In my own case, my constant alarm at potential disasters is quite simple. The reason for it is that I need to come up with a new topic every day ( well, except Sunday of course ). Even threats I discount as much of a danger( nuclear war, bird flu ), I still cover just to have something different. So that is my own bias. Others want you to buy their stuff, I want you to keep reading mine for the same reason. So you’ll buy my stuff. But don’t look surprised. You didn’t actually think you got so much good reading material on the Web because of love or ego, did you? Sure, they factor in. But at the end of the day, we all need to buy groceries and keep a roof over our head. Profit is not evil. Greed, yes. But profit motive is a mutual benefit. Don’t be too harsh on those that succumb to it.
*
As far as being drowned in a sea of different potential disasters, unable to discern which is real since each seller does believe its validity due to his own prism, that is a tough one. No one really knows what is coming down the road. We all give advice and warning. But in the end you alone are responsible for determining what to prepare for. No matter how much money you spend, no advice is anything other than opinion. And, look at it another way. A diversity of things to fear is productive in the long run. It keeps your interest, you stay motivated. Not such a bad thing. Sure, it sucks having to prepare on a limited basis for several contingencies. Ain’t reality a bitch?
END
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this is a special and joyous day for every single one of you, even my trolls!
Survivalists, doomers, preppers and others of like minds are always acting in alarm and fear. Just ask them and they will tell you that the sky is falling, the end is nigh. There is always a disaster a la mode. The panic of the week. We are like the retail store that is constantly putting on 50% off sales due to liquidation/going out of business. The same owner is constantly “losing our lease” or “stripping the inventories to the wall” or making some other pretence of being forced to lower prices. All the gain is yours and all the pain is his. Yet somehow he still manages to pay the lease and keep the lights on. To those on perpetual panic mode there is always some reason you need to prepare.
*
The general reason is that they are in a business. They make money off of you panicking. I’m not saying that are not a lot of fly-by-night operators cashing in on perceived threats. Our wonderful government is always playing the fear card to get what it wants. But those in business seem to take all of the heat. It is as if the Communists running the media and institutions of higher learning have won in their fight against capitalism and have succeeded in brainwashing us. Why is making a profit such a bad thing anymore? Profit is the business owners paycheck. So why should it be wrong to make money off fear? People fearing for their lives are prone to spend a lot of money. It can be a lucrative market. My readers are basically poor and desperate, so they won’t be putting me into a mansion or limousine anytime soon but even on a lower income scale the desire to spend money is still strong ( and yes, I realize a lot have good paychecks but almost zero disposable income ).
*
I’m not in business to make that much money. You could never spend a dime and still learn all you need to know on frugal survival if you so choose. It would take more effort on your part, but it is possible. So I’m not exactly robbing the desperate for a living. But others in it strictly for a buck shouldn’t be criticized too readily. They still provide a service, regardless of motivation. So, yes, a lot of “education” is purely out of profit motive. The economic sites by gold bullion sellers comes to mind. The product might determine the content. Might, because I don’t think in general very many are really dishonest. Again, the 80/20 rule. Twenty percent cause 80% of the crime. So eight out of ten business owners are statistically honest and scrupulous. But as the saying goes, when you are a hammer everything looks like a nail. They look through the prism of their product. Not trying to cheat you, just with a limited reality.
*
In my own case, my constant alarm at potential disasters is quite simple. The reason for it is that I need to come up with a new topic every day ( well, except Sunday of course ). Even threats I discount as much of a danger( nuclear war, bird flu ), I still cover just to have something different. So that is my own bias. Others want you to buy their stuff, I want you to keep reading mine for the same reason. So you’ll buy my stuff. But don’t look surprised. You didn’t actually think you got so much good reading material on the Web because of love or ego, did you? Sure, they factor in. But at the end of the day, we all need to buy groceries and keep a roof over our head. Profit is not evil. Greed, yes. But profit motive is a mutual benefit. Don’t be too harsh on those that succumb to it.
*
As far as being drowned in a sea of different potential disasters, unable to discern which is real since each seller does believe its validity due to his own prism, that is a tough one. No one really knows what is coming down the road. We all give advice and warning. But in the end you alone are responsible for determining what to prepare for. No matter how much money you spend, no advice is anything other than opinion. And, look at it another way. A diversity of things to fear is productive in the long run. It keeps your interest, you stay motivated. Not such a bad thing. Sure, it sucks having to prepare on a limited basis for several contingencies. Ain’t reality a bitch?
END
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this is a special and joyous day for every single one of you, even my trolls!
Monday, December 24, 2007
canning lid reuse
CANNING LID REUSE
If you live in the proper area you can always cut ice in the winter and store it in an icehouse for use during the summer to preserve food. As long as the 12 volt batteries last you can use a solar panel to create ice blocks using a old refrigerator condenser and a used chest freezer for the ice box ( previously covered on your mostest favorite survival site, this one ). As long as the rolls of screen last you can dry your food ( after that it is back to using smoke to keep the bugs off ). None are very ideal, but who expects post-collapse life to be anything like what we have now?
*
A great way to preserve your food, especially high value items such as meat or butter, is to can it. Pressure canners are not too expensive new, although many can be had from garage sales or thrift stores and it is only a few bucks to replace the gasket and the pressure gauge if you search on the Internet for that make and models replacement parts. I have both a pressure canner and a cooker I got from the trash, but I put that “to-do” far at the bottom of my mental list. Trust me, you don’t want to go poking around down there. It is a very dangerous, as the mental list is stored in one of those dank and musty places better left alone. Every few months I rethink of something on my mental list and after giving a brief shudder of fear I quickly put it out of my thoughts.
*
The main problem with canning is the lid issue. The glass jars you can pick up by the boatload, cleaning out the clutter of little old blue haired ladies that have curled twisted appendages where once dexterous hands used to reside, decades of arthritis precluding any chance of ever again concocting sweet delicacies from their kitchen. And then you can reuse them again and again, the only danger coming from breakage as your twelve year old apprentice is distracted from washing jars at the thoughts of being impregnated from the passing hayseed farm boy, as post-collapse careers pretty much end for females outside of being used as breeding stock ( and the odd barren spinster in some teaching positions- hey, don’t look at me like that, it will once again be normal and desirable to start breeding shortly after puberty which will happen at a normal age once we stop drinking hormone laced milk ).
*
But lids are never to be reused. Smokey The Bear, The United States Surgeon General, every company selling canning supplies and everyone who ever lived will all faint dead away at the very suggestion that you can reuse canning lids. The horror, the shock, the unspeakable evil! Food born illnesses will plague the land, your children will turn purple, retch blood and die before your very eyes, the undead will roam the land and haunt you for your vast ignorance and bloody reign of terror. That, or the used lids just won’t take a seal, I’m not sure which. But for most people it is going to be difficult if not impossible to buy enough canning lids ahead of time to last all that long once the last factory fades to darkness and the last transport truck grinds to a halt. Not because they are insanely expensive but because there are 101 other things that need to be stocked up on and almost nothing but rimfire ammunition can easily be over stocked. Even that is not assured. But more than likely your lid supply will be inadequate.
*
Our good buddies over at the Timebomb 2000 discussion board have posted an answer. Thanks, guys! To resurrect dead canning lids take a pot of boiling water, add a tablespoon of baking soda and throw in your lids for about ten minutes in the continually boiling water. The seals on the underside of the lid will puff back up and you can now use the lid again. One or two folks tried it by canning water ( why waste food on an experiment? ) and got the “pop” breaking the seal so it seems this works just dandy. I don’t know why you use baking soda, I tried several other sites and couldn’t find an answer. Anyway, don’t try this at home until after all the lawyers are dead and strung up. After that, a great way to continue canning post-industry. Just make sure to gently lift the lid from the jar. This method rejuvenates the seal, it doesn’t straighten out bent lids.
END
A new kid on the block, www.tslrf.blogspot.com . Libertarian ( alas, not anarchist-but BTN ) and survivalism rolled into one, my kind of guys. A little too heavy on the hero worship with Rawles, gushing at every turn about how he is so great and how even sliced white bread has nothing on him. But hey, he was imprinted at a young age by “Patriots” so this is to be expected. My sin was being exposed to Saxon first, so you all must suffer that burden. So far, I like what I have seen. A bit uneven, it seems there is more than one or two authors to the site. But no great disagreements with what they are saying ( but then, I am feeling magnanimous right now- even calmly reading the Ranger Man’s M16 articles ). Check them out.
*
Then go to my site, www.bisonpress.com
If you live in the proper area you can always cut ice in the winter and store it in an icehouse for use during the summer to preserve food. As long as the 12 volt batteries last you can use a solar panel to create ice blocks using a old refrigerator condenser and a used chest freezer for the ice box ( previously covered on your mostest favorite survival site, this one ). As long as the rolls of screen last you can dry your food ( after that it is back to using smoke to keep the bugs off ). None are very ideal, but who expects post-collapse life to be anything like what we have now?
*
A great way to preserve your food, especially high value items such as meat or butter, is to can it. Pressure canners are not too expensive new, although many can be had from garage sales or thrift stores and it is only a few bucks to replace the gasket and the pressure gauge if you search on the Internet for that make and models replacement parts. I have both a pressure canner and a cooker I got from the trash, but I put that “to-do” far at the bottom of my mental list. Trust me, you don’t want to go poking around down there. It is a very dangerous, as the mental list is stored in one of those dank and musty places better left alone. Every few months I rethink of something on my mental list and after giving a brief shudder of fear I quickly put it out of my thoughts.
*
The main problem with canning is the lid issue. The glass jars you can pick up by the boatload, cleaning out the clutter of little old blue haired ladies that have curled twisted appendages where once dexterous hands used to reside, decades of arthritis precluding any chance of ever again concocting sweet delicacies from their kitchen. And then you can reuse them again and again, the only danger coming from breakage as your twelve year old apprentice is distracted from washing jars at the thoughts of being impregnated from the passing hayseed farm boy, as post-collapse careers pretty much end for females outside of being used as breeding stock ( and the odd barren spinster in some teaching positions- hey, don’t look at me like that, it will once again be normal and desirable to start breeding shortly after puberty which will happen at a normal age once we stop drinking hormone laced milk ).
*
But lids are never to be reused. Smokey The Bear, The United States Surgeon General, every company selling canning supplies and everyone who ever lived will all faint dead away at the very suggestion that you can reuse canning lids. The horror, the shock, the unspeakable evil! Food born illnesses will plague the land, your children will turn purple, retch blood and die before your very eyes, the undead will roam the land and haunt you for your vast ignorance and bloody reign of terror. That, or the used lids just won’t take a seal, I’m not sure which. But for most people it is going to be difficult if not impossible to buy enough canning lids ahead of time to last all that long once the last factory fades to darkness and the last transport truck grinds to a halt. Not because they are insanely expensive but because there are 101 other things that need to be stocked up on and almost nothing but rimfire ammunition can easily be over stocked. Even that is not assured. But more than likely your lid supply will be inadequate.
*
Our good buddies over at the Timebomb 2000 discussion board have posted an answer. Thanks, guys! To resurrect dead canning lids take a pot of boiling water, add a tablespoon of baking soda and throw in your lids for about ten minutes in the continually boiling water. The seals on the underside of the lid will puff back up and you can now use the lid again. One or two folks tried it by canning water ( why waste food on an experiment? ) and got the “pop” breaking the seal so it seems this works just dandy. I don’t know why you use baking soda, I tried several other sites and couldn’t find an answer. Anyway, don’t try this at home until after all the lawyers are dead and strung up. After that, a great way to continue canning post-industry. Just make sure to gently lift the lid from the jar. This method rejuvenates the seal, it doesn’t straighten out bent lids.
END
A new kid on the block, www.tslrf.blogspot.com . Libertarian ( alas, not anarchist-but BTN ) and survivalism rolled into one, my kind of guys. A little too heavy on the hero worship with Rawles, gushing at every turn about how he is so great and how even sliced white bread has nothing on him. But hey, he was imprinted at a young age by “Patriots” so this is to be expected. My sin was being exposed to Saxon first, so you all must suffer that burden. So far, I like what I have seen. A bit uneven, it seems there is more than one or two authors to the site. But no great disagreements with what they are saying ( but then, I am feeling magnanimous right now- even calmly reading the Ranger Man’s M16 articles ). Check them out.
*
Then go to my site, www.bisonpress.com
Saturday, December 22, 2007
unemployment insurance
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
While waxing eloquently upon the virtues of frugal living I sometimes forget that normal people don’t think that way. So instead of taking what I say as a sermon to change your life, look at it as an instruction manual for unemployment insurance. By all means, feel free to embrace it as a lifestyle. You do much better after practice, you reduce your stress ( it is subjective of course- a little stress trying to do without money or more stress trying to earn it ) and if nothing else you free up income for preparedness stockpiling. Most of you will still choose to live extravagantly with motor vehicles, houses without axles, etc. Just use the knowledge as a rainy day hedge.
*
No one can really say for sure how the current economic situation is going to play out. The last time a financial company faced a bankruptcy that endangered the whole economy the Internet was not used widely, so this time it could be we are facing too much information rather than any extra real danger. Or it could be the beginning of the end. I personally think worse case it will be Mad Max. Best case, a lot of companies fail, unemployment shoots up and inflation goes up enough to make us nostalgic for the 1970’s. The first and most important thing to do is buy a lot of storage food. Food prices are only going to go up. Next, ammunition only because it seems the price there won’t slow down either ( and to kill zombie bikers of course ). Next is essentials like clothing ( that price will rise slower due to overseas overproduction ). Then after the basics, think about buying unemployment insurance. Not putting three months wages aside. Inflation will kill that. But investing in a secure dwelling. We will still have jackbooted ninja squads patrolling the streets, tazering anyone getting lippy and enforcing laws. You can’t go to your retreat and not pay your mortgage. You must still be law abiding.
*
A recent letter to Creekmore gave the sad account of a wage earning being laid off and then being kicked out to fend for himself. Few details were given but I imagine his field had no openings and he was screwed long term since he planned on squatting in the desert in his van. Yes, luckily he had a van. Great unemployment insurance, if that is all you’ve got. However, if you can do a bit better you would have much better security and piece of mind. Living in a vehicle means you need to worry about mechanical failure, harassment by LEO’s over parking ( in the letter writers case he was temporarily parked at a buddies but come time to move the cops will become a problem- no one likes poor people as evidenced by the unfriendly comments section of this site ), and not unimportantly the future cost of gasoline. You will still do much better to buy a piece of junk land. You will have legal rights to reside there and if needed you can do away with the vehicle ( other than a stationary shelter ) if needed.
*
This article is not a rehash of avoiding the Golden Hoard by living on junk land. That article pointed out that fortunately the cheap land was far away from people. This article is trying to point out that due to current economic conditions it is extremely important to have a means to cope when hundreds of companies go bankrupt and start mass job layoffs. It is going to be a lot easier now to pay $60 a month on a piece of land instead of trying to come up with $1200 for the mortgage the first month after you lose your job. I recently changed my www.dirtcheapdirt.blogspot.com site to cheaper land. Instead of featuring $2,000 lots or land with payments under $150, I went with lots under a grand or payments under $100. No, there’s not a whole lot to pick from. No one wants to live there under ideal conditions. But if more areas start seeing Detroit level unemployment you may not have a choice. And if you wait too long they might get more expensive as more recent homeless start doing just what I am advocating. Trailer living on junk land.
*
This is why I think it is a better idea than living in your car ( living in the van is okay, but on your land rather than squatting ). A paid for vehicle that never breaks down and has a never increasing cost of gasoline still costs at least $600 a year to operate. About the cheapest insurance you are going to find is $35 a month and even if you only drive it a few times a week gas at $3 a gallon will still be a minimum of $15. $50 a month, $600 a year. In less than two years your land paid off will equal that cost. Then forever more you pay $5-$50 a year in property taxes only. Maybe a $75 bicycle every few years for transportation. Even short term it is cheaper living on junk land rather than squatting in your car. If a car is all you can swing, fine. Better than a cardboard box. But seriously think about land instead. A one time payment equals a life of insurance. And, no, I see no financial gain from my land blog.
*
Suddenly unemployed with a car and no job prospects that will be sufficient for your bills? Get on the Internet, put a down payment on a piece of junk land. Drive there and park. Get a local job. Even if you stay un-or-under employed it is easier coming up with that land payment rather than a mortgage payment. There are enough choices for land within fifteen miles of a town so worse case you can pedal to a job if insurance and gas prove too costly. As long as our society has had cars they have provided a good unemployment insurance. But I don’t think that will hold in the future. The cost has grown high, to speak nothing of possible future fuel shortages. But do something. Growing unemployment is almost a given.
END
You Buy Now!!! Books and gear www.bisonpress.com
While waxing eloquently upon the virtues of frugal living I sometimes forget that normal people don’t think that way. So instead of taking what I say as a sermon to change your life, look at it as an instruction manual for unemployment insurance. By all means, feel free to embrace it as a lifestyle. You do much better after practice, you reduce your stress ( it is subjective of course- a little stress trying to do without money or more stress trying to earn it ) and if nothing else you free up income for preparedness stockpiling. Most of you will still choose to live extravagantly with motor vehicles, houses without axles, etc. Just use the knowledge as a rainy day hedge.
*
No one can really say for sure how the current economic situation is going to play out. The last time a financial company faced a bankruptcy that endangered the whole economy the Internet was not used widely, so this time it could be we are facing too much information rather than any extra real danger. Or it could be the beginning of the end. I personally think worse case it will be Mad Max. Best case, a lot of companies fail, unemployment shoots up and inflation goes up enough to make us nostalgic for the 1970’s. The first and most important thing to do is buy a lot of storage food. Food prices are only going to go up. Next, ammunition only because it seems the price there won’t slow down either ( and to kill zombie bikers of course ). Next is essentials like clothing ( that price will rise slower due to overseas overproduction ). Then after the basics, think about buying unemployment insurance. Not putting three months wages aside. Inflation will kill that. But investing in a secure dwelling. We will still have jackbooted ninja squads patrolling the streets, tazering anyone getting lippy and enforcing laws. You can’t go to your retreat and not pay your mortgage. You must still be law abiding.
*
A recent letter to Creekmore gave the sad account of a wage earning being laid off and then being kicked out to fend for himself. Few details were given but I imagine his field had no openings and he was screwed long term since he planned on squatting in the desert in his van. Yes, luckily he had a van. Great unemployment insurance, if that is all you’ve got. However, if you can do a bit better you would have much better security and piece of mind. Living in a vehicle means you need to worry about mechanical failure, harassment by LEO’s over parking ( in the letter writers case he was temporarily parked at a buddies but come time to move the cops will become a problem- no one likes poor people as evidenced by the unfriendly comments section of this site ), and not unimportantly the future cost of gasoline. You will still do much better to buy a piece of junk land. You will have legal rights to reside there and if needed you can do away with the vehicle ( other than a stationary shelter ) if needed.
*
This article is not a rehash of avoiding the Golden Hoard by living on junk land. That article pointed out that fortunately the cheap land was far away from people. This article is trying to point out that due to current economic conditions it is extremely important to have a means to cope when hundreds of companies go bankrupt and start mass job layoffs. It is going to be a lot easier now to pay $60 a month on a piece of land instead of trying to come up with $1200 for the mortgage the first month after you lose your job. I recently changed my www.dirtcheapdirt.blogspot.com site to cheaper land. Instead of featuring $2,000 lots or land with payments under $150, I went with lots under a grand or payments under $100. No, there’s not a whole lot to pick from. No one wants to live there under ideal conditions. But if more areas start seeing Detroit level unemployment you may not have a choice. And if you wait too long they might get more expensive as more recent homeless start doing just what I am advocating. Trailer living on junk land.
*
This is why I think it is a better idea than living in your car ( living in the van is okay, but on your land rather than squatting ). A paid for vehicle that never breaks down and has a never increasing cost of gasoline still costs at least $600 a year to operate. About the cheapest insurance you are going to find is $35 a month and even if you only drive it a few times a week gas at $3 a gallon will still be a minimum of $15. $50 a month, $600 a year. In less than two years your land paid off will equal that cost. Then forever more you pay $5-$50 a year in property taxes only. Maybe a $75 bicycle every few years for transportation. Even short term it is cheaper living on junk land rather than squatting in your car. If a car is all you can swing, fine. Better than a cardboard box. But seriously think about land instead. A one time payment equals a life of insurance. And, no, I see no financial gain from my land blog.
*
Suddenly unemployed with a car and no job prospects that will be sufficient for your bills? Get on the Internet, put a down payment on a piece of junk land. Drive there and park. Get a local job. Even if you stay un-or-under employed it is easier coming up with that land payment rather than a mortgage payment. There are enough choices for land within fifteen miles of a town so worse case you can pedal to a job if insurance and gas prove too costly. As long as our society has had cars they have provided a good unemployment insurance. But I don’t think that will hold in the future. The cost has grown high, to speak nothing of possible future fuel shortages. But do something. Growing unemployment is almost a given.
END
You Buy Now!!! Books and gear www.bisonpress.com
Friday, December 21, 2007
fifty cent MRE
FIFTY CENT MRE
I would be the last one to argue with you that as far as camping food goes a military MRE is far from the worse you could have. My main complaint is the expense. Once or twice it is not bad but once you start setting aside a week or two of meals that $6 apiece starts to hurt the checkbook. Hence the previous article on $1 store bought MRE’s. While cheap enough it was far from tasty or very nutritious. The breakfast, two packets of instant oatmeal, were good enough for you and mostly had some flavor ( especially the fruit flavored ones ). But lunch of two packs of Top Ramen and dinner of a canned meat and more Top Ramen were both less than healthy and had the taste of cardboard ( for the Ramen ) and processed lips and rectums ( for the canned meat ).
*
Now we move away from the lazy bastard process of pulling your meal off of the supermarket shelf and move into the do-it-yourself meals that are cheaper and tastier as a result of a bit of effort on your part. By all means, go ahead and get some of the $1 MRE’s. You will barely notice the cost for one weeks worth if you throw it in the cart while doing the regular shopping and it will provide a good bit of variety. But also consider putting together a good size batch of fifty cent MRE’s. They have less variety, but they will cost less and actually be healthy for you. No one plans on living exclusively off of MRE’s but you never know what is going to happen. You might brew up a batch of these MRE’s for an entire month of eating for the cost of barely more than two military MRE’s and this will see you through a lot of moving around, an extended stay camping, or even your last good meals in a refugee camp. The $1 version will make you sick after too many, whereas the fifty cent ones will keep you alive and healthy with all but your fresh vegetables ( all MRE’s, to include the “real” ones should be used with supplemental vitamin/mineral pills ).
*
For each days rations take three quarters of a pound of wheat flour and add it to one quarter pound of bean powder ( for the love of God, buy a $25 grain grinder- one of your most important tools- at www.bisonpress.com/amazonproducts.html ). Mix with water to make a dough, roll out thin and cook until very dry and crisp. Shelf life should be about a year if sealed up. Calories about 1700. You can vary it by adding rice flour or corn flour to the wheat, using different beans or making straight wheat crackers and keeping the bean powder to the side to make a paste with ( boil for three minutes to cook ). The important part is to use whole grains only ( and mixing in the bean flour to provide a complete protein ). Do not use white rice or white flour. You could if you wanted but I would use at least half whole grains. Otherwise your health will suffer long term. Whole grains give you long term energy whereas straight white processed products give you a short term sensation of being full and not much else.
*
Calling these fifty cent MRE’s might be stretching it a bit, but not by much. The energy used to cook them can be offset by cooking them in the winter and using the heat in place of your furnace. Or you can buy in bulk and reduce the price slightly to cover the stove use. I priced it on buying one bag of whole wheat flour and one small bag of pinto beans. If you buy a sack of wheat at the feed store and a huge bag of beans at the supermarket you can reduce the cost ( you should have a stockpile anyway ). You could cook up a week at a time and rotate the stock once you get a months worth so the entire stock is a lot fresher. The effort should be minimal, as is the expense, and you will have a great no-cook food stockpiled.
END
I would be the last one to argue with you that as far as camping food goes a military MRE is far from the worse you could have. My main complaint is the expense. Once or twice it is not bad but once you start setting aside a week or two of meals that $6 apiece starts to hurt the checkbook. Hence the previous article on $1 store bought MRE’s. While cheap enough it was far from tasty or very nutritious. The breakfast, two packets of instant oatmeal, were good enough for you and mostly had some flavor ( especially the fruit flavored ones ). But lunch of two packs of Top Ramen and dinner of a canned meat and more Top Ramen were both less than healthy and had the taste of cardboard ( for the Ramen ) and processed lips and rectums ( for the canned meat ).
*
Now we move away from the lazy bastard process of pulling your meal off of the supermarket shelf and move into the do-it-yourself meals that are cheaper and tastier as a result of a bit of effort on your part. By all means, go ahead and get some of the $1 MRE’s. You will barely notice the cost for one weeks worth if you throw it in the cart while doing the regular shopping and it will provide a good bit of variety. But also consider putting together a good size batch of fifty cent MRE’s. They have less variety, but they will cost less and actually be healthy for you. No one plans on living exclusively off of MRE’s but you never know what is going to happen. You might brew up a batch of these MRE’s for an entire month of eating for the cost of barely more than two military MRE’s and this will see you through a lot of moving around, an extended stay camping, or even your last good meals in a refugee camp. The $1 version will make you sick after too many, whereas the fifty cent ones will keep you alive and healthy with all but your fresh vegetables ( all MRE’s, to include the “real” ones should be used with supplemental vitamin/mineral pills ).
*
For each days rations take three quarters of a pound of wheat flour and add it to one quarter pound of bean powder ( for the love of God, buy a $25 grain grinder- one of your most important tools- at www.bisonpress.com/amazonproducts.html ). Mix with water to make a dough, roll out thin and cook until very dry and crisp. Shelf life should be about a year if sealed up. Calories about 1700. You can vary it by adding rice flour or corn flour to the wheat, using different beans or making straight wheat crackers and keeping the bean powder to the side to make a paste with ( boil for three minutes to cook ). The important part is to use whole grains only ( and mixing in the bean flour to provide a complete protein ). Do not use white rice or white flour. You could if you wanted but I would use at least half whole grains. Otherwise your health will suffer long term. Whole grains give you long term energy whereas straight white processed products give you a short term sensation of being full and not much else.
*
Calling these fifty cent MRE’s might be stretching it a bit, but not by much. The energy used to cook them can be offset by cooking them in the winter and using the heat in place of your furnace. Or you can buy in bulk and reduce the price slightly to cover the stove use. I priced it on buying one bag of whole wheat flour and one small bag of pinto beans. If you buy a sack of wheat at the feed store and a huge bag of beans at the supermarket you can reduce the cost ( you should have a stockpile anyway ). You could cook up a week at a time and rotate the stock once you get a months worth so the entire stock is a lot fresher. The effort should be minimal, as is the expense, and you will have a great no-cook food stockpiled.
END
Thursday, December 20, 2007
resident evil
RESIDENT EVIL 3
Resident Evil 3, yet another zombie flick in a long and sometimes tired line of movies featuring undead. I never saw the first two in the series but I was actually somewhat impressed with this one. It was absolutely nothing original but the whole thing fit together and it didn‘t take itself too seriously. It was a fun hour and a half. Yes, of course there were plenty of flaws in it. One I pointed out was that I didn’t think two year old gasoline was capable of working. Like the good readers that you are you went to the comments section and told me I was sadly mistaken. I accept this. I hang my head in shame. So here is the correction. Two year old gasoline may or may not work, most likely it will. But try not to risk your life on it.
*
The movie opens with evil corporate guys using clones of our hot hero babe to test desirable survival instincts. Once they get it they will use the blood to have their antidote for the virus they unleashed. They go through a lot of clones so I guess they are far from digital copy perfect. Then our heroine answers a distress signal and is captured and put in a pit with zombie dogs. Of course her super strength saves her. She later hooks up with a convoy of human survivors, saves them from zombie crows, goes to Las Vegas and has a show down with evil corporate guy that injected himself with extra zombie juice to turn nearly invincible. But our super bad mamma defeats him with the help of a hologram. Okay, typical comic/fantasy game crapola. But the difference here was the convoy.
*
Start with a modern Mad Max group of desert survivors, add in a traveling orphanage, make all of the good looking women Sara Conner clones with their hugging T-shirts and military style hats and mean pissed-off looks and you have an interesting show. They continued to move around to new locations since they had to continue to scavenge. The world wide virus also killed plants and dried out the water ( a bit over the top, but at least we didn’t have to hear I Gore’s rehashed warming message ) and then of course the zombies were always shuffling around trying to eat you. So our group goes around, kills zombies, eats out of cans ( one character can shake the can and know what is in it ) and scavs ammo and gas. Obviously this is about the only way you can survive in this kind of environment since nothing grows and every thing moving wants to invite you to be dinner. So of course this gives everyone an excuse to waste ammo with semi-autos and drive bad ass vehicles around all day and set up sophisticated motion detection video in case of attack. In short, another excuse for Yuppie Survivalists to advocate their mantra of money equals greatness equals their right by divine greatness to live after the lower order have been killed off.
*
What was the last good survival movie? I would say The Postman. Much better than the original book ( with its killer robots from a University ) and much better than most critics would admit. Now we must be content with idiotic disaster films where the government saves the day or zombie movies. Both are equally unrealistic, especially after Katrina. At least with zombies you get a realistically bleak post-civilization outlook. Yes, it is cheating when everyone is dead and you go around picking up canned food and ammo at will. Just like with Jericho where no one is exposed to fallout, the only characters to die are those that demanded too much money for the second season and everyone still farms successfully with petroleum inputs. It’s all we got, man! We are so desperate for Apocalypse movies that we are all looking forward to a Terminator TV show ( or at least I am ). Not only is it fun, it provides motivation when our resolve slips. Just like our guns and food, we need to compromise with our preferred entertainment. What can you do?
END
www.bisonpress.com for all my crap
Resident Evil 3, yet another zombie flick in a long and sometimes tired line of movies featuring undead. I never saw the first two in the series but I was actually somewhat impressed with this one. It was absolutely nothing original but the whole thing fit together and it didn‘t take itself too seriously. It was a fun hour and a half. Yes, of course there were plenty of flaws in it. One I pointed out was that I didn’t think two year old gasoline was capable of working. Like the good readers that you are you went to the comments section and told me I was sadly mistaken. I accept this. I hang my head in shame. So here is the correction. Two year old gasoline may or may not work, most likely it will. But try not to risk your life on it.
*
The movie opens with evil corporate guys using clones of our hot hero babe to test desirable survival instincts. Once they get it they will use the blood to have their antidote for the virus they unleashed. They go through a lot of clones so I guess they are far from digital copy perfect. Then our heroine answers a distress signal and is captured and put in a pit with zombie dogs. Of course her super strength saves her. She later hooks up with a convoy of human survivors, saves them from zombie crows, goes to Las Vegas and has a show down with evil corporate guy that injected himself with extra zombie juice to turn nearly invincible. But our super bad mamma defeats him with the help of a hologram. Okay, typical comic/fantasy game crapola. But the difference here was the convoy.
*
Start with a modern Mad Max group of desert survivors, add in a traveling orphanage, make all of the good looking women Sara Conner clones with their hugging T-shirts and military style hats and mean pissed-off looks and you have an interesting show. They continued to move around to new locations since they had to continue to scavenge. The world wide virus also killed plants and dried out the water ( a bit over the top, but at least we didn’t have to hear I Gore’s rehashed warming message ) and then of course the zombies were always shuffling around trying to eat you. So our group goes around, kills zombies, eats out of cans ( one character can shake the can and know what is in it ) and scavs ammo and gas. Obviously this is about the only way you can survive in this kind of environment since nothing grows and every thing moving wants to invite you to be dinner. So of course this gives everyone an excuse to waste ammo with semi-autos and drive bad ass vehicles around all day and set up sophisticated motion detection video in case of attack. In short, another excuse for Yuppie Survivalists to advocate their mantra of money equals greatness equals their right by divine greatness to live after the lower order have been killed off.
*
What was the last good survival movie? I would say The Postman. Much better than the original book ( with its killer robots from a University ) and much better than most critics would admit. Now we must be content with idiotic disaster films where the government saves the day or zombie movies. Both are equally unrealistic, especially after Katrina. At least with zombies you get a realistically bleak post-civilization outlook. Yes, it is cheating when everyone is dead and you go around picking up canned food and ammo at will. Just like with Jericho where no one is exposed to fallout, the only characters to die are those that demanded too much money for the second season and everyone still farms successfully with petroleum inputs. It’s all we got, man! We are so desperate for Apocalypse movies that we are all looking forward to a Terminator TV show ( or at least I am ). Not only is it fun, it provides motivation when our resolve slips. Just like our guns and food, we need to compromise with our preferred entertainment. What can you do?
END
www.bisonpress.com for all my crap
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
income inequality
INCOME INEQUALITY
Income inequality over the long run and at extreme levels foster revolution. Throughout history the cycle has played itself out again and again. As a nation or tribe is formed it is roughly equal in wealth and effort. Of course this is not to say that anyone ever reaches the Communist goal of total equality but rather that the differences in wealth distribution are not extreme. There is a sense of fairness and of receiving ones just rewards. Once immediate danger is past and group goals are achieved people settle down to the task of bettering themselves and trade rather than war receives more energy. Generations go by, the old lessons of social harmony are forgotten and the concentration of wealth to less and fewer begins. Once the process has gone too far, to the point where actual hunger or disease occur due to extreme poverty then the rich are no longer shielded by their wealth and by some mechanism the poor receive others wealth to better balance the scales.
*
I am not advocating anything other than capitalism here, myself. But history is apolitical and you can’t expect an economic system to work without taking human nature into account. In America there has always been wealth inequality and our class system is based on not much more than wealth. The newly wealthy might be looked down upon by the old bluebloods but in a generation or by arranged marriage the new money is assimilated. The poor were never a huge threat. At times the anger boiled over and mores or laws were changed to placate them. If one was extremely generous and refused to believe that the bankers control the government and the government is their enforcer ( I believe it but Extreme Paranoia is my sickness ) than a case could be made that the Depression fostered both socialist policies and war in large part to keep the poor from revolution.
*
Currently we are experiencing a increase in wealth inequality. It is obviously nothing close to danger levels. The poor will not spill out into the street carrying pitchforks and torches and call for Greenspan’s head as we would all like to see. One part of why everyone is so apathetic is the general weariness of the daily grind. The nine hour work day, the three hour round trip commute, the spouse getting back from her job with just enough time to throw a bucket of KFC at the mouth breathers gathered around the feeding trough. The weekends full of chores trying to keep the quarter million dollar McMansion from falling apart. The hurried, expensive vacation once a year. The relief of the end of financial servitude as the children reach 18, which is brutally short lived as college tuition inflates at Zimbabwe levels or the degree is suited only for Hooters work and at thirty the child still lives with you. But a better explanation is that no one in this country is suffering yet.
*
Despite a few malcontents without teeth and living off crack, or a few loonies that were released from the Funny Farm in the Eighties so Reagan could keep taxes low ( God bless him!-no, seriously ) and are now living out of shopping carts filled with eight track tapes and aluminum cans, no one in this country is in any danger of going hungry. We might eat a malnourished diet but we won’t starve. That is what keeps the masses from revolting ( and despite cries of anguish form the Botox Bitch, we already have socialized medicine-it is called the ER where the poor go, or Medicare ). I’m not saying we won’t get to the point where this will end. Wheat prices triple in one year, agricultural zones move north, droughts everywhere, oil running out. We could see starvation in this country. Which is where the newest information becomes disturbing. Food shortages, plus income inequality equal revolution. Remember, inequality in the extreme. Not some Commie-Lite version ( the Democrats ) such as taxes for the rich not being high enough. Real, vast gulfs between rich and poor ( without the middle class or hope for escape ) will cause a rip in the social fabric. Historically we have been able to advance up the economic ladder. Take that away and the trouble starts.
*
In 2005 the bottom 20% of the population earned 380 billion. From 2003-2005 the top 1% of the population saw an increase in wealth of over $500 billion. In other words, as of late the increase in wealth every year for the richest comes close to equaling what the poorest earned. The top 1% has income equal to the bottom 50% of the population. Also, the top 1% have the greatest share of wealth since 1929 ( coming full circle since social programs began ). So despite the welfare state, all the money is once again going towards the top segment of society. Come an economic downturn ( oh, I don’t know- say the housing bubble pops and property tax receipts decline ) the wealthy will not surrender their wealth but the poor will get less welfare. And people, most of us are on welfare. Social Security, civil servant pensions, Medicare, defense contractors, most hospitals, builders, contractors, etc. All get paid by government check. As the Feds feel the pinch because of war spending they will force the states to pay more welfare and the states are already seeing less income.
*
I’m not calling another eminent disaster here. We won’t storm the Bastille quite yet. But it is something to keep in mind in conjunction with the bankruptcy of the Baby Boomers retirement system.
END
only six shopping days until Christmas-buy books and gear from www.bisonpress.com
Income inequality over the long run and at extreme levels foster revolution. Throughout history the cycle has played itself out again and again. As a nation or tribe is formed it is roughly equal in wealth and effort. Of course this is not to say that anyone ever reaches the Communist goal of total equality but rather that the differences in wealth distribution are not extreme. There is a sense of fairness and of receiving ones just rewards. Once immediate danger is past and group goals are achieved people settle down to the task of bettering themselves and trade rather than war receives more energy. Generations go by, the old lessons of social harmony are forgotten and the concentration of wealth to less and fewer begins. Once the process has gone too far, to the point where actual hunger or disease occur due to extreme poverty then the rich are no longer shielded by their wealth and by some mechanism the poor receive others wealth to better balance the scales.
*
I am not advocating anything other than capitalism here, myself. But history is apolitical and you can’t expect an economic system to work without taking human nature into account. In America there has always been wealth inequality and our class system is based on not much more than wealth. The newly wealthy might be looked down upon by the old bluebloods but in a generation or by arranged marriage the new money is assimilated. The poor were never a huge threat. At times the anger boiled over and mores or laws were changed to placate them. If one was extremely generous and refused to believe that the bankers control the government and the government is their enforcer ( I believe it but Extreme Paranoia is my sickness ) than a case could be made that the Depression fostered both socialist policies and war in large part to keep the poor from revolution.
*
Currently we are experiencing a increase in wealth inequality. It is obviously nothing close to danger levels. The poor will not spill out into the street carrying pitchforks and torches and call for Greenspan’s head as we would all like to see. One part of why everyone is so apathetic is the general weariness of the daily grind. The nine hour work day, the three hour round trip commute, the spouse getting back from her job with just enough time to throw a bucket of KFC at the mouth breathers gathered around the feeding trough. The weekends full of chores trying to keep the quarter million dollar McMansion from falling apart. The hurried, expensive vacation once a year. The relief of the end of financial servitude as the children reach 18, which is brutally short lived as college tuition inflates at Zimbabwe levels or the degree is suited only for Hooters work and at thirty the child still lives with you. But a better explanation is that no one in this country is suffering yet.
*
Despite a few malcontents without teeth and living off crack, or a few loonies that were released from the Funny Farm in the Eighties so Reagan could keep taxes low ( God bless him!-no, seriously ) and are now living out of shopping carts filled with eight track tapes and aluminum cans, no one in this country is in any danger of going hungry. We might eat a malnourished diet but we won’t starve. That is what keeps the masses from revolting ( and despite cries of anguish form the Botox Bitch, we already have socialized medicine-it is called the ER where the poor go, or Medicare ). I’m not saying we won’t get to the point where this will end. Wheat prices triple in one year, agricultural zones move north, droughts everywhere, oil running out. We could see starvation in this country. Which is where the newest information becomes disturbing. Food shortages, plus income inequality equal revolution. Remember, inequality in the extreme. Not some Commie-Lite version ( the Democrats ) such as taxes for the rich not being high enough. Real, vast gulfs between rich and poor ( without the middle class or hope for escape ) will cause a rip in the social fabric. Historically we have been able to advance up the economic ladder. Take that away and the trouble starts.
*
In 2005 the bottom 20% of the population earned 380 billion. From 2003-2005 the top 1% of the population saw an increase in wealth of over $500 billion. In other words, as of late the increase in wealth every year for the richest comes close to equaling what the poorest earned. The top 1% has income equal to the bottom 50% of the population. Also, the top 1% have the greatest share of wealth since 1929 ( coming full circle since social programs began ). So despite the welfare state, all the money is once again going towards the top segment of society. Come an economic downturn ( oh, I don’t know- say the housing bubble pops and property tax receipts decline ) the wealthy will not surrender their wealth but the poor will get less welfare. And people, most of us are on welfare. Social Security, civil servant pensions, Medicare, defense contractors, most hospitals, builders, contractors, etc. All get paid by government check. As the Feds feel the pinch because of war spending they will force the states to pay more welfare and the states are already seeing less income.
*
I’m not calling another eminent disaster here. We won’t storm the Bastille quite yet. But it is something to keep in mind in conjunction with the bankruptcy of the Baby Boomers retirement system.
END
only six shopping days until Christmas-buy books and gear from www.bisonpress.com
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
mattel toy travesty
MATTEL TOY TRAVESTY
As I said before while no one listened, even though I rant and rave and get rude about things I don’t really take it all personally. I try to maintain my sense of humor. It might be a dry humor but it is there. Yes, I get agitated at some things that just strike me as asinine. I spew at you the unfortunate victim and then I’m over it for the time being. Even if Rawles ( www.survivalblog.com ) is the Dark Overlord Of Yuppie Survivalists he still has important things to share and works hard at it and has his heart in the right place. He might, in my view, be wrong, but to be honest I think most people are. Creekmore has yet to offend me, but give him time ( and kudos for this long stretch at publishing). See him at www.thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com . The Ranger Man ( www.shtfblog.com ) however has made statements that I must spew about. Now, I was being nice and not holding it against him that he was a Yankee, but he has gone too far. He has crowned the AR-15 the best survival gun. This I can not let stand. I would be remiss in my duty as your sage.
*
You notice that I am going first here, so that he can answer back to all of my criticisms and get the last word in ( this is what a nice guy I am, even in the face of such outrageous behavior ). The M16 ( to include all variants, AR-15, M4, etc ) was/is a great concept with some serious flaws. And after having thirty years to fix the flaws we are still only looking at the same old pig with new lipstick smeared on. A plastic gun ( hence the Mattel Toy label from Vietnam ) for low weight, shooting a modest round with a recoil buffer to make it a very comfortable rifle to shoot and carry. You can carry it all day long and barely notice and you could fire it long enough to melt the thing without your shoulder hurting. This was an important development. In the end your barely trained troops will perform better if they are not tired or fearing recoil. Then this great concept is negated with possible the worst gas system there is. For Christ’s sake, the South Koreans did better on their assault rifle by combining the best of the M16 and the AK. We have merely tinkered with the rifling and ammunition after all this time.
*
In the field you don’t want a weapon that is going to jam up from dirt. That is what we have. At home you don’t really want an overpriced rifle that is too complicated to produce. But that is what we have. A step back in manufacturing from Peak Oil or economic Depressions will see the end of the M16 being built. The AK would barely notice. The M16 is very accurate. I grant you that. The AK is not. But what is the assault rifle for? 300 yard shots, or for close combat assaults? The M16 will jam when the enemy is close. Oops! I realize I was issued Vietnam era versions of everyone’s favorite little black rifle. They were crap, complete failures from inspection ready clean to 24 hours in the field. My impressions were formed from that. But what has fundamentally changed with the system design since then?
*
I won’t complain about the price. The original article did not use that as a criteria. But, can the Mattel Toy compete with a WWII bolt surplus for butt stroking or bayoneting? Of course not. Why, after the Apocalypse we will have all the ammunition we need, no need to use such barbaric tactics in combat. Try whacking someone aside the head with your five pounds of plastic and aluminum. They will just get angry. Now put some serious weight into it with steel and wood. Much better results. Try fending off a rabid dog attack with a bayonet on an M16. You are Alpo.
*
I don’t touch on price ( four times as expensive even before mags ). I don’t pick on the caliber ( I won’t hurt your feeling further by telling you it takes three hits with a 223 to take down a target, thus negating the weight savings ). I don’t even question the semi-auto part ( you know how I feel about that- they suck at long term survival ). I just question how anyone picking a semi auto assault rifle in 223 wants to choose an M16. Any other system is superior for robustness in the field ( the firing range is a different matter ). If you have a copter picking you up to take you back to the Green Zone, you can keep your weapon clean, most likely. Without that, after staying in the field for several days and getting in multiple fights you have a crappy rifle. I don’t know about you, but out in Indian Country I don’t want to have to clean my rifle. Murphy’s Law will see to it that will be the moment you are attacked. All concerns of ammunition and parts abundant oversupply make no sense if the rifle fails to work when you need it. After the collapse there will be 200 million cars in this country, but I’m not planning to risk my life assuming I will be able to use them ( the newest Resident Evil movie makes just such an assumption, two years after and they are still finding usable gasoline- sure, right ). I won’t risk my life on a crappy rifle just because they will be everywhere.
*
I’m sure this doesn’t help changing anyone’s mind. You stubborn bastards don’t want your worldview altered. But I have to try.
END
gear and books www.bisonpress.com
As I said before while no one listened, even though I rant and rave and get rude about things I don’t really take it all personally. I try to maintain my sense of humor. It might be a dry humor but it is there. Yes, I get agitated at some things that just strike me as asinine. I spew at you the unfortunate victim and then I’m over it for the time being. Even if Rawles ( www.survivalblog.com ) is the Dark Overlord Of Yuppie Survivalists he still has important things to share and works hard at it and has his heart in the right place. He might, in my view, be wrong, but to be honest I think most people are. Creekmore has yet to offend me, but give him time ( and kudos for this long stretch at publishing). See him at www.thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com . The Ranger Man ( www.shtfblog.com ) however has made statements that I must spew about. Now, I was being nice and not holding it against him that he was a Yankee, but he has gone too far. He has crowned the AR-15 the best survival gun. This I can not let stand. I would be remiss in my duty as your sage.
*
You notice that I am going first here, so that he can answer back to all of my criticisms and get the last word in ( this is what a nice guy I am, even in the face of such outrageous behavior ). The M16 ( to include all variants, AR-15, M4, etc ) was/is a great concept with some serious flaws. And after having thirty years to fix the flaws we are still only looking at the same old pig with new lipstick smeared on. A plastic gun ( hence the Mattel Toy label from Vietnam ) for low weight, shooting a modest round with a recoil buffer to make it a very comfortable rifle to shoot and carry. You can carry it all day long and barely notice and you could fire it long enough to melt the thing without your shoulder hurting. This was an important development. In the end your barely trained troops will perform better if they are not tired or fearing recoil. Then this great concept is negated with possible the worst gas system there is. For Christ’s sake, the South Koreans did better on their assault rifle by combining the best of the M16 and the AK. We have merely tinkered with the rifling and ammunition after all this time.
*
In the field you don’t want a weapon that is going to jam up from dirt. That is what we have. At home you don’t really want an overpriced rifle that is too complicated to produce. But that is what we have. A step back in manufacturing from Peak Oil or economic Depressions will see the end of the M16 being built. The AK would barely notice. The M16 is very accurate. I grant you that. The AK is not. But what is the assault rifle for? 300 yard shots, or for close combat assaults? The M16 will jam when the enemy is close. Oops! I realize I was issued Vietnam era versions of everyone’s favorite little black rifle. They were crap, complete failures from inspection ready clean to 24 hours in the field. My impressions were formed from that. But what has fundamentally changed with the system design since then?
*
I won’t complain about the price. The original article did not use that as a criteria. But, can the Mattel Toy compete with a WWII bolt surplus for butt stroking or bayoneting? Of course not. Why, after the Apocalypse we will have all the ammunition we need, no need to use such barbaric tactics in combat. Try whacking someone aside the head with your five pounds of plastic and aluminum. They will just get angry. Now put some serious weight into it with steel and wood. Much better results. Try fending off a rabid dog attack with a bayonet on an M16. You are Alpo.
*
I don’t touch on price ( four times as expensive even before mags ). I don’t pick on the caliber ( I won’t hurt your feeling further by telling you it takes three hits with a 223 to take down a target, thus negating the weight savings ). I don’t even question the semi-auto part ( you know how I feel about that- they suck at long term survival ). I just question how anyone picking a semi auto assault rifle in 223 wants to choose an M16. Any other system is superior for robustness in the field ( the firing range is a different matter ). If you have a copter picking you up to take you back to the Green Zone, you can keep your weapon clean, most likely. Without that, after staying in the field for several days and getting in multiple fights you have a crappy rifle. I don’t know about you, but out in Indian Country I don’t want to have to clean my rifle. Murphy’s Law will see to it that will be the moment you are attacked. All concerns of ammunition and parts abundant oversupply make no sense if the rifle fails to work when you need it. After the collapse there will be 200 million cars in this country, but I’m not planning to risk my life assuming I will be able to use them ( the newest Resident Evil movie makes just such an assumption, two years after and they are still finding usable gasoline- sure, right ). I won’t risk my life on a crappy rifle just because they will be everywhere.
*
I’m sure this doesn’t help changing anyone’s mind. You stubborn bastards don’t want your worldview altered. But I have to try.
END
gear and books www.bisonpress.com
Monday, December 17, 2007
gen x slacker
GEN X SLACKER
Sometimes the Gods have fun with me. They throw just enough obstacles in my way to be amused at my plight. They tease me with goals I never can quite reach. But in general they pretty much look out for me ( they look after fools, drunks and small children and I haven’t had a drink for years so that tells you where I stand ). I usually follow the correct path, idiotic actions are never as punishing as they could be. One thing I am quite happy with is that I missed being a Baby Boomer by twenty five days. This means I miss out sucking off the Great American Welfare State but it also means I’m not associated with their greed, avarice, and willingness to sell the grandchildren into debt slavery. I am associated with indifferent, lazy slackers, but in my mind this is much more preferable.
*
Broadly generalizing, Generation Xer’s see the futility in the old school work and reward system and want as little as possible to do with it. What most people see as folks sitting back and wasting their life, we slackers see no point in busting our butts for promises that are not being kept. It was only a very short time in history that Beaver Cleaver America was in existence. A few generations at most. Do as you are told, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, raise a family and then retire in good health to enjoy your Golden Years. I know a lot of us haven’t given up on that dream so much as have had it be out of our reach, but plenty of this generation are smart enough to see a pair of golden handcuffs being ready and steered clear of the trap.
*
There is nothing wrong with running after the BC dream ( Beaver Cleaver, or Before Cheney ). As long as you realize that it is not guaranteed like it used to be. It is a gamble. I chose long ago not to roll the dice. As a result my stress level is pretty darn low. Yes, there are periods I go through where I am compelled to take a stressful job. As time goes on I arrange my life where I need those jobs less and less. I finely found a wife that doesn’t measure life in dollars ( although her other actions make it hard to stay with her at times ). Just enough to keep a roof over our heads, just fine and dandy. No need to kill yourself early over working a job that pays little more and can end at any time.
*
Okay, it’s a personal choice. I enjoy having the mental energy left after work to devout to writing. I embrace genteel poverty. I can enjoy life, stop and smell the roses. As long as I adjust my wants to a lower pay grade. I’m not saying it is the best for everyone, just that it could be. As a result of being a slacker, I can also realize a benefit in less stress about money. The less I need to earn the less I have to worry about. No need to worry about losing the house if the wife gets laid off ( she doesn’t even need to work, $7 an hour keeps you in a trailer just fine ). No worrying about car repairs, or car payments. No need to worry about unemployment as much when you can get the same anywhere. I don’t need to worry about maintaining a big income for retiring. I don’t need to worry my job will go over to India or become obsolete by a piece of software.
*
I have no mortgage, no credit card bills, no car payments, no school loans to pay off. I also have no house, no neat toys, no car when it is 100 or 15 degrees outside, and no challenging work. Nothing in life is free, it is all compromise. If the economy doesn’t crash I’ve lived with less stress and have enjoyed myself. If it does crash I have little to lose comfort wise. The higher they are the farther they have to fall.
END
E-books, Amazon books, prep gear http://www.bisonpress.com/
Thanks, guys, for Sat. comments section. It was all related to the article ( for once ) and I enjoyed it. Please keep it up.
Sometimes the Gods have fun with me. They throw just enough obstacles in my way to be amused at my plight. They tease me with goals I never can quite reach. But in general they pretty much look out for me ( they look after fools, drunks and small children and I haven’t had a drink for years so that tells you where I stand ). I usually follow the correct path, idiotic actions are never as punishing as they could be. One thing I am quite happy with is that I missed being a Baby Boomer by twenty five days. This means I miss out sucking off the Great American Welfare State but it also means I’m not associated with their greed, avarice, and willingness to sell the grandchildren into debt slavery. I am associated with indifferent, lazy slackers, but in my mind this is much more preferable.
*
Broadly generalizing, Generation Xer’s see the futility in the old school work and reward system and want as little as possible to do with it. What most people see as folks sitting back and wasting their life, we slackers see no point in busting our butts for promises that are not being kept. It was only a very short time in history that Beaver Cleaver America was in existence. A few generations at most. Do as you are told, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, raise a family and then retire in good health to enjoy your Golden Years. I know a lot of us haven’t given up on that dream so much as have had it be out of our reach, but plenty of this generation are smart enough to see a pair of golden handcuffs being ready and steered clear of the trap.
*
There is nothing wrong with running after the BC dream ( Beaver Cleaver, or Before Cheney ). As long as you realize that it is not guaranteed like it used to be. It is a gamble. I chose long ago not to roll the dice. As a result my stress level is pretty darn low. Yes, there are periods I go through where I am compelled to take a stressful job. As time goes on I arrange my life where I need those jobs less and less. I finely found a wife that doesn’t measure life in dollars ( although her other actions make it hard to stay with her at times ). Just enough to keep a roof over our heads, just fine and dandy. No need to kill yourself early over working a job that pays little more and can end at any time.
*
Okay, it’s a personal choice. I enjoy having the mental energy left after work to devout to writing. I embrace genteel poverty. I can enjoy life, stop and smell the roses. As long as I adjust my wants to a lower pay grade. I’m not saying it is the best for everyone, just that it could be. As a result of being a slacker, I can also realize a benefit in less stress about money. The less I need to earn the less I have to worry about. No need to worry about losing the house if the wife gets laid off ( she doesn’t even need to work, $7 an hour keeps you in a trailer just fine ). No worrying about car repairs, or car payments. No need to worry about unemployment as much when you can get the same anywhere. I don’t need to worry about maintaining a big income for retiring. I don’t need to worry my job will go over to India or become obsolete by a piece of software.
*
I have no mortgage, no credit card bills, no car payments, no school loans to pay off. I also have no house, no neat toys, no car when it is 100 or 15 degrees outside, and no challenging work. Nothing in life is free, it is all compromise. If the economy doesn’t crash I’ve lived with less stress and have enjoyed myself. If it does crash I have little to lose comfort wise. The higher they are the farther they have to fall.
END
E-books, Amazon books, prep gear http://www.bisonpress.com/
Thanks, guys, for Sat. comments section. It was all related to the article ( for once ) and I enjoyed it. Please keep it up.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
golden hoard avoidance
GOLDEN HOARD AVOIDANCE
Here I am this morning getting in my thirty minutes of pre-work Internet use in and I go over to the new kid on the block, www.shtfblog.com . I’m still enjoying Creekmore more than ever but he doesn’t publish first thing in the morning. Today’s article was on the feasibility of suburban survival, specifically how SHTF it is a viable strategy and if TEOTWAWKI takes place he is still pretty safe since the Golden Hoard will gravitate towards the conventional farms. So Ranger Man doesn’t think the conventional survival advice is that sound, as far as homesteading ( a big home lot is better than a farm, Golden Hoard magnet-wise ). A fine point, indeed. And it gave me my fine outstanding idea for the day which is that crap land is even better suited in this regard.
*
I keep harping on you about buying a small RV lot out in the country for $500-$1,000. This is great insurance against homelessness. It is great insurance against Social Security failing or underpaying and you can’t afford property tax anymore ( in Commie Countries like New Jersey the average property tax is something like $10,000 a year-almost more than renting an apartment ). I sure am not telling you this constantly because I have a financial interest in it since my Dirt Cheap Dirt blog only brings me in two or three bucks a month. I’m telling you because in a bad economy a paid for piece of land can be the best thing that could happen to you. The families fleeing the Dust Bowl had employment to go to and gas to get them there. You might not have either one, so you can be homeless or you can live on a junk piece of land. The alternative is illegal squatting and that is not a great strategy if for no other reason than our increasingly Fascist police state. Today, you get harassed into leaving. Tomorrow you might get involuntarily sent to a work camp. Remember, the Jewish genocide in Germany had a lot to do with economics. Don’t give the Forth Reich an excuse to herd you into the showers.
*
Junk land, by its very nature, has few attractions. That is why you buy it so cheap. You could be in an economically depressed area with no jobs. Or a desert that gets nine inches of rain a year miles from utility lines. While some junk land is a bad idea to be on, quite a bit is so God-Forsaken that no self-respecting looter or refugee is going to bother with it. You can buy East Texas land cheap, but a lot of large cities are nearby and it is in a relatively lush and fertile area. It is not a farm, but the population already there or nearby is huge. And by buying near a lake you are a target from would be fishermen. The only reason the land is cheap is because there are so few jobs to be had. Yet it could still be a Hoard magnet. Detroit and similar cities might have city lots for a grand and houses for ten thousand, but I would avoid that area like it was Beirut. In a lot of ways it already is close to that city, if not closer to Escape From New York.
*
The desert on the other hand, holds almost no attraction to anyone. I like it. Away from the main cities, rural Nevada is a good survival pick. If you are close to water. You are hundreds of miles from the California Hoard and the Idahoans and Utahans are more than likely going to stay close to home ( if only because Nevada holds less of an attraction ). Other desert areas will likewise be avoided, just beware too close to the Mexican boarder. It is a Low Intensity Conflict right now with coyotes running people and other banditos running drugs. Imagine how much worse it will get if Mexico’s oil runs out too quick, or if economic catastrophe here escalates ethnic tensions.
*
Of course, not being a farm which repels Hoarders also means you can’t survive long term once your grain and bean stash runs out. Either pre-fertilize the ground and have a plan for hauling water using muscle power or develop a good post-apocalypse skill to be used at the nearest settlement for trading. Neither is bullet proof, but being by yourself on a rural farm is also problematic.. The point is to shun conventional wisdom. Do something that no one is expecting. The masses will then pass you by. A large farm means needing to feed and keep an army to defend it.
END
OMG!! Here are some really terrifying pictures. I haven’t been this frightened for some time- the Horned One at her more revealing moments. The first one of her and Bill answer the perplexing question of what Bill ever saw in Monica. The old one of her in vertical stripe pants shows some massive thunder thighs. The first smile close up looks like her dentist lives in London. I’m not pretty to look at myself, but I’m not Satan’s ho trying to get elected a third time. http://www.zombietime.com/really_truly_hillary_gallery/
Enough about other people, this is supposed to be about me. Go to my web site for links, a free booklet, a short fiction piece ( proving how good I am with very little effort ), books for sale as well as prep gear www.bisonpress.com
Here I am this morning getting in my thirty minutes of pre-work Internet use in and I go over to the new kid on the block, www.shtfblog.com . I’m still enjoying Creekmore more than ever but he doesn’t publish first thing in the morning. Today’s article was on the feasibility of suburban survival, specifically how SHTF it is a viable strategy and if TEOTWAWKI takes place he is still pretty safe since the Golden Hoard will gravitate towards the conventional farms. So Ranger Man doesn’t think the conventional survival advice is that sound, as far as homesteading ( a big home lot is better than a farm, Golden Hoard magnet-wise ). A fine point, indeed. And it gave me my fine outstanding idea for the day which is that crap land is even better suited in this regard.
*
I keep harping on you about buying a small RV lot out in the country for $500-$1,000. This is great insurance against homelessness. It is great insurance against Social Security failing or underpaying and you can’t afford property tax anymore ( in Commie Countries like New Jersey the average property tax is something like $10,000 a year-almost more than renting an apartment ). I sure am not telling you this constantly because I have a financial interest in it since my Dirt Cheap Dirt blog only brings me in two or three bucks a month. I’m telling you because in a bad economy a paid for piece of land can be the best thing that could happen to you. The families fleeing the Dust Bowl had employment to go to and gas to get them there. You might not have either one, so you can be homeless or you can live on a junk piece of land. The alternative is illegal squatting and that is not a great strategy if for no other reason than our increasingly Fascist police state. Today, you get harassed into leaving. Tomorrow you might get involuntarily sent to a work camp. Remember, the Jewish genocide in Germany had a lot to do with economics. Don’t give the Forth Reich an excuse to herd you into the showers.
*
Junk land, by its very nature, has few attractions. That is why you buy it so cheap. You could be in an economically depressed area with no jobs. Or a desert that gets nine inches of rain a year miles from utility lines. While some junk land is a bad idea to be on, quite a bit is so God-Forsaken that no self-respecting looter or refugee is going to bother with it. You can buy East Texas land cheap, but a lot of large cities are nearby and it is in a relatively lush and fertile area. It is not a farm, but the population already there or nearby is huge. And by buying near a lake you are a target from would be fishermen. The only reason the land is cheap is because there are so few jobs to be had. Yet it could still be a Hoard magnet. Detroit and similar cities might have city lots for a grand and houses for ten thousand, but I would avoid that area like it was Beirut. In a lot of ways it already is close to that city, if not closer to Escape From New York.
*
The desert on the other hand, holds almost no attraction to anyone. I like it. Away from the main cities, rural Nevada is a good survival pick. If you are close to water. You are hundreds of miles from the California Hoard and the Idahoans and Utahans are more than likely going to stay close to home ( if only because Nevada holds less of an attraction ). Other desert areas will likewise be avoided, just beware too close to the Mexican boarder. It is a Low Intensity Conflict right now with coyotes running people and other banditos running drugs. Imagine how much worse it will get if Mexico’s oil runs out too quick, or if economic catastrophe here escalates ethnic tensions.
*
Of course, not being a farm which repels Hoarders also means you can’t survive long term once your grain and bean stash runs out. Either pre-fertilize the ground and have a plan for hauling water using muscle power or develop a good post-apocalypse skill to be used at the nearest settlement for trading. Neither is bullet proof, but being by yourself on a rural farm is also problematic.. The point is to shun conventional wisdom. Do something that no one is expecting. The masses will then pass you by. A large farm means needing to feed and keep an army to defend it.
END
OMG!! Here are some really terrifying pictures. I haven’t been this frightened for some time- the Horned One at her more revealing moments. The first one of her and Bill answer the perplexing question of what Bill ever saw in Monica. The old one of her in vertical stripe pants shows some massive thunder thighs. The first smile close up looks like her dentist lives in London. I’m not pretty to look at myself, but I’m not Satan’s ho trying to get elected a third time. http://www.zombietime.com/really_truly_hillary_gallery/
Enough about other people, this is supposed to be about me. Go to my web site for links, a free booklet, a short fiction piece ( proving how good I am with very little effort ), books for sale as well as prep gear www.bisonpress.com
Friday, December 14, 2007
indeflation
INDEFLATION
I don’t mean to be cruel. I know most of you have a hard time keeping up with my high volume of wisdom, gushing out like water down the mountain. But as I sat and pondered ( proving that, despite what my critics think I can’t possible have my brain in my ass since the pressure would have cut off the blood flow ) I decided that I didn’t care for the conventional buzzwords in economics. Disinflation just doesn’t have any zing to it. I like “indeflation”. If no one has ever used this before I would like to claim it as my very own. And I would like to make an equally arbitrary meaning for it. Adjustable rates of inflation.
*
Since most of our economy is really pretty worthless activity, any Depression should see near universal unemployment outside of the government sector. Which of course will cause massive social upheaval. For that reason I foresee only inflation. As long as they are able the bankers will inflate the money supply. It is not guaranteed, but it is highly probable. So rather than concerning yourself with whether we will have inflation or deflation, I think the proper question will be at what rate will inflation be.
*
And the correct answer is that while we will have inflation, not everything will inflate equally. Take for instance your wages. Very low rate of inflation, if any. As much as I hate to see government interference in the economy, since our politicians are pretty much bought and sold by the rich and powerful, it is a good thing we have a minimum wage. The greed of corporates knows no bounds, CEO’s can never get enough millions for their bonus. At least for now we have a safety net for wages ( of course the other side of that coin is that layoffs are widespread- why not have one guy do two jobs for the price of one? ). But you can take this to the bank. Wages will continue to fall in inflation adjusted terms. You will get raises, if you are lucky, but never at the same rate as prices rise. You need to continually factor in either making more money or cutting back on expenses.
*
Housing should drop, both due to overbuilding and overpricing. Should. The fly in the ointment is oil prices. Too high and the core areas around jobs will go up in price as suburban prices fall. About the only thing you can count on for sure is that only areas with nuclear bomb blasted economies will have affordable housing. So unless you import a job you will pay more than you should, even with prices falling. As apartment prices go up ( at least until they reach too far over house prices ).
*
Medical expenses should keep their double digit inflation rate. As the Boomers retire and as the Feds placate them with Medicare prices can only continue to soar. As long as government spending continues. The same with college expenses. As long as the government elephant has his trunk under the payment tent and no real competition is allow, prices will continue to soar. With quality noticeably falling ( same with medical care ).
*
Food and energy prices should continue to rise rapidly. The weather is getting to be too screwy, with far too many “once-in-a-thousand-year” type storms/droughts, etc. The emerging countries will bid up the supplies. Oil increases will match the dollar devaluation and mark the supply contraction. The only thing that should continue to increase very slowly besides wages are electronics. Great for a computer based home business, not for much else besides wasteful consumer spending. A medium rate of increase might be in areas where there is a lot of competition, such as fast food outlets. They have a lot of competition, even from themselves in most areas ( so many packed together ). They can’t get much cheaper in wages, already employing illegal or just legal workers and their real estate costs are high. It will be interesting to see how many fail by being unable to raise prices quick enough to offset costs.
*
Isn’t it nice to have continuity? Something to count on. The only question you now have to ask yourself is, what is the rate of increase?
END
please buy my books and gear at www.bisonpress.com
I don’t mean to be cruel. I know most of you have a hard time keeping up with my high volume of wisdom, gushing out like water down the mountain. But as I sat and pondered ( proving that, despite what my critics think I can’t possible have my brain in my ass since the pressure would have cut off the blood flow ) I decided that I didn’t care for the conventional buzzwords in economics. Disinflation just doesn’t have any zing to it. I like “indeflation”. If no one has ever used this before I would like to claim it as my very own. And I would like to make an equally arbitrary meaning for it. Adjustable rates of inflation.
*
Since most of our economy is really pretty worthless activity, any Depression should see near universal unemployment outside of the government sector. Which of course will cause massive social upheaval. For that reason I foresee only inflation. As long as they are able the bankers will inflate the money supply. It is not guaranteed, but it is highly probable. So rather than concerning yourself with whether we will have inflation or deflation, I think the proper question will be at what rate will inflation be.
*
And the correct answer is that while we will have inflation, not everything will inflate equally. Take for instance your wages. Very low rate of inflation, if any. As much as I hate to see government interference in the economy, since our politicians are pretty much bought and sold by the rich and powerful, it is a good thing we have a minimum wage. The greed of corporates knows no bounds, CEO’s can never get enough millions for their bonus. At least for now we have a safety net for wages ( of course the other side of that coin is that layoffs are widespread- why not have one guy do two jobs for the price of one? ). But you can take this to the bank. Wages will continue to fall in inflation adjusted terms. You will get raises, if you are lucky, but never at the same rate as prices rise. You need to continually factor in either making more money or cutting back on expenses.
*
Housing should drop, both due to overbuilding and overpricing. Should. The fly in the ointment is oil prices. Too high and the core areas around jobs will go up in price as suburban prices fall. About the only thing you can count on for sure is that only areas with nuclear bomb blasted economies will have affordable housing. So unless you import a job you will pay more than you should, even with prices falling. As apartment prices go up ( at least until they reach too far over house prices ).
*
Medical expenses should keep their double digit inflation rate. As the Boomers retire and as the Feds placate them with Medicare prices can only continue to soar. As long as government spending continues. The same with college expenses. As long as the government elephant has his trunk under the payment tent and no real competition is allow, prices will continue to soar. With quality noticeably falling ( same with medical care ).
*
Food and energy prices should continue to rise rapidly. The weather is getting to be too screwy, with far too many “once-in-a-thousand-year” type storms/droughts, etc. The emerging countries will bid up the supplies. Oil increases will match the dollar devaluation and mark the supply contraction. The only thing that should continue to increase very slowly besides wages are electronics. Great for a computer based home business, not for much else besides wasteful consumer spending. A medium rate of increase might be in areas where there is a lot of competition, such as fast food outlets. They have a lot of competition, even from themselves in most areas ( so many packed together ). They can’t get much cheaper in wages, already employing illegal or just legal workers and their real estate costs are high. It will be interesting to see how many fail by being unable to raise prices quick enough to offset costs.
*
Isn’t it nice to have continuity? Something to count on. The only question you now have to ask yourself is, what is the rate of increase?
END
please buy my books and gear at www.bisonpress.com
Thursday, December 13, 2007
po boy meals
PO BOY MEALS
Almost as if I am glorying in your disapproval, there is another subject I have already covered. But, hey, at least I rewrite it every time even if the subject is the same. Look at Steven King, he keeps writing about pretty much the same fears and phobias ( and how many stories were about the angst of writers? ) but we don’t read him for the subject but his excellent character portrayals. And, yes, I did go there. Without a big enough ego to think I’m that good I wouldn’t be giving away a large section of my life for pennies an hour.
*
Last night I decided I wanted tacos. But the expense of shredded meat, lettuce, olives, cheese, etc. was not in the budget ( I budget Christmas a year in advance and then unexpected bills pop up through others peoples greed and stupidity- I can’t win for losing ). But I still wanted corn tortillas. I was having a graving, most likely due to a couple of donut/pastry breakfasts that left my body needing whole grain instead of white flour and sugar. I took a couple of soy burgers ( the $1 a pound frozen patties at Wal-Mart that are beef/beef hearts/soy meal ) and after cooking crumpled up into a half can of refried beans and throwing in a dash of salsa I spread like a paste on heated corn tortillas. I ate almost two dozen tacos. I said I was really craving corn tortillas. After all the ingredients I think I spent about $1.25 ( of course, the tortillas were free, your cost would have been a bit over two bucks if they were bought in bulk ). Putting the tortillas between a damp paper towel in the microwave negated the need to steam them or fry them.
*
I don’t think using crap meats on a regular basis is that great of an idea. I buy a box of fake hamburgers only about once a year. Sausage is about once a month. Try to use mostly real ingredients. They have enough hormones and pesticides and other nasties as it is. Throw in soy or nitrates or other garbage and long term you are costing more in health than you are saving in money. The soy burgers are a buck a pound, real hamburger $1.75. Not much difference. Just substitute more meat with beans. Or dairy. Or animal fat.
*
For breakfasts, you can make a one or two week menu and have plenty of variety just from wheat, corn and oatmeal. Pancakes, waffles, corn muffins, fried corn mush, etc. For lunches, just eat your whole wheat flat bread ( make up a non-sticky dough of just flour and water, roll very thin, place on very hot skillet, flip when brown spots appear. Or just take a moist dough and spread on ceramic and microwave for a few minutes ). You can make up a weeks worth at a time. They are portable, fast, filling. That is two meals where you don’t need meat, just small amounts of dairy or fat. Literally nickel or dime meals.
*
Dinner is usually everyone’s big meal of the day. I prefer a meat and potato dinner but lately as a result of all of Al Gore’s trips by jet to preach global warming the droughts have cut into grain harvests, and from Bush and his ethanol program where Mexican peasants pay twice to three times as much for their daily staples so California SUV drivers can add 10% alcohol to their gasoline and pretend they are Green, I can’t afford as much meat. So instead of a big healthy slab of dead animal flesh on my plate I am forced to eat one quarter or at most a half of pound of meat instead of a real portion. Instead of trying to satisfy my protein need with a small pathetic lump of flesh that wouldn’t fill up a house cat after a stomach stapling, usually I just cut it up and throw it in with a starch to stretch it out. Bastards. Under a free market without agricultural controls that would make a Farm Czar envious of our Five Year Plans our food supple would be much cheaper and I could eat my fill. But, nooooo. Just like the 70’s when inflation cut into my meat consumption and my teenage growth spurt was cruelly cut short, today the asinine policies of our Fearless Leaders are making life a lot tougher.
*
You don’t even need meat every night. Talk to the butcher and see how cheap they will sell you chunks of fat. Freeze, take as needed, use to fry up potatoes and what not. Or fry up with butter. As cheese reaches four bucks a pound, butter is still staying at two. Buy as much as possible and freeze. Cut back on frying too much during warm weather and increase during cold. It will be cheaper than heating the house to seventy degrees. Let your body burn fat to heat itself ( fat people dying of a lifetime diet of McDonald’s please disregard this advice as my estate, as vast as it is, can’t absorb the loss of a lawsuit ). Other nights, instead of meat just combine beans and whole grains for your protein. You can easily keep your meat bill under five bucks a week per head.
*
Bunny food can be sprouts and small scale potted gardening for city dwellers. Here is just a general strategy to eat healthy cheaply. Again, dinner can be quite a variety out of just a few staples. It does help sticking to a weekly menu, both for stocking the ingredients and cooking ahead. Pasta and rice, potatoes and corn. Meat, beans, fat and dairy. Try noodles with cheese. Noodles with hamburger. Fried noodles. Rice and chicken. Rice and beans. Rice and hamburger. Fried rice. Potatoes with hamburger. Potatoes with sausage. Potatoes fried up in beef fat. Mashed potatoes with hamburger. Corn bread and beans. Fried corn bread with hamburger. Corn tortillas and refried beans. Right there is two weeks of dinner ( of course, mix up meals so the starch varies every night ). I didn’t even try hard, few ethnic picks, little vegetarian. You could probably make a months meal just with the above picks. You can handle quite a bit of inflation in your food budget just from this advice. Yes, yes. You are welcome.
END
As much as I rag on Yuppie Survivalists, I won’t deny that Survival Blog is useful on a regular basis. They just had a short article on bewaring pesticide use in cargo containers. To all of you sending info and ideas, thank you. Even if I don’t use it or take forever with it, don’t take that the wrong way. I still love you.
Buy my crap. Books and gear, www.bisonpress.com
Almost as if I am glorying in your disapproval, there is another subject I have already covered. But, hey, at least I rewrite it every time even if the subject is the same. Look at Steven King, he keeps writing about pretty much the same fears and phobias ( and how many stories were about the angst of writers? ) but we don’t read him for the subject but his excellent character portrayals. And, yes, I did go there. Without a big enough ego to think I’m that good I wouldn’t be giving away a large section of my life for pennies an hour.
*
Last night I decided I wanted tacos. But the expense of shredded meat, lettuce, olives, cheese, etc. was not in the budget ( I budget Christmas a year in advance and then unexpected bills pop up through others peoples greed and stupidity- I can’t win for losing ). But I still wanted corn tortillas. I was having a graving, most likely due to a couple of donut/pastry breakfasts that left my body needing whole grain instead of white flour and sugar. I took a couple of soy burgers ( the $1 a pound frozen patties at Wal-Mart that are beef/beef hearts/soy meal ) and after cooking crumpled up into a half can of refried beans and throwing in a dash of salsa I spread like a paste on heated corn tortillas. I ate almost two dozen tacos. I said I was really craving corn tortillas. After all the ingredients I think I spent about $1.25 ( of course, the tortillas were free, your cost would have been a bit over two bucks if they were bought in bulk ). Putting the tortillas between a damp paper towel in the microwave negated the need to steam them or fry them.
*
I don’t think using crap meats on a regular basis is that great of an idea. I buy a box of fake hamburgers only about once a year. Sausage is about once a month. Try to use mostly real ingredients. They have enough hormones and pesticides and other nasties as it is. Throw in soy or nitrates or other garbage and long term you are costing more in health than you are saving in money. The soy burgers are a buck a pound, real hamburger $1.75. Not much difference. Just substitute more meat with beans. Or dairy. Or animal fat.
*
For breakfasts, you can make a one or two week menu and have plenty of variety just from wheat, corn and oatmeal. Pancakes, waffles, corn muffins, fried corn mush, etc. For lunches, just eat your whole wheat flat bread ( make up a non-sticky dough of just flour and water, roll very thin, place on very hot skillet, flip when brown spots appear. Or just take a moist dough and spread on ceramic and microwave for a few minutes ). You can make up a weeks worth at a time. They are portable, fast, filling. That is two meals where you don’t need meat, just small amounts of dairy or fat. Literally nickel or dime meals.
*
Dinner is usually everyone’s big meal of the day. I prefer a meat and potato dinner but lately as a result of all of Al Gore’s trips by jet to preach global warming the droughts have cut into grain harvests, and from Bush and his ethanol program where Mexican peasants pay twice to three times as much for their daily staples so California SUV drivers can add 10% alcohol to their gasoline and pretend they are Green, I can’t afford as much meat. So instead of a big healthy slab of dead animal flesh on my plate I am forced to eat one quarter or at most a half of pound of meat instead of a real portion. Instead of trying to satisfy my protein need with a small pathetic lump of flesh that wouldn’t fill up a house cat after a stomach stapling, usually I just cut it up and throw it in with a starch to stretch it out. Bastards. Under a free market without agricultural controls that would make a Farm Czar envious of our Five Year Plans our food supple would be much cheaper and I could eat my fill. But, nooooo. Just like the 70’s when inflation cut into my meat consumption and my teenage growth spurt was cruelly cut short, today the asinine policies of our Fearless Leaders are making life a lot tougher.
*
You don’t even need meat every night. Talk to the butcher and see how cheap they will sell you chunks of fat. Freeze, take as needed, use to fry up potatoes and what not. Or fry up with butter. As cheese reaches four bucks a pound, butter is still staying at two. Buy as much as possible and freeze. Cut back on frying too much during warm weather and increase during cold. It will be cheaper than heating the house to seventy degrees. Let your body burn fat to heat itself ( fat people dying of a lifetime diet of McDonald’s please disregard this advice as my estate, as vast as it is, can’t absorb the loss of a lawsuit ). Other nights, instead of meat just combine beans and whole grains for your protein. You can easily keep your meat bill under five bucks a week per head.
*
Bunny food can be sprouts and small scale potted gardening for city dwellers. Here is just a general strategy to eat healthy cheaply. Again, dinner can be quite a variety out of just a few staples. It does help sticking to a weekly menu, both for stocking the ingredients and cooking ahead. Pasta and rice, potatoes and corn. Meat, beans, fat and dairy. Try noodles with cheese. Noodles with hamburger. Fried noodles. Rice and chicken. Rice and beans. Rice and hamburger. Fried rice. Potatoes with hamburger. Potatoes with sausage. Potatoes fried up in beef fat. Mashed potatoes with hamburger. Corn bread and beans. Fried corn bread with hamburger. Corn tortillas and refried beans. Right there is two weeks of dinner ( of course, mix up meals so the starch varies every night ). I didn’t even try hard, few ethnic picks, little vegetarian. You could probably make a months meal just with the above picks. You can handle quite a bit of inflation in your food budget just from this advice. Yes, yes. You are welcome.
END
As much as I rag on Yuppie Survivalists, I won’t deny that Survival Blog is useful on a regular basis. They just had a short article on bewaring pesticide use in cargo containers. To all of you sending info and ideas, thank you. Even if I don’t use it or take forever with it, don’t take that the wrong way. I still love you.
Buy my crap. Books and gear, www.bisonpress.com
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
satanic semi's
SATANIC SEMI’S
Every day I am vomiting wisdom on to your laps. Some of you throw yourselves down on your knees and bring your forehead to the ground and begin to chant “we’re not worthy!”. Most of you jump back real quick and start whining about some of it getting on your shirt. Ingrates! Once again a chorus has arisen about how I am putting out the same old crap. Duh. We have already covered this a few times. But I imagine every wave of new readers will have this same complaint. Look, American Survival Guide was the same tired group of articles every month. One or two on a rifle being reviewed. Then a pistol ( none affordable ). Then an article on winter cold survival. Then book reviews. But you guys paid $24 a year for that. My repetition is free. If you don’t like my articles, it is free entertainment. If you like it, throw me a few bucks every once in awhile ( and remember, buying through my Amazon links is no more money than you were going to spend anyway ).
*
That being said, here is some more of the same old thing. Long time readers can make themselves a stiff drink to suffocate their frustration, you new people listen up. ( note: I wrote this at work Tuesday afternoon. When I got home I read the article on bolt actions from www.thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com which kind of stole my thunder. Oh, well ) Semi-automatic weapons are evil. Yes, they are fun to play with. Every family should own three or four if possible. But for survivalists, semi-automatics are more trouble than they are worth. They cost too much. Their magazines add 20-50% to their cost. The ammunition costs too much. After a collapse, they will use up your ammo too quick and you won’t get any more. You will waste the ammo that you do have. When you start to reload, the rounds will be less than reliable. Once the Horned One takes the Oval Office they will be banned and/or the magazine supply will dry up, causing the magazine prices to go beyond your means ( even if you are a Yuppie Survivalist ).
*
The weapon cost alone should give you pause. I used to be able to buy one and a half Enfields for every SKS I could have had. Three to one on AK’s. Five to one for Mini-14’s. Only having one rifle is suicide. You need several of the same, at least two. Would you only have one pair of eye glasses for the Apocalypse? This is where the semi fans introduce the “your life is worth it” argument. I would wager every single reader believes their own life is worth all the gold in the kingdom. The problem is that they are unable to get any of that gold. As a loyal minion recently commented to this argument, you can’t get blood out of a stone. Reality says you must spend 99% of your paycheck just paying the bills and keeping the wife from leaving you for a co-worker or the gardener. 1% doesn’t buy semi-auto’s. It buys WWII surplus bolt guns that were far better designed than a lot of assault rifles out there.
*
Magazine costs will not help the affordability issue. Unless you own an SKS, mags will run you $7 to $10 at a minimum. And you need a lot to survive the end of industry and trade. If the Powers That Be have decided to introduce more gun control after the next election, then your ten dollar magazine will be $100. Too many examples from full-auto guns and from Australia/New Zealand point out the supply and demand problem. If you don’t have them now you will be out of luck.
*
Ammunition costs are through the roof and with China building complete new cities every month or so commodities prices will not come down. When they do come down that will mean we are in a Depression and you won’t have a job anyway. This means most of us must out of necessity end up with less ammo than we would like. Even if you think you have enough with a semi-auto it will run out quick ( even with ten round strippers ). Then what are you going to do? Almost no one outside of a sniper has the discipline to control their rate of fire ( and none of us are that, at best marksmen ). Semi-auto means when you panic you will continue to squeeze the trigger until your thirty rounds are gone. We are all indoctrinated by our military training or Hollywood movie viewing. We think ammo will always show up after we use up our load. Post-collapse this is a very dangerous assumption.
*
Once you use up all of your ammunition post-collapse you will need to start reloading. You must use the old brass. With semi’s, it is harder to keep those as they thrown from the gun. I’ve policed enough brass, you never find it all ( it goes to the same place as the single socks when doing the laundry ). Even if you keep all of the cases, not all reloads will be as reliable as factory ammo. You will get underperforming rounds. Then the advantage of semi-auto disappears since the next round fails to feed. When trade has yet to resume and you are down to the last pound of powder, you will be loading the minimum powder you can to conserve it. You will get underpowered rounds. A revolver and bolt action are a lot less picky with their ammo, and it is even conceivable that they can fire improvised cases such as from paper ( anyone have info on that, please let me know ).
*
The coolest toy is not always the best tool. A tractor sure beats a shovel, but which one is going to last the longest and break a lot less? If things don’t get bad enough that ammo is no longer for sale, you don’t need a semi. If things get bad enough that you need a semi, using them will see you disarmed from lack of ammunition fairly quickly. Resist the temptation. Practice with your bolt action. It is cheaper, your skill beats their equipment, and your modern arms arsenal will last a lot longer. Unless caught out in the open, a man skilled with a Sharps was superior to the Gatling Gun team spraying rounds about. That’s enough for today. I’m sure someone will doubt my wisdom and I’ll have to tell you again. But, hey, I love the sound of my own voice.
END
Absolutely no one can be as wise or as funny as I am, but the Ranger Man over at www.shtfblog.com comes close on the funny. Check out his new site. I liked this one
http://www.shtfblog.com/2007/12/03/deadly-storm-slams-the-home-of-shtf-blog/
Now stop patronizing other sites and buy from me www.bisonpress.com for books and gear.
Every day I am vomiting wisdom on to your laps. Some of you throw yourselves down on your knees and bring your forehead to the ground and begin to chant “we’re not worthy!”. Most of you jump back real quick and start whining about some of it getting on your shirt. Ingrates! Once again a chorus has arisen about how I am putting out the same old crap. Duh. We have already covered this a few times. But I imagine every wave of new readers will have this same complaint. Look, American Survival Guide was the same tired group of articles every month. One or two on a rifle being reviewed. Then a pistol ( none affordable ). Then an article on winter cold survival. Then book reviews. But you guys paid $24 a year for that. My repetition is free. If you don’t like my articles, it is free entertainment. If you like it, throw me a few bucks every once in awhile ( and remember, buying through my Amazon links is no more money than you were going to spend anyway ).
*
That being said, here is some more of the same old thing. Long time readers can make themselves a stiff drink to suffocate their frustration, you new people listen up. ( note: I wrote this at work Tuesday afternoon. When I got home I read the article on bolt actions from www.thesurvivalistblog.blogspot.com which kind of stole my thunder. Oh, well ) Semi-automatic weapons are evil. Yes, they are fun to play with. Every family should own three or four if possible. But for survivalists, semi-automatics are more trouble than they are worth. They cost too much. Their magazines add 20-50% to their cost. The ammunition costs too much. After a collapse, they will use up your ammo too quick and you won’t get any more. You will waste the ammo that you do have. When you start to reload, the rounds will be less than reliable. Once the Horned One takes the Oval Office they will be banned and/or the magazine supply will dry up, causing the magazine prices to go beyond your means ( even if you are a Yuppie Survivalist ).
*
The weapon cost alone should give you pause. I used to be able to buy one and a half Enfields for every SKS I could have had. Three to one on AK’s. Five to one for Mini-14’s. Only having one rifle is suicide. You need several of the same, at least two. Would you only have one pair of eye glasses for the Apocalypse? This is where the semi fans introduce the “your life is worth it” argument. I would wager every single reader believes their own life is worth all the gold in the kingdom. The problem is that they are unable to get any of that gold. As a loyal minion recently commented to this argument, you can’t get blood out of a stone. Reality says you must spend 99% of your paycheck just paying the bills and keeping the wife from leaving you for a co-worker or the gardener. 1% doesn’t buy semi-auto’s. It buys WWII surplus bolt guns that were far better designed than a lot of assault rifles out there.
*
Magazine costs will not help the affordability issue. Unless you own an SKS, mags will run you $7 to $10 at a minimum. And you need a lot to survive the end of industry and trade. If the Powers That Be have decided to introduce more gun control after the next election, then your ten dollar magazine will be $100. Too many examples from full-auto guns and from Australia/New Zealand point out the supply and demand problem. If you don’t have them now you will be out of luck.
*
Ammunition costs are through the roof and with China building complete new cities every month or so commodities prices will not come down. When they do come down that will mean we are in a Depression and you won’t have a job anyway. This means most of us must out of necessity end up with less ammo than we would like. Even if you think you have enough with a semi-auto it will run out quick ( even with ten round strippers ). Then what are you going to do? Almost no one outside of a sniper has the discipline to control their rate of fire ( and none of us are that, at best marksmen ). Semi-auto means when you panic you will continue to squeeze the trigger until your thirty rounds are gone. We are all indoctrinated by our military training or Hollywood movie viewing. We think ammo will always show up after we use up our load. Post-collapse this is a very dangerous assumption.
*
Once you use up all of your ammunition post-collapse you will need to start reloading. You must use the old brass. With semi’s, it is harder to keep those as they thrown from the gun. I’ve policed enough brass, you never find it all ( it goes to the same place as the single socks when doing the laundry ). Even if you keep all of the cases, not all reloads will be as reliable as factory ammo. You will get underperforming rounds. Then the advantage of semi-auto disappears since the next round fails to feed. When trade has yet to resume and you are down to the last pound of powder, you will be loading the minimum powder you can to conserve it. You will get underpowered rounds. A revolver and bolt action are a lot less picky with their ammo, and it is even conceivable that they can fire improvised cases such as from paper ( anyone have info on that, please let me know ).
*
The coolest toy is not always the best tool. A tractor sure beats a shovel, but which one is going to last the longest and break a lot less? If things don’t get bad enough that ammo is no longer for sale, you don’t need a semi. If things get bad enough that you need a semi, using them will see you disarmed from lack of ammunition fairly quickly. Resist the temptation. Practice with your bolt action. It is cheaper, your skill beats their equipment, and your modern arms arsenal will last a lot longer. Unless caught out in the open, a man skilled with a Sharps was superior to the Gatling Gun team spraying rounds about. That’s enough for today. I’m sure someone will doubt my wisdom and I’ll have to tell you again. But, hey, I love the sound of my own voice.
END
Absolutely no one can be as wise or as funny as I am, but the Ranger Man over at www.shtfblog.com comes close on the funny. Check out his new site. I liked this one
http://www.shtfblog.com/2007/12/03/deadly-storm-slams-the-home-of-shtf-blog/
Now stop patronizing other sites and buy from me www.bisonpress.com for books and gear.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
queuing for kool-aid
QUEUING FOR KOOL-AID
Queuing up for Kool-Aid, lining up to take a shot of cyanide laced grape drink as in Jim Jones and his brainless sheep in the ’70’s. Of course when I say brainless I really mean too trusting and/or naïve, not necessarily stupid ( stupid is as stupid does ). Here is the latest in the “ Oh My God, how can they not think anything of this?” department. Our hero’s in uniform, the National Transportation Jackboots, have decided that it is a great public relations gimmick to allow flu shots to be given in airports, in the secure area after everyone is rectally probed for colon placed plastic explosives ( for “convenience“ so they don’t miss the plane ).
*
Now, I can already hear the great hue and cry arising from the average reader. But, my grandma needs her flu shot. I love my Gamma, that dear sweet young-at-heart thing. Only the best for her ( at taxpayer expense preferably ). You all probably think that flu shots are the next best thing to sliced white bread or 50 inch plasma screen TV’s on Superbowl Sunday. I think they suck, the one time I was forced to get one in the military I was sick as a dog which is extremely rare for me. I don’t know if they are necessarily evil, but anything the government tries to force on me for my own good I am leery of.
*
How many drugs after being approved by the FDA after eight years of testing at millions of dollars has later been recalled as dangerous? How many servicemen died of cancer from Agent Orange? How many are going to die from anthrax shots and depleted uranium? Does the Federal government really have our best interests in mind? Exposing civilians to nerve gas in subways and to radioactive fallout at Western ranches ( John Wayne and crew after filming in fallout all started dying off of cancer, just a coincidence I am sure ) tells me they killed before and will do so again. It doesn’t matter if they are incompetent fools at best or evil assassins at worse. You are still dead. Do you really want to trust them with flu shots?
*
Being vaccinated against smallpox and such as a young curtain climber is not something I necessarily object to. I don’t even know if it is such a bad thing making it mandatory ( as long as it is for infectious diseases only ). But I would argue that it has long passed the point of protecting the public and gotten into the Big Daddy government knows best mode. Now we have the Fat Police overseeing our restaurants. But the most important point here is that I see just the first step towards mandatory travel vaccines.
*
First you show concern and recommend a certain action such as flu shots. Then it make it really easy by subsidizing the action. Soon it becomes mandatory in schools ( failure to consent will see Child Protective Services snatch your child since they are in grave danger from your negligence ). Next we see it mandatory if you want your welfare ( no Medicare for you if you don’t have up to date shots [ I don’t know if this step has taken place or not ] ). Next everyone not only must have permits to travel by plane but they must also get shots before boarding. The permits process is already approved and due to start soon. The mandatory shots are just a matter of time ( and you are already in the secure area so you can‘t escape ). Then it will go from plane travel to all travel, including by car.
*
And you won’t know what is in the shots. It could be a relatively harmless flu shot. Or it could be a lot worse. There is already speculation about AIDS being man made and about WHO shots being used to sterilize Third World women. Do you want to trust the Fascists in charge to not kill you, or make you sick, or use you as a transmitter of disease? Don’t you think population die-off can be used to socialize medicine, to curtail oil use during shortages, to depopulate rural areas so everyone can be easily controlled in urban areas? I don’t even think I am paranoid enough to conceive of all the possible uses the government can make of doctored shots. Be very friggin afraid, or dead. Your choice.
END
www.bisonpress.com for books and gear
Queuing up for Kool-Aid, lining up to take a shot of cyanide laced grape drink as in Jim Jones and his brainless sheep in the ’70’s. Of course when I say brainless I really mean too trusting and/or naïve, not necessarily stupid ( stupid is as stupid does ). Here is the latest in the “ Oh My God, how can they not think anything of this?” department. Our hero’s in uniform, the National Transportation Jackboots, have decided that it is a great public relations gimmick to allow flu shots to be given in airports, in the secure area after everyone is rectally probed for colon placed plastic explosives ( for “convenience“ so they don’t miss the plane ).
*
Now, I can already hear the great hue and cry arising from the average reader. But, my grandma needs her flu shot. I love my Gamma, that dear sweet young-at-heart thing. Only the best for her ( at taxpayer expense preferably ). You all probably think that flu shots are the next best thing to sliced white bread or 50 inch plasma screen TV’s on Superbowl Sunday. I think they suck, the one time I was forced to get one in the military I was sick as a dog which is extremely rare for me. I don’t know if they are necessarily evil, but anything the government tries to force on me for my own good I am leery of.
*
How many drugs after being approved by the FDA after eight years of testing at millions of dollars has later been recalled as dangerous? How many servicemen died of cancer from Agent Orange? How many are going to die from anthrax shots and depleted uranium? Does the Federal government really have our best interests in mind? Exposing civilians to nerve gas in subways and to radioactive fallout at Western ranches ( John Wayne and crew after filming in fallout all started dying off of cancer, just a coincidence I am sure ) tells me they killed before and will do so again. It doesn’t matter if they are incompetent fools at best or evil assassins at worse. You are still dead. Do you really want to trust them with flu shots?
*
Being vaccinated against smallpox and such as a young curtain climber is not something I necessarily object to. I don’t even know if it is such a bad thing making it mandatory ( as long as it is for infectious diseases only ). But I would argue that it has long passed the point of protecting the public and gotten into the Big Daddy government knows best mode. Now we have the Fat Police overseeing our restaurants. But the most important point here is that I see just the first step towards mandatory travel vaccines.
*
First you show concern and recommend a certain action such as flu shots. Then it make it really easy by subsidizing the action. Soon it becomes mandatory in schools ( failure to consent will see Child Protective Services snatch your child since they are in grave danger from your negligence ). Next we see it mandatory if you want your welfare ( no Medicare for you if you don’t have up to date shots [ I don’t know if this step has taken place or not ] ). Next everyone not only must have permits to travel by plane but they must also get shots before boarding. The permits process is already approved and due to start soon. The mandatory shots are just a matter of time ( and you are already in the secure area so you can‘t escape ). Then it will go from plane travel to all travel, including by car.
*
And you won’t know what is in the shots. It could be a relatively harmless flu shot. Or it could be a lot worse. There is already speculation about AIDS being man made and about WHO shots being used to sterilize Third World women. Do you want to trust the Fascists in charge to not kill you, or make you sick, or use you as a transmitter of disease? Don’t you think population die-off can be used to socialize medicine, to curtail oil use during shortages, to depopulate rural areas so everyone can be easily controlled in urban areas? I don’t even think I am paranoid enough to conceive of all the possible uses the government can make of doctored shots. Be very friggin afraid, or dead. Your choice.
END
www.bisonpress.com for books and gear
Monday, December 10, 2007
malthus trap
MALTHUSIAN TRAPS
Thomas Malthus had his economic essay on population and food published in 1798. The general reaction since then has been to dismiss him as a rather misled youth, munching on lead paint chips and perhaps even visiting houses of ill repute where he might have gotten syphilis and gone quite barking mad. Alas, Tommy was merely putting into economic law those events which had already taken place centuries earlier. He did not just throw out an implausible theory that failed to materialize. But that is the way he is discussed, dismissed as a paranoid that sadly just got it all wrong, who didn’t see the Industrial Revolution happening in his midst. But this misses the point. Classical agrarian economies almost always fall into the Malthusian Trap. The fact that we have created a new economic model does not negate that. Baring carbon fuels we would be subject to the same economic law.
*
When population increases beyond the increase of food in a sustenance agrarian economy, real wages drop as does consumption. Let’s look at France in the fourteenth century ( taken from “War And Peace And War” by Peter Turchin ). Two centuries earlier the population was six million. It tripled to over twenty million. All possible land was cleared for cultivation ( to include cutting 30 million acres of forest, one quarter the size of modern France ). That was not enough, so fields went from laying fallow every other year to once every three. This doubled the yield. But population had tripled. Per capita food consumption declined.
*
It has been estimated that with the prevailing technology, it took fifteen aces of land for a peasant to comfortably feed his family ( the government and church took their cut, next years seed was put aside ) of four or five. In lean years they tightened their belt but did not starve. The problem was that only 20% of farmers had that much land. Some didn’t marry or had smaller families, but the majority had to look for outside employment. This put a downward pressure on wages at the same time farmland, equipment and food prices increased. It is even thought that the available food was of poorer quality ( soil fertility decrease through overuse ).
*
There was also a continual decrease in the size of farms, both from prosperous families splitting the land for inheritance and those without enough land pledging it as collateral to get through lean times when enough food was not produced. These negative spiraling conditions are almost normal through history. Everyone is trapped and can’t get out of the hole they have dug for themselves ( nor can they stop digging ). The Irish Potato Famine, the current ethnic clashes/genocides in Africa, etc. Natural gas turned into artificial fertilizer ( the German process enabling that country to fight WWI since British control of South American natural deposits was a near monopoly ), oil both building and powering mechanical farm equipment, these have arrested the natural cycle of prosperity building up the population leading to overpopulation leading to starvation and malnutrition and catastrophic means stabilizing the population once again.
*
For now. As long as the oil is available. Today Africa is a perfect laboratory showing the Malthus Trap in action. Overpopulation, pandemics ( only on that continent is AIDS out of control ), famine, wars and mass slaughter. Weather is important and causes a lot of trouble, but without the overpopulation it does not cause widespread death. One reason for this? Economically, they ( speaking generally, the entire continent is not in equally dire straights ) cannot afford oil, essentially surrendering it to prosperous India and China. They are back in a pre-industrial agrarian economy. And the overpopulation, caused in no small part by past Western food aid and medical programs, leads them into the classic trap. The droughts themselves are not really the cause, so much as a trigger due to population problems, shrinking farmland, etc.
*
Malthus knew what he was talking about. The Pollyanna’s who never see a declining oil supply do not.
END
You can of course get the Malthus essay downloaded free off of the Internet, but wouldn’t you feel all warm and fuzzy inside if instead you supported Bison by buying the $1 Chicken Little Magazine #3 which reprints it? Go to www.bisonpress.com
Thomas Malthus had his economic essay on population and food published in 1798. The general reaction since then has been to dismiss him as a rather misled youth, munching on lead paint chips and perhaps even visiting houses of ill repute where he might have gotten syphilis and gone quite barking mad. Alas, Tommy was merely putting into economic law those events which had already taken place centuries earlier. He did not just throw out an implausible theory that failed to materialize. But that is the way he is discussed, dismissed as a paranoid that sadly just got it all wrong, who didn’t see the Industrial Revolution happening in his midst. But this misses the point. Classical agrarian economies almost always fall into the Malthusian Trap. The fact that we have created a new economic model does not negate that. Baring carbon fuels we would be subject to the same economic law.
*
When population increases beyond the increase of food in a sustenance agrarian economy, real wages drop as does consumption. Let’s look at France in the fourteenth century ( taken from “War And Peace And War” by Peter Turchin ). Two centuries earlier the population was six million. It tripled to over twenty million. All possible land was cleared for cultivation ( to include cutting 30 million acres of forest, one quarter the size of modern France ). That was not enough, so fields went from laying fallow every other year to once every three. This doubled the yield. But population had tripled. Per capita food consumption declined.
*
It has been estimated that with the prevailing technology, it took fifteen aces of land for a peasant to comfortably feed his family ( the government and church took their cut, next years seed was put aside ) of four or five. In lean years they tightened their belt but did not starve. The problem was that only 20% of farmers had that much land. Some didn’t marry or had smaller families, but the majority had to look for outside employment. This put a downward pressure on wages at the same time farmland, equipment and food prices increased. It is even thought that the available food was of poorer quality ( soil fertility decrease through overuse ).
*
There was also a continual decrease in the size of farms, both from prosperous families splitting the land for inheritance and those without enough land pledging it as collateral to get through lean times when enough food was not produced. These negative spiraling conditions are almost normal through history. Everyone is trapped and can’t get out of the hole they have dug for themselves ( nor can they stop digging ). The Irish Potato Famine, the current ethnic clashes/genocides in Africa, etc. Natural gas turned into artificial fertilizer ( the German process enabling that country to fight WWI since British control of South American natural deposits was a near monopoly ), oil both building and powering mechanical farm equipment, these have arrested the natural cycle of prosperity building up the population leading to overpopulation leading to starvation and malnutrition and catastrophic means stabilizing the population once again.
*
For now. As long as the oil is available. Today Africa is a perfect laboratory showing the Malthus Trap in action. Overpopulation, pandemics ( only on that continent is AIDS out of control ), famine, wars and mass slaughter. Weather is important and causes a lot of trouble, but without the overpopulation it does not cause widespread death. One reason for this? Economically, they ( speaking generally, the entire continent is not in equally dire straights ) cannot afford oil, essentially surrendering it to prosperous India and China. They are back in a pre-industrial agrarian economy. And the overpopulation, caused in no small part by past Western food aid and medical programs, leads them into the classic trap. The droughts themselves are not really the cause, so much as a trigger due to population problems, shrinking farmland, etc.
*
Malthus knew what he was talking about. The Pollyanna’s who never see a declining oil supply do not.
END
You can of course get the Malthus essay downloaded free off of the Internet, but wouldn’t you feel all warm and fuzzy inside if instead you supported Bison by buying the $1 Chicken Little Magazine #3 which reprints it? Go to www.bisonpress.com
Sunday, December 09, 2007
guest article
New and improved tuna can heater.
Jim -I was reviewing some of your older posts and you were talking about the hobo stove and tuna can heater.I am a huge advocate of the "buddy burner" as I like to call it. It is particularly dear to my heart since I have a sh**load of candles that I have bought over the years for nearly nothing. The larger ones are hard to use for light, so I break them up into chunks for little burners.Anyway, I have learned that the tuna/cardboard combination is easily substituted by an aluminum soda can and shredded paper. Soda cans are much more readily available, and the paper from a shredder lights and burns better than the cardboard. Shredded paper also absorbs the wax much more readily, and you don't have to cut it to size like cardboard. So try it out. Puncture a soda can with an old knife about a third of the way from the bottom. Cut around the can. The edge is jagged, so I use some old scissors to even the edge. I heat the wax in the soda can on my coffee maker burner. When it has liquefied, I drop shredded paper into the wax and use a putty knife to press extra paper into the wax. After the wax and paper have hardened and cooled, I bend the edge of the can inward using gloves.
*
See how easy it was to share a great idea with others-thanks loyal minion!
Jim -I was reviewing some of your older posts and you were talking about the hobo stove and tuna can heater.I am a huge advocate of the "buddy burner" as I like to call it. It is particularly dear to my heart since I have a sh**load of candles that I have bought over the years for nearly nothing. The larger ones are hard to use for light, so I break them up into chunks for little burners.Anyway, I have learned that the tuna/cardboard combination is easily substituted by an aluminum soda can and shredded paper. Soda cans are much more readily available, and the paper from a shredder lights and burns better than the cardboard. Shredded paper also absorbs the wax much more readily, and you don't have to cut it to size like cardboard. So try it out. Puncture a soda can with an old knife about a third of the way from the bottom. Cut around the can. The edge is jagged, so I use some old scissors to even the edge. I heat the wax in the soda can on my coffee maker burner. When it has liquefied, I drop shredded paper into the wax and use a putty knife to press extra paper into the wax. After the wax and paper have hardened and cooled, I bend the edge of the can inward using gloves.
*
See how easy it was to share a great idea with others-thanks loyal minion!
Saturday, December 08, 2007
girly guns
GIRLY GUNS
Guns for girls, or really small guys. Now, I realize that there are plenty of ladies that can handle a battle rifle. But plenty more can’t. Even if they can shoulder and fire one round, subsequent rounds will just waste ammunition as the anticipation of recoil will have its consequence. Better to just give in to reality and stock two calibers instead of one. There are plenty of guys that could also benefit from stepping away from a full powered round. I myself refused to use a twelve gauge until I was a bit older and my metabolism slowed down and I gained thirty pounds. At 6’2”, 150 pounds my first try with a shotgun was my last. At 180 I started to enjoy it. There is no shame in needing to use a carbine round. Forget the macho crap and go with the weapon you can use well. Otherwise it is a pissing contest into the wind.
*
Another benefit is that in appropriate climates the carbine round is a natural and your gun cost is less. Or, you can use the same type of gun for the two of you, each in your own comfort caliber. Now, the typical Yuppie answer as always is to spend money to fix any problem ( a terra cotta pot to filter water, costing $3? I have to spend $250 on a Berkey water filter! ). You put on your camouflage hunting vest to cover your gut, a boonie hat to cover your bald spot, drive the little lady down to the gun store in a SUV getting nine miles to the gallon and introduce her to an AR-15 or a Mini-14. What a stud! You can max out a credit card. Oops, sorry, almost got off track again there. This is not a bad idea, if you can afford to spend $600-$1000 after magazines to arm the misses. She needs to be armed. For her own protection and yours. But you can do it for a lot less. $200 is the max and you could do it for as little as $125.
*
For $200 you can walk out with an SKS. Off the shelf solution. I’m not sure about the current price on a single shot rifle but that might also be a solution. I’m in favor of skipping those however. I think the best bet is to get the spouse the same bolt action surplus as you have and installing a chamber adapter kit in hers. That way you both have the Russian M44, yours in 762x54r and hers in 762x39. The kit is only $25-$35. Now in an emergency you can both easily use the other since it is a familiar gun. The recoil will be different but the controls are the same. Plus it is a darn cheap gun and you can buy whichever ammo is on sale at the time ( with the caveat of the lack of a gas bleed safety ). Or, you can convert a SMLE to 762x39. Or a 8mm Mauser. Or 7.7 Jap or 7.5 French. The insert is only $35. Yes, you lose your magazine and rounds must be manually inserted one at a time. But $35 verses $200...
*
If you already have only big bad macho guns in the house, you can convert your 308 or 30-06 to 30 carbine or 32 ACP. There are also inserts for 308/3030/3006/765 Argentina/7mm for rimfire shooting ( a dummy case with 22 inserted ). All of these are available from MCA Sorts/Ace Bullet Company 2800 West 33rd Road Anchorage AK 99517-2201. Be sure to check the web page first in case of price changes. www.mcace.com
*
The other day I started realizing that the only rifle my wife has to shoot is a rimfire. I have more rifles than I can use and she has too few. One of these days the crazy bitch is going to go Kamikaze on a mutant zombie biker and I need to be ready for that with the proper equipment. The insert went up to the top of my wish list. Plus, as a bonus, I get to buy cheap ammo instead of 223. And I can always use it for cheap plinking. Or, after the Apocalypse, the Russian carbine round is going to be a lot more plentiful than the Brit ammo. Plenty of good reasons to consider a chamber insert kit.
END
be advised this week I have a Sunday guest article. Very short, but I think a great idea. Don't look for it at the regular 6, I'm sleeping in.
links to other great sites, e-books for sale, free book to download, Amazon books and prep gear for sale, all at www.bisonpress.com
Guns for girls, or really small guys. Now, I realize that there are plenty of ladies that can handle a battle rifle. But plenty more can’t. Even if they can shoulder and fire one round, subsequent rounds will just waste ammunition as the anticipation of recoil will have its consequence. Better to just give in to reality and stock two calibers instead of one. There are plenty of guys that could also benefit from stepping away from a full powered round. I myself refused to use a twelve gauge until I was a bit older and my metabolism slowed down and I gained thirty pounds. At 6’2”, 150 pounds my first try with a shotgun was my last. At 180 I started to enjoy it. There is no shame in needing to use a carbine round. Forget the macho crap and go with the weapon you can use well. Otherwise it is a pissing contest into the wind.
*
Another benefit is that in appropriate climates the carbine round is a natural and your gun cost is less. Or, you can use the same type of gun for the two of you, each in your own comfort caliber. Now, the typical Yuppie answer as always is to spend money to fix any problem ( a terra cotta pot to filter water, costing $3? I have to spend $250 on a Berkey water filter! ). You put on your camouflage hunting vest to cover your gut, a boonie hat to cover your bald spot, drive the little lady down to the gun store in a SUV getting nine miles to the gallon and introduce her to an AR-15 or a Mini-14. What a stud! You can max out a credit card. Oops, sorry, almost got off track again there. This is not a bad idea, if you can afford to spend $600-$1000 after magazines to arm the misses. She needs to be armed. For her own protection and yours. But you can do it for a lot less. $200 is the max and you could do it for as little as $125.
*
For $200 you can walk out with an SKS. Off the shelf solution. I’m not sure about the current price on a single shot rifle but that might also be a solution. I’m in favor of skipping those however. I think the best bet is to get the spouse the same bolt action surplus as you have and installing a chamber adapter kit in hers. That way you both have the Russian M44, yours in 762x54r and hers in 762x39. The kit is only $25-$35. Now in an emergency you can both easily use the other since it is a familiar gun. The recoil will be different but the controls are the same. Plus it is a darn cheap gun and you can buy whichever ammo is on sale at the time ( with the caveat of the lack of a gas bleed safety ). Or, you can convert a SMLE to 762x39. Or a 8mm Mauser. Or 7.7 Jap or 7.5 French. The insert is only $35. Yes, you lose your magazine and rounds must be manually inserted one at a time. But $35 verses $200...
*
If you already have only big bad macho guns in the house, you can convert your 308 or 30-06 to 30 carbine or 32 ACP. There are also inserts for 308/3030/3006/765 Argentina/7mm for rimfire shooting ( a dummy case with 22 inserted ). All of these are available from MCA Sorts/Ace Bullet Company 2800 West 33rd Road Anchorage AK 99517-2201. Be sure to check the web page first in case of price changes. www.mcace.com
*
The other day I started realizing that the only rifle my wife has to shoot is a rimfire. I have more rifles than I can use and she has too few. One of these days the crazy bitch is going to go Kamikaze on a mutant zombie biker and I need to be ready for that with the proper equipment. The insert went up to the top of my wish list. Plus, as a bonus, I get to buy cheap ammo instead of 223. And I can always use it for cheap plinking. Or, after the Apocalypse, the Russian carbine round is going to be a lot more plentiful than the Brit ammo. Plenty of good reasons to consider a chamber insert kit.
END
be advised this week I have a Sunday guest article. Very short, but I think a great idea. Don't look for it at the regular 6, I'm sleeping in.
links to other great sites, e-books for sale, free book to download, Amazon books and prep gear for sale, all at www.bisonpress.com
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