10:07 – We’re doing the usual Saturday stuff. I’m just getting ready to start the laundry. Barbara is out running errands. She’ll be doing yard work later, but she has to wait for the grass to dry.
I’ll call this guy Tim. It’s not his real name, but then Jen isn’t her real name either. I’d written a complete response that totaled about 800 words, but WordPress ate my text when I tried to publish. So I’m just going to send Tim a copy of the draft chapter on emergency kits.
I realize you’re busy, and if you don’t have the time for a specific reply that’s fine. Feel free to quote this message, but please do not identify me.
I’m going to be doing as much as I can to be more prepared without drawing too much attention. I may buy a trunk full of stuff from Sam’s Club every Saturday morning instead of renting a trailer like Jen did.
The reason I’m trying to be low key is my wife’s sister and her husband that I previously mentioned as poorly prepared have given more thought to the subject than anyone else in my wife’s family. I’m sure they already think I’m a bit eccentric, so that’s not the issue. There are lots of people around me who are too busy not planning for the “normal” future to consider being prepared for unanticipated events. I don’t want to freak them out too much. If I brought home an AR-15, they’d get weird. So when the time comes that the next thing on the list is to get an AR-15, it will just show up next to the shotgun in the gun safe. Which reminds me that I need a shotgun and a gun safe. Both are higher on the list than an AR-15 though.
One of my wife’s high school friends and her husband are preppers, who told my wife they have an emergency kit in their car and my wife should too. I guess I’m going to have to “give in” to their suggestion.
I know you have talked about some of the stuff in your in car and bugout kits before. Have you posted an actual inventory yet? It would be a good starting point for my assembling in car and grab and go kits.
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/prep-week-215/
I like this guy’s stuff but what he did to prepare this past week would run, by my very rough calculations, around $600-700. Few of us can just shell out a few hundred every week for a buncha Glock mags, boxes of ammo, and an optic for our AR. But he runs a web blog with advertising so I better get in on that racket.
Here’s a useful little inventory sorta thing he has:
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/preppers-checklist/
Sunny with blue skies today; Mrs. OFD’s flight out in Denver got cancelled yesterday thanks to two feet of snow so she’s flying back today and her birthday is tomorrow; meanwhile the two other fems, Grandma and Princess, are busy on the phone lines this morning trying to set up all kinds of plans for tomorrow, etc., etc. A half-hour of that while I kept trying to explain to them we can’t MAKE any plans until wife and I see each other later today at the airport. She’s likely to be dead on her feet again, so we jus’ gon hab to play it by ear.
I spotted a phrase to warm a prepper’s cockles in an article about the Greek situation:
“A military coup is not out of the question, as in times of turmoil, the guys with the guns tend to have an edge.” (my emphasis)
Source: http://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=4186
@OFD,
I point people there all the time. In general, that is one of the most welcoming and accessible prepping sites online. The folks there cover a wide spectrum of prepping, and are generally friendly and encouraging. It’s one of a few sites where the comments are worth reading. Indeed, much of the value comes in the comments.
It is very straightforward and practical. (If you don’t believe in the value of essential oils, just skip the comments related to them.) Many of the frequent commenters are actually doing the stuff and living the life.
WRT MD Creekmore’s prepping, some weeks he spends very little, some weeks more. Keep in mind, prepping, writing about prepping, and the website are his full time business, and by his posts, he is living the life he writes about. That means he doesn’t have a mortgage or vehicle payment, which frees up a lot of spending cash. (a good example if there ever was one.)
His ‘what did you do to prep this week’ is always good reading.
nick
Yeah, Creekmore is one of those guys I think of as much too “militarized”. No one should be spending money on tactical rifles, accessories, and ammo until they’re fully equipped with basic necessities, and probably not even then.
He wants you to pick up a spare *bulb* for the LED flashlight?
And on the firearms front, there ain’t much point to gearing up with tacticool rifles, etc. unless one is prepared to 1.) get trained real good on them and practice a lot, and 2.) be prepared to use lethal force on somebody when necessary. I’m guessing that between those two criteria, most Murkan derps are….unqualified, at the present time.
But as I said, I like the guy’s site and found a lot of the information detailed and covering more territory than just the guns.
Gee, the sun went away and now it’s all dark and gnarly out there, with mist/fog in the near-distance and rain on the way. Looks more like late October than late April again here.
And Grandma just delivered the Approved Plan for wife’s birthday tomorrow; we be goin’ to a nice restaurant here in town for lunch/brunch and they’ll bring Princess up so wife can then spend four hours out of her day driving her back to Montreal, even though I said I’d do it. Oh well. Whatever.
Oh my, the hard cold rain has started….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ex-m-eEKsg
Skinny little Bobby Zimmerman in 1963, when OFD was pretty skinny hisself, and living down there in Brockton, MA, the former Shoe Capital of the World!
We got another 2 or 3 inches of rain last night and the wind got one of my neighbors 40 ft cypress trees. Which fell into my six ft brick fence and broke the top 10 layers of bricks. And the wood fence between us (that’s not a big deal). He is out there cutting it all up now but I am wondering who is going to rebuild the brick fence and the wood fence.
You are. He’s sure not responsible. At least you get to keep the wood from whatever part of the tree fell on your property.
Act of God, Mr. Lynn. These things happen.
You’d best get to mixing up that mortar and running the wheelbarrow and trowel over there now…..you got the new bricks yet? How ’bout helping yer neighbor cut up that tree? Forestall any possible bad blood?
I was wrong, it was the 75 ft cedar tree in the park behind us that fell. So the HOA called the tree maintenance people and they cut up the tree up. They are running their 200 hp wood chipper right now. There are trees down all over our subdivision. Evidently we had a mini tornado last night in all the nastiness.
The HOA is going to rebuild the brick fence next week or so. The neighbor and I will rebuild the wood fence when it dries up. Not too bad, just one 8 ft section.
My neighbor is in India. He told his wife that things always happen when he jumps on a plane.
Friggin wind is being an issue today. Allegedly it’s only 12MPH with gusts to 27, but the actual numbers are at least 50% over that because we live toward the narrow end of a terrain V. So there I was, prepping to changing the oil in my wife’s car, and the wind blows the trashcan from over by the garage right at me and the pile of stuff. Grr. Then the wind blows the hood of the car off of the holding rod and then lets it drop, bending the rod although somehow failing to break the $250 headlight unit. The the wind blows at the plastic bag with the filters (and windshield wipers and some other stuff) hard enough to rip it so the one end is still under the toolbox which was holding it down but the former contents are now scattered across the yard. Starting to get pretty annoyed. Then I was getting ready to jack up the car anyway but an especially strong gust rocked the damn car when it was down on the ground. You know what, fuck this. I’m not getting a damn car dropped on my face this afternoon.
“Creekmore is one of those guys I think of as much too “militarized”.”:
Huh, I’ve been reading the site daily for at least a year, maybe longer, and that’s not how I would have characterized him or it. I mostly think about the comments though. The volume of comments to posts has the comments out weighing the posts 10:1 or more.
Maybe that’s because by comparison, he’s a gentleman farmer?
http://www.maxvelocitytactical.com/
http://survivalblog.com/
https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/
http://www.totalsurvivalist.com/
Prepping takes many different shapes, and for most people, they are just touching part of the oliphaunt.
nick
News from Texas…
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/18/texas-set-to-approve-open-carry-handguns-seen-as-win-for-gun-rights-activists/
Short gun Open Carry in Texas will be done when it is done. And only for CHLs. Long gun open carry is legal and always has been.
But the dumbocrats are fighting Open Carry and trying all kinds of tricks.
“You know what, fuck this. I’m not getting a damn car dropped on my face this afternoon.”
Yes, indeed. There comes a time when you just gotta say “Fuck this.” And move on.
I would have probably given up about when you did; we get those kinds of wind gusts here on a weekly basis, year-round, and us and the neighbors know we just ain’t gonna get much done out in our yards when it’s like that. The guy between us and the lake HATES the wind, which makes us wonder why he bought the house. If we ever win the lottery, we’re buying him out and the other three or four peeps with crappy wooden houses around us and then leveling and landscaping the site entire. Only brick houses will remain here in the village, plus we’re renaming it back to “Port Washington.” We’ll also close off this street and put speed bumps in on the state highway that winds around it and us. And hire snipers to blow away goblins with loud exhausts, loud stereos, or who scrub out, rev their engines or attempt to speed over the bumps anyway. Their bodies will be left out on display for a week or so and then buried in a mass grave in the town park behind us.
Just got Mrs. OFD at the airport, after a very bumpy flight all the way from Chicago to Newark to Burlington. She don’t much like Denver.
We hope Greensboro and Wichita Falls are nicer for her.
I am wondering who is going to rebuild the brick fence and the wood fence
I have a neighbor who does not like my 20 foot cypress trees. Claims they block the sun and that the roots may invade her basement. Complained the branches were too close to their house. The trees are five feet inside my property line and their house is 10 feet from the property line.
We trimmed the branches although legally that is their responsibility as the branches are across the property line on to their property. I was up on a ladder doing the cutting and had I fallen their homeowners insurance would have been liable for all injuries. I did the trimming just to keep the calm. Apparently I was misguided.
Then the wife comes out and complains about the trees and the possibility of the roots entering their basement. She wanted us to cut the trees down immediately and I told her no, the trees are not being cut down. She said “we’ll see” and walked off.
What she does not understand is that I cannot be forced to cut down those trees regardless of the height. There is no root intrusion and will never be such intrusion. The trees are entirely on my property, are healthy. Does not matter if it blocks her sun. If she wants to trim the part on her property she can legally do so. But if in doing so she causes the trees to die then I can recover three times the cost of the trees.
I suspect she is going to get a lawyer. Hopefully the lawyer is not an idiot. Barring a court order or an order from the city, there is nothing to be done and the trees stay.
Ray, you wanna watch out with that woman, she might pop around and ringbark your trees when you’re out.
If concealed carry is legal why would anyone want to open carry?
@Miles,
In some states, like FL, you need this to protect against charges of ‘brandishing’ if your shirt blows up accidentally. TX does not consider an accidental flash of an otherwise concealed handgun to be brandishing, but it’s good to have the cover.
In practice it makes life easier for some people. As a business owner, you can carry openly on your property, but must conceal in your vehicle (even with a CHL), or while moving to and from. This should make it easier to avoid a technical violation if you haven’t covered up.
Having done so, I can relate that open carry (not as an activist) can be confrontational. There are a lot of stupid, drunk, high, belligerent, stupid, stupid people who just can’t stop themselves from coming up to you and saying “what are you gonna do, shoot me?” followed up with actions meant to intimidate you and force the issue. Have I mentioned that they are stupid?
And the biggest point is that it is a step toward the restoration of the constitutionally protected right of the 2nd amendment. Full constitutional carry would be better, but this is a step in the right direction.
nick
edited to add: there are many times and activities when a NON-concealment holster would be much more comfortable and appropriate. Doing yard work or any other outside activity when it’s hot springs to mind. And it you think the yardwork thing is only theoretical, I can link to video of a guy getting shot and robbed while cutting his grass, not too far from here, in America’s 4th largest city…
you wanna watch out with that woman, she might pop around and ringbark your trees
That thought had occurred to me. She is probably pushing late 70’s. I don’t think she would have the strength.
The husband came to me when I was mowing and said I need to do something about the trees as the branches were too close to his house. I said you are welcome to cut them and he said he was not going to cut them as it was my problem. It is not my problem as the branches are on his property. So just to keep the peace I trimmed some branches, had him come look and he said it was OK. Then his wife comes out and demands the trees be cut down immediately because she fears the roots will intrude into her basement. Had I known she was going to be this way I would have told the husband the branches are his problem, trim them yourself or hire it done as they are not on my property.
If concealed carry is legal why would anyone want to open carry?
It also normalizes guns and gun ownership, a very good thing. I prefer concealed for myself. Husband likes open for lawn mowing and around the house. No one has ever commented that I recall.
Does kicking the husband out to go to the range with a buddy this morning count as prepping? He has a new silencer he hasn’t had a chance to test yet.
Sheep herding lessons cancelled this morning so took toddler and sitter to the zoo instead. Chickens escaped and were scratching around the front yard when we got home. We are fortunate to have tolerant neighbors. We live in midtown of a large city so loose chickens are not desirable.
Prepping this weekend – restructuring the chicken run apparently. Turning lard from last falls pig into soap for fun. We’ve got a stash of commercial soap but I figured home soap making would be entertaining.
If any are considering chickens and are in snowy climes, I heartily recommend white Chanteclers if you can get them. And a rooster if the neighbors will tolerate him. Rooster lets you make more chickens and in my admittedly limited experience keeps the hens from being mean little freaks to each other.
Our white Chanteclers are thrifty, laid right thru our Alaska winter with minimal light supplement and have no qualms about being in the snow. Friendly birds, too.
We’ve had partridge and buff Chantecler as well. The others laid thru the winter but would not walk in the snow. Not as thrifty either. Nice big carcass on the whites. Tasty.
Keeping chickens can be a low key affair. Depending on your location and feed costs you’re not going to save any on your grocery bill though. We do it as much for the pleasure of their company as so our toddler gets a realistic view of meat as anything. She was fairly appalled when she made the connection between chicken butts and eggs. Took her about 3 days to get over it and start eating eggs again. Funny.
We do it as much for the pleasure of their company as so our toddler gets a realistic view of meat as anything. She was fairly appalled when she made the connection between chicken butts and eggs. Took her about 3 days to get over it and start eating eggs again. Funny.
Cool!
There is an amazing amount of people running around that do not have a clue where meat comes from. They think that McDonalds grows it in something like a vat. The problem comes when they grow up and want to make rules for the rest of us.
Am listening to the Jack Higgins novels again in the truck. Have made a note to myself that I need to try a mix of scrambled eggs and sardines. Gonna pass on the Krug champagne though.
http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Storm-Sean-Dillon-Series/dp/1469294249/
Yikes, I was REALLY hungry before I could bring myself to eat a sardine sandwich. I hope I’m never that hungry again.
Although, my tastes might have changed. I like ginger now, and used to dislike it.
nick
Our friends in Oz scored a victory:
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/04/daniel-zimmerman/latest-australian-gun-grab-effort-defeated/#respond
“Does kicking the husband out to go to the range with a buddy this morning count as prepping?”
Yes.
I’m a sardine fan. I like the ones with mustard in the can. Never tried them in scrambled eggs. I like scrambled eggs with salami in them.
I’ll use bits and pieces of sardines and anchovies in recipes but not all by their lonesome and am a traditionalist old fart with scrambled eggs; cheese, veggies, sausage, ham, etc. but no fish or poultry. I’m that same way with pizza.
My food weirdness index is limited to eating the chunk of salt pork with baked beans; wife can’t believe I do that, yet she dumps Frank’s Hot Sauce on ice cream (and everything else; I’ve seen her dump Frank’s on top of salsa!)
Doritos and vanilla ice cream is an awesome combination.
nick
Some good DX on the lower SW bands. Also a ham show on 9.930mhz called QSO. Currently talking about the upcoming hamvention in Dayton.
nick
Wow, that reminds me; there’s one coming up in southern NH that I should check into; used to be called Hosstraders, and it was a mix of ham radio and Linux people with a lot of overlap. Jon “maddog” Hall was/is pretty busy at those things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Hall_%28programmer%29
Turns out it was on WTWW which is a (mostly) religious broadcaster with 3 transmitters located in Nashville. They also play music (with emphasis on 70’s country and easy hits so far) and have the ham show on Saturday nights. At some point they change to 5.080MHz. They have been really clever picking freqs as those are very close to the time standard stations at 5 and 10MHz. Anyone manually tuning the time reference is likely to stumble across them as well. One of the transmitters is relatively new addition.
It is VERY unusual for there to be new transmitters on SW in the US!
Ok, wrt preps, I forgot that my garden is coming along nicely. The seed pack from Costco has sprouted and is developing nicely. I can see the appeal of the 1 sqft system, but I’ll need lots more sqft to feed my family in any meaningful way. Fortunately, it takes very little time, and has great lessons for the kids too. They are so excited to eat stuff fresh from the garden. Oh, I must be doing something right. I pointed out a pair of doves perched on the swingset. My 5 yo looks at them and with a great deal of sly amusement says “look how fat they are, maybe we could eat them!” I told her we’d let them make more doves this year, but lots of people do hunt for doves. yum.
nick
Dove hunting is a big thing around here. Every fall when the season opens there are idiots out there trespassing on farms trying to bag their limits. Hardly worth eating IMHO. Little meat on the breasts, dark greasy and includes bird shot. I’ve eaten my share but thankfully since it was the Italian side of the family it always included polenta. Good peasant food to fill you up. Add in sausages, sourdough bread, cheeses, salad and the damn birds hardly mattered.
My Italian immigrant grandparents’ home was on three lots in a semi-rural neighborhood. Watch my grandmother kill plenty of chickens, clean them and have them for diner. Now that’s fresh.
Yeah, I never got the hunting of tiny birds like doves and quail; too little return for too much effort. Pheasant, turkey and geese I can see, but I kinda like geese and ducks so wouldn’t hunt them unless we were in dire straits.
I don’t usually eat sardines as I greatly prefer kippers and herring. They are just fillets without the spine, but sardines are the whole fish. I will eat sardines if I am allowed to open them and remove the spine, otherwise I won’t eat them.
It’s funny. I ate a ton of fish for breakfast while working in Norway. There were at least 10 different preparations available in the buffet line. There were mustard based, tomato based, vinegar, dill, and some white sauce based potted fish, and smoked or pickled whole fish and a couple of creamed fish spreads. Nothing like canned sardines though.
I just don’t like the little bones!
There was a lot of fish on the menu in general, IIRC.
nick
I did a coach tour of Scandanavia in 1990, which included an overnight ferry ride from Stockholm to Finland. For dinner we were ofered a buffet of about 40 (no kidding) preperations of herring. For breakfast we had to make do with only about seven different preperations. I liked it but it would get old quickly.