Big City = deathtrap

So, I got my BOV (cherokee, former conservation officer vehicle with none of the trimmings, but all of the nice upgraded hardware) and was driving it back home from KC. Now I typically avoid big city's like the plague because to me, that is exactly what they are. I know that in my line of work, I could make at least double what I make now if I were to live in a large city, but it is a trade-off that I am willing to make. Well, last Friday, it because very apparent that so far, I have made the correct decision. I was caught driving in KC (actually, I was just in the outskirts still) around 5:00 pm and it was a complete madhouse. Now probably it was just normal traffic, but regardless, it was barely manageable chaos with traffic coming in from all directions, people moving and merging and swerving and weaving around. In some areas, it took several minutes to just get a mile. As I was driving my newly acquired Bug Out Vehicle, I began wondering what it would actually be like if I was currently using it for its intended purpose. I could just picture the scene if FEMA came on and said that there was a bio agent just released in several US cities and KC was on the list. Well, I can tell you one thing, KC would be one of the last places that I would like to try to bug out from. I can also tell you something else; unless you got the news well in advance of everyone else, you would certainly either be bugging in, just another stranded motorist or worse, a statistic.

THIS JUST IN!

Top new headlines from around the world:

Ford, GM and Chrysler announced record profits after a combined initiative perfecting the fuel cell vehicle allowing up to 100 MPG in most mid-sized vehicles. Manufacturing costs with the new technology are so low as to allow base model vehicles to begin selling at under $6,000 while still maintaining a margin that the auto manufacturers refer to as "solid".

The US Senate and House of Representatives passed unanimously a resolution to repeal the income tax after the second straight year of a surplus after completely repaying the national debt and returning to the gold standard along with the rest of the world. All taxes will be collected via current sales tax. President-Elect Shia LaBeouf (Libertarian) said that he is proud to be coming in to office after his predecessor had done such a wonderful job and vows to change very little in policy. His administrations only real initiative stated so far was the complete dismantling of the IRS.

The United African Nations report that the last remaining AIDS victim has been successfully cured after a 6 month blitz across the continent with the UB2 serum. Vice-Chancellor Mugabian said that his nation is now turning a corner and simply needs time to address burgeoning economy and focus on how it can best fit into and help support, the rest of the world.

Iran and Israel announced a joint space exploration venture aimed at the complete mapping and future settlement of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. They are planning on launching the venture from their current joint settlement on Mars and utilizing some of the same technologies currently in use there. Leaders in both countries continue to be extremely enthusiastic over their progress and state that after colonizing Titan, they will be turning their attention to our own oceans and plan to establish a colony in the Mariana Trench.

China, breadbasket to the world, announces a record bumper crop due to virtually ideal conditions over the past year allowing for an increase in food storage to over 5 years worth of yearly exports. Minister of Agriculture Hoy stated that food prices would remain at an all time low and that China was committed to ensuring a uninterrupted flow of raw food products to around the world as well as our moon colonies.

Ok, so its not real news, but it sure as heck beats whats out there right now.

New Year yet again

Ok, it is now December, 2009 is right around the corner and I am sure that we all are already thinking about our new years resolutions and about the past ones that have failed to materialize and how we would have been so much better off if we would have stuck to the old ones etc.

Well, I had an old college professor that told me that any goal or plan or resolution that means anything should be SMART.

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Realistic
T - Time frame

Ok, that last one doesn't really fit very well, but you get the idea. I know for myself that I start making plans about different aspects of my life and they end up being some junk that nobody would ever know if I hit it or not. I don't know if this is somehow unconsciously on purpose so I can somehow lie to myself and tell myself that I achieved even when I didn't or what. Regardless, the good thing is that here is another one beating on the door of my life and I have to deal with it. I could just ignore it and act like it is just another day, but I think that would somehow just not be proper. I could make up a bunch more crap goals about being thinner, younger, better looking, richer etc, but lets face it, some of those are just outta my control. So I have set down and pinned a few resolutions that I will be holding myself to this year, but I will also be sharing most if not all of these with this blog as I perform each and every one. I am keeping SMART very much alive here.

Resolution #1 - quadruple the size of my garden. Last year I had a 12' by 30' garden that yielded a bountiful harvest. This next year I resolve myself to plowing up 3 more equal size plots so I can not only grow diverse things, but increase the amount of land devoted to each crop.
Timeframe - June 1 2009.


Resolution #2 - Irrigation. Let's face it, without water, gardens are just another weed patch. I resolve this year during Spring to have 100 gallons of irrigation water storage for each plot of my garden. This will take the form of a water catchment off of my 24'x32' workshop and transporting the water from there to the 2-50 gallons plastic barrels located near each garden plot for this purpose.
Timeframe - May 31 2009

Resolution #3 - Wind Power. I resolve to purchase the necessary hardware to build and erect a 12 foot diameter wind generator located at least 30 feet high feeding no fewer that 8 deep cycle batteries.
Timeframe - October 31 2009

There are not very many resolutions here, but with my resolution being to complete each of these on or before the given deadline, the next time I have to come up with new years resolutions, I will be much better off than I am at this time, and I reckon that is the name of the game!

Transportation

Transportation. Everyone needs it to some degree, but what do you do when something unexpected happens such as an ice storm, tornado damaged areas, deep snow, civil unrest etc? I have been thinking about that quite a bit lately and am getting ready to make a plunge into a new, expensive 4x4 vehicle. Now don't get me wrong, when I say new, I mean 12 years old, and when I say expensive, I mean more than the cash that I have in my pockets. I like to think in these terms as it usually (but not always) keeps me from getting into trouble. The vehicle in question is a 96 cherokee, plain as can be with no power anything except brakes and steering, still has the original factory steel crap wheels on it, but it is a fleet vehicle from a conservation department and you can tell that it was obviously very well maintained with an average of only 9500 miles per year. One of the best things about the vehicle is that it comes with the heavy duty stuff on it and the much lower gearing so that will save money in the long run since those things will not need to be addressed when preparing the vehicle for eventuality use.

My only quandry is the payment. I do not have enough cash to buy it outright, I called several banks and the are quoting me interest rates starting at 14% because of the age of the vehicle, so that leaves only my credit card...hmmm.

The card that I use for emergencies (I am trying to decide if this could classify) has a low fixed interest rate of 6.5% and a credit line so large it scares me sometimes, so I am seriously contemplating just using this and making the payments to these folks instead of my local bank. May not be a big deal to most people, but I have not had a car payment in about 8 years, so the thought of getting back into one makes me a bit queasy.

I am leaning toward doing it since I would hate that this is one area where my preparations are lacking and winter is approaching, and if something happens during this time, my transportation ability could be seriously affected and could hurt me more than a couple of thousand on my card.

Anyway, just figured that I would post this in case anyone else that might read this (if anyone is reading this) might be in the same predicament might gain some insight and additional thoughts along the way of their decision tree.

Mags Mags Mags

Just about every gun shop or online firearms dealer are chanting the same thing. Almost every firearms accessory dealer on the web are all showing the same headline;

"DUE TO AN OVERWHELMING DEMAND, PRODUCTS ARE EITHER BACKORDERED OR UNAVAILABLE. THE PRODUCTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ARE SEVERAL WEEKS BEHIND IN SHIPPING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE."

Now I am not a doom and gloomer per se, I like to think that I am more of a realist, but when all are saying the same thing it certainly makes one think for sure.

Good thing for me is that glock magazines are still plentiful and cheap which brings me to my new post. Interchangeability and systems.

I have a few things that just don't play well with others (such as my CZ and my Moisin Nagant), but my two system guns are the Glock 26 and the Kel-tec sub 2000. Both are chambered in 9x19 (9mm parabellum) and both are able to accept any glock 9mm magazine interchangeably. This allows me the option of using a close quarter handgun or a bit longer range carbine for whatever the particular need is that arises. The next thing on my list (hopefully will be able to get around to it by the end of this year) are the AR15 pistol and rifle. Both are able to be interchanged almost part for part, but most importantly they have a common cartidge and common magazines. This allows a good degree of backup while keeping costs as low as possible for other items such as beans and bandaids.

This is all for me now, but just remember that just because you get a bunch of items is not nearly as important as getting items that play well together.

Winter Doldrums and planning

Winter is always a bit harder on some folks than others, but for us preppers, sometimes it is doubly so because we cannot be outside taking care of property needs, working on projects etc. We can still take this time to prepare and plan. This is the perfect time to do some web surfing and find out what others are doing and see if it fits into your plans or not. One of the projects that I am in the midst of planning for next year is an emergency room. Of course not like that of a hospital, but a small room, probably about 150 or 200 total square feet built somewhere on my property. There are several different ways to do this, but the one that I am thinking of using came from a hotel that I read about that used concrete drainage pipe as separate rooms. They come in 8 foot sections that are 12 feet in diameter. My plan is to use about 3 or 4 joined together in a row buried about 1/4 to 1/2 of the way to ensure stability. They will be able to withstand almost any natural and most man-made disasters, and since I live in a tornado-prone area anyway, it will be a good investment. With their high thermal mass, they will be able to be used to keep cooler and warmer without any use of energy and arranged in a row, even a small fan or heater should be able to influence the temperature to a pretty good degree. As far as security, with only one entrance security needs will be greatly reduced. The cost will not be negligible, but for what you get, it will be money well spent.

CZ 52

Just got my C&R license a few days ago so had to jump into the fray with my first C&R pistol. I ordered the CZ from SouthernOhioGun.com and was very pleased with their service and speed. I got it and 32 rounds of ammo for practice for just over $140. When it arrived, I was wondering if I had a good deal or not. It was not very pretty, had some scuff marks on it and generally looked like a pawn shop reject. I cleaned it up just a bit and went down to the local indoor gun range and gave it a workout (well, as much as a workout as 32 rounds could give it). The first magazine full (8 rounds) were not bad hits at 7 yards, but probably could have been better if I wasn't squinting and holding it well away from any vital organs as I fired it for the first time. Let me tell you, I am most impressed. I know the round is not extremely well suited for personal protection as the round will certainly over-penetrate and could cause some collateral damage, but as far as accuracy and reliability goes, it worked wonderfully well for a 5o year old pistol. There are some spare parts that are recommended that I will acquire, but at the price paid, it would behoove the purchaser to just get 2 so you not only have a spare for all the parts with your parts kit, but you have a spare firearm as well.

Decided to jump into blogging myself

After watching, waiting and preparing, I decided to blog a bit about it myself. This blog will be mainly for me to keep my stuff, but for others to view also. It will contain some thoughts, feelings, fears, joys etc, but also some short fiction stories with a preparedness slant. Comment if you want, read what you want, and thanks for dropping by.