Bumping a link – Safely Gathered In

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25

I was re-reading some of my earlier posts about canned food and storage food. While we can all agree that pre-packaged food is often not the healthiest thing for you to eat, I think that we can also agree that when you haven’t eaten if three day you’re probably gong to be a little more forgiving of some MSG or high fructose corn syrup in whatever it is you’ve stumbled across to eat.

Making anything ‘from scratch’ using long-life, shelf-stable food is challenging. Yes, you can open a jar of spaghetti sauce, crack open a can of ground beef, and pull some spaghetti out of a box. Presto – dinner is served. But for anything more complex than that, with more than three or four ingredients, you really have to do some careful menu planning.

This website has been one of my favorites since I found it. It is dormant and hasn’t been updated in years, but theres a pretty lengthy list of recipes, with pictures, for all sortsa meal using genuine long-term, shelf-stable stuff. I highly recommend viewing it: Safely Gathered In . And, yup, its from the LDS/Mormons…naturally. I’mm posting about it because although I’ve mentioned it in the past, there’s always a bunch of recent readers who may not have been around when I last linked to it.

I’ve long thought there needs to be some genuine ‘cooking with storage/stored food’ cookbook. Something that wasn’t just theory, but something with actual hands-on cooking, lotsa photos, and solid metrics about quantities, calories, and fuel consumption. I’ve read a few books that tried to be that, and I thought they failed miserably. Mostly because at some point in the recipe, a fresh ingredient was called for. No, I think a cookbook for using nothing but literal sits-on-a-shelf ingredients would fill a void in the preparedness marketplace. It wouldnt make anone rich, but it’d be nice to have.

The Great Reorganization of 2025

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Im still in the process of re-organizing my basement. I expect this process to take a couple months for the simple reason that I just don’t have a lot of time. I’m pretty tired at the end of the day, so it ain’t getting done on weekdays. Weekends are full of stuff I should have done during the week but didn’t do because I was too tired. As a result, I have a few  hours each weekend to get things done and, my friend, there’s a lot to be done. Re-arranging shelving units, going through everything, checking for damage, checking for continued usability, upgrading what can be upgraded, tossing and replacing things that are outdated, etc, etc.

Some of the more interesting things I’ve come across so far: bottled water from 2002. Now, it stored just fine but I am curious about whether there’s a concern about ‘microplastics’ or other issues from sitting in a plastic bottle for the last two decades. So, that’s one example of interesting stuff I’m coming across.

I came across a storage bin in a corner that I had no idea what was in it. Opened it up and rather surprised myself. It was a stash of military winter shooting mitts, liners, and the like from 2004. I know its from 2004 because they were bundled into a vacuum seal bag along with a note describing what they were and when they were stored away. Out of about ten packages, only one had lost its vacuum. The others held up just fine. I went ahead and opened them up and they were just fine. Absolutely no reason to think they wouldn’t have been…they were protected from pretty much everything…damp, moths, etc..by virtue of their packaging.

Also came across a stash of Italian surplus military wool blankets and blanket pins. The blankets had been rolled up tight, slipped into vacuum bags and sealed up. Again, they were perfectly fine. Still had the naptha smell from the anti-moth preventative measures that the military had taken with them. Sent the blankets out to be washed and dried and they returned slightly fluffier and with a greatly reduced naptha smell. They’ll wind up going in the linen closet. I have better blankets and sleep systems for grimmer situations. I remember when I bought these blankets from Sportsmans Guide all those years ago. Nowadays, finding surplus wool anything is a lot more challenging. Its out there, but it’s not an easy find.

Also came across my stash of TA-312 field phones and spools of comm wire…just the thing for simple field communications when I eventually get Commander Zero’s Post-Apocalyptic Bunker O’ Love And Lingerie Proving Ground up and running.

All sortsa interesting stuff turning up. Some of it still has the price tags on it and it’s a sad thing to see .223 FMJ at fifteen cents per round compared to what it goes for today, which is usually three times that. I’ve no doubt I’ll find more interesting stuff.

Paracord McGyverism

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Its been on-and-off snowing here for the last week. And while I like having an open-top pickup truck for the ability to throw a shovel and other gear in the back, its kind of a pain in the butt to have to plunge your hand into a foot of snow to dig out the shovel or windshield snow broom when you need it.

Everyone I know has one of those combination ice scraper / snowbroom devices for clearing off your windshield. I keep mine in the bed of the truck because once you use it, its got ice and snow all over it and I’m not throwing it behind the seat of my truck for all that stuff to melt off and puddle in the cab of my truck.

Problem is, when I go out in the morning, the last thing I want to do is plunge my hand into a foot of snow to fish around for the damn thing. Now, I could simply tuck it behind the truck box in a vertical position…but that makes it an attractive target to the less-prepared in a snowy parking lot. What to do? Well, the obvious answer is to wear gloves. Thats true, but I still wind up with snow coating my arm up to my elbow. Gotta be another way.

I was pondering this one the other day and came to the conclusion that a refrigerator magnet and some paracord could fix this. I tied a fridge magnet to  4′ length of paracord and tied the other end to the snow/ice scraper. Now when I toss it in the back of the truck, I stick the magnet to the underside of the truck bed rail. High enough to be out of the snow, hidden enough to be out of sight, and most importantly I can just grab the cord and fish the thing outta the snow that way. Paracord for the win.

Hamilton Gun Show

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3

Hit the Hamilton gun show today with some friends. (Yes, I have friends.) The show was a bit weak since a number of vendors cancelled at the last minute due to weather concerns. Still, its always nice to get out of town. I didnt see anything I wanted, but I did see a few things that were of note. The most interesting was an HK4, which isnt too terribly out there in terms of scarcity. What was interesting though was that it came with the factory set of four caliber conversions – .22, 25, .32, and .380. Don’t see that every day.

So, with my wallet intact, I left the gun show and stopped in at some local gun stores. Austerity waited in the truck while I went inside. I was doing pretty good well until something caught my eye in the display case. A used Trijicon MRO in a LaRue mount. Hmmm. I may have a use for that.

What use, you may ask. Uhm…well…in my defense, I am averaging one new gun per month, which is actually a marked improvement for me. Bad news is…it’s a two-stamper.

Its a 11.5″ S&W AR that has a Gemtech Abyss screwed onto the end. Because a 12.5″ AR is basically a semi-auto flashbang dispenser without some hardware on the end of the muzzle. Fun part is that even with the suppressor on the end, this thing is still just a hair shorter than your average 16″ M4gery. But its a two-fer as far as ATFE is concerned…one tax stamp for the whisper pickle and another tax stamp for the stubby SBR.

Okay, so we’re trending at one gun a month. Thats a far improvement over last years numbers.

 

Personal Safety Day aka ‘Threatmas’

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I created Paratus as a holiday for myself and all the folks that think like me. A holiday based around and upon our interest in preparedness. I won’t say its been a roaring success, but I get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment out of it. But its not the only holiday I’ve made up.

Many people have ‘personal holidays’…days that mean nothing to the world at large but have meaning to them and, maybe, those closest to them. It could be your kids birthday, your wedding anniversary, the day you proposed to your wife, the day you won the Powerball, the day you finished your last tour, whatever…

I’ve designated February 5th as ‘Personal Safety Day’ for myself. (Jokingly referred to as Threatmas .) Although I practice shooting as often as I can, and try to make sure my gear is all up-to-date and in good repair it sometimes escapes my schedule. So..I have one day per year where, no matter what, it’s time to audit, review, update, and maintain the things that are meaningful to my personal safety. No excuses.

Whats that look like? Well, definitely some time at the range. Not target shooting, not plinking, not screwing around. Dead serious drills with a critical evaluation of my own performance and a measured plan to improve what needs improving. All the house guns get unloaded, inspected, cleaned. Batteries in lights get rotated out. Armour is checked for wear and tear. Cameras and video systems are inspected. Stashes of ammo and guns are inspected. Car stranding supplies are checked.  Smoke/CO detectors. That sort of thing. If its meant to keep me alive, safe, and secure…it gets vetted on this day.

Now, these are things I try to do during the year. But, we know how life sometimes makes it tough to do what youre supposed to do when your supposed to do it in the way youre supposed to. So..I gave myself a personal holiday in the year that is dedicated to nothing else but making sure the guns are ready, the fire extinguishers charged, the medications unexpired, the flashlights working, and that sort of thing. In fact, on my time-off request at work I label the reason as “Personal Safety Day”..I was asked about it the first time and although they looked at me a little funny, they approved it. I’d have made a big fuss about it if they hadn’t. Its the hill I’d die on to make sure I dont die on a hill.

Ideally, I try to do these sorts of tasks several times a year. Quarterly would be ideal. And sometimes I hit that mark, sometimes I don’t. But even if I completely drop the ball, PSD is the one guaranteed time it will occur. So, worst case scenario, at least it gets done once per year. (And Im not saying these things should be done once a year. I’m just saying I have this mechanism in place to make sure it does happen at least once per year.)

If I did get to do all these things during the year, on the schedule I’d prefer, then PSD is simply another layer of redundancy. But, for me, its the guarantee that at least the bare minimum will be done even if I completely blanked it out the rest of the year.

I’m not saying you need to have your own personal holiday like this. I’m only telling you what I do in my twisted little world. But…I will say that you should check your gear as often as you feel is necessary..at least several times a year. Maybe every daylight saving time changeover. Maybe every three-day weekend. Maybe on you and your spouses birthdays. Whenever. Assign some not-gonna-forget-it milestone days during the year to use as reminders. But do check your gear. A depressurized fire extinguisher, gun that goes click, empty gas can, dark flashlight, or dead radio battery is the last thing you want when you absolutely, positively need something in an emergency.

Other than the gear, PSD is also a day to wargame things. What else do I need to enhance my safety? To give me better odds? What risks am I exposed to that I wasn’t last year? What threats are in place that weren’t last year? Whats my plan in case this event happens?

And this isn’t just theory. PSD started for me when having the right piece of gear, at the right time, in a working and ready state, saved me from a potentially Very Bad Day. That made an impression and as a result….Personal Safety Day.

“Ammo cans”

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So, as I’m reorganizing things, I am discovering that there are a lot of small items that need to be corralled into one place in a somewhat protective manner. For example, my stash of Aladdin wicks, mantles, and burners. Or my stockpile MALICE clips. Things that are numerous enough to need to have their own dedicated container, but not so large or heavy that they need a steel ammo can dedicated to them.

So, for giggles, I hit Facebook marketplace and figured I’d look for some discount ammo cans. No joy. But…I did find some plastic ammo cans in two different sizes that would suit my needs. In for a penny, in for a pound….how many to buy? Well, stuff is always cheaper in bulk. I’ll take 300.

And thats how I wound up with an IBC tote cage full of plastic ‘ammo cans’. They had ‘half height’ ones in addition to the .30-cal-size cans. So, I figured I’d split it 50-50 and wound up with 150 of each. Are they as durable as a steel ammo can? Of course not..theyre plastic. But, theyre waterproof and perfect for organizing the things on shelves in my basement…batteries, first aid supplies, waterproof notepads and pens, water filters, etc.

Got into them cheap enough that I’ll give a bunch away to the local LMI for their own storage needs. Even then, I’m probably going to have way more of these than I actually need but it’ll be nice to be able to get some things nice and neatly packed away for that upcoming Rainy Day.

Link

Article – Las Vegas ice cream truck mistaken for ICE vehicle: ‘I’m an ice cream man, that’s it’

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Holy Crom, real life really is made up of…things you can’t make up.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Social media posts mistakenly identified a law enforcement-themed Las Vegas ice cream truck as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle, leading its owner to fear for his safety.

“ICE and Border Patrol don’t use trucks from 1985,” Billy Settlemyers, the owner of Las Vegas Ice Cream Patrol, said Monday.

Last week, a person posted a video of Settlemyers’ black-and-white truck driving into a neighborhood with the caption: “Please be on the lookout for ‘ice cream’ trucks… they play music to get people to come outside… this is actually so sick.”

While I normally have no love for the federal government, I have even less love for parasite illegal aliens…so, I am, generally speaking, on board with the recent uptick in immigration enforcement.

Other than that, this is just an amusing example of people not reading whats right in front of them, and also underestimating the feds ability to be sneaky.

Legacy gear – GI Anglehead

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Im in the midst of completely reorganzing my basement stash of food, supplies, and other gear. It’s forcing giving me the opportunity to go through a lot of gear that I’ve collected over the thirty years I’ve lived in this house. One of the things I came across was a box of GI anglehead flashlights.

These things are old school with their incandescent light bulbs. They have nice enough features….belt clips, colored filters, lanyard loop, momentary on-off switch for signalling purposes, etc. But that bulb leaves a lot to be desired in a  world of LED brightness and efficiency.

Out of curiosity, I decided to order a couple LED replacement bulbs.

I want to say, right off the bat, that this was not an efficient and economical way to go. The replacement bulbs, on Amazon, are about $17. For $17 you can buy a fairly decent flashlight that’s already LED native. However, I was still intellectually curious about the difference in performance that the LED bulb would offer the GI anglehead over the regular bulb.

Res ipsa loquitur:

  Clearly, the LED has an advantage over the OEM incandescent bulb. And while this is simply an interesting anecdote regarding the tactics of upgrading these flashlights, it has a lesson about the strategy of upgrading these flashlights. The lesson here is that sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Legacy gear can sometimes be brought up to modern standards, but sometimes it is more effort and expense to do so. At that point it’s time to throw up your hands and realize it’s time to clean house and start over.

Let me give you an example of this. I had a friend, now deceased, whom I have mentioned before. He thought that he needed a .30 caliber semi-auto rifle to prepare for the upcoming apocalypse. He wound up, in one incarnation, buying a Remington 7400, finding some sort of military-ish stock, locating aftermarket ten-round magazines of questionable reliability, and going through all sorts of financial contortions to basically re-invent the M1A. If he had just bought a Springfield Armory M1A he would have saved himself a ton of time, money, and reliability issues. But he had the 7400 and thought it could be made ‘just as good as’ a military-style semi-auto .308.

Sometimes it just isnt worth updating or ‘upgrading’ a legacy item when the technology and manufacturing have advanced. Here’s another example – I have a few incandescent MagLites that I purchased twenty years ago. They have an on/of switch, a krypton bulb, and run times of a couple hours on a pair of D-batts. In my pocket, right now, I have a Streamlight that has an on/off/low/high/strobe switch, an unbreakable LED bulb, and will put out as much light as the old MagLite…and it’s a fraction of the size. Inflation adjusted, its about the same price. (And, yes, you can buy LED upgrades for MagLites but they don’t work as well as a native LED MagLite. Reflector geometry  and all that.) So, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to upgrade or update these 20-year-old lights. No reason to toss them, though. They can serve in a tertiary role around the house or something.

As I continue with my reorganization project, I am finding a few items here and there that are old enough that it just doesn’t make sense to upgrade them to modern standards. Some things are worth it, yes, but you really need to look at each item with an objective view as to whether its worth upgrading or replacing.

So…there’s some data on flashlights for ya.

Patient without patience II

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So my doctors appointment was mostly uneventful. They didn’t really tell me anything I couldn’t already guess. (Exercise, lose some poundage, stop eating crap. Real surprise, right? That’ll be $450 please.)

Apparently they are screening for domestic violence or some such. I forgot to mention this gem from the new patient intake process:

Them: “Is there anyone who makes you feel unsafe at home?”

Me: “Well, the last time someone made me feel unsafe in my home, I killed them.”

Them: <pause> “Ok, the doctor will be with you shortly”

I understand that an argument could be made that the doctor needs to look at certain environmental considerations in order to get a full, well-rounded picture of your health. What you do for a living, what your living situation is, etc. You may have a rash on your skin that no one can explain…until the doctor discovers that you work in a plutonium processing plant, at which point the penny drops. So, yes, I can understand some of the questioning. But at the same time, I’m just here for some bloodwork…not to trade life stories with some assistant.

However, some doctor/patient interactions are interesting stories. I had an elderly customer come into the shop once with a beautifully preserved old Smith .32 revolver. I asked the customer, who was a doctor, how he had come into such a lovely and well-preserved pre-war Smith. Turned out his dad was a stereotypical country doctor …taking payment in chickens, that sort of thing…back during the Depression. One day dad and the sheriff had to go quarantine a family. This was back in the day where they would nail a notice of quarantine on the house and everyone would keep away and isolate the residents. So the doctor and the sheriff go up on the porch and start tacking this notice up on the door. A gunshot rings out and the deputy tumbles backwards with a bullet where his beltplate should have been, the bullet coming right through the door the deputy had been tacking the notice onto. The doctor, demonstrating the better part of valor, rockets of the porch and into a ditch by the road. He then runs down the road to a house with a phone and calls the sheriff. Sheriff comes out and they drag the guy out of the house and haul him to jail. As the sheriff is winding things down, he walks up to the doc, tosses him the pistol the bad guy used, and says “Here. Souvenir.” And his dad kept that pistol for the rest of his life and it wound up going to my customer. He had no intention of selling it, but liked telling the story.

I bet that country doctor never asked anyone about their preferred pronouns, what their ‘assigned’ sex at birth was, or if anyone in the house made them feel unsafe. Different, and in some ways better, times.

The year is 7.67% done and so far I have only bought __1__ gun

Patient with no patience

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I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. In addition to asking me on the forms what my preferred pronouns are and what my “gender assigned at birth” is, they also asked if I had guns in the house. Thats when the Woke exhausted my patience:

I’ll be curious to see if they choose to pursue it further.

You can imagine how it’ll go when they start asking me about my Kung Flu vaccination status.