Whaddya want for the holiday gifting?

When I originally started blogging, the purpose was to chronicle the progression of steps towards getting to the level of preparedness I wanted to achieve. So that was around 11 years ago. You’d think that after 11 years there wouldn’t be much left to do…but, of course, there’s always something.

Pretty much all that is left to acquire are the truly big-ticket items – a dedicated vehicle and a place out in the sticks. Both of these are pretty much the final jewels in the crown. Food? We’re good. Guns and ammo? Just ducky. Toiletries, bedding, fuel, generator, tools, security system, etc…yup.

There are still some things that I still haven’t gotten around to, despite years of saying “I need to…” The two that immediately spring to mind are radio communications and a PV-powered battery backup system for same.

Like anything else, the limiting factor is money. Ten years is obviously plenty of time to put some money back for expensive stuff but, sadly, I have a tremendous lack of discipline. Its hard to ‘stay the course’ for a long period of time when people walk in the door or call me and say “Hey, a guy just sold me a couple 1911s…you wanna look at ’em?”

Out of curiosity, what are you hoping to receive for Chrismahanakwanzakah this year? The ‘realistically priced’ gift and the ‘money is no object’ gift.

16 thoughts on “Whaddya want for the holiday gifting?

  1. A box of a dozen condoms. In case I ever get jumped by Pam Anderson. I want a lot of protection. You have your primary. Your secondary. Your tertiary. What is the word for “12”?

  2. Realistic: A new copy of Sand County Almanac since my son turned my last one into a sponge by spilling liquid all over it.

    Money not an object: An apartment so that I can minimize the number of winter days spent in my car post Jan 1st. Barring that a van or truck with a camper on the back wouldn’t be too bad either. 😉

  3. I need a NEED a new computer.

    I really want to get a place out of town (well, septic, propane, etc.).

  4. Commander,

    If you haven’t, check this site out and listen to the first two podcasts or if you want just jump to the “assembling the system” second episode assuming you’ll go with the GC2 batteries which is what most of the cost benefit analysis options seem to boil down too…

    http://www.battery1234.com/

    • The third episode listed on “running your whole home from a Vehicle inverter” is pretty amazing also. Actually, all of Steven Harris’s information is pretty top notch.

  5. Realistically I think I’ll get some sort of power tool, probably a drill, and maybe an Amazon gift card or two. Fantasy- John Rourke’s completely stocked retreat from The Survivalist series. With Kate Upton as a caretaker/ part time GF.

  6. Common gift: Maybe three more pairs of the Duluth Trading Company’s Firehose Ultimate Cargo pants (with the knee pads) I have a pair now they are as advertised. Individual pockets in the cargo pockets will hold an AR mag each and the material is a tough as it comes with deeeeep pockets.

    Money no object? A four kilowatt solar system (w/ backup wind turbine) with plenty of batteries. I decent ‘nader/bomb shelter would be nice as well.

  7. As for radio gear, yeah it can get expensive. Im on a budget but radios was my next to check off the list, and went with a ChiCom grey market Baofung UV-5R handheld that set me back about 32 dollars. Got an upgraded antenna to to replace the decent stock antenna and it performed as well as some of the $$$ ones. That one now lives in my BOB/GHB. Later on they put the out the second generation of it, the BF-F8+ and I got it at around 40 dollars. I got a second one a while back for 32 with shipping (the price dropped on them as they have a higher power model out now, but its going for 55 dollars, and the modest power gain from 4 to 8 watts sounds like its worth it, but in radio, there is a need for a x4 multiplication in power to gain a db in power output. It would be worth it if it was 16 watts, but for the price the F8+ is almost as good).

    Its a great cheap radio that will set you on your way to learning radio systems and not break the bank. I got it originally because I was taking the HAM Technicians Class License and needed something i could afford, was useable, and if it got destroyed, im not out of an expensive rig.

    https://baofengtech.com/bf-f8+

    And a good place for the cheap ChiCom radios in help, advice, and knowledge of radio in general there is

    http://www.miklor.com/

  8. The easy stuff? Duluth Trading outfit skin-out. Yes, including a sweet bag that looks sturdy enough for the 1911.

    The wish-est? Just a quiet place in the woods and/or mountains and no need to leave it for work. A wee hobbit hole. Oh, and a captive dentist with all the meds. Because a bad tooth issue in the wilds gives me the willies.

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