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The death of the meat tray

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Nothing good lasts forever. I was disheartened to learn that the Albertson’s grcery is no longer carrying The Meat Tray. The Meat Tray is gone. Long live the Meat Tray.

Fortunately, although it isn’t the same as the meat tray, it turns out that the local WinCo will ‘remainder’ meat as well. And since their prices are already pretty fair, the remaindered prices are just a solid deal all around:

My freezer is already at capacity, and I really don’t want to get another one, so I’ll just keep this stuff in mind for when I rotate through the frozen stuff. But…animal protein at discount is always a good thing.

That pork in the pictures? I take that, put it in the slow cooker with a half bottle of salsa verde, let it go for about six hours, shred it up, serve with rice, melt Mexican cheese blend on top, and scoop it up with tortilla chips. Sooo good, so cheap, and so much. Highly recommend.

I’m sure some folks would say, “Dude..my life is too short to get worked up about saving $14 on a styrofoam tray of meat once a week.” Fair enough. Let’s tackle it from a different direction. Imagine a supermarket where, when you buy a tray of meat they give you two free Pmags. Or a voucher for three gallons of gas at the Conoco down the street. Or they give you a free refill on your propane tank for your barbecue. You’d get pretty excited about that, right? Same. Exact. Thing.

Every dollar I don’t spend on an item is an extra dollar I have for another item. It’s another dollar in the Roth, in silver, in cash, in the land fund, etc.Thats the mindset that makes the difference when you’re trying to prepare for the inevitable-yet-unpredictable.

Perspective..or…its more than just guns

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I’ve been through…let’s see….hurricanes, blizzards, forest fires, pandemics, economic turmoil, and just a generally bumpy existence. Number of rounds fired in total through all those incidents? Zero. Number of skulls cracked with a baseball bat? Zero. Number of gunshot and stab wounds incurred? Zero.

I mention it because, as I stroll through  my library of various ‘how to survive the end of the world’ books it seems like everyone is preparing for the final scene from The Wild Bunch.

I know the world is not a happy sunshine-y place. I know there are people who, even when the lights are on and the water is flowing, will still stomp your skull in for basically no good reason. I know that people, by and large, are dangerous critters. And yet…I’ve got fifty years under my belt and haven’t had to shoot anyone yet.

Yet it seems that a good 1/3 to 1/2 of any preparedness manual is about ‘self defense’ or ‘weapons’ or that sort of thing. Sure, it’s important… but when I think of the ‘disasters’ I’ve been through and what resources were used the number of rounds spent comes to…zero. On the other hand, the amounts of food, water, cash, batteries, toilet paper, radios, gasoline, light sticks, and tools comes out to non-zero.

“But..but Zero, it seems like every other post you have here is about guns and ammo!” This is true.But, to be fair, I don’t post about guns from the perspective of ‘get all you can so you can survive the new Mad Max world’, usually I post about them from the perspective of ‘get them while you can before they are banned’. Not quite the same thing. Guns are the low hanging fruit of preparedness blogging. People are far more interested in tweaked out ARs than they are the newest vacuum sealer or propane lantern. Not everyone, mind you….but most.

It reminds me of cop training…everyone gives cops a hard time for being unable to shoot straight. And while shooting people is part of the job, it is a microscopically small part of the job. Your average cop will use his Bic pen a bazillion times more often than he uses his Glock. Training often reflects that. Resources are directed where they are most likely to be needed, and your average badgewearer shoots people a lot less often than he writes reports, tickets, notes, accident forms, etc.

Guns are a part of any reasonably thought out plan to survive a disaster. However they are tiny part of the overall plan compared to things like water, food, gas, medgear, etc.

You know what I’ve discovered to be The Most Valuable skill for a ‘survivalist’ or ‘prepper’? Not having amazingly fast split times at the range….not being able to consistently ring the gongs at 200 yards…useful, but not as important as: being able to think logically, critically, and objectively. Your mileage may vary but I would say the most important skill I’ve picked up as a survivalist is… accounting. Once I figured out how to allocate, budget, and monitor my financial adventures it put me in a position to have all the other thngs that make surviving a crisis easier. But thats just me… it won’t be the same for you.

My long winded point is that guns are the supersexy common denominator of survivalism but they are not the most important. Don’t get so wrapped up in the boomtoys that you overlook the more used, more needed, more critical things like, y’know, food…money…fuel…water…meds…gear…etc. But don’t take my word for it…go read the AAR’s on the various survival forums for things that have happened over the last few years…riots, floods, earthquakes, etc. There was a lot less shooting than some of these preparedness manuals would have made you expect. Sure, having the Glock on the hip helped, but I have yet to read any encounter (except the classic Harry Beckwith Bullet Party) where someone went through more than a magazines worth of ammo.

Even in times of ‘non-crisis’ I still use gasoline, TP, food, water, clothes, toothpaste, soap, etc, every single day. I blow off 9mm and .223 maybe twice a month. While I stockpile guns and ammo, I probably stockpile just as much of the other stuff.

The classic meme is the survivalist with a mountain of ammo, a trainload of guns, and absolutely no food. An exaggeration, sure, but it makes a point. Buy the ammo, buy the guns, but keep some perspective.

Paratus reminder

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Hey guys…a reminder that Paratus, the holiday of, by , and for survivalists is coming up in two months. Shop early, avoid the rush!

If you’re new to paratus, the world-famous Paratus FAQ is available.

This year, Paratus falls on Sept. 17 2021.

As always, contact your local gun/ammo/food/med vendors and ask if they’re having any Paratus sales this year. Let’s get this holiday the recognition it deserves!

And, yes, Paratus cards will be going out this year for the third year in a row.

Metal

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I play the market, sure, but I also don’t put all my eggs in one basket. And, once in a very rare while, I get a deal. Today’s case in point:

What did I pay? Spot. See, some forms of gold are more marketable than others. When someone sells the gold/silver guy some gold ‘over the counter’, he usually buys it as close to spot as possible. But if the gold/silver is in a form that is not really sought after in retail, he buys it for less than spot. An example would be a 100-oz bar of silver. Not alot of people walk into a shop and ask for a 100 oz. bar. As a result, he needs to get into it at less than the price he’d have paid for, say , 100 1-oz. bars/rounds.

So, as it turns out, while small (‘fractional’) bits of gold (1 gram, 5 gram, 10 gram, etc) are easy to resell, the larger metric-denominated versions are less desirable. So…he bought it at less than spot. I offered spot. And he took it. So…score.

The lesson here is that if you’re going to buy metals, and you’re planning on holding them for a long time, and if you can swing the cash, your best value is in the larger single-unit quantities…. 10 oz bar vs 10 1-oz bars, 100 oz bar vs 10 10-oz bars etc.

As for this little guy, it goes in the safe and sits there quietly until next years land purchase. Or the apocalypse. Whichever comes first.

ETA: By the way, I never, ever, buy gold in any quantity without testing it on one of these. A tester like this will set you back about a grand. But if it keeps you from buying one fake gold coin, it’s paid for itself. My guy at the coin shop understands that even though I know he tests any gold he buys across the counter, I need to see it being tested. I could take his word for it, and I trust him when he says he tested it and it tested okay..but доверяй, но проверяй…doveryay, no proveryay…trust, but verify. And he’s cool with that. Honestly, if your PM guy isn’t cool with retesting something while you watch and just expects you to take his word for it….you need a new guy.

Water

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I hate hot weather. I mean, I really hate it. I love the dress code as women in this college town suddenly start running around in sundresses and sports bras (summer is only second to Halloween for ‘lets dress skimpily because its socially acceptable at this moment’) but that’s barely enough to make the discomfort of the heat worth it.

And, of course, when it’s hot ya gotta ‘hydrate’…or as we used to say in the less-woke days, ‘drink’.

In the heydey of 70’s and 80’s survivalism your water toter of choice was the GI canteen. Plastic ones were just starting to turn up and you most likely had a metal one that could have been carried by grandpa in WW2 or Uncle Billy in ” ‘Nam “…(Why do people shorten it to ‘Nam’? Why not ‘Viet’?..”Yeah, we served together in Viet back in ’68”)  They were durable but they were loud and sometimes leaked at the seams.

As the 80’s rolled in, we got basically the exact same canteen but now made of green plastic. With an NBC cap. An improvement? Depends on who you ask. Some folks didnt like that youy couldnt heat up the plastic canteens.

Fast forward a bit more and the Middle Easy is now where the action is. ‘Hydration bladders’ are the thing…basically a giant IV bag and tubing. Convenient? Yes. Carries a lot of water? Yes. Bulky? Yes. But, no two ways about it, its a handy way to drink on the go.

For the survivalist who isn’t fetishicizing military gear, the ubiquitous Nalgene bottle, with it’s amazing aftermarket accessory support, really comes pretty close to being Numbah One choice. The accessories available make the Nalgene bottle the AR-15 of water storage – modular, adaptable, and cheap.

Another alternative that I highly recommend are the collapsible Nalgene/Platypus ‘water bottles’. These are basically hydration bladders that are used by themselves as drink containers. Their huge advantage is that a) when empty you can roll them up to take up virtually no space in your gear and b) as you drink from them you can squeeze out the air so there is no sloshing noise like you’d get from a half-filled canteen. Big improvement.

And, interestingly, splitting the difference..the guys at Nalgene make a version of the GI canteen that comes pretty close to replacing the GI model, but with the convenience of lighter weight and transparency. Nalgene also makes a bladder-like product that uses the same screw-on lids as the rigid Nalgene bottles…which means that you can use all your accessory lids with it. Handy.

My preference? For static places like in the vehicle or at a temporary base, I like the 64 oz/ 2 L. size large bottles. For day-to-day use I like the regular rigid 32 oz, bottles. However, for tromping around in the boonies, I prefer the .5L or 1.0L Platypus for its stealthy properties and space-saving potential.

Another nice thing about the Nalgene and Platypus is that its extremely convenient to fill them about 1/3 of the way up and then freeze them. Once frozen, fill the rest of the container with water and go about your day. Very refreshing.

As an aside, the water I keep in the vehicle is store-bought bottled water. Why? Because those little plastic bottles are darn near impervious, cheap, and handy. They freeze/thaw without damage, and are handy to throw in a pocket if needed. In the summer, when i travel, I don’t screw around..I throw a 5-gallon water jug in one of the gas can racks in addition to the usual on-board water supply. I don’t mind being hungry for a day or two, but nobody likes being thirsty for a day.

Whatever you choose for your preferred water-carrying container, get a bunch of them. More than you think you’ll need. I’ve a collection of Nalgene bottles that must number almost a dozen. Theyre cheap and work perfect for their given task…why wouldn you have extras?

” You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it. “

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I swear to Crom, I need to get a little shrine going for the household god of frustration. Seems like every time I take a step forward I get yanked back forty steps. Grr.

But, life goes on…like it or not.

I see that the Biden administration (Motto: is it naptime yet?) is quietly starting to float the idea that, mmmmyeah…that inflation thing might be around for a while. And then, in an epic display of chutzpah, these same mouthbreathers crow about unemployment figures and ‘jobs for the taking’. Hey, I’d have great employment numbers to show, too, if I forced businesses  to close and then counted their reopening as ‘new jobs’.

I’m just getting to be a cynic, I suppose. But, these are historic times. Which leads me to this quote: You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it.

I’m pretty resilient these days, but I’m still not at the point yet where I’d feel comfortable pulling the plug on the rest of the world, locking the gate, and letting the world burn while I do my own thing. Not yet. But…man, I’m working on it.

“Anceint Chinese proverbs” aside, disasters and adversity are, in fact, opportunities for others. We have an economy that seems to have the throttle dialed forward yet we have shortages everywhere, housing prices in the stratosphere with interest rates that are at lifetime lows, and a populace and government that thinks money grows on trees and that everyone is entitled to ‘their fair share’ in the form of absolved student loans and ‘basic universal income’. If the disaster/opportunity ratios are proportionate, we should be seeing one amazingly epic wave of opportunities coming up. Where? Well, I think that real estate is going to contract in a year or so…maybe less. My goal is to be in place to jump on it. Other opportunities? Labor brokers probably can write their own check these days. Same for logistics and transportation coordinators. The energy industry is probably gonna be a nice place to be. And, of course, you can never go wrong selling weapons, food, medicine, entertainment, or sex.

Interesting times. Be curious to see how this all shakes out in a year or two.

Harder Homes & Garden: Video- Digging a Secret Tunnel

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The British (or Commonwealth types, I suppose) take a little national pride in their ‘two guys in a shed’ stereotype of entrepreneurship. We Americans kinda started that ball with our ‘company founded in a garage’ model. Heck, I remember when NASA was just two drunk guys with a case of dynamite. Anyway, there’s a channel on YouTube of some limey who does some fairly adventurous creating. Once in a while he does something that I find rather interesting and , perhaps, useful at a later date. Such as the bunker he built under his yard. A nice project, indeed. Not content to just have a hidden bunker, he has a video about digging secret tunnels to connect the bunker to his house. Gotta say, the guy has his act together for discreetly removing spoils and, honestly, doing a pretty titanic job of digging.

I find this sort of thing highly informative and somewhat inspirational. I mean, if you’re going to have an underground bunker why wouldn’t you have a tunnel network to go with it, right? You know, pull up the rug in the kitchen and -presto- trapdoor to a tunnel network that leads to the bunker, the garage, an emergency exit hidden in some shrubs at the edge of the property line, etc.

Major kudos to the guy for building his own tools to do the job. I wish I was that handy.

Mundanes

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Like the swallows returning to Cappuccino , I saw my first helicopter-with-fire-bucket of the season yesterday. Yup, its the burning time. The air quality has gone from “ok” to “extra chunky style” and it smells like a week-old dumpster fire.

Picked up a new-to-me paperless AR the other day and took it to the range for a test firing. Shot fine. Clean it up and off it goes into storage. At this point I have something along the lines of a couple dozen AR’s so I’m not really in a hurry to get any more…but when one comes along at a decent price sans paperwork…thats hard to pass up.

About the only deliberate prepping activity I’m doing right now is financial stuff to try and get some money in the bank for the end of 2022. Its my goal to have enough by the end of next year to purchase a chunk of nowhere. Even though I’m nowhere near ready, in that regard, I still peruse the online listings to see whats available out. The short answer is that everything is available…its just wildly overpriced. (Or, at least, overpriced in my opinion.)

I don’t think we’re going to have another real estate meltdown like 2008, but I do think we’ll see this superhot market eventually flame out and start to cool down. And when it does, there are going to be a lot of people holding the bag on properties that are worth less than whats owed on them. And, I am hoping, thats the sort of timing that will coincide with my purchasing. We shall see.

I was thinking the other day, other than a nice chunk of dirt, the only other shopping list item I want is a semi-auto .50 BMG. Other than that…pretty much have everything else dialed in. (Of course, now that I say that Xenu will appear or the Yellowstone volcano will go off….)

Article – The Future Dystopic Hellscape Is Upon Us: The Rise and Fall of the Ultimate Doomsday Prepper

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You know how bridal shops and wedding related businesses make so much money? They do it by catering (so to speak) to a dream or fantasy. Brides have this notion in their head of ‘their special day’ and how they want it exactly a particular way. As a result, when there is suddenly an extra $600 charge for flowers that wasn’t there in the initial budget..well….it’s okay because everything has to be ‘perfect’.

Before any Gyno-Americans accuse me of sexism, there’s a similar costs-be-damned fantasy world that strikes Penile-Americans as well. Case in point, this fascinating article about something I’ve commented on before – the opportunists who (supposedly) build ‘retreats’ and sell ‘memberships’ to people who want to ride out Ragnarok without having to do the heavy lifting themselves:

Barrett Moore had ordered 2 million N95 masks, held enough freeze-dried food to feed families hiding from global Armageddon for decades, owned a small arsenal of guns, and fortified a pole barn in which to wait out the collapse of civilization. But he had something no one else could buy: knowledge that the end was coming and that the supply chains would snap; the best hope your family had was holing up in his northern Michigan compound while things fell apart. The price for this service would run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to be paid in installments.

This is a fascinating article that encapsulates everything I’ve seen in the last twenty years or so in regards to ‘membership’ survival retreats…big promises, big names, big money, big ideas, big disappointments, and big embarrassment .

Here’s something to think about – if you’re going to be a member of a ‘survival group’ or organization, membership should be based on something other than money – race, religion, political leaning, ethnicity, familial relation, shared history, etc, etc. If the only membership requirement to get in is to write a check, then in my opinion you are making a mistake.

Whether you know it or not, you’re probably already part of a very informal survival group. You, your spouse, your neighbor who you go shooting with, the guy at work you share books about prepping with, the brother in law who splits a beef with you once a year….shutdown the power grid, roll those people together, and you’ve pretty much got your own ad-hoc ‘survival group’ that would probably be a lot more cohesive than a half dozen families whose only common denominator was the ability to write a check.

Anyway… it’s an interesting read and, really, you should see the red flags a mile away. But, like the bride who justifies every ridiculous extra expense because its ‘her special day’, a lot of people bought a ticket to a ride like this because it catered to their end-of-the-world ‘fantasies’. The moral of the story here is, I think, thatif you really, genuinely believe in your particular version of the end of the world to the point you’d give a con man a million bucks, then you should have been smart enough to realize you’d have been better off spending that million on your own, personal, private version of that commercial retreat.

Video – How long could you survive in a supermarket

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If you remember the fast-zombie movie, 28 Days Later, there was a scene where the survivors find a supermarket and load up. One of the interesting things in the scene was that the irradiated produce held up much better than the non-irradiated. On a side note, irradiated produce is far more common in Europe than it is in the US because, it seems, we in the US have a knee-jerk reaction to the word ‘irradiated’. If you knew how much stuff in this country is sterilized through irradiation (esp. in the medical industry) I think you’dbe quite surprised.

Anyway, its a trope of apocalypse fiction that survivors either a) find supermarkets that are looted and beyond salvage or b) spared from looting and are treasure trove of unimaginable stores. Which raises an interesting question: if you had a supermarket all to yourself, how long would you be able to survive? Well, someone did the math:

I very much like the fact that they address the issue of food spoilage for the dairy and deli counters. But I think that if you hit the home canning aisle, and then the housewares aisle, you could at least get enough gear to water-bath can some of the produce. If they had a pressure canner on the rack in the home canning aisle you’d be freakin’ golden.

Realistically, I doubt getting locked inside a supermarket is an actual apocalypse thing. Even in post-apocalyptic fiction you’d have to do some pretty deus ex machina to contrive a logical reason for people to be locked in a supermarket (Stephen King’s “The Mist” not withstanding). More likely, you’d have survivors ‘own’ the supermarket and guard it as an extremely high-value resource…assuming they don’t start methodically taking the contents back to their stronghold.

But, if you were forced to stay in a supermarket, how long would you be able to keep from starving? TL;DR = 63 years.

I can’t think of any disaster that would preclude me from being able to otherwise source food for 63 years but…good to know that if I hit the local Safeway as the sole survivor of..whatever…I can cross ‘food’ off my list for the rest of my life.