Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

So, Commander, what did you do today to assure the safety and security of you and your merry band of LMI’s today?

Small purchases:
4″x4″ gauze pads – divided amongst the first aid kits at the shop, home and in my backpack
Bactine First Aid Wipes – divided amongst the first aid kits at the shop, home and in my backpack
Butterfly colsures – to replace a pack in my first aid kit at home that was used
Loaded an additional 50 rounds of 9mm FMJ ammo
Picked up remaindered meat to vaccuum seal and toss in the deep freeze

Total expenditures today: $13.97
Preventing a nasty scrape fronm getting infected and gangrenous in a post-apocalyptic world: priceless
————————–
I swear, you wanna see a ‘Homeland Security’ that works and doesnt step on a single one of your rights, you put me in charge of that agency…I’ll show you security.

So, Commander, what did you do today to assure the safety and security of you and your merry band of LMI’s today?

Small purchases:
4″x4″ gauze pads – divided amongst the first aid kits at the shop, home and in my backpack
Bactine First Aid Wipes – divided amongst the first aid kits at the shop, home and in my backpack
Butterfly colsures – to replace a pack in my first aid kit at home that was used
Loaded an additional 50 rounds of 9mm FMJ ammo
Picked up remaindered meat to vaccuum seal and toss in the deep freeze

Total expenditures today: $13.97
Preventing a nasty scrape fronm getting infected and gangrenous in a post-apocalyptic world: priceless
————————–
I swear, you wanna see a ‘Homeland Security’ that works and doesnt step on a single one of your rights, you put me in charge of that agency…I’ll show you security.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

“…and amongst the gas lines, darkened cities and abandoned checkpoints a figure appeared saying ‘Be cool. I can handle this.’ And thus the Age Of Zero was upon us…” – The Book Of Zero Vol. I

Being Commander Zero is not all sunshine and stun grenades…

Blackouts in the east, a very simple pipeline problem causing ruckus in the southwest, the government is still…well, doing whatever it is government does..and the external threats are still around.

Ive been saying for a long time that the things that are gonna ragnarock-your-world were less likely to be kooks with nukes but rather various infrastructure failures that would drop us into a third-world lifestyle similar to modern day Russia.

So..lets recap: every person with a pair of bolt cutters and a set of jumper cables now knows that you can cripple the northeast through their antiquated power system. Every nut with a shovel and a hammer now knows there are exactly two pipelines to bring gas into Arizona.

Want a few more? head over to cryptome.org sometime and see the aerial maps of the phone trunks that service the entire country..all conveniently located in one concrete building in NYC just waiting for a truck bomb. We’ve always had these vulnerabilities, its just that up to now no one has really gone out of their way to exploit them.

But you know what? Not. My. Problem.

My job is to prepare for it and come out on top of it with me and my merry band of LMI’s. Natural selection in action, kiddo.

I dont know how Im going to do it, but Im going to be about a zillion percent more self-sufficient, armored, prepped and educated by New Years 2005. That gives me about 16 months to make some serious inroads from where I am now.

“…and amongst the gas lines, darkened cities and abandoned checkpoints a figure appeared saying ‘Be cool. I can handle this.’ And thus the Age Of Zero was upon us…” – The Book Of Zero Vol. I

Being Commander Zero is not all sunshine and stun grenades…

Blackouts in the east, a very simple pipeline problem causing ruckus in the southwest, the government is still…well, doing whatever it is government does..and the external threats are still around.

Ive been saying for a long time that the things that are gonna ragnarock-your-world were less likely to be kooks with nukes but rather various infrastructure failures that would drop us into a third-world lifestyle similar to modern day Russia.

So..lets recap: every person with a pair of bolt cutters and a set of jumper cables now knows that you can cripple the northeast through their antiquated power system. Every nut with a shovel and a hammer now knows there are exactly two pipelines to bring gas into Arizona.

Want a few more? head over to cryptome.org sometime and see the aerial maps of the phone trunks that service the entire country..all conveniently located in one concrete building in NYC just waiting for a truck bomb. We’ve always had these vulnerabilities, its just that up to now no one has really gone out of their way to exploit them.

But you know what? Not. My. Problem.

My job is to prepare for it and come out on top of it with me and my merry band of LMI’s. Natural selection in action, kiddo.

I dont know how Im going to do it, but Im going to be about a zillion percent more self-sufficient, armored, prepped and educated by New Years 2005. That gives me about 16 months to make some serious inroads from where I am now.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Unfortunately, after the apocalypse it seems pretty unlikely that Wal-Mart will be open.

Im picking up stories here and there about blackout conditions and experiences in NYC. Its what I expected for the most part…lotta people making the same mistakes that they didnt learn from on 9/11. I mean, really, if you lived 12 miles away from where you worked and had to walk that distance once, wouldnt you keep a mountain bike at work so next time you could get home in an hour instead of seven?

I need to work on water storage. I need to pick up about a half-dozen plastic five gallon jugs and a bottle of oxygen stabilizer (yes, I could use a bit of bleach instead, I know.) I should also pick up another couple cases of bottled water up at CostCo.

While Im at it, I also need to pick up a good antannae for the 11/10 meter radio. And a power supply.

Im guessing that in The Omega Man, our boy Chuck got most of that gear *after* everyone was dead…alot cheaper that way, isnt it?

Lotta forest fires around here. Reminds me that Rancho Ballistica is going to need to be as fireproof as possible… steel roofing, obviously….sprinkler array on the roof, some type of stucco or adobe walls, etc, etc. Theres actually a rather nice amount of home firefighting equipt. for sale on the web…expensive, but worth it, Im sure.

Unfortunately, after the apocalypse it seems pretty unlikely that Wal-Mart will be open.

Im picking up stories here and there about blackout conditions and experiences in NYC. Its what I expected for the most part…lotta people making the same mistakes that they didnt learn from on 9/11. I mean, really, if you lived 12 miles away from where you worked and had to walk that distance once, wouldnt you keep a mountain bike at work so next time you could get home in an hour instead of seven?

I need to work on water storage. I need to pick up about a half-dozen plastic five gallon jugs and a bottle of oxygen stabilizer (yes, I could use a bit of bleach instead, I know.) I should also pick up another couple cases of bottled water up at CostCo.

While Im at it, I also need to pick up a good antannae for the 11/10 meter radio. And a power supply.

Im guessing that in The Omega Man, our boy Chuck got most of that gear *after* everyone was dead…alot cheaper that way, isnt it?

Lotta forest fires around here. Reminds me that Rancho Ballistica is going to need to be as fireproof as possible… steel roofing, obviously….sprinkler array on the roof, some type of stucco or adobe walls, etc, etc. Theres actually a rather nice amount of home firefighting equipt. for sale on the web…expensive, but worth it, Im sure.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Power outage in the Northeast. Hmmm.
Simple cascade failure?
Or something more nefarious?

Better play it safe and assume its not a coincidence… double-check my blackout gear when I get home.

SO what happens in a blackout? Well, obviously lights, elevators and air conditioning stops working. But, also these little necessities:
ATM cash machines will not work – so have cash to make purchases
Cash registers – some stores wont do any business unless their registers are working
Water pumps – tall buildings might have problems
Gas pumps – cant suck the gas out of the underground tanks without electricity
TV/radio stations – some will be on, some will be off
Most ISP’s – so even if youre on your laptop, you may not have access. (one of the few nice things about AOL..you can try access numbers further and further from your affected areas)
Zillions of little things you dont normally think about……

My sibling should be okay. I sent him some gear pre-Y2k and he has some preps of his own. In an urban environ like his, priority is on light, security and communications. I expect I’ll hear from him later.

Just an overloaded power grid…maybe. Or, that’ll be the ‘official’ story, anyway. Probably alot of very tense cops in NYC right now.

But *youre* ready, right? Youve got your flashlight, spare batteries, radio, and gear, right? Right?

Power outage in the Northeast. Hmmm.
Simple cascade failure?
Or something more nefarious?

Better play it safe and assume its not a coincidence… double-check my blackout gear when I get home.

SO what happens in a blackout? Well, obviously lights, elevators and air conditioning stops working. But, also these little necessities:
ATM cash machines will not work – so have cash to make purchases
Cash registers – some stores wont do any business unless their registers are working
Water pumps – tall buildings might have problems
Gas pumps – cant suck the gas out of the underground tanks without electricity
TV/radio stations – some will be on, some will be off
Most ISP’s – so even if youre on your laptop, you may not have access. (one of the few nice things about AOL..you can try access numbers further and further from your affected areas)
Zillions of little things you dont normally think about……

My sibling should be okay. I sent him some gear pre-Y2k and he has some preps of his own. In an urban environ like his, priority is on light, security and communications. I expect I’ll hear from him later.

Just an overloaded power grid…maybe. Or, that’ll be the ‘official’ story, anyway. Probably alot of very tense cops in NYC right now.

But *youre* ready, right? Youve got your flashlight, spare batteries, radio, and gear, right? Right?

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Sure, it has a dozen names..Rancho Ballistica, Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker, Area 52, etc, etc…but it all amounts to the same thing: Zero’s Dream House.

The design is completely up for grabs as long as several caveats are kept firmly in mind:
a) security
b) durability
c) efficiency
d) redundancy

Someplace with enough thermal mass to stay warm in winter, cool in summer. Completely and easily adaptable at the flip of a switch to go from grid power to self-contained power. (Not *that* big a trick…) Several layers of energy production..solar, hydro, etc. Nice big gardens, fish pond, gated driveway, enormous basement with unbelievable storage possibilities, shooting range, workshop, guest quarters, etc.

Nice thing about such a place is that the kind of land no one wants to buy is perfect for it. People want stuff close to town, close to roads, with power lines nearby, etc. Not me. I want something that you have to drive up three miles of washboard road before you even get to the (locked gate) driveway. Something that if you didnt know it was there, you’d never find. Someplace that, in winter, if you dont have seriously good four-wheel drive you will never, ever make it to.

Naturally, being the Zero, it would have thick strong walls, heavy shutters, odd markers at various distances, intrusion detection devices, area lighting, and all that goodness. But, ideally, what we’re shooting for is something that is as close to perfectly self-contained and self-sufficient as you can get. Someplace that if the power goes out you wouldnt notice it for a few months.

Whats involved? Hmmm..I think 15-20 acres abutting against national forest or timber co. land. That way you get a several million acre backyard. Build a small cabin to use as slabs and walls get poured, rafters nailed up, powers systems laid in, ponds and irrigation ditches dug, barricades poured, gardens planted, etc, etc. Wouldnt be cheap, but when it was over you’d have the perfect retreat from the world…everything you’d ever need, food, water, power, shelter, warmth, security, etc all in one place and all exactly to my specs.

And, I should point out, it wouldnt look like a missle silo. You can build some pretty darn attractive structures that dont compromise on durability and survivability. I’d love some sort of mission-style house with huge walled courtyards….

Ah well, the land will be the cheapest part. I need to get that first. Once thats under my belt, the rest can come later….

Sure, it has a dozen names..Rancho Ballistica, Commander Zero’s Post Nuclear Love Bunker, Area 52, etc, etc…but it all amounts to the same thing: Zero’s Dream House.

The design is completely up for grabs as long as several caveats are kept firmly in mind:
a) security
b) durability
c) efficiency
d) redundancy

Someplace with enough thermal mass to stay warm in winter, cool in summer. Completely and easily adaptable at the flip of a switch to go from grid power to self-contained power. (Not *that* big a trick…) Several layers of energy production..solar, hydro, etc. Nice big gardens, fish pond, gated driveway, enormous basement with unbelievable storage possibilities, shooting range, workshop, guest quarters, etc.

Nice thing about such a place is that the kind of land no one wants to buy is perfect for it. People want stuff close to town, close to roads, with power lines nearby, etc. Not me. I want something that you have to drive up three miles of washboard road before you even get to the (locked gate) driveway. Something that if you didnt know it was there, you’d never find. Someplace that, in winter, if you dont have seriously good four-wheel drive you will never, ever make it to.

Naturally, being the Zero, it would have thick strong walls, heavy shutters, odd markers at various distances, intrusion detection devices, area lighting, and all that goodness. But, ideally, what we’re shooting for is something that is as close to perfectly self-contained and self-sufficient as you can get. Someplace that if the power goes out you wouldnt notice it for a few months.

Whats involved? Hmmm..I think 15-20 acres abutting against national forest or timber co. land. That way you get a several million acre backyard. Build a small cabin to use as slabs and walls get poured, rafters nailed up, powers systems laid in, ponds and irrigation ditches dug, barricades poured, gardens planted, etc, etc. Wouldnt be cheap, but when it was over you’d have the perfect retreat from the world…everything you’d ever need, food, water, power, shelter, warmth, security, etc all in one place and all exactly to my specs.

And, I should point out, it wouldnt look like a missle silo. You can build some pretty darn attractive structures that dont compromise on durability and survivability. I’d love some sort of mission-style house with huge walled courtyards….

Ah well, the land will be the cheapest part. I need to get that first. Once thats under my belt, the rest can come later….